A Pawn's Passage

The two of them made a move at the same time.

Qi Xuansu pulled out his two cutlasses from his waist and injected qi into them, lighting the blades on fire.

To Qi Xuansu’s surprise, Zhang Yuelu did not use a sword. She also turned her Amorphous Paper into two paper cutlasses.

Qi Xuansu knew that Zhang Yuelu’s strength was in her swordsmanship. Her use of other kinds of weapons lagged behind, though they were not weak at all.

At this time, Zhang Yuelu using two cutlasses instead of a sword was a conceited act because she was using her shortcomings to attack her opponent’s strengths.

Qi Xuansu could not stand seeing her behave like this, as he was a firm believer that a lion should still fight a rabbit with all its strength. He thought to himself, If it wasn’t for my weaker cultivation, I would’ve taught her a lesson so she would correct this stupid behavior!

The next moment, the two of them were fighting with each other.

By coincidence, both of them used the Dayan Spirit Blade Technique.

Their blades were extremely fast, crossing the distance between them in a split second as if they could teleport. The blades also had no set trajectory, so it was extremely difficult to guard against and could often catch people off guard.

Zhang Yuelu did not hold back when she taught Qi Xuansu the Dayan Spirit Blade Technique back then. When he first started learning, Qi Xuansu was indeed a lot worse than Zhang Yuelu. However, as Qi Xuansu’s cultivation level improved and he continued to hone his skills by fighting with others, he gradually became familiar with this technique and mastered it.

On the other hand, Zhang Yuelu’s focus was not on the Dayan Spirit Blade Technique, so in terms of knifesmanship alone, Qi Xuansu was comparable to Zhang Yuelu.

The two of them exchanged more than ten moves, but their blades never once touched each other and only kept changing variations. It was as if they had both predicted what the other’s moves were.

Qi Xuansu was not purposely giving in to her. After all, he did not have the confidence to do so when fighting against Zhang Yuelu. He was already trying his best to maintain this tie, which was extremely difficult for him.

Since Zhang Yuelu wanted to capture Wei Wugui alive, she did not exert her full strength. Even so, she was surprised by his superb technique. Not many people knew the Dayan Spirit Blade Technique, and Wei Wugui’s technique was far superior to Qi Xuansu’s.

While the two were fighting, they gradually deviated from the official path and approached the woods where Monk Deng Hua and Song Luodi had hidden previously.

As they went deeper into the forest, many trees became collateral damage to their fight. Their blades would slice through thick tree trunks like a hot knife through butter.

After dozens of moves, Zhang Yuelu jumped back and withdrew from the battle. She suggested, “We won’t get anywhere if we both use the same technique. Why don’t we try other methods?”

Qi Xuansu did not say a word. He just used both cutlasses to strike Zhang Yuelu.

Zhang Yuelu leaned out of the way. Qi Xuansu circled back and slashed across her waist, but she jumped over the cutlasses.

Seeing this, Qi Xuansu withdrew one cutlass and stabbed her in the back, changing his move rapidly. Even though Zhang Yuelu had noticed it, she was already in midair from her jump, so she had no choice but to use her paper cutlass to stab a big tree not far away, using this momentum to propel herself behind the tree.

Qi Xuansu followed closely and pierced the tree with his two cutlasses so deep that the tree trunk reached the hilt of his cutlasses.

The flames on the blades instantly ignited the tree trunk. The distance between the tip of Qi Xuansu’s blades and the tip of Zhang Yuelu’s nose behind the tree was only a few centimeters, but Zhang Yuelu remained motionless, as if she knew that the blades would not hurt her.

This was not part of the Dayan Spirit Blade Technique. It was Qi Xuansu’s own technique honed through countless battles with others. The key was to attack the opponent’s vitals and adapt to changes.

Qi Xuansu had used this same technique with Thunder Mage before and managed to stab the latter in the abdomen. At this time, he tried stabbing Zhang Yuelu three times in a row, but Zhang Yuelu managed to dodge every move. This showed a large gap between Thunder Mage and Zhang Yuelu’s skills.

Seeing this, Qi Xuansu quickly yanked his cutlasses out from the trunk, cutting the tree in half.

They could finally see each other again.

Zhang Yuelu was not at all injured. She only praised, “Nice one.”

Qi Xuansu still did not speak. He stabbed her again, but she dodged to the left. Qi Xuansu went to his right and swung his two cutlasses diagonally, then he suddenly turned around, sweeping the blade backward. This was a wonderful move in the Dayan Spirit Blade Technique.

Zhang Yuelu raised her paper cutlass to block this strike, which came down on her with a strong force. Qi Xuansu struck twice in a row, but Zhang Yuelu only defended and did not attack. In the end, Zhang Yuelu was forced to use her best skill—swordsmanship—with the paper cutlasses.

The pair exchanged more than ten moves like this.

Qi Xuansu kept attacking fiercely, but he would run out of momentum. Zhang Yuelu would then use this opportunity to turn her defense into offense.

She slashed Qi Xuansu’s face with the paper cutlass in her right hand while she slashed at Qi Xuansu’s wrist with the paper cutlass in her left hand.

Qi Xuansu quickly blocked the attack with his left cutlass. Since his cutlasses were only spiritual objects, the left cutlass was sliced into two upon impact. His right wrist was also injured by the paper cutlass, with blood trickling down. The cutlass in his right hand clattered to the ground, and the flames extinguished subsequently.

The paper cutlass in Zhang Yuelu’s hand had his blood dripping down from the tip of the blade.

Qi Xuansu jumped back, looking solemn. “Mage Zhang, you’re very skilled in swordsmanship.”

While talking, the wound on Qi Xuansu’s wrist had already healed on its own.

Zhang Yuelu’s eyes widened. “The Martial Arts Pracitioner’s self-healing ability!”

Qi Xuansu did not want Zhang Yuelu to connect Wei Wugui and Qi Xuansu, so he deliberately distracted her. “Mage Zhang, haven’t you heard of manmade Banished Immortals? Rogue Cultivators are just incomplete Banished Immortals. My self-healing ability is nothing compared to a natural-born Banished Immortal like you.”

As expected, Zhang Yuelu’s attention was diverted. “Who are you? How do you know the secrets of the Daoist Order?”

Qi Xuansu laughed. “Secrets? Mage Zhang, do you know that the Li family is using these manmade techniques to create a Banished Immortal as we speak? That person may very well be a strong enemy for you in the future.”

Zhang Yuelu did not say a word, but her expression became solemn.

Although Wei Wugui did not name anyone, she already knew who he was talking about—Li Changge.

Li Changge was from the same generation as the Imperial Preceptor, Li Changgeng, indicating his seniority despite his young age.

Qi Xuansu added. “Mage Zhang, you have a semi-immortal object, so I am certainly no match for you. I wonder if you dare fight with bare hands. If you can defeat me with your fists, then I will tell you the truth. Otherwise, I won’t say a word even if you capture me.”

Zhang Yuelu did not hesitate. She turned the paper cutlasses back into a piece of white paper and hung it on her waist like a handkerchief.

The Daoist Order had a soul-searching method, but it was too cruel, so there were strict restrictions imposed for its usage. If Qi Xuansu decided to keep his mouth shut, Zhang Yuelu would have no other way to pry the information out of him.

Qi Xuansu assumed the starting posture of the Tantai Fist Intention with his left hand in a Dragon Fist and his right hand in a Tiger Fist.

Zhang Yuelu did not waste any time. She closed the distance with Qi Xuansu and pointed at Qi Xuansu’s left elbow with the index and middle fingers of her right hand.

Qi Xuansu raised his left fist to block the move, but it was just a feint. At the same time, he used a concealed weapon.

Suddenly, a white misty rain of light shot out from his right hand.

This was the Bliss Needle that Qi Xuansu got from Su Ran, which was made of primordial magnetite. When pierced into the body, one’s innate qi would be blocked and one’s true essence would be dissolved. It also muddled one’s mind with blissful hallucinations.

Zhang Yuelu was in close combat with Qi Xuansu, so she could not dodge in time. She hurriedly fluttered her sleeves and exerted innate qi to repel the needles. If she were not only one step away from a Heavenly Being, she would not have been able to block it.

Qi Xuansu kept shooting out more needles.

At the critical moment, Zhang Yuelu turned her head to the side, and two Bliss Needles flew past mere centimeters in front of her face.

Zhang Yuelu leaned back as two Bliss Needles flew past her ears.

She was furious because Wei Wugui did not keep his word, so she used the Zhang family’s authentic Thunder Palm, hitting her opponent head-on.

A loud thunder-like boom resounded as Qi Xuansu’s left fist collided with her palm. At the same time, he struck her shoulder with his right fist.

The two punches were swift and fierce. When he threw out his right punch, he simultaneously shot two Bliss Needles from his sleeves into Zhang Yuelu’s chest and abdomen.

Qi Xuansu used the Sword Controlling Technique to launch the Bliss Needles. It was not a brilliant move, but a sinister one. At this time, Zhang Yuelu was too focused on defending against his fists, so she did not expect that the punch was just a cover-up for another sneak attack.

Zhang Yuelu retracted her left palm and held it up to Qi Xuansu’s right wrist to deflect his punch. She wanted to grab his left wrist as well, but she was a step too late. The Bliss Needle penetrated her clothes and disappeared into her body.