A Pawn’s Passage

The Yinglong Warship continued to move through the seemingly endless rift between the yin and yang realms, and the situation had already taken a dramatic turn.

With the deaths of Nichinin, the Grand Abbot of Jinsho-ji, and Shinmen Yukinosuke from the Niten Ichiryu School, only three remained—a shinkan from the Asahi-jingu, a miko of royal descent, and a jonin from the Koga School.

Meanwhile, on the Daoist side, not a single person had been harmed.

The shinkan involuntarily took a few steps back.

Li Changge restored Mortal Vitality to its original length. With a flash from the Bright Crown on his head, he vanished once again.

This was neither spatial compression nor astral shifting. It was simply a result of time slowing down. As he moved at normal speed within the slowed flow of time, anyone not within the same temporal rhythm could only perceive it as instant teleportation.

In the next instant, Li Changge appeared before the shinkan and drove his sword into the man's chest, blood gushing forth.

As a semi-immortal object, Mortal Vitality had a natural sword qi that was also known as the Tribulation Defiance. This was said to be the most lethal sword qi beneath the level of true Immortals.

Thus, neither Nichinin nor the shinkan could withstand its might.

These poor souls were simply unlucky, completely crushed in terms of weaponry. It was like two armies clashing. One side was full-grown men, while the other was teenage boys. The men might be stronger, but all they had were melee weapons, while the boys were armed with modern firearms. The outcome had already been decided by the tools they carried.

Then, Mortal Vitality began to take root and sprout. Countless tendrils spread from the wound, and soon, more than a dozen identical sword edges burst from within the shinkan's body, protruding outward from all directions.

Yet anyone bold enough to challenge the Daoists had to possess some strength. The shinkan was not truly dead. His yin-spirit, now detached from his body, floated upward without dissipating, like a parasite that refused to die.

Li Changge was neither shocked nor surprised. He simply planted a foot on the shinkan's riddled corpse and withdrew his sword. The extruded blades retracted with it, leaving behind dozens of grotesque, gaping wounds.

With a flick, Mortal Vitality's blade shimmered like a lotus unstained by mud. Beads of blood scattered in arcs, glistening as they flew.

Meanwhile, Qi Xuansu set his sights on his new opponent—the miko. He planned to assist Zhang Yuelu in eliminating the miko, sparing Zhang Yuelu from having to resort to using Purple Afterglow.

Sensing Qi Xuansu's killing intent, the miko suddenly intensified her offensive. Her Kiku-ichimonji Norimune clashed head-on with Zhang Yuelu's Amorphous Paper.

Zhang Yuelu suddenly felt a tremendous force surging toward her. Even though she had already reached the Wuliang stage, she was still pushed backward.

The miko vanished into thin air and reappeared behind Zhang Yuelu.

Though this move appeared similar to Li Changge's ambush on Nichinin and the shinkan, the principles behind it were completely different.

The miko did not slow time. Rather, this was a spatial shift, relocating her own position and borrowing force to strike, making Zhang Yuelu bear the brunt of the attack. This was the Flying Swallow Technique.

Fenglin lacked a comprehensive cultivation system like the Daoist Order, which caused its practitioners to be generally weaker. However, there was a big strength disparity between its practitioners, as Fenglin still had its fair share of talents.

This led to a situation akin to having brilliant verses without memorable poems—some phrases became widely quoted, though the full texts they came from were otherwise mediocre and unremarkable. Such was Fenglin as a whole.

Regardless of the lineage, there were always flashes of genius, but they could not change the overall stagnation and rigid adherence to outdated conventions.

This move, Flying Swallow, truly caught Zhang Yuelu off guard.

At the critical moment, Zhang Yuelu activated the Five Thunder Celestial Heart Method. Divine images of Lightning Mother appeared at 36 key acupoints throughout her body, and purple lightning crisscrossed behind her like a flowing cape.

As the miko's blade came down, it halted just 10 centimeters from Zhang Yuelu's back, unable to move any further because it was entangled in a web of lightning. The purple electricity surged along the blade toward the miko's hands.

The miko was forced to pull back her blade and retreat.

At that moment, Qi Xuansu raised the Dragon Painting Pistol and fired two shots at the miko.

But the miko evaded both shots using the Flying Swallow Technique, causing them to miss completely.

Seizing the opportunity, Zhang Yuelu turned around, and the Amorphous Paper in her palm transformed into a flurry of paper lotus blossoms that spiraled toward the miko.

Having used the Flying Swallow Technique twice in a row, the miko needed to catch her breath. She could only wave her Kiku-ichimonji Norimune defensively to protect herself from head to toe, leaving no opening. For a moment, the harsh clash of metal filled the air.

Qi Xuansu could not help but feel pained over the wasted bullets. He only had 2 rounds of Grade-A Series Seven Dragon Eye Bullets and 8 rounds of Grade-A Series Eight Dragon Eye Bullets left.

Just as he was about to take up Green Cloud and join the melee, he heard Li Tiangang call out to him.

Qi Xuansu turned toward the voice and saw that the shinkan's yin-spirit had somehow caught fire. The flames had started at the shinkan's feet and, in the blink of an eye, had already risen to his waist.

This was no longer a desperate struggle. It was a complete annihilation of one's soul and spirit.

The shinkan spread his arms wide, lifted his head toward the sky, and shouted something loudly in the Wa dialect.

At the same time, a majestic pillar of light descended from the heavens, enveloping the remnants of his soul. The countless glowing fragments left behind after his combustion dissipated into the light.

It was precisely this pillar of light that prevented Li Tiangang from interrupting the shinkan's self-sacrificial ritual.

Qi Xuansu came to Li Tiangang's side and asked, "Sage Li, what kind of technique is this? How can it penetrate into the yin-yang seam?"

Li Tiangang, who had maintained a calm demeanor, finally revealed a hint of gravity. He said solemnly, "It's a divine descent. I never expected that this unassuming shinkan was actually the real trump card."

A flicker of frustration crossed Li Tiangang's face. "I miscalculated. Fenglin is always breeding these suicidal lunatics."

Qi Xuansu was momentarily stunned.

He was all too familiar with divine descents, having witnessed the descents of all three Ancient Immortals firsthand. He had even been a vessel of one such descent in Wuxing Mountain.

Different sects summoned different deities. Secret societies called forth Ancient Immortals, and the Buddhist Sect summoned Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. So what kind of deity had the Tenmon Sect summoned?

Before Qi Xuansu could ask, Li Tiangang had already begun explaining, "The Tenmon Sect worships a multitude of gods, reportedly numbering in the millions. But by our Daoist standards, only three of those qualify as true Immortals, called the Three Great Kami. The royal family of Fenglin claims descent from these three Immortals, and the three divine artifacts were said to be bestowed by them, establishing the royal family's unbroken divine mandate. A divine descent that requires a meikai-rank shinkan to sacrifice himself likely involves one of these Three Great Kami."

Just then, an illusory divine kingdom began to take shape above the pillar of light, like a mirage.

The first thing to appear was an expanse of emerald waves that was vast and boundless. At the distant horizon, an island floated amid the clouds and the sea.

Faintly visible on the island were numerous pavilions, towers, and rolling mountains, like a scene from a celestial paradise.

The island was covered in cherry blossom trees. As the east wind passed, countless petals danced through the air, dazzling the eye. Scattered among the blossoms were flecks of brilliant gold, refracting the light of the sun.

Then a crimson sun slowly rose, leaping above the sea of clouds and casting countless rays of radiant light, dyeing the sky in glorious hues.

The once pitch-black yin-yang rift was brought to life by this breathtaking vision.

Li Tiangang stared at the scene before him, furrowing his brows. "It's Himiko, the chief among the Three Great Kami."

Qi Xuansu was startled. "The Queen of Fenglin, who was once conferred the title by the Central Plains Court?"

"It's not surprising," Li Tiangang replied, his tone far from relaxed. "The Primordial Daoist Ancestor once served as custodian of the National Archives and was posthumously honored as the Primordial Xuanyuan Emperor. So many talents have once served in the Imperial Court, including the Holy Xuan and Donghuang. It's only in the past two hundred years that Daoist talents stopped serving in the Imperial Court and rose above the court. In earlier times, it wasn't uncommon for Immortals to descend and walk among mere mortals."

Qi Xuansu's expression grew solemn as well.

Li Tiangang continued, "The Yata Mirror, one of the three divine artifacts, is associated with this goddess. Let's hope that the Ise-jingu miko didn't bring it. As long as that artifact isn't here and this is only a mortal incarnation, we still have a chance to hold out until we leave the yin-yang rift. If the Sage Commander or Great Sage of the Fenglin Daoist Mansion arrives in time, perhaps we can slay this incarnation."

As sunlight converged, a divine female spirit in flowing, wide-sleeved robes manifested within the yin-yang seam. Her garments were primarily white with red accents, much like a miko's attire. Perhaps the miko uniform was derived from hers. Her beauty was unparalleled. Her long black hair fell freely, with only the ends lightly tied. At the center of her brow was a sun-like sigil, around her neck hung a string of magatama beads, and behind her head shone a radiant crimson sun resembling a halo.

She descended slowly with bare feet and her eyes closed.

Where her feet touched down, ripples of emerald waves spread.

Immediately, the vast sea beneath her feet began to expand, and in the blink of an eye, the sea engulfed the entire Yinglong Warship.

At this moment, Yinglong Warship was no longer traveling through the void of the yin-yang seam but sailing upon a boundless ocean of emerald waves.

This was a Godly Immortal's divine kingdom.

There was no doubt that Himiko's divine kingdom was rapidly expanding and had enveloped the Yinglong Warship. Within this realm, all enemies would be suppressed while its master's power surged exponentially. All rules could be altered at will.

Li Tiangang swiftly entered the Fusion Realm of a Qi Refiner to resist the divine kingdom's influence.

Li Changge and Qi Xuansu were inevitably affected by the divine kingdom's aura.

On the other side, the miko's strength surged under the divine kingdom's blessing, while Zhang Yuelu's was severely suppressed.

Though Zhang Yuelu had held a slight advantage before, she now fell into a perilous disadvantage.

Given the circumstances, Zhang Yuelu had no choice but to summon Purple Afterglow. A purple mist spread throughout the void.