When Azure Dragon Hall's main army gathered in front of Wu Gui City's gates, the other two sides' troops had also arrived and were even faster than Azure Dragon Hall.
Because the experts in the dynasty and sect were already concentrated in positions closer to the front line, it was much easier for them to rush here.
Inside Azure Dragon Hall's main camp, all the top officials looked grave. Some even had worried frowns.
Although they admittedly felt an indescribable excitement when they heard that Yan Xiaoxiao was suddenly willing to go to war, the enemy's strength was also beyond doubt.
"Hall Master, the Yan Dynasty and Celestial Fortune Sect's masters have all arrived. Shall we…"
"No need," Yan Xiaoxiao interrupted him, her indifferent voice ringing in everyone's ears. "It's just one Wu Gui City. Five people will join me and directly enter the city."
...
Sending in an elite team for a swift strike was actually a very uncommon tactic.
The reason was simple. Powerful fighters almost always held high positions as well. How could they be willing to venture deep into enemy territory alone, bearing all the risks themselves, and become the blade used to assassinate the enemy's leader?
If they all did this, then what would they need their troops for?
But on the other hand, once someone did this, it really could have an unexpected effect.
By the time people from the dynasty and sect received the news, the flag of Wu Gui City had suddenly changed hands, and this newly occupied city now belonged to Azure Dragon Hall again.
"What happened? What about Ye Chen?" Gu Nian asked with a frown.
The fall of Wu Gui City was so baffling that it made her suspect that all this was just Azure Dragon Hall's performance, and that the so-called Ye Chen was simply a pretense.
"Our people inside the city couldn't discover more information either. We only know that Ye Chen went somewhere beforehand and never showed up again."
Gu Qing's voice was also very confused. Even if Ye Chen was delayed by something, he wouldn't go so far as to even ignore his own home base, would he?
'He meekly gave Wu Gui City to Azure Dragon Hall just like this?'
Gu Nian frowned heavily. She felt that this entire matter was getting more and more bizarre, as if an invisible hand behind them was manipulating everything.
And it was even quite an unbridled invisible hand, not at all afraid of them seeing through its intentions.
Yan Xiaoxiao inexplicably chose to fight a decisive final battle, but after the three sides gathered, Wu Gui City then inexplicably fell into Azure Dragon Hall's hands…
But just like before, even if she knew there was something fishy about all this, Gu Nian had no other choice but to march on.
It was precisely because something was fishy about this that she had to advance, or else someone else might succeed with her none the wiser. And if the other party really did have people who were far stronger than her, then there would be absolutely no need to be so secretive.
Gu Nian understood all the intricacies. However, to guard against the possibility that this might be a trap, she didn't throw in all of her strength either.
"Gu Qing, Gu Sheng, come with me." Gu Nian chose to bring her family's two Prodigious Realm juniors and also advanced to Wu Gui City in the form of an elite team.
"Yes!"
...
Yan Xiaoxiao stood alone inside the ruins of Wu Gui City, coldly studying the two people in front of her.
Ye Chen and his companion Wuyun Zhuo—the youth who led him here—also looked at Yan Xiaoxiao coldly, but their mood was quite different.
"Y-You are Azure Dragon Hall's Hall Master!" Wuyun Zhuo had seen Yan Xiaoxiao's portrait before and immediately exclaimed aloud.
"Wu Gui City has already changed hands. You guys still won't surrender?" Yan Xiaoxiao calmly opened her mouth, but her question surprised Wuyun Zhuo.
"Impossible!" He almost blurted out, but after saying it, reason told him that it was true…
If Wu Gui City hadn't already been captured, then why would Yan Xiaoxiao appear here?
His eyes began to redden. His hard work, his dream, his brothers… were destroyed by Azure Dragon Hall just like this?
"Go to hell!"
With a furious roar, Wuyun Zhuo threw a heavy punch at Yan Xiaoxiao, but as soon as he stepped out, there seemed to be an invisible wall in front of him, blocking his way.
Crack!
His fist hit the invisible wall, and they suddenly heard the sound of the bones in his hand cracking, but the pain in his hand couldn't alleviate the rage in Wuyun Zhuo's heart.
Ye Chen still maintained a cold expression. He couldn't even appear when Wu Gui City was overtaken because the invisible barrier around this statue trapped them here!
"You already knew about the existence of this statue long ago?" Ye Chen coldly questioned Yan Xiaoxiao.
As a young genius who started out as a child of destiny, he'd always looked down upon such unscrupulous villains!
However, Yan Xiaoxiao shook her head slightly. She didn't even look at him and just gazed at that statue.
"Someone called me over… I don't know who or why," she seemed to be explaining, but she also seemed to be talking to herself, "now I know."
She slowly walked towards the statue, and with her actions, the invisible wall seemed to disappear.
When she reached the statue, she slowly said, "Who are you."
Then, under Ye Chen and Wuyun Zhuo's shocked gazes, tiny dots of light appeared out of thin air and slowly converged into a human figure.
Ye Chen's pupils contracted. This person was too familiar to him—it was the woman without a shadow!
Xue Yan still had a hollow expression. There was a new handprint on her chest that emitted a strange energy that seemed to belong to neither Buddha nor demon, but her gaze was somewhat fanatical.
"Come and fuse together with me, my younger sister…"
...
Gu Nian took her two family members all the way to the city gates, but she suddenly stopped right in front of Wu Gui City.
"Eldest Miss?" Gu Sheng looked at her in confusion. Gu Sheng was also one the Gu family members who recently advanced to Prodigious Realm, and her breakthrough was even earlier than Gu Qing's.
Gu Nian didn't answer, but her gaze fell on a spot not far from them. It was on the other side of the city gates, where a figure was slowly appearing.
Lu Zhanyu walked up to the three of them with a strange smile on her face. "Eldest Miss Gu, we meet again."
"So the one behind Celestial Fortune Sect was actually you." Gu Nian narrowed her eyes, also studying Lu Zhanyu.
She was very close with Lu Xinyu but wasn't too familiar with Lu Xinyu's younger sister, Lu Zhanyu. Gu Nian had met Lu Zhanyu on Ruby Fish Star a few years back, but she didn't expect to see her here.
'And she actually made the same decision I did to come here… Even if she came here alone.'
"It doesn't matter who it is." Lu Zhanyu pointed to the white light that suddenly lit up Wu Gui City. "What's important is that the Immortal Demon Meeting has already started!"
Gu Nian gave her a deep look and said seriously to the two behind her, "Let's go."
The next moment, the three people's figures vanished at the same time and quickly headed for the center of Wu Gui City, while Lu Zhanyu also followed them with a light smile.
What these people didn't know was that after they left, another person stepped out of the void.
This person was dressed in a moon-white robe. He stared at Lu Zhanyu's disappearing figure and rubbed his chin with great interest. "Immortal Demon Meeting?"