“Don’t go forward! Retreat! Everyone retreat! Go to the foot of the mountain!”

     With a sudden shout, everyone turned their heads and saw the black-clad Mo Ran rushing towards them. Behind him, a female corpse was chasing after him, letting out terrifying howls.

     Xue Zhengyong was shocked, “Ran-er… What’s going on?!”

     “Move back! Go back!” Under Mo Ran’s pitch-black brows, his gaze was like a pair of unsheathed daggers. He shouted at Nangong Si, “Nangong Si, drop the soul-repelling stone in front of you!”

     Nangong Si immediately rushed to the top of the mountain. Above the loyal souls were the graves of Rufeng Sect’s elite disciples. In order to prevent future generations from intruding, a long wall was set up between the two areas to act as a barrier.

     He ran with all his might, followed closely by Ye Wangxi. But before he could reach the wall, he stopped abruptly.

     At the top of the mountain path, a group of people slowly walked down. They were all dressed in green robes, their silk ribbons fluttering in the wind.

     At first glance, it looked like a group of valiant and formidable disciples had just arrived from Rufeng Sect.

     But Nangong Si knew that wasn’t right.

     Ye Wangxi was also clear about this.

     There was a difference between these disciples of Rufeng Sect and the ones they used to live with. Each of them had a green ribbon embroidered with the shadow of a crane over their eyes. It seemed like a very small difference, but everyone in the Nangong family knew what it meant—a living person would never wear a blindfold ribbon to cover their eyes.

     These ribbons were placed on Rufeng Sect’s disciples right before they were buried. It meant that they would ride the crane and fly among auspicious clouds, that they would live happily forever…

     Those who walked down the mountain path were all corpses of Rufeng Sect’s elite disciples!

     Nangong Si took a step back and raised his hand, subconsciously stopping Ye Wangxi. Without turning around, he whispered, “Go down.”

     “...”

     “Go down! Tell Mo-zongshi that it’s too late.” Nangong Si took a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly as he said, “All of the elite disciples of Rufeng Sect over the generations have been resurrected and are now heading down the mountain.”

     “And what about you?” Ye Wangxi asked.

     “I’ll hold them off for a little while. Hurry up.” Nangong Si turned his face slightly and said to Ye Wangxi, “Tell them to retreat as far as they can to the foot of the mountain. When they get there, send out the smoke signal and I’ll come down immediately.”

     Ye Wangxi bit her lip, knowing full well that there was no turning back. The last thing she could do was untie her quiver and toss it to Nangong Si. She said in a low voice, “Take it. You never remember to bring more.”

     By the time she reached the mountainside, a fierce battle had already unfolded. The previously hidden corpses of the servants of Rufeng Sect, who had been lurking for an ambush, rushed out of the bushes and rocks, pouncing on the cultivators from all kinds of hiding places.

     The corpses were all wearing burial shrouds, their bodies deathly pale. When mixed together with the various different sect attires, they looked like a snowstorm rolling over the land.

     From a distance, it looked like quite a spectacular scene, but one that came at a great price. In the blink of an eye, Mount Jiao was filled with the sounds of battle and mournful cries.

     Ye Wangxi caught a glimpse of several coffins that had been blown open by spiritual power during the fierce battle. There were only clothes inside, arranged in the shape of a human form.

     Her adoptive father was like a cunning rabbit. They thought the Loyal Soul Tomb was peaceful and undisturbed, but in fact, he had already summoned the corpses from the tombs and hidden them in the shadows. He was waiting for the group to reach the highest point, then he would mobilize the corpses from the Elite Disciple Tomb, causing an attack from both the front and the back.

     He had laid a net, and they had become the fish.

     Ye Wangxi found Mo Ran in the midst of the chaotic battle, “Mo-zongshi!”

     Mo Ran was struggling against five corpses when he heard Ye Wangxi’s call. He suddenly raised his head anxiously, “What—”

     Before he could finish asking, he saw Ye Wangxi’s face, and knew the answer. He cursed internally.

     At this moment, a zombie bit into his arm. He couldn’t shake it off, and in his fury, he put his hand in its mouth. With a dark look in his eyes, he tore the zombie’s tongue out. Blood splattered everywhere. The zombie could no longer bite him, and fell to the ground.

     Mo Ran’s dark eyes were terrifyingly bright and fierce. When he looked at Ye Wangxi again, she couldn’t help but shiver. But she immediately steadied herself, and said, “A-Si wants you to retreat as soon as possible and wait for him at the foot of the mountain!”

     Mo Ran nodded. In an instant, his voice spread throughout the entire battlefield with the sound amplifying technique, “Don’t fight! Everyone retreat to the foot of the mountain!”

     Huang Xiaoyue immediately became anxious, “We were already prepared to fight to the death with Xu Shuanglin. The scene in front of us is already within our expectations, so how can we retreat now?”

     Mo Ran didn’t care about him at all. People died for wealth, as birds died for food. Huang Xiaoyue only wanted to rush to the top of the mountain with all his strength to find the hidden treasures of Rufeng Sect’s temple.

     That was the old man’s personal business, so he just ignored him and repeated in a stern voice, “If you don’t want to die, go down the mountain! Immediately! Everyone go down!”

     Although these servant corpses weren’t powerful, they weren’t like the weak corpses of the commoners they had fought on Mount Huang. Moreover, their numbers were astonishing, and they didn’t fear pain. As the group retreated, they continued to rush forward one after another. By the time they had reached the foot of the mountain, more than ten cultivators had already died.

     Huang Xiaoyue also retreated. He knew that with his own ability, it was impossible for him to reach the peak by himself.

     However, he stroked his beard and sneered, “Mo-zongshi, this is great. You were the one who said to come to Mount Jiao. And halfway through the battle, you’re the one who tells us to retreat. You’re so capable. What should we do now? Why don’t you take the lead and we’ll follow you out of the boundary?”

     In his previous life, this man wouldn’t even be worthy to carry Emperor Taxian-Jun’s shoes. Even killing him would have dirtied his hands. In this life, Mo Ran was no longer Emperor Taxian-Jun, and had become a clean and righteous zongshi. He couldn’t slap him in public, but he could choose to ignore him completely.

     Huang Xiaoyue was about to speak again when he suddenly saw a cloud of rolling smoke in front of him. It was Nangong Si, riding the faewolf Naobaijin, who had transformed into its true form again. He rushed over like a gust of wind, followed by hundreds of high-level disciples of Rufeng Sect.

     Huang Xiaoyue looked over and exclaimed, “Oh no, it’s a trap!”

     Mo Ran narrowed his eyes and thought, This old thing finally reacted and figured out that this is an ambush set up by Xu Shuanglin. He’s not completely stupid after all.

     However, Huang Xiaoyue continued, “Nangong Si! You’ve got guts! You actually gathered the remnants of Rufeng Sect on Mount Jiao and want to fight against the rest of the sects?!”

     Mo Ran: “...”

     Nangong Si crouched low on the faewolf and rushed forward. Naobaijin was as fast as an arrow, leaving the pursuing corpses chasing after him further and further behind.

     At this moment, Huang Xiaoyue realized that he had misunderstood him. However, he didn’t feel the slightest bit of guilt. Instead, he stared wide-eyed at the approaching corpses that were rushing like a tide, and gulped anxiously.

      Nangong Si rushed into the crowd and jumped down from the faewolf. He stuffed the quiver of arrows into Ye Wangxi’s arms, and said, still gasping for breath, “There are still some arrows left, so I’ll return them to you first, then you take everyone and retreat.”

     When she heard the first half of the sentence, Ye Wangxi was originally relieved, but hearing the second half, she raised her head sharply and stared at Nangong Si, “What are you going to do?”

     “Just something little.”

     At the side, Huang Xiaoyue watched as the high-level disciples of Rufeng Sect got closer and closer. Seeing that they were about to fight against all of the elites of Rufeng Sect over a hundred years, he turned his head and cursed, “Nangong Si! You’re such a troublemaker! You’re just like your father! Why did you lead all these monsters to us?! You want to make us kill them for you?!”

     Seeing that Nangong Si didn’t react, and didn’t even glance his way, Huang Xiaoyue became even more furious, and said with a trembling voice, “Good, I finally know what your plan is now. You’re afraid that if you don’t go up the mountain by yourself, you won’t be able to obtain the treasure your father left for you. Nangong Si! You’re so vicious!”

     Seeing that his words were getting out of hand, Xue Zhengyong, who was standing beside him, couldn’t help but frown, “Alright Huang-daozhang, stop talking.”

     “Stop? Why should I stop?” Huang Xiaoyue didn’t have any regard for the lower cultivation world at all. Normally, he would be a little more calm, taking Xue Zhengyong’s face into consideration, but at this critical moment, he didn’t have the restraint to pretend anymore.

     He pointed at Nangong Si and cursed, “You really are the son of an evil beast, with the heart of a tiger! You actually used so many famous heroes to clear the way for you! Where did you get the face?!”

     Nangong Si: “...”

     Huang Xiaoyue didn’t stop there, and growled with rage, “People like you should die to appease the heavens. To think that you actually escaped from those corpses and even lured them to us, you—”

     Pa—!

     A resounding slap landed solidly on Huang Xiaoyue’s face.

     The noble Ye Wangxi stood where she was and slapped Huang Xiaoyue. She was trembling slightly, and gasped for breath as she glared ruthlessly at the man who had fallen in front of her.

     “Bastard,” she said hoarsely. “I won’t tolerate such filthy words in front of the Hero’s Tomb of Rufeng Sect!”

     The crowd of Jiangdong Hall disciples drew their swords and pointed them at Ye Wangxi. A middle-aged female disciple under Huang Xiaoyue raised her eyebrows and shouted at her, “How dare you attack your elders?! You’re the bastard, the lackey of Rufeng Sect!”

      She shouted, and was about to rush up to Ye Wangxi to teach her a lesson. Just as Mo Ran was about to step in, he suddenly heard the sound of a fierce whip slicing through the air.

     Chu Wanning walked out of the crowd in a dazzling golden light. He held Tianwen in his hand and narrowed his phoenix eyes.

     He had his back to Ye Wangxi, facing Jiangdong Hall.

      “I said,” Chu Wanning spoke slowly, word by word. “Nangong Si is my disciple. If you do not wish for Tianyin Pavilion to pass judgement on him, then please bring anything you want to say to me first. We can talk about justice, or trade blows.”

      In the tense silence, he dropped his last sentence—

     “To the end.”

     The atmosphere was extremely tense for a moment.

     Jiangdong Hall didn’t know whether to advance or retreat. If they retreated, they would lose face. But if they advanced… could they really shake Beidou Immortal, Chu Wanning? Moreover, should they really invoke resentment with Chu Wanning and create this enemy?

     The zombies were still approaching, getting closer and closer…

     Someone couldn’t hold back anymore, and shouted loudly, “Stop fighting! Let’s talk about it after we get out of here! Think of a solution first! What should we do?!”

     “Do we fight?”

     “Are we just going to fight like this? Then why did we retreat to the foot of the mountain? What’s the difference between fighting here, or on the mountain?”

     That’s right. Mo Ran couldn’t help but think, What’s the difference?

     He knew that Nangong Si’s actions weren’t without purpose. As the last descendant of the Nangong family, Nangong Si must have a plan in mind since he told them to retreat to the foot of the mountain.

     But even so, he couldn’t help but look at Nangong Si, who hadn’t said a word. However, he suddenly discovered that the man’s eyes were shining with an indescribable light.

     A light that made him shudder.

     “Nangong Si!”

     He shouted, but it was useless. Nangong Si had been silently chanting a forbidden spell ever since Huang Xiaoyue pointed and scolded him.

     He realized that it was already too late.

     Countless vines burst from the ground. Mo Ran, Ye Wangxi, and Xue Meng were all tangled in the vines almost simultaneously.

     In an instant, they were all thrown out of the boundary, out into the mountain range.

     Ye Wangxi’s expression changed, “A-Si! What are you doing?!”

     She wanted to rush back in, but Nangong Si raised his hand and, with a sharp wave, the two tomb guardians stood up with heavy steps, their bodies covered in dust and stones.

     They raised their left and right hands respectively, facing each other. In that instant, a new translucent boundary enveloped the entire mountain entrance, blocking everyone’s path.

     Nangong Si stood in front of the barrier alone, facing the tide of a thousand zombies. His back faced everyone behind the boundary.

     He said, “Mount Jiao has vines formed from the dragon’s tendons that can pull everything into the ground. You can’t be inside. As long as the Nangong blood isn’t flowing through your veins, once I use this array, the dragon’s tendons will drag everyone into the ground and bury them alive, regardless of who you are.”

     Ye Wangxi was filled with grief and rage. She shouted angrily, “Nangong Si! Don’t you know you’re alone in there?!” She hammered at the boundary, but could still only shout from outside, “Nangong Si!”

     “Why am I alone?” Nangong Si turned, revealing half of his face, “Don’t I still have you?”

     “...”

     Then, as if he suddenly thought of something, he smiled.

     It was a brilliant smile that hadn’t appeared on his face since the destruction of Rufeng Sect. It was wild and unrestrained, as if years of high spirits returned to his face, his eyes bright.

     It was like many years ago, when Nangong Si and Ye Wangxi first entered the illusion trial.

     With his face tilted, he held his sword and smiled at her.

     “But you girls are really useless. In the end, I still have to protect you.”

     With that, he turned around and strode towards the horde of zombies.

     One step.

     Two steps.

     Three steps.

     He stopped.

     Nangong Si stabbed his sword into the ground, untied the bandage on his hand and slashed it hard against the sharp edge of the sword. Blood flowed along the edge of the sword and into the moist earth of Mount Jiao.

     He looked straight ahead without fear.

     He didn’t know that at this moment, as Mo Ran looked at him from outside of the boundary, his figure overlapped with Ye Wangxi, who had fought to the death in his previous life. In the end, they became one person, and it was difficult to separate them.

     “Blood sacrifice to the Azure Dragon, obtaining tendons and bones.” Nangong Si shouted, “Array, open!”

     Countless vines broke out of the cracked ground, and in a flash, sand and mud began to fall. These vines were completely different from the ones that had bound and thrown everyone out before. These were scarlet vines without any leaves or branches. It could even be said that they were like thick blood vessels, rising from the depths of Mount Jiao and instantly trapping each and every corpse under the control of the Zhenlong Chess Formation.

     Nangong Si used his own strength to drive over a thousand dragon tendons out of the ground. In an instant, he had expended a great deal of his spiritual energy, his hand gripping the sword trembling slightly. The meridians on the back of his hand bugled, and his old wounds ruptured, blood flowing freely…

     “Sink!”

     His face was pale as he gave his final order.

     The thousands of dragon tendons began to pull the corpses down fiercely into the ground. But the corpses obviously wouldn’t just sit and wait for death. They roared and struggled with all their might.

     At this time, Nangong Si was sharing his spiritual energy with the dragon tendons. Since the corpses struggled, he had no choice, but to squeeze out more spiritual energy, sacrificing it to the ground through blood. He urged the dragon tendons to use more strength to pull the corpses down.

     Ankles, calves… thighs…

     The zombies all over the mountain were howling, stretching their necks and hissing.

     Nangong Si gasped. Their thighs… It’s still only to their thighs…

     He could feel that his spiritual energy was almost drained, but those zombies still hadn’t sunk into the ground. They were still angrily twisting their bodies, using their hands to prop themselves up and try to break free.

     A little more, to the waist… At least to the waist…

     This way, he could undo the barrier and allow the people outside to enter. This way, the zombies wouldn’t be able to break free and turn the situation around in an instant.

     At least…

     A little more.

     His spiritual energy was drained, and it turned to consume his spiritual core.

     Nangong Si only felt a dull pain in his heart. His cracked spiritual core, which was already prone to violence, trembled slightly in his chest. He clenched his teeth, but blood still flowed from the corner of his lips.

     A little more…

     To the waist…

     They were extremely difficult to move, but they were still not the most stable. But the zombies’ strength was even greater than when they were alive, and once buried here, one couldn’t be sure that they wouldn’t be able to break through.

     A little more!

     “Cough, cough!” Nangong Si once again released the power of his spiritual core, a dizzy spell washing over him.

     He couldn’t support himself any longer, and was forced to kneel on the ground. He coughed a mouthful of blood, which dripped down and soaked into the black soil.

     Nangong Si shakily raised his eyes. In the swaying shadows, he saw that the zombies were dragged deep into the ground by the dragon tendons, almost burying their chests.

     They wouldn’t be able to move for the time being.

     Nangong Si’s lips turned red with blood as he laughed.

     He heard Ye Wangxi shouting outside, “Nangong Si! Enough! Open the barrier! Open it quickly!”

     Xue Zhengyong also shouted, “Open the barrier, Nangong Si! We’ll help you!”

     More and more people started shouting. In this world, it seemed not everyone was completely heartless.

     Nangong Si smiled. After the annihilation of Rufeng Sect, he had suffered so much, but did not cry. But at this moment, tears rolled down his cheeks.

     He choked back a sob, and murmured hoarsely, “...I know, I’ll open it… I’ll open it…”

     He raised a trembling hand, about to dispel the boundary. However, the ground suddenly trembled, then began to shake.

     Nangong Si obviously felt it, and was suddenly startled. He raised his head and looked at the scene before him with disbelief.

     The dragon tendons that had followed his orders to drag the corpses deep into the ground suddenly loosened one by one, wrapping around the zombies’ chests and backs, and pulling them out of the ground one by one…

     “Impossible…” Nangong Si said blankly. “That’s impossible!”

     How could Mount Jiao disobey its master’s orders?

     Even if Xu Shuanglin gave the opposite order, the dragon tendons would never obey. To the evil dragon spirit that laid dormant here, the descendants of the Nangong family were all the same. If two descendants gave contradicting orders, it would simply stop its current actions and not help anyone, becoming neutral.

     Unless…

     Nangong Si suddenly felt goosebumps all over his body as he thought of someone.

     This thought made his whole body tremble, and the pain in his heart seemed to be worse than before. He gasped and slowly looked up as he walked along the endless white marble steps, followed by the dense corpse tide.

     A handsome and dignified man with a valiant appearance was slowly walking down the long steps.

     He was wearing a luxurious brocade robe, embroidered with a dragon swallowing the sun and moon in a sea of clouds. With every step he took, the golden and silver threads cast on the robe emitted a luster like flowing water under the moonlight, flowing and glittering.

     Above the bride of his nose, there was a silk ribbon squarely tied over his eyes. However, this ribbon wasn’t green, but black. And it wasn’t embroidered with a crane, but with an azure dragon with fiery flames and powerful claws.

     Nangong Si’s face was as white as paper. He stared at the man who walked down step by step, his eyes opened wide in disbelief as he muttered, “How… how is this possible…? Grand Sect Leader…”

     The moonlight peeked out from the leaves of the trees, illuminating the man’s handsome, well-defined face.

     It was him.

     In this world, there was only one person who could make the dragon disobey the order of the Nangong family’s descendants—the one who subdued a demonic dragon and suppressed the ancient Gǔn under the Jingu Tower; the one who founded the greatest cultivation sect in hundreds of years.

     He was the number one zongshi in the world hundreds of years ago. He was the one who gave up on ascending to the heavens in order to tide over the suffering of the mortal world. He was the first Sect Leader of Rufeng Sect.

     Nangong Changying!