Chapter 753

With his magical power exhausted, Wu Tie's Heaven-Earth Manifestation and Three-Heads-Six-Arms divine ability instantly vanished.

His stature returned to its original one zhang six chi, Wu Tie plummeted straight from several hundred zhang of altitude, landing heavily on the ground, his feet shattering the ice layer and his legs sinking below the knees into the ice.

He drew a deep breath, and the world's primal energy surged in, quickly turning into abundant magical power that filled his body; in the span of a single breath, Wu Tie swallowed all the primal energy within a hundred-li radius, then his figure slowly rose into the high sky, gazing into the distance at that Xuanming Old Ancestor whose neck had been wrenched apart yet still leapt about like flying.

"What a pity." Wu Tie shook his head.

He exhausted all means, even fully activating the Primordial Crown, but only managed to heavily wound this Xuanming Old Ancestor, failing to kill him.

"What a pity." Xi Wule also gulped down the world's primal energy in large mouthfuls, and took two Dao Treasure Pills to restore his magical power.

The Xuanming Old Ancestor heavily wounded by his Thunderbolt Seal also trembled as he rose to his feet, glanced over here with inexplicable fear, and staggered away. His body continuously emitted electric sparks; his steps were unsteady as he ran, but soon he vanished from sight.

Wu Tie and Xi Wule hovered at an altitude of a thousand zhang above the ground, their bodies like two gigantic black holes frantically devouring the surrounding primal energy.

The very space around them twisted and trembled; the two seemed to be competing, exerting their techniques to the utmost, fully inhaling and exhaling primal energy.

But gradually, everyone could see that Wu Tie's efficiency in devouring primal energy exceeded Xi Wule's by more than tenfold, and his consumption rate kept rising. After about the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, all the primal energy around Xi Wule had been snatched by Wu Tie, so that Xi Wule could no longer absorb even a wisp of primal energy into his body.

"I'm convinced!" Xi Wule shook his head with a long sigh, cupping his hands toward Wu Tie: "Brother me, I'm genuinely convinced…… you're under a hundred years old…… truly a monster."

Since childhood, Xi Wule had been called a monster behind his back by other princes of the Xi clan. After all, not just any Xi clan prince could, while in the Embryonic Storage realm, suppress and pound a Divine Light realm old ancestor.

But Xi Wule could do it.

Yet faced with Wu Tie, who was an even greater freak, Xi Wule couldn't help but be convinced.

His innate talent and aptitude were absolutely a hundred, even a thousand times stronger than Wu Tie's, yet now, whether in combat power or foundation, Wu Tie surpassed Xi Wule by a notch; compared to the resources they could obtain while cultivating and the time limits of their cultivation, Xi Wule had no choice but to be convinced.

"My luck is better." Wu Tie smiled and cupped his hands toward Xi Wule: "Failing to kill these two old ghosts is truly a pity…… get ready; barring any mishap, they will launch an attack soon."

Wu Tie glanced at the crowd of the Four Ferocious Clan standing not far away.

Xi Wule produced a black token, waving it at the Divine Light realm experts of the Four Ferocious Clan: "You, take your clansmen and scout north for one hundred thousand li; if you encounter the enemy, delay their advance along the way; if you achieve merit, rewards will be granted."

The elders of the Four Ferocious Clan drew a deep breath, looked at the token in Xi Wule's hand, and one after another clasped their fists and bowed, paying respect to the token.

Within Jingzhou City, in the lord's manor hall, the sixteen Xuanming Old Ancestors were still feasting.

Earlier, Xi Wule violently struck, blasting to death tens of thousands of the Snow Ape tribe's troops with a single thunderclap, and even a Divine Light realm elder of the Snow Ape tribe was crushed by him; the tremendous thunderous shock alarmed these old ghosts, prompting them to hastily send two brothers to investigate.

The Xuanming Old Ancestors remaining in the hall continued carefree, indulging in eating and drinking.

In their view, even with the two brothers joining forces, no one in Wuguo could withstand them.

Whatever turmoil arises, those two old ghosts can completely suppress it; there's nothing to worry about.

After less than a quarter of an hour of eating and drinking, two Xuanming Old Ancestors came running in—one clutching his head, blood spurting from his seven orifices; the other staggered, his whole body flashing with lightning, crawling and tumbling his way in.

Both had just rushed into the hall when they collapsed headfirst to the ground.

The one clutching his head could not utter a word; Wu Tie violently wrenched his neck, completely shattering his vocal cords.

The Xuanming Old Ancestor whose whole body flashed with lightning, his voice hoarse, cried out in a rasping voice: "Big brother, save me……"

The sixteen Xuanming Old Ancestors, together with the hundreds of Snowland tribe elders, all rose to their feet, each staring in astonishment at the two severely wounded Xuanming Old Ancestors.

The one in the center hurried forward two steps, carefully cradling the brother's head whose neck had been wrenched, slowly rotating his head in place by 1080 degrees, and meticulously piecing together his severed meridians and bones.

Then, various Snowland specialty lifesaving elixirs were continuously poured into the wounded Xuanming Old Ancestor's mouth, turning into strands of pure medicinal power that swiftly circulated throughout his body.

However, near the wounded Xuanming Old Ancestor's neck, a strange power fluctuation froze everything; the medicinal power flowed repeatedly over his broken neck, yet it exerted no effect—his wound absorbed none of it.

"What a formidable treasure……" the elder administering aid rasped: "Hurry and offer a sacrifice; please invoke the power of the Glacier God to dispel the evil influence near Old Eighteen's wound, otherwise…… his flesh may not be preserved."

The faces of all the Xuanming Old Ancestors changed in unison.

Having reached their realm, the divine fetus and divine body are perfectly fused as one; thus, a severe injury to the flesh is also a severe injury to the soul.

If the flesh cannot be preserved, then the great divine abilities and vast magical power that penetrate heaven and earth naturally come to naught; being able to retain a wisp of a remnant soul for reincarnation is already the best outcome, and even possessing or taking over another body becomes difficult.

Even the Xuanming Old Ancestor whose whole body flashed with lightning and whose internal organs were nearly scorched shut his mouth, gritted his teeth, and endured the inner pain.

The group carefully lifted the neck-wounded Xuanming Old Ancestor and hurried to the ten-thousand-zhang-high ice sculpture standing outside Jingzhou City.

A bloody sacrifice unfolded; captive Wuguo citizens were brought forward in batches and slaughtered like livestock. Vast sheets of blood dyed the ice sculpture's throne red, making this exquisitely beautiful mermaid ice sculpture appear hideous and twisted.

The trident coiled on the ice sculpture's tail emitted a dazzling azure divine light; the chief of the Xuanming Old Ancestors softly chanted an incantation, murmuring his plea.

The divine light on the trident suddenly descended, enveloping the body of the Xuanming Old Ancestor whose neck had been wrenched.

At his neck wound, strands of strange fluctuation slowly spread outward.

The azure divine light, strand by strand, wore away that strange fluctuation, revealing that the wounded Xuanming Old Ancestor's neck skin and flesh were writhing, continually withering and rotting into fine debris that fell to the ground.

One Xuanming Old Ancestor shrieked hoarsely: "What devilry is this? It seems as if Old Eighteen…… is aging."

Another round of elixir was poured down; the wounded Xuanming Old Ancestor gasped raggedly, his throat repeatedly emitting 'crack' sounds, his body twitching slightly, as the azure divine light continually poured into his neck, strands of strange fluctuation continually rippling from the vicinity of his wound.

One Xuanming Old Ancestor casually seized a captive Wuguo citizen and brought him near that strange fluctuation.

With a 'pop', in the flash of lightning and stone, this Wuguo citizen rapidly aged, instantly turning from a vigorous young man into a stooped, withered old man, then his body swiftly turned into a puff of flying ash, as if time on him had instantaneously accelerated a trillionfold, letting him experience millions of years in the snap of a finger.

"The power of time." The chief Xuanming Old Ancestor said with a grim face, muttering: "Or perhaps the power of seasons…… tsk, hard to deal with."

"Fortunately, the person who made the move lacks sufficient cultivation." Another Xuanming Old Ancestor murmured: "Otherwise, Old Eighteen would surely have perished."

"We can't delay any longer; we must speed up and beat this person to death. Otherwise……" another Xuanming Old Ancestor said solemnly: "Although Nan Guo is weak, its territory is vast, possessing several rare and precious treasures—this is something no one can clarify."

The chief Xuanming Old Ancestor slowly nodded: "After Old Seventeen and Old Eighteen recover from their injuries, we will attack at once…… pass the order down, telling each clan's youngsters to rally their spirits. Whoever dares to delay the fighter's opportunity at this time…… extermination of the clan!"

The elders of the Snowland tribes all shivered in unison, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing to the eighteen Xuanming Old Ancestors, then turning into streaks of cold light that swiftly flew in all directions.

Three days later, the warriors of the various Snowland tribes poured out of their nests, riding diverse war beasts, forming three mighty armies in grand array, marching straight toward the military city where Wu Tie was stationed.

The central division of the Snowland army, having rushed out of Jingzhou City not far, collided head‑on with the main force of the Four Ferocious Clan.

About two hundred Divine Light realm elders of the Four Ferocious Clan, leading nearly three thousand half‑step Divine Light realm elite clansmen, charged forward with fearless bravery, unleashing a merciless slaughter.

The Snowland army was caught off guard; the White Deer tribe's vanguard of several ten thousand cavalry was wiped out in an instant.

The elders of the White Deer tribe, furious and desperate, charged forward in a wild melee; the Four Ferocious Clan, true to their ancient name, all shifted into their feral forms, and in just a few breaths they beheaded twenty‑three Divine Light realm elders of the White Deer tribe, with flesh and bone alike devoured clean by the myriad ferocious beings of the Taotie clan.

Six Xuanming Old Ancestors roared forth from the central army, launching a fierce hammer strike at the Four Ferocious Clan.

After just a few blows, the Four Ferocious Clan was beaten to a bloody pulp by the six Xuanming Old Ancestors; on the spot, seventeen Divine Light realm elders were killed, and more than three hundred half‑step Divine Light realm elite clansmen were frozen into ice sculptures.

The Four Ferocious Clan collapsed, and at once they fled with all their might toward the military city.

Six Profound Dark Ancestors pursued and slaughtered, over a mere few tens of thousands of li, again slaughtered several dozen God Manifestation Realm elders of the Four Ferocious Clan, and over a thousand half-step God Manifestation elites were smashed to pieces.

With the power of myriad-zhang ice sculptures, the Snow Plains Tribe's army, in just a short two days, crossed tens of thousands of li and marched straight to the military city where Wu Tie was.

Eighteen myriad-zhang ice sculptures stood in a line, spaced a hundred li apart, continuously emitting cold light and freezing air, illuminating a radius of several thousand li in pure azure.

The vast Snow Plains army stretched beyond sight, countless war beasts roared, countless war birds flew in chaos, the Snow Plains Tribe's crude self-made war drums, plus war drums scavenged from the fallen prefectures and commanderies of Wuguo, beat until the mountains reverberated.

Moreover, some uncultured and illiterate Snow Plains warriors somehow got hold of a large batch of musical instruments; they could neither play nor pluck them, they just grabbed these instruments and made a noisy mess.

All sorts of instruments were made harsh and noisy by these Snow Plains ruffians, a clamor loud enough to frighten the timid.

Eighteen Profound Dark Ancestors manifested as beings nearly a thousand zhang tall, slowly leaving the huge and chaotic battle formation, step by step approaching the military city where Wu Tie was.

Thousands of Snow Plains Tribe elders, their bodies entwined with icy winds and freezing air, holding staffs, each feigning solemnity, followed in lockstep behind the eighteen Profound Dark Ancestors.

On the walls of the military city, Wu Tie narrowed his eyes at the steadily approaching strong foe.

The members of the Four Ferocious Clan panted, huddled to the side, many with icicles of various sizes hanging from their bodies, constantly shivering from the cold.

Their eyes wandered, glancing around in all directions.

If Wu Tie now ordered them to fight, these fellows would surely flee.

Earlier, the Profound Dark Ancestors' frenzied slaughter had completely shattered the murderous spirit in these fellows' bones.

Wu Tie glanced at these fellows of the Four Ferocious Clan and shook his head.

"Everyone, this is a dire battle; please be careful."

Wu Tie drew a deep breath, then exhaled heavily: "I, the king, will not speak lofty righteous official words here. It's simple: if we lose, we all die; if we want to live, we must win."

"Don't think you can escape like Linghu Qingqing. I, the king, am right here, not going anywhere."

"Say something ugly: among you, many have their soul seals in my hand. If I, the king, die, you will not survive."

"We're all in the same boat; if the boat sinks, nobody will fare well."

"So, fight desperately!"

Wu Tie clapped his hands firmly, pointed forward sharply: "Come, give them some appetizers first."

Wu Tie's words were indeed ugly, yet they caused an inexplicable surge of killing intent in the hearts of all God Manifestation Realm experts of Wuguo.

Only ugly words can truly shock the heart.

As Wu Tie said, it's true: lose, and we all die; to survive, we must win.

"Kill them, or be killed by them." Veteran gate-commander ancestors Xiang Feiyu and Xiang Feixie, among others, stared with twisted faces at the Snow Plains army ahead, their bodies instinctively tensing, muscles over-tensed to the point they involuntarily trembled.

In the high sky, countless golden threads fell straight down.

After so many days, the Sun Gold Shuttle hanging high in the heavens once again absorbed solar essence; at Wu Tie's command, countless Sun Gold Shuttles rained down, enveloping the Snow Plains army's massive battle formation.

The eighteen myriad-zhang ice sculptures spewed dazzling blue light; their heavy cold light coalesced into a huge luminous column that shrouded the Snow Plains Tribe's army.

The Sun Gold Shuttles landed on the azure cold light, bursts of flame exploded, shaking the earth and mountains, and waves of hot air surged upward with howls.

The eighteen Profound Dark Ancestors continued advancing toward the military city without looking back, step by step.

When they were less than fifty li from the military city, they all leapt up, lunging toward the city as one.