Chapter 2442: Next Step Action

Youdie came rushing from afar, darting directly in front of him, only to be stopped by Lu Ye with his Panshan Blade pressed against her forehead. She stood still with her arms open.

She had probably intended to give Lu Ye a hug.

She pouted, then banished the hint of grievance from her face and asked with a smile, "Brother Ye, I'm here. Aren't you happy?"

Lu Ye sheathed his blade. "You're old enough now," he said, "don't pretend to be young in front of me."

He looked behind Youdie. Yayi and Kuzhi bowed to him with clasped fists, their expressions respectful.

What felt familiar to him were the auras of these two insectoids. After all, back in the Outer Realm, these two had always been by Youdie's side. He hadn't expected them to remain loyal to this day.

The two of them were considered Youdie's direct subordinates, meaning they were born and raised within her insectoid nest. Such direct subordinates had extremely high loyalty to Youdie, their queen, so their unwavering loyalty was not hard to understand.

Lu Ye simply didn't understand why they could be with Youdie, even if they had the ability to enter the Inner Realm.

As if sensing Lu Ye's confusion, Youdie explained, "It wasn't until I truly merged my Dao and entered the Inner Realm that I realized we insect queens possess an advantage that no other race has: we can bring our insectoid nests from the Outer Realm into here, along with all the creatures nurtured within them."

Lu Ye immediately understood.

If that were the case, it was no longer difficult to understand why Yayi and Kuzhi were with Youdie.

When Youdie entered the Inner Realm, she didn't have her own insectoid nest with her; her nest had remained in Banlan. However, bringing her direct subordinates into the Inner Realm posed no problem.

This was quite good. Currently, Yuanxi City was in dire need of manpower. Yuanxi had even gone as far as spending some Dao Fish to buy several Fusion Dao slaves from the Hehe Realm, which showed her urgent need for personnel.

The addition of Youdie, a Dao-merging cultivator, could significantly enhance Yuanxi City's overall foundation. And two more Fusion Dao cultivators would, of course, be the icing on the cake.

They were old friends, after all, and Youdie had come to join them because of him. Lu Ye softened his expression. "Was your journey here smooth?" he asked.

"Very smooth," Youdie replied with a smile.

Behind her, Yayi pursed her lips, clearly wanting to say something but remaining silent.

The journey itself had indeed been relatively smooth. Youdie was, after all, a Dao-merging cultivator, and she had been cautious the whole way, avoiding major troubles. However, their departure from their previous Dao-merging city hadn't been so smooth.

The presence of an insect queen was of great value to a Dao-merging city, and no city lord would willingly give one up easily. So, there had been some unpleasantness at the time. Youdie had been clever enough; otherwise, she might truly have been forced to stay.

"Let's go, Brother Ye," Youdie said with a look of expectation. "Take me to see your Dao-merging city."

"It's not my Dao-merging city."

"I know," Youdie nodded repeatedly. "But one day you'll have your own Dao-merging city, and then I'll be your right-hand woman!"

She clearly had great confidence in Lu Ye.

Upon returning to Yuanxi City, Brightness, having received Lu Ye's message, lifted the external alert, and the four figures entered smoothly.

"Is this Yuanxi City?" Youdie asked, observing her surroundings.

"It's the City Lord's name."

"Many Dao-merging cities are named after their City Lords; my previous one was too," Youdie nodded. "It seems many areas here aren't fully developed, and there isn't much activity."

"Yuanxi City was only established recently," Lu Ye explained. All told, it had only been about half a year since Yuanxi came here to rebuild the Dao-merging city.

"And it's already an Earth-grade city?" Youdie was utterly astonished.

The Dao-merging city she had previously stayed in had been established for many years, yet it was still only Earth-grade. She didn't know how long the current Dao-merging city had been established, but judging by its many incomplete arrangements, it clearly hadn't been long.

She suddenly realized she had underestimated the City Lord of Yuanxi City. To build such a Dao-merging city from scratch in such a short time, her own strength must be absolutely formidable.

She composed her expression. "Since I'm here," she said, "I should pay my respects to the City Lord."

After all, she was seeking refuge and living under someone else's roof, so she naturally had to be aware of her position.

"Not now, the City Lord isn't in the city..." As Lu Ye was speaking, Yuanxi's aura suddenly emanated from the direction of the Central Hall.

She had returned from the Hehe Realm.

Youdie also sensed it and quickly turned her head to look.

A moment later, Yuanxi swiftly arrived from the direction of the Central Hall. Her gaze immediately fell on Youdie standing beside Lu Ye. After a brief glance, she smiled and said, "You must be the friend the Grand Commander mentioned, yes?"

Youdie was undoubtedly discerning. She quickly bowed and said, "Insect Queen Youdie greets Elder Sister Yuanxi."

Lu Ye stood by, observing silently. Youdie's mouth was always as if smeared with honey; no wonder she had managed so well after entering the Inner Realm.

However, she was probably mistaken this time, as Yuanxi preferred to be addressed as "City Lord."

"Since you are the Grand Commander's friend, you are one of us from now on, younger sister. No need to be polite," Yuanxi said with an amicable smile.

Youdie's tone was gentle, like a refined young lady. "From now on, I'll trouble you for your care, Elder Sister," she said. "Like Brother Ye, I'm new here and don't know much about the Inner Realm. If I do anything wrong, please feel free to punish me, Elder Sister."

Yuanxi raised her hand and pinched Youdie's smooth, tender cheek. "You're so charming, younger sister," she said, "I couldn't bear to punish you."

The sensation on her face lingered, and Youdie's expression stiffened as she looked at Lu Ye in astonishment.

Lu Ye also had an expression as if he had discovered a new world, looking puzzled and uncertain.

Yuanxi, however, acted as if nothing had happened. She suddenly clasped her hands behind her back, and her expression became solemn. "Alright, younger sister Youdie has arrived, Grand Commander," she announced, "it's time for us to begin the next phase of our plan!"

Lu Ye already had some understanding of Yuanxi's impetuous personality, so he wasn't surprised by her words. He quickly clasped his fists and said, "I am willing to follow you through fire and water, my Lady."

Beside him, Youdie suddenly wanted to laugh.

Because when they were in Banlan, Lu Ye had been quite unruly and unyielding. Even when she had captured him alive back then, the life chain restraining her had made her extremely uncomfortable.

After so many years together, she had never seen Lu Ye in such a deferential manner.

Indeed, this man also knew how to assess the situation.

Yuanxi let out another soft cry. "Youdie, heed my command!"

Youdie quickly straightened her posture, clasped her fists, and said, "Please give your instructions, my Lady."

Yuanxi said, "From now on, you will be Yuanxi City's Deputy City Lord. Later, I will grant you some authority. Your task is simple: when I am not in the city, you are to command the city's personnel to protect it."

Youdie was astonished once more.

She knew that as an insect queen, if she came to seek refuge, she wouldn't be neglected. But she had never imagined that Yuanxi would have such boldness as to directly appoint her as Deputy City Lord and even grant her some authority over the Dao-merging city.

If the appointment as Deputy City Lord was merely a nominal position, then gaining authority over the Dao-merging city was a tangible benefit.

Although she had also held the title of Deputy City Lord in her previous Dao-merging city—given her cultivation level—it was merely a nominal position. She couldn't actually interfere with any city affairs, let alone have authority over the Dao-merging city.

For a moment, she didn't know whether City Lord Yuanxi trusted her or Lu Ye.

Because once she had partial authority over the Dao-merging city, if she harbored ill intentions, she could potentially interfere with Yuanxi when Yuanxi was fighting outside.

Within a Dao-merging city, the appointment of a Deputy City Lord with actual power was always handled with extreme caution. They would never appoint anyone who wasn't a close relative or deeply trusted.

"Alright, it's time to get going," Yuanxi instructed again. "Before that, I need you all to adjust yourselves and always maintain your best condition."

Earlier, Yuanxi had intended to attack another Dao-merging city to verify Lu Ye's method of intercepting Dao-merging Pearl fragments. However, because of Youdie's arrival, Yuanxi City had been staying here.

Now that Youdie had arrived and the city's foundation had greatly increased, it was naturally time to set off.

"Understood," Lu Ye and Youdie both acknowledged the command.

"Younger sister Youdie, come with me," Yuanxi called out, leading the way towards the City Lord's Mansion.

Youdie glanced at Lu Ye, her red lips silently forming words, then followed closely behind Yuanxi and left.

Lu Ye returned to the Grand Commander's Manor. He didn't know how long this journey would take, but with nothing else to do, arduous cultivation was always the right choice.

Soon, Yuanxi City began to move, its speed rapidly increasing under Yuanxi's command.

After another short while, Youdie came looking for him, looking as if she were in a dream.

She had already received partial authority over the Dao-merging city from Yuanxi, and now she was Yuanxi City's true Deputy City Lord.

Only half an hour had passed from the moment she set foot here until now, yet she had instantly leaped from the humble status of a dependant to one of high standing.

"Brother Ye," Youdie asked with a curious expression, "our City Lord... what's her background?"

It wasn't that she wanted to pry into secrets. Since they were all on the same side now, the more she understood, the better.

"I don't know," Lu Ye said, shaking his head.

He still hadn't figured out Yuanxi's background, only that she had a significant origin.

"Since she appointed you as Deputy City Lord, just do your part well," Lu Ye warned her. "Don't have any unnecessary thoughts."

"How would I dare..." Youdie said, sticking out her tongue. "She seems very strong."

The City Lord of her previous Dao-merging city was also very strong; otherwise, he couldn't have maintained an Earth-grade Dao-merging city. But that strength was something Youdie could perceive.

Yuanxi was different.

When Yuanxi stood before her today, she felt as if she were facing a bottomless abyss. Not to mention she had no ulterior motives to begin with; even if she had, they would have vanished.

Lu Ye felt it was still necessary to tell Youdie more, to make her behave more properly in the future, as he wouldn't be able to protect her if anything truly went wrong. "Do you know Qin Feng, the master of the Fighting Arena?" he asked.

"I don't know," Youdie said, shaking her head.