On the pale flagpole, the White Tiger Blood Banner fluttered fiercely.
The large banner was planted on the riverbank outside the Fog Blade stronghold, and under the reddish glow of the "illusory sun," the blood red color was particularly dazzling.
Whether it was the Fog Blade or the Changsheng Sect, none of them dared to touch this large banner, allowing it to remain here. The power of Old Tie's blow was too strong, too terrifying.
With enough strength, sometimes you don't need your true self to be present. Power alone is enough to form an intangible deterrence.
The Fog Blade patrol team passed by the White Tiger Blood Banner several times, but they did not even glance at it.
Not to mention anyone daring to do anything to this banner.
"Power."
Wu Tie stood on a small hill several kilometers away, squinting his eyes as he observed the ferociously waving White Tiger Blood Banner in the wind.
"Hui Fu Zi...your understanding of power is different from mine," Wu Tie murmured to himself in a low voice. "Perhaps you are right. Wisdom is also an extremely powerful force."
"But for me now, power means violence. Wisdom is too far away from me."
Gripping his long spear, Wu Tie continuously infused his body with elemental energy, causing faint threads of flowing light to flicker on his white armor. These flowing lights formed quaint and intricate patterns, adding a touch of majesty and solemnity to the armor out of thin air.
Letting out a long roar, Wu Tie leaped into the air. An invisible force field lifted his body, and like a bird, he flew several hundred meters high, describing an arc as he glided past the Fog Blade stronghold.
The shrill sound of alarm whistles rang out from the stronghold. A large group of Fog Blade assassins and servant warriors rushed up to the city walls, their eyes fixed intently on Wu Tie.
Wu Tie did not approach too closely. He made a turn and glided past the outskirts of the Fog Blade stronghold, over a thousand meters above ground.
Sharp and grating warning whistles sounded from the stronghold as a large group of Fog Blade killers and servant warriors rushed up to the city walls, all of them extremely vigilant as they stared at Wu Tie.
Wu Tie did not approach too closely. He made a turn and glided towards the downstream of the river.
A group of giant river horses were happily eating and drinking in a river bay. From the downstream direction that Wu Tie had never seen before, a group of iron-skinned single-horned crocodiles slithered up surreptitiously, approaching these giant river horses like dry wooden stakes, slowly and stealthily.
Wu Tie landed on the riverbank and glanced cautiously at these iron-skinned single-horned crocodiles.
In Old Tie's lessons, there was information about these big creatures. For Wu Tie currently, these amphibious creatures, with their thick scales, astonishing biting power, and powerful claws, as well as the ability to control water flow and turn it into a swift water column to harm others, were entirely unbeatable.
Perhaps it was the blood that flowed down the river a few days ago that attracted these big creatures.
Either way, their arrival had little impact on Wu Tie.
"Old Tie is right. The closer you get to the lava fissure, the more abundant the thermal energy, the denser the vegetation, and the stronger these creatures become, posing more danger to me." Wu Tie glanced at the motionless crocodile group on the river's surface, then flicked his toes, and a stone flew out forcefully.
The fist-sized stone flew dozens of meters away, heavily landing on the head of a giant river horse.
The giant river horse, who was happily eating, was suddenly struck dumb, and in anger, it rushed out of the water bay and charged towards Wu Tie with a roar.
Wu Tie let out a long roar as he swung his long spear and faced the giant river horse head-on.
His right shoulder forcefully collided with the head of the giant river horse. The massive body of the giant river horse came to a sudden stop, and the long spear stabbed into its head, cleanly ending its life.
The impact force of the giant river horse was extremely powerful, and Wu Tie followed the reverse force to retreat rapidly, casually retracting the long spear.
A group of metal spiders quickly hopped over, and one of the metal spiders opened its plump abdomen, rapidly solidifying its metallic juice into a long knife.
Wu Tie skillfully dismembered the giant river horse, allowing these metal spiders to transport the giant river horse back to the Ancient Divine Armory.
Then he began to hunt the second, third, fourth...
The metal spiders shuttled back and forth, and Wu Tie busily hunted and killed twenty giant river horses in a row.
The air was filled with the smell of blood. The sluggish herd of giant river horses finally sensed the dangerous aura in the air after a delay. They lowly and anxiously roared, slowly heading towards the deep water of the river.
On the river's surface, the iron-skinned single-horned crocodiles sprung into action, slowly approaching the severely injured herd of giant river horses.
"Woosh!" The sound of thundering roars filled the air as thick white water columns, as thick as water tanks, surged out of the river, thundering onto the bodies of the giant river horse herd. These nearly solid water columns effortlessly tore through their thick skins, sliced through their muscles, and pierced their gigantic bodies.
A large amount of blood gushed out like a fountain, quickly dyeing the river surface crimson for several miles around.
The iron-skinned single-horned crocodiles rapidly approached the heavily wounded herd of giant river horses. Behind them, shadows swiftly flashed under the river's surface, with thin water ripples constantly emerging on the surface.
A fierce atmosphere of hunting top-tier prey continuously emanated from the distance of the river, causing Wu Tie to look awe-struck at the anomaly on the river's surface and quickly retreat backwards.
With this large-scale hunting, Wu Tie was preparing for a period of lurking. Regardless of whether it was the Fog Blade or the Changsheng Sect, as long as they entered this secret realm again, there would definitely be powerful experts and a sufficient number of subordinates entering.
Old Tie's current combat strength was not very reliable.
Wu Tie was bound to lurk for a period of time, and his cultivation could not do without foundation-building elixirs. That was why he killed ten giant river horses in one go.
"This group of damn animals, they better not kill these big guys..." Wu Tie ran swiftly, regretfully looking back at the chaotic riverbank.
A dozen iron-skinned single-horned crocodiles appeared on the water's surface, greedily biting into the heavily injured giant river horses and then rolling their bodies violently. The sound of bones breaking incessantly filled the air as the iron-skinned single-horned crocodiles easily snapped their massive necks.
Behind the iron-skinned single-horned crocodiles, seven or eight huge water pythons as thick as water tanks emerged quietly.
Behind these water pythons, a supremely bulky section of about two meters thick and nearly a hundred meters long of super-sized water python slowly protruded half of its body from the river water.
This super-sized water python had two sharp black horns on its forehead, and its eyes surprisingly grew transparent eyelids that could blink freely. Its eyelids, which were now as thick as half an inch, were rapidly fluttering, and the fragmented gold-colored bolt-shaped pupils were full of ominous radiance.
Wu Tie suddenly turned his head and was startled to see this super-sized water python. He trembled all over in fear.
The battle between the Fog Blade and the Changsheng Sect on the river's surface had finally attracted all the monsters and fiends in this secret realm.
A giant water python with two heads...
According to Old Tie's lessons, such a snake was no longer a snake but a "jiaolong"!
Moreover, jiaolongs... had long transcended the realm of "wild beasts." You could call them "demonic creatures" or "monstrous creatures." In any case, they were terrifying existences that normal beings could not deal with.
This jiaolong slowly opened its mouth.
Its big mouth was filled with sharp teeth, and Wu Tie noticed that its snake fangs had disappeared, replaced by a long, non-forked red tongue!
Indeed, it was no longer a snake.
A fist-sized metal spider swiftly leaped over and landed on Wu Tie's shoulder. Old Tie's voice resounded from the metal spider's abdomen, and he exclaimed, "Jiaolong? There's still such a treasure here... If we turn it into an elixir..."
Wu Tie lightly coughed.
Old Tie also coughed dryly, "We two together are not enough for it to swallow... Ai, a puny and insignificant little jiaolong, and it's clearly a mixed-blood hybrid, not a purebred jiaolong... Tsk, back then..."
Letting out a long sigh, Old Tie mumbled, "Back then, this guy didn't even qualify to be turned into roasted meat by Yang Jian and the others... To be honest, I'm really curious about the taste of dragon liver and phoenix gall... But, alas, I don't have that function..."
Wu Tie patted the metal spider but remained silent.
The jiaolong on the river's surface suddenly emitted a terrifying aura, visible black mist surged outwards, and its weighty and almost substantial killing intent caused Wu Tie's entire body to stiffen, almost falling to the ground.
His pores contracted, his heart tightened, and golden stars flickered before Wu Tie's eyes. The flow of blood throughout his body suddenly slowed down.
Fortunately, Wu Tie was far away. If he had been near the jiaolong, he would have lost his ability to move long ago, becoming nothing more than a snack for the jiaolong.
Not daring to look back or pay attention to Old Tie's complaints, Wu Tie sprinted at full speed on the ground, frantically escaping in the direction of the Ancient Divine Armory.
Deep and penetrating roars came from behind him as the jiaolong confronted the group of iron-skinned single-horned crocodiles.
The water columns tore through the air with sharp screeching sounds as the sound of broken bones and other strange noises constantly rang out.
The giant water pythons emitted hissing shrills, and the intense sound of bones breaking exploded like frying peanuts. Even without turning back, Wu Tie could imagine the ferocious appearance of these giant pythons locking onto their prey and fiercely twisting their bodies to kill them.
Escaping at full speed for dozens of miles, Wu Tie finally could no longer sense the jiaolong's almost substantial pressure. He finally took a breath, stood on a small mound, and strained to look towards the direction of the river.
The jiaolong's body was too massive, and even from such a distance, Wu Tie could still see its movements.
He saw the jiaolong stretch its body slightly and swallow two iron-skinned single-horned crocodiles whole. Then, seeming unsatisfied, this jiaolong let out a long roar and, accompanied by several huge water pythons, slowly moved upstream along the shallows for about seven or eight miles.
Wu Tie saw a few iron-skinned single-horned crocodiles quickly moving on the river's surface in the distance.
On the riverbank, the group of heavily injured giant river horses scattered in all directions, running far away. Obviously, the battle between the iron-skinned single-horned crocodiles and the jiaolong and snake swarm had given these non-seriously injured giant river horses an opportunity to escape.
These creatures were quite lucky to have escaped the jiaolong and the snake swarm's onslaught, but precisely because of their escape, the jiaolong did not fill its stomach.
The jiaolong did not seem interested in pursuing the fleeing giant river horses or continuing to chase the iron-skinned single-horned crocodiles with a bit of resistance. It swung its massive body and slowly headed towards the Fog Blade stronghold seven to eight miles away.
For a jiaolong with such supernatural powers and such a large body, a mere seven or eight miles away was probably about the same as an ordinary person sneaking into their neighbor's house.
Not taking much effort, this jiaolong appeared outside the walls of the Fog Blade stronghold with several huge water pythons in tow.
Sharp warning whistles continuously resounded, and a large group of Grey Dwarves and Stone Dwarf slaves rushed out. Urged on by the Fog Blade killers and servant warriors behind them, they recklessly launched a charge towards the jiaolong and snake swarm.
Several large water pythons whipped their tails quickly, and wherever their long tails passed, numerous figures were sent flying. The jiaolong lowered its head and suddenly sucked in a breath. In the time it took to suck in a breath, dozens of figures were lifted off the ground and swallowed into its mouth.
Wu Tie watched in horror as at least fifty to sixty Grey Dwarves and Stone Dwarves were swallowed by it in one go.
What was even more terrifying, after swallowing two iron-skinned single-horned crocodiles and so many slaves, the jiaolong's belly did not seem to have changed at all.
Apparently, it had a digestion power that matched its strength and body size.
"This guy...," Wu Tie tightly grasped the spear's shaft, subconsciously charging a few steps towards the direction of the Fog Blade stronghold.
With a little effort, hundreds of Grey Dwarves and Stone Dwarves were swallowed by the jiaolong and snake swarm, but evidently, these small-sized Grey Dwarves and Stone Dwarves did not satisfy the jiaolong's voracious appetite.
"This guy, what did it grow up on before?" Wu Tie's body trembled slightly, and surges of hot streams of energy raged within his body.
"Don't do anything foolish... you can't save them now..." The metallic spider on Wu Tie's shoulder hopped around, and Old Tie's voice sounded sternly, "To save people, you need sufficient strength... don't sacrifice yourself in vain..."
Old Tie muttered in a low voice, "Although I admire your sense of justice... you going there won't help..."
The heavily-injured slaves inside the Fog Blade stronghold finally suffered heavy casualties, and the elite fighters finally took action.
A large group of Minotaur warriors and Wolf Tribe warriors raised their voices in a loud roar as they charged out of the stronghold, fully armed.
The jiaolong lowered its body and suddenly opened its mouth.
A black mist sprayed out from the jiaolong's mouth, reaching over a hundred meters away. Its body swayed slightly, and the mist formed an enormous fan in front of it.
Hundreds of Minotaur warriors and Wolf Tribe warriors threw down their weapons at the same time. They painfully cried out, clutching their mangled and bloody faces as they ran chaotically.
Poison, the black mist contained poison. The toxicity instantly corroded their eyeballs, turning their facial muscles into pus and blood that dripped continuously.
Hundreds of elite fighters were wiped out in an instant. The jiaolong leisurely opened its mouth, nonchalantly gasping in the warriors one mouthful at a time, swallowing them.
Wu Tie watched in a cold sweat...
Old Tie, on the other hand, seemed to be lost in thought as he muttered to himself, "You asked a very good question just now. What did this guy eat to grow so big? With its appetite, it could devour this entire secret realm in just a few years..."
"Could it be that there are treasures in its lair?" Old Tie suddenly said urgently, "Alright, little guy, you won't be able to save them now. Instead of feeling bad here, why don't you..."
"I..." Wu Tie looked at the direction of the Fog Blade stronghold with complex emotions.
"Have you heard of the idiom 'Wei Wei Jiu Zhao'?" Old Tie deduced Wu Tie's mood and quickly said, "Perhaps you still have a way to save them..."
(The end of this chapter)