A Pawn's Passage

Zhu Cheng’s punch was powerful enough to break boulders. If Zhu Cheng was in close combat with a Diviner in the Guizhen stage, the Diviner would be severely injured or even dead.

The monk moved again, like a giant beast charging forward. When he was just one meter in front of Zhang Yuelu, he suddenly took a step out and stomped on the ground, stopping his forward momentum. His body coiled like a spring, and he released a fierce punch. Each joint his blood passed through created explosive sounds like firecrackers. All of this was done in one smooth motion.

Zhang Yuelu instantly used the Five Elements Qi Shield. The colorful aura surrounded her like wisps of smoke.

Zhu Cheng’s punch stagnated as it landed on her qi shield. His front foot was only half a step ahead of his back foot. Then he retracted his fist and thrust it out from the center of the chest and abdomen. It was a short but powerful punch, the Half-Step Earth-Shattering Punch of Martial Arts Practitioners in the Yuxu stage.

Back then, Qi Xuansu was severely injured and almost died because Zhuge Yongming had used this Half-Step Earth-Shattering Punch on him.

Faced with this punch at such close range, even the mystical Five Elements Qi Shield was ultimately no match for such brute force. After a slight resistance, the Five Elements Qi Shield completely dissipated. Zhu Cheng’s fist continued to aim for Zhang Yuelu’s head. It was obvious that he would not give up until he killed her.

At this time, without the Five Elements Qi Shield protecting Zhang Yuelu, she would be lucky to survive if she was punched in the chest or abdomen. Thus, Zhang Yuelu retreated without hesitation.

Zhu Cheng pursued her closely, cornering Zhang Yuelu to a dead end. When Zhu Cheng was about to deliver the fatal blow, he suddenly felt an intense pain at the back of his chest. He lowered his head slowly and saw a sword sticking out of his chest. This sneak attack left Zhu Cheng with no time to react.

That was when Qi Xuansu peeked out from behind Zhu Cheng and smirked at Zhang Yuelu. This scene was the same as when Madam Qi killed Zhuge Yongming. It was also Madam Qi who taught Qi Xuansu that sneak attacks were better than confronting the opponent head-on.

Martial Arts Practitioners in the Flesh and Blood Realm or the Heavenly Connection Realm were physically strong, with unbelievably rapid regenerative abilities. However, only the parts of the body where their acupoints and spirit were condensed were strong. The rest of their body parts were weaker than the Shaman’s Golden Body. Their bodies would only be indestructible like the Shaman’s Golden Body after reaching the Divinity Realm.

At this moment, Qi Xuansu used his spiritual short sword, Qing Yuan, to attack Zhu Cheng from behind, catching the abbot off guard.

After the transformation, Qi Xuansu was in the Yuxu stage, which was just one level below Zhu Cheng’s Guizhen stage. In fact, the Daoist Order opposed the theory that cultivators in a higher realm would always win, just like a military strategist would never think that victory belonged to the camp with more troops. Otherwise, it would be a straightforward competition.

However, it was certainly an advantage to have more numbers. In the same way, a higher realm meant greater advantages, but it did not guarantee victory.

Zhu Cheng was not dead yet, but because the heart was the source of blood qi throughout the body, he temporarily lost his ability to fight back. Zhang Yuelu seized this opportunity to deliver the fatal blow, clapping Zhu Cheng’s head at his temples.

Zhu Cheng’s face abruptly turned red, and his eyes bulged out, as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. Immediately after, bright red blood flowed from the corners of his eyes, nostrils, ears, and mouth.

Although Martial Arts Practitioners above the Flesh and Blood Realm had body regenerative abilities, one thing they could not restore was the head, especially in the Xiantian-Being stage.

Qi Xuansu pulled out his short sword and took a few steps back. Without Qi Xuansu’s support, Zhu Cheng fell face-first to the ground.

Zhang Yuelu breathed a long sigh of relief, her face still pale.

Qi Xuansu quickly asked, “Qing Xiao, are you alright?”

Zhang Yuelu shook her head. “I’m fine, just exhausted.”

After saying that, she took out an elixir from her magical receptacle and chugged it. She had taken elixirs before, but the effect was not very obvious. That was because most elixirs, aside from rare elixirs, had a digesting process.

Since Zhang Yuelu entered Yishan City, she barely had the time to process elixirs. Her energy consumption was also higher than usual because she fought with multiple opponents who were at her level. Xie Qiuniang, the Confucian Hermit, even had unique skills from both the Confucian School and the Daoist Order. That woman was not at all inferior to Zhang Yuelu, a Banished Immortal.

In addition, the consecutive fierce battles greatly depleted Zhang Yuelu’s physical and mental strength. After all, fighting required constantly changing strategies, looking for loopholes, and so on, which was extremely draining on her mind. The more evenly matched the opponent was, the greater the effort would be.

Thus, when Zhang Yuelu faced off with Zhu Cheng, it was akin to an ordinary person having just run hundreds of kilometers. Every step she took was laborious. That was how Zhu Cheng had almost defeated Zhang Yuelu. If it were anyone else in her shoes, such as Wang Zicheng, they would have already been dead.

Zhang Yuelu adjusted her breathing for a moment. As soon as her complexion improved slightly, she turned the Amorphous Paper into a paper sword. “There’s still a scholar...”

Qi Xuansu held her wrist and declared, “Leave it to me.”

"You?” Zhang Yuelu glanced at Qi Xuansu in surprise. “Tian Yuan, I’m not looking down on you, but the fact is that your cultivation

Qi Xuansu interrupted her. “I’m already at the Yuxu stage.”

"When did you get to the Yuxu stage?” Zhang Yuelu was surprised. In fact, if she had used the Divine Observation Technique on him, she would have discovered this a long time ago. However, she would not use this technique for no reason. She also overlooked this previously because she had a lot on her mind, like Qi Xuansu’s safety, her energy consumption, and the Ancient Immortal’s divine descent.

Qi Xuansu let go of Zhang Yuelu’s wrist and told her a mix of truth and lies. “When we were at Yulan Temple, I found a bead amidst the rubble of the broken Buddha statue. It looked like the legendary demon pill. After Yan Xiu ambushed me, I had no choice but to swallow the demon pill to regain my strength. My injuries healed, and my cultivation level increased greatly. That was how I managed to escape from the Yulan Temple.”

"Demon pill?” Zhang Yuelu had heard of it, but she had never seen it in real life, let alone consumed one. Due to the Daoist Order’s oppression, most demons had disappeared from the Eastern Continent. Those who still remained in the mortal realm had mostly surrendered and submitted to the Daoist Order.

There were many demons in the Kunlun Cave, but they helped produce medicine for the Daoist Order. Thus, demon pills were rare.

It was precisely because of Zhang Yuelu’s unfamiliarity with the subject that Qi Xuansu could deceive her. Since Qi Xuansu would be with Zhang Yuelu full-time in the coming days, he knew it was impossible to keep his newly increased cultivation level from her. Rather than letting her discover it on her own and putting himself in a passive position, Qi Xuansu decided it was better to tell her first. That way, he could control the direction of the conversation.

However, Zhang Yuelu still knew a thing or two about the general function of demon pills. According to some records, a demon pill could be used as medicine, and it could greatly improve one’s cultivation level, which was what made it so valuable.

If demons swallowed this kind of pill, the effect would be more obvious. The demon would almost immediately gain half of the opponent’s cultivation.

Zhang Yuelu explained, “The book says that taking the demon pill directly has dangerous side effects, which can be life-threatening. Also, humans who consume demon pills can manifest animal-like characteristics—drastic changes in temperament, like madness, cruelty, bloodlust, or lust. Your cultivation will also be impure. In the long run, these pills will be detrimental to your cultivation.

"During the Holy Xuan era, there was an expert named Tang Zhou, who was once the leader of the Qingyang Sect. He took unrefined Qilin blood and demon pills. Although his cultivation level had increased significantly, he had lost his mind. Scales started growing on his body, and he became beastly. He ended up miserable.”

Then, Zhang Yuelu looked at Qi Xuansu and said seriously, “Tian Yuan, you must tell me in time if you feel something wrong with your body.”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “I feel fine. I think the demon pill has been refined before. These demons used it to make the Buddha statue come to life, but this pill actually gave me an advantage.”

"This must be fate. It’s a blessing in disguise for you.” Zhang Yuelu did not doubt his explanation because she trusted him.

Although Qi Xuansu fabricated a lie, he was right. Demon pills could be used as medicine and refined into magic weapons. Thus, it was theoretically possible to use demon pills to make dead objects come to life. The simplest example was the Daoist flying ship, which used dragon pearls as an energy source. These dragon pearls were, in some sense, a type of demon pill.

Qi Xuansu spoke with confidence. “So you can rest assured now. Even if I can’t kill him, I can still protect myself.”

Zhang Yuelu did not refute this. Thus far, Qi Xuansu has proven himself to be capable. He killed Desmond, Bai Yongguan, Hendrick, and two Shamans. Although they were all sneak attacks, all of his opponents had a higher cultivation level than him. Even the mighty and proud Zhang Yuelu felt a little inferior to him in this aspect.

However, Zhang Yuelu asked, “Then how much confidence do you have to kill him?”

Qi Xuansu answered, “I won’t say full confidence, but probably at least half.”

Zhang Yuelu asked again, “How sure are you that you can protect yourself?”

Qi Xuansu assured her. “Absolutely certain.”

Hearing this, Zhang Yuelu looked at him seriously. “Now is not the time to show off as a hero. Whether you can kill the scholar is not important. Your safety is the priority.”

Qi Xuansu suddenly approached Zhang Yuelu, leaving a gap of about ten centimeters between their noses. He gazed into Zhang Yuelu’s eyes calmly and sternly, without the usual pretense.

Zhang Yuelu did not expect Qi Xuansu to be so bold. Caught off guard, she subconsciously took two steps back and leaned her back against the wall, her face blushing.

Qi Xuansu did not lean in closer. He murmured, “Qing Xiao, I promise I will return safely.”

After that, Qi Xuansu stepped back and disappeared into the underground palace.

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