Chapter 54 Taking a Risky Move, Crossing the Chencang Pass in Secret

At Qishan Camp, the night was as dark as ink.

The lights in the commander's tent had long been extinguished, but atop the highest watchtower of the camp,

a figure in white stood against the wind, like a solitary crane merging into the night.

Chen Yuan gazed quietly into the distance, where Li Jing's army of eighty thousand lay in continuous camps, brightly lit.

The faint sounds of intentional clamor drifted over, like a massive, clumsy bait cast into the darkness of the East Border.

A series of hurried and slightly disorganized footsteps came from behind him.

Chen Yuan did not turn around; he knew who it was.

"Young Master Chen!"

Huang Yuerong's voice carried a hint of urgency and breathlessness; she had changed out of her soft armor.

She wore only simple, tight-fitting martial attire, but the anxiety between her brows was even greater than when she was on the drill grounds.

"I... I want to go with His Highness the Crown Prince."

She stood three paces behind Chen Yuan, her tone no longer provocative but filled with a pleading resolve.

"My father is trapped at Azure Dragon Pass, his life or death unknown. I cannot simply wait in Chaoge."

Chen Yuan slowly turned around, the moonlight outlining his calm profile. "A surprise force, a thousand-mile raid—it is a path with nine chances of death and only one of life."

"I am not afraid of death!" Huang Yuerong immediately interjected, her phoenix-like eyes burning with fire.

"I grew up in the military; my horsemanship and martial arts won't hold anyone back! I only want to save my father!"

She looked into Chen Yuan's bottomless eyes, remembering the feeling of powerlessness when her intentions were easily seen through on the drill grounds earlier that day.

Her heart tightened.

Her tone softened unconsciously: "Please, let me go. I know the Crown Prince... he will listen to you."

Chen Yuan looked at her for a long time before finally nodding slightly.

"Your spear techniques are bold and sweeping; you would indeed be a fine asset for charging through chaotic ranks."

A flash of joy crossed Huang Yuerong's eyes at the affirmation.

"However,"

Chen Yuan shifted the topic, taking a small silk pouch from his robe and handing it over.

"Take this. Remember, do not open it until the very last moment, when all hope is lost and the army faces total annihilation."

Huang Yuerong was stunned and instinctively took the pouch. It felt very light, as if it contained only a slip of paper.

She looked at Chen Yuan, wanting to ask why, but saw that he had already turned back around, casting his gaze into the deep night without another word.

It was a composure that required no explanation and brook no doubt.

Huang Yuerong gripped the pouch tightly and solemnly tucked it away close to her body.

She gave a deep bow to the white-clad back, then turned and hurried toward the dark assembly point where the departure was imminent.

...

Chen Manor, the neighboring courtyard.

Yunxiao stood by the window, gazing toward Qishan Camp with her elegant brows slightly furrowed.

"Those fellows from the Chan Sect have indeed made their move," Bixiao's voice carried irrepressible anger.

"Sister, that Formation carries the scent of Yuqing Immortal Arts. Though it's faint, it cannot hide from us!"

Qiong Xiao was also pacing nearby, huffing.

"They simply cannot stand to see the Human Race's Luck flourishing. They want to use the pretext of the Investiture of Gods Tribulation to weaken the Great Shang's national destiny. How despicable!"

Yunxiao sighed softly.

"Revered Master has commanded that one must enter the game to protect it. Ziyuan is currently in a Mortal body; we cannot directly intervene. Otherwise, we will attract the attention of the Chan Sect Saints and ruin Ziyuan's entire plan."

"Then what do we do? Just watch?"

Bixiao grew anxious. "The Crown Prince's three thousand Mortal cavalry against an immortal Formation—how is that any different from sending them to their deaths?"

"And that girl from the Huang Family, with such a fiery temper, she'll likely be the first to lose her life!"

Yunxiao shook her head, turned back to her desk, and picked up a thread-bound ancient book.

"I have my ways."

Using her status as the Guardian Female Teacher of the State, she sent a copy of the 'Ancient Geographic Records'—which she had personally annotated—to Chen Yuan's camp, claiming it was for his reference in military planning.

No one knew that within those geographic records, along the ancient trade route the Crown Prince's surprise force would take,

she had quietly marked several crucial Gates of Life and Dead Zones using a special cinnabar.

That cinnabar was indistinguishable to the Mortal eye, yet it contained a trace of faint spiritual energy.

In specific environments, it would provide the map holder with a subconscious intuition.

After finishing this, Yunxiao looked at her two younger sisters.

"That's not enough," Bixiao slapped the table.

"If the Chan Sect sends their disciples to the field personally, these hints won't be enough! I have to go and keep watch myself!"

"I'm going too!"

Qiong Xiao's eyes darted around as she smiled. "Disguising ourselves as Mortals to sneak into the army camp must be fun! I think the position of a cook sounds good—meat to eat every day."

"Then I'll be a groom. I can see how well their warhorses are being raised," Bixiao immediately followed suit.

Yunxiao looked at them and did not stop them.

She knew that this was exactly what Revered Master meant by 'entering the game'.

Not in the name of immortals or gods, but with Mortal bodies.

...

At the hour of the Rat, all was silent.

At the rear of Qishan Camp, an inconspicuous section of the fence was quietly moved aside.

Three thousand dark figures filed out silently.

The men bit on wooden gags and the horses' hooves were wrapped in cloth. Aside from the occasional faint clink of armor, the entire troop moved like ghosts walking the earth.

Crown Prince Zi Shou, clad in dark, tight-fitting armor, rode at the very front, his face filled with irrepressible excitement and determination.

He looked back toward the watchtower. Though he couldn't see the figure clearly, he knew Chen Yuan was watching.

Beside him was Huang Yuerong, also in military attire, holding a silver spear.

There was no feminine shyness on her face, only the coldness and murderous intent of one heading to the battlefield.

At the end of the line, a newly arrived cook was clumsily following a small cart of grain and fodder.

He complained from time to time, only to be glared at by a tall 'groom' responsible for feeding the horses.

This surprise force, carrying the destiny of the Great Shang, thus merged into the boundless night.

Following the ancient trade route on Chen Yuan's map that had been forgotten for a century, they sped toward the heart of Eastern Yi and its unknown dangers.

The ancient path was difficult to traverse.

Rather than a road, it was more like a crack forcibly carved between cliffs and deep valleys.

At its narrowest points, it only allowed one horse to pass; beside it was a bottomless abyss where a single misstep meant being crushed to pieces.

The three thousand light cavalry moved by night and hid by day, drinking from mountain springs when thirsty and gnawing on dry rations when hungry, traversing the towering mountains at an astonishing speed.

On the fifth day, during the darkest hour before dawn,

the troop reached a canyon known as 'Broken Soul Ravine'.

"Halt!"

The scout at the very front suddenly reined in his horse and gave the signal for alert.

Zi Shou urged his horse forward, his expression instantly darkening.

Ahead, the ancient stone beam bridge that should have been there was broken, with massive stones scattered at the bottom of the ravine dozens of yards deep.

The only alternative path along the cliffside had also been completely blocked by a sudden landslide.

Tens of thousands of pounds of boulders and earth were piled together, forming an insurmountable barrier.

"Your Highness, this... this looks like it just collapsed!" A general reported with a grim face after inspecting the site.

"How could it be such a coincidence?"

"Taking a detour will add at least three days. The rations won't last, and we will inevitably expose our movements!"

"Is Heaven truly set on destroying our Great Shang?"

A suppressed commotion broke out among the ranks as an air of despair began to spread.

Zi Shou gripped the reins tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. He looked back at the exhausted soldiers behind him.

A deep sense of powerlessness welled up in his heart.

Chen Yuan had calculated everything, but he hadn't accounted for a natural disaster.

Just as everyone was at their wits' end, Qiong Xiao the cook and Bixiao the groom, who were hidden at the end of the line, exchanged a look.

Bixiao's gaze was cold; on that collapsed cliffside, she sensed a very faint aura belonging to a Spell.

This was no natural disaster.

It was a man-made calamity.

The methods of the Chan Sect had already descended ahead of them.