A Pawn's Passage

This portal was called the Yin Yang Gate, which was a technique unique to Diviners. It allowed them to pass through the gap between the Yin and Yang realms, thereby bypassing the physical barriers of the mortal realm and making teleportation possible.

However, this technique had great limitations. The Yin Yang Gate would not work if there was a formation in place. Moreover, it was difficult to focus on opening a portal while engaged in a fight.

Even if the Diviner could open the portal, the opponent would stop them, especially in the case where the opponent was a Martial Arts Practitioner in close combat. The Diviner would likely die on the spot before the portal was open. That was why most Diviners did not use this technique in battle. Those who had not witnessed it before would find it mysterious and unimaginable.

Therefore, the scholar temporarily stunned Zhang Yuelu and used the Yin Yang Gate to retreat. The scholar did not take the opportunity to attack Zhang Yuelu because he had no confidence to kill or severely injure her in such a short time.

Moreover, Zhang Yuelu was too powerful. If he tried anything, he would possibly die there with Lin Zhenyuan, so it was better to retreat and seek refuge.

After Zhang Yuelu came back to her senses, she happened to see the portal shrinking until it turned into a black dot before disappearing completely. She was a little annoyed because this was the second Ancient Immortal believer to have escaped from her hands.

On the other hand, Qi Xuansu managed to kill these cult demons every time. Comparing herself to him, she felt a little incompetent.

At this moment, Qi Xuansu, Wang Zicheng, Luo Xiao, and the others finally caught up to them.

Wang Zicheng said with a solemn expression, “Did that Diviner finally show up? He must have been the one who attacked me and capsized my boat!”

Luo Xiao’s face was grim. He felt uneasy because both his direct subordinate and superior were cultists. The Pacification Commander, who was an envoy of the Southern Military Commission, was also attacked by the cult demons within his territory. No matter what, it was considered a dereliction of his duty.

Thus, Luo Xiao hoped that he could compensate for his neglect with meritorious deeds. At least then, he would not be dismissed from office.

Qi Xuansu’s face was glum, and he did not speak.

Bai Yongguan’s decapitated head had resurrected only to say those words and died immediately after. However, Qi Xuansu realized from Bai Yongguan’s and Lin Zhenyuan’s eagerness to capture him that there was something special about him. It was not as simple as just being physically strong.

As a result, Qi Xuansu faced two problems.

The first problem was that the Lingshan Witch Cult seemed to be very fond of his body, so they would likely try every possible means to use him as a vessel. Thus, he had to stay vigilant at all times so as not to fall into their hands.

The second problem was that he could not let Zhang Yuelu or the Daoist Order find out about his secret. That was because Qi Xuansu was well aware he was not born special. Instead, he was transformed by the Qingping Society in a way unbeknownst to him. If the Daoist Order found out, his identity would be exposed, and his life would be in danger.

At this time, Qi Xuansu was thinking about how he could cover up his identity. After all, everyone heard what Bai Yongguan’s decapitated head blurted at the time.

Qi Xuansu did not care much about what the Green Phoenix Guard thought of him. What mattered to him was Zhang Yuelu’s opinion.

Fortunately, he had a good relationship with Zhang Yuelu, so she would not doubt him out of the blue. This realization also made Qi Xuansu feel quite ashamed and guilty. After all, Zhang Yuelu had treated him with such sincerity, but he was secretive and tried every means to hide his true identity from her. He felt like he was having an extramarital affair, which he had to keep hidden from his wife.

Qi Xuansu pondered and took the initiative to speak. “These demons seem to be looking for a vessel for a divine descent. When I was at Qingbai Temple, Bai Yongguan thought that I was the best vessel for this purpose.”

After Zhang Yuelu heard this, she did not pay attention to Qi Xuansu’s physical condition but focused on the word “divine descent.”

She exclaimed, “These demons are planning a divine descent?!”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “Bai Yongguan also accidentally revealed that the vessel needs to be a mentally tough individual.”

He had fabricated this based on Zhang Yuelu’s explanation of the Ancient Immortal believers. After all, Bai Yongguan only said the word “vessel” and nothing else.

Qi Xuansu did not expect that the lie he fabricated was spot on.

Zhang Yuelu had no doubts about it. “Actually, the Ancient Immortal’s vessel is essentially the same as the Daoist Spirit Guards. It’s just that the Daoist Order does not deprive the Spirit Guard of their intelligence and only gives them divine power. However, the Ancient Immortals possess the vessel and would gradually take over the vessel’s consciousness.”

She added, “Tian Yuan, you have to be more careful lately. It’s best if you don’t leave my sight so that these demons can’t abduct you.”

Qi Xuansu felt inexplicably ashamed when he noticed how Zhang Yuelu was so concerned about him. He could not tell her the truth and only nodded in silence.

Wang Zicheng asked, “What’s the plan now?”

Qi Xuansu remarked, “Five of the seven cult demons have appeared. Only the gentry and the monk are unknown to us. Is there a temple or prestigious family in the city that checks the box?”

Wang Zicheng immediately turned to Luo Xiao. “Major Luo, Yishan City is your territory.”

Luo Xiao hurriedly replied, “There is indeed a temple in the city.”

Zhang Yuelu said, “I see. Major Luo, please take us to the temple in the city. In the meantime, Pacification Commander Wang should stay here at the Major’s Office to treat his injuries and see if he can find any clues from He Nian’s body.”

Having fought one fierce battle after another, Wang Zicheng was exhausted. He did not push himself and agreed with the plan. “Thanks, Mage Zhang.”

......

Luo Xiao immediately mobilized 30 Green Phoenix Guard lieutenants and 60 troopers. All of them carried their crossbows, and they even brought a small cannon that was carried by four troopers. He then led Zhang Yuelu and Qi Xuansu to the temple in a great commotion.

Soon, the group arrived at the gate of the mountain temple. It was deserted, with no signs of people offering incense. This scene was inconsistent with the rumors that Yishan City was a Buddhist stronghold. In fact, it was not much different from Qingbai Temple.

On the contrary, Qingbai Temple looked even more spacious and majestic since it was built outside the city.

Zhang Yuelu first used her Divine Observation Technique and then ordered, “Major Luo, split up your men to surround the temple. Deacon Qi and I will go inside to check it out.”

Although Zhang Yuelu was not Luo Xiao’s superior, the latter gladly followed her orders.

Since Yishan City was built on a mountain, the city’s terrain was full of slopes. This temple was also built on a hill, and there was only one stone path consisting of hundreds of steps leading up to the temple.

At this time, Luo Xiao and the Green Phoenix Guards were at the foothill.

Zhang Yuelu and Qi Xuansu passed through the gate at the foothill and walked along the stone stairway to the temple.

She took out the Amorphous Paper and turned it into a paper umbrella. Compared with a sword, the biggest advantage of an umbrella was that it could be used for defense. When necessary, she could open the umbrella to act as a large shield.

Zhang Yuelu said, “If this place is the cult demons’ lair, there should be at least three of them who could fight. Bai Yongguan and He Nian are dead, and the other two are seriously injured, so they can’t fight at the moment. The remaining three are the scholar, the monk, and the gentry.

“I’m guessing that they are all at the Guizhen stage. With the Amorphous Paper, I can take on two of them, but I’m not confident going against all three of them. After all, I’m still not yet a Heavenly Being, so you must be careful—”

Halfway through, Zhang Yuelu suddenly noticed that Qi Xuansu was looking at her with a strange expression.

“What’s wrong?” Zhang Yuelu subconsciously looked down at herself. She thought, Did my clothes get torn during the fight?

However, she checked herself and found nothing wrong. Her clothes were still neat.

Qi Xuansu murmured, “Nothing. It’s just that no one has cared about me like this for a long time. I’m just not used to it.”

Zhang Yuelu laughed. “You agreed to literally trek through mountains with me just to help me solve my personal problems. I’d feel guilty if anything were to happen to you during this time.”

Qi Xuansu sighed and became a little sentimental. “Speaking of which, we met during the Zhongyuan Festival on July 15th. It has only been three months since, but it feels like we have known each other for a long time.”

Zhang Yuelu remarked, “Memory is largely reliant on experience. If every day is the same experience, decades will seem like nothing. But if you experience many impressionable things in one day, that day will feel like a year. Although we haven’t known each other for long, we have gone through a lot together. That’s probably why you feel this way.”

“What about you?” Qi Xuansu asked.

Zhang Yuelu deliberately paused before she replied, “I feel the same way too.”

While they talked, they arrived at the temple door and saw a plaque hanging high above it that read, “Yulan Temple.”

At this time, the temple door was locked, barring them from entering.

Zhang Yuelu’s eyes flashed with a purple light. “The entire temple is closed off by a formation, so we can only break through forcefully. But someone seems to have opened a gap in the formation, which saves us some effort.”

After that, Zhang Yuelu led Qi Xuansu around the outer wall of Yulan Temple. Sure enough, they found that a part of the wall had collapsed, so they walked into the temple through the gap.

Inside was an extremely narrow and cramped square patio, which spanned about 1.3 meters square. It was covered with withered weeds, indicating that no one had been here for a long time.

Behind them was the gap through which they entered. There was another wall to the right and a sealed window to the left. A small door stood across from them, hanging wide open as if someone had forced their way through it.

Zhang Yuelu and Qi Xuansu continued exploring and found a side hall on the other side of the door.

There were some traces of fighting in the hall. A smiling Maitreya statue with a big belly and two missing arms sat on the pedestal. Its face was in the shadows, making the statue seem a bit eerie.