A Pawn's Passage

Sun Zhongnu was originally just a minor figure. Under normal circumstances, even if he defected, it would not have caused such a huge disturbance. Yet he happened to act at a critical juncture—when Qi Xuansu had arrived in the Northern Continent, Audrey had gone missing, and tensions between the Steam Evangelical Sect and the Western Daoist Order were high.

Through a convergence of circumstances and interests, Sun Zhongnu unexpectedly stirred the currents of the entire Northern Continent, making his name known to all. But for Sun Zhongnu, this was not necessarily a good thing, because now, everyone wanted him dead. The greater the destruction he caused and the worse the impact, the more certain his death became. Even someone as powerful as Chen Shuhua ultimately died.

Of course, one could say Chen Shuhua simply was not strong enough. But human power had its limits. Immortality was already the upper bound under normal circumstances.

In truth, Qi Xuansu had split his forces into three. One path was Madam Wu heading to sea to draw Sophia’s attention; the second was his other Liberation Incarnation, anchored to Green Cloud, escorting Audrey by land; and the third was his true body remaining in St. York.

Whether it was the Evangelical Ministry or the Western Daoist Order, everyone believed Qi Xuansu was fleeing St. York. None expected that he was still there.

This was precisely the advantage of the Rogue Cultivator lineage.

Ever since the Six Immortal Lineages appeared, there had been many Rogue Cultivators. After all, those lacking sufficient aptitude were plentiful. Yet for the same reason, Rogue Cultivators above the Zaohua stage were exceedingly rare. Thus, identifying a Corpse Liberation Immortal was feasible, as high-level Rogue Cultivators were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. But the same could not be done for Earthly Immortals or Godly Immortals, as there were too many of them.

Zaohua-stage Rogue Cultivators were even rarer than Banished Immortals. Due to their scarcity, few people truly understood the Liberation Method.

Though Banished Immortals also could sever their Three Corpses, they did not rely on external means but on internal cultivation. So unless one reached an extraordinary level and split the Three Corpse Incarnations into independent entities, those incarnations could not exist for long because they had no anchor.

If Qi Xuansu’s incarnation were merely a Three Corpse Incarnation, it could not have lasted this long. It would have dissipated midway, leaving only Audrey behind. That would have created quite a spectacle.

On the other hand, although the upper echelons of the Daoist Order and Madam Wu knew Qi Xuansu’s true background, others did not. At most, they had heard the term “Manmade Banished Immortal.” But they would have had no idea what it truly entailed. After all, in the vast Daoist Order, there were only two such figures, one of them being the protected Li family scion. So how could outsiders possibly know such secrets?

Since most people did not understand what the Manmade Banished Immortal lineage truly was, they naturally assumed it to be simply a Banished Immortal. By the time the information spread to the Western Daoist Order and the Holy Court, it became even more diluted, simply labeling Qi Xuansu a Banished Immortal.