Chapter 326: Sharing the Spoils

Wu Tie felt indignant.

He resembled a baby versed in all eighteen weapons, armed with myriad skills and extraordinary talent, possessing strength akin to an ordinary youth.

But he faced an opponent who knew only one set of punches and kicks, yet had trained it to perfection and possessed strength slightly greater than a normal adult.

Thus, a barrage of blows rained down on him; though he occasionally struck back, he could not defeat his foe.

And Lao Tie grew even angrier.

He was like a seasoned butcher who had slaughtered countless beasts, but his body had malfunctioned, replaced by a powerful yet uncontrollable new form.

Every movement was stiff, sluggish, often a step behind; even his strength could only match that of an ordinary adult. Faced with lively, savage beasts, he was eager but powerless.

Occasionally he could pin a beast and land two punches, but more often the beast's struggle left him with two or three hoof strikes to the face.

They were chased and beaten by troops under Commander Luo Lin, often trading blows, yet despite Wu Tie's myriad mystical arts and Lao Tie's frantic defenses, they always ended up on the losing side.

The truth was, Wu Tie's cultivation was still too weak, and Lao Tie's current body could not muster enough strength.

After a day and night of frantic pursuit and flight, not knowing where they had run, Wu Tie was eventually battered and bleeding profusely, dizzy and vision darkening, at which point both he and Lao Tie lost patience.

Lao Tie shattered a mountain with a single blow; Wu Tie directly inverted the terrain with his Moving Mountains and Seas power, and together they triggered a localized violent quake that turned hills within hundreds of miles into erupting volcanoes.

Taking advantage of the molten lava and seismic turmoil, Lao Tie unleashed a sky‑darkening sandstorm; they forced their way into the earth's veins, using the magma's fire as cover to flee, thereby escaping the pursuit of two peak‑rank Fang Zang Realm commanders.

They fled onward, not knowing where they had ended up.

Wu Tie, gravely wounded and drained from excessive blood loss, casually took refuge in a large mountain, took medicine to recover, and hastily laid a minor Inverted Yin‑Yang Five Elements Confusion Formation to conceal his whereabouts.

As he and Lao Tie sat on the mountaintop chatting, Shengyao and Huayan suddenly descended from the sky accompanied by six giants.

Wu Tie was familiar with the appearances of Shengyao and Huayan.

Earlier in Triple Linked City, Wu Tie had clashed with several avatars of the Light Divine Clan.

Their bodies radiated holy white light, with various wings sprouting from their backs; their striking features immediately revealed Shengyao and Huayan's origins to Wu Tie.

As for those six giants, Lao Tie identified their lineage—they were formidable foes he had once battled.

The Barbarian God Clan.

In Lao Tie's words, among the extraterrestrial demons, the Barbarian God Clan ranks among the top three in physical might and overall combat power; yet their brains are scarce.

According to Lao Tie, a Barbarian God standing about twenty meters tall possesses a brain roughly the size of a teaspoon—utterly foolish.

Thus the Barbarian God Clan is often hired by the Heavenly Crystal Divine Clan, Ice Spirit Divine Clan, and Light Divine Clan as personal guards or enforcers.

Strictly speaking, they are mercenaries who fight for pay.

Nevertheless, the Barbarian God Clan enjoys an excellent reputation; even brothers born of the same mother, if hired by opposing enemies, will fight each other to the death on the battlefield, and their service absolutely justifies their high wages.

Consequently, the Barbarian God Clan is favored by all major foreign races; relying on lucrative pay, they live comfortably and wield formidable power.

Lao Tie explained the value of those two commodities to Wu Tie.

Soul Crystals are forged by slaughtering humans or by refining the blood‑variant races—such as Giants, Dwarves, Gnomes—through secret arts that purge impurities and refine away all acquired emotions and memories, leaving only the purest soul essence condensed.

A tiny three‑inch humanoid figurine requires the slaughter of tens of millions of humans to condense.

Sixty‑four such figurines are distilled from the souls of six to seven billion beings.

And that Three Emperors' Essence Blood, more precisely called the Three Emperors' Dao Rhythm, is the refined essence of the Heavenly, Earthly, and Human Great Dao cultivated by the ancient Heavenly, Earth, and Human Emperors.

Such a mass of Three Emperors' Essence Blood almost guarantees that a dozen or so beings can master the corresponding Dao profundity, progressing smoothly from Foundation Establishment to the Half‑Step Divine Manifestation Realm without obstruction.

Moreover, the Three Emperors' Essence Blood contains unrivaled bloodline energy that can, at its core, transmute beings into the highest cultivation aptitude.

"These demonic races are innately shackled by their bloodlines," Lao Tie sneered, his black eyes constantly flashing with vengeful Blood Light.

"Their status, based on lineage and ancestral strength, fixes their later achievements."

"The so‑called descendants of Divine Kings can at most become Divine Kings."

"The so‑called descendants of Divine Generals can at most become Divine Generals."

"The so‑called descendants of Divine Persons can at most become Divine Persons."

"Bloodlines bind their fate; no matter how hard they strive, struggle, or fight, without extraordinary fortune they cannot surpass their ancestors."

"Solidified—bloodlines solidified, power solidified, class solidified—the whole clan is lifeless, with no future or hope. From birth they merely wait to die, needing no cultivation; their strength grows naturally until it hits a ceiling, beyond which there is no further progress."

"Thus they need not strive or struggle; their fate is sealed at birth."

"Even as their bloodlines thin, their descendants' prospects grow dimmer and their ultimate strength wanes; when the blood becomes sufficiently dilute, the entire clan will… perish."

"This is the so‑called Twilight of the Gods: the clan's future is utterly erased, its foundations completely rotted."

"But the Three Emperors' Essence Blood—or, put another way, the extraordinary bloodlines we humans can refine—can help them break the bloodline shackles, boost their potential and aptitude, raise their bloodline concentration, and let them… surpass their ancestors."

Lao Tie tilted his head, stared deeply at Wu Tie, and said: "So you understand now? Why they use those geniuses as sacrifices."

Wu Tie's face twitched.

He recalled the Mysterious Spider; the Great Snake Yi had almost been taken by her as a sacrifice.

The Ba Snake's bloodline is likewise immensely powerful and profoundly mystical.

Blood Light surged in Lao Tie's eyes as he muttered: "These memories are not mine. At the very least, the former me knew nothing of them; back then, all I thought about was slaughter and battle."

"This is… information left by Osiris within this body. I stumbled upon those fellows trading these items, triggering his hidden hand and letting me know." Lao Tie gave a weird laugh: "Looks like that fellow hiding in his own tomb, afraid to show himself, isn't being honest—these facts are surely intelligence he gathered after the great war."

"Are you treating all of humanity as… a key, or rather material, to break the bloodline lock?"

"Before the great war erupted, those who suddenly vanished en masse… were they being harvested by them as medicinal herbs?" Lao Tie's body trembled slightly as he gazed at the jade box and jade case floating before Shengyao and Huayan, whispering: "These things must not be taken away."

On a distant hilltop, Shengyao waved his right hand, and a huge transparent treasure bottle appeared before him.

The treasure bottle was elegantly shaped, with a narrow neck and broad belly, its body perfectly round, exuding an exotic charm.

The bottle stood about six feet tall, entirely clear, revealing within a vial of starlight‑glittering fluid that constantly surged and flowed.

"One vial of refined Wenqu Star Power," Shengyao said, lifting his chin arrogantly, "enough to raise the comprehension of nine thousand fetuses to the utmost their flesh can endure."

"Not enough," Mr. Mu said coldly. "Lady Shengyao, you're joking. Nine thousand? Hah."

Shengyao gave a "hey," pondered a moment, then tossed out an identical treasure bottle: "Add another vial of Wenqu Star Power."

Wu Tie and old iron exchanged a glance.

Two bottles of Literary Star Power suffice to elevate the comprehension of eighteen thousand fetuses to the peak their bodily aptitude can withstand.

What did Wu Zheng say?

In the previous several extermination campaigns, how many pregnant women from the Wu family ultimately managed to return alive?

Old Iron's body was shaking violently.

Wu Tie's gaze was also wrong; his eyes were bloodshot, and a vicious light known as a 'fugitive' flickered within.

Mr. Mu remained dissatisfied with what Saint Yao had produced, and they kept haggling.

Saint Yao then produced another treasure vial; the starlight inside was even more violent and majestic than that of Literary Star Power: 'One vial of refined Martial Star Power can raise the bodily aptitude of nine thousand fetuses to the utmost limit their mothers can endure.'

After a moment's thought, Saint Yao produced another vial exuding a chilling Cold Qi: 'One vial of refined Northern Dipper Star Power is excellent for tempering all manner of weapons of slaughter.'

Mr. Mu likewise fell silent for a while, then suddenly smiled, flicked his sleeve, and a hundred twenty coffins of condensed ice appeared out of thin air.

The ice coffins were entirely transparent, twelve chi long, six chi wide, and six chi thick.

Within each coffin lay a naked girl with a perfectly proportioned body and a visage as beautiful as a painting.

"These one hundred twenty women hail from the great clans, possess exceptional aptitude and formidable bloodlines, and can be called the ultimate maternal vessels." Mr. Mu declared proudly: "They are all no older than twenty, yet every one of them cultivates at the Life Pond Realm; their innate gifts need no further mention."

Saint Yao's eyes glittered with a keen light as he gazed greedily at these girls.

Huayan's gaze was also off; she stared fixedly at the girls, her breathing turning ragged.

After a moment of silence, Saint Yao sighed: "Your family's patriarch, this time truly… a grand gesture. I had wanted to skim a bit more, but I simply couldn't bring myself to do so."

He waved his hand, and Saint Yao tossed out three treasure vials.

"One vial of Eastern Seven Mansions Star Power will be greatly beneficial to you, Mu Se Se."

"One vial of Accumulated Corpse Qi is perfect for cultivating certain demonic secret arts."

"This vial… is the Purple Star Power essence your patriarch has requested several times; no matter what he intends to use this treasure for, I hope it does not interfere with our transaction." Saint Yao snorted coldly, sternly admonishing Mr. Mu.

Mr. Mu's hands twitched slightly; he instinctively reached out, first touching the vial of Eastern Seven Mansions Star Power, then firmly embracing the vial of Purple Star Power: "My patriarch said that Saint Yao would surely produce Purple Star Power this time—rest assured, in our next transaction the quality and quantity of the goods will only improve."

Mr. Mu's voice also sounded off, his tone visibly trembling.

Saint Yao snorted coldly, about to speak, when several figures plummeted rapidly from the high sky.

Clad in long robes and a tall hat, with an imposing visage and a towering stature, the Hall of Suppressing Demons' Master stood with hands behind his back; as soon as he landed, he let out a deep laugh: "Lord Saint Yao, warfare is perilous—how could you slip out of the city privately to wander about?"

"Although you, Lord Huayan, and these six Barbarian God Lords are merely incarnations nurtured from a thread of essence blood, and even if they were damaged it would do no harm to my true self… yet I know that the cultivation of your incarnations is not insignificant; if they were wasted for nothing, that would be truly unfortunate."

Saint Yao's complexion suddenly changed.

He gritted his teeth and snapped: "Sima Jun, what are you doing here?"

The Hall of Suppressing Demons' Master declared proudly: "I am naturally concerned for the safety of the several lords, and have rushed here expressly to protect them."

Two divine beams shot from his eyes, sweeping rapidly over the myriad trade goods; the Hall of Suppressing Demons' Master suddenly grinned: "All fine things, all fine things… hey, on my turf, how many times have you lot traded?"

Mr. Mu remained silent.

Luo Lin cautiously stood behind Mr. Mu.

Saint Yao snapped: "What do you mean? Mortal, are you trying to offend the heavens?"

The Hall of Suppressing Demons' Master's tone grew gentle: "How could I dare? I merely feel that you cannot possibly consume all these benefits by yourself…"

Saint Yao burst out laughing in anger: "You, do you really think you can stomach all that? Utterly, utterly absurd."

A dim azure cold light descended from the heavens, its body entwined with rings of ice crystals; the strikingly handsome You Ruo, accompanied by several Barbarian Gods, descended and landed beside the Hall of Suppressing Demons' Master, speaking in a deep tone: "Then, may I share in the profits?"

He smiled faintly, You Ruo said calmly: "Putting it in mortal terms, may I have a share?"

Before the stunned Saint Yao could speak, You Ruo continued calmly: "You know, we previously had channels to trade with others… but the ones overseeing this matter, You Jie Ya and You Cang Luo, have fallen, and my Ice Spirit clan has lost the corresponding means of contact… this time, my Ice Spirit clan cannot return empty-handed."

Saint Yao turned livid with rage: "But, You Ruo, on what grounds?"

You Ruo smiled faintly: "Because I am the supreme leader of the Ice Spirit clan here, whereas you are merely a divine general of the Light God clan; my status overwhelms yours, agreed?"