Soon, the night was over. Fortunately, the mission had plenty of time, a full year. Therefore, wasting a few days now and then wouldn't matter much.
The next morning, right after breakfast, Lin Yang and his companions were invited to the Celestial Master Hall. Lin Yang had heard of this hall before; like the Mahavira Hall in Buddhism, it was the most important place in the public eye.
Moreover, the hall also enshrines the patriarchs of the Celestial Masters sect throughout history. As soon as Lin Yang entered, he saw the three Zhang brothers and a group of Taoist priests sitting in the main hall.
Most of these Taoist priests were elderly, with full heads of white hair. However, upon closer inspection, Lin Yang noticed that they all had ruddy complexions, abundant blood and energy, and seemed to be full of power.
Moreover, every now and then a trace of his aura would leak out, emanating a faint sense of power. It was as if he had just broken through!
This is quite unusual. You see, although Lin Yang doesn't have much knowledge of physiognomy, he does have a general understanding of it.
These old Taoist priests, the younger ones are all over sixty years old! The older ones are probably close to two sixty years old. These immortal old men may have withered blood and energy, or they may be old and unrecognizable. But they would never be in a situation where they can't control their true energy.
"That's right, they only broke through last night with my help, which is why this situation occurred," Zhang Lu explained, seeing Lin Yang's puzzled expression. After all, having already decided to rebel, some investment was naturally necessary.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang nodded. Then, he noticed that among the group of old Taoist priests, there were three people who were rather special and conspicuous.
In Lin Yang's view, one of them was the oldest, the one who had reached the age of two Jiazi (60 years old). His strength was also the most profound; by the standards of the Tang Dynasty, he had already glimpsed the Dao of Heaven and Man, belonging to the late stage of the third tier of great masters.
In addition, there was a Taoist priest, who was quite young, probably only in his forties or fifties. Judging from his attire, this person was none other than the current head of the Celestial Masters sect, Master Guangzhen.
Beside him sat an even younger Taoist priest. This person was probably Xi Yao, who had awakened his memories of his past life.
Upon closer inspection, there were twenty-five old Taoist priests here, twenty of whom were grandmasters. Most of them had just broken through to higher levels. There were also five or six whose strength was roughly that of a seasoned grandmaster.
Furthermore, among the remaining five Taoists, three possessed the cultivation level of a Grandmaster. The oldest among them was at the Celestial Realm. As for Xi Yao, he was only at the initial stage of the Grandmaster realm.
All I can say is that the Celestial Masters sect has a profound foundation! And Zhang Lu is rich! This time, I wonder how many pills he spent at once.
However, after thinking about it for a moment, Lin Yang realized that it wouldn't actually cost much. After all, in the main world, a third-tier pill only costs tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. With the Zhang family's resources, this was nothing.
Compared to a complete world, these sacrifices are nothing. They are merely a drop in the ocean.
"I am Guangyuan, the head of the Celestial Masters Sect."
"My name is Xi Yao."
"I am..."
Soon, after some self-introductions, they got down to business.
"According to the plan, Yangzhou City will directly submit to Master, becoming his first territory. I wonder, Master Tianxuan, what are your chances?" Xi Yao suddenly asked.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang smiled and said, "Shi Long is my man. I helped him break through a few years ago. Besides, according to intelligence, the situation in Yangzhou City seems quite unstable recently, and it appears that the Demonic Sect has taken notice of it. Is that reason enough?"
Hearing this, Xi Yao nodded. They were all intelligent people; there was no need to say more. He would appear at the opportune moment during a crisis to gain everyone's favor. With a few more maneuvers, the first territory would be secured.
"Alright, as long as we have a territory, and with the full strength of my Celestial Masters Sect, helping Master Jun pacify the South shouldn't be a problem." With that, he directly took out a list of names.
"The names recorded on this register are mostly closely related to our Celestial Masters sect. Those in red represent people we are confident we can turn, or who are already among our people. Those in black are Buddhists. Those in green are neutral gentry."
"Among them, Shen Faxing, Lin Shihong and other warlords have our Celestial Masters' spies around them. When the time comes, we only need to deal with the Song Clan, and the entire South will be under our control," Xi Yao said confidently.
Upon hearing this, the old Taoist priests in the main hall all nodded in agreement. If everything went smoothly, they could occupy the entire south in a short time. At the very least, a situation reminiscent of the Northern and Southern Dynasties would be inevitable.
"Huh? This person is Du Fuwei's subordinate, and also one of yours? This person is Lin Shihong's concubine's brother? This person is..."
Looking at these lists, Lin Yang couldn't help but feel that the Celestial Masters Sect had an incredibly deep foundation! Many scions of prominent families, and even many families themselves, had secret connections with the Celestial Masters Sect to varying degrees. It was truly remarkable how many centuries of accumulation had been so significant.
"Actually, the Song Clan's problem is quite easy to solve. After all, the Song Clan's inherent flaws are too serious. It's simply impossible for them to personally take part in the struggle for power."
"Therefore, after acquiring Yangzhou, we can simply send Master Jun directly to the Song Clan's Sharpening Hall to fight Song Que. Then, we can make a promise and establish an agreement to marry Princess Song Yuzhi of the Song Clan. The day the marriage begins will be the day the Song Clan sends out its troops."
"A marriage proposal to Princess Song Yuzhi of the Song Clan? Hmm, I don't really care about that, but after the proposal, can I really convince Song Que? And then get the Song Clan to choose me?" Zhang Lu asked, puzzled.
"It's simple. When you go, just bring a few more Grandmasters with you. Let Song Que understand the consequences of not agreeing," Lin Yang said nonchalantly.
In reality, this is using a cheat code to utterly defeat a child. If they disagree, all they need to do is kill Song Que, and the Song Clan will be finished. Even for the sake of the Song Clan, Song Que had no choice but to agree.
Moreover, in the original work, Song Que supported the two scoundrels who showed no signs of being a ruler, so there was no reason not to support Zhang Lu, a guy from a proper Han Chinese aristocratic family.
"At that time, with the Song Clan, the locals of Yangzhou, and the spies of the Celestial Masters Sect, the three of them will keep each other in check, which should be enough for you, Master, to support one faction and fight the other, thus balancing your subordinates," Lin Yang said directly to Zhang Lu.
"Okay, is there anything else I should pay attention to? Feipeng, please tell me more, I want to learn too," Zhang Lu said happily.
Upon hearing this, the Taoist priests from the Celestial Masters sect were speechless. Could you please not speak so openly?
"However, I'm still quite curious, what exactly is the reason that made your Celestial Masters Sect disregard everything and invest all the accumulation of hundreds of years at once? You're betting all your trump cards? You should know that all the plans were based on the Celestial Masters Sect's full allegiance!" Lin Yang suddenly said coldly.
Upon hearing this, an awkward silence fell. However, Xi Yao quickly recovered and then smiled nonchalantly. At the same time, Lin Yang was also using a secret technique to check if he was lying!
"That's right, for us Taoists, nothing is more important than escaping this world and entering the vast upper realm. The main world you live in is the Immortal Realm to us!" Xi Yao said with boundless fervor.
As he spoke, his tone was both sacred and insane. Lin Yang was relieved by this.
Indeed, if you were to tell the grandmasters of the Tang Dynasty, "I will help you shatter the void, and you will entrust your foundations to me," I estimate that most of the grandmasters would agree.
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Chapter 74: Wanwan of the Yin Kui Sect Reports
My old friend bid farewell to the Yellow Crane Tower in the west.
In the third month of spring, amidst the fireworks, I went down to Yangzhou.
A lone sail disappears into the vast blue sky.
Only the Yangtze River flows to the horizon.
Looking at Yangzhou City dozens of miles away and the surging Yangtze River nearby, Lin Yang subconsciously thought of this poem.