Black Water City, located at the junction of Yi Province, Si Province, and Central Province, covers an area of approximately 200,000 square kilometers and is a lawless area that harbors filth and corruption.
The so-called "no man's land" doesn't mean that nobody wants to manage this place, but rather that multiple forces want to control it, but none can gain an absolute advantage. Over time, it has become a buffer zone without a true master.
Nominally, this area belongs to the territory of the Haotian Empire, and the lord of Black Water City is also an official of the Haotian Empire.
However, the city lord of Black Water City Black Water City has no real control over the city. The true controllers of Black Water City are gray organizations that operate in the gaps between various forces, such as Listening Wind Tower, Hundred Flowers Hall, and Dragon-Toppling Society.
The emperors of the Haotian Empire throughout history have wanted to eradicate these shady organizations, but their existence for so many years indicates that they have complex backgrounds. Some of these organizations are even controlled by people from the Heavenly Realm, which is why they have been able to remain active and deeply entrenched to this day.
At this moment, in a luxurious building within the city, several leaders of Black Water City sat around a tea table, discussing the current situation with great concern.
"Alas! I don't know what got into the monarch of the Chen Kingdom, that he actually summoned Emperor Haotian Empire to meet with us in Black Water City."
Now, all our business is shut down; we have to wait for them to finish their negotiations.
"Old Hu, stop focusing on your little business!"
If these two countries really go to war this time, it's hard to say whether Black Water City will still exist. It might even be flattened by both armies, which would be a real problem."
Fan Jing, the Listening Wind Tower, showed a helpless expression and said.
"Impossible! Does the Chen Kingdom really have the guts to go to war with the Haotian Empire?"
Hu Rui'an is one of the directors of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion. Although Myriad Treasures Pavilion is not a gray organization, they also have businesses in Black Water City, and Hu Rui'an is the general manager of the area around Black Water City.
Fan Jing's words made him feel extremely uneasy, because he knew that Listening Wind Tower and Chen Kingdom had been cooperating closely for the past two years, and Fan Jing must know more inside information than he did.
Don't try to trick me; I don't know more about the specifics than you do.
I've only gleaned this from a side perspective: the Chen Kingdom has already prepared for war.
Listening Wind Tower possesses unparalleled intelligence capabilities, and Fan Jing has even mastered the art of observing qi, enabling him to see through celestial secrets and foresee fortune and misfortune.
However, his abilities often failed him when he encountered Chen Kingdom's information system, and over time, he no longer dared to make any assumptions about the Chen Kingdom's actions.
"Although the ruler of the Chen Kingdom is Chen Hongjie, as you probably know, Chen Mu is the true pillar of the Chen Kingdom."
Since Chen Mu returned recently, I've felt that the cohesion of the Chen Kingdom has become stronger than ever before. I have absolutely no idea what he will do at this meeting with the Haotian Empire.
Compared to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, Listening Wind Tower has a deeper foundation in Black Water City and more businesses here; otherwise, Fan Jing wouldn't have come in person.
If Black Water City were to be destroyed due to the war between the two countries, he would suffer a great loss, but since things had come to this, there was nothing he could do.
" The Chen Kingdom is merely preparing for war to protect itself; they certainly don't have the guts to wage war against the Haotian Empire."
A woman spoke coldly.
She is the Hundred Flowers Hall Hundred Flowers Hall, one of the most famous assassin organizations on the Pan Emperor Continent, and their headquarters are located in Black Water City. Therefore, the Hundred Flowers Hall cares a lot about Black Water City.
I think so too!
This meeting was nominally a diplomatic act forced upon the Chen Kingdom by the Haotian Empire, but everyone knows the way the Heavenly Court does things.
If the Chen Kingdom is willing to cede some territory and hand over Chen Mu's gains in the Kunlun Secret Realm, then the Haotian Empire is very likely to avoid taking action against the Chen Kingdom.
After all, the Heavenly Court has always coveted the Heart of Pan Emperor, and starting a civil war on the Pan Emperor Continent at this time would be detrimental to the overall situation.
Hu Rui'an spoke again.
But now that news of the Kunlun Secret Realm has spread, many people know that Chen Mu was one of the people who successfully left the Kunlun Secret Realm.
Many people even speculated that the Heavenly Court might have fabricated the infamous reputation of the Chen Kingdom family as a sinful clan in order to seize Chen Mu in the Kunlun Secret Realm.
"If Chen Kingdom is willing to back down, that would be ideal, but we must not let our guard down and must leave ourselves a way out."
Many businessmen like war because it offers more opportunities and makes it easier to reap huge profits.
But it depends on where the war is fought and how large it is. If it breaks out on our own doorstep, that's not a good thing.
After Fan Jing finished speaking, he suddenly sensed something unusual about his communication artifact. He used his spiritual sense to perceive it briefly and quickly learned the message inside.
"The people from the Chen Kingdom have arrived! Just as I expected, this meeting is being led by Chen Mu."
" Chen Mu still dares to show his face in public? Isn't he afraid that Divine Lord Xuanji will come after him?"
He must have something to rely on!
After all, even the gods don't have an absolute advantage on the Pan Emperor Continent right now.
As time went by, the Pan Emperor Continent became capable of accommodating the appearance of gods without harming their cultivation.
However, even if gods want to take action, they are still subject to the rules. When the power of Divine Skill reaches a certain level, it will be interrupted due to the rejection by the rules of Heavenly Dao. Therefore, they cannot slaughter ordinary cultivators at will.
In any case, after Chen Mu arrived, the meeting between the Chen Kingdom and the Haotian Empire officially began.
They met at the city lord's mansion in Black Water City, where Emperor Long Bo of the Haotian Empire was waiting for Chen Mu's request for an audience.
When entering Black Water City this time, Chen Mu only brought ten Five Elements Guards and Mingye, making a total of twelve people including himself.
Under the Chen Kingdom's dedicated training, all ten Five Elements Guards who were carefully selected back then have surpassed the Emperor Level in cultivation. Among them, the leader, Chen Rufeng, has even stepped into the Saint Level after awakening his God-Slaying Bloodline.
The Five Elements Guards are equipped with the most advanced intelligent weapons in the Chen Kingdom, so they have always been able to cross borders to kill enemies. Once they form a battle formation, they can even hold off Demigod for a period of time. That is why Chen Mu brought them with him on this trip.
"Who goes there? State your name!"
When Chen Mu and his men appeared above the Black Water City Lord's Mansion, they heard a deep voice. Without any politeness, he shouted loudly.
" Chen Mu, the Grand Preceptor of the Chen Kingdom, has come to pay his respects to His Majesty Haotian Empire. He requests that His Majesty come out to meet him!"
His words shocked everyone in Black Water City.
The fact that the Chen Kingdom, being a small country, had the emperor of the Haotian Empire come out to meet him already suggested that the visitor had ill intentions.