A Pawn's Passage

From a distance, Kukulkan’s palace appeared unremarkable. Only upon approaching did they realize just how unimaginably enormous it was.

Unlike other grand palaces, which, no matter how tall, were still built floor by floor with each level proportioned for ordinary humans, this palace was different. It seemed to have been built for giants. The doors, windows, and stairways had all been enlarged proportionally, so much so that each step stood nearly a meter tall.

For a normal human unable to fly, climbing these stairs would have been no different from scaling a mountain.

Madam Wu explained, “Kukulkan’s true form is an enormous feathered serpent. This palace is perfectly sized for his real body.”

Naturally, Qi Xuansu and Madam Wu had no intention of climbing the steps one by one. They leaped upward in a single bound and arrived before the palace gates.

Looking up, they saw that the palace gates stood 300 meters tall. Such a magnificent entrance could only be constructed within a divine kingdom.

The gates were tightly shut, leaving them no choice but to force them open.

Qi Xuansu immediately revealed his Manly Immortal True Form and stood above, while the much smaller Madam Wu stood below. The two worked together to push against one of the enormous doors. With a deafening rumble, they managed to force open a narrow gap.

It was no wonder the stone gates required no lock. Their immense weight would stop most from entering.

The two slipped through the narrow opening into the palace. Fortunately, the colossal height of the entrance appeared to have been built more for grandeur than practicality, much like certain human palaces whose oversized gates existed purely for visual impact.

Although the interior was likewise enlarged proportionally, it was nowhere near as exaggerated as the 300-meter-tall entrance.

Since the symbolic colors of the sun were generally white, red, and gold, the palace interior likewise adopted those three tones, with golden floors, white columns, and a crimson dome overhead.

This was an entrance hall. Strangely enough, it did not use the traditional architectural style of the New Continent. Perhaps influenced by the Misir Sun God, it possessed several characteristics of Western architecture.

Above was a circular dome, supported by pendentives resting atop square columns that stood at each of the four corners. The longer walls were divided into upper and lower sections, each formed by rows of shorter columns. Every section was adorned with intricate carvings and decorative patterns, primarily executed as low reliefs depicting feathered serpents and suns.

Ordinarily, a structure with such an immense interior would be rather dim. However, a lantern tower had been built at the very top, open on all four sides to gather sunlight. The light streamed downward through the exact center of the circular dome, where an opening carved into the shape of a sun connected to the lantern tower above. Sunlight passed through this opening, projecting a perfect sun-shaped pattern onto the floor of the entrance hall below.

Apart from the gate through which Qi Xuansu and Madam Wu had entered, there was another doorway directly opposite them.

It was an open passage. According to Western architectural conventions, the far end of a cathedral was where the image or symbol of the Goddess or the Supreme Will was placed. Since Kukulkan was the deity of this palace, it was only natural for the rear wall to be left open, symbolically directing worshippers toward the god himself.

However, in the hall between the two entrances stood a golden figure about 10 meters tall. Holding a serpent spear, it stood directly within the shaft of sunlight descending from the lantern tower above, blocking their path.

This was most likely the guardian Kukulkan had left behind.

Naturally, no god would have another god stand guard at his gate. At most, this guardian was merely a Pseudo-Immortal. Together, Qi Xuansu and Madam Wu had nothing to fear. If it wasn’t even a Pseudo-Immortal, then dealing with it would be even easier.

The Seven Feather Five Fires Fan materialized in Madam Wu’s hand. She looked every bit ready to burn the figure before her into ashes at the slightest provocation.

The figure made no move. It simply held its serpent spear and continued to block the way.

This serpent spear resembled an actual snake stretched perfectly straight, with its forked tongue extending from its open mouth to form the spearhead. It was an exceedingly bizarre weapon.

“Pretentious tricks.” Madam Wu flicked her treasured fan. Instantly, countless flames in the shapes of fiery birds sprang into existence and surged toward the golden figure.

Just as the firebirds were about to engulf it, the golden figure finally came to life. It swept its serpent spear in a broad arc, extinguishing every firebird in its path. At the same time, its gaze locked onto Madam Wu, the source of the attack.

It stepped forward, moving out of the sunlight.

As the golden radiance faded, the towering figure finally revealed its true appearance. Clad in golden armor, its entire body shone with the brilliance of the sun itself. White light poured from behind its faceplate, filling the eye slits with dazzling radiance.

Madam Wu curled her lip. “I was wondering what you were. So you’re just a Sun Guardian. Watch me burn you to ashes!”

With that, Madam Wu enlarged the fan until it stood as tall as a person. Gripping the handle with both hands, she began fanning with tremendous force.

In the blink of an eye, the entire palace turned into a colossal alchemy furnace. Flames filled every direction. Madam Wu remained completely unfazed, while Qi Xuansu could only take shelter behind her.

The Sun Guardian was engulfed in the flames and began to melt.

Seeing this, Madam Wu increased the speed at which she waved her fan. The stronger the wind, the fiercer the flames, and the faster the Sun Guardian melted.

Under such circumstances, the Sun Guardian struggled to advance toward the two of them. But as its body continued melting, every step became more difficult than the last. Before it had even crossed half the distance, it could no longer move.

Moments later, with Madam Wu unleashing the full power of her flames, the Sun Guardian finally melted completely into a puddle of molten gold.

The flames gradually dispersed.

Qi Xuansu poked his head out from behind Madam Wu and praised, “No wonder people always emphasize initiative. An immortal object with initiative can deal with enemies all by itself. If this were an immortal object like the Moral Sovereign, it would not eliminate an enemy by itself. Even if I begged it to, it would barely acknowledge me. If you ask me, Madam Wu is the Daoist Order’s number one immortal object!”

Madam Wu shot Qi Xuansu a sideways glance. “An immortal object with initiative can also cultivate itself into an Immortal. Once I become an Immortal, the first thing I’ll do is refine you into an elixir!”

Qi Xuansu cleared his throat. “No need to waste your effort. I won’t make a good elixir.”

He had personally experienced Madam Qi’s habit of doing exactly what she said. When she declared that he would be coinless, she had truly made sure she robbed him of every coin in his life.

Madam Wu said, “Enough nonsense. Let’s keep moving. This time, we’re going to get to the bottom of what’s going on with Kukulkan.”

With that, Madam Wu took the lead.

Following behind her, Qi Xuansu asked, “Madam Wu, immortal objects possess spirits. How many other immortal objects have true initiative like you?”

Madam Wu thought for a moment before answering, “I wouldn’t dare say there are absolutely none, but among all the immortal objects I know of, there aren’t any. It all comes down to a fortunate coincidence.”

Qi Xuansu asked again, “Then what was your fortuitous encounter?”

Madam Wu did not hide anything. “Back then, the Primordial Daoist Ancestor sealed Kunlun Paradise, and Daoist Master Nanhua established the Grand Illusion around Yuxu Peak. The Heavenly Emperor left God Luwu behind to guard the Paradise from within. In essence, Kunlun Paradise became a place of certain death. However, when the Six Enlightened Witches forcibly broke into the Paradise, they left behind a passage. Later generations could still enter the Paradise by following that route.

“At the time, everyone knew that Kunlun Paradise contained countless rare treasures, such as the materials needed to forge the second-generation Longevity Stone. That was also the main reason the Six Enlightened Witches forced their way inside. There were all kinds of immortal objects, including the Seven Feather Five Fires Fan, the Guizang Lantern, the Nether Passage Lantern, the Eight Scenes Lantern, and many others. The Ascension Platform, the Immortal Retaining Platform, and the Zixiao Palace were also there. As a result, many high-level cultivators risked their lives entering the Paradise in search of their own opportunities.

“But only a tiny handful ever made it back out of Kunlun Paradise alive. Most either perished or became servants of God Luwu. Shen. After all, God Luwu was comparable to a Second-Tribulation Immortal, so an ordinary Immortal would have stood no chance against him. Once, a female Immortal of the Daoist Order obtained the Seven Feather Five Fires Fan, but she never escaped alive. She died at the hands of God Luwu, and her blood soaked into the fan. It was precisely her death that became the opportunity for my birth, allowing me to come into existence from the Seven Feather Five Fires Fan.”

Qi Xuansu understood. No wonder Madam Wu had taken the form of a female Daoist. It was not an arbitrary choice at all.

However, such an opportunity was far too difficult to replicate. It had come at the cost of an Immortal’s life, and there was no guarantee it would even succeed. It might even have had something to do with God Luwu himself.

At the same time, Qi Xuansu noticed that Madam Wu deliberately distinguished herself from the Seven Feather Five Fires Fan. Whenever she spoke, she referred to herself as her own entity while speaking of the Seven Feather Five Fires Fan as an object separate from her. It seemed Madam Wu had already made up her mind to sever herself from the immortal object and become a true Immortal in her own right.

Becoming an Immortal had both advantages and disadvantages. It meant that Madam Wu would only be able to remain in the mortal world for another 100 years. However, she had already lived for so many years that she had likely seen just about everything the mortal world had to offer. She was already far more fortunate compared with ordinary Immortals, who had only 100 years to spend in the mortal realm.

Besides, no one yet knew exactly what the end of the era would bring. In earlier times, people like the Imperial Preceptor would most likely have risked attempting to overcome the heavenly tribulation. But now, with the end of the era approaching, they no longer bothered. The potential rewards simply no longer justified the risks. Instead, they would merely wait until the appointed time and ascend.

Leaving the entrance hall, Qi Xuansu and Madam Wu found themselves before a long ascending corridor of stairs without either a roof or supporting columns. Bathed in sunlight, it stretched all the way up to Kukulkan’s bedchamber at the highest point of the palace.

On either side of the corridor stood side halls serving various purposes. Not only had their brilliance dimmed, but they were also tinged with an ominous blood-red glow. Many places had even turned charred black, as though they had been scorched by flames.

Qi Xuansu and Madam Wu hesitated.

Kukulkan was undoubtedly slumbering within his bedchamber. If they accidentally awakened him, the two of them would surely suffer the consequences. Yet having come this far, turning back was no longer an option.

The two looked at each other. Madam Wu then suggested, “Why don’t we cast a divination?”

“Alright.” Qi Xuansu agreed without hesitation.

Although Qi Xuansu did not know how to perform divination, he had the Guizang Lantern. At this point, he could only hope that the Guizang Lantern would be gracious enough to respond.

Qi Xuansu took out the Guizang Lantern and shook it three times, just as one would shake a cylinder with fortune sticks when drawing lots at a temple.

Madam Wu then pointed toward the wick, sending a small flame into it.

Perhaps it was out of respect for Madam Wu, the Guizang Lantern unexpectedly lit up.

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