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

The morning breeze fluttered the royal flag atop Jiepai Pass, making a rustling sound.

As soon as Lü Yue's maniacal laughter subsided, Xiao Wuji was not blinded by this optimism.

He stood with his hands behind his back in front of the battlements, his gaze calmly fixed on the chaotic Xiqi camp in the distance.

"Uncle-Master's Hidden Dragon Plague is indeed domineering." Xiao Wuji turned his head and looked at Lü Yue.

"But is it truly impossible for anyone to solve this?"

Lu Yue's laughter faltered. He twirled his beard with his withered fingers, remained silent for a moment, and his arrogance subsided somewhat.

"To say there's absolutely no solution isn't necessarily true." A hint of apprehension flashed in Lü Yue's eyes.

"Besides the methods of sages, there are some places in the primordial world where this plague technique can be broken."

"For example?" Xiao Wuji asked, looking puzzled.

Upon hearing this, Lü Yue sighed and said, "For example, the Fire Cloud Cave."

"Fire Cloud Cave?" Xiao Wuji was taken aback.

Lü Yue nodded: "Exactly."

"That Shennong Earth Emperor is a quasi-sage of the human race. In the past, he tasted hundreds of herbs and determined the medicinal stones. He also used the fortune of humanity to defeat the Plague God lineage and demons. If the old man of the South Pole is willing to lower himself to beg him, this poison can be cured."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wuji was not discouraged at all; instead, a cold and sharp glint appeared in his eyes.

"If that's the case, then I don't need to rush into action."

Xiao Wuji placed his hand on the sword hilt and gently tapped his fingertips on the scabbard.

"The Old Man of the South Pole must be finding himself helpless at this moment. He will either have to return to Kunlun Mountain for help or go to the Fire Cloud Cave to ask for medicine. The Fire Cloud Cave holds a prestigious position, and if he goes there to ask for medicine, he will definitely go there in person to show his sincerity."

"Uncle-Master, let's wait a moment."

"Once that old man leaves, the Xiqi camp will only have Randeng and Guangchengzi left as high-level combatants. We'll stop them then and catch them off guard!"

Lü Yue's eyes lit up, and he smiled sinisterly: "Nephew, you have a good plan. That's exactly what I was thinking."

……

Everything went as Xiao Wuji had predicted.

Inside the Xiqi camp, in the central command tent.

The Antarctic Immortal withdrew his Coiled Dragon Staff and looked at the several corpses outside the tent, whose bodies had instead decayed and died rapidly due to the infusion of the Longevity Law. His face turned ashen.

The few remaining high-ranking members of the Chan Sect who could still stand, including Daoist Ran Deng, Guang Chengzi, and Jiang Ziya, were all gathered in the tent, their faces increasingly grim.

"It's no use. This poison is activated when exposed to sunlight. My longevity method not only fails to cure it, but actually becomes its catalyst."

The Old Man of the South Pole shook his head, his voice filled with an unprecedented sense of powerlessness.

"What should we do then?" Guang Chengzi clutched his sunken chest, coughed violently twice, and coughed up a mouthful of phlegm mixed with black blood.

"Are we just going to watch this million-strong army and our nephews rot here? Is there really no one who can cure Lü Yue's plague?"

The Taoist Ran Deng frowned, and the light from the Lingjiu Palace lamp behind his head dimmed, barely managing to create a protective barrier against the poisonous miasma.

"This poison was refined from the extremely yin and foul energy of the Nine Netherworlds, and cannot be cured by ordinary medicines or immortal techniques. Unless..."

"Go find the teacher, or go to the Fire Cloud Cave," Ran Deng sighed.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ziya immediately raised his head. Although his face was pale, a glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes as he looked at the Antarctic Immortal.

Upon seeing this, the Old Man of the South Pole immediately offered an explanation.

"Shennong, the Earthly Sovereign, tasted hundreds of herbs and determined the nature of medicines, using the power of humanity to overcome all poisons in the world. If you ask him for help, this poison will surely be cured!"

The group exchanged glances, all seeing a glimmer of hope.

"Fire Cloud Cave holds a prestigious position; it is the land of human sages and should not be neglected," the Antarctic Immortal decided immediately.

The reason why he chose to go to Huoyun Cave instead of Yuanshi Tianzun was naturally due to the pride of the Antarctic Immortal.

After all, he was the senior disciple here, and he always wanted to outdo Guang Chengzi. If he had to seek help from Yuanshi Tianzun for even something as simple as this, what difference would there be between him and Guang Chengzi?

He lifted the tent flap,

His gaze swept across the camp filled with wails and finally settled on the area outside the tent.

The million-strong army, along with the third-generation disciples of the Chan Sect who cultivated immortality, was almost completely wiped out.

Even the second-generation disciples of the Chan Sect, such as Manjushri and Cihang, who possessed the cultivation of Great Luo Golden Immortals, were pale-faced, their primordial spirits dim, and the three flowers above their heads gloomy.

After all, they had not attained the Dao fruit, nor were they people who specialized in cultivating the physical body, so they also suffered a great deal of harm.

On the contrary, Yang Jian, relying on the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts which specializes in cultivating the physical body, managed to withstand the corrosive effects of the poison.

The Old Man of the South Pole looked around and then chose Yang Jian.

"Yang Jian, come with me to the Fire Cloud Cave to seek medicine!"

The Antarctic Immortal dared not delay for a moment. With a wave of his sleeve, he rolled up Yang Jian, transforming him into a white rainbow that shot up from the ground and soared straight into the sky, disappearing into the eastern horizon in the blink of an eye.

Thirty li away, at the Jiepai Pass.

As Xiao Wuji watched the white rainbow disappear into the distance, a slow smile crept onto his lips.

"The troublesome old man is gone."

He turned around and took off the large, dark-colored Taoist robe that he usually wore.

His personal guards rushed forward and draped him in a suit of dark gold, heavy iron armor. The heavy armor plates clanged against each other, producing a cold and chilling sound.

Xiao Wuji reached out and grabbed the hilt of the Zhuxian Sword hanging at his waist. The blade was drawn half an inch from its sheath, and a hazy killing intent emanated from it, causing the white frost on the surrounding city walls to freeze instantly.

"Activate the formation."

With his command, the Twelve Heavenly Gods and Demons Formation, rooted in the ground, emitted a muffled rumble.

"Activate the formation."

With his command, the Twelve Heavenly Gods and Demons Formation, rooted in the ground, emitted a muffled rumble.

The city gate, covered in thick iron sheets, was pulled open with a sickening scraping sound by the winch.

Xiao Wuji raised his sword forward and slashed down heavily:

"All troops, attack! Kill!"

The moment he finished speaking, the blue bricks beneath his feet shattered.

Xiao Wuji streaked through the sky, heading straight for the central army, his target—Randeng Daoren.

Just as Ran Deng was in a state of great distress because of the departure of the Antarctic Immortal, he suddenly felt a darkness above his head.

A withered yellow bronze bell appeared out of thin air, and the surrounding wind instantly stopped. Time and space seemed to turn into a viscous swamp, pinning him firmly in mid-air.

"Xiao Wuji!"

Ran Deng was filled with shock and anger. The flames of the Lingjiu Palace Lantern behind his head suddenly surged, and the ghostly fire transformed into a gray-white pillar of fire that shot into the sky, attempting to push open the deadly bronze bell.

His response was a gray sword aura.

The Zhuxian Sword sliced ​​through the pillar of ghost fire without any resistance, producing a piercing cutting sound.

Without uttering a single word, Xiao Wuji closed in, unleashing his mid-stage Great Luo power without reservation.

The sword's edge traced an extremely tricky trajectory, each strike aimed precisely at Ran Deng's vital points, effectively keeping this quasi-saint suspended in mid-air, leaving him no time to look down at the camp below.

Seeing this, Guang Chengzi and Wenshu, who were not far away, suppressed the discomfort caused by the poisonous miasma and prepared to attack with their magic weapons.

"Fellow Daoists, your opponent is this humble Daoist."

A patch of ghastly green poisonous fog exploded in mid-air, and Lü Yue's indigo face appeared and disappeared in the fog.

He grinned maliciously and unfurled a scroll of array diagrams.

The Plague Array Diagram unfolded in the wind, instantly transforming into a massive yellow-green maze, like a gaping maw that swallowed Guang Chengzi, Manjushri, and the others who rushed towards it.

The formation was filled with swirling poisonous miasma and a pungent stench. Thick, sticky filth clung to their protective aura like chewing gum.

Although this poison cannot kill a Golden Immortal in a short time, it can corrode spiritual energy and create illusions.

Guang Chengzi and the others felt short of breath and saw evil spirits swarming around them, so they had to frantically use their magical treasures to protect themselves.

The aerial combat was merely a means of restraint. The real killing took place on the ground.