Chapter 513: Twelve Zodiac Palaces

The new palace was completely different from what they had seen before; it stood towering and majestic, with a mighty presence, like an eternal fortress silently guarding the secret of the ancient pagoda.

On the palace gate was carved a lifelike hunting dog, its image mighty and mysterious, its eyes flashing with a faint light, as if examining every living thing that approached the palace.

Longling and his companions stood before the palace gate, able to sense the ancient and powerful aura emanating from within the palace.

This palace was not merely a building, but a magical entity, every brick and tile imbued with mysterious power.

The palace's hunting dog emblem made them feel both awe and curiosity; this symbol surely concealed some profound meaning.

"Perhaps this palace's hunting dog emblem represents some kind of protective power," Longling said softly to his companions.

Heifeng nodded, his eyes flashing with vigilance: "The hunting dog symbolizes loyalty and vigilance; there may be a powerful guardian beast or trap here."

Fengyu and Yunying began to jointly cast spells, granting the party protective and beneficial enchantments. They knew that entering the palace might mean facing new challenges and dangers.

Tieya and Tieshan inspected their weapons and armor, ensuring they could go into battle at a moment's notice upon entering the palace.

Longling took a deep breath, then turned to the crowd and said: "No matter what is hidden in the palace, we must unite and face it together."

"Yes!" they replied in unison, their voices filled with determination.

Longling led the way, and the others followed closely as they stepped into the palace together.

As they entered, the palace gate slowly closed behind them, and a mysterious force enveloped them.

Inside the palace was a vast hall, its walls carved with various exquisite patterns, the most numerous of which were hunting dog motifs.

These hunting dogs were depicted running, lunging, or lying still, each action rendered vividly.

At the center of the hall stood a huge statue, its form exactly that of the hunting dog on the gate, its posture majestic, its eyes flashing with a mysterious light.

Longling and the others cautiously approached the statue, discovering a line of text carved on its base; these characters differed from the symbols they had seen in the desert, but were equally profound and obscure.

Longling studied the characters carefully, trying to find some clues from them.

Just then, a low growl suddenly echoed from within the palace, reverberating through the hall and making hearts jump.

Longling and the others immediately tensed, gripping their weapons and warily scanning their surroundings.

As the growl sounded, the hunting dog patterns on the palace walls suddenly came to life, leaping off the walls and turning into real hunting dogs that surrounded Longling and the others.

The eyes of these hunting dogs flashed with a faint light, their movements agile and fierce, clearly not ordinary creatures.

"Be careful, these hunting dogs might be the palace's guardian beasts!" Longling loudly warned his companions.

Heifeng's Ghost Dance Secret Technique allowed him to move like a ghost on the battlefield, weaving between the hunting dogs; each appearance brought a powerful strike aimed at their vital points.

Fengyu and Yunying jointly unleashed gusts of wind blades and cloud shields; the wind blades were razor‑sharp, slicing through the hunting dogs' defenses, while the cloud shields stood firm as mountains, blocking the dogs' attacks.

Tieya and Tieshan were like two immovable peaks; their strength was great and steady, each strike carrying the force to split mountains and shatter stone, colliding with the hunting dogs and producing deafening booms.

Longling then began to mobilize his inner power, condensing a Light Sword in his hand, his eyes flashing with determined light.

"Kill!"

Under Longling's leadership, everyone began to fight back fiercely; their power intertwined with the hunting dogs' ferocity, forming an intense battle.

Although the hunting dogs were strong, under the combined assault of Longling and his companions they were gradually driven back.

After a fierce battle, the hunting dogs were finally defeated, turning into streams of light that returned to the wall carvings.

Longling and his companions panted, exhausted but with victorious light in their eyes.

As the hunting dog vanished, countless runes rippled strangely from its flesh, and eerie dog teeth floated up, then quickly fused together.

"Hum—rumble"

The dog tooth burst forth with mysterious light, causing the canine emblem to collapse; a black‑hole vortex appeared, its wild, terrifying suction swiftly enveloping everyone.

In the depths of the ancient pagoda, as the dog tooth merged and the mysterious power was released, a black‑hole vortex slowly emerged, devouring everything around it.

Longling and his companions, pulled by the black‑hole vortex, crossed the boundary of time and space, arriving at a new palace.

The scene inside the palace was utterly different from before; it was filled with blazing flames and molten lava, like a corner of hell.

The palace walls, ground, and even the air seemed to have been scorched by fire, emitting a suffocating heat wave.

Fiery eyes were visible everywhere, like ghost fires in the dark night, flickering on and off, revealing a strange and dangerous aura.

At the center of the palace lay a vast lake of magma, upon whose surface floated a gigantic fire lotus.

Upon the fire lotus sat a mysterious woman; her body was wreathed in flames, her visage beautiful yet filled with deep sorrow.

The woman's tears turned into droplets of flame, falling into the magma sea and stirring rings of fiery ripples.

The woman's weeping echoed through the palace, her voice full of despair and sorrow: "Everyone died, everyone died, why am I the only one left alive?"

Each of her words was like a sharp blade, stabbing the hearts of everyone present.

Longling and his companions were shaken by this eerie sight, their scalps tingling as an inexplicable fear welled up in their hearts.

Just then, the woman seemed to sense their presence, slowly lifting her head, her eyes flashing with a cruel light.

"Are you here to play with me?" the woman's voice seemed to hold some terrible power.

As soon as she finished speaking, the weaker cultivators suddenly lost control of their bodies, their forms consumed by flame and turned into fire people who launched a fierce attack on Longling and the others.

Longling and his companions reacted quickly.

"Twelve Wooden Nodes, twelve palaces arranged according to the twelve zodiac signs; we have already passed the Pig Palace and the Dog Palace, and now we are in the Rooster Palace."

"The Rooster governs fire, so this place is also called the Fire Phoenix Palace."

"We must respond carefully; everything here is filled with the power of fire."

Longling shouted loudly, directing the others to begin organizing a counterattack.

Heifeng used his Ghost Dance Secret Technique to move through the battlefield, dodging the fire people's attacks while seeking an opportunity to strike the woman.

Fengyu and Yunying jointly cast spells, creating wind walls and cloud shields to block the fire people's advance, buying time for the team.

Tieya and Tieshan gripped their weapons, their bodies encased in thick iron armor, their strength growing even greater in the fire.

They charged at the fire people, using great force to repel them and protect the team's safety.

Longling then began to mobilize his inner power, condensing a Light Sword in his hand, the blade flashing with brilliant light.

He knew that only by defeating that mysterious woman could this disaster be ended.

"Everyone be careful, don't get hurt by the flames." Longling reminded his companions, while his eyes were locked firmly on that woman.

He could sense the powerful energy emanating from the woman's body, this energy was closely related to the flames, as if she were the incarnation of fire.

A cruel smile appeared on the woman's face, her body suddenly turned into a flame and rushed toward Longling and the others.

The attack was swift and fierce, each strike carrying extremely high temperature, as if it wanted to burn everything to ashes.

Longling and the others fought desperately, their power intertwining with the woman's flames, forming a fierce battle.

Flames raged in the palace, the magma sea churned, fire lotuses swayed in the flames, the whole palace seemed to have become a huge furnace.

On the scorching ground, Longling, Huang Daxian, Heifeng and their group had already entered the white-hot stage of their fierce battle with the mysterious woman.

The air inside the palace became distorted due to the collision of both sides' powers, the heat waves of flames and magma ravaged every corner, as if they wanted to burn the entire space to ashes.

As the guardian of the Rooster Palace, the woman's power merged with fire, each wave of her hand could summon walls of fire, attempting to trap Longling and the others within.

Her eyes were like two burning coals, flashing with violent light, her long hair danced wildly in the hot wind, like fiery snakes, ready to devour anything daring to approach.

Longling stood at the forefront of the group, his gaze firm and calm, the Light Sword in his hand emitted a dazzling light, each swing carried a sound of breaking through space, cutting through walls of fire, opening a path forward for the team.

A faint light shield flowed over his body, that was his utmost effort to maintain protection, resisting the surrounding high temperature's erosion.

Huang Daxian, meanwhile, cast his spells from the rear, his hands swiftly forming seals in the air, each seal accompanied by flashes of light.

The wind walls and ice shields he summoned persisted in the flames, although constantly weakened, they bought the team precious time.

His forehead was already covered in sweat, yet his eyes showed no hint of retreat.

Heifeng's figure moved across the battlefield like a ghost, the Ghost Dance Secret Technique allowing him to shuttle through the flames, leaving almost no trace.

His target was the fire beings controlled by the woman, his movements swift and deadly, each strike accurately hit the fire beings' vital points, eliminating them one by one.

Fengyu and Yunying joined forces to unleash gusts of wind blades and cloud shields, the wind blades like arrows slicing through the flames, directly striking the woman's defense.

The cloud shields formed solid barriers in the air, blocking the woman's fire attacks.

Their coordination was seamless, each strike perfectly timed, providing strong support to the team.

Tie Ya and Tie Shan were like two insurmountable mountains, their strength great and steady, each move carried the power to split mountains and shatter rocks.

They rushed to the front, using their bodies and weapons to block the flames' impact for the team, their skin scorched red by the fire, yet they persisted without retreating a single step.

Although the woman's power was great, she faced a group of unyielding warriors.

Longling and the others' attacks grew increasingly fierce, their power began to gradually suppress the woman's flames.

A hint of surprise appeared on the woman's face, she had not expected these cultivators to be able to withstand her power.

As the battle continued, the woman began to feel pressure, her body became illusory in the flames, her power started to wane. Longling and the others did not miss this opportunity, they intensified their attacks—the Light Sword, wind blades, cloud shields, Ghost Dance—all attacks converged into a powerful force that struck straight at her true form.

The woman let out a painful roar, her body began to collapse under the attack, the power of the flames started to dissipate.

Finally, in a thunderous roar, the woman's body completely collapsed, turning into countless sparks of fire that dispersed in the air.

With the woman's dissipation, the flames in the palace gradually died down, the magma sea returned to calm.

Longling and the others stood in the palace, their bodies exhausted, their eyes gleaming with the light of victory.

They stood at the center of the palace, panting, their eyes flashing with victory. However, just as they were about to take a brief rest, the palace floor suddenly transmitted a strange vibration.

"Ong—long—long…"

This sound was deep and powerful, as if coming from the depths of the earth's core, carrying an ancient and mysterious force.

Everyone's faces changed, they immediately realized that this vibration might bring danger.

As the vibration intensified, cracks began to appear on the ground, emitting scorching red light from within, as if they were passages leading to the earth's core.

Longling and the others retreated nervously, gripping their weapons, warily watching these cracks, unsure what would happen next.

Suddenly, a strong force surged from the cracks, the entire palace began to shake, as if an earthquake.

Longling and the others barely kept their footing, their eyes focused on the center of the cracks, where jets of magma began to gush out, forming a huge magma pool.

"Careful, it's magma!" Heifeng shouted to his companions, his voice tinged with tension.

The magma's temperature is extremely high; once touched, even cultivators like them would find it hard to endure.

However, just as they were preparing to deal with the magma threat, an even more astonishing sight appeared.

In the center of the magma pool, a fiery red Chinese parasol tree slowly rose up, this tree was unlike any plant they had ever seen, its trunk straight and stout, its surface covered with a layer of fiery red bark, as if condensed from magma.

The Chinese parasol tree's branches and leaves were lush, each leaf radiating brilliant light, as if woven from flames.

At the tree's top hung many Chinese parasol tree seeds, they glittered brightly, like burning stars, illuminating the entire palace.

Longling and the others stared wide-eyed at the Chinese parasol tree, stunned by this sacred and magnificent sight.

They could feel that this Chinese parasol tree was not an ordinary plant; the power it emanated was strong and divine, as if it were the essence of heaven and earth condensed.

"Could this be the legendary Fire Chinese Parasol Tree?" Huang Daxian's voice trembled slightly, his eyes filled with awe.

The Fire Chinese Parasol Tree is a legendary divine tree, it grows in the magma at the earth's core, absorbing the essence of earth fire, each of its seeds contains tremendous power.

Longling nodded, his eyes fixed on the Fire Chinese Parasol Tree, a strong desire welling up in his heart.

This Fire Chinese Parasol Tree is definitely an important secret of the ancient pagoda, its power could be of great help to their expedition.

Just as they were preparing to approach the Fire Chinese Parasol Tree, the tree suddenly emitted dazzling rays of light.

These rays, like flames, danced in the air, forming beautiful patterns.

Longling and the others were drawn to these rays, feeling that the patterns seemed to contain some profound law.

As the rays danced, the Fire Chinese Parasol Tree's branches and leaves swayed gently, emitting pleasant bell-like sounds.

The bell sound was clear and lingering, as if it were the heavenly chant of the universe, purifying and elevating the mind.

Longling and the others closed their eyes, immersed in this wonderful bell sound, feeling the power of the Fire Chinese Parasol Tree. He

They felt that their body and soul were elevated by this power's baptism, their cultivation level increased unconsciously.

As the bell sound continued, the seeds of the Fire Chinese Parasol Tree began to fall one by one, they fluttered in the air like meteors, eventually landing on Longling and the others.

Each seed carried a warm power, merging into Longling and the others' bodies, making them feel an unprecedented fullness and strength.

Longling opened his eyes, feeling his body filled with power, his cultivation level had broken through its previous bottleneck, reaching a new realm.

He looked at his companions, seeing that their faces were filled with surprise and gratitude, obviously they had also received the grace of the Fire Parasol Tree.

"The power of this Fire Parasol Tree is truly amazing!" Tie Ya exclaimed, and his power also increased greatly.

His skin became harder, as if forged from steel, and each of his punches carried immense power, enough to split mountains and crack rocks.

"The power of the Fire Parasol Tree has already helped us raise our Cultivation Level; now we are stronger and can continue forward."

"Yes!" everyone replied in unison, their voices filled with determination and confidence.

Longling took the lead, the others closely followed, they surrounded the Fire Parasol Tree, which stood still in the lava pool, its branches and leaves swaying in the hot wind, emitting a series of pleasant bell-like sounds.

On the walls of the surrounding palace, the originally fierce hound patterns, under the light of the Fire Parasol Tree, became gentle; their eyes no longer flashed with a dim light, but instead showed a sense of peace and tranquility.

Longling and the others could feel that the power of the Fire Parasol Tree was changing this palace, and even those creatures controlled by fire had been purified.

As they went deeper, the palace floor began to become transparent; through the transparent floor, they could see the rolling lava below.

In the lava, flames occasionally shot up into the sky, gorgeous like fireworks.

"Look, there's a door over there!" Feng Yu pointed ahead and said.

In the light of the Fire Parasol Tree, a door that had previously gone unnoticed slowly appeared, its surface carved with exquisite patterns of parasol trees and phoenixes dancing together, lifelike, as if a phoenix might fly out at any moment.

Longling stepped forward, lightly touching the patterns on the door, feeling a powerful force surging beyond it.

As the door opened, a warm light streamed out from behind it, surrounding them; behind the door was a vast space, at its center a great fire pool, within which blazing flames burned.

But unlike the previous lava, these flames were not scorching; they emitted a warm, gentle light that illuminated the entire space.

Above the fire pool, a huge Phoenix hovered silently.

The Phoenix's body was made of flame, its feathers glittering with golden light, its eyes like two radiant gems, emitting the light of wisdom.

Around the Phoenix, flames formed beautiful patterns, as if dancing in the air.

Longling and the others were stunned by this sacred sight; the Phoenix gazed at them silently, its eyes holding no hostility, only a deep scrutiny.

"Caw…."

The Phoenix's voice echoed in the air, its wings lightly fluttering, the flames in the fire pool began to change, merging with the Phoenix into a Phoenix Jade Pendant that fell into Longling's hand.