A Pawn's Passage

After meeting the two of them, the Heavenly Preceptor mainly asked about their coursework.

Among the Three Deputy Grand Masters, the Heavenly Preceptor was the most approachable, like an ordinary elder. The Imperial Preceptor and the Earthly Preceptor would never bother with asking their juniors about such trifles.

Zhang Yuelu and Qi Xuansu took turns answering. Qi Xuansu then took the chance to ask about the Ancient Wuist pseudo-ascension method.

When dealing with elders who could see through one’s thoughts, Qi Xuansu would not try to be clever by beating around the bush. Instead, he spoke frankly and went straight to the point. Given that these elders had good impressions of him, this approach often earned their favor.

After hearing him out, the Heavenly Preceptor showed little surprise and merely said, “It seems you have already grasped the secrets of the Longevity Stone.”

Only Zhang Yuelu was left utterly confused. She knew of the Longevity Stone but had no idea what a pseudo-ascension was. Still, she was no fool and immediately realized this must be related to Qi Xuansu’s visit to the Tianshui Core Tower. She had not pressed him at the time and only knew that he had gone to read the ancient records on Ancient Wuism. With the past two days filled with regular classes, she had completely forgotten about this matter.

Seeing Zhang Yuelu’s confusion, Qi Xuansu replied to the Heavenly Preceptor while also explaining to her, “I wouldn’t dare say I’ve fully grasped it. I merely consulted earlier texts concerning Ancient Wuism and learned that the Ancient Great Witches had a pseudo-ascension ritual. Rather than leaving the mortal world, they would ascend to the Lingshan Paradise.”

The Heavenly Preceptor said, “There is indeed such a ritual. It’s recorded in the notes left behind by the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor.”

As he spoke, the Heavenly Preceptor reached out with one hand, as though passing through layers of space between the Wanxiang Daoist Palace and the Dazhen Mansion to retrieve a bamboo scroll out of thin air. Although papermaking already existed in the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor’s era, bamboo slips were still the mainstream medium at the time. The replacement of one thing by another was always a gradual process and could not happen overnight.

The Heavenly Preceptor unrolled the bamboo slip and glanced over it quickly. “In fact, the pseudo-ascension you speak of isn’t unique to the Ancient Wuist Sect. The Daoist Order once had such a method, though Daoists who underwent pseudo-ascension went to the Kunlun Paradise. In ancient times, the Kunlun Paradise had another name—the Earthly Immortal Realm. At its height, Kunlun had four continents—Purvavideha, Aparagodaniya, Jambudvipa, and Uttarakuru. As the end of the era approaches, Kunlun Paradise has gradually descended. Today, it’s no longer at its peak and only has half a continent remaining.”

Zhang Yuelu was somewhat surprised. “Kunlun Paradise has declined so quickly? I once read records stating that there was still one continent left during the Holy Xuan Era.”

The Heavenly Preceptor replied, “In a few hundred years, even the remaining half of the continent will be gone.”