Chapter 2532: Six United Dao Cities

Yuanxi City has a Dao Pool. Initially, the output of Dao Fish was indeed not very impressive, but now that the city has advanced to the Flood-tier, the production has become quite substantial. It's no exaggeration to say that those Dao Fish would be more than sufficient to meet the most basic cultivation needs of a Harmonizer like You Die.

Lu Ye also knew that there were some treasures or other methods in the inner world that could increase the output of Dao Fish; Yuanxi had mentioned these before.

The so-called lotus seeds from the Phantasmal Moon Ice Lotus were undoubtedly such treasures.

More powerful Harmonizer Cities valued such treasures even more, as acquiring them would bring long-term benefits.

"This is a unique product of the Snowfield; I'd only heard of it before, but I never expected to see it today," Fan Wu remarked, looking over with interest. "I heard that when this wonder in the Snowfield wasn't shattered, Phantasmal Moon Ice Lotuses were plentiful. Back then, almost all Harmonizer Cities in the inner world with Dao Pools had their own lotus seeds, often more than one. So, Dao Fish were never in short supply. But with the shattering of the Snowfield, these have become increasingly rare."

"How long until this thing matures?" Lu Ye couldn't help but feel intrigued. He wouldn't have cared if he hadn't encountered it, but since he had, he certainly couldn't miss the opportunity.

"Ice Lotuses usually remain hidden beneath the Snowfield's frozen ground. Once they appear, it means the lotus seeds are about to emerge. I'd estimate within half a month."

"Then we wait!" Lu Ye nodded. Upon observation, though there were some strange phenomena around the Phantasmal Moon Ice Lotus, they weren't very noticeable. This meant it wouldn't attract too much attention. With a bit of luck, perhaps they would be the only Harmonizer City here when the lotus seeds matured, making them easily obtainable. Even if other Harmonizer Cities arrived, Yuanxi should have returned by then, and with her leading the contention, their chances of success would be high.

Yuanxi City completely went into dormancy.

However, in just a short half-day, another situation arose.

"Brother Ye, a Harmonizer City has arrived," You Die's voice reached his ears.

Lu Ye frowned and quickly went out to investigate. Sure enough, a Harmonizer City appeared in his sight. At that distance, the other party had clearly discovered the Phantasmal Moon Ice Lotus and was drifting towards it.

His luck was truly inexplicable. He had just been thinking that if no other Harmonizer Cities came when the lotus seeds emerged, they would be his for the taking. Who knew one would arrive so quickly?

The other party was clearly in the vicinity, passing by coincidentally and being drawn to investigate the situation.

"Brother Ye, this is probably a Desolate-tier Harmonizer City."

Having adventured with Yuanxi for so long, You Die had developed some keen discernment. While a small-scale Harmonizer City wasn't necessarily low-tier, a city of the current size certainly wouldn't be of low rank.

Lu Ye's judgment was the same as You Die's.

In such a situation, it was impossible to discern friend from foe. If it were an ally, it wouldn't matter, but if it were an enemy and Yuanxi wasn't in the city, they would definitely be no match.

The lotus seeds were probably out of reach. They would have to hide carefully to avoid being discovered.

Observing from a distance, the Harmonizer City stopped for a while very close to the Phantasmal Moon Ice Lotus. Two figures emerged from the city, examined the ice lotus up close, and then retreated back inside.

The other party had clearly recognized the Phantasmal Moon Ice Lotus and knew it wasn't fully mature, so they intended to find a place to wait.

Lu Ye's eyelids involuntarily twitched!

This was because the Harmonizer City was heading precisely in the direction where Yuanxi City was hidden.

"Can our luck really be this bad?" he frowned internally.

"Brother Ye..." You Die was clearly worried as well.

"Don't panic, it's not that coincidental," Lu Ye reassured her. Although the other party was moving towards Yuanxi City's location, there was still some distance between them. Unless they actually came very close to Yuanxi City, it would be impossible for them to notice anything.

In fact, the other party did not approach Yuanxi City but stopped at a certain distance, hiding among several floating landmasses and activating a grand formation to conceal themselves.

However, their grand formation was clearly not as effective as Shen's secret technique. Even from a distance, Lu Ye felt he could discern some traces if he examined carefully, unlike the current Yuanxi City, which was almost impossible to find flaws in unless one was right on top of it.

Lu Ye thought that would be the end of it. However, just over two hours later, another Harmonizer City slowly appeared in view.

This Harmonizer City was smaller than the previous one, but it did the same thing: it drifted near the Phantasmal Moon Ice Lotus, investigated, and then went to a distant spot to conceal itself.

Another short half-day later, a third Harmonizer City appeared...

Then a fourth...

Both Lu Ye and You Die were numb from watching. They had never anticipated this place becoming so lively.

This situation could only mean that there were many Harmonizer Cities currently in the Snowfield. Normally, when there were no unusual phenomena, everyone remained dormant or hidden. But if something strange attracted attention, they would all come to investigate.

The Phantasmal Moon Ice Lotus's phenomena weren't particularly obvious, yet they still attracted numerous Harmonizer Cities, including Yuanxi City.

If some treasure with highly noticeable phenomena were to appear, who knew how chaotic the situation would become.

Each subsequent Harmonizer City lay dormant in a different location, believing itself to be the only one there, unaware that their movements were clearly observed by those who had arrived earlier.

When yet another Harmonizer City settled into dormancy, Lu Ye and You Die's hearts leaped into their throats. By sheer coincidence, this city chose to hide in a spot close to Yuanxi City, so close that both were within the other's attack range.

Including Yuanxi City, there were now as many as six Harmonizer Cities dormant within this small area!

"Two Desolate-tier, three Heaven-tier," You Die whispered.

"About right." Lu Ye felt a headache coming on. The crucial issue was that he couldn't determine which of these Harmonizer Cities were enemies and which were allies.

Why wasn't the City Lord back yet? He had thought that with Shen's secret technique, Yuanxi's absence for a while wouldn't be a big problem, but with such coincidences happening, it was truly agonizing.

It was foreseeable that once the lotus seeds emerged, all these Harmonizer Cities would surely make their move. Unless they were all from the same faction, a major battle would inevitably break out. In such a situation, with the repercussions of the conflict sweeping through, Yuanxi City would likely be unable to remain hidden.

What made Lu Ye most relieved was that it would still be some days before the lotus seeds emerged, and Yuanxi, no matter what, should have returned by then.

As he pondered this, he suddenly turned to look in a certain direction.

In that direction, a streak of light was rapidly approaching, making Lu Ye raise an eyebrow.

This was because it wasn't a Harmonizer City approaching, but a lone cultivator. Judging by their speed, they were a Harmonizer.

This was probably another unfortunate soul whose Harmonizer City had been destroyed, leaving them homeless. Lu Ye had seen many such cultivators recently.

However, Lu Ye soon realized something was amiss, because this unlucky person was heading straight for Yuanxi City without deviation.

If it were just that, it would have been fine. But the crucial point was that this person was holding something, occasionally glancing down at it as if trying to identify or locate something.

Moments later, the unlucky person suddenly stopped, looked down at the object in their hand again, and then looked up, precisely gazing at Yuanxi City's hiding place.

Seeing the Harmonizer standing just dozens of miles in front of Yuanxi City, Lu Ye's heart leaped, and a horrifying thought suddenly crossed his mind.

Could this person... be looking for Yuanxi City? Otherwise, why would they be staring so precisely in this direction?

But how could they find Yuanxi City? And why would they be looking for it?

Lu Ye instinctively felt it should just be a coincidence.

"Hmph!" The unlucky person put away the object in their hand and suddenly snorted coldly, "You hide quite well, but it's utterly meaningless!"

"Brother Ye, is he talking about us?" You Die secretly asked via spiritual transmission.

"Probably not..." Lu Ye wasn't sure either. But if not, then who was he talking to? It couldn't be that someone else was already here before Yuanxi City went into dormancy.

"Yuanxi City, heed my command!" The unlucky person's next words shattered Lu Ye's illusion.

This person really was looking for Yuanxi City, and had found it precisely!

Lu Ye immediately recalled the object in their hand earlier; it was probably used for positioning. He urgently transmitted a message: "Xiao Die, have there been any abnormalities with the resonance mark on the Harmonizer Orb recently?"

"No, I haven't noticed any abnormalities," You Die replied. If there had been any, she would have detected them immediately and certainly wouldn't have hidden them.

Lu Ye sighed inwardly, realizing where the problem lay. That resonance mark probably didn't just serve to identify friend or foe; it also had a positioning function.

This made the unlucky person's origin clear.

Sure enough, the unlucky person sternly declared, "In the previous battle, Yuanxi City indiscriminately harmed fellow cultivators and annihilated Dawn Moon City, committing heinous crimes. The Governor's City has been made aware of this matter. I am here by command of Vice City Lord Jing Lei, to order Yuanxi City's City Lord to immediately proceed to the Governor's City to explain the details. Any resistance will be met with decisive execution!"

Just as Lu Ye had suspected, this person was from the Governor's City.

Vice City Lord Jing Lei had repeatedly sent messages to Yuanxi City, demanding that Yuanxi come to apologize, or else be treated as a rebel. However, Yuanxi had completely ignored these demands.

In such a situation, Vice City Lord Jing Lei must have felt his authority challenged, which was why he sent someone to rebuke them directly. They clearly had a means of precisely locating Yuanxi City.

However, the timing was unfortunate. With Yuanxi City in dormancy and the situation unclear on all sides, this person's actions made Yuanxi City's concealment a complete joke.

At this moment, it was likely that all surrounding Harmonizer Cities' attention was focused here.

Lu Ye's expression became grim; he just hoped this person would quickly leave after speaking.

But the other party clearly had no intention of leaving immediately. Instead, they turned their head to glance at the location of the Phantasmal Moon Ice Lotus, revealing a thoughtful expression, and then let out a cold chuckle: "So, this is what you're hiding here for—a treasure, I see."

As they spoke, they raised a hand, summoning their Dao Soldier. With Dao power surging, a powerful, heavy attack swept forward, and they sharply shouted, "Come out now!"