Chapter 881: Yin and Yang, Canglan, Bullfighting

“The old Daoist has some confidence in Fellow Daoist Qi. Even Senior Brother Fang holds him in high regard, calling Fellow Daoist Qi one of the most likely cultivators on Landou Island to reach the Nascent Soul stage...”

Old Daoist Huayang’s gaze swept over the new disciples. He then looked at the cultivator surnamed Chen, cleared his throat, and said, “Since Fellow Daoist Qi isn’t here, I can only discuss this matter with you, my virtuous brother.”

“Did Senior Lu leave any instructions before his departure?” the cultivator surnamed Chen asked solemnly.

The Senior Lu he referred to was Lu Xiaoyun, the current sect master of the Landou Sect. After the demon chaos erupted in the demonic sea, he went to guard Great Barren Island and has not returned since.

Even if the cultivator surnamed Chen was rebellious, he wouldn’t dare defy Lu Xiaoyun’s orders.

“Although the sect master didn’t explicitly state it, he tacitly approved,” Old Daoist Huayang continued. “My virtuous brother, you must know that our Yin-Yang lineage has never been as prosperous as the Five-Elements lineage. In recent years, it has only worsened, steadily declining. This time, during the disciple recruitment, the disciples we accepted are still unsatisfactory, far inferior to those of the Five-Elements lineage. For this reason, we had no choice but to resort to this strategy: widely accepting new disciples to supplement our ranks. That said, disciples with excellent talent, suitable for cultivating the true teachings of our Yin-Yang lineage, are hard to find, especially since a batch was already taken at the beginning of the year. I happened to hear that Misty Cloud Pavilion is recruiting disciples today, so I thought I’d come and try my luck…”

Upon hearing the old Daoist’s words, the expressions of everyone in the great hall varied.

The new disciples all looked stunned, thinking they had misheard. Did they actually have a chance to join the Landou Sect, the largest sect on Landou Island?

Holding the Misty Cloud Pavilion tokens, they had originally been overjoyed, but now their imaginations suddenly began to run wild.

Even Zhao Songqiao, who had been weeping earlier, trembled slightly, his fingers gripping the token so tightly his knuckles turned white.

At the same time, they gained a new understanding of the Landou Sect’s domineering nature—daring to directly barge into another sect’s premises to poach disciples.

The avatar was secretly surprised as well.

He had indeed heard before that the Landou Sect could broadly be divided into the Five-Elements lineage and the Yin-Yang lineage.

Two of the three great true inheritances, the *Water Breath Art* and the *Wood Puppet Scripture*, were both cultivation methods of the Five-Elements lineage. Along with other weaker Five-Elements cultivation methods, this lineage had many disciples and was the most prosperous.

The current sect master, Lu Xiaoyun, hailed from the Five-Elements lineage.

In contrast, the Yin-Yang lineage appeared far more decadent, somewhat failing to live up to its name.

It was said that this was because the requirements of its true inheritance cultivation method were too high; not only were suitable disciples hard to find, but the difficulty of cultivation also surpassed that of other true inheritances.

Now it seemed there was no smoke without fire; the rumors were not false. The Yin-Yang lineage was indeed in decline, even resorting to poaching disciples from Misty Cloud Pavilion.

The *Yin-Yang Heavenly Struggle Secret Art* certainly had its merits, otherwise, it wouldn’t be among the three great true inheritances, but it was powerless in this situation.

The avatar realized this was a golden opportunity. The cultivator surnamed Chen clearly held a grudge against him; staying here would mean constant restrictions and possibly even being directly expelled.

This was a stroke of luck; seizing this opportunity would allow him to directly become a Landou Sect disciple without having to act circuitously.

However, he wondered what the requirements for accepting disciples into the Yin-Yang lineage were, and if he could meet them.

The avatar fell into contemplation, his gaze flickering.

In the great hall, only one person grew increasingly angry with every word.

The cultivator surnamed Chen’s face grew darker and darker, like the bottom of a pot.

Old Daoist Huayang seemed oblivious, continuing to ramble, “This time, I’ve brought the Yin-Yang Plate. We’ll know if it works with one test, and it won’t delay your esteemed pavilion’s affairs. I kindly ask you to be accommodating, my virtuous brother.”

As he spoke, Old Daoist Huayang occasionally glanced at Fang Ting, who stood behind the cultivator surnamed Chen. He was clearly more enthusiastic towards her than towards anyone else.

Being cunning and shrewd, he had discerned Fang Ting’s special status and the likelihood that she was the most talented among the new disciples, which naturally greatly tempted him.

“Enough! You old scoundrel, you’re going too far!” The cultivator surnamed Chen’s finger almost poked Old Daoist Huayang’s aged face as he angrily cursed him.

He seemed to have long-standing grievances with Old Daoist Huayang, having endured them until now. Finally unable to restrain himself, he decided to completely break ties.

“Why such anger, my virtuous brother?” Old Daoist Huayang flicked his horsetail whisk, presenting a serene, immortal-like demeanor, and calmly advised the cultivator surnamed Chen, “The sect master once said that Misty Cloud Pavilion and the Landou Sect are fundamentally one. It’s the same no matter where disciples cultivate…”

The cultivator surnamed Chen grew even angrier, retorting, “Nonsense! If Senior Lu were guarding the mountain gate now, he would never allow you to act so wantonly!”

Old Daoist Huayang’s eyes narrowed slightly. He said calmly, “Do you truly think so, my virtuous brother? Don’t you know that our Yin-Yang lineage is not only the foundation of the Landou Sect but also made great contributions to the sect? Yet, this led to the tragic deaths of two highly anticipated senior brothers, and the repercussions linger to this day. Our current decline is not unrelated to that event. Although the sect master hails from Canglan Peak, would he truly stand by and watch our Yin-Yang lineage continue to decline, ending up like Dou Niu Peak?”

Dou Niu Peak?

The avatar’s heart suddenly stirred.

He had inquired for so long but had never heard anyone mention that the Landou Sect also had a Dou Niu Peak.

The Landou Sect had a total of five main peaks, known respectively as the Three Canglan Peaks and the Two Yin-Yang Peaks.

As the name suggested, the Two Yin-Yang Peaks were the cultivation grounds for disciples of the Yin-Yang lineage.

The Three Canglan Peaks were for disciples of the Five-Elements lineage; two great true inheritances each occupied one peak, other disciples cultivated on the third, and the Sect Master’s Great Hall was also on the Three Canglan Peaks.

These matters were not secrets and were widely known even outside the Landou Sect.

Only Dou Niu Peak remained unknown.

From Old Daoist Huayang’s tone, Dou Niu Peak seemed to have once been a lineage of the Landou Sect, its status not much inferior to the Yin-Yang and Five-Elements lineages. Moreover, its end was not good; it had likely already died out.

Could it be that Qiyunzi was a disciple of this lineage? Was the lack of information because Dou Niu Peak had declined, and no one practiced this cultivation method anymore?

However, what was puzzling was this:

Four hundred years ago, Qiyunzi, a Core Formation stage expert, was still active. Even if the Dou Niu Peak lineage had truly died out, it shouldn’t have disappeared so quickly and completely.

The reasons behind this were probably only known to the higher echelons of the Landou Sect.

Of course, these were merely the avatar’s groundless speculations and judgments, not to be taken as fact. He still needed to thoroughly investigate the entire sequence of events to understand what truly happened at the Landou Sect.

The avatar’s thoughts raced. His intuition told him that Dou Niu Peak should be highly related to what he was searching for.

His infiltration into Misty Cloud Pavilion had proven worthwhile this time. He had effortlessly heard secrets and finally gained some direction, even if the information was somewhat ambiguous.

Old Daoist Huayang and the cultivator surnamed Chen were still arguing.

Everyone else was witnessing Core Formation stage cultivators arguing for the first time. Fearing they might be caught in the crossfire, they didn’t dare breathe loudly.

“Absolutely not!” The cultivator surnamed Chen waved his arm, stating definitively, “Escort the guest out!”

“Are you truly so stubborn, my virtuous brother?” Old Daoist Huayang’s face sank. He coldly snorted, “Don’t you want Sect Master Lu’s personal decree? I’ll write one for you right now.”

“You…” The cultivator surnamed Chen was about to explode with rage.