Wei An instructed his disciple to go out and summon the others, while Zhang Yu asked a few more questions. "Has the Dao Lodge always had this many hands?"
Wei An shook his head. "It wasn't like this over a hundred years ago, but talented young people are hard to find now, and few are willing to take on such a thankless chore.
"Now, all one needs is to swallow a bottle of spirit medicine, or fuse a piece of a spiritual creature's body into one's own, and they can wield power. When power comes so easily, who would still be willing to cultivate through bitter hardship?"
Zhang Yu nodded slightly. "How strong are these people?"
"That is hard to say," Wei An said. "It depends on what the spiritual creature they fused with was originally like. Usually, the power gained is diminished by a rank, though some can obtain most of its power. Before battle, they can also temporarily take spirit medicine to enhance their strength. But that is not really the issue. The real issue is that they are simply too easy to cultivate."
Zhang Yu understood. It seemed that the Upper Layer rulers of this world, now that they had such people, no longer felt they needed the Dao Lodge. A powerful force that had long remained among the lower ranks yet was beyond the Upper Layer's control would not be accepted by any ruling class. Even if that force had no intention of doing anything, the Upper Layer would never rest easy.
It seemed the expulsion of the Dao Lodge had been caused by conflicts accumulated over a long time. It was not merely a matter of those spirit medicines.
After roughly two shichen, three Daoist masters returned to the Dao Lodge. One of them, a