Chapter 52: Preparations Before Departure

Just over ten li ahead lies that enormous fissure, dozens of li wide.

The viscous magma flowed like the blood of a demon god, constantly surging out of the fissure; boiling magma sometimes splashed several li away, plunging like a waterfall into the bottomless abyss.

Here the temperature is extremely high; after Wu Tie took off his armor helmet, his hair was scorched by the heat, giving off a pungent smell.

Several li away, a rolling great river surged past, likewise sliding into the depths below.

Massive amounts of magma and water collided in the abyss; large volumes of water vapor rolled back, turning into high-temperature steam that shot up to the dome, then spread outward under high pressure along the dome to all sides of the secret realm.

This place was like hell; the air violently undulated, vision twisted, and everything became hazy and illusory.

Wu Tie cradled that huge skull of the Heavenly Crystal Demon, standing at the edge of the abyss and looking down.

Below was a blaze of firelight; faintly, a lake of molten lava lay there. Adjacent to the lava lake, a great lake rippled with waves, constantly sending up great sheets of white vapor, and a low rumble could be heard from vortices in the lake.

Water and fire coexisting, this wondrous sight left Wu Tie speechless.

After gazing for a while, the dazzling firelight below made Wu Tie feel a bit dizzy; he shook his head and turned his gaze to the large skull in his hand.

"Old Tie, what exactly is a Heavenly Crystal Demon?" Wu Tie weighed the skull in his hand.

With his current strength, he felt the skull was quite heavy. Roughly estimating, this demon skull, about the size of Old Tie's head, likely weighed fifteen to sixteen thousand catties.

Such density is astonishing.

"An enemy." Old Tie replied curtly.

"What kind of enemy?" Wu Tie asked curiously.

After a moment of silence, Old Tie said in a low voice: "They destroyed everything we once had—a terrifying enemy… the Heavenly Crystal Demon; you should have seen their power. In the cavern where the Ox Hero fell in battle, those crystal clusters are the condensed remnants of the Heavenly Crystal Demon's power."

"Turn soil and stone into seven‑colored crystal?" Wu Tie looked at Old Tie.

"Not only soil and stone—anything tangible or intangible, once tainted by their power, turns to crystal." Old Tie said solemnly: "If it is flesh and blood, their power will turn it into an evil‑demon puppet, to be commanded at their will."

"This skull is dead, yet it remains a dreadful source of pollution." Old Tie sighed: "Throw it down. I lack the power to destroy it now; I can only deal with it using magma."

Wu Tie aimed at the magma lake below and hurled the skull down hard.

The huge skull landed precisely at the center of the magma lake, sending up a wave over a hundred meters high; a roll of the magma swallowed the skull.

The hot magma will slowly scorch the skull, reducing the crystal energy it releases to nothing.

"How long will it take to refine this skull?" Wu Tie gave one last glance at the boiling magma lake, then followed Old Tie as they turned and left this terrifying abyss.

"This guy was strong before death… probably, a hundred thousand years… a hundred thousand years for this skull to be refined." Old Tie walked on, speaking softly: "Fortunately, it's only a skull; if his whole body were here, ordinary magma could do nothing against him."

Along the river's edge, Wu Tie and Old Tie walked quickly.

A group of metal spiders bore Old Tie's two arms, keeping close beside them.

In the distance, Mist Blade assassins flickered in and out of sight, also closely following Wu Tie and Old Tie, assuming a tight surveillance posture.

Wu Tie was annoyed by the surveillance of the Mist Blade assassins; several times he charged out wanting to drag out two unlucky fellows and beat them up, but the moment he moved, the assassins bolted.

Their talent for concealing their whereabouts was extraordinary; after a few detours, Wu Tie could no longer find them.

After several repetitions, on the way back to the Ancient God Soldier Camp, Wu Tie also grew too lazy to bother with them.

Merely, Wu Tie felt a faint unease in his heart.

The Mist Blade Chief Steward arrived; the Mist Blade launched a large‑scale invasion of this secret realm, and the Changsheng Sect's outposts had already been subdued by force a few days earlier, with both outposts now fully under Mist Blade control.

This secret realm… was no longer Wu Tie's alone.

"Little guy, we should leave." Old Tie muttered lowly as he walked.

"Leave?" Wu Tie was somewhat reluctant.

Toward this secret realm, toward the Ancient God Soldier Camp, Wu Tie had developed an inexplicable affection.

At his weakest, most helpless, near collapse, Wu Tie met Old Tie here, met Da Tie, stepped onto the path of cultivation, and gained a chance to grow stronger……

He was filled with feeling for this place.

Old Tie suddenly said they should leave?

"You said before, we would…" Wu Tie recalled when Shi Lingqing and the others first broke in, Old Tie had spoken those words full of fighting spirit.

"Those little fellows can become the whetstone that hones you." Old Tie muttered as he walked: "But now the enemy is too strong… even Grandpa Tie and I together are no match for them."

"The Mist Blade chief has the power to easily wipe you out." Old Tie gave a strange chuckle: "But he was frightened by Grandpa Tie, so he dares not act rashly."

"All anti‑movement factions are paper tigers… now we two old fogies are paper tigers." Old Tie sighed: "Relying on intimidation won't stop people… wait till they come to their senses… tsk tsk… the fate of the Guizhou donkey…"

"What's a Guizhou donkey?" Wu Tie looked at Old Tie, bewildered.

"Lacking culture, truly terrifying." Old Tie glared at Wu Tie with disdain: "Although it's not your fault, lacking culture is truly terrifying."

Wu Tie protested his innocence, spreading his hands and glaring at Old Tie with a hint of annoyance.

"Well, I'll tell you slowly later… anyway, we're leaving." Old Tie chuckled softly: "Those who had you attack the Changsheng Sect and the Mist Blade before were trying to give you combat experience, to let you grow gradually……

"But the people the Mist Blade sent are truly too strong—this exceeds the limits of 'practical training'… sending you on further adventures would be too dangerous."

"Come on, come on—for the Mist Blade and the Changsheng Sect, this is a treasure land… but for you, it's merely a prison." Old Tie said solemnly: "Even the Cangyan Realm, judging from that fellow's testimony, is just a remote backwater."

"Let's go out into a wider world." Old Tie chuckled: "More resources, broader experience, to make you stronger……

"Let you grow strong until……" Old Tie lifted his head and gazed at the heavy dome.

"Let you grow strong until you can personally see the heavens full of stars……" Old Tie smiled silently; though his grin was ferocious, it inexplicably made Wu Tie feel warm and reassured: "Little guy, believe me, that is the most beautiful sight."

"Especially, under starlight, if you could have the girl you love……" Old Tie's body suddenly shook violently, even emitting a 'gaga' sound; it seemed every joint in his body was twisting oddly, and great arcs of electricity burst from his neck.

"Old Tie?" Wu Tie looked at him worriedly.

Old Tie remained silent for a long while; the oddities on his body gradually faded, and from within him came the sweet voice of a woman.

She was singing; the melody was beautiful, the lyrics even more so.

After the song ended, Wu Tie and Old Tie were immersed in that lovely melody, saying nothing for a long time.

After a long, long time, Wu Tie finally sighed: "One more time, Old Tie?"

Old Tie shook his head, said nothing, and quickened his pace.

Wu Tie stood dazed, then hurried to catch up, laughing loudly: "Old Tie, do you have a girl you like?"

Suddenly, electric light burst forth, and thumb-thick currents shot out from Lao Tie's two rows of big teeth, sweeping over Wu Tie's whole body with a 'hualala' sound. Wu Tie wailed 'aow aow', his whole body twitching as he collapsed to the ground, countless electric sparks continuously spraying from him.

"Under the rod, filial sons are born… a bear cub needs a beating to become useful." Lao Tie shouted loudly: "I think that saying is quite right."

Several hundred meters away, a team of Mist Blade assassins tasked with watching Wu Tie and Lao Tie stood blankly in a mushroom grove.

They stood there silently, faint moisture seeping from their eyes.

Even though they had undergone the Mist Blade's brutal training, even though they were assassins who could kill without blinking an eye.

When that sweet female voice began to sing that wonderful song…… even though they were far away and did not fully hear the lyrics, those Mist Blade assassins remained stiff in place, tears involuntarily welling up from instinct.

A pleasant emotion rippled in their hearts.

A warm force that softened their hardened spirits and strengthened their weak wills flowed from their hearts.

They had never been exposed to music.

They had never heard such a beautiful melody.

But some strange power spread from their blood, gradually growing, gradually seeping into their bodies and souls. They were like a group of ignorant beasts, and in their souls drowned in darkness and slaughter, a glimmer of light awakened.

"There is a fox…… Sui Sui……" a Mist Blade assassin muttered those four words in a low voice.

……

Openly, in front of the Mist Blade assassins assigned to watch them, Wu Tie and Lao Tie passed through the passage and returned to the Ancient Divine Arms Camp.

Openly, Wu Tie led a large group of leaping metal spiders, hunting hippopotamuses and other large prey by the great river. Chunks of flesh were transported back to the Ancient Divine Arms Camp, quickly turned into bottle after bottle of Foundation Establishment elixir.

Openly, Wu Tie and Lao Tie arrived before the Mist Blade's massive chain, watching huge barges shuttle back and forth, transporting vast amounts of supplies and slaves.

Wu Tie even climbed up that water-tank-thick chain, and in front of the Mist Blade assassins, he and Lao Tie discussed the possibility of leaving this secret realm by following the chain.

The number of Mist Blade assassins lurking around the Ancient Divine Arms Camp kept increasing.

Even several days later, the Chief Steward of the Mist Blade personally came to a spot less than a hundred meters from the entrance of the Ancient Divine Arms Camp, observing its movements up close.

The passage of the Ancient Divine Arms Camp opened, and Da Tie emerged from it with a blank expression.

Several meters tall, with a whole body of grim white, the giant metal skull-shaped Da Tie obviously frightened the Mist Blade Chief Steward, who cautiously retreated immediately, pulling back all nearby Mist Blade assassins as well.

Wu Tie continued to hunt large quantities of prey each day, steadily stockpiling Foundation Establishment elixir.

In just a few days, after Wu Tie had stockpiled over a thousand bottles of Foundation Establishment elixir, Lao Tie had him swallow the two flood-dragon horns again.

Another wave of excruciating pain like being half-dead, this time half of his forearm was burned until the skin split and flesh tore open; the color of Wu Tie's left forearm bone deepened considerably, and the bone became extraordinarily hard, reaching the level where crushed stone turns to powder.

After Wu Tie had swallowed the two dragon horns, Lao Tie took his original two arms and walked into another newly appeared metal hall.

Wu Tie waited anxiously outside, she also didn't know what Lao Tie was doing inside.

His current body is that of a Howling Heaven Dog.

Could it be that Lao Tie could still attach his own arms to the body of a Howling Heaven Dog?

A human head, a dog's body, plus two humanoid arms…… Wu Tie thought about that form and found it utterly beautiful.

The False Sun rose, then went out.

After three full days passed like this, Lao Tie finally walked out of that metal hall.

The metal spiders that had been swarming throughout the Ancient Divine Arms Camp all disappeared; Lao Tie's stature grew a notch, he leisurely walked up to Wu Tie, then suddenly a flash of light shone on his body, two clusters of flowing light rotated behind him, the nearby flesh writhed, and two slender metal arms shot out.

'Haha'!

Lao Tie burst into laughter, his two arms—each four times the length of a normal person's—swung lightly, his ten fingers nimbly forming one strange gesture after another. He looked at Wu Tie with pride: "How about that, a genius-like idea…… now that I have these two arms…… hehe."

Wu Tie looked at Lao Tie, bewildered: "What are you planning to use them for?"

Lao Tie pondered for a moment, lifted his head to gaze at the ceiling, and said gently: "This is a sentiment, after all, they are my own two arms…… and don't you think, when Grandpa I lunges forward to bite someone, people guard against my gaping mouth……"

The two arms suddenly retracted into his body; the next instant, a stream of light spun in Lao Tie's abdomen, one arm shot out at high speed, clenched into a fist and thrust forward in a feigned punch, the fist stopping soundlessly about three cun below Wu Tie's lower abdomen……

"Lifting-Yin Fist…… how is it?" Lao Tie laughed with brows relaxed and eyes smiling: "A very creative move, right?"

Wu Tie gaped in shock.

Looking at the large fist halted three cun before his vital spot, Wu Tie racked his brains and finally came up with a fairly definite word as a reply.

"Lewd…… extremely lewd…… Lao Tie, you are truly too lewd." Wu Tie was speechless at Lao Tie's sudden brainwave.

He realized that since merging with the Howling Heaven Dog's body, Lao Tie had not only learned to bark 'woof woof' wildly, but his behavior had also become a bit strange. He didn't know whether this was his nature or an influence from the Howling Heaven Dog's body.

"Hahaha!" Lao Tie merely laughed a few times, turned around, his eyes flashing with Blood Light, and looked toward Da Tie.

"Da Tie, we are leaving…… this little brat Xiao Tie needs to grow, and here, obviously, cannot provide him a safe environment to grow up."

"We are leaving, so prepare to seal the Ancient Divine Arms Camp."

"Wait for us to return."

"We will definitely return."

"Then we will go back, and we will kill our way back together." Lao Tie laughed low and deep, his laughter filled with a hint of near‑mad killing intent.