Chapter 448: “The Stone Dwelling Old Monster” Takes Action!
Guan Hong raised the Blood Dragon Blade in his hand.
Military Art — Direct Blade Assault!
The army’s strength gathered onto his body, causing the Blood Dragon Blade to burst forth with a massive arc of blade light.
The blade light was as crimson as blood, incomparably sharp, and severed the connection between the Red Flower Avatar and the Three Generals Camp's military force.
The Triangular Arrowhead Formation suddenly accelerated, shaking off the Red Flower Avatar from overhead.
In that instant, everyone in Qianfeng Forest was shocked.
Flying Legs was stunned inside the avatar.
He attacked madly, trying to shatter the Red Flower Avatar and go after the Red Flower Camp. He even shouted loudly, calling for Chen Lingfeng and the others to attack the Three Generals Camp to help him escape more quickly.
But Chen Lingfeng, Wu Hen, and the others didn’t act.
Although they were all under divine decree, demanding they give their all, fighting with full force also required good timing.
Clearly, letting Flying Legs and the Three Generals Camp exhaust each other until both sides were weakened, then having Chen Lingfeng and Wu Hen make their move — wouldn’t that be better?
First, the Three Generals Camp’s strength would fall to its lowest, making them easier and safer to deal with.
Second, Flying Legs would also become weak, making it easier for Chen Lingfeng and Wu Hen to snatch military merit from him.
As a result, the sudden maneuver by the Three Generals Camp truly caught everyone off guard!
They had actually shaken off the Red Flower Avatar — a key item used to imprison a Nascent Soul stage demon cultivator!
Chen Lingfeng reacted the fastest. A chill surged in his heart, and he immediately flapped his wings, soaring high into the air.
But a Golden Core cultivator on the ground was a beat too slow and was swiftly approached by Zhang Hei like a whirlwind, who gently thrust forward the Black Serpent Spear in his hand.
That Golden Core cultivator tried to dodge, but was held in place by a spell cast by Ning Zhuo.
Puff.
The Black Serpent Spear, seemingly slow but actually fast, pierced straight through the cultivator’s heart, killing him on the spot!
Military Art — Speed Is the Soul of War!
Liu Er executed the military art while shouting, “Quick, quick, quick!”
Military Art — Speed Is the Soul of War!
Guan Hong also used the same military art. The effects overlapped, causing the soldiers of the Three Generals Camp to run like the wind.
After Zhang Hei killed the enemy in one blow, he immediately retreated.
As one of the Triangular Arrowhead Formation’s sharp points, he couldn’t remain away from the formation for long.
Military Art — Speed Is the Soul of War.
He also knew this military art. When he unleashed it, the soldiers of the Three Generals Camp ran so fast their movements left afterimages.
While casting Five Elemental Spells, Ning Zhuo silently envied them, thinking, “If only I could also cultivate military arts, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.”
This was exactly where the advantage of a military formation lay.
When everyone cast the same spell, the effects could stack. While it wasn’t a perfect overlap — there would naturally be some loss — the unified power was still capable of turning quantity into quality.
Strictly speaking, Ning Zhuo’s Five Elemental Spells didn’t mesh well with the military formation.
That was because he consumed his own mana, while the military tapped into the Mana Reservoir and absorbed natural spiritual energy from the outside world.
The reason the Five Elemental Spells were so powerful was because Ning Zhuo worked in coordination with the nation’s power, military force, and formation strength supporting him.
If it had been a military art instead, the effect of the military’s boost would have been much stronger.
Moreover, military arts could directly consume military strength, greatly reducing the cultivator’s own mana expenditure.
With Ning Zhuo’s involvement, the Golden Core cultivators slowed down considerably and were easily hunted down and killed one by one by Liu Er, Guan Hong, and Zhang Hei.
Chen Lingfeng dared only to circle high in the sky, attacking from a distance. Wu Hen simply hid in a shadow, not daring to show himself at all.
Even as military merits rolled in, the expressions of Liu, Guan, and Zhang remained grim.
Because they knew that what awaited them next was a Nascent Soul stage demon cultivator!
Hiii-rrrhh!
The heavenly steed reared and kicked hard, finally shattering the Red Flower Avatar.
The three generals had long since prepared for battle and immediately led the formation to strike.
Flying Legs’ eyes were blood-red, ready to kill to vent his rage. When he saw the Three Generals Camp charging in, he neighed fiercely and charged straight at them.
His massive body resembled a small mountain. As he lowered his head and charged, a gale swept forth. The soldiers of the Three Generals Camp were stricken with fear even before the clash, their morale shaken and military strength greatly diminished.
After all, the Three Generals Camp was newly formed, not yet a battle-hardened army!
At this critical moment, Ning Zhuo shouted sharply and cast his Five Elemental Spells.
Golden blades shot through the air, mist and smoke spread, vines entangled legs, fire serpents coiled around bodies, earthen bricks tripped feet — the Five Elemental Spells struck in succession.
Ning Zhuo was clever; he didn’t aim to injure, but focused on hindering.
By now, he had confirmed that as long as he didn’t use the Serpent Scythe, the offensive capabilities of the three generals far surpassed his own.
Flying Legs, hindered repeatedly, even though he blocked the golden blades, smashed the bricks, dispersed the fog, broke free from the vines, and endured the burning fire serpents, his speed inevitably dropped.
Liu Er gripped the Primal Yellow Sword with both hands and flew forward to clash with Flying Legs.
Flying Legs took a small step back. Liu Er, however, had his palms torn, spat blood, and was knocked back into the formation.
Zhang Hei roared, “Watch the spear!”
Flying Legs glared at him and responded with a demonic art, countering attack with attack.
Zhang Hei’s spear struck Flying Legs, but only left a mark — his hide was tougher than imagined.
On the other hand, Zhang Hei was hit by the demonic art, his chest caving in slightly and the front of his armor completely shattered.
Just as Flying Legs was about to pursue, Guan Hong swung his blade with full force.
Military Art — Direct Blade Assault!
The crimson blade light was incomparably sharp, slicing a half-zhang-long gash across Flying Legs’ back. Blood sprayed like a fountain.
Wounded, Flying Legs was shocked and immediately used a healing demonic art. Yet, no matter what, the bleeding wouldn’t stop — only reduced from a fountain to a stream.
It turned out that Guan Hong practiced a demonic technique: Red-Faced Blood Calamity Scripture. His mana carried a mysterious effect — once a bleeding wound was inflicted, it was nearly impossible to stop the bleeding without a targeted countermeasure.
The fury in Flying Legs’ heart had now been overwhelmed by astonishment.
He kept retreating, easily pulling back a distance, trying several methods in quick succession, yet none could stop the bleeding.
Liu Er sighed deeply, watching helplessly as an opportunity presented itself — yet they couldn’t seize it.
“Even though we chose the Triangular Arrowhead Formation, which is quite fast, we’re still at a disadvantage in terms of speed.”
“Looks like… this will be a war of attrition.”
After unleashing his full-force attack, Guan Hong’s aura dropped significantly, and he retreated into the formation for urgent recovery.
Liu Er had also caught his breath and once again stepped forward with the Primal Yellow Sword to block the heavenly steed’s charge.
When he was knocked back, Zhang Hei stepped up.
Ning Zhuo kept casting various Five Elemental Spells, doing his best to restrain Flying Legs.
The three generals — Liu Er on defense, Zhang Hei on support, Guan Hong on offense — with strategist Ning Zhuo providing suppression, grew increasingly coordinated. In the heat of battle, their teamwork swiftly improved.
Even though Flying Legs was a Nascent Soul stage demon cultivator, he suffered many injuries and gained little from direct clashes.
The more he fought, the more alarmed he became. He began to view the Three Generals Camp in a new light: “These people are no ordinary lot! All three generals are elite among Golden Core cultivators, with techniques well-suited to the battlefield. That Foundation Establishment spellcaster's mastery over the Five Elements is also remarkably deep! Given time, this team will become truly formidable.”
A desire to retreat sprouted in Flying Legs’ heart.
He had joined Qianfeng Forest mainly to exact revenge on the Red Flower Camp.
His earlier rage-fueled attack had only been because he saw the Three Generals Camp as weak and wanted to vent his fury.
But after fighting head-on, it turned out to be a deadlock — he couldn’t gain the upper hand.
If only Chen Lingfeng, Wu Hen, and the others would cooperate — that would help.
Yet when the Three Generals Camp had abandoned the Red Flower Avatar, they had immediately struck out at Chen, Wu, and the other Golden Core cultivators, killing several and sending the rest fleeing in fear — preemptively clearing away that threat.
“Forget it. Why should I stubbornly fight the Three Generals Camp?”
“My true enemy is the Red Flower Camp!”
Thinking this, Flying Legs turned around and flapped his wings, soaring high into the sky.
“Don’t run!” Zhang Hei grew anxious, flying out of the formation and swinging his Black Serpent Spear to pursue.
“Third Brother, don’t chase!” Liu Er shouted in alarm.
That was because he was still recovering, and Guan Hong’s last strike had drained the formation’s strength.
With Zhang Hei now acting alone, he received very little support from the formation and military force.
“Hmm?!” Flying Legs noticed this and was instantly overjoyed.
He hadn’t expected that just as he was about to withdraw, the once-coordinated enemy would suddenly reveal such a massive flaw.
Flying Legs sharply twisted his body and spat out a surge of metallic energy.
Weapon Qi — Cold Radiance Fiery Shadow Spear!
Martial Art — Turning Spear from Horseback!
Gold-iron energy instantly condensed into a long spear and shot out like lightning.
Under the enhancement of the Martial Art — Turning Spear from Horseback, it reached the peak of speed and ferocity.
Even Zhang Hei couldn’t react in time, watching helplessly as the Weapon Qi spear flew past him—just brushing by.
“Third Brother!” Liu Er roared in alarm, only to see that Flying Legs had missed.
Cold sweat broke out on Zhang Hei’s forehead, his whole body chilled, just as Guan Hong cried out, “Not good!”
Liu Er came to his senses and turned back in panic: “Strategist, look out!!”
It turned out Flying Legs hadn’t missed—his true target wasn’t Zhang Hei, but Ning Zhuo.
Since the start of the battle, the one he hated most wasn’t anyone else—it was the mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, Ning Zhuo.
That person was infuriating, constantly disrupting his rhythm and focus. He felt utterly constrained in battle, unable to fight freely.
By comparison, the Golden Core Three Generals who fought head-on with brute force were actually more tolerable.
Fast, fast, fast!
It was practically as fast as lightning.
Weapon Qi lacked physical form to begin with. With Flying Legs firing it at full strength and enhanced by the Turning Spear from Horseback, the spear pierced straight through the formation. By the time it reached Ning Zhuo, he hadn’t even had time to react!
Whoosh — the Weapon Qi pierced the formation, killing more than ten cultivators in its path, before grazing the earth.
In the next moment, the Weapon Qi disassembled into a cluster of icy light, trailing fierce shadows, and flew back into the heavenly steed’s mouth.
“Strategist!!!” Zhang Hei finally turned his head and saw the path of devastation the Weapon Qi spear had carved through the dense formation.
Instantly, fury erupted from within him, his killing intent surging wildly.
“Third Brother, calm down! The strategist isn’t dead. Right before the attack landed, his talisman activated and broke the space—he's already escaped!” Liu Er quickly tried to soothe him.
Zhang Hei’s rage halted for a breath. He looked back toward the heavenly steed: “You damn plague horse! So vicious—you nearly took our strategist’s life. Die for me!”
Zhang Hei charged again.
Liu Er immediately commanded the soldiers to pursue.
Fortunately, he had just recovered his breath, and their military strength had mostly returned, no longer at its lowest. He could now grant Zhang Hei much more support.
Flying Legs felt regret upon realizing he had failed to kill Ning Zhuo, and grew angry when he saw Zhang Hei charging at him again.
“If that annoying spellcaster were gone, I could finally fight at full strength!”
“You petty Golden Core cultivators are far too arrogant!”
He changed his mind once more, deciding to stay and continue the battle—to teach the Three Generals a hard lesson.
Directional Escape Talisman!
Ning Zhuo suddenly appeared inside the Wanli Dragon.
The sudden teleportation left his body staggering, nearly causing him to fall.
“So close! That was way too close!”
Looking down, Ning Zhuo saw the Directional Escape Talisman in his arms had just finished burning, reduced to nothing but ash.
This particular talisman was something he had gotten in Huoshi Immortal City, from the hands of Ning Jiufan.
Upon sensing danger, the cultivator could actively trigger it to flee through the void—a classic and common escape method.
But the Weapon Qi attack just now had far exceeded Ning Zhuo’s reaction limit. Logically, he shouldn’t have had enough time to even use his spiritual sense to activate the talisman.
“Thank goodness for the Mechanical Ring.”
Ning Zhuo’s face was pale, filled with lingering dread.
Earlier, knowing how perilous the battlefield would be, he had proactively set up defensive and escape mechanisms before the battle began.
He had linked the Mechanical Ring—imbued with penetrating insight—to the Directional Escape Talisman and constructed a simple formation. As soon as the ring sensed mortal danger, it would automatically trigger the talisman.
It was this mechanism that saved Ning Zhuo’s life.
“Too dangerous!”
“This is what it means to be on the battlefield.”
“One moment, we were pushing forward in triumph. The next, a powerful foe spotted a weakness—and I nearly died on the spot.”
He wiped his broad forehead.
It was soaked in a fine layer of cold sweat.
“Little Zhuo, you finally made it!” Sun Lingtong sensed movement and rushed over.
He had no idea Ning Zhuo had just brushed against death and now wore a face full of excitement: “Didn’t expect you to take this long!”
“Quick, how should we act?”
Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong both carried divine decrees, requiring them to strike against the army of the Liangzhu Kingdom. Only by fulfilling those commands could they survive this tribulation.
So the two had planned beforehand. Sun Lingtong had taken the Puppet Dragon and stayed far from the armies, waiting for the right moment.
Ning Zhuo immediately used his spiritual sense to inform Sun Lingtong of the latest developments.
Sun Lingtong clenched his teeth. “Mu Lan is really underhanded. So… should we strike at them now?”
Ning Zhuo shook his head. “What spoils would the Red Flower Camp even have? They’re all bone and no meat!”
He had long since chosen his target: “We’ll go straight for the White Jade Camp. Those noble brats are the ones who carry real wealth.”
Though he held resentment toward Mu Lan, Ning Zhuo remained calm and wasn’t ruled by personal emotion.
He continued, “After fighting for this long, I’ve already confirmed from opponents like Chen Lingfeng that the divine decree’s requirements aren’t too strict.”
“This time, we’ll play the role of the Stone Dwelling Old Monster and loot the White Jade Camp’s armory and weapons. That should be more than enough to meet the decree’s demands.”
Sun Lingtong was already itching with excitement, rubbing his hands. “I’ll go get the stone sphere. Little Zhuo, recover a bit more—we’ve got to move fast! If we’re too late, we’ll miss our window!”
Ning Zhuo wasn’t in bad shape.
He took a medicinal pill and used its power to aid his recovery, then headed to the Dragon Head Cabin.
Sun Lingtong had already brought out the stone sphere, hiding the Puppet Dragon inside it.
Ning Zhuo opened his mouth and spat out the Earth-Element Spleen Temple, merging it with the stone sphere.
The three elements returned to their former state—the “Stone Dwelling Old Monster” reappeared once more.
The divine decree’s power instantly activated, as if ropes had been thrown around the necks of Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong.
The “Stone Dwelling Old Monster” was complete, and the true binding power of the divine decree finally manifested!
“Quick, let’s hit the White Jade Camp!” Sun Lingtong was raring to go.
The stone sphere sank into the ground and sped off.
At Ning Zhuo’s command, he activated an earth-attribute technique, causing the sphere to accelerate tremendously while staying extremely well hidden.
White Jade Camp battlefield.
Shuangjing struggled to hold the line, relying on military strength to resist Grandfather Long. The lieutenants directed troops, sometimes assisting Shuangjing, sometimes fending off outside attacks from Golden Core cultivators.
The White Jade Camp suffered heavy casualties. Their troops were beset from within and without, fighting bitterly.
If not for Mu Lan’s timely arrival with the Red Flower Camp, who helped ease some of the external pressure, the White Jade Camp would’ve collapsed already.
Suddenly, a stone sphere emerged from the ground beside a Mana Reservoir.
Whoosh.
The Mana Reservoir was swallowed by the stone sphere—gone without a trace.
“W-What the hell?!” The White Jade Camp soldiers guarding the reservoir stood dumbfounded.
“Attack!” someone shouted. The others woke as if from a dream and launched spells one after another.
But most of the White Jade Camp’s strength was committed to holding off Grandfather Long. These soldiers' attacks felt like tickles to the “Stone Dwelling Old Monster.”
The “Stone Dwelling Old Monster” had no interest in fighting. In the next instant, it dove back into the earth—and escaped!