A Pawn's Passage

There were advantages to having so few participants. Each person simply stated their position in turn, one after another, and the matter was settled without much effort.

The War God Uracan hesitated. In the past, he had benefited from blood sacrifices, with prisoners of war serving as the primary offerings. Back then, the city-states fought one another incessantly, so captives were never in short supply. Later, the Holy Court swept across the city-states, and the Western Daoist Order unified the fragmented Southern Continent into a single whole. With the internal wars between city-states gone, there were naturally no more prisoners of war. Western prisoners were generally exchanged with the Holy Court rather than sacrificed.

The War God’s followers were primarily warriors, and under the immense external pressure, sacrificing soldiers was strictly forbidden. As a result, the offerings made to the War God dwindled year by year, gradually curing him of his dependence on blood sacrifice. In time, he had also become one of those who opposed the practice.

After Southern Goddess Hinokila voiced her support, Uracan, as her ally, no longer hesitated. “I agree.”

With that, three ancient gods had already agreed to abolish blood sacrifice. By the principle of majority rule, there seemed little need for further discussion.

Even so, the Death God Ah Puch made one final attempt to argue. “The reason the gods resort to blood sacrifice is the lack of divine power. If blood sacrifice is abolished, how are we supposed to solve the problem of insufficient divine power?”

Ixchel replied, “Blood sacrifice is akin to drinking poison to quench one’s thirst. I’ve said more than once before that using the wrong method to solve an immediate problem while ignoring its disastrous consequences is an extremely foolish course of action. Every blood sacrifice gives rise to karmic fire, and Kukulkan’s fate stands as a fresh warning of what those flames can bring. Therefore, my position is clear. Those who understand will carry out my orders, and those who do not will deepen their understanding by carrying out my orders.”

Ah Puch hesitated as well. It was not only because of Ixchel’s unwavering resolve but because he had personally witnessed Kukulkan being burned alive by karmic fire. The sight had been utterly terrifying. Yet blood sacrifice was addictive to the gods. It was a craving that was exceedingly difficult to overcome. Even knowing the dangers of karmic fire, they could not help but think about it.

The Rain God Chaac was not nearly as addicted as Ah Puch. His participation in blood sacrifice had stemmed from two reasons: tradition and the need for divine power. As long as the latter problem could be resolved, he was willing to support its abolition.

At that moment, Tantai Zhenxiao spoke. “As for the issue of insufficient divine power, the Western Daoist Order can shoulder the greater part of the burden. The remaining portion can be handled by the gods themselves.”

In truth, the Western Daoist Order was hardly making a sacrifice. Ixchel had just transferred the Sun God’s temples to their control, and these constituted the largest share of all the temples. Whether the Western Daoist Order retained them under the Sun God’s name or converted them into Daoist temples, they would still receive the additional divine power generated by them. By redistributing this portion of divine power, the Western Daoist Order might be giving the power to the ancient gods, but it retained the authority over its allocation. Those who obeyed would receive it, while those who did not would receive nothing. That made all the difference.

The portion that the ancient gods would have to provide themselves was not difficult to obtain. The overall number of believers had not changed, while the number of gods above them had decreased. The remaining ancient gods could simply expand their own following and thereby increase their supply of divine power.

With these arrangements, the shortfall in divine power could not be said to have been eliminated entirely, but it was no longer significant enough to pose a serious problem.

At its core, the problem of insufficient divine power was no different from a society suffering from overpopulation and too little farmland. There simply was not enough land per person, and thus not enough food to go around. By removing the largest landowner Kukulkan and by eliminating Itzamna, who wanted to reclaim his estate, they could redistribute these lands, and those who remained would have enough to live on. Meanwhile, the Western Daoist Order acquired ownership of the land itself, reducing the ancient gods to the status of tenants.

Everyone obtained what they wanted, and all parties walked toward a brighter future.

Upon hearing this solution to the divine power problem, Rain God Chaac no longer insisted on preserving blood sacrifice. “I agree.”

Now, only Death God Ah Puch remained.

To be fair, human sacrifice had once been a fairly widespread practice. Both East and West had experienced such periods in their histories, though in most places, it had been abolished long ago.

The practice of burying living people alongside the dead was abolished gradually. First, living victims were replaced with straw, wooden, or clay figurines before finally abolishing the custom of human sacrifice and live burial altogether. It was a clear progression from barbarism to civilization.

The Southern Continent was another matter entirely. The duration, scale, and depth of its human sacrifice traditions far surpassed anything seen in the Central Plains. They had developed into an elaborate, systematic institution, with countless forms and rituals, eventually even extending into cannibalism. The logic behind it was simple. In the Central Plains, offerings made to one’s ancestors were not discarded after the ritual, they were eaten. By the same reasoning, the people of the South Continent consumed the “offerings” presented to their gods. The problem lay in the offering itself. Human beings should never have been the sacrifice.

Many had recognized this problem and wished to solve it, but they had lacked the proper opportunity. At last, that opportunity had arrived.

Whenever a dynasty changed and power was reshuffled, when the old vested interests were broken apart, thrown into disarray, or even wiped out altogether, that became the perfect opportunity to eliminate long-standing abuses. Once that window was missed, meaningful reform became extraordinarily difficult.

Ixchel understood this with perfect clarity. That was why, immediately after removing Kukulkan from power, she moved decisively to abolish the practice of blood sacrifice once and for all.

The Death God Ah Puch understood the situation perfectly well. He no longer had the power to oppose it. Four of the five gods had already agreed, leaving him as the lone dissenter. Moreover, Tantai Zhenxiao stood nearby, watching like a tiger stalking its prey. Should conflict break out and Ixchel decide to execute him, she was entirely capable of doing so.

Ixchel might take into account the balance of power within the Divine Court, as well as the balance between the Divine Court and the Western Daoist Order, but Ah Puch believed she possessed more than enough resolve to kill one more god if necessary. Doing so would not only remove an obstacle from her path but also establish her authority. With the divine power issue essentially resolved, there was little to hold her back.

At the end of the day, Ixchel truly had not deceived Qi Xuansu. She genuinely wished to follow the path of the other moon deity, True Lord Taiyin, seeking transcendence as soon as possible. Whether the Divine Court itself became powerful did not matter to her. Unlike Kukulkan, she had no concern for preserving the Divine Court’s independence. Even weakening it posed no real dilemma for her.

Ah Puch saw all of this clearly, and he could not afford to ignore it.

To stubbornly resist at this point would have been exceptionally foolish.

In the end, Ah Puch chose to yield. “I agree.”

Ixchel nodded slightly. “Very well. The decision is unanimous. From this moment onward, all blood sacrifices are abolished.”

She then turned to Tantai Zhenxiao and Qi Xuansu. “The abolition of blood sacrifice will also require the cooperation of the Western Daoist Order.”

“Naturally.” Tantai Zhenxiao agreed without hesitation.

This was how the first meeting of the Divine Court was concluded. The gods departed one after another, each returning to their own divine kingdom. Tantai Zhenxiao returned to Danxiu Mountain, while Ixchel, walking at the rear, called out, “Sage Qi, a moment, if you would.”

Qi Xuansu stopped. “Moon Queen, what matters do you need to discuss with me?”

Ixchel stepped down from the golden platform and came to Qi Xuansu’s side. “I would like to discuss the matter of the humanoid insects with you.”

Qi Xuansu had two goals: abolish blood sacrifice and eradicate the humanoid insects.

现在伊希切尔已经开始推动废止血祭的问题，剩下的就是消灭虫人。

Now that Ixchel had begun implementing the abolition of blood sacrifice, only the extermination of the humanoid insects remained.

Even if Ixchel had not brought it up herself, Qi Xuansu would have sought an appropriate opportunity to discuss the matter with her. Since she had taken the initiative, there was no reason for him to refuse.

Although Ixchel had already become the Chief God, she still treated Qi Xuansu with great respect and displayed none of the arrogance of her newfound position.

Strictly speaking, what Ixchel respected was neither Qi Xuansu himself nor his current status. What she respected was a possible future.

If Sage Donghua became the Grand Master, then as his disciple, Qi Xuansu would become the Junior Grand Master. Even if Sage Donghua failed to attain that position, Qi Xuansu himself still had the potential to one day become the Grand Master in his own right.

Whichever possibility came to pass, it meant that Qi Xuansu would one day be capable of influencing the Daoist Order’s decisions. One should never look down on a poor youth, as the tables could turn.

Although Qi Xuansu could no longer be considered a youth, he was still relatively young with boundless prospects.

Since Ixchel had decided to follow the path once taken by True Lord Taiyin, she had to cultivate a good relationship with the Daoist Order because they were most likely to help her achieve transcendence.

Qi Xuansu understood this principle just as well. That was why he remained wary of Ixchel without fearing her. After all, she needed something from him.

Ixchel took out the humanoid insect pendant from before. However, it had completely lost its luster and become nothing more than an inanimate object.

Qi Xuansu asked, “What does this mean?”

Ixchel explained, “As I mentioned before, the contract with the humanoid insects was signed by Itzamna in his capacity as the Sun God. After Itzamna’s first death, Kukulkan inherited the Sun God’s divine authority, allowing the contract to remain in effect. Now that both Itzamna and Kukulkan are dead, and I did not inherit the divine authority of the sun, that contract can no longer be maintained.”

Qi Xuansu said, “So, you can no longer command the humanoid insects.”

Ixchel smiled. “Everything has two sides. Since the contract has come to an end, I no longer have any reason to protect the humanoid insects.”

The humanoid insects were nothing more than worn-out rags to Ixchel. They were useful while needed and disposable once they had outlived their usefulness.

Hearing this, Qi Xuansu made his request. “I hope you will assist me in dealing with the humanoid insects. After all, you’ve worked with them for many years. Even if you can no longer command them, you should still be thoroughly familiar with their habits and nature.”

Ixchel agreed without hesitation. “I will arrange for Utu to assist you, Sage Qi.”