Chapter 55: The Gathering Storm

“Can your arrow formation distinguish between demonic energy and my junior sister’s aura? Can your ‘Spirit-Shattering Crossbow’ guarantee that when it pierces the demoness’s heart, not a single ripple of its power will harm those around her?”

“You cannot,” Gu Chang’an stated.

“Therefore, put away your mortal military tactics. I will bring my junior sister back myself. As for you…” She cast a detached glance at the soldiers already assembled and standing ready for battle, her eyes indifferent. “…Do not interfere.”

The moment her words fell, the Frostbright Sword beneath her feet emitted a clear, ringing chime. She transformed into a streak of azure light, ignoring Tuoba Yanxue’s ashen face, and shot skyward, vanishing instantly into the vast expanse of wind and snow.

****

“General!” A heavily armored deputy general rushed over, his face contorted with fury as he stared in the direction Gu Chang’an had vanished. “These Qingyun Sect people are far too arrogant! Should we not…?”

“Silence!” Tuoba Yanxue snapped, cutting him off sharply. Her chest heaved violently as she stared at the distant sky where the azure light had disappeared.

After a long while, she slowly exhaled a turbid breath, which instantly condensed into white mist in the bitter cold.

“Relay my orders!” Her voice regained its icy calm.

“Order: All members of the ‘Azure Wolf Iron Cavalry’ are to assemble. In the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn, they are to be ready at the East Three Barracks training ground!”

“Order: The Quartermaster’s Office is to immediately allocate three ‘Demon-Suppressing’ heavy crossbows, along with thirty carts of armor-piercing arrows laced with ‘Demon-Melting Powder,’ to accompany the army!”

“Order: All skilled scouts are to form teams of three, fan out, and infiltrate the periphery of Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Mountain. They are to keep a close watch on the demoness and Gu Chang’an’s movements! Any anomaly is to be reported immediately with wolf smoke signals!”

The deputy general behind her paused, then hesitated. “General… are we not waiting for news from Immortal Gu anymore?”

Tuoba Yanxue slowly turned around, a cold, almost obsessive glint flickering in her ice-lake-like phoenix eyes.

She reached out, gently stroking the broken wolf tooth at her waist, her voice low, as if speaking to herself.

“Wait?”

“I never place my hopes on an uncontrollable ‘sword immortal.’

“Nor would I ever entrust the ‘auspicious omen’ of the Northern Border into another’s hands.”

She had searched for three years for that little beggar, for that ‘warm sun wine fragrance’ that could bring peace to her deceased husband’s divine soul. Now, she had finally found them.

From another perspective, they were her savior. How could she possibly allow her benefactor to be harmed?

Regardless of whether it was a demon princess or a Qingyun sword immortal…

“All forces, advance!” At her command, the silent military camp erupted into activity once more.

The steel torrent began to gather, the Azure Wolf battle banner unfurled in the wind and snow, and a ruthless, bloodthirsty aura, even more intense than demonic energy, surged skyward, pointing directly towards the dark mountain range.

****

Meanwhile, a hundred *li* from the Frost Iron Defense Line, within a hidden mountain cave.

The cave was warm as spring, its walls embedded with moonstones that emitted a soft glow.

A woman in a black and red cloak sat cross-legged on a piece of obsidian, her eyes closed in meditation. Faint, blood-red mist encircled her, and the rose demonic纹 on her brow shimmered in and out of view.

Suddenly, her long, butterfly-wing-like eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she abruptly opened her eyes.

Her chilling blood-red pupils gazed a寸 into the distance, her brows furrowing subtly.

Ling Shuangjue slowly raised her left wrist. On its inner side, a fine red thread, conjured from thin air, glowed faintly, emitting warmth and vibrating at an extremely rapid frequency.

This was the Red Thread Demonic Pact.

It was an imprint she had left deep within Shen Zhaoqing’s mind, using the essence of her own demonic heart. This imprint was usually inert, unable to control the other party or probe their thoughts.

Its sole purpose was to alert Ling Shuangjue whenever Shen Zhaoqing faced a life-threatening danger or entered a desperate situation that could jeopardize her existence.

And now, the tremor frequency of this red thread far surpassed any previous instance.

Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Mountain!

Ling Shuangjue’s red pupils instantly narrowed.

“Heh…”

She rose to her feet, the surrounding blood mist instantly receding, replaced by a terrifying killing intent that threatened to crush the entire cave.

Outside the cave, an elderly demon tribesman, adorned with a feather crown and painted face, sensed this murderous aura. He scrambled inside, prostrating himself on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

“D-Demonic Venerable… Your Excellency!”

This was the High Priest of the Black Tooth Tribe, whom Ling Shuangjue had subjugated with thunderous force to serve as her ‘guide’ in the Northern Border.

Ling Shuangjue didn’t spare him a glance, merely asking in a tone as flat as if discussing the weather, “Is the ‘Bloodvine Ancient Path’ leading to the core of Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Mountain still usable?”

The High Priest was terrified out of his wits, burying his head even lower. “R-Reporting, Demonic Venerable Your Excellency! It… it is usable. That path is our tribe’s highest secret. Apart from the successive High Priests, no one knows of it. It can bypass those frenzied ancient remnants on the periphery and lead directly to the sleeping place of the Divine Bird Bi Fang.”

“Very good.”

Ling Shuangjue nodded.

The next second, her figure vanished from the spot.

Only a chilling, bone-piercing sentence echoed through the cave.

“Send word to my Blood Guards in the Demonic Domain. Tell them to prepare to cleanse Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Mountain.”

“Whether human, demon, or some ancient thing…”

“Whoever touches a single hair on her head, I will have their entire clan buried with them.”

A flash of blood-red light streaked across the northern night sky like a meteor, arriving before its time, and with incredible speed, plunged into the bottomless darkness of Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Mountain.

****

Farther still, on an unknown stargazing platform.

Wild winds whipped up celestial dust, yet not a single strand of the woman’s hair on the platform was disturbed.

Yan Wusheng, clad in a dark cloak, stood quietly before a massive Heavenly Derivation Plate. Upon the intricate star chart, countless points of light slowly moved in profound, mysterious trajectories.

Among them, several stars shone with exceptional brilliance.

An azure sword light, like a comet striking the moon, was unstoppable.

A profound military aura, like dark clouds blanketing the sky, was heavy and dense.

A blood-red demonic energy, like a lurking phantom, was eerie and unpredictable.

And a slightly dimmer demon star, wrapped in a faint golden gleam, desperately rushed towards the chaotic region at the very center of the star chart.

Yet all these stars, regardless of their trajectories, ultimately gravitated towards that one star—the star of change—which flickered between bright and dim, yet swayed the entire celestial configuration.

Yan Wusheng extended a slender, jade-like finger and gently touched the star representing Shen Zhaoqing.

A warm, smooth sensation emanated from her fingertip, as if she had not touched cold starlight, but a piece of fine warm jade.

“The sword of Qingyun Sect, the blade of Yan State, the demon of Myriad Flower Blood Palace, the sovereign of the demon race…”

Her voice, like the starry sky itself, was clear and distant.

“And the mantises in the shadows, waiting for the orioles to strike.”

“With the ‘Three Lives Stone’ as bait, and the ‘Dao Source Body’ as the lure, they have finally all entered the game.”