That night, at the very center of the city lord's residence.
There were none of the grand halls or towers one might expect here. Instead, an enormous pit occupied the space.
The pit measured several dozen zhang across, its depths dark and unfathomable, wisps of cold seeping out.
The cold had even coated the surrounding vegetation in a thin layer of frost.
Whoosh~
Gusts of howling wind reached the surface, followed closely by four figures shooting out of the pit.
Tap. The four landed on the ground.
Chi Ziyang, who had been waiting nearby, immediately strode forward and raised a tray bearing four fiery-red fruits.
"Honored members of the superior tribe, Father, the cold in this Heavy Water Mine is biting. Please have a Warming Fruit."
Of the four, the three on the left had purple scales covering their entire bodies. Only the one on the far right had a few scales of other colors on his face.
Clearly, this was the chief of the Red-Purple Branch.
He reached out to take the tray, then offered it to those beside him first.
"No need. Chi Zi, the extraction of ore from your Heavy Water Mine is far too slow.
"The lord above is pressing us. If you keep up this pace, don't blame us for showing no mercy."
The one standing in the middle was clearly the leader of this group from the Purple-Scale Tribe.
He glanced at the fruits on the tray, making no effort to hide his disdain.
"As for these fruits, we all have Half-Realm cultivation. A little cold hardly calls for special treatment. Keep them for yourselves, so you can extract more heavy water ore!"
With that, he took the other two Scale Clan members, one man and one woman, and flew toward the right side