A Pawn’s Passage

Roughly 15 minutes passed from the moment Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu first struck with the sword light that severed the Buddha's palm until the second strike when they cleaved through Hinnyo's Spiritual Body.

In such a brief span, the two unleashed the might of their twin sword union twice in succession. The cost to their strength was also beyond measure.

Zhang Yuelu's face was as pale as snow even though she had already consumed three Mystical Purple Pills.

Back then, Qi Xuansu once bought Jade Liquor priced at 1,500 Taiping coins per bottle. Even with internal discounts, it still cost him 1,000 Taiping coins. The Mystical Purple Pill was just as expensive as the Jade Liquor, and its main function was to rapidly restore true essence in a short span. That meant Zhang Yuelu had burned through nearly 5,000 Taiping coins' worth of pills in just those 15 minutes.

Of course, these pills were supplied by the Huasheng Hall branch and paid for by the Duzhi Hall. She did not spend a coin of her own.

There was a saying that when large cannons fire, gold flows like water. Once war begins, money burns endlessly.

On the other hand, Qi Xuansu did not need to restore his true essence because he could directly consume divine power. Both true essence and divine power were nearly omnipotent. However, true essence came from the self or from heaven and earth, while divine power came from external sources and other people.

Divine power could activate most immortal objects, including the Heavenly Preceptor's Twin Swords. In truth, such artifacts were highly adaptable, accepting any sort of energy.

Qi Xuansu had just replenished his divine power, and its consumption did not weaken his combat ability. So naturally, he had no qualms about using it first. If one converted both divine power and pills into Taiping coins, his expenditure was about the same as Zhang Yuelu's pills. This showed how precise the Daoist pricing system was that there was really no room for arbitrage.

After revealing his true form, Hinnyo was deeply shaken. The Grade-A Series Two Dragon Eye Bomb and two successive strikes from the Heavenly Preceptor's Twin Swords had done damage to his very foundation, since this bomb was specifically designed to suppress Pseudo-Immortals. Therefore, his Spiritual Body was already fragile by the time the twin swords struck him again; hence, it managed to cleave his Spiritual Body in two.

In the short term, he could no longer rebuild his Spiritual Body. Left only with his regular Spiritual Statue and Golden Body, his strength had fallen back to the lower end of the Zaohua stage.

If Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu unleashed a third twin-sword strike, Hinnyo would not be able to escape. Even if he was not slain outright, he would still be gravely injured. The outcome had already been foreshadowed by the fate of the shinkan at Hisai Castle.

Fortunately for Hinnyo, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu were already nearing their limits. Even with ample divine power and pills, their bodies and souls could not sustain a third twin sword union in such a short span. If they forced it, the boundless sword intention of the Heavenly Twin Swords might just crush them, breaking them before battle even began.

This was akin to an ordinary soldier needing to rest. No matter how plentiful the ammunition and supplies, a soldier could not fight endlessly.

This all came down to insufficient cultivation.

At that moment, Sarutobi Shosai reappeared, wielding his ninja blade and lunging straight at Li Tiangang.

He had not forgotten his mission.

Though Li Tiangang's strength was greatly diminished and far from his peak, Sarutobi Shosai could not subdue him so easily. The two clashed, but they were evenly matched for the moment.

Thus, only Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu remained to face Hinnyo.

Qi Xuansu lifted Green Cloud, pointing it at Hinnyo. "So, you're Master Hinnyo, the famed abbot of Hongan-ji, right? You're quite arrogant. Today, I'd like to test if you truly are Ise Province's unrivaled master."

Hinnyo drew a deep breath to steady his heart. He gave no reply.

Qi Xuansu chuckled. "What a tough nut. Let's go all in!"

Zhang Yuelu could not help but laugh. This was considered Jianghu slang, which she had learned from Qi Xuansu back then. Since he became a high-ranking Daoist, he had abandoned such street slang in favor of official talk. Thus, hearing it now felt oddly unfamiliar.

Though she thought it funny, Zhang Yuelu's hands moved without the slightest distraction. Together, their twin swords charged at Hinnyo.

Hinnyo's heart jolted. He quickly activated his Golden Body, his figure instantly coated in a layer of golden lacquer, radiating brilliance as he met the two swords head-on.

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu each wielded half of the Dragon-Tiger Sword Technique, so together, they formed the complete set. Its true terror did not lie in its profound moves but in the unceasing dragon-tiger sword qi it spawned. Unless both streams of sword qi were simultaneously extinguished, they would regenerate each other in an endless cycle.

Earlier, in his clash with Li Tiangang, Hinnyo had already lost ground in hand-to-hand combat. Now, facing the twin swords, he dared not show the slightest negligence and unleashed the Mighty Demon-Subduing Fist Intention, a supreme Buddhist technique.

Dazzling sword shadows wove together into a dense net of blades, laced with fierce sword qi, cascading down upon Hinnyo.

Caught within the sword net, Hinnyo saw Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu's figures flickering in and out. Sometimes, there was only one blade, while other times, the two swords struck in unison. Golden winds howled as fists and swords clashed. The clang of metal rang out in an unbroken storm. Hinnyo felt as though he had been thrown into a battlefield of 10,000 troops, beset by foes on all sides.

Hinnyo was gradually forced to focus solely on defending himself. As one of the Three Religions capable of rivaling Daoism, Buddhism had deep foundations far beyond what the Tenmon Sect could compare. Hinnyo's methods were also much more refined than those of a jokai-rank Shinkan from the Tenmon Sect.

Hinnyo fully activated the Buddhist Golden Body and formed seals with both hands.

Hinnyo formed the Immovable Seal. Combined with his Golden Body, he resembled the indestructible Immovable Buddha. No matter how fiercely the twin swords struck, they could not harm him in the short term.

Just then, a sudden clap of thunder roared by his ear, stunning his spirit.

This was the Great Thunder Sword. It was not an illusion to confuse the mind but an external shock that stunned one's spirit like a thunderous awakening. Though Hinnyo's Immovable Seal could ward off demonic influences and weapons, it could not withstand this Buddhist method with the same origin.

Zhang Yuelu no longer confined herself to the Dragon-Tiger Sword Technique. Her sword strikes were unceasing, accompanied by thunderous peals, making it difficult for Hinnyo to focus. Soon, he faltered. With a careless lapse, a gust of sword wind swept across his chest, leaving him faintly stifled.

Qi Xuansu was equally relentless. He manifested his Celestial Phenomena Spiritual Body and employed the Taiyin 13 Swords, raining down a curtain of pitch-black sword qi that scattered in all directions.

These were the Taiyin Sword Qi of the Taiyin 13 Swords, infused with yin energy and killing aura. It was sinister and unpredictable, leading to illusions. If an ordinary person were touched by even a trace of this sword qi, their bodies would corrode slowly until they wished for a quick death.

A Golden Body was difficult to break through with brute force, so the best method was to overcome hardness with softness.

When the sword qi rained upon Hinnyo, it instantly corroded his Golden Body. Its divine luster dimmed and lost some vitality.

If it had only been this, Hinnyo would not have minded. What truly alarmed him was that the sword qi left countless pockmarks on his Golden Body, like heavy raindrops striking soft sand, carving dimples that showed no sign of repair.

Hinnyo's divine power was born of incense power, which came from humans, who were considered yang. Thus, divine power manifested as dazzling light.

Borrowing the principle of the moon reflecting the sun's light, True Lord Taiyin transformed divine power from utmost yang into utmost yin. Ordinary divine power, when confronted by this sword of ultimate softness, would lose its mystical properties. That was how the indestructible Golden Body that was normally difficult to break was gravely damaged under the intangible yet lethal Taiyin Sword Qi.

If Hinnyo still possessed his Vairocana Spiritual Body, he would have nothing to fear. But with that Spiritual Body destroyed, he was left helpless.

After the assault of sword qi, Hinnyo's Golden Body looked mottled with rust and no longer shone with its former golden brilliance.

Hinnyo knew all too well that if this battle continued, he might be worn down and slain by these two juniors. After all, everyone was at the negotiation table trying to keep Great Sage Zhang occupied. Thus, there would be no reinforcements coming.

To make matters worse, the presence of the Dragon-Tiger Sword Qi trapped him, preventing him from transforming into a rainbow and fleeing.

Just as Hinnyo fell into despair, Sarutobi Shosai let out a muffled groan as his throat was seized by Li Tiangang.

As an experienced Deputy Mansion Master, Li Tiangang was a Zaohua-stage Heavenly Being and had hidden trump cards. Sarutobi Shosai, deprived of his Koga Ninja Scroll, underestimated Li Tiangang and was captured instead.

Seeing this, Hinnyo lost all hope.