A Pawn's Passage

Faced with Qi Xuansu’s Ghosthead Machete, Qi Jianyuan realized that his protective qi shield and even his own body felt as fragile as paper—completely incapable of resisting the Ghosthead Machete.

At this rate, the Ghosthead Machete would have undoubtedly severed his head if it completed its arc.

However, Qi Jianyuan was a Heavenly Being. In that instant, he realized that this was no ordinary blade. It was a spell, one that relied on the power of belief.

The Holy Xuan’s Nandou 28 Swords were derived from the Beidou 36 Swords. Among them, there was a technique called the Six Annihilations Sword. The key to this sword technique lay in the principle of belief. What one believed would become real.

This sword was formless and intangible. Against inanimate objects, it had no effect whatsoever. But it was profoundly effective against living beings. If a person struck by it believed their arm had been severed, then their arm would truly fall off. If they believed they had been slain by it, they would immediately die without a single visible wound on their body. It was truly mystical.

Qi Xuansu’s Ghosthead Machete operated on the same fundamental principle as the Six Annihilations Sword.

The moment Qi Jianyuan instinctively believed that this strike would sever his head, a wound formed on his neck, accompanied by the searing pain of his throat being slashed.

The fundamental principle behind this was faith. The stronger one’s belief, the greater the divine power generated. It began to shape reality, transforming belief into truth.

Qi Xuansu’s Ghosthead Machete merely served as a lure to trick Qi Jianyuan into believing the illusion. The more flawless the deception, the more convincing it became. The deeper the belief, the stronger the divine power. Ultimately, the victim would die of their own volition, as if they had willed themselves to death—a form of self-destruction.

Thus, resisting the Ghosthead Machete was not about one’s cultivation level. Instead, it depended on one’s willpower, whether one could see through illusion and reality. If a person could not discern the truth, the stronger their cultivation, the more powerful their faith became, leading them even faster toward their own demise.

In other words, once Qi Xuansu used the Ghosthead Machete, whether or not it took a life was no longer up to him. It depended entirely on the one being struck.

This type of technique was a spell commonly used by Diviners, yet it bore striking similarities to the methods of Shamans as well.

The moment Qi Jianyuan understood this, the slashing speed of the Ghosthead Machete suddenly slowed.

Qi Xuansu let out a chuckle. “Not bad, Young Master Qi. If I had taken your head just now, I would certainly have had to compensate with my own life. But you would have become nothing more than a laughingstock.”

Just as Qi Jianyuan was about to retort, a massive force suddenly struck him, sending him flying backward.

At some point, Qi Xuansu had already sheathed Flying Shadow. His right hand now held a pitch-black pistol, resembling obsidian. A faint trail of smoke still lingered at the muzzle.

It was none other than the Dragon Painting Pistol that Yao Pei had given him.

Qi Xuansu was never one to uphold fight ethics. He excelled in utilizing every possible means in a life-and-death struggle. Ambush tactics were second nature to him. That was why even adversaries with far superior cultivation—like Desmond and Sikong Cuo—had ultimately fallen at his hands.

If he truly fought without restraint, even Zhang Yuelu suffered under his tactics, let alone Qi Jianyuan.

As an observer, Yao Pei could clearly see the sequence of events. After Qi Xuansu’s Ghosthead Machete slashed across Qi Jianyuan’s neck, all of Qi Jianyuan’s focus had been drawn toward countering it.

However, Qi Xuansu seemed to have anticipated that the Ghosthead Machete alone would not be enough to kill Qi Jianyuan. Taking advantage of this moment, Qi Xuansu calmly sheathed Flying Shadow and retrieved the Dragon Painting Pistol.

As soon as Qi Jianyuan managed to catch his breath, Qi Xuansu further diverted his attention by speaking, while his hands never stopped moving. That was when the gunshot landed squarely in Qi Jianyuan’s abdomen.

It was utterly ruthless and roguish. But Qi Xuansu had already made his stance clear that the way to determine victory in this duel was through life and death. He had even asked if Qi Jianyuan was willing to take this risk.

Qi Jianyuan had agreed without a second thought, so Qi Xuansu could not be blamed for fighting the way he did. The fault lay with Qi Jianyuan for underestimating him because overconfidence often led to defeat.

Yao Pei walked over to Sun Hewu and remarked coolly, “No wonder Tiangang Hall has been recruiting wild Daoists from the local Daoist mansions over the years. When it comes to fighting for one’s life, flowerbed Daoists are simply no match for wild Daoists.”

Sun Hewu sighed. “There’s an old saying that the barefooted fear nothing, while those with shoes tread cautiously. That’s because those with nothing to lose can fight with reckless abandon. If their cultivation levels had been equal, Qi Jianyuan would have already been dead.”

Qi Jianyuan was now kneeling on the ground, one hand supporting himself with his longsword and the other clutching his mangled abdomen as blood continuously seeped through his fingers.

Since it was a Grade-B Series One Dragon Eye Bullet, it was not enough to kill a Heavenly Being outright.

Qi Xuansu raised the Dragon Painting Pistol once more, aiming it squarely at Qi Jianyuan’s forehead. His hand was steady, without the slightest tremor.

It was not much of a threat, but rather a blatant act of humiliation.

Regardless of whether the Grade-B Series One Dragon Eye Bullet could kill Qi Jianyuan outright, Qi Xuansu still had not lost his mind. No matter how furious he was, he would never execute Qi Jianyuan in front of so many witnesses.

Moreover, a pistol was best used for ambushes. If fired directly in a face-to-face confrontation, the bullet’s limited power could not do much damage to a Heavenly Being once they were prepared. It could result in a ridiculous situation, like when Qi Xuansu tried to shoot Yao Pei, but Yao Pei caught the bullet effortlessly.

Thus, Qi Xuansu pointing his pistol at Qi Jianyuan was only meant to further humiliate this Heavenly Being.

As expected, Qi Jianyuan could not tolerate such humiliation. With a furious roar, he surged forward in a flash, thrusting his sword straight at Qi Xuansu’s chest. This was the Star Shift Technique from the Nandou 28 Swords.

However, Qi Xuansu was even faster. Many bystanders could not even see how he had holstered his pistol and whipped out his double blades again.

Qi Xuansu used Flying Shadow to press down on Qi Jianyuan’s longsword while simultaneously thrusting the Ghosthead Machete toward him. Qi Jianyuan blocked it with his palm. Since he was a Heavenly Being, his innate qi was immensely powerful. After seeing through the Ghosthead Machetes’ illusion, he was no longer vulnerable to its trickery.

Seeing this, Qi Xuansu immediately moved forward, slashing with Flying Shadow. Though the strike was visibly launched from the front, the blade’s tip somehow emerged behind Qi Jianyuan.

Fortunately, Qi Jianyuan reacted in time, narrowly shifting his body at the last possible moment. Otherwise, the blade would have pierced straight through his heart.

After stabilizing himself, Qi Jianyuan flicked his sword, releasing a surge of boundless sword energy.

This was Qi Jianyuan’s first aggressive strike. His sword emitted a chilling swoosh due to the sheer force of the sword qi. It was certainly a terrifying sight for an ordinary observer.

Qi Xuansu swept the Ghosthead Machete across in a crescent arc, its edge resting atop the spine of Qi Jianyuan’s longsword. A surge of force transferred through the blade, causing Qi Jianyuan’s sword to sink instantly.

Qi Jianyuan twisted his wrist, flipping his sword. The sword qi flickered unpredictably as he aimed a stab at Qi Xuansu’s right arm.

Qi Xuansu spun Flying Shadow in a defensive circle. With a sharp clang, both weapons clashed, and both men leaped backward.

Flying Shadow trembled violently in Qi Xuansu’s grip, vibrating with a low hum that lingered in the air.

Qi Jianyuan had begun to grasp the profundity of Qi Xuansu’s dual-blade technique. His movements were fluid and seamless, appearing flawless. Though flaws did exist, Qi Xuansu’s strange attacks and quick adaptations masked them too well.

Since that was the case, the only way was to overpower Qi Xuansu’s blade technique with sheer force.

Qi Jianyuan let out a long whistle as he tossed his longsword high into the air.

In an instant, the sword split into two, then four, then eight—multiplying exponentially until 16 swords shot toward Qi Xuansu like an array of piercing light.

This was the Qi family’s exclusive technique, the Thousand Swords Technique. It allowed the wielder to conjure countless copies of their sword to attack their opponent, but unlike ordinary sword qi manifestations, these swords retained a physical form for a brief moment. Moreover, they could even replicate some of the mystical properties of the original blade.

The principle was akin to the moon’s reflection in water, but it used the energy from nature to materialize these reflections. However, there were many restrictions. The sword used had to be a life-bound weapon that had achieved near-perfect unity with its wielder.

An elder from the Taiping Sect once said, “There is no sword that cannot be used, and there is no object that cannot be a sword.”

The Thousand Swords Technique was not only the art of controlling one’s sword but also the art of wielding the swords of heaven and earth.

Due to this, the Thousand Swords Technique had extremely high cultivation requirements. Only those at the Guizhen stage could even begin practicing it. Initially, they could manifest only one or two sword duplicates. A Heavenly Being at the Xiaoyao stage would have just reached proficiency. Only an Immortal could truly unleash thousands of swords at once.

Qi Jianyuan flicked his five fingers, and the 16 swords interwove into a deadly net, crashing down upon Qi Xuansu. Sword qi howled through the air, leaving Qi Xuansu with no escape.

The key to breaking the Thousand Swords Technique was to locate the original true sword.

Upon witnessing this, Yao Pei murmured, “Tian Yuan has been holding back. Now, he should be unleashing the Demonic Blade at full power.”

Sun Hewu responded indifferently, “Though I am technically a flowerbed Daoist, if I had to intervene by force, I can still stop those two with my years of cultivation.”

Sure enough, Qi Xuansu now wielded his double blades at full strength. But at this moment, he was no longer controlling the blades; the blades were carrying him.

With the terrifying instinct of the Demonic Blade, Qi Xuansu dodged every lethal strike. The minor flesh wounds he sustained were nothing to someone with his regenerative abilities.

It was no longer about techniques. It was the pure instinct of the Demonic Blade, which had no fixed forms.

If one were to describe it, it was constant instinctive adaptation. It was much like the Taiyin 13 Swords, where many sword techniques had already transcended into spells rather than pure swordsmanship.

Previously, Qi Xuansu had been using the Dayan Spirit Blade Technique as a cover, preventing Qi Jianyuan from recognizing the Demonic Blade. But now, as it fully revealed itself, Qi Jianyuan’s heart trembled in fear when he finally saw the truth.

Unorthodox perfected methods often outperformed orthodox perfected methods in the early stages. The Demonic Blade was among the most effective of the unorthodox perfected methods. By surrendering oneself to the blade’s frenzy, every movement and strike was dictated by the weapon. Hence, one could unleash power far beyond their own cultivation level.

Suddenly, Qi Xuansu vanished.

Qi Jianyuan, still controlling his 16 swords remotely, was startled.

In the next instant, Qi Xuansu’s Flying Shadow had already struck Qi Jianyuan’s original sword.

A piercing sound of metal clashing ensued as the longsword was sent flying back into Qi Jianyuan’s hand. The remaining sword duplicates instantly shattered and disappeared.

Qi Xuansu used a Demonic Blade technique called the Free-Roaming Blade.