Ye Cangtian returned alone to the central area of Haicheng.
The battle here was not yet over!
With the combined efforts of the three Xuan-level masters from the Hidden Organization, the Xuan-level powerhouses from the Dark Association, and the purple-robed bishop, it would not be difficult to eliminate the six guardian statues if they went all out.
The reason was simple: they were not of the same faction, and thus could not cooperate wholeheartedly. They had to guard against each other's potential betrayals, which was why they had not exerted their full strength.
At this moment, only two guardian statues remained, and their complete annihilation was only a matter of time.
Ye Cangtian's gaze swept towards another extremely fierce battlefield.
The City Lord of Haicheng was alone, bearing the brunt of the attacks from four powerful individuals.
Yet, even so, the City Lord of Haicheng was locked in a fierce, indistinguishable battle with Jian Wusheng and the other three, showing no signs of being at a disadvantage.
In contrast, the aura of the four Earth-level powerhouses, including Jian Wusheng, had visibly diminished. After all, they were flesh and blood, and were susceptible to fatigue.
"Hasar, how long are you going to keep resting!"
"Why aren't you coming to help!"
"If we die, do you think you can survive?"
As the situation became increasingly dire, Zi Long finally roared at Hasar.
Since Hasar had been injured earlier, he had not participated in the battle. The other four had not paid much attention, assuming they could steadily suppress the City Lord statue.
However, things had not gone as planned, and they now found themselves subtly at a disadvantage.
And in this scenario, Hasar had no intention of entering the fray. It was obvious that the other party was planning to strike while they were engaged, like a mantis stalking a cicada with a oriole behind it. How could Zi Long allow such a thing to happen?
"Don't be impatient, don't be impatient, I'm coming right away!"
Seeing that his intentions had been seen through, Hasar spoke repeatedly, then, enduring his injuries, he charged forward.
He knew that if he didn't go up, Zi Long and the others might deal with him first. He had no choice but to abandon his plan.
Boom!
With Hasar's entry into the battle, the situation immediately shifted. Although he was injured and could not exert his full power, he could at least join forces with the others to restrain the enemy.
The four Earth-level powerhouses focused on containment, while Jian Wusheng took on the role of the main attacker. With their coordinated efforts, they finally managed to slay the City Lord statue.
Looking at the two shining purple crystals, the camaraderie that had existed moments before instantly crumbled.
They began to fight fiercely for the purple crystals, as one purple crystal was worth at least a hundred white crystals.
In the ensuing struggle, the crystals changed hands repeatedly. One was obtained by Blue Moon, and the remaining crystal eventually flew to the side, where it was acquired by Yuwen Chengji, who had also been observing the battle.
Swish, swish, swish...
The next moment, Qing Dao, Zi Long, and Hasar all charged towards Yuwen Chengji.
After all, these were crystals they had risked their lives to obtain, and they would not allow outsiders to seize them.
However, before anyone could get close to Yuwen Chengji, a figure had already arrived first, blocking in front of him.
It was Jian Wusheng!
"Everyone, we agreed before, whatever anyone gets belongs to them, and other factions are not allowed to snatch it!"
"What? Are you looking to tear down the facade now?"
Jian Wusheng sneered as he looked at everyone.
Zi Long and the others' faces turned grim.
To be honest, if they were to fight for it with all their might, Jian Wusheng alone could not stop them.
But the problem was, no one knew how many strong individuals the Hidden Organization had sent.
What if there was an Earth-level powerhouse hidden in the shadows? That could very well alter the outcome.
"Jian Wusheng, you're overthinking things. We just want to congratulate him!"
Zi Long said with a grim expression, as it was meaningless to fight over a single purple crystal.
Moreover, the Huaxia side was not weak. If it truly came to a confrontation, it was likely that even the Xuan-level and Huang-level deacons would be killed.
And the most crucial thing now was to find the Heart of the Ruins; other matters could wait.
Seeing Zi Long's stance, Hasar let out an unconvinced cold snort.
Even the Dark Association had suffered a setback. What more could he say? After all, his chances of winning against Jian Wusheng alone were not high.
"There should be no more danger in the entire Haicheng. Shall we continue searching by dividing the areas according to the previous agreement?"
"Or should we decide the winner first?"
To everyone's surprise, the one who posed this question was not the most powerful Dark Association, but Jian Wusheng of the Hidden Organization.
This question made Ye Cangtian and the Dragon Team members feel a hint of suspicion. Did it mean that the Hidden Organization truly had more strong individuals hidden in the shadows?
Otherwise, how could Jian Wusheng dare to ask such a question?
If a fight were to break out, how would it be resolved?
Even Ye Cangtian and the others thought this way, let alone the Dark Association and the Bright Hall!
Zi Long exchanged glances with Qing Dao, Blue Moon, and the others, then looked aside at Hasar, who had clearly become very wary.
The most dejected person at this moment was Hasar. Although the Bright Hall had sent two Earth-level experts, one in the open and one in secret to support each other, Humphrey had played himself to death.
This left him isolated and without any say.
"Let's stick to the original agreement."
Zi Long said after a long period of hesitation.
Where there was smoke, there was fire. Since Jian Wusheng dared to be so audacious, he must have hidden strength.
The next moment, everyone dispersed and began a comprehensive search of Haicheng.
This time, Ye Cangtian directly led the Dragon Team and the Death God Squad to search the areas assigned to their respective teams. Zhao Ziyang also took charge of the area assigned to the Pandora Mercenary Group with Misha.
The reason was simple: the Heart of the Ruins was coveted by all. If it were discovered, it would inevitably breed greed and disrupt cooperation.
It was better to let fate decide; what was yours would be yours.
The first place to be searched was the armor depot, which stored various battle armor and some inner armor.
They were well-preserved and possessed astonishing defensive capabilities.
As for the battle armor, the Death God Squad and the Dragon Team members paid no attention to it, as wearing battle armor and strutting around would undoubtedly attract strange glances.
However, when it came to inner armor, everyone was less reserved, each selecting inner armor that suited their physique.
Worn underneath, no one would notice it, and it might even save their lives at a critical moment.
After selecting the inner armor and carefully searching the area, Ye Cangtian led his team to another important, larger building.
Although areas had been divided, who could guarantee that other factions would not come over?
After all, agreements were just empty words.
Upon entering the room, Ye Cangtian couldn't help but frown.
This was Haicheng's study, with at least ten thousand books displayed here, along with scattered writing brushes, inkstones, and paper.
One had to know that the Heart of the Ruins could take any form. Inspecting all these items would be a considerable undertaking, surely consuming a lot of time.
At that point, they might miss out on developments regarding other factions.
But there was no other way. Since they were here, they had to search diligently. Fortunately, they had enough manpower.
Thus, everyone began to act.
Ye Cangtian also joined in, but his attitude was hardly commendable. While others searched systematically, he only conducted random checks, rather haphazardly.
In fact, he found such a tedious task difficult to endure and just wanted to casually flip through the books and read their contents.
However, to his disappointment, he couldn't recognize the characters in any of the books, nor did he know what they contained.
Only in the sections with pictorial explanations could he guess something based on the images; some were cultivation techniques, some were armor, and some were manufacturing processes...
After flipping through them for an unknown amount of time in boredom, Ye Cangtian suddenly froze.
"What is this?"
Among the books he picked up, there was a bookmark in the middle. The bookmark was leaf-shaped and golden all over, shining brightly.
Ye Cangtian was certain that it was not made of gold, but a real leaf.
Just as he was about to pick it up for a closer look, the leaf seemed to come alive and burrowed into his sleeve.