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He was the Archbishop of the Hall of Literary Splendor, an extremely revered status in the Orthodoxy. According to the laws of the Daoist Canon, even if an important figure of his level violated the laws of the Church and was to be punished, the Pope should hold a general assembly in the Great Hall of Light, announce the charges in front of the crowd, and then have the Hall of Drifting Clouds condemn him.
This was what the Pope had done when he expelled Mu Jiushi from the Li Palace.
The current Pope, Chen Changsheng, had not returned to the capital for three years. Even if he returned to the capital to discuss Daoist Baishi's punishment, there might still be people in the Orthodoxy who would stand on Daoist Baishi's side, or at the very least request that he be exempted from the death penalty. And this wasn't even considering that Shang Xingzhou was in the capital, how could he just watch as Daoist Baishi died?
Chen Changsheng did not make any evaluation of Daoist Baishi's words. He only calmly looked at him and asked, "Why?"
He had already left the capital for three years, and the Li Palace was under immense pressure. Even though the Grass Moon Hall, the Moss Institute, and the other five halls had sealed their halls, they could not prevent this pressure from seeping in with the wind. After the confluence of the north and south, the Great Zhou Imperial Court began to flourish. Crucially, Shang Xingzhou had always been a legitimate successor of the Orthodoxy, a true Saint. After the Pope and Archbishop Mei Lisha returned to the sea of stars, no one in the entire Orthodoxy could be found with more seniority and experience than him. Even Pope Chen Changsheng was his student.
In these circumstances, how could a few people in the Orthodoxy not have other thoughts?
He had originally believed that the person most likely to be able to worship his master was Daoist Siyuan or Linghai Zhiwang, as there was an old grudge between them. He had not expected it to be Daoist Baishi. After all, Daoist Baishi had been one of the witnesses to the posthumous edict. He had always been taciturn and kept a low profile, making it impossible to see any possibility of him betraying the Orthodoxy.
"Why? Because I must consider the future of the Orthodoxy, consider the interests of the Human race. " Daoist Baishi stared into Chen Changsheng's eyes and said, "The Orthodoxy is not the religion of one person, but the gate of millions upon millions of believers. It absolutely cannot be moved by the will of His Holiness alone, unless you are a true Saint. Regretfully, although your talent is high, even having the possibility of becoming the youngest True Saint in history, you and I both know that the venerable Daoist master will not give you this sort of opportunity. You also know that you will never have this sort of opportunity again, so after three years, you could no longer remain silent.
Chen Changsheng was quiet for a while, then said, "I thought that many people within the Orthodoxy had been waiting for me to stand up once more."
"Those people are all idiots." Daoist Baishi did not conceal his disdain as he glanced at Linghai Zhiwang. It was obvious that the new faction of the Orthodoxy, led by Linghai Zhiwang and Daoist Siyuan, had always maintained a rather radical attitude, hoping that Chen Changsheng could rule over the world as Pope as soon as possible.
Daoist Baishi continued, "Why did His Holiness choose you as his successor? Because he felt that this martial nephew of yours was very similar to him. And now, when you stand out and begin to rely on the authority of the Pope, your so-called schemes, to attempt to use these methods to obtain victory in this war with the Imperial Court, you will become less and less like your venerable self. On the contrary, you will become more and more like your master. And if you want to become a person like your master, how can you possibly win against him? "
At this point, he turned to Linghai Zhiwang and An Lin and shouted, "Have you ever considered this question? Why should the Orthodoxy be consigned to eternal damnation because of his inexplicable desire to go against his master? Since this is the case, why don't we just welcome the venerable Daoist as His Holiness the Pope! "
It was quiet outside the church. The trees within the holy gate swayed in the wind, throwing off the last of the white flowers that had bloomed last night.
Chen Changsheng's gaze fell on those faintly discernible figures of priests in the distant forest. After a few moments of silence, he said, "You might not understand me very well."
Daoist Baishi had not expected to hear this answer. After a few moments of shock, he once more became cold and unyielding. "It doesn't matter. You can remove me from the position of archbishop right now, even do what you did to Mu Jiushi and cripple my legacy. However, on the day that the venerable Daoist returns to the Li Palace, I will be waiting for you there."
An Lin fell silent. Linghai Zhiwang said, "I've worked with you for several decades, but I've never realized that you were such a stupid person."
Daoist Baishi coldly glanced at him and said, "What sort of crime do you want to accuse me of? Plotting against His Holiness the Pope? Just like in the Mount Song Army headquarters? "
Linghai Zhiwang replied, "Crimes are not made by others, but committed by oneself."
Daoist Baishi impassively said, "Don't forget, this is Wenshui."
Wenshui was the territory of the Tang clan.
No matter how powerful the Orthodoxy was, if it wanted to execute Daoist Baishi on the spot, it would be impossible to hide from the Tang clan's eyes. This also meant that if Chen Changsheng wanted to uphold the dignity of the Church's laws, he could only seize Daoist Baishi and even sever his legacy, but he could not execute him on the spot.
At this moment, footsteps came from the forest. The Archbishop of Wenshui had arrived in front of the Daoist church, a letter in his hand.
The archbishop lowered his head, not even glancing at the blood-soaked Daoist Baishi, nor did he reveal any strange expression. He was as calm and modest as usual.
"Your Holiness, the letter Your Holiness has been waiting for has arrived."
Chen Changsheng took the letter and opened it, taking out the paper and reading it over.
Linghai Zhiwang and An Lin looked over, as did Guan Feibai and Zhexiu. Even Daoist Baishi, whose fate was still uncertain, looked over.
They all knew that someone had been writing to Chen Changsheng this entire time. From the matter of the Mount Song Army headquarters to the itinerary to Wenshui, it had all been drawn up by the person writing the letter.
Everyone was very curious as to who had written the letter.
Only Nanke was uninterested. She continued to follow Chen Changsheng's orders, standing in front of Daoist Baishi and staring into his eyes.
After reading the letter, Chen Changsheng seemed to be thinking about something. After a period of silence, he handed the letter to Linghai Zhiwang.
Daoist Baishi sneered, "Pretending to be mysterious … what did that person say in the letter? Could it be that they foresaw this matter in advance?"
Linghai Zhiwang's gaze left the letter and fell on Daoist Baishi's face, his gaze somewhat strange.
Daoist Baishi suddenly felt a chill run through his body.
Linghai Zhiwang said, "You guessed right. That person said that we had to kill you to establish our might."
Daoist Baishi paled at these words.
He did not know who the person who had written the letter was, but he knew that many of the Orthodoxy's affairs had recently come from that person's handwriting.
Crucially, through these last few days of observation, he was extremely sure that Chen Changsheng had a deep trust in that person, that he would do whatever he said.
At this moment, the figure of a priest appeared in the forest.
The Archbishop of Wenshui went forward to inquire. After a few moments, he returned and reported to Chen Changsheng in a low voice, "The Tang Second Master has come to pay a visit to His Holiness."
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