Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

So this group of Taoists must have come from Jiaozhou, a group of Taoists from Jiaozhou, possessing such formidable strength, basically made their origins very clear.

Hou Yuxiao was about to strike up a conversation when he suddenly met Moxuzi's smiling yet not smiling gaze, and instantly, his body shivered, swallowing the words he had in his mouth.

It wasn't a good idea to rashly inquire about someone else's background...

There was no knowing how many people were on this boat, but just the monks and Taoists present were a force capable of influencing an entire prefecture.

Moreover, Buddhist and Taoist sects mixing together, and opting to take the waterway against the current rather than land routes, made their intent to avoid detection very obvious.

"Senior, to be honest, I'm not from Xuzhou, and will be leaving soon. Today, if it hadn't been for the two young heroes stopping me, I wouldn't have encountered all of you. Please bear with me seniors, I will take my leave now, and let's pretend we never saw each other today, shall we?"

Hou Yuxiao bowed with clasped hands, his mind filled with myriad thoughts.

He could almost confirm that these Taoists were indeed from the Ziqing Holy Sect of Jiaozhou, and the only Buddhist Zen sect that would accompany the Ziqing Holy Sect was none other than the Thunder Sound Temple of Jizhou.

Jizhou and Jiaozhou, separated by hundreds of thousands of miles, these two were unexpectedly together, coming to Wanyang County, what were they here for!

Hou Yuxiao slightly lifted his head, meeting Moxuzi's clear gaze, his heart skipped a beat, but he didn't lower his head. Instead, he decided to meet his gaze.

He couldn't show weakness; he had done nothing wrong today. Showing timidity now would only further suggest he had issues...

"You may go. The matter of today is not your fault!"

The old monk didn't say anything upon hearing this, but he also gently nodded in agreement.

Hou Yuxiao bowed, thanked them, and swiftly leaped off the boat. True Qi filled his feet as he walked on the water's surface to leave, though he appeared calm, he never relaxed his vigilance towards the rear, fearing the two would return.

Only when he saw the banks of the Tongtian River did Hou Yuxiao finally exhale deeply, the cold sweat on his back finally stopping.

Looking back at the river, Hou Yuxiao's eyes became profound, and his mind started to wander.

The Thunder Sound Temple in Jizhou was not only one of the twenty-two high-tier forces in the world but also the ancestral ground of the world's Buddhist Zen sects, immensely powerful, almost known as the eleventh Holy Land.

Long ago, the Thunder Sound Temple could sit on equal footing with Holy Lands. Its status declined because over thirteen hundred years ago, Yu Shenzong initiated a purge of Buddhists and then promoted Confucianism nationwide, causing the Buddhist forces to retreat, ultimately retreating to the Northern Jizhou region only.

That was the reason Buddhist and Confucian factions were as incompatible as fire and water, even now, when disciples from both sides meet, they glare at each other.

"The direction these people are heading is clearly towards Wanyang County, which means the monks from the Thunder Sound Temple specially went to Jiaozhou to invite the members of the Ziqing Holy Sect and then together sailed north to Wanyang County..."

Hou Yuxiao's pupils flickered; he almost immediately connected it with the matter of the Blood Demon in Tongling County, and the more he thought about it, the more certain he became.

"Confucianism occupies both Yang and Yan states, undoubtedly the leader of The Righteous Path. These Buddhist and Taoist factions mingling together clearly have a defined target, coming to Wanyang County now means they know about some major moves at the academy, if not to sabotage, at least they want to get a share of the spoils..."

Hou Yuxiao's eyes shone brighter, his current visit to Wanyang County, aside from eliminating Helian Wuji to boost the reputation of the Qinglong Association, the most important thing was to gather intelligence on local affairs.

Last year's start without finish of the Zhaoyang Disturbance was just the beginning; he had already confirmed that with The Righteous Path's decline, the Blood Demon had resurged. To say these two had no connection, he wouldn't believe it even if beaten to death.

The Bailu Academy backing Tian Fazheng, and the Wanjian Holy Sect backing Gu Chenfeng, had suffered significant losses, and half a year had passed without any reaction, which itself was very odd.

If the Blood Demon was a disaster they had planted, then the current turmoil with demons in Tongling was within their expectations, reviving the Blood Demon to chaos Tongling County, and while Holy Church was focused on the Blood Demon, they would seize Tongling County!

The image of Tian Fazheng's righteous pale scholar appeared in Hou Yuxiao's mind, a chill flashing in his heart.

From the moment Tian Fazheng personally killed his own sister Tian Honglu, Hou Yuxiao knew this man was ruthless.

Incredibly, he would go to such lengths.

According to the Annals of Zhaoyang County regarding the late stages of the Wuzong, once the Blood Demon revived, it would be a grave catastrophe.

These righteous factions truly stopped at nothing to seize territories!

"That means, currently with Wanjian Holy Sect, Bailu Academy, Ziqing Holy Sect, and then adding Thunder Sound Temple, three major Holy Lands along with one high-tier force, everyone's eyes are on Tongling; if the Rakshasa Holy Sect handles this improperly, they're likely to be in great danger..."

As Hou Yuxiao leaped through the forest, his mind continuously analyzed the situation in the two counties. He wasn't particularly concerned about the Rakshasa Holy Sect, although technically he was indeed a man of Sikong Yue, he had always had little regard for these Holy Lands.

Mainly, it was Zhaoyang, the Hou Clan's stronghold, now sandwiched between Wanyang and Tongling Counties. If there was indeed a large-scale invasion from Xuzhou towards Yongzhou, Zhaoyang would be on the necessary path. Without making preparations in advance, the Hou Clan could accidentally become cannon fodder.

While his strength had increased at a miraculous speed, advancing from Ten Layers of Body Openings to the Grandmaster Realm in less than a year, such power was still insignificant in the context of the current situation.