A Pawn's Passage

Madam Wu had anticipated Itzamna’s reaction.

Had she waited until Itzamna actually attacked before trying to intercept him, it would most likely have been too late. Almost the moment Madam Wu activated the Moon Mirror, she was already prepared to stand in front of it. If Itzamna chose not to attack, there would have been no losses.

Pierced clean through by Itzamna’s strike, Madam Wu drifted downward like a falling leaf.

However, the golden spear had likewise lost its momentum and was unable to break through the mirror’s defenses.

As a result, the figure within the mirror grew ever clearer, changing from a vague silhouette into a distinct human form, as if someone were standing before the mirror, gazing at their own reflection.

The one who appeared was none other than Great Sage Jiang.

Whenever a major matter arose that required the Daoist Order to take a stance or act, it was always Great Sage Jiang who stepped forward.

There were several reasons for this. Among the many first-rank Tianzhen Daoists, the top three were naturally the Three Deputy Grand Masters. Yet these three formed a delicate balance of power, making it difficult for any one of them to move lightly. As the fourth Virtuous Great Sage, Great Sage Jiang was the highest-ranking Daoist aside from the Three Deputy Grand Masters.

Whether in prestige, seniority, rank, or official position, Great Sage Jiang was fully qualified to represent the Daoist Order. In fact, Qi Xuansu’s position as envoy should originally have belonged to Great Sage Jiang. It was only because the Great Sage was unable to leave Jade Capital for an extended period that Qi Xuansu had been pushed into the role.

In terms of cultivation, Great Sage Jiang was one of the Daoist Order’s greatest combat forces. With numerous immortal objects once belonging to successive Grand Masters in his possession, he could even contend with the Great Xuan Emperor without falling behind. As such, he was capable of suppressing the overwhelming majority of conflicts. If even Great Sage Jiang could not handle a situation, then the Daoist Order would almost certainly have to mobilize its armies.

While the Three Deputy Grand Masters each headed one of the three major Daoist sects, Great Sage Jiang once joked self-deprecatingly that he belonged to no faction, so nobody took him seriously. By “nobody,” he was referring to his peers of his own generation. There was admittedly some emotion and exaggeration in those words. It was not that no one respected him, but that without a faction of his own, he could never truly direct the Daoist Order the way the Three Deputy Grand Masters did. Instead, he remained in the role of an executor. No matter how fiercely the Golden Tower Council debated, if the Three Deputy Grand Masters were already in agreement, there would not even be a discussion to begin with.

The simplest example was the position of Grand Master itself. For all these years, the Daoist Order had refused to elect a new Grand Master, insisting on waiting until the Three Deputy Grand Masters were on the verge of ascension. The truth was simply that the Three Deputy Grand Masters would not allow an election. Likewise, when the Three Deputy Grand Masters wanted to wage war, the Golden Tower Council could not stop them. During the Fenglin Campaign, the Golden Tower Council had, in principle, opposed going to war. The Three Deputy Grand Masters simply forced the Golden Tower Council’s hand. In the end, the war proceeded anyway.

Great Sage Jiang could only follow the Three Deputy Grand Masters’ lead. That was why he would occasionally make bitter remarks about how nobody took him seriously.

This time, Great Sage Jiang had once again come to clean up the aftermath on behalf of the Daoist Order. Perhaps this was simply the price of possessing too many immortal objects. With so many treasures at his disposal and possessing such formidable cultivation and freedom to move, he became the ideal and only candidate for such firefighting tasks.

Before summoning Great Sage Jiang, Madam Wu had certainly communicated with him beforehand. She could hardly summon him first and explain the situation afterward. The battlefield changed by the instant. If Great Sage Jiang arrived without knowing anything, the best-case scenario would be missing the right moment to act, but the worst-case scenario would be placing himself in grave danger. Without first making the situation clear, simply opening a Yin-Yang Gate would never have elicited a response from Great Sage Jiang’s side.

Madam Wu had already briefed Great Sage Jiang on the situation while making her way here. Thus, the moment Great Sage Jiang arrived, he wasted no words and immediately made his move.

With a flash of movement, Great Sage Jiang appeared directly before Itzamna. A scepter materialized in his hand, and he brought it crashing straight down upon Itzamna’s head.

Although Itzamna did not know Great Sage Jiang’s identity, the latter’s cultivation and the immortal object in his hand were undeniably real. Itzamna dared not show the slightest carelessness and condensed a protective barrier of sunlight around himself. This was a divine art called the Last Sanctuary, which he had secretly learned from the Holy Court in the last war.

The Three Treasures Scepter smashed into the barrier with the thunderous resonance of a great bell. The tremendous shockwave became a raging gale that swept across the pocket realm. Qi Xuansu felt the blood qi throughout his body violently churn as he once again experienced, from close range, the terrifying might of a clash between Immortals at the pinnacle.

The reason Great Sage Jiang had not used the immensely powerful Moral Sovereign was because they were in the Southern Continent. Here, Moral Sovereign was quite literally out of touch with the earth. Without the Three Dragon Veins of Kunlun, it could not properly connect to the earth qi. After all, Moral Sovereign was a Confucian immortal object, carrying the distinct characteristics of the Confucian School. It could dominate its own territory with ease, but once taken abroad, it was out of its element.

Fortunately, the Three Treasures Scepter was unaffected by such limitations. Its primary purpose was to open or seal the Kunlun Paradise. But when used in battle, it excelled as a bludgeon with its overwhelming force and crushing weight. Combined with Great Sage Jiang’s cultivation, this strike was truly earth-shattering. Even Last Sanctuary, reputed to be immune to all attacks, was smashed open with spreading cracks that continued to widen.

Great Sage Jiang did not relent. His technique was exceedingly simple. He merely wielded the Three Treasures Scepter like a hammer, delivering one crushing blow after another until the cracks spread across the barrier. Finally, the barrier exploded into countless fragments.

Itzamna did not remain idle, condensing another golden spear in his hand. The instant Last Sanctuary shattered, he thrust it straight toward Great Sage Jiang.

When Heavenly Beings fought, victory was determined through bold, decisive exchanges.

When Immortals fought, they pursued the highest level of simplicity. Their great skill appeared unrefined as they returned to the essence.

At this level, one could still strive for exquisite formations or profound techniques, but refining martial moves themselves no longer held much significance.

Great Sage Jiang had no defensive immortal object and did not dare receive the attack head-on, so he retreated. In Qi Xuansu’s eyes, Great Sage Jiang instantly reappeared a few hundred meters away, with another sword now in his hand.

Blunt weapons were best for breaking shields and armor, but to wound an opponent, nothing could beat a sharp blade.

Qi Xuansu was very familiar with this sword. It was none other than Heaven’s Will, which once belonged to Chen Shuhua. After Chen Shuhua had been executed, Great Sage Jiang had brought back both Heaven’s Will and the Longevity Stone to Jade Capital. It now appeared that they had been placed under the custody of Zixiao Palace, becoming the Grand Master’s immortal objects. In truth, this arrangement was for the best. As the saying went, people did not fear scarcity, they feared inequality. Since none of the Three Sects obtained them, all three could accept the outcome.

Qi Xuansu could not help but wonder. If I were to become the Grand Master, wouldn’t that mean I could obtain another Longevity Stone?

Though that Longevity Stone was flawed, Chen Shuhua had purified it, eliminating many of its hidden dangers. If further refined through other means, it might even solve the dead end that plagued Qi Xuansu as a manmade Banished Immortal.

Of course, that all depended on Qi Xuansu actually becoming the Grand Master. If Li Changge were the one to take the position instead, then it would simply end up solving Li Changge’s problem.

Fundamentally speaking, the path Qi Xuansu was now walking was precisely the one the Li family had intended for Li Changge. By taking advantage of the head start by becoming a manmade Banished Immortal, Li Changge was supposed to participate in major events ahead of everyone else and accumulate prestige in advance. Once one gained an early lead, every subsequent step would come more easily. Even if Zhang Yuelu and the others eventually caught up in cultivation, they would never catch up in prestige and accomplishments. The competition for Grand Master was not a martial contest, so having roughly comparable cultivation was enough. In the end, what truly mattered was public prestige.

Instead, Qi Xuansu had emerged out of nowhere and taken Li Changge’s place. While the other contenders were still serving as Chief Deputy Mansion Masters, Qi Xuansu was already wielding enormous influence across the Southern Continent. While Zhang Yuelu was wrangling with the old Daoists in Nanyang, Qi Xuansu was building connections with the Great Sages of the Western Daoist Order and the ancient gods of the Southern Continent. The scale of their influence was on entirely different levels. Cultivation could eventually be improved, but how could one ever catch up to that kind of intangible prestige?

As Qi Xuansu’s thoughts drifted toward such future possibilities, Great Sage Jiang suddenly made his move, raising Heaven’s Will toward the sky.

The vault of heaven immediately began to descend, as though the sky itself were collapsing.

Of course, this was no illusion. It was the immense might of the sword unleashed by Great Sage Jiang.

The wielder of the sword acted in accordance with the heavens, while any who opposed him naturally became those who defied the heavens.

Chen Shuhua had once employed this technique as well, but it could not compare with Great Sage Jiang’s version. Chen Shuhua’s cultivation had always been inferior to Great Sage Jiang’s, and at the time, she had also been hindered by the side effects of her transformation. Moreover, this technique was fundamentally very similar to Great Sage Jiang’s supreme art, Heaven and Earth Convergence. Thus, when Great Sage Jiang activated the sword, its power far surpassed Chen Shuhua’s and simply could not be compared.

The descending heavens were not intended to crush Itzamna but rather to lock him firmly in place.

Then the radiance of Heaven’s Will swelled like it knew no limit.

A sword light shot straight into the heavens, stretching nearly 50 kilometers to connect heaven and earth. But it was only as thick as a sheet of paper.

Great Sage Jiang himself merged completely with the sword light and came crashing down with overwhelming speed, splitting Itzamna cleanly down the middle.

The sword light passed cleanly through Itzamna’s body. A fine line appeared across his face, extending all the way down to his lower abdomen. The line then split into a crack, from which brilliant golden light burst forth.

As the sword light withdrew, Great Sage Jiang reappeared. Although that strike had been incomparably mighty, it had also drained him considerably. It was not something he could sustain for long.

However, as a First-Tribulation Immortal, Itzamna would not perish so easily. More and more golden light poured out of his body, forming an enormous Spiritual Statue in his own likeness. The giant Spiritual Statue extended an arm, its hand expanding without end until it blotted out the sky. Everything within Great Sage Jiang’s field of vision disappeared, forcibly drawing away his concentration and leaving him nowhere to evade.

The five fingers then closed, trapping Great Sage Jiang within the giant palm.

In an instant, the space inside and outside the palm became two separate worlds. Itzamna intended to sever Great Sage Jiang from this pocket realm and exile him elsewhere.

But Great Sage Jiang was a seasoned veteran. He immediately invoked the mystical powers of heaven and earth through Heaven’s Will.

The heavens above continued to descend. The sky and the ground were closing together, slowly compressing the narrow strip of mortal world that lay between them.

The first to bear the brunt of this pressure was the towering Spiritual Statue that stood between heaven and earth. Under the crushing weight of the descending sky, it began to warp violently, seemingly about to collapse and dissipate at any moment.

Left with no other choice, Itzamna dismissed his Spiritual Statue and revealed his true body, standing 5 meters tall. By this time, the sword wound had already vanished. For the Golden Body of a deity, there was no such thing as a fatal weak point, not even when they were split cleanly in half.

Seizing the opportunity, Great Sage Jiang used his sword to tear open the small world he was trapped in and break free from his confinement.

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