A Pawn's Passage

Since the task of rebuilding the Northern Continent’s intelligence network was destined to fail because of internal resistance, Qi Xuansu simply stopped going through the motions altogether and devoted all of his energy to abolishing blood sacrifice and exterminating the humanoid insects.

This inevitably brought up another problem in the Southern Continent—the regional separatist forces.

The Central Plains enjoyed centralized rule, but beyond its borders, every overseas continent suffered from this problem to varying degrees. The most serious case was Fenglin, which had openly rebelled.

The Southern Continent faced the same issue. The Holy Court had first swept across the continent, defeating the various local powers and scattering them. The Western Daoist Order had later stepped in to forcibly consolidate the surviving factions into the Tawantin Empire. But continuous warfare afterward left no time to bring the outlying regions under proper control. Major cities such as New Paititi, Cusco, and New Xijing were relatively stable, but in the more remote corners of the Southern Continent, many local powers only acknowledged New Paititi in name.

These regions became fertile breeding grounds for the humanoid insects. Although their main hive was located in the Spirit Realm and their primary stronghold lay out at sea, they had also established numerous scattered outposts throughout these areas.

Due to the Holy Court’s Divine War, the gods of the Southern Continent had been replaced several times over. First, the native gods of the Southern Continent were wiped out. The Holy Court had only just begun spreading the glory of the Supreme Will, and before the indigenous people could even figure out the difference between the Supreme Will and the Goddess or what the Steam Evangelical Sect was all about, the Holy Court itself had already descended into fierce infighting over the division of spoils before hastily withdrawing.

Before the native inhabitants of the Southern Continent had even recovered from that upheaval, the Western Daoist Order arrived with the ancient gods of the Northern Continent in tow, making the situation even more complicated.

The gods of the Northern Continent were still relatively easy to understand. After all, they were largely similar, with the Sun God, Moon God, Maize God, Wind God, Rain God, and so on, all of which had tangible counterparts in the real world.

But what sort of deity was the Primordial Daoist Ancestor? What was the relationship between the Primordial Daoist Ancestor and the Supreme Will? At least the idea of the Supreme Will was somewhat comprehensible. But the Primordial Daoist Ancestor was utterly baffling. After all, even native-born people of the Central Plains struggled to understand the Daoist classics.

As if that were not enough, the ancient gods of the Northern Continent continued fighting among themselves. The position of chief god changed hands three times—from Itzamna to Kukulkan, and then to Ixchel. One day, people were worshipping the sun, the next, they were worshipping the moon and were expected to tear down the Sun God Temple. Who could possibly keep track of all that?

The result was utter confusion in matters of faith, creating an opening for the humanoid insects. In these already marginalized border regions, they established religions of their own and harvested divine power from their followers.

To distinguish a righteous deity from an evil one, people had to look at what doctrine the deity preached and what the deity actually did.

It was much like doing business. Some people built everything around deception. All they cared about was money. They did not care about what happened afterward and exploited everything without regard for the future. Evil gods were like that. Once they obtained divine power, they no longer cared about the lives of their followers.

By contrast, a righteous god must see things through from beginning to end. If they accepted an offering, they would fulfill their followers’ wishes. They would guide their followers toward virtue and protect their followers from danger.

That was why Itzamna, the Maize God, and the others still chose to wage war against the Holy Court’s Apostles despite being at an overwhelming disadvantage, ultimately meeting their downfall. Even though Itzamna died as a result of a power struggle, neither the Daoist Order nor Ixchel regarded him as an evil god. At most, he was a righteous god whose political stance differed from theirs.

The same applied to Fenglin’s Three Great Kami. Even after the Daoist Order forced the Tenmon Sect into submission, it did not declare the Three Great Kami to be evil gods but merely imposed various restrictions on them.

The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were no different.

Therefore, any deity that only cared about harvesting divine power was an evil god, and any religion founded upon such principles was an evil cult.

The humanoid insects would stop at nothing to acquire divine power, so they had to be eradicated. Thus, Juesheng Hall and the Western Tiangang Hall would have to work together to root out the humanoid insects and regional separatist forces.

Lin Bufan, who had originally been in charge of the Western Tiangang Hall, was already under investigation. Since there was temporarily no suitable replacement because both the Hall Master and the Chief Deputy of the Western Tiangang Hall had other responsibilities, Tantai Ying was simply appointed to oversee this operation.

In this respect, the Western Daoist Order was less rigid than the Daoist Order and operated with greater flexibility. After all, Huangfu Ji, as the Juesheng Hall Master, was simultaneously doing the work of a regional Daoist Mansion Master, the Tianji Hall Master, and even handling part of Duzhi Hall’s responsibilities by overseeing financial matters. By comparison, Tantai Ying concurrently managing Tiangang Hall was hardly an issue.

Utu was brought in to assist Qi Xuansu in dealing with the humanoid insects. By Ixchel’s orders, Utu would help Qi Xuansu throughout this period. Meanwhile, Unulatu was placed in charge of abolishing blood sacrifice.

As far as Qi Xuansu was concerned, this arrangement was acceptable. With Madam Wu no longer by his side, Utu effectively filled the gap left by her absence.

Qi Xuansu’s greatest gain from this journey to the Southern Continent was not his accumulated merits. As far as he was concerned, so long as he committed no major mistakes, his promotion to Omniscient Sage was guaranteed. Any additional achievements were merely icing on the cake. His true reward was Madam Wu. Once Madam Wu became a true Immortal, she would be eligible for a special promotion and would be granted a first-rank Tianzhen Daoist title.

Even if certain people attempted to deny Madam Wu’s status as a Daoist, they would most likely fail. After all, the Grand Master lineage, the Zhengyi Sect, and the Quanzhen Sect would all undoubtedly support her appointment.

Over the years, Madam Wu had rendered outstanding service to the Daoist Order. If they refused to acknowledge her now, she would be disheartened. Moreover, she was recorded in the Daoist Order’s official histories since the Holy Xuan Era. She was a true elder in every sense.

As such, Madam Wu’s rise meant that Qi Xuansu would gain another powerful ally and another influential voice.

Even in the most unlikely scenario where the Daoist Order refused to recognize her, she would still be accepted by the Western Daoist Order. Back then, Madam Wu and Tantai Yun had shared an exceptionally close friendship, close enough to be described as confidantes. Furthermore, the Western Daoist Order faced tremendous external pressure and had an even greater need for the combat strength of an Immortal. They would certainly recognize her.

In short, Madam Wu would most likely be promoted to a first-rank Tianzhen Daoist and a Virtuous Great Sage. Since Madam Wu was not human, the human convention of 100 years in the mortal world did not apply to her. Her true hundred-year term would begin only from the moment she became an Immortal, giving her an exceptionally long tenure in the Daoist Order.

It was easy to foresee that, after becoming a Virtuous Great Sage, Madam Wu would most likely serve either as the Daoist Mansion Master or as the plenipotentiary envoy stationed in the Southern Continent. Her deep ties with the Western Daoist Order made her particularly suited for the latter role. After all, she had supervised Qi Xuansu during his time in the New Continent.

She might even succeed Great Sage Jiang as Zixiao Palace Master, taking charge of the Grand Master’s immortal objects. After all, she was already intimately familiar with those objects and had lived in the Zixiao Palace for so many years that it was practically her own home.

This meant that Madam Wu would secure a seat within the Golden Tower Council. So if she were forced to choose a side, whom would she support?

Without question, she would choose Qi Xuansu.

After all, Madam Wu and Qi Xuansu had fought through life and death together and gone through countless trials from St. York to Paititi. They had even shared the same body. Their closeness spoke for itself.

After gaining an Immortal-level supporter, Qi Xuansu could finally get even with Li Changge and even potentially surpass him.

Though Li Changge had the Qinghuo Pearl, Qi Xuansu had Madam Wu.

If not for certain members of the Quanzhen Sect holding Qi Xuansu back, then he could have declared victory in advance. There would have been no need for an election at all, and he could simply have been designated as the eighth-generation Grand Master.

By the time Qi Xuansu was 60 years old, Zhang Yuelu and Yao Pei would likely have caught up to him. Madam Qi would still be alive and would probably have become an Immortal as well. With the Daoist Order’s resources, Lin Yuanmiao would have an excellent chance of recovering his Immortal cultivation. Added to that, Madam Wu would most likely become a First-Tribulation Immortal. This private circle of supporters alone would already be frighteningly powerful.

That did not even include those who were not quite as close to him but nevertheless stood on Qi Xuansu’s side, such as Sage Cihang, Zhang Jucheng, and others.

If that was the case, on what grounds could Li Changge possibly contend with Qi Xuansu?

The problem now was that the Quanzhen Sect could never fully support Qi Xuansu. Instead, the Quanzhen Sect had become internally divided. The Earthly Preceptor maintained an ambiguous stance, while Zhou Mengyao watched Qi Xuansu’s movements like a tiger stalking its prey. She could potentially even defect to the Taiping Sect.

Qi Xuansu had secured the support of the Zhengyi Sect, the Grand Master lineage, and only part of the Quanzhen Sect. Meanwhile, Li Changge enjoyed the backing of the Taiping Sect and the entire Great Xuan Court. Although the imperial family had no right to vote in the election, it could still influence events outside the formal process.

People often said that certain female Daoists placed too much faith in the power of rules, whereas male Daoists did not and would simply overturn the table when necessary.

The law might be sacred, but it was not everything. It did not stop the Taiping Sect’s Yellow Turban Uprising, nor did it stop Emperor Taizong from killing his brother and imprisoning his father. Both of these incidents involved the Li family.

So, if the Taiping Sect could not win through the internal election, would the Li family have the courage to join forces with the Qin family and overturn the table altogether?

At present, they were certainly capable of such resolve.

Since ancient times, such upheavals were not rare. On a smaller scale, they took the form of palace coups confined to the upper echelons of power. On a larger scale, they erupted into nationwide turmoil, with each side gathering its own forces before clashing in open conflict.

It was a possibility that could not be ignored.