Cloud Heaven Cliff, Daluo Temple.
Gu Zhao returned with eight old Daoists. Zhuo Qingyan and Li Qingshuang were waiting in the temple, along with a few other old Daoists who had stayed behind to keep watch. Seeing the group’s beaming faces, the two women immediately knew everything had gone smoothly.
Since the men clearly had matters to discuss, and considering Zhuo Qingyan had never been to Shanzhou before while Li Qingshuang was quite familiar with the region from her patrols, the two women decided to head down the mountain together for some sightseeing.
Meanwhile, Gu Zhao gathered fifteen old Daoists to discuss their westward advancement.
"We have already established branch temples across the Five States of Jiangnan," one Daoist said. "Some have traveled north to the Central Plains, and others south to the Southern Border."
"Yongzhou is bordered by the ocean to the east, where many Sea Demons and Islanders live," another added. "Following the Dragon King of Ten Thousand Spirits’ warning, the East Sea has already begun investigating Demon Cultivators."
"This King of Wutou committed countless atrocities and was reeking of Evil Qi. I’m afraid there are many more like him in the Western Divine Country."
"Who’s to say the Demon Ancestor doesn’t have pawns in the Western Divine Country as well? They might have already carved out a Demon Realm within the ley lines."
"That must be the case!"
"So, we have no choice but to venture into this land."
"We don’t know much about the Western Divine Country. If what Zang Yue Monarch said is true, they are highly sensitive to experts from the Central Plains."
"Then we simply won’t send anyone too powerful over."
"You say that as if we have any truly powerful experts to begin with."
"Hahaha!"
"As it happens, Senior Brother Yan Song and the others are heading either to Jiangbei or the Southern Border. We’ll take care of the Western Divine Country."
"There are also the newer batches of senior and junior brothers. Apart from Yuezhou, they can go to the Western Divine Country too."
In just a few words, the matter of heading to the Western Divine Country was settled.
"Our first target is Wutou Country!" Jing Chun Taoist said, taking out the Ten Thousand Ghosts Map. "We’ll go and assimilate the Wutou Divine Sect first."
"And then?" Taoist Yan Qi asked. "Are we going to emulate the King of Wutou and directly rule a country?"
"Who has the time or energy for that!" Taoist Gao Yue shook his head.
Taoist Xu Xing thought for a moment and suggested, "We could follow the example of the Xuanwei Divine Sect."
"Wouldn’t that be a bit too direct?" Taoist Huai Yi asked. "Our headquarters is in Jiangzhou. By outright becoming Wutou Country’s National Religion, wouldn’t we be provoking the Demons and Ghosts in the West?"
Taoist Xuan Yong offered a suggestion, "Then how about we operate under an alias?"
Taoist Ling Ya brought up another matter. "A few days ago, when I was at the Daluo Temple in Yongzhou, there was a disciple native to Yongzhou’s Yunqi Prefecture. Because he often traveled around the area and earned the people’s love and respect, the locals built a small Taoist Temple for him in Yunqi Prefecture.
"Naturally, that disciple didn’t dare use the Daluo Temple name, so the locals named it Yunxia Temple. However, its layout is similar to Daluo Temple, featuring Wang Spirit Official guarding the mountain gate and a Three Pristine Hall dedicated to The Three Pristine Ones.
"This Inner Sect Disciple is an apprentice taken in by Senior Brother Shen Hao, so he hung a Shangqing Hall plaque in the side hall, explicitly stating that Yunxia Temple’s lineage originates from the Shangqing Sect of Daluo Palace."
Hearing this, Taoist Yu Hua smiled and said, "Our lineage in this world has finally begun to branch out and bear fruit."
The old Daoists all burst into hearty laughter.
Truth be told, their arrival in this world had always carried the intention of spreading the Taoist Sect’s roots. Aside from establishing branch temples for Daluo Palace, they didn’t mind everyone passing down their own respective sects and lineages. It was just that before they could even begin, they had discovered the calamity of the Celestial Demon descending into the world. Forced into a race against time, everyone had been desperately cultivating and traveling around for demon eradication. Who had the time to establish their own sects?
Ironically, it was the local apprentices they had taken in—whose talents were limited and chances of a breakthrough hopeless—who ended up wandering specific regions. By exorcising evil spirits or curing illnesses for the people, these disciples had won immense local prestige. With that foundation laid, establishing branch temples naturally followed.
"Actually, this method can be applied elsewhere," Taoist Ling Ya said. "The Daluo Palace headquarters is in Jiangzhou, and every prefecture in Jiangzhou has a Daluo Palace branch temple.
"Beyond that, Yongzhou, Yazhou, Shanzhou, and Yuezhou each have one Daluo Palace branch temple. If we continue expanding into other prefectures, it will inevitably arouse the vigilance of other factions. Besides, we don’t need that much Incense anyway.
"Rather than doing that, if disciples are traveling in those areas, it would be better for them to establish their own Taoist Temples in the local Prefecture Cities, county towns, or surrounding villages. Furthermore, they wouldn’t even need to use the Daluo name. This would actually be far more beneficial for spreading the Taoist Sect’s lineage," he added.
"Indeed. Our Daluo Palace has only been established here for a few years, yet disciples are already building Taoist Temples. There will only be more in the future."
"Furthermore, compared to the Demon Race, which can only pass down its legacy through bloodlines, and Ghost Gods, who are notoriously unstable, our Daluo Palace has a clear advantage. We can steadily recruit talented mortal commoners or Mages with foundational skills as disciples, making it far easier to pass down our inheritance."
"The disciple who founded Yunxia Temple was originally a Mage, and he now has two hundred years of Dao Practice."
"Among the mortal youths recruited by Daluo Palace and its branch temples, some have also cultivated Inner Breath True Qi. Although their Dao Practice is very low, they can still handle the weakest of wild ghosts and Little Demons."
"It’s just like how the Taoist Sect used to pass on its lineage."
"We can use a similar approach in Wutou Country."
"Exactly. That being the case, who wants to be the first to test the waters this time?"
At this, everyone exchanged glances before turning their collective gaze toward Gu Zhao. When ordinary disciples completed their apprenticeship and opened their own respective Taoist Temples, it was seen as the Taoist Sect spreading its branches in this world. These old Daoists, however, had all been personally recruited by Gu Zhao. Serving as the Sect Leader of Wutou Country’s National Religion was entirely different from being an Observatory Master of a Daluo Palace branch temple; the position couldn’t be easily swapped out. Otherwise, what would be the difference between that and an Observatory Master of a Daluo Palace branch temple?
Gu Zhao pondered for a moment before looking at Jing Chun Taoist. "Martial Uncle, the Dharma Gate of your Fengyue Sect is most similar to the path of Ghost Gods. Why don’t you establish a sect and serve as Wutou Country’s National Religion first?"
"That’s a good idea. That way, we’ll be least likely to arouse the suspicion of the Western Countries."
"Once we’ve fully integrated into the Western Countries, the rest of us can establish our own sects to cooperate with one another."
"Makes sense!" Taoist Yan Qi looked around the group and chuckled. "This way, each of our lineages gets its own sect. No one misses out."
Jing Chun Taoist nodded. "Once we nurture qualified disciples in the future, we won’t need to be confined to a single location, either."
Strictly speaking, they didn’t want to be tied down to any single place. They much preferred traveling the world—doing good deeds and accumulating virtue, eradicating evil and accumulating merit—so that one day they might achieve Ascension in the Daylight. Thus, the matter was settled for the time being.
"Since that’s decided, let’s not delay. We’ll head to Wutou Country first," Jing Chun Taoist said as he stood up, simultaneously sending a summons to Taoist Gu He, the other successor of the Fengyue Sect.
Taoist Yan Qi smiled and asked, "What are you planning to name your new sect? And what about the country? It can’t still be called Wutou Country, can it?"
Jing Chun Taoist thought for a moment. "According to the *Fengdu Examination Summoning Technique*, Fengdu Mountain has six palaces above to command ghosts, and six palaces below to govern gods. Since this is the Fengyue Sect’s first time establishing a sect in this world, let’s name it after the first of the upper six palaces."
"And what is the name of the first palace?" Taoist Fang De asked curiously.
Jing Chun Taoist smiled faintly. "Jueyin Celestial Palace!"