Chapter 710

Three swords forged from unknown bone hacked heavily into Wu Tie's exposed upper body.

Then the bone swords shattered.

Tuowu Cuan and two others exclaimed.

Wu Tie waved his left hand, and the God-Smiting Whip shot up into the sky, releasing golden light and purple aura that enveloped the entire demon lair. The void instantly stiffened, becoming as hard, solid, and heavy as a steel plate.

Before entering the Divine Sovereign Realm, the God-Smiting Whip's binding power was indeed strong, feeling to people like viscous glue or resin; even when a Divine Sovereign Realm expert was bound by the whip, although his movements slowed, he could still act.

But after stepping into the Divine Sovereign Realm, Wu Tie's use of the God-Smiting Whip suddenly rose several levels.

The void turned into a solid steel plate, space and time completely frozen; Tuowu Cuan and the other two Divine Sovereign Realm experts of the third and fourth heavenly layers were thus frozen solid in mid‑air, unable to move at all.

Wu Tie gave a cold smile, reached out and rummaged over the three persons' bodies for a moment.

It must be said, the natives of the underground world are truly impoverished.

Tuowu Cuan and the two other ancestors are indeed the true core leadership of the Tuowu clan; each of them possesses only a pitifully small storage ring, its interior space no larger than three ordinary rooms.

And the resources inside the ring…

Wu Tie now finds them rather unimpressive; frankly, even if he gave them away as rewards, he would feel they were shabby.

"Besides, you yourselves are the best gift." Wu Tie laughed, taking out a secret treasure—a disc one chi two cun in diameter—and pressed it against Tuowu Cuan's head.

Then Wu Tie punched and killed Tuowu Cuan.

Tuowu Cuan's body shattered, his soul disintegrated.

Yet no heavenly pillar of light appeared as when a Divine Sovereign Realm expert falls; his soul and bloodline were completely devoured by this jet‑black disc‑shaped secret treasure. Streaks of blood‑red light flickered on its surface, and countless sinister, mysterious runes blazed to life.

After the span of one cup of tea, a fist‑sized soul crystal and a bowl‑sized mass of bloodline essence quietly appeared on the treasure.

Wu Tie likewise slew the two Tuowu clan elders whose eyes showed terror and despair, and just as before no pillar of light rose; the elders' souls condensed into soul crystals, their bloodline essence extracted and condensed.

This black disc was a secret treasure that Yin‑Yang Daoist brought back when he and You Ruo sealed their pact.

On the battlefield of the Three Kingdoms, the several large discs hovering beneath the heavens that collect the souls and blood of fallen soldiers are merely enlarged forms of this black disc.

Having gathered the soul crystals and bloodline essence of Tuowu Cuan and his two companions, Wu Tie gazed at the black disc with mixed feelings, fell silent for a moment, then shook his head and muttered softly: "There will always be blind fools who come knocking to seek death… this is not my fault."

After Tuowu Cuan and his two companions had their souls and bloodline completely drained, Wu Tie looked at their stiff bodies hanging in midair, threw a punch that shook the void, and their bodies turned into a vast spray of light points that burst outward with a 'whoosh' in all directions.

The light points fell like rain, slowly drifting down over the forests spanning thousands of li.

In an instant, countless plants and trees in the mountains sprouted rapidly; some trees that originally required several people to encircle and stood a hundred zhang tall, after absorbing enough light points, accompanied by a sharp 'crack', grew in just a few breaths to a girth needing a dozen people to embrace and a height of three to four hundred zhang.

Not only plants and trees, but many birds, beasts, poisonous insects and snakes also received some of the light points' nourishment, their bodies rapidly swelling and enlarging.

Moreover, a spiritual light flickered in the eyes of these living beings.

After receiving the light points derived from the bodies of the three Divine Sovereign Realm elders, they were forcibly granted spiritual intelligence, even sensing from those points the existence of profound Dao mysteries, and spontaneously grasped some very abstruse cultivation methods.

A tremendous tiger roar echoed, and from a hilltop over a hundred li away, a massive striped tiger leapt out, stood on the summit, vigorously nodded three times toward Wu Tie, then turned and sprinted off, vanishing into the forest in an instant.

Tigers, leopards, black bears, wild boars, long snakes, giant pythons—huge creatures continually burst from the woods, took prominent positions on the hilltops, paid their respects to Wu Tie in their own ways, then swiftly withdrew from the demon lair.

"Each one is a clever little spirit," Wu Tie laughed brightly.

These birds and beasts are all spiritual; they know how to repay kindness, understand the principle of seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune, and are all blessed with fortune.

Yet some who style themselves as the lord of all spirits truly have no idea of life or death.

Wu Tie lowered his head, opened the celestial eye between his brows, and a divine light shone into the demon lair, revealing a great host of Tuowu clan youths commanding countless scarlet‑red bloody half‑dragons, rushing toward the ground by every means.

Some Tuowu youths flew through the air, some leapt along the cliff walls like flying, some rode on the backs of giant lizards, and others mounted hideous, ferocious giant bats, soaring upward.

They did not yet know that Tuowu Cuan and the two other ancestors had been slain by Wu Tie; they surged upward from the demon lair like a reverse‑flowing flood, and those among them of highest cultivation, already at the half‑step Divine Sovereign Realm, could leap hundreds of li in a single bound, clearly about to reach the surface soon.

Wu Tie also heard their clamor.

"When the elders take action, that Wu prince lad will surely die… taking advantage of Wuguo's chaos, we'll break through the lines, seize money, seize grain, seize—women!"

The Tuowu clan's young men had great confidence in the three elders, they roared at the top of their lungs and surged toward the ground with fervent passion.

"A once‑in‑ten‑thousand‑years opportunity…… the surface demons are in turmoil, the Three Kingdoms war rages, few Divine Sovereign Realm experts remain alive……" Tuowu Bei led the charge, shouting hysterically: "As long as the elders slay the Wu prince Huo Xiong, this Wuguo will be ours to do with as we please."

"Haha, Princess Fenglan, quickly contact your Wu clan kin; as soon as Prince An Huo Xiong dies, your Wu clan can seize the moment… hehe, with our inside‑outside cooperation, perhaps the entire Wuguo could be taken by the Tuowu clan."

Tuowu Bei spat foam as he shouted loudly at Princess Fenglan, who sat atop a giant bat.

Princess Fenglan, along with several thousand other Wu clan followers accompanying her, had their eyes gleaming, eagerly gazing at the exit of the demon lair.

If Tuowu Cuan and his two companions could really slay Wu Tie……

The forces under Wu Tie's command would surely fall into chaos.

The Wu clan might indeed have a chance to strike back while the opportunity lasts.

Even if it meant paying an extremely heavy price—for example, the Tuowu lot might take advantage to loot a bit—as long as the Wu clan could be restored, everything would be worth it.

"Charge forward!" Princess Fenglan's body trembled violently as she pointed upward at the ever‑nearing, ever‑growing mouth of the demon lair, shouting loudly: "Charge forward, kill, kill, kill, kill all of Huo Xiong's lackeys!"

Wu Tie hovered in midair, silently looking down at the Tuowu clan army charging up from below.

Wu Yu's form flickered and he arrived beside Wu Tie.

He stared at Wu Tie in utter astonishment, having personally seen Wu Tie slay the surprise‑attacking Tuowu Cuan and his two companions as easily as swatting a chick.

Wu Yu's mood was somewhat complicated.

Tuowu Cuan and the two other ancestors, though inferior in seniority and strength to Wu Yu, were after all the Tuowu clan's Divine Sovereign Realm elders, mighty enough to awe a region.

And yet they were killed just like that by Wu Tie?

Wu Yu shook his head, a flash of cruelty in his eyes: "The Tuowu brats are no good either; they've harmed many of our Wu family. Since they've come up to seek death, let's oblige them."

Wu Yu formed seals with both hands and began chanting the incantation.

The killing intent and fierce light in Wu Yu's eyes grew ever stronger, almost condensing into substance; clearly he intended to set aside rank and seniority, to bully the weak with his strength, and personally deal with these Tuowu juniors.

"Elder, perhaps you should… stop. Your Wu family's spellcraft really shouldn't see the light of day." Wu Tie hurriedly stopped Wu Yu: "When you're in a good mood, grandson, I have here an extremely exquisite General Outline of the Nine Heavens Thunder Law; study it and then act."

Wu Tie shook his head and said bluntly: "These little bugs—if you crush them with your hand, wouldn't that be embarrassing?"

Wu Yu's face twitched as he muttered: "Goodness… what's embarrassing about that? That old Tuowu Ni once personally dealt with our clan's youngsters… your great‑grandfather almost died from a single finger‑point from Tuowu Ni from afar."

Wu Yu gave a cold snort and muttered: "How lucky, how lucky—if your great‑grandfather had been killed by Tuowu Ni back then, before he even married, there wouldn't be you, this fortunate little rascal who can stir up trouble; our Wu family wouldn't have the present situation."

Wu Tie's face also suddenly stiffened.

Wu Tie's great-grandfather almost had his life ended by a single finger from the Chitu clan's elder?

Wu Tie let out a cold snort and blew an extremely sharp, long whistle.

Thirty-six Four Spirit warships slowly descended from high altitude, tens of thousands of standard warships slightly turned their hulls, and each light cannon flickered with a dim light, aiming at the demon nest below.

Along the edge of the demon nest, countless titan gods stood densely packed across the mountains and fields.

The heavy armor plates on the titan gods' chests shifted aside, revealing dense, honeycomb-like launch nests below; each small chaos firebolt glinted with a cold light, ready to fire.

"With me here, thereafter, over Wuguo's territory, there will be no more subterranean demon scourge." Wu Tie raised his voice, using his magic to carry his voice across tens of thousands of li.

"I hereby promise that from today onward, subterranean demons cannot take a single grain of food, a single stalk of medicinal herb, or a single subject from my domain."

"Those who invade Wuguo's territory shall be killed without pardon!"

Wu Tie spoke these righteous, lofty words rather reluctantly.

In truth, he himself is the "subterranean demon."

The Wu Prison standing beside him, the Wu family youths commanding the army in the distance— which of them is not a "subterranean demon"?

Moreover, countless slaves purchased from the Demon-Suppressing City's defense line now populate his Wuguo territory.

And also, the Five Elements Daoists and the Canghai Daoists are on their way to the Wu domain… hehe, soon there will be even more carefully selected Wu clan settlers moving into Wuguo.

"You Chitu clan are unlucky…" Wu Tie lowered his voice, shook his head, and waved a hand.

Tens of thousands of standard warships, the thirty-six Four Spirit warships trembled slightly, and hundreds of thousands of light cannons of various sizes simultaneously poured out beams of light.

Countless titan gods' chest launch nests emitted piercing whistles; each small chaos firebolt over a foot long shot up into the sky, then traced huge arcs, plunging headfirst from high altitude into the demon nest.

Terrific fire burst from the demon nest, shaking the earth and causing the mountains to quake violently.

On the surrounding ground, huge formation seal runes lit up, forcibly stabilizing the strata and fixing the mountain peaks.

On the cliff walls, countless bloodthirsty vines turned to ash, countless beehives were shattered to pieces, countless poisonous bees vaporized instantly. Moreover, masses of Chitu clan members and countless bloody half-dragons were reduced to ashes under such fierce bombardment.

Wu Tie did not summon that black disk secret treasure; he let the souls of those Chitu clan members return to heaven and earth, let their blood turn into a downpour that fell into the demon nest, nourishing the land below.

Wu Prison narrowed his eyes, looked down at the rapidly being annihilated Chitu army, and suddenly let out a heavy sigh: "Old man, I'm pondering— if we attack from two sides… could we wipe out the Chitu clan?"

He shook his head and sighed again: "No, no, the Fuxi Divine Kingdom does not allow us to do this… the Xi tribe, hehe, they also need to maintain balance among the tribes below… tsk, no."

While Wu Tie and Wu Prison were mercilessly slaughtering the Chitu clan here, a Xi Yi in a blue robe slowly walked into Tieding Mountain City.

Compared to the past, Tieding Mountain City now obviously has more vitality.

There are more pedestrians on the streets.

There are more roadside stalls.

There are more children playing and chasing each other.

Even those cats and dogs frolicking everywhere have increased in number, though no one knows exactly when.

Even the groves within the city now have many more bird nests; each day countless birds circle above the city walls, either playing or foraging.

All of this would have been impossible in the former Great Wu Divine Kingdom.

On many streets, civilians who dared to step forward were demoted to slaves.

Slaves who dared to step forward were put to death en masse.

Children could hardly run wildly in the streets either, for bumping into a noble would bring disaster upon their whole family.

As for cats and dogs, birds in the sky, and the like— facing the Great Wu's ever-present murderous aura that occasionally erupts into monstrous killing intent, where in Tieding Mountain City would there be space for these little creatures to live?

But now, it's good, very good.

Tieding Mountain City is regaining its proper vitality; whether originally commoners or slaves, their faces all show a surge of vigorous life.

Xi Yi walked slowly down the street with his hands behind his back.

He looked approvingly at the surroundings and nodded slowly: "This Huo Xiong has some ability… such a foundation could serve as the basis for restoring the egret and cinnabar crow kingdoms."

Xi Yi recalled his unfortunate deceased twin sister, and a flash of guilt and pain crossed his eyes.

Then he recalled the pair of twin sisters his sister had left behind.

He broke into a pleased smile.

"Little sister, I will let them live ten thousand times better than we did."

Xi Yi walked step by step with his hands behind his back until he reached the former Great Wu Divine Kingdom's imperial palace, now the gate of the Wu Prince's mansion.

"Just announce that an old friend of your lord has arrived."