A Pawn's Passage

Though the Ise battle had concluded, the Fenglin campaign was far from over. Beyond pressing the Fenglin royal family to surrender, there was still another matter to resolve.

Before the February offensive, Sage Qingwei had personally drafted a list targeting the various ghosts and gods of Fenglin, dividing them into three categories—those who could be pacified, those who must be destroyed, and those to be left alone for the time being.

The top three candidates for pacification were Tamamo-no-Mae, Suzuka Gozen, and Ibaraki-Doji. Now that all three had surrendered, the Daoist Order had essentially achieved its initial goal in terms of pacification.

Next came the task of eliminating those marked for destruction.

Those who must be destroyed were those stubbornly opposed to the Daoist Order or those causing great harm to the region, endangering civilians, and hindering farming or trade.

There was one Great Yokai that perfectly fit both points—the Yamata-no-Orochi.

First, the Yamata-no-Orochi was under the control of the Tenmon Sect. Unlike Tamamo-no-Mae, it lacked any background, like Qingqiu Mountain. Naturally, it stood firmly in opposition to the Daoist Order.

Second, the eight-headed serpent had entrenched itself in Izumo for many years, not only blocking transportation routes but also devouring humans, deemed a grave threat.

Thus, the Daoist Order resolved to slay the Yamata-no-Orochi and remove this scourge. Susanoo’s slaying of the serpent had been sung for a thousand years. Once the Daoists slew it, they too would spread the tale widely, reinforcing the legitimacy and authority of their rule.

In truth, Easterners had always been pragmatic. The so-called Mandate of Heaven was but lip service. Deep down, they did not believe in the divine right of kings, nor did they revere bloodlines. To them, legitimacy lay in deeds, measured by accomplishments like expanding territory abroad or bringing peace and prosperity inland.

Naturally, the Daoist Order had such considerations in mind.

Therefore, after the February offensive concluded successfully, Sage Qingwei instructed the strategists in camp to draft an initial plan for slaying Yamata-no-Orochi.

For the Daoist Order, slaying a beast equivalent to a Longevity-stage Immortal was hardly a daunting feat. After all, beasts could not be compared to human Immortals, who were always stronger. Secondly, the Daoists had slain many who reached the Longevity stage, including both human and beast. The mighty dragon clan had been nearly wiped out, so the lone Yamata-no-Orochi was not a challenge to the Daoist Order.

Throughout history, the organized had always triumphed over the disorganized.

Thus, upon receiving the order, the strategists began poring over records from Fenglin Daoist Mansion, the Chancellor’s Office, and the Ise-jingu, compiling details on the serpent’s supernatural traits and the geography of Izumo.

At the same time, they had Jade Capital send the old dragon-slaying plan. Using that as a foundation, they revised it to come up with an initial plan for slaying the Yamata-no-Orochi. Of course, this plan would still need review, discussion, and refinement by Sage Qingwei and the Daoist leadership.

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu, having been granted leave to rest, did not take part in drafting the plan. This task fell mainly to Yao Pei.

Each of the prodigies had their own mastery. Heavenly Calculation was not only for combat but also useful in other areas, whether playing chess or cards. Thus, Yao Pei’s computational ability was especially apt for written work that required extensive data.

On this matter, the Chancellor’s Office and Fenglin Daoist Mansion held only limited records, most of them concerning Izumo Province. But Ise-jingu had extensive accounts of the Yamata-no-Orochi. This was the advantage of having conquered Ise first.

After the Ise-jingu’s fall, all its records and archives were taken over by the Daoist Order. Among them were many defectors who offered considerable assistance in this regard.

As a rule, aside from Immortals, the stronger the being, the deeper its influence on the environment around it.

In earlier times, before the Daoists began their large-scale slaughter of flood dragons, these creatures often came ashore. Wherever they passed, gales would rise, storms would rage, and floods would plague the region. A slight response could turn a 500-kilometer radius into a swamp. Such was the environmental effect of a flood dragon.

When God Luwu revealed his true form, even his unconscious breath released immense heat from his vital essence, incinerating all manner of ghosts and spirits. If he lingered in one place too long, the vegetation there would absorb his dissipated blood qi, producing strange mutations. This was not his intention, but his very existence naturally altered everything around him.

This was why the lairs of legendary beasts, like dragon caves and phoenix nests, were said to be rife with anomalies. Legend says that tribes who worshipped dragons and dwelled in dragon caves absorbed their aura over generations until scales sprouted on their bodies.

From the Daoist perspective, this was a kind of pollution or infection, like a person catching a disease. Such an infection might grant one a trace of draconic blood, along with certain supernatural abilities and a stronger body. But it would also alter the mind, instilling worship and obedience toward the dragons.

In ancient times, countless creatures with sheep heads and four horns, named Tulu, as well as many divine birds called Qinyuan, shaped like bees yet as large as mandarin ducks, followed God Luwu. Their sting killed any beast, and any tree they touched would wither. In truth, these were simply animals that had absorbed God Luwu’s blood qi and mutated into the same form.

The difference between Immortals and divine beasts was that Immortals knew how to contain themselves, practicing restraint as early as the Heavenly-Being stage, cultivating the ability to wield great power in the smallest of spaces. But when Immortals ceased to restrain their aura, all manner of anomalies would appear, like the terrifying true form of a Manly Immortal, the golden body of a Godly Immortal, and so on.

The Yamata-no-Orochi was no exception. Its domain was perpetually shrouded in heavy fog, clouding perception like a formation. When Qi Xuansu and his companions’ flying ship strayed off course, it might have been partly human interference, but the eight-headed serpent’s mists could not be ruled out either.

These mists would greatly hinder the Daoists’ use of flying ships. They would either have to rely on the mobile formations carried by the Yinglong Warship to forcibly disperse the fog or abandon the flying ship altogether and mount an offensive on land.

Qi Xuansu had been to Izumo before. It was mountainous, with high peaks and dense forests. Artillery would be difficult to transport, and armored cavalry would find it difficult to fight in such a terrain.

Thus, the only option left was to gather elite forces for a direct assault. This method was possible if they could first uncover the weaknesses of the Yamata-no-Orochi.

Back when Susanoo slew the Yamata-no-Orochi, he had not yet become a god. The reason he could slay it alone was that he first made the serpent drunk.

There was a peculiar substance, which the Tenmon Sect called the Demon Poisoning Wine. Two beings had fallen to it. First was the Yamata-no-Orochi, who was drunk on it and slain by Susanoo before he became a god. Second was Shuten-Doji, who likewise drank it and was beheaded after he collapsed in a drunken stupor.

But the Daoist Order could not use this trick since the eight-headed serpent would never fall for it again. After all, Susanoo and Minamoto had first gained their targets’ trust, lulled them into letting their guard down, and then tricked them into drinking. It had never been a matter of forcing wine down their throats. If that had been possible, they could have simply slain the creature outright.

Looking over the many Great Yokai defeated by the Tenmon Sect and the Fenglin royal family, only Tamamo-no-Mae had been slain in a fair encirclement. The rest all fell unjustly. The Yamata-no-Orochi and Shuten-Doji were killed when they were drunk, and Ootakemaru fell into a honey trap and lost his Three Radiant Swords. Clearly, cultivation alone was never the sole determinant of victory.

That was why Yao Pei and the other strategists agreed that slaying the Yamata-no-Orochi through trickery was virtually impossible. Nor could they copy the method of besieging Tamamo-no-Mae. For one, the Daoist Order’s internal public sentiment might not accept such heavy casualties. The terrain also did not allow it. Thus the final plan was to rely on a small number of elites to kill the eight-headed serpent.

These elites had to be at least of the Heavenly Being stage.

However, Xiaoyao-stage Heavenly Beings could only serve as a distraction. The main assault had to come from Pseudo-Immortals or Zaohua-stage Heavenly Beings.

According to Ise-jingu’s records, the Yamata-no-Orochi’s heads could endlessly regenerate. Unless all eight were severed simultaneously, the beast would be almost impossible to kill.

This meant eight Pseudo-Immortals or Zaohua-stage Heavenly Beings were required, each wielding at least a semi-immortal object. While other Heavenly Beings pinned the serpent down, these eight would strike in unison, severing the heads together.

Sage Qingwei was tied up with other matters and would not take part himself because his focus remained on the Fenglin royal family. Great Sage Zhang Qihan of the Fenglin Daoist Mansion was bound for Satsuma Domain to meet with the famed Kengo. Thus, the slaying of the Yamata-no-Orochi was overseen by Jing Tianming, the second Fenglin Daoist Mansion Master.

This Omniscient Sage had close ties to the Great Xuan imperial family. His ancestor had been a founding hero of the Great Xuan Dynasty. He had once served as the Liaodong Daoist Mansion Master, but when Fenglin’s situation worsened, he was reassigned here. He was efficient and determined. However, Fenglin was unique, being the only Daoist Mansion with two Mansion Masters. Thus, Great Sage Zhang Qihan had always held the greatest authority, and during this war, Sage Qingwei was in charge. Thus, Jing Tianming’s presence had never loomed large.

Yao Pei drafted a list. Besides Jing Tianming, it included Second Deputy Mansion Master Li Tiangang, Third Deputy Mansion Master Yun Fengxing, and two first-rank Spirit Guards, Jia Chen and Ding Wei. Spirit Guard Jia Shen had to command the main army and thus could not participate. The Chief Deputy Mansion Master, Tamamo-no-Mae, and others each had tasks of their own, while Suzuka Gozen could not leave Mount Suzuka. At best, they could add Yagyu Sosei, but they were still short of two people. Yao Pei, combined with Li Changge, could be counted as one Zaohua-stage Heavenly Being, but even then, they were still lacking one more.