A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu’s counterattack had been delayed until now because contacting Liu Gui required time. Another reason was due to his severely weakened cultivation after the battle with True Lord Siming.

Now that Qi Xuansu had received the Xuan Jade from the Earthly Preceptor, he was just one step away from the Zaohua stage. With five pages of the Scripture of Zuriel to supplement him, his combat power was formidable.

Back in Thanglong Prefecture, Qi Xuansu had relied on Master Yin’s power to defeat True Lord Siming’s divine descent vessel. Thus, he had a chance of defeating Wu Guangbi as well.

Now, Qi Xuansu had an additional helper—Zhang Yuelu.

Zhang Yuelu was also at the Wuliang stage. If both of them used the Scripture of Zuriel to temporarily step into the Zaohua stage, then used their Twin Sword Union with their immortal objects, slaying Wu Guangbi became entirely possible.

Not to mention, Qi Xuansu could still call upon the Three Yin Beings for assistance.

By all measures, Qi Xuansu held a significant advantage. With over a 50% chance of success, the attempt was worth making. The only regret was that Great Sage Jiang had reclaimed Qi Xuansu’s authority to command the Poluo Daoist Mansion’s Spirit Guards. Thus, Spirit Guard Jia Yin no longer answered directly to Qi Xuansu.

Although Qi Xuansu could rely on personal favor to request assistance, he did not want to make things difficult for Spirit Guard Jia Yin, whose full attention was already devoted to hunting Chen Shuhua.

Great Sage Jiang had mobilized most of the Daoist forces in Nanyang, weaving layer upon layer of encirclement to kill Chen Shuhua, making the first-rank Spirit Guards indispensable.

To the Golden Tower Council, this was the true priority. Even though a hostile Immortal alone could not shake the Daoist Order’s foundations, Chen Shuhua could still cause severe instability throughout Nanyang if she returned to peak condition. Thus, time was of the essence. The Daoist Order had to kill her before she recovered.

Great Sage Jiang’s arrival was not all bad. Though he had deprived Qi Xuansu of more authority, his presence in Thanglong Prefecture gave Qi Xuansu the confidence to attack the Heavenly Court. At the very least, Qi Xuansu no longer needed to fear the Golden Patriarch’s interference because Great Sage Jiang would sense it and intervene.

Whenever major crises occurred, aside from the Three Deputy Grand Masters themselves, Great Sage Jiang represented the Golden Tower Council’s highest level of response. The number of immortal objects he commanded far exceeded those of the other Virtuous Great Sages. Although both Great Sage Jiang and Golden Patriarch were Immortals, the sheer amount of immortal objects the former possessed gave him an overwhelming edge. This was also why Great Sage Jiang had the confidence to hunt down Chen Shuhua.