A Pawn's Passage

Blue veins were bulging on Yan Mingchen’s face, forehead, neck, and many other places, like tiny snakes squirming under his skin.

The foundations of Banished Immortals, Qi Refiners, and Rogue Cultivators all lie in the three Dantians. However, there were some similarities and differences in their subsequent development, especially after the Guizhen stage.

Banished Immortals focus on the upper Dantian, condensing innate qi into true essence in order to form a nascent soul. Qi Refiners focused on the middle Dantian, connecting the eight extraordinary meridians and the twelve main meridians to nourish and strengthen the body. Although Banished Immortals did not have a Martial Arts Practitioner’s robust physique, they were ranked second among the six major lineages.

A Shaman’s Golden Spiritual Statue was not their real body, which was as weak as a Diviner’s.

A series of crackling sounds erupted from Yan Mingchen’s body.

The next moment, he stomped his foot, creating a big pit in the ground and causing the area to shake. He used the force of the aftershock to gather strength in his palm and strike Qi Xuansu in the chest.

Qi Xuansu was passing by Yan Mingchen and managed to slash a wound around 30 centimeters between Yan Mingchen's chest and abdomen before he flew back due to the force of the palm strike.

Yan Mingchen shouted angrily, tipped his toes, and disappeared in an instant. When he reappeared, he was just one meter in front of Qi Xuansu. Yan Mingchen mercilessly landed another strike on Qi Xuansu’s lower abdomen, pushing the latter back farther.

Seeing this, Yan Mingchen pursued Qi Xuansu closely and continuously struck the latter, leaving countless palm prints that contained intense qi. When accumulated, this extra qi felt like a mountain weighing down on Qi Xuansu, threatening to crush him to death. Yan Mingcheng was waiting for a suitable opportunity to deliver the last strike that would make the accumulated qi explode in Qi Xuansu’s body.

In just a few minutes, Yan Mingchen struck Qi Xuansu more than a hundred times. Although Qi Xuansu blocked half of them, more than fifty palm strikes with accumulated qi landed on his body.

However, Qi Xuansu was not one to take a hit without fighting back. When Yan Mingchen was on the verge of exhausting his energy, Qi Xuansu instantly pulled out the Divine Dragon Pistol from his waist and aimed it at Yan Mingchen’s lower Dantian near the abdomen. The Dragon Eye Bullet exploded instantly. At such a close distance, the force broke through Yan Mingchen’s qi shield in an instant, causing him to stagger back in shock.

Qi Xuansu, who finally had a second to breathe, chucked the Divine Dragon Pistol to the side and used the Cicada Molting Technique again to get rid of the accumulated qi in his body.

After Yan Mingchen landed on the ground, he took a deep breath. Sounds of cracking erupted from his body as he clasped his palms together. It sounded like the dull ringing of a large bell.

With Yan Mingchen as the center, ripples of qi visible to the naked eye spread out in all directions. He bent his knees slightly and leaped forward, landing 10 meters away from Qi Xuansu before thrusting his palms out.

Qi Xuansu held the hilt of Qing Yuan with his right hand and pushed the blade with his left hand as he rushed forward.

The two men collided head-on. Yan Mingchen’s hands were injured, and his meridians were damaged, disrupting his qi. Since he had no weapons, it was difficult for him to unleash his full strength. However, despite this, he still had a higher cultivation level, so he managed to knock away Qing Yuan from Qi Xuansu’s hand.

Yan Mingchen was determined to fight to the end and pursued Qi Xuansu relentlessly, once again striking with his palm. Qi Xuansu did not dare to let his guard down, so he unleashed a palm strike to counter Yan Mingchen.

The moment their palms touched, Qi Xuansu could feel Yan Mingchen’s incredibly strong qi, almost comparable to that of Zhang Yuelu. At that moment, Qi Xuansu’s innate qi and blood qi were activated simultaneously. Qi Xuansu was only able to endure this attack with his transformed physique.

Yan Mingchen attacked again.

Qi Xuansu had once learned the Green Phoenix Guard’s Everchanging Palm Technique from Madam Qi. When he used it, his body shifted from left to right, and his palm had multiple variations, making it seem illusory.

The two men exchanged several moves. Qi Xuansu felt that Yan Mingchen’s palm strikes were like rolling waves, each wave higher than the previous one. The essence of it was that the force of each palm strike would accumulate over time. Once enough force was accumulated, even the Shaman’s strongest Golden Spiritual Statue could be destroyed.

That was why Qi Xuansu dodged and did not dare to fight Yan Mingchen head-on. He did not want to give Yan Mingchen the chance to continuously strike him.

After more than a dozen moves, Qi Xuansu already felt overwhelmed by Yan Mingchen’s palm strikes, which seemed simple. On the contrary, Qi Xuansu’s Everchanging Palm Technique seemed too complex with too many variations. However, it lacked focus and was not as efficient as Yan Mingchen’s attacks.

Fortunately, Qi Xuansu was more experienced in fighting, so he could scare and deceive Yan Mingchen. In addition, Yan Mingchen grew more wary after suffering a loss. Their fight was evenly matched without a clear winner.

Since Qi Xuansu had a lower level of cultivation, he was already somewhat exhausted. A white mist, visible to the naked eye, rose from his body.

Zhang Yuelu finally spoke. “This is not a fight to the death, so you two should stop now.”

From Zhang Yuelu’s point of view, Yan Mingchen took the initiative to stir up trouble. She was already being magnanimous for not getting in between their fight and chasing him away. She never intended to let them fight fairly because she only wanted to protect Qi Xuansu.

However, Yan Mingchen ignored her and continued to attack Qi Xuansu. So this time, Zhang Yuelu leaped onto the makeshift battlefield. She lightly extended one finger, which suddenly multiplied. In an instant, one finger turned into 64 fingers. Zhang Yuelu was using the Cihang Sword Sequence but replacing the sword with her finger.

Seeing this, Yan Mingchen was startled and exclaimed, “The Guanyin Thousand Swords!”

He immediately slapped her finger away with his palm.

Zhang Yuelu excelled in all her studies, evident in how she could master the complex Guanyin Thousand Swords Technique. Yan Mingchen saw dozens of arms and palms sprouting from Zhang Yuelu, with her fingers constantly changing in an unpredictable fashion. Each finger was split into several directions at the midsection. Although she did not use a sword, she employed the same technique of swordsmanship.

Yan Mingchen’s Divine Palm Technique was simple, but it seemed rather stiff in comparison. But no matter how unpredictable Qi Xuansu’s palm variations were, Yan Mingchen could block them accordingly. They were equally matched after several moves.

Qi Xuansu took this opportunity to withdraw from the fight since Zhang Yuelu was substituting him. Zhang Yuelu did not use her full strength because she had to show some respect to the Zhang family and the Yan family. She was holding back because she did not want to start a deadly feud between the allied families.

Zhang Yuelu and Yan Mingchen fought against each other for a while until Yan Mingchen gradually felt his palms numbing and his arms trembling. He knew that this was due to Zhang Yuelu’s higher cultivation level.

Although the Daoist Order stipulated various training paths for each lineage, those who had masters were exceptions. Under the guidance of Sage Cihang, Zhang Yuelu practiced many additional mystical abilities.

At this time, Zhang Yuelu used the Six Void Tribulations. Some strikes were icy cold, while others were scorching hot. Initially, Yan Mingchen did not notice the erratic changes, but after a while, he gradually felt constrained.

Yan Mingchen knew that if he persisted, he would inevitably fall into a disadvantageous position. He wanted to find a breakthrough point, but he failed. That was when he saw Zhang Yuelu’s palm, protected by the Five Elements Qi Shield, striking him. The force was so powerful that he immediately used his left palm to block the attack.

At this moment, Zhang Yuelu slapped him again, using her Five Elements Qi Shield on both palms to force him back. Yan Mingchen had no choice but to stretch out his arms to block her.

The two of them faced each other with their palms far apart as they were wrestling each other using their qi. After a while, their bodies shook slightly. Yan Mingchen’s hand gradually turned translucent, revealing his blood vessels and bones, which was extremely strange. Although Zhang Yuelu looked unfazed, she had a colorful aura around her face.

At one point, the two of them grunted softly and retracted their palms at the same time.

Their fight ended so quickly that Qi Xuansu could not judge who was the winner. However, judging by appearance alone, Yan Mingchen suffered a loss, especially with the many injuries that Qi Xuansu left on him earlier.

Yan Mingchen was silent for a long time as he stared at the couple. He could no longer say anything to ridicule them. He had to admit that Qi Xuansu was indeed unique for being able to push him to this point despite being in a lower realm of cultivation.

However, the heavy blow was actually Zhang Yuelu’s attitude in the end. Yan Mingchen finally gave up, retracted his gaze, and left without hesitation.

After Yan Mingchen left in defeat, Zhang Yuelu turned around and came to Qi Xuansu’s side. She asked, “Are you alright?”

Qi Xuansu picked up the Qing Yuan, the Divine Dragon Pistol, and some of the throwing knives that were still intact from the ground. He replied, “I’m fine. Mage Yan has a high level of cultivation, but he rarely fights. If he trains in Tiangang Hall for a year or two, then I won’t be a match for him.”

Zhang Yuelu said, “He’s good, but you’re even better. In a battle of life and death, a high level of cultivation isn’t enough. Time, location, tact, mystical abilities, and external objects are equally important. Having five of the six essentials will guarantee a win. Yan Mingchen was arrogant, only using his palms. He’s also not as cunning as you, so he has already lost the three essentials and can only rely on his superior cultivation. It’ll be strange if he wins.”

Qi Xuansu shook his head. “But cultivation level is still the most important foundation. I will have to reach the Guizhen stage as soon as possible for your sake.”

Zhang Yuelu waved her hand and laughed. “Not for my sake, but for your sake. You should always help yourself first before you can help others. Since you’re not powerful enough to make changes in the Daoist Order, it’s better if you improve your cultivation as soon as possible.”

Qi Xuansu was silent for a moment before he sighed. “I really should establish myself. That way, I won’t feel inferior to anyone.”

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