A Pawn's Passage

This divine communion did not last long. Before the Spirit Guards even arrived, the vertical black thread had already vanished.

Qi Xuansu could also feel the divine power that previously shrouded the altar dissipate completely, leaving behind only a faint residue in the air.

Yang E’s clothes remained mostly intact, though the hem of her skirt and her hair were disheveled. Her body was also damp with sweat as she knelt there, trembling, her shallow breaths audible in the stillness.

In the dim, silent depths of the underground hall, that indecent sound was crystal clear, enough to tempt most men. But Qi Xuansu was unmoved. No woman could slow the speed at which he drew his sword. He cleaved the blade made of moonlight downward, unleashing a surge of Taiyin Sword Qi that pierced Yang E’s body clean through.

Qi Xuansu meant to kill her, fearing that a disaster would befall if he delayed for even a second.

Her soft moans ceased instantly. Her breathing and pulse stopped. Even the flow of blood within her veins fell silent, as though she were a corpse.

Yet Qi Xuansu did not lower his guard. With a flick of his wrist, the moonlight condensed into three flying swords, which he then aimed at her vitals.

One of the flying swords stabbed through her chest, while two crisscrossed at her throat. But, as Qi Xuansu had expected, his strikes rang like metal against her flesh, as if her body were indestructible.

A moment later, a vast aura surged from Yang E’s body, mighty and reeking of decay, like the rot of stagnation, death, and darkness.

The corruption had not yet reached its final, irredeemable form, but the signs were beginning to show.

Qi Xuansu’s heart tightened as he realized it was dragon qi.

Dragon qi originated from the earth’s veins and was nourished by the faith and incense power of humankind, representing the collective will of a nation.

In the founding of empires, corpses piled as high as mountains, and the land turned into crimson seas. The new order was forged through blood and death, so the dragon qi was in its fiercest form, violent and unstoppable.

In an era of peace, when the people strove for betterment, dragon qi became righteous and harmonious, like the Confucian righteous qi, outshining everything.

But in the decline of an empire, when hearts grew numb, dragon qi withered and rotted, turning into poison, causing plagues, famines, and disasters.

The Great Xuan Empire rode on the Northern Dragon, whose qi was still in the peaceful era.

However, the Southern Dragon Qi, originating from Kunlun, had now manifested within the Yu Kingdom. The Yu Kingdom was not yet cursed by heaven’s wrath, but peace had long since vanished. Traces of a dynasty’s final years were already reflected in the dragon qi.

The true question was, how could Yang E possibly wield Dragon Qi?

Was she also a Yin-Yang Person?

Yin-Yang People were those who were neither fully male nor female. They inherently lacked something from both genders. This confusion of yin and yang in the body was close to primordial chaos, which allowed them to harbor dragon qi. Where the body was incomplete, dragon qi could flow, filling the void and coexisting with its host.

Though 99% of eunuchs were once male, history recorded that female eunuchs had also existed. Women’s bodies would also be altered and purified under a knife. So, in theory, the existence of a female Yin-Yang Person was entirely possible.

At that thought, Qi Xuansu’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Had Yang E been forcibly purified during that divine communion? Was that why her body had been altered to receive and command dragon qi?

If Yang E had truly been stripped of her womb, then where was that severed flesh and that unborn child she claimed to bear for her god?

After all, she herself had murmured that she would bear a child for her “god.”

Qi Xuansu retraced every instant of that grotesque communion. At its climax, a swarm of worm-like tentacles had emerged from beneath her skirt. But where had those creatures gone?

He was immediately alarmed when he noticed he had neglected the worms because he had been watching Yang E too closely. Realizing his mistake, he immediately activated the Immortal Eye of Providence and scanned the area.

From his view, everything dissolved into currents of aura. Through the altar, he saw clusters of worm-like aura coalescing into a single, womb-like structure that pulsated steadily.

Within that ethereal womb, a faint embryo took shape, throbbing gently, like a heart that was just beginning to beat.

For a fleeting moment, Qi Xuansu felt a chill run down his spine, as if that unborn embryo was looking back at him.

A wave of cold revulsion washed over him. He immediately stopped using the Immortal Eye of Providence and decided to destroy this abomination before it could draw its first breath.

At that very moment, the unborn infant let out a cry. How did it even manage to do that, and what did it mean?

The instinctive purpose of an infant’s cry was to gain the attention of its parents.

With that cry, Yang E’s eyes snapped wide open. She fixed her gaze upon Qi Xuansu, who instantly felt a crushing pressure.

The effect of the Soul-Returning Incense was fading, and his cultivation was gradually returning, yet still he could not breathe easily. It was evident how terrifying Yang E had become with the support of dragon qi.

Her identity as the Queen Dowager of the Yu Kingdom granted her a vast reservoir of that power. Now that she could wield dragon qi, her strength was nothing short of monstrous.

In truth, Yang E had become a half-formed vessel for a divine descent.

Then again, everyone was essentially a vessel.

Yang E shrieked, “Insolent fool! How dare you!”

Empowered by dragon qi, her piercing voice cut straight through his ears, striking at his soul. It was a pain so sharp it felt like his soul was being torn apart.

Qi Xuansu felt his eardrums rupture, his blood spilling down his neck. His breathing hitched, his head spun, and his consciousness blurred.

The power of this single cry was overwhelming. It surpassed even the Blood Roar of Martial Arts Practitioners.

Qi Xuansu had seen his share of people. By his estimation, Yang E’s current strength was probably at the Zaohua stage, rivaling that of Monk Hinnyo. If Zhang Yuelu were here with him, they could unleash the Twin Sword Union and cut down Yang E in a single strike. After all, they had slain Zaohua-stage Heavenly Beings before. Together, even a Pseudo-Immortal might not withstand them.

Unfortunately, Zhang Yuelu was not at his side at the moment. He stood alone, with only Green Cloud in hand.

Qi Xuansu shifted his Spiritual Body, manifesting True Lord Ziguang. Then, he reached into his magical receptacle and took out the Scripture of Zuriel.

Before leaving Jade Capital, Sage Donghua had gifted him seven pages of the Scripture of Zuriel on behalf of the Earthly Preceptor. Its power needed no explanation. For a Heavenly Being like Qi Xuansu, even a single page sufficed to increase his cultivation.

These pages had been made from the flayed skin of failed scribes.

Qi Xuansu’s eyes flicked over the characters on the page. He did not actually recognize the words, nor did he understand their meaning. Yet they seemed to possess a power beyond the limits of cognition, like the Buddhist Telepathic Technique, striking straight at the reader’s inner self.

At that moment, Qi Xuansu clearly felt a surge of pride, arrogance, and conceit begin to swell within him.

He felt as if Li Changge, Yao Pei, Zhang Yuelu, and Li Tianzhen had nothing on him. Even combined, they were merely stepping stones that were not worth mentioning.

Sage Donghua, Sage Qingwei, Sage Cihang, Madam Qi, Qi Jiaozheng, Wang Jiaohe, and Zhang Jucheng were nothing but paper tigers. Qi Xuansu felt that he would defeat them all sooner or later.

Li Changsheng, Zhang Wuliang, Xu Dacheng, Yao Shu, Wu Guangbi, Prince Liao, Prince Qi, Prince Jin, and the like were also insignificant to him.

He even looked down on the Heavenly Preceptor, Earthly Preceptor, Imperial Preceptor, Great Xuan Emperor, Virtuous Great Sages, and the Three Ancient Immortals.

Qi Xuansu genuinely believed that he was the only supreme being in this world, that he was the Chosen One.

He was the sole protagonist with great fortune, fate, and blessing. The Longevity stage was within reach, and the seat of Grand Master was already in his grasp.

Qi Xuansu wanted to laugh at his predecessors for being weaklings, including the Holy Xuan.

He had the full confidence of accomplishing what the Holy Xuan could not do and slaying whom the Holy Xuan could not slay. It was up to him to enact heaven’s will.

At this moment, Qi Xuansu even felt that merging the Three Religions was insufficient. He wanted to march west against the Holy Court and unify the Five Religions, proclaiming himself the emperor and progenitor, and establish a true Heavenly Court.

This was a mentality never before seen.

His arrogance seemed boundless. In the blink of an eye, he felt as if he was in control of heaven and earth. He would make all beings obey him, and every deity vanish into smoke. Put simply, the world was too small to contain him.

This was not mere vanity. The subtlety of the Scripture of Zuriel was that the power expanded along with the mind. Though that swelling of pride was brief, it was real and tangible. It was no wonder even Immortals were affected by the scripture.

This also confirmed the idea that even Immortals were human, as human desire was limitless.

Qi Xuansu’s cultivation had been gradually recovering to the Wuliang stage before this. So, after being reinforced by the Scripture of Zuriel, his cultivation immediately shot up into the Zaohua stage.

However, this was a false elevation, so not all of his lineages could advance to the Zaohua stage. Only one lineage could take the leap, and that choice appeared random. In the end, his most-used Martial Arts Practitioner lineage advanced to the Shattered Void realm.

In an instant, Qi Xuansu’s aura climbed, and his fist intention erupted from within like armored cavalry sweeping the land and razing through cities.

Confronted with this ruthless momentum, anyone whose cultivation was below Qi Xuansu’s would feel a chill through their bones. They might try to resist, but a sudden dread would well up in their hearts and shake their resolve.

Such preemptive dominance was unique to the Manly Immortal lineage’s Shattered Void Realm. Their fist intention often arrived before the person.