A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu came back to his senses from the haze.

The willow fluff was the seed of a willow tree. After this willow seed took root, it drained the entire Blood Lake dry, yet it only grew into a willow sapling.

Qi Xuansu was almost certain that this was the prototype of the Emperor Willow in the Ghost Kingdom.

Who had planted a single seed to produce such a result?

Considering that the Emperor Willow already existed in the Ghost Kingdom not long after the Daoist Order was rebuilt, it was most likely Elder Yao’s handiwork.

It was likely that Elder Yao had germinated the seed here and then transplanted the Emperor Willow to the Ghost Kingdom.

From this, it was clear that Elder Yao not only treated the Lingshan Paradise as a storage room but also conducted all kinds of research here. Elder Yao truly deserved her reputation as one of the pioneers of Daoist engineering. Many of her creations are still in use today.

Elder Yao created the Emperor Willow, then used it to seal the yin-yang fissures within the Ghost Kingdom. The Emperor Willow absorbed yin energy and grew vigorously, ultimately giving birth to Little Yin.

In other words, the Emperor Willow also shared a certain connection with the Lingshan Paradise.

However, there was one point Qi Xuansu could not figure out. Ever since he entered the Lingshan Paradise, he would occasionally fall into this hazy state and then see scenes from the past. What was the principle behind this?

Could this be some contingency left behind by Elder Yao? But that did not make sense. Elder Yao had no motive to do such a thing, nor did the Earthly Preceptors who came after.

Who, then, would have such a motive?

Qi Xuansu immediately thought of one person—the Heavenly Preceptor.

Qi Xuansu was not unaware of his own value. At present, he could be considered a notable figure within the Daoist Order, with boundless potential. More importantly, Qi Xuansu was considered neutral—at the very least, his faction was not as pronounced as that of the Daoist Three Prodigies.

Under these circumstances, the Heavenly Preceptor indeed had such a motive. Although the Zhengyi Sect and the Quanzhen Sect had formed an alliance to counter the Taiping Sect, that did not mean the two were so close as to wear the same pair of pants. They would still develop separately. The Earthly Preceptor liked to recruit people from the Zhengyi Sect, and the Heavenly Preceptor could just as well poach talent from the Quanzhen Sect.

This time, the Heavenly Preceptor agreed to help Qi Xuansu with remarkable ease, not only lending him the Guizang Lantern but even personally stepping in to help Qi Xuansu fend off Wu Luo.

The Heavenly Preceptor was not Qi Xuansu’s grandfather and had no reason to help him. There had to be something he sought in return.

Putting himself in the Heavenly Preceptor’s position, how would one go about drawing in a young man who had begun to harbor doubts about the Earthly Preceptor?

Since this young man wanted to know the truth, then he would give him the truth. But not all at once, as that would feel false and overly deliberate, inevitably breeding suspicion. Instead, let him search for it himself and offer some assistance, allowing him to personally uncover the truth. He would then naturally make his own choice. This was simply going with the current.

From this line of reasoning, there was a very high probability that these hazy visions were the Heavenly Preceptor’s doing.

Was the Heavenly Preceptor using the Guizang Lantern to illuminate Qi Xuansu’s path forward?

Qi Jiaoyao merely thought that Qi Xuansu was staring off absentmindedly. She reached her hand in front of his eyes and waved it vigorously, asking, “Are you possessed? What kind of evil entity could get to a Zaohua-stage Martial Arts Practitioner? Oh no, don’t tell me it’s the Nine-Yin Lord of the Netherworld...”

Qi Xuansu smacked Qi Jiaoyao’s hand away and asked, “Do you know about the Emperor Willow?”

“Of course I do,” Qi Jiaoyao answered. “It’s the big willow tree planted in the Ghost Kingdom to draw in yin energy, right?”

Qi Xuansu asked again, “Since you know of the Emperor Willow’s existence, do you know about the spirit of the Emperor Willow?”

In truth, Qi Xuansu did not hold much hope. After all, Little Yin’s existence was extremely special. Unlike the Three Yin Beings, the vast majority of people were unaware of her existence, much less understood it. Yet once again, Qi Jiaoyao exceeded Qi Xuansu’s expectations and gave a rather definitive answer. “The first generation of the Emperor Willow spirit died during the Ancient Immortals’ invasion of the Ghost Kingdom. The second-generation spirit died of unknown causes. So it should be the third generation by now, right?”

Qi Xuansu was stunned, not only because Qi Jiaoyao knew about the Emperor Willow spirit, but also because there had actually been three generations of it. That meant Little Yin was in fact the third generation.

Immediately afterward, Qi Xuansu connected this to Little Yin’s undying body and asked, “But I’ve heard that as long as the Emperor Willow within the Ghost Kingdom does not perish, the spirits born from it will continually be reborn from the Emperor Willow. So why are there three generations?”

Qi Jiaoyao let out a snort. “That depends on your understanding. It’s true that an Emperor Willow spirit can be reborn from the Emperor Willow, but every rebirth returns the spirit to its initial state, with all memories erased, essentially starting over from scratch. So does that make her the same person? You should know that even if someone’s innate disposition doesn’t change, differences in later experiences and age will still result in vastly different personalities and ways of thinking. That’s why they’re considered three distinct individuals, and hence, three generations.”

Qi Xuansu felt a lingering fear. Fortunately, he had not let Little Yin encounter too great a danger. If she truly had to start over, he would not be able to explain her death to the Three Yin Beings, and he would never be able to forgive himself.

This made him wary that something unforeseen would occur, since he asked Little Yin to stand guard over him without knowing that Little Yin, the Emperor Willow, and Lingshan Paradise were connected by such deep ties. He felt especially guilty since he had not yet told Little Yin the true reason for his seclusion.

A sense of unease rose in Qi Xuansu’s heart. Yet at this point, there was nothing he could do to remedy it. He could only comfort himself that Little Yin was sensible and obedient. Surely, she would stay put and not act recklessly, right?

At the same time, Qi Xuansu realized something else. “Daoist Qi, what position did you actually hold in the Daoist Order back then? Not only were you able to obtain Class-C Jianxiu Mountain access and enter Lingshan Paradise, but you also know so many secrets.”

Although Qi Jiaoyao wore a mask, making her expression impossible to see, Qi Xuansu still felt that she was smirking. “At this point, we’re in the same boat, so I won’t hide it from you. I was actually a Deputy Palace Master of the Chongyang Palace of Immortality. I followed the Earthly Preceptor for many years, which is why I know these matters and was able to obtain Class-C Jianxiu Mountain access.”

Qi Xuansu did not harbor much suspicion. A Deputy Palace Master of the Chongyang Palace of Immortality was, in essence, a secretary to the Earthly Preceptor. A classic case of low rank but high authority, privy to many secrets unknown to ordinary people. This was something even frontier officials far from the center of power could hardly compare to.

Strictly speaking, Qi Jiaoyao’s actions bore some resemblance to Chen Shuhua’s. The difference was that Chen Shuhua had been far worse, colluding with external enemies and completely betraying the Daoist Order. On the other hand, Qi Jiaoyao had not colluded with outsiders and had not betrayed the Daoist Order. She merely made a bad decision due to greed. Still, if she were truly caught, the consequences would be dire.

Qi Xuansu did not fully believe her nor disbelieve her. He also did not bring up the connection between this place and the Emperor Willow. He simply said, “Let’s keep moving.”

But now, it was Qi Jiaoyao’s turn to ask questions. “You suddenly brought up the Emperor Willow. Does this place have some connection to it?”

Qi Xuansu knew Qi Jiaoyao was not easy to fool. Since she had said so much, he had to be sincere as well. He explained, “I saw someone plant a seed here in my dream. It absorbed an entire lake of blood and eventually grew into a willow tree. I suspect this is the origin of the Emperor Willow.”

Qi Jiaoyao was sharp, seizing the key point immediately. “Who planted the seed?”

“What do you think?” Qi Xuansu asked back.

Qi Jiaoyao replied without much thought, “It had to be Elder Yao. Who else could it be?”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “I think so too.”

Qi Jiaoyao said pointedly, “That dream of yours is rather strange. Could you be the reincarnation of a Great Witch? Or are you really a member of the Yao family?”

Qi Xuansu merely smiled without answering, deliberately shrouding the matter in mystery.

Each of them had their own secrets, so Qi Jiaoyao did not press further and said, “Let’s keep moving. Wu Zhen’s place of death isn’t far now.”

Qi Xuansu remarked, “Wu Zhen—the one said to be able to manipulate souls.”

Qi Jiaoyao added, “Although the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor defeated the four Great Witches head-on, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he personally delivered the killing blow. It’s very likely that the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor’s son killed Wu Zhen after she had already been gravely wounded by the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor. However, before dying, Wu Zhen must have struggled one last time and left behind her imprint of Thought.”

Qi Xuansu recalled the relationship between the Xuan Jade and the Eleven Witches. The Daoist Six Immortals and the Wuist Sect’s Eleven Witches were two entirely different systems, but if one were to force a correspondence, it would roughly be as follows:

An imprint of a Ghostly Immortal was not to be underestimated. Qi Xuansu inevitably thought about the legends of Ghostly Immortals seizing a body or possessing some old master.

If this conjecture were true, that would mean that Wu Zhen was one such Ghostly Immortal who had yet to find a host.

Did the projection of the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor’s son and Wu Zhen’s battle mean that Wu Zhen’s imprint was forced to remain forever trapped in an endless loop of her final battle in life?

This was not strange either. Wu Luo and Wu Xian both had contingencies and managed to return successfully. There was no reason the other Great Witches would not have had their own contingencies as well. It was more likely that their backup measures had been destroyed. For example, Wu Ji was modified and suppressed by Elder Yao, making resurrection impossible. Wu Zhen’s final remnant of Thought was trapped by the Heavenly Preceptor.

Qi Xuansu said, “If your conjecture is true, then we’ll have to be extra careful. We would be in big trouble if we accidentally let Wu Zhen out.”

Qi Jiaoyao replied, “That’s where you’re mistaken. Even if we don’t provoke the imprint of Thought left behind by Wu Zhen, we still have to pass by Wu Zhen’s remains. That won’t be easy to deal with either.”