Chapter 622: Half-Step Divine

The Four Spirit Warship hovered in the air.

On the balustrade of the side of the central ship deck, a hundred-zhang long and over ten-zhang wide, Bai He stood on tiptoe, her posture light, as if about to ride the wind away.

Wu Tie sat upright beside the square table, smiling as he gazed at the half-moon in the sky, his whole body flickering with rich, hazy starlight.

At this moment, heaven and man are one.

At this moment, the mind seals the universe.

The star-essence crystals hoarded inside the God-Beating Whip burned rapidly, and in an instant half of them were gone.

On Wu Tie's Divine Fetus, three thousand sinuous Dao patterns like giant dragons and eighty-four thousand soaring patterns like flood dragons had fully formed, perfectly integrated with the Divine Fetus without a single flaw.

His whole body crystalline like seven-colored glazed ware, the Divine Fetus over ten thousand zhang tall sat cross-legged in the void, breathing like a living person, each inhalation drawing in a torrent of seven-colored flow, these seven-colored torrents being nothing but the purest star-essence.

Behind the Divine Fetus hung a round, immaculate jade disc tens of thousands of zhang in diameter, emitting boundless clear light that illuminated the void.

Only with this moment's enlightenment did Wu Tie finally complete the water-milling effort of the Embryo Storage Realm of the Primordial Classic.

The price paid was seventy percent of all the star-essence gathered over seven nights from the hundred-plus prefectures surrounding Green Hill City.

Wu Tie heaved a deep breath, then the void violently shuddered; the ley lines within ten million li around Demon-Suppressing City faintly trembled, hilltops shook, great masses of stone shattered and continually slid down the mountainsides.

From the distant canyon came the muffled sound of falling stones hitting the ground.

The subsequent techniques of the Primordial Classic rushed through his mind; Wu Tie laughed, and within his Divine Fetus a blinding golden light shot up, turning into rolling flames that swept the void. Within the golden flames, countless mysterious runes condensed into dragon-like Dao patterns that howled forth like a gale, rushing into Wu Tie's body.

With a "hiss-hiss" sound, extremely fine golden lines sprouted on Wu Tie's palms, the golden lines burning, causing even his mighty body to feel intense heat and pain.

With a "whoosh", the inner light of Wu Tie's Divine Fetus flickered, the towering golden sea of fire receded into the Divine Fetus. The golden Dao patterns on his palms gradually sank into flesh and blood, and finally his palms returned to normal skin tone.

"Dao-pattern tempering the body? Half-Step Divine?" Bai He was startled by the vibration on Wu Tie's palms, she turned her head in surprise and glanced at his hands: "Prince An, by what principle do you enter the Dao?"

Wu Tie closed his eyes, quietly sensing the changes occurring on his palms.

After a while, he gestured toward the rear; in the corner of the rear ship deck hall, a candle on a stand flickered, and a thread of extremely fine fire flew out, landing in the center of Wu Tie's left palm.

This thread of fine fire was like a living thing, dancing lightly in Wu Tie's palm.

With a thought from Wu Tie, the fire in his palm suddenly expanded to the thickness of a bowl's rim, seven or eight zhang long, then abruptly shrank to the fineness of a hair, over a foot long. Next, the fire exploded into countless specks like fireflies, swirling wildly around him; shortly after, the fire arranged itself before him into a neat ten-by-ten formation.

The fire writhed rapidly, each cluster outlining an extremely clear character.

"Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li, Zhou, Wu, Zheng, Wang..." the hundred points of light appearing before Wu Tie were exactly a hundred surnames.

"So this is the Half-Step Divine Realm? Indeed, somewhat mysterious." Wu Tie laughed brightly: "Before, when I cast various arts, my Divine Fetus 'borrowed' heavenly-earthly origin through the flesh, like seeing flowers through fog, always feeling lacking a layer."

"At this moment, I merely inscribed a trifling portion of the innate and acquired fire great Dao's Dao patterns on my palms, yet I can control fire's power with such exquisite precision…… Divine, divine, to know the divine is to illuminate the Dao……"

Wu Tie nodded to Bai He with a smile: "This feeling is indescribably wonderful… I, too, would like to cultivate supreme Dao of time, space, life, death and the like. But the road is vast and human strength limited."

Both hands ignited simultaneously; Wu Tie's palms suffered no harm in the golden flames, the heat capable of melting metal seeming nonexistent to his hands.

"I come from a military household, fortunately gained some fortune, have today's status and cultivation… reaching the Half-Step Divine Realm is already a great blessing, so the principle by which I enter the Dao is merely the most basic Five Elements Dao Law."

Smiling and nodding to Bai He, Wu Tie said: "I fortunately received some inheritance in the southwest, which also happens to be the Five Elements Great Dao."

Wu Tie's words were quite unrealistic.

But he could not possibly tell Bai He that he would eventually enter the Dao through all three thousand great Dao and eighty-four thousand side doors of heaven and earth.

If spoken, nobody would believe it; second, if they did believe, wouldn't it scare people to death?

Bai He pursed her lips and smiled: "The Five Elements Great Dao can be called the foundation of heaven and earth, and it's hardly a minor path. If the five elements' mutual generation and overcoming are used well, their power is boundless. Prince An's words are overly modest. His Imperial Grandfather said Prince An has extraordinary fortune; this battle prowess is also transcendent."

Wu Tie laughed heartily, "hahaha" loudly.

This truly was an unexpected delight.

In Anyi City, having seized the star-essence of over a hundred prefectures for seven nights, amidst the boundless star-light impact, with the tremendous spiritual consciousness brought by the soul resonance of 120,000 Wu clan youths, Wu Tie's perception and absorption of the heavenly-earthly Dao had reached an extremely profound level.

According to Wu Tie's own idea, at most ten years would suffice to imprint all remaining Dao laws and side-door left-hand paths onto his Divine Fetus, allowing him to perfectly complete the Embryo Storage Realm cultivation of the Primordial Classic.

But unexpectedly, after hearing Bai He's words and seeing her just-now immortal-like bearing, feeling enlightened, he instantly entered a state of sudden awakening. Combined with the consumption of a vast amount of star-essence, the cultivation originally estimated to take ten years was completed in the short span of half an incense stick's time.

Having reached the ultimate peak of the Embryo Storage Realm, then imprinting a thread of innate Bing fire Dao pattern on both hands, tempering the body with Dao patterns, this counts as properly stepping into the Half-Step Divine Realm.

Although it is merely the beginner's tier of the Half-Step Divine Realm, it still counts as properly having touched a hint of the 'divine' flavor.

The fire aura emanating from Wu Tie's hands slightly stirred the surrounding heavenly-earthly power, threads of dark clouds gathering from all directions, then quickly dissipating.

Wu Tie looked at the dark clouds in the sky and smiled.

Merely imprinting a little innate fire Dao pattern on the hands, when the whole body eventually completes the full fire Dao pattern imprint, it will draw fearsome heavenly thunder crashing down—that is the proper way to break through the Divine Realm, to properly welcome the Divine Tribulation.

Ordinary people who temper their bodies with the Dao patterns of a single great Dao will inevitably provoke an extermination-level Divine Tribulation.

Wu Tie felt a slight toothache; he tempered his divine body with the Dao patterns of three thousand great Dao and eighty-four thousand side doors simultaneously…… this…… what a magnificent Divine Tribulation he will face in the future!

"Heavenly God Order!" Wu Tie sighed faintly.

"When I, this palace, reforge the mountains and rivers, there will naturally be a Heavenly God Order to bestow upon Prince An…… Prince An, you need not worry about this." Bai He stood on tiptoe, gazing at the sky as dark clouds came and went in an instant, and soothed Wu Tie with a smiling murmur.

Having just been beaten by Zhu Ji and Ying Long, Zhao Bao stood on the wall of his clan's leaders, foolishly watching the sky's sudden gathering and dispersing of dark clouds.

"What's this momentum? Who started tempering their bodies with Dao patterns?" Zhao Bao shivered, snorted coldly: "What's the show-off? As a commander, I've seen many scions of generals who have reached the peak of the Embryo Storage Realm, but aside from those absolute core direct heirs qualified to inherit clan leadership, and whose clans rank among the top ten in the Divine State…… who dares take that step, who dares to temper their bodies with Dao patterns?"

"Hehe, the higher the cultivation, the quicker the death…… becoming a god? Don't even check if you have the fate for it!"

"In this world, masters at the peak of the Embryo Storage Realm are as numerous as the stars in the sky, countless…… but this Divine Realm…… hehe, how many could there be? How many could there be?"

"Goodness, Half-Step Divine Realm…… hum, becoming a god, becoming a god…… better to remain comfortably at the Embryo Storage Realm's peak and enjoy oneself fully."

A military staff officer hurried over and whispered a few words to Zhao Bao.

Zhao Bao's face instantly turned extraordinarily colorful; he instinctively glanced at the Xiang clan members hanging from the long poles, then suddenly burst out with a "pfft" laugh: "Oh dear, is this great sir starting to temper his body with Dao patterns? Hey, hey, there's a good show to watch."

"If this great sir could kill a few of those old immortals of the Xiang clan…… that would truly be a good show to watch."

He slapped his hand hard, Zhao Bao gleefully jumped down the wall and ran toward his usual office hall: "Quickly, send word to our household, just say the Xiang clan might suffer a major loss, see, see, whether we can snatch some advantage from their hands."

The red sun rose, illuminating the earth.

Beneath the eastern wall of the First Demon-Suppressing City, Wu Tie and Bai He were staging a good show.

All the prisoners held in the Demon-Suppressing City defense line had been bought by Wu Tie, and the price, as promised by Zhao Bao and Zhao Quan, was after a discount and then halved, making it far cheaper than the usual market rate.

Beside a large table, Wu Tie and Bai He signed documents; Wu Tie took the batch of captives he had just acquired—those most violent, most sinister, simultaneously cruel and murderous, and hard to tame, such as blood dwarves, black dwarves, sharp-toothed rat people, etc. —and resold them to the Bai He Chamber of Commerce at ten times the market price.

Zhao Bao, Zhao Quan, and others stood to the side, staring dumbfounded at this shameless transaction.

The reproductive capacity of dwarves, midgets, and rat people is extremely strong; their numbers far exceed those of powerful war tribes such as the ox tribe, werewolves, python people, snake people, and even giants. These blood dwarves, black dwarves, sharp-toothed rat people, etc., are numerous, almost accounting for one-tenth of the captives purchased by Wu Tie.

After selling them to the White Egret Merchant Association, Wu Tie not only recovered all the money spent on purchasing the captives, but also made a huge profit.

"This little woman is not simple…… This means she's made connections with the Prince An's Manor?" Zhao Bao whispered from the side: "Heroes find it hard to pass the beauty's gate, let alone a beauty who shoves huge amounts of money at heroes… Tsk, send word back to the family, check it out—what's the background of this White Egret Merchant Association? From now on, just avoid provoking them."

"Boom," a muffled thunder-like roar came from afar.

A giant figure over ten zhang tall, its body flashing with piercing blue light, burst out of the spatial gate.

A mighty, vast aura of essence and blood, as grand and boundless as the Yangtze River, surged forward; pressure in the void spiked. Wu Tie's Invincible Army—any of its troops arrayed at this transaction site—were forced backward by the pressure, millions of troops retreating in unison; several ten-thousand-strong units were driven to the deep moats beneath the city walls, and entire divisions nearly fell into moats hundreds of zhang deep.

"Boom, boom," two more loud booms sounded, and two more figures rushed out of the spatial gate.

One was wreathed in flames, the other swirling with gales, and their essence-blood aura sprang from the same source—vast, mighty, and overbearing, immensely imposing.

Wu Tie raised his head, watching the three giants slowly approaching from the direction of the spatial gate.

Wu Jin had already raised his right hand and roared: "Form ranks… organize formations… prepare for battle!"

The Invincible Army's soldiers let out low growls, immediately activating the formations they'd drilled in daily practice; hundred-man formations sprang up, then combined into thousand-man formations, which combined into ten-thousand-man formations.

Once the ten-thousand-man formation was set, the evoked killing aura army soul could barely withstand the terrifying pressure emanating from those three giants.

When the ten-thousand-man formations were assembled into a hundred-thousand-man formation, giant phantoms flickered above the formation; they could not only stand firm but even begin to move slowly.

When the hundred-thousand-man formations became a million-man formation, with a young scion of the Wu clan stationed at the center to direct and coordinate the vast magical power gathered into the formation's hub, the formation could move freely, and the killing aura army soul, like a steel blade, cleaved the oppressive pressure pressing down from above.

In the sky, the Five Element Spirits had also completed their formation; above their array, five‑element light blazed brightly, and faintly a divine, extraordinary peacock could be seen.

Wu Tie firmly stamped the Prince An's Seal onto the trade contract between the Prince An's Manor and the White Egret Merchant Association, smiled, handed the contract to the White Egret, then shot into the sky, escorted by a throng of guards, and flew toward those three.

"Oh, not bad—traversing the spatial gate with a fleshly body; even peak Fetal Storage Realm cultivators, even with protective treasures, wouldn't dare this. You three, are you Half‑Step Divine Realm? Heh, besides the Xiang family's Overlord Cauldron Lifting Classic, you've also cultivated the powers of thunder, fire, and wind?"

Wu Tie flew forward while lightly clapping: "Not bad, truly not bad; I had thought you Xiang family folks were single‑minded, hanging yourselves from a single tree, clinging to your Overlord Cauldron Lifting Classic, focusing solely on forging strength, scorning other powers."

The lightning, fire, and gale on the three giant figures suddenly retracted, revealing three stalwart, towering men each ten zhang tall.

The earliest to appear, the man wrapped in lightning, bellowed at Wu Tie: "Huo Xiong, you brat, who gave you the nerve to detain my Xiang family's young man? If you don't want to die, hand him over, then compensate ten billion crystals and a hundred billion gold and silver, reimburse me for the slaves you bought, and have my family's young man kowtow to atone—today I'll reluctantly let you off!"

Upon hearing the giant's words, Wu Tie burst out laughing.

With a shout of "Boom," the vast formation of Wu Tie's Invincible Army behind him rose from the ground, turning into a rolling mass of dark clouds.

The army formed by the Five Element Spirits was like a splendid, proud peacock, soaring at a height of ten thousand zhang above the Invincible Army, advancing together with it toward this side.

The aura emanating from these two massive formations was in no way inferior to that of the three Half‑Step Divine Realm experts of the Xiang family before them.

The faces of the three Xiang family experts instantly turned grim.

"Huo Xiong, you brat, do you really want to tear face with my Xiang family?"

Wu Tie drew the God‑Beating Whip, weighing it lightly in his hand: "Tear face? Does your Xiang family even care about face?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the three Xiang family experts roared in unison, and, while the formations were still behind them, all three lunged at Wu Tie together.