Chapter 915: Ulterior Motive

"Stay in your residences and don't go anywhere. I don't want to hear any baseless speculations, either. Don't do anything until I come back," Chen Yang ordered as soon as he and the other Green Goat City cultivators returned to their courtyard.

After that, he immediately turned and made his way out of the courtyard.

Everyone else exchanged a few glances with one another, then returned to their residences.

As Han Li returned to his room, he couldn't help but wonder what was happening. Could it be that Profound City really was under attack from Puppet City?

He was planning to ask Gu Qianxun if she had any information to share, but it was clear from her earlier reaction that she was just as perplexed as everyone else.

He had no interest in the conflict between Profound City and Puppet City at all, but with the Five City Martial Gathering put on hold, there was no telling if he would be able to secure a Heavenly Qilin Crystal, and with the threat of the Black Tribulation Centipede constantly looming over his head, it was very difficult for him to do anything or go anywhere.

After some contemplation, Han Li shook his head to rid himself of this pointless train of thought.

At this point, all he could do was watch the situation unfold.

Meanwhile, the entire city was placed under lockdown, with groups of armorclad guards stationed at all of the city's important roads.

At the same time, a burst of rumbling rang out from the ground near the city gates, and a series of entrances of underground passageways appeared, out of which more armorclad guards came pouring out before stationing themselves atop the city walls.

The stone slabs on the city walls also began to part and split, while a black stone pagoda emerged roughly every one thousand feet.

The pagodas were fitted with astonishingly massive crossbows with enormous arrows nocked on them, and the arrows were giving off a sharp and forbidding gleam.

Most of the arrows were silver in color, but some were of a fiery red color with a series of white patterns engraved upon them, and they were clearly a special type of arrow.

Aside from these pagodas, many catapults, mechanical weapons, and even puppets of different descriptions had appeared on the city wall, while some giant mechanical weapons had also emerged on the Myriad Profound Mountain Range near Profound City.

......

After meditating in his room for close to a day, Han Li was suddenly visited by a Green Goat City servant, who invited him to Chen Yang's residence.

Upon arriving in the guest hall of Chen Yang's residence, Han Li discovered that there were already seven or eight people gathered inside, with the likes of Gu Qianxun, Yi Liya, and Xuanyuan Xing among them.

Gu Qianxun gave Han Li a slight nod as he entered the room, and he sat down beside her.

"Right now, the entire city has already been placed under lockdown, and things are not looking good," Gu Qianxun said.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, but he offered no response.

"I know what you're worried about, Fellow Daoist Li," Gu Qianxun said through voice transmission. "Rest assured, even if the Five City Martial Gathering is canceled altogether, I'll help you secure a Heavenly Qilin Crystal."

"Why would you help me?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"I have my reasons. To put it in simple terms, you're still useful to me at the moment," Gu Qianxun replied.

"I feel much more reassured after hearing you say that," Han Li said with a smile.

Before long, all of the Green Goat City cultivators had arrived, and Chen Yang emerged from the inner chamber.

"I've gathered all of you here to discuss what's happening outside. I have been informed by City Lord E that a large number of Puppet City troops have been sighted thousands of kilometers to the north of Profound City," Chen Yang declared with a grim expression.

Even though everyone had already guessed at the possibility of an attack from Puppet City, everyone's expressions still changed slightly upon hearing this.

In contrast with the fear and hatred that had appeared in everyone else's eyes, Han Li's eyes had lit up slightly, and he saw this as an opportunity.

After failing to find Violet Spirit within Profound City, he had planned to travel to Puppet City once the opportunity arose, and this exact opportunity was presenting itself.

"How many people have come from Puppet City? Is it possible that this is merely a group of Puppet City troops that have stumbled into our territory?" someone asked.

"We don't know exactly how many of them there are at the moment, but City Lord E has already confirmed that City Lord Sha Xin of Puppet City is also among them. Profound City has already issued a warning, but it's fallen upon deaf ears, and they're continuing to march toward Profound City," Chen Yang said in a grim manner.

"Is there going to be another war between our two cities?" Gu Qianxun mused with tightly furrowed brows.

"The fact that City Lord Sha Xin is personally leading the Puppet City troops on a march toward Profound City without any forewarning is definitely not a good sign," Chen Yang said.

The entire room fell silent, and everyone turned their attention to Chen Yang, waiting for him to continue.

"Rest assured, everyone. Right now, all of the most powerful cultivators of our five cities are gathered in Profound City right now, and we also have the home advantage, so we're extremely well prepared to handle an attack from Puppet City," Chen Yang said, and the tense atmosphere was instantly eased a little.

"During this time, prepare as much as you can. If a war really does begin, we'll definitely all be called upon," Chen Yang continued, and everyone gave a collective affirmative response.

Chen Yang gave a pleased nod upon seeing this, then announced some new rules that had been introduced in the city during this special time.

"Fellow Daoist Gu, do you think the objective of the lord of Puppet City really is just to attack Profound City? Is it possible that there's an ulterior motive at play here?" Han Li asked through voice transmission.

"I don't know. Profound City and Puppet City have joined forces at certain points in history, but they've always been at each other's throats the majority of the time, and a lot of bad blood has been accumulated over the years, so whenever the two cities clash, there's always a great deal of bloodshed," Gu Qianxun replied.

"I'm assuming the times when the two cities have joined forces were when certain external factors were at play, right?" Han Li asked.

"It's almost always when there's a natural disaster or a large-scale scaled beast attack is afoot. If I recall correctly, the last war between the two cities took place thirty thousand years ago, and White Rock City was the main battlefield on that occasion.

“Almost the entire city was destroyed, and countless casualties were suffered on both sides. It was during that war that the previous lord of White Rock City perished, and it was only then that Sun Tu was able to take over as city lord," Gu Qianxun replied.

"I didn't think that there would be such an intense conflict between the survivors in this realm that's almost been completely forgotten by the outside world," Han Li mused.

"Resources in this realm are extremely scarce to begin with, and all of the past conflicts have arisen over these scarce resources. Regardless of whether it's Profound City or Puppet City, both of them share the same ultimate objective, which is to leave this godforsaken place," Gu Qianxun replied.

"I should've guessed that this was the case. However, I presume that it's most likely those in positions of power in the two cities that are trying to leave this realm, right?" Han Li asked.

"Who knows? In any case, if the two cities really do clash, then make sure to proceed with the utmost caution. In such a large-scale conflict, any single of us is as insignificant as a speck of dust," Gu Qianxun cautioned.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"City Lord Chen, even though the troops of Puppet City have appeared outside Profound City, there's no guarantee that our Green Goat City isn't also one of their targets. Right now, with all of us in Profound City, if they decide to attack Green Goat City, then our city stands no chance," Yi Liya said.

"I'm well aware of that. However, we're currently forbidden from leaving Profound City, and even if we set off back to Green Goat City right away, we definitely won't be able to get there in time, so all we can do now is pray," Chen Yang sighed.

The meeting concluded shortly thereafter, and everyone was dismissed.

The cultivators of the other three cities had also been informed of the approaching Puppet City army, and everyone was making preparations for a potential war.

Some time later, the beating of the Heavenly Might War Drum rang out once again.

At this point, the previously lively and bustling streets had become completely deserted, and the few pedestrians walking on the streets were hurriedly rushing back to their homes, while all of the shops were closed.

Patrol groups of armorclad guards were constantly roaming the main streets and roads in the city, further adding to the tension that was permeating throughout the entire city.

Countless armorclad soldiers were busy at work on the city wall above the main gate of Profound City, and right at this moment, a group of people arrived on the city wall.

The soldiers in front of them hurriedly parted to let them through, and it was a group of seven or eight people that was led by E Kuai.

Upon arriving atop the city wall, E Kuai cast his gaze into the distance in silence, and none of the people with him dared to disrupt him.

Moments later, E Kuai's expression darkened slightly, and he could see a gray line approaching on the distant horizon amid a burst of thunderous rumbling.

The armorclad soldiers on the city wall quickly spotted the approaching gray line as well, and all of them tightened their grips around their weapons in anticipation of a potential clash.

E Kuai swept an arm through the air in an expressionless manner, and the city gate down below instantly swung open.

Countess armorclad soldiers flooded out of the city, with most of them traveling on foot, while roughly a third of them were riding atop various types of scaled beasts, and they arranged themselves into several formations in front of Profound City.

At the same time, a sharp screech rang out from the nearby Myriad Profound Mountain Range, and a flock of flying scaled beasts swooped down from the mountains. Most of them were a type of vulture scaled beast, and they were also carrying armorclad soldiers on their backs, forming a series of aerial formations.

At this point, the gray line on the horizon had become far larger than before, and one could begin to make out a formidable army consisting of countless puppets.

The puppet army seemed to have detected the hostility from Profound City, and it drew to a halt hundreds of kilometers away from Profound City, not advancing any further beyond that point.

The hearts of the soldiers on the city wall were brimming with battle intent, and all of them were looking at E Kuai, waiting for him to issue the order for them to charge into battle.

However, to everyone's surprise, the puppet army in the distance continued to remain in the distance without advancing any further, and E Kuai's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this as he refrained from issuing any orders.

As a result, an impasse ensued.