Patrol Captain

Youmen Pass, the most formidable pass in Jiannan Road, was built 1,500 years ago to suppress the 100,000 mountains. It connects the Tianyao Mountain Range on both sides and blocks the vast Misty Sea. Now, with the seal broken, the Misty Sea has spread outward and has already crossed the mountain range.

From a distance, the dark blue walls of Tianxiong Pass resemble a dragon shedding its scales, stretching for hundreds of miles from the clouds and mist until they disappear at the horizon. Each wall stone is over ten feet high, with chisel marks on them that have stood the test of time, like cracks in a dragon's scales. The cracks in the walls are filled with a dark red that smells of blood, and after a thousand years of wind and rain, they still faintly glow with a scarlet light.

The gate tower rises abruptly from the ground, its towering height exceeding a hundred feet resembling a giant beast raising its head. The bronze bells on its eaves emit a deep, rumbling sound in the mountain wind, like the breath of a sleeping beast. From the tower, one can see the walls winding and undulating among the peaks, the joints of the massive stones fitting together perfectly. Despite the ravages of war and the passage of time, they still arch like the iron spine of a beast, embracing the entire magnificent landscape.

At this moment, this once formidable fortress is filled with deathly aura, with white bones scattered everywhere. Ghostly green flames float in the sky above the fortress, making the city appear sinister and terrifying. In particular, the mournful howls that constantly echo from within the city tear through the void make this place seem like the gates of hell leading to the underworld.

At this time, the southern part of the pass was truly a hellish place!

Blood-red clouds churned in the air, carrying a heavy stench of blood and decay. In several open spaces, white bones were piled up into small hills.

A long line of undead creatures covered in rotting flesh and strange shapes climbed over the bones, each step causing the entire mountain of bones to crack and splinter, like countless wronged souls grinding their teeth.

Connected to the mountain of white bones were rows of bronze furnaces of varying sizes, their mouths spewing crimson flames as they burned fiercely inside. These furnaces ranged in size from a hundred or so feet in size to a few feet in height, forming a circle.

Meanwhile, the hideous and grotesque undead creatures, using chains and cages, are escorting one demon after another, throwing these demons into different furnaces.

These demons are all kinds of strange and wonderful, including powerful monsters such as the Gu Diao, Ba She, and Nie Jiao.

When these demons were thrown into the furnace, their flesh sizzled and burned by the flames. Their shrill screams were swallowed by the flames, and they turned into wisps of black smoke that rose from the top of the furnace, condensing in the air into distorted demonic faces, and rising up with a soaring resentment.

Between these furnaces lies a vast pool of blood, thick and dark red. One by one, the skeletal remains of demonic figures, their flesh and blood stripped away, are thrown into the furnaces, splashing blood as they float and sink. Those that still retain their essence try to escape this terrifying place, but are held fast by the white bones protruding from the bottom of the pool. Occasionally, half of their bodies suddenly leaps out of the blood, only to be dragged back into the depths in an instant, leaving behind only a trail of bubbling blood foam and abruptly silenced screams.

The soaring resentment and howls echoed across this hellish arena, sending chills down one's spine!
At one moment, a beam of golden light burst into the gates of hell, swaggering directly toward the city, like the sun blazing across the sky.

Soon, from the depths of the city, a blood-red thunderclap exploded, tearing through the darkness, followed by a terrifying aura rising from it.

Soon, a towering figure tore through the crimson lightning and blocked Chen Yuan's way as he swaggered in.

His black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, dancing wildly in the air. Every strand of hair seemed to contain boundless power. He wore a black robe covered with the marks of time, which fluttered in the wind. Demonic energy surged around him, as if hundreds of ghostly claws were surging. Most shockingly, there was a huge bloody hole in the chest of this figure.

In the void, a pulsating, bright red heart was exposed to the air, its surface covered with grotesque blood vessels. Each beat emitted a dazzling crimson light, as if to ignite the surrounding void. The thunderous heartbeat made the void tremble.

When the king raised his eyes, as dark as an abyss, and looked at Chen Yuan, a hint of surprise flashed in them.

His jet-black robes slowly faded, turning white.

The terrifying and oppressive aura dissipated rapidly, and the bloody holes on his body disappeared as well.

"It's really you!"

The immortal king's jet-black eyes, devoid of white, seemed to hold a subtle, almost imperceptible look of astonishment.

"Chen greets you, senior!"

Chen Yuan bowed respectfully, his expression serious. He knew that it was this king who had bestowed upon him the method, enabling him to quickly reach the Martial Saint realm and escape from the forbidden area.

I owe you a very big favor!
At this moment, the king opposite him transformed back into white robes, his sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes revealing a profound and abyss-like aura. His black hair fluttered, making him appear like an immortal, a stark contrast to his ferocious and terrifying black-robed state.

Those eyes, devoid of white, possessed a profound depth that seemed to see through everything. They gazed intently at Chen Yuan.

"did not expect!"

"You broke through to the Martial Saint realm so quickly."

"To challenge the heavens and man as soon as you leave the pass is truly impressive."

The news has spread far and wide.

The Arhat Aniluo already knew, so Chen Yuan wasn't surprised that he knew.

"I must thank the senior for imparting the method, otherwise I would not have been able to break through so quickly."

"As for that celestial being, I did not kill him. He disintegrated and entered the cycle of reincarnation. Even if I had all the advantages of timing and location and tried my best, I could do nothing about it."

Upon hearing this, the white-robed king shook his head slightly, "There is indeed a difference in realm. To be honest, even I am wary of you for being able to achieve this."

"Although the celestial beings descended to the mortal realm and were suppressed by this world, their strength is beyond doubt."

"To be honest, I'm also curious about how you did it."

Chen Yuan didn't say much, "It was just luck."

The white-robed king didn't say much about this, but his tone was full of hidden meaning: "Many people are looking for you now. It's not a wise move for your primordial spirit to travel."

As he spoke, the white-robed king waved his sleeve, and the surrounding environment instantly changed.

They were originally in mid-air, but now they appeared on the balcony outside a pavilion. From a distance, they could see a half-broken plaque on the pavilion that still read "Patrolling the Heavens".

This is not an illusion, but a real scene.

With a casual wave of his hand, the king could teleport away without anyone noticing, demonstrating his unfathomable supernatural powers.

With his feet firmly planted on the solid wooden planks, Chen Yuan's initial wariness subsided. He glanced at the white-robed king standing a few feet away by a fence and frowned slightly.

"What you just said seemed to have a deeper meaning?"

He stepped forward, his every step graceful and extraordinary.

The white-robed king rolled up his sleeves, waved to the several demonic figures who had sensed the intrusion of powerful enemies and were rushing over from afar, then turned his head, his gaze deep and mysterious.

"Think about it from another perspective: what would you do if those celestial beings from the lower realms just descended and discovered that someone could kill them?"

Faced with this question, Chen Yuan's eyes flashed with golden light as he gave his answer, speaking in a slightly deep voice, "Either stay far away, or nip the danger in the bud."

After saying that, the golden light in his eyes turned into dark ink, somewhat intimidating. "Senior, are you saying that a celestial being will choose to attack me?"

“That’s right!” The white-robed king, his sleeves flowing like clouds, slung them behind his back, took two steps, and stared directly at the golden light in Chen Yuan’s eyes.
"I know all too well."

“These things are like a cycle, repeating themselves over and over again. I did the same thing many years ago.”

"It's just for the sake of the celestial beings' majesty, there's no other reason, hehe."

As he spoke, the white-robed king spoke calmly and even chuckled, his eyes becoming even more sinister.

However, the hidden information inside set off alarm bells in Chen Yuan's mind.

"Thank you for the reminder, senior. I understand now, but I just can't figure out why." Chen Yuan's tone was somewhat angry, and he was a little annoyed by this explanation.

"What else could it be? Everyone in the world is driven by profit." "The celestial beings descend to the mortal realm not just because they're bored, but because they want to control more fortune and incense offerings to improve their own cultivation. To put it simply, they spread the Dao. Then they support their own forces, and then there's the change of dynasties and the harvesting of fortune."

"If anyone tries to stop us, we will flatten those obstacles, just like people like you. Then, the heavens and the human race will fight each other to determine a winner."

“They dislike an anomaly like you the most.”

The white-robed king spoke in a flat tone, as if he were talking about something insignificant.

He was one of them back then.

These words were simple and straightforward, yet extremely jarring. Upon hearing them, the golden light in Chen Yuan's eyes grew increasingly sharp.

"This is still the best-case scenario." At this moment, the white-robed king said another sentence, and the situation began to change.

His gaze deepened, and he chuckled, "This is just a fight between people. You should know that there are many more in the lower realms than just these. There are the Ten Fiends from back then, and other alien races as well."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan's eyelids finally twitched, his golden eyes shifted to the side, and he immediately spoke.
"Speaking of this matter, I was in seclusion at the time, trying to break through to the Martial Saint realm. When I came out, I was already in a spatial turbulence. It took a lot of effort to get out. I don't know what happened during that time. Senior said that you would open the passage to the lower realm, so you must have personally participated in the changes. I want to ask, what is this passage to the lower realm?"

"How many celestial beings actually descended?"

Chen Yuan emphasized the last sentence.

This was actually why Chen Yuan specifically sought out this monarch: to obtain more intelligence from this "person who experienced it firsthand" so that he could plan his next move, given that Shu was facing an unprecedented upheaval.

The news he received from this white-robed king shocked him far beyond his expectations.

But it also made him feel fortunate that he had come.

Upon hearing his question, the white-robed king's black pupils flashed with a white light, but his expression remained unchanged. He simply turned around and said, "If you want to know, come with me!"

"Where?"

"The Ten Thousand Mountains!" the white-robed king said slowly, then lifted his foot and took a step forward.

Dao patterns appeared beneath his feet, and then Chen Yuan felt his vision rapidly shift.

Appearing in the sky above the southern city, a piercing, mournful sound immediately filled the air, like a demonic chant.

Beneath his feet was the very scene of carnage, where demons were thrown into the alchemy furnace, subjected to a fiery refining process, their flesh and blood washed away, and then thrown into the blood pool, where they were dragged into the bloody water.

The scene was incredibly terrifying and eerie, but Chen Yuan's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he didn't feel any discomfort.

Having his hands stained with demonic blood, and having led troops to fight these demons for years, if he were to show them mercy, who would show mercy to his comrades?

"Senior, you've refined these demons, what is this?"

He was a little curious.

"Refine the demonic bones to replenish my own bone soldiers. Of course, their essence and blood can enhance my strength."

The white-robed king, facing the towering resentment beneath his feet, remained expressionless and offered a brief explanation.

It means to amass troops and absorb the essence of demons to strengthen oneself.

Chen Yuan discerned something else in this: it seemed the king was plotting something.

He's making plans; what about the other kings?

Could they be making similar plans? Could these rulers extend their reach to the Shu region?
He hadn't forgotten that these kings were no longer the celestial beings they once were; their aura carried an evil quality.

This served as a wake-up call for Chen Yuan.

At that moment, the white-robed king raised his hand and pointed it at the blood pool beneath his feet from a distance.

Immediately, the blood pool beneath their feet roared and surged, then a pillar of blood shot out from it, slamming directly into the opponent's feet, followed by a loud clang.

The pillar of blood burst open, transforming into streaks of crimson veins that rapidly meandered beneath the white-robed king's feet, bearing mysterious patterns.

Upon seeing this, Chen Yuan tore a small slit in the flesh between his eyebrows, and his third eye darted around, looking down at his feet.

It's a formation!
It rippled with spatial fluctuations.

The formation was quickly completed; in just five or six breaths, it transformed into a crimson teleportation array, about a mile in size.

As the buzzing reached its peak, the white-robed king raised his hand and flicked his sleeve. His figure was pulled by the blood-red light, transforming into a long, illusory shadow that shot upwards into the sky.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Yuan also felt the space around him being pulled, and a small cyan-gold phantom appeared on his body, which was then enveloped by the space.

The next second, his figure shot into the sky!

After about half a cup of tea's time, Chen Yuan's body relaxed, and he experienced a noticeable feeling of weightlessness.

Then, his vision blurred, and his powerful five senses instantly returned to normal, giving him complete control over a radius of dozens of miles around him.

He appeared on a dilapidated mountain.

Half of the mountain collapsed, revealing a gray and desolate landscape.

The white-robed monarch appeared in mid-air about a mile away beside him, looking towards the east.

Chen Yuan glanced at it, and the golden light in his pupils suddenly turned into black specks.

In the distance, he saw a huge hole torn open in the sky, so vast that its edge was nowhere in sight.

The sky seemed to tilt in half, and within that enormous hole, the stars were shattered, turning into countless heavenly fires that descended upon the world. Terrifying lightning danced across the sky, as if the world was about to be destroyed. Space was in a state of extreme chaos. Below the hole, countless broken mountains and trees floated, moved, and collided in mid-air, with endless rumbling sounds.

As for the earth, it had long been torn apart, broken and collapsed, turning into an abyss from which scalding magma leaped!

This vast expanse of land was devoid of life.

It was a scene resembling the end of the world!

Upon seeing this shocking scene, Chen Yuan immediately realized that this was probably the forbidden land of demons known as the City of Sin, located between Yinshan and Xiaocishan.

However, this forbidden area has now been destroyed!

The resulting energy fluctuations caused the earth to tremble and the land to be utterly destroyed. (End of Chapter)