A Pawn's Passage

Hendrick roared, and the sinners hiding in the darkness poured out one after another.

Arthur recited the language of the Western Continent loudly, stretched out his hand, hammered his chest three times, and raised his two-handed sword. His whole body emitted a faint white glow as he rushed toward the sinners.

Lingquanzi took a step back and rubbed his hands. Countless fireballs flew out and rapidly grew in size. After flying ten meters away, the fireballs were already the size of a human head and exploded as soon as they landed.

Qi Xuansu did not draw his sword. Instead, he took out two pistols loaded with bullets that were engraved with evil-banishing talismans.

With the growth of maritime trade, the East and the West became closer. The development of firearms on the Eastern Continent was greatly influenced by the Western Continent. For example, the firing pin pistol was invented on the Western Continent and later spread to the Eastern Continent.

Later, there were obvious differences in the development of firearms between the two continents. The Western Continent valued the gun more, while the Eastern Continent believed that the projectiles fired were more important.

As a result, the two sides embarked on a completely different path. The Western Continent gradually stopped developing projectiles, while the Eastern Continent continued to work on them, treating guns as a tool for launching the projectiles.

Thus, the Eastern Continent quickly transitioned from lead bullets with separate-loading ammunition to paper-cased fixed ammunition, and then from that to metal-cased fixed ammunition. At the same time, they drew various talismans on the bullet cases. Whether it was the Divine Dragon Pistol or the Green Bird Pistol, their main power did not come from the gun itself but from the projectiles.

Qi Xuansu did not shoot randomly. He waited until Lingquanzi’s fireball dispersed the blood mist and lit up the darkness before shooting the targets. Moreover, he also kept in mind Arthur’s reminder that the key to killing these sinners was to target their hearts.

Although the projectiles he used were not silver bullets, the Evil Banishing Talismans were quite lethal against all non-human beings. What was more, the projectiles Zhang Yuelu handed him were not ordinary ones used by ordinary Tiangang Hall priests, but those specially issued to the Deputy Hall Master. The Dragon Eye Bullet used the latest gunpowder developed by Tianji Hall, which was three times more powerful than ordinary gunpowder.

Qi Xuansu pressed down the hammer and pulled the trigger. A ball of fire exploded in the chamber of the Divine Dragon Pistol. At the same time, a large hole was blasted through the chest of a sinner. He could even see through that hole to see what was going on behind that sinner. Coupled with the Evil Banishing Talisman, the sinner’s wound showed no signs of healing.

The sinner howled in pain and fell to his knees. Qi Xuansu was also surprised by the power of the pistol. If the Green Phoenix Guard had such a pistol and shot him with it, he would certainly die.

After a brief moment of shock, another sinner roared and rushed toward Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu raised the Green Bird Pistol in his other hand and pulled the trigger again.

Although the Green Bird Pistol was not as powerful as the Divine Dragon Pistol, and the projectiles it was equipped with could not compare to the Dragon Eye Bullet, it was also a custom-made bullet that could destroy evil, specially made by Tianji Hall.

At such a close distance, a deep black hole appeared between the sinner’s eyebrows, stopping him from moving forward. He fell to the ground with a thud, completely motionless.

Qi Xuansu put away the Green Bird Pistol and reloaded the Divine Dragon Pistol. Arthur noticed this and deliberately stood in front of Qi Xuansu, helping him deter several sinners. The sinners avoided wherever Arthur’s sword passed.

The most impressive one among them was Zhang Yuelu. She was not boasting when she said to Qi Xuansu earlier that she did not need the Divine Dragon Pistol. Zhang Yuelu stared closely at Hendrick, attacking him with her Five Elements Qi Shield and leaving him with no room to breathe.

Although her attacks were fierce and swift, she always gave off a relaxed vibe, like she was strolling in a garden. In the blink of an eye, Zhang Yuelu caught up with Hendrick. Her fingers were like hooks. She was determined to let Hendrick die in the same way as the Daoist priest at Bishan Temple.

Hendrick stretched out his hand to summon a Western Continent rapier that was made of blood. He suddenly stopped and stabbed Zhang Yuelu in the chest at a speed so fast that only a streak of blood could be seen cutting through the darkness.

This Blood Sword was made of blood, not metal. Therefore, it was agile, like a snake’s tongue, making it extremely difficult to dodge. Zhang Yuelu did not even think about dodging. She just spread her Five Elements Qi Shield all over her body, like a thick and airtight armor, leaving no gaps for Hendrick’s Blood Sword to strike her.

Hendrick’s expression changed drastically because he could clearly feel how robust her qi shield was. It not only neutralized the attack of his sword but also faintly rebounded the energy, just like sailing against the current.

Moreover, when Hendrick wanted to put away his sword and retreat, he felt as if his sword was stuck in a muddy swamp, as it was difficult to withdraw.

Seeing Zhang Yuelu’s five fingers approaching again, Hendrick reluctantly ditched his Blood Sword. His whole body turned into a ball of blood mist to avoid Zhang Yuelu’s claws.

The foundation of a sinner was in their blood. He had transformed the Blood Sword from his own blood, so losing the sword was akin to a gecko giving up its tail. It damaged his foundation, and it would take him a long time to completely replenish his energy.

This all happened in a split second. Hendrick instantly transformed back into a human form in the distance, but his face became paler. It was obvious that he was no match for this woman. This was not about being at a disadvantage for a few moves. He was losing in whatever way he fought. So if he did not want to die here, he would have to think of other ways.

In the end, Hendrick roared, turned around, and dashed toward the depths of the dungeon. Those ordinary sinners also receded like the tide.

Zhang Yuelu did not chase after him in case it was a trap. Arthur grabbed a sinner who wanted to escape and flung him heavily to the ground. He was about to chop off the sinner’s head with his sword when Lingquanzi stopped him. “Leave this to me.”

When Arthur heard this, he stopped what he was doing and saw Lingquanzi’s eyes light up. The sinner then screamed and fainted. After a moment, Lingquanzi pointed at the sinner lying on the ground and ordered the sinner to get up. The sinner stood up unsteadily with a dazed expression.

Lingquanzi ordered the sinner, “Lead the way.”

The sinner actually understood Mandarin. He nodded, slowly turned around, and walked toward the depths of the dungeon.

This was a mystical ability unique to Diviners after the Dream Entering Realm. They could forcibly invade the opponent’s soul and, in a limited time, control the opponent’s mind, turning the opponent into a puppet who obeyed instructions. In addition, it could also cause blindness, deafness, madness, suicide, and so on.

Under this sinner’s guidance, the four of them continued deep into the dungeon, bypassing many traps set by the sinners in advance. This made one marvel at a Diviner’s mysterious power.

In fact, the Hall Master had intentionally arranged for two subordinates, one skilled in martial arts and one good at spells, which meant a Martial Arts Practitioner and a Diviner. Sun Yongfeng was not good at fighting, but Xu Kou was a Martial Arts Practitioner good at close combat. However, Xu Kou was injured and could not come along. Thus, leaving her with only Lingquanzi—a Diviner—to help.

Soon, the group of four came to the depths of the dungeon, which was even more spacious. There were many cross-shaped torture racks with skeletons tied to them using metal chains. Bell-shaped metal cages, which were also full of skeletons, hung from the dome.

There were also all kinds of torture instruments. Arthur recognized one as the famous Iron Maiden. From the outside, it looked like a human-shaped coffin put upright, with double doors. The inside of the coffin was hollow, and it had sharp nails on the inside of the door. Once the door was closed, the victim inside would feel the pain of nails piercing their bodies.

Just looking at the degree of weathering on these bones, it seemed that they were not recently deceased. They had all been dead for more than a hundred years.

Lingquanzi turned his left palm over and took out another bead from his sleeve. It was dark colored with a hint of fiery red in the center, resembling an eye. This was the Phoenix Eye Bomb produced by Tianji Hall, made from a secret recipe of gunpowder with shocking explosive power.

He handed the Phoenix Eye Bomb to the puppet and patted its shoulder. The puppet held the Phoenix Eye Bomb tightly in its palm and continued to walk forward.

After about a hundred steps, two Blood Shadows appeared from the darkness and flew toward the puppet. At this moment, the puppet detonated the Phoenix Eye Bomb in his hand. A flame several meters high suddenly rose up, engulfing the puppet and the two Blood Shadows.

The Phoenix Eye Bomb was even more powerful than the Dragon Eye Bullet. It was flammable even when exposed to water.

In an instant, the fire spread rapidly. A sinner hiding in the dark could not dodge the flames and got burned. He immediately turned into a burning man and collided with the surrounding sinners. The other sinners were in a similar situation. They rolled all over the ground as they burned and wailed. The space smelled of burnt flesh. It was an indescribably gory scene.

Qi Xuansu was quite envious of Lingquanzi. In fact, Rogue Cultivators also had similar supernatural powers, but they could only be acquired at the Heavenly-Being stage.

Lingquanzi took out another Phoenix Eye Bomb and handed it to Qi Xuansu. “Deacon Qi, take one for self-defense. Inject some qi into it and remember to throw it out after three breaths.”

Qi Xuansu put the Phoenix Eye Bomb into his sleeve pocket and nodded in agreement.

The raging flames spread rapidly. Ordinary sinners were unable to withstand the power of the fire, so they turned into charred corpses. However, there was a blood-red ray of light, resembling a gauze curtain, which stopped the flames from spreading to the deepest part of the dungeon.

Behind the gauze curtain was a hexagonal coffin with a wide top and a narrow bottom, about as tall as a person. It was completely different from a typical coffin from the Central Plains.

At this time, the lid of the coffin was open, and inside it was a dried-up corpse dressed in the style of a Western Continent noble. There was no trace of flesh or blood in the corpse, but it had an extra layer of gray skin that resembled dry tree bark. Its eye sockets were hollow and wrinkly, a hideous and terrifying sight. Under the coffin was a mysterious magic circle that was painted with blood.