< Chapter 14: Blast the Immortal Palace! >
Ning Zhuo, relying on his memory of the surroundings, lightly leaped and landed behind Ning Yong. Ning Yong, sensing the air shift behind him, turned around instinctively, his eyes wide as brass bells, but he couldn't see the Cang Tie Han Armor that was so close. With a light strike, Ning Zhuo knocked Ning Yong unconscious, then casually threw him into a corner.
Using the same method, Ning Zhuo also knocked out Ning Chen and tossed him next to Ning Yong.
Having done this, Ning Zhuo quickly retreated, running full force towards the lava lake.
"There's one person directly ahead, five steps away."
"Two people on the left, one step and four steps away."
"Three people grouped defensively to the right, three steps away."
Despite the black smoke obscuring his vision and blocking his spiritual sense, Ning Zhuo had prepared well and clearly remembered the positions of every Ning family cultivator just a moment ago.
While others were as blind, he moved as if his eyes were wide open, skillfully dodging everyone along the way.
His figure was like lightning as he rushed to the front of the lava lake.
Protected by the Cang Tie Han Armor, he was unscathed by the heat.
Ning Zhuo shook his storage bag and released the mechanical Exclusive Monkey inside.
The monkey, half the height of a man, was covered in bright red fur and bulging muscles, moving agilely.
Under Ning Zhuo's control, without a moment's hesitation, the monkey dived straight into the magma.
Ning Zhuo turned and ran!
Every second counted!
The Exclusive Monkey plunged deeper, struggling forward through the dense magma.
The terrifying heat rapidly melted the pure red, blood-like fur of the Exclusive Monkey. The exposed flesh appeared vividly lifelike, but its surface quickly turned black, hard, and brittle as it carbonized rapidly in the magma. The "blood" coursing through the body of the Exclusive Monkey played a crucial role in dissipating heat, evaporating in large quantities and causing plumes of steam to emerge from the surface of the mechanical monkey.
As the Exclusive Monkey reached the surface of the Lava Immortal Palace, it had been melted down to its celestial metallic skeleton. Yet, it had succeeded! Under the control of Ning Zhuo's mental imprint, the storage array was activated, instantly releasing thousands of pounds of Fire Essence.
"It's coming," Ning Zhuo's heart skipped a beat.
Boom—! The exploding blast wave surged violently, forcefully impacting outward. The next moment, the terrifying sound of the explosion thundered by his ears like thunder, the blast wave slamming into his back. Fortunately, he had already activated the Cang Tie Han Armor, which withstood the impact, preventing any bone fractures or tendon tears.
Propelled by the blast wave, he moved to the location in his memory, arriving at a corner and bending over to accurately pick up two people. It was Ning Yong and Ning Chen.
Ning Zhuo crouched in the corner, bending his back and shielding Ning Chen and Ning Yong in front of him, using his back to face the direction of the explosion. The next moment, the blast of firelight came attacking, momentarily pushing back the heavy smoke.
Ning Zhuo struggled to hold his ground, only feeling the temperature on his back rapidly increasing as the iron armor melted, bringing him intense pain. He clenched his teeth, pushing the Han Armor's defenses to their limits.
In just a few breaths, the Foundation Establishment Pill had been severely depleted by twenty percent, leaving only the last ten percent remaining.
Fortunately, Zheng Shuanggou growled lowly, sacrificing his magical instrument to unleash a powerful force that blocked the explosive red flames and the surging lava.
The shadow demon cultivator laughed heartily, "Zheng Shuanggou, I will be back!" As he was leaving, he hurled another black sphere magical instrument.
The black sphere exploded again, creating an immense amount of dark, dense smoke.
Zheng Shuanggou's spiritual sense was constrained; he couldn't make out anything beyond a few yards, let alone lock onto the enemy. He also had to maintain the underground tunnel to prevent it from collapsing and burying him alive, which infuriated him to the point of nearly vomiting blood, leaving him no choice but to stay put.
By the time the black smoke had cleared, all Zheng Shuanggou could see were the tunnel walls, devastated to the extreme, and the original site of the lava lake now completely enveloped in layers of lava. The corner of the Immortal Palace's structure was also completely buried.
Furthermore, there were Ning Family cultivators lying on the ground, some of whom were still alive but unconscious.
Zheng Shuanggou cursed under his breath, "Damn it!" His gaze flickered for a moment, but he did not rashly pursue.
The mysterious demon cultivator had vanished, and Zheng Shuanggou was concerned about being lured away from his position. To prevent the enemy from making a sudden return attack, he decided to stay put.
He made a move to rescue the Ning Family cultivators.
Ning Zhuo, employing the Buddha Heart Demon Seal, pretended to be unconscious, successfully deceiving Zheng Shuanggou. When the right moment arrived, Ning Zhuo slowly opened his eyes to find himself back at the crater of the volcano.
After this series of perilous events, only eleven Ning Family cultivators had survived.
"With the aid of black smoke, no one should have discovered that I am the true culprit behind the explosion!"
"This time, it went smoother than I imagined."
"Although the explosion was triggered, did I really succeed?"
Ning Zhuo pondered secretly.
"I survived, I actually survived! Wuu wuu wuu…" Ning Yong came to his senses, crying loudly.
Ning Chen also woke up as if from a dream, his face deathly pale, filled with fear: "All the other newcomers are dead. It's just our luck that we survived."
Unbeknownst to them, their survival was all thanks to Ning Zhuo's protection.
The two approached Ning Zhuo, Ning Chen asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
"Are you injured?" Ning Yong also asked.
After this life-and-death battle, their impression of Ning Zhuo had drastically changed. During this perilous exploration, Ning Zhuo had displayed calmness and bravery, which secretly earned their admiration.
Their moment of concern was genuinely heartfelt.
At first, Ning Zhuo appeared dazed, with a vacant look in his eyes. Coming to his senses, he suddenly showed the exhaustion and fear of someone who had just survived a catastrophe.
Such expressions did not affect Ning Chen and Ning Yong's perception of him; rather, they felt even closer to him.
They had, after all, experienced the great terror between life and death vividly and empathetically.
On the other hand, they had fought side by side and shared life-and-death experiences.
Ning Zhuo took a few deep breaths and managed a wry smile, "I can't believe we all survived… It's wonderful… But I never want to enter the Red Flame Demon Molten Cave again."
Ning Chen and Ning Yong quickly offered words of comfort.
The awakened cultivators of the Ning family stood up; some treated their injuries, while others thanked Zheng Shuanggou.
Zheng Shuanggou watched as numerous city guards entered through the ground opening in single file and snorted coldly, "Your Ning family was used by that demon cultivator! He used your presence to hide himself, which I failed to detect momentarily. Later, he even lured a small beast tide to confuse the situation."
"After you return, prepare to apologize!" he declared.
The cultivators from the Ning family were stunned, but then argued: The opponent was a Golden Core demon cultivator; our Ning family is weak, which is why the enemy took advantage. Moreover, our family has suffered the heaviest losses!
Zheng Shuanggou waved his hand impatiently, "Take your excuses to your clan leader and the city lord."
Any remnants of good spirits from their narrow escape were wiped clean.
Before parting, the Ning family cultivators once again solemnly thanked him, "Thanks to Lord Zheng Shuanggou's efforts in repelling the demon cultivator, he was prevented from succeeding."
No matter what, Zheng Shuanggou was their lifesaver.
Just as the two groups were about to part, suddenly, the ground shook violently!
Countless beams of treasure light burst through the various holes, piercing through the volcanic smoke and into the depths of the night sky.
Beneath the feet of the cultivators, the grand formation sealing the volcano's mouth operated at full speed, displaying dragon and snake-like lines and points.
The city guards began to shout, raising an alarm.
"What's going on?!" The Ning family cultivators staggered, struggling to maintain their balance, many screaming in shock.
Zheng Shuanggou's expression turned extremely ugly, as the last bit of hope in his heart vanished. "This is bad! The battle has affected the Lava Immortal Palace!"
Beams of treasure light pierced the night sky, dazzlingly bright.
The volcano trembled slightly, awakening the entire Huoshi City.
A colossal blue cloud hand, covering the sky, pressed down from above, attempting to push all the treasure light back.
The crimson treasure light clashed with the cloud hand, stiffening momentarily like a sword piercing through a divine hand, before charging deeper into the night sky!
Massive chunks of red rock crumbled, and between countless cracks, scorching earth energy tumultuously surged outward. Flames erupted like furious dragons in all directions.
The cultivators fled in panic.
Zheng Shuanggou, determined to see his benevolence through to the end, swept up the Ning family cultivators with his long sleeves and ascended into the clouds.
From high above, they saw the tip of a high tower piercing upward like an unstoppable spear thrusting into the sky. Then, as if it were the axis of heaven and earth, the entire tower forcefully emerged, breaking through all barriers and boldly presenting itself to the world.
Following that, massive palace rooftops broke through the heavy red rock crust, slowly rising toward the sky.
Mountains roared, and the earth shook!
The remnants of the Ning family swallowed hard, utterly dumbfounded by the sight.
Rocks continued to split, and numerous cracks emitted intense firelight; golden-orange magma splattered everywhere, and hot blasts surged wildly, shocking everyone to their core.
"Lava… Lava Immortal Palace?"
"The Immortal Palace has emerged!"
Many were speechless.
Hidden deep underground, now revealing its sharp edge. Such a spectacle was truly awe-inspiring.