By using the broken black stone as a base and the Pure Yang Qi from the bodies of the four children, they quickly tore the void apart, forming a spacious portal, which then swallowed the two figures, one green and one yellow, inside.

"Uncle Dao, what are Uncle Qiu and the others doing with such great fanfare?"

Having witnessed Ninghai Zen, Qiu Changtian, and the donkey vanish without a trace, Bai Qi couldn't help but marvel at the wonder of the Daoist skills.

Even with the advancement to Divine Techniques through martial skills, one can't achieve void transfer; that requires a much higher level of mastery with top-tier means.

"Well... Archaeology."

Lao Dao almost slipped his tongue, lifting his mink fur hat to scratch his head:

"That Qiu fellow and the Young Master are rather keen on exploring the great sects before the fall of the Dao, with the main aim of understanding history, continuing the legacy, linking the past and the future... It's truly a meritorious deed!"

Bai Qi suddenly realized, so his master was moonlighting as a tomb raider.

It's called "archaeology" when recognized by the Dragon Court, but the likes of Ninghai Zen and Qiu Changtian working secretly, doing it unofficially, that's outright illegal looting.

"Uncle Dao, is this line of work easy to do?"

Bai Qi rubbed his hands, having experienced the mystique of the Inner Scenic Land, creating small worlds within the void; it becomes its own domain, accommodating Divine Souls or living beings.

One can store the classics of Cultivation Techniques, cultivate Treasure Plant Medicine, and collect superior spiritual energies... It's practically a secret treasury for Daoist experts, discovering one is like striking gold and silver mountains.

"It's just like what I used to do as a bandit, small-scale scuffles, barely scraping a living; the top experts work by the principle of not opening for three years, but when they do, they eat for three years."

Lao Dao, having nothing better to do, peeled sunflower seeds and chatted leisurely:

"Great sects' Inner Scenic Lands are of high grade, with many treasures, but whose Mountain Gate isn't layered with prohibitions and guarded by lethal arrays? It's not easy to get in.

You must be proficient in formations, rituals, altars, and proper Taoist Sect methods to even stand a chance of getting in. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Don't be fooled by how Qiu Changtian seems casual and easy-going; every time, it's fraught with danger. If it weren't for the donkey's innate speed, racing like the wind, cutting through Yin and Yang, he'd have long been dead."

Bai Qi clicked his tongue in amazement, that skinny as a stick, scruffy black donkey was actually so extraordinary?

"When the Turbid Tide came, why did all Saints' Dao Lineage and the hundreds of magic traditions vanish completely? Uncle Dao, what's the story there?"

With his master away from Tongwen Hall, he stole half a day of leisure to accompany Uncle Dao guarding the gate.

"It's merely the times changing."

Lao Dao sat on a small stool in the front yard, narrating gently:

"Before the fall of the Dao, it's said there were three thousand side sects and eight hundred offshoots, and the ten major orthodoxies were extremely prosperous.

At that time, the various realms had not yet been subdivided as meticulously as they are now, only having the Physical Body Secret Realm, Divine Power Secret Realm, Longevity Secret Realm, and the mythical Immortal Dao Secret Realm.

Tracing back further, the Red County Divine Land had frequent exchanges with other realms; anyone achieving the Longevity Secret Realm or becoming an ancient powerhouse would travel the vast universe, visiting the doctrinal fields of Immortal Dao behemoths or collecting rare treasures required for cultivation in other Lu States. Those were truly the eras of grand cultivation.

But with the fall of the Fallen Immortal and the sweeping Turbid Tide cutting off external contact, Red County Divine Land became an isolated island.

Cultivators traveling to celestial realms became lost without a trace, the ten major orthodoxies lost multiple patriarchs in an instant, leaving only the Sect Leader Elders weakened and exhausted. That's one aspect."

Bai Qi pinched his chin, thinking to himself:

"Once one becomes a Longevity Cultivator, with a lifespan of over ten thousand years, they won't stay long in Red County Divine Land. They all went roaming the celestial realms, only to suddenly encounter the Turbid Tide and never return. The ten major orthodoxies thus lost most of their foundational support."

Lao Dao, although his rural upbringing was not particularly illustrious and initially couldn't recognize more than a bushel of characters, later achieved a sudden understanding and deeply studied the matters, narrating with simplicity and depth:

"With the ten major orthodoxies that used to press down hard atop everyone's heads losing a large group of ancient patriarchs, their status was naturally unstable. Yet, before any crisis could brew, the Turbid Tide severed all lineages cleanly.

Among the ten major orthodoxies was 'Divine Weapon Valley,' with its inherited Cultivation Technique being the 'Armor Hundred Refinements and Saint Control Technique.'

Each Inner Sect Disciple had to choose a single artifact to cultivate it, using their entire life's cultivation to infuse it, nurturing an Artifact Spirit.

The Artifact Spirit would comprehend Cultivation Techniques and Daoist skills, practicing combat routines, with one's level of cultivation solely reliant on the Artifact Spirit's quality.

It's said that at its peak, Divine Weapon Valley held more than thirty Dao Artifacts and eleven Divine Soldiers, crusading against other offshoots with magnificent flying sword artifacts, remarkably grand.

But when the Turbid Tide arrived, spiritual energy waned, and Artifact Spirits weakened and perished like people without sustenance, unable to maintain its previous grand spectacle and quickly declined.

There are countless examples like Divine Weapon Valley."

Bai Qi clicked his tongue, realizing that before the fall of the Dao, it was truly an era of great prosperity.

In the present day, the Dragon Court relies on six Profound Mysterious Divine Soldiers to unify various spiritual energies and manipulate weather changes.

Yet, the mere Divine Weapon Valley among the ten orthodoxies far surpassed this number in power.

"Divine Soldiers and Profound Mysterious Divine Soldiers do have some differences. The latter contains the deep laws naturally carried by the remains of the Fallen Immortal, with the complete inheritances mastered by the seven Upper Sects and five Taoist Sects of today all deriving from it, hence the 'Profound Mysterious' prefix.

However, each of the eleven Divine Soldiers possesses great power, enough to shatter mountains and boil seas... they can easily dominate the Divine Land."

Lao Dao corrected and added.

"With Divine Weapon Valley being so formidable, was there no one who coveted its Mountain Gate or Inner Scenic Land?"

Bai Qi asked curiously.

"Well, um..."

Lao Dao couldn't help but reach out to scratch his bald head: