Chapter 1077: Elder Yao
Shangguan Ya did not immediately answer Qi Xuansu’s question directly. Instead, she said, “The Eight Tribes also originated from the Daoist Order. In the middle to late period of the Holy Xuan’s Era, there was a change of the Three Preceptors, which indirectly led to the Eight Tribes’ separation from the Order.”
As someone from the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, Qi Xuansu knew this part of history well.
Among the six Grand Masters of the Daoist Order, only two had ever replaced all three Deputy Grand Masters during their tenure—the first-generation and the fifth-generation Grand Masters.
After Holy Xuan rebuilt the Daoist Order, he appointed three Deputy Grand Masters to lead each of the Three Major Sects. Zhang Luanshan became the first Great Sage of the Zhengyi Sect, Shangguan Wan was the first Great Sage of the Quanzhen Sect, and Qin Su was the first Great Sage of the Taiping Sect.
In the middle to late years of Holy Xuan’s rule, he wanted to reform the organizational structure by abolishing the Three Sects and consolidating their powers into the Nine Halls. Thus, this reform began from the heads of the Three Sects. The second-generation Deputy Grand Masters were Yan Feiqing of the Zhengyi Sect, Elder Yao of the Quanzhen Sect, and Donghuang of the Taiping Sect.
Replacing the three Deputy Grand Masters was only the first step. The second step was reclaiming certain powers from the Three Sects and redistributing them under the Nine Halls. In the case of the Quanzhen Sect, this meant dissolving the Ancient Creation Project. All creations were reassigned to Huasheng Hall and Tianji Hall. Thus, the dismantling and division of the Creation Project led to the secession of the Eight Tribes.
From that perspective, Shangguan Ya’s statement was entirely correct.
The first- and second-generation Deputy Grand Masters were all first-generation Daoist disciples. Zhang Luanshan and Yan Feiqing were senior and junior brothers; Shangguan Wan and Elder Yao were senior and junior sisters; Qin Su and Donghuang were sister and brother-in-law.
Qi Xuansu gestured for Shangguan Ya to continue.
Shangguan Ya went on, “My ancestor was a disciple of Elder Xu, the final Earthly Preceptor before the Holy Xuan’s reform. The Holy Xuan pushed his junior sister Shangguan Wan to be the first Earthly Preceptor after the reformation, serving as his right hand. Second Deputy Qi, as a disciple of the Quanzhen Sect, why do you think the Holy Xuan replaced my ancestor with Elder Yao?”