On the edge of the icy plains in the far north, two towering peaks pierce the clouds. Between them stands a colossal bronze gate known as the 'Gate Between Immortals and Mortals'. Outside the gate is a desolate wasteland with little spiritual energy, while inside is the edge of the cultivation world, guarded by the Azure Cloud Immortal Sect's elite battle group, the White Crane Camp.
'The array plate exploded?' 'It's just the remnants of the old gods in the far north devouring each other.' Lu Changfeng, commander of the White Crane Camp, leant casually against his wine couch and gazed at the distant snowstorm. Behind him, one hundred and eight 'Purifying Thunder Towers' crackled with azure lightning. This lightning had been designed specifically to subdue evil spirits. For the next 3,000 years, not a single malevolent entity had been able to leave the ice plains.
However, Lu Changfeng was unaware that emerging from the snowstorm this time was not a wandering soul, but a death god clad in steel.
'Enemy attack! Activate the Thunder Towers!' The one hundred and eight Thunder Towers instantly unleashed a volley of azure lightning snakes, sensing the intense, chilling aura. They converged into a sea of lightning, rushing towards the charging iron cavalry. 'Raiders, activate!' "
Xiao Wuchen roared and three thousand iron cavalrymen simultaneously raised their left hands to raise the round 'Devouring Shields', forged from the armour of the decapitated. The lightning struck the shields, but instead of shattering, it was instantly absorbed by the Netherworld Erosion runes, transforming into power energy for the cavalrymen's joints.
'How is this possible? The lightning was absorbed!' Lu Changfeng abruptly stood up and smashed his wine cup to pieces. 'Kill!' Three thousand iron cavalrymen charged at the White Crane Camp. This wasn't a battle, but a one-sided dismantling: every swing carried a high-frequency vibration that tore apart the White Crane Camp cultivators' prized protective aura as if it were paper.
A Jinyiwei was pierced in the shoulder by a flying sword, but he followed up by severing the enemy's throat with his serrated blade. The Netherworld Corrosion Root spread rapidly through the enemy's blood, healing the wound in the blink of an eye.
Xiao Wuchen charged his horse straight at Lu Changfeng, his demonic sword 'Rootless' drawing a black crescent in the air. Lu Changfeng desperately summoned a golden bell to shield himself, but the bell, powerful enough to withstand a blow to the primordial spirit, was cleaved in two by the brute force of the black iron.
'Didn't Lu Qingyun tell you?' Xiao Wuchen gripped Lu Changfeng's neck tightly with his gauntlets, lifting him into the air. 'The debts of the Great Qian must be repaid in blood.' "
In less than a quarter of an hour, the once invincible White Crane Camp had been reduced to a wasteland of scorched earth, littered with tattered white crane feathers and mangled cultivator armour. Carrying the core crystal of the last Thunder Tower, Leng Wuxue approached Xiao Wuchen from behind.
Xiao Wuchen gazed at the vast cultivation world beyond the Gate of Immortals — a brightly lit place where countless sects revelled in peace and prosperity. He planted Lu Changfeng's broken military flag in the snow and carved four large blood-red characters on its surface with the tip of his sword: 'I have returned.'
[Battle Results]
Annihilation: White Crane Camp (1,200 elite cultivators; none survived).
Confiscated: 108 Thunder Crystals (can be used to enhance the attributes of the Netherworld Iron Cavalry).
Impact: Xiao Wuchen has officially returned to the cultivation world. News of the fall of the far north exit will spread throughout the land within three days.
Lu Changfeng could never have imagined that the Purifying Thunder Tower, a symbol of righteous heavenly energy, would become the White Crane Camp's burial ground.
Leng Wuxue leapt amongst the towering thunder towers like a ghost. His four limbs moved with precision, piercing the core slots of the towers. His aim was not to destroy them, but to act as 'conductors of will', channelling the 'unwilling soul' of Xiao Wuchen directly into the logical circuits of the thunder array.
The arcs of electricity emitted by the thunder towers instantly changed from azure to an eerie dark purple. Originally aimed at the Netherworld Iron Cavalry, the lightning began bombarding the White Crane Camp's barracks and cultivators indiscriminately due to its illogical, uncontrollable nature. 'Array backlash! Retreat!' the cultivators screamed in terror. However, faced with the charging speed of three thousand iron cavalry, retreat was impossible.
The three thousand Netherworld Iron Cavalry crashed into the crowd. This was no longer a traditional clash of cold weapons, but rather a 'living resource recycling' operation.
A cavalryman wielded his embroidered spring blade, the serrated edge slicing open the cultivator's throat and, like a magnet, attracting the dissipating primordial spirit.
Xiao Wuchen held aloft White Crane Camp Commander Lu Changfeng, who was frantically activating his golden core in an attempt to self-destruct. However, the black gold cold iron ring on Xiao Wuchen's finger seemed to possess some kind of anti-magic property, firmly sealing off all of Lu Changfeng's major acupuncture points.
"Xiao Wuchen, you madman! You killed us! The Hundred Schools of Immortals will never let you go… You are challenging the order of the entire world!' Blood trickled from Lu Changfeng's mouth and his eyes glazed over.
"Order?" Beneath Xiao Wuchen's mask, a cruel smile appeared on his lips.
'You said the same thing when you besieged the Great Qian Dynasty. Now, I've simply come to return the favour."
Xiao Wuchen suddenly exerted force with his five fingers, shattering the bones in Lu Changfeng's neck. A dazzling golden core was forcibly ejected from Lu Changfeng's dantian by Xiao Wuchen and instantly absorbed by the demonic sword, 'Rootless'.
Without its master, the white crane banner fluttered in the flames and was finally trampled into the mud by a scaled iron hoof. As the last cultivator's scream faded, the wind and snow once again enveloped the gate between the realms of the immortal and mortal.
Three thousand iron cavalrymen stood in neat rows atop the ruins, their armour stained with sticky blood which quickly crystallised into a dark red layer in the frigid air, making them look more like an Asura legion emerging from the depths of purgatory.
Xiao Wuchen released his grip and Lu Changfeng's corpse fell heavily to the ground. He raised his head and gazed towards the area behind the gate — a place shrouded in spiritual energy with beautiful mountains and rivers. Yet at that moment, he felt a chill rise up his spine.
'Leng Wuxue, confiscate all spirit stones and magical artefacts.' Xiao Wuchen mounted his horse, his tone calm and unwavering. 'Since they say I'm a demon, then I'll show them.'
[Loot Statistics]
Top-tier Golden Core: One (already absorbed by 'Wugen' and used to repair the sword).
Thunder Crystal Cores: One hundred and eight (can be equipped on the Iron Cavalry's heavy crossbows to grant them ranged thunderous strike capabilities).
Psychological shock: the far northern defence line has completely collapsed. The three-thousand-year-long illusion of peace in the cultivation world has been shattered in the space of one night.
As the final bolt of lightning disappeared into the snow, the once bustling White Crane Camp fell into a deadly silence. The air was thick with the pungent smell of burnt metal and blood.
Three thousand Netherworld Iron Cavalry stood like black-gold statues amidst the wreckage, neither cheering nor panting.
For these warriors who had crawled back from hell, slaughtering immortal cultivators was no longer an honour, but an instinctive act of 'harvesting'.
[System residual log: battle ended.]
[Host Synchronisation Rate: 62% (Slight Overflow)]
[Functional status: The Black Gold Cold Iron Armour absorbed a large amount of lightning spiritual power, temporarily increasing its defence by 20%. Xiao Wuchen looked down at the golden core in his palm — the result of Commander Lu Changfeng's three hundred years of arduous cultivation. But to him, this golden core was no longer a precious cultivation resource, but rather a series of unstable energy codes.
'Leng Wuxue, begin,' commanded Xiao Wuchen.
'Bury the past; prepare for war.' Xiao Wuchen mounted his Netherblood Warhorse and paused before the severed bronze gate. Glancing back at the far northern ice plains, where all his despair and destruction were buried, he saw the gate before him. This gate, the boundary between immortals and mortals, led to the beautiful land he had sworn to protect, yet ultimately betrayed.
"Master, where do we go next?" Chi Kui, having rummaged through the ruins for an intact storage ring, approached greedily. 'Should we go straight to the Azure Cloud Sect's lair, or clean up the surrounding minor figures first?' Xiao Wuchen didn't answer, but slowly raised the demonic sword, 'Rootless', its blade shimmering with dark gold patterns having devoured a Golden Core.
"To the Myriad Treasures Pavilion." Xiao Wuchen's voice echoed in the cold wind, carrying an undeniable authority. 'The Great Qian's debts are not only debts of life, but also of money. I will use the Myriad Treasures Pavilion's three thousand years of savings to forge the 'Twilight of the Gods Crossbow', which is powerful enough to crush the Immortal Alliance for my iron cavalry.' Three thousand iron cavalrymen mounted their horses in unison, their movements synchronised to perfection.
Xiao Wuchen pulled the reins sharply and the Netherblood Warhorse let out a mournful neigh, transforming into a black torrent that surged out of the gate between immortals and mortals. The cavalry officially stepped onto this long-lost land of cultivation.
Behind them, the ruins of the White Crane Camp crumbled completely in the wind and snow. The tattered banner inscribed with 'I have returned' marked the beginning of the end for the entire cultivation wor