Chapter 420

Wu Tie glanced at Sima Xin, then at Sima Hu, and then at the dozens of Sima Clan commanders beside them; these were all old friends he had met on the Three Kingdoms battlefield, in the Blood Banner Contention War.

Wu Tie smiled until creases formed on his face, he nodded again and again: "Yeah, yeah, I've really missed you... tsk, you generals of noble birth and delicate flesh, how do you have leisure to stroll around my Great Marsh Prefecture?"

Before Sima Xin could speak, Wu Tie stepped forward two steps and reached out his hand to Sima Xin: "Great Marsh Prefecture has towering mountains and dense forests, poisonous mists and malaria, countless poisonous insects and ferocious beasts, the native tribes are savage and brutal; you generals of noble birth, if you die here... it would be truly satisfying!"

Sima Xin was about to reach out and shake Wu Tie's hand.

Upon hearing the four words "deeply satisfying", Sima Xin felt as if he had been force-fed three or five flies, an indescribable sense of disgust welling up inside him.

Gritting his teeth, Sima Xin grabbed Wu Tie's palm in a sudden grip.

Their four hands clasped, ten fingers intertwined, with a "crack-crack" sound, it was as if steel bars were being twisted together; both bodies trembled slightly, veins bulged on their arms, and cold sweat simultaneously seeped from their foreheads.

Wu Tie exerted the Nine Revolutions Mystic Art to its fullest, and faint spiritual light flickered all over his body.

Sima Xin also exerted his cultivated Imperial Secret Technique to its fullest, and a scorching killing aura naturally rose from his whole body.

A faint glow hovered between their four joined hands, continuously emitting a low rumbling sound; gradually, waves of qi spread outward in all directions, tearing a circular hole in the clouds above.

Sima Hu and the other Sima Clan commanders looked on with grim faces as Wu Tie and Sima Xin wrestled, feeling quite heavy-hearted.

They had personally seen Wu Tie obtain the Nine Revolutions Mystic Art in the fortress of the Blood Banner Contention War; only a short time had passed, yet Wu Tie's cultivation had not yet broken through to the Embryonic Storage Realm, and yet his physical strength was on par with Sima Xin's.

Sima Xin, however, was a proper Embryonic Storage Realm cultivator, and he practiced the Imperial Secret Technique, giving him considerable combat prowess.

He actually couldn't suppress Wu Tie, whose cultivation was one major realm lower than his own; Sima Hu couldn't help muttering to himself: "Nine Revolutions Mystic Art, is it really this powerful? Ancient divine abilities, are they really that much stronger than our current divine arts and secret techniques?"

Sima Hu felt a surge of envy, but he also knew that the Nine Revolutions Mystic Art had enormous drawbacks. Unless one obtained divine permission in the Blood Banner Contention War and the privilege to cultivate the Nine Revolutions Mystic Art, otherwise once cultivated, various calamities would incessantly strike.

Especially the dreadful Heavenly Thunder Calamity—if it doesn't blast them to pieces, it will never cease.

Aside from lucky individuals like Wu Tie, anyone who cultivates this ancient forbidden art is essentially seeking death.

"Really... such a low-born fortunate person." Sima Hu instinctively placed a hand on his sword hilt, his eyes shifting as he calculated whether a sneak attack on Wu Tie with a sword would be splendid.

But Sima Hu only felt a sharp killing intent pointing straight at his brow; he stared in alarm, seeing Pei Feng holding a long spear, a thread of extremely fine black flame rising from its tip over three feet high; Sima Hu faintly sensed that if he dared to act against Wu Tie, Pei Feng would surely shoot him in the brow.

Relaxing his grip on the sword hilt, Sima Hu gave Pei Feng a charming smile.

Pei Feng looked at Sima Hu with a blank face, his eyes like knives, staring so hard that Sima Hu felt uncomfortable all over and unconsciously shifted his gaze away.

Wu Tie tightly grasped Sima Xin's hands, their palms rubbing together, actually producing sparks.

While violently squeezing Sima Xin's palm, Wu Tie still had energy to observe his surroundings; Sima Hu wanted to sneak attack him, but Pei Feng stopped Sima Hu, all of which Wu Tie saw.

He gave a cold smile, and Wu Tie's heart began to pound violently.

In his heart, the Five Elements Essence Blood from the five great divine ancestors of the Wu clan erupted with a tremendous, terrifying force; this force instantly merged into Wu Tie's body, and within him came a heaven‑shaking, earth‑splitting roar, as a vast aura suddenly surged forth.

"Hey, give me, turn!" Wu Tie barked in a low voice.

The Nine Revolutions Profound Technique instantly broke through a bottleneck; with the power of the Five Elements Essence Blood, Wu Tie's cultivation realm did not advance, but his physical strength surged upward by a significant margin.

This is also a major trait of the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique: it greatly enhances bodily potential and strength, largely independent of cultivation realm. As long as potential is raised and sufficient resources are supplied, physical strength, defense, and all other metrics can be increased without limit.

The Five Elements Essence Blood is undoubtedly the supreme resource in the world.

Wu Tie's body suddenly swelled outward, as if transforming from a golden‑thread monkey into a mighty golden‑crowned gorilla.

Sima Xin's pair of palms, originally about the same size as Wu Tie's, instantly became like tiny chicken claws beneath an elephant's hoof when Wu Tie's body expanded; a single pinch from Wu Tie's palm produced a terrifying cracking sound.

Sima Xin's ten fingers were crushed, his flesh and skin ground into minced meat.

Sima Xin let out a heaven‑shaking, earth‑splitting cry of pain, and instinctively kicked upward at Wu Tie's lower vital spot.

Wu Tie stood motionless in place, relying on the immense power of the Five Elements Essence Blood to break through his physical cultivation; his whole body was now shrouded in a faint white‑jade radiance, officially attaining the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique's "Body Like Lustrous Jade" stage of physical perfection.

At this moment his physical defense had surged more than tenfold, his whole body as hard as diamond; when Sima Xin kicked him between the legs, there was a dull thud, Wu Tie's body remained unmoving, and the Three Refinements Immortal Weapon boots on Sima Xin's foot burst with a flash of light, actually tearing a tiny slit.

On Wu Tie's body, the spot that should be the weakest by common sense was now as hard as a Three Refinements Immortal Weapon.

Sima Hu and the others watched, their faces twitching; a Sima clan officer leapt forward and punched Wu Tie in the face, shouting, "Release Xin brother's hand!"

Wu Tie shook off Sima Xin's crushed palm, tilted his head back slightly, then drove his forehead forward with a heavy blow. The Sima officer's heavy punch struck Wu Tie's glabella, producing a loud bang as the skin there shattered, while the officer's right arm remained unscathed on the surface but its inner tissues—muscles, bones, meridians—were all crushed into pulp.

Another heaven‑shaking, earth‑splitting wail rang out as the Sima officer clutched his right arm and staggered backward.

Wu Tie let out a low growl; from beneath the cracked skin of his glabella a chaotic spiritual light burst forth, he rapidly circulated the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique, spiritual light blazed across his body, and the Glabellar Eye that the Wu Prison had forcibly shattered and dispersed with a great divine art swiftly reconvened.

"This bastard..." Sima Hu and the others exclaimed in unison, staring at Wu Tie with mingled jealousy and hatred.

To deal with Wu Tie, they naturally examined every secret of the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique; they knew that cultivating it to a high level would likely condense a Glabellar Eye, granting tremendous power.

One could even say that the subtlety of the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique lies three parts in bodily strength, three parts in divine abilities, and four parts in the Glabellar Eye.

They had hoped Wu Tie would never be able to open his Glabellar Eye in his lifetime… but Wu Tie was despicable, deliberately doing so today, in front of Sima Xin and the others, using the opening created when his glabellar skin was punched apart to reconvene his Glabellar Eye.

He was deliberately telling Sima Hu and the others—ah, I might never have been able to open my Glabellar Eye in my life, but it wasn't because you punched a hole in my glabellar skin, so… heh, you know what I mean, thanks, guys!

The Sima officer whose arm had been shattered by Wu Tie screamed in outrage: "This is unjust!"

Wu Tie's visage twisted as if enduring extreme pain; he cocked his head to look at the officer and growled low: "But I sincerely thank you!"

With a loud "Ha!" Wu Tie bellowed: "Come out!"

Amid a soft "hiss", a vertical eye appeared in Wu Tie's glabella; the five‑colored divine light of the Five Elements Great Dao spun rapidly within the eye, forming a pupil of five colors and six hues, like a five‑colored whirlpool, set squarely in his eye socket.

Wu Tie turned his head; with three soft "hisses", three bolts of five‑colored lightning shot from his Glabellar Eye, lightly striking a small mountain a thousand li away.

With a tremendous boom, the small mountain, a thousand chi high and several li wide, vanished in a mushroom cloud, leaving on the ground a perfectly circular crater seven to eight li in diameter, its walls smooth as a mirror and faintly shimmering with five‑colored light.

Sima Hu and the others stared at each other, unable to speak.

One by one they felt a sudden, inexplicable chill of terror; Wu Tie's brute strength could easily crush the palm of a mid‑stage Fetal Repository realm Sima Xin; his bodily defense could not even be harmed by the heavy stomp of Three Refinements Immortal Weapon boots; as for his destructive spell power… needless to say, a crater that large could easily swallow tens of thousands of elite soldiers.

In close combat, at range, with divine abilities, and secret arts, he is nearly flawless.

The power displayed by the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique in Wu Tie truly exceeded Sima Hu and the others' imagination; such an enemy—how could they possibly kill him?

"Slay the Hero"... When Zhao Xiong devised this plan, he surely never imagined Wu Tie could become so terrifying.

Looking at the dumbfounded Sima Hu and the others, Wu Tie nodded in satisfaction, restrained his breath, and halted the rapidly circulating technique; the Five Elements Essence Blood in his heart also steadied, and his body gradually shrank back to its original form.

No, it was not the original form; Wu Tie's height had increased by more than an inch, his physique underwent subtle changes, even his facial contours were somewhat adjusted. Overall, the feeling was that his aura had become more rounded, more fluid, more in harmony with heaven and earth, and in every gesture there arose a transcendent sense of "heart like flowing water, mind like idle clouds".

This was not merely a matter of physical strength or magical cultivation reaching a certain level, but rather attaining a certain stage in Daoist cultivation and in one's comprehension of the Heaven‑Earth Great Dao.

The faces of Sima Hu and the others grew even uglier.

Sima Xin, whose hands had been crushed to powder, was swallowing healing pills, while several close aides hurriedly applied secret spirit ointment to his crushed palms.

Sima Xin had been glaring at Wu Tie with fury, but upon sensing the natural, smooth Dao aura emanating from Wu Tie, he instinctively felt his heart race, unconsciously lowered his head, glanced askance, and dared not look at Wu Tie again.

In the next instant, Sima Xin's face turned completely red.

He let out a low, wounded‑beast‑like growl from his throat…… He knew his state of mind had been shattered by Wu Tie; he had not only lost the strength contest to Wu Tie, but his heart had also been utterly defeated by Wu Tie.

Before he could reforge his Dao heart and his state of mind, he…… he even lacked the courage to face Wu Tie directly!

Before Wu Tie, Sima Xin was already a cripple.

Sima Hu and the others simultaneously sensed the change in Sima Xin's aura; each turned in shock to look at him, and when they saw him silent with head down and face flushed, Sima Hu and the others all drew a breath, their eyes turning green with rage.

"Losing face." Dozens of tower ships had already burst out of the spatial gate, but they dared not move recklessly, instead hovering neatly in front of the gate.

After all, Wu Tie commanded hundreds of large and small tower ships, plus twelve floating battle fortresses encircling the spatial gate; even if they had safely passed through the gate, should Wu Tie order an attack, they would be destroyed in a very short time.

When Wu Tie and Sima Xin were testing strength, many soldiers directly under the Military Department on those tower ships stared intently this way.

As Sima Xin was seen to be defeated, another Sima clan commander coincidentally helped Wu Tie open his third eye; immediately after, Sima Xin's state of mind shattered, his fighting spirit and will destroyed by Wu Tie, leaving him and his side utterly routed, whereupon Sima Yu, seated on a tower ship, could no longer hold back.

Crying out "Trash!" in anger, fully armed with over a dozen Nine‑Refined Immortal weapons covering his body, his whole person glittering like a moving rack of jewels, Sima Yu turned into a streak of light, leading nearly a thousand close guards, and swiftly closed in on Wu Tie.

With a "swish," Sima Yu stood one zhang in front of Wu Tie.

After sizing up Wu Tie from head to toe, Sima Yu arrogantly said, "Are you Huo Xiong? I am Sima Yu… the Marquis of Jiang of the Great Jin, Sima Yu."

Sima Yu deliberately revealed a mocking smile, intending to provoke Wu Tie. His title of Marquis of Jiang had been forcibly taken from the achievements that originally belonged to Huo Xiong, and after some maneuvering by the Military Department's Examination Office, it had been dropped out of nowhere onto his head.

He knew Wu Tie knew who he was, and he deliberately wanted to provoke Wu Tie.

With his status as the Crown Prince of the Cheng King and Marquis of Jiang, if Wu Tie showed him disrespect, it would be perfect if Wu Tie boldly moved to kill him, for then he would have ample excuse to order Wu Tie's execution on the spot.

Wu Tie's smile faded slightly; he looked at Sima Yu with a grim face and slowly extended his hands: "You are the ninth son of the Cheng King, the newly appointed Marquis of Jiang of the Great Jin, Sima Yu? Hmm, we are all brothers in the army; according to military custom, come, let us test our strength?"

Wu Tie's two palms were right in front of Sima Yu, and Sima Yu's smile stiffened.

Just now, Wu Tie and Sima Xin had tested strength, and Wu Tie brutally crushed Sima Xin's hands, but in the Great Jin military, this is the most common form of martial contest. Armies, violent organizations, the strong prevail; often, military leaders habitually resort to violence to settle disputes and vent anger.

When Wu Tie publicly crushed Sima Xin's palms, everyone would only say Sima Xin was inferior in skill, and would not blame Wu Tie for any fault.

Now, Wu Tie again placed his hands before Sima Yu.

If Sima Yu does not accept the challenge, his reputation for cowardice will quickly spread throughout the military.

A hint of a smile appeared on Wu Tie's grim face: "Uncle, do you think this is child's play? Hmm, then I've heard you earned great merit in the Blood Banner seizure battle, your cultivation is exceedingly fierce; how about we fight for real with true blades?"

Sima Yu remained silent, his gaze wandering, weak and powerless.

Fighting for real with true blades? A fake‑merit‑claiming fop, you expect him to engage Wu Tie in a genuine blade‑to‑blade duel?

After a dry cough, Sima Yu stepped back and said in a deep voice: "General Huo Xiong, this time we, the Privy Council, have come to Great Marsh Prefecture under secret orders… Please, General Huo Xiong, obey military command, lend us your troops to assist us in carrying out the Military Department's secret orders."

"Lend?" Wu Tie stared at Sima Yu in astonishment, then suddenly broke into a grin: "Easy, easy—we're all people of the Great Jin, lending troops is no problem…… but first, can you defeat me?"