231: Chapter 232 Lord Huacheng Arrives!

It immediately lowered its head to pick it up.

With this peck, another one rolled out from its claws.

Seeing this scene, the people around could not help but chuckle.

The Flying Cloud Crane seemed to realize it looked a bit disheveled. It raised its head to glance at them, and its avian eyes revealed a surprisingly human-like emotion of "annoyance"!

Seeing this, everyone immediately stifled their laughter.

Zhou Yun noticed its embarrassment and immediately had someone bring over a small wooden box.

After placing the eight purple jade glazed fruits inside, he found there was still plenty of space, so he simply took a few dozen more to fill it up.

The Flying Cloud Crane stood by and watched the entire time, its eyes shining, flapping its wings from time to time.

After putting in the purple jade glazed fruits, Zhou Yun finally took out a copy of the "Jianmu Heaven-Connecting Canon" and placed it inside as well.

Once the wooden box was closed, the Flying Cloud Crane circled it three times, excitedly letting out clear, bright cries.

The surrounding crowd watched in stunned silence.

"It... does this mean it's happy?"

"Why do I feel like the way it looks at that box is even brighter than how I look at gold coins?"

"As expected of a Spirit Beast, it really is smart!"

...

The Flying Cloud Crane, however, paid no mind to the discussions of others.

It extended its claws, grabbed the sides of the wooden box, and then suddenly flapped its wings!

As a result, the wooden box did not budge at all.

?

The Flying Cloud Crane tilted its head and looked at the wooden box. It flapped its wings forcefully again.

This time, the wooden box was lifted slightly before falling heavily back to the ground.

The Flying Cloud Crane became anxious.

It walked around the wooden box twice, lowered its head to look at the box, and then looked up at Zhou Yun.

The meaning expressed by those eyes was already very clear.

It wanted it.

But it couldn't lift it.

Zhou Yun laughed and said: "Then take a little less."

As he spoke, he stepped forward to open the box. But just as he reached in, the Flying Cloud Crane's neck stretched forward a bit.

Zhou Yun had only just taken out two of them when the Flying Cloud Crane immediately raised a wing and gently pressed it onto the box lid.

Zhou Yun turned his head and found that the Flying Cloud Crane was looking at him with a very serious gaze. The meaning revealed within was also very clear:

That's enough.

Don't take any more out.

"Alright." Seeing its attitude so clear, Zhou Yun had no choice but to close the box again.

This time, the Flying Cloud Crane grabbed the wooden box, flapped its wings, and finally flew up.

It was just that... it wasn't flying easily.

As soon as it left the ground, its entire body sank, and it almost fell back to the ground.

It managed to gain some altitude with great difficulty, but its flight path was a bit unsteady, swaying left and right, making the hearts of the surrounding crowd jump into their throats.

Fortunately, although it looked a bit unstable, it was moving forward steadily, and before long, it disappeared from everyone's view.

...

Having obtained the earth-surging red flame golden lotus, the subsequent matters were easy to handle.

The Soul-Suppressing Heart-Protecting Pill had already slowed the progression of the Black Underworld Wind Breath, and now with the medicinal power of this earth-surging red flame golden lotus entering his body, the black Qi on Lei Lie rapidly disintegrated.

Before the people in the tent could fully react, Lei Lie on the bed suddenly sprang up to a sitting position.

"Minister Lei!" Pharmacist Jiang was startled and hurriedly went to support him.

Lei Lie, however, had already rolled off the bed. He stood on the ground, first moving his shoulders, then clenching his fists.

Perhaps because he had been lying down for too long, his whole body felt as if it had rusted, and his movements appeared somewhat stiff. But that bit of Qi had ultimately returned.

After moving around a little, he looked around at Pharmacist Jiang, Lu Qinglu, Lan Yin, Ge Tong, and that group of Healers, pharmacists, and priests whose eyes were red from exhaustion.

Subsequently, he bowed solemnly:

"This life of Lei Lie was saved by you all."

"Please accept Lei Lie's bow!"

Having said this, he bowed deeply.

Everyone was caught off guard.

"Minister Lei, you must not, you must not!"

"It is our duty, Minister Lei, you really do not need to do this."

"This commoner only opened a few furnaces of pills, I truly cannot accept such a grand bow from Minister Lei!"

...

Lei Lie didn't say anything, but after straightening up, he looked at Zhou Yun. Zhou Yun was also looking at him. Their eyes met. Neither spoke for a long while.

Then, very suddenly...

With a "thud," Lei Lie knelt down. This kneeling was extremely heavy. The ground even seemed to shake.

He kowtowed heavily and said:

"City Lord!"

"This subordinate has returned!"

At this moment, Zhou Yun's gaze suddenly fluctuated. But at the same time as it fluctuated, he slowly turned his back.

"It is good that you have returned," he said.

Immediately after, he walked slowly toward the outside. Wan'er glanced at Lei Lie and followed closely in Zhou Yun's footsteps.

After walking for a good distance, Zhou Yun stopped and asked:

"How are the thank-you gifts and invitations sent to Heyang and Banhe City coming along?"

Wan'er smiled and said:

"Calculating the time, they should have been delivered by now."

Zhou Yun nodded slightly,

"Send invitations to all surrounding cities with which we have contact as well."

"Once the military advisor returns in triumph, we will hold the promotion ceremony!"

...

Inside the City Lord's Mansion, a golden Teleportation Array was flowing with golden light. This light was not as blinding as ordinary Teleportation Arrays; instead, it was like a pool of flowing crushed gold, warm and profound, spreading circles of mysterious patterns on the ground.

This golden Teleportation Array appeared the moment the Flower City city lord seal truly stepped into the rank of a lower-level city. As long as one stepped into it, the power of the Heavenly Dao would reconstruct the passage and send the person back to Blue Star once again.

According to convention, Zhou Yun should have returned that very day. However, because of Lei Lie's sudden serious injury, his return was delayed by a few days.

At this moment, he stood quietly beside the Teleportation Array.

It is time, he thought to himself.

"City Lord!"

Just as he lifted his right foot, preparing to step into the golden ripples, a low exclamation suddenly came to his ears. The faint voice carried an extremely obvious tremor.

Zhou Yun's steps paused, and he turned around to look. It was Xia Nuannuan. She was standing under the flower trellis not far away. Her hands were tightly twisted together, and a trace of unease rippled in her bright eyes.

Meeting that somewhat fearful gaze, Zhou Yun could not help but sigh in his heart.

Even though she had already had a similar experience once, she was still worried, huh...

Fortunately, before leaving this time, he had only told Xia Nuannuan and Wan'er. Otherwise, if it had become known to everyone like last time, he feared it would have made everyone uneasy again.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yun's expression softened, and he comforted her softly:

"Just like last time, I will go and return shortly, rest assured."

Upon hearing this, Xia Nuannuan's tense shoulders relaxed slightly, she pursed her lips, and ultimately nodded heavily.

Seeing this, Zhou Yun did not hesitate any longer, turned around, and stepped into the center of the Teleportation Array.

"Hum..." The golden light suddenly flared, swallowing his figure.

...

On the other side, Blue Star, Great Han Nation, Jianghai City.

On the spacious Jianghai Square, it was already overcrowded and packed. However, the people gathered here were neither middle-aged women dancing in groups, nor any commercial groups organizing activities here.

Looking around, it was a sea of black, almost entirely media faces armed with long lenses and short cannons, their expressions a mix of excitement and fatigue.

It was just that these usually well-dressed media workers now looked a bit disheveled. Many had sunken eye sockets, their clothes stained with dust and wrinkled; some had simply rolled out bedding directly on the hard stone floor, with leftover instant noodle cups and mineral water bottles piled messily beside them.

The atmosphere of the entire square was chaotic, looking remarkably like an old train station during the peak travel season of the 1990s.

What was even more peculiar was that in this crowded mass of people, there were also many foreign journalists of different skin colors, speaking various foreign languages. In addition, broadcasting vans marked with international media logos were parked side by side along the roadside, with huge satellite antennas all pointing uniformly at the sky.

"It's been five whole days... Could this Teleportation Array have some kind of malfunction?" In the crowd, a young man holding a camera rubbed his bloodshot eyes and complained ventingly.

Beside him, a veteran journalist with a half-smoked cigarette butt in his mouth exhaled a puff of blue smoke, his voice raspy:

"If it were a normal promotion, according to common sense, they should have returned the same day. But it has been one hundred and twenty hours, which is truly unheard of."

"Isn't that right!" On the other side, a delicately dressed female journalist also couldn't help rubbing her sore shoulders and added, "A city promotion is a huge joyous occasion, yet this newly promoted city lord refuses to show his face, I really don't know what kind of medicine is in his gourd."

...

People discussed in small groups, their gazes occasionally turning to the center of the square. There, a golden Teleportation Array, similar in appearance to the one in the Flower City City Lord's Mansion but more than ten times larger, was flowing with golden light.

Not far away, a female host stood with her back to the tightly closed cordon, smiling at the camera. Although her complexion was somewhat haggard, her speech was still clear and articulate, and her emotions were full:

"Audience friends, behind me is the Jianghai Square Teleportation Array that has been operating continuously for five days."

"As everyone knows, the Great Han Nation currently has four Kings and sixteen Dukes, but not a single one is from Jianghai City."

"Therefore, the activation of the Jianghai City Teleportation Array five days ago must mean that a new lower-level city lord has been born in Jianghai City!"

"But strangely, this newly promoted city lord has yet to appear. However, precisely because of this, the world is even more curious about this newly promoted lower-level city lord. For the past five days, the heat of related discussions globally has been rising rapidly. Regarding this incident, our station will continue to track and report, please stay tuned..."

Boom! Before she could finish speaking, the ground suddenly shook violently without warning. Immediately after, in the center of the square, that Teleportation Array that had been flowing for five days and nights suddenly flared with blinding golden light!

This sudden change caused the somewhat dull square to instantly explode into an uproar.

"It's moving! It's moving!"

"Turn on the cameras! Aim the lenses at the array eye! Quick!"

"Make way, make way!"

"Don't push me! Those in front, keep your heads down!"

...

The originally exhausted media workers were now like they had been injected with a stimulant, bursting with astonishing fighting power. Thousands of people, each carrying heavy equipment, squeezed desperately toward the direction of the cordon.

At the same time, on all the giant outdoor LED screens along the streets of Jianghai City, the images that were originally playing were cut off in unison. Replacing them were four giant red exclamation marks! "!!!!"

In the footage, the host's face was flushed red with excitement, and her voice boomed through the broadcast speakers spread throughout the city:

"After waiting for five whole days! The Teleportation Array finally has movement!"

"The newly promoted lower-level city lord is about to appear! At this moment, not just Jianghai City, but the entire Great Han Nation, and even the eyes of the world are focused here. Who, exactly, could he be?!"

Hum... In the instant the whole city held its breath, the golden light on Jianghai Square violently converged, turning into a huge golden pillar of light that shot straight into the sky.

Spiritual Qi swept through the surroundings like a violent wind, blowing the reporters in the front row off balance. Wrapped in that blinding golden light, a tall and slender figure gradually condensed.

Seeing the target they had waited five days for finally appear, everyone tried their best to see his true face. However, many dazzling golden runes and particle halos slowly circled around him, exuding a divinity and majesty that made it impossible to look directly at him.

"Quick! The lens! The lens!!"

"Lower the exposure! Damn it, why is it all golden light? I can't film clearly at all!"

"The equipment has lost focus! What kind of power is this?!"

"Wow! Is this the great power of a lower-level city lord? Niubility!"

...

On the square, many reporters carrying equipment, their faces full of fanaticism, were sweating profusely, frantically adjusting their focal lengths and filters. But no matter how hard they tried, in those expensive professional lenses, they could only capture a majestic silhouette completely wrapped in flowing golden halos.

His true face, attire, and expression were all perfectly hidden by this layer of extremely gorgeous golden "special effects," leaving the whole world with only a silhouette that was mysterious and noble to the extreme.

Just as he, bearing these brilliant special effects, slowly stepped out of the range of the Formation... in the Void Realm above his head, strands of brilliant silver light flowed and gathered like water ripples.

In the blink of an eye, a phantom of a silver crown exuding an ancient and noble aura slowly unfolded above the golden light!

Whoosh... Between heaven and earth, it was as if a fresh breeze blew from an invisible place. The originally gray sky suddenly brightened, and a dense rain of flower petals began to fall.

Those were strange petals condensed from the purest Spiritual Qi. As they fell to the ground, they turned into specks of fluorescent light and dissipated, leaving behind a refreshing and pleasant fragrance.

"Ah! So beautiful!"

"So fragrant!"

"I feel like my whole body has become lighter!"

...

Just at the moment everyone was intoxicated by this...

The next second, a voice of the Heavenly Dao, like a great bell, carrying endless majesty, resounded magnificently throughout the entire Jianghai City and even the world for a hundred miles around:

"Duke of Flower City, Zhou Yun, Arrival!"

"Heaven and Earth celebrate together!"