A Pawn's Passage

The first floor of Tianshui Core Tower was packed with rows upon rows of bookshelves. The books were arranged by category, each stored neatly inside a book case. Anyone coming here for the first time would inevitably find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer number of books.

At the entrance to the staircase was another Taiji seal, glowing faintly.

Qi Xuansu used the jade token to unlock the restriction on the staircase and went up to the second floor of the Tianshui Core Tower. This floor was no smaller than the first, but there were far fewer bookshelves, making the space seem much more open. However, the quality of the books kept here was even better than those on the first floor.

Qi Xuansu casually browsed through the collection. Besides various perfected methods, there were also special documents unrelated to cultivation techniques that were intended for internal reference only.

These included records of the fifth-generation Grand Master’s internal speeches, copies of the sixth-generation Grand Master’s secret reports, and so on. From this alone, it was evident that even if the sixth-generation Grand Master had never ordered this tower sealed, this was still not a place just anyone could enter.

Of course, the present-day Qi Xuansu was certainly qualified to enter.

Driven by curiosity, Qi Xuansu unlocked the restriction and flipped through a copy of the sixth-generation Grand Master’s secret report. What he saw shocked him.

In the secret report, the sixth-generation Grand Master had actually issued a comprehensive repudiation of the fifth-generation Grand Master. There was no doubt that the current Three Deputy Grand Masters must have been involved, pushing for it from behind the scenes. It was also evidence that the sixth-generation Grand Master had become a puppet of the Three Deputy Grand Masters.

But in the long run, this would truly shake the foundations of the Daoist Order and cause it to fracture.

To repudiate the Grand Master was effectively repudiating the Daoist Order itself. It would unsettle the people and cause ideological confusion, creating more damage than an external enemy attack.

The best approach was actually to avoid discussing the matter altogether and look toward the future.

Fortunately, this secret report had been confined to only a small number of the Daoist Order’s senior leaders and had never circulated widely. In fact, the effort had been abandoned halfway through and was never formally approved. Thus, the fifth-generation Grand Master was still enshrined in the Ancestral Hall of Zixiao Palace, and many of his policies continued to be implemented.

From another perspective, the fifth-generation Grand Master’s removal of the three Deputy Grand Masters had far-reaching consequences. While he was still present, the Three Daoist Sects could do little against him, but after his ascension, their backlash finally came.

However, the Three Deputy Grand Masters must have eventually realized that settling accounts with the fifth-generation Grand Master would bring a backlash of its own. In the end, they pulled back and dropped the matter altogether.

Strictly speaking, something like this should never have been kept here. However, during the sixth-generation Grand Master’s tenure, the report presumably had not yet been dropped completely. It was still considered a subject that could be openly discussed, so it had been placed here without any attempt at concealment. By the time the Daoist Order decided to drop the matter altogether, the sixth-generation Grand Master had already ordered this tower sealed. As such, this copy had inadvertently been preserved.

Qi Xuansu returned the copy of the secret report to the bookshelf, then made his way through the maze-like rows of shelves toward the staircase leading to the third floor.

There was an enormous mechanical puppet here, which was a collaborative creation of Tianji Hall and Huasheng Hall. It combined the application of mechanical arts with talismans and divine power, giving it combat strength comparable to that of a Heavenly Being. It could also be equipped with the Daoist Order’s Imitation Dragon Pearl and connected to the earth qi, giving it far greater endurance than a Spirit Guard. Apart from its exorbitant cost, it had virtually no obvious shortcomings.

The Tianshui Core Tower had been sealed for many years, so all the Daoist priests and Spirit Guards originally stationed here had been withdrawn. Even so, Wanxiang Daoist Palace had left behind one final safeguard by deploying a mechanical puppet here to replace the original Spirit Guards.

More importantly, this mechanical puppet was not linked to the seals of the Tianshui Core Tower. They were two relatively independent defensive systems.

Qi Xuansu had a particularly deep impression of this puppet, for it was the origin of his blunder. Had it not been for this puppet, Yao Pei would never have taken out that seal, and Qi Xuansu would never have misread it as Jianxiu Mountain Master Grain Person.

However, Qi Xuansu was not the same as before. Even without the Jianxiu Mountain Master’s seal, he had nothing to fear from this puppet. He subdued it with ease, rendering it completely immobile.

The Spirit Guards standing guard outside immediately received the alarm, but they merely silenced it without a word and continued their duty.

Sage Qi had just gone inside, and then the alarm went off. It was clear that it had something to do with Sage Qi, so they did not dare interfere.

After all, Sage Qi was the Palace Master. How could mere Spirit Guards like them interfere with him? At most, they could report the matter to the Great Sage afterward.

Qi Xuansu continued walking up the stairs when a mighty dragon roar suddenly resounded throughout the tower. Its surging sound waves crashed straight toward him.

Back then, Qi Xuansu had suffered from this roar, so he was already prepared this time. More importantly, he now possessed the cultivation of a Pseudo-Immortal, so the dragon roar did not affect him in the slightest.

Another restriction that resembled a curtain of water blocked his path.

Qi Xuansu used the jade token once more. The water curtain did not dissolve. Instead, layer upon layer of ripples spread across its surface.

Passing through the rippling water curtain, Qi Xuansu finally arrived on the third floor.

In the past, the third floor had been a place frequently visited by the sixth-generation Grand Master, and the books stored here were classified as confidential. That was precisely why the flood dragon was caught red-handed here by the sixth-generation Grand Master and ended up becoming a prisoner.

The bookshelves were arranged much like the 81 libraries encircling the area outside, forming a pattern of concentric rings of varying sizes. At the very center of these rings, a black-and-white pillar of light descended from above, casting a yin-yang symbol on the floor.

Seated within the pillar of light was a beautiful woman dressed entirely in white—white robes, white veil, white hair, and white boots. She appeared hazy and ethereal, as though shrouded in smoke and mist. Such white garments were difficult for an ordinary person to pull off, yet this woman’s skin was so fair, luminous, and translucent that it seemed to outshine even the whiteness of her clothes.

Her delicate face was like a flower beaded with morning dew, while her slender brows resembled willow leaves veiled in mist. Her beauty and allure were beyond compare, yet her gaze was distant and icy, making her seem like a celestial maiden.

It was none other than the imprisoned dragon lady.

An Eight Trigrams Mirror hung above the dragon lady’s head, which functioned to immobilize and confine her here.

The dragon lady glared coldly at Qi Xuansu before suddenly pausing in surprise. “It’s you?”

She still remembered Qi Xuansu. After all, she was imprisoned here and could go an entire year without seeing a single person. Thus, the two people who came in the last time naturally left a deep impression on her.

Qi Xuansu smiled. “It’s me. We meet again.”

The dragon lady studied Qi Xuansu before her gaze finally settled on the white jade lotus crown atop his head. She exclaimed in surprise, “You’re already an Omniscient Sage?”

What surprised her was not that Qi Xuansu had managed to become an Omniscient Sage. The fact that she had once infiltrated Wanxiang Daoist Palace meant that she was quite familiar with the Daoist Order’s internal structure. Naturally, she understood the importance of the Tianshui Core Tower. The mere fact that Qi Xuansu had been able to enter this place already indicated that his status was anything but ordinary, so his eventual promotion to Omniscient Sage was not particularly difficult to imagine.

What truly astonished her was that Qi Xuansu had managed to become an Omniscient Sage in such a short period of time.

From a fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist to an Omniscient Sage required five separate promotions—from Superintendent to Deputy Hall Master, Second Deputy, Chief Deputy of one of the Three Great Halls, and finally to Palace Master. Only then could one reach the position of Omniscient Sage.

Every step was a towering hurdle. Countless people had found themselves stuck at each threshold, unable to advance any further.

On average, Qi Xuansu had climbed roughly one step every year. So it was reasonable that the dragon lady was astonished.

When they last met, the dragon lady had thought that Qi Xuansu and Yao Pei had come to kill her, and she had said certain things to them. But now, those were no longer things she could say.

It was not merely because of the change in his status. Qi Xuansu’s cultivation had also advanced tremendously. More importantly, Qi Xuansu had slain a dragon before.

The dragon lady sensed this as well, and her expression changed. “There is the scent of blood on you.”

Qi Xuansu replied calmly, “That’s perfectly normal. I’ve killed plenty over the past few years.”

The dragon lady said, “I mean dragon blood. Is the Daoist Order still hunting and killing flood dragons?”

Qi Xuansu finally understood. “Oh, you’re talking about this. It was an old flood dragon that enslaved the Longevous. It ate people, so I killed it. It deserved its fate.”

The dragon lady said nothing more.

Since flood dragons were simply too powerful, they generally kept entirely to themselves, having nothing to do with one another for their entire lives. There was no real concept of a dragon race among them. Thus, when the Daoist Order slaughtered flood dragons, their reaction was more a sense of sorrow for the fate of their own kind than a blood feud demanding vengeance. Humans were much the same. The ones who killed the most humans were humans themselves.

Qi Xuansu circled the dragon lady. “Without a calendar here, one knows not the passing years. How have you been lately?”

The dragon lady said, “When the two of you came here last time, you said that the Grand Master had no time to come personally, so he sent the two of you to retrieve the things he had left behind here.”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “That’s right.”

The dragon lady repeated what she had said in the past. “What exactly does he intend to do with me? If he wants to kill me or cut me to pieces, so be it. Does he intend to keep me imprisoned for the rest of my life? Also, don’t give me that bullshit about how the Grand Master’s thoughts are as unfathomable as the depths of the sea.”

Qi Xuansu said calmly, “Then I’ll tell you the truth. The Grand Master is no longer here.”

The dragon lady froze. After a moment, she finally asked, “What did you say?”

Qi Xuansu said, “The Grand Master is no longer here. Next year at the earliest, or the year after at the latest, the Daoist Order will select the seventh-generation Grand Master.”

The dragon lady’s expression became complicated. “How...how could he be gone? He was the Grand Master of the Daoist Order. Who could have possibly killed him? Besides, he hadn’t even reached the end of his 100-year term.”

Qi Xuansu said, “He ascended ahead of schedule. It happened very suddenly. No one expected it.”

“You’re lying to me!” The dragon lady suddenly screamed.

Qi Xuansu chuckled. “What would I gain from lying to you? Let me put it another way. With my current status, is there any need for me to lie to you about something like this?”

The dragon lady fell silent.

Qi Xuansu said, “Nowadays, there are strong voices within the Daoist Order opposing the slaughter of flood dragons. There’s even some organization dedicated to protecting your kind. Over the past century, the Daoist Order has rarely hunted flood dragons anymore. As long as they don’t cause trouble or eat people, the Daoist Order won’t slay them. Su Yi mentioned this to you back then, and I’ll tell you the same thing now. It’s better to become an official than remain an outlaw. So many years have passed. Have you considered it?”

The dragon lady remained silent.

In the past, she would undoubtedly have retorted without the slightest hesitation and mocked him mercilessly. But after being imprisoned for so long, most of her temper and sharp edges had been worn away.

More importantly, after being imprisoned for so many years, she was close to a mental breakdown. If she could be released, she would accept it even if the Daoist Order worked her to death. At this point, anything would be better than remaining imprisoned in this tower, with no one to speak to and not even knowing how much time had passed. It was enough to drive a dragon mad.