Shennong Dao Master
Chapter 611 - 3: Dragon Horse Guard and the Competition of Ten Thousand Beasts (16000)

Chapter 611: Chapter 3: Dragon Horse Guard and the Competition of Ten Thousand Beasts (16000)

"Isn’t it odd how massive the Dharma Transmission Tower is?" As soon as Long Xiao entered, he exclaimed, looking up, "Is this the sky or the land?"

"Inside the Dharma Transmission Tower, there’s indeed a Grotto Heaven, which means exactly what it says," Chen Shijie explained, "It was constructed by piecing together ninety-nine Pocket World Fragments."

"From outside, this tower doesn’t look very big, but just the first floor alone is larger than the city of Gucheng."

Long Xiao was amazed, "Truly befitting the grandeur of the Ancient Divine Sect."

Zhao Xing shook his head, "This was built after the Li Fire Sect joined Great Zhou, utilizing ninety-nine Pocket World Fragments with over one hundred thousand Mechanical Masters involved, overseen by the Grand Master of the Grand Ancestor’s era, ’Huang Jian.’"

"So it has nothing to do with whether it’s a divine sect or not, it’s purely a national project. Whether the Li Fire Divine Sect could have built it is questionable, probably didn’t even have that many people."

"Who are you to judge the Ancient Divine Sect?" Just as Zhao Xing finished speaking, a middle-aged man clad in a yellow robe who was passing by looked over.

Zhao Xing looked back and saw the man’s ancient attire, holding a horsetail whisk, glaring at him with displeasure.

"What he said wasn’t wrong, was it?" Long Xiao asked curiously.

The man in the yellow robe huffed, "Grand Master Huang Jian did indeed oversee the construction project for the Daoist Academy, but the material for the Pocket World Fragments came from the Li Fire Sect."

"There were 187,645 people involved in the construction, among them 31,672 were disciples of the Li Fire Sect."

"Before Great Zhou was established, the Li Fire Divine Sect was the state religion of ’Southern Tang’. They produced at least ten million disciples, how can you say the divine sect didn’t have that many people?"

"I’ve learned my lesson," Zhao Xing quickly bowed, "I am inexperienced, please forgive my earlier remark."

The man was clearly an old scholar, and a rather conservative ’traditionalist’.

Zhao Xing didn’t want to argue over such matters and stir up trouble, lest his identity be scrutinized.

The man in the yellow robe returned the gesture, then huffed, "In the future, be careful with your words and don’t rashly judge the divine sects."

"Yes," Zhao Xing responded humbly, then quickly left with Long Xiao and Chen Shijie.

"That Daoist gave me a strange vibe," Long Xiao mentioned, glancing in the direction the man had left, "Oh, I remember now, his mannerisms remind me of those Outer Demons I saw in the Southern Desolate. Old Chen, don’t you think so?"

"Hmm," Chen Shijie nodded.

Zhao Xing whispered, "The seventy-two Daoist Academies originally stemmed from sects, so it’s normal for you to feel that way."

"This person seems to be a traditional conservative," Zhao Xing added.

"What do you mean?" inquired Long Xiao.

Zhao Xing conveyed his message through sound transmission, allowing only the three of them to hear.

"The process of the seventy-two sects joining the system of the Fortune Dynasty of Great Zhou wasn’t smooth sailing."

"There were severe upheavals at that time among the major sects, resulting in three scenarios."

"First, those who adapted to the trend, who quickly accepted the reality and integrated into Great Zhou, becoming heads of the Daoist Academies, discarding old laws and traditions."

"Second, the extremists who were stubborn. These authority holders, used to being high above others and controlling life and death, couldn’t accept the stringent laws of Great Zhou, so during that unique period, they split away or defected, taking their disciples and leaving the Great Zhou Territory."

"Third, some elders and protectors, though they followed the commands of their sect masters to join Great Zhou."

"However, their behaviors and thoughts were still the same old patterns, only unwilling to leave the Nineteen States."

"They weren’t so extreme outwardly adhering to the laws of Great Zhou, also accepting the Fortune Dynasty’s limitation on cultivation."

"Yet internally, they still followed the ancient traditions of their sects."

Long Xiao used sound transmission, "What kind of traditions do the sects have?"

"Like the habit of austere cultivation," Chen Shijie explained, "I once saw a group of Daoist powerhouses in Mingshan, who would periodically fast, not eating, drinking, or sleeping, meditating at the summit of a great mountain."

"Whether for several months or a year, they survived solely on their vital energy and rainwater."

"These people starved themselves to the brink of death. In the past, there were even incidents where individuals died from such extreme fasting."

Zhao Xing nodded, "And the tradition of transmitting spells, many supreme skills are kept hidden; if no disciples willing to follow the old ways come to learn, they’d rather take the skills to their graves."

"During the eras of Grand Ancestor, Emperor Wen, many incidents occurred in the Daoist Academies where teachers fatally harmed their students."

"Why?" asked Long Xiao, surprised.

"Many Daoist Academy students learned spells from one teacher and then went to another the next day," Zhao Xing explained.

"Such actions were deemed as betraying and denigrating their lineage, and many elders couldn’t tolerate this and thus crippled their disciples’ cultivation."

"This crippling, if not well-measured, would breach the Fortune Dynasty’s protective aura bestowed to Daoists, often leading to their demise during the fall in their cultivation."

"And some extreme sect practitioners killed people simply because the disciples didn’t maintain a clear distinction between morning and night."

A shock appeared on Long Xiao’s face:

"Because they didn’t say good morning or goodnight to their master, they were killed?"

"That’s absurd!"

"It is rather absurd," Chen Shijie said. "Fortunately, Emperor Wen was merciful and did not harshly deal with these stubborn old men."

"His policy was to send nobles from the royal family to the Daoist academies to learn; after their training, they gradually replaced those old conservatives."

"Thanks to changes over a millennium, the leading positions in the current seventy-two Daoist Academies, including heads and deputy heads, are mostly held by nobles from the royal family."

"Exactly," Zhao Xing nodded. "Like Princess You Ruo’s mother, she was originally the Sect Master of the Bishui Sect (head of the academy), and later Princess You Ruo even assumed the title of Honorary Deputy Director."