A Pawn's Passage

Madam Qi gazed at the permanent Yin-Yang Gate leading into the heart of Wuxing Mountain, striking a contemplative pose with her left hand supporting her right elbow while her right hand pinched her chin.

Not far from her stood another man who was completely bald, wearing Daoist robes, a Confucian headdress, wooden clogs, and a Holy Emblem of the Holy Court hanging on his chest. He was holding a Shaministic Sect wooden staff with its shaft resembling twisted dried vines and its top shaped like a withered hand clutching a large red crystal.

Only those from the Heavenly Court who claimed to have unified the Five Religions would dress in such fashion.

This person was a familiar face, none other than Wu Guangbi, the Grand Leader of the Heavenly Court.

“Are you here to escort that Li brat?” Madam Qi asked.

Wu Guangbi also showed no intention of entering the permanent Yin-Yang Gate. He replied, “I’m not here to escort Young Master Li, but to ensure no one disturbs him.”

Madam Qi snorted. “From the sound of it, you’re confident that Li Changge will win.”

Wu Guangbi calmly responded, “It’s not about his win. I’m just confident in our victory.”

“Does that include the Imperial Court?” Madam Qi raised an eyebrow.

Wu Guangbi tapped his wooden staff lightly, sidestepping the question. “Among the Buddha’s Five Fingers, the most mysterious Thumb has yet to appear. I’ve scanned 50 kilometers in every direction and found nothing. Even a Pseudo-Immortal shouldn’t be able to hide so well. Could the Thumb be an actual Immortal? That would be far too excessive, won’t it? That’ll break the tacit understanding between both sides.”

Madam Qi guffawed. “What makes you so certain?”

Wu Guangbi rolled his eyes. “I have my own methods. Not even a Pseudo-Immortal could slip past me. Only an Immortal can.”

Madam Qi teased. “Then have you considered that the Thumb may have already entered Wuxing Mountain?”

Wu Guangbi furrowed his brows slightly.

Madam Qi continued, “Wu Guangbi, try using your ass to think this through. If the Thumb really were an Immortal capable of flattening Wuxing Mountain single-handedly, then why would Pei Xuanzhi send three kids in there? Do you think they’re just there to make up the numbers?”

“Perhaps to share in the credit and pave the way for the future?” Wu Guangbi offered a seemingly reasonable explanation.

Madam Qi snorted. “I suppose an ass is unfit for thinking. I shouldn’t expect much from you. Do you think Pei Xuanzhi doesn’t understand how to weigh the gains and losses? At such a critical moment in the race for Grand Master, would he really do something so reckless to give others something to hold against him? It’s not without reason that Pei Xuanzhi has a real shot at becoming Grand Master, while you can only ever be Grand Leader of the Heavenly Court. Both titles may contain the word ‘Grand’, but the weight they carry can’t be more different!”

Wu Guangbi did not argue. Instead, he asked, “Do you mean to say that the Thumb is hidden among those three youngsters?”

Madam Qi sighed. “Well, at this point, there’s really no need to keep secrets anymore. Among the so-called Five Fingers, the Index Finger is Zhou Jiaoxian, who commands the Spirit Guards. The Pinky, Yao Pei, is tasked with confronting Li Changge. So, Grand Leader Wu, what do you think the roles of the Middle Finger, Qi Xuansu, and the Ring Finger, Zhang Yuelu, are?”

Wu Guangbi pondered. “Their role was to bring the Thumb into Wuxing Mountain silently. But I still don’t understand how they’ll manage.”

Madam Qi said, “Qin Quanxiao released the smokescreen to make Pei Xuanzhi lower his guard, but that didn’t work. Still, Qin Quanxiao had another card up his sleeve, which was you, the Pseudo-Immortal. During the intense battle earlier, you held back from fighting because you were waiting for the Thumb to show. If you could pin down the Thumb, then Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu alone would be no match for Qin Quanxiao. If so, victory would’ve been assured for your side.”

Qin Quanxiao was Prince Liao. Like Qin Quanyi, Prince Jin, they both belonged to the Quan-generation of the royal family.

Wu Guangbi silently awaited Madam Qi’s explanation.

Madam Qi snickered. “But in the end, you never saw the Thumb appear. Instead, you missed your window of opportunity by letting me banish the Owner. It’s just like a horse race. Pei Xuanzhi sacrificed Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu, a pair of low-tier horses, to trade pieces with your high-tier one. Then he used the Thumb, another high-tier horse, to beat Qin Quanxiao, the mid-tier horse. Your defeat is already sealed.”

“Even if we lose, I’d at least like to understand why,” Wu Guangbi said. He did not believe that the defeat was already set in stone. He was far more curious about the true identity of this mysterious Thumb.

Madam Qi suddenly changed the topic. “Have you heard the Buddhist parable of the Flower Sermon?”

Wu Guangbi replied, “The Heavenly Court united the Five Religions, naturally, we know such stories. Legend has it that during a sermon, the Honored One held up a flower to the assembly. All were silent, save for Venerable Kassapa, who responded with a faint smile.”

Madam Qi dropped her contemplative pose and raised her right hand, forming a flower-holding gesture with the tips of her thumb and middle finger touching, while her other three fingers were relaxed.

Wu Guangbi stared at her hand, his expression shifting in shock. He finally understood. “So that’s how it is. What a brilliant scheme...truly admirable! Anchor the Monkey, Buddha’s Five Fingers, Kassapa, Ananda, Flower Sermon...that means the Thumb lies within the Middle Finger—

“No, wait...if the Thumb was in the Middle Finger, I would have sensed it. Rather, the Thumb must manifest through the Middle Finger. Spirit Guard Jia Chen plays Kassapa’s role, so the key must lie with him. By now, he must have already passed it onto the Middle Finger...

“But there’s still one thing I don’t understand. If the Middle Finger is the key, then what is the purpose of the Ring Finger? Just to escort the Middle Finger safely?”

Madam Qi replied, “Of course, to deceive everyone by diverting attention.”

Within Wuxing Mountain, Qi Xuansu was still skewered on the tip of Prince Liao’s sword.

At this time, a metal disc tumbled out from his sleeve.

The disc was a concentric circle and had already been activated. The inner ring spun clockwise, while the outer ring spun counterclockwise. The multitude of talismanic patterns on its surface began to rearrange themselves.

Since Qi Xuansu had planned to throw the disc into the lake, he would not have waited until reaching the shore to activate it.

Qin Quanxiao’s gaze was fixed on the disc, his expression turning solemn.

If Wu Guangbi were present, he would have immediately recognized that this disc was the key tied to Kassapa.

Unfortunately, Qin Quanxiao did not know that. But he instinctively sensed that something was wrong and stomped on the disc in an attempt to crush it.

Even a full-force stomp from a Zaohua-stage Heavenly Being would leave a deep imprint on the Darkwater Armor, but this metal disc remained completely unscathed without a scratch.

Upon closer inspection, this disc looked remarkably similar to the one used by Spirit Guard Jia Chen to communicate with the Thirty-Three Heavens.

Qin Quanxiao immediately sensed something was wrong. He withdrew his sword, let Qi Xuansu fall, and tried to behead the boy. Unfortunately, once the disc was activated, he had already lost the chance to kill Qi Xuansu.

The metal disc bloomed like a lotus, layer upon layer, releasing countless violet rays that formed a massive purple lotus, enveloping Qi Xuansu.

Qin Quanxiao’s sword strike failed to sever Qi Xuansu’s head. Instead, it was forcefully deflected by the purple light.

Zhang Yuelu let out a muffled groan, as she was enduring immense pain. The point between her brows pulsed like a heartbeat. First, a red dot bloomed in the center. Then, it radiated a purple ray identical to the light from the lotus.

At that moment, Qin Quanxiao faintly realized the location of the Thumb. Without hesitation, he lashed out with his sword, trying to stop the process. But it was futile.

A point of divine light leapt from Zhang Yuelu’s forehead.

Though Zhang Yuelu could not see and hear, she finally understood what was happening.

Star Keeper Xuanji had previously given her a Thunder Talisman, within which this speck of divine light had been hidden, accompanying Zhang Yuelu into the heart of Wuxing Mountain.

Zhang Yuelu’s aura had perfectly concealed the presence of this divine light.

Once the divine light left Zhang Yuelu’s forehead, it entered Qi Xuansu’s body.

In an instant, the metal disc exploded. A vast beam of purple light descended from the heavens, ignoring the constraints of the formation and the mountain itself, pouring entirely into Qi Xuansu’s body.

Zhang Yuelu’s vision was still blood-red, but she instinctively staggered backward.

Qin Quanxiao remained still, letting the ripples stirred by the purple light flutter his robes and hair. His face flickered between light and shadow beneath the glow from above.

He gritted his teeth and uttered, “A divine descent?!”

This scene was strikingly similar to the divine descent of True Lord Siming.

Vessels for divine descents came in many forms.

They could be a human or an object.

The quality of the vessel determined the extent of the Godly Immortal’s power once descended.

Last time, the Cult of Fates had chosen the Gift they had meticulously cultivated, using Zhenwu Lake as the birthplace and the Xuan Jade as the catalyst to form the body of True Lord Siming. The crucial core had been the piece of Xuan Jade of Divinity, which eventually fell into Qi Xuansu’s hands.

There were some limitations to using a human as a vessel. First, one’s fate and spiritual aptitude had to align, and the more perfect the fit, the fewer the constraints.

However, a manmade Banished Immortal who had fused with the Xuan Jade was the most suitable vessel. True Lord Siming had descended using only one piece of Xuan Jade of Divinity, but Qi Xuansu had fused with four such jades. On top of that, he possessed a Longevity Stone Heart, which was more than enough to bear the might of a Godly Immortal.

Aside from Li Changge, no one was more suited than Qi Xuansu to serve as a vessel.

Beyond that, only a catalyst and sufficient divine power were required.

Wu Guangbi had erred on one point. The catalyst was not with Spirit Guard Jia Chen. It was hidden in Zhang Yuelu’s forehead. The so-called catalyst acted like a coordinate or beacon, determining which Godly Immortal would descend from their divine kingdom. After all, one could not blindly beseech any deity at random. Since the divine light had emerged from Zhang Yuelu’s brow, the identity of the descending Godly Immortal was clear as day.

On the other hand, Spirit Guard Jia Chen had carried a first-rank Spirit Guard’s exclusive metal disc, capable of communicating with the Daoist Thirty-Three Heavens, thereby supplying the required divine power.

A catalyst, a vessel, and sufficient divine power—with all three present, a divine descent could be successfully completed.

At this moment, the Thumb and the Middle Finger converged as one.