My master is in another world and cannot return for now. As for why, don't ask

It took Lin Yu a few seconds to accept the fact that the "Hunyuan Dao Palace" was much larger than he had imagined.

After all, if you think about it carefully... the Yaomo in the Prison Mountain Realm are like weeds, endlessly regenerating, yet the Two Mountains and Six Hells still have numerous human villages and towns scattered throughout, and even the population of this realm is quite large. In a sense, this also indicates...

Nowadays, there should be quite a few "cultivators" in the Prison Mountain Realm who can fight against Yaomo, whether they are Daoist practitioners, martial artists, or those who have mastered Fang Techniques.

As the de facto leader of the Daoist Sect, it is quite normal for the Hunyuan Dao Palace to have a scale of over 10,000 people, or even close to 100,000.

After all, there aren't many cultivators scattered throughout the Two Mountains and Six Hells.

It could even be said that there are relatively few.

After all, the Two Mountains and Six Hells cover a vast area, and the Prison Mountain Realm has a unique layout with almost no large cities. If each cultivator is evenly distributed according to geographical space, then in terms of "density", it would be very "sparse".

In reality, even though the Hunyuan Dao Palace has so many disciples, and most of them are traveling, it is impossible to station one disciple near every village and human settlement... Most villages and towns ultimately have to rely on the martial artists and Fang Techniques in their Village for Protection.

Even so... the scale of the Hunyuan Dao Palace is indeed unprecedented.

After the "Chaos of Huotian," let alone any particular sect, even if we go back several generations in the entire Prison Mountain Realm, the total number of cultivators in the world probably wouldn't equal the current number of people in the Hunyuan Dao Palace.

Even before the "Chaos of Huotian"... based on the intelligence obtained from Yun Fengyang, there shouldn't have been a super-large mountain gate like the Hunyuan Dao Palace.

No wonder Daoxi was so proud when he mentioned it.

Lin Yu naturally did not hide his shock, and while expressing his shock, he continued speaking in accordance with Daoxi's thoughts.

"I had only heard that the 'Hunyuan Dao Palace' had expanded the Daoist Sect tradition, but I never imagined it would grow this large... It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that 'our Dao is flourishing'!"

"If my master, Yun Jushi, he would surely be delighted and gratified by the current prosperity of the Daoist Sect."

As Lin Yu spoke, Daoxi, the old Daoist, also chimed in, "This is not solely due to the efforts of my Hunyuan Dao Palace, but rather the collective effort of the Daoist Sect under heaven—of course, it is also due to the combined influence of the great forces of heaven and earth. Now, the fortunes of the world should be in a time when the Righteous Path of Human Race should flourish."

"The growth of my Hunyuan Dao Palace is merely a matter of following the will of Heaven and acting in accordance with the times... After all, once the Dao Ancestor merged with the Dao, the Heavenly Dao would ultimately stand on the side of the Righteous Path of Human Race and would not allow those Yaomo to continue to run rampant!"

"Even the Yaomo chaos of the past century and the present is ultimately just because the Heavenly Dao is incomplete and is still repairing itself... Given time, a hundred or a thousand years from now, the world will surely be free of Yaomo and enjoy peace and prosperity."

Daoxi spoke solemnly, Lin Yu nodded.

"What a wonderful vision! If things could really turn out like this in the future... it would be truly Human God!"

Daoxi laughed, "Yes, who wouldn't yearn for it... But simply yearning for it isn't enough. Since you've chosen to enter the Daoist Sect, you must cultivate for it and strive for it."

Daoxi paused after speaking, then added, "I apologize, senior, it seems I've said a bit too much."

"It's alright, I'd like to know about these things too," Lin Yu nodded. "After all, as I said, my master would be very pleased to know these things."

"Although I wasn't aware of this when I last met Master, he asked me about the current situation in the Prison Mountain Realm, and I could only say that 'Yaomo are rampant and the people are suffering,' which made Master quite disappointed," Lin Yu sighed. "If I had known earlier that there was such encouraging good news as the flourishing development of the Hunyuan Dao Palace, I would definitely have told Master and made him happy too."

"But... maybe next time."

Daoxi, the old Daoist, also sighed, "What the senior said is not wrong. Although my Hunyuan Dao Palace has developed well,... in these Two Mountains and Six Hells, Yaomo still roam freely, causing chaos among the people... As the leader of the Righteous Path, my Hunyuan Dao Palace should feel ashamed and strive harder than be happy and complacent about our current development."

Daoxi spoke, Lin Yu waved his hand, "I didn't mean to give you a warning, don't overthink it."

"I understand what you mean, senior. I'm just reflecting on myself," Daoxi said, then after a moment of contemplation, finally spoke, "However... senior, there's something that's bothering me... uh, senior, how should I put it..."

Daoxi hesitated for a moment, then cautiously asked, "From what you're saying, you actually... met Senior Layman Yun Fengyang not long ago, and you'll have another chance to meet him in the future?"

Although Lin Yu had previously stated that he was half Named Disciples of Yun Jushi, in Daoxi's view... perhaps this person in front of him had received some kind of inheritance and recognition from "Layman Yun Fengyang" in order to learn the other party's skills and be able to call himself "half a disciple" of the other party.

After all, although Lin Yu introduced himself, he didn't say much about the details of becoming a disciple, only briefly demonstrating a few of Yun Jushi's unique Fang Techniques to prove his identity.

More importantly, Layman Yun Fengyang is already from the same era and of the same generation as the founder of his Hunyuan Dao Palace.

The other party has been missing for a long time, and must have already ascended to heaven and passed away.

Therefore, Daoxi's biggest concern right now is...

"Could this Layman Yun Fengyang still be alive?!"

Lin Yu noticed the other person's doubt and confusion, nodded, and gave the answer, "You guessed right, my master... is still alive."

"I did not call myself his disciple because I received some kind of inheritance from him or passed his Trial. I am a disciple who was truly taught, instructed, and Mind Imprint by him in person."

Lin Yu spoke calmly, offering an explanation.

He was waiting for Daoxi's inquiry—his casual words just now were meant to provoke the other party into asking about the situation of Layman Yun Fengyang.

After all, as a "successor of Yun Jushi," I have such an identity... The weight of my identity is definitely different whether Yun Jushi is dead or still alive.

Even though this Daoxi has now shown him complete respect and demonstrated the importance that the Hunyuan Dao Palace attaches to him, that respect is merely a matter of courtesy, a respect for his origin and seniority.

In essence, the "Hunyuan Dao Palace" only attaches great importance to "traditional rules" because it is a prestigious and orthodox sect, and even the leader of the Daoist Sect.

From a realistic and interest-based perspective, Hunyuan Dao Palace certainly wouldn't consider itself a very important entity; it would still be seen as an appendage of "Feng Shui Master" "Jian Cunyi."

Just now, although Daoxi proactively asked what he could do to help Lin Yu after Lin Yu mentioned his intention to slay demons, his act of waiting for Lin Yu to speak first, rather than offering to reveal what assistance the Hunyuan Dao Palace could provide, already indicated...

Although Daoxi felt that Lin Yu, as a Yun Jushi, was of a very high seniority and deserved to be treated with respect, when it came to matters of eliminating demons and protecting the righteous path... he didn't think that this guest from a foreign land would play any crucial role or require much attention or strong support from the Hunyuan Dao Palace.

This is definitely something Lin Yu doesn't want to see.

Although he did rely heavily on "Feng Shui Master" during his trip to the Prison Mountain Realm, and considered them an effective means of security,...

Besides investigating the sabotage of the "Diviner's " Main Line and incidentally searching for the "Cold Cicada," Lin Yu also has a need to "Treasure Hunt" in various places.

For Lin Yu, it was impossible for him to truly follow Jian Cunyi's arrangements and stay by Jian Cunyi's side every step of the way.

Lin Yu needs the space and authority to act independently.

To achieve this, and to make his future activities more convenient, the best way is to obtain a high status in the Hunyuan Dao Palace before Jian Cunyi finds him.

On the one hand, the Daoist Sect of the Hunyuan Dao Palace is very powerful, and it would definitely be a good thing to gain their recognition and assistance. Especially since he came here using a [Daoist Talisman] and is located near the territory of the Hunyuan Dao Palace, the help that Daoist Sect can provide him will certainly be even greater.

On the other hand... after Jian Cunyi's arrival, I can also make Jian Cunyi realize through the attitude of the people in the Hunyuan Dao Palace that I also have some connections in the Prison Mountain Realm, so that when I suggest to Jian Cunyi that we split up or go to a certain place alone, it will not seem too abrupt.

"Is the Yun Jushi really still alive...? That's unbelievable! Where... is he living in seclusion?!"

Daoxi Xi asked in shock, then immediately realized what was happening.

"No... For so many years, there has been no news of Senior Yun Jushi in the Two Mountains and Six Hells, and you are a stranger in this land... So, although Senior Yun Jushi is still alive, he may not be within the Two Mountains and Six Hells?"

Daoxi murmured to himself, and Lin Yu couldn't help but sigh.

This old Daoist priest was indeed an elder of the Hunyuan Dao Palace, and his reaction was quick enough.

So he nodded and continued, "That's right. Because of some events during the 'Chaos of Huotian' five hundred years ago, my master had to leave the Two Mountains and Six Hells and go to other realms... Now, due to some affairs in Other Worlds, he is temporarily unable to return here."

"After all... the 'heaven and earth' of this Prison Mountain Realm is itself sealed off."

Lin Yu explained.

Of course, he couldn't possibly say that Yun Fengyang was currently imprisoned in the Eternal Prison, being hung upside down every day to bleed himself dry.

Of course, the fact that the Prison Mountain Realm Heaven-Sealing Barrier is true. The Living Beings within it, even experts like Daoxi, know very little about the affairs of Other Worlds.

Therefore, after hearing Lin Yu's explanation, he nodded in understanding and conviction.

"I see, that's a real pity..."

Lin Yu said, "There's nothing to regret. After all, he has already accepted me as his disciple, so... if a solution really comes up, I also have some 'extraordinary means' that can temporarily bring Master back to this realm!"