Lu Yun’s greeting gift was incredibly precious. Qing Ting kept his words in mind and didn’t alert anyone to his presence. She traveled to the Firmament Pavilion alone; it stood defenseless when all of its formations were dismantled.
The Fish King’s mastery of formations was exceedingly high. He’d laid out a grand formation at the center of the city and connected all of the city’s formations to it. However, as strong as the formation looked, it was uncommonly weak. A king could easily bring it down with a wave of a hand.
Additionally, a chain reaction would ensue once the main formation went down. Every formation connected to it would be dismantled as well—something that not even Lu Yun had discovered when he first arrived.
Qing Ting smoothly found her way to the Firmament Pavilion and inserted the formation disk nine thousand meters below ground. And then…
A pillar of mystical purple-golden light shot up from the pavilion, transforming into a luminous curtain that enveloped Coiling Dragon City. The city’s formations reconstructed themselves under this radiance and melded back into the city.
“What… is this?” Preoccupied with hunting down Li traitors, Dragonfeather stared tongue-tied at the grand formation that’d suddenly reappeared in the city. He couldn’t make sense of this development.
Since the formation had originated from the Firmament Pavilion, that meant the trading company was behind it. But their great formation covered all of Coiling Dragon City?
As the city was currently engulfed in martial strife, a large trading company such as the Firmament Pavilion wouldn’t involve themselves in the city’s affairs. They would remain neutral and refuse to interfere. Therefore, they would never repair the city’s broken formations no matter how much Coiling Dragon offered in payment.
Naturally, the Li Clan wasn’t fool enough to provoke this third party either. But for some reason, the pavilion had stepped away from neutrality!
Not only did they utilize a stunning array to repair all of the city’s formations, but they were protecting Coiling Dragon as well. Though their supplemental king was one of treasure refinement, there was no rule that said they couldn’t possess king grade formations at the same time.
“The Firmament Pavilion’s taken a stand?” Far off in the distance, the Li King regarded the sudden formation with an unpleasant expression. “It might not be the pavilion… Actually, it should be the Immortal Pagoda,” he murmured in deep thought. “Jin Naluo is one of the pagoda’s. Maybe he planted one of the pagoda’s formations into the pavilion’s foundations…
“But their fucking foundation is their fucking heartland! Would they so easily let a seventh step king inside?!” He abruptly jumped up with fury. “Well, well, well Firmament Pavilion! You appear to be neutral on the surface and avoid participating in the Azure Dragon Region war, but you’ve actually cast your lot in with Coiling Dragon and plot against my Li Clan!”
With the revitalization of the city’s formation, any Li powerhouses hidden within the city wouldn’t have much longer to live.
The Li King took a deep look at the Firmament Pavilion before whirling around to leave. It didn’t matter if the trading company was the one behind the formation or not. Their building’s foundation was the only place in the entire city that was still suitable to set up a formation.
The Fish King’s craft was so masterful that not only had he destroyed all of Coiling Dragon’s formations, but he’d also wrecked any place suitable for setting up a formation. Only Firmament Pavilion had been left untouched—because they were neutral. The Fish King had destroyed only their formation and nothing further.
Based on the pavilion’s usual method of operations, they would never let Coiling Dragon City plant anything in their headquarters’ foundation. That would just be handing over their lives to the city. The only possible explanation was that the great formation covering the city was the pavilion’s own work.
……
“What, what is this?” Within the Firmament Pavilion, sixth step elder Vast King gaped at the formation soaring into the sky from their own building. He didn’t know what to say.
“Elder… who set this up?” Heilin carefully approached the elder.
“Coiling Dragon and Azure Dragon City will not win the war without the Immortal Pagoda’s help, but the pagoda cannot make a move out in the open.” The Vast King lowered his head with a soft sigh.
“Elder…” She didn’t quite understand.
“If the Immortal Pagoda does become involved, that will trigger a war of true kings. It will compel the true kings hidden within the Hongmeng—those waiting for the immortal dao to arrive—to reveal themselves and usher in the era of true kings.” He continued murmuring to himself, ignoring Heilin. “Therefore, if we stand by the cities at this time, they will be able to win the war.”
He lowered his head, reluctant to accept his faction’s fate.
Heilin understood now. She was a core personage in the trading company and she’d made the call to sell Azuresky to Qing Ting. She was very familiar with the Firmament Pavilion’s important decisions and strategies.
“Do we just let someone manipulate us like this?” She, too, was unwilling.
“Why do you think Azure Dragon City, Coiling Dragon City, Jin Naluo, and the Trueriver Sect came under the Immortal Pagoda’s banner?” the elder responded meaningfully. “They all became the pagoda’s allies against their will! And now, it’s our turn.
“It’s a pity that we don’t have a true king to our name, or even a ninth step king. His Majesty Firmament King is just a supplemental king.
“We can’t afford to gamble. The immortal dao is nigh and undercurrents are flowing strongly in the realm. We must choose sides now, and not just us. All of the top ten trading companies in the realm must do so!
“Otherwise, we’ll be fattened sheep ripe for slaughter in the eyes of hungry wolves. They’ll swallow us whole and leave not even a bone behind!
“We can still retain our sense of self if we voluntarily join the Immortal Pagoda. If we’re taken over by the pagoda, then we will be no more.
“It’s time for His Majesty to make a decision.”
……
“Are we really leaving Little Yin behind?” Azureclad had changed his appearance and drifted behind Lu Yun and Qing Ting. He grumbled, “Though she’s not of the azure dragon bloodline, she’s still a descendent of the vermilion bird…”
“Brother, why did I never know that you talk so much?” Qing Ting whipped her head back with a glare.
“Ahem!” Lu Yun corrected, “He’s not your brother at the moment, he’s our family servant. I’m your brother.”
They were currently disguised as two noble scions with an old servant. There was another person by their side—their guard, Jin Naluo. The Shapeshifting Talisman modified his appearance to be that of a third step king.
He was quite depressed. Lu Yun had hauled him back again before he could fully refine the heavy blade and told him that he’d escort them to Azure Dragon City. What in the heavens was Lu Yun plotting now?? With the little bastard’s strength, he could get to Azure Dragon in the blink of an eye. Was there a need to travel a hundred million kilometers on foot??
Not only was this a waste of his time, but more importantly, it was a waste of Jin Naluo’s time!
It feels like most of Lu Yun’s allies became that way against their will…
