A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu secretly departed from New Paititi and headed for an ancient rainforest at the southernmost tip of the Southern Continent. This region lay on the fringes of the Western Daoist Order’s rule. Neither the Holy Court nor the Western Daoist Order had left much of an impact here. They had merely hurriedly left behind a few footprints to prove they had once passed through before departing just as hastily.

The people of the Northern Continent prided themselves on being civilized and regarded the Southern Continent as barbaric. As such, the Northerners considered this most southern region to be the most barbaric of all.

Several tribes still remained here because they were remote and impoverished enough to escape the Holy Court’s advance. Later, the Western Daoist Order had no spare resources to deal with them either, allowing them to gradually grow in strength.

The situation was highly complicated because some tribes worshipped the humanoid insects, while some revered the Northern God of Death, the Fallen Apostles, or some unknown evil gods. Blood sacrifice was common. They even maintained the everyday practice of cannibalism.

Eradicating them and bringing them under the rule of the Tawantin Empire would be extremely difficult because they were situated in the deep mountains, with towering forests, sparse roads, scarce inhabitants, and pervasive miasma forming a natural protective barrier.

It was impossible to conduct an aerial search due to the dense forest. It would be akin to looking for a needle in the sea. Moreover, the vast rainforest and mountain ranges were riddled with caves. Unless the mountains themselves were blasted apart and tunneled through, aerial attacks could not do much harm. Moreover, these were not city-states fixed in one place. They could disperse into countless small groups at any moment, scattering by tribe throughout the region and exploiting the terrain so that a single decisive battle could never take place. In the end, they would simply rely on delaying tactics until logistical strain forced the invading army to retreat.

The only viable approach was to send in a small elite force to eliminate their leadership, leaving them without a leader. Troops could then seize the opportunity to occupy the region, break up the tribes, and relocate them to different areas.

That was why Qi Xuansu had brought only Utu with him on this mission.

At that moment, the two stood atop a high cliff overlooking a settlement below. There were a few stone buildings, but none of them were the towering pyramid temples commonly seen in Paititi. Most of the structures were built from wood and blended almost seamlessly into the rainforest, making them difficult to spot without careful observation.

Wrapped entirely in a black robe, Utu pointed toward the settlement below and said, “Sage Qi, this is a humanoid insect village. The children here are taught various skills from a very young age. They survive through hunting, honing their abilities in the process. Every year, quite a number of children are killed by lions and leopards. So those who survive are tough warriors.”

Qi Xuansu activated the body spirits in his eyes and gazed into the distance. He saw a group of roughly a dozen children in the center of the village. They ranged from 4 years old to teenagers, all of them training under the guidance of an adult. They were throwing punches and kicks with proper form while looking completely concentrated.

Leading them was a lean and strict middle-aged man with bronze-colored skin. He paced back and forth among the children, carefully watching their movements and frequently correcting or reprimanding them like a martial instructor would.

Qi Xuansu asked, “Have these children also been implanted with insect eggs?”

Utu shook his head. “No. The Foundation Building Elixir is extremely precious. It is impossible for everyone to receive one, so they have to be screened. Only children deemed worthy are allowed to take it. Even hunting serves as part of the selection process. Their world is very simple. Aside from gathering divine power, everything they do exists to serve their cultivation.”

Qi Xuansu continued observing the village.

There were many adult men in the village with broad builds and strong muscles. Clearly, they were also tempering their bodies.

There were also several white-bearded elders, who stood with their hands clasped behind their backs and nodded from time to time.

These elders clearly held a high status, likely akin to tribal elders.

About an hour later, under the guidance of one of the elders, the villagers gathered together before a shrine and began worshipping the statue within.

From his viewing angle, Qi Xuansu could not make out the entire statue inside the shrine. He asked, “What is enshrined there?”

“A wooden carving of a woman, though it also has certain insect-like features. It should be the Insect Queen. In their mythology, they regard her as their progenitor,” Utu replied.

Qi Xuansu remarked with a sigh, “It seems that the humanoid insects also have a complete lore.”

After the prayers, the adult men left the village to begin the day’s hunt, while the elders trained the children and youth in cultivation techniques.

The humanoid insects’s cultivation techniques were highly deceptive. Even the Daoist Order had failed to recognize their true nature at first. As such, one could still cultivate without taking the Foundation Establishment Pill, though the results were nowhere near as immediate.

At the same time, Qi Xuansu activated the body spirits in his ear, allowing him to hear their conversation clearly.

Some of the children had grown impatient with the lessons and began pestering the elder to tell them about the outside world.

The elder said, “The outside world is vast, so much so that a person could spend an entire lifetime walking without reaching the end of it. It is also an extremely dangerous place, inhabited by many foreigners and demonic cultivators, all of them vicious and cruel.”

One of the children asked, “What are demonic cultivators?”

The elder replied, “They occupy the Eastern and Southern Continents, known as the Five Demonic Sects. The one ruling our continent is the Western Demonic Sect. Its leader is Tantai Zhenxiao, who is incomparably powerful and capable of moving mountains. Even a massive tribe numbering hundreds of thousands could not withstand more than a few punches and kicks from him. The Western Demonic Sect’s deputy leader is Gong Fu, a master of sorcery who can set mountains ablaze, boil the seas, and steal souls. There is also the future sect leader, Huangfu Ji, who has inherited the current leader Tantai Zhenxiao’s true teachings. His physical body rivals that of a primordial beast, and he kills people as easily as blinking.”

The children listened in rapt fascination. After a while, they began asking about the other Demonic Sects.

The elder explained, “The other four Demonic Sects are all located on other continents, though cultivators from those sects often come to our continent as well. Not long ago, a Demon Emperor Qi came here. Although he cannot be compared with the leader of the Western Demonic Sect, he is by no means someone to be underestimated. It is said that he is the young leader of the Central Demonic Sect.”

One of the youths asked, “Village Chief, what is a Demon Emperor? How are the Demonic Sects ranked?”

Although these humanoid insects lived on another continent, they still retained the customs of the Central Plains.

Stroking his beard, the elder said, “The Demonic Sects are divided into nine ranks and twelve grades. The ninth rank is the lowest. From the ninth rank up to the fifth rank, one is merely considered an ordinary demon cultivator. Only upon reaching the fourth rank does one become part of the Demonic Sect’s upper echelon. The fourth rank is a Demon Master, the third rank is a Demon Spirit, and the lower second rank is a Demon King. The upper second rank is a Demon Emperor. The lower first rank is a Demon Patriarch, and the higher first rank is a Demon Sovereign.”

The children were completely dumbfounded. That sounded so complicated.

But a child’s curiosity knew no bounds. Another asked, “Village Chief, is there anything above a Demon Sovereign?”

The elder’s expression turned solemn. “Of course there is. The Demon Saint transcends the first rank. Fortunately, there are no Demon Saints on our continent. It is said that the previous generation’s Demon Saint has already perished. The Demonic Sects now have only Demon Sovereigns, who are frequently at odds with one another and often fight among themselves. That is our opportunity.”

The children immediately jumped up in excitement and cheered. One of them asked, “Village Chief, how did the Demon Saint perish?”

A trace of piety unexpectedly appeared on the elder’s otherwise stern face as he said in a deep voice, “Our Goddess killed the Demon Saint.”

The children all turned to look at the wooden carving of the Insect Queen inside the shrine, their faces filled with reverence.

Qi Xuansu was somewhat surprised himself. Is that Demon Emperor Qi referring to me? Their so-called Demon Saint is the Grand Master?

They certainly thought highly of him, directly elevating him to the rank of Demon Emperor. That was equivalent to promoting him to Omniscient Sage ahead of schedule while also making him the young leader of the Daoist Order. He wondered whether the Earthly Preceptor would acknowledge him as this young leader.

In the end, Qi Xuansu sighed with emotion. “Education really does begin with children.”

From the humanoid insects’ narrative, the Daoist Order ruled over the world but oppressed the people. Even though the Daoist Order had solved problems that no dynasty throughout history had been able to solve, its suppression of the humanoid insects still made it evil in their eyes, and all living beings supposedly longed to overthrow them.

Utu said, “Sage Qi, weren’t you curious about how the Foundation Building Elixir is distributed? The main event is about to begin.”

Sure enough, after telling the children a few stories, teaching them cultivation techniques, and having them practice for a while, the elder prepared to test them.

He first had the children and youth line up in a single file. Then he took out a crystal sphere and instructed them to place their hands on it one by one.

The elder then announced the results one by one.

A young boy placed his hand on the crystal sphere.

“Yao Tian, early-stage of the Qi Refinement Realm!”

Hearing the elder’s announcement, Yao Tian grimaced and clenched his fist so hard beneath his sleeve that his fingernails dug into his palm. However, he seemed completely unaware of the pain.

A chorus of mockery immediately rose from those around him.

“You’re still at the early stage after all this time? You’re really worthless.”

“I can’t believe Xian’er likes you. She must’ve been blind.”

“If it weren’t for Xian’er’s sake, you’d have been thrown out of our village long ago. How could you possibly still be here living off everyone else?”

Yao Tian lowered his head, not daring to look at them. He quietly stepped aside, looking as if he did not belong among the others.

“Next, Jin Xian’er.”

At the elder’s call, a slender young girl with a pair of animated black eyes stepped forward. When she looked toward Yao Tian, she frowned slightly, unable to conceal the concern in her gaze.

Yao Tian shook his head at her, signaling that he was fine.

Jin Xian’er placed her hand on the crystal sphere, and the elder announced loudly, “Jin Xian’er, perfection of the Qi Refinement Realm!”

A wave of admiration instantly swept through the crowd.

Jin Xian’er was only a single step away from the Foundation Building Realm. Among those of her age, such talent was exceedingly rare.

Ignoring the chorus of praise, Jin Xian’er quickly walked over to Yao Tian, gently took hold of his arm, and softly comforted him.

Qi Xuansu took in the entire scene and said, “Utu, these children should not be implanted with insect eggs.”

Utu bowed his head slightly. “Please rest assured, Sage. Leave it to me.”