Cultivators around the outskirts of the Southern Ridge Deadly Land gradually withdrew, cramming the hastily built town to the brim. Everyone was talking at once, the air abuzz with voices. Having survived the disaster, they cherished life all the more.
At the same time, all kinds of rumors sprang up, with people debating who had gained benefits within the Deadly Land—rare treasures, exotic artifacts, or ancient Daoist lineages.
The person mentioned most often was Yu Yao, the current Saintess of Hunyuan Dao. She had obtained an ancient Daoist lineage, and entering it surely meant acquiring ancient methods. For a time, people flocked around her, surrounding her with endless flattery.
Saintess Yuyao had snow-white skin, delicate features, and a tall, graceful figure. Though surrounded by the crowd, she remained composed. Faced with all sorts of questions, she merely smiled without speaking, neither confirming nor denying anything.
Yet everyone believed that she had inherited some ancient Daoist lineage.
"Junior Sister Yuyao, now that fate has favored you with an ancient Daoist lineage, surely that farce with that toad should come to an end." A young cultivator spoke with a smile, his words full of mockery and disdain for Yu Chaoyang.
"Exactly. Senior Brother Zhang Heng is right. Yu Chaoyang is nothing but a madman. He relies on his Master having broken through to the Patriarch realm and acts however he pleases. If Hunyuan Dao were not mindful of old ties, how could they tolerate such arrogance from him?" Another outstanding young man chimed in, his tone filled with contempt for Yu Chaoyang.
A toad lusting after swan meat.
Hunyuan Dao was a great sacred land that had endured for a thousand years without decline. No one knew how many Patriarch-level experts it possessed. It was a pillar among the righteous sects. How