A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu could have used the Cicada Molting Technique to distract Feng Bo and escape from this place. The reason he did not escape was not because he thought he could kill Feng Bo. It was to delay time, allowing Bai Xiaojin to escape further.

He got what he wished for—this shot had successfully diverted Feng Bo’s attention and attracted the Heavenly Being’s hatred.

The last time Feng Bo chased Qi Xuansu, the former did not hesitate to enter Xijing Prefecture to kill the latter under the nose of Wuxu Palace. This just showed how grudgeful this old man was.

Feng Bo stretched out his hand and pressed the spot between his eyebrows where he was shot. He was infuriated, only thinking about how he would like to chop Qi Xuansu’s body into thousands of pieces to vent his hatred. As a result, he no longer bothered to keep track of where Bai Xiaojin had escaped.

Qi Xuansu was no fool, quickly throwing out another Grade-B Series One Phoenix Eye Bullet before running away.

That was how he used up the Grade-B Series One and Grade-B Series Two Phoenix Eye Bullets he brought with him, leaving only the last Grade-A Series Nine Phoenix Eye Bomb.

Qi Xuansu had the physique of a Martial Arts Practitioner and the innate qi of a Rogue Cultivator. Using these two to his advantage, he exerted innate qi at his feet to propel him forward so that he could be as fast as a galloping horse.

Bai Xiaojin fled southward, while Qi Xuansu chose the northwest direction.

Without hesitation, Feng Bo gave up on tracking Bai Xiaojin and chased after Qi Xuansu.

Since Qi Xuansu was not a Heavenly Being, Feng Bo quickly caught up to him even though he had the advantage of starting first.

Feng Bo did not waste any time, slashing a crescent-shaped sword qi horizontally toward Qi Xuansu. But Qi Xuansu suddenly turned around and got into an alley, dodging the sword qi as if he had eyes on his back.

When this sword qi swept across the walls on both sides of the alley, the originally 3-meter-tall wall was left with about 30 centimeters at the base. The cut was also smooth, as if the wall were made of butter.

If Qi Xuansu did not dodge in time, he would have been severed from the knees.

Qi Xuansu dared not look back, so he could only keep changing directions, sneaking in and out of various alleys.

Feng Bo also did not want to stir up a commotion, so he stopped using his sword qi, merely chasing after Qi Xuansu. He attempted several attacks, but Qi Xuansu was too elusive and managed to dodge them every time.

Being the most prosperous place in the world, Jinling Prefecture did not have a curfew. Although it was late at night, there were still a few pedestrians on the street. All they could see was a blur in front of their eyes, as if two figures had flown past them in the blink of an eye. The strong wind that ensued made the passersby close their eyes, while their clothes fluttered.

It made people wonder if they had encountered ghosts while walking at night.

However, Qi Xuansu did not just run away. When passing a small abandoned temple, he suddenly turned around and detonated the last Phoenix Eye Bomb he had left.

This small abandoned temple was dedicated to the God of Earth. It did not have walls, and the doors opened onto a side street. It was blown to smithereens by the Phoenix Eye Bomb, burying Feng Bo in the rubble.

However, these little tricks only hindered Feng Bo slightly. All it took were a few green sword qi to sweep away the ruins.

When Feng Bo revealed himself, his green robe was slightly charred, with a small flame at the hem.

The Phoenix Eye Bomb could kill Desmond only because the vampire was already seriously injured and had mistakenly consumed Superior Black Blood. Thus, the bomb diminished all vitality after exploding inside the vampire’s body.

At this time, it was difficult to kill a Heavenly Being who was still at the height of his strength. Moreover, the Phoenix Eye Bomb had exploded outside Feng Bo's body, not doing any damage to him.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Qi Xuansu ran with all his might and soon arrived at an old city wall.

Logically speaking, Qi Xuansu should have run back to Zhenwu Temple, but Feng Bo also realized this and deliberately blocked that path. Left with no choice, Qi Xuansu faked panic and ran in another direction.

The old city wall of Jinling Prefecture was nearly 30 meters high. Qi Xuansu jumped and unleashed a burst of innate qi from the soles of his feet, getting more than 10 meters high. He then stepped on the wall and leaped again, continuing this until he reached the top of the city wall.

Qi Xuansu did not dare to stop, crossing the width of the city wall and jumping down to a river not far away. He held his breath and flowed along with the current.

After about several kilometers, Qi Xuansu finally surfaced from the water under an arched bridge with moss on the bricks. Finally, he could no longer sense Feng Bo’s presence.

It was already dark at this hour, so there was not a single person in sight on or under the bridge. The surroundings were pitch black. Only a few dots of lights could be seen in the distance, resembling stars.

Qi Xuansu slowly climbed up to the shore and took a short rest. He used the cover of the night to walk along the river bank.

The night breeze blew in his face, making him feel a little more at ease.

After walking like this for several kilometers, both sides of the river were no longer pitch black. At first, the lights were dim, but gradually they became denser and brighter than the stars. From time to time, he could hear music and the sound of men and women laughing.

If his guess was correct, he was probably at the famous Qinhuai River that passed through the city.

The Ten Miles of Qinhuai were not all situated in the old city. A portion of it was located in the outer city.

Just as Qi Xuansu was hesitating whether to hide on one of the ornate boats, a figure descended from the sky and landed not far in front of Qi Xuansu.

It was Feng Bo.

After all, it was late at night, not broad daylight. With the cover of night, Feng Bo flew through the air briefly and caught up with Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu was utterly shocked, but he had no time to dwell on it and had to flee for his life.

Feng Bo glanced at the many ornate boats not far away. He did not dare to use his signature sword qi rashly, nor did he fly in the sky. Instead, he chased Qi Xuansu on foot.

Soon, under Feng Bo’s deliberate herding, Qi Xuansu could clearly see the walls of the outer city in the distance.

Feng Bo hoped that Qi Xuansu would escape outside the city. That was because he was too restrained in the city for fear of alarming the Daoist Order or the Imperial Court. However, once they were outside the city, he could finally let loose and beat up this kid as he pleased.

Qi Xuansu climbed over the city wall again and landed outside the city.

Seeing this, Feng Bo let out a long laugh. He flew to the top of the city wall and stood there, looking at his prey from above.

Qi Xuansu seemed oblivious to the predator stalking him as he kept running with his head down.

Feng Bo smirked, looking sinister and ferocious because of the dried-up blood on his face.

From where he was standing, Feng Bo casually unleashed a crescent-shaped sword qi.

Qi Xuansu rolled over and crawled away, barely escaping the sword qi, completely hapless.

Feng Bo had a bit of a pranking mentality playing cat-and-mouse with Qi Xuansu, purposely flying right behind the latter and constantly slashing out sword qi. He was waiting for Qi Xuansu’s innate qi and physical strength to be exhausted before taking his time in torturing the boy.

Qi Xuansu ran like this for more than 10 kilometers, coming to a large tomb of a minister from the previous dynasty.

The burial mound was as big as a mountain, accompanied by a sacrificial hall, a mausoleum, a shrine, and other structures. More importantly, this area was desolate and had strong yin energy.

Qi Xuansu finally stopped running after he entered the cemetery.

He looked up at the sky to see the moon at its zenith—the time of day when the yin energy was the strongest.

Qi Xuansu raised one hand and used all his strength to activate his magical powers, stirring the dense yin energy all around him, which rose and fell like the tide.

A thick black fog gathered around Qi Xuansu, resembling a whirlpool. Finally, it turned into a portal.

From the moment Qi Xuansu saw Feng Bo, he did not panic. After realizing there was no way he could escape back to Zhenwu Temple, he decided to risk it all and use his last resort—the gift from the Three Yin Beings in the Ghost Kingdom.

Feng Bo had a bad premonition. He stopped holding back and unleashed several sword qi in succession.

However, they were all sucked into the strange portal before him, causing only a few ripples.

Horrified, Feng Bo wanted to retreat.

At this moment, he suddenly felt a change in the surrounding environment. Dark shadows appeared in front of him, and everything in the distance became blurry, as if separated by a layer of light mist.

It was like looking through a frosted glass window in winter. At this time, Feng Bo felt trapped in a glass box that was permeating with death energy. The ground became muddy like a swamp, making it impossible to retreat.

The portal finally took shape, and black mist could be seen billowing on the other side of the opening that seemed to lead to the netherworld.

Feng Bo widened his eyes in disbelief.

The next moment, a giant fist poked out of the portal.

In comparison, Qi Xuansu was only as big as the thumb of that fist.

This fist filled the entire portal, leaving no gaps.

Behind that fist was a wrist, forearm, and elbow. But upon closer inspection, Feng Bo noticed that this arm was made of countless corpses, emanating intense corpse qi.

Back then, Qi Xuansu had wondered how Master Wan could fit through the Yin-Yang Gate with that giant body. At this moment, he finally understood how this giant could help him.

With one punch from that giant fist, Feng Bo exploded.