Starting in early December, the Illusionary Spirit Arrays on Anping Road and Nanxiang Road were rendered ineffective, no longer able to slow down the supply efficiency of Tonghuo City.
Multiple commanders at Jishun Pass decided to completely abandon the defense outside the pass. Many hidden armies in the wilderness were recalled, and all small gathering points were also abandoned.
Only a few troops remained hidden in underground cities or secret valley bases, with each stronghold containing only a few hundred fighters, adding up to perhaps 20,000 to 30,000 scattered soldiers.
These small forces were insignificant to the Six-Army Alliance, which couldn't be bothered to waste time searching for them.
Since these forces couldn't gather in large numbers, lacked heavy siege equipment, and didn't even have stronger warships, they posed no real threat.
On a battlefield like this, the bravery of small units was meaningless.
Even if over 10,000 enemies were gathered, without at least a Fifth-Grade Warship, three to five hundred soldiers of Great Zhou could easily chase them away.
In mid- to low-level battles, large-scale Divine Weapons, siege tools, and flying warships played a decisive role.
For instance, when Long Xiao and Zhao Xing had encountered the Ghost Flame Warship, if the enemy hadn't activated their barrier, there was nothing they could have done but watch.
The same was true when killing Qian Shougang; they only had a chance because the enemy left the safety of their airborne fortress. Otherwise, they could have only watched Qian Shougang's men fly back to the Heilong Army stronghold.
The vast wilderness beyond the pass could be slowly searched for battle merits after Jishun Pass fell.
Sixteen different military factions jointly defended Jishun Pass. Some were from the Fire Demon Tribe, others were from the Holy Spirit King's Court, and still others belonged to the Golden Feather King's Court and its various tribes.
The sixteen factions elected a chief leader known as Minghun, while Morik was merely a lower-ranking commander.
Under Minghun's command was a Xuantian Sect military strategist, known as Daoist Longyang.
It was he who ordered the forces to concentrate solely on defense.
Two months ago, Minghun was able to engage the Six-Army Alliance of Great Zhou in a back-and-forth battle.
Even a minor commander like Morik could harass the rear at Tonghuo City.
But two months later, Minghun had shifted to a purely defensive strategy—no warships were dispatched, no ghosts were deployed—focused solely on holding the city.
The gray-black barrier stretched across the horizon like a line.
Zhao Xing, standing on the deck of a warship, gazed into the distance and saw that the sky ahead had completely darkened.
Upon closer inspection, he could see many ghosts howling within the barrier.
"The Jishun Pass, stretching for hundreds of li, is so saturated with ghostly spirits that the entire area is filled with yin energy."
Jishun Pass did not have the same level of defensive strength as Fire Dragon Pass, but it required specialized tools and professions to breach.
Its barrier was anchored in the Underworld, tearing a hole in it and continually releasing yin energy.
Standard siege equipment had reduced effectiveness here, and most professions entering this area to fight were also weakened.
The battlefield became a domain where only professions like Priests or Soul Masters, those who dealt with underworld forces, could perform well.
"If it were just the Shenwei Army, the Xuanjia Army, and the Zhenhai Army Alliance, this battle would be tough."
"But with the Huan You Army, the Zhaoyuan Army, and the Yuanhua Army joining, things are different," Zhao Xing thought to himself.
Both the Zhaoyuan Army and the Yuanhua Army had full combat-oriented Priest Battalions, and the Huan You Army was predominantly composed of Priests.
Meanwhile, armies like the Shenwei Army and the Zhenhai Army had few combat Priests, typically only about a thousand per battalion, and each battalion was only equipped with ten to twenty Priests. Most of them were Ninth Rank, with few Eighth or Seventh Rank Priests capable of forming their own units.
The Xuanjia Army did have a Priest Battalion, but when Xia Jing was selecting soldiers, he hadn't anticipated encountering the Holy Spirit King's Court.
"But now, things are different."
As Zhao Xing waited for the materials to be unloaded, the alliance began their siege of Jishun Pass.
The primary siege weapon they used was the Hunyuan Realm-Breaking Catapult.
Its name sounded grand, but in reality, it was a Five Element Catapult mounted on a warship.
The warships carrying these catapults were called Hunyuan Warships or Five Element Warships.
Positioned thirty li outside Jishun Pass, they launched their attacks.
The entire warship was built around these siege weapons.
Many of the materials Zhao Xing had cultivated in Tonghuo City were used to supply the Hunyuan Realm-Breaking Warships.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
From the left deck of the Hunyuan Warship, a dazzling blue light flashed, and each catapult was manned by twenty mechanists.
As they launched their attacks, the area surrounding the warship became saturated with blue energy, and the power of the Water Element grew incredibly intense.
The first wave of shots consisted of Golden Rock Catapults.
One after another, eight-meter-wide, spherical, multi-faceted boulders hurtled toward Jishun Pass's outer wall.
The stones, trailing yellow-brown light, smashed against the black barrier.
Immediately, a ten-li section of the black barrier was stained a muddy yellow.
The barrier protecting Jishun Pass, known as the Xuantian Yin Five Elements Grand Array, was created by the Xuantian Sect, the most powerful sect in the Holy Spirit Dynasty.
This array was tailored to the Holy Spirit King's Court, drawing defensive power from the Underworld.
When it came to attack versus defense, the offense generally had the advantage—depending on the situation.
Jishun Pass had to defend a large area, while the Six-Army Alliance concentrated their attacks on a single point.
Now, a large patch of the black barrier had turned muddy yellow, as if splattered with mud.
As the first wave of Hunyuan Warships launched their attack, the second wave followed closely behind, firing another round of giant boulders.
This time, they used the Lihuo Catapults.
In the southern volcanic region of Tonghuo City, Zhao Xing had cultivated Fifth-Grade materials like Split Crown Wood, Phoenix Perch Wood, and Raging Fire Bamboo, all of which were fire-element materials used to create Lihuo Stones.
Bright red boulders followed the earth-colored ones, crashing down on the black barrier.
The section of the barrier already stained yellow was immediately engulfed in flames.
The progress of the black energy's restoration was visibly slowed.
The fire and earth bombardment was not intended to break through the black barrier but to solidify and disrupt the self-repairing ability of the Yin Five Elements Array.
The third round of catapult fire followed—this time from the Heavy Water Catapults.
Brilliant blue water orbs, shimmering with an intoxicating glow, splashed onto the extinguished flames.
"Buzz~"
The entire barrier suddenly turned transparent.
The portion of the barrier solidified by the earth element began to brittle.
Massive patches of the black color faded, and the barrier quaked, consuming immense energy to maintain itself.
Then came the fourth wave—the Gengjin Catapults.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The Gengjin Catapults packed a much bigger punch, blasting large holes through the pale blue ice that had formed on the barrier.
However, the black barrier quickly healed, wiping away all the colors.
Great Zhou's warships, undeterred, began a new round of earth, fire, water, and metal bombardments.
"This kind of slow battle is purely a war of attrition," Zhao Xing shook his head. "At the lower levels of battle, these Hunyuan Warships are a stripped-down version, lacking the essential Wood Element."
The Wood Element Catapult would scatter large quantities of Seventh-Grade seeds and saplings.
These seeds were all specially selected exotic varieties.
They could take root in the defensive barrier, drawing energy from it.
This would quickly deplete the barrier's supply, making it much harder to restore.
"A complete Hunyuan Warship is typically manned by Fifth-Grade or Fourth-Grade Military Shennongs. Even the firing of the four basic elements is supported by specialized Sorcerer Battalions."
"When the Wood Element is fired, if the situation allows, the Shennong's Pure Origin Projection can overlay the barrier, doubling the effect."
But a fully-equipped Hunyuan Warship, manned by so many experts, was usually reserved for high-level battlefields, like sieging a royal city.
For now?
For now, they were simply wearing down Jishun Pass.
The constant barrage from the Hunyuan Warships was a heavy burden on the logistics, but the barrier at Jishun Pass was also consuming a tremendous amount of energy.
Now it was just a matter of who would run out of resources first.
As long as one part of the barrier failed to recover, the army could breach the gap and storm the city.
By the fifteenth of December, Zhao Xing had once again led eight warships to deliver siege supplies to the front lines.
By this time, Jishun Pass had been under constant attack for seven days.
Yet the Xuantian Yin Five Elements Grand Array held strong. Each time a gap appeared, it quickly repaired itself.
On the twenty-second of December, Zhao Xing returned to the front lines with another shipment of supplies.
The planting operations at Tonghuo City had shifted entirely to focus on cultivating siege materials.
By this time, the barrier at Jishun Pass, from the moment Minghun had committed fully to its defense, had endured fourteen days of assault.
Its repair speed was slowing significantly.
However, Zhao Xing was exhausted. Despite Tonghuo City having a population of 100,000, the army's consumption rate was staggering.
Not only did he have to transport supplies, but he also had to manage the logistics of 100,000 people and personally oversee the cultivation efforts.
On the twenty-eighth of December, Zhao Xing delivered the last batch of supplies to the front lines.
"This is the last batch. The area within a hundred li of Tonghuo City has been completely stripped bare."
"We'll need at least a month to find a new location, build a new city, set up formations, adjust the earth's veins, and cultivate new seedlings."
"If you don't capture the pass soon, there's nothing more I can do."
There was a hint of exhaustion in Zhao Xing's voice.
"You've worked hard, Brother Zhao," Qi Yuanjun looked at Zhao Xing with a hint of admiration.
"This is enough," said Nangong Ye. "By tomorrow, Jishun Pass will definitely fall!"
Even Yi Yue had no complaints.
Though he had previously been dissatisfied with Zhao Xing, now he couldn't find fault with anything.
Zhao Xing had managed to lead the Shenwei Army, Zhenhai Army, and Xuanjia Army—logistically weak as they were—into performing well beyond expectations.
In Yi Yue's eyes, these were armies with poor logistical support, but Zhao Xing had somehow met all their needs.
Originally, Yi Yue, Qi Yuanjun, and Nangong Ye had expected this battle to drag on into the spring of the eighteenth year of the Jingxin Era.
But now, things were progressing far faster than they had anticipated.
On the twenty-ninth of December.
"Boom!"
"Bang!"
A massive stone boulder smashed through the black barrier.
Soldiers patrolling and defending the city walls were crushed into pulp wherever the falling stones landed.
The massive boulders rolled with tremendous force, causing even more destruction in their path.
This time, the black barrier could not recover from the ten-li-wide gap that had opened.
A fleet of warships, black as the night sky, surged through the breach from outside the pass.
"Enemy attack!"
"Enemy attack!"
"Hurry, retreat to the fortress!"
"Run!"
The minor leaders defending the walls screamed in panic, but there was no time to mount any effective resistance.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Loud crashes echoed from the walls.
The deafening, heavy sounds caused the ears of the defending soldiers to bleed, their heads ringing with a sharp buzz.
It felt as though an earthquake was shaking the city walls.
The garrison on the walls quickly fell into chaos.
"Don't panic! Get inside the fortress and reinforce the barrier!"
"No one is allowed to flee!"
A commander with a terrifying scar across his face roared, his voice cutting through the noise.
He ordered the leaders on the walls to enter the fortress while he flew along the wall, trying to suppress the chaos.
However, just as he turned around—
"Thwack!"
An arm-thick crossbow bolt pierced him, pinning him to the city wall.
"Ahhh—"
"Fire! Fire! Fire!"
"My leg! Someone help me!"
The top of the city wall had become a scene of utter carnage.
Inside the command hall, Minghun suddenly awoke with a start.
"What's that noise?"
"Report, General! The enemy has breached the southern section of Jishun Pass! The barrier has been broken, and several sections of the city wall have collapsed!"
A panicked soldier rushed in to report.
"What?!" Though Minghun had expected this moment, he still couldn't believe it when it came.
"Prepare to meet the enemy!"
"Summon Elder Longyang at once!" Minghun rushed out of the room and onto the deck of his warship.
As the chief commander, his warship hovered in the black clouds.
"Commander." Before long, Daoist Longyang appeared on deck.
"Elder, the southern section of the city has been breached. Can we still hold?" Minghun asked.
"We cannot," Daoist Longyang shook his head. "We must retreat while the effects of the grand array still linger. We must fight and withdraw simultaneously, and we must do so quickly. According to the original plan, we will retreat to Linggui City. If they pursue too far, we may still have a chance to counterattack."
...
On the twenty-ninth of December, after more than half a month of continuous assault, the southern section of Jishun Pass's barrier was breached beyond repair.
The Six-Army Alliance swiftly moved through the gap.
Facing the elite forces of Great Zhou, Minghun ordered an immediate retreat, abandoning all resistance.
Upon hearing the news, Zhao Xing let out a long sigh of relief.
"The pass is finally broken."
At this point, he was utterly exhausted. If not for his Sixth-Grade Life Soul, he wouldn't have been able to hold on for this long.
However, he still didn't go to sleep. Instead, he quickly sent messages to Chen Shijie, Long Xiao, and Xia Jing, advising them not to pursue too deeply.
After several rounds of warnings and receiving replies from the three, he finally laid down to rest.
"A gentleman knows when to stop, which leads to great fortune."
"Hopefully, Old Chen and the others will heed my advice."
Zhao Xing rubbed his temples and drifted into a deep sleep.
"Zhao Xing, Zhao Xing, wake up."
He didn't know how long he had been asleep when he suddenly felt someone calling his name.
"Hm?"
Zhao Xing opened his eyes to see Chen Shijie standing over him.
"Old Chen, you're back in Tonghuo City?"
"Yeah," Chen Shijie nodded.
"How long have I been asleep?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Five days," Chen Shijie replied. "Han Bing said you've been asleep for about five days."
"Five days? What's the situation at Jishun Pass?" Zhao Xing inquired.
Chen Shijie handed him a cup of water. "There's good news and bad news."
"Let's hear the bad news first," Zhao Xing said.
Chen Shijie explained, "Our cooperation with the Huan You Army, Zhaoyuan Army, and Yuanhua Army has ended, and there was a bit of a fallout."
"Oh? What happened?" Zhao Xing asked.
"After entering the pass, the Six-Army Alliance went on a wild pursuit of Minghun, Morik, and the other sixteen foreign army factions."
"At first, things went smoothly. Nangong Ye's Huan You Army, mostly composed of Priests, advanced quickly. He himself is a Sixth-Grade Priest, though his official rank is Seventh Grade."
"We followed behind the Huan You Army, pushing forward for over 800 li."
"Qi Yuanjun, Nangong Ye, and Yi Yue wanted to keep pursuing, planning to launch a surprise attack on the eastern front of Green Gang Crystal Mine."
"Hmm?" Zhao Xing was startled. "Where do they get their confidence? We only have about 120,000 to 130,000 troops combined."
"The Fire Demon Tribe's western front line at Xixuan Pass was breached by the Heilong Army, Zhaoyuan Army, Danxia Army, Huan You Army, and Yuanhua Army. They received orders from the northern front."
"They want to breach Linggui City, then rendezvous with the northern forces and take the eastern front of Green Gang Crystal Mine."
"They hope to divert the attention of the Golden Feather King's Court."
"After all, breaking through both Fire Dragon Pass and Jishun Pass is enough to attract the attention of the Golden Feather King's Court."
"A feint?" Zhao Xing immediately understood that they were trying to make a big play.
With 120,000 to 130,000 troops, they could claim to be a million-strong army. If the Six-Army Alliance advanced into Linggui City and linked up with the northern forces, it would indeed be convincing.
"Did the talks fall apart?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Yes," Chen Shijie nodded. "Our forces disagreed with the continued pursuit. Without our logistical support, they wouldn't be able to advance this quickly, so Yi Yue had a huge argument with Liao Rulong, accusing us of delaying the war effort."
"Now, their three armies have split from ours and are moving toward the northeast, waiting for their own logistics support."
"What about the Xuanjia Army?" Zhao Xing asked. He was most concerned about Xia Jing. The other three armies didn't matter much, but the Xuanjia Army was part of the northern war zone.
"Xia Jing also received the orders. Though he hasn't said anything, I suspect he's leaning in that direction," Chen Shijie replied.
Xia Jing had a closer relationship with the Shenwei Army than the others.
"I'll talk to him later. What's the good news?" Zhao Xing asked.
"The good news is that I, Long Xiao, and Xia Jing have all earned over a million battle merits," Chen Shijie said with a smile.
"Oh? The battle merit tasks have been settled?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Yes, you should be able to check your own merits through your Dijing."
Zhao Xing quickly took out his Dijing and checked the updates.
A smile appeared on his face.
[Shenwei Army Commander Zhao Xing, you have completed the battle merit task 'Securing Supplies at Jishun Pass.']
[Considering your overall performance and the results of the Eastern Front Campaign, you are awarded a total of 525,400 battle merits!]
"How many did you get?" Chen Shijie asked.
"Not much, just over 520,000," Zhao Xing replied casually.
Chen Shijie waved his hand dramatically, "Guards, arrest this man and have him interrogated!"
Long Xiao walked in, surprised, "What crime has he committed?"
Chen Shijie huffed, "Boasting about his accomplishments in front of a superior!"
Long Xiao, suppressing a smile, asked, "What did he say?"
"I asked him how many battle merits he earned, and he casually said, 'Not much, just over 520,000.' Tell me, is that something a person should say? Shouldn't he be punished?"
"Hahaha, yes, he definitely deserves punishment."
"I admit my mistake, Lord Chen, please forgive me," Zhao Xing said with a laugh, playing along with the banter.
Though they were joking, Chen Shijie was not surprised by Zhao Xing's substantial merit earnings.
The 100,000 logistics personnel at Tonghuo City had been managed by Zhao Xing without a single mishap.
He had also been instrumental in solving the Illusionary Spirit Array and breaching the barrier at Jishun Pass. Without Zhao Xing, Chen Shijie knew he couldn't have achieved the same results.
First of all, he wouldn't have been able to pass through the Illusionary Spirit Array. The array had been deployed after the fall of Fire Dragon Pass, but it hadn't been activated until the crucial moment, separating the front-line troops from their logistics. It had been a disaster. Granting Zhao Xing 400,000 battle merits for that alone was entirely justified.
Breaking through the barrier at Jishun Pass had been purely a logistical struggle. Given the enormous supply needs of the Six-Army Alliance, no one else could have met them as quickly as Zhao Xing.
His mastery of high-level techniques like the Volcano Technique and Primordial Instant—key techniques for cultivating Fifth-Grade Plants—was crucial. With him spearheading the operation, even lower-level Shennongs had been able to contribute meaningfully. Most Military Shennongs would not have been able to achieve that.
Thus, the 520,000 battle merits he earned were well-deserved.
"What are your plans going forward?" Chen Shijie asked. "You advised us not to advance too aggressively. Do you have any specific reasons?"
When Zhao Xing had urged Chen Shijie, Long Xiao, and Xia Jing to avoid overextending, both men had taken his advice seriously and relayed it to Liao Rulong. Fortunately, both Liao Rulong and Xia Jing had listened, as the next phase of Qi Yuanjun's plan didn't align with their original strategy.
Now, they wanted to know what Zhao Xing thought about the next steps.
"Rest and observe the situation," Zhao Xing replied. "We should wait and see."
His answer was vague and perhaps a bit disappointing.
But he couldn't very well tell them that Emperor Jing was planning to call for a ceasefire soon.
How could a Seventh-Grade officer predict such a thing with certainty? Would they believe he had divined it?
So he gave a more conventional response, "The Golden Feather King's Court is determined to hold onto the Fire Demon Tribe's territory, yet they've suffered defeats on three fronts."
"Think about how humiliating that is. They're bound to seek a victory somewhere to restore morale and authority."
This wasn't mere speculation; in the previous life, the Golden Feather King's Court had done exactly that, choosing to target the Shenlei Army. However, they ended up facing Lu Yuanwei, the son of fate, and suffered a crushing defeat. The young prince Yanda almost met the same fate as his older brother.
After that, the Golden Feather King's Court abandoned the Fire Demon Tribe's territory altogether, cementing Lu Yuanwei's rise to prominence.
"You think the Golden Feather King's Court will focus on the east?" Chen Shijie asked.
"Yes, it's a strong possibility," Zhao Xing nodded. In reality, he was aiming to wait until February of the eighteenth year of the Jingxin Era.
In early February, Emperor Jing would announce a ceasefire, and by March, titles and rewards would be distributed.
This would be Emperor Jing's first step toward starting mid- to high-level warfare.
However, due to the Dao Formation Disk and other factors, his resolve would waver, leading to further military campaigns, but it was from this point that earning merits would become increasingly difficult.
The deeper they pushed into enemy territory, the worse the environment would become, and the longer the battle lines would stretch. Military Shennongs weren't omnipotent; some materials were simply impossible to replenish, like certain ores, which would still need to be transported from Great Zhou.
By February, when higher-level experts began to appear on the battlefield, any reckless advance could lead to unexpected deaths at the hands of more powerful cultivators.
Even if they didn't encounter high-level experts, Emperor Jing would soon order a withdrawal to create a buffer zone. Any progress made now would be for nothing.
"In short, I suggest we rest for now. Both you and Long Xiao have earned over a million battle merits, right? You should contact Lu Tingzhi from the Fortune Division and exchange those merits for a position in the Yin Spirit ranks."
"Get yourselves a promotion before making any further decisions," Zhao Xing advised.