Gu Jinlai paced back and forth around the city several times.
He didn’t let a single Red pass by unchecked.
As for whether there were natives of Star Curtain City or even members of the Star Sky Alliance among them?
He didn’t bother to differentiate.
Gu Jinlai finished his patrol in Star Curtain City and met up with Gu Chifeng and others.
After being baptized in slaughter and the scent of blood, Gu Chifeng and his companions had become more mature and steady.
Once the situation in Star State settled down, each of them would be capable of standing on their own.
"How are our own casualties?"
"Nineteen injured, four seriously, but thanks to our battle formation’s coordination and cautious advance, no one is dead," Gu Chifeng reported.
"Four seriously injured?"
"Yes, they were suddenly ambushed by a Refining God Immortal. However, each of our Demon God Guards is clad in ultra-heavyweight Mystic Steel Armor, which has a defensive power comparable to Supreme Treasure Armor, and given the tenacity of our Demon God Warriors’ life forces, the four, despite being critically hit, are not in mortal danger after timely treatment. They simply have to withdraw from the battle ranks," Gu Chifeng elaborated.
The weakest of this batch of Demon God Warriors was already approaching the threshold of coalescing a Middle-level Demon God Body. They were the elite among the elites in the multitude of Demon God Guards, and losing any single one would be heartbreaking for Lingxiao City.
Precisely for this reason, Gu Jinlai was extremely particular about their equipment.
Although the ultra-heavyweight Mystic Steel Armor could impact their agility,...
these Demon God Warriors usually moved in teams of ten under the leadership of one or two captains who had coalesced Upper Demon God Bodies. They advanced in formation and never engaged in one-on-one combat with the enemy, which meant they had no need for fancy movement techniques.
In such cases, unless that Refining God Immortal possessed a Spiritual Artifact Treasure Sword with traits of extreme sharpness, it would be impossible to kill a thoroughly armored Demon God Guard in a single blow.
"Patriarch, what next..."
Gu Chifeng glanced at Gu Jinlai.
Although the people from the Star Sky Alliance were starting to show themselves, Star Curtain City was still under their control.
With just one command from Gu Jinlai, the members of the Star Sky Alliance could be quickly defeated and swiftly executed.
They could also push the responsibility onto the State Lord Mansion.
After all, to ensure their own safety, the members of the Star Sky Alliance had chosen to scatter, losing contact with each other. If they died, nobody would know exactly how it happened.
Gu Jinlai shook his head.
But he turned his gaze toward the distance.
There, a group of people seemed to sense that the situation was decided and were quickly approaching.
Leading them was none other than Alliance Leader Nie, Nie Shisan of the Star Sky Alliance.
When Nie Shisan and the others saw Gu Jinlai and his group, they visibly hastened their steps, and after reaching them, they bowed in a posture befitting of subordinates, "Thank you, Heavenly Monarch Gu, for your righteous assistance. Without Heavenly Monarch Gu’s intervention, the Star Sky Alliance would no longer exist after today."
"You’re too kind," Gu Jinlai politely responded, "We are allies with a shared defense and offense. When the Star Sky Alliance faces difficulties, we naturally won’t stand by idly as long as it’s within our power."
He looked at Nie Shisan and said, "The Star Sky Alliance has undergone great turmoil, and many tasks await. Alliance Leader Nie should focus on those matters rather than spending time on us. We will rest for a day and depart tomorrow morning."
Nie Shisan was taken aback.
Then his heart was shaken.
Although what Nie Qingqing had said earlier had made up his mind, hearing from Gu Jinlai himself that he truly only intended to help the Star Sky Alliance, without the slightest intention to occupy Star Curtain City, filled him with overwhelming respect for such noble righteousness.
Isn’t Gu Jinlai from Purgatory Sect?
Could he still be considered a Devil?
"The State Lord Mansion and Dragon Sparrow Manor have declared war not just on the Star Sky Alliance but also on Lingxiao City. Tit for tat is only fair, and by tomorrow, the first batch of the vanguard army from Lingxiao City should arrive. We will need to pass through Star Curtain City to head toward Dragon Sparrow Manor and the territories under the control of the State Lord Mansion. I ask Alliance Leader Nie to make accommodations," Gu Jinlai requested with a cupped-hand salute.
"Lingxiao City... is going to make a move on the eight cities occupied by the State Lord Mansion and Dragon Sparrow Manor?"
Once a large army mobilized, it was impossible to keep it a secret.
Even if only ten thousand elites had been chosen to ensure quick action, the news would probably already be on the desks of the leaders of all major powers as they assembled and left the territory of Lingxiao City.
"Heavenly Monarch Gu,"
Nie Shisan took a deep breath and solemnly cupped his hands, "The Star Sky Alliance wishes to act together with Heavenly Monarch Gu and will incorporate Star Curtain City, along with the other two cities we control, a total of forty-six counties, into the system of Lingxiao City. The Star Sky Alliance will also be disbanded and join Lingxiao City, from this day forward following the orders of Lingxiao City as our highest priority."
Gu Jinlai looked at Nie Shisan, "Are you clear about what you are saying, Alliance Leader Nie?"
Then, he glanced over the people behind him, "And... have you obtained the consent of the other members of the Star Sky Alliance for this decision?"
"I am very aware of what I am doing,"
Nie Shisan replied, "Heavenly Monarch Gu is of extraordinary talent and unprecedented strength. Risen to power just in under three years, you’ve become strong enough to crush the two Primordial Spirit True Monarchs and seven Divinity Transformation Cultivators of Dragon Sparrow Manor with overwhelming force. Now, with the intention to unify Star State, your momentum is unstoppable. Since the Star Sky Alliance is an ally of Lingxiao City, we don’t wish to become a stumbling block in your path to unify Star State. Instead, we hope to assist Heavenly Monarch Gu in achieving the great cause of unifying Star State."
After saying this, he looked at the people behind him, "This is the unanimous desire of all of us."
Zhan Hongying, Shao Yaoguang and others were nodding, "We are willing to join Lingxiao City and heed the orders of Heavenly Monarch Gu."
Gu Chifeng looked at the few people with a somewhat strange expression on his face.
Originally, he was inclined towards the opinion of the Patriarch to seize Star Curtain City by force, but now it seemed...
Did the Patriarch already have a well-thought-out plan?
"Do you know why I did not suggest merging Lingxiao City and Star Sky Alliance into one entity?"
Gu Jinlai said, "That’s because Lingxiao City has its own promotion system. Those competent rise to the top, while the mediocre are demoted! Accepting any position also means bearing corresponding responsibilities!"
Nie Shisan nodded his head.
Naturally, they had meticulously looked into Lingxiao City’s radically different system.
"So, what are your requirements to join Lingxiao City?"
"Our requirements..."
Nie Shisan hesitated for a moment.
Considering the stringent nature of Gu Jinlai’s system in Lingxiao City, if they truly wanted to become a part of it...
"All we need is to maintain the inheritance of our respective sects. As for the positions required... we will adhere to Lingxiao City’s promotion system and certainly not trouble Heavenly Monarch Gu."
Nie Shisan said earnestly.
Gu Jinlai said, "If you can do as you say, in the future, I will also grant you a bright future."
Nie Shisan and the others exchanged glances, smiling simultaneously.
Since Star Sky Alliance had the intention to submit to Lingxiao City, the subsequent exchanges naturally became more relaxed and pleasant.
Meanwhile, the setback faced by both the State Lord Mansion and Dragon Sparrow Manor when Gu Jinlai took over Star Curtain City finally spread throughout Star State and its vicinity.
Compared to the immediate fall of three Divinity Transformation Cultivators and a number of Refining God Immortals from Star Curtain City’s State Lord Mansion, what shook forces like Cold Moon Sect, Netherworld Sect, and Yellow Sky Sect even more was Gu Jinlai’s strength in slaying two Primordial Spirit Monarchs.
Primordial Spirit Monarchs had always stood at the peak south of Tianhe in the Cultivation World. Given their ability to fly and navigate the Qingming, they were hard to be killed by others. The sudden loss of two had a significant impact on the forces surrounding Star State.
Fang Linghai, the Sect Master of Cold Moon Sect, muttered this name.
His gaze inevitably drifted towards Mu State, his eyes revealing worry and...
"If it hadn’t been for the conflict at Sunset City, it’s possible that our two sides could have worked directly together. After all, once the Mu State Demons head north, it won’t just be Jiangzhou that’s under threat. The region south of Star State including Lingxiao City will be affected as well. If one lip is gone, the teeth will feel cold... He probably wouldn’t just stand by."
They should be thankful if they’re not kicked while they’re down.
The remaining forces, Netherworld Sect and Yellow Sky Sect, were equally shaken and perplexed.
Netherworld Sect, considering Gu Jinlai’s relationship with Purgatory Sect, sensed a crisis but did not take further action as their time and energy were focused on the Divine Sword Conference.
On one hand, they were situated at opposite ends of Star State from Lingxiao City, quite far apart; and on the other, they were being tormented by the demons of Champsosaurus Swamp.
Unless the Divine Sword Conference came to an end and the Demon Path experts gathered near Canglang Mountain departed, it was estimated that the demons and that Demon Demon King would not return to Tianhe.
As long as the demons did not leave, they didn’t have much energy to do anything.
What they could only hope for was that State Lord Mansion and Dragon Sparrow Manor could hold on a bit longer, at least until the Divine Sword Conference was held and those demons that retreated to Champsosaurus Swamp went back to Tianhe and met their defeat.
South of Starlight City.
Meteor Star Guard headquarters.
Xin Tianqi looked at the intelligence report in his hand, his face showing surprise, astonishment, and disbelief.
He let out a long breath, almost at a loss for words to describe the content of the report.
"Truly... inconceivable..."
Standing opposite him was Minister Cheng Wanli of the Star Lord Department.
Since Su Wen took away many key members of the Patrol Department, even though they were in Star State, their news came slightly slower than Purgatory Sect and Dragon Sparrow Manor’s.
Furthermore, the report’s content was too extraordinary; Minister Cheng verified it several times until he was confident of its accuracy before daring to present it to Xin Tianqi.
"Dragon Sparrow Manor’s two Primordial Spirit Monarchs and seven Divinity Transformation Cultivators could not handle him, and he killed them to the point only three Divinity Transformation Cultivators managed to escape..."
Cheng Wanli said, shaking his head.
At this moment, he couldn’t fathom how a garrison commander who had to join their Meteor Star Guard merely because he offended Heavenly Grass Pavilion and later was assigned to Lingxiao City, whom he had never even met, could reach such heights.
"Does Minister Cheng believe what I said now?"
Xin Tianqi said with a smile.
"The future of Star State lies with Lingxiao City..."
Cheng Wanli muttered, sincerely saying, "Star Lord has an eye for talent. With such a record of victories, the other members of Meteor Star Guard will have not a single word of protest against what the Star Lord plans to do next."
"His next step is likely to be leading troops to march north."
Xin Tianqi said, "Next... let’s prepare. We will try to minimize casualties as much as possible; every soldier is, perhaps, the pillar of a family, with parents, a spouse, children..."