Fire Persimmon Mountain was erupting!
The ground violently shook, and crimson flames soared high like pillars of the sky, as boundless lava surged furiously.
The scorching lava carved dazzling arcs of fire in mid-air, resembling golden-red dragons soaring, then crashing down with tremendous force.
The torrential lava cascaded downward, ready to incinerate everything!
And at the forefront, perched on Fire Persimmon Mountain, was Fire Persimmon Immortal City.
"We're... doomed!"
"Why, why is Fire Persimmon Mountain erupting so violently?!"
"Run, hurry, run!!"
The entire Fire Persimmon Immortal City plunged into immense shock and chaos.
People scurried like ants, fleeing blindly.
Chi Dun and Fei Si appeared, hovering high above, personally taking charge to stabilize the situation and calm the people.
The night retreated step by step against the blaze, and the smell of sulfur in the air was unbearably pungent, suffocating!
Faced with such a might of nature, even the powerful Golden Core level cultivators Chi Dun and Fei Si felt their own insignificance and weakness.
In such a situation, mere Golden Core level was utterly insufficient; attempting to stem the tide was no more than a mantis trying to stop a cart!
The only ones they could rely on were the Nascent Soul.
At the mountain's peak.
Meng Kui's face, illuminated by the bright flames, could no longer remain calm, his expression grave.
At this critical moment of crisis, as the City Lord of Fire Persimmon Immortal City, he had to step up.
"Activate the Fire Persimmon City Defense Array, now!"
Meng Kui's loud command summoned countless emerald array patterns that appeared in the sky, on the city walls, and on the ground.
These patterns, some slender, some broad, crisscrossed with grandiose presence.
This was the Fire Persimmon Immortal City Defense Array, fully mobilized. Normally hidden, the array patterns were now visible to the naked eye.
The countless array patterns formed walls that blocked the surging lava flow.
Hiss, hiss, hiss...
The rolling lava collided with the array walls and halted, emitting billowing white smoke.
The lava could not advance, accumulating rapidly in place, forming a high slope.
Under the intense heat, the emerald array walls quickly developed cracks.
As the cracks multiplied and reached a certain extent, these array pattern walls finally reached their limit and shattered explosively.
However, wall after wall of array patterns stood, continuously replacing each other. Even if the foremost array wall collapsed, there were always ones behind it.
Thus, relying on the city Defense Array to resist, the speed of the lava's onslaught was somewhat slowed, buying precious time for the city's residents.
"Listen to me, everyone, stay calm!"
"The City Lord has made a move. He is a Nascent Soul level cultivator, so we will be safe."
"No one will be harmed tonight."
Fei Si's voice echoed through the city, his expression steely, his voice icy, doing his utmost to calm the people.
After saying this, he immediately mobilized the City Guard Army.
The Fire Persimmon Immortal City Guard Army was meticulously selected, consisting largely of Foundation Establishment cultivators, highly adept at group combat.
The moment of testing Fei Si's capabilities had arrived!
He had to quickly decide how many troops to deploy in an appropriate manner.
Fei Si thought rapidly, gritting his teeth before dispatching sixty percent of the City Guard Army, leaving forty percent to guard the city and maintain stability within Fire Persimmon Immortal City.
Chi Dun dashed over, eager to lead the dispatched City Guard Army to the front lines to counter the surging lava.
Fei Si angrily cursed: "Fool, what use is a brute like you on the front line?"
"You need to stay in Fire Persimmon Immortal City. The situation is chaotic; if demon cultivators take advantage and we lose our footing resulting in a defeat, that would be the worst possible outcome."
After a brief explanation, Fei Si directly ordered Chi Dun to suppress any unrest within Fire Persimmon Immortal City. If there was any sign of trouble, he was to strike decisively without asking questions, killing any suspicious individuals on the spot.
Though Chi Dun and Fei Si normally did not get along, at such a critical moment, he abandoned past grievances and accepted his orders solemnly.
Fei Si, his brow furrowed with worry, felt a giant stone pressing on his heart.
Fei Si silently calculated: Fire Persimmon Mountain's eruption, with such terrifying might, even with Meng Kui and the city Defense Array, would be a pyrrhic victory at best.
Fire Persimmon Immortal City was bound to suffer impacts, and by then, much of the Immortal City could be swallowed by lava.
To avoid this, mobilizing the city's manpower with full effort was the only way to turn the tide.
Fei Si did not hesitate, urgently contacting Zhu Xuanji, and the three major cultivation families: the Zhou Family, the Zheng Family, and the Ning Family.
The City Lord's Mansion had always maintained relationships with these families, even if merely on the surface, with considerable effort and energy spent.
Despite growing friction and deepening conflicts, due to the emergence of the Magma Fairy Palace.
Zhu Xuanji's appearance further encouraged the three families to actively patronize and position themselves against the Meng Family.
But at this moment, with the entire Fire Persimmon Immortal City in severe crisis, the interests of the Meng Family and the three major cultivation families were aligned, requiring them to overcome difficulties together.
Upon hearing Fei Si's call for help, both Zhu Xuanji and the three major families immediately responded.
Six Golden Core cultivators soon gathered around Fei Si.
Fei Si said: "The situation is urgent, I won't say much more. Everyone, we need your power to stop the lava from spreading further."
"Take these military tokens; wearing them will prevent suppression by the city defense array."
With that, Fei Si took out five military tokens and handed them to the Golden Core cultivators of the three families.
Only Zhu Xuanji was not given a token, as his royal lineage made him immune to the Fire Persimmon City Array's suppression.
The three families' Golden Core cultivators immediately flew out of Fire Persimmon Immortal City to the front lines.
With their military tokens, they cast spells unrestrainedly, their power multiplied tenfold compared to the previous city skirmishes.
Ning Jiufan, dressed in white robes, with a wave of his hand, unleashed torrents of frost and snow upon the lava, quickly condensing its surface with great effect.
The Zheng Family's two Golden Core cultivators, Zheng Danlian and Zheng Shuanggou, wielded their signature spells, directly manipulating the lava to flow back and collide.
The Zheng Family, specializing in artifact refining, had great expertise in controlling fire.
The Zhou Family's two Golden Pill Ancestors did not perform as strikingly as the Ning and Zheng Families.
Mainly because they were adept at setting up arrays, but the battlefield was already filled with the Immortal City Array, leaving no space for them to excel.
Even so, the two Golden Cores nonetheless restrained the lava's advance significantly with their full power and lack of array suppression, their spells suppressing the lava effectively.
Behind them followed waves of City Guard Army troops.
Many City Guard leaders directly received Fei Si's voice transmissions, accurately positioning themselves, occupying key spots in the city defense array.
Within these key spots, the City Guard leaders' spellcasting abilities were greatly enhanced, and they commanded their units with increased efficiency.
From his command post, Fei Si saw the City Guard Army in position and issued unified commands.
The first round: Earthen Wall Technique.
The second round: Rapid Stream Technique.
The third round: Mire Technique.
The sequence of spellcasting was carefully orchestrated to maximize the effect of the preceding spells' outcomes.
Innumerable spells poured down like torrential rain, covering the lava with a hissing sound.
Meanwhile, within Fire Persimmon Immortal City, the wide populace also rallied. Numerous cultivators, to protect their home, took the initiative to contribute their fullest efforts.
Fei Si did not send them to the front lines but instead opened up some array key spots within the city defense array for them to cast spells freely.
The spells they released were immediately transferred by the city defense array to the front lines.
Fei Si demonstrated exceptional leadership, assessing the situation and commanding the entire city.
At that moment, Fire Persimmon Immortal City stood united against the common enemy, firmly united!
Though natural disasters were terrifying, the city's cultivators believed in the power of human effort over fate.
With countless cultivators collaborating in casting spells, the once terrifying and overwhelming lava flow slowed down more and more.
People saw hope, their morale soaring.
Some cultivators, after exhausting their mana, were supported out of the key spots.
The replacements had already queued up, seamlessly taking over the vacated positions.
Those who were rotated out immediately sat down, consuming elixir pills to restore their mana as quickly as possible.
Witnessing these scenes, those with discerning eyes were filled with admiration.
"Though Fire Persimmon Immortal City is newly built, its citizens have been well-trained, with basic tactical skills in place."
"The previous City Lords of Fire Persimmon Immortal City didn't refurbish the city defense array but organized annual military drills for the citizens."
"What we see now is the result of those drills."
This military drill policy wasn't unique to Fire Persimmon Immortal City but was widespread across the cultivation world.
The cultivation world had developed to a high level, with abundant spiritual energy, countless excellent Spirit Root holders, and a plethora of talented geniuses.
Cultivation arts flourished like blossoming flowers, with many techniques reaching maturity, utilizing cultivation resources to the utmost.
Numerous families, sects, and alliances competed fiercely, escalating their methods and optimizing tactics, resulting in countless small and large cultivation kingdoms.
The active military preparation among cultivation kingdoms had continued for nearly a century.
This included not only the accumulation of cultivation materials and training of cultivators but also extensive military training for the common cultivators.
It could be said that nearly everyone in Fire Persimmon Immortal City was a soldier!
Now, facing an existential crisis, the city's cultivators immediately mobilized, following the patterns of their previous drills, each person actively contributing their part.
Even an army of ants, when gathered, could overwhelm mountains and oceans!