Chapter 663: White Lady Guards the Pass, Sword Rises with Dragon and Snake Momentum

On New Year's Eve, led by General Han, an assault battalion composed of over a thousand jianghu experts and elite Da Zhen soldiers changed into the uniforms and armor of Zu Yue soldiers and returned to camp just after nightfall, laden with carts of supplies.

At the same time, with Daoist Qingsong as the main figure and several cultivators from the Da Zhen army assisting, an altar was set up on a hill next to Qilin Pass to disrupt the heavenly mechanism to some extent.

That night, on a flat-topped hill, a three-tiered altar, about three zhang wide and constructed using earth-element magic, stood there. It was surrounded by flags depicting various constellations, while the two large flags in the center were replicas of the two star banners from Yunshan Monastery.

Daoist Qingsong stood at the center of the altar, while several surrounding cultivators had already begun channeling spiritual power into all the flags. These flags glowed faintly, making the depicted constellations shine as brightly as actual stars in the sky.

Daoist Qingsong suddenly stood up, holding a whisk and a Daoist sword. At the center of the altar, he performed a stellar step, continuously waving the whisk and sword to cast spells. He moved around each flag, with the whisk sweeping or the sword slashing past them. Once he returned to the center, he raised his sword towards the sky.

"Reflecting the stars, aligning the constellations, shifting the celestial order, begone!"

The starlight on all the flags lit up, faintly revealing an image of constellations rising into the sky. Indiscernible rays of light shot directly upwards. A moment later, the starlight and moonlight in the sky dimmed, and a thin mist soon rose from the surrounding mountains.

This mist first enveloped the entire altar, then gradually spread to affect the entire sky. Before long, the night over a wide area was enveloped in a faint cloud. After the sky became cloudy, mist also began to appear on the ground under the night sky.

With his superb divinatory abilities, Daoist Qingsong stirred the strings of cosmic timing at this moment of transition between the old and new year. The closer it got to midnight on New Year's Day, the greater these subtle changes became, leading to subtle abnormalities in the celestial patterns over a wide area centered around the altar.

Unless one's cultivation and mental state were sufficiently profound and their divination skills exceptional, these abnormal effects would be difficult to perceive. Even cultivators would at most feel the wind and snow becoming slightly more intense or slackening, while the constellations would appear dim and unclear.

"Daoist Qingsong, this formation must be complete, right?"

An old woman beside the altar witnessed its operation and, feeling a slight shock, her manner of speaking to Daoist Qingsong became more polite.

The other cultivators nearby also held Daoist Qingsong in awe. The ability to influence cosmic timing and disrupt cultivators' predictions of fortune and misfortune was an extremely sophisticated technique, one that ordinary people could not employ.

Daoist Qingsong felt a degree of self-satisfaction, but his inner pride did not make him lose his composure. He humbly said:

"I am ashamed. I have cultivated for many years, yet my magical methods are still so rudimentary, unworthy of the esteemed predecessors of my sect. However, this formation only affects the heavens, not people. Tonight is the night of transition between the old and new year, and no one on the opposing side should be able to discern the effects of this formation before dawn."

"Excellent! Daoist priest, please keep watch over the formation. We will proceed out of the pass first!"

After Du Changsheng finished speaking, he cupped his hands towards Daoist Qingsong. The other cultivators also saluted, and then, as Daoist Qingsong returned their salutes, they all left the mountaintop.

About fifteen minutes later, the elite Da Zhen forces near Qilin Pass, in units of ten thousand, divided into several routes and marched out into the cold wind under the cover of night.

Now, with the assistance of sorcerers and immortals, the already loosely organized Zu Yue army became highly reliant on them for military intelligence. Yin Chong was confident in dealing with ordinary scouts, but feared the so-called sorcerers and shamans. With their own masters providing cover, marching in this mist offered many more guarantees.

Currently, the Zu Yue military was powerful, and it was New Year's Eve. For a long time, both sides had an unspoken understanding, believing no troops would be mobilized on this day. While this Da Zhen surprise attack could not be called entirely unpredictable, it was clear that the various Zu Yue army camps were far from adequately prepared for such a possibility.

"Kill..." "Charge!"

"Go!"

At the locations of Zu Yue's more important large camps, shouts of battle almost simultaneously echoed through the sky. Many military camps even saw internal collaboration, with some being disguised soldiers and others civilians conscripted by the Zu Yue army. Large fires flared everywhere, and shouts of battle and screams were heard everywhere.

Yongding Pass in Qizhou was a strategic pass at the western end of the Tingqiu Mountain range. Although on the surface Tingqiu Mountain seemed to end there in the east, in reality, the underground mountain range continued uninterrupted, extending hundreds of miles further east.

This pass, originally controlled by Da Zhen, was three days' travel on foot from the Zu Yue border. Now, these areas were actually behind the Zu Yue army's front lines.

At the summit of a peak next to Yongding Pass, a woman, appearing ethereal as an immortal, sat cross-legged. Having been closed-eyed, she suddenly looked up at the sky, frowning as she gazed at the faint starlight through the overcast sky. She turned to look towards Qizhou for a long moment before returning her gaze.

About half an hour later, two streaks of light flew from afar, appearing to intend to cross Yongding Pass directly. Bai Ruo's heart stirred.

'You're just who I'm waiting for!'

The thought had barely formed when Bai Ruo stood up, parted her red lips, and instantly spat out a stream of white light. After swirling three times in the air, it resembled a whirlwind of white light, rushing directly towards the distant streaks of light.

Upon contact, there was an immediate loud "boom...", like thunder in the sky, and lightning-like flashes illuminated the night sky.

The white light resembled a giant serpent of wind and clouds in the night sky, constantly darting around. After the lightning-like flashes subsided, the streaks of light in the sky moved left and right, colliding with the white light serpent several more times. The night sky became filled with frequent thunder flashes and continuous explosions.

"So a master has set an ambush here. We underestimated Da Zhen. The disruption of the cosmic timing tonight was also your doing, was it not?"

A series of resonant voices carried over, reaching Bai Ruo's ears. The two streaks of light, pushed back by the clashing spells, were approaching the mountaintop where Bai Ruo stood.

Bai Ruo retracted the white light from the sky, revealing it to be an exquisite soft sword in her hand. Holding the sword behind her back, she stood against the wind on the mountaintop, exuding the graceful demeanor of a female sword immortal, with no trace of a demonic nature discernible. She projected her voice in reply:

"The disruption of cosmic timing has nothing to do with me. In any case, you two won't be passing through today."

Both sides understood that encountering each other in such a situation today, it was unlikely for them to part on good terms.

"Seeing as you are truly of the immortal path, why do you involve yourself in this struggle over human destiny? May I ask which sect you belong to and what your immortal title is? Otherwise, when you fall at the hands of us, the Two Elders of Linggu, don't blame us for not showing respect to your sect!"

Bai Ruo performed a sword flourish, pointing her soft sword straight ahead, and smiled.

"My name is Bai. I am not from any prestigious immortal sect. Rest assured, the eminent master who imparted this marvelous cultivation method to me is someone I am not worthy to be a disciple of. I am merely a rogue cultivator. Enough talk. Let's settle this with our own abilities!"

Today, Bai Ruo's voice was not as gentle as Ji Yuan remembered it, but rather cool and aloof. After saying this, she stamped her foot.

With a "rumble", the mountaintop shattered, and huge boulders floated weightlessly, flying into the air along with Bai Ruo's figure. Her entire being transformed into a streak of white light, enveloping the boulders to form a dragon-like or serpent-like sword momentum in the night sky.

A profound, indistinct bellow echoed.

Amidst an indistinct, resonant deer cry, Bai Ruo, carrying the might of wind, clouds, and thunder, launched her full attack. In the eyes of the so-called Two Elders of Linggu, it was like a sheet of white light striking with the formidable power of a mountain.

"Bold!"

The two rapidly retreated. One launched command arrows forward, while the other continuously formed hand seals to cast spells. The command arrows exploded immediately upon contact with the white light.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"...

Outside Yongding Pass, in the relatively quiet and open space, the New Year's Eve sky seemed to be engulfed in an exceptionally brilliant fireworks display.

In contrast, in many of Zu Yue's military camps across Qizhou, raging fires flared. Qilin Pass's gates were thrown wide open, and Da Zhen's main cavalry force charged directly out of the gates, pushing towards the various Zu Yue armies.

When contending for benefits, the Zu Yue army was like ferocious jackals, but in a situation where they were attacked everywhere, their camps, which were not particularly united, fell into considerable chaos.

As the distant armies clashed, a bloody aura gradually permeated the sky. In the eyes of those with cultivation who could perceive energy, it was like fiery clouds in the night. Daoist Qingsong's formation had also lost most of its effect, and there was no longer any need to conceal anything.

At Yongding Pass, aerial magical combat ensued, illuminating the ground brightly with magical light. The Two Elders of Linggu, even with their combined strength, were utterly unable to overcome Bai Ruo. Instead, they were forced to retreat step by step, to the point of firing signal arrows for reinforcements.

Subsequently, demonic light and dark wind came from the direction of Zu Yue, but surprisingly, none could breach Bai Ruo's Dragon Serpent Sword Momentum. Although she was a deer demon, her immortal cultivation method was originally adapted by Ji Yuan from the old dragon's jade slip content, and some of its sword moves resembled a dragon's wild dance.

Bai Ruo had once heard in divine circles about the power of Ji Yuan's Heaven-Tilting Sword Momentum, which he created in Tingqiu Mountain. She admired its might and presence, and though she had never witnessed it, she had often imagined it. She also incorporated her imagined sword momentum techniques into this immortal cultivation method's dragon-serpent transformation sword moves. In her first true battle, its power was astonishing, even startling herself.

In the night sky, a silvery-bright dragon-serpent wildly danced with Bai Ruo's sword momentum, and indistinctly, thunder continuously rumbled across the wilderness. Massive boulders aided its power, and rolling heavenly thunder added to its might.

"Pitter-patter, pitter-patter..."

As Bai Ruo continuously wielded her Dragon Serpent Sword Momentum, rain began to fall from the sky. The rainwater merged into the sword momentum, enhancing the dragon-serpent's power and making it even more agile, like a dragon swimming in the vast sea.

At the center of the sword momentum, holding the soft sword forward and gathering boulders and torrents of water, the dragon-serpent, imbued with sword intent, let out a long, resounding dragon's cry.

"Booming..."

Thunder wildly danced across the sky, bolts striking down upon the Dragon Serpent Sword Momentum, as if a true dragon had descended.

If Ji Yuan were here now, unless he recognized Bai Ruo, he wouldn't believe for a moment that this was a deer demon.

Unlike Bai Ruo, who was both surprised and delighted, yet composedly facing her opponents, the cultivators fighting her, including the Two Elders of Linggu, whether human, demon, or spirit, were utterly astonished, and even felt a sense of fear amidst the sword momentum's dragon roar.

"This person must be a highly accomplished disciple from a prestigious immortal sect. We cannot resist head-on. We will hold her back here. The rest of you, take a long detour around Tingqiu Mountain and quickly go to rescue Qizhou. The heavenly mechanism is disturbed tonight; there must be great changes in Qizhou!"

"Alright, you said it yourself. Don't blame us if this woman named Bai slays you. Let's go!"

Brief exchanges of voices sounded between the demonic light and dark wind, then several streaks of demonic light immediately fled backward, seemingly retreating deep into Zu Yue territory. Bai Ruo knew the opponents would certainly not give up, but she was currently engaged in combat and could not bypass them to pursue.

After a detour of hundreds of miles, taking a very circuitous route, and after they could no longer see the magical lights of the distant battle, several streaks of demonic light turned south again, directly crossing Tingqiu Mountain. But just as they were halfway through, in the darkness, Tingqiu Mountain below them exploded with an earth-shattering roar.

"Boom—!" Countless dense, massive boulders, like cannonballs, shot towards the sky, forming a terrifying rain of stones. From the mountain below, continuous "rumbling..." sounds echoed.

"Hahahahahaha, I am the Mountain God of Tingqiu Mountain! You evil creatures, you shall not pass this way!"