Inside Eagle Sorrow Ravine, the wind and snow gradually subsided.
The massive demonic corpse of the Green-Scaled Eagle King lay in a pool of blood, devoid of life.
Gu Chengming stood with his sword sheathed, his chest heaving violently.
Although that strike had slain a fourth realm demon king, the cost to himself was immense.
The Red Dust Technique 'reversing cause and effect' was no ordinary method; it required the caster to act as a medium to communicate with the obsessions of the deceased. Even he found it difficult to fully withstand the karmic backlash.
"Fellow Daoist Gu!"
Xu Huayi staggered forward, wanting to support the swaying Gu Chengming, only to find her own legs going weak.
Using Luo Jinyao's sword talisman earlier had completely drained the true essence from her body; standing now was an act of pure willpower.
The two lost their balance almost simultaneously. Gu Chengming instinctively reached out to steady Xu Huayi, and as a result, they both collapsed onto the ground.
This fall actually lightened the tense atmosphere slightly.
Xu Huayi was stunned for a moment before she couldn't help but chuckle.
"If others saw this, they would probably mock us. Two geniuses on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, and we can't even stand steadily."
Gu Chengming also smiled. He fished two Rejuvenation Pills out of his storage pouch and handed one to Xu Huayi. "You're joking, Fellow Daoist Xu. If others saw us killing a demon above our realm, they'd probably be too speechless to say anything."
Xu Huayi took the pill but didn't swallow it immediately. Instead, she looked at the warm pill in her hand and suddenly spoke. "Fellow Daoist Gu, that sword strike just now..." She paused, seemingly choosing her words carefully. "Was it a technique from the Hehuan Sect?"
Gu Chengming's heart skipped a beat, but he admitted it openly.
Unexpectedly, Xu Huayi only looked dazed for a while before smiling and saying, "Fellow Daoist Gu is so handsome, it's not surprising."
【Yin Yang Creation Strategy Puzzled: What does this mean?】
"Fellow Daoist Xu, you flatter me."
Gu Chengming didn't know how to answer and diverted the topic.
After the two took their pills and rested for a while, they began to process the Green-Scaled Eagle King's corpse.
【Hundred Bones Resonating Cheered: Oh, oh, oh! More loot to collect!】
Gu Chengming carefully extracted the demon core radiating a cyan luster. It was warm to the touch, and the purity of the demonic power within was staggering.
"You should keep this demon core, Fellow Daoist Gu," Xu Huayi spoke up. "If not for your final strike today, we would have both perished here. The credit belongs to you."
【Hundred Bones Resonating was quite satisfied upon hearing this, thinking: She's a good confidante who helps fight monsters and takes the initiative to share loot. Provisionally rated as 3.5 Yu.】
—Since when was '3.5 Yu' a unit of measurement, Emperor Bai?
Gu Chengming complained in his heart, but on the outside, he didn't decline and accepted the kindness openly.
The two carefully stowed the demon core and harvested some precious materials from the Green-Scaled Eagle King.
"It's time to return to Falling Snow Pass." Gu Chengming stood up and looked toward the exit of the canyon. "I don't know how things are over there. I hope Vice Commander Liang and the others can hold on."
No longer delaying, the two used their movement techniques to race back toward Falling Snow Pass.
However, less than ten li out of Eagle Sorrow Ravine, Gu Chengming's expression changed slightly.
"What is it?" Xu Huayi sensed the abnormality.
"News from the Myriad Wonders Gathering..." Gu Chengming's voice was heavy. "The situation at Falling Snow Pass is much worse than we imagined."
In his perception, the Myriad Wonders Gathering was currently in a state of chaos.
Countless pieces of intelligence flew in like snowflakes, each one conveying urgency and danger.
【North wall in critical condition; third realm demons have broken through the first line of defense.】
【Defenders at the East Gate have suffered over fifty percent casualties; requesting backup.】
【Large number of flying demons appearing on the west side, attacking array nodes on the wall.】
【Vice Commander Liang is currently engaged with two fourth realm demon sovereigns; the situation is not optimistic.】
Two fourth realm demon sovereigns.
One against two; no matter how strong Vice Commander Liang was, he definitely couldn't hold out for long.
"Hurry!"
...
On the other side, at Falling Snow Pass.
Vice Commander Liang Si stood at the highest point of the city wall, looking down at the dark tide of beasts below.
"Commander, the third line of defense on the west wall can't hold any longer!" A captain rushed up, stumbling as he reported.
Liang Si didn't speak, only staring fixedly at the two massive figures outside the city.
"Damn it..." Liang Si's teeth were clenched, and he had already crushed an unknown number of communication talismans in his hand.
"Boom—!!!" Another loud explosion rang out.
Amidst a deafening roar, a fourth realm demon king actually took action personally.
Its massive body suddenly leaped up, smashing toward the wall like a small mountain.
"Not good!" Liang Si's pupils constricted suddenly.
The energy of the city-protecting array had been depleted to its limit, and there was no time to activate the backup array nodes.
Just as that "mountain of flesh" was about to crash down...
"Heavenly Eye, Condense!" A clear female voice suddenly rang out from the top of the wall.
Immediately following, a pale golden light descended from the sky, enveloping the falling Mountain-Moving Ape King. Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
Not expecting this, Liang Si looked at the suddenly appearing figure in a daze.
Yu Wenqiu looked quite disheveled right now, but her eyes remained bright.
She was gasping for breath, sweat mixed with blood sliding down her forehead. She had just forcibly used the Heavenly Eye to seal that Mountain-Moving Ape King into a temporarily created spatial layer.
A technique of this level was already beyond the capabilities of a third realm cultivator like her.
"I'll handle that ape king. Vice Commander Liang, go help the others." Yu Wenqiu bit her lip and took an ancient jade talisman from her storage pouch.
That was the life-saving talisman Senior Sister Luo had left for her, originally intended for a critical moment.
The next moment, a brilliant sword light surged from the jade talisman into the sky, instantly transforming into a hundred-zhang-long giant sword that slashed straight at the ape king with a force that could split heaven and earth.
It wanted to dodge, only to find that the sword light had already locked onto its aura.
"Boom—!!!"
The sword light struck the ape king, directly carving a bone-deep wound into its massive body. Blood spilled like a waterfall, dyeing the snow below red.
However, although this strike heavily injured the ape king, it failed to kill it.
"Damn it..." Yu Wenqiu's face turned even paler.
The drain on her soul had reached its limit. If she forcibly used spatial dao methods again, it would likely damage her foundation.
But as she looked at the soldiers still fighting desperately below the wall and the cultivators throwing themselves forward to protect the people behind them, an indescribable emotion suddenly welled up in her heart.
"That idiot Gu, I wonder how he's doing now..."
Yu Wenqiu murmured to herself, a flash of worry in her eyes, before taking a deep breath and mobilizing the little true essence she had left.
—Since Senior Sister Luo and Little Gu weren't here, it was her time to be useful.
However, just as Falling Snow Pass fell into a desperate situation and Yu Wenqiu was prepared to use a blood essence secret art to trigger the Heavenly Eye and slay the ape king, a brilliant sword light suddenly appeared on the distant horizon.
When it first appeared, it was just a dot, but in the blink of an eye, it spanned dozens of li. Like a stroke from a calligraphy brush, it tore through the sky filled with wind and snow.
"That is—"
Liang Si looked up, a flash of unbelievable joy in his eyes.
"It's General Luo! General Luo is back!" The soldiers on the wall cheered in unison.
That sword light circled once above Falling Snow Pass before transforming into a white-clad figure that landed steadily on the city wall.
It was the seventh on the Heaven Ranking—Luo Jinyao.
"Senior Sister?!"
The moment Yu Wenqiu saw Luo Jinyao, the sense of security that "the sky has fallen but someone is finally holding it up" made her go limp.
Luo Jinyao was quick to act, catching her with one arm.
"You've worked hard, Little Yu." Luo Jinyao's voice was gentle.
She could see that Yu Wenqiu had exhausted her every effort to hold Falling Snow Pass.
Soon, her gaze fell outside the city gates. She slowly raised her right hand, and countless visible vortexes of spiritual energy gathered around her, transforming into illusory sword shadows.
One, ten, a hundred, a thousand... In the blink of an eye, the entire sky was covered by sword shadows.
The next moment, the sky full of sword shadows vibrated in unison and poured down toward the beast tide outside the city.
The demons that had been frantically charging the wall were like paper before this deluge of swords, instantly shredded into a bloody mist. The trapped ape king was the first to face it.
It wanted to flee, but found that its surroundings had unknowingly been trapped by a cage condensed from sword qi.
In just a few breaths, the body of this fourth realm demon sovereign was riddled with holes.
"It's over," Luo Jinyao said indifferently, her fingers closing gently.
The sword qi embedded in the demon sovereign's body exploded instantly. The ape king's massive body shattered completely, turning into a rain of blood.
A fourth realm demon sovereign had fallen just like that.
Meanwhile, the other fourth realm demon sovereign looked at the miserable state of its companion, and a flash of terror appeared in its eyes.
It wanted to run, but Luo Jinyao would not give it the chance. The fleeing demon sovereign hadn't even flown a hundred zhang before it was overtaken by a white sword beam.
The sword beam entered through its neck and exited through its forehead. The demon sovereign's massive body froze in the air before crashing to the ground, kicking up a cloud of snow.
Two fourth realm demon kings, dead.
The beast tide outside the city collapsed completely at this moment, scattering in flight.
The wind and snow gradually stopped.
Falling Snow Pass had been held.
Deafening cheers erupted from the city wall as the soldiers who had been fighting bloodily for hours finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"General Luo!"
Liang Si walked over quickly, anxious to inform Luo Jinyao about Gu Chengming's situation which he had learned from the Myriad Wonders Gathering.
Before he could finish, two figures suddenly appeared on the distant horizon.
A man and a woman, it was Gu Chengming and Xu Huayi.
However, both looked extremely disheveled. Gu Chengming was supporting Xu Huayi, who could barely stand, as they walked toward Falling Snow Pass one step at a time.
At this moment, Gu Chengming also exhaled a long breath of turbid air.
From a great distance, he had felt that familiar and terrifying fluctuation of sword intent on the wall. Seeing the beast tide that had besieged Falling Snow Pass disperse like a receding tide and seeing that white-clad figure standing on the wall, he finally relaxed completely.
This crisis, which could have overturned the northern border's line of defense, had ultimately been resolved at the critical moment.
In truth, Luo Jinyao's return was no coincidence. Although Zhou Qingmu in the capital was heavily injured, she had keenly sensed after killing two demon kings that the demon race's all-out assault was no mere retaliation; it was a move to take advantage of the void to seize Falling Snow Pass.
Therefore, the moment she received word of the movements in the north, Zhou Qingmu had risked letting Luo Jinyao stop escorting her and instead return directly to Falling Snow Pass. It was this foresight, combined with the desperate struggle of Gu Chengming and the others at Eagle Sorrow Ravine, that had forced a turnaround in this death trap targeting Falling Snow Pass.
"Little Gu!"
Yu Wenqiu's eyes lit up, and she instinctively tried to stand.
Then, her gaze lingered for a moment on Gu Chengming's hand supporting Xu Huayi's waist, before moving to Xu Huayi's face—pale yet undeniably beautiful, and currently leaning halfway onto Gu Chengming's shoulder.
Her cheeks puffed out visibly.
She was clearly the one who had overextended her soul to protect everyone first, so why were these two latecomers stealing all the spotlight now?
Furthermore, the atmosphere of shared life and death between these two made her teeth ache for some reason.
She wanted to huff in dissatisfaction, but ultimately lost her nerve and could only silently bury her face into her soft fox-fur collar.
In this sky full of wind and snow, she ultimately swallowed her little, inexplicable emotions.
...
The wind and snow finally ceased completely before dawn, and after the great battle, Falling Snow Pass fell into a period of busy activity.
The wounded were systematically carried down from the walls, broken array nodes began to glow again under the repairs of craftsmen and cultivators, and the mountain-like piles of demon corpses were quickly butchered and processed, becoming resources and merits for this border city to survive the rest of winter.
As the heroes who slew a demon sovereign, Gu Chengming and Xu Huayi were sent to the Northern Mansion to recover upon returning. Yu Wenqiu, whose soul had been forcibly overextended, felt no guilt in occupying the warmest room next to Gu Chengming's after drinking a bowl of calming medicine personally fed to her by her senior sister.
Over the next few days, the Northern Mansion became unusually quiet.
Gu Chengming's injuries recovered faster than expected. Although the backlash from the Red Dust Technique was dangerous, his chaotic true essence soon stabilized with the help of spiritual medicine personally formulated by Luo Jinyao.
Only a faint sense of fatigue deep in his soul refused to fade, causing him to spend most of his time in meditation these past few days.
Yu Wenqiu's situation was a bit more troublesome. The hidden injuries from forcibly overextending her soul to use the Heavenly Eye required longer rest. Luo Jinyao strictly forbade Little Yu from using any dao methods during this period, so she began to wander around the Northern Mansion under the pretext of 'relaxing to aid recovery.'
However, this relaxation route always happened to pass by Gu Chengming's door.
Sometimes she was carrying a bowl of freshly stewed soup, saying her senior sister told her to deliver it; sometimes she was holding a stack of storybooks, saying she was just passing by and wanted to ask if Little Gu wanted to borrow them for boredom; once, she even moved a chair to the corridor to sunbathe, the reason being that the sunlight was best there.
And Xu Huayi was also diligent. Her injuries were lighter than Gu Chengming's to begin with, so her recovery was naturally faster, and she would occasionally find reasons to see Gu Chengming.
When Luo Jinyao occasionally passed by and saw this scene, she would always shake her head helplessly.
As the senior sister, she could naturally see Yu Wenqiu's little thoughts and could also sense Xu Huayi's faint goodwill... she thought to herself: Little Yu, oh Little Yu, if you don't take the initiative soon, you won't even have soup left to drink.
A few days later, in the side hall of the Northern Mansion.
Sunlight filtered through the window lattice, spilling onto the desk piled with scrolls.
Nuo Tao stared blankly at the red sandalwood box placed before her, and the bronze medal representing an official reward from Great Qian.
This had been sent by someone personally from Vice Commander Liang Si, and the reasons given were ample: assisting the Myriad Wonders Gathering in coordinating resources during the demon tide, helping defend Falling Snow Pass, and conducting surveys beforehand...
But for a thief cultivator from the Myriad Thief Sect who had been taught since childhood that only things snatched into one's own pocket counted as skill, this was a bit too subtle.
She reached out, her fingertips trembling slightly as she touched the medal. There was no thrill of stealth, no racing heart from being constantly on guard against discovery; instead, there was a sense of stability she had never felt before.
Nuo Tao instinctively wanted to hide it in the most secret layer of her sleeve like she used to, or immediately estimate how many spirit stones this thing could be traded for.
But when she pulled her hand back, she found herself picking up the medal as if possessed, turning it toward the sunlight.
The craftsmanship wasn't particularly exquisite; there were even a few rough grinding marks on it. Through the sunlight, she thought of that Little Brother Gu who always squeezed labor out of her, thought of those anonymous rogue cultivators who posted in the Myriad Wonders Gathering thanking the 'timely intelligence that saved a life,' and thought of that normally stern Vice Commander Liang's messenger, the sincere respect on the soldier's face.
Nuo Tao curled her lip, wanting to put on an expression that said 'this lady doesn't care,' but the upward curve of her mouth betrayed her.
She carefully put the medal back into the box and placed the box upright in the most prominent position on the desk. Then, like a thief with a guilty conscience, she looked left and right, only relaxing after confirming no one had seen her silly smile just now.
This northern border unrest that had lasted for several months had finally ended in an almost absurd fashion.
The demon realm fell completely silent, and the Great Qian court naturally would not let slip the opportunity to kick a dog while it was down.
Taking advantage of this great victory, the Night Guard Division teamed up with the border army to not only quickly reclaim several outposts previously harassed by demons but also push the defensive line north by a full three hundred li, re-establishing absolute control over that buffer zone.
The northern border welcomed its most stable winter in nearly ten years.
...
A few days later, in the Northern Mansion.
Gu Chengming looked at the letter that had just arrived via message transmission.
【Chengming, in person: I already know of the events in the northern border. You did well. I was originally worried you would find the northern border uncomfortable as a newcomer, but it seems I worried too much. Take a good rest in Falling Snow Pass.】
【My injuries are no longer a concern, do not worry. Once you return to the capital, there will be plenty of celebratory wine. — Zhou Qingmu】
Gu Chengming closed the letter, the corners of his mouth curving upward slightly.
"What are you looking at? Why are you smiling so happily?" A warm voice interrupted his thoughts.
Luo Jinyao walked in carrying a jade plate with several peeled snow spirit fruits on it.
Today, she wasn't wearing that intimidating sword robe; she had changed into home clothes, her long hair tied up casually. Her entire being radiated a gentle aura.
"Senior Luo."
Gu Chengming hurriedly stood up to salute, only to be pressed back into his chair by Luo Jinyao with a playful reproach.
"How many times have I told you? There's no need for so much formality in private."
Luo Jinyao placed the jade plate on the desk and naturally reached for Gu Chengming's wrist. A thread of gentle and mellow spiritual power slowly probed into his meridians. After checking meticulously, she withdrew her hand as if relieved.
"It's fine. The previous hidden injuries are mostly healed, and your soul has stabilized." She looked at Gu Chengming with a very complex expression. There was the satisfaction of seeing one's own child succeed, but also the lingering fear of 'why doesn't this child make things easier for people.'
"You..."
Luo Jinyao sighed and sat down beside him, her tone soft. "When Little Yu told me you were a well-behaved child who knew his place, I actually believed her. And the result?"
"That was a fourth realm demon king. What if your Red Dust Technique hadn't worked? What if that eagle king had counterattacked in its death throes?"
"If something had happened to you, how would I explain it to Zhou Qingmu? How would I explain it to the sect?"
Hearing this nagging scolding, Gu Chengming didn't find it annoying. Instead, he could only honestly lower his head to listen to the lecture, occasionally nodding and agreeing with things like "Senior is right" and "I'll definitely be careful next time."
When the lecture was over, Luo Jinyao's anger seemed to have dissipated as well.
Seeing Gu Chengming's 'well-behaved' appearance, the severity in her eyes faded, replaced by a soft smile.
"But, scolding aside, you really did well this time."
Luo Jinyao reached out to tidy his collar, her tone slowing down. "I can't say I could have done better than you even when I was in the third realm."
"As an elder, I have to show some appreciation."
She sat up straight and asked seriously, "What does Little Gu want?"
Gu Chengming looked up, filled with anticipation as he turned to Luo Jinyao. "Senior, are you serious?"
"Naturally." Luo Jinyao nodded with a smile.
Gu Chengming took a deep breath and made his request with a look of sincerity:
"Then, could I trouble Senior to catch some demons for me to kill?"
The air suddenly fell silent.
In Luo Jinyao's beautiful eyes, there was first seriousness, then contemplation, and finally confusion.
"?"
She suddenly thought of Little Gu's nickname.
—The Falling Snow Pass Murder Demon.
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