A Pawn's Passage

Within the Daoist Order, the number of Shamans was relatively small, and only a small portion of stored divine power was actually used for their cultivation. The majority was allocated to Spirit Guards and the Yinglong Warship. While flying ships were powered by Dragon Pearls, the Yinglong Warship was not just a means of transportation. It also carried out combat missions and utilized powerful talisman formations. Thus, Dragon Pearls alone were no longer sufficient, and divine power was required for these functions.

In some ways, divine power was an even harder currency than Taiping coins, making it somewhat understandable why certain Daoists would resort to embezzlement.

In truth, Shamans could generate incense power on their own. The principle was simple. All they had to do was believe in themself. Since this form of faith was purer, it required no purification or refinement and could be directly converted into divine power. However, its output was extremely low, far less efficient than harvesting the incense power of believers.

Take Qi Xuansu as an example—if he relied solely on his own incense power to replenish the Xuan Jade of Divinity, it would take at least 100 years. At present, it was only enough to offset the losses from condensing his golden body.

Qi Xuansu casually asked, “Sage Sun, does Wanxiang Daoist Palace possess any divine power? Something like a statue of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor?”

“You brat, are you thinking of stealing divine power?” Sun Hewu joked.

Qi Xuansu chuckled. “How could a scholar’s curiosity be called theft?”

Perhaps because Sun Hewu had drunk too much, he did not bother concealing the truth. “Yes, there is.”

Qi Xuansu was stunned. He had only asked casually, not actually expecting Sun Hewu to give him a definite answer.

Sun Hewu took another sip of wine and prompted. “Why don’t you take a guess? Where do you think the Wanxiang Daoist Palace placed that statue?”

Qi Xuansu suddenly recalled something Yao Pei had once said and tentatively asked, “Is it at the bottom of Xingye Lake?”

Sun Hewu immediately spat out his wine and stared at Qi Xuansu in shock. “How do you know that?”

“It’s really in Xingye Lake?!” Qi Xuansu was just as astonished. “It was just a wild guess!”

Sun Hewu shook his head helplessly. “It seems even hiding in plain sight isn’t a foolproof solution. When Old Shi returns, I’ll have to bring this matter up with him.”

Qi Xuansu pursued, “Why sink it to the bottom of the lake instead of using it?”

Sun Hewu explained, “As I mentioned earlier, consecration is essentially a seal. This Wanxiang Daoist Palace was once one of the Three Great Confucian Academies and housed a statue of the Confucian Sage that was far from ordinary.

“When our ancestors obtained it, they could not immediately break the seal on it. Just as they were planning to study it slowly, the Confucian School came knocking, demanding the return of the statue. According to the treaty signed between the Daoist Order and the Confucian School at that time, while they had ceded Wanxiang Academy to us, they still retained the right to take whatever was inside...”

At this point, Sun Hewu paused slightly, stroking his beard in silence.

Qi Xuansu could not help but urge, “And then?”

Sun Hewu sighed. “At that time, the Wanxiang Daoist Palace had just been established, and the Daoist Order was not yet revitalized by the Holy Xuan. In other words, we were dirt poor. When people are poor, their ambitions shrink; when horses are thin, their coats grow rough.

“Our ancestors couldn’t bear to give up such a valuable prize, so they outright denied ever seeing the statue, claiming it had likely been destroyed. In reality, they secretly altered the statue’s appearance before sinking it into Xingye Lake, planning to slowly break the seal in the future.”

“Later, once our ancestors realized they had become the orthodox rulers of the world, collecting divine power was no longer difficult. Moreover, it’s better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. How long could they sustain themselves just by scavenging what the Confucians left behind?

“In short, they understood that they couldn’t rely on anyone else. They had to rely on themselves and imitate the Buddhists to fully establish their own system for collecting divine power.

“It just so happened that Holy Xuan issued an order instructing the ancestors to focus on perfecting the Godly Immortal lineage, so the Confucian Sage statue, which had been sunk to the bottom of the lake, was temporarily put aside and eventually forgotten. For the Daoist Order today, breaking the seal on it is no longer difficult, but they no longer care about the small amount of divine power inside, so they simply left it alone.”

Qi Xuansu was deeply intrigued but still asked knowingly, “Since they don’t care for it, why not return it to the Confucian School?”

Sun Hewu glared at him. “Are you actually stupid or just playing dumb? The ancestors already denied it completely back then. If we returned it now, wouldn’t that be slapping our own face?”

Qi Xuansu started forming a plan regarding this. He changed the subject, “By the way, has the second major Jiangnan case been resolved?”

“It’s tentatively concluded.” Sun Hewu sighed and gave a rough summary of the outcome. As a Deputy Palace Master, he received regular official bulletins, whereas Qi Xuansu and the other students had no such privileges during their three-month training.

After listening, Qi Xuansu was puzzled. “Zhenwu Temple was burned to the ground, and all the evidence was turned to ash. Even the seven-member investigation team barely escaped with their lives. How did the Golden Tower Council manage to convict so many people in such a short time?”

Sun Hewu stroked his beard. “That’s why Pei Xuanzhi is so brilliant. He didn’t charge them with corruption. Instead, he charged them with dereliction of duty, leading to major civilian casualties and property losses in Jinling Prefecture as a result of the Cult of Fates’ attack.

“By arresting them under this charge, he could interrogate them slowly and thoroughly. Once the questioning started, it wouldn’t just be about dereliction of duty. Sooner or later, all the dirty secrets about embezzling funds would spill out. Even if they are missing evidence, they’d dig it out this way. But it’ll take a long time, and the other party won’t just sit there and wait to be crushed. Another round of power struggle is imminent.”

Qi Xuansu sighed in admiration. “That’s why he’s the Chief Omniscient Sage.”

Just then, Qi Jianyuan removed his privacy barrier, looking as if he was about to leave. His expression was far from pleasant.

Meanwhile, Yao Pei still looked half-asleep and indifferent, as usual.

Qi Xuansu could not help but look over—not out of concern for Yao Pei, but purely to enjoy the spectacle.

As luck would have it, his gaze met Qi Jianyuan’s.

Qi Xuansu felt a bit awkward. After all, he had been watching with a somewhat impure motive and was caught red-handed. Feeling a bit guilty, he averted his gaze first.

However, Qi Jianyuan frowned, looking displeased.

Qi Xuansu keenly noticed this displeasure and instinctively became more cautious.

Qi Jianyuan did not leave immediately. Instead, he asked, “You’re Qi Xuansu?”

“I am Qi Xuansu. May I ask for your name?”

Qi Xuansu only heard Sun Hewu mention that they shared the same last name. But he still did not inquire about the person’s full name.

Qi Jianyuan did not answer directly. “I’ve heard of you. You served under Sage Lei and were even personally praised by my master.”

“I am unworthy of such praise,” Qi Xuansu responded humbly.

Qi Jianyuan was silent for a moment before suddenly saying, “I’ve read your records. Your master was Qi Haoran, a fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist master from the Zhengyi Sect.”

This time, Qi Xuansu was the one to frown. “Do you have past ties with my master?”

Qi Jianyuan said nonchalantly, “Strictly speaking, I should call him my uncle. But I suppose he’s best left forgotten. I never expected him to leave behind a disciple.”

Qi Xuansu immediately sensed something was off and slowly asked, “You’re from the Qi family, which means my master should also be from the same family. If the Qi family is a major lineage in the Quanzhen Sect, how did my master become a disciple of the Zhengyi Sect?”

Qi Jianyuan countered with a question, “He never told you?”

Qi Xuansu remained silent.

“He didn’t want to tell you because he was guilty,” Qi Jianyuan said. “I just never thought he would let you carry my last name.”

Qi Xuansu’s expression darkened as he coldly retorted, “Is the Qi name yours alone to claim?”

If this had only been about Qi Xuansu himself, he would not have minded taking a step back. But since it concerned his master, he refused to yield.

Qi Xuansu was no longer the ordinary Rogue Cultivator who had no power to fight back against a Heavenly Being, nor was he a seventh-rank Daoist priest with no backing. Now, he had enough confidence to stand his ground.

If not for his master’s sake, he would not even care about the Qi name. If he wanted to cling to power, Madam Qi’s Yao family was far more prestigious than the Qi family.

Qi Jianyuan had not expected Qi Xuansu’s sudden shift in attitude, nor had he anticipated such blatant defiance. His eyes narrowed, and he radiated an icy chill aura.

It was precisely because they shared the same last name that he felt a natural dislike for Qi Xuansu, even though they had never interacted before.

Qi Xuansu was completely unfazed and continued, “My master has been dead for many years. Whether he’s guilty or not isn’t something you can just make up as you please. I say you must be the guilty one.”

Qi Jianyuan sneered, “You really are Qi Haoran’s disciple—both of you share the same arrogance. I am a Deputy Hall Master of Ziwei Hall, while you’re just a Superintendent. Are you relying on Zhang Yuelu’s backing? Or perhaps Sage Lei’s backing? How dare you speak to me like this!”

Qi Xuansu exploded in fury, countering with equal aggression. “You’re judging others by your own measly standards. Is that the extent of your ability? I’m a wild Daoist who has traveled from the Western Region to Jinling, braving storms and blizzards. I dove into murky waters, charged into fire, and fought my way through with my blade. I have never relied on my family name or my master’s reputation. When I was slaughtering the cult demons from Heavenly Court, you were probably still hiding in some woman’s arms, sucking on her milk! Who the hell do you think you are? Why would I need to rely on anyone to talk back to you?”