A Pawn's Passage

Zhang Yuelu finally understood what Qi Xuansu had meant when he asked her what she would do if someone extremely important to her turned out to be fake.

The person he referred to was not Madam Qi, but his master, Qi Haoran.

Zhang Yuelu understood Qi Xuansu well. As an orphan, he lacked familial love during childhood, so he remained wary of others and was stingy with any emotional investment. But once he truly gave his heart, it meant he deeply valued the person.

By now, the people Qi Xuansu regarded as his nuclear family were only Madam Qi, Qi Haoran, Zhang Yuelu, and Little Yin—bonds forged through life and death.

Sage Donghua, Sage Cihang, Zhang Yuelu’s parents, and the Three Yin Beings were, at most, his extended family.

Pei Xiaolou, Lei Xiaohuan, Xu Jiaorong, Lin Yuanmiao, and others belonged in the category of friends.

Now, Qi Haoran—whom Qi Xuansu had regarded as a father—had turned out to be fake. This directly negated a piece of Qi Xuansu’s past and a deep emotional bond. It was like a trope from a novel in which the main character suddenly discovered that his father was not truly his biological parent but only raised him due to ulterior motives. One could only imagine the emotional shock Qi Xuansu was experiencing.

However, Qi Xuansu’s face remained relatively calm. There was no hysterical grief or tears. He vented his anger and emotional turmoil by smashing the coffin, striking harder and harder each time. The sturdy stone coffin cracked under his bare fists.

Zhang Yuelu said softly, “Tian Yuan, don’t be anxious. Let’s take our time and think this through carefully.”

If anyone else had said this, Qi Xuansu would likely have snapped back with, “Easy for you to say. How can I not be anxious?”

But coming from Zhang Yuelu, he forced himself to restrain his emotions and said, “I should’ve known. Other than my biological parents, who would treat me with unconditional love? The saying that master and disciple are like father and son is utter nonsense!”

Lei Xiaohuan and Xu Jiaorong stepped forward, looking at Qi Xuansu with concern. Both women were perceptive. Seeing an empty coffin and hearing Qi Xuansu’s fragmented remarks, they could roughly guess why he had dug up the grave.

Anyone would find such a revelation unbearable. More importantly, it suggested a possible conspiracy behind the scenes, something that demanded caution.

Zhang Yuelu placed a hand on Qi Xuansu’s shoulder and barely applied any force. Qi Xuansu then stopped moving because he knew not to project his anger on Zhang Yuelu. After all, it was Qi Haoran who had deceived him, not Zhang Yuelu.

Just as Zhang Yuelu was about to speak, she noticed something.

The stone coffin’s rim was nearly 15 centimeters thick. Qi Xuansu’s earlier outburst—smashing it repeatedly in frustration—had created cracks in the coffin’s internal structure. Suddenly, a longsword appeared within the coffin.

Qi Xuansu noticed the sword as well.

Zhang Yuelu hesitated before saying, “Is this the Liberation Method?”

The Liberation Realm was the final stage of a Rogue Cultivator before attaining immortality. Before the Daoist lineages were unified, there were many categories of Corpse Liberation Immortals—Fire Liberation, Water Liberation, Sword Liberation, and others. Later, the Daoist Order consolidated and standardized them under a single term: the Liberation Method.

Simply put, among the many ascension methods, the Corpse Liberation Immortal ranked lowest. Others ascended with their physical bodies, but Corpse Liberation immortals could only ascend with their primordial spirit, leaving their bodies behind in the mortal world, hence the name “Corpse Liberation.”

The Liberation Method replaced the corpse with an external object, allowing the Rogue Cultivator to ascend with a physical form like the other Five Immortals. Leaving behind a sword to substitute for the body was then called Sword Liberation.

Aside from preparing for ascension, the Liberation Realm also allowed one to create an incarnation anchored to an external object. The higher the quality of that object, the stronger the incarnation would be.

Moreover, Liberation Incarnations differed from the Banished Immortal’s Three Corpse Incarnations, as the former were essentially puppets directly controlled by the original body. Meanwhile, the latter were nearly independent entities split off from the true body.

If this was indeed the Liberation Method, then the current situation suddenly made sense.

Qi Haoran was likely a Liberation Incarnation anchored to an external object.

In a certain sense, Qi Haoran had indeed “died,” leaving behind the vessel that sustained his manifested form. Of course, his true self was not dead. He had merely abandoned this incarnation.

Qi Xuansu reached out and picked up the longsword.

It was merely an average-grade treasure, not an immortal or semi-immortal object. This confirmed that Qi Haoran’s cultivation level had indeed been relatively low and that he had not been deliberately concealing some extraordinary strength.

Just as the Martial Arts Practitioner’s Shattered Void Realm had multiple stages—beginner, intermediate, and mastery—depending on cultivation level, the Rogue Cultivator’s Liberation Realm was the same.

Qi Xuansu, currently only at the Zaohua stage, could merely shake the void rather than truly shatter it. Beginner-level Liberation Incarnation could not exist for long, while those created by true immortals could exist almost indefinitely and were indistinguishable from regular humans.

If Qi Haoran were merely a Rogue Cultivator at the Zaohua stage, his Liberation Incarnation could not have stayed with Qi Xuansu for such a long time. From this point alone, Qi Haoran’s true body was very likely an Immortal.

Qi Xuansu glanced at Zhang Yuelu. “Could it be—”

Before he finished, Zhang Yuelu already understood what he meant. “It’s too early to say. Perhaps the Heavenly Preceptor knows the inside story.”

Qi Xuansu clenched his fist. “The Heavenly Preceptor won’t see me. They said he went for an inspection.”

Zhang Yuelu placed her palm over the back of his hand. “Don’t overthink it. He’s simply on inspection. The Heavenly Preceptor can’t stay down there forever and will have to return to the Dazhen Mansion sooner or later. When that happens, I’ll personally go see him. Surely, my grandpa won’t avoid me.”

Only those at the level of Virtuous Great Sages could truly conduct inspections. They would tour the region and observe from above, focusing on identifying issues from a strategic perspective.

Second-rank Taiyi Daoists’ inspections were more like investigations, inquiring and scrutinizing processes, combining political oversight with practical grassroots conditions. They had more concrete tasks and detailed requirements.

Any official below that level was simply there to learn about the situation.

Generally speaking, inspections were purposeful and accompanied by a series of actions. They were not mere cursory visits.

Thus, the Heavenly Preceptor’s inspection might not be a deliberate excuse to avoid Qi Xuansu and could simply be part of his regular duties.

Qi Xuansu fell silent for a moment. He accepted Zhang Yuelu’s explanation and calmed down slightly.

Xu Jiaorong and Lei Xiaohuan exchanged a glance, impressed by how fast Zhang Yuelu could soothe Qi Xuansu. Very few had the ability to convince Qi Xuansu with just a few words.

Though Zhang Yuelu was a strong and independent woman—a powerhouse in her own right—she still had a gentle side. She knew how to balance strength and gentleness. In this situation, taking a hardline approach like slapping Qi Xuansu to snap him out of it might not wake him up at all and could even backfire, provoking him to fight instead.

Ultimately, Qi Xuansu had strong self-control. He seldom acted on impulse. He had not truly lost his wits and did not need someone to slap him out of it. He simply could not accept such emotional whiplash, so what he needed was reassurance and comfort.

No wonder people said Zhang Yuelu understood Qi Xuansu best.

Qi Xuansu looked at the longsword again and said with a self-mocking tone, “My master even left me a keepsake.”

Zhang Yuelu said softly, “Let’s restore everything here to how it was. It wouldn’t be good if others found out.”

Qi Xuansu nodded, put away the longsword, closed the coffin lid again, and returned the stone coffin to the grave.

Lei Xiaohuan and Xu Jiaorong helped as well. With several Heavenly Beings working together, the grave was quickly restored to its original state. The ever meticulous Xu Jiaorong even aged the freshly turned soil so that the signs of disturbance would not be obvious.

Once everything was done, Qi Xuansu still felt a lingering emptiness, though he was no longer as shaken as before. After all, partings and deaths had always been part of life.

Qi Xuansu could not remain immersed in such emotions forever. He was not some sheltered young master with endless time to indulge in sadness, so he had to pull himself together and face whatever changes came next.

An immortal’s incarnation and the fact that Madam Qi could not disclose many things to him could not have only been a play staged for Qi Xuansu. There had to be deeper intentions behind it.

Zhang Yuelu said, “Let’s leave first and think about what to do next. If the sky falls, I’ll be there to hold it up with you. There’s no reason for you to bear the burden alone.”

Qi Xuansu nodded, grateful for her support.

One advantage of Jade Capital was that there was no curfew, so the city gates were not closed at night, allowing for free passage in and out.

The four of them left the Requiem Division and headed to Taishang Place—more precisely, Zhang Yuelu’s residence.

After they sat down, Qi Xuansu took the initiative to speak. “You must all have many questions. Since we’re all allies, I’ll speak plainly. You all probably know about my past. My master and I were ambushed by The Inn’s assassins. Madam Qi saved me, but my master died. Recently, I learned from Madam Qi that she had actually known my master, Qi Haoran, long before. That made me question whether he truly died. I never saw his death with my own eyes. Everything came from Madam Qi’s account—so I went to the Requiem Division and opened the coffin to verify. As for the result, you’ve all seen it.”

As for what happened in the Lingshan Paradise, he ultimately decided to leave it unspoken for now. Especially since he had not yet fully understood the cause and effect himself.

Xu Jiaorong said, “Madam Qi should know the full story.”

Qi Xuansu sighed. “She has no choice but to stay mum about it.”

Xu Jiaorong fell silent.

No wonder Qi Xuansu reacted so strongly. This was not merely an issue with his father figure but also with his mother figure.

Lei Xiaohuan said bluntly, “If you ask me, Madam Qi is from the Yao family. The only one who could force her into such a position would be that person. Who else could it be?”

Qi Xuansu was thinking the same thing.

Zhang Yuelu said, “Let’s not rush to conclusions. I think we should first follow the trail of this Liberation Incarnation. A Corpse Liberation Immortal is even rarer than a Heavenly Immortal. At the very least, neither the Three Deputy Grand Masters nor the few Virtuous Great Sages comes from that lineage. If we can find clues related to Corpse Liberation Immortals, we’ll likely be close to the truth.”