Chapter 1567: The World's Perilous Pass

Sword Peak Mountain is a magnificent mountain of the realm, standing over three hundred *zhang* tall, its left embracing the Feather Ripple River, and its right overlooking the Seagull Basin. It is said, "To pass through Fengjie Prefecture, one must first cross Sword Peak Mountain." The Xia court constructed fortifications here, managing them for many years, thus creating a perilous pass of the world.

The entire Sword Peak Mountain has a unique topography, naturally dividing into five tiers from base to summit. Hence, it also bears the name Sky Ladder Mountain.

True Person Taihua, combining with the terrain, personally oversaw the design of the five-tiered Array of Profound Virtue Bearing All Things covering Sword Peak Mountain.

Below, it connects to the Earth Veins of Great Xia; above, it reaches the Nine Heavens' Cloud Qi. Gathering momentum and embracing intent, it suppresses the mountains and rivers of Fengjie.

Once the great array is activated, the power of the Earth Veins increases tier by tier, reaching its peak at the summit, where its might also reaches its limit, capable of unleashing terrifying Earth Vein attacks.

The immense damage it withstands can also decrease tier by tier, from summit to mountain base, ultimately being absorbed by the earth.

It can be said to be an array combining both offense and defense.

Alas, last year, Jiang Mengxiong's single punch created a hundred-mile abyss, directly crushing the Earth Veins, rendering this five-tiered Array of Profound Virtue Bearing All Things unable to regain its former state, no matter what.

Years of painstaking effort, destroyed in an instant.

Xie Zhengwen is a Confucian cultivator, studying at a college within the territory of Great Xia. Last year, he pushed open the Gate of Heaven and Earth, solidifying his cultivation at the Ascending Dragon realm.

After all, the Southern Domain is where the Holy Land of Scholarship resides, thus the Confucian风 is deeply rooted.

Years ago, he also wished to go to the Evening Drum College for further study, but he feared his talent was insufficient, that he would not be able to enter, thus delaying his military post. Later, this thought faded, as there is also a path within the military. After a few more years, when he is older, if he still has no significant progress, he will retire and purchase a mansion in his hometown, raising several beautiful concubines... This would be the life of an ordinary cultivator. It is similar to the twilight imagination of common folk, both leading to the same destination, just as extraordinary powers will eventually dissipate in the passage of time.

Born naked, departing in a vast whiteness.

Last year, he was also on Sword Peak Mountain, under the command of Hua Fangyu, the eldest son of the Marquis of Jing'an.

To be honest, how Sword Peak Mountain was lost, he is still completely bewildered to this day.

Suddenly, there was an enemy attack, inexplicably the defending general died, and inexplicably he, along with other routed soldiers, scattered. He didn't even know how many enemies there were; judging by the panic and commotion of the routed soldiers, it seemed as if the entire mountain was filled!

Of course, he, Xie Zhengwen, has no face to mock others.

When he first participated in the garrison of Sword Peak Mountain, he never felt this was a dangerous task.

After all, this place, Sword Peak Mountain, had not seen the flames of war for nearly thirty years.

This year is the thirty-second year of Shenwu.

In former years, after the Qi Kingdom retreated, Great Xia began to rebuild from the ground up. With the support of the Observatory of Prophecy in the Jing Kingdom, the Xia court did not accept the status quo. King Wu led troops to attack everywhere, recovering lost territories step by step from the mouths of the pack of wolves that had devoured them. By the third year of Shenwu, all border conflicts had been extinguished, and the existing borders were consolidated.

The later Army of鎮國 was trained behind the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons with the assistance of the Jing Kingdom.

The realm had been peaceful for many years; there was truly nothing to worry about from the periphery.

For the Qi Kingdom to come east to Sword Peak Mountain, it would inevitably have to pass through the small kingdoms of Guo, Yang, and Hu. How could there be no movement?

With the Observatory of Prophecy of the Jing Kingdom still present, how could the Qi Kingdom possibly dare to attack Great Xia?

Even if a war did break out, Great Xia in the Shenwu era had regained the strength to fight!

The above three points were almost the universal consensus of the Great Xia military.

Although Xie Zhengwen had absolutely no qualifications to observe the world situation, lacking vision and perspective, and unable to access even a shred of useful information, when chatting with comrades during peacetime, he would still inevitably comment on the state of affairs, listing the Qi's failures and the Xia's victories, and so on.

Until the battle of last year occurred...

Speaking of this Hua Fangyu, he hailed from a renowned family and possessed considerable cultivation. In peacetime, his troop formations showed considerable method, and his discussions on strategy were eloquent and logical. When it came to military strategy, few of his peers could match him; otherwise, he could not have defended this crucial location.

However, it was unexpected that he was terrifyingly foolish in the heat of the moment.

When suddenly attacked by surprise, he only cared about his own life-and-death struggle, completely forgetting to organize the defense of Sword Peak Mountain, losing the fundamental duty of a defending general!

Xie Zhengwen, in any case, received no orders that night...

The array was rendered useless, and the army fought independently.

Routed soldiers were like a flood; once they surged, no one could salvage the situation. Decades of operation on Sword Peak Mountain were all left behind in the torrent of fleeing soldiers, left to the Qi army.

Later... Sword Peak Mountain was "reclaimed," in a sense.

True Person Taihua died in his own formation of killing for achieving the Dao, and blood rained from the heavens, falling upon the mountain-protecting great array he had personally designed.

There was truly a sense of tragic destiny!

And then later...

Marquis of Jing'an, Hua Hongzhao, knelt outside the palace gate, requesting to personally garrison Sword Peak Mountain, stating that he wished to wash away the shame his son had brought upon the Marquis of Jing'an's Mansion, saying, "The shame of family and nation cannot be resolved by a mere death." The Empress Dowager also consented.

Xie Zhengwen thus came under the command of the Marquis of Jing'an. Re-stationed on Sword Peak Mountain.

The ability of the Marquis of Jing'an was indeed incomparable to that of his son.

As a low-level military officer, Xie Zhengwen felt this very deeply.

When Hua Fangyu defended the mountain, he felt that every day was just a routine, eating, drinking, and reporting for duty. Living in the present, he thought about his retirement life decades later.

After Hua Hongzhao personally arrived, the soldiers didn't do much more each day, but every single task showed results.

Daily military drills and fortification construction were very regular and fulfilling, and the soldiers were full of spirit and energy.

Under the command of the Marquis of Jing'an, he had the confidence to face any enemy.

And so, to this day... the Great War between Qi and Xia commenced, and King Min personally garrisoned Sword Peak Mountain.

The so-called Yu Liyang.

A living legend of Great Xia!

The strongest figure most admired by those born in the Shenwu era.

Putting others aside, Xie Zhengwen saw the brothers in his own battalion, all with high morale, already feeling invincible, everyone shouting that they would definitely defeat the Qi thieves.

And the day to verify morale and imagination finally arrived.

First, the brothers guarding the trap positions fled back in disarray, a sight that inexplicably reminded him of the early morning when Sword Peak Mountain fell.

Led by an exceptionally arrogant fellow wearing white on the battlefield, the Qi army's vanguard charged with irresistible momentum, pursuing them all the way to the foot of the mountain.

There were thirty thousand soldiers garrisoned on the entire Sword Peak Mountain.

In the order of defense, they were divided by the five tiers of the mountain.

The defenders of the first tier of Sword Peak Mountain, including Xie Zhengwen, were about to charge down to meet the enemy head-on and beat that white-clad fellow into a shroud.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In his ears, he only heard the muffled sounds like rolling thunder from the Nine Heavens.

Behind the Qi army's vanguard, an boundless army of elites had already surged like a tide... quickly filling his vision.

For a moment, he didn't know where the sea of people ended.

Only after the commanding officers counted the troops did they conclude that the enemy force was one hundred thousand.

And this was just the vanguard!

The Qi army's million-strong invasion of Xia was not an empty threat.

But the even more terrifying aspect was—

Xie Zhengwen had been in the army for many years, and could be considered a veteran. Yet, he had never known that an army of one hundred thousand could change formation so swiftly, and advance with such speed.

Even their Sword Peak Mountain defenders, practicing in groups of five thousand in rotation during peacetime, could not be so fluid!

Those who truly lived on the edge of a blade, begging for food on the battlefield, could naturally understand this strength.

Understanding the opponent's strength, they thus knew what fear was.

Standing on the towering Sword Peak Mountain, Xie Zhengwen suddenly felt that what he relied upon seemed to be merely an isolated reef in a raging sea. The reef might still be solid, but he, standing on the reef, would be easily swallowed...

Fortunately, the Marquis of Jing'an was, after all, the Marquis of Jing'an. Military orders were quickly passed down from above, concisely and directly adjusting the defense, ensuring that Xie Zhengwen and his team did not lose their backbone.

But just as they reached their position—the sunny stone seat on the first tier, also known as "Cold Cicada's Cry," one of the seventy-two minor array eyes of the mountain-protecting great array.

He heard the heavy sound of something cutting through the air, like a heavy hammer striking stone. Looking up with fear and trepidation, he seemed to see a ship flying in the air!

A boat should sail on water; this ship flew in the sky.

Its entire body flowed with a cold metallic luster, its outer shell covered in ferocious iron thorns, shaped like a vicious flying beast.

No, not just one ship!

Dense steel flying boats, like a flock of geese, flew from the east, approaching at terrifying speed!

The complex array patterns on the outer shells of the flying boats instantly lit up.

The Metal element origin power between heaven and earth rapidly gathered, quickly condensing into steel thorn spears, gleaming with a chilling light.

And amidst the explosive whistling sounds, thorn spears rained down from the sky—

For a moment, it was like a hailstorm!

"Form up! Form up!"

Xie Zhengwen heard his immediate superior roaring thus.

"Form—"

A thorn spear pierced through his body, pinning him to the mountainside, along with his unfinished cry, dissipating together.

These thorn spears were not only sturdy and sharp, but also possessed strong anti-magic effects.

Xie Zhengwen personally saw someone who had activated a defensive Daoist technique in time, yet it also scattered upon contact, still failing to escape the fate of being nailed.

The Blazing Sun Flying Boat of Yanggu, the Dragon Fishing Boat of Fishing Sea Tower, and the Thorn Boat of Jue Ming Island are the three great flying boats of the Human Race on the battlefield of the Maze of Delusion.

Among them, the Blazing Sun Flying Boat has the greatest power, the Dragon Fishing Boat is the fastest, and the Thorn Boat combines both offense and defense.

Now, this military weapon of mass destruction was deployed in the Qi-Xia war, appearing on Sword Peak Mountain.

Xie Zhengwen felt his legs trembling and his heart pounding, but power surged from somewhere within his body, making his blood race!

Perhaps it was the pre-battle mobilization by the Marquis of Jing'an a few days ago.

Perhaps it was the majestic figure of Lord King Min standing on the mountain peak.

Perhaps it was... the letter from his father that he had read last night.

He leaped high into the air, with an agility he hadn't imagined himself possessing, avoiding a diagonally approaching thorn spear, and fell beside his slain superior, taking off the Captain's token.

"I am Xie Zhengwen, Captain of the Fengjie Prefecture Army of Great Xia! I now temporarily act as Captain! All brothers, heed my command!"

While shouting, he infused his Dao Yuan into the token, rolled forward, and almost smashed the Captain's token onto the array stone! Clang! Activating the "Cold Cicada's Cry" array eye at this location!

Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!

Massive amounts of Yuan Qi gathered, emitting endless cicada sounds, instantly supporting a Qi shield above Xie Zhengwen—

A thorn spear was just about to fall on his head, but it was blocked by the "Cold Cicada's Cry" Qi shield.

A hair's breadth from death!

The anti-magic thorn spear moved with difficulty within the Qi shield.

Xie Zhengwen didn't bother to wipe away his cold sweat, jumped up and struck with his saber, splitting it open!

"Form up! Form up!" He shouted just like the slain Captain.

The brothers who were still alive gathered around him, quickly forming a simple Five Elements formation as they had practiced during peacetime, gathering Military Balefulness to protect themselves and support the operation of the "Cold Cicada's Cry" minor array.

This was just a corner of the entire Sword Peak Mountain... but it was the entire Sword Peak Mountain battle for many of them.

At the waist of Sword Peak Mountain, from the perspective of Hua Hongzhao, the Marquis of Jing'an of Great Xia—

A hundred steel Thorn Boats flew around Sword Peak Mountain, unleashing a rain of anti-magic thorn spears without sparing Dao Yuan stones.

And the landing points were extremely precise, almost all aimed at the locations of the array eyes, striking at the crucial points.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

After one round of concentrated fire, the defenders of the first tier of Sword Peak Mountain suffered heavy casualties.

The array eye positions of the rebuilt mountain-protecting great array had clearly been readjusted, yet the Qi people knew them so clearly. Where had the problem occurred? The intelligence on Sword Peak Mountain was as leaky as a sieve!

Hua Hongzhao wished he could personally act to shoot down a few Thorn Boats, but he knew it would be futile. Showing his face at this moment would be death, and he wouldn't be able to provide any value at all.

"Send a detachment to the second tier, the seventh minor array on the shaded side is a weak point, it needs reinforcement." The old general, whose temples were streaked with frost, ordered, his voice surprisingly calm.

The five-tiered Array of Profound Virtue Bearing All Things created by True Person Taihua indeed had its extraordinary aspects.

The entire defense line of the first tier was shattered by the hundred Thorn Boats' sudden, cost-free attack. Of the seventy-two minor array eyes, only thirty-three remained stable.

But even so, immense Earth Vein power still gathered, heading straight towards the second tier.

As the majestic Earth Veins surged, the breached array eyes on the first tier also rapidly shone, raising Qi shields.

But at this very moment—

A Qi Killing army formation of ten thousand strong had already charged.

Boundless Military Balefulness surged skyward, instantly forming a mighty battle general twenty *zhang* tall, raising a ghost-headed saber high, and slashing down at the array node of the second tier of Sword Peak Mountain!

The Army of Autumn Kill.

One saber opens the clouds, directly striking the mountain-protecting array!

The mountain visibly trembled!

The giant Military Balefulness battle general instantly disintegrated.

Hua Hongzhao saw clearly that the ten-thousand-strong army that had gathered the Military Balefulness quickly shifted formation, clearing the way and retreating to regroup. And the second ten-thousand-strong army had connected, inheriting the Military Balefulness of the former army, instantly gathering, transforming into a battle general twenty-five *zhang* tall, with the same standard ghost-headed saber, striking Sword Peak Mountain again!

The entire process was smooth as flowing water, possessing a flowing beauty.

The commander was a true master of warfare, the Heavy Profound Chu Liang, imprinted in the pain and sorrow of the Xia people!

A terrifying, reinforced saber strike landed, striking the crucial node position on the second tier of Sword Peak Mountain!

The entire mountain-protecting great array was on the verge of collapse... but it did not fall.

Hua Hongzhao clenched his teeth.

This was not only the power of the mountain-protecting great array, but also the collective will of the thirty thousand soldiers defending the mountain on Sword Peak Mountain!

Those he could see, and those he could not... the soldiers were fighting to the death in their own ways.

The second ten-thousand-strong army at the foot of the mountain retreated, and the third ten-thousand-strong army charged up.

Like a tide surging and returning.

There was a strange "rhythmic sense."

The same scene occurred again. This time, the Military Balefulness battle general formed by the Autumn Kill army was already thirty *zhang* tall, that Military Balefulness ghost-headed saber, almost as if it would cleave the heavens, struck down heavily!

This was a military formation killing technique—

Eight Blade Strikes that Cleave Mountains!

Military Balefulness continuously gathered, military momentum continuously accumulated.

Each peak higher than the last.

Each strike heavier than the last.

Cleaving mountains and breaking peaks, nothing was unbreakable.

More than half of the array on the second tier was almost shattered.

But Hua Hongzhao just watched this scene quietly, making no move.

It was not yet time.

With the entire Sword Peak Mountain defense line seemingly completely seen through by the enemy, he had to use the crucial power at the crucial moment.

The immense Earth Vein power absorbed by the Sword Peak Mountain mountain-protecting great array encountered fierce resistance as it ascended from the first tier to the second tier.

The ascent was difficult, but it still ascended with difficulty.

Looking at the entire battle situation.

A hundred Thorn Boats were still continuously mobilizing Metal element origin power to gather and unleash thorn spears.

Ten-thousand-strong army formations were still forming Military Balefulness one after another, bombarding Sword Peak Mountain with the Eight Blade Strikes that Cleave Mountains.

The incessant whistling, the continuous booming, shook heaven and earth.

The entire Sword Peak Mountain defense line was completely engulfed in a life-and-death struggle.

And in the distance, within the Qi army's central command that had stopped and remained still, in the Assault Tower vehicle where the commander was stationed...

Cao Jie, clad in armor, gazed at Sword Peak Mountain in the distance, his eyes flickering with divine light, observing everything in the battle, listening intently to the sounds of war.

Ever-changing, all within his heart.

Ruan Qiao stood beside him, his star-patterned Daoist robe fluttering in the wind.

"Good! Worthy of being the Fierce Butcher!"

The situation had not yet changed, but Cao Jie had clearly seen what he wanted, and then decisively ordered: "Order Army Advisor Yan Ping of the Garrison Army to lock onto Yu Liyang!"

Yan Ping was in another Assault Tower vehicle behind. With his cultivation at the Dao Derivation stage, there was naturally no need for a flag officer to ride to convey the order.

Hearing the order, he merely opened his eyes in the quiet room, and in the vast and boundless realm of consciousness, he had already locked onto that supreme figure on Sword Peak Mountain!

And Cao Jie, behind the steel battlements, continued: "I want Yu Liyang to know that if he insists on staying, I can find an opportunity to kill him today! And I will spare no effort to do so!"

This commander of the invasion of Xia, whose voice was usually gentle... at this moment, displayed dominance!

I also fully understand the gap in expectations when readers' desires are not met.

I understand that many people, because they deeply love Jiang Wang, are unwilling to see him in such a state, unwilling to see that despite his great efforts, he cannot achieve glory.

Among the many reader comments, there are some widely circulated meme packs that I myself use in the book group.

The creativity of fellow readers is admirable.

Some jokes are refreshing, and some pictures make people laugh.

Some points are difficult for those who haven't truly read the book to grasp.

We are now launching a meme competition, and everyone is welcome to express their opinions.

Among the vast number of readers, who is the most talented at commenting?

For participation methods and rules, please see the comment section on Qidian.