Chapter 1619: South of Ghost-Severing City

“You need not worry excessively. All military laws are formulated by the Moji Dao Sect, and all major authority rests in their hands. No faction dares to act recklessly. Ghost-Severing City has always been this way, and as far as I know, there have been no major issues. To put it bluntly, the Moji Dao Sect is like the ‘Eye of Buddha’ in the sky; they see everything, and everyone must follow their regulations and coordinate with one another. If another power tries anything underhanded against Pure Yang Hall, our side will exert corresponding pressure! Enough. I tell you this so you understand the relationships involved. Do not cause trouble. In Ghost-Severing City, the Moji Dao Sect is the final word!”

The cultivators understood his meaning. Someone like Mu Guyue was even more aware of the Moji Dao Sect’s strategy. They wouldn’t break up a sect’s unit so they could maintain combat efficiency, but those units had to be integrated into a chaotic, diverse army. The Moji Dao Sect didn’t want their major subordinate powers to be clearly separated like the teeth of a comb.

If an army were clearly segregated by sect, and one unit fell into an enemy ambush, the others might not be willing to risk their lives to save them, fearing they would weaken their own strength. But if a unit was composed of various factions, many would be desperate to save it, as their own people were inside. They wouldn’t shirk their responsibilities then.

After explaining the stakes, Elder Zhou said no more. He withdrew the restriction and, along with Alliance Leader Ding, flew toward the north. They themselves would face these issues. Alliance Leader Ding, in particular, hadn’t wanted to come. If he perished here, his sect would lose all hope of promotion. But given his personal cultivation, he couldn’t refuse the call to defend Ghost-Severing City. However, the rewards for a third-rate sect’s Void Refining expert were far better. Some were worth risking one’s life for, potentially even including the assessments for promotion to a second-rate sect.

As Elder Zhou took flight, the others followed closely. The two leaders didn’t fly at maximum speed, so even the Golden Core cultivators—carried along by the Spirit Transformation experts of their own sects—could keep up. Once they crossed several jagged black mountains, a majestic city appeared before them.

The city radiated a cold, dark aura, sprawling out across the land as if without end. The city walls were truly immense. The southern side alone stretched in a vast arc from east to west, the ends vanishing beyond the horizon. The walls were four to five hundred feet high, resembling a giant iron gate barring the path, separating heaven and earth into north and south. They were forged from massive dark-cyan stones, giving the impression of an impregnable fortress.

Coupled with the constant gloom of the world and the whistling winds blowing through the thin mountains and desolate hills, the dark-cyan hue cast an endless weight over the heart, as if one had arrived in the underworld. As the two leaders led them closer, the giant city loomed larger, growing clearer by the second. After another brief flight, they reached the southern part of Ghost-Severing City.

There, in the middle of the sprawling wall, was a massive gate hundreds of feet high. Li Yan looked east and west. Aside from some wild grass and small tree-like shrubs clinging to the cracks in the dark stones, swaying in the wind, he saw no other gates. The massive gate before them was tightly shut, looking as if it hadn’t been opened for an eternity.

There wasn’t a single person at the gate. As they approached, a faint, weak voice suddenly rang in everyone’s ears.

“Where are you from?”

The voice sounded sickly, like that of a dying man. The two leaders descended quickly, hovering before the gate. The group behind followed suit. Without a word, the leaders both raised their hands, shooting two beams of light of different colors at the massive gate.

Li Yan’s Divine Sense was focused on the front. He saw that the objects they threw were two fist-sized circular tokens. They looked like oversized copper coins used by mortals, or perhaps disk-like objects with a square hole in the center. The moment the lights touched the gate, they vanished like mud into the sea, without a sound or any visual reaction.

The two leaders hovered silently. There was no movement from within the gate for about a dozen breaths. Then, black smoke began to billow from the massive gate. Slowly, a gap only a foot wide opened within the smoke. For a gate of that size, it was like a microscopic crack.

“Follow me in!” Elder Zhou barked softly to the group. He and Alliance Leader Ding flickered and flew inside.

Actually, they had been flying at an altitude of a thousand feet, far above the height of the walls. It seemed as if they could have easily flown over. However, in the eyes of Li Yan and the others, they couldn’t see anything beyond the walls from that height. The city, despite being only a few hundred feet tall, seemed to block the entire world ahead; behind it was only a boundless dark-cyan void, resembling a lake or a sea of clouds. The city was shrouded in a massive array, and only the gate below was the “life-gate” of that array.

The leaders flew in first, with the rest following behind. Once inside, they saw Elder Zhou and Alliance Leader Ding hovering just past the gate. A gaunt, gray-haired elder was also suspended in the air, speaking in low tones with Elder Zhou.

Teams of Green-Armored Soldiers appeared around the elder, each team numbering at least a hundred. They whistled past in flight. Li Yan felt a cold killing intent from these soldiers; they were teams of Golden Core cultivators led by three to five Nascent Soul cultivators. Occasionally, smaller teams of only five or ten people would zip by, their gazes even colder. When they looked toward Li Yan’s group, their eyes held unshielded, icy hostility, as if they harbored a deep hatred for these newcomers.

Seeing these people, the Spirit Transformation cultivators in Li Yan’s party felt their pupils contract. These small teams were also patrols, but they were fewer in number than the hundred-man teams. They all had one thing in common: they were all Spirit Transformation cultivators.

‘Spirit Transformation experts on patrol? And so many of them…’ This thought surfaced in many hearts. A Spirit Transformation cultivator was a Supreme Elder even in a third-rate sect, yet here they were serving as common sentries.

When those Spirit Transformation sentries saw Mu Guyue and the other beautiful female cultivators in the group, many openly displayed their desire. Even the Nascent Soul and Golden Core soldiers in the patrolling teams—while not daring to stare at Spirit Transformation women—did not hesitate to size up the other female cultivators. This made Mu Guyue and the others extremely uncomfortable, their killing intent stirring.

However, those soldiers merely gave contemptuous smiles and flew off, showing no fear. Among these Green-Armored patrols, there were also many women. Seeing the discomfort of the newcomers, these female soldiers looked on with cold or playful expressions, some even letting out low chuckles. Yet even as they laughed, their eyes remained icy and devoid of emotion.

At that moment, Elder Zhou finished his exchange with the gray-haired elder. The gaunt elder swept a cold gaze over the surrounding soldiers. The Green-Armored Soldiers who had been slowing down or trying to stop immediately hurried away. The elder then turned back, ignoring Li Yan’s group as if they were invisible. He waved Elder Zhou off, signaling they could leave.

Li Yan secretly observed the elder. Though he hadn’t used his Divine Sense to probe, he could sense a dormant ferocity within the man. From Elder Zhou’s respectful tone, they could conclude he was also a Void Refining expert. Li Yan even suspected he might be at the mid-stage or above. Having dealt with many Void Refining cultivators, Li Yan’s judgment was more refined than Mu Guyue’s.

They could now see the interior of the city. To their surprise, behind the walls was a boundless plaza. The plaza was paved with massive black stones, and countless banners were erected across the ground. These banners were embroidered with different demonic beasts or giant cyan skulls. The banners and patterns varied in color, snapping loudly in the wind.

The banners formed square shapes, and the areas within those squares were filled with churning gray mist. Occasionally, Green-Armored cultivators would fly out of the mist in formation, or others would fly into the mists from above.

“Follow behind me. Do not fall into the areas below, and do not look around!” Elder Zhou’s voice rang in everyone’s mind. His usual lazy demeanor had vanished, replaced by a stern gravity. He and Alliance Leader Ding flew off in a certain direction. Li Yan and the others followed in silence, flying across the sky like mutes. The square areas of dense mist passed beneath them one by one, appearing as if they would never end.