A Pawn's Passage

The meaning of these lines from the Songs of Chu was clear enough. They were mainly praises for the Cloud Lord. It was definitely strange for followers of the Heavenly Mater to start singing the praises of the Cloud Lord.

Still, this indirectly confirmed Qi Xuansu’s conjecture that this pocket realm was indeed closely connected to the Cloud Lord.

Qi Xuansu hesitated for a moment and ultimately decided to reveal himself and try communicating with these White Lotus Sect followers.

When Qi Xuansu suddenly appeared out of thin air before the White Lotus Sect followers, they were all startled. However, unlike that rhinoceros, these people clearly had no intention of attacking him on sight.

Although many years had passed and styles of dress in the outside world had changed considerably, the clothing traditions of the Central Plains had been passed down in an unbroken lineage, so their general features remained recognizable. More importantly, the design of the lotus crown had never changed. It looked exactly the same now as it had in the past.

Since the White Lotus Sect was the syncretism of Manichaeism, Maitreyanism, Buddhism, and Daoism, its followers were familiar with certain aspects of the Daoist Order. At a glance, they recognized Qi Xuansu’s attire to be that of a proper Daoist priest. Moreover, the lotus crown was not something an ordinary Daoist could simply wear as he pleased. Even before the revitalization of the Daoist Order, only Sages were allowed to wear a lotus crown.

The White Lotus Sect followers exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of what to say. A Daoist Sage had appeared out of thin air?

Finally, an old man stepped forward and asked Qi Xuansu where he had come from.

Qi Xuansu answered him truthfully.

The villagers then invited him back to their homes, where they prepared wine, slaughtered chickens, and made a meal for him.

When other villagers heard of his arrival, they all came to make inquiries. They explained that their ancestors had fled here to escape the turmoil of the Golden Horde. After reaching this secluded refuge, they had never ventured out again and were hence cut off from the outside world. They asked what age it was now and found that they had never heard of the Wei Dynasty, much less the Great Xuan Dynasty.

Qi Xuansu gave them a detailed description of the world outside, and they all sighed with wonder and regret.

After speaking with them for some time, Qi Xuansu learned that these people were indeed the White Lotus Sect followers mentioned in the county records. Strangely enough, the original group had never grown old and died but had remained alive all this time. Over the years, they had also multiplied and flourished, allowing their population to increase steadily. There had only been several hundred of them back then, but now, there were more than ten thousand of them, divided among dozens of villages scattered throughout the area. This was merely one of those villages.

Qi Xuansu was not particularly surprised. The Daoist Order referred to this phenomenon as a passive fusion.

To understand passive fusion, one first had to understand what active fusion was. Active fusion was essentially the Qi Refiner lineage’s Fusion Realm, where one took the initiative to merge or separate with the surroundings. Qi Xuansu had previously used this active fusion to conceal himself amid the fog.

On the other hand, passive fusion was beyond one’s own control. The initiative lay with the pocket realm. It could also be understood as a person assimilating to the pocket realm, becoming a part of it.

The benefit of becoming part of the pocket realm was that the Three Corpses could no longer cause them harm and threaten their lifespan. As long as the pocket realm continued to exist, one could continue living indefinitely. Depending on the pocket realm, those who assimilate with it might even acquire certain supernatural abilities or experience a tremendous increase in cultivation.

The drawback was that if the pocket realm were destroyed, those assimilated to it would likewise find it difficult to escape destruction. At the same time, they were no longer masters of their own fate and could not leave the pocket realm.

Though it was possible to forcibly sever this connection through external means, if someone had remained passively fused with the pocket realm for too long, the moment they were separated from the pocket realm, their Three Corpses would immediately retaliate. They might turn white-haired overnight or even die on the spot.

The last time such a large-scale phenomenon of passive fusion occurred was in the Kunlun Paradise. Back then, before the Kunlun Paradise had descended into the mortal world, countless Daoist experts had suffered from this condition. They were Immortals, enjoying longevity as though they had already severed the Three Corpses. Yet they were not truly independent Immortals. People of that era called them Pseudo-Immortals, meaning false Immortals.

In fact, the divine kingdoms of Godly Immortals operated on a similar principle. Followers of Godly Immortals and disciples of Buddha were essentially undergoing passive fusion, becoming part of the divine kingdom. So long as the divine kingdom was not destroyed, they would not die. Buddhism had even devised the Six Realms of Karmic Rebirth, continually washing away the memories of these believers so that they could preserve their spiritual vitality instead of becoming desensitized and numb to the faith.

But if the divine kingdom collapsed, the Godly Immortal might still have a chance of resurrection, whereas the believers who had become part of that divine kingdom would face certain death.

Clearly, both the rhinoceros from earlier and these White Lotus Sect followers had already undergone passive fusion with the pocket realm, which was why they had remained alive for so long.

After becoming better acquainted with the villagers, Qi Xuansu once again sought out the village elder, who could also be called the Sect Master.

The White Lotus Sect had once wielded tremendous influence and contained numerous internal factions. The sect was divided into various Incense Halls according to region, and the person in charge of each Incense Hall was known as the Sect Master.

These White Lotus Sect followers who had taken refuge in Yunmeng Marsh had originally belonged to the same Incense Hall, with only one Sect Master. However, after entering the pocket realm, they had scattered throughout its various regions and multiplied independently. As territories within the pocket realm gradually became delineated, the original Incense Hall gave rise to many more Incense Halls, each with its own Sect Master.

The White Lotus Sect was further divided into Northern and Southern branches. Since these White Lotus Sect followers had originally operated around Yunmeng Marsh, they belonged to the Southern Branch, which called their leader Sect Master. The Northern Branch used a wide variety of titles, including Old Shopkeeper, Patriarch, Master, Eldest Senior Brother, and Sect Marshal, among others. For example, the Golden Patriarch was a typical northern-style title.

This old man had been among the many believers who entered Yunmeng Marsh all those years ago. Compared with the younger generations, he knew far more about what had happened back then.

After they sat down, the old man took the initiative to speak. “Back then, when our White Lotus Sect rose in rebellion against the Golden Horde, armed conflict with the Golden Horde was unavoidable. I’ve had the undeserved honor of serving as the Sect Master of an Incense Hall, so I possessed some modest divine abilities and magical powers. Later, after several centuries in this blessed land, my cultivation improved somewhat. So I can tell that you are no ordinary person, Sage.

“Forgive me for putting it so plainly, but even though I’ve lived several centuries longer than you, if we were truly to fight, I fear I would not last even three moves against you. With your cultivation, I doubt you stumbled into this place by accident as we did. That means you must have entered this place deliberately.

“Even if you had not come looking for me, I would have wanted to speak with you. We already know where you came from, Sage, but we do not yet know the purpose of your visit.”

Qi Xuansu answered, “I happened to learn of the strange phenomena occurring in Yunmeng Marsh. Whenever the fog rises, people will disappear without a trace. I suspected that this pocket realm might be connected to the legendary Cloud Lord, so I entered to investigate. However, there are several others here besides me. I have yet to determine whether they are friends or foes, and their cultivation is extremely high, no weaker than mine. I also have a companion, but we were accidentally separated when we entered, and I do not know of her current whereabouts.”

The old man said thoughtfully, “I see. When we first arrived here, we were likewise scattered throughout different parts of this blessed land, where each group multiplied and flourished on their own. It took us more than a hundred years before we gradually reestablished contact with one another.”

Qi Xuansu said, “Now that you know why I’m here, I would also like to ask you a few questions, Elder.”

The old man replied, “Ask whatever you wish, Sage.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “Did you not worship the Heavenly Mater? Why have you switched to worshiping the Cloud Lord?”

The old man smiled faintly. “Our Sect Leader and the Holy Maiden might have seen the Heavenly Mater before, but we certainly never have. We have, however, witnessed miracles of the Cloud God.”

This was the simple and straightforward truth—facts spoke louder than words. These people had not been particularly devout when they first embraced the White Lotus Sect. They were merely ordinary people at the bottom of society who had been unable to survive and had banded together for mutual support. Naturally, they felt little psychological resistance to changing their faith now.

Qi Xuansu nodded and asked, “How did you witness these miracles? Did you see the Cloud Lord with your own eyes?”

The old man hesitated for a moment before replying, “We have, and yet we have not.”

Qi Xuansu said, “Let us dispense with the riddles.”

The old man let out a bitter laugh. “I’m not deliberately playing with words. I simply do not know how else to describe it. If you travel west from here all the way to the end, there is a great mountain shrouded in mist throughout the year. The Cloud God resides there. Some of our companions once entered the mountain and received the Cloud God’s enlightenment, so their cultivation increased tremendously.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “Have you ever entered the mountain, Elder? Have you ever seen the Cloud God with your own eyes?”

The old man shook his head. “No. To tell you the truth, I have always found the matter suspicious. Those who receive the Cloud God’s enlightenment do indeed experience a tremendous increase in cultivation within a short period of time. Once they attain a certain level of accomplishment, they enter the mountain again. But this time, they never return.”

Although the old man had never seen much of the wider world and had been trapped here all this time, age brought wisdom, and there were still certain matters he understood very clearly.

Qi Xuansu pressed further, “What is the standard for being considered accomplished? How does it compare with your cultivation, Elder?”

He could tell that the old man was roughly at the Xiaoyao stage. With no one to guide him, no systematic instruction, and no external assistance, his cultivation had truly been accumulated through nothing but the sheer passage of time.

The old man replied, “One would have to be a level above me to be considered accomplished in cultivation.”

That meant the Wuliang Stage.

Qi Xuansu was not particularly surprised to hear this.

This pattern was simply far too familiar. It was the same method the Heluo God had used to manipulate the humanoid insects. In essence, these White Lotus Sect followers were no different from the humanoid insects. The only difference was that the Heluo God operated on a much grander scale, directly devouring humanoid insects at the Zaohua stage.

From this perspective, the Cloud Lord did not seem to measure up to the Heluo God. As such, Qi Xuansu began to harbor doubts about the identity of this supposed “Cloud God.” If the Cloud Lord was a Second-Tribulation Immortal, he could not have been inferior to the Heluo God.

Could it be possible that the true Cloud Lord was no longer in this world? Perhaps he had ascended or dissolved into heaven and earth like the Green Emperor, or perhaps he had even fallen. Whatever the case, he had left behind this masterless pocket realm, which someone else later took over, assuming the name of the “Cloud God” and deceiving people.

After all, Long Xiaobai had personally seen a mortal shell left behind by an Immortal.

If so, could the “thing” Su Yuanzai, Zhou Mengyao, and the Innkeeper were searching for be this so-called “Cloud God?”

In that instant, countless thoughts raced through Qi Xuansu’s mind.

Qi Xuansu had simply seen too much. Although Qi Xuansu was still relatively young, his wealth of experience meant that he could almost always find a precedent to draw upon.

These were all tricks that the Heluo God, Itzamna, and others had already played long ago.