Chapter 328

The rules governing the operation of heaven and earth.

This is the Dao.

All things arise from the Dao, and the Dao lies hidden within all things.

Any given Great Dao, if pushed to its utmost, yields boundless divine abilities and limitless arcane power.

The cycle of life and death is furthermore one of the supreme among myriad Great Daos.

Life, death, the cycle alternating.

Old Iron's body vanished.

A black pyramid the size of a palm hovered above Wu Tie's head; within the semi‑transparent pyramid could be seen a multicolored crystal brain the size of a baby's fist, floating serenely.

Rich Dao resonance surged from the pyramid, continually pouring into Wu Tie's glabellar dharma eye, then spreading from within his body to form a vast mist that enveloped him. Threads of thick, enduring Dao resonance constantly flowed in and out of his body, permeating him and nourishing every cell.

Within the enormous Fate Pool eighty‑one thousand li in diameter, a thick layer of arcane‑power crystals had already accumulated.

Under the impact of the Dao resonance, each clear arcane‑power crystal showed signs of melting, as if hard sugar cubes were turning into syrup and merging into one.

Wu Tie breathed deeply, quietly sensing the Dao resonance emanating from within the Tower of Reincarnation.

Gradually, half of his body turned white and half black; at first the black and white were clearly distinct, but the boundary grew hazy and blurred as the two colors interchanged, permeated each other, and slowly merged into a vague haze.

Only Wu Tie's pair of eyes remained.

His left eye was pure black, exuding a deathly stillness that made one's heart tremble.

His right eye was pure white, radiating a powerful vital aura.

The Tower of Reincarnation, the Dao of life and death, governs life and death, endlessly cycling between them. Countless divine abilities and secret arts related to life and death surged in Wu Tie's mind; the arcane‑power crystals in the Fate Pool burned rapidly, and with hand seals he contemplated the Great Dao while swiftly cultivating every such divine ability and secret art.

The sacrificial refinement of the Tower of Reincarnation kept accelerating.

One ten‑thousandth, one thousandth, one percent…… With each slight increase in his control, the power Wu Tie could draw from the Tower of Reincarnation multiplied severalfold. The more he refined it, the more he could sense the immense force hidden within the tower.

Osiris is absolutely a terrifying existence above the Embryonic Storage Realm.

The second divine artifact he personally forged is absolutely a supreme treasure surpassing all primordial, spirit, and immortal weapons.

Wu Tie's aura gradually faded.

Between life and death, transcending worldly bonds, stepping beyond the Three Realms and freeing from the Five Elements, he reached a strange state of neither living nor dying yet both alive and dead.

The Inverted Five Elements Maze Formation beside him silently shattered.

Wu Tie sat cross‑legged on the mountain peak as the night wind blew over his body; he did not use arcane power to block the wind, yet not a hair stirred and his robes did not flutter in the slightest.

His whole being was in a strange state of detachment from the world; the night wind could not touch him, as if he did not exist at all.

The formation concealing his form and aura, which he actively dispersed, yet on a mountain peak a hundred li away, even Mr. Mu and that expert from the Demon‑Suppressing Hall could not detect Wu Tie's presence—despite the fact that every ten breaths they would sweep a thousand‑li radius with a secret method.

They failed to notice Wu Tie sitting openly cross‑legged on the mountain peak.

In their soul‑power scan, the mountaintop was empty, not a specter in sight.

A tremendous boom came from the sky; two broken sections of a single‑edged serrated heavy sword came spinning down from high altitude and crashed heavily. With a 'ding', the shattered sword sank deep into a nearby mountain peak.

A Barbarian God Giant under Shengyao spat blood profusely, his body covered with at least a hundred deep wounds reaching the bone, blood spraying from his whole body as he fell from high altitude and smashed heavily into a large mountain dozens of li away.

That mountain, several thousand zhang tall, collapsed in a great roar, its upper half giving way; huge blocks flew out, and the farthest flung stones nearly struck Wu Tie.

In the high sky, the Barbarian God Giant under Yourou who had defeated his opponent roared loudly, laughing while cursing, joining forces with his companions to besiege another Barbarian God Giant under Shengyao.

Two against one, this Barbarian God Giant under Shengyao lost even faster.

Furthermore, his injuries were graver; after only a few exchanges, his thigh was torn clean off, half his neck split open, and blood‑soaked he plummeted from the sky like a meteorite, crashing into a great mountain a hundred li away.

Tie Canglong suddenly sighed: "The Barbarian God clan…… really……"

Mr. Mu chuckled slowly: "To lay such a lethal hand on one's own kin—truly a bunch of brainless fools."

Tie Canglong, Luo Lin, Mr. Mu, and that expert from the Demon‑Suppressing Hall all laughed together.

But after a few laughs, the faces of the four stiffened simultaneously, and they exchanged an awkward glance.

Here they mocked the Barbarian God clan's lack of wit, mocked how they could deal such a lethal blow to their own kin, yet near the great rift‑valley defense line, the human cultivators of the Da Jin Divine Kingdom and the Fu Xi Divine Kingdom—aren't they likewise slaughtering each other?

Even the soul crystals and the Three Sovereigns' essence blood floating in the jade boxes and chests atop the peak—aren't they likewise condensed from the lives of countless human elites?

Mr. Mu gave a slight, disdainful snort and murmured: "Go on, fight, heh heh—with a big shot of the Ice Spirit Divine Clan joining the competition, it's good for us; we can fetch a fine price."

Tie Canglong also laughed, saying softly: "Congratulations to you two; the Ice Spirit Divine Clan's own channel is cut off, so they're surely eager to hook up…… your options just got much bigger."

Mr. Mu chuckled a few times: "Lord Shengyao, I hear you're on very good terms with the Demon‑Purging Hall."

Tie Canglong spread his hands, smiling indifferently: "The Demon‑Purging Hall can't control the Demon‑Suppressing Hall—let the gods settle their own disputes; what does it have to do with us mortals?"

Mr. Mu and the others' smiles widened, and their hearts grew ever more relaxed.

Luo Lin and Tie Canglong chatted, quickly finding common ground; similar backgrounds, bearing the same kind of task, they deliberately cultivated friendship, so they had plenty to talk about.

Not long after, they enthusiastically set out small square tables nearby, opened a few jars of fine wine, and Tie Canglong happened to have brought some roast chicken and seasoned dishes; the two drank with relish.

The booming sound in the high sky rumbled like thunder, as Barbarian God Giants kept falling and shaking the distant mountains.

In the even higher sky, four Ice Spirit Divine Clan members besieged Shengyao and Huayan, causing snow to fill the heavens; white light continually swept outward, leaving scalding water traces where the high‑temperature white light cut through the snow.

After about half an hour, all six Barbarian God Giants under Shengyao fell heavily wounded, and of the six Barbarian God Giants brought by Yourou, four crashed down from the sky.

The remaining two Barbarian God Giants still able to stand hovered in midair, panting heavily, gazing ferociously at the besieged Shengyao and Huayan.

Shengyao and Huayan wore grim faces, struggling to hold out against the encirclement of four peers of equal rank.

Around them hovered dozens of exquisitely crafted white light shields shaped like a pair of wings, spinning rapidly and desperately blocking the enemy's encirclement; these shields had extremely strong defensive power—if one was shattered, a flash of white light instantly restored it.

Several times, Shengyao and Huayan's true bodies were struck, bone‑chilling ice spikes piercing them; yet white light flickered on them, the ice spikes instantly vaporized, and the pierced bodies were instantly healed.

Clearly, the Light Divine Clan possesses not only extremely strong defensive power but also extremely strong restorative power.

By contrast, the Ice Spirit Divine Clan's attack methods are rather lacking; they merely relied on numerical advantage to gang up on Shengyao and Huayan.

Mr. Mu and that expert from the Demon‑Suppressing Hall stood together, looking up at the battle in the high sky; Mr. Mu suddenly sighed: "I've heard that among the gods, the Light Divine Clan is also one of the most powerful…… This is no exaggeration; innately, they already hold a great advantage."

The expert from the Demon‑Suppressing Hall slowly nodded, agreeing with Mr. Mu's words.

"The power of light…… whether speed, strength, defense, or recovery, innately they occupy a huge advantage. However, the Ice Spirit Divine Clan is not lacking either."

Sheng Yao and Hua Yan suddenly shouted in unison, raising both hands, and from their fingertips shot out countless white-hot light strands as fine as hair.

Four Ice Spirit Divine Clansmen waved their hands simultaneously, and large chunks of ice crystal, each several zhang in diameter and about a zhang thick, condensed out of thin air. The white light struck the semi‑transparent ice crystals, and countless beams of white light instantly scattered in chaotic, rapid refraction.

The countless white light strands coalesced in midair into a huge white light ball, with innumerable fine light threads crossing each other, yet not a single one could pierce the ice crystals to strike the enemy.

Sheng Yao gave a cold snort, opened his mouth, and expelled a stream of milky‑white, unusually viscous, high‑temperature white light.

Within the white light appeared a beautifully crafted longsword, its body completely transparent and radiating boundless brilliance.

Sheng Yao waved his hand, and the longsword turned into a white light that instantly pierced through the blockade of thirteen ice crystals and then through the body of one Ice Spirit Divine Clansman.

The next instant, You Ruo, existing as a soul‑form apparition, teleported behind Sheng Yao like a ghost; a blue, transparent glazed bottle over a foot tall suddenly appeared in his hand, he pointed it at Sheng Yao's back, and a viscous blue cold current flowed out silently.

The cold current shattered seven feather‑wing light shields, broke through Sheng Yao's protective divine light, and heavily struck his back.

The huge pair of white wings behind Sheng Yao exploded with a roar, and his torso below the chest shattered directly into countless ice crystals that fluttered down.

Sheng Yao grunted, his skull burst open, and a half‑transparent figure entirely ablaze with white divine flame shot out from his head, flying forth; he shouted hoarsely at You Ruo: "You Ruo, you dare destroy me… destroy the blood‑essence avatar I have painstakingly cultivated for hundreds of years!"

"Destroyed, so what?" You Ruo said coldly: "You have no right to argue with me; if you want to settle accounts, let Sheng Rong come find me."

Sheng Yao roared angrily, swung his right hand, and the transparent longsword quickly sank into his soul; his half‑transparent soul visibly solidified and clarified: "Hua Yan, let's talk down there… very well, Lady You Ruo, this time's cargo, we can give you a share."

You Ruo laughed, speaking in a soft, lingering tone: "Just now it was so easy to talk… not…"

Before You Ruo finished his mocking words, he inadvertently glanced downward, his eyes suddenly widened, and he shrieked: "Idiot, trash… stop that guy!"

As Sheng Yao and You Ruo were about to decide the victor and return from the high altitude to share this transaction's goods, Wu Tie halted his refinement.

Although Lao Tie gave his full cooperation, the Tower of Rebirth had already opened all its seals, awaiting Wu Tie's continual imprinting; but Wu Tie's strength was too low, the Tower's quality too high, and after this prolonged emergency refinement he could control only about five or six percent of it.

But there was no time left; seeing that You Ruo and the others were about to reach an agreement, Wu Tie rushed out.

As soon as he acted, it was the Vertical Earth Golden Light.

Over a distance of a hundred li, he arrived instantly; Wu Tie flashed to the mountaintop, swept his wide sleeve, and stuffed the stellar essence of several bottles, all soul crystals, and the three emperors' blood essence directly into his bracer.

A tremendous suction force came from his sleeve, and the mountaintop was instantly shaken by a gust of strong wind.

One hundred twenty ice coffins trembled slightly, then were taken into his sleeve by the universe within his sleeve.

Though these ice coffins looked light, they were actually extraordinarily heavy; for Wu Tie's strength, placing them into his sleeve ultimately wasted him one‑tenth of a finger‑snap of time.

Mr. Mu was the first to react.

He flicked his right sleeve, and a bluish‑hued wooden sword shot forth, carrying a terrifying wind‑and‑thunder roar as it raced toward Wu Tie.

Wu Tie gave a cold snort, flung open his completely black eyes, and stared deeply at Mr. Mu.

Mr. Mu's body swayed, and he involuntarily stepped back two paces.

Watching his jet‑black hair turn gray‑white strand by strand, in the instant of Wu Tie's glare, one‑third of Mr. Mu's black hair became gray‑white, then, like withered straw, it was blown off his head by the mountain wind.

The flying sword attacked, striking Wu Tie's chest with precise accuracy.

Wu Tie's chest flesh was split by the flying sword, but the sword tip happened to lodge on one of his ribs.

With a "ding," sparks flew in all directions; Mr. Mu's flying sword spun and rebounded, Wu Tie's rib suddenly dented, and a tremendous force slammed hard into his heart.

Wu Tie spat out a mouthful of old blood, and, borrowing the sword's impact, transformed into a golden light that fled backward at great speed.

Two barbarian‑god giants plummeted from high altitude at such speed that their bodies fiercely rubbed the air, producing intense flames that trailed behind them for several li.

Wu Tie had just flown backward less than a hundred li when two barbarian‑god giants, their bodies covered in scale wounds, fell from the sky and blocked his rear.

"Die!" the two barbarian‑god giants swung their single‑edged serrated heavy swords, one chopping at Wu Tie's neck, the other sweeping his waist.

The Tower of Rebirth suddenly appeared with a "hum," and a ring of black ripples swept across the mountains for hundreds of li in radius.

All tiny living beings in the mountains instantly perished, even the moss clinging to dark corners losing all vitality in an instant.

The two barbarian‑god giants grunted, their breath suddenly stiffened, and their heavy bodies plummeted to the ground.

Mr. Mu and the expert of the Demon‑Suppressing Hall stepped forward together in front of Tie Canglong and Luo Lin, spread their arms, and exerted their utmost to emit protective spiritual light to block the Tower of Rebirth's released "death ripple."

The heavy spiritual light barrier exploded apart, Mr. Mu and the Demon‑Suppressing Hall expert vomited blood profusely, and their bodies staggered backward in repeated retreats.

Wu Tie laughed "hahaha," the Vertical Earth Golden Light trailing a golden tail thousands of zhang long, and after a few leaps he had already raced over a thousand li away.

"Catch him! Kill him!" You Ruo, sharp‑eyed, instantly saw Wu Tie's face and screamed hoarsely.

"Catch him! Silence him!" Mr. Mu also saw Wu Tie's face and was terrified out of his wits.

It was actually Wu Tie, it was actually that damned brat!

Their deal, unexpectedly, was exposed by Wu Tie!

Really, it's life‑threatening!