Prelude to War

Over the next few days, the atmosphere in Crouching Ox Pass became increasingly heated, with tens of thousands of Cultivators gathering together, forming a magnificent dragon of popularity that danced in the sky and roared in all directions.

In the courtyard where the Yang Household lived, two Foundation Establishment Cultivators, Yang Haoyu and Yang Dangmo, were explaining the precautions needed for war to more than a dozen young Qi Refining Period disciples of the Yang Household, including Yang Tianyou, Yang Tianwang, and Yang Tiankang.

These are all based on experience; some tips and tricks can often play a significant role on the battlefield.

Ugh!

A mournful horn sound echoed through the courtyard. Yang Haoyu abruptly looked up, stood up abruptly, and waved his right hand, shouting, "The Demon Race is attacking! Prepare for battle!"

"Yes!"

The Yang Household Cultivators followed Yang Dangmo to the east side of the Crouching Ox Pass city wall.

Old Ancestor Yang Haoyu then led the Wolf Ancestor to the forefront of the war.

The rules of Crouching Ox Pass stipulate that if Foundation Establishment Lineage that comes to participate in the war has Foundation Establishment Late Stage combat power, the rest of the Lineage's summoned cultivators can participate in the defense of the areas on the east and west sides where the Foreign Races' offensive is weak.

In exchange, Foundation Establishment Late Stage combatants will participate in frontline battles.

If Lineage lacks Foundation Establishment Late Stage combat power, then they can only leave it to fate; there's a 70% chance they'll be assigned to the main battlefield.

Of course, being assigned to the front lines doesn't mean certain death; it just means the probability of death is higher. For Foundation Establishment Lineage cultivators, with the protection of other Foundation Establishment Cultivators, their safety is actually guaranteed.

As long as there are no unexpected events Foundation Establishment of the Lineage, the Foundation Establishment from the Three Rivers Sect and the Feng Household who are assigned tasks will give them some face and will not treat them as cannon fodder.

In contrast, the Qi Refining Rogue Cultivators was far more miserable. Without the protection of Foundation Establishment Cultivators, all summoned Rogue Cultivators during the war had to obey orders unconditionally. Anyone who dared to disobey could be killed on the spot without prior notice!

War is so dangerous that some Rogue Cultivators have thought about running away, but Cold Tide One Sexagenary Cycle, and most Rogue Cultivators are Qi Refining cultivators. Among the rogue Rogue Cultivators who participated in the last Cold Tide, not many have survived for another sixty years.

This resulted in most Rogue Cultivators being unaware of the severity of the Cold Tide and when it would arrive.

By the time they found out, they wanted to escape, but all the major checkpoints in Dragon Valley County were already under martial law, and the authorities had also begun registering Rogue Cultivators within the county.

And even if they manage to escape Dragon Valley County, what then? Neighboring counties like Silver River County, Jinshui County, Red Tide County all need to draw manpower to participate in the operation.

The major powers in these areas are just looking for cannon fodder. Many Rogue Cultivators who ran away from Dragon Valley County rushed headlong into these places, only to find that it was better to stay obediently in Dragon Valley County. After all, this is their hometown, and even if the major powers are strict, they will still retain some decency and won't act too blatantly.

Of course, in addition to this big stick, sweet dates are also indispensable. The Three Rivers Sect Feng Household have long since announced the List of rewards for Merits.

Law Artifacts, Formations, Talisman, Pills, and all kinds of Spirit Materials and Spirit Items, from First-Tier to Tier 2, were readily available. There were even thirty Foundation Establishment Pills Rogue Cultivator, attracting a large number of Qi Refining in the Qi Refining realm.

Even some Foundation Establishment Lineage with weak foundations, like the Zhuang Household, were attracted by the List Merit merits and were determined to make a big splash.

Risk and opportunity always go hand in hand. This was also the case when the Yang Household was first established. The first Old Ancestor, Yang Canglang, led the Yang Household to make great contributions during the Cold Tide, exchanged for many Foundation Establishment Pills, and laid the foundation for the development and growth of the Yang Household.

Following Yang Dangmo to the east side of the city wall, Yang Tianyou discovered that the area around this section of the wall was filled with familiar cultivators.

The Mu Household, Liu Household, Qing Household, and Zhuang Household families—four Lineage allied with the Yang Household —are all present. Clearly, this is the result of some maneuvering.

However, due to the weakness of the Zhuang Household, despite the intervention of Lineage such as the Yang Household, half of their manpower was still diverted to the front lines, leaving only ten Qi Refining cultivators, with only two remaining in the Late Stages. One of them was Zhuang Fengxin, a burly man with considerable strength who had once fought against Yang Tianxue.

To the left of the Yang Household was the Thousand Wood Liu Family, about two hundred feet away. To the right were the Mu Household and the Zhuang Household. These two families had temporarily merged, and it was unknown what agreement Zhuang Beisheng and the Mu Household had reached.

Yang Tianyou didn't want to guess about that; he was simply observing the two types of War Law Artifacts placed on the city wall with curiosity.

One was a uniquely shaped giant crossbow, another was Bronze Cannon that was two zhang long, and there were also boxes of crossbow bolts and cannonballs neatly arranged by the city wall. This scene gave him a novel feeling.

"Are these weapons of war? This is the first time I've ever seen them. We don't have any of these things on the walls of our Purple Moon Town."

Yang Tianwang touched this and looked that, his eyes shining. Judging from his expression, he couldn't wait to control the Bronze Cannon and fire a few shots right now.

"Fifteenth brother, these Law Artifacts were specially crafted for war, specifically to attack low-level Demon Beasts with low intelligence. Purple Moon Town doesn't need to directly face the beast tide, so what do we need these for?" Yang Tiankang smiled and explained.

"Is that so? But I feel that if these huge things were installed on Flying Boat, they would definitely be weapons of destruction, wiping out entire families."

"That would require a large number of installations, and the level can't be too low. Cultivators aren't low-level Demon Beasts; they have plenty of ways to deal with them!"

"What are you boys chatting about? Hurry up and distribute these Formation Flags. Remember, one for each of you. Follow my orders and don't act rashly, understand?"

Yang Dangmo strode over, threw out a bunch of colorful Triangular Formation Flags, and gave instructions.

"Yes!"

Subsequently, under Yang Dangmo's arrangement, the Yang Household members returned to their respective positions, each occupying a spot, holding Formation Flag, and waiting attentively.

Time passed slowly, and the wind and snow in the sky grew more and more violent. The gale swept up snowflakes, which crashed against the great formation of Crouching Ox Pass and turned into water droplets.

"Roar!"

"Cracking!"

Suddenly, a deafening roar came from ahead. Yang Tianyou looked up and saw thousands of beasts running rampant on the ground, ranging from tiny Black Crystal Ants the size of a fist to giant Mountain-Piercing Beasts that were tens of feet tall and shook the earth with their movements.

Countless Demon Beasts formed a mighty torrent, rushing straight towards Crouching Ox Pass with overwhelming force.

Besides the herds of beasts on the ground, a vast army of monstrous birds, their wings blotting out the sky, flew in, their sharp claws and pointed beaks gleaming with a sinister light.

These thousands of demonic birds, when they spread their wings together, resembled Dark Clouds covering the sky, casting large shadows. The snow falling from the sky was swirled back as they moved, creating an incredibly magnificent scene.

However, the cultivators facing all of this had no heart to appreciate this magnificent scene, especially the Qi Refining cultivators who were experiencing such a war scene for the first time. An indescribable and immense fear gradually enveloped their hearts.

"No, no, how could we possibly stop a beast tide of this magnitude? It's impossible..."

" By the Dao Ancestor above, what I saw must be fake, fake..."

Some cultivators muttered to themselves and retreated, while others knelt on the ground and prayed to all the gods and Buddhas in the sky. Still others were so affected by the atmosphere that they suffered Qi Deviation and died.

Chaos erupted on the entire Crouching Ox Pass city wall, especially among the Rogue Cultivators. Many cultivators even tried to turn and flee, only to be coldly and mercilessly killed by the Foundation Establishment Cultivators enforcing the law.