Rear Borderlands

Baiyue, Yunluo Kingdom.

Yunluo Kingdom lay in the westernmost part of Baiyue, already bordering Annam. It could be considered the place closest to Wushen Mountain's homeland.

Precisely because of this, its sovereign's Dao Path had not been cut off, and she was also an orthodox Shaman.

The orthodox Shamans were the three lineages of Diviner, Celebrant, and Patriarch.

Other than these three, none could be called orthodox.

The Yunluo Sovereign was a Patriarch, and she was also a scion of Wushen Mountain.

Her main purpose in becoming the Baiyue Sovereign was to prepare a research report for her own Dao Path. It was essentially an assignment her great lineage had given her during the fifth rank.

Patriarchs governed the rites of founding states.

They guarded the roots of the transformations of all things. Later generations delighted in using the character "patriarch," as in patriarch, master craftsman, guiding principle, sect, sect customs, grandmaster, ultimate patriarch, school, religion—the saying went, "All patriarchs are those held in reverence."

As a Patriarch, both her duties and abilities existed for the sake of being a true "administrator."

Celebrants were responsible for mediation. They served as intermediaries, using sacrificial rites to balance all manner of forces and guide the Heaven and Earth Great Source toward shared prosperity and strength.

Patriarchs, meanwhile, handled concrete affairs. One major reason Li Qi could run all over the world to deal with sudden incidents was that the arrangements for all sorts of matters in places like Annam were handled by Patriarchs.

The specific implementation of any undertaking and the allocation of all kinds of resources—this was the faction that held power and did practical work.

Diviners were responsible for assessing circumstances. They served as advisers to the other two, providing them with intellectual support.

Celebrants governed external affairs, Patriarchs governed