A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu, who was running for his life, suddenly noticed that the rain had stopped. The strong wind, thunder, and fog also disappeared one after another. Finally, the black clouds covering the sky began to dissipate, revealing the clear blue sky.

Seeing this, Qi Xuansu stopped and looked up.

It was as if that strange phenomenon had not happened at all. The oppressive aura and glaring urgency he felt on his back disappeared, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

Qi Xuansu was a little hesitant, wondering if he should turn around to check out the situation. Although what happened earlier seemed to be a dangerous fight between gods, it was finally over. If he took the risk to go back to the battlefield, he could have a lucky encounter. After all, traveling alone meant constantly having to weigh one’s risks and gains.

If it were before, Qi Xuansu would have turned around to scout for things he could salvage.

However, Qi Xuansu was different now. He had already obtained a rare Blood Pill, which could allow him to advance to the Rogue Cultivator’s Holy Embryo Realm, which was the Guizhen stage of Xiantian Beings. There was no need for him to continue taking risks.

More importantly, ever since Qi Xuansu had a woman he cared for, he had been more cautious in fights. This was a risk that could cost his life.

As for Madam Qi, Qi Xuansu did not think that he was so important to her. After all, Madam Qi seemed so omnipotent and resourceful that Qi Xuansu would not worry about her.

Thus, when Qi Xuansu was weighing the risks, the first thing he thought of was his own life, and the second thing he thought of was Zhang Yuelu. It was no wonder Madam Qi once complained that he forgot about her after having a “wife.”

Qi Xuansu hesitated for a while before finally turning around and walking in the direction of Cuowenbu.

When Qi Xuansu came to the place where he hit the invisible wall, he found that he could finally pass through it.

Qi Xuansu came to the shore of Cuowenbu Lake.

Earlier, there had been heavy rain, dark clouds, and fog blocking the view, so he could not see anything. At this time, the lake’s surface was calm without the slightest bit of mist.

Qi Xuansu saw the Yinglong Warship floating in the distance. At this time, the warship was riddled with battle scars. Although it was not broken into two parts like the flying ship he was on, the hull of the warship seemed shaky, like a dilapidated house. The original compact structure looked like it would fall apart, and many fragments of the wreckage could be seen floating around it.

Moreover, these fragments of wreckage were quite well preserved. They looked more like fallen leaves rather than wreckage crushed by an external force.

That was because Wu Luo’s divine power only harmed living things, not dead objects. Therefore, when Wu Luo’s divine power struck the Yinglong Warship, the Daoist disciples onboard suffered heavy casualties while the ship itself was not damaged.

The reason why the Yinglong Warship looked rickety at the moment was due to the three consecutive attacks, which exceeded its limits. The formations and talismans failed one after another, so the ship’s hull could not withstand the power of nature. But even with the Yinglong Warship unleashing its full power, Wu Luo still escaped unscathed.

If the woman in white had not arrived in time, the warship would have crashed and sank to the bottom of the Cuowenbu Lake. At least now, it could still float on the lake.

The woman in white was standing on the bow of the ship. She pulled out the bone staff that had nailed down Shangguan Jing. However, the moment the bone staff was removed from Shangguan Jing’s body, it turned into countless streams of red light, which was the signature characteristic of the Ancient Immortal Wu Luo.

This remnant of divine power was considered a trap to attack anyone pulling out the bone staff, but it was easily dismissed by the woman in white.

Although the woman in white could not necessarily win against Wu Luo in a head-on fight, she was still capable of fighting against Wu Luo. Thus, these small tricks were nothing to her.

After a long time, the Daoist disciples who were still alive came to the deck one after another. When they saw the woman in white, they saluted her respectfully and addressed her as Sage Cihang.

The woman in white was none other than Sage Cihang, Zhang Yuelu’s master and the second-in-command in the Zhengyi Sect after the Heavenly Preceptor. She was the one who taught Zhang Yuelu the Cihang Sword Sequence.

In the competition to become the seventh-generation Grand Master, the three Deputy Grand Masters and other Great Sages were not considered due to age and other factors. The most promising candidates for the seventh-generation Grand Master were Sage Qingwei, Sage Donghua, and Sage Cihang.

If the three Deputy Grand Masters were considered regents who took turns in power, then Sage Cihang was one of the candidates for being the Crown Prince.

All three candidates for the seventh-generation Grand Master had different paths. Sage Qingwei and Sage Donghua were two completely different extremes. Sage Qingwei had been the head of several local Daoist mansions for many years, including Liaodong, Luzhou, and Qizhou Daoist Mansions.

Meanwhile, Sage Donghua had been in Jade Capital, serving as the Hall Master of Beichen, Tianji, and Ciji Halls. At the moment, he was the Hall Master of Ziwei Hall, which was the top among the Nine Halls. Sage Donghua was also ranked first among the 36 Omniscient Sages.

Sage Cihang had experience in both the local Daoist mansions and the Nine Halls. In her early years, she worked in the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion. Later, she was transferred to Jade Capital and served as the Hall Master of Huasheng and Duzhi Halls.

According to the unwritten rules of the Daoist Order, positions in the Nine Halls were higher in status than the local Daoist mansions. Thus, if the three candidates were to be ranked, Sage Donghua would be first, Sage Cihang second, and Sage Qingwei would be the bottom of the three. However, this was far from the reality.

Taiping Sect was the most powerful sect in the Daoist Order, so even though Sage Qingwei was at the bottom among the three candidates, he had the greatest influence. There were even rumors of a third Grand Master hailing from the Li family.

Of course, the other two Omniscient Sages were also strong candidates. If Sage Donghua became the next Grand Master, then Quanzhen Sect would have produced two consecutive generations of Grand Masters, which was an unprecedented achievement in the Daoist Order.

If Sage Cihang became the next Grand Master, she would be the first female Grand Master in the Daoist Order. Many female disciples hoped to see Sage Cihang as the Grand Master, even if they were not from the Zhengyi Sect. That would break the tradition in which the highest authority in the Daoist Order was held by men. However, many conservatives rejected this idea.

The Grand Master’s companion was given the title of the Virtuous Great Sage, in charge of assisting the Grand Master in handling all kinds of affairs, thus having great decision-making power. This was also a tradition left by the Holy Xuan.

All in all, each of the three candidates had their own advantages. The final decision would depend on the Golden Tower Council’s recommendation. If the stalemate continued, no one could guarantee if the scope of the recommendation would be expanded or if force would be used.

Although the Quanzhen Sect and the Zhengyi Sect joined forces against the Taiping Sect, it was almost impossible for the two sects to reach an agreement on the choice of Grand Master due to their own interests.

For example, the Zhengyi Sect would not want to see another Grand Master coming from the Li family. At the same time, they also did not want to see the Quanzhen Sect producing two consecutive generations of Grand Masters, breaking the tradition of the three sects taking turns to hold the position of power.

But even so, one thing was for sure. These three candidates were respected leaders in their own regard. Even if they failed to become the Grand Master, they could still become the Virtuous Great Sage or the Deputy Grand Master. They were certainly influential figures in the Daoist Order.

Sage Cihang signaled for everyone not to stand on ceremony. She declared, “Sage Shangguan has died in battle. Preserve his body and wait for personnel from Jade Capital to arrive.”

The moment Sage Cihang officially announced Shangguan Jing’s death, the surviving disciples understood the gravity of the situation and broke down in tears. Some even kneeled in front of Shangguan Jing’s body and cried bitterly.

No one knew if they were crying tears of joy for narrowly escaping death or if they were mourning the untimely death of their boss.

Just as Sage Cihang was about to leave, she suddenly sensed something in her heart and turned to look toward the shore on the west side of the lake.

She took a step forward, creating a circle of lotus-shaped ripples in the air before disappearing.