Caves of a Thousand Gods The Caves of a Thousand Gods were an important religious site located in the Endless Wastes . Description . Located at the eastern end of the Kora Shan mountain range in the Endless Wastes , the Caves of a Thousand Gods were one of the largest and most important religious sites of followers of the Path of Enlightenment , the major religion of most in Kara - Tur . The caves ' existence wasn ' t widely known , and it was considered hard to access . Its location was a closely guarded secret , with only a few priests of The Path knowing were it was . A secret group of guides , known as the Golden Porters , were responsible for bringing supplies , and the few travelers who didn ' t stumble upon the site by accident , to the caves . The caves themselves were found at the bottom of a thin gorge , whose walls provided shade , and where a spring - drawn stream brought life to the otherwise dry and sandy landscape , turning it into an oasis of willows , vines , and reeds . The true importance of the site wasn ' t the oasis however , but rather the caves the monks had carved into the rock . Each monk carved their own cave out of the limestone of the gorge ' s walls , and many centuries of this practice had resulted in the many caves being stacked on top of each other , as the monks had to climb ever higher to find space to carve their own cave . Most of these caves were very simple , containing only a single room , though some had windows that overlooked the gorge , and some had small side rooms . Furniture was kept to a minimum , and most caves only contained a mat with a stone pillow , a cooking fire , and some jars to store food and water . These caves served as both home and temple for the monks who lived there , with most of the space being used for meditation and prayer . Walls were painted with religious scenes , and religious statues were placed in back . Mixed in with the caves were statues of the Celestial Emperor , and the various sages of The Path . A particularly large statue , over 50 feet ( 15 m ) tall , of the Celestial Emperor in his lotus throne , was carved in the upper end of the gorge . The caves of particularly great monks , and those monks who had achieved the level of sage , were turned into shrines to them after their deaths . Others were of such beauty that all monks used them . Others still were simply used as storerooms . Inhabitants . The gorge was inhabited by monks of The Path , who used the isolation and peacefulness of the location to quietly meditate and cleanse their mind , and to leave behind the lives and distractions they had on the outside , toward their path to enlightenment . Due to their desire to be left alone , the monks had spread stories of their great power , and of terrible fates those who spied on them suffered . They also had placed various warning markers to scare off the superstitious nomads of the region , who believed the area was cursed . Due to the secretive nature of the caves , those monks who found the site were believed to have been destined to do so , and were welcomed into the community . No distinction was made between male and female monks . The monks were pacifistic , and believed that fighting would distract from their goal of reaching enlightenment . If invaded , they submitted to their attackers , and patiently waited for their time to begin again . The monks grew food such as melons , peaches , millet , and oats , using small irrigation systems made from the stream . Many of the monks were trained in the martial arts . The Water - Breaking - Rock style was the most common . Though not an official leader , as of 1359 DR , the oldest and most respected monk was a man named Zhi Xian Sheng , a powerful shukenja . Hierarchy . Unlike most religious sites , the caves had no established leader , and they didn ' t meet for prayer or sermons . Each monk sought enlightenment in their own way , and all shared in things such as the working of the fields . Scrolls of information were freely available for all to study , copy , and make notes on , and food and outside goods were shared among all the monks . Rules . The only rule the monks had was that any monk that came to the caves to study had to remain for the rest of their life . Those that broke this rule were hunted down and killed by the Golden Porters , to keep the caves ' location a secret .