Chapter 921

The poison seal attacked, and rings of hazy ripples spread out before Wu Tie.

Space folded, time slowed, and the yin and yang energies frenziedly strangled; the power of the five elements was like a huge grindstone, bit by bit stripping away the heavenly and earthly power condensed on the poison seal.

Bolt after bolt of wild lightning fell from the sky, madly striking this poison seal.

With each bolt of lightning that fell, the poison seal emitted a low rumbling sound, great clouds of poisonous gas rose up, and then were swallowed whole by the Grand Dao Crucible.

Wu Tie stood on the dragon head of the war vessel, simply watching as the poison seal crept closer and closer to him.

With a clang, the lofty spear's roar shook heaven and earth; Lao Tie, whose whole body exuded terrifying killing intent and battlefield chill, appeared like an iron spear's body materializing before Wu Tie, its wielder's water‑fire divine spear spitting forth icy glints, and a single thrust struck the poison seal.

With a tremendous boom, the poison seal shattered.

Inside the Grand Dao Crucible, scarlet‑red flames swept through the void, gulping down the vast clouds of poisonous gas that had formed from the shattered poison seal.

Lao Geda let out a "gua" cry, his two huge eyeballs nearly popping from their sockets as he stared fixedly at Lao Tie: "What a fierce spear… state your name! Under the old ancestor's command, we do not kill the nameless."

Lao Tie burst into wild laughter, brandishing his water‑fire divine spear as he charged at Lao Geda.

"Bullshit… you haven't killed enough in your lifetime? Not killing the nameless? Heck, I won't tell you my name, just to choke you, you old fart who specializes in poisoning people with your flatulence!"

A low, soul‑piercing spear's roar sounded; at first those present could still hear the gaps between each thrust, but later the roars merged into a wall, the sky filled with flashing icy glints, the sky filled with the dull, throbbing spear's roar shaking everything, and countless icy glints enveloped Lao Geda entirely.

Lao Wangzi and Lao Geda were closest of friends; sensing the almost world‑shattering fierce fighting intent and killing intent in Lao Tie's spear aura, he couldn't help but shout strangely: "Lao Geda is no match for him… where did this guy come from?"

Lao Wangzi unfurled countless silver‑red transparent tentacles, shaping them into a great net to envelop Lao Tie.

Vast yellow sand surged up from the earth, howling as it swept Lao Wangzi into its midst. Lao Wangzi, furious and embarrassed, shouted: "Sand Lord, you old shameless wretch… you've actually thrown in your lot with this brat… you…"

Before his words faded, a sheet of blood‑shadow burst forth from the yellow sand, soundlessly and silently like a phantom piercing Lao Wangzi's body.

Lao Wangzi's aura suddenly weakened by about ten percent; his essence blood and even his primal force were snatched away by that blood‑shadow, also about ten percent. Lao Wangzi screamed hoarsely: "Blood Sea Demon Ancestor… you… you… you still have the face to…?"

"What is this 'face'…?" the Blood Sea Demon Ancestor, for once unusually manifesting as a burly man in a blood‑red robe about three zhang tall, appeared proper and solemn before Lao Wangzi.

Mad demonic flames flickered in his eyes as the Blood Sea Demon Ancestor spoke gloomily: "Old ancestor I am shameless, old ancestor I have allied myself with the Martial King, old ancestor I am fawning and servile, doing his henchwork… what of it?"

He suddenly thrust both hands skyward, and a vast sea of blood surged forth behind him; the Blood Sea Demon Ancestor roared hoarsely: "Old ancestor I am a demon—demonic cultivators act as they please; what business is it of yours whether I care about face?"

The boundless yellow sand and the boundless blood sea instantly merged, like yin and yang taiji; these two utterly different demonic and monstrous powers locked Lao Wangzi tightly inside.

Lao Wangzi raged and roared, but facing the combined assault of two old monsters and old demons whose cultivation surpassed his by a notch, no matter how desperately he struggled, there was no escaping their methods.

Lao Langtou's face darkened as he looked at Wu Tie; he threw back his head and let out a hoarse howl, transforming into his true form—a white‑headed honey badger stretching a hundred li in length, snarling as he clenched his mouth full of sharp, tiny white teeth, crying "ao ao" as he charged at Wu Tie.

He had barely taken two steps when a thunderous bang sounded; huge cactus‑like pillars sprouted from nowhere in the void, countless of them stacking into a dense forest of such pillars that completely enveloped Lao Langtou.

Lao Langtou went berserk on those giant cactus‑like pillars, tearing countless of them to shreds in an instant.

As he was wildly contending with the Thorn Emperor, a demonic light shot up into the sky, and a colossal skull a hundred li in diameter slammed onto Lao Langtou's body, its jaws gaping to gnaw and chew at him wildly.

Even though Lao Langtou was famed throughout the four‑corner demon‑monster‑ghost realm for his thick hide and tough flesh, the Profound Bone Demon Ancestor's bite was like a vicious dog's—one chomp went three‑tenths deep into the bone, making Lao Langtou howl in agony and spit white foam from his mouth.

"Profound Bone Demon Ancestor… you two… still got the cheek?" the sole remaining Demon Sovereign, Lao Juzi, twitched at the corners of his eyes: "I've heard you've gathered countless demons, intending to fight the Martial King to the death…"

The Profound Bone Demon Ancestor opened his mouth, and billows of black demonic flame struck Lao Langtou, making his whole body tremble; the flames exploded, blasting to pieces the countless giant cactus‑like pillar avatars of the Thorn Emperor as well.

While launching a frenzied assault, the Profound Bone Demon Ancestor coldly snorted: "Exactly right—we've gathered countless demons for a death match, but it's they who are fighting to the death; what does that have to do with me, old ancestor?"

The Profound Bone Demon Ancestor shrieked hoarsely: "We demonic cultivators have no taboos—we take the benefits, you take the harms… this is our standard operating procedure, what do you think?"

Lao Juzi opened his mouth, but for a long while he could utter no word.

That argument was utterly sound, perfectly in line with the demonic cultivators' code of conduct… this, this, this, Lao Juzi realized he couldn't even muster half a sentence of rebuttal!

Wu Tie stood to the side, smiling silently.

The Demon Realm had been utterly flattened; countless demons had become sacrifices, only these two demon ancestors remained—as they themselves said, they feared death, and though they were ferocious, ruthless, and incredibly brutal, they too feared death.

They could let countless demons sacrifice themselves to fight Wu Tie to the death.

But you should never imagine those two actually fighting Wu Tie to the death; thus, when Lao Tie and his comrades broke through to the Sovereign level and swarmed forth, coordinating with the Sand Lord and the Thorn Emperor to surround them, the two great old demons immediately submitted.

Their surrender came far faster than that of the Cloud‑Riding Eagle King and his cohorts, with not a hint of hesitation; before Lao Tie and his group could even move to strike, they had already surrendered at the first instant.

Lao Tie trapped Lao Geda and gave him a furious beating.

The Sand Lord and the Blood Sea Demon Ancestor trapped Lao Wangzi and beat him frenziedly.

The Thorn Emperor and the Profound Bone Demon Sovereign likewise overwhelmed the Profound Bone Demon Ancestor with overwhelming superiority.

The sole remaining Demon Sovereign, Lao Juzi, trembled all over as he glanced toward the stronghold; he saw countless great and lesser demons kneeling on the ground, each with darting eyes, too afraid to meet his gaze.

Lao Juzi's body shuddered, and he bellowed hoarsely at the top of his lungs: "You lot, rise up and rebel… rebel!"

"Our forged Myriad‑Demon Bone Vessel is nearly complete… if we just buy a little time, just one month, one month… then we can take you to find another place sufficient for us…"

A stout, sturdy wild boar covered in black bristles lifted its head and grunted, "Huff‑puff, huff‑puff": "Rebel, you‑sister‑ah, there are over three hundred great masters… rebelling means death… can rebellion give you silks and satins? Can it give you fine wines and delicacies? Can it give you hairpins and necklaces? Can it give you hats and boots?"

Spreading his hooves, this frank wild boar called out from afar to Lao Juzi: "Old ancestor, why should we rebel? Good times await us; we can trade some tree roots and bark for the things we previously had to slaughter and pillage to obtain…"

"Although looting and plundering are zero‑cost trades… the Sui Dynasty is no pushover either… my elder brothers, second, third, fourth… sixth, seventh, eighth younger brothers all went to the Sui Dynasty to loot people and goods, only to be hacked to pieces by random blades."

"I'm timid—I didn't dare go, so I just scraped by."

"But now that the Martial King has come, we needn't risk our lives or court death; we can exchange the useless tree roots, grass, animal horns and teeth we have for countless good things. Even the pig droppings from my little piglets, the Martial King trades for grain!"

The black‑bristled wild boar looked earnestly at Lao Juzi: "In just these few months, our several sows have grown bellies; we're about to add to the population… Old ancestor, we don't want to die."

Lao Juzi stared, dumbstruck, at those kneeling on the ground, neatly lining up to bow before Wu Tie.

He remained silent for a long while, then murmured: "Have you forgotten? We are demons, demons who take humans as our blood food… hunting humans, offering sacrifices to the Holy Ancestor, that is how our demon kind multiplies and thrives eternally…"

A giant rhinoceros with three sharp horns raised on its nasal bridge lifted its head and let out a low, impatient bellow: "Holy Ancestor? Where is the Holy Ancestor?"

Lao Juzi spat out a mouthful of blood and roared hoarsely: "You lot… you damned things!"

Lao Juzi's colossal body, stretching thousands of li, had countless space‑rends rippling from his limbs as he howled, sweeping down upon those kneeling demons who had surrendered: "You have defied the Holy Ancestor's word—you shall die!"

Wu Yu and the assorted Wu tribe elders and youths all surged forward; over three hundred Sovereigns struck at once—even though they had only just ascended to Sovereign rank, they laid down a Wu formation, and with a joint blow they easily blocked the sky‑filling space‑rends.

Wu Tie shook his head and said in a deep voice: "Demons differ from ghosts, monsters, and fiends; they have flesh and blood and can serve as wings for humanity… therefore, capture them alive whenever possible, tame them for coexistence, and avoid indiscriminate slaughter."

He snorted coldly, and Wu Tie's tone turned icy: "Listen up, you lot—whether Demon Sovereign, Demon Emperor, Demon King, giant demon, or great demon… in the future, whenever a human eats a morsel of meat, your broth will be indispensable. But if any of you dare harm a single human, I will exterminate your nine clans!"

With a cold chuckle, Wu Tie lightly flicked his right hand; his black sword transformed into a colossal blade of light a thousand li long, which he came down hard upon the stronghold before him.

The Western Demon Kingdom had poured countless efforts into it, suffered innumerable casualties, and barely finished constructing this stronghold—yet it vaporized instantly beneath Wu Tie's sword.

"Beat them, beat them until they submit!" Wu Tie's eyes flashed as he looked toward the four defiant demon sovereigns.

"Well, even if they submit, keep beating… wait until all the elders and brothers are familiar with their new strength, then let them go." Wu Tie laughed… rather shamelessly.

Actually, the four demon sovereigns submitted completely in no time.

After being beaten up together by Wu Yu, Wu Jin, and others, and having thoroughly familiarized themselves with their newly acquired immense power, the four demon sovereigns also joined Wu Tie's ranks.

The four great demon sovereigns have submitted, and their subordinate demon emperors, demon kings, giant demons, and great demons… as the saying goes, fine birds choose good trees to roost in; the Wu tribe youths beside Wu Tie, the Five Elements spirits, and the elite scions of Wuguo's military families and aristocratic clans are naturally all fine timber!

All fine timber!

So, the entire Western Demon Kingdom happily "roosted".

Sui Chao, Sui Du.

Within the capital, morale is bleak; already sixty percent of the residents have fled, and no one knows where they went.

The garrison troops stationed in Sui Du have already been sent by Xiahou Wuming to suppress the Nine Princes' rebellion on all sides. However, the Nine Princes' forces have many experts; their troops are hardly inferior to the garrison, and they also have a strategist exceptionally skilled at marching and battle formations who plans in their camp.

According to information obtained by well-informed individuals from the Ministry of War, half of the troops sent out by Xiahou Wuming were annihilated, and of the remaining half, another forty percent defected to the rebel prince.

Now Xiahou Wuming is desperately trying to hold up the court together with a few veteran ministers, racking his brains to gather military strength; the newly organized garrison forces strive to crush the arrogance of the Nine Princes.

But what terrifies the people of Sui Chao is that the work of the newly organized garrison forces is not going smoothly.

Mysterious experts keep attacking; the commander-in-chief of the newly organized garrison forces has changed twenty-seven times in just three months… twenty-seven commanders-in-chief, all violently assassinated in their own tents, and countless armaments, supplies, fodder, and medicines have been burned to ashes.

Sui Chao seems to have lost its grip on the world.

And the Nine Princes' rebel army seems to have turned into demons, with reports of their massacres of cities constantly coming from all regions.

Without reason or excuse, many cities that opened their gates and surrendered were, after their defenders laid down arms, directly ordered by the Nine Princes to be slaughtered.

From the elderly to newborn infants, none were spared; all were killed.

Bold civilian experts sneaked close to the massacred cities and personally saw, amid the blood-red cities, stands of eerie altars.

The people's hearts were shaken, rumors ran rampant, and the entirety of Sui Chao was in turmoil.

Amidst this turmoil, Wu Tie wore a plain green robe, leaned on a bamboo staff with his left hand, let his hair hang loose, and strolled into Sui Du like an ordinary traveler.

He entered the hall, went straight into the Sui Du imperial city, and stood before Xiahou Wuming and the assembled Sui Chao officials who were handling state and military affairs.

"Wu Wang!" Xiahou Wuming sprang to his feet, staring fixedly at Wu Tie with an extremely complex expression.

After a long while, he asked in a deep voice: "I have heard that King Wu has pacified the Northern Monster State, Eastern Demon State, and Southern Ghost State… where are the border troops of my Sui Chao on three sides?"

Wu Tie looked at Xiahou Wuming and said in a deep voice: "The Western Demon Kingdom was also completely pacified yesterday; the border troops of Sui Chao in all four directions are stationed in place by my order."

Xiahou Wuming stared blankly, and he and his ministers all shouted: "You, what are you intending to do?"

Wu Tie looked at Xiahou Wuming, clasped his hands, and said: "I feel that the Mandate of Heaven is with me… Sui Chao might as well be merged into Wuguo. Elder Brother Xiahou, what do you think?"

The entire court of civil and military officials shouted in anger.

A terrifying aura surged from Wu Tie's body, and all the civil and military officials spat blood and fell to their knees, as if crushed by Mount Tai, unable to move.

Wu Tie looked at Xiahou Wuming and laughed: "Elder Brother, I only ask you; their opinions don't matter!"

"Is the Mandate of Heaven with you?" Xiahou Wuming asked softly.

"The Mandate of Heaven is with me!" Wu Tie nodded with a smile at Xiahou Wuming.