Chapter 256: The Giant Turtle is the Ultimate Winner

Mount Huoshi summit.

Amidst layers of clouds and mist, the cultivators, led by Meng Kui, gathered together.

With the dual concealment of spells and the grand formation, the countless red rock demons hovering above Mount Huoshi could not disturb them here.

Meng Kui, the only Nascent Soul cultivator present, swept his gaze across the room and then cast a spell to display the battle situation of Mount Huoshi for all the Golden Core cultivators to see.

Vast swarms of red-flame spirit beasts layered upon one another, densely surrounding the Molten Immortal Palace.

A significant portion was also charging toward Huoshi Immortal City.

In Huoshi Immortal City, countless cultivators were making their contributions on the front lines or within the city.

Fei Si remained in the city, presiding over the overall situation.

Zhu Xuanji, Chi Dun, and the Golden Core cultivators of the three great families all arrived before Meng Kui.

The magical images shifted constantly, revealing many critical corners of the battlefield.

Strong and fierce red-flame spirit beasts were displayed before everyone. Notably, a fire-walking snake lurked in the magma, its body slender and already showing the posture of a flood dragon!

A Nascent Soul-level fire-walking snake!

The hearts of the Golden Core cultivators sank.

Meng Kui wore a grave expression and spoke slowly: "The situation before us has been witnessed by all."

"But according to my calculations, this is merely the beginning of the spirit beast tide."

"As time passes, the scale of this tide will continue to expand."

"By then, it is likely that there will be more than just this one Nascent Soul-level fire-walking snake."

The Golden Core cultivators were moved.

Compared to human cultivators, spirit beasts are often thick-skinned and fleshy, possess long lifespans, and occupy a massive advantage in physique.

Meng Kui is not a body cultivator; to resist a Nascent Soul-level spirit beast, he cannot engage in close-quarters combat but must rely on the city-protecting grand formation to hold his ground.

The combination of Meng Kui and the Immortal City grand formation is capable of resisting one Nascent Soul-level spirit beast, holding the advantage in combat power.

But if there were two, it would be different; the human side would be at a disadvantage.

If there were three... then they would have to plan the evacuation of the city's residents and seek reinforcements from the royal family.

"Generally speaking, it is quite uncommon for two Nascent Soul-level spirit beasts to appear in a single tide," Ning Jiufan said.

Chi Dun sighed: "But our situation this time is extraordinary; the Molten Immortal Palace fired its cannons, blowing up a massive area and leaving the spirit beast communities in a state of intense rage and desire for revenge."

"In such circumstances, Nascent Soul-level spirit beasts usually don't interfere with one another, but now that everyone is bent on revenge and wants to destroy the Molten Immortal Palace, it is highly possible for them to join forces!"

The expressions of the Golden Core cultivators turned gloomy.

"Speaking of which, why did the Molten Immortal Palace suddenly fire its cannons, and why did it bombard Mount Huoshi, provoking so many red-flame spirit beast communities?" Zhou Nongying asked.

Meng Kui remained silent. With a thought, the magical image began to reenact the scene of the previous bombardment.

He had been sitting on the summit, overlooking the Molten Immortal Palace, and his vision was quite clear, allowing him to observe the various scenes within the palace.

Although he had been meditating and had not discovered the movement of the artillery tower immediately, the magic treasure he had placed in the clouds had been recording everything around it.

Thus, the Golden Core cultivators saw the five-element artillery tower within the Molten Immortal Palace, originally three stories tall, rising with a clatter to become six stories tall.

Subsequently, artillery muzzles extended from every floor.

After the infusion of spiritual power, the main and secondary cannons roared in unison, firing a large number of five-element shells that streaked through the air in colorful arcs before plunging into the magma and exploding deep within the body of Mount Huoshi.

"The Palace Spirit has gone mad?!" Zheng Shuangou was surprised.

"Could it be that it sensed some massive threat and struck preemptively?" Zheng Danlian speculated.

"No, such a bombardment is too provocative; this is an attempt to lure the spirit beasts to attack!" Zhu Xuanji made his judgment.

Golden light flickered in his eyes, and his face was full of sternness: "This was premeditated, it was man-made. A cultivator manipulated the five-element artillery tower, bombarded Mount Huoshi, and single-handedly triggered such a catastrophe!"

"This culprit is extremely vicious, disregarding the lives of thousands of living beings, and their motives are unfathomable."

"I swear, I will catch them and bring them to justice!"

Zhu Xuanji's gaze was sharp, and his heart was filled with anger.

"Is there still someone who can manipulate this artillery tower? Is it because they accumulated enough merit and contributions to obtain the relevant position?" Zhou Nongying analyzed.

Ning Jiufan stroked his beard: "Strange, where is the Palace Spirit? Why does it let the culprit run wild without stopping them at all?"

Zhu Xuanji gritted his teeth and sighed softly: "Don't count on it. The state of the Molten Immortal Palace's Palace Spirit must be very poor, likely unable to make normal decisions."

Zhu Xuanji glanced at Meng Kui and then explained: "Previously, when Qi Bai fought Sun Lingtong and the 'Disheveled Guest', the spirit beasts were also attacking the Molten Immortal Palace. It could be seen that the defense within the palace was weak and the formation was problematic. In the end, the Palace Spirit dispatched mechanical masters to barely hold on and drive the external enemies out of the palace."

"I searched for the mechanical demon general within Mount Huoshi and used it to trace the source, also seeing that the Palace Spirit's state was too poor, causing the mechanical demon general to perish in battle and be lost outside."

"I suspect that the Buddha-Doctor among the three great mechanical constructs likely suffered the same fate."

The Golden Core cultivators were stunned.

Zhou Nongying's voice was dry: "So that's how it is."

Meng Kui remained calm. He did not inform Zhu Xuanji of his key discovery, instead letting his speculations deviate.

Why should he tell Zhu Xuanji?

Meng Kui's use of the "Sit on the Mountain and Watch the Clouds" divine ability came at a high cost. He had lost much of his lifespan to obtain the truth, and he would not easily share it with an opponent.

Moreover, Meng Kui also saw a possibility of cooperation between his Meng family and the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit.

Precisely because of this possibility, Meng Kui could not possibly inform Zhu Xuanji of his calculated results.

Meng Kui pondered for a moment and spoke slowly: "Everyone, the culprit must indeed be found and severely punished."

"But right now, our real problem is not capturing the culprit, but ensuring the culprit's attempt to destroy Huoshi Immortal City fails."

"Right now, the most important thing is how we survive this spirit beast tide!"

Capturing the culprit and inheriting the legacy were secondary; the real focus was resisting the beast tide.

If the resistance failed, whether the Molten Immortal Palace would even exist was a question.

The Golden Core cultivators were all worried.

They all understood the principle that if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.

If the Immortal Palace were destroyed, the Immortal City would likely be hard to preserve.

The reason was obvious—when the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact!

No one could guarantee that the spirit beasts that conquered and trampled the Molten Immortal Palace would calm their anger and return to their nests.

It was far more likely that their anger would remain, and they would surge down to completely drown Huoshi Immortal City!

It is more likely that they have not yet dissipated their anger, surging downwards, completely submerging Fire Persimmon Immortal City!

Zheng Shuangou: "The Molten Immortal Palace is easy to defend and hard to attack. Right now, it is attracting the most spirit beasts, so we must assist in its defense and kill as many spirit beasts as possible to make them retreat in the face of difficulties."

There were too many red-flame spirit beasts; they could not be killed off entirely.

But if they killed enough, the spirit beast communities would voluntarily retreat one by one.

In such a situation, only by killing to stop the killing and showing the strength of the human race could the enraged spirit beasts be calmed.

There was no need for Meng Kui to persuade them; the Golden Core cultivators had broad horizons and insight into the battle situation. After a brief exchange, they quickly reached a consensus.

To protect the home that was the Immortal City, they had to hold the Molten Immortal Palace.

The Molten Immortal Palace also concerned the legacy of the Three Sects' Supreme Masters, and the benefits were immense; it absolutely could not be lost!

Meng Kui said in a deep voice: "Given the current situation, it is indeed necessary for Golden Core cultivators to sit in the Molten Immortal Palace."

"Currently, we have only detected one Nascent Soul-level fire-walking snake."

"But the scale of this beast tide is so massive that it is certain that more than one Nascent Soul-level spirit beast will be dispatched. We must take precautions in advance!"

"But the scale of this beast tide is so huge that it is certain that more than one Nascent Soul-level monster beast has been dispatched. We need to take precautions in advance!"

"You Golden Core cultivators, relying on the Molten Immortal Palace, can occupy a massive geographical advantage and resist Nascent Soul-level opponents."

The Golden Core cultivators understood Meng Kui's meaning.

He needed someone to hold off the Nascent Soul-level spirit beasts head-on, then strive for a tactical opportunity for him to personally slay them.

If two Nascent Soul-level spirit beasts were dispatched simultaneously, the Golden Core cultivators would have to rely on the Molten Immortal Palace to temporarily entangle one, leaving the other to Meng Kui.

The core combat power on the human side was Meng Kui.

Only when he held the advantage could the human cultivators hold the advantage in the entire beast tide battle!

Zhou Nongying suddenly asked: "Do we need to seek reinforcements from the Southern Bean royal family now?"

Meng Kui shook his head, indicating that there was no such need for the time being.

He did not want to seek reinforcements at all.

On one hand, the situation had not yet reached that point. On the other hand, if he were to do so, his political achievements would inevitably be greatly diminished.

Meng Kui looked at Zhu Xuanji: "I intend to gather all available manpower to hold the Molten Immortal Palace."

"Both the Purple Heaven Pavilion and the Taiqing Palace can be invited to send reinforcements. What does the Divine Catcher Zhu think?"

The two Golden Core cultivators of the Zheng family turned slightly pale.

Zhu Xuanji nodded, indicating his approval.

Meng Kui could not possibly be unaware that the Taiqing Palace's Golden Core true disciple had been killed. But he pretended not to know, his words devoid of any flaws, fully displaying the sophistication of an immortal official.

Meng Kui added: "The power of the Cloud Merchants can also be borrowed. Especially that cloud whale, which is a Nascent Soul-level entity. Divine Catcher Zhu, what do you think?"

Zhu Xuanji nodded: "This Cloud Merchant team is massive in scale and capable of galloping across the four seas, so they naturally have some tricks up their sleeves. In terms of combat power, we can have higher expectations."

"However, they are outsiders after all, so we cannot let our guard down completely."

"Moreover, negotiating with them to send troops still requires the City Lord's Mansion to come forward personally."

Meng Kui nodded slightly and finally said: "Besides them, there are still two Golden Core cultivators in Huoshi Immortal City: Yang Chanyu and Luo Shang."

"How does Divine Catcher Zhu view them?"

Zhu Xuanji pondered: "If we use heavy rewards to entice them, it would be acceptable to borrow their power."

Meng Kui's expression relaxed.

He could not directly propose this matter; after all, the crime of colluding with the demonic path was extremely detrimental to his future political career.

But Zhu Xuanji, a member of the royal family, was different.

Matters such as recruiting two demonic path figures were quite sensitive and easily exploited by political enemies to become evidence or leverage against him.

And the benefits of recruiting them were also quite substantial.

On one hand, it was to borrow Golden Core combat power. On the other hand, it was to guard against them, placing them under his own nose to suppress them and prevent them from causing trouble.

Zhu Xuanji: "I need to send a letter to report the situation here to the Sovereign."

"In addition, I have a proposal."

"We all have reform teams. It is time to let these team members enter the Immortal Palace collectively!"

The bombardment of the five-element artillery tower made Zhu Xuanji value the various positions within the Immortal Palace even more.

Referring to Ning Xiaohui's situation, Zhu Xuanji believed that the reform team members were all trial disciples and "insiders" of the Molten Immortal Palace. In the path of entering the Immortal Palace, they received great preferential treatment.

They had a great advantage in competing for positions.

Many positions were simply not options for people like Zhu Xuanji, no matter how hard they tried to cultivate other techniques.

They were simply unavailable!

The Golden Core cultivators looked at each other for a while, then nodded: "This is the right thing to do, but if one side secretly enters the Immortal Palace to plunder the Immortal Palace's legacy while we are fighting the beast tide, what should we do?"

Zhu Xuanji had already anticipated this question, and he immediately said: "Sign a covenant to bind us and all members of the reform teams."

"While the beast tide is raging, no one is allowed to enter the Immortal Palace to secretly compete for the Three Sects' legacy!"

"We desperately need our own people to occupy the various positions in the Immortal Palace so that we can better exert the power of the Immortal Palace!"

Everyone had no objections and immediately discussed the contents of the covenant for a short while before signing it.

Zhu Zhen found Zhu Xuanji.

"Brother, I really came to the right place. With the spirit beasts raging, I also want to come and help you." Zhu Zhen said.

Zhu Xuanji was curious: "How is your investigation of Ning Zhuo going?"

Zhu Zhen smiled bitterly: "Brother, how much time has passed? I am not a Nascent Soul great power; how much progress could I have made?"

"However..."

He changed the subject: "This young man is indeed extraordinary."

"He suffered many hardships in his early years, has great courage, and dares to fight."

"He is good at drilling, but he seems different from those who are servile. Even though he is only at the Qi Refining stage, I always feel that he possesses Golden Core cultivation."

"Brother, do you think highly of him and want to cultivate him?"

"Speaking of which, he is indeed a good target."

"The Ning family originated from the North Wind Kingdom and came to our country, temporarily gaining a foothold, but they have barriers with other forces."

"In such a situation, the Ning family is the most suitable local ally for our Zhu family royal family."

"In addition, Ning Zhuo possesses natural talent. If he cultivates successfully in the future, he will inevitably have extraordinary means. The possibility of him cultivating to the Golden Core stage is very high..."

Zhu Xuanji listened to Zhu Zhen's words and waved his hand: "Wait, wait. I asked you to investigate him, not to praise him."

Zhu Zhen laughed and winked: "Brother, don't be so stiff."

"When I was investigating him, I found that at least two other groups were secretly investigating Ning Zhuo."

"If you really want to recruit him, you have to hurry. If such a good seedling falls into the hands of other forces, it won't be good for our Zhu family."

Zhu Xuanji was silent.

Zhu Zhen brought up his request again; he wanted to help and enter the Molten Immortal Palace to fight the beast tide.

Zhu Xuanji hesitated.

Compared to the beast tide, the human side was clearly at a disadvantage in strength.

Therefore, at this very moment, every combat force was important.

At the same time, Ning Zhuo's figure appeared in Zhu Xuanji's mind.

"When the five-element artillery tower fired, Ning Zhuo was entering the Immortal Palace."

"He could not have manipulated the artillery tower."

"And he has never been seen entering the Immortal Palace."

"He is only at the fourth level of Qi Refining... his suspicion can be ruled out."

Thinking of this, Zhu Xuanji nodded to Zhu Zhen: "Very well."

"You go to the Immortal Palace and fight the beast tide."

"With your mechanical attainments, it will be easy for you to meet the standards and enter the Immortal Palace."

Zhu Zhen was overjoyed and clasped his fists: "Thank you, brother!"

Molten Immortal Palace, main hall.

The Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit was nervous, uneasy, and pacing constantly.

"It's over, I'm finished!" The Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit was trembling all over from nervousness.

It knew very well that it could not stop these enraged red-flame spirit beasts on its own.

However, the next moment, Meng Kui personally took action, casting spells to clear a temporary passage.

The Golden Core cultivators united and arrived near the Immortal Palace, accepting the illumination of the precious light before entering the palace together.

After entering the palace, they immediately rushed to the front lines in various directions to participate in the battle and resist the beast tide.

"Whew!"

Seeing this scene, the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit completely relaxed.

It lay on the throne for a long time before recovering.

It scanned the various battle lines, gradually grinning.

"Ning Zhuo! You truly live up to your name."

"The development of the situation is exactly as you predicted!"

"Although we were the ones who bombed the spirit beasts, the consequences are all being borne by the Golden Core cultivators."

"This feeling is truly refreshing!"

"But do you know what makes me happiest?"

"Hahaha, it's that from now on, you will have no chance at the position of Palace Master."

"No matter how cunning you are, you ultimately suffered from a lack of information, and I managed to outmaneuver you this time. Hehehe!"

The Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit had many things it did not tell Ning Zhuo.

For example, participating in the palace examination required merit. And merit would be deducted, becoming a negative number.

Although Ning Zhuo possessed a position, his bombardment triggered the beast tide, ultimately causing damage to the entire Molten Immortal Palace.

When the final settlement came, his merit would be heavily deducted, becoming a deficit of deficits!

Ning Zhuo would have no chance at the final palace examination quota.

"So, I, the Turtle, am the ultimate winner!"

"So, I, Yuan Yuan, am the ultimate winner!"