The Spirit Guards of Tiangang Hall took control of the ports and all entry and exit points of the Wanxiang Daoist Palace. No one was allowed to come and go freely.

The Daoists of Beichen Hall, led by Li Zhuyu, moved into the Daoist Palace. While continuing to investigate the murder case, they also began interviewing the Deputy Palace Masters and instructors.

Under normal circumstances, no matter how influential Beichen Hall was, it could not act so recklessly. But with Great Sage Shi’s approval, the Daoist Palace’s elites were all free to be interrogated.

The news of Beichen Hall’s presence in the Wanxiang Daoist Palace spread rapidly and caused a major stir. The closed environment of the Daoist Palace made it a close-knit society. Outsiders might find it difficult to investigate certain matters, but insiders usually knew most of the truth, even if there was no formal evidence.

By questioning individuals one by one in isolation, those who were not involved would not want to be caught in the crossfire or suffer consequences, so they would inevitably reveal bits of information.

Those who had done nothing wrong had nothing to fear. Qi Xuansu would not implicate others without reason.

However, the problem was that few high-ranking Daoists could withstand scrutiny. Even if they were not involved in this matter, other problems could be uncovered. Thus, it was better to deal with the matter at hand and quickly send the Beichen Hall off on their merry way.

After compiling all the gathered information, Beichen Hall could roughly identify the target.

At this stage, although evidence might still be lacking, the suspect could be detained first and interrogated gradually. Evidence would naturally emerge. After that, the formal procedures could follow, with the Fengxian Hall handling the judgment.

If Qi Xuansu still felt it insufficient, he could intervene and offer guidance. Generally, the Fengxian Hall would respect Chief Deputy Qi’s opinions, like how to interpret ambiguous points, how to define the case, or whether to impose the maximum penalty or show leniency.

Others could not easily find fault with this approach.

This was what it meant to hold great power and influence.

Thus, the two things men desired most were strength and power. Strength allowed one to ignore all Daoist rules and crush others without consequence. But it was extremely difficult to attain. Power came next. Though it was not as direct, it was more attainable.

Strength could physically shake the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, while power could shake the hearts of its people.

Qi Xuansu’s innate talent made it hard for him to reach the pinnacle of brute strength, so he must settle for the next best option.

In any case, uncovering the truth of this matter would still take some time.

Qi Xuansu delegated the task and only needed to monitor the progress. He did not need to know the details. As usual, he continued accompanying Huangfu Ji in touring the Wanxiang Daoist Lower Palace. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Qi Xuansu had spent his childhood and youth in the Lower Palace, so he was familiar with every plant and corner. This time, he personally acted as a guide on this tour.

However, the effects of the rumors had already begun to show. Rumors spread that Qi Xuansu had driven the female instructor to commit suicide. The Spirit Guards and investigators were also sent by him. Thus, the children were afraid of him and ran away as soon as they saw him from afar.

Even when the instructors gathered a group of children to meet him, their faces were pale, as if Qi Xuansu were some man-eating monster.

Faced with this situation, Qi Xuansu had no intention of appearing approachable. He simply told the instructors to keep a close watch on the children so as to ensure nothing happened to them.

Qi Xuansu would not argue with a group of children. Little Yin would handle things on her own. The main concern was preventing certain people from making further use of this incident.

He did not believe that innocence would naturally prove itself. He only sought to have a clear conscience.

After touring the Lower Palace, Huangfu Ji remarked thoughtfully over tea, “It is the common-born disciples who serve as the ballast. They must have pathways for advancement, something to aspire to, with goals and hope. Otherwise, serious problems will arise.”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “If upward mobility is blocked and classes become rigid, the lower classes will accumulate resentment and hostility. Dissatisfaction will build up, making the situation far more complex.”

Huangfu Ji continued, “The question is, where are the commoners in the Western Daoist Order? Are they the indigenous people of the Southern Continent? If we allow them to join the Western Daoist Order, will it cause problems? It may not be obvious now, but in 50 years or 100 years, when their numbers increase, they will grow stronger and begin demanding power. Each generation will demand more seats at the table. Those of us who descended from the Central Plains could go from an absolute majority to a minority. By then, would the Western Daoist Order change its nature?”

Qi Xuansu remained silent for a long time before saying, “That is indeed a problem. But ruling the masses with the few required cooperation and sharing some power. It was similar to when the Golden Horde ruled the Central Plains. They had to grant some power to the locals, or they would not be able to hold control.”

Huangfu Ji clearly already had an answer. “The Western Daoist Order is different from the Golden Horde. We are backed by the Central Plains, which population is not lacking. I have an idea. The Western Daoist Order needs migrants from the Central Plains, enough of them to intermarry with the indigenous people so that their offspring can be considered trustworthy insiders.”

Qi Xuansu made no comment. He believed this was a very complex issue that could not be resolved in a few words.

At times, Qi Xuansu also admitted that what the Steam Evangelical Sect had done was inhumane and deserving of strong condemnation. Yet it was the simplest and most efficient approach. After all, the Steam Evangelical Sect was not foolish. Such universally condemned actions must have been driven by immense benefits.

At that moment, Ning Yuqing pushed the door open and entered. “Sage Qi, Sage Huangfu.”

Huangfu Ji asked, “Instructor Ning, is something the matter?”

Ning Yuqing said, “Something has happened again.”

Qi Xuansu raised an eyebrow and asked, “What is it?”

Ning Yuqing sighed. “That child who previously had a conflict with Little Yin nearly met with an accident. Fortunately, Chief Deputy Qi had given prior instructions, and the Daoist Palace was prepared, so nothing happened. Preliminary checks show signs of human interference, similar to the Bewitching Spell.”

Qi Xuansu was not surprised and smiled. “As I said, there must be members of secret societies involved. Since it’s the Bewitching Spell, it could be tied to the Lingshan Witch Cult. It seems we need to intensify our efforts.”

Huangfu Ji could not help but laugh. “It looks like some people think they aren’t dying fast enough, or they’ve already lost their composure.”

Qi Xuansu said, “We should have results soon.”

Li Zhuyu did not disappoint Qi Xuansu. In just one day, they made significant progress. Although the murderer of the female instructor had not yet been found, the mastermind had already been identified.

The situation was quite strange. The killer fled the Wanxiang Daoist Palace immediately after committing the crime. By the time Qi Xuansu learned of it and Tiangang Hall temporarily sealed off the Daoist Palace, much time had passed, and the killer was already far away. However, the mastermind remained within the Daoist Palace. He was the one who allowed the killer to escape successfully.

This person was named Qi Wangui, a relative of Qi Jiaozheng and Qi Muyu. Though not very old, his seniority was high, making him a seventh-generation disciple within the Daoist Order. Compared to Qi Jiaozheng, Qi Wangui had achieved little. After all these years, he remained only a Deputy Palace Master, having served in Wuxu Palace, Chongyang Palace of Immortality, and Wanxiang Daoist Palace. Qi Jiaozheng did not particularly like this relative and did not treat him with respect, often reprimanding him.

When rumors spread that Wanxiang Daoist Palace would reestablish the position of Palace Master, Qi Wangui became highly invested, actively networking to secure the position. He did not want Qi Jiaozheng to look down on him.

Unexpectedly, Qi Xuansu became the most likely candidate for Palace Master.

Thus, Qi Wangui harbored resentment. At this moment, he believed that with Qi Jiaozheng as his backing, he had nothing to fear. After all, when Little Yin first came to the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, Qi Xuansu had not yet become a disciple of Sage Donghua. In his view, Qi Xuansu might even be an illegitimate member of the Qi family and should address him as grand-uncle, so he decided to give Qi Xuansu a warning.

At first glance, it seemed effective because Zhang Yuelu backed down. From this perspective, Zhang Yuelu inadvertently played a role in luring the enemy deeper.

When Qi Xuansu arrived at the Daoist Palace, Qi Wangui attempted to repeat the same tactic, arranging for the female instructor to be killed.

Unexpectedly, Qi Xuansu did not fall for it. Instead, he escalated the situation, causing it to spiral out of control.

At this point, Qi Wangui realized that Qi Xuansu had chosen direct confrontation, and he had no effective countermeasures, leading him to lose composure.

Of course, none of this was directly stated by Qi Wangui. It was pieced together and inferred by Beichen Hall.

After all, complaints and thoughts could not always be suppressed. They inevitably surfaced in everyday conversation. Qi Wangui’s ambition for the Palace Master position and his dissatisfaction with Qi Xuansu were widely known.

Qi Wangui had also privately declared that he would teach Qi Xuansu a lesson. He had also grown smug after Zhang Yuelu’s apology.

All of this was reported to Beichen Hall by Qi Wangui’s close friend. This friend knew how to read the situation. Seeing that Qi Xuansu would not let the matter rest, and fearing that he would be implicated or labeled an accomplice, he chose self-preservation over loyalty. Thus, he turned in Qi Wangui as a way to earn merit.

After reviewing these statements, Li Zhuyu understood Qi Xuansu’s intentions. The talk of hunting secret society members was merely a pretext. The real goal was to expose Qi Wangui. She was already accustomed to such tactics, as the Li family had done similar things many times.

Li Zhuyu came to seek instructions from Qi Xuansu on how to proceed, whether to arrest Qi Wangui outright or detain him under the pretext of assisting in the investigation.

After hearing the report, Qi Xuansu said, “This is only one side of the story and lacks supporting evidence. However, since it involves a murder case, I agree that we should detain him first and interrogate him slowly.”

Li Zhuyu personally went to apprehend Qi Wangui. With Daoists from Beichen Hall, Spirit Guards from Tiangang Hall, and powerful figures such as Great Sage Shi, Qi Xuansu, and Huangfu Ji present, an ordinary person could only surrender without resistance. To resist would be to choose death.