Chapter 570: Return to the Triple-Linked City

The deep and secluded passageway was twenty to thirty zhang wide and about a hundred zhang high.

Such passageways are commonplace in the subterranean world, their status comparable to relatively spacious alleys in small to medium-sized cities on the surface; they are the most basic thoroughfares.

Luminous moss clung to the stone walls, casting various cold lights that painted the passageway in myriad colors; though a bit chilly, it was quite splendid. Countless tiny spiders, lizards, centipedes, millipedes and other small creatures darted through the mossy heaps, the big eating the small, the small eating the smaller, brimming with the vigor of the weak yet fiercely wild.

The Yin-Yang Daoist walked with his hands behind his back, taking large strides down the passageway.

With his cultivation, traversing the void was trivial, but today he preferred to loosen his steps and walk relying on bodily strength.

Because at his side, starting from his left, the first was Wu Jin, the second Wu Yin, and the third Wu Tong.

Wu Zhan had been sent out from the Wu family to establish a tiny clan in the remote barbaric lands; today the four brothers—gold, silver, copper, and iron—were finally reunited.

Thus the Yin-Yang Daoist strode forward head high and chest out, baring his torso like Wu Tie currently does—shirtless, drenched in sweat, taking large steps.

Wu Jin, Wu Yin, and Wu Tong did the same, simply wrapping their robes around their waists, baring their upper bodies to reveal blocks of mighty muscle, roaring loudly the lofty, stirring ancestral war chant of the Wu tribe, their steps thundering like rolling thunder as they marched forward.

Behind them were the 120,000 elite warriors of the Wu tribe.

The 120,000 stalwart men of the Wu tribe.

The 120,000 brave warriors of the Wu tribe.

The 120,000 heroes of the Wu tribe.

The 120,000 men who had taken wives, borne descendants, and had brothers and sisters, fearing neither the extinction of their lineage nor their elders left without care, harboring no rear anxieties, and whose fervent blood could at any moment spill over enemies for their kin—these were the Wu family's youths.

When they set out, the Wu tribe's ancestral temple had already enshrined their spirit tablets.

When they set out, the Wu tribe's graveyard already held their empty tombs.

When they set out, their children had already performed the great rite of offering sacrifices to their deceased ancestors as descendants, presenting wine, threefold animal offerings, burning paper and incense, observing the Wu tribe's most traditional rites.

Furthermore, they shaved their heads and beards, taking on the guise of the dead to bid farewell to their parents and elders.

These were the 120,000 men of fervent blood and soaring battle spirit who had already regarded themselves as the dead, yet remained generous souls.

In the Wu tribe's ancestral temple hall, they kowtowed before the spirit tablets of all ancestors, exchanged blood oaths, pledging their lives, souls, and the glory of their forebears to all ancestors, swearing that from this day forth they would be the blade in Wu Tie's hand.

Where the blade points, I am invincible!

Forged from one's own blood and flesh, using the spine bone that has never broken since the primordial ancestors, tempered with the bloodline unsullied since the age of ancient myth, a steel blade was wrought that would bend but never yield.

Either slay the enemy, or break oneself.

O 120,000 finest youths of the Wu tribe, they willingly opened their divine fetuses and souls, allowing the Wu ancestors to scrutinize, examine, discern, and appraise them in the utmost minute detail within their divine fetuses and souls.

Not one was a traitor, not one a spy; all were truly genuine, the purest and bravest youths of the Wu family.

In the past, who would dare—even if it were the highest-ranking elder of the Wu tribe—to say to a Wu youth, 'Open your divine soul and fetus, let us carefully examine whether you are a spy sent by surface demons'!

Not a single Wu elder dared to say such a thing, or to do so.

The youths of the Wu tribe are proud, even arrogantly proud; though occasionally one or two among them—rare as a once-in-ten-thousand-years occurrence—might emerge, having gone mad or become possessed, suddenly appearing as traitors who collude with outsiders.

But 99.9999% of the Wu tribe's youths are heroes, fine fellows.

They are rough, wild, proud, arrogant, unruly, and sometimes act lawlessly. They may fly into a frenzy and beat you senseless if they dislike your looks, but they never actively oppress the weak, nor bully helpless women!

Pride, dignity, supreme glory—this is etched into their blood, passed down generation after generation as ultimate honor.

Any act questioning their loyalty and dignity, even if committed by the highest-ranking elder of the Wu tribe, would not dare to cast even the slightest doubt upon the most ordinary clansman… the result of your doubt, whether he is guilty or not, he shall surely die!

Such absolute, extreme pride; such absolute, extreme dignity; such absolute, extreme nobility!

In the legends of primordial myth, there existed a great civilization called 'Huaxia'!

'Because of its grand rites, it is called Xia; because of its beautiful attire, it is called Hua'!

It was an age of unparalleled brilliance and splendor.

It was a civilization of unmatched honor and nobility.

Even though the primordial age has long vanished into the river of time, these peoples hidden underground, sealed by thick rock strata, who spend a lifetime never seeing a ray of sunlight or feeling a drop of dew, still carry in their bones, marrow, and blood the engraving of all the beauty and dignity of 'Huaxia'.

The Yin-Yang Daoist—oh, no, Wu Tie and his three blood brothers—marched shoulder to shoulder down the passageway, striding forward with large steps, laughing loudly as sweat drenched their backs.

Brothers, my brothers.

Brothers bound by flesh and blood, brothers bound by lineage, brothers who share the same parents, the same sun, moon, and stars, the same patch of heaven and earth, the same universe, the same ancestral origin, the same cradle of civilization!

When brothers are of one heart, their profit can cut gold.

When brothers are together, what is there to fear?

"What if we are smashed to bits on this journey?" Wu Tie roared loudly.

"Hahaha, I, the eldest brother, will stand before you." Wu Jin bellowed with force, like a fierce, ferocious mountain gorilla guarding its calf, his voice deep yet full of power: "I am the eldest brother; if anyone must die, I will go first!"

Wu Jin grinned widely, a happy smile on his face: "I have three wives, I have eleven sons, each a fine child… the spark passes on, the bloodline never ends; what do I have to fear from being smashed to bits?"

Wu Yin suddenly raised both hands; a flash of cold light flickered in his palms, and a long blade emanating a chilling killing aura sprang forth from his grasp.

The long blade rang out loftily; Wu Yin, tears streaming, bellowed loudly: "Having wife and children, an unbroken bloodline is enough… thinking back, thinking back… Wu Yin feels ashamed, having let the eldest brother toil and the younger brother wander… even if we are smashed to bits, we will pierce a hole in that heaven!"

Wu Yin shouted shrilly: "My clan, my Wu tribe's youths, why must we be confined to the sunless depths underground?"

Wu Yin's eyes turned scarlet as he let out a long, fierce howl: "Even if heaven itself becomes my enemy on this journey, I will seek it out and demand an answer!"

Wu Tong merely nodded firmly, then gave Wu Tie's shoulder a hard pat, shouting sternly: "If we are to be smashed to bits, I will die first, then it will be your turn. In this sortie, we may well all die—so think the ancestors, so think our parents, so think we, so think our brothers."

"Merely, even if we die, we must seek justice, we must demand clarity."

"Under whose rule is this realm, this universe… why must we brothers, so heroic and outstanding, our youths, be confined underground like maggots and worms, merely scraping by?"

Wu Tong gritted his teeth and produced a ruby-red, premium apple that Wu Tie had brought back from the surface.

He greedily brought his nose to the apple, murmuring low: "I ask for nothing; I only wish to say that my son, my grandson, my great-grandson, and all descendants generation after generation, since they are born in this world, they deserve the equal right to live well."

"Even if it is merely a single fruit."

"Even if it is merely a breeze carrying the scent of grass, even if it is merely a mist hinting with flower fragrance, even if… how does that saying go again? Brother Four? I, the elder brother, am foolish—how does that lovely phrase go?"

Wu Tie smiled, tears streaming down his face, looking at his three brothers with joy and heroic vigor.

"A night of spring rain heard from a small tower, in the deep lane morning sees apricot blossoms sold!" Wu Tie lightly patted Wu Tong's shoulder and laughed loudly: "Remember that—next time don't say it in front of all these brothers, or you'll lose face, right?"

Wu Tong burst into loud laughter, roaring: "A night of spring rain heard from a small tower, in the deep lane morning sees apricot blossoms sold… hahaha, may my descendants, may my descendants, for thousands and myriad generations, be able to lie drunk in a small tower listening to spring rain, and also stroll in the rain, laughing at the apricot blossoms!"

Wu Tong's eyes suddenly turned completely red, as if blood could drip from them: "I, I, I... actually, Little Tie, I've never seen apricot blossoms... I've never seen spring rain either... but, that must be a beautiful thing, right?"

Wu Tie nodded vigorously, he was serious, he glanced at Wu Jin, Wu Yin, and Wu Tong one by one, and said in a deep voice: "Beautiful, very beautiful, extremely beautiful... far more beautiful than your wives... really. I'm not saying my sisters-in-law are ugly; they're all great beauties... but, once you truly see apricot blossoms and spring rain... you will believe... there exists a kind of beauty in the world that transcends everything..."

Wu Tie drew a deep breath and murmured: "That beauty is called freedom... called nature... called great ease and leisure... called... my fate is in my own hands, not heaven's!"

Behind them, the 120,000 Wu tribesmen strained their ears, listening intently without missing a word to Wu Tie and the others speaking; they all drew a deep breath together, and then a terrifying whirlwind rose in the passageway.

Afterwards, the 120,000 Wu tribesmen, even the weakest among them at the half-step Fetal Storage realm, roared in unison in low voices: "My fate is in my own hands, not heaven's! Apricot blossoms and spring rain... even if we are smashed to bits, our descendants... they too should, heads held high, live beneath that expanse of sun, moon, and stars!"

The Wu tribe's secret art took effect at this moment; the 120,000 people's thoughts became completely unified, without any deviation. Their thoughts formed a powerful, constant frequency, and everyone's mental fluctuations merged as one. Thus, using the same frequency and the same tone, they spoke in unison with identical words.

Among these Wu tribesmen, the oldest is already nearly a thousand years old.

In their long lifespans, they have participated in multiple surprise attacks against the Divine Kingdom of Great Jin.

For a trace of sun and moon essence, to give the Wu tribesmen a slight increase in cultivation talent, and to give the Wu descendants a slight chance to defy fate and change their destiny, they repeatedly charged onto the surface, madly battling the Great Jin's Demon-Suppressing Palace.

Countless brothers were slain before their eyes.

Countless brothers watched helplessly as they were smashed to pieces.

Countless elders, to shield their escape, were smashed to pieces under the overwhelmingly superior mighty armaments of the Great Jin Divine Kingdom.

Countless elders, to ensure the safety of a secret passageway, roared as they sacrificed their natal Wu treasures, drawing the attention of the Great Jin's powerful experts, leading the strong foes far away for hundreds of millions of miles, and finally perishing in ashes and smoke beneath the Great Jin Divine Kingdom's national divine artifact.

Compared to cultivators at the peak of the Fetal Storage realm, a thousand years of age is merely childhood.

However, these Wu tribesmen who are a thousand years old have hearts riddled with a thousand wounds; they even think they no longer have passion or hot blood, that their hearts hold only hatred, only madness, only hysterical frenzy to madly retaliate against the Great Jin Divine Kingdom.

Wu Tie brought them hope; Wu Tie brought hope to the entire Wu tribe.

Their descendants, perhaps, will not need many years before they can truly bask in the radiance of sun, moon, and stars, enjoy the nourishment of wind, frost, rain, and dew, consume warm-blooded birds and beasts, and no longer need to feed on those cold-blooded reptiles.

No one spoke, but the 120,000 Wu tribesmen roared in their hearts: "If we go forth and are smashed to bits, let our bones and blood mist forge for you a solid Great Wall!"

"Perhaps our flesh-and-blood Great Wall may one day collapse completely... but our spirit, our will, our bloodline, will forever accompany you forward!"

"Even if it means being enemies of the heavens!"

120,004 people, the step frequency of so many people became uniform, without any deviation.

The passageway trembled slightly; the Wu family youths marched in rows of six, each row spaced three zhang apart, the column stretching tens of thousands of zhang, extending dozens of li.

Wherever the dragon-like troop passed, countless small creatures fled in panicked, disheveled runs; many sneaky little groups hastily packed their bundles and, at top speed, retreated from the passageway.

As they marched on, Wu Tie unleashed his divine abilities; a gust of fierce wind wrapped around the tribesmen's troop, their running speed grew ever faster, and gradually, familiar landmarks appeared ahead; Wu Tie burst out laughing loudly.

"Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother, up ahead is Triple-Linked City... I know those brothers are in Triple-Linked City... Haha, this is indeed a fine place of literary fragrance, hehe, I wonder if those guys' bones have been softened by ink? I wonder if they have the guts to follow me outside and fight to the death."

Before them, on a smooth, seamless rock face, a flash of splendid light flickered, and Mozhang Wang, clad in a fur-lined blue robe, strode out with large steps.

He pointed at Wu Tie, then lunged forward fiercely.

Wu Tie laughed wildly as he rushed up, tightly embracing Mozhang Wang, then they pounded each other's backs hard with their fists.

"You're back?" Mozhang Wang madly punched Wu Tie dozens of times, then looked at him seriously and asked.

"I'm back!" Wu Tie laughed especially brightly.

"Can you still leave?" Mozhang Wang frowned at Wu Tie.

"If I'm leaving, I still want to drag the brothers along to play for keeps... hehe, dare you? Will you go?" Wu Tie looked at Mozhang Wang full of malice.

"Not going makes you a grandson... I've already been bored to death... but I want to leave; unless you can move Triple-Linked City along with me, I can't go. As it stands, I'm now the artifact spirit of Triple-Linked City, unable to leave." Mozhang Wang spread his hands helplessly, looked at Wu Tie seriously: "If you're really going to go fight to the death... then go fight to the death."