A Pawn's Passage

Pure-white snow covered a jade-like mountain—that was the majestic Kunlun Mountain.

Jade Capital was situated on Yuxu Peak and built along the mountain slope, ascending in tiers.

Above the Jade Capital was the Xuan City, and above that was the Purple Mansion. The Golden Tower was at the pinnacle of Purple Mansion, the highest point of Yuxu Peak.

The Golden Tower Council was established by the Holy Xuan and served as the highest authority of the Daoist Order. It was the usual battleground for power struggles between the Grand Master and the Deputy Grand Masters. The fifth-generation Grand Master used the Golden Tower Council to depose three Deputy Grand Masters. Later, the three Deputy Grand Masters collectively undermined the sixth-generation Grand Master.

After the ascension of the sixth-generation Grand Master, all the struggles between the Taiping Sect, the Quanzhen Sect, and the Zhengyi Sect also unfolded here.

Whoever controlled the Golden Tower Council controlled the Daoist Order.

In appearance, the Golden Tower was neither plain nor extravagant. It perfectly matched the public’s imagination of a heavenly palace. Yet amidst the other halls in Jade Capital, it was neither outstanding nor majestic enough to match its reputation. Even so, this place had decided the rise and fall of countless individuals.

In truth, when the Holy Xuan first built the Golden Tower, he simply intended it as a meeting hall, without any sacred connotations. Yet, over time, as all decrees originated from the Golden Tower, this building had gained its lofty and mysterious reputation.

Today, the Golden Tower hosted a mid-level meeting with 24 Omniscient Sages in attendance. Previously, the Purple Immortal Mountain case had only warranted a small meeting with 12 Omniscient Sages in attendance.

As this meeting was called at the last minute, some Omniscient Sages could not return to Jade Capital in time and had to participate remotely through advanced mother-child talismans.

In most cases, unless their interests were directly involved, attendees typically followed the vote of the majority; such was human nature.

However, in recent years, growing conflicts among the three sects made it increasingly difficult to follow the majority, forcing individuals to take sides. Choosing sides had its risks because standing on the wrong side could lead to disaster.

This left many with less ambition nostalgic for the fifth-generation Grand Master’s reign, when the Daoist Order was more unified.

Typically, a high-level meeting was presided over by a Deputy Grand Master or even the Grand Master in some cases. A mid-level meeting was presided over by a Great Sage or the Chief Omniscient Sage. Thus, the meeting today was personally presided over by Sage Donghua, Pei Xuanzhi.

The interior of the Golden Tower was vast, with chairs upon chairs as far as the eye could see.

The chair’s predecessor was a stool. Backed chairs came from the Western Region, as the tradition of the Central Plains was to kneel. Over the centuries, chairs have replaced the traditional kneeling posture. Thus, when the Holy Xuan established the Golden Tower Council, he rejected the proposal of sitting on the ground, on mats, or on cushions. Instead, he opted for the more convenient and straightforward chair.

In the Golden Tower, kneeling was unnecessary. Only those required to answer inquiries or support discussions had to stand when they spoke. Everyone else would stay seated, symbolizing a peaceful discussion.

At the center of the hall was a pedestal with a simple rosewood armchair. This was the Grand Master’s seat, which was currently vacant.

Flanking the Grand Master’s chair below the pedestal were three chairs to the left and three to the right, reserved for the Grand Master’s partner and the Virtuous Great Sages. The number of chairs at this level was not fixed, adjusted accordingly based on the number of Virtuous Great Sages.

Behind the Grand Master’s chair was a large three-legged bronze incense burner with a lid engraved with the Eight Trigrams. Faint wisps of incense smoke drifted continuously through the openings. Above it, on the central north wall, hung a plain framed scroll inscribed with four words, “Peace to the World.”

The Grand Master’s chair faced south, while the east, south, and west sides each held 12 chairs, totaling 36 seats for the Omniscient Sage. Each set of 12 chairs featured a fancier chair at the head, for the three Deputy Grand Masters.

Behind these 36 chairs were 108 seats for observers, neatly arranged with far less spacing than the previous group.

At this moment, the three seats for the Deputy Grand Masters were vacant. Only 13 out of the 36 seats for Omniscient Sages were occupied. The attendees included Sage Cihang, the temporarily retired former Tiangang Hall Master Ning Lingge, the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion Master who had still not returned to Jinling, the Kunlun Daoist Mansion Master, Huasheng Hall Master, Tianji Hall Master, and Duzhi Hall Master, among others. However, Sage Qingwei was absent.

Moments later, 10 faintly translucent figures appeared on the empty chairs. These were the Omniscient Sages who could not return to Jade Capital in time and were participating remotely.

Including Sage Donghua, who presided over the meeting, there were exactly 24 Omniscient Sages in attendance.

As the chair of this meeting, Sage Donghua arrived last. He did not sit but stood beside the Grand Master’s chair with one hand resting on its back. This symbolized his role in presiding over the mid-level meeting on behalf of the Grand Master.

Thus, this mid-level Golden Tower Council meeting convened before the vacant Grand Master’s chair.

Pei Xuanzhi surveyed the room and went straight to the point. “Let’s begin. Today’s meeting has only one agenda—dealing with the Cult of Fates’ malevolent schemes in Jinling. The fire at Zhenwu Temple, which many are concerned about, will be discussed another day.

“As of last night, multiple instances of Cult of Fates activities and their curses have been discovered in Jinling. Tiangang Hall has defeated small groups of cultists, and the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion is organizing personnel to eliminate the curses.”

The Jiangnan Daoist Mansion Master immediately stood up. “I am guilty for this oversight—”

Pei Xuanzhi raised a hand to interrupt him. “Now is not the time to assign blame. We are here to discuss solutions.”

The Jiangnan Daoist Mansion Master abruptly stopped speaking.

To maintain the balance among the three sects, the Golden Tower Council never placed a particularly strong Omniscient Sage in the position of the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion Master. Even successive Sage Cihangs only served in this role during their younger years to preserve the equilibrium of power.

At this moment, Sage Cihang spoke. “I have just received news that Jinling’s communications have been cut off, rendering it an isolated city. This indicates that the situation has worsened further, and timely decisions must be made.”

The vast hall fell silent.

It was not because the Omniscient Sages were frightened by the Cult of Fates. Rather, this was a sudden development, leaving the attendees unprepared. Such news was difficult to respond to immediately or decisively.

Though expressing one’s opinions came at no cost, one would have to bear accountability for their decisions and suggestions later. After all, no one wanted to stick their neck out in this big group of old foxes.

This was expected. Pei Xuanzhi scanned the crowd and raised his voice. “I believe that for the millions of lives in Jinling and the reputation of the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion, we must immediately dispatch Tiangang Hall to suppress the Cult of Fates and restore order.”

As soon as he spoke, someone objected. “Jinling is not the Western Region. Sending Tiangang Hall for a military crackdown might invite criticism.”

The Ciji Hall Master added, “Though Xizhou is part of the Western Region, the Imperial Court does not oppose but even supports our intervention in the Western Region. However, Jinling is different. This place is too sensitive, being the heart of the Jiangnan region. It’s a vital stronghold of the southeast and known unofficially as the secondary capital of the Great Xuan Empire. Acting without proper authorization might lead to misunderstandings between the Daoist Order and the Imperial Court.”

Pei Xuanzhi replied in a solemn tone, “According to the covenant between the Holy Xuan and the Great Sage Changsheng, the entry of Daoist Spirit Guards into Jinling does not require anyone’s authorization. Time waits for no one; we must enter Jinling now.”

The entire Golden Tower Council fell silent once again.

Seeing no opposition, Pei Xuanzhi began assigning specific tasks. “Sage Cihang, please deploy the Fifth and Seventh Division of Tiangang Hall on two Yinglong Warships to assist the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion in suppressing the Cult of Fates in Jinling. We must eliminate all evil without letting even one cult demon escape.”

The two Omniscient Sages had already communicated beforehand, so naturally, Sage Cihang raised no objections. In fact, she had already instructed Tiangang Hall to begin preliminary preparations so that they could set out for Jinling no later than this evening.

Pei Xuanzhi continued, “If there are no objections, begin preparations immediately. Tianji Hall will handle the firearms required by Tiangang Hall, while Huasheng Hall will provide the necessary talismans and elixirs. Duzhi Hall will initiate the budget, establish accounts, and conduct audits afterward. Additionally, the Deputy Jiangnan Daoist Mansion Masters must return to Jinling immediately.”

Pei Xuanzhi raised a finger. “Let’s strive to completely eradicate the Cult of Fates from Jinling in one day.”

At that moment, an elderly Sage asked, “In whose name?”

Pei Xuanzhi deepened his voice. “In the name of the Daoist Order, in the name of the Golden Tower Council, and in my name.”