A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 1383: Secrets of the Ancient Gods

Ixchel claimed she was revealing secrets to gain Qi Xuansu’s and the Daoist Order’s trust. But in reality, she was preemptively answering a key question—why she sought the Daoist Order instead of the Western Daoist Order.

The real reason was that Kukulkan had already made a deal with the Western Daoist Order. Ixchel, as the wife of the former sun god Itzamna, secretly opposed the current sun god Kukulkan.

Qi Xuansu grasped the implication and asked directly, “Why didn’t you oppose him openly at the time? Why submit to this new sun god instead?”

Ixchel gave a bitter smile. “Because Chak Chel chose to support Kukulkan.”

Qi Xuansu was genuinely puzzled. “As I understand it, Ixchel is the Full Moon Goddess, and Chak Chel is the Star Moon Goddess. Ixchel appears as a beautiful maiden, while Chak Chel is an old crone with twisted serpents on her head and beast-like claws. But in truth, the two are one being, two sides of the same entity. Now that Ixchel stands before me, who is Chak Chel?”

Ixchel smiled bitterly again. “That was true in the past. Ixchel and Chak Chel were two aspects of one being. But during the divine war, I was severely wounded. Though I survived, Chak Chel and I split into two independent entities.”

Qi Xuansu nodded in understanding.

Back then, the Holy Xuan had also been split into several independent entities by Old Master Long’s Moral Sovereign, manifesting the Three Corpses. The entire Daoist Order mobilized to retrieve his fragments and ultimately restored him. Such was the advantage of power and having so many subordinates.

Clearly, Ixchel did not have such resources and could only remain divided into two separate beings.

Ixchel continued, “This greatly diminished my divine power, so I was too weak to stop Kukulkan from stealing my husband Itzamna’s divinity. Moreover, this split caused me to lose the unified identity of the moon goddess. Chak Chel became the new queen, and my opposition became meaningless.”

Qi Xuansu understood. Chak Chel and Ixchel were both widows of the former king. The former supported Kukulkan, while the latter opposed him. Their positions canceled each other out, allowing Kukulkan to successfully seize Itzamna’s divine authority and ascend the throne. He then allied with the Western Daoist Order, stabilizing his rule through external support, much like a puppet ruler.

The Western Daoist Order promised to help maintain the ancient gods’ faith, but most of that faith was consumed by Kukulkan. He even had surplus power to devour the divine authority of other sun gods, further strengthening himself. The remaining gods were left with scraps, growing weaker and increasingly unable to compete with him.

Over time, this would inevitably breed resentment among the other ancient gods. Individually, none could rival Kukulkan. But united, they could defeat him. To maintain his rule, Kukulkan had to cling tightly to the Western Daoist Order, even resorting to blood sacrifice to boost his power.

The Western Daoist Order was naturally aware of this. But this was precisely the Western Daoist Order’s intention. They wanted to divide the ancient gods so that both sides depended on them. By maintaining balance, they could better control the situation and keep Kukulkan in check.

Without such methods, how could the Western Daoist Order dare to unify the Tawantin Empire?

Ixchel appeared as a young maiden, but that did not mean she was naive. She clearly understood that the Western Daoist Order could not be relied upon. The other ancient gods were merely tools used to restrain Kukulkan. As long as Kukulkan remained obedient, the Western Daoist Order would never act against him for the sake of other gods.

So she bypassed the Western Daoist Order entirely and went straight to its patron, the Daoist Order.

It was inevitable that Ixchel sought out Qi Xuansu.

After thinking it through, Qi Xuansu asked, “Moon Goddess, do you only seek transcendence? Do you not wish to reclaim your late husband’s legacy?”

Ixchel hesitated, as if wanting to speak but holding back.

A thought stirred in Qi Xuansu’s mind.

Was Ixchel’s offer of sincerity to help the Daoist Order control the Paititi pantheon?

Such a proposal would surely suit Li Changge’s tastes.

Unfortunately, he was not Li Changge.

Qi Xuansu had no intention of refusing but remained noncommittal. “I can’t promise anything regarding this matter, but when I return to Jade Capital, I will inform Sage Qingwei and the Golden Tower Council.”

Ixchel naturally understood. She had expected the Daoist Order to send a Virtuous Great Sage, who had the authority to give her a clear answer. But with no other option, she could only approach Qi Xuansu despite her reservations.

At this moment, Qi Xuansu asked, “Moon Goddess, you have openly invited me here. Are you not afraid that the Sun God will find out?”

The Sun God that he mentioned was referring to Kukulkan. Regardless of Ixchel’s claims, Kukulkan was recognized as the Sun God by the Western Daoist Order. As a representative of the Daoist Order, Qi Xuansu could not show too much bias before the situation became clear, so he addressed Kukulkan accordingly.

Ixchel said, “When you arrived in New Paititi, you must have witnessed Kukulkan’s blood sacrifices. After each feast, he enters a brief period of slumber to digest what he has consumed. During this time, he does not pay attention to New Paititi, nor can he detect my actions.”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “I see.”

Ixchel extended an invitation. “Sage Qi, if you don’t mind, you may come with me to my divine kingdom. From there, you can observe the Sun God’s divine kingdom at close range.”

The former Sun God Itzamna had been Ixchel’s husband, so their divine kingdoms were once extremely close, almost joined as one. After Itzamna’s fall and Kukulkan’s rise, the two kingdoms naturally separated. However, since Chak Chel became the new queen, and Ixchel and Chak Chel were originally one being, they were still considered “neighbors.”

This reminded Qi Xuansu of Yan Feiqing’s past experience. Back then, when Yan Feiqing persuaded True Lord Taiyin, one of the Seven Ancient Immortals, to surrender to the Daoist Order, he had also been invited into the Palace of Cold Light to observe Wu Luo’s divine kingdom from up close. Now, Qi Xuansu was facing a similar situation.

Was he about to walk the same path as Yan Feiqing?

That did not seem like a bad thing.

As Great Sage Yan had once said, there was no irreconcilable hatred between people, nor any contradiction that could not be mediated. There was always room for negotiation.

Qi Xuansu readily agreed. “It’s exactly what I would wish for, though I would not dare ask.”

With a wave of her hand, Ixchel bathed Qi Xuansu in a beam of moonlight.

Qi Xuansu, in turn, manifested his Taiyin Spiritual Statue. Since True Lord Taiyin was a lunar deity, it made entry into a moon goddess’s divine kingdom much easier.

It was forever night in Ixchel’s divine realm. But it was tranquil, with a full moon hanging high in the sky, not an eerie darkness. Since she was the Full Moon Goddess, the moon shone brightly, while the stars were sparse. The ground was carpeted with moonflowers and night-dew grass.

In the rainforest, vines hung like tassels. The air was neither humid nor stifling, and instead of swarms of insects, there were only fireflies dancing in the air.

Ixchel walked barefoot across the grass. Flowers bloomed wherever she stepped.

Soon, Ixchel arrived at the shore of a tranquil lake.

Without pausing, Ixchel walked on the surface of the lake, leaving ripples behind her. Moonflowers continued to bloom upon the water in her wake.

Qi Xuansu appeared at the lakeside, his body shrouded in a faint lunar radiance that harmonized perfectly with this divine kingdom.

Ixchel pointed toward the moon in the sky. Near it, another “sun” appeared within the night, lighting up the heavens and nearly overshadowing the moon’s brilliance.

Looking closely, it was not a real sun at all. Its light was simply so intense that it resembled one.

This “sun” was actually a golden pyramid, with the Sun God’s divine palace at its apex. It was bathed in boundless radiance like the sun at its zenith, displaying the majesty of a divine king.

The Sun God was almost an inevitable choice of a chief deity across most pantheons, such as in Fenglin, Misir, and even in Buddhism. In the ancient era of the Central Plains, Donghuang Taiyi had been a sun deity.

That was because all life depended on the light of the sun.

Thus, there were many sun gods, each distinct, though their radiance was mostly golden or white.

However, Qi Xuansu keenly noticed that within Kukulkan’s solar radiance, there was a trace of blood-red hue, like the setting sun at dusk.

Ixchel waved her hand before Qi Xuansu, helping him pierce through the illusion.

Behind the “sun,” countless fiery clouds had piled up, like raging flames, merging into an endless sea of fire.

It was Qi Xuansu’s first time witnessing such a sight, though not the first time he had learned of it. Great Sage Yan had described it in detail in his Records of the Western Region, and the Daoist Order had adopted the Buddhist term for this—karmic fire.

According to Great Sage Yan, the Ancient Witches were born of a primitive age and were best able to withstand the consequences of blood sacrifice, which was why Wu Luo had not perished. But just because Wu Luo could endure it did not mean others could.

At its core, blood sacrifice was akin to drinking poison to quench thirst. Yet decaying power was still power and could not be underestimated.

This reminded Qi Xuansu of the decaying dragon qi of Nanyang.

Dragon qi was closely tied to the people’s faith and morale. When a nation’s fortune faltered, dragon qi would rot and decay alongside it, becoming poison. It was so potent that even the Xiaoyao Six Void Tribulations or demonic fire could not compare.

The Holy Xuan’s first defeat at the hands of Old Master Long had been due to this decaying dragon qi, which was the most vicious force in the world. Only the indestructible body of a First-Tribulation Immortal could barely resist it. Even with all their wondrous methods, Immortals could only suppress it and never fully dispel it.

The karmic fire born of blood sacrifice was strikingly similar in nature to that decaying dragon qi.

Qi Xuansu carefully observed the sea of fiery clouds.

The karmic fire burned fiercely within, filled with the aura of decay and decline. Or rather, the aura of corruption.

Each era had its own prevailing order. In ancient times, blood sacrifice had been permissible because the world was not yet so “real,” leaning toward a primordial state. It was like a legal system not yet fully formed and full of exploitable loopholes. As the world became more real and its laws more complete, those loopholes diminished. Blood sacrifice then became forbidden, and its backlash increasingly unbearable.