I am a living immortal.

Soon the group arrived at the Imperial Master's Mansion.

The Imperial Preceptor's Mansion is enormous, both in terms of its floor space and its full name. Located on the south side of the Imperial City, it resembles a small palace. Originally built to the specifications of a crown prince, its walls are high and thick, a deep black, topped with glazed tiles that shimmer and transform in the sunlight, lending it a mysterious quality.

The whole is divided into two parts, the outer palace and the inner courtyard.

The outer palace consisted of the Chengtian Hall and the Dianmi Pavilion. Most of the secret books in the Dianmi Pavilion had been moved to the Jiantian Division, leaving it somewhat empty. However, the Chengtian Pavilion was imposing and imposing, not betraying the years of neglect it had endured.

The pavilions and towers in the inner courtyard evoke the celestial constellations, shrouded in clouds and mist, and gurgling water. The core building is named Huangting, which fully demonstrates the meticulous care that was taken in the construction of this Imperial Master's Mansion.

However, if one insists, this Imperial Preceptor's Mansion overlaps with the Heavenly Supervisor's Office in many areas. No wonder it's been abandoned until now. It was only opened when Chen Dong became Imperial Preceptor, and even then, he sent people from the Heavenly Supervisor's Office to help. This place is actually very similar to the Heavenly Supervisor's Office, a case of specialized expertise.

The fact that the Imperial Preceptor's Office had a new master was no secret to the upper echelons. But it was a complete shock to many lower-level officials. The emperor's intention was to allow him to assume the concurrent position. If both Taoism and Buddhism submitted, his power would explode. If they submitted to the Han Dynasty, the two religions would be placed under the care of the Imperial Preceptor's Office.

The Daoist and Buddhist religions have existed for millennia, and they boast numerous powerful figures. With the support of these two religions, the Imperial Preceptor's Office would undoubtedly be a truly powerful institution. By then, any evildoer would be powerless against such a behemoth. That would also be a perfect time to announce it to the world, with all due respect and legitimacy.

Therefore, the key lies in whether Taoism and Buddhism can be made to submit this time.

After Chen Dong arrived at the National Master's Mansion, he did not rest for long, but asked people to collect all the information about Taoism and Buddhism.

After reviewing the information, Chen Dong breathed a sigh of relief. This task wasn't difficult, but it wasn't easy either. It wasn't difficult because both the Daoist and Buddhist sects in the Han Dynasty had their own leaders. In other words, if they could get these two leaders to submit, no one would dare to disobey. It wouldn't be a chaotic mess, and this would make things much simpler. There wouldn't be a lack of a standard to measure the number of surrenders required.

And the difficulty lies here, the backgrounds of these two leaders are a bit scary.

Let's talk about Taoism first. The leader is called Xuantian League. The name sounds like a third-rate organization, but it is the real leader of Taoism, and its ancestral temple is in Heming Mountain.

The Xuantian League originated from the fusion of the "Five Pecks of Rice Sect" founded by Zhang Ling in Shu and the remnants of the Taiping Dao in the Central Plains. After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Taoism went underground and reorganized into the "Xuantian League," which revered Laozi as the founder of Taoism and the "Taiping Jing" as a sacred text.

The leader of the alliance was even more remarkable. He was a descendant of Zhang Ling, named Zhang Yan. He wielded the Three-Five Sword, skilled in thunder magic. He had once traveled the world with only his sword and his thunder magic. The demons and monsters that had died at his hands could pile up like a mountain. He firmly believed that killing could stop disasters.

He has a broad mind, yet is ruthless in his methods. He is an extraordinary person.

Buddhism is no less influential than Taoism, with the leading sect being called the Lotus Buddha Kingdom. Named after the Buddha Kingdom, its main altar is located on the site of the former White Horse Temple, and is known as the Lotus Leaf Blessed Land.

It was founded by the Indian monk Shemoteng, and for a century, it was integrated with Central Plains Buddhism. In the name of saving sentient beings, he translated scriptures and preached, and built many temples. His reputation was prominent among the people, and his prayers for blessings and disaster relief were deeply rooted in the people.

This is why no one in the court was willing to accept this hot potato. Because the two religions of Taoism and Buddhism really did not do anything out of the ordinary, but instead provided help.

But this time, surrendering to the Han Dynasty is a bit too much to ask.

But from the perspective of the Han Dynasty, it is correct, so it is a dilemma. Of course, to put it another way, if these two religions really care about the world, then surrendering is also a matter of course.

When the Han Dynasty was strong, the Daoist and Buddhist religions did this simply to survive, all for the sake of the inheritance of the Dao. In the eyes of these two religions, the Dao came first, and then the world.

Of course, judging by their deeds, not their hearts, what they did truly benefited the people of the world. Such achievements cannot be erased, and this is the difficult part.

After reading the information, Chen Dong remained silent. He had long known that this would be difficult. Even if it was difficult, it had to be done. The key was how to proceed. This wasn't something that could be conquered by force. If it were that simple, the imperial court would have done it long ago, not waited until now.

Chen Dong was thinking, but he couldn't come up with a good solution for the moment.

Let’s just get in touch with each other first. There’s a tough attitude for being tough, and there’s a soft approach for being gentle.

"Let's spread the news first and see what their attitude is."

If they can negotiate, then negotiate. If they insist on a hard line, then use force first and then courtesy. These two vast religions, with thousands of years of history, Chen Dong doubted he could find any loopholes. Is every Taoist upright and unyielding, committed to exorcising demons and defending the Way, and never guilty of any wrongdoing? Is every Buddhist monk concerned with the world? He doubted that.

Dirty deeds are often hidden and whitewashed, or rotten sins are covered up with glittering merits. If there are more good deeds, some invisible bad deeds can be overlooked. Does this mean that there is no bad? That is impossible.

The Han himself had done it. No one is perfect, let alone two organizations with such large followings. If we dig deeper, we will definitely find out.

Chen Dong suddenly laughed. Why did it feel so immoral to do these things for one's own benefit? It really was like entering the officialdom, a deep sea. But Chen Dong still acknowledged that if one didn't work for oneself, heaven and earth would punish him. So what if he was a villain for once? A friend's death would be better than my own.

How does that saying go? Everything for the Han people! First, find a moral high ground for yourself. It's a resounding slogan, and it's not false. No wonder these people like to shout it.

"I hope these two religions can be more self-aware," Chen Dong muttered to himself. He didn't want to be forced into resorting to tactics. But if you don't give me an easy path, don't blame me for embarrassing you. If we can have a good conversation, a fight or even a debate would be fine. He didn't want to destroy Buddhism and Taoism the moment he came to power, or at least kill everyone with one blow.

Chen Dong gave orders one after another.

This made the people in the former Heaven Monitoring Division and now the Imperial Master's Office extremely excited and full of energy. It was obvious that a major move was going to be made, and it was to attack the Taoist and Buddhist sects.

Isn't this what they expected.

Although the Imperial Master's Mansion was only newly built, it was running smoothly. Every person worked like a cog in the wheel.