Chapter 1 The Mountain Gate

The Ao Xue Sect was deep within the snowy mountains, where the snow never melted year-round. The sect's headquarters resembled an ancient castle, standing proudly amidst the snow.

I gazed up at the Ao Xue Sect on the mountain peak and couldn't help but mutter, "When we go to the Tian Pass, are we suppressing our opponents, or helping them?"

Ye Yang said, "Once the Tian Pass is broken, the Ao Xue Sect will lose its meaning. Breaking the Tian Pass is breaking the sect."

I turned back in surprise and asked, "How do you know?"

Ye Yang replied, "My master told me."

"Who is your master?" It was the first time I had asked about Ye Yang's master.

"According to seniority, you should call him Martial Uncle!" Ye Yang's words left me speechless.

At that time, I wasn't in the mood to argue with Ye Yang, so I brushed it off with a single sentence.

The first step in conquering the Tian Pass was to unveil the Tian Decree!

Many people knew of the Tian Decree, but very few had actually seen it. Some even believed it was just a legend.

Zhao Ci's intelligence stated: The Ao Xue Sect's Tian Decree was hidden on the stone pillar in the very center of the Ao Xue Sect's plaza.

Obtaining the Tian Decree was like knocking on the door of the Ao Xue Sect's Tian Pass. Not only could the Ao Xue Sect not harm them, but they also had to treat them like honored guests.

I spread out the map near the Ao Xue Sect. "According to the intelligence, the patrolling disciples will be returning to the sect in five minutes. They're in teams of six. Ye Yang, you take care of them."

"After we enter the sect, we'll switch shifts with the disciples coming out. The shift change location is right below the stone pillar. If we can fool them, great. If not, we'll eliminate that team of disciples. You two cover me while I unveil the Tian Decree."

Not long after I put away the map, the Ao Xue Sect's patrolling disciples approached from a distance.

As soon as I saw their figures, I quietly snapped off a few branches and threw them into the snow.

The patrolling disciples, who had originally been moving in a triangular formation with one person in the front and three in the back, unconsciously lined up in a row after stepping over the branches.

Just as the six figures formed a straight line, Ye Yang silently appeared behind the last person in the row, raising his hand and pointing at the person's back.

Invisible sword qi pierced through the hearts of all six, erupting from the front of the leading disciple.

Ye Yang's sword strike didn't pierce through them, but used internal force to shatter their hearts. As the six disciples silently collapsed to the ground, Feng Ruoxing and I quickly pulled them into the nearby forest.

I changed into an Ao Xue Sect disciple's uniform. "Feng Ruoxing, how's it going on your side?"

"Done!" When Feng Ruoxing emerged from the depths of the forest, she was followed by three emotionless walking corpses. "Quick, get into the sect before the corpses stiffen up. If their limbs get too rigid, they'll easily be spotted."

Feng Ruoxing knew how to control corpses, so she had to walk in the front. Ye Yang and I walked in the back, frequently communicating telepathically. "Ye Yang, do you think the Ao Xue Sect's mountain gate is a bit strange?"

"The mountain gate has an evil aura!" Ye Yang said, "The evil aura is concentrated at the gate. There's a ghost general guarding the entrance."

"Isn't the Ao Xue Sect a reputable and righteous sect?" Just as I was communicating telepathically, the sound of machinery churning came from the mountain gate.

"A thousand-jin gate?" Ye Yang and I exchanged a glance.

The thousand-jin gate was something usually used in ancient military fortresses or city gates. The Ao Xue Sect was clearly a mountain gate that had been built into a war fortress.

Ye Yang's voice was grave. "Let's take a look inside. If the Ao Xue Sect has an outer defensive wall, then this Tian Decree might be hard to unveil."

I followed behind the three walking corpses after passing through the thousand-jin gate. Seeing the bodies of the three walking corpses tremble slightly, Feng Ruoxing put her hands behind her back and continuously made several hand seals, but she couldn't control the three corpses. She could only quickly communicate telepathically, "The walking corpses are frightened. Quickly think of a way to suppress them."

The three of us had just walked in from under the thousand-jin gate and hadn't even left the gatehouse yet. If we were discovered, they could simply drop the gate and trap us alive at the entrance.

Although the souls of the three walking corpses had been scattered, they still possessed an instinctive fear of something.

What frightened them was—a corpse king!

A corpse king must be buried in this gatehouse.

My first reaction was to look at the ground, but Ye Yang said, "It's above us!"

I suddenly looked up and met the face embedded in the ceiling of the gatehouse.

Judging from the position of the face, the Ao Xue Sect must have built a corpse headfirst into the gatehouse, but they hadn't completely sealed it off. They had left the corpse's face exposed, allowing it to look down on people entering and exiting the gate.

As I made eye contact with the corpse, the three walking corpses controlled by Feng Ruoxing completely collapsed in an instant, kneeling on the ground with piercing screams.

At the same time, the thousand-jin gates at the front and back of the city gate slammed down simultaneously.

"Charge!" Ye Yang and I grabbed Feng Ruoxing's arms on either side and surged forward, throwing ourselves to the ground and using our hands to push ourselves forward, sliding under the rapidly falling gates.

Just as the three of us slid out of the range of the thousand-jin gate, the massive iron gate crashed down behind our feet. Before the dust kicked up by the gate had completely settled, a series of crossbow bolts whistling through the air echoed from behind the iron gate.

After the gate fell, a storm of arrows was unleashed.

We were exposed!