A Pawn's Passage

Arthur soon discovered an iron door leading underground. Although the above-ground part of the fortress was seriously damaged, the underground part was generally well-preserved. He pushed open the iron door, and the door hinge, which had eroded over time, made a harsh squeaking sound.

Behind the door was a deep and dark corridor, which had not been maintained for a long time. There was water ponding on the ground and even moss all over. The sound of dripping water echoed, making this place all the more eerie.

Arthur gestured with his hands and said in broken Mandarin, “Down below, store, monk, rest.”

Qi Xuansu’s three days of interaction with Arthur allowed him to understand what the latter was saying. This was also one of the reasons Zhang Yuelu wanted Qi Xuansu to follow them.

He explained to Zhang Yuelu and Lingquanzi, “He means that this is a storage area. Monks will also rest here at times.”

With a flick of his finger, Lingquanzi turned a talisman into a burning flame that acted as a guiding light as it floated into the corridor. The fact that the fire had not been extinguished meant that there was still ventilation in the corridor.

The group followed the flame and walked into the corridor. It was quite spacious and could accommodate four people walking side by side. The ceiling was about three meters high, enough for an adult man to jump in the corridor.

There was an unpleasant smell permeating the corridor, but none of them cared. The three men, being seasoned travelers, were used to it. But Zhang Yuelu, who was accustomed to life in Jade Capital, rarely experienced such an environment. Even so, her expression was unchanged, which showed her tenacity. She certainly did not rely on pure talent to get to her position.

At the end of the corridor was a small underground hall, which was where Arthur said the monks rested. Suddenly, Zhang Yuelu stopped. Purple energy flowed in her eyes as she raised her hand to signal for the others to stop as well. “There’s a trap—”

Before she finished speaking, two Blood Shadows shot out from the darkness and headed straight for Qi Xuansu, who was the weakest of the bunch. Qi Xuansu only felt a gust of wind and a strong stench attacking his face.

He thought, These sinners really know how to bully the weak, huh?

Qi Xuansu was quick to react. He rolled back to dodge the attack and drew his sword in one fell swoop.

As the two Blood Shadows attacked again, Qi Xuansu pulled out the Executioner from his back and slashed at one of them at the waist. Although Qi Xuansu managed to split the Blood Shadow in half, it did not die. Instead, it wailed and merged into one again. At the same time, the other Blood Shadow rushed toward Qi Xuansu.

At this moment, Arthur stretched one hand forward. A strong white light shot out from his palm, and the two Blood Shadows turned into green smoke in an instant.

Arthur looked at Qi Xuansu and said in a serious tone, “Qi, these things, not humans.”

Qi Xuansu put the Executioner back into its sheath on his back and pulled out the Meridian. “Will a peach wood sword work?”

Arthur shook his head. “Only silver sword, or spells.”

Qi Xuansu was helpless. When they were planning, Zhang Yuelu and the others completely neglected this part. Lingquanzi was good at spells, and Zhang Yuelu had a semi-immortal object, which was better than any silver sword.

Qi Xuansu also did not expect that Zhang Yuelu would ask him to come along at the spur of the moment. Thus, he did not consider his weapon choices. He had no choice but to put away the Meridian and hold the hilt of the short sword at his waist. This short sword was a relic left by his master. It was a high-grade spiritual object that Qi Xuansu did not know how to use.

The group of people entered the rotunda. In addition to the corridor, which they had entered from, there were two other paths that led to this place. Arthur checked the area and inferred based on his experience. “Left, storage. Right, dungeon.”

Zhang Yuelu said, “I’ll check the storage room first.”

After that, she walked in front, with the three men trailing behind her.

The passage leading to the storage room was short. They soon reached the end of it. However, this corridor was filled with a strong stench of blood. The four of them expected the worst when they pushed open a slightly decayed wooden door. However, the sight in front of them still brought shock to their faces.

There were piles of dried, gray corpses inside, like completely dried tree bark. There was not a single trace of flesh or blood in their bodies. All that was left of them were skin and bones.

The blood of the corpses gathered into a small pool that was dark-red, almost black.

Zhang Yuelu’s tone was bleak. “Is this their food storage?”

“I’m afraid so.” Arthur nodded.

Zhang Yuelu did not speak but waved to Lingquanzi.

Lingquanzi understood what she wanted. After they exited the room, he took out a fire talisman and threw it inside. In the blink of an eye, the entire room was engulfed in reddish-orange flames. What was even more amazing was that no matter how raging the fire was in the room, the outside was not at all affected, without even a wisp of smoke.

The group returned to the rotunda and took the path leading to the dungeon. However, Lingquanzi’s floating flame extinguished as soon as it entered the corridor. Arthur raised his right hand, and five balls of light floated out from his fingertips, illuminating the entire corridor.

According to Arthur, he was a Paladin who could fight in close combat and use spells. Qi Xuansu understood a Paladin to be similar to a Qi Refiner.

This corridor went all the way down. There were occasional splashing sounds when they stepped into the puddles, but otherwise, it was so silent that they could hear a pin drop. An ordinary person’s hair would stand on end. However, the four of them were unfazed.

Qi Xuansu whispered, “According to Arthur, these demons are good at using illusions. Will they—”

Zhang Yuelu, who was walking in front, interrupted him. “My Immortal Eye of Providence will work as long as the spellcaster is not a Heavenly Being, so don’t worry.”

Lingquanzi added, “It’s extremely exhausting to create an illusion with human power alone, and the illusion won’t be able to last for a long time. Usually, they must rely on external sources as well. That’s why we have blocked the earth’s energy and drained the yin energy from this mountain to prevent illusions.”

The four of them soon arrived at the end of the corridor, where there was another iron gate blocking the way.

Arthur slammed his body on it without hesitation, and the iron door crashed to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.

The dungeon behind the door occupied a large area. It was even larger than the castle above. It was very dark inside, and only half of the space could be illuminated by Arthur’s ball of light.

The next moment, countless red dots lit up in the darkness. They were pairs of Blood Eyes. At the same time, countless Blood Arrows shot out at them.

Zhang Yuelu finally made a move. With a wave of her sleeve, she swept away all the Blood Arrows aimed at them.

They could hear sizzling sounds as the Blood Arrows corroded the stone floor and the walls when they landed, creating pits all over.

At this moment, a burst of applause echoed in the space. A young man slowly walked out of the darkness. He looked like a typical person from the Western Continent, with a pale face and silver hair draping softly over his shoulders. He even had a smile on his face.

“That’s a very powerful method.” The young man spoke in Mandarin. Not only was he handsome, but his voice was also deep and husky. He had a polite demeanor too.

Zhang Yuelu asked, “Who are you?”

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hendrick Ravnos, Viscount.” The young man’s left foot did not move, and his right leg was stretched back into a small lunge. He placed his right hand on his chest and stretched his left hand diagonally upward. His upper body leaned slightly forward as he lowered his head, touching his chin to his chest. This was standard court greeting etiquette on the Western Continent.

Zhang Yuelu did not understand this kind of etiquette. She twitched her lips in disdain and asked, “Viscount?”

Arthur said in broken Mandarin, “Not noble. Viscount, Guizhen.”

Qi Xuansu translated, “What Arthur means is that these demons don’t have noble titles. These titles are equivalent to our cultivation level, and their Viscount is roughly equivalent to our Guizhen stage.”

“Interesting,” Zhang Yuelu remarked.

The next moment, Zhang Yuelu appeared in front of Hendrick. Her five fingers curled like hooks as she thrust her hand straight into Hendrick’s face.

A Daoist priest from Bishan Temple had died in this way.

Hendrick did not expect this since he had underestimated Zhang Yuelu. He failed to dodge her attack and was stabbed in the face with her fingers.

There were five colors of energy flowing around Zhang Yuelu’s fingers—the Five Elements Qi Shield. Then she used her five fingers to crush Hendrick’s head, which exploded into a blood mist.

Qi Xuansu’s eyelids twitched slightly, and he felt a chill on his back. If one day Zhang Yuelu found out about his true identity and that he was lying to her, what would happen to him?

He dared not think about the outcome.

Hendrick did not die immediately. He still maintained his standing posture, and his deep voice rumbled from his chest. “That’s not very ladylike of you.”

After that, a brand new head popped out of Hendrick’s shoulders. It looked the same as the one that Zhang Yuelu crushed. There was even blood on his silver hair and his cheeks, which was particularly terrifying.

Zhang Yuelu was not afraid. Instead, she was a little surprised. “Isn’t his head a weak point?”

Arthur said, “Heart!”

Zhang Yuelu’s fingers were still like hooks, but this time, she aimed straight at Hendrick’s heart. Hendrick was prepared this time and took a step back as a blood mist shrouded his body.

He did not expect Zhang Yuelu to possess the Immortal Eye of Providence, allowing her to see through all kinds of appearances. For her, this blood mist did not cloud her vision, so she could still determine Hendrick’s location in an instant.

Hendrick felt a chill in his heart. At the critical moment, he barely had time to dodge. Zhang Yuelu caught him on his right shoulder instead. Although the Five Elements Qi Shield was a defensive method, in Zhang Yuelu’s hands, it could also be used for offense, like using a shield to hit the enemy on the battlefield.

This attack completely shattered Hendrick’s shoulder, breaking his entire right arm. Even a Guizhen-stage Martial Arts Practitioner like Xu Kou had his hand broken by Zhang Yuelu, so how could Hendrick stand a chance against her?