Prologue, Final Battle. At the Summit of Mount Everest

The voice of the red-haired man remained as deep as ever, "However, this will ultimately come. After all, our zodiac guardian spirits protect the East, while yours guard the West. Our beliefs are not the same." In his voice, apart from a hint of weariness, no emotions or colors could be discerned, nor could his age be identified.

I lament, why is she a beauty while I am just this lewd man? The heavens are unjust

The woman with purple hair gently nodded and said in a low voice, "Yes, for the sake of our mission, we must not retreat." Her right hand slowly rose, and with a delicate gesture, a long-handled scepter appeared in her hand out of thin air. This scepter, with its exceptionally ancient design, shimmered with a golden luster. The scepter was gradually raised into the air, and a brilliant beam of golden light shot forth from its tip, instantly dispersing the snow and mist in the air, filling the atmosphere with an even more sacred aura

"Haven't you read the novel? Back in the day, there was a duel between Ximen Chui Xue and Ye Gu Cheng at the peak of Zijin. Why can't we have a showdown at the summit of Mount Everest? Boss, I support you," said a handsome man. Although the cold wind was fierce, his voice still clearly reached everyone's ears.

At this moment, at the junction of ice and rock on the northern slope of Mount Everest, a group of more than ten people is climbing rapidly. It is important to note that at altitudes exceeding 7,000 meters, both the temperature and the thinness of the oxygen are beyond what an ordinary person can endure. Yet, these climbers appear quite relaxed, dressed in ordinary clothing rather than specialized cold-resistant gear

At that moment, a graceful figure slowly ascended from below, as if she did not need any assistance, effortlessly rising towards the peak. The twelve individuals standing behind the man in red dispersed on their own, forming a semi-arc. The man in red remained still, yet his gaze, as solid as substance, was fixed on the gracefully approaching figure.

A deep voice emerged from the frontmost individual, "Alright, no need to say more, let’s get moving. Choosing to be here was merely a casual remark at the time; for you, this peak of over 8,800 meters does not seem to pose a challenge." His tone was very low, tinged with a hint of hoarseness. This person wore a dark red cloak that completely enveloped his body, including his head, making it impossible to discern his appearance from the outside; one could only identify him as a man by his voice.

At that moment, twelve shadowy figures flickered as they ascended from the southern slope of Mount Everest. Each individual appeared somewhat bulky, and as they drew closer, it became evident that they were all carrying a large box on their backs, the contents of which remained unknown.

"淫虎, hurry up and get going. Be careful, the mice are going to fight you to the death." The shortest person in the group, wearing glasses as thick as the bottom of a bottle, pressed down on the waist of the man in front of him. With a forceful push, he managed to climb onto the man's shoulders, contorting his body in the process

After passing through the icy and snowy area and stepping onto the rocky phase, although the cold wind became more biting, the ascent was relatively easier. A tall woman in a blue long dress in the team said: "They must have come up from the south. Shouldn't we hurry to catch up? After all, this is the territory of our Yanhuang Republic; how can we allow those outsiders to arrive first?"

At last, like a cloud, the woman floated to the peak, her long white dress as pure as snow. She was enveloped in a faint glow, her delicate figure resembling a layer of golden gauze, her translucent skin like white jade, making it difficult to gaze upon her. Her face, as pure and fresh as ice and snow, featured bright, sparkling eyes, a petite and exquisite nose, and slightly curved, full cherry-colored lips, with features that epitomized exquisite beauty. Her elongated and graceful body was equally perfect, with a waist so slender it could barely be grasped, and stunningly long legs. The graceful curves, wrapped in a soft white light, exuded a sacred aura. Most striking was her long purple hair, which seemed not to be dyed but rather a natural hue, flowing like purple satin behind her. At that moment, her gaze was fixed on the man in red, her violet eyes filled with desolation and helplessness, her small white teeth gently biting her lip.

The leader in red nodded and said, "Alright, let us hasten our journey and also warm up before the battle. Chen Long, Yin Hu, Mao Tu, Wu Ma, Wei Yang, Xu Gou, you are skilled in advancing; take the others with you, and we will accelerate." A faint blue light appeared beneath the feet of the man in red, which turned out to be two orbs of light resembling wheels, lifting his body into the air and transforming into a streak of blue-red light heading towards the peak.

In the faint glow, a group of thirteen people ascended the final thousand meters, which should have been the most challenging, in just over ten minutes, reaching the summit of Mount Everest. From a distance, they looked down at the expanse of white snow, as swirling snow and mist were relentlessly buffeting their bodies with strong winds

The initially speaking stout man sighed and said to a woman beside him, who was dressed in a white leather jacket, of medium build but possessing a pair of long, beautiful legs: "The boss seems to be in a bad mood! He rarely addresses us by our code names so seriously."

The man in the red coat had been keeping his head down, seemingly deep in thought. Suddenly, he lifted his head, his body trembling slightly, and two piercing gazes shot towards the south like arrows.

Yumou lowered her head and said: "In your Eastern culture, the division is based on the twelve Earthly Branches, but in our Western tradition, we do not refer to it in the same way, and the method of division is different. We use the zodiac as our guide. In a certain sense, this differs from your twelve Earthly Branches. We divide the ecliptic into twelve equal parts, each part measuring thirty degrees, referred to as a segment. Each segment was once the palace of the legendary sun god Apollo, hence it is also called the twelve houses of the zodiac."

The woman in white sighed and said in her exceptionally gentle voice: "After all, he has to face his beloved! Whoever it may be, their mood would likely not be very good. Today's battle, regardless of victory or defeat, may not necessarily yield a favorable outcome for him. Come on, let’s go." She grasped the fat man's hand, and with a push of her feet, she seemed to leap into the air, vanishing in an instant to a distance of several dozen meters.

The middle-aged man, previously known as the Lustful Tiger, revealed a hint of admiration in his eyes and softly murmured: "In the prime of youth at twenty-nine, amidst the beautiful scenery of spring. Hair like clouds, delicate brows revealing two crescent moons; a face like jade, red lips harmonizing with a touch of cinnabar in the painting. Neither too tall nor too short, neither too thin nor too plump. Suitable for joy and anger, suitable for frowning and smiling. A newly tailored thin silk dress like a swallow, paired with light socks complementing the Xiang skirt."

The strong mountain wind fiercely stirred up patches of snow mist. Among the dozen or so people walking, a stout man expressed his dissatisfaction, saying: "Boss, if we're going to have a decisive battle, why choose such a place? It's both cold and high here, it's unbearable."

The red-haired man stood there, paying no attention to the faint golden light emanating in the air. A dazzling and domineering red light suddenly burst forth, softly stating: "Your subordinates have also arrived. Today marks the battle between the twelve earthly branches of the East and the twelve earthly branches of the West, and simultaneously, it is a battle between you and me. Yumo, neither of us is wrong, yet both of us are wrong. Would you agree?"

The man in red was the first to arrive at the summit, standing alone at the highest point, appearing somewhat desolate. They had clearly arrived before their opponents, twelve individuals standing neatly behind the man in red, none of them uttering a word, their expressions all showing a hint of seriousness.

The woman with purple hair seemed not to have heard the words "淫虎" and softly said in authentic Yanhuang language: "You actually arrived before me; in truth, I never wish for the arrival of this battle."

Not far behind the woman in white, a man who appeared to be around thirty years old showed a look of desire, "Ah, the legs of the rabbit are becoming increasingly elastic."