Chapter 838

Feng Shang's fist came fast, but Lao Tie's spear went even faster.

A streak of water-fire divine light flashed past; a decisive, overbearing spear thrust shot straight out. Inside the military city, the scarlet ghostly light in the countless giant divine soldiers' eyes suddenly flared, and they, in neat unison, simultaneously raised the halberds in their hands. Countless metal arms shook the air, emitting a tremendous "Boom".

Mustering troops on the battlefield, killing intent filled the air.

Lao Tie thrust his spear forward, yet it gave off an inexplicable aura, as if a million remnant soldiers had sacrificed their lives, blood-soaked and joined in a desperate charge, a tragic and heroic spirit.

The spear tip struck Feng Shang's fist, and with a huge bang, circles of transparent ripples spread outward; the void was torn apart by countless tiny cracks, and from within the black cracks, horrifying spatial turbulence howled out.

On Feng Shang's fist, countless cracks spread from the back of his hand along his arm, quickly extending to his upper body.

His tough, jade-white skin split thread by thread, and scalding fresh blood spurted out like magma, landing on the ground and instantly melting a large expanse of land into a slurry.

Feng Shang's twisted visage stared at Lao Tie.

Lao Tie's arms and torso were like a spring violently compressed, extremely twisted and deformed, becoming extraordinarily hideous and strange.

But in the next instant, Lao Tie's body flashed with spiritual light and, with a boom, returned to normal; he fiercely poked his spear forward, the spear tip screeched as it forcibly broke open Feng Shang's fist, piercing in a full half-foot deep.

The sharp spear tip pierced half a foot into the fist, directly into the arm bone.

Intense pain surged, Feng Shang let out a loud roar and staggered backward in retreat. He was already angry and anxious, his thoughts in utter chaos, and now being repelled head-on by Lao Tie, he felt as if his heart were frying, and another mouthful of thick, bloody spittle sprayed out.

Wu Tie smiled as he watched Lao Tie, and exclaimed in praise: "Marvelous!"

Up to now, Wu Tie's mastery of spear arts still falls short of Lao Tie's. Even though Wu Tie has trained the eighty-four thousand heterodox paths to the utmost extreme, understanding the principle but not putting it into practice, his actual application of spear arts lags far behind Lao Tie's.

Especially, Lao Tie underwent the "Chaos Transformation", changing from an artificial metallic body to a flesh-and-blood one; over these years, he has been regaining the strength he ought to have had countless years ago, while also painstakingly studying the "Primordial Scripture".

Lao Tie had once lain asleep in an underground secret cavern for who knows how many years; during that long span, bored to death, he repeatedly reviewed the various inherited knowledge stored in his mind, especially the "Primordial Scripture", not knowing how many times he had read it over and over.

In terms of understanding the "Primordial Scripture", Wu Tie is also far inferior to Lao Tie.

Therefore, although Wu Tie's natural endowment exceeds Lao Tie's by a hundredfold and his cultivation progress far surpasses Lao Tie's, Lao Tie's current cultivation is still not to be underestimated.

At the very least, although Lao Tie's cultivation realm is far inferior to Feng Shang's, his Dao foundation upon entering the Way exceeds at least eight hundred great Dao laws. In terms of foundation and potential, Lao Tie is far stronger than Feng Shang.

Even with the support of so many great Dao laws, Lao Tie, with a cultivation of the first two heavens of the Divine Realm, erupts with battle power not much weaker than Feng Shang's. Combined with Lao Tie's rich combat experience and his spear art forged through a thousand tempers, he is fully capable of standing toe-to-toe with Feng Shang.

"You scoundrel..." Feng Shang's right arm drooped, and blood continuously spurted from the spear wound.

Feng Shang stared blankly at Lao Tie.

Having previously fought Wu Tie to a draw, Feng Shang already felt intense shame and anger.

At this moment, Lao Tie, an unremarkable figure who stood beside Wu Tie like an attendant, this obscure "Barbarian", actually blocked with a single spear the heavenly pride of the Flaming Dynasty, Feng Shang, and drove him back.

"Your Highness's mind is in turmoil." From behind, the Smiling Face Buddha seated on the back of a great black turtle opened his mouth with a kindly smile: "Your Highness, while this Barbarian Continent is certainly far inferior to my Flaming Dynasty, its populous nature inevitably produces a few monstrous talents."

"But Your Highness should have confidence; no matter how extraordinarily gifted they are, how astonishing their innate talents, when we weigh foundation and fate, what merit or ability do they have compared to Your Highness?" The Smiling Face Buddha said leisurely: "My Red Lotus Temple has placed all its hopes upon Your Highness."

"Your Highness, calm your mind, guard your spirit, and never let the formation fall into disorder."

"With Your Highness's ability, plus the full support of my Red Lotus Temple, Your Highness still has great prospects. As long as Your Highness can subdue the countless human subjects of this Barbarian Continent, attain the Human Emperor Fruition, achieve Sage Power, thereafter to overturn chaos and restore order, to rectify the imperial court will be as easy as turning over one's hand."

The Smiling Face Buddha spoke each word clearly and distinctly.

The Smiling Face Buddha had just also received a secret transmission from the Red Lotus Temple, and he also knew that the Faceless Buddha, the foremost of the three Buddhas of the present age in the Red Lotus Temple, had suffered a grievous attack, and even the Buddha's golden body, painstakingly cultivated over countless years, had been destroyed.

Initially, the Smiling Face Buddha entertained a little scheming thought.

But soon, his powerful state of mind allowed him to nip that tiny "demonic thought" in the bud.

The Faceless Buddha's cultivation is astounding; what hidden cards he holds, what backup plans he has, even the Smiling Face Buddha, who has coexisted with him for tens of thousands of years, cannot fathom.

Do not act recklessly… for reckless deeds breed calamity.

Following the plan devised by the Red Lotus Temple, continue execution… unless the Red Lotus Temple issues a new decree, otherwise, just proceed according to the established plan.

"Rest assured, Your Highness, with the profound foundation of my Red Lotus Temple, it is more than enough to help Your Highness achieve great undertakings." The Smiling Face Buddha said this while persuading Feng Shang, and also persuading himself.

The Red Lotus Temple's foundation is so immense; even if Feng Shang became a God Emperor, he would still dare not show any disrespect to the Red Lotus Temple—at most, in the coming period, the privileges he could enjoy and the resources he could obtain would merely diminish slightly.

The Red Lotus Temple remains, as ever, an unchanging Red Lotus Temple.

The Smiling Face Buddha felt his waist stiff and straight as a board. Continuing to aid Feng Shang in conquering the Three Kingdoms Continent remains feasible.

"Sir patron, the spear is a vicious weapon. Especially, a spear stained with a sovereign's blood is most inauspicious." The Smiling Face Buddha smiled and extended his hand toward Lao Tie: "Please, patron, take refuge under this humble monk; let me cleanse you of your blood-soaked karma and towering killing intent."

In the Smiling Face Buddha's palm, a red lotus blossomed slowly, and a tremendous suction force enveloped Lao Tie.

"Lay down the butcher's knife, become a Buddha on the spot… lay down the butcher's knife, become a Buddha on the spot…"

The Smiling Face Buddha murmured words urging goodness; from within the red lotus came wave after wave of grand chanting. Jeweled pagodas rose one by one from the lotus, and around each pagoda sat countless bald men and women in monastic robes, holding prayer beads and loudly chanting the phrase "Lay down the butcher's knife, become a Buddha on the spot."

Simple eight characters, a drop of Feng Shang's blood on the tip of Lao Tie's spear suddenly ignited, quickly turning into red karmic fire that engulfed Lao Tie's whole body.

A huge force surged, and the fully burning Lao Tie was swallowed into the Red Lotus.

Xiao Mian Fo let out a long laugh; the great turtle beneath him smoked from its four feet, carrying Lao Tie straight up into the sky.

A hundred thousand Red Lotus Temple disciples pressed their palms together; each solemn and dignified stepped on lotus-shaped cloud clusters, shooting straight up into the sky, encircling Xiao Mian Fo as they loudly chanted the Red Lotus Temple's secret sutra.

Within the Red Lotus held in Xiao Mian Fo's palm, Lao Tie's angry curses immediately rang out.

Lao Tie, however, was a veteran from the ancient era, an old slick who had scraped by on the battlefield; his mouth was so foul that… in just a few breaths, he had greeted every one of Xiao Mian Fo's eighteen generations of ancestors and eighteen generations of descendants.

Xiao Mian Fo still wore a full-faced smile, silently exercising Buddhist doctrine to forcibly convert Lao Tie.

The 'ding-ding' sound rang incessantly in the ears.

Inside the military city, and in several huge military cities in the rear, the eyes of countless giant god soldiers flickered rapidly. The Buddhist attack Lao Tie suffered was, simply put, a strange divine soul attack.

Lao Tie is the fleshly body transformed from a giant god soldier after undergoing chaotic metamorphosis, and he still shares a strange connection with the giant god soldiers forged by Da Tie, a connection utterly different from spiritual abilities.

At the instant Lao Tie suffered the divine soul attack from Xiao Mian Fo and the hundred thousand Red Lotus Temple disciples, the shameless Lao Tie linked his own divine soul with the hundreds of millions of giant god soldiers.

The hundred thousand Red Lotus Temple disciples, together with Xiao Mian Fo this great adept, frantically drove their divine sense, burned their spiritual power, employed Buddhist secret arts, and frantically attacked the hundreds of millions of giant god soldiers united as one……

The giant god soldiers regarded these divine soul attacks as if they were nothing.

They basically have no divine soul at all; even their most basic notions of good and evil, values, and outlook on life are a blank slate, and they act entirely according to the orders implanted by Da Tie……

Buddhist salvation…… Can you perform salvation rites on a stone, a lump of iron?

Perhaps in legend, within the ancient myths, those true sage-level great adepts of Buddhism can make a stubborn stone nod, but Xiao Mian Fo and his ilk…… are obviously far, far short.

Inside the military city, strange faint light flickered rapidly in the eyes of countless giant god soldiers.

Inside the Scarlet Lotus, Lao Tie had already begun greeting the Hundred-and-Eighth Ancestor of the Smiling Buddha.

Regardless of the strange stalemate between the Smiling Buddha and Lao Tie, Feng Shang swallowed a Great Dao Treasure Pill; the wounds on his arm healed, his body shuddered, and all traces of blood vanished, leaving him once again the radiant and splendid Second Prince of the Sui Dynasty.

With his hands behind his back, his long hair floated behind him in the wind, ever so nonchalant; Feng Shang rose slightly higher, looking down on Wu Tie from above.

"You, you are a talent… those behind you, faintly connected to your bloodline and aura, are your brothers?" Feng Shang said magnanimously: "Previous matters, I will let bygones be bygones. From now on, you, your brothers, and your troops under your command, I will employ and reward you just as I do my trusted subordinates, impartially."

"You yourselves, on this barbarian continent, are nothing but frogs in a well, able to see only as much sky as the well opening."

"I, the Prince, am a true dragon in the ocean. Following me, you will have the chance to transform from a well-frog into a dragon… Following me, you will be able to see a vaster world and witness more splendid scenery."

"Defect to me, the Prince, trust me, and I will give you a brighter future!"

Wu Tie smiled, about to speak, when Wa Mu let out a cold snort; before them, a fist-sized five-colored divine stone slowly released a soft divine light.

"Second Prince of the Sui Dynasty? My son, his future needs none of your concern… a stray dog putting on airs here—what are you pretending to be?" Wa Mu lifted her head arrogantly; a miraculous power fluctuation unique to the Wa tribe, fusing the immense force of heaven and earth with the faith of all beings, surged outward in all directions.

"My son Wa Mu's future is naturally bright and vast; there's no need for you, this self-righteous fool, to shout nonsense!"

Having received the inheritance of the Wa Island Wa tribe's senior matriarchs, and having been bestowed the title of the Wa Xin tribe, Wa Mu has now become a prominent figure within the Wa tribe.

Given the Wa tribe's foundation, the legitimate son of a titled Wa tribe matriarch—what need does he have for Feng Shang to worry about his prospects?

Speaking of which, Feng Shang's mother, Wa Qinghuang, is merely an ordinary Wa tribeswoman; her status compared to Wa Mu's is off by a hundred thousand miles, if not more.

Wa Mu bluntly and proudly spoke the plain truth.

Feng Shang, meanwhile, stared angrily at Wa Mu—frankly, he truly had no idea about these subtle divisions of rank within the Wa tribe, nor did he know the differences between the senior matriarchs, matriarchs, ordinary elders, and ordinary tribespeople.

He would never realize what it meant, within the Wa tribe, to be a titled senior matriarch of a Wa clan.

He jabbed his finger out fiercely and began to berate Wa Mu: "Vile, ignorant woman… shut your mouth… affairs of state, what gall does a foolish woman like you have to interfere? If you dare spout nonsense again, I, the Prince, will cast you into the Imperial Music Bureau…"

Wa Mu was left stunned by the scolding.

She had always been a very proud person.

Especially after receiving the inheritance and ennoblement of Wa Island, Wa Mu came to understand many Wa tribal secrets she had previously been unaware of.

She never dreamed that someone would dare to insult a Wa tribal matriarch so severely.

Wa Mu had not yet reacted when Wu Jin, Wu Yin, Wu Tong, and Wu Tie the four brothers roared in unison, simultaneously manifesting the True Form of Pangu, covertly channeling a secret technique, forcibly compressing their bodies to the utmost limit of miniaturization, they leapt out of the city wall in a single step and unleashed a furious barrage of punches at Feng Shang.

"A Mu is right, a bereaved dog dares to bark?" Wu Jin roared: "Dare to scold A Mu… I'll beat him to death!"

"Smash him!" Wu Yin shouted.

Wu Tong said nothing, merely gritting his teeth and delivering an extremely vicious knee strike to Feng Shang's most vital spot, the most important weak point of a man.

Feng Shang let out an angry roar; a bell rang above his head, a bell shining entirely with silver light, inside countless golden meteors swirling, its form eighty percent similar to the Divine Bell of Qian Yuan, its aura thirty percent stronger than that of Feng Rong's yellow ancient pagoda, and it flew out.

The ancient bell poured out vast starlight that enveloped Feng Shang's body.

Feng Shang laughed loudly: "You have no idea what my foundation is……"

Wu Tie's head, the Great Dao Furnace flew out, a mass of crimson flame pouring down; the silver ancient bell suddenly stiffened, then inch by inch it was involuntarily lifted, sucked in bit by bit by the flames spewing from the Great Dao Furnace, forcibly dragged into the furnace.

Inside the Great Dao Furnace, countless strange lights flashed, and the ancient bell lost all connection with Feng Shang.

Feng Shang spat out a mouthful of blood far away; the Great Dao Furnace hovered above his head, a tremendous suction force came, and the three ancient treasures, twelve spirit treasures, and dozens of heavenly divine weapons each with varied marvelous uses all flew up, being swallowed clean by the Great Dao Furnace like birds fleeing into the forest.

Feng Shang continuously vomited dozens of mouthfuls of blood, his body instantly weakened to the extreme.

The blows from Wu Jin and the others came like a sudden storm; Wu Tong's knee struck his abdomen, a crisp sound rang out, and Feng Shang's handsome, extraordinary complexion instantly turned deathly pale.

"You… you… aren't you afraid of the Sui Dynasty's retaliation…?" Feng Shang shrieked hysterically.

Wu Jin and Wu Yin's painful blows came, immediately hammering Feng Shang from the air down to the ground.

Wu Tie clapped and laughed loudly: "You three brothers, strike with real force, don't hold back for my sake; as long as you don't kill him, beat him to a pulp… heh, let him sober up a bit—does he think he's still the hotly favored heir to the Divine Emperor as before?"

After laughing a few times, Wu Tie turned around, spread his arms, and blocked the oncoming throng of the Sui Dynasty's imperial guards.

"Gentlemen, this way is blocked."

"Your masters are currently undergoing ideological education… so, could you please wait a moment?"