Unlike the people of the Eight Qiyun Families, Fang Qianyuan treated Venerable Azure with noticeably greater respect.
Venerable Azure had an extraordinary background and considerable standing within the Two Sects. He was a figure on the level of the Five Elements Venerables, and the many secrets he knew and the reserves he commanded far surpassed those of ordinary Ancient Cultivators. Naturally, he merited such treatment.
He smiled faintly, his manner refined. "You flatter me, Venerable Fang. I would not presume to instruct you, but whatever you ask, I shall do my best to answer."
He did not offer the customary promise to "tell all I know and hold nothing back," but Fang Qianyuan did not dwell on that. Instead, he took an ancient book from the small table beside him and began his questions.
"Recently, I have been reading through the history of the Two Sects and have discovered many figures, both renowned and obscure. Yet it is also apparent that their core members were not these people, but the Holy Maiden and Elder lineages, which held the Sect Order's legacy. Why was that?"
Venerable Azure said, "As ancient religious orders, the Two Sects have a long history and inevitably retain customs inherited from remote antiquity."
"In ancient times, deities and great powers who had attained success in immortal cultivation presented themselves as sacred beings. They received the worship of ordinary people and fashioned many manifestations and legends."
"The Holy Maiden and Elder lineages were their emissaries and manifestations in the mortal world, and thus held the actual power within the Sect Order."
"After middle antiquity, the Dharma Dao flourished, and many matters were established in canons passed down through the generations."
"The exalted position of Sect Master, moreover, was essentially no different from that of an alliance leader or