A Pawn's Passage

This side hall was rather empty, containing only a Buddha statue and an open doorway, with a staircase leading downward.

The plant’s underground section naturally had more than one entrance, but only this one was open, allowing Zhang Yuelu’s Immortal Eye of Providence to detect the flow of energy.

At that moment, a tall figure slowly emerged from the doorway.

It was a Daoist priest wearing a tattered hechang. His bulging muscles had torn through the fabric due to his swollen frame. He even had to duck his head at the doorway. His skin had a bluish-purple hue, with bulging veins on his face. It was a terrifying sight to behold.

What was even more unnerving were his eyes which were devoid of eyeballs, leaving only two dark, hollow sockets that glowed with red lights.

It was clear that this man had been a Daoist priest before he was transformed by forbidden spells. Though his intelligence had diminished, his physique and strength had increased. This was a hallmark method of the Cult of Fates.

After the first Daoist priest stepped out, more followed, all with bluish-purple skin and eyeless sockets with glowing red lights. However, the rest were smaller, and their hechang were still intact and untorn.

Judging from the situation, it seemed ordinary Daoist believers had been killed and dissolved into liquid, while those with cultivation had been turned into living corpses.

Zhang Yuelu wielded the Azure Thunderbolt, sweeping it horizontally to sever several living corpses at the waist. Suddenly, her sword moved like the wind, the tip gleaming like a star, each thrust producing a streak of dazzling light.

This was followed by a series of crisp metallic sounds, akin to a summer rainstorm striking a stone-paved ground.

The undead Daoist priests fell like wheat during harvest season, collapsing in droves.

On the other side, Qi Xuansu stepped forward with his blade, moving in the blink of an eye to the giant living corpse and slashing fiercely at its abdomen.

With a harsh sound, a gash tore through the giant living corpse’s waist. It staggered back, colliding with the Buddha statue’s base and leaving a web of cracks.

Qi Xuansu pursued the kill, using the Tiger Fist to punch the giant’s chest. The force penetrated its skin, shaking its internal organs and causing a dull, resonating sound. Tiny cracks appeared on its skin, from which black blood oozed.

Without a pause, Qi Xuansu leaped high and delivered a palm strike to its head.

The giant living corpse fell to its knees with a loud crash.

Qi Xuansu followed through with his Flying Shadow, cleanly slicing off the giant’s head.

Without its head, the giant’s headless body struggled briefly before becoming still.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yuelu had finished off the remaining living corpses. She approached Qi Xuansu, holding the Azure Thunderbolt. “These living corpses weren’t meant to stop us. They were sentries to alert the others.”

As soon as she finished speaking, another figure emerged from the doorway. Seeing Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu, he showed no fear and simply spat, “Daoist dogs truly have sharp noses.”

Qi Xuansu wasted no words, slashing with his blade and unleashing blade qi at the man. However, a visible ripple appeared a few meters in front of the man, like an invisible wall blocking the attack, causing the blade qi to dissipate.

Zhang Yuelu followed up with a sword strike.

A Heavenly Being’s strike was naturally leagues beyond that of a mere Xiantian Being.

Under the sweep of the sword, the invisible wall before the middle-aged man churned like boiling water. In the end, the fierce sword qi shattered the invisible wall like it was decaying wood. The entire side hall shook violently from the aftershock. The floor, beams, Buddha statue, and roof all emitted cracking sounds.

All the man could see was sword qi surging toward him like an avalanche from a snowy mountain.

Before the sword reached him, the man had already retreated, clearly not ready for a head-on confrontation.

After dodging the attack, the man drew a white bone sword at Zhang Yuelu.

Zhang Yuelu wanted to capture him alive, so she deliberately held back her strength. She casually swung her sword, letting the sword qi graze the man’s throat, leaving a fine red line without penetrating the flesh.

Yet, the man seemed entirely unfazed, continuing his attacks like a venomous snake circling Zhang Yuelu. His bone sword struck incessantly, falling like a torrential rain.

Zhang Yuelu countered with her sword, refusing to yield. The sound of relentless clashing blades echoed continuously, almost blending into a single note.

What ensued was the sound of sword qi tearing through the air, akin to a summer storm, the zapping of lightning piercing the ears.

To Zhang Yuelu, the man’s strange swordsmanship became less impressive with time. In a pure sword fight, he was no match for her. The main issue lay in the man’s bizarre physique. Despite being struck in the throat and chest twice, he seemed unaffected in the slightest. His regenerative ability surpassed even that of Martial Arts Practitioners. Otherwise, she would have subdued him by now.

Zhang Yuelu stepped forward, channeling her true essence into the Azure Thunderbolt and swinging it upward in a slant. The sword clashed with the bone blade, overwhelming it with sheer force.

The man’s entire body shuddered, and the bone sword in his hand trembled uncontrollably.

Zhang Yuelu closed the distance and thrust a palm toward his chest.

Before her palm strike landed on the man’s chest, his robe tore apart, revealing a gaping maw—his ribs had transformed into jagged fangs.

However, Zhang Yuelu’s move was a feint. Just as her palm was about to touch his chest, she flicked her wrist upward, striking his chin instead.

Her true essence poured forth, causing the man to tumble backward.

The man landed on his feet and slid back, carving trenches into the ground.

Zhang Yuelu followed closely. Wishing to capture him alive, she refrained from using her sword and struck his chest with a palm shrouded in her Five Elements Qi Shield.

The gaping maw on the man’s chest bit down fiercely but failed to breach the Five Elements Qi Shield. Zhang Yuelu’s true essence blasted his chest, leaving behind a mangled hole.

However, the man showed no concern for his injuries. He did not even wince in pain. He countered with a backhand sword strike, momentarily forcing Zhang Yuelu to retreat.

Zhang Yuelu’s expression turned solemn. This exchange reminded her of the old Daoist priest she had encountered aboard the flying ship on New Year’s Day.

At that time, she was not yet a Heavenly Being, but she had a protective talisman given to her by the Heavenly Preceptor. That trivial trinket to the Heavenly Preceptor was immensely significant, capable of causing death or severe harm to Xiantian Beings, even capable of injuring Heavenly Beings.

Zhang Yuelu remembered clearly that even with the talisman, she could not kill that old Daoist priest.

That was because the old Daoist priest had activated the divine power of the True Lord Siming. Even after being reduced to a charred husk by the lightning strike, the old Daoist priest remained undead.

It seemed that the man in front of her also carried the divine power of the True Lord Siming.

At that moment, the Buddha statue emitted creaking sounds as dust fell from its surface. The statue had come to life, stepping down from its pedestal and charging toward Zhang Yuelu.

Such solid weight would severely injure even a Xiantian Being by shattering their internal organs.

Facing the charging Buddha statue, Zhang Yuelu did not dodge. Instead, she slashed it in half with a single strike of her sword.

However, as Zhang Yuelu cleaved the statue in two, the man seized the opportunity to leap into the air and swung his bone sword at her head.

At the critical moment, Zhang Yuelu bent backward, narrowly avoiding the bone sword. She grabbed the man by the front of his robe, twisted her body, and slammed him to the ground, pinning him there as she employed the Six Void Tribulations.

The Six Void Tribulations could dissolve all things, not just true essence, magical power, innate qi, and blood qi, but even divine power.

Now that Zhang Yuelu was a Heavenly Being, her power had greatly increased. Moreover, the divine power within this man was far inferior to that of the old Daoist priest on the flying ship blessed directly by the True Lord Siming.

The divine power in this man rapidly dissolved. Without divine power, the man and his bone sword melted into a pool of sludge, oozing across the ground like mud. His eyeballs and other body parts were visible within the mess, utterly disgusting.

Zhang Yuelu stepped back. Although her hand had been encased in the Five Element Qi Shield, she instinctively shook it and sighed helplessly. “What a pity that we couldn’t capture him alive.”

Qi Xuansu shook the replica of the Nine Yang Fiery Dome, transforming it into a lantern. He then took the lead going into the doorway.