A Pawn's Passage

The colossal projection of Wu Luo stood in front of the flying ship, blocking its path. Everyone on board was shocked by this horrific scene, rendered speechless. That was because the projection was so big and powerful that it was simply futile to think that they had a chance to defeat it.

Not to mention, only Heavenly Beings could fly. Wu Luo’s projection had no physical entity, so there was no way to attack it even if they had that thought.

“This is the Ancient Immortal Wu Luo,” Qi Xuansu mumbled in a daze. Although the projection was not physical, he felt the familiar aura of that bloody divine power in Yulan Temple.

The next moment, Wu Luo slowly raised one hand to grab the hull of the flying ship. For ordinary people, the flying ship was huge. But in Wu Luo’s hand, the flying ship looked like a small model ship on a display shelf.

Everyone on the flying ship was frightened by this sight.

Wu Luo’s palm clenched, slowly exerting some force and creating shocking dents and cracks in the middle section of the flying ship’s hull. Through the cracks, the people onboard could see the various glowing formations below the deck.

The flying ship shook violently in the fierce winds at a high altitude, causing everyone on the deck to lose their balance. Zhang Yuelu quickly grabbed onto Qi Xuansu with her left hand and turned the Amorphous Paper in her right hand into a whip, coiling the whip around the mast of the flying ship. If they were to fall out of the ship from an altitude of thousands of feet, they would surely die.

Wu Luo’s projection was still a mirage, but her palm was solid as it continued to exert more force. The formation on the lower deck of the flying ship was a combination of smaller formations, like gears in a clock. They were stacked and interlocked with each other. Under Wu Luo’s force, some formations collapsed, causing a series of explosions.

The Daoist Order’s flying passenger ship was an imitation of the Grand Master’s flying ship. However, due to cost reasons, many materials were replaced on the passenger ship. Thus, the passenger ship was not as sturdy as the Grand Master’s ship. Moreover, the attack and defense functions were also removed from the passenger ship.

The violent explosion caused part of the deck to collapse. Some fragments fell off both sides of the ship into the abyss below.

The passengers, who had been hiding in the ship’s building, panicked, but there was nothing they could do. Without a high level of cultivation, they would also be blown off by the strong wind if they left the building. But if they did not leave the ship’s building, they would be crushed to death.

At this moment, Qi Xuansu finally realized how rampant these secret societies were and how corrupt the Daoist Order was. In the past, he often heard stories of how unhinged these secret societies were, but he had never felt it so deeply as this moment. He had never associated this word with the Qingping Society’s pervasiveness or The Inn’s various transactions, not even with the incident in Yishan City.

As for the stories of secret societies that once sneaked into Jade Capital—the Cult of Fates slaughtering people and annihilating cities—Qi Xuansu had only heard about them but felt that the storytellers were exaggerating.

This time, it was different. Qi Xuansu finally experienced what it was like to be at the receiving end of the Lingshan Witch Cult’s rampage. The Daoist Order killed their members, so the Lingshan Witch Cult wanted to retaliate. Thus, they decided to destroy the Daoist Order’s flying ship within the territory of the Kunlun Daoist Mansion. This was a clear act of provocation, which was also not the first.

That was why the Daoist Order had repeatedly cracked down on these secret associations.

Another realization Qi Xuansu had was the corruption within the Daoist Order. With the sheer size and power of the Daoist Order, it was surely possible to destroy these secret societies. After all, the Daoist Order even defeated the Confucian School and the Buddhist Sect, who were major powers back then.

The secret societies were nothing in comparison to those two behemoths, but the Daoist Order still could not wipe them out completely after so many decades. It would be excusable if the Daoist Order still had to focus on suppressing the Buddhists like in the Holy Xuan Era. Back then, the Holy Xuan had even successfully recruited an Ancient Immortal, who converted to be a Daoist Great Sage.

However, the subsequent Grand Masters failed to eradicate the secret societies even after so many generations. This indicated a big problem within the Daoist Order.

In some respect, although secret societies were rampant, they could not shake the foundation of Daoism, unlike Confucianism and Buddhism. This was one of the reasons the Daoist Order could not be united.

For the Imperial Court, Xizhou and Yongzhou were far from the Imperial Capital, so the lack of governance on the outskirts was excusable. However, this place was on the outskirts of the Kunlun Daoist Mansion, which was the core of the Daoist Order. However, due to internal fighting, the Daoist Order allowed for such a big flaw in lax governance within its core territory. Perhaps in the near future, the Daoist Order would have to simultaneously face internal and external enemies.

Was this not corruption? It was no wonder that Zhang Yuelu was so obsessed with reforming the Daoist Order.

At this moment, there was another huge explosion. Qi Xuansu discovered that the deck under his feet was deforming. The bow and stern of the ship were raised at a strange angle, while the middle of the ship bent downward and collapsed.

Immediately afterward, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu felt a force coming from the bottom of their feet, tossing them into the air. Fortunately, the deck dampened the impact, so they were not severely injured. Zhang Yuelu’s paper whip was connected to the mast of the flying ship, like a streamer fluttering in the air. It tied them to the ship and prevented them from being blown away. Even so, they were now outside the ship’s hull.

Wu Luo’s projection did not seem to be conscious. She just held on to the flying ship and kept exerting force. A series of explosions caused a fire that even the natural humidity of the flying ship could no longer suppress. Many parts of the ship began to collapse and melt in the flames.

The final explosion was the loudest as Wu Luo’s five fingers clenched into a fist and snapped the flying ship into two. Countless pieces of the flaming hull peeled off, creating a rain of fire. Some people slipped out of the cabin, screaming as they disappeared into the abyss below.

The two parts of the broken hull could no longer stay afloat and dived toward the ground. After breaking the flying ship, Wu Luo’s solid palm faded with the large projection.

Seeing this, Zhang Yuelu used all her might to pull Qi Xuansu toward her as she shouted, “Hold my waist tight!”

Out of trust in Zhang Yuelu, Qi Xuansu subconsciously followed her instructions, wrapping his hands around her waist tightly so that they became one entity.

Zhang Yuelu retracted the paper whip that tied them to the ship’s mast and turned the Amorphous Paper into a pair of huge paper wings that spread out behind her.

Although the pair of paper wings could not flap, they could use the wings to glide with the strong wind. Zhang Yuelu and Qi Xuansu had a decent level of cultivation and a stronger physique than the others onboard, so they could stand a chance at survival. This was their last resort and the only solution they could think of.

At this moment, a burning figure jumped out from the side of the broken hull closest to Zhang Yuelu.

Although this figure was burned beyond recognition, the hump behind its back indicated that it was the old priest who summoned Wu Luo’s projection. Unexpectedly, the old priest was still not dead yet.

Zhang Yuelu suddenly felt a weight on her back when the old priest jumped on her.

The Amorphous Paper had limitations in size. The paper wings Zhang Yuelu conjured spanned about six meters, which was barely enough to carry the weight of two people. Thus, with the added weight of the old priest, they immediately took a nose dive downward.

Zhang Yuelu wanted to adjust the angle of the glide and shrug off the old priest, but that old man stubbornly clung to the paper wings, refusing to let go no matter how much Zhang Yuelu tilted her body.

Qi Xuansu pondered for a moment before he said, “Qing Xiao, do you still remember what I told you yesterday? I’m afraid I won’t be able to fulfill my dreams, but I hope you can.”

Zhang Yuelu was taken aback. That was when she had a sudden realization. She shouted, “Tian Yuan, what are you trying to do?!”

Without another word, Qi Xuansu adjusted his grip and climbed onto Zhang Yuelu’s back with a strength comparable to that of a Martial Arts Practitioner. It was akin to a cavalry soldier hiding under the horse’s belly to avoid arrows and climbing onto the horse’s back after the attack.

Qi Xuansu grabbed the old priest, who was charred beyond recognition, from behind and roared, “Let go!”

When Qi Xuansu exerted force in his limbs, a series of bone-crunching sounds could be heard, like a python strangling its prey.

Although the old priest was undying, he was not indestructible. His bones shattered, so one of his hands lost its grip on Zhang Yuelu’s paper wings.

The old priest was still holding on to the paper wings with one hand, while Qi Xuansu held onto him tightly.

Fortunately, the Amorphous Paper was made of a tough, almost indestructible material, so the paper wings did not get deformed even with all the scratching and gripping.

“Let go of her!” Qi Xuansu pulled out Qing Yuan to cut off the old priest’s arm, bit by bit.

Zhang Yuelu’s eyes reddened as she shouted, “Qi Xuansu! Stop it! I command you to stop!”

Qi Xuansu was relatively calm as he consoled her. “Qing Xiao, it’s better for one of us to die; that way, the other can live on. When things come to a head, you must let go…”

Finally, Qi Xuansu managed to cut off the old priest’s arm at the elbow. The old priest and Qi Xuansu, who were intertwined with each other, instantly separated from Zhang Yuelu and fell downward. Their figures shrank rapidly until they disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Yuelu looked down helplessly as tears streamed down her face nonstop. The irksome premonition that lingered since she arrived at Shangqing Town finally dissipated, but she did not feel relieved by it. Instead, her heart clenched painfully.

That was the moment she knew that she would never be able to forget this man.