The words of the Heavenly Venerate, Song Lin did not believe a single one.
This guy uses the Blessing Ceremony to spread the Void Capturing Technique, stealing the power of others. He is essentially a Great Demon.
Moreover, the transactions conducted within the Blessing Ceremony, facilitated by the Void Capturing Technique, often involve many precious cultivation techniques. The Heavenly Venerate likely stole nurous techniques and intelligence through this thod.
His identity is unknown, hidden in the shadows. With this understanding, Song Lin deed his words untrustworthy.
Of course, the untrustworthiness of the Heavenly Venerate does not an the Taoist School’s words could be trusted either.
Perhaps there truly is a Great Demon, and perhaps there truly is an Exotic Treasure.
The Heavenly Venerate revealing this information to everyone may be part of his own sche.
Song Lin knew that Xuan Lady was Yun Xiao, and he assud that most of those present were elites of the Taoist School; the Heavenly Venerate likely knew this as well.
This deliberate disclosure might be an attempt to muddy the waters.
No matter what, this Heavenly Venerate fellow is far from simple. It’s never a bad thing to stay vigilant.
After the eting concluded, Song Lin returned to reality.
...
Chaozhen Temple.
A white-haired youth, dressed in a purple Dragon Phoenix Robe with the Five Thunders Talisman hanging at his waist, was standing before the dharma altar, officially assuming his position.
"Master Hua Qing, submitting to Heaven above and respecting the common people below..."
As the dharma conch sounded, the talismans turned to flying ash, ascending to the Nine Heavens, signifying that Hua Qing had officially succeeded to the position of temple master.
"Divine Establishnt, Five Thunders Talisman... Next, is it Song Lin?"
Hua Qing thought to himself.
No, he wanted to surpass him!
Hua Qing originally had a good relationship with Song Lin.
He had once even used the Transformation Technique to help Song Lin through a crisis, and Song Lin had also saved his life.
But as the gap between the two widened, coupled with the deterioration of Hua Qing’s relationship with his master Fire Cloud, the two gradually lost contact.
Hua Qing and Song Lin had received their liturgies together, making them peers within the sa generation.
When Song Lin broke through to the Core Formation stage, he beca a competitor, and Hua Qing’s ntality began to change. It was a mix of jealousy tinged with hatred.
In the past, his attitude toward Song Lin was like that of a rich heir looking down on his servant.
He never expected this servant would grow to a level he now had to look up to. How could his mind not experience a sudden upheaval?
"Just wait, I will catch up to you step by step and trample you beneath !"
Hua Qing thought to himself.
Snapping back to reality, he gazed at the people of Chaozhen Temple before him.
Most of the remaining disciples of Chaozhen Temple had pledged themselves to him.
Coupled with the team he brought with him, it was now the configuration of a first-rate Taoist temple.
At that mont, the figure of Fire Cloud suddenly appeared.
"Greetings, Taoist Master!"
Fire Cloud nodded slightly, gesturing for everyone to rise.
"Not bad. From now on, focus your minds and do not slack off."
Fire Cloud saw through the excitent and vigor in his disciple’s heart with just a glance.
"Understood, Master."
"Next month, I will take the Five Masters on a journey. You and Hua Yang will stay behind to take charge of the overall situation."
"Where is Master going?" Hua Qing asked.
"To handle a great matter."
Fire Cloud’s gaze turned profound, a flash of killing intent surfacing. After many days of waiting, the opportunity had finally arrived.
This ti, there would be no hesitation. When he saw Song Lin, he would kill him directly, leaving no loose ends.
As Song Lin’s cultivation continued to grow, Fire Cloud felt an increasing weight of pressure.
This man was undoubtedly a great threat.
"While I’m away, do not act rashly. No matter what occurs, wait for my return before making any decisions."
"Understood."
......
Xuanke Temple, the courtyard of the Master Temple.
An elder and a younger man admired the moon while drinking leisurely.
Chaozhen, slightly tipsy, looked up at the bright moon in the sky and sighed: "Ah, a foundation of several centuries has ultimately been destroyed."
Now, he was faring worse than the Five Ghosts Taoist of the Five Ghosts Temple.
That guy was the first to pledge allegiance to Song Lin and, in his eyes, was nothing more than a sycophant.
Now, the Five Ghosts Taoist was living quite well.
The temple’s foundational cultivation technique, the Five Ghosts Technique, had its practicing threshold lowered thanks to the addition of Yin Soil and the Water Technique Refining Soldiers. The number of recruited disciples was now five tis what it used to be.
Coupled with the shared resources of the alliance, they could now support a vast number of disciples. The temple’s strength had grown manyfold compared to before.
In contrast, the Chaozhen Taoist had faltered.
Aside from himself, one Core Formation cultivator, five or six Divine Establishnt cultivators, and a few dozen Qi Cultivators were all that remained.
These people were now reliant on Xuanke Temple.
"There may yet be a chance for resurgence in the future." Song Lin consoled.
Chaozhen did not reply, rely drinking in silence.
Having learned today of Hua Qing’s succession as temple master, his mood had been gloomy, and he drank continuously.
After a long while, Chaozhen finally spoke, his voice hoarse:
"Master Song, to be honest, I used to think you were a fool."
"What?"
Song Lin was speechless. How did this conversation suddenly turn toward him?
"Really, your thods of governance baffled . You clearly had better options—why insist on choosing paths that were troubleso and ineffective?"
Chaozhen’s words echoed the confusion of many people.
The rule of the strongest, where the one with the biggest fists held the privileges—was this not the universal principle?
Heart and ethics were worthless. Spending an hour every day studying these concepts was a waste of ti that could be used practicing more spells.
"Now I understand. I have lived for centuries, witnessed countless darkness and injustices, and had grown accustod to them. Now that it has fallen upon , I finally see what is wrong..."
The chaos within the Taoist School stemd from uneven quality, violent tempers, a love for conflict, and a fixation on fa and profit.
Anyone with a bit of power would proclaim themselves immortal ancestors, oppressing others and sucking them dry.
The thods for dealing with their own kind were far more refined and a thousand tis more sinister than the ones used against demons.
A significant portion of their strength was squandered on internal conflict. When disasters arose, their first instinct was to shirk responsibility and look for opportunities in the chaos—ways to eliminate those they despised.
Evil proliferated, truth was abandoned for falsehood.
"Your thods address these issues at their root, suppressing chaos, uniting forces, and weathering difficult tis together. The initial results are promising, and this path will surely flourish in the future!"
Hearts yearned for peace.
Ordinary people longed for a stable life, while regular cultivators wished to avoid scheming and strife.
This is why the Taoist disciples and Taoists within the alliance held Song Lin in such high regard—this way of life spared them the constant fear of being on edge.
The Three Refuges, Three Laws, and Nine Precepts aligned with the developnt of the tis. As long as Song Lin remained strong, an overwhelming tide would inevitably follow.
"Haha, Taoist friend, you flatter . I am not worthy of such praise."
Song Lin broke into a sweat. He didn’t think he was as noble and righteous as Chaozhen believed.
If he were truly that upright, Song Lin would have died countless tis by now.
However, he had principles. He never picked fights without reason nor overstepped moral boundaries. He always sought harmony and avoided unnecessary conflicts—though if soone provoked him, that was a different matter.
Chaozhen seed to have made a firm decision.
"Master Song, let join the temple. From now on, there will no longer be a Chaozhen Temple Master, only the Xuanke Temple Chaozhen Taoist!"
"Are you certain?" Song Lin’s gaze was piercing.
Having soone as strong as a mid-Core Formation cultivator join would be an imnse boon for the temple.
"I have decided."
Chaozhen’s eyes were resolute.
"Good. From now on, you will serve as the acting Sky Network Steward of Xuanke Temple, overseeing the Thunder Mansion Ghost Soldiers’ patrols. Once your performance in future assessnts is deed satisfactory, the acting title will be removed. The sa applies to the other disciples."
Qingyu belonged to the study of magic and faced stricter evaluations.
Chaozhen, being a skilled recruit, was evaluated less stringently.
"Chaozhen greets the Temple Master!"
Chaozhen bowed deeply.
"Rise, Taoist friend. There’s no need for excessive formality."
Song Lin paused for a mont before saying, "There will be an important event next month. Tomorrow, I will notify everyone to prepare early, and then I’ll select so people to accompany ."
"What important event?" Chaozhen’s gaze sharpened.
"I can’t say just yet."
That night, Song Lin returned to the Little Golden Altar Cave Heaven to cultivate.
There was still plenty of ti, and the event next month might not even occur as planned.
The ergence of the Void Realm followed certain patterns.
If the pattern could not be discerned, one might fruitlessly wait at Eight Sceneries Mountain for centuries.
Although he spoke of next month, it might take even longer.
During this period, Song Lin sorted through various cultivation techniques, keeping the useful ones and thoroughly discarding the rest.
At that very mont, Mingxing Peak and Plum Blossom Mountain simultaneously received the ssage.
The two parties began deducing the location of the Void Realm.
Mingxing Peak.
A compass hovered before Zhi Xin, spinning rapidly as it calculated at an incredible pace.
Master i Hua was doing the sa.
Fifteen days later.
"Got it!"
They both completed their calculations almost simultaneously.
Their results, however, were entirely different.
...
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