Chapter 1007: The Sprouting of a Turbulent Age

Heavenfang Island.

There was a low-quality, barely seaworthy small flying boat hidden beneath distant clouds; several old men with cultivation no higher than the Life Pool Realm huddled fearfully in the cabin, peering anxiously—or even desperately—at the movements on Wu Tie's side.

Wu Tie sat cross-legged in midair, with three corpse clones standing behind him.

Thousands of Wuguo divine warriors, clad in divine armor and wielding divine weapons, formed a battle array beneath Wu Tie.

Over a hundred thousand divine spirits from the major god clans knelt in neat rows on the ground, bowing and worshiping Wu Tie.

Only the more than a thousand Light Divine Race under Sheng Rong's command barely maintained their neat formation, hovering in the air.

Over a thousand Wuguo Zun-rank experts surrounded Sheng Rong's group from all directions; the immense Zun-rank pressure solidified the void, causing Sheng Rong's silver wings behind him to tremble violently, continually emitting faint splendid divine light, yet unable to break through this terrifying pressure.

Wu Tou carried Wu Teng's huge head in his hand and strode up to Wu Tie.

He gave Wu Tie a complex look, then dropped to one knee heavily, holding Wu Teng's head high: "Your Majesty, this is my spoil of war, I offer it especially to you!"

In the Barbarian Divine Tribe, offering the head of one's strongest slain enemy to a superior is a sacred rite of tribute, loyalty, and boasting of martial prowess.

Wu Tie glanced at Wu Teng's head, nodded satisfied: "I accept your spoil, Wu Tou."

Wu Tou grinned, rose, gently placed Wu Teng's brain on the ground, turned, and glared at the fifteen thousand kneeling barbarians—especially the ten thousand newly arrived Barbarian Divine beings.

Fifteen thousand Barbarian Divine beings knelt, raised their weapons horizontally above their heads, and let out a deafening war cry toward Wu Tie. This is the loyalty ritual; for these simple-minded Barbarian Divine beings, once they swear allegiance they become utterly reliable.

In that rickety little flying boat far away, the few old men were so frightened their souls nearly left their bodies.

So many incredible powerhouses.

They could feel the power of these terrifying beings; even the weakest Divine Realm among them could easily slaughter the entire Heavenfang Archipelago—after all, the strongest cultivators on these islands were at most Life Pool Realm, not even a single Womb Storage Realm.

Wu Tie glanced at those old men from afar; they must be the eldest elders of the strongest Song State or Li State on Heavenfang Island.

No matter where they came from, Wu Tie pondered, then waved: "Tell the king behind you, then announce to the whole Heavenfang Archipelago. From today, the Heavenfang Archipelago is under the jurisdiction of my Wuguo."

"You may keep your wealth, but you must relinquish your authority. From today, the Heavenfang Archipelago will be Wuguo's… Heavenfang Commandery… no, Heavenfang County. Wuguo will send a county magistrate, station troops, and maintain peace and stability here."

"Now you can convey my meaning to all great and small powers of the Heavenfang Archipelago. If they refuse to submit, they may rebel. But I hope they understand the consequences of rebellion."

Just now, from afar, Wu Tie noticed the war that Song State and Li State had erupted over this tiny city.

Such a trifling archipelago, its total area roughly equals two or three counties of Wuguo, yet in population, economy, and cultivation level it cannot even compare to a single lower county of Wuguo—yet it is divided into hundreds of large and small states constantly fighting.

What's the point of all this pointless turmoil?

Wu Tie simply overturned the table, incorporating the Heavenfang Archipelago into Wuguo's rule, so those great kings and petty lords need not waste lives here anymore.

Isn't it nice to live peacefully?

The few old men, terrified out of their wits, hastily drove the rickety flying boat, wobbling away into the distance.

Wu Tie also didn't bother with them; later sending a county magistrate, a few officials, and a garrison of about a thousand would be enough to suppress the whole Heavenfang Archipelago, with no need to worry about rebellion.

Not to mention present-day Wuguo; even in the Sui Chao dynasty, a county magistrate was a Divine Realm expert. This tiny Heavenfang Archipelago lacks even a single Womb Storage Realm cultivator, so a few lowly 'Human Gods' sent by Wu Tie would suffice to suppress everything.

"Who are you?" Sheng Rong, whose movements were sealed in midair by the pressure of over a thousand Zun-rank beings, finally forced himself to speak.

Sheng Rong and the over a thousand Light Divine Race beside him were drenched in sweat, the Zun-rank pressure nearly making them faint.

Only the Light Divine Race's divine power has a peculiarly potent effect: it utterly repels all other kinds of beings, so the sweat that just appeared on their bodies was instantly vaporized by their protective divine light before anyone could see it.

Thus at a glance, Sheng Rong and his ilk still appear as proud as a little rooster, completely dry and spotless.

Mi Wu sidled up to Wu Tie and whispered: "Your Majesty, the Light Divine Race's power has a slight innate counter against our Wisdom Divine Race. Even holding the Wisdom Staff, Sheng Rong's Light Scepter protects him, so I cannot dominate his mind."

With a faint smile, Mi Wu murmured: "If Your Majesty could have someone wound him severely, injuring his body and soul to the brink of collapse, and… if you could help my Wisdom Staff devour his Light Scepter, then I could certainly make him Your Majesty's most loyal lackey."

Wu Tie glanced askance at Mi Wu: "This fellow, truly worthy of the Wisdom Divine Race."

Heh, using others' knives to kill, seeking personal gain, playing all sorts of petty tricks to perfection.

But this is exactly what Wu Tie wants to do. He glanced at his subordinates nearby and smirked.

As for this bunch of Wu tribe fellows, forget it.

Let them give Sheng Rong a good thrashing; whether they'll actually kill him, these rough-and-ready fellows won't hold back.

As for Huang Lang and the others who just arrived, they have just condensed their Dao seals and have no control over their surging magical power; letting them act would be inappropriate.

"Sheng Rong, welcome aboard!" Wu Tie smiled at Sheng Rong and lightly waved his right hand.

A black sword light shot forth, Sheng Rong screamed, his scepter bursting with blinding divine light, layer after layer covering him.

Yet the black sword light pierced through tens of thousands of layers of divine light barriers with a hiss, penetrating Sheng Rong's chest.

Sheng Rong let out a great roar, and silver-white plasma spurted from his seven orifices.

The boiling hot plasma turned into vast white light upon contacting air, scattering away; Sheng Rong's body shuddered violently, his scepter emitted a white light that shone on him, and Wu Tie watched in astonishment as the sword wound on Sheng Rong's chest instantly healed, leaving no trace.

Moreover, Sheng Rong's aura, which had greatly waned, suddenly returned to its peak.

Wu Tie's expression turned grave; it seems the records of Elder Iron's inheritance were correct—the Light Divine Race's defense and healing are extraordinarily aberrant… it appears that driving Sheng Rong to the near-death state Mi Wu described is no easy feat.

"Good, I can rest easy." Wu Tie smiled at his hundred brothers behind him, pointed at Sheng Rong: "Beat him, bring him to the brink of death..."

"Your Majesty, I can too." Wu Tou jerked his head up, eyes blazing at Wu Tie: "I've wanted to beat Sheng Rong for more than a day or two… heh, before he relied on the Light Divine Race being slightly stronger than our Barbarian Divine Tribe, and on being a bit richer than me, to order me around like a lackey… I've wanted to beat him for years!"

Wu Tie laughed: "Go, go!"

Having witnessed the terrifying power of Sheng Rong's scepter, Wu Tie felt reassured.

Mi Wu revealed a brilliant smile.

Wu Tou and a group of burly Wu tribesmen—whose fists could race horses and arms could sail boats—creeped forward with weird "keke" laughs, surrounding Sheng Rong.

Sheng Rong's face stiffened, he screamed: "Meet battle, meet battle… the great light gazes upon us… our noble souls will absolutely not be tempted by evil gods, our free and noble spirits will absolutely not be controlled by evil gods."

Sheng Rong roared hoarsely, but the over a thousand Light Divine Race behind him were each stiff in midair, immobilized by the pressure of over a thousand Zun-rank beings.

Wu Tou lunged first, a heavy punch smashing into Sheng Rong's face, blasting him straight down from midair to the ground.

A pack of wolf-like Wu youths surged forward, raining a brutal beating on Sheng Rong.

Mi Wu and Huan Wu laughed heartily.

Xu You, forcibly subdued by Mi Wu's Wisdom Staff, laughed gleefully.

Thirty thousand Dark Soul Divine Race laughed until they bent forward and backward, each immensely delighted—since the Light Divine Race is the natural nemesis of the Dark Soul Divine Race, mutual enemies, seeing Sheng Rong so violently beaten, their joy was beyond description.

You Di lightly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and exhaled heavily.

Although he had surrendered and his life and death were in others' hands, reduced to Wu Tie's lackey and hound, seeing Sheng Rong's miserable state, You Di likewise burst into gleeful laughter.

Ah, people are like that—seeing someone worse off than oneself always brings an inexplicable comfort.

For some people, as long as they themselves are happy, what does the life or death of others have to do with them? As long as they are content, the more miserable others are, the more inexplicable solace they feel.

"Yeah, as long as I'm doing well… after I die, who cares if the flood rages?"

Hundreds of billions of li beyond the Wu Tie Wuguo's Earth Letter Yi Five Battlefield, on a vast expanse of land, a boundless demon army besieged a mighty city that stretched hundreds of thousands of li.

A cluster of intense golden light hovered above the mighty city; within the light, faint silhouettes of Buddhas could be seen sitting cross-legged.

The golden light turned into a golden glazed cover that enveloped the entire city. Golden light and thunderfire roared down, blasting the frenzied, hideous-faced demon soldiers outside the city into pieces, then igniting their bodies, turning them into clusters of golden flames.

This is the Earth Letter Yi Nine Battlefield.

This mighty city is the capital of the Glazed Buddha Kingdom.

The entire Glazed Buddha Kingdom has fallen; now only its capital, the Glazed Pure Land, still stubbornly resists the frenzied attacks of countless demon armies.

Outside the east gate of the Glazed Pure Land, on a hill piled with human skulls, over a hundred stern-aura demon sovereigns stood in a row, baring their teeth as they watched the Glazed Pure Land's stubborn resistance.

Hundreds of humans clad in fine silk and luxurious attire knelt humbly before the thrones of these demon sovereigns, smiling as they gazed upon the Glazed Pure Land shrouded in golden light.

A demon sovereign with a dragon's head and a human body, his entire body covered in black scales that constantly opened and closed, let out a low growl: "Damned Glazed Pure Land, damned Three-Life True Buddha Relic Pagoda… when can your inside agent open the city defenses and let the lads in?"

This dragon-headed demon sovereign, a hint of madness in his tone, gritted his teeth and said: "Three thousand years ago, I told your monk king that I would use his skull as a chamber pot!"

A man in splendid robes, pot-bellied, lay on the ground, turned over, and gave a fawning smile to the dragon-headed demon sovereign: "Right away, right away, Black Dragon Sovereign, don't be anxious, don't be anxious… after all… although the monk king was gravely wounded by the combined attack of several demon sovereigns, the defenses of the Glazed Pure Land are strict, and that sir truly needs some time to accomplish his goal."

Beside the Black Dragon Sovereign, a wolf-headed demon sovereign snorted coldly: "I can't wait any longer—if we haven't taken the city in an hour, I'll pick twenty of you as snacks… if we succeed in taking the city, thereafter the people of the Glazed Buddha Kingdom will be our livestock… and you will be our herdsmen leaders, hahaha!"

The demon sovereigns laughed maniacally, each with blood-red eyes fixed on the Glazed Pure Land.

The Black Dragon Sovereign stroked the dragon whiskers at the corner of his mouth and murmured: "However, the holy ancestors' edict commands us to exterminate humanity… tsk, they only allow us to leave a tiny trace of human stock… is that enough?"

The wolf-headed demon sovereign lowered his voice: "Idiot, the holy ancestors said exactly that—to exterminate humanity, they allow only one human stock per million people… won't we set a few more ambushes? tsk, kill seventy percent of these humans, leave thirty percent, and in a few years they'll bounce back white and fat, plump and tender!"

The demon sovereigns burst into laughter once again.

Inside the Glazed Pure Land, at the top of a towering cloud-piercing pagoda, a middle-aged man with a jade-like face and rather handsome looks sighed softly: "After I die, who cares if the flood pours from the heavens? As long as I fare well, I cannot be bothered with your life or death."

Sighing, the middle-aged man glanced at the dozens of bald monks lying haphazardly on the ground atop the pagoda, shook his head, gently lifted the human-head-sized true Buddha relic from the uppermost altar, and swallowed it whole.

The golden light shrouding the entire Glazed Pure Land vanished suddenly.

Outside the city, countless demon soldiers stared blankly, then let out frenzied howls and surged toward the four walls like a flood.

Inside the Glazed Pure Land, countless scarred bald monk soldiers stared blankly, then let out frenzied howls, brandishing various weapons as they charged at the demon troops that suddenly surged onto the city walls.

"Brothers, it's our turn!" the Black Dragon Sovereign roared with laughter: "Today, we will destroy the Glazed Buddha Kingdom!"

An hour later, the imperial city of the Glazed Buddha Kingdom collapsed, shattered, and the ground sank into a pit ten thousand li deep.

The present monk king of the Glazed Buddha Kingdom died fighting fiercely, the lineage of the Glazed Buddha Kingdom was extinguished, and within the imperial capital, the several hundred frontline supervisory troops from Qi Island were gulped down whole by the wolf-headed demon sovereign, the entire force annihilated.