Chapter 1589: A New Dawn

“Shamans?” Zu An repeated, suddenly thinking of someone. Previously, an assassination attempt had been made on him in the capital, and one of the attackers then was a woman named Jia Sili. She had come from the southern border and seemed to be good at spiritual attacks. Back then, she had actually gifted him with a command token.

After the matter, the Embroidered Envoy had looked into her, finding out that she was from the Shaman Sect. However, the shamans usually acted mysteriously, and only rarely did they make an appearance in the world of warriors. As such, Zu An’s thoughts hadn’t immediately gone in that direction.

In order to not drag Xie Daoyun into the situation, Zu An chatted with her about some other topics. Xie Daoyun felt that she had really been able to show her ability in front of him, so she was in high spirits too. She told him everything she knew.

Zu An asked curiously, “I heard that you came to Violet Mountain to examine the formations? If I recall correctly, the State Teacher is there.” His mission would take place in Violet Mountain, so he had naturally done his research on the place beforehand.

Xie Daoyun was a bit hesitant, but when she thought about how Zu An was different from other people, she replied, “My teacher might be a bit worried about the State Teacher…”

When he heard what she said, Zu An was surprised. He really hadn’t considered that a point of suspicion before, because the State Teacher had already reached the very peak of his life. Even if the dynasties changed, he would still remain the State Teacher at most. There was no way he could become the emperor, right?

“This is just a preventative measure. The chance of there being something wrong with the State Teacher is extremely lowm” Xie Daoyun explained.

Zu An voiced his agreement. “Right, I heard that the State Teacher was someone from the daoist sects. Do you know anything about the nine daoist sects?”

After the Great Zhou Dynasty was established, apart from the State Teacher’s Righteous Sun Sect, the other sects had all gone into seclusion. Ordinary people didn’t know much about them.

In the past, Zu An had felt that this all had nothing to do with him, so he hadn’t paid it too much attention. But now that he had work to do at Violet Mountain, he felt that it would still be better if he collected relevant information ahead of time.

Xie Daoyun had studied in the Royal Academy, so she knew a bit more than ordinary people about certain secret information. She explained, “The nine daoist sects were indeed formidable a few centuries ago, but after the Great Zhou Dynasty established its empire, they withdrew into the mountains and forests, no longer maintaining their former glory.

“Actually, it wasn’t just the daoist sects. The Devil Sect, Buddhist Sect, Shaman Sect, and other sects ended up that way as well. The court rose above all, and all those with talent went there to become its officials. Few people wanted to work bitterly for a sect. So, after centuries passed, the sects found it harder and harder to maintain their influence. Their reputation thus began to decline as a result. Many of them even disappeared into the great rivers of history.

“In the past, I occasionally heard master mentioning the nine daoist sects. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known all this,” Xie Daoyun said. She tried to recall what she had heard, then explained, “The State Teacher’s Righteous Sun Sect is rumored to have only been mid-tier when compared to the other nine sects. However, because of his tremendous contributions, once he became the State Teacher, the Righteous Sun Sect rose up with him. Now, they’re at their most powerful. For most ordinary people now, it’s practically the only daoist sect they know.

“Apart from the Righteous Sun Sect, the one with the greatest prestige should be the White Jade Sect. The White Jade Sect’s generations of fairies have always been renowned throughout the world. With their beauty and kindness forming the backbone of their reputation, they’ve always enjoyed favor, whether it’s from the officials or the common people.”

The beautiful features of Yan Xuehen and Chu Chuyan appeared in Zu An’s mind. He thought to himself, If that sect formed a female idol group, they would definitely be really popular.

“Apart from those two sects, the others and their branches aren’t known by common people, but their strength is no lower than the White Jade Sect’s. For example, there’s the Jadefall Palace, a group whose reputation is on par with the White Jade Sect,” Xie Daoyun continued.

Zu An’s eyes lit up when he heard that. Big Manman had mentioned that she would take on a master from Jadefall Palace. He hadn’t expected it to be one of the nine great sects too.

“Apart from that, there’s the Heavenly Sorrow Sect, which is rumored to have thirty-three branches. That sect was indisputably the most powerful a few centuries ago. But several centuries ago, something major seems to have happened. The Heavenly Sorrow Sect suffered serious damage, which caused their strength to decline greatly and forced them to give up their position as the most powerful. But a dying camel is still larger than a horse, so they’re still about mid-tier among the nine sects.

“The Kunlun Void Sect is another sect in a similar situation. It apparently experienced a disaster centuries ago that made its strength suddenly deteriorate. It’s now become a mid-tier sect, just like the Heavenly Sorrow Sect.”

Zu An asked curiously, “Exactly what kind of disaster happened several centuries ago?”

Xie Daoyun shook her head and said with a frown, “That, I don’t know. That’s something only they know, and the academy doesn’t seem to have any records either. I fear that only the important figures of those sects know exactly what happened.”

Zu An nodded, expressing his understanding. Xie Daoyun continued, “The five I mentioned were the strongest of the nine sects. Whether in terms of their resources and history or of their strength, they’re on the stronger side. The other four sects are substantially inferior; their names are Mount Luofu, Purity Temple, Emptiness Isle, and Supreme Mystery Cave. Very few of their inheritors make an appearance in the world, and in private discussions, those from the academy have begun to wonder whether they’ve already completely vanished.”

Zu An secretly made a note of all the information. He couldn't help but say with a sigh, “I really have to thank little sister Daoyun for all of this. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t have had any way of knowing all these secrets.”

“I’m glad that I was able to help big brother Zu,” Xie Daoyun said, blushing when she heard Zu An thank her. She was clearly extremely happy.

Zhang Zijiang suddenly asked respectfully from outside, “Sir Zu, should we rest for one more day here or…?”

He was worried that Zu An wanted to sleep or cultivate some more, so he didn’t dare to mention any military affairs. His voice was quiet too, as if he was scared of disturbing Zu An.

Zu An moved aside the curtains and said, “Let’s depart, so as to not delay our task.”

“Understood!” Zhang Zijiang replied, sighing in relief. However, he saw Xie Daoyun come out from the tent too. He immediately paled in horror.

I’m finished; I’m done for! I disturbed Sir Zu during his happy time! Is he going to make things hard for me in the future? I’m definitely going to lose to Wang Bolin in the future now…

When she saw his ambiguous expression, Xie Daoyun guessed what kind of misunderstanding Zhang Zijiang had arrived at. She opened her mouth to explain, but she couldn’t really bring herself to say anything. While she was hesitating, Zhang Zijiang left guiltily, leaving her alone with her embarrassment and nervousness.

…

Then, the Armed Escort Division set out. Xie Daoyun naturally didn’t dare to ride on the same horse as Zu An, unlike the previous day. Even so, she discovered that the way the other soldiers looked at her had become a bit strange, and their attitudes toward her had also become more respectful. Xie Daoyun bit her lip; her face was bright red. For some reason, though, she actually didn’t hate it all that much. Instead, she felt strangely expectant.

Just like that, a day quickly passed before they set up camp again in the evening. Xie Daoyun nervously sat alone in her tent, wondering whether to let her big brother Zu in if he came to look for her. While she was wondering about that, however, Zu An never showed up, even as she unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile, Zu An quickly rushed to Yi Commandery, where he found Xiao Jianren and Zhang Zitong discussing something together. He deliberately coughed to get their attention.

“Sir Eleven!” Xiao Jianren greeted him, already used to his boss coming and going mysteriously, but Zhang Zitong jumped in fright.

Zu An asked, “Were there any results from your investigations?”

Xiao Jianren replied, “We already investigated the mission Miss Zhang was a part of; she wasn’t lying. Apart from that, we’re still looking into the women Sir Seven came into contact with. Currently, there are some clues, but we need a few more days to reach a conclusion.”

Zu An nodded to express that he understood. Then, he looked at Zhang Zitong and asked, “Are there any shamans here in Yi Commandery?”

“Shamans?” Zhang Zitong repeated, staring blankly for a moment. Ordinary cultivators wouldn’t necessarily even know about the existence of shamans, but she was part of the Embroidered Envoy. She quickly replied, “There are very few shamans in existence. According to what I know, the only one who matches that description might be King Yan Manor’s guest.”