A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu merely glanced at the totem again before storing it in his magical receptacle. He could study and comprehend it at a later time.

It was said that Wu Yang had used this technique to save the Holy Xuan back then. Although it was extremely powerful, it was not particularly useful in actual combat and primarily served an auxiliary role. After all, one could not exactly fight an enemy while simultaneously trying to bring someone back to life. That simply made no sense.

Qi Xuansu looked around once more and asked, “Do you want to stay here and reminisce about the past, or shall we go search for that Immortal’s cave dwelling?”

Long Xiaobai had been confined in Tianshui Core Tower for so many years, so she had come to regard it as her pseudo-home. Tianshui Core Tower was the highest-level repository of books in the Wanxiang Daoist Palace that had endured through both the Confucian and Daoist eras. Naturally, this shabby den could not compare.

Long Xiaobai felt little attachment to this little lair and said, “Let’s go find the cave dwelling.”

Thus, the two retraced their original route.

On the way back, Qi Xuansu took another careful look at the King of Chu’s palace. Although it was ancient and had been eroded by the lake water, faded murals could still be vaguely seen on the surrounding walls. They appeared to depict two stories—the King of Chu’s hunt and Wu Yang’s summoning of the soul.

Just then, Long Xiaobai suddenly said, “It’s raining.”

Naturally, rain falling from the sky could not be felt at the bottom of the lake. However, considering that flood dragons were innately attuned to water and particularly adept at summoning wind and rain, it was perfectly reasonable for Long Xiaobai to sense changes in the weather.

Qi Xuansu asked, “Will it become foggy after it rains?”

Long Xiaobai looked thoughtful. “Do you think so?”

Qi Xuansu said, “Why are you asking me? You lived in Yunmeng Marsh for years. I’ve never been here before.”

Long Xiaobai finally gave him a definite answer. “It will become foggy.”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “Good. Then we’ll wait for the Immortal’s cave dwelling to reveal itself.”

Long Xiaobai said, “Then we should go back to the surface. The last time I entered the Immortal’s cave dwelling, I was playing on the surface of the lake while it was foggy. Then I somehow ended up inside the cave dwelling.”

Qi Xuansu agreed. “Alright.”

The two began ascending again, rising from the bottom of the lake to the surface.

Just as Long Xiaobai had said, torrential rain was pouring over the lake. White-crested waves surged toward the heavens, and the vast expanse of water was almost completely obscured.

Yet to a water-loving flood dragon, such conditions did not seem dangerous in the slightest. It only felt familiar and welcoming.

Qi Xuansu did not mind the rain. With his current cultivation, he could even disperse the rain clouds if necessary. There was simply no need to do so.

Thus, the two stood upon the surface of the lake, their figures rising and falling with the waves, appearing and disappearing amid the downpour.

Qi Xuansu carefully observed their surroundings. Just as Long Xiaobai had said, a fog was beginning to form over the lake. Concealed beneath the torrential rain, it was extremely difficult to notice.

The Daoist Order had left this place alone because people would not mysteriously disappear so long as they refrained from traveling during foggy weather. They simply put out a notice that Yunmeng Marsh was dangerous when shrouded in mist. They were maintaining a stable situation at the lowest possible cost.

However, in such an environment, Qi Xuansu’s perception was somewhat impaired. On the other hand, Long Xiaobai could take advantage of the abundant moisture filling the air, making her senses even sharper. Thus, she was able to detect things a step ahead of Qi Xuansu.

Once again, Long Xiaobai was the first to speak. “Someone’s coming.”

Qi Xuansu frowned slightly and began activating the Fusion Realm of his Qi Refiner lineage, temporarily merging himself with the surrounding world. The Fusion Realm was not merely about borrowing the power of heaven and earth. When used properly, it could also conceal one’s presence. Everyone could see heaven and earth, yet no one paid particular attention to them. Instead, people subconsciously ignored their very existence.

At that moment, Qi Xuansu vanished without a trace.

For Long Xiaobai, it was even simpler. Dragons were adept at concealment and could take on different sizes as they pleased. She simply shrank her body and concealed herself among the waves, becoming equally difficult to detect.

Before long, peals of thunder resounded through the sky, their reverberations capable of scattering wandering souls.

The white-crested waves grew even more turbulent. From time to time, enormous waves about 30 meters high surged upward, resembling towering city walls.

Such a spectacle should have only occurred in the vast blue sea, yet it had appeared on an inland lake. Even though this lake ranked among the largest in the realm, it was still unusual.

A multi-decked ship charged through the waves. Its hull rose and fell with the swells, disappearing beneath enormous waves several times before emerging unharmed.

A man stood at the bow of the ship, wearing a white jade lotus crown and a hechang, the typical attire of an Omniscient Sage.

After entering the state of Fusion Realm, Qi Xuansu gained Supreme Sight, so he could clearly see that this man was none other than Su Yuanzai, the Xiangzhou Daoist Mansion Master.

Qi Xuansu had met this man briefly at his wedding, so he recognized him.

Xiangzhou bordered Wuzhou, so the Xiangzhou Daoist Mansion fell within the sphere of influence of the Zhengyi Sect. Su Yuanzai was also a younger clansman of Sage Cihang Su Yuanyi.

As one of the Daoist Order’s foremost aristocratic families, the Su family had extraordinarily deep foundations. As early as the Wei Dynasty, the Su family had already been a dominant power in the Jiangnan region and maintained close ties with the Cihang lineage. After the revitalization of the Daoist Order, the Su family took control of the Cihang lineage, formed a marriage alliance with the Yan family, and maintained close relations with the Holy Xuan’s wife. If the Zhang family could be compared to the Li family, then the Su and Yan families were equivalent to the Taiping Sect’s Lu and Shen families.

The Yan family had now declined. Although a Virtuous Great Sage still remained to hold up the family, there were no worthy successors, leaving a serious gap between the generations. However, the Su family was at the height of its prosperity, with two Omniscient Sages from the same family—Sage Cihang and the Xiangzhou Daoist Mansion Master.

Sage Cihang still had room to advance further. Even if she could not become the Grand Master, she still had three possible paths. The best option was to become the Heavenly Preceptor, followed by becoming the Grand Master Consort, and lastly a Virtuous Great Sage.

If Sage Donghua and Sage Cihang truly became Daoist companions, and Sage Donghua successfully became the seventh-generation Grand Master, Su Yuanzai would become an in-law. Viewed from this perspective, Qi Xuansu could even be considered related to the Su family.

Even if Sage Cihang did not become the Heavenly Preceptor or the Grand Master Consort, once she became a Virtuous Great Sage, Su Yuanzai would still have room for further advancement as a form of compensation. He could either take charge of one of the major Daoist Mansions or become the Hall Master of one of the Lower Six Halls. His prospects were still boundless.

Qi Xuansu remembered very clearly that this Mansion Master concealed his true depths extremely well. On the surface, his cultivation was at the Zaohua stage, but in reality, he was extremely close to the Pseudo-Immortal stage. He might already be a Pseudo-Immortal and was merely concealing his true abilities.

The Daoist Order placed great importance on seniority and advancement according to one’s experience and standing. Age was an important factor that could bring both advantages and disadvantages.

Due to their age, Qi Xuansu and Li Changge were regarded as leading candidates for the position of eighth-generation Grand Master instead of the other Pseudo-Immortals. It was likewise because of their age that they lacked seniority, inevitably causing their official positions and ranks to lag somewhat behind their cultivation level. Someone like Su Yuanzai represented the normal benchmark.

The question was, why was Su Yuanzai here? Was he also searching for the Immortal’s cave dwelling?

If that were truly the case, then it would explain why the Xiangzhou Daoist Mansion had never reported the strange phenomena of Yunmeng Marsh to the Daoist Order.

The multi-decked ship appeared to be a semi-immortal object. Su Yuanzai steered it through the wind and waves, cruising back and forth across the lake as if he were searching for something.

Soon after, another person appeared, descending from the sky and landing upon the surface of the lake.

Golden light spread outward from him, transforming the violently churning lake water into a golden, glazed surface without the slightest ripple. This showed just how high his cultivation level was.

By sheer coincidence, Qi Xuansu recognized this person as well. He was none other than the Innkeeper, one of the six leaders of The Inn.

Back when the Qingping Society and The Inn were locked in conflict, this Innkeeper had once fought Xie Linyuan and was particularly adept at using the Heavenly Emperor Spiritual Statue.

The Owner was at the Pseudo-Immortal stage, while the Innkeeper should have been at the Zaohua stage. Qi Xuansu wondered whether the Innkeeper had managed to advance his cultivation any further after all these years.

The Innkeeper simply stood upon the surface of the lake, and the multi-decked ship came to a stop as well.

Looking down from above, Su Yuanzai gazed at the Innkeeper, who stood amid a patch of golden light. He warned, “If you interfere, don’t blame me for showing no mercy. Don’t forget, this is Xiangzhou.”

The surface of the lake churned like it was boiling, yet Su Yuanzai’s voice remained exceptionally clear, drowning out not only the torrential rain but even the rolling thunder.

The Innkeeper retorted. “So what? As the illustrious Mansion Master, you certainly have the final say in Xiangzhou. But Sage Xiaoxiang, will you dare let anyone else know about this matter? If you don’t dare to let others know, you can’t exactly mobilize the forces of the Daoist Mansion at will, can you?”

Su Yuanzai remained calm as he asked, “Who sent you here? Was it the arrogant and overbearing Prince Liao? Or the unfathomable Prince Qi? Surely it wasn’t Prince Jin, who always seems indifferent to everything.”

The Innkeeper did not answer, but he did not deny it either. It seemed that he had indeed come under secret orders from the Imperial Court.

Without the backing of the Great Xuan Imperial Court, the Innkeeper would never have dared contend with a Mansion Master. After all, the authority wielded by an Omniscient Sage was not just for show.

Su Yuanzai had never expected to learn the identity of the mastermind from the Innkeeper. Simply confirming that the Imperial Court had already intervened was enough.

Qi Xuansu had not expected the Imperial Court to be involved as well.

Both Su Yuanzai and the Imperial Court seemed to harbor certain misgivings, apparently fearing that the Daoist Order might learn of this matter. That was why Su Yuanzai had come alone, while the Imperial Court had gone so far as to entrust this mission to The Inn.

Resting a hand on the ship’s railing, Su Yuanzai asked, “Why didn’t the Owner come in person? Does he really think so little of me? Or do you believe you can stop me yourself?”

The Innkeeper finally replied, “Sage Xiaoxiang, I would never presume myself capable of stopping you even if you didn’t have the support of the Daoist Mansion. The Owner just has other important matters to attend to and cannot come.”

Su Yuanzai smiled. “It seems that rumor is true. Zhou Mengyao personally took action and wounded the Owner as a punishment for what happened before. Drenched Green Robes was the trusted subordinate Zhou Mengyao arranged to maintain control of the situation. If Drenched Green Robes hadn’t died, Madam Qi would never have had the opportunity to seize power. Since you were the ones who killed Drenched Green Robes, Madam Qi really ought to thank you properly.”

Qi Xuansu and the Innkeeper were both equally startled. Neither of them had expected Su Yuanzai to know about such secrets.