A Pawn's Passage

Meanwhile, in Nanyang, Qi Xuansu brought the captives back to the Sheji Palace in Thanglong Prefecture.

The Sheji Palace was divided into five palaces. The Earth Palace stood at the center and served as the venue for ceremonies and council meetings. The Great Sage and the Second Deputy resided in the Water Palace, while the Mansion Master and Chief Deputy resided in the Fire Palace. The Wood Palace housed guests of the Daoist Mansion. Both Great Sage Jiang and Qi Xuansu had stayed there before. That left only the Metal Palace.

Since Nanyang was so vast, the other Deputy Mansion Masters and Branch Hall Managers were stationed throughout the region and generally did not return to the Sheji Palace except for council meetings.

For example, Xie Jiaofeng spent most of the year at Tianfu Palace in Lion City. The Deputy Mansion Master responsible for the Yu Kingdom likewise had an independent Daoist Palace of his own. Nanyang had ample space, which was something the Daoist Mansions in the Central Plains and those in Jade Capital could only envy. In Jade Capital, even an Omniscient Sage was not necessarily granted an independent Daoist Palace of their own.

In truth, the Metal Palace was a place similar to the Nether Prison, with even tighter security. Though it could not imprison an Immortal, it was capable of restricting a Pseudo-Immortal and was rarely activated under ordinary circumstances.

However, compared with places such as the Demon-Vanquishing Cave and the Demon Suppression Tower, the Metal Palace was unsuitable for long-term imprisonment and was also relatively small in scale.

If Wang Jiaohe and Sun Heyu had chosen to surrender instead of fleeing back then, they would have been temporarily detained here.

Unfortunately, Wang Jiaohe and Sun Heyu had chosen to fight to the bitter end, so the Metal Palace never had the chance to serve its purpose.

Fortunately, this time, Li Tianqing and Pei Shenfu finally gave the Metal Palace some long-awaited occupants.

This was also Qi Xuansu’s first time entering the Metal Palace.

Of course, this was not an ordinary prison, nor was just anyone entitled to the treatment in the Metal Palace. The interior looked like an ordinary palace. Its occupants simply could not enter or leave at will, though they retained freedom of movement within a limited area. It was essentially a form of house arrest, and only those of Sage rank were granted such treatment.

Although Li Tianqing and Pei Shenfu were in no danger of losing their lives, being reduced to such a state was still a great humiliation.

Qi Xuansu ordered the two to be detained separately, then went with Xu Jiaorong to see Great Sage Lan.

Upon seeing the two of them, Great Sage Lan immediately said, “Tian Yuan, you certainly caused quite a commotion with 8 Pseudo-Immortals in total. If all eight of you had rebelled at the same time, I would’ve been helpless with these old bones of mine. I would’ve had no choice but to flee for my life.”

Qi Xuansu smiled. “Great Sage, you’re joking.”

“I’m hardly in the mood for jokes.” Great Sage Lan waved his hand. “Li Tianqing is one thing, but how did Pei Shenfu get dragged into this as well? She is highly favored by the Earthly Preceptor, someone whose words carry weight with her.”

Qi Xuansu’s thoughts wandered for a moment.

Although the Earthly Preceptor was not Yao Yi’s biological mother, their familial relationship was more or less equivalent to one. The two probably interacted much like mother and son. Similarly, Zhang Jucheng and the Heavenly Preceptor were not actually father and son either, yet their relationship resembled one between father and son because Zhang Jucheng was the heir of the Zhang family.

So by that reasoning, Pei Shenfu was essentially the Earthly Preceptor’s daughter-in-law. Yet not only was there no conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but Pei Shenfu was even highly favored by her. How on earth had she managed that?

However, Qi Xuansu quickly returned to his senses and said, “I didn’t drag Pei Shenfu into this. Rather, Pei Shenfu joined forces with Li Tianqing, plotting against me and even colluding with members of the Buddhist Sect. I caught them in the act.”

Great Sage Lan asked, “Since this matter involves the Earthly Preceptor, how do you intend to handle it?”

No matter how one looked at it, both Great Sage Lan and Qi Xuansu were both Quanzhen Sect disciples, while the Earthly Preceptor was the leader of the sect. After all, the Earthly Preceptor had yet to ascend, and Sage Donghua had yet to take her place.

Qi Xuansu had already considered this question on his way back. He replied, “It would be unwise to let matters become too hostile.”

Great Sage Lan’s expression softened slightly. He gave a small nod, approving of this view.

Qi Xuansu then changed tune. “But we cannot pretend that nothing happened either. Pei Shenfu conspired internally with Li Tianqing of the Taiping Sect and externally with members of the Nanyang Buddhist Sect. She has already violated a major taboo and must be punished to some degree.”

Great Sage Lan said, “That may be true, but finding the appropriate degree of punishment will be difficult.”

Qi Xuansu explained his idea. “Although Pei Shenfu is a member of the Yao family, she is also a member of the Pei family. I intend to hand her over to the Pei family. They can deal with her.”

Great Sage Lan considered this briefly before nodding. “Although Sage Donghua and Pei Shenfu have fallen out badly, they are still siblings. It’s difficult to say what Sage Donghua truly thinks, much less how much sibling affection remains between them. If outsiders like us rashly interfere and Sage Donghua still cares about his sister, we may end up offending both sides. It would indeed be better to hand her over to the Pei family.”

Great Sage Lan continued, “As for Li Tianqing, he has repeatedly come to Nanyang to stir up trouble. Does he really think Nanyang is his family’s? This time, we must teach him a lesson. Either Old Lu from the Heavenly Court or Sage Qingwei can come here to negotiate.”

Only now did Qi Xuansu learn that the Golden Patriarch’s name was Old Lu. No wonder he had such close ties with the Imperial Preceptor. It turned out that he had originally been a member of the Taiping Sect, just as Zhou Mengyao had originally been a member of the Quanzhen Sect.

Qi Xuansu said, “Sage Qingwei most likely won’t come. This sort of affair cannot be brought into the open in the first place. Sage Qingwei is the public face of their faction and cannot be tainted by even the slightest speck of dirt. Moreover, considering the relationship between Sage Qingwei and Li Tianqing, I believe the Imperial Preceptor will have the Golden Patriarch come forward instead.”

Great Sage Lan said, “Let’s put that aside for now. Tian Yuan, let’s talk about you first.”

“Me?” Qi Xuansu asked in confusion. “What is there to say about me?”

Great Sage Lan scrutinized Qi Xuansu and said, “Tian Yuan, are you not afraid in the slightest? Old Jiang told me about what happened. You schemed against Zhou Mengyao once in the Southern Continent, and now you have made a mortal enemy of Pei Shenfu. Adding Li Tianqing, Li Tianlan, Li Tianzhen, and Li Minghuang to the list, you have effectively antagonized the Taiping Sect and nearly half of the Quanzhen Sect. It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that you have enemies everywhere. Us old folks will ascend soon, so we have little left to fear. But you still have a long road ahead of you. Right now, they dare not do anything to you. But the moment you suffer a setback, every last one of them will leap out and try to put you to death.”

Qi Xuansu fell silent for a moment before saying, “I know, but I have no choice.”

Great Sage Lan asked, “No choice?”

Qi Xuansu told him the truth. “The Longevity Stone Heart comes at a price. Even if I do nothing, I will still meet a tragic end. So I might as well risk everything and fight to the death. Perhaps I can deal with these people before they have the chance to kill me.”

Great Sage Lan fell silent. Eventually, he let out a long sigh. “Old Jiang and Old Shi support you, and so do I.”

In fact, the newly promoted Madam Wu should be added to that list as well. Of the eight Virtuous Great Sages, four supported Qi Xuansu. Although the Taiping Sect and half of the Quanzhen Sect were hostile toward him, the Zhengyi Sect and the other half of the Quanzhen Sect supported him.

Qi Xuansu essentially had half the Daoist Order behind him. His title as one of the Twin Peaks of the Daoist Order was no empty praise.

However, there was a problem here. Theoretically, Great Sage Jiang, Great Sage Shi, and Madam Wu were all in the neutral faction. Only three Virtuous Great Sages were explicitly affiliated with the Three Sects. Only Great Sage Lan could represent the Quanzhen Sect, not Great Sage Shi. By the same logic, only Great Sage Zhang Qihan could represent the Taiping Sect, not Great Sage Tang.

There should also be a Virtuous Great Sage representing the Zhengyi Sect.

Great Sage Lan was stationed in Poluo, while Great Sage Zhang was stationed in Fenglin. The Virtuous Great Sage from the Zhengyi Sect was stationed in East Shakya.

This Virtuous Great Sage had never explicitly expressed support for Qi Xuansu, nor made any gesture of goodwill toward him. On the other hand, Great Sages Lan, Jiang, Shi, and Wu had all supported Qi Xuansu through concrete action, by speaking up for him when necessary and lending their strength at times, even going so far as to personally intervene on his behalf.

This Virtuous Great Sage from the Zhengyi Sect had not even met Qi Xuansu before, and mere geographical distance was not enough to explain that.

The reason was actually not complicated. This Virtuous Great Sage was from the Yan family. Before Madam Wu became a Virtuous Great Sage, Great Sage Yan had been the only woman among the seven. Like Sage Cihang, she was regarded as a symbol of equality within the Daoist Order.

Yan Mingchen was her favorite grandson. Back when Tantai Qiong wanted to marry Zhang Yuelu to Yan Mingchen, it was not because she thought highly of Yan Mingchen himself. He was already well into adulthood yet remained merely a fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist, so there was hardly anything impressive about him. He was certainly not worthy of Zhang Yuelu. What truly mattered was Great Sage Yan standing behind Yan Mingchen.

In the end, Qi Xuansu had ruined the arrangement and caused the Yan family to lose face. It would have been strange if Great Sage Yan liked him after that. Even if Great Sage Yan refrained from making trouble for Qi Xuansu out of consideration for the Heavenly Preceptor, she certainly would not go out of her way to support him.

Just as Great Sage Lan had said, they would all soon ascend. What did they have left to fear?

Even if Qi Xuansu became the Grand Master someday, there would be nothing he could do to these old sixth-generation disciples.

That was also why Zhang Jucheng had proposed having Yan Yongzhen serve as Qi Xuansu’s best man. It was a way to ease tensions between the two sides.

Qi Xuansu had readily agreed.

The work of building alliances still had to be done. Even if Qi Xuansu could not win Great Sage Yan over, he should at least avoid pushing her into the opposing camp.

With Yan Yongzhen serving as his best man, Qi Xuansu would have a natural opportunity to become well acquainted with him.

Afterward, Qi Xuansu would surely give Yan Yongzhen a helping hand in his career, just as he had promoted Chen Jianchou, thereby indirectly bringing the Yan family aboard his ship. This would also be a way of reconciliation with Great Sage Yan.

When senior figures such as the Heavenly Preceptor, Great Sage Jiang, and Great Sage Lan eventually stepped in to mediate, whatever lingering resentment remained could easily be put behind them.

Zhang Jucheng had already arranged everything with Qi Xuansu and would have Yan Yongzhen wait for him in Jade Capital.

Although Qi Xuansu had offended both the Earthly Preceptor and the Imperial Preceptor, his support at the level of the Virtuous Great Sages was exceptionally strong. He also had the support of the two Great Sages of the Western Daoist Order.

After leaving Great Sage Lan, Qi Xuansu immediately sent someone to invite Pei Xiaolou and Pei Xiaoyun over.

Once the two arrived, Qi Xuansu briefly explained what had happened with Pei Shenfu.

The two exchanged glances, neither knowing what to say.

It was obvious that they were not angry. They were more shocked than anything else, with a hint of satisfaction even.

Qi Xuansu said, “Martial Uncle, Martial Aunt, my intention is to have the two of you handle this matter.”

Before Qi Xuansu had even finished speaking, Pei Xiaolou said, “No, Tian Yuan, you’re my Martial Uncle. Please, have mercy on me and spare me this one!”

Pei Xiaoyun immediately chimed in, “Same here!”

Qi Xuansu felt exasperated. He slapped the armrest and said, “Are you two really that afraid of Pei Shenfu?”

Pei Xiaolou pulled a bitter face. “She bullied me since I was a child all the way into adulthood. How could I not be afraid of her?”

Pei Xiaoyun added, “She isn’t even afraid of Eldest Brother, let alone the two of us. We barely register in her eyes.”

Qi Xuansu could not help but sigh. He had never expected Pei Shenfu’s long-established authority to inspire such fear. No wonder she had ambitions of taking control of the Pei family. Without Sage Donghua, judging by the pathetic state of these two before him, it was difficult to believe they could preserve the Pei family at all. From this perspective, Sage Donghua truly had shown remarkable foresight by settling on Lei Xiaohuan as his future sister-in-law so early on.

Qi Xuansu said, “In that case, it seems we have no choice but to ask Master himself to handle this matter, right?”