A Pawn's Passage

As Qi Xuansu expected, Zhang Yuelu was almost exhausted, and the woman in green immediately began to fight back.

The top sword techniques of the Daoist Order—the Beidou 36 Sword Techniques from the Taiping Sect, the Taiyin 13 Swords from the Quanzhen Sect, the Nandou 28 Sword Techniques from the Grand Master, and the Cihang Sword Sequence from the Zhengyi Sect—were based on variations.

However, the Confucian Sword Techniques were the opposite. It had fewer variations and a more direct approach, using sheer force to overwhelm the opponent. In other words, the Confucian Sword Techniques used the concept of Taiji while the Daoist Sword Techniques sought unity in diversity.

This was the case with the woman’s Heavenly Heart Sword Technique. Although there were some variations, the moves were not very subtle, but the force was extremely powerful and natural without a flaw. Zhang Yuelu was at a dead end, making it impossible for her to hide or escape.

Zhang Yuelu did not show one bit of fear. She drifted back and extended her arm to summon the Amorphous Paper that had been knocked out of her hand earlier. At this time, Zhang Yuelu used her qi to summon the Amorphous Paper and turn it into a spear.

As soon as Zhang Yuelu gripped the spear, her moves changed completely. Somewhat similar to the Taixuan Sword Heart Series that the woman in the green robe used before, Zhang Yuelu was using Qi Ying’s Infinite Spear Technique.

Zhang Yuelu managed to break out of the deadlock and moved rapidly so that the woman in the green robe was surrounded by the countless shadows of the paper spear.

The woman in green immediately retracted her sword, drawing a smooth circle with a diameter of about three meters and surrounding herself with layers of qi that rippled out like water. Her defense was impenetrable. No matter how Zhang Yuelu attacked, she failed to harm the woman in the green robe.

At this moment, a loud, rumbling sound came from the main hall. Qi Xuansu turned toward the source and saw that the young monk had broken the huge Buddha statue that had come to life. The young monk did not just sever the statue’s arms, but he also damaged the statue’s body, which was full of cracks.

However, the young monk was also seriously injured. He sat on the ground with his legs stretched out and panted to catch his breath. He looked like he had no more strength to fight for the time being.

The two women who were fighting also turned to the young monk. However, the woman in the green robe got a little impatient and changed her defense to offense, intending to shake off Zhang Yuelu.

Although Zhang Yuelu noticed something was wrong, she did not have time to think deeply about it while being attacked.

Since Qi Xuansu was a bystander to the women’s fight, he noticed what was happening. The woman in the green robe did not fight to kill. Instead, it seemed like she wanted to get to the main hall to look for something. Everything started to make sense to Qi Xuansu.

The woman in the green robe walked in silently before, but Qi Xuansu had alerted Zhang Yuelu about that woman’s whereabouts. That was when the woman started to fight with Zhang Yuelu. To their surprise, both women ended up evenly matched.

The woman in the green robe had thought she could easily defeat Zhang Yuelu before taking her time to find what she came to look for. As a result, the two women engaged in a fierce battle, so the woman in the green robe panicked.

Qi Xuansu recalled that the woman in green was also a member of the Qingping Society. Through that, he was reminded of his mission from the Qingping Society to find the Xuan Jade in Fengtai County.

The mission in Fengtai County was led by Madam Qi, who hid in the shadows, while Qi Xuansu did all the dirty work as her subordinate. However, the woman in the green robe had a far higher cultivation level than him. She should be Madam Qi’s equal, as they both owned a golden-purple fish talisman that indicated their B-rank status in the Qingping Society.

In this case, it made sense that, like Madam Qi, this woman had also received the mission to find the Xuan Jade since she was a B-rank member of the Qingping Society. In other words, the Xuan Jade should be in this Buddhist temple.

Thinking of this, Qi Xuansu subconsciously pressed on his satchel. Sure enough, he felt a slight vibration from it. If he had not felt for it, he would not have noticed anything.

That was the vibration coming from the special compass that Madam Qi handed to Qi Xuansu. That compass was a feng shui compass that Daoist priests would normally carry. From appearance, it was difficult to see the difference between an ordinary compass and the special compass used to detect the Xuan Jade. Thus, Qi Xuansu did not hide it and merely wrapped it in a layer of silk before chucking it into his satchel.

It had been half a year since he went to Fengtai County, so Qi Xuansu had almost forgotten about this compass. After entering the Buddhist temple, he did not pay attention to this compass because he did not expect to find a Xuan Jade there. After he was aware of this possibility, he felt the slight vibration from the compass and confirmed the presence of a Xuan Jade.

Although Qi Xuansu still did not know what the function of a Xuan Jade was, one thing he knew for certain was that the Xuan Jade was precious. The Qingping Society was not the only one who wanted the Xuan Jade. A sage from the Taiping Sect wanted it as well.

With Madam Qi’s help, Qi Xuansu obtained a piece of Xuan Jade for the Qingping Society and was rewarded with the opportunity to enter the Tiangang Hall in the Ancestral Court. He was also promoted to a C-rank member. If he could obtain another Xuan Jade all on his own this time, what kind of reward would he get?

Qi Xuansu was excited when he thought about this.

Growing up as an orphan in the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, Qi Xuansu was not born into riches. He followed Madam Qi around the world to complete missions from the Qingping Society and had never lived in comfort. Thus, he always believed that riches were earned by taking high risks. Without such a mentality, he would not have been able to kill Desmond and Bai Yongguan consecutively.

On the other side of the hall, Zhang Yuelu seized the opportunity of the woman’s impetuous advance to swing her spear at the woman’s bamboo hat. The woman’s headdress shattered, and many tiny cracks appeared on the woman’s face due to sheer force.

It was then clear that the woman in green was wearing a mask that covered her true appearance. The woman’s mask had cracked, not her face.

The woman in green had disheveled hair. Suddenly, the woman’s black hair grew to a length of more than 30 meters. Her 3000 strands of hair reached for Zhang Yuelu. This was the Black Hair Armor from the Taiyin 13 Swords Technique, which could be used to attack, retreat, or defend.

The woman’s hair was intertwined into layer upon layer of sheets, forming a net to wrap Zhang Yuelu, like a silkworm spinning silk and forming a cocoon. In an instant, the hair net closed up, trapping Zhang Yuelu in it.

The strands of hair were soft like wool, completely different from the aggressive sword energy. It made Zhang Yuelu feel like she was stuck in mud, almost unable to move.

At the same time, the strands of hair poured countless thoughts and emotions into Zhang Yuelu’s mind.

There was a saying that as one’s hair grew long and white, one’s worry was boundless. Though physical existence had limited time, resentment would last forever.

The resentments were: hating sweet talk, bad luck, heartless people, dull relationships, the harshness of the world, injustice, and unrequited kindness.

These resentments, known as the Seven Resentments, were like seven swords pointing directly at one’s soul. It could steal the mind, like an insect caught in a spider’s web with no way out.

Zhang Yuelu held her breath and stabilized her mind. The Amorphous Paper in her hand turned into a paper sword again. Then she used the Falling Flowers move in the Cihang Sword Sequence.

The next moment, countless sword qi pierced the hair net, starting with one spot and eventually increasing to countless holes. This was just like having countless fine needles penetrate a cloth.

The sound of the metal and stone colliding was endless as the woman’s hair was cut off. However, new strands of hair grew like weeds that could not be controlled. As the strands of hair lessened, Zhang Yuelu’s body was revealed again.

However, Zhang Yuelu’s face was still solemn. That was because the strands of hair she had cut off were still floating around, giving rise to all kinds of confusing thoughts that became more intense. Aside from resentment, there were also feelings of love.

These new strands of hair that held feelings of love intertwined with the old strands of hair that held resentment, weaving a giant web.

This was the power of the Taiyin 13 Swords. One mistake could trap the opponent in this web of emotions, unable to extricate themselves.

Among the Four Great Sword Techniques, the Nandou 28 Swords Technique and the Beidou 36 Swords Technique came from the same lineage, focusing on swordsmanship. On the contrary, the Cihang Sword Sequence and the Taiyin 13 Swords were focused on attacking the opponent’s heart and mind, which was very fascinating.

Fortunately, Zhang Yuelu had already practiced the Heart Series of the Cihang Sword Sequence. Thus, she could calm her mind and not be fooled by such methods. However, she was forced to use another method as a last resort.

Since Banished Immortals were experts in everything, they knew how to summon a Shaman’s Spiritual Statue as well.

Zhang Yuelu summoned a Spiritual Statue with a white body that was 20 meters tall. The statue grew more arms, and in the blink of an eye, Zhang Yuelu’s Spiritual Statue already had 64 arms.

The Amorphous Paper then turned into 64 swords correspondingly.

The Spiritual Statue held 64 swords of different shapes and sizes. Some were large and thick, some were light and thin, some were flexible like snakes, and some were as wide as a door panel. All of them exuded fierce sword qi.

Then, the Spiritual Statue turned around with the 64 swords in hand.

The sword techniques in the Sword Series of the Cihang Sword Sequence were so complex and changeable that they became unimaginably unpredictable. Each of the 64 swords used different variations of the sword technique.

Even though the Spiritual Statue used 64 variations of the sword technique simultaneously, they blended well together without any conflict, making it extremely unpredictable.

The sword qi was powerful, destroying the hair net and scattering fragments of hair everywhere. That was how Zhang Yuelu broke free from the Black Hair Armor.

The woman’s long hair retracted and turned back into half its original length, which was waist-length.

Once Qi Xuansu saw that Zhang Yuelu had gained the advantage, he took the opportunity to head to the main hall since he would not be much help here.