A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu’s curiosity was piqued. “What’s the Yin Moon?”

Old Pang replied, “Legend has it that there is an eye of the sea on the seabed that connects to the Netherworld. Yin energy constantly seeps out from that Sea Eye, rises to the surface of the sea, then continues ascending into the heavens, where it condenses into a black moon. That is the Yin Moon.”

Qi Xuansu said, “Even Utu has never heard of something like the Yin Moon, yet you know about it.”

Old Pang replied, “That’s because Lord Utu isn’t from the Central Plains, nor does he venture out to sea. Naturally, he isn’t familiar with these maritime legends.”

Qi Xuansu could not help asking, “So it has connections to the Central Plains as well?”

Old Pang said, “Sage Qi, I presume you know of Sage Sun Lingxiu?”

Qi Xuansu paused for a moment. “Of course I do.”

Sun Lingxiu was originally from Langya Prefecture in Qizhou. His family believed in the Five Pecks Rice Sect for generations and belonged to one of the great clans that migrated south during the Yongjia Era. His uncle, Sun Jingyuan, had studied under Du Zigong, the leader of Five Pecks Rice Sect in Qiantang Prefecture. Thus, he was widely respected.

Around 1,500 years ago, during the second year of the Long’an Era, a rebellion broke out. Sun Jingyuan believed that the dynasty was nearing its end and secretly gathered several thousand followers under the pretext of campaigning against Wang Gong, the leader of the rebellion. Before the plan could be carried out, Daozi and his son, Yuanxian, lured Sun Jingyuan and his six sons into a trap and murdered them. Sun Lingxiu managed to escape to an offshore island, where he gathered more than a hundred followers, all determined to avenge Sun Jingyuan.

In the third year of the Long’an era, Yuanxian ordered that freed servants throughout the eastern prefectures be conscripted into military service. They were then transferred to the capital to serve as soldiers.

At the time, the great aristocratic clans of Huzhou monopolised taxation and paid little heed to the imperial court. In reality, the court exercised effective control over only Jiangzhou. To counter the threat from upstream regions, Yuanxian, who controlled the government, increased tax collection and ambitiously sought to establish an entirely new army under his own direct control. However, with manpower exhausted, Yuanxian had no choice but to forcibly conscript freed able-bodied servants, concentrating them in the capital for military service.

This measure provoked intense dissatisfaction among both the aristocratic clans and the freed servants themselves. The great clans generally kept large numbers of slaves, and even after those slaves had been formally emancipated, they remained economically dependent on their former masters. Conscripting these freed servants effectively stripped the aristocrats of a substantial portion of their workforce. Meanwhile, the freed servants had just escaped slavery to become semi-independent farmers with livelihoods of their own, only to be drafted into the military as low-ranking foot soldiers. Naturally, they were equally unwilling. Thus, as soon as the decree was issued, the eastern territories were thrown into turmoil. The people could no longer endure their burdens, and suffering spread throughout the realm.

Seizing the moment of widespread unrest, Sun Lingxiu led his followers from the islands to capture eight prefectures in total. Within the span of ten days, his forces had grown to several hundred thousand.

After occupying the eight prefectures, Sun Lingxiu proclaimed himself the Eastern Pacification General, established his own official administration, named his followers the Longevous, and submitted a petition to the throne calling for the execution of Daozi and Yuanxian.

In fact, the Five Pecks Rice Sect was the Heavenly Sect, the predecessor of the Daoist Order.

Followers of the Heavenly Sect had also infiltrated the capital. Fear spread throughout the populace, with constant anxiety that an uprising might erupt from within, prompting the authorities to impose strict security measures both inside and outside the city.

Xie Yan led a large army to suppress Sun Lingxiu, creating a bloodbath in the eight prefectures.

By the end of the third year of the Long’an Era, Xie Yan captured other prefectures and killed the rebel leader Xu Yunzhi. He then advanced toward Qiantang Prefecture. Sun Lingxiu consequently led more than 200,000 men and women in retreat to the east before eventually withdrawing once again to the offshore islands.

During the fourth and fifth years of the Long’an Era, the rebels and government forces continued to wage fierce battles. At one point, the rebels even approached the capital and captured Guangling Prefecture. In the end, however, Sun Lingxiu failed in his assault on Linhai. He cast himself into the sea, and followers of the Five Pecks Rice Sect believed that he had ascended as an Immortal under the Water Official. More than a hundred of his followers threw themselves into the sea to accompany him in death.

The Daoist Order differed fundamentally from the Buddhist Sect in that it had never been afraid to rebel. It only shifted toward cultivating the upper classes after the Li family came to power. The Li family recognized both the strength and the unpredictability of the Daoist Order, so their strategy was to cut the problem off at its source. Publicly, they elevated the Daoist Order as the foremost of the Three Religions, encouraging nobles and officials to embrace it. In reality, they hollowed out the Daoist Order’s influence, allowing the Buddhist Sect to occupy the grassroots social position that the Daoist Order had once held among the common people.

The Buddhist Sect was timid by nature. It never dared to rise in rebellion, while it simultaneously exploited the common people and indulged in luxury. Having lost popular support, it became the target of repeated persecutions and suppressions.

Although the Li family’s conquest of the realm brought the Daoist Order to the height of its prestige on the surface, over the following centuries, stripped of its grassroots foundation, the Daoist Order steadily declined until it had effectively become the weakest of the Three Religions. It was only with the Holy Xuan that the Daoist Order experienced its great revival.

Sun Lingxiu’s followers of the Five Pecks Rice Sect believed in the path of longevity and eternal life. They worshipped the Three Officials—Heaven, Earth, and Water—with emphasis on the Water Official. In a sense, this was the prototype of the modern Daoist Order.

This uprising also prompted the senior Daoist figures like Elder Guan and Elder Lu to reform the Daoist Order, which ultimately led to the division between the Southern and Northern branches of the Heavenly Sect. In the end, the Southern Heavenly Sect evolved into the Zhengyi Sect, while the Northern Heavenly Sect became the Taiping Sect.

The Taiping Sect, led by the Li family, likewise regarded this uprising as another of its own great achievements, second only to the Yellow Turban Uprising.

In short, the Daoist Order has always viewed this uprising in an overwhelmingly positive light, praising it rather than condemning it. As a result, Sun Lingxiu came to be respectfully known as Sage Sun, enjoying a far greater reputation than Lin Lingsu, the Imperial Preceptor of the Jin Dynasty.

Even so, Sun Lingxiu lacked foresight, and his abilities ultimately fell short, leading to the failure of the uprising. So in the end, he was only given the rank of a Sage.

Old Pang said, “After Sage Sun cast himself into the sea, he did not die. Instead, he led the Longevous—his followers who had also thrown themselves into the water—into the depths of the ocean. At the time, the imperial court searched every mountain and every sea, deploying all of their experts in determination to find him. That was why Sage Sun did not remain in Nanyang. He traveled through the Jawa Kingdom to Sahul. But the imperial court’s pursuers continued to close in on him. So Sage Sun led the Longevous away from Sahul, continued southward, and ultimately arrived in this stretch of ocean between the Southern Continent and Sahul. Here, the ocean stretches endlessly, with scarcely any land apart from a handful of islands. After searching everywhere without success, the imperial court had no choice but to return to the Central Plains.

“According to legend, it was during this flight that Sage Sun sensed the existence of the Yin Moon and comprehended the way of traveling toward the moon. Only then was he able to shake off the Confucian masters pursuing him from the Central Plains and escape with his life.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “So you’re saying that these waters are home not only to the humanoid insects but also to the legendary Longevous of the Daoist Order?”

Old Pang said, “Sage, it’s not so strange, is it? The ocean is even larger than the New Continent, yet so many different peoples now inhabit it—Westerners, Central Plains people, the various indigenous tribes, and slaves brought there by the Westerners. Each of them has its own customs. The vast ocean is so immense that it can hardly belong to the humanoid insects alone.”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “That makes sense. Then what is the relationship between the humanoid insects and the Longevous?”

Old Pang shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that, Sage.”

Qi Xuansu asked again, “In that case, how did you come to know about the humanoid insects and the Longevous?”

Old Pang replied, “This old man also comes from the Western Daoist Order. Since childhood, I studied the classics diligently and came to know many secrets unknown to ordinary people. Unfortunately, my aptitude was poor. I wasted many years without making progress in cultivation and never amounted to much. So, when I turned 30, I took to the sea, and I’ve spent several decades sailing ever since. Out on the ocean, I’ve encountered all manner of strange and extraordinary things, as well as great horrors. I’ve also witnessed Immortals traveling across the sea on several occasions. The sailors all called them Immortals, but I knew better. They were actually humanoid insects and the Longevous.”

Qi Xuansu sighed with emotion, “It seems the sea truly is not to be underestimated.”

Old Pang nodded. “You’re absolutely right, Sage. Although Heavenly Beings and Immortals frequently travel between continents and cross the oceans, they do so through the sky. Whatever monsters and spirits dwell beneath the sea have long since learned to hide themselves. Looking down from above, all they see is calm seas and magnificent scenery. What danger could possibly be visible? But in truth, all the demons and monsters are concealed beneath the waves, and one should never let down one’s guard. That’s why opening a new sea route is the hardest task of all. No one knows how many lives must be sacrificed. Safe routes are discovered little by little, paid for with human lives and lost ships, until people finally learn where they can sail and where they cannot.

“Even today, setting aside flying ships, seagoing vessels still follow the established shipping lanes. They rarely dare stray from the recognized routes. The waters you mentioned lie precisely outside those normal sea lanes and are exceedingly dangerous.

“Some ships have wandered into those waters and were never seen again. Legends say the seabed there is littered with wreckage, while innumerable restless souls remain bound beneath the sea, unable to pass on for all eternity. Other stories speak of a colossal sea monster that once ruled Nanyang as a great demon, only to be driven away by the Heavenly Empress and forced to flee there. But I can’t say whether any of it is true.”

Old Pang was originally the navigator of a seagoing vessel. However, since the key objective of this expedition was to search for the Blue Cloud Island at sea, he had been reassigned to the flying ship for this mission.

Qi Xuansu nodded slightly before turning to Yang Shaozhen. “Voyage Leader Yang, what do you think?”

Yang Shaozhen answered, “We’re aboard a flying warship, so we shouldn’t have much to fear from such things. Even so, it’s best to remain cautious.”

Qi Xuansu said, “Indeed, caution is warranted. How are the personnel under your command?”

Yang Shaozhen replied, “Sage Huangfu instructed us that quality matters more than quantity.”

After a brief moment of thought, Qi Xuansu ordered, “Inform Hun Ahau that if he’s finished with his affairs, we’ll board the ship.”

Utu took a single step back and vanished into the shadows.

Not long after, the group boarded the Horned Dragon flying ship, where Utu and Hun Ahau were already waiting.

Qi Xuansu walked at the front, surveying his surroundings aboard the ship.

Huangfu Ji had clearly put considerable thought into the arrangement. This Horned Dragon was an active-duty warship, not some decommissioned vessel kept merely for appearances. Thus, it was in its prime. The deck, bulkheads, railings, and other parts of the ship were covered with all types of talismans, each talisman serving as a node that interweaved into an enormous formation.

Walking a step behind Qi Xuansu, Hun Ahau remarked, “I’m used to having solid ground beneath my feet. Now that we’re heading out to sea, I feel a little uneasy.”

Utu, who was walking beside Hun Ahau, said, “Doesn’t your Manly Immortal Hundred Forms include the flood dragon? A dragon entering the sea should feel perfectly at home.”

Hun Ahau replied, “You shouldn’t have mentioned dragons. Now you’ve reminded me. Back then, the Daoist Order slaughtered countless flood dragons, forcing the surviving dragon clans into the depths of the sea. What if we just happen to run into them? Once they start settling old and new scores, we’ll have quite a battle on our hands. I’m afraid my Manly Immortal Hundred Forms wouldn’t stand much of a chance against a real flood dragon.”

Utu said, “Don’t jinx us! Stop talking nonsense. What are the odds of something like that actually happening?”