After guarding the gates for a hundred years, I drove the Heavenly Saint to madness.

At dawn, at Jiepai Pass.

Xiao Wuji was awakened by a crisp system notification sound.

Although he hadn't slept all night, under the influence of the Great Five Elements Technique, he felt not only no fatigue, but also a clear mind, and his every move subtly resonated with the earth's veins.

[Ding! Two days of defense completed.]

[Rewards have been credited: 50,000 Innate Spirit Crystals and 4 Ancient City Defense Talismans.]

Xiao Wuji casually flipped his hand, and a crystal-clear object appeared in his palm.

Compared to the mottled spirit stones of later generations, this innate spirit crystal contains an almost impenetrable primordial energy. Just by holding it in one's hand, a thin layer of white frost begins to appear in the surrounding air.

He put on a dark blue robe and strolled to the training ground.

The atmosphere in the training ground was somewhat somber at this moment.

Lieutenant Xu Gai was leading dozens of wounded soldiers on the drill ground, bandaging their wounds. The bitter smell of herbs mixed with the stench of blood, making it very unpleasant to smell.

"Stop it, everyone."

Xiao Wuji's voice wasn't loud, but it landed firmly on everyone's heart.

Xu Gai quickly got up, his armor still covered in scabs of blood.

"General, Xiqi retreated to a distance of thirty miles last night, probably preparing a big move."

Xiao Wuji didn't reply, but simply raised his hand and waved.

Whoosh—!

It was as if God's treasure chest had been overturned; a total of 50,000 spirit crystals were piled up in front of the main hall, forming a small mountain ten feet high.

The pure spiritual energy exploded instantly, so dense it almost liquefied into mist, transforming the blood-soaked training ground into a celestial paradise.

"Take these and distribute them among the brothers. Those who are wounded should swallow them to strengthen their bodies; those who are not wounded should use them to break through their bottlenecks."

Xiao Wuji casually picked up a stone and tossed it to Xu Gai, his tone as indifferent as if he were handing out pebbles from the roadside.

Xu Gai caught the spirit crystal, his hands trembling. In all his life, he had never seen anything like it.

He had initially been frightened by Xiao Wuji's sudden coldness, but now, looking at the pile of spirit crystals, he was suddenly moved.

"General...this is too precious. Isn't it too wasteful to give it to us mere mortals?" Xu Gai's voice was hoarse.

"Was it wasted?" Xiao Wuji chuckled and patted his shoulder.

"How can you talk about wasting time? As long as you do your job well, it's not wasting time. Go, and don't let me down."

After saying that, Xiao Wuji turned and walked towards the city wall.

He stood atop the rampart, his five fingers loosely clenched, four ancient talismans exuding a profound and ancient aura trembling between his fingers.

The talisman was entirely dark yellow, and the patterns carved on it resembled a miniature of mountains and rivers, exuding an unyielding resilience.

"go!"

Xiao Wuji gave a soft shout and flicked his fingers repeatedly.

Four streaks of dark golden light pierced through the remaining morning mist, disappearing precisely into the four corners of the city wall.

There was no earth-shattering roar as expected, only a deep, soul-stirring rhythm.

As the talisman penetrated three-tenths of the stone, the foundation of the entire Jiepai Pass seemed to connect completely with the vast land beneath its feet at that moment.

Immediately afterwards, a ray of amber-like, dark yellow light seeped out from the depths of the city wall, rapidly spreading across the originally dark blue-black rough stone surface.

The cracks in the bricks and stones, which had been weathered and broken, miraculously healed under the influence of this force, and their texture changed from ordinary rock to a sacred substance.

From afar, the entire majestic pass seemed to be draped in a heavy armor woven from the essence of Xuanhuang Wutu, so heavy that even the surrounding void seemed to collapse slightly downwards.

A soldier guarding the city was sweating profusely as he repaired the crenellations that had been scorched by Nezha's Samadhi Fire the day before.

Seeing the wall change, he instinctively swung the heavy iron sledgehammer in his hand, wanting to test whether the wall was sturdy.

"Hey!"

The burly man's arms were bulging with muscles, and he poured a thousand pounds of divine strength into the iron hammer, which slammed heavily onto the flowing, dark yellow light membrane with a sharp whistling sound.

"Buzz—!"

However, the imagined shower of stone chips did not materialize.

The moment the hammer struck the city wall, the dark golden light strangely shrank inward by a fraction of a millimeter, and then unleashed a shock force comparable to a landslide!

"Snap, snap!"

A piercing metallic cracking sound rang out, and the heavy iron hammer, weighing over a hundred pounds, shattered into fine iron filings like a piece of tile falling to the ground.

Before the soldier could even scream, he was sent flying several meters away by an irresistible force, like a sparrow with broken wings.

He crashed heavily into the flagpole behind him, blood gushing from his hand, his entire right arm was completely numb, and his finger bones were even slightly deformed.

"How did this stone become so hard?" The soldier struggled to sit up, looking at the city wall that hadn't even left a white mark, his lips trembling.

Upon seeing this, the surrounding soldiers swarmed around.

Some people boldly touched the layer of shimmering light with their fingertips, only to find it cool to the touch and heavy as if facing a mountain range.

……

Meanwhile, in the Xiqi camp, the atmosphere in the commander's tent was almost frozen.

Jiang Ziya sat at the head of the table, his beard trembling slightly.

On the stretcher next to him, Nezha had already woken up, but his face looked extremely pale.

"Uncle-Master, that Xiao Wuji is incredibly strange. His skill in collecting magical treasures is definitely not at the level that a third-generation disciple of the Jie Sect should possess."

Yang Jian gripped the hilt of his sword, his brow furrowed with worry.

"A direct attack might not be the best we can hope for."

Jiang Ziya didn't speak; he was calculating the divination.

But the tortoise shell in front of him was shattered on the ground, and the secrets of heaven were as chaotic as a pot of paste.

Looking at the scene before him, he even wondered if this Jiepai Pass was a final flicker of fortune for the Jie Sect.

"Ahem... Uncle-Master, why boost the morale of others while diminishing our own?"

Just as the generals were silent, a shrill, whitish voice came from the ground.

Tu Xingsun poked half his head out of the ground, his small eyes gleaming.

He first looked at Nezha's miserable state, and instead of feeling sorry for him, he revealed a hint of excitement that it was finally his turn to make a contribution.

"Although Brother Yang Jian is powerful, his personality is too upright, and he can't do the work underground."

Tu Xingsun slowly crawled out and patted the dirt off his Taoist robe.

"If Xiao Wuji can sweep away treasures from the sky, does he think he can control the mud underground?"

He walked up to Jiang Ziya, chuckled, and spoke with an air of arrogance.

"Uncle-Master, leave this to me."

"Just say the word, and I'll make a trip to the General's mansion at midnight tonight. I'll bring back Xiao Wuji's head for you to enjoy with your drinks; and I'll open the city gates for the army as well."

Jiang Ziya stared at the short, stocky disciple and remained silent for a long time.

To be honest, he didn't think Tu Xingsun could defeat Xiao Wuji head-on, but in this deadly situation, the Earth-walking technique, which was impossible to defend against, was indeed the only variable.

"If you can really take his head, the credit for Jiepai Pass will be yours."

Upon hearing this, Tu Xingsun was overjoyed.

"Disciple obeys! This kind of slacking-off, digging-a-hole job is my specialty!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his body swayed and he disappeared into the soil in a flash, leaving only a faint ripple.

Jiang Ziya looked at the ground and let out a long sigh, but for some reason, the ominous premonition in his heart grew stronger and stronger.