ormation.But he's still in the Heavenly Machine Merchant Alliance after all, and there are many cultivators lined up behind him, waiting to use the Heavenly Machine Pillar.If we linger here too long,..."Dizzy" Zhou Ping was stunned, his face suddenly paling. He felt a little lightheaded. "No good, there's poison in the tea!"

He struggled to get up but felt weak and numb all over. He slumped back down, dizzy, and mumbled, "What's going on"

Seeing this, Lu Ye knew that Zhou Ping had nothing to do with the poisoning.

He had sensed it the moment he tasted the tea—poison, laced within. He knew because the gifted tree had reacted abnormally, though he feigned ignorance.

To everyone's surprise, Zhou Ping had also been poisoned. Since he hadn't arranged for anyone to poison him, then...

The sound of rustling robes filled the air. From the inner sanctum of a side hall, a portly man with a considerable belly stepped out, radiating an aura of authority. Behind him trailed a middle-aged scholar, adorned in traditional robes and wielding a feather fan.

Please note that I only translated the text content within the "" and left the HTML tags untouched.

With a clatter, another group of people strode into the hall, each with a grim expression.

"Lord Mayor" Zhou Ping was taken aback by the sight before him, completely clueless about what had happened.

The city lord remained silent, merely settling onto his grand master's chair with a dark gaze.

That scholar-like middle-aged man stood beside the city lord, looking as if he was filled with resentment. He tapped Zhou Ping with his feather fan: “Zhou Ping, you’ve gotten yourself into a big mess!”

"Mr. Meng, what do you mean by that" Zhou Ping asked angrily. Although he was honest, he wasn't stupid. If he hadn't understood what had happened just now, he certainly did now.

Zhou Ping said: "Therefore, I invited Mr. Lu to come over and join us in resisting the bandits!"

Mr. Meng said, "What do you think, with my power in Ding'an, can I withstand the Black Turban"

"I shall fight to the death to protect you!" Although Zhou Ping felt weak and powerless, his spiritual energy stagnant, his voice was firm and resounding.

Mr. Meng shook his head and said, “The foundation of Tenth Fang City is far richer than ours. Three months ago, it was flattened by the Black Robes just like us. After the city fell, the Black Robes slaughtered for ten days, leaving nine out of every ten households empty. This is a lesson learned from past experiences!” He changed the subject and said with pain in his voice, “Furthermore, the Black Robe scouts came this time only to ask for some food. Their battlefield isn't here. We should just give it to them. Why did you kill him”

Zhou Ping's eyes widened: "The Black Robes are killing our people, and we're supposed to give them food and supplies Mr. Meng, are you serious" He glared with anger: "Even if Mr. Lu hadn't intervened today, I would have!"

Mr. Meng's face turned cold: "Zhou Ping, you're done for!"

Zhou Ping gritted his teeth and roared, "Meng Deyun, I think you're the one beyond saving! You think giving Black Scarf money and supplies means they won't attack You must have forgotten how Huang Yecheng fell."

Zhou Ping no longer spoke with Meng Deyun, but turned to the ever-silent City Lord: “Sir, Huang Ye City's past serves as a warning. We can't repeat their mistakes! The Black Robed Army's appetite is insatiable. If you give them provisions today, they will demand you open the city gates tomorrow. Then, all the citizens in this city will be slaughtered, just like in Huang Ye City. It's better to rise up and resist!”

The rotund, paunchy Lord Mayor fell silent for a long while before finally speaking, “Although Huangye City has been breached, half its people are still alive. It's far better off than Shifang City.”

"You don't know, sir Most of them alive are women! The Black Veil specially left their lives to serve as camp prostitutes!"

"Not just women," the city lord waved his hand. "Those with cultivation, they would all be recruited and not easily killed."

Zhou Ping's eyes widened: "The lord is going to defect to the Black Robes"

Meng Deyun roared angrily: "Isn't this because of you pushing me to it! If there wasn't this incident today, I would never have suffered such calamity!"

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

Zhou Ping looked at him, then at the city lord. Even though he was honest to a fault, he finally understood what was going on. His voice was low and heavy: "So you poisoned the tea. Me and Mr. Lu are your bargaining chips"

The city lord said: “It wasn’t you, this person is!” He turned to look at Lu Ye, “He killed the people in black robes, only by handing him over can we be safe.”

"What about the people of Ding'an" Zhou Ping still clung to a last shred of hope.

A few lowly people, don't bother about their life or death.

Zhou Ping's lips moved, his face flushed red. After holding it in for a long time, he roared angrily, "I am ashamed to be associated with you degenerates! I never thought you would sink so low!"

Meng Deyun shouted angrily: "Zhou Ping, be careful what you say! It might bring you trouble!"

Zhou Ping let out a cold snort, completely ignoring him. He only turned his head and apologetically looked at Lu Ye: "Mr. Lu, this time it was Zhou who harmed you. I'm really sorry."

He saw that Lu Ye was quite capable and took him under his wing out of kindness, but he didn't expect to bring him such a huge crisis.

"It's nothing." Lu Ye, who had been silent all along, spoke softly. Then, under the stunned gazes of everyone, he picked up his teacup and drank it in one gulp, "Not bad!"

Then, slowly getting up, he shook his neck. A cracking sound immediately came from his cervical spine.

"You..." Meng Deyun stared at Lu Ye in astonishment, a feeling of unease creeping over him. He didn't dare hesitate and immediately waved his hand: "Take him down!"

A whistling sound erupted, and several thick ropes flew out, crisscrossing in the air. Several figures moved gracefully, binding Lu Ye into a tight bundle in the blink of an eye.

Let me know if you'd like me to translate anything else! that Lu Ye was mentioning it again, she knew it wasn't false."Changing the subject, she said, “However, your thoughtfulness truly amazes me, junior brother. How did you think of bringing me along” If...