Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

The teleportation light slowly dissipated.

Gu Changjin led the members of Team B37 out of the formation.

Before us was a Dao city that wasn't very large.

Of course, this "not big" only refers to its size compared to Xuandu Taiyi City.

If placed in a pioneering cultivation world like the Western Wilderness, this city would easily crush the vast majority of sects in terms of spiritual energy concentration, array strength, and the number of garrisoned cultivators.

The entire Dao City floats above the sea of ​​clouds, with city walls over a thousand feet high, their surfaces covered with array patterns from the Xuandu Taiyi Dao Sect.

Although the spiritual energy within the city cannot compare to that of the Taiyi Heaven Realm, it far surpasses that of ordinary blessed lands outside.

This place is located on the outskirts of the Central Continent's Great Luo Heaven Domain; beyond that lies a vast, uncontrolled wasteland.

Evil cultivators, demons, and powerful beings from other races often appear there.

The Xuandu Taiyi Sect established Dao City here to guard the border and monitor any unusual activity in the surrounding area.

Outside the teleportation array.

An elderly man dressed in a brown Taoist robe had been waiting for a long time.

This person is named Zhou Heng, an elder of the sect stationed in this Dao City, with a cultivation level of the early stage of the Integration Realm.

After sending out the Crimson-level distress call, he stayed by the teleportation array, waiting for the Xuan Tian Patrol Guards to come to his aid.

When the light first appeared.

Zhou Heng's face showed a hint of joy.

But after Gu Changjin and the others all walked out of the teleportation array, he was stunned.

One, two, ... ten... eleven auras.

But why are they all at the peak of the Void Returning stage? Where is the Xuan Tian Patrol General I requested?

Zhou Heng subconsciously looked behind everyone.

Is nobody here? That's strange.

He frowned.

It was a Red-level distress call that it had sent out.

Even if the sect only sends a second-class patrol team, the Xuan Tian Patrol General leading the team should be a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Why are there only a group of Void Returners here?

Could it be that the Xuan Tian Patrol General hasn't been teleported over yet?

The light within the teleportation array had been completely extinguished.

Zhou Heng counted the number of people again.

Eleven. A standard squad of the Xuantian Patrol consists of ten patrolmen plus one patrol general.

The number of people is just right, but...

His gaze slowly moved, finally landing on Gu Changjin, who was standing at the very front.

Judging from everyone's positions.

This white-haired old man was clearly the leader, but his aura was still only at the peak of the Returning to Emptiness stage.

Zhou Heng immediately had some guesses in his mind, and his face turned ugly.

"Are you the Xuan Tian Patrol General of this team?"

Gu Changjin nodded.

"Gu Changjin, patrol officer of the 37th squad."

After receiving confirmation, Zhou Heng's face darkened completely.

"Absurd! Utterly absurd!!"

He snorted twice, his sleeves fluttering loudly from the force of his magic.

"An emergency at the Crimson level! The sect has actually sent a Void Returning Perfection cultivator to serve as a patrol officer!"

"Have there become so many people in the sect who hold positions without doing any work?"

Gu Changjin raised an eyebrow slightly.

From the moment I entered the Xuandu Taiyi Sect.

He discovered that these people all seemed to agree on one thing.

Having reached the pinnacle of emptiness, he is unworthy to serve as a Xuan Tian Patrol General.

No, does that mean anything below the fusion stage isn't considered human?

Just as Gu Changjin was about to speak, the teleportation array behind him lit up with a blinding light once again.

Everyone turned to look.

Spatial fluctuations spread, and eleven more figures emerged from the teleportation array.

Walking at the front was a young woman.

She looked to be no more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, tall and slender, with striking features and long hair tied into a neat ponytail at the back of her head.

He was wearing a set of silver-white armor, similar in style to the standard armor of the Xuantian Patrol Guard, but the details clearly showed that it had been reforged.

The shoulder armor and wrist guards are engraved with fine lightning patterns, and occasionally, silvery arcs of electricity flash through the gaps in the armor plates as you walk.

A long spear hovered behind him.

The gun itself was also silver-white, and even before it was used in battle, it already exuded a sharp aura.

Initial stage of fusion.

The ten Xuan Tian patrolmen behind the woman were also wearing the same armor.

Compared to Gu Changjin's group of Void Returners dressed in various styles, they certainly appeared more professional.

After the woman stepped out of the formation, her gaze first swept over Zhou Heng.

Then the attack fell on Gu Changjin and the others.

She sensed it slightly.

There was no aura of fusion.

A hint of displeasure immediately appeared on the woman's usually aloof face.

"I will report this matter to the sect truthfully."

"In a level-one emergency, the patrol commander didn't even lead the team personally. If I hadn't been leading the patrol as usual, this level-two emergency would likely have had even worse consequences."

"Which sky patrol team are you from?"

"Where is the patrol officer now?"

Gu Changjin stood there, his eye twitching slightly.

Not again? Damn it!

If you don't break through the Fusion stage, you're not worthy of being seen, right?

Okay, once this is over, he'll immediately prepare for the next one.

Once I break through to the Fusion stage, let's see what these people can say then.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Zhou Heng's displeasure instantly subsided.

"So it was Inspector Lin."

His attitude became noticeably more polite, and he even took two steps forward and cupped his hands in greeting.

"I never expected that Inspector Lin would personally lead the team this time."

The woman's name was Lin Hanyue, and she was a patrol officer of the first-class squad of the Xuantian Patrol Guard.

Although his cultivation level was only at the early stage of the Integration Realm, his combat power far exceeded that of ordinary people at the same level.

More importantly, her grandfather was a Supreme Being who had transcended tribulation in the Xuandu Taiyi Sect.

This identity means that Zhou Heng is not merely a Nascent Soul elder stationed in the outer Dao City.

Even powerful figures within the sect, those in the late stage of the Integration Realm or even those at the Perfection of the Integration Realm, would give her more face when they met her.

Among Team B37, some people also recognized her identity.

They were initially somewhat dissatisfied with Zhou Heng's attitude, but now they all silently shut their mouths.

Qin Lie merely frowned but remained silent.

Lin Hanyue was clearly already used to everyone's attitude.

She simply nodded slightly in response.

Then he looked at Zhou Heng.

Elder Zhou.

"You just said that the sect sent a Void Returning Perfection cultivator to serve as a Xuan Tian Patrol General?"

Zhou Heng gestured in the direction of Gu Changjin.

"It is indeed this Inspector Gu."

"Team B37 will now be led by him."

A hint of surprise flashed in Lin Hanyue's eyes.

She looked at Gu Changjin again.

White hair, aged face.

The aura indeed remained at the peak of the Return to Emptiness stage.

Although the foundation appears to be extremely deep and the body's Qi and blood far exceed those of ordinary Qi-returning cultivators, Qi-returning cultivators are still just Qi-returning cultivators.

Previously, the lowest level of Xuan Tian Patrol General was the Integration Realm.

It's clear that there must be other reasons why someone at the peak of the Returning to Emptiness realm could directly assume this position.

Connections.

Lin Hanyue quickly made a judgment in her mind.

She didn't utter any sarcastic remarks, but the disdain in her eyes was barely concealed.

"Since the sect has made this arrangement, it must have its reasons."

"However, a Red-level emergency is no child's play."

"If you can't handle it, General Gu should not force yourself."

Gu Changjin smiled.

"Inspector Lin can rest assured."

"I will not hold you back."

Lin Hanyue frowned almost imperceptibly.

The man's tone made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

However, the situation was urgent, and she didn't want to waste any more time here.

"Elder Zhou, what exactly happened?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Heng's expression turned serious again.

He didn't explain immediately, but just gave a wry smile.

"Gentlemen."

"Let's go outside the palace and take a look first."

The group followed Zhou Heng out of the teleportation hall.

I just stepped out of the palace gate.

Everyone stopped walking at the same time.

This Dao City also floats above the sea of ​​clouds.

But at this moment, the once pristine white clouds surrounding Dao City have all turned black.

Thick black mist slowly surged from all directions, like a boundless black sea, enveloping the entire Dao City in the center.

Within the black fog, one could occasionally see thin, long shadows crawling by; their numbers were so numerous that they were almost impossible to count.

The outer array of Dao City has been fully activated, with countless array patterns lighting up on the bronze city wall, forming a huge light shield that temporarily isolates the black mist from the outside.

However, the black mist continued to erode the light shield, and wherever it passed, the array's light dimmed rapidly.

Lin Hanyue's initially dismissive expression finally turned serious.

She stared at the depths of the sea of ​​clouds for a moment.

A black spider, several tens of feet in size, suddenly crawled out of the thick fog, its eight scarlet eyes simultaneously looking towards Daocheng.

Lin Hanyue slowly gripped the spear behind her.

"Black Mist Spider, I never expected to see such an ancient and exotic species again."