A Pawn's Passage

Immortal objects each served different functions.

Some were auxiliary, meant to enhance the wielder’s strength. Some were for direct combat, such as the Skycaller and Heavenly Preceptor’s Twin Swords.

Others that fall outside these two categories had special properties depending entirely on how they were employed. Their use was not limited to combat alone. Strictly speaking, the Three Treasures Scepter was classified under this category. Its primary function was to activate the Ascension Platform and the Immortal Retaining Platform, similar to how the Heavenly Preceptor’s Twin Swords were linked to the Punishment Pillars.

However, the Three Treasures Scepter could also be used as a weapon. It was forged from an unknown material and contained the powers of earth, water, fire, and wind. Thus, it had boundless might and was capable of shattering anything. Its defining trait was its overwhelming force and tremendous weight.

Previously, when Qi Xuansu received the Three Treasures Scepter from Great Sage Jiang, he could barely lift it. Now, however, he could hold it with ease, which meant that he was now in the Zaohua stage.

This was Qi Xuansu’s fourth time entering the Zaohua stage using the Scripture of Zuriel. It was unprecedented, as no one had ever used the Scripture as frequently as Qi Xuansu did. That was because the Scripture existed as a complete whole in the past, not a consumable meant for single use. If a Wuliang-stage Heavenly Being were to read the complete version of the Scripture, it would undoubtedly be a death sentence. This was only possible because the Earthly Preceptor dismantled the Scripture of Zuriel, minimizing its negative effects.

After experiencing it so many times, Qi Xuansu had become somewhat numb to the inflated arrogance that he was the axis of heaven and earth and the sole protagonist, leaving him increasingly clear-headed.

If Qi Xuansu continued using the Scripture of Zuriel, he would certainly become completely immune to the side effects.

The first three times, Qi Xuansu’s Martial Arts Practitioner lineage, Shaman lineage, and Diviner lineage were enhanced. This time, it was the Rogue Cultivator lineage.

He was now in the Liberation Realm of Rogue Cultivators. After this stage, a Rogue Cultivator would ascend to become a Corpse Liberation Immortal, considered the lowest level among all Five Immortal Lineages.

Ordered from lowest to highest level, Rogue Cultivators, Qi Refiners, and Banished Immortals belonged to the same lineage. In the Zaohua stage, the Rogue Cultivator’s Liberation Realm was similar to the Banished Immortal’s Three Corpses Severance Realm, except that the latter could sever up to three incarnations, while the former could only produce one and must rely on external objects to do so.

Put simply, among the many methods of ascension, Corpse Liberation Immortals ranked at the very bottom. All other Immortals ascended with their physical bodies, while Corpse Liberation Immortals could only allow their spirit to ascend, leaving their corpse behind in the mortal world, hence the term “corpse liberation.”