A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu tried these newly obtained spells.

First, he summoned the Ghost Machete. It looked the same as the executioner’s ghosthead machete, but this one was shrouded in a light layer of mist. He waved it a few times. It felt weightless, but at the same time, he could clearly feel the depletion of his magical powers.

Qi Xuansu summoned several more ghost soldiers, who were dressed like prison guards with black boots and square hats. Their expressionless faces were covered in thick white foundation.

With the Ghost Machete in hand, Qi Xuansu looked like the executioner in the Ghost Street.

At this moment, the little girl rode up to Qi Xuansu and said, “You’re awake!”

Qi Xuansu waved his hand to dismiss the Ghost Machete and the ghost soldiers. He looked at the little girl and asked, “Why are you alone? Where is Master Yin?”

The little girl replied, “Grandpa is very busy. That fierce Spirit Guard asked to see him too.”

Yin Jiuyin could freely enter and exit the Ghost Kingdom and the Ghost Pass, as he was a liaison between the two places. There was a first-rank Spirit Guard from the Daoist Order in charge of the Ghost Pass, so he was probably the one who asked to see Master Yin.

Perhaps what happened in the Ghost Kingdom alarmed the Spirit Guard, but Master Yin could probably give a reasonable explanation.

Since Master Yin was not around, Qi Xuansu did not know how he could leave this place. He asked, “Little girl, how should I leave the Ghost Kingdom?”

“Grandpa said to go back the same way you came from.” The little girl jumped off the back of the grade horse and patted its leg.

The grade horse nuzzled the little girl with its big head.

“Go back the same way I came from?” Qi Xuansu pondered for a moment before cupping his fists in salutation. “Thank you very much.”

The little girl beamed. “You’re welcome!”

Qi Xuansu got on his grade horse and used his third spell to open the Yin Yang Gate.

A portal appeared.

Qi Xuansu rode forward. Just as he was about to enter the portal, he looked back at the little girl.

The little girl waved vigorously. “Goodbye!”

Qi Xuansu could not help but wave and smile back at her. The grade horse also turned around and whinnied, as if to say goodbye. Then they disappeared through the portal.

After passing through the portal, Qi Xuansu returned to the same street with repeated black and white buildings.

This time, Qi Xuansu kept his cultivation. His previous experience on this street no longer seemed strange or scary to him. He even saw the Three Yin Beings that controlled the Ghost Kingdom, so these menial ghosts were nothing in comparison.

In fact, these ghosts were tactful, like Qi Xuansu’s horse, not daring to provoke him. So he had a smooth and boring journey.

While riding, Qi Xuansu concentrated on the changes to his body. He now had three forces in his body: Rogue Cultivator’s innate qi, Martial Arts Practitioner’s blood qi, and Diviner’s magical power.

The three forces were at the same level—the Guizhen stage of Xiantian Beings. Initially, his cultivation in the Martial Arts Practitioner’s lineage should have been lacking, but the Tantai Fist Intention made up for this deficiency. Since the Tantai Fist Intention was created by Tantai Yun and was not part of the Daoist Order’s orthodox curriculum, only a small portion of Daoists practice it. Some of the methods of cultivation that imitated the power of heaven and earth, which corresponded to the Martial Arts Practitioner’s Heavenly Connection Realm.

The combination of the three elements made Qi Xuansu more powerful than ordinary Guizhen-stage practitioners. If he were to fight with Bai Yongguan and Wan Xiuwu, he could win without an effort.

However, this did not mean that Qi Xuansu’s cultivation was equivalent to three Guizhen-stage practitioners. That was because his Martial Arts Practitioner’s and Diviner’s lineages were not fully complete.

Although Qi Xuansu’s blood qi and magical powers reached the Guizhen stage, they were just the “innate” properties serving as the foundation for the respective lineages.

A genuine Martial Arts Practitioner in the Guizhen stage would begin to condense the body and spirit. This was the only way to advance to the Divinity Realm, which was the Xiaoyao stage of Heavenly Beings.

On the other hand, Diviners in the Guizhen stage would begin to strengthen their Thoughts in preparation for the Transitory Realm, which was the Xiaoyao stage of Heavenly Beings.

The Divinity Realm was when the Martial Arts Practitioner condensed one’s spirit into all 365 acupoints. Once the body and spirit were fully merged, they would become indestructible.

The Transitory Realm was when the Diviner’s soul was in a transitory state.

After death, the soul returned to heaven, the spirit returned to the earth, and the Three Corpses turned into ghosts.

The transitory body referred to a special stage between life and death, when the person had passed away and the soul was about to leave the body but had not yet completely separated from the body.

In this state, the soul would linger next to the corpse and watch their own physical form. At this time, the Three Corpses and karmic forces had yet to appear, so the soul was extremely free, lightweight, and sharp. Their thoughts were clear and unobstructed, and their awareness was seven times stronger than when they were living. The experiences of this life would flash before the soul’s spiritual mind.

The transitory state of an ordinary person after death usually lasted for seven days. However, the Diviner’s transitory body could stay in this special state for a long time, thereby keeping itself in a state between yin and yang, which was indescribable and incredible. In this state, every Thought that was slightly corrupted could be restored to purity. Diviners in this level were no longer afraid of ordinary corpse qi, filthy qi, blood qi, or incense power.

This transitory body was undoubtedly a big step from being like a ghost to being able to travel between the yin and yang realms. The next step would be the Yangshen Realm, where Diviners could face off with Martial Arts Practitioners and thunder without being affected at all.

A Martial Arts Practitioner in the Divinity Realm was the ultimate display of the body’s strength, while a Diviner in the Transitory Body Realm was the ultimate display of the soul’s resilience.

This was what Qi Xuansu lacked.

Practitioners in the Guizhen stage varied in strength as well. For example, Zhang Yuelu could single-handedly defeat several Guizhen-stage masters. On the other hand, Wan Xiuwu was defeated by Qi Xuansu, who was only in the Yuxu stage at the time.

In addition, Qi Xuansu also had a huge disadvantage. He did not have any powerful mystical abilities besides the Dayan Spirit Blade Technique and the Tantai Fist Intention. On the other hand, people like Zhang Yuelu and Xie Qiuniang had at least one perfected method. Zhang Yuelu even had two perfected methods.

If Qi Xuansu had to go against someone like Zhang Yuelu, his chances of winning would be slim to none. Moreover, if Zhang Yuelu decided to use her semi-immortal object—the Amorphous Paper—Qi Xuansu would surely lose.

However, Qi Xuansu was still optimistic about his future. He was increasingly convinced that the Xuan Jade was the key to making up for his deficiencies as a Rogue Cultivator. As long as he could gather enough Xuan Jade, he would be able to complete the finishing touch on his Rogue Cultivator lineage and transform into a Banished Immortal, like Zhang Yuelu.

If he could become a Banished Immortal and be recognized by the Daoist Order, he could be taught a perfected method.

Qi Xuansu’s thoughts began to wander.

At this moment, he knew what his long-term plan was—collect the Xuan Jade, improve his cultivation, and strive to become a Banished Immortal as soon as possible. At the same time, he had ambitions to return to the Daoist Order, marry Zhang Yuelu, become a Sage, rise to the top of the Daoist Order, and reach the pinnacle of life.

His mid-term plan was to improve his level of cultivation, save some Taiping coins, and wait for an opportunity to take revenge on his enemies. With Wan Xiuwu dead, there were still four people on his list: Yue Liuli, Monk Yanxiu, Zhao Fu’an, and Feng Bo. The first two were nothing to Qi Xuansu. He only lacked a suitable opportunity. However, the latter two would take some time because he was not strong enough to defeat them yet. Even so, Qi Xuansu was confident that day would arrive not too far in the future.

His short-term plan was simple, which was to stabilize his cultivation in the various lineages. He wanted to familiarize himself with the Diviner’s mystical abilities and learn the Divine Calculation Technique. Under his limited conditions, he also wanted to try using some practical spells that were not too advanced. Of course, he still had to go to Longmen Prefecture to complete his errand from Madam Qi, which was to escort someone to safety.

In fact, after reaching the Guizhen stage, Qi Xuansu did not need Jade Liquor to consume the Blood Pill. However, he had already agreed to the job, and his employer had been waiting for him for a month. He was also not the type to give up on a job halfway. If he did that, it would be difficult for the employer to find someone else at the last minute, and it would make things difficult for Madam Qi.

Therefore, Qi Xuansu still had to continue on his journey to Longmen Prefecture to complete this errand.

Thinking of this, Qi Xuansu leisurely walked past the execution platform in the Farmer’s Market and left the long street. After a moment of trance, he came back to his senses and appeared in the Ghost Pass.

Not far away was another gate on the other end of the Ghost Pass, and beyond this gate was the territory of Zhongzhou.

Qi Xuansu felt like his experience in the Ghost Kingdom was one long dream.