A Pawn's Passage

Zhang Yuelu corrected Qi Xuansu. “It’s called becoming Daoist companions.”

“Is there a difference?” Qi Xuansu asked.

Zhang Yuelu said matter-of-factly, “A wedding requires a grand ceremony, a phoenix crown, red bridal robes, parental consent, and a matchmaker, along with all the complicated betrothal rites. It’s inevitably extravagant. But becoming Daoist companions needs none of that. All it takes is just two people.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “Many women feel that their wedding day is the most important moment in their lives, and it must be flawless. The grander and more magnificent, the better. Don’t you want that?”

Zhang Yuelu countered, “Why should I care about such illusory things? The only thing worth caring about is you, isn’t it?”

For once, Qi Xuansu felt a rare flicker of embarrassment and said earnestly, “So you do know how to sweet-talk.”

Zhang Yuelu did not remain in his arms but gently pushed Qi Xuansu away. “Let’s get back to business. Since Suzuka Gozen has joined our camp, we no longer have to win over Fenglin’s ghosts and spirits. People from the Fenglin Daoist Mansion will handle further contact, including with Mount Oe. Fenglin has ties with them as well.”

Qi Xuansu was not surprised.

The reason Sage Qingwei had assigned the Three Daoist Prodigies and Qi Xuansu to this task was not so much the actual work but to show sincerity. These young people had special identities, and all of them were destined for a boundless future, perhaps even to one day lead the Golden Tower Council. Though they did not have power or status at the moment, their existence embodied sincerity. Now that the preliminary agreements were settled, the details were naturally better left to the Daoists of the Fenglin Daoist Mansion, who had been rooted there for nearly a century.

Zhang Yuelu continued, “The Sage Commander has tasked us with taking part in the upcoming battles. The current battlefield has two fronts—one is the assault on Ise-jingu, the other is striking the various reinforcements of the Sonno-joi faction. Considering you’ve previously gone deep into Ise Province and know the situation there well, Sage Qingwei has assigned us mainly to the Ise-jingu front.”

Qi Xuansu nodded in understanding.

Zhang Yuelu added, “I’ve asked the Sage Commander about Mount Fuyo. The headquarters have decided to first pacify Fenglin’s rebellion before dealing with it.”

Qi Xuansu said, “How could the Sages at headquarters command Sage Qingwei? That means it’s the Imperial Preceptor’s will.”

Zhang Yuelu suddenly remembered something. “Earlier, you said that Kiyohime’s demonic fire disappeared after entering your body. Did it affect you this time when you fused the Xuan Jade?”

Qi Xuansu shook his head. “It didn’t have any effect. I think the Longevity Stone Heart dissolved it.”

“That’s good.” Zhang Yuelu let out a breath of relief. “Get yourself ready. We set out the day after tomorrow. Oh, and I’ve also prepared the Dragon-Tiger Sword Technique for you. Now that you’ve stepped into the Wuliang stage, you can learn another perfected method. Since you have Green Cloud in hand, you might as well learn this one.”

Qi Xuansu naturally had no objection. Though he preferred using a saber, he did not reject the sword. In Fenglin, sabers and swords were not strictly distinguished, showing that the two had much in common. Besides, now that he had Green Cloud in hand, it would be a pity to possess such a fine weapon without mastering its proper techniques.

With that, Zhang Yuelu turned and left directly. It seemed she had already shed her earlier shy demeanor and reverted to the resolute, decisive Deputy Hall Master Zhang.

Qi Xuansu watched Zhang Yuelu’s figure fade into the distance, suddenly realizing that she had never actually answered him about when they would wed. She had slipped away from the question entirely.

But having missed the perfect moment, Qi Xuansu found it pointless to chase after her to ask again.

Qi Xuansu instead turned his attention to the Dragon-Tiger Sword Technique Zhang Yuelu had left behind.

It was a gift from the True Lord Ziguang, which Zhang Yuelu had replicated using the divine powers of a Banished Immortal, engraving it onto a special jade slip used by the Daoist Order. This jade slip was extremely convenient. It removed the need for written explanation and relied entirely on direct comprehension, greatly improving efficiency. However, only those at the Wuliang stage and above could imprint it, as the energy cost was immense.

Learning a perfected method was somewhat like studying the classics. When one’s cultivation level was low, it was like being a child who did not understand the meaning of the classics and could only memorize blindly. As one matured and read more, the deeper meaning became clear, and comprehension came more easily. The same was true for perfected methods. The higher one’s cultivation, the easier they were to learn. At the Immortal level, one could even create such methods themselves.

When Qi Xuansu had first learned the Demonic Blade, it had taken great effort and a long time. But now, having stepped into the Preserved Body Realm of Rogue Cultivators, and with the superior physique and aptitude of a Banished Immortal, learning the Dragon-Tiger Sword Technique would certainly be easier than mastering the Demonic Blade, though it was not entirely effortless.

For a Rogue Cultivator, the Xiaoyao stage was the Cicada Shedding Realm, and the Wuliang stage was the Preserved Body Realm. The former meant transforming one’s body, like a cicada shedding its shell. The latter meant preserving one’s energy and solidifying the form.

One reshaped the essence, the other reshaped the physical body.

After entering the Cicada Shedding Realm, Qi Xuansu had undergone a complete transformation, like being reborn. This greatly compensated for his lack of innate talent and brought him closer to the level of a Banished Immortal. The Preserved Body Realm went a step further, using innate qi to stabilize the body, temper the bones, and perfect his aptitude, making him truly equal to a Banished Immortal.

Qi Xuansu now roughly understood why manmade Banished Immortals relied on the Rogue Cultivator lineage as their foundation. Or rather, why the Daoist Order had originally created the Rogue Cultivator lineage specifically for such creations. The two consecutive realms of the Rogue Cultivator lineage both served to perfect one’s physique and aptitude, bringing them infinitely close to a Banished Immortal. However, the mystical abilities they gained were relatively few. Compared to the true essence and Joyous Cloud Shield of natural-born Banished Immortals, the Rogue Cultivator had no such advantage. Hence, Rogue Cultivators were still ranked last among the Six Immortal Lineages and could not be compared to true Banished Immortals.

Comparing Qi Xuansu’s aptitude and physique with Zhang Yuelu’s now, she only barely surpasses him. Three years ago, however, Zhang Yuelu had stood atop the mountain, looking down on Qi Xuansu in the valley below. The progress he had made since then was truly unimaginable.

If Qi Xuansu were only a Rogue Cultivator, he would naturally have no chance at all against Zhang Yuelu. Leaving aside all other mystical abilities, the mere existence of true essence alone would have been enough to defeat him.

True essence, like divine power, was nearly omnipotent. That was why a Banished Immortal could practice the methods from all other lineages.

By contrast, even if a Rogue Cultivator reached the Preserved Body Realm and attained aptitude equal to a Banished Immortal, without true essence, they were greatly limited. They could only cultivate divine arts of the Earthly Immortal lineage, at best matching Qi Refiners of the same level. Yet once Qi Refiners reached immortality, they gained the innate divine ability called the Five Innate Tais, something Rogue Cultivators could never match, hence putting them at a disadvantage once again.

However, Qi Xuansu had successfully obtained the Heavenly Immortal lineage and condensed true essence, which solved this problem entirely. He could now freely cultivate any perfected methods.

One might think that this makes a manmade Banished Immortal far stronger than a natural-born Banished Immortal. But in truth, it was not so. Qi Xuansu had already discovered the greatest limitation of manmade Banished Immortals. The Heavenly Immortal lineage could not be advanced independently. It must rely on other lineages, and those were dependent on Xuan Jades.

Judging from the markings on the eleven totem pillars, the seventh mark roughly corresponded to the Wuliang stage, the eighth to the Zaohua stage, and the ninth to a Pseudo-Immortal level. At the end, it would require the combined power of all eleven totem pillars to break through to immortality.

In other words, the eleven totem pillars had no markings beyond the Longevity stage of Immortals, which meant the path of a manmade Banished Immortal was ultimately a dead end. Once they reached immortality, they could not progress further. At the initial Longevity stage, their cultivation was far from enough to survive a heavenly tribulation, for such trials did not test mystical powers or combat ability, but sheer endurance. If one could withstand a heavenly tribulation, one would gain another hundred years in the world. If not, one would be instantly reduced to ashes. Even a prodigy like the Holy Xuan, who had the entire Daoist Order as his backing, spent decades preparing before becoming a First-Tribulation Immortal.

On the other hand, natural-born Banished Immortals could continue cultivating after reaching the Longevity stage of Immortals. They could attempt to survive the heavenly tribulation to attain the Greater Five Qi Convergence and the Returning to the Origin and Greater Three Flowers Gathering.

At this point, the true advantage of natural-born Banished Immortals finally became evident.

But that was a matter for the future. For now, Qi Xuansu was already a Banished Immortal at the Five Elements Origin Realm, possessing true essence and in no way inferior to a natural-born Banished Immortal, making the cultivation of a perfected method not particularly difficult.

The Dragon-Tiger Sword Technique was divided into two parts—the Dragon Sword Technique and the Tiger Sword Technique, which were the matching techniques for the Heavenly Preceptor’s Twin Swords. The Dragon Sword Technique corresponded to the Purple Afterglow, and the Tiger Sword Technique corresponded to the Green Cloud.

Since Qi Xuansu wished to wield Green Cloud, he needed to focus on the Tiger Sword portion.

The reason the Dragon-Tiger Sword Technique was so difficult to cultivate lay in the union of both sword techniques. It required perfectly fusing the two as one, like the balance of yin and yang—equal in strength, yet with each containing the other. The measure of this balance was extremely difficult to grasp.

However, Qi Xuansu was not yet attempting the full Dragon-Tiger Sword Technique. He was only cultivating the Tiger Sword Technique portion, which was much simpler.

The dragon traveled in the clouds and spread rain, governing the visible yang thunder, which corresponded perfectly to Purple Afterglow’s focus on thunder techniques.

The tiger, aligned with the metal element, was proficient in slaughter. The wind was associated with yin thunder, which relied very little on thunder techniques. When the Twin Swords were united, Green Cloud took the subordinate role, yet in terms of raw killing power, it far surpassed Purple Afterglow.

Qi Xuansu could truly be said to have all the advantages of timing, terrain, and human favor. The first time he held Green Cloud, he discovered it contained many insights left behind by past masters, even remnants of the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor’s personal bequests. Thus, using Green Cloud to cultivate the Dragon-Tiger Sword Technique allowed him to achieve twice the results with half the effort. Combined with his Banished Immortal aptitude and already exceptional comprehension, he was far superior to ordinary cultivators.

For the Tiger Sword Technique alone, an ordinary person might need three months to gain an initial understanding, whereas Qi Xuansu would likely be able to reach that level in just one day.