A Pawn's Passage

Although Qi Jianyuan lost to Qi Xuansu in the duel at Xingye Lake, that did not mean he was a weakling. Rather, it was more accurate to say that Qi Xuansu was an anomaly. With the enhancements of three Xuan Jades, Qi Xuansu might not be an equal to Li Changge, but he was at least half that level. Moreover, Qi Xuansu practiced unorthodox perfected methods, which at his level were far superior to orthodox perfected methods.

The battle between Qi Jianyuan and the female instructor grew faster and fiercer. Qi Jianyuan held his ground as he met each attack with his sword. Rather than unleashing his sword qi, he concentrated it along his blade, forming a razor-sharp aura around it, so much so that the air around it crackled.

The female instructor moved like a swift bird, circling Qi Jianyuan while launching aerial attacks. Her mutated claws were as hard as forged metal, even matching the sharpness of his sword aura.

Had she been fighting an ordinary opponent, no armor or bone could have withstood her strikes—everything would have been torn apart like paper.

After exchanging blows for a long time, the female instructor found herself unable to break Qi Jianyuan’s defense. At the same time, she feared drawing too much attention.

If this escalated, the Quanzhen Sect would suffer some embarrassment at worst, but she would certainly lose her life.

Unable to hold back any longer, she suddenly shot upward, positioning herself directly above Qi Jianyuan. She then dove down with both claws aimed straight at the crown of his head.

Qi Jianyuan drew a circle with his sword, intercepting her attack from below. At the same time, his free left hand swiftly formed a sword seal to release a flying sword.

The flying sword curved in mid-air before streaking straight toward the female instructor’s abdomen.

The female instructor redirected one hand to deflect the flying sword. In that instant, the two separated from their clash. The flying sword dropped to the ground while she landed lightly. However, her wrist had been pierced, four of her nails were shattered, and blood dripped steadily from the back of her hand.

Qi Jianyuan staggered, his body swaying slightly, but he ultimately regained his balance.

The female instructor mocked. “That’s a fine display of the Nandou 28 Swords, but too bad you still lost to the Demonic Blade.”

Qi Jianyuan panted and took a breath. “I lost to Qi Xuansu because I was careless and lacked skill. But it’s more than enough to deal with you.”

Hearing their conversation, Qi Xuansu realized that the female instructor had also witnessed his battle with Qi Jianyuan by Xingye Lake.

The reason she had not immediately fled after seeing Qi Jianyuan was likely wishful thinking. Having spent years infiltrating the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, she would not want to throw everything away over a small disturbance. After all, no one wanted years of painstaking efforts to go down the drain.

Throughout history, countless people have perished because of greed. Then again, if not for greed, these Ziguang Society members would not have dared to infiltrate the Wanxiang Daoist Palace in the first place. They were still playing with fire.

Qi Jianyuan threatened, “With things as they are, do you really think you’ll be walking out of the Wanxiang Daoist Palace alive?”

The female instructor sneered, “Go ahead, summon the Deputy Palace Masters, the instructors, and the Spirit Guards—the more, the better! This matter will eventually reach the ears of the Taiping Sect, and I’d love to see if they’ll show any compassion to their rival. There’s a saying among Westerners that an antipartisan is more detestable than a heathen.”

Qi Jianyuan responded icily. “So that’s your plan—throwing away your worthless life just to stain the Quanzhen Sect’s reputation.”

The female instructor scoffed. “Now that my identity has been exposed, there is no escape for me. Since that’s the case, what do I have to fear? We might as well fight to the end and draw everyone’s attention! If you want to publicly accuse me of being a member of the Ziguang Society, you need evidence. That means you’ll have to lay out the entire story in front of the crowd. But remember, that will only confirm that the Quanzhen Sect harbored a Ziguang Society agent. That would make this a lose-lose situation.”

Qi Jianyuan snorted. “Great!”

The female instructor continued, “Earlier, you asked about my rank within the Ziguang Society. I’ll tell you outright. Ziguang Society categorizes its female members into different levels—Butterfly, Swallow, Crane, Peacock, Great Argus, and Phoenix. I am a Crane, which might make me a significant catch to ordinary Daoists. But compared to Sage Donghua’s ambition for the position of Grand Master, I am utterly insignificant. No one can say whether today’s events will cause Sage Donghua to lose by even a fraction.”

Both Qi Jianyuan and Qi Xuansu had to admit that what she said made sense. If she was truly prepared to die, Qi Jianyuan had no easy solution.

In the end, Qi Jianyuan had overestimated himself yet again by assuming he could subdue this female instructor alone. If he had waited for Yao Pei, the two of them could have taken her down together, avoiding this sticky predicament.

As the female instructor spoke, she carefully observed Qi Jianyuan’s expression. The moment she saw his hesitation, her gaze sharpened, and she lunged forward.

This time, she did not attack with her claws. Instead, two streams of green smoke shot from her sleeves. It was unpredictable, shifting between illusion and reality. It was the Flowing Smoke Spike.

Even an ant would struggle to survive, let alone a human. Those with higher status and cultivation would tend to cherish their life more. The female instructor had no intention of dying here. If there was even the slightest chance of escape, she would seize it.

Her earlier talk of a mutual defeat was merely meant to distract Qi Jianyuan, throwing his mind into disarray. Once he was preoccupied with this thought, she could deliver a decisive, overwhelming blow.

The female instructor’s figure blurred as she shot forward. Her five fingers extended, trailing a murky gray mist that obscured their movements. Even with Qi Jianyuan’s exceptional eyesight, he could not see through the fog nor predict the direction of her strike.

Qi Jianyuan had not expected her to strike so swiftly. Since it was too late to dodge, he had no choice but to counter with his sword.

His attack was not overly aggressive but a blend of offense and defense, ensuring he could protect himself.

However, Qi Jianyuan’s reaction was too hasty. The female instructor, who had planned her strike meticulously, took advantage of his miscalculation.

By the time Qi Jianyuan realized his mistake, it was already too late. A chilling sensation spread across his chest as her claws pierced his flesh.

At that moment, a surge of cold, sinister divine power seeped through her nails into Qi Jianyuan’s body.

Fortunately, the female instructor did not practice the Six Void Tribulations Technique. Otherwise, Qi Jianyuan would have already been defeated.

Qi Jianyuan immediately sealed off several meridians, trapping the invading divine power within them. Then he countered with a sweeping backslash.

The female instructor quickly retreated, the entire exchange occurring in an instant. Qi Jianyuan had suffered a loss, but the female instructor was also not much better off. His sword qi had severed the hairpin from her hair, causing her long locks to cascade down. She knew that if she did not go all out now, she might never have another chance. Thus, without a moment’s hesitation, she lunged forward again, engaging Qi Jianyuan in close combat.

In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged dozens of blows. Qi Jianyuan suddenly raised his sword with his right hand while delivering a fierce palm strike with his left. Though this palm strike appeared ordinary, its precision was flawless, and its speed was as swift as a shooting star.

However, to Qi Jianyuan’s surprise, the female instructor did not defend herself. Instead, she extended her five fingers and clawed straight at his face.

Qi Jianyuan had not expected this woman to be so fierce. Rather than trading injuries, he was unwilling to risk disfigurement. Left with no choice, he retracted his strike and retreated.

The two continued their fierce exchange.

A few moves later, Qi Jianyuan executed the same technique again, but this time with an even greater surge of power. It was a high-level technique known as the Three Purity Palm, which completely enveloped the female instructor. If she still refused to defend, she would undoubtedly suffer serious injuries from this strike.

Yet, this move played right into the female instructor’s hands. She extended a single finger, pressing it against Qi Jianyuan’s palm.

Qi Jianyuan had planned to follow through with his palm strike and immediately shift positions. But to his shock, a powerful suction force emanated from the woman’s fingertip, trapping him in place.

The female instructor did not practice the Six Void Tribulations Technique, but she had mastered another infamous unorthodox method, which was the legendary Umbra Method.

Qi Jianyuan was momentarily startled but not truly fearful for his life.

The principle of the Umbra Method was simple. The user acted as a negative pole, drawing in the positive energy of their opponent. If the user’s cultivation was lower than their target’s, this forced extraction would reverse polarity and cause an uncontrollable backlash, much like a river flooding back into a lake. It was extremely dangerous. If both combatants’ cultivation levels were equal, it would result in a stalemate. They had been fighting for some time, and neither had gained the upper hand, which proved their cultivation was comparable.

As long as Qi Jianyuan stood his ground and did not act rashly, the Umbra Method was doomed to fail.

Qi Jianyuan jeered. “A futile effort.”

The female instructor did not respond. Instead, she fully activated the Umbra Method.

Moments later, Qi Jianyuan’s expression suddenly changed. His body trembled violently.

It turned out that the female instructor was taking an immense risk. She had practiced the Umbra Method for years, so she was well aware of its weaknesses. But she was intentionally exploiting this flaw. By damaging her own cultivation, she was forcing the energy flow to reverse, effectively injecting her own divine power into Qi Jianyuan.

In other words, she was not just letting Qi Jianyuan absorb her power. She was actively forcing divine power into his body at an accelerated rate.

There was something very strange about her divine power. Qi Jianyuan felt a piercing chill rapidly spreading through his body, blocking his meridians, freezing his Dantians and vital organs, and even causing his blood to begin solidifying into ice.

Only then did Qi Jianyuan realize the malicious intent behind her actions. Her divine power was incredibly cold, so she used the Yin Ice Finger to focus the cold divine power into a single finger.

She expended a huge amount of her cultivation to reverse the flow of energy, rapidly forcing the divine power into his body using the Umbra Method. Since the polarity had been reversed, Qi Jianyuan was effectively absorbing her divine power, unable to resist or stop it.

This divine power was the essence of extreme yin and extreme cold. In the blink of an eye, Qi Jianyuan had been completely frozen.

Although Qi Xuansu did not know the specifics of what was happening due to his limited view, he realized that Qi Jianyuan had fallen victim to the female instructor’s trap when he saw frost forming on the latter’s body.

This was not surprising for Qi Xuansu because Jianghu had always been filled with trickery. While cultivation was undoubtedly important, the ability to adapt quickly was equally crucial.

The current Daoist Order had people of higher cultivation compared to the Holy Xuan’s era. But when it came to experience in combat and practical strategies, they were far lacking. They were inevitably more rigid and dogmatic.

With Qi Jianyuan’s family background and his position in Ziwei Hall, he was far less seasoned than Zhang Yuelu, who had gained experience in Beichen Hall and Tiangang Hall, or Qi Xuansu, the wild Daoist.

Qi Jianyuan had rarely been involved in life-and-death battles, and this time, his lack of experience proved costly.

In a moment, Qi Jianyuan had turned into a frozen statue.