A Pawn's Passage

After True Lord Taiyin was recruited by the Daoist Order, she ascended from the mortal world. If not for this, Zhang Wuhen would not have obtained the legacy that True Lord Taiyin left behind.

Though Qi Xuansu uttered the incantation of summoning True Lord Taiyin, he was not invoking divine power from her divine kingdom. He was using his own divine power.

When the moonlight faded, Qi Xuansu had already changed in appearance. He remained the size of an ordinary person and resembled the Spiritual Statue of True Lord Taiyin that he had manifested before—a star crown, flowing robes, and ribbons coiled around the arms. However, Qi Xuansu’s face was blurred, shrouded in a misty veil. It bore a resemblance to when Madam Qi had assumed her identity as Mogul Yao.

This was Qi Xuansu’s first time entering the Spiritual Body Realm. Compared to the Cicada Shedding Realm of a Rogue Cultivator, the Shaman’s Spiritual Body Realm was astonishingly powerful, even stronger than the Martial Arts Practitioner’s Divinity Realm. It was close to the Five Elements Origin Realm of Banished Immortals.

The Cicada Shedding Realm was also known as a minor rebirth, mainly compensating for a Rogue Cultivator’s innate deficiencies. It lacked any unique mystical abilities and thus ranked lowest among the Six Lineages.

By contrast, the Shaman’s Spiritual Body Realm allowed one to temporarily transform into another form and gain numerous divine abilities tied to that form. It did not significantly enhance innate talent but could dramatically boost short-term combat power. The specific form and powers depended on the Spiritual Statue one conjured.

In the Daoist Order, the Primordial Daoist Ancestor had no Spiritual Statue. The highest form was the Heavenly Emperor Spiritual Statue. However, the Daoist Order was not fond of cultivating Shamans, preferring to devote incense power to the more cost-effective Spirit Guards. As such, the Heavenly Emperor Spiritual Statue had not been seen for many years. On rare occasions, a few Shamans managed to manifest it.

Outside the Daoist Order, the Amitabha Spiritual Statue of the Buddhist Sect held supreme.

Among the myriad of deities and buddhas, the Heavenly Emperor and Amitabha Spiritual Statues were first-tier, while there were only four second-tier Spiritual Statues.

The Green Emperor and True Lord Siming governed life and death; one ruled the Southern Dipper, while the other ruled the Northern Dipper. They were the last two remaining Star Lords. However, the Green Emperor cultivated the mind and ultimately merged with Heaven and Earth, losing the self entirely. True Lord Siming seized the chance to usurp the governance of life, proclaiming himself the master of both life and death.

The Vairocana and True Lord Taiyin symbolized the sun and the moon, respectively. One ruled the sun, the other the moon. The original True Lord Taiyang was defeated by Vairocana and had gone through the third death, completely forgotten and replaced. Although True Lord Taiyin had ascended from the mortal realm, her divine kingdom, the Palace of Cold Light, remained and still held dominion over lunar power. It would continue to exist until the end of the era. Zhang Wuhen’s Taiyin legacy came from this source. Her goal upon returning was also to take over the Palace of Cold Light and seize the residual authority left behind.

In this regard, whether it was Wu Luo, True Lord Ziguang, or even the Cihang Lineage’s Guanyin Spiritual Statue, they all fall slightly short, only ranking as third-tier.

The fourth tier consisted of common Spiritual Statues, such as the Moonlight Bodhisattva, Sunlight Bodhisattva, and the Baiyang Ancestor, to name a few.

Then there were the lowest, fifth-tier Spiritual Statues, usually consisting of wild deities with licentious shrines or ordinary sub-deities.

Due to the differences in Spiritual Statues, the power of Shamans in the Spiritual Body Realm varied greatly. Those who could manifest the Heavenly Emperor or Amitabha Spiritual Statues and achieve the corresponding Spiritual Body could rival Banished Immortals. But those who manifested lower-tier Spiritual Statues were weaker than Martial Arts Practitioners and on par with Rogue Cultivators.

Qi Xuansu, having manifested True Lord Taiyin’s Spiritual Statue, had attained a second-tier Spiritual Statue, which was quite a remarkable feat.

Leaving aside the profundities of the Spiritual Body itself, the divine ability Qi Xuansu temporarily gained was the original version of the Taiyin 13 Swords.

Qi Xuansu advanced toward Gan Longchi, who now resembled a humanoid beast.

Just as the Shaman’s Spiritual Statues came in tiers, so too did a Martial Arts Practitioner’s True Body. The horns were a relatively rudimentary manifestation, far inferior to the three-headed, six-armed True Body. Strictly speaking, these horns were just one of the hundred forms of the True Body.

Gan Longchi charged at Qi Xuansu, the bony horn on his shoulder aiming at his opponent like a spear.

Qi Xuansu reached out and grabbed the horn. Thanks to the Spiritual Body’s resilience, he was not harmed. Only some divine power was consumed. Due to the hardiness of his Martial Arts Practitioner’s physique, he only drifted back slightly.

Transformed into his Spiritual Body, Qi Xuansu’s entire presence changed. The violent and brutal aura of the Demonic Blade faded away, replaced by an ethereal grace, like an elusive celestial.

Gan Longchi’s fists continued relentlessly, and the gently curved horns across his body acted as piercing blades, not only incredibly durable but razor-sharp.

Qi Xuansu did not try to clash with him head-on. His long hair suddenly grew to over 30 meters in length and swept toward Gan Longchi.

The strands of hair intertwined and overlapped, forming a massive net that descended upon Gan Longchi. In an instant, the hair tightened, like a silkworm weaving a cocoon, binding Gan Longchi into a ball of threads.

The black strands resembled threads of emotion that wove endlessly, forsaking the harshness of sword qi for softness. They made Gan Longchi feel as if he was trapped in drifting clouds and gentle moonlight, nearly unable to move.

At the same time, countless emotions surged into Gan Longchi’s heart along with the flowing strands.

White hair stretched 10 kilometers, born of unending sorrow. Heaven and earth might one day perish, but this hatred knew no end. Hatred for flowery lies, for betrayal and callous hearts, for cold-hearted cruelty, for fickle human warmth, for the inhospitable world, for the injustice of heaven and earth, for good going unrewarded and the evil going unpunished.

Qi Xuansu himself bore little hatred. Instead, the Seven Hatreds originated from Zhang Wuhen, like seven formidable slashes of sword intention, directly targeting the soul.

All it took was a moment of carelessness for one’s mind to be seized, like a trapped insect ensnared in a spider’s web, with no hope of escape.

Trapped, Gan Longchi took a deep breath that seemed endless. His throat began to swell, expanding all the way to his abdomen, as though that had become his stomach.

This was the Kui Throat, one of the hundred forms of the True Body.

According to legend, a beast resembling a single-footed, hornless bull with blue skin lived in Liubo Mountain, which stretched 3,500 kilometers into Donghai. Wherever it emerged from the sea, wind and rain followed. Its radiance rivaled the sun and moon, and its voice boomed like thunder. This beast was called a Kui. The Heavenly Emperor once captured it, using its hide as a drum mounted with the bones of thunder beasts. The sound of this drum was said to travel 250 kilometers, capable of shaking the realm.

Once Gan Longchi gathered his strength, he tilted his head back and let out a long howl. Endless blood qi transformed into surging sound waves that spread in all directions. The deafening roar pierced the onlookers’ eardrums and tore through the strands of hair, turning into a howling gale. Buildings and trees shook violently, sand and stones flew, and even those with lower cultivation could not stay standing, forced to stagger backward.

A Martial Arts Practitioner’s Blood Roar was already effective in countering spells. With the boost from the Kui Throat, its power was multiplied several times over.

Countless strands of hair were scattered with a single shout. Even Qi Xuansu’s Spiritual Body wavered under the assault.

However, Qi Xuansu quickly stabilized his Spiritual Body and drew Flying White Shadow. A wisp of ethereal moonlight coiled around the blade, replacing the conventional sword qi.

Gan Longchi swept his arm in a crescent arc. Although Qi Xuansu dodged the strike, the horn on Gan Longchi’s forearm slid along Flying White Shadow’s blade, transmitting force that caused the treasure blade in Qi Xuansu’s hand to suddenly grow heavy.

Qi Xuansu flicked his wrist to dissolve the force and thrust the blade toward Gan Longchi’s right arm.

Gan Longchi circled his arm back, and with a crisp smack, his fist met Qi Xuansu’s blade. Then both men leaped backward.

The two resumed their fight. Gan Longchi’s punches were fierce and ruthless, his fist intention tearing through the air as his blood qi surged. His entire body resembled a furnace, radiating waves of intense heat, forcing both the Black Robes and Spirit Guards to retreat again and again.

Qi Xuansu’s Flying White Shadow radiated intense cold, shrouded in moonlight like mist, shielding him completely. His mind was free of distractions, allowing him to anticipate his opponent’s every move, rendering Gan Longchi’s blows completely ineffective.

The more Gan Longchi fought, the more alarmed he became. After exchanging over 100 blows, he had yet to land a single hit on Qi Xuansu. Losing to someone stronger was nothing strange, but being unable to gain the upper hand against someone of a lower realm was certainly a first for this general.

Little did he know, this was the combination of the Demonic Blade and the Taixuan Sword Heart Series. Even against Yao Pei wielding the Heavenly Blade and the Taishang Emotionless Sutra, Qi Xuansu could still put up a fight.

The Taixuan Sword Heart Series was the 12th technique among the Taiyin 13 Swords. Exceptionally arcane, it was said to be the culmination of all sword techniques under heaven, containing infinite variations, ready to be summoned at will.

Among the Taiyin 13 Swords, the most sinister was the final technique, Sword Demon Manifestation, and the most upright and orthodox was the Taixuan Sword Heart Series. It harbored no trace of deceit or malevolence, only the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

Suddenly, Qi Xuansu struck again with a blade, advancing by retreating, bending to extend, striking as if withdrawing, transforming clarity into obscurity, his energy flow completely inverted.

If not for Gan Longchi’s superior cultivation level, this single slash would have left him gravely wounded.

Gan Longchi narrowly evaded the strike. Instead of retreating, he advanced with a swift lunge.

Qi Xuansu traced circles with Flying White Shadow, and in an instant, dozens of full moons appeared before him, overlapping and nested in size. Gan Longchi struck them with his fist, but the moons swayed without dispersing and shifted without breaking, like slicing water with a blade. It might part briefly, but the rift quickly fused.

Instead, Gan Longchi was struck by the backlash and had to retreat.

Soon, more and more full moons appeared. In no time, Qi Xuansu was completely hidden within the countless moons’ radiance. As one faded, another arose, seemingly infinite. These full moons surged like waves, undulating and protecting Qi Xuansu seamlessly, with no flaws to be seen.

Thus, Gan Longchi decided to use brute force to break through this technique. With all his might, he struck with both fists at the moonlike waves. Yet, the Taixuan Sword Heart Series did not waver and repelled him forcefully. His second-rank court robes shook violently, the hair at his temples was blown back, and his feet carved out two deep trenches across the ground.