Zhang of Bloodline and Zhang of Dragon-Tiger

The so-called blessed grotto-heavens are places hidden within the crevices of space.

With rolling mountains and towering ancient trees, the faint sound of cascading waterfalls and flowing springs could be heard, exuding an uncarved, primitive, and ethereal vitality everywhere.

Spiritual energy gathered rapidly in these places. With their beautiful environments and fresh air, they were simply must-visit destinations for travel.

However, blessed grotto-heavens were exceptionally rare, truly the uncanny workmanship of nature.

The first-generation Celestial Master Zhang established the Daoist sanctum here. After generations of expansion and management by subsequent Celestial Masters, it finally achieved its current scale.

By now, the grotto-heaven of Mount Longhu had completely taken the shape of the Longhu Sanctum.

The terrain of this place was not the same as the real Mount Longhu.

But in reality, it experienced the exact same weather as the outside world.

If it cleared up outside, it cleared up here; if it rained outside, it rained here.

Though it seemed that, for the most part, one did not need to hold an umbrella here.

The mountain path was quiet and desolate. Only the rustling sound of the wind sweeping through the pine waves could be heard, making even a single bird's chirp sound exceptionally clear.

Walking on the bluestone path, Lin Mo felt that something was missing. He looked around and finally realized what it was.

"Are there no children here? I remember that Zhengyi Daoists are allowed to marry and start families."

Walking ahead, Daoist Priest Gongyue did not stop. He nodded, then shook his head, his movements revealing a profound stillness born of experiencing the passage of time.

"Zhengyi Daoists can indeed start families, otherwise how could the lineage of Celestial Master Zhang be passed down generation after generation?"

Daoist Priest Gongyue turned sideways and looked at Lin Mo.

"It's just that they cannot stay here in the mountain sanctum."

"Cannot stay?" Lin Mo raised an eyebrow. This rule was rather interesting.

"Correct, they cannot stay."

Daoist Priest Gongyue's tone was calm, as if stating a fact that had remained unshaken for thousands of years. "We have too many descendants of Mount Longhu, but not every one of them is willing, or rather, has the talent to become a cultivating Daoist."

He paused, a hint of emotion entering his voice.

"As the saying goes, everyone has their own ambitions. Some descendants want to become wealthy men, while others want to become high-ranking officials, seeking worldly riches and honor. We can't bind them all to this cold, desolate mountain with Daoist rules, can we? A forced melon is not sweet, and a forced Dao yields no fruit."

Daoist Priest Gongyue sighed.

"Therefore, starting from the fifteenth-generation Celestial Master, a rule was established. All family members of the Daoists are not allowed to stay in the Longhu Sanctum and must cultivate outside.

If the descendants have a heart for the Dao, they must cultivate on their own at the foot of the mountain. Only when their proficiency is sufficient and they pass the sanctum's trials can they righteously step through the gates of Mount Longhu and enter the inner sect to cultivate."

Lin Mo stroked his chin, nodding thoughtfully.

"This is a good method."

"It not only guarantees the purity of the Longhu Sanctum but also invisibly raises the threshold to the sky. Those who can enter are all true elites who have passed the screening, avoiding the pollution of worldly affairs and human sentiments."

Lin Mo was very clear in his heart. If family members were all allowed to stay here, it wouldn't take more than a few generations for this place of pure cultivation to turn into a noisy marketplace.

By then, all sorts of messy affairs like conflicts between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, squabbles among sisters-in-law, and branch families coveting the main family's estate would pop up. They might even form cliques and create several opposing factions. If that happened, Mount Longhu wouldn't be far from total ruin.

Thinking of this, he increasingly felt that the fifteenth-generation Celestial Master Zhang was a ruthless figure with great audacity and wisdom.

Lin Mo subconsciously glanced back. Behind him followed only the silent Han Lu; the middle-aged Daoist from earlier had already returned to guard the Celestial Master's Mansion.

A thought stirred in his mind, and he casually asked, "So is there still a Celestial Master Zhang now?"

"There is, of course there is." Daoist Priest Gongyue answered almost immediately, his footsteps seemingly growing even steadier. The pride originating from his very bones in his tone could not be hidden at all.

"Your disciple just said there wasn't," Lin Mo retorted.

"Hahaha..." Hearing this, Daoist Priest Gongyue actually clapped his hands and laughed, his laughter echoing along the empty mountain path.

"To outsiders, naturally, that is the narrative. Otherwise, every Tom, Dick, and Harry would want to come and pay their respects to the Celestial Master, and the threshold of the Celestial Master's Mansion would be trampled flat."

He withdrew his smile and looked at Lin Mo, his eyes taking on a bit more solemnity. "But you are different. You are an honored guest who has passed the trials, so naturally, you are qualified to know these inside details. The position of Celestial Master of our Mount Longhu has never been broken."

"So is the current Celestial Master still a bloodline descendant of the first-generation Celestial Master Zhang?" Lin Mo pressed, most interested in the secret history of this kind of inheritance.

In his view, a sect passed down purely through bloodline carried extremely high risks.

After all, the dragon has nine sons, and each is different. Who could guarantee that the direct descendants would be dragons and phoenixes among men generation after generation?

As long as one generation produced a mediocrity, the entire family's legacy could head toward decline.

Even worse, being usurped by a more capable branch family and undergoing a complete change of face was all an inevitable process of history.

Sure enough, Daoist Priest Gongyue let out a laugh once again.

"Mount Longhu is long past being the Mount Longhu of a single surname."

Word by word, he unveiled the greatest secret of this millennium-old sect.

"In fact, this bloodline rule was changed a long time ago. Nowadays, the successor to the Celestial Master merely needs to adopt the surname Zhang when inheriting the great position."

A sharp light flashed in Daoist Priest Gongyue's eyes.

"However, to give our ancestral founder an explanation, and to silence the wagging tongues of the world, every generation of ours actually has two Celestial Masters."

Lin Mo subconsciously held his breath.

There was such a maneuver?

"One is the Bloodline Zhang who continues the family line. They are the direct descendants of the first-generation Celestial Master. They do not concern themselves with the mundane affairs of the sect and are only responsible for offering sacrifices to the ancestors and enjoying reverence. This is the explanation given to the ancestral founder."

"The other..." Daoist Priest Gongyue suddenly stopped in his tracks, turning to face Lin Mo directly. His voice abruptly rose, filled with power and pride.

"...is the true Longhu Zhang who presides over the Longhu Sanctum and commands the Zhengyi Daoist sects of the world! This person is assumed by the strongest individual selected from among the thousands of Daoist disciples of our Mount Longhu, having endured countless trials!"

Lin Mo's mind buzzed as everything instantly became clear.

One mascot, one wielder of real power!

Isn't this just a constitutional monarchy!

On the surface, there was a Celestial Master of the Zhang bloodline serving as a spiritual symbol, guaranteeing the legitimacy of the inheritance.

But the one truly holding the reins of power was a Celestial Master who clawed their way up through sheer strength.

Brilliant!

Truly brilliant!

This system not only preserved the face of the ancestral founder but also ensured that the leader of every generation of Mount Longhu was an absolute elite, filling the entire sanctum with vitality.

No wonder they had prospered without decline for a thousand years!

"Therefore..." Daoist Priest Gongyue looked at Lin Mo's shocked yet enlightened expression, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly to reveal a meaningful smile.

"Would our honored guest like to meet the Longhu Zhang of our current generation?"