Chapter 210: Hyena-Headed Lao Tie

Wu Tie stood foolishly in place, listening to the information left by Osiris through unknown means.

The corpses of Lao Dao Feng and the eight others suddenly exploded, countless thumb-sized black crystal scorpions spraying out of their bodies, like countless locusts, heavily striking the surrounding Blood Curved Blade masters.

The black crystal scorpions raised their long, thin tail hooks and fiercely stabbed into the bodies of those belonging to the Blood Curved Blade.

Black gas rapidly spread over their skin, the mournful howls lasting not long before all the Blood Curved Blade members beside Wu Tie collapsed dead on the spot.

The black wind swept up black dust, rolling and sweeping these corpses, all turning into black sand that vanished in the duststorm.

At the original position of Lao Dao Feng, Duo Li Ya, and the eight others, eight balls of light quietly appeared.

The black balls of light were semi-transparent, inside them were a black sun, a black moon, a black river, a black continent……

The eight balls of light shook violently, then split into one hundred and eight fist-sized balls of light.

From the bracelets of Lao Dao Feng and the others, pieces of golden armor flew out, together with the armor shed from the Blood Curved Blade masters slain by the black crystal scorpions, totaling one hundred and eight pieces.

"They even set an ambush." Wu Tie looked at the armor flying out of the bracelets of Lao Dao Feng and the eight.

They only gave half of the golden armor to the Blood Curved Blade masters, keeping the rest for themselves. Wu Tie recalled Lao Dao Feng's repeated talk of "brothers" and "righteousness," feeling it utterly absurd and ridiculous.

These golden armors flickered with strange light, silently hovering before Wu Tie.

Those balls of light flew up, each merging into the chest of a piece of golden armor, after which various strangely shaped weapons flew up in groups of three or five, merging into those armors.

In the next instant, the golden armor turned into extremely fine hundred and eight strands of golden light, shooting through the air and vanishing without a trace.

Wu Tie saw that more than ten strands of light passed through the outward passage of the Great Snake Cave, flying along it; some golden light flew into the vault above, and some plunged directly into the rocky ground, unknown where they went.

Wu Tie couldn't help but wonder, above this vault, whether there were other great realms, other cave worlds?

Beneath the rock layers under his feet, separated by unknown thicknesses of strata, could there likewise be a vibrant, strange world?

The sky-filling black sandstorm rolled rapidly, the bodies of thirty thousand hyena-headed warriors collapsing, turning into sand that flowed into a palm-sized black small pyramid, the only treasure left behind by Lao Dao Feng and his eight.

The small black pyramid flew toward Wu Tie.

It hovered silently before Wu Tie, then a strand of black gloomy light shot out from the pyramid's tip, rising over three feet high before turning into a black tray.

Wu Tie gazed at the small pyramid and the black tray, pondered for a moment, then carefully took off the spider-shaped pendant hanging from his neck.

A strand of magical power infused into the pendant, turning it into a pallid lump of metallic liquid that dispersed, finally becoming a small bracelet that hung on Wu Tie's wrist.

The crystal brain left by Lao Tie emitted seven-colored flowing light, which Wu Tie carefully lifted and placed upon the tray condensed from black light.

"Osiris himself couldn't be certain whether his 'Guard Tower' would work as intended. But given his status and power, he wouldn't do something too outrageous, would he?"

Wu Tie watched as the black-light platform wrapped around Lao Tie's crystal brain, the black light seeping into the black pyramid, after which the surface of the small black pyramid rippled with a layer of black divine light like water.

The black light quivered rapidly, the small black pyramid softening and melting in the black light, then writhing swiftly.

"I… damn!" A voice like metal clashing—cold, stiff, yet with a strong raspy familiarity—came from the writhing pyramid.

Wu Tie's eyes widened in astonishment: "Lao Tie? You've awakened?"

"I… damn… what is this, ghostly thing… I…" Lao Tie's voice kept coming from the pyramid, then followed a familiar tirade of curses from Wu Tie, Lao Tie using colorful language to greet Osiris in all sorts of ways.

"Bastard, scoundrel, deserving to be chopped into eighteen chunks and thrown to feed fish… deserving that my little brother be eaten by fish, you scoundrel…" Lao Tie hoarsely railed: "Hated power, hated aura, I've really had eighteen lifetimes of bad luck…"

"The power of death… I hate this smell… I hate dealing with bugs and mummies…"

"This smell… I am a refined person, a person of high taste; I hate bugs, I hate mummies, I hate these messy classifications of power… and also, dog head? Oh, hyena head? What's the difference between that and a dog head?"

Around, the black storm suddenly surged, black sand howling as it scraped the ground, swirling around Wu Tie, black grit dragging sparks across the earth; the black wind howled, sand filled the air, blocking the sight of the distant Great Snake Cave natives and preventing them from hearing Lao Tie's tirade.

Wave after wave of transparent black light kept spraying from the small pyramid.

Chilly, dead silent, filled with the flavor of death, yet within that deathly flavor lay hidden a more mixed aura.

There was grand, mighty heat; there was scorching, urgent heat; there were howling gales; there were vast, surging vapors; vibrant power surged back and forth, while a firm, tenacious aura condensed.

Wu Tie recalled what Osiris had said.

He is a deserter… he carried his companions' entrustments, forced into becoming a deserter.

He, preserving his companions' inheritance, their power……

It seems Lao Tie is quite dissatisfied with Osiris's line of power?

Wu Tie spread his hands, sighing helplessly: "Lao Tie, can you hear me? Hey? Hey? Make do, use it."

"This is a desecration, a defilement… of what I cultivated… fine… you're right, make do and use it." Lao Tie cursed dejectedly: "A penny can't fell a hero; at this point, we can't be so particular."

The small black pyramid turned into a head-sized lump of black liquid, writhing rapidly.

Gradually, this mass of black liquid quickly expanded, slowly swelling to several meters in diameter, then the liquid began to wriggle inward, gradually revealing a humanoid form.

Over six meters tall, pitch-black all over, with a hyena-headed humanoid body, slender build, extremely broad shoulders, arms and legs especially slender, the muscles beneath the jet-black skin clearly visible, the physique bearing an exotic flair.

Wu Tie eagerly gazed at this towering hyena-headed figure.

The eyes on the hyena head suddenly opened, two points of grim green fire blazing in the eyeballs, illuminating the surrounding vast area.

"This is Osiris's 'Rebirth Tower'!" The hyena-headed figure—no, the hyena-headed shaped Lao Tie—said with a grim face: "This counts as repaying his favor… the Rebirth Tower, Osiris's first divine artifact aside from the Abundance Tree."

"Heh, bringing out this kind of innate divine artifact, the Rebirth Tower—is he trying to curry favor with me, Old Lao Tie?" Lao Tie opened his mouth, four curved long fangs exposed outside, glinting coldly.

"Forget it, I accept this favor, this favor, Old Lao Tie acknowledges it." Lao Tie extended a finger, touching his four sharp fangs, fingertips clicking, nails and fangs striking together, sending up sparks.

"However, this body is really uncomfortable… and this appearance…" Lao Tie's face grew ever darker and unsightly.

He lowered his head to look at Wu Tie, muttering: "You say, if Osiris isn't dead… then are there other old comrades still alive?"

Wu Tie looked excitedly at Lao Tie, vigorously patting his thigh, nodding with a chuckle: "Maybe there are?"

Lao Tie gritted his teeth, mouth full of sharp teeth clacking, sparks flying, emitting a harsh grinding sound: "Maybe there? That means there is? You say, if those who know me, my old comrades, saw me turn into this form… would I still be considered human?"

Wu Tie chuckled, looking at Lao Tie: "But you weren't human to begin with, were you?"

Lao Tie opened his mouth, astonished at Wu Tie: "Xiao Tie, after not seeing you for a while, you've gone bad… you actually learned to mock people?"

Wu Tie laughed, spreading his hands, nodding: "Didn't I learn it from you?"

Lao Tie widened his eyes: "Is that a thing? I don't remember… well, that's not important… what matters is, if people see me and recognize me, my reputation thereafter… will be… ruined."

Raising his head, Lao Tie muttered: "Back then I declared I would comprehend the 'Chaos Change,' cultivate a flesh-and-blood body, I wanted to become the most handsome man in the East, surpassing Yang Jian, then win over all the beauties I could, making Yang Jian and them envy, resent, and hate."

"But now, you make me… you make me… even if I comprehend the 'Chaos Change,' a hyena-headed person? How am I supposed to face people?"

Lao Tie gazed at Wu Tie, wanting to cry but with no tears: "How can I face people?"

Wu Tie pursed his lips: "You can transform? I can now take on several forms."

Lao Tie had a mournful expression, then abruptly sat on the ground, his hands propping his chin, eyes narrowed, green light flashing in his pupils, embodying the sinister look of an old jackal to the fullest.

"No, no, you don't understand... the art of transformation... unless you reach that realm, otherwise, no matter how many changes you make, transformation only alters the surface; your true self stays the same."

"So even if I have mastered the Chaos Transformation and taken on the appearance of the most handsome man in the East, a true expert could see through me at a glance—I am nothing but a jackal's head!"

Lao Tie's mood sank a little: "Really, it's melancholy."

Wu Tie reached out and patted Lao Tie's shoulder: "Having a body isn't bad, right? We can be together again... right?"

Lao Tie was silent for a while: "This is indeed a good thing... but this appearance... I feel ashamed... well... never mind."

Lao Tie stretched his body, muttering: "I don't want to meet people looking like this; a jackal-headed human form is too dangerous."

"This body has tremendous power, but it's not the power I know; I can't fully unleash its potential... Why not do this instead?"

Before Wu Tie could understand what Lao Tie was muttering, Lao Tie's body began to writhe, his form rapidly shifting.

After a breath, Lao Tie changed from a six-meter-tall jackal-headed person into a black jackal a little over a meter long, looking quite unremarkable.

He flicked his tail, shook his body, drew a deep breath, and on his formerly smooth, mirror-like skin, long, soft, glossy black fur sprouted.

A jet-black jackal stood silently before Wu Tie; they gazed at each other for a moment, then Lao Tie heaved a deep sigh: "Let it be this—just consider me your pet... this form, I think, is much better than that dog-headed humanoid just now."

Wu Tie laughed, happily.

No matter what form Lao Tie took, he was still the same Lao Tie.

He dropped to one knee, fiercely embraced Lao Tie, pulling his head into his arms, and rubbed him hard, over and over.

Green light flashed in Lao Tie's eyes; he opened his mouth and bit Wu Tie's calf: "Damn it, I'm not a real dog—I'm at least a jackal!"

"Ding!"

Wu Tie burst into laughter, vigorously patting Lao Tie's head.

A tremendous uproar rose from all sides; just moments ago, 108 pieces of golden armor, bearing the legacy left by Osiris, flew away, the disturbance was significant; the major powers of the Giant Serpent Den had just fought a fierce battle, and with tensions high, seeing the commotion they all rushed over here.

Lao Tie gave a cold snort; a layer of black divine light shimmered on his body, the surrounding black sandstorm grew ever more violent, its coverage—previously several li across—rapidly contracted inward, and the more it contracted, the more terrifying the wind and sand's speed became.

Finally, the black sandstorm turned into a black tornado, engulfing Wu Tie and Lao Tie and howling outward.

Lao Tie's body contains immensely terrifying power; though it is not the power he himself is familiar with, the energy's essence lies here—even if he can only draw upon a little, the might he shows equals that of an exceptionally strong Life Pool Realm.

The wind howled, speed astonishing; the various forces of the Giant Serpent Den couldn't catch up, only able to watch helplessly as Lao Tie and Wu Tie sped away.

Three hours later, in a secluded spot outside the Giant Serpent Den, Wu Tie followed the traces left by Lao Bai and located Shi Fei, Tie Dajian, and their group.

Wu Tie and Lao Tie entered the wide stone cavern.

Wu Tie walked with steady steps; Lao Tie, still unaccustomed to this body, staggered step by step, swaying as if drunk.

Just as they entered the stone cave, Shi Fei gaped, patting his belly and asking Wu Tie: "Wu Tie, where did you get... what is this?"

Shi Fei did not know what a jackal was.

Yan Hanlu, Lu Ji, and Lao Bai also gazed curiously at Lao Tie.

An unexpected person—Mister Sa of the Dark Guild—was also present in the stone cave.

He turned, spotted Lao Tie at a glance, and exclaimed in astonishment: "Oh? A black dog? That's a rare find—these days only true major powers can afford to keep a dog."

Before his words even finished, Lao Tie virtually teleported to Mister Sa's side and bit his calf.

"Crack!"