Whenever the Fire Persimmon Festival arrives, Fire Persimmon Immortal City empties as everyone pours out to the mountainside and the surrounding foothills.
At that time, a part of Fire Persimmon Forest opens up, and both mortals and cultivators join in the harvest of fire persimmons.
This is a city-wide celebration, a festival of abundance.
Since the founding of the city, established by the first city lord, it has never ceased.
This year's Fire Persimmon Festival, however, is vastly different from previous ones.
Months ago, Chi Dun’s pursuit of the Shadow Demon Cultivator caused an uproar throughout the city.
Even those who hadn't witnessed it firsthand heard about how the Shadow Demon Cultivator was driven into Fire Persimmon Forest, where he was then sealed within layers of formations.
Before the Fire Persimmon Festival began, Fei Si took charge of the city's defenses, imposing a gradual lockdown.
On the festival day, the City Lord sat high atop Fire Persimmon Mountain and personally activated the Immortal City Grand Formation.
Countless emerald formation patterns materialized in the air, throughout the city, and across the ground, forming an imposing network that crisscrossed everything.
What could be seen was only a fraction; the majority of the formations penetrated deep within the mountain, continually drawing geothermal energy and flames from within, channeling it to Fire Persimmon Immortal City’s numerous alchemy chambers, artifact refining rooms, mechanical workshops, and other facilities.
Among these, Fire Persimmon Forest consumes the most geothermal energy and flames.
The fire persimmon trees absorb this energy and convert it into fire persimmons.
These persimmons can serve as a fuel akin to fire essence, be eaten, used in alchemy, or in artifact forging—offering countless uses.
At the city's founding, Fire Persimmon Forest was only a small grove.
Now, it nearly encompasses the entire mountain base, forming a fiery crimson ring around Fire Persimmon Mountain.
Under the watchful eyes of countless city residents, a large number of foundation establishment cultivators exited the city.
Most of these cultivators came from the City Lord's estate and the three great families, with a few others from trusted factions, like the Monkey Head Gang.
Each foundation establishment cultivator brought several mechanical monkeys with them.
Yuan Dasheng was beside Yuan Er, his massive frame towering over the other cultivators as they exited the city.
“Let’s go as well.”
Ning Zhuo, Chen Cha, and others quietly slipped out of the city.
Today, these mechanical cultivators would be responsible for last-minute repairs to the mechanical monkeys, a precaution taken by Fei Si to prevent any unexpected issues.
Upon leaving the city, they didn’t proceed directly into Fire Persimmon Forest but instead entered a powerful hidden formation on the mountainside.
The formation provided images of Fire Persimmon Forest, enabling the mechanical cultivators to observe the mechanical monkeys at work and spot any issues in real time.
On the mountainside, Zhu Xuanji hid himself, watching Fire Persimmon Forest from a concealed location.
Chi Dun did the same, hidden somewhere unknown.
The three great families' golden core cultivators also remained hidden, following the City Lord’s secret deployment and encircling Fire Persimmon Forest.
A net targeting the Shadow Demon Cultivator was already in place.
"Begin." Fei Si, the only visible golden core cultivator, commanded the situation.
At his order, the foundation establishment cultivators, each carrying mechanical monkeys, ventured into Fire Persimmon Forest.
Over recent days, the foundation establishment cultivators from the three great families had diligently trained in mechanical arts to improve their control over the mechanical monkeys.
Typically, each foundation establishment cultivator could control at least three mechanical monkeys to harvest fire persimmons.
As countless mechanical monkeys leapt into the crimson forest, Yuan Er felt anxious and gave a final rallying cry: “Brothers, now it’s all up to you!”
“Give it your all and show everyone that the Monkey Head Gang is the true master of fire persimmon harvesting!”
The Fire Persimmon Forest was divided into countless sections by formations based on the trees' age.
Initially, only trees with less than ten years of age were opened up.
The mechanical monkeys continuously harvested, and with each pick, they placed the persimmon against their chest, where it was absorbed into a storage array.
From a high vantage point, one would see countless fire persimmons rapidly disappear, leaving only branches covered in fiery red leaves.
When a mechanical monkey reached its storage limit, it would return under the control of a foundation establishment cultivator.
The monkeys would then stand in a large circular formation, releasing the fire persimmons from their storage arrays, piling them up on the ground.
Each time the pile reached one zhang in height, the formation would activate, transporting the fire persimmons directly to the City Lord’s estate’s granary.
Once the younger fire persimmons were harvested, Fei Si opened sections with trees of over ten years, then twenty, thirty, and so on, until they reached a hundred years.
Boom!
Suddenly, a fire persimmon exploded, triggering a chain reaction with the surrounding persimmons.
The violent flames instantly consumed a dozen fire explosive monkeys.
Luckily, the foundation establishment cultivators were at a distance and remained unharmed.
Numerous gazes turned toward the scene of the explosion.
Fei Si frowned and immediately ordered an investigation.
A foundation establishment cultivator from the Zhou family was quickly brought forward.
Fei Si’s face was expressionless. “Was it your mistake in controlling the mechanical monkey?”
The Zhou family cultivator, pale-faced, nodded weakly.
He wanted to deny it, but he knew the grand formation was recording from all angles.
Lying would only lead to harsher consequences.
Fei Si frowned slightly. “The destroyed fire persimmons will be deducted from your account. Take a quarter hour to compose yourself, then return to work.”
“Yes,” the Zhou family cultivator replied, stepping back.
Bang.
Not long after, another mechanical monkey suddenly malfunctioned, hitting other persimmons and triggering an explosion.
Upon reviewing the footage, Fei Si confirmed the problem lay with the mechanical monkey itself.
He quickly traced the model number back to its workshop.
It was from the Flying Disc Workshop.
Fei Si immediately sent a messenger to inform Chen Cha and Ning Zhuo.
The messenger brought Fei Si’s reprimand with him.
The formation in which they were stationed replayed the moment before the explosion, featuring the malfunctioning mechanical monkey.
Analyzing the footage, Chen Cha quickly deduced, “The mechanical monkey’s extended use has caused it to wear down, leading to a malfunction.”
Chen Cha looked at Ning Zhuo.
This particular mechanical monkey had been crafted according to Ning Zhuo's cost-reduction plan, producing a lower-quality product.
Ning Zhuo pondered, “The temperature in the hundred-year fire persimmon forest seems higher than in previous years."
"Have the foundation establishment cultivators pause for a moment, crush Clear Dew Pills, dilute them in water, and thoroughly douse the mechanical monkeys until their surfaces are slightly moist.”
After giving these instructions, Ning Zhuo resumed repairing the mechanical monkeys.
Since the harvesting began, damaged or malfunctioning mechanical monkeys were continuously brought in for urgent repairs before being sent back into action.
As time passed, more and more mechanical monkeys were delivered, making it increasingly challenging for Ning Zhuo and the others to keep up with repair demands.
Chen Cha, drenched in sweat, advised Ning Zhuo, “Little Zhuo, see the consequences of cutting corners?”
Ning Zhuo sighed, “Chen, this failure rate is exactly what I wanted.”
“Besides, many of the monkeys sent here are due to operator error, not my fault.”
The difficulty was temporary.
Soon, fewer mechanical monkeys were brought in for repairs.
This was because they had finished harvesting the hundred-year trees and were now moving into the thousand-year fire persimmon forest.
These thousand-year-old fire persimmons, each the size of a basin, were cultivated through formations that drew upon geothermal heat and fire, making them highly valuable.
The foundation establishment cultivators grew cautious, choosing to control only one mechanical monkey at a time.
If another explosion occurred, triggering a chain reaction, these cultivators might lose everything!
With only one monkey each, fewer mechanical monkeys required repairs.