A Pawn's Passage

As Kukulkan approached death, his divine authorities gradually manifested. The first to emerge was the authority of death, which, in accordance with their agreement, fell into the hands of the Death God Ah Puch. This would not make him immediately stronger, but it would broaden the path before him. It was akin to a Daoist cultivator mastering another perfected method. Though there might be no obvious short-term improvement, it would help him ascend to an even higher level in the long run.

Next came the authority of storms, which had belonged to the Feathered Serpent God. This time, it fell into the hands of the Rain God Chaac. Wind and rain had always gone hand in hand, making it an exceptionally suitable divine authority for Chaac and one that would help restore his former strength.

Finally came the most powerful of them all—the authority of the sun. This encompassed not only Itzamna’s divine authority but also that of the Misir Sun God. It was this authority that had elevated Kukulkan to the realm of a Quasi-First-Tribulation Immortal.

By all rights, this divine authority should have belonged to Ixchel.

However, Chak Chel, who had remained absent until now, finally revealed herself.

The old crone with tiger claws said, “Ixchel, according to our agreement, I gave you the key, and in return, you are to give me Kukulkan’s authority of the sun.”

Contracts between gods were exceedingly difficult to break. Once a formal covenant had been established, it carried equal binding force for both parties. Back then, Elder Zhang had used a single contract to force Elder Xu to leave the mortal world early, despite enjoying a highly favorable situation. Likewise, Madam Qi had been unable to reveal the truth to Qi Xuansu because of a contract.

Since Chak Chel had dared to hand her key over to Ixchel, it naturally meant that they had already established a binding contract beforehand.

Ixchel offered no objection. “As stipulated in our contract, the authority of the sun is yours.”

Chak Chel seized the divine authority, which resembled a miniature sun, and asked, “Ixchel, do you also wish to become the King of Gods?”

Ixchel replied calmly, “Is there anyone more qualified than I am? Or do you mean yourself?”

Ixchel likewise had covenants with the God of Death and the Rain God. Having received the rewards they had been promised, they would naturally help Ixchel ascend to the throne as the King of Gods. In a three-against-one situation, even if Chak Chel had obtained the mighty authority of the sun, she would still be no match for Ixchel.

“Of course not me,” Chak Chel said. “Itzamna once prophesied that when the great calamity arrived, the moon would obscure the sun. Guided by the crimson fire, Kukulkan would be sacrificed, and then the sun would descend once more. The great calamity was the Holy Court’s invasion, which led to Itzamna’s death. Ixchel, you are merely the moon that obscures the sun, not the true king.”

By this point, Qi Xuansu, who was sharing Madam Wu’s senses, had already understood the conspiracy behind the entire Shadow Tide.

Ixchel and Chak Chel had indeed split into two separate beings. They had become completely independent entities, and the goals they pursued were now entirely opposed.

Or perhaps the original Ixchel had always possessed a split personality, trapped in endless internal conflict day after day. In the end, through the intervention of the Holy Court, she became two separate individuals, allowing each personality to find its own release instead of being forced to masquerade as a single person.

These two personalities had already been at odds for many years while sharing the same body. Once separated, they naturally became enemies. There was nothing feigned about it.

What Ixchel sought was to become the King of Gods.

Chak Chel opposed Ixchel’s ascension to the throne, yet she also rejected becoming the King of Gods herself. From her remark that Ixchel was merely the moon that obscures the sun, the tiger-clawed crone’s true objective became abundantly clear.

Connecting this with the prophecy of the Guizang Lantern, the solar eclipse actually carried two meanings. The first was that the moon obscured the sun, which was the Moon Maiden Ixchel passing judgment upon the Sun God Kukulkan. The second signified the downfall of the Sun God. Yet two generations of Sun Gods had fallen, not only Kukulkan, but also Itzamna.

Chak Chel said, “Guided by the crimson fire, sacrifice Kukulkan, and then the sun shall descend once more.”

This descent of the sun meant the rebirth of the sun after the eclipse.

Qi Xuansu was not making wild guesses. He remembered the vision shown by the Guizang Lantern with perfect clarity. In the end, the sun dispelled the darkness, shone brilliantly once more, and the world returned to the light. Compared to the sun before the eclipse, the sun afterward had undergone a kind of rebirth. It seemed brighter and purer, as if it had cast off all impurities.

Thinking back on it now, that purification symbolized the extinguishment of karmic fire.

The Guizang Lantern had already made its meaning abundantly clear.

Surely it could not mean that Kukulkan would be sacrificed only to return himself. That simply made no sense.

The only possible interpretation was the resurrection of another sun.

As Itzamna’s wife, what Chak Chel truly sought was the resurrection of her husband, Itzamna, and the restoration of the Divine Court’s former order.

With that understanding, many of Chak Chel’s actions suddenly became perfectly logical.

Chak Chel had supported Kukulkan’s ascension as the Sun God not because of outside pressure, but because she intended for him to become the sacrificial offering. Kukulkan had to become the Sun God so that the prophecy of sacrificing Kukulkan to the sun could be fulfilled.

Poor Kukulkan had believed he had stumbled upon an extraordinary opportunity, when in reality, he had been manipulated by Chak Chel from the very beginning.

On the other hand, Ixchel opposed Kukulkan becoming the Sun God probably because she knew the full truth and did not wish for Itzamna to return.

Chak Chel handed her key to Ixchel so that the sacrifice could be carried out successfully.

Then, Chak Chel demanded the authority of the sun from Ixchel so that the sun could return. It was an indispensable part of the plan.

There was another crucial point.

Why was it that Kukulkan, a Quasi-First-Tribulation Immortal, had been left with so little ability to fight back? The strength he displayed simply did not match that of a Quasi-First-Tribulation Immortal. The Imperial Preceptor, another Quasi-First-Tribulation Immortal, could slay dragons as easily as flipping over his hand. Had the Imperial Preceptor been in Kukulkan’s shoes instead, Ixchel and the others might not have succeeded at all.

Yet Kukulkan had been little more than a lamb awaiting slaughter.

Everyone knew that something had gone wrong with Kukulkan, but what kind of problem could possibly reduce a dignified Quasi-First-Tribulation Immortal to such a weakened state?

The answer was not difficult to infer.

A great empire rarely fell because of foreign enemies. More often, it perished from internal strife.

The same held true for a Quasi-First-Tribulation Immortal like Kukulkan. Though he ultimately died at the hands of the external enemy, Ixchel, what truly doomed him were his internal afflictions—the karmic fire accumulated through blood sacrifices, as well as the mysterious “problem” that prevented him from displaying his full strength.

Influenced by Sage Donghua, Qi Xuansu had long been studying the Annotations on the Holy Xuan written by the fifth-generation Grand Master. Since it was the fifth-generation Grand Master’s commentary on the Holy Xuan, one had to first understand the Holy Xuan himself.

In his early years, the Holy Xuan had cultivated the original, unmodified Taiyin 13 Swords, which gave rise to an inner demon—another version of himself—that caused him tremendous trouble.

The original Ixchel had likewise suffered greatly from her dual personalities.

The only thing capable of rendering Kukulkan powerless would be another Kukulkan.

Kukulkan had inherited Itzamna’s divine authority, throne, divine kingdom, and Divine Court, even his wife.

Kukulkan had become, in almost every sense, another Itzamna.

As everyone knew, Godly Immortals underwent Three Deaths, so Itzamna had not truly died.

Of course, that alone was far from enough. Kukulkan was no fool. He must have believed that Itzamna could never return or that he could keep the situation under control. Only then would he have dared to inherit everything that had belonged to Itzamna without reservation.

So what unexpected variable had caused events to spiral beyond Kukulkan’s control?

Qi Xuansu immediately thought of one place—the pyramid of Paititi.

Itzamna had expended enormous effort, using both persuasion and coercion, to finally gain control of that place. Then Itzamna died.

At first, Qi Xuansu and Madam Wu had believed that Itzamna simply had not had the time to make use of the Paititi pyramid. But now it seemed otherwise. Itzamna had left behind so many prophecies, even foreseeing his own death. Under such circumstances, there was no way he would have left the pyramid unused.

Perhaps the Paititi pyramid was not meant for ascension at all but for resurrection, and Itzamna had already used it in advance.

The legend of the Paititi pyramid stated that once the sacrifice was completed, the sun would perish, and the world would fall into darkness.

This was the earliest mention of a sacrifice.

If the sun perishing was understood to mean that something would happen to Kukulkan, then the answer became obvious. The “sacrifice” referred to here was not the sacrifice of Kukulkan but the Shadow Tide.

As the Queen of the Gods, Chak Chel secretly orchestrated the Shadow Tide behind Kukulkan’s back, leaving behind the symbol of the solar eclipse. She harvested an immense amount of divine power, offering it as a sacrifice to the Paititi pyramid.

Through the power of the Paititi pyramid, Itzamna, who had already used the pyramid long ago, began to awaken within Kukulkan’s body, restraining him at every turn. As the Shadow Tide supplied more and more divine power, Itzamna’s awakening grew increasingly complete.

It perfectly matched the phrase, “Heaven is about to awaken.”

The “Heaven” in that phrase did not refer to the Heavenly Dao but to Itzamna, the Sky God.

Thus, Kukulkan became trapped in endless internal conflict, growing ever more withdrawn and unable to concern himself with the outside world. Even when the royal family fell, all he did was symbolically send down a single avatar.

As Itzamna approached complete awakening, Kukulkan was forced to devote all of his strength to resisting him.

This also gave Ixchel and Chak Chel far greater room to maneuver. Ixchel accelerated her bid for power, forging alliances everywhere. Although Qi Xuansu interfered with her plans, it was not a big deal. Meanwhile, Chak Chel feigned a compromise with Ixchel, all while preparing for the final resurrection.

Now, the plan had fully unfurled, revealing the true motives.

Chak Chel looked at the Moon Maiden. “Ixchel, return to your rightful place and welcome the rightful King of Gods.”

Ixchel smiled. “In the past, there was only one Ixchel, and therefore only one Queen of the Gods. Now that we have become two people, if Itzamna returns, which one of us will be the Queen?”

Chak Chel gave no answer. It was a question that required none.

Ixchel continued, “The Chief God’s thinking belongs to a bygone age. He is no longer suited to this era. It’s better for him to remain peacefully asleep and preserve the reputation of having died heroically in battle. Why insist on living a second life?”

Chak Chel responded with action rather than words.

The already materialized sun authority transformed into a blazing sun, flew out of the temple, left the divine kingdom, and sped toward the Paititi pocket realm, which was connected to the divine kingdom.

The idea of having Kukulkan connect his divine kingdom to the Paititi pocket realm had also been Chak Chel’s suggestion. She claimed it was to help bear the burden of the karmic fire, but its true purpose had always been to facilitate Itzamna’s resurrection.

Now, it was finally serving its intended purpose.

Having already left the divine kingdom, Qi Xuansu witnessed an astonishing sight. Above the Paititi pocket realm, a magnificent pyramid slowly emerged into view, gradually solidifying. It stood directly opposite the location of the divine kingdom, as though waiting to receive the sun.