A Pawn's Passage

Despite Qi Xuansu’s cleverness, he still failed to think of the perfect solution. The best way he could think of was to strike Feng Bo first and fight desperately for his life. That way, he would have a chance of surviving, albeit a slim one.

The guest room Qi Xuansu rented consisted of two bedrooms and a small courtyard where horses could be kept. The housekeepers would come to clean the place every day.

Qi Xuansu invited Feng Bo into the living room. His satchel and some personal items were casually strewn about on the table, so he said apologetically, “I just checked in, so I haven’t had time to put my things away.”

After that, Qi Xuansu stepped forward to remove his satchel from the table while Feng Bo stood there politely. As a result, Qi Xuansu had his back turned toward Feng Bo.

Noticing this god-sent opportunity, Feng Bo immediately narrowed his eyes and conjured a breeze with his palms.

Based on Feng Bo’s cultivation level alone, he could easily kill a Yuxu-stage Martial Arts Practitioner in a sneak attack even without using the essence of heaven and earth.

Having said that, only Yuxu-stage Martial Arts Practitioners were worth this trouble because their bodies were famously resilient, like an undying cockroach. If Qi Xuansu were a weak Diviner or Shaman, Feng Bo would not have to worry so much. However, a Yuxu-stage Martial Arts Practitioner could not compare to a Heavenly Being Martial Arts Practitioner, who was almost indestructible.

The next moment, Feng Bo made his move. The breeze in his palm turned into a constantly rotating awl, aiming at the back of Qi Xuansu’s heart.

Just as Feng Bo expected, Qi Xuansu did not have time to react at all.

The wind awl pierced into the back of Qi Xuansu’s heart. Feng Bo expected to see a gory scene of blood splattering everywhere, but to his surprise, that did not happen. Instead, the wind awl pierced through Qi Xuansu without the slightest bit of resistance.

Immediately afterward, Qi Xuansu slowly turned into a wisp of smoke before disappearing.

Feng Bo’s expression changed dramatically when he realized that this was the Rogue Cultivator’s Cicada Molting Technique.

How could a Martial Arts Practitioner practice the mystical abilities of a Rogue Cultivator?

This was truly beyond Feng Bo’s expectations.

The Rogue Cultivator’s Cicada Molting Technique was not readily available and needed advanced preparation, similar to the Banished Immortal’s Illusory Body Technique. One’s innate qi and blood were fused to create a false body, which was stored in the Qihai acupoint and released when necessary. Thus, it looked like a cicada shedding its shell.

Since the real body and the false body came from the same source, their auras were the same, making it difficult to distinguish between the two.

Qi Xuansu was aware of Feng Bo’s identity and motives earlier, so he kept his guard up.

Feng Bo was an experienced fighter. He immediately understood that the young man had already known of his identity. Otherwise, the young man would not have reacted so quickly.

Just as Feng Bo was relieved that the young man did not alarm the Daoist Order, an explosion reduced half of the room to ruins as Qi Xuansu detonated a Phoenix Eye Bullet.

Earlier, when Qi Xuansu grabbed his satchel, he used the Cicada Molting Technique to leave a false body in place so as to distract Feng Bo. Then he took the opportunity to distance himself before injecting some innate qi into the Phoenix Eye Bullet and throwing it out like a grenade.

After all, this was not the Phoenix Eye Bomb. Qi Xuansu did not expect a Phoenix Eye Bullet to hurt a Heavenly Being. What he wanted was to cause a commotion.

The sound of the violent explosion resounded throughout the Taiping Inn. Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, Qi Xuansu jumped out onto the roof from the gaping hole left by the explosion. At the same time, he grabbed onto his last Phoenix Eye Bullet.

Before the smoke from the explosion dissipated, Feng Bo had already leaped onto the roof.

Just as Qi Xuansu expected, one Phoenix Eye Bullet could not hurt Feng Bo. The reason why Desmond the sinner was injured by the Phoenix Eye Bullet back then was because his cultivation was greatly damaged. Desmond had also drunk black blood, which caused his body to fester. In the end, Qi Xuansu only managed to deliver the killing blow by stuffing a Phoenix Eye Bullet into the vampire after Zhang Yuelu had further injured Desmond.

Feng Bo was not seriously injured, nor was he restrained by anything. His cultivation and physique were in tip-top condition. Under this circumstance, even if the Phoenix Eye Bullet were to explode in Feng Bo’s body, it would not be enough to kill him. Moreover, this Phoenix Eye Bullet exploded outside his body. It was not even strong enough to destroy his qi shield.

Qi Xuansu did not hesitate to inject qi into the last Phoenix Eye Bullet and throw it at Feng Bo.

Feng Bo allowed the Phoenix Eye Bullet to explode and merely waved his hand to gather the essence of heaven and earth, turning this essence into a crescent-shaped green sword qi that was as tall as an adult man. Then he aimed this sword qi at Qi Xuansu.

If Qi Xuansu had been struck by this sword qi, he would have been split in half. By then, neither his Martial Arts Practitioner’s body-regenerative abilities nor his Auxiliary Heart would have been able to save him.

Thus, Qi Xuansu did not plan to retaliate and immediately used his last false body from the Cicada Molting Technique. He leaped down to the courtyard and ran for his life.

Qi Xuansu’s false body disintegrated the moment it touched the green sword qi.

Feng Bo snorted coldly, having already expected this. He used the index and middle fingers of his right hand to point at Qi Xuansu, changing the direction of the green sword qi that rushed toward Qi Xuansu again.

Qi Xuansu had only heard of the ability to control a flying sword with ease. But this was the first time he had seen someone who could control sword qi without the presence of a weapon. Indeed, Heavenly Beings should not be judged by common standards.

No matter how fast Qi Xuansu was, he could not outrun the sword qi. Although Qi Xuansu tried his best to dodge it, the green sword qi still managed to graze him.

Thud!

An arm fell to the ground.

What a lethal move; one slight touch from the sword qi cost him an arm. If this sword qi were to strike him head-on, he would have died.

Qi Xuansu broke into a cold sweat, thinking that he was fortunate this sword qi was vertical instead of horizontal. If it were horizontal, his body would have been sliced in half from the waist.

As for the severed arm, Qi Xuansu had no time to care about it. His life was at stake, so an amputated limb was negligible in comparison. If his arm was torn off by force, the pain would have been so severe that he could faint. However, his arm was sliced off cleanly with this sharp sword qi, so he did not register the pain yet and only felt a numbness at his open wound.

Qi Xuansu was not in severe pain, so he was still clear-headed. After running out of the courtyard’s doors, he rolled to the side and lay flat on his back on the ground, hiding behind the wall.

The next moment, the green sword qi slashed horizontally past his head, slicing off the courtyard’s doors and wall like butter. The cut was smooth, without the slightest hint of jagged edges.

If Qi Xuansu had not laid flat on the ground, he would have ended up like the courtyard wall behind him, split into two sections.

Only a Heavenly Being Martial Arts Practitioner would be able to resist this kind of sword qi. Qi Xuansu dared not even think about it.

Feng Bo had already tried killing Qi Xuansu three times, but he failed, so he had to leave even if he was infuriated. If Feng Bo did not leave immediately, he would have been trapped in Xijing Prefecture forever once reinforcements arrived.

Thus, Feng Bo glared in the direction of Qi Xuansu before he disappeared like a gust of wind.

A moment later, Qi Xuansu could see flying swords in the sky, resembling a rainbow. A whistling sound pierced through the air as more than ten people dressed in all white flew on these flying swords. It was a scene that Qi Xuansu imagined would only occur in a Sword Immortal novel.

Normally, only Heavenly Beings were able to fly. However, most of these people were not true Heavenly Beings. They could only fly briefly with the help of special treasures.

After this group of people flew out of Wuxu Palace, half of them chased after Feng Bo, while the other half landed not far from Qi Xuansu. They stood in a line facing Qi Xuansu, each of them with a celestial aura and extraordinary bearings.

As one of the largest cities in the world, Xijing Prefecture had residents and visitors from all walks of life. In addition, one of the top three black markets in the world was located here, so there were many members of secret societies and vigilantes who frequented the area. Thus, there were always people who would break the rules and take risks with the right monetary motivation.

Some would cause trouble and flee at the slightest hint of trouble. In such a big city, conflicts and fights were inevitable from time to time. These fights between masters would sometimes implicate innocent civilians, so they were strictly prohibited. However, in such situations, the Green Phoenix Guards had limited strength to stop powerful opponents. The Black Robes also could not enter the city in large groups, let alone use powerful firearms.

According to the agreement between the Holy Xuan and Emperor Gaozu, the Daoist Order and the Imperial Court were essentially one entity. Thus, when such conflicts arose, the Daoist Order would have to step in. With the support of the Quanzhen Sect, the Qinzhou Daoist Mansion formed a special team modeled after the Tiangang Hall to be responsible for such matters. This elite team was called the Sub-Tiangang Hall.