Chapter 20: Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit

Black and white smoke billowed relentlessly around the palace, while scorching magma flowed slowly beneath.

The red-bricked, gold-pillared palace stood tall and imposing, like an ancient giant reclining and bathing in the river of lava.

Deep within the main hall, upon a high-backed throne, coiled a small dragon.

This dragon was a fiery orange, as if forged from molten rock, with golden light swirling within its body, making it exceptionally divine and majestic.

It possessed a dragon's head, tail, and four claws, but its upper body was that of a tortoise. Its shell was covered in uneven, reddish-brown rock fragments. The stones were separated by vertical and horizontal gaps, outlining a grid-like tortoise pattern.

It was the spirit of the Lava Immortal Palace – the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit!

At this moment, the resting Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit slowly opened its eyes.

It lifted its head and gazed towards the top of the palace.

The Lava Immortal Palace trembled slightly, aiding its vision to pierce through the hall's roof, through layers of smoke and clouds, until it finally saw a blurry figure.

It was the City Lord of Fire Persimmon Immortal City!

To avoid being noticed by the City Lord, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit did not scrutinize the figure. Instead, it shifted its thoughts and allowed its gaze to sweep downwards.

Its vision moved with incredible speed, quickly covering the entire Fire Persimmon Immortal City, only stopping at the dense, scorching Fire Persimmon Forest at the foot of the mountain.

Within the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit's crimson eye sockets, golden pupils gleamed brilliantly.

It intensified its inspection. In its vision, the mountain city, forests, residents, and other physical objects gradually faded, revealing a grand formation.

This formation had two core nodes: a giant one within the mountain itself, and a smaller one located within the City Lord's mansion. There were also five array pillars, located within the residences of the Zhou, Zheng, and Ning clans, as well as the dungeon and the city guard barracks.

The massive formation nearly covered the entire Fire Persimmon Mountain, while also interlinking with numerous smaller formations in the Fire Persimmon Forest at the foot of the mountain.

And the roots of the formation plunged straight down from the summit of Fire Persimmon Mountain, deeply embedded within the mountain's core.

The azure-green array patterns of the Immortal City formation intertwined like a vast, all-encompassing net, locking down the entire Fire Persimmon Mountain. The Immortal Palace was like a bird in a cage.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit snorted. This feeling of confinement made it extremely agitated.

It pushed itself up with its front claws, suddenly leaping into the air.

It had no wings, yet it flew swiftly and nimbly. Its speed was incredible, darting through the air like a streak of brilliant orange-gold light.

The light drew a radiant circle in the air before returning to its throne.

In an instant, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit went from motion to stillness. Sparks, carried by inertia, slammed into the throne and scattered in the dim palace.

Having vented some of its frustration, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit once again slightly raised its dragon head, gazing far and wide, discerning the outside world.

Its gaze first focused on the City Lord's mansion.

At this moment, within the mansion, a robust young man with large eyes was seated cross-legged, diligently practicing.

Unlike usual, the robust young man was not accumulating magical power, but rather dissipating it.

He was none other than the City Lord's grandson – Meng Chong!

The City Lord's voice seemed to still echo in Meng Chong's ears.

"My grandson Meng Chong, I have used the Destiny Decree Talisman to entangle the aura of the Lava Immortal Palace with you! I have also lit the Divine Calculation Incense, to calculate the optimal steps."

"Remember, you must be the first to cultivate the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art to the third level of Qi Refining. This is crucial, as it will give you a huge initial advantage. Accumulate this advantage, like a snowball, and you will gradually leave the other competitors behind."

"It's a pity that the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art is a Daoist technique. If it were a Buddhist technique, this old man would be able to use the Transformation Pill on you."

"Now, you need to dissipate your current cultivation as soon as possible and re-cultivate the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art!"

"Someone will bring you enough Nourishing Pulse and Body Protecting Powder. Do not be stingy; consume it all to achieve perfect dissipation as quickly as possible!"

Meng Chong exhaled a breath of turbid air, his large eyes filled with determination.

The Destiny Decree Talisman and the Divine Calculation Incense were both Nascent Soul-level treasures, worth a fortune. The Fire Persimmon City Lord's significant investment showed that he was placing the burden of seizing the Lava Immortal Palace directly on Meng Chong's shoulders.

Meng Chong's heart was filled with fighting spirit!

"Grandfather, you have done so much for me. If this grandson fails, then I am unworthy of the Meng name!"

"I will definitely not let you down."

"I will surely seize this first place!"

Meng Chong's face was resolute as he closed his eyes tightly and continued to dissipate his cultivation.

However, his previous cultivation was too high, reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining. Dissipating his cultivation now would take even more time.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit slowly shifted its gaze from the City Lord's mansion to the Zhou clan's territory.

In an underground secret chamber of the Zhou clan, Zhou Zeshen and Zhou Zhu stood before a large formation.

Zhou Zeshen said, "This Gathering and Dispersing Spiritual Tide Formation is only possessed by our Zhou clan in the Fire Persimmon Immortal City."

"Dazhu, you will now enter this formation to dissipate your cultivation. Then, you will choose the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art and re-cultivate it."

"This formation will help you speed up the dissipation of your cultivation, and it will also help you re-cultivate it as quickly as possible."

"I'm counting on you!"

The Zhou clan had deep foundations, ranking first among the three major clans without question.

To plot for the Lava Immortal Palace, the Zhou clan had made multiple attempts long ago.

Among them, they had arranged for Zhou Zeshen and Zhou Zhu, members of the clan, to join the Mudflow Sect for cultivation.

The Mudflow Sect was a rare sect that excelled in mechanical arts. After Zhou Zeshen and Zhou Zhu had learned something, they returned to the clan to await orders.

They didn't expect to wait for the Transmission Bell.

This forced them to make a choice.

After careful consideration, the Zhou clan decided to keep Zhou Zeshen and let Zhou Zhu risk transferring to the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art.

Zhou Zhu had no objections to this, and said quietly, "Brother Shen, you are smarter than me. I will do whatever you tell me to do."

"There's no need to feel guilty towards me. It is only right that I contribute to the clan!"

Zhou Zhu strode forward and formally entered the formation.

He did not sit down cross-legged, but stood upright, like a tall pillar, steady and simple.

The dissipation began.

Zhou Zeshen sighed, secretly feeling sorry for Zhou Zhu.

Zhou Zhu had a cultivation base of the eighth level of Qi Refining, one level higher than his own. Dissipating the magical power he had painstakingly cultivated for many years was a huge loss.

But there was no other way!

The Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art was likely the key to contending for the Lava Immortal Palace.

This was the first time the Transmission Bell had rung, and it had caused such a big commotion. This was all revealing that the selection method for the Lava Immortal Palace had undergone a major change after reaching the Qi Refining stage!

To cope with the possible changes, the Zhou clan chose to be conservative while also taking proactive measures.

The formation began to hum, and a trace of pain appeared on Zhou Zhu's face.

The invisible power generated by the formation forcefully extracted the magical power from Zhou Zhu's body. This inevitably caused harm to Zhou Zhu!

However, Zhou Zhu himself possessed a Life-Force Sustaining Body. As long as he remained still, life-force would burst forth from within his body, allowing his injuries to recover at full speed.

The formation was helping him dissipate his cultivation violently, while Zhou Zhu's own self-healing abilities were also activated, actively repairing the meridian damage.

This was the key factor in choosing Zhou Zhu to re-cultivate.