A Pawn's Passage

Lin Zhenyuan threw away the sword in his hand and summoned a ten-centimeter-long flying sword without a hilt. He pinched his fingers and pointed toward the sky as his qi surged, making his clothes billow even without the wind. “Rise!”

This was the Sword Steering Technique of Qi Refiners, which was far superior to the Sword Controlling Technique of Rogue Cultivators.

The flying sword did a full circle around Lin Zhenyuan, increasing its speed with every passing second until it turned into a white blur. Finally, it reached the point where it was completely invisible to the naked eye.

Zhang Yuelu remained calm as she raised the long sword in front of her.

Before reaching the Heavenly-Being stage, the routes for the cultivation of mystical abilities were fixed. However, there were exceptions. Masters could teach their disciples suitable mystical abilities and techniques outside the conventional route.

They could also learn privately through other channels. For example, Qi Xuansu could obtain mystical abilities beyond the fixed routes of the Daoist Order from the Qingping Society.

Zhang Yuelu’s master was Sage Cihang, who was equally famous as Sage Qingwei and Sage Donghua. Although Sage Cihang was not a Great Sage, she was the second-in-command in the Zhengyi Sect after the Heavenly Preceptor. She also taught Zhang Yuelu the Cihang Sword Sequence.

The Cihang Sword Sequence was a great method that was not inferior to the Five Thunder Celestial Heart Method.

A part of the method was included in the Holy Xuan’s system of lineages, so everyone could practice it. However, certain mystical abilities were not disclosed to the public. Only the core disciples of the Zhengyi Sect could practice them, and they would not be simply demonstrated to others.

Many people took it for granted that Zhang Yuelu, as a descendant of the Zhang family, would practice the Five Thunder Celestial Heart Method, which was passed down from generation to generation. However, they did not expect that Zhang Yuelu would choose to practice the Cihang Sword Sequence.

However, this made sense as well. The Five Thunder Celestial Heart Method was an extreme yang and strong method. Since men had more yang energy and women had more yin energy, this method was too aggressive for women. It could harm women’s bodies before they could reach the fullest potential of the method. On the contrary, the Cihang Sword Sequence was more suitable for women to practice.

The Cihang Sword Sequence was divided into four series: Sword Series, Heart Series, Nought Series, and Self Series. Among them, the Self Series was the highest level, followed by the Nought Series, Heart Series, and Sword Series.

These four series were practiced in sequence, like laying a solid foundation for a tall building.

Generally speaking, the foundation of the Cihang Sword Sequence relied on the unity of the heart and the sword, with the heart at the top and the sword at the bottom. This meant that the heart would control the sword. Therefore, the Sword Series and the Nought Series were for the sword, corresponding respectively to the Heart Series and the Self Series, which were for the heart.

Sword Series and Nought Series were both swordsmanship. The key difference between them was that the former was external and the latter was internal.

The Sword Series focused on external flair to control thousands of swords. The sword techniques were unimaginably complex, with a total of 64 sword techniques that were completely different in style. Yet their differences melded together perfectly without conflict, making it extremely unpredictable.

In the Nought Series, the cultivator turned their qi into a seed and planted this seed in their Dantian. This act was akin to destroying their innate qi, after which they could generate a new type of qi that was formless, like the sword qi.

This new sword qi could control swords, nourish the body, and enlighten the spirit. The sword qi traveled between the meridians and acupoints, making the path of travel wider day by day and improving one’s cultivation potential.

Since the endurance capacity of a person’s Dantian and meridians was limited, the cultivator had to destroy their innate qi to cultivate a new kind of sword qi from the Dantian that would gradually adapt to their body. If the cultivator converted their innate qi into sword qi without this gradual adaptation, then it was akin to having thousands of sharp swords passing through their body. The cultivator would likely die first before achieving the full potential of the technique.

This was also the reason most people were stuck in the Heart Series. They were not willing to destroy the innate qi that they had worked so hard to cultivate all their lives. This step was not only a prerequisite to the Nought Series, but also a test of one’s character. That was why the Nought Series came after the Heart Series.

The Heart Series was the advancement of the Sword Series and the foundation of the Nought Series. The key lies in its name, the heart. Although the definition of “heart” in this series originated from Buddhism, it later merged with the Daoist and Confucian definitions as well. Thus, it became a model technique for the unity of the Three Religions.

At the moment, Zhang Yuelu was still some ways from the Nought Series, but she was proficient in the Heart Series, having acquired the Heart’s Eye Technique. No matter how fast a flying sword was, she could still effortlessly see it with her Heart’s Eye.

Lin Zhenyuan’s finger movements changed abruptly, rapidly increasing his sword qi. His flying sword shot out toward Zhang Yuelu, its sword qi dispersing the snow around it.

Zhang Yuelu did not dodge. Instead, she turned her paper sword into 64 swords that spread out behind her like a peacock spreading its tail. The 64 swords moved in unison, blocking Lin Zhenyuan’s flying sword, no matter what angle the flying sword came from.

Although their cultivation level was about the same, Zhang Yuelu’s Amorphous Paper was much superior to Lin Zhenyuan’s flying sword. Moreover, Zhang Yuelu was a Banished Immortal, which was naturally superior to the other lineages. Therefore, the longer they fought, the more strength Lin Zhenyuan lost, inevitably falling into a disadvantageous position.

Realizing this, Lin Zhenyuan no longer wanted to capture Qi Xuansu. Instead, he turned around and fled.

Zhang Yuelu merged the 64 paper swords into one and chased after Lin Zhenyuan with the sword in hand. Lin Zhenyuan had no choice but to use his flying sword to fight back.

In an instant, the flying sword and the paper sword clashed more than ten times in a row, creating thunderous sounds that could pierce one’s eardrums.

Lin Zhenyuan knew that he could not stay in a defensive position for a long time. Otherwise, he would lose. Thus, he retreated. Finally, the paper sword slashed him, creating a long wound in the chest and filling the air with blood mist. However, Lin Zhenyuan took the opportunity to quickly flee from the Major’s Office.

Zhang Yuelu pursued him closely, and the two flew out of the courtyard. Zhang Yuelu sent out a Paper Lotus, which circled back and attacked Lin Zhenyuan from both sides.

The Paper Lotus was extremely fast and sharp, like a sword. In the blink of an eye, Lin Zhenyuan had three more sword wounds on his body, all of which hit his vitals. Blood as black as ink flowed from his body, but Lin Zhenyuan did not die.

Zhang Yuelu had expected this. Not all Ancient Immortal believers were Shamans, but Ancient Immortal believers other than Shamans could also borrow the Ancient Immortal’s divine power through foreign objects.

Thus, Zhang Yuelu did not intend to kill Lin Zhenyuan directly with the Paper Lotus. Instead, she wanted to restrain him. She took the opportunity to approach Lin Zhenyuan and grabbed his wrist, exerting the Six Void Tribulations.

This was how Zhang Yuelu defeated Xu Kou in one move back then. It was especially effective when the opponent was unprepared and had almost no resistance to it.

As soon as Lin Zhenyuan was caught by the wrist, he felt six streams of foreign energy invading his body. He wanted to break free, but Zhang Yuelu used her Five Elements Qi Shield to clasp his wrist like a shackle.

Lin Zhenyuan was stuck while having his qi depleted rapidly.

The Six Void Tribulations originated from Xu Wugui, one of the Holy Xuan’s three masters, who was known as the first-generation Earthly Preceptor. In the Holy Xuan Cards, Xu Wugui, like Li Daoxu, was a Heaven Card and a longevity card worth up to 15 points.

Xu Wugui’s inspiration for the Six Void Tribulations came from the Eclipse Method, which harmed others and benefited oneself by absorbing the opponent’s qi for one’s own use.

For each bit of qi the opponent lost, the cultivator would gain just as much. However, this had a flaw. If the amount of qi reached the limit of one’s own tolerance, no more qi could be absorbed. As such, one would not be able to deplete the opponent’s qi.

Thus, Xu Wugui created the Six Void Tribulations, which brought harm to the opponent without benefiting the cultivator. The cultivator would no longer absorb the opponent’s qi and could deplete the opponent’s qi. Therefore, the damage it could inflict was endless.

The Six Void Tribulations had six forms. At this time, Zhang Yuelu used the most basic form. A more advanced form would be to turn the opponent’s qi into fire, burning the opponent’s body from the inside out, which was even more sinister.

Lin Zhenyuan was horrified when he felt the six streams of alien energy in his body reaching his three major Dantians along the meridians. He was desperate to escape from Zhang Yuelu’s grasp.

At the critical moment, Lin Zhenyuan controlled his flying sword and ruthlessly cut off his own arm. However, he only managed to physically get away from Zhang Yuelu’s grasp. He still failed to stop the infuriating alien energy from invading his body. The six streams of strange energy entered his body and merged with his qi, so he could not force it out.

Zhang Yuelu, grabbing his severed arm, flew up and struck Lin Zhenyuan in the chest with her palm. Just as Lin Zhenyuan was about to fight back, the alien qi in his body prevented him from exerting his innate qi.

Lin Zhenyuan was at a loss for a moment.

At that moment of distraction, Zhang Yuelu pushed him again in the chest. The impact penetrated his body and damaged all his internal organs.

However, Lin Zhenyuan was still alive. A blood-red stain gradually spread from his chest, looking very strange.

Zhang Yuelu was unyielding when she gained the upper hand. She struck him repeatedly knowing he could not resist her attacks. Lin Zhenyuan tried to use his flying sword to stop her, but the six streams of alien qi moved erratically and attacked his innate qi. As soon as he thought of resisting, the alien qi would disappear by blending in with his innate qi.

Lin Zhenyuan was already inferior to Zhang Yuelu to begin with. With this alien qi, he was completely subdued.

At last, Zhang Yuelu slapped him on the top of his head.

He fell to his knees and bled out from all his orifices. But he still did not die. His tenacity and body toughness were far beyond those of Qi Refiners of the same level. He was inconceivably close to having the physique of a Martial Arts Practitioner.

At the critical moment, the scholar from the inn showed up at the Major’s Office and clapped his hands.

This clap resounded like thunder, similar to the Buddhist Lion’s Roar.

A sound wave visible to the naked eye spread out from where the scholar stood, shaking the stone slabs on the ground. The walls on both sides of the pathway collapsed from the resonance.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yuelu grunted and fell into a daze for a moment.

The scholar took advantage of this split second to reach out to Lin Zhenyuan, like how one would retrieve an object through telekinesis. Then he opened a portal through the Yin and Yang Realms and walked into it.