A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 1354: The Pseudo-Immortal Stage

Qi Xuansu pressed down with a palm, temporarily suppressing Cherubim.

After all, this was not Cherubim’s true body. Qi Xuansu did not need to destroy it. Once its time was up, it would return to the divine kingdom on its own.

Taking advantage of the Scripture of Zuriel’s remaining power, Qi Xuansu prepared to wipe out the remaining Evangelical Ministry clerics.

However, these clerics were not novices. They did not foolishly wait around for their end. Seeing they could not intervene, they immediately retreated toward San Antonio.

If Cherubim won, all the better. But if not, they could still rely on the city near San Antonio to establish a second defensive line.

As for whether it could hold, that would depend on fate.

Though powerful, the Evangelical Ministry did not represent the entirety of the Steam Evangelical Sect. To oppose Qi Xuansu and the elite of the Western Daoist Order with just one department was inevitably insufficient.

Most other departments were still watching from the sidelines, unable to react to how quickly the situation had changed. Just yesterday, the Evangelical Ministry had swept through the Beichen Hall forces in total victory. Yet in a single day, had they been defeated?

Unable to find anyone, Qi Xuansu abandoned the train and fled with Audrey.

Using magic to carry an ordinary person in flight or teleportation was extremely taxing. In other words, carrying an ordinary person was far harder than carrying someone like Little Yin. That was because Little Yin could float, so she needed only a slight push. But an ordinary person sank, and Qi Xuansu must constantly support them to keep them afloat.

This “weight” was not physical but metaphysical, similar to why ordinary people could not pass through Yin-Yang Gates. Even so, it was merely strenuous, not impossible.

But Audrey’s situation was even more complicated. Her body had undergone multiple enhancements, making her even “heavier” than an ordinary person. Yet, she could not utilize this power, so she felt like a lump of iron. For Qi Xuansu to carry her in flight was like trying to lift a massive boulder against the wind. Normally, it would only stir sand and debris across the ground. To lift the stone into the air required immense force, and the greater the force, the greater the energy consumption.

Conversely, if one’s body were as light as a feather, even the slightest breeze could carry one far away. The higher one’s cultivation, the lighter the body became, and the less energy one consumed. Flight became possible only at the Xiaoyao stage, because one would finally become light enough. Of course, Martial Arts Practitioners were an exception, as they were the only lineage unable to fly at the Xiaoyao stage.

Therefore, setting aside the issue of exposure, without the Scripture of Zuriel and Madam Wu’s assistance, Qi Xuansu’s incarnation alone likely could not carry Audrey out of the Northern New Continent.

Now, however, things were different. Qi Xuansu was infinitely close to the level of an Immortal, so he could carry Audrey while flying to the border.

Having abandoned the steam train in favor of flight, their travel time was greatly reduced. Not only was San Antonio now within sight, but the border between the Northern and Southern Continents was also close by.

......

Meanwhile, Huangfu Ji was ultimately no match for Joseph and suddenly plummeted downward.

As the Daoist system became more refined, cultivation stages were divided into increasingly finer distinctions. Thus, even within the same realm, the gap could be vast. Some Zaohua-stage Heavenly Beings could contend with Immortals, while others could be defeated by those of lower realms.

This lack of clarity made it difficult to gauge combat strength and often caused confusion.

The Guizhen stage could be overlooked as it was relatively low-level, but the Zaohua stage could not. It had significant implications.

Thus, during system reform, the Holy Xuan further subdivided the Zaohua stage into two phases—this was the origin of the Pseudo-Immortal stage.

This was why records from the Holy Xuan’s era often showed three Zaohua-stage Heavenly Beings able to rival an Immortal, whereas now, even seven working together could not match one.

This was partly due to the “mass production” of Heavenly Beings lowering the upper limit, but also due to differences in terminology. In the Holy Xuan’s era, “Pseudo-Immortal” simply meant a false immortal, unlike today where it includes multiple meanings, including distinctions among advanced Zaohua-stage practitioners. In fact, the Zaohua-stage Heavenly Beings of that era effectively encompassed what are now called Pseudo-Immortals.

Within the Pseudo-Immortal stage, there were also upper, middle, and lower tiers.

The most elite Pseudo-Immortals were like Qi Xuansu in his current enhanced state, infinitely close to true immortality. Such individuals were extremely rare, even rarer than actual Immortals.

There were only two ways to reach this level. One was through external enhancement—like Qi Xuansu and Huangfu Ji now—which could not be sustained for long. The other was being at the final preparatory stage before true immortality, like the Three Daoist Heirs or Golden Patriarch before his ascension—capable of becoming immortals at any moment but temporarily holding back for specific reasons. Normally, such a state was brief before advancing.

This brief duration was what made them so rare.

Such Pseudo-Immortals could not defeat true Immortals, but they were far from helpless. They could trade blows. With proper support, they might even exhibit Immortal-level strength, like Sage Qingwei with the Qinghuo Pearl. Master Wan at his peak was also at this level, though he was no longer in his prime.

The next tier consisted mainly of Ancient Immortals like Wu Luo, True Lord Siming, and True Lord Ziguang’s incarnations. They possessed Immortal-level awareness but were limited by external conditions and could not unleash their full power. For instance, True Lord Ziguang once suppressed another Pseudo-Immortal Eunuch Ancestor at Wuxing Mountain.

After merging with Madam Wu, Qi Xuansu roughly reached this level. That was why the two of them could act almost recklessly. So long as no true Immortal intervened, they feared nothing. Even if several senior councilmen attacked together, those councilors would not gain an advantage.

Finally, there were ordinary Pseudo-Immortals. The majority fell into this category, including figures like Madam Qi, Wu Guangbi, Sun Heyu, and Wang Jiaohe. Even Madam Wu, without Qi Xuansu’s enhancement, belonged to this level.

Since Pseudo-Immortals were so few, the Daoist system did not formally subdivide them and grouped them all together. Thus, without careful contextual analysis, this could easily cause confusion.

For example, three Pseudo-Immortals attacking an Immortal—Wu Guangbi, Sun Heyu, and Wang Jiaohe attacking Chen Shuhua—was not comparable to Sage Qingwei, Sage Donghua, and Sage Cihang doing the same. The former group would struggle just to hold on, while the latter group could outright kill Chen Shuhua.

Huangfu Ji himself was not a top-tier Pseudo-Immortal. Being relatively young, he was closer to Wu Guangbi’s level. Even with the Seven Star Net Formation’s support, he could only approach immortality, unlike Sage Qingwei during the Fenglin Campaign, who could directly wield Immortal-level power with the Qinghuo Pearl.

This slight gap was not obvious at first, but as the battle continued, Huangfu Ji gradually fell behind and ultimately could no longer endure it.

This was also because Huangfu Ji underestimated Joseph. As the second-in-command of a regional power, Joseph naturally possessed divine artifacts and was not just relying on cultivation alone. If Huangfu Ji had focused on delaying tactics—fighting while retreating and avoiding direct clashes—Joseph would have struggled to secure a quick victory. But once it became a head-on confrontation with neither side yielding, Huangfu Ji’s defeat was almost inevitable. It was ultimately a matter of strategy and approach.

Huangfu Ji fell from the sky, crashing into a stretch of mountains. Dust billowed, rocks rained down, and large sections of the mountainside collapsed, burying him beneath the rubble.

With Huangfu Ji defeated, the Seven Star Net Formation immediately collapsed.

Joseph hesitated briefly, weighing whether to kill Huangfu Ji outright.

As the leader of the Evangelical Ministry, Joseph rarely handled day-to-day affairs personally, leaving them to his deputies. However, he was far from uninformed and certainly recognized the renowned Huangfu Ji of the South. While the Chief Deputy Beichen Hall Master was a big catch, Huangfu Ji was no minor figure either. Capturing the future leader of the Western Daoist Order would still be worthwhile, even if it meant letting the Lotus Seat escape.

The remaining six also realized this and rushed desperately to rescue Huangfu Ji, attempting to reform the Seven Star Net Formation and regain their fighting strength.

In the blink of an eye, Joseph made his decision. He would ignore Qi Xuansu’s side for the moment and would first capture Huangfu Ji right before him. Naturally, he could not allow them to regroup. Otherwise, it would cost him more effort later.

The wings of light behind Joseph trembled, propelling him faster than the other six. He arrived at the collapsed mountainside in which Huangfu Ji was buried, intending to seize Huangfu Ji before anyone else.

At that very moment, the mountain burying Huangfu Ji exploded violently. Amid flying dirt and shattered rocks, a figure burst forth, charging straight at Joseph.

Joseph was startled for a split second, then his expression changed drastically.

The one who emerged was not Huangfu Ji, whom he had just injured, but another person who had somehow been lurking there unnoticed.