The summit of Fire Persimmon Mountain.
Amid layers of clouds and mist, cultivators gathered, led by Meng Kui.
With spells and formations as dual concealment, the countless red rock demons floating above Fire Persimmon Mountain could not interfere here.
Meng Kui, as the only Nascent Soul cultivator present, scanned the area before casting a spell to show all the Golden Core cultivators the battle situation on Fire Persimmon Mountain.
A massive number of red flame demon beasts densely surrounded the Magma Fairy Palace.
A significant portion also charged towards Fire Persimmon Immortal City.
In Fire Persimmon Immortal City, many cultivators contributed either on the front lines or within the city.
Fei Si stayed alone in the city, overseeing the overall situation.
Zhu Xuanji, Chi Dun, and the Golden Core cultivators from the three families all came before Meng Kui.
The spell image continuously changed, revealing many critical spots on the battlefield.
Several robust and fierce red flame demon beasts appeared before everyone. Among them, a lengthy and dragon-like runaway fire snake emerged intermittently from the magma!
A Nascent Soul-level runaway fire snake!
The hearts of all the Golden Core cultivators sank.
Meng Kui wore a solemn expression as he slowly spoke, "You have all witnessed the current situation."
"But according to my calculations, this is only the beginning of the beast tide."
"As time passes, the scale of this beast tide will increase."
"By then, it might not just be this one Nascent Soul-level runaway fire snake."
The Golden Core cultivators couldn't help but be moved.
Compared to human cultivators, demon beasts often had tough skin, long lifespans, and significant physical advantages.
Since Meng Kui wasn't a body cultivator, he couldn't confront a Nascent Soul-level demon beast head-on and could only rely on the city-protecting great array to hold out.
The combination of Meng Kui and the immortal city great array could fend off one Nascent Soul-level demon beast, having the upper hand in terms of combat strength.
But if there were two, it would be different; the human side would be at a disadvantage.
If there were three... Then they would have to plan to migrate city residents and request aid from the royal family.
"In general, it's uncommon to see two Nascent Soul-level demon beasts in a single beast tide," Ning Jiufan said.
Chi Dun sighed, "But our situation this time is unusual. The Magma Fairy Palace fired artillery, causing a large explosion, inciting intense anger and a revengeful mood among the demon beast communities."
"Nascent Soul-level beasts usually maintain a king-to-king stance, but now, driven by the desire for revenge, they might unite to destroy the Magma Fairy Palace!"
The faces of all the Golden Core cultivators turned gloomy.
"Speaking of which, why did the Magma Fairy Palace suddenly fire artillery, provoking so many red flame demon beasts?" Zhou Nongying asked.
Meng Kui remained silent. With a thought, the spell image began to recreate the previous bombardment scene.
He had been overseeing the mountain summit, observing the Magma Fairy Palace clearly, able to monitor various scenes inside the palace.
Although he had been deep in cultivation at the time, not noticing the turret's anomaly immediately, the magical treasure he had placed in the clouds recorded everything around.
Thus, the Golden Core cultivators saw the Magma Fairy Palace's originally three-storied Five Elements Turret rise with a clack, turning into six stories.
Then, each story extended its cannon ports.
After mana infusion, the main and auxiliary cannons roared together, launching numerous Five Elements Cannonballs, leaving colorful trails in the air before plunging into the magma and finally exploding deep within Fire Persimmon Mountain.
"Has the palace spirit gone mad?!" Zheng Shuanggou exclaimed.
"Could it be that it sensed a tremendous threat, so it acted preemptively?" Zheng Danlian speculated.
"No, this bombardment is too provocative; it's enticing the demon beasts to attack!" Zhu Xuanji assessed.
His eyes sparkled with golden light, his face stern, "This was premeditated, by human hand."
"A cultivator controlled the Five Elements Turret, bombarding Fire Persimmon Mountain, instigating this catastrophe!"
"This culprit is extremely wicked, disregarding countless lives with ulterior motives."
"I swear, I will capture and bring this fiend to justice!"
Zhu Xuanji's eyes were sharp, filled with fury.
"Someone else can control this turret? Is it because, through merits and contributions, they obtained the related position?" Zhou Nongying analyzed.
Ning Jiufan stroked his beard, "Strange, where is the palace spirit? Does it allow the culprit to act so recklessly without any intervention?"
Zhu Xuanji gritted his teeth and sighed softly, "Don't count on it. The Magma Fairy Palace's spirit is likely in a poor state, unable to make normal decisions."
Glancing at Meng Kui, Zhu Xuanji continued, "Previously, during the battle with Qi Bai, Sun Lingtong, and Youthful Guest, demon beasts also attacked the Magma Fairy Palace. It showed that the palace's defenses were weak, and the formations were problematic. In the end, the palace spirit deployed the Mechanical Taoist Master, barely holding on and driving the external enemies out of the palace."
"I found the Mechanical Demon General in Fire Persimmon Mountain. Using it to trace back, I saw that the palace spirit was in such poor condition that it let the Mechanical Demon General perish in battle, lost outside."
"I guess the Buddhist Physician among the three great mechanisms likely met a similar fate."
The Golden Core cultivators were speechless.
With a dry voice, Zhou Nongying said, "I see."
Meng Kui remained impassive. He didn't disclose his key findings to Zhu Xuanji, letting his speculation deviate.
Why tell Zhu Xuanji?
Meng Kui's divine skills, watching and observing the mountain, were costly, consuming much of his lifespan to obtain the truth. He wouldn't easily help a potential enemy.
Moreover, Meng Kui saw a possibility of cooperation between his family and the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit from its intentions.