As one of the top tier powers of the Northern Realm, the Great Heavenlaw Domain had no truly comparable existence in the surrounding regions. These areas were regarded as buffer zones tacitly acknowledged by the various top tier forces.
Naturally, the strength of these regions was generally not weak. Otherwise, they would not have been able to resist encroachment from the top tier powers.
Take the Hundred Battles Domain for example. The strongest forces within it were the three great powers of Myriad Sword Valley, Demonic Corpse Sect, and Great Compassion Sky. The strength of these three factions was such that even the Kings could not compare to them. There were even rumors that the masters of the three great powers possessed cultivation on par with the Three Emperors.
This was also the reason they had been able to dominate the Hundred Battles Domain for countless years. After all, given Mandala's status and the pride of a supreme powerhouse, it was naturally impossible for her to personally take action against a group of Sovereign experts.
However, these matters did not have much impact on Liu Bai and the Nine Nether Palace for the time being. That was because the territories of those three great powers were all far away from the Great Heavenlaw Domain. The closest force that could be considered powerful near this area was only the Demonic Lightning Sect.
"First take down Earthfire City, then see if we can draw the Demonic Lightning Sect of Demon Lightning Mountain out…"
Demon Lightning Mountain bordered the Thunder Flame Plain. With one falling, the other would be exposed. If the Nine Nether Palace occupied the Thunder Flame Plain, the Demon Lightning Sect would be forced to face the military edge of the Great Heavenlaw Domain directly. It would then depend on whether they could endure it.
And this was precisely Liu Bai's calculation.
After all, he was very interested in the inheritance of the Demon Heart Lightning Emperor within the Demon Lightning Sect. However, with the current strength of the Nine Nether Palace, it was still not enough to take down a massive force like the Demon Lightning Sect. Unless his cultivation could break through to the Fourth Grade Sovereign level during this campaign of expansion, allowing him to crush the enemy's numerical advantage with absolute strength.
For now, that hope was rather slim.
At this moment, Earthfire City was extremely lively. The teleportation array within the city continuously flashed with light. One powerful aura after another emerged from it, then hurried toward the grand hall located at the center of the city.
News of the Great Heavenlaw Domain's invasion had already spread throughout the Thunder Flame Plain, causing all the major forces living in this region to panic.
After all, the gap between the two sides was simply too vast. If it truly was the Great Heavenlaw Domain making a move, then not only the Thunder Flame Plain, but the entire Hundred Battles Domain would be at risk of destruction.
In front of the central hall of Earthfire City, the area was already bustling with voices. Everyone's gaze was fixed on the Earthfire Hall that represented the entire city.
Inside the hall were dozens of stone chairs, with dozens of figures seated in order. Faintly, vast spiritual energy rippled outward from their bodies.
It was obvious that those qualified to sit in this hall were all regional overlords of the Thunder Flame Plain. Among them, the spiritual energy around the three individuals seated at the highest positions was the most majestic.
The man in the center wore a long robe patterned with brown fire pattern. His body was burly, and he had short hair. On his seemingly rough face hung a faint smile, but his deeply sunken eyes swept across the hall like venomous snakes, sending chills down one's spine.
This man was none other than the City Lord of Earthfire City, Yan Kui. He had controlled Earthfire City for many years and was known for being cunning and ruthless. His strength had long since advanced into the Third Grade Sovereign Realm, and he was now at the peak of that level. Back then, it was precisely he who had schemed to trap Liu Shi and Fang Hu, the two Mountain Masters of Lion Tiger Mountain, ultimately causing one to die and the other to be severely injured.
On his left and right were the City Lords of Thunder Rain City and Slash Moon City, the two major cities second only to Earthfire City.
All three were Third Grade Sovereign and could be considered the strongest experts of the Thunder Flame Plain. Now that a powerful enemy loomed, the three sides temporarily set aside their past conflicts to face the enemy together.
"This time, the Great Heavenlaw Domain has come with fierce momentum. I believe everyone has already seen this," Yan Kui said solemnly. "I propose that all medium and small forces abandon their territories and gather at Earthfire City. We join forces with one heart to resist the powerful enemy."
These words caused many people's expressions to change, but no one immediately stood up to oppose him.
However, from the expressions on everyone's faces, it was clear that they were unwilling to accept Yan Kui's proposal.
After all, these were foundations they had built over many years. No one wanted to abandon them just like that. Moreover, once they truly gave everything up and fled to Earthfire City, they would effectively become homeless strays.
At this moment, the City Lord of Thunder Rain City, Lei Wen, stepped forward and spoke. "I think City Lord Yan's proposal is quite good. Unity against the enemy is our only way out."
"However, gathering at Earthfire City might be a bit too conservative. Earthfire City is located in the rear. If everyone gathers there, then nearly seventy percent of the Thunder Flame Plain will be abandoned. That loss would be too great."
"I believe it would be better to gather at my Thunder Rain City instead. Thunder Rain City is located on the front line of the Thunder Flame Plain. I am willing to serve as the vanguard, gathering heroes from all sides to resist the powerful enemy together."
"In this way, if we can repel the invading enemy, we can minimize our losses. Even if we are defeated, we can still buy enough time for everyone to retreat."
As soon as these words were spoken, many people were visibly moved.
Quite a few of the forces present had territories located behind Thunder Rain City. This arrangement gave them a high chance of preserving their foundations.
Seeing this, Yan Kui's expression darkened.
For a moment, he could not think of a good reason to refute it.
"Brother Ye, what do you think?" Yan Kui finally turned his gaze toward the City Lord of Slash Moon City, Ye Zhan. "This concerns the life and death of our Thunder Flame Plain. Your Slash Moon City should also voice its opinion."
Ye Zhan looked like a young man in his early thirties. His strength was slightly weaker than Yan Kui and Lei Wen, as he had only just stepped into the Third Grade Sovereign Realm.
Normally, Slash Moon City's style of conduct was not as overbearing as the other two. Now that Yan Kui spoke, there was a faint hint of threat in his tone.
Hearing this, Ye Zhan slowly raised his head. His eyelids lifted slightly as his gaze swept over everyone present.
"According to the intelligence I received, the ones invading the Thunder Flame Plain this time are the Nine Nether Palace under the Nine Nether King of the Great Luo Heavenlaw Domain. It is said that Lion Tiger Mountain has already submitted to the Nine Nether Palace. Therefore, the forces entering the Thunder Flame Plain are only those of the Nine Nether Palace and Lion Tiger Mountain…"
At this point, Ye Zhan's gaze shifted to Yan Kui, and he said indifferently, "If I remember correctly, Lion Tiger Mountain has a deep grudge against your Earthfire City. Therefore, their primary target this time is very likely Earthfire City. So forgive me, City Lord Yan. My Slash Moon City does not wish to get involved in your personal vendetta."
As soon as these words fell, the entire hall erupted into quiet murmurs.
Originally, everyone thought that the Great Heavenlaw Domain itself had made a move. They never expected it to be only the Nine Nether Palace under its command.
Although the King level forces of the Great Heavenlaw Domain also possessed considerable prestige within the Hundred Battles Domain, compared to a colossal existence like the Great Heavenlaw Domain itself, they were not an enemy that could not be resisted.
Moreover, after Ye Zhan's words, everyone immediately formed the idea that the other side had come specifically to seek revenge against Earthfire City and would likely not implicate them. As a result, their willingness to abandon their foundations and unite against the enemy weakened even further.
At this moment, Yan Kui was furious to the extreme, wishing he could kill Ye Zhan on the spot.
He had finally stirred up a sense of shared hatred among these people, only for you to dismantle everything with a single sentence. Were you sent by the enemy as a spy?
"Ye Zhan, do you understand the principle of shared fate?" Yan Kui shouted angrily. "Even if the enemy this time is only the Nine Nether Palace, they have already captured dozens of cities in just a few days. This clearly shows they intend to occupy the entire Thunder Flame Plain. If we still harbor our own selfish thoughts and refuse to unite now, then when the enemy army arrives at our gates, it will be too late!"
Unfortunately, Ye Zhan's expression did not change, and his attitude remained firm. "How you choose to act is your own decision. I will not abandon Slash Moon City. Even if they truly attack my gates, Slash Moon City would rather fight the enemy to the death than voluntarily give up the city."
As he spoke, Ye Zhan directly stood up. He glanced at the enraged Yan Kui and the frowning Lei Wen, then cupped his fists toward the crowd and said, "That will be all for today. I must return to arrange the city's defenses. Farewell. Or perhaps, farewell forever."
With that, Ye Zhan turned and left.
Within the hall, three or four figures also followed Ye Zhan out. These were all forces allied with Slash Moon City, clearly choosing to advance and retreat together with him.
Yan Kui watched this scene with vicious light flickering in his eyes, but in front of so many people, he truly did not dare to do anything to Ye Zhan and his group.
There was no choice. At such a critical moment, the most important thing for him was to strengthen the power of Earthfire City to the greatest extent possible, so that he could preserve himself in the coming great battle.
Did Yan Kui really not know that the ones coming were only the Nine Nether Palace and Lion Tiger Mountain? He knew very well. He had deliberately chosen not to say it clearly, instead exaggerating the enemy's strength in order to put pressure on the various forces, forcing them to come and help him defend the city.
Just as Ye Zhan had said, the enmity between Earthfire City and Lion Tiger Mountain was impossible to resolve, and since the other side had come this time, they would certainly seek revenge.
Therefore, Earthfire City was a target they would definitely attack. That was also the reason Yan Kui had been so anxious to take the initiative to invite so many people here.
Taking a deep breath, Yan Kui forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart. Then he turned his gaze toward Lei Wen, who was deep in thought, and spoke. "Brother Lei, Ye Zhan is short sighted and courting death. I wonder what Brother Lei thinks?"
Lei Wen raised his head upon hearing this, a smile appearing on his face as he said, "I still agree with what Brother Yan said. Everyone should unite and resist the enemy together. However, just as I mentioned before, I still hope that we can gather our strength and fight the Nine Nether Palace to the death at my Thunder Rain City. This would benefit all of us…"
Lei Wen's meaning was very clear. He supported uniting together, but he wanted to keep the initiative firmly in his own hands.
Yan Kui could not help but narrow his eyes upon hearing this, a subtle chill flashing through the depths of his gaze.
He knew that with Ye Zhan's influence, Lei Wen, this old fox, would definitely not be willing to easily give up the power already within his grasp. Therefore, either he took a step back and agreed to the other party's request, or this so called alliance would completely fail, with the three major cities once again going their separate ways. In that case, Earthfire City would definitely be in greater danger than Thunder Rain City.
It was precisely because he had understood this that Lei Wen appeared so calm and composed, clearly having calculated that Yan Kui would not dare to oppose him.
Gritting his teeth, Yan Kui finally agreed to Lei Wen's proposal.
He stated that he would personally lead Earthfire City's army to Thunder Rain City and join everyone in resisting the powerful enemy.
As for the other medium and small forces outside, aside from those who had left together with Ye Zhan, they all expressed their willingness to bring their people to Thunder Rain City as well.
At this moment, Lei Wen became high spirited, even showing faint signs of turning from guest to host.
Very soon, this gathering in Earthfire City dispersed. Everyone returned to make their own preparations, agreeing to assemble at Thunder Rain City five days later.
During this period, all teleportation arrays would be free for everyone to use, making it convenient to mobilize troops and deploy forces.
This news quickly reached the ears of Liu Bai and the others. For a time, the army under the Nine Nether Palace also began to move.
Across the entire Thunder Flame Plain, the smoke of war slowly began to converge toward the direction of Thunder Rain City.
At the same time, in a medium sized city called Liyue City, located a thousand miles away from Thunder Rain City, Liu Bai stood in the central square of the city. Looking at the army of more than ten thousand before him, a satisfied expression appeared on his face.
"Miss Yue, how are the preparations on your brother's side?"
Beside Liu Bai stood a woman wearing silver white battle armor. She stood tall and valiant, and the close fitting armor perfectly outlined her well proportioned figure, giving her an air of heroism mixed with a hint of allure.
"Everything is ready. We are awaiting the commander's orders at any time!" the silver armored woman said loudly, cupping her fists.
This Miss Yue was named Ye Yue, the younger sister of Ye Zhan, the City Lord of Slash Moon City. The fact that she was now standing beside Liu Bai proved that Slash Moon City had already secretly thrown itself into the embrace of the Nine Nether Palace.
This was naturally Liu Bai's achievement.
The territory of the Thunder Flame Plain was almost twice the size of the Nine Nether Palace's current lands. If they truly wanted to occupy all of it, relying solely on the people and forces currently under the Nine Nether Palace would clearly not be enough.
Therefore, from the very beginning, Liu Bai had already planned to subdue the native forces within the Thunder Flame Plain and use them for his own purposes.
Slash Moon City was one of the fortunate choices selected by Liu Bai after careful consideration.
First of all, as one of the three major powers of the Thunder Flame Plain, whether in terms of strength or influence, Slash Moon City was more than sufficient. If Slash Moon City took the lead, it could also cause many medium and small forces to directly submit.
Although Liu Bai had deliberately intended to gain some experience points through this operation, unless the opponent was a Second Grade Sovereign or above, he could not even be bothered to take action.
Therefore, most of the medium and small forces were swept away by his subordinate Nine Nether Guards. Only when encountering a truly stubborn opponent would he personally make a move.
With these scattered battles, Liu Bai had already accumulated more than three point two million experience points. Advancing to the Third Grade Sovereign Realm would have been more than easy, yet he did not do so.
After all, the strongest experts in the Thunder Flame Plain were only at the Third Grade level. If he advanced immediately, it would affect his acquisition of experience points. Therefore, unless an even stronger enemy appeared, Liu Bai had no intention of improving his cultivation before the end of this great battle.
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