A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu could see it clearly now.

Yin Dabai and Long Xiaobai were complete opposites. Yin Dabai looked innocent on the surface, but beneath that exterior lurked a cunning little imp. She was especially good at playing dumb and feigning ignorance, which actually made her quite similar to Qi Xuansu.

On the other hand, Long Xiaobai looked clever but was actually guileless.

Before Long Xiaobai could figure out exactly what Qi Xuansu was saying to the little dragon, Qi Xuansu had already glossed over the matter and said, “Let me introduce everyone.”

He first put Little Yin down. “Xiaobai, this is Little Yin, whom I mentioned earlier. You can call her Qi Xiaoyin, Yin Wanmiao, or Yin Dabai. We generally just call her Little Yin. This man is my secretary, Yan Yongzhen.”

Little Yin rolled her eyes.

Qi Xuansu continued, “Her name is Long Xiaobai. She’s one of us, though she isn’t a Daoist priest yet.”

Yan Yongzhen took the initiative to greet her. “Greetings, Miss Long. I am Yan Yongzhen.”

“Greetings, Daoist Yan.” Long Xiaobai nodded. She understood perfectly well that being under someone else’s roof, she had little choice but to be humble, so she did not behave too arrogantly.

Qi Xuansu patted Little Yin on the head.

Still somewhat unwilling to let the matter go, Little Yin feigned magnanimity. “Since she’s one of us, I’ll let it go.”

Qi Xuansu ignored Little Yin and said to Long Xiaobai, “I spoke with Great Sage Shi just now. Great Sage Shi has no objections and has agreed to let you out.”

Long Xiaobai asked, “What about that mirror? Has it also been handed over for you to deal with?”

She knew that a mirror capable of immobilizing her for so many years could hardly be an ordinary object.

Qi Xuansu said, “Anything belonging to the Grand Master falls under the Zixiao Palace. This is within Great Sage Jiang’s authority, so I’ll speak with Great Sage Jiang about it.”

Qi Xuansu instructed, “Gui Zhen, send an official letter to the Ziwei Hall in my name and apply for a Daoist Priest Kindred status.”

Yan Yongzhen acknowledged and asked, “Should I contact Deputy Palace Master Gong directly?”

Qi Xuansu said, “Yes.”

Yan Yongzhen immediately understood. Contacting Gong Jiaojun was, in effect, the same as contacting Sage Donghua. Since they were going so far as to involve Sage Donghua, then the application was obviously for a second-rank Daoist Priest Kindred status.

If he insisted on asking about every last detail instead of understanding his superior’s intentions, then he was not suited to being a secretary and would very quickly find himself replaced.

Yan Yongzhen handed Qi Xuansu the paperwork he had completed earlier, then turned and left.

Qi Xuansu took the documents and glanced over them before saying to Little Yin, “Go pack your things and move into Zhen Garden, where the students live. The place they assigned you is actually quite nice. That courtyard has the finest scenery, the best location, and is the most secluded. It’s also the closest to Gen Garden, where the books are kept. The Wanxiang Daoist Palace only assigns its most outstanding disciples to live there. If there are only mediocre students, they would rather leave it vacant. Sage Cihang, Sage Donghua, and Sage Qingwei have all lived there before. Qing Xiao, Su Yi, and Yong Yan have lived there as well.”

Little Yin asked, “What about you? Have you ever lived there?”

Qi Xuansu pointed toward the door of the office. “Go pack your things.”

Little Yin obediently went out.

When only the two of them remained, Long Xiaobai asked, “What about me?”

Qi Xuansu said, “You can wander around the Wanxiang Daoist Palace for a while. Don’t cause any trouble, and don’t go too far. I’ll consider reopening the Tianshui Core Tower. When the time comes, I may allow you to enter it at my discretion.”

Satisfied with the arrangement, Long Xiaobai left as well.

Once he was alone, Qi Xuansu activated the formations in his office. Only then did he take out the Eight Trigrams Mirror that had immobilized Long Xiaobai.

Within the Daoist Order, such mirrors were as common as compasses and were essential items for lower-ranking Daoists, as it could dispel evil spirits.

They had even found their way into ordinary households. Since the Eight Trigrams Mirror was exceptionally effective at neutralizing and warding off evil spirits, they were frequently used in feng shui to protect homes.

Of course, this particular Eight Trigrams Mirror was by no means an ordinary one. This was an artifact of the Heavenly Emperor.

The full name of this Eight Trigrams Mirror should be the Taiji Eight Trigrams Mirror. Taiji represented yin and yang, while the Eight Trigrams represented heaven, earth, wind, thunder, water, fire, mountain, and lake.

The Taiji Eight Trigrams Mirror was fashioned entirely from an unknown type of jade and possessed two different forms—a concave mirror and a convex mirror.

According to feng shui, a concave mirror gathered blessings, while a convex mirror neutralized malevolent influences. But an immortal object would never be so simple.

Qi Xuansu had once possessed many immortal objects. Now, he was sorely lacking in them.

Adding them up, the Seven Feather Five Fires Fan had gone to Madam Wu, the Heavenly Preceptor’s Twin Swords had gone to Zhang Yuelu, the Bone-Illuminating Mirror had gone to Madam Qi, and the Three Treasures Scepter had been returned to Great Sage Jiang after Qi Xuansu had used it only once. All he had left was the Guizang Lantern, and even that worked only when it felt like it.

Now that he had finally obtained the Taiji Eight Trigrams Mirror, even if he could only borrow it for a while, that was still good enough. If someone outside the Daoist Order had gotten their hands on this mirror, the Daoist Order would undoubtedly spare no effort to recover it. But Qi Xuansu was one of their own, so there was room for negotiation.

Qi Xuansu carefully studied the Taiji Eight Trigrams Mirror and discovered that its convex form was primarily used to trap people, while its concave form was used for defense.

There were also two ways of trapping people.

The first was suppression by shooting out a beam of light that immobilized the target. Long Xiaobai had been trapped using this mode. Although she had still been able to let out a couple of dragon roars and struggle a little, that was mainly because no master had been controlling the mirror. If someone had been wielding it, Long Xiaobai would have been rendered completely motionless.

The other method was to draw a person into the mirror world, where formations operated as a self-contained system. Unless one could overcome them through sheer force, it would be extremely difficult to escape.

The problem with the second mode was that it consumed far more power and carried much greater risk. Against opponents whose cultivation was inferior to the wielder’s, it would be extremely effective, ensuring the opponent’s capture. But against an Immortal-level opponent, allowing the enemy to wreak havoc inside the mirror could easily result in losing more than one gained. The mirror might fail to trap the opponent, and the immortal object itself could be damaged. After all, the Taiji Eight Trigrams Mirror was not specialized in small worlds. Every artifact had its own specialty, and the small mirror world was merely an auxiliary divine ability of the mirror. It could also be used as a magical receptacle for storage if one wished.

Even so, it could produce remarkable results over a short period. If one could first capture an opponent to create a numerical advantage and then quickly finish the battle, this ability would still prove useful.

The divine abilities of the mirror’s convex form were even more specialized.

Its first function was revealing demons. As such, this mirror could also be called the Demon-Revealing Mirror.

Ancient mirrors, like ancient swords, possessed a spiritual power that could ward off evil spirits. This mirror did not target demons specifically, but rather ancient beings at least several hundred years old. Humans could not normally live that long. If they had, they would at least be a First-Tribulation Immortal and would have little reason to fear this effect.

However, demons were different. Their 100-year cycle only began after they attained immortality, and they could already have lived for more than a century before becoming Immortals. Thus, this mirror could not only dispel the transformation of demons, but could also injure them with its mirror light, something akin to sword-light. This mirror light was an extremely potent counter against demons.

Its second function was neutralizing malevolent influences, particularly against techniques such as the Seven Nail Slaughter and the like. If someone obtained one’s hair, fingernails, or blood, they could cast spells from afar to take one’s life. The Taiji Eight Trigrams Mirror could counter such spells across a distance, breaking the spell and reflecting its effects back upon the caster. This was like inverting heaven and earth, shifting space similar to the Star Sword Formation.

Besides that, the mirror itself could expand or shrink at will and was extraordinarily durable, so it could be used as a shield.

In summary, aside from its demon-revealing ability, this immortal object could be considered a jack of all trades but master of none. It could do a little of everything, yet in every aspect, it fell short of immortal objects that specialized in that particular field.

For example, Skycaller did not have so many fancy abilities. It resonated with heaven and earth, and its power was closely tied to its wielder’s cultivation. But it was extremely sharp. There was nothing it could not sever. One sweep across a dragon’s neck, and its head would fall instantly.

Though Skycaller did not have any other functions than being an extremely sharp sword, that did not diminish its fearsome reputation in the slightest.

The Seven Feather Five Fires Fan likewise excelled in only one thing—fire, which was why Madam Wu always wished to burn everything to ashes.

The more a battle approached the level of Immortals, the more one needed immortal objects that embodied such extremes. Whether it was ultimate offense or ultimate defense, the effects would be immediate and decisive.

Qi Xuansu had also noticed that mirror-type immortal objects, such as the Bone-Illuminating Mirror, the Haotian Mirror, the Moon Mirror, and the Taiji Eight Trigrams Mirror, tended to have more auxiliary functions. Under the right circumstances, they could have tremendous strategic significance. But if the environment was unsuitable or the necessary conditions were absent, having such an immortal object was equivalent to having none.

Since Qi Xuansu was still not an Immortal, such extreme immortal objects like Skycaller were actually ill-suited to him. Auxiliary immortal objects like the Taiji Eight Trigrams Mirror were more suitable.

In any case, having an immortal object was always better than having none.

Qi Xuansu suddenly realized that if the mirror targeted ancient beings, then it should also work on Ancient Immortals like Wu Luo and True Lord Siming.

If an Ancient Immortal descended into the mortal world through a vessel and concealed themselves among the crowd, the Demon-Revealing Mirror could technically be used to identify them.

After all, it was not limited to demons. In fact, both ancient gods and Ancient Immortals counted as ancient beings and likewise fell within the range of entities targeted by the Demon-Revealing Mirror.

From this perspective, the Taiji Eight Trigrams Mirror actually had quite a broad range of applications.

Now that Qi Xuansu had returned to the Central Plains, there was a good chance he would have to deal with the secret societies again. If so, the mirror would likely come in handy.