The target of the attack was not Starhaven City itself, but Starhaven Auxiliary City.
When Starhaven Auxiliary City was established, Joe Di had already considered it the frontline of Starhaven City. Therefore, to attack Starhaven City, one must first breach Starhaven Auxiliary City.
When Ian Shaw arrived at the walls of Starhaven Auxiliary City and saw the ground outside littered with corpses, his eyes blazed with fury. While anyone could enter Starhaven Auxiliary City to do business or pass through, only those with sufficient merit points could settle there.
Though many cultivators without the qualifications to settle in the auxiliary city were currently inside, even more remained outside its walls.
Everyone knew that even if they couldn't enter Starhaven Auxiliary City, cultivating near its vicinity was far better than wandering the twilight-stricken Immortal Realm. Yet now, those cultivators outside the auxiliary city were being slaughtered in droves.
If not for the timely activation of the auxiliary city's defensive array, the ground within would also be strewn with corpses.
Outside the auxiliary city, dozens were still attacking its protective array.
Ian Shaw had wanted to rush out and kill to stop the killing, but when he saw who was attacking the auxiliary city, his heart sank.
Among this group, at least two were Grand Ether Immortals, seven or eight were Immortal Lords, and the rest were all Golden Immortals—none below that level.
What was even more terrifying was that Ian Shaw recognized these people—they were disciples of the Fatespire Sect.
Not only was Ian Shaw no match for these people—even if he could defeat them, he dared not kill.
The Fatespire Sect was a symbol in the Immortal Realm, a mark of its very identity. Anyone who dared kill a disciple of the Fatespire Sect would face the wrath of the entire Immortal Realm.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Under the onslaught of so many powerful cultivators, the protective array thundered again and again. Although Ian Shaw trusted Joe Di's array mastery, could the formation really hold out against such force?
"Lord Shaw, you've arrived," Quinn Tong said as he rushed over, spotting Ian Shaw immediately.
Though Quinn Tong was the deputy city lord, with so few people in Starhaven City, he had mostly been in seclusion. Meditating on the outskirts of the Celestial Bamboo River, aided by Joe Di's Spirit Gathering Array, Quinn Tong believed that with a bit more time, he would surely reach the Golden Immortal realm.
Ian Shaw sighed and said, "These people are too strong. I can't defeat them. All we can do now is rely on the protective array..."
Seeing Ian Shaw's worried expression, Quinn Tong laughed heartily, "Lord Shaw, when the city lord left, he entrusted you with control of Starhaven City's defensive array. But the auxiliary city's array is mainly under my control—let me handle them..."
With that, Quinn Tong immediately pulled out a formation flag and threw it forward.
"Wait, there are Grand Ether Immortal experts among them..."
Ian Shaw's warning came just a little too late—by the time he spoke, Quinn Tong had already activated the array.
With a sharp crack, the array split open, forming a pathway directly to the heart of the auxiliary city. Everything within was now exposed to the eyes of those attacking the defensive array.
"Ha! The array's been breached! Let's all go in and see what’s so mysterious about this place. It actually lets cultivators undergo the True Immortal Thunder Tribulation and even gathers the Immortal Realm’s fortune here!" A tall, pale-faced cultivator laughed as he saw the array open, charging in first.
He was Kai Jerr, disciple of Zane Fate, the Fatespire Sect’s master, and a late-stage Grand Ether Immortal. Among all the cultivators present, his cultivation was the highest.
This mission to the Twilight Immortal Domain had been entrusted to him by Zane Fate.
According to their original plan, after arriving at the Twilight Immortal Domain, the group was to split up immediately and gather information from all directions.
What Kai Jerr hadn’t expected was his good fortune—he caught a cultivator as soon as he arrived in the Twilight Immortal Domain and learned about Starhaven City.
It wasn’t unusual for the Twilight Immortal Domain to have a city where one could cultivate, but a city that allowed cultivators to train and even undergo the True Immortal Thunder Tribulation was something else entirely.
As a disciple of the Fatespire Sect, he understood better than anyone what twilight meant for the Immortal Realm. It signified the end times, a world bereft of fortune—how could there possibly be thunder tribulations here?
Kai Jerr was certain that Starhaven City was connected to the loss of fortune in the newborn Immortal Domain. He decided not to disperse the Fatespire Sect disciples, but brought them all to Starhaven City.
His suspicions were confirmed—a powerful array protected even the auxiliary city outside Starhaven City. Even cultivators near the auxiliary city could cultivate; even he could practice outside its walls. This meant Starhaven City’s secrets were far deeper than he imagined.
But the auxiliary city's defensive array was formidable—they had attacked for nearly the time it takes an incense stick to burn before finally blasting open a crack.
Kai Jerr was the first to rush into the auxiliary city, with the other Fatespire Sect disciples following close behind.
No matter how many cultivators the auxiliary city had, to them, they were mere ants. At best, the city was filled with those who had just stepped into the True Immortal realm. A single Grand Ether Immortal could slaughter them all in an instant.
Such a gap in divine techniques and cultivation couldn’t be bridged by sheer numbers.
"Lord Quinn, you..."
Ian Shaw stared at Quinn Tong in shock, unable to understand why he had opened the auxiliary city's defensive array and let these people in.
Quinn Tong gave a sly smile. "Just watch."
As he spoke, Quinn Tong tossed out several more formation flags. Ian Shaw watched in astonishment as the Fatespire Sect disciples who had entered vanished without a trace.
What was going on? Ian Shaw sent his divine sense to the edge of the city wall and quickly saw that a patch of space there was violently fluctuating, with faint traces of blood mist appearing.
Ian Shaw exclaimed in delight, "Lord Quinn, I didn’t expect your array skills to be so powerful!"
With his keen eye, he could tell that all those who had entered were now trapped in a corner of the auxiliary city by Quinn Tong.
Quinn Tong laughed, "Lord Shaw, you give me too much credit. I can’t even tell what kind of array this is. At best, I know it’s a trap-and-kill formation for luring enemies in. All I did was use these few formation flags."
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"Did the city lord give these to you?" Ian Shaw realized, recalling that he also had some formation flags, though those were for controlling Starhaven City's defensive and trapping arrays.
Quinn Tong nodded. "Yes, the city lord entrusted them to me and told me to protect the auxiliary city."
A cold sweat broke out on Ian Shaw’s back. He realized that if he had ever tried to seize Starhaven City from Joe Di, his bones would already be cold. It was laughable—he’d always thought he was the strongest in Starhaven City. Now, it seemed that was his greatest folly.
With Joe Di’s formidable array skills, if he wanted to kill Ian Shaw in Starhaven City, it would take but an instant.
"Good thing those guys entered the trap array..." Ian Shaw said hoarsely, a newfound respect rising in his heart. No matter what, never assume everything is under your control. Luckily, he harbored no selfish motives—toward Joe Di, he felt only gratitude and loyalty.
Quinn Tong pointed at the swirling killing array. "If they hadn’t entered the trap, I’d have to activate the slaughter array and kill them outside. I sent them into the trap array just to catch one or two alive—who knew there’d be so many experts?"
Ian Shaw quickly understood and said, "Lord Quinn, you must not kill these people."
"Why not?" Quinn Tong asked, puzzled, looking at Ian Shaw.
Ian Shaw answered gravely, "Because these people are from the Fatespire Sect. Before the Twilight Immortal Realm, the Fatespire Sect was the symbol of the Immortal Realm—one of its most powerful sects. They’re originally from the Newborn Immortal Domain, so their presence here means they’ve discovered our Starhaven City. If we kill disciples of the Fatespire Sect, we’ll face the wrath of the entire Immortal Realm. The Fatespire Sect even has top-tier Immortal Kings..."
Quinn Tong drew a sharp breath. He’d never seen the Immortal Realm before the Twilight Domain, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know what an Immortal King was.
A true Immortal King could destroy an entire region with a mere wave of their hand. No matter how strong Starhaven City's array was, it likely couldn’t withstand a real Immortal King.
"So what should we do?" Quinn Tong asked, a trace of fear in his voice.
Ian Shaw hesitated before saying, "This trap array should be able to hold them. Let’s wait for the city lord to return before we do anything."
.......
"Everyone, stop attacking!" In the trap-and-kill array, Kai Jerr called out to halt the frenzied assault.
Once everyone stopped, Kai Jerr said gravely, "This trap-and-kill array is a level-six Immortal formation. I don’t know how such a sophisticated array could be set up in this small place, but even without anyone controlling it, a level-six array is beyond our power to break."
"Are we just supposed to wait here and die?" Another Grand Ether Immortal asked with a frown.
Kai Jerr sneered, "Wait to die? Even if the cultivators here had the guts of a leopard, they wouldn’t dare kill a Fatespire Sect disciple. All we need to do is wait for them to offer terms. No matter what they ask, just agree for now. Once we’re out, we’ll make them pay in blood."
Kai Jerr wasn’t just boasting. If they dared kill the Fatespire Sect disciples, the killing array would have already been activated, not just the trap array.