Chapter 233: Driven to Bankruptcy

In the dim, narrow, rugged passageway, Wu Tie and his group ran wildly.

Behind them, over a dozen Life Pool Realm experts turned into gales and blazing fire, howling in pursuit, while two or three hundred Chonglou Realm cultivators flew on their weapons, chasing from behind.

Furthermore, two or three thousand Sensing Mystery Realm cultivators, clad in armor and wielding various weapons, sprinted after them with long strides.

Besides these Sensing Mystery Realm cultivators, there were actually over ten thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators, some riding various mounts, others panting as they ran, all the way shouting and chasing after them.

Wu Tie was somewhat annoyed.

Just these Life Pool Realm and Chonglou Realm individuals, sensing their aura, these guys' techniques are ordinary, their inheritance common; compared to the leaders of the major forces in the Great Snake Cave, they are considerably stronger, but overall strength is limited.

With the strength of our group, wiping them out completely is not difficult.

The trouble is, those Sensing Mystery Realm and Foundation Establishment cultivators behind them, each shouting and clamoring, relentlessly pursue; Wu Tie and the others really don't want to open a massacre.

Actually, everyone bears no grudge—Wu Tie, Lao Tie, and all the members of this troop—none could commit the brutal act of slaughtering ordinary people.

The group fled in disarray, while also having to bring Tao Tie Li and his four subordinates, as well as Da She Yi and Sun Zuo, these two burdens.

During the run, Da She Yi was jolted; the sturdy fellow woke up dazed, and after figuring out what was happening, he suddenly bellowed with 'heroic spirit reaching the clouds'.

"Lord Wu Tie, let me go; I'll hold the rear……Don't worry, I will definitely block all the enemies, and definitely not let a single one catch up to you."

Shi Fei, panting from carrying Da She Yi, slammed a fist into the back of Da She Yi's head: "You want to hold the rear? You're just trying to eat everyone, aren't you?"

Da She Yi still shouted with full vigor; Shi Fei's strength hurt him a bit, but it was still impossible to knock him out.

Shi Fei's furious blows hammered one after another on Da She Yi's occiput, making his skull resonate with 'thud-thud'; Da She Yi's roars grew louder and more frenzied.

In the end, Shi Fei's fists were broken and bloody, yet Da She Yi still shouted loudly with full vigor.

Shi Fei trembled with rage, a yellow glint flashed in his eyes, he roared hoarsely, his body suddenly shot up to about a hundred meters, he lifted Da She Yi with both hands and slammed him down hard, then stepped on him, grinding his feet with force.

Activating the Giant Bloodline, Shi Fei's skin shimmered all over with a faint silver sheen.

This is the bloodline trait of the Silver Giant, which is nobler than the Stone Giant's bloodline among the giant clan. Silver Giants hold an extremely high status among giants, possessing not only powerful magical talent but also physical strength sufficient to contend with other major clans.

Da She Yi's strength was still sealed by Wu Tie; the enraged Shi Fei stepped down on him, Da She Yi let out a muffled groan, his high nasal bone collapsed, two streams of blood spurted out, he dazedly closed his eyes, and was plunged into a semi-conscious state by Shi Fei's blow.

Having transformed into a Silver Giant, Shi Fei's temperament became as violent as a giant's; seeing that Da She Yi was only semi-conscious, he flew into a rage, roaring, and slammed both hands onto a nearby rock wall.

The Silver Giant's innate divine ability activated; large amounts of metallic ore tumbled and flowed along the rock wall, quickly being refined, compressed, and condensed between Shi Fei's palms, ultimately forming a square alloy slab, seven or eight meters on each side.

Shi Fei gave a strange laugh, gripped the slab with both hands, aimed, and slammed it down on Da She Yi.

"Boom!"

The square slab sank evenly into the ground.

When Shi Fei dug the slab out of the ground, Da She Yi lay spread-eagled; this time his eyes rolled back and he fainted completely.

Shi Fei gave a strange laugh; the slab in his hand writhed and quickly turned into an enormous longsword.

Just as he was about to swing the sword at Da She Yi's chest, Wu Tie coughed heavily from behind. Shi Fei shuddered, the murderous light in his eyes quickly faded, the silver glow on his surface dimmed, his stature rapidly shrank, and he returned to his original appearance.

The bloodline power receded; Shi Fei could no longer bear the alloy block he had casually toyed with while giant-sized, and the square lump fell heavily to the ground, half of it sinking into the stone floor.

When Shi Fei flew into a rage, everyone stopped to watch him.

The three middle-aged men, captured alive by Wu Tie, had a seal placed on their Life Pool; they dared not flee and could only follow Wu Tie's group in their escape, their faces stiff.

They stared blankly at Shi Fei, then at Da She Yi lying in the pit, unable to help imagining what would happen to them if that slab struck them.

"Monster..." a middle-aged man muttered softly; he suddenly regretted why he had taken this patrol duty.

The faces of the other two men also fluctuated between green and red, various mixed thoughts churning in their minds.

Because of the delay caused by Shi Fei's outburst, over a dozen Life Pool Realm experts from behind had quickly caught up.

A long whistle sounded; from within a black tornado, a blurry figure casually waved a hand.

The surrounding air violently undulated; in the passageway stretching dozens of miles, countless green wind blades of varying lengths suddenly condensed, the rapidly spinning wind blades formed blade wheels, howling as they slowly encircled Wu Tie and the others.

These wind blades swept over the surrounding rock walls and ground, sending sparks flying; the hard rock was cut into deep grooves.

It is obvious that this fellow still wants to capture Wu Tie and the others alive.

These wind blades possess tremendous power, but their flight speed is so slow; clearly they aim to trap Wu Tie and the others, preventing escape.

Furthermore, a Life Pool Realm expert who had transformed into a ball of flame gave a soft shout; behind Wu Tie's group, over ten li away, vast flames burst forth from nowhere, scorching the rock walls into rapid melt into magma, completely sealing off the entire passageway.

Such a powerful measure had not been employed by those Life Pool Realm experts who had been chasing them all along; presumably they feared accidentally injuring Wu Tie and the others.

Wu Tie shook his head helplessly, took a deep breath, turned around, looked at the dark mass of pursuers approaching from behind, and let out a low roar: "Shan Dun, help me seal the passageway."

Shan Dun gave a low shout, clenched his fists, and slammed them heavily into the ground.

"Boom—, boom—, boom—!"

The ground trembled; in the passageway over two hundred meters wide, numerous metal steles with bases several meters on a side rose up simultaneously. The heavy steles pieced together quickly sealed the entire passageway, leaving only a gap several meters wide in the center.

Wu Tie gripped the White Tiger Split with both hands, stood firmly in the gap, and firmly blocked the pursuers' path.

"Child, arrogant." In the black tornado, a long‑old man's face flashed; he gave a low rebuke, and a three‑inch‑long green wind blade slowly flew toward Wu Tie's shoulder.

Wu Tie stood motionless, not moving a muscle.

Seeing that Wu Tie truly did not dodge, the old man snorted coldly, the wind blade suddenly accelerated, producing a piercing screech as it fiercely struck Wu Tie's shoulder.

"Clang!"

The coarse cloth on Wu Tie's shoulder shattered in large pieces; the wind blade struck his shoulder, the blade itself shattered, leaving only a faint white mark on his skin.

Wu Tie turned his head and blew a breath on his shoulder; the white mark vanished like dust in the wind.

"Come on!" Wu Tie coldly eyed the approaching pursuers, smirking: "Keep going, it's ticklish, give me a scratch."

The black tornado suddenly condensed, then the gust spread outward in all directions; the long‑haired old man, his hair flying, appeared from the wind, standing several meters above ground on the gale, looking at Wu Tie with a hint of astonishment.

"Swish swish" sounded as several wind blades slashed at Wu Tie's shoulders, arms, thighs and other non‑vital spots.

Wu Tie remained utterly still, letting the wind blades hit him.

His coarse clothing tore apart, the wind blades left a few white traces on his body—nothing more.

"Hmph, watch this." The middle‑aged man who had just used his divine ability to seal the rear passageway with fire laughed loudly, stepping on two wheel‑like flames in mid‑air, he opened his mouth and shot a cyan‑blue blaze at Wu Tie.

Wu Tie smiled, raised the White Tiger Split, and pointed it forward.

He used a minor divine ability Wind-Fire Reversal, but it was obvious that Wu Tie's wind-fire profundity from breaking the heavenly and earthly shackles was far more complete and profound than the middle-aged man's flame divine ability.

The middle-aged man's spewed cyan-blue flame suddenly rolled over, turning into a vast wave of fire that tumbled backward.

Whether the old man who rode the wind or the man who played with fire, plus another dozen or so Life Pool Realm experts, were all wrapped by the howling flames that came rushing in.

Wu Tie's returning flame was five to six times hotter than the middle-aged man's expelled flame; the dozen or so Life Pool Realm experts caught off guard screamed shrilly, and in an instant were burned until their bodies and hair were clean and smooth, their clothes reduced to nothing.

The few at the very front were even more scorched, their smooth heads like sweet potatoes just taken from the stove, black and still steaming.

Several people, engulfed in flames, stumbled backward in disgrace, rolling and struggling on the ground while wailing to heaven and earth.

The remaining seven or eight Life Pool Realm experts stared blankly; an old man suddenly stamped his foot, grabbed a golden curved blade, and shouted hoarsely: "Charge forward, I don't believe he's truly made of iron… the Guardian Grand General has ordered that whoever captures them alive and presents them to the Guardian General's Manor will become a vassal of the Udumbara Clan…"

Those several Life Pool Realm experts all retreated far to the rear.

The Chonglou Realm cultivators, however, fearlessly charged forward, shouting in unison; from hundreds of meters away, blades of cold light flashed across the void—various swords, spears, halberds, lances, and staves flew through the air and heavily struck Wu Tie.

Wu Tie planted the White Tiger Split into the ground beside him, then waved both hands, his ten fingers leaving faint afterimages before him.

Hundreds of fine-quality weapons collided with Wu Tie's ten fingers, which flickered with a dim, dark light; a low, continuous bursting sound rang out as each weapon shattered explosively into clouds of metallic dust that covered the ground.

Countless threads of fine luminous light continually flowed into Wu Tie's body.

Wu Tie only felt his bones slightly warm; aside from that, there was nothing else unusual.

Over half of the several hundred Chonglou Realm cultivators vomited blood at once, their faces turning ashen as they stared at Wu Tie, looking as if they had seen a ghost.

Wu Tie lowered his hands and coldly gazed at the tens of thousands of pursuers behind him, mouths agape.

"Don't think we're afraid of you; we simply… don't want to slaughter the innocent. Stop chasing us, don't force me to act."

The middle-aged man, who had just spewed flames and ended up scorching his own party, struggled to lift his head, his gaze flickering as he looked at Wu Tie for a moment, then at the thousands of Sensing Profound Realm cultivators and tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators behind him, and suddenly he laughed as if enlightened.

"Hahaha, I understand, I understand… these fellows are just a bunch of do-gooders!"

The middle-aged man stood up and roared hoarsely at Wu Tie: "Charge forward, hack him! Ten gold coins for each slash, ten for each thrust, ten for each spear stab, ten for each club strike!"

"Rest assured, rest assured, these fellows say they won't slaughter innocents, hahaha, they won't lay a hand on you small fry… but but, even if he is Life Pool Realm, his mana is limited…"

"No matter how hard his bones, his defensive divine ability can block a thousand of your blades, ten thousand swords, a hundred thousand spears, a million clubs… unless he is a true god, he cannot withstand it!"

The middle-aged man shouted loudly.

A dozen or so Life Pool Realm experts also widened their eyes as if suddenly enlightened, each looking at Wu Tie as if he were a fool.

But soon they issued the same order.

No matter what means or weapon, as long as it hits Wu Tie once, it's ten gold coins!

Wu Tie laughed, walked forward several dozen meters, left the narrow crevice, came to an open space, and in one motion ripped off his coarse cloth shirt, revealing his sturdy upper body.

"You're right, come, hack me!"

With his arms crossed over his chest, Wu Tie closed his eyes and stood firmly in place.

Several hundred Chonglou Realm cultivators, two or three thousand Sensing Profound Realm cultivators, and tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators all had red eyes.

"One hack, ten gold coins?"

With a "clatter," Wu Tie was surrounded by tens of thousands. Blades and swords of every hue, spears and staffs of every kind, people of all sorts encircled him, and a crowd attacked him desperately as if striking iron.

The sounds of "ding-ding-dang-dang, boom-boom-chime-chime" continued without cease.

People continually shouted loudly within the crowd.

"Let me slash once, let me slash once!"

"Let me thrust another sword… don't pull me, just one sword, one sword!"

"Hahaha, I struck him 170 times with my club—that's 1,700 gold coins, 1,700 gold coins, that's my salary for over twenty years!"

"Let me come, let me come… let me in! Don't block the way!"

"Don't rush, don't rush, everyone gets a share, everyone gets a share!" Wu Tie's calm voice continually came from deep within the crowd.

A dozen or so Life Pool Realm experts first smiled, then their smiles gradually stiffened; in the end their faces turned as pale as ghosts.

"Just from the total number of gold coins reported, their several households… are already bankrupt."