A Pawn's Passage

The best way to deal with the humanoid insects was to stop them from implanting insect eggs into more people. So long as the children and adolescents were not implanted with the eggs, they would still be properly resettled.

Naturally, the Daoist Order had no intention of raising a future generation of rebels. Young children were still malleable. But many of the teenagers were already old enough to understand what was happening. If they witnessed the Daoist Order exterminating all of their humanoid insect elders with their own eyes, they would inevitably develop overwhelming hatred and swear to avenge their elders for the rest of their lives.

The Daoist Order also wished to reason with them, explaining that these people had already been controlled by insects and became slaves of the Insect Queen. But the children might not understand. Even if they did, they might doubt the Daoist Order’s intentions. So the Daoist Order decided not to waste any extra effort. Instead, erasing their memories permanently and resettling the children was the easier solution.

Even if some of these children had exceptional talent, the Daoist Order would not send them to the Wanxiang Daoist Palace or any other academy.

That was because the Daoist Order conducted background investigations. This mechanism had been established after the Ancient Immortals infiltrated Jade Capital, specifically to prevent outside forces from infiltrating the Daoist Order. The authority for these investigations rested with Ziwei Hall.

That was why the children of the aristocratic clans were said to have “proper roots.” Their background investigation would show that their parents, siblings, spouses, and elders were all senior figures within the Daoist Order. They practically were the Daoist Order itself, so how could it get any more proper than that? This was also why the heirs of many great families never dirtied their own hands. They needed spotless records, while the dirty work was left to those family members who had little hope of advancing in the Daoist Order.

Likewise, an outsider wishing to marry a Daoist would also have to undergo a background investigation. As a result, over the years, those from the Great Xuan Court had become the preferred marriage partners for members of the Daoist Order. Lei Xiaohuan had come from the Imperial Court before joining the Daoist Order alongside her husband. The same was true of the Qin family’s princesses, Shi Bingyun, and others. After all, members of the Imperial Court used to be part of the Northern Daoist Sect.

The children of the great clans represented the first class of “proper roots,” while the orphaned descendants of the Daoist Order’s martyrs were the second class. People like Qi Xuansu belonged to the third class. Although orphans did not know who their parents were, they had been adopted by the Daoist Order as infants and raised entirely within it. Such children also had their advantages. They were blank sheets of paper upon which the Daoist Order could write as it pleased. Hence, they were often loyal to the Daoist Order.

This influence permeated one’s very bones. Over the years, Qi Xuansu had suffered many injustices and had even come close to death on several occasions. Yet he had always hated the individuals responsible rather than extending that hatred to the Daoist Order as a whole. He remained instinctively close to the Daoist Order.

However, these children were different. Even after having their memories erased, they would still be regarded as having “improper roots” and could not be fully trusted.

When Utu arrived at the village, he showed the humanoid insects how powerful the Demonic Sect was, or rather, what an outsourced hand temporarily serving beneath Demon Emperor Qi was capable of.

After all, Utu’s actual master had only just obtained a first-rank Daoist Priest Kindred status, while Utu himself had no official Daoist status.

Utu’s appearance and bearing were perfectly suited to the role of a demonic cultivator. At this time, he transformed into a 300-meter-tall gigantic figure.

Daylight gave way to darkness, and the aura of death spread through the air. The entire village was thrown into panic.

Unfortunately, Utu could not let out one of those sinister cackles because he was simply too taciturn.

By now, everyone in the village had emerged from their homes and gathered together. Every one of them turned pale when they looked up into the sky.

The dark sky held no stars at all, only endless billowing black mist, as though countless wandering souls were drifting through it.

“What is that?!” Someone cried out in horror.

Another person answered in despair, “Judging by this phenomenon, it must be a Demon King.”

This was the advantage of the Godly Immortal lineage. Regardless of its actual destructive power, the spectacle alone was often enough to terrify ordinary people. A Martial Arts Practitioner might overwhelm others through sheer presence, but it could never produce such a visually awe-inspiring display.

A young man frowned, sensing that something was amiss. He quietly retreated to the rear of the crowd.

The village chief remained relatively composed and shouted, “Who’s there?”

A gigantic black scythe materialized in Utu’s hand. “I am Utu. By the order of a Daoist Sage, I have come to exterminate you humanoid insects.”

Along with Utu’s gigantic form, his scythe had likewise expanded to hundreds of meters in length.

The village chief at the front shouted, “We dwell in this remote place and take no part in worldly affairs. What crime have we committed?”

Utu did not possess Qi Xuansu’s quick wit and was almost stumped by the question. After a moment’s thought, he declared in a deep voice, “Slandering the Daoist Order and harboring treasonous intentions—your crimes warrant execution!”

With that, Utu gave the humanoid insects no further opportunity to speak. He swung the enormous scythe in his hand, sweeping it across the entire village.

The scythe looked terrifying, but it was only an illusion. It swept through the village without affecting buildings or any other inanimate objects, and not a single person bore even the slightest wound. However, dangling from its blade was a string of translucent souls. This scythe had originally belonged to the Death Apostle Samuel, so its divine powers naturally mirrored Samuel’s own.

Only those who had not been implanted with insect eggs were spared.

Moments later, the soulless bodies collapsed one after another, their eyes still open in death and their mouths hanging wide. Insects began crawling out of their mouths, only to die shortly afterward.

These humanoid insects had not yet reached the adult stage. Their hosts’ deaths had merely caused the insect eggs within them to hatch prematurely, making long-term survival impossible.

The young man who had quietly retreated behind the others sensed that the situation had turned awry, so he immediately spun around to flee. Unexpectedly, he had been hiding his true strength. He appeared to be only at the Core Formation stage, but in reality, he had already reached the Adult Insect stage and was capable of flying.

Utu frowned slightly. Rather than swinging the giant scythe again, he merely released a mass of black mist to pursue the fleeing man.

The young man let out a cold snort and produced a magical treasure resembling a tortoise shell. With a slight activation, the shell expanded rapidly until it completely enveloped him. The black mist did nothing to hinder him as he fled into the distance.

Utu paid it little mind. After all, this operation was meant to exterminate all the humanoid insects. The one who escaped would return to the Blue Cloud Sect. Sooner or later, they would attack the Blue Cloud Sect anyway, so they would meet again.

After narrowly escaping with his life, the young man realized that the unnatural darkness covered only the village and its immediate surroundings. Everywhere else remained under broad daylight. Seeing that Utu was no longer pursuing him, he breathed a small sigh of relief.

He then fixed his course toward Cusco and flew away, with no intention of returning to the Blue Cloud Sect. If his guess was correct, the Demonic Sect had resolved to wipe the Blue Cloud Sect out completely this time.

Thus, instead of becoming cannon fodder, he decided to first lie low in Cusco. After all, the most dangerous place was often the safest.

He would then observe how the situation developed. If things became truly dire, he would continue north, cross the Rio Grande, and head for San Antonio. Surely, the Demonic Sect would not be able to extend its reach that far.

Utu then turned his attention to the children and teenagers.

These youngsters had yet to comprehend what had happened, and some were so frightened that they stood there in a daze.

Only the young girl named Jin Xian’er and the boy named Yao Tian remained relatively composed. They leaned against each other, frightened yet keeping their composure.

Utu should have praised them by saying that their bravery was commendable. However, he sensed that something had gone wrong on Qi Xuansu’s side, so he lost all interest in such observations and decided to finish matters as quickly as possible.

He made no effort to explain anything. Instead, he simply put all of the children to sleep and then gathered them into his black robe.

When they awoke again, an entirely new life would await them. Immortality, Foundation Building Elixir, and the village would become a nightmare that vanished without a trace upon waking.

Just because the Daoist Order would not take them did not mean no one else would. The Daoist Order ruled an enormous territory and had an abundance of talent, so its standards were naturally high. But other factions were not nearly so particular. Becoming an affiliated member outside the formal ranks was not a bad outcome. Neither Utu nor Hun Ahau belonged to the Daoist Order, yet both enjoyed high status and wielded considerable authority.

Meanwhile, Qi Xuansu had indeed run into a bit of trouble.

He had merely been observing Utu’s actions from the sidelines. Yet shortly after Utu left his side, an inconspicuous leaf drifted toward him with the wind. When it was still a little over 3 meters away from Qi Xuansu, it suddenly struck, transforming into an emerald-green flying dagger that shot straight toward the center of his forehead.

Qi Xuansu’s Longevity Stone Heart differed from Li Changge’s and did not possess the uncanny ability to sense danger before it arrived. Although the Demonic Blade did react, Qi Xuansu did not realize the danger until the flying dagger was less than 15 centimeters from his forehead. He instinctively raised a hand to block it, but despite his tough physique, the dagger pierced straight through his palm before burying itself 2 centimeters into his forehead.

There were many within the Daoist Order who wielded flying swords but very few who used flying daggers.

Among the people Qi Xuansu knew, only one used flying daggers—Yao Pei.

However, Yao Pei was nowhere near this level of cultivation. She could not have injured Qi Xuansu so effortlessly. Someone like Li Changge, after obtaining the Qinghuo Pearl, would have been far more plausible.

Qi Xuansu was certain that this was not the work of the humanoid insects but a Daoist technique. The only technique capable of countering the Demonic Blade was the Heavenly Blade, which had an exceptionally high cultivation threshold. Even within the talent-abundant Daoist Order, very few people had ever mastered it, let alone the humanoid insects.

Despite Yao Pei’s extraordinary talent, cultivating the Heavenly Blade had left her behaving almost deranged, constantly teetering somewhere between having a serious mental disorder and suffering cultivation deviation.

Qi Xuansu pulled the flying dagger from his forehead and examined it in his hand.

The flying dagger resembled a bamboo leaf, lifelike in every detail. Where exactly did this flying dagger come from?

Its origin was unknown, but its destination was perfectly clear. It had flown straight into Qi Xuansu’s forehead.

Utu returned to Qi Xuansu’s side and felt alarmed when he realized that Sage Qi had been injured. If Qi Xuansu were to die on the Southern Continent, there was no way Utu could escape responsibility.

Qi Xuansu said nothing further. He simply handed the flying dagger to Utu and said, “Examine this for me.”

Utu accepted the dagger and examined it carefully before saying hesitantly, “Sage Qi, this flying dagger bears no residual aura whatsoever, yet it was able to pierce your physique. The cultivation of the person who launched it must be extraordinarily high. I’m afraid even greater than mine.”

Since Utu was already a Pseudo-Immortal, a cultivation level above his meant it could only be a true Immortal.

Qi Xuansu took the flying dagger back and murmured to himself, “An Immortal?”

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