: Prophecy Poem

To be honest, that excuse was pretty flimsy.

But having one was better than having none, much better.

Everyone knew what the thin veil of pretext was really about. Yet, its mere existence significantly improved the Meng family's situation, at least preventing them from becoming a public enemy everyone wanted to eliminate.

"Alright." Meng Hu wasn't completely unaware of the stakes; he had just hoped Meng Kui would have a better plan.

Meng Kui explained the situation in detail to Meng Hu, covering his previous actions and future plans.

Meng Hu found it strange: "Elder Brother, if it were me, I would've taken action long ago. But you've been staying put at the mountain peak, rarely making a move. You're a Nascent Soul cultivator, the supreme authority in Fire Persimmon Immortal City. If you had intervened repeatedly, the internal troubles would've been resolved by now, right?"

Meng Kui smiled faintly and shook his head slowly: "Shortly after the immortal palace appeared, I used the Divine Calculation Incense and performed a divination, obtaining a prophecy poem."

"According to the prophecy, even though I am a Nascent Soul cultivator and the strongest in the city, frequent intervention wouldn't significantly affect the ownership of the Molten Rock Immortal Palace."

Meng Hu reached out: "Elder Brother, what is this prophecy? Let me take a good look."

Meng Kui stroked his beard: "Just listen carefully."

He then recited aloud—

*The immortal palace favors the Meng family,*

*Friend or foe, truth and falsehood blur.*

*Ever-changing winds and clouds are but illusion,*

*Only with immortal资质 in hand is it real.*

*Golden Cores fall, leaving only empty sighs,*

*When the volcano stirs, remain unharmed.*

*The great chase illusions like moon in water,*

*The young compete to decide the world.*

*Playing both sides brings its own gains,*

*Endure until the enemy tires, then leap to victory.*

*Right, wrong, gain, loss—all rest on a single thought,*

*A new master pacifies the people, filling old pits.*

After hearing the prophecy poem, Meng Hu suddenly understood Meng Kui's behavior.

Somewhat dissatisfied, he muttered: "Elder Brother, is your divination accurate? I remember the secret manual from the Celestial Track Mansion clearly stated—"

"*Those who always rely on luck will eventually be blinded by it.*"

"Listening to this prophecy, many parts are ambiguous and open to interpretation."

"Only the last line seems somewhat meaningful."

"*A new master pacifies the people, filling old pits...* Pacifying the people... I've seen intelligence; isn't Zhu Xuanji known as 'Discerning Secrets, Pacifying the People'?"

"Does that mean he will become the master of the immortal palace? So, he's the enemy we need to watch most closely?"

"But the first line of the prophecy says the immortal palace favors our family. I'm confused."

Meng Kui smiled slightly: "You don't need to understand it. Just follow my orders. Watch."

As he spoke, Meng Kui pointed a finger.

A small, almost imperceptible, treasure-grade flying stone shot through the clouds and molten rock like lightning, piercing down into the Demon Ape King's court and injuring a sleeping old ape, jolting it awake.

The old ape, seeing its pierced hand, erupted in fury, unleashing a Nascent Soul-level aura. It charged out of the court toward the volcano crater.

Hearing the old ape's commotion, the two previously mentioned Nascent Soul-level beasts, the Fire-Treading Snake and the Flame-Stepping Lizard, began to stir.

With a thunderous roar, the Nascent Soul-level demon ape made a grand entrance, punching directly at the spherical light shield.

Simultaneously, the Fire-Treading Snake and Flame-Stepping Lizard emerged from two other locations, jointly attacking the Molten Rock Immortal Palace!

Meng Kui once again deployed his great hand seal, moving around swiftly.

With the addition of another Nascent Soul-level demon beast, his previous efforts were clearly insufficient, falling far short.

The remaining spherical light shield of the Molten Rock Immortal Palace was soon cracked in numerous places by the demon ape's fists.

Zhou Nongying, who had been eliminated, was actively healing in her room.

"The three sect elders, in their compassion, teleported me out in time to avoid death. But with my departure, the Zhou family has no hope of victory left."

Just as Zhou Nongying was sighing in despair, she heard the commotion of the Nascent Soul battle.

She left her house, looked up, and was instantly horrified.

She witnessed the flaming demon ape's fists shattering the spherical light shield.

"It's over! Nascent Soul-level demon beasts are going to break into the city!" Zhou Nongying's face was filled with despair.

The next moment, a treasure-grade seal flew out, smashing down on the flaming demon ape and forcing it back.

Meng Kui's roar echoed: "Don't even think of laying a hand on the Molten Rock Immortal Palace! I, Meng Kui, am here! To succeed, you'll have to step over my corpse!"

His roar immediately steadied some people's hearts, but it wasn't enough.

The Nascent Soul-level Fire-Treading Snake opened its mouth and spewed a long river of flames. The fire river spread, incinerating all mechanisms and buildings in its path.

The Flame-Stepping Lizard lowered its head and slammed hard into the Molten Rock Immortal Palace.

The impact caused the palace to tilt violently, like an iceberg lifting one corner. The raised part of the palace crashed back down, stirring up massive waves of magma.

As the waves crashed down, a large section of the palace's foundation immediately collapsed, burying the remaining mechanical structures above in the molten rock.

Following closely, tens of thousands of flaming demon beasts landed from the completely breached outer perimeter of the Molten Rock Immortal Palace, charging toward the inner circle.

The Point General Platform, Five Elements Artillery Towers, and armies of mechanical constructs operated at full capacity, trying to intercept as many flaming demon beasts as possible.

Fortunately, many Qi Refining and Foundation Building cultivators who had previously relocated from Fire Persimmon Immortal City were present.

These people filled the battle lines, forming small spell formations. These formations acted like fortresses, blocking the onslaught of the flaming demon beasts.

A fierce battle of attack and defense erupted instantly!

Zhu Zhen was fighting desperately, his heart pounding, when he noticed the Golden Furnace ruins.

The task Zhu Xuanji had assigned him suddenly seemed much easier, presenting a great possibility of success.

While the Molten Rock Immortal Palace shook violently, the Turnaround Secret Pavilion remained calm.

Ning Zhuo, using spirit stones and surrounded by a team of mechanical constructs, had broken through several secret pavilions.

*Thud.*

He pushed open a door and encountered the second cultivator he had seen so far.

It was Zheng Danlian!

Zheng Danlian was dodging a giant wooden mallet. He was trying to reach the central area to deactivate the mechanical traps and retrieve the pill deep within.

Seeing Ning Zhuo appear, Zheng Danlian's face lit up with joy: "Ning Zhuo! You came at the perfect time..."

*Thud.*

Ning Zhuo promptly closed the door again.

Zheng Danlian's words were stuck in his throat, and his face instantly darkened.

"With the great turnaround, the chance of encountering other cultivators has greatly increased."

"This is a good opportunity to reunite with Boss Sun!"

Zheng Danlian wasn't the best option, and Ning Zhuo didn't need to pass through this particular secret pavilion room. He had many routes to choose from.

So, Ning Zhuo decisively turned back, chose another door, and went through it.

Some time later.

Three cultivators entered this Turnaround Secret Pavilion.

It was the trio: Book Lord, Song Fuli, and the Golden Core true inheritor from the Violet Heaven Pavilion.

The Violet Heaven Pavilion Golden Core cultivator maintained a tracking spell, scanned the area, and frowned: "Why are there two paths? He opened one door, then retreated and left through another."

Song Fuli also frowned: "Could it be that he detected our tracking and is trying to mislead us?"

The Violet Heaven Pavilion true inheritor snorted coldly: "Simple! Let's just open both doors and see, alright?"

So, the Violet Heaven Pavilion Golden Core cultivator and Song Fuli each opened a door.

They easily found traces of Ning Zhuo's departure, and...

Zheng Danlian, who was still navigating the mechanical traps!

Of course, when they opened the doors, Zheng Danlian also noticed them.

"Forget about Ning Zhuo for now, let's take him out first!" Book Lord decided immediately, charging into the secret pavilion first.

The Violet Heaven Pavilion true inheritor was somewhat reluctant but knew this was the best choice. He snorted coldly and followed.

Song Fuli entered third.

Zheng Danlian glared.

Just Book Lord alone made him quite wary. Now, with the addition of the Violet Heaven Pavilion true inheritor and Song Fuli, what chance did he have if a fight broke out?

Zheng Danlian immediately considered retreat.

But the awkward part was, he was stuck in the mechanical traps, unable to move freely and couldn't withdraw quickly.

By the time he reached the periphery of the traps, Book Lord and the other two had already surrounded him from both sides.

"If you want to eliminate me, I'll definitely take one of you down with me!" Zheng Danlian shouted, making a threat.

Book Lord smiled slightly: "I don't believe you. Attack!"

A three-against-one battle commenced.

Zheng Danlian was immediately at a disadvantage.

Forced into a corner, he had no choice but to completely abandon his retreat plan and keep backing away, deeper into the layered mechanical traps.

He had been struggling here for a while and was close to succeeding, almost able to deactivate the traps.

In contrast, Book Lord and the others had just arrived and were unfamiliar with the area.

Using the slight advantage of familiarity with the terrain, Zheng Danlian managed to temporarily hold his ground.

But clearly, his situation was still perilous.

Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu ran side by side.

Yang Chanyu occasionally glanced at Sun Lingtong: "It's rare to see you so serious and focused."

Sun Lingtong rolled her eyes at her: "We've worked hard until now, we're just one step away. Please give it your all. If we succeed in obtaining the immortal palace, we won't treat you unfairly."

Yang Chanyu: "I'm quite curious, even if we get the immortal palace, how will we deal with Meng Kui and the city defense array, not to mention the surrounding hordes of demon beasts?"

"We have a plan!" Sun Lingtong didn't want to say more.

If she could replace Yang Chanyu with Ning Zhuo, she wouldn't hesitate for a second.

"Thanks to the great turnaround, I managed to meet up with Yang Chanyu."

"But if Little Zhuo is still alone, it's quite dangerous."

"Sigh, if only I had the chance to return the Golden Blood Battle Ape - Da Sheng to him during the second hall test, I'd feel more at ease now."

"Someone's here!"

Sun Lingtong pushed open a door and found a figure sitting cross-legged, meditating.

After initial disappointment, her eyes lit up.

Yang Chanyu stepped over the threshold after her and also showed a hint of interest: "Oh? It's Meng Chong."

Meng Chong, after defeating Zhou Nongying, had paid a heavy price.

Fortunately, he had previously obtained healing pills. After taking them, his injuries were mostly healed, though his face was still pale.

What bothered him more was that, unlike Ning Zhuo, he hadn't acquired any spirit crystals. This meant he could only rely on meditation to slowly recover his five-element法力.

(End of )