Chapter 249: Calamity

Xuan Zhu was careless.

She had already suffered losses twice at the hands of Hua Guang and Wu Tie.

Each time she relied on her beauty that could topple cities, assuming men would go soft and be reluctant to harm her.

Hua Guang, he has a cleanliness obsession.

Wu Tie, he has an iron-like disposition.

She had suffered twice, but it's her nature; this time she again acted like a demon in front of Wu Tie.

So Wu Tie cleanly and swiftly thrust his sword forward.

The flaming longsword pierced half a foot into her chest; white flames made the flesh sizzle, then the sword exploded inside Xuan Zhu's chest.

Wu Tie's sword was ordinary, just a common elemental weapon, already at its limit resisting his high-temperature flames. Meanwhile, the primordial power within Xuan Zhu was icy cold to the bone, capable of freezing stone into fragments.

The extreme heat and cold clashed; the sword couldn't withstand it and naturally burst.

Hundreds of tiny iron shards scattered, blasting Xuan Zhu's jade‑white, snow‑fine chest flesh to fly, truly turning it into a sieve.

Xuan Zhu screamed in pain; the two pinkish glimmers in her eyes vanished, and the gloomy blue cold light of her primordial power shot far away. She howled, pulled both hands, condensing a strand of Cold Qi into a sword that slashed down toward Wu Tie.

Wu Tie's aura was like a tiger's.

He let out a low growl and threw his body into Xuan Zhu's embrace.

With a violent forward shoulder thrust, it looked like a fang‑bearing demon bear slamming into a mountain. Sharp bone‑cracking sounds rang out continuously; the blow shattered Xuan Zhu's front ribs all at once.

Wu Tie stretched out his hands; his sharp nails glowed with a dark light as his ten fingers dug hard into Xuan Zhu's waist.

Xuan Zhu's right hand came down heavily; the ice‑formed sword failed to hit Wu Tie's body, merely her elbow striking his head. Even with her strength, the blow was neither light nor heavy—it didn't even break Wu Tie's scalp.

Wu Tie's ten fingers hooked like claws; with a "puchi" they tore through Xuan Zhu's snow‑fine waist flesh, piercing straight into her viscera and cruelly latching onto her spine.

With a loud roar, amidst the startled cries of Feng Ming and Long Xiang and the angry shouts of several noble young masters from the great clans, Wu Tie hoisted Xuan Zhu up and then slammed her hard onto the ground.

Wu Tie's thought was simple.

The seal on Grey Master was placed by Xuan Zhu, so she must have a way to control it.

Thus, Grey Master's life and death are in Xuan Zhu's hands.

Therefore, killing Xuan Zhu first removes the danger of her possibly killing Grey Master at any moment; then we can slowly find a way to break the seal—this is the most reasonable choice now.

As for the various troubles that would come after killing Xuan Zhu…

Look, look, a luxuriant tree nearby is spraying green light.

Mu Ju wants to take the Great Serpent Yi back from Wu Tie's hands; she naturally must protect her own entourage. With her directly countering the pressure from Hua Yan, and Hua Guang responding from afar, there shouldn't be a problem.

"No!" Feng Ming shouted, the two crimson flames on his back turning into huge wings as he flapped toward Wu Tie.

But the Phoenix Guard beside him reacted instantly, seizing Feng Ming's neck and forcibly dragging him backward.

Wu Tie, such an unparalleled fiend, could kill a Life Pool Realm Phoenix Guard with a single sword—yet Feng Ming, this spoiled noble, charging forward is like a hen paying New Year's respects to a weasel, delivering himself as a snack.

Long Xiang also bellowed: "Save him… or I'll kill both of your families!"

The two Heavenly Dragon Guards' faces twitched slightly; one grabbed Long Xiang and retreated hastily, while the other stepped behind Wu Tie, his silver‑scaled fist roaring toward Wu Tie's ribs.

"Release Miss Xuan Zhu!" the acting Heavenly Dragon Guard growled low, his voice heavy and dull, full of intimidation.

Wu Tie seemed oblivious to the threat; as the Heavenly Dragon Guard rushed to his side, he had already lifted the pale‑faced Xuan Zhu and slammed her hard into the ground.

Xuan Zhu's pretty face twitched rapidly; she let out a low howl, her whole body continuously emitting gloomy blue cold light.

Her body was suddenly enveloped in a layer of profound ice two feet thick; the deep‑blue ice was extraordinarily hard, bone‑chillingly cold, even wrapping Wu Tie's arms inside.

Wu Tie struck with force.

The Twelve Heavenly Palaces shuddered violently.

Countless fine flame‑like runes lit up in the buildings of the Twelve Heavenly Palaces; fire surged along corridors, pavilions, and ground tiles. All the seals of the Twelve Heavenly Palaces were triggered, laying down at least a hundred overlapping defensive seals on the ground.

With Wu Tie's strike, on the ground of the Heavenly Well Courtyard beneath his feet, a strike broke through over ninety of the hundred layers of defensive seals.

The thick profound ice shattered, countless ice shards spraying outward; Xuan Zhu's body rang with bone‑cracking sounds like popping beans, a mass of cold light engulfed her, a powerful rebound force surged, Wu Tie's fingers trembled and could not hold her—she wrenched free.

Xuan Zhu spun and flew sideways.

Wu Tie opened his hands and reached for her again; the surrounding air howled and rolled as heaven‑earth energy condensed into two huge hands, each several zhang wide, that descended to seize Xuan Zhu.

A "dong" sound.

The Heavenly Dragon Guard's heavy punch finally landed on Wu Tie's ribs.

The Heavenly Dragon Guard's silver scales flashed with electricity, each scale bearing wrigbling dragon‑like runes; he let out a low roar, exerting every ounce of strength, even the strength of nursing.

Wu Tie's clothes exploded; the flesh on his right rib was vaporized by the blow, the punch striking his rib bone and ringing like a great bell.

The immense force made his ribs dip slightly, then they sprang back unharmed, snapping outward with force.

The Heavenly Dragon Guard's wrist and arm bones were shattered by the rebound from Wu Tie's ribs; he let out an incredulous cry of pain, staring at Wu Tie with a ghost‑like gaze.

Wu Tie's flesh is extremely tough; even so, it was crushed under his heavy blow.

After all, the Heavenly Dragon Guard activated their Heavenly Dragon Bloodline, becoming humanoid dragons. In any clan's myths or ancient tales, the Heavenly Dragon race represents the pinnacle of physical strength.

Wu Tie is merely at the Chonglou Realm; his flesh cannot withstand a full‑force blow from a Life Pool Realm Heavenly Dragon Guard—this is only natural.

But Wu Tie's bones…

His bones are impossibly hard.

The tremendous force made Wu Tie's body shake violently; he stamped his foot, a loud boom rang out—the ground beneath him, which had just broken over ninety of its hundred‑plus seal layers, saw those broken seals begin to recover, only to be pulverized again by his stomp.

Rings of fire spread outward from Wu Tie's left foot, shattering ground seals one after another, smashing the gold‑inlaid jade tiles; the entire Heavenly Well Courtyard, capable of holding a thousand‑person banquet, collapsed in a roar, the surrounding pavilions shaking violently, on the verge of ruin.

Wu Tie lifted his head; a five‑colored light suddenly split at his brow, his mind's eye opened, and with a world‑shaking roar a baby‑fist‑sized spindle‑shaped five‑colored Divine Thunder of Exorcism shot forth, striking true into the open maw of the howling Heavenly Dragon Guard.

The Divine Thunder of Exorcism exploded.

A mass of five‑colored electricity enveloped the Heavenly Dragon Guard's head.

Boom after boom of thunder rang; the Heavenly Dragon Guard's upper body vanished instantly, his life pool unable to escape.

The Divine Thunder of Exorcism is overbearing and rigid—truly the bane of all souls and evil forces.

Struck in the skull by the Execution Evil Divine Thunder... How could the feeble Life-Pond soul of a Life-Pond Realm cultivator possibly withstand it?

The Heavenly Dragon Guard's half-broken body crashed heavily to the ground; Wu Tie let out a loud roar, the two great hands condensed from heaven-and-earth primal energy swayed, and he continued to slam them down at the Xuan Spider.

The Xuan Spider let out a piercing, prolonged whistle; wave after wave of vast, pure life qi surged from within her body, her wounds rapidly healed, and from the tiny openings in her chest, countless fine iron scraps kept spraying out.

In the span of a single breath, the Xuan Spider's injuries were completely healed, and her aura once again became strong and smooth.

Wu Tie suddenly sneered: 'Is this the essential qi of Fengming and Longxiang? You've drained them until their legs went weak, yet you waste not a drop.'

The Xuan Spider stared coldly at Wu Tie; that just-launched Execution Evil Divine Thunder made her feel a chill rise from her very core. If that thunder had struck her head, she reckoned she couldn't have blocked it.

A flash of cold light flew from the Xuan Spider's sleeve; the Azure Obscure, like a grass snake, flickered in the wind, quickly extending to over ten meters long, he opened his huge mouth and gulped down the great primal-energy hand that was slamming down from above.

With two booming thuds, the Azure Obscure's great teeth clamped onto the primal-energy hand; sparks flew as his teeth shattered one by one, yet the primal-energy hand suffered not the slightest damage.

This is Wu Tie's Unified Qi Great Seizing Hand, comprehended from the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Divine Abilities; it contains the transformations of heaven and earth, appearing as two palms condensed from clear qi but actually embodying the principles of the five phases, its weight not lighter than two ten-thousand-meter mountains.

With Wu Tie's magical reinforcement, the Azure Obscure, off‑guard, bites down carelessly—he will surely be the one to suffer.

The two great hands slammed heavily onto the Azure Obscure's skull; a miserable howl rang out as half of its brain and flesh flew apart, dark‑blue plasma spraying far away; the Azure Obscure was pressed to the ground by one palm, its long tail thrashing wildly left and right, tearing the already shattered earth into chaos.

The Xuan Spider glared angrily at Wu Tie.

She began to believe that this Wu Tie was not the Wu Tie she had intended to lure.

Before, whenever Wu Tie had seen her, he had used nothing but brute physical force.

Yet the Wu Tie before her—whether it was the Execution Evil Divine Thunder, the Unified Qi Great Seizing Hand, or even auxiliary divine abilities like the Immobilization Spell—showed exquisite subtlety, a truly masterful technique.

The Xuan Spider could only believe that this was indeed a freakish guard recruited by Feng Hua.

Glaring maliciously at Wu Tie, the Xuan Spider suddenly cooed: 'Daddy, I'm being bullied.'

A subtle gleam of dim light suddenly appeared above the Twelve Heavenly Palaces, a wisp of faint fragrance drifting away; the silver‑haired, towering Huayan swiftly descended from the glow.

He glanced at the Xuan Spider's torn robes, then at the half‑crushed skull of the Azure Obscure lying on the ground wailing, and his brow twitched sharply.

Slowly raising his head, Huayan gave Mu Xu a cold glance, then Grey Master, and finally fixed his gaze on Wu Tie: 'You… dare injure my beloved daughter… go ahead and kill yourself, otherwise I will find your origins and exterminate your entire clan.'

Mu Xu stepped forward two paces, her voice equally icy as she said to Huayan: 'Huayan clan chief, he is my person.'

Huayan sneered: 'Your people? Your people aren't they all dead already? In the whole Triple‑Linked City, do you still have any of your people?'

Mu Xu stared coldly at Huayan; a vine shot from her sleeve, coiling around her like a spirit snake, writhing and leaping.

Huayan stared in shock at Mu Xu: 'You dare to strike against me?'

Mu Xu said coldly: 'To live on without dying is to be a thief; to grow old without self‑respect, to sink into decadence, is to be worse than a thief…… Huayan, don't force me to embarrass you before so many. Our cultivations are roughly equal, but if we truly clash, you will surely be the loser.'

Huayan immediately shut his mouth.

Mu Xu said coldly: 'I am not Huaguang… he is your brother of the same blood, unwilling to act against you, so he fled to the Great Lake Region—a most wise choice. But I am different; I am not of the Udumbara clan. If I were to treat you thus, do you think the ancients of my household would punish me or reward me?'

Huayan fell silent for a moment, then stepped back.

Wu Tie coughed once, glanced at Mu Xu, then pointed at Grey Master.

Mu Xu nodded, the vine in her hand lifting; its tip pointed at the Xuan Spider: 'Miss Xuan Spider, please help Grey Master lift the seal. Those I have taken according to the Twelve Heavenly Palaces' rules—if you still wish to stir up trouble and play tricks, don't blame me for showing no mercy.'

Huayan sighed softly: 'Mu Xu, you've already shown me no mercy. Hey, I, too, am the current head of the Udumbara clan.'

Mu Xu narrowed her eyes, her voice cold: 'You know, I don't care about anything now… I have fire in my heart; whoever provokes me is forcing me to turn against him… Huayan, do you dare?'

Huayan snapped: 'I am your elder.'

Mu Xu said leisurely: 'As I said, to live on without dying is to be a thief… I can't be bothered to respect those old ones who lack respect themselves.'

Huayan's voice brimmed with fury: 'Mu Xu, you are……'

The Xuan Spider silently stepped forward two paces, lightly placing her hands on Huayan's back; two pinpoints of pink divine light flared in her eyes, her fingers twitching faintly behind him, and Huayan's heart immediately began to beat oddly a few times.

'Daddy… I'm being bullied…' the Xuan Spider cooed.

Huayan's skin suddenly turned entirely crimson, his blood and qi surging within, a terrifying wave of magical power howling forth.

From Huayan's head a vast expanse of dim light shot forth; within that light, exquisite Udumbara flowers flickered in and out of view, then swiftly assembled into a nine‑layered, inner‑and‑outer, magnificently splendid circular flower formation.

'You insolent juniors, unaware of your limits… behold my Udumbara True Form Soul‑Slaughtering Absolute Array!'

Huayan intoned in a low voice; the Twelve Heavenly Palaces trembled slightly as the Soul‑Slaughtering Absolute Array he released enveloped everything within.

Wu Tie's body grew light; his surroundings turned into a splendid landscape of green hills and clear waters, countless Udumbara trees blooming in all directions.