Chapter 809: Single-handedly Entering the City

Xu Yang slowly turned around and stopped moving. He had already seen the person he wanted to meet, and on the entire street, apart from these two figures, there was no sign of any other living soul.

"Who exactly are you? With such profound capabilities, why hide behind a facade?"

Xu Yang gently removed his head covering, revealing a face identical to that of Nong Wu, the leader of the neighboring Agricultural Alliance. The deeply etched scar, particularly noticeable in the dim light of night, stood out most prominently.

"It's you! I knew it back then; you ungrateful bastard, selling out your own grandfather to climb to power. And now, you want to lord over me to fulfill your even greater ambitions?"

Without wasting words, Xu Yang simply raised his middle finger at the alliance leader.

"Are you even worthy of being my neighbor? I intend to unify the entire Western Territory of the Northern Domain, and you, of course, are my biggest obstacle."

The alliance leader was utterly enraged, yet there was no trace of fear on his face. Instead, Xu Yang's actions had fully ignited a fierce fighting spirit within him.

"Very well, since you've shown your true colors, I'll stop concealing anything from you. Today, I'll let you witness my true strength!"

Anyone who could become a leader of a major alliance in the Northern Domain was undoubtedly among the top echelon of figures in the entire Ying Province Continent. At the very least, each alliance was led by the strongest individuals selected from dozens of subordinate cities and hundreds of thousands of enforcement disciples. Even if there were differences in strength, they wouldn't be too significant. Since the opponent had already provoked him so brazenly, if the leader were to show any more forbearance, he would likely be disrespecting the fallen Golden-Armored Warriors.

"No matter the outcome of this battle between us, you will not leave this city alive today."

The leader laughed brazenly. At that very moment, a chilling red-black aura suddenly erupted from him, completely enveloping his body. This unique spiritual flame rapidly spread outwards, and as it covered the remains of the Golden-Armored Warriors Xu Yang had slain, all the corpses swiftly reassembled. Behind each reanimated body, a transparent black outline of a soul essence materialized.

"Oh? It seems you do possess some capabilities after all; not as useless as I imagined."

"Hmph, I haven't taken action in too many years, have I? You've forgotten how I ascended to power back then. In a contest of raw strength and sword arts, I might not be a match for your Agricultural Hall lineage. But when it comes to controlling malevolent spirits, my suppressive power on the battlefield is unparalleled in the entire Northern Domain. Watch this!"

The leader stood alone at the inner city gate, his hands constantly shifting through various offensive and defensive stances. He freely manipulated the dense Yin-attribute essence within his body. The richer and more intense the red-black aura became, the higher the combat power of the Golden-Armored Warriors behind him soared.

At this point, Xu Yang quickly realized that these reanimated Golden-Armored Warriors, under the command of their special soul forms, could completely disregard all physical attacks. Their translucent soul bodies could also independently absorb and draw in all the malevolent Yin energy from the surrounding space as they moved.

"Hahaha, interesting. I wonder if my Lihuo technique can have some suppressive effect on you."

As Xu Yang finished speaking, he did not immediately unleash the Ghost Valley Qimen Array this time. Such a display would be too conspicuous and would go against his plan. For these current 'wastes', if Xu Yang wanted to, he could obliterate them all in a single move. However, he chose not to. Since he was putting on a show, he needed an actor-level performance to truly enjoy it.

As expected, a large mass of flame aura continuously condensed in his palm. Primal energy inherently encompassed all elemental attributes, and the method of controlling, condensing, and differentiating these various elemental auras was a considerable skill. At this moment, Xu Yang only activated two qi vortices simultaneously, yet the light of Lihuo could already freely condense within his palm.

The old man's shocked expression made it clear that he had never expected this scheming old neighbor, the 'Mad Farmer' of the Agricultural Alliance, to be capable of using the Lihuo technique!

Boom! Large masses of Lihuo Aurora swiftly dispersed into the surroundings. Xu Yang's flames seemed to possess a life of their own. Before the leader's eyes, they split into eight, simultaneously advancing in all directions, making it impossible for the enemy to defend themselves.

The scorching flames simultaneously ignited the entire main city passage. The hundreds of meters of the long street were rapidly engulfed by the continuous blaze. Meanwhile, the malevolent berserkers, activated by the leader's special technique, began to shriek and rage, for these Nine Lihuo flames were certainly not something they could withstand.

"Damn it! I'll fight you to the death!"

Seeing the sky ablaze with fire, the leader had no time to ponder anything else. He charged directly and without looking back towards Xu Yang's main body, which was encircled and protected by the Lihuo aura.

"Hehehe, don't be so agitated. You might trip!"

Xu Yang sneered. His primal energy swiftly surged, subtly piercing the leader's feet, causing him to stumble and collapse onto the ground.

"I won't kill you today. Because, according to our joint plan, the real objective is to devour all the assets of your alliance! I'll use their hands to get rid of you, this troublemaker! Of course, before that, I'll make sure you lose the ability to defend yourself."

As Xu Yang finished speaking, he poked out a finger. He had used this move many times in Ying Province, and it had proven effective every single time! With that seemingly casual poke of a finger, an incredibly powerful aura wreaked havoc within the leader's body for a long time. His meridians were already riddled with holes from Xu Yang's primal energy.

More importantly, because the cultivation technique practiced by this leader was highly unusual, after his meridians collapsed, he was unable to immediately separate the backlash of malevolent Yin energy from his own soul essence. As a result, in a very short time, he lost his mind, becoming like a madman, disowning everyone, staggering around, and screaming incessantly.

"Alright, I'll put you in a prominent residence for a few days. Once things outside calm down, I'll grant you your freedom."

With that, Xu Yang struck him on the neck with a palm, knocking him unconscious. He then changed into the leader's clothes, hoisted his body, and walked towards the main city.

Striding boldly into the City Lord's Manor, Xu Yang tossed the body he was carrying onto the ground.

"Leader, do you have any orders?"

The Golden-Armored Warriors before him clearly mistook Xu Yang for their leader, unable to detect any flaw in his disguise.

"Do not kill this intruder without my command. Have the military advisors come in immediately; I have orders to give!"

"Understood!"