Jialing Pass stood at the westernmost mountain pass in the Heavenly Spirit Mountain Range, in the western Spirit Hall Empire.
The western Spirit Hall Empire was already a vast, sparsely populated region. Jialing Pass lay amid the towering Heavenly Spirit Mountains, which stretched roughly a thousand kilometers from east to west. An ancient road wound through the desert's gravel wastes and the Lima Plain. The journey was treacherous enough, but at Jialing Pass, narrow gorges pierced the mountains and perilous slopes hemmed in the road, making it more dangerous still. Occupying this position, Jialing Pass commanded an exceptionally formidable location. Spirit City lay to the east, Notting City to the west. This ancient road was the link between the Spirit Hall Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire.
Jialing Pass was an unavoidable passage. Ever since its construction, it had been a vital stronghold in the Spirit Hall Empire's western defenses, playing an important role in safeguarding the region. Rising at the desert's edge, it looked extraordinarily majestic. Water shortages were the bane of desert regions, yet Jialing Pass had wells within its walls and springs in the mountains, leaving it no fear of running dry. Its surroundings were equally captivating. The sprawling fortress lay across the gravel wastes, its walls joining the mountains on either side. Towering vermilion gate towers seemed poised to soar, framed by the jade-like snowy peaks of the Heavenly Spirit Mountains in a picturesque scene. From atop the towers, the watchposts answered one another in succession, like a dragon swimming through the boundless sea of gravel. On clear days, one might even glimpse a mirage.
At that moment, however, cries of battle shook the heavens beneath the ancient, renowned Jialing Pass, and surging killing intent shot into the clouds.
After Yang Ming suffered severe injuries in