Chapter 321: Wartime Military Law

Damn it!

Wu Tie's face was smeared with blood, glaring angrily at the giant dragon lizard that had been killed violently.

Along the way, this big fellow carried Wu Tie, laboring tirelessly, and Wu Tie had developed a deep bond with it.

But due to Wu Tie's momentary carelessness, the giant dragon lizard was killed by a single blow, which was Wu Tie's fault.

Furious, Wu Tie glared at the blood-clad middle-aged man and wanted to shout a rebuke…

If it weren't for the fact that he had just fought that old man from the Demon Suppressing Hall, exhausting his magical power, his spell being broken and suffering backlash, making him less sensitive to changes around him, how could Wu Tie have been ambushed?

But just as he opened his mouth, the blood-clad middle-aged man pointed a finger; a flash of light appeared on the golden seal, and a large ancient seal script character for 'seal' silently emerged. Wu Tie let out a loud roar, yet no sound came out.

Behind the blood-clad middle-aged man, Old Iron appeared silently, his huge mouth opening 180 degrees and viciously biting toward the man's lower back.

Both the warriors in blood-colored armor and the blood-clad middle-aged man failed to anticipate Old Iron's sneak attack.

Moreover, Old Iron's movements were silent and extremely fast.

With a loud cracking of bones, Old Iron snapped the middle-aged man's vertebrae in one bite.

Blood spattered; the blood-clad middle-aged man screamed in pain, and the golden seal that had just struck Wu Tie, leaving him disheveled, flashed and slammed heavily onto Old Iron's head.

Old Iron's head sprayed sparks, and he was forced back dozens of steps by the impact of the golden seal.

Old Iron growled low, opened his huge mouth and lunged at the blood-clad middle-aged man again, this time aiming for his right shoulder.

The golden seal flashed and came crashing down like a heavenly collapse. Sparks flew from Old Iron's head, and he was knocked back dozens of steps again.

Black wind and sand swirled around Old Iron, forming a barrier that blocked the shining golden ropes.

Several more heavy-armored soldiers waved their hands, and several pitch-black nets unfurled silently, shooting from all directions toward Old Iron. These nets were jet-black yet appeared extremely light and soft, like wisps of smoke solidified.

The nets actually pierced through Old Iron's black wind and sand, quickly sticking to his body.

With a series of 'hiss' sounds, Old Iron was wrapped layer by layer in the black net; he struggled, but the net tightened, eventually binding his limbs tightly.

Old Iron's eyes emitted a gloomy green light; he was about to summon the Tower of Rebirth when Wu Tie gave him a glance.

Old Iron snapped his jaws empty a few times, his upper and lower teeth clashing violently, sparks flying. He grunted a few times, gave up struggling, and let the nets wrap around him and the ropes bind him tightly.

The blood-clad middle-aged man was in so much pain tears streamed down; he tremblingly took out a yellow talisman from his sleeve, flicked it with his finger, and stuck it onto the wound the size of a washbasin on his lower back.

Streams of light flowed from the talisman, and granulation tissue quickly grew on the massive wound; the blood-clad middle-aged man trembled violently as bone fragments shattered by Old Iron kept popping out of the wound, while new bone rapidly formed.

"Retreat!" the blood-clad middle-aged man gasped, enduring the pain as he issued the order.

Several blood-armored soldiers rushed forward, two of them lifted Wu Tie, stepped on the raging wind, turned and left.

Two blood-armored soldiers hugged Old Iron's head and tail, trying to lift him. Old Iron rolled his eyes, his body lying motionless on the ground. The two soldiers gritted their teeth, exerting all their strength, but Old Iron wouldn't budge.

Another two blood-armored soldiers rushed forward and grabbed Old Iron's legs.

Yet four blood-armored soldiers still couldn't move Old Iron.

So they added another four…

Eight blood-armored soldiers, panting and with veins bulging all over, finally managed to hoist Old Iron up, but his body was so heavy that when they tried to fly using divine abilities, the wind they kicked up was instantly crushed under his weight.

Or rather, a strange force field surrounded Old Iron; the soldiers tried to control the wind, but its power was dispersed by him.

The blood-clad middle-aged man, furious and embarrassed, strode forward and kicked Old Iron hard on the nose.

With a crack, three of the blood-clad middle-aged man's toes broke. He winced in pain, lifted his head, stared blankly at the sun in the sky, and two lines of clear tears streamed down his cheeks.

Trembling, he took out another talisman from his sleeve; it turned into a flowing light and stuck to his right toe. The blood-clad middle-aged man pointed fiercely at Old Iron, and the golden seal that had just been used to attack Wu Tie and Old Iron slammed down onto Old Iron.

Old Iron's peculiar force field was dispelled by the golden seal, and the wind beneath the eight blood-armored soldiers finally formed.

The golden seal released a powerful binding force, Old Iron's body suddenly became somewhat lighter, and the eight blood-armored soldiers felt their hands lighten; they hurriedly hoisted Old Iron and flew away on the wind.

The blood-clad middle-aged man snorted resentfully as he watched Wu Tie and Old Iron being carried away, then glanced at the Wu clan members fighting fiercely inside Iron Blood City, gave a cold smile, spat a harsh curse, and turned to leave.

Wu Tie and Old Iron were carried by the blood-armored soldiers, flying swiftly on the wind all the way.

The blood-armored soldiers' flight speed was decent; they soon traveled several hundred li, when a hundred-zhang-long and wide flying carpet rose from a mountain valley, the group boarded it, and they steered the carpet toward the great rift valley.

These blood-armored warriors' flight speed was not bad; they quickly escaped several hundred Chinese miles. A flying carpet a hundred Chinese feet long and wide rose from a mountain valley; the group boarded the carpet, and, controlling the carpet, flew toward the direction of the great rift valley.

The Tree of Abundance frantically drew in the surrounding heaven-and-earth essence; this Osiris-born divine artifact was marvelously abnormal— in a single breath it swallowed and exhaled a terrifying amount of essence, yet neither the blood-clad middle-aged man nor the blood-armored soldiers noticed its subtle movements.

Wave after wave of vast, pure heaven-and-earth essence continually poured into Wu Tie's life pool.

Threads of light, formed from the Heaven and Earth Principle, drifted back and forth within the tide-like heaven-and-earth essence; these light strands carried the essence through Wu Tie's soul repeatedly, each passage deepening his grasp of the Principle by a thread and leaving a faint imprint of the Principle within his soul.

Countless crystal-clear mana crystals kept falling from Wu Tie's soul, tinkling as they dropped into his life pool.

Wu Tie's life pool was too vast and rich; even with the Tree of Abundance's help, it remained unfilled, only a thin layer of mana crystals lining its bottom.

Yet as his soul and the Heaven and Earth Principle grew ever more attuned, his comprehension deepened, the speed at which he condensed mana crystals increased, the crystals became ever clearer, purer, flawless, and their texture ever denser and tighter.

After an hour, the magical power expended in the recent duel had fully replenished; Wu Tie silently cultivated the Primordial Classic, his magical power steadily solidifying and increasing, his soul radiating a faint light as countless threads continuously passed through it.

Extremely fine, gentle strands of soul power emanated from the spiritual eye between his brows, softly twining around the twelve golden ropes on his body.

Wu Tie ever so slightly, like water wearing away stone, gently touched the talismans and inscriptions on the golden ropes, gradually deciphering their secrets and subtly exerting reverse control over them.

This is an imitation of the ancient treasure Swaying Gold Rope, into which some novel and inventive patterns and talismans have been added.

These newly added patterns and talismans were meant to boost the Swaying Gold Rope's power and strengthen its binding function, but the alterations introduced many flaws into its formerly near-perfect pattern structure.

Although its power increased considerably, the Swaying Gold Rope also became vulnerable to exploitation.

Wu Tie retains the method for crafting the original version of the Swaying Gold Rope in his memory, an arcane art passed down from some unknown ancestor through his bloodline.

Following the original method, Wu Tie's soul threads gently slipped into the gaps created by later additions, quietly unraveling one profound seal after another.

Auspicious energy rose on the Swaying Gold Rope, golden light flowed, and the twelve ropes soon came under Wu Tie's control.

Then a tendril of Wu Tie's soul extended to Old Iron; the nine ropes on Old Iron quickly came under Wu Tie's command, after which Wu Tie began to decipher the six pitch-black nets.

This, too, is an imitation of an ancient secret treasure.

These black nets are likely the legendary 'Netherworld Nets' used by the ancient underworld to capture wicked spirits; likewise, they have been upgraded, gaining new functions that imprison blood and seal souls.

Wu Tie easily brought the six Netherworld Nets under his control, then gave Old Iron a meaningful glance.

Wu Tie easily brought the six Yin-Yang Nets under his control, then he winked at Lao Tie.

Lao Tie rolled his eyes and gave the blood‑clothed middle‑aged man and the blood‑armored warriors a hostile look.

The blood‑clothed middle‑aged man rubbed the wound on his lower back that had just healed, still feeling the sharp pain from when Lao Tie had bitten through his vertebra.

He noticed Lao Tie's fierce glare, angrily raised the Gold Seal, and brought it down hard on Lao Tie's head.

Boom‑boom, the flying carpet shook up and down continually.

The blood‑clothed middle‑aged man hammered Lao Tie over and over, exhausting himself until he was panting and drenched in sweat, then he rose, astonished to see Lao Tie's head completely unharmed.

"You wretch… you're not of flesh and blood… what… what kind of monster are you?" The blood‑clothed middle‑aged man looked at Lao Tie with surprise, joy, and greed: "If you're willing to acknowledge me as your master…"

"Can I call you grandfather instead?" Lao Tie's mouth wasn't sealed by the Gold Seal; he opened his mouth and laughed at the blood‑clothed middle‑aged man: "Grandson, hey, come on, kneel and kowtow to your grandfather!"

The blood‑clothed middle‑aged man's face turned grim.

He glanced at Lao Tie, turned, and sneered at Wu Tie: "I am a subordinate of Marshal Xi Qi, serving under Army Commander Luo Lin as the Military Law Officer Shangguan Tie. Wu Tie, you've committed a crime—you will surely die today; if you hand over that dog demon to me, I promise to let you die a little easier."

Wu Tie merely smiled, saying nothing.

Lao Tie laughed with a click‑click‑click, his dog‑like face showing blatant contempt and mockery.

Shangguan Tie's face darkened.

He stamped his foot hard, and the flying carpet's speed suddenly increased greatly.

When it grew dark, Wu Tie and Lao Tie were brought to a captured fortress beside the Great Rift Valley.

Then the blood‑armored warriors carried them into the main hall at the fortress's center.

Behind a massive desk, Luo Lin sat upright, with members of the Taotie Clan, including Taotie Yun, lined up on either side, giving Wu Tie a cold, sinister smile.

Mr. Mu stood silently behind Luo Lin, his hands tucked in his sleeves.

He wore a wooden mask, so no one could see Mr. Mu's expression.

Wu Tie and Lao Tie were roughly thrown to the ground; Shangguan Tie stepped forward two paces, bowed solemnly to Luo Lin, and said: "Sir, the criminal Wu Tie and his accomplice have been brought."

Gritting his teeth, Shangguan Tie rubbed the spot on his back where he had previously been wounded, turned, and showed Luo Lin the torn part of his robe behind him: "This man is utterly wicked; when I was ordered to capture him, he resisted violently—if I hadn't had a bit of skill to save myself, I would already have fallen at his hands."

Luo Lin slowly nodded.

He waved his hand: "I understand, you've worked hard; step aside for now."

Shangguan Tie bowed again, then stood at Taotie Yun's side, giving Wu Tie a grim look.

"You are Wu Tie." Luo Lin looked at Wu Tie with barely concealed delight: "Hmph, you've committed a grave crime—do you realize that?"

A faint golden light flickered on Wu Tie's lips—the seal conferred by the Gold Seal.

Beside him, Taotie Yun gave a low cough.

Luo Lin laughed and nodded: "Enough, no need to say more—you killed the head of the Taotie Clan, a crime proven beyond doubt… during the punitive expedition, you attacked and framed allied commanders; no one can save you."

"At your young age, to be so arrogant and commit such a grave crime… you simply lack the ability to have slain the Taotie Clan's chief."

"Therefore, it must be the Wu Clan pulling the strings behind you… there's a conspiracy here!"

"Moreover, it's a huge detriment to my Fuxi Divine Kingdom. Well, I'll use your head to settle scores with the Wu Clan." Luo Lin looked at Wu Tie with a brilliant smile: "Do you like beheading? I think you'll love it."

Wu Tie wasn't allowed to argue, and he couldn't argue anyway.

Luo Lin didn't want to waste more words on Wu Tie either; he snatched a blood‑red command arrow and tossed it onto Wu Tie: "Take the criminal Wu Tie and his dog‑demon accomplice away… behead them, then display their heads before the camps to uphold military law."

He paused, then chuckled: "First execute that dog demon, so this reckless, lawless scoundrel can see what fate awaits those who violate the laws of my Fuxi Divine Kingdom."

A pack of wolf‑like blood‑armored warriors surged forward, hoisted Wu Tie and Lao Tie onto their shoulders, and rushed out of the hall.

Luo Lin and Taotie Yun exchanged glances, smiled at each other, and then followed them out.

Each had their own calculations, but no matter what, the spectacle of beheading Wu Tie's head was sure to be enjoyed.

Luo Lin still remembered how Wu Tie had slapped him senseless.

Even without Taotie Yun's involvement, he would certainly take revenge on Wu Tie and the Wu Clan's lot of scoundrels!