A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu asked, “What is the purpose of the Insect Immortals’ existence?”

Madam Wu replied, “This is exactly what I was talking about earlier. The Daoist Order suspects that behind the Insect Immortals lies a brood nest or an Insect Hive, because these Insect Immortals also have a concept of ‘ascension.’ After reaching the Nascent Soul Stage, they are said to ascend.

“According to their claims, they ascend to a place called the Spirit Realm. However, once they arrive there, they must start over from the beginning, even if they become servants or slaves.”

Tantai Ying said, “Starting over after ascension? Becoming a servant or slave? Then what’s the point of ascending? This isn’t merely heretical nonsense anymore. It’s contrary to human nature itself. Given how these people value wealth and personal gain above all else, would they really accept such a fate? Being willing to start over from scratch sounds more like something a saint would do.”

“They’re insects,” Madam Wu said. “What human nature could they possibly have? Most of the time, they’re driven purely by instinct. Of course, the Insect Immortals’ ascension isn’t real ascension. The Daoist Order suspects that ascending to the Spirit Realm actually means returning to the brood nest. Within that nest is probably a creature similar to a queen ant. The so-called servitude is simply being controlled by the insect queen.”

Tantai Ying asked, “Where is the Spirit Realm located?”

“I don’t know,” Madam Wu replied. “Using Western terminology, it would probably be a subspace similar to Hell. On our side, we’d call it a Small World or pocket realm. Hell itself is somewhat unique. It’s a Small World attached to the Netherworld rather than the mortal world, making its entrances extremely difficult to locate. Likewise, people inside such worlds find it very difficult to return to the mortal realm. The advantage is that these Small Worlds don’t descend to earth like the Kunlun Paradise did, so they’re less affected by the end of the era.”

This was actually easy to understand. In ancient times, before the Kunlun Paradise had descended, people regarded it as the Immortal Realm itself, so traveling to the Kunlun Paradise was considered ascension to immortality, while returning from it was regarded as an Immortal descending into the mortal world.

That was why, in ancient legends, Immortals could freely travel between the immortal and mortal realms, to the point where gods and humans seemed to coexist.

The fundamental reason was that the Kunlun Paradise had never truly been the Immortal Realm, and its inhabitants had never genuinely ascended.

Likewise, before the Lingshan Paradise was shattered, the Ancient Wuist’s so-called ascensions were actually journeys to Lingshan.

Later, when Qi Xuansu wanted to investigate the Lingshan Paradise himself but could not locate an entrance, he imitated the Ancient Wuist’s method of pseudo-ascension and secretly entered it that way.

From this, one could reach a conclusion: the insects’ ascension to the Spirit Realm was actually a form of pseudo-ascension. The so-called Spirit Realm was most likely something similar to the Kunlun Paradise or the Lingshan Paradise.

The Daoist Order referred to it as the Insect Hive. However, the Daoist Order never discovered the Insect Hive’s precise location.

Furthermore, by that time, the insect threat had already been eradicated. The Daoist Order’s primary focus had shifted toward revitalizing the economy, promoting development, and expanding overall prosperity. As a result, no further in-depth investigation was conducted.

Madam Wu sighed. “You two were born in fortunate times. No wonder people call your generation flowerbed Daoists, living in protected gardens untouched by storms. Back in my day, the world was filled with thorns and obstacles at every step. The Insect Immortal calamity was one of the major disasters encountered during the Daoist Order’s expansion into Nanyang and the Southern Continent.

“One of you governed in Nanyang for several years, while the other served as a Chief Deputy in the Southern Continent, yet neither of you encountered such problems, nor even knew the insider details. That’s only because your predecessors already solved these problems for you, so you two should learn to be grateful.”

Tantai Ying pursed her lips and muttered sarcastically, “How can we ever repay this debt of gratitude?”

Qi Xuansu immediately took on a stern tone as he admonished her. “Don’t say things like that. It’ll only undermine our unity.”

Tantai Ying shrank her neck slightly and, for once, did not argue with Qi Xuansu. This showed that she understood what should and should not be said. But that was human nature. One would only feel more compelled to say something when it was forbidden.

Madam Wu glanced at the two of them and sighed. “The benevolence of a noble man endures for only five generations before it fades away.”

Qi Xuansu steered the conversation back to the main topic. “Whether it’s the Insect Hive or the Insect Immortals, those are matters for later. The immediate question is, what do we do with this slug?”

“What else can we do?” Madam Wu replied. “No matter how large this kind of insect grows, it has no true intelligence, only instincts. You’re not planning to interrogate it, are you? So obviously, the best course of action is to burn it all!”

Qi Xuansu could only step aside.

Madam Wu repeated the same method as before, burning the slug blocking the passage until it crystallized completely.

The slug truly possessed no intelligence to speak of. Even as it was burned to death, it made no attempt to resist.

After passing through the narrow crystalline tunnel, they arrived at another underground palace. The layout here was different. If the central palace had been the main hall used for prayer, preaching, and religious ceremonies, then this underground palace on the left had served another function entirely.

Judging from the abandoned bookshelves, it appeared to have been a library that once housed various religious scriptures and doctrinal texts. Now, however, the shelves stood completely empty.

Qi Xuansu could not help but wonder what Samuel’s sacred texts might have contained. Instructions on how to kill people? How to conduct funerals?

Of course, they were more likely manuals on how to worship deities, please deities, and praise deities.

There was also a later-constructed altar here. Its surface was piled high with the corpses of Divine Eagle Guards, roughly 30 of them.

However, these corpses differed from those on the central altar. They were not dried husks of skin and bone. Instead, only their skeletons remained.

Strangely, their clothing was still completely intact. The sight was deeply unsettling. Bare white bones that seemed to have undergone centuries of decay were wrapped in garments that still appeared relatively new.

The contrast was indescribably eerie.

If their deductions were correct, the passage on the right would also lead to an altar. The remaining Divine Eagle Guards would likely be there, having met yet another distinct method of death.

There were three altars in total, like three plates. The Divine Eagle Guards, divided into three groups, were like three separate dishes. The three methods of death were like three different styles of preparation.

The so-called sacrifice was nothing less than a lavish feast prepared for the gods.

From this perspective, what was truly sacred about the gods? How were they fundamentally different from humans?

Humans consumed grains, vegetables, and meat, while gods consumed incense, faith, living souls, and flesh. There was little difference between the two.

No wonder the Daoist Order insisted on deconstructing the concept of gods and treating all deities simply as people. Faced with gods like these, how could one possibly do otherwise?

Qi Xuansu sighed. “More than 70 people have already been confirmed dead. I don’t have much hope for the remaining 30, but we still need to go and take a look.”

Neither Madam Wu nor Tantai Ying objected. They returned to the fork in the road and proceeded down the passage on the right.

However, contrary to Qi Xuansu’s expectations, after traveling 10 kilometers down the right-side passage, they found no giant slug blocking the way. The road ahead was completely clear.

Tantai Ying’s face suddenly turned pale. Clutching her head, she said, “I... I think I’ve been here before.”

Qi Xuansu’s expression turned grim. “It seems we were right. You really did forget something.”

Tantai Ying spoke with difficulty. “That’s right... Chief Deputy Qi, you were correct. I remember... I remember...”

Ordinarily, it should not have been so easy for Tantai Ying to recover her lost memories. The crucial factor was that Qi Xuansu and Madam Wu had exposed the truth and used reality to shatter the illusion. They had broken the suggestions left behind by Chak Chel, allowing Tantai Ying to become aware of the gaps in her memory.

Once Tantai Ying no longer considered the situation reasonable and began to harbor doubts, encountering familiar scenes again naturally stirred old memories and loosened the seal placed upon them.

Once Tantai Ying began to doubt, it was only a matter of time before the buried memories resurfaced.

Qi Xuansu asked, “What did you remember?”

Madam Wu directly placed a hand on the back of Tantai Ying’s head. “The seal has loosened? The ancient gods cannot descend in their true forms. Even their divine incarnations can at most reach a level comparable to mine. Since a flaw has already appeared, I can help you out a little.”

With Madam Wu’s assistance, the deep furrow in Tantai Ying’s brow gradually relaxed, and the color slowly returned to her face.

Tantai Ying said, “This is where I encountered Chak Chel.”

Qi Xuansu was not surprised. If anything, he felt that this merely confirmed his suspicions.

Tantai Ying continued, “At the time, a chaotic battle was taking place here. Many of the Divine Eagle Guards were still alive, including the Commander Adjutant who later left behind the blood-written message. They were all here, fighting against another group of people.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “What people?”

“I don’t know,” Tantai Ying replied, shaking her head. “When I saw what was happening, I wanted to intervene. But Chak Chel suddenly appeared through that obsidian knife. She stopped me and said that today’s sacrifice has already failed and that it will inevitably bring down the wrath of the Heavenly God. She told me to leave immediately and to forget everything I had seen here. After that, I forgot everything. I returned to the surface and told everyone that all the Divine Eagle Guards had disappeared.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “Are you certain it was Chak Chel?”

“A tiger-clawed old crone in appearance, wielding the power of the stars and the moon. It was exactly as Chak Chel is described in the legends,” Tantai Ying answered with complete certainty.

Qi Xuansu asked another question. “Who was the ‘Heavenly God’ Chak Chel referred to? Was it Kukulkan? Or Itzamna?”

“I don’t know.” Tantai Ying shook her head. “Chak Chel never gave me the opportunity to ask any questions. After saying those few words, she simply ordered me to leave.”

Qi Xuansu and Madam Wu exchanged a glance and fell silent.

“Let’s go inside and see for ourselves,” Qi Xuansu said, taking the initiative to break the silence.

With no giant slug blocking the passage, the corridor was no longer cramped, nor were there any crystal formations left behind by Madam Wu’s flames. It was not that different from the previous 10 kilometers of passage.

Along the way, numerous traces of combat could be seen.

It appeared that one group had been fighting while retreating, while another group had relentlessly pressed forward. In the end, both sides had converged at the great hall at the end of the passage.

The palace on the right seemed to have served as living quarters for the believers. It had originally been divided into numerous rooms, though all the partitions had since been broken through.

Like the other chambers, an altar had also been constructed here. However, there were no corpses piled upon the altar. Instead, corpses lay scattered all around it.

The bodies found at the first two altars bore no external wounds; their flesh and blood had simply been drained away.

The corpses here, on the other hand, still retained their flesh, yet they were covered in wounds inflicted by blades and swords.

No wonder Chak Chel had said that the sacrifice had failed.

Among the dead were not only members of the Divine Eagle Guard but also some individuals of unknown origin.

Qi Xuansu crouched down to examine the bodies. The corpses of the unidentified individuals bore no obvious markings. The Divine Eagle Guards, however, all carried the mark of the black sun.

Qi Xuansu asked, “Who are these people?”

Madam Wu replied, “One glance will tell us.”

With that, Madam Wu traced a finger through the air. One of the corpses that did not belong to the Divine Eagle Guard was instantly split cleanly in half.

There was no blood, only white silken threads.

There was a dish in the Central Plains known as candied sweet potato. When a piece was lifted with chopsticks, long strands of sugar would stretch out from it.

These silken threads resembled those strands of sugar. They bound the corpse together so thoroughly that even after the body had been cut into two halves, countless white filaments still connected the separated sections.

The threads were dense and extremely fine, and they glistened with a residue of some unknown viscous fluid.