Recommended:

Upon the summit of Fiery Persimmon Mountain.

Layers of smoke and clouds billowed, and cultivators, led by Meng Kui, gathered together.

With the double concealment of spells and grand formations, the countless Redstone Demon Heads suspended above Fiery Persimmon Mountain could not interfere here.

As the only Nascent Soul grand cultivator present, Meng Kui surveyed the surroundings, then cast a spell, displaying the battle situation of Fiery Persimmon Mountain for all Golden Core cultivators present.

Vast numbers of Scarlet Flame Demonic Beasts layered upon each other, densely surrounding the Molten Lava Immortal Palace.

A considerable portion also charged towards Fiery Persimmon Immortal City.

Within Fiery Persimmon Immortal City, numerous cultivators, whether on the front lines or within the city, were making their contributions.

Fei Si remained alone in the city, presiding over the grand scheme.

Zhu Xuanji, Chi Dun, and the Golden Core cultivators from the three families all came before Meng Kui.

The spell projection constantly changed, revealing many critical corners of the battlefield.

Imposing and powerful Scarlet Flame Demonic Beasts were displayed before everyone. Especially notable among them was a Fiery Snake, faintly discernible within the magma, its body long and slender, already presenting a Flood Dragon form!

A Nascent Soul level Fiery Snake!

The hearts of the Golden Cores sank.

Meng Kui, with a solemn expression, slowly opened his mouth: “The current situation, as you have all witnessed.”

“But according to my calculations, this is merely the beginning of the demonic beast tide.”

“As time passes, the scale of this beast tide will expand further.”

“By then, it is likely not just this one Nascent Soul level Fiery Snake.”

The Golden Cores couldn’t help but be moved.

Compared to human cultivators, demonic beasts often possessed tough hides and thick flesh, long lifespans, and a great physical advantage.

Meng Kui was not a Body Cultivator and could not directly engage in fierce combat against a Nascent Soul level demonic beast. He could only rely on the grand city protection formation to defend.

The combination of Meng Kui and the Immortal City’s grand formation was viable against one Nascent Soul level demonic beast, holding the advantage in combat strength.

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

If there were three… then plans would have to be made to relocate the city residents and seek aid from the royal family.

“Generally speaking, it is not common for two Nascent Soul level demonic beasts to appear in a single beast tide,” Ning Jiufan said.

Chi Dun sighed: “But our situation this time is unusual. The shots were fired from the Molten Lava Immortal Palace, blasting a large area. The demonic beast hordes are in a state of extreme rage and desire for revenge.”

“In normal times, Nascent Soul level beings don’t directly confront each other. But now, they are determined to seek revenge and destroy the Molten Lava Immortal Palace, so it is quite possible for Nascent Soul level demonic beasts to join forces!”

The Golden Cores’ complexions turned gloomy.

“Speaking of which, why did the Molten Lava Immortal Palace suddenly fire, and bombard Fiery Persimmon Mountain, angering so many Scarlet Flame demonic beast hordes?” Zhou Nongying asked.

Meng Kui remained silent. With a thought, the spell projection began to replay the scene of the previous bombardment.

He had been stationed atop the mountain, overlooking the Molten Lava Immortal Palace, with a clear view, allowing him to observe various scenes within the Immortal Palace.

Although he was cultivating in isolation at the time and did not immediately detect the abnormal movement of the cannon tower, his magical artifact placed within the cloud and smoke had been continuously recording everything in the surroundings.

Thus, the Golden Cores saw the Five Elements Cannon Tower within the Molten Lava Immortal Palace, which was originally three stories, rise up, becoming six stories.

Subsequently, cannon muzzles protruded from each layer.

After the infusion of magical power, the main cannons and auxiliary cannons roared in unison, firing a large number of Five Elements cannonballs. After drawing multicolored trails in the air, they all plunged into the magma, eventually exploding deep within the body of Fiery Persimmon Mountain.

“The Palace Spirit has gone mad?!” Zheng Shuanggou exclaimed in surprise.

“Could it be that it sensed some great threat, and thus struck preemptively?” Zheng Danlian speculated.

“No, such a bombardment is far too provocative. This is luring the demonic beasts to attack!” Zhu Xuanji judged.

Golden light flickered in his eyes, and his face was solemn: “This was premeditated, it was man-made.”

“A cultivator controlled the Five Elements Cannon Tower, bombarded Fiery Persimmon Mountain, and single-handedly triggered this catastrophe!”

“This culprit is heinous, disregarding the lives of countless beings, and his intentions are utterly sinister.”

“I swear, I will capture him and bring him to justice!”

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

“Can someone still control this cannon tower? Is it because they have accumulated enough merit and contribution to obtain the relevant position?” Zhou Nongying analyzed.

Ning Jiufan stroked his beard: “Strange, where is the Palace Spirit? Did it just let the culprit run rampant without any hindrance?”

Zhu Xuanji clenched his teeth and sighed softly: “Don’t count on it. The state of the Molten Lava Immortal Palace’s Palace Spirit must be very poor, likely unable to make decisions of a normal degree.”

Zhu Xuanji glanced at Meng Kui, then explained: “Before, when Qi Bai and Sun Lingtong, Cui Tiao Ke fought, the demonic beasts were also attacking the Molten Lava Immortal Palace. It can be seen that the defenses within the Immortal Palace were weak, and the formation arrangement had significant problems. Ultimately, the Palace Spirit dispatched the Mechanism Dao Master, and only then did it barely manage to hold on and drive the external enemies out of the palace.”

“I found a Mechanism Demon General within Fiery Persimmon Mountain and used it to trace the source. I also saw that the Palace Spirit’s state was too poor, causing the Mechanism Demon General to perish in battle and be lost outside.”

“I suspect that the Buddhist Physician among the three major mechanisms likely suffered the same fate.”

The Golden Cores were speechless.

Zhou Nongying’s voice was dry: “So that’s how it is.”

Meng Kui remained calm. He did not inform Zhu Xuanji of his crucial discovery. Instead, he allowed his speculations to be off the mark.

Why should he tell Zhu Xuanji?

Meng Kui’s cultivation of the “Observing the Wind and Clouds from the Mountain” divine ability came at a high cost. He had lost a significant amount of lifespan to uncover the truth, and he would never easily reveal it to an enemy.

Furthermore, Meng Kui saw a certain possibility of his Meng family cooperating with the Flood Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit from its objective.

Precisely because of this possibility, it was even less likely that Meng Kui would inform Zhu Xuanji of his calculations.

Meng Kui deliberated for a moment and slowly opened his mouth: “Everyone, the culprit must indeed be found and severely punished.”

“But at present, our real problem is not apprehending the true culprit, but ensuring that the true culprit’s actions to destroy Fiery Persimmon Immortal City fail.”

“At present, the most important thing is how we endure this demonic beast tide!”

Apprehending the true culprit and inheriting the legacy are secondary. The real focus is how to resist the demonic beast tide.

If the resistance fails, whether the Molten Lava Immortal Palace exists is questionable.

The Golden Cores were all worried.

They all understood the principle of interdependence.

If the Immortal Palace does not exist, it is likely that the Immortal City cannot be protected either.

The reason is obvious – when the nest is overturned, no eggs are left unbroken!

No one can guarantee that the demonic beasts, having conquered and trampled the Molten Lava Immortal Palace, will quell their anger and return to their nests obediently.

More likely, their anger will not have subsided, and they will surge down, completely inundating Fiery Persimmon Immortal City!

If such a situation truly occurs, tens of thousands of people will surely die, perishing miserably in the mouths of various Scarlet Flame demonic beasts.

Zheng Shuanggou: “The Molten Lava Immortal Palace is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is currently attracting the most demonic beasts, so we must assist in defending, killing as many demonic beasts as possible to make them retreat in the face of difficulty.”

There are too many Scarlet Flame demonic beasts; they cannot be killed completely.

But after killing a certain number, the demonic beast hordes will voluntarily retreat one by one.

In this situation, only by killing to stop killing and demonstrating the strength of the human race can the extremely enraged demonic beasts regain their composure.

Without Meng Kui’s persuasion, the Golden Cores, with their broad vision and insight into the battlefield, quickly reached a consensus after some exchange.

To protect the Immortal City, their home, they must vigorously protect the Molten Lava Immortal Palace.

The Molten Lava Immortal Palace also concerns the legacy of the three sects’ Supreme Beings, representing immense benefit, and must not be lost!

Meng Kui said solemnly: “The current situation indeed requires Golden Core cultivators to be stationed in the Molten Lava Immortal Palace.”

“Currently, we have only detected one Nascent Soul level Fiery Snake.”

“But the scale of this beast tide is so huge that it is certainly not just one Nascent Soul level demonic beast that has emerged. We need to take precautions in advance!”

“The three sects’ Supreme Beings were Void Refining level grand cultivators. This is one of their palaces, and the palace itself is very powerful.”

“You Golden Core cultivators, relying on the Molten Lava Immortal Palace, can gain a huge geographical advantage and resist opponents of the Nascent Soul level.”

The Golden Core cultivators understood Meng Kui’s meaning.

He needed someone to contain the Nascent Soul level demonic beasts head-on, and then seize the opportunity for him to personally kill them.

If two Nascent Soul level demonic beasts emerged simultaneously, then the Golden Core cultivators must rely on the Molten Lava Immortal Palace to temporarily entangle one of them, leaving the other for Meng Kui to handle.

On the human cultivator side, the core combat strength was Meng Kui.

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

Zhou Nongying suddenly said: “Do we need to seek aid from the Southern Bean royal family now?”

Meng Kui shook his head, indicating that, for the time being, there was no need for this based on the current situation.

He had no desire to seek aid at all.

On the one hand, the situation had not yet reached that point. On the other hand, once he did so, his political achievements would inevitably be greatly reduced.

Meng Kui looked at Zhu Xuanji: “I intend to mobilize all manpower to defend the Molten Lava Immortal Palace.”

“The Purple Firmament Pavilion and the Grand Purity Palace can both be invited for assistance. What does Divine Constable Zhu think?”

The complexions of the two Golden Cores from the Zheng family changed slightly.

Zhu Xuanji nodded, indicating his approval.

It was impossible for Meng Kui not to know that the Golden Core True Disciple of the Grand Purity Palace had been killed. But he pretended not to know, his words flawless, fully demonstrating the experience of an Immortal Official.

Meng Kui then said: “The power of that Cloud Merchant can also be utilized. Especially that Cloud Whale, it is after all a Nascent Soul level being. Divine Constable Zhu, what do you think?”

Zhu Xuanji nodded: “This cloud merchant team is large in scale and capable of traversing the five lakes and four seas, so they naturally have some skills. In terms of combat strength, more can be expected.”

“However, they are outsiders after all, and we cannot be completely careless.”

“Furthermore, negotiating the dispatch of troops with them will require the City Lord’s Manor to step forward personally.”

Meng Kui nodded slightly and finally said: “Besides them, there are also Yang Chanyu and Luo Shang, these two Golden Core cultivators, in Fiery Persimmon Immortal City.”

“What does Divine Constable Zhu think of these two?”

Zhu Xuanji pondered: “If we lure them with heavy rewards, it is not impossible to borrow their strength.”

Meng Kui’s expression relaxed.

He could not propose this matter directly, as the charge of colluding with Demonic Dao individuals would be very detrimental to Meng Kui’s future political career.

But a royal family member like Zhu Xuanji was different.

Recruiting two individuals from the Demonic Dao was a very sensitive matter, extremely easy to be exploited by political opponents, becoming evidence and leverage to target and attack oneself.

And the benefits of recruiting them were also quite considerable.

On the one hand, it was to borrow Golden Core combat strength. On the other hand, it was to guard against the two of them, arranging them under his nose in advance to suppress them and prevent them from causing trouble.

Zhu Xuanji: “I need to send a letter to the King to report the situation here.”

“Furthermore, I have another suggestion.”

“We all have renovation teams in these four parties. It is time to let these team members collectively enter the Immortal Palace!”

The bombardment of the Five Elements Cannon Tower made Zhu Xuanji place even greater importance on the various positions within the Immortal Palace.

Referencing Ning Xiaohui’s situation, Zhu Xuanji believed that the members of the renovation team were trial disciples, insiders of the Molten Lava 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, no matter how hard someone like Zhu Xuanji who practiced other cultivation methods tried, were not within their options.

They were simply not selectable!

The Golden Cores exchanged glances for a moment, then someone nodded: “Doing so is correct, but what if one party secretly enters the Immortal Palace while we are resisting the demonic beast tide and fiercely competes for the Immortal Palace’s legacy? What should we do?”

Zhu Xuanji had already anticipated this question, and he immediately said: “Sign an alliance, binding us and all members of the renovation team.”

“While the beast tide rages, no one is allowed to enter the Immortal Palace in spirit and secretly compete for the three sects’ legacy!”

“We desperately need our own people to occupy the various positions within the Immortal Palace so that we can better unleash the power of the Immortal Palace!”

Everyone had no objection, and after a brief discussion about the content of the alliance, they all signed it.

Zhu Zhen found Zhu Xuanji.

“Brother, I was right to come here. Now that the demonic beasts are raging, I also want to help you,” Zhu Zhen said.

Zhu Xuanji was curious: “Have you finished investigating Ning Zhuo?”

Zhu Zhen smiled bitterly: “Brother, how long has it been? I am not a Nascent Soul grand cultivator, so how many results can I have?”

“However…”

He then changed the subject: “This young man is indeed unusual.”

“He experienced many hardships in his early years, is very courageous, and dares to strive.”

“He is good at scheming, but seems different from those who are servile. Although he is only at the Qi Refining stage, I always feel that he also possesses Golden Core cultivation.”

“Brother, 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 Northern Wind Kingdom and came to our country. They have temporarily established themselves and are alienated from other forces.”

“In this situation, the Ning family is the most suitable on-site ally for our Zhu royal family.”

“Furthermore, Ning Zhuo possesses talent. If he achieves success in cultivation in the future, he will surely have abilities that surpass the ordinary. The possibility of him cultivating into a Golden Core is very high…”

After listening to Zhu Zhen’s words, Zhu Xuanji quickly waved his hand: “Wait, wait. I asked you to investigate him, not to praise him.”

Zhu Zhen laughed heartily and winked: “Brother, don’t be so reserved.”

“When I investigated him, I discovered that there were at least two other groups secretly investigating Ning Zhuo.”

“If you truly want to recruit him, you have to hurry. If such a good seedling falls into the hands of other forces, it will not be good for our Zhu family.”

Zhu Xuanji fell silent.

Zhu Zhen raised his request again, wanting to offer assistance and enter the Molten Lava Immortal Palace to resist the beast tide.

Zhu Xuanji was in hesitation.

Compared to the beast tide, the strength of the human side was indeed at a clear disadvantage.

Therefore, at this moment, every fighting force was important.

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

“When the Five Elements Cannon Tower fired, Ning Zhuo’s spirit was in the Immortal Palace.”

“He could not have controlled the cannon tower.”

“He has also never been seen to physically enter the Immortal Palace.”

“He is merely at the fourth level of Qi Refining… his suspicion can be eliminated.”

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

“You go to the Immortal Palace to resist the beast tide.”

“With your mechanical attainments, it will be easy to meet the standard to physically enter the Immortal Palace.”

Zhu Zhen was overjoyed and quickly cupped his fists: “Thank you, brother!”

Molten Lava Immortal Palace, Main Hall.

The Flood Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit was nervous and uneasy, constantly pacing back and forth.

“It’s over, I’m finished!” The Flood Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit was trembling all over with nervousness.

It knew very well that it could not block these extremely angry Scarlet Flame demonic beasts by itself.

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

The Golden Cores united, came near the Immortal Palace, received the illumination of the precious light, and entered the Immortal Palace together.

After arriving at the Immortal Palace, they immediately rushed to the front lines in all directions to participate in the battle and resist the beast tide.

“Whew!”

Seeing this scene, the Flood Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit was completely relieved.

It lay on the throne for a while before recovering.

Its gaze penetrated space, scanning all parts of the battle line, and gradually it began to grin.

“Ning Zhuo! As expected of you.”

“The development of the situation is exactly as you predicted!”

“Although we were the ones who bombed the demonic beasts, the consequences are borne by the Golden Cores.”

“This feeling is really exhilarating!”

“But do you know what makes me happiest?”

“Hahaha, from now on, you will have no chance for the position of Palace Master.”

“No matter how cunning you are, you ultimately suffered from a lack of information, allowing me to scheme against you this time. Hehehe!”

There were many things that the Flood Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit did not tell Ning Zhuo.

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

Although Ning Zhuo had a position, he fired cannons, provoking the beast tide, and ultimately implicating the entire Molten Lava Immortal Palace in damage.

When the final settlement was made, his merit would be severely deducted, becoming a deficit within a deficit!

Ning Zhuo would be completely disqualified from the final palace examination slot.

“So, I, Yuan Yuan, am the ultimate big winner!”