If you encounter it, you should take care of it.

Of course, City Lord Gu Yan's acquaintance with Zhong Qing was merely on a whim, so he harbored no utilitarian motives.

Therefore, he didn't delve into it too much.

He believed Zhong Qing's words as they were spoken.

Just as the two were enjoying their drinks to the fullest,

Footsteps suddenly came from outside the pavilion.

It was a maiden in a sky-blue long dress, clearly a maid from the inn.

“Sir, there’s an urgent letter for you!”

The maid approached, bowed, and presented the letter with both hands.

An inn was not just for rest and lodging.

It also handled the transmission of intelligence and information.

It was an important nexus for communication between various sects and forces.

This was also because the Central Continent was too vast, and the spatial differences meant that ordinary jade slips and communication methods couldn't reach such distances, which led to this somewhat ancient method of communication.

City Lord Gu Yan took the letter and waved his hand.

“You’re not needed here. You may leave!”

“Yes, Sir!”

As the maid departed, City Lord Gu Yan casually glanced at the letter.

The next moment, his expression couldn't help but change.

“Brother Zhong, I’m afraid I can’t drink to my heart’s content with you today.”

“There’s a rather troublesome matter that requires my immediate return to handle.”

He rubbed his temples, his face etched with worry.

“Brother Gu, please go ahead.”

“Don’t mind me.”

“Speaking of which, after drinking two pots of your wine, it’s about time I took my leave!”

Zhong Qing naturally saw the difficulty on his face, so after bidding farewell, he didn't linger and left directly.

As Zhong Qing departed,

City Lord Gu Yan once again held the letter and repeatedly scrutinized it in the pavilion.

The more he read, the more alarmed he became.

The first half of the letter roughly detailed the drastic changes at the Phoenix Feather Sect's Mystic Realm Mine.

The latter half was an order from the Phoenix Feather Sect's envoy, instructing him to quickly return to his territory and fiefdom to assist the Phoenix Feather Sect in searching for rebels.

The Phoenix Feather Sect, as the overlord of the Chaotic Land, was not just for show.

Its power and influence were absolutely unrivaled within a million-mile radius.

In this region, no force had ever dared to defy the Phoenix Feather Sect.

History proved that throughout the Phoenix Feather Sect's long reign over the Chaotic Land, all who dared to defy them had now turned into lost souls.

City Lord Gu Yan was secretly astonished.

“Who on earth is it? What kind of heinous acts did they commit to warrant such a massive reaction from the Phoenix Feather Sect!”

“Even a small, peripheral city like mine isn’t spared; I must also assist them in searching for rebels.”

He sensed the gravity of the situation.

City Lord Gu Yan himself was merely the lord of a small city.

His status, in a way, was neither high nor low.

As a city lord, his position in his city was naturally lofty.

But compared to a behemoth like the Phoenix Feather Sect, he seemed utterly insignificant.

With his status, even if he shamelessly tried to curry favor with the Phoenix Feather Sect, he might not even be acknowledged.

Moreover, there were too many people trying to curry favor; he wouldn't even get a turn in line.

This was the first time someone from the Phoenix Feather Sect had come to contact him.

And the contact was for an earth-shattering major event.

City Lord Gu Yan's mouth tasted bitter.

Assisting in the search for rebels.

It sounded simple.

But it was undoubtedly a thankless task.

Between the lines, he couldn't help but feel the Phoenix Feather Sect's emphasis on this matter.

If the matter wasn't handled well, it would incur the Phoenix Feather Sect's wrath.

If it was handled well, it would be even worse.

Could someone who could mobilize such a large force from the Phoenix Feather Sect be so easily caught?

They say when immortals fight, mortals suffer.

The aftermath of a struggle between great figures could easily shatter a small person like him into pieces, leading to eternal damnation.

Yet, he couldn't remain aloof; he had no choice but to participate.

For a moment!

City Lord Gu Yan felt it was extremely thorny and headache-inducing.

But he still got up immediately.

He rushed towards Wanbian City, his territory.

The Central Continent is vast!

The Chaotic Land alone covered an area of a million square miles.

The Chaotic Land was also home to tens of thousands of forces and sects.

Wanbian City was located in the heartland of the Chaotic Land.

It was an inconspicuous small city among countless territories.

On the other side, after leaving the inn, Zhong Qing asked a passerby for directions.

He learned that the closest city was Wanbian City.

After confirming the direction, he didn't delay and headed straight for that city.

With his alcohol tolerance, two pots of wine were just enough to whet his appetite.

Since he didn't drink his fill, he naturally had to make it up in the second round.

This time, he did not fly.

He walked on foot.

Drinking was important, but constantly flying in the sky would make him miss a lot of the scenery along the way.

Zhong Qing traveled west.

He walked for an unknown duration.

Suddenly, a fighting sound came from afar.

Zhong Qing raised an eyebrow.

Judging from the aftermath of the battle, it should be Three Yang Three Realm cultivators clashing.

He didn't intend to get involved.

After all, in this cultivation world, life-and-death struggles were too common.

If he had to intervene every time he saw one,

Zhong Qing wouldn't need to do anything else.

He'd be too busy just righting wrongs and stopping disputes every day.

However, just as Zhong Qing took a step, preparing to continue forward,

A voice made him stop.

“Fellow Daoists, they say to leave a thread in what you do, so you can meet again later.”

“Are you truly going to exterminate everyone?”

Hearing the voice, Zhong Qing knew the person's identity.

It was none other than City Lord Gu Yan, who had invited him for a drink earlier.

“He seems to have encountered quite a bit of trouble,” Zhong Qing murmured, taking a step. His figure vanished from his original spot, and he headed straight for the battlefield.

He could turn a blind eye to strangers.

But the other party had, in a way, treated him to two pots of wine. For the sake of those two pots of wine, if he hadn't encountered it, that would be one thing, but having encountered it, it would be a bit unreasonable to just leave.

Soon, Zhong Qing arrived at the scene.

This was a mountain forest.

Within the forest, ancient trees over ten li in radius were broken, and rocks had collapsed.

It clearly had experienced a major disaster.

A plume of battle smoke slowly rose into the sky.

The battle had already ended.

Several corpses lay on the ground.

City Lord Gu Yan had already been subdued.

Surrounding him were twelve people.

The leader was a short but unusually robust red-faced man.

“Big Brother, this bastard killed eight of our brothers.”

“I suggest we dismember him, so we can avenge our brothers.”

The red-faced man waved his hand and said, “This man is a city lord.”

“It would be too much of a waste to just kill him.”

“I heard he has a daughter who is as beautiful as a sinking fish and a descending goose, and as lovely as a closing moon and a shaming flower.”

“Why not let her bring all of this old man’s wealth to ransom him?”

“This way, we get wealth, we get to play with a woman for free, and we can make this old man suffer immensely. Isn’t that ten times more satisfying than dismembering him?”

“Big Brother’s plan is hitting three birds with one stone, brilliant!”

A subordinate immediately flattered him.

But when City Lord Gu Yan heard these words, his eyes widened in fury.

He roared like a wounded beast,

“Beasts, a bunch of beasts.”

“You will all die a horrible death!”

“Aren’t you afraid of retribution for being so deranged?”

“Heh heh!”

The red-faced man laughed coldly.

“In Lone Blade Mountain, I am the heavens.”

“Who dares to bring retribution upon me?”

He spoke with extreme arrogance.

There was an air of 'who else but me, supreme under heaven' about him.

...