**Boom!**
Deep in the desert, the iron-blooded war banners swept across the land like a northern gale flattening all in its path. Ranks of foreign soldiers fell in droves, their bodies reduced to bloody mist as the slaughter swept through their forces.
Yet, just as the carnage neared Shi Hao’s position, a surge of immortal light erupted. The Qiankun Pouch manifested, clashing violently against the iron banners.
Clearly, the foreign realm had also prepared for this. There were still supreme beings who had yet to act, standing guard in that very direction.
**”Kill!”**
From atop the city walls of Imperial Pass, a group of commanders roared, igniting the fervor of all present. With an invincible figure stepping forward, many felt their blood boil, their battle intent soaring.
In a series of sharp whistles, figures leaped from the walls, landing before the ancient altar at the city gates.
**”Open the gates! Let us out!”** As the commanders took their positions on the altar, demanding passage, the atmosphere erupted. The gathered heroes trembled with anticipation.
Especially when an invincible figure descended from the walls and stood before the altar—the fervor reached its peak, explosive and unstoppable.
**”Out! Charge forth! Support Elder Meng Tianzheng!”**
When that invincible figure made his decision, activating the altar and charging out first, the forces behind him erupted in fervor. Their blood burned, their war cries shaking the heavens as they surged forward.
A group of warriors stormed out of Imperial Pass—the hardliners, the unyielding. They had long seethed with fury when Jin Taijun handed over Shi Hao. Now, they finally unleashed their rage.
Yet, atop the walls, some remained unmoved—the Jin Clan, the Du Clan, the Pixiu lineage—all watching coldly from above.
**”This is reckless!”** Jin Taijun spoke, her face dark with anger, the sword wounds on her body already healed. Her gaze was icy.
But as her words faded, another invincible figure spoke: **”Elder Meng has displayed such peerless valor, battling alone before Imperial Pass. We must aid him!”**
With a sharp whistle, he vanished from the walls, stepping onto the altar and rushing out to reinforce the battle.
For this was a clash of supreme beings in the desert—only those of his caliber could intervene. The other commanders could only engage the enemy forces.
Jin Taijun’s expression grew even colder. **”Do you truly believe this reckless charge will change anything?”**
**”Perhaps it will!”** Elder Qi Hong’s master, known as the Ancient Wood Elder, spoke. A supreme being of great age, he had once commanded the Five-Spirit War Chariot, dominating an era.
But now, he was far past his prime, his vitality waning.
Jin Taijun struck her new cane heavily against the ground with a resounding **thud**. **”What can they achieve by rushing out? Retrieve Shi Hao? We’ve just secured a rare period of peace—sworn in blood—guaranteeing five centuries of calm! All we need is to await reinforcements! This is sabotage! A crime!”**
Her voice trembled with fury as she glared at the warriors charging beyond the walls.
Behind her, the Jin faction echoed her sentiments, condemning the reckless actions. Though they wished to criticize Elder Meng Tianzheng, none dared—not after Jin Taijun herself had suffered defeat at his hands.
**”Meng Tianzheng is too impulsive! You should have stopped him!”** Jin Taijun spat, her face twisted with humiliation from their earlier clash.
She turned to the Ancient Wood Elder, then to Wang Changsheng—especially the latter, whose inaction infuriated her. With Wang’s unfathomable divine abilities, he could have restrained Meng Tianzheng. Together, they might have suppressed him.
**”Elder Meng is not reckless. He acts out of necessity,”** the Ancient Wood Elder sighed.
**”What are you saying?”** Jin Taijun’s voice turned frosty. **”Clearly, he has lost his composure! Seeing Shi Hao beyond the walls, he abandoned all reason, disrupting the greater plan! This is not the act of a supreme being!”**
Her harsh criticism sent tremors through the Du Clan, the Pixiu lineage, and the Jin faction. Was she provoking Meng Tianzheng again? Some wondered if he would even return.
Meanwhile, some hardliners still within the pass paled at her words. Was she laying the groundwork to blame him if he fell in battle?
They seethed with anger but dared not act—the oppressive aura of beings at that level stifled all dissent.
**”You are mistaken,”** the Ancient Wood Elder shook his head. **”Elder Meng never acts rashly. He has a greater purpose—one I now understand.”**
**”What are you implying?”** Jin Taijun’s displeasure deepened.
**”He is trying to avert a great crisis for Imperial Pass,”** the Ancient Wood Elder sighed.
**”Nonsense! I’ve just negotiated terms with the foreign realm! They’ve sworn a blood oath! We have peace! Yet Meng Tianzheng—he destroys it! What merit is there in that?”** Jin Taijun demanded.
**”We both know that even if the Immortal Kings stir, breaching the Abyss is no certainty,”** the Ancient Wood Elder countered.
**”You are too optimistic. They have at least a sixty to seventy percent chance of success!”**
**”Even if they could, they would hesitate—the cost is too great. Otherwise, they would have forced their way long ago.”**
He believed the Immortal Kings could breach the Abyss, but at a terrible price. And with the uncertainty of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths—what if the beings who once repelled them returned?
Thus, the foreign realm sought a bloodless passage.
Given time, they might cross the Abyss unscathed.
**”Can you guarantee they won’t come? The situation is dire!”** Jin Taijun snapped.
**”True, the situation is complex—the Rotten Wood Box, the Immortals’ own divinations—they must have foreseen something.”**
**”Then we cannot gamble! We must accept their terms, swear the oath!”**
She insisted her actions were for Imperial Pass’s sake, while Meng Tianzheng’s recklessness endangered all.
**”Elder Meng is not reckless. He is resolving the crisis,”** the Ancient Wood Elder said. **”Your ‘peace’ may last five centuries, but at what cost? The hearts of our people will grow cold. The warriors will despair. We betray our own for fleeting calm—eroding morale, making them believe we are inferior. The people’s spirit will shatter.”**
Jin Taijun’s face darkened. **”So you claim Meng Tianzheng’s reckless charge to ‘save’ Shi Hao is justified? He ruins everything!”**
**”You misunderstand. Elder Meng knew he likely couldn’t retrieve Shi Hao. He did not act for selfish reasons.”**
The Ancient Wood Elder gazed at the battlefield, readying himself to join the fray.
**”If he knew it was futile, then this is even more reckless!”** Jin Taijun scoffed—though inwardly, she sensed the truth.
**”Why fight a hopeless battle? Do you not understand?”** The Ancient Wood Elder’s voice turned cold. **”Elder Meng seeks to reignite the people’s will! To mend their broken spirits!”**
**”Indeed,”** Wang Changsheng finally spoke. **”Meng Tianzheng fights to inspire—to show the clans hope, to rekindle their courage.”**
**”I go to battle. Guard the pass.”** With that, the Ancient Wood Elder vanished.
**”Go. I shall guard it.”** Another elder emerged on the walls—covered in dust, as if unearthed after millennia. The oldest supreme being in Imperial Pass had arrived.
**Boom!**
The desert shook with war.
Meng Tianzheng, wielding his sword, clashed with the Imperial Clan’s supreme being while fending off others.
Now, three invincible figures from the city rushed to aid him.
The commanders skirted the supreme battle, engaging the foreign forces on the flanks.
**”Kill!”**
The war cries shook the skies.
**Slash!**
Meng Tianzheng was peerless. Even against the Imperial Clan, he remained composed. In a single stroke, he severed another supreme being’s torso, painting the sky with blood.
Astonishing—while dueling an unfathomable Imperial Clan foe and evading six others, he still achieved this!
Even with reinforcements, he fought against overwhelming odds.
**”Fall back! The Imperial Clan does not gang up on foes! We are undefeated!”** the Imperial Clan supreme roared, ordering the others to withdraw.
**”Elder Meng is invincible!”** Cheers erupted from the walls.
In the past, the Imperial Clan was untouchable. Today, Meng Tianzheng defied that notion, inspiring all.
**Slash!**
A devastating sword beam flew, decapitating the wounded supreme being. The world seemed to hold its breath.
**Roar!**
The supreme being, though not dead, was grievously wounded, his broken body hurtling away in a rain of blood.
The Imperial Clan supreme’s face darkened. He had forbidden interference, yet his allies had nearly gotten one of their own killed.
**Clang!**
The sword blazed, its light blinding. Meng Tianzheng shot forward, time fragments swirling around him as he pursued the decapitated foe.
**”You dare?!”** Others moved to block him.
But Meng Tianzheng, wreathed in divine light, unleashed an unstoppable palm strike—shattering the wounded supreme being despite the interference.
**Boom!**
The supreme being exploded, triggering celestial weeping.
**”A peerless display! Elder Meng is unmatched!”** The crowd on the walls roared.
**”All of you—stand down! I will face him alone!”** The Imperial Clan supreme’s voice was glacial.
**”For millennia, Imperial Pass has lacked an Imperial Clan head to honor our fallen. Lend me yours!”** Meng Tianzheng raised his sword.
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