A Pawn's Passage

Only Wu Xiang could wield ice qi to such a degree. Wu Gu no longer had any sign of life because the bolt of lightning had completely extinguished her life force.

If Qi Xuansu guessed correctly, the lightning was the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor’s handiwork, while the freezing cold likely came from the one who had turned the battlefield at the foot of the mountain into a world of frost.

Just as Elder Yao was about to leave, a faint crack rang out. The sound was exceptionally clear within this hall, which had remained silent for over a thousand years.

Elder Yao abruptly halted and slowly turned around.

She saw a fine crack appear upon the ice covering Wu Gu’s body, which spread rapidly, snaking across the surface until it formed a web of fractures covering the entire block of ice.

The next moment, the ice that had sealed Wu Gu for over a thousand years shattered completely. Transparent white flames ignited all over Wu Gu’s body—crystal clear and pure. However, they quickly faded away.

This Haotian Bright Flame was merely a lingering echo from a millennium past.

Wu Gu suddenly opened her eyes. Her black pupils were gone, replaced by only blood-red.

Long before Wu Zhen and Wu Ji, and even before Wu Luo, Wu Gu had already revived ahead of her sisters.

Yet at the very instant of her revival, the lightning embedded in her chest also awakened. Even after a thousand years and after its master had long left the mortal world, the lightning bolt still faithfully fulfilled its duty.

The lightning transformed into countless thorn-like tendrils of electricity. They burrowed through the wound in Wu Gu’s chest, piercing into her body and spreading rapidly throughout every part of her being.

Wu Gu’s skin bulged with veins. But in the blink of an eye, these veins were replaced by lightning thorns, which also traveled out of her orifices. More and more lightning tendrils tore through her flesh, bursting outward until her entire body was consumed by electricity.

Such was the might of the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor.

After some time, the lightning in her body slowly faded away, and Wu Gu once again lost all signs of life, becoming nothing more than a corpse.

Elder Yao stood there in contemplation for a moment before reaching out to touch Wu Gu’s chest.

Inside Wu Gu’s chest was a blood-red stone. What was even more astonishing was that the stone pulsed faintly, just like a real heart.

Elder Yao removed the stone and held it up before her, unable to restrain a loud guffaw that made the entire hall tremble.

At this point, the vision ended, and Qi Xuansu regained his senses once more.

Qi Jiaoyao moved closer and asked, “What did you see?”

Qi Xuansu hesitated for a moment before replying, “Wu Gu’s corpse is behind this furnace. She was revived 200 years ago but was immediately killed again by the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor’s lightning bolt. Elder Yao—”

Hearing that Wu Gu had revived, Qi Jiaoyao was startled at first, but upon learning she had been slain again by the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor’s lightning, she relaxed and urged impatiently, “What about Elder Yao? Hurry up and tell me!”

Qi Xuansu finally said, “Elder Yao dug a blood-red Longevity Stone out from Wu Gu’s chest.”

Qi Jiaoyao was about to lament in frustration because Elder Yao had beaten her to it, but she suddenly paused. “Wait—you said Longevity Stone, not Longevity Stone Heart?”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “Judging by the color, it should be a first-generation Longevity Stone.”

Qi Jiaoyao immediately beamed. “I get it. This is the predecessor of the Longevity Stone Heart. Elder Yao must have used this Longevity Stone to refine the later versions. We came here for the Longevity Stone Heart, not the original Longevity Stone.”

With that, Qi Jiaoyao hurried around to the back of the furnace.

The furnace was enormous, like a small mountain, making it impossible to see what lay behind it at a glance. Even circling around took some time. But when the two reached the back, they found nothing at all. There was no sign of Wu Gu’s corpse.

“Elder Yao must have moved Wu Gu’s body,” Qi Jiaoyao said decisively.

Just as Qi Xuansu was about to speak, he was sucked into another trance.

It was Elder Yao standing within a grand hall. Not far away was a massive altar. The base of this altar had been carved into the form of a giant female figure, bent forward on her knees, bearing the entire altar on her back. Her expression was strained and anguished, perhaps symbolizing some Great Witch.

Wu Gu’s corpse lay atop the altar.

At this time, Elder Yao was dressed in the robes of a Deputy Grand Master, with a fishtail crown on her head. Clearly, this was after the Holy Xuan had reorganized the Three Sects and when Earthly Preceptor Shangguan stepped down for Elder Yao to take over as the Great Sage of the Quanzhen Sect.

Elder Yao held an emerald-green stone and placed it into the chest cavity of Wu Gu’s corpse, as if planting a green seed.

Seeing this, Qi Xuansu immediately understood that Elder Yao had used Wu Gu’s corpse as a medium to cultivate the Longevity Stone Heart. It was a rather unconventional method of refinement, though admittedly one that consumed a Great Witch in the process.

Qi Xuansu mockingly thought, What a good sister...

Qi Xuansu came back to senses and said, “Elder Yao really did move Wu Gu’s body to an altar. But I’ve never seen that place before.”

“An altar?” Qi Jiaoyao asked.

Qi Xuansu briefly described the appearance of the altar he had seen in his trance.

“I think I know where that is,” Qi Jiaoyao said. “It should be Elder Yao’s palace. I’ve read records mentioning a similar altar there. Elder Yao named it ‘The Fate of Traitors.’”

Qi Xuansu said, “It looks like Elder Yao still hasn’t let go of the past. But why didn’t she eliminate the greatest traitor, Wu Luo? Is it because Wu Luo sought refuge with the Lord Buddha and became untouchable? By the way, where is this palace you mentioned?”

“At the summit,” Qi Jiaoyao replied. “That’s also the exit of the Lingshan Paradise. Yao Liu usually stays there as well.”

At the mention of Yao Liu, Qi Xuansu glanced at Qi Jiaoyao but said nothing further. Everyone had their secrets, so there was no need to pry.

Whether the Longevity Stone Heart was there or not, they still had to go to Elder Yao’s palace to exit Lingshan Paradise. Thus, Qi Xuansu had no objections.

The two retraced their steps out of this palace, which was halfway up the mountain. The summit was not far away.

This stretch of road was similar to Qi Xuansu’s dream, and they encountered no obstacles along the way.

But when they finally reached the summit, it looked entirely different from what Qi Xuansu had seen in his dreams.

The bonfire was gone, and so was the endless darkness.

In his dreams, aside from the small area illuminated by the fire, everything else had been shrouded in darkness, as though hiding countless shadows. He had never been able to leave the firelight to explore further, so he had no idea how big the summit truly was.

This time, Qi Xuansu finally saw the full expanse of the mountaintop.

A vast complex of palaces stretched across the summit, which were mostly black. The architectural style resembled that of the First Emperor Era, blended with some Wuist elements. The structures were also extraordinarily tall, almost as if built for giants. Though considering the height of the Great Witches, that made perfect sense. The layout resembled the Chongyang Palace of Immortality in Difei Mountain, almost like a city unto itself.

From this, it was clear that the place must have been personally designed by Elder Yao. Ordinary people would never dare mix so many styles of architecture. If done even slightly poorly, it would become an incoherent mess, inviting reprimand from superiors.

But an Earthly Preceptor was different. Elder Yao could build however she pleased. Even if the result looked mismatched, there was nothing to fear. First, no one would hold her accountable, because the only person above Elder Yao was the Holy Xuan, who might not even have visited Lingshan Paradise, much less reprimand her over such trivial matters. Second, no one dared say anything negative. Since Elder Yao had built it herself, who would dare utter a word of criticism? They would even invent new ways to flatter her.

Qi Xuansu seemed about to say something but held back, finally settling on three words. “Let’s go in.”

“After you,” Qi Jiaoyao said. At some point, she had already moved behind Qi Xuansu, as if this massive gate—wide enough for hundreds to enter at once—required people to line up.

Qi Xuansu shook his head without saying a word and stepped forward first.

After passing through the palace gate, they saw that the center of the hall had been enclosed by iron railings, forming a circular open space where a massive bonfire burned.

It turned out that the bonfire had never vanished. It had merely been concealed beneath the palace. It was even larger than what Qi Xuansu had seen in his dreams, burning more fiercely.

Under the firelight, their shadows began to writhe wildly, as though trying to break free and become independent entities.

Qi Jiaoyao had clearly anticipated this. She turned and stomped on her own shadow, preventing it from separating from her body. “It’s the Wuist Shadow Art. Be careful!”

Qi Xuansu followed suit, pinning his own shadow beneath his foot. “What should we do? We can’t keep stepping on our shadows forever.”

Qi Jiaoyao took out the Bone Illuminating Mirror and flashed it toward the shadow. Suppressed by the immortal object, her once writhing shadow immediately calmed.

She then used the mirror on Qi Xuansu’s shadow, which likewise settled down.

Qi Xuansu realized that Qi Jiaoyao had not even invoked the mirror’s mystical powers. She had merely used its basic function of reflection. It was like using the Three Treasures Scepter as a simple bludgeon or Skycaller as a regular sword. Yet even such a simple use of an immortal object was enough to break many troublesome techniques.

Seizing the opportunity, they quickly left the firelit area, passed around a wall, and found four corridors branching ahead.

Qi Jiaoyao stopped and said, “As far as I know, these four corridors lead to the exit, the rear hall, the altar, and the central nexus. The exit is the way out of Lingshan Paradise. The rear hall is where Elder Yao rests and where Yao Liu usually stays. By the way, Yao Liu’s life talisman should be there as well. Should we finish him off completely?”

Qi Xuansu refused immediately. “Leave him a way out.”

“Fine.” Qi Jiaoyao rolled her eyes. She pointed toward one of the corridors. “Of the remaining two, the central nexus controls all the restrictions within Lingshan Paradise. Since we’ve already made it here, there’s no need to go there. Let’s just head to the altar, take the Longevity Stone Heart, and then leave through the exit.”