A Pawn’s Passage

Qi Xuansu did not immediately locate Spirit Guard Jia Chen's forces. Instead, he arrived first at the main battlefield, where Spirit Guard Jia Shen's troops clashed directly with Maeda Masao's army.

It made little difference, since these different paths led to the same destination. Even if he had found Spirit Guard Jia Chen's troops first, he would have ended up riding alongside them to reinforce this front. It only meant he reached here a step earlier.

Qi Xuansu swept over the battlefield from the skies. As a Wuliang-stage Martial Arts Practitioner, the dense blood qi of the army formations did not overly discomfort him. However, he clearly sensed that his other lineages, including the Banished Immortal lineage, were heavily suppressed.

The greatest impact was that he could not open the Yin-Yang Gate to the Ghost Kingdom.

This was reality in its purest form, suppressing illusion.

Madam Qi had once said that the lineage most likely to endure the end of the era would most likely be the Martial Arts Practitioner lineage. Yet even so, forming body spirits would no longer be possible. Instead, Martial Arts Practitioners might merge with Qi Refiners, becoming practitioners of hard qigong, an almost absurd path in current society. That so-called hard qigong could not even be released outward as a protective qi shield. Without the body spirits, a Martial Arts Practitioner's physique could hardly be considered indestructible, and it could never withstand gunfire.

Shamans and Diviners would also merge, reduced to mere geomancers and psychics, relying on external tools to exorcise spirits. They would lack true spellcraft or possess it only to such a feeble degree that it was negligible. If enough believers gathered, they might accumulate a trickle of incense power. Most of their practice would devolve into trickery, using illusions as a crutch. By then, they would not be inviting gods to descend to the mortal realm. Instead, they would call upon gods to possess them, but these gods were nothing more than demons, spirits, and the like.

The Banished Immortals would, without question, be the first to go extinct. After all, when the sky collapsed, those standing highest would be the first to perish.

At that moment, a blade qi surged from below, piercing skyward and rushing straight for Qi Xuansu.

Startled, Qi Xuansu flared his wings and veered aside.

Then he saw a figure leap from the army ranks below, clad in a dark blue haori, wielding a blade that was slightly over one meter long. This was the famed meito called the Bizen Osafune Nagamitsu, also called Monohoshizao, a weapon so long it resembled a clothes-drying pole.

Though this was Qi Xuansu's first time seeing the man in person, he had often seen portraits of him. This was none other than Katsura Yoshiyuki, one of the leaders of the Sonno-joi ronin and a renowned swordmaster. This was the very man who had once attempted to assassinate Sage Qingwei.

Now, at the very brink of the Sonno-joi faction's survival, Katsura Yoshiyuki had at last returned to Ise Province and joined Maeda Masao's army.

Qi Xuansu's heart clenched in fear, for this was a Kengo at the Pseudo-Immortal level, by no means an opponent he could contend with. Yet, almost at once, he discerned that Katsura Yoshiyuki's wounds from Sage Qingwei's slash had not healed. This meant that his current strength fell short of the Pseudo-Immortal level.

Ordinary people would not be able to discern the depth of a pseudo-immortal, but Qi Xuansu was different. He had seen far too many people of this level, including Madam Qi, Sage Qingwei, Sage Donghua, Sage Cihang, the three first-rank Spirit Guards, the incarnation of Wu Luo, the incarnation of True Lord Siming, Star Lord Xuanji, Zhang Wuhen, the Owner of The Inn, the eunuch ancestor of Xuanhui Court, and the Western Paladin during the battle of Wuxing Mountain. He had witnessed how these formidable figures strike, and more importantly, he had directly experience what it was like to be a Pseudo-Immortal while he was possessed by True Lord Ziguang.

This was exposure. The more one was exposed to things, the less easily one would be fooled.

On reflection, it was only natural. Although Sage Qingwei himself was currently only a Pseudo-Immortal, becoming an Immortal was merely a matter of time. That alone placed him above most Pseudo-Immortals, for many would spend their entire lives halted at this threshold, seemingly one step away, yet forever unable to cross into immortality. That single step marked the vast difference between the two realms.

Moreover, so long as Sage Qingwei held the Qinghuo Pearl, he could match an Immortal in strength. Any sword wound inflicted by him was not something easily healed.

Ordinarily, wounds dealt by an Immortal could not be mended in mere days or months. Without the proper method, such wounds could become permanent and irreversible, lingering for life.

Qi Xuansu could see that Katsura Yoshiyuki's wounds had not yet healed, so he guessed that the Kengo could at most exert the strength of a Zaohua-stage Heavenly Being.

That meant Qi Xuansu still had a fighting chance.

It was a pity that Zhang Yuelu was not around. Had she been here, the two of them could once again unite their twin swords. Then, this day next year would be Katsura Yoshiyuki's death anniversary.

Alone, Qi Xuansu dared not claim certain victory, but neither would he fall within just three moves.

Given the current situation, Qi Xuansu did not even need to win. All he had to do was stall Katsura Yoshiyuki until Spirit Guard Jia Chen arrived with his Black Robes Heavy Cavalry. Then, the battle would be decided.

From the ranks below, blood qi billowed upward, scattering the clouds and pressing down on both combatants above.

Qi Xuansu's Martial Arts Practitioner lineage fared relatively well under the pressure. Katsura Yoshiyuki, however, was a Kengo more aligned with the Qi Refiner lineage, so he was more affected by the blood qi. Thus, his strength was reduced to that of a regular Zaohua-stage cultivator. The gap between them was drawn even closer together.

This reminded Qi Xuansu of Desmond the Vampire Duke. Even now, Qi Xuansu might not have been his equal at full power. But at that time, Desmond had been grievously wounded by the Holy Court, his strength reduced to a mere fraction of what it once was. He was then besieged by Zhang Yuelu and Arthur and forced to drink the cursed Black Blood. That was how he had ultimately perished at Qi Xuansu's hands.

The current Katsura Yoshiyuki was similar to Desmond's state back then.

Had they died directly at the hands of Sage Qingwei or the Holy Court, one could still say they perished in a hard-fought battle, with their dignity intact. But surviving then, only to fall later to the hands of a "nobody," was certainly far less honorable.

That said, Qi Xuansu did not dare be careless. He immediately drew Green Cloud.

Katsura Yoshiyuki stepped through the void as though walking on solid ground or gliding across water. Ripples spread where his feet touched. He then cleaved down at Qi Xuansu's head with Monohoshizao.

Though exquisite technique had its value, Katsura Yoshiyuki had chosen the straightforward path of using sheer force to crush his opponent.

Qi Xuansu knew well that head-on, he was no match for someone of the Zaohua stage. He had to win through stratagem. With Green Cloud in hand, he blocked only once, relying on the sword's own inherent sharpness to counter the strike.

Monohoshizao was indeed a meito, but Green Cloud was also one-half of an immortal object, so the latter was just half a tier higher. Its sword qi alone neutralized Katsura Yoshiyuki's blade qi.

Qi Xuansu's Phoenix Wings flapped behind him as he closed in, seizing the opportunity.

Katsura Yoshiyuki's Monohoshizao was like a clothes-drying pole, requiring distance to display its full might. Thus, Qi Xuansu went against that principle and pressed in to close the distance, forcing melee combat to wield his Martial Arts Practitioner's advantage, using his strength against Katsura Yoshiyuki's weakness.

But Katsura Yoshiyuki would not grant him that chance. The Kengo drifted backward with a speed surpassing even that of Qi Xuansu's Phoenix Wings. Qi Xuansu's trailing Dragon Tail also failed to brush him.

Qi Xuansu had once seen Princess Tamako use this very move, called the Flying Swallow. But Katsura Yoshiyuki, as her swordsmanship instructor, wielded mastery far beyond hers, making Qi Xuansu's assault pointless.

In that single retreat, the two had already left the army's range, free now from the suppression of blood qi. Qi Xuansu retracted his own blood qi and used the Qi Refiner's Sword Steering Technique to send Green Cloud flying from his hand. Then he manifested his newly attained Celestial Phenomenon Spiritual Body.

Li Changge's Heavenly Emperor Spiritual Body only had a vague face. But since Qi Xuansu's Celestial Phenomenon Spiritual Body was mixed with too many legacies, he only retained a blurry humanoid form. However, a blazing sun shone in his chest, a bright moon glowed behind his back, and stars glittered all around him.

Qi Xuansu then drew forth the Solar Heaven. This sun disc was a semi-immortal object, serving as a pivotal key to Himiko's altar and functioning as a ritual medium. Once he infused divine power into it, it erupted with Solar Flames, surging straight toward Katsura Yoshiyuki.

Solar Flames were unlike the True Samadhi Fire. The latter was of the mind and more moderate, usable both for combat and alchemy, depending on intent. Against foes, it struck primarily at one's spirit and soul, but held little effect on inanimate matters. It could restrain even the Joyous Cloud Shield of Banished Immortals.

The former was on the other extreme, used purely as a weapon of war. The scorching heat could burn mountains and boil seas, filled with searing brilliance to annihilate all evil and shadows. Yet it was ineffective against the Banished Immortal's Joyous Cloud Shield.

Once again, Katsura Yoshiyuki struck with a single slash, splitting the fiery tidal wave.

The surging flames spread to both sides, like a vast and dazzling sea of fiery clouds.

At that very moment, a streak of sword light, veiled by the blazing clouds, shot forth, aimed straight for Katsura Yoshiyuki's brow.

The Sword Steering Technique allowed one to behead a foe from hundreds of kilometers away using an immortal sword.

With what seemed like a casual stroke, Katsura Yoshiyuki forced Green Cloud to instantly reverse course, sweeping back toward Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu dissolved into moonlight, evading the strike, before reforming into a humanoid shape once more, his hand seizing Green Cloud's hilt.

He was, admittedly, not a swordsmaster, but once he unleashed his Spiritual Body, he could be considered one.

After all, the Taiyin Spiritual Statue granted him the Taiyin 13 Swords. The power of this method lay in the profound link between each stroke, each one amplifying the last and producing a force greater than two combined strikes. Thus, the more forms one practiced, the greater its power. Yet in proportion, the sword intention would also grow. When the swordsmanship reached its zenith, its wielder risked losing control over the Taiyin 13 Swords, their mind eroded into madness, and became nothing but a slave to the sword.

However, the Taiyin 13 Swords manifested through his Spiritual Body carried none of these hidden dangers.

Qi Xuansu struck with a Cloud Sweep Technique, his sword qi surging like a gale.

Confronting the raging sword-wind, Katsura Yoshiyuki's blade moved like a flood dragon, swift as thunderbolts, severing every strand of sword qi without letting any slip through. Then, with another horizontal slash, his strike carried wind and thunder within, faintly rumbling with a thunderous boom.

Qi Xuansu did not yield. He too swept forth with a sword, thunder and wind entwined, summoning clouds of his own.

Though both strikes bore wind and thunder, they were worlds apart. Katsura Yoshiyuki's came from profound cultivation, his blade roaring like thunder itself. Meanwhile, Qi Xuansu's was born from the Taiyin 13 Swords, manifesting as true wind and lightning.

When they clashed, Katsura Yoshiyuki felt both hands gripping his blade suddenly go numb. Worse still, the numbness spread further, like a thunder dragon coursing recklessly through his meridians.

Such was the mystery of the Taiyin 13 Swords. Its art concealed hidden marvels everywhere, with swordsmanship as the secondary method and divine abilities as its true core.