With their commander dead, the army collapsed. The remaining Yin Shang troops scattered and fled, all will to fight gone.
Chen Qi stared in shock as Qiu Yin fell and the entire army broke. His own fighting spirit vanished.
He stood alone amid the routed troops, watching their formations crumble and the battle slip away. Azure Dragon Pass was lost; nothing could save it now.
Surrounded by the Zhou Army, Chen Qi had no way out. At last, he lowered his weapon, shed his armor, and surrendered.
Thus fell the last mighty pass guarding Yin Shang's Eastern Frontier.
With Azure Dragon Pass taken, the Xiqi army advanced like a flood. Yin Shang's defenses along the way crumbled at its approach, and no force remained to halt the Zhou Army. Before long, the army's vanguard reached Sishui Pass.
Hundreds of thousands of armored soldiers formed camps stretching a hundred miles. Banners blotted out the sun, and drums shook the mountains and rivers.
Sishui Pass was one of Yin Shang's last great natural strongholds. Sheer mountains rose around its imposing towers and formidable walls, while Malicious Qi hung thick in the air. Its defender was Yu Hua, disciple of the Interception Sect adept Yu Yuan.
Yu Hua's unorthodox cultivation relied above all on his Blood-Transforming Divine Blade. Wicked beyond compare, its strike passed through flesh to sever immortal bones and Immortal Essence. Those it struck found their vital blood dissolving and Immortal Power scattering, leaving wounds that resisted healing. Even a Chan Sect Golden Immortal would be gravely injured by the slightest touch.
The Zhou Army formed ranks outside the pass, and its generals issued challenges in turn. Yu Hua rode out to meet them and immediately unleashed the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade.
Its blade-light streaked like a blood-red rainbow, spreading poisonous qi