Fortunately, in the interstellar era, this sort of issue was nothing significant.
Although they weren’t used to it, when it came time to take action, their speed was not the least bit slow.
As night gradually fell over Zhongxin Cheng, Li Yunxian received the report.
All preparations at every location were complete, and action could begin at any moment.
At this moment, over at the Bo Hai Chamber of Commerce, their four Spirit Fusion Stage guest cultivators had all arrived.
However, none of them stayed at the original headquarters. Instead, they were resting in the residential area of Zhongxin Cheng.
After all, the Bo Hai Chamber of Commerce headquarters was no longer fit for people, and none of them expected Li Yunxian to act so quickly.
Once everyone had gathered, they had no intention of discussing strategies for the night. They planned to talk about defensive arrangements early the next morning.
By the standards of the Bo Hai Chamber of Commerce, this pace was already as fast as it could be.
***
A crashing sound.
Night hadn’t fully settled in yet, and while they were still welcoming these guest cultivators, everyone’s ears caught a rumbling collapse that pierced straight through them.
Boom—!!
A Bo Hai Chamber of Commerce executive instantly crushed the wine glass in his hand.
That sound reminded them of all the times, in the past day, that they’d heard their headquarters collapse.
“Is it the Lishi people?!” The Bo Hai Chamber of Commerce executive leaped up, eyes blazing with rage.
The four Spirit Fusion Stage cultivators on-site represented all their strength!
Even if Lishi sent a Great Vehicle Late Stage cultivator, it would be enough for them to earn official recognition.
Unless, of course, Lishi had a Tribulation Stage cultivator.
Otherwise, no matter what tricks Lishi pulled, in the eyes of the Bo Hai Chamber of Commerce, absolute strength would leave Lishi unable to bear the consequences.
Of course, if Lishi really did have a Tribulation Stage cultivator…
There would be nothing left to say.
Everyone knew that, throughout the interstellar world, there were only about a dozen Tribulation Stage Experts on the Path of Righteousness.
And to transcend tribulation—that was the ultimate truth.
The Spirit Fusion Stage cultivators of Bo Hai Chamber of Commerce didn’t immediately answer. Instead, they exchanged shocked glances to make sure what they sensed wasn’t a hallucination.
This was indeed the sound of a building collapsing, but it wasn’t the Bo Hai Chamber of Commerce’s own building being attacked. This time, it was—
The Ascension Platform.
The very Ascension Platform that always had a Spirit Fusion Stage cultivator on guard.
Everyone knew that those assigned to official positions and stationed at the Ascension Platform were all true experts, leagues above those guest cultivators who worked for various factions.
—Those truly capable had no need to attach themselves to any faction; they were a faction unto themselves.
And now, the Ascension Platform had fallen.
Three Spirit Fusion Stage cultivators stared at one another in disbelief.
They remembered the last time something like this had happened was in Qingxing.
Back then, three Spirit Fusion Stage cultivators on-site had been captured—two out of three. The guards recalled it well; among those captured was their colleague, Wan Yushan.
And the Bo Hai Chamber of Commerce had made no effort to ransom him.
Once Wan Yushan was released, he severed all ties with the Bo Hai Chamber of Commerce.
So, these four Spirit Fusion Stage cultivators were only here to support the Bo Hai Chamber of Commerce, to pay back past favors and karmic debts, not to risk their lives for them.
But now…
Lishi’s people didn’t even bother negotiating. They just started fighting?
“It might not be Lishi.” One of them frowned, her face a bit grave. “It could be the foreign races taking advantage of the chaos.”
“Let’s go take a look.” She stood up.
For cultivators at their level, internal disputes and benefits on the Path of Righteousness were hardly worth getting involved in.
Such infighting was contrary to their Dao.
But if it was the foreign races, their attitude would change entirely.
The other three, hearing this, immediately stood up as well.
But before they could move, in the span of a few exchanged words, the battle at the Ascension Platform had already changed.
For some reason, the cultivator stationed at the Ascension Platform had failed to subdue the bandit.
After turning the entire Ascension Platform into ruins, that bandit instantly appeared at the command center of Zhongxin Cheng.
It was a tall, tower-like building.
With a flick of his sleeve, the entire building and everyone inside vanished in an instant, leaving only a deep pit behind.
The next second, the Command Tower reappeared in everyone’s senses.
But this time, it was no longer standing upright—it was lying on its side.
Immediately after, the entire Command Tower, as if thrown by someone, hurtled toward the West Gate of Zhongxin Cheng!
That distance was so great it was beyond the Spirit Fusion Stage cultivators’ spiritual senses.
But the commotion was so loud that there was no need for spiritual perception.
Those few Spirit Fusion Stage cultivators, already soaring into the air from the banquet, could clearly see a huge plume of dust and sparks rising from the city wall at the West Gate.
Everyone stared in shock at the spectacle, when suddenly, an angry roar rang out by their ears: “Sound the alarm! Everyone, guard the city walls! Don’t let the foreign races seize the opportunity!”
The four Spirit Fusion Stage cultivators wore grave expressions, preparing to move when suddenly, yet another massive sound of a building collapsing reached their ears.
They froze mid-action, whipping their heads toward the direction of the noise.
This time, it was the City East Gate that had collapsed.
They all gasped.
A single city gate might have been an accident, but two gates clearly meant the attackers had a plan.
Now, the chaos in Starfield was not the work of just one person—or even a few people.
At this moment, no one thought it was Lishi. They were all convinced it was a scheme by the foreign races—a big one.
In their perception, the bandit who smashed the Ascension Platform was at the peak of Spirit Fusion Stage.
Foreign races of such cultivation taking action could only mean a huge plot!
“You go east, we’ll take the west?” The four Spirit Fusion Stage cultivators quickly divided up tasks, but the cultivator stationed at the Ascension Platform transmitted a message even faster.
“Fellow Daoists, please each guard a city gate. This matter will not be so simple.” The message was delivered straight into their ears.
“Leave the city walls to you all. We of the Ascension Platform will definitely capture every one of these scoundrels. Don’t let them escape in the chaos.”
No one objected.
In this situation, even if they sensed something was off—
For example, when the City East Gate collapsed, there was no sign of enemy activity. And the person who uprooted the Command Tower had also vanished inexplicably.
But at this moment, no one dwelled on it.
In wartime, their only task was to follow orders.
This time, the four didn’t waste words, each charging toward their assigned gates.
But the moment they moved, the South City Gate and North City Gate turned to dust in the blink of an eye.
At the South City Gate, it was impossible to see exactly what had happened. It seemed as though a strange giant dragon had rolled beneath the gate, flipping the walls and gate up and away in one motion.
At the North City Gate, however, it was clear as day: three sharp sword intents had carved deep furrows into the gate.
“This sword intent…”
The Spirit Fusion Stage cultivator who arrived at the North City Gate widened his eyes.
He’d seen footage of the Bo Hai Chamber of Commerce headquarters collapse, and the smooth marks beneath that iconic building matched exactly with those at the North City Gate!
How could this be?
He immediately swept the area around the North City Gate with his spiritual sense, then focused his attention on a particular figure within range.
That person’s silhouette was identical to the one from the Bo Hai Chamber of Commerce’s surveillance footage!
“It’s Lishi’s people!” He couldn’t help but blurt out, shouting the news to everyone.
But as soon as he spoke, he realized something was off.
Perhaps the Bo Hai Chamber of Commerce’s incident had always been orchestrated by the foreign races, framing Lishi from beginning to end, and it had nothing to do with Lishi at all.
Yet now, it was too late to take it back.