A Pawn's Passage

Wang Jiaohe emanated an awe-inspiring righteous aura, his face set with resolute determination, giving the impression of one prepared to sacrifice himself for moral righteousness.

He raised both hands, with palms facing up, as though he were receiving an imperial decree. At once, a vast, overwhelming presence pressed down. This pressure had no effect on the physical body, but it weighed on the mind, like an emperor rebuking his ministers in court.

Wang Jiaohe declared the heavenly edict, “The righteous duty between sovereign and subject!”

Anyone raised on the doctrine that the sovereign had supreme control over their subjects—or even rigid, blindly loyal fools—would likely not be able to withstand this decree, even if they had a lofty cultivation. They would be compelled to search their own conscience, asking whether they had lived up to the grace of their sovereign and whether they truly conformed to the proper way of conducting themselves in the world.

The foundation of the Confucian School lay in etiquette. It was a social order where one’s life and death hinged upon the sovereign. Meanwhile, the sovereign himself was without fault. All blame was on everything else.

Though Qi Xuansu was not a Confucian disciple, the Daoist Order was no less rigid in hierarchy. At its core, it still operated according to Confucian principles.

The Grand Master was not an emperor—he was better than one. The Three Deputy Grand Masters were no different from high-ranking ministers.

What they called the heavenly edict was none other than the Confucian School’s doctrine. How could Qi Xuansu possibly contend against it?

For a moment, Qi Xuansu felt as though a massive mountain weighed upon his shoulders.

Wang Jiaohe then recited calmly, “Affection between father and son; harmony between husband and wife.”

In an instant, layers of illusions arose before Qi Xuansu. He saw Madam Qi and his master condemning him for unfilial conduct and rebellion. He also saw Zhang Yuelu and Little Yin reproaching him and blaming him for his incompetence and inability to shelter them from dangers.

Beyond them were countless voices joining in—superiors, colleagues, friends, and classmates—all of them harshly accusing him. He was like a rat crossing the street, cursed and reviled from every direction, rejected even by kin, with not a single place left for him to stand.

Although Confucian maxim stated that the wife was to obey the husband, the Daoist Order had altered this part and now advocated equality. Sometimes, overcorrecting to the point that some Daoist men had to obey their wives. Wang Jiaohe deftly exploited this change, turning it around to apply the same crushing pressure upon Qi Xuansu.

For Confucians, ritual propriety mattered more than one’s own life. Thus, they could easily kill with words alone. That was also why some people who were clearly not at fault, still took their own lives. They could not bear the damning social judgment. For those of the Confucian School, cursing someone to death was no difficult matter.

This was unlike illusory spells, because illusions were false. Once the trickery was seen through, they would collapse on their own. But this so-called moral correctness could crush people beneath the weight of righteous principle.

Seizing this moment, Wang Jiaohe struck downward onto the crown of Qi Xuansu’s head, smashing him into a half-kneeling posture.

Qi Xuansu found himself unable to bring out even half of his full strength.

At this very moment, Master Wan struck again.

Master Wan was a yin being, not of the living realm. Since Confucian rules were established for the living, Master Wan was not at all affected.

Previously, Master Wan had used the Soul Refinement Formation and the Corpse Refinement Formation. Now, he employed the Spirit Refinement Formation. It was exceptionally vicious, capable of forcibly extracting another’s living soul. Though the Daoist Order forbade such techniques, this was Master Wan’s nature, which could not truly be restrained.

Master Wan’s enormous body became the core of this grand formation.

Though Master Wan appeared clumsy and even somewhat dull compared to Master Yin, he still had centuries of wisdom. This time, Master Wan used the Spirit Refinement Formation on Qi Xuansu, directly extracting Qi Xuansu’s soul.

Given Master Wan’s level of cultivation, once he fully activated the Spirit Refinement Formation, Qi Xuansu could not resist it.

In an instant, the Spirit Refinement Formation’s attack activated the Longevity Stone Heart’s automatic protective mechanism, which drew Qi Xuansu’s soul into itself.

The Three Yin Beings were genuine old creations of the Quanzhen Sect, so they knew of the existence of the Longevity Stone Heart and understood it deeply. Otherwise, the trio would never have proactively formed a bond of goodwill with Qi Xuansu.

Under normal circumstances, Qi Xuansu could not actively control the Longevity Stone Heart. It could only be triggered passively.

For example, when he clashed palms with Wang Jiaohe earlier, a layer of green qi covered Qi Xuansu’s face. This was the passive activation of the Heart’s protective function to prevent damage to his heart meridians. However, Qi Xuansu could not deliberately coat his face in green qi first and then attack Wang Jiaohe.

Wang Jiaohe’s Heavenly Edict did not directly harm Qi Xuansu’s soul and only oppressed his mind and spirit, aiming to prevent him from fully exerting his strength. As a result, they did not trigger the protective function of the Longevity Stone Heart.

Master Wan’s intention was precisely to help Qi Xuansu actively trigger the Longevity Stone Heart, just as when True Lord Ziguang used Qi Xuansu as a divine descent vessel.

With Qi Xuansu’s soul protected in the Longevity Stone Heart, both the Spirit Refinement Formation and Wang Jiaohe’s Heavenly Edict were no longer effective.

Wang Jiaohe was already severely weakened in cultivation and had been pierced by Green Cloud. At this point, he could not maintain his Heavenly Edict for long. Moreover, Qi Xuansu managed to evade it.

Thus, Wang Jiaohe sought to strike a fatal blow while Qi Xuansu’s soul was absent. But Master Wan blocked it.

As soon as the Longevity Stone Heart confirmed that Qi Xuansu’s soul was no longer under threat, it allowed the soul to return to the body.

Qi Xuansu raised the Three Treasures Scepter in his hand and smashed it straight down toward Wang Jiaohe’s head.

Wang Jiaohe raised the jade ruler horizontally before him, blocking Qi Xuansu’s strike.

When the Three Treasures Scepter collided with the jade ruler, Wang Jiaohe was startled, for the power carried by the scepter was extremely slight, far inferior to its previous overwhelming force.

Although the scepter did not require Qi Xuansu to channel power into it, it needed to be properly wielded. This felt as if Qi Xuansu had failed to bring out its normal might.

In the next instant, a pair of palms appeared out of thin air and struck fiercely at Wang Jiaohe’s back. This blow nearly shattered his heart meridians, causing his entire body to convulse as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

At the same time, the Qi Xuansu, who was holding the Three Treasures Scepter, slowly dissipated. This was the Banished Immortal’s Tribulation Substitute. When mastered, it could even deceive the heavens.

At that critical moment when everything hung by a thread, Qi Xuansu retreated using the Tribulation Substitute, masking himself with the Three Treasures Scepter’s aura so that Wang Jiaohe could not distinguish truth from falsehood. He then manipulated the Three Treasures Scepter with the Sword Steering Technique to strike Wang Jiaohe head-on. This was precisely why the scepter failed to unleash its full, normal might.

His true body hid behind Wang Jiaohe and launched a surprise attack from the back while Wang Jiaohe’s attention was fully fixed on the frontal assault.

This sudden turn of events came without warning. How could Wang Jiaohe possibly have foreseen it?

For a split second, Wang Jiaohe thought someone else had ambushed him, but he immediately realized something was amiss. Just as he tried to catch his breath and turn to fight desperately, he suddenly discovered that the righteous qi within his body had been ignited.

Utterly shocked, Wang Jiaohe only managed to swing his arm back to elbow Qi Xuansu.

Seizing the chance, Qi Xuansu extended his hand and caught Wang Jiaohe’s elbow. Then, with a simple push, he sent Wang Jiaohe flying forward. Qi Xuansu followed like a shadow to unleash another palm strike.

Wang Jiaohe forcefully gathered his righteous qi, turned around, and met Qi Xuansu’s palm strike with one of his own.

As a Pseudo-Immortal, Wang Jiaohe summoned enough strength in his palm that made it seem like a mountain was crashing toward Qi Xuansu.

Naturally, Qi Xuansu was no match for him. Thus, when their palms met, Wang Jiaohe instantly gained the upper hand, and Qi Xuansu let out a muffled groan, clearly suffering a loss.

But just as Wang Jiaohe intended to press the advantage, the demonic fire within him finally began to take effect, dissolving his palm force.

This time, it was Wang Jiaohe who let out a muffled grunt. He retreated rapidly as fear showed on his face.

By all logic, Wang Jiaohe’s cultivation far exceeded Qi Xuansu’s, and given the nature of righteous qi, which had almost no weaknesses when dealing with those of lower cultivation, the demonic fire should not be able to trouble him. Yet his cultivation had been worn down repeatedly to the point his righteous qi could no longer suppress the demonic fire within his body.

Qi Xuansu closed in, unleashing the Tantai Fist Intention with both fists alternating in rapid succession to strike at the seven vital points across Wang Jiaohe’s body.

At this point, Wang Jiaohe was already struggling to respond, and with one slip, Qi Xuansu knocked the jade ruler from his hand, forcing the Mansion Master to fight barehanded.

Qi Xuansu’s techniques were swift and illusory, his inner force layered upon itself. Though his hands seemed to fight independently, they were well coordinated. As soon as the left hand’s move emerged, the right hand followed before the left retreated. Thus, the two fed into each other endlessly, every strike targeting the opponent’s vital points and leaving Wang Jiaohe exhausted and overwhelmed.

After more than 100 exchanges, Wang Jiaohe was covered in wounds. He turned to flee, only to be blocked by Wei Wugui, who charged in from the side.

Throwing aside all regard for his own life, Wei Wugui relied on two semi-immortal objects to hold down Wang Jiaohe.

Seizing the opportunity, Qi Xuansu retrieved the Three Treasures Scepter and smashed it brutally into the back of Wang Jiaohe’s head.

In an instant, Wang Jiaohe’s head exploded, blood splattering across the scene.