A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu manifested a sky full of stars within his divine domain. The falling starlight descended like rain in an unstoppable torrent.

True Lord Siming merely lifted a finger and pointed. The shimmering stars instantly lost all brilliance and nearly collapsed.

Qi Xuansu then summoned the True Solar Flames, condensing them into a blazing sun that came crashing down on the Ancient Immortal.

Seeing this, True Lord Siming did not dodge. He merely raised both hands and held the falling sun in place, forcing it to remain suspended until its radiance slowly dissolved into nothingness.

Qi Xuansu was relentless in his attacks, immediately striking True Lord Siming with Pure Bodhi in one hand and Green Cloud in the other.

True Lord Siming remained utterly still, allowing the blades to descend. But when the sharp edges were 10 meters from his body, they could no longer advance further.

The sinister light summoned by Master Yin likewise froze exactly 10 meters away.

Without any visible action from True Lord Siming, light began to bloom amidst the heavy yin clouds, and within that radiance, a white-robed Buddha emerged.

Though the Cult of Fates was deemed heretical by the Daoist Order, True Lord Siming’s Buddhist incarnation was the Luminous One, able to reveal all forms.

In an instant, his divine domain blazed with light. Heavenly maidens appeared, chanting sutras; buddhas preached the Dharma; golden lotuses sprouted from the ground; and heavenly blossoms rained down.

True Lord Siming now resembled the legendary Ksitigarbha. Below him were the yin clouds over the Netherworld, while above him, the Buddhist Pure Land’s radiance shone brilliantly. The sound of sutras and mantras grew louder until illusion turned to reality. Golden Sanskrit characters formed in the air and revolved on their own, spiraling upward in a formation.

The light intensified. The near-tangible sutras burst forth like floodwaters and merged into a mighty ocean of Buddha light. Along with it was a myriad of sacred sounds.

In a sense, True Lord Siming was both Daoist and Buddhist. He claimed dominion over life and death. The Netherworld naturally corresponded to death, while the Pure Land represented life. After all, Buddhism’s Six Paths revolved around death and rebirth.

Since the Netherworld could not suppress Qi Xuansu’s Ghost Kingdom divine domain, True Lord Siming decided to use the Buddha Pure Land to purify the domain.

Heavenly thunder and Buddhist methods were effective in restraining the Yin Beings.

Faced with this situation, Master Yin descended upon the Emperor Willow within the divine domain and revealed his true form. From his immense body, countless tangible black tendrils extended outward, forcibly bracing the remaining borders of Qi Xuansu’s domain and preventing it from being devoured by the Buddha realm.

Qi Xuansu charged toward True Lord Siming once more.

Since True Lord Siming’s true body was not present, semi-immortal objects still posed a threat to him.

However, True Lord Siming possessed knowledge far beyond any mortal. Among all Ancient Immortals, True Lord Siming favored devouring masterless divine kingdoms.

Long before True Lord Siming, Wu Luo, and True Lord Taiyin reawakened, another Ancient Immortal had awakened, founding the Light Sect. It was a lineage stretching back centuries that even spread to the Western Region during Empress Mingkong’s reign.

The Light Sect’s original name was the Morro Sect. By the time it reached the Western Region, it had fused doctrines from Nestorian Christianity and Buddhist teachings from Shakya.

When it entered the Central Plains, it was caught in Emperor Wuzong’s anti-Buddhist purge due to its strong Buddhist elements. Thus, it went underground and absorbed disaffected Daoists, renaming itself the Light Sect, believing that darkness would end and light would dawn. Led by their leader, Fang Shisan, the Light Sect repeatedly rebelled against the Jin Dynasty, which was during Lin Lingsu’s era.

According to the Light Sect’s doctrine, light and darkness coexist. Light governed the north, east, and west, while darkness governed the south. The extreme of light would become darkness, while the extreme of darkness would become light, which corresponded to Daoist yin-yang principles.

Their Light Sect’s leader was known as the Radiant Lord. The Dark Faction wielded five divine arts—smoky fire, suffocating air, tempest, mud, and poisonous waters. The leader of the Dark Faction was called the Five Demon.

In the Light Sect’s doctrines, both leaders existed, but the Radiant Lord was supreme because he was the envoy sent to save humanity from darkness.

Fang Shisan was the Radiant Lord, and the Dark Faction leader was the Five Sacred Mountain God. When Fang Shisan died in defeat, the Radiant Lord lineage was severed. However, the Five Sacred Mountain God survived and eventually became an Ancient Immortal, only to be slain later by the Holy Xuan.

After the Five Sacred Mountain God perished, his divine kingdom remained masterless. It gradually decayed, until True Lord Siming returned and devoured it. Since the Light Sect aligned with Buddhist doctrine, True Lord Siming used this divine kingdom as the foundation of his Buddha Land. He even inherited part of the Light Sect’s Cloud Heaven Law.

True Lord Siming issued his first divine decree. “Volume One of the Cloud Heaven Law: Prohibition—Within the Bright Buddha Land, no blades may be wielded without sanction.”

In that instant, Qi Xuansu’s sword and saber dimmed, as though they were sealed.

Qi Xuansu’s expression changed drastically. He had never imagined True Lord Siming possessed such a power.

Such was the nature of Godly Immortals—their words became law.

If Qi Xuansu were also at the Pseudo-Immortal level, True Lord Siming might not have been able to pronounce this decree so easily. But with Qi Xuansu still only at the lower end of the Zaohua stage, True Lord Siming invoked the law effortlessly, which immediately took effect.

However, there was a limitation to a Godly Immortal’s decree—it only worked within their own divine kingdom. Forcibly altering the rules of the real world outside their domain risked triggering a backlash.

At that moment, True Lord Siming issued a second decree. “Volume Twelve of the Cloud Heaven Law: Judgment—Whoever wields weapons without sanction shall suffer the punishment of fire.”

As the edict descended, Qi Xuansu’s blade and sword instantly heated, glowing like red-hot iron brands.

The scorching pain seared straight into Qi Xuansu’s soul, forcing him to release his grip. His weapons clattered to the ground, and his Spiritual Body’s hands were charred black, with thin wisps of smoke rising from them.

Immediately afterward, True Lord Siming issued a third decree. “Volume Nine of the Cloud Heaven Law: Brawling—Those who defy law with force shall suffer the punishment of blades and axes.”

In an instant, Qi Xuansu’s Spiritual Body dimmed. Wounds split open across him, and blood gushed out as though he had been slashed by countless weapons.

With three consecutive decrees, Qi Xuansu could not even lift a hand to fight back.

Fortunately, Master Yin was still present.

Just as True Lord Siming targeted Qi Xuansu, Master Yin suddenly withdrew his true form, allowing the Ancient Immortal’s Buddha Land to erode the Ghost Kingdom domain unchecked.

The next moment, Master Yin appeared inside True Lord Siming’s Buddha Land.

In theory, True Lord Siming’s Buddha Land, with pure, overwhelming radiance, should restrain and harm yin creatures like Master Yin. So, forcing his way inside ought to trigger violent backlash. Strangely, Master Yin moved through the Buddha Land easily.

While Master Wan leaned toward the Martial Arts Practitioner lineage, Master Yin was more like a Diviner.

Yang could be born from extreme yin.

Diviners had always valued the soul over the physical body. However, the soul was inherently yin, lacking the pure yang of blood. That was why Diviners were restrained by Martial Arts Practitioners.

A Diviner’s path was to shed the physical body. The Yang Spirit could exist independently, becoming free and unbound so as to ascend from the mortal realm.

As the final realm before ascension, the Yang Spirit was pure yang and pure truth.

Thus, the radiant Buddha Land could not restrain a Yang Spirit.

Master Yin’s Yang Spirit simply slipped directly into True Lord Siming’s body, like a ghost possessing a body.

Possession was the most elementary application of a Diviner’s mystical ability. But True Lord Siming’s current vessel could not withstand a millennial ghost’s possession.

True Lord Siming’s aura weakened rapidly, and his strength dropped to that of the Zaohua stage.

Of the three divine decrees, only the first still functioned. The other two collapsed entirely.

Qi Xuansu shifted into the Spiritual Body of True Lord Taiyin. He curled his fingers in midair, condensing Taiyin Sword Qi into a meter-long black blade and thrusting it toward True Lord Siming.

True Lord Siming allowed the sword to pierce his palm. Then, he pushed Qi Xuansu back using a Buddhist Abhaya Seal.

But True Lord Siming suffered for it. The wound in his palm was filled with Taiyin Sword Qi, Dark Yin Sword Qi, and even Izanagi’s demonic fire. They spread visibly, engulfing his entire arm in moments.

Attacked from inside and out, True Lord Siming’s cultivation level was now equal to Qi Xuansu. The Ancient Immortal knew he could no longer take matters lightly, so he used all his strength to resolve the dangers.

Seizing the moment, Qi Xuansu dissolved his divine domain and retrieved an item from his magical receptacle.