Time passed little by little, and in the blink of an eye, half a day had gone by, and dusk was approaching.

The Puppet City army still did not advance or retreat, but remained in the distance, a dark and oppressive mass.

"What the hell are these Puppet City guys doing? They won't fight, they won't retreat. Are they trying to pull some kind of trick?" said the hawk-nosed man on the Xuan City wall.

Several leaders around E Kui also exchanged whispers, obviously equally suspicious, and offered guesses about the Puppet City's intentions.

E Kui stood there, silent, his eyes flickering slightly, wondering what he was thinking.

"City Lord, should we..." After a long time of guessing, no one had any idea, but E Kui remained silent. The hawk-nosed man couldn't help but ask.

"If the enemy doesn't move, I don't move. There's no need to be impatient. You send more people to patrol the other locations to prevent surprise attacks. At the same time, send out scouts to find out exactly how many people the Puppet City has brought this time..." E Kui waved his hand, interrupting the hawk-nosed man, and instructed.

As E Kui issued a series of instructions, the people nearby acknowledged the orders and left one by one, and soon only the hawk-nosed man remained.

"City Lord, why not summon people from the other four cities to come here to defend against the enemy together? Although there aren't many people from the four cities, they are all elites with extraordinary combat power," the hawk-nosed man asked in a low voice.

"The situation is still unclear at the moment, so there's no need to use their power for the time being," E Kui shook his head.

A trace of doubt flashed in the hawk-nosed man's eyes, but he didn't say anything.

"I have some things to take care of. Shao Ying, I'll leave this place to you. If there's any unusual movement from the Puppet City, you know what to do. There's no need to ask me for instructions anymore." E Kui glanced at the Puppet City army in the distance and said.

Shao Ying was stunned when he heard this, and was about to ask, but E Kui had already turned and disappeared.

Shao Ying stood there helplessly for a moment, then turned around and conveyed E Kui's orders.

Night quickly fell, and the Xuan City and Puppet City armies stood ready, but neither launched an attack, maintaining a strange stalemate.

The moonlight was like water, gently shining on the wilderness near Xuan City.

On a small mountain a thousand miles away from Xuan City, a woman in a white dress stood quietly, looking up at the full moon in the sky, humming a ballad.

This woman wore a black veil, so her face could not be seen, but her graceful figure exuded an indescribable charm, while also giving people a sense of innocence and purity.

The two completely opposite temperaments were intertwined, making people's minds sink into her at a single glance.

"Fellow Daoist Sha Xin's 'Mystic Maiden Charm' has greatly improved, congratulations. But Fellow Daoist is near my Xuan City, and dares to leave the army and come here alone. You are indeed very brave." A cold voice came, and a black figure appeared out of thin air ten zhang away from the woman in white. It was none other than E Kui.

"If Fellow Daoist E Kui wants to attack, please feel free to do so," Sha Xin said slowly, in a lazy tone.

The pure temperament on her body suddenly disappeared, and an overwhelming force of charm emanated from her body, making the nearby moonlight and night breeze seem much gentler.

"Humph!" E Kui's pupils shrank slightly, and he snorted coldly, but he didn't attack.

"I knew it, Fellow Daoist E Kui is discerning and wouldn't rashly attack a weak woman like this," Sha Xin giggled and said.

"Enough with the idle talk. You sent me a voice transmission during the day to meet here. What is your purpose? Speak quickly. If you want to provoke another war between the two cities, E will accept it," E Kui said coldly, as if he hadn't seen Sha Xin's charm.

"Fellow Daoist E Kui misunderstands. I didn't come here to provoke a war between the two cities, but to discuss something else with Fellow Daoist," Sha Xin said with a faint smile.

As she spoke, the aura on her body suddenly changed again. All the charm disappeared, and her captivating figure instantly lost all its charm. The whole person seemed to have become an ordinary woman, completely unremarkable.

"Discuss something?" E Kui's heart tightened again, and he frowned and asked.

"Strictly speaking, I want to invite Fellow Daoist E Kui to work together on a major event," Sha Xin said with a smile, her eyebrows curving.

"Fellow Daoist Sha Xin, just say what you want to say. There's no need to beat around the bush like this," E Kui said faintly, a hint of strangeness flashing in his eyes.

"Why pretend to be confused, Fellow Daoist E Kui? Over the years, we two have only been thinking about that place... And our Puppet City has already found the location of that entrance. Xuan City shouldn't be the only one to benefit," Sha Xin said casually, tidying up the hair hanging down her temples.

When E Kui heard this, his face stiffened, and a change appeared in his expression for the first time, a sharp look appearing in his eyes.

"Why look at me like that, Fellow Daoist E Kui? The location of that entrance wasn't found by cleverly tracking you, but by our Puppet City spending countless efforts and manpower, exploring little by little. It was definitely aboveboard," Sha Xin said generously.

"Whether that's really the case, Fellow Daoist Sha Xin knows in her heart. But what do you mean by 'the only one to benefit'? Since Fellow Daoist Sha Xin has also discovered that entrance, you must already know the situation inside. It's so dangerous there. I don't plan to enter it anytime soon," E Kui snorted, then said calmly.

"Fellow Daoist E Kui is underestimating me as a woman, thinking I'm ignorant? Although I only recently discovered that entrance, I've also noticed that many of the natural barriers inside are gradually weakening. I think the natural barriers there change periodically, and this is the weakest period. And Xuan City held the Five Cities Martial Arts Competition this time, and offered such great rewards. Isn't it to select useful talents to go there?" Sha Xin giggled, and a hint of charm vaguely appeared in her beautiful eyes again.

When E Kui heard this, there was no change in his expression, but a hint of coldness couldn't help but well up in his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist E Kui, although the danger at the entrance is weakening, the power of such natural barriers is still beyond our ability to resist. My Puppet City thinks it's unable to enter it, and relying on Xuan City alone, the hope is almost nil. The only plan now is for us to cooperate to have a chance. That's why I've come here to discuss this matter with you, hoping that Fellow Daoist E Kui can make a wise decision," Sha Xin said, suddenly changing her tone and persuading.

"What if I don't agree?" E Kui's eyes flickered, and he said word by word.

"Then I have no choice but to start attacking Xuan City from today onwards, until the low tide period of the entrance's natural barriers is over, and no one can enter," Sha Xin said with a faint smile.

A fierce light appeared in E Kui's eyes, and a terrifying, cold pressure suddenly erupted from his body, overwhelmingly pressing down on Sha Xin.

The void within a radius of dozens of miles trembled, and the ground rumbled. Storms centered on E Kui, impacting in all directions, and the world changed color.

Sha Xin's expression was calm, and she stood there quietly, not affected by E Kui's pressure at all.

Any storm that touched her body immediately slid away automatically, and not even the hem of Sha Xin's clothes moved.

E Kui took a deep breath, and the aura on his body receded like a tide, and the nearby storm slowly subsided.

"How does Fellow Daoist Sha Xin want to cooperate?" E Kui said after a moment of silence.

When Sha Xin heard this, her beautiful eyes curved, and a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

……

The night passed quickly.

To everyone's surprise, the Puppet City army, which had been facing off all night, did not attack, but instead began to retreat.

Before long, the Puppet City army disappeared without a trace, leaving no trace. The guards inside and outside Xuan City also fell silent under E Kui's orders.

A great battle dissipated.

The residents of Xuan City, as well as Han Li and other outsiders, were surprised but also relieved.

After all, unless necessary, no one wanted to launch a war with a strong enemy.

A few days later.

Inside a detached courtyard, Han Li sat cross-legged in his room, surrounded by white starlight, operating the *Tian Sha Zhen Yu Gong* to refine the power of the Sky-Rank beast core.

The stellar energy contained in the Sky-Rank beast core was extremely vast. Although he had the help of the Palm Heaven Bottle, he had been refining it for many days and still hadn't completely absorbed it.

The starlight flickered on a new mystic acupoint on his body, faintly showing signs of opening, but in the end, it still didn't open.

Han Li opened his eyes, but there was no disappointment on his face. He got up and came to the window, looking towards the city lord's mansion outside.

It had been five or six days since that imminent battle.

After the Puppet City army disappeared outside the city, it did not reappear, and seemed to have really retreated.

However, although the Puppet City retreated, City Lord E Kui had no intention of reopening the Five Cities Martial Arts Competition. These days, the people from the other four cities had been staying in the detached courtyard and were not allowed to go out.

But this morning, E Kui suddenly summoned the city lords of the four cities, including Chen Yang, but he didn't know why.

Just then, the sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside. Han Li's eyebrows twitched, and he opened the door, only to see a servant from Qingyang City.

The man was surprised to see Han Li suddenly come out, and then respectfully saluted and said, "Senior Li, the city lord invites you to come over."

"Understood," Han Li nodded, glanced again at the direction of the city lord's mansion, and then walked towards Chen Yang's residence.

A moment later, he arrived at Chen Yang's residence, but the gate was tightly closed.

Han Li frowned slightly and was about to raise his hand to knock on the door when the gate suddenly opened automatically, revealing a crack.

"Fellow Daoist Li, come in," Chen Yang's voice came from inside.

Han Li's heart moved, and he stepped inside.

Behind him, the gate slammed shut, and at the same time, a layer of white light appeared on the stone door, completely isolating it from the outside.

Han Li's heart moved again, and he looked into the house. At the moment, besides Chen Yang, there were only two people, Gu Qianxun and Xuan Yuanxing. The Crab Daoist was still expressionless, standing quietly behind Chen Yang.

Han Li was secretly surprised. He had thought that Chen Yang had called him over to explain the situation in Xuan City to them, but he didn't expect that only the three of them had been called. He didn't know what the purpose was.