A Pawn's Passage

Before leaving, Qi Xuansu specifically searched for the flying ship’s Dragon Pearl. As long as the pearl remained, Tianji Hall could easily reconstruct the ship later. Unfortunately, it was nowhere to be found, likely swallowed by Yamata-no-Orochi.

While searching for survivors, Qi Xuansu could occasionally feel massive tremors, as if a primordial beast were moving across the land. There were also sounds made by Yamata-no-Orochi.

Thus, Qi Xuansu remained on high alert, but thankfully, the monster did not head their way. Once the search was over, he swiftly led the others in the opposite direction of the tremors. The group traveled over 100 kilometers before the vibrations faded.

Qi Xuansu felt something was off. This was a relatively stable flight route. Flying ships had traveled it multiple times before. How could they suddenly encounter the Yamata-no-Orochi? After all, the Daoist Order deliberately avoided such danger zones when plotting routes. Either someone had lured the monster to their path, or the person piloting the flying ship deviated from the path.

But now was not the time to investigate. The priority was to locate the Daoist military camp.

Qi Xuansu had rescued five people in total. Aside from Han Yongfeng, the others were Li Mingshan from Ciji Hall, Lu Yuting from Huasheng Hall, Tang Yongshui from Tianji Hall, and Qian Daren from Tiangang Hall.

All of them were superintendents. After all, surviving such a fall required a high level of cultivation. Anyone below the Guizhen stage would have died instantly. Moreover, with high cultivation came respectable positions.

Having been infused with divine power by Qi Xuansu, they could now move around. Unfortunately, there was no proper Shaman among them. Qi Xuansu, being a self-taught Shaman, could only rely on the brute-force of divine power infusions. A formally trained Shaman would have been educated in many more advanced healing methods.

Luckily, Lu Yuting from Huasheng Hall was well-versed in medicine. She also salvaged numerous medicinal pills from the wreckage. Since this was wartime, the flying ship had been stocked accordingly. After sorting them by type, she distributed the medicines to everyone.

Li Mingshan from Ciji Hall was fluent in the Wa language, which would be very helpful to the group in this unfamiliar land. During his training at the Wanxiang Daoist Upper Palace, Qi Xuansu had also been required to learn a foreign language. He had chosen to learn Western Lune, partly because he had studied a little with Arthur before and partly because he recognized that the true rival to the Daoist Order was the West. That language would prove far more useful in the future.

Tang Yongshui and Qian Daren did not serve much purpose at the moment. However, they came from the Quanzhen Sect and Zhengyi Sect, respectively. Thus, both felt a kinship toward Qi Xuansu. Qian Daren, in particular, had closer ties to Qi Xuansu, as he was from Tiangang Hall.

Once they were clear of immediate danger, Qi Xuansu gathered the group for a temporary meeting to discuss how they would return to camp.