Yue Zibin and the others were jolted to the core by these words, unable to keep the astonishment from their faces.
The abilities of the man before them were already extraordinarily formidable, yet he supposedly had a teacher behind him. And from his tone, that teacher was still alive in this world. Did that not mean his teacher had lived even longer and possessed even greater cultivation?
Their hearts grew heavy.
Before coming here, they had consulted some of the more highly cultivated Daoists gathered by the dynasty, asking what specific signs a cultivator of a higher level would display.
Some spoke with utter certainty, claiming that one level higher meant moving mountains and shifting seas, even relocating the stars. The more cautious ones merely said that such magical power was beyond measure and difficult for them to describe.
Though such claims might have been deliberately exaggerated, anyone who could reach the Upper Layer was certainly no weakling. Conservatively speaking, such a person should possess the power to contend against the entire Land Alliance.
One such person was already difficult enough to handle. If there were another, what then?
Just then, one of Yue Zibin's companions tugged at his sleeve and gestured for him to look at the statue behind them. Hope rekindled in his heart, and he said, "Could your teacher be the legendary Dao-Teaching Patriarch?"
Every Daoist temple enshrined the Dao-Teaching Patriarch. If his teacher were such a person, that would make sense. Yet from all their attempts at deduction, even if the Dao-Teaching Patriarch had truly existed, he had likely long since ceased to be.
But Chong An's words made their hearts sink. "What is enshrined there is merely an ordinary statue."
He glanced behind him. "In truth, we cultivators have no need for this statue. It