A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu stared at the remnants of the Xuan Jade in his palm, momentarily speechless.

He finally understood why the Qingping Society and the Taiping Sect wanted so desperately to find the Xuan Jade. It was indeed magical and beneficial to humans.

Qi Xuansu moved his newly regenerated left hand and did not feel any hindrance. It fitted like a glove, and his body seemed rejuvenated, with no hint of discomfort. He rolled up his sleeves and opened his collar.

Sure enough, all of his scars had disappeared. Qi Xuansu even had a feeling that if he were to meditate and practice his breathing techniques, his cultivation efficiency would be far better than before.

However, Qi Xuansu did not try it immediately. Instead, he had to figure out two issues before the divine power outside completely receded.

The first problem was about that dream.

His second dilemma was whether he should tell Zhang Yuelu or Madam Qi about the changes in his body.

Qi Xuansu had been to that dark mountain in his dreams many times before. However, during his previous visits, he could only see one figure behind the fire. The other figures usually stood in the darkness. But this time, he saw eleven figures standing behind the fire, and the black shadows in the background disappeared. It was like when a high-ranking official left his entourage outside once he had to enter the court.

This change was undoubtedly brought about by the Xuan Jade.

Among the eleven figures, there was one that looked smaller in comparison. She was the last to arrive, kicking the fire in a rage, which made her look out of place.

In the end, ten of the figures left, leaving only one that walked toward Qi Xuansu. Did it mean that the last figure represented the Xuan Jade he was holding?

If this conjecture was true, then it meant that different Xuan Jades represented each of the eleven figures, respectively. The different auras emitted by the eleven figures probably also corresponded to eleven different abilities.

Qi Xuansu recalled carefully that the figure walking toward him exuded a majestic breath of life. Although it was a dream, the heat emanating from the figure’s surging blood still left a deep impression on him.

In this regard, the piece of Xuan Jade Qi Xuansu held most likely represented life. If that was the case, then it would explain how he was reborn, and how the Buddha statues in the temple came to life.

On the contrary, the Xuan Jade that Qi Xuansu obtained in Fengtai County was like a dead object and had nothing magical about it. However, this piece of Xuan Jade could make statues come to life. It made Qi Xuansu wonder if the Xuan Jade he retrieved in Fengtai County was fake. Or perhaps the Xuan Jade required some external conditions to work.

If it was the latter, the biggest difference between the two Xuan Jades he had seen was that the one in Fengtai County was hidden in a paperweight, while the Xuan Jade in Yulan Temple was hidden in the Buddha statue.

That was when Qi Xuansu had an epiphany.

In Qingbai Temple, Bai Yongguan once absorbed the incense power from the Primordial Daoist Ancestor statue to restore his own Spiritual Statue, which caused the Primordial Daoist Ancestor statue to explode. It was evident that the Primordial Daoist Ancestor statue had a big reserve of incense power.

Carrying over the same concept, most of the statues in Yulan Temple should also have reserves of incense power. Did it mean that the Xuan Jade’s transformation involved incense power?

Qi Xuansu also recalled that the Xuan Jade changed from a green crescent shape to a blood-red spheroid due to divine power. That was when he came up with a bold guess—the incense power or divine power could activate the Xuan Jade.

This was a reasonable explanation because Zhang Yuelu once said that incense power for immortals was like the Taiping coins for humans. The conflict between the Ancient Immortals and the Daoist Order also stemmed from incense power, indicating how precious a commodity it was.

In addition, there was a strange totem behind the figure that looked like a screen with a painting of green bamboo and a creature with a bird body and a human face. It was somewhat similar to the Spiritual Statue of the Shaman from the Lingshan Witch Sect.

Qi Xuansu suddenly remembered that Zhang Yuelu had mentioned that Ancient Wuism was popular before the rise of Daoism. The founders of Ancient Wuism were called the Ten Witches of Lingshan, with Wu Luo being one of them. Later, the Ten Great Witches of Lingshan disbanded. Wu Yang and five of the Great Witches left Lingshan and called themselves the Six Enlightened Witches.

The Ten Great Witches of Lingshan plus the mysterious Wu Yang made up for the eleven figures.

This meant that the eleven figures Qi Xuansu saw in his dream were the Ten Great Witches of Ancient Wuism, and the smaller figure that appeared later was Wu Yang. If Wu Yang kicked over the fire, did it mean that the Six Enlightened Witches were rebelling against the Ten Great Witches of Lingshan?

If the Great Witch that walked toward him represented life, what did the Great Witch he often saw in the past represent? She seemed to only reveal her aura when the eleven Great Witches gathered together. Since Wu Luo was also one of the eleven Great Witches, what did she symbolize?

Without a doubt, that dark mountain in his dream was the legendary Lingshan.

After Qi Xuansu organized his thoughts, most of the joy and excitement he felt from having an upgraded body disappeared instantly. That was because it became clear to him that there was a close connection between the Lingshan Witch Cult and the Qingping Society.

The dream meeting of the Qingping Society and the legend about Wu Luo believers entering the Divine Kingdom in their dreams were very similar.

However, Qi Xuansu was not a hundred percent sure about it. He had a feeling that something was amiss.

Qi Xuansu did not delve into it and decided to visit the Daoist Canon Division once he returned to Jade Capital. That way, he could find some books about Ancient Wuism to confirm his guess.

The second dilemma was whether to tell Madam Qi and Zhang Yuelu about this.

Qi Xuansu first rejected the idea of ??telling Zhang Yuelu about the matter. Although Zhang Yuelu treated him sincerely, he had kept too many secrets from her. The time they spent together was too short for him to gauge how Zhang Yuelu’s attitude would change after she learned part of the truth. After much thought, he decided not to take the risk.

As for Madam Qi, he should not have anything to hide from her. If it were before, Qi Xuansu would have told her the truth, but after Qi Xuansu began to suspect that Qingping Society was affiliated with the Lingshan Witch Cult, he hesitated.

Moreover, the Qingping Society was also searching for the Xuan Jade, indicating that they probably knew what magic it bore. Qi Xuansu did not know what would come of him if the Qingping Society found out about his body transformation. Would they promote him to a core member, like the woman in the green robe? Or would they kill him and refine his body into elixirs and pills?

After serious consideration, Qi Xuansu dared not take this risk.

At this moment, the blood-red color in the temple finally faded, leaving no trace of its existence. Qi Xuansu came to his senses, walked out of the main hall, went along the path he came from, and left Yulan Temple through the gap in the wall.

As soon as he left the temple, Qi Xuansu saw a trail in the mud caused by something rolling downhill. He walked along the trail and saw his severed hand under a big tree.

Qi Xuansu glanced at his severed hand and then at his newly regenerated one. After a moment of silence, he decided to put the severed hand back in his satchel.

Although the scars on his body were no longer visible, this severed hand was a reminder for him not to make this kind of mistake again. He would not be so lucky every time. He only had one life, so if he died, everything he worked so hard for would be in vain.

At this moment, Zhang Yuelu walked over from the direction of the entrance gate and saw Qi Xuansu from a distance. Her tense heart finally relaxed a little. She was afraid that Qi Xuansu was trapped in the Yulan Temple. If that were the case, she would probably live with guilt for the rest of her life. After all, Qi Xuansu only came along on this journey with her as a friend, doing her a favor by accompanying her to the Shangqing Prefecture.

Zhang Yuelu came to Qi Xuansu and sized him up. When she saw that he had all his limbs intact, she breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Are you alright?” Qi Xuansu asked, “Where is the woman in the green robe? What’s her background?”

"I’m fine. I’m glad you’re alright.” Zhang Yuelu shook her head and continued, “The woman in the green robe called herself Xie Qiuniang. She’s from the Qingping Society. Her true identity is probably a Hermit from the Confucian School.”

"A Hermit? Like the Hermit card in the Holy Xuan card game?” Qi Xuansu asked.

Zhang Yuelu explained, “A hermit used to be a social identity back then, but after the restructuring of the Three Religions, it became one of the Confucian lineages. What we call immortals are savants to Confucians. Hermits are the savants in the Confucian School of Philosophy, different from Thinkers from the Confucian School of Principle or the Mencian Scribes. Hermits are rare, like Daoist Banished Immortals.”

Qi Xuansu said, “Wow! It must be a special day today for a Daoist Banished Immortal, a Confucian Hermit, and a Buddhist Buddhaputra to gather at this small Yulan Temple, not forgetting the terrifying divine power from the Ancient Immortals.”

Zhang Yuelu suddenly inquired, “Where is that Buddhaputra?”

Qi Xuansu’s face turned gloomy. He only told her part of the truth. “He ran away. He said that when Wu Luo’s divine power descends, she will not stop until she takes a life. He wanted me to be the sacrifice. Fortunately, I got lucky. Perhaps there are others in the temple. Otherwise, you wouldn’t see me now.”

Zhang Yuelu was furious. “How dare he?! I will never show mercy to him if I see him again.”

Qi Xuansu nodded in agreement. “His name is Yan Xiu. I will get my revenge sooner or later.”

Zhang Yuelu glanced at Qi Xuansu’s face. She was startled and hesitantly said, “Tian Yuan, you seem to be a little different.”

Qi Xuansu panicked, but he did not show it on his face. He pretended to be confused. “How different?”

"You seem fairer.” Zhang Yuelu chuckled. “You really look like a pretty boy now.”

Qi Xuansu pouted. “Fine. Since I’m a pretty boy, I’ll tell your parents when I meet them that I’m here to marry you and freeload off your family!”

"I dare you!” Zhang Yuelu’s attention was immediately diverted, so she no longer focused on his face.

Qi Xuansu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If Zhang Yuelu continued to pursue this topic, his secret would be exposed. Fortunately, when he went to look for the Xuan Jade, Zhang Yuelu was fighting with Xie Qiuniang outside, so she did not notice him or the jade.

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