Chapter 105: The Mountain Guard Formation Broken

After Hua Yuyan finished assembling the troops, the great protective formation guarding Changbai Mountain was complete.

The eight chief protectors stood watch over Changbai Mountain, while Hua Yuyan, the old mountain god, and I led five thousand disciples of the Kun Dao sect down the mountain to confront the thirty thousand Wild Immortals head-on.

Linglan, one of the protectors, believed that facing the Wild Immortals directly with five thousand against thirty thousand was a grave mismatch. She suggested we take all the Kun Dao disciples with us and leave only a thousand behind to maintain the formation.

However, Hua Yuyan responded, “Protector Linglan, I understand your worries, but Changbai Mountain is our foundation. Although the protective formation is set, we must never let our guard down. If we send all ten thousand Kun Dao disciples to face the Wild Immortals directly, they will surely take the opportunity to divide their forces and attack Changbai Mountain itself. The protective formation relies to some extent on the mountain’s dragon vein energy. Now that the dragon vein is exhausted, maintaining the formation is no easy feat.”

Hearing this, Protector Linglan reluctantly nodded.

She looked at Hua Yuyan like a mother watching her daughter, then bit her lip and said, “Yuyan, no matter what, you must protect yourself. With you here, Lingying Palace stands strong!”

Hua Yuyan nodded, but her expression held a hint of farewell that tugged at my heart.

Had she foreseen something? After we descended from Changbai Mountain, she called the old mountain god and me aside privately.

“Lin Yi, Old Mountain God, everything beyond the pass has changed. You should leave as soon as possible. Shanhaiguan Pass is guarded by the Luo Shen Protector of Lingying Palace. She will not stop you from entering.”

At that, Hua Yuyan looked at me with a complicated expression.

“Lin Yi, this is goodbye. If fate allows, I hope we meet again.”

Her gaze was filled with emotion, but I could not meet her eyes. I didn’t understand why, at a time like this, she wanted us to leave.

So I said, “Miss Yuyan, we agreed to face the Wild Immortals together when we descended. How could I, Lin Yi, ever retreat in battle?”

The old mountain god also said firmly, “Indeed. As the mountain god of Changbai Mountain, how can I shrink back to save my life when the mountain is in peril?”

“But the dragon vein of Changbai Mountain is exhausted, and Lingying Palace is in decline. The situation may be unstoppable...” she began.

Before she could finish, I interrupted, “So your mission going down the mountain was never to confront the Wild Immortals head-on, but to perish alongside them?”

“How did you know?” she asked.

“Miss Yuyan, I believe it’s not yet that dire. Although the Wild Immortals have many troops, their strength varies greatly. If we can defeat the five great Protectors, the Wild Immortals will be leaderless. Despite their numbers, they will be difficult to form a real threat.”

“Furthermore, the dragon vein’s energy fluctuates. If we eliminate the Wild Immortals and the Five Yin Immortal Mountains, perhaps the dragon vein of Changbai Mountain will be restored,” I said, giving her a glimmer of hope, though it seemed faint and intangible.

“To be honest, Miss Yuyan, my coming beyond the pass was no coincidence. My grandfather anticipated the chaos caused by the Wild Immortals beyond the pass, and I came precisely because of this turmoil.”

“Palace Lord Hua, no matter what, we will never leave!” the old mountain god said, his eyes resolute, standing with me.

I met Hua Yuyan’s gaze and nodded.

Suddenly, she seemed stirred, gripping her sword tightly.

“Very well! Then together, we will surely defeat the Wild Immortals!”

The old mountain god, most familiar with the terrain, led some Kun Dao disciples to the front lines to scout.

---

Hua Yuyan and I temporarily camped in nearby mountains, awaiting news.

After about two hours, the old mountain god returned with information: the Wild Immortal army had reached villages near the Changbai Mountain’s remnants. There were three villages—Liuyuan Tun, Majiao Ao, and Tupo Village—all threatened by the Wild Immortals.

“Good, we move immediately!” Hua Yuyan ordered.

The old mountain god nodded. The villages were close. Before entering, we split into three groups and ambushed within the villages.

The villagers, seeing we were from Lingying Palace, trusted us and hid in the rear hills, while I led the Kun Dao disciples to ambush within the villages.

My ambush was in Liuyuan Tun. When the Wild Immortals entered, we attacked from the shadows, killing them all.

Other Wild Immortals, finding no return from the villages, ventured inside to investigate and were also slain by us.

However, after half a day, the total Wild Immortals killed in the three villages numbered only about a thousand—and they were minor minions with no strong fighters among them.

We regrouped and discussed the matter.

Following the Wild Immortals’ trail, we pursued them and found that the forces hiding here, though large in number, totaled only two to three thousand.

All were weak, and our forces quickly wiped them out without casualties.

Capturing a few survivors and interrogating them, we learned this group was a feint, attacking and harming villagers to distract us.

The main Wild Immortal forces split into two: one detoured from the north of Changbai Mountain to assault the protective formation there, while the other headed straight for Shanhaiguan Pass.

Hua Yuyan’s earlier suspicions were correct. The Wild Immortals were indeed eyeing Changbai Mountain, and leaving half the disciples to guard it was the right decision.

Yet none of us expected the Wild Immortals to be so audacious as to march directly on Shanhaiguan Pass.

Shanhaiguan sealed the border between the outside and inside, guarded by Luo Shen Protector of Lingying Palace.

Hua Yuyan said she possessed the Qingping Demon-Subduing Sword, a treasured weapon of Shanhaiguan Pass.

No matter how many—thirty thousand, even—they would be utterly incapable of breaching the pass.

I marveled at the strength of the Luo Shen Protector.

Hua Yuyan told me she was indeed formidable, second only to Linglan Protector among the nine chief protectors.

Her sword was potent, especially against the Wild Immortals beyond the pass—truly the treasure that sealed Shanhaiguan.

Thus, the ancestral root at Lingying Palace on Changbai Mountain was the most vulnerable.

Upon learning this, we immediately returned to Changbai Mountain.

But instead of going straight up, we dispersed the Kun Dao disciples, moving swiftly and covertly near the northern slopes, hoping to strike the Wild Immortal army from behind, catching them off guard.

We headed north.

We encountered some remnants of the Wild Immortals but no formidable foes.

However, upon reaching the northern slopes of Changbai Mountain, something felt wrong.

I asked Hua Yuyan.

She said, “The protective formation of Changbai Mountain is divided into four symbols and eight trigrams, with eight directions.

The north is traditionally the Azure Dragon’s position, guarded by Protector Ziyu.

Now, the formation there is destroyed, and Protector Ziyu is nowhere to be found.

The Wild Immortal army must have already taken the northern mountain.

We must hurry to Lingying Palace near the Heavenly Pool!”

We led the Kun Dao disciples, racing up the northern mountain toward Lingying Palace.

Along the way, the ground was littered with the bodies of Kun Dao disciples dressed in white.

Their deaths were tragic—completely drained of their vital essence, some even disheveled.

Seeing this, anger filled Hua Yuyan’s expression.

---

The disciples we led were equally enraged, desperate to avenge their fallen brethren by slaughtering the Wild Immortals.

“If the Wild Immortals aren’t wiped out, I, Hua Yuyan, would be unworthy to be the head of Lingying Palace!” she roared, slashing her sword, shattering a boulder.

When we ascended to the main peak of Changbai Mountain near the Heavenly Pool, we saw the area swarming with Wild Immortal disciples.

Lingying Palace was barely holding on, with a few Kun Dao disciples still resisting.

The situation was worse than we imagined.

Hua Yuyan’s decision had been sound, but the Wild Immortals’ strength was overwhelming.

Their presence here meant the protective formation was shattered.

As Hua Yuyan had said, the dragon vein’s depletion rendered the formation ineffective; the Wild Immortals’ attack was unstoppable.

Seeing the Wild Immortals, our Kun Dao disciples shouted in unison, “For our fallen brethren, we will slay every Wild Immortal!”

Hua Yuyan drew her sword, shouting, “Kill!”

Her eyes were bloodshot. The old mountain god and I charged with her into the Wild Immortal ranks.

In no time, we tore a gap in the army encircling the Heavenly Pool.

Fueled by hatred, the Kun Dao disciples struck with deadly precision, dispatching Wild Immortals with nearly every blow.

The old mountain god’s power exceeded my expectations.

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