Chapter 47: Chapter Forty-Six: Vast Righteousness

Two ox-tribe men had bloodshot eyes, lowly roaring as they charged at the Jiao Dragon.

They swung their great axes, the heavy wheel axes tearing the air with a dull whistle; the forged steel axes struck the Jiao Dragon's scales heavily, sending sparks flying as the axes shattered.

The Jiao Dragon casually twisted its body, and with a swipe of its tail in midair, the two ox-tribe warriors spat blood and flew away.

Its golden-flecked eyes locked onto Wu Tie, and its long tail slowly hammered the ground, issuing a deep, booming sound.

Wu Tie stood several hundred meters away, shouting with all his strength, using every provocative phrase he had learned from Lao Tie, wildly taunting the Jiao Dragon. He brandished his spear; the spear split the wind, emitting a piercing shriek.

Wu Tie himself couldn't see it, but behind him, a humanoid figure formed from faint gray mist, starting at the size of an ordinary person, was slowly growing.

Eight feet… nine feet… one zhang…

The humanoid figure gradually expanded, becoming ever more indistinct, yet the aura filling heaven and earth, the vast and righteous qi, grew ever denser.

Wu Tie's blood surged within him, his meridians boiling; the first and second joints of his left index finger began to heat, a faint glow seeping through.

The Jiao Dragon slowly lowered its body, its eyes emitting a faint gloomy light as it stared at Wu Tie.

The heavy, oppressive scent emanating from Wu Tie seemed to greatly tempt the Jiao Dragon; drool poured from its mouth, its foul stench spreading far and wide.

"Come on, you bastard!" Wu Tie bounced, taunting the Jiao Dragon, an invisible force field tightly enveloping his whole body as he prepared to flee with all his might.

A low growl came from within the Jiao Dragon; its body straightened, it howled as it tore through the air, blasting out rings of white air explosions, charging straight at Wu Tie.

Such speed was terrifyingly extreme; though Wu Tie was several hundred meters away, in the blink of an eye the Jiao Dragon stood before him.

The white air blasts spread outward, the crude huts around collapsing one after another; the tremendous roar shook the entire stronghold, and the gray-rock dwarves inside, frail in body, were toppled by the sound, rolling continuously on the ground.

Wu Tie couldn't even see the Jiao Dragon's movements; he merely instinctively thrust his spear sideways to block in front of himself.

An unstoppable force slammed into him; Wu Tie's arms smashed heavily against his chest, and amid the deafening blast he was flung backward. His feet left the ground, flying hundreds of meters back, smashing through dozens of huts in succession.

His chest burned with agony, his five viscera and six bowels overturned; Wu Tie's hands trembled violently, his fingers spasming as they clung tightly to the spear.

The violent impact nearly shattered every bone in Wu Tie's body; he stiffly collapsed to the ground, barely feeling his own body.

The Jiao Dragon raised its head on the spot and let out a long, drawn-out roar.

Afterwards it lowered its body, greedily fixing its gaze on Wu Tie, exuding an overwhelming pressure as it swiftly swam toward him.

A dull tearing sound suddenly rang out; Lao Tie's mighty shout shook the surrounding ground: "A thunderclap in the sky, your grandfather enters the battlefield… hahaha!"

A bloody stream of light howled in; Lao Tie fiercely rammed his head into the Jiao Dragon's lower jaw.

This blow was extraordinarily heavy; the Jiao Dragon's massive body was hurled into the air, twisting and contorting as it flew backward over a hundred meters, crashing to the ground in a heap and rolling dozens of times before it steadied itself.

The Jiao Dragon, bedraggled, lifted half its body, blood spraying from the corner of its mouth, and looked with fury at Lao Tie, who stood over a hundred meters away, feet planted, his whole body crackling with electric sparks.

"I am your grandfather, and I will be your grandfather all my life… Even though my body is now weakened, I can still make you call me grandfather… This is all that damned thing's fault…"

Lao Tie split his mouth, emitting a weird "ge-ge" laugh: "It's all that damned thing's fault; if my own body were here, you little reptile…"

Lao Tie had barely spoken half a sentence when the Jiao Dragon roared and charged, slamming its head into him and hurling Lao Tie violently away.

Rolling away with a clatter, Lao Tie cursed, then sprang to his feet and once again transformed into a streak of blood light, slamming into the Jiao Dragon.

The Jiao Dragon also braced its body and fiercely rammed into Lao Tie.

With a booming "dong," Lao Tie's head and the Jiao Dragon collided into a tangled mass.

A shower of electric sparks sprayed; Lao Tie spat a sword-shaped streak of blood light from his mouth, which pierced deeply into the Jiao Dragon's forehead.

A shrill wail suddenly exploded; the Jiao Dragon's forehead was split open in a wound about a meter long, scales flying, skull shattered, and copious blood mixed with sparkling cerebrospinal fluid gushed from the wound.

In agony, the Jiao Dragon thrashed wildly, its long tail lashing Lao Tie with brutal force and flinging him hundreds of meters away.

Its golden-flecked eyes turned blood-red; the Jiao Dragon let out a terrifying roar, opening its mouth to spew forth a dozen or so black smoke balls that had nearly solidified, which hammered Lao Tie from head to toe.

These black smoke balls were condensed poison from within the Jiao Dragon's body, lethally toxic and also powerfully corrosive.

Lao Tie was battered, rolling all over the ground; each smoke ball that struck him detonated violently, blasting earth and stone everywhere and carving out meter-wide pits.

The smoke balls burst, releasing vast clouds of black toxic gas that spread outward, corroding the ground with a continual hiss.

Lao Tie's head and body were enveloped in the black toxic gas; he jumped and cursed within it, yet his body remained mirror‑clean, bearing not a trace.

Wu Tie painfully, bit by bit, propped himself up on his spear and stood.

He panted, and within his boiling blood a strange power continually arose—vast, flowing, utterly rigid and strong, filling him with an invincible righteous qi. His body, battered by the blow, swiftly recovered under this energy's nourishment, mighty power filling his entire frame.

The surrounding air surged violently; the vortex of primordial energy above his head swelled ever larger, streams of primordial energy continuously pouring into him.

Wu Tie's body radiated intense heat, steaming the ground beneath his feet; vast amounts of moisture rose from the soil, forming white mist that swirled around.

Fixing his gaze on the Jiao Dragon as it frenziedly spewed toxic smoke balls, all fear, hesitation, and any other negative emotion in Wu Tie's heart were swept away.

Courage—an inexplicable courage welled up from the depths of his blood; Wu Tie fiercely raised his spear, and then he became a gust of wind.

The wind howled, the wind roared; Wu Tie leapt into the air, carrying the surrounding boiling, surging air, his body entwined with streams of sparkling primordial energy, his spear held aloft tracing a cold light that spanned hundreds of meters, in an instant arriving before the Jiao Dragon.

His eyes locked onto the wound Lao Tie had cleaved in the Jiao Dragon's forehead; he thrust his spear forward, driving it straight in.

With a anguished cry, the spear tore through the bloody, fuzzy scales, forcing its way into the fissure in the Jiao Dragon's skull, sinking in over half a foot.

Though the Jiao Dragon's body was massive and its skull extremely thick, even so Wu Tie's spear pierced about half an inch into its brain; the dragon clenched its eyes shut in pain, its body thrashing wildly.

Wu Tie had no time to dodge; the Jiao Dragon's tail whistled in and lashed his waist with brutal force.

Wu Tie was flung away by the tail, his whole body jolted as if struck by thunder.

With a "wah," Wu Tie spat a mouthful of blood; he hastily opened his faceguard, and copious blood streamed down his tight armor.

Behind him, a tremendous impact; Wu Tie slammed into a protruding stalactite. The stalactite groaned under the weight, swayed a few times, but ultimately held his body steady.

Wu Tie panted, eyes wide, dazedly pressed against the stalactite, unable to move a muscle.

The Jiao Dragon still howled in pain, still roaring; it thrashed its body wildly, and in a few flicks flung the spear embedded in its forehead away.

Though the spear had pierced its brain only shallowly, such agony was more than flesh could bear; the Jiao Dragon writhed madly on the ground for a while, crushing most of the huts in the stronghold to fragments.

Inside the Mist Blade Stronghold, the Mist Blade assassins had long since vanished without a trace, the clan warriors had scattered in all directions, and those gray dwarves and stone dwarves had likewise fled with their families.

Several giant water pythons swayed their massive bodies, chasing the fleeing slaves and likewise running out of the stronghold.

Now inside the stronghold, only Wu Tie, Lao Tie, and this agonized, raging Jiao Dragon remained.

Lao Tie chuckled "ge-ge," a hint of unrestrained wildness in his demeanor, stepping slowly out of the rising black toxic mist.

Xiao Tie, you and I, grandpa, let's put in some effort and take care of this big guy……The medicine refined from its flesh and blood, even if it's the most basic foundation-establishment pill, to you now, are all treasures.

Tsk, really heartbreaking……Back then, such a little grass snake didn't even qualify to go into the soup pot……Now, well, there's nothing to be picky about……

Lao Tie let out a heavy 'Pah!', made a spitting motion, his contempt plainly visible.

The flood dragon sensed Lao Tie's deep malice; it stopped struggling and twitching, slowly raising its upper body.

Fresh blood dripped 'drip-drip-drop' from the wound, and inside the gun barrel that Wu Tie had stabbed out, a continuous trickle of white brain matter flowed out.

The flood dragon's body twitched involuntarily, its scales standing up all over, making its appearance look much larger.

'Huff-huff', the flood dragon panted heavily, its breath reeking of a fishy stench.

Lao Tie quickly approached Wu Tie, running while muttering lowly: 'Kid, do you still have the strength to run? Don't think Grandpa I'm just talking big……Grandpa I really can't handle it now……'

Ah, ah, that blow just now, Grandpa I can't possibly strike again……Eh, we grandpas now have only the road to flee……

Lao Tie muttered indistinctly, the few sharp little horns on his head had gradually retracted, and the electric sparks all over his body had vanished.

After the brief burst, Lao Tie truly seemed to have no combat strength left.

Wu Tie likewise panted lowly, he completely didn't catch what Lao Tie was saying.

His blood surged rapidly, his meridians burned wildly, the plasma within his body undergoing a strange change. The plasma became heavier, more refined, and even an unusual hue appeared within it.

The golden light at his brow continually turned into golden rain that poured down, constantly refining his body.

The golden rain and the strange energy seeping from the burning meridians merged into one, carrying a hint of blood color as it flew back to his brow.

In Wu Tie's mind, a large amount of mixed voices sounded.

Many people, countless individuals, old and young, men and women, were loudly chanting something.

What they chanted was profound and exquisite, far more profound than the contents of the several scrolls that Grey Master treasured like jewels. Countless people chanted with a humming sound, as if countless hornets were buzzing wildly in Wu Tie's head.

Under these circumstances, Wu Tie could hear no external sounds.

His body trembled slightly, and an ever greater heat continually arose from his meridians.

A clear chanting voice suddenly sounded in Wu Tie's mind, and an unknown force instantly suppressed all the mixed chanting voices in his mind. This voice repeatedly recited a simple phrase in Wu Tie's mind.

'Even if tens of thousands, I will go forward!'

The originally chaotic chanting voices all rallied, like a flock of confused geese finding their leader, they became orderly and strict, closely following this voice as they repeatedly chanted 'Even if tens of thousands, I will go forward!'

'Even if tens of thousands, I will go forward!'

Wu Tie subconsciously began to loudly recite this phrase; the gray mist behind him condensed into a shadow that grew thicker, and the power surging from his meridians within him became stronger and clearer.

The golden light mass at his brow had already taken on a faint blood-red layer; suddenly, all the miraculous power surging from Wu Tie's meridians rushed to his brow, Wu Tie's brow Blood Light flourished, the 'Longevity' two characters left by Shi Lingqing on his brow were shattered by the Blood Light and vanished instantly.

"Heaven and earth, there is righteous qi!" Wu Tie inexplicably roared these words.

Before this, he had never heard this phrase.

But under the guidance of that voice in his mind, this phrase seemed to have sprung from Wu Tie's meridians, crossing the river of ages, crossing countless generations of reproduction and inheritance, thus traveling through spacetime, appearing out of nowhere.

That grand, vast power that filled heaven and earth erupted with a boom.

Wu Tie clenched his right fist and threw a simple punch forward.

Filling heaven and earth, embracing all things!

Grand and vast, righteous qi mighty!

Majestic and imposing, invincible in might!

A fist imprint several meters in diameter flew from Wu Tie's fist, swift as a meteor, striking the head of the flood dragon charging straight at him.

What seemed like a simple punch contained a terrifyingly immense power.

The flood dragon's entire body was sent flying by Wu Tie's punch from afar, blown away over a distance of hundreds of meters by a single punch.

The flood dragon's massive body stiffened straight in the air, its scales all over cracked 'crack-crack-crack' into countless pieces, large and small scale fragments falling like a downpour, pattering onto the ground.

The flood dragon's already wounded forehead caved in a large area, its skull shattered, exposing a small part of brain tissue.

With two 'thud-thud' sounds, the two horns on the flood dragon's forehead, due to the skull shattering, lost their base and fell heavily to the ground.

The flood dragon was blown over a hundred meters by Wu Tie's punch, it crashed heavily to the ground, and only after a full three breaths did it let out a painful, near-death roar.

Such a huge flood dragon actually shed big tears, it wept while turning its body, fleeing downstream of the great river as swift as a gust of wind.

"It fled, ha!"

Wu Tie laughed: 'Lao Tie, this is……the divine ability I suddenly learned……Vast Righteous Qi.'

"I don't know where it came from, but this is……the 'Vast Righteous Qi'!"

"Thud," Wu Tie's vision went black and he collapsed heavily to the ground.