A Pawn's Passage

It was nothing unusual for an immortal object to require divine power.

Even the power of an Immortal was not inexhaustible, so naturally, the power of an immortal object could not be limitless either.

That said, immortal objects could be broadly divided into several different categories.

Some were aligned with the Heavenly Immortal and Earthly Immortal lineages, drawing their power directly from heaven and earth. A prime example was Skycaller, which could resonate with heaven and earth itself. Madam Wu also belonged to this category. She could heal herself naturally and even take pills to strengthen herself. Back when she had been injured by Elder Xu in the Kunlun Paradise, she had even gone to God Luwu to purchase medicine. There was also Moral Sovereign, whose power came from dragon veins and earth qi. It likewise fell under the category of drawing upon heaven and earth.

The Heavenly Preceptor’s Twin Swords were somewhat unique. They were closely connected to the Punishment Pillars of the Demon-Vanquishing Platform, drawing their power from the Demon-Vanquishing Cave beneath it, which in turn siphoned strength from the prisoners confined there.

Part of the power of the Three Treasures Scepter originated from the Kunlun Paradise.

Other immortal objects required their users to supply the energy themselves. Such artifacts functioned more like converters, transforming the user’s power into a particular divine ability.

The Guizang Lantern clearly did not belong to that category. It neither required Qi Xuansu’s own power nor could it draw energy directly from heaven and earth. Instead, it required divine power.

A representative example of this category was the Earthly Preceptor’s immortal object, the Yin-Yang Immortal Robe. It consumed vast amounts of divine power to function, while also possessing the ability to convert other people’s power into its own divine power.

One could think of divine power as the lamp oil for the Guizang Lantern. Without oil, the Guizang Lantern was like any other unlit lantern and could not give off light.

Perhaps because it had just simulated so many possible futures involving Qi Xuansu and Little Yin, the Guizang Lantern had consumed an enormous amount of divine power. Coupled with its earlier feat of sending Qi Xuansu back to the Lingshan Paradise, it was now nearly out of oil. For that reason, the Guizang Lantern did something unprecedented and proposed a trade.

If there was one thing Qi Xuansu did not lack, it was divine power. The Daoist Order’s Thirty-Three Heavens stored an immense reserve of divine power, enough even to allow Godly Immortals to transcend. More importantly, it was reimbursable, and Qi Xuansu himself had the authority to approve the reimbursement. All he had to do was submit an application, approve it himself, and then claim the divine power.

Naturally, there was a limit to the amount of divine power Qi Xuansu could authorize. Should he exceed that quota, he would need to seek approval from Sage Qingwei. If the divine power was to be used to elevate a Shaman into a Godly Immortal, then the matter would have to be deliberated by the Golden Tower. Even so, Qi Xuansu suspected that the Zhang family could actually produce that much divine power, since the Thirty-Three Heavens had always been under their administration.

Hearing that all it required was divine power, Qi Xuansu immediately relaxed and answered confidently, “Agreed.”

The Guizang Lantern proved surprisingly trustworthy. Without waiting for payment, it first projected an image.

It revealed the Ghost Kingdom. Deep within it, two figures walked beside the Blood Lake.

At this moment, the Blood Lake was surprisingly devoid of any overwhelming aura of bloodshed. Instead, it exuded a unique tranquility. One of the two figures was none other than Master Yin. Originally the strategist among the Three Yin Beings, he had taken over as the true leader of the Ghost Kingdom after Master Wan suffered devastating injuries. Among the Three Yin Beings, he possessed the highest cultivation, standing only a single step away from becoming an Immortal.

Walking beside Master Yin was a young girl dressed in a light green feathered robe, her expression calm and composed.

Qi Xuansu could not hear what the two were discussing. He could only watch as their silhouettes drifted in and out of the mist over the Blood Lake. The Emperor Willow stood not far away, where all the yin energy of the entire Ghost Kingdom converged. Its willow branches seemed to descend from the heavens to touch the lake’s surface, while the surrounding mist itself emanated from the Emperor Willow.

The young girl then gave Master Yin a few instructions. He nodded in acknowledgment, after which she turned and departed.

As soon as she left, the mist suddenly thickened, obscuring the entire scene.

Qi Xuansu roughly understood. This young woman was most likely the former spirit of the Emperor Willow. He had heard before that an incarnation of the Emperor Willow had once perished alongside two Ancient Immortals while dealing a devastating blow to the Ancient Immortals’ forces during the Ghost Kingdom battle.

Another line of text appeared within the halo, asking Qi Xuansu what he wished to know.

Qi Xuansu asked, “Who was that young woman?”

The Guizang Lantern answered in writing, “The spirit of the Emperor Willow.”

Qi Xuansu continued, “What is the relationship between the Emperor Willow and its spirit?”

A lengthy passage of text appeared within the halo.

“The Emperor Willow is a unique species originating from Kunlun, left behind by the Primordial Daoist Ancestor. After being reforged by Elder Yao, its vitality was awakened. It took root between the yin-yang rifts, feeding upon yin energy while connecting the realms of the living and the dead. As a result, it possesses two miraculous abilities.

“The first is the reversal of yin and yang. By absorbing yin energy, it can transform the ghostly netherworld into a vibrant mortal realm. By releasing yin energy, it can transform the human world into the netherworld.

“The second is the phenomenon known as regression, produced by the reversal of yin and yang. When the spirit of the Emperor Willow dies, it does not revive from death. Instead, it regressed to the moment of its birth.”

Qi Xuansu fell silent for a long while before asking the question that concerned him most. “After the regression, is the spirit of the Emperor Willow still the same spirit it was before?”

The Guizang Lantern simply replied, “No.”

Qi Xuansu could not tell whether he felt more relieved or anxious. He was relieved because Little Yin was truly that little imp that brought him equal amounts of joy and trouble, not someone else’s reincarnation or continuation. Yet he was also more anxious because Little Yin could not resurrect in the conventional sense. Thinking back on everything that had happened before, he found it rather terrifying in retrospect.

He asked another question. “How many times has the spirit of the Emperor Willow undergone regression so far?”

The Guizang Lantern answered in writing.

“The first spirit was the most powerful. Her strength rivaled that of an Immortal, and her mind was fully mature, no different from that of an adult woman. In the end, to protect the Ghost Kingdom, she perished together with an Ancient Immortal who had invaded it. The Three Yin Beings, though gravely wounded, succeeded in driving back the other Ancient Immortal. The second spirit only grew to adolescence before dying during one of her journeys. The third spirit has only reached childhood and is still alive.”

This differed somewhat from the legends Qi Xuansu had heard. The first-generation Emperor Willow spirit had not actually slain two Ancient Immortals. It was simply unknown how the Ancient Immortal who had been driven away ultimately died, and his death had likewise been attributed to the Emperor Willow Spirit. Perhaps it was the severe injuries he sustained in that battle that eventually led to his demise.

From this, Qi Xuansu concluded that the young woman he had just seen was most likely the second-generation Emperor Willow Spirit, still in her adolescent form.

It had to be said that this exchange of questions and answers between Qi Xuansu and the Guizang Lantern resembled the practice of spirit invocation for planchette writing. This was fundamentally the simplified derivative form of the Ancient Wuist technique called the Fuji Divination.

This Fuji Divination generally involved a horizontal rod with a writing brush attached. Two participants would support the rod with their fingertips while a tray of sand lay beneath it. As the brush traced patterns in the sand, the presiding medium would interpret the divination. Afterward, the sand would be smoothed over with a rake, allowing the process to begin anew.

The origins of Fuji Divination lay in the worship of the legendary Immortal called Purple Lady, who was in fact one of the many identities of True Lord Ziguang. It was just as how True Lord Siming was also worshipped among the common people as the Kitchen God. So it was not unusual for a single deity to possess multiple identities.

If performed according to the proper orthodox method, the deity invoked would indeed be True Lord Ziguang, and there was generally little cause for concern. However, if mistakes were made during the ritual, or if one employed those simplified variants instead, it became all too easy to attract wandering evil gods and malevolent ghosts, which could inflict tremendous harm upon people. Many had gone insane because of such encounters, and some had even died.

Even to this day, True Lord Ziguang still operated this line of work. Though each incense offering was small, together, they accumulated into a considerable amount of divine power. A more advanced service was direct revelation, which was essentially a face-to-face consultation. Qi Xuansu himself happened to be one of its beneficiaries.

It was hardly surprising that an immortal object of the Zhengyi Sect possessed abilities similar to those of the Purple Lady. After all, they all belonged to the same family.

However, the Guizang Lantern catered to a far more distinguished clientele. Its usual users were successive Heavenly Preceptors, Virtuous Great Sages, or even the Grand Master himself. At the very least, one had to be someone of Qi Xuansu’s standing. Even then, the lantern often responded only when it felt like it. As for everyone else, there was even less hope to use it.

Just then, the mist dispersed once more, and the scene shifted again.

Master Yin sat alone on the edge of the small island where the Emperor Willow had taken root. Gazing out over the surging Blood Lake, he casually wrote and sketched with his trophy brush, the Unbound Thought. At that moment, he suddenly heard the giggling laughter of a little girl coming from above his head.

Startled, Master Yin looked up and saw a little girl poking her head out from among the branches of the Emperor Willow, smiling brightly at him.

Master Yin was taken aback and beckoned for the little girl to come down.

The little girl immediately hugged one of the willow branches and slid down it.

Master Yin quickly reached out and caught her, preventing her from falling.

Qi Xuansu recognized the little girl at a glance. She was Little Yin. The present-day Little Yin had only grown up slightly, looking at most two or three years older than the Little Yin in the vision.

Afterward, Master Yin gained a granddaughter. The Three Yin Beings convened a meeting and decided that, since Master Yin had discovered the little girl, she would also bear his last name, Yin. The Three Yin Beings collectively named the little girl Yin Wanmiao.

Little Yin had simply appeared upon the Emperor Willow. It was not as though the Emperor Willow had borne a fruit that ripened and fell, from which Little Yin hatched. Rather, she seemed to have come into existence naturally in response to the accumulated aura surrounding the Emperor Willow. This type of phenomenon was collectively known as spontaneous manifestation.

Thus, the Emperor Willow was not Little Yin’s true form. Little Yin was simply Little Yin. One could say she was a spirit born from the Emperor Willow, but one could not say that she was the Emperor Willow itself. Since she had been born of the Emperor Willow, she possessed innate mysteries and the bearing of an Immortal. As a result, advancing her cultivation was remarkably easy. In terms of aptitude, she was very similar to manmade Banished Immortals like Qi Xuansu, in that both relied upon external means to advance. Given sufficient external resources, her cultivation speed far surpassed that of ordinary Banished Immortals.

Furthermore, although Little Yin was not the Emperor Willow itself, she naturally shared an extraordinarily close connection with it. If the Emperor Willow itself were regarded as a Heavenly Immortal, then Little Yin was somewhat akin to an incarnation split off from the Emperor Willow. She possessed many unique abilities that even the Three Yin Beings lacked, and her connection to the Ghost Kingdom was even more intimate.

At the same time, Master Yin also realized that the second-generation Emperor Willow Spirit had most likely perished somewhere outside.

After that came a series of fleeting scenes, mainly depicting Little Yin’s growth. At first, she remained near the Emperor Willow. Gradually, her range expanded to encompass the entire Ghost Kingdom, then the Ghost Pass, and finally, she followed Qi Xuansu into the human world.

The human world was such a joyful place that she no longer longed for the Ghost Kingdom.

The vision faded away. The light of the Guizang Lantern flickered consistently, urging Qi Xuansu to settle the remaining balance.

As soon as Qi Xuansu paid the required divine power, both the Guizang Lantern and the Emperor Willow disappeared.

Qi Xuansu found that he was still standing before the license. On the other side, Little Yin was loudly protesting, “I don’t want this old lantern! Take it away already!”