Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 218 Subduing the Stone Monster

"Alu City?" Liu Jianjian tilted her head and thought for a moment. "What city is that? I've never heard of it."

"One of the thirteen cities of Honghe Prefecture, located southwest of Yuanyang City, it is famous for its clear springs." Zhu Ge took out the map given to him by Mr. Chunzhi and pointed to a mark on it: "After the city fell, it was said to have been occupied by a group of stone monsters. Those stone monsters do not eat flesh and blood, but only like to collect spirit stones and metal ores. The springs and mineral veins in the city should still be there."

"Stone monsters?" Liu Jianjian's eyes lit up: "That's great! Stone monsters have thick skin and thick flesh, but they're not very intelligent, so they're much easier to deal with than demonic beasts."

"Don't underestimate them." Zhu Ge put away the map: "Although the stone monsters are not very intelligent, their defense is extremely strong. Moreover, they have occupied Alu City for a long time, and they may have formed a sizable community inside."

"What's there to be afraid of? Master, you can even kill a giant lizard from the third realm, why would you be afraid of a bunch of stone monsters?" Liu Jianjian said nonchalantly.

Zhu Ge shook her head and didn't say anything more.

Then came the march.

At first, everyone was a little unaccustomed to the march, but as time went by, they no longer had any objections to it.

You get used to it after a while, always on the go.

After two days of marching, Alu City came into view in the distance.

The city was built among low hills, and the walls were unlikely to be made of the local bluish-gray rocks, but they were very thick.

The city walls were covered with moss and vines, and from a distance, they looked like a ruin sleeping in the green.

There were no guards at the city gate, which was half-open, and it was completely silent inside.

"Another empty city?" Liu Jianjian muttered.

"It doesn't look like it." Zhu Ge observed carefully: "Look at the marks on the city wall."

Liu Jianjian looked in the direction he was pointing. Besides the signs of weathering, there were also some huge scratches and impact dents on the city wall.

But those marks are very old, and the edges are covered with moss.

"It's been a long time since we've fought," Zhu Ge said. "Since the stone monster took over this place, it shouldn't have been attacked from the outside."

""

"Shall we just go in?"

"I'll go check first." Zhu Ge dismounted. "You all wait here."

"Going alone again?" Liu Jianjian pouted. "I want to go too."

"You're too conspicuous." Zhu Ge patted her head. "Stone monsters are sensitive to scents. They can smell your demonic aura from miles away. It's actually more convenient for me to go alone."

Although Liu Jianjian was reluctant, she still nodded.

So Zhu Ge used the [Stealth] trait, suppressing his aura to the lowest level, and walked silently toward the city gate.

Upon entering the city, it appeared even more dilapidated than from the outside.

Houses collapsed, streets cracked, and there was rubble and dust everywhere.

But unlike the fallen cities I'd seen before, there were no bones, no bloodstains, and not even the slightest stench of decay.

"Strange," Zhu Ge thought to herself.

He walked along the main street, through several alleys, and arrived at a square in the center of the city.

In the square, dozens of stone monsters were lazily lying on the ground basking in the sun.

They vary in size, from as small as a calf to as large as a house.

Its body is made of bluish-gray rock with rough textures on the surface. It has thick limbs, a flat head, no eyes, and only a large mouth full of sharp teeth.

There are first and second realms, but no third realm.

Zhu Ge did not disturb them, and walked around the square towards the spring area in the north of the city.

The spring area is located at the northern end of Alu City and is a low-lying area.

From afar, Zhu Ge could see the spring.

Spring water gushed from the ground, forming a pool about three zhang square, with pale white mist floating on the surface, exuding a rich spiritual energy.

This is spring water, but not a sacred spring; it's just that it has a richer spiritual energy.

By the pond, several medicinal herbs were growing, their leaves lush and green, some already bearing fruit.

"Good stuff," Zhu Ge thought to himself with delight.

He crouched down and carefully observed his surroundings.

There were no stone monsters, no demonic beasts, only the bubbling sound of the spiritual spring water.

He took out the grass bowl, carefully scooped out several bowls of spiritual spring water, and picked a few mature spiritual herbs.

He left the rest untouched.

Based on his limited knowledge of herbal medicine, these spiritual plants would be useless if they were uprooted, so it would be better to leave them and send people to harvest them regularly in the future.

However, just as he was about to leave, a strange movement suddenly came from the bottom of the spiritual spring pool.

Zhu Ge's pupils contracted, and she immediately took several steps back.

The water surface exploded, and a huge stone monster burst out of the spring.

Its entire body is dark green, and it is more than twice the size of the other stone monsters. Its rocks shimmer with a metallic luster.

The Three Realms.

"Humans—" the stone monster's voice boomed like thunder: "This is my territory. You dare steal my spring?"

Zhu Ge didn't speak, but simply gripped the Purgatory Star Staff tightly.

The stone monster has no eyes, but it seems to be able to sense Zhuge's location through the vibrations in the ground.

It braced itself on all fours, its head slightly lowered, its mouth wide open, revealing a dense array of sharp teeth.

"Thief, damn it!"

The stone monster suddenly pounced.

Zhu Ge lightly touched the ground with his toes, his figure as ethereal as smoke and mist, dodging the stone monster's attack, and striking it in the ribs with his staff.

"clang""

The sound of metal clashing.

The stone monster's body was incredibly hard; Zhu Ge's blow only left a shallow white mark on it.

"It's so hard." Zhu Ge shook her numb arm.

The stone monster has amazing defense, but it is very slow.

Zhu Ge used his incense-lighting technique to move around it, striking the same spot with the stick one after another.

The seventh strike.

"Click"

The rocks shattered, and dark green blood seeped out.

The stone monster, in pain, flailed its limbs wildly, but Zhu Ge had already vanished into the distance.

"Surrender," Zhu Ge said calmly. "Or die."

Zhu Ge has always had a very high tolerance for spirits and ghosts.

Because these two races are very useful, "I—" The stone monster remained silent for a long time, but finally lowered its head: "I—surrender."

"Very good." Zhu Ge used the Yin energy of Hua Liusha to plant a restriction in the mind of the stone monster and put it into his mind.

With this three-realm stone monster, the spiritual spring and mineral veins of Alu City are now firmly in our grasp.

From then on, the Six Paths Palace had a stable source of raw materials for cultivating spiritual herbs and forging spiritual artifacts.

"Master, this stone monster is so ugly." When Liu Jianjian arrived, she looked at the dark green giant beast lying on the ground with great disgust.

"Ugly as it may be, it's useful." Zhu Ge smiled. "Take it with us, let's go to the next city."

"Are you going again?"

"Go. There are still several fallen cities we haven't explored."

So, over the next few days, Zhu Ge led his team to explore the remaining fallen cities.

Upon arriving in a city, he would first infiltrate alone to investigate and gather supplies and intelligence.

If you encounter a valuable demon, ghost, spirit, or god, subdue it; if you encounter one that refuses to surrender, kill it.

The grass bowl grew fuller and fuller, and the number of monsters in Liu Jianjian's hair also increased.

When he returned to the camp after exploring the last city, Yu Xiucai and Zhao Tieshan had already arrived with a large group of men.

"Palace Master, the people of Mengzi City have been settled." Yu Xiucai's face showed a hint of fatigue, but his eyes were as bright as ever. "City Lord Tong asked me to pass on a message that he will be waiting for our good news in Mengzi City."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work." Zhu Ge nodded. "Rest for one night, and we'll head to Yuanyang City tomorrow."

"Are we finally going to attack Yuanyang City?" Zhao Tieshan rubbed his hands together, eager for the battle.

"Not fighting." Zhu Ge shook his head: "Let's scout ahead first, find out the true strengths and weaknesses of the Plague God Sparrow and the Red River Dragon Python. Only by knowing ourselves and our enemy can we win every battle."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

They followed Zhu Ge, but while they didn't learn much else, they did pick up a good deal of composure and cunning.

"Rest and recuperate, forge metals, build our team, and prepare for battle with all our might!"