Chapter 599: The Starry Sky Shines Brilliantly

Under the same starry sky, the same curses, as the black clouds spewed from the Black Heaven Cauldron rapidly spread, continuously echoed throughout An Kingdom.

"Treacherous king… you deserve to die!"

"Treacherous… truly treacherous!"

"The state is about to perish… ominous fiend!"

"You little beast… shut up! Are you going to bring disaster upon our family?"

Vast starlight and moonlight poured down like a tide; where the black mist of the Black Heaven Cauldron passed, light instantly withdrew, the earth fell into darkness, countless noble clans and commoners shouted curses in unison, and some even spoke without restraint, uttering words sufficient to condemn them of great treason.

Linghu Qingqing has just established the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom, and you say the state is about to perish… hehe!

Wu Tie stood atop the black clouds, above his head the Black Heaven Cauldron spewed forth vast black divine light, rolling black clouds surged rapidly in all directions, and the mana within his body was burning and being consumed at a terrifying rate.

Despite Wu Tie's deep reserves and the immense mana he possessed from the divine fetus condensed in his former vast life pool, even that was nearly drained in an instant by the fully driven Black Heaven Cauldron, giving Wu Tie the feeling that his very marrow was about to be sucked dry by the cauldron.

Driving the Black Heaven Cauldron relies solely on mana activation, having nothing to do with physical strength.

Even if Wu Tie's bones had mutated to an inhuman degree, even if his flesh had reached the stage of bodily sanctity, his mana cultivation still fell far short of the Black Heaven Cauldron's terrifying consumption.

"At most, one percent of Jade Province!" Wu Tie gritted his teeth.

With his cultivation, when he fully drives the Black Heaven Cauldron, the black clouds can cover at most one percent of Jade Province!

"Brothers, aid me!" Wu Tie howled to the heavens: "Haha, the land of the Nine Provinces is my fief; every blade of grass, every grain of sand, every trace of starlight is mine, mine, mine!"

One hundred twenty thousand Wu Tribe youths shouted in unison, they once again invoked the Wu Tribe's secret technique.

One hundred twenty thousand Wu Tribe elites, plus the three brothers Wu Jin, Wu Yin, and Wu Tong, had the soul fluctuations of another 120,000 three individuals gradually harmonize, reaching perfect unity. Wu Tie's soul fluctuations swiftly merged in, becoming one with the soul fluctuations of those other three fellow tribesmen among the 120,000.

Wu Tie again felt that almost omnipotent sensation; between heaven and earth, every blade of grass, every speck of dust was condensed by the Great Dao, and in his eyes and in his soul perception, all mysteries of heaven and earth were grasped by him at this moment.

Tens of millions of Five Elements Spirits shouted in unison.

The Five Elements Spirits are innately simple and primitive, their minds pure and clear, utterly free of distracting thoughts. They regard Wu Tie as the reincarnation of their holy ancestor; their worship of him is as pure as that of fervent believers toward their deity.

The Five Elements Spirits tribe dwells around An Yi.

Aside from the tens of millions of elite Five Elements Spirits arrayed in the sky, the Five Elements Spirits living in various towns and villages poured out of their homes, devoutly bowing to Wu Tie, their pure five-element mana surging forth in great waves and flowing into the massive heavenly array.

The Four Spirit Warships emitted dazzling brilliance; arranged in the nine palaces directions, the Four Spirit Warships occupied the four cardinal directions of heaven and earth, Wu Tie stood at the center, commanding the power of earth, occupying the central position of the Earth Wu Qilin.

The military formation composed of Five Elements Spirits, with the immense mana of hundreds of millions of Five Elements Spirits within them merging into one, after being transformed by the Four Spirit Warships, continuously poured into Wu Tie's body, then after being refined and condensed by Wu Tie's Five Elements Divine Light, surged into the Black Heaven Cauldron like a tsunami.

The Black Heaven Cauldron emitted a terrifying roar, as black meteors trailing black flames tens of thousands of zhang long spewed from the great cauldron, exploding in the sky with a "boom—boom—boom", bursting into clusters of black clouds that rapidly spread outward.

The huge black meteors moved at extreme speed, as fast as lightning; in a snap of the fingers they crossed hundreds of thousands of li, and after a few breaths, above the fief of the Nine Provinces under Wu Tie's domain, massive black meteors exploded one after another, vast black mist swiftly spread, enveloping the land in darkness.

The curses had originally only sounded around An Yi City, but with the rapid spatter of black meteors, curses from countless voices simultaneously transmitted from the skies over the Nine Provinces.

As subjects of An Kingdom's territory, even moderately informed families know that their ruler is King An "Huo Xiong", the one who slew the Great Black Heaven King of the Martial God State and seized their national treasure, the Black Heaven Cauldron—this "Huo Xiong"!

Black Heaven Cauldron!

National Treasure!

Capable of emitting boundless black mist, condensing myriad divine weapons to slay enemies, integrating offense and defense, ever-changing, it is truly a top-tier formidable heavy treasure.

But who could have imagined that the Black Heaven Cauldron could also emit boundless black clouds, shrouding the Nine Provinces, plundering the bright moonlight and starlight descending from the sky?

"You damnable traitorous king… you will not die a good death!"

"Heavens, open your eyes… how did such an utterly wicked villain fall upon us?"

"Huo Xiong… you are making enemies of all the great clans of the Nine Provinces… you, you, you, you are simply… unreasonable!"

At this moment, Wu Tie's soul received the support of the other three brothers among the 120,000.

By his own strength he could cover only one percent of the Nine Provinces, but with the soul support of these Wu Tribe kin, the immense mana provided by countless Five Elements Spirits, and aided by the Black Heaven Cauldron, this national treasure, his divine sense easily blanketed the Nine Provinces, even with plenty to spare.

Thus, Wu Tie pointed at the Black Heaven Cauldron; black meteors shot forth, howling as they sliced across the borders of the Nine Provinces, booming into the skies above the several dozen prefectures bordering An Kingdom, exploding with a "bang—bang" sound, covering roughly half of those prefectures' skies as well.

Linghu Qingqing established the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom; the more than a hundred prefectures surrounding Qingqiu City were originally the auspicious lands of the Great Jin Divine Kingdom, the core fertile region of the Great Jin Divine Kingdom, populous and rich beyond measure, thus those many prefectures had long been seized by the imperial relatives of the Linghu clan.

Each prefecture now has its lord, and these lords also bring their personal guards and confidants, eagerly awaiting the moonlight and starlight falling from the sky.

Half-dead, nearly half of the prefectural capitals were struck by the black meteors spewed from the Black Heaven Cauldron; black clouds roiled and dispersed, several prefectural capitals suddenly darkened, not a glimmer of starlight could fall.

"King An Huo Xiong… you have the gall of a dog!"

"You wretched thing, withdraw the black clouds, or I won't let this rest!"

"Huo Xiong, how dare you offend the imperial relatives? You wretched thing, withdraw this damned black mist, or your dog's head won't be safe!"

With a vast soul, boundless mana, thirty-six Four Spirit Warships serving as the array's hub to organize the mana, and the Black Heaven Cauldron as the array's core coordinating this terrifying soul and mana, Wu Tie now… faintly resembles a lofty deity; where the black clouds cover, all things lie within his mind.

Those rebukes, curses, and threats were naturally heard by him with perfect clarity.

"Hahaha, I am exactly this kind of person, I have done exactly this… if you have the guts, don't just shout, come, draw your sword and fight!" Wu Tie's voice turned into thunder, spreading along the black clouds with a "boom—boom—boom" in all directions.

The speed of sound transmission is slow; wanting Wu Tie's voice to reach across the Nine Provinces, even the surrounding several dozen prefectures, relying solely on the speed of sound itself is basically impossible. But through the resonance of the Black Heaven Cauldron, Wu Tie's voice sounds simultaneously within the black clouds.

The immense sound wave transformed into a heaven-earth hurricane, howling as it surged down from the black clouds.

The clan members of the great and small noble families who had shouted curses at Wu Tie, each letting out a "woo—woo" strange cry, were lifted high by the hurricane and then slammed heavily to the ground.

Countless splendid pavilions and towers were directly smashed to pieces by the hurricane, broken bricks and tiles flew wildly with the wind, beating the lowly cultivators among the noble servants and retainers to clutch their heads and flee like rats.

Above the several dozen prefectures afflicted by the fish pond calamity, a surge of rolling in the black clouds condensed into a pitch-black visage of Wu Tie spanning hundreds of li; he laughed loudly "hahaha" toward the cities below, then opened his mouth, and a series of frantic thunderbolts spewed from the great mouth formed by the cloud mass.

The defensive grand formations of several prefectural cities hastily activated, as rolling thunderbolts crashed down, shattering the city defenses' prohibitions with sparks of fire, and shaking each prefectural city to its foundations.

"I am right here, I have done just this; if you disagree, come fight me!"

"Hahaha, if you've got the guts, if you're a man, come, come, come, come beat me!"

"Hahaha, those who just cursed me, I have memorized your faces… from now on when you go out, each of you had better watch out for me!"

Upon the soil of the Nine Provinces, the curses came to an abrupt halt.

In the several dozen prefectures neighboring the Nine Provinces, the curses surged like a raging river, instantly rolling up and suddenly multiplying manyfold.

Roars, curses, rebukes, and denunciations shot up to the heavens; tens of thousands of Heavenly Dao Divine Soldiers, together with countless immortal and spirit soldiers, turned into a tide-like curtain of light that shot straight into the sky, heavily bombarding the black clouds.

A tremendous recoil force struck; Wu Tie's body trembled, his bones all faintly shook, and within him arose a thunderous roar.

This was the powerful cultivators among nearly half of the great clans in those several dozen prefectures acting in unison.

Although they did not form a battle array, with such a vast territory, they could not possibly form one.

But their numbers are too great, and each individual's cultivation is incredibly strong; when they all attack at once, it still shakes Wu Tie to the point of five labors and seven injuries, nearly causing him to spit out a mouthful of old blood.

"You've provoked public wrath, hey!" Wu Tie laughed with brows raised and eyes gleaming: "Hahaha, I love seeing your fury blaze to the heavens yet being utterly powerless against me… Come on, keep fighting! Hahaha, my Black Heaven Cauldron is madly plundering the stellar essence that originally belonged to you, undergoing a frenzied transformation and upgrade… Its power keeps growing!"

"I also intend to inscribe some newly comprehended Great Dao principles into the Black Heaven Cauldron, granting it greater might, making it more overbearing and more spiritual… I have gained countless benefits; you soft-bellied weaklings, can you bite me?"

Wu Tie burst out laughing; indeed, before everyone's eyes, a seven-colored iridescent torrent flew from his ring, dumping countless heavenly and earthly treasures and rare materials into the Black Heaven Cauldron.

Among these rare materials, many were taken from the bodies of the descending divine spirits slain by Ao Chi.

These items are quite a hassle to hold in hand; many of the heavenly and earthly treasures inside might be tribute offered to the gods by the three great divine kingdoms, and some are so valuable that just looking at them makes Wu Tie feel a tingling numbness in his claws.

So this time, taking advantage of this starlight illumination and divine favor, I will simply smelt all these treasures in one furnace!

Even the Seven Treasures Ruyi seized from the hands of the Venerable Dafang, Wu Tie also tossed into the Black Heaven Cauldron.

Whether the Black Heaven Cauldron devours the Seven Treasures Ruyi or vice versa, Wu Tie has already fully refined these two innate heavy treasures; giving them seven days, regardless of their willingness, Wu Tie will fuse them into one!

Through the experience of his three incarnations—Canghai Daoist, Yin-Yang Daoist, and Five-Elements Daoist—Wu Tie knows that a true treasure needs only one piece.

What's the point of having so many flashy trinkets?

The Seven Treasures Ruyi is also something that cannot see the light; Linghu Qingqing and the others have personally witnessed this treasure.

Rather than keeping it in hand without perfect use, it's better to melt it all in one furnace, giving birth to a greater, more terrifying supreme treasure as a means to counter the enemy!

Normally, Wu Tie would want to forge two innate heavy weapons, but he doesn't have the capability to do so at a moment's notice.

But this is such a good opportunity—120,000 plus three of his clan brothers wholeheartedly assist, countless Five Elements Spirits contribute mana for him to command, and the sky-filling starlight and moonlight pour down; this pure starlight and moonlight is boundless and surging, a heaven-sent opportunity for refining treasures!

If he doesn't act now, Wu Tie would be foolish, wouldn't he?

Not only the Seven Treasures Ruyi, but all the miscellaneous items on Wu Tie's person—things obtained over the years through deceit, plunder, and slaughter, both seen and unseen, including Gongyang Shenxing's Heavenly Net Seal—were casually tossed by him into the Black Heaven Cauldron.

Various smelting materials, and even countless alchemy ingredients!

Wu Tie laughed "haha"; at this moment his soul is so vast and pure that every second he can analyze and dissect the boundless mysteries of heaven and earth.

On his soul, strands of light dragons formed from condensed Great Dao principles flow rapidly, and one after another complete Great Dao principle continually merges rapidly with his divine fetus.

Three thousand Great Dao, eighty-four thousand minor paths.

The phantom jade disc floating behind Wu Tie's divine fetus becomes ever clearer and more substantial; thick, ancient Dao rhythms continually emanate from his rapidly growing divine fetus, while he frenziedly burns mana, and ever purer, more mystic mana surges from the divine fetus, filling the void in vast waves.

The 120,000 Wu tribe youths, together with the three brothers Wu Jin, Wu Yin, and Wu Tong, these clansmen of the Wu family, all took Wu Tie's soul as their guide and were led by him into some wondrous realm.

Before them appeared an endless, boundless ocean of the Great Dao.

The magnificent and wondrous cosmos of heaven and earth, the past and future of time and space, all the profound mysteries of the Great Dao were revealed before them without reservation.

The 120,000 plus three Wu tribe youths all spat blood simultaneously, with viscous black plasma continually gushing from their seven orifices; their bloodlines burned, and their power surged rapidly upward.

The Wu tribe cultivates, emphasizing bloodline and physique, while de-emphasizing mana and soul.

But at this moment, the cultivation path of these 120,000 plus three fine Wu tribe youths has been forcibly diverted by Wu Tie.

The Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique, the Wu tribe's various bloodline arts, plus the Original Shaman Classic—the tribe's fundamental method—as well as the myriad ancient qi-gong secrets recorded in Wu Tie's Primordial Classic, and the vast data from the massive database Wu Tie obtained from Lao Tie, all fused into one at this moment.

Soul power burns, boiling.

Just as the transformation occurring inside the Black Heaven Cauldron, Wu Tie boiled these terrifying, precious knowledges together with the mountain‑like jumble of chaotic materials within the cauldron, simmering them into a pot of porridge.

The phantom jade disc behind the divine fetus grows ever clearer, faintly showing a tendency to condense into substance.

Countless complex, mysterious ancient seal characters twisted and emerged from the jade disc, like countless tiny tadpoles wriggling and leaping on the disc, then turning into slender strands of faint, divinely aura‑filled golden characters that continually poured into the minds of the Wu tribe youths.

Wu Tie burst into an even louder mad laugh: "How about it, kids, let's make a big gamble?"

Amidst the "hahaha" mad laughter, Wu Tie, without waiting for the Five Elements Spirits to speak, with a hint of hysterical madness, forcibly dragged billions of Five Elements Spirits into the raging surge of the soul tempest at once.

The Five Elements Spirits' bodies shuddered; many of those with low cultivation nearly exploded and died.

However, the rolling tide of five‑elemental power surged in, and from within the Black Heaven Cauldron a rich medicinal fragrance wafted out; these Five Elements Spirits' bodies twitched, then their nearly shattered forms instantly healed, after which they began to rapidly increase in strength.

The Five Elements Spirits—five tribes originally each specialized in cultivating only one aspect of the Five Elements' Great Dao power.

At this moment, the entire Five Elements Spirits tribe's rhythm has been thrown off; the wondrous law of mutual generation and restriction among the Five Elements turns in all their minds—metal produces water, water produces wood, wood produces fire, fire produces earth, earth produces metal…

Innate and acquired, the Five Elements' generation‑over‑control transformations.

On the wood essence, blazing flames ignite; on the fire essence, heavy magma surges forth; within the earth essence, threads of sharp Geng metal qi arise; within the metal essence, piercing cold air erupts; within the water essence, winds and thunder of Wu earth howl…

Thereafter, the changes grew more numerous and greater; not only mana aura but even bloodline power shifted, increased, and refined…

The innate Five Elements barrier separating the Five Elements Spirits tribes was forcibly shattered by Wu Tie.

From this moment on, within the Five Elements Spirits tribe, only infants will specialize in a single Five Elements Great Dao; as they age, their bloodline rises, cultivation strengthens, and soul grows robust, they will gradually branch out to comprehend the other Five Elements Divine Abilities.

Theoretically, the strongest Five Elements Spirits can cultivate both innate and acquired Five Elements Great Dao.

If their fortune is favorable, they might even become another Peacock Bright King!

The Black Heaven Cauldron emitted a black fog that filled the heavens and earth, completely shrouding the surroundings of Anyi; aside from Wu Tie and his companions, no one knows what happens in that mist or what is being brewed.

The Black Heaven Cauldron roared madly, shaking.

The Seven Treasures Ruyi frantically attacks the Black Heaven Cauldron, seeking to devour it.

The Black Heaven Cauldron desperately attacks the Seven Treasures Ruyi, while simultaneously smelting the mountain‑like heap of miscellaneous strange treasures within itself.

Starlight poured down from the sky, brilliant like diamond jewels, a tide‑like flow of stellar light greedily devoured by the black mist expelled from the Black Heaven Cauldron.