Chapter 220: Self-Destruction

The metal wings on his back fluttered, Wu Tie's figure flickered like a frenzied dancing bat as he rushed from a passage into the stone cave.

He had just entered the stone cave when the red-haired big men's group suddenly erupted.

Wu Tie only had time to curse before his whole body was engulfed in a ball of flame; then a gust hit him frontally, dozens of heavy boulders smashed into him, shattering, and he was involuntarily flung backward.

The passage behind him collapsed and shattered, the entrance vanished, the rock walls melted into magma under high heat, surging and flowing; Wu Tie plunged headfirst into the scorching hot magma, sending up countless sparks of fire.

All around was chaos, almost evolving into primordial void.

The power of the red-haired big men's group was terrifying to the extreme; they directly destroyed and annihilated the entire stone cave.

Heaven and earth shook, the ground split, the dome collapsed; the dome of unknown thickness, just collapsed, was shattered by bolts of wild thunder, then tossed by the hurricane, rubbing and grinding each other, exploding into countless fragments of various sizes.

Flames surged upward, and the shattered stones melted one after another into magma.

Magma surged in every direction, scorching heat enveloped everything; the empty space within several li was completely surrounded by magma of unknown thickness, glowing red as if everyone were trapped inside an egg of flame.

Wu Tie floundered helplessly in the magma.

The armor gifted by Osiris emitted a layer of black divine light, encircling and protecting his body.

Magma burned, the hurricane swept, lightning struck randomly, boulders hammered wildly, and at the same time terrifying yuan magnetic force in the void turned into visible, hazy auroras that shot everywhere.

Twisted gravitational forces frenziedly tore at everything around; Wu Tie's body was also enveloped by the chaotic gravity field, like a ragdoll in a child's hand being jerked about randomly.

Everything nearby was shattering, collapsing, melting, then in various strange and violent attacks it contracted and refined, completely transforming its nature.

Wu Tie gritted his teeth, letting his body tumble wildly in the magma.

He could feel the terrifying power all around.

Terrifying heat, terrifying lightning, terrifying hurricane, terrifying Xuanbing ice, and especially that terrifying yuan magnetic light—these yuan magnetic lights appear soft and powerless, yet wherever they pass all life is extinguished; they are the fundamental essence that destroys all living beings at the root.

Not to mention the twisting, pulling gravity field.

Wu Tie's bones were still absorbing the essence from the Taotie bone; his physical strength now likely amounted to fifty or sixty billion catties of pure brute force.

But the twisting, pulling gravity field around him, each strand bringing a change in force, was at least a hundred times greater than Wu Tie's current brute strength… his face twitched and contorted; he could not imagine how magnificent and mighty this power was.

What background do this group of rough big men have?

Where did this group of rude, violent murderous embryos come from? Aren't they afraid of shattering the dome and inviting some heavenly catastrophe?

Wu Tie was turning this thought over in his mind when suddenly the surrounding void violently trembled.

The big man with a head of water-blue long hair suddenly burst into laughter: 'Hahaha, it's about to explode… above, a hundred li up, there's actually a huge underground lake… hahaha, water and fire clash, boom!'

Wu Tie looked up in shock.

These rough men's power is too terrifying; the magma formed from melted surrounding rock, refined by their strength to extreme purity, became as clear and translucent as glazed glass; with Wu Tie's vision, he could see the scene a hundred li away through the magma.

Wu Tie suddenly shuddered… these madmen actually used scorching flames to melt the hundred-li-thick dome above their heads.

Then the rock walls on all sides, the strata beneath their feet… weren't they also melted away for a hundred li?

Wu Tie cursed angrily… good thing there's Old Iron, good thing there are the Eighteen Guardian Heavenly Kings…

Otherwise, Shi Fei, Lu Ji, and Yan Hanlu would have long been burned to death by the magma refined by those big men.

Through the hundred-li-thick magma, Wu Tie shockingly saw vast expanses of cyan-blue water roaring downwards; the immeasurable underground lake water and the boiling, tumbling magma violently collided, white vapor roiled, and countless steam bursts exploded.

Wu Tie's mind flashed with the knowledge Old Iron had imparted—what would the suddenly expanding steam bring in a confined space?

The red-haired big man roared loudly: 'No, there are still many stone cave strongholds nearby… many living people… we can't blow them up!'

He and the water-blue long-haired big man exchanged a glance, their bodies flickered, and instantly they passed through the hundred-li-thick magma to arrive at the spot where the underground lake and magma violently collided.

The red-haired big man waved both hands, forcibly suppressing the magma.

The water-blue long-haired big man let out a hoarse, long cry, his body swelling, transforming into a giant of blue spring water a hundred zhang tall, opening his mouth to swallow the boiling steam in one gulp.

Gulug!

The water giant's belly suddenly bulged out, then rapidly shrank.

The two big men worked to suppress the possible heavenly disaster of water and fire clashing, while the other big men loudly roared, frantically attacking the subordinates of Xuan Zhu in the space of three to four li surrounded by magma.

Over a thousand members of the Gluttonous Clan were caught off guard, and just like Wu Tie were instantly swept into the magma.

Besides the four Life Pond Realm experts beside Taotie Niang, the other Gluttonous Clan cultivators howled and vanished without a trace in the magma in just a few moments.

Most of them were directly burned by the magma into a wisp of blue smoke; a small part was blown to dust by wild thunder; another part was torn into fragments by the hurricane; moreover, some were pierced through the body by yuan magnetic light, instantly turning into dry corpses that fell into the magma.

The terrifying gravity field surged and rolled in; the invisible gravity field squeezed and pressed the dust left by over a thousand Gluttonous Clan cultivators inward, and the surrounding high-temperature, high-pressure environment suddenly erupted, revealing a huge, crystal-clear diamond that had formed out of nowhere.

Wu Tie's mouth corner twitched violently.

Among the knowledge Old Iron imparted, there was related information on diamond formation.

Diamonds are also a relatively common precious stone traded as currency among the major regions, stone caves, and clan powers, just like gold coins.

The diamond just formed by crushing was as big as two human heads.

But thinking of its raw materials… Wu Tie decided he would never again hoard diamonds as personal wealth.

Taotie Niang cursed hoarsely, his voice exhausted.

These over a thousand cultivators were his core followers, his most loyal die-hard confidants.

But the cursing was useless; Taotie Niang's muscles twitched all over, scales rapidly sprouted beneath his skin, he transformed into a humanoid monster encased in thick scale armor, and with a hoarse roar he bellowed at the four Life Pond Realm experts of the Gluttonous Clan.

'Come close to me… join forces to protect ourselves!'

The Taotie bloodline is indeed extraordinary; even after being squeezed by Xuan Zhu into almost mushroom-dry, facing desperation, Taotie Niang still burst forth with tenacious survival strength.

He and the four Life Pond Realm experts simultaneously raised their heads, chanting a low incantation.

Amid the rolling magma across the sky, five thick blue beams whistled down, clothing them in a thick layer of Xuanbing Ice Armor.

Their surrounding temperature quickly dropped; under the magma's scouring, the temperature around them had fallen to a level ordinary cultivators could endure.

The black-armored cultivators of the two Divine Hunting Groups, like the Gluttonous Clan cultivators, were struck by the rough men's explosive attack and suffered heavy casualties.

Except for six or seven leaders who barely begged for the power of a heavenly artifact and likewise donned Xuanbing Battle Armor, the other black-armored cultivators fell into the magma and were instantly annihilated under the various crazy, brutal attacks.

Everything happened extremely quickly.

From Wu Tie's charge into the stone cave to that group of stalwart men instantly destroying the whole cave, it all took only a few breaths.

Xuan Zhu, standing on Cangyou's head, suddenly let out a sharp laugh.

Around her, large patches of ice crystals appeared; thick strands of Cold Qi condensed into pure white ropes, whistling as they shot out, wrapping the Taotie birds, the two Divine Hunting Squads, and the ice coffins brought by the red-haired burly men, pulling them all to her side.

Including Wa Yue, the Great Snake Yi, and others, dozens of profound ice coffins hovered behind Xuan Zhu.

Cangyou spewed large amounts of Cold Qi from his whole body, desperately defending against the wild onslaught of surrounding magma, lightning, hurricanes, and electromagnetic light beams.

On Cangyou's magnificent, dragon-like body, large patches of scales continually shattered and fell off, while large blisters of water kept forming on his skin. Under the tug of the distorted gravity field, his body twisted and writhed abnormally, and the sound of bones breaking continuously came from within.

Even more frightening, however, was that strange and hard-to-withstand electromagnetic light beam.

The seven-colored aurora appeared soft and powerless, but as beams of aurora light pierced Cangyou's body, nearby muscles withered and died in large patches, then quickly turned to dust and kept falling off.

In just a few breaths, Cangyou's hundred-meter-long body was forcibly pierced with dozens of transparent holes—small ones no thicker than a fist, large ones as big as a water jar—causing him to howl in pain, yet without Xuan Zhu's command he dared not flee.

Moreover, he was surrounded by magma; where could he escape to?

The white-haired old fiend was surrounded by a grayish-white whirlwind, stepping on a strangely shaped white skull as he slowly flew to face Xuan Zhu.

"A few years ago, foreign invaders entered our clan's territory… they nearly abducted our finest batch of youngsters." The white-haired old fiend's eyes turned deathly pale, and strands of godly light resembling bone-white shot out from his pupils for several zhang, locking onto Xuan Zhu.

"They acted swiftly, and with an insider from our clan aiding them, they killed over a hundred of our warriors; among those youngsters, three died, twelve were severely injured, and seven were completely ruined, unable to cultivate any further." The white-haired old fiend shouted sternly: "The ancestor is furious; he has sent us to pursue them relentlessly."

"Over these years, we have nearly exterminated that batch of foreign foes, with only a few leaders still at large." The white-haired old fiend said helplessly: "They are extraordinarily cunning, always fleeing to crowded places; we dare not act freely, so we can only watch helplessly as they escape time and again."

"But this time… we have finally caught a big fish." The white-haired old fiend narrowed his eyes, and a water-like white light sprayed from his eyes: "Little miss, obediently surrender."

Xuan Zhu smiled at the white-haired old fiend: "And after surrendering?"

The white-haired old fiend said candidly: "Naturally, to tell us everything you know."

Xuan Zhu shook her head: "What if I don't tell?"

The white-haired old fiend said coldly: "Then it's torture… Rest assured, we are versed in all kinds of punishments; even an iron man would have his mouth pried open by us."

Xuan Zhu sighed: "And after the torture?"

The white-haired old fiend said more bluntly: "What use is keeping a calamity like you? After torture and obtaining a confession, we will naturally chop you into pieces—do you expect us to treat you to food and drink?"

After a cold snort, the white-haired old fiend said grimly: "Once we have your confession, we will continue to hunt down your comrades… The ancestor said that for however many of our clansmen we have lost, we must exact a hundredfold revenge; if we don't kill twenty or thirty thousand of you, we cannot return to explain ourselves."

Xuan Zhu let out a heavy sigh, her smile vanishing instantly: "If I surrender, you will torture me and then kill me to vent your anger… In that case, what's the point of surrendering?"

With a swish, a burly man appeared out of nowhere behind Xuan Zhu—she couldn't even react—as he slammed a heavy punch into her lumbar vertebrae.

A flash of black light on the burly man's fist, a terrifying destructive force blasted into Xuan Zhu's body; with a loud bang, flesh and blood flew from her waist, and that stunningly beautiful woman, capable of toppling nations, was actually split in two by a single punch from the burly man.

"If you don't surrender, you'll just suffer more—simple as that!" The burly man seized Xuan Zhu's neck and roared toward his companions: "Heal her; before she speaks, we can't let her die just like that."

Blood gushed from Xuan Zhu's waist wound like a spring; she screamed shrilly, her hands flailing wildly as if mad.

She could hardly believe it—facing her beauty, there actually existed a man who could destroy her with a single punch without hesitation!

These overly burly, rough fellows—what on earth is their origin?

Do they even have a shred of normal human emotion?

Don't they understand at all what it means to cherish fragrance and jade?

How could they possibly be so brutal as to punch her into two pieces?

"You bunch of lunatics, bastards, despicable and shameless savages… you, you…" Xuan Zhu instinctively reached to wipe her left wrist, but there was nothing there.

Xuan Zhu's expression suddenly became unusually calm and cold.

She let out a snort of laughter and lightly shook her head.

"Cangyou, end yourself—falling into their hands will surely be no good." Xuan Zhu said coldly.

Cangyou stared blankly, then he suddenly raised his head and let out a long howl; his huge skull exploded with a boom, leaving only two sharp horns blasted far away.

A green-haired burly man rushed forward, squeezed out a pouch, and a fragrant medicinal liquid sprayed onto Xuan Zhu's waist wound; the bloody injury healed instantly, leaving not a trace even in the blink of an eye.

Xuan Zhu, however, smiled and lightly shook her head: "I'll remember you… goodbye… see you again soon!"

Xuan Zhu let out a pfft of laughter, then her beautiful head exploded with a bang.

A group of burly men stood dumbfounded on the spot, then each began to curse loudly.