A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu could not quite grasp Qi Jiaoyao’s intentions. After all, she had already obtained an immortal object and could be said to have a bountiful gain. In her own words, she had at least broken even, so there was no need to risk everything again to search Lingshan for a Longevity Stone that might not even exist.

To be fair, Qi Jiaoyao was far from a burden; she was, in fact, an extremely useful ally. She was experienced and, more importantly, widely knowledgeable. Along the way, she had answered many of Qi Xuansu’s questions. If she were to turn back now and leave him alone, things would certainly not become easier for him.

Naturally, Qi Xuansu hoped she would continue to Lingshan with him, yet he could not force the matter. After all, he could fall back on the Guizang Lantern, which could at least save his life if things went badly, whereas Qi Jiaoyao did not. He could not impose such a risk upon her.

Before Qi Xuansu could speak, however, Qi Jiaoyao took the initiative. “Lingshan is right in front of us. You’d better not lose hope now, kid.”

“Huh?” Qi Xuansu was stunned. He had been carefully considering how to ask about her intentions and never expected her to say something like this.

Qi Jiaoyao looked him up and down. “Did you get scared stiff or something? Not even talking. Listen to me—that corpse is just a flashy but useless spear. It only looks impressive. With the two of us working together, taking him down won’t be a problem.”

Qi Xuansu shook his head. “I’m not frightened. I was just thinking about some things.”

“What were you thinking about?” Qi Jiaoyao asked.

Qi Xuansu said, “Daoist Qi, you’ve already obtained the Bone-Illuminating Mirror, a genuine immortal object. There’s no need to risk going to Lingshan anymore, is there?”

Qi Jiaoyao laughed, her tone openly mocking. “I’d love to avoid danger too. But did you ever think about why I’m trapped in the Lingshan Paradise?”

Qi Xuansu truly had never considered this question and asked instinctively, “Why?”

“Idiot!” Qi Jiaoyao, clearly having the classic trait of Quanzhen Sect women, showed no mercy with her words. “Because the entrance and exit of the Lingshan Paradise are not in the same place. The entrance allows entry but not exit; the exit allows exit but not entry. The exit is at the summit of Lingshan. Since I can’t reach Lingshan, I’m stuck here.”

Qi Xuansu had “smuggled” himself in through the pseudo-ascension method and had truly overlooked this issue. Now that Qi Jiaoyao pointed it out, he realized its seriousness. It seemed that going to Lingshan was unavoidable. Even if not for the Longevity Stone, he had to go simply to leave this place.

No wonder that guard had stayed at Lingshan and went nowhere else. Without going there, no matter how many treasures one gained within the Lingshan Paradise, they would remain trapped here forever. It truly was “earn in Lingshan, spend in Lingshan” Don’t even think about taking a single coin home.

Since going to Lingshan was unavoidable, Qi Xuansu no longer needed to think about unifying their resolve or boosting morale. He moved directly to the next stage and began discussing concrete feasibility.

Qi Xuansu asked, “Daoist Qi, do you know the background of the person guarding Lingshan?”

Qi Jiaoyao said, “One thing you got right is that he is indeed Yao, and he’s the same generation as the Earthly Preceptor. As for his cultivation, he’s roughly on par with you.”

Qi Xuansu let out a slight sigh of relief.

If the opponent was only at the Zaohua stage, then the fight was still manageable. What he feared most was encountering a Pseudo-Immortal who held the advantage of terrain and possessed various artifacts and formations. This place was highly unusual, and he could not summon the Three Yin Beings here. That would make things extremely difficult.

Still doubtful, Qi Xuansu asked, “How many creations like the Taiyin Corpse exist here?”

Qi Jiaoyao waved dismissively. “Doesn’t matter how many constructs or approaches he has. We can only take one path forward. We’ll find the old bastard, I’ll shine the Bone-Illuminating Mirror on him, and you’ll punch him. Don’t worry. The spatial stability around Lingshan is strong. Even a Manly Immortal wouldn’t cause much damage here.”

Qi Xuansu said skeptically, “With your cultivation level, can you actually use an immortal object? Isn’t the Bone-Illuminating Mirror indiscriminate in suppression? If you activate it, wouldn’t we be affected too?”

Qi Jiaoyao raised her right index finger and wagged it side to side. “Under normal circumstances, my cultivation wouldn’t allow me to use the Bone-Illuminating Mirror—but I have my own tricks. You don’t need to know the details. Everyone has secrets, right? Take you, for example—you appear to be just a Zaohua-stage Martial Arts Practitioner, but you also have the Banish Immortal’s Joyous Cloud Shield and a Shaman’s Spiritual Body. Did I pry into that? No. So don’t ask about my methods either.”

Qi Xuansu could only nod. “Alright, I won’t ask.”

Qi Jiaoyao continued, “As for your second concern, you’re underestimating immortal objects. Earlier, the Bone-Illuminating Mirror suppressed everyone indiscriminately because no one was controlling it. If someone is wielding it, that’s a different story. It’s like your Void Shattering Technique. Right now, you’ve only just begun to shake the void, so your attacks are broad and unfocused. But once you reach the Manly Immortal level, you can strike exactly where you intend.”

After hearing this, Qi Xuansu suddenly felt as though he had lost out. Based on his earlier assessment, the artifact seemed somewhat useless. But from Qi Jiaoyao’s explanation, it was actually quite powerful.

Of course, Qi Xuansu would not go back on his word or renegotiate. As he had said before, given his current prospects, immortal objects were merely minor details. He would eventually obtain one anyway at the very least. If he ascended to the position of Grand Master, he would possess four top-tier immortal objects, more than he could even use.

Qi Xuansu said, “Based on the Bone-Illuminating Mirror’s properties, as long as you can shine it on Lingshan’s guard, you just need to weaken him to the Wuliang stage, and I can kill him with a single punch. However, my suggestion is to leave him alive. There’s no need to form an irreconcilable feud with the Yao family. It’s better to leave some room for maneuver.”

Qi Jiaoyao let out another mocking laugh. “How did you even become a second-rank Taiyi Daoist? Why are you so naive? We’ve broken into the Lingshan Paradise, taken the Bone-Illuminating Mirror, and plan to take the Longevity Stone from Lingshan. That already makes us mortal enemies of the Earthly Preceptor. Do you really expect him to forgive us? Things like this—either you don’t do them at all, or you go all the way.”

Qi Xuansu’s thinking differed from Qi Jiaoyao’s.

For him, room for maneuver was not about how serious the act was, but whether there remained a possibility to turn back.

In the end, this matter was highly secretive, with very few people aware of it. It was not rebellion, nor did it directly undermine the Earthly Preceptor’s authority. It was more about gains and losses of interest. There was no necessity for the Earthly Preceptor to kill them to preserve authority, which meant there was still room for negotiation.

Although Qi Xuansu and Qi Jiaoyao had taken the Bone-Illuminating Mirror, if matters truly reached a dead end, they could return it. With someone like the Heavenly Preceptor mediating, reconciliation might still be possible. But if they killed someone, there would be no room to turn back, because the dead cannot be revived.

What Qi Jiaoyao said about either don’t do it, or do it without restraint was correct, but context mattered. In something like rebellion, total commitment was necessary. In other matters, however, it was not.

Ultimately, Qi Xuansu still had to continue his life within the Daoist Order. This was merely an investigation into the truth of his Longevity Stone Heart, not a coup to seize power immediately. It was not a one-shot gamble, so caution was essential.

If he blindly followed Qi Jiaoyao’s reckless approach, he might regret it for years to come.

Moreover, if Qi Xuansu killed someone with a single punch, the responsibility would certainly fall on him, while Qi Jiaoyao would merely have held up a mirror.

Whether in the lofty halls of power or the distant Jianghu, one must never let their guard down completely.

However, Qi Xuansu could not voice these thoughts aloud. With a major battle ahead, internal unity had to be maintained; disagreements could be temporarily set aside, like when the Daoist Order fought the Buddhist Sect.

Thus, it was not that victors later purged their own allies. Rather, conflicts had long been accumulating, and once the external enemy disappeared, the conditions suppressing those tensions vanished as well, allowing pre-existing contradictions to erupt fully.

Take the conflicts among the Three Sects as an example. The grudges between the Zhang and Li families could be traced back several generations before the Holy Xuan rebuilt the Daoist Order. Thus, the current situation was actually the norm, while the unified front during external conflicts was only a brief exception.

Ideas such as “the more allies, the better” and “do not harm unity” were all extensions of this kind of thinking.

The Holy Xuan understood this principle deeply. There were many things he personally disagreed with, yet he would not immediately turn against others. Instead, he resolved the principal contradictions first. One had to distinguish clearly between primary and secondary conflicts.

Under the current circumstances, uncovering the truth and leaving the Lingshan Paradise were the primary objectives; everything else was secondary.

Qi Xuansu changed the topic. “You said the exit of the Lingshan Paradise is located at the summit of Lingshan. Where exactly is it?”

Qi Jiaoyao replied, “Didn’t you see a bonfire in your dream? The exit is near that fire.”

Qi Xuansu began recalling the process of climbing Lingshan in his dream. It had actually been quite a long journey.

First, in the dream, he had not started from the foot of the mountain but from halfway up, which made the journey seem shorter than it truly was.

Second, there had been no ancient witch remains or mechanisms in the dream. The path was unobstructed, and even if Lingshan’s height rivaled Kunlun, a simple climb posed no real difficulty.

Third, the Lingshan he saw in the dream had clear restrictions. He could only ascend along a single narrow path, with many areas inaccessible. Perhaps those unreachable places concealed great dangers.

The real Lingshan Paradise was obviously very different from the one in his dream. Danger lurked everywhere, and reaching the summit of Lingshan would be far from simple.