Chapter 541: A Dangerous Situation
For a moment, heaven and earth darkened.
A tremendous explosion shook the world, the deafening roar making the cultivators’ eardrums ache—some even bleeding on the spot.
Endless ice mist and clouds of dust intertwined, and within only a few breaths they completely swallowed the entire battlefield.
When the smoke cleared, more than half of the Nascent Soul cultivators of Liangzhu Kingdom had died.
It was not only the destruction of their physical bodies—even their Nascent Souls had been utterly annihilated beneath the Divine Ability.
The three Nascent Soul cultivators who survived were all severely wounded. Their faces showed terror and fury as they swayed unsteadily, barely clinging to life.
The Three Generals Camp was also struck by the aftershock. Eighty percent of the army collapsed, and most of the remaining soldiers lay on the ground—either vomiting blood or unconscious.
Liu Er, Guan Hong, Zhang Hei, and Ning Zhuo were not in much better condition. Their bodies were drenched in blood and their vision swam with darkness.
Even Sun Lingtong, hiding within the Puppet Dragon, had been injured. Half-kneeling on the ground, he looked at the ash-and-frost marks interwoven across his body and said in a trembling voice, “T-terrifying offensive power!”
“The Heaven and Earth Combined Strike of the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts contains the profundity of the Space Dao. In that instant, space was sealed.”
“No—more precisely, space was disturbed. Any Nascent Soul trying to escape through the void would simply be courting death!”
“Little Zhuo, the only reason we’ve lasted this long—aside from the unexpected effect of your Buddha Heart Demon Seal—is because those two haven’t truly used their full strength.”
“Run! With our talents and abilities, we’ll definitely get our revenge in the future. There’s no need to show off while we’re still weak.”
Ning Zhuo nodded, his face firm with resolve.
“The Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts have committed monstrous sins. Every day they remain alive is another day the people suffer.”
“We must preserve our useful lives, grow stronger, and one day eliminate these great villains for the good of the world.”
“But before we leave, we have to use the Puppet Dragon to rescue the remaining soldiers of the Three Generals Camp.”
Sun Lingtong: ?!
“Little Zhuo, are you serious?”
The battle situation was already extremely critical. Trying to save people at such a moment would completely destroy their already tiny chance of escape—it was the height of irresponsibility toward themselves.
“Wait… it’s the Buddha Thoughts!” Sun Lingtong suddenly understood.
Ning Zhuo’s Sea of Consciousness was filled with Buddha Thoughts, which made his thinking extraordinarily kind and benevolent, with a strong spirit of self-sacrifice.
“The Buddha Heart Demon Seal is mysterious and powerful, but Little Zhuo has never truly mastered this Treasure.”
“Earlier we were lucky. The Buddha Heart Demon Seal interfered with Earth Ash while he was wearing the Heavenly Ghost Mask. But now those same Buddha Thoughts are interfering with Little Zhuo’s ability to make correct decisions.”
“I’ll have to use theft techniques to steal all the Buddha Thoughts from his Sea of Consciousness. Only then can this flaw be resolved.”
Having thought of a solution, Sun Lingtong grew extremely anxious.
Using his method to steal all the Buddha Thoughts from Ning Zhuo’s Sea of Consciousness would take a considerable amount of time.
And right now, time was exactly what they lacked the most.
Sun Lingtong could only hope that the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts would keep their attention focused on the remaining Nascent Soul cultivators of Liangzhu Kingdom rather than on them.
Whoosh… whoosh…
Heavenly Ghost Heavenly Frost rose into the sky, while Earth Ash descended to the ground. The two ghost cultivators panted heavily.
Clearly, executing that Heaven and Earth Combined Strike had placed a tremendous burden on them as well.
But even if they collapsed from exhaustion, no one would dare show the slightest contempt.
The surviving Nascent Soul cultivators looked at the two ghost cultivators with eyes filled with terror.
“Run!”
True Person Blazing Sun, who had been imposing moments earlier, had completely lost his will to fight. Activating his life-bound treasure, he released the phantom of the Three-Legged Golden Crow.
Riding upon the Golden Crow phantom, he soared into the sky and rapidly fled the battlefield.
The moment he acted, the morale of the remaining Nascent Soul cultivators completely collapsed.
“Run!”
The other two Nascent Soul cultivators also used their own methods, fleeing desperately in two different directions.
“Don’t notice us, don’t notice us… Go chase them instead! Letting them escape would be such a waste.” Sun Lingtong prayed desperately.
But reality was cruel.
The Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts merely glanced once at the fleeing Nascent Soul cultivators before both locking their gaze onto Ning Zhuo.
Sun Lingtong’s heart instantly sank to the bottom.
The strength of the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts did not lie only in their techniques—it was also in their combat discipline and unwavering focus.
Seeing this scene, even Lin Bufan’s expression shifted slightly.
“As expected of Nascent Soul True Lords whose fame spreads across many nations.”
One above, one below, the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts slowly advanced toward Ning Zhuo and the Three Generals Camp.
Immortal Red Sleeve grew tense. She looked toward Zhu Xuanji, waiting only for his command—if he gave the order, she would use her mountain-moving Divine Ability to disrupt the battlefield and create an opportunity for Zhu Xuanji to rescue them.
Zhu Xuanji took a deep breath and slowly clenched his fists, but soon relaxed them slightly.
Because he saw a figure step forward without hesitation and stand in front of Ning Zhuo.
“Young Master, hurry and leave! I’ll fight to the death to buy you some time.”
The one protecting Ning Zhuo was none other than the clone formed from the Heavenly Ghost Mask of Heavenly Ghost Heavenly Frost.
Seeing this, Earth Ash burst into laughter and mocked Heavenly Ghost Heavenly Frost.
“Heavenly Frost, so you’re actually this kind-hearted—sacrificing yourself for others!”
Heavenly Ghost Heavenly Frost’s true body immediately darkened with anger.
“And you still have the nerve to laugh? You’re the one who used my ghost mask like this. This is entirely your fault!”
As he spoke, Heavenly Ghost Heavenly Frost made his move.
With a violent wave of his hand, a surge of bitterly cold energy erupted.
The cold energy condensed in midair, forming a gigantic ice blade that slashed fiercely toward Ning Zhuo.
“Hah!”
At the critical moment, Zhang Hei stepped forward. Wielding the Black Serpent Spear, he unleashed overwhelming strength. Like an ant resisting a dining knife, he truly managed to block the ice blade’s assault.
Zhang Hei’s cultivation method and natural talent both made him excel in prolonged battles. The longer he fought, the stronger he became.
At this moment, his personal combat power had reached its peak.
Yet the massive ice blade continued to press forward. To hold it back, Zhang Hei’s muscles bulged violently, veins swelling as blood sprayed from his seven orifices.
Though his individual strength had reached its peak, the army’s strength had been reduced too drastically.
The Three Generals Camp had been devastated, losing eighty percent of its soldiers. And those who had died were not mechanical puppets—they could not be replaced immediately.
Zhang Hei might be powerful, but he was ultimately only at the Golden Core level. Without the great leverage of army strength, talent, cultivation method, and weapon alone could not elevate him to the Nascent Soul level.
Just as he was about to collapse under the attack, Guan Hong hurriedly followed up with a Blood Dragon Blade strike.
Zhang Hei’s pressure immediately lessened.
But even with the two of them working together, they still could not stop the ice blade from advancing.
Seeing this, Liu Er sighed deeply and stepped forward as well, wielding the Primal Yellow Sword in both hands.
Bang.
A muffled explosion sounded.
With the combined strength of the three generals, Heavenly Ghost Heavenly Frost’s massive ice blade was finally shattered.
Heavenly Ghost Heavenly Frost chuckled coldly, while Earth Ash remained expressionless, though his eyes gleamed with murderous light as he looked at Ning Zhuo and the Three Generals Camp as if they were lambs awaiting slaughter.
Liu Er, Guan Hong, Zhang Hei, and Ning Zhuo all wore grave expressions.
The situation was painfully clear.
The Nascent Soul cultivators of Liangzhu Kingdom had fled the battlefield. Their own army had suffered catastrophic losses and could no longer form any battle formations.
Without the reinforcement of army strength, Liu Er, Guan Hong, and Zhang Hei had been reduced to their original state—mere Golden Core cultivators who had to fight with their lives just to block a single spell.
Ning Zhuo could still mobilize mechanical troops, and the Military Art—Warrior Returns Art was still active upon him.
But what difference could it make?
His stock of mechanical puppets had already fallen to barely one hundred.
These consumables were as fragile as paper before the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts. Could they even last two rounds?
Ning Zhuo deeply doubted it.
The Heavenly Ghost Mask clone sighed.
“True body, stop committing more killings. Don’t continue down the wrong path.”
“Turn back.”
“As the saying goes—lay down the butcher’s knife and immediately become a Buddha…”
“Shut up!”
Heavenly Ghost Heavenly Frost’s expression turned extremely ugly. He refused to let the clone continue preaching and directly attacked, interrupting him.
The Heavenly Ghost Mask clone resisted with difficulty. Half of its body shattered, yet it still managed to block the Nascent Soul–level spell.
Sun Lingtong said urgently, “Little Zhuo, let’s go! Don’t be soft-hearted!”
Ning Zhuo shook his head and stepped forward.
“The Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts came because of me. All of you should leave!”
He then secretly transmitted his voice to Sun Lingtong.
“Boss, don’t expose yourself carelessly. I have a feeling—if I hide inside the Wanli Dragon and escape, with the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts’ methods they’ll definitely counter it.”
“Let me buy you some time.”
“Take the opportunity to bring some soldiers with you—take Liu Er, Guan Hong, and Zhang Hei—and run.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t be in too much danger.”
“I’ve already noticed something. Their attacks aimed at me have all been somewhat restrained. If they truly wanted my life, I wouldn’t have lasted this long.”
“They probably want to capture me alive.”
“Boss, go first. I won’t die for the time being.”
“As long as the green mountains remain, we won’t lack firewood. You run first, then find a chance to rescue me later.” Ning Zhuo deliberately spoke in a relaxed tone.
These were words Sun Lingtong used to say to him in the past.
Back in Huoshi Immortal City, Sun Lingtong was often imprisoned after failed thefts. Ning Zhuo would regularly bail him out.
Now the situation was reversed.
But when it was Sun Lingtong’s turn, he refused without hesitation.
“No! The Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts are demonic ghost cultivators. Little Zhuo, if you fall into their hands, you’ll be bullied and tortured until you wish you were dead.”
“I will never allow that to happen!”
Ning Zhuo tried to persuade him again.
Sun Lingtong shouted angrily, “Shut up, brat! You listen to me. I’m your boss!”
While the two brothers argued secretly, Zhang Hei suddenly burst into loud laughter.
“Looks like my old Zhang’s life will end here today!”
“Hahaha!”
“Dying here isn’t so bad.”
“Big Brother, Second Brother, Military Advisor—even if we die, we’ll fight to the very end!”
Zhang Hei’s heroic spirit soared to the heavens. After saying this, he charged directly toward the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts.
“Hey, hey, hey!”
Caught completely off guard, Liu Er stretched out both arms with fingers spread, trying to grab Zhang Hei—but he was too late. He could only watch with wide eyes as Zhang Hei rushed toward the enemy.
As the supervisor of the Three Generals Camp, Liu Er knew that Ning Zhuo possessed a treasure capable of hiding people.
Although he did not know exactly what the treasure was, based on Ning Zhuo’s past actions he could roughly guess its nature.
Because of this, Liu Er had not yet resolved himself to die and still placed some hope in Ning Zhuo.
But before he could communicate with Zhang Hei, the reckless man had already charged toward the powerful enemy.
The Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts snorted in unison.
Heavenly Ghost Heavenly Frost was in an extremely foul mood.
“Since you want to die, I’ll grant your wish!”
Spell—Nine Nether Cold Soul Claws!