Chapter 455: All Thanks to Daoist Stone Dwelling
Charge, charge, charge!
The stone sphere barreled straight through the sea of flames with its head down, unstoppable.
The Lifeless Fire used life itself as fuel, consuming the vitality of countless living beings. But the Stone Dwelling Old Monster was already dead.
What the fire burned was the corpse of the Stone Dwelling Old Monster, so it naturally did no harm to the stone sphere.
Wanli Dragon was merely a mechanical construct, devoid of any life force.
But within the mechanical dragon, Sun Ning and the others, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, and numerous spiritual plants and beasts—these were all alive.
Hence, Ning Zhuo was casting spells with full force.
He released fire to control fire!
At a minimum, his Five Elements mastery had reached the Grandmaster level, which allowed him to rapidly comprehend the Lifeless Fire, and even compose a new spell on the spot, temporarily maintaining safety.
However, just doing that wasn’t enough.
Because within this sea of fire, there wasn’t only Lifeless Fire—it also contained the power of the Fire-Rushing-the-Heart Technique.
The closer Sun Ning and the others got to Grandfather Long, the more they were affected by the technique, spontaneous bursts of frenzied fire blooming within their Sea of Consciousness.
To counter this, Ning Zhuo's method was—Western Pure Land!
This was an earth-element virtuous treasure, one of the Buddhist sect’s sacred artifacts. A poem bore witness:
Pure earth emits radiance that illuminates the soul,
All thoughts cleansed, Dharma is born whole.
Western Bliss, soil without stain,
Washes away dust, and peace shall reign.
Ning Zhuo hastily devised an earth-element spell, using the Western Pure Land as its casting medium, summoning its purifying radiance.
The light shrouded the Dragon Head Cabin, cleansing and purifying all frenzied fire, ensuring Sun Ning and the others maintained inner calm and serenity.
"You have a fire-element sinful treasure? Then I’ll use an earth-element virtuous one!"
High above the clouds, Lu Chi watched the stone sphere press forward as if no one stood in its way, his expression shifting dramatically. “Stone Dwelling Old Monster! Such methods—he actually made it into the heart of this sea of flames.”
The stone sphere rolled up next to Grandfather Long.
At this point, Grandfather Long had been burning like firewood, his body severely shrunk, reduced to just ten feet in height.
“You stone ball—what are you trying to do to us?!” A voice of warning suddenly burst out from Grandfather Long’s right shoulder armor.
This shoulder armor was a bona fide spiritual treasure, brimming with sentience.
From the treasure spirit’s clearly articulated words, filled with fury and wariness, Ning Zhuo could instantly determine that this treasure’s sentience far surpassed that of Yuan Dasheng or Meng Yahu.
Inside Wanli Dragon, Sun Lingtong’s eyes sparkled, his lips glittering with drool—he was almost salivating.
“I so badly want to steal it…”
“A spiritual treasure—this is a real spiritual treasure!!”
Unfortunately, he knew it wasn’t possible.
The stronger a spiritual treasure's sentience, the better it could resist being seized or refined by enemies.
Conversely, if recognized by the treasure’s spirit, a cultivator could refine it swiftly and with minimal difficulty.
Right now, the treasure spirit was highly guarded against the Stone Dwelling Old Monster. There was no chance to snatch it by force.
If they tried, it might even trigger the treasure’s desperate counterattack.
Neither Sun Ning nor Sun Lingtong wanted to battle a spiritual treasure in the middle of this sea of fire.
At this moment, Ning Zhuo was already giving his all—simultaneously casting both earth and fire spells just to ensure safety.
After the initial rebuke, the treasure spirit warned again: “I’m telling you now, don’t try anything shady! Piss me off and you’ll regret it!”
Sun Lingtong yanked at his own hair and cried toward the sky, “Ahhh, I can’t take this anymore!”
“This is clearly the perfect moment to steal a spiritual treasure! But I’m not strong enough—just not strong enough!”
“Why?! Why am I still at the Foundation Establishment stage?!”
The shoulder armor was not like Gao Sheng’s Testament—the latter was incomplete, lacking sentience. This one had full sentience and autonomous defenses.
Of course, the treasure spirit was also in grave danger.
Once imbued with sentience, a treasure was half a living thing, and thus still vulnerable to the Lifeless Fire.
The treasure spirit of the shoulder armor had hidden deep inside the treasure, too afraid to show itself.
Even so, Sun Ning and the others could sharply sense that the surface of the shoulder armor was already showing signs of melting!
Ning Zhuo gave a faint smile and with one sentence, completely dispelled the treasure spirit’s guard.
He said, “This old man carries a divine decree—do you think I would harm you? Of course, I’ve come to save you.”
Treasure Spirit: “Ah! Then you’re a good guy. I wronged you—sorry!”
“But if you want to save Little Long… that’ll be tricky.”
“The biggest problem isn’t even this Lifeless Sea of Fire, but rather…”
The treasure spirit hadn’t finished when Ning Zhuo interrupted: “I know—it’s the frenzied fire.”
The treasure spirit blinked, then exclaimed joyfully, “Ah, you knew, old monster! You’re amazing!”
The next moment, it saw the stone sphere emit an earthen yellow radiance.
That radiance was so peaceful, so comforting.
Under its glow, Grandfather Long suddenly opened his eyes wide.
In just that brief moment, most of the frenzied fire in his Sea of Consciousness had been dissipated by the earthen light.
Grandfather Long looked at the stone sphere. “Stone Dwelling Old Monster, you… thank you!”
He had been unable to move—not because he had lost consciousness, but because he was simply too overwhelmed. But that didn’t mean he’d lost awareness of the outside world.
So, he had clearly heard the entire exchange between Ning Zhuo and the treasure spirit.
Initially, Grandfather Long had deeply disliked the Stone Dwelling Old Monster’s involvement in the battle—had even grown angry and planned to settle the account afterward.
But now...
The Stone Dwelling Old Monster had become his savior!
How could Grandfather Long possibly strike against him now?
He was the temple priest of the Dragon King—he understood the importance of reputation.
If he attacked his own lifesaver, who would ever trust or respect him again? People would start to guard against him—and by extension, even guard against the Dragon Ginseng King.
There was no way Grandfather Long could harm the Stone Dwelling Old Monster. If he ever did, the Dragon Ginseng King would personally deal with him for the sake of maintaining their incense lineage.
Ning Zhuo rasped, “Now isn’t the time to catch up. Let’s get out of here first.”
He had pushed himself to his limit just to last this long.
Grandfather Long nodded and raised his palm, fingers joined like a blade, ready to sever a large portion of his life force—just like a lizard dropping its tail to escape.
But Ning Zhuo stopped him.
“Don’t bother with that. Just come with me!”
In the next moment, Ning Zhuo activated Nascent Soul–level spiritual power from within the stone sphere and cast an earth spell.
This time, he brought Grandfather Long plunging rapidly into the depths underground.
The earth was dead matter—Lifeless Fire was naturally blocked.
The only obstacle was that Grandfather Long had previously invoked divine possession and rooted many Ginseng Roots in the battlefield below.
Now, those roots were also ablaze—becoming the sole hindrance.
But Ning Zhuo’s earth spell was becoming increasingly fluid.
Earlier, when the Ginseng Roots were rampaging underground, they hadn’t been able to stop him. Now that they were aflame and motionless, forming walls of underground fire, they posed even less threat.
“No! No!!” General Shuangjing cried out in panic.
By now, his helmet was gone, hair wild—he looked nothing like the elite heir he once was.
He instinctively rushed toward the Lifeless Fire Sea, arm outstretched, fingers spread, trying to stop Grandfather Long from escaping.
But in the end, the heat forced him back. He could only watch helplessly as the Stone Dwelling Old Monster carried Grandfather Long underground.
General Shuangjing threw back his head and roared furiously toward the sky: “Fire Cloud Army! What are you doing?!”
“You’re just going to let the enemy escape?!”
In the clouds above, Lu Chi looked down at the treasure mirror in his hand, his face full of bitterness.
Of course he had thought about stopping all this from happening—but the flames of the Lifeless Fire Sea were simply too intense. As the commanding general, he knew very well that none of his methods could take effect.
Red Flower Camp.
Mu Lan’s body buckled again—she nearly collapsed.
Zhang Chongyi quickly reached out to steady her.
Zhang Chongyi urged, “General Mu, don’t lose heart! It simply means Grandfather Long’s fate wasn’t sealed yet!”
Mu Lan shook her head and gritted her teeth. “It’s the Stone Dwelling Old Monster! Everyone underestimated him. This Nascent Soul-level being has immense foundations—he’s far stronger than what our intelligence described.”
“At the very least, the Stone Dwelling Old Monster in the reports couldn’t possibly resist the Lifeless Fire.”
She took a deep breath and calmed herself.
“My father told me—to never give in to setbacks!”
“No matter how dire the situation, fight with everything you have, for the greatest result.”
“Though Grandfather Long escaped, he’s gravely injured and unlikely to fight again. If we annihilate the rest, we’ll still reap substantial battle merits!”
Mu Lan looked upward.
Inside the Red Flower Avatar, Bi Tengyi and the others were clearly attacking with increasing desperation.
The escape of their core leader—Grandfather Long—had devastated the morale of all the cultivators!
Far away.
Inky Abyss Cave Lord Lu Hongtu wore a complex expression.
“This Stone Dwelling Old Monster… actually contributed—and such a massive contribution at that!”
Even as the head of the Six Caves Sect, Lu Hongtu couldn’t help feeling a surge of envy.
He knew perfectly well that rescuing Grandfather Long would earn the Stone Dwelling Old Monster enormous rewards. Thousand Peaks Forest had to honor such merit!
Even if the Dragon Ginseng King knew that the Stone Dwelling Old Monster was nearing Soul Formation level, he would still lavish him with rewards—for the sake of the greater good.
“Well, so be it. It’s not like I had any way to withstand this Lifeless Fire Sea anyway.”
Lu Hongtu then turned his attention toward the Red Flower Avatar.
“Rescuing Bi Tengyi and the others is also a great merit. When I return, I’ll have an answer for the Dragon King!”
The next moment, Lu Hongtu led three Nascent Soul Cave Lords and suddenly charged in.
Mu Lan rushed to intercept.
Lu Hongtu and company were in top form, cutting a bloody path through the Red Flower Camp.
The Red Flower Avatar, attacked from both inside and out, finally collapsed completely.
Veterans and elites of the Red Flower Camp suffered severe backlash—hundreds spewed blood and died on the spot.
“Retreat!” Lu Hongtu didn’t linger—he dashed away without looking back.
Bi Tengyi and the others fled for their lives as well.
The Fire Cloud Army descended in pursuit, but they couldn’t match the speed of Thousand Peaks Forest’s Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators. They were soon forced to give up.
The Golden Halberd Army arrived shortly afterward, left only to clean the battlefield.
Mu Lan reorganized the troops and tallied the casualties. The losses were so severe, her face turned pale as paper.
But General Shuangjing’s losses were even worse.
With the help of the Golden Halberd Army, he gathered his remaining soldiers—fewer than a hundred. He broke down in tears on the spot.
Somewhere in the mountains.
“It should be safe now.” The Stone Dwelling Old Monster’s round shell emerged first, followed by his entire sphere.
Behind him, the earth glowed with yellow light as Grandfather Long surfaced.
“Let’s rest here for a bit.” Grandfather Long sighed and sat down cross-legged, beginning emergency healing.
As the temple priest, he certainly had top-grade pills. After popping a few, his face improved, and his injuries began healing quickly.
Sun Ning and the others hadn’t waited long when Ink Abyss Cave Lord, Bi Tengyi, and the others quietly gathered at the location.
Lu Hongtu first asked about Grandfather Long’s condition. Upon learning he was safe, he clasped his fists and praised:
“All thanks to Daoist Stone Dwelling for this victory!”