I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

Two thousand miles north of Burning Bone City, on a slightly elevated, flat hilly plateau, lies a large city.

Calling it a "great city" is inaccurate; it should be described as a massive war fortress.

The fortress is thirty li wide from east to west and twenty li deep from north to south. The city wall is built of black basalt, ten zhang high and five zhang thick. The wall surface is covered with dense defensive array patterns, which gleam with a cold metallic luster under the sunlight, like a steel behemoth lying across the earth.

Above the city wall, patrolling flying spirit beasts circled constantly, their hawk-like eyes overlooking every inch of land within a hundred miles, and no movement could escape their notice.

This is the Zhennan Camp, which is garrisoned by 100,000 Fang family cultivators.

It is not an ordinary city, but a military fortress built by the Fang family over hundreds of years, and one of the most solid defenses in the Southern Region.

The camp was home to Fang's elite troops.

The four armies—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—each consist of 25,000 men, each with their own duties and each guarding their own territory.

There are also 20,000 rotating auxiliary force cultivators and 30,000 logistics personnel, working day and night to forge spiritual weapons, refine pills, and maintain array patterns for the garrison.

It is not only a strong support for Burning Bone Pass, but also a "stabilizing force" for the Fang family to deter the Southern Region and balance the various affiliated forces.

Any force that wants to stir up trouble in the Southern Region must first consider whether it can withstand the crushing force of 100,000 troops.

But at this moment, the peaceful fortress, which was operating normally, was shattered by a message.

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief—Urgent military situation at Fen Gu Pass!"

The voice of the guards came from outside the main camp gate, urgent and loud, penetrating the heavy wooden door and echoing in the empty hall.

Inside the tent, Fang Wushuang, with her cold brows and hair tied up, stopped what she was doing in the main seat.

She wore a silver-white general's robe, a jade belt around her waist, and her hair was styled in a high bun with a few stray strands hanging down beside her ears, making her cold and stern face appear even more sharp.

Her fingers hovered in mid-air, the ink on the tip of her pen not yet dry, leaving a small stain on the military report.

She was approving a material allocation order, the ink still wet, when this sudden announcement interrupted her.

"Let him in." Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority that echoed through the empty hall.

The messenger strode in, knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and bowed sharply, his movements swift and decisive: "Greetings, Commander!"

Fang Wushuang nodded slightly, her gaze falling on his face: "What happened at Burning Bone Pass?"

"Commander, the beast tide has arrived ahead of schedule! Our formations detected its gathering several years ago. Although it's earlier than usual, we didn't pay much attention until today..." The messenger's voice rose a few decibels, his Adam's apple bobbing, "The beast tide has begun its advance!"

"Has the beast tide arrived early?" Fang Wushuang frowned slightly, and his spirit brush paused gently.

The annual beast tides have basically occurred once every hundred years, and this has been the case for thousands of years.

The Fang family's various deployments, the material reserves at Burning Bone Pass, and the troop movements of various affiliated forces were all arranged according to this cycle.

But with six years to go until the century-old beast tide, why has such a change occurred?

Has something changed within the monsters themselves, or is someone secretly pulling the strings?

She was silent for a moment, her gaze falling on the twilight sky outside the window, various possibilities flashing through her mind.

"I understand, you can go now."

"Yes." The messenger stood up, took three steps back, then turned and walked away quickly, his footsteps fading into the distance in the corridor.

After he left, Fang Wushuang summoned her personal guards.

Her voice remained steady, but beneath that steadiness lay a subtle, almost imperceptible gravity.

"Notify all battalion commanders to come to the council hall."

"Yes!" The guard accepted the order and left, his footsteps fading into the distance in the corridor.

Fang Wushuang stood up, put her hands behind her back, and walked to the window.

From the window, the entire Zhennan Camp can be seen.

Barracks stretched out in a continuous line, flags fluttered like a forest, and 100,000 cultivators were training, patrolling, and resting in their respective camps.

Everything was in perfect order, but she knew that this peace would soon be shattered.

Her gaze swept across the camp and toward the south.

That's the direction of Burning Bone Pass, the direction of the Fulong Mountains, and the direction from which the beast tide is coming.

…………

In the Azure Mystery Realm, Lin Che, who was sitting cross-legged under the Misty Hidden Heart Tea Tree, was interrupted by the vibration of the communication talisman.

The jade talisman, its surface a deep blue-green, hovered in front of him, trembling slightly and emitting a low hum.

The surface of the jade talisman was flashing with spiritual light, sometimes bright and sometimes dim, at a much faster frequency than usual. This was a sign of "urgent" activity, indicating that a major change was about to occur.

He opened his eyes, reached out and grasped the jade talisman, and poured his divine sense into it.

A line of text appeared in his mind: "Father, Zhihei has sent urgent intelligence: the beast tide is showing signs of activity!"

Upon seeing this message, Lin Che's gaze suddenly froze.

Without hesitation, he immediately stood up, and in a flash, disappeared from the secret realm.

The next moment, he appeared in the conference room of the main area.

The atmosphere in the council chamber was so heavy it seemed like it could drip water.

Lin Xuanqi stood in front of the long table, holding a jade slip in his hand, his face solemn.

Behind him were Lin Xuanjing, Lin Xuanfeng, Lin Xuandong, Lin Xuanjing, Lin Xuanqing, Lin Xinyao, Lin Xinqing, Lin Xinyao...

Everyone who could attend was there, and their faces all seemed to say the same thing—the beast tide has arrived.

"Father." Lin Xuanqi quickly stepped forward and handed the jade slip to Lin Che.

"The beast tide has arrived ahead of schedule. According to intelligence from the Green-Faced Fox King, the Burning Sky Crimson Ape has urgently issued a notice to begin the beast tide. At this moment, the demon beast army located in the Crimson Ape Territory has already set off! The vanguard is expected to arrive at the Burning Bone Pass line within half a month."

Lin Che took the jade slip, probed it with his divine sense, and read through the information from beginning to end.

His expression remained unchanged, but a glint of light flashed in his deep eyes.

"As expected." He put down the jade slip, his voice calm as usual.

Nine years have passed since the last Lin family gathering.

Based on the usual pattern of beast tides in previous years, there should be another six years.

However, when Lin Che learned that the Demon Palace of Rebellion was planning to cause trouble, he felt that the beast tide might not start at the original time.

Unpredictable, attacking it unprepared.

Launching a surprise attack when the defenders of Fen Gu Guan are unprepared will definitely catch them off guard.

No matter how strong the defense is, it still needs people to guard it; no matter how powerful the formation is, it still needs time to activate.

If the beast tide were to suddenly descend during a lull in the rotation of the garrison, a period of shortage of supplies, or a time when the cultivators were lax, the destructive power it would cause would be astonishing.

If Lin Che were in command, he would have done the same thing.

"Activate the Lin family's highest level of alert." His voice rose several decibels, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. "The beast tide has arrived!"

"yes!"

…………

Chuyang City, City Lord's Mansion.

Outside the alchemy room, Zhang Mo's urgent and loud voice pierced through the heavy stone door: "City Lord, urgent intelligence! News has come from Burning Bone Pass that the demonic beasts are making unusual movements; the beast tide may be approaching ahead of schedule!"

Inside the alchemy room, Yan Shuming sat cross-legged in front of the alchemy furnace, his hands forming hand seals to control the flames within.

That was a batch of third-tier "Qingling Pills," which had been refined for seven days and seven nights, and was only one step away from condensing into pills.

His divine sense was connected to the alchemy furnace, allowing him to perceive the changes in every spiritual herb inside and every slight temperature fluctuation of the flames.

Upon hearing Zhang Mo's words, his fingers trembled violently, causing his spiritual energy input to become chaotic. The flames in the furnace suddenly surged and then went out of control.

"Bang--!"

A muffled thud came from the alchemy furnace, accompanied by a burnt smell. Thick black smoke billowed from the furnace, filling the entire alchemy room.

The furnace lid was shaken open, rolled a few times on the ground, and made a piercing metallic scraping sound.

The entire batch of Qingling Pills is now useless.

Those were dozens of third-tier pills, worth tens of thousands of spirit stones, but Yan Shuming didn't even glance at them.

"It's done!" He said to Dan Tong, then stood up, brushed the dust off his robes, and strode out of the alchemy room.

"What's going on? Why did the beast tide come early?" His voice was tinged with urgency, his brows furrowed, and the wrinkles on his forehead were deeper than usual.

Zhang Mo shook his head and followed behind him, his steps equally hurried: "We don't know the specifics yet; the Burning Bone Pass has only sent a warning."

Yan Shuming frowned and walked steadily toward the conference room: "Summon all departments for an immediate meeting, and notify Lin Xuanjing of the garrison to come and discuss countermeasures."

He paused, his steps suddenly halting. He turned around, his gaze falling on Zhang Mo's face, his tone becoming heavier: "Also, don't forget to invite Master Lin to come and discuss the defense of Chuyang City."

His tone lacked some of the city lord's authority and was filled with a helpless sigh.

In this Chuyang City, while one might not know that City Lord Yan Shuming has cultivators, one certainly doesn't know that the Lin family has none.

The Lin family's influence is now evident in every aspect of this area.

It's less that he's guarding Chuyang City, and more that the Lin family is guarding it.

Yan Shuming was no longer able to suppress, nor could he suppress, the Lin family.

The Lin family is key to protecting Chuyang City.

"Understood!" Zhang Mo immediately turned around and began making arrangements.

His figure quickly disappeared at the end of the corridor, and the sound of his footsteps gradually faded away.

Yan Shuming stood alone in the corridor, gazing at the twilight sky outside the window, remaining motionless for a long time.

…………

At the same moment, the five checkpoints of Burning Bones Pass responded immediately.

The booming sound of the formation resounded throughout the entire Burning Bone Pass. The sound was deep and resonant, like the roar of an ancient beast, echoing among the mountains and causing the ground to tremble slightly.

The defensive arrays of the five main passes were activated simultaneously, and various colored spiritual lights surged from the array bases, weaving into a dense, impenetrable net above the passes.

Five-colored light shields, five majestic passes, shimmered with their own light in the twilight, like a rainbow stretching across the land, magnificent and solemn.

At the same time, the formation sent a sound transmission within a hundred miles of Burning Bone Pass. The sound did not travel through the air, but resounded directly in the minds of all cultivators, clear and cold:

"The Bone Burning Pass will close in five hours; those who are late will not be accepted!"

This news was like a bucket of cold water poured over the heads of every cultivator on the outskirts of the Fulong Mountains.

In the dense forests surrounding the Fulong Mountains, the independent cultivators were busy with their own tasks.

Some were hunting demonic beasts, some were gathering spiritual herbs, some were mining spiritual ore in mines, and some were cultivating in seclusion in their caves.

But at that moment, everyone stopped what they were doing.

"What's going on? Why is Burning Bone Pass being closed?" A middle-aged rogue cultivator who was skinning a demon beast looked up, his face full of confusion.

"My God, could the beast tide have come early?" His companion's face turned pale, and the skinning knife in his hand clattered to the ground.

"Hurry, hurry back, it'll be terrible if we're too late!"

A large number of independent cultivators released their flying swords and rushed towards Burning Bone Pass.

The sword light was like a rainbow, drawing bright trails in the twilight. Some were azure, some were crimson, and some were silvery white, intertwining together like a meteor shower.

The Qi Refining cultivators also displayed their unique abilities, pushing their movement techniques to the limit.

Some used the "Wind-Stepping Step," lightly touching the treetops with their toes to leap several feet, creating a strong wind that made the branches and leaves rustle.

Some activated the "Wind Control Technique," their figures moving like fallen leaves blown by the wind, weaving through the forest, sometimes appearing and sometimes disappearing, unpredictable and elusive.

Only those who possessed spirit beasts, especially those who purchased the Lin family's Wind-Riding Spirit Steed, seemed less eager.

Those Wind-Treading Steeds were pure white or light blue, with long limbs and well-proportioned muscles. When they ran, their manes flew in the wind like a flowing cloud.

They have extremely high endurance and speed, able to traverse rugged mountain roads as if on flat ground, and also speed across open plains like the wind.

The rogue cultivators leisurely mounted their mounts, and with a gentle spur of their flanks, the Wind-Stepping Spirit Steeds shot off like arrows.

In the blink of an eye, it overtook the rogue cultivators who had run ahead, leaving behind a trail of crisp hoofbeats and billowing dust.

The runners who started were panting heavily and covered in sweat.

Those who set off later, however, remained calm and composed, their clothes fluttering in the breeze.

With comparison comes disparity.

"Damn it, I should have saved up and bought one too..." A rogue cultivator, who had been left far behind, panted heavily, looking at the white figure getting further and further away, his eyes filled with regret.

His robes were torn in several places by tree branches, and his face was covered in dust, making him look rather disheveled.

As time went on, a large number of monks and caravans had gathered in front of the five checkpoints, waiting in line to enter.

The cacophony of voices, the howls of mythical beasts, and the rumble of wheels created a chaotic symphony.

The long queue stretched outwards from the city gate, extending for miles and seemingly endless.

There were wandering cultivators carrying their packs, merchants pushing carts of spiritual materials, demon-hunting teams riding spirit beasts, and young members of small families leading their juniors on training trips. Everyone's face showed the same word: urgency.

At the city gate, the array was checking identities and allowing people to pass in an orderly manner.

Each person and beast must be scanned by the array to confirm that they are not possessed by a demonic beast or carrying prohibited items.

The formation was a third-tier "Mysterious Heaven Mirror Formation," capable of seeing through all disguises and concealments, leaving no place for any demonic creature attempting to infiltrate the pass.

Soldiers stood guard on both sides of the city gate, their armor gleaming, their weapons unsheathed, their eyes scanning every person entering the pass like hawks.

Their expressions were serious and tense, clearly sensing the oppressive feeling of an impending storm.

But right in front of the central and largest pass—Burning Bone Pass—an unexpected event occurred.