A Pawn's Passage

The ship was relatively fast, covering 45 kilometers in two hours. After a while, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu got bored of the beautiful scenery.

At first, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu discussed the scenery and the stories behind certain places. But as time went on, Zhang Yuelu stopped talking. So Qi Xuansu suggested playing a few games of the Holy Xuan Cards to pass the time.

This was exactly what Zhang Yuelu wanted, so she readily agreed. Time flew by when they played cards. After the passenger ship arrived at Guandukou in Badong, it docked for an hour, but they did not get off the ship and continued playing cards.

When the passenger ship was on its way again, Zhang Yuelu put away the Holy Xuan Cards and urged Qi Xuansu to refine the medicinal power deposited in his body.

Qi Xuansu was concerned about his own cultivation. He knew that he could not just rely on shortcuts like the Xuan Jade and had to put in the hard work to not lag behind. So he quickly returned to his room to meditate.

Zhang Yuelu also went with him to supervise his cultivation, in case there were any problems. While observing Qi Xuansu, Zhang Yuelu noticed something odd.

The Rogue Cultivator lineage was derived from the Banished Immortal lineage, earning Rogue Cultivators the title of "Lesser Banished Immortals." As such, there were many similarities between the two, especially before the Banished Immortals converted all their innate qi into true essence.

Before the Heavenly Being stage, the Rogue Cultivator’s cultivation methods were not much different from those of the Banished Immortals, both focusing on qi circulation. However, Zhang Yuelu discovered that when Qi Xuansu refined the deposited medicinal power in his body, his innate qi and blood qi were intertwined.

It was as if he was cultivating both the Rogue Cultivator’s and the Martial Arts Practitioner’s methods simultaneously.

The reason she did not notice it before was due to the steam that shrouded Qi Xuansu when he drank the medicinal wine for the first time in Huasheng Hall. Since the deposited medicinal power had weakened, these abnormalities were revealed.

Zhang Yuelu looked at Qi Xuansu and fell deep in thought. Is it really because of a demon pill?

Qi Xuansu was unaware of Zhang Yuelu’s doubts while he was meditating. At this moment, he only felt two completely different types of qi in his body. One was his innate qi, which flowed like a trickling stream, while the other was his blood qi, which flowed faster like a wider creek.

This innate qi was the same as a Qi Refiner’s, while the blood qi was the same as a Martial Arts Practitioner’s. These two different paths actually had the same origin. The difference lay in the refining process.

Qi Refiners refined blood essence in the human body, similar to how iron ore would be refined into steel. However, Martial Arts Practitioners did not cultivate the spirit or refine blood essence. They focused solely on the physique, training the muscles, tendons, skin, and bones, until they underwent a rebirth and transformed their physical body into an immortal entity.

Due to their single-minded focus on refining the body, Martial Arts Practitioners had extremely strong vitality. They could regenerate damaged limbs in the Flesh and Blood Realm, while their soul and body were fused together in the Heavenly Connection Realm. That was why Martial Arts Practitioners could easily restrain Diviners who had not yet ascended to the Heavenly Being stage.

On the other hand, cultivators who refined innate qi, including Qi Refiners, Banished Immortals, and Rogue Cultivators, pursued the unity of heaven and man. Although their innate qi was more abundant and inexhaustible, it lacked purity. Therefore, their restraining power over Diviners was much less compared to Martial Arts Practitioners. They also could not achieve body regeneration.

When Qi Xuansu killed the Guizhen-stage Diviner in Yishan City, he relied on the natural advantage the Manly Immortal lineage had over the Ghostly Immortal lineage. However, if he were to go up against a Qi Refiner, a Shaman, a Banished Immortal, or a Confucian Hermit, he would not be able to defeat them so easily. This was why, among the Five Immortals lineage—Heaven, Earth, God, Man, and Ghost—the Manly Immortal was ranked before the Ghostly Immortal lineage.

The Manly Immortal lineage came after the other three lineages because a Martial Arts Practitioner, even in the Heavenly Being stage, depended entirely on one’s own physical body in a fight. The Martial Arts Practitioner did not have magical powers to control the air, manifest a Spiritual Statue, or call upon the earth’s qi. Against the other three immortal lineages, a Martial Arts Practitioner could easily be manipulated by them, especially if they maintained their distance.

Manly Immortals were still part human, so they would always be below the Heavenly, Earthly, and Godly Immortals.

Moreover, Martial Arts Practitioners did not meditate or absorb energy from the earth, so they had to eat a lot to replenish their energy and nourish their blood qi. As such, they had extremely high requirements for food and medicinal intake. There was even a saying that one had to be rich to be a Martial Arts Practitioner.

Martial Arts Practitioners had more expenses than Diviners, but the effort and manpower Shamans had to use to collect incense power were not necessarily less than what Martial Arts Practitioners would spend.

Qi Refiners were the most common lineage and the pillars of the Daoist Order. Martial Arts Practitioners were mainly concentrated among the Black Robes in the Imperial Court, so there were not many warriors in the Daoist Order.

Before the Holy Xuan integrated the lineages of the Five Immortals, the various lineages were very confusing. Most of the time, they were simply categorized into Martial Arts Practitioners and Diviners. Qi Refiners and Banished Immortals who preferred close combat were classified as Martial Arts Practitioners. As such, many Banished Immortals were regarded as talented Qi Refiners. Meanwhile, Shamans were classified as Diviners.

It was not until the Holy Xuan integrated the Five Major Lineages that there was a proper classification system. The only Manly Immortal lineage was the Martial Arts Practitioner, which did not include Qi Refiners and Banished Immortals.

Instead, Qi Refiners belonged to the Earthly Immortal lineage, and the Banished Immortals belonged to the Heavenly Immortal lineage.

Unlike Qi Refiners, who focused on the three major Dantians, the twelve main meridians, and the eight extraordinary meridians, Martial Arts Practitioners focused on the countless acupoints in the body, which circulated their blood qi to cleanse the acupoints and condense the body and spirit. When each acupoint had one spirit, they were considered to be in the Divinity Realm.

The Shattered Void Realm of Martial Arts Practitioners was not inferior to the Fusion Realm of Qi Refiners.

If it were not for the Daoist master’s compilation of methods that were made specially for the Manly Immortal lineage, Martial Arts Practitioners would have a harder time discovering the many acupoints in the body. That was because each acupoint had a very subtle and unique position. Some of them were even hidden within other acupoints, and one acupoint could affect hundreds of acupoints. Thus, the acupoint condensation process was extremely complicated.

Qi Xuansu had once considered taking the Manly Immortal lineage, but after careful consideration, he finally chose to be a Rogue Cultivator. That was because he had some shortcomings in his natural physique, and most importantly, he was poor.

At the moment, Qi Xuansu could not condense his body and mind, but he could circulate his blood qi just like how he circulated his innate qi, which achieved the same effect as a Martial Arts Practitioner. That was how he advanced to the Martial Arts Practitioner's Flesh and Blood Realm.

In other words, Qi Xuansu was in the Yuxu stage. However, he was simultaneously in the Rogue Cultivator's Yuding Realm and partially in the Martial Arts Practitioner's Flesh and Blood Realm. This was why Zhang Yuelu was surprised.

At this time, Qi Xuansu only felt refreshed and hot. His innate qi and blood qi converged, mixing with the burning medicinal power deposited in his body. He felt as if a fire dragon was swimming through his twelve meridians, eight extraordinary meridians, and all his acupoints.

The blood qi constantly circulated through his body. However, when passing through his left arm, which had just been reconnected, there seemed to be a bottleneck, making it more difficult for the blood qi to pass.

Finally, the blood qi dissipated throughout the body along with part of the medicinal power, while the innate qi brought along part of the medicinal power and returned to the ​​​​lower Dantian, nourishing all parts of his body.

Qi Xuansu slowly woke up from his trance and exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Zhang Yuelu was sitting not far from him. When she saw that he was awake, she said, “You were in a meditative state for a long time.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “What time is it now?”

Zhang Yuelu took out her pocket watch, glanced at the time, and replied, “It’s November 12th, three-quarters past noon.”

Qi Xuansu roughly calculated the time. They left Jinguan Prefecture on November 3rd and walked for five days to arrive at Baidi City. Since he was recovering from his injuries, they stopped in Baidi City for three days, left by boat on November 11th, and arrived at Guandukou in Badong on the same day.

That meant he was in a meditative state for a full day.

Zhang Yuelu glanced out the window. “We will arrive at Jiangling Prefecture soon, which is the terminal point of this passenger ship.”

Jiangling Prefecture was the capital of Huzhou, with Jiangling City being its capital city. Many government offices, including the Yunmeng Governor’s Mansion, the Huzhou Pacification Commander’s Office, and the Huzhou Three Offices were located there, making it an important town in the southeast.

Due to its proximity to the Yangtze River in the south, the Han River in the north, and its connectivity to Shuzhou and Wuzhou, Jiangling Prefecture was also called the Hub of the Seven States.

Huzhou was considered the territory of the Quanzhen Sect, while at its borders, Jiangzhou, Xiaozhou, and Wuzhou were considered the territory of the Zhengyi Sect.

Qi Xuansu could not help but ask, “Why did the Holy Xuan divide the Daoist Order into three major sects, which caused endless infighting?”

Zhang Yuelu sighed. “This wasn’t the Holy Xuan’s original intention. Back then, the Daoist Order was fragmented, with more than 20 sects and factions. There was constant internal fighting and many old grudges, such as between the Zhang and Li families.

“The Holy Xuan believed that under the circumstances of his time, it was difficult to unite all factions into one, so he had no choice but to group the smaller factions into three major sects based on the ancestral lineage of each faction.

“In addition, the Holy Xuan tried to disperse the groups so that there was a mix of factions in each of the three major sects. That was so he could better integrate the sects, just like the division of state boundaries. That way, it would be impossible for one sect to separate from the Daoist Order.

“An example would be the Hanzhong Prefecture, which was supposed to belong to Shuzhou in terms of customs and geography. However, the Imperial Court put Hanzhong Prefecture under the jurisdiction of Qinzhou. This was to prevent Shuzhou from forming a separatist regime.

“The Holy Xuan originally planned to gradually phase out the three sects and eventually integrate all sects into one. However, in his later years, the rise of Buddhism made him change his focus and deal with an external enemy.

“That was why his unification plan was put aside, and he hoped that future generations of Grand Masters could continue his legacy. Due to various reasons, the subsequent Grand Masters were unable to integrate the three sects.

“On the contrary, the three Deputy Grand Masters gradually gained power over time, leading to the current conflict. Even now, the position of Grand Master could be manipulated by the three Deputy Grand Masters. That’s why unification is impossible now.”

Qi Xuansu finally understood. “Oh, I see.”

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