Chapter 109: Wei Yang Comes to the Rescue

Even Hua Muxin did not know the origin of the Qingping Demon-Subduing Sword of Qingping Town, and Hua Yuyan had never heard of it either. However, centuries ago, when the Lingying Palace emerged, this sword was already stationed at Shanhaiguan Pass. The Luo God’s protector, skilled in Daoist arts and swordsmanship, was assigned to guard Shanhaiguan Pass and wield the Qingping Demon-Subduing Sword.

There is a couplet inscribed:

“Eight Trigram celestial robe flies with purple aura,
Three-edged treasured sword shouts Qingping.”

Yet even these lines fail to fully explain its provenance. The latter obviously refers to the Qingping sword, but what does the former—the “Eight Trigram celestial robe flying purple aura”—mean? Could it be a magical robe? Of course, this is mere speculation upon seeing the poem carved on the sword pedestal.

At this moment, the wild immortals press upon us. The Old Mountain God, wielding the Mountain God’s Order, guards the western gate of Shanhaiguan, while I am stationed at the eastern gate. Hua Yuyan commands the Qingping Demon-Subduing Sword, defending the main gate.

Yesterday, news arrived that Hu San Taiye had dealt a crushing blow to Changbai Mountain, annihilating Lingying Palace, causing the morale of the wild immortal army outside the pass to surge dramatically.

Though they were driven back by the sword’s energy, they fearlessly charged the pass again in what amounted to a suicidal assault.

On the city walls of Shanhaiguan, everyone unleashed their spells against the first wave of wild immortals below. The Old Mountain God’s Mountain God’s Order still radiated divine might; holding it aloft on the wall, the minions dared not approach, and those attempting to sneak attack him were struck down by a heavenly thunderbolt, burnt to cinders.

I intended to invoke Daoist heavenly thunder with the techniques taught by Daoist Li, but after two attempts with no effect, I resorted to the Five Thunder Palm Seal. This move was also formidable, scorching everything in its path—wild immortals had no chance to evade it.

The most impressive of all was Hua Yuyan, wielding the Qingping Demon-Subduing Sword.

She gripped the sword tightly, facing the crowd beneath the walls, sweeping her blade in a single stroke. The sword’s energy arced like a rainbow, sweeping away a vast number of wild immortals as if wiping out entire armies in one fell swoop.

The power of the Qingping sword was truly astonishing.

After Hua Yuyan’s three sword strikes, the first wave of the wild immortal attack ceased entirely.

At this moment, the four great wild immortal protectors of the Taiyin Shrine appeared. Leaping gracefully into the air, they all flew toward the city walls.

Huang Shulang and Bai Ciwei both targeted the main gate where Hua Yuyan stood guard.

Liu Qingmang attacked the Old Mountain God, and on my side, Hui Haozi came shrouded in black mist.

I unleashed wave after wave of Five Thunder Palm Seals, but Hui Haozi seemed unfazed. Perching on the edge of the wall, it spun swiftly and lunged its sharp claws toward my neck.

I quickly retreated and struck with another Five Thunder Palm Seal.

Yet its speed was incredible; it easily dodged the attack. When I threw a punch, its sharp right claw brushed past my back.

Instantly, my dragon scale armor appeared, rendering it unable to harm me in the slightest.

Hui Haozi sneered coldly, but then turned and flew back into the wild immortal army.

The strength of these wild immortal protectors was indeed terrifying—despite my utmost effort, I could not wound Hui Haozi at all.

Meanwhile, the Old Mountain God’s Mountain God’s Order seemed ineffective against Liu Qingmang. Even when Liu Qingmang struck, no heavenly thunder would descend. After a few exchanges, the Old Mountain God was injured in the right shoulder and fell to the ground.

Elsewhere, the situation around Hua Yuyan was completely different. The overwhelming power of the Qingping Demon-Subduing Sword prevented Huang Shulang and Bai Ciwei from scaling the walls. Sword energies rained down, forcing them to retreat into the wild immortal ranks.

After driving back Huang Shulang and Bai Ciwei, a sword aura swept toward the Old Mountain God’s position. Liu Qingmang immediately withdrew and left Shanhaiguan Pass.

Like the other two protectors, he returned to the wild immortal army.

On the surface, the four great protector immortals had been repelled, yet the morale of the wild immortal army outside remained undiminished.

They roared wildly like thunder rumbling beneath the heavens, unsettling the mind.

However, their assault had ceased. Clearly, this attack was largely a probe.

Hua Muxin also said that the four great protector immortals were far stronger than this; their test must have other purposes.

When the wild immortal assault stopped and the troops withdrew to camp, the Qingping Demon-Subduing Sword in Hua Yuyan’s hand clattered to the ground.

She stepped aside to a spot hidden from the wild immortals’ view and suddenly collapsed.

Seeing this, Hua Muxin rushed over and helped her up.

I hurried forward and asked, “Miss Yuyan, what’s wrong?”

She smiled faintly and said, “I’m fine. I didn’t expect the Qingping Demon-Subduing Sword to be even harder to master than I imagined. Just overexerted myself a bit, but a short rest will suffice.”

Yet I noticed blood seeping from the tiger’s mouth of her right hand, which she casually covered, as if afraid we’d see.

After catching her breath, Hua Yuyan stood again.

As she bent down to retrieve the Qingping Demon-Subduing Sword, a powerful aura suddenly exploded forth, knocking her back several steps.

Unexpectedly, the sword sprang from its sheath on its own.

Hua Muxin sensed danger and quickly steadied Hua Yuyan, moving aside from the sword’s path.

To our surprise, the Qingping sword lunged toward me.

I swiftly retreated, dodging with Daoist footwork, and the sword finally fell to the ground, motionless.

We exchanged glances, and when the sword truly went still, Hua Muxin picked it up and carefully returned it to the sword pedestal—thankfully without incident.

An entire day passed.

Hu San Taiye did not appear, and the four wild immortal protectors did not lead any further attacks. This was strange—no assault during the day. Were they planning a nighttime raid on Shanhaiguan Pass?

If so, we could not afford to let our guard down at night and had to remain stationed on the walls.

At that moment, a disciple of the Earth Dao guarding inside the pass reported, “Young Master Lin, someone requests an audience inside the pass—she is just below.”

I asked with some curiosity, “Who is it?”

“A woman, dressed entirely in red.”

I was taken aback. I quickly moved behind the pass and indeed saw Weiyang standing below, accompanied by the Flower Maiden and White Immortal Maiden.

“Weiyang, what are you doing here?” I asked, feeling a surge of joy upon seeing her.

Weiyang stared at Shanhaiguan Pass, seemingly lost in thought as if the place stirred some memory. After a moment, she replied, “Should I not come?”

“Of course not. But the pass is surrounded by wild immortals now—the situation is dangerous!” I said.

At this, White Immortal Maiden spoke up, “To be frank, Master, we have come to assist in repelling the enemy. At Baiqiao Town, I brought the three thousand Ghost Dao followers of the Bai family. Also, Ying Gou will soon arrive with a corps of ten thousand undead soldiers.”

“Excellent! Let’s go inside and talk!”

A woman’s sixth sense is often keen, and when Hua Yuyan saw Weiyang, she seemed to recognize her identity and even cast her a hostile glance.

“Lin Yi, aren’t you going to introduce them?” Hua Yuyan asked.

“Oh... this is my wife, Ye Weiyang,” I said.

Hua Yuyan’s expression grew complicated, and Weiyang seemed to grasp something as she stared fixedly at Hua Yuyan.

The two women locked eyes, each unblinking.

I stood between them, almost sensing the tension like the scent of gunpowder—uncertain what might happen next.

“You are Lin Yi’s lifesaver?” Weiyang finally spoke first.

“Lifesaver is an overstatement—it was a mere trifle,” Hua Yuyan replied.

“Miss Yuyan, you are too modest. A life saved must be repaid, especially since you saved my husband. I thank you sincerely,” Weiyang said, bowing respectfully to Hua Yuyan. Seeing this, the tension I felt eased somewhat.

Taking the opportunity, I quickly changed the subject, introducing White Immortal Maiden, the three thousand Ghost Dao followers, and the ten thousand undead reinforcements soon to arrive.

Hua Yuyan and Hua Muxin’s worried expressions lightened slightly. With the Lingying Palace’s three thousand Earth Dao disciples, three thousand Ghost Dao followers, and ten thousand undead, we had a force of sixteen thousand. Previously, three thousand against thirty thousand was overwhelming, but now, we might have a chance to break through and even annihilate the wild immortals.

“Report, Palace Lord! An old woman outside the city is acting suspiciously, looking around. Should we capture her?” a disciple reported.

Outside the city meant beyond Shanhaiguan Pass, and it could not be Ying Gou. White Immortal Maiden said Ying Gou’s undead marched slowly and would need two more hours to arrive.

“Seize her!” Hua Yuyan ordered.

Moments later, two Earth Dao disciples escorted an old woman wearing gray robes to us. Both the Old Mountain God and I recognized her immediately: the gray old woman we had seen before, a rat spirit.

“Rat spirit, skulking about—what are you doing here?” Hua Yuyan demanded.

“Hmph, your Shanhaiguan city will fall tomorrow. Let’s see how arrogant you remain!” the gray old woman sneered.

After a moment’s thought, Hua Yuyan said, “Lock her up and interrogate her thoroughly. We must find out what Hu San Taiye is scheming!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The gray old woman gave a sinister smile.