Amidst the whistling wind and thunder, Wei Yan, clad in tattered clothes, ascended the walls of Fusang Great Wall in a flash, carrying an ancient immortal sword. He stood majestically beside Han Fang, his aura swirling around him, while wisps of golden sword dao destiny descended from the sky, forming trickles that Wei Yan greedily devoured.
As he opened his eyes, a rich golden hue suffused them. He was now a thirteen-realm sword cultivator, and having been imprisoned in the back mountain for over a hundred years, this thirteen-realm was quite stable.
"What a feat," Han Fang couldn't help but laugh. "Just after coming out of seclusion, you directly devoured a portion of the human world's supreme sword dao destiny. Aren't you ashamed?"
"Ashamed of what..." Wei Yan retorted indignantly. "The timing of my release is simply terrible. Millions of demon troops are attacking the Fusang Great Wall. The destiny I've consumed comes from Su Qingjiu, Tang Guangjun, and Wu Zhi. But what's the use? In no time, it will have to be returned to this world."
"That's the truth," Han Fang chuckled. "To reach this wall, one is mostly destined to die."
"Alright," Wei Yan said, hefting his ancient sword. "Can we start killing demons now?"
"This..." Han Fang glanced at his old friend and couldn't help but smile. "You're all torn up, no different from a beggar in the wilderness. Why not change into some clothes before we fight, lest we tarnish the prestige of the five-realm sword immortals on our Fusang Great Wall?"
"Nonsense!" Wei Yan was somewhat annoyed. "Do you want to go back to the city and go through all that bathing and fasting nonsense? The reason you, Han Fang, haven't broken through in so many years is that you're too honest and follow the rules. When Lu Xinghe appointed Lin Yatou as the Lord of Fusang Great Wall, why didn't you object? Why didn't you slap Lu Xinghe twice and demand to know where you, Han Fang, fell short? If you had that spirit, you would have been in the thirteen-realm long ago!"
Han Fang sheepishly replied, "Damn you, Wei Yan, you old curmudgeon. I knew you wouldn't utter anything decent. Slapping Lu Xinghe... how would I dare to do such a thing? I wouldn't even dare to dream of it..."
"Hahahaha~~~" Wei Yan laughed heartily. "Alright, let's fight side-by-side, go to death together?!"
"Mm," Han Fang nodded. "Fighting side-by-side is fine. As for going to death together, let's talk about that later. Dying isn't that easy."
"Oh, what do you mean?" Wei Yan asked mentally as he rode his sword out of the city. A natal flying sword shot out, directly piercing the head of a Star River realm great demon.
Han Fang pondered for a moment and said, "After the Battle of Xi Jian River, the demon race's upper five realms suffered heavy losses. Empress Lin Xingchu's skill in slaying was too fierce. Therefore, the Demon Ancestor Qing Kui ordered all great demons of the twelve-realm and above to return to the ancestral mountain to heal and nurture their realms, only allowing eleven-realm demons to lead the armies to attack Fusang Great Wall. This is also why our Fusang Great Wall can hold on until now."
"Is that so..." Wei Yan grinned from ear to ear. "Damn it, if that's the case, doesn't that mean I'm invincible at Fusang Great Wall?"
"Pretty much," Han Fang nodded and smiled. "So, we can go on a killing spree. Killing demons isn't a sin; it's all accumulating merit. As long as you kill enough, even Lu Xinghe would give you a thumbs-up if he were alive."
"Got it," Wei Yan said, his sword flashing. Instantly, beams of sword light erupted amidst the demon forces outside the city, marking a true, merciless slaughter.
...
On the Great Wall.
Han Fang led over 500 veteran soldiers in its defense. These soldiers had followed Lu Xinghe from his generation, most of them being in the middle five realms. They had lived long enough and now all remained to defend their homeland. Additionally, many cultivators from the human world's mountains had voluntarily come to garrison Fusang Great Wall, so Han Fang had quite a few capable subordinates, with over twenty eleven-realm cultivators alone.
Furthermore, several days after the battle began at Fusang Great Wall, many human armies had maneuvered from the eastern Lin Hai. These were troops from secular dynasties and vassal states. The Great Shang Dynasty had not truly unified the world, and many human kingdoms still existed around it. Now, upon learning of the world's peril, these secular dynasties had sent their troops, numbering tens of thousands at most and thousands at least.
As a result, Han Fang, defending Fusang Great Wall, had as many as over 200,000 human troops under his command, fully equipped with cannons and siege weapons. Only the food supplies were scarce.
However, after Han Fang sent a swift messenger pigeon to Han Yetang at Shanhaiguan requesting aid for food supplies, they indeed arrived. Han Yetang was as good as his word, delivering a staggering two hundred thousand shi of grain within half a month, enough to sustain the defenders of Fusang Great Wall for a while.
Lin Zhao looked at the defenders of Fusang Great Wall and a smile appeared on his face. This was how it should be. The human world's catastrophe was to be faced by all of humanity. Fusang Great Wall, at this juncture, had indeed exceeded Lin Zhao's expectations. This was good; the longer Fusang Great Wall held, the longer it would delay the demons and devils, which was a good thing.
In the same year, June.
After the demon race's attempt at persuasion failed, an eleven-realm great demon led an army of 200,000 from a single encampment to attack Tongjing Lake, aiming to break the intertwined landscape of Tongjing Lake and Ziyun Mountain.
On the mountain, Zhang Xicheng and Han Yurou stood side-by-side, gazing at the vast demon army.
"We're not leaving," Han Yurou said softly. "Dying together would be a good end."
"Mm," Zhang Xicheng nodded with a smile, his voice filled with heroic passion. "Yurou, I'm sorry. I've never been able to give you a good life, and now I've dragged you into this shared death. Though martyrdom for the world sounds noble, the death itself will surely be painful."
"It doesn't matter," Han Yurou smiled like a flower. "Xicheng, don't say you haven't given me a good life. In fact, the day Young Master Lin Zhao came to visit, when I cooked and warmed wine with Luhua, and you drank heartily with him, that day was already the best day of my life, Han Yurou."
"Good!" Zhang Xicheng drew the Shan Jun treasure sword and laughed heartily. "Brothers of the Xia tribe, will you draw your swords and fight to the death for our human empire with me, Zhang Xicheng, once more?!"
Instantly, heroic spirits appeared on the mountainside, all clad in armor and wielding weapons. Each one glared indignantly at the attacking demon army, numbering tens of thousands. The spirits simultaneously drew their swords, their blades pointing north, and in a low roar, cried, "We are willing to follow the general to our deaths!"
...
Qingliang Mountain, Qingliang Sect.
A figure clad in a blood-red cloak hovered in the air, followed by the forces of two encampments, over 400,000 strong. This was Chang Hen, a thirteen-realm great demon. He had emerged unscathed from the Battle of Bai City, so the Qing Kui Demon Ancestor had made an exception, ordering Chang Hen to lead two encampments to clear out the human mountain forces between Fusang Great Wall and Xue Yu Tian Chi.
Currently, only Tongjing Lake and this Qingliang Mountain remained.
Above Qingliang Sect.
Sect Master Zhao Suiguang, dressed in a long robe, possessed a peak twelve-realm cultivation that was incredibly vibrant and full. Beside him stood several eleven-realm elders and a group of Star River realm and Nascent Soul realm disciples. Hundreds of Qingliang Sect disciples formed a line, each holding a sword, their expressions indignant as they watched the endless stream of demon armies ascending the mountain from the north.
"You're really not leaving?" Xiang Ji, the Mountain Lord, whose form was intertwined with the essence of mountains and rivers, looked at Zhao Suiguang and smiled. "When Zhao Jingyu was here, he certainly wouldn't have let you act so impulsively and lead the Qingliang Sect to its death."
"It's different," Zhao Suiguang smiled faintly. "Back then, the Qingliang Sect had no backbone. In Lin Zhao's words, its spine was crushed by the demons. Though I, Zhao Suiguang, am incompetent and cannot reach the thirteen-realm, I am willing to lead my disciples to straighten the spine of our Qingliang Sect, to tell this human world that Qingliang Sect is a renowned orthodox sect, the foremost sect in the northern human world, and by no means a dog leashed by the demons in the north."
Xiang Ji crossed his arms. His incense offerings were quite prosperous, and he had now reached the eleven-realm. On Qingliang Mountain, Xiang Ji's combat power was equivalent to the twelve-realm. Moreover, he was a martial artist. Therefore, while this Mountain Lord's combat power might not match that of a Rebirth realm martial artist like Yu Wanning, it was comparable to Mu Zha, who had just entered the Rebirth realm.
Lin Zhao's decision to bestow the vast Qingliang Mountain upon Xiang Ji was quite far-sighted. Now, the kindness of recognition could not be repaid.
Xiang Ji took a deep breath and smiled. "I thought of the same thing. Xue Yu Tian Chi has already fallen, and not a single person from the Mountain Peak Villa is a coward. Do you agree with this statement?"
"How can I disagree?" Zhao Suiguang said with some excitement, looking north with admiration in his eyes. "Lin Zhao, leading Su Qingjiu, Huang Tingyu, Wu Zhi, Tang Guangjun, and others, bore the brunt of the attack, intercepting a mountain of Wuwang for several days in the northern territory. Behind the countless enemies killed, almost all the great cultivators of Mountain Peak Villa were wiped out. Which human with a shred of conscience in this world wouldn't acknowledge this achievement?"
"It's good that you acknowledge it," Xiang Ji smiled. "Actually, I'm also considered one of the Mountain Peak Villa people, I just died too early. It's a bit regrettable, but it doesn't matter. The Mountain Lord martyred himself at Xue Yu Tian Chi, and I'll martyr myself on Qingliang Mountain. It's the same spirit."
Zhao Suiguang laughed heartily, instantly feeling a surge of righteous energy fill his chest. "Qingliang Sect... ever since my father passed away and his dao extinguished, it has been rumored throughout the mountains of the human world that our Qingliang Sect's sect masters were all established by Lin Zhao, that we were merely a subordinate sect of Mountain Peak Villa. This statement has made many of my disciples resentful."
He took a deep breath and roared with laughter, "Damn it, what's there to resent? If we truly were a subordinate sect of Mountain Peak Villa, it would be an honor! This spirit of the human world, I, Zhao Suiguang, will fight for it today. Even if the Qingliang Sect is destroyed, we will never abandon our aspirations again! My disciples, what do you say!?"
At that moment, a group of Qingliang Sect disciples felt their blood boil. They all drew their long swords and cried, "We are willing to follow the Sect Master to our deaths for our human world!"
Xiang Ji grinned. The emotions were in place. Next, it was time for a true fight to the death!
...
Deep within the ancestral mountain.
A stretch of primeval wilderness appeared at the edge of the earth. This place was truly remote, so much so that even Chen Rusong, a thirteen-realm spirit, had traveled for many days to reach it. This location was far from the demon race's ancestral mountain; even a sage could not arrive here in one go.
On this day, he finally returned to his lair. The wilderness ahead was where he had lived for ten thousand years.
"Phew, I'm home!" Chen Rusong lightly patted the treasure lamp in his sleeve and chuckled. "Winter Storage, my dear, we're finally back in our haven of bliss. From now on, it's all good days, no more suffering~~~"
Before his words had even finished, a beam of sword light slashed from behind him, its radiance incredibly brilliant.
The attacker's realm was inferior to Chen Rusong's, being merely a late-stage twelve-realm sword cultivator. However, the killing intent in his eyes was extremely intense. He had followed him all the way to the end of this world. With no one else within thousands of miles, why wouldn't he strike now?!