The new resistance army camp.

The Snow Mountain Divine Eagle, Luozhuo, gazed at the distant mountains. The mountain range before him lay as still as death, as if nothing could disturb its slumber.

Yet, the thought of what was to come made Luozhuo involuntarily draw in a sharp, icy breath.

"After waiting for two and a half years, we can finally put an end to this!"

Drolma walked to Luozhuo's side, looking at him with concern.

"Lord Eagle, are you truly going to the Demon Kingdom? It's far too dangerous there. And without you, relying on us alone, we might not be able to succeed."

Luozhuo had instructed them that once the experts of the Snowy Region all headed to the Demon Kingdom, it would be the perfect time to strike, as the great chieftain families of the West and Sangha Monastery would be at their most vulnerable.

However, Drolma's heart was filled with unease.

The resistance army's strength was far too weak. Without considering Luozhuo, their forces couldn't even contend with a single one of the great families.

A mysterious smile touched Luozhuo's lips.

"You think our strength is weak?"

Hearing this, Drolma instinctively glanced back at the camp's elderly, weak, sick, and disabled.

Seventy percent of the resistance army consisted of the old and frail; only thirty percent were capable fighters.

Luozhuo chuckled. "Don't forget, a single spark can start a prairie fire. Over the past two and a half years, I've sown countless seeds, right within the Four Great Families and Sangha Monastery."

"Now, those sparks are about to burst into raging flames!"

Drolma exclaimed in surprise, "You mean... the sleeper agents you planted?"

Only Luozhuo himself knew about his network of sleeper agents.

Those people had lain dormant for a long time. Some had even been his people from the very beginning. But in the past, they had never received any mission.

Because Luozhuo had told them they were only to reveal themselves when the full-scale war erupted.

Even if they had to watch comrades die before their eyes on ordinary days, they had to appear unmoved.

Luozhuo narrowed his eyes, feeling an immense sense of exhilaration.

"Everything, just for this day."

"As long as I stop Jue Guo and the chieftains from obtaining the Demon Kingdom's treasure, we can secure the final victory!"

He let out a long cry. With a "whoosh!", two enormous golden wings unfurled from his back, and his entire form transformed into a massive golden-winged roc, soaring away beyond the mountains.

...

After everyone had gathered, Deji made a show of shouting a few words—all formalities and platitudes—urging everyone to obey the commands of the Lord of the Charnel Ground and himself once they entered the Demon Kingdom.

Then, the great army set off.

Pagyi Gesang stayed behind to guard the home front. But with Zhang Yi present, whether he went or not hardly mattered.

He said to Zhang Yi, "I entrust the team to you, sir! If needed, they can all be sacrificed. Please, do not be soft-hearted!"

Zhang Yi sighed. "Although I find it hard to bear, for the sake of the greater cause, it seems this must be done."

The massive procession set out, heading towards the Great Snow Mountain.

Although Pagyi Gesang would not enter the underground Demon Kingdom, he still escorted Zhang Yi and the others all the way to the Great Snow Mountain.

The first time Zhang Yi came here, he had directly used his primal method—spatial traversal—to find the place.

However, for ordinary people arriving here, without the guidance of the great chieftains of the West, it was extremely difficult to locate that spot.

Because the entrance was exceptionally well-hidden, and the underground paths were winding and complex.

This time, following the main force, it took Zhang Yi several dozen minutes to reach the underground entrance.

It was still that familiar place: the massive bluestone gate, with the entire open area before it now transformed into a pool of blood.

A foul, nauseating stench made everyone involuntarily wrinkle their noses.

The smell wasn't ordinary blood, but something mixed with a putrid, decaying odor.

A lama from Sangha Monastery stepped forward, raising a hand to release a torrent of flames. Soon, the intense heat evaporated the entire pool of blood.

Deji stepped forward first, with the other three chieftains following closely behind.

Each of them took out a stone slab from their hands and inserted it into the subtle grooves on the bluestone gate.

"This is probably the key Pagyi Gesang mentioned," Zhang Yi murmured to himself.

He recalled the last time he was here, when the Lord of the Charnel Ground had channeled the power of the five of them to act upon the bluestone gate.

"It seems that to open this gate, besides needing the key, one also requires sufficiently powerful strength."

"And clearly, the Lord of the Charnel Ground alone couldn't manage it."

Yang Xinxin's voice came through the communication channel.

Hearing this, Zhang Yi remarked, "This stone gate seems like a kind of seal, imposing great restrictions on supernatural abilities. Since we can't break through it with individual strength, the power behind the gate likely cannot either."

However, at this moment, Yang Xinxin uttered a chilling statement.

"Perhaps a thousand years ago, the person who erected this bluestone gate deliberately set such stringent conditions for opening it, precisely to prevent future generations from overestimating themselves and forcing it open."

"In other words, only those possessing enough strength to open the gate are qualified to confront the so-called power of the Demon Kingdom behind it."

"But now, the Lord of the Charnel Ground also needed to borrow your strength to accomplish this."

Yang Xinxin's words pinpointed the crux of the matter.

The power behind the stone gate must be fearsome. Even the legendary hero King Gesar a thousand years ago could only use the gate to isolate the two worlds, unable to completely eradicate the Demon Kingdom.

Yet every single person present harbored their own ulterior motives, still contending with each other. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Once inside the stone gate, unable to unite their hearts and efforts, could they truly succeed in obtaining the Demon Kingdom's treasure?

Zhang Yi narrowed his eyes slightly and silently took half a step back.

After the four chieftains inserted the stone slabs into the bluestone gate, the Lord of the Charnel Ground, Jue Guo, walked over.

He placed his powerful palm on the bluestone gate, a complex, inscrutable glint flashing in his eyes.

There was a hint of dazed confusion, yet also a sense of familiarity.

But soon, his gaze grew firm.

"Rumble rumble!"

As he exerted force with his palm, the colossal gate, fifty meters tall, actually began to inch open, pushed aside.

Soon, a crack was opened.

But as this crack appeared, everyone immediately heard a sinister, terrifying laughter emanating from behind the stone gate.

Zhang Yi stared fixedly at the stone gate. His ability, All Things Follow Traces, was locked onto the space behind it. At the first sign of any danger, he would immediately take his people and leave.

"Whoosh—"

A sound like rushing water echoed forth, as if this tide carried countless pebbles within it.

A flash of white light appeared before the Lord of the Charnel Ground's eyes, followed by a skull hurtling straight towards his face.

His figure swiftly retreated. In the next moment, a white tide surged out from behind the stone gate!

Everyone was horrified. Over two thousand people were crammed into the narrow space, making a quick retreat difficult. Many were instantly engulfed by the white wave.

Zhang Yi, staying at the back and dodging in time, wasn't caught up in it.

However, they soon saw clearly what the white tide was.

It was actually a massive pile of ghastly white bones!

The bones poured out from behind the stone gate, quickly piling up into a mountain before the entrance.

Deji addressed the crowd, "Do not panic! These bones, and the previous pool of blood, are merely relics left behind from when King Gesar and Master Padmasambhava sealed away the Demonic People."