A Pawn's Passage

The main Sun God Temple had yet to be restored, but many of its subsidiary temples had already been converted into Daoist temples. One of them had been particularly quick to comply, becoming a Daoist temple at the earliest opportunity. As such, it was formally commended by the Western Daoist Order.

However, according to the background investigation conducted by the Juesheng Hall, several members of this Daoist temple’s core leadership were humanoid insects. As a result, the Juesheng Hall decided to launch a surprise raid on the temple, with support from the Northern Palace Guard.

A bright moon hung high over the Daoist temple. The pyramid had changed from gold to silver. Construction had already begun on the surrounding walls, removing the original decorative carvings and replacing them with the upturned eaves characteristic of the Central Plains. The walls had also been freshly whitewashed to cover the old murals. To save effort, they had simply painted an enormous “Dao” across them.

A former temple priest, now converted to a Daoist priest, held a white horsetail whisk in his hands as he gazed blankly at the moon overhead, lost in thought.

A young man walked over to the elderly Daoist and said, “I’m afraid something’s about to happen. I’ve heard the Northern Palace Guard is making a move tonight. They aren’t coming for us, are they?”

The elderly Daoist snapped back to his senses and pondered for a moment. “It’s certainly possible.”

Just then, a Daoist novice hurried over and reported to the two men, “General Huangfu Zhu, the New Paititi Commander-in-Chief responsible for the defense, has arrived.”

The elderly Daoist exchanged a glance with the young man. “So they’ve come after all.”

The young man rested a hand on the saber at his waist and asked, “Did Huangfu Zhu come alone?”

The novice replied, “He brought a large number of Divine Eagle Guards.”

The elderly Daoist frowned. “Given our current status, we have no legitimate reason to refuse Huangfu Zhu entry. Can we find some way to stall for time?”

While the two were still speaking, a deafening crash rang out. The newly renovated main gate was blasted apart from the outside, and Huangfu Zhu, who was in full military armor, strode through the entrance.

This was not the armor of the Southern Continent. Instead, he wore the Darkwater Armor, a joint creation of the Tianji Hall and the Divine Armory that weighed 1.5 tonnes.

This type of pyramid was a stepped trapezoidal structure. At its summit stood the temple where major sacrificial ceremonies were held. Halfway up the structure was the platform used for blood sacrifices. At the two lower corners of the trapezoid were additional buildings that served as the everyday living quarters for the clergy. It was there that the elderly Daoist and the young man were standing.

Huangfu Zhu strode directly toward them.

The pitch-black heavy armor made him appear even taller than he already was. His imposing aura was overwhelming, making him resemble a war god, or perhaps a demon god.

Anyone could see that Huangfu Zhu had not come in the middle of the night as a guest.

The next instant, Huangfu Zhu had already closed the distance to the elderly Daoist and threw a punch straight at his face.

A flash of saber light suddenly appeared between the elderly Daoist and Huangfu Zhu’s fist.

The strike was so fast that the blade’s gleam looked like nothing more than a slender white thread.

The one who had drawn the saber was none other than the young man. The humanoid insects had no rule against excessive rejuvenation. He merely looked young.

Blocked by the saber’s flash, Huangfu Zhu remained unhurried and naturally engaged the young man in combat.

Meanwhile, atop a commanding position outside the Daoist temple stood a burly man with a lean waist and long arms. His terrifying aura of having survived countless battlefields naturally radiated from him.

He also wore jet-black armor, though his arms were left bare, with thick veins bulging beneath the skin. He was holding a great bow that was half his height. At first glance, it appeared to be made from an ox horn, but closer inspection revealed that it was actually made from the bones of some unknown exotic beast, faintly exuding the scent of blood. The bowstring matched the bow itself, seemingly crafted from the tendons of the same creature, within which blood could be seen flowing.

He stood perfectly still, like a towering mountain that remained unmoved through a thousand years of wind and rain. Yet the aura emanating from him was in no way inferior to that of Huangfu Zhu, who was locked in fierce combat.

Looking over his entire body, there was no quiver to be found, not even a single arrow.

A bow without arrows meant that he used his own blood qi as arrows, launching them through this great bow. Their power surpassed even sword or saber strikes. Piercing city walls, and even a Martial Arts Practitioner’s physique was effortless.

The man took a slow breath, raised the great bow, and gradually drew back the string. A mass of blood qi that was almost tangible condensed between the two fingers pulling the string. At the same time, the blood coursing throughout his body sounded like a rushing great river. His face visibly aged by several years.

The Manly Immortal lineage relied primarily on unarmed combat, though it also employed weapons. In the Central Plains, the spear was its principal weapon. But in the Golden Horde, the bow was supreme, with one’s own blood qi serving as arrows. Although immensely powerful, this was not a sustainable path. It inflicted tremendous strain upon the body, especially through the depletion of blood qi, making it one of the greatest taboos for Martial Arts Practitioners.

For this reason, very few people had practiced this technique in the past. But times had changed. With the full implementation of the Creation Project, many longstanding cultivation problems had been solved, and this technique was no exception. Special medicinal pills had been developed specifically to replenish depleted qi and blood.

In truth, such pills were nothing particularly novel. They could already be refined in the past, but only by small private workshops. Production costs remained high, and output was extremely limited, so only a select few could afford to use them. Once the Daoist Order began producing them on a large scale, output increased dramatically while costs fell sharply. As such, members of the Daoist Order no longer lacked access to them.

As the man drew his bow and nocked his blood-forged arrow, Huangfu Zhu was fighting one against two and was gradually beginning to lose the upper hand.

With a thunderous boom, the man finally released the bowstring. The arrow formed entirely from blood qi arrived almost instantly, leaving behind a long trail that lingered in the air for a long time before dissipating.

A premonition surfaced in the elderly Daoist’s heart. Without hesitation, he abandoned his fight with Huangfu Zhu and twisted his body, allowing the arrow to graze past his throat. It exploded straight through one of the temple halls, reducing it to rubble. The tremendous impact left a deep, bloody gash across the old Daoist’s neck.

The man swallowed a pill that he had already been holding in his mouth and, without the slightest hesitation, drew his bow once more, aiming at the elderly Daoist.

Under normal circumstances, this technique consumed an enormous amount of blood qi. It was a classic case of injuring the enemy while injuring oneself. Even a Martial Arts Practitioner with exceptionally vigorous blood qi could not employ it repeatedly.

But since the Western Daoist Order had accepted aid from the Daoist Order, all manner of valuable resources from the Daoist Order were supplied to its various armed forces as a priority. As a result, this archer no longer had to worry about exhausting himself.

The invisible arrow was unleashed a second time, streaking directly toward the center of the elderly Daoist’s forehead.

This time, the elderly Daoist failed to evade it and could only confront it head-on. After barely blocking the attack, his blood qi churned violently. A sickly flush spread across his face, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

Elsewhere, Huangfu Zhu’s fierce battle with the saber-wielding young man continued unabated.

The young man tossed the saber from his hand. The single saber multiplied into eight sabers in mid-air and spread out before him.

This was the Sword Steering Technique.

With a flick of a finger, the young man shot one of the sabers forward at high speed.

Huangfu Zhu was charging straight toward the young man when the saber appeared directly in his path, forcing him to leap high into the air to avoid it. At that very moment, the young man flicked another finger, and the second saber sprang into motion, sweeping toward Huangfu Zhu’s landing point. Huangfu Zhu had no choice but to forcibly change direction in midair, turning his headlong charge into a gliding dash.

The young man’s finger flicks suddenly accelerated, as though he were playing a zither. The remaining sabers shot forth one after another like a raging storm. Yet not a single blade was aimed directly at Huangfu Zhu himself. Instead, their purpose was to seal off every possible path of escape.

Though the eight sabers appeared to fly in chaotic disorder, they actually formed a tightly coordinated formation, gradually compressing the space in which Huangfu Zhu could maneuver.

Seeing this, Huangfu Zhu finally abandoned all attempts at evasion. With a powerful sweep of both arms, he knocked aside the two sabers blocking his path. Even at the cost of taking the blows of the two sabers striking his back from behind, he charged directly at the young man.

At this point, the young man no longer held any weapon in his hands. To any observer, his combat strength would naturally seem greatly diminished. However, for the young man himself, the difference between having a blade or not was nowhere near as significant as others imagined.

The young man extended the index and middle fingers of his right hand, using a sword gesture in place of an actual sword, and swept them horizontally.

The sword qi condensed into a single line, which seemed to divide the pure from the impure as it stretched out without end, leaving nowhere to evade.

This time, Huangfu Zhu had no intention of dodging whatsoever. With unstoppable momentum, he chopped forward with the edge of his hand, striking directly at the single line of sword qi.

The sound of metal clashing against stone exploded through the air.

Relying on the protection of the Darkwater Armor, Huangfu Zhu forcibly shattered the line of sword qi. He instantly appeared before the young man and slammed into him with his shoulder.

The young man raised his left forearm across his chest and was sent sliding backward by the impact.

Huangfu Zhu immediately followed up with both fists.

The young man recognized it as the Tantai Fist Intention due to its overwhelming momentum that was akin to 10,000 galloping horses.

In the blink of an eye, the young man took nearly 20 solid punches, retreating continuously under the relentless barrage.

The young man had considered counterattacking, only to discover that Huangfu Zhu’s boxing techniques flowed with such flawlessness that they left no opening whatsoever. After all, his own attainments in fist and palm techniques were far inferior to those of Huangfu Zhu, who had spent decades honing them. He simply manifested a layer of protective qi around his body that was as wispy as mist, shielding himself while allowing Huangfu Zhu to continue his assault.

As Huangfu Zhu unleashed punch after punch, he continued accumulating power. By the time he had thrown nearly 100 punches, that stored force had finally reached its peak, and he unleashed it all in a single devastating blow.

With that punch, the young man’s protective qi disintegrated into nothingness. He staggered backward, and a distinct fist imprint appeared on his deeply caved chest.

However, Huangfu Zhu had pushed his strength to its absolute peak with that final punch, so decline inevitably followed. The young man seized the moment to drive a kick into Huangfu Zhu’s lower abdomen, forcing him to retreat and preventing him from pressing the advantage.

Thanks to the Darkwater Armor, Huangfu Zhu suffered no real injury. As soon as he regained his footing, he threw another punch. Explosive cracks erupted in succession from his chest and abdomen, through his shoulders, elbows, wrists, and finally into his fist. The punch tore through the air, accompanied by what sounded like a thousand peals of thunder.

The young man was unable to evade in time. Huangfu Zhu’s fist struck him squarely between the brows, snapping his head backward and inevitably driving him several steps back.

Huangfu Zhu gave him no chance to recover, immediately throwing another punch that howled through the air. Though it appeared to be nothing more than a straightforward punch, its force concealed profound subtleties. Beneath the overwhelming, explosive external force lurked a soft, insidious hidden force that fluctuated unpredictably, capable of penetrating outward defenses to strike directly at the interior.

The blow sent the young man’s entire body trembling, leaving him unable to move.

With the advantage firmly in hand, Huangfu Zhu showed no mercy and followed with a powerful uppercut.

The uppercut struck the young man in the lower abdomen, lifting him clean off the ground and launching him high into the sky.

But Huangfu Zhu was not finished. He bent his knees slightly before leaping off with explosive force, leaving behind two massive craters where his feet had been. His own body shot upward like an arrow.

Huangfu Zhu ascended even faster than the young man. In the blink of an eye, he overtook him, clasped both hands together into a single hammer-like fist, and smashed it down onto the young man’s back.

The young man plummeted from the sky even faster than he had risen, crashing toward the ground like a meteor. Upon landing, the entire Daoist temple trembled from the impact.