[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-watching-the-immortals-fall":3,"chapter-watching-the-immortals-fall-watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-424":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Watching the Immortals Fall",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2260297,4410,"Chapter 424: One Sword, Cold Beyond Youzhou","watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-424",424,"\u003Cp>At the border of Youzhou, near the territory of Qingzhou, stood a city named Dingri City, one of the first captured by the Descendant Clan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the city, soldiers loyal to the King of Calamity guarded the Flesh Furnace and the newborn of their clan; twenty-six city guards patrolled the outskirts in three shifts daily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, though these patrols were strict, to the Descendant Clan soldiers they were merely routine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, they all knew that both humans and demons had been driven south to the Three States, clinging to life with sacred relics, utterly incapable of resistance—how could there be enemies?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, reality matched their beliefs exactly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since their rebirth, these city guards had never encountered an enemy, let alone had a chance to fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Descendant Clan was a bloodthirsty race, deriving pleasure from breeding and torturing slaves; this state of affairs was far from ideal for them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Any incidents on the east, north, or west?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Report, General—no incidents.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What of the south?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The southern patrol has not returned.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the western outskirts of Dingri City, a mailed Descendant Clan soldier tasked with patrolling the west tilted his head slightly, his blood-red eyes gazing upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the rolling darkness, the turbulent Dao seemed to be pulled, carrying a scent unlike any he had known.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without hesitation, the soldier’s twin wings snapped open, his body shooting skyward like an arrow loosed from a bow, hurtling toward the Yuheng Mountain forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Yuheng Mountains were rarely visited by mortals, leaving vegetation lush and dense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Countless ancient trees rose from the earth, their gnarled branches weaving into a nearly opaque canopy overhead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the ground, thick vines coiled like giant serpents around trunks, straining upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Between them lay moss and rotting leaves, while various ferns and unknown broadleaf herbs spread wildly beneath the trees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vegetation’s leaves were thick, green as if dripping oil, swaying gently in the damp air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, the Descendant Clan soldier from Dingri City flew over this dense foliage, entering the mountain’s depths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As his wing’s shadow swept across the lush valley below, a brilliant sword qi erupted without warning from the forest’s shadows—like a thunderbolt from heaven, severing wind, and cutting through light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*Squelch!*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound of blade slicing flesh and bone was startlingly clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Descendant Clan warrior had no time to react—he felt only a chill along his spine, then his wings, the very source of his flight, severed from his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simultaneously, immense inertia hurled him like a felled giant bird, crashing violently into the thick undergrowth, kicking up dust and broken grass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Youth is wonderful—just drop off to sleep…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Descendant Clan temperament is bizarre—do they really need no caution? Charging in like this, anyone would think they came to collect a prize.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You stepped out from the dense grass, muttering as he stared at the corpse, then levitated to his next location, settling cross-legged into meditation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moments later, his spiritual sense surged skyward, first sweeping past the thunderfire calamity that burned all things, then crossing the ice realm that froze the soul, finally arriving at a chaotic flow of Dao principles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep within the rolling night, he “saw” the Dao principles themselves as countless roaring primordial dragons, intertwining and spiraling, anchored in heaven with opposing wills locked in eternal conflict.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The macroscopic Dao principles accessible at the Divine Traveling Realm—each time I see them, my heart trembles.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You’s spiritual essence stood in the heavens, silently murmuring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since taking his vow to heaven, he had chosen the tangible Four Symbols method to rapidly ascend his realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, in the Great Wilderness Forest, he cultivated the principles of wind, rain, thunder, lightning, fire, earth, water, and wood, refining each separately, thereby entering the Boundless Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Divine Traveling Realm was deeper and more vast than the Boundless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To attain its perception, Dao principles were no longer isolated—they were interconnected, interwoven, forming a vast celestial order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cold and heat gave birth to each other, black and white transformed into one another, coarse and fine shifted, fast and slow alternated, life and death cycled… together weaving a vast, intricate net.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You had prepared extensively for his physical Divine Traveling, studying many cultivation texts on enlightenment, so though he had never entered this realm, he understood it well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, he must turn theoretical knowledge into true awakening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is what cultivators must do: use spiritual sense as a medium to comprehend hidden existences, through [Refining], [Chessplay], and [Weaving], ascending to a higher realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*Boom!*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, the chaotic Dao flow descended like ten thousand primordial dragons, instantly burying Ji You’s tiny spiritual sense—but he did not resist, allowing the principles to strike him relentlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the first step of [Refining]: to understand, one must first perceive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the Great Wilderness Forest until now, he had been refining his perception of macroscopic Dao; now, he had reached the threshold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Come…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the surging chaos, Ji You strained to stabilize his form, abandoning the shape of “spiritual sense,” instead dissolving instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, his spiritual sense ceased to be a solitary boat—it became formless, intangible, yet omnipresent “intent.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This “intent” was like the finest dust, willingly meeting the roaring Dao dragons—not swallowed, but lightly clinging to them, swirling, dancing, being born and dying with them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Report, General Mohe—one of the city guards is missing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What happened?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There appear to be Fire Thieves outside the city…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could it be a fugitive from our capture operations? Send Deputy General Shouying with the garrison into the mountains.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Youzhou was the Descendant Clan’s place of rebirth, heavily guarded; Dingri City was the nearest defensive outpost to the Yuheng Mountains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With suspected Fire Thieves appearing and a guard missing, attention was naturally drawn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within three days, a garrison unit led by a Descendant Clan deputy general entered the forest—and never returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hurry, hurry!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I keep your lives so you may serve as slaves—but if you wish to become blood food, I can oblige!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Southwest of Dingri City, along the road connecting Yunzhou and Youzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a low, chilling roar echoed, a group of captured humans trudged forward, shackled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These people had been seized since the Descendant Clan’s revival—mortals and cultivators alike, originally held as blood food for newborn clan members.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the altar in Qingzhou was damaged, word reached the Three Northern States: new slaves were needed to rebuild the altar before time ran out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, all previously captured humans were herded like sheep to this destination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By order, these slaves would be selected in Dingri City: the suitable sent to Qingzhou, the unsuitable sent to Youzhou as blood food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the countless captives were two very young individuals—a boy and a girl—who, passing a dark mountain path, feigned stumbling and lunged forward several steps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where they ran was another five youths, male and female, all grimy, eyes devoid of life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing them approach, the four slightly sidestepped—then suddenly, a voice whispered in their ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Miss Qiu, Xi Yu, Brother Jingming, Young Master Peng—we cannot wait to die. We must escape.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the crowd, Qiu Hanyue, Sheng Xiyu, Tang Jingming, and Peng Yu, former disciple of the Heavenly Book Academy, lifted their eyes slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the spring of the Seventh Year of Taiwu, scions of the Central Plains clans gathered for a spring outing—only for darkness to roll in as they reveled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With low cultivation, they were swiftly captured; though they resisted, they ultimately became prisoners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two speaking to them were Qin He and Lin Cong, disciples of the outer academy of the Heavenly Book Academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had become separated from the main group at the Sacred Ground of the Ancients and were later captured, yet never abandoned hope of escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in the detention camp, Descendant Clan guards were too tight—they found no opportunity. Now, brought here, they saw this as their only chance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Escape?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. Stay here, whether as slave or blood food—it ends in death.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qiu Hanyue pressed her lips together: “The guards are too tight—how can we escape?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin He glanced around: “We’ll be taken to Dingri City for selection. During handover, guards will slacken. We wait until deepest night, then use the Yuheng Mountains to vanish.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Qiu Hanyue, Sheng Xiyu, Tang Jingming, and Peng Yu exchanged glances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You truly think there’s an opening?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you don’t want to die, you must take the gamble.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin He stared at them intently—but as he finished speaking, Lin Cong bumped his right shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feeling sudden pain, Qin He immediately lowered her head—just as the Descendant Clan guard wielding the iron-spiked staff passed by, his crimson eyes sending chills down their spines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Descendant Clan guard was Gu Zhu, the most brutal in the slave camp, his hands drenched in blood, a killer without number.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But luckily, Lin Cong’s warning came in time—the guard named Gu Zhu noticed nothing unusual, then hurried ahead…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The journey lasted about an hour; Qin He and the others finally arrived at Dingri City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Zhu led the way, ordering the city guards to open the gates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as he entered, seeing the empty city, he frowned in confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where is General Mohe?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Report, General Gu Zhu—Fire Thieves have appeared in the Yuheng Mountains.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin He and the others were locked in a dungeon upon entering the city; in the gloom, they could only glimpse sky changes through a small window above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet they no longer felt despair—they felt hope rising in the darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dingri City was emptier than they’d imagined—this was their best chance to escape; miss it, and there would be no other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qiu Hanyue, Sheng Xiyu, and the others had also seen the city’s condition. They had dared not flee before—but now, thoughts turned to escape, and they whispered in hidden corners with Qin He and Lin Cong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is this really not a trap?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’re already prisoners—why would they bother setting a trap for us?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin He looked at them: “Do you know why we chose Dingri City for our moment? Because the main ancestral lands of the Lin family lie right here.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1685,"2026-06-19T15:28:41.911Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","aae9b5a3bbc6005be5c9afd7c31a2875b1ffa35fe5d82cfa9a40763b840b81cf","watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-425","watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-423",430,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwatching-the-immortals-fall-cover.jpg"]