A Pawn's Passage

Yao Pei was confident in handling the four Heavenly Beings. As Zhang Yuelu was equally renowned alongside Yao Pei, there was no reason she could not handle two.

Zhang Yuelu suddenly spread her clenched fingers wide, like a flower bud bursting open.

The paper sword embedded in the Green Phoenix Guard’s chest instantly transformed into a paper lotus flower, slowly blooming.

The internal organs were always more fragile than the external body—even Martial Arts Practitioners were no exception.

The Green Phoenix Guard, proud of his robust physique, or perhaps affected by the irrationality of the Hundred Beast Fist Intention, since all unorthodox perfected methods bore some form of hidden flaw, they failed to pull out the sword immediately. This allowed the sword to take root, playing right into Zhang Yuelu’s plan.

The lotus blooming from the Green Phoenix Guard’s chest grew more vigorous, its paper petals becoming ever sharper, like blades slicing through his organs. Then it transformed from a lotus into a sisal plant, with leaves as sharp as swords, piercing his body from within and extending outward.

In an instant, the Green Phoenix Guard could no longer move, as if frozen mid-air. His body shuddered before he lost all control. His limbs went limp, hanging down. Though he barely maintained a standing posture with the Amorphous Paper supporting him, as the sisal plant continued to grow, his feet gradually left the ground, like a tattered robe hung on a rack.

The Green Phoenix Guard’s eyes were lifeless, his mouth opening and closing slightly in meaningless motion.

His heart had already shattered. Then another blade of leaf pierced his skull from the inside, emerging from the top of his head.

The sight was utterly horrifying.

Such was the power of a semi-immortal object.

With that, Zhang Yuelu only had the eunuch left to face.

The eunuch tried to retreat, but it was too late. Zhang Yuelu opened her five fingers one by one. The swirling petals of her Amorphous Paper spun endlessly, like a black hole devouring all.

It was the Six Void Tribulations.

This perfected method had no overt side effects. Its only drawback was the high entry barrier. Even after being simplified by the Holy Xuan, those who could master it were few and far between. Among the younger generation, only Zhang Yuelu, under the guidance of the Earthly Preceptor, had succeeded. Whenever she used it, it never failed her.

This was also why Star Keeper Xuanji said Zhang Yuelu had wasted her years. Despite such talent, she had spent most of her time like an ordinary Daoist disciple, mostly self-taught. She had never received full-time one-on-one instruction.

The Six Void Tribulations was not the exceedingly difficult Xiaoyao Six Void Tribulations, but a simplified version. The power of these six tribulations had three mystical traits. Upon becoming a Heavenly Being, it could evolve a second transformation, not merely nullifying the opponent’s innate qi, blood qi, magical power, or divine power, but integrating into them and turning them against themselves, using the opponent’s own energies to kill them.

In an instant, the pale-faced, beardless eunuch felt his innate qi begin to rebel.

Zhang Yuelu seized the opportunity for another attack. Knowing her physique could not compare with that of a Martial Arts Practitioner, making it unsuitable for barehanded combat, she conjured lightning between her hands. This was the Five Thunder Celestial Heart Method.

The eunuch barely suppressed his internal chaos and was just about to defend himself when his arm suddenly went limp, and his innate qi dispersed abruptly.

The eunuch was horrified. He could only use the strength of his waist and abdomen to move his body, swinging an elbow backward toward Zhang Yuelu. But Zhang Yuelu merely extended her hand lightly, using her palm to prop up his elbow. Though the elbow strike appeared casual, it was powerful enough to leave a mark even on the body of a Martial Arts Practitioner. So the fact that Zhang Yuelu blocked it so effortlessly left him stunned.

With a gentle push from both palms, Zhang Yuelu sent the eunuch drifting backward. He felt a surge of lightning penetrate his body, rendering half of it numb.

The eunuch struggled to dissipate the lightning force and twisted his body midair to counter Zhang Yuelu with a thunder strike of his own. But suddenly, he felt waves of numbness radiating from his Dantian, as if his supply lines had been cut during a battlefield clash. His defenses crumbled instantly. The striking force surged into his body, numbing him and sending him flying backward.

After two consecutive defeats, the eunuch finally realized something was wrong. He retreated a few steps, channeling his energy to dissolve the lightning force. He asked with a face full of doubt and unease. “What technique are you using?”

Zhang Yuelu gave no reply. Her figure flashed forward again, unleashing another seemingly ordinary palm strike, yet the thunder arrived before her hand did. From the beginning, she had only used a set of Thunder Palm, but empowered by the Five Thunder Celestial Heart Method, its might was dramatically amplified.

Just as the eunuch prepared to meet the attack head-on, his innate qi rebelled again, causing his techniques to collapse suddenly. Struck by lightning once more, his entire body was charred. He retreated uncontrollably, and his face revealed utter fear.

He had been defeated three times in a row by Zhang Yuelu’s Six Void Tribulations. As long as she used this technique, his technique would instantly fall apart.

Zhang Yuelu pressed her advantage without mercy, darting forward and swinging a palm toward the eunuch.

The eunuch only felt wind and thunder surge forth and quickly tried to defend himself. Before the two palms met, Zhang Yuelu suddenly changed her move, turning her palm into a finger strike aimed at the eunuch’s brow. He barely turned his head to avoid it, but his cheek was still cut, leaving a thin line of blood.

The eunuch felt every move Zhang Yuelu made was meant to kill, leaving no room for mercy. If he did not go all out to defend himself, he would surely die. In that moment, his survival instinct kicked in. He was ready to fight for his life.

But at that moment, he suddenly felt six strange strands of qi surge from within his body, shifting unpredictably and circulating erratically. The foreign qi mingled with his own innate qi and slaughtered the rest en masse. When he tried to counter, they vanished again, hiding back within his innate qi. His breathing was immediately obstructed, and as he watched Zhang Yuelu’s illusory palm made of purple lightning descend, he found himself powerless to fight back.

The thunder palm fell, scattering countless arcs of lightning. The eunuch was reduced to a charred husk, completely lifeless.

In the blink of an eye, both were slain by Zhang Yuelu. In the past, even if she could win, it would never have been so effortless. But Star Keeper Xuanji had gifted her a great opportunity, greatly boosting her cultivation. Zhang Yuelu was now very near the Wuliang stage. Coupled with her innate advantage as a Banished Immortal and the external aid of a semi-immortal object, her performance was not unreasonable.

On the other side, Qi Xuansu had also finished off the two gravely wounded opponents. With the Celestial Observer no longer controlling it, the vermilion gourd fell into Qi Xuansu’s hand, and the white light automatically returned inside. Qi Xuansu stored the gourd away in his magical receptacle.

Only the final Golden Horde Martial Arts Practitioner remained.

Since firing his first arrow, the old man had not moved, not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t. This kind of devastating technique came with a period of weakness, making it unsuitable for solo combat. Never mind whether the opponent would even allow him time to draw his bow again; if he shot and failed to kill the enemy, he would likely be the one to die. But in a group providing mutual cover, this skill could be used to its fullest. After all, it had originated from the battlefield. Archers needed only to focus on drawing, shooting, and killing the enemy, and nothing more.

Now, he had finally caught his breath, so he immediately began to draw his bow again.

But this time, his aim was not at Qi Xuansu. He was targeting Zhang Yuelu.

The logic was simple. He was not so petty as to insist on killing Qi Xuansu. His mission was to obstruct and delay the opponents, whoever they were.

To be fair, the physical body of an innate Banished Immortal was far inferior to that of a manmade Banished Immortal. This was mainly due to time constraints, making it impossible to also cultivate body-tempering techniques or condense a body spirit.

Qi Xuansu wanted to stop him, but it was already too late.

The old man released the arrow without hesitation.

Even someone like Zhang Yuelu could not respond in time to such a terrifying shot. She did not have time to recall the Amorphous Paper to form a shield, nor did she dare take the hit head-on with her Five Elements Qi Shield. In haste, she could only use the thunder from the Five Thunder Celestial Heart Method to nudge the arrow slightly off course and simultaneously shift her position, causing the arrow to graze right past her neck.

The cloud aura of the Taiyi Cloud Robe and her Five Elements Qi Shield were pierced through by that arrow. The overwhelming fist intention caused Zhang Yuelu to choke for a moment, her cheeks reddening, adding a radiant, dazzling quality to her already luminous presence.

In the next instant, Qi Xuansu had already closed in on the old archer, slamming a heavy punch onto his head.

This punch was not born of anger, but meant to stop the archer from firing. Unfortunately, it came a step too late, and thankfully, Zhang Yuelu was unharmed.

Since the fight was already underway, Qi Xuansu did not hold back and continued throwing punches. This Golden Horde Martial Arts Practitioner was no match for Qi Xuansu. After firing his second arrow, he had fallen into a period of weakness. Having lost the initiative as well, the outcome was predictable. He had no strength left to fight back. In the end, Qi Xuansu smashed his skull with a single punch, and the headless corpse collapsed to the ground.

Qi Xuansu casually picked up the great bow, just like he had done with the vermilion gourd, and stored it into his magical receptacle. Then he turned to glance at Zhang Yuelu.

Zhang Yuelu’s complexion had already returned to normal, and she had withdrawn the Amorphous Paper. She said calmly, “I suspect Su Yi is waiting for Li Changge. She’s so confident, so she must have something prepared. Right now, it’s not them holding us off, but rather Su Yi holding them off alone. The offensive and defensive roles have reversed, so let’s not waste her efforts. Let’s follow her plan and suppress the Monkey first.”

Qi Xuansu nodded, and the two resumed their advance.

On the other side, the group of four led by the Server paid no attention to the other five. Instead, they focused all their efforts on surrounding and attacking Yao Pei. As long as they could kill Yao Pei, they would have an explanation to give to their superiors. With so many Pseudo-Immortals and Zaohua-stage Heavenly Beings involved, they could not be held solely responsible for any mishaps. They were not concerned about retribution from the Quanzhen Sect because they had backing.

Facing four Heavenly Beings, Yao Pei dared not be careless. She immediately entered her emotionless state and unleashed the full power of the Heavenly Blade.

Yao Pei’s weapon was a short dagger, which had already shown its remarkable edge back at the Wanxiang Daoist Palace. Given Yao Pei’s background, even if it was not a semi-immortal object, it was certainly a top-tier treasure. If an ordinary Heavenly Being faced her alone, they could easily be sliced apart into a pile of severed limbs by that little blade.