A Pawn's Passage

Although the Wanxiang Daoist Palace had prohibited the use of mother-child talismans for communication during the lockdown, official documents and letters could still be delivered through the rapid post talisman.

Early in the morning on July 16th, a deacon from Ming Hall delivered a letter to Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu thanked the deacon and took the letter back to his study, surprised to find that it was from Pei Xiaolou.

After verifying the wax seal on the envelope, he used his fingernail instead of a knife to slice it open and retrieve the letter inside. The content was about the results of Pan Cuiqing and Yue Liuli’s case.

Qi Xuansu had originally entrusted the case to Xu Xiaoying. However, since Pei Xiaolou happened to return from Jade Capital at the same time, the two Sages ended up handling the case together.

Afterward, Qi Xuansu went to the Wanxiang Daoist Upper Palace for his training. In the blink of an eye, over a month had passed, and the case had been concluded.

Pei Xiaolou briefly outlined the case’s progress. Since the evidence was conclusive, there had been little difficulty in handling it.

Logically speaking, the Wuxu Palace Master Ji Jiaoquan should have been an obstacle because he was Pan Cuiqing’s master. However, Wuxu Palace had long been overseen by Sage Donghua until he was promoted to Ziwei Hall. Only then had Ji Jiaoquan taken over.

Palace Master Ji was an ordinary second-rank Taiyi Daoist master, with hopes of becoming one of the 36 Omniscient Sages. This was because Sage Zhou from the Ciji Hall had only recently stepped down as the Hall Master but had not yet relinquished his position as an Omniscient Sage.

The Daoist Order did not lower a Daoist’s rank due to retirement or loss of cultivation. However, the title of Omniscient Sage was not a rank but an official position. Both Omniscient Sages and ordinary Sages were classified as second-rank Taiyi Daoist masters, but since there were only 36 fixed positions of Omniscient Sages, one had to first step down before another was promoted.

Once a Sage retired, they could not continue occupying an official seat. Thus, their title of Omniscient Sage would be revoked, though they would retain their second-rank Taiyi Daoist status and the title of Sage. The same applied to Deputy Grand Masters. Upon retirement, they would retain their first-rank Tianzhen Daoist status and the title of Great Sage.

Sage Zhou had merely stepped back into a secondary role. While he had resigned from his official duties as Ciji Hall Master, he still retained the title of Omniscient Sage, granting him the authority to participate in the Golden Tower Council meetings and vote for the next Grand Master. He would remain in this position for another year or two before fully retiring. Only then would Ji Jiaoquan be able to officially ascend to the rank of Omniscient Sage.

If Ji Jiaoquan successfully became an Omniscient Sage, his position would be as stable as Ning Lingge’s. Even if he encountered setbacks, he would always have a chance to rise again. However, the period before his promotion was especially crucial. Any unexpected incidents during this time could jeopardize his advancement, which meant that during this transition, stability was his utmost priority.

The incident with Pan Cuiqing was like a bolt from the blue for Ji Jiaoquan.

Which was more important—a disciple or the title of Omniscient Sage? For some, it was a difficult choice. For others, it was a decision that required no hesitation.

For Ji Jiaoquan, a lost disciple could always be replaced. But if he lost the near-attainable position of Omniscient Sage, he would never get a second chance. Thus, there was no need for much deliberation.

In the end, Ji Jiaoquan did not choose to save his disciple. Instead, he decisively severed ties, treating Pan Cuiqing as a sacrificial pawn to protect himself.

Ji Jiaoquan even considered the bigger picture. The Daoist Order had nearly 200 second-rank Taiyi Daoist masters, yet only 36 of them could become Omniscient Sages. There were certainly many who envied his impending promotion. Even if he had no prior conflicts with anyone, it would be natural for others to set traps for him at a time like this.

So whether it was Yue Liuli, Pan Cuiqing, or even what happened back then in the Dragon and Tiger Camp at the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, these were merely pretexts. The real intent had nothing to do with these events. Their true target was Ji Jiaoquan.

Yet, what Ji Jiaoquan would never realize was that this matter was not that complicated. It was merely the old, predictable tale of a Wanxiang Daoist Palace orphan who had finally made a name for himself and was seeking revenge. It had nothing to do with the grand schemes surrounding the Omniscient Sage position.

Even if Ji Jiaoquan had known the truth, he would have handled it the same way—by protecting himself first. Ji Jiaoquan would have to wait until after he was promoted to Omniscient Sage to avenge his disciple. For now, the only thing that mattered was surviving this crucial period without incident.

Pei Xiaolou had grasped Ji Jiaoquan’s mindset perfectly, which was why he had taken full responsibility for the matter. If a Palace Master had intervened, things would have been much more complicated. After all, Pei Xiaolou was not Sage Donghua and was merely a Deputy Palace Master.

The final verdict had already been reported to the Earthly Preceptor and had received his approval.

Pan Cuiqing, found guilty of harboring and condoning criminal acts, was stripped of his position as Deputy Wuxu Palace Master and demoted to the fourth rank. A fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist master without an official post at his age was as good as having his future completely ruined.

Yue Liuli was stripped of her Daoist status and temporarily imprisoned in the dungeon of the Chongyang Palace of Immortality.

Since the era of the sixth-generation Grand Master, the Daoist Order adhered to the principle of cautious punishment, especially when dealing with their own members. They had always advocated for minimal and deliberate use of capital punishment. Even during the infamous major Jiangnan case, which had shaken the entire Daoist Order, only one person—Fang Linhou—had been executed.

Thus, it was not surprising that Yue Liuli was spared execution. After all, Qi Xuansu—the victim—had not died, so a life for a life was not justified.

However, though she had avoided the death sentence, she could not escape from punishment. A harsh sentence of imprisonment still awaited her.

Aside from Jade Capital, each of the three sects had their own prisons. Aside from temporary holding cells, the true prisons existed in the form of caves. Some of the most infamous ones included Zhengyi Sect’s Demon-Vanquishing Cave, Quanzhen Sect’s Demon Suppression Tower, and Taiping Sect’s Dragon Cave.

These caves were vast on the inside yet completely isolated from the outside world, never seeing the light of day. Being sent into one was equivalent to exile. Even Pseudo-Immortals would find it nearly impossible to escape.

Of these, Zhengyi Sect’s Demon-Vanquishing Cave was the most terrifying. It held demons capable of unleashing catastrophic bloodshed upon the mortal world. As a result, the prison was filled with formations specifically designed to drain cultivation. Its conditions were exceptionally harsh, and its security was the strictest. Even the corridors were one-way. Once sent inside, unless one could break the cave’s seal, there was no hope of ever being released.

Above the Demon-Vanquishing Cave was the even more infamous Demon-Vanquishing Platform and the Execution Pillars. This place served as an execution ground. The so-called Execution Pillars were two towering structures designed to summon heavenly lightning, which replaced traditional beheading as a means of executing high-level cultivators.

At the moment, Yue Liuli was still detained at the Chongyang Palace of Immortality on Difei Mountain. Once convicted, she would be transferred to the Demon Suppression Tower in Tiancang Mountain.

Compared to the terrifying Demon-Vanquishing Cave, the Demon Suppression Tower was relatively more lenient. It was originally designed to imprison demons. However, as the number of demons dwindled, it gradually became a place for incarcerating criminals. Many of its enchantments were still tailored to restrain demons, so while prisoners lost their freedom upon entry, their living conditions were otherwise tolerable.

This was the harshest possible punishment within the Daoist Order’s legal framework.

Pei Xiaolou’s letter was merely to inform Qi Xuansu of the case’s resolution. There was no intention to consult him on the matter. Qi Xuansu had known this from the start. The moment he handed over the voice retention talisman, the final outcome of this matter was no longer under his control.

After reading the letter, Qi Xuansu set it down and sat in silence for a long time.

In this entire affair, Qi Xuansu could not deny that he was petty and vengeful—exacting retribution down to the last detail.

He had wavered before and considered whether to simply let it go. But each time he recalled the helplessness, despair, and agony he had felt when he was on the brink of death, his hesitation would be wiped away, leaving behind only an overwhelming hatred.

Qi Xuansu had come within a hair’s breadth of dying. If he had died, everything would have been over and reduced to nothingness.

The worst part was that he had nearly died in vain—neither facing death with dignity nor dying for a worthy cause. He would have been nothing more than a pathetic clown, a joke for others to gossip about.

So why shouldn’t he hate them? Why should he be forgiving and magnanimous?

After all, he was not the Holy Xuan. He could not simply laugh off grievances and let bygones be bygones. He was not capable of forgiving his enemies for the sake of the greater good. Besides, what did people like Yue Liuli and Wan Xiuwu have to do with the greater good anyway?

“This is fine,” Qi Xuansu muttered to himself. “People bring fortune and misfortune upon themselves.”

Qi Xuansu paused, then laughed at himself. “Why pretend to be magnanimous? I was never that kind of person to begin with.”

He lightly tapped the table with his fingers. “Now, that leaves Monk Yan Xiu and Zhao Fu’an.”