Roar!
Amidst the resounding roar, a stone giant measuring around ten meters in height leapt out from the waterfall.
The stone giant, completely hairless with a python-skin battle skirt around its waist, appeared as if it was sculpted from granite, with a grayish color all over.
Dragging a chain as thick as a water jar, the stone giant created a beautiful arc as it charged out of the massive waterfall and dove into the deep pool below.
Half an hour later, accompanied by another roar, the stone giant climbed up the riverbank while clutching the chain.
Once it stood firm, threads of light appeared on its grayish muscles, and a grayish light on its chest rapidly contracted, accompanied by muffled heartbeats.
The ground around trembled slightly as a powerful force field emerged from underground, enveloping the entire stone giant.
Gradually, the stone giant's body expanded and quickly grew to about fifteen meters in height. It pulled the iron chain with all its might, advancing step by step towards the Mist Blade stronghold.
The faint clanging sound echoed from behind the waterfall, even overshadowing the thunderous sound of the water.
Soon, three other stone giants, each carrying a large hammer and big iron nails, leaped out from the waterfall. They followed the chain held by the first stone giant, stepping on it as if walking on flat ground, and rushed down quickly.
The Mist Blade stronghold was just over a mile away. The four stone giants joined forces to securely anchor the chain to the ground.
Huge iron nails, about seven to eight meters long, were used to fix large iron rings in place. Dozens of such massive iron nails were firmly hammered into the ground, making the chain straight and taut.
The chain glowed brightly, and threads of light danced in the air. With a muffled sound, a strange lineup of "vehicles" rushed out from the waterfall along the large chain.
These so-called vehicles had gears that were closely connected to the chain below, with peculiar-shaped cabins on top, resembling stealth boats.
Each section of the vehicles was about seven to eight meters wide, about twenty meters long, and about seven to eight meters high. These sections were connected by large iron chains, creating a long line of vehicles nearly a kilometer long.
Each vehicle was adorned with numerous glowing symbols. With streams of light dancing, the long line of vehicles resembled a multicolored glowing centipede, rushing down the chain with a rumbling sound.
As they approached the Mist Blade camp, sparks spewed from the gears of the vehicles, causing their speed to gradually slow down. Doors on both sides of the cabins opened, and agile figures dressed in black skin-tight clothes carrying straight knives leaped out. These were Mist Blade assassins.
This lineup of vehicles transported over two thousand Mist Blade assassins in one go, along with thousands of other soldiers and tens of thousands of slaves.
On the city wall of the Mist Blade stronghold, the top of the only remaining watchtower, a figure materialized from thin air.
The Commanding Martial Leader of the Mist Blade, clad in a cloak with his face hidden in the shadows, stood with his hands behind his back, observing the chaotic camp below. The Mist Blade assassins who were cleaning up the ruins and treating their injured comrades in the stronghold felt his presence and silently knelt down to pay their respects.
"What has happened?" The voice of the Commanding Martial Leader of the Mist Blade resonated coldly for dozens of miles, reaching even the Longevity Sect camp on the other side of the wide river.
A captain of the assassins jumped down from the city wall, quickly landing at the foot of the wall, and explained the cause and effect of the attack by the dragon and the serpents clearly.
He highlighted that if it weren't for Wu Tie and Lao Tie diverting the dragon's attention and using unknown means to injure it, the entire Mist Blade stronghold would have been devoured by the dragon.
"A dragon...?" The voice of the Commanding Martial Leader of the Mist Blade carried a hint of joy. "What a treasure, what good fortune to encounter such luck just as I arrived!"
"Gather all the personnel. I will also try my hand at slaying a dragon."
"Even if it's just a dragon, it still belongs to the dragon clan."
"The dragon clan... even a single scale is a precious treasure."
Upon hearing the command of the Commanding Martial Leader of the Mist Blade, the Mist Blade assassins present, both those who were already there and those who had just arrived, as well as the warrior servants, quickly mobilized. They rapidly organized their formations, assembled the numerous long-range weapons brought with them, and coated all the arrows with a secret poison to prepare for the Commanding Martial Leader's plan to "slay the dragon."
...
The surroundings plunged into darkness.
Amidst the boundless darkness, someone faintly chanted a scripture.
The person's voice was gentle yet possessed the aura of righteousness, integrity, and indomitability.
This voice possessed an extraordinary power. Wu Tie felt as if his soul was submerged in warm water, feeling comfortable and enriched. He could clearly sense his soul growing stronger bit by bit.
The strength of the soul determined the power of innate divine abilities. Naturally, Wu Tie's innate divine ability, "Control of the Universe," also grew stronger under the refinement of the grand righteousness.
Although he didn't know exactly what was happening, within this darkness, as he listened to the gentle recitation of that person, Wu Tie finally understood the essence of the divine ability "Might of Mighty Rectitude."
Righteousness existed within heaven and earth.
Omnipotent and knowing everything, it was extremely strong and dominant.
The "Might of Mighty Rectitude" could be used as an offensive divine ability, specifically to counteract all evil forces.
But its greatest use was to temper the soul, enhance the essence of the soul, directly connect with the core of heaven and earth, and reach the utmost sacred realm of heaven and earth. It was the supreme method of cultivating the mind and cultivating virtue.
In a moment of urgency, Wu Tie expended all his remaining grand righteousness to confront the dragon. It seemed as if he had used a precious jade to strike a stray dog, completely misunderstanding its proper use.
A desperate attempt with all his strength resulted in the depletion of all his power.
Only a trace of soul power remained, and most of his blood burned away, leaving his body hollowed out like dried jerky.
However, if there is no destruction, there is no creation. After the depletion of soul power, the newly born soul power, refined by the grand righteousness, was several times purer and more condensed than before, possessing stronger abilities.
Most of his blood burned away, leaving only a faint golden glow, refined and heavy, containing even greater power and vitality.
A familiar warmth flowed within him.
Liquid continuously flowed into his mouth and gently burst open in his abdomen.
Someone was constantly feeding basic elixirs into Wu Tie's body.
His body, almost drained dry, gasped eagerly for breath. Energy continuously replenished him, and the bone marrow, which also underwent subtle changes, produced new blood to make up for the losses. Gradually, the diminishing power gradually recovered.
In the darkness, the gentle voice gradually grew louder.
Soon, more voices echoed in the darkness, echoing and reciting scriptures incomprehensible to Wu Tie.
Although he couldn't hear or understand them...
Wu Tie's tears flowed inexplicably.
It was a feeling from his bloodline, a feeling that crossed time and space, spanning years. As long as bloodlines continue, the feeling will never be severed.
Pass on the fire, unending life.
Whether it was the gentle voice or the mixed male, female, young, and old voices, each voice made Wu Tie feel an inexplicable warmth and intimacy.
In the darkness, the golden sphere on Wu Tie's brow gradually recovered. The originally thumb-sized golden glow was now the size of an egg, and the golden light was denser than before, with a faint blood color shimmering within.
The darkness shattered, and Wu Tie opened his eyes.
Before him was a bright light, with the pale ceiling emitting a bright glow. The ceiling, walls, and floor were spotlessly clean.
Wu Tie lay sprawled in the center of a metal hall, and beside him was the apparatus that produced the foundation elixirs. More than two hundred empty bottles were scattered around him, while several elemental puppets scurried about, carrying the bottles out.
Da Tie was a bit of a clean freak and couldn't bear to see any trash within the Ancient Divine Armory.
Da Tie stood in front of Wu Tie, his bone-white skull devoid of expression, blood-red light gleaming in his eye sockets as he stared fixedly at Wu Tie.
Technically, Wu Tie couldn't see any expression on Da Tie's face.
However, his flickering gaze was filled with intense emotions.
Wu Tie was taken aback, quickly jumped up, grabbed the tightly coiled flexible armor by his side, and injected a stream of elemental force into it, causing the white metallic liquid to spread all over, quickly forming armor to protect his body.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Wu Tie asked Da Tie in confusion.
Da Tie's gaze flickered for a while, then he shook his head and let out three barks before bursting into laughter.
With a gaping grin, his bone-white skull showed no signs of ferocity. Wu Tie could feel the joy and happiness emanating from Da Tie.
"Nothing, it's just... I'm in an inexplicably good mood... even though I have no heart..." Da Tie tilted his head and surveyed Wu Tie for a while. "Is it the 'Might of Mighty Rectitude'? Indeed, it is the 'Might of Mighty Rectitude'."
Without waiting for Wu Tie's response, Da Tie mumbled to himself, "It seems that one of your ancestors was a scholar... or perhaps, they came from a scholarly background..."
"The 'Might of Mighty Rectitude' is good." Da Tie chuckled. "At least, you won't have to be afraid of ghosts when walking at night..."
"Ghosts?" Wu Tie widened his eyes and stared at Da Tie. "Grey Master once told me a story about ghosts, but... I've never seen one. Are there really ghosts in the world?"
Da Tie shook his head. Laughing heartily, he said, "It's good that you haven't seen them... who wants to encounter those ghostly things?"
About a dozen metallic spiders slowly approached, each carrying long horns over three meters long, and dropped them in front of Wu Tie with two thuds.
These were the horns from the dragon's head.
The black horns were rigid and had spiraling patterns. They were extremely sharp, giving off a chilling glow.
"Well, well, you brat, you've done quite a number on it... and it's so coincidental too."
Da Tie grinned in satisfaction.
"You just happened to smash the skull beneath these two horns, causing them to fall off."
"A dragon—At least thirty percent of its essence is housed in this pair of horns... It must hate you to death."
Wu Tie also smiled smugly. Even though he had no idea what exactly happened when he struck with the power of the "Might of Mighty Rectitude," nor did he know the origin and significance of this divine power, he was quite satisfied with the power of that punch.
Though the feeling of his entire body's energy dissipating and immediately losing consciousness was somewhat uncomfortable.
"But this guy couldn't withstand even a single punch from me." Wu Tie reached down to grab the dragon horn beneath his feet, looking at Da Tie with a smile. "Why don't we find a way to... deal with that big guy?"
Wu Tie looked at the large apparatus for creating elixirs next to him.
He grabbed the dragon horn with his bare hands, without putting on his gloves.
His left index finger's first joint vibrated violently, bursting the just-formed skin and flesh into a mist of blood. This bone, like a sharp knife, instantly pierced into the dark and tough dragon horn.
With a snap, the thickest base of the three-meter-long horn, as thick as a water barrel, shattered into pieces, and a large pile of ash scattered. Only faint traces of black light, like countless fireflies, rapidly swirled around Wu Tie's left hand as they were swiftly devoured by his finger bone.
Wu Tie's eyes widened, tears streaming down.
The burning sensation in his left index finger, as if a small sun had been swallowed, completely incinerated the entire bone. Strange and terrifying energy surged within his bone, boiling and fusing. Dark flows visible to the naked eye streamed from the first joint of his index finger to the second joint, then flowed to the third joint, and finally traversed downward into the corresponding joints of the palm.
Thin strands of black flames flew out from the first joint of his index finger and burrowed into the nearby thumb and middle finger.
Flesh on Wu Tie's thumb and middle finger burned until it was raw, and his two thumb bones and three middle finger bones slowly changed color.
When all of the black light from the dragon horn had been absorbed by the first joint of his index finger, the entire palm of Wu Tie's left hand caught fire.
He screamed in pain, rolling on the ground.
The pain made everything in front of him turn black, and his whole being was on the verge of losing control. In a desperate moment, he threw a punch forward in a frenzy.
With a muffled sound, the largest elemental puppet, holding an empty bottle, quickly passed by him and was struck directly by his punch.
A deep imprint appeared on the plump belly of the metal spider, as if it had been meticulously sculpted. Every detail on the finger bones was distinctly visible.
Da Tie and Da Tie both sucked in a cold breath. Da Tie spun in place three times and urgently repeated, "Gugugulugu!"
Within Da Tie's eyes, the blood-red light solidified.
He mumbled a few incomprehensible words and then nodded fiercely. "A dragon horn too... So, what if it's the entire skeleton of a dragon?"
"Also, I remember... on that day... this kid's finger seemed to have shattered that fellow's straight blade. It's the same; he swallowed the metal essence from that straight blade."
"Killing that dragon..."
Da Tie smacked Da Tie's huge head with a claw. "In addition, how rich are the mineral deposits here? Make these elemental puppets dig faster!"
"You guy, being part of the Ancient Divine Armory... you should be useful for once."
Wu Tie's left palm was burned to a crisp, burned black. He fainted from the pain.
Da Tie lifted him up with a claw and dragged him towards the metal hall where Yang Jian was.
As he walked, he mumblingly grumbled.
"This is a good thing and a bad thing... At least, he won't be spewing blood and flesh every time he fights, right? That's truly... a sight to behold..."
(End of the chapter)