A Pawn's Passage

Zhang Yuelu sent Little Yin to Lingnan to discipline her.

Qi Xuansu returned alone to the Poluo Daoist Mansion.

The situation in Poluo was now quite favorable. Although Qi Xuansu played a part in this, the main reason was its good geographical position.

In truth, most fiscal and economic problems rarely change because of an individual. They were usually the result of multiple underlying causes.

The coastal Daoist Mansions led by the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion were generally prosperous, while those inland were generally poor. At one time, some believed this was a matter of personnel. As a result, Jade Capital transferred large numbers of high-ranking Daoists from the coastal regions to serve in inland Daoist Mansions.

The result, however, was that the inland Daoist Mansions remained financially strained. Some of the transferred Daoists could not even adapt to the local environment, failing to work according to local realities and instead mechanically applying rigid procedures, producing all sorts of strange and impractical constructions.

Meanwhile, the coastal Daoist Mansions, now staffed with Daoists from inland regions, still maintained impressive figures on their books.

From this, one could draw a conclusion that when a geographical advantage was present, almost anyone placed there could achieve results.

Thus, the children of major families were naturally sent to places where it was easy to produce results. When one examined their records, they appeared flawless, with no irregular promotions whatsoever. But whether this was due to genuine ability or some other reasons, only they themselves knew. By contrast, those without family backing were often sent to poorer regions, where they might spend an entire lifetime stagnating.

By normal reasoning, a favorable place like Poluo would not have fallen to Qi Xuansu. However, the place originally had its own master. If an ordinary scion had been sent there, they might not have been able to deal with Wang Jiaohe. Wang Jiaohe might have easily secured control during the period when Great Sage Lan was in seclusion, without even requiring Chen Shuhua to intervene. Thus, Qi Xuansu’s success in Poluo carried a certain legitimacy. After all, it was something he had essentially fought to obtain.

Qi Xuansu considered it fortunate that he had come to this place, so naturally, he would not relinquish it easily.

Chen Jianchou and Xu Jiaorong came to greet Qi Xuansu.

Xu Jiaorong had returned to the Poluo Daoist Mansion several days earlier and had already met Great Sage Lan.

When Qi Xuansu stepped down from the flying ship, he walked side by side with Xu Jiaorong. “What did Great Sage Lan say?”

Xu Jiaorong replied, “The Great Sage has never heard of a Corpse Liberation Immortal. However, he agreed with your proposal to have Second Deputy Zhang succeed as Chief Deputy of the Poluo Daoist Mansion.”

Qi Xuansu nodded and asked again, “Should I personally meet Great Sage Lan to discuss this matter, to show proper importance?”

Xu Jiaorong shook her head. “There’s no need. After learning that you would soon return to Poluo, Great Sage Lan set off for Jade Capital to visit some friends. He’s no longer in the Poluo Daoist Mansion.”

Qi Xuansu was somewhat surprised. “Is it really as simple as just visiting friends?”

Xu Jiaorong shrugged. “That I wouldn’t know.”

Qi Xuansu said nothing further.

He had another matter to attend to upon returning this time—fusing the Xuan Jade. He had not expected that the Xuan Jade given by Qi Jiaoyao, along with the sarira and Shebishi Venom, had all been brought back from Lingshan Paradise.

However, as his cultivation grew higher, the amount of Xuan Jade he required also increased. A single piece was far from enough to allow him to step into the Pseudo-Immortal stage.

Although Qi Xuansu knew that the Longevity Stone Heart was anything but ordinary—perhaps even capable of transforming him into a witch—he could no longer separate himself from it. His experience in the Lingshan Paradise had made one thing clear. If he lost the Longevity Stone Heart, it would mean certain death.

At this point, he could only walk this road to the end, striving to reach the Pseudo-Immortal stage as soon as possible so that he might at least gain self-preservation ability. Moreover, once he reached the New Continent, combat would likely be unavoidable.

After returning to Lion City, Qi Xuansu made no announcements. He headed straight to Tianfu Palace and began absorbing the Xuan Jade.

What he saw within the Longevity Stone Heart was not the real Lingshan Paradise, so everything here remained the same as before. Qi Xuansu followed the small path straight to the bonfire at the summit.

Just as before in his dreams, Shi Hengbo was already waiting there.

Behind her stood 11 totems symbolizing the Eleven Witches.

The totems of Wu Zhen and Wu Lu had risen to the sixth level. The Wu Gu totem had risen to the eighth level, while the Wu Fan totem had risen to the fifth level. This brought Qi Xuansu’s Martial Arts Practitioner lineage to the Zaohua stage.

The Wu Luo totem had risen to the seventh level. At the same time, influenced by the Wu Fan totem, the Shaman lineage, which had already been on the verge of a breakthrough, advanced to the Wuliang stage.

The Wu Yang totem had risen to the seventh level, which meant that the Banished Immortal lineage had advanced to the Wuliang stage.

The Wu Xian totem remained at the sixth level, keeping his Qi Refiner lineage at the Xiaoyao stage.

However, the Wu Peng totem, corresponding to his Rogue Cultivator lineage, had reached the eighth level, making him a Zaohua stage Rogue Cultivator.

Only the totems of Wu Di, Wu Ji, and Wu Xiang still had no marks.

This time, the power of the Xuan Jade began flowing into the totems of Wu Xian and Wu Xiang.

Taking advantage of this moment, Qi Xuansu said to Shi Hengbo, “Senior Shi, I have been to the Lingshan Paradise.”

Shi Hengbo looked at Qi Xuansu. “What did you gain from it?”

Qi Xuansu said, “I gained a great deal. I saw Elder Yao using a blood pool to refine the seeds of the Emperor Willow. Elder Yao has also altered the remains of Wu Di, Wu Zhen, and Wu Gu. I’ve encountered a fragment of divine consciousness left behind by Elder Yao in her palace.”

Shi Hengbo was momentarily stunned. “Elder Yao’s palace...”

Qi Xuansu probed, “Senior, do you have nothing to say about it?”

Shi Hengbo shook her head. “I have nothing to say.”

Qi Xuansu continued, “Senior, do you know where this Longevity Stone Heart was originally placed within Elder Yao’s palace?”

Shi Hengbo countered, “From the way you say it...do you already know?”

“It’s inside the chest cavity of Wu Gu’s corpse, at the position of the heart,” Qi Xuansu replied without beating around the bush.

Shi Hengbo’s figure flickered several times, as if becoming unstable. After a moment, she said, “Then that must be...the third Longevity Stone Heart. This one is different from the others.”

Qi Xuansu repeated softly, “The third one? That matches up. Elder Yao really was playing both sides.”

This confirmed Qi Xuansu’s earlier speculation that the first Longevity Stone Heart was a sample left in the Huasheng Hall, the second had been given to the Li family, and the third was currently in Qi Xuansu’s possession.

As for why it had never been mass-produced, the reason was simple. The cost was too high, making it impractical.

This concerned another matter. Was it purely a mistake by Huasheng Hall that they lost the Xuan Jades? Or had someone done it deliberately?

Without the Xuan Jade, the Longevity Stone Heart in the Li family’s possession would have been nothing more than a decorative object. It was clear that the Li family had no ability to produce Xuan Jades.

It was precisely this leakage of Xuan Jade that allowed the Li family to start developing Li Changge as a manmade Banished Immortal, giving him a shortcut to advance ahead of others. It also marked the beginning of Qi Xuansu’s own mysterious journey.

Qi Xuansu’s original plan had been to find a way to enter Huasheng Hall as its Chief Deputy Hall Master and search for the truth from within. But that was no longer possible. The recent series of events had instead made him the Chief Deputy Beichen Hall Master.

If he could return safely from the New Continent, become an Omniscient Sage, and take charge of a Daoist Mansion, then when he eventually rose to the position of Hall Master, he might be able to apply to become the Huasheng Hall Master.

However, that would be many years in the future—so far away that no one knew exactly how long it would take.

Shi Hengbo finally steadied her form. “It seems you truly gained a great deal.”

At that moment, the power of the Xuan Jade finished flowing in.

The Wu Xian totem rose from the sixth level to the seventh, while the Wu Xiang totem jumped directly from having no mark to the sixth level. This meant that Qi Xuansu’s Qi Refiner lineage had advanced to the Wuliang stage, leaving him only one step away from the Fusion Realm of the Zaohua stage, allowing him to use the Daozi Sword Technique.

The other lineages also gained some improvement, pushing both the Banished Immortal lineage and the Rogue Cultivator lineage slightly further, though they had not yet advanced to the next stage.

As a result, all of Qi Xuansu’s lineages had now reached the Wuliang stage, with the Rogue Cultivator lineage and the Martial Arts Practitioner lineage already at the Zaohua stage.

When Qi Xuansu first entered the Zaohua stage, his Qi Refiner lineage had been his weak point. Since the Rogue Cultivator lineage was closely linked to the other five lineages, this shortcoming caused certain flaws. Thus, Qi Xuansu rarely used his Rogue Cultivator lineage and instead relied primarily on his Martial Arts Practitioner lineage. Now that he had filled this weakness, he could finally use the Liberation Realm of Rogue Cultivators.

However, the Liberation Realm still could not compare to the Banished Immortal’s Three Corpses Severance Realm. It relied heavily on external objects and could only produce a single incarnation. Moreover, Qi Xuansu was only at the Zaohua stage and could not maintain the Liberation Incarnation for long periods.

In summary, this piece of Xuan Jade had mainly strengthened his foundations. Qi Xuansu still had a long road ahead before reaching the Pseudo-Immortal stage.

After absorbing the power of the Xuan Jade, there was still a bit of time left, so Qi Xuansu asked, “Senior Shi, I want to know what really happened back then.”

Shi Hengbo asked in return, “What exactly are you referring to?”

Qi Xuansu did not hold much hope, but he asked tentatively, “What was Elder Yao’s purpose in refining the third Longevity Stone Heart?”

Shi Hengbo shook her head. “I don’t know. I am merely a fragment of a lingering soul. Perhaps my original self would know, but my original self should no longer be in the mortal world.”

Since he had not expected much, there was no disappointment either. Qi Xuansu merely sighed helplessly. “I really should have let you meet Elder Yao’s remnant soul. You two could have caught up on old times.”

Qi Xuansu asked again, “As Elder Yao’s disciple, did you ever compete for the position of Earthly Preceptor?”

This time, Shi Hengbo gave a clear answer. “Although I am Elder Yao’s disciple, I am actually older than Elder Yao, so I would’ve gone before her. There was never any question of competing for the position of Earthly Preceptor.”

Only then did Qi Xuansu remember that Elder Yao’s lifespan should not be calculated according to Wu Xian’s standards but rather according to her current life. By that reckoning, Elder Yao was actually younger than Holy Xuan and not much older than Donghuang.

At that time, when the Daoist Order had just been founded, the distinction between first-generation and second-generation disciples was not as strictly defined as it was in later ages, and the matter of age was rather mixed and confusing.

Just as Qi Xuansu was about to give up, he suddenly remembered something and asked one final question, “By the way, if Elder Yao was already an Immortal, how could she have given birth to a child? The Daoist archives recorded that she was betrothed before becoming Wu Xian, yet there is not a single record about her husband.”

Shi Hengbo remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, “In my memory, Elder Yao was never married and never had any children.”