A Pawn's Passage

Nurikabe, a type of yokai, took on the form of a massive stone wall. A multitude of them merged into a greater wall that completely sealed the tunnel.

This time, it was Li Changge’s turn to fight. He poured his full strength into Mortal Vitality, and in an instant, the wooden sword transformed into a giant sword over 30 meters long and 2 meters wide.

Li Changge pushed the pillar-like hilt of Mortal Vitality, using it like a battering ram to smash the wall of demons to pieces.

Beyond the shattered wall appeared enormous wheels, each bearing a bald, oversized human head at its center. The wheels burned with raging fire as the heads roared, spewing flames while rolling forward like war chariots. These demons were called Wanyudo, or Firewheel.

Black mist filled the air, from which long, crimson tongues darted out repeatedly. These demons were known as Akashita.

Li Changge swept his giant sword sideways. In such a confined space, even the slightest motion of Mortal Vitality left no room for the demons to advance. Upon contact, the Wanyudo shattered, and the Akashita dissipated.

Next came a horde of pitch-black monks. In life, they had been monks who often painted their bodies black. In death, they turned into monsters known as Nuribotoke, or Painted Buddhas.

Among the monks were hideous hag demons called Kokuriba, clothed in garments woven from the hair of the dead. They were the wives of monks, turned into monsters through misconduct.

Both the Nuribotoke and Kokuriba wielded Buddhist spells. Since the Tenmon Sect and Buddhist Sect merged in Fenglin, they could manifest strange techniques. A droning chant of sutra echoed endlessly through the tunnel, striking at the souls of the Daoists, leaving their heads throbbing as if about to burst apart.

The four prodigies took turns striking to avoid exhausting themselves.

This time, it was Qi Xuansu’s turn. He struck with a single punch. The blow seemed plain, neither swift as lightning nor varied with countless transformations. However, it carried an intense first intention, flooding the entire space with surging blood qi to repel all illusions, including the chants.

The Painted Buddhas at the front were crushed into powder by the force of his punch. The Kokuriba’s garments made of dead men’s hair ignited upon contact with the intense blood qi, trapping and burning the hag demons alive.

With that single punch, an obvious clearing appeared in the tunnel.

Qi Xuansu did not stop. Though these demons had been empowered by Himiko and could resist lower-grade firearms, they could not resist the blood qi-infused fist intention of a Martial Arts Practitioner.

Then geisha-like girls leaped over the walls and lunged at Qi Xuansu, their mouths wide open and ready to bite him. This type of demon was called Kejoro, the illegitimate daughters of monks. To preserve their supposed purity, these corrupted monks sold their daughters off as courtesans, and in the end, the girls took their own lives.

Unfortunately for these three Kejoro, Qi Xuansu had too many defensive techniques, so these demons could not harm him in the slightest. With a sudden shake of his body, he shattered the demons clinging to him. Then, he continued punching, his fist intention sweeping in all directions, roaring like thunder. Countless fist imprints appeared clearly upon the tunnel walls. Fortunately, the tunnel was reinforced by the Diviner Corps. Otherwise, it would have collapsed long ago.

At that moment, a streak of sinister violet light fell upon Qi Xuansu, making his head reel and his vision go dark.

At the same time, pairs of eyes appeared on the tunnel’s walls, floor, and ceiling. Each pair glimmered faintly with violet light, all fixed upon Qi Xuansu, their gaze heavy and intense. This was the Domeki, or the Hundred-Eyed Demon.

Legend told of a female demon who seized the eyes of others to make them her own. Once she gathered a hundred pairs, she could ascend to the rank of a Great Yokai. Clearly, the Domeki Qi Xuansu now faced had already reached that level.

In an instant, countless eyes flooded Qi Xuansu’s sight—men’s, women’s, children’s, elders’, alluring, clear, clouded, and steadfast. They swirled together into a massive vortex, trying to pull his consciousness within.

Beams of malevolent light layered upon Qi Xuansu, and the sense of fear surged like a great tide. His senses dimmed, his soul grew unbearably heavy, and waves of negative emotions welled up, steadily eroding his will and resolve.

Noticing his consciousness slipping, Qi Xuansu quickly reached out and grasped the Pure Bodhi, activating its first transformation. A surge of purity poured into him, clearing his mind instantly. Illusions and dark emotions receded like the tide, and he broke free of this malevolent light’s control. He slashed with Pure Bodhi, bringing down countless eyes that scattered like petals.

At the same time, a woman’s sharp shriek rang out.

This scream revealed the demon’s location. Qi Xuansu immediately rushed toward the source with his blade. The pairs of eyes clinging to the tunnel walls burst into sprays of blood as he flashed past.

The demon’s wails grew all the more miserable, her true form emerging. Though still maintaining a humanoid form, her skin was covered in countless eyes, many of them now streaming blood, while others had turned into gory pits, as if their eyeballs had been gouged out.

She fired beams of malevolent light from her own eyes, seeking to cloud Qi Xuansu’s six senses. But all of it was dispelled by the Pure Bodhi. Seizing the chance, Qi Xuansu closed in and severed her head with one strike.

The four prodigies carried eight semi-immortal objects. With such lavish equipment, even a Pseudo-Immortal would not dare be careless, and no Zaohua-stage Heavenly Being could possibly stand against the four.

Though the number of demons was uncountable, they still could not stop the four prodigies from advancing. Any demons that slipped through were swiftly eliminated by the Spirit Guard units following behind.

Led by the four prodigies, the Spirit Guards pressed forward and soon reached the end of the tunnel.

The view suddenly opened up once they exited the tunnel, revealing a massive cavern within the mountain. Countless stalactite-looking structures hung from the ceiling, each with a faintly glowing tip. From afar, they resembled a manmade night sky, dotted with endless stars.

At the deepest part of the cavern stood tier upon tier of pavilions and halls, linked by covered corridors, with carved beams and painted rafters. The space was lit brightly with lanterns, and everything seemed resplendent in gold and jade. It looked like a celestial palace.

Ise-jingu was composed of two main parts: the Inner Shrine and the Outer Shrine.

The main hall stood at the center of the Inner Shrine, a typical example of Fenglin’s Shinmei-zukuri architectural style. Its floor plan was rectangular, with entrances along the longer side. Earthen-dug pillars held up the walls, which had triangular gables with central beams, and its suspended gable roof stretched in straight lines. From the Outer Shrine to the Inner Shrine were multiple fences and encircling walls, forming layered spaces. Torii gates were erected at the outer walls on all four sides.

The official name of the Inner Shrine was the Kotai-jingu, enshrining Himiko-no-Mikoto. She was the ancestral deity of the royal family and the supreme god of Fenglin. At first, Himiko was worshiped in the royal palace. Later, the emperor ordered Princess Yamatohime to search for the most suitable place for Himiko’s veneration.

Princess Yamatohime passed through Omi and Mino and finally reached Ise, where she received Himiko’s divine revelation that she wished to dwell in this beautiful land of fish and rice forever. Thus, Princess Yamatohime established Ise-jingu as Himiko’s eternal place of worship and became the first Saio of the Tenmon Sect.

Since then, the Inner Shrine had always been presided over by members of the royal family, who acted in the name of the Fenglin emperor to lead the rites for Himiko-no-Mikoto.

As the ancestral seat of the Tenmon Sect, Ise-jingu’s internal hierarchy differed from that of other shrines. All shinkan of the Ise-jingu were collectively called kannushi, and the highest-ranking kannushi was called a Saisho, or the Saio, who was always a woman. Second only to the Saio was the Oguji, who was always a man. The Saio served as the spiritual leader, while the Oguji handled administrative affairs. Supporting him were the shoguji[1], negi[2], the gon-negi[3], gusho[4], shusshi[5], and other officials.

Thus, there should be at least one Oguji presiding here.

The Outer Shrine, on the other hand, was dedicated to Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto. In contrast to the brilliance of the Inner Shrine, the Outer Shrine seemed dim and somber. Endless smoke rose from within, obscuring its details. At first glance, it resembled the drifting mists of a paradise cave, but on closer inspection, its aura was sinister and ghostly. The deathly silence only deepened the chill, sending shivers through the onlookers.

From the tunnel’s exit to the shrine’s edge stretched a considerable distance, like a wide, empty field.

By all logic, Ise-jingu should have stationed heavy defenses here, yet it lay completely empty, devoid of any presence.

Zhang Yuelu, the commander in this unit, raised her hand. The Spirit Guards behind her immediately halted.

She ordered, “Use the puppets.”

The Spirit Guards produced over 100 palm-sized figurines. These were not substitutes, but once infused with divine power, each transformed into a human-sized puppet capable of moving freely. The Spirit Guards jokingly called them cannon fodder, as they were often used to trigger booby traps.

As the puppets staggered into the open expanse ahead, countless flames erupted at once. In an instant, the puppets turned into human-shaped torches. Had the Spirit Guard units charged in recklessly, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

That was not all. The flames spread rapidly, turning the entire field into a sea of fire that was impossible to cross.

One Daoist priest who had long resided in Fenglin shouted, “It’s the Shiranui!”

The Shiranui’s flame bore similarities to the True Samadhi Fire, able to burn through everything. Once the fire spread, everything—whether wood, houses, stone, or metal—could serve as its fuel. Even the boundless sea would become its playground. That was why sailors could often see the Shiranui’s flames dancing wantonly across the waves. Thus, the people of Fenglin also called it “unknown fire.”

Within this sea of fire surged an invisible force, making even normally incombustible materials ignite as if drenched in oil. Thus, the field was nearly impossible to traverse. Even flying over it was no easy feat.

On an open battlefield, the vast blood qi of a large army, comparable to that of a Manly Immortal, could forcibly extinguish the Shiranui’s flames. But no such armies could fit in this place, and the Daoist Spirit Guards were not like the Black Robes Martial Arts Practitioners, who were known for their blood qi. Combined with the unique terrain, this had become an insurmountable curse of heaven.

Qi Xuansu and the three prodigies could pass through, but they could not dispel the Shiranui’s flames on such a massive scale.

1. Deputy administrators to assist the Oguji. ☜

2. Chief secretary to guji. ☜

3. Deputy secretary. ☜

4. Managers of shrine offices. ☜

5. Junior attendants. ☜