Only after becoming emperor did he realize he was in a fantasy world of immortal cultivation.

Three days later, Lin Ye returned to the palace.

Zhu Kang and Ji Lin, who returned with him, were temporarily assigned to the Dan Palace to be responsible for setting up part of the traps.

On the other side, Gongsun Yan stood at the foot of Kunlun Mountain and looked ahead.

Looking horizontally, the endless mountain range seems to have no end.

Looking vertically, the mountains rise abruptly from the ground, seemingly connecting with the sky.

A vast expanse of white, amidst the howling winds, conveyed both desolation and grandeur.

At this moment, the commander of the armored army walked towards the wind, his chapped face unable to conceal the determination in his expression. He stopped beside Gongsun Yan and said, "Daoist Gongsun, everything is ready for the trip up the mountain."

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Yan slowly turned around. The wind made his green robe flutter, but it did not affect his "Taoist" demeanor at all.

Of course, this comes at a price.

Gongsun Yan felt a toothache whenever he thought about the three spiritual pills he had consumed to maintain the spiritual power required for his cold-resistant technique.

He originally only planned to wait at the foot of Kunlun Mountain for these people to finish collecting the "rootless water" he had previously talked about, and then leave immediately.

As a result, the commander in front of him stubbornly kept repeating the same sentence: "I hope the Taoist priest will come and inspect in person."

They said that the only time to fetch water is at midnight on the winter solstice, and to avoid any mistakes, he must come along.

Gongsun Yan thought to himself that he had really shot himself in the foot.

Back when he formed an alliance with Zhou Wanwan, they agreed to be the ones in charge of the plan. But now he's trekking through mountains and rivers in this freezing wind, wasting his magic, while they're enjoying a life of luxury in the palace.

No, I must get something from them again when I get back from this trip.

After thinking it over, Gongsun Yan casually replied, "In that case, let me calculate the time and then we'll prepare to set off."

"Yes," the commander of the armored army replied with a bow.

Just as Gongsun Yan was about to close his eyes to calculate, he heard the commander say with a rare hint of hesitation, "There is one more matter, which I would like to ask Daoist Gongsun to decide."

"What is it?"

"Reporting to the Daoist Master, just now when I was patrolling the vicinity, I suddenly discovered a hidden aura. So I immediately went to look for it. Although I clearly saw the figure, I only followed it for a few moments before it disappeared into the snow mountain." The commander's voice was low and solemn.

"The newcomer's technique is so unpredictable and mysterious that I am worried he might ruin our plan to obtain the Rootless Water."

"Formless and unpredictable?" Gongsun Yan's gaze sharpened slightly upon hearing this, as if he were deep in thought.

He then slowly closed his eyes and secretly used magic to survey his surroundings.

A moment later, he indeed spotted Zhou Yan.

Zhou Wanwan...

Since you've already "delivered" the person to my doorstep, wouldn't it be a waste of your "good intentions" if I didn't do something about it?

Thinking of this, Gongsun Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, as if the wind and snow were rushing in, as if he were desperately trying to erase the sharpness in his eyes.

A moment later, he said, "No need to worry."

"Yes."

Half an hour later, the group braved the biting cold and began their ascent to the mountaintop. Day and night alternated repeatedly, and after five days, they finally reached their destination on the night of the winter solstice.

"Rest where you are." The commander of the armored army shouted as he scanned the surroundings with his eagle eyes.

Upon hearing this, the eight thousand armored soldiers immediately sprang into action, their movements swift and orderly.

They carefully placed the jade artifacts on their backs onto the snow, then quickly sat in a circle, took out dry rations and water bags from their packs, and began to replenish their strength.

Gongsun Yan stood atop the snow-capped mountain, overlooking the entire Kunlun Mountains.

Rolling sea of ​​clouds, high mountains covered in snow and cold.

It was as if a sage was about to ascend to immortality.

Looking at him, the soldiers finally understood why His Majesty revered him as the "Immortal Master".

However, Gongsun Yan's current posture was not for their benefit, but rather he was using magic to search for Zhou Yan's whereabouts.

A moment later, Gongsun Yan's gaze bypassed the swirling clouds and settled firmly on Zhou Yan's location.

He then cast a spell around himself to prevent the soldiers from seeing his spellcasting.

He then formed hand seals and chanted incantations. Streaks of azure light surged from his palms, quickly setting up a complex array at the location of Zhou Yan on the snow mountain.

A moment later, the azure light within the formation intensified, and the snow on the snow-capped mountain where Zhou Yan was located began to tremble violently, as if drawn by an invisible force. With his gesture, the snow on the mountain began to collapse, forming a massive avalanche.

Zhou Yan, who was hiding in the shadows, suddenly saw huge snow chunks and ice chips mixed with strong winds sweeping towards him with overwhelming force. He immediately cast a spell to leave the center of the violent avalanche, but found that he was trapped in the formation.

Zhou Yan dodged left and right, but the impact of the avalanche came wave after wave. He spun around, barely avoiding a huge snowball, but was immediately hit by another wave of snow, almost losing his footing. He gritted his teeth and drew a series of runes in the air with his hands, trying to use magic to create a way out for himself.

However, the avalanche was far too powerful, and Zhou Yan's spell could only be maintained for a few moments before it could no longer be sustained.

His body was struck again and again, each impact making him feel as if his bones were about to shatter. His breathing gradually became rapid, and his strength was being rapidly depleted.

Seeing that the time was right, Gongsun Yan immediately controlled the formation to deliver the final blow.

Just as Gongsun Yan had predicted, Zhou Yan was already at his limit. When the avalanche swept in like a giant wave, he could only kneel on the ground, gritting his teeth and saying, "Gong...sun...Yan."

After he finished speaking, Zhou Yan's vision gradually blurred, and his figure was gradually swallowed up by the wind and snow.

Such an avalanche would naturally not be ignored by the armored soldiers.

Their state had long since shifted from rest to vigilance, their eyes fixed on the avalanche below.

"Did you see anyone just now?" one of the soldiers asked uncertainly.

"Such a massive avalanche, if someone were to fall in..."

Gongsun Yan had already removed the illusion on his body. Hearing the soldier's words, he sneered inwardly: "Then he is naturally dead."

......

Two days later, at the Hall of Mental Cultivation

Lin Ye looked at the note in his hand and couldn't help but smile.

The note was delivered by the commander of the armored army sent to "protect" Gongsun Yan.

The above contains only a few words: plan succeeds, avalanche, death.

Indeed, Zhou Yan's death was part of a plan he devised after learning that Zhou Wanwan intended to send Zhou Yan to monitor Gongsun Yan.

First, he sent the commander of the Ironclad Army, who was also one of the people Zhao Fei had mentioned who had mastered the "Concealing Breath Technique," to secretly confirm whether Zhou Yan was following him.

Then, the commander of the armored army would casually mention Zhou Yan's existence at an opportune moment.

then......

Lin Ye narrowed his eyes slightly. He calculated that if Gongsun Yan knew of Zhou Yan's existence, he would not give up this opportunity to reduce the number of enemies.

in this way......

Lin Ye gently crushed the note in his hand, and it instantly turned into dust. "I have one less adversary."