A Pawn's Passage-Chapter 627: Tianshou Mountain

Roughly 50 kilometers from the Imperial Capital stood Tianshou Mountain, which was the burial site of 11 emperors, including the founding emperor of the previous Wei Dynasty (Emperor Taizu), Emperor Taizong, Emperor Renzong, Emperor Xuanzong, Emperor Yingzong, Emperor Xianzong, Emperor Xiaozong, Emperor Wuzong, Emperor Shizong, Emperor Muzong, and the last emperor of the Wei Dynasty (Emperor Shenzong).

Though the site was guarded by tomb soldiers, these imperial mausoleums belonged to the previous dynasty, so the defenses were not particularly tight. They were more for show than real security.

The map Wang Chongnian had given Qi Xuansu clearly marked the location of Tianshou Mountain.

Once outside the capital, Qi Xuansu stopped running on foot and soared through the clouds, heading straight for the mountain. Since it was the site of 11 imperial tombs spanning over two centuries, the accumulated yin energy was intense.

Hovering above Tianshou Mountain, Qi Xuansu stretched out his right hand. Black mist curled between his outstretched fingers.

A technique need not be novel—only effective. So what if there were seven Heavenly Beings chasing Qi Xuansu? This was the same trick that killed Feng Bo, and these fools would share that cult demon's fate.

In an instant, Qi Xuansu felt his magical power draining rapidly from within.

Qi Xuansu looked up to the sky again. He had left the Taiping Inn branch at around 7:30 PM, and now, it was nearing 10 PM. The moon hung at its zenith. Though it was not yet midnight when yin energy peaked, it was close enough.

He poured his magical power into summoning a boundless yin energy, which surged like fog over the mountain peaks, rising and falling in tides.

An expanse of black mist gathered around him and swirled like a vortex until it finally formed a portal. This was the gift from the Three Yin Beings of the Ghost Kingdom.

When the four white-robed Heavenly Beings arrived right behind Qi Xuansu, they were greeted by this eerie sight.

Du Yuyan, the most powerful among them, could clearly sense the environment changing. Layer upon layer of shadows emerged, obscuring her vision. Everything distant became indistinct, as though veiled behind a thin mist.

It felt like looking through frost-covered glass windows on a winter’s day, hazy and blurred. She felt trapped in a sealed box of glass while a thick, deathly energy began to ooze into the space. The ground felt sticky and heavy, as if trying to wade through a marsh. Every movement was slow and laborious.

The portal took full form, in which black mist churned violently within, resembling an entrance to the innermost depths of the netherworld.

What is this? Du Yuyan finally understood the root of her unease. Her instincts had been correct—Qi Xuansu had planned this trap in advance. This was no spontaneous act. It was like marching into battle with arrogance and haste, only to fall headfirst into an ambush and be encircled on all sides. Qi Xuansu had merely been the bait.

Du Yuyan’s heart sank like a stone.

The other three Heavenly Beings shared her exact thoughts.

In contrast to their rising tension, Qi Xuansu was entirely at ease. He even had the leisure to wonder, Who would it be this time? Surely not Master Wan again...maybe Madam Bai? Or Master Yin?

He got his answer soon enough.

An aged, frail figure stepped out of the portal. At first glance, he looked nothing like a Daoist Immortal. Rather, he resembled a destitute schoolteacher who had never passed a single national exam, carrying the air of a pedantic, indigent scholar.

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Without a moment’s hesitation, Du Yuyan launched her flying sword while simultaneously leaping backward, trying to break free from the bindings and flee this place.

At the very moment her eyes landed on the old man, she felt as though an invisible hand had clamped down on her heart. All she felt was sheer helplessness and primal terror, as if she were an unarmed commoner encountering a tiger in the woods. That made it nearly impossible to think. She had but one thought in her mind—run. Flee back to the Imperial Capital, where she might have a sliver of hope for survival.

It was said that Banished Immortals were often gripped by moments of intuition, what they called spontaneous foresight. Those who cultivated the Purple Star Astrology experienced such moments more frequently, but even ordinary Heavenly Beings could, on occasion, sense impending doom.

Right now, Du Yuyan was in precisely such a state. That was why she reacted and fled first. Her three subordinates would, by default, buy her time.

After all, the other three subordinates were also Heavenly Beings. They could delay for a moment or two, long enough for her to escape Tianshou Mountain’s boundaries.

As a Heavenly Being herself, Du Yuyan had enough sense to see the pattern. Qi Xuansu had not come to Tianshou Mountain on a whim. She did not know what secrets lay in these mountains, nor what method Qi Xuansu had used, but she did understand this much—the mysterious elder was likely bound by some restriction and was perhaps unable to leave Tianshou Mountain.

In any case, escaping Tianshou Mountain as quickly as possible was her best and perhaps only option.

However, there was one thing she overlooked. Since she moved first, she also drew Master Yin’s attention first.

Master Yin looked her way. Their eyes met.

Du Yuyan trembled. Her field of vision collapsed into darkness. There was nothing left but those two obsidian eyes.

At first glance, they seemed like bottomless deep wells. Then, they became soul-sucking whirlpools. At last, they were like black holes, devouring her whole and drawing her into a place where she could not even escape.

Du Yuyan was frozen in place. Even her thoughts slowed to a crawl. Her face stiffened like a puppet, robbed of her soul.

This was the first time Qi Xuansu had ever seen Master Yin make a move. No doubt, Master Yin and Master Wan were two opposite extremes.

Master Wan embodied the philosophy of overwhelming force. Whatever tricks his opponent had would be answered by one punch. If the opponent survived that hit, he would simply strike again. The power packed in that punch was enough to topple mountains and level cities—the very definition of brute strength.

On the other hand, Master Yin’s means was not nearly so thunderous but far more mysterious. To Qi Xuansu, it looked like Master Yin had merely glanced at Du Yuyan, instantly causing the Heavenly Being to be dazed and doll-like.

Qi Xuansu thought, Is this the power of a Pseudo-Immortal?

Even a Heavenly Being had no real power to resist.

If Qi Xuansu were being honest, he had been somewhat disappointed watching Madam Qi and Wu Guangbi fight. It had felt like a clumsy and petty exchange of blows, lacking any mystique. He had even thought, Is that all a Pseudo-Immortal is capable of?

However, both Master Wan and Master Yin matched his imagination of what a Pseudo-Immortal should be like.

Master Yin casually flicked his sleeve, which suddenly widened into what looked like a bottomless void.

The dazed and powerless Du Yuyan was sucked straight in, growing smaller and smaller until she was no larger than a doll. Finally, she was swallowed by the sleeve.

That sleeve was abyssal, like a tear in the fabric of reality itself.

Qi Xuansu had heard of this mystical ability before. It was a perfected method of both Banished Immortals and Qi Refiners, known as the Universe Sleeve. It was said that nothing could escape its grasp. It could trap people, weapons, flying swords, magical artifacts, arrows, bullets, even things that had form but no substance like wind, fire, lightning, and thunder. It could even capture a Thought or soul, which had no form at all.

He recalled chatting about it with Zhang Yuelu once. She had said that both the Heavenly Preceptor and the Earthly Preceptor were skilled in this mystical ability.

According to her, the Heavenly Preceptor would leave the Dazhen Mansion every day to climb to the peak of Yunjin Mountain, gathering the very first trace of pure yang energy at sunrise. After refining the impurities, he would preserve only the purest strain of purple qi. Day after day, he would accumulate this energy until it could stretch for 3 kilometers. If one day, this purple qi could stretch 15,000 kilometers, that would signify he had reached the same realm as the Primordial Daoist Ancestor.

Once, she had inadvertently gone to the mountaintop and witnessed the Heavenly Preceptor using this Universe Sleeve to swallow the morning clouds and sun rays. Though it was early dawn, the sky turned as dark as night. It was an awe-inspiring scene that left her speechless.

The remaining three Heavenly Beings saw this and were terrified out of their wits.

One prepared to fight to the death, and the others turned to flee like Du Yuyan. However, all their efforts were in vain.

Master Yin cast a glance their way, and just like Du Yuyan before them, all three shuddered, then stood there, dazed and lifeless like puppets.

He flicked his sleeve again. The three of them flew in like tired birds returning to the nest, swallowed whole by that abyssal opening.

Just like that, Master Yin had taken care of four Heavenly Beings.

The three other Tianchen Division members who had been left behind in the Imperial Capital had only Du Yuyan to thank for their lives. Had they come along, they would not have escaped this fate either.

This was the true power of the Daoist Order. To outsiders, there were only three Deputy Grand Masters and 36 Omniscient Sages, and perhaps a few additional Great Sages. But that was nothing particularly frightening. This menial number seemed easily defeated if the secret societies combined their strength to challenge or even topple the Daoist Order.

However, that was only the surface. The true iceberg lay hidden beneath the waterline, and only a few within the highest echelons of the Daoist Order truly knew how deep that iceberg went.

The Ghost Kingdom alone already had a first-rank Spirit Guard and Three Yin Beings standing guard.

The Daoist Order still had many hidden caves, like the legendary Kunlun Cave, which was supposedly the greatest in the world. Who knew which one might house a Pseudo-Immortal, a primordial beast, or some ultimate creation of the Daoist Order, like the legendary Sakka? This was the true reason the Daoist Order had defeated the Confucians, suppressed the Buddhists, and became the undisputed superpower of the empire.

This was also why the three sects vied for the Grand Master’s seat. All of this hidden might was at the Grand Master’s command. Whoever held that title held unmatched authority. Cultivation was secondary; even the most powerful individual could not stand against the entirety of the Daoist Order.

As this thought struck him, Qi Xuansu could not help but sigh with emotion.

The reason he had been able to stir up a commotion in the Imperial Capital had less to do with his own capabilities and more to do with the force behind him. That force came from the Daoist Order.

Without the title of a Daoist superintendent, Qi Xuansu might never have had a chance to even reach Tianshou Mountain. His enemies would not have bothered with appearances, and they would have sent Wuliang-stage Heavenly Beings to take him down.

But as a Daoist superintendent, he represented the Daoist Order. His enemies had to act with caution, put on a proper show, and avoid offending the institution outright. That gave him the gap he needed to turn the tables.

Qi Xuansu quickly returned to his senses and stepped forward. “Thank you for your assistance, Master Yin.”