Chapter 1004

As one of the five major strong clans serving as an observation outpost, the thirty thousand spirits of the Ice Spirit Divine Clan were likewise trapped in a great formation space.

The thirty thousand Ice Spirit Divine Clan members were completely at ease, forming neat battle arrays, releasing towering Cold Qi that sealed the void tightly. Their leader, You Di, hummed a carefree tune while holding a trident, poking here and stabbing there, feeling pretty good.

You Di was the full-blooded brother of You Zu.

Although also a full-blooded brother, You Di lacked the petty scheming of the Dark Spirit Divine Clan's Xu You.

You Di knew full well that, whether in talent or ambition, he fell far short of You Zu. Thus, from early on, he chose to assist You Zu, doing his utmost to help You Zu seize power and profit within the Ice Spirit Divine Clan.

It worked well; as You Zu's fortunes rose, You Di also came to control ever more resources and ever more influence.

You Di greatly enjoyed what he now possessed.

Power, wealth, beauties, status—everything one could desire……

"Those idiots, isn't it just a throne? What's a throne for? Nothing more than eating the best, drinking the best, sleeping the best…… Now I can get the best just as well—why would I fight over that throne destined for endless toil?"

You Di smugly glanced at several goddesses in the military formation.

The several goddesses held scepters condensed from ice crystal, had human bodies with fish tails; their silver-blue fish tails bore long, transparent fins that moved without wind, graceful and alluring, releasing endless charm.

These goddesses all had an affair with You Di; they were of noble birth, stunningly beautiful, of excellent bearing, and were You Di's close friends and lovers.

Seeing You Di look over, the goddesses modestly lifted their chins, then quickly shot him a flirtatious glance.

You Di laughed, waving his trident, releasing countless streaks of cold light thousands of zhang long that heavily struck the bluish-white cloud layer; the cold light shattered upon impact, exploding into countless ice crystal powder.

"Don't worry, the Heavenly Crystal Divine Clan will surely be able to break this damned formation." You Di easily waved his deep-blue, mighty, sturdy fish tail and shouted loudly: "If the Heavenly Crystal Divine Clan can't do it, then we will activate the Supreme Divine Artifact and break open this damned great formation."

"Besides, if we can save some effort, we should, right?" You Di laughed easily, pulling out jug after jug of fine wine from his storage ring and inviting the several goddesses: "It's rare to have leisure—let's have a drink."

The several goddesses smiled, about to accept You Di's invitation.

In their view, to still have the mood to enjoy fine wine within the enemy's great formation showed You Di's extraordinary grace and unflappable composure—truly worthy of the Ice Spirit Divine Clan's most noble divine king lineage.

Just then, the void of the great formation trembled slightly, and thousands of men and women in battle robes, wearing heavy armor, surged into this void.

You Di set down his wine jug, turned around, and looked toward this group of suddenly appearing figures.

He didn't know any of them; not a single one was familiar.

Their magical fluctuations were immensely strong; even the weakest among them had the strength of the seventh to eighth level of the Divine Realm.

Compared to You Di's thirty thousand Ice Spirit Divine Clan troops, the strength of these seven to eight thousand people far surpassed that of these spirits. After all, You Di's forces included many low-rank divine soldiers and even base divine slaves, whose strength was at most the first to second level of the Divine Realm.

You Di regarded this group that had suddenly appeared with great seriousness.

He said in a deep voice: "Who are you? You don't seem to be among the spirits descended this time. Moreover, why is your aura so strange?"

You Di could sense the divine power fluctuations of many divine clans from these people.

Yet their bloodline aura was purely human.

A half-human, half-divine existence?

You Di felt a bit confused—what kind of people were these?

"Ice Spirit Divine Clan… you are the enemies bestowed upon me by my lord." A woman of absolute beauty, slender figure, appearing only sixteen or seventeen years old, yet with an ancient aura, exuded a terrifying chill as she stepped forward from the crowd.

The former Mountain Guard of the Azure Lotus Temple, the Drunken Buddha Daoist, now the Wuguo Divine Army General Xuan Ming, walked step by step toward You Di.

"The aura of the Ice River Goddess… are you our clansman?" You Di looked at Xuan Ming, puzzled: "Why do you bear hostility toward me? Why? Do we have any grudge?"

Xuan Ming smiled, her smile icy cold.

Behind her came a tremendous roar as a vast, surging, boiling glacier roared into being; the Cold Qi in the void intensified, freezing the air into tiny ice crystals that continually fell.

This is the power of the Ice Spirit Divine Clan's Ice River Goddess lineage: divine power condensed into a glacier, annihilating everything with terrifying impact, freezing everything with dreadful cold. It is a large-scale, strong offensive divine technique, possessing extremely formidable might.

In the next instant, the glacier collapsed, countless dark-blue mystic ice condensed into numerous ancient-style longswords, accompanied by a piercing tearing sound as they shot skyward, forming behind Xuan Ming a forest of swords radiating Cold Qi.

Once the Drunken Buddha Daoist, now Xuan Ming is the foremost sword cultivator of the Azure Lotus Temple; with a single short sword, he has slain countless powerful foes.

Having perfectly fused the Ice River Goddess's divine power with his own swordsmanship, after undergoing the Phoenix Demonic Flame Nirvana Rebirth by Pei Feng, Xuan Ming has mastered a newer means of attack and cultivated an even greater, entirely new power.

Millions of ice flying swords hovered behind him, the Cold Qi biting, the sword intent shocking the heavens.

"I don't know you, and you don't know me." Xuan Ming looked at You Di and said calmly: "I came here today simply to tell you lofty, self-proclaimed supreme gods who think you can dominate everything: you cannot act recklessly."

You Di snorted coldly.

Several goddesses walked to You Di's side; a silver-haired, blue-eyed goddess whose surroundings were circled by rings of ice crystal pointed coldly at Xuan Ming and sneered: "Of course we can act recklessly—we are of noble birth, born great; why shouldn't we?"

Xuan Ming smiled, and a sword light suddenly flashed in the void.

You Di let out a loud roar, fiercely striking forward with his trident—he saw one of Xuan Ming's ice flying swords behind her suddenly vanish, and instinctively raised his divine artifact to block in front of the speaking goddess.

The trident struck nothing but empty air.

With a "pfft," the goddess beside You Di stared wide-eyed, frozen in place; after a moment, a thin line of ice appeared on her neck. Without a trace of blood, the goddess's beautiful head "thudded" off, shattering into powder on the bluish-white cloud layer.

Even her divine soul was cleaved apart by that sword!

Xuan Ming struck so ruthlessly and mercilessly!

The former imperial consort of the Su Dynasty's Prince Consort, now the Wuguo Duke of Pacifying the Barbarians, Xia Rumeng, stroked his chin as he gazed upon the goddess's lovely, collapsed form, and couldn't help but sigh: "Daoist, such heavy-handed flower‑picking is truly a waste of heavenly bounty… tsk, what a watery‑spirited big sister!"

Xuan Ming glanced askance at Xia Rumeng and glared: "Oh? Then, capture these women alive and send them back to your prince consort's manor… oh, no, now it's the Duke of Pacifying the Barbarians' manor?"

Xia Rumeng stared, then gave a dry laugh: "I'll be beaten to death by the prince consort if I let my children lose their father young… tsk, this sword killed well, killed marvelously—keep killing…"

Xia Rumeng clapped loudly in approval, then smiled at the grim-faced You Di and company: "This Xuan Ming won't show mercy when killing, especially toward you Ice Spirit Divine Clan—she knows nothing of sparing the enemy."

"Kneel and surrender, then swear allegiance to our Majesty, or else you will truly die."

Xia Rumeng laughed radiantly.

Above Xuan Ming's head, countless slender ice sword gleams leapt into existence; with a "ding-ding," they condensed into a virtual‑real, ever‑potential sword seal atop her head.

Xuan Ming's cultivation is already infinitesimally close to the Venerable level; all she needs is to make a trip to the Supreme Demon Realm, consume a bit of the sacrificial offerings selected by Wu Tie, and she will surely be able to condense a Dao Seal.

With her terrifying foundation of three hundred thousand years of reincarnation, once she condenses a Dao Seal, she will undoubtedly be among the most formidable of Venerable‑level beings.

"What exactly are you people?" You Di gripped his trident tightly and roared hoarsely.

That very sword of Xuan Ming's had already shattered You Di's confidence in fighting her; indeed, he hadn't even seen how that sword attacked before the goddess beside him was slain.

So fierce, so merciless, so unfathomably crafty.

You Di values his own life extremely highly; he prefers a luxurious, carefree life and dislikes fighting and killing.

Even this time, bringing thirty thousand tribespeople to descend upon Mu Dalu, he came with the intention of sightseeing and, incidentally, capturing a batch of human beauties—he had not prepared to confront Wu Tou's barbarian gods head-on!

You Di dared not fight, did not want to fight, and was utterly puzzled—where on earth did these people come from!

Xuan Ming, Xia Ru Meng, and the others simultaneously snorted coldly, then they all began chanting incantations; thereafter, divine light poured down from the void in successive streams, heavily striking them.

With a clanging impact, vast divine power circulated; simultaneously, exquisite divine armor projections appeared on Xuan Ming, Xia Ru Meng, and the others, and gorgeous divine weapons materialized in their hands.

As many as seventy or eighty thousand people simultaneously prayed for the descent of a divine-artifact avatar tasked with observing the front outpost.

Unlike the human traitors who had surrendered to the various gods and could only beg for a minuscule fragment of divine-artifact power, Xuan Ming, Xia Ru Meng, and the others invoked divine-artifact power amounting to at least one-tenth of the artifact's true form.

This is the treatment and privilege reserved for true members of the god clan.

You Di stared blankly at Xuan Ming, Xia Ru Meng, and the others, then suddenly burst into hysterical shrieks: "What exactly are you people? Speak up… can't we just avoid fighting and killing? Why do you want to fight and kill the moment we meet? Can't we talk things out?"

The several goddesses beside You Di quickly nodded, saying, "Of course not—we all come from noble birth, each delicate and precious; it would be terrible to fight and kill upon meeting."

Looking at his female companions, they were slain by a single sword from Xuan Ming—in other words, killing them would take Xuan Ming just one stroke.

Such a perilous affair… we had better do everything we can to avoid it!

Let's just talk things out nicely—why resort to fighting and killing?

"Let's talk things out… then please, everyone, first remove your divine armor and lay down your weapons." Xia Ru Meng smiled gently: "As long as you pledge loyalty to His Majesty, everything can be discussed."

You Di hesitated a bit.

The void trembled slightly as Wu Tie's second wave of reinforcements arrived.

As many as over a thousand venerable‑level beings abruptly appeared in the space occupied by the Ice Spirit God Clan's army.

You Di's face turned deathly pale, and the several goddesses beside him screamed and clung tightly to one another.

The aura of over a thousand god‑kings was truly enough to scare one to death!

"Fine, fine, don't fight, don't fight… the world is so wonderful, life so marvelous, with all these delicious foods and drinks, beautiful people, fine artifacts, tasty meals, gorgeous clothes—we haven't even had a chance to enjoy them; please, absolutely no fighting and killing!"

You Di threw down his trident with a thud, then turned and roared at his thirty thousand stunned subordinates: "Are you all idiots? Didn't you see so many big shots arriving? Take off your armor, drop your weapons, sit cross‑legged… no, kneel on the ground!"

You Di turned, smiling broadly, and bowed deeply to Xuan Ming and Xia Ru Meng, his thick fish tail swaying lightly, his whole body exuding the air of a beaten‑up husky: "Honorable lords, please, according to the gods' tradition, guarantee our safety… as for any other external possessions, they are your spoils of war, to dispose of as you wish."

Xuan Ming, Xia Ru Meng, Wu Mian Fo, and the former divine slaves, servants, and soldiers stared blankly at the fawning You Di; they suddenly felt as if an invisible shackle had snapped inside their hearts with a pop, shattering to pieces.

Never‑before‑felt ease and delight came over them, as if they had walked through a dark corridor and then emerged into a bright sky.

Beneath this bright, tranquil sky, flowers bloomed like brocade, grass grew lush, and the heavens and earth teemed with vibrant life, peace, and harmony.

In another great formation within the void, accompanied by Wu Tou's mighty roar, his heavy axe swung continuously, striking eighteen times in fury.

With the terrifying sound of flesh and bone shattering eighteen times, Wu Teng let out a mournful howl; with a "pfft," a head the size of a small house shot high into the air, spewing blood mist before crashing heavily to the ground.

Wu Tou, his body covered in wounds, snatched up the small whip on Wu Teng's head and lifted the head high.

"In this duel of glory, I am the victor…" Wu Tou gazed at the fifteen thousand tribespeople present and said in a deep voice: "You shall respect me, obey me, worship me, and not defy me… unless someone among you can defeat me."

Wu Tou bellowed hoarsely: "Who dares to fight me? In this duel of glory, if you win, you take everything!"

Amid the howling, black‑red dao patterns erupted all over Wu Tou's body; then a tremendous boom rang out as a surge of blood‑qi shot up from within him, rolling and condensing atop his head into nine awe‑inspiring dao seals.

The fifteen thousand barbarian gods present shouted in unison, then they all dropped to their knees, slit their chests with weapons, and etched strange runes on their faces with their own blood.

They loudly chanted the ancient oath of the barbarian‑god clan, offering their loyalty to Wu Tou.

Wu Tou threw back his head and laughed wildly, then turned and pointed his axe at the bluish‑white clouds: "Now let's go subdue the last disobedient fool."