A Pawn's Passage

The closer Qi Xuansu and Qi Jiaoyao walked toward the great mountain, the more unsettling it felt. There were far too many empty shells of humans that had been drained dry by Wu Zhen.

This revealed the difference between the Daoist Order and the Wuist Sect. The Daoist elders treated the Daoist Order as a legacy meant to last for countless generations, everything centered on its future. However, the Ancestral Witches regarded the Wuist Sect like an accessory, no different from the magical artifacts they carried but larger in scale. When the critical moment came, they would discard it without hesitation.

After much effort, they reached the foot of the mountain, where the sight became even more horrifying. Thousands upon thousands of wooden stakes stood before them, one end sharpened and the other rooted in the ground, arranged like unopened yucca blossoms. Each stake impaled a human body, driven upward from the lower orifices until the tip protruded from the mouth, skewering the entire body in an extremely brutal fashion. Not all the dead here were empty husks. Some had already turned into skeletons, while others remained as desiccated corpses, showing they had died at different times, even before Wu Zhen drained all the witches here.

So many stakes spread across the mountain’s foothills like thorny thickets, forming a ghastly landscape.

There were also wind-dried skeletons hanging in the air, swaying gently.

Qi Xuansu, seasoned by countless ordeals, was not frightened by such sights. But neither did he find them pleasant.

Qi Jiaoyao examined the corpses and sighed. “These were sacrificial offerings of the Wuist Sect. They were probably criminals or prisoners in life, starved to death, then slowly dried and displayed here. This is barbaric. That’s why the Wuist Sect was destroyed. Civilization replacing barbarism is inevitable.”

Various buildings lined both sides of the path up the mountain. They were completely sealed by something resembling corpse-wax, yet simple murals still decorated their exteriors, unfaded even after many years.

Qi Jiaoyao stopped before one mural. “The stories depicted in these paintings are all related to Wu Zhen.”

Qi Xuansu looked as well.

During the era of the Eleven Witches, each Ancestral Witch had her own followers and believers. They were independent entities, each resembling the ruler of her own kingdom, receiving worship and offerings.

One mural showed Wu Zhen seated upon a massive throne like a giant, wearing a long robe patterned with strange designs and a bronze mask covering her face. Many figures gathered at her feet, not even as tall as the throne’s armrests. Some knelt in prayer, others prostrated themselves, while some stood with raised hands, gazing at Wu Zhen with devotion as if awaiting her blessing.

The next mural was stranger. Wu Zhen remained seated on the throne, poised to remove the bronze mask covering her face. The figures below reacted differently. Some were terrified and fled in all directions, while others rejoiced, seemingly anticipating this moment.

In the third mural, Wu Zhen had removed the bronze mask from her face. Due to the limitations of the artwork, her appearance was not depicted, only a pitch-black void, which could be interpreted as being shrouded in shadow. The figures surrounding her, whether fearful or joyous, had outlines rendered in dashed lines, as if indicating that they had transformed into shadows.

This corresponded perfectly with Wu Zhen’s Shadow Realm.

Qi Xuansu asked, “Why is there such a big difference between Wu Ji and Wu Zhen? There are so many ruins about Wu Zhen, yet Wu Ji has nothing.”

Qi Jiaoyao replied, “Wu Ji was the first to die, and the suppression placed upon her was also the most severe.”

Qi Xuansu nodded and continued walking upward.

After those three murals, the terrain changed. For a long stretch, there were no buildings along either side of the mountain path. Naturally, there were no murals either.

When buildings appeared again along the path, another long mural came into view. This time, all Eleven Witches were present. A long table stood at the center, with Wu Xian seated in the middle while the other Ancestral Witches sat to either side, each with different expressions. Wu Yang stood at the far corner instead of sitting, leaning casually against the table with a somewhat frivolous posture. She was also the only one of ordinary human height, appearing small and delicate compared to the giant-like Ten Witches of Lingshan. She was not even as tall as the table.

There were no delicacies or fine wine on the table, only a single stone.

Qi Xuansu glanced over the murals without slowing his pace.

Qi Jiaoyao followed behind him. When passing the depiction of Wu Zhen on the mural, she paused briefly before saying, “Judging from these murals, Wu Zhen possessed the ability to turn people into shadows and send them into the Shadow Realm. So we need to be careful. Even though Wu Zhen’s remains have fused with the semi-immortal object, and we don’t know whether she still has eyes, we should avoid making eye contact with her remains.”

Qi Xuansu acknowledged with a short hum.

At last, the two reached the summit and arrived before the temple at the mountaintop.

From afar, it resembled a magnificent and resplendent heavenly palace. But up close, the temple was filled with ruin. Aside from its basic structure, nearly everything else that could be destroyed was in ruins. Even the walls and dome were incomplete, nothing more than broken remnants. Yet some strange power enveloped it, illuminating it brightly so that it stood out starkly within the dark underground city.

At the deepest part of the temple stood a massive stone chair—the throne upon which Wu Zhen had sat in the murals.

At this moment, Wu Zhen herself was not on the throne. Instead, there was a gigantic black sphere formed from countless intertwined shadows.

Through the shadows, one could faintly glimpse a bronze mirror at the center of the black sphere.

Seeing this, Qi Jiaoyao beamed. “As expected, it’s the Bone-Illuminating Mirror.”

Qi Xuansu was taken aback.

He had heard of the Bone-Illuminating Mirror.

The mirror was called “Bone-Illuminating” because it revealed true forms. Whether it was a Martial Arts Practitioner’s transformations, a Diviner’s illusions, or a great demon’s shapeshifting, all would be exposed under its light. Thus, the Bone-Illuminating Mirror was an exceptional artifact for suppressing demons.

Now, it seemed that after fusing with Wu Zhen, the Bone-Illuminating Mirror had undergone some kind of mutation. Originally meant to suppress demons, it now suppressed everything indiscriminately, which was why their cultivation had been reduced to their current Kunlun stage.

The shadowy black sphere surrounding the mirror was likely the remaining portion of Wu Zhen’s corpse, confirming that the fusion between the two was not yet complete.

Qi Xuansu asked, “Daoist Qi, how do we take the Bone-Illuminating Mirror away?”

Qi Jiaoyao said, “First, we need to temporarily shut off the mirror. Once its suppression disappears and our cultivation returns, taking it away will be easy.”

Before Qi Xuansu could ask further, she continued, “I have a method for how to suppress it temporarily.”

With that, Qi Jiaoyao produced another mirror. “This is a replica of the Haotian Mirror from the creation project. It’s considered a treasure because there was a slight deviation during replication, greatly reducing its divine abilities. Its main strength is durability, comparable to many semi-immortal objects and can even be used as a shield.”

Qi Jiaoyao raised the mirror with both hands, aiming its reflective surface toward the Bone-Illuminating Mirror.

As the two mirrors reflected one another, it seemed as though a separate world formed between them, like a narrow tunnel stretching endlessly in both directions.

In that instant, the suppressive power emitted by the Bone-Illuminating Mirror was completely absorbed by the mirror in Qi Jiaoyao’s hands.

The Bone-Illuminating Mirror was an unmanned immortal object that had not developed a spirit of its own, allowing for such a clever workaround. If someone had been controlling it, this would never have worked.

At that very moment, Qi Xuansu felt his cultivation return to the Zaohua stage from almost falling to the level of a Houtian Being. The sensation of regaining his power felt truly wonderful.

However, the mirror in Qi Jiaoyao’s hands clearly could not withstand the Bone-Illuminating Mirror’s power. Though a treasure-grade and nearly as durable as a semi-immortal object, cracks had already begun to form in such a short time.

Qi Xuansu did not hesitate and immediately made his move.

He did not dare reach out directly to take the mirror. Instead, he used Izanagi’s Left Hand. A flaming palm plunged into the shadows and grabbed the Bone-Illuminating Mirror.

Almost at the same moment, the mirror in Qi Jiaoyao’s hands completely shattered, turning into countless drifting sparks. The entire process lasted less than a minute.

The Bone-Illuminating Mirror began to exert its power again, suppressing everyone’s cultivation. In the span of a single breath, Qi Xuansu fell from the Zaohua stage back down to the Wuliang stage.

Without hesitation, Qi Xuansu immediately stored the Bone-Illuminating Mirror inside his magical receptacle.

All magical receptacles were at least at the treasure grade, but ordinary ones could neither isolate the influence of an immortal object nor even contain it.

Qi Xuansu’s magical receptacle had been given by Great Sage Jiang, specifically designed and refined to handle immortal objects and could be considered semi-immortal grade. Thus, once he stored the Bone-Illuminating Mirror inside the Jade Dragon Ring, the invisible suppression immediately vanished.

However, matters were far from that simple. As Qi Xuansu removed the mirror, the previously quiet black sphere composed of countless shadows began to stir, twisting and changing constantly. Stray shadows peeled away from it and started flying freely throughout the hall.

Qi Jiaoyao tossed aside the broken mirror frame in her hands and moved behind Qi Xuansu. “The Bone-Illuminating Mirror isn’t originally Wu Zhen’s. It’s a semi-immortal object left by the Heavenly Sect to suppress her remains. No one expected the two to merge into one. Now that we’ve taken the mirror, and since the fusion wasn’t complete, it’s equivalent to removing the seal and releasing what remains of Wu Zhen’s corpse.

“Most of the power from Wu Zhen’s remains had already been absorbed by the Bone-Illuminating Mirror, so the remaining corpse itself isn’t too dangerous. But those remnants have now leveraged the power of the Shadow Realm, loosening the Heavenly Preceptor’s seal. We may have to face an incarnation of Wu Zhen.”

Qi Xuansu was already somewhat numb.

He felt neither surprise nor anger. It all seemed almost inevitable. After all, he had known it would not have been so simple. Still, the immortal object was now in his hands, so he did not bother to complain.

In the blink of an eye, the shadowy sphere was no longer spherical. It gradually transformed into a translucent humanoid figure wearing a bronze mask and a robe adorned with intricate patterns, seated upon the throne.