Chapter 2522: I Am Just a Path of Fusion

After Yuan Fen uttered those words, Lu Ye saw many Dao Fusing cultivators rush impatiently into the Central Great Hall. Their presences vanished one by one, clearly having used Soul Converging Orbs to enter the Converging Realm for refuge. Although it was easy to enter and difficult to exit, it was better than losing their lives. With some leading the way, others followed. In a short time, not a single Dao Fusing cultivator remained in the city; they had all fled.

Lu Ye watched, his heart aching immensely. But there was nothing he could do; until the grand formation was breached, he couldn't enter to eliminate the enemies. He could only watch helplessly as those Dao Fusing cultivators fled.

Without the Dao Fusing cultivators maintaining it, the city's grand formation's defensive power significantly weakened, making it difficult to withstand his and Yuan Fen's attacks. Moments later, the grand formation shattered. Yuan Fen immediately turned and charged towards the Soul Converging cultivators' battlefield, only her voice reaching Lu Ye's ears: "Grand Commander, I'll leave this side to you."

This scene felt familiar, as if it had just happened not long ago. Lu Ye, familiar with the process, swiftly entered the opponent's Central Great Hall, shattered the Soul Converging Orb, collected numerous fragments, completing the procedure quickly and cleanly. He then wrapped the fragments in a package and sent them back to Yuan Fen City.

Only after finishing all this did Lu Ye have time to check the battlefield situation. He was surprised to find that the Soul Converging cultivators from both sides had vanished, having fought their way to an unknown location. Most likely, before Yuan Fen arrived at the battlefield, the three enemy Soul Converging cultivators sensed danger and fled first, with Yuan Fen, Luo Feng, and another Soul Converging cultivator pursuing them.

Another battle was still fiercely underway. It was the female Soul Converging cultivator engaging the one who had just attacked the city, while the Dao Fusing cultivators he brought were still stubbornly resisting. This Soul Converging cultivator also wanted to escape, but the woman's strength was clearly superior, making it impossible for him to break free.

Lu Ye leisurely charged towards that battlefield. Seeing him from afar, the woman called out sweetly: "Friend, please lend this humble one a hand!"

Lu Ye didn't even look, merely cupping his fist from a distance: "My apologies, I am merely a Dao Fusing cultivator!" He couldn't reveal too much of his strength in front of outsiders, so even though he wanted to cooperate with her to kill that enemy, he could only forcefully restrain himself.

Upon hearing this, the woman was taken aback. She had just seen Lu Ye and Yuan Fen fiercely breaking through the city's defenses, and seeing Yuan Fen's unparalleled bravery, she had assumed that both Lu Ye and Yuan Fen were Soul Converging cultivators, which was why she had extended the invitation. But then Lu Ye said he was only a Dao Fusing cultivator.

"It didn't matter much anyway; she already held the upper hand, and once her own Soul Converging cultivators returned, it would be the enemy's doom. "Then be careful!" The woman, hearing Lu Ye was a Dao Fusing cultivator, no longer insisted.

Lu Ye said nothing and entered the Dao Fusing cultivators' battlefield. The enemy was already at a disadvantage here, as the number of Dao Fusing cultivators they brought for the siege was not large. After Lu Ye joined and cooperated with the allied forces to kill enemies, even without being too conspicuous, he accelerated the enemy's process of defeat.

A short while later, the enemy Dao Fusing cultivators were either dead or had fled, and the battle temporarily ceased. Lu Ye didn't make many kills, as he couldn't be too conspicuous. Consequently, his gains were not significant.

Before this battlefield was even cleaned up, Yuan Fen and the others returned. Luo Feng walked alongside Yuan Fen, chatting and laughing cheerfully. Turning his head, he saw his female Soul Converging cultivator still engaged in a fierce battle with someone, and he erupted in anger, instantly charging in. His companion followed closely behind. With three against one, the enemy's fate was undoubtedly sealed. Moments later, the sound of a Soul Converging cultivator falling was heard. The fighting ceased.

"Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Yuan Fen, for your assistance this time!" Luo Feng expressed his gratitude once more.

Yuan Fen waved her hand dismissively and said, "You're too kind, Fellow Daoist. Since we're of the same faction, I naturally wouldn't stand by. Besides, looking at your overall strength, you wouldn't have had any major problems even without assistance."

This was true; both Luo Feng and his companion were very strong. The female Soul Converging cultivator seemed slightly less capable, but relatively speaking, she was still quite good.

Luo Feng replied, "That's not entirely true. Without your help, Fellow Daoist, even if we were fine, we wouldn't have achieved such a great victory."

"We each got what we needed; I also gained something." Yuan Fen responded indifferently, not intending to give him another chance to speak. For her, this was merely a chance encounter, and she had no intention of forming a deep friendship. Had she not been able to collect Soul Converging Orbs, she might not even have been willing to intervene in this battle. She then said, "Then, let us part ways here!"

Luo Feng's face showed a hint of regret. He had originally intended to befriend Yuan Fen, seeing her formidable strength, but observing her attitude, he knew there was no chance. Just as he was about to nod, his expression suddenly shifted, and he asked, "An Arid-tier Soul Converging City, Fellow Daoist, are you interested?" Yuan Fen, who had already turned to head back to her own city, immediately stopped and tilted her head, saying, "What do you mean?"

Beside Yuan Fen, Lu Ye looked up at the female Soul Converging cultivator from earlier. He saw her also looking at him, and when their eyes met, she smiled and nodded. Lu Ye sensed that before Luo Feng spoke, the female cultivator had likely sent him a voice transmission, and the mention of an Arid-tier Soul Converging City was probably her prompting. This wasn't an issue; it was normal for someone who had set their sights on an Arid-tier Soul Converging City but lacked the power to take it, to invite Yuan Fen, given her formidable strength. What was a bit unusual was that Lu Ye felt, for a moment, that the female cultivator's gaze towards him seemed a little off.

"Fellow Daoist, if you don't mind, perhaps we could discuss this further inside the city?" Luo Feng, seeing Yuan Fen's expression, knew his words had piqued her interest.

Yuan Fen pondered briefly, then nodded, saying, "Alright!"

A short while later, in Luo Feng's Soul Converging City, guests and hosts were seated. As Lu Ye had observed earlier, this Soul Converging City only had three Soul Converging cultivators. With Luo Feng's introduction, he gained a general understanding of the city. Luo Feng was the City Lord, and the other two were a man and a woman. The man, named Kakarro, was like Xuan Li, an exceptionally tall demon-race member. The female cultivator was named Xiaoyue. And this Soul Converging City, coincidentally, was named Xiaoyue City.

Generally speaking, unless it was a very special Soul Converging City, cities were usually named after their City Lord. Only in particular circumstances, like those at the Ten Greats level, would they have different names. Luo Feng was the City Lord, yet the Soul Converging City was called Xiaoyue City. This indicated the close relationship between the two.

"What is this young friend's name?" After Luo Feng finished his introductions, he looked at Lu Ye.

Yuan Fen introduced proudly, "This is Lu Ye, my Grand Commander of City Defense, a Human."

"So it's Fellow Daoist Lu!" Luo Feng smiled and nodded. "I observed your heroic bearing from afar just now, and I am greatly impressed."

Lu Ye replied expressionlessly, "City Lord, you are too kind. I am merely a Dao Fusing cultivator."

"Huh?" Luo Feng was extremely perplexed and couldn't help but look at Yuan Fen, thinking he had misheard.

Yuan Fen said, "Although the Grand Commander is a Dao Fusing cultivator, he is my most important subordinate!"

Luo Feng immediately chuckled. "To be valued by someone like Fellow Daoist, his future achievements are surely boundless." He was undoubtedly much more tactful in his dealings than Xiaoyue. He had initially thought Lu Ye was a Soul Converging cultivator and casually complimented him since there was no harm in it. But he had praised the wrong person; it would naturally be hypocritical for a Soul Converging cultivator to claim admiration for a Dao Fusing cultivator. Fortunately, Yuan Fen's words gave him an opportunity to smooth things over.

"Enough talk, what's the situation exactly?" Yuan Fen seemed a bit impatient. Although she had gained Soul Converging Orb fragments from another Heaven-tier Soul Converging City this time, she figured it wouldn't be enough to promote Yuan Fen City. But if they could conquer an Arid-tier Soul Converging City... that would be something to look forward to. Her demeanor made Luo Feng realize her temperament, so he stopped equivocating and said, "I know the hidden location of an Arid-tier Soul Converging City. There are currently five Soul Converging cultivators in the city. They previously experienced a major battle and suffered losses. Furthermore, even these five might not be completely unharmed. Therefore, I wish to invite Fellow Daoist to join us in this great endeavor."

Xiaoyue City, with its foundation, had no way of taking an Arid-tier Soul Converging City on its own. But with Yuan Fen City added, the situation would be different, especially given the strong power Yuan Fen had demonstrated earlier. Otherwise, even with Xiaoyue's subtle prompting, Luo Feng wouldn't have proposed this to Yuan Fen. At their level, they generally wouldn't consider anything without confidence, because once a major battle began, there was rarely any opportunity to retreat unscathed.

"For an Arid-tier Soul Converging City, there should be more than five Soul Converging cultivators, shouldn't there?" Yuan Fen frowned slightly. Generally speaking, Heaven-tier cities have three or four Soul Converging cultivators, while Arid-tier cities usually have at least six or seven. That's the normal scale for an Arid-tier Soul Converging City. As for Flood-tier cities, they would have at least double-digit numbers of Soul Converging cultivators. Of course, the exact number of Soul Converging cultivators also depends on the scale of the Soul Converging City. A city like Yuan Fen City, even if it were promoted to Flood-tier, couldn't accommodate many Soul Converging cultivators because of its small scale. Too many Soul Converging cultivators would affect cultivation, so it's better to control the number to ensure efficient cultivation for the city's residents.

Luo Feng smiled, "Fellow Daoist, as I just mentioned, it experienced a major battle and suffered losses!"

"Is the information reliable?" Yuan Fen asked. If so, it would indeed be worth a try. Although Yuan Fen City and Xiaoyue City combined could only field three Soul Converging cultivators against the opponent's five, they were all powerful, so they might not be unable to make a fight of it, especially since the opponent would surely have one Soul Converging cultivator remaining to guard the city. That would make it a three-against-four situation.

"I witnessed it myself; there's no mistake." Luo Feng's expression grew solemn. "To be frank, our city previously participated in the siege of that Arid-tier Soul Converging City, but we were defeated and withdrew. However, I kept an eye out and remotely observed their approximate hidden location."

"When did this happen?" Yuan Fen asked, raising an eyebrow, clearly interested.

"About a month ago!" A month is a very short time for Soul Converging cultivators. If they sustained injuries, it would be difficult to recover unless they were superficial. In other words, that Arid-tier Soul Converging City is currently recuperating, which makes it an excellent time to act.

After a brief deliberation, Yuan Fen turned to Lu Ye: "Grand Commander, what are your thoughts?"

As soon as she spoke, several gazes immediately turned towards them. Previously, when Yuan Fen said Lu Ye was her most important subordinate, the other Soul Converging cultivators had been somewhat dismissive. But now, seeing Yuan Fen genuinely asking for Lu Ye's opinion, they immediately understood that Yuan Fen truly valued him. Otherwise, how could a dignified Soul Converging cultivator ask for the thoughts of a mere Dao Fusing subordinate? At that moment, all the gazes directed towards them became ambiguous.