Lava Fairy Palace.
Ning Zhuo was enveloped in Floating Cloud, sitting in meditation and practicing his breathing.
Under the guise of Cloud Concealed Bud, his true cultivation level at the ninth layer of Qi Sea was masked, displaying only four layers.
Recently, the expenditure of Mana had been too frequent. Even with his ninth-layer cultivation, he felt it was insufficient.
If this was the case for him, it was even more so for the members of the three Renovation Teams.
While actively completing various tasks to earn merits, they had to also find time to practice cultivation ardently to advance their own levels.
It was an unspeakably arduous ordeal.
However, the three families also brought out their respective resources — a vast supply of Elixir Pills to recompense the weaknesses of Renovation Team members and strive to smooth out their cultivation obstacles.
Even Zhu Xuanji and Zhu Zhen, two Golden Core Cultivators, had dug deep into their pockets to provide many subsidies.
Consequently, Ning Zhuo gained many valuable items, most of which he stored away. His journey was too extended; he simply couldn't use them.
Suddenly,
in his Divine Sea, Ning Zhuo's Buddha Heart Demon Seal burst forth with a brilliant Buddhist radiance.
The Buddhist light enveloped Ning Zhuo's entire body.
"Who is trying to probe my lifespan again?" Ning Zhuo hastily halted his breathing practice and channeled all his Mana into the Cloud Concealed Bud beneath his tongue.
Together, they perfectly concealed his lifespan.
Boom!
A loud bang made Ning Zhuo feel the bed shaking.
"What's happening? What occurred outside?" Ning Zhuo opened his eyes within the Floating Cloud.
At that moment, the Buddhist light vanished.
Clearly, whoever was probing had stopped their action.
Ning Zhuo immediately retracted the Floating Cloud, jumped to the ground, and fiercely opened the room door, stepping into the courtyard.
Ning Jiufan was already standing in the courtyard, gazing into the sky.
Ning Zhuo was about to greet him respectfully, but his gaze was captured by the scene in the sky!
A massive fire serpent, nearly a hundred zhang long and as thick as ancient wood, reared up high and then struck the spherical Light Shield of the Lava Fairy Palace with its head, like a siege hammer.
Boom!
The familiar sound echoed in Ning Zhuo's ears.
Once again, the Lava Fairy Palace trembled violently beneath him.
"So, it was the cause of the disturbance just now!" Ning Zhuo suddenly realized, taking in a sharp breath, "Great Ancestor, is this a Nascent Soul Level king of Demon Beasts?"
Ning Zhuo had seen from afar the Fire-Walking Snake and Fire-Walking Jiao at the Golden Core Level.
Such a massive body and such a fierce onslaught could not possibly belong to a Golden Core Level.
Ning Jiufan nodded gravely, "Correct!"
Ning Zhuo felt a shock in his heart, thinking, "This Flame Demon Beast Tide indeed has Nascent Soul Level entities involved!"
Crack, crack.
Large cracks swiftly appeared on the golden semi-transparent spherical Light Shield.
The crisp cracking sound was so apparent, it sent chills down everyone's spine.
Almost all the Cultivators in the Lava Fairy Palace were awakened and looked up at this scene with utmost concern.
Their highest cultivation was merely at the Golden Core Level. Facing a Nascent Soul Level enemy, they were significantly powerless. Even if the Lava Fairy Palace had suppressive capabilities, a tough battle was inevitable.
"Meng Kui City Lord, why haven't you made your move yet?" Ning Zhuo asked urgently.
He harbored an additional worry beyond that of others.
That was the matter of merits!
The Flame Demon Beast Tide had been triggered by cooperation between Ning Zhuo and Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit. If the Nascent Soul Blazing Serpent broke through the Light Shield and heavily damaged the Lava Fairy Palace, it would result in a great negative impact on Ning Zhuo's merit calculation.
Just as Ning Zhuo finished speaking, he saw Meng Kui make his move.
Behind the Fire-Walking Snake, clouds swirled violently, quickly clearing to reveal a giant human palm.
Spell—Mysterious Palm Within!
The giant palm seemed slow yet moved swiftly, reaching behind the Fire-Walking Snake in the blink of an eye.
Just as it was about to grasp the Fire-Walking Snake, the latter suddenly shrieked, and flares gathered at its flanks, forming a pair of fiery wings wide enough to span its body.
Boom.
The Fire-Walking Snake rapidly fanned its wings, leaving behind a trail of sparks, shooting forth in full force.
The giant palm clasped empty air.
Meng Kui was taken aback. Although this Nascent Soul Level Fire-Walking Snake lacked the talent to assume a dragon-form which was typical at Nascent Soul Level, it had mastered Fire-attribute Spells.
Meng Kui inhaled deeply, exerting his full strength to operate the City Protecting Great Array, trying to suppress the rising aggressive assault from the Flame Demon Beast Tide.
With no immediate threat, the Fire-Walking Snake flew directly above the Lava Fairy Palace, opened its maw, and spewed out raging flames.
The flames were extremely hot, sticking to the Golden Light Barrier, quickly causing it to dim. The temperature inside the entire Lava Fairy Palace abruptly escalated, causing many Cultivators to show discomfort, their faces flushed red.
Meng Kui, with a loud shout, deployed a spell to summon wind and rain.
However, the ordinary wind and rain only slightly contained the fire, failing to extinguish it.
"It's over! Maintaining the Light Shield consumes a great deal of Mana. A part of these debts will be charged to me," Ning Zhuo silently cursed.
Meng Kui then deployed another spell and utilized a Magic Treasure, attacking the Fire-Walking Snake.
The Fire-Walking Snake roared, flapped its fiery wings, and dove downward.
It forcefully shattered the spell, knocked away the Magic Treasure, and then, unstoppable, crashed like a meteorite striking the earth for the third time against the spherical Light Shield.
Boom!
This time, a massive crack quickly spread almost across the entire sky, as if it was about to slice the entire spherical light shield in half.
Countless fireballs overflowed from the Runaway Fire Snake, quickly infiltrating through the crack.
They passed through the light shield, reaching the skies above the Lava Fairy Palace, coalescing into eight Golden Core Level Runaway Fire Jiaos, dozens of Foundation Establishment Level, and hundreds of Qi Refining Level!
Yet, this wasn't a spell.
Each Fire Jiao was an independent life form.
Originally, the life of a Runaway Fire Snake was quite peculiar, being a blazing flame without a flesh and blood body. Within their kind, Runaway Fire Snakes could intertwine and temporarily merge.
On a Nascent Soul Level Runaway Fire Snake's body, a massive swarm of Runaway Fire Snakes was attached, merged together!
The Nascent Soul Blazing Serpent coiled at the top of the light shield, continued to penetrate the group inward, as Meng Kui reached out with his mysterious hand once again.
The Runaway Fire Snake raised its head and coiled its massive body, showing unbelievable agility as it avoided the grab.
But this time, Meng Kui learned from previous lessons and prepared a second Mana Power Hand that quickly grabbed again.
The Runaway Fire Snake didn't dodge this time, and its head was firmly grasped.
It hissed unwillingly, but still couldn't resist the power of the giant hand and was flung away.
Bang!
It struck directly against the vertical wall of the volcano's caldera, making a violent noise.
The Runaway Fire Snake howled in pain, its tail dangling into the magma, stirring the lava violently with a flick.
A surge of molten lava shot up into the sky, fiercely striking the Mana Power Hand that had seized it.
The Mana Power Hand was immediately melted down, becoming severely damaged.
The Runaway Fire Snake writhed excitedly, almost free, when Meng Kui's other large hand covered it, suppressing it once again.
Thus, both parties were locked in a stalemate.
Inside the Lava Fairy Palace, the battle between the cultivators and the Runaway Fire Snake horde had already begun.
Both sides engaged in fierce combat in the sky and on the ground.
Troop against troop, general against general.
Zhu Xuanji, Zhu Zhen, and others took the lead, flying through the air, fiercely attacking the Golden Core Level Runaway Jiaos, strenuously preventing them from reaching the ground.
There were also Golden Core Level Runaway Fire Snakes without the ability to fly, crashing to the ground and intercepted by Golden Core Level Cultivators, sparking intense fighting among the buildings.
"My merits!" Ning Zhuo's expression and mood were equally somber.
All he could do was gather the members of the Ning Family's Renovation Team, rush into the battlefield, and exert all his effort to make up for his merits!
"Break it, break it!" In the main hall of the Lava Fairy Palace, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit roared excitedly in succession.
It fully controlled the light shield, causing the flow of mana to be intermittent and directing the main force of the Mechanical Artifacts to always dodge the powerful Runaway Fire Snakes, aiming for weaker spots.
To the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, the Lava Fairy Palace was both a temporary physical abode and a huge cage.
The more the Lava Fairy Palace was destroyed, the greater the gaps in the cage, despite deepening its wounds.
"One moment, those gaps will widen enough for me to break free!"
"For freedom, all for freedom."
"Hang in there, show the spirit of the Runaway Fire Snake clan! Hmm... even though we have no bones," the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit cheered for the Nascent Soul Level Runaway Fire Snake as it observed the intense battle.
...
Ning Zhuo took a deep breath, slapped his Storage Waist Belt, and immediately released ten Explosive Flame Monkeys.
The Explosive Flame Monkeys pounced on a group of Qi Refining Level Runaway Fire Snakes.
After a few exchanges, they consecutively exploded with bangs.
The bodies of the Runaway Fire Snakes were blown apart, but within a few breaths, they all regenerated.
Ning Zhuo deeply furrowed his brow. The self-destruction of the Explosive Flame Monkeys was their strongest method, but Runaway Fire Snakes didn't have flesh and blood bodies, so the effects of the explosions were minor.
The swarm of Runaway Fire Snakes rushed at Ning Zhuo, hissing as they intertwined with each other, and by the time they reached him, their merged life force had already reached the Foundation Establishment Level.
Ning Zhuo slapped his belt again, releasing a Fire Bamboo Snake.
The Fire Bamboo Snake entangled with the Foundation Establishment Level Fire Snake, and for a moment, they were indistinguishable.
Ning Zhuo seized the opportunity to cast spells, sending out ten Mechanical Flying Hands, each shooting spells.
A heavy shower of Frost Spells smashed down, breaking the Foundation Establishment Fire Snake apart, reverting them back into a dozen Qi Refining Level small snakes. Then the spells covered and wiped them all out.
The Fire Bamboo Snake was riddled with scars, significantly damaged.
Fortunately for Ning Zhuo, the Fire Bamboo Snakes he had in reserve were not limited to just this one.
He continued to fight fiercely.
Boom, boom, boom!
Above his head, thunderous explosions resonated continuously.
Each explosion signified the intense collision between Meng Kui and the Nascent Soul Level Runaway Fire Snake.
"The key to this defensive battle is still the confrontation on the Nascent Soul Level!" This was clear to everyone.
Finally,
when Meng Kui had gathered enough power, one hand intercepted the Runaway Fire Snake, and one hand flew back, creating distance.
The Mana Power Hand hovering in mid-air began to calculate.
Meng Kui's physical eyes rolled back as he coldly shouted, "Runaway Fire Snake, I have calculated… your retreat in defeat!"
In the next instant, the calculating Mana Power Hand disintegrated like vapor, rapidly dissipating.
And on the body of the Nascent Soul Runaway Fire Snake, bang, bang, bang! Successive explosions disabled it.
Initially unconcerned, the snake quickly began to shriek in alarm.
Because it was horrified to discover that its injuries couldn't heal. At this moment, its advantage of not having a flesh and blood body seemed utterly non-existent!