Ordinary mother-child talismans and mother-child mirrors, including systems such as the rapid post talisman, voice transmission talisman, and Cloud Message, all operated on a network with interwoven connections. Due to this, they could potentially be monitored or intercepted. They were secure against outsiders, but not necessarily secure internally.

Thus, when carrying out highly confidential operations, the Daoist Order would even resort to using coded language.

However, fish talismans and licenses functioned on a direct point-to-point basis without passing through third parties, making them extremely difficult to intercept, thus ensuring a much higher level of security.

Qi Xuansu had used a fish talisman to contact Madam Qi, while the method he now used to contact Zhang Yuelu was the license.

Zhang Yuelu was quite surprised, since Qi Xuansu had contacted her only a short while ago.

“What good news is it this time?” Zhang Yuelu asked.

Qi Xuansu replied, “It’s hard to say whether this is good news or bad news. Maybe it’s good news.”

Then Qi Xuansu recounted the entire sequence of events to Zhang Yuelu.

After listening, Zhang Yuelu remained silent for a long while.

She did not quite know what to say.

As Qi Xuansu’s investigation deepened, he gradually found himself in a peculiar situation. Although the Earthly Preceptor had made no openly hostile moves, Qi Xuansu was slowly ending up on the opposite side of the Yao family.

The Yao family was no longer his backing. Instead, they were beginning to subtly become his enemy.

One had to admit that fate was truly unpredictable. Who could have imagined such a development? At the very least, the Qi Xuansu of the past had never anticipated it.

Even if one day the Li family became his ally, it would not be strange. As the old saying went, there were no eternal enemies nor eternal friends.

Qi Xuansu let out a long sigh. “After struggling for so many years, I finally crossed the river[1], yet in the end, I’m still just a pawn.”

Zhang Yuelu did not sigh or lament. Instead, she immediately began considering practical solutions. “I’ll help you keep an eye on matters related to this.”

Qi Xuansu said, “The Qingping Society rarely operates in Nanyang. Their primary sphere of activity is in the Central Plains. I suspect their headquarters is either in Zhongzhou or Qinzhou, which are territories controlled by the Quanzhen Sect.”

Zhang Yuelu asked, “Since this concerns the Quanzhen Sect, are you planning to ask Sage Donghua to intervene?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “I haven’t decided yet. But right now, the bigger concern is you. True Lord Ziguang’s prophecy cannot be fully trusted, but neither can it be completely ignored. You’ve already offended many people, so it’s best that you remain cautious.”

Zhang Yuelu said, “With Old Lin around, there shouldn’t be any problems, right?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “It’s hard to say. Of course I trust Old Lin, but judging from the meaning behind True Lord Ziguang’s words, this probably won’t happen anytime soon. As for the future, nobody can guarantee anything. It’s not impossible that, due to certain circumstances, Old Lin may not be by your side when it happens.”

Zhang Yuelu said, “Understood. But I still stand by what I said before. No one can guard against thieves forever, so defense alone is impossible. The key is to solve the problem at its root.”

Qi Xuansu sighed. “You’re right. Let’s put the Earthly Preceptor aside for now. Even True Lord Ziguang is wary of her, so there’s probably little we can uncover there. The key right now is Zhou Mengyao. She may be the key to breaking the deadlock.”

“She’s an Immortal,” Zhang Yuelu reminded.

Qi Xuansu said, “Although she’s an Immortal, she cannot openly reveal herself. Our greatest advantage is that we can use the Daoist Order’s authority against her when necessary. If we rely on the Daoist Order’s power to deal with her, even the Earthly Preceptor wouldn’t be able to say much, especially with the Heavenly Preceptor, the Imperial Preceptor, and Great Sage Jiang all watching. The Earthly Preceptor still cannot completely dominate the Daoist Order. But our disadvantage is that the enemy hides in the shadows while we stand in the open. If she suddenly strikes from the dark, with our current cultivation levels, we could truly suffer badly.”

Zhang Yuelu said, “I should be alright. I mostly stay within the Daoist Palace and rarely go out. I don’t think they have the audacity to directly attack a Daoist Palace. The real concern is you. You’re heading to the New Continent again, aren’t you? That’s not the Daoist Order’s territory, and the situation there is extremely complicated. If they really wanted to make a move, it would be the perfect place. Afterward, they could simply pin the blame on the Steam Evangelical Sect or the ancient gods.”

Qi Xuansu waved his hand. “They’ve invested too many resources into me to casually get rid of me. But you’re right. I still need to be cautious.”

Qi Xuansu then asked, “By the way, any news from the Heavenly Preceptor’s side?”

Zhang Yuelu shook her head. “No. Even without this matter, I don’t actually see the Heavenly Preceptor very often. He’s easier to locate when he serves as the Great Sage Lunzhi because he must remain in Jade Capital. But once he steps down from that position, you can’t expect him to stay in the Dazhen Mansion all the time. The Central Plains isn’t like the New Continent. There’s no need to constantly prepare for war, nor do Immortals need to stand guard day and night. Besides, the Three Deputy Grand Masters are not actively pursuing transcendence through a heavenly tribulation, so they naturally have many other affairs occupying their time.”

Qi Xuansu thought about it and realized it indeed made sense.

If he himself ever reached such a position, he too would only concern himself with overall direction and strategy. He certainly wouldn’t stay home all day, as that would be unbearably dull.

Take the Imperial Preceptor for example. During the war in Fenglin, the Imperial Preceptor personally entered the battlefield, wielding a single sword as he charged straight into the headquarters of Ise-jingu. From this, it was clear that the Imperial Preceptor was not the sort of nobleman who feared danger and hid himself away. When not serving as the Great Sage Lunzhi, he certainly would not remain in the Zhenjing Courtyard forever.

As for the Earthly Preceptor, Qi Xuansu did not even know where she was. To this day, he still had never met her in person.

What else could Qi Xuansu say? The Heavenly Preceptor was not someone he could meet simply because he wished to. The highest Council of Three within the Daoist Order was equivalent to emperors in the secular world. One had to submit a formal request for an audience, and whether they agreed to see you depended entirely on their will. Qi Xuansu was not even an Omniscient Sage yet. If ranked by status and seniority, he would probably fall somewhere beyond 50th place. That was not even counting the retired first-rank Tianzhen Daoists.

Qi Xuansu had now indirectly offended two members of the Council of Three—the Imperial Preceptor and the Earthly Preceptor. If not for the fact that the three of them harbored mutual grievances and engaged in both open and covert struggles, eventually forming a stable tripartite balance in which each restrained the others, Qi Xuansu would have already been dead several times over.

Although the Earthly Preceptor and the Heavenly Preceptor appeared to have formed an alliance against the Imperial Preceptor, in reality this alliance was far from stable. It was extremely fragile, with each side harboring its own schemes.

Judging from many of the Heavenly Preceptor’s actions, as the greatest diviner within the Daoist Order, he had clearly sensed aspects of the Earthly Preceptor’s plans. Thus he deliberately intervened, giving Qi Xuansu room to maneuver.

The idea that Qi Xuansu could rely on what the Earthly Preceptor had given him to break free from her control, or even turn around and defeat her, was nothing more than a fool’s fantasy.

The reason Qi Xuansu had reached this point and awakened from the illusion others had woven around him was because of an external force—the Heavenly Preceptor.

Without the Heavenly Preceptor, Qi Xuansu would probably still be paying respects at Qi Haoran’s empty grave, let alone become Sage Donghua’s disciple.

As for what the Heavenly Preceptor truly intended, one first had to understand the relationship between the Zhang family and the Li family.

The conflict between the Zhang and Li families was not merely an act. However, the two sides also shared a considerable number of common interests.

The old established clans had little tolerance for rising new families like the Wang family. From the perspective of the Zhang and Li families, the Yao family was also a newly risen clan.

It was only during the era of the second-generation Earthly Preceptor that the Yao family truly rose to prominence, while the Zhang and Li families had already existed for over a thousand years by then. Other families such as the Pei, Xiao, Su, Shen, and Lu families, though inferior to the Zhang and Li families, still possessed centuries of heritage and had successfully renewed themselves by choosing the correct side and following the Holy Xuan.

The difference between the Yao family and the Wang family was simply that the Zhang and Li families failed to crush the Yao family. Instead, the Yao family rose to become the third great family. At their core, however, the Zhangs and Lis still regarded themselves as the orthodox lineage.

Back then, the Southern Daoist Order, Eastern Daoist Order, and Northern Daoist Order gathered at the Shangqing Palace atop Cuiyun Peak to swear an alliance, jointly resisting the Confucian School and revitalizing the Daoist Order. Aside from the Holy Xuan, the representatives of the three factions were Elder Li, Elder Zhang, and the founding emperor of the Great Xuan Dynasty. These became the earliest three Deputy Grand Masters.

At that time, the Daoist Order had not yet truly unified, and the Holy Xuan was merely the fourth most important figure, comparable to Great Sage Jiang today. The position of Grand Master remained vacant, making the three Deputy Grand Masters the true highest authorities, a structure remarkably similar to today’s Council of Three.

Later, Emperor Gaozu withdrew in order to establish the Imperial Court of the Great Xuan Dynasty. Elder Xu’s lineage then entered to fill the vacancy, which stood on equal footing with the Shangqing Zhang family.

Only after Elder Zhang, Elder Li, and Elder Xu had all ascended did the Holy Xuan truly monopolize supreme authority and become the first Grand Master. The power structure of the Daoist Order was thus firmly established.

The era in which the Holy Xuan solely held supreme authority became an important dividing line for judging seniority and legitimacy.

The rise of the Yao family only occurred after the Holy Xuan had already taken control.

Now, the Yao family had stepped forward, claiming to be one of the Daoist Order’s three great aristocratic clans. In terms of sheer strength, that claim was considered valid.

But where was the Yao family when the oath to heaven was sworn atop Cuiyun Peak, or when the Primordial Daoist Ancestor manifested himself during the sword duel at Yuxu Peak?

Not to mention, the Yao family was absent in the many great wars afterward, when the Northern Daoist Order’s cavalry battered the gates, the Eastern Daoist Order blockaded the seas, and the Southern Daoist Order provided funds and grain.

When fighting against the Confucian School, it could not be said that the Yao family contributed absolutely nothing, but their accomplishments were hardly worth mentioning.

With credentials like that, could the Yao family really claim to be a great clan?

Only after the overall situation had already been settled did they suddenly rise to stand on equal footing with us old-established families.

Thus, the Yao family had never truly managed to fully integrate the Quanzhen Sect. One reason was the sheer size and complexity of the Quanzhen Sect’s many factions. Another reason was the Yao family’s comparatively shallow qualifications and history.

For this reason, the Zhang and Li families preferred speaking of only the Two Great Families instead of the Three Great Families. Though they were long-time rivals, the two sides still mutually acknowledged each other’s legitimacy, elevating each other’s status.

In the eyes of the two great families, if the Daoist Order did not belong to the Zhangs, then it belonged to the Lis.

The Li family claimed descent from the Primordial Daoist Ancestor, while the Zhang family claimed to be the Primordial Daoist Ancestor’s direct disciples. To put it bluntly, it was simply a struggle over inheritance between the son and the disciple, each with its own legitimate claim. That was why they disliked the idea that the remnants of the defeated Ancient Wuist Sect were dreaming of controlling the Daoist Order’s supreme authority.

If Yao Yueyan truly was a First-Tribulation Immortal, then there was a high probability that the Zhang and Li families would join forces to suppress her.

Once one understood this subtlety, it became clear just how fragile the alliance between the Zhengyi Sect and the Quanzhen Sect truly was. From the Zhang family’s perspective, the alliance was merely a temporary expedient against the Li family. The person the Zhang family genuinely wished to cooperate with was Sage Donghua, not the Earthly Preceptor.

After all, it was the Heavenly Sect founded by the Zhang family’s ancestors that destroyed the Yao family’s ancestors. The hatred involved there far surpassed the conflict between the Zhang and Li families. No matter what, the Zhang and Li families had at times agreed to ceasefires and reconciliation. They had even fought side by side against the formidable enemies of the Confucian School and the Buddhist Sect.

In contrast, Sage Donghua came from an orthodox lineage. Long before the Holy Xuan rose to prominence, the Pei family had already followed him and received his direct teachings. Excluding the Li family, the Holy Xuan originally had three inheritor lineages—the Shen, Zhou, and Pei families.

Although Zhou Shuning was not formally a disciple of the Holy Xuan, her relationship with him resembled the relationship between Little Yin and Qi Xuansu. Later, Zhou Shuning married Shen Changsheng, effectively merging the two families into one.

Unfortunately, her son, Shen Qingchen, almost severed his own ties with the Daoist Order entirely. Aside from Shen Qingchen’s branch, the other members of the Shen family were all considered side branches and not true orthodox inheritors of the Holy Xuan’s legacy.

After all these twists and turns, only the Pei family remained with a proper and orderly inheritance while avoiding any major mistakes. Naturally, this gave them a unique status and earned them broader recognition.

1. Crossing the Chu River in Chinese chess meant that the pawn would finally gain the ability to move horizontally instead of only vertically before crossing ☜