"Ba Siyu was wrong. The
Yun Clan's Old Ancestor wouldn't want to be his running dog, and although Bi Shihu is a rat, he also isn't willing to be subordinate to others.
The Shadowfell Prefecture couldn't trap them, and neither can Ba Siyu.
To escape the cage of Deston Prefecture, they would do anything."
"Compared to their own predicaments, the threat of our Li Clan cannot take the top spot in their minds."
Li Changsheng pointed at the stolen logistical supplies and sighed.
"Look at the supplies of Highsun City.
They have always been guarded by the City Lord of Highsun City, with layers of heavy ambushes set up, yet the Yun Clan's Old Ancestor stole them just like that.
Do you think it was easy for him to steal the supplies? Is it possible that he has been plotting all of this for decades?"
Li Xinnian nodded slightly.
"In other words, seeking Ba Siyu's protection was merely the first move on the Yun Clan's Old Ancestor's chessboard.
Our Li Clan's threat is nothing to him. His goal from beginning to end was to steal the natural treasures, so he could fly high into the vast sky and dive deep into the boundless sea.
He has fled; where can we even find him?"
"No."
Li Changsheng silently turned around and sat back in his wheelchair.
"He won't flee. Acting like this time and time again, the dynasty will not tolerate him. For the surnamed Yun to be so bold, there must be a formidable expert guiding him from behind."
...
On the Carefree Cloud.
Ba Siyu stood at the edge, gazing at the Shadowfell Prefecture, sharp light bursting from his eyes.
"I have waited for this day for many years. The Shadowfell Prefecture is occupied by the Wu tribe, and behind it are Sunreach and other lost lands.
Recovering the territory this time is an immense merit. Once my Earth Virtue reaches perfection, I can seek an opportunity for the Mahayana realm."
In his eyes, the Shadowfell Prefecture wasn't some occupied land; it was his hope for breaking through to the Mahayana realm!
"I congratulate Your Lordship in advance."
Zhou Chengli bowed to Ba Siyu.
"Once the Shadowfell Prefecture is recovered, we can then pass through the border pass and use the Shadowfell Prefecture as a foundation to strike into Sunreach.
With Bi Shihu and the Yun Clan's Old Ancestor under your command, and now that the Yun Clan's Old Ancestor has invited four Void Refinement experts, Your Lordship has the most experts under your command.
You will be the number one contributor in the war of Deston Prefecture; seeking the Mahayana opportunity will be a given."
"Hahaha!"
Ba Siyu laughed loudly. "Old Zhou, oh Old Zhou. When you aren't being pedantic, your words are quite pleasant to hear."
Zhou Chengli smiled faintly, only glancing behind him.
The Li Clan had already been sold out, and there was nothing he could do about it; he could only drift with the current.
He thought to himself, "Everyone who comes to Deston Prefecture harbors schemes in their hearts. Perhaps I should also seek a sliver of a Body Integration opportunity for myself. Why must I be so pedantic?"
The wind on the Carefree Cloud lifted Zhou Chengli's hair.
This old gentleman, who was rumored to be greedy but was actually kind-hearted, had a strange fluctuation flash through his eyes.
As their conversation ended.
A subordinate hurried over. Seeing the panic on the subordinate's face, Ba Siyu's heart inexplicably trembled. "What is it?"
"My Lord, it's... It's Highsun City!"
The subordinate gritted his teeth and said,
"Our logistical supplies were stolen! The City Lord had set up layers of array formations outside the storehouse; it should have been foolproof.
But today... a Half-step Body Integration cultivator suddenly appeared.
He knew our arrangements like the back of his hand, and among the Void Refinement cultivators guarding it, there were people working for him..."
"What?!!"
Hearing this news, Ba Siyu's mind went blank.
"Half-step Body Integration... Half-step Body Integration, stealing the supplies..."
In all of Highsun City, there was only one Half-step Body Integration expert: the Yun Clan's Old Ancestor, Yun Hongcai!
"Where are the Yun Clan members?"
Ba Siyu snapped back to his senses, his face flushed red.
"Silver Wolf Lake has already been annihilated." A trace of disbelief flashed across the subordinate's expression.
"Half a day after you left with the grand army, the Li Clan's Chamber of Commerce made its move.
Within the Li Clan's Chamber of Commerce, there is a Void Refinement mighty figure.
With a single arrow spanning thousands of miles, it transformed into a Blue Phoenix and struck Silver Wolf Lake.
There was also a bloody shadow. Someone saw that it was the Patriarch of the Azure Cloud Li Clan, Li Xinnian!"
"When we hurriedly rushed to the Yun Clan, the Yun Clan was already engulfed in a sea of fire; there were no survivors."
Hearing this, a trace of joy flashed across Zhou Chengli's face.
But Ba Siyu was mostly filled with disbelief.
"Blue Phoenix... Void Refinement, Li Changyao! Li Xinnian... impossible.
I have seen him multiple times; he is merely at the peak of the Divinity Transformation realm and hasn't even touched the threshold of Void Refinement."
Following this came Ba Siyu's complex expression.
The Yun Clan's Old Ancestor stole his supplies, and the Li Clan members he had originally sold out actually exterminated the Yun Clan, leaving his heart a jumble of mixed emotions.
As these pieces of news reached his ears, he grew vigilant.
He couldn't care less about how the Li Clan members had hidden so deeply; in the end, he could only think that the Li Clan members could stabilize the rear for him.
He took a deep breath, an inexplicable sense of shame in his heart.
"Go, send word to the Li Clan for me. My grand army has mobilized, I ask the Li Clan to prioritize the overall situation..."
But before his words fell.
The subordinate said with a strange expression, "When Li Xinnian of the Li Clan let this subordinate come to report, he asked me to bring a message to Your Lordship."
"He said that the situation in Deston Prefecture is bizarre.
Their Li Clan has no Half-step Body Integration expert, and no one will be able to break through to Body Integration anytime soon.
Your Lordship must certainly look down on their Li Clan.
Furthermore, their Li Clan cannot affect the overall situation, so they do not wish to meddle in this matter, nor do they want to participate in the war and cause trouble for Your Lordship.
He asks Your Lordship to... find another way."
---
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