A Pawn's Passage

The Daoist Spirit Guards and the Tenmon Sect shinkan all saw how the divine radiance surrounding the Susanoo-no-Mikoto dissipated when the old Daoist merely cast a glance at the Great Kami.

Buddhism taught of the Five Minor Signs of Decay in gods: music ceases, body radiance vanishes, bathwater clings, attachment to realm, and blinking eyes. This scene resembled the second decay—the vanishing of body radiance. The heavens usually shone with radiant brilliance regardless of day and night. But when this decay arrived, that light would disappear.

Thus, everyone was shaken. Some Tenmon Sect shinkan were in complete disbelief, thinking, Who exactly was this Daoist elder? How could he extinguish Susanoo-no-Mikoto’s radiance with just one glance?!

Even if this was not Susanoo-no-Mikoto’s true body, it was still a divine descent second only to that.

The Daoist Spirit Guards felt a sudden lightness, both physically and mentally. Everyone cried out in unison, “Imperial Preceptor!”

Among the Tenmon Sect shinkan, many understood the Central Plains official language. That was when they realized that this elder before them was none other than one of the famed Three Deputy Grand Masters.

To them, the Three Deputy Grand Masters were like figures at the horizon, dwelling far away in the mighty Jade Capital, remotely controlling Fenglin, turning their hands to summon clouds and overturning them to bring rain.

In daily life, the haughty Daoist priests would always add honorifics when speaking of the Deputy Grand Masters, to the point that many did not even know their actual names.

Never had they expected that they would actually get to meet one of these lofty figures. Were they considered lucky then?

After a brief moment of shock, the many Tenmon Sect shinkan sank into overwhelming fear and confusion.

The oguji of Ise-jingu still stood, but his figure was somewhat bent. He had once faced Great Sage Zhang Qihan, yet he had to admit that the pressure from the Imperial Preceptor was far greater. Though Zhang Qihan had not intentionally displayed his full might, even comparing the Saio at full strength to the Imperial Preceptor, the difference between them was enormous.

The shoguji was already at death’s door, his form growing ever more illusory, as if it might dissipate at any moment. Yet he still widened his eyes in disbelief and murmured, “So this is a soon-to-be First-Tribulation Immortal?”

This was quite an apt description, as the Imperial Preceptor was just one final step away from a heavenly tribulation. There was about a 50% chance he could pass the heavenly tribulation.

In earlier times, the Imperial Preceptor might have gambled on the attempt. But with the end of the era approaching, unless one had absolute certainty of success, the risk was no longer worth it. Otherwise, why would the three Ancient Immortals still strive for ascension? Godly Immortals were not meant to ascend, yet they defied this rule. To them, the mortal world had already become a sinking ship.

Susanoo-no-Mikoto let out a thunderous roar, making no effort to conceal his ferocity and rage.

With great divine power, he drew seawater from Donghai, intending to completely flood this place, caring nothing for the Tenmon Sect shinkan or the Ise-jingu.

The Imperial Preceptor swept his sleeve. The cuff instantly expanded countless times, as if it could contain the entire world. The seawater was drawn entirely into his sleeve, vanishing like a stone sinking into the ocean, leaving no trace, not even the slightest ripple.

This was the Cosmos Sleeve that could contain heaven and earth, forming its own miniature realm that was capable of absorbing anything, including treasures, stray sword qi, spells, or even an opponent. If their cultivation was insufficient, they too could be swallowed within.

Susanoo could hardly move the entire Donghai, so this little seawater was far from enough to fill the Imperial Preceptor’s sleeve.

At that moment, the figure within the second beam of light finally appeared—Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, the most mysterious of the Three Great Kami. He was the one who had sealed Mount Suzuka.

He was a god with a male body and female features, leading many to mistakenly believe he was a goddess. Among the Three Great Kami, he ranked second.

The moment he appeared, all surrounding colors rapidly drained away, leaving only stark black and white, as if time itself were about to stop.

However, one person was an exception—the Imperial Preceptor.

Amid the monochrome world, the Imperial Preceptor retained his vivid colors, like a stroke of colorful Western oil paint in an Eastern ink painting, utterly out of place.

Then, that vivid color spread outward from the Imperial Preceptor. The black-and-white scene receded like the tide, restoring everything to normal.

Due to this, Tsukuyomi seemed to suffer some backlash. The radiance around him flickered like a candle in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

The many Tenmon Sect shinkan present had no idea what contest took place between Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto and the Imperial Preceptor. At that time, their colors had been stripped away, and time itself had frozen. To them, it seemed that the Imperial Preceptor had merely looked at Tsukuyomi, and the Great Kami’s radiance vanished like Susanoo-no-Mikoto’s earlier.

What cultivation level could accomplish such a feat?

Some shinkan, who had not been frightened during the earlier fierce battles, could no longer bear to see their worldview upturned. They collapsed to their knees with a thud.

The oguji was dazed, unsure of how to express his emotions. His already stooped figure bent even further in defeat.

Within the Ise-jingu, beyond the layers of torii gates behind him, all that was left was silence and deathly stillness, steeped in gloom and despair.

If the Saio were still here with the flood dragon, Three Divine Artifacts, Three Divine Descents, the Great Yokai Tamamo-no-Mae, and numerous jokai-rank shinkan assisting, then the Imperial Preceptor could not have flattened the Ise-jingu alone.

However, the Imperial Preceptor had never truly been alone. He had not been in the field in many years because there was no need to. As the Great Sage of the Taiping Sect and one of the Daoist Order’s leaders, the authority and resources at his disposal far outstripped those of the Ise-jingu. Thus, neither the Saio nor Tamamo-no-Mae could intervene at this moment, as they were tied up elsewhere.

So could this hollowed-out, utterly weakened Ise-jingu possibly halt the Imperial Preceptor’s advance now?

Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto and Susanoo-no-Mikoto both turned their gazes toward the final pillar of light in unison.

Legends said Tsukuyomi had once slain the favored retainer of Himiko, leading to the sun and moon no longer meeting. Susanoo had also once caused chaos in Takamagahara, forcing Himiko into hiding within a cave.

Both brothers had clashed with their elder sister before, but with a formidable enemy before them, they could only set aside old grievances and stand together.

The last time the Three Noble Children had acted in unison was against their father, Izanagi-no-Mikoto.

At last, Himiko-no-Mikoto revealed herself.

When she appeared, light blazed forth like a scorching sun high in the sky. Bathed in her brilliance, Tsukuyomi and Susanoo regained their lost radiance.

Through it all, the Imperial Preceptor merely watched calmly.

Others could not interrupt the process of divine descent because they lacked the strength to. However, this did not apply to the Imperial Preceptor. As an Immortal capable of invading divine kingdoms, there was no such thing as an “unstoppable descent” for him, only a matter of whether he chose to interrupt it.

The Imperial Preceptor’s restraint was not necessarily about putting on a lofty act of a Deputy Grand Master. It was so he could lure out all the snakes and strike them down in one fell swoop.

Once a Godly Immortal’s descended body perished instead of returning normally to the divine kingdom, they would be unable to perform the same descent again for quite some time, as they would be heavily injured.

So why not slay them all together?

After descending into the mortal world, Himiko-no-Mikoto gazed calmly at the Imperial Preceptor.

This time, her radiance remained.

It was not because Himiko’s incarnation was stronger than Tsukuyomi’s or Susanoo’s, but because the Three Great Kami were united as one at this moment. Three of them, who were at the Pseudo-Immortal level, equaled a single Immortal.

Yet even so, the Three Great Kami fell into a disadvantage because the Imperial Preceptor still held the upper hand in terms of cultivation.

The Imperial Preceptor spoke slowly. “I have long heard of the Three Great Kami. To see you today, it is...”

He paused deliberately before continuing, “Underwhelming, frankly. What a pity that it’s just your incarnations descending and not your true bodies. I fear you can’t stop me with only these three incarnations.”

Qi Xuansu almost wanted to laugh.

He had expected the Imperial Preceptor to speak with polite formality, but the man’s judgment amounted to just one word—underwhelming.

Other than the hot-tempered Susanoo, neither Himiko nor Tsukuyomi reacted. The endless years had given them ample composure, or perhaps dulled their emotions altogether.

The Imperial Preceptor had not come for verbal sparring. After he finished talking, he simply raised his arm and curled his fingers into an empty grasp.

A sword hilt appeared in his hand, and with his motion, the blade gradually drew itself from the void.

At first glance, the sword seemed ordinary. But upon closer inspection, its blade displayed the shifting celestial phenomena—the sun and moon rising and setting, rivers flowing, and vegetation withering and flourishing.

This was none other than the immortal sword famed as the foremost weapon of offense—the Skycaller.

The Imperial Preceptor wielded the Skycaller and employed the Beidou 36 Swords.

This was the sword technique most perfectly attuned to the Skycaller.

Qi Xuansu watched the Imperial Preceptor’s movements intently.

He had thought that when the Imperial Preceptor struck, it would shake the heavens and the earth. One sword would cleave mountains, and another would part the seas. Yet the Imperial Preceptor’s action was nothing like he imagined.

The Imperial Preceptor merely pointed his long sword at Susanoo in a simple gesture.

Susanoo froze in an instant. This time, all radiance was utterly gone, leaving him dull and lifeless as a clay or wooden statue.

Qi Xuansu realized that for someone to display such immense force so effortlessly, either both sides must be evenly matched or one’s cultivation had to be overwhelmingly superior to the other.

In this case, it was clearly the latter.

Zhang Yuelu whispered, “This is the Six Annihilations Technique from the Beidou 36 Swords.”

This sword had neither form nor substance. Against lifeless objects, it had no effect whatsoever. But against the living, it was profoundly effective.

If the one struck believed their arm had been severed, their arm would indeed fall away. If they believed their head had been cut off, they would be decapitated. If they believed they would die, then death was certain. However, their entire body would remain without a single wound. It was extremely mysterious.

The Six Annihilations were the extinction of the body, spells, spirit, mind, emotions, and truth.

If Susanoo believed that the Imperial Preceptor’s sword could not harm him, then it would not be able to. But if he believed this sword could kill him, then even with all his might, he could not resist it. Not only would he die, but all his divine powers and spells would also dissolve on their own. This was the extinction of the body and spells.

True courage often appeared as caution. Those of great courage were never rash nor hot-tempered. It was often the timid who used anger to mask their weakness.

Susanoo lacked true courage. Knowing he was only a divine descent incarnation and no match for the Imperial Preceptor, he did not believe he could withstand the Skycaller.

Thus, belief became reality.