Chapter 2553: Surprising Thunder's Gesture of Goodwill

The man hastily retreated back into the city. At his command, the defensive array was already activated, its solid light curtain enveloping the city, appearing impregnable.

The woman greeted him, "My Lord!"

The man turned, his expression grave, and looked back in the direction he had come from.

In that direction, the figure still stood silently in place, showing no reaction.

"What happened just now?" the woman asked.

The man didn't hear her question at all; at that moment, the alarm in his heart was so strong it felt tangible, and only the words "Run away!" echoed repeatedly in his mind.

Filled with disbelief, he wondered why he could still feel such a terrifying threat when he was already back in his Hedao City, with the defensive array activated, and the opponent was just a lone figure.

As he pondered this, the lifeless figure slowly raised the longsword in its hand.

A hum... vibrated.

The void trembled, and the aura of the Star Abyss surged violently.

Countless tiny streams of light, visibly, converged on the longsword from all directions. Each stream of light was a condensation of Dao power from the void.

"This is..." The man's eyes suddenly widened, and he stared at the sudden phenomenon with utter shock.

Beside him, the woman was also filled with shock.

The longsword was already raised high, and its dazzling sword light, in that instant, shone like a sun hanging overhead.

Such a magnificent phenomenon sparked a terrifying thought in the minds of both the man and the woman.

"Quick, into the array!" the man exclaimed in a low voice. He and the woman hurriedly moved into the city's main array. With their assistance, the already robust defensive array solidified even further.

The next instant, the sword-wielder lightly swung the longsword in their hand towards Hedao City.

The sword light struck the light curtain of Hedao City's great array. The solid light curtain instantly seemed to suffer a heavy blow, its radiance suddenly dimming.

Hedao City shook violently; countless buildings collapsed, many practitioners spat blood from their injuries, and the Hedao powerhouses cried out in terror.

After a few moments of stalemate, the light curtain shattered like a bubble. The sword light struck the unprotected Hedao City, cutting through it like a piece of tofu, slicing the Desolate-grade city into two halves!

In that instant, countless lives withered.

Only a few figures flew out of Hedao City in disarray.

The man, spitting blood, held the unconscious woman in his arms and gritted his teeth as he fled into the distance, his eyes bloodshot. "Supreme Treasure... How could it be a Supreme Treasure!" he muttered.

When the lifeless figure first opened its eyes, he had only felt a profound unease, though he didn't understand its source.

He hadn't understood it even after returning to Hedao City.

Not until the opponent suddenly attacked.

With just one strike, his Desolate-grade city, which he had painstakingly managed for years, was sliced open. Only a handful of cultivators in the city survived. Such terrifying power could not be achieved even by the Ten Great City Lords relying solely on their own strength.

It was the unleashing of a Supreme Treasure's power.

He had heard that many powerful individuals in this vast Inner Realm had subjugated Supreme Treasures, but he had truly never seen one before.

Before experiencing it firsthand, no one could imagine how terrifying the unleashed power of a Supreme Treasure could be.

What was the deal with that guy? He just stood there like a dead man. He hadn't provoked him or done anything, merely glanced over, and yet suffered this catastrophe. It was simply an unprovoked disaster.

And who was that guy? He had never heard of such a formidable person appearing in the Inner Realm before. By his estimation, this formidable individual was likely on the same level as the Ten Great City Lords. If so, it was impossible for them to be so unknown.

As he fled quickly, the sense of danger gradually faded, indicating that the opponent was not pursuing him.

He let out a slight sigh of relief, then spat out another mouthful of blood. Looking down at the woman in his arms, he saw her beautiful face was pale, and his heart ached instantly.

If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have been so curious to take a look. That one glance had truly led to a major disaster!

Yuanxi City.

You Die was healing, Huan Qing was recuperating, Lian was a newcomer, and Yuan Xi was typically hands-off.

Lu Ye, with no other choice, temporarily took over You Die's duties, presiding over the central hall.

Anyway, he could cultivate anywhere; as long as he was within the city's boundaries, staying in his residence was no different from being stationed there.

He had only rested for a few days when Lu Ye, who was diligently cultivating, heard a Hedao slave nearby report, "My Lord, a message has arrived."

Lu Ye opened his eyes and looked at the Hedao Orb, indeed seeing its light flickering.

He hadn't dealt with such matters before, so he truly didn't know how the Hedao Orb reacted to incoming messages. However, this slave had always assisted You Die here and naturally understood.

Getting up, Lu Ye stepped forward, placed his hand on the Hedao Orb, and with a stir of his divine sense, he raised an eyebrow slightly.

Moments later, Yuan Xi, who had arrived at his summons, asked, "Commander-in-Chief, is there something wrong?"

Lu Ye nodded, "Vice City Lord Jing Lei of Dudou City sent a personal message."

Yuan Xi's delicate brows furrowed. "What does he want now?"

She had absolutely no goodwill towards Vice City Lord Jing Lei. If he hadn't dispatched that supervisor who exposed Yuanxi City's location last time, there wouldn't have been so much trouble afterward.

Fortunately, he was sensible and compensated Yuanxi City; otherwise, Yuan Xi might genuinely have gone to settle accounts with him personally.

"This time it's not bad news. Vice City Lord Jing Lei has given us a mission."

"What mission?" Yuan Xi frowned.

"He gave us a location and told us to set up an ambush there. There might be an unexpected pleasant surprise within ten days."

Yuan Xi blinked, asking, "He didn't explain the specifics?"

Lu Ye replied, "He only said that at least two Heavenly-grade Hedao cities need to cooperate. He didn't say anything else, perhaps due to some unspoken difficulty."

"Is he trying to show goodwill?"

"It's quite obvious!" Lu Ye nodded, as he also believed so.

Although Vice City Lord Jing Lei had made some amends before, he was probably still very uneasy, which explains this gesture of goodwill.

Dudou City coordinates all matters, big and small, across this entire war zone, and its intelligence sources are vast. As a Vice City Lord of Dudou City, if he genuinely intended to support a specific Hedao city, he certainly had the ability to do so.

However, such support often involved personal connections. Without a special reason, why would someone like Jing Lei specifically support a particular Hedao city?

Yuan Xi nodded. "This person... is quite sensible. Send him a message: I can let bygones be bygones regarding previous matters, but tell him to be careful!"

"Word for word?"

"Of course!"

Lu Ye nodded and sent a message using the Hedao Orb.

In Shouzhu City, Jing Lei received the reply from Yuanxi City and let out a long sigh. Although being reprimanded like this was a loss of face, it was better than being held a grudge against by such a figure. Moreover, few others knew the full details of the matter, only City Lord Shouzhu had some understanding, so there was no real loss for him.

Jing Lei had asked Yuanxi City to dispatch at least two Heavenly-grade Hedao cities to cooperate. Currently, there was Lingfeng City, and one Desolate-grade city was roughly equivalent to two Heavenly-grade ones.

The ambush location was not too far from Yuanxi City's current position, about a three-day journey. Thus, shortly after, the two Hedao cities set off one after another, moving forward.

The journey was uneventful, and they arrived at the location three days later.

You Die replaced Lu Ye, presiding over the central hall and activating the secret art of the mirage, going into hiding.

Lu Ye checked the star map; this location was actually on the edge of the snowy plains. He roughly understood why an ambush was being set here.

It was likely that an enemy Hedao city intended to pass through here to enter the snowy plains, but the news somehow leaked, reaching Jing Lei, who then informed Yuanxi City.

Lu Ye couldn't help but recall that when Yuanxi City first entered the snowy plains, they had also encountered an ambush.

He wondered if that incident had been a coincidence or if the enemy had deliberately acted upon leaked information.

Now, with the tables turned, it was Yuanxi City's turn to ambush others.

They waited quietly, and several days passed in a flash.

On this day, Lu Ye, who was deep in cultivation, suddenly heard You Die's voice: "A Hedao City is approaching! It's an enemy!"

Since Yuanxi City had obtained the authority granted by Dudou City, it could easily distinguish friend from foe within a certain range. This was a very convenient ability, as it often allowed them to gain the initiative.

Lingfeng City was also lying in wait nearby. City Lord Zhao Lingfeng, Vice City Lord Wu Mi, and many other Hedao powerhouses had gathered. Seeing a Hedao City enter their field of vision, Zhao Lingfeng's spirits were greatly lifted. "Indeed, choosing to align with Yuanxi City was a wise move!"

All the Hedao powerhouses under his command nodded. In the cultivation world, aligning with the powerful was not shameful. Yuanxi City might be smaller in scale and have fewer cultivators, but its City Lord was strong, the city itself was of a high grade, and its origins were mysterious, seemingly connected even to Dudou City.

Earlier, when Yuanxi City suddenly brought them here, they were still somewhat confused, but now they understood. Yuanxi City had evidently obtained some intelligence through unknown channels, knowing in advance that enemies would arrive here, and thus set up an ambush first.

As for how they obtained the information... they could guess without much thought.

"My Lord, shall we attack?" a Hedao powerhouse asked. "From its size, it appears to be only a Heavenly-grade city."

Lingfeng City could take down such a Hedao city by itself, without Yuanxi City's involvement.

Zhao Lingfeng shook his head. "Wait for orders from Yuanxi City!" He then added, "In the future, we mustn't arbitrarily judge a city's grade based on its size."

Yuanxi City was the best example; no one who saw that small city would have imagined it was a Grand-grade city!

Meanwhile, in Yuanxi City, Lu Ye and the others were also observing.

"That's it?" Yuan Xi looked displeased. Jing Lei had asked her to dispatch at least two Heavenly-grade cities to cooperate, and she had expected the enemy to be at least a Desolate-grade city. Who knew it would turn out like this?

She inexplicably felt as if Jing Lei had misled her, which undoubtedly disappointed her. And disappointment would lead to anger!

Beside her, Lu Ye silently felt sorry for Jing Lei. If he wanted to show goodwill, he should have been more reliable; at the very least, the intelligence should have been accurate. As things stood, Jing Lei's efforts had become futile.

"Let Lingfeng City handle it," Yuan Xi said gloomily. "Commander-in-Chief, you can participate as you wish."

Normally, Yuan Xi would eagerly attack a Heavenly-grade or even an Earth-grade city, but the conflict between her expectations and reality made her lose the desire to act.