Chapter 1156: Chapter 36: If Only Dragon City Had a Flying General (Part 1)
As for the Rinsing Spirit Sect, it has been targeted by both the Heavenly Secret Pavillion and the Sword Sect.
After pondering repeatedly, the Shui Yue Pavilion Master finally put away the map, and his figure gradually faded out from the third floor, disappearing into the shadows.
....
Qinling, Yanlan Pass.
For some time now, a war between Human Cultivators and the Demonic Cultivators led by the Giant Spirit Demon Clan has been raging here.
The war began after the Blood Slaughter in Chang’an and the death of the Xuan Venerable.
There was no prelude, no probing, as the Giant Spirit Demon Venerable and the other three... now, it should be said, only the three left of them.
In short, Yao Venerable and Zhen Venerable of the Giant Spirit Demon Clan, personally led an army of over a million Demonic Cultivators from the Abyss to the outer battlefield.
Just the warships deployed by the Demon Race were enough to cover the sky like clouds.
These warships, numbering in the thousands, varied in size; some as large as mountains, some as agile as dragons, dense and terrifying.
The warships took to the air, roaring across the Heaven and Earth, and over the Wilderness, their might causing terror to all who witnessed.
In just two days, they swept through twenty-three small to medium Human Race fortresses outside Yanlan Pass, pressing directly towards Yanlan Pass.
Finally, these warships stopped ten thousand miles outside Yanlan Pass, watching from afar.
That was a tide-like force of Demonic Cultivators, dark and endless, filling all with oppression.
An unprecedented scene.
Most of the cultivators at Yanlan Pass had never seen such a sight in their lifetimes.
In the past twenty thousand years, though there were local battles on the outer battlefield, none compared to the present where Demonic Cultivators nearly filled the entire land.
Black armor, ferocious shapes, billowing Demonic Qi, gleaming Demon Soldiers, thick Red Halberds, blood-drinking long spears, ferocious demon beasts...
This was an evil torrent that could make Heaven and Earth tremble.
Moreover, through the spatial passages at the rear of the Demon Race, there were continuously more Demonic Cultivators flooding into the outer battlefield.
The Giant Spirit Demon Clan was not as restrained as the War Demon Clan. Under the command of Yao Venerable and Zhen Venerable, they relentlessly dispatched waves of troops, launching one test assault after another on Yanlan Pass.
Of course, Yanlan Pass, which has stood before Qinling for twenty thousand years, was not so easily breached.
The siege forces sent by the Giant Spirit Demon Venerable were repeatedly repelled by the cultivators of Yanlan Pass.
Yet, the cultivators of Yanlan Pass felt no pride or complacency, for all could see that this victory was merely a small skirmish, almost play-fighting, by the Demon Race.
Such losses for the Demon Race were but a drop in the bucket.
A storm is brewing, and the sky is gloomy.
The atmosphere within Yanlan Pass was incredibly oppressive and stifling.
At that moment, another piece of shocking news was spread.
Lord Xia of Great Xia, Xia Zhao, has left Chang’an City and is about to enter Yanlan Pass.
......
"This doesn’t seem like the second Taoist-Demon War, more like a gesture to avenge Xuan Venerable."
Lord Xia, Xia Zhao stood on the tall city wall of Yanlan Pass, observing the tide-like Demon Race army through the distant formation, her expression calm yet with an indistinct depth.
Standing beside Xia Zhao was Elder Xuan Ji, one of the Supreme Elders of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, whose cultivation had reached the Honorable Realm.
"Your Majesty, your presence at Yanlan Pass may indeed boost the slightly slumping morale of the cultivators here, but as the ruler, leaving Chang’an City is extremely dangerous."
"Is Chang’an City safe?" Xia Zhao waved her hand, stopping Elder Xuan Ji from continuing, questioning in return.
Elder Xuan Ji fell silent.
He should have confidently claimed that Chang’an is the convergence point of Great Xia’s destiny, with the Annihilating Venerable Formation in place, situated at the center of the Human Race, is the safest place in all of Sky Dome Heaven.
But the Blood Slaughter in Chang’an happened not long ago....
If not for the Sword Immortal of Chang’an, who belongs to no Taoist Sect, Xia Zhao might have already become a name etched in history alongside Chang’an back then.
"I still hold that even if your Majesty must go to battle personally, you should command from the central army, avoiding the public eye." Elder Xuan Ji thought of the terrifying Demonic Cultivators gathered thousands of miles away, considering Yao Venerable and Zhen Venerable might similarly be observing in the shadows, he added.
In the world of cultivators, those in power are often the strongest.
But in Xia Zhao’s case, it is an exception.
As the ruler of Great Xia, her strength is only at the Eighth Realm, not low, but indeed far inferior compared to her status.
"Does Elder Xuan Ji think Yanlan Pass will fall?"
"Yanlan Pass is certainly impregnable, but your Majesty... Zhen Venerable and Yao Venerable are currently commanding within the Demon Race army."
"Don’t we likewise have Human Race strongmen holding the line at Yanlan Pass?"
Elder Xuan Ji’s eyes flickered, and he spoke softly, "Your Majesty, I’m worried not only about the Demon Race’s Zhen Venerable and Yao Venerable but also our Human Race’s powerhouses..."
Just as Great Xia produced a Qing King, might not Yanlan Pass bring forth another Qing Venerable?
Xia Zhao smiled, saying nothing further.
Seeing Xia Zhao silent, Elder Xuan Ji could only stand silently by her side in the end.
Xia Zhao remained on the city wall, gazing afar, pondering silently.
None understood why she would personally arrive at Yanlan Pass.
Some thought she sensed the oppressive atmosphere at Yanlan Pass and came to boost morale.
Others believed her visit concealed deeper intentions, of significant meaning...
But everyone was mistaken.
The reason Xia Zhao came was for a simple reason.