A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu both halted their attacks.

The newcomer did not reveal themself. However, they could force Madam Qi back with a flick of the finger and even casually block the Twin Sword Union without the slightest damage. There was no doubt that the newcomer was an Immortal.

This was certainly no opponent Qi Xuansu could contend with.

During the fight with Chen Shuhua, three Pseudo-Immortals had failed to subdue her. Chen Shuhua was only forced into dire straits after another Immortal joined the fray.

The newcomer’s identity was not difficult to guess. He was most likely Wu Guangbi’s master, Golden Patriarch.

Just as Qi Xuansu felt troubled, a Ruyi scepter appeared out of thin air.

The scepter was jade-green throughout. Its head had three cloud patterns, inlaid with six gems of differing colors. The black gem symbolized heaven, yellow-brown for earth, red for humankind, gold for the sun, white for the moon, and deep blue for the stars.

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu both brightened in spirit.

Though this was their first time seeing the Ruyi scepter in person, they had long heard many descriptions of it.

In truth, there were very few in the entire Daoist Order who did not know of this scepter, which was the Grand Master’s token of authority, also called the Three Treasures Scepter.

It had once belonged to the Primordial Daoist Ancestor. After his ascension, the scepter remained in the world as an immortal object.

At present, the Daoist Order had no Grandmaster. Though the three Deputy Grand Masters took turns serving as the Great Sage Lunzhi, none of them could wield the Grand Master’s immortal objects nor enter the Zixiao Palace. All of these artifacts were stored within the Zixiao Palace, under the care of the Palace Master.

Thus, if the Three Treasures Scepter had appeared, it meant that Great Sage Jiang had arrived.

The Three Treasures Scepter streaked forth like a meteor, striking the back of that golden hand with tremendous force. Golden radiance exploded, sparks scattered, and countless golden fragments drifted downward.

The golden hand trembled violently and returned to its original hand seal position, with its thumb touching its index finger.

The Three Treasures Scepter smashed down again.

Although the Three Treasures Scepter was the Grand Master’s token rather than a combat-oriented immortal object like Skycaller or the Heavenly Preceptor’s Twin Swords, its battle record was astonishingly illustrious.

It had originally belonged to Elder Xu, who wielded it when battling numerous Immortals such as Wu Yang, Elder Li, Elder Zhang, and Tantai Yun. Later, after Elder Xu was forced to ascend, it fell into the hands of the Holy Xuan.

The Holy Xuan favored the Li family’s heirloom, Skycaller, so he gave the Three Treasures Scepter to his wife. The Holy Xuan’s wife used it to beat the Grand Libationer of the Confucian School and strike Earthly Preceptor Shangguan.

When the scepter later returned to the Holy Xuan, he used it to fight Tantai Yun, Confucian Hermits, and many eminent monks of the Buddhist Sect. One could say that the elites of all three religions had been thoroughly beaten by this scepter.

When used to strike people, the Three Treasures Scepter was not at all subtle. It excelled purely in overwhelming force. Unlike blades or swords, it functioned more like a heavy mace, a blunt weapon that did not need to pierce armor or flesh. Thus, it could inflict serious harm even through layers.

While the Golden Patriarch attacked from afar, Great Sage Jiang had remotely summoned the Three Treasures Scepter.

If one imagined the two Immortals as ordinary men fighting, ignoring cultivation levels, it would be like one man bare-handed and the other holding an iron mace. Flesh and bone could never match iron, so the empty-handed fighter would inevitably suffer.

In terms of cultivation, Chen Shuhua, who had only just attained immortality, was nowhere near Great Sage Jiang, who had been in this stage for many years. Moreover, Chen Shuhua was still undergoing a major transformation. Thus, even though Golden Patriarch had resisted the Heaven’s Will Sword, that did not mean he could withstand the Three Treasures Scepter.

In the blink of an eye, the golden hand and the Three Treasures Scepter clashed three times. Finally, the golden hand’s middle finger was crushed.

The Three Treasures Scepter then swung toward Wu Guangbi.

Wu Guangbi nearly lost his soul in terror.

If that blow landed, it would not be mere bruises. His head would actually explode.

Wu Guangbi flicked his hand, and the long sword he had discarded earlier instantly reappeared in his grip. He was not like the useless Li Tianzhen, so he would not let the semi-immortal object he carried for many years be casually taken from him.

Simply put, Li Tianzhen’s cultivation was too shallow. He could barely operate a semi-immortal object, let alone truly control it.

However, for Wu Guangbi, his sword was like an extension of his own body. Unless he was dead, no one could take the sword from him.

Sword in hand, Wu Guangbi employed the Rain Water form of the Four Seasons Sword.

It was like a gentle spring rain. The blade vibrated intensely and split into 18 successive layers of defense in an instant. Each layer weakened the scepter’s momentum and dissipated its power.

But Wu Guangbi had still underestimated the Three Treasures Scepter and its wielder, Great Sage Jiang.

This strike of the Three Treasures Scepter was unstoppable. No matter how many layers of defense he raised, all disintegrated like rotten wood.

The longsword in Wu Guangbi’s hand was blasted away. His sword-wielding hand trembled violently as his bones and flesh were crushed. Only then did the Three Treasures Scepter rebound and fly back.

Seizing that instant, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu once again joined their swords in unison.

With Madam Bai added to the assault, they intended to kill Wu Guangbi right under the Golden Patriarch’s nose.

At this time, they could vaguely hear a faint sigh from the Golden Patriarch.

Great Sage Jiang had been dispatched by the Daoist Order to hunt down Chen Shuhua. Thus, he would not have come without absolute confidence.

With that sigh, a colossal Buddha palm descended from the heavens.

The palm was as vast as an entire city, blotting out the sky.

In that instant, the moon vanished, and the stars disappeared.

Though it was nighttime, the world seemed to be plunged further into darkness.

The sea roared, waves surging to several meters high and spreading outward in layers. The surface of the sea beneath the Buddha palm visibly sank.

From high above, one would see a massive palm-shaped depression stamped onto the ocean.

The unformed Twin Sword Union instantly collapsed.

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu could no longer remain suspended in the air. Their bodies dropped until they were nearly standing on the water.

Madam Bai fared slightly better. The fusion of the Three Yin Beings could contend with Izanagi. As one of the Three Yin Beings, she was more like a Godly Immortal. Madam Bai still managed to close in on Wu Guangbi and gouged out his liver.

With both heart and liver gone, two of his five viscera were now missing.

Facing that colossal palm, the long-silent Great Sage Jiang finally let out a cold snort.

A Daoist nun appeared out of thin air. Her attire did not resemble modern Daoist robes but more like the Daoists of ages past. She held a multicolored feather fan, radiating divine charm. Its majestic power spread across the heavens, its awe-inspiring might suppressing all directions. The fan was crafted from seven kinds of bird feathers—phoenix, great argus, roc, peacock, white crane, swan, and owl. It could transform into sky fire, stone fire, wood fire, Samadhi fire, and mortal fire.

This was another one of the Grand Master’s immortal object, the Seven Feather Five Fires Fan. It was also the most peculiar of all immortal objects, for it had birthed a spirit—what common folk would call having gained sentience.

Its greatest advantage was that it could act on its own without its master’s command.

The Daoist nun wasted no words. With a graceful flick of her hand, five-colored flames surged from the divine fan, raising fire to burn the heavens.

In an instant, golden radiance and blazing fire intertwined, casting seven-hued reflections across the sea.

The descending Buddha palm was instantly engulfed in flames, and shockingly, began to melt.

As a “close friend” of the Imperial Preceptor, the Golden Patriarch naturally knew how many immortal objects Great Sage Jiang possessed. The Great Sage had enough to rival the Great Xuan Emperor, well beyond what he could contend with.

Thus, he had no intention of competing with Great Sage Jiang. This palm strike was merely a cover. His other hand had already caught the gravely injured Wu Guangbi.

No matter what, he had to save his successor. Wu Guangbi could not die here.

Golden Patriarch retreated with Wu Guangbi as the golden palm transformed into a blinding radiance. When the golden glow faded completely, both master and disciple were gone.

Great Sage Jiang did not linger either. He put away the Three Treasures Scepter and the Seven Feather Five Fires Fan and departed. He had broken one of Golden Patriarch’s fingers, countered his full-powered strike, and left Wu Guangbi severely wounded. Having clearly gained the upper hand, he stopped at the appropriate moment.

Great Sage Jiang did not directly target Wu Guangbi due to the unwritten rules among Immortals, which stipulated that Immortals should not take the initiative to attack those below their cultivation level.

These rules existed to protect their own. If Immortals ceased observing them and began bullying the weak, no one would benefit. In that case, they would just go around killing each other’s disciples for revenge. Thus, Great Sage Jiang could not simply strike directly at Wu Guangbi.

However, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu striking at Wu Guangbi was perfectly reasonable. Thus, their efforts were not in vain. Without their setup, Great Sage Jiang could not have intervened so directly. Without the trio severely injuring Wu Guangbi, Golden Patriarch would not have been forced to appear.

Similarly, Golden Patriarch did not strike at Qi Xuansu or Zhang Yuelu. His involvement was solely to protect Wu Guangbi. But since Golden Patriarch joined the fray, Great Sage Jiang’s intervention became justified. His true target was Golden Patriarch, and his blow to Wu Guangbi was merely incidental. He had not intended to take Wu Guangbi’s life.

Of course, this applied only under normal circumstances. Once matters escalated to life-and-death struggles, such rules no longer applied. In the case of Chen Shuhua, who might disregard all rules and indiscriminately slaughter Daoist disciples, the Golden Tower Council urgently dispatched Great Sage Jiang to hunt her down.