The suffering within the sacred hall faded, disappearing in an instant from beginning to end. Outside the church, the priests, having barely managed to crawl out of the flames, congratulated each other on not being turned into human firewood. They then cautiously re-entered the silent sacred hall, armed with various damaged and broken ritual implements, only to find Ji Xiang alone.
"Venerable, where is the devil?"
A young priest asked in confusion, looking around without seeing any sign of the Flame Demon. The other priests also scanned their surroundings fearfully, lest the Flame Demon be lurking somewhere within the grand cathedral.
Of course, the young priest had another unspoken guess, which he sought to confirm with Ji Xiang—
"Did you subdue the devil? We seemed to see holy light erupt just now..."
"Ah, it has been subdued by me. I gained some insight from the scriptures borrowed from you all earlier, and by chance, I was able to perform this spell. The devil was easily annihilated by that light."
Ji Xiang lied with his eyes open, but the priests believed him implicitly. The holy light had erupted too brilliantly, and Ji Xiang was the only one left in the sacred hall at the time.
Furthermore, they knew that Ji Xiang was one of the highest-ranking figures in the Taoism of the East, equivalent to a Cardinal in status. It was entirely plausible for him to comprehend their Heavenly Lord's scriptures or to be chosen by the Heavenly Lord as a new representative.
God needs devout believers; even if a believer was originally a heretic, God would tolerate and embrace him.
This was what the young priests thought. They were pure in their belief in spreading the faith, seeing it as simply spreading goodness.
However, the older priests were experiencing immense turmoil.
They retreated, then lowered their heads to converse amongst themselves:
"The Heavenly Lord from the West has chosen his representative in the Far East. What does that make us?"
"We came across the seas with missionaries to spread the glory of the Lord, hoping to attain high status for ourselves. Wealth, glory, knowledge, wisdom – are all these things within reach now slipping away?"
Originally, these priests intended to win over Ji Xiang. According to the old priest, still groaning and unconscious behind them, the plan was to bring the leader of the local religion into the Catholic fold, thereby allowing Catholicism to flourish in the Ming Dynasty, especially with an official powerful figure promoting it.
But...
But such recruitment and conversion were only feasible as long as the other party "was not personally blessed by the Heavenly Lord." Or rather, the priests had never imagined that the leader of a heretical religion would be so favored by their own deity, even being granted the power of "holy light," as if he were their representative in the Far East.
What did that make them?
Were they brave pioneers spreading the faith, or expendable cannon fodder who could perish at sea without consequence?
"Perhaps God has his own plans."
An older priest’s brow was clouded with gloom:
"But our status is bound to plummet. Our interpretation of the scriptures comes from the teachings of the bishops, but if 'God's apostle' appears in the world, and he is from the Far East, can he truly grasp the essence of our doctrines?"
However, no matter how they discussed it, there would be no resolution, as the owner of this church was Matteo Ricci, not these priests who came from Macau and other places to Shun Tian.
Ji Xiang conversed with the young priests, his ears subtly catching the hushed whispers of the older ones. When their eyes met, these priests lowered their heads, not daring to look up, displaying great respect for Ji Xiang.
"The final interpretation of the Western religion falls into the hands of a Far Easterner. This will hinder the propagation of the faith by missionaries. This outcome is not bad."
This was an unexpected benefit, and Ji Xiang was quite pleased.
Imagine, when a missionary or a fervent believer spreads the doctrine, and he himself, as the "apostle," goes to refute it, if the other party uses the Bible as a basis for debate, he could directly display the holy light "bestowed" by the "Christ Heavenly Lord."
From the words of these priests, Ji Xiang learned that with the status of an "apostle," any interpretation of doctrine would be weak and powerless. Only what the apostle said would be true "divine revelation."
Perhaps they never imagined that the right to interpret their doctrine would be taken by someone from an outside religion.
It was an absurd feeling, akin to Buddhism interpreting Taoist scriptures, or the military explaining agricultural texts, or Shinto interpreting the White Lotus teachings – utterly preposterous and comical.
The young priests, with their simpler minds, believed they had crossed the seas for noble ideals, to spread truth, goodness, and beauty. It was from these young priests that Ji Xiang learned about the College of St. Paul.
It was the stronghold of missionaries in the Far East, the initial base of operations for monotheism here, housing many missionaries. However, according to the descriptions of the young priests, there seemed to be no Western clergy of the "apostle" level there yet.
"The representative of Christ the Heavenly Lord is also called a representative. 'Apostle' is a respectful title. If they can also wield holy light, their rank is clearly above that of missionaries."
"Perhaps even higher than the regional bishops."
The young priests informed Ji Xiang that in the papal hierarchy, a Cardinal was not necessarily an apostle, but an apostle was always one of the Cardinals. This gave Ji Xiang some pause.
Whether it was the Three Teachings or the Fangshi, they had many representatives because of internal factional struggles. The Three Teachings were self-explanatory, with various sects and factions within Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, each having representatives in the human world. Among the Fangshi, there were Qin Dynasty Fangshi like Xu Fu, Han Dynasty Fangshi represented by Dongfang Shuo, and later Wei-Jin Fangshi groups, totaling at least three categories.
But for monotheism, with Christ the Heavenly Lord as the supreme and sole God, if he sent out representatives, how could multiple representatives gather together?
Ji Xiang meticulously inquired about the reasons.
Soon, a learned young priest excitedly stated:
"Although it is said that the Lord grants power to the apostles, this kind of widespread blessing is said to have only begun in the last two hundred years."
"About two hundred years ago, a large-scale death conquest was initiated by rats. The gods of the old era had not appeared for a century. Four dark shadows attacked from the ends of the earth on horseback, and the entire of Europe was shrouded in darkness and clouds. Rats gnawed at everything that could sustain life, crows perched on rotting corpses and cawed, doctors in black attire with bird-like masks walked the streets and alleys, and the air was filled with dust and unknown gases. Those touched by rats quickly rotted and died, and the number of wandering souls was greater than that of living people."
"At that time, the corrupt former Papacy, holding the 'Bible,' declared to the world that humanity's ancestors were Adam and Eve. Because they disobeyed God's command and ate the forbidden fruit of paradise, they committed a great sin, and thus sin descended upon the world. And everything we experienced was to atone for the sins of our ancestors."
"They sold a type of voucher, its value measured in money, and handed it to the buyer to redeem sins for the world."
"But as more and more people died, and sins were never fully atoned for, people began to storm the former Papacy, tearing up the indulgences. And as the great chaos erupted, the Lord descended."
"After this terrifying conquest, the Lord cast his concerned gaze upon us."
"The Lord intended to revitalize the corrupt and dark Papacy, to erase all evil, war, plague, and famine from the earth. Thus, God began to frequently bestow wisdom and revelation upon us, and upon all the living people on earth."
"The Lord dispatched countless angels to descend upon the human world, just as it is said in the Bible, that angels would descend when believers were in distress. Unlike the angels described in the Old Testament with various strange and bizarre forms, the angels who descended upon the human world were all handsome and majestic."
"Florence was the first city that the Lord focused on, without exception. The transformation began here, and the new era set sail. Devils were suppressed and crushed here, miracles were displayed here, and wisdom took root and sprouted, growing into a towering tree over two hundred years."
The old gods, absent for a hundred years.
The outbreak of the Black Death.
The arrival of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
The Reformation.
The Renaissance.
At this moment, Ji Xiang understood the cause of all this. However, his heart did not relax; instead, his expression became somewhat solemn.
The direct manifestation of miracles by the Celestial Heart Realm meant that Christ the Heavenly Lord could directly interfere in the human world!
Moreover, according to the young priest's description, the former Papacy had been in a state of chaos and corruption for a long time, at least over a hundred years. Such a long hiatus, with no deity displaying their power.
Until the appearance of this "Christ Heavenly Lord."
Although Christianity had existed since ancient times, this suddenly appearing "Christ Heavenly Lord" did not seem like the "Christ" of the old era at all.
"Could it be the same situation as Mount Longhu? The power of the Ancestral Celestial Master transformed into divine tokens, and successive Celestial Masters offered sacrifices through their wishes... until two hundred years ago, when a Celestial Heart Realm existence completely assimilated Christ's power and considered themselves the true embodiment of Christ."
"And the devils in Florence were suppressed. When the Flame Demon appeared, it said this was not Florence..."
Ji Xiang increasingly found the appearance of this Christ Heavenly Lord to be very strange. And all the changes he brought about were precisely the "Renaissance."
In this world, it was a Celestial Heart Realm that drove the religious reform and outward expansion. Besides evangelization and colonization, there might be other objectives.
Ji Xiang turned to the learned priest and asked again:
"Then, what kind of power did the angels of that time possess? Could they manifest 'miracles' at any time and place?"
The learned priest became excited when discussing this topic:
"Missionaries need to spread the Lord's faith and glory. Only with believers can miracles be performed, as there is a covenant between God and man. Angels are messengers of God, and apostles are angels and messengers of the Lord. Therefore, the miracles performed by apostles are not simply called miracles, but 'miraculous authority'."
"That is, to designate something and cause it to appear in a state identical to one's description. For example, if an apostle says to a sinner: 'Those who deceive the Lord are sinful, and such people will cease to breathe,' then this sinner will truly fall to the ground and die."
Ji Xiang's pupils contracted slightly.
This... wasn't this the divine ability of "speaking the law as it is"?
Could mere apostles possess such great power? This was not the level of mortals; Earth Immortals generally could not achieve such a feat.
Was it due to "Celestial Heart blessing"?
"Did God bestow this power upon the apostles?"
"Yes, all the authority of the apostles originates from the Lord. They believe in the Lord with devout hearts, and the Lord grants them the authority to describe all things."
The learned priest said piously, then continued to emphasize:
"However, the power of angels is even greater. If the authority of apostles is limited to 'describing' a single existence, then the authority of angels can expand this description and implement it in a vast area of the world, that is, to describe and materialize multiple existences."
"For example, an angel says that mountains will move on their own, the sea will be calm, and plagues will disappear within three days. Their words follow certain laws of the world, and even if the probability of these laws occurring is very small, under the command of the angels, it will become the greatest and be realized."
The words of this priest caused the other priests to look at him involuntarily and express their astonishment:
"I've never heard of such a thing!"
"Father Pontius, where did you read all this?"
The other priests were surprised, and at this moment, they even felt a little embarrassed, as they realized they were not even fully aware of some of their own affairs.
"This is normal. His Holiness the Pope will not make certain scriptures publicly available for your teaching. Moreover, knowing these things would be of no use to you. As for me, I am simply very interested in it."
Ji Xiang, having clarified the abilities of these angels, could not help but glance at the "True Non-Dual Scripture" in his hand.
The ability of the True Non-Dual Scripture sounded quite capable of restraining these angels and apostles. After all, it altered their state of existence. If it were to override the power borrowed from Christ the Heavenly Lord, preventing them from borrowing it would end the matter.
But...
What if there were more than one angel and apostle, and his reserve of wishes was insufficient?
"Need to... build more temples."
This was a good idea, but not an easy one to implement. In the Ming Dynasty, building temples on a large scale for a specific person or deity required approval from the Forbidden City. Even in places like the South Sea, where Dharma teachings flourished, the only deity jointly revered by all Dharma schools, and who had also received a title from the Forbidden City... was only the Heavenly Consort Mazu.
Ji Xiang couldn't help but set his sights on the young missionaries before him.
If it was about spreading faith, these Western clergy could certainly be put to good use.
Monotheism could be spread.
Could the Demon Cult also be spread?
However, to influence their scriptures, he would have to start with the College of St. Paul. The scriptures and texts used by these priests flowed from there.
Therefore, at this moment, he would employ the "Heart Demon Reversal Technique"—
Transforming Barbarians into Demons!