North and South gaze not upon each other, the greatest city under heaven.
This phrase was originally an honorific term used to describe the vastness of Zhongdu, but with the massive invasion of the Cangyun Evil Lands, this honorific has become a statement of reality.
True north and south gaze not upon each other...
The north of Zhongdu has been eroded by the Cangyun Evil Lands. To the south of Zhongdu, the Eight Great Families, with Yang Kai at their core, are defending and counter-attacking, attempting to repel Yang Bai and the five Evil Kings.
The battle has lasted for half a year, with the situation deadlocked.
In terms of individual strength, the Cangyun Evil Lands side has a Transcendence Realm Level Three expert in Yang Bai, possessing an absolute advantage.
However, in terms of the number of experts, the Eight Great Families are far ahead. Even though many Transcendence Realm powerhouses have fallen in battle over the past half year, this gap has not been narrowed.
Neither side could do anything to the other, leading to a stalemate. Neither was willing to give up this area of Zhongdu.
A small battle every three days, a large battle every five—this had become commonplace for the warriors of the Eight Great Families and the Cangyun Evil Lands. By now, everyone knew each other's strengths and weaknesses quite well.
At this very moment, at the dividing line between the northern and southern fronts of Zhongdu, another fierce battle was unfolding.
People were constantly falling and dying, yet a continuous stream poured into the battlefield, the situation intensifying by the moment.
However, both sides still exercised some restraint. Only Shenyou Realm experts took the field; the Transcendence Realm powerhouses remained stationed at the rear, commanding and coordinating.
Even Transcendence Realm experts, after such a prolonged war of attrition, would appear weary and powerless. They couldn't possibly rush to the battlefield to fight with their lives on the line every moment.
On the Cangyun Evil Lands side, the five Evil Kings watched the brutal battle indifferently. The Ghost King and the Poison King even let out sinister, eerie laughter, seeming to relish the bloody scene and not caring about the lives of their subordinates, continuously sending people to bolster their ranks.
On the side of the Eight Great Families, Ye Kuangren, Kang Rui, Gao Mo, and Meng Xiping all had bloodshot eyes. Wearing expressions that showed they could not coexist with the Cangyun Evil Lands, they each threw their families' elites into the battlefield, determined to fight the Cangyun Evil Lands warriors to the bitter end.
These four were the current family heads of the Ye, Kang, Gao, and Meng families among the Eight Great Families.
Half a year ago, when the Cangyun Evil Lands invaded, their first stop was War City.
Gao Ranfeng of the Gao family was brutally killed by the Ghost King and the Poison King. Ye Xinrou of the Ye family and Kang Zhan of the Kang family were captured alive and remained imprisoned by the Cangyun Evil Lands to this day, living a fate worse than death.
That time, only one person, Meng Shanyi, was clever and resourceful enough to adapt on the spot, disguising himself as an ordinary disciple to escape. However, he was also affected by poison and ghost qi, becoming a cripple. After escaping back to Zhongdu with the help of Meng family experts, the family has been using precious medicines and treasures to sustain his life and treat his injuries, yet no sign of improvement has appeared.
The heirs of the four major families were either dead, crippled, or captured. As their fathers, the four family heads naturally expressed especially great anger. Over the past half year of warfare, these four families had been particularly aggressive, appearing even more bellicose than the other four families.
Today's battle was primarily fought by these four families, with all Eight Great Families combining forces to pressure the Cangyun Evil Lands.
Suddenly, all combatants on both sides felt a terrifying aura rapidly approaching from the horizon.
Sensing this aura draw near, everyone involuntarily stopped their actions, distancing themselves from their enemies, and looked up toward the distant sky.
A tiny black dot appeared in everyone's vision. It was too far away for anyone to make out clearly for a moment.
After waiting a while, once a silhouette became discernible, everyone froze in shock.
Because it was actually a mansion!
A mansion floating in the sky, rapidly flying towards them. Like a mobile fortress, its imposing manner was overwhelming.
The mansion was enveloped in a palace-shaped barrier, the barrier shimmering with brilliant light, majestic and grand, with bright patterns flowing across it. Powerful energy fluctuations emanated from within the mansion.
"What is that?" the Yinming Ghost King watched for a moment, somewhat bewildered.
Warriors could fly once they reached the Zhenyuan Realm, but he had never heard that even mansions could fly.
"Ghost King, don't you think that outer barrier looks familiar?" the Juemie Poison King's emerald-green eyes jumped like ghost fire, a thoughtful look on his face.
Hearing this, the Ghost King thought for a moment, a shudder of realization running through him. "You mean..."
"It's roughly the case. And it's coming from that direction, isn't it?"
"That thing can fly?!" the Ghost King shrieked in disbelief. As formidable as he was, he was considered a man of wide experience, yet the scene before him was something he found hard to accept.
"After all, it is a mysterious artifact. It having functions we don't know about is only natural," the Shanying Lightning King suddenly interjected.
"And what about that witch? Didn't the Master have her monitoring that area? Such a big incident, how come she hasn't reported it?" the Batian Force King bellowed, his voice like thunder echoing through Zhongdu City.
"Heh heh, that witch doesn't share our loyalties," the Poison King chuckled sinisterly, his words dripping with hidden meaning.
"I knew it!" the Leiting Beast King snorted coldly. "One day, I'll make that wench submit beneath me!"
The five Evil Kings pointed at the approaching, massive mansion, discussing animatedly. On the side of the Eight Great Families, there was equally rampant speculation.
None of them knew the situation at War City. The sudden arrival of Yang Kai's Mansion naturally put them on edge, fearing it might be reinforcements for the Cangyun Evil Lands.