A Pawn's Passage

Early the next morning, the owner of the mansion informed Qi Xuansu that Madam Qi had already left.

Qi Xuansu was not surprised, as Madam Qi had always been elusive, coming and going without a trace. After breakfast, Qi Xuansu also left the safe house, preparing to embark on his journey to the Daoist Ancestral Court.

The Ancestral Court was located in the West Kunlun Mountains.

Kunlun Mountain was the ancestor of all mountains as well as the origin of the world’s natural resources. It was located at the western end of the Western Region, far from Huainan Prefecture, where Qi Xuansu was.

Traveling from the Central Plains to Kunlun Mountain and back on foot would take several months at least, which was extremely inconvenient. Moreover, the journey was arduous, with rough conditions along the way. Many Daoist disciples considered returning to the Ancestral Court a major hardship.

The Daoist Order recognized this challenge and deployed flying ships in various locations.

As the name implies, a flying ship was a large vessel capable of sailing above the sea of clouds. Its manufacturing process was extremely complex, reportedly involving the skeletal structure of a dragon as the keel of the ship.

The dragon pearl was used for propulsion, and various talismans and formations enabled the ship to float and soar like a dragon in the sky. Therefore, the flying ship was also known as a dragon ship.

With the advent of flying ships, the journey from various places to Kunlun only took one full day.

Daoist disciples hunted dragons to facilitate this mode of transport. Thus, many dragons near the coast and lakes fled to remote seas where humans rarely ventured, making them difficult to find.

At the moment, there were twenty flying ships, each capable of carrying a hundred people. Due to the limited number of trips and seats available, only Daoist disciples were allowed to board the flying ships. They also had to pay for their tickets.

Dragons were creatures of water, and dragon pearls needed to absorb water vapor to replenish their energy. When sailing over the sea, where water vapor was abundant, the flying ship could travel smoothly with minimal energy consumption. However, when flying over arid land where water vapor was scarce, the flying ship would struggle against the wind, resulting in significant energy consumption.

Kunlun was located inland, northwest of the Central Plains, where water vapor was scarce. Thus, to ensure the flying ship could reach Kunlun smoothly, it needed to be supplemented with Xuanhuang.

Xuanhuang—as described in the Divine Pill Scripture—was made of 6 kilograms of mercury and 12 kilograms of lead, combined in an alchemical furnace under intense heat. The lead and mercury would release their essence, which was purple in color. Then, they would use an iron spoon to collect the substance known as Xuanhuang.

Xuanhuang was considered a metal that would generate water. Thus, it complemented the dragon pearls and was fuel for flying ships.

The Daoist Order had a Xuanhuang Division dedicated to refining Xuanhuang to maintain the operation of flying ships. Many Daoist disciples engaged in this industry, earning a monthly wage of 3 Taiping coins per person, totaling 36 Taiping coins per year.

Calculating based on the expenses of a family of three, which was 10 Taiping coins a year, Daoist disciples in this division could not only support their wives and children but also have more than 20 Taiping coins in surplus, which was considered affluent.

The Xuanhuang Division had more than a thousand Daoist disciples, and the annual labor cost alone was nearly 40,000 Taiping coins.

The price of raw materials was also not cheap. One Taiping coin could buy 3.6 kilograms of mercury, and it took 12 kilograms of mercury to refine 50 grams of Xuanhuang. A round trip on the flying ship consumed 1,080 kilograms of Xuanhuang, and this was excluding the consumption of lead, coal, tar, and oil.

Due to these costs, the price of a one-person ticket on the flying ship was quite expensive, costing 100 Taiping coins one way. Only those with official business and relevant credentials could be exempted from paying the ticket.

Qi Xuansu had no official business to attend to. If he wanted to ride the flying ship, he had to spend 100 Taiping coins to purchase a ticket. If he was unwilling to pay or short of money, his only other option was to travel by land to Kunlun, but if so, he might not arrive in time before the 15th of August.

After careful consideration, Qi Xuansu reluctantly decided to take the flying ship to the Ancestral Court of Kunlun.

Furthermore, flying ships were not always available. The flying ship was scheduled to head to the Ancestral Court of Kunlun only on the 1st and 15th of each month. If he missed it, he would have to wait for half a month for the next trip.

It was already the 13th of July, with only two days left until the 15th of the month.

Fortunately, Huainan Prefecture was the capital of the province, so there was a flying ship port that was not far away from Huainan City. The port was on Taiping Mountain, only half a day’s journey from the city.

Qi Xuansu dared not delay the journey and immediately headed for Taiping Mountain.

Although Qi Xuansu had never been to Taiping Mountain, it was not difficult to find. Besides serving as a flying ship port, Taiping Mountain was also the location of the Luzhou Daoist Mansion, presided over by a second-rank Taiyi Daoist.

Taiping Mountain was a continuous mountain chain with stone steps built from the foot of the mountain to the mountainside. Upon arriving at Taiping Mountain, Qi Xuansu climbed up along the stone steps.

After about two hours, he could vaguely see terraced fields. Their distinct layers resembled steps built for celestial beings. At this time, many Daoist believers were farming on the terraced fields.

The mountain road gradually became steep and undulating. Finally, he arrived at a cliff. There was a basket the size of an ordinary horse carriage at the edge of the cliff, with a thick metal chain connected to it that extended upward into the misty clouds.

Next to the basket was a huge, cross-shaped mechanism that required both hands to operate, and beside it stood a ninth-rank Daoist priest.

After presenting his credentials, Qi Xuansu climbed into the basket, and the ninth-rank Daoist priest operated the mechanism. With a series of clicks, the basket slowly began to rise off the ground. A winch above hoisted the basket up.

As the basket continued to ascend, Qi Xuansu looked up and saw the white mist. After a while, he could see the clouds drifting overhead. When he went through the clouds, he looked down, but all he could see was a vast expanse of white.

The basket finally stopped after a long time. They had arrived at the mountaintop, and the first thing that caught Qi Xuansu’s eye was a huge white jade archway with four golden characters that read Taiping Wuyou, shining brightly in the sunlight.

Ordinary people seeing this might think that this place was named after the silver Taiping coin and the gold Wuyou coin. However, those who understood the meaning behind this would only see the grandeur of the Daoist Order. On the contrary, the silver Taiping coin and the gold Wuyou coin originated from this archway.

Not far from the archway was a giant wheel, about 33 meters tall. It turned slowly and continuously. The giant wheel was connected to many long mechanical arms that led to an unknown destination.

This was Qi Xuansu’s first visit, and he was extremely impressed.

Just like at the cliff, there was also a cross-shaped mechanism next to the huge winch at the mountaintop, with a ninth-rank Daoist disciple standing beside it.

Upon Qi Xuansu’s arrival, the ninth-rank disciple introduced their surroundings. “That’s the Celestial Wheel. You were able to ride the basket up here because of this. There are nine Celestial Wheels in the mountains that maintain the revolution of the entire Taiping Mountain.”

Qi Xuansu was somewhat puzzled by the term “revolution.” He understood the literal meaning of the word, as in the revolution of the sun and the moon, which explained why the seasons changed. However, mountains were inanimate objects that could not move as the sun, moon, and stars did, so why did he use the term “revolution?”

However, Qi Xuansu did not want to look stupid and did not inquire further. He continued walking.

After passing through the archway, there was a straight stone road followed by an extremely long staircase.

As he approached, Qi Xuansu discovered that these stairs, made of an unknown material, were actually moving. The stairs were split in the middle, with the left side moving up and the right side moving down. As long as one stood on the stairs, the steps would move up or down with a clicking sound.

Qi Xuansu carefully looked through the gaps between the stairs and saw gears of various sizes rotating non-stop. He was even more amazed. He thought, These stairs are moving! Is it also because of that Celestial Wheel?

In the blink of an eye, he reached the end of the stairs that led to a magnificent hall with ten-meter-tall carved beams and rafters, predominantly white in color. It resembled a palace in the sky. There were also giant sundials and hourglasses on both sides of the door to measure time. The floor in the hall was paved with black marble, like a mirror that could reflect one’s figure.

Qi Xuansu inadvertently looked up and noticed that the dome of the hall was a constellation map, made of some unknown material. The stars of various sizes not only emitted a faint light but also moved slowly in some kind of pattern. At this moment, it was daytime, so it was not very noticeable. If it were nighttime, it would surely be a magnificent sight.

At this moment, Qi Xuansu felt like a country bumpkin entering the imperial palace. He felt dizzy with awe.

In any case, Qi Xuansu, a seventh-rank Daoist, had seen some magical things. If he felt this way, an ordinary person would surely think this was a heavenly paradise. It was no wonder some people called the Daoist Ancestral Court the White Jade Capital in the sky.

Qi Xuansu calmed his mind and looked around. He found a black marble counter not far away and walked over quickly.

Behind the counter stood a beautiful woman, also a ninth-rank Daoist disciple. Seeing Qi Xuansu’s credentials, she smiled and asked, “Are you going to the Ancestral Court of Kunlun?”

Qi Xuansu had already prepared the large note and placed it in his sleeve pocket. At this moment, he took out the large note with a faint ink fragrance and responded, “One ticket to the Ancestral Court, please.”

"Alright.” The woman took the cash note worth 100 Taiping coins, retrieved a specially made jade token, and handed it to Qi Xuansu. “Please wait for the flying ship in the back hall. You may present your credentials and this jade token when boarding.”

Qi Xuansu took the jade token and scrutinized it. There was nothing particularly unusual about it. Only the number 63 was carved at the front, indicating that Qi Xuansu was the 63rd person to board this flying ship.

He put away the jade token and walked toward the back hall in the direction the woman was pointing.

Upon entering the back hall, everything became clear.

The entire northern wall of the back hall was not made of bricks and stones but replaced with glass, offering a clear view of the outside.

Outside the hall was a lake, shimmering with colorful light under the sun.

Inside the hall were fixed cushions arranged like a chessboard, with many people already seated in small groups of two or three. They were all Daoist disciples, mostly sixth-rank and fifth-rank, as well as a few fourth-rank masters. It was rare to see seventh-rank Daoist priests like Qi Xuansu.

After all, 100 Taiping coins was a large amount, and most seventh-rank Daoist priests would not be so extravagant. However, no one dared to underestimate Qi Xuansu. A seventh-rank disciple who could afford to spend 100 Taiping coins to ride the flying ship to Kunlun’s Ancestral Court was likely to have an extraordinary background.

Most people just glanced at Qi Xuansu and closed their eyes again to rest.

Qi Xuansu sat down cross-legged in an inconspicuous corner and closed his eyes to meditate, quietly waiting for the flying ship to arrive.

For Xiantian Beings, sitting in meditation without eating or drinking for two days was not difficult.

After a day passed, someone suddenly announced, “The flying ship has arrived.”