General Feishuang struck repeatedly, his war spear dancing in a blur. One mountain after another was shattered, splintered into rubble. Yet, despite his strength, each collision forced him back, step by step. The sheer force emanating from the green mountains made even him tremble involuntarily.
The power released by these mountains was not something even he could ignore.
The green mountains were endless, constantly forming and vanishing, drawing upon the boundless power of heaven and earth. Facing them was like facing the will of the heavens themselves. No matter how mighty an individual may be, in front of such might, they could only be crushed like ants.
If even General Feishuang was in such a state, the other Ice Crystal warriors fared even worse. Their bodies shattered instantly. Yet they seemed fearless in the face of death—when destroyed, they merely reverted into ice crystal eggs. One might die, but countless others would be reborn. Given time, one could become thousands. In their eyes, this was a fair trade.
"Destroy the surrounding mountains! Break the foundation of the Immortal Sect's grand formation!"
Marshal Feishuang roared.
Even the arrogant Ice Crystal Court had done some preparation before attacking the Immortal Sect. Though unaware of the exact nature of the sect's formation, they knew it was formidable. Their current assault was meant to probe its true foundations. No matter what kind of formation it was, it clearly drew its power from these surrounding mountains.
Moments ago, they had sensed the flow of the heavens themselves shifting.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Masses of Ice Crystal warriors howled and launched their attacks at the earth. Some stomped with terrifying force, fracturing the ground and causing massive fissures to spread. Their aim: to shatter the spirit veins hidden underground. All formations relied on such veins to operate. These veins absorbed and circulated the energies of the world.
Glittering ice began to rapidly spread over the ground.
"You think it's that simple to destroy our spirit veins and dismantle our mountain-guarding formation? If our formation were so easily broken, how could it be the sect's core defense? The Five Sacred Peaks are divine—the green mountains shall remain!"
Qing Yunzi laughed heartily.
Indeed, while destroying spirit veins was an effective tactic, the Five Sacred Green Mountain Formation had been built with this very threat in mind. Under its operation, golden-hued light flashed across the earth. The damaged terrain quickly began to heal. Broken earth mended, and chaotic spirit veins calmed.
This formation was specifically designed to stabilize earth energy and harmonize the spiritual meridians. Within it, all could be controlled.
The mountains stood firm. The earth remained unbroken.
"Dragon-Suppressing Nail!!"
General Feishuang growled. In a flash of light, a colossal icy-blue nail, over a hundred meters long, appeared in his hands. A strange Daoist resonance radiated from it—so terrifying that even the ambient energy of heaven and earth seemed to tremble in fear.
This was no ordinary weapon. It was a rare treasure of heaven and earth discovered by the Ice Crystal Clan: the Dragon-Suppressing Nail (镇龙钉). Refined with the purest ice soul energy, it had the mystical power to nail and freeze spirit veins, also known as dragon veins.
Once embedded, the ice energy would freeze the entire vein, halting all spiritual energy flow.
There were eighty-one such nails in the set, each capable of pinning one vein. Together, they could lock down eighty-one dragon veins. Crafted using divine materials like Ice Soul Profound Crystals, the nails had been forcibly refined into Earth-tier innate spiritual treasures—tremendously powerful and specifically designed to suppress spirit veins.
"Nail it down!!"
Feishuang roared, slamming the nail into the earth. With a punch, he drove it deep into the ground.
A nearby mountain trembled violently. If one could see underground, they would witness a spirit vein pinned by the nail, struggling like a dragon skewered through its tail. Ice spread rapidly, locking the vein in place.
With each breath, vast sections of the spirit vein were frozen. In just a few breaths, the entire vein was sealed.
As the vein was sealed, the runic symbols on the mountain faded. The spiritual aura vanished, and the mountain appeared dormant—as though it had fallen into slumber.
The Five Sacred Green Mountain Formation wavered. Its operation faltered slightly.
"Not good—it's the Dragon-Suppressing Nails! The Ice Crystal Clan has long prepared for this! These nails must have cost them untold resources. Their sole purpose is to suppress our underground spirit veins. Once sealed, our formation will weaken. A few may not matter—but if too many are pinned, the whole formation will collapse."
Qing Yunzi's face darkened for the first time.
The Ice Crystal Clan clearly came with full preparation. Bringing these nails meant they would not stop until Qingshan Immortal Sect was destroyed.
"Stop them! Activate the formation! Kill these invaders!"
He ordered coldly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The cultivators manning the formation responded instantly.
They could not allow the Ice Crystal Clan to succeed. If they did, the entire sect would fall before the invaders' blades. Just imagining the sea of enemies gave rise to a chilling sense of despair.
Mountain after mountain materialized and hurtled toward the enemy, smashing Ice Crystal warriors into fragments, souls and all. But even then, the enemy wasn't truly dead—soon, they would reincarnate anew.
"Suppress!!"
The Ice Crystal warriors surged forward, unrelenting. Even as their comrades fell, they pushed on. Their numbers were overwhelming. The surrounding mist, meant to confuse intruders, had little effect—it no longer hindered their advance.
Even with phantom mountains in the sky smashing down, killing thousands, Dragon-Suppressing Nails continued to fall, freezing spirit veins.
Each mountain was a formation node, and each node was anchored by a master channeling the energy of a spirit vein. Once frozen, they could no longer draw power. The more veins pinned, the harder the formation was to control.
One by one, the veins were sealed.
The formation's power dropped accordingly.
"Sect Master, their goal is clear: to freeze all of Qingshan Immortal Sect's spirit veins. They'll sacrifice tens of millions of warriors without hesitation if it means achieving that goal. For the Ice Crystal Clan, it's worth it."
Jia Xu said gravely.
He was likely right. After the battle, their numbers might not even shrink—rather, millions of new Ice Crystal warriors would be born. Their strength would grow.
This was how the Ice Crystal Clan thrived—through war-born rebirth.
At the Great Yi Imperial Palace
Back in the Great Yi Dynasty, all this unfolded before Yi Tianxing's eyes.
Watching the Dragon-Suppressing Nails plunge into the earth, his expression grew grim.
"The Ice Crystal Clan must not be underestimated. They've brought out innate spiritual treasures—and ones tailored for spirit veins. Even our Great Yi doesn't possess such things. The Qingshan Sect is in serious trouble."
Lian Xing said with concern.
"Human sects are masters at hiding their strength. Qingshan should still have hidden cards to play."
Shehou spoke calmly, with certainty. No race surpassed the humans in secrecy, especially their ancient sects. Their hidden cards were accumulated over countless years.
"Summon the ministers. Assemble in the Hall of Heavenly Mandate."
Yi Tianxing said to Cao Zhengchun.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Cao responded immediately.
He had already guessed the purpose. War was imminent. This council would surely determine the coming expedition to Snow Continent, organizing troops, strategies, and objectives.
"Shouldn't we wait a little longer?"
Cai Yan asked.
"No need. With Qingshan Immortal Sect drawing their attention, and most of Snow Continent's powers focused on this battle, now is the perfect time. We'll invade swiftly, seize territory, and follow with thunderous conquest. We've identified the Ice Crystal Clan's weakness—it's time to achieve a decisive victory."
Yi Tianxing declared without hesitation.