A Pawn's Passage

Compared to the previously fragmented Daoist Order, the current Daoist Order has grown significantly stronger, with a substantial increase in the number of Heavenly Beings and Pseudo-Immortals.

At its core, this development could be attributed to several key reasons.

First, the Daoist Order and the Great Xuan Dynasty defeated the Confucian School and the Wei Dynasty, then suppressed the Buddhist Sect, promoting the unification of the Three Religions. This allowed the Daoist Order to replace the Confucian School as the de facto master of the world and the leader of the Three Religions, attracting talented individuals from all over.

Since the Daoist Order now presided over the empire, it did not lack talent or wealth. Its maritime trade also flourished, ensuring ample resources and financial support.

Secondly, with the unification of the Daoist sects, resources and talents were consolidated, and governance became centralized, allowing the Daoist Order to focus its efforts on major endeavors.

The Daoist Order took control of Xuan City and Kunlun, which was once fiercely contested among various Daoist sects. This acquisition of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor’s legacy, combined with the efforts of past and present generations, led to the rise of the famed creation projects and the rapid advancement of firearm technology.

Thirdly, the world has enjoyed peace since the major war between the Buddhist Sect and the Daoist Order, with only minor disturbances from secret societies. The casualty rate among Daoist disciples—both elite and novice—had significantly decreased.

Furthermore, the Daoist Order placed great emphasis on nurturing and promoting young talents, ensuring a seamless succession without gaps in its hierarchy.

Finally, credit must be given to the Holy Xuan, who compiled and integrated all cultivation techniques into the Five Immortal Lineages. Though the goal of making every person as powerful as a dragon was still a far-off dream, the progress vastly improved compared to the past.

In the past, many cultivation methods were hoarded by various sects. Though some had several perfected methods, they were only passed down to a select few disciples, while most ordinary disciples could not even reach the threshold of high-attainment methods. Thus, most spent their entire lives practicing average-attainment methods.

Even for the rare few who could learn perfected methods, there were often compatibility issues.

For instance, a highly talented disciple from the Zhang family of Yunjin Mountain was a woman, who was inherently yin in nature. Thus, she was not suited for practicing the Five Thunder Celestial Heart Method which was a pure-yang technique. Instead, she would be more compatible with the Yin-Yang Unification Method.

However, since the Zhang family was at odds with the Earthly Preceptor Xu Wugui at the time, such a talent would go unrecognized and wasted.

After the Holy Xuan organized all cultivation methods into the Five Immortal Lineages, such issues ceased to exist.

First, the Five Immortal Lineages were compiled by the Holy Xuan with the collective efforts of all Daoist sects. They encompassed a vast range of techniques, had extremely low entry requirements, and yet offered limitless potential. Thus, they were simply referred to as lineages.

Second, the Five Immortal Lineages transcended family lineage, sect traditions, and factions. Whether one belonged to the Zhengyi Sect or the Quanzhen Sect, whether they bore the last name Li or Zhang, they were free to choose their lineage based on their own compatibility, without any factional restrictions.

Third, the Five Immortal Lineages treated all Daoists equally. The only difference between a ninth-rank Daoist and a first-rank Tianzhen Daoist master lay in their cultivation, not in the superiority of the different techniques they practiced. As a result, the number of high-level Daoist cultivators had increased exponentially.

The unification of the Daoist Order had indirectly prompted reforms within both the Confucian School and the Buddhist Sect.

For example, in the past, a Confucian Hermit was merely an identity. However, it had become a distinct lineage in the Confucian School.

The Buddhist Sect was far more radical than the Confucian School. After the Buddhist Sect’s defeat in the war, it underwent a deep transformation. Not only did the Buddhists fully adopt Daoist administrative structures but they also mirrored their rival’s major lineages. For instance, Bikkhus resembled Martial Arts Practitioners, while Brahmas were similar to Diviners.

In the past, aside from a few perfected methods such as the Xiaoyao Six Void Tribulations, most of them—including Taiyin 13 Swords, Cihang Sword Sequence, Taishang Emotionless Sutra, Taiping Qingling Sutra, as well as Heavenly Blade and Demonic Blade—were complete cultivation paths that both enhanced one’s cultivation level and provided powerful abilities.

Nowadays, all cultivation aspects have been stripped away, leaving only the mystical abilities. In other words, practicing these techniques would only improve combat prowess but would not enhance one’s cultivation level. To increase cultivation, one must still follow the conventional methods from their respective lineages or rely on external aids, such as Zhang Yuelu taking a Spirit Pill or Qi Xuansu integrating the Xuan Jade.

Logically speaking, if one aimed solely for immortality, one could forgo these mystical abilities and focus entirely on cultivation breakthroughs. However, this approach had clear drawbacks. If one had no combat skills and merely had self-cultivation, one would be vulnerable when encountering an opponent. Even those who attained immortality were not completely safe. Many Immortals had perished in battle, such as Song Zheng, the creator of Demonic Blade.

On the other hand, the Daoist Order did not support blindly pursuing cultivation at the expense of all else. That was because the Daoist Order was a vast and intricate system, where no individual was indispensable.

There was once a time when cultivation level was the primary criterion for promotion within the Daoist Order. The new generation of Daoist disciples translated their cultivation into power, thus merging cultivation levels with positions of authority.

During that period, the Daoist Order was ruled by those with the highest cultivation. However, most individuals had limited energy and could not excel in both administration and cultivation. After all, high cultivation did not necessarily mean one could govern the Daoist Order effectively or handle complex administrative matters.

As contradictions intensified, the emergence of Spirit Guards helped alleviate these tensions. This allowed Daoists with lower cultivation levels but strong administrative skills to enter the core leadership of the Daoist Order.

The fifth-generation Grand Master formally addressed this issue, recognizing that governing the Daoist Order, holding power, and maintaining authority were highly specialized tasks, no less important than advancing one’s cultivation. He did not deny that exceptional geniuses like the Holy Xuan could excel in all aspects, and he himself could manage, but such individuals were rare.

Most often, it was best to let professionals handle what they were best at.

The sixth-generation Grand Master was undoubtedly a counterexample. He became an Immortal before turning 60, yet ultimately accomplished nothing and even left behind a mess.

Thus, starting with the fifth-generation Grand Master, the previously overlooked merit and tenure systems were continuously strengthened. Even prodigies like Li Changge and Yao Pei could not rise solely based on their cultivation. They had to accumulate sufficient administrative experience to attain high positions.

This was meant to prevent individuals with mere cultivation prowess from occupying leadership roles and making uninformed and unprofessional decisions.

Zhang Yuelu was a beneficiary of this system. Due to her extensive administrative experience, she was able to identify various issues within the Daoist Order early on, prompting her to contemplate solutions. Through continuous practice, she developed a sufficiently mature governing philosophy and political acumen, making her far more suited to lead the Daoist Order than those who solely pursued enlightenment and immortality.

To accomplish things, one would inevitably encounter conflicts, making the use of force unavoidable. As a result, mystical abilities and techniques become essential tools.

For this reason, even scholars studying in libraries must learn some self-defense techniques, let alone someone like Qi Xuansu, who frequently engaged in life-or-death battles. This was why Qi Xuansu was so eager to master a perfected method.

After Qi Xuansu chose Demonic Blade, Sun Hewu wasted no words and immediately led him to the library.

The two left the residential area in Kun Garden and Dui Garden, went by Ming Hall, passed Zhen Garden, and finally arrived at Gen Garden, where the archives were located.

There were a total of 81 archive towers, arranged in a circular pattern, each categorized by subject—astronomy, geography, agriculture, medicine, engineering, various philosophical schools, and even strange tales. Of these, only 72 archive towers were open to the public. The other 9 central libraries required high-level authorization from the Wanxiang Daoist Palace to access.

Since Sun Hewu was acting in place of the Palace Master during the latter’s absence, he naturally possessed the necessary authority.

The 9 central libraries were of equal importance. Their buildings formed a perfect circle.

Sun Hewu led Qi Xuansu into the northeastern tower. Upon entering, he saw a vast hall devoid of bookshelves or people. It was completely empty. However, facing the entrance was a massive wall inscribed with the Primordial Daoist Ancestor’s Five Thousand Word Classic.

Sun Hewu took out a special key and raised it with both hands. In response, the wall split open like a double door, revealing a long corridor beyond.

“These nine archive towers are actually nine Small Worlds. They are far larger inside than they appear,” Sun Hewu remarked before stepping in. Qi Xuansu followed closely behind.

The corridor stretched over 300 meters, lined with rows of neatly arranged doors on both sides. Each door was tightly shut, concealing whatever lay behind them. However, they were decorated with gold and jade, radiating an air of opulence that made one curious to explore their contents.

Without even glancing at them, Sun Hewu warned. “These chambers are protected by formations. If you enter recklessly and trigger them, survival will be nearly impossible.”

As they spoke, they reached the corridor’s end, where a grand bronze door stood. It was inscribed with dense, intricate writings.

Sun Hewu produced a unique token, which floated on its own, fitting perfectly into an empty space among the inscriptions, completing the text on the wall.

In the next instant, the bronze door dissolved into countless floating characters that dispersed into the air.

Sun Hewu led Qi Xuansu through the swirling characters and stepped into the grand chamber beyond the bronze door.

This chamber was slightly smaller than the outer hall. At its center stood a bronze meditation seat, while the four walls were densely covered with tiny inscriptions. The seat was the perfect position to gaze at the wall and gain enlightenment.

“I thought it would be jade slips,” Qi Xuansu remarked as he glanced around.

Sun Hewu turned his head and gave Qi Xuansu a look. Though he said nothing, his disdainful expression seemed to say, “Look at you, acting like you’ve never seen the world before.”

Qi Xuansu felt slightly embarrassed.

After a brief pause, Sun Hewu explained patiently, “Jade slips deteriorate over time, but this chamber itself is a book. As long as the Small World remains intact, there will be no degradation.”

Qi Xuansu lifted his gaze.

The text covering the walls amounted to at least several hundred thousand characters that varied in size. The core description of Demonic Blade was merely a few thousand words, while the rest consisted of extensive annotations. Even the annotations themselves were rather cryptic and difficult to comprehend. If translated into plain language, it would easily exceed a million words.

Sun Hewu said, “As a Rogue Cultivator, you should have exceptional memory. Read through all of this first. Ideally, commit it to memory. If anything remains unclear, you may seek my guidance.”