<h4>Chapter 236: Before the White Mist</h4>


    The middle-aged daoist departed gracefully, and the stream resumed its flow. Distant Wanderer stood there in silence for a long time.


    He did not understand the meaning behind the middle-aged daoist''sst words. But he understood that if a big shot like him wanted to do something, he had no way of stopping him, nor did he have the capability to do anything.


    Thinking back to the words spoken when he was invited by those people, Distant Wanderer smiled wistfully and left this ce. He had no intention of telling anyone about today''s events. But it was inevitable that he would feel somewhat mncholic.


    Returning to the area shrouded in white mist, an elderly man with a troubled expression approached him and asked with some confusion, "Where did Daoist Brother go?"


    Distant Wanderer shook his head and remained silent. He just asked, "Did anything happen?"


    Although the old man did not explicitly state the matter, his expression betrayed a lot. Distant Wanderer could naturally tell.


    "Many people died inside that white mist."


    The old man frowned and said softly, "Many people are unhappy about it."


    Distant Wanderer nced at the sky and suddenly realized that it was already nighttime. Countless stars adorned the sky, resembling bright eyes gazing down upon the earth.


    He withdrew his gaze and said calmly, "The previous rules were as such, life and death is the individual''s own responsibility. After everything was made clear, who can say anything about it?"


    "Although that''s the case, it''s obvious there will be some issues."


    The old man was also an itinerant cultivator. To ensure fairness and justice, the cultivators invited to oversee this ancient relic expedition were all independent cultivators. They had no affiliations with major sects, nor were they connected to the Great Liang Dynasty. The only connection they had was with each other.


    Distant Wanderer had initially believed in those statements, but thinking about what he had experienced, he furrowed his brows and asked, "What are you referring to?"


    The old man quickly said, "At first, it was the daoists from the Ancient Pine Daoist Temple and Evergreen Daoist Temple. But now, it seems like the situation has escted further, and many daoist sects are bing rather angry."


    Distant Wanderer raised an eyebrow and asked indifferently, "Daoist sects? Who dares toy hands on cultivators of the Dao society?"


    The old man did not speak and just smiled bitterly.


    Distant Wanderer suddenly thought of something and his expression became a little ugly.


    ……


    ……


    Quarrels were inevitable, whether amongmon people in the streets or among those big shots who were aplished in cultivation. Now, in front of the white mist, representatives from various sects had gathered and they had already started quarreling. As great cultivators of the foreignnds, each sect naturally possessed secret techniques to ascertain the life and death of their disciples. The deaths of the disciples from Ancient Pine Daoist Temple and Evergreen Daoist Temple within the ruins had cast a shadow over them. These two young daoists each belonged to a different lineage of Daoism and had always been enemies. Or should one say, they had always been in apetitive rtionship.


    The two lineages of Daoism, neither were convinced by the other. Even if the Great Peace Dao had gradually weakened over the years, it was still the case.


    So, the initial argument involved cultivators from both sides using each other. In their eyes, apart from their own Daoism lineage, the disciples from the other lineage were not considered good people.


    Initially, there was no concrete evidence for this. Both sides were merely exchanging some sarcastic remarks earlier. However, as the number of deceased Dao society disciples continued to rise, cultivators from the Longevity Dao and the Great Peace Dao lineages naturally developed suspicions. Human nature could not withstand too much spection. Soon, both sides tacitly acknowledged this as fact, and argued for a long time.


    Disciples from other sects also lost their lives inside the ruins. But when they saw the fierce arguments within the Dao society, they remained silent. They were puzzled because they could not understand who was killing the disciples of the Dao society.


    They naturally knew some things in their hearts. They had warned their respective disciples before entering the ancient ruin, telling them not to do those things.


    What were those things?


    Of course it was about not provoking the disciples of the Dao society.


    Regardless whether was it the Longevity Dao or Great Peace Dao, none of them should be provoked.


    There were so many cultivators in the world and many schools of thought. But, Daoism had always been one of the most important one.


    Among all cultivators, half of them came from Daoism.


    Somewhere further away, after the green-robed daoist returned to the Infatuation Daoist Temple, another person named Ning Gui came here. He had not stepped into the Nepenthe Realm and was just a Great Beyond cultivator. Normally, he handled mundane affairs for the Infatuation Daoist Temple. As the daoist leader of the Great Peace Dao lineage, the Myriad Heaven Pce naturally sent someone too. The daoist who came was called Mo Ying.


    Listening to themotion from a distance, both of them furrowed their brows slightly. As the true prominent figures present, they knew that arguing was futile.


    Daoist Ning Gui remained silent for a long time before taking the initiative to ask, "I heard that the venerable sage''s lifespan has nearly run out, and there''s very little time left before he passes."


    Although it was framed as a question, this sentence was more of a statement that was describing a simple fact.


    Every day, ordinary people would die in this world. Although cultivators lived longer lives, they, too, would eventually pass away.


    Even if the Myriad Heaven Pce was a major sect of Daoism, they were no exception either.


    There would definitely be cultivators who would die.


    But, some people were different, and everyone knew this.


    Mo Ying naturally knew what the Daoist Ninggui was thinking and understood that he was referring to that great sage.


    Great sages of Daoism were very rare existences. One could not find more than a few in the Myriad Heaven Pce too.


    "The venerable sage is in good healthy, he likely won''t pass away just yet."


    Daoist Mo Ying said with a slight smile, showing no abnormalities.


    Daoist Ning Gui said, "It''s good that the venerable sage has a sessor, but why didn''t the Saintesse today?"


    Daoist Mo Ying shook his head and said, "The Saintess has other matters to attend to. There''s no need for her to personallye for such matters."


    While the cultivators from the outside world knew that this ancient ruin was of great importance to them, everyone also understood that this was just the first attempt. To obtain meaningful results, they would likely need to spend more time researching it in the future.


    Daoist Ning Gui had made several attempts but did not receive the answers he sought. He did not get angry, as if he had expected this oue.


    Daoist Mo Ying gave him a few nces before saying seriously, "What do you think is happening in the white mist, Fellow Daoist?"


    Daoist Ning Gui looked at Daoist Mo Ying and fell silent for a moment before he said, "So many daoist disciples have been injured or killed. This shouldn''t have happened. But when we look at the foreignnds, who would dare make a move against the disciples of our Dao society? It''s likely that there''s something within that ruin that we are unaware of."


    "The information received earlier suggested that there was nothing in the periphery. The Sublime Bright Sect has spent countless hours exploring, there shouldn''t be any problems."


    Daoist Mo Ying said rather worriedly.


    Daoist Ning Gui sneered and said, "If this bunch of guys were useful, how could they let their own sect be taken over?"


    Daoist Mo Ying said, "Speaking of which, that Daoist Master Ironcloud has been the head of Sublime Bright Sect for a long time now. I imagine they must have found quite a few magic artifacts or treasures from the ancient ruin?"


    Daoist Ning Gui''s expression turned rather ugly. He gave Daoist Mo Ying a nce and said softly, "We arrived a bitte, but earlier, that Lord Warden Commander came."


    ].


    Although the Infatuation Daoist Temple held a revered position within the Dao society, and they also had a sage who arrived outside of the Sublime Bright Mountain back then, due to many reasons, they did not enter the Sublime Bright Mountain back then. They only sent a disciple, Yun Jianyue, into the mountain.


    In the end, Yun Jianyue was just a young daoist.


    "This time, the Great Liang Dynasty has gained a lot of benefits. It''s truly... hard to ept."


    Daoist Ning Gui furrowed his brows with great displeasure.


    However, this time, Daoist Mo Ying did not respond. Since the Myriad Willow Convention, the rtionship between the Myriad Heaven Pce and the Great Liang Dynasty had be somewhat delicate. There were still many voices of dissent on the mountain presently. It was difficult for him to say anything.


    That matter seemed to have been orchestrated by that venerable sage. But that old sage''s lifespan was alreadying to an end, could these things remain unchanged?


    Mo Ying was a little worried and his brows furrowed in distress.


    He greatly respected that old sage, but some matters were far from simple.


    Daoist Ning Gui took a look at him and was just about to speak when someone in the distance suddenly eximed in astonishment, "Qi Zhen is dead!"