A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 1457: The Mystery of the Earthly Preceptor (III)

Seeking enlightenment from True Lord Ziguang required expending a considerable amount of divine power, so Qi Xuansu needed to decide carefully what to ask beforehand.

Qi Xuansu first went through the possibilities himself and eliminated a few options.

In terms of age, Li Tianlan was significantly younger than the three Deputy Grand Masters. Since Li Tianlan had met the fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor, it meant that the fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor and the current Earthly Preceptor had coexisted in the mortal world simultaneously.

This made the possibility of a Heavenly Immortal incarnation quite unlikely. However, the possibilities of reincarnation through possession, or even the fusion of two people into one, still remained.

Take Elder Yao as an example. Before the fusion, Wu Xian and Yao Xianglian were two completely unrelated and independent individuals who did not even know each other. Only after merging did they become a new individual—Elder Yao. Overall, Wu Xian retained dominance, but she was still influenced by Yao Xianglian. To the other Great Witches familiar with Wu Xian, it appeared as though her personality had changed drastically.

If the fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor had not ascended but instead secretly fused with the current Earthly Preceptor, gradually allowing the fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor’s true self to replace the current Earthly Preceptor’s original identity, then such a transformation would have happened subtly over time. Others would not notice it in the short term. Perhaps only decades later would people suddenly realize that the current Earthly Preceptor had become identical to the fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor. But by then, most people who had actually seen the fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor would already be dead. In that case, the theory could barely make sense.

But all of this was merely Qi Xuansu’s speculation.

If True Lord Ziguang could not provide a direct and clear answer and could only offer clues, then Qi Xuansu would need to focus on the possibilities of fusion or possession, rather than a Heavenly Immortal incarnation.

Qi Xuansu entered a meditation room, activated a formation to prevent disturbances, and began attempting to contact True Lord Ziguang to seek enlightenment.

Unlike the followers of the Ziguang Society, who required special rituals or ceremonial altars for prayer, Qi Xuansu could communicate directly, similar to spirit possession, not fundamentally different from the practices of rural shamans. The difference was that shamans could only summon wandering ghosts or demons, whereas Qi Xuansu summoned Ancient Immortals.

Naturally, the cost was different as well. Village shamans only needed to offer incense, something ordinary households could afford, and these ghosts or demons would slowly refine the incense power themselves afterward. Qi Xuansu, however, needed to provide a large amount of refined divine power in order to communicate with True Lord Ziguang. Setting aside the sheer quantity, the process of refining incense power into divine power was already handled by the Daoist Order, sparing True Lord Ziguang the effort of refining it personally.

Such treatment was at least worthy of a first-rank Tianzhen Daoist priest.

Qi Xuansu sat cross-legged upon the meditation platform and manifested his Celestial Phenomenon Spiritual Statue, centering it around True Lord Ziguang.

In the village shamans’ version of spirit possession, the shamans themselves would lose consciousness, allowing the summoned being to control their bodies and answer others’ questions. Qi Xuansu’s version was different. Under normal circumstances, Qi Xuansu retained control, while True Lord Ziguang’s consciousness connected with his own, allowing the two to communicate directly through their minds.

Qi Xuansu began seeking enlightenment from True Lord Ziguang.

In an instant, all sounds fell silent.

Purple light surged through the meditation room, and one by one, stars appeared out of thin air. Wherever they passed, the surrounding light dimmed, even sound itself vanished, until the room gradually transformed into a starry sky.

A moment later, Qi Xuansu found himself standing within a vast expanse of stars.

Then the stars began to shift, gradually forming a vague humanoid outline that was immense and majestic, as though it were the sovereign of this starry realm.

This scene was strikingly similar to how the Vairocana manifested a form through the stars.

Compared to Heavenly Immortals and Earthly Immortals, who favored restraint and simplicity, Godly Immortals matched the common imagination of Immortals far more closely in appearance. As for Manly Immortals and Ghostly Immortals resembled ancient beasts and specters, respectively.

“Greetings, True Lord,” Qi Xuansu said proactively, showing due reverence since he was asking for assistance.

The humanoid figure formed from stars spoke with an ethereal voice, as though every word echoed. “State your request.”

At the same time, Qi Xuansu felt a portion of his divine power being deducted.

That was the unreasonable part of it. Payment was collected upfront regardless of whether the matter could be resolved. Even if it ultimately failed, there would absolutely be no refund. There was no helping it. In this area, True Lord Ziguang was essentially a monopoly, handling requests only if she pleased. The only one who could possibly compete with True Lord Ziguang in this front was the Heavenly Preceptor. But what the Heavenly Preceptor demanded was certainly not divine power. It was likely something far more valuable.

Qi Xuansu cut to the chase. “I want to know the true relationship between the fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor and the current Earthly Preceptor.”

The voice fell silent, and the humanoid figure made of stars flickered repeatedly, as though deep in contemplation.

This implied that True Lord Ziguang likely knew some hidden truths, but due to certain concerns, she was weighing whether or not to reveal them to Qi Xuansu.

If the fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor truly was a First-Tribulation Immortal who had deceived the heavens and survived until the present day, then even True Lord Ziguang would need to be wary of offending such a being.

In the end, True Lord Ziguang refused to answer. “I would prefer that you ask a different question.”

Qi Xuansu thought for a moment before saying, “The Westerners say that every gift bestowed by fate already has its price secretly marked.”

As he spoke, he pointed to his chest. “I want to know the true price of this gift, and what consequences await me if I cannot bear it.”

True Lord Ziguang fell silent once more for a moment before finally saying, “Within the Western system, there is a type of being known as the Fallen Apostles. They frequently form contracts with mortals, granting their wishes or bestowing great power upon them. However, they also manipulate the wording within those contracts, and in the end, they claim the mortal’s soul.”

This was an indirect answer.

Qi Xuansu’s heart stirred, and he pressed further for confirmation. “If I cannot bear the price of this gift, then the cost will be losing myself and becoming a puppet? Everything I have worked for up until now would merely be given to someone else?”

That finally made sense. Why Qi Xuansu’s path had been so smooth all along. It was like fattening a pig before slaughter. No one would set up obstacles while feeding the pig. Everyone simply wanted it to grow fatter as quickly as possible. From this perspective, Qi Xuansu was not much different from those wealthy merchants. All great businessmen stood out from the crowd and enjoyed smooth sailing. But not all of them had good endings.

True Lord Ziguang said, “Perhaps. The secrets of the heavens have been obscured. I cannot guarantee that what I see is the full truth, so I cannot give you a precise answer. As compensation, you may ask one additional question.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “I have a question off the main topic. You may decline to answer if you wish. True Lord, do you truly not know the answer, or do you have certain reservations?”

True Lord Ziguang replied, “Among the past, present, and future, only the past is fixed and unchanging. The present and future are filled with uncertainty. Whether through divination or deduction, one can only glimpse fragments and scales of the whole. Those fragments may be true, yet from a broader perspective, they may become deeply misleading.

“For example, suppose I saw your Daoist companion betray you in the future. Is that the truth? If one broadens the perspective, one might discover that the Daoist companion who betrayed you was actually an impostor, while your true Daoist companion was trapped in a crisis and unable to escape. If you believed the first scene to be the truth, and that belief created suspicion and estrangement between the two of you, eventually causing her to truly betray you, then you would have been misled by a partial truth. It’s common that efforts made to prevent a prophecy from occurring ultimately cause the prophecy to come true.

“I have indeed seen certain fragments, but I cannot determine what those fragments truly signify, nor whether they would mislead you. So I cannot give you a definite answer.”

Qi Xuansu understood.

After all, True Lord Ziguang was not the Supreme Will and could not claim omniscience or omnipotence. She had only seen certain fragments, but those fragments did not resolve confusion. Instead, they invited endless speculation and deepened uncertainty.

Since that was the case, Qi Xuansu could only settle for the next best option. “Since the past is fixed while the future remains uncertain, then please tell me about the fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor’s past.”

True Lord Ziguang said, “The fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor, Yao Yueyan, was highly proficient in the ancient divination arts passed down within the Ancient Wuist Sect. The path of divination ultimately consists of only two methods: observation and concealment. What I excel at is observing the past and future, while she excelled at obscuring the secrets of the heavens. Thus, many truths were concealed or altered by her, leaving me unable to perceive them.”

Qi Xuansu was disappointed for quite a while, though he still managed to obtain one useful piece of information. “Yao Yueyan...why does that sound like a woman’s name?”

True Lord Ziguang replied, “It is. People within the Daoist Order often take names from constellations. Yao Yueyan’s name was derived from Wei Yueyan.”

Qi Xuansu was not surprised by the use of constellation-based names. The Imperial Preceptor Li Changgeng and Zhang Yuelu were both named from constellations.

What truly shocked Qi Xuansu was that the fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor was actually a woman. It even seemed that the Earthly Preceptors of the Quanzhen Sect had always been women.

There was nothing inherently strange about a woman in power, but the issue was that it was extremely difficult for women to rise to power within the upper ranks of the Daoist Order. Most of the time, it was a man’s world.

True Lord Ziguang sensed Qi Xuansu’s astonishment. “Is it so strange? The Ten Witches of Lingshan and Wu Yang were all female, without a single man among them. The Yao family of the Quanzhen Sect inherited Wu Xian’s lineage, so they follow the same tradition with women being the head of the family.”

Qi Xuansu said in surprise, “If that’s the case, then the current Earthly Preceptor is also a woman?”

True Lord Ziguang nodded. “Correct. The current Earthly Preceptor, Yao Ling, is also a woman—the only woman among the Three Deputy Grand Masters.”

Qi Xuansu remained speechless for quite some time.

He had always assumed the Earthly Preceptor was a man, someone similar to Elder Xu in stature and presence. But the Earthly Preceptor turned out to be a woman. That meant she was Madam Qi’s older sister.

But upon careful thought, the signs had actually been there all along. Qi Xuansu had worked with Yao Shu for over two years and had never sensed any Great Witch bloodline within him. Instead, it was Yao Pei, who belonged to a younger generation than Yao Shu, who possessed the Great Witch bloodline. Clearly, the bloodline had always been passed down through the women of the Yao family, perfectly matching what True Lord Ziguang had said about women leading the lineage.

As for Madam Qi, she had been adopted, so she was not biologically related to the Yao family.

Qi Xuansu also finally learned the name of the last of the Three Deputy Grand Masters—the Heavenly Preceptor Zhang Wushou, the Imperial Preceptor Li Changgeng, and the Earthly Preceptor Yao Ling. Together with Su Yuanyi, Li Wugou, and Pei Xuanzhi, these six individuals stood as the six highest authorities within the Daoist Order.

Finally, True Lord Ziguang condensed a scroll from starlight and tossed it to Qi Xuansu before slowly fading away.