A Pawn’s Passage

One day, when Li Changge already possessed the power of an Immortal, Zhang Yuelu might still be struggling in the Zaohua stage.

Perhaps many years down the line, Zhang Yuelu, a natural-born Banished Immortal, would surpass Li Changge, a manmade one, but that all depended on her surviving until then.

If they were to truly fall out and no longer maintain a fragile peace, Li Changge absolutely had the power to crush her.

This secret was not hard to deduce.

The Zhang family, led by the Heavenly Preceptor, surely knew the truth. After all, Donghuang's marriage to the ruler of Qingqiu Mountain was no secret, and the Qinghuo Pearl had once been in their possession. Putting two and two together, it was not hard to guess the Li family's intentions.

It was just that the Zhang elders had not told the younger generation too early for fear of damaging morale.

After all, they themselves were still grinding away at the Heavenly Being stage, while some guy next door from the Li family had already become an Immortal. How was that fair? It was the kind of blow that could shatter one's motivation instantly.

Li Changge understood this, which was why he chose not to hide it and instead displayed the demeanor of a gentleman.

He treated it as a reciprocal courtesy. Qi Xuansu had revealed his trump card, which was the ability to summon the Three Yin Beings, so he would return the gesture with a secret of his own. Thus, there would be no debts between them.

Now that Qi Xuansu knew the secret, there was little he could do about it. All he could do was sigh inwardly. How could two manmade Banished Immortals differ so greatly?

That said, the Imperial Preceptor probably did not have fox demon blood.

The Imperial Preceptor and Li Changge were not grandfather and grandson, but cousins with a large age gap. Thus, it was impossible for them to have the same parents.

Li Changge had mentioned that members of the Li family with fox demon blood were rare, so the Imperial Preceptor likely had too little in his bloodline to matter.

In fact, the Imperial Preceptor's rise was something of a fortunate fluke, all thanks to the fifth-generation Grand Master.

In contrast, Sage Qingwei's rise was inevitable. He was an innate Banished Immortal with fox demon blood who could use the Qinghuo Pearl, naturally earning the support of the Qingqiu lineage.

To put it simply, the Imperial Preceptor had talent but no bloodline. Li Changge had bloodline but no talent. Meanwhile, Sage Qingwei had both.

The fierce duel between Sage Qingwei and Tamamo-no-Mae was still ongoing.

Looking at the situation, it was clear the legends of Fenglin were not entirely fabricated.

Tamamo-no-Mae had either suffered a serious injury or was under some restriction. Though still at the Immortal level, she was clearly no longer at her peak.

Meanwhile, with the Qinghuo Pearl enhancing him, Sage Qingwei could rival a true Immortal.

Over time, Sage Qingwei had gained the upper hand.

Tamamo-no-Mae had only been fighting one of his incarnations and was still able to hold her own. But once Sage Qingwei's true form broke free from its bindings, she was completely overwhelmed.

Throughout the fight, Tamamo-no-Mae had only used five of her tails.

In the end, Sage Qingwei thrust his sword into her chest.

With a sharp snap, the Great Yokai closed her folding fan.

In that instant, her figure warped like the folding fan itself, collapsing inward until only a sliver remained, revealing just one soul-stirring eye.

Sage Qingwei sighed softly. "Madam, whenever you've come to your senses, you're welcome to visit me at the Xiujing army camp. The promise I made earlier still stands."

Tamamo-no-Mae gave no reply. That final sliver folded shut completely and vanished without a trace.

The Koga Jonin's Onikiri, the Koga Ninja Scroll, and Princess Tamako all disappeared along with her.

All illusions faded away, and the two incarnations dissolved into streams of pure energy that returned to Sage Qingwei's body.

Spirit Guard Ding Wei immediately raised an objection. "Sage Commander, you should not have appeared here. At the very least, not alone. According to wartime protocol, a Sage Commander should not take action personally unless absolutely necessary. In my judgment, the situation was far from that threshold."

Sage Qingwei did not refute Spirit Guard Ding Wei's point, nor did he get infuriated. He merely said, "I accept your criticism and feedback, and I will report to the Golden Tower Council afterward for further judgment."

Spirit Guard Ding Wei said no more and stepped back to the side.

Sage Qingwei gave his orders. "Prepare for the return voyage. Long Chen, go in my stead to console our new Kampaku."

Spirit Guard Ding Wei and Li Tiangang each acknowledged the command.

Sage Qingwei then said to the three others, "Come with me."

The Yinglong Warship was enormous, like a floating fortress. Compared to it, ordinary flying ships were like doves next to a hawk. Otherwise, it would not require 400 Spirit Guards just to operate the massive vessel.

It even had a grand banquet hall for entertaining guests, and of course, a meeting chamber to match.

Sage Qingwei led the three youngsters into the meeting room, sat down with them, and said, "I'm sure you all have questions. Go ahead and ask freely."

In truth, this was mainly for Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu. Li Changge, being one of their own, did not really need an explanation.

Zhang Yuelu did not stand on ceremony and asked directly, "Sage Qingwei, did you already know Tamamo-no-Mae was here?"

Sage Qingwei was not surprised by the question, but he did not answer it directly. "As Spirit Guard Ding Wei said, I should have sent someone else for backup, but since it concerned the Qingqiu lineage, I believed it better to come in person. It's just that Tamamo-no-Mae was far more resolute than I anticipated, and I wasn't confident I could kill her outright."

Qi Xuansu asked again, "Sage Qingwei, there's something I don't quite understand. According to legend, Tamamo-no-Mae was a demon from the Qi Dynasty, which was several centuries ago. Why is she still able to remain in the mortal realm? Are demons different from humans in this regard?"

Sage Qingwei responded, "Demons are indeed somewhat different from humans. Their lifespans are much longer. For humans, the first centennial cycle begins at birth. For demons, it begins only after they attain immortality. But even starting from that point, Tamamo-no-Mae has lived well beyond 100 years, even beyond her second and third centennial cycle. The same goes for Yamata-no-Orochi. This is because both Tamamo-no-Mae and Yamata-no-Orochi exist in a special state."

"What kind of state?" Qi Xuansu followed up.

Sage Qingwei replied, "Our Daoist Order has governed Fenglin for about a century now. During this time, we devoted significant effort to uncovering many of its secrets, and we discovered something intriguing. Take the Yamata-no-Orochi and Tamamo-no-Mae for example. Strictly speaking, both of them are already dead. Yamata-no-Orochi was slain by Susanoo, one of Fenglin's Three Great Kami. Tamamo-no-Mae perished at the hands of a joint crusade by the Onmyodo, Buddhist, and Tenmon Sects. Yet neither of them died completely. They linger in the world in a special form, retaining part of their divine powers."

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu exchanged a glance.The Yamata-no-Orochi that sank the flying ship, and Tamamo-no-Mae, who fought Sage Qingwei, were both technically dead? No wonder Fenglin holds ghostly and divine entities in such reverence. There's a definite uncanny aura about this land.

Sage Qingwei continued, "Fenglin is an exceptional place. Even ordinary people who die here are far more likely to become malevolent spirits than those in the Central Plains. Over the years, the notion of '8 million ghosts and gods' has become fitting. If this is true for common folk, it's even more so for these ancient demons. But they haven't regained the full extent of their former cultivation, and they're bound by many limitations, even losing their freedom. Like the mountain gods bound by geographical location, they cannot ascend. Thus, they are not subject to the centennial lifespan restriction. Whether that's a blessing or a punishment is open to interpretation."

Qi Xuansu asked, "In that case, does that mean the other two of the Three Great Yokai like Ootakemaru and Shuten-Doji aren't truly dead either?"

"They are truly dead," Sage Qingwei replied decisively. "The Daoist Order has studied this thoroughly. We found that the deaths of Yamata-no-Orochi and Tamamo-no-Mae were directly tied to Fenglin's Three Great Kami. Tamamo-no-Mae was gravely wounded by the Yata Mirror, and Yamata-no-Orochi was slain by Susanoo. Shuten-Doji and Ootakemaru, however, had no such connection, which is why they have not resurrected."

Zhang Yuelu mused, "Tamamo-no-Mae rescued the miko. This seems to suggest she sides with the Sonno-joi faction. Yamata-no-Orochi destroyed our Daoist flying ship. Sage Commander, do you suspect that these two demons are now being controlled by the Fenglin Court or the Tenmon Sect?"

Sage Qingwei admitted frankly, "That possibility cannot be ruled out. The reason I appeared in person was to demonstrate sincerity and perhaps persuade Tamamo-no-Mae to surrender. But her flat refusal suggests it was not merely out of personal emotion."

Qi Xuansu thought for a moment and mused, "In some ways, this is similar to the eunuchs from the Xuanhui Court. But eunuchs must feed on dragon qi, and none have reached immortality. Even their founding ancestor could only rival Immortals thanks to the geomantic advantage of the Imperial Palace. If the Great Xuan royal family is limited in this way, how could Fenglin's royal family possibly control and wield two Great Yokai on par with Immortals?"

Sage Qingwei said, "Since there are no court officials here, I'll speak frankly. The Imperial Court has the backing of the Daoist Order, while the Fenglin royal family has the backing of the Three Great Kami. What the court cannot accomplish, the Daoist Order may still be able to. Likewise, what the Fenglin royal family cannot do, the Three Great Kami might well achieve."

Qi Xuansu nodded. "I see..."

Sage Qingwei continued, "Now that the matter of the Kampaku is temporarily resolved, the army camp must shift its focus to these wild gods. Our guiding principle in this matter is to analyze each case individually, evaluate carefully, and treat them accordingly. For example, Yamata-no-Orochi is savage and tyrannical and must be eliminated. However, Tamamo-no-Mae has deep ties to the Qingqiu lineage and is someone we can potentially win over."

Zhang Yuelu said, "Sage Commander, but you just mentioned that Tamamo-no-Mae may be willing to surrender, just unable to. She's wearing chains held by the Tenmon Sect."

Sage Qingwei explained, "That's not a problem. The greatest limitation for Immortals is that they cannot remain long in the mortal world. As long as Tamamo-no-Mae has the will to break free from her bonds, we can help her remove them. But it will take time to build trust through deeper contact. Letting her go today was my way of showing sincerity. If I hadn't, even if I couldn't kill her, I could've at least made her leave behind one of her tails."

He paused before calling out, "Yong Yan."

Li Changge responded, "Yes, Sage."

Sage Qingwei instructed, "You carry the bloodline of Qingqiu Mountain, so this matter will be your responsibility."

Sage Qingwei then turned to Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu and said, "The two of you will take charge of the mountain gods led by Suzuka Gozen. Though the three of you may not match Long Chen and the others in terms of cultivation, your identities are unique, which makes you better suited to show the sincerity of the Daoist Order."

The three youngsters responded in unison, "Understood."