A Pawn's Passage

While waiting for someone, Qi Xuansu idly picked up a novel titled The Legend of the Female Sword Immortal: A Shoddy Sequel.

Qi Xuansu flipped to the first page.

“Three years remain until the next Yuxu Sword Tournament. The previous champion, Li Ziyun, was currently cultivating the Nanhua Sutra in seclusion...”

He then flipped to the final page, thinking he could guess the whole story from just reading the beginning and the end.

“At last, everything settled down. Li Ziyun returned to her normal life and continued her cultivation of the Nanhua Sutra, awaiting the next Yuxu Sword Tournament three years later.”

Qi Xuansu remained silent for a long time, unsure of what to say.

This story felt like a time loop, with the beginning and end repeating themselves. It would be like if Madam Qi had ordered him to go to Fengtai County to seize the Xuan Jade, which led to him experiencing a host of events like marrying Zhang Yuelu and defeating Li Changge, only for him to end up setting off on the journey to Fengtai County to compete for the Xuan Jade again.

He glanced again at the thick storybook and could not help but mutter, “This shouldn’t be titled A Shoddy Sequel. It should be called A Day in the Life of the Female Sword Immortal.”

Finding the story unbearable, Qi Xuansu pulled out the latest Daoist bulletin.

The first thing to catch his eye was a sensational headline, “The Post-Daoist Era: Which Path Shall We Take?”

Qi Xuansu was shocked that a title like this had gotten published. Had the censors fallen asleep?

But when he saw the author’s name—Pei Xuanzhi—Qi Xuansu immediately understood how it had slipped through.

Sage Donghua began by analyzing the structure of the Buddhist Sect and the Holy Court, arguing that both were built upon axioms that common folk could not verify, like reincarnation, original sin, Western Paradise, and Heaven.

Then, Sage Donghua turned his critique onto the Daoist Order, stating that they were inherently weaker in this respect. Since their founding, Daoists’ strengths lay in talismans, alchemy, cultivation, and longevity. If they served the ruling class, it was by offering immortality; if they served the commoners, it was by inspiring rebellion. These were tangible results that could be verified with no ambiguity.

Sage Donghua emphasized the origins of the Taiping Sect, noting that its initial uprising was sparked by nothing more than a bowl of talisman water. Though it seemed absurd, it was not, because for the impoverished masses, it did not matter whether the talisman water truly worked. What mattered was that someone cared enough to offer them a bowl of water, whereas the court officials would not even spare them a drop and would rather send them to their deaths. Compared to the Imperial Court, the Taiping Sect was a more progressive force.

Next, Sage Donghua raised a question. Other religions promised rewards only after death. For instance, the Buddhist Sect claimed that devout belief in this life would lead to wealth and nobility in the next. But no one knew what would happen after death and if there truly was an afterlife. Thus, whether or not the reward exists hinges solely on the Buddhist Sect’s word.

The Daoist Order was different. Its promise lay in this life, with the core being longevity, offering many methods of attaining long life. These tangible rewards were certainly more attractive than intangible ones. After all, to many, this life mattered more than the next one. Thus, talents from across the land started to believe in Daoism, which explained why it flourished.

But if one day, the path to longevity were severed and Daoism could no longer fulfill its promise, where would they go from there?

Thus, Sage Donghua proposed his own view. On one hand, the Daoist Order should vigorously develop more inventions and firearms to facilitate this transformation while focusing less on longevity and immortality. They should instead reemphasize the morality and virtue that the Primordial Daoist Ancestor preached, promoting universal peace and pushing hard for the unification of the Three Religions.

The article abruptly ended here. This was an internal Daoist article, accessible only to high-ranking Daoists. It left Qi Xuansu deeply shaken.

He suddenly recalled something Sage Donghua had previously said about the Northern Dragon weakening and greatly affecting the fate of the world. The Imperial Capital is the dragon’s eye, and the Wuxing Mountain is its reverse scale. If “they” hasten the dragon’s fall and trigger the end of the era ahead of time, who would shoulder that responsibility?

Back then, Qi Xuansu had not fully grasped what the end of the era meant. Now, linking it with Sage Donghua’s article about severing the path to longevity, Qi Xuansu gradually began to understand.

Sage Donghua and the Daoist leadership believed that as the Northern Dragon faded, the world would enter an era of magical extinction, leading to the end of the path to longevity. Immortality would no longer be a possibility, and enormous upheaval would follow, with the Daoist Order bearing the brunt.

In response, the Daoist Order had already begun preparations. The internal strife among the three sects was an external symptom of these efforts. In times of great crisis, unity was essential, making the integration of the three sects inevitable. The Taiping Sect believed it was the natural leader, but unfortunately, the Quanzhen Sect, and perhaps the Zhengyi Sect, held similar ambitions.

In short, all three sects agreed on the need for unification, but each believed it should lead. Thus, existing tensions deepened, and conflicts intensified over who would hold ultimate authority.

Sage Donghua’s article had a clear purpose—to sidestep the sectarian conflicts and focus on the Daoist Order’s collective future. It reflected a consensus among the leadership. Sage Donghua was not seeking discussion among the high-ranking Daoists. He was sending a message: the Daoist ship was changing course. There would surely be turbulence, and some would fall overboard, but the leadership’s decision was firm.

If Qi Xuansu were still a young disciple at the Wanxiang Daoist Lower Palace, he would understand that he ought to focus on invention and firearms. It might not guarantee a glorious future, but at least he would not starve.

Just then, the person Qi Xuansu had been waiting for arrived, wearing her signature oversized sunglasses and a robe embroidered with tacky coin patterns. Hanging at her waist were a tobacco pipe and a small abacus. This time, she also had an over-the-top cloak.

It was none other than Madam Qi.

Madam Qi hailed from the prestigious Yao family—a true noble lady—but somehow, she bore the keen shrewdness of a merchant. No one knew whether it was by intention or instinct.

Qi Xuansu had ways to contact Madam Qi. If the mountain would not come to him, he would go to the mountain. Since Madam Qi was unwilling to initiate a meeting, he simply arranged one himself.

Their meeting place was a storefront within a black market. After Madam Qi entered, the shopkeeper tactfully withdrew, leaving only the two of them inside.

Naturally, the Imperial Capital had a black market, and not a small one either. Strictly speaking, it belonged to the Seven Treasure Pavilion. However, doing business on someone else’s turf inevitably meant dealing with local power players. Thus, many members of the imperial family, nobles, and officials held shares in the black market, offering the Seven Treasure Pavilion their protection.

This did not mean that the Seven Treasure Pavilion was weak or easily bullied. Rather, they believed that business should be conducted harmoniously. They were there to make money, not to reform the Imperial Capital’s public morality. Earning money together was far preferable to mutual destruction.

Thus, as one of the seven Moguls, Madam Qi’s presence here was perfectly reasonable.

“What do you want?” Madam Qi’s tone was a bit cold.

“Madam Qi, who upset you?”

“What do you think?” Madam Qi shot him a sidelong glance.

Qi Xuansu feigned ignorance. “Was it Li Qingnu? Or Yao Pei? Girls from prestigious families often have bad tempers, so they can easily get on people’s nerves.”

Madam Qi flashed a smile that did not reach her eyes. “I think you mean to say a certain someone from the Zhang family, huh?”

Qi Xuansu knew that defending Zhang Yuelu now would only confirm the accusation of him forgetting his mother, so he simply said, “It seems I’ve angered you then.”

“When did you change your last name to Zhang?” Madam Qi raised an eyebrow.

Qi Xuansu said, “It’s natural for a mother to vent her anger on others because she can’t bear to scold her son. But the root cause still lies with the son. Since you’ve made it so clear, it would be inappropriate for me to keep playing dumb.”

Madam Qi scrutinized Qi Xuansu and clicked her tongue. “At least you have a bit of self-awareness.”

Qi Xuansu lowered his head meekly.

“Speak then, what do you want from me?” Madam Qi asked.

Qi Xuansu said, “I’ve met with Li Changge.”

Madam Qi replied, “So?”

“He asked how many Xuan Jade pieces I’ve collected, then remarked that even with the Li family backing him, he only managed to get five, while I obtained three by myself, saying it was pure luck and such. Obviously, he was hinting at something. He wasn’t targeting me. He was aiming at you, Madam Qi!” Qi Xuansu exaggerated a little.

Madam Qi remained unmoved. “I can’t defeat that old wart Li Changgeng. So even if Li Changge is targeting me, there’s nothing I can do.”

Qi Xuansu added, “Li Changge also said that he can’t rush his cultivation if he wants to progress beyond a Pseudo-Immortal. What does he mean by that?”

Madam Qi pondered for a moment before explaining, “The logic isn’t complicated. It boils down to two main reasons.

“First, the Longevity Stone Heart is indeed a shortcut, but you can’t hope to ascend to immortality in one step. The Xuan Jade strengthens and transforms your body, but it takes time. If you advance too quickly, your body might not withstand it. Typically, it manifests in two ways—crystallization or disintegration. To put it plainly, you either turn into a giant humanoid Xuan Jade or melt into a pool of blood.

“Second, it’s about the degree of fusion. Fusing a Xuan Jade is a process. Its disappearance into the body is just the first step. The fusion continues for some time inside your body. The larger and more complete the Xuan Jade, the slower the fusion. For instance, your Xuan Jade of Life was small and has fully fused, but your Xuan Jade of Divinity is larger and hasn’t completed fusion. It’s also possible to merge with a new Xuan Jade before the previous one fully integrates. The upside of concurrent fusion is that you gain multiple powers earlier, but the downside is that it slows complete fusion. But there’s a limit to how many you can merge with simultaneously.

“In my opinion, Li Changge’s limit is fusing five Xuan Jade pieces concurrently. Any more, and problems will arise, similar to an unstable foundation that leads to hidden dangers, preventing ultimate perfection. That’s what he means by not progressing beyond a Pseudo-Immortal.”

Qi Xuansu finally understood. “Due to the first reason, Li Changge doesn’t dare to boost his cultivation too fast with the Xuan Jade and divine power, lest he become either a giant Xuan Jade or a pool of blood. The second reason explains why Li Changge can only fuse five pieces at once, though it doesn’t mean the Li family only found five for him.”

“Clever boy.” Madam Qi nodded approvingly.