A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu was not an inexperienced novice, so he would not simply believe whatever others said. He had to rely on his own judgment.

Quan claimed that she had been in a state of feigned death, so she was unaware of the Yao family’s existence, which was a plausible explanation.

Qi Xuansu deliberately misled Quan into believing that the Eleven Ancestral Witches had all perished. This was a test, because if Quan had ever encountered members of the Yao family, she would have known that the Eleven Ancestral Witches had not all fallen. She would also have realized that Qi Xuansu had not told the whole truth. However, judging from Quan’s reactions, it was highly likely that she had never met anyone from the Yao family.

There was another possible reason why Quan had not been discovered by the Yao family. The Lingshan Paradise was far too dangerous, so after entering it, the Yao family members would not wander around at will. After all, they were not there to explore. They most likely had a fixed route designated by Elder Yao that was relatively safe. Thus, they would not easily deviate from it. The temple where Quan was located happened to lie outside that route, so it was only natural that the Yao family did not discover the Great Witch’s presence.

This was the difference between entering properly and sneaking in. Qi Xuansu was clearly the latter, so naturally, he did not know a safe route and could only grope his way forward on his own.

Logically speaking, when the Heavenly Sect launched a large-scale assault on Lingshan Paradise back then, there must have been a topographic map of sorts. It would have been absurd to fight a major battle without first understanding the terrain.

As the successor of the Heavenly Sect, the Zhengyi Sect had preserved such materials, so Qi Xuansu managed to get a copy of the map with the Heavenly Preceptor’s help.

However, after the great battle, the Lingshan Paradise began to collapse, with drastic changes in terrain.

It had been nearly 1600 years since the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor left the mortal realm. Over such a long period, the terrain of the Lingshan Paradise had undergone tremendous changes. Entire townships might have sunk beneath the water and turned into a vast lake. Thus, if he followed an old map, he was bound to get lost. Since Qi Xuansu was heading for Lingshan, he would reach the pitch-black mountain as long as he moved forward. He was not here to hunt for treasures, so whether he had a map or not made little difference.

Elder Yao was certainly more familiar with the Lingshan Paradise than the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor. Yet, even she had to reopen pathways, which showed just how drastic the changes in Lingshan Paradise were.

In short, the old experiences from thousands of years ago were no longer applicable. What mattered were the experiences accumulated over the past two centuries, but those were held by the Yao family, not by the Zhang family.

This also reminded Qi Xuansu of what Madam Qi once said. Usually, in a marriage where both parties were of the same social class, a man would have three major kinship groups—his paternal clan, maternal clan, and wife’s clan—specifically, his paternal and maternal uncles as well as father-in-law. These three could support one another or restrain one another. For example, if a man was bullied by his paternal uncles, the maternal uncle or father-in-law could step forward to back him up.

Qi Xuansu had no paternal clan, but in a sense, Sage Donghua could be regarded as his paternal clan. Qi Xuansu also had no maternal clan, but because of Madam Qi, the Yao family could be regarded as his maternal clan. His wife’s clan was naturally the Zhang family. At present, Qi Xuansu was using his wife’s clan to counterbalance his maternal clan.

“In the past, how did you deal with the Blood Moon?” Qi Xuansu asked.

“There was no Blood Moon in the past.” Quan was still gazing at the Blood Moon outside the temple. Part of the moonlight even streamed in through the open doors of the hall, spreading a layer of shimmering blood-red light across the ground.

Qi Xuansu asked again, “Why?”

Quan replied, “You can think of the Blood Moon as an emergency mechanism of the Wuist Sect.”

As an old relic from thousands of years ago, Quan’s everyday speech certainly would not have included modern terms like “emergency mechanism,” which sounded somewhat Western. But since they were communicating through their mind voice, Quan’s words were automatically transformed into expressions familiar to Qi Xuansu.

Quan continued, “When a great enemy arrives, the Blood Moon is activated. As the moonlight descends, the dead spirits of the Witch clan return from the bloodlight to drive away the invaders. Once the enemies retreat, the Blood Moon is deactivated. From the current situation, it seems that the core mechanism of the Blood Moon may have malfunctioned, or no one has turned it off.”

Qi Xuansu frowned.

He had not seen the Blood Moon in his dreams, which showed that his dream and this realm were different places. The Lingshan Paradise in his dream might have been only a certain stage of the paradise, like daytime, when there was no Blood Moon.

“If I’m not mistaken, the core mechanism of the Blood Moon should be on Lingshan.” Qi Xuansu withdrew his gaze from the blood-red moonlight.

“Of course.” Quan stood up, leaning on the wooden staff. “The core mechanism is located in the Ancestral Witch Hall at the summit of Lingshan.”

Qi Xuansu asked deliberately, “Isn’t there only a bonfire at the summit of Lingshan?”

Quan was clearly somewhat surprised. The red glow deep in her eye sockets flickered slightly. “It seems you have some understanding of Lingshan. In the earliest days, the sacrificial ritual consisted of building a great fire. There was indeed only a single bonfire there. The Ancestral Witches would gather around the fire to deliberate on matters. Later, we built a palace around the bonfire. That palace was the Ancestral Witch Hall.”

Qi Xuansu fell into thought.

Many of Quan’s statements were based on ancient experiences from thousands of years ago and could not be fully trusted. The fact that the Ancestral Witch Hall once existed did not necessarily mean it still existed now. It might already have been razed to the ground by the Heavenly Sect.

After all, no matter how grand a structure, it would be reduced to ashes in a single blaze. If what was ultimately left of the Ancestral Witch Hall was a bonfire, that could be considered returning to the origin.

Qi Xuansu finally asked, “How should we get through the Blood Moon then?”

Quan’s solution was also very practical. “The Ancestral Witches had already taken this into account when they constructed the Blood Moon, so all the buildings within the sacred land can withstand the influence of the Blood Moon. As long as we stay inside the buildings, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Qi Xuansu had to admit that this was indeed a good solution, without the slightest flourish, as simple as taking shelter indoors when it rains.

If the Blood Moon were under someone’s control, then it should have shone day and night without interruption. However, the Blood Moon was likely in an automated mode without anyone controlling it, so it was only activated at night. In that case, Qi Xuansu would have to travel during the day and find a shelter before nightfall to avoid the influence of the Blood Moon.

Though Qi Xuansu was most likely capable enough to deal with the revived dead spirits, he wanted to avoid unnecessary battles as much as possible and keep himself in peak condition. To him, this journey to Lingshan was akin to traversing the deserts and barren lands. Momentary speed was not important. The key lay in properly rationing supplies and stamina.

At this point, Qi Xuansu had no choice but to spend the night in this temple and wait until dawn.

Fortunately, there was plenty of time, so he did not need to rush.

The long night seemed endless. After all, Qi Xuansu could not possibly fall asleep in such a dangerous environment. He had already prepared himself for 300 days without rest, so he decided to chat idly with Quan.

They had many things to talk about—the world outside and stories of the past.

When Qi Xuansu spoke of the outside world, he made the Confucian School the protagonist. He described how the Four Sages established rules for the world—Confucius, the Second Sage, the Sage of Principle, and the Sage of Mind, who had suppressed the Daoist Order. There was not the slightest falsehood in his words. He merely omitted the Daoist Order’s resurgence after the Sage of Mind left the mortal realm. Of course, he also did not mention the Daoist Order of the present day.

Many of Qi Xuansu’s methods came from the current Daoist Order. If he mentioned it, he would reveal clues, so not mentioning it preserved his identity.

Qi Xuansu asked, “Quan, what position did you hold in the Wuist Sect?”

Quan replied, “I was one of the High Priests responsible for rituals.”

Qi Xuansu continued with his questions. “Which Ancestral Witch did you follow? I know about the split among the Eleven Ancestral Witches. I’m sure you all went separate ways.”

“The Six Enlightened Witches left Lingshan and went to Kunlun. They never returned, so they most likely died beneath the sharp fangs and claws of God Luwu. The Great Witches who followed those six would not have been able to escape either. I remained within Lingshan, where the remaining five Ancestral Witches fought for power. Wu Xian went mad because of her failed Elixir of Immortality and was killed by the other four Ancestral Witches. Her followers were also suppressed and marginalized. I followed Wu Luo, the last Sect Leader,” Quan explained.

Qi Xuansu grimaced. “I see...”

In an instant, both of them fell into silence, with a subtle change in their attitude.

Quan seemed to realize that she had misspoken. The red light in her eyes flickered faintly, as if conveying a surge of her emotions.

After a moment, Qi Xuansu broke the silence. “Back then, Wu Luo created a divine kingdom in the human world. Anyone who believed in Wu Luo could enter her divine kingdom in their dreams. Since you followed Wu Luo, have you ever been to her divine kingdom?”

Quan remained silent.

Qi Xuansu continued, “If you have been there before, then you can try to go to Wu Luo’s divine kingdom again.”

Quan finally spoke. “Wu Luo is already dead. She died under the sword of Zhang... I saw it with my own eyes!”

Quan still could not speak the name of the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor.

Qi Xuansu said, “Godly Immortals have three deaths. Though Wu Luo died, perhaps only her golden body was destroyed, while her divine kingdom still exists.”

Quan sighed. “If the god is already gone, what use is there in leaving behind an empty shell of a divine kingdom?”

Throughout their conversation, Qi Xuansu never loosened his grip on Green Cloud. He lowered his eyes to look at the blade and suddenly changed the subject. “What plans do you have for the future?”

Quan replied, “I want to leave this place. If I don’t contend with the Confucian School, it shouldn’t be difficult to survive.”

Qi Xuansu added, “That’s true. Back then, you were a Great Witch second only to the Ancestral Witches, so surviving wouldn’t be difficult. But after so many years, how much of your cultivation do you still have left?”

Upon hearing this, Quan suddenly laughed.

This kind of laughter was not conveyed through her mind voice. Instead, the sound emerged from her skull-like face, with a trace of grim amusement. Quan even opened her mouth to speak, imitating Qi Xuansu’s official tongue that sounded like strange, stiff syllables to her. “What does it have to do with you?”

Qi Xuansu also laughed. “I was just concerned.”