Chapter 107: Unexpected

It seemed intentional to increase Wu Tie's psychological pressure, deliberately tormenting him psychologically.

Zhu Zixi walked very slowly, step by step.

He deliberately made his steps heavy; the dull footsteps sounded slowly, each one striking Wu Tie's heart.

Wu Tie's body twitched.

His flesh was torn all over, his body ragged like a rotten sack of meat.

But the essence remained.

Strong life energy flowed in his bones, hot currents surged in the marrow, and newly generated plasma brimming with stronger vitality constantly sprouted from the marrow, drop by drop merging into his whole body.

The torn flesh slowly healed.

His body was still covered in blood, but the white egg resting on his chest glowed faintly; Wu Tie's blood all over his body kept flowing toward it, slowly being absorbed by the white egg.

When Zhu Zixi had walked two or three hundred meters, Wu Tie's wounds had all closed, no new blood flowing out.

His bloodied, blurred appearance looked extremely horrifying, but in fact he was fine.

Zhu Zixi's heavy blow just now only caused severe damage to Wu Tie's flesh; the injury to his bones and tendons was negligible.

Especially Wu Tie's bones, having absorbed the essence of many strange materials, were somewhat tougher than refined steel and extremely tenacious.

Although Zhu Zixi's attack was heavy, he did not intend to kill Wu Tie with one strike; if it landed on an ordinary person, their bones would surely be shattered, but Wu Tie's bones were hard and tough, suffering essentially no harm.

Hearing the footsteps approaching, Wu Tie clenched his right hand tightly around the White Tiger Cleave.

After expending all his mana, during this period of rest the heavenly-earthly essence continually flowed in, and a thumb-sized cluster of golden light had accumulated in his forehead.

It seemed the Primordial Scripture also understood that Wu Tie was at a life-and-death juncture; this time his emergency mana recovery did not explode into light points to merge throughout his body, but obediently gathered in his forehead.

The White Tiger Cleave trembled slightly, and a cold, merciless battlefield killing aura flowed from the shaft, streaming along Wu Tie's arm throughout his body.

Wu Tie's ears were filled with the frantic roars of countless warriors, the earth-shaking battle cries brimming with hot-blooded passion, causing his entire body's blood and qi to surge.

All of his essence, energy, and spirit focused on his right hand's White Tiger Cleave; Wu Tie prepared himself for a desperate strike.

Zhu Zixi stepped closer, his gaze calm and composed as he fixed his blood-light-glimmering eyes on the Wind and Cloud Banner hanging from Wu Tie's waist.

"You little beast, you dare kill my disciple... Hmph, I will surely put you in a life-or-death dilemma... You seem to still have many treasures on you, especially this banner, which is quite marvelous; just right for Guai Nan to take for protection."

Zhu Zixi smiled gently; despite his body filled with killing intent, he could smile so mildly, giving a strong sense of incongruity.

"Our sect is powerful with countless treasures, but our sect's treasures are mostly instruments of slaughter and carnage... Guai Nan dislikes killing and bloodshed, so she likes none of those treasures. However, this banner suits her heart."

After a few chuckles, Zhu Zixi's gaze fell again on Wu Tie's chest, on the Cosmos Bag wrapped in metallic threads spun from his heart-protecting mirror.

"Blaze Three Tribulations Fruit, you have it in your hand, right? Hehe, Jia Zhengfeng's Cosmos Bag... truly a waste."

Zhu Zixi slowly approached step by step, while Wu Tie drew long, deep breaths.

Another advantage of the Primordial Scripture was fully revealed.

It is true that its cultivation is slow, meaning that breaking through realms requires vast accumulation and an extremely solid foundation.

But in terms of cultivation speed and efficiency, the Primordial Scripture's efficiency is terrifying.

This showed in Wu Tie: his injury recovery was swift, and his mana recovery was even faster than his bodily healing.

Over the short distance of less than a hundred meters that Zhu Zixi walked from several li away, Wu Tie's bodily injuries had recovered about half, while the mana accumulated in his forehead had restored to roughly seventy percent of its peak.

Almost each deep breath, inhaling and exhaling the heavenly-earthly essence, could restore about one-tenth of peak mana.

Wu Tie was shocked by the Primordial Scripture's restorative efficiency, yet he still appeared deathly still, as if embedded in the stone pillar like a corpse, his right hand gripping the White Tiger Cleave tightly, his entire essence, energy, and spirit poised to erupt.

Suddenly, a strand of golden light burst from his forehead.

Countless golden specks swirled and danced, quickly merging into Wu Tie's wounded areas all over his body.

Especially his eyes; Zhu Zixi's heavy blow had almost completely burst the capillaries in Wu Tie's eyes, leaving his vision a bloody red haze, unable to see anything clearly.

As the golden specks merged, Wu Tie's swollen, painful eyes turned cool, the blood color quickly faded, and his vision returned.

He clearly saw Zhu Zixi stepping closer, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the Wind and Cloud Banner at Wu Tie's waist.

Wu Tie gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes.

An invisible force field enveloped and compressed the space within three meters around him; his bones throughout his body slightly warmed, and his entire essence, energy, and spirit were like a volcano ready to erupt, awaiting that explosive moment.

A terrifying expert above the Chonglou Realm.

Wu Tie also did not know whether he had any hope of succeeding.

He merely kept communicating with the White Tiger Cleave; the roars of countless warriors in his mind turned into claps of thunder, and earth-shaking tiger roars continually sounded.

One after another, fierce white lights flashed before Wu Tie's eyes.

Each white light was a White Tiger Cleave, a White Tiger Cleave thrust forward with all its might.

Each white light brimmed with endless killing intent and profound mystery; that fearless spirit of pressing forward and fighting to the death continually accumulated in Wu Tie's heart.

He felt the White Tiger Cleave tremble slightly, and sensed a ferocious power within it awakening.

Zhu Zixi seemed like an old scholar strolling in spring rain among apricot blossoms, holding a wooden staff, wearing wooden clogs, accompanied by a little yellow dog, with a faint smile, approaching leisurely and carefree step by step.

A hundred meters, fifty... thirty... ten meters...

A tiger's roar erupted from Wu Tie's chest; the mouthful of stagnant blood he had held for long exploded into black blood mist, spewing out.

The blood mist turned into a blurry tiger head that flashed, then exploded.

Wu Tie's left hand and both feet slammed hard against the stone pillar; a force of millions of catties exploded, shattering the thick pillar several meters wide and nearly a thousand meters tall.

Wu Tie gripped the White Tiger Cleave tightly in his right hand; with a long 'Ao' cry, the White Tiger Cleave tore through space, becoming a fierce, sharp white light that howled straight toward Zhu Zixi's heart.

"Together with you... in shared hatred!" Wu Tie roared hoarsely; the righteous aura within his body perfectly merged with the battlefield killing intent, blending like water and milk into the White Tiger Cleave.

The killing intent filling the sky surged forth openly and honorably.

Just as a state of ten thousand chariots deploys its upright infantry like forests and chariots like mountains, its mighty army surged forward like a flood overturning mountains and seas.

At the instant Wu Tie thrust his spear, the blood aura coiling around Zhu Zixi's body suddenly contracted inward by three feet.

That feeling was like a thousand-year-old evil spirit suddenly hearing a thunderclap.

Even if that thunder is far away, even if the lightning is weak, it is innately the bane of that old evil spirit; you cannot help but be startled, let alone not fear it.

Zhu Zixi, wearing a relaxed smile, felt a sudden chill run through his heart.

He suddenly widened his eyes and stared at Wu Tie.

Wu Tie's cultivation level was clearly very low, yet it gave him such a terrifying sense of threat.

"Little livestock... die!" Zhu Zixi instantly cast aside all his careful thoughts of torturing Wu Tie, he immediately made up his mind: he would certainly kill Wu Tie.

He waved his right hand, a smear of Blood Light spurted from his fingertips, forming a six-foot blood sword that came down upon the white light in Wu Tie's hand.

This strike, Zhu Zixi thought highly of Wu Tie, he used power that could easily slay an ordinary Chonglou Realm expert.

Wu Tie's entire mana erupted in flames, streams of golden light continuously poured into the White Tiger Rend.

From within the White Tiger Rend came a deep, resonant tiger roar.

Zhu Zixi's blood sword at his fingertips suddenly scattered, the six-foot blood sword inexplicably shattered by eight inches.

The White Tiger Rend slammed hard into the blood sword, with a loud bang the blood sword exploded into clouds of blood mist that spread everywhere.

All the flesh and blood on Wu Tie's right arm exploded, the terrifying recoil force completely pulverized the flesh of his right arm, leaving only an arm bone flashing with a dim, dark light that clung tightly to the White Tiger Rend.

A huge force came, Wu Tie staggered backward repeatedly.

With a "puchi" sound, a dim white light sprayed from the tip of the White Tiger Rend's spear, tearing through the blood mist beside Zhu Zixi, narrowly grazing his cheek.

Zhu Zixi, whose face was kept as smooth as beautiful jade, lost a piece of flesh three fingers wide, one finger deep, and three inches long from his cheek.

The wound was as smooth as a mirror, initially not a drop of blood seeping out.

After a full breath's time, blood surged like a spring from Zhu Zixi's face, and intense pain suddenly struck.

Zhu Zixi, in disbelief, wiped his hand across his face, a large swath of fresh blood staining his palm, the excruciating pain making him scream hoarsely.

He stared in disbelief as Wu Tie, having been shaken back dozens of steps and nearly collapsing to the ground, his body trembled involuntarily.

The grand Life Pool Realm, the grand Grand Elder of the Changsheng Sect… actually had his face wounded by such a junior like Wu Tie.

The injury was not serious, but how could Zhu Zixi save face?

"Little livestock... I will cut you to pieces!"

Zhu Zixi finally got serious; he suddenly realized that the Wu Tie before him was not the rustic country bumpkin he had seen before, not an ant he could crush with a casual swipe, but a being of endless peculiarities, a "strange anomaly" worthy of his serious attention.

A large expanse of blood mist rose up, wrapping Zhu Zixi's facial wound in a thick mass of blood mist.

He pointed both hands forward, and the gleaming nails on his ten fingers suddenly shot out to over a foot in length.

Ten long nails were like ten short swords; Zhu Zixi, his whole body enveloped in blood mist, lunged at Wu Tie: "Little livestock, I will bit by bit tear you apart..."

Blood poured from Wu Tie's right arm like a spring; he clung desperately to the White Tiger Rend, retreating at full speed in a sorry state.

That single strike had already exhausted all his essence, energy, and spirit; his whole body was in agony, and he could muster only a trace of strength.

He could no longer resist Zhu Zixi; he could only flee with all his might…

But Wu Tie also understood that, given his condition, escape was utterly impossible.

Zhu Zixi's lunging speed was several times faster than those two Changsheng Sect experts; he almost flashed to Wu Tie's front, and with a light wave of both hands, ten extremely fine threads of Blood Light scraped across Wu Tie's body.

He truly wanted to cut Wu Tie to pieces.

The ten threads of Blood Light grazed Wu Tie's body, slicing off ten half-foot-long, very fine and thin strips of flesh from him.

From the ten wounds, beads of blood seeped out; Wu Tie had not yet felt the pain of these ten wounds, while Zhu Zixi repeatedly waved his hands, his sharp nails continually slicing across Wu Tie's body.

With a "si si" sound, strip after strip of extremely fine and thin flesh continually flew from Wu Tie's body.

Wu Tie let out a low roar, finally feeling the stinging pain from his body and seeing his own fine strips of flesh fluttering in the gale.

Zhu Zixi deliberately whipped up the gale, holding these fine strips of flesh as they swirled around Wu Tie in a dance, just like fine little snakes coiling in the air.

This scene was gruesome to the extreme, and it also caused Wu Tie immense psychological panic.

Death by a thousand cuts—this truly was going to be the death by a thousand cuts of Wu Tie.

Wu Tie roared, he barely managed to pass the White Tiger Rend to his left hand, then thrust out with a spear.

Zhu Zixi swayed his body and easily dodged Wu Tie's strike.

He went behind Wu Tie, and with a light swipe of his ten fingers, over a hundred extremely fine blood marks appeared crisscrossing Wu Tie's back.

"Little livestock, does it hurt? Are you scared? Hehe, this is just the beginning, just the very beginning!"

"I will certainly cut you to pieces, I will..."

Zhu Zixi was hoarsely bellowing when, from a nearby patch of shadow, a piercing sound of tearing air suddenly attacked.

Chunk after chunk of heavy metal plates flashing with dark light came flying through the air, landing with a thudding sound and embedding themselves in the ground, exactly trapping Wu Tie and Zhu Zixi in the middle.

In the snap of a finger, there were a total of 108 plates, each several meters high, about a meter wide, and up to one foot two inches thick, falling in a staggered manner; the black metal plates were covered with countless crackling electric lights, accompanied by deafening thunder, as 108 thumb-thick chains shot out from the metal plates.

Electric light rolled along these chains, winding toward Zhu Zixi like spirit snakes.

Zhu Zixi gave a cold snort, waved his hands, and sent the chains flying wildly in all directions.

A muffled tearing-of-air sound came, and dozens of human-head-sized olive-shaped metal balls shot out from that shadow.

These metal balls writhed rapidly; upon landing, they had already transformed into dozens of metal puppets over five meters tall, with long limbs and arms shaped like long swords that almost dragged on the ground.

These metal puppets had smooth faces, only two blood-red eyes flashing with a dim light, and they silently lunged at Zhu Zixi.

Their arms swung rapidly, bringing forth a scarlet sword-light that filled the sky, weaving into a great net that enveloped Zhu Zixi.

From the side, an extremely long, supple whip flew in silently and swiftly wrapped around Wu Tie's waist.

A great force came; Wu Tie felt a stir in his heart, offered no resistance, and allowed this mighty force to hoist him up, soaring toward that distant patch of shadow.

Zhu Zixi was entangled by the grand formation of those metal puppets and metal plates, and for a moment he was thrown into confusion, his hands and feet in disarray.

In the blink of an eye, Wu Tie was pulled into the shadow; then the shadow writhed, the surroundings spun, Wu Tie's vision went black, his internal injuries flared up, and he immediately fainted.