A Pawn's Passage

In a certain sense, this was only to be expected. The progression from the Ancient Wuist Sect’s three generations of Longevity Stone to the Daoist Longevity Stone Heart could not have been achieved in a single step. Countless experiments must have been conducted along the way, repeatedly identifying flaws and refining solutions until success was finally reached.

What Qi Xuansu witnessed throughout the Lingshan Paradise essentially recreated this developmental process to a certain degree, with experimental Longevity Stones from different eras and with different functions.

Within this series, the early works bore a strong and unmistakable imprint of the Eight Tribes’ projects. Centered on the Three Refinements, the Three Yin Beings represented the pinnacle results corresponding to each refinement. Combining the Three Refinements with divine abilities produced the Sakka. Among them, corpse refinement was paramount, which was why the undamaged Mighty Lord of Ten Thousand Corpses stood as the foremost of the Three Yin Beings.

Early Longevity Stone prototypes displayed clear corpse-refinement characteristics. Though normally dormant, they would allow a corpse to rise when disturbed or touched, as evident in the Taiyin Corpse and the remains of these female Daoists.

Another defining feature was controllability.

According to Daoist records, the predecessor of the creation project was divided into two different periods.

The first period was led by the Gezao Sect. The Three Yin Beings were the pinnacle creations of this era. Semi-finished versions could be controlled artificially, but the fully completed Three Yin Beings possessed intelligence and were independent entities to a certain degree. They followed orders like sentient beings rather than being puppets controlled by strings.

The second period was led by Elder Xu, producing the true Eight Tribes. The Sakka was the ultimate masterpiece of that era. Unlike the Three Yin Beings, the Sakka lacked intelligence and functioned more like a puppet under direct control, though the latter was more powerful.

This was, of course, intentional on Elder Xu’s part. Overconfident and trusting only himself, he intended to personally control the Sakka. Unfortunately, not long after its completion, Elder Xu entered the Kunlun Paradise, which had not yet descended at the time, and ascended after a series of upheavals. He never managed to wield the Sakka, which fell into the hands of the Holy Xuan.

The true inheritor of Elder Xu’s expertise in creation was not Earthly Preceptor Shangguan, but Elder Yao. Building upon the Eight Tribes Project, she initiated a broader engineering initiative called the Creation Project.

The Creation Project inherited not only the Eight Tribes Project but also the Ancient Wuist’s alchemical techniques, Mohist mechanisms, Daoist internal alchemy, and more. The Longevity Stone Heart was merely one branch among many.

Qi Xuansu had long harbored a suspicion—or rather, a concern—that the Longevity Stone Heart contained some hidden backdoor switch. At a crucial moment, would it allow someone to manipulate its host, just as the Sakka had once been controlled?

It would be best if such a possibility did not exist. But if it did, Qi Xuansu knew he had to find a solution because he refused to become a pawn in anyone’s game.

This was also the fundamental reason why Qi Xuansu insisted on coming to the Lingshan Paradise to investigate.

This was the true primary contradiction. If he became someone else’s puppet, then everything he might gain in the future—immortal objects, the position of Grand Master, achieving immortality, and so on—would merely serve others, rendering everything meaningless.

This was also why Qi Xuansu did not suspect Madam Qi. She was not its creator, but merely a deliveryman.

Perhaps even Madam Qi did not know the deeper secrets. Some great figures arranged matters without leaving traces. Things that seemed like coincidences were actually inevitable truths. Those caught within such schemes, regardless of their intentions, would ultimately move toward the outcome designed by the planner, becoming pawns without realizing it.

In every sense, Qi Xuansu was no fool. He would not wait until the final moment to suddenly realize everything had been arranged by others, only to find it too late to do anything about it.

Though his benefactors and a large measure of luck had brought him this far, capability and resilience were also essential. Thus, he intended to prepare in advance and take preventative measures before anything happens.

Qi Xuansu crouched down and reached out to grasp the stone heart.

The implantation of a stone heart formed a system, spreading through the body like a net. Removing it meant uprooting the entire network. Compared with the Taiyin Corpse, the resistance from these female Daoists was far weaker. If the former was like uprooting a willow tree, the latter was merely pulling weeds.

Qi Xuansu easily extracted the stone heart and examined it in his hand.

Qi Jiaoyao leaned in as well. Though she had heard many tales of the Longevity Stone, she had never actually seen one in person.

In this matter, Qi Xuansu could be considered somewhat of an expert. What he wanted to determine now was whether these stone hearts could serve as instruments of control.

The Taiyin Corpse was essentially a Great Asura implanted with a Longevity Stone prototype. Since the Great Asura from the Eight Tribes Project were inherently controllable, it was difficult to determine whether that control came from the Great Asura itself or from the Longevity Stone prototype.

These female Daoist remains were different. They had no connection to the Eight Tribes Project and were driven entirely by the stone hearts.

The question now was, how could he verify this?

Qi Xuansu could refine these stone hearts into creations of his own, but the key issue was who could he implant them into for testing? Only he and Qi Jiaoyao were present. He already carried the genuine Longevity Stone Heart, and implanting one into Qi Jiaoyao was out of the question—not only due to compatibility concerns but also because she would certainly never agree.

Qi Jiaoyao suddenly felt something off about the way Qi Xuansu was looking at her and instinctively took two steps back. “What are you trying to do?”

Qi Xuansu said, “Daoist Qi, since Elder Yao once modified the remains of the Heavenly Sect’s female Daoists here, this place probably isn’t as simple as it appears, is it?”

“Good point.” Qi Jiaoyao nodded. “Elder Yao likely carried out the modifications on-site rather than transporting them here afterward. These stone hearts aren’t anything remarkable. They’re at best semi-finished products or perhaps even defective ones, so there’s no need for extra effort.”

Qi Xuansu suggested, “Let’s search again. There may be some hidden or concealed area.”

Always enthusiastic about treasure hunting, Qi Jiaoyao readily agreed.

Treasure hunting was not especially difficult. The key was whether one paid attention. If one focused enough, traces would inevitably appear.

Qi Jiaoyao quickly noticed something unusual in the hall. She waved her hand to summon a gust of wind, sweeping away the dust on the ground and revealing what lay beneath.

A complex formation was drawn on the floor, dim and without light.

However, Qi Jiaoyao found no mechanism to activate it, not even a slot for a key.

Meanwhile, Qi Xuansu made a discovery of his own. He found a portrait of Elder Yao in a corner.

Most Eastern portraits were scrolls, while Westerners preferred framed paintings. This portrait clearly bore a Western style.

In truth, Elder Yao could not be fully equated with Wu Xian. The deceased Wu Xian had been reborn through Elder Yao, the two merging and influencing each other. Moreover, Wu Xian had died after personally testing medicines that drove her into madness, drastically altering her temperament. The once-brilliant leader of the Wuist Sect failed to notice danger at her side and was ultimately betrayed by her four sisters, ending up buried in the Nether Valley.

Thus, the Elder Yao in the portrait lacked Wu Xian’s imposing authority. Instead, she looked somewhat frivolous and irreverent, bearing a resemblance to Wu Yang.

Wu Yang, the only Great Witch officially acknowledged and publicly worshipped by the Daoist Order, had Wu Gorge, Wu Mountain, and Goddess Peak as her domains. These were places Qi Xuansu knew well.

Thinking of Wu Yang, Qi Xuansu suddenly found Elder Yao’s posture familiar. After recalling carefully, he remembered seeing murals of the Eleven Witches in Wu Zhen’s underground city. The Ten Witches of Lingshan sat behind a long table, while Wu Yang alone stood at the edge, leaning against a table leg.

At first glance, the Elder Yao in the portrait seemed to be leaning against a wall. But from another perspective, that “wall” might actually be the leg of an unusually tall table.

After a brief hesitation, Qi Xuansu reached out to touch the painting and discovered that the image inside the frame functioned like a sliding door. It could be moved left and right. Just as he had guessed, the full picture was not displayed. Part of it remained hidden beyond the frame’s boundaries.

Qi Xuansu immediately slid the image to the left. Elder Yao’s figure shifted away and vanished beyond the frame, revealing a long table instead. Just like the mural in the underground city, the Ten Witches of Lingshan appeared behind it, gathered around the Longevity Stone as if they were at a feast.

The frame could only display one Great Witch at a time, preventing a full view. The Ten Witches appeared in various forms. Some resembled ravenous gluttons filled with greed, while others had faces concealed in shadow, looking eerie and sinister.

After hesitating for a moment, Qi Xuansu ultimately positioned Wu Xian within the frame.

In the mural, Wu Xian originally sat at the center of the long table and occupied the central position of the painting. There was also subtle symbolism here—Elder Yao and Wu Xian were essentially one entity, like two sides of the same coin.

As soon as Qi Xuansu finished, the formation on Qi Jiaoyao’s side began to change. Every node and line lit up in sequence, and when the formation was fully illuminated, a Yin-Yang Gate materialized above it out of thin air.

Qi Xuansu walked over to Qi Jiaoyao and looked toward the Yin-Yang Gate.

Qi Jiaoyao beamed brightly, like a thief who had just discovered a treasure vault and managed to crack open its doors.