A Pawn's Passage

The third-grade Youyi Daoist master responsible for controlling the flying warship curled his fingers into a Five Thunder Fist.

All the scattered thunderbolts gathered in one place and turned into a purple light that was as thick as a two-meter-wide tree trunk. It penetrated the dark clouds at lightning speed, illuminating the entire sky as it landed on the head of the Great Asura.

For a moment, the bright flash of boundless purple light completely engulfed the Great Asura.

Just as the flying ship began to condense thunder beads, the person standing on the shoulder of the Great Asura had already turned into a streak of fire and vanished. Although these warships were not the best combat power of the Daoist Order, not many could withstand the fierce attack of a warship head-on.

After the purple light dissipated, the pervasive yin energy was swept away, leaving only the charred and mutilated body of the Great Asura.

As soon as the Daoist flying ship appeared earlier, Qi Xuansu turned around and fled without hesitation. Although he did not witness that scene, he knew very well that the situation had developed beyond The Inn’s control.

As the saying goes, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. The Inn was the cicada, White Jade Hall was the praying mantis, and the Daoist Order was the oriole. With the presence of the oriole, neither the cicada nor the mantis would get away unscathed.

Qi Xuansu was well aware of his situation, knowing that he could not appear in front of anyone from the Daoist Order with his identity as Qi Xuansu, especially since everyone believed that he was dead. The “dead” Qi Xuansu would be remembered as an outstanding deacon, while the current Qi Xuansu had a questionable background bound to be scrutinized.

Furthermore, it was evident that Tiangang Hall had a zero-tolerance policy for secret societies at the moment. To them, cult demons did not deserve a trial with Fengxian Hall. They would always be executed on the spot. So there was a possibility that the people from the Daoist Order would not recognize Qi Xuansu and would directly execute him as a cult demon.

This made sense because the Daoist Order suffered a huge loss from the flying ship crash. Although the Daoist Order had been quite lenient toward foreign enemies in recent years, that did not mean they were not ruthless. Otherwise, the Buddhist Sect and Confucian School would not have been willing to admit defeat.

This time, the Daoist Order would not just target the Lingshan Witch Cult. They would suppress all secret societies with an iron fist.

If the Daoist Order did not react strongly to the Lingshan Witch Cult’s terrorist attack, it would set a precedent for other secret societies to challenge the Order. If so, there would be no peace in the world.

Back then, when the Cult of Fates attacked the Huasheng Hall’s manufacturing plant, the Daoist Order made them pay a hefty price. The Cult of Fates had since disappeared for nearly ten years.

Of course, these secret societies would always resurface after some time, forgetting the consequences of provoking the Daoist Order. As long as they were not completely eradicated, they could always make a comeback.

No matter what, Qi Xuansu had to escape as soon as possible. Perhaps the West Gobi would not be a safe place to stay anymore.

This time, he had a fruitful harvest. One Blood Pill was worth at least several thousand Taiping coins, which was a lot to Qi Xuansu, who only had a net worth of a few thousand Taiping coins.

The only regret he had was that he failed to figure out the relationship between White Jade Hall, the Eight Tribes, The Inn, and the Qingping Society. He was also unaware of the relationship between Madam Qi, Mountain Ghost, and White Jade Hall. However, the situation had gone awry, so Qi Xuansu did not want to risk his life pursuing the answers.

A deafening roar of thunder shocked the fleeing Qi Xuansu. He looked back and saw a purple thunderbolt connecting the sky and the earth, dyeing the sky a rich purple.

He thought, Was this the high-end combat power of Tiangang Hall? No wonder Tiangang Hall was known as the Daoist Order’s sword.

......

A streak of fire darted from the inner circle of the manufacturing plant to the outer circle, far away from where the thunder had struck. It landed at a pavilion in the outer ring that was still relatively intact.

At this time, several people were waiting at the pavilion. They were all members of the White Jade Hall who had been on guard for a long time. Each of them carried talismans that could evade yin energy, forming a faint halo around them like transparent eggshells. With this protective aura, they were not affected by the terrifying power of the Great Asura.

They had a fruitful harvest. Several of them had their clothes stained with the blood of The Inn’s recruits for the “weeding” operation.

The streak of fire turned into a human form, revealing the person who was standing on the shoulders of the Great Asura. He was a handsome and frivolous-looking man in a light blue robe who was in his thirties.

As stated in the scroll that Shangguan Jing read, the members of White Jade Hall had dual identities. This man, Zhong Boyu, was also a member of the Eight Tribes.

Zhong Boyu was once an ordinary Daoist disciple. By chance, he joined the Eight Tribes and left the Daoist Order because he was finally able to fulfill his potential. Due to his outstanding abilities in the Eight Tribes, he was able to join the White Jade Hall.

For Zhong Boyu, joining the Eight Tribes was the first turning point in his life, and entering White Jade Hall was the second turning point. As a member of White Jade Hall, Zhong Boyu could finally stand out instead of being an unknown seventh-rank Daoist priest muddling through life.

Zhong Boyu looked around. “Why is one person missing?”

All members of the White Jade Hall shook their heads, expressing their ignorance.

“Forget it. Let’s retreat immediately,” Zhong Boyu ordered.

Everyone in White Jade Hall came prepared. They took out the special talismans that turned into sparks upon burning. These sparks connected to form a rectangular doorway, which became a dark portal.

Zhong Boyu took the lead to walk into the Yin Yang Gate. The surface rippled like the water’s surface as he passed through an invisible boundary, disappearing in an instant.

The remaining members of White Jade Hall entered the portal one after another. After the last person stepped in, the portal closed on its own, quickly shrinking and finally turning into a little black dot before vanishing completely.

On the other side of the Yin Yang Gate, one could hear birds singing and smell the fragrance of flowers. They had arrived in a green valley full of flowers, surrounded by mountains on all sides and protected from the harsh winds. The temperature was warm and cozy, completely different from the Gobi Desert during springtime.

Not far away was a clear lake with green grass and a simple dock on the shore.

A figure in a bamboo hat was sitting on the dock with a fishing rod in hand.

Zhong Boyu walked quickly toward the figure, who was reeling in the fishing rod. Unfortunately, there was only a piece of bait and a bunch of algae stuck to the simple curved hook on the end of the rod.

The person casually pulled off the algae from the hook before swinging the bait back into the water. “Did you get the stuff back?”

“Yes.” Zhong Boyu took out an item that was somewhat similar to the knife currency of ancient times. The object was shaped like a crescent moon, green and translucent, with many thin blood threads inside. It was the Xuan Jade that significantly improved Qi Xuansu’s cultivation. However, it was not exactly the same as the other two Xuan Jades that Qi Xuansu had seen before.

The person glanced at Xuan Jade. “Good.”

Zhong Boyu reported truthfully, “This piece of Xuan Jade was located deep within the corpse-raising grounds. The Inn’s personnel were there, so in order to get the Xuan Jade, I had to use the Great Asura sealed by the Huasheng Hall. Although the Great Asura got rid of those people from The Inn, it caught the attention of Tiangang Hall. The Great Asura was destroyed by them.”

“You’ve told me this through the mother-child talisman, so it’s expected.” The person continued fishing. Judging by appearance, this person was several years older than Zhong Boyu. The bamboo hat covered the person’s face, but from the person’s composure and tone, it was evident that this person was a high-ranking member of White Jade Hall.

After some hesitation, Zhong Boyu said, “The Imperial Court—”

“It’s just a routine procedure for the Imperial Court. Don’t worry too much about it.” The person spoke while fumbling with the Xuan Jade.

Zhong Boyu’s gaze was also attracted by the Xuan Jade. He asked cautiously, “What is this? Why can I control the Great Asura with this object?”

The person held up the Xuan Jade against the sunlight, studying the blood streaks in it. “This is called the Xuan Jade, which is highly sought after by the Qingping Society and the Taiping Sect. It has all kinds of incredible and miraculous features, each with its own characteristics.

“This particular piece of Xuan Jade can control the netherworld. However, it hasn’t been fully activated, so it can only prevent the Great Asura from harming you based on its instincts. You were far from being able to control the Great Asura.”