Only the Longevity Sect elder understood the meaning of Tang Thirty-Six's words.
The Tang First Master had been poisoned by Chusu, and Chusu was a monster raised by the Longevity Sect.
If this elder replied to Tang Thirty-Six that his own words were effective, then he would have to bear the Tang clan's fury.
He did not dare, so he could only say that his words were ineffective.
Tang Thirty-Six turned to the Prince of Xiang and the other important personages and said, "Words without any effect, no matter how moving they are, are still nonsense. No matter how debased the Longevity Sect is, it is not so idiotic as to agree with a pile of nonsense. I believe that this principle applies to all of you as well."
The Wu clan head looked at Tang Thirty-Six and said, "Worthy Nephew's words are a bit too excessive. After all, this is a matter of South Stream Temple."
Tang Thirty-Six replied, "Sir is a senior, and your words are reasonable. Since it has nothing to do with our clans, why must we declare our stance ahead of time? If the Imperial Court and the Orthodoxy want to fight, let them fight. Once we see who is about to win, we can still take a side. Why must we sit in chairs ahead of time? "
The Old Lady of the Mutuo clan sighed. "The Old Master did not say this in his letter."
Tang Thirty-Six smiled. "Sir also knows that a few things have happened in Wenshui City recently, so the elder's mind has naturally changed."
Huai Ren finally spoke.
She calmly looked at Tang Thirty-Six and said, "In the end, this is a matter of my South Stream Temple. Although the attitude of others is very important, it is not crucial."
Tang Thirty-Six smiled at her and said, "This being the case, why did Senior call so many people to boost your prestige?"
Huai Bi was enraged and shouted, "You're an outsider! What right do you have to criticize the matters of my South Stream Temple!"
Huai Ren raised her hand to indicate that she should speak no more. She looked at Tang Thirty-Six and said, "I know that you've always felt that since the Holy Maiden entrusted the affairs of the temple to her two disciples before entering seclusion, we elders who have returned from our travels should not recklessly interfere, especially on a major matter like closing the temple. Am I right?"
She was speaking to Tang Thirty-Six, so she was naturally speaking to Chen Changsheng, the people of the Mount Li Sword Sect, and Scholartree Manor.
Tang Thirty-Six felt that something was wrong and slightly creased his brow. He did not say yes, nor did he say no.
"Ping Xuan, Yi Chen, before entering seclusion, the Holy Maiden decreed that the temple would be managed by you."
With a gentle expression, Huai Ren said, "In front of all the fellow Daoists in the world, let me ask you, do you agree to close the temple?"
With these words, many gazes fell upon the two South Stream Temple disciples at the front of the crowd. Whether it was the cultivators of the Mount Li Sword Sect, Scholartree Manor, or those several dozen other sects, they all knew that these two were Ping Xuan and Yi Chen, the people the Holy Maiden had personally chosen to manage the temple.
Ye Xiaolian and the other disciples of South Stream Temple glanced at each other, somewhat pleasantly surprised. They thought to themselves, Senior Sister or Martial Uncle would naturally not agree.
Master. Tang Thirty-Six suddenly felt uneasy.
Ping Xuan's face was pale. For a long time, she did not speak.
She thought of the long conversation she had with her Shifu Huairen last night, thought of the thousand-year inheritance that her Shifu had talked about, the survival of the Way of Fasting, and thought of her Shifu's determination and courage to die for a just cause. She had no idea what she should do. Based on her own will and her understanding of the Holy Maiden, she would naturally oppose the closing of the temple. But did she really have to force her master to die in front of the world?
Yi Chen was in the exact same situation. When she thought of her master's calm and determined gaze, her Dao heart began to waver. She could no longer maintain her composure. Tears flowed from her eyes as she silently apologized to the Holy Maiden. In a trembling voice, she said, "I agree."
Ping Xuan glanced at her. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.
The plateau on the summit became abnormally quiet. There was no sound except the gentle breeze rustling the white temple robes.
The crowd was shocked. Not even the Prince of Xiang and the two clan heads had expected that these two second-generation senior sisters in charge of temple affairs would agree to the closing of the temple.
Huai Ren looked at them, her face brimming with gratification. She harmoniously said, "You are all good disciples of your master."
The crowd was silent. Everything was settled.
No one had expected that an unremarkable South Stream Temple disciple would stand up at this moment.
Whether in the south or the capital, very few people in the cultivation world recognized her.
The one who stood up was Ye Xiaolian.
She kneeled on the ground and gathered up her courage to say, "Three Martial Grandaunts, I do not agree to the closing of the temple."
Huai Bi coldly snorted and shouted, "Impudent! A trifling third-generation disciple dares to rashly discuss temple affairs? Quickly withdraw! "
At this moment, several dozen more disciples of South Stream Temple stood up and kneeled behind Ye Xiaolian.
These disciples had basically all followed Xu Yourong to Mount Han, to the capital, and had spent a very long time in the Orthodox Academy.
"Martial Ancestor, please reconsider!"
"Martial Ancestor, please retract your order!"
Huai Bi had not expected so many junior disciples to stand up and object. The finger she pointed at them slightly trembled.
Huai Shu saw that there were two juniors she thought highly of among these disciples and couldn't help but feel disappointed, even a little pained.
At this sight, Huai Ren recalled the words Chen Changsheng had said to her last night, and her mind became somewhat dazed.
But then, she thought of the rivers of blood that would flow when war broke out and quickly regained her resolve. She said to these disciples, "South Stream Temple is not just for the disciples, but also for the generations of ancestors. If you do not wish to remain in the temple, you are free to leave. Presumably, both the Orthodox Academy and the Li Palace will accept you."
The meaning of these words was crystal clear. If these disciples persisted in opposing the closing of the temple, they would be expelled from Holy Maiden Peak and lose their status as disciples of South Stream Temple!
Ye Xiaolian and the other girls had miserable expressions and said no more. They were not willing to be cut off from the world, but how could they endure the pain of being expelled from the sect?
At this point, the voices within South Stream Temple were finally unified by the forceful methods of the three martial grandaunts, and no more voices of opposition could be heard.
The Prince of Xiang stood up and smiled. "Congratulations, Fellow Daoists, on distancing yourselves from the quarrels of the mortal world and devoting yourselves to cultivation. This truly makes one envious."
With these words, countless cultivators stood up to express their congratulations to South Stream Temple. Congratulations could be heard everywhere.
Only the Mount Li Sword Sect and Scholartree Manor remained silent. Bai Cai was very angry and wanted to speak, but he was stopped by Gou Hanshi.
Tang Thirty-Six sat back down in his chair, narrowing his eyes as he gazed at the ever-calm Daoist nun Huai Ren on the platform, seemingly thinking about something.
"Seclusion is a dangerous path. Saints have no choice but to do so. If this is also worthy of envy, why did Your Highness leave seclusion this year?"
A voice rang out on the plateau of the peak.
The voices on the plateau gradually grew softer, making that voice seem even clearer.
This voice was very calm, very indifferent, but also incomparably firm.
"If you ask me if closing the temple is possible, my answer is naturally 'no.'"
Huai Bi was enraged by these words. Turning around, she shouted, "Who said it's not possible?"
"It's me."
Chen Changsheng stood up and looked at her. "Because none of you have ever asked me, I can only say it myself."
The plateau was in an uproar as countless gazes were cast over.
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