A Pawn's Passage

On the other side, with the assistance of the Spirit Guard Jia Yin, Qi Xuansu managed to eliminate Yang E and the colossal worm. However, he was not in good condition. His problems stemmed from two main causes.

The first was the backlash from the Scripture of Zuriel, something he had anticipated. There was no effective remedy other than rest. He could not use the other pages of the Scripture again for a while, lest he risk irreversible, permanent damage.

The second issue was the corrosion of the decayed dragon qi. When Qi Xuansu tore Yang E apart with his own hands, her expelled dragon qi invaded his body. This corrupt qi was exceedingly toxic, like a festering poison clinging to the bone, constantly gnawing away at him and almost impossible to remove.

Anyone else in Qi Xuansu’s position would have been doomed, but he possessed the Longevity Stone Heart, which shielded his vitals from decay. Moreover, Qi Xuansu had many strange and unconventional means, such as Izanagi’s demonic fire, which could both resist and partially dissolve the decayed dragon qi.

The key point was that the toxicity depended on dosage. Every medicine carried some toxicity. When used properly, it could heal, but if used in excess, it could kill. The same principle applied to yin fire. The Second Heavenly Tribulation’s Yin Fire could burn Izanagi to death, while Qi Xuansu’s own yin fire could only scorch Heavenly Beings. The severity depended on its concentration.

The same held true for the decayed dragon qi. Back then, the Holy Xuan had also suffered from its corruption because the last leader of the Confucian School had wielded dragon qi with an immortal artifact against him. In contrast, Yang E’s control of dragon qi was incomparable in scale.

Therefore, Qi Xuansu could still rely on the Longevity Stone Heart’s self-purifying ability to gradually expel the decayed dragon qi from his body.

In principle, Qi Xuansu’s best course of action would be to enter secluded cultivation and focus entirely on healing himself. But the current situation did not allow it.

Great Sage Lan was already in seclusion, and Qi Xuansu was barely holding things together in his stead. If he also went into seclusion, who else could take charge? His entire plan would collapse instantly.

In that sense, the mastermind would have achieved their goal.

Thus, Qi Xuansu could not rest. He had to force himself to endure it, never revealing the slightest sign of weakness. In fact, he had to display an even stronger, more domineering aura in public, giving the impression that he was completely fine and had even advanced to the Zaohua stage.

In truth, Qi Xuansu’s recent battle had also brought some positive effects. Many people had witnessed his Manly Immortal True Form with their own eyes. As a result, without any deliberate pretense on his part, rumors were already spreading everywhere that Second Deputy Qi was, in fact, a Zaohua-stage Martial Arts Practitioner.

After all, seeing was believing, and many had witnessed it firsthand.

Within the Daoist hierarchy, one’s cultivation still held enormous weight. The reason Great Sage Lan was able to command so much respect was that he was a Longevity-stage Immortal. His position as the Mansion Master played a role, but a smaller one.

Secret societies could not care less about their enemy’s titles and ranks. Power was what truly spoke. If Great Sage Lan did not have the strength to annihilate two Ancient Immortals in a single battle, how could he possibly maintain dominance in Poluo?

If Qi Xuansu were also an Immortal at the Longevity stage, he would not need to spend so much effort. Even if he could not do whatever he pleased, things certainly would not be so difficult for him.

Of course, even the Zaohua stage was enough to awe most people. Across the entire Daoist Order, Zaohua-stage Martial Arts Practitioners had some of the highest combat powers.

Qi Xuansu did not return to the Water Palace. Instead, under the protection of Spirit Guard Jia Yin, he stayed in the royal palace to conduct a full investigation of every corner. The justification was obvious. Someone had openly attempted to assassinate a Second Deputy Mansion Master, so it warranted a thorough search. Even a sweeping purge could be justified.

Meanwhile, someone else was closely watching the developments within the palace. That person was none other than Qi Xuansu’s old acquaintance—or rather, nemesis—Wang Danqing.

After all that had happened, Wang Danqing had quietly returned to Thanglong Prefecture under the pretext of attending the Daoist Mansion Council.

At this moment, Wang Danqing was in one of his private residences, surrounded by a flock of maids who were attentively serving him his meal.

The maids were all stunningly beautiful with graceful figures. Since it was midsummer, their clothing was light and revealing, leaving little to the imagination. Surrounded by so many attendants, it was clear that Wang Danqing never denied himself any luxury.

This was precisely why many scions of Daoist noble families were reluctant to follow the Daoist path. The hardships and discipline were one thing. They were also constantly restrained, not allowed to have servants or concubines.

Qi Xuansu was the prime example. Though he seemed imposing as the Second Deputy Mansion Master, he lived like an ascetic monk, abstaining from women and forgoing pleasures, handling regular chores personally. Most of his time was spent in his office. No matter how large or elegant that office was, it was nothing compared to the indulgent halls of pleasure.

Even if Qi Xuansu got married to Zhang Yuelu, they would most probably live apart, sometimes not seeing each other for an entire month. Their grand mansion in Jade Capital would remain empty most of the time. No matter how luxurious, it was useless if they never lived in it. Only after years of perseverance, upon becoming a Hall Master and taking permanent residence in Jade Capital, could they finally reap the sweetness of their painstaking efforts. Such was the balance, having gain and loss in equal measure. Not to mention, in critical moments, they had to lead from the front, risking their lives nine times out of ten.

Some might wonder, if Wang Danqing were such a libertine, how could he dare covet Zhang Yuelu? Everyone knew she despised fickle, unfaithful men above all. Even the arrogant and domineering Li Tianzhen was better in this regard.

The reason was that Wang Danqing did not consider these maids to be human beings. Since they were not “people,” there was no question of divided affections. He could still claim to be devoted and loyal to Zhang Yuelu.

Zhang Yuelu once joked to Qi Xuansu in casual conversation. “I don’t know what sin I committed in my past life to have caught the attention of two such men. I’m sorry to have dragged you into this mess.”

Qi Xuansu replied, “It’s not just those two. Others simply don’t dare to express their love to you openly. They wouldn’t dream of pursuing a noble lady of the Zhang family. Only Li Tianzhen and Wang Danqing have family backgrounds lofty enough to declare their intentions openly.”

Zhang Yuelu asked Qi Xuansu, “What about you, then? Do you have a family background lofty enough as well?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “I’m different. I just have enough courage.”

......

Wang Danqing was eating crab at that moment. Even with maids attending to him, he could not help but get his hands greasy.

He had a habit of treating people as mere objects, so he casually wiped his hands on the front of a maid’s dress, then called out toward the courtyard, “Brother, how is it?”

Outside was a courtyard with a lake and a rockery. A figure stood atop the rockery so that he was high enough to see over the courtyard wall, gazing toward the direction of the royal palace.

A massive Yinglong Warship had fired a cannon shot, alarming the entire city.

This place was not far from the palace, and with the keen eyesight of a Heavenly Being, the man could clearly see Qi Xuansu battling the colossal worm in the sky.

The man leaped down from the rockery. It was Zheng Jiaohe.

Strictly speaking, Zheng Jiaohe was a generation above Wang Danqing. But Wang Danqing still addressed him as “brother.” The fact that Deputy Mansion Master Zheng Jiaohe was not offended and even took it as normal also showed just how influential this Young Master Wang was in Poluo.

As Wang Danqing himself often said, he was not special in Jade Capital, but within his own turf in Poluo, he was somebody.

Zheng Jiaohe returned indoors.

With a wave of his hand, Wang Danqing dismissed the beautiful maids.

Zheng Jiaohe sat opposite Wang Danqing with a grave expression. “A Zaohua-stage Martial Arts Practitioner.”

“Him?” Wang Danqing raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

Zheng Jiaohe replied, “It was a Manly Immortal True Form with three heads and six arms. Such a manifestation cannot be faked.”

Wang Danqing felt a wave of irritation. His tone turned dark. “That man is skilled at feigning weakness. Back in Jade Capital’s Ziwei Hall, I shot him once. He wasn’t seriously hurt, but the moment Pei Xuanzhi arrived, he pretended to be injured and collapsed, giving Pei Xuanzhi a perfect excuse to punish me.”

Zheng Jiaohe said, “But Qi Xuansu is not yet thirty and already at the Zaohua stage. That’s almost unbelievable. Even the Junior Imperial Preceptor, with the full support of the Li family, didn’t progress this fast. At this rate, he’s nearly on par with the Holy Xuan, Donghuang, and Tantai Yun in their prime.”

Wang Danqing frowned slightly. “What are you suggesting?”

Zheng Jiaohe said, “It might be some sort of semi-immortal object. I’ve heard that Sage Qingwei possesses an immortal object called the Qinghuo Pearl, which allows him to exert the power of a Longevity-stage Immortal even while he’s still a Pseudo-Immortal. It’s truly extraordinary. Perhaps Qi Xuansu has a similar semi-immortal object that enables him to fight at the Zaohua stage.”

“Semi-immortal object, huh?” Wang Danqing gave a cold snort. “He already has two—Green Cloud and Pure Bodhi. Another one will make that three. Don’t tell me he’s actually Pei Xuanzhi’s illegitimate son?!”

Zheng Jiaohe cleared his throat. “Careful with such talk. If he really were the son of Sage Donghua, there’d be no reason to hide it. Pei Xiaolou is useless, and with the Pei family line about to die out, Sage Donghua would have wished for a son like Qi Xuansu. That way, even if Sage Donghua lost to Sage Qingwei and couldn’t become the Grand Master, he could at least raise his son to compete for the next succession.”

Wang Danqing nodded slightly. “That actually makes sense.”

“Anyway...” Wang Danqing shifted the topic. “Whether Qi Xuansu’s Zaohua-stage power comes from a semi-immortal object or his own cultivation, we can’t just let him run wild. We need to find a way to make him quiet down.”

Zheng Jiaohe said, “From what I see, this plan has two layers. Silencing Second Deputy Qi permanently is ideal, since it’s the Ancient Immortals’ responsibility. But if they can’t kill him, that’s fine too. They’ll just use Yang E to shut him up. The case will end there, with all the blame pinned on her.”

Wang Danqing frowned. “Judging by his attitude, he doesn’t seem like someone who intends to let this go.”

Zheng Jiaohe said, “If that’s the case, there will naturally be further arrangements.”

Wang Danqing glanced at the crab shell on the table and let out a cold snort. “Let’s see how long he can keep running rampant.”