Chapter 316

The valley was filled with pregnant women.

On the two flanking mountain peaks, the Wu experts of the Hou Tu clan merged their bodies into the peaks, vigilantly monitoring the surroundings.

More elite Wu warriors rushed out from the mountain cliffs, quickly gathering in the valley.

After tens of thousands of elite Wu warriors emerged, a heavy footsteps sound came from the fissure in the mountain cliff. A scorching, unsettling aura drifted out from the fissure, and Wu Tie also heard a low, heavy breathing.

After a full quarter hour, dozens of Wu tribesmen whose bodies had transformed into heights of around a hundred meters, bare-chested, wore thick ropes like porters, sweating profusely and panting heavily, stepped out of the fissure with great difficulty.

Behind them stood a four-wheeled carriage cast entirely of metal, upon which a massive Innate God-Demon Totem Pillar was erected.

Dozens of Wu tribesmen dragged the carriage into the valley, then plopped onto the ground, having exhausted their strength and nearly collapsing. Nearby Wu warriors hurried over, pouring the prepared vitality-replenishing medicinal wine into their mouths.

Then came another large carriage, likewise bearing a totem pillar a hundred zhang tall and several zhang in diameter, an Innate God-Demon Totem Pillar.

In total, twelve carriages emerged, each totem pillar entwined with clouds and mist, emanating a pressing aura, standing there like twelve ancient deities.

Footsteps continued to echo from the fissure.

Over a hundred strongmen dragged out an even larger carriage; even before the carriage appeared, a heat that unsettled the soul enveloped the whole valley. With a woo-woo sound, the heat rose, and a whirlwind suddenly swirled up within the valley.

Upon this carriage stood a Wu altar forged entirely from countless white bones, a hundred zhang tall and about three hundred zhang square. The densely packed white bones emitted an inexplicable aura of antiquity and vicissitude, and the temperature in the valley suddenly rose considerably.

Wu Tie stared in shock at the twelve Innate God-Demon Totem Pillars and at the altar emanating a terrifying aura.

The Soul-Scattering Banner and the seven Northern Dipper Soul-Slaying Swords hovering in the Fate Pool trembled in fear; these great treasures possessed terrifying power, their grade far surpassing Wu Tie's two sets of treasures by far.

These totem pillars and this altar were forged using the same method Wu Tie employed to craft the Soul-Scattering Banner and Northern Dipper Soul-Slaying Swords: an immensely powerful expert extracted a complete grand dao law they had comprehended, implanted it into the embryonic vessel, and refined it into a supreme treasure.

However, Wu Tie's two sets of treasures are still immature, having just come into existence like infants; although their foundation is strong, their power is not yet great.

But these totem pillars and altar are like mature dragons: extraordinarily gifted, with extremely deep foundations, having fully matured after enduring the baptism of time, they have accumulated immeasurable power and possess terrifying might.

The old man who had just issued orders to Xing Tianxian, Xuanming Die, and the others nodded tremblingly, pursing his lips into a smile.

"The twelve Innate God-Demon Totem Pillars form a grand formation; they should be able to protect these women completely… You, take the Drought Fiend Wu altar with you, make good use of it, and cause a big commotion. But be careful—the Drought Fiend Wu altar's power is immense, not easy to control, so you must be extra cautious."

Xing Tianxian and the others' faces flushed red, each trembling slightly with excitement.

Xuanming Die let out a low howl, his body flickering to the top of the Drought Fiend altar, where he sat cross-legged right in the center.

He let out a deep shout, formed hand seals, chanted an incantation, then slammed his palms heavily onto the altar.

The Drought Fiend Wu altar trembled slightly, a red light flashed across its entire body, and then there was no further movement.

The old man covered his eyes with one hand, shook his head vigorously, and shouted loudly: "Xuanming Die, you idiot, can the Drought Fiend Wu altar really be operated by just one person? If these clan-protecting Wu treasures could be used so easily, why would we have gone to the trouble of dragging them up here?"

Xuanming Die gave an embarrassed laugh and whistled.

Several hundred members of the Xuanming clan flew onto the altar, sitting cross-legged like Xuanming Die, then chanted incantations, continuously pouring their inner magical power into the altar.

The Drought Fiend Wu altar glowed with a faint red light all over, heat waves rolled through the valley, and the massive altar rose silently into the air.

Xing Tianxian and the others cheered in unison, scrambling onto the altar and curiously feeling around.

The old man cursed angrily a few times, then Xuanming Die and the others burst into laughter; the Drought Fiend Wu altar slowly rolled forth scorching hot winds, drifting leisurely to the peaks on either side of the valley.

A Wu elder shouted loudly, thirty thousand Wu warriors clad in heavy armor and riding giant dragons scaled the cliff swiftly, following the Drought Fiend Wu altar toward the distant guests.

Wu Tie and the others rode the giant dragons, mingling among the thirty thousand Wu warriors, closely following behind the Drought Fiend Wu altar.

The great troop roared away, charging straight toward the direction of the great rift valley.

The Drought Fiend Wu altar was surrounded by red light; as Xuanming Die and the others continuously poured magical power into it, the heat waves it emitted spread wider, gradually drawing moisture from the surrounding air.

Heat waves rolled, distorting and blurring the surroundings; Wu Tie and the others felt as if wrapped in flames, scorching heat constantly seeping into their bodies through their pores. This heat was strange indeed—they did not feel discomfort, merely drenched in sweat, as if the heat sought to evaporate every drop of moisture from their bodies and bake them into desiccated corpses.

Some Wu clansmen pulled out waterskins and gulped down water.

After a while, Wu Tie could no longer endure; he too pulled out his waterskin, continually replenishing water, while staring in shock at the Drought Fiend Wu altar.

This Drought Fiend Wu altar is extremely eerie, truly eerie.

"Uncle, what exactly are we supposed to stir up? What are those pregnant women here for?" Wu Tie could no longer contain his curiosity and edged over to Wu Zhan.

Wu Zhan, Wu Jin, Wu Yin, Wu Tong, and Old Tie also gathered round; everyone was curious—this Wu clan affair was rather mysterious, bringing so many big-bellied pregnant women here when they can't fight—what are they for?

Especially these twelve totem pillars and this Drought Fiend Wu altar, since the old man called them the Wu clan's clan-protecting treasures, their preciousness and importance are evident. The Wu clan bringing out these two heavyweights—could they be planning something?

Wu Zhan lifted his head and glanced at the sky: "When you first bathed in sunlight, did you feel its benefit?"

Wu Tie and Wu Jin nodded at the same time.

Wu Zhan, Wu Yin, and Wu Tong exchanged embarrassed glances; as beings of the Giant Divine Soldier physique, sunlight had brought them no change.

"We humans have a strange connection with the stars in the sky."

"These pregnant women have come to draw down starlight and refine the fetuses in their wombs."

"Nowadays the night sky shows nothing but the lunar star, the moon; no other stars are visible because extraterrestrial demons have sealed off the heavens, blocking starlight, so the ground sees no stars."

"But every six years, the extraterrestrial demons will open the heavens, and a certain kind of stellar power will shower the earth. Fetuses bathed in starlight will have qualities stronger than those of children who never bathed in starlight, their future cultivation speed will be faster, and their strength greater."

"If the starlight that falls every six years is considered one unit, then every twelve years it is ten units, every thirty-six years it is one hundred units, and every one hundred and eight years it is one thousand or even ten thousand units."

"This year happens to be the one-hundred-and-eight-year mark, the time of great stellar abundance."

"Whether the Fuxi Divine Kingdom or the vassal tribes under it, none will miss this great stellar abundance."

"This starlight includes the Wen Qu star; children who receive its power become exceptionally bright and clever, far smarter than other kids and quick to learn."

"There is also the Wu Qu star; fetuses bathed in its power are born with bodies ten times or even a hundred times larger than those of other children… Our Wu clan values precisely the Wu Qu star's power; our cultivation art is bloodline divine ability—the stronger the physique, the brighter the future."

Wu Zhan said in a deep voice: "So, the more than twenty thousand big-bellied women have come here to draw down starlight."

"That old fellow just now is the Elder Wu Tu; he led tens of thousands of elite warriors solely to protect those women."

"Our task is to cause trouble—the bigger the better—so that all the demons of the Great Jin nearby focus their attention on us… and not go disturb those women."

"So our pressure will be great." Wu Zhan said in a deep voice: "The Great Jin demons aren't stupid either; every time the stellar illumination arrives, they dispatch elite forces for surprise attacks and slaughter… To say nothing of thirty-six years ago, when the Fuxi Divine Kingdom's Zhulong clan was dealt a heavy blow, three thousand pregnant women were slaughtered to the last."

Wu Zhan's face twitched, and he muttered: "That time, the one responsible for protecting those women, Zhulong Zheng, was an old brother of several elders from our seventh house… For that matter, he is still imprisoned in the Zhulong clan's fire prison, subjected to flaying torture every month… How awful."

Wu Tie and the others remained speechless for a long while.

Stellar refinement?

Will the fetuses have better qualities?

Wu Tie murmured, "Then, among those fetuses bathed in starlight, is there anyone who truly... turned out to be so monstrous?"

Wu Zheng nodded firmly, looked at Wu Tie, and said in a deep voice: "Thirty-six years ago, six thousand women of my Wu clan bathed in starlight, drawing the power of the Military Star to refine the fetuses. Now those six thousand-plus children, even the weakest have reached the Life Pond realm, while the strongest have already broken through the Fetal Storage realm."

Wu Tie and the others gaped, and even Wu Zhan, Wu Yin, and Wu Tong instinctively opened their mouths, spitting out a spray of sparks.

"One hundred and eight years ago, during that great starlight bathing, of my Wu clan's thirteen thousand pregnant women, only six hundred twenty-eight survived to return." Wu Zheng pursed his lips and gave a grim smile: "But those six hundred or so fetuses have now all reached perfect Fetal Storage realm."

Wu Tie and the others were speechless for a long moment.

One hundred and eight years ago, thirteen thousand pregnant women of the Wu clan rushed to the surface to draw down the starlight, but only six hundred twenty-eight survived to return.

Obviously… they encountered a surprise attack by the Great Jin Divine State, causing heavy casualties.

But the pregnant women who returned gave birth to children who, in just one hundred and eight years, have already reached perfect Fetal Storage realm. Wu Zheng's words were not very clear, and Wu Tie even suspected that among them, perhaps someone had already caught a glimpse of the splendors of the Divine Realm.

What a terrifying cultivation speed.

Is this the benefit of starlight refinement?

Wu Tie's scalp suddenly went numb… The great clans of the Fuxi Divine State, and the many large tribes vassal to the Fuxi Divine State, spared no sacrifice in sending so many pregnant women to the surface just to bathe in starlight… And those fetuses that succeeded, their talent is terrifying…

So then, the Great Jin Divine State, which occupies a natural advantage, just how many monstrous geniuses do they have?

And how many experts will the Great Jin Divine State have?

Wu Tie's pores tightened all over, he inexplicably broke out in gooseflesh, a surge of Cold Qi shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and the scene before him grew a little hazy.

Wu Jin and the others also realized this, each of them fell silent, their faces turning grim.

Wu Zheng looked at Wu Tie and the others, spoke in a deep voice: "Afraid? That's why we have these punitive expeditions every few years… We can't let the demons of Great Jin live too comfortably—kill, keep killing, loot, keep looting."

"Kill their people, seize their resources, and strengthen ourselves."

"One day, our descendants will be able to live openly under the sun and moon's brilliance; one day, our women will be able to bathe in starlight with peace of mind."

"This was originally left by our ancestors, originally belonging to the descendants of our human race."

"Those demons who have stolen and occupied this… are our enemies we cannot coexist with; one day we will exterminate them completely, cutting off their bloodline."

A faint warmth gradually rose on Wu Tie's body, and, like Wu Jin, he nodded firmly.

They returned to the Great Rift Valley again, only this time they had a full thirty thousand elite clansmen, and they also brought the Drought Demon Witch Altar.

A great force poured out from behind a mountain peak, like a tide charging toward a fortress where the battle was raging with flesh and blood flying.

Dozens of tower ships first spotted Wu Tie and the others; on those ships a sharp horn sounded, and a massive host of Demon-Suppressing Hall troops swarmed out, marching to meet Wu Tie and company.

Xuanming Butterfly let out a loud shout, the Drought Demon Witch Altar slammed heavily to the ground, smashing hard onto a hilltop.

No one knew how heavy the altar was, but when it landed, Wu Tie watched wide-eyed as a mountain ten thousand zhang tall was forcibly pressed down by a hundred zhang.

The tower ships rushed toward them at high speed; Xuanming Butterfly chanted a spell, and dozens of tower ships were suddenly enveloped in crimson flames out of thin air. The Demon-Suppressing Hall soldiers nearby screamed in unison, continuously spewing vast amounts of steam from their bodies.

In just a few breaths, tens of thousands of Demon-Suppressing Hall soldiers were completely dehydrated, turning into desiccated corpses that fell from the sky.

Dozens of tower ships turned into wisps of blue smoke, burned to ashes, leaving not a trace of residue.

Xuanming Butterfly burst into laughter, pointed at Wu Tie, Wu Tie stared, then nodded, and the Soul-Scattering Banner flew out of his body, transforming into a hundred-zhang-long banner planted above the Drought Demon Witch Altar.

Xuanming Butterfly vigorously shook the Soul-Scattering Banner, and from within the tens of thousands of desiccated corpses, wisp after wisp of spirit floated out, shrieking as they were swept up and swallowed by the long banner.