Before them lay the Beast Clan’s lair, the Jueji Forest, but the sand right here felt unsettlingly strange. Xuan Hu asked Zuo Wencheng beside him, dismounting his horse as well to get a closer look.

Though Zuo Wencheng possessed no martial arts, his insight was sharp. After a moment’s thought, he replied, “The Jueji Gobi is no ordinary desert. This sand flows; anyone who steps on it will sink. And among the Beast Clan are many masters of sand warfare. There must be an ambush beneath.”

Xuan Hu nodded in affirmation. While the Human Army was comprised of highly skilled martial artists, some inevitably lacked Qinggong (lightness skill). Even those with decent Qinggong could not traverse such a vast desert, and with hidden troops, acting rashly now would surely lead to heavy losses. He pondered for a moment, “Since that is the case, I shall test how formidable this Gobi truly is.”

“My Lord, absolutely not! If anything were to befall the Lord, who could bear the responsibility?” Zuo Wencheng bowed deeply. “Perhaps the Black Sword Guards with higher martial cultivation should go instead.”

“What could possibly stop me!” Xuan Hu, brimming with confidence, drew his sword and leaped straight into the Gobi. The moment he charged into the desert, a tremendous swirl of sand erupted, startling everyone. The previously calm sand suddenly began emitting rustling sounds. Xuan Hu steadied his footing with practiced ease, yet he already felt the ground beneath him collapsing.

“Hmph! So that’s how it is.” Xuan Hu held no one in contempt, let alone mere sand. He lifted the Luolei Jinghong (Falling Thunder Startling Swan), instantly sweeping up all the sand beneath his feet. He leaped into the air, unleashing Wanjian Qingcheng (Ten Thousand Swords Overwhelm the City), which instantly blasted a deep pit where he had just stood. Yet, the scattered sand was not inert; as it fell back onto the Gobi, it rapidly filled the deep crater again—truly miraculous.

“Ah!” Xuan Hu felt a chill of strangeness at the sight. When he lowered one foot onto the sand surface again, another collapse ensued, like a massive beast opening its maw, impossible to escape. “Hah!” In this moment of urgency, he resolutely activated his Kuang Meridian and shot upwards, soaring into the sky to break free from the quicksand’s embrace.

“Kill!” Unexpectedly, the Beast Clan members hidden beneath the quicksand surged out en masse, attempting to intercept and slay Xuan Hu in mid-air. Dozens of figures rushed up from below like tigers pouncing on their prey.

“Wanjian Bafang!” Xuan Hu uttered coldly. Suspended in the air, he unleashed the essence of the Myriad Sword Art, instantly shredding that group of Beast Clan members into dust. For a brief time, specks of bloody rain mixed with the quicksand fell from the sky. “A group of overreaching fools! Surrender immediately!”

It turned out there were many ambushes beneath the quicksand. Knowing the terrifying power of the Myriad Sword Xuan Hu, they dared not emerge again. The flowing sand had little effect on them; their sole purpose was the ambush.

“Swish…” Xuan Hu had no choice but to randomly send sword light weaving into the sandy pit. With his power, he could easily slay those individuals, but the Myriad Sword City army faced a dilemma crossing this Gobi.

“What should we do!” Xuan Hu returned to the front lines, his mood extremely anxious. The sun was high at noon, and all the soldiers, including himself, were drenched in sweat.

“My Lord, there is no need to panic.” Zuo Wencheng, acting as the strategist, remained composed. He glanced at the time and smiled, “Why not let the soldiers rest for a few hours before proceeding?”

“Rest!” Xuan Hu caught the knowing look in Zuo Wencheng’s eyes and realized he had devised a clever plan. “Zuo Wencheng, just state your strategy. I am impatient; don’t play games with me.”

Zuo Wencheng naturally understood this. He smiled, fanning himself, “As I have heard, the peculiarity of the Jueji Gobi lies in its climate. During the day, the sun scorches, but at night, the cold is unbearable. These sands only possess fluidity when the temperature is high. Once night falls, they become almost as cold as ice. If we march at night, let alone walking as if on flat ground, even the Beast Clan hidden beneath the dunes will be forced out to face us directly.”

“Heh heh, Zuo Wencheng is indeed learned, knowing even the intricacies of the Beast Clan’s territory.” Xuan Hu was pleased but still held reservations. “The cold at night is unbearable, and our Human soldiers are not people accustomed to living in cold regions. Can they endure it?”

“My Lord is a martial practitioner; martial practitioners have inner energy to protect them. Though their skill levels vary, those selected as Black Sword Guards should possess this cold resistance capability,” Zuo Wencheng had planned everything out. “I will select those with deep inner energy foundations to cross the Gobi with you, my Lord. I trust the majority of our army will be fine.”

“En!” Xuan Hu nodded in agreement. “As long as we can charge directly into the Jueji Forest, even if it’s just me alone, I can annihilate the Beast Clan.”

“The entire army, rest!” Zuo Wencheng knew Xuan Hu’s arrogance wasn't baseless. In just a few days, he had witnessed the Second Lord’s martial prowess surpass that of the previous Great Lord; this was something he found questionable. However, as the Human Clan’s Wencheng, if the Myriad Sword Xuan Hu could truly destroy the people of the other three clans with his own strength, it might be a blessing for the Human race. Thus, he arranged for the officers to begin screening everyone’s strength, selecting the elite warriors to prepare for the advance after nightfall.

Far away in Hantian Valley, the Yizijian Jun (One-Word Sword Lord) and Yefeng Baiming (Night Wind Sorrowful Cry) marched, one taking the bright path and the other the shadow, leading elite archers. Because Hantian Valley was very high, many Human soldiers lacked the stamina and felt short of breath, a factor their commanders had not anticipated.

“If this continues, we will be utterly exhausted before we even reach the Wing Clan’s garrison in Hantian Valley,” Jian Jun was merely a swordsman, not skilled in marching or large-scale battles.

Yefeng Baiming was equally helpless and could only complain, “If it were just you and me sent to strike directly at the Abyss Heavenly Sovereign’s head, it shouldn’t be difficult. But leading these useless followers behind us—I have no solution.”

“How about we leave the soldiers here to wait, and the two of us go?” Jian Jun also harbored this thought, confident that his swift One-Word Sword Moves combined with Yefeng Baiming’s illusions would be more than enough for one Abyss Heavenly Sovereign.

“Xuantian Yifeng (Mystic Heaven Wing Wind)!” At that moment, a voice echoed from the deep valley, followed by a relentless hurricane like blades scraping stone. The Wing Clan members had all unfurled their wings, covering the sky like a deluge.

“Ambush! Quick, form ranks!” Yizijian Jun merely roared and flew his sword toward the heavens, intending to slay the Wing Clan multitude. He unleashed his One-Word Sword Move, piercing through several walls of feather-swords and landing above the Wing Clan members in the gorge. Marks of several straight lines appeared and vanished across the sky, followed by immediate streams of blood raining down.

“Ah! Ya.” Although the Human archers possessed some skill, it was far inferior to Jian Jun’s. The Wing Clan’s feathered arrows descended rapidly, already disrupting their formations. Most of them never even found the chance to raise their bows before being pierced through the heart by long, slender feathers.

“Woo…” A sense of lethal swiftness pervaded the air. While Yefeng Baiming’s sword style wasn't as domineering as Yizijian Jun’s, he also vanished into the gorge, only to reappear a moment later, now wielding star-shaped darts that he threw towards the myriad Wing Clan members overhead, resulting in another wave of (miserable, tragic) falls and cries.

“Hahahaha! Does Myriad Sword Xuan Hu think destroying my Wing Clan is so easy? Today, I shall have the Human Army perish in Hantian Valley.” The Abyss Heavenly Sovereign, naturally triumphant, soared high in the Xuan Tian (Mystic Heaven), looking down upon the valley floor. “The siege of Myriad Sword City severely damaged my Wing Clan, but with the innate advantage here, no matter how high the martial arts of the Human race, they cannot take to the sky! Kill them fiercely!”

The Wing Clan warriors always possessed a sense of superiority, showing no sympathy for the mournful cries echoing in the valley. They suddenly flapped their wings rapidly, and after a series of ‘swish-swish’ sounds, dense feathers (stabbed/pierced) towards the ground, embedding themselves in everyone’s bodies.

“Heh heh, you only have the skill to play with those underlings.” A cold voice echoed through the sky. Yizijian Jun’s body, along with his sword’s silhouette, flashed into the Ninth Heaven. Before he finished speaking, the path of his advance was marked by wails, as every Wing Clan member fell with blood spurting from their necks.

“How is this possible? How can a mere Human reach such heights?” The Abyss Heavenly Sovereign flapped his wings, ascending further, utterly astonished by Yizijian Jun’s capabilities.

At this moment, Yizijian Jun remained suspended in the air, raising one hand and delivering a single palm strike, withdrawing his treasured sword. His form, mingling with the sword’s shadow, cut diagonally through the Wing Clan crowd. Not only did he intercept and slay many targets midway, but he also caught up to the speed at which the Heavenly Sovereign was ascending.

“What in the world is happening!” The Heavenly Sovereign was greatly alarmed. He violently shook his twin wings, launching several long, straight feathers towards Jian Jun. Jian Jun gave a cold sneer, showing no intention of dodging. He raised his sword in the Piao Xue (Floating Snow) move—gentle and soft—meeting the descending feathers, stirring up bursts of sparks. Looking closer, the Sovereign’s strange feathers did not fall like arrows like those of other Wing Clan members; his feathers could extend quite far, resembling several blades that could be controlled freely in force and direction.

“No matter what, how can an ordinary Human remain in the sky for so long!” The Sovereign was furious. His innate Wing Clan superiority could not tolerate a wingless creature moving freely before him without any visible means of support. He spread his Xuan Tian Wings wider, launching more feathers to stab at Yizijian Jun.

“Stop playing around; now is the time,” Jian Jun glanced behind him as if speaking to someone. His treasured sword rested proudly before his chest; his One-Word Sword Strike technique could surely sever the Sovereign’s head.

“Huanyi Tianxiang (Illusory Wing Soaring Heaven).” It turned out Yefeng Baiming had been lurking behind Jian Jun all along. The reason Jian Jun could hover in the air was entirely due to Yefeng’s unexpected trick. At this moment, he suddenly sprang out from behind Jian Jun and charged straight towards the Abyss Heavenly Sovereign.

“All of you, die!” The enraged Heavenly Sovereign unleashed every feather on his wings, sending a myriad of needles piercing toward the two figures.