Chapter 671: Triumphant Return

Before the towering Anxi Mountain, shadows shifted with the movement of the sun.

Looking from afar, the grayish-white Anxi Mountain spread toward both sides, endless and boundless, as if it would stretch to the very ends of heaven and earth.

It was a high wall touching the sky; apes could hardly climb it, birds could hardly cross it, cutting off the north and south of the great desert, and seemingly cutting off life and death in the Human World.

Yulang City.

Someone stood on the wall, looking far toward Anxi Mountain, and let out a long sigh.

It was an old man of seventy, his hair and beard all white, his waist bowed and back hunched, looking as if he were in the twilight of his years.

Beside him, a small child grabbed his sleeve, also curiously looking toward the mountain wall, and asked, "Grandpa, what do you think happened to those people who set off toward the wall?"

The old man sighed and said, "Them? They all died."

The child let out an "Ah?" and said, "How could they all die? There were so many of them! They lived in those big cloth houses under the city, standing in neat rows, looking so majestic as if they were going to war! How could they all be dead in the blink of an eye? Did you see it, Grandpa?"

The old man said, "I didn't see it, but I know. Anyone who goes out from here to that high wall is bound to die."

Looking up, one could see the boundless desert before them, seeing the horizon at a single glance. That was the place where heaven and earth met, the clear blue sky connecting with the vast yellow sand.

But one crucial person was not seen.

Regarding these people who were different from the common folk, there were those who admired them, those who lamented for them, and no small number who disapproved. Some even pointed out that these people would bring disaster.

Boom!

A massive tremor came from beneath their feet; the old man was knocked to the ground, and the youth surnamed Xie was almost thrown off the city wall, grabbing the wall top desperately in his urgency to steady himself, only raising his head after a long while.

The old man sighed and said, "Acheng, don't argue with this young brother. Look at him, he hasn't slept or rested on the wall for so long, his eyes are red from exhaustion; it's clear a relative of his went on the expedition. Naturally, he hopes people can return alive. It is hard for him to have such perseverance at his age, but..."

Originally, the rebellion of the White-haired Swordsman and the establishment of the Sunrise Camp had already greatly shocked the hearts of the civilians remaining in the city. But when these people marched toward Wangliang Mountain in such a grand force, almost everyone in Yulang City made the same judgment as the old man.

During this process, the people from Yunzhou only provided guidance and did not obstruct. It was not that they were not greedy for wealth at all, but the spoils of war from the campaign had basically been collected, enough to cover the military expenses with a profit left over, so they did not contend for the remaining property with the locals.

They have returned!

A person was left in charge on the Yunzhou side, an old man who looked unremarkable, even somewhat like a pedantic scholar. Yet he was the Mountain Chief of the Yunzhou Training Camp and the Deputy Commander of the Land Inspection Division, Nan Zihua. In his youth, the old man had also been a powerful Sword Hero of the front lines with a distinguished military record; now that he had been a Mountain Chief for many years, his temperament had become quite refined.

Thus, with the full support of the common people, a grand welcome party was organized after midday.

Where had the front-line commander-in-chief Tang Zhao gone?

Commander Nan's heart sank: he had actually only met Tang Zhao once and could not claim any friendship. But the Lord had specifically mentioned that Tang Zhao was extremely important, with a limitless future, and must be protected well. If any harm were to come to him, not only would he be unable to answer to the Lord, but he would not even be able to face Xing Ji, who was holding down the Zhaoyang Camp.

Wangliang Mountain has fallen!

But there were actually eyes and ears of various big shots in the city, and even some estate owners who were lucky enough not to have gone up the mountain; hearing that Wangliang was gone, they were truly dumbfounded. Various pieces of news flew to all parts like snowflakes, and would trigger a geopolitical earthquake and a series of chain reactions in the coming months and years.

He looked toward the horizon, his eyes filled only with Anxi Mountain, and said, "It's just that it is Anxi Mountain. No one can return alive from Anxi Mountain. No, I should say no good person can return alive from Anxi Mountain. To return, one must either be a dead person or become a demon. Rather than becoming a demon, it is better not to return at all."

The grayish-white high wall that had just obstructed the view was gone without a trace.

The old man smiled helplessly and said, "Heroes, the path home for a hero is sorrow. It's useless, it's useless. Do you see that high Anxi Mountain? Unless Anxi Mountain falls, a hero can only bury his bones..."

Nan Zihua suppressed his emotions and led everyone out to welcome them. He ushered the returning crowd into the quarters that had been prepared long ago.

As people age, they naturally become more sentimental. When he was young and went on expeditions himself, he was not afraid of even the most dangerous and arduous missions, but when it came to his own students, he became worried. Especially since this expedition was to Wangliang Mountain, known as the darkest place in the Human World, it was extremely dangerous, and no amount of preparation was enough. He had mentally prepared himself for large-scale casualties.

The youth surnamed Xie felt his heart crawl with fear, but immediately raised his head and said, "This time it's different. The ones fighting this time are great heroes! The demons are just clowns, vulnerable to a single blow."

By evening, the setting sun shone on the horizon; before seeing any human figures, one first saw long, slanted shadows covering the ground.

It finally fell!

In fact, most people did not know that Wangliang was a specific entity; they only needed to know that Wangliang Mountain had disappeared from the Human World entirely.

The child looked into the distance, seeing only the mountain peak and not the horizon. But although he defended his grandfather, he felt what the youth said was also right; those who set off looked truly majestic, and he said, "Grandpa, he is right too..."

Then someone said, "Because your grandfather is talking nonsense!"

The collapse of Anxi Mountain was a great earthquake, geographically, and even more so psychologically.

Now there were no more scruples.

But when the fact of Anxi Mountain's collapse occurred, Yulang City fell into absolute silence for that instant.

The next moment, cheers like mountains erupted from inside and outside the city.

Anxi Mountain, it has collapsed!

The voice was the youthful, green tone of a boy, slightly sharp, seemingly near the period of voice change, and the tone was truly impolite.

Although the civilians were not openly slaves, in Yulang City, if you were not a slave owner or a powerful noble from afar, who could live well?

Being ordered around by various big shots and exploited to the limit, and because of the vast desert all around, they could not escape and could only endure. Generation after generation had no hope of turning things around; originally, no one held any hope, just living one day at a time. Now that Anxi Mountain had collapsed, it was as if the sun had shone into the shadows; the darkness was finally coming to an end!

For a time, the city was decorated with lanterns and streamers, and the streets were empty as everyone went out to celebrate.

These people, they were already dead.

How many people rushed into every large mansion; whatever could be moved was moved, and whatever could not be moved, they tried every way to move. They wished they could scrape three feet of earth; some of the supplies were kept to treat the heroes, and the remaining wealth was divided among everyone.

But now it seemed there were not that many casualties.

The child chased after him and asked, "Grandpa, you didn't see it, how can you know?"

The child turned his head unhappily and said, "Brother Xie, you can't talk to my grandfather like that!"

But looking at the atmosphere of the troop, it was very relaxed and spirited, not at all like they had lost their commander-in-chief.

The people from Yunzhou still had personnel left in the city, who were now responsible for guiding the atmosphere. So, before long, everyone knew that the Sword Guests from Baiyujing, under the leadership of the Sword Immortal of the Ruyi Sword Palace, had led the awakened White-haired Swordsmen to conquer Wangliang Mountain and kill Wangliang!

The old man said, "It is a story, and it is also a fact. I, an old man, have been here since I started as a tailor's apprentice in Yulang City sixty years ago. I often look from the city wall, and I only see the gluttonous, fat-brained villains coming and going; the more evil they are, the wealthier they become. Those young, fresh faces, they could return once or twice, but gradually they could never return again. What you see there as a high mountain is actually a Fierce Beast that devours people."

Previously, the White-haired Swordsmen had left in a hurry and did not take much property; the common people, intimidated by their long-standing prestige, dared not move anything even though they knew the mansions were empty.

He had been in Yunzhou for many years and knew many people, especially in the Land Inspection Division; more than half of those currently active on the front lines were his disciples. With a glance, he saw many young and familiar faces in the troop and relaxed his heart first.

Even Wangliang was dead!

These days, there was much discussion in Yulang City, and it was extremely noisy.

It looked like the battle damage was not heavy.

After all, compared to the short lifespans of the White-haired Swordsmen, the people in Yulang City lived a little longer, and their ancestors had lived here for generations. They had seen much and knew deeply what kind of behemoth that Wangliang Mountain and that Anxi Mountain were. To want to use one's own mere flesh as a fulcrum to pry such high mountains and cliffs, one could only say their brains were not normal.

He saw his student Fu Xianchan, who was the commander of the later reinforcements. He also saw those few Sword Heroes from Baiyujing, and even saw a few faces from the younger generation, and he even saw an "old friend," Feng Zhilie.

The old man spoke with such certainty that the youth surnamed Xie could not help but feel a chill in his heart, but he quickly raised his head and scoffed, "That is nothing but a story to fool children. Who would believe such a thing? A good person is a good person; how could they turn into a demon?"

On the top of the wall sat a boy of twelve or thirteen, his legs dangling outside the city wall, his two eyebrows standing straight up in anger as he said, "Because your grandfather is just talking nonsense! You haven't even seen the people, so how can you say they are dead? Didn't you see how powerful they were? They are much more powerful than those bad guys! In my opinion, not only are they not dead, but they have already defeated the bad guys and are about to return in triumph! Look at the horizon; they are about to come back from the horizon carrying their great banners, not a single person missing!"

As for those who were fishing in troubled waters to rob and steal, the people of Yunzhou even acted as peace officers to punish them, all while flying the banner of Baiyujing, which undoubtedly earned them another wave of good reputation.

However, right now, the most important thing is for the elders and fellow villagers to give a proper welcome to the returning heroes!

Although everyone is still very poor, it does not matter; the manor lords are rich.

Immediately following that, as if rising from the ground, thousands of troops and horses appeared in the distance.

Because the day was nearing dusk and the number of returnees was large, everyone was still settled into the Sunrise Great Camp. The great camp had long since been refurbished, and the camp was prepared with hot soup and rice, fine wine and meat, to welcome everyone home.

Before taking their seats, Nan Zihua seized an opportunity to pull Fu Xianchan aside and Ask, "Why is Xiao Tang not here?"

Although there were only two of them now, Fu Xianchan still deliberately lowered her voice and said in an almost whispered tone, "He is currently involved in a very important matter, and the Lord Marquis suggested he not show his face and return to Zhongtian Prefecture overnight."