Persimmon Mountain Peak.
With his entire body surging with mana, Meng Kui exerted all his strength and unleashed his technique!
He took out the treasure seal and hurled it forward.
The magical artifact-level seal rapidly expanded mid-air, transforming into a mountain that crashed down with a thunderous force.
Treasure Seal Mountain blocked the volcano's opening, forcibly stopping the erupting lava.
Instantly, the lava flow was halved, significantly reducing the pressure on Fire Persimmon Immortal City's front lines.
Meng Kui then took out another magical artifact, a gourd.
He removed the gourd's stopper and poured out a powerful torrent.
The water gushed forth like a waterfall, flooding the volcano's peak.
Steam rose, and in no time, billowing clouds of mist spread out like a sea of fog.
This river water was not ordinary; it was special material extracted from nature and refined multiple times by Meng Kui, reaching Foundation Establishment grade!
By sacrificing a large amount of river water, Meng Kui managed to slow the spread of the magma by another third.
Once the gourd was emptied, Meng Kui stored both the gourd and the treasure seal.
The treasure seal had borne the brunt of the lava, with nearly half of its surface destroyed.
Ignoring the damage, Meng Kui stretched out his arms and waved his sleeves, performing another of his signature techniques.
Divine Skill—Sleeves Holding the Universe!
The next moment, his sleeves enlarged rapidly, their openings as big as houses, turning dark and deep.
Inside the sleeve openings erupted an incredibly strong suction force.
Countless streams of magma were pulled into two torrents, both sucked into Meng Kui's sleeves.
Meng Kui diverted the lava at its source, containing it by thirty percent with his individual power.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of him and the city's residents, the progress of the lava slowed more and more, finally halting after devouring a few outlying buildings at the city's edge.
"We won! We won, we did it!"
"Fire Persimmon Immortal City is saved! My home is safe!"
"Hahaha..."
The city was filled with cheers.
Countless people jumped and shouted, extremely excited, but a few still wore worried expressions, their faces dark.
Amongst them were Zhu Xuanji and Fei Si.
Gold light flickered in Zhu Xuanji's eyes as he tried to peer through the mountain surface into its interior.
He knew all too well, lava wasn't the biggest problem.
The real issue was within Fire Persimmon Mountain. More precisely, it was the countless Red Flame Demon Beasts inside.
Roar, roar, roar...
The roaring gradually drowned out the city's cheers and shouts.
Some who heard this noise showed confusion.
But most realized, their faces turned pale as snow.
"Red Flame Demon Beasts!"
"This is bad, the volcanic tremors must have triggered an unprecedentedly terrifying beast horde."
"What should we do? What should we do?"
The crowd quickly grew panicked once again.
Within a few breaths, sensing the slowing lava, endless Red Flame Demon Beasts began to surge out of it.
They were all in a rage!
Who wouldn't be upset if their home was suddenly bombed into chaos?
The Red Flame Demon Beasts poured out like a tide, charging toward the Magma Fairy Palace.
They aimed at where the bombardment had come from.
If you could hear their thoughts, they would surely be — Revenge, revenge, revenge!
Leading the charge were Runaway Fire Snakes.
Slim and fiery, they merged with the lava, seemingly omnipresent.
Following closely behind the snakes were the Fire Fluff Mice.
These small yet ferocious beasts swarmed toward the Magma Fairy Palace at an alarming speed, like a red river.
The spherical light shield protecting Fire Persimmon Immortal City was being gnawed fiercely by the mouse swarm!
Within the horde, elephant-sized giant mice served as leaders. Each one of these giants was at the Golden Core level.
Even larger were the Flame Stepping Lizards. Any Golden Core level lizard was as massive as a hill.
With sturdy limbs, their skin covered in hard red-scaled armor, and tails ablaze, every breath they took stirred a fiery storm.
The Flame Stepping Lizards hissed and roared as they crashed into the Magma Fairy Palace.
But the true kings among the Red Flame Demon Beasts were the Magma Demon Apes!
These apes stood over two meters tall, covered in thick, fiery red fur.
Their teeth bared, eyes wide, each with a towering and powerful build. Many beat their chests and roared, their cries shaking the heavens.
Among all the beasts, these apes were the most intelligent, making them the most dangerous.
Besides these three main forces, countless Red Rock Demon Leaders emerged from the magma.
One after another, they floated into the air, surrounding the Magma Fairy Palace overhead.
These stone heads were numerous, thousands upon thousands, an unprecedented number.
The beasts knew the source of the bombardment and targeted the Magma Fairy Palace for revenge. But their sheer numbers and rage led many to lose their minds, blindly charging in all directions. Many headed straight for Fire Persimmon Immortal City.
No words were necessary. Zhu Xuanji and the other Golden Core cultivators moved to the front lines, fighting with all their might.
The battlefield quickly fell into a stalemate.
Ning Zhuo's cannon blast had stirred up a hornet's nest!
He had thoroughly enraged the massive Red Flame Demon Beasts in Fire Persimmon Mountain.
On the mountain peak, Meng Kui kept fighting, his Nascent Soul-level spells covering the area, killing many Red Flame Demon Beasts.
But more and more beasts emerged from the lava, seemingly infinite in number.
"Damn it!"
Meng Kui cursed fiercely, feeling the presence of a Nascent Soul-level life force among the beast horde.
It seemed to be a Runaway Fire Snake!
It hid within the lava, its presence flickering. Such an unseen threat caused great psychological pressure.
Back in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, the residents' cheers had died down completely.
They watched in terror as the massive beast horde advanced.
The number of demon beasts was overwhelming, blanketing the sky. Amid such a tidal wave, a person felt utterly small and helpless.
Underground Secret Base, Designation D.
Bang, bang, bang...
As the battle raged above, the underground base also shook intermittently.
Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu hid within.
"The volcano has erupted, and the beasts are attacking the city!" Yang Chanyu had not cut off contact with the outside world.
Such a major event, she certainly knew about it.
"Sun Lingtong, what's going on here?" Yang Chanyu looked at Sun Lingtong, her intuition suggesting this might be related to his presence.
Sun Lingtong rolled his eyes and spread his hands: "I don't know either, why worry about it?"
"The entire city is in chaos, everyone is fighting to protect their homes."
"This is a rare opportunity! Let's think, where should we strike?"
Yang Chanyu, however, wasn't easily distracted. She narrowed her eyes and stared at Sun Lingtong meaningfully: "Why do you seem completely unsurprised?"
Sun Lingtong nodded: "Surprised? Of course, I'm surprised, but does this concern us?"
"We're not from Fire Persimmon Immortal City. Even if the city is destroyed, we can just walk away."
"Right now, all major forces are at their weakest. If we're going to act, we should go big. How about those newly arrived Cloud Merchants?"
Yang Chanyu remained unmoved: "Your consistent attempts to change the subject are suspicious. Tell me, what's your relationship with Ning Zhuo?"
"During the Golden Core melee, I didn't notice."
"But the more I think about it, the more it doesn't add up. You've orchestrated so much, making me disguise, fabricate, and produce fake Demon Sect scriptures."
"And yet, after the Golden Core melee, there was no follow-up heist, the battle seemed more like a show."
"Where's the grand action, the big moves you mentioned?"
"I feel like all this is just to absolve Ning Zhuo and alleviate his pressure."
"After all, the previous rumors were very unfavorable to him."
Sun Lingtong rolled his eyes again: "Tsk, you're thinking too much, it's absurd."
"During the Golden Core melee, I really wanted to act, but the fight didn't completely break out."
"Zheng Danlian's organic sickle was too formidable! Even the Golden Core True Transmission disciples of Taiqing Palace had no resistance."
"In such a situation, how could I dare to make a big move?"
Sun Lingtong continued: "But this time, these Cloud Merchants and the three families are different."
"They are outsiders, limited in the magical artifacts and treasures they can carry."
"Even if they have a Nascent Soul-level Cloud Whale, this colossal beast remains far outside the city, unsuitable for capturing us."
"I found out: this team of Cloud Merchants plans to hold an auction soon, with many high-end cultivation resources."
"For example, the Water Merit Supreme Treasure, *The Highest Good is Like Water,* there are three drops!"
"Doesn't that tempt you?"
Yang Chanyu scoffed: "Of course, I've heard of it. But three drops of *The Highest Good is Like Water* are far from enough to cleanse our betrothal."
Sun Lingtong sighed: "You're talking nonsense again, I..."
Just then, Sun Lingtong's face suddenly changed, and he turned to look in a certain direction.
He shouted: "Who's there?!"
Yang Chanyu immediately went on alert, holding a magical treasure in her hand, but the underground base was empty.
She looked puzzledly at Sun Lingtong.
Sun Lingtong mumbled: "Was it an illusion?"
He seemed unsure.
Immediately, his eyes flashed with cold light, and he said seriously: "Anyway, we can't stay in this underground base Designation D any longer; we need to move!"
Yang Chanyu had no objections.
Before leaving, Sun Lingtong took a moment to set numerous traps in the underground base.