Outside Blazing Sun City, the Coffin Bearer strolled in, trailed by several dozen powerful figures.
The warriors of Blazing Sun City were all watching and waiting.
After hearing Yun Xuan's account of the Coffin Bearer, Yang Kai looked puzzled. "Why would he do something like that?"
"Probably as compensation!" Ji Yan interjected with a grim expression.
"Compensation? Compensation for what?" Yang Kai narrowed his eyes.
"Compensation for the devastation his presence causes wherever he stays!" Ji Yan took a deep breath, worry and wariness clouding his face. "Every time the Coffin Bearer lingers in a place, all life in that area withers and dies—not a single blade of grass survives. Within a hundred-li radius, no sign of life will appear for ten years."
Yang Kai was shocked.
Ji Yan rubbed his forehead. "Let's hope he's merely passing through and won't linger in Blazing Sun City."
If the Coffin Bearer chose to stay, the surrounding hundred-li would be utterly destroyed.
Only then did Yang Kai understand why the other warriors all looked excited and eager while Ji Yan was wracked with worry. As the city lord, he naturally didn't want the city under his protection to be obliterated like this.
While they were still talking, an outcry suddenly rang out from the distance: "He stopped! He stopped!"
Ji Yan's body trembled, and his face went deathly pale.
His worst fears had come true. The Coffin Bearer had come from some impossibly remote place, and no one knew where he was headed—yet he had chosen to stop right near Blazing Sun City.
The disciples of the Du Ao Alliance standing beside Ji Yan all changed expression as well.
"Uncle Ji…" Yun Xuan called out softly.
Ji Yan's eyes were locked on the Coffin Bearer behind them. He didn't respond, his face contorted in a struggle of indecision. After a long moment, he barked out a command: "All of you get back inside the city! Evacuate—warn everyone, have them grab their valuables and get out immediately!"
"City Lord…"
"If you wait, it'll be too late. Go! I'll try to stall for a while!" With that, Ji Yan shot into the air, heading toward the several dozen figures trailing behind the Coffin Bearer.
Yun Xuan wore a bitter, helpless expression. The Coffin Bearer had stopped, which meant that in the near future, Blazing Sun City would become a dead zone. This was an enormous loss for the Du Ao Alliance as well.
Yang Kai had been studying the bizarre figure carrying the blood-red coffin. With his Divine Sense, he was astonished to discover that the man was shrouded in death energy and the stench of corpses. Judging by the countless tumors and festering sores covering his body, he should not have possessed any life force at all.
In other words, he should have been long dead.
But the immense power coiled within his body was enough to make anyone tremble with fear.
As Ji Yan flew over to join the several dozen figures, the Coffin Bearer's terrifying eyes—wide as bronze bells—glanced downward, seemingly satisfied with this location. He then dropped straight out of the sky.
BOOM…
The earth shuddered violently. Spiderweb cracks spread rapidly across the ground as the Coffin Bearer landed, standing motionless with his eyes closed, as if resting in meditation.
Many warriors were already stirring, greed flickering across their faces as they quietly gathered their strength. But intimidated by the identities of the several dozen who had followed the Coffin Bearer here, they didn't dare make any rash moves despite their desire.
Ji Yan had already joined up with the group. They seemed to know each other, exchanging brief greetings before falling into a hushed discussion.
"Who are those people?" Yang Kai asked.
"Experts from various nearby factions. Xu Qi of the Thunder Light Divine Cult—Transcendence Stage Two. Zou Xing of the Xuan Tian Alliance—Transcendence Stage Three. Yao Di of the Battle Soul Hall, also Transcendence Stage Three…" Yun Xuan used her gaze to indicate the various figures, listing out several of the most powerful among them.
"I don't recognize the rest, though they're certainly not nobodies." Yun Xuan took a light breath. "They must have heard rumors of the Coffin Bearer and followed him all the way here."
"They're interested in the compensation the Coffin Bearer gives?" Yang Kai was taken aback. Several among them were Transcendence Stage Three powerhouses—figures of extraordinary status. He would have thought they wouldn't bother with such trivial gains.
"They're not interested in the compensation at all. But the Coffin Bearer himself is an enormous secret. Everyone wants to uncover his origins and mysteries—they're after the Coffin Bearer himself."
Yang Kai nodded slightly, beginning to understand.
Ji Yan was still in discussion with the group, his manner respectful. Though he was the city lord of Blazing Sun City under the Du Ao Alliance, his Transcendence Stage One cultivation left him somewhat restrained in front of these experts.
After quite some time, Zou Xing of the Xuan Tian Alliance nodded. "Very well then. We'll wait one hour. City Lord Ji, please make haste."
Yao Di of the Battle Soul Hall let out an eerie laugh. "Heaven cherishes all living things, so naturally we won't push things too far. Go ahead, City Lord Ji."
"Thank you all!" Ji Yan was deeply grateful. He immediately flew back and charged into the city to make arrangements.
Many warriors had gathered in Blazing Sun City, most of them not particularly powerful. If something happened here, they certainly wouldn't be able to escape in time.
Ji Yan spelled out the stakes clearly. Those willing to leave departed on the spot. Those who refused—well, there was nothing he could do about them. He might be the city lord, but he couldn't force warriors who didn't belong to the Du Ao Alliance to obey his commands.