Chapter 2529: The Incident Happened

When Lu Ye spoke, You Die naturally complied.

A moment later, the streak of light approaching Yuanxi City stopped, turned, and sped away. This Harmonizer, who had intended to defect to Yuanxi City, was clearly straightforward, making no attempt to linger or complicate matters. In the vast snowy plains, he had many potential allies. In the ongoing conflict, Harmonizer Cities had their own stances. Wandering cultivators like him typically did not hold firm allegiances, unless for specific reasons.

Lu Ye watched the departing figure with a pensive expression, then shook his head moments later and returned to his residence. Now that Yuanxi City had been promoted to the Grand level, his cultivation efficiency had improved once more. Moreover, the spoils of war he had previously acquired, including Dao Bones and some Dao Soldiers, needed to be refined, as they were all sources of his own Dao power.

"City Lord!" As Lu Ye was refining his spoils, You Die's voice rang out again.

"What is it?" Yuanxi's voice came from the City Lord's Manor.

"There's a situation. Could you please come over, Lord?"

Lu Ye's expression shifted. He quickly stood up, sensing from You Die's tone that something had happened. Flashing out of his residence, he saw Yuanxi emerging from the City Lord's Manor. Their eyes met, they nodded slightly, and together they hastened to the Central Hall.

A moment later, three figures stood before the Harmonizer Orb. You Die said, "Lord, just now, a message came through the mark on the Harmonizer Orb. It stated that a Vice City Lord from Governor City, named Jing Lei, ordered our city to immediately go to a certain location and explain why we harmed our colleagues." It was the first time she had realized that the resonance mark infused within the Harmonizer Orb could transmit messages; she had never encountered such a thing before.

Upon hearing this, Lu Ye immediately knew the matter had escalated. That day, Luo Feng had used the so-called Governor City to intimidate Yuanxi in order to save his life, but Yuanxi had not taken it seriously at all. In her view, since Brightmoon City intended to harm Lu Ye, Luo Feng and his companions deserved to die, and she would not hesitate to kill them. If all the cultivators present that day had truly been annihilated, the news would certainly not have leaked, and the destruction of Brightmoon City would not have attracted much attention. However, many Integration-level cultivators managed to escape, and several Harmonizers also survived. Consequently, the events at Brightmoon City could not be concealed. A life-and-death struggle between two major Harmonizer Cities within the same faction, resulting in one being utterly destroyed and its city breached, had likely reached Governor City after several days of brewing. This was why the summons had been issued. Lu Ye immediately recalled Luo Feng's earlier remark about his extremely close relationship with a Vice City Lord from Governor City, which must have been this Jing Lei.

Upon hearing this, Yuanxi adopted a languid posture and said, "What do I care... Just ignore it." She had anticipated this scenario even before deciding to act against Luo Feng and Kakarro, so she was not surprised at all. You Die couldn't help but worry, "But Governor City said that if we don't arrive at that location within the specified time, they will treat us as rebels." Yuanxi immediately sneered, "A mere Vice City Lord speaks as if he owns the sky. Let's see if he truly has that authority." If it had been an ordinary City Lord, they would probably have been intimidated and would certainly have followed Jing Lei's orders. But Yuanxi was no ordinary person; not to mention Jing Lei, even if City Lord Thin Bamboo himself were present, he wouldn't dare show her the slightest disrespect. It seemed now that Jing Lei probably didn't know her background; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so presumptuous. Yuanxi turned and walked away, completely disregarding the matter. Lu Ye and You Die exchanged glances, both feeling helpless.

Subsequently, Vice City Lord Jing Lei issued three more ultimatums to Yuanxi City, each with a stricter tone. You Die found it difficult to disturb Yuanxi, so she could only inform Lu Ye. However, both of them realized that Yuanxi was right: this Vice City Lord spoke as if he owned the sky, but he truly seemed to lack the authority to declare Yuanxi City rebellious. If he truly possessed that power, he wouldn't be so outwardly aggressive yet inwardly weak.

Yuanxi City continued to drift through the snowy plains. Its unique nature often attracted the covetous gaze of hidden observers, but once a confrontation occurred, those observers usually met a tragic end. With each successive battle, Yuanxi City gained rewards, and so did Lu Ye. He increasingly felt that the snowy plains were an excellent place. If the situation continued this way, he would soon accumulate enough Star Abyss Coins to exchange for another rare treasure.

However, those who walk too often at night are bound to eventually run into trouble. Approximately two months after Yuanxi City entered the snowy plains, while it was drifting peacefully, five figures suddenly appeared from both sides, launching an ambush. You Die's warning immediately rang out. Yuanxi was even more decisive: "Run, run!" An ambush involving five Harmonizers indicated at least a Desolate-level force, or a coalition of more than two Harmonizer Cities. Given Yuanxi City's current foundation, they truly couldn't directly confront such a force. In this situation, fleeing was naturally the best option. Even Yuanxi didn't dare to casually go out and face the enemies. Strong as she was, it would be too much for her to fight five opponents alone.

The city's protective formation was activated to its maximum extent, enduring the furious assault of the five enemy Harmonizers. Lu Ye also entered the formation, doing his best to provide his own power. Yuanxi City experienced the helplessness of being besieged for the first time. Because Harmonizer Cities couldn't fly as fast as individual cultivators, they could only passively endure and couldn't shake off the enemies. Fortunately, Yuanxi City had now advanced to the Grand level, and even with a small number of members, its protective formation was sufficiently strong and stable. A chase battle lasted for half a day, making Yuanxi furious. She rarely felt so frustrated, yet there was nothing she could do. The enemies likely also noticed Yuanxi City's unusual nature, because under normal circumstances, a Harmonizer City of this scale wouldn't have such a robust protective formation. Five Harmonizers working together should have been able to break through it quickly. Yet, in reality, they had attacked for half a day with little effect. Eventually, the five Harmonizers retreated.

In the City Lord's Manor hall, Yuanxi raged, smashing the decorations and furnishings into a mess. Lu Ye stood to the side, observing calmly and minding his own business. The City Lord was in a foul mood, and he didn't want to get on her bad side. After a fierce outburst, Yuanxi finally sat down and looked up at Lu Ye: "Great Commander, do you know any other Harmonizers we could recruit? Have them come here. Our city's current rank is good, and its future prospects are bright; we certainly won't treat them unfairly."

Lu Ye thought for a moment. He did indeed know a group of Harmonizers, all of whom had come from Banyan. However, currently, apart from You Die, he had no idea where the others were, nor whether they were alive or dead. Even if he wanted to find them, he wouldn't know where to look. His reunion with You Die had been pure luck, as she had happened to witness him fighting to the death in the arena. It seemed that the previous siege had made Yuanxi realize the severe shortage of Harmonizer-level personnel in the city, leading to her current idea. Moreover, of the three Harmonizers currently in the city, besides Yuanxi herself, both You Die and Huan Qing had been brought by Lu Ye.

"Lord," Lu Ye advised, "it's not difficult to acquire Harmonizers. Didn't some come to defect earlier? If nothing else, we can just accept a few of them." Yuanxi immediately waved her hand upon hearing this: "That won't do. Accepting them without knowing their background carries great risk. For example, if I leave the city for battle and they stay behind, what if they try to harm the Harmonizer Orb...?" Although You Die was also there, she had only recently advanced to Harmonizer, placing her at the lower tier of that level, and she might not be able to defeat them. Ultimately, it came down to You Die not being strong enough. If You Die were strong enough, there wouldn't be so many concerns.

"Then I'm afraid I can't help," Lu Ye shook his head. He truly couldn't do anything about this matter.

"Ah, I'm putting you in a difficult spot," Yuanxi said, knowing that Lu Ye couldn't possibly have such a vast network. Her previous question had been casual. She then instructed, "I'm going to enter the Harmonizer Realm for a trip. Great Commander, you'll need to cooperate with Xiao Die and protect the city." Lu Ye nodded: "Understood." Without the secret art bestowed by the Mirage, Yuanxi wouldn't be able to enter the Harmonizer Realm at such a time. But with the secret art, it was different; as long as she was careful, there wouldn't be any major issues. Yuanxi entering the Harmonizer Realm was likely to address the shortage of Harmonizer-level personnel, and Lu Ye was also somewhat anticipating this. The City Lord was swift and decisive, leaving as soon as she made up her mind.

You Die maneuvered the Harmonizer City, found a hidden spot, and activated the Mirage's secret art, disguising the entire Harmonizer City as a meteorite, where it quietly remained. This disguise wasn't perfect, but as long as one wasn't too close, it would be impossible to detect anything amiss. The winds were calm, and the city was peaceful.

Suddenly, at one moment, You Die's voice rang in Lu Ye's ear: "Brother Ye." Lu Ye, deep in cultivation, slowly opened his eyes: "What is it?" "There seems to be something outside. Take a look." Lu Ye frowned slightly, flashed out of his residence, and arrived at the top of the city's tall tower. Without even needing to search, he saw the anomaly You Die had discovered. In a certain direction, a faint deep blue glow flickered in and out of sight. The distance was too great for Lu Ye to discern its true nature.

"Brother Ye, what is that?" You Die asked. Lu Ye felt she had asked the wrong person. When it came to knowledge of the inner realm, he wasn't much more knowledgeable than You Die. "Brother Fan," Lu Ye transmitted a message, "Come over here for a moment." If one spoke of extensive knowledge, among all the cultivators in the city, besides Yuanxi, Fan Wu was undoubtedly the most knowledgeable. Even Huan Qing probably couldn't compare, as Fan Wu had lived long enough and seen enough. Fan Wu arrived as summoned, landing beside Lu Ye: "What are your orders, Great Commander?" Lu Ye raised a hand and pointed: "Look over there."

Fan Wu looked in that direction. With a single glance, he suddenly let out a soft exclamation. After focusing his sight to observe for a moment, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow: "If I'm not mistaken, it should be a Phantom Moon Ice Lotus that's about to mature."

"A treasure?" Lu Ye asked.

"You could say that," Fan Wu replied, "but the Phantom Moon Ice Lotus itself doesn't hold much value. Only after it matures will it produce a lotus seed, which is indeed a rare treasure!"

"A lotus seed?" Lu Ye heard, feeling a bit confused.

"It's neither living nor dead, a very peculiar existence," Fan Wu explained. "It's useless for cultivators themselves, but if placed in a Dao Pool, it can significantly increase the yield of Dao Fish."