Chapter 225

Stone Grotto

The three‑chi‑high Rebirth Tower hung high in the air, pouring down transparent black divine light that shrouded everyone.

Shi Fei, Lu Ji, Yan Hanlu and the others had twisted faces, constantly emitting muffled sounds of shattering bones and flesh from within, and there came the 'xixi suosu' sound of silkworms eating leaves—that was the sound of shattered bodily tissue constantly healing.

Behind them, the Heaven-lock Chonglou was clearly visible.

Compared to Wu Tie, whose height exceeded ten thousand meters and whose two dragon‑like spiral light bands were majestic, Shi Fei and the others' Heaven-lock Chonglou stood no higher than ten meters, their light bands no thicker than an arm, and each strand of light was dim and lackluster.

Especially, Wu Tie had broken through the twelve heavenly layers; his thirty‑three‑layer Heaven-lock Chonglou had vanished twelve layers, the first twelve layers of the Chonglou completely solved by him, and not even a single strand of light formed from the half of the heavenly bonds remained.

And Shi Fei and the others...

Tie Dajian had the highest cultivation; he had already squeezed most of his body into the Life Pool Realm.

But behind Tie Dajian, the thirty‑three‑layer Heaven-lock Chonglou remained clearly visible, strands of light intertwined, continually emitting a hazy radiance.

Even after receiving some instruction from Wu Tie, the number of light strands formed from the heavenly bonds that Tie Dajian had broken through amounted to no more than tens of millions.

The Great Witch's Essence Blood spread immense power within everyone's bodies, wave after wave of blood‑colored surge gushed from Shi Fei and the others' bodies, incessantly scouring the Heaven-lock Chonglou.

When Wu Tie absorbed the Great Witch's Essence Blood, a single blood‑colored surge merely tore open tens of thousands of light strands, whereas for Shi Fei and the others a single surge scoured the Heaven-lock Chonglou, making it shake violently, as if the entire Chonglou might collapse in an instant and directly break into the Life Pool Realm—an ominous sign.

Old Tie painstakingly maintained Shi Fei and the others' condition.

Not only did he have to suppress their near‑collapsing bodies, but he also had to painfully maintain the Heaven-lock Chonglou behind them.

Shi Fei now chiefly cultivates the Formless Bone Demon Scripture, and besides, Wu Tie has just poured various divine‑ability secret arts into him via initiation; in terms of lineage inheritance, they are already far from weak.

But their foundation is too weak; the Heaven-lock Chonglou is feeble and adrift. Even with the Great Witch's Essence Blood aiding them, if they forcefully break into the Life Pool Realm now, their base will remain shallow and unstable, and the Life Pool they condense will not be very strong.

Old Tie gradually guided Shi Fei and the others' essence‑blood energy; only a tiny fraction was used to break the heavenly bonds, while the vast majority was poured into the Heaven-lock Chonglou to thoroughly solidify their foundation.

Although their realm showed little improvement, Shi Fei and the others' aura rapidly grew stronger.

Their physique, features, skin tone, bone‑and‑organ structure and so on began to undergo strange changes, gradually shifting toward a more perfect state more in tune with nature's rhythm.

The flab on Shi Fei's body writhed violently; he drenched in sweat, his body shrinking layer by layer, then swelling back up layer by layer.

In this continual process of shrinking and filling, the fat on Shi Fei's body turned into hard, thick muscle; though his shape remained unchanged—still a sphere—his strength and reflexes underwent a complete transformation.

Lu Ji remained petite, even half an inch shorter than before.

But clearly his bones became more proportionally slender, his fingers grew longer and more nimble, his eyeballs enlarged, and his pupils occasionally flashed with lively light.

Yan Hanlu became taller and more slender, her figure more agile, her whole body exuding a 'valiant' aura; at a glance she resembled a beautiful great leopard, giving an inexplicable sense of danger.

With a 'hoo', strands of black flame spurted from within Yan Hanlu's body.

Under the coercion of the Great Witch's Essence Blood, the Cangyan fire seed fully merged with Yan Hanlu; her body gradually underwent an aberration, turning into a clump of viscous humanoid black fire that continually emitted terrifying heat in all directions.

Old Tie hurriedly activated the Rebirth Tower; a mass of black light enveloped Yan Hanlu, preventing the Cangyan fire on her surface from damaging the surroundings.

Shan Dun, meanwhile, kept growing taller, his physique becoming more burly and heavy, each muscle block becoming square‑shaped, like a thick tower shield.

Beneath his skin, yellow patterns continually surfaced; fine lines traced out one phantom mountain after another, which kept appearing and then sinking into his body.

Others also underwent various different transformations.

Especially Mo Zhangwang, this guy completely turned into a boneless shapeshifting worm, his body writhing strangely, his whole body a riot of colors, with countless aberrantly colored rings constantly spraying from beneath his skin.

"The Wu family… these fellows have extracted the utmost potential of the flesh… tsk, it's a bargain for this bunch of little guys." Old Tie watched the changes occurring on the bodies of the group, and couldn't help muttering to himself: "Xiao Tie, this fellow, didn't he realize how precious this essence blood is?"

"But that's also true… a hero needs three helpers; if you have a bunch of pig teammates… heh, it's pretty miserable." Old Tie lay on the ground, his drooping tail swaying lightly: "These fellows, once they grow up, won't be weak either."

Boom...

Around Old Bai, invisible flames welled up; these flames entered his body through his seven orifices, then burned along his meridians, blood vessels, and five viscera and six bowels.

Old Bai attracted a fire tribulation.

Behind him, the Heaven‑lock Chonglou trembled, a stern aura surged forth; as he faced the fire tribulation, he smoothly stepped into the first layer of the Chonglou Realm.

Thereafter, Old Bai's aura rose step by step, far surpassing the speed at which Wu Tie had previously broken through—much, much faster...

In a corner of the Stone Grotto, Wu Tie was toying with several divine weapons forged from Taotie bone. The original owners of those weapons—Taotie Ying and four Taotie clan Life Pool Realm experts—lay on the ground, faces devoid of will to live.

Five Life Pool Realm experts, moreover possessing the Taotie clan's bloodline, whose strength was astonishingly formidable, joined forces—yet Wu Tie subdued them all with a single palm.

Wu Tie truly didn't use both hands; he used just one hand and easily subdued the five Taotie Ying.

After being beaten into a frenzy by Wu Tie's violent assault, the five tried to beg for the power of a heavenly divine artifact, but Wu Tie immediately gave them a stern lesson, causing them to honestly and meekly hand over all the treasures on their persons.

Wu Tie had no interest in gold, silver, jewels and the like; he chuckled while playing with three Taotie divine spears, five sets of Taotie‑bone swords and blades, and with a wave of his right hand all Taotie‑bone weapons shattered instantly.

Mass after mass of streaming light continually poured into his body.

Familiar heat surged forth, and sweat began to seep from Wu Tie's body again.

Feeling the rapid mutation and transformation of his bones within, Wu Tie looked at Taotie Ying lying on the ground and chuckled: "Taotie Ying, are you saying… you volunteer to be a hostage, letting your Taotie clan exchange Taotie bone for you?"

Bruised and swollen, Taotie Ying struggled to lift his head, stared at Wu Tie, and shouted in exasperated rage: "Isn't what you want just Taotie bone? Isn't it? I volunteer to be your hostage…"

"Hostage!" Wu Tie solemnly regarded Taotie Ying: "I think you're not qualified to be a hostage—you're just a meat ticket, got it?"

"I…" Taotie Ying choked on a mouthful of blood, gritted his teeth, stared hard at Wu Tie for a long while, then suddenly laughed: "Fine, fine, fine, hostage it is… in fact, it's pretty much the same."

With a cold snort, Taotie Ying looked at Wu Tie and asked: "I'm willing to cooperate with you in defrauding my Taotie clan—do you dare?"

Wu Tie gave Taotie Ying a thoughtful look: "Who gave you the courage to still talk back at this moment? If I said I was timid and didn't dare to swindle your Taotie clan, I'd strike you down right now…"

Taotie Ying instantly raised both hands: "I yield… I was wrong… Wu Tie, sir, it's my fault as Taotie Ying—I dare not offend you, I ought not to have provoked you, I shouldn't have listened to that lowly person Nuyao's words to anger you."

Taotie Ying took a deep breath: "I am the Third Prince of the Taotie clan, I have a bright future, I even have a chance to vie for the position of the clan's next head…… therefore, I just want to live well…… as long as I can stay alive, I'll cooperate with you in defrauding my own clan—no problem!"

"I will certainly cooperate with you obediently; I will absolutely do nothing harmful to you."

Taotie Ying solemnly regarded Wu Tie: "I admit defeat, I admit loss, this time it's truly my fault… I can see you urgently need Taotie bone—this thing, our Taotie clan's ancestral lands have plenty, plenty…"

"As long as I stay alive, I'll cooperate with you and strive to obtain an amount satisfactory to you."

"Of course, I'll say it up front: this time I voluntarily cooperated with you as a… hostage; afterward, to give my clan an explanation, I will definitely take revenge on you." Taotie Ying spoke bluntly to Wu Tie: "But I'm not stupid, I'm not foolish—taking revenge on you will certainly happen only after this transaction."

Wu Tie lowered his head to look at Taotie Ying.

Taotie Ying raised his head to look at Wu Tie.

The two stared at each other for a while, Wu Tie slowly nodded: "You put the harsh words out front; I also place these words here."

He gave a cold laugh, Wu Tie said coldly: "You lot, the so-called Heaven's Chosen…… I can't stand them. Evil demons and heretical paths, how dare you act so arrogantly?"

The Gluttonous Bird narrowed its eyes, saying nothing.

Wu Tie kicked the Gluttonous Bird with his foot, then said sternly: "So, this time I'll bind you as a hostage, exchanging enough quantity to move my Gluttonous Bone…… If you fall into my hands again, I will surely kill you."

The Gluttonous Bird immediately laughed: "If there's a next time, it will surely be you who dies. Not only am I seeking revenge on you, but I suffered heavy losses this time—over a thousand elites of my clan perished here. The Gluttonous Clan will not let you off."

Wu Tie pointed forcefully at the Gluttonous Bird, then glanced at the four Life Pool Realm experts lying nearby, their eyes showing a hint of malice. He raised the White Tiger Rend and struck each on the back of the head with the spear shaft.

The five Gluttonous Birds fainted without even uttering a groan.

With Wu Tie's current strength, and using a secret art to shake their Life Pools, they won't wake up for ten days or half a month.

"Seal!"

Wu Tie knocked out the five Gluttonous Birds, fearing there might be something strange in the Gluttonous Clan's bloodline, he then awkwardly chanted a few incantations; his right index finger pointed, golden light flashing, he cast the Immobilizing Spell, adding another seal onto the five of them.

After breaking through the Twelvefold Heaven realm, Wu Tie obtained the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Transformations; as Lao Tie would put it, this is a divine ability that only an ancient Great Immortal could possess.

The Immobilizing Spell is not among the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Transformations; it is one of the minor divine abilities Wu Tie gained when he broke through the Twelve-Story Tower's billions of Heaven-Earth Binding Light Threads, possessing its own unique profundity—those not versed in the arts basically cannot undo it.

Especially for those who are unconscious, the Immobilizing Spell keeps their bodily functions frozen at that very moment, making it even harder for them to break free on their own.

When Wu Tie used the Immobilizing Spell, Lao Tie abruptly turned his head, giving Wu Tie a slightly foolish glance.

Then he abruptly turned his head away, his dark pupils faintly gaining a hint of frost and wind.

"Immobilizing Spell…… tsk, haven't seen it in ages……" Lao Tie's lips curled, and on his wolf‑like head a brilliant smile clearly appeared.

"Back then, tsk tsk, a million Immobilizing Spells burst forth together, hehe, heaven and earth solidified, the eight wildernesses fell into deathly silence—such grandeur, such grandeur……"

Lao Tie's voice dropped to a barely audible whisper: "Those…… brothers!"

"Too bad I couldn't master the Chaos Transformation, can't learn divine‑ability secret arts, can't cast the Immobilizing Spell…… At the end of the day, I'm just a Giant Divine Soldier, a man‑made object, damn… grandmother‑bear!"

After dealing with the Gluttonous Bird's entourage, Wu Tie came to the side of the ice‑sealed Wa Yao and Gongsun Sheng.

After a moment of silence, Wu Tie raised the White Tiger Rend and blasted Gongsun Sheng together with his ice coffin to pieces.

Wu Tie gave Wa Yao a grim look, then approached the Great Snake Blaze and dozens of Black Snake Youths. He sized up the Great Snake Blaze, then glanced at the Black Snake Youths, raised the White Tiger Rend, and shot each of them dead.

"You lot, eating people…… heaven cannot tolerate it." Wu Tie muttered: "No matter what, eating people is always wrong."

He opened his mouth and spat out a viscous flame intertwining red, green, and white; the terrifying heat swept over, and dozens of Black Snake Youths instantly turned into a wisp of green smoke and vanished.

Lao Tie's neck emitted a muffled "crack," then he abruptly turned his head and glanced at Wu Tie again.

"Samadhi True Fire…… heh, hehe…… kid, you've got a bit of skill, but you're still far from the level needed to burn heaven and earth—keep training."

He shook his head, Lao Tie turned his head away, squinting, his chin resting on his two forepaws, tail swaying, falling into a hazy contemplation.

Wu Tie then walked to the Great Snake Blaze's ice coffin and casually broke it open.

The Great Snake Blaze suddenly opened its eyes, let out a roar, countless black scales erupted beneath its skin, its body rapidly swelling, about to transform into its true Ba Snake form to contend with Wu Tie.

Wu Tie raised the White Tiger Rend, let out a long cry, and the White Tiger Rend suddenly expanded, becoming over ten thousand meters long and a dozen meters thick.

A grim‑white sky‑supporting giant pillar slammed down; the great snake Yi's body swelled instantly, a spear thrust into his waist and abdomen, nailing him firmly to the ground.

A low, overbearing tiger roar rang out from the White Tiger Rift.

The great snake Yi let out a miserable howl, its body writhing violently, coiling loop after loop around the White Tiger Rift, trembling violently, unable to struggle even a bit.

"Great Snake Yi, I'm heading to the Three‑Link Realm; obey me and be my guide… otherwise I'll kill you right now."

Wu Tie grabbed the great snake Yi's tail and, with both hands, pulled it left and right.

With a tremendous roar, a segment of the great snake Yi's hundred‑meter‑long tail was torn off by Wu Tie, blood gushing out like a flood.

The great snake Yi screamed in pain, terrified and enraged, crying out repeatedly: "I'll be your guide, I'll be your guide… you bastard!"