Becoming a martial arts god starting from the mortician.

Three days later.

The wind and snow were dark and gloomy, and outside the ancient post station at the border of Pingzhou and Youzhou, the world was already desolate.

The snow was a foot deep in the wilderness, and two armies were clearly separated by their camps. The two large black banners, "You" and "Cang," fluttered in the north wind. Swords and spears were like a forest, and iron armor was covered in snow. Occasionally, warhorses would snort and exhale thick white breath.

Lu Zheng reined in his horse and stopped. In the opposite formation, two generals rode up to meet him. The three of them reined in their horses in front of the formation and checked each other's military credentials and tiger tally seals.

Just as the handover was completed, a rider suddenly stepped out from the Youzhou formation.

The newcomer was a burly man, wearing a black martial robe over a half-body leather armor, with a blunt, heavy sword slung across his back. His face was covered in a thick beard, and his large, bell-like eyes swept over the Pingzhou troops. His voice boomed:

"Are there any saviors from Chengping County?"

None of the Pingzhou guards answered; they only turned their gazes to the rear.

Shen Qi gently squeezed the horse's flanks with his legs, urging it forward. He reined in the reins and bowed slightly.

"Chengping County, Shen Qi."

The man looked Shen Qi up and down, his gaze lingering for a moment on Shen Qi's overly handsome and youthful face before he grinned.

"My name is Chen Meng, the Suppressor of Evil in Youzhou. Fang Hongzhen is my senior brother. I was hoping to see him this time, but it seems he has gone to the border pass ahead of me."

Chen Meng's voice was like muffled thunder. He was about to spur his horse forward to try and get closer to Chen Meng when he heard a cold shout.

"Let's save the pleasantries for the front lines."

Lu Zheng turned his horse around and interrupted him coldly. He pointed his whip northward: "The troops from the three prefectures are assembled. Break camp immediately!"

Chen Meng pursed his lips and reluctantly retreated back into the Youzhou formation.

Chen Meng smacked his lips, then reluctantly reined in his horse and retreated back to his own lines. The other shamans accompanying the army, upon hearing this, glanced at Shen Qi a few more times, each with their own thoughts.

Everyone returned to their respective positions and mounted their horses.

The troops from the three prefectures joined together, numbering nearly a thousand elite soldiers, and marched northward in a mighty force.

The march continued for another three days.

The sky grew increasingly gloomy, with leaden clouds hanging low as if they might collapse at any moment. The surrounding scenery visibly became eerie and deathly still.

The further north you go, the fewer and fewer the refugees fleeing south that used to be everywhere become. The wide official road is deserted, with only the howling wind and snow. Not to mention a human figure, not even a crow searching for food can be found.

The living have disappeared, but the dead have increased.

In the ditch beside the road, half-buried corpses lay buried in snow. There were no elderly, weak, sick, or disabled people who were poorly clothed; instead, there were mostly strong men wearing fur coats.

Shen Qi's gaze swept over them.

There is no lifeline.

The corpses had bluish-black skin. The flesh hadn't rotted; instead, it clung tightly to the bones. Wisps of faint chill seeped from the pores of the bodies, tinging the surrounding snow with a ghostly blue hue.

The procession passed near the body.

The warhorse beneath him began to snort restlessly, its hooves pounding wildly in the snow. No matter how the knight tried to soothe it, the marching speed inevitably slowed. The chilling air, carrying a deadly coldness, seemed to seep into one's very bones.

Shen Qi lightly squeezed the horse's flanks with his legs, passed several armored soldiers, and rode alongside Lu Zheng ahead.

"General Lu." Shen Qi looked at the green corpse by the roadside, its hands tightly gripping its own throat, "The refugees have vanished, and the corpse exudes a chilling aura. Has something happened ahead?"

Lu Zheng kept his eyes straight ahead, his voice coming through the mask, deep and cold as iron.

"Ten days ago, the capital issued a closure order. Roadblocks were set up to intercept all refugees heading south, preventing them from setting foot in Beixuan Province."

"Why?" Shen Qi frowned slightly.

"Because of the plague." Lu Zheng pointed his riding whip at the blue corpse by the roadside. "Those infected with the plague have their blood and qi flowing in reverse. Within three days, their whole body turns blue, and they suffer excruciating pain until they freeze to death in the wilderness. After death, their corpses will generate a chilling aura, and ordinary people will be infected upon touching them. Right now, this is only the outer perimeter. The further north you go, the stronger the aura becomes."

Lu Zheng turned to look at Shen Qi, his eyes bloodshot beneath his mask.

"If a martial artist dies from the plague, their corpse may even transform into a fiendish corpse, which will suddenly attack and harm people. Once you reach the border, this will be the trouble you will have to deal with."

Shen Qi nodded and said no more. He turned his horse around and retreated to the middle of the column.

The army continued its advance.

The marching speed suddenly increased. The scene at the post stations along the way also became desolate.

The ordinary soldiers who had been stationed there were all replaced with heavily armored guards. Barricades were erected, and crossbows were nocked. Around the post station, several carts could be seen hurriedly transporting corpses covered in white sheets to the distant cremation pits. The air was thick with the acrid smell of kerosene.

Day 10 of the march.

The wind and snow suddenly stopped. The gale dispersed the leaden clouds, revealing a pale sliver of sunlight.

Shen Qi seemed to sense something and raised his head.

At the horizon, a dark line stretching across the sky suddenly appeared.

As the iron cavalry drew ever closer, the black line in their vision rose sharply and stretched infinitely. Finally, it transformed into a colossal primordial beast dwelling in the far north, a majestic city wall spanning east to west, connecting heaven and earth.

The city wall, constructed entirely of black iron and massive stones, stood over a hundred feet tall. Dark red array patterns, like dried blood, flickered faintly across its surface. Huge claw marks and deep pits covered the wall, telling tales of the brutal battles that had once taken place here.

Above the city walls, black dragon banners blotted out the sky, and armored soldiers stood like a forest, their weapons like a sea.

This was the northernmost barrier that the Dayan Dynasty used to block the northern barbarians and the remnants of the Great You.

One of the four extreme passes, the Northern Mysterious Pass!

The army halted a hundred paces from the city gate. The sound of hooves ceased, and the thousand men stood in formation, utterly silent.

Lu Zheng ripped off his helmet and held it up with one arm.

The next instant, a horn suddenly sounded from the top of the city wall.

woo-

The sound of bugles tore through the sky and echoed across the fields.

Immediately afterwards, a loud rumbling sound came from the mechanical parts.

Two towering iron city gates, each ten feet high, slowly opened to the sides with a muffled rumble.