A Pawn's Passage

On this particularly special festive day, a Yinglong Warship appeared high above the skies of the Imperial Capital.

The Divine Central Guard and the Tianchen Division had been informed in advance, immediately lifting their alerts and opening the formation gates to allow the Yinglong Warship to descend.

In truth, the Yinglong Warship could hover indefinitely in the air, but that easily evoked imagery of the Daoist Order towering over the Imperial Court, which was not conducive to unity between the Daoists and the court.

As a general rule, they would not do things that harmed unity.

So, the massive Yinglong Warship slowly descended on Penglai Pool.

If a typical flying ship’s descent would bring on a light rain, then the Yinglong Warship’s arrival would unleash a torrential downpour. Given the winter chill, the water droplets transformed into fluttering, goose-feather-sized snowflakes that swirled midair, adding a distinct ethereal aura to the majestic flying ship.

Coincidentally, snow had just fallen the day before. So the trees, mountains, and rivers were all blanketed in white, resembling a celestial realm.

By now, the entire Haosheng Southeast District near the Penglai Pool was fully sealed off. The Imperial Capital Daoist Mansion’s Spirit Guards, the Green Phoenix Guard of the Imperial Guard’s Office, and the Black Robes of the Divine Central Guards surrounded the outer perimeter, while Daoist priests of the Imperial Capital Daoist Mansion and the Tianchen Division’s officials secured the inner cordon.

Those closest to the shore of the Penglai Pool were all top dignitaries. The first and foremost was Prince Jin—Qin Quanyi—representing the emperor himself. Among the Imperial Princes, Prince Liao, Prince Jin, and Prince Qi were the top three. With Prince Liao absent from the Imperial Capital and the aging Prince Qi largely retired from public affairs, Prince Jin took the lead in this reception.

Behind Prince Jin was the Second Cabinet Minister, the Grand Scholar of Jinshen Hall, Zhang Qingbai. Standing alongside him were the Imperial Capital Daoist Mansion’s high-ranking officials—Mansion Master Li Ruoshui, Chief Deputy Zhou Jiaoxian, Second Deputy Shi Bingyun, and other Deputy Mansion Masters who were all in the second rank. All these Sages were formally dressed in their hechangs and lotus crowns, signifying their rank as second-rank Taiyi Daoist masters.

Next came the group of young elites, who were all in their twenties or thirties. Though they were not as prominent as the old folks ahead of them, they had illustrious backgrounds and limitless prospects. This included two Imperial Princes, a young duke, and the Daoist prodigies—Li Changge, Zhang Yuelu, and Yao Pei.

Behind them were the numerous accompanying figures, who were all notable names in Imperial Capital, even major figures in the eyes of many. But in this setting, they were just a part of the commoner crowd.

Qi Xuansu was not categorized among the circle of young talents. Instead, he was standing among the “commoners.” This was likely due to his lack of family pedigree. Outsiders did not care that Zhang Yuelu was from a minor branch and only cared that she was from the Zhang family of the Zhengyi Sect, one of the three greatest families in the world.

At this moment, all eyes were gazing at the descending Yinglong Warship.

The wind and snow whipped across everyone’s faces, and the massive blast of air stirred everyone’s robes into a loud, fluttering rustle.

Not a single person raised a hand to shield themselves from the snow. Everyone continued to maintain their posture, with their heads tilted up in solemn watchfulness.

At last, the enormous Yinglong Warship successfully landed in Penglai Pool, smashing through the ice and snow, sending wave after wave of jade-green ripples rolling outward. The mist and drifting snow were so intertwined that they were impossible to tell apart.

Once the Yinglong came to a full stop, the surface of Penglai Pool was no longer even visible. The massive warship resembled a colossal beast or an impenetrable fortress. Standing before it felt like confronting a towering city wall, its full form only discernible from a great distance.

An overly long ramp was lowered, and a figure appeared on the deck.

The entire crowd fell into solemn silence.

That figure was a first-rank Tianzhen Daoist, a Virtuous Great Sage, and most importantly, an Immortal walking the mortal realm.

This Great Sage wore a deep black hechang, a Sword of Wisdom at his waist, and a golden-purple lotus crown.

Under the fifth-generation Grand Master, it was clearly decreed that the leaders of the three sects had their respective crowns. The Great Sage of the Quanzhen Sect donned a fish-tail crown; the Great Sage of the Zhengyi Sect wore a hibiscus crown, and the Great Sage of the Taiping Sect wore the Ruyi crown.

Great Sages wore golden-purple lotus crowns, while Omniscient Sages wore jade lotus crowns. Gold lotus crowns were for ordinary Sages.

Qi Xuansu could not help but hold his breath.

This was his first time ever seeing an Immortal.

Unlike Zhang Yuelu, Li Changge, and Yao Pei, who had grown up seeing the three Deputy Grand Masters, Qi Xuansu had never yet glimpsed any of them. Though he had encountered many Pseudo-Immortals, they were ultimately not true Immortals. Though Wu Luo and True Lord Siming were Immortals, they had only ever appeared in their incarnated forms and not in person.

This Great Sage was named Jiang Hedao and was of the same generation as the old Sage, Sun Hewu, belonging to the early sixth generation.

As an eighth-generation disciple, Qi Xuansu was young enough to be this Great Sage’s great-grandson.

Jiang Hedao glanced calmly around, his gaze scanning the crowd without exerting any real pressure or forcefulness. In fact, it barely registered at all. If not for the fact that everyone was already staring at this Great Sage, they might not even have noticed that he had looked at them.

It was clear that this Great Sage did not like to reveal his power.

Unless absolutely necessary, casting a gaze brimming with pressure that was enough to force everyone to their knees was considered highly unrefined. It was a mark of crudeness and barbarity, something for which he would be mocked by other Immortals. It was much like how civil officials of past dynasties viewed military generals.

Jiang Hedao descended the ramp at an unhurried pace, looking like an ordinary elderly man.

The foremost figures immediately stepped forward to greet him.

Leading them was Prince Jin, who represented the Emperor. He first exchanged pleasantries with the Great Sage and conveyed the Emperor’s regards.

Jiang Hedao, with snow-white eyebrows, hair, and beard, untainted by a single strand of color, had not a wrinkle on his face. He radiated the very image of an Immortal as he smiled gently and acknowledged the Emperor’s greetings.

Next, the Sages stepped forward to pay their respects, including Omniscient Sage Li Ruoshui. Regardless of official rank or cultivation level, the generational seniority was clear. This Great Sage was someone of their master’s generation.

Then came the young talents. For them, this was the generation of their grandmasters.

The elder was exceedingly kind toward the younger generation, especially toward the Daoist Order’s three outstanding young talents. He specifically asked about their studies, what techniques they had been practicing, and their current cultivation levels. He even specially praised Zhang Yuelu.

After all, as an Immortal, he could easily discern that Li Changge relied on external aid and Yao Pei had the bloodline of a Great Witch. Only Zhang Yuelu was the most orthodox Daoist disciple, and hence, the most satisfying to the old guard. Moreover, in the upper echelons of the Daoist Order, setting aside sectarian bias, Zhang Yuelu’s reputation was the best among her peers. She took great responsibility, got things done, and kept accomplishing extraordinary feats. In an era where capable, responsible youths were rare, her bad temper was just a trivial detail not worth mentioning.

As for the many accompanying figures, they had no right to speak directly with the Great Sage and could only watch from afar. Soon, the Great Sage boarded a Seven-Fragrance Carriage, slightly less ornate than those of the Deputy Grand Masters. Under the escort of the Spirit Guards, the Great Sage departed the Penglai Pool and headed straight for the Yuhuang Palace.

Qi Xuansu stood among the crowd, understanding full well that this was the Great Sage who would oversee the Anchor the Monkey operation in the capital. Nominally, he was here to meet the Emperor and inspect the Imperial Capital Daoist Mansion. But in truth, it signaled that the operation had entered its final countdown.

The court officials undoubtedly understood what this meant as well. Both sides had now entered their final stages of preparation.

For Qi Xuansu, there was no need to interact with this Great Sage. All he needed to do was focus on carrying out his part of the mission.

Once the Great Sage left, Prince Jin and the three Sages of the Imperial Capital Daoist Mansion naturally departed as well. The accompanying personnel gradually dispersed, and soon the various security teams began lifting the lockdown.

However, the ramp of the Yinglong Warship remained in place.

At this moment, only Zhang Yuelu, Yao Pei, and Qi Xuansu remained on the shore of Penglai Pool. Their positions and identities had long been public knowledge. After all, Sage Donghua had not dispatched these three young elites to the capital merely to tidy up the city’s public morality.

By now, both sides were like players in a Holy Xuan Card game. While they might not know every card in the opponent’s hand, they had a good sense of the general picture. There was no point in overly concealing things. Only the core intentions still needed to stay hidden.

In other words, there was no need to conceal the deployment of a first-rank Tianzhen Daoist master and a first-rank Spirit Guard from the Taiping Sect.

At this time, the three of them stepped forward.

Another figure appeared on the ramp.

His armor was pitch black, not layered like fish scales, but an entire seamless body of armor that was as smooth as a mirror and as dark as ink, without the slightest gap. Under normal circumstances, such armor could not possibly be worn on a human body. That left only one explanation—an Armor Pellet.

Without a doubt, this was a Spirit Guard, and a high-ranking one at that.

Standing on the deck, he looked down at the three youngsters below and leapt down, landing as gently as a falling leaf, not even disturbing a single snowflake. Combined with the intimidating full armor, the contrast was striking, even unsettling.

Zhang Yuelu stepped forward and proactively saluted him. “Greetings, Spirit Guard Jia Chen.”

The Six Jia Spirit Guards specialized in offense, while the Tiangang Hall specialized in battle tactics, making the two closely connected. In the last Western Region campaign, the Tiangang Hall and the Western Region Daoist Mansion had served as the main force, with Spirit Guard Jia Shen leading the charge.

Spirit Guard Jia Chen returned the salute. “Greetings, Deputy Hall Master Zhang.”

He then turned to Yao Pei and Qi Xuansu. “You two must be Deputy Palace Master Yao and Superintendent Qi. I’ve long heard of your names.”