A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu did not respond directly and sighed. “In this world, matters that seem resolved often end unresolved.”

Gan Longchi frowned. As he had said himself, he was a man of war, not well-versed in words and literature, so he could not quite grasp Qi Xuansu’s intent.

Qi Xuansu looked at Gan Longchi and asked, “Can the matters of this world truly be handled so carelessly?”

This time, Gan Longchi understood and scoffed. “No matter how much you dress it up, it’s all illusion. In the end, everything depends on force. Do you think that the Khan of Heaven title was earned through tribute payments during the Qi Dynasty?”

Qi Xuansu countered, “What if I refuse?”

“That won’t be up to you,” Gan Longchi replied as he dismounted, his black armor clinking with each movement. “If you agree to a duel, I’ll take off this Darkwater Armor to give you a fair fight. If you don’t, I’ll charge at you wearing it. Do you really think these Spirit Guards can stop me?”

Qi Xuansu felt somewhat uncertain. A Wuliang-stage Martial Arts Practitioner equipped with a top-tier treasure was incredibly intimidating. If it were just 500 Spirit Guards surrounding a lone man, victory would be easy. But Gan Longchi also had his own forces, and the Spirit Guards did not hold a numerical advantage over the Black Robes.

Since gaining the upper hand seemed unlikely, starting a battle with Gan Longchi would not serve much purpose and would only lead to unnecessary casualties. Qi Xuansu did not want these Spirit Guards, who had contributed to the Daoist Order, to die pointlessly in the Imperial Capital.

Qi Xuansu asked, “General Gan, if you defeat me, does that erase everything? Is there no right or wrong anymore?”

“So long as you willingly admit defeat, everything can be erased.” Gan Longchi said calmly. “As for right or wrong, does it really matter?”

“It doesn’t matter?” Qi Xuansu asked in return.

“Of course it doesn’t,” Gan Longchi replied bluntly.

Qi Xuansu did not argue but pointed to Qin Hengde beside him. “So, you don’t care about right or wrong. Do you also not care about the Young Commandery Prince?”

This time, Gan Longchi responded with a question of his own. “Would you, as a member of the Daoist Order, truly harm the Young Commandery Prince?”

Qi Xuansu gave this crude general a long look. “Of course not.”

No matter what Qi Xuansu truly thought, he could never admit such a thing in public, as it would be equivalent to handing others a weapon against him.

“If you won’t, then what do I have to fear?” Gan Longchi replied indifferently.

Qin Hengde, however, turned pale with fright, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

Qi Xuansu could only respond, “It seems I have no choice but to accept the duel then.”

Gan Longchi wasted no words. With a flick, the pitch-black armor on his body began to “melt,” resembling thick and silvery mercury that flowed into his palm. Finally, it turned into a dark, spherical bead.

This was a feature of armor-type treasures, saving precious time on donning gear. Even when caught off guard, one could quickly wear one’s armor. Ordinarily, it took the form of a longan-sized orb known as an Armor Pellet, which was convenient for carrying.

Gan Longchi put away the Armor Pellet and declared, “I won’t use the Darkwater Armor. But feel free to use whatever treasures you have. Consider that my gesture of fairness.”

Naturally, Qi Xuansu had no reason to refuse.

The difference made by external objects was immense in a duel. For instance, Dreaming Cloud could take on two opponents of the same level at once while wielding a semi-immortal object.

Gan Longchi raised a hand, signaling the Black Robes to fall back.

Qi Xuansu tossed Qin Hengde toward the Spirit Guard behind him, signaled for the gates to be shut, and strode forward.

With a stomp of his foot, Gan Longchi surged forward like a streaking arrow, arriving before Qi Xuansu in an instant.

Qi Xuansu launched a punch that seemed ordinary and slow, but midway, it suddenly changed. In the blink of an eye, one fist multiplied into 16. This was the Cosmos Loop Fist from the Tantai Fist Intention. The punches appeared slow, yet they moved with lightning speed, as if time itself had stalled. Unaffected by this, Qi Xuansu continued to strike, making it seem as though countless fists emerged in a temporal blur.

Gan Longchi blurted out, “What a formidable Tantai Fist Intention.”

Qi Xuansu’s 16 punches continued to multiply until there were 128, filling the sky with a storm of fist shadows.

Gan Longchi had a simple approach. Regardless of how many fists came at him, he returned only one punch that aimed directly at Qi Xuansu’s face.

At the same time, Qi Xuansu entered his Demonic Blade state, using raw instincts to see through Gan Longchi’s move. His right hand shifted into the River Fist, dissolving Gan Longchi’s punch like the flowing river. Then, from the shadow of his left fist, a sudden blow shot toward Gan Longchi’s face, forcing him to leap back and ease his strike.

Su Li was watching the duel intently. Observing closely, she saw how Qi Xuansu’s fists transformed unpredictably. Even before a punch reached midway, it had already shifted through dozens of angles. Such a refined and profound technique was unlike anything she had ever seen.

In contrast, Gan Longchi’s fist technique was extremely simple. Though Qi Xuansu’s techniques caused Gan Longchi’s to appear rigid and sluggish, no matter how unpredictable the former’s moves were, the latter was always able to adapt and respond.

Then, the tide of battle suddenly shifted. Gan Longchi abruptly closed the distance, revealing his body spirits. With his Indestructible Divine Body, Gan Longchi forcefully endured Qi Xuansu’s strikes and launched a double punch. Though his blows could not match the sheer number of fist shadows from Qi Xuansu’s Cosmos Loop Fist, their overwhelming force resembled a charge of armored cavalry tearing through infantry formations, scattering the myriad of fist shadows instantly.

His double fists pounded violently against Qi Xuansu’s chest.

Ordinary Xiantian Beings struck by such iron fists would instantly explode into a mist of blood. Even a Heavenly Being would be seriously injured.

But Qi Xuansu endured it, sliding back only 10 meters, leaving behind two deep furrows in the ground.

It was not due to his Martial Arts Practitioner’s physique. Instead, Qi Xuansu had activated his Golden Body at that moment.

Golden light radiated from him, his flesh and skin became nearly translucent, revealing his bones and meridians clearly. This was the Golden Body Realm from the Shaman lineage.

Martial Arts Practitioners prided themselves on their Indestructible Divine Body, but Shamans boasted the equally resilient Golden Body, which was the nascent form of a Godly Immortal’s.

With a golden aura emitting from his fists and bolstered by the Martial Arts Practitioner’s strength and the Rogue Cultivator’s innate qi, Qi Xuansu launched the Wind Thunder Fist with a deafening boom.

Among all of Qi Xuansu’s lineages, his Shaman Lineage was the most complete.

Sadly, Qi Xuansu lacked a piece of the Xuan Jade of Immortality to become a Banished Immortal. If it were Li Changge standing here instead, the overconfident Gan Longchi would have virtually no chance of winning.

Gan Longchi sneered. He practiced the Chongjiu Martial Arts, a technique usable by both Martial Arts Practitioners and Qi Refiners, known for its immense power and incredible resilience. When it came to raw force, Gan Longchi feared nothing and responded with his own punch.

Their fists collided with a thunderous boom. Qi Xuansu was knocked back like a drifting leaf, floating unpredictably. Meanwhile, Gan Longchi was forced back three solid steps, leaving three footprints embedded about 10 centimeters deep into the ground. Even the tread of his soles was clearly visible.

Gan Longchi steadied himself and exclaimed, “Nice punch!”

Then, before advancing once more. Qi Xuansu countered with the Sea Fist. His palms clashed against Gan Longchi’s fists, producing waves of metallic clangs that echoed continuously.

After exchanging over 30 moves, Gan Longchi failed to gain the upper hand despite his superior cultivation. He grew both irritated and secretly alarmed. No wonder Zhao Fu’an lost to this man. How does he have the Shaman’s Golden Body with a Martial Arts Practitioner’s physique?They say that only Li Changge possesses such ability. This man walks the same path. If I don’t use some real power, I may not be able to defeat him.

At that moment, Gan Longchi voluntarily leaped back from the battlefield. Cracking sounds echoed around his body as bony spikes emerged from his shoulders, elbows, forehead, fists, and knees, each over 30 centimeters long, resembling spearheads or razor-sharp blades.

This was a manifestation of the Martial Arts Practitioner in the Everchanging Realm. A Manly Immortal’s horns were sharper and deadlier than ordinary weapons.

At the same time, bluish scales surfaced across Gan Longchi’s skin. This was the Manly Immortal’s scale armor.

Though not a full manifestation of the Manly Immortal’s True Body, it was akin to Qi Xuansu’s partial golden body transformation. They were similar in function but different in form.

These transformations also differed from the True Body of the branch’s Innkeeper, who had three heads and six arms. This proved that the Everchanging Realm was not an exaggeration.

Qi Xuansu also had a trump card—his Shaman lineage. It was not that he intended to hold back, but he cherished what little divine power he had and usually could not bear to spend it.

Qi Xuansu’s Shaman lineage was thanks to the Xuan Jade of Divinity from True Lord Siming’s descent. It was the largest among the three pieces of Xuan Jade he possessed. Thus, unlike his Martial Arts Practitioner lineage, which lacked the body spirit, or the Diviner lineage, which lacked Thoughts splitting, his Shaman lineage had reached the Heavenly-Being stage.

The Shaman’s Xiaoyao stage was called the Spiritual Body Realm. Before this was the Golden Body Realm in the Guizhen stage and the Spiritual Statue Realm of the Yuxu stage. Before the Spiritual Statue Realm was the Summoning Divinity Realm of the Kunlun stage. This was when a Shaman could invite a spirit to descend into oneself to greatly boost one’s strength and gain temporary invulnerability to swords and gunfire. However, this could only sustain for a short time. Normally, Daoist disciples would invoke their ancestral Godly Immortals, while cult demons would summon the Ancient Immortal they worshipped.

The Spiritual Statue Realm involved manifesting an external divine form, which depended on the deity one followed. A believer in Wu Luo could only manifest Wu Luo’s form, not that of True Lord Siming.

Qi Xuansu was a devotee of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor who did not possess a divine form. However, after inheriting divine power from Zhang Wuhen, he was able to manifest the form of True Lord Taiyin, thus completing his Shaman lineage.

The so-called Spiritual Body Realm was the fusion of the Spiritual Statue and Golden Body, where the Shaman became the divine form itself, inseparable. It combined the indestructibility of the Golden Body with the mystical powers of the Spiritual Statue.

As Gan Longchi manifested part of his Manly Immortal True Body, Qi Xuansu folded his arms behind his back. His right hand clasped the middle and ring fingers of his left, which rotated outward until both palms faced the sky. He then hooked both index fingers and pinkies together to form the Inverted Heaven Seal, and intoned solemnly, “With respect, I summon True Lord Taiyin.”

A full moon appeared out of nowhere, reversing day and night within a 300-meter radius. A beam of moonlight descended and enveloped Qi Xuansu.

In the blink of an eye, Qi Xuansu’s features blurred, and moonlight shimmered around him like flowing water.