Chapter 88

Shi Family ancestral land, Blackstone City.

This is an irregular stone cavern over three hundred li long and over two hundred li wide, with twelve False Suns hanging high in the dome, providing immense light and heat.

Enormous black boulders thrust up from the earth, forming a colossal stone array.

At the heart of the stone array, a black castle loomed like a giant beast, towering majestically.

This is the Shi Family's fundamental stronghold; the Shi Family's most important kin reside in this Blackstone City, and innumerable orders that decide the Shi Family's fate are dispatched from here to the mines, farms, fortresses, and many subsidiary families under Shi Family control.

In the great hall at the center of Blackstone City, in the middle of the circular sunken assembly area, the rotund Shi Fei lightly patted his belly with both hands, wearing a helpless expression as he stood on the lowest circular platform of the venue.

Beside him stood Shi Le, along with several dozen vigorous Shi Family members.

On the surrounding stone steps that rose layer upon layer, more than a dozen elders of inscrutable aura sat on stone-carved chairs, looking down from above upon Shi Fei and the others.

On the highest stone step, a row of stone chairs held two elders, bent with age, skinny as skin and bone, their flesh covered in large patches of liver spots, their hair nearly all fallen out, sitting hunched.

Though they had grown old to this extent, their eyes glowed like twin will-o'-the-wisps, staring gloomily at Shi Fei and his party.

Shi Fei's pallid flesh quivered lightly all over; he looked at the family Elders with a face of grievance, drawing out his voice like a funeral wail: "Honored Elders, it's not that I, Shi Er, am unwilling to act… I just can't do anything about Old Six."

Two streams of tears burst forth with a "swish", and Shi Fei wailed through sobs: "In his hand he holds half of our Shi Family's warriors… and they're all elite—damn it, they're all the finest elite of our Shi Family!"

Spreading his hands, Shi Fei shrieked: "In Stone City, my men were bloodbathed by him… casualties heavy, casualties heavy… I painstakingly trained a batch of capable subordinates, and he slaughtered dozens upon dozens of them!"

"I never imagined he could be so heinous as to kill Elder Shixi." Shi Fei looked at a certain Elder, tears streaming "hualala" without cease: "I never imagined he would do this."

"Although Elder Shixi is old yet disrespectful, greedy, lustful, shameless, and forgets righteousness for profit, and even shields a pack of wicked offspring who run rampant in the clan, stirring resentment… still, Elder Shixi is after all an Elder."

Shi Fei wailed: "I never imagined Shi Meng would be so heinous as to slaughter Elder Shixi like livestock…"

"Enough!" One of the two Elders seated at the highest point of the venue, an old man whose teeth had nearly all fallen out, hoarsely shouted.

Shi Fei hastily closed his mouth, raised his sleeve, and earnestly wiped his tears.

His face was round and broad, so a large amount of tears lingered on it; his sleeve quickly became soaked in a large patch, appearing truly sorrowful and desolate.

"Who gave Shi Meng such audacity to commit such a grave transgression?" the Elder who had just rebuked demanded coldly.

Shi Le and the others standing on the lowest circular platform remained silent.

Shi Fei blinked his eyes repeatedly, then said in a dry tone: "Of course… it's you, honored Elders… you used to spoil Shi Meng rotten, treating him like your heart's treasure… tsk tsk, you stuffed all the good things into his hands… alas, now that he's turned against us… well, we brothers can't do anything about him."

The venue fell into silence.

The Shi Family Elders seated on the stone steps stared at one another, exchanging glances, occasionally a low murmur could be heard.

Shi Fei adopted a "dead pig not fearing boiling water" attitude, rolling his eyes at the Elders.

It's these Elders….

How many of them are like Elder Shixi?

For the promise of immortality from the Changsheng Sect, they even disregarded the Shi Family's fundamental interests.

They could sell the Shi Family's territory, transfer its wealth, traffic its people…

But these things belong to Shi Fei and his group.

Not only are these things destined for Shi Fei and his group in the future, but now, the vigorous youths represented by Shi Fei already hold the Shi Family's daily authority; this territory, wealth, and populace have already become their vested interests.

If the Elders live out their natural years, Shi Fei and his group would be glad to play the role of filial sons and grandsons.

Since the Elders, for the sake of longevity, want to sell off benefits that already belong to Shi Fei and his group… then it's no wonder Shi Fei and his group act ruthlessly.

The Elders' cultivation and martial prowess are precious; they too are part of the family's interests.

Thus, Elder Shixi is just a chicken.

The Elders are just a bunch of monkeys.

Shi Meng killed a chicken to show the monkeys, and now the monkeys are starting to jump and chatter…

Shi Fei blinked his eyelids, then suddenly burst into hysterical wailing: "Elder Shixi died a horrible death… no trace of his remains… and his direct descendants… boohoo, my brothers-in-arms… they were all hung by Old Six on the city gate to dry in the wind!"

"It's been over a month, over a month… I want to seek justice for Elder Shixi, but… but…" Shi Fei looked pitifully at the group of Elders, his voice hoarse from screaming: "It's not that I, Shi Er, am incapable; it's really that you Elders have given Old Six too much power."

Holding up five fingers, Shi Fei complained: "The elite warriors directly under his command already make up half of the clan… and in reality, even more people obey his orders."

"I said, enough." Another Elder, seated at the highest point and the most venerable, coldly rebuked: "Shi Meng's wanton lawlessness must be severely punished… Shi Fei, can you do it?"

Shi Fei let his head droop in thought, then bluntly lifted his head and shook it.

"Honored Elders, frankly speaking, I can't lead people to settle accounts with Shi Meng." Shi Fei sighed: "Whether commanding in battle or fighting alone, I'm no match for Old Six… one of his hands can send me rolling all over the ground."

Shi Fei spread his hands: "Please, Elders, pick elite troops and strong generals to deal with Old Six… all I can do is ensure the logistics supply… that's the only thing I can do."

On the stone steps, the faces of the Shi Family Elders looked much better.

If Shi Fei tried to climb the pole and take over command against Shi Meng, they would still suspect he was also plotting something.

But since Shi Fei does not seek command authority and frankly tells him he is no match for Shi Meng, he remains trustworthy.

"Hmm!" The two most venerable Elders nodded in satisfaction.

"Shi Chui!" one Elder called out in a low voice.

At the highest point of the venue, behind a pillar in a shadowy corner, an iron dwarf strode out with heavy steps. This iron dwarf had the dwarves' distinctive physique—his body was square and solid like an iron block.

But his height stood at nearly 1.8 meters!

Such a height… without a doubt, this fellow has activated some special bloodline, granting him extraordinary bloodline abilities.

"Shi Chui, take your people to Stone City, cooperate with the Flame Family… and take down Shi Meng." The venerable Elder handed Shi Chui a token forged of black iron: "Take your kin; Shi Fei will cooperate with you… I want to see Shi Meng alive, to know where he gets such audacity… how dare he kill Elder Shixi!"

Shi Chui grunted in assent and took the token with one hand.

Shi Fei then shrieked: "The Flame Family? This is our Shi Family's affair—what does it have to do with them?"

A group of Elders chuckled lowly.

The Elder who had just produced the token drawled: "Oh? You haven't received the news yet? Quite right… but the news will be coming back shortly… before we summoned you, the Flame Family had already moved."

The Elder, a hint of glee in his tone, chuckled lightly: "Perhaps by now Stone City is already a sea of fire? Heh, add a bit more effort, and Shi Meng, after all just a young upstart, dares to oppose us… heh."

Another Elder drawled: "The Shi Family still ought to heed the elders' advice… you're not even fully grown yet and already want to overturn heaven… you'll have to wait until we die."

Shi Fei rapidly blinked his eyes, his hands rhythmically patting his round belly in steady beats.

Two elders exchanged a smile, leisurely and lazily laughing: "Our Shi Family also wants to give the Yan Family a little attitude to see…… Shi Family and Yan Family have been brother clans for many years!"

With a "bang", a strange puffing sound echoed through the hall. Its volume was extremely loud, as if a bronze bell had been fiercely struck, ringing sharply and piercingly.

Shi Fei lifted his round, chubby face, feeling embarrassed as he laughed at the crowd of wide-eyed elders: "Hey, these days my stomach hasn't been great…… I keep wanting to…… pass this gas…… hehe, elders, please understand, please understand…… we juniors, worried about family affairs every day, our eating and drinking aren't smooth, our stomachs suffer greatly…… it's not easy for us either!"

……

A piercing, high-pitched alarm bell rang, almost piercing straight into the marrow.

From the watchtower of Big Stone City came the sharp whistle of a Lizard People sentinel: "Blazing Gold-Eating Ants, Blazing Gold-Eating Ants…… at least three thousand…… no, five thousand…… no, ten thousand……"

Whistles made from fern branches sounded throughout Big Stone City.

The two gates of Big Stone City, front and rear, opened; great ranks of Ox Tribe and Wolf Tribe warriors whipped their whips, bellowing hoarsely as they drove the slaves living in the outskirts' huts to rush back into the city.

Wu Tie had already rushed onto the city wall in the first moment; seeing a sheet of fire rapidly approaching in the distance, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.

Blazing Gold-Eating Ants, an extremely terrifying creature.

They naturally love high temperatures, usually digging nests in areas near magma; even the stronger individuals among Blazing Gold-Eating Ants can bathe directly in magma without harm.

These creatures feed on various metal ores, so their carapaces are as hard as tempered steel, equivalent to being born wearing a suit of sturdy metal armor.

They possess immense strength; an adult Blazing Gold-Eating Ant can effortlessly exert several thousand catties of brute force, far beyond what ordinary soldiers can match.

Moreover, they emit high heat all over; when soldiers fight them, the heat hinders them, reducing combat power by at least thirty percent, and prolonged fighting risks dehydration and fainting.

Some of their variants can even spew flames or spray metallic spikes condensed from metal, their lethality being enormous.

Worst of all, these creatures are gregarious; when they swarm, any city wall or the like is a joke. In the face of their sharp, powerful mouthparts, even a metal‑cast city wall will be gnawed away like a snack.

The Lizard People sentinel was still hoarsely reporting the number of Blazing Gold-Eating Ants they had seen.

At first they only saw three to five thousand Blazing Gold-Eating Ants; shortly after, they saw the number exceed ten thousand. But not long after, they trembled, unable to speak.

Sheets of fire rolled across the ground; without needing those Lizard People sentinels' chatter, Wu Tie had already seen at least thirty‑ to fifty‑thousand Blazing Gold-Eating Ants rushing over.

In the vast farmlands outside Big Stone City, many crops were nearly ripe.

These scorching‑hot Blazing Gold-Eating Ants howled past; in the neat fields, the crops were baked dry of moisture, then ignited.

Black smoke columns continuously rose from the distant fields; flames swelled, and heat waves surged outward in all directions.

The firelight grew ever brighter, black smoke columns multiplied, the flames rose to the heavens, and heat waves assailed the people.

Wu Tie suddenly felt his breathing grow a little difficult.

After all, this is a stone cavern wrapped in rock layers, a hundred‑plus li long and tens of li wide; within the cavern the fire raged, oxygen in the air was rapidly consumed, leaving Wu Tie's face flushed and his body drenched in continual sweat.

On the walls of the stone cavern, dozens of large and small passageways constantly had fierce winds howling through them.

Cold and hot air violently convected, stirring up a turbulent storm within the stone cavern. The gales brought fresh oxygen, but they also made the blaze burn even fiercer.

Outside the city, many of Big Stone City's slaves lived in huts near the fields.

They heard the alarm bell ringing from within Big Stone City, and they immediately grabbed their families and fled toward the city.

But when the firelight rose and the heat waves surged, followed by the howling gales, the terrifying flames and heat spread rapidly; the tiny Stone Dwarves shrieked, and in the blink of an eye they were drowned by vast sheets of fire.

"Damn bastard!" Wu Tie slammed a fist into the city wall.

The firelight was tens of li from the city wall; Wu Tie wanted to help but couldn't in time. He could only watch helplessly as the fire raged, as huge crowds of Stone Dwarves were swallowed by the flames.

Outside the city, great ranks of Ox Tribe and Wolf Tribe warriors howled hysterically, their roars laced with undisguised terror.

"Hurry, get inside the city…… if you don't want to die, rush in quickly!"

Sky‑filling firelight rolled all the way toward Big Stone City; through the flames, Wu Tie saw that behind the endless ant tide, a force of several hundred men in full armor suddenly appeared.