A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu did not stay in White Jade Hall’s hidden valley for long. After getting the Xuan Jade, he immediately returned the same way and left the Eastern Oasis, heading to Xiping Prefecture.

Not long after Qi Xuansu left, the Daoist Order officially began exacting revenge.

Three Yinglong Warships swept across the entire West Gobi, bringing along strong winds and heavy rain. Thunderbolts and flames from the sky rained down on the desert.

Everyone who was trapped there suffered immensely. Even the Black Robes sustained some losses. However, the Black Robes did not react to the Daoist Order’s operation, seemingly out of guilt. They just huddled in the old local government buildings, which were safe havens among the inferno in the West Gobi.

After the three Yinglong Warships left, a battalion of Spirit Guards from Tiangang Hall arrived and barged into several local government buildings to arrest all suspicious persons. Therefore, the Black Robes had no choice but to retreat to the edge of the West Gobi.

On the other side, Kunlun Daoist Mansion sent its personnel to the Eastern Oasis to search for suspicious persons.

Different from the arrest operations before, the Daoist Order was unforgiving this time. It looked more like a battle scene from the war between the Daoist Order and the Shamanistic Sect in the Western Region. This showcased the Daoist Order’s terrifying strength that was capable of annihilating an entire city.

In addition, all local Daoist mansions had received orders from the Golden Tower Council to simultaneously arrest all secret society members within their territory, mainly those from the Lingshan Witch Cult.

Thousands of cult members were arrested by the Daoist Order as a result. They were either executed on the spot or thrown into a prison specially set up by the Daoist Order. Those prisoners would never see the light of day again in this life.

The Daoist Order’s wrath was like a huge storm, starting from the West Gobi and spreading in all directions.

Those who were lucky enough to escape the disaster quickly went into hiding, waiting for this storm to pass.

As a result, the secret societies that had been causing trouble some time ago suddenly disappeared. The Eagle and Dog Slaughtering Assembly became a joke. This also made many people realize that the Daoist Order was still as powerful as ever. What the Daoist Order lacked was not strength but a qualified leader.

As long as the seventh-generation Grand Master did not repeat the mistakes of the sixth-generation Grand Master and solve the infighting within the Daoist Order, these external issues would mean nothing.

As the sixth-generation Grand Master once mentioned, the most serious troubles in the Daoist Order were never external but within the Order and the Golden Tower.

Of course, another famous quote was from the fourth-generation Grand Master. “Everything is intertwined, and that is where the problem lies.”

Although the fourth-generation Grand Master was referring to the relationship between the Imperial Court and the Daoist Order, his famous quote still applied to the Daoist Order and the secret societies.

However, all these had nothing to do with Qi Xuansu. Thanks to Qin Wubing and Qin Xiang, Qi Xuansu was not listed as a suspicious person. He had three tokens of identity at the moment: his Daoist priest certificate, the Qingping Society’s fish talisman, and the Black Robes’ badge.

If he came across a blockade by the Daoist Order, he could just show his Black Robes’ badge to pass through without any obstructions.

Although many secret society members had dual identities, not everyone could achieve this, as most ordinary secret society members were only labeled as cult demons.

From this point of view, Qi Xuansu was not an ordinary secret society member.

Qi Xuansu returned to Xiping Prefecture without any hindrance. The city was under martial law, and the gatekeeping was strict. Relevant proof was needed for entry, especially for people like Qi Xuansu, whose weapons were on full display. However, he was allowed entry with that badge. The sentry leader, who was originally a little hostile, also became friendlier.

After Qi Xuansu passed the checkpoint, he casually chatted with the sentry leader. “Isn’t that Eagle and Dog Slaughtering Assembly already concluded? What’s going on now?”

The sentry leader said, “Brother, don’t you know? It’s because of those cult demons again. It has been going on for several days now. But if you ask me, it’s about time that we eradicate those demons. I’ve had enough of their nonsense.”

Qi Xuansu shrugged. “Well, I’ve been on the road, so I haven’t been up to date with the news.”

The sentry leader asked, “Brother, did you come from the west?”

“I just came from the West Gobi.” Qi Xuansu added, “There’s also a big fuss over there. I’m just so confused over everything that’s happening recently.”

“Yeah, man.” The sentry leader regarded Qi Xuansu as one of the Black Robes, so he did not hide anything. “I heard that the Daoist Order has occupied the West Gobi, but I don’t know whether it’s true. It seems that something big must have happened there.”

Qi Xuansu had seen the Yinglong Warship floating on the surface of Cuowenbu Lake, so he knew for a fact that something big had happened. He shook his head in dismay. “All of this is too high-level for minions like us. As long as the higher-ups don’t involve us in this, I’ll happily do my duty.”

“I agree.” The sentry leader nodded. “All we want is peace.”

Qi Xuansu clasped his fists in salute. “Brother, I have to get going now. I’ll treat you to a drink next time.”

“Sure thing!” The sentry leader did not take the polite offer seriously and returned the salute.

Qi Xuansu entered the city and wanted to find a place to rest. Logically speaking, the Taiping Inn operated by the Daoist Order was undoubtedly the best place to settle down for the night. However, Qi Xuansu was short of money with only 300 Taiping coins left, so he needed to be frugal.

That was when he decided to go to the Qingping Society contact point in the city. But he was unsure if there would be any changes with the contact points since there was a crackdown on secret societies recently.

When Qi Xuansu came to the contact point, he found that it was the same as usual. This made sense because the Qingping Society’s contact points were only open to its members and not open for business like The Inn and the Seven Treasure Pavilion.

Moreover, the Qingping Society valued quality over quantity in terms of membership, unlike some secret societies that had tens of thousands of members. The Qingping Society was considered to be the most mysterious among the major secret associations.

More importantly, the Qingping Society had a close relationship with the Daoist Order, with ties to the top leaders of the Daoist Order. Thus, as long as the Daoist Order was not targeting the Qingping Society specifically, it would not be affected.

Qi Xuansu quietly came to the contact point. The same woman received him and arranged a place for him, providing him with clothing, food, medicine, and hot water.

After Qi Xuansu washed up, he began to plan his next steps.

Although he had obtained a piece of the Xuan Jade of Death, it needed to be activated with divine power or incense power, which he had no clue how to get. Thus, he thought it was best if he took the Blood Pill first. That way, if he could advance to the Guizhen stage, he could search for divine power with less effort.

However, the medicinal power of the Blood Pill was too potent. Qi Xuansu knew he could not consume it rashly and had to refine it first. The key ingredient was a thing called Jade Liquor.

Ancient Immortals and Daoists used the term “Golden Elixir” to symbolize the spiritual nature of something enduring, unbreakable, perfect, and pure. Confucians referred to it as the Taiji, while Buddhists called it the Perfect Enlightenment. Although the names differed, they referred to the same thing. Cultivating this essence in Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism made one a Savant, a Buddha, and an Immortal, respectively.

To cultivate the “Golden Elixir Path,” one had to use the physical body as the furnace, the essence and energy within as the ingredients, and the spirit as the fire. Immortality could be achieved by unifying these elements.

A Jade Liquid was needed for achieving the Golden Elixir. Thus, the Huasheng Hall created a Jade Liquor following this concept. Jade Liquor on its own could not improve one’s cultivation level, but it could help accelerate the refinement of medicinal power and prevent potential adverse effects. With the Jade Liquor, one would not need to worry about strong medicinal power backfiring and harming one’s body.

If Qi Xuansu was still in Tiangang Hall, it would have been easy for him to buy Jade Liquor from Huasheng Hall. At worst, he would have to ask Zhang Yuelu to buy it for him. However, Qi Xuansu had lost his Daoist identity, so it would be difficult for him to get it from Huasheng Hall. Thus, he could only try his luck on the black market operated by the Seven Treasure Pavilion.

However, there were some issues with this plan. With the crackdown on secret societies, Seven Treasure Pavilion might not be open for business. Even if the black market was open, Qi Xuansu would not have enough money to buy the Jade Liquor.

Where could he get money? Clearly, borrowing from Madam Qi was out of the question. That miser was adamant about keeping money and not letting a coin go. She had also warned him not to push his luck with her.

The Inn would have been a good place to earn money. But Qi Xuansu did not want to be affiliated with them during this time due to the incident at the reclaimed land, so as not to get implicated. He had to find another way to make money.

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