A Pawn's Passage-Chapter 1262: Harvest

After coming back to his senses, Qi Xuansu asked Qi Jiaoyao a question.

“Daoist Qi, I come from the Wanxiang Daoist Palace and never knew my parents growing up, but I have an adoptive mother who comes from a noble background and is exceptionally capable. My current position is largely thanks to her. Why do you think she chose me from among so many people?”

Qi Jiaoyao was briefly stunned, then replied, “After the Daoist Order became the ruler of the world, it never lacked talent, nor ambitious, risk-taking, resolute young people. If you won’t do something, plenty of others will. So bloodline and background naturally became important. That’s why the trend toward powerful clans was inevitable. Your adoptive mother probably didn’t choose you because she saw good qualities in you. There must have been other considerations. But I clearly don’t know what those are.”

Qi Xuansu nodded and did not pursue the topic further. Instead, he asked, “Is there anything valuable left here?”

Qi Jiaoyao continued scanning the area. “Maybe. I hope Elder Yao left us some scraps.” 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Qi Xuansu said, “It would be even better if there were test subjects. I’d really like to see what these Stone Hearts can do.”

He did not simply use the female Daoist corpses to test his hypothesis because he first needed to extract the Stone Heart and convert it into his own construct before testing it. This extraction process would completely destroy the structure of the corpses, rendering them unusable. Therefore, he needed a new experimental subject.

Qi Jiaoyao suddenly realized. “No wonder you were looking at me strangely earlier. You were planning to use me as a test subject, weren’t you?!”

Qi Xuansu gave a slightly embarrassed smile. “Just a thought. One should judge others by their actions, not intentions. If judged by thoughts alone, no one in this world would be a good person. Besides, a small experiment like this wouldn’t be life-threatening for a Heavenly Being. If you didn’t mind volunteering, I’d be deeply grateful.”

“I mind very much,” Qi Jiaoyao rejected without hesitation.

Qi Xuansu did not insist. “Then forget it.”

Still, Qi Jiaoyao was decent enough to start helping him search for a test subject. At the same time, she asked, “You came to the Lingshan Paradise at enormous risk. Are you planning to oppose that person?”

Though no name was spoken, both of them knew exactly who that person was—one of the chess players seated high in the Chongyang Palace of Immortality, someone who did not tolerate defiance or provocation.

Qi Xuansu replied expressionlessly, “I respect the Earthly Preceptor greatly.”

“Only respect?” Qi Jiaoyao laughed softly. “You came to Lingshan Paradise to protect your good life. Are you really going to tell me that your true target is the Imperial Preceptor?”

Qi Xuansu also laughed, though there was a hint of self-mockery in it. “Target him? You give me too much credit. I’m just a struggling pawn that hasn’t even freed myself. I’m at most a blunt sword. The reason I came to the Lingshan Paradise isn’t because I gained the qualification to challenge one of the chess players, but because another player wanted me here.”

“Got it. You do have some self-awareness.” Qi Jiaoyao nodded. “But then again, in a Daoist Order this vast, how many people aren’t pawns? Aside from a few Virtuous Great Sages, and perhaps Su Yuanyi, Pei Xuanzhi, and Li Wugou, how many prodigies are there in the Daoist Order? You juniors still have a long way to go.”

Over the next several hours, the two of them practically combed the underground hall and actually managed to find a few things.

There was a complete witch corpse, which, for some unknown reason, had not been relocated.

There were also several female Daoist corpses that appeared to be failed implantation attempts, casually discarded to one side.

There were also some Wuist totems and Daoist talisman stone tablets, seemingly materials for certain formations. Elder Yao had mastered both Wuist and Daoist techniques and was highly skilled at combining them in formations, so this was nothing unusual. After Elder Yao, successive Earthly Preceptors inherited this fine tradition as well.

That intact witch corpse would have been the ideal test subject, but the Stone Hearts were not compatible. Compared with the witch corpse, the Stone Hearts were far too weak, like an ironclad warship fitted with an undersized boiler or a small horse pulling a heavy cart, insufficient to drive it.

But there was some good news. According to the records found here, these smaller Stone Hearts could be refined into a larger one, which would then be compatible.

The bad news was that the key device required to refine the Stone Hearts had been removed and was no longer here.

Qi Xuansu had two options. He could continue searching for a refining device, or he could collect the materials and refine the Stone Hearts outside after leaving. As Qi Jiaoyao had said, these techniques might have been secret back then. But after 200 years, they had become publicly known. Outside, such technology was not scarce. The Eight Tribes might even help.

After careful consideration, Qi Xuansu decided to deal with it after leaving Lingshan Paradise.

The current Lingshan Paradise was far too dangerous to wander around recklessly, so searching here carried too many uncertainties. If Qi Xuansu could not leave this place alive, then the truth itself would become meaningless.

Thus, Qi Xuansu extracted all the Stone Hearts he could find and stored them, including the witch corpse, inside the magical receptacle given to him by Great Sage Jiang.

This semi-immortal grade magical receptacle was indeed convenient. It could not only carry immortal objects and isolate their effects, but its capacity was also a lot bigger than others.

Afterward, the two prepared to leave this place and continue onward.

On the way back, Qi Xuansu asked about the Creation Project. “Back then, was Elder Yao the absolute leader of the project?”

Qi Jiaoyao shook her head. “No. From beginning to end, Elder Yao was only a Chief Deputy, the second-in-command. Strictly speaking, the true and sole leader of the Creation Project was the Holy Xuan, who was the convenor, the main driver, and the ultimate decision-maker. But most of the time, he was extremely busy with seclusion and overseeing the entire Daoist Order, so he couldn’t devote all his energy to the project. Therefore, Earthly Preceptor Shangguan and Elder Yao, as the deputies, carried out part of the duties and managed the day-to-day affairs.”

As a Chief Deputy Mansion Master, Qi Xuansu naturally understood the logic behind this. The Holy Xuan likely controlled only the overall direction of the Creation Project and could dismiss Elder Yao if necessary, but the specific operations and mid- to lower-level personnel authority were managed by Elder Yao. She was not the nominal leader, yet in practice, she functioned as the real one.

“Why are you suddenly asking about this?” Qi Jiaoyao asked curiously.

Qi Xuansu replied, “I’m just wondering where the Li family’s Longevity Stone Heart came from. It certainly wasn’t given by Elder Yao. Was it bestowed by the Holy Xuan? Or did the Li family acquire it through some other means?”

Qi Jiaoyao thought for a moment and said, “Donghuang and Elder Yao rose to power as Deputy Grand Masters at the same time. Nominally, the Holy Xuan was the head of the Li family, but in reality, he had no time to manage family affairs. In fact, many Li family members preferred that he didn’t interfere, because whenever the Holy Xuan paid attention to the Li family, it usually meant someone had displeased him and was about to be punished. Thus, Donghuang became the true de facto leader of the Li family, much like Elder Yao as the Chief Deputy.

“But the Holy Xuan had a wife. The Qin-Li marriage alliance began from there. While Elder Li was alive, the Holy Xuan was his heir, and the Holy Xuan’s wife was the daughter of Emperor Gaozu. She was responsible for managing household affairs. Though the work was complicated, she held significant authority. Moreover, she had also served as the Great Sage of the Taiping Sect. So both in principle and status, she could stand above Donghuang. It’s only because Donghuang had a good relationship with his sister-in-law that he wasn’t restrained by her. The Holy Xuan’s wife was best friends with the founding figure of the Cihang lineage and had a good relationship with Elder Shangguan. After all, Elder Shangguan had once been Elder Yao’s superior and was a direct inheritor of Elder Xu’s legacy, so her influence was substantial. Elder Yao also had to yield somewhat. You should understand that Holy Xuan’s wife was not merely Holy Xuan’s subordinate. She was an independent figure. She did not need to report everything to him, and unless major decisions were involved, the Holy Xuan would not interfere casually.”

Qi Xuansu fell into deep thought. “You mean, the Holy Xuan maintained impartiality and wouldn’t favor the Li family. But the Holy Xuan’s wife wouldn’t be bound by such constraints, so the Li family’s Longevity Stone Heart might have come from her?”

“Maybe.” Qi Jiaoyao shrugged, not completely certain. “Donghuang and Elder Yao were equals in rank. He could dominate within the Li family and the Taiping Sect, but he couldn’t directly interfere with the Creation Project. The Holy Xuan’s wife, on the other hand, not only stood above Donghuang but also presided over the Golden Tower Council during the Holy Xuan’s long periods of seclusion. She also maintained close ties with the Great Xuan Court. She held immense authority, far beyond that of later Grand Master Consorts. She could be considered the second most powerful figure in the Daoist Order. All I can say is that she had the power to do it. But I’m not sure whether she actually did so.”

At this moment, Qi Xuansu felt somewhat fortunate to have met Qi Jiaoyao. Although she was somewhat temperamental, greedy, always trying to take advantage of him, and inclined to hide behind him when danger arose, she was also widely experienced and knowledgeable about many historical secrets, clarifying many of his doubts.

If the Li family’s Longevity Stone Heart also originated from the Creation Project, then where did the differences between the Li and Yao versions come from? Was it due to ideological differences between Earthly Preceptor Shangguan and Elder Yao? Or had the Li family made modifications after obtaining it? Or had Elder Yao and successive Earthly Preceptors made later improvements to the Longevity Stone Heart?

Qi Xuansu leaned more toward the third possibility.

Elder Yao might have been playing a double game with Holy Xuan, handing over a Longevity Stone Heart that aligned with Daoist ideals to satisfy the Holy Xuan’s wife and even leaving such a version in the Huasheng Hall, while secretly crafting a different variant behind the scenes—the one now within Qi Xuansu’s chest cavity.