Chapter 262: The King's Heir

The witch maiden held the Wind and Cloud Banner, her whole body stiffened and was sealed in midair.

Behind the witch maiden stood a white bone banner made entirely of countless glazed relic bone skulls the size of thumbs, its length reaching over ten zhang, mighty and powerful; though its form was sinister, its aura was an overwhelming righteous vigor.

Strands of white light flowed across the white bone banner, as if countless locks of hair tightly bound the witch maiden, leaving her unable to move an inch.

Mo Zhang Wang lay spread-eagled on the ground, faint purplish-black light flickering at the joints of his limbs, clearly a highly sophisticated seal that bound his entire body; aside from his mouth cursing, he could not move at all.

Jin Mancang held a strange short dagger over two feet long, its spine dark gold, edge purplish-black, a thread of fine red light flowing along the blade, exuding an unmatched sharpness.

Obviously, this is a divine weapon.

Jin Mancang wielded the divine weapon, gnashing his teeth as he wildly chopped and slashed at Mo Zhang Wang's wrist; the latter's arm stretched and deformed like a tendon, no matter how Jin Mancang tossed and turned, not a single knife mark appeared on his skin.

"You damned thing, you, you, what is this…" Jin Mancang trembled with rage, he raised the divine weapon and, without hesitation, fiercely stabbed toward Mo Zhang Wang's chest.

The blade entered his body one and a half feet deep, the tip even piercing through two thin layers of skin and lodging into the floor.

But when Jin Mancang pulled out the short dagger, aside from a small hole torn in Mo Zhang Wang's clothing, his skin remained completely unblemished.

"Put your back into it… keep putting your back into it…" Mo Zhang Wang grinned at Jin Mancang: "Brother, haven't you eaten enough?"

"Who's your brother?" Jin Mancang roared angrily at Mo Zhang Wang.

"Your body clearly bears the bloodline of the Great Peacock King Clan…" Mo Zhang Wang stared coldly at Jin Mancang: "Although you took bloodline grass to mask your bloodline aura, I can't be fooled."

Mo Zhang Wang gave Jin Mancang a sidelong glance, the corner of his eye stretching over three inches: "You, which elder's illegitimate child are you in my household?"

He shook his head and sighed: "Isn't that wrong? Even if my Great Peacock King Clan's private life is in utter chaos, every royal offspring has secret guards watching; the women they consort with outside are later given a secret potion…"

"Wanting an illegitimate child is no easy matter… otherwise, why would the Twelve Executive Families be desperately trying to capture me?" Mo Zhang Wang gazed thoughtfully at the furious, laughing Jin Mancang: "Which branch, which household are you from?"

Jin Mancang gripped the short dagger, gritted his teeth, and thrust it toward Mo Zhang Wang's eyeball.

This is one of the human body's most fragile organs.

Mo Zhang Wang's eyeball deformed under the blade's tip, sinking in, pressed by the short dagger into an extremely bizarre shape.

Once the short dagger was withdrawn, Mo Zhang Wang's eyeball returned to its original state, still completely unharmed.

"No good, I said you need to use more strength." Mo Zhang Wang's eye corners stretched extremely long, his eyeballs darting about, when he suddenly saw Wu Tie and Lao Tie striding in; he hastily waved his fingers: "Elder Wu Tie, Senior Lao Tie, you've arrived?"

His wrists and elbows were sealed by the spell, unable to move, yet Mo Zhang Wang's right hand's five fingers suddenly elongated to seven or eight feet, waving joyfully in the air—a scene utterly bizarre to the extreme.

Jin Mancang jerked his head back, staring at Wu Tie with shock and ferocity.

The ferocious expression on Jin Mancang's face vanished instantly, his round face breaking into a bright, warm smile: "Elder Wu Tie, you've come… and who is this senior?"

"Call me grandfather." Lao Tie slammed his scepter hard into the ground, pointed fiercely at Jin Mancang with his left hand, and bluntly shook his head: "Grandson, you're no good… all smiles, yet no good—this is true."

Jin Mancang's smile gradually faded; he glanced at Mo Zhang Wang's gleefully waving five long fingers, sighed, and slowly rose to his feet.

His short, thick, plump fingers lightly toyed with the short dagger; the dark-gold and purplish-black blade danced joyfully in his palm, gradually turning into a hazy glow.

"Elder Wu Tie, those ancestors couldn't keep you… why force us to break harmony?" Jin Mancang sighed helplessly.

Wu Tie had both hands tucked inside his chest; his eagle‑shaped helmet flowed like water into the breastplate, revealing his face.

Just as the helmet was retracted, a deep crack appeared on his skin with a hiss, but it vanished quickly, leaving no trace on his face.

"Hehe, it's fine, I've just got a minor issue with my body." Wu Tie chuckled, shaking his head: "Nothing serious, just a small problem."

"A small problem? Hehe." Jin Mancang laughed oddly.

He also noticed that, just now Wu Tie's skin had split; clearly, an excessively vast power was surging within him, and although Wu Tie had well contained it, occasionally a trace leaked, his flesh unable to withstand the impact, tearing open instantly.

The presence of an uncontrollable force within the body—this is certainly not a small problem.

So Jin Mancang happily nodded at Wu Tie: "Here too it's just a tiny little problem, really, not a big deal, merely a trifle…"

Jin Mancang flicked his finger, the short dagger vanished without a trace; he vigorously rubbed his plump palms, nodded to Wu Tie with a smile: "Elder Wu Tie, our agreement still stands—we will enter the Lost Triple City together, and its benefits…"

Narrowing his eyes, Jin Mancang whispered: "This time, I choose first."

Wu Tie looked at Jin Mancang: "Oh? We had agreed earlier…"

Jin Mancang pointed at Mo Zhang Wang: "You previously captured the direct descendants of the Twelve Executive Families; I extracted sufficient bloodline essence from them—indeed, you have made some contribution."

"But to enter the Lost Triple City, besides the bloodline essence of the Twelve Executive Families' direct kin, we also need the Great Peacock King Clan's bloodline essence… and this Great Peacock King Clan's Ge Moluo was captured by my own hands…"

Jin Mancang laughed: "A direct descendant of the Great Peacock King Clan is worth a hundred times more than the lowly stock of the Twelve Executive Families… therefore, my contribution far exceeds yours. So, upon entering the Lost Triple City, I will pick the treasures first."

Wu Tie shook his head: "Mo Zhang Wan is my friend; you cannot spill his blood."

Jin Mancang heaved a heavy sigh: "Without his blood, we cannot get in."

Wu Tie looked astonished at Jin Mancang: "So it turns out we need Great Peacock King Clan blood to enter the Lost Triple City? Strange—back when we hadn't found Mo Zhang Wang, how could you have been confident in promising me the treasures inside?"

Jin Mancang laughed brightly, staring fixedly at Wu Tie.

Mo Zhang Wang sighed on the ground: "Elder Wu Tie, he too should be a direct descendant of the Great Peacock King Clan… but he is likely the offspring of the branch that was expelled years ago; they are actually the purest direct line of the Great Peacock King Clan, holding the secret to enter the core of the Triple City."

Jin Mancang laughed even more brightly, still staring fixedly at Wu Tie without a word.

Wu Tie also said nothing, merely chuckling as he looked at Jin Mancang.

Mo Zhang Wang lay on the ground, sighing helplessly: "I originally thought no one of them would remain… we didn't place much importance on entering the Triple City's core, so over the years we never sent anyone to seek them out…"

"I never expected they would… actually have someone return." Mo Zhang Wang murmured: "He said he needs to spill half of my blood to open the Triple City's core… tsk, half a blood—no wonder he balked at using his own when he saw me."

Jin Mancang looked at Wu Tie with a smile: "This kid, he's laid everything bare—now you get it? I originally intended to use my own blood as one of the thirteen keys… but now that he's here…"

Wu Tie smiled at Jin Mancang: "But you can't draw blood from him."

Jin Mancang's smile instantly faded, his face turning grimly dark.

He instinctively glanced back at Mo Zhang Wang lying on the ground, then at the witch maiden suspended in midair by the White Bone Banner.

A flicker of killing intent passed through Wu Tie's heart.

Was Jin Mancang intending to threaten Mo Zhang Wang with the witch maiden, forcing him to voluntarily offer half of his bloodline essence?

Coercing Mo Zhang Wang, giving up half his bloodline essence would be no big deal—at most he'd suffer no mortal danger, merely lose a bit of vital energy. But using the witch maiden to threaten him into giving blood?

Wu Tie leaned forward slightly, a dim golden light flashing beside him, and he almost came face‑to‑face with Jin Mancang.

Jin Mancang was in the midst of turning back to assess Mo Zhang Wang; he never dreamed Wu Tie possessed such an exquisite evasion technique, arriving silently before him without a sound.

His keen spiritual sense informed Jin Mancang that Wu Tie was right before him.

The terrifying crisis is right before our eyes.

Jin Mancang let out a strange cry; a strand of seven-colored rosy light flashed beside him, his body suddenly collapsed inward, transforming into a dazzling seven-colored light-shadow that shot backward.

The brocade carp coiled around Wu Tie's waist started to jump.

Strands of blue-green transparent little carp fish sprang out joyfully, as if swimming in water, bringing ripples of water light, and pierced toward Jin Mancang's whole body with lightning speed.

At the same moment, a huge gravity pressed down from above, the air around Jin Mancang almost solidified; the terrifying gravity made his body extremely heavy, and his movements suddenly stiffened.

Furthermore, an extremely strong yuan magnetic field erupted between Wu Tie and Jin Mancang; Wu Tie's body was like a huge black hole, its massive suction firmly drawing in the escape-light that Jin Mancang had transformed into, pulling that strand of rosy light continually toward Wu Tie.

A hurricane rose from the ground, terrifying waves of wind howling from behind Jin Mancang, shaking the void, producing wave after wave of white air explosions with a deafening roar, and stirring his escape-light into ripples.

Within the hurricane, a soaring dragon's roar rose to the heavens.

This is the Heavenly Dragon Clan's innate divine ability.

Wu Tie displayed it, although only at seventy or eighty percent of its power, mixed among the wind's howls, it still left Jin Mancang dizzy and blurred, his brain feeling as if it were about to explode.

Wu Tie's eyes suddenly filled with seven-colored, bewildering light flames.

The Udumbara Clan's Soul-Slaughtering Absolute Formation unfolded, and a large area around Wu Tie was suddenly covered in hazy light and shadow.

Strands of brocade carp pierced toward Jin Mancang, the brocade carp colliding in the air, emitting clear, pleasant tremolo sounds.

The clear cries continued in unison, forming an extremely beautiful melody that floated and filled the surrounding void.

This is the Paradise Bird Clan's sound attack secret technique.

Wu Tie's own voice is naturally not very melodious, but using the clear notes produced by the brocade carp colliding as a substitute for his voice works quite well.

Jin Mancang, his heart collapsing, gazed at the splendid light gradually spreading around him; that serene, utterly beautiful, soul‑resting paradise sight made his flesh creep.

This is the Udumbara Clan's soul secret technique, ah.

Before he could struggle free from this illusion, the clear, pleasant sound arrived; Jin Mancang's body trembled, and his surging mana suddenly weakened by about sixty percent.

With a 'wah', the escape-light that Jin Mancang had transformed into shattered, and the hurricane combined with the dragon's roar slammed hard against him.

His five viscera and six bowels shook together, old wounds in his organs burst open, he spat out mouthful after mouthful of blood with great gusto, and blood water kept gushing out in large mouthfuls.

The huge yuan magnetic field pulled at his body; he stepped step by step toward Wu Tie, no matter how he roared and struggled, he could never escape this terrifying suction.

Moreover, a huge gravity field pressed upon his body.

His bones emitted a 'crack‑crack' loud sound, one after another, his tendons and bones continually showing dense cracks.

Jin Mancang exerted all his strength to mobilize his bodily mana, but no matter how he did so, under the combined secret techniques of the Udumbara and Paradise Bird clans, his mana kept weakening, weakening, weakening……

Even his will to resist kept weakening.

In the end, he faintly felt that dying thus in Wu Tie's hands might actually be extremely wonderful.

What imperial ambitions and hegemony?

What family responsibilities?

What bloodline glory?

What vengeance and settling of grudges?

Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep……

Just sleep like this, never wake up again.

Jin Mancang let out a light sigh; his gaze suddenly became extremely clear and limpid, he looked deeply at Wu Tie and said softly: 'I escaped from the pursuit of several fellow‑brother siblings, I survived the siege of several terrifying old fellows……'

'I struggled for over sixty years, paid countless prices, before barely finding the correct path and returning to the Triple Linked City……'

'Covered in heavy wounds, I originally thought I could accomplish something……'

'I never expected…… but it's fine.'

'I am tired; kill me, take my blood, open the Triple Linked City, enter the true core of the Triple Linked City, take out the ancestors' legacy, then…… oversee the Twelve True Form Clans, sweep the eight directions, let the Great Peacock's wings cover all things in the eight directions……'

Jin Mancang was pulled step by step to stand before Wu Tie, he murmured: 'Back then, our ancestors strove for self‑improvement, wanting to lead the citizens of the Triple Linked City on an expedition to the eight directions…… I never expected that ninety‑nine percent of the Great Peacock Royal Clan, all of the Twelve True Form Clans, would completely oppose our ancestors……'

'Rebellion, rebellion…… our ancestors barely managed to let a group of tribespeople escape with their lives.'

'Now only I remain…… and that's fine.'

'Kill me; I am truly tired.'