Chapter 162: Goodbye

Severe chest pain.

Wu Tie's half-body was embedded in the rock wall, blood from his chest streaming like a spring, instantly dyeing half his body red.

The golden pellet still clung tightly to the wound, a wave of dark energy suddenly erupted, then another. Continuous and successive, heavy and massive, like a giant's palm, it kept pressing on his chest.

A fist-sized area of flesh and blood on his chest was shattered, only the dark-colored bones, though bent, were extremely hard and flexible, stubbornly blocking wave after wave of dark energy from within the golden pellet.

Eighteen layers of dark energy came in succession, lasting as long as a breath.

After the eighteen layers of dark energy faded, the golden pellet suddenly lightened; Wu Tie spat a spray of blood seven or eight meters out. His chest ribs violently rebounded, and the heavy golden pellet, with a "wu" sound, was flung hundreds of meters by the rebounding ribs, smashing heavily into a rock wall.

Wa Xiao Xi, Lu Ji, and Lao Bai finally reacted, turning simultaneously to look at the blood-soaked Wu Tie, and cried out in unison.

The shaman's reaction was fastest; she clutched the Wind and Cloud Banner with her small hand and shook it wildly, rolling clouds of smoke rising, amidst howling gales, dirt and sand swirling from all directions, instantly shrouding an area of about a mile in dark gloom.

Wu Tie painfully lifted his head and glanced in the direction the golden pellet had come from.

Here there was no False Sun, only vast stretches of luminous vines clinging to the rock wall, light dim; the direction the golden pellet flew from was a stone platform hundreds of meters above ground, its surface pitch black, revealing nothing.

It was as if a black hole there sucked in all surrounding light.

Wu Tie grunted, shoved hard against the rock wall with both arms, pulled his body out of the hard stone, and struggled to stand upright.

"Who is it?" Wu Tie shouted angrily.

The force on that golden pellet was overbearing and massive, like a mountain pressing down, but Wu Tie could tell it was a flat slap, not a sharp piercing force.

It was like someone swatting with a flyswatter, applying even pressure, rather than stabbing with a steel needle point-first.

The skill in using this power was exquisite, reaching the peak of marvelous perfection, attaining the masterful realm where everything is natural and untouched by artifice.

Had it not been a flat slap but a more overbearing penetrating force, Wu Tie faintly felt his ribs could not withstand the golden pellet's power; precisely because it was a flat slap, his chest flesh and blood flew apart, yet he was only blown away.

Otherwise, Wu Tie would have remained in place while the golden pellet violently pierced his body, boring a transparent hole through him.

Even so, Wu Tie felt no gratitude toward the one who struck him.

Although he used a flat slapping force, the successive eighteen layers of dark energy striking in a row would have shattered Wu Tie's breastbone into pieces and robbed him of all movement, were it not for his bones being exceptionally hard and flexible.

That person intended to severely wound Wu Tie and eliminate his combat ability.

"Who on earth is it?" Wu Tie exerted all his soul power, the invisible force field surging like an invisible tide, wave after wave rolling outward.

Wherever the force passed, the trajectory of every dust particle became clearly visible.

Only when approaching that platform did the space feel off… Wu Tie clearly sensed his emitted invisible force field being twisted, devoured, and pulled thread by thread into that terrifying darkness.

On that stone platform, it seemed a pitch-black monster lay, its huge mouth opening to bite mouthfuls of the invisible force field Wu Tie had released.

Wu Tie abruptly retracted his projected force field, then pointed fiercely at the stone platform: "Lu Ji."

Lu Ji raised his double-barreled hunting rifle; two muffled "dong-dong" sounds rang out as two explosive pellets shot off, almost striking the stone platform along an absolute straight line. These were Lu Ji's specially made explosive pellets, their power comparable to a mountain-splitting thunderbolt, enough to blast apart boulders several meters across.

The two explosive pellets vanished silently and without a trace, not even a spark appearing on the stone platform.

The faces of Wu Tie, Lu Ji, and Lao Bai changed simultaneously.

"Retreat." Wu Tie glanced at the stone platform; the other side showed no movement… then let there be no movement.

First retreat, then we'll talk.

This place is right beside Wa Valley; at most a quarter hour's effort and they could return to Wa Valley, and with the Wa people's strength, if foreign invaders came, they'd have nothing to fear.

Wu Tie seized Wa Xiao Xi's shoulder and hurried her away.

Lu Ji and Lao Bai followed left and right behind Wu Tie, occasionally lifting their heads to look toward the stone platform in the darkness.

With a "hum", another golden pellet fell from the sky, striking straight at Wu Tie's left shoulder.

This time, Wu Tie had long been prepared; the White Tiger Split flashed a cold light, striking the golden pellet precisely. Wave after wave of heavy, overbearing force came in succession; amid the piercing impact, the White Tiger Split cleaved the golden pellet into two pieces.

The two fragments of the golden pellet struck the ground, kicking up two inconspicuous specks of dust that sank deep into the earth. Two muffled thuds suddenly sounded from underground, and two circular pits, each several meters in diameter and about a meter deep, appeared out of nowhere beside Wu Tie.

Even with the White Tiger Split, a divine weapon, three layers of the golden pellet's massive dark energy still passed through it into Wu Tie's arm.

Wa Xiao Xi and the others clearly heard Wu Tie's arm crack with a "ka-cha"; his right arm suddenly drooped, forcibly dislocated by the dark energy from the golden pellet.

Wu Tie drew a deep breath and continued to sprint, leading Wa Xiao Xi and the shaman.

After running two steps forward, Wu Tie's body swayed; he swung his right arm, another "ka-cha" sounded, and he forcibly used the weight of the White Tiger Split to brutally reset his dislocated joint.

On the stone platform, the Six Paths Palace Master's jet-black eyes fixed deeply on Wu Tie's White Tiger Split: "Not a bad weapon, this kid—his foundation is quite solid. Well, look, what are those little brats up to?"

He clutched a handful of golden pellets the size of infant fists, pinching one between his right thumb and forefinger, eyeing Wu Tie, aiming again and again, but ultimately never firing it.

Wu Tie led the few people forward at speed, his invisible force field tightly wrapped around them, each step carrying them over ten meters.

Just as they seemed about to burst out of this narrow stone fissure, threads of deep-blue cold light fell from the sky, sliding down the rock wall like water; with a "hiss-hiss", deep-blue ice crystals traced strange runes on the wall, forming a frigid ice prison about a mile in diameter that enclosed Wu Tie and the others.

Vast swaths of thumb-sized hexagonal blue ice crystals drifted down from the sky.

Wu Tie tightened his invisible force field, stirring up gusts of wind; combined with the gale from the Wind and Cloud Banner, the ice crystals could not approach within ten meters of their bodies.

The deep-blue ice crystals landed lightly on the ground.

A single ice crystal struck the ground with a "pa" sound, and a large expanse of blue cold qi burst outward in all directions, covering several meters of stone ground with a thin layer of ice.

Then two ice crystals, three ice crystals…

Countless ice crystals fell rapidly, the "pa-pa" sounds unceasing; the ice layer on the ground kept thickening, gradually Wu Tie and the others were encircled by waist-high ice from all sides.

Even with the strong winds from Wu Tie and the Wind and Cloud Banner howling, the blue cold qi clung to the ground and kept assaulting them; the thin ice sheets kept extending toward them, then were lifted by the wind into ribbons of transparent ice crystals that fluttered like spirit snakes around them.

"Again, you?" Such familiar dark-blue cold qi, such familiar methods.

Wu Tie gazed at the countless dense runes of condensed cold qi on the rock wall, then he swung his left hand hard, launching a water-tank-sized fireball that roared out like a heavy cannon and slammed into the wall.

With a tremendous boom, the fireball exploded, bathing tens of meters of rock wall in blazing light.

The flames vanished swiftly; under the onslaught of pervasive cold qi, the firelight disappeared as quickly as a candle in a gale. The rock wall suffered no damage, not even the fragile vines turned to ice sustained any harm.

What a sturdy ice prison.

"Have you seen our methods?" a deep, powerful voice sounded; from over two hundred meters ahead, the sky-full of ice crystals suddenly parted, and Gong Sun Sheng, accompanied by several young men and women, walked slowly forward.

After they entered this ice prison, the ice crystals behind them suddenly snapped shut inward.

With a continual "ka-ka" sound, the cold qi behind them condensed into a thick wall of ice crystals, completely sealing off this stone fissure.

"Praising the power of the Supreme Heavenly God..." Gongsun Sheng smiled at Wu Tie, giving him a nod: "Actually, speaking of it, I still need to thank you. You killed Gongsun Yuan, Gongsun Ying, and Gongsun Xiong, those self-important wastes, so I really should thank you."

Spreading his hands, Gongsun Sheng shouted: "Although, those resources of the Gongsun family mean nothing to me…… especially, all the real good stuff went to Gongsun Hao, that old fogey's most beloved grandson…… but since it's free, why not take it?"

"You killed them, now I am the most outstanding descendant of the younger generation of the Gongsun family in name, so many resources I originally couldn't enjoy, like the most beautiful and lovely maidservants, are now at my disposal to pick."

"I actually don't care about these things, but since they're free…… so, thank you!" Gongsun Sheng smiled at Wu Tie: "If you can obediently hand over Wa Xiaoxi to me, I'll be even more grateful."

Wu Tie looked at Gongsun Sheng with the eyes of looking at an idiot: "You want Xiaoxi?"

Gongsun Sheng smiled and nodded firmly: "Don't worry, I don't mean that with her; I have no interest in flat-chested little girls like a whetstone, I like the type like Wa Yao with a protruding front and curved back…… but Wa Xiaoxi is very valuable."

Gongsun Sheng laughed: "Well, or more accurately, sacrifice her to the Supreme Divine Spirit…… the divine spirit will give us great rewards."

Taking a deep breath, Gongsun Sheng's body rose a bloody light mist; the mist surged up tens of meters high, nine mighty dragons with prominent horns and nine six-tusked elephants slowly emerged within the bloody light mist.

Nine Dragons and Nine Elephants, an extremely overbearing and mighty aura surged forth.

"For example, my Nine Dragons and Nine Elephants power relies on the Heavenly God's grace, truly cultivated to the perfected realm." Gongsun Sheng sneered: "I'm not like that idiot Gongsun Yuan, who merely obtained the seed of the Nine Dragons and Nine Elephants power from the ancestral secret realm and then bragged everywhere that he had received the true transmission of the Gongsun ancestors."

"I am the one who truly obtained the immense Nine Dragons and Nine Elephants power hidden in the Gongsun bloodline." Gongsun Sheng laughed brightly: "I am two years younger than Gongsun Yuan, but my true strength is dozens of times his…… this is the Heavenly God's grace. I have a feeling that if I can sacrifice Wa Xiaoxi……"

His eyes spewing Blood Light, Gongsun Sheng did not hide his greed for Wa Xiaoxi, he stared at her with a grotesque smile: "The Nine Dragons and Nine Elephants power is the ultimate inheritance of our Gongsun bloodline…… but sacrificing you, I will surely break through this limit and reach a higher realm……"

"One hundred dragons and one hundred elephants? Why wouldn't that work?" Gongsun Sheng strode toward Wu Tie and the others, smiling: "Why wouldn't that work? I think it's very possible, so hand over Wa Xiaoxi to me…… I promise, I will only sacrifice her, I will absolutely not move a single finger of hers……"

Gongsun Sheng smiled triumphantly, a vast aura constantly surging outward from his whole body, his eyes fixed tightly on Wa Xiaoxi, completely disregarding Wu Tie and the others.

Wu Tie shoved Wa Xiaoxi backward.

Lao Bai and Lu Ji flanked Wa Xiaoxi on left and right, Lao Bai drew a poison-coated dagger, Lu Ji produced a modified torpedo, ready to throw it at any moment.

Wu Tie advanced toward Gongsun Sheng, the distance between them rapidly shrinking.

When they were still about ten meters apart, Gongsun Sheng suddenly shouted loudly, he swung his right hand, a dragon-shaped qi surge howled toward Wu Tie's chest.

The bloody fist aura, like a giant dragon, shook its head and swayed its tail, shattering the thick ice on the ground; icy crystals swirled in the sky around the dragon-shaped qi surge, rushing straight at Wu Tie. This punch almost evacuated all the air in the Xuanbing prison, the earth-shaking dragon roar causing excruciating pain to the eardrums.

Wu Tie's chest was a blur of blood and flesh, the bones struck aching faintly.

He did not choose to clash brute force with Gongsun Sheng; gripping the White Tiger Split with both hands, he thrust a clean, swift spear at the dragon-shaped qi surge.

A white light flashed, a huge boom rang out, the thick ice in the Xuanbing prison collapsed explosively, countless ice shards of various sizes flew up hundreds of meters. The dragon-shaped qi surge was shattered by Wu Tie's spear, the tremendous force came, Wu Tie staggered backward dozens of steps, barely retreating to in front of Wa Xiaoxi and the others.

"You, so weak!" Gongsun Sheng burst into laughter: "But someone as weak as you could kill Gongsun Yuan and the others? They're truly weak, having lost all face for the Gongsun family."

Gongsun Sheng gave Wa Xiaoxi a grin, baring his teeth: "Little sis Wa Xiaoxi, rest assured, I will only beat your brother to death, I will absolutely not torture him further…… I, Gongsun Sheng, if I can kill someone with one punch, I will definitely not use a second punch, I will absolutely not torture him……"

Gongsun Sheng laughed loudly, he strode forward with big steps and threw a punch at Wu Tie's head.

This time, he did not release the dragon-shaped qi surge, but directly struck with his flesh fist.