Chapter 302: Wu Clan Violence

Two giant god soldiers opened their chest armor and simultaneously emitted a sharp sound.

In the next instant, countless green lights as fine as hair turned into a vast light net, enveloping the entire stone cave.

Wu Zheng let out a loud laugh, leapt up, and with both hands gripped a cow-head great shield, placing it before himself.

This is a strange great shield made from an entire ox skull, pitch-black all over, with four sharp, curved ox horns that are scarlet. At the shield's center, a fist-sized black crystal glitters.

The shield stands over three meters tall and up to five meters wide, its four ox horns splayed left and right, making the shield face appear even more massive.

Countless fine green lights sliced against the ox-head great shield, emitting a 'hissing' sound.

Wherever the green light passed, wisps of blue smoke rose, the shield's surface flowed with light, yet despite the slicing, not a single scar appeared.

Wu Tie stood behind Wu Zheng, curiously gazing at this great shield.

Wu Tie had personally seen Wu Zheng take this great shield from the ancestral temple of the Wu family's seventh branch. In the temple stood a huge offering table piled with hundreds of sturdy, antiquated strange implements.

Beneath the table stood a four-legged square stone cauldron, its incense burning incessantly year-round; each day elders of the seventh branch came here to offer incense and make sacrifices, ensuring continual worship. On the first and fifteenth of each lunar month, crowds of clanspeople gathered to bow and pray silently to their ancestors.

This ox-head great shield, having received countless tribal offerings over the years, has accumulated an immeasurably vast faith power.

Moreover, its quality is extraordinary—a genuine ancient treasure passed down from primeval times, its defensive power astonishing. The giant god soldiers' light-net attacks filled the stone cave with smoke and dust, yet could not damage the shield in the slightest.

"Heh heh, these monstrous puppets." Wu Zheng laughed loudly: "Haven't you had enough to eat? Let's get serious."

The thick armor plates on the two giant god soldiers' stout arms sprang open; from a beehive-like launch chamber, finger-thick fire bolts over half a foot long screamed forth.

The exquisite fire bolts traced scorching arcs in the air, descending upon Wu Zheng and Wu Tie like birds diving into a forest.

Wu Zheng let out a low, deep incantation.

From the ox-head great shield a black spectral light spewed, a lifelike huge ox head roared upward ten-odd zhang, the massive black ox head enveloping Wu Tie and Wu Zheng as hundreds of fire bolts screamed down and then detonated violently.

Just as Wu Tie had seen Lao Tie retrieve his two arms that day, the power of those fire bolts was the same.

Bluish-white flames exploded in bursts, but the blast's power was intensely focused, its terrifying lethal force confined within a hundred-zhang radius.

Wherever hundred-zhang-sized firelight spread, the rocky ground melted into molten rock, Wu Tie and Wu Zheng stood directly in the searing lava. As fire bolt after fire bolt exploded, heat accumulated, the ground rapidly vaporized, and Wu Tie and Wu Zheng continually sank downward.

After hundreds of fire bolts detonated, the stone cave's temperature became horrendous, heat waves roiled, light bent, and everything turned blurry.

Wu Tie and Wu Zheng stood in a pit nearly a hundred meters deep, as the two giant god soldiers swiftly flew in and hovered at the rim, looking down on them.

"Haven't you eaten?" Wu Zheng grinned at the two giant god soldiers, stretched out his left hand, and made a contemptuous throat-slashing gesture: "No tricks left? Your grandfather's come to deal with you..."

The pitch-black ox head roared silently to the sky, a tremendous force seized Wu Tie and Wu Zheng, and swiftly lifted them toward the pit's rim.

The two giant god soldiers drew their black poison-spear lances, the tips flashing with sinister cold light, leapt up, and thrust down at Wu Tie and Wu Zheng.

A gale surged from behind the two giant god soldiers, black sand swirling everywhere; Lao Tie opened his mouth, launched from the storm, and bit into one giant god soldier's calf.

With a 'crack', sparks flew, Lao Tie's sharp teeth sank deep into the giant god soldier's calf, then he wrenched hard, dragging the soldier down from the sky.

The form transformed from the divine artifact Tower of Rebirth indeed possessed extraordinary power; although Lao Tie could only exert a trifling fraction of the Tower's might, his body was sturdy and strong enough.

For Lao Tie, that was enough.

The giant god soldier rolled on the ground, Lao Tie lunged like a mad dog, biting, scratching, and trampling it wildly. The soldier emitted a sharp, grating howl, raised its lance and stabbed wildly at Lao Tie, but could not touch his body.

Lao Tie fully understood the giant god soldier's structural weak point.

With just a few tears, he bit through the soldier's neck and ripped off its limbs.

"You brats... in front of Grandpa Lao Tie, you're still not worth a glance."

Another giant god soldier abandoned attacking Wu Tie and Wu Zheng, instead thrusting its spear at Lao Tie; the move was extremely swift, the black poisonous snake head beneath the lance tip slicing the air with a sharp 'hiss'.

"Truly disgusting, a fine White Tiger Split turned by you into this junk." Lao Tie nimbly dodged the spear thrust, stepping on the black sandstorm, swiftly circling the giant god soldier.

No matter how hard the giant god soldier thrust, its spear technique was exactly the set Lao Tie had once taught Wu Tie; Lao Tie simply closed his eyes, listening only to the lance's 'hiss', and perfectly evaded the attack.

Wu Zheng led Wu Tie in a charge outward.

Wu Tie laughed loudly, drew the White Tiger Split, and thrust his spear at the giant god soldier.

The giant god soldier flipped over, and met the White Tiger Split with a straight thrust of its own spear.

Clang!

Wu Tie's and the giant god soldier's bodies shuddered simultaneously; the tips of their black and white lances, so tiny, struck each other with perfect precision. The two straight forces collided, and a blinding flash erupted from the spear tips.

Wu Tie's muscles bulged all over, yet he remained utterly still.

The giant god soldier's eyes blazed with green light; shaken by Wu Tie's thrust, it staggered backward, its feet continually spearing blinding light pillars that blasted the ground into clouds of sand and dust.

Wu Tie brandished the White Tiger Split and charged forward.

Light pillars jetted endlessly from beneath the giant god soldier's feet; it forced its body to stay steady, brandished its lance, and came forward to meet him.

The two lances thrust straight, wildly stabbing at each other's vital points, with no tricks, no moves beyond a straight line.

Spear tips clashed repeatedly, accompanied by a piercing 'ding-ding'; the giant god soldier let out an unwilling scream, shaken by Wu Tie's lance and forced back hundreds of meters in just a few breaths.

Lao Tie sneaked up behind the giant god soldier, flung his maw open beyond reason, his teeth suddenly doubling in length, bit into the soldier's neck, and gave a mighty shake.

The giant god soldier's head spewed fire and flew upward; Wu Tie's spear struck its chest, his wrist jerking as a tremendous surge of power rushed into the White Tiger Split. A tiger's roar rose to the heavens, and the soldier's body shattered into countless fragments that scattered.

A faint light flickered in Wu Tie's forehead third eye; the airborne fragments of the giant god soldier converged before him, and he swept them into his sleeve with one hand.

He flicked his fingers; a few fragments burst, streams of light flowed into Wu Tie's body, his bones continually radiating scorching heat, warm currents surging through him, Wu Tie broke into a light sweat, feeling his strength increase slightly.

Wu Zheng waved the ox-head great shield, looked at the slight sweat on Wu Tie's forehead, and shook his head: "Wu Tie, you brat, this won't do—we've only exchanged a few moves, why are you sweating? You're still weak... Looks like I'll have to tell the ancestors to get you something good to strengthen your body."

Wu Tie opened his mouth, then remained silent.

Is his sweating due to weakness?

Fine, let Wu Zheng misunderstand; this really is a wonderful misunderstanding.

A whistling tear-through-the-air sound arrived, as a horde of giant god soldiers flew into the stone cave. Pitch-black giant god soldiers, their eyes spewing green light, halos spinning beneath their feet, wielding black lances, poured in—at least three hundred strong.

Behind these giant god soldiers came a squad of twenty-four youths clad in black linked mail, helmetless, instead wearing black high crowns, their waists bearing three-foot-long, palm-wide, specially forged heavy swords, stepping on flowing light as they flew in.

Behind those twenty-four stern youths came A Shan and A Quan, both in long robes and high caps, their bearing dignified, handsome and tall, entering side by side.

"Si Ma Shan." A Shan loudly announced his name.

"Si Ma Quan." A Quan likewise announced his name.

「In the name of the Lord of the Demon‑Subduing Hall of the Divine State of Great Jin, I have come specially to slay demons and monsters… Quickly release the divine soul of A Xiu, and I'll give you a swift end. 」 Sima Shan grabbed with his right hand toward the air; a flame shot from between his fingers, quickly condensing into a heavy, water‑tank‑sized eight‑faceted flying phoenix hammer.

Wu Tie's eyebrow twitched.

That guy wields a large hammer—a rare weapon—so his strength is surely not small.

Sima Quan also shouted sternly: "If you still cling to delusion and dare resist the heavenly troops, your nine clans will surely be exterminated, and before death you'll suffer even more torment—what's the point?"

Sima Quan clapped his hands, then pulled them apart; a vast sheet of cold qi rose, white ice crystals drawing out between his fingers, a white single‑bladed crescent spear exhaling cold light, which he gripped tightly.

Wu Tie also glanced at the crescent spear.

This crescent spear is over a foot shorter than Sima Quan's height, and its shaft is somewhat slender, showing he follows a nimble path—his strength may be modest, but his techniques must be extraordinarily exquisite, and the spear surely has other tricks as well.

Before Wu Tie could speak, Wu Zheng hoisted his large shield and went forward to meet them.

Grinning widely, Wu Zheng laughed loudly: "What do you think this place is? You dare act recklessly here just because a few little demon brats showed up? Hey, hey, not so…"

Wu Zheng's smile faded, and he stared straight at Sima Shan and Sima Quan: "Your cultivation is off—you're about to break through the Embryo Storage realm and enter the next Divine Illumination stage; with such cultivation, how could you possibly be here?"

Dozens of black shadows darted into the stone cavern.

These black shadows wore heavy armor, their faces covered with fully enclosed helmets; their aura was stern, every movement exuding a strong military air.

Wu Zheng's pupils suddenly shrank to pinpricks.

"Heh, heh, I knew it—there must be traitors… those damned creatures that could invade my Wu clan's ancestral lands, plunder our talented youths, and there are traitors within my Wu clan… you lot are the spies of the entire human race."

Sima Shan and Sima Quan laughed at the same time.

"Human spies? No, they've simply turned from darkness to light—that's all." Sima Shan said calmly: "And what are you…? Just a bunch of vermin scraping by underground, flies and dogs scurrying about—utter trash."

Wu Zheng took a deep breath: "We're trash? Lowest of the low."

Wu Zheng's face flushed red, then gradually purplish—clearly he was fuming.

Wu Tie found it amusing; it was obvious Wu Zheng wasn't skilled in verbal sparring—in an argument he couldn't match these two dignified youths.

"Uncle, why waste words with them? Take them out." Wu Tie slapped his hand hard, then chanted an incantation.

Wu Zheng grinned, raised his large shield and charged back, the huge ox‑head light‑shadow enveloping both Wu Tie and Old Tie.

In the next instant, the entire stone cavern collapsed.

The strata within a hundred‑li radius melted completely, then earth, water, fire, wind, thunder and dark ice forces surged forth, a chaotic, violent aura enveloping everything.

Sima Shan and Sima Quan stared in shock at the surrounding chaotic sea of magma.

Twelve massive metal god‑demon totem pillars loomed faintly in the magma sea; twelve vague god‑demon phantoms, bearing the primordial aura of heaven and earth, stood upon the pillars, waving clouds, rubbing thunder and fire, opening their mouths to spew ten‑thousand‑zhang flames and dark currents, throwing heaven and earth into utter chaos.

Thousands of Wu clan members gathered beneath the twelve totem pillars, each baring their teeth and laughing loudly at this force of the Demon‑Subduing Hall.

In an instant, thousands of extremely heavy weapons flashed with a dim, gloomy light, smashing down with towering killing intent; hundreds of giant divine soldiers roared loudly as they charged forward, their long spears emitting piercing shrieks, dragging trails of cold light upward.

Amid the dull impacts, spear after spear bent and twisted like earthworms; each giant divine soldier shimmered with a dim green light over its whole body, trembling as it was driven back by the thousands of heavy weapons.

Suddenly, a magma hand a hundred‑zhang wide rose from the magma sea, the heavy magma hand slammed down hard, swatting hundreds of giant divine soldiers to the ground.

With a tremendous boom, the magma sea within a hundred‑li radius vaporized instantly; the hundreds of giant divine soldiers were left missing arms and legs, piled together in a wretched heap, constantly sputtering tiny sparks like a pile of broken metal scrap.

Sima Shan's and Sima Quan's faces changed abruptly.

"The Twelve Heavenly Chaos Demon‑God Formation… reenacting the scene of chaos splitting open, heaven and earth being divided… You are Wu clan people?" Sima Shan's and Sima Quan's faces turned remarkably expressive: "Is this your Wu clan's nest?"

Wu Zheng laughed: "Yo, who'd have thought our Wu clan still has some fame?"

Sima Shan and Sima Quan sneered in unison: "Indeed, our Demon‑Subduing Hall's exhibition hall could display the heads of thousands of your Wu clan elders… Among demons, your Wu clan ranks foremost in stubborn obtuseness."

Wu Zheng's eyeballs instantly turned blood‑red.

Those thousands of Wu clansmen besieging them also had their aura become extremely heavy.

All around, heaven and earth were in chaos, countless attacks raining down simultaneously on Sima Shan and Sima Quan.

Sima Shan and Sima Quan smiled calmly, their weapons rising together to meet the heaven‑shattering, earth‑rending attacks from all sides.