547: Chapter 547 The resolute Yun Hezi: If you want to get in, then step over our corpses.

On the first day Yun Hezi decided to guard the mountain gate for the Hehuan Sect, nothing happened.

The sun rose in the east and set in the west.

Yun Hezi stood at the very front, motionless, like a wooden stake driven into the ground.

Sect Leader Qing Fengzi peeked back inside the mountain gate several times but saw nothing.

Mingyuezi leaned against that pine tree, his eyes half-closed, but his ears were perked up.

Over a hundred Disciples stood for the entire day until their legs were stiff, yet not a single one sat down.

This was grueling, even more so than the days spent wandering outside.

When wandering outside, they could at least run, hide, or find a place to rest.

Here, they could not run, they could not hide, and they could not even sit down.

They could only stand and watch the road ahead, waiting for an enemy that could arrive at any moment.

By nightfall, Mingyuezi could no longer contain himself. He walked over to Yun Hezi and asked in a low voice, "Brother Yun He, when do you think the people from the Righteous Path Alliance will arrive? Could it be that they aren't coming?"

Yun Hezi didn't look at him, his gaze still fixed on the mountain road ahead.

"They will come," he said. "It's only a matter of time."

Mingyuezi opened his mouth to ask more, but seeing Yun Hezi's expressionless face, he swallowed his words.

He turned and walked back to his spot, leaning against the pine tree and closing his eyes.

At dawn the next day, Yun Hezi heard a dull rumbling sound in the distance.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was very piercing, like someone beating drums in the distance.

He snapped his eyes open and looked toward the mountain road.

At the end of the mountain road, dust was billowing.

Dense crowds of figures emerged from the dust, growing more numerous and packed, like a river surging from the other side of the mountain.

They wore Daoist robes of various colors and held all sorts of Magical Artifacts; some rode Spirit Beasts, some flew on swords, and others marched on foot.

The auras of the few people at the very front were so powerful that Yun Hezi's sword buzzed within its sheath.

Saint Realm Peak.

More than one.

Yun Hezi's heart sank abruptly.

He knew the Righteous Path Alliance would come, but he hadn't expected them to arrive so soon, nor in such great numbers.

It was a dark, overwhelming mass of at least a thousand people.

More people continued to pour in from behind, as if the stream would never end.

Sect Leader Qing Fengzi's face was as white as paper, and his lips were trembling.

Mingyuezi straightened up from the pine tree, his hand unconsciously pressing against his sword hilt.

Among the hundred or so Disciples behind them, some instinctively took a step back, some gripped their Magical Artifacts tightly, and some closed their eyes.

"Br... Brother Yun He..." Sect Leader Qing Fengzi's voice was shaking. "What... what do we do?"

Yun Hezi did not answer.

His eyes were fixed on the approaching figures as his mind raced.

He knew they couldn't win; they wouldn't even last a single exchange.

Those Saint Realm Peak powerhouses could slap them all to death with a single hand.

But he could not retreat.

He had already made a mistake once; he couldn't make another.

He took a deep breath, suppressing all his fear deep inside.

Then he turned around, faced the Disciples who were already pale with fright, and shouted:

"Do not panic! The critical moment has arrived! We cannot retreat! We must make sure Xu Ruyu and Xiao Nianyin see our determination!"

His voice was so loud that it echoed in front of the open mountain gate, loud enough that even the people from the Righteous Path Alliance in the distance could hear him.

Sect Leader Qing Fengzi was stunned, and Mingyuezi was stunned as well.

They hadn't expected Yun Hezi to shout such words at a time like this.

Yun Hezi turned back to face the approaching army of the Righteous Path Alliance.

His hands were shaking, his legs were shaking—his entire body was shaking.

Yet his back remained ramrod straight, his head was held high, and his eyes stared forward without blinking.

"Yun Hezi, Law Enforcement Elder of the Hehuan Sect, has been awaiting your arrival for a long time!"

His voice was so loud that even he could hardly believe it.

The army of the Righteous Path Alliance came to a halt.

The dust gradually settled, revealing the faces of those at the very front.

A white-haired old man stood at the lead, wearing the white Daoist robes of the North Pole Ice Soul Palace and holding an ice-crystal staff, with cold air swirling around him.

Behind him were the new Sect Heads of the Tianxuan Sect, Tianji Sect, and Tianquan Sect, along with some Sect Heads of smaller Sects whose names Yun Hezi could not recall.

The old man looked at Yun Hezi with scrutiny and contempt in his gaze.

"Yun Hezi? You're that Elder who betrayed the Hehuan Sect?"

His voice wasn't loud, but to Yun Hezi's ears, it sounded as if it were coming from a great distance.

Yun Hezi's face burned with shame, but he did not lower his head.

"As the ancient saying goes: 'Realizing that the past cannot be mended, one knows that the future can still be pursued.'

There is no need to discuss the past. Now that we have returned, we will guard the Sect to the death."

He spoke with an air of awe-inspiring righteousness.

The old man gave a cold laugh but did not respond.

His gaze moved past Yun Hezi and landed on the mountain gate of the Hehuan Sect.

The mountain gate was dilapidated and overgrown with weeds, looking as though it hadn't been inhabited for a long time.

But his intuition told him that things were not so simple.

"Where are Xu Ruyu and Xiao Nianyin?" the old man asked. "Tell them to come out and meet their deaths."

Yun Hezi shook his head.

"Our Sect Master and Senior Xiao are currently in seclusion and are not receiving guests. If you have business, you must get past us first."

The old man laughed, his laughter filled with mockery.

"You? Just you few? Are you even worthy of being an obstacle we must get past?"

He raised his hand and gave a light wave.

A terrifying pressure was released from his body, heavy as a mountain, pressing down on Yun Hezi until he could barely breathe.

The Disciples behind him turned even paler, and some collapsed directly to the ground.

Yun Hezi gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stay upright.

His legs were shaking and his teeth were chattering, but he remained standing, still blocking the mountain gate.

"I said," his voice was hoarse but his words were heavy, "if you want to enter, you'll have to step over our corpses first."

The old man withdrew his hand and looked at Yun Hezi, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He spoke no more, simply waving his hand.

The army of the Righteous Path Alliance behind him began to move forward.