A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 1355: Setting Foot on the Southern Continent

“Gong Fu?!” Joseph recognized the newcomer at once. After all, the two of them were both the second-in-command of their respective institutions. Their status was equal, and as long-time rivals, there was no way he would fail to recognize him.

The newcomer was indeed Gong Fu of the Western Daoist Order. Since Gong Fu had already anticipated that Huangfu Ji would act recklessly, how could he fail to prepare? Although the three major factions within the Western Daoist Order often fought among themselves, they had to unite against a common enemy. From a power-struggle perspective, it was always the second and third joining forces against the first. Gong Fu was naturally aligned with the Huangfu family to counter the Tantai family, so he was bound to rescue Huangfu Ji.

Earlier, Huangfu Ji had stirred up a massive commotion, making it easy for Gong Fu to detect his position. Taking advantage of the chaos within the Northern Continent, Gong Fu crossed the border and ventured deep into its interior. This already violated the tacit understanding between the two sides. But with Huangfu Ji’s life at stake, he could not afford to worry about diplomatic matters.

Under normal circumstances, Joseph would certainly have detected Gong Fu’s approach. However, Huangfu Ji had drawn most of Joseph’s attention, allowing Gong Fu to slip in unnoticed.

Gong Fu had originally intended to find an opportunity for a surprise attack, much like True Lord Siming’s ambush on Great Sage Lan. But Huangfu Ji’s defeat forced him to change his plan. Instead, he would hide at the location where Huangfu Ji had fallen.

If Joseph had left at that point, Gong Fu would have rescued Huangfu Ji and returned to the Southern Continent. But if Joseph refused to let it go, then Gong Fu would simply lie in wait for him.

Joseph refused to let go of Huangfu Ji right before him, falling perfectly into Gong Fu’s trap.

Joseph had never expected Gong Fu to appear here and was taken aback. One had come fully prepared, building momentum, while the other was caught off guard and forced to react hastily. Even if their cultivation levels were equal, this difference alone would decide the outcome. Not to mention, Joseph had just fought a fierce battle with Huangfu Ji, so he was far from unscathed.

As a result, Joseph was naturally struck by Gong Fu’s blow.

Gong Fu’s technique was simple and unadorned, unlike the intricate Three Sacred Fist. It consisted of nothing but pure cold qi.

Yet driven by his Immortal-level cultivation, this surging cold could summon snow in midsummer, freeze great rivers, and seal entire seas in ice.

Just as the Holy Xuan in the past did not require perfected methods, merely the Wanhua Divine Sword Palm was enough to overwhelm countless opponents.

Gong Fu used the Profound Ice Finger, pressing it against Joseph’s brow. He expended a great deal of innate qi to inject concentrated cold qi into a single point of Joseph’s body. This cold was of the utmost yin and chill. Within an instant, even someone as powerful as Joseph had half his body frozen stiff.

Although the timing of the strike was perfect and caught Joseph off guard, it was not necessarily decisive for him. The fact that he could withstand Huangfu Ji’s strike showed that his physique was far from weak. Without an equally formidable cultivation backing it, such cold qi would have dissipated within him. But the one who struck was Gong Fu, who was no weaker than him, which made the situation truly dangerous.

A moment later, Joseph’s entire body had turned into an ice sculpture. Yet Gong Fu showed no intention of stopping, continuing to pour in cold qi. From beneath Joseph’s feet, frost spread rapidly, transforming a 50-kilometer radius into a frozen world. Even the air was filled with visible icy mist, with snowflakes dancing about, far surpassing even the cold generated earlier by the Seven Star Net Formation.

This was the might of an Immortal.

However, Gong Fu understood one thing well. Without Moral Sovereign or the Taiyi Supreme Technique, it would be extremely difficult to kill an Immortal in a short time. This place was deep within the Northern Continent, and reinforcements from the Steam Evangelical Sect would soon arrive.

Just as the Daoist Order had the Three Yin Beings, the Steam Evangelical Sect had comparable means. Under such circumstances, it was absolutely impossible to kill Joseph here.

Thus, after completely freezing Joseph, Gong Fu reached out and pulled Huangfu Ji from beneath the shattered mountain rubble.

At this moment, Huangfu Ji still retained some consciousness and rasped, “Elder Gong...”

Gong Fu pursed his lips slightly. “You never make things easy, always causing trouble. What am I supposed to say to you? Do you only feel satisfied once you’ve nearly lost your life?”

Huangfu Ji opened his mouth, wanting to speak further, but Gong Fu cut him off. “Enough, no more of this. Let’s leave this place first.”

The other Zaohua-stage Heavenly Beings gathered around them, offering their respects.

With a wave of his sleeve, Gong Fu brought everyone into the Divine Shuttle.

In an instant, they vanished, leaving only ripples in the air.

......

Meanwhile, Qi Xuansu had already approached the border. Along the way, he encountered several interceptions, but against him in his current state, there was no chance of success. They were wiped out in an instant.

Being infinitely close to an Immortal was no empty claim. Even Cherubim had been suppressed by Qi Xuansu with a single palm.

At first glance, Qi Xuansu’s rise in power might seem too easy, but in reality, the threshold was extremely high.

Leaving aside the Scripture of Zuriel, Rogue Cultivators at the Zaohua stage were exceedingly rare, rarer even than Banished Immortals.

Even if one mastered the Liberation Method, it would not necessarily be powerful. The strength of the incarnation depended heavily on the quality of the external object it was anchored on. How many Rogue Cultivators possessed immortal objects? Even if they did, refining such an object into an incarnation was incredibly difficult. Unless the immortal object had developed a spirit, and that spirit fully cooperated, success was impossible. That was the case with Madam Wu. Without her cooperation, or if it had been any other artifact, Qi Xuansu could never have achieved a Pseudo-Immortal incarnation.

However, Qi Xuansu knew well that this invincibility was extremely temporary. The Scripture of Zuriel’s power was already fading. Once it fully dissipated, it would be followed by a brief period of weakness because what was borrowed must be repaid. In essence, the Scripture of Zuriel’s power was a form of overdrawn strength, and when that time came, Qi Xuansu would be even weaker than his original state.

If he were to encounter another powerful opponent or fall into a siege at that time, it would be extremely dangerous. Therefore, Qi Xuansu had to reach the Southern Continent before his impending weakness set in.

At that moment, four peculiar steam constructs appeared along Qi Xuansu’s path, resembling four mirrors. Each emitted a beam of light, forming a rectangle that shimmered with rippling waves before transforming into a portal.

A fist made entirely of steel emerged from the portal, no less formidable than Master Wan’s punch.

The difference was that Master Wan’s punch emitted surging corpse qi, whereas this mechanical fist expelled white steam, creating an almost ethereal, cloud-like aura reminiscent of Immortals.

This was the Northern Continental Federation’s Type III Imperial Guard construct.

The fist charged straight toward Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu neither dodged nor retreated. With one hand holding Audrey—whose sturdy body could withstand fallen apostles and thus would not be harmed—he met the attack head-on with his other fist. His body spirits ignited, linking with the stars.

Compared to the steel fist, Qi Xuansu’s own fist was minuscule. His entire body was smaller than this fist, yet at this level, victory was not determined by size.

The two fists collided, and space itself warped. This was the Martial Arts Practitioner’s Void Shattering Punch.

This was no mere disturbance of space. Though not yet capable of fully shattering the void like a true Manly Immortal, it was enough to cause violent spatial distortion.

With space itself distorted, anything carried within it could hardly remain unaffected.

The front half of the steel arm, from hand to elbow, began to collapse. Steam burst out wildly as fragments and mechanical debris scattered in all directions, like a rain of iron.

The remaining half of the arm revealed a dark cannon barrel, within which energy was gathering. A blue glow illuminated Qi Xuansu’s face.

Qi Xuansu’s clenched right fist opened into a spread palm, flames igniting within it.

Almost simultaneously, both unleashed their attacks—one red, one blue. Two torrents of energy collided head-on, locked in a stalemate.

The dazzling light made it impossible to keep one’s eyes open.

Qi Xuansu took a deep breath. As he exhaled, his entire body was suddenly transformed into a being of fire. The red torrent he unleashed surged forward, advancing step by step, forcing the blue torrent to retreat.

In the end, the blue torrent was completely forced back, and the cannon barrel erupted in a violent explosion, bursting into a sky full of sparks.

Qi Xuansu did not pause and continued flying forward.

At this point, there was no need to conceal his trail. He was like a flaming meteor streaking across the sky, leaving a long blazing tail behind.

Many people saw it, but at this moment, who could possibly stop Qi Xuansu?

At last, the Southern Continent drew closer.

At the border between the Northern and Southern Continents, both sides had formed a tense standoff. Troops amassed along the border as though a great war could erupt at any moment.

The Northern Continent’s army was no different from the armies of the Western Continent. Qi Xuansu had already encountered them back in Nanyang.

However, this was Qi Xuansu’s first time seeing the Southern Continent’s army, especially a fully organized force.

At first glance, Qi Xuansu thought he was mistaken. It looked too much like an Eastern army. Much of the armor was essentially Central Plains design, with only minor differences in detail. As for firearms and cannons, there were not even subtle changes. Even their formations and drills resembled Daoist military styles, as though they had been directly trained by the Daoist Order.

If not for the soldiers’ slightly different features and complexion, one might have thought the Daoist Order and the Great Xuan Court had deployed a grand army.

But upon reflection, it made sense. The Daoist Order had even provided the Grade-A Series Two Phoenix Eye Bomb, so supplying standard military equipment was nothing in comparison.

As Qi Xuansu flew over the front lines of both armies, the Southern Continent forces—having received orders—did not attack. The Northern Continent side, however, fired a symbolic barrage of cannons. They could not simply watch him leave without any response.

A rain of iron shells filled the sky, but it posed little threat to Qi Xuansu. Any shell that came near instantly became molten metal due to the flames surrounding him.

With Madam Wu’s power, Qi Xuansu was like a hell-forged demon, already immune to ordinary fire damage.

The thunder of cannons sounded more like a ceremonial farewell salute.

Under the gaze of countless onlookers, Qi Xuansu formally set foot on the Southern Continent in a manner he had never imagined.