Chapter 1680: The Only Qi

After the license-bestowing ceremony concluded, Qi Xuansu wanted to take this opportunity to have a conversation with the Heavenly Preceptor.

The Heavenly Preceptor did not refuse and invited Qi Xuansu to speak with him in one of the lounges attached to the Golden Tower.

The Golden Tower was a place for deliberations. Sometimes, when discussions dragged on for too long and a recess was called midway through, these lounges would be used for everyone to rest.

The Grand Master’s lounge was the largest and the most private. Although it was called a lounge, it actually resembled a small council chamber, because it was also used for holding private meetings.

Some matters could not be formally approved during the main deliberations, while others that had already been agreed upon beforehand might encounter unexpected complications. In such cases, further discussions had to take place outside the formal session.

In particular, certain things were inappropriate to say openly during official deliberations but could be discussed more thoroughly in private, allowing everyone to reach a consensus before going through the formal procedures. That was why these smaller meetings were necessary.

Naturally, this place was now reserved for the use of the Great Sage Lunzhi.

Upon entering the Grand Master’s lounge, the first thing one saw was five fixed seats arranged in a semicircle, corresponding respectively to the Grand Master, the Grand Master Consort, and the Three Deputy Grand Masters. The seat in the very center belonged to the Grand Master.

The Heavenly Preceptor did not sit in the Grand Master’s seat. Instead, he took the seat traditionally reserved for successive Heavenly Preceptors. He had occupied this same seat for decades, from the era of the fifth-generation Grand Master to that of the sixth-generation Grand Master and now into the era of the Great Sage Lunzhi. It had never changed.

Qi Xuansu still did not dare go anywhere near those five seats, lest he violate a taboo. Instead, he found a seat reserved for Omniscient Sages, which left him sitting somewhat far away from the Heavenly Preceptor.

After sitting down, Qi Xuansu took the initiative to speak. “Heavenly Preceptor, regarding the Guizang Lantern...”

The Heavenly Preceptor seemed to have anticipated what Qi Xuansu wanted to ask and showed no surprise at all. He said, “The reason I did not want to discuss it with you back then was that the time was not yet right.”

Qi Xuansu hesitated briefly before asking, “Heavenly Preceptor, do you mean that the time is right now?”

The Heavenly Preceptor said, “Haven’t you been investigating this matter all along? You’ve questioned quite a few people, so you should already have some idea of what happened.”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “I have roughly guessed that this matter involved you, as well as True Lord Ziguang, Wu Luo, and the Emperor Willow.”

The Heavenly Preceptor gave Qi Xuansu an approving look. “That is a good guess. There was absolutely no way I could have accomplished it alone. True Lord Ziguang and I joined forces while also borrowing Wu Luo’s power. Finally, we used the Guizang Lantern as leverage to draw upon the power of the Emperor Willow. Only then were we able to send you into the Lingshan Paradise. If you think about it, even the methods of a Second-Tribulation Immortal would amount to little more than this.

“However, under normal circumstances, even a Second-Tribulation Immortal would not be able to accomplish such a feat. We also benefited from the unique circumstances of the Lingshan Paradise. Pocket realms and divine kingdoms inherently exist outside the present world, making them special domains beyond the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Dao. The present world has already developed to the Taiji Era and is virtually unbreakable, whereas divine kingdoms and pocket realms are roughly equivalent to the Taichu and Taishi Eras, which are not nearly as rigid and are therefore much more malleable.

“Taichu marks the beginning of qi; Taishi marks the beginning of form; Taisu marks the beginning of substance. Pocket realms are more stable than divine kingdoms, especially those that have already descended, much like fruit naturally falling once ripe. A descended pocket realm is roughly equivalent to the Taisu Era, already very close to the present world and possessing the rudimentary form of true matter.

“The Lingshan Paradise is an exception. It never descended, and because of the fierce battle between the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor and the Ancient Witches, it was brought to the verge of collapse. As such, it had never descended like the Kunlun Paradise. It even nearly vanished without a trace. As a result, the Lingshan Paradise is extremely unstable, even more fragile than an ordinary divine kingdom. It’s comparable to the Taiyi Era, before qi had even manifested, and it is extremely close to the undifferentiated, chaotic state of the Taixu Era.”

“This place is like a lawless land, with far fewer restrictions. Not only are there no Heavenly Tribulations, but even the concepts of space and time are also distorted to a certain extent. That is why only this place would work. Anywhere else, including the Kunlun Paradise, would not.

“Besides that, because the Lingshan Paradise is so close to a state of primordial chaos, it has become extremely difficult to locate any trace of it from the mortal world. Even if we possessed the power of a Second-Tribulation Immortal, accurately exerting that power upon the Lingshan Paradise without any deviation would still be difficult. So I prepared three coordinates connected to the Lingshan Paradise: Wu Luo, your Longevity Stone Heart, and the Emperor Willow.

“Wu Luo was a Great Witch and once the master of the Lingshan Paradise. Both your Longevity Stone Heart and the Emperor Willow’s seed were successfully refined within the Lingshan Paradise, so they naturally possess a certain connection to it. By sheer coincidence, the Emperor Willow Spirit also happened to be at your side. That is why only you could do it. No one else, not even Li Changge, would have worked.”

The Heavenly Preceptor’s explanation was extremely detailed, and there was quite a lot of information to take in.

Qi Xuansu carefully digested this information for quite some time before he fully understood.

The words had become a prophecy. He was a chosen one and the only one who could manage this feat.

Still, the Heavenly Preceptor’s planning was even more remarkable. To gather so many elements at once and satisfy so many conditions was something an ordinary person truly could not have accomplished.

But what Qi Xuansu cared about most was not how he had been sent to the Lingshan Paradise, but why the Heavenly Preceptor had wanted him to go there in the first place. So he asked, “Why?”

Although it was only a single word, Qi Xuansu was certain the Heavenly Preceptor would understand. In fact, even if he had said nothing at all, the Heavenly Preceptor would still have anticipated what he wanted to ask.

The Heavenly Preceptor extended one hand. Mist spontaneously arose and slowly swirled around his palm.

The clouds parted and the mist dispersed.

The Heavenly Preceptor said, “Haven’t you already made some guesses of your own? Zhou Mengyao wanted to control you, and I did not want her to control you, so I left the Guizang Lantern to you. Or rather, before all this, your heart was still inclined toward the Yao family. If I had spoken to you directly, you probably would have been half-convinced at best. You might even have thought I was trying to drive a wedge between you and the Yao family. So I decided to let you see it with your own eyes. After all, seeing it once is better than hearing about it a hundred times.”

Qi Xuansu wanted to say something, but in the end, he only let out a bitter laugh. “Indeed, seeing once is better than hearing about it a hundred times.”

Once the seed of suspicion had been planted, it would inevitably take root and sprout. Just as the Heavenly Preceptor had hoped, Qi Xuansu investigated the truth and gradually uncovered it, ultimately drawing Zhou Mengyao out into the open. He then fell out with Zhou Mengyao and, in turn, drew a clear line between himself and the Yao family.

As such, Qi Xuansu could only rely on Sage Donghua and the Zhengyi Sect now.

It could be said that Qi Xuansu was now closely bound to the Zhang family.

Judging by the outcome, through a series of schemes and maneuvers, the Heavenly Preceptor had successfully pulled Qi Xuansu away from the Yao family and over to the Zhang family’s side.

This was also the Heavenly Preceptor’s revenge against the Earthly Preceptor’s attempt to lure Zhang Yuelu away.

However, Qi Xuansu was not satisfied with such an answer and continued asking, “What is the Earthly Preceptor plotting?”

The Heavenly Preceptor replied, “I don’t know any more than True Lord Ziguang does.”

Qi Xuansu believed this was the Heavenly Preceptor’s genuine response, precisely because it did not actually answer his question and instead avoided giving a direct reply.

In fact, even now, only Zhou Mengyao had been exposed. The Earthly Preceptor herself had never appeared at all, making her inscrutable.

Perhaps the Heavenly Preceptor already had some suspicions but had yet to form a complete conclusion. Considering that the two sides were still allies and that he did not want to alert the enemy prematurely, the Heavenly Preceptor had ample reason not to tell Qi Xuansu everything.

Qi Xuansu knew it would be inappropriate to press the matter further, so he changed the subject. “If I appeared in the Lingshan Paradise of the past, wouldn’t that mean there were two Qi Xuansus in this world?”

The Heavenly Preceptor said, “That depends entirely on how you choose to understand it. It isn’t wrong to see it that way. However, the Qi Xuansu of the past is already dead. Now, only one Qi Xuansu remains.”

Qi Xuansu genuinely could not understand. “How...did I die?”

The Heavenly Preceptor replied, “Only you yourself would know that.”

Qi Xuansu froze for a moment, then remembered.

He had indeed died. The moment he encountered the Longevity Stone Heart, he was already dead. How could a man without a heart possibly remain alive? He was not an Immortal.

This reminded Qi Xuansu of a story about the Ancient Wuist healers, who could save people by replacing their hearts with stones. This was also the predecessor and prototype of the Daoist Order’s stone heart.

As long as the person whose heart had been replaced believed that the stone heart was real, it could replace a damaged heart. But the moment someone exposed the truth, or the recipient discovered that their heart was fake, the stone heart would revert to an ordinary stone, and the person would die on the spot.

This was the Ancient Wuist’s art of turning falsehood into reality.

This actually fits Qi Xuansu’s cause of death quite well. The moment he saw the true Longevity Stone Heart in the Lingshan Paradise and realized that he had no heart of his own, his time was up.

However, judging from the Heavenly Preceptor’s words, there could also be another interpretation. It largely depended on how Qi Xuansu himself chose to understand it. The Heavenly Preceptor did not expect Qi Xuansu to fully grasp the principles behind it. He mainly wanted Qi Xuansu to understand what had actually happened.

If one truly tried to investigate it in detail, one would inevitably fall into a dilemma much like the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg.

Did the Qi Xuansu of the past come first? Or did the Qi Xuansu of the present come first?

Qi Xuansu still could not understand it, nor did he particularly want to. In any case, the Qi Xuansu of the past was already dead. What concerned him more was the present.

The Heavenly Preceptor read what was on Qi Xuansu’s mind and said, “You want to learn about Yao Yueyan, right? Didn’t True Lord Ziguang give you a painting?”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “The fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor in the painting was wearing a mask.”

The Heavenly Preceptor gave Qi Xuansu a hint. “Perhaps your cultivation level is still insufficient. You might as well wait until you advance to the Pseudo-Immortal stage before looking at that painting again. You may discover something unexpected then.”

Qi Xuansu suddenly understood. “Thank you for the guidance, Heavenly Preceptor.”

The Heavenly Preceptor was about to leave when Qi Xuansu hurriedly said, “Heavenly Preceptor, please wait. I have already handed the Twin Swords to Qing Xiao. But the Guizang Lantern—”

The Heavenly Preceptor waved his hand. “I have no use for this immortal object for the time being. You should keep it.”

Qi Xuansu said, “Thank you, Heavenly Preceptor.”

With that, the Heavenly Preceptor rose and walked outside.

Qi Xuansu followed a step behind him and left the lounge.

To his surprise, Madam Wu and Little Yin were waiting outside.

After exchanging greetings with Madam Wu, the Heavenly Preceptor took out a Red Fruit—a specialty of the Dazhen Mansion—from his wide sleeve and bent down to place it in Little Yin’s hand. He resembled a kindly old grandfather as he patted her gently on the head.

Little Yin had an instinctive talent for recognizing good things. Her eyes immediately lit up as she exclaimed loudly, “Thank you, Grandpa!”

Qi Xuansu had originally intended to politely decline on her behalf, but the Heavenly Preceptor gave him no such opportunity and drifted away.