The Annihilation of Snowdragon Mountain

Yuchi Xiyue had learned that Ji Ning’s fellow disciples from the Black-White College had arrived, and so she specially prepared a banquet to entertain these disciples.

On that same day, in the distant Anchan Commandery, a massive ship adorned with golden floral patterns was tearing through the air currents, howling as it flew. Upon the great ship stood a dense crowd of golden-armored imperial guards. On the deck itself stood nine captains in black armor, each of them exuding a deep, unfathomable aura.

“Ahead is Snowdragon Mountain,” one of the men in black robes said with a smile.

“We must trouble you, Daoist Luoxiao,” one of the nine captains said.

“This is a trivial matter. To have the opportunity to do something for Prince Yan is my good fortune,” Beishan Luoxiao said, flattering them even as he sighed to himself. “Snowdragon Mountain, Snowdragon Mountain. You had the misfortune to offend Prince Yan. Even if Prince Yan was down on his luck in the past, that’s not something your minor Snowdragon Mountain could afford to offend. This time, Prince Yan has dispatched a full nine squads of Golden-armored Imperial Guards. It seems he truly bears a grudge against Snowdragon Mountain. I wonder what exactly they did back then…”

Yuchi Snow and Yuchi Shan’s deaths. Dong Qi was the mastermind!

Both Ji Ning and Yuchi Xiyue naturally hated him fiercely. Prince Yan was well aware of his granddaughter’s feelings, and so he had immediately ordered nine squads of Golden-armored Imperial Guards to set out for Anchan Commandery. They had first gone to the Anchan Northmont clan and said, “Our Prince once roamed the world and formed a great enmity with Snowdragon Mountain. Today, he has ordered us to destroy Snowdragon Mountain. We ask the Northmont clan for your convenience.”

When the Anchan Northmont clan heard this—destroy Snowdragon Mountain?

It was a minor sect without even a single Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal. The Anchan Northmont clan naturally wouldn’t concern themselves with it. Moreover, Prince Yan had acted with propriety, coming to inform them in person beforehand. The Anchan Northmont clan immediately arranged for Beishan Luoxiao to personally guide the Golden-armored Imperial Guards to Snowdragon Mountain.

“We’ve arrived.” Beishan Luoxiao pointed downward.

Through the mist and clouds, they could vaguely make out a chain of connected peaks, three of which were exceptionally towering and treacherous, far surpassing the others in height.

“Snowdragon Mountain?” The nine captains gazed down at the mountain gate and nodded slightly.

“Seize Dong Qi first, then destroy Snowdragon Mountain,” one of the captains said.

Boom!

The great ship dove straight down, carrying an endless oppressive might as it came to a halt directly above the Snowdragon Mountain sect. This immediately caused an uproar within Snowdragon Mountain. Who would dare to park a warship directly above their sect? Such arrogance!

“I wonder which Daoist friend has graced our Snowdragon Mountain?” Boom! Boom! Boom! Three figures shot into the air—the three Primal Daoists of Snowdragon Mountain: Snowfeather Daoist, Cold Sun Daoist, and Blackflood Daoist.

As soon as they flew up, they saw the dazzling, densely packed golden-armored soldiers. The terrifying pressure they exuded made the three Primal Daoists’ hearts tremble.

But when they spotted the black-robed Beishan Luoxiao, Blackflood Daoist quickly said, “Senior Luoxiao, why have you come to our Snowdragon Mountain? If you have any matters, you need only send word and we would have come to you. There was no need for you to personally visit.”

“Senior Luoxiao has graced our Snowdragon Mountain. May I ask what the matter is? If you have any orders, we will do our utmost to carry them out,” Cold Sun Daoist hurriedly added.

All three Primal Daoists were extremely deferential.

“Gentlemen?” Beishan Luoxiao looked towards the nine captains beside him. All nine captains were Loose Immortals.

“Found him.” One of the captains’ eyes lit up.

Whoosh.

He vanished from where he stood, appearing directly within the Snowdragon Mountain sect. In another blink, he had already returned, carrying a white-robed youth in his grip. The youth’s face was deathly pale, his entire body trembling, utterly terrified.

“Dong Qi!” Cold Sun Daoist cried out.

“Grandfather, grandfather!” The white-robed youth was panic-stricken. “My Zifu is destroyed! My Zifu has been destroyed!”

Cold Sun Daoist’s expression immediately changed, a flicker of anger in his eyes. But he forcibly suppressed his fury and said, “Senior Luoxiao, what is the meaning of this? How can you directly seize a disciple of my Snowdragon Mountain? If my sect has offended you in any way, please speak plainly. If punishment or death is warranted, my Snowdragon Mountain will naturally give you an explanation.”

“These are not my men.” Beishan Luoxiao shook his head. “You people truly have no discernment. You can’t even recognize the most formidable Gold-ranked Imperial Guards of the Grand Xia imperial capital!”

“Gold-ranked Imperial Guards?” Cold Sun Daoist, Blackflood Daoist, and Snowfeather Daoist were all greatly shocked.

Imperial guards?

In the Anchan Commandery, they were merely a run-of-the-mill sect, content to rule their own corner. They didn’t even have a single Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal. Naturally, they knew very little about the distant Grand Xia imperial capital. Although Blackflood Daoist had once traveled to the capital, he had never even seen imperial guards before, much less the elite among them, the Gold-ranked Imperial Guards. They had assumed the golden-armored soldiers were troops of the Anchan Northmont clan.

“Generals,” Blackflood Daoist quickly said, “if my Snowdragon Mountain has offended you in any way, please speak plainly.”

Cold Sun Daoist and Snowfeather Daoist were also panicking.

“We have been ordered to seize Dong Qi and destroy your Snowdragon Mountain,” one of the captains said coldly.

“Seize Dong Qi? Destroy Snowdragon Mountain?”

Blackflood Daoist and the others felt as though a thunderbolt had struck them. They were completely dumbfounded.

Destroy their sect?

Heavens!

They were a sect with a long heritage! Why, for no reason at all, were they suddenly going to be annihilated by the Gold-ranked Imperial Guards?

“Cold Sun!” Blackflood Daoist saw the captured Dong Qi and instantly understood. He glared at Cold Sun Daoist and roared, “This is all your fault! You spoiled that Dong Qi rotten. He has harmed countless people outside, even molesting female disciples within the sect! And you kept protecting him! This Dong Qi must have offended some great figure, and now he’s brought annihilation upon us all!”

Cold Sun Daoist’s face was also ashen.

Snowfeather Daoist, however, pleaded, “You may punish Dong Qi however you wish, and you may demand anything from my Snowdragon Mountain. Just please, give my sect a path to survival!”

“Gentlemen.” The captain who had seized Dong Qi said coldly, “Begin the attack.”

With that command, squads of Gold-ranked Imperial Guards flew out from the great ship.

“Activate the mountain-guarding formation!” Blackflood Daoist roared, his voice ringing in the ears of every disciple.

“Seal it!”

“Snowdragon Ascension Formation!”

The formations and restrictions left behind by generations of Snowdragon Mountain’s predecessors were instantly triggered. Countless seals manifested, mist appeared, and even snow-white divine dragons coiled around the peaks, circling them. The entire foundation of the sect had been activated. Even if a Loose Immortal personally arrived, breaking through this mountain gate would be no easy task.

Boom~~~

High in the sky, however, eight golden divine dragons appeared.

Each of these eight golden dragons stretched for ten thousand li, their oppressive might spreading in every direction.

It was indeed difficult for an ordinary Loose Immortal to break through the mountain gate of Snowdragon Mountain. But a single squad of Gold-ranked Imperial Guards consisted of one Loose Immortal leading forty-nine Primal Daoists, all wearing Dao-soldier armor. When they combined their power into a divine dragon, their might was at least equivalent to ten ordinary Loose Immortals! And here, there were nine full squads!

Boom!

The golden divine dragons coiled and writhed. With a simple sweep of their tails, they smashed through layers of seals and restrictions as easily as popping soap bubbles.

One of the captains held the captive Dong Qi, looking down from above.

The other eight squads had all transformed into golden divine dragons, launching their assault on the Snowdragon Mountain below. With absolutely overwhelming power, they directly crushed and shattered every formation and restriction. As for the so-called illusion formations? These divine dragons were each ten thousand li in size; a single tremor was enough to send the entire formation collapsing.

“This… this…” Cold Sun Daoist led his disciples, forming a massive snow-white dragon.

But when he saw the might of those golden divine dragons, he was too terrified to even attempt a defense.

A snow-dragon formed by a single Primal Daoist leading a group of Wanxiang Adepts and Zifu Disciples… going up against a divine dragon formed by a Loose Immortal leading forty-nine Primal Daoists? They simply weren’t on the same level. The gap was far too vast.

“Dong Qi, Dong Qi… just who did you offend?” Cold Sun Daoist was both furious and despairing.

“It’s over.” Snowfeather Daoist led his disciples, but the moment they clashed with the enemy, more than half of his disciples were killed or wounded. The snow-dragon completely collapsed. Snowfeather Daoist revealed an expression of utter despair. “Snowdragon Mountain is finished. Regret… regret that my sect’s rules were not strict, and that our disciples ran rampant, bringing disaster upon us all. We have finally offended a great figure.”

Boom.

Snowfeather Daoist instantly exploded, causing a tremor in the surrounding elemental energy. He had chosen to self-detonate, so that at least his soul could reincarnate.

Snowfeather Daoist self-detonated. Cold Sun Daoist was killed. Blackflood Daoist was killed.

One peak after another throughout Snowdragon Mountain collapsed entirely. Under the concentrated might of the eight ten-thousand-li divine dragons, the entire Snowdragon Mountain region was transformed. Some places sank to form lakes, while others rose to become plateaus. In short, there was no longer a single true mountain to be seen in the area.

“This… this…” Dong Qi was completely dumbfounded.

“Daoist Luoxiao, we have troubled you. We will now return directly to the imperial capital.”

“It was nothing. Snowdragon Mountain brought ruin upon itself by offending Prince Yan. No one else is to blame.”

“Then we will take our leave.”

“Farewell.”

The group of Gold-ranked Imperial Guards, along with the captive Dong Qi, boarded the great ship and departed. Beishan Luoxiao gazed at the spot where Snowdragon Mountain once stood, now transformed into lakes and plateaus, and couldn’t help shaking his head. “Such a minor sect, with laws that are far from strict. Their disciples ran rampant, bringing calamity, and naturally, the sect’s fortunes were bound to decline. One day, they were fated to be destroyed. How laughable. Even the Grand Xia royal clan has created the Yinglong Guard to hunt down and execute those with heavy karmic sin. And yet, these minor sects do as they please, indulging in anarchy.”

Whoosh. Beishan Luoxiao vanished into thin air, teleporting away.

Within the Prince Yan Estate in the Grand Xia imperial capital.

Snowflakes were drifting down as a group of Gold-ranked Imperial Guards entered the manor.

“Brothers, go and rest first. Keep a close watch on that Dong Qi. I will go report to Her Highness the Commandery Princess immediately,” one of the captains said before hurrying off to see the princess.

A feast had been laid out along a wide, covered corridor.

Ji Ning, Yuchi Xiyue, and Mu Northson and the others were all there, enjoying the snowy scenery, eating, and chatting.

“Your Highness.” The captain appeared, saying respectfully, “The prisoner has been brought.”

Ji Ning and Yuchi Xiyue both held their breath the moment they saw the captain. When they heard, ‘The prisoner has been brought,’ the two of them couldn’t help but rise to their feet.

“Everyone, Ji Ning and I have some matters to attend to. We’ll return shortly,” Yuchi Xiyue quickly said.