A Pawn's Passage

Although Qi Xuansu could see the majestic Beimang Mountain and the gloomy Ghost Pass from a distance, it took him around two hours to arrive at the foot of it.

The reason why the Ghost Pass was named as such could be traced back to Ancient Daoism. At the time, Ancient Daoism was divided into five sects: Eastern Sect, Western Sect, Southern Sect, Northern Sect, and Central Sect.

The Eastern Sect was the predecessor of the Taiping Sect, headed by the Li family. The Southern Sect was the predecessor of the Zhengyi Sect, headed by the Zhang family. The Northern Sect was the predecessor of the Great Xuan royal family, the Qin family. The Central Sect was regarded as the predecessor of the Quanzhen Sect. The Western Sect was the predecessor of a Daoist sect that later followed Tantai Yun to the Western Region.

Hundreds of years ago, two people competed to be the leader of the Western Sect. One of them was a Martial Arts Practitioner from the Manly Immortal lineage with strong blood qi, akin to that of an ancient mythical beast. Legend says they could eat nine elephants in one meal. Their punch was extremely powerful, and they could destroy thousands of spells with just one roar. They were dubbed the ultimate Martial Arts Practitioner.

The other competitor was a Diviner from the Ghostly Immortal lineage who could create an entire world with one Thought and used spells to create a ghost nation with so many illusions that it was tough to distinguish what was real. After detaining countless souls of living beings, this ghost nation formed a realm of its own with a minor cycle of reincarnation.

In the end, the Ghostly Immortal could not defeat the Manly Immortal, who entered the ghost nation. The Manly Immortal had strong blood qi, causing the ghost nation to collapse. The Ghostly Immortal even suffered a backlash from the ghost nation and perished.

After that, the disciples of the Ghostly Immortal, who called themselves the Zaoge Cult, learned from the mistake and decided to build a real ghost nation in the mortal realm, occupying Beimang Mountain.

Beimang Mountain was one of the 72 sacred places, ranking above Yunjin Mountain. Since Beimang Mountain was a geomantic treasure land, many emperors and dignitaries from previous dynasties built mausoleums and tombs there.

After the Zaoge Cult occupied this place, they began extensive cultivation of countless dead souls for more than a hundred years, waiting for an opportune moment.

When the Golden Horde army invaded the south and overthrew the Jin Dynasty, the world was thrown into chaos. Corpses piled up as high as mountains, and blood pooled like the sea. The Zaoge Cult used this opportunity to build a ghost nation on Earth, connecting it to the netherworld.

This ghost nation eventually became the famous Ghost Kingdom, which prospered for a while, forming a realm of its own that was said to be comparable in size to the Imperial Capital.

The Daoist Order attacked the Ghost Kingdom twice with all its strength, defeating the Zaoge Cult. When the Holy Xuan united the five Ancient Daoist sects into the three major Daoist Sects today, he put the Ghost Kingdom under the custody of the Quanzhen Sect.

After the two wars, the Ghost Kingdom was in a state of dilapidation. It was like a house, with only some pillars, beams, and broken walls left standing. The yin energy from this Ghost Kingdom spread to the entire Beimang Mountain, turning this sacred mountain into a haunted land.

Some people proposed to destroy this Ghost Kingdom to prevent it from further eroding Beimang Mountain. However, some advocated preserving this Ghost Kingdom. After all, this place was the culmination of the wisdom and hard work of their ancestors, so it would be a waste to destroy it. Moreover, good and evil were dependent on one’s perspective.

In the end, the Holy Xuan decided to keep the Ghost Kingdom and repair it to prevent the yin energy from leaking out.

It took hundreds of years and three generations of Grand Masters to fully repair the Ghost Kingdom. The Daoist Order used the Ghost Kingdom as a place for storing, testing, cultivating, and suppressing various creations. There was also a Huasheng Hall manufacturing plant located inside.

If this Ghost Kingdom was compromised, causing the yin energy to leak out and the creations to escape, the consequences would be far more dire than the destruction of the manufacturing plant in Cuowenbu.

Therefore, the Daoist Order set up a checkpoint called the Ghost Pass before anyone could enter the heavily guarded Ghost Kingdom.

Qi Xuansu came to the Ghost Pass that was halfway up between two peaks, completely blocking the way forward. The place was pitch black, with various defensive equipment and Spirit Guards in black armor. It was clear at a glance how heavily guarded this place was.

There was supposedly a first-rank Spirit Guard managing this place. Although his combat power could not be compared to that of the first-rank Tianzhen Daoist masters, it was still far superior to the ordinary second-rank Taiyi Daoist masters and on par with the Omniscient Sages.

Qi Xuansu vaguely saw two giants standing on both sides of the Ghost Pass. Although he could not see the giant’s true appearance and could only see a vague outline, he figured that the giants were probably considered creations of the Daoist Order.

True Lord Siming had always been coveting this place. He made several plans to conquer this Ghost Kingdom but always failed. The Ancient Immortals were only able to sneak into Jade Capital because the defense was lax. After all, there were so many masters in Jade Capital, so no one thought the Ancient Immortals would be so bold as to court death.

This Ghost Pass was different. If there was any disturbance, the Ghost Kingdom would immediately be placed on full lockdown, making it difficult to sneak into or out of.

Even if an Ancient Immortal used their magical powers to seize someone’s physical body to enter the Ghost Pass, that was only the first level of defense. There were many layers of security after that. Only certain first-rank Tianzhen Daoist masters and Omniscient Sages could step foot into the core area of the Ghost Kingdom.

At this time, the gate of the Ghost Pass was wide open since it was not under lockdown. However, there were only a few people passing by, so there was no need to queue at the checkpoint.

Qi Xuansu came to the Spirit Guard responsible for the inspection and took out two of his badges—one from Qin Wubing and the other from Pei Xiaolou.

There were two Spirit Guards there at the moment. One of the Spirit Guards checked both badges and asked routinely, “Are you passing by?”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “I’m heading to Longmen Prefecture for some private matters.”

“Alright.” The Spirit Guard’s attitude softened slightly. As long as Qi Xuansu did not enter the manufacturing plant or the Ghost Kingdom, the Spirit Guards would not go into an in-depth investigation.

The Spirit Guard handed Qi Xuansu’s badges to another Spirit Guard for registration. While waiting, Qi Xuansu took the opportunity to chat with this Spirit Guard. He asked casually, “Brother, have there been incidents of cult demons causing trouble since that commotion in Cuowenbu?”

The Daoist Order was aware of the incident in Cuowenbu and made it public. That was why the Spirit Guard did not think too much about it and replied, “It’s been peaceful here. After all, we’re located right between the Xijing Prefecture and Longmen Prefecture, and we’re close enough to Difei Mountain. Even if there is a large-scale attack by those cult demons, we’ll be able to handle it. But there are some minor events.”

Qi Xuansu asked out of curiosity, “Minor events?”

“Some cult demons from the Heavenly Court were openly attempting murder in Xijing Prefecture against someone from the Imperial Court. We’ve received an official note from Xijing Prefecture asking us to pay attention to any Heavenly Court demons that come our way.”

The Spirit Guard continued, his tone mocking. “I don’t know what those higher-ups are thinking. I have never seen any cult demon try to cross the Ghost Pass. I reckon those cult demons would probably rather surrender or flee to the Jade Capital instead of coming here.”

Qi Xuansu laughed. “Brother, what you said makes sense. If I were that cult demon, I would have probably fled toward Yongzhou and Liangzhou, where the land is vast and sparsely populated, making it easier to hide. Or I would go to Lingnan via the Yangtze River, where the Heavenly Court’s lair is. I certainly wouldn’t come here. It’ll be like walking into a trap!”

“Right?!” The Spirit Guard had been stationed there for a long time, so he could not help but complain to someone who would hear him out. “Oh, there’s one more thing. A disciple of the Wuxu Palace Master recently got murdered as well. So we also got an official note from the Wuxu Palace to be on the lookout for any suspicious people.”

Hearing this, Qi Xuansu did not look guilty at all. Instead, he feigned surprise. “Murdered?! I didn’t hear about a murder on the way here.”

The Spirit Guard chuckled. “Well, of course. It just happened a couple of days ago. Those higher-ups probably think that we are too idle here, asking us to pay attention to this and that. The journey from Xijing Prefecture to the Ghost Pass isn’t exactly short, and there are so many places to hide in Beimang Mountain. They must think that the murderer got kicked in the head by a donkey to come here of all places. I’m guessing that the same Heavenly Court demon happened to meet that Daoist priest while fleeing and didn’t mind killing another guy.”

Qi Xuansu, whose head was allegedly kicked by a donkey, laughed out loud. “I think so too, Brother. Maybe the Daoist priest was just unlucky to see where the cult demon was fleeing to, so the cult demon decided to silence him.”

At this time, the other Spirit Guard responsible for registration came over and said, “Wei Wugui, right? Check this. If there are no problems, just sign here.”

Qi Xuansu smiled apologetically at the Spirit Guard he was talking to and came to the registration table. He glanced at the contents of the document and deliberately used his left hand to sign “Wei Wugui.”

Afterward, the Spirit Guard in charge of registration returned the two badges to Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu said goodbye to the two guards, got on his grade horse, and rode into the Ghost Pass.

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