Chapter 100: Destruction

Yan Hanlu

"Gentle cool wind stirs, bleak cold dew falls." Upon hearing the name "Yan Hanlu", Wu Tie inexplicably had this poem float into his mind.

Then, he subconsciously recited it aloud.

Yan Hanlu's icy gaze flickered slightly; she never imagined her name could have such a beautiful interpretation.

But soon, her gaze became like a clear stream encountering a sudden cold snap—frozen, iced over, bitterly cold to the bone.

Her body shivered repeatedly, strands of Cold Qi continually rose from her heart, her palms sweated cold, and the curved blade of the Primordial Weapon meticulously forged by the Lu Family master craftsman also trembled slightly.

Such a beautiful poem, Yan Hanlu did not think it was Wu Tie's own creation.

As the legitimate daughter of the head of one of the three great families of the Cangyan Realm, Yan Hanlu's knowledge far surpassed that of ordinary people. Such an exquisitely beautiful poem could only come from an ancient civilization's heritage.

Such a heritage...... signified a powerful force.

The stone-mining fools of the Shi Family could not possibly possess such a mighty civilization's heritage...... there are a few books in their study, and the Yan Family knows this clearly. Therefore, Wu Tie comes from outside the Shi Family, an even more terrifying force.

Yan Hanlu's mind flashed with the faces of those handsome or alluring young disciples of the Changsheng Sect.

She also recalled the perverse, outrageous acts committed by the higher-ups of the Changsheng Sect within the Yan Family.

Wu Tie, could he be a follower of the Changsheng Sect?

"Shi Family?" Yan Hanlu's thoughts were thrown off by Wu Tie's unintentional chanting of the poem; she deeply glanced at Wu Tie's clear, water-like eyes, and suddenly two blasts of blazing flame erupted beneath her feet, accompanied by a tremendous boom, as she charged toward Wu Tie.

Blazing flame exploded, Yan Hanlu left a trail of afterimages, her body tore through the air, creating circular Qi blasts, as if throwing herself into an embrace, she reached Wu Tie's face in a snap of the fingers.

She gracefully waved both hands, the two exquisite curved blades sweeping up specks of cold light, silently enveloping Wu Tie.

This was the most beautiful technique Wu Tie had ever seen.

His vision was engulfed by blazing flame, his field of view filled with towering firelight. Within those flames that seemed to devour everything, specks of bright cold light fell like snowflakes scattering across the sky, piercing with bone-chilling cold toward Wu Tie's vital points.

Blazing flame burns everything, while cold light pierces straight to the soul.

Yan Hanlu's body further transformed into a mass of fire and a gust of wind, completely losing substance; amidst the sky-filling firelight, Wu Tie could only see her two icy-clear eyes, cold as ice.

Chonglou Realm.

This girl, roughly the same age as Wu Tie, had astonishingly already reached Chonglou Realm cultivation. Moreover, she could conceal her form and embody wind and fire, obviously having cultivated a divine ability.

Wu Tie let out a low roar as an invisible force field suddenly collapsed inward, then violently burst outward in all directions.

In the tremendous boom, waves of air around Wu Tie surged outward, white Qi blasts expanding in rings continuously, the land around him was shaved away layer by layer, and five stone giants were caught off guard by his bursting Qi blasts, each flying off in disarray.

Blazing flame enveloped Wu Tie.

Yan Hanlu embodied wind and fire, fully merging into Wu Tie's erupting air waves. Trails of fire-formed afterimages lightly darted through the Qi blasts, unimpeded, rushing straight to Wu Tie's front.

Wu Tie gripped the Wind and Cloud Banner with his left hand and gave it a vigorous shake.

Vast clouds of smoke rose from the ground, and Wu Tie's body instantly left the ground, about to soar skyward.

Countless specks of cold light, carrying bone-piercing chill, came flying; with a "pfft" sound, the two exquisite curved blades pierced Wu Tie's body hundreds of times in the snap of a finger, ruthlessly tearing his flesh.

Following that came a "ding-ding" impact sound.

The two curved blades violently struck Wu Tie's bones beneath his flesh, devouring four flood dragon horns, several Primordial Weapon-grade arms, and also swallowing the two black bone puppets from the nether demon mine, as well as that massive black bone gate……

Most importantly, Wu Tie also merged with the Formless Relic, devouring a speck of its essence.

Except for the first phalanx of his left index finger undergoing transformation, Wu Tie's entire skeletal hardness was no less than that of an ordinary Primordial Weapon.

Yan Hanlu's attack frequency was extremely high; because her speed was too fast, her force inevitably became somewhat slight. The curved blades easily tore through Wu Tie's flesh, but could not inflict any damage on his bones.

The blades striking bone were like hacking an iron plate; besides the crisp impact sound, even the edges of Yan Hanlu's two curved blades showed minuscule nicks—Wu Tie's bones were just a tad harder than her blades.

The Wind and Cloud Banner violently rolled, the light around Wu Tie distorted, and Yan Hanlu's ensuing attack fell into disarray; she could no longer determine Wu Tie's exact position, what she saw was not reality but a warped illusion.

Her curved blades repeatedly grazed Wu Tie's body, but could no longer effectively wound him.

Wu Tie let out a low roar; his flesh was torn open in hundreds of tiny fissures, each reaching straight to the bone—pain, heart-piercing pain, his flesh mangled and blood flowing all over, he looked horrendous.

Fortunately, his front and chest were shielded by a heart-protection mirror, and his right arm bore a White Tiger arm guard……

With a roar, Wu Tie drew his long spear, exerting all his strength with both hands to wave it, laying down a series of turbulent vortices around him.

Round, each one a round shield protecting his entire body.

Under his divine power, moreover bolstered by Primordial Force, his divine strength of nearly a million catties caused his long spear to tear the air with a thunderous roar, Qi blasts continuously erupting from the spear, the air around him surging like explosions, momentum overwhelmingly mighty.

Yan Hanlu's two curved blades continued to slash down, the long spear nearly bent to ninety degrees slammed hard into her blades.

In the tremendous roar, Wu Tie's brutal force was too terrifying; the two curved blades exploded with a bang, and his long spear also shattered from the violent impact.

Yan Hanlu only felt her arms violently jolt, instantly losing sensation.

She cried out, being forcibly blasted from her divine ability embodiment by Wu Tie, flying backward like a leaf in the wind.

Her arms hung limp at her sides, the flesh below her elbows split like a spiderweb, blood gushing forth like a spring. The bones of both arms were cracked in dozens of fissures, even the marrow deep within shaken to the consistency of tofu dregs.

Wu Tie's power was excessively violent; with Foundation Establishment strength he hard-pressed a Chonglou Realm expert, actually suppressing Yan Hanlu head-on, severely injuring her in a single strike.

Intense pain surged.

Yan Hanlu had never suffered such hardship from childhood to adulthood.

Two streams of tears flowed involuntarily; Yan Hanlu heavily hit the ground, the tremendous force from Wu Tie's long spear still acting on her, she slid backward over a hundred meters, carving a deep trench in the field, crushing at least a thousand lava grasses.

Wu Tie's heart ached so much his face twitched.

Blood flowed from the wounds all over his body cut by the curved blades; the intense bodily pain combined with his heartfelt regret made him involuntarily shout: "Yan Hanlu…… surrender…… these lava grasses, these primordial grasses, you're wasting good stuff!"

Yan Hanlu lay face-up on the ground, her arms in excruciating pain, her whole body's joints feeling as if shattered, pain so great she could not move at all.

She slightly opened her mouth, blankly gazing at the stone vault above.

That heavy blow just now, Yan Hanlu clearly felt that if it weren't for the poor quality of Wu Tie's long spear, which could not withstand his terrifying brutal force……

If that long spear's quality were a bit better, allowing Wu Tie's force to transmit a bit more to her instead of shattering on the spot……

She now was just like those two curved blades and that long spear—entirely turned into a blob of blood plasma by Wu Tie's single spear thrust.

Such overbearing divine power.

But Wu Tie's aura is merely Foundation Establishment; he is only Foundation Establishment, having no breakthrough to Profound Realm, not even a trace of mana condensed in his Foundation Establishment!

A black-clothed middle-aged man blocked in front of Yan Hanlu, holding a long blade and staring at Wu Tie with shocked bewilderment.

He is Yan Hanlu's guard; his cultivation is a bit higher than Yan Hanlu's, but his true combat strength might still be inferior to hers.

After all, Yan Hanlu is a direct descendant of the Yan family, practicing the family's profound inherited art; whereas the black-clothed middle-aged man is merely a collateral branch member, his cultivation technique is one level weaker than the direct line's inherited art.

Since Wu Tie could seriously injure Yan Hanlu with a single blow, he could naturally defeat him with one strike as well.

Another black-clothed middle-aged man ran to Yan Hanlu's side, carefully feeding her two trauma pills and carefully helping her up.

Wu Tie ignored them, plucking a fresh lava grass from the ground, wiping dirt from its stem, and swallowing it whole. Vast energy erupted inside him; Wu Tie breathed slowly according to the Foundation Establishment breathing method, quickly absorbing the energy within the lava grass.

Hundreds of wounds deep to the bone all over his body quickly scabbed over.

Although still excruciatingly painful, at least he was no longer bleeding.

Wu Tie picked up a great axe dropped by a fire crocodile warrior from the ground, gripped it with both hands, and step by step approached Yan Hanlu and the two black-clothed men, saying: "We came here only for this elemental aperture… surrender your resistance; I don't want to commit needless slaughter."

Yan Hanlu frowned at Wu Tie, gritting her teeth as she demanded: "Are you from the Changsheng Sect?"

Wu Tie raised an eyebrow, his voice low: "That bunch of bastards? Of course not… they are my enemies."

Yan Hanlu suddenly exhaled, glanced at the two black-clothed men beside her, and shook her head: "Fine, we won't resist…"

The two black-clothed men shouted in unison: "Miss?"

Yan Hanlu shook her head, glanced at the five stone giants standing behind Wu Tie, poised to strike: "Those five big fellows alone are beyond us, let alone this monster."

Recalling the scene just now where Wu Tie struck Ga Lu from afar and seriously wounded him, Yan Hanlu gave a bitter smile: "At the Foundation Establishment realm, he already possesses an innate divine ability… and such brute strength rivaling a giant; this kind of monster, we cannot deal with."

"As long as you're not from the Changsheng Sect, it's no big deal." Yan Hanlu sighed, shaking her head: "At worst, my father will ransom me back… although it would be a bit embarrassing."

Yan Hanlu gave a bitter smile.

Wu Tie waved his hand, and Lao Bai, Hei Pi and their gang swaggered forward, first using drugs to render the two black-clothed men completely unable to resist, then binding them tightly with special ropes.

Afterwards, Lao Bai also fed the heavily injured Yan Hanlu a bottle of anesthetic, leaving her unable to muster the slightest strength.

After dealing with Yan Hanlu and her two companions, Ga Lu and the hundred fire crocodile warriors were also tightly bound; Wu Tie's group cheered loudly as swarms of ratfolk surged in, sweeping across the plain like a locust plague.

On a plain spanning several dozen li, vast amounts of elemental grass were planted in the densest possible manner.

Tens of thousands of the lowest-grade lava grass, plus some higher-grade firecloud grass, and even dozens of stalks of blazing flame flower, which is a step above firecloud grass.

Because of this elemental aperture's unique environment, with irrigation from magma stone milk, the quality of these elemental grasses averages about thirty percent higher than that produced by the Shi Family. Undoubtedly, this is a tremendous fortune.

Without this elemental aperture continuously producing elemental grass to support them, how could the Yan family possibly hold the title of the strongest warrior clan in the Cangyan Realm?

All the elemental grass was perfectly contained in the specially brought containers, then neatly stacked onto the large wagons hauled by gray-rock lizards.

It took hundreds of ratfolk a full half day to harvest all the elemental grass from this aperture; the subsequent work was then handed over to the five stone giants.

While the ratfolk warriors harvested the elemental grass, the thick-skinned stone giants took local materials, carving five huge water tanks from large stones and reinforcing them with their innate strength, making the tanks much sturdier and able to withstand far higher temperatures.

Afterwards, they followed the river of condensed magma stone milk, striding to the lava river outside Shi Gandang, directly scooping up tank after tank of magma from the lava river and sprinting back with it.

Tank after tank of magma was poured into the elemental aperture's space; Wu Tie's warriors used various tools to mix the fertile soil with the magma, and the soil quickly became completely compacted.

Unless enormous labor and resources are expended to replace the entire soil layer of the elemental aperture, it will never again grow a single stalk of elemental grass.

Even if the soil layer here were replaced, the aperture's earthly potency would become much thinner; without years of cultivation and irrigation, its productivity could never recover to its former peak.

The best estimate is that within the next thirty years, the Yan family will not obtain much elemental grass harvest from this aperture.

The Yan family's clan will inevitably suffer a rupture.

Given the Yan family's foundation, they will naturally not easily be toppled from the throne of the three great clans of the Cangyan Realm, but it will be enough to leave them harried and weakened, the whole family much feebler than before, never again acting with reckless abandon.

This is Shi Meng's revenge upon the Yan family.

The Yan family burned half of the fields of Dashi City and killed countless serfs; therefore Shi Meng destroyed one of their elemental apertures as retribution.

Yan Hanlu and the two black-clothed men watched helplessly as Wu Tie and his people wantonly destroyed the elemental aperture, trembling with rage but unable to do anything.

Finally, when Wu Tie's gaze fell upon the lone small tree bearing scarce fruit, and he noticed the three Blazing Flame Tribulation Fruits, Yan Hanlu finally screamed: "You cannot touch those three fruits… they are… they are… poison!"