Lin Bing and Mingde's faces instantly turned grim.

If they were to perish here, Prince Dongyang Jinyuan would immediately head to the Hanbei camp, take over the 200,000-strong army with his princely status and name, and then surrender to the Xiwan state army. After that, they would turn north, pressing towards the capital.

In that case, while the danger to the capital would be secondary, the key issue was that the gates to the northern frontier would be completely opened to foreign tribes from then on!

The flames grew larger and larger. Amidst the smoke, the archers had lost their targets and were retreating to the Hanbei camp under Prince Dongyang Jinyuan's lead. Lin Bing ran forward a few steps but felt the rocks ahead overlapping heavily. The pungent smoke assailed his face. This giant rock formation that had trapped and killed countless armies in the past now firmly trapped them inside!

"General Lin, this won't work!" Mingde grabbed him. "You'll get lost in here!"

Lin Bing glanced at him anxiously. He noticed that this usually delicate and eccentric youth was very calm at this moment. He couldn't help but ask, "Do you have a way out?"

Mingde looked up. "I can try to break through from above..."

The walls of the giant rock formation were nearly ten feet high. Lin Bing exclaimed, "You can jump that high?"

Mingde said, "I'll try."

Everyone looked at him in despair. Mingde took half a step back. With a long leap, he suddenly sprang upwards, relying on his last breath. In midair, he seemed to kick off something, his momentum fierce and renewed. If not for the smoke obscuring the sun, perhaps everyone would have praised his superb skill.

However, at this moment, several whooshes sounded from the perimeter. Lin Bing cried out, "Not good!"

Mingde suddenly dropped down heavily, landing on the ground with a thud, stirring up a large cloud of dust. Several arrows shot past right where he had been. If he had been a little slower, he might have been turned into a porcupine on the spot.

Lin Bing stepped forward and pulled Mingde up. With a glance, he saw that Mingde's expression was extremely fierce, sending a shiver down one's spine.

Lin Bing quickly grabbed him, "Lord Shangguan, don't push yourself! We can try running out the way we came!"

In fact, this was nearly impossible. Prince Dongyang Jinyuan had led them in, but they had the ancient formation map, so entering was easy. Now the ancient formation map was gone, and the formation seemed to have changed. No one remembered how long they had been running amidst the heavy rock shadows. They only felt the air getting hotter and harder to breathe, yet everywhere they looked, the paths were completely blocked.

Zhuo Yu was already in poor condition, and he was carrying his sister. Gradually, he couldn't support her and staggered, nearly falling. Lu Jiuchen happened to be following unhurriedly behind and reached out to steady him. "Be careful, Zhuo Yu."

Zhuo Yu waved his hand to push him away and sneered, "General Lu, you were once said to be unbeatable under heaven. Why are you trapped by a mere giant rock formation?"

Lu Jiuchen calmly said, "Throughout history, I'm not the only one to be trapped."

"But among those trapped, who had General Lu's illustrious reputation?"

Lu Jiuchen stared at Zhuo Yu for a while, then lightly shifted his gaze. "So many years have passed. The people from back then are gone, yet you still have the same temperament, always blaming others when you're frightened..."

Zhuo Yu paused, his expression instantly showing a hint of the awkwardness of being seen through, but it passed in just a brief moment.

"Actually, this isn't bad," Lu Jiuchen sat down, not minding the increasingly scorching ground. "You and I have fought for a lifetime. Now we die together. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, our bones will mix together. Our decades of scheming were not in vain."

Zhuo Yu put down Ah Zhen and stood up, gazing at the approaching flames. "But I don't want to die with you."

"Oh?"

Zhuo Yu sneered, "All these years, haven't you been waiting to take my life? Yes, I killed my father and monarch, violated human ethics, misled the country as a powerful official, and deserve to die for my crimes... But Lu Jiuchen, you're no saint either."

Lu Jiuchen said, "I've never considered myself a saint."

"This has nothing to do with me anymore." Zhuo Yu walked step by step towards the flames. The leaping firelight cast exquisite shadows on his jade-like face. "Lu Jiuchen, I won't accompany you... In this vast world, go on alone."

He suddenly stopped, hands clasped, head bowed and eyes closed. In an instant, countless invisible currents seemed to surge around him, swirling upwards like blades. Everyone gathered was forced back several steps. Before they could react, Lu Jiuchen abruptly stood up and shouted, "Zhuo Yu! Stop!"

But it was too late.

The wide black robe broke free from the belt and fluttered fiercely. In the firelight, the nine-clawed azure dragon mark on Zhuo Yu's back began spreading at a terrifying speed. The slender dragon's cry resounded through the universe. The surging internal energy was so immense that no one could approach.

No one could describe that devilishly beautiful sight. Under the licking of the huge flames, light and shadow twisted together in an unimaginably beautiful way. Amidst the fierce mountain winds, Zhuo Yu stood like an immovable rock, the stunningly beautiful azure dragon mark rapidly encircling from his chest to his waist, extending from his thighs to his ankles. In an instant, it was as if it had been revived in his body, about to roar out and soar into the sky.

Seal release!

At this critical juncture, Zhuo Yu forcibly activated the half-interrupted seal release. No human body could withstand such a sudden surge of power. His bones would shatter inch by inch. After a brief moment of ultimate beauty, eternal silence would follow.

Nothing could stop the eruption of that power; even the burning mountains were no match for it. After lying dormant for so many years, the last surviving descendants of the celestial beings had finally unsealed their powers once again.