Over the course of the day, the Vanguard Battalion won battle after battle.
The soldiers' morale soared, and they grew even more eager to earn military merits.
As the sun sank in the west, the troops made camp in a secluded valley.
Campfires were lit, illuminating one young face after another.
Everyone sat together, speaking quietly about the day's battles.
Excitement shone in their eyes and brows.
The Blood Shadow Immortal Emperor sat on a rock, gazing absently at the dancing flames.
He wondered whether things were going smoothly for Luo Yiyi on the western route.
And whether the Alliance Leader would personally head to Falling Star Ancient City.
This lead ran deeper than he had expected.
His Vanguard Battalion alone probably could not get to the bottom of it.
He had to send word back as soon as possible and let the Alliance Leader decide.
The night deepened.
Silence settled over the valley.
Only the soft footsteps of patrolling soldiers could be heard.
An even greater exploration still awaited them.
Compared with the Blood Shadow Immortal Emperor's Eastern Front,
the Western Front troops led by Luo Yiyi advanced somewhat more slowly.
She had brought few people, only two hundred.
Half of them were veterans of the Vanguard Battalion.
The other half were illusion cultivators selected from the newly arrived sect disciples.
There were not many eerie strongholds on the Western Front.
But most lay hidden in deep mountain gorges with complex terrain.
The stronghold in Darkwind Gorge was especially troublesome.
That stronghold was protected by numerous Illusion Formations.
Many rogue cultivators who entered never emerged again.
"Miss Yiyi, Darkwind Gorge is just ahead."
"Chilling winds blow through the gorge all year round, accompanied by hallucinatory miasma."
"The local rogue cultivators all call it Soul-Severing Valley. Very few dare approach