My Neighbor Is the Sage Patriarch (12th Update)

"Why had a Gu Cultivator come to Riverside?"

Li Xiang's gaze lingered for a few extra moments on the girl sitting alone in the corner.

"The Miao Frontier has been mysterious since ancient times, and its professions are very different from those of the Central Plains." Ye Qingyao explained the intricacies to Li Xiang and Qin Zhong, who were still new to the world.

"The best-known paths are Gu, shamanism, and poison."

Ye Qingyao raised a finger and made a small gesture. "The Gu Cultivator's path lies in nurturing and refining. They use their bodies as vessels and their blood to feed insects, joining human and Gu as one and cultivating their lives together.

"Every Gu Cultivator who has entered the path has a Life-Bound Gu inside them. Their methods are strange and unpredictable, and they can kill without leaving a trace."

"What about the other two paths?" Li Xiang asked.

"Shaman Cultivators rank ninth among the Hundred Schools of Thought."

Ye Qingyao continued, "Shamans commune with heaven above, earth below, and humanity between. They follow a path of ritual communion with ghosts and gods. They're skilled at inviting gods into their bodies, driving away ghosts and commanding fierce spirits, and casting certain extremely ancient curses."

"As for Poison Cultivators, they rank seventeenth among the Hundred Schools of Thought."

A trace of wariness flashed through Ye Qingyao's eyes. "That path is the most insidious. They cultivate neither body nor spirit, studying only the poisons and miasmas of the world. Wherever they pass, not a blade of grass grows, and water sources are cut off.

"They aren't as capable in a head-on fight as the other two, but on a battlefield or in a large-scale conflict, a Poison Cultivator Grandmaster can wreak more destruction than an entire army."

"Judging by the