Easton Huyan was stunned when he got the news: "How did they get through the grand formation?"
The ten thousand defenders of Ningyuan City were thrown into panic.
Twenty thousand against four million—even if they were confident, there was no way they could see themselves as a match for such a massive army. Besides, those troops from the Flamecrest Domain weren't weak at all; even the lowest-ranked soldiers had late Earth Immortal cultivation, a notch above the defenders.
How were they supposed to fight this battle?
"Elder, what should we do now?"
Even the original City Lord of Ningyuan City was panicking and turned to Easton Huyan for advice.
"Don't worry. I'll contact the sect and ask them to send more experts. That rabble is nothing to fear!" Easton Huyan waved dismissively.
The City Lord forced a bitter smile. Easy for you to say—it's four million troops! Even as an Ancestral Immortal, you can't just look down on them like that.
Easton Huyan immediately sent a request for reinforcements to Sifang Sect.
The news reached Sifang Sect, and the entire sect quickly convened a meeting to discuss how to respond.
After a round of discussion, most of the upper management proposed to preserve their strength and temporarily abandon Ningyuan City.
After all, in their view, Ian Song planned to take over the entire Purple Dragon Domain, and in the domain, Sifang Sect was at best second-rate. Going head-to-head with Ian was simply unwise.
When the sect's retreat order arrived, Easton Huyan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He might have acted unconcerned, but in truth, he was just pretending to be calm. Even as an Ancestral Immortal, charging into a four-million-strong army could only end one way: death!
"Withdraw!"
With Easton Huyan's command, in less than a quarter hour, every Sifang Sect member inside Ningyuan City was gone.
Half an hour later.
The Flamecrest Domain's army pressed up to the city walls, but strangely, there wasn't a single soldier on the ramparts—not even the city-protection grand array was active.
They took Ningyuan City without the slightest effort.
"First Legion, enter the city! The other three legions, stand by outside!"
Ian Song issued the order.
The First Legion entered Ningyuan City in no time, meeting zero resistance.
Once they gathered intel, they learned that Sifang Sect had already fled before their arrival. They'd taken the city without losing a single soldier.
Half an hour later.
As commander of the First Legion, Elder Gideon Skyreach arrived with a list to see Ian Song.
Elder Gideon Skyreach handed Ian the list and said gravely, "These are all the factions in Ningyuan City, big and small. Should we eliminate them? Their presence is a destabilizing factor."
Ian studied the list, looking thoughtful. Finally, he said, "Master, send someone to deliver an invitation to every faction—tell them to come to the City Lord's Mansion within one hour to meet me!"
"Understood!"
Elder Gideon Skyreach turned and left.
One hour later.
Ian sat in the City Lord's Mansion's reception hall, holding a teacup.
On either side of Ian sat a dozen or so men and women, all looking uneasy.
These people were all leaders of minor clans or small gangs from Ningyuan City.
The list Elder Gideon Skyreach gave him recorded more than 130 factions, but only a dozen or so actually showed up on time—and they were all the weakest ones.
Ian couldn't help but laugh.
He said calmly, "Guards!"
Immediately, two Profound Immortal guards entered.
Ian said coolly, "Send word to my master: for every faction that didn't show up, kill all Golden Immortal and above—leave none alive!"
The Zane Clan—one of Ningyuan City's major families.
At this moment, the entire Zane Clan was gathered together.
Eli Zane, the second elder, looked worried and said to Harvey Zane at the head of the table, "Big Brother, won't this provoke Ian Song if we do it this way?"
Harvey Zane just laughed it off. "That little thief Ian Song may have occupied Ningyuan City, but the city is actually controlled by all our factions. If he wants to truly take over, he needs us. Besides, the powers of the Seven Immortal Domains won't just sit back and watch—they'll send experts soon enough. By then, Ian Song will be the one running away with his tail between his legs!"
"But he's got Ningyuan City for now. What if he goes on a killing spree and uses us as an example?" Eli Zane pressed.
Harvey Zane snorted, "Would he dare? I bet that little thief Ian Song is still dreaming of unifying the Purple Dragon Domain. Think about it—if he starts a massacre right after taking Ningyuan City, every city he attacks next will fight to the death. He'd gain nothing and lose everything. So if we ignore him, he'll have to curry favor with us!"
"Sometimes, being too clever isn't a good thing!"
Just then, a sudden voice rang out.
A young man in armor abruptly appeared in the Zane Clan's council hall.
"How dare you! Who are you to barge into the Zane Clan?" Harvey Zane shouted.
"I am Elder Gideon Skyreach, commander of the Flamecrest Domain First Legion. Got that? Good—then you can die now!"
With those words, Elder Gideon Skyreach swung his sword.
The sword flashed like thunder, unstoppable—a single slash, and Harvey Zane was cut clean in two.
Then, over a hundred Profound Immortals charged in and began a ruthless slaughter of the Zane Clan's top members.
The Zane Clan might've been a major family in Ningyuan City, but their strongest was only an early-stage Profound Immortal—Harvey Zane, who'd just been killed by Elder Gideon Skyreach's sword.
He cultivated a god-grade technique and had reached late-stage Profound Immortal, able to fight Ancestral Immortals.
In an instant, the Zane Clan's leadership was wiped out.
The hundred-plus Profound Immortals then quickly purged the Zane Clan's Golden Immortal-level members.
After the slaughter, ten thousand troops immediately moved in and took over the entire Zane Clan estate.
Elder Gideon Skyreach then led the Profound Immortals to the next target.
In just one hour, every Golden Immortal and above from factions that ignored Ian Song's invitation was wiped out.
For a while, all of Ningyuan City was gripped by panic.
As for the dozen or so small factions that showed up, nothing happened to them at all.
These hundred-plus factions had occupied Ningyuan City for years, amassing considerable wealth. With their members dead, Ian Song took over all their assets and resources without hesitation.
After tallying it up, the total assets of these factions amounted to around fifty billion.
A day later, a merchant caravan arrived in Ningyuan City.
This caravan came from the Flamecrest Domain.
Next, all the shops that had belonged to the destroyed factions reopened, selling only two types of pills: top-grade Immortal Yuan Pills and top-grade Immortal Essence Pills.
Both pills were sold at ninety percent of market price.
If you paid with Immortal Medicines, the price dropped to eighty percent.
Greed is human nature—and immortals are no exception. With pills this cheap, the people of Ningyuan City simply couldn't resist.
So in just one day, over five million pills were sold.
Of those, more than 3.2 million were top-grade Immortal Yuan Pills, and nearly two million were top-grade Immortal Essence Pills. It's clear that Immortals in the domains are far wealthier than those in the wilds.