A Pawn's Passage

Li Tianqing likewise noticed the sudden change in Qi Xuansu. Previously, Qi Xuansu had been fighting with the methods of a Martial Arts Practitioner, so his aura had been supremely yang and unyielding. Yet all of a sudden, Qi Xuansu seemed to be enveloped in yin energy, and his cultivation surged dramatically, allowing him to force Li Tianqing back.

They were both Pseudo-Immortals, but Li Tianqing had been stronger than Qi Xuansu and held the advantage. Yet in the blink of an eye, Qi Xuansu had become slightly stronger than him. How could such a thing make any sense?

Moreover, he did not know whether it was merely his imagination, but Qi Xuansu was not only inexplicably suffused with yin energy at this moment, but there was also a distinctly feminine quality about him, as if he had become a completely different person.

This inevitably reminded him of what had happened at Wuxing Mountain. The eunuch ancestor of the Imperial Court had ultimately fallen short at the final hurdle and been defeated by Qi Xuansu. Could Qi Xuansu be resorting to the same trick again?

Li Tianqing’s expression grew more solemn.

However, even with the Heluo God personally taking action, this was not the descent of its true body. It was still impossible for Qi Xuansu’s Corpse Liberation Incarnation to defeat two Pseudo-Immortals by itself, especially when Li Tianqing had brought an entire set of the Thirteen Sword Slaves.

Qi Xuansu had merely relied on his sudden surge in cultivation to catch the two of them off guard. If he truly wanted to defeat them in battle, he would still need outside assistance.

Fortunately, Qi Xuansu had made preparations beforehand. Earlier, he had fought barehanded, but now, he was finally going to draw his swords.

Individually, Purple Afterglow or Green Cloud were a semi-immortal object. However, when the two swords were united, they became the Heavenly Preceptor’s Twin Swords, an immortal object ranked alongside Skycaller and Moral Sovereign.

Qi Xuansu immediately summoned both swords, holding Green Cloud in his left hand and Purple Afterglow in his right. As the two swords united, they resembled two dragons—one purple and one green—intertwining as they soared into the heavens.

Seeing this, Li Tianqing let out a mighty roar. His hechang snapped loudly in the wind as the thirteen sword slaves began shuffling frantically around him.

Their movements appeared utterly chaotic. But upon closer inspection, every sword slave was wielding its sword with a different sword technique, each emanating a sinister aura. Their movements were simply too fast to be seen clearly.

The thirteen sword slaves wielded a complete sword manual, and Li Tianqing did not even need to divide his attention to control them. They moved as though they were living beings.

This was precisely what made the Taiyin 13 Swords so uncanny. If one could completely master the Taiyin 13 Swords, it would be equivalent to taming a ferocious beast. It could be a great aid in combat, possessing spirituality of its own and capable of acting independently.

But if one suffered a backlash from the Taiyin 13 Swords, the sword intention would seize one’s mind, turning the cultivator into a puppet.

As Li Tianqing operated the Taiyin Sword Formation, a bright moon gradually emerged.

At the same time, Qi Xuansu pointed one sword toward the heavens. The entire sky rapidly turned purple as rings of violent ripples visible to the naked eye rapidly expanded outward.

Qi Xuansu pointed his other sword toward the ground. The entirety of Qingshui Island resonated and trembled in response as a stream of green qi emerged from beneath the earth and continuously rose upward.

The space between heaven and earth became brilliantly clear as boundless purple and green qi blanketed the sky and the ground. In the blink of an eye, it had transformed into a vast ocean.

Even without Zhang Yuelu, Qi Xuansu was now capable of wielding the Twin Swords by himself.

The sky resembled an overturned lake that continuously pressed downward, its shimmering surface seemingly close enough to touch. Then, a colossal pillar of green light tinged with purple slowly emerged from the lake’s surface and began its gradual descent.

The pillar of light dispersed the darkness, transforming into a boundless expanse of magnificent sword light that was as dazzling as the rising sun.

The surrounding elemental energy rippled like water, sending countless waves spreading in every direction across an immense area. The aftershocks extended as far as the eye could see before gradually dissipating.

Li Tianqing raised his head and gazed at the pillar of light. His sleeves billowed violently in the wind.

The thirteen black figures simultaneously raised their swords, pointing them directly toward the heavens.

Sword light swept across the battlefield while layers upon layers of shadows surged forth.

Two opposing tides—one radiant and one dark—collided repeatedly. Wherever the sword light passed, countless shadows were reduced to ashes. The radiant glow surged like a tide, and with every swell, sinister sword shadows melted away like ice beneath the sun.

Yet the shadows could be destroyed but never extinguished. Even as they continuously vanished, they also reassembled and regenerated without end. The Taiyin Sword Formation was never truly destroyed.

Light and darkness repeatedly alternated, constantly wearing away and canceling each other out, causing Qingshui Island to fall into the bizarre spectacle of endlessly cycling day and night.

As Li Minghuang’s adoptive father, Li Tianqing truly possessed formidable abilities. If Qi Xuansu had not received the Heluo God’s assistance and possessed the Heavenly Preceptor’s Twin Sword, he would not have been able to suppress Li Tianqing.

In the residence below, Pei Shenfu and Li Tianzhen were also looking up and watching the battle in the sky.

Li Tianzhen said in disbelief, “How can Qi Xuansu possess such cultivation? Even Eldest Brother can’t defeat him?!”

Pei Shenfu’s expression turned somewhat grim. “I can say with absolute certainty that Qi Xuansu has definitely not reached the Pseudo-Immortal stage. He must be relying on some other external means. It could be a page from the Scripture of Zuriel or perhaps some fortuitous opportunity he obtained from the Southern Continent.”

The old monk was just about to take advantage of the deadlock between the two and strike again.

Yet at some unknown point, countless wisps of black mist had already converged into a gateway.

Qi Xuansu was now suffused with yin qi because the Heluo God was a yin creature. As such, the surroundings changed

The surroundings changed accordingly. Everything became blurred, as though obscured behind a thin veil of mist. At the same time, death qi began to emerge. The air felt so thick and viscous that it felt like being trapped in a swamp.

The gateway finally took shape. Black mist churned within it, seemingly leading to the Netherworld.

The old monk’s eyes widened.

The next moment, a giant fist emerged from the gateway.

Behind the fist came a wrist, forearm, and elbow. Upon closer inspection, every part of it was stitched together from countless corpses.

The arm was utterly horrifying, measuring more than 30 meters in length. Countless eyes densely covered his skin, alongside innumerable mouths with ghastly white teeth and no tongue. Yellowish-brown pus oozed from them while an earthy-yellow corpse qi spewed forth.

As the arm emerged, the remains of completely decomposed corpses continuously fell from it. Even the slightest movement caused numerous severed limbs and pieces of corpses to tumble down, accompanied by pitch-black blood that glooped down like sludge.

Wherever the arm passed, corpse qi filled the sky, and all life force withered away. Even the earth itself had its vitality drained away.

That arm belonged to none other than Master Wan.

The decomposed human faces that made up Master Wan’s arm began wailing in agony. The fist continued forward with the intent of killing the old monk with a single punch.

The old monk met the punch head-on. His entire body trembled, and his face instantly aged by several years.

In terms of peak combat prowess, Master Wan was the strongest of the Three Yin Beings. Had he not suffered grievous injuries, Master Yin would never have had the chance to take his place. Master Wan had spent all these years recovering his strength. Although he was still far from his peak, he was still stronger than an ordinary Pseudo-Immortal.

The next moment, five towering pillars of varying lengths erupted from beneath the old monk. Upon closer inspection, they were not pillars at all, but five enormous fingers.

A gigantic hand rose from beneath the ground, resembling the legendary Buddha’s Five Fingers. Without slowing in the slightest, the hand seized the old monk in its palm, while surging corpse qi simultaneously sealed off every possibility of escape.

This gateway was no longer an ordinary Yin-Yang Gate. Instead, a cross-shaped yin-yang rift began to grow wider. Master Wan thrust half his body through this rift, resembling a giant from ancient legends, but even more horrifying. Just like his arms, his skin was covered with countless eyes and mouths that spewed corpse qi and bloody fluid.

As the Mighty Lord of Ten Thousand Corpses emerged, the remains of decomposed corpses continuously fell from his body. Even the slightest movement sent corpse fluid and filthy blood spraying in every direction, accompanied by waves of foul-smelling corpse qi, resembling a gruesome storm of blood and rotten flesh.

Corpse qi, accompanied by an overpowering stench of decay, once again spread across heaven and earth. Wherever it passed, plants and trees withered. Even lifeless objects such as soil and stone were stained with an ominous grayish-black hue. Only the area surrounding the Li family’s residence remained unaffected, protected by its formation.

Once Master Wan had fully manifested in the mortal world, he brought both hands together, trapping the old monk between his palms. He then exerted force from both sides, intending to crush the old monk into a mass of bloody pulp.

The old monk braced both arms against Master Wan’s closing palms. Brilliant golden light radiated from his entire body as he exerted all his might.

The two sides began a contest of raw strength.

Master Wan had unrivaled physical strength. Coupled with the dense corpse qi contained within his body that could disrupt spells, he soon gained the upper hand.

In the blink of an eye, the battle had become a confrontation between three Pseudo-Immortals on each side.

Moreover, it was Qi Xuansu’s side that held the advantage.

Li Tianzhen was already beginning to panic. He certainly did not want to fall into Qi Xuansu’s hands again.

Pei Shenfu had not expected the situation to develop like this either. She finally realized why Qi Xuansu had been so confident and paid her no heed. Even Yao Shu could not keep him under control. After all, Great Sage Lan, Xu Jiaorong, and Zhang Yuelu were all on Qi Xuansu’s side. Thus, during the Daoist Mansion Council, Yao Shu was always in the minority.

Pei Shenfu gritted her teeth. “It seems I’ll have to do my part as well.”

No matter what, Pei Shenfu was still at the Zaohua stage, an elite nurtured by both the Yao and Pei families. As long as she seized the right opportunity, she might still be able to alter the course of the battle.

Just then, a pair of black high-heeled boots appeared within Li Tianzhen’s field of vision.

Li Tianzhen’s gaze traveled upward.

Above the glossy black leather high-heeled boots were black velvet trousers, followed by a white shirt and a black waistcoat with dark-gold patterns. Above the slightly open shirt collar was a delicate chin, scarlet lips, a high-bridged nose, purple eyes, and black curly hair.

At some point, an extraordinarily beautiful woman had skirted around the battlefield and arrived outside the residence. She was of Western descent, with black curls cascading loosely like waves. Her purple eyes formed a striking contrast with her scarlet lips, while a faint scent of lilac lingered around her. The ruby ring on her index finger was particularly eye-catching.

She was the backup that Qi Xuansu had arranged in advance—Star Lord Yuheng.

This was precisely the advantage of fighting on home ground.

“Sage Pei, it is an honor to meet you.” Star Lord Yuheng gracefully bowed to Pei Shenfu.