Chapter 436

Outside the small mountain, the lengthy sacrificial ceremony finally ended.

The Elders of the Five Elements Spirits stood solemnly at the cave entrance, beginning to select who would enter the holy land.

This is the birthplace of the Five Elements Spirits, filled with immense Five Elements power, and the Five Elements tide is unpredictable; if the Five Elements Spirits wish to enter, they must form a group of five, linking their Five Elements power together, to advance against the tide.

No single Five Elements Spirit can possibly enter their origin holy land.

After a brief discussion, the five eldest Elders of the Five Elements Spirits Council stepped out of the crowd, stood at the cave mouth, took a deep breath, then each released a strand of spiritual light linking to their companions nearby; the Five Elements power circulated within them, their breaths became one, and they cautiously stepped into the cave one step at a time.

They must be careful, must maintain the balance of the Five Elements power.

Even a slight excess in breath fluctuation would stir the invisible tide, and they would be cast out of the holy land.

Each entry into the origin holy land is, for these Elders, both sacred and glorious, yet also a tremendous trial.

Step, step, slowly forward.

Their walking speed is comparable to an ordinary person running at full speed; this passage stretches hundreds of li, and at their pace it will likely take four or five hours to reach the altar where Wu Tie resides.

Before the altar, Wu Tie sat cross-legged on the ground, his whole body flashing with five-colored and black-and-white spiritual light; his breath became incredibly lively and unpredictable, and moreover an aura of soaring across the heavens and overlooking all directions continually surged forth.

Behind him, five streams of five-colored divine light unfurled like a peacock's tail, brilliant and splendid, divine might awe-inspiring, emanating boundless authority.

This is the Five Elements Divine Light, the supreme divine ability of the Peacock Bright King during his life, a powerful ability he cultivated over many years. In this altar, having received the nourishment of countless years of worship from the Five Elements Spirits, and further absorbing the essence of heaven and earth to temper itself, this Five Elements Divine Light has become far stronger than when the Peacock Bright King was alive.

The might of this Five Elements Divine Light is nearly on par with the Yin-Yang Two Qi Vessel; at this moment the Five Elements Divine Light is merging with Wu Tie, a pressure as heavy as a mountain crushing his bones almost to powder, yet Wu Tie's aberrant bones burst forth with an indescribable tenacity, stubbornly withstanding the pressure of the Five Elements Divine Light.

Bit by bit, strand by strand, the Five Elements Divine Light and Wu Tie's soul fuse.

This feeling is as if a new limb were being forcibly grown inside his body, the power mighty and unpredictable; Wu Tie's flesh to soul suffer immensely, enduring an indescribable 'torment' trial.

As the Five Elements Divine Light continually merges, Wu Tie's body sweats profusely, becoming more condensed and stronger.

Meanwhile, within the naturally generated Five Elements Space of the Five Elements Divine Light, thirty percent of Wu Tie's heart's Five Elements essence blood is fusing with Old Tie's crystal core.

Poor Old Tie, his true form is born of the Tower of Reincarnation.

Previously, while hidden within Wu Tie's body, the majority of the Tower of Reincarnation's true form was dispersed throughout Wu Tie's body, with only a small portion of its essence particles influenced and controlled by Old Tie.

The Yin-Yang Two Qi Vessel violently extracted the Tower of Reincarnation's true form, swallowing ninety-nine percent of it in one gulp.

Afterwards, Old Tie was forcibly torn from Wu Tie's body; his hyena-wolf form is merely a condensation of one percent of the Tower of Reincarnation's true form particles.

After Old Tie roared his designation, verified by some mysterious means of the Peacock Bright King and the Great Peng Bright King, his crystal core was drawn into the Five Elements Space, and the remaining portion of his Tower of Reincarnation-forged hyena-wolf body was also swallowed by the Yin-Yang Two Qi Vessel as a snack.

Old Tie let out a sharp, miserable howl; his roar shook the Five Elements Space, causing it to tremble minutely.

Yet no matter how desperately Old Tie exerted his strength in howling, it merely caused the Five Elements Space to tremble slightly; as the fusion speed between the Five Elements Divine Light and Wu Tie continually accelerated and deepened, his roar could no longer sway that space in the slightest.

Suddenly, a beam of Yin-Yang Divine Light sprayed from within the Yin-Yang Two Qi Vessel, pouring into Wu Tie's Five Elements Space behind him.

Old Tie's crystal core had already fused with the Five Elements essence blood, and further absorbed a massive amount of Five Elements primal force; the Five Elements mutual-rotation cycle caused a cluster of five-colored spiritual light to spin rapidly. Upon the infusion of the Yin-Yang Divine Light, a great boom sounded, and that cluster of five-colored spiritual light formed from his core suddenly began to writhe.

Old Tie, experienced, laughed: "Hey, I've made a profit."

With a "Boom!", a body about ten feet tall appeared in the Five Elements Space, its entire form composed of streamlined muscles, its physique like a masterpiece meticulously carved by a divine artisan, flawless and perfect.

It possessed Yin-Yang Five Elements power, condensed from thirty percent of the power of fifteen drops of Wu Tie's heart's Five Elements essence blood.

Old Tie's this humanoid body directly reached the utmost of the Womb Storage Realm in strength, even a single foot stepping into the threshold of the Divine Realm, touching a hint of unfathomable profundity.

Mighty, mighty to a terrifying degree.

At this moment, Old Tie's body is far stronger than Wu Tie's.

However, this body is pure physical might, with not a trace of mana within, and its soul power is also rather fragile…

Just… just… just…

Wu Tie and Old Tie both exclaimed in unison.

Soul power?

What a joke? Old Tie is a man-made titanic war puppet; he fundamentally lacks a soul, all his consciousness comes from that artificial crystal core.

But now, that crystal core has vanished, and within Old Tie's body there has indeed appeared a soul comparable to that of a normal person.

Old Tie let out an "Ao-ao" howl, his whole body trembling with excitement, he thudded to his knees: "Chaos Transformation, Chaos Transformation… forged a flesh body, forged a soul… from an acquired artificial corpse, forged flesh and soul… Chaos Transformation… I finally…"

"I finally… am a true living person…"

Two streams of tears brimming with powerful energy spurted from Old Tie's eye sockets.

He wailed "Ao-ao": "But the girl I like… the girl I like…"

From the peacock and great peng statues on the altar, two fine threads of light shot straight into Wu Tie's Five Elements Divine Light behind him.

Two profound cultivation methods were infused into Old Tie's body; these are the innate techniques of the Peacock and Great Peng, simply titled "Yin-Yang Transformation" and "Five Elements Transformation". The single character "change" suffices to highlight their core essence: myriad transformations, heavenly secrets unfathomable.

Old Tie's current body is entirely composed of Yin-Yang Five Elements power; cultivating these two divine abilities is most suitable for him.

With his now terrifyingly mighty physique, he can act recklessly, can brute-force his way through obstacles; his strength realm can be rapidly elevated with terrifying efficiency.

Old Tie knelt in the Five Elements Space and wailed loudly.

He wept for his own joy, and simultaneously for his past.

"I, back then, didn't even dare to say to her… 'I like you'…"

Old Tie wailed loudly; the Yin-Yang Five Elements power around him surged rapidly, in an instant breaking through Foundation Establishment and Sensing Mystery; moments later, two seven-colored streams of light shot up behind him, two dragon-like double-helix light pillars rose straight up, and countless thick light strands sprayed densely between the two light dragons.

Old Tie's body was forged using the innate essence blood of the five Wu clan Divine Realm ancestors as its foundation.

Therefore, in bloodline, Old Tie is absolutely the purest Wu lineage.

Even by seniority, Old Tie is a clansman of the level of Wu Tie's ancient forefathers… well, but in actual age, Old Tie is actually at a disadvantage; he is older than those five Wu ancestors by an unknown amount.

"Give me, break!" Old Tie withdrew his eyes, widened them, and roared.

In Wu Tie's life pool, the projection of the Creation Jade Disc subtly shifted a fraction; the aura of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Grand Dao erupted explosively, two brand-new markings representing the Yin-Yang Grand Dao's Dao patterns blazed onto the Creation Jade Disc, forcibly seizing a portion of the territory of the Five Elements Grand Dao's Dao pattern imprint.

Seven-colored spiritual light of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Grand Dao shot forth from within Wu Tie's body, directly entering his Five Elements Space behind him.

Old Tie and Wu Tie share a wondrous bond; over these years they have practically depended on each other for survival, Wu Tie can be said to have single-handedly shaped Old Tie, and their auras are subtly intertwined.

Wu Tie's comprehension of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Grand Dao was directly poured into Old Tie's soul.

Even a portion of Wu Tie's soul power, under his generous indulgence, flows into Old Tie's soul like the great Yangtze River.

Lao Tie let out a long whistle to the sky, his bald head's hair sprouting strand by strand like a fountain, instantly flaring out behind him like a thick cloak billowing without wind.

Lao Tie's soul rapidly expanded, instantly reaching the peak level of the Life Pool Realm, then his soul rapidly grew stronger and stronger, then under the immense pressure of the Five Elements Divine Light it was constantly compressed, expanded, compressed—like a ten‑thousand‑ton hydraulic press forging an iron ingot—becoming ever denser, purer, and tougher.

Yin‑Yang Five Elements Dao patterns continually appeared in Lao Tie's soul, constantly flashing with strange light as they were inlaid into his soul.

Lao Tie let out a hearty, unrestrained roar, and the layers of the Chonglou Realm's heavenly‑earthly shackles behind him were shattered one after another.

The Yin‑Yang Five Elements Grand Dao shackles, breaking like bamboo, were torn open by Lao Tie, who possessed the Primordial Scripture; he gradually imparted it to Wu Tie—truly, he had never eaten pork but had seen a pig walk.

Moreover, over these years he had always been by Wu Tie's side or hidden within Wu Tie's body, making him more proficient than Wu Tie in all manner of cultivation profundities.

Chonglou Realm's first heaven, second heaven, third heaven… layer after layer of realms broke through frenziedly, Lao Tie's internal mana cultivation received a terrifying boost, and in a snap of the fingers he reached the ultimate peak of the Chonglou Realm.

His soul was transforming, his mana was transforming.

Wu Tie poured his own insights into other heavenly Dao profundities into Lao Tie's body; within the Chonglou Realm behind Lao Tie, earthly magnetism, thunder escape arts, space‑time, life‑and‑death withering and flourishing, and similar grand Dao profundities continually collapsed and merged into Lao Tie's soul, making his foundation ever more robust.

Afterward Lao Tie gave a great shout, and his soul began to rapidly contract.

Strands of light flowed from his soul, about to be forged into a Life Pool, directly breaking through the Life Pool Realm.

Lao Tie harbored no ambition; he did not want to cultivate the Primordial Scripture like Wu Tie. As a thoroughgoing pragmatist, what Lao Tie now sought was realm, combat power, and lethal force.

Wu Tie is a long‑term investment, a strategic reserve.

What Lao Tie needs now is formidable actual combat power.

With his now overbearing, monstrous physique, the Life Pool condensed from his Yin‑Yang Five Elements Grand Dao, plus the hundreds of heavenly‑earthly Grand Dao profundities poured in by Wu Tie, Lao Tie's foundation is also immensely solid; once he breaks through, he will undoubtedly become the strongest combat force beside Wu Tie, possessing overwhelming combat power.

Wu Tie promptly poured into Lao Tie's soul the great divine‑ability profundities concerning the Five Elements Divine Light and Yin‑Yang Two Qi that he had just obtained.

Behind Lao Tie, five iridescent five‑colored divine lights slowly welled up; behind those lights, two black‑white qi quietly formed. Unlike Wu Tie, who directly inherited the Five Elements Divine Light of the Peacock Wisdom King, Lao Tie had to rely on his own strength and Wu Tie's insight to re‑condense the Five Elements Divine Light.

This is a huge consumption, an immensely huge consumption.

On the surface of the lotus‑shaped small hill, the five‑colored divine light flickered in and out, while the Yin‑Yang Two Qi coiled around.

Within a radius of tens of thousands of li of forest, hundreds of millions of wood, earth, water, metal, and fire essences simultaneously felt a mental haze; a tiny portion of their mana cultivation that would not affect them swiftly merged into the earth, following the veins to the altar.

In the eyes of the peacock and great roc statues, divine light surged forth, pouring into Wu Tie's Five Elements Space behind him.

Lao Tie let out a long whistle, and the mana of hundreds of millions of Five Elements Spirits gathered together—what a terrifying number!

With a deafening boom, Lao Tie's Life Pool condensed, its diameter one hundred twenty thousand li, sixty thousand li smaller than the one hundred eighty thousand li Life Pool Wu Tie cultivated via the Primordial Scripture; yet for all proper cultivators of heaven and earth, a one hundred twenty thousand li Life Pool is simply heinous and inhumane!

The mana of hundreds of millions of Five Elements Spirits, flawless as great rivers pouring into Lao Tie's Life Pool, instantly filled this enormous pool.

The next moment, the Life Pool collapsed inward, completely enveloping Lao Tie's soul.

A colossal Primordial Embryo one hundred twenty thousand li in diameter appeared within Lao Tie's body; his aura became immensely powerful and dangerous, the embryo constantly writhing and contracting, each breath causing it to shrink inward by hundreds of li.

As time passed bit by bit, a roar came from Wu Tie's Five Elements Space behind him; Lao Tie's Primordial Embryo split open, and within his body appeared a radiant Divine Embryo shining with splendid light that illuminated ten thousand li.

The Divine Embryo, resembling his physical form, sat cross‑legged; its surrounding splendid light slowly nourished the flesh, and between the Divine Embryo and the flesh a subtle connection gradually formed. Fine Yin‑Yang Five Elements Dao patterns continually sprayed from the Divine Embryo, quietly imprinting onto the flesh.

Lao Tie, in a single step entered the Womb Storage Realm, and directly entered its higher stage; the Divine Embryo's condensation was nearly indistinguishable from his flesh.

Wu Tie's Five Elements Space trembled violently; he pointed, a crack split the space, and he flung the naked Lao Tie out of it.

Lao Tie lightly flipped out a somersault and landed heavily on the ground.

He looked at his own body with mixed sorrow and joy, reaching out to grasp and squeeze himself tightly.

After a long while, Lao Tie raised his head and laughed at Wu Tie: 'Little Tie, from now on we two can truly fight side by side. Tsk, first a bottle of wine… Hahaha, eating meat, drinking wine, killing and setting fires—what bliss, what bliss!'

On the altar, within the great roc statue, a set of gold‑shining armor flew forth and swiftly draped itself over Lao Tie's body.

Wu Tie seized the water‑fire spear undergoing violent transformation, handing over the spear that radiated black‑white light of Yin‑Yang Two Qi from its entire body to Lao Tie: 'Old Tie, this treasure—you should wield it… Hey, from now on it shall be called the Yin‑Yang Spear.'

Lao Tie grasped the spear, which under the power of the Yin‑Yang Two Qi Vessel was transforming into an even fiercer weapon; he shook it lightly in both hands and muttered: 'Still, I prefer to call it the White Tiger Split… Tsk, what a treasure, what a treasure… How many years have I been unable to brandish a spear to slay foes?'

Grasping the spear with both hands, Lao Tie thrust it forward.

A resonant 'hum' rang out, the void trembled, and the whole cavern nearly collapsed.

Where the spear pointed, five Elders of the Five Elements Spirits stood at the cavern entrance, staring at Wu Tie and Lao Tie like fools.

'Wah‑yah‑yah‑yah, grandsons, report your names!' Lao Tie stomped hard, his golden armor blazing with boundless light, the spear in his hand spewing Yin‑Yang Two Qi, and behind him a nascent Five Elements Divine Light surged forth.

The five Elders stared for a moment, then dropped straight to their knees, knocking their heads to the ground.