Chapter 995

The sacrifice continues.

Translation: The sacrifice continues.

Wu Tie no longer held the register; he handed it over to Huang Lang, who had just been successfully promoted.

Translation: Wu Tie no longer holds the register; he gave the register to Huang Lang, who had just successfully promoted.

Huang Lang, who had just been successfully promoted.

Thus: Wu Tie no longer holds the register; he gave the register to Huang Lang, who had just successfully been promoted.

Wu Tie no longer held the register; he gave it to Huang Lang, who had just been successfully promoted.

We'll output: Wu Tie no longer holds the register; he gave the register to Huang Lang, who had just successfully been promoted.

Huang Lang had a healthy complexion, his breath deep and terrifying, his face flushed; standing before the civil and military officials, he would clearly announce each of their names every fifteen minutes or so.

Translation: Huang Lang's complexion was excellent, his breath deep and terrifying, his face flushed; standing before the many civil and military officials, he would clearly announce each official's name every fifteen minutes or so.

Huang Lang had a healthy complexion, his breath deep and terrifying, his face flushed; standing before the civil and military officials, he would clearly announce each of their names every fifteen minutes or so.

We'll translate: Huang Lang's complexion was excellent, his breath deep and terrifying, his face flushed; standing before the many civil and military officials, he would clearly announce each official's name every fifteen minutes or so.

The officials of Wu State were promoted together in an orderly fashion.

Translation: The subjects of Wuguo were collectively promoted in an orderly manner.

This time, the demon army from the Supreme Demon Kingdom was sufficient to promote more than four thousand individuals to the esteemed rank.

Translation: This time, the demon army from the Supreme Demon State was enough to let over four thousand people advance to the Venerable Rank.

About a thousand of them were Wu State's civil and military officials, while the remaining over three thousand would be the finest youths carefully selected from the Wu tribe.

Translation: Among them, Wuguo's civil and military officials numbered about a thousand; the remaining over three thousand would be the finest youths selected from the Wu tribe.

Wu Tie stood with his hands behind his back, gave a slight nod to the many officials on the warship, then transformed into a stream of light and flew up into the sky.

Translation: Wu Tie, hands behind his back, gave a slight nod to the many officials standing on the Martial Vessel, then turned into a stream of light and flew up into the sky.

The three-corpse and six-path avatars trailed closely behind Wu Tie, while a hundred esteemed youths of the Wu tribe stepped on wind and cloud, swiftly soaring into the heavens.

Translation: The Three Corpse Avatar and Six Paths Avatar followed closely behind Wu Tie, and a hundred Venerable Rank youths of the Wu tribe, stepping on wind and cloud, swiftly flew up into the heavens.

In the floating battle fort, Wu Tou sat cross-legged on an iron throne, greedily gnawing on a large boar elbow with his greasy hands, making a 'ka-cha ka-cha' sound as he happily chewed.

Translation: In the Floating Battle Fortress, Wu Tou sat cross-legged on an iron throne, his hands greasily holding a large wild boar elbow, chewing it happily with a "crack, crack" sound.

He dislikes meat cooked until it's tender; his boar elbow is only medium-rare, and as he bites into it, blood drips out, filling the air with a faint scent of blood.

Translation: He disliked meat cooked until soft; his wild boar elbow was only medium-rare, and as he took a bite, blood dripped from the elbow, filling the air with a faint bloody smell.

Wu Tie landed on the floating battle fort and glanced at the many busy barbarian gods.

Translation: Wu Tie landed on the Floating Battle Fortress and saw the many busy Barbarian Gods.

Wu Tou tossed aside the elbow, stood up, vigorously wiped his hands on his battle dress, and laughed at Wu Tie: 'Hahaha, Your Majesty, care for a bite? This genuine century-old wild boar has the meatiest bones and tendons.'

Translation: Wu Tou put down the elbow, stood up, vigorously wiped his hands on his battle skirt, and laughed loudly at Wu Tie: "Hahaha, Your Majesty, want some? This century-old wild boar, the tendons and bones are the most chewy."

Wu Tie laughed and shook his head: 'No, um, are you sure they'll send someone?'

Translation: Wu Tie laughed and shook his head: "No, um, are you sure they'll send someone?"

Wu Tie raised his right hand, lightly bumped fists with Wu Tou, then headed toward a small tower at the fort's edge to ask a question.

Translation: Wu Tie raised his right hand, lightly bumped fists with Wu Tou, then asked toward a small building at the edge of the fortress.

Mist and Illusion, who were indicating the winds and clouds in the small tower, hurried out, walked with downcast eyes to Wu Tie, and respectfully performed a kneeling bow.

Translation: Mi Wu and Huan Wu, who had been directing wind and clouds in the small building, hurried out, walked respectfully to Wu Tie's front, and performed a deep bow.

Wu Tou scoffed, rolling his eyes and stretching his mouth into a long, contemptuous grin.

Translation: Wu Tou, at the side, rolled his eyes disdainfully, stretching the corners of his mouth long.

As a brave and fierce barbarian god tribe, he despises those who claim to be the wisest gods—these cowardly soft-faced weaklings and their fawning, servile attitudes are what Wu Tou loathes most.

Translation: As a brave and fierce Barbarian Gods tribe, he looked down on this group that claimed to be the smartest in heaven, the Wisdom Gods tribe; this bunch of cowardly softies with pale faces, this fawning servility, was what Wu Tou most despised.

Seeing Mist and Illusion kneeling on the ground, Wu Tou instinctively touched the axe at his belt.

Translation: Seeing Mi Wu and Huan Wu kneeling on the ground, Wu Tou instinctively touched the battle axe hanging from his waist.

He really wanted to slash those two heads off.

Translation: He really wanted to slash those two little heads off……

But seeing Mist and Illusion smiling, Wu Tou forcibly restrained that impulse.

Translation: However, seeing Mi Wu and Huan Wu smiling, Wu Tou forcibly suppressed that urge.

After Mist and Illusion paid their respects to Wu Tie, they stood up, and Mist said, 'Your Majesty, given our knowledge of the gods, they will certainly not allow such a huge offering to be intercepted midway by Lord Wu Tou.'

Translation: After Mi Wu and Huan Wu paid their respects to Wu Tie, they stood up, and Mi Wu smiled and said: "Respected Your Majesty, given our knowledge of the gods, they would certainly not allow such a huge offering to be intercepted midway by Sir Wu Tou."

They will surely use every means to obtain this batch of offerings… and Lord Wu Tou will certainly be made a target of prestige by Lord Chi Jiang. Illusion coldly laughed: 'I can even imagine that their army is already on the road; once they capture Lord Wu Tou, Lord Chi Jiang will trigger the barbarian gods' most foolish life-and-death duel.'

Translation: "They will surely use every means to obtain this batch of offerings… and Sir Wu Tou will certainly be made a target of prestige by Prince Chi Di." Huan Wu sneered: "I can even imagine that their army has already set out on the road; once they capture Sir Wu Tou, Prince Chi Di will trigger the Barbarian Gods tribe's most foolish life-and-death duel..."

'Most foolish? That's the most sacred, most glorious honorable battle!' Wu Tou roared, spraying spit over Illusion's head and face.

Translation: "Most foolish? That is the most sacred, most glorious honorable battle!" Wu Tou roared loudly, spraying saliva all over Huan Wu's head and face.

'Of course it's the most foolish behavior…… two crude, savage brutes, in a closed arena, hacking at each other, no dodging, no fleeing, no drugs, until one's head is chopped off.' Illusion wiped the spit from his face, sneering contemptuously: 'Such savage behavior, isn't it foolish?'

Translation: "Of course it's the most foolish behavior…… two rough, barbaric brutes, in a sealed arena, hack at each other, no dodging, no fleeing, no taking any medicine, until one's head is cut off." Huan Wu wiped the saliva from his face, sneered contemptuously: "Such barbaric behavior, isn't it foolish?"

Mist backed up Illusion, while deeply scorning the barbarian gods' traditions: 'Exactly, if we, the wise god tribe, wanted someone dead, they would die silently, unknown to gods or ghosts, and even our hands wouldn't be stained with blood…… killing enemies with wisdom is truly the most elegant.'

Translation: Mi Wu, on the side, gave Huan Wu backup, while deeply despising the Barbarian Gods tribe's traditions: "Exactly, if we of the Wisdom Gods tribe wanted someone dead, they would die silently, unknown to gods or ghosts, and even our hands would stay unstained with blood…… killing enemies with wisdom is the most elegant……"

With a dull thud, Wu Tou punched Mist in the face, sending him flying.

Translation: With a muffled thud, Wu Tou punched Mi Wu in the face, sending him flying.

Seeing Mist's nose bleeding profusely, Wu Tou and the nearby barbarian gods burst into loud laughter. Wu Tou laughed: 'You who claim to be civilized fools, despising our roughness and savagery, I'll let you feel the heavy fists of our roughness and savagery.'

Translation: Seeing Mi Wu's nose bleeding profusely, Wu Tou and the nearby Barbarian Gods burst into loud laughter. Wu Tou laughed loudly: "You lot who claim to be civilized fools, despising our roughness and barbarity, I'll let you feel the heavy punch of roughness and barbarity!"

'Stop the nitpicking; male beings should use the most passionate way to kill and destroy enemies—all schemes are paper tigers, easily torn apart.' Wu Tou scornfully waved his finger at Mist and Illusion: 'If you disagree, come fight me.'

Translation: "Stop the nitpicking, male beings should kill enemies with the most passionate means, destroy them…… all schemes and plots are paper tigers, one poke and they break." Wu Tou, looking scornfully at Mi Wu and Huan Wu, waved his finger: "If you disagree, come fight me!"

Wu Tie gave a dry cough.

Translation: Wu Tie gave a dry cough.

The internal discord among these subdued deities is a good thing; as long as no one gets killed, let them be.

Translation: Internal discord among these subdued gods is a good thing; as long as no lives are lost, let them be.

As if he hadn't seen the blood on Mist's face, Wu Tie sat in the iron throne where Wu Tou had just been and said casually: 'We're all on the same side—no roughhousing. So, when will their people arrive?'

Translation: Pretending not to see the bloodstain on Mi Wu's face, Wu Tie sat in the iron throne where Wu Tou had just been, and said casually: "We're all our own people, don't get handsy…… hey, you say, when will their people arrive?"

Just then, a faint light appeared in the high sky.

Translation: At that moment, a faint light-and-shadow appeared high in the sky.

Ring after ring of ripple-like halos flickered in the highest heavens; after condensing the Dao seal, Wu Tie, highly attuned to the laws of heaven and earth, clearly felt the great Dao law over the Mu continent boiling, howling, thrashing like thunder—like the ocean in a hurricane, it raised towering waves.

Translation: Ripple-like halos flickered in the extremely high heavens; after condensing the Dao Seal, Wu Tie was extremely sensitive to the law fluctuations between heaven and earth; he clearly felt that the Grand Dao laws over Mu Dalu were boiling, howling, thrashing like thunder, like the ocean in a hurricane, raising tremendous waves.

At the same time, the foreign laws injected by alien deities were constantly neutralizing the agitation of Mu Dalu's heavenly and earthly laws.

It felt as if a warrior wanted to suit up for battle, but countless thin strips of cowhide glue were wrapped around his body, making his movements slow and stiff, rendering every action weak and powerless.

"Here it comes!" Miwu wiped the blood from his nose, glared fiercely at Wutou, etching today's hatred deep into his heart, then he quickly broke into a brilliant smile: "Your Majesty, the human race, aided by Mu Dalu's ultimate heavenly dao defense system, has been activated—without a doubt, the true form of a deity has descended."

Moreover, they can trigger such a massive heavenly dao anomaly; their descent is powerful, and their numbers are great. Oh, oh, look...

Wu Tie and his companions were at an extremely high altitude, so they could see far into the distance.

They saw that, at the edge of the area marked Di Zi Yi Wu Hao where Wuguo is located, in the boundless ocean, seawater formed a colossal vortex with a diameter of a million li; after a period of gestation, a bolt of lightning a thousand li thick burst forth from the vortex, silently shooting straight up into the sky.

In the blink of an eye, this bolt of lightning broke through the firmament and vanished into the endless, pitch-black void beyond.

Miwu and Huanwu exclaimed in admiration: "What an impressive and terrifying seal!"

Then Miwu and Huanwu gloated, laughing: "I really want to see what those idiots inside the Tianjing God Clan's battle star look like now... hehe, how many attacks have they endured over the years?"

Wutou shook his head and snorted coldly: "That's right; over the years, the Tianjing God Clan's battle star has endured hundreds of attacks, yet they have withstood them all—quite an impressive feat."

Wutou curled his lips in a cold smile: "You claim to be the wisest of all god clans, your intellect surpassing every other god clan... but do you wise god clans possess a casting civilization as advanced as that of the Tianjing God Clan? Could you possibly invent a mighty artifact comparable to the Tianjing God Clan's battle star?"

Miwu and Huanwu simultaneously closed their mouths.

Their faces turned slightly green as they stared at Wutou with intense fury.

"You have nothing but a mouth and a belly full of rotten, foul conspiracies." Wutou spread his hands, speaking frankly: "You, who possess the highest wisdom, have achievements in the way of casting that are even inferior to those stone-headed fools of the Tianjing God Clan—you are truly disgraceful."

Miwu and Huanwu's faces alternated between green and red, red then green, left breathless by Wutou's words.

Wu Tie smiled silently, having no intention of dissuading them.

In the void, the violent fluctuations of the Grand Dao's laws persisted for several hours before gradually subsiding. Afterwards, Wu Tie and the others saw a seven-colored divine light descending straight onto Mu Dalu from the highest firmament.

In the void above Mu Dalu, layers of strange divine light ignited one after another.

There were broken great cauldrons, damaged great seals, fractured holy swords, notched great axes—each piece, though damaged, still emitted a suffocatingly grand aura, capable of moving the immense forces of heaven and earth; such sacred objects kept appearing.

The seven-colored divine light shattered layer after layer of divine light; the originally straight-falling seven-colored divine light aimed at the altar's coordinates grew continually dimmer, kept shedding layers, and gradually drifted toward the continent's outer sea.

Wu Tie rose to his feet and bellowed: "Xia Rumeng, lead your Wushen Army's troops and follow me!"

Wutou let out a low growl; of his six thousand or so barbarian gods, he left over a thousand here to intercept the offerings, while the remaining five thousand barbarian gods donned armor, closely followed behind him, and marched toward the seven-colored divine light.

Miwu and Huanwu drew a deep breath, their bodies flickered, and they swiftly transformed into two hulking, rough-faced barbarian gods, mingling with the barbarian god ranks and keeping pace with Wu Tie.

In a distant cloud mass, the former Sui Dynasty's Prince Consort of the Radiant Harmony, now Wuguo's Barbarian-Subduing Duke Xia Rumeng, let out a long whistle, flying out with thousands of streams of light from the cloud and closely following behind Wu Tie and the others.

Xia Rumeng wore a set of blood-red heavy armor, leading the charge while screaming hoarsely: "His Majesty has said, 'Do nobles and ministers truly have a special nature?' We, born lowly, are destined generation after generation to be slaves and servants... but today, let us stain our hands with the blood of high-ranking deities, seize their bloodlines, and... wash away our past with the blood of the lofty gods."

The former guardian of the Qinglian Observatory, the drunken Buddhist Daoist, having been reborn through Pei Feng's Demonic Phoenix Flame Nirvana as Xuan Min, now clad in armor, wielded a long sword, his gaze cold and sharp as a blade, gritted his teeth and sped forward.

She was recalling her former lover.

She was recalling the humiliation she had suffered.

She was recalling the torment and suffering she endured in each reincarnation.

All her past experiences turned into Xunxian's fiercest killing intent; she could not wait to see the lofty noble gods and smear their blood across her blade.

Wumian Fo also followed close behind Xia Rumeng.

He muttered while flying: "We are born lowly; we and our descendants are destined to be slaves forever... but I am unwilling. In Wuguo I have gained everything; therefore, no one can take from me what I now possess."

"Even if it is a god king... even if it is a god emperor... even if it is those legendary supremes, no one can take from me what I have. This is the oath of one who was once the lowliest of the barbarian god clan."

"In this life, I will defend my wife, my children, and all the good I possess with my saber."

Wumian Fo drew a great curved blade carved with countless lotus patterns, strange in shape, with a vast arc as long as a person, and said: "Buddha is merciful; today extraterrestrial demons descend, intending to destroy the world and bring chaos to humanity... this monk shall subdue demons and uphold the Dao, restoring righteousness to heaven and earth."

"May the Buddha bless me; today this monk accumulates all merit, which will transform into boundless blessings to protect my wife, children, and family."

Xia Rumeng rolled her eyes and glared at the former abbot of the Red Lotus Temple. Damn flower monk, tsk, how dare he air his own petty shame.

She snorted and Xia Rumeng glanced behind.

More than seven thousand followed behind.

They were originally the lowest‑ranked warriors or even slaves among the gods, cast by the lofty high gods into the reincarnation of Mu Dalu to lurk among humanity.

But these people basically, after just one reincarnation, no longer wished to serve the gods or return to their original clan.

Oh lofty gods, blood decides everything; these lowly slaves, no matter how hard they strive, how diligent, how desperate, have no chance to rise above or change their fate.

But among humanity, if they strive, if they strive, they can obtain what they once dared not even dream of.

Power, knowledge, authority, wealth, a beautiful and gentle spouse, lovely and lively children… and the respect earned after changing one's fate.

Even if born into the lowest peasant household, as long as one is reborn into a normal human dynasty, if you strive, if you fight hard, whether cultivating or studying, you have a chance to change your fate.

More than seven thousand reincarnated minor god soldiers, after Wu Tie's last great purge, donned armor, took up weapons, and today followed Wu Tie into battle.

The swords in their hands will slash at the once‑lofty high gods, using their blood to wash away the suffering they endured.

The warriors of the War God Army were filled with confidence and pride.

Perhaps because their origins among the gods were too humble, after reincarnating as humans they trained desperately and frenziedly; thus emerged figures like Wumian Fo, abbot of the Red Lotus Temple; Xunxian, the strongest swordsman of the Azure Lotus Temple; and Xia Rumeng, versed in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, whose talent shocked Sui Du.

They trained so frenziedly that about half of the War God Army's warriors are half‑step Venerable, while the other half are masters at or above the ninth heaven of the Divine Sovereign Realm, up to the great completion of the tenth heaven.

They know full well that the high gods watching the outposts, those they once dared not face, have cultivation only at the second or third heaven of the Divine Sovereign Realm, no stronger than the fifth or sixth heaven.

Now they are stronger than those high gods!

Then what is there to fear?

With the blood of those high gods they will dye their path to advancement red, fighting for a prosperous future for their wives, children and family.

As Wu Tie said, as Xia Rumeng repeated—"Are kings and nobles born of a different stock?"