His words, seemingly reasonable, were actually forcing the Southern Region to choose sides—either hand over the people and admit the Southern Region's wrongdoing, or refuse to hand them over and bear the charge of "disrupting the order of the four regions."

The elders of the Southern Region exchanged glances, all seeing the gravity in each other's eyes. They truly didn't know where Xiao Chen's sect was (the Qingyun Sect was too secretive), and even if they did, handing him over under these circumstances would completely ruin the Southern Region's reputation.

"We won't hand it over!" The highly respected "Ancestor of Sunset Glow" from the Southern Region spoke slowly, leaning on his cane. His voice was old but firm. "The Southern Region may be weak, but it has its integrity. If you want to seize our territory by force, you'll have to die!"

"Yes! I won't pay!"

"Fight if you want! We cultivators of the Southern Region are not afraid of death!"

The cultivators of the Southern Region unleashed their magical treasures, their spiritual energy converging into a dazzling sea of ​​light, confronting the Xuan Tian Sect's flying boat in the sky, their fighting spirit soaring to the heavens.

Looking at the scene below, filled with righteous indignation, Zhao Feng's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile—it was a success.

This is exactly the result he wanted. As long as war breaks out, the Xuantian Sect can rightfully conquer the Southern Region and find Xiao Chen and the mysterious Qingyun Sect.

"Fine, very well." Zhao Feng's smile vanished, his voice as cold as ice. "Since you refuse to listen to reason and are now going to drink the penalty cup, don't blame us for being impolite."

He turned and shouted at the cultivators behind him, "Pass down the order: Prepare for battle!"

"Yes!" the Xuan Tian Sect cultivators responded in unison, their killing intent palpable as they began setting up the formation. The runes on the flying boat lit up, emanating an aura of world-destroying destruction.

Zhao Feng ignored the Southern Region cultivators below, turned around and walked into the flying boat cabin, sneering inwardly: "Fools from the Southern Region, I hope you can still be tough when the city falls later."

He walked to the window and looked at the mountains behind Luoxia City, where there were faint fluctuations of spiritual energy—based on previous investigations, the Qingyun Sect was very likely located in those mountains.

“Xiao Chen, Lin Zhou…” Zhao Feng clenched his fists. “Soon, you will know the consequences of offending the Xuan Tian Sect.”

Outside Luoxia City, cultivators from the Southern Region stood ready, the light of their magical artifacts reflecting off their faces.

Above Luoxia City, the Xuantian Sect's flying boat hovered, its killing intent like dark clouds, making it hard to breathe.

The wind whipped up dust from the ground, carrying the smell of gunpowder, and blew past the two opposing sides.