Chapter 2558: Dog Skin Plaster

The enemy Dao Fusions were not completely wiped out because the primary objective for both Yuan Xi and Zhao Lingfeng was not to kill enemies, but to secure the three Heavenly Cities.

In the first Heavenly City they encountered, even the garrisoned Dao Fusion cultivator had been killed in battle. Seeing the dire situation, the remaining Dao Melt cultivators fled in droves, leaving an empty city that could be dealt with later.

However, the remaining two cities still had Dao Fusion cultivators guarding them. If left unchecked, they would have had ample opportunity to control their Dao Fusion Cities and escape. Even if pursuit were possible later, it would ultimately be troublesome.

In fact, when that Heavenly City Lord first fled, these two Dao Fusion Cities had already begun to move away from the battlefield, intending to escape.

Therefore, even if Yuan Xi and Zhao Lingfeng wanted to annihilate all enemies, they didn't have much time and could only lead their Dao Fusion cultivators to intercept the two Dao Fusion Cities.

Progress was smooth. Seeing the multitude of powerful enemies pursuing them, the Dao Fusion cultivators guarding the two cities knew the tide had turned. They dared not offer futile resistance and abandoned their cities, fleeing into the Harmonization Realm.

An hour later, the fighting ceased.

Numerous Dao Fusions simultaneously made their move. With just one fierce assault, they breached the defensive formation of one Heavenly City, which was still self-sustaining.

Zhao Lingfeng laughed heartily and was about to enter the city.

However, Yuan Xi said, "City Lord Zhao, please lead your people to breach the formations of the other two cities. I will handle the Dao Fusion Pearl."

Zhao Lingfeng paused at her words, then nodded, "Very well!"

With that said, he waved his hand and led his Dao Fusion cultivators towards another nearby Dao Fusion City.

Yuan Xi winked at Lu Ye, and together they flashed into the city, quickly arriving at the Central Hall.

A moment later, when they re-emerged, Lu Ye was only carrying a small package, which contained the 30% share of fragments that should go to Lingfeng City. As for the rest, he had already sent them back to Yuan Xi City using the Void Dao Patterns.

The second and third cities were handled in the same manner.

Yuan Xi was delighted, and Zhao Lingfeng beamed with joy. Losses in this battle were minimal, but both Yuan Xi City and Lingfeng City had gained significant rewards.

The next step was naturally to clean up the battlefield. Lu Ye was also bustling about. Previously, he had been too busy fighting enemies to even collect Stardust Coins, but now that he had free time, he naturally had to retrieve all those Stardust Coins.

Lingfeng City had dispatched many Dao Melt cultivators to scour the three Heavenly Cities for resources, and it seemed they had gained quite a bit. However, no matter how much they acquired, Yuan Xi City was entitled to a 70% share, as previously agreed.

Yuan Xi actually didn't value these so-called resources much; all she wanted were the Dao Fusion Pearl fragments. This battle had also proven Lingfeng City's worth.

Without Lingfeng City's cooperation, Yuan Xi City alone could not possibly have taken over three Heavenly Cities in one go.

But with Lingfeng City's assistance, it was different. The entire battle, though intense from start to finish, was actually won quite easily. Yuan Xi City only had to pay a small portion of the proceeds, which was entirely acceptable to Yuan Xi.

A moment later, in Yuan Xi City's Central Hall, You Die looked at Lu Ye and smiled, "Brother Ye, you're positively glowing! Is there good news?"

Lu Ye chuckled softly. There was indeed good news: after this battle, he had gained over twenty Stardust Coins, a truly massive haul.

Such a large gain was thanks to Yuan Xi and Lian deliberately creating opportunities for him to deliver the killing blow.

In fact, during the battle, the Dao Fusions from Lingfeng City had noticed this strange phenomenon.

Yuan Xi and Lian clearly had opportunities to kill enemies, but they deliberately didn't. Instead, they only broke the enemies' protective Dao power and then created opportunities for Lu Ye.

Zhao Lingfeng, seizing a moment during the battle, even asked Yuan Xi if there was some special reason behind this.

After all, he was now affiliated with Yuan Xi City and naturally needed to understand the main city's preferences and taboos to avoid inadvertently offending anyone later.

Yuan Xi casually replied, "The Grand Commander has a strong urge to kill, but unfortunately, his cultivation is insufficient, so he rarely gets the chance. This is the only way he can satisfy his urge."

Zhao Lingfeng found it hard to understand how a Dao Melt cultivator could constantly aspire to kill Dao Fusions. Wasn't that aiming too high?

Although he didn't understand, since Yuan Xi had said so, he was happy to cooperate. He had personally experienced Yuan Xi's protective nature.

Consequently, in the later stages of the battle, not only were Yuan Xi and Lian creating opportunities for Lu Ye to deliver killing blows, but even the Dao Fusions from Lingfeng City were doing the same.

It could be said that among the Dao Fusions killed in today's battle, apart from the first two, one killed by Yuan Xi and one by Lian, the rest all died by Lu Ye's blade.

Otherwise, simply killing Dao Melts would truly not have yielded so many Stardust Coins.

He secretly fantasized, if such battles occurred a few more times, wouldn't he be able to exchange for another affinity treasure?

The advancement of Liao and the metamorphosis of the Talent Tree would be just around the corner!

Yuan Xi had already integrated all the acquired fragments into the Dao Fusion Pearl. As expected, the Dao Fusion Pearl didn't undergo significant changes.

The normal 30% share of proceeds from three Heavenly Cities was indeed not a small amount for Zhao Lingfeng.

But even if all other fragments went entirely to Yuan Xi City, it wouldn't be enough to cause a qualitative change in a Hong-grade Dao Fusion Pearl.

After integrating all the fragments, Yuan Xi did not withdraw but instead gently stroked the Dao Fusion Pearl and sent out a message using its resonance mark.

The next moment, in Governor City.

A cultivator rose, approached the calmly seated Jing Lei, and cupped his fists, saying, "Sir, a message from Yuan Xi City."

Hearing the words 'Yuan Xi City', Jing Lei felt a headache coming on. He slowly opened his eyes and asked, "What did they say?"

"They're asking when the next mission will be carried out!"

Jing Lei was bewildered. "What next mission?"

Then he suddenly realized that he had previously ordered Yuan Xi City to mobilize other Dao Fusion Cities to set up an ambush at a certain location, and this had been issued as a mission from a superior.

That was his gesture of goodwill towards Yuan Xi City, hoping the Yuan Xi City Lord wouldn't bear a grudge over past events.

The information he had received was very detailed, so as long as Yuan Xi City proceeded cautiously, they would surely profit.

He didn't explicitly say anything, and Yuan Xi City didn't ask further questions. Both sides were intelligent enough to understand without needing to elaborate.

All past grievances were now considered settled.

But what did Yuan Xi City mean by suddenly asking about the next mission? He had no "next mission" on his end.

His thoughts raced, and Jing Lei realized.

Yuan Xi City must have gained benefits this time; they had acquired a taste for it and now wanted to extract more useful information from him.

He couldn't help but feel annoyed. What did that Yuan Xi City Lord want? Did she really think she could order him around like a subordinate? He was, after all, the Deputy City Lord of Governor City!

"Ignore it!" Jing Lei waved his hand. He had already shown goodwill and had even granted Yuan Xi City the authority to mobilize others. If the other party pushed their luck, they would be acting insatiably.

The cultivator withdrew and returned to his seat, recording various intelligence reports.

However, after a short while, he cautiously approached Jing Lei again.

Jing Lei looked up, glaring at him impatiently. "What is it now?"

The cultivator's expression was uneasy. "Yuan Xi City said if there's no reply soon, they will come looking for you, Sir."

"This is outrageou—" Jing Lei was furious, but his voice suddenly dropped as he glanced towards Skinny Bamboo, who was nearby. His expression shifted uneasily.

He wanted to ignore them, but recalling what Skinny Bamboo had said earlier—that this person was someone even he couldn't afford to offend—he felt a surge of unease.

If Yuan Xi City truly came knocking, he feared Skinny Bamboo would not stand up for him.

"I'll speak to them myself!" Jing Lei fumed. He was also a person of status and position. He had offended them before, not knowing the full situation, but now he had offered compensation, and they should be even. Why were they still hounding him like this?

A moment later, Jing Lei sat in the cultivator's seat and sent a message: "There are no more missions. Act freely!"

A quick reply came back: "Nonsense! Get on with it, stop wasting time!"

Jing Lei was instantly startled. He had previously communicated with Yuan Xi City, and although he didn't know who was on the other end, the tone of their messages had always been courteous. Never this rude!

A different person!

He immediately realized that anyone who dared to communicate so brazenly with Governor City...

"May I ask who this is..." he asked cautiously.

"The Yuan Xi City Lord! And who are you? Get that Jing Lei fellow over here!"

Jing Lei quickly wiped a bead of cold sweat from his forehead.

It was indeed her. As he thought, no ordinary person would have such audacity.

"The Deputy City Lord is away on official business," Jing Lei lied through his teeth, knowing that with this type of communication, the other party wouldn't know his true identity anyway.

The other side immediately pressed, "When will he return?"

"As subordinates, it's not proper for us to inquire too much about the Deputy City Lord's affairs," he replied. "It could be soon, or it could be six months to a year."

The other side fell silent for a moment.

Just as Jing Lei was secretly relieved, thinking he had managed to fob them off, another message came through: "I don't care. If Jing Lei isn't there, then tell Skinny Bamboo that if there's no new mission within five days, I'll go directly to him myself!"

"Sir, what business do you have with the City Lord?" More cold sweat trickled down Jing Lei's forehead.

But no matter how many messages he sent, there was no further reply from the other side.

Jing Lei was dumbfounded, feeling an inexplicable embarrassment, like he had gotten stuck with a persistent nuisance he couldn't shake off.

Did Yuan Xi City truly believe such missions were so easily obtained? Governor City indeed gathered a vast amount of usable intelligence daily, but opportunities like the one Yuan Xi City had just encountered were actually rare, and such opportunities were not something he, Jing Lei, could monopolize.

In all of Governor City, besides the City Lord Skinny Bamboo, there were several Deputy City Lords. Each of these Deputy City Lords had Dao Fusion Cities they wished to cultivate, and if such an opportunity arose, the other Deputy City Lords would all be vying for it.

This time, Jing Lei had put in considerable effort to secure the opportunity, passing the information to Yuan Xi City as a gesture of goodwill, but now he found himself effectively stepping into a mud pit...

"Sir?" A voice came from nearby.

The cultivator couldn't understand why the Deputy City Lord had been drenched in sweat moments ago and now looked as if he had lost a parent. He merely felt that, as expected of a highly cultivated Deputy City Lord, his changes in expression were faster than ordinary people's.

"From now on, ignore all messages from Yuan Xi City!" Jing Lei gritted his teeth.

"Yes, Sir," the cultivator replied, thinking to himself that his superior not only changed expressions quickly but also changed his mind quickly.

Only a few days ago, he had explicitly said to report any messages from Yuan Xi City immediately.

"Never mind." Jing Lei suddenly stopped. "Report it immediately, after all."

If he truly ignored them, who knew what trouble they might stir up.

The cultivator opened his mouth, desperately wanting to ask, "Sir, what exactly do you want me to do?" but he dared not voice it and could only comply.