Chapter 1000: Official Appointment

Chapter 1000: Official Appointment

Many people often wondered, if the Golden Tower Council held the highest authority over personnel decisions, why was the Ziwei Hall regarded as the foremost among the Nine Halls?

Though Ziwei Hall had no power to decide on appointments for positions above the Deputy Mansion Masters and Deputy Hall Masters, they held the right to recommend. This recommendation carried tremendous weight. Ordinarily, the Golden Tower Council would seriously consider Ziwei Hall’s advice.

There was a saying within the Daoist Order that the Golden Tower Council was a cloud, while Ziwei Hall was the wind. If one wished to rise, the cloud would provide shade, yet the direction in which the cloud traveled depended on the wind.

Moreover, Ziwei Hall might not always be able to make things happen, but it could easily ruin them. After all, it oversaw the performance evaluations of all Daoist priests. Even if the Golden Tower Council wanted to approve a promotion, if Ziwei Hall submitted an assessment declaring the candidate unfit, the Council could not ignore the system and force the appointment through.

For this reason, even without full authority over major appointments, Ziwei Hall remained the head of the Nine Halls. Tiangang Hall’s situation was similar, not having absolute command of military power.

Furthermore, while the Golden Tower Council held the final decision-making power, the actual announcement of appointments was usually handled by the Deputy Ziwei Hall Masters. There was an unwritten rule that the announcer should be of equal or slightly lower rank than the appointee.

For instance, appointing an ordinary Deputy Mansion Master would warrant sending one Deputy Hall Master from Ziwei Hall. Similarly, for the appointment of a Chief Deputy Mansion Master, Ziwei Hall could send either a peer of equal rank or someone a level below.

The Ziwei Hall Master’s presence was a rare honor. He almost never appeared personally, even for the appointment of a Mansion Master, which was typically handled by the Chief Deputy Ziwei Hall Master.

So for Qi Xuansu’s appointment to be personally overseen by Sage Donghua was a clear sign that this case was anything but ordinary.

When a Second Deputy Mansion Master took office, having Ziwei Hall’s Chief Deputy Hall Master preside was already considered a high honor. But in Qi Xuansu’s case, the Hall Master himself was handling it, which was an unprecedented level of attention that surpassed not only other Second Deputies but even many Chief Deputies and some Mansion Masters.

From top to bottom, countless eyes were fixed upon Ziwei Hall. The moment word spread that Sage Donghua himself had arranged Qi Xuansu’s appointment, it would travel like the wind, reaching every ear that cared to listen. This was the second meaning behind Ziwei Hall being the wind of the Daoist Order.

Qi Xuansu understood that Sage Donghua had done this deliberately to build his reputation. The intention was to send a message to everyone that Qi Xuansu had powerful backing and that he was not someone to be trifled with.

When the time came for the actual assumption of duty, Ziwei Hall would send a representative to accompany him, not allowing Qi Xuansu to travel alone.

This was a standard practice. When Lei Xiaohuan departed for the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion, she had been escorted personally by the Second Deputy Ziwei Hall Master, who would accompany her all the way and formally announce the Golden Tower Council’s decree upon arrival.

Sage Donghua and Qi Xuansu entered the office and sat facing each other.

The Omniscient Sage gestured for the junior to relax. “There’s no need to be so tense. These past few days, I’m sure quite a few people have dropped you hints, so you likely already have some idea of what’s coming.”

“Yes.” Qi Xuansu acknowledged it simply.

Sage Donghua continued, “I won’t bother with the formalities. Let’s speak frankly.

The Earthly Preceptor has decided to assign you to the Poluo Daoist Mansion to assume the role of the Second Deputy Mansion Master. Since you’re still quite young, you will be serving as an Acting Second Deputy first. You’ll perform the duties of a Second Deputy, but your rank remains the same. You can’t be promoted to the second rank yet. What are your thoughts on this?”

Qi Xuansu had long understood the intent behind the three-step plan, so he did not feel disappointed. He did not bother to argue and replied honestly, “I have no objections.”

Sage Donghua nodded slightly. “Good. If you want to remove that prefix before your Second Deputy title, which I hope you will, you must produce tangible results as soon as possible. It has to be something solid enough for those who wish to speak for you in the Golden Tower Council to have grounds to do so.”

Qi Xuansu’s heart stirred slightly, knowing that what followed was the real purpose of this meeting.

Sage Donghua continued, “Your mission in Poluo has three key priorities, or guiding directions for your work, if you will. First, as Sage Cihang mentioned at the joint council, you are to suppress the Holy Court’s influence within Poluo and prevent any of its subversive actions. Second, you are to fulfill your duties within the Poluo Daoist Mansion, which includes strengthening control over the local kingdoms, tribal chieftains, and other sects. This means cultivating closer ties and ensuring they remain united with the Daoist Order to prevent another rebellion like the one in Fenglin. Or to put it plainly, make sure the powers in Poluo understand that there is only one cloud above Poluo—that is, the Daoist Order.”

Qi Xuansu straightened his posture slightly.

Sage Donghua concluded, “Lastly, the most important task of all: you are to assist the Great Sage of the Poluo Daoist Mansion in investigating and eliminating the internal separatist factions to rectify the administration.”

Qi Xuansu asked softly, “When you say separatist factions, do you mean...?”

“The Wang family,” Sage Donghua answered bluntly with an expressionless face. “To be specific, Sage Wang Jiaohe of the Poluo Daoist Mansion, who serves as the Second Mansion Master, and his family.”

Although Qi Xuansu had already suspected this, hearing it spoken aloud by Sage Donghua still left him momentarily stunned. This was no ordinary affair like the first or second major Jiangnan cases. This time, they were moving directly against an Omniscient Sage.

After all, the Daoist Order had no rule that nobles were above the law.

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

This meant that the risks would be enormous.

Qi Xuansu had not personally experienced the first major Jiangnan case, but he had heard bits and pieces from Zhang Yuelu. She had barely escaped with her life. He had witnessed the second major Jiangnan case, where he watched as the enemy silenced witnesses from Jiangling Prefecture all the way to Jinling, culminating in the burning of Zhenwu Temple.

Now, he was to step into another Sage’s long-held territory. This would be yet another struggle for life and death because the Wang family would never surrender meekly and would fight to the bitter end.

Sage Donghua looked at Qi Xuansu. “Are you feeling the pressure?”

Qi Xuansu placed both hands firmly on his knees and replied in a steady voice, “To say I feel no pressure would be a lie. But no matter the hardship, I will see through the mission entrusted by the Golden Tower Council.”

“Good.” Sage Donghua’s expression softened into a smile. “That’s exactly the spirit I want to see.”

Then Sage Donghua shifted his tone. “Still, you must prioritize your own safety and ensure you return in one piece.”

As he said this, Sage Donghua reached into his magical receptacle, retrieved a box, and placed it on the table between them.

Qi Xuansu instinctively rose to his feet.

“Sit.” Sage Donghua pressed down lightly with his left hand in a calming gesture, while his right hand opened the box.

Qi Xuansu’s gaze followed, drawn to the opened box.

Inside was a layer of soft velvet cushioning a smaller box that was about the size of an envelope. Its surface was densely plastered with talisman seals and bound by metal chains as thick as a pinky finger.

It appeared to be some kind of sealed object.

Qi Xuansu could even faintly sense a chilling aura emanating from it.

Sage Donghua placed three fingers gently on the smaller box. “This item shouldn’t be too unfamiliar to you. It’s the one you personally brought back from Fenglin.”

Qi Xuansu was momentarily confused before realization struck. “The Scripture of Zuriel?!”

Sage Donghua chuckled. “Yes, but these are merely a few pages of the Scripture of Zuriel, ripped from the original tome by the Sakka’s hands. The Earthly Preceptor kept the rest.”

Qi Xuansu immediately understood.

According to what the Heavenly Preceptor had once explained, the pages of the Scripture of Zuriel were made from flayed human skin, taken from failed scribes. To complete the tome, 397 scribes had been sacrificed.

Thus, in theory, each page existed independently, which Zuriel bound into a book. Thus, the Earthly Preceptor could unbind them once again.

If someone who had not yet attained immortality were to read the Scripture of Zuriel, they would believe every word within it, that Zuriel was the one true god. Thus, they would be forcibly converted into a devout follower of Zuriel.

Those who had achieved immortality could resist the book’s influence. They would not become Zuriel’s followers but would grow arrogant and overconfident, allowing their cultivation to surge dramatically for a short time. However, once they sought to dispel the book’s influence, they would inevitably lose a portion of that cultivation.

Qi Xuansu could not help but wonder, if the Scripture of Zuriel was so dangerous, why would the Earthly Preceptor and Sage Donghua give it to him? Surely, they did not expect him to use it, right?

Catching the doubt in Qi Xuansu’s eyes, Sage Donghua took the initiative to explain, “These scattered pages do not possess the full power of the complete Scripture of Zuriel. Moreover, you have the Longevity Stone Heart, so you can safely use these pages. They will not convert you into a follower of Zuriel but will instead temporarily enhance your cultivation.”

Qi Xuansu’s eyes lit up. He had personally witnessed Izanagi using the Scripture of Zuriel to instantly reconstruct his golden body, an effect so overwhelming it defied all logic.

“But be warned.” Sage Donghua continued in a solemn tone, “Even in its weakened state, given your current level of cultivation, you must use no more than one page at a time for your own safety. Each use will cause a backlash and leave you weakened, so allow ample time for recovery between uses. Also, though the Longevity Stone Heart will shield you from complete arrogance and madness, your mind will still suffer some distortion. There are seven pages in total, so use them with utmost caution.”

Sage Donghua then closed the outer box and gently pushed it across the table toward Qi Xuansu, who carefully accepted and stored the box.