A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu unleashed his Spiritual Body, though it was hard to define exactly what kind of form it was. Perhaps it could be called the Taiyin Ziguang Spiritual Body, with the purple symbolizing True Lord Ziguang and the white representing True Lord Taiyin.

The vast divine power contained within the Spiritual Body caused the Yuki-Onna a brief moment of astonishment. By the time she reacted, Qi Xuansu had already thrown a punch.

Qi Xuansu was not one to show mercy for beauty. His fist landed hard on the Yuki-Onna’s face, smashing her lovely features inward.

Heaven and earth suddenly shifted.

Among the spectators, Han Yongfeng suddenly felt a pain on the top of his head. He reflexively reached up and found a hailstone.

Hail?

Looking up, he saw the once pitch-black sky turning white, with countless snowflakes mixed with tiny hailstones that stung as they struck his face.

Moments later, the snow turned completely into hail, transforming the surroundings into a realm of ice and snow.

Qi Xuansu remained motionless. As the hailstones neared within a meter of him, they seemed to hit an invisible barrier and melt away.

The Yuki-Onna moved like a ghost, appearing behind Qi Xuansu and exhaling a piercingly cold breath.

In his Demonic Blade state, Qi Xuansu did not dodge. He took the cold head-on and struck with his fist. Caught off guard, the Yuki-Onna had no choice but to take the hit. The overwhelming force shattered her arm.

However, being made of snow and ice, she quickly reformed a new arm, just as her face had recovered. Though she bore human form, she was entirely unlike a human. She had no vital points, and her weakness was fearing fire and heat.

The two clashed in close combat. Qi Xuansu, skilled in the Tantai Fist Intention, clearly had the upper hand. Before long, the Yuki-Onna began to falter.

By now, even the spectators could see that the Yuki-Onna’s defeat was only a matter of time. Just as Qi Xuansu had said, she might possess raw cultivation and strength, but she lacked the Daoist techniques and divine arts.

After exchanging more than a hundred blows, the two retreated. The Yuki-Onna’s form grew noticeably more ethereal, and her white robes were torn in many places, revealing her snow-white skin beneath.

As for Qi Xuansu, though his clothes remained intact, he was covered in a layer of frost. Even his hair and eyebrows bore a fine sheen of ice.

Qi Xuansu shattered the frost with a surge of force. His temples’ dark hair swept back as he lunged forward once more.

Earlier, he had fought the Yuki-Onna using his Spiritual Body, but now he switched to the righteous and forceful fist intention.

With one punch, 365 body spirits struck alongside him. Blood qi roared forth as his pure yang and unyielding fist intention locked onto the Yuki-Onna, leaving her with nowhere to escape.

The Yuki-Onna was but a wild god, lacking the systematic cultivation of the Daoist Order. For a moment, she had no idea how to counter the fist that was locking onto her.

With no other option, she braced for the blow. Her body turned crystal clear, like a lifelike ice sculpture.

The Yuki-Onna’s body was so peculiar that ordinary blades could not harm her. But after taking this solid punch, fine cracks appeared on her face, hands, and all exposed skin.

Qi Xuansu did not let up, pressing forward punch after punch. The cracks on the Yuki-Onna’s body deepened and spread.

His final punch boomed like thunder, tolling like a heavenly bell, resounding and deafening.

The Yuki-Onna was sent flying over 30 meters away by the blow, her aura faltering.

Qi Xuansu followed her like a shadow, circled behind, and lightly gripped the nape of her neck with his left hand. Then his right fist struck with the power of a drawn bow, smashing into the center of her back. Her entire body exploded into countless diamond-shaped shards of ice that scattered in all directions.

Standing at the center of the storm, at least half the ice shards struck Qi Xuansu’s body. But he had already activated his Golden Body. Coupled with his Martial Arts Practitioner’s physique, he endured the barrage head-on. Many shards shattered upon contact with his flesh, and those few that pierced the layers of defense could not even tear through the Youyi Cloud Robe.

The others had long since retreated to a safe distance. As Daoist disciples, they knew how to respond to firearms and immediately dropped flat to the ground. Though these ice shards were not gunfire, they worked much the same way as shrapnel from an explosion.

“That vicious wench wanted to take someone down with her even in death. How malicious!” Han Yongfeng spat out a mouthful of snow he had accidentally swallowed and cursed.

The group got to their feet one after another, brushing the snow off their bodies.

Once the Yuki-Onna perished, the hail ceased, the snowfall stopped, and the sky gradually cleared to reveal a bright full moon.

Even the remains of the small hut vanished without a trace, leaving only a vast, white field of snow.

Everything that had just happened felt like a fleeting dream.

If it had been ordinary folk who witnessed the scene, they would have either thought they had seen a ghost or a god. But the Daoists were educated in such matters and understood this was an illusion dissipating. Since the heavy snow had been summoned by the Yuki-Onna, it made perfect sense for it to vanish upon her death.

Qi Xuansu brushed the debris off his robes and caught an ice bead in his hand, resembling a Dragon Pearl.

The others gathered beside him, peering curiously at the crystal in his palm. “Deputy Hall Master, what is that?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “Something the Yuki-Onna left behind. I’m not entirely sure what it is, but it appears to hold incense power. It can probably be refined into divine power.”

None among them were Shamans and had little use for divine power, so they simply urged Qi Xuansu to replenish his own strength.

Qi Xuansu absorbed the incense power, which was instantly consumed by the Longevity Stone Heart.

Li Mingshan asked, “Deputy Hall Master, what level of cultivation was that Yuki-Onna at?”

“Ghosts and spirits aren’t exactly comparable to our Daoist cultivation stages,” Qi Xuansu explained. “This Yuki-Onna was likely somewhere between the Xiaoyao stage and the Wuliang stage. She claimed that by devouring our souls, she could become a mountain god. That’s why she tried to harm us.”

Lu Yuting asked doubtfully, “Isn’t a mountain god said to be nearly equivalent to the Zaohua stage? Even if she became a mountain god, wouldn’t she still be just at the Wuliang stage at best?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “I think it depends on the scale of the mountain. The more famed and majestic the mountain, the stronger the mountain god. Conversely, the gods of ordinary mountains have relatively limited cultivation.”

He continued, “Before coming to Fenglin, I read some local texts. The term ‘ghost’ here differs from what we use in the Central Plains. For us, it refers specifically to specters formed by the Three Corpses. But in Fenglin, this term includes monsters, demons, cult demons, and the like. It’s very complex. There was a record of a famous female ghost here called Suzuka Gozen. Though labeled a ghost, she was actually a demon and the mountain god of Mount Suzuka and had reached a level comparable to a Pseudo-Immortal years ago.”

Lu Yuting pondered for a moment, then said, “Now that you mention it, I recall Daoist records stating that before the Holy Xuan unified the Daoist sects, there was a rare form of Pseudo-Immortal, not through personal cultivation but one who achieved it by merging with a specific region or blessed land. Such Pseudo-Immortals can’t leave the domain they’re bonded to. Their life force is tied to that land. So long as the land endures, they live. If it’s destroyed, they perish as well. These beings aren’t affected by the Three Corpses and can dwell in the world for a long time. By that logic, the mountain gods of Fenglin resemble this kind of Pseudo-Immortal.”

Qi Xuansu nodded in agreement. “Well said, Superintendent Lu. If this Yuki-Onna left her mountain forest, she would probably be no more than a regular Xiaoyao-stage Heavenly Being. But within it, she barely reached the Wuliang stage, able to summon snowstorms but not fully merged with the mountain yet. She also lacked Daoist techniques, so that’s how I was able to kill her.”

He turned to Lu Yuting and asked. “Superintendent Lu, how are your injuries?”

“The snow has stopped. Though my wounds won’t heal immediately, at least they’re no longer worsening. With the divine power you infused me with, I feel much better now,” Lu Yuting replied.

Qi Xuansu nodded and said, “We shouldn’t linger here. Let’s get moving and try to leave this place before dawn.”

The group responded in unison.

In times of war, one’s background, like which sect, hall, or regional office they were from, ceased to matter. Only rank held authority. As the highest-ranking among them, Qi Xuansu was the unquestioned leader.

At first, Qi Xuansu had only his official title and their gratitude for having saved their lives. But now that he had slain the Yuki-Onna, he had earned their respect.

No matter one’s skill, words alone would not prove it. It must show through real combat.

To these superintendents, it no longer mattered which Daoist sect one came from because no matter which sect won, it would not benefit them much. After all, the lower one’s rank, the less interest they had in sectarian struggles. They genuinely admired Qi Xuansu.

But Qi Xuansu understood that admiration alone was not enough to make these people truly follow him. To recruit and build his own team, what he needed was not just gratitude or awe, but benefit. Or rather, a combination of gratitude, authority, and tangible benefits was the only way to swiftly forge a dependable inner circle.

What Qi Xuansu lacked was the ability to dish out benefits.

Unlike Zhang Yuelu, Li Changge, or Yao Pei, he did not have a powerful family backing him. He could not afford to make lofty promises, nor did he have much chance of vying for the position of Grand Master. No one would be willing to invest in him ahead of time.

But things were different now. The war in Fenglin meant countless opportunities and battle merits. He might not be able to promote them directly, but he could lead them to earn glory in battle. That was the benefit he could offer.

Qi Xuansu had a preliminary plan. By the time the Fenglin campaign ended, he did not just want to survive or make a name for himself. He wanted to build his own team, no longer wanting to be a solitary general without troops.