A Pawn’s Passage

Qi Xuansu no longer hesitated. He sank his breath into his Dantian, and all 365 of his body spirits lit up in succession. Then he threw a punch, his 365 body spirits punching in unison.

His surging blood qi struck the talismans on the stone stele first.

The talismans ignited at once, crumbling to ash and fluttering down, revealing the true face of the stele beneath.

It was an ancient stone stele, carved with a single large character that read, "Seal." Moss covered it, and the entire stele was riddled with cracks, from which black and red mists continuously leaked.

Without the red strings and talismans suppressing the stele, the ominous energy leaking from the stone kept accelerating.

In the next moment, Qi Xuansu landed a solid punch on the stele.

The stele shuddered with a boom. The cracks spread visibly as fine gravel and dust cascaded down.

This place should have had many shinkan stationed here. However, due to the fierce battle in Ise Province and the overwhelming offensive from the Chancellor's Office backed by the Daoist Order, the Ise-jingu had mobilized almost all its forces, and even this critical location was left unattended.

After the great war, the Ise-jingu had suffered heavy casualties. Demons ran rampant, ghosts roamed the night, bandits plagued the roads, and even the Daoists had personally intervened. No matter the cause, the Jingu was stretched too thin to bother with these forbidden zones for the time being.

One could say the war had left Ise Province battered and bruised. It also crippled the Ise-jingu. If not for that, after the unexpected death of the Kampaku and the chaos in the military ranks, the Chancellor's Office would never have retreated peacefully to Xiujing. It was only because the Jingu lacked the strength to pursue that they let them go unhindered.

This worked in Qi Xuansu's favor, allowing him to break the seal directly.

Had it been during the Ise-jingu's prime, the very moment Qi Xuansu broke the first formation, he would have alarmed the defenders, or perhaps even been turned away at the foot of the mountain.

Now, there had only been a single miko, an indicator of how critical the Ise-jingu's manpower shortage had become.

Even after that powerful punch, the stele remained intact.

Qi Xuansu did not rush and followed with another punch.

Cracks spread across the surface of the stele, which was densely packed like a web.

When Qi Xuansu's third punch landed, the stone stele finally exploded into countless shards, scattering in all directions.

At that moment, a pillar of black and crimson light shot straight into the sky. A severed head with disheveled hair slowly rose from within it. Its features were handsome, and its eyes were tightly shut, seemingly asleep, or perhaps already dead. Yet, the face still bore traces of the unruly defiance it once held in life.

The neck had been cleanly severed by a sharp blade. Blood still dripped from the smooth wound, transforming into black-red mist.

"So this is the head of Shuten-Doji?" Qi Xuansu murmured. He wasted no time, activating his Taiyin Ziguang Spiritual Statue to reach out and seize the head.

Little Yin stared at the severed head, unconsciously swallowing a gulp of saliva.

Qi Xuansu shot a look at Little Yin, who opened her mouth wide once more, like a bottomless well.

Controlling the Spiritual Statue, Qi Xuansu tossed the head into her mouth.

Little Yin swallowed it whole, then smacked her lips.

Qi Xuansu said, "Such a phenomenon must've alarmed the Ise-jingu. We must leave at once."

Little Yin replied and walked over to the miko, asking, "What should we do with her?"

Qi Xuansu had a scheme in mind. "Tell her that the ones who attacked her and broke the seal were a group of Westerners—blond hair, blue eyes, pale skin, dressed in black clerical robes, using firearms."

The Dragon Eye Series ammunition did not leave behind shell casings, so it would be hard for the Tenmon Sect to determine whether it was a Daoist firearm or a Western one. Even if they eventually figured it out, it would take time, and that was all Qi Xuansu needed. By the time the truth came to light, he would already be back in the field camp.

This casual strategy of planting misleading clues was a skill Qi Xuansu had mastered long ago, back when he was still known as Wei Wugui.

Little Yin nodded and pressed both hands onto the miko's shoulders. An eerie light flickered in her eyes as she met the miko's gaze.

The miko's vacant eyes grew dark and unfocused.

Little Yin whispered softly, and the miko repeated the words under her breath.

A moment later, Little Yin undid her restraints, and the miko collapsed into a deep sleep.

Qi Xuansu asked, "Is it done?"

Little Yin clapped her hands. "Flawless!"

"Very well. Let's scram!" Qi Xuansu took the lead, choosing to descend the mountain from the other side to avoid running into any shinkan. Little Yin followed closely. Neither of them flew, since that would make them too conspicuous. Instead, they used the forest as cover, as it was less flashy and more discreet.

But the two had not gone far before they ran into a shinkan.

Qi Xuansu could not determine his exact rank, but he was certainly above the jokai rank. According to Daoist classification, he likely had a Wuliang-stage cultivation.

This man was a whole level above Qi Xuansu, but he had fought Wuliang-stage opponents before, so he was not afraid. Moreover, he had Little Yin by his side, and her strength rivaled his own.

Without hesitation, Qi Xuansu drew Green Cloud from its sheath.

A slash of sword qi tore through the air like a tempest, slicing apart the tops of countless trees and parting layers of yin mist wherever the sword qi reached. Even the falling raindrops were lifted back toward the sky by the force.

Faced with this strike, the shinkan was shocked.

He had never seen such a terrifying sword. Even the famed yoto and meito paled in comparison. This had to be a divine artifact.

A manmade Banished Immortal wielding a semi-immortal object had the power to fight above their level.

Though the shinkan raised three barriers in front of himself, they were all cleaved through by Qi Xuansu's sword qi. The shinkan was more like a Shaman who was proficient in spells, so he could not evade in time. Qi Xuansu's sword stabbed straight through his chest. That strike caused his divine power to crumble rapidly, and he was flung backward through the air.

Cultivation was not everything in a fight; external objects mattered just as much.

Qi Xuansu did not need to think about how to break through the shinkan's defenses, as that was Green Cloud's job. His job was simply to wield this semi-immortal sword with focus.

Still, the shinkan was at the Wuliang stage, so even on the weaker end, he was not one to be underestimated. He was far from dead and still had fight in him.

However, this was not a one-on-one battle. It was two versus one.

Just as the shinkan was about to counterattack, Qi Xuansu decisively drew his sword and retreated.

He gave the shinkan no chance to catch his breath. Immediately, a sharp pain struck the shinkan's back.

The shinkan slowly looked down, only to see a tiny hand piercing straight through his chest from behind.

That childlike hand held a still-beating heart.

Little Yin's voice came from behind the shinkan, though she was speaking to Qi Xuansu, "Can I eat this one?"

Qi Xuansu replied, "While I don't usually condone such behavior, these are special circumstances. Do as you wish."

Little Yin withdrew her hand and popped the heart into her mouth, then added earnestly, "This one doesn't count toward the 15 we agreed on."

Qi Xuansu nodded.

Though the shinkan's soul tried to escape his body and flee into the sky to raise an alarm, it could not escape Little Yin's grasp. She opened her mouth and took in a deep breath. The soul screamed as it was drawn into her mouth, the sound fading until it vanished completely.

In an era of peace, it was rare for a Wuliang-stage cultivator to die unexpectedly. But in times of chaos, even Pseudo-Immortals could fall. That elite Koga Jonin had been a case in point.

Little Yin patted her belly and let out a satisfied burp.

This trip had yielded quite the harvest. Once she returned, she would be able to advance even further. Though there was still a gap between her and the Three Yin Beings, she would probably be able to surpass Qi Xuansu even if he wielded the top-tier semi-immortal object, Green Cloud. That was, assuming Qi Xuansu would not progress any further.

After killing the shinkan who blocked their way, Qi Xuansu and Little Yin continued fleeing deeper into the mountains. Ghostly creatures became more numerous, but with Little Yin present, Qi Xuansu need not worry about them. They were a problem for the Jingu.

Of course, the Jingu would not let things go so easily and pursued Qi Xuansu relentlessly. But the ghosts and demons along the way slowed the pursuers down, and they never managed to catch up.

The Jingu's leader was a Zaohua-stage Heavenly Being. Even with a semi-immortal object and Little Yin at his side, Qi Xuansu would not be a match for them. Worse yet, this Heavenly Being was not alone, having brought a large entourage.

After a chase spanning over 100 kilometers, they had reached the border of Anno District.

Just then, a torrent of yin energy suddenly surged, undulating like ocean waves. The sky darkened in an instant as a colossal arm pierced through the sky, reaching out from a rift between the yin and yang realms.

This arm was utterly horrifying. It was over 30 meters in length, with a surface covered in countless densely packed eyes. It was also riddled with innumerable mouths, each exposing rows of ghostly white teeth but no tongues. Yellow-brown pus and corpse qi oozed from these mouths.

As the arm extended, it continually shed completely rotted corpse remains. With every movement, dismembered limbs and remains tumbled from it, accompanied by ink-black blood that fell like rain.

It was truly a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

The mere appearance of this arm caused all the nearby ghosts and demons to tremble in fear.

Wherever the arm passed, corpse qi blanketed the skies, and all traces of vitality withered away. Plants, creatures, and even the land itself were not spared. Their life force was drained, and even buried bones deep underground began to rise from their graves.

Compared to this, Little Yin's corpse qi was like child's play.

Qi Xuansu had to admit. It was no wonder Master Wan ranked first among the Three Yin Beings, while Master Yin was second. If Master Yin was akin to a Diviner, then Master Wan was like a Martial Arts Practitioner.

Just in terms of sheer force upon striking, Master Wan's strength was nearly on par with that of an Immortal.

All it took was one punch.