Shanzhou was short of personnel, so Gu Zhao temporarily assigned Ma Huai to Daluo Temple at Cloud Heaven Cliff in Shanzhou. Then, he took Zhuo Qingyan and Li Qingshuang to continue touring Shanzhou, seeing if they could lure in a few more Star Officials.
However, before he encountered a suitable Demon, he absorbed a surge of Evil Qi, condensing a Thunder Seed. At the same time, he received news from Daoist Jing Chun and the others.
They had already entered the territory of the Western Divine Kingdoms, conquered Wutou Country, and renamed it Jueyin Heavenly Country, establishing Jueyin Celestial Palace as its National Religion.
The first Palace Master of Jueyin Celestial Palace was naturally Daoist Jing Chun.
All the evildoers in the Wutou Divine Sect were killed. Daoist Jing Chun also helped Daoist Gu He condense several Divine Prisons, and refined a few more Divine Prison Ghost Generals.
The few Mages recruited in the Otherworld who cultivated the Beiyin Fengdu Technique also joined Jueyin Celestial Palace. At the same time, they gathered talented Mages and mortals from the former Wutou Country, along with Ghost Gods who had little to no Evil Qi.
Many Dharma Gates within the *Beiyin Fengdu Technique* were suitable for Ghost Gods to cultivate. For example, the *Beiyin Seven True Soul Refining Skill* that Zhuo Qingyan cultivated was one of them.
Besides that, there were the *Fengdu Ghost Slaying Art*, *Fengdu General Secret Method*, *Fengdu Examination Summoning Technique*, and so on. These were the powerful Dharma Gates. There were also many Initial-Stage Dharma Gates like the *Five Ghosts Secret Technique*, *Earth Spirit Marshal Secret Technique*, and *Dongping Exorcism Technique*.
It could be said that the ancient texts of the Fengyue Sect were fully capable of supporting Jueyin Celestial Palace in establishing a complete lineage—from the Outer Sect to the core, from the lowest tier all the way up to Ascension.
"Everything is going smoothly," Daoist Jing Chun transmitted his voice. "The most powerful figure in Wutou Country was the King of Wutou. Since he died in the Central Plains, when we arrived in Wutou Country, the strongest person left in the Wutou Divine Sect was just a Vice Sect Leader with a thousand years of Dao Practice."
"Not only that, the Third Sect Leader of the Three Saints Sect, the Wine Saint, was wreaking havoc in Wutou Country at the time, but we drove him back." Daoist Gao Yue chuckled. "He threatened that Jueyin Celestial Palace wouldn’t last a month."
Daoist Xu Xing smiled. "So we decided our next step is to annihilate the Three Saints Sect and have Jueyin Heavenly Country fight its founding war."
Gu Zhao understood. "I thought you were going to attack the Enchantment Sect first."
Daoist Yan Qi chuckled slyly. "A bunch of Female Ghosts practicing Absorbing Yang and Nourishing Yin really pose no threat."
When it came to Yin Yang Dual Cultivation Technique and Bedroom Skill, the Taoist Sect was actually an expert. The *Profound Lady Scripture*, *Su Nu Jing*, *Cave Truth Yellow Record*, *Shangqing Taigao*, and even the *Ziyang Enlightenment Chapter* and *Zhong Lu Transmission of Dao Anthology* from the Northern and Southern sects of the Inner Pill all contained relevant discourses. It was just that the focus of each sect was different, and the passed-down Secret Techniques varied.
The *Cave Truth Yellow Record* that Gu Zhao studied was a thousand-year secret tradition of the Celestial Master’s Mansion. It was a top-tier Dual Cultivation Secret Technique. In terms of its core essence and conceptual profundity, it was countless levels above that of the Enchantment Sect.
What Daoist Yan Qi didn’t say aloud was that Gu Zhao was actually the most suitable person to deal with the Enchantment Sect. Given his accomplishments in the Dual Cultivation Technique, he wouldn’t even need physical contact; engaging merely through Divine Soul interaction would be enough to utterly defeat them.
However, Daoist Yan Qi naturally wouldn’t voice this out loud. It was just a mere Enchantress Cult Leader; there was no need for Gu Zhao to take action. He just wondered if, among the Western Divine Kingdoms, there were still any beautiful Female Ghosts with Ten Thousand Years of Dao Practice who cultivated the Dual Cultivation Method...
"ACHOO!" Gu Zhao sneezed. Zhuo Qingyan and Li Qingshuang simultaneously turned to look at him.
With their Cultivation at this realm, though they couldn’t be called completely immune to all poisons, they were at least completely free from illnesses. For Gu Zhao to sneeze, it was definitely a telepathic reaction to someone gossiping about him behind his back.
"Many people talk about me behind my back, but I didn’t feel any malice." Gu Zhao shook his head and pondered. "Maybe it’s Changyi and Zhan Qing envying me behind my back again."
Last time, Xiu Ming, the Young Taoist, gossiped that all the women in Daluo Palace were Gu Zhao’s harem, resulting in Gu Zhao sending him to the modern world to rest for ten days. Since then, Gu Zhao concluded that this group of young people from the Taoist Sect was full of envy and jealousy towards him.
They likely thought that not only was he surrounded by beauties on Blue Star, but he also had flocks of wives and concubines in the Otherworld, making him simply a role model for their generation!
Li Qingshuang rolled her eyes at Gu Zhao, then thought for a moment. "How about I introduce a few sisters to Changyi, Yangshuo, and the others?"
White Spirit Mountain was home to a flock of avian Fairies. Li Qingshuang herself was a Cyan Bird that had gained sentience. Bai Fei’s true form was a Lark. Among those who followed Bai Fei to Rainbow Mountain to celebrate a birthday that day were Yun Qian, a Purple Cloud Crane who gained sentience, and Yan Yan, a Red-eyed Sparrow who transformed into a Demon. They were all beauties of various styles.
Gu Zhao nodded, not really minding. "Daluo Palace and White Spirit Mountain are located in the Wanling North and South respectively. Our martial uncles are also traveling in Jiangbei. Everyone will get to know each other eventually. But shouldn’t they look for someone who has Harmony with their Divine Souls?"
"Someone with Divine Soul Harmony isn’t that easy to find." Li Qingshuang shook her head. "Actually, most Demons and Ghosts spend their entire lives unable to find someone with whom they share Harmony.
"Moreover, even if they can achieve Harmony, the degree of it varies. The Silk Embroideress and Bai Ke are considered highly compatible, whereas Wang Yue and Xiaolan’s compatibility is relatively low, so their Cultivation speed isn’t considered fast."
Speaking of this, Li Qingshuang looked at Gu Zhao. "Even the Harmony between the Silk Embroideress and Xiaobai can’t match the speed at which Qingyan and I cultivate the *Cave Truth Yellow Record* with you. Daluo Palace’s Dual Cultivation Method is truly formidable."
Gu Zhao smiled smugly. "Dual cultivation, to put it plainly, is just Yin Yang. The Dao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two. This ’Two’ is Yin and Yang. All things carry Yin and embrace Yang, blending these energies to achieve harmony—this is Yin and Yang in Harmony.
"As the saying goes, a lone Yang does not grow, and a lone Yin does not live. Even the Pure Yang cultivated by the Pure Yang Sect or the pure Yin cultivated by Beiyin Fengdu Cultivators ultimately requires Yin to be born from the extreme of Yang, and Yang to be born from the extreme of Yin.
"Those Dharma Gates of Absorbing Yin and Nourishing Yang or Absorbing Yang and Nourishing Yin are not only shallow but also impure. They take the wrong path right from the start. They might allow one to cultivate to a very high level of Dao Practice Magical Power, but achieving perfect Dao Practice and a successful Ascension? Don’t even think about it."
Li Qingshuang was speechless. "Only you would constantly hang ’Ascension’ on your lips. Do you know how difficult Ascension is?"
In this world, Ghost Gods were inherently flawed. Though they could achieve longevity, Ascension was hopeless. Some Demons who inherited powerful bloodlines had hope for Ascension, but truly ascending was unimaginably difficult.
Only a Great Demon whose Dao Practice Magical Power and Mental Realm Cultivation were fully perfected could sense the beckoning of the Spirit Realm.
Take the Celestial Fox Ancestor of Cyan Hill Mountain, for example. Back when the Six-Headed Divine Monarch came knocking on her door, she had not yet reached perfection. Later, after being severely injured and poisoned, Ascension became entirely out of the question.
Had Gu Zhao not lent her the Six-Headed Divine Monarch’s Inner Alchemy Treasure Pearl to detoxify, she would have merely held on for a few more days to pave the way for Bai Qianzhu before inevitably dying.
It could be said that Gu Zhao not only saved her life but also granted her the grace of achieving the Dao.
That was why Cyan Hill Mountain cooperated so fully with Daluo Palace. They not only opened the route from the Southern Border to the Central Plains but also contributed manpower and resources, even assisting Daluo Palace’s people in executing the Dao in the Southern Border.