A Pawn's Passage

Ordinary people refrained from acting not because they lacked authority, but because they lacked the direct power to change the situation.

Most members of the Daoist Order had extraordinary cultivation, so it was unrealistic to expect all Daoists to resolve all conflicts with polite discussion.

The key lay in its justification.

Zhang Yuelu did not make a move because she lacked legitimate standing. After all, she was the Second Deputy of the Lingnan Daoist Mansion, not the Poluo Daoist Mansion. Thus, she had no direct hierarchical relationship with Wang Jiaoying. If she were to make a move, it would be easy for someone to use this against her.

Qi Xuansu was different. He was the Chief Deputy of the Poluo Daoist Mansion and was Wang Jiaoying’s superior. Thus, he could order Wang Jiaoying to leave the area. However, Wang Jiaoying refused. He then pressured Wang Jiaoying with the law, but the latter was still stubborn. That was why Qi Xuansu could charge Wang Jiaoying with defying orders.

Such charges could be minor or amplified. It all depended on whether the defiance had justification and cause.

Back when the Holy Xuan had yet to rebuild the Daoist Order, he frequently defied his father. This was not merely defiance of authority. Within the Confucian system, it was also considered filial impiety.

The Holy Xuan’s reasoning was that a son’s duty was to prevent his father from walking down the wrong path. When a father was unjust, a son would have to sincerely admonish him, and if admonition failed, the son must openly resist. Though it was disobedient, this prevented the father from sinking into unrighteousness. That was true filial piety.

This was an exceedingly sound argument. Elder Li found it difficult to refute, and the world did not condemn the Holy Xuan.

Now Qi Xuansu was invoking the law and occupying the moral high ground. Under these circumstances, Wang Jiaoying’s defiance was entirely unjustifiable.

In such a situation, a bit of impulsiveness on Qi Xuansu’s part became understandable.

Wang Jiaoying also realized what Qi Xuansu intended to do and immediately said, “Are you two planning to make a move against me? I’ve long heard that the two of you achieved countless merits on the Fenglin battlefield with your twin swords in perfect harmony. I never imagined I’d be fortunate enough to experience it personally. What an honor!”

Qi Xuansu cut him off. “Deputy Mansion Master Wang, there’s no need for provocation. Second Deputy Zhang is a guest. Aside from arresting the suspect, she will not interfere in the affairs of the Poluo Daoist Mansion. At most, she will serve as a witness. Since you listen neither to me nor to Daoist law, I have no choice but to resort to extraordinary measures.”

Wang Jiaoying relaxed slightly. If it were only Qi Xuansu, Wang Jiaoying could not claim absolute victory, but he still believed he had the strength to fight.

However, Wang Jiaoying was still wary of Qi Xuansu. After all, Qi Xuansu’s record of accomplishments spoke for itself. He raised his voice and said, “Chief Deputy Qi, do you want to duel?”

“I’ll give you one last chance. Leave now with your people, and I’ll pretend what just happened never occurred.” Qi Xuansu warned him one last time.

Wang Jiaoying snorted coldly and said nothing more.

Qi Xuansu reached out and rested his hand on the hilt of Pure Bodhi. “You brought this on yourself.”

Before he even finished his sentence, Qi Xuansu had already moved.

Wang Jiaoying’s gaze had been fixed on Pure Bodhi, which was hanging at Qi Xuansu’s waist. He did not expect it to be merely a feint. Though Qi Xuansu placed his hand on Pure Bodhi, he did not draw the blade. Instead, he struck out with both fists at once, unleashing the Tantai Fist Intention’s Dragon Tiger Fist.

Wang Jiaoying was startled. In the haste of the moment, he could only raise both palms to meet the attack.

The surrounding Spirit Guards retreated in tacit unison, as none dared to lay hands on either Deputy Mansion Master.

The two separated at first contact. Wang Jiaoying felt that Qi Xuansu’s strength was astonishing to an almost unbelievable degree, nearly comparable to that of a Zaohua-stage Heavenly Being. Moreover, there was a hidden malicious technique within the punches, so Wang Jiaohe did not dare to clash head-on without restraint.

As they exchanged blows barehanded, Wang Jiaoying felt Qi Xuansu’s surging strength, like the ocean waves. No sooner had one wave passed than a higher one crashed forward. The essence lay in how the force stacked repeatedly. Each punch was stronger than the last. If the accumulated power grew great enough, even the most solid Buddhist Golden Body could be shattered.

After more than a dozen exchanges, Wang Jiaoying already felt himself falling behind. Qi Xuansu’s Tantai Fist Intention appeared clumsy, yet it was truly ingenious. Compared to it, Wang Jiaoying’s palm techniques involved too many variations, lacking the focused, single-point assault of Qi Xuansu’s punches.

Left with no choice, Wang Jiaoying altered his technique and switched to the Buddhist Samaya Seal.

This technique was derived from the Immeasurable Buddha Palm and was a high-attainment method. It allowed qi to circulate endlessly without dispersing. Once mastered, its power flowed as soon as thought itself, without conscious effort. Its withdrawal was like the ebb of the tide, its release like the rising of the tide. It was like a towering mountain. No matter how furious the waves, it stood unmoved. Yet once force was exerted, it felt like the weight of a mountain was pressing down, impossible to withstand.

In a flash, the two men exchanged more than ten moves, with neither able to gain the upper hand.

Wang Jiaoying let out a short chuckle. His hands turned crystalline and translucent, resembling carved jade. He then lightly sent out a palm strike. The move itself seemed ordinary, yet midway through, it suddenly wavered and multiplied. In the blink of an eye, there were 64 palm shadows. Each palm strike was split into several different trajectories.

Qi Xuansu’s Tantai Fist Intention, by contrast, was plain and straightforward. Each punch followed a visible path, appearing somewhat stiff and unadorned. Yet, no matter how bizarre and unpredictable Wang Jiaoying’s Samaya Seal became, Qi Xuansu always adjusted his moves in response. It was clear that the two were evenly matched, their cultivation fully on par.

The two continued fighting for a while longer, still unable to determine a victor.

Wang Jiaoying gradually felt numbness spreading through his palms. His arms even began to tremble slightly. Realizing this, he knew this was caused by fist intention invading his body. But there were also other methods mixed within, imbued with divine power that was at times icy cold, scorching hot, yin, yang, and constantly shifting.

Though it could not compare to the Xiaoyao Six Void Tribulations, it was still formidable. At first, the effects were not obvious, but as the fight dragged on, Wang Jiaoying increasingly felt his movements becoming constrained and sluggish.

Wang Jiaoying knew that if this continued, he would inevitably fall into a disadvantage. Seeing Qi Xuansu throw another punch, he immediately raised his left palm with lightning speed to meet it. With a thunderous boom, their fist and palm collided. Wang Jiaoying seized the moment to employ the Eclipse Method.

Within the Daoist Order, there were two unique perfected methods capable of absorbing another’s innate qi, blood qi, magical power, divine power, and true essence for one’s own use. These were the Eclipse Method and the Umbra Method.

The Umbra Method reversed the flow of innate qi, turning the practitioner into a negative pole, drawing in others’ power for personal use. The Eclipse Method transformed the practitioner’s three major Dantians into voids, like a bottomless abyss, likewise converting others’ power into one’s own.

Although the Umbra Method was wondrous, if the practitioner’s cultivation was inferior to the opponent’s and they still attempted to forcefully drain power, then it would backfire. The result would be like seawater flooding back into the rivers, extremely dangerous.

The Eclipse Method did not store absorbed external power in the Dantian. Instead, it stored one’s power within the meridians. Though it lacked the inherent danger of the Umbra Method, it had compatibility issues. If too much foreign power was absorbed without being properly unified, backlash was inevitable. Moreover, the suction force of the Eclipse Method was far weaker than that of the Umbra Method, so it required direct physical contact.

At that moment, Qi Xuansu’s other fist came crashing in. Wang Jiaoying extended a palm to meet it. Their hands were locked together, and both bodies swayed slightly.

Then, Wang Jiaoying’s hand gradually turned translucent, faintly revealing the blood vessels and bones within. It was an extremely eerie sight.

Qi Xuansu showed no outward change, yet clouds and mist surged behind him. The three faces of his Celestial Phenomenon Spiritual Statue could be vaguely seen.

With their four hands in contact, the Eclipse Method was pushed to its utmost limit, drawing in innate qi, blood qi, and divine power.

However, Wang Jiaoying never could have imagined that upon attempting this absorption, he would find Qi Xuansu’s body utterly empty. Innate qi, divine power, magical power, blood qi, and true essence were nowhere to be found.

This came as a great shock to Wang Jiaoying. If the opponent’s cultivation realm far exceeded his own, or if the opponent cultivated the Confucian righteous qi, then failing to absorb anything would not be strange. Back then, the Confucian School had been able to overpower the Daoist Order precisely because righteous qi could repel all techniques, including the Xiaoyao Six Void Tribulations. Daoist cultivators who wished to defeat Confucian cultivators had to do so head-on because such tricks rarely worked.

If Qi Xuansu had cultivated righteous qi, that would have been understandable. But Qi Xuansu clearly had not cultivated it. In the blink of an eye, he had hidden away his innate qi, blood qi, magical power, divine power, and true essence without a trace, causing Wang Jiaoying’s Eclipse Method to grasp at nothing, with no power left to absorb.

Such an experience was something Wang Jiaoying had never encountered in his life nor even imagined possible.

Wang Jiaoying attempted to draw power several times, yet it still came up empty.

What he did not know was the wondrous property of the Longevity Stone Heart. Qi Xuansu could retract all of his power entirely into the Longevity Stone Heart, then release it in an instant, like a heart pumping blood.

Wang Jiaoying had no choice but to retreat a few steps and adopt a defensive stance.

The two fought another dozen or so exchanges. Seeing Qi Xuansu throw another fierce punch, Wang Jiaoying thought to himself, Surely, this punch won’t still be completely void of qi!

At once, Wang Jiaoying deliberately opened a gap in his defense, allowing Qi Xuansu’s punch to strike him, thinking that he could use his Eclipse Method to absorb whatever power Qi Xuansu employed in the fist. Otherwise, if it was an empty punch, it would not hurt him.

In the flash of that thought, Qi Xuansu’s punch had already landed squarely on Wang Jiaoying’s chest.

Many of Wang Jiaoying’s subordinates gasped in shock.

Qi Xuansu’s fist paused ever so slightly against Wang Jiaoying’s chest, while Wang Jiaoying activated the Eclipse Method with full force. Sure enough, Qi Xuansu’s cultivation poured in like a breached river embankment, surging straight toward him.

Ecstatic, Wang Jiaoying intensified the technique, hastening the absorption of his opponent’s power.

All of a sudden, Wang Jiaoying’s body swayed and staggered backward step by step. He stared wordlessly at Qi Xuansu, his face twisted and contorted into a terrifying expression.

Several Spirit Guards immediately rushed forward, shouting in alarm, “Second Master!”