A Pawn's Passage

Zhang Yuelu raised an objection. “Though the Longevity Stone Heart is deeply connected to the original Longevity Stone, it is still a later creation. By the time the Daoist Order began the creation project, Ancient Wuism had long been extinguished, and the Lingshan Paradise had already vanished. Even if one stumbled into Lingshan by sheer luck, the opportunity they gained should have been a Longevity Stone, not the later Longevity Stone Heart.”

Yao Pei paused, seemingly deliberating her words. “Once this record is submitted, the Great Sages will understand. It’s not at all surprising for the Lingshan Paradise to contain a Longevity Stone Heart.”

Zhang Yuelu immediately took the hint. “You mean that after the Daoist Order began the creation project, someone had entered the Lingshan Paradise and left behind certain creations. While most people are unaware of this, the Great Sages know the truth. That’s why you’re so sure we don’t need to explain anything and that we can just submit the record to the Golden Tower Council as is. Any seeming inconsistency will make it appear that we haven’t tried to protect Tian Yuan, thereby making the report more credible. If we go out of our way to explain things, it would only be gilding the lily.”

“Qing Xiao, you are indeed as sharp as they come.” Yao Pei smiled. “In that case, I’ll be frank with you. The second-generation Earthly Preceptor had once entered the Lingshan Paradise.”

Since the revival of the Daoist Order, the count for the preceptors has been reset. Thus, the first Earthly Preceptor was Shangguan Wan, and the second Earthly Preceptor was an ancestor of the Yao family.

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu instantly understood why Yao Pei knew so much about the Lingshan Paradise and why she was so certain that it could indeed contain a Longevity Stone Heart.

Zhang Yuelu picked up Yao Pei’s notes and said, “Great. I’ll bring this to Acting Deputy Hall Master Li, Superintendent Lu, and Special Envoy Han. If they have no objections, I will submit it to the Golden Tower Council immediately so Tian Yuan can be exonerated as soon as possible.”

Yao Pei had no objections.

After Zhang Yuelu left, Qi Xuansu intended to follow, but Yao Pei blocked his path.

Facing this sober version of Yao Pei, Qi Xuansu could not help but feel uneasy. He straightened his posture and asked warily, “Daoist Yao, is there something else?”

Yao Pei said bluntly, “I can say with certainty that when Madam Qi left the Yao family, she did not take the Longevity Stone Heart with her.”

Qi Xuansu was startled. “What makes you so certain?”

Yao Pei replied calmly, “Because the Yao family never possessed a Longevity Stone Heart. Madam Qi must have acquired hers elsewhere.”

Qi Xuansu’s heart trembled, but he immediately understood. “You mean the Lingshan Paradise?”

Yao Pei explained, “Just like how the Zhang family has the Demon-Vanquishing Cave and the Li family has the Dragon Cave, only the Yao family knows how to access Lingshan Paradise. That’s why many important items are stored there instead of the Yao family’s ancestral estate. After all, we’re not like the Zhangs or Lis. We don’t have the Dazhen Mansion or the Zhenjing Courtyard to ourselves.

“Without a doubt, Madam Qi has been to the Lingshan Paradise. The reason I regained my clarity wasn’t because you dreamed of Lingshan Paradise, but because you accidentally spoke part of the truth. The Longevity Stone Heart within your body originates from Lingshan. Even if someone were to verify it using divination, they would come to the same conclusion. So congratulations, you’ve cleared yourself of suspicion.”

Qi Xuansu was speechless for a moment.

Yao Pei continued, “It’s just like when Monk Yan Xiu slandered you, he too inadvertently spoke part of the truth. It was only because the final details were slightly off that you had the chance to exonerate yourself.”

Qi Xuansu was startled again and looked at Yao Pei. “What do you mean by that?”

Yao Pei did not answer. Instead, she retrieved a book from her magical receptacle and handed it to Qi Xuansu. “Everything you want to know is in here.”

Qi Xuansu took the book and saw that the title on the cover read, The Rise and Fall of the Eleven Witches.

Yao Pei smiled faintly. “Give my regards to Madam Qi.”

With that, she turned and walked away.

Qi Xuansu remained where he was, overwhelmed with emotion and turmoil.

Yao Pei seemed to have figured out his identity. But thinking carefully, it was not surprising. After all, the entire Qingping Society had deep ties to the Yao family. As Sage Cihang had said, if their secrets were ever exposed, the Yao family and Yao Pei would be the first to take the fall. So there was little for him to worry about. They were all in the same boat now.

What truly troubled Qi Xuansu was something else—the fact that the Longevity Stone Heart came from Lingshan Paradise.

That brought back a flood of unanswered questions.

If this Longevity Stone Heart was meant to complete a Banished Immortal, why did he keep dreaming about the Eleven Witches?

Qi Xuansu calmed himself and opened the book that Yao Pei had given him. He was doubtful, but since this book was from the ever-serious Yao Pei, he reckoned that it would be of good quality and not some cheap street-side novel.

The book recorded that among the Eleven Witches, Wu Yang was an outlier who roamed independently outside the formal structure of Ancient Wuism. That was why the other ten were collectively known as the Ten Witches of Lingshan. They had joined forces to craft the Elixir of Immortality, which Qi Xuansu now knew to be the first-generation Longevity Stone.

It all started when the Emperor of Heaven could not bear the pain of God Zhulong losing his son, Yayu, so he ordered Yayu’s body to be sent to Lingshan so that the Ten Great Witches could revive him.

The Ten Great Witches of Lingshan succeeded using the Elixir of Immortality, but the resurrected Yayu’s temperament changed drastically. Yayu became a monster with a dragon head and a cat body, going around eating people and wreaking havoc everywhere. Ultimately, Yayu was subdued.

After this incident, Wu Peng and the leader of Ancient Wuism, Wu Xian, had a falling out. Wu Peng believed that the Elixir of Immortality was incomplete, so she led her followers and left Lingshan. There, she joined forces with the solitary Wu Yang to form the Six Enlightened Witches. They began crafting the perfect version of the Elixir, which was what would become the second version of the Longevity Stone.

In order to refine the Elixir of Immortality, the Six Enlightened Witches entered the Kunlun Cave. At that time, the Daoist Order had not yet returned to Kunlun, and Jade Capital was still sealed, shrouded by the Grand Illusion Realm established by Daoist Master Nanhua.

The Six Enlightened Witches clashed with God Luwu, the guardian of the Kunlun Cave, their war lasting a thousand years. The followers of the Six Enlightened Witches who had entered with them perished one by one, until the Six were the only ones remaining.

After they succeeded in refining the Elixir, infighting broke out among the Six. Wu Peng, Wu Fan, Wu Xiang, Wu Lu, and Wu Di plotted to kill the outlier Wu Yang and keep the Elixir for themselves. By that time, it was already the late Wei Dynasty. Wu Yang joined forces with an Earthly Immortal who had entered Kunlun, and together, they slew the other five witches. During the battle, a portion of the Elixir was consumed. In the end, the Daoist Order obtained only an incomplete version. After combining it with the incomplete Shamanistic Sect’s version of the Longevity Stone, they created the third-generation Longevity Stone.

That was why Wu Yang held a prestigious position within the Daoist Order. She was the only Great Witch permitted to be honored and worshipped.

On the other hand, Wu Xian and the other four Great Witches also sought to remedy the shortcomings of the Elixir. Its flaw was clear. Since it was made using ancient wild beasts, it inevitably absorbed the resentment and malign energy of these creatures at death. Yayu had become a monster precisely because the Elixir contained too much of this beastly energy. If that component could be removed, the risk of monstrous transformation could then be avoided.

However, Lingshan lacked medicinal ingredients that could replace the wild beasts. Only the Kunlun Cave had such resources. So Wu Xian chose another path, using humans instead of beasts. At the time, the emperor was waging wars across the land, so Wu Xian asked him to instruct his generals to gather the life force of slain enemies to continue refining the Elixir. This resulted in a variant, later known as the Shamanistic Sect’s version of the Longevity Stone, which the Daoist Order eventually rejected.

The Holy Xuan once obtained the Shamanistic Sect’s version of the Longevity Stone, but it had been weakened by heavenly tribulations. Thus, it only retained barely 10% of its original power. Later, Wu Yang repaired it using her Elixir of Immortality, removing its dangers.

In short, the third-generation Longevity Stone was a combination of the incomplete second-generation and the incomplete Shamanistic Sect’s version.

The second-generation Longevity Stone was flawless, but nearly impossible to replicate. The third-generation Longevity Stone was slightly inferior, but it could not defy heavenly tribulations. However, it had no hidden risks, and, most importantly, it could be reproduced. That led to the creation of the Longevity Stone Heart.

The second-generation Longevity Stone came from the Six Enlightened Witches. The Shamanistic Sect’s version came from Wu Xian and the other four witches. In the end, after a millennium, all eleven Great Witches had completed a form of collaboration due to this Elixir.

The Daoist Order rejected the Shamanistic Sect’s version of the Longevity Stone not only because it was bloody and cruel. Wu Xian had used the life force of enemies, while the Shamanistic Sect used slaves. It was also because this version was best suited as a weapon or external object, not as a consumable elixir.

After refining her elixir, Wu Xian chose to use it on herself as a test. As a result, she was completely transformed, much like Yayu before her. Though she did not become a monster, she grew increasingly extreme, irritable, and violent, almost like a different person without even realizing it.

Wu Ji, Wu Gu, Wu Zhen, and Wu Luo believed Wu Xian had gone completely mad, so the four of them joined forces and killed her. After killing Wu Xian, they constructed a tomb for her in the Nether Valley, burying her there and flooding the site with a river of blood. In truth, the entire tomb was built as a prison to prevent Wu Xian from returning from the dead.

When Qi Xuansu read this part, he nearly cried out in shock.

Every time before waking from his dream, he would fall underground and be swallowed by an endless crimson pool. It perfectly matched the description in the book of Wu Xian being drowned in a river of blood. Could the shadowy figure in his dreams have been Wu Xian?

Qi Xuansu continued reading.

After Wu Xian’s death, Wu Luo became the last leader of Ancient Wuism. But after so many upheavals, Ancient Wuism’s fate had run its course. The Daoist Order rose in power, and the Founding Heavenly Preceptor established the Heavenly Sect, leading a campaign against the Great Witches.

Had Ancient Wuism been at its peak, the outcome might have been different. However, with only four Great Witches remaining, they were no match for the Founding Heavenly Preceptor. The Great Witches were forced into retreat, and the Heavenly Preceptor eventually stormed the Lingshan Paradise to slay all four of them. This great battle caused the paradise to collapse and fall into ruin.

Of the four Great Witches, only Wu Luo was a Godly Immortal. Due to the three-stage nature of death among Godly Immortals, Wu Luo did not truly perish. Years later, she returned and founded the Lingshan Witch Cult. In this sense, Wu Luo and the Zhang family truly bore a brutal blood feud.