A Pawn's Passage

The wall, forged from special metal and enhanced by arcane runes, gleamed with radiant light.

After Madam Wu took control of Qi Xuansu’s body, he became an observer, just as she usually was. The experience felt rather novel for Qi Xuansu.

Madam Wu examined the runes before selecting one. She pressed her hand against it, and with a flash of firelight, the entire rune melted away.

As a result, that line of runes could no longer form a runic phrase.

Of course, which rune to remove was crucial. A runic phrase had a hierarchy, much like a sentence. Changing its meaning required removing key elements, not just filler words.

This required someone familiar with runes. Even if Qi Xuansu had the power to erase them, it would be useless without understanding their structure. It might even trigger the protection mechanism and alert Sophia.

Soon, Madam Wu erased another rune from a second line, rendering that runic phrase ineffective as well.

The entire wall visibly dimmed.

Qi Xuansu praised, “Amazing!”

Madam Wu repeated the process, dismantling each runic phrase one by one until the wall completely lost its glow.

Then she summoned her favorite flames and channeled them into her palms, pressing her hands against the wall. With a series of hissing sounds and curling white smoke, the now unprotected metal wall turned into glowing molten iron, forming a doorway the height of a person.

Light streamed through the opening into the dim tunnel. Before Qi Xuansu and Madam Wu lay an enormous underground hall made entirely of metal, covering at least 10 hectares. Metal pipes crisscrossed like the meridians of a human body, numerous gears lay exposed, and runic lamps embedded in the walls and ceiling illuminated the entire space.

The hall’s vaulted ceiling was about 10 meters high. At its center, a special blue runic lamp that projected a three-dimensional image of St. York was suspended in midair.

This was a style entirely different from that of the East.

At the far end of the hall was another doorway, beyond which stood a metal lift capable of carrying people up and down.

This was the standard access route, guarded above by numerous Steam Enforcers. Forcing one’s way in would not be difficult, but bypassing these metal guards silently would be much harder. After all, mechanical creations were completely immune to bewitching spells that confound the mind.

Qi Xuansu’s gaze was quickly drawn to the platform at the center of the hall. Its shape resembled a chalice without a base, standing over 3 meters tall and covering roughly 0.2 hectares. Its lower section was firmly connected to the ground, supplemented by numerous pipes that resembled blood vessels, supplying energy to the chalice. The soft metal tubes visibly expanded and contracted, pulsing streams of energy into the core. Along the intertwined network of pipes were various gauges and valves, and above them rose many metal chimneys venting clouds of steam.

Madam Wu floated upward, rising above the platform.

Although the platform resembled a chalice, it was not hollow but solid, so the rim of the chalice was actually a flat surface.

A strange formation in nine concentric rings was inscribed on this surface. At the very center floated a multifaceted diamond-shaped stone that glowed crimson.

Qi Xuansu appeared beside Madam Wu and looked at the crimson stone. “What is that?”

Having spent many years in the Western world, Madam Wu had some knowledge of this object. “It looks like the Philosopher’s Stone.”

“What’s a Philosopher’s Stone?” Qi Xuansu asked.

Madam Wu replied concisely, “The Western equivalent of the Longevity Stone.”

Qi Xuansu could not help but sigh. “This scene feels familiar. The last woman who dug out an underground chamber to refine a Longevity Stone was Chen Shuhua, also right under the nose of an Immortal. Chen Shuhua colluded with Ancient Immortals, while Sophia seeks the power of a fallen apostle. They’re practically cut from the same cloth. Is there some kind of pattern here? Or did these two women plan it in advance?”

Madam Wu said, “This Philosopher’s Stone is only a half-finished product. It’s still far from complete. That means this Chairman is still inferior to Chen Shuhua. After all, Chen Shuhua succeeded in her mission, allowing two Ancient Immortals to descend. She even achieved immortality herself, only to be suppressed by the Daoist Order. This Chairman is still on the path toward success.”

Madam Wu had personally followed Great Sage Jiang in suppressing Chen Shuhua, so she was familiar with the circumstances.

Qi Xuansu did not care whether these two ambitious women were some kind of alternate version of each other. What concerned him more was something else. He asked, “Can I use it?”

Madam Wu explained, “The two are not entirely the same. Your Longevity Stone Heart is an improved version of the Longevity Stone that originates from the Ancient Wuist Sect. This Philosopher’s Stone is from the Arcane Council, so it’s likely incompatible. However, if you take it back and hand it to Huasheng Hall for research, they might gain some insights.”

Qi Xuansu pressed further. “Can it be taken away?”

Madam Wu replied, “Because it’s unfinished, it can’t be removed yet. Taking it now would be equivalent to destroying it.”

Qi Xuansu frowned. “Where’s the key? Could this half-finished Philosopher’s Stone be the key?”

Madam Wu rubbed her chin and thought for a moment. “Probably not. The principles behind refining the Philosopher’s Stone and the original Longevity Stone are the same. They both require vast amounts of life force. But in today’s world, it’s difficult to gather such energy. Even if Westerners don’t treat slaves as people, they still treat them as property. They value profit over morality, so from a cost perspective, they wouldn’t carry out large-scale slaughter. That explains why Sophia seeks the power of a fallen apostle. It’s not for her own use, but to refine the Philosopher’s Stone.”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “It’s just like Chen Shuhua. Without life force, she stole dragon qi from Thanglong Prefecture. Both of them know how to find substitutes.”

Madam Wu said leisurely, “Times have changed. With external aids so advanced, who still cultivates by themselves? Everyone relies on external power since it saves decades of effort and can even break one’s limits. Aren’t you an example? If you had relied solely on cultivation, you might not have been able to reach the Wuliang stage in your lifetime. But with the Longevity Stone Heart, you have a good chance to reach immortality before 40. Even Tantai Yun was no better. But do you know what price she paid to reach immortality?”

Qi Xuansu was speechless.

Madam Wu changed the subject. “You can decide whether to touch this Philosopher’s Stone.”

Qi Xuansu fell into deep thought.

If the Philosopher’s Stone were destroyed, it would undoubtedly ruin all of Sophia’s plans. Audrey would become irrelevant because, without the Philosopher’s Stone, there would be no point in seeking the power of a fallen apostle.

However, this would certainly provoke Sophia’s retaliation. Most likely, she would notice the moment he destroyed the stone, so there would be no two-day buffer. Qi Xuansu’s effort of sneaking in would be wasted. While he could protect himself, taking Audrey with him would become extremely difficult.

Taking a step back, even if the Philosopher’s Stone no longer existed, Sophia would not let Audrey go because Zuriel’s corruption within her was steadily deepening. Unless her connection to Zuriel was completely severed, the process was irreversible.

This brought Qi Xuansu back to his fundamental objective. He had traveled thousands of kilometers to the New Continent not to compete with a Western version of Chen Shuhua. Whatever Sophia was plotting was a concern for the Holy Court, not him.

What Qi Xuansu was concerned with was how to stabilize the situation between the Western Daoist Order and the Tawantin Empire. He needed an entry point, which was the list of traitors that Audrey promised to give him after she escaped from St. York.

Qi Xuansu made his decision. “Let’s leave it alone for now. Don’t alert the enemy.”

Madam Wu felt a bit regretful but did not object. After all, she still understood the importance of prioritizing the bigger picture.

Qi Xuansu glanced around. “Let’s find the key as quickly as possible.”

Madam Wu leaped down from the platform.

Several suits of armor were displayed in one corner of the underground hall, which was a Western custom.

These suits of armor were adorned with intricate patterns and arcane symbols, each holding a large sword with both hands, completely motionless like statues.

As Madam Wu approached, the eye slits of the armor lit up with red light, and white steam began venting from their seams.

Then, the armor began to move, accompanied by the clashing and grinding of its mechanical parts.

These suits of armor were also powered by steam, but they were clearly different from Colt Company’s Steam Enforcers.

The armor raised their greatswords and charged toward Madam Wu.

Madam Wu extended her left hand, spread her fingers, and then clenched her fist.

A massive flaming hand materialized out of thin air, grasping one of the suits of armor and engulfing it entirely.

The intense flames instantly turned the armor into molten red iron.

“Your Izanagi’s Left Hand is quite useful,” Madam Wu remarked, repeatedly clenching her fist as she crushed these special guards one by one into molten metal.

This was the power of a Pseudo-Immortal.

These special steam guards, whose durability rivaled that of Martial Arts Practitioners’ indestructible body, had no ability to fight back at all.

If ordinary Heavenly Beings had to deal with these steam guards, it would take considerable effort. Even if they succeeded, the commotion would surely alert the guards above, exposing their plan. Now, aside from the sound of metal melting, there was no disturbance at all.

Objectively speaking, the security here was extremely tight. It was just that Sophia would never have imagined that a Pseudo-Immortal would infiltrate her residence.

After dealing with the guards, Madam Wu quickly located the key. Just as Audrey had described, it resembled a heart. But it was about the size of an ordinary bedroom, constructed entirely of steel and steam, and connected to various metal pipes.