Chapter 679

Li Xuan'gui on the left, Yuan Qilin on the right.

Wu Tie wore a pale cyan wide-sleeved long robe in the style of Great Wei, stepping on flowing wind, slowly flying forward, while listening to Li Xuan'gui and Yuan Qilin chatter about the secrets of the Three Kingdoms.

Yuan Qilin is fine; he knows astronomy above and geography below; in short, he can be regarded as a feng shui master.

But Li Xuan'gui dislikes it—those who divinate and pry into heavenly secrets… He has some unpleasant habits of spying on others' privacy. Thus, in Great Wei, the strongest intelligence organization does not come from the imperial court but from the spies raised by Li Xuan'gui's family.

"Generally speaking, among the Three Kingdoms, Great Wei is the most lenient. Therefore, the Great Wei court, with over a hundred clans, takes fifty percent of the people's wealth to support itself. Hence, the common folk of Great Wei are the most prosperous; hence, in Great Wei society, about half of the households' children can study; hence, Great Wei's populace produces many scholars and gentlemen."

"Previously Great Jin, now Qingqiu, are relatively balanced. Qingqiu's government collects about seventy percent of the world's resources. However, whether Great Jin or Qingqiu, their combined strength cannot match Great Wei's; the seventy percent they take is still less than the fifty percent Great Wei takes."

"Thus, whether Great Jin or Qingqiu, their national strength is slightly inferior to Great Wei's. Without mentioning casting, talismans, formations, elixirs, and other studies, simply in terms of money, Great Wei alone can stand alongside the other two states."

"Only Great Wu is the most brutal. The Wu clan of Great Wu is the sole ruler of the world, with only a few clans; their hounds and falcons guard the world for them, picking up scraps from between their fingers."

"The Wu clan of Great Wu plunders the world, taking over ninety-five percent of the output, all of which goes to the Wu clan."

"In Great Wu, only by joining the Great Wu army can one eat meat, earn military merit, and shed slave status… Hence, Great Wu's soldiers are fierce and brave, almost like beasts—this is the reason."

"That aside, the Wu clan of Great Wu's dominance leads to the final result: the Wu clan has many Divine Manifestation Realm elders, astonishing in number."

Li Xuan'gui chattered on for a while, then let out a heavy sigh.

"My lord, I have divined a deadly danger and also calculated a sliver of hope; originally it was hard to convince those few families' old immortals. However, the battlefield set up by the gods is so perilous, clearly intending to exterminate all of Great Wei."

"We also see that the gods want completely obedient slaves, not Great Wei's clever, fickle, unruly scholars who refuse orders."

"Those old fellows from those families were originally stubborn, but after I gave them a hint about the true number of Divine Manifestation Realm elders possessed by the Divine Wu State, they obediently listened to my advice and wholeheartedly pledged allegiance to the lord."

Wu Tie nodded slowly, feeling a heavy pressure in his heart.

No wonder Li Xuan'gui brought the senior members of the thirteen clans to defect en masse; such an unbelievable event actually happened.

In the intelligence of Great Jin's military department, it is generally mentioned that the Divine Wu State possesses about as many Divine Manifestation Realm elders as the openly acknowledged numbers of Great Wei and Qingqiu—roughly over a thousand.

As a result, the gods scoured the territories of the Three Kingdoms; both Great Wei and Qingqiu had hidden Divine Manifestation Realm masters from the major clans unearthed, and together they amounted to nearly five thousand.

As for the Divine Wu State, it is truly a frenzied, war‑loving barbarian land; their single Wu clan has cultivated over four thousand Divine Manifestation Realm elders.

"It seems the Divine Wu State has long harbored ambitions against both Great Wei and Qingqiu." Wu Tie slowly nodded: "Just think, they opened that secret path in Qingqiu's southwest—clearly they had planned this long ago."

Li Xuan'gui laughed: "Among the Three Kingdoms, Great Wei is actually the most peaceful; this time, if not for the Tangshan Hall master voluntarily defecting, the Xiahou clan wanting to strengthen the royal power, Great Wei would not actually have clashed with Qingqiu."

Wu Tie glanced at Li Xuan'gui in surprise.

Li Xuan'gui spread his hands and said calmly: "Frankly, for many of Great Wei's clans, whether Qingqiu or Great Wu—especially Great Wu, that barbaric land where people eat raw flesh and drink blood—is a worthless place; even if given to us, we would be too lazy to govern it… What use would it be?"

Yuan Qilin added from the side: "Frankly, many of Great Wei's clans have no interest in war. The elders are still enjoying their leisure and comfort; who would willingly go to the battlefield to fight for no reason?"

Wu Tie spread his hands, speechless.

It seems, if I hadn't designed the killing of several Great Wei Divine Manifestation Realm elders, Great Wei would truly not have launched this all‑out attack.

All the while chattering, Wu Tie and the two others rode the clear wind, stepped on the flowing clouds, leisurely bypassed several mountain ranges; ahead a large river wound its way, and on its surface a small‑scale conflict was indeed breaking out.

At least three hundred Great Wu armored soldiers surrounded twenty‑odd Great Wei scholars, and the two sides were fighting fiercely on the river.

Those three hundred Great Wu armored soldiers were all at the half‑step Divine Manifestation Realm level, while among the twenty‑odd Great Wei scholars there happened to be a Divine Manifestation Realm elder… yet those twenty‑odd Great Wei scholars were at a disadvantage, being pressed and beaten by a group of half‑step Divine Manifestation Realm armored soldiers.

This battle was also rather strange.

The Great Wu armored soldiers formed a battle array, their erupting force rivaling that of a Divine Manifestation Realm; behind them a rolling blood mist, and a three‑headed, six‑armed mountain gorilla leapt like thunder, howling wildly in the blood mist; with a casual swing of its six arms, it hurled a phantom mountain down upon them.

The killing intent and military spirit coalesced by those Great Wu armored soldiers were also quite distinctive.

The twenty‑odd Great Wei scholars, with that Divine Manifestation Realm elder as the center, laid out twenty‑odd long painting tables, spread a huge sheet of white paper on them, and, holding brushes that flashed with spiritual light, rapidly painted on the paper.

Fierce spirit birds, fierce demon beasts, golden‑armored divine beings, flying dragons and phoenixes, even Great Wei's unique golden‑ and silver‑armed war puppets, etc., continually roared forth from the paper.

Wu Tie stared in shock at this scene: "Marvelous brush brings forth flowers… oh, no, this is…"

"Divine Brush transforms things… they are the Ma clan, the Ma family of Great Wei, foremost in the painting Dao; each generation's Grand Elder of the Ma family inherits a name, called 'Ma Liang'… the 'Ma Liang' of Divine Brush Ma Liang." Li Xuan'gui glanced at Wu Tie and explained: "My lord, Divine Brush Ma Liang is from the primordial myth…"

Wu Tie waved his hand, stopping Li Xuan'gui's explanation.

The name Divine Brush Ma Liang exists in his database; he usually paid no attention, but Li Xuan'gui mentioned it, and Wu Tie found the name in his vast database.

This interesting legend actually came true in the hands of the Ma clan.

Thousands of demon beasts and spirit birds, hundreds of golden‑armored divine beings, dozens of flying dragons and phoenixes, and over a thousand golden‑ and silver‑armed war puppets surrounded the Ma clan, desperately resisting those Great Wu armored soldiers.

Those Great Wu armored soldiers silently unleashed a frenzied barrage; the six‑armed gorilla's six limbs flailed wildly, countless phantom mountains smashed down, crushing the demon beasts and spirit birds to pieces, sending golden‑armored divine beings' flesh flying, scattering the scales and feathers of the flying dragons and phoenixes, and those golden‑ and silver‑armed war puppets suffered heavy casualties, large swaths ground to dust.

The Ma clan's painting Dao is indeed marvelous; the living beings they painted, when crushed by the phantom mountain, burst forth with flesh and blood that seemed real, and even emitted a strong bloody odor.

Until several breaths after their bodies shattered, taking about the time to finish a cup of tea, those lifelike flesh‑and‑blood fragments gradually dissipated, turning into strands of pure heavenly‑earth elemental energy that returned to the world.

Obviously, the deeper the Ma clan's painting Dao, the longer the painted flesh‑and‑blood beings persist.

Thus, if someone among them attains sufficient mastery of the painting Dao, they could even make their works eternal? Or truly paint living beings?

This painting Dao is merely one of the eighty‑four thousand side paths, yet it ultimately points directly to the 'Great Dao of Creation'!

Wu Tie's heart shuddered; his divine fetus emitted boundless divine light, the jade‑disk projection grew more solid, the three thousand large lotus leaves and eighty‑four thousand small lotus leaves shone brightly all over; Wu Tie felt flashes of clear light in his heart, deepening his understanding of the 'Heaven‑Earth Great Dao' a little more.

Whether the three thousand great Dao or the eighty‑four thousand side paths, they ultimately stem from the same 'origin', the same 'primordial', the same 'chaos'…

Therefore, the eighty‑four thousand side paths are in fact the three thousand great Dao, and the three thousand great Dao are 'chaos'.

Countless extremely fine lines crisscrossed the jade‑disk projection, linking the lotus leaves of all sizes into a single strand, allowing Wu Tie to more clearly perceive the complex inter‑transformation and mutual restriction among the Dao.

A booming 'Bang!' sounded.

The six‑armed gorilla sprang up violently, its fists like meteors, dragging torrents of air like giant dragons that splashed 'whoosh‑la‑la' onto a winding great river.

The winding great river, which had sprayed forth from the painting paper of that Divine Manifestation Realm Ma elder, was a hundred miles wide, with rolling white waves; inside swam marvelous fish and dragons, countless beads tumbling and leaping in the water, each bead emitting a brilliant gleam that illuminated the river.

Clearly, this is an astonishing divine ability.

Placed in the outside world, this river could probably pierce a million li; destroying cities and nations would be a mere flip of the hand.

But in this duel battlefield, the heavenly‑earth elemental energy is diluted to the extreme; the Ma clan's painting Dao must absorb sufficient external elemental energy to unleash true power… within this battlefield, their painting Dao retains at most one‑hundredth of its strength.

The six‑armed gorilla's heavy fist fell, the great river exploded and shattered, the fish and dragons in the water burst into clouds of blood mist, countless beads shattered, and strands of cold‑qi water light fell from the beads, and the world was instantly blanketed in heavy snow.

The Divine Manifestation Realm Ma elder let out a muffled groan, and blood spurted from all seven apertures.

His body swayed, and he shouted hoarsely: "Today, only death…"

The three hundred great martial armored soldiers burst out laughing: "Today, you were already destined to die."

Terms: Three hundred great martial armored soldiers (possibly a unit name, perhaps "Great Martial Armored Soldiers"). Need to decide whether it's a proper name. It's a descriptor meaning "great martial armored soldiers". Likely not a proper name; it's a generic term, so we do not include it.

A curly-bearded giant whose cultivation was the highest and who could at any moment break into the Divine Manifestation Realm bellowed: "By the command of the Supreme Elder Ancestor, kill one of Great Wei's Divine Manifestation Realm old white faces and you'll be promoted three ranks… brothers, this is a fine chance to earn merit…"

Terms: Supreme Elder Ancestor (possibly a title). Should we include it? It's an official/sect rank/title. Not in the glossary, but we note if it appears. Also Great Wei is a state/nation name; include as a place. Divine Manifestation Realm is a cultivation realm; include as a realm. Old White Face is likely just a descriptor, not a name, so we translate it.

"Promoted to the third noble rank" is a rank promotion, not a name.

"Brothers" (a generic term of address).

As the curly-bearded giant's words left his mouth, before he could finish, Wu Tie had already struck.

Terms: Curly-bearded big man (a descriptor). Wu Tie is the given name.

In Wu Tie's eyes, one black and one white, yin and yang qi turned into arrows that shot out, instantly piercing the three-headed, six-armed great ape. The innate yin and yang qi surged, and the ape's murderous qi army soul caused its yin and yang to instantly lose balance, eliciting a miserable howl before it exploded.

Terms: Wu Tie; yin and yang qi; three-headed six-armed great ape (descriptor); murderous qi army soul (likely a descriptor, not a proper name).

The three hundred great martial armored soldiers all shuddered; their army soul was shattered, their spirits were pulled, and they immediately vomited blood, with over a hundred soldiers losing their footing and falling straight from midair.

Terms: Three hundred great martial armored soldiers (again); army soul; spirit; armored soldier. Not names.

Behind Wu Tie, the Five Elements Divine Light turned into a huge, five-colored waterfall that cascaded down. The three hundred half-step Divine Manifestation Realm armored soldiers, whose spirits had been wounded, all shouted together, then were dazed and swept up by the Five Elements Divine Light.

Terms: Wu Tie; Five Elements Divine Light (a technique); three hundred half-step Divine Manifestation Realm; great martial armored soldiers (again); Five Elements Divine Light (again).

On this battlefield, Wu Tie didn't bother holding back; a shock of the Five Elements Divine Light reduced these armored soldiers to dust.

Terms: Wu Tie; Five Elements Divine Light; armored soldiers.

Li Xuan Gui and Yuan Qilin clapped and laughed, flying over to the stunned Ma Clan Elder: "Ma Yuan, Ma Yuan, you little brat, you too have moments like this—what's it like being ganged up on by a bunch of juniors?"

Terms: Li Xuan Gui, Yuan Qilin, the Ma Clan Elder, and Ma Yuan.

Thus we need to include Li Xuan Gui, Yuan Qilin, the Ma Clan Elder (or simply Ma Elder), Ma Yuan, and possibly the Ma clan as a name.

"This place is dangerous; why don't we travel together? It would be good to have someone watch our backs." Li Xuan Gui laughed brightly.

Terms: Li Xuan Gui

"Traveling together, good… but…" Ma Yuan gaped at Wu Tie; if he wasn't mistaken, this was the An King of Qingqiu, a sworn enemy of Great Wei. Li Xuan Gui and Yuan Qilin, who hold exceptionally high status as Supreme Elders in the Great Wei Divine State, how could they be colluding with An King Huo Xiong?

Terms: Ma Yuan, Wu Tie, Great Wei, the Qingqiu An King (possibly "Green Hill Peace King"), An King Huo Xiong (personal name Huo Xiong), Supreme Elder (title). Also Qingqiu translates to "Green Hill" as a place, and Great Wei Divine State is the nation.

"Little friend Ma Yuan, hear me out—this is how it is… ah, um, an old man speaking alone isn't enough; let's all together explain a thing or two to Little Friend Ma Yuan." Yuan Qilin laughed and gave Wu Tie a glance.

Terms: Ma Yuan (personal name), Yuan Qilin (personal name), Wu Tie (personal name).

Terms: Ma Yuan, Yuan Qilin, Wu Tie.

From Wu Tie's sleeve flew a tiny pavilion the size of a fist; it fluttered in the wind and instantly expanded to a hundred zhang tall. Mo Yun, Kong Chengxi, Meng Buyan, and a group of supreme elders from various families emerged, laughing as they gazed at Ma Yuan.

Terms: Wu Tie; Mo Yun (personal name); Kong Chengxi (personal name); Meng Buyan (personal name); various clan Supreme Elders (title).

Such a spectacle.

Such a situation.

After listening to Li Xuan Gui, Yuan Qilin, and the others, Ma Yuan glanced at the hundreds of Divine Manifestation Realm elders from the Thirteen Gates, shook his head helplessly, then bowed deeply and saluted Wu Tie: "Please, An King, rescue my clan's people… as long as my clan's Supreme Elder speaks, I will obey without question."

Terms: Ma Yuan, Li Xuan Gui, Yuan Qilin, the Thirteen Gates faction, Divine Manifestation Realm Elders, the An King title, and the Supreme Elder title. Ma Yuan is listed again.

Wu Tie smiled so much his eyes narrowed into slits; he firmly patted Ma Yuan's shoulder and said, "Good, good, good, this is excellent."

Terms: Wu Tie (personal name), Ma Yuan (personal name).

After a short while, Wu Tie led the large troop onward.

Terms: Wu Tie (personal name).

The so-called large troop consisted of only four living people: Wu Tie, Ma Yuan, Li Xuan Gui, and Yuan Qilin.

Terms: Wu Tie, Ma Yuan, Li Xuan Gui, Yuan Qilin (all personal names).

Moreover, a force of tens of thousands of soldiers, wholly created by Ma Yuan's single brushstroke, astonished Wu Tie: the troops had cultivation at the peak of the Life Pool Realm or even just entered the Womb Storage Realm.

Terms: Ma Yuan (personal name), Wu Tie (personal name), Life Pool Realm (cultivation stage), Womb Storage Realm (cultivation stage), soldiers.

This truly is "one person forms an army."

Though these soldiers are of little use in Divine Manifestation Realm combat, in peacetime the Ma clan's Painting Dao is extremely valuable, instantly inspiring Wu Tie with countless battle formations.

Terms: Divine Manifestation Realm (cultivation stage), Ma Clan (family name), Painting Dao (technique), Wu Tie (personal name).

After advancing several hundred li, a piercing laugh rang out from ahead.

"Xiang Feiyu, today you are doomed to die… heh, what's the point of stubborn resistance? Who do you expect to come save you?"

Terms: Xiang Feiyu (personal name).

"Don't say I'm bullying a child; I'll let out three loud shouts here to see if anyone dares to come rescue you."

No specific names.

"Hey, Xiang Feiyu is about to die, to be personally slain by Old Man Wu Santu… who dares to save him?"

Terms: Xiang Feiyu (personal name), Wu Santu (personal name).

"Who dares to save him?"

"Who dares to save him?"

"Wah, nobody's coming—he's really going to die!"

Wu Santu filled his lungs and let out a mighty roar; even amidst the thick blood mist, his voice carried for a thousand li.

Terms: Wu Santu (personal name).

Wu Tie raised his brow, shouting sternly: "Wu Santu, don't be arrogant, this king has arrived!"