Chapter 2550: Zhao City Lord's Decision

The withdrawal of Fellow Daoist Chang, the lord of that Desolate-tier city, undoubtedly signaled the enemy's complete defeat in this battle.

In various combat zones, those capable of shaking off their opponents retreated and scattered.

However, some had no chance to escape, like Fellow Daoist Ning, Yuan Xi's current opponent, who had no hope of survival.

He had originally teamed up with a companion to fight Yuan Xi, but his companion was killed within a very short time. Now isolated, he was even less of a match and was put in perilous situations within mere breaths.

"Palace Master, quickly go to the Dao Fusing City over there! Don't let them have a chance to shatter the Dao Fusing Orb!" Lu Ye suddenly whispered urgently.

Lian, who was heading towards a nearby battlefield, changed direction after hearing Lu Ye's words and flew towards the Desolate-tier city.

Learning from past mistakes, the Dao Fusing Orb of that Heaven-tier city had just been shattered, and they could not allow the same to happen to this Desolate-tier city.

If no one applied pressure, the enemy might indeed shatter it, as doing so would still allow them to escape into the Unity Realm by using the fragments.

However, if Lian arrived to deter them, it would be different.

Once the Dao Fusing Orb was shattered, the already fragile defensive formation would inevitably collapse. At that point, Lian would be able to keep anyone who shattered the Orb and force them to face death.

To preserve their own lives, the cultivators in the city would likely not make any irrational choices.

Lian's speed was incredibly fast; she arrived before the city in the blink of an eye, her beautiful eyes fixed on the location of the central hall.

Inside the hall, an enemy Dao Fusing expert remained, his large hand hovering over the Dao Fusing Orb, poised to strike!

However, upon sensing Lian's presence outside the city, he ultimately dared not strike. While striking might have been satisfying, whether he could escape afterward was a critical question.

He sighed deeply. He had failed the city lord's trust; Fellow Daoist Chang had ordered him to shatter the Dao Fusing Orb during their retreat. But given the circumstances, he could only prioritize his own safety.

His large hand gently caressed the Dao Fusing Orb, and his figure suddenly vanished.

"You wretch, may you die a terrible death!" Fellow Daoist Ning's furious roar echoed through the void. Covered in blood and disheveled, he no longer had the dignity of a city lord; at that moment, he looked utterly wretched.

After this battle, his Dao Fusing City was gone, his Dao Fusing subordinates were nearly all dead, and now his own life was in jeopardy. His fate had been turned upside down in a single day, a reality difficult to accept even for a Dao Fusing cultivator.

Yuan Xi's expression was indifferent. Black petals swirled around her, sweeping forward and cutting through the void.

The difference in strength was immense; Fellow Daoist Ning could not resist at all. His protective Dao power was broken in the blink of an eye. Although he desperately urged his Dao power to compensate, Yuan Xi's attacks were relentless, rendering all his efforts futile.

His furious roar abruptly ceased, his body stiffened, and a blade tip, seemingly from nowhere, pierced through the back of his head and exited through his mouth.

The Dao power on the blade vibrated violently, causing Fellow Daoist Ning to groan, his mouth filled with blood.

The blade glowed brightly. As it was pulled out diagonally, half of his head flew off.

Before his life force could fully dissipate, the countless black petals swept in, forming a wave of flowers that enveloped him. When the flower wave dispersed, Fellow Daoist Ning had been reduced to mangled flesh.

Yuan Xi was undoubtedly enraged by his insults. Had she not seen Lu Ye rushing towards her, she would have ended his life herself much earlier, rather than letting him vent his frustration like that.

With the death of Fellow Daoist Ning, the battle gradually subsided.

Lu Ye sheathed his blade. When he looked around, he saw that many Dao Fusing experts had vanished. The enemy's Dao Fusing cultivators had already fled, and City Lord Zhao and others were pursuing them.

As for whether there would be any further results, that depended on their determination to eliminate the enemy.

The enemy had suffered significant losses among their Dao Fusing experts in this battle. If City Lord Zhao and the others were truly intent on maximizing their gains, they could have killed a few more.

However, judging by City Lord Zhao's previous demeanor, this so-called "tailing pursuit" was likely just for show.

Yuan Xi had no intention of continuing the chase. Her main interest was the enemy's Dao Fusing Orb. She immediately signaled Lu Ye and led him towards the Desolate-tier city.

Lian was already attacking the city...

All cultivators had completely fled from the Desolate-tier city ahead, leaving behind only an extremely fragile defensive formation that no one was maintaining.

By the time Yuan Xi and Lu Ye arrived, the formation was already on the verge of collapse.

Yuan Xi and Lu Ye attacked together, and within mere tens of breaths, the formation was broken.

Three figures entered in quick succession.

Inside the central hall, Yuan Xi smiled broadly as she looked at the brightly colored Dao Fusing Orb before them. She called out, "Grand Commander, hurry up! That guy surnamed Zhao seems to be coming back soon."

Lian stood by, her beautiful eyes fixed on Lu Ye. She had already learned from Yuan Xi about the miraculous nature of Lu Ye's method and had long wished to witness it firsthand, so she naturally didn't want to miss this opportunity.

Lu Ye nodded, stepped forward, and unhesitatingly punched the Dao Fusing Orb.

The bright Dao Fusing Orb shattered into countless tiny fragments. Before these fragments could escape into the ethereal void, Lu Ye raised his hand and clenched his fist.

Time and space seemed to freeze at that instant; all the fragments were suspended motionless in mid-air.

Lian's red lips parted slightly, her face filled with disbelief.

Although she had lived in the Unity Realm for many years, she had ascended step by step from the lower ranks. Many years ago, she too had owned her own Dao Fusing City and had fought countless battles, both attacking and defending. She naturally knew what should happen after a Dao Fusing Orb was shattered.

What she witnessed truly surpassed her understanding. Moreover, from her observation and perception, Lu Ye hadn't actually done anything particularly special.

He had simply clenched his hand, and these fragments had obeyed his command as if on cue; it was simply incredible.

"Quick, gather them!"

While Lian was in a daze, Lu Ye and Yuan Xi had already started working together, skillfully collecting the many fragments and even deliberately dividing them into two portions.

One portion was large, the other very small.

At first, Lian didn't understand why they were divided into two portions, but upon seeing the smaller one, she suddenly remembered that Lu Ye had previously promised City Lord Zhao that 30% of the spoils would belong to him after the city was captured.

Under normal circumstances, 30% of the gains from a shattered Dao Fusing Orb of a Desolate-tier city would indeed be that small.

Recalling the adeptness of the master and subordinate just now, Lian couldn't help but chuckle. This indicated either a deep understanding between them or that they had collaborated in this manner before, thus requiring no extensive communication.

It was clearly the latter.

"Retreat!" Yuan Xi called out. The three of them, like thieves who had just stolen treasure, hurried out of the city and rushed towards Yuan Xi City.

From a distance, Lu Ye saw City Lord Zhao and the others returning together.

These individuals had indeed not pursued them relentlessly. Otherwise, the battle wouldn't have ended so quickly. This was likely because, firstly, they held no personal grudge against Fellow Daoist Chang and his group—the conflict arose merely from differing stances. Secondly, they were probably mindful of the post-battle spoils.

"City Lord Yuan!" City Lord Zhao shouted from afar.

"Can't hear, can't hear!" Yuan Xi muttered softly, flying even faster. It wasn't that she intended to embezzle City Lord Zhao's share; she simply wanted to quickly integrate her own portion into Yuan Xi City's Dao Fusing Orb.

It was like a gambler who had won money, eager to secure their winnings.

Furthermore, carrying so many Dao Fusing Orb fragments without quickly securing them might allow City Lord Zhao and the others to discover something amiss.

You Die had already steered Yuan Xi City over to meet them.

A moment later, the three entered the city and headed straight for the central hall.

Yuan Xi hurriedly integrated many fragments into it. Lu Ye took another portion of fragments from Fan Wu's hand, which belonged to the previous Heaven-tier Dao Fusing City, though this portion's quantity was significantly smaller.

As numerous fragments integrated, the Dao Fusing Orb before them seemed to undergo some changes, but they were not very noticeable.

Since it was already a Grand-tier Dao Fusing Orb, further enhancing its quality would not be simple.

"City Lord Yuan, may we enter the city?" City Lord Zhao's voice came from outside, sounding somewhat urgent. He had clearly misunderstood something, thinking Yuan Xi might renege on their agreement, otherwise why would she have been in such a rush and remained unresponsive?

"Of course, Xiao Die, open the formation!" Yuan Xi commanded, leading Lu Ye and Lian outside.

A short while later, both parties gathered in the city square.

City Lord Zhao and the others looked astonished. Even though they had known beforehand that Yuan Xi City was a Grand-tier city, they still found it hard to believe without experiencing it firsthand.

The main reason was that the city's size was vastly disproportionate to its tier.

City Lord Zhao simply couldn't fathom how Yuan Xi had managed to develop such a small city to this extent with so few subordinates.

"You've worked hard, Fellow Daoist," Yuan Xi said, in good spirits. She gestured with her head, and Lu Ye immediately stepped forward, handing over the pre-prepared portion of Dao Fusing Orb fragments. "City Lord Zhao, these are the spoils we agreed upon earlier."

City Lord Zhao raised an eyebrow.

Beside him, the Dao Fusing expert surnamed Wu, who had visited Yuan Xi City once before, stepped forward to receive them and smilingly said to Lu Ye, "Thank you."

Lu Ye said nothing and retreated behind Yuan Xi.

City Lord Zhao's primary reason for pursuing them was to claim the Dao Fusing Orb fragments. For them, a 30% share of the spoils from conquering a Desolate-tier city was substantial and rare. Although they hadn't taken much risk this time, what was rightfully theirs was theirs.

With their objective achieved, they were naturally pleased.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan," City Lord Zhao said, looking at Yuan Xi, "there should be quite a lot of other spoils in that city. My suggestion is for each of us to send some people to collect them, and then divide them as previously agreed?"

"No problem!" Yuan Xi readily agreed. With the Dao Fusing Orb fragments secured, everything else was secondary, making her particularly amenable at the moment.

"Additionally, I'd like to discuss another matter with you, Fellow Daoist," City Lord Zhao said, his gaze intense.

"What is it?" Yuan Xi asked, puzzled.

City Lord Zhao spoke frankly: "Our city cooperated very well with you in this battle, so I, Zhao, wish to affiliate my city under your esteemed leadership. From now on, we would advance and retreat together, sharing both fortune and adversity. What do you think, Fellow Daoist?"