Chapter 2530: Hong Level

The Wilderness-tier city lord was quick to react, for if he had left even a moment later, once Lu Ye shattered the Dao Integration Orb, he probably wouldn't have been a match for Luo Feng.

A Dao Integration City of Wilderness tier greatly enhances a city lord's strength.

Leaving before the Dao Integration Orb was shattered made all the difference; Luo Feng couldn't stop him at all.

He quickly fled into the distance and soon disappeared from sight.

Only a disheveled Luo Feng remained, standing still with his head bowed.

Suddenly, he looked up and gazed forward. His eyes reflected Lu Ye's figure, who was rapidly flying towards him, his mouth stained with blood. He gritted his teeth and growled, "I'll kill you!"

There was probably nothing more painful in this world than watching one's beloved die before one's eyes, powerless to stop it.

Despair swept through his mind and body, igniting a raging inferno of fury.

The two figures rapidly closed in on each other. As Luo Feng moved, the Star Abyss energy surged, his Dao power churned, and his aura was incredibly formidable. In contrast, Lu Ye remained unassuming; after all, Fusion Dao cultivators have no ability to leverage external power or conjure any extraordinary phenomena.

Without exception, both were rapidly building up power as they flew towards each other.

However, just before their figures were about to collide, a figure suddenly darted in from the side. It was Yuan Xi, unleashing a fierce palm strike.

She knew her Grand Commander was very strong, but she also knew that while he could kill Xiao Yue, he definitely couldn't handle a Dao Integration City Lord like Luo Feng, especially since Xiao Yue City's Dao Integration Orb had not been shattered.

Of course, she couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

Luo Feng was completely unprepared. His entire focus was on Lu Ye, as hatred and fury had consumed his mind. He hadn't even noticed when Yuan Xi had approached, instinctively believing she was still battling Kakarot.

He had already been injured earlier in his clash with the Wilderness-tier city lord. Now, taking another palm strike from Yuan Xi, he couldn't withstand it. He immediately flew backward, spitting blood continuously.

After finally regaining his footing, he saw that Kakarot was already held in Yuan Xi's hand, like a dead dog.

Yuan Xi tossed Kakarot towards Lu Ye, then charged at Luo Feng alone.

"Thank you, City Lord!" Lu Ye grinned broadly. Under Kakarot's desperate gaze, he unleashed a blade strike.

Their City Lord was truly thoughtful. Ever since she realized he enjoyed slaying Dao Integration cultivators, in every major battle, she would find a way for him to land the finishing blow.

How could he not follow such a City Lord devotedly!

It was unclear what Yuan Xi had done to Kakarot, but facing Lu Ye's blade, he had no ability to resist whatsoever. The blade light swept past, flesh and blood scattered, and his Dao Integration aura was extinguished.

Lu Ye quickly collected the spoils of war. When he looked up, he saw Luo Feng being relentlessly beaten. Without hesitation, he rushed towards the battle.

He also wanted to contribute a bit, to see if he could earn a few more Star Abyss coins later.

Luo Feng was probably being beaten sober now. While barely fending off Yuan Xi's furious assault, he cried out, "Friend, do you really intend to annihilate me? If I die, the Governor's City will surely hold you accountable."

Although Yuan Xi's previous outrageous remarks had shocked him, he now had no means to restrain her. He could only try his luck, to see if the Governor's City could intimidate Yuan Xi.

Unfortunately, it was useless. It would have been better if he hadn't spoken, because his words only made Yuan Xi strike harder.

With Lu Ye also joining the fray on the side, the situation became precarious for Luo Feng.

In just a moment, the already heavily injured Luo Feng was on the brink of death.

Dao power surged in Lu Ye's long blade. He turned his head to look at Yuan Xi.

While killing Xiao Yue and Kakarot wouldn't pose much of a problem, Luo Feng was, after all, a City Lord. If he were truly killed, there might be some trouble later.

"Kill him!" Yuan Xi coldly snorted and unleashed a punch, shattering Luo Feng's protective Dao power.

Lu Ye no longer hesitated. The blade glowed brightly, slicing through Luo Feng's neck. His large head flew off, his eyes filled with unwillingness.

Even if the sky fell, their City Lord would bear the brunt! All he needed to do was obey orders.

With Luo Feng's demise, the great battle concluded. But no one had anticipated such an outcome. The original plan was for Yuan Xi City and Xiao Yue City to jointly conquer the Wilderness-tier Dao Integration City. Yet now, not only was the Wilderness-tier city captured, but all three Dao Integration cultivators from Xiao Yue City had been completely annihilated.

Indeed, circumstances were unpredictable, and plans often couldn't keep up with changes.

However, the entire incident was still caused by Xiao Yue's selfishness. She sought revenge for the destruction of Boundless City in the Outer Realm years ago but severely underestimated Lu Ye's strength. She had thought that by simply sending a few Fusion Dao cultivators, she could take Lu Ye's life amidst the chaos. Who knew that not only were those Fusion Dao cultivators slain, but she herself also perished by Lu Ye's blade.

She surely never expected such an end for herself.

Lu Ye and Yuan Xi flew together towards Xiao Yue City. During the previous battle, Xiao Yue City had almost completely emptied its forces, so Xiao Yue had placed her Dao Integration City next to Yuan Xi City, asking You Die to help keep an eye on it. The number of Fusion Dao cultivators remaining in the city was not large.

When the conflict erupted, all the Fusion Dao cultivators from Xiao Yue City had used their Dao Integration Orbs to escape into the Harmony Realm for refuge. Now, the city was empty.

After Yuan Xi and Lu Ye jointly broke through the city's protective formation, they entered the central hall without any resistance.

They shattered the Dao Integration Orb and collected the fragments.

"Let's go!" Yuan Xi was in high spirits, even somewhat impatient. This battle was originally for the promotion of their own city. Now that they had acquired the Dao Integration Orbs from two Dao Integration Cities, promoting to the Grand-tier was certainly not a problem. After all, their city seemed not too far from the Grand-tier even before this.

A moment later, in their own city's central hall, Yuan Xi placed the numerous Dao Integration Orb fragments into the main Dao Integration Orb, allowing them to merge.

Lu Ye quietly stood by and waited.

Moments after she began, he raised an eyebrow because the Dao Integration Orb before him had clearly undergone some changes, its color becoming brighter. At the same time, the Star Abyss energy throughout the entire Dao Integration City became noticeably denser.

"It's Grand-tier!" Yuan Xi was visibly delighted.

For most Dao Integration cultivators, raising a Dao Integration City from nothing to the Grand-tier would require countless years of accumulation, but she had achieved it in a very short time.

And the number of cultivators in the city was not yet large.

This was certainly due to her own great strength, allowing her to conquer cities at will and remain undefeated in battles. But the most crucial reason was Lu Ye's unique and peculiar ability.

It could be said that Lu Ye's ability to intercept Dao Integration Orb fragments had increased the speed of Dao Integration City's advancement by severalfold.

"Congratulations, my lady!" Lu Ye cupped his fist in greeting.

"Hahaha, the pleasure is mutual!" Yuan Xi laughed, while continuing to integrate the remaining Dao Integration Orb fragments.

Grand-tier was only one level away from Cosmic-tier, but this level was not so easy to cross, especially for Yuan Xi City as it was now. Conquering a Wilderness-tier Dao Integration City this time was considered lucky; a truly intact Wilderness-tier Dao Integration City was not so easily subdued.

With Yuan Xi City's current foundation, conquering Celestial-tier Dao Integration Cities would likely not be a problem.

But if they relied solely on the gains from attacking Celestial-tier Dao Integration Cities to upgrade the Dao Integration Orb's quality, even a hundred Celestial-tier Dao Integration Cities might not be enough for Yuan Xi City's next promotion.

Therefore, for Yuan Xi City, if they wanted to quickly raise their city's tier, it would be best to attack Dao Integration Cities of the same tier, but this was an impossible feat.

While Yuan Xi and Lu Ye were here upgrading the Dao Integration Orb, You Die had already led the city's cultivators to begin clearing the battlefield.

Although Lu Ye had collected many spoils of war, there were still omissions, and remnants remained in both Dao Integration Cities. All of these would require time to collect and search for.

After half a day, Yuan Xi City finally departed.

The turmoil in the Snowfield had been ongoing for some time. Occasionally, some conquered Dao Integration Cities could be seen drifting in the vast void.

Days later, Yuan Xi City, after another battle, docked in a massive floating continent to rest and reorganize.

The recent battle was won very easily, as they had only faced a Celestial-tier Dao Integration City, which posed no great pressure for Yuan Xi City now, especially since Yuan Xi City's tier had become Grand-tier, further boosting Yuan Xi's strength.

Although he hadn't been here long, Lu Ye had already witnessed the cruelty of this conflict. In such a battlefield, it was entirely a rhythm of big fish eating small fish, and small fish eating shrimp. Any Dao Integration City, no matter its tier, faced an irreversible doom with the slightest misstep.

"Someone is approaching."

Yuan Xi City had only just stopped when You Die's voice suddenly echoed in his ear. In the unique environment of the Snowfield, cultivators' divine senses were difficult to employ effectively, so they had to rely on the city's various formations to monitor movements in all directions. Although the monitoring effect without divine sense amplification wasn't ideal, it was better than nothing.

You Die was usually responsible for this, so she was the first to detect the movement.

Lu Ye turned his head and looked around. Only then did he see a streak of light in a certain direction rapidly approaching them.

"They probably want to pledge allegiance," Lu Ye understood.

In this chaotic region, countless Dao Integration Cities had already been shattered. When a city was broken, those who were quick-witted and lucky would use their Dao Integration Orbs to escape into the Harmony Realm. Those who couldn't escape into the Harmony Realm were naturally left stranded.

But such aimless wandering was unsafe for any cultivator. Therefore, cultivators like these were usually eager to find a Dao Integration City that would accept them and pledge allegiance.

In fact, before this, some cultivators had already actively approached Yuan Xi City after discovering its whereabouts. Among them were both Dao Integration and Fusion Dao cultivators.

But without exception, Yuan Xi had rejected them all.

She was reluctant to accept these cultivators whose backgrounds were unknown. Furthermore, no one could be sure which faction these wandering cultivators had belonged to before their wandering. If they were from the same faction, it would be fine. But if they were from an opposing faction, there would inevitably be some resentment. Although one could make them swear an oath in the name of the Star Abyss Will never to act against the city's interests, it was unlikely anyone would agree to such a demand unless they were truly desperate.

"Should we reject them?" You Die asked.

"Reject them," Lu Ye replied. "Tell them to keep their distance. If they dare approach again, it will be considered an act of hostility towards our city."