A palm-sized metal spider leaped through the air, swiftly landing behind one of Shi Lingqing's subordinates.
The man, stooped among the rocks, stretched his neck outward, completely unaware of the small metal spider descending rapidly. The spider's six slender metallic legs firmly clasped onto his neck, right at the major tendon.
A blinding electric light burst forth, accompanied by a series of crackling sounds. Six channels of electrical currents sprayed out from the metal spider, all completely absorbed into the man's body.
The man's body convulsed, his eyes rolled back, and he fell into a faint, foam escaping from his mouth.
Wu Tie gasped and donned his helmet as he swiftly ventured into the crevice. An invisible force field spread out in all directions, revealing that this man was the only one hiding in this crevice; Shi Lingqing and her allies were not present.
Suddenly, Wu Tie felt several pairs of eyes gaze at him from a distance.
He swiftly turned around and gazed into the distance, where, a few miles away, several spots of dim glow emitted by Night Illuminating Vines revealed several figures standing silently.
As Wu Tie fixed his gaze on them, the dim glow instantly extinguished, and the figures disappeared into the darkness.
Keen-eyed, Wu Tie had already discerned Shi Lingqing's alluring figure, accompanied by two familiar figures, Jiao and Shi Dian.
"An ambush?" Wu Tie glanced at the man lying on the ground, his fingers twitching slightly.
Wu Tie immediately comprehended Shi Lingqing and her allies' intentions upon surveying the crevice: they wanted to lure Luo Lin and the others into the crevice and restrict them within the confined space.
The small metal spider leaped onto Wu Tie's shoulder.
Seemingly exhausted from the previous electrical discharge, the spider emitted a faint voice from its abdomen: "Don't mind them. Hurry up and retrieve this demonic thing."
Wu Tie nodded and walked briskly into the crevice, attentively examining the 'demonic thing' on the ground.
This creature was about five to six meters long from head to tail, standing at a height of three meters. Its entire body was pale white and possessed a streamlined physique, exuding a peculiar sense of beauty.
"What a huge thing." Wu Tie tightly grasped the creature's head and tugged forcefully. The ground around the creature emitted a muffled cracking sound, and several rocks wedged into its body shattered. Wu Tie felt a slight lightening in his hands and stumbled backward several steps.
"I'm such an idiot," Wu Tie silently cursed. The creature's body seemed to be made of the same material as Iron. Iron's weight was unexpectedly light, and this 'demonic thing' was only a few thousand kilograms at most. Relative to Wu Tie's current strength, this weight was nothing much.
Rather, he exerted too much force and ended up forcefully dragging the creature back for more than ten steps, nearly losing his balance and falling to the ground.
With both front paws hoisted on his shoulders, Wu Tie tugged the creature and strode out of the crevice. An invisible force field enveloped his entire body as he leaped up, his nimble feet rapidly tapping against the rock wall. With a series of propelled jumps, he quickly leaped out of this sunken pit.
Unleashing his full speed in his footwork, he covered hundreds of li in a short amount of time.
The floorboards of the wooden shed had already been lifted, revealing the entrance and exit of the Ancient Divine Armory. Wu Tie jumped down with the 'demonic thing' and, after a quarter of an hour, rendezvoused with Lao Tie in the metallic great hall.
Placing the 'demonic thing' on the ground, Wu Tie panted, placing his hands on his hips as he gazed at Lao Tie. "Didn't you say these menial energy puppets could only operate within a ten-li radius around the Ancient Divine Armory?"
Pointing to the palm-sized metal spider on his shoulder, Wu Tie asked, "What's going on with this?"
Lao Tie promptly laid the blame on the great departure: "This guy is too stupid. I taught him a few tricks, which is why these small energy puppets can roam up to a thousand li away from the Ancient Divine Armory... Isn't that normal?"
Wu Tie stared directly at Lao Tie.
Lao Tie stared directly back at him.
They locked gazes for a short moment until Wu Tie's eyes became swollen and teary. He wiped away his tears and turned his head, saying, "I always feel like you're tricking me."
Da Tie gave two muffled responses.
He still couldn't speak normally like Lao Tie, only making indistinct mumbling sounds and rapidly spinning in place three times.
Lao Tie coldly snorted and commanded four metal spiders to lift him in front of the 'demonic thing.' Dozens of thin transparent tubes akin to spirit snakes extended from Lao Tie's neck, gradually extending and stretching toward the transparent wound on the 'demonic thing's' forehead.
Wu Tie stared in astonishment, murmuring, "Lao Tie... What are you... Who is he?"
Through crackling electric sounds, Lao Tie's neck produced several thin, translucent marks as the tubes, resembling spirit snakes, moved like living serpents, gradually stretching toward the transparent wound on the 'demonic thing's' forehead.
He didn't answer Wu Tie's question until an entire hour had passed. A layer of water-like electric glow rippled across the 'demonic thing's' body, and Lao Tie mumbled heavily, "Since there's a little Void Transcendence True Immortal like Yang Jian... naturally, there should be a Raging Sky Hound."
"This 'demonic thing' is undoubtedly the Raging Sky Hound... It's quite a pity. I had thought of cooking him in a five-spice dry pot once he grew flesh... It seems I won't have that chance," Lao Tie's voice was filled with indescribable emotions, "But it's also not bad. Wherever Yang Jian is, the Raging Sky Hound will definitely be nearby."
"Not those crude imitations, but the true form of the Raging Sky Hound." Lao Tie murmured heavily, "This little fellow... is most reliant on others and fears the strong while bullying the weak... I never expected him to die a heroic death... and die here?"
Wu Tie had already sat down on the ground, dumbfounded as he looked at the Raging Sky Hound. "Raging Sky Hound? This name..."
With a series of cracking sounds, dazzling electric light rapidly jumped and flowed near the Raging Sky Hound's neck. Its smooth and seamless neck abruptly split open, revealing several fine traces. Strands of breathtaking white light overflowed from the cracks, spreading out like water ripples in all directions.
With a loud thud, the damaged head of the Raging Sky Hound fell to the ground.
Lao Tie's solemn voice sounded, "Da Tie, send him to accompany Yang Jian. They should be... quite happy together?"
Within Lao Tie's rigid and chilly metallic tone, an inexplicable sense of grief emerged, and his eyes filled with blood became extraordinarily chaotic. "Such a pity. Yang Jian had always dreamed of making this 'demonic thing' grow flesh. However... this 'demonic thing' turned out to be a mere half-step incarnation..."
"What a shame for those treasures Yang Jian saved from between his teeth... If they were for me..." Lao Tie sighed deeply, "But let's not hold you accountable for that, 'demonic thing.' I'm sure you're quite happy to be with Yang Jian, aren't you?"
Four metal spiders supported Lao Tie, bringing his neck closer to the Raging Sky Hound's body. Translucent tubes extended from Lao Tie's neck, flickering with electric light as they gradually connected with the transparent wounds on the Raging Sky Hound's forehead.
From within Lao Tie's neck, dozens of tubes of various sizes emerged, resembling living streams of light. Simultaneously, within Wu Tie's neck, tubes of various sizes and solid beams of light emerged one after another. The tubes and beams intertwined, melding together.
Wu Tie watched Lao Tie in shock as he gazed at the seamless fusion between Lao Tie's enormous head and the body of the Raging Sky Hound. In a short time, they seamlessly melded together. Electrifying currents flowed rapidly throughout Lao Tie's entire body, and his neck became as smooth as a mirror, devoid of any trace.
"Lao... Lao Tie?" Wu Tie stared dumbfounded.
A human head, although made of metal, was actually attached to the Raging Sky Hound's body?
Lao Tie shook his head, and suddenly, the blood-red glow in his eyes became exceptionally intense. Two clusters of blood-red brilliance surged forth from his eyes, radiating throughout the metallic great hall. With a series of cracking sounds, the Raging Sky Hound's limbs, which originally belonged to it, gradually began to move.
In no time, this body stood up sluggishly, awkwardly pacing through the metallic great hall. After taking several steps, Lao Tie turned back and glanced at Da Tie. Da Tie's eyes twinkled with blood-red light, and several metal spiders quickly huddled together.
The metal spiders' bodies melted, transforming into a hideous white metallic liquid sphere with a diameter of about one meter.
Lao Tie opened his mouth and fiercely sucked on the metallic liquid sphere, causing it to rapidly merge into his body. There were incredibly dense metallic collisions within his body, and Lao Tie's mouth constantly spat out a few crooked and twisted metal fragments.
"He's seriously injured," Lao Tie sneered, "What a bunch of bastards. They killed the 'demonic thing' and still wanted to desecrate the corpse? Don't they know that I took over this body?"
Several metal spiders sacrificed themselves to great effect. After about two hours, Lao Tie was already able to swiftly dash around the metallic great hall and move even faster than Wu Tie.
"Lao Tie? You can move!" Wu Tie exclaimed with both surprise and joy as he looked at Lao Tie.
"I can move, but... after all, this isn't my own body, so it feels a bit strange." Lao Tie gnashed his teeth, sparks shooting out from his two rows of large teeth. "But after all these years of being an animated corpse, being able to move is good enough."
Lao Tie suddenly sprinted up to Wu Tie, his massive head leaning in and laughing loudly. "Isn't it amazing? A new species, a human-headed dog... oh no, a lion-faced man... oh no, a dog's body... well, human-headed dog is a good name."
Surging with electrical light, Lao Tie grit his teeth and muttered something unintelligible. He ran around the metallic great hall, relying on his four limbs to race wildly.
Running and running, Lao Tie suddenly leaped into the air, rapidly running on the vertical wall. Like a phantom, he circled the metallic great hall on the vertical wall for dozens of rounds before abruptly stopping.
"This thing... it only took a little while..." Lao Tie muttered to himself with his forehead pressed against the ground for a long time. He eventually slowly lifted his head, his body standing upright. "Indeed, being complacent will bring misfortune... However, being able to move is good."
Wu Tie worriedly observed Lao Tie. "Is something wrong with your body?"
Lao Tie grumbled dissatisfiedly, "Something is definitely wrong, but it's not a problem... I have an interesting question now. Why did Yang Jian die here while this 'demonic thing' fought to the death hundreds of li away from its dying master?"
Lao Tie whispered to himself, "That crevice... little fellow, come with me... What lies behind that crevice?"
Lao Tie galloped toward the exit of the Ancient Divine Armory and left behind Da Tie. However, after Lao Tie and Wu Tie departed from the Ancient Divine Armory, Da Tie could only grumble with two muffled sounds and helplessly remain within the Armory.
Wu Tie hurriedly followed behind Lao Tie toward the direction of the sunken pit.
Lao Tie's speed was astonishing as he led Wu Tie. Under his lead, it took Wu Tie even less time to return to the edge of the sunken pit. There were no words exchanged, as Lao Tie took advantage of his running momentum to leap high into the air, drawing a beautiful arc, and swiftly descended toward the bottom of the pit. Wu Tie stared wide-eyed at Lao Tie's acrobatic feat. "Lao Tie, can you fly?"
Before he could even finish speaking, Lao Tie had already heavily landed on the ground, crushing a stalagmite to dust. He then bounced off the ground several times himself, rolling and tumbling for over a hundred meters before finally coming to a stop.
"Apparently, it was just a mistake..." Lao Tie's indistinct voice came from afar. "A mistake... This little fellow, so severely injured..."
Lao Tie, swaying all over, slowly stood up, and towards Wu Tie, emitted a sharp whistle.
Wu Tie leaped up, drawing a graceful arc in the air before gently landing by Lao Tie's side.
Lao Tie extended his four limbs and rapidly dashed toward the crack in the previous crevice. Wu Tie closely followed behind him, and soon, they arrived at the crevice's entrance.
Loud muffled explosions and the jarring sound of weapons clashing came from within the crevice. Frigid wind whistled forth, carrying black smoke and a faint scent of blood.
"They've already started." Lao Tie's voice sounded heavy. "Let's go and see... Perhaps, there really is something extraordinary here."
Wu Tie nodded, following closely behind Lao Tie as they ventured into the crevice.
They ran along the narrow passageway behind the crevice, sprinting forward for over ten li. The passageway descended deeper and deeper, and gradually, blood-soaked ground appeared before them.
(End of this chapter)