A Pawn's Passage

The Ghost King panicked when he was struck by the Dragon Eye Bullet.

Qi Xuansu would never miss this golden opportunity, so he leaped forward and stabbed the Ghost King in the lower abdomen.

If they were to compete in a head-on fight, Qi Xuansu had at most a 60% chance of winning. However, this battle of life and death was different from that of a fighting competition. Cultivation was not the only thing that mattered in the real world; timing, location, skills, strategy, and external objects were just as important.

Thus, in a fight to the death, every effort had to be made. Cultivation was important, but one should not be complacent by blindly relying on it.

At this time, the Ghost King was blinded by the Bliss Needles. He was also in a befuddled state, so he no longer held back and struck out randomly. Under the powerful force of his blood qi and fist intention, many women in the cells nearby became collateral damage.

Qi Xuansu let go of Flying Shadow, avoiding its sharp edge.

Then the Ghost King jumped with all his might, wanting to break through the ceiling of the dungeon to get aboveground.

However, Qi Xuansu would not let Ghost King escape. He blocked the Ghost King’s path and struck the latter head-on with a Mountain Fist from the Tantai Fist Intention, exerting the oppressive power of five mountains on his opponent.

At the moment, the Ghost King was like a headless fly, so he could not avoid the strike and staggered backward. His ears, mouth, nose, eyes, and all his orifices spurted with bright red blood, and his bones creaked.

However, the Ghost King was a Guizhen-stage Martial Arts Practitioner, so this strike did not kill him. Instead, it invigorated him. He let out a deafening roar and punched Qi Xuansu with his intuition.

Seeing this, Qi Xuansu used the Sea Fist, drawing a circle in front of him to deflect the force. He then switched to the Dragon Fist, his sleeves moving like a dragon’s tail.

When the Ghost King was struck by Qi Xuansu’s sleeves, his entire face was almost torn off, leaving a gory mass that was extremely horrifying.

However, at this time, the Ghost King no longer had any sensation of pain. He disregarded his injuries and tried his best to punch Qi Xuansu in a desperate attempt to drag his opponent down to hell with him.

That was when Qi Xuansu used his magical power to manifest the Ghosthead Machete.

This Ghosthead Machete was formless until one believed that it could bring them harm.

Normally, this Ghosthead Machete would not be able to kill the Ghost King due to the Martial Arts Practitioner’s blood qi. However, at this time, the Ghost King had been seriously injured, so his blood qi was severely depleted.

The relationship between blood qi and magical power was like water and fire. Water could overcome fire, but if the water was only a trickle and the fire was big enough, fire could also overcome water.

Moreover, the Ghost King was in a state of confusion from the Bliss Needle. After feeling the aura of the Ghosthead Machete approaching, the Ghost King showed a look of fear. He had clearly fallen into the trap of believing the machete was real.

In an instant, the Ghosthead Machete became tangible. The Ghost King only felt a tearing pain from his waist. At the same time, a thin line of blood appeared.

The machete sliced through the Ghost King, cutting the horned individual into two halves.

After confirming that the Ghost King was dead, Qi Xuansu picked up Flying Shadow and his Divine Dragon Pistol and retrieved the Bliss Needles from the Ghost King’s eyes. He reloaded his gun while looking at Bai Xiaojin. “You mentioned your mother is the Chief Deputy Jiangnan Daoist Mansion Master?”

Bai Xiaojin came back to her senses and asked, “Are you from the Daoist Order?”

Qi Xuansu nodded.

“Quick, rescue me! My mother will surely thank you!” Bai Xiaojin immediately resumed her usual bossy attitude.

Qi Xuansu could use this matter to form a good relationship with Bai Yingqiong, but he did not like being told what to do, especially by a little girl. His expression turned gloomy as he told her off. “Shut up.”

Bai Xiaojin was utterly stunned. That was because no one dared to speak to her so rudely. Moreover, Qi Xuansu had just killed the Ghost King, so he looked extremely intimidating with his killing aura still at its peak.

The Ghost King’s body which was severed into two, was right in front of her, so she was frightened.

Qi Xuansu said calmly, “Since you are Sage Bai’s daughter, you should have some cultivation, right? Follow me later, and I will clear the way for you.”

“Clear the way?” Bai Xiaojin was a little confused. She then raised her hands, revealing a pair of delicate shackles on her hands, which not only hindered her movement but also stagnated the flow of innate qi.

Without another word, Qi Xuansu swung two blades, cutting off the cuffs without hurting Bai Xiaojin’s wrists. He took out two more Grade-B Series Two Phoenix Eye Bullets and clasped them in his left palm before turning around and walking out.

Bai Xiaojin stood there, dumbfounded. She moved her wrist and hurriedly followed him.

The fierce fight between Qi Xuansu and the Ghost King had already alerted the guards in the area, so a group of them were now blocking the hole in the ceiling of the dungeon that they had crashed through earlier.

Qi Xuansu came to the bottom of the hole and threw a Phoenix Eye Bullet upward.

In an instant, there was a huge explosion, followed by intense flames and black smoke.

The Dragon Eye Series Ammunition was more useful in one-on-one combat, but the Phoenix Eye Series Ammunition was more useful in group battles.

Qi Xuansu waited until the flames diminished slightly before jumping out of the hole and throwing out the second Phoenix Eye Bullet in his hand.

Bai Xiaojin hid in the dungeon below, so she could not see what was going on aboveground. She could only hear the roar of the explosion, but silence soon returned.

Then she heard Qi Xuansu’s voice coming from above. “Jump up.”

Bai Xiaojin plucked up the courage and leaped up.

When she was finally aboveground, she saw charred corpses all around her, some still burning with residual flames. There were still a few people who were not killed by the Phoenix Eye Bullet but were lying in a pool of blood, obviously having died under Qi Xuansu’s blade.

Bai Xiaojin stared at Qi Xuansu again in horror.

She had never seen so many dead people before, but this man remained unfazed after killing all these people.

Qi Xuansu pulled off a sleeve from a relatively intact corpse and slowly wiped off the bloodstain on Flying Shadow. He then sheathed his blade and turned to Bai Xiaojin. “Let’s go.”

Bai Xiaojin shuddered in fear, not daring to voice a hint of objection.

At that moment, she was terrified that this man would kill her.

If she died in this place, this man could just blame her death on the man with horns on his head. No one would know the truth.

Thus, while Qi Xuansu walked in front, Bai Xiaojin followed obediently.

Not far away, another group of people approached with torches in hand.

Qi Xuansu did not waste any time, throwing out a Grade-B Series One Phoenix Eye Bullet.

Compared with the Grade-B Series Two Phoenix Eye Bullet, the explosion range of the Grade-B Series One Phoenix Eye Bullet was much larger.

The fire illuminated the night, lighting Qi Xuansu’s and Bai Xiaojin’s faces. The huge explosion sounded like a thunderbolt from the blue, and the shockwaves made their robes flutter loudly. The group holding the torches was engulfed in a sea of fire, howling miserably as they were being burned alive.

Qi Xuansu showed no remorse at all. After all, no innocent civilian would be able to set up a private dungeon and imprison women. They even dared to kidnap and imprison the daughter of a Daoist Sage.

When the flames were extinguished, Qi Xuansu continued forward.

This time, no one blocked his path.

Qi Xuansu followed the same route he came from, leading Bai Xiaojin out of this place. That was when they heard a loud siren. It seemed that the previous explosion had alerted the Green Phoenix Guard Lieutenant Colonel’s Office, so it would not be long before the Green Phoenix Guards would surround this place.

This was also Qi Xuansu’s intention. The Green Phoenix Guard would not be able to suppress such a big case, so they would certainly investigate thoroughly. As such, most of the surviving women in the dungeon could be saved. This was the extent of compassion that he would show them.

Before that, Qi Xuansu had to take Bai Xiaojin away. It was obvious that the people from the Heavenly Court had abducted Bai Xiaojin to force Bai Yingqiong to submit to them.

This made Bai Xiaojin an important chess piece in their hands.

He inadvertently rescued Bai Xiaojin, so if they did not escape from this place soon, they could be intercepted by members of the Heavenly Court.

Qi Xuansu also knew that the Heavenly Court would not have been so brazen as to act recklessly in Jinling Prefecture without a backer, so it meant that someone else was behind this.

The current situation in Jinling Prefecture was too complex, with multiple forces at play. For the time being, it seemed that no place was truly safe except Zhenwu Temple.

However, Qi Xuansu did not intend to send Bai Xiaojin back to Bai Yingqiong.

Firstly, he had other errands to attend to. Secondly, he was a nobody, so the reward offered would not be significant. If a low-ranking priest helped Bai Yingqiong find her lost daughter, she could easily repay him with a small favor. However, if the Grand Master personally helped Bai Yingqiong find her daughter, then she could not just brush it off casually. She would have been indebted to the Grand Master for life. Otherwise, she would be labeled as ungrateful.

Therefore, Qi Xuansu’s plan was to give this favor to someone with more weight, like Lei Xiaohuan, Pei Xiaolou, or Zhang Yuelu.

In fact, the first two choices could be classified as one.

After some thought, Qi Xuansu decided to give this favor to Zhang Yuelu. After all, Zhang Yuelu would be in charge of the Cihang lineage in the future, so it would be easier to win over Bai Yingqiong with this debt of favor.