A Pawn's Passage

Before Qi Xuansu left Jade Capital, Sage Donghua specially gifted him several items. Besides several pages of the Scripture of Zuriel, he also gave him a portable cannon.

At the Zaohua stage and above, ordinary firearms could not do any harm. Only a cannon had killing power. Jianxiu Mountain developed a portable cannon named Star Plucker, which could support the Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bullet. Though assembly was troublesome, its power was undeniable. Even a Pseudo-Immortal would suffer badly from a direct hit.

Back when True Lord Siming descended in Jinling Prefecture, Madam Qi had assembled a Star Plucker atop the Ascension Platform. She used the cylindrical Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bullet, and her single shot at the Ancient Immortal was remarkably powerful. Qi Xuansu was greatly impressed by it.

Among the Phoenix and Dragon Eye Series Ammunition, Grade-A Series One and Two were strictly controlled by the Daoist Order. They were numbered and monitored. Without authorization from the Golden Tower Council, they could not be used or sold privately.

Thus, Sage Donghua could only authorize up to Grade-A Series Three Ammunition. Since the Grade-A Series Three Phoenix Eye Bomb was too large, requiring delivery by flying ship, the Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bullet was the best heavy weapon an individual could carry. The sole drawback was that the cost price per shot was 23,500 Taiping coins.

Sage Donghua gifted Qi Xuansu a Star Plucker and three rounds of Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bullets.

Setting aside the cannon’s own worth, just the three bullets alone were worth 70,500 Taiping coins, easily 100,000 Taiping coins on the black market. This showed how generous Sage Donghua was and how determined he was to secure Poluo.

Truthfully, Qi Xuansu had only taken a true fascination with firearms due to Madam Qi’s influence, as she always said that one must use firepower when facing powerful foes.

This was the perfect opportunity for firearms.

True Lord Siming’s Cloud Heaven Law only prohibited blades, not cannons, which became a loophole that Qi Xuansu exploited.

Divine decrees were convenient, but their greatest flaw was that one could exploit their literal wording.

After obtaining the Cloud Heaven Law, True Lord Siming likely never thought to update it for the era.

Thus, Qi Xuansu began assembling a cannon right in front of True Lord Siming.

It started as an ordinary-looking handgun, then it lengthened into an oversized long gun. Moments later, it expanded into a mid-sized cannon and kept growing.

In essence, a cannon was simply an enlarged gun.

True Lord Siming had been shot by Madam Qi once in Jinling, so he naturally recognized such a weapon.

He wanted to stop Qi Xuansu, but Master Yin was wreaking havoc inside True Lord Siming’s body, entangling him from within, while Izanagi’s demonic fire raged outside.

Boosted by divine power, the demonic fire was far more potent than Qi Xuansu’s usual usage.

Since this was True Lord Siming’s first time confronting this demonic fire, he knew nothing of its nature and thus could not counter it. As such, his cultivation dropped continuously.

Thus, he could only watch helplessly as Qi Xuansu finished assembling the cannon.

Though a divine domain was not the real world, weapons at this level carried enough metaphysical essence to exert real destructive force. Unless one used the Banished Immortal’s Joyous Cloud Shield, such attacks were nearly impossible to block.

Banished Immortals were the foremost among the Five Immortals, hardly comparable to ordinary lineages.

The Star Plucker was massive. It should have been mounted on a flying ship or placed on a fixed platform like Madam Qi had done. Lacking such conditions, Qi Xuansu invoked his Colossal Spiritual Body. In his giant form, the massive cannon merely resembled an oversized handgun.

At that moment, Qi Xuansu lamented, The times have changed.

The reason Ancient Immortals were called as such was that they clung to the old ways and refused to evolve, still living in a bygone age.

This was an era when firearms were rising. Cold weapons still held sway, while divine arts flickered with their final splendor. The world was undergoing violent change—a time of transition between old and new.

In this era, there was no longer room for these Ancient Immortals.

Influenced by the Scripture of Zuriel, Qi Xuansu was no longer his usual self. His current state of mind was one of sheer arrogance. A mere Ancient Immortal can’t possibly contend with me!

Qi Xuansu finished loading the Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bullet and began adjusting his aim. He even imitated Madam Qi’s tone. “Old Siming, this thing costs 23,500 Taiping coins per shot, and that’s the cost price. You’re actually making a profit!”

After calibrating, Qi Xuansu activated a fusion of top-tier mechanisms and talismanic patterns on the special cannon.

In an instant, countless strands of elemental energy surged toward the cannon like a vortex, voraciously devouring all surrounding energy.

A fiery red glow shimmered within the depths of the barrel.

The next moment, a thunderous boom erupted. A massive shockwave rippled outward in all directions.

While the Phoenix Eye Series Ammunition covered a large area, the Dragon Eye Series Ammunition concentrated on a single point.

Thus, the Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bullet focused all its destructive force into a single point, making it perfect for a one-on-one strike like this.

The Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bullet was not particularly fast. It was far slower than flying swords because such weapons rarely targeted moving people. They were designed for fixed, immobile targets.

But True Lord Siming once again fell into the same predicament as in Jinling. Unable to move, he was effectively a giant target.

A flaming meteor streaked forth as if descending from beyond the heavens, illuminating a blazing tail and tearing straight through True Lord Siming’s Buddha Land.

Once again, True Lord Siming was struck squarely in the face. His body trembled violently from the impact.

The Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bullet was not only the pinnacle of firearms but also the peak of Daoist talismanic arts. True Lord Siming’s Pingtian Crown vanished. The face behind the beaded curtain was obliterated, save for two intact eyes—a blazing white sun on the left and a deep black moon on the right.

Qi Xuansu was not Madam Qi. He was never stingy by nature. His past stinginess came from being poor. Now that he had abundant resources, he no longer cared about Taiping coins.

Thus, without the slightest hesitation, he loaded the second Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bullet.

True Lord Siming could only suffer in silence. The millennial ghost that possessed him was too troublesome, so he could not spare even a moment to deal with Qi Xuansu. He had no choice but to endure blow after blow.

That was not the end of it. The Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bullet struck True Lord Siming, damaging his vessel and draining his divine power, which in turn weakened his struggle against the old ghost inside him. In that internal tug-of-war, he began to fall into a disadvantageous position.

The more he fell behind, the less ability he had to deal with Qi Xuansu, passively enduring the blows until the signs of defeat were already obvious.

Soon, Qi Xuansu aimed at True Lord Siming’s chest and laughed. “True Lord Siming, time to go home!”

His laughter shook the entire divine domain.

True Lord Siming erupted in fury, but before he could speak, Qi Xuansu had already fired the second shot.

A massive shockwave swept across the domain once more.

Under repeated bombardment, the divine domain was no longer stable. It began to warp and distort.

A massive cavity appeared on True Lord Siming’s chest that resembled a bottomless black hole.

Faintly visible within were countless translucent shadows spilling outward. These were souls tainted with flecks of karmic fire, which True Lord Siming had harvested through blood sacrifices.

Clearly, the South Dragon Qi was not limitless. Chen Shuhua needed it both for forging the Longevity Stone and for crafting two Immortal-level vessels for a divine descent. Even with Wang Jiaohe covering for her, their resources were stretched thin.

Thus, this Pseudo-Immortal vessel was sloppy, supplemented not only with dragon qi

but blood sacrifice and living souls.

Such methods were nearly impossible in the Central Plains, where household registries were strict, and more than ten disappearances counted as a major case.

However, overseas, hundreds of people could vanish without anyone bothering to investigate.

From this alone, the enormity of Chen Shuhua’s crimes was unmistakable. But such evidence would never survive.

Cracks spread from the cavity’s center as pieces of flesh crumbled away. The void widened with every moment.

Due to continuous firing, the muzzle of the Star Plucker began to melt. But Qi Xuansu did not care at all and prepared to load the third Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bullet.

At that moment, a shadowy, blackened arm that was somewhat illusory yet tangible reached out from True Lord Siming’s chest cavity. The countless sinister eyes on the arm’s surface instantly sucked all the escaping souls.

Qi Xuansu paused, recognizing Master Yin’s arm.

Then Master Yin’s true form slowly crawled out from the cavity. His movements were sluggish, like an elderly man emerging from a deep pit.

The cavity widened further.

True Lord Siming could no longer move. His sun-and-moon eyes stared helplessly upward as his vessel disintegrated. His Buddha Land collapsed, and his remaining divine power scattered into countless streaks of light ascending skyward to his own divine kingdom.