Chapter 97: Chapter Ninety‑Five: Cosmos, Prime Aperture

Wu Tie did not know Jia Zhengfeng's cultivation realm.

He had no idea that, with his Foundation Establishment cultivation, he had killed Jia Zhengfeng; if word got out, it would astonish countless people.

Even if Jia Zhengfeng seemed to be courting death a little… his battle record was still astonishing.

He had no idea what killing Jia Zhengfeng signified, or how great the shock and impact would be. He waved his hands, leaving afterimages, quickly feeling Jia Zhengfeng from head to toe.

This was something Old Iron repeatedly emphasized in the combat experience he passed on.

"After slaying a strong foe, you must definitely loot the spoils!"

"Never be a spendthrift; clean the battlefield thoroughly!"

Jia Zhengfeng's long hair was bound by three white jade rings. The three white jade rings were antiquated in shape, heavy and imposing; they felt weighty in the hand, smooth and round, as if oiled.

Good stuff, peel it off.

Jia Zhengfeng's belt was a dragon-head clasp; unlocking the interlocking dragon heads and shaking the dragon head caused a soft sword with azure light, fluid like water, to leap out of the belt.

A remarkably lively little carp flowed back and forth on the soft sword, almost like a living creature.

This too is good stuff, peel it off.

On Jia Zhengfeng's hands, four rings of red gold inlaid with gems glimmered faintly; gems of different colors bore flickering runes. Bringing the rings to his ear and listening closely, he could faintly hear the deep sounds of wind and fire.

This is even better stuff, peel it off.

Jia Zhengfeng was a treasure trove; even the half-foot curved blade hidden in a secret pocket of his sleeve. Crafted exquisitely, the small curved blade shone all over, its edge razor‑sharp; held in hand, it kept jumping about like a living thing.

Such good stuff, Wu Tie had never even heard of it; he hurriedly peeled it off.

Finally, Wu Tie peeled off the splendid robe woven from unknown silk that Jia Zhengfeng wore, and then, at the spot over Jia Zhengfeng's heart, he found a black beast‑skin pouch about half the size of an adult's palm.

The beast‑skin pouch was jet black all over; its surface bore extremely tiny scales packed together densely. Faint strange light glimmered within the scales; Wu Tie narrowed his eyes and stared at the pouch for a while, discovering that the scales naturally formed rows of fine, complex runes.

"This is……"

Wu Tie seemed to recall something; he rummaged through the messy data in his mind for a moment, then, both surprised and delighted, he opened the pouch's mouth and peered inside with narrowed eyes.

Just as the records described, looking at the pouch's mouth with the naked eye, black smoke swirled inside, obscuring whatever lay within.

Wu Tie hastily activated the golden light cluster at his brow; an invisible force field enveloped the black beast‑skin pouch, and his vision brightened—he immediately saw a space roughly three meters in length, width, and height, wrapped in black smoke.

"A Cosmos Bag, truly a Cosmos Bag…… Such a treasure, Old Iron once had one, which he painstakingly snatched from an enemy after killing him……" Wu Tie trembled with excitement; he glanced left and right, then hurriedly performed the method recorded in the data.

A knife‑sharp fingernail slit his brow; a speck of golden light mixed with a thumb‑sized clot of forehead blood shot out, as fast as lightning, flying into the pouch's mouth.

Wu Tie's vision went dark, his body swayed, and a sharp pain stabbed his mind.

Inside the pouch's mouth, the black smoke roiled; faintly, threads of blood flashed across the black scale‑like surface of the Cosmos Bag.

Wu Tie felt a faint but intimate spiritual link forming between himself and the Cosmos Bag; he smiled silently and swiftly stuffed all the loot he had scavenged from Jia Zhengfeng into it.

Grasping the Cosmos Bag, Wu Tie slapped it onto the Heartguard Mirror.

The Heartguard Mirror writhed, dozens of white metal filaments spurted out, tightly binding the Cosmos Bag to Wu Tie's chest, right beside the violently beating white egg.

"Although you are an enemy, it's still wrong to mutilate your corpse…… but the rotten bone‑marrow poison is too potent; I can't be blamed."

In just a few breaths, Wu Tie scraped Jia Zhengfeng clean of all his treasures; the rotten bone‑marrow poison took effect, his corpse rapidly dissolving, black toxic water continually oozing out, and a strange stench began to fill the air.

Wu Tie had originally grabbed that bronze halberd, but thinking of how Jia Zhengfeng had held the halberd's head to devour essence and blood, he felt disgust and flung the halberd onto Jia Zhengfeng's corpse.

Standing aside, dazed for a few seconds, a sudden flash of inspiration struck Wu Tie's mind.

Not knowing why he suddenly thought of this, he flipped his hands; a faint blue light glimmered on his ten fingers, and large patches of azure‑blue ice crystals sprayed out, accompanied by a "whoosh" sound; Jia Zhengfeng's corpse froze swiftly, turning into an ice sculpture in the blink of an eye.

Cold Qi spread outward; within a few breaths, the ground within a 200‑meter radius was covered with ice crystals half a foot thick.

Wu Tie drew a breath, wiped the sweat that had frozen into ice crystals from his forehead, lifted his feet and floated backward. He waved the Windcloud Banner, releasing great sheets of smoke that enveloped his companions, and the party retreated from the scene at top speed.

Jia Zhengfeng was killed.

The Changsheng Sect's Vice Sect Master stationed in the Cangyan Realm was killed.

Those Yan Family elders who had secretly pledged themselves to Jia Zhengfeng and to the Changsheng Sect…… would they go mad?

But, with the vast sheets of ice Wu Tie left behind as evidence……

Wu Tie thought of Poxi and the others.

Those so‑called Purifiers, at the drop of a hat summon azure gloom from the firmament to cloak themselves; their bodies are clad in armor forged of profound ice, they wield weapons of profound ice, and their combat power spikes manyfold……

What Wu Tie condensed was also azure‑blue ice crystals.

He bore this black pot firmly, and did so with a clear conscience.

"Dog eats dog, a mouthful of fur…… Old Iron's saying really makes me feel gleeful." Wu Tie strode off with a grin, the Windcloud Banner exhaling a faint black aura that wrapped the whole party; soundless wind twined around everyone's feet, and even the five stone giants' steps grew lighter and swifter.

A huge troupe marched across the plain, yet left no trace on the ground.

Together with the meticulous cleanup by the rear‑posted rat‑person scouts, the force Wu Tie led was like an invisible phantom army, crossing the stone cavern where Warblade City lies without stirring a whisper of wind or grass.

They reached the opposite end of the stone cavern, arriving at what appeared to be a dilapidated mine entrance.

No one was even stationed here, yet Wu Tie and his companions knew that deep in the mine, an inconspicuous side tunnel led straight to the Yan Family's most secret and vital Prime Aperture.

The Prime Herb produced there supplied eighty percent of the Yan Family warriors' annual cultivation needs.

Losing this Prime Aperture would deal a fundamental blow to the Yan Family…… likely leaving them unable to recover for decades to come.

A great throng streamed into the mine, with rat‑person scouts scouting ahead and others clearing traces behind; the party proceeded cautiously through the cavern, and along the way Lao Bai had his children set many ambushes.

When the three False Suns above Warblade City rose again, the Yan Family high‑rankers who had caroused all night finally returned to their chambers, utterly exhausted.

If someone listened outside a few of the stone forts in the center of Warblade City, they could hear heavy snoring drifting from the rooms.

The low‑rank soldiers of Warblade City left their barracks, had breakfast, then came spirited to the walls to relieve the night watch; the guards who had kept watch yesterday yawned, lazily descended the walls, and headed back to the barracks.

The gates of Warblade City opened slowly, and groups of gray dwarves, whips in hand, strode out proudly from the castle.

They were headed to the encampments outside the city to urge those damned serfs to work diligently.

A gray dwarf leapt onto a boulder, glanced at the settlement he was in charge of, then burst out in furious curses: "These lazy bums, three days without a lesson—what time is it now, and still not a stir?"

Swinging his whip once, the gray dwarf snarled: "No matter what today, I'll beat three‑to‑five of those low‑lives to death, so they learn what laziness earns……"

Inside Warblade City, the Changsheng Sect's disciples also strolled out of their dwellings at leisure.

Those core disciples, each a handsome man or beautiful woman, greeted each other with cheerful laughs, while at the same time each cautiously sized the other up, wondering if the other was the "traitor" Jia Zhengfeng spoke of.

Jia Zhengfeng's close aides standing beside him had grim faces, each standing at a distance scrutinizing these young disciples.

Everything was so relaxed and leisurely; this was the most ordinary morning after the Changsheng Sect took up residence in Warblade City.

Suddenly, from far outside the city, a piercing shriek like a needle's tip rang out: "Killing…… people dying…… many slaves dead…… heavens, this is…… this is……"

Not long after, terrified screams echoed throughout Warblade City: "People dead, killing…… the Vice Sect Master was killed, frozen into a block of ice……"

The loud, clear alarm bell rang, and sharp whistle sounds echoed in every barracks of Warblade City.

Groups of Yan family warriors rushed out of the barracks, shouting wildly in confusion.

Having expended too much energy the previous night, it took a full quarter hour before the Yan family's high-ranking members of Warblade City stumbled out, a few Yan family warriors holding large water buckets and splashing icy spring water fiercely onto those high-ranking members.

A shiver ran through him, and Yan Duo, the Yan family member in charge of garrisoning Warblade City who also served as city lord and warrior chief, shouted loudly: "What's going on? Who died? Just drag them out and bury them…… what's the big deal? Ah? What's the big deal? Who died? Are you acting like you each lost your own father?"

After a dozen or so breaths, Yan Duo finally received the most detailed report from his confidant.

A mournful howl suddenly rang out: "The Vice Sect Master died? We're doomed…… hurry, hurry to send word to the elders…… heavens, the Vice Sect Master died? That old immortal…… he died, I'm doomed……"

At the edge of the frozen area created by Wu Tie outside the city, nearly a hundred young disciples of the Changsheng Sect formed a circle, cautiously and vigilantly watching Jia Zhengfeng sealed in ice at the center.

Some disciples' faces flushed, showing they were quite excited.

Some disciples' faces turned pale, obviously frightened.

Some disciples had blank expressions, utterly unmoved.

Moreover, a very few male and female disciples had rather colorful expressions.

They strained to appear like their companions—either excited, fearful, or icy stiff—but they simply could not control their expressions, their mouths twitching as they exchanged quick glances.

They wanted to gather together to communicate, but the surroundings were packed with Changsheng Sect disciples and Yan family warriors; if they clustered, they would be too conspicuous.

They could only blend into the crowd, each staring wide-eyed and blankly at Jia Zhengfeng covered in azure ice, occasionally glancing suspiciously at each other.

With so many people present, the vast majority kept an eerie silence.

Only Yan Duo lay sprawled on the thick ice, bellowing hoarsely: "Damn it, last night's guards, all executed, executed…… such a great living person, a peak Chonglou Realm expert died…… you actually, actually heard not a sound?"

"Execute them all, chop them all!"

"Go now, go now!"

"Also, hurry and send word to the elders, send word to the elders…… how am I to finish this? Ah? How am I to finish this?"

Warblade City fell into chaos, everyone thrown into inexplicable turmoil and unease by Jia Zhengfeng's death.

Nearly a hundred li from Warblade City, Wu Tie and the others proceeded downward along the passageway.

The deeper they went, the higher the temperature rose, and the moisture in the air grew heavier. In the end, Wu Tie and company were soaked through, hot vapor clinging to their skin, stifling and scorching, as unbearable as being in a steamer.

Wu Tie was fine; he could endure it.

But the iron dwarves and gray dwarves warriors marching with them, each clad like tin cans, were stifled and overheated in their armor, and each had exceptionally thick body hair, naturally giving them excellent insulation.

After not long in the passageway, these dwarf warriors began panting with tongues out, and after persisting for over an hour, most of them collapsed unconscious.

Wu Tie, helpless, could only spray ice crystals along the way, continually lowering the surrounding temperature, especially focusing on those heavily haired dwarf warriors, which revived them, each marching forward refreshed.

The large company advanced with difficulty, trekking through the mine passage for over ten hours, when a huge opening appeared ahead.

Terrible waves of heat continuously spewed from the opening, and a strange fresh fragrance drifted in the air, with occasional fine sparks flashing—this was abundant yuan energy, not only producing flashes as yuan particles naturally condensed and burst.

Wu Tie gave a soft shout: "The Yuan Aperture has been reached…… the Yan family stations a hundred-strong force of fire crocodile people here year-round……"

"We must not let any of them escape to spread the word…… not a single one can get away…… we must wipe them all out!"

Wu Tie waved his hand, Lao Bai blew a whistle, and the rat-people warriors he brought quickly hid near the opening.

Wu Tie nodded, led the main combat force, and slowly advanced toward the opening.