A Pawn's Passage

To be fair, Lu Yushu was out of touch with combat. Her days in Jade Capital were mostly spent behind desks, shuffling through paperwork.

In terms of experience and willpower, she could not compare to the likes of Marshal Thunder, Feng Bo, or Marshal Tianpeng—experienced Jianghu masters who lived on the edge of their blades. Yet even so, she held the upper hand against Qi Xuansu, simply because she was a Heavenly Being.

Qi Xuansu managed to hold his own thanks to his rich experience, quick thinking, and external objects like the Taiyi Cloud Robe, his Auxiliary Heart, and the Xuan Jades. Even with all these, he barely managed to keep up.

If he were just an ordinary Guizhen-stage Rogue Cultivator, Lu Yushu would have already struck him down.

Qi Xuansu pulled out the blade from his throat.

Due to the refined control that Guizhen-stage Martial Arts Practitioners had over their flesh and blood, not a single drop of blood spilled. The wound closed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Failing to kill Qi Xuansu with her strike, Lu Yushu assumed it was the Taiyi Cloud Robe, as she was unaware of his Auxiliary Heart.

She scoffed, “Deputy Hall Master Zhang sure is generous to give you the Taiyi Cloud Robe. I recall this robe is only meant for unmarried women. At this rate, she won’t need it for long.”

Her remark was intended to mock Qi Xuansu as a kept man, but he chuckled. “I’ll gladly take that as a blessing, Deputy Hall Master Lu.”

Lu Yushu snorted and strode leisurely toward Qi Xuansu, her demeanor akin to a cat toying with a mouse.

Qi Xuansu knew he was no match for Lu Yushu. If he kept fighting, he would inevitably be defeated.

Just as Qi Xuansu was at a loss, he suddenly felt a surge of warmth flowing from his Auxiliary Heart, allowing his cultivation to soar, breaking through the ninth level of the Guizhen stage and stepping over the threshold of a Heavenly Being.

The sudden surge both shocked and delighted him.

Earlier, when facing True Lord Siming, his Auxiliary Heart had occasionally emitted this warmth, helping him dispel the yin energy. It was a phenomenon he had never experienced before.

At this moment, this surge of warmth was not just protecting him but boosting his cultivation—entirely unprecedented as well.

However, Qi Xuansu quickly realized that this newfound cultivation was only temporary, like scaffolding lifting him to a higher place. His foundation remained unchanged. When the heat dissipated, he would instantly return to his original state at the Guizhen stage.

For Qi Xuansu, this temporary boost was enough to deal with the situation at hand.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Yushu was in front of him.

“Take this!” Lu Yushu shouted, unleashing a palm strike.

Lu Yushu’s palm strike was straightforward. But instead of relying on brute strength, her palm exuded an intense chill, so much so that frost spread across the ground within 30 meters of her, and tiny ice crystals formed in the air.

Had Qi Xuansu not have the temporary boost from his Auxiliary Heart, he would have been overpowered. However, with his cultivation temporarily heightened, he faced her without fear.

Qi Xuansu channeled innate qi into his blade and swung it at Lu Yushu. The concentrated innate qi formed a sharp blade qi that cut through the frost and sliced open a bloody wound on her palm. Beads of blood rolled down, dripping audibly to the ground.

Lu Yushu’s expression shifted. With a flick of her arm, her long sleeve extended continuously, resembling a giant dragon that coiled around Qi Xuansu.

The moment Qi Xuansu swung his blade downward, the sound of fabric tearing ensued.

Lu Yushu’s expression changed dramatically when she realized that her long sleeve was severed in half. She immediately used the Nine Heavens Cloud and Rain Technique, an exclusive method of the Mysterious Maiden lineage.

An ancestor of the Lu family married a descendant of the Mysterious Maiden lineage, so this technique was passed down to the Lu family. It started as fierce as spring thunder and ended as gracefully as clouds scattering in the wind. The moves were fluid like a wandering dragon, light as mist, and full of unpredictable changes.

She unleashed three successive palm strikes, alternating between feints and genuine attacks. A single misstep from the opponent would result in serious injury.

Qi Xuansu calmly extended his palm, countering her ever-changing moves with unyielding simplicity. Regardless of Lu Yushu’s three-directional attack, he responded with a singular defense, forcing her to meet his palm head-on.

With the aid of his Auxiliary Heart, Qi Xuansu temporarily attained the cultivation level of a Heavenly Being. Thus, when their palms collided, he stood his ground without faltering.

Qi Xuansu smiled and remarked, “Deputy Hall Master Lu, you’re not so formidable after all.”

Hearing this, Lu Yushu scowled. Her arm trembled slightly, and a series of cracking sounds, like kernels popping in a pan, emanated from her body—a clear sign of innate qi rebounding against her.

Qi Xuansu suddenly exerted more force, forcing Lu Yushu to retreat. He immediately switched to offense, swinging his blade directly at her head.

Lu Yushu had yet to figure out how Qi Xuansu’s cultivation improved all of a sudden. Assuming he was still just a Guizhen-stage cultivator, she instinctively used her remaining intact sleeve to shield her body.

Flying Shadow had a sharpness rivaling a treasure. It was only classified as a spiritual object due to its lack of toughness. Now, empowered by Qi Xuansu’s enhanced cultivation, Flying Shadow easily tore through the fabric of Lu Yushu’s remaining sleeve.

Both of Lu Yushu’s long sleeves were now shredded, revealing her exposed and pale forearms. Though uninjured, she looked thoroughly disheveled.

Furious and frustrated, Lu Yushu had initially thought her cultivation would easily allow her to defeat this supposed boy toy of Zhang Yuelu.

At first, she did dominate Qi Xuansu, but somehow, the tables turned, and she found herself at a disadvantage.

Lu Yushu had been used to special treatment from men of her rank. Even this time, Li Mingzhi took on Pei Xiaolou so she could retrieve the Xuan Jade. The highly esteemed Li Tianlan also asked her to stay back to reason with Lei Xiaohuan instead of confronting True Lord Siming.

Such unwritten rules of the Daoist Order and Jade Capital meant women were always given preferential treatment. As a result, Lu Yushu rarely faced true hostility in combat, even when outmatched. How could she not be enraged at this humiliation?

Unfortunately for her, Qi Xuansu was a self-taught “wild Daoist” who knew nothing of these unwritten rules. There was no fairness to speak of in battle, not even to Zhang Yuelu, let alone Lu Yushu.

This unrelenting pressure quickly exposed Lu Yushu’s true capabilities.

Although Qi Xuansu temporarily held the upper hand, it did not mean he had completely defeated Lu Yushu. Their battle had already carried them far from the Xuan Jade, making any attempt to retrieve it now impossible.

At that moment, a figure suddenly shot out from the direction of the Black Robes’ encampment, heading straight for the Xuan Jade.

Qi Xuansu looked from afar and saw a bald man dressed in Daoist robes, yet oddly wearing a Confucian high crown. As if that was not strange enough, he wore Buddhist wooden clogs, hung a Western Holy Court Sacred Emblem on his chest, and wielded a Shamanistic Sect wooden staff. This staff looked like intertwined dead vines, and its top resembled a skeletal hand clutching a large red crystal.

Only a member of the Heavenly Court, which claimed to have united the Five Religions, would dress in such a bizarre manner.

Pei Xiaolou immediately recognized the man. “Wu Guangbi!”

Qi Xuansu froze for a moment, finding the name familiar. He then remembered this person’s notorious background.

There were three leaderboards circulating in Jianghu—the Gold Wuyou Leaderboard, the Silver Taiping Leaderboard, and the Bronze Ruyi Leaderboard.

The Wuyou Leaderboard did not include the lofty Immortals who had already achieved eternal life. Instead, they focused only on the ranking of Pseudo-Immortals. However, this list excluded the members from the Three Religions, namely Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. It also excluded those from the Imperial Court and foreign entities, such as the Western Holy Court, the Golden Horde’s Shamanistic Sect, or figures from Fenglin and the Samudra Kingdom.

Currently, the Wuyou Leaderboard only recognized 10 Pseudo-Immortals. The Golden Patriarch of the Heavenly Court held the first place, while the current leader of the Heavenly Court ranked 10th.

Wu Guangbi was none other than this 10th-place individual. He was the Golden Patriarch’s first disciple and the current leader of the Heavenly Court.

No one expected this Pseudo-Immortal to suddenly appear in Jinling.

Hovering midair, Wu Guangbi scanned his surroundings and declared, “Greetings, everyone. Since none of you can reach a resolution, why don’t I safeguard this item for now?”

Silence followed his declaration.

Although Wu Guangbi started with a polite greeting, his demeanor showed his disregard for everyone present. His intentions toward the Xuan Jade were unmistakable.

A Pseudo-Immortal was only one step away from becoming an Immortal. While many remained in this step until their last breath, their power was unmatched by ordinary individuals. Even the top-ranked Omniscient Sages were Pseudo-Immortals, and those ranked lower often fell short of this cultivation level.

Even Ancient Immortals like True Lord Siming were merely at the level of a Pseudo-Immortal when descending to the mortal realm via a vessel rather than their true body.