Snow and storm darkened the skies, and heaven wept blood.
The wilderness of Lingchang Prefecture had long since been turned into an endless Asura battlefield by the demons pouring out of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
Gales swept up the snow from the ground. The drifting powder was no longer pure white, but tinged with a nauseating dark red.
It was the blood of countless human cultivators and mortals, their anguished cries frozen forever into this land.
Through this dead land, where even the air reeked of deathly silence and despair, a lone army clad entirely in black advanced straight toward Soul-Severing Valley, like an unsheathed blade, oppressive and utterly silent.
The eight hundred Black-Armored Guards of Anping County seemed like eight hundred asuras who had stepped out of the netherworld.
Their steps were perfectly synchronized. Heavy combat boots pressed into knee-deep snow with a crunch that made the heart tremble.
Thick, dark-gold faceplates concealed every expression. Only their unwavering eyes remained visible, fixed firmly ahead.
This region was eerily quiet.
They encountered no wandering low-ranking demon beasts. Not even carrion birds circled overhead.
The vast snowfield leading to Soul-Severing Valley resembled a deliberately cleared "vacuum zone," as though its gates stood wide open, warmly welcoming this human vanguard.
Yet on either side of this seemingly peaceful snowfield, amid the rolling ridges and deep within the forests lashed by wind and snow, terrifying killing intent lay hidden, enough to devour everything.
"Huff... hrr..."
Behind concealed rocks and within unfathomably deep snow pits, tens of thousands of scarlet beast eyes stared fixedly at the black-armored army advancing ever deeper.
Thirty thousand Qi Refining demon beasts held their breath and focused, foul-smelling saliva dripping from their jaws.
They were waiting.
The few high-ranking Demon Kings who had awakened their intelligence had already issued