Chapter 991: Sacrifice Again (3)

White bones piled high formed an altar, standing tall on the plain.

Countless armor and weapons were stripped clean from the demon soldiers, who were neatly stacked on the ground.

They could not move their bodies, but their eyes could roll and their mouths could speak; each distorted, ferocious face cursed the entire Wuguo with the most vicious words in the world.

From Wu Tie to the most ordinary commoners of Wuguo, hundreds of millions of demon soldiers hysterically cursed them to have no burial place, cursed them to never be reborn in life after life, and cursed Wuguo to be utterly exterminated, leaving not a chicken or dog alive.

These demon soldiers were not wise or spiritual beings; they were more like evil ghosts escaped from hell.

The demon army high-ups like the Dark Crow Eagle were also ruthlessly suppressed by Wu Tie, severely wounded, their entire mana sealed, and they sat on the ground, breath faint.

They looked in terror at the huge bone altar, their bodies trembling involuntarily.

They naturally knew what this altar was for.

Thinking they would become sacrifices, stepping stones for others to reach the Venerable Rank, the Dark Crow Eagle and others felt chills run through their bodies; cold seeped from their marrow, they shivered, and their teeth clacked 'ge ge ge' loudly.

"We are the Eight-Direction Pacification Envoys of the Supreme Demon Kingdom… you dare to treat us like this, the Supreme Demon Kingdom will not let you go!" Fei Liuhua screamed hoarsely: "My Fei family has a Venerable Rank ancestor in command, has a Venerable Rank ancestor in command…"

The Yin-Yang Daoist flicked his wide sleeve, and a stream of black-and-white qi burst out.

Within the innate primordial Yin-Yang Two Qi, three clusters of demonic qi that had been blasted apart rolled on the spot, turning into three weak old men lying on the ground, coughing violently and spitting blood continuously.

Inside the Yin-Yang Two Qi Vessel, countless restrictions of creation—heavenly thunder, earthly fire, golden blades, icy cold—nearly tore the three old demon lords, including the Blood Sea Demon Lord, into pieces. If Wu Tie had not wanted to squeeze out their last bit of use value, they would have already vanished into nothingness within the Yin-Yang Two Qi Vessel.

Fei Liuhua's roar suddenly stopped.

Like the Dark Crow Eagle and others, he stared blankly at the three old demon lords lying on the ground.

These are the three Demon Lords of our Supreme Demon Kingdom, especially the Blood Sea Demon Lord—his Blood Sea Palace ranks first among the sects of the Supreme Demon Kingdom, and his own cultivation is enough to place among the top three of the kingdom's thirty-six Demon Lords.

In the past hundreds of thousands of years, according to the clear records in the local gazetteers of the Fufeng Divine Dynasty, over ninety thousand cities with populations above one million were completely destroyed because the Blood Sea Demon Lord sacrificed and refined demonic treasures.

Every single hair on this old demon's body is filled with countless vengeful spirits.

The Fufeng Divine Dynasty once organized multiple suicide squads to assassinate this wicked old demon, set up numerous grand formations to ambush and kill him, but all the assassins and ambushes of the Fufeng Divine Dynasty were blown away by the old demon, leaving the dynasty with heavy casualties; in the recent hundred thousand years, the Fufeng Divine Dynasty no longer dares to harbor any thoughts against this old demon.

Legend says that as long as a single drop of his blood remains, he can be reborn from that drop, never facing the danger of soul and spirit scattering.

Such a heaven-shatteringly ferocious old demon was actually captured alive by Wuguo.

The Dark Crow Eagle and others felt their hearts turn ice-cold, their vision go pitch black, and they had no thoughts left.

E Qu suddenly lifted his head, gazing at the floating Wu Zhou in the high sky, and screamed hoarsely: "Your Majesty of Wuguo, surrender… surrender… I am willing to be an ox or a horse, to be driven and dispatched, only begging for a way to live."

E Qu roared hoarsely: "As long as I can live, no matter what conditions, what price… I will accept them."

"I will be a good dog, a loyal dog that can do anything for you… only begging for a way to live, only begging for a way to live…"

E Qu's roar woke the Dark Crow Eagle and others.

Better to die than to live in disgrace—what integrity do these demons have?

They all shouted hoarsely, begging Wu Tie for mercy, promising to become oxen and horses, to be Wu Tie's hunting dogs and hawks, to be driven and dispatched as he wished.

They even kept adding promises, vowing to offer everything they had to Wu Tie.

Their families, their private property, their daughters and granddaughters… and some even promised to lead the Wuguo army into the Supreme Demon Kingdom, acting as vanguards to expand Wuguo's territory and completely annex the Supreme Demon Kingdom.

Some even hysterically wailed, saying how many eyes and ears they had in the Fufeng Divine Dynasty, how many hidden posts, how many officials of the Fufeng Divine Dynasty were their slave servants; as soon as Wu Tie gave an order, they could seize vast territories of the Fufeng Divine Dynasty and present them to Wu Tie.

In short, to save their lives, these leaders of the Supreme Demon Kingdom displayed the ugliest side of humanity to the fullest.

Oh, no, saying that is unfair to the entire human race.

These demon leaders are not actually human; they merely displayed the shamelessness and baseness of the 'demon' to the fullest, having little to do with humanity.

Wu Tie stood on the bow of the warboat, looking down at the densely packed, neatly arranged demon soldiers.

In the army of the Supreme Demon Kingdom, the proportion of Divine Manifestation Realm experts is naturally much higher than that of human dynasties.

Recently, the laws of heaven and earth changed; the gods removed all obstacles to breaking through the Divine Manifestation Realm, and the number of Divine Manifestation Realm experts in the Supreme Demon Kingdom's army has surged even further.

In such a massive demon army, thirty percent of the soldiers are at the Divine Manifestation Realm level.

This number is terrifying.

Ten thousand Divine Manifestation Realm sacrifices are enough for a peak human Divine Manifestation Realm expert to smoothly break through to the Venerable Rank and condense a Dao Seal.

If all these demon soldiers of the Supreme Demon Kingdom were sacrificed, Wuguo could gain thousands of Venerable Rank experts.

Before Wu Tie lay a thick stack of name registers.

These contain the rosters of numerous civil and military officials of Wuguo, core members of military clans and aristocratic families.

Wu Tie held a vermilion brush, flipping through the name registers page by page, occasionally lightly marking a name.

Wu Tie's civil and military officials come from varied origins: there are the military clans of the Three Great Divine Nations of the Three Kingdoms Continent, and also those who originally surrendered from the Flame Dynasty, headed by Xiahou Wuming, a prominent official clan of the Flame Dynasty.

Wu Tie carefully pondered: in the Three Kingdoms Continent, the states of Great Wu, Great Wei, and Great Jin—among the top ten powerful clans, each clan had five names marked; among the top thirty powerful clans, each clan had three names marked; among the clans ranked in the hundreds or thousands, each clan had one name marked.

Thus, the military clan elders under Wu Tie—such as Xiang Feixie, Xiang Feiyu, Li Guang, Li Xuangui, Yuan Qilin, Kong Chengxi, Meng Buyan, Mo Wu, and these clan ancestors—will all be promoted to the Venerable Rank.

When the commanders of the military clans are promoted to the Venerable Rank, their combat power surges, enough to guard Wuguo's borders.

And the clan ancestors like Li Xuangui, Yuan Qilin, Mo Wu, who possess secret arts, Wu Tie looks forward to what surprises they will bring after reaching the Venerable Rank.

For example, can the five Venerable Rank ancestors of the Mohist school headed by Mo Wu forge a light cannon that can directly blast the ten heavenly layers of the Divine Manifestation Realm? Or can they set up a grand formation capable of trapping a Venerable Rank expert?

Another example: the assassins of the Daoist school, experts of the Venerable Rank Daoist school—how high can their assassination skills reach?

Is it possible for them to assassinate Venerable Rank old monsters that are several levels stronger than themselves?

Another example: Li Xuangui and Yuan Qilin, their divination and feng shui secret arts might possess the terrifying power to shift stars and change fate, to reverse heaven and alter destiny.

Everything is worth looking forward to.

Even if those military clans and aristocratic families only have a single Venerable Rank ancestor presiding over them, that is enough to ensure their clans will not decline for a million years.

This also counts as Wu Tie's repayment for their loyal devotion.

On the name register, Wu Tie pondered for a moment—those who had followed him since the Great Marsh Prefecture, Huang Lang and Li Ergouzi, were also lightly marked by him.

This is his die-hard loyalty, the true foundation of his power; besides Huang Lang and Li Ergouzi, Wu Tie marked a total of one hundred elders from the Great Marsh Prefecture.

Among these people, perhaps some have cultivation only at the first or second level of the Divine Manifestation Realm.

But this secretive and ruthless sacrifice technique, as long as one is willing to give up sacrifice, can forcibly raise cultivation—it is not difficult at all.

Wu Tie seriously drew out names one by one; behind him, Wuguo's civil and military officials each held their breath, bodies slightly trembling, watching his finger sway lightly back and forth.

Before coming here, Wu Tie had told them what he was about to do.

They knew Wu Tie would give his veteran officials here a chance to be ennobled and promoted.

From the Divine Realm, break through to the Venerable rank.

Speaking frankly, the breakthrough in strength wasn't taken to heart by many.

But for gatekeepers' elders like Kong Chengxi and Meng Buyan, whose age is already nearing the limit of lifespan and who have sensed the day their yang lifespan ends, this breakthrough opportunity is a chance to shatter the 129,600-year yang lifespan limit.

Once broken through……does the Venerable rank have a yang lifespan limit?

Perhaps there is, but look at those old geezers and old nets who have lived who knows how many millions of years, those few ancient demon venerables with lifespans of millions of years—no matter how you toss them, it's enough, it's enough.

So, at this moment, Wu Tie's roster before him and the vermilion brush in his hand are like the legendary Book of Life and Death, determining the life and death of these gatekeeper elders……Many Wuguo officials, each silently calculating the merits they've earned under Wu Tie these years, calculating whether they can obtain a precious slot.

Wu Tie turned the roster to the end, pondered a while, and drew out ten names from the Xiahou clan of Xiahou Wuming.

The Xiahou clan of the Sui dynasty, after all, is of Wu tribe blood and possesses the Geng metal attribute, wielding the strongest slaughtering way……Wu Tie greatly anticipates how strong they will be after condensing their Dao seals.

Besides these great and small military clans, gatekeeper families, and official lineages, Wu Tie also drew out exactly one hundred names of low-born officials who have performed exceptionally well these years, especially those loyal without fault.

Among these officials, the lowest rank is merely a garrison commander of an ordinary prefecture city.

Under Pei Feng's command, Wuguo's Secret Martial Guard monitors the world, keeping clear records of how big and small officials perform, their dispositions, and their virtues. This garrison commander, though not high in rank, is broad-minded and resolute, skilled in managing troops, and extremely filial, enjoying great reputation in the army and among the populace.

Among Wuguo's countless commanders, this commander's comprehensive evaluation ranks among the best.

This is not easy, so Wu Tie wants to give him an opportunity, a fortune.

That's quite good; after these hundred low-born officials receive this opportunity, they will surely unite Wuguo top to bottom, greatly boosting its cohesion. Wu Tie plainly tells everyone in Wuguo: as long as you strive and fulfill your duties, Wuguo will grant you endless possibilities and endless fortunes.

After carefully drawing out names for a while, Wu Tie finally nodded in satisfaction.

That's about enough, that's how it will be.

For the first batch to be promoted, it's also not good to give too many slots; one must give those below something to look forward to, for grace comes from above, and a single grant of favor cannot be too large.

"Get ready." Wu Tie waved his hand and said in a low voice, "Um, the first batch: Xiang Feixie, Xiang Feiyu..."

Wu Tie announced the names of the first batch of ten people.

Five elders of the Xiang clan, five elders of the Li family, altogether ten brave and fierce generals from military lineages.

Upon hearing Wu Tie call their names, Xiang Feixie, Xiang Feiyu, and the others instantly flushed, their bodies swaying as if drunk, they staggered out of the ranks and bowed their heads to the ground before Wu Tie.

Especially Xiang Feixie, this tall, sturdy man, a fierce general who had lived and died on the battlefield, enduring countless bloodbaths, actually went weak in the knees; he didn't kneel voluntarily, but his knees gave out and he fell with a thud, then lay prone and knocked his head three times heavily on the ground before Wu Tie.

No one mocked Xiang Feixie and company; countless eyes blazed, bloodshot, gazing at them with envy and jealousy.

To rise in a single step……

The Venerable rank……

Breaking the yang lifespan limit……from now on, eternal ease and freedom!

Among the ranks, many officials who boasted of their cultivation, strength, family background, and established merits, which were comparable to those of Xiang Feixie and the others, clenched their teeth, drenched in sweat, staring at the roster in Wu Tie's hand.

Wu Tie chuckled, glanced at these officials, and said slowly, "I, the king, do things—rest assured, this ennoblement is absolutely fair. Um, don't lie on the ground; hurry to the altar and wait. Today many will break through, so we must hurry."

Xiang Feixie and company knocked their heads repeatedly with a thud-thud-thud, then laughed foolishly "hehehe," each stepping on flowing clouds, striding forward to fly toward the altar standing on the plain below.

Seeing Xiang Feixie and company appear, the dark crows below let out another round of wild howls and screams.

Seeing Xiang Feixie and company land on the altar, the dark crows etc. understood that the sacrifice was about to begin……They did not want to be the offerings; they wanted to live, so they could only swear oaths without limits, crying to heaven and earth, begging Wu Tie bitterly.

Wu Tie paid them no heed, merely waving his hand lightly: "Begin."

Nearby, Gongsun Bai Ma surged forward, throwing a punch at Wu Tie's occiput: "Demon lord, demon lord……How dare you, you lunatics, commit such an act of exterminating heavenly kin?"

Gongsun Bai Ma had just rushed out two steps when over a dozen Wuguo generals in heavy armor swarmed up and beat him down in a few blows.

A dozen or so Wuguo generals gritted their teeth, pressed Gongsun Bai Ma onto the deck, and gave him a frenzied beating.

Wu Tie, hands behind his back, looked down at Gongsun Bai Ma pressed to the ground: "Am I a demon lord? No, I am a good person!"

Gongsun Bai Ma spat a mouthful of blood-tinged spittle onto Wu Tie's robe: "No, you are not fit to be human!"

With a booming "dong," a junior of the Xiang family swung a gold hammer and struck Gongsun Bai Ma hard, knocking him unconscious instantly.