"Patriarch Feng is too kind; I’ve only done my duty," Shen Mo replied modestly.
The Supre Elder who, three days ago, had gone to the Heavenly Monarch’s tomb and, along with other Immortal door old ancestor, subdued the Corpse Spirit... was surnad Feng. His actual na was never revealed to regular Sect Disciples, so disciples of the Riverside Sect referred to him as Patriarch Feng!
Before Shen Mo beca a core disciple, he only knew the patriarch by his surna.
However, after being elevated to the ranks of core disciples, he naturally gained the qualification to learn his full na: Feng Daogu.
This was not unique to Patriarch Feng; it was also true for the other three Golden Core Realm Elders. Regular Sect Disciples only knew their surnas, not their given nas.
After Shen Mo and other high-ranking sect mbers learned these nas, they were placed under a gag order, forbidden from casually revealing the Elders’ true nas. This practice, it seed, was to prevent their full nas from circulating externally, lest so entities learn them and use the connection of a true na to secretly plot against and harm them!
Apart from Patriarch Feng, the remaining three Elders were Yuan Heming, Zhou Zhiwei, and Gongsun Jiuru.
Patriarch Yuan Heming was a mber of the Yuan Clan. He, along with Sect Master Yuan Qingshi, Peak Master Yuan Jing of Bright Moon Peak, and the forr Hall Master of the Immortal Welcoming Hall, Yuan Chengshan, all hailed from the sa clan.
Of course, the blood ties between them were already quite distant!
However, as the sole Golden Core Realm cultivator in the Yuan Clan, Yuan Heming had always looked after his clansn.
Sect Master Yuan Qingshi, for instance, was from a very distant collateral branch; his grandfather had remained an outer disciple at the Body Tempering Realm his entire life, leaving the sect early to enjoy wealth and status in the mortal world.
By Yuan Qingshi’s generation, his family’s fortunes had declined. However, due to his ancestral connections, he found his way to the Linjiang Mountain Range and successfully joined the Riverside Sect as an outer disciple.
Afterward, Yuan Qingshi displayed exceptional cultivation talent, earning the attention of Yuan Heming.
Upon confirming Yuan Qingshi’s connection to the Yuan Clan, Yuan Heming took great care of him.
The young Sect Master also proved his ttle, fighting his way up from the competition for new talents, opening his Spirit Sea to beco a core candidate, achieving notable success in the battle for positions, and repeatedly securing his spot as the top core disciple through several duels. Eventually, he beca the Hall Master of the Evil Punishing Hall and the Peak Master of the Rising Sun Peak, ultimately rising to the position of Sect Master!
Besides Sect Master Yuan Qingshi, Yuan Jing, Yuan Chengshan, and others had also, to varying degrees, benefited from Patriarch Yuan Heming’s patronage.
As for Patriarch Zhou Zhiwei, he was a mber of the Zhou Clan and the ancestor of individuals like Stars Peak Master Zhou Shili, Zhou Ru (forrly the seventh-ranked core disciple, now sixth), and other mbers of the Zhou Clan!
However, for well-known reasons, the relationship between Stars Peak Master Zhou Shili and the Zhou Clan was rather delicate.
He often spared no effort in suppressing the Zhou Clan disciples within the Riverside Sect!
This Patriarch Zhou, on the other hand, had an indifferent temperant, and his attitude towards the descendants of the Zhou Clan could only be described as lukewarm at best.
Of course, as long as Patriarch Zhou remained alive and a Supre Elder of the Riverside Sect, the Zhou Clan could continue to reap benefits in various aspects, both overtly and covertly.
Even Zhou Shili, who harbored a deep grudge against the Zhou Clan, could not go too far in many matters.
It is worth ntioning that while both the Yuan Clan and the Zhou Clan had Golden Core Realm patriarchs as backing, and both were considered wealthy sects within the Riverside Sect, the Zhou Clan’s faction was comparatively more active.
It was precisely because of the Zhou Clan’s vigorous activity that many aristocratic clans affiliated with the Riverside Sect followed their lead!
These included the Tian Clan, to which Affairs Hall Master Tian Zhaoquan and forr last-ranked core disciple Tian Zhiyu belonged; the Qian Clan, to which Qian Fuming belonged; the Shi Clan, to which Shi Xiaoqian belonged; the Guo Clan, from which the brothers Guo Xun and Guo Zhao hailed, and so on.
Perhaps, envious of the Yuan Clan’s prestige, the Zhou Clan aid to achieve similar standing within the sect, hence their proficiency in forming cliques and suppressing dissenters.
This wasn’t limited to cultivators from other clans; even mbers of the Zhou Clan’s own branch families, if they showed no potential, were subjected to exclusion and suppression.
When Zhou Shili was still insignificant, he suffered greatly at the hands of his own clan.
Thus, after gaining power, he would go to great lengths to suppress the Zhou Clan!
Regardless, even with Zhou Shili’s suppression, the Zhou Clan was fundantally a powerful clan. Under its managent, Zhou Clan disciples occupied many important positions within the sect, and its relationships with other clans were intricate and inseparable.
It was also due to this complex situation that when Shen Mo faced oppression from the Tian Clan, Zhou Shili could firmly stand by his side!
Then there was Patriarch Gongsun Jiuru, who was among the oldest of the four Supre Elders. The Riverside Sect once had an exceedingly prosperous Gongsun Clan.
However, later, during intense conflicts between immortal cultivation factions and secular factions, most of the Gongsun Clan’s core disciples perished.
Only distantly related descendants of the Gongsun Clan remained, scattered throughout the Red Fla Country.
Before the invasion of the Heavenly Demons, the struggle between these two types of factions had been a chronic ailnt for the Riverside Sect.
The conflicts between them had even reached a level of bloodshed that outsiders could hardly imagine, nearly leading to the destruction of the Riverside Sect on several occasions!
However, under the current demonic disaster, this contradiction had been temporarily suppressed.
After all his close blood relatives perished, Patriarch Gongsun beca disheartened. He dedicated himself wholeheartedly to pursuing the Dao, unwilling to invest more energy in clan affairs.
The three aforentioned patriarchs all hailed from prominent aristocratic clans; only Patriarch Feng was a cultivator of common origin.
Furthermore, due to certain reasons—perhaps his cultivation Realm being too high or possessing overly potent unique traits—he and his Dao companion had no descendants. After his Dao companion passed away from old age, Patriarch Feng dedicated himself entirely to cultivation and strengthening the sect!
Since the rise of the demonic disaster, Shen Mo had dealt with Patriarch Yuan Heming the most. Patriarch Yuan was often stationed at the Riverside Sect. Whether it was during battles for position, competitions for the esteed rank of Peak Master, or regular discussions in the Longevity Hall, Shen Mo would frequently et Patriarch Yuan in his real body!
As for Patriarch Feng and Patriarch Zhou, the forr was stationed at the Heishan Demonic Cave, and the latter was stationed in Sea State.
After subduing the Corpse Spirit, Patriarch Feng had returned to his post. However, judging by his appearance, he seed to have exhausted his vitality in the preceding battle!
Patriarch Gongsun, along with other Immortal door old ancestor, had led a contingent of top-tier experts and infiltrated the Heavenly Demon Realm.
「The sect’s reward, of course, was not re verbal praise.」
For his part in the expedition to the Unnad Heavenly Monarch’s tomb, Shen Mo had made significant contributions. In addition to various spiritual items, he also received Sect rit and Spirit Stones equivalent to exchanging for a low-grade spiritual level magic from the Magic Tower!
With ample Sect rit at his disposal, Shen Mo carefully selected and exchanged it for a martial art designed to control needle-like spiritual artifacts: "Tianhe Nine Turns."
It contained nine layers of transformations, allowing for more agile control of the Ruyi Soul Stealing Needle, rendering its trajectory erratic and elusive.
Moreover, with each layer of transformation mastered, the enigmatic might of the controlled hidden weapon would increase by a corresponding level.
More importantly, besides controlling the Soul Snatching Needle, mastering this technique also allowed him to command the twelve Mountain Pearls and the low-grade spiritual artifact skull.
This was certainly more effective than Shen Mo simply using the Mountain Pearls to bluntly smash opponents.
As for the skull Spiritual Artifact obtained from the evil cultivator Priest Wang Yuanxing, Shen Mo had indeed acquired its corresponding cultivation thod. However, it required the blood essence of sacrifices and Resentful Spirits for cultivation to unleash its full power, a path he naturally refused to take.
Fortunately, both the Ruyi Soul Stealing Needle and the skull Spiritual Artifact possessed innate Artifact Spirits. Shen Mo only needed to supply his True Yuan to wield much of their inherent power.
Employing "Tianhe Nine Turns" to command them, even if unable to unleash their peak potential, would still be more potent than his previous thods!
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