A Pawn's Passage

Sikong Cuo was dead—not from Qi Xuansu’s ambush, but from the Red Lotus Karmic Fire.

After Bai Yingqiong activated the karmic burden within Sikong Cuo, his body was akin to a powder keg on the verge of explosion. He could barely keep it under control, and Zhang Yuelu’s sword strike left him teetering on the brink of destruction.

In the end, Qi Xuansu’s ambush tipped the scales and caused the powder keg to explode.

Normally, even a stab through the heart would not do much damage to a Heavenly Being in the Wuliang stage. However, the full eruption of the Red Lotus Karmic Fire was fatal. Unlike ordinary flames, it burned the soul, leaving Sikong Cuo no chance to preserve his soul or attempt possession. He was utterly obliterated.

Bai Yingqiong, Zhang Yuelu, and Qi Xuansu were all indispensable in bringing down Sikong Cuo, who was a Diviner in the Object Creation Realm.

Strictly speaking, Sikong Cuo did not die by Bai Yingqiong’s hand but by his own doing. After all, the intensity of the Red Lotus Karmic Fire depended on the person’s karmic burden. For a virtuous individual, the fire might only feel like a gentle breeze. This was a case of reaping what one sowed.

With Sikong Cuo’s death, the Small World he maintained collapsed, freeing Pei Xiaolou from his confinement.

Meanwhile, Bai Yingqiong did not stand idly by. While True Lord Siming was regenerating his divine body, she seized the opportunity to break free from his grasp.

Since True Lord Siming had not descended with his golden body or fully manifested his divine kingdom in the mortal world, his power was limited. A Wuliang-stage Heavenly Being would not be completely powerless against him.

The lotus formation, which had shrunk into a bud, bloomed once more, radiating a dazzling light. Standing within it, Bai Yingqiong channeled her full magical power and activated six high-grade talismans. The talisman papers ignited and transformed into six bolts of thunder.

Among all spells, Thunder Methods reigned supreme. This was because it embodies the purest yang energy, able to restrain magical power, blood qi, and yin energy.

Of all Thunder Methods, the Shangqing Zhang’s lineage was preeminent. These six talismans originated from the Dazhen Mansion. When the six thunderbolts struck, they instantly cleansed the surrounding yin energy.

Bai Yingqiong seized the moment and abandoned a Destiny Puppet as she executed a Golden Cicada Escape Technique.

This Destiny Puppet was akin to the Banished Immortal’s Tribulation Substitute or the Rogue Cultivator’s Cicada Molting False Body. However, the Destiny Puppet’s applications were broader. Its use was not limited to taking one’s place in facing calamities. It had a part of the soul and Thought attached to it, creating a simple extension of oneself with flesh and blood that was capable of speech and combat.

However, creating a Destiny Puppet required meticulous preparation. It must be crafted from centuries-old darkwood and lightning-struck wood, infused with blood from the tip of the heart. One had to expend some cultivation and about three months of their time to create this puppet.

This was a typical method of a Diviner. While both Diviners and Shamans were skilled in spells, Shamans relied on incense power, whereas Diviners depended on external objects like talismans, straw figures, puppets, and various spell-casting materials. From low-level items like ox tears and black dog blood to high-level ones like demon blood and elixirs—all of these materials came at a cost.

The Banished Immortal’s Tribulation Substitute and Rogue Cultivator’s Cicada Molting False Body came at no cost. This reflected the unfair nature of the Earthly and Heavenly Immortal lineages, as they could harness the power of heaven and earth for personal use. As an imitation of Banished Immortals, Rogue Cultivators also benefited by association.

Bai Yingqiong suddenly appeared a short distance from Zhang Yuelu, while an expressionless version of Bai Yingqiong remained in True Lord Siming’s palm.

Moments later, the puppet’s clothing, hair, and skin burned like white paper, disintegrating into ashes scattered by the wind. What was left was a puppet covered in intricate talismanic carvings.

At that moment, True Lord Siming’s gaze shifted toward them.

The sky now displayed a white sun and a black moon, which were True Lord Siming’s eyes. Wherever his gaze fell, yin energy surged upward, yin and yang reversed, and the Five Elements fell into disarray, severely impacting everyone’s cultivation.

Madam Qi’s Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bomb had indeed inflicted serious damage on True Lord Siming, but it was far from enough to kill him.

In the brief time since, he had already recovered more than half of his strength.

Without needing True Lord Siming’s command, the Fate Guards with hollowed discs on their backs charged toward Bai Yingqiong, Zhang Yuelu, and Qi Xuansu.

With a wave of Bai Yingqiong’s sleeve, numerous palm-sized paper figures flew out, scattering in the air. They grew larger in the wind, transforming into life-sized warriors clad in white armor and helmets, adorned with flowing ribbons.

These warriors wielded an array of weapons like sabers, spears, swords, halberds, and maces. They looked formidable, resembling the legendary Heavenly Soldiers.

This was the Diviner’s Bean Soldiers Technique. While the traditional method required beans, paper figures could be used as substitutes. In essence, these were meticulously crafted talismans.

The Daoist Order was not concerned about outsiders learning these spells, just as they did not care if the Eight Tribes stole the technology for manufacturing Spirit Guards.

That was because all these needed sufficient money. Without money, mastering the techniques would render them unusable.

Once these warriors appeared, they immediately assembled into a battle formation, akin to the well-trained Black Robes. They then charged at the Fate Guards.

The two sides—one black, one white—clashed.

Since the paper warriors were essentially lifeless constructs, the Fate Guard’s ghostly bronze swords were ineffective against them. Though individually powerful, the Fate Guards were outnumbered by the paper warriors, leading to a stalemate.

True Lord Siming’s right eye suddenly lit up, shooting a crescent-shaped black beam of chilling light from the serene black moon.

Zhang Yuelu transformed her paper sword into an open paper umbrella, stepping forward to meet the attack.

The two forces collided silently, but Zhang Yuelu’s body abruptly fell, cracking the ground beneath her when she landed. Her Five Elements Qi Shield dimmed and flickered intermittently.

Zhang Yuelu exhaled a heavy breath of turbid air. “Whoa. An Ancient Immortal sure is powerful.”

Immediately, True Lord Siming’s left eye shone brightly. Countless white flames descended from the blazing white sun, like a fiery rainstorm.

Pei Xiaolou raised his bamboo staff and channeled his innate qi to the fullest, creating specks of starlight. As he waved the staff, the starlight connected into a web resembling a miniature galaxy, barely managing to fend off the white flames. His face turned pale, clearly showing the heavy toll it took.

True Lord Siming’s right eye slowly closed, and the serene black moon disappeared. The white sun in his left eye grew larger as countless white flames fell from the sky like a fierce storm, spreading across Jinling Prefecture and accelerating his absorption of yin energy.

Wherever the white flames landed, inanimate objects such as buildings remained unharmed, but living beings were reduced to desiccated corpses at a rate faster than the spread of yin energy.

After the white flames ceased, True Lord Siming’s left eye closed, extinguishing the blazing white sun. His right eye reopened, revealing the serene black moon. A massive ripple then spread outward from him, sweeping across all of Jinling Prefecture.

This ripple targeted those with cultivation. For Heavenly Beings, it only caused a brief tightness in the chest and momentary difficulty breathing. However, those with ordinary cultivation were gasping for air because they felt like they were drowning.

Many weaker cultivators immediately collapsed to the ground. Even Qi Xuansu felt unbearable discomfort, but a warm current continuously flowed from his Auxiliary Heart, helping him dispel the oppressive sensation.

Moments later, True Lord Siming opened both eyes. The sun and moon now illuminated the sky simultaneously.

His gaze, almost tangible, fixed directly on Madam Qi, who was still on top of the Ascension Platform.

During this time, Madam Qi was disassembling the giant cannon. When she felt True Lord Siming’s stare, she merely raised her sleeve to cover her face. “What are you looking at? Go on, keep staring—think you can kill me with your gaze?”

For ordinary people, True Lord Siming’s gaze could indeed be fatal. However, it was ineffective against Madam Qi.

From True Lord Siming’s view, the entire Ascension Platform turned pitch black as Madam Qi raised her sleeve. Even his Piercing Sun-Moon Eyes could not see through the curtain of mystery.

At that moment, Li Tianlan arrived with a large contingent, accompanied by the Black Robes stationed in Jinling Prefecture.

Though the earlier ripple had caused significant casualties, they retained a portion of their strength. Moreover, he brought along several Heavenly Beings and Bai Yingqiong’s subordinates. They began to encircle Zhenwu Lake.

Moments later, Lei Xiaohuan and Shi Luosi arrived, along with several archbishops from the Holy Court.

At this point, regardless of past internal conflicts, everyone had to unite to deal with the overwhelming threat that was True Lord Siming.