Chapter 452: The Old Monster in the Stone

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Flames soared to the heavens, heatwaves billowed.

Lord Long, transformed into a wooden giant, five to six zhang tall, tilted his head back and crashed down, striking the ground with great force!

His originally vast and surging life force, which had been his advantage, now under the burning of Lifeless Fire, became his fatal weakness.

All things generate and restrain one another. Extreme existences are easily countered by another extreme; this is the principle of nature!

Thus, the cultivation world is harmonious and unified.

Sun Lingtong placed a hand on his forehead and sighed, "Too tragic, truly too tragic."

"Lord Long stole the greatest thunder, and also took the most brutal beating."

"The Two-Column Country, they're throwing every trick in the book at him."

"Even an iron-clad tough man couldn't bear it!"

As if hearing Sun Lingtong's lament, the giant in the fire suddenly began to crackle, like the sound of firewood burning.

Lord Long's immensely robust body still trembled occasionally in the fire.

It was indeed a very tragic sight.

Ning Zhuo looked up, his gaze seemingly piercing through the remains of the Mechanical Dragon and the Old Monster in Stone, through the vast sky, seeing above the clouds.

"The Two-Column Country, they actually had hidden troops!"

Ning Zhuo then retrieved images from the Ten Thousand Li Dragon, carefully observing the line of fire from before.

From this line of fire, he felt a strong sense of military strategy.

Ning Zhuo fell into contemplation.

"Lifeless Fire aside, Lord Long's state is very peculiar. He was burned into unconsciousness, which certainly isn't without reason."

"What means did that army in the high altitude use?"

A thought struck Ning Zhuo, and he suddenly recalled a piece of intelligence from the Fire Cloud Camp.

"Among the battle formations of the Fire Cloud Camp, there is a variation called 'Fire Tongue Points at General.'"

"This move concentrates the power of the battle formation onto a single point, specifically targeting individuals on the battlefield."

"Especially those powerful martial generals!"

However, relying solely on this "Fire Snake Points at General" move could not cause Lord Long to fall into a peculiar coma.

Ning Zhuo continued to observe, employing various reconnaissance methods in his hands.

Soon, his eyes brightened as he uncovered the truth.

"This is the technique of 'Acute Fire Attacking the Heart'!"

"This is a method of divine sense attack, a divine art."

So-called divine arts are various techniques performed with spirit and will as the primary carriers.

The technique of Acute Fire Attacking the Heart can cause the target to fall into states of anxiety and irritability, igniting an acute fire in their spiritual sea.

If the cultivator who is struck cannot calm their anxious and irritable emotions, they cannot extinguish this flame.

And various emotions of anxiety and worry will further fuel this acute fire.

The stronger the fire, the more it can induce more negative emotions of anxiety and irritability.

Thus, a vicious cycle is formed.

"So, Lord Long appears to be unconscious, but in reality, his spiritual sea and upper dantian are filled with acute fire."

"As the saying goes, acute fire attacks the heart, making him uncontrollably anxious. Therefore, his whole body is immobilized!"

Shuang Jing, his armor already tattered, also looked up at the high altitude at this moment.

"Fire Cloud Camp, it must be the Fire Cloud Camp!"

His expression was quite complicated.

On one hand, he couldn't help but curse Sun Gan in his heart.

He had always thought the Fire Cloud Camp was still stationed in Canglin Immortal City. As it turned out, the Fire Cloud Camp was secretly marching in the high altitude.

Shuang Jing prided himself on his status and didn't expect that even this arrangement wasn't disclosed to him.

His heart was filled with annoyance at being kept in the dark.

But on the other hand, he also had to admit that Sun Gan's action was wise.

"The enemy's intelligence-gathering ability is very strong, they grasped the marching time and route of our rear army."

"If Sun Gan hadn't concealed it, I fear the Fire Cloud Camp would also be suffering now."

"Precisely because he even hid it from his own people, he achieved this winning move today!"

Thinking of this, Shuang Jing couldn't help but grit his teeth in secret.

He looked at the ruined camp, where corpses lay everywhere and broken walls and ruins stood.

"How heavy the losses!" Shuang Jing had once been full of lofty aspirations; now, those aspirations had all turned into sorrow.

Shuang Jing couldn't help but sigh, "If the Fire Cloud Camp's march hadn't been secret, this army would certainly have been the enemy's priority target."

"In that case, I wouldn't have become the main target of concentrated fire."

"My losses would never have been so heavy!"

Thinking of this, Shuang Jing's heart ached, almost to the point of bleeding.

However, he quickly stabilized his emotions, his eyes fixed intently on the giant in the fire.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he buoyed his spirits, "If Lord Long's life can be saved, then all our army's losses are worth it!"

Lord Long himself was originally at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. Later, due to his age, his cultivation declined to the late Nascent Soul stage.

However, once he began fighting and used various spells and divine arts to empower himself, his combat power could easily return to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

He could even subtly surpass the upper limit of the Nascent Soul stage, reaching the quasi-Spirit Transformation level.

Lord Long's combat power was simply too formidable.

Furthermore, Lord Long's defeat also held immense political significance.

This was because he himself was the temple master of the Dragon King Temple, an important representative of the Azure Dragon King in the human world.

If he died or was captured alive by the Two-Column Country, the boost to their morale and the blow to the morale of the other side would be immense.

Although military morale and spirit are intangible, they are extremely important.

These factors can be directly reflected on the battlefield, specifically in the strength or weakness of an army's military power.

"Right, the Old Monster in Stone!"

"Where did that shameless old fellow go?"

"If we could capture him, we could recover most of our losses!"

Upon thinking of the Old Monster in Stone, Shuang Jing, this high-ranking noble, immediately gritted his teeth in fury.

Ning and Sun were halfway to the Red Flower Camp. The two watched the fierce flames engulfing Lord Long, and then looked towards the Red Flower Camp.

With Lord Long's fall, the morale of the Red Flower Camp surged, and their military power also increased severalfold!

For Ning and Sun to go and bother them now would be somewhat inappropriate.

The firelight illuminated Mu Lan's pale face. She uncharacteristically smiled and whispered, "Uncle Zhang, I won the gamble!"

Zhang Zhongyi sighed, "Yes, you won, we won. But the risk involved was a bit too great."

Suddenly, he thought of something and immediately asked, "General Mu, did you know the Fire Cloud Camp was hidden in the high altitude?"

Mu Lan shook her head, "Even Shuang Jing didn't know, so naturally I knew even less."

"It's just that I seized a potential opportunity for battle, and then went all out."

"This is how my father taught me—so-called war is about finding the path you believe is most conducive to victory, and then being brave enough to stake everything!"

Zhang Zhongyi's expression was complicated, "Although the White Jade Camp suffered heavy casualties, the most severely injured among the general and deputy general are still breathing. I will fully focus on rescuing them later."

"Coupled with the fact that we were the first army to arrive in support, even if those nobles and high-ranking families in the capital investigate, they will only think well of us."

"We haven't even participated in a true frontal major battle, yet we have already achieved such an excellent battle opportunity. General Mu, it can be said that your goal of reviving your family has already been achieved for the most part."

Mu Lan nodded, "A good start, very smooth."

"But it's not enough."

"I still need to demonstrate the strength of my Mu family in a frontal confrontation. In short, the more military achievements I gain, the more hope I have for revitalizing my family."

As the two were talking, the four Nascent Soul cultivators of the Six Caves Sect also arrived at the edge of this battle.

"Lord Long?!"

"This is... Lifeless Fire?"

The Blood Shadow Cave Master and the Poison Scorpion Cave Master exclaimed in succession.

The Demonic Heart Cave Master looked at Lu Hongtu, "No wonder the Great Cave Master retreated in time, it turns out our situation was already as precarious as a pile of eggs!"

Lu Hongtu smiled bitterly, "More than dangerous? Lord Long used the Dragon King's roots, and the immense life force instead fueled the might of the Lifeless Fire. With such towering flames, who among us can go in and rescue him?"

"Who possesses such means?"

The Demonic Heart and the other three Nascent Soul cultivators turned pale.

"Then... shall we retreat?" The Demonic Heart Cave Master hesitated, communicating only with divine sense.

Lu Hongtu's face was gloomy. Just as he was about to nod, his gaze suddenly froze, revealing a look of shock.

Because he saw a round stone ball, with an unprecedented and desperate momentum, directly charging into the towering flames!

It was the Old Monster in Stone!!