Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit

Black and white smoke billowed endlessly around the palace, while blazing magma flowed slowly beneath it.

The palace of red bricks and golden pillars stood lofty and erect, like an ancient giant lying in the molten river, bathing.

At the deepest point of the Main Hall, upon a high-backed throne, a little dragon lay coiled.

This little dragon was orange-red all over, as if condensed from magma. Golden light flowed through its body, giving it an extraordinary, majestic bearing.

It had a dragon's head, dragon tail, and four dragon claws, yet its upper body was that of a turtle. The surface of its Turtle Shell was covered in uneven reddish-brown chunks of rock. The stones lay apart from one another, their crisscrossing gaps outlining a grid-patterned turtle shell.

It was none other than the Palace Spirit of the Magma Immortal Palace—the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit!

At that moment, the resting Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit slowly opened his eyes.

He raised his head and looked toward the palace ceiling.

The Magma Immortal Palace gave a slight tremble, helping his gaze pierce through the roof, through layer upon layer of smoke and clouds, until it finally caught sight of a blurry figure.

It was the Fire Persimmon City Lord!

To avoid alerting the City Lord, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit did not look too closely. He immediately shifted his thoughts, and his gaze began to spread downward.

His gaze moved swiftly, rapidly covering the entire Fire Persimmon Immortal City. Only when it reached the dense, scorching Fire Persimmon Forest at the foot of the mountain did it abruptly stop.

Golden pupils gleamed within the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit's scarlet eye sockets.

He increased the force of his inspection. In his vision, tangible things such as the mountain city, forest, and residents gradually blurred away, revealing a vast and magnificent grand array.

This grand array had two Array Eyes. One enormous Array Eye lay within the mountain, while another smaller one was located in the City Lord's Mansion. There were also five array pillars, positioned respectively in the residences of the Zhou, Zheng, and Ning clans, as well as the dungeon and the city guard barracks.

The grand array was colossal, nearly covering all of Fire Persimmon Mountain. At the same time, it was interconnected with numerous smaller arrays within the Fire Persimmon Forest at the foot of the mountain.

The Array Foot of the grand array plunged straight down from Fire Persimmon Mountain's summit, deeply embedding itself within the mountain.

The blue-green array patterns of the Immortal City Array interwove like a vast net that blotted out the sky and covered the earth, locking down all of Fire Persimmon Mountain. The immortal palace was like a bird trapped in a cage.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit snorted. This feeling of being bound made him exceedingly irritated.

He pressed down with his foreclaws, propped himself up, and suddenly leaped into the air.

He had no wings, yet he flew with astonishing speed and agility. He darted through the air like a streak of orange-gold radiance that had suddenly lit up.

The streak of light carved a brilliant ring through the air before landing back upon the throne.

In an instant, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit shifted from motion to stillness. Flecks of fire followed their momentum, smashing against the throne before scattering in all directions through the dim palace.

Having vented a little of his frustration, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit once more slightly raised his dragon head, gazing afar and observing the outside world.

His gaze first settled upon the City Lord's Mansion.

At that moment, within the mansion, a burly, large-eyed youth sat cross-legged, diligently circulating his cultivation.

Unlike usual, however, the burly youth was not accumulating magical power, but dispersing it.

He was none other than the City Lord's grandson—Meng Chong!

The City Lord's voice transmission seemed to still echo beside Meng Chong's ears.

"Meng Chong, my grandson, I have already used the Opportunity Decree Talisman to draw the aura of the Magma Immortal Palace onto you! I have also lit the Divine Calculation Incense and calculated the optimal course of action."

"Remember, you must be the first to cultivate the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art to the Qi Refining Third Level. This is crucial and will give you an enormous head start. Accomplishing this means you have already won half the battle. As your advantages pile up like a rolling snowball, you will gradually leave the other competitors far behind."

"Unfortunately, the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art is a Daoist cultivation art. If it were a Buddhist cultivation art, the Salvation Pill I have here could be put to use for you."

"Now, you must disperse your power as quickly as possible and recultivate the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art!"

"Someone will bring you enough Meridian Nourishing Body Protection Powder. Do not be stingy with it. Take it all, and achieve perfect power dispersion as quickly as possible!"

Meng Chong exhaled a breath of turbid air, his large eyes filled with determination.

The Opportunity Decree Talisman and Divine Calculation Incense were both Nascent Soul Level treasures, worth a fortune beyond measure. With such a major investment from the Fire Persimmon City Lord, the burden of seizing the Magma Immortal Palace had been placed directly upon Meng Chong's shoulders.

Meng Chong's heart brimmed with fighting spirit!

"Grandfather, you have done so much for me. If your grandson still fails, then I will have borne the Meng surname in vain!"

"I definitely will not disappoint you."

"I will certainly seize first place!"

Meng Chong's face was filled with resolve. He shut his eyes tightly and continued dispersing his power.

However, his previous cultivation had been too high, having reached the Qi Refining Ninth Level. Dispersing his power now required even more time.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit slowly shifted his gaze from the City Lord's Mansion to the Zhou clan grounds.

An underground secret chamber of the Zhou clan.

Zhou Ze Shen and Zhou Zhu stood before a grand array.

Zhou Ze Shen said, "This Gathering and Dispersing Wishful Spirit Tide Array exists in Fire Persimmon Immortal City only in our Zhou clan."

"Big Zhu, you will enter this array next to disperse your power. Then you will choose the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art and recultivate it."

"This grand array can help you speed up your power dispersion, and it can also help you cultivate it again as quickly as possible."

"I'm counting on you!"

The Zhou clan possessed deep foundations and undisputedly ranked first among the Three Great Families.

In order to scheme for the Magma Immortal Palace, the Zhou clan had made many attempts long ago.

Among them, they had arranged for lineage members Zhou Ze Shen and Zhou Zhu to join the Mudflow Sect for cultivation.

The Mudflow Sect was one of the rare sects skilled in Mechanism Art. After Zhou Ze Shen and Zhou Zhu had completed their studies, they returned to the lineage to await orders.

They had not expected the Dharma Transmission Bell to ring.

This forced them to make a choice.

After careful deliberation, the Zhou clan decided to retain Zhou Ze Shen and have Zhou Zhu take the risk of switching to the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art.

Zhou Zhu had no objections. In a muffled voice, he said, "Brother Shen, you're smarter than me. Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do it."

"There's no need to feel guilty toward me. Contributing to the lineage is only right and proper!"

Zhou Zhu stepped forward and formally entered the array.

He did not sit cross-legged. Instead, he stood perfectly straight, like a towering pillar—steady and unadorned.

The power dispersion began.

Zhou Ze Shen sighed, secretly feeling that it was a pity for Zhou Zhu.

Zhou Zhu possessed Qi Refining Eighth Level cultivation, one level higher than his own. Dispersing magical power that he had painstakingly cultivated for years was an enormous loss.

But there was no other way!

The Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art was very likely the key to competing for the Magma Immortal Palace.

This was the first time the Dharma Transmission Bell had rung, and it had caused such a huge disturbance. All of it revealed that after reaching the Qi Refining Stage, the Magma Immortal Palace's method of selection had undergone a tremendous change!

To handle the changes that might arise, the Zhou clan chose to be cautious while also making an active attempt.

The grand array began to hum as it operated, and a trace of pain appeared on Zhou Zhu's face.

The invisible force generated by the grand array forcibly tore the magical power from within Zhou Zhu's body. This inevitably caused Zhou Zhu harm!

Yet Zhou Zhu possessed the Vitality Stillness Body. So long as he remained motionless, vitality would burst forth from within his body, allowing his injuries to recover at full speed.

The grand array was helping him violently disperse his power, while Zhou Zhu's own self-healing ability also activated, actively repairing the injuries to his meridians.

This was the key factor in choosing Zhou Zhu to recultivate.