Outer Sect City.
The city walls were packed with outer sect disciples. Ye Lan and Zhen Qin were among them, brows tightly furrowed as they stared into the distance. It was not just them—every disciple was looking in the same direction, as though facing a great enemy.
The boundless snow covered the earth and mountains. Howling winds raged, and amid the swirling blizzard, the outlines of mountain ranges could vaguely be seen.
Coo, coo—
The mysterious birdcall rang out again, as though ghosts and gods of the Underworld were drawing near, making the hearts of the disciples atop the walls beat like war drums.
Gradually, shadows appeared in the other half of that vast white world, stirring every disciple.
"Th-that... what is that?" Zhen Qin asked in a trembling voice. She spoke softly, as though asking herself.
Ye Lan's eyes were wide as well. She considered herself well-traveled and knowledgeable, yet the sight before her still left her shocked.
That immense shadow seemed like a black ocean closing in, boundless and endless, its two ends stretching to the ends of heaven and earth. The mysterious birdcall grew ever louder.
Anyone would have been terrified before such an enormous dark shadow, as if an abyss were pressing closer.
An immense pressure erupted from within the city, startling the disciples into turning their heads. One Flying Sword after another soared into the air—several dozen in all—wreathed in golden spiritual power. With a boom, the dozens of Flying Swords shot out in unison, their golden spiritual power converging like a gigantic golden Phoenix sweeping over the city wall.
The golden Phoenix had a wingspan of a hundred zhang and an imposing presence, yet when it flew toward the terrifying shadow at the horizon, it seemed tiny.
The golden Phoenix tore through the flying