Chapter 48: Dragon‑Devouring Horn

Roar!

In the midst of a resounding, unrestrained roar, a stone giant about ten meters tall leapt out from the waterfall.

The stone giant's body was smooth and bare, wearing a python-skin war skirt around its waist, hairless, its entire form a dull gray like carved granite.

He dragged a chain as thick as a water tank with both hands, tracing a beautiful arc, burst out of the massive waterfall, and lunged into the deep pool below.

After half an hour, accompanied by a loud roar, the stone giant seized the chain with both hands and strode onto the riverbank in large steps.

He steadied his body, pulling hard with both hands. Streams of light flickered across his dull-gray muscles, a mass of bright gray light on his chest rapidly expanded and contracted, accompanied by a steady thudding heartbeat.

The surrounding ground trembled slightly as a powerful force field rose from the earth, enveloping the stone giant.

The stone giant's body gradually swelled, quickly rising to about fifteen meters. He pulled hard on the iron chain with both hands, stepping toward the Mist Blade outpost.

A low, resonant "clang" echoed continuously from behind the waterfall, even drowning out the waterfall's roar.

Not long after, three more stone giants, each carrying a huge hammer and iron spike, came panting out of the waterfall. They followed the first giant's iron chain, trotting down it as if on level ground.

Only a little over a li from the Mist Blade outpost, the four stone giants joined forces, firmly anchoring the chain to the ground.

Iron spikes seven to eight meters long secured massive iron rings; dozens of such huge spikes were driven deep into the ground, pulling the chain taut, taut.

The chain blazed with dazzling light, streams of light dancing, accompanied by muffled impacts, a strange line of "vehicle-ships" surged out from the waterfall along the thick chain.

The so-called vehicle-ships had, below, interlocking oddly shaped gears with the chain, and above, cabins resembling those of a stealth ship.

Each segment was seven to eight meters wide, twenty-some meters long, and seven to eight meters high. The segments were tightly linked by heavy iron chains, forming a line of vehicle-ships nearly a kilometer long.

Every segment glowed with numerous runes, streams of light dancing; the long train resembled a radiant giant centipede, rumbling down the chain with a "boom‑boom‑boom".

As they neared the Mist Blade camp, the vehicle-ships' gears spewed sheets of flame, their speed gradually slowing; numerous hatchways opened on the cabin walls, and lithe figures leapt out—all clad in black tight‑fitting garments and bearing straight swords, the Mist Blade assassins.

Such a train brought over two thousand Mist Blade assassins at once, several thousand other warriors, and tens of thousands of slaves.

On the wall of the Mist Blade outpost, atop the sole remaining watchtower, a human figure slowly materialized from the air.

The Mist Blade Chief Steward, cloaked in a cape, face hidden in shadow, hands behind his back, gazed down at the chaotic camp. The Mist Blade assassins clearing debris and tending to the wounded sensed him, looked over, and silently dropped to one knee in salute.

"What happened?" the Mist Blade Chief Steward's icy, knife‑sharp voice rang out for dozens of li, across the wide river, reaching the Changsheng Sect camp on the opposite bank.

A squad leader leapt a few times, leaving an afterimage to the wall's base, and recounted in full how a flood dragon, accompanied by several giant pythons, had attacked.

He stressed that if it weren't for Wu Tie and Lao Tie drawing the flood dragon's attention—even wounding it by some unknown means—everything living in the Mist Blade outpost would have been devoured.

"A… flood dragon?" the Mist Blade Chief Steward's voice tinged with delight: "What a treasure, what fortune—I never expected such luck upon my arrival!"

"Gather everyone; I'll also try what it feels like to slay a dragon."

"Although it's only a flood dragon, it's still of the dragon kin."

"Dragon kin… even a single scale is a treasure."

Upon hearing the Mist Blade Chief Steward's order, those already present, the newly arrived Mist Blade assassins, and the servant‑soldiers sprang into action.

They quickly organized their ranks, assembled the large number of ranged weapons they had brought, coated every arrow with a secret poison, and prepared to follow the Mist Blade Chief Steward in the grand plan to slay the dragon.

Before him lay utter darkness.

In the boundless darkness, someone faintly chanted a scripture.

His voice was gentle yet brimming with an upright, unyielding strength that would rather break than bend.

That voice wielded extraordinary power; Wu Tie felt his soul as if soaking in warm water—comfortable, nourishing—and he could clearly sense his soul growing stronger strand by strand.

Soul power determines the strength of one's innate divine abilities; consequently, Wu Tie's innate talent, "Control Heaven and Earth," naturally grew stronger as well.

Although he did not know what exactly had occurred, listening to that person's gentle recitation in the darkness, Wu Tie understood what the divine ability "Vast Righteousness" truly was.

Heaven and earth possess righteousness.

It fills heaven and earth, knows all, is supremely firm and strong, grand and magnificent.

Vast Righteousness can be used as an offensive divine ability, specifically to counter all yin and evil forces.

But its greatest use is to temper the soul, elevate its essence, connect directly to the heart of heaven and earth, reach the ultimate holy realm—it is a supreme method for cultivating the mind and nurturing virtue.

In desperation to deal with that flood dragon, Wu Tie unleashed the mere trace of Vast Righteousness he had just begun to cultivate… like using fine jade to beat a stray dog—utterly misapplied.

A single, all‑or‑nothing strike drained every ounce of power within him.

Only a trace of soul power remained; over half his blood had burned away, his interior hollowed out like wind‑dried cured meat.

Yet without destruction there is no creation; after his soul power was exhausted, the newly born soul power, refined by Vast Righteousness, became many times purer and more condensed than before, granting it far greater potency.

With half his blood burned, the remainder glowed with a faint golden light, condensed and heavy, holding far greater strength and vitality than before.

A familiar warm current flowed through his body.

Liquid continually flowed into his mouth, then gently exploded in his abdomen.

Someone kept administering Foundation Establishment elixirs to Wu Tie.

Wu Tie, his body nearly drained, breathed contentedly as energy continually replenished; his marrow, undergoing subtle changes, ceaselessly produced new blood to offset the loss, and his strength gradually returned bit by bit.

In the darkness, that gentle voice grew louder.

Afterwards, more voices rose in the darkness, echoing that tone, chanting scriptures that Wu Tie could neither hear clearly nor understand.

He could not hear them, nor could he comprehend them…

Yet Wu Tie inexplicably shed tears.

This was a feeling springing from his bloodline—a sensation that transcends time and space, enduring as long as the lineage persists.

The fire passes on, generation after generation, endless.

Whether that gentle voice or the mixed voices of men, women, old and young, each made Wu Tie inexplicably feel an overwhelming closeness.

In the darkness, the golden cluster at Wu Tie's brow gradually restored—from a thumb‑sized glow it expanded to the size of a goose egg, becoming much richer than before, with a faint hint of blood red flickering within the gold.

The darkness shattered, and Wu Tie opened his eyes.

Before him lay brightness; a pallid ceiling emitted clear light, and the ceiling, walls, and floor were spotless.

Wu Tie lay spread‑eagled at the center of the Metal Hall; beside him stood the apparatus that produced Foundation Establishment elixirs. Around him lay a chaotic pile of over two hundred empty elixir vials, while a few Essence Energy Puppies bustled about, clutching bottles and scurrying out.

Da Tie is a bit of a neat freak; he can't stand any trash inside the Ancient God Army Camp.

Old Iron stands before Wu Tie, his deathly white skull face showing no expression, Blood Light glowing deep in his eyes as he stares fixedly at Wu Tie.

Logically, Wu Tie should not be able to see any expression on Old Iron's face.

But his flickering eyes are filled with intense emotion.

Wu Tie jumped in shock, leapt up, grabbed the tight-fitting armor curled into a ball beside him, and a surge of Primordial Gang slammed into it; white metallic fluid flowed over his body, quickly forming armor that covered him.

"Why are you staring at me?" Wu Tie asked, a bit dazed.

Old Iron's eyes flickered for a moment, then he shook his head and let out three loud 'woof woof's, after which he burst out laughing.

Grinning with bared teeth, his deathly white skull face smiled, yet showed no trace of ferocity; Wu Tie could feel Old Iron's joy and happiness.

"Nothing, just… I inexplicably feel great… although, I don't have a heart…" Old Iron tilted his head, sizing up Wu Tie: "Is it the Vast Righteous Qi? Indeed, it is the Vast Righteous Qi?"

Before Wu Tie could answer, Old Iron muttered: "It seems one of your ancestors was a scholar… or came from a scholar's family…"

"Vast Righteous Qi, that's fine too." Old Iron chuckled 'ka ka': "At least, when you walk at night, you won't have to fear ghosts…"

"Ghosts?" Wu Tie stared wide-eyed at Old Iron: "Grey Master told stories about ghosts, but… I've never seen one. Do ghosts really exist in this world?"

Old Iron shook his head and let out a big laugh: "Better not to have seen them… who'd want to see those ghostly things?"

A dozen or so metal spiders trudged over, carrying two horns each over three meters long, and with two 'thuds' they dumped the horns beside Wu Tie's feet.

These are the two horns from a flood dragon's head.

The pitch-black horns stand straight, covered in tight spiral grooves, their tips extremely sharp, exuding a chilling gleam.

"How brutal, you kid, your strike was ruthless… and also too coincidental."

Old Iron grinned, laughing happily.

"With just that punch, I smashed the skull beneath its two horns, and the horns happened to fall off."

"A flood dragon holds at least thirty percent of its essence in a pair of horns… it must hate you to death."

Wu Tie also laughed triumphantly, although he had no idea how that punch of Vast Righteous Qi worked, nor the origin of this divine ability, but he was very satisfied with its power.

Although after throwing that punch, draining all his essence, energy, and spirit, the feeling of instantly fainting was utterly miserable.

"But this big guy can't withstand one of my punches." Wu Tie reached down to grab the flood dragon's horn at his feet, looking at Old Iron with a smile: "Or… let's think of a way to… deal with that big guy?"

Wu Tie glanced at the large device nearby that concocted potions.

His bare hands, without gloves, gripped the horn over three meters long.

The first phalanx of his left index finger trembled violently; the freshly grown flesh burst with a 'pop' into a mist of blood, this finger bone stabbing like a knife into tofu, suddenly piercing the dark, solid, sharp dragon horn.

With a 'pop', the violently trembling finger bone jolted the entire horn.

Over three meters long, the horn's thickest base, as thick as a water bucket, exploded apart, scattering clouds of ash; only a speck of black essence light remained, swirling like countless fireflies around Wu Tie's left hand, rapidly spinning and dancing, and within a few breaths it was completely sucked into that finger bone.

Wu Tie's eyes widened, tears streaming from the corners, and he let out a hysterical cry of pain.

The first phalanx of his left index finger burned, as if a tiny sun had been swallowed inside it, the whole finger bone ablaze. Strange and terrifying, an energy torrent boiled and fused within the bone, visible streams of black energy flowing from the first phalanx to the second, then to the third, and then down to the corresponding metacarpal.

Moreover, thin threads of black flame shot from the first phalanx, burrowing into the adjacent thumb and middle finger.

The flesh on Wu Tie's left thumb and middle finger was burned to a crisp, and he could see the two phalanges of his thumb and the three of his middle finger slowly changing color.

When all the black essence light from the horn had been absorbed by the first phalanx, Wu Tie's entire left palm was aflame.

He howled in agony, rolling incessantly on the ground.

His vision darkened from pain, his mind near oblivion, and he suddenly threw a wild, reckless punch forward.

With a muffled thud, the largest energy puppet, clutching an empty bottle, darted past him and was squarely hit by his punch.

On the metal spider's bulky belly, a clear fist imprint half an inch deep appeared.

The clear fist imprint looked as if a master craftsman had meticulously carved it, every detail on the bone distinctly visible.

Old Iron and Da Tie both sucked in a cold breath; Da Tie spun rapidly on the spot three times, chirping urgently at Old Iron with 'goo gee goo gee'.

Old Iron's eyes almost solidified the Blood Light into substance.

He muttered a few unintelligible words, then nodded firmly: "A single horn is like this… so what if it were the entire flood dragon's skeleton?"

"Besides, Grandpa I remember that day… this kid's finger seemed to shatter that guy's straight blade, likewise swallowing the metal essence from that straight blade."

"Let's kill that flood dragon…"

Old Iron slapped a paw onto Da Tie's big head: "Besides, how rich are the mineral deposits here? Have these energy puppets speed up the mining!"

"You, as part of the Ancient God Army Camp, ought to make some use of yourself."

Wu Tie's left palm was burned to split skin and rotting flesh, a charred mess, and he had fainted from the pain.

Old Iron snatched him up with a claw and dragged him toward the Metal Hall where Yang Jian resided.

As they walked, he muttered indistinctly.

"This is both good and bad… surely it won't come to the point that every time he fights, his flesh and blood go flying everywhere? That would truly be… a sight to behold…"