In the western regions of Great Shang, there are numerous dangerous mountains and treacherous waters, making the terrain strategically significant.

Between mountains and rivers, Great Shang established multiple military strongholds as barriers against the barbarians.

Azure Dragon Pass is located among the vast mountains in the western part of Great Shang. It is also one of the main passes leading to Chaoge City, the capital of Great Shang Country.

The General in charge of this pass is named Zhang Guifang, who recently took office.

This new young general, since recently arriving at Azure Dragon Pass to assume the post of General, made it a point to lead his soldiers out of the city every day.

Typically, they would leave in the morning and return in the evening.

Moreover, upon returning, they frequently escorted numerous prisoners.

Initially, everyone thought he was going out to suppress bandits, and greatly praised him.

Later, it became known that the prisoners he brought back were actually the common villagers from nearby villages of Azure Dragon Pass.

He led his troops out of the city not to suppress bandits, but to patrol the various villages around Azure Dragon Pass. Once he found anyone spreading the doctrine of the Western Sect, he would arrest them without hesitation and lock them up in the dungeons.

In the jurisdiction of Azure Dragon Pass, spreading the doctrine of the Western Sect is a grave crime.

To be precise, in most territories of Great Shang, spreading the teachings of the Western Sect is considered a serious offense.

Because the military and officials in these areas all have, more or less, ties with the Jie Sect.

And in the Great Shang Dynasty, there are even more people involved with the Jie Sect.

Simply put, the territory of Great Shang is the domain of the Jie Sect; the Western Sect stepping in to preach is considered crossing the line.

The disciples of the Jie Sect in Great Shang naturally cannot let this happen.

Zhang Guifang is one of them.

He was actually just a youth when a passing disciple of the Jie Sect taught him a spell, making him not truly a member of the Jie Sect. However, relying on this spell, he quickly rose to prominence after joining the military, and was exceptionally promoted to General of the Azure Dragon Pass not long ago.

All this was indeed because he was outstanding, but another reason was his past connection with the Jie Sect, and within the ranks of the Great Shang military, many high positions are held by disciples of the Jie Sect.

It is precisely because of this connection that he swiftly rose to high rank, taking command of a pass at a young age, no different from a high-ranking frontier official.

Zhang Guifang was well aware of the reason, so after taking office, he prioritized dealing with the preaching activities of the Western Sect as a major issue.

This morning, as dawn just broke, Zhang Guifang was already fully armed, mounted on a tall horse, holding a Mortar Pestle Gun, leading a large group of soldiers out of Azure Dragon Pass as usual.

Iron hooves clanged, dust and smoke arose!

The villagers they passed all retreated to the sides of the road, not daring to give him more than a glance.

However, not long after Zhang Guifang and his men left Azure Dragon Pass, a golden light suddenly descended from the sky onto the official road ahead, exploding on contact!

The next instant, a huge statue of a god materialized out of nowhere, held aloft in mid-air by rolling dust!

This statue looked majestic and dignified, its towering stature seeming to merge with the distant mountains. Its face was sculpted by the winds and frost, deep wrinkles revealing traces of years and wisdom.

"It's the Mountain God!"

"The Mountain God has come!"

The villagers exclaimed.

Zhang Guifang's eyebrows twitched, and he said with a cold sneer, "Audacious demon, how dare you block my army's path!"

"Boom!"

As if to respond to him, the statue of the god thundered down!

The ground trembled!

Suddenly, a deep voice was heard.

"General Zhang, you oppress the common folk relentlessly, and the dungeons under Azure Dragon Pass are overcrowded. As the Mountain God of Azure Dragon Mountain, I can no longer stand to watch this, hence I've come today to seek justice from you..."

"Ridiculous!"

Zhang Guifang didn't let the Mountain God finish speaking and interrupted him sharply, saying coldly, "You must have joined the Western Sect, don't play tricks here, otherwise I will certainly not spare you!"

"Can you kill me? Do you have the ability?"

The Mountain God sneered, with wisps of purple mist rising around him.

Zhang Guifang's pupils constricted, holding the Mortar Pestle Gun in his hands pointed forward, shouting fiercely,

"Form up!"

"Attack!"

The statue of the Mountain God contorted and expanded within the purple mist, its eyes emitting bursts of golden light, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a flesh and blood body!

He had a green face and sharp teeth, disheveled hair, was over thirty feet tall, with exceedingly sturdy limbs, and even a pair of wings on his back, lightly flapping them raised a great wind, blowing passersby far away into disarray.

At the same time.

Various puppet-like objects fell from his body to the ground, which then transformed into hundreds of mountain spirits and wild creatures, all lunging towards Zhang Guifang and his men with bared fangs and brandished claws.

Clearly, the Mountain God had not acted impulsively in blocking the road, but was well-prepared.

His objective was to assassinate Zhang Guifang.

"General Zhang, go on your way in peace now!"

The Mountain God sneered, a ten-zhang long Crescent Moon Spade appearing in his hand, smashing down towards Zhang Guifang's head.

At this moment, the soldiers of Azure Dragon Pass had already formed their charging formation, but the appearance of hundreds of mountain spirits and wild creatures was like a pack of hungry wolves rushing in, scattering their formation.

Although these mountain spirits and wild monsters had not attained the Dao, and mortal soldiers holding weapons could also kill them, the problem was who could deal with that Mountain God?

Zhang Guifang took a deep breath and shouted loudly, "Azure Dragon Mountain God, kneel down and pray for mercy at once!"

The Mountain God's tall figure immediately froze.

Under the watchful eyes of the public, he actually bent his knees and slowly bowed towards Zhang Guifang.

Zhang Guifang's expression slightly stabilized, it seemed that the spells of the Jie Sect he practiced were indeed irresistible even to the Mountain God.

However, before he could rejoice, he saw a golden light descend from the sky, enveloping the Mountain God within it.

Although the golden light lasted only for a brief moment, Zhang Guifang felt a sense of foreboding in his heart.

Sure enough, as the golden light faded, the Mountain God, who was about to bow, suddenly straightened his back, staring angrily at Zhang Guifang with eyes that seemed to spurt fire.

"How detestable!"

The Mountain God roared angrily and swung the Crescent Moon Spade towards Zhang Guifang.

"Do you think you can stop me with these left-handed arts of the Jie Sect? Today, you are doomed!"

"Left-handed arts?"

Before he finished speaking, a cold, abrupt voice rang out.

Struck by lightning, not only did the Mountain God drop the Crescent Moon Spade, but his huge body, ten meters tall, also staggered back several steps.

When he steadied himself, he saw a plump young Daoist appear between himself and Zhang Guifang, wearing a white Daoist robe as pure as clouds, his round and somewhat naive face covered with a benign smile, looking very pleasing.

At this moment, the young Daoist looked at the Azure Dragon Mountain God, "You just said that Jie Sect is a left-handed path? The Tao you cultivate is merely a minor path of incense offerings, yet you dare to show off before the orthodox Xuanmen, who gave you the courage?"

The Mountain God was both shocked and furious, and subconsciously looked up at the sky, then looked at the young Daoist with a somewhat fierce yet hesitant voice, "Are you also a member of the Jie Sect?"

"Hmph, you are not worthy to inquire about my origins," the young Daoist snorted coldly and waved his hand lightly, a divine light seemed to flash in his palm.

In that instant, the air seemed to solidify, and then the towering figure of the Azure Dragon Mountain God and many mountain spirits and wild monsters began to rapidly dissipate, turning into a pile of flying ashes in a blink of an eye.

The wind blew, scattering the ashes, leaving only the tranquil peak of the mountain.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Guifang and others were all petrified.

They stared dumbfounded at the young Daoist.

The power demonstrated by the other party filled them with a reverent admiration that made them feel insignificant and humble.

Zhang Guifang swallowed, looked at the young Daoist and respectfully said, "Disciple Zhang Guifang of the Jie Sect thanks the Immortal for your help, may I dare to ask for your esteemed name?"

"I am..." the young Daoist coughed and smiled, "I am just a passing Sword Immortal."

After a pause, he looked at Zhang Guifang and said, "What you did earlier was good, but your skills were lacking. It seems like you have practiced the Name Calling God Shaking Technique, I will teach you the Soul Falling Skill."

Zhang Guifang was overjoyed and bowed deeply, "Thank you, Immortal, for imparting the skill!"

The young Daoist waved his hand gently towards him, said "Okay," and then transformed into a white light rising into Yun Xiao.

In the distance, a hearty laugh could be heard, "The disciple of the Western Sect ahead, don't run anymore, let's sit down and talk."

A surprised voice came from the Heavenly Vault, "Who are you exactly?"

The young Daoist's voice came through, "I just said, I'm just a passing Sword Immortal."

"Sword Immortal?"

Above the Nine Heavens, the clouds rolled and the figure of the Western Sect disciple was unclear, but Zhang Guifang could imagine his bewildered and astonished state.

"Indeed!"

"Indeed, a Sword Immortal!"

"Only with a clear breeze and a three-foot sword can one sever the long rainbow falling in Western Heaven!"

Accompanying his words, a sword light seemed to fall.

The sharp sword light swept the heavens and Earth!

The clouds above the Nine Heavens split in two, revealing the azure sky and the bright sun.

"Puff!"

A spray of blood rained from the sky, signifying that an Immortal God from the West had perished.

"What a carefree and bold Sword Immortal, definitely a predecessor of my Jie Sect!"

Zhang Guifang was exhilarated, continuously bowing towards the sky.

However, the young Daoist had already disappeared without a trace.

Unknown to him, hundreds of miles away at the southern foothills of Azure Dragon Mountain, the young Daoist alighted on the peak and took out a scroll of silk which he slowly unfolded before him.

On the silk were written many verses filled with unrestrained and bold phrases such as "Holding the sun and moon, picking stars, there's no one like me in the world," and "Today, it is only me, the young man, daring to test the edge against Heaven and Earth."

The young Daoist found the verse he just recited, "Only with a clear breeze and a three-foot sword can one sever the long rainbow falling in Western Heaven," and marked a tick with his finger behind it, then nodded in satisfaction.

"Good, the verses Yu Yuan helped write truly captured my intent!"

"This identity of a Sword Immortal suits me well."

"Perhaps, this experiment might help me break through the obsessions in my heart and truly step over that threshold..."

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