Chapter 450: Crimson-Heart Swan Arrow
Various pills were poured into their mouths. At this moment, every second counted. Sun Ning and Ning Zhuo both gave their all to recover with utmost effort.
Soon, they sprang into action again.
Following Ning Zhuo’s plan, they didn’t attempt to steal from the Mana Reservoir, but headed for the armory instead.
A stone sphere suddenly burst out from the floor of the armory, immediately triggering alarms and activating the defensive formations’ attacks.
“Hold it off for me!” Ning Zhuo manipulated the stone sphere and cast an earth-element spell!
His surging mana was quickly consumed, transforming into a vast, earthy-yellow radiance.
The glow appeared faint, but its defense was deep and resilient, easily withstanding all incoming attacks.
“The armory is under attack!”
“Quick! Follow me in and kill the enemy!!”
The cultivators guarding outside the armory heard the commotion and rushed inside.
Then, they saw a round, rolling stone sphere rampaging through the armory. Wherever it passed, sets of armor and long spears vanished without a trace.
“Someone’s stealing our weapons!”
“This is bad, stop him quickly!”
“Thief! Leave your life behind!”
The cultivators of the White Jade Camp were furious and attacked en masse.
They mobilized their military power; their attacks surged in strength, causing the earthy-yellow glow to tremble... but that was all they could do.
Had these soldiers been able to fully mobilize the entire military might, perhaps they could have harmed the stone sphere—but under current circumstances, that was impossible.
Most of the military power had already been redeployed, helping the main general and deputy generals in their siege against Grandfather Long, or occasionally bolstering the defenses outside, resisting spell barrages from other Golden Core cultivators of Thousand Peaks Forest.
If there had been Golden Core cultivators among these soldiers, then supported by military power and battle formations, they might have posed a threat to the stone sphere.
But in reality, the highest cultivation among these soldiers was only at the Foundation Establishment stage.
Ning Zhuo had picked the perfect moment—White Jade Camp was overwhelmed and unable to protect everything.
The stone sphere took on the full brunt of the attacks and made a full circuit around the armory, sweeping up nearly all of the weapons and gear.
Then, under dozens of infuriated glares, it abruptly burrowed back underground and vanished again.
Inside the stone sphere—within the Wanli Dragon.
A massive pile of armor and spears had formed into a small mountain.
Sun Lingtong fully activated his theft technique, shrinking all the equipment down in size. Without it, there was no way the Puppet Dragon could fit everything inside!
Jade Armor!
Glare Lance!
The armor was primarily milky white, emanating a gentle jade-like glow on its surface. It combined resilience with rigidity and provided excellent defense.
The armor retained its original form—rounded shoulder guards, smooth lines, and a breastplate shaped like a convex mirror with a full arc. Overall, it was simple and elegant.
The long spears were snow-white, their tips razor-sharp and glinting with cold light. The shafts were icy to the touch, seven feet long, and featured a barrier-like ring structure at the end to prevent slipping and occasionally assist in parrying.
Whether the Jade Armor or the Glare Lance, they were both weapons imbued with military arts.
The former came with the Iron Mantle Art, which allowed full-body defensive coverage; the latter came with the Keen Edge Art, which transferred the spear’s sharpness into the user’s fists and feet.
These two arts could also be combined into the Iron Mantle and Keen Edge Art!
This martial technique allowed a soldier’s offense and defense to merge into one—attacks became defense, and defense became attacks.
If the enemy struck the armor with their fists, it was as if they had punched a spear tip. Likewise, if they smashed down on the slender spearhead, it would feel like crashing into solid armor.
The Iron Mantle and Keen Edge Art was a classic military technique—once activated, offense and defense were perfectly balanced, with no weaknesses.
Therefore, although these two types of weapons were only at the magical instrument level—not the treasure level—they still fetched a high market price.
Each set of Jade Armor was worth 40,000 lower-grade spirit stones, while each Glare Lance was priced at 70,000 lower-grade spirit stones.
There were over four hundred sets of Jade Armor and more than three hundred eighty Glare Lances.
The total value: approximately 42.26 million lower-grade spirit stones!
Because they were magical instruments, Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong found it easier to seal them temporarily compared to the Mana Reservoir.
The only problem was the sheer number.
Sun Ning worked tirelessly alongside him, their hands moving in a blur. When they finally finished sealing everything, they collapsed on the floor, completely motionless.
“I don’t want to move anymore,” Ning Zhuo muttered. His face was deathly pale, devoid of any color, and bloodshot eyes stared at nothing.
His cultivation was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage—much lower than Sun Lingtong’s.
Sun Lingtong struggled to sit upright and encouraged Ning Zhuo, “Little Zhuo, get up. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—we can’t let it slip by. Think back to the days when we were worrying about resources for cultivation.”
Ning Zhuo’s expression changed immediately. Memories of the past and waves of anguish struck him like whips.
“Keep going! Let’s keep going!!”
White Jade Camp.
Grandfather Long’s palms danced, accompanied by roars like dragon cries, sending one Golden Core deputy general after another flying backward.
Shuangjing fought with great difficulty.
After all, he was not a body cultivator—he specialized in the Qi Sea, and couldn’t match Grandfather Long in direct combat.
This was a major disadvantage in real battle!
Shuangjing could only rely on the White Tiger Sky-Rending Sword Qi, constantly assaulting Grandfather Long. The Golden Core deputy generals pushed themselves to the limit, acting as meat shields to buy him space and time for maneuvering.
The Golden Core deputy generals were worsening with each moment, unable to hold on much longer.
“What’s going on? Our military strength dropped this much?” Shuangjing sensed danger and immediately questioned his subordinates.
They had long wanted to report this, but never had the chance.
Now that Shuangjing had finally paused to ask, the subordinate quickly clasped his fists and answered, “Reporting, sir! A stone monster with Nascent Soul-level combat power has infiltrated our encampment. It’s been stealing military equipment everywhere. Despite our best efforts, we’ve been unable to capture or kill it.”
“What?!” Shuangjing’s brows furrowed tightly. “A round stone monster? Could it be... the Stone Dwelling Old Monster from Thousand Peaks Forest?”
As the main general and a scion of a prestigious clan, he naturally possessed detailed intel on enemy forces.
Military strength in an army came from many sources—not just the soldiers, but also weaponry, the environment, and terrain.
That’s why weapons weren’t stored inside storage items, but placed in armories.
Putting them in storage items wouldn’t enhance military power. If key storage points were taken out, the losses would be catastrophic.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
There were too many variables in war, so as a precaution, splitting military gear into different locations was the best tactic.
Of course, some gear would still be stored inside magical storage treasures.
However, the more a storage item held—especially magical instruments or treasures—the more power was needed to maintain it.
For an individual cultivator, a quality storage treasure might contain nearly all of their belongings and still have room to spare.
But for an army? They had far too many supplies. Solely relying on storage treasures was insufficient—and cost-ineffective.
Upon learning the Stone Dwelling Old Monster had infiltrated too, Shuangjing’s heart sank to the bottom.
At present, they were already struggling to deal with Grandfather Long—completely stretched thin and on the brink of collapse.
“If the Stone Dwelling Old Monster joins forces with Grandfather Long...” Just the thought made Shuangjing draw a sharp breath.
Then, in the next instant, he saw one of the towering Sage Light Illumination Towers vanish.
Right after that, the stone sphere that had just stolen its target burrowed underground and escaped again.
Shuangjing’s eyes widened in shock!
He scanned the area and quickly noticed that out of the original seven Sage Light Illumination Towers, only four remained.
Unbeknownst to him, three towers had already been stolen.
Even someone like Shuangjing, born into a noble clan, felt unbearable pain in his chest.
Each Sage Light Illumination Tower contained top-grade spirit stones, and they were treasure-grade items worth 3.6 million mid-grade spirit stones apiece.
Losing three in a row—10.8 million mid-grade spirit stones gone.
“That damned Stone Dwelling Old Monster!!!” Shuangjing wished he could drag that monster out and beat it to death on the spot!
So did Grandfather Long!
“Stone Dwelling Old Monster, what are you sneaking around for?”
“Come join me quickly and crush this White Jade Camp!!”
Grandfather Long’s spiritual sense surged, transmitting his voice to Sun Ning and Sun Lingtong.
But the two completely ignored him, their eyes gleaming, targeting the treasures of the White Jade Camp.
They charged into another armory—and found over five hundred warhorses.
White-Plume Gentle Dust!
Each of these white horses had slender frames and elegant postures.
Their coats were snow-white, covering their bodies like the finest jade carvings.
Strangely, their manes resembled bird feathers—slender and soft. Silvery-white plumage extended from their heads and necks, cascading like a waterfall, exuding an ethereal, celestial aura.
Their tails were also replaced with long white plumes. When hanging down, the feathers swayed lightly like downy tufts, glimmering with an icy, snowy sheen.
The limbs of the White-Plume Gentle Dust horses were long and slender, with faint gray speckles on their legs, like tiny traces of dust.
The White Jade Camp's military gear was exceedingly luxurious!
They all had mounts—though not yet true cavalry, as they hadn’t trained in corresponding battle formations.
This time, after the attack reached the Barbarian-Demon Camp, they had received the alarm in advance.
So they dismounted ahead of time, stabled their travel-weary horses, and formed defensive formations on the spot.
Training their side to master mounted battle formations was exactly the plan of Shuangjing and the others.
Ning Zhuo clapped his fists with regret and sighed, “Fine horses, all of them. What a shame—they're even harder to steal than weapons.”
Sun Lingtong said, “Little Zhuo, no need to lament—I’ve got a trick!”
He took out some soporific incense, lit it, and released a large cloud of drowsy smoke, placing it before him.
Sun Lingtong activated his theft technique. Each time a White-Plume Gentle Dust horse appeared inside the Puppet Dragon, it was immediately enveloped in the smoke.
Already restrained and unable to move, the horses quickly inhaled the smoke and immediately passed out.
“What potent incense! Boss, where did you get that?” Ning Zhuo asked in amazement.
Sun Lingtong replied, “It’s not mine—I got it from Yang Chanyu.”
Only then did Ning Zhuo understand.
Yang Chanyu also hailed from the No-Void Sect, and compared to Sun Lingtong, she was much more adept in the use of poisons.
After the White-Plume Gentle Dust horses were sedated, Ning Zhuo stacked them one by one, cramming the compartments full.
Living creatures, unlike dead objects, couldn’t easily be shrunk in size.
Thus, all transformation techniques came with thresholds—cultivators had to train diligently before gradually mastering them.
The stone sphere rolled several more times, stealing away the entire herd, before heading toward the next site.
“Our horses!” the Golden Core deputy generals wailed in despair.
When this horse herd had been purchased, they’d paid a huge price—begging and pleading their families for support, barely managing to scrape it together.
And now, it was all gone!
“Stone Dwelling Old Monster, I curse you!!”
“Who would’ve thought a Nascent Soul would be so shameless!!”
“A dignified Nascent Soul using theft techniques so expertly—you’re a disgrace to your realm!”
Shuangjing, however, had already calmed down: “Let him steal. Let him rob.”
“If he had joined forces with Grandfather Long, we might’ve already collapsed.”
“Though losing wealth pains us to the core, at least we’ve stalled the second Nascent Soul enemy.”
“Generals! We must fight to the end! Defeat Grandfather Long first, then drive off the Old Monster!”
Shuangjing sent his spiritual sense throughout the formation, rallying morale.
And it actually worked—spirits lifted.
The Golden Core deputy generals, thinking along Shuangjing’s logic, began to feel grateful.
“Retrieve the weapons stored in your storage bags and resupply. Lure the Stone Dwelling Old Monster to keep stealing—for us, it’s a way to buy more time!” Shuangjing commanded decisively.
Compared to life and death, what were a few coins?
Without life, what good was treasure?!
Shuangjing knew his decision was wise—but the grief and hatred continued to swell in his chest, unable to be dispelled.
White Tiger Sky-Rending Sword Qi!
With the support of military force, the sharp sword aura once again struck Grandfather Long’s back, tearing open a wound.
Blood flowed profusely!
Although Grandfather Long wore a spiritual treasure, it only covered his right shoulder guard, offering no full-body protection. The strongest defense lay at the shoulder.
After prolonged combat, despite White Jade Camp’s sacrifice of over a hundred lives, Shuangjing had finally figured out Grandfather Long’s weaknesses.
Grandfather Long retreated a step, trying to widen the distance for healing.
But he was already inside the military formation—surrounded on all sides by enemies.
In the next instant, the Golden Core deputy generals swarmed in. Dozens of fists and feet struck him, sending his stance staggering.
“Stone Dwelling Old Monster, stop stealing treasures!”
“If we defeat them, I’ll promise you—half the spoils will be yours!”
Grandfather Long transmitted a message with spiritual sense, full of threat: “Have you forgotten? You carry the divine mandate!”
In Grandfather Long’s eyes, the Stone Dwelling Old Monster hadn’t even shown his full strength.
But to Sun Ning and Sun Lingtong, they had gone beyond their limits—over and over again, exhausting themselves to the brink of death. Only by recalling the horrors of poverty did they whip themselves to break past their limits once more.
As for the stone sphere? Even more so.
The stone sphere couldn’t even move on its own—just rolling continuously already exceeded its limits.
Thus, for all three of them, the divine mandate had long been fulfilled. It no longer held any constraint.
Grandfather Long called out dozens of times but got no response. Enraged, he shouted beyond the battlefield, “Bi Tengyi, what are you dawdling for? Help me!”
The Nascent Soul-level cultivator Bi Tengyi from the Ancient Vine Tribe, along with her Golden Core husband, Cang Teng King, had already joined the battle.
However, they—along with several other Golden Core cultivators—had been intercepted by the Red Flower Camp and trapped inside the Red Flower Avatar.
If the Red Flower Avatar could trap even Flying Legs, it could surely trap this group of cultivators.
Bi Tengyi wasn’t a demon cultivator. Her physique wasn’t strong and couldn’t rely on brute force to break out.
However, she and the other Golden Core cultivators worked together, casting spells nonstop, wearing down the avatar far more effectively than Flying Legs had.
Military Art—Rewarding the Three Armies!
Mu Lan’s face was pale. Holding the General’s Command Token, she had been sustaining this military art the entire time.
The power of this art was straightforward—it consumed spirit stones to boost military strength!
“This can’t go on!”
“Our military budget was already stretched thin. After this costly battle, we might not even be able to pay next month’s wages.”
This was the reality of war. Once it fell into a deadlock, it became a terrifying battle of attrition.
Determination flashed in Mu Lan’s eyes.
She took out a longbow, nocked an arrow in a single breath.
A treasure-grade military weapon—also called a Military Treasure—Vermilion Phoenix Bow, Fiery Heart Arrow!
Transformed from top-tier talent into a divine ability—Crimson-Heart Swan Arrow!
Military strength, battle formation, national power—perfectly channeled!
Mu Lan released her grip.
The bowstring twanged like a phoenix’s cry!
The arrow flew, shaking the skies, tearing open the heavens.
The radiance of the arrow was blinding—like a flaming sun piercing the nine heavens, a pillar of brilliance that dimmed all else!
By the time Grandfather Long reacted—it was too late.
He looked down at his chest. The muscles were scorched black, a gaping hole left behind, and his heart had been incinerated in an instant.
For a moment, the battlefield fell utterly silent.
Mu Lan lowered her head in exhaustion. Her arms went limp, the longbow fell to the ground, and her body staggered—nearly collapsing, had Zhang Chongyi not rushed forward and caught her just in time.
“Dear niece—no, General Mu... Divine might!” Zhang Chongyi was beyond moved.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that Mu Lan, though still only at the Golden Core stage, had already developed her innate talent into a divine ability.
Crimson-Heart Swan Arrow!
A nearly-suicidal arrow, drawn from nearly all her lifeblood—an unstoppable strike of absolute certainty!