Chapter 242: Lava Assault on the City
Mount Huoshi was erupting!
The earth trembled violently, crimson flames surged like a heavenly pillar, and endless magma erupted furiously.
Blazing magma drew dazzling arcs of fire in midair, resembling golden-red fire dragons soaring into the sky before crashing down.
The vast and torrential magma flowed downward in a deluge, aiming to scorch everything in its path!
Huoshi Immortal City, perched on Mount Huoshi, was the first to bear the brunt.
“We’re… doomed!”
“Why? Why is Mount Huoshi erupting so violently?!”
“Run! Run quickly!!”
The entire Huoshi Immortal City descended into overwhelming shock and chaos.
The crowd scattered like ants, fleeing in all directions without a clear path.
Chi Dun and Fei Si both appeared, suspended in midair, personally overseeing the situation and doing their utmost to stabilize the chaos and calm the people.
The night retreated inch by inch in the face of the fire’s glow, and the stench of sulfur in the air was more acrid than ever, suffocating everyone.
Faced with such a force of nature, even someone as strong as Golden Core-stage cultivators Chi Dun and Fei Si couldn’t help but feel weak and insignificant.
In this situation, the mere power of Golden Core cultivators was utterly useless. Trying to reverse the tide? It would be no different than a mantis trying to stop a cart!
They could only rely on the Nascent Soul cultivators!
At the mountain's peak.
The firelight reflected on Meng Kui’s face, making it impossible for him to remain seated in peace. His face was filled with grim determination.
At this moment of crisis, as the city lord of Huoshi Immortal City, he had to step forward.
“Huoshi Immortal City’s defensive formation, activate!”
With a resolute shout from Meng Kui, countless green formation patterns instantly appeared in the sky, on the city walls, and on the ground.
Some of these patterns were fine and delicate, while others were broad and thick, intersecting and crisscrossing with majestic grandeur.
These were the marks of Huoshi Immortal City’s grand defensive formation, fully activated. Normally hidden, the formation’s patterns could only be seen at this moment.
The countless patterns formed walls to block the surging tide of magma.
Sizzling sounds filled the air...
The rolling magma collided with the formation’s walls, halting its momentum and releasing billowing white steam.
The lava couldn’t advance and began piling up at its original spot, its height increasing, gradually forming a steep slope.
Under the intense heat, the green formation walls rapidly developed cracks.
As the countless cracks accumulated, reaching a critical point, the formation walls finally reached their limit and collapsed with a thunderous crash.
However, the walls formed by the formation appeared one after another, continuously replacing the fallen ones. Even though the front walls crumbled, the ones behind immediately took their place.
In this way, by relying on the grand defensive formation, the speed of the magma’s advance was finally slowed down, buying precious time for the city’s residents.
“Listen to me! Everyone, don’t panic!”
“The city lord has taken action! He is a Nascent Soul cultivator, so we are sure to be safe.”
“No one will die tonight!”
Fei Si’s voice echoed throughout the city. His expression was stern, and his voice was cold, doing everything he could to reassure the people.
After speaking, he immediately mobilized the city guards.
The city guards of Huoshi Immortal City were carefully selected, with many of them being Foundation Establishment cultivators, highly skilled in group combat.
This was a true test of Fei Si’s abilities!
He had to quickly determine how many troops to send out to be appropriate.
After a moment of rapid thought, Fei Si gritted his teeth and dispatched sixty percent of the city guards, leaving only forty percent to defend Huoshi Immortal City and maintain order within the city.
Chi Dun rushed forward, eager to lead the dispatched city guards to the front lines to confront the raging magma.
Fei Si angrily scolded him, “You reckless fool! What use does a mere body cultivator like you have at the front lines?”
“You need to stay behind and guard Huoshi Immortal City. With the chaos in the air, if demon cultivators take advantage of the situation and destabilize us, leading to our collapse, that would be the worst outcome.”
After a brief explanation, Fei Si directly ordered Chi Dun to stay and suppress any unrest within the city. If any suspicious individuals appeared, Chi Dun was to deal with them immediately, without question, and kill them on the spot if necessary.
Although Chi Dun often clashed with Fei Si, at this critical moment, he set aside their past grievances and accepted the order with a solemn demeanor.
Fei Si’s brow furrowed in deep concern, as though a heavy weight pressed on his heart.
Fei Si calculated silently: With Mount Huoshi’s eruption and such terrifying power, even with Meng Kui and the grand defensive formation holding the line, the best they could hope for was a pyrrhic victory.
Huoshi Immortal City was bound to suffer damage. It was likely that much of the city would be consumed by magma.
The only way to avoid this outcome was to fully mobilize the manpower within the city and hope to turn the tide.
Fei Si wasted no time and urgently reached out to Zhu Xuanji, as well as the three great cultivation families: the Zhou, Zheng, and Ning families.
For a long time, the city lord’s mansion had worked hard to maintain its relationship with these families. Even if it was only for appearances, they had put in significant effort.
Although recent events—especially with the emergence of the Lava Immortal Palace—had deepened the rift and tensions between them...
The appearance of Zhu Xuanji had further pushed the three families to align more closely with his side, placing them in opposition to the Meng family.
But now, with Huoshi Immortal City in severe danger, the interests of the Meng family and the three cultivation families aligned—they needed to face this disaster together.
Upon hearing Fei Si’s call for help, both Zhu Xuanji and the three families immediately responded.
Six Golden Core cultivators soon gathered at Fei Si’s side.
Fei Si said, “The situation is urgent, so I’ll skip the pleasantries. Everyone, I need your help to stop the magma from spreading further.”
“Here are the military command tokens. Take them and wear them on your persons so you won’t be suppressed by the city’s defensive formation.”
With that, Fei Si handed out five military command tokens, giving them to the Golden Core cultivators of the three families.
Only Zhu Xuanji didn’t receive one, as his royal bloodline made him naturally immune to the effects of Huoshi Immortal City’s formation.
The three families’ Golden Core cultivators immediately flew out of the city and headed to the front lines.
With the command tokens in hand, they were able to cast their spells without being suppressed, and their power was now ten times stronger than during the previous battle in the city.
Ning Jiufan, wearing a white robe, waved his hand, summoning torrents of ice and snow, which poured down onto the magma. Massive clouds of steam rose as the surface of the lava rapidly solidified, producing excellent results.
The Zheng family’s two Golden Core cultivators, Zheng Jianlian and Zheng Shuanggou, both unleashed their signature techniques, directly controlling the flow of the magma, forcing it to reverse and collide against itself.
As a cultivation family specializing in artifact crafting, the Zheng family had deep expertise in controlling flames.
The Zhou family’s two Golden Core ancestors, however, didn’t perform as impressively as the Ning and Zheng families.
This was mainly because they were both experts in formation techniques, but the battlefield was already dominated by the city’s grand defensive formation, leaving no room for them to fully utilize their skills.
Even so, the two Golden Core cultivators fought with all their might, and without the suppression of the formation, their spells significantly slowed the advance of the magma.
Following them, a large number of city guards moved into position.
Many of the city guard leaders received direct transmissions from Fei Si, accurately positioning themselves to take control of key points in the defensive formation.
At these points, the city guard leaders’ spellcasting abilities were greatly enhanced, making it easier for them to command their subordinates.
Fei Si, calm and composed, saw that the city guards were in place and then issued a unified order.
The first wave was to release earth wall spells.
The second wave followed with torrent spells.
The third wave was to cast marsh spells.
The order of spellcasting was carefully coordinated to maximize the effects of each preceding spell.
Countless spells poured down like torrential rain, falling upon the magma with hissing sounds.
Meanwhile, within Huoshi Immortal City, the vast populace was also mobilized. Many cultivators, determined to defend their home, volunteered their efforts and contributed everything they had.
Fei Si did not send them to the front lines but instead opened up key points in the defensive formation, allowing them to cast spells from within.
Once these spells were cast, the formation would immediately transfer their power to the front lines.
Fei Si demonstrated tremendous leadership ability, carefully assessing the situation and commanding the entire city.
At that moment, Huoshi Immortal City stood united in the face of a common enemy, bound tightly together!
Though natural disasters were terrifying, all the city’s cultivators believed that human effort could conquer the forces of nature.
With the combined efforts of countless cultivators, the terrifying and overwhelming magma flow slowed down more and more.
Hope began to shine in people’s hearts, and morale soared.
Some cultivators, after casting spells continuously, had exhausted
their mana and were helped away from the key points.
Those in reserve were already lined up and immediately stepped in to take over the vacated positions.
As for those who had been relieved, they sat cross-legged on the ground, hurriedly consuming pills to restore their mana as quickly as possible.
This scene, seen by those with keen insight, stirred deep emotions.
“Though Huoshi Immortal City is a newly built settlement, its residents have been well trained. They all possess solid basic tactical skills.”
“The previous city lords of Huoshi Immortal City may not have repaired the grand defensive formation, but they organized military drills for the residents every year.”
“What we’re seeing now is the result of those drills.”
Such military drill policies were not unique to Huoshi Immortal City but were common throughout the cultivation world.
The cultivation world had developed to the point where spiritual energy was abundant, and there were countless people with excellent spiritual roots. Geniuses with extraordinary talent were constantly emerging.
Cultivation techniques flourished like a hundred flowers in bloom, and countless arts had reached maturity. The efficient use of cultivation resources had reached its peak.
The endless struggles between countless families, sects, and alliances grew ever more intense, with strategies constantly being updated and optimized. This eventually led to the formation of countless large and small cultivation nations.
The arms race between these cultivation nations had been going on for nearly a century.
And these arms races involved more than just stockpiling cultivation resources or training elite cultivators. They also included the widespread military training of the common, lower-level cultivators.
It could be said that Huoshi Immortal City was almost a city of soldiers!
Now that Huoshi Immortal City faced a catastrophe, the city’s cultivators immediately mobilized. Following the military drills, every person proactively contributed their part.
Even a colony of ants, when gathered together, could move mountains and overturn seas!
(End of Chapter)