Chapter 879: Bottom Line

This world is very unfriendly to our human race.

Black Stone Daoist stood before Wu Tie, raised his head, gazed at the sky, and spoke in a vague tone about the profound heavenly way.

The Martial King's cultivation is astonishing; he likely already feels the suppression of heaven and earth upon himself.

Wu Tie slowly nodded, listening to Black Stone Daoist's explanation.

This world is very unfriendly to the human race.

A concrete example is that Sui Chao has no Venerable existence at all. Above the God Manifest Realm is called Venerable, and among the four major demonic enemy states bordering Sui Chao, all have Venerable beings—for instance, the Western Demon State openly has five great demon Venerables, plus four hidden cultivators, making a total of nine great demon Venerables jointly ruling the demon state.

But Sui Chao has not a single Venerable.

If it weren't for Sui Chao's powerful military formations, excellent equipment, strict discipline, thorough training, combined with the demonic monsters' lack of skill in formations, talismans, and puppets, as well as the heavily fortified military cities and fortresses, how could Sui Chao withstand the attacks of the four enemy states?

Of course, the most important is the Fire Transmission Grand Formation; this formation greatly weakens the strength of the venerable old monsters of the four enemy states, which is why Sui Chao has endured countless years of wind and rain and still stands firm.

"This world does not allow our human race to have any existence above the God Manifest Realm." Black Stone Daoist heaved a heavy sigh, his tone becoming even more vague.

The Azure Lotus Temple has Daoists of great virtue and accomplishment; their cultivation has reached the point where they cannot advance further. They have clearly seen the splendid scenery of the Venerable realm, and half of their bodies have already squeezed into that gate, yet they cannot fully step inside.

Heaven and earth have a pact: the Venerable realm—humans cannot enter.

"That boundless scenery is right before our eyes, yet we cannot advance an inch……no progress, lifespan has a limit." Black Stone Daoist looked at Wu Tie and said in a deep voice: "May I ask, Martial King, of the God Manifest Realm beings you have seen who lived the longest, how many years did they live?"

In Wu Tie's mind, the images of the various great generals and numerous clan elders of Wuguo quickly flashed.

The longest-lived, the limit of lifespan, is probably… a hundred thousand years?

None have lived longer.

Wu Tie tapped heavily on the armrest of the soft cushion a few times, then said in a deep voice: "On Wuguo's territory, the oldest clan elders probably live just over a hundred thousand years? But, the cultivation of the God Manifest Realm…"

Black Stone Daoist said calmly: "When the cultivation of the God Manifest Realm reaches its peak, one dispels the god-soul and god-fetus, breaks the innate mystic barrier, a point of innate spiritual light condenses, one clearly comprehends the self, thoroughly understands the nature, penetrates the five senses and six consciousnesses, and merges completely with the Great Dao……this is the foundation for breaking through to Venerable."

"In principle, once a point of innate spiritual light arises from the god-soul, there is no more suffering of reincarnation, and one can attain longevity."

Wu Tie gave a dry laugh a few times.

The highest cultivation among Wuguo's great generals and clan elders is no more than the Fifth Heaven of the God Manifest Realm.

The so-called breaking of the innate mystic barrier, erupting a point of innate spiritual light from the god-soul—that is the so-called innate primordial spirit—allows one to thoroughly comprehend the self and nature, the five senses and six consciousnesses, polishing oneself to be like a flawless relic pearl, round and clear, perfectly merging with the heaven-earth Great Dao.

All of Wuguo now only Wu Tie has reached the peak of the God Manifest Realm, and only Wu Tie is qualified to say he has glimpsed the wonder of this realm.

Those Wuguo elders, well… hehe.

"It seems Wuguo has no God Manifest Realm cultivator who has lived over a hundred thousand years." Black Stone Daoist said calmly: "Sui Chao is the same; no matter how high the cultivation, 129,600 years is the limit of the human race."

"Even if one reaches the peak of the God Manifest Realm, clearly sensing that one's lifespan far exceeds this limit, yet no one can live past one yuan."

"But those demons and monsters, not to mention the venerable old monsters, the demon emperors, demon kings, and even some rare-blooded great demons and major demons, easily have lifespans of hundreds of thousands of years."

Wu Tie suddenly recalled the Wu clan's ancestral Wu Yu and a batch of old monsters, and he said in a deep voice: "However, there is also…"

Black Stone Daoist quickly said: "There are secret arts that can prolong lifespan……but such secret arts, how are they different from the living dead?"

Wu Tie recalled the first time he saw Wu Yu; he had self-sealed himself inside a huge coffin, carried out from the underground world by a group of Wu clan youths.

Self-sealing, akin to feigned death, although it allows one to 'live' long enough, but can that be considered 'alive'?

Black Stone Daoist coldly regarded Wu Tie and said in a cold voice: "Such self-sealing, resembling dead ancestors, in the rear mountain secret cavern of my Azure Lotus Temple, there are no fewer than a hundred thousand……hehe, a hundred thousand sealed coffins, densely packed, filling the mountain and cavern……such a scene……"

Black Stone Daoist's body trembled slightly.

How many years has Sui Chao been founded?

What profound foundation does the Azure Lotus Temple have?

With the Azure Lotus Temple's Daoist tradition, selecting talents from the vast Sui Chao and nurturing them carefully, even if we take a thousand years as a cycle, there could be several or dozens of top talents capable of breaking through to the peak of the God Manifest Realm; Sui Chao has existed for countless years, accumulating these peak God Manifest Realm cultivators—how could their number be less than millions?

Some have fallen in battle.

Some have gone missing.

Some, carefree and unrestrained, not bothering to merely survive, thus liberated themselves.

More people, seeking a path for their junior disciples, exhausted all kinds of strange and wondrous secret arts in hopes of breaking through, only to meet myriad downfalls.

After generation after generation of talents and elites lost the vast majority, in the rear mountain secret cavern of the Azure Lotus Temple, there still accumulated over a hundred thousand lifespans pushed to the extreme, old monsters who self-seal to delay the arrival of death.

Black Stone Daoist looked at Wu Tie and said in a deep voice: "Therefore, my Azure Lotus Temple is not unable to compete with the Martial King for superiority; we simply are unwilling……If my Azure Lotus Temple spared no cost to awaken ten thousand half-step Venerable old monsters who are self-sealed, even if they have only three to five months of lifespan left……Martial King, could you withstand that?"

Wu Tie's mouth corner twitched violently.

He shook his head firmly.

Cannot withstand.

Not to mention him, even if all of Wuguo were squeezed together, plus the many venerable old monsters now serving under him, they still could not withstand ten thousand individuals whose lifespans have reached the limit, who, once awakened, are determined to fight to the death as half-step Venerables.

The monkey child on Wu Tie's shoulder originally held a fruit, grinning and making faces at Black Stone Daoist.

Suddenly hearing Black Stone Daoist's words, the monkey child trembled all over, its golden fur standing on end, looking at first glance like a large golden sea urchin perched on Wu Tie's shoulder.

A hundred thousand self-sealed undying old ones?

The Azure Lotus Temple is like this; what about the Red Lotus Temple? The White Lotus Palace? And the Feng clan of Sui Chao's royalty?

The monkey child suddenly understood why its own ancestor would say things like 'humans are terrifying'.

These humans, looking kind and benevolent, seem like good people……but what they do is simply to trap and kill demons!

A hundred thousand self-sealed half-step Venerable old monsters.

If they were willing to fight to the death, if they all ran to the Western Demon State and went 'bang bang bang' in self-destructive sacrifice……tsk, the entire Western Demon State would be blown topsy-turvy, all demon races would be exterminated!

"If there is an opportunity to let this world accept our human race." Black Stone Daoist gazed at Wu Tie with bright eyes: "As long as there is a sliver of chance, if among my Azure Lotus Temple's forefathers, just three to five hundred break through to Venerable……our human race, our Sui Chao, what a magnificent sight it would be!"

Wu Tie's fingers heavily struck the armrest of the soft cushion.

Black Stone Daoist's words are very appealing and infectious. If the Azure Lotus Temple were to produce hundreds of Venerables……

Hehe, Wu Tie sneered, if the Azure Lotus Temple were to produce hundreds of Venerables, perhaps they would first roll up their sleeves, smash Wu Tie's skull, and then swallow the entire Wuguo, together with the subterranean Fuxi God State, clean and neat.

"So, you let Feng Rong kill people?" Wu Tie's question was direct and blunt.

"That Qing Wu, his origins are unknown……" Black Stone Daoist's eyes flickered with a deep, unfathomable light: "We suspect……he is a foreign evil demon……"

No need to doubt, he is the one. Wu Tie said decisively: "In Wuguo, I have dealt with their kind. He is the one; I can tell you directly, he is an extraterrestrial evil demon."

Black Stone Daoist's tone suddenly became very strange.

It seemed to have grown a bit heavier, yet also seemed to have grown a bit lighter.

Thus, it could actually be explained. Azure Mist promised that if Feng Rong offered sufficient sacrifices to heaven and earth, then... the mysteries of heaven and earth on the continent where the Flame Dynasty resides would change. Black Stone Daoist said in a deep voice: "Feng Rong, you could gain eternal life."

"Eternal life?" Wu Tie laughed: "Feng Rong is doing this just for that, letting loose and slaughtering? There's no reason at all, just finding any excuse to start a massacre against your own dynasty's subjects? You Azure Lotus Observatory... is that what you're doing, just standing by?"

Black Stone Daoist said coldly: "Exactly so."

Wu Tie leaned back heavily, he pinched the monkey baby in his hand, pried open its mouth, and forcibly stuffed an unpeeled longan inside.

He said calmly: "For this, you sit by while Feng Rong kills people, uh... tsk, you still have the nerve to say you are one of the three state-protecting divine sects, the Azure Lotus Observatory."

"A temporary sacrifice is to better protect the Flame Dynasty." Black Stone Daoist said sternly: "If our Azure Lotus Observatory could have hundreds, even more Venerable ranks, the future of our Flame Dynasty would be how bright?"

Wu Tie gazed at Black Stone Daoist with deep, profound eyes.

He stared at Black Stone Daoist for a long time, until even the highly cultivated Black Stone Daoist felt a bit uneasy and shifted his body, then Wu Tie said coldly: "In my Wuguo, when the world was once divided three ways, breaking into the Divine Manifestation Realm was always extremely dangerous."

"Just as Feng Rong did, it likewise requires blood sacrifice, wanton slaughter, using the blood of countless soldiers to exchange for a few fortunate chances to break into the Divine Manifestation Realm."

"Later, I also learned that besides the large-scale blood sacrifices of the three states warring against each other, the major clans also have small private rituals."

"Human lives, resources, even peerless maidens, and even geniuses with special bloodlines can serve as offerings... when accumulated to a certain extent, heavenly deities will take pity and grant an opportunity to ascend to the Divine Realm for the clan's elders whose lifespans have reached their limit."

"It is said that after ascending to the Divine Realm, there are no more lifespan restrictions."

Wu Tie glanced askance at Black Stone Daoist: "Why don't you use this method?"

Black Stone Daoist said coldly: "How could we possibly offer sacrifices to extraterrestrial demons?"

Wu Tie laughed: "Your archway is set up rather lofty and righteous... Hmm, you don't sacrifice to demons, yet you can tolerate Feng Rong's wanton slaughter as a sacrifice to heaven and earth."

"\"A son does not kill Bo Ren, yet Bo Ren dies because of the son... \" Wu Tie sighed: \"Do you understand what I mean? \""

Black Stone Daoist stared blankly... Obviously, he didn't understand that sentence.

It is quite obvious that Wu Tie's saying has not been passed down in the Flame Dynasty.

It is quite obvious that the Flame Dynasty's inherited primordial civilization legacy is still incomplete.

"Well, putting it bluntly... you lot of old farts, acting like whores yet shouting all over the world that you're pure maidens!" Wu Tie sighed: "Originally I had some good feelings toward your Azure Lotus Observatory, compared to the Scarlet Lotus Temple and White Lotus Palace, you Azure Lotus Observatory seemed not bad."

"I never expected your true face to be even more filthy and corrupt than the brutal Scarlet Lotus Temple and the hypocritical White Lotus Palace."

"You appear to transcend the world, unsullied by mortal dust, yet in secret you manipulate the mortal world, turning it into seas of blood... You once had a chance to stop it all, yet you let it happen."

"Look at your hand, Black Stone Daoist." Wu Tie straightened his body, stood up, looked down at the Black Stone Daoist who was much shorter than him, and patted his shoulder: "Look at your hand... isn't it emitting a red glow? That's bloodiness... your hands are bloody, and you can't wash it off."

Black Stone Daoist instinctively glanced at his own hands, then he laughed and shook his head, saying to Wu Tie: "King Wu has a sharp tongue. However, King Wu's longevity? King Wu probably hasn't yet grasped the preciousness of life, probably hasn't reached the limit of his lifespan, the point of utter desperation."

"We clearly have powerful cultivation, supreme status, boundless authority... We clearly can enjoy longevity and overlook the world... We clearly can roam beyond the world and enjoy all immortal blessings..."

"How could we bear to have our lifespans exhausted and turn to dust?"

"How could we bear to have spent this lifetime in arduous cultivation only to vanish into ashes and smoke?"

"We..."

Wu Tie interrupted Black Stone Daoist's words: "At the root, it's that you are too greedy."

"Indeed, my age is not great, less than a hundred years, twelve million nine thousand six hundred years... Wow, what an exaggerated number, I never really thought about what it means to live tens of thousands of years."

"But I ask myself, am I perhaps a good person?"

"So, I will not slaughter humanity for no reason just to gain my own longevity and immortality."

"Whether I do it myself or pull the strings behind the scenes to have others do it."

Black Stone Daoist was first startled, then sneered: "Less than a hundred years? King Wu, what astonishing talent, what terrifying aptitude, what heaven-defying fortune... King Wu, you really don't understand us..."

Wu Tie stared at Black Stone Daoist: "I understand you, I just disdain to do it... Feng Rong must be removed from office, he must be personally slain by the Blood Prison. The Flame Dynasty must also grant me a fief large enough, with enough subjects, as compensation for me and for Wuguo."

"This is my bottom line, not to be violated."

"What if the Azure Lotus Observatory wants to defy?" Black Stone Daoist gritted his teeth, lifted his head, and glared fiercely at Wu Tie.

Wu Tie lowered his head to look down at Black Stone Daoist, and said faintly: "Then I can only raze the Azure Lotus Observatory? Hehe, why not give it a try?"

Black Stone Daoist shouted sternly: "Then what if the Scarlet Lotus Temple, White Lotus Palace, and my Azure Lotus Observatory join forces? What if my Azure Lotus Observatory tells them our speculations and plans, and then the three of us unite?"

Wu Tie fell silent.

He raised his hand, with a "bang," he smashed Black Stone Daoist to pieces, even the bit of innate spiritual light was reduced to ashes and smoke.

"If that's the case, I will destroy your Azure Lotus Observatory, White Lotus Palace, and Scarlet Lotus Temple." Wu Tie said calmly: "Goodness, perhaps slaughtering you could satisfy those 'extraterrestrial demons' after all."

"Goodness, the more this gets tangled, the more complicated it becomes... Actually, I just came to demand compensation; why go through all this trouble?"

Wu Tie's mood became extremely terrible.

Thinking of the scene Black Stone Daoist described in the secret cavern behind the Azure Lotus Observatory's rear mountain, he felt unable to catch his breath.