A Pawn's Passage

Back then, the Holy Xuan only managed to counter Moral Sovereign by dispatching people to sever and block the dragon veins, cutting off the power that sustained the immortal sword.

The Holy Xuan had such means because he was backed by the entire Daoist Order. But Chen Shuhua, now reduced to a wanted fugitive, lacked such resources and could only choose to face the blow head-on.

Even the Holy Xuan of that era could not withstand a single strike of Moral Sovereign, so how could Chen Shuhua possibly block it?

Without a doubt, Chen Shuhua was almost reduced to ashes with this strike.

However, Chen Shuhua still had one final use of the Taisu Mystical Arts.

The fourth stage of the Taisu Mystical Arts granted one an undying state. No matter what injury one suffered, recovery was instantaneous. The body would be restored to perfect condition.

In an instant, Chen Shuhua passed through the four seasons of her life and transformed into a white-haired, aged woman.

All the injuries inflicted upon her by Moral Sovereign vanished without a trace.

Seizing the moment when Great Sage Jiang had to pause to catch his breath from having expended too much energy, Chen Shuhua shot skyward, intent on escaping this place.

At this very moment, Great Sage Jiang’s prior arrangements finally took effect.

In an instant, yin and yang inverted, and stars scattered across the skies.

The stars continually shifted positions, seemingly without any discernible pattern. Wherever they moved, light dimmed accordingly, and everything fell into silence. The surrounding environment began transforming into a starry void.

Chen Shuhua was instantly trapped within this grand formation. Looking around, she saw only black and white. The white stars were arranged like chess pieces on a board. The surrounding space felt vast and ethereal. Beyond that lay utter darkness.

She slashed her sword in a frenzy, sword qi surging but soon vanishing into thin air, displaced to some unknown location.

Chen Shuhua was motionless, but her figure seemed to be drawing farther from the edge of the formation. It was like standing on a boat where the person remained still while the vessel moved.

The entire grand formation was divided into countless blocks. At this moment, it was not Chen Shuhua who was moving, but the block in which she stood.

There were limits to shifting the grand formation. It could not trap Chen Shuhua indefinitely, but it was sufficient to buy Great Sage Jiang the time needed for a second sword strike.

Great Sage Jiang was a decisive man. Without the slightest hesitation, he disregarded the backlash to himself and began fully driving the power of Moral Sovereign in his hand.

In an instant, Great Sage Jiang grew even more aged, the wrinkles on his face deepening while the once-declining aura of Moral Sovereign surged with overwhelming might.

Once again, Moral Sovereign transformed into a colossal sword spanning Nanyang.

Great Sage Jiang brought his sword down in a single decisive strike.

The formless blade descended upon Chen Shuhua with an irresistible, torrential force.

Heaven and earth fell into sudden stillness.

Moments later, Chen Shuhua’s body shook violently, accompanied by an unending series of cracking sounds.

Great Sage Jiang shouted, “Chen Shuhua! Are you dead—or not?”

Chen Shuhua was already powerless to reply. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably as fine cracks rapidly spread across her body, like shattered porcelain.

At this moment, Chen Shuhua no longer had the Taisu Mystical Arts to save her life.

Great Sage Jiang resolved to kill Chen Shuhua at any cost. He forcefully drew a breath and struck again despite his injuries, but the momentum was far inferior to before.

At that very moment, ancient and obscure syllables resounded throughout heaven and earth—a rhythmic chant.

All things in heaven and earth began to tremble in rhythm with this strange cadence.

Wisps of black qi emerged from all directions, gradually gathering into the shadow of a dark mountain. It was like an ink-wash painting, as everything was devoid of colors. One could faintly see ten towering figures upon the mountain, as though they were propping up the sky.

Great Sage Jiang’s strike landed upon the mountain’s shadow like a stone sinking into the sea.

His expression immediately turned grave.

Immediately after, one of the ten black silhouettes leaped out from the mountain’s shadow, growing larger until it stood over 30 meters tall.

The black figure extended one arm and reached toward Great Sage Jiang, intending to seize him within her palm.

With great effort, Great Sage Jiang activated Moral Sovereign and severed that arm with a single sword strike.

Although Great Sage Jiang was exhausted, he still had Moral Sovereign. But that sword strike caused his strength to decline yet again.

Unexpectedly, that grasp had merely been a feint. The massive black shadow’s other hand closed its five fingers and clasped Chen Shuhua within its palm. The two of them then began to merge into one.

This black shadow was none other than Wu Luo.

Qi Xuansu was an excellent vessel for a divine descent. Chen Shuhua, who possessed the Longevity Stone, was even better because she was a true Immortal.

At the brink of death, Chen Shuhua could no longer concern herself with anything else and allowed Wu Luo to descend upon her body.

With an Immortal as the vessel, Wu Luo could finally unleash her full strength, far surpassing the vessel made of dragon qi.

After Wu Luo and Chen Shuhua merged into one, she swept her sleeve, blotting out the sky.

At once, the massive mountain came crashing down toward Great Sage Jiang with earth-shaking force.

Though the mountain appeared vividly lifelike, its entire form was pitch-black. It seemed to be the shadow of a mountain peak from Nanyang.

This was precisely the Ancient Wuist Shadow Art.

Its power was not only closely tied to the caster’s cultivation, but also to the original entity being imprinted.

If one could directly imprint the shadow of Yuxu Peak, even a Second-Tribulation Immortal would likely find it troublesome. Unfortunately, no one in this world could move that great mountain.

Great Sage Jiang did not evade. With a single sword strike, he cleaved the massive mountain shadow cleanly in two.

The shattered mountain shadow diluted gradually until it vanished completely, like ink dropped into water.

Behind this mountain shadow was a gigantic female silhouette, standing between heaven and earth. This was not Wu Luo’s true body but an outline formed of clouds, mountains, seas, rivers, and land, permeating with a primordial aura.

In other words, if Great Sage Jiang were to shift his position or angle even slightly, the outline of this woman would disappear. This figure could only be seen from a specific angle.

Such an image had one advantage. It had no substance, so it could not be touched, much like a mirage.

Wu Luo began to chant. If Qi Xuansu were present, he would certainly find it familiar because he would hear similar sounds every time he wandered Lingshan in his dreams.

A dark hole appeared out of thin air above Wu Luo’s palm, and what lay beyond that small hole was an immense, unfathomable space.

Within the pitch-black depths, countless shadowy forms moved, like ferocious beasts lurking in the darkness, waiting only for the right moment to attack and devour their prey.

In the blink of an eye, the hole grew larger. Alongside the surging purple-black aura, a vivid, boiling red glow—reeking of a rancid, bloody stench—began to emerge from within.

Immediately after, a dark red river of blood gushed out of the opening. The blood was so thick it could not be diluted, flowing like a torrential river and imbued with a savage, violent aura that sent chills down one’s spine.

At the same time, taking advantage of Great Sage Jiang’s weakened state, Wu Luo snatched the Tongzhen Palace from his hand and shifted it onto his back, forcing him to bear the weight of an entire pocket realm.

The river of blood then rushed straight toward Great Sage Jiang.

A flash of blood-red passed over Great Sage Jiang’s face. Disregarding the loss to his cultivation, he forcibly bore the Tongzhen Palace on his back and vanished in an instant.

A single thread of sword qi split the blood river cleanly in two, and the Tongzhen Palace weighing upon Great Sage Jiang was shaken loose.

Though the blood river rejoined almost immediately, it continued to boil and churn, within which vague human faces began to surface.

Soon after, these faces merged together, forming Wu Luo’s visage.

The blood river then transformed into a vast blood lake. A figure slowly rose from the blood lake—Wu Luo herself. Torrents of blood streamed over her body, obscuring her features, clothing, and hair, making her look like a being formed entirely of blood.

Without any visible movement from Wu Luo, her entire form turned into a streak of blood shadow, accompanied by a nauseating stench of gore. She surged forward with the blood river, instantly appearing before Great Sage Jiang.

Just as she was about to pass straight through Great Sage Jiang’s body, he raised Moral Sovereign horizontally before him. Even Wu Luo dared not test the blade with her own body.

Instead, countless blood shadows rose from the blood river beneath her feet and attacked Great Sage Jiang all at once.

As Great Sage Jiang moved, his sword qi moved with him.

Before the blood river could spread, countless streams of sword qi surged forth, colliding with the blood river and shredding it to pieces.

Great Sage Jiang stepped upon the crest of the blood river’s waves and lightly tapped Wu Luo’s forehead with his sword. The endlessly flowing blood upon Wu Luo’s body rippled until it revealed Chen Shuhua’s face beneath it.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Shuhua’s face was once again covered by blood, gradually drawing closer to Wu Luo’s appearance.

Blood qi and sword qi clashed, grinding and slaughtering each other in a frenzy, hissing and burning as countless plumes of blood-colored mist rose into the air. The blood then rained down from the sky. Wherever the blood touched, everything was corroded, and even the sea turned into a sea of blood.

Wu Luo’s face appeared and disappeared within the blood mist. Though enveloped in blood, the shapes of her brows, eyes, nose, and mouth could still be faintly discerned, constantly twisting.

Great Sage Jiang was also drenched head to toe in blood.

He gently exhaled a turbid breath. The foul blood clinging to his body fell away one after another, leaving him spotless once more.

Great Sage Jiang took another deep breath. Purple qi flowed freely, enveloping his entire body like auspicious clouds coiling around him. His sleeves and hair fluttered without any wind, seeming hazy and ethereal.

He no longer dared to hold back. With Moral Sovereign in hand, he lifted Wu Luo’s entire body on the blade. Sword qi surged and roiled, causing Wu Luo’s form to twist and tear from the inside out. In the end, under the relentless ravaging of oscillating sword qi, she exploded.

Countless drops of blood fell back into the blood river. Yet in no more than a moment, Wu Luo was born anew, once again completely intact. Her body was again shrouded in blood. Only her aura weakened slightly, her form wavering unsteadily.