: Lifeless Flame

The cover of "Gao Sheng's Posthumous Writings" was made of metal.

On the cover stood four large characters—"Gao Sheng's Posthumous Writings"—their strokes bold and powerful. At a single glance, one felt as if a storm was crashing down, bringing an indescribable sense of oppression.

Ning Zhuo couldn't identify what kind of metal it was. He guessed it was likely an alloy forged from multiple metals.

When Sun Lingtong used his stealing technique, Solid Copy Hand, his palm felt as if pierced by thousands of golden needles. The intense pain made him grimace and grit his teeth.

Yet, no matter how agonizing it was, he persevered desperately, his eyes bloodshot and brimming with excitement.

"Gao Sheng's Art of War—this is the personal work of a Void Refining Great Master. What a priceless relic!"

Ning Zhuo, on the other hand, tried various methods in turn but found no effective way to handle "Gao Sheng's Posthumous Writings."

His cultivation in the Art of War was too weak.

Fortunately, they had made ample preparations for this operation.

Immediately, Ning Zhuo took out an array disk and set up a sealing array around the military text.

As the array activated, the embedded top-grade spirit stones were rapidly consumed, their power gradually rising to seal the military text step by step.

"It behaves like a lifeless object—that shouldn't be the case."

"Is it because it's damaged that Shuang Jing is qualified to use it?" Ning Zhuo pondered.

"Thank goodness it's damaged. If it truly had sentience, it wouldn't be so easy to snatch!" Sun Lingtong's face was pale, drenched in sweat, and he looked extremely weak.

He had struggled immensely.

As a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, he had dared to seize the personal writings of a Void Refining Great Master.

"No, my clan's 'Gao Sheng's Posthumous Writings'!" Shuang Jing cried out in shock.

He watched helplessly as the Stone-Elder Freak swallowed the military text, his vision darkening as he nearly fainted from rage.

Long Ye also witnessed this and was equally furious.

He had fought tooth and nail, only for the Stone-Elder Freak to reap all the benefits.

How could he not be angry?

He immediately sent a mental message: "Stone-Elder Freak, keep the military text for now and hand it over after the battle."

Ignoring him completely, Sun and Ning directly controlled the Stone-Elder Freak and burrowed back underground.

Earthwalk Technique!

This spell was not the Earth Escape Technique.

There was a difference between the two.

The Earth Escape Technique did allow travel through soil, but the escape light was conspicuous and the aura startling.

The conditions for using the Earthwalk Technique were much higher than for Earth Escape. It allowed faster movement through earth and true integration with the soil.

Therefore, using the Earthwalk Technique often required specific physical constitutions and cultivation methods from the practitioner.

The Stone-Elder Freak, being a ten-thousand-year earth essence and its body composed of earth-element treasures, met the physical requirements.

Ning Zhuo's Earthwalk Spleen Temple mainly drew from the Five Viscera Temple Divine Art. Even as an ancient method, this technique was quite exceptional. Ning Zhuo, at least a Five Elements Grandmaster, had fully refined it, so the method was also up to par.

Thus, the "Stone-Elder Freak" could wield the Earthwalk Technique.

Sun and Ning had been moving through the earth as effortlessly as fish in water, but this time, they encountered numerous obstacles.

Countless ginseng tendrils had taken root underground, tangled and intertwined.

Moving through soil with the Earthwalk Technique was as easy as breathing. But encountering wood-element ginseng tendrils was like hitting a wall.

As a result, Sun and Ning had to constantly detour underground, navigating through gaps to avoid the countless tendrils.

More and more tendrils burst forth from the mountain ground, centered on Long Ye, attacking all enemies.

The fleeing soldiers of the White Jade Camp were slaughtered in droves.

Shuang Jing and the others fled madly.

Mu Lan's face was deathly pale; the event she dreaded most was unfolding before her eyes.

This time, she no longer held out hope of rescuing the White Jade Camp. She glanced at the Red Flower Manifestation above, trapping enemies like Bi Teng Yi and other cultivators.

"If we don't retreat now, it'll be too late!"

However, the Red Flower Camp, having maintained their formation for a long battle, was utterly exhausted.

They struggled to sustain the Red Flower Manifestation, as if bearing a heavy burden, making it difficult to march normally.

With such slow marching speed, retreat was out of the question.

Earlier, with the three allied camps nearby, the Red Flower Camp could use "No Shared Blossom" to shift the burden to their allies. But now, the White Jade Camp had collapsed and could no longer bear it.

Sun and Ning also noticed this and hurried underground toward the Red Flower Camp.

"Zhang Zhongyi isn't bad; he's worth lending a hand."

"Though the Red Flower Camp isn't wealthy, a battered ship still has some nails—they must have some good items."

"Exactly!" Sun Lingtong nodded. "That astonishing shot from Mu Lan earlier—without treasure support, how could it have such terrifying power?"

Inside the Light Mountain Heavy Mist Diagram.

The latest military intelligence reached Lu Hongtu, the master of Mo Yuan Cave.

He laughed heartily and passed the jade slip to the other three Nascent Soul cave masters.

"Long Ye is mighty!"

"This ambush will be a great victory for us!"

"Hahaha, excellent, excellent."

The masters of Mo Xin, Blood Shadow, and Poison Scorpion Caves were all delighted.

Lu Hongtu said, "Next, we wait for Long Ye to crush the enemy forces and join us to swallow up this Golden Halberd Army!"

As he thought this, he suddenly felt a hint of strangeness.

Pondering this feeling, Lu Hongtu grew more certain: "Something seems off."

Then, a remark from Mo Xin Cave Master jolted him awake: "Great Cave Master, with victory near, we must remain cautious."

"The Golden Halberd Army is one of the imperial guards. The imperial guards of the Two Pillars Kingdom all practice the Royal Guard Flight Art."

"We must guard against them making a desperate move!"

Lu Hongtu's heart shook: "Royal Guard Flight Art? Right, if Sun Gan were truly desperate, why hasn't he used this Art of War?!"

"Since he received the earlier intelligence, much time has passed. Why hasn't he used it?"

"He appears anxious, but that's not really the case!"

"Or perhaps... he doesn't want to exert his full strength to rescue the White Jade Camp?"

Lu Hongtu's mind raced with suspicions, but he couldn't be sure.

He immediately waved his sleeve, directing the other three cultivators to adjust the diagram, creating a shift.

From Sun Gan's perspective, the mountains grew heavier, and the mist drifted lightly, returning to normal—like interlocking clasps loosening a gap.

But Sun Gan didn't rush to break through. Instead, he controlled the Golden Dragon Manifestation, continuously maneuvering.

"Not good!" Seeing this, Lu Hongtu exclaimed in a low voice.

The three cultivators were baffled.

Lu Hongtu's face darkened; without explaining, he only said, "Follow orders, quickly assist me in dismantling the array, disengage from the enemy, and retreat swiftly."

Mo Xin and the others: ?!

High in the sky, a hundred zhang above.

A massive white cloud drifted along.

Hidden within the cloud was an army.

This army, with red flags fluttering, stood in orderly formation, their military strength at its peak.

It was the Fire Cloud Camp!

"Sun Gan ordered us to march in secret, and it's truly yielded great results," Lu Chi, the commander of the Fire Cloud Camp, remarked leisurely.

He stared into a mirror before him, which showed scenes of fierce battles from various fronts.

"Now is the time—attack!" Lu Chi thundered, issuing the order decisively.

In the next moment, the Fire Cloud Camp's battle array manifestation shot out, swiftly descending upon the battlefield.

The manifestation resembled a thin line of fire, incredibly fast, accurately landing on Long Ye.

Boom!!!

Instantly, flames erupted, blazing up to six zhang high.

Long Ye was entirely engulfed in fire, his size and life force plummeting rapidly.

Long Ye's heart trembled violently as he exclaimed, "Lifeless Flame?!"

*Lifeless flames dance with red clouds flying, fierce light surges, heaven and earth sighing.*

*Crimson blaze burns life without a trace, dry bones watch, laughing as ash flies.*

The fire-element sin treasure—Lifeless Flame.

It specifically burns life force, ineffective against inanimate objects or ghosts.

The more abundant the vitality, the more fuel there is, and the stronger the flame's power!

Soon, Long Ye could no longer hold on and was burned into unconsciousness.

(End of )