"Wow, impressive strength!" Wu Tie stood on a small hill, vigorously rubbing his left hand while gazing at the large group of people and horses several miles away.
After being treated with a crystal ball, his left hand had fully healed.
However, Wu Tie couldn't fully accept it.
That day, under Lao Tie's coercion, he had devoured both dragon horns. He had helplessly watched as the flesh on his entire palm was burned to ashes, leaving behind the dimly lit bones. He even caught a whiff of the burnt meat smell lingering in the air...
"I always feel like this is not my hand..." Wu Tie furrowed his brow and reached out to grab a nearby stone.
Silently, the grayish-brown stone, as fragile as tofu, crumbled beneath his five fingers, turning to powder. Wu Tie's left hand had become a formidable weapon.
Stabbing his spear into the ground, Wu Tie raised his left and right hands and grasped them tightly.
His right hand was in unbearable pain, as if it was about to be crushed. Just like his attempt at Ancient God's Camp, his left hand's strength exceeded his right by a considerable margin and had become much sturdier. His two hands clasped together, and his right hand was no match for his left.
"A whole dragon bone?" Wu Tie recalled the agony he endured when he devoured the two dragon horns, causing him to shiver involuntarily.
But upon closer inspection, his left hand was almost the same as his right, except for the slightly darker skin tone.
Wu Tie blinked his eyes and felt satisfied with this transaction.
Strength, this was strength. If his entire skeleton could be as hardened as his left palm, even harder than stone...
"I hope you can deal with that big guy... Well, Lao Tie, the problem is, even if they can win, how do we snatch that big guy away?" Wu Tie humbly sought advice from Lao Tie.
"When two parties fight, a third party benefits!" Lao Tie casually threw out eight words.
Wu Tie nodded somewhat understandingly and glanced at the distant group.
At the forefront were twelve stone giants, each ten meters tall, adorned with custom-made heavy iron armor and wielding specially crafted double-handed swords. They were like ten moving copper walls and iron barriers, marching with resounding footsteps.
Behind the stone giants were two hundred bull tribe warriors clad in fully enclosed iron armor, each wearing a distinctive horned helmet and carrying poison-coated wolf tooth clubs.
Following the bull tribe warriors were the lizardmen archers, wearing soft armor and wielding longbows. They moved agilely and silently within the formation.
On the flanks of the formation were numerous wolf tribe warriors and mist sabers assassins patrolling.
The wolf tribe warriors wore lightweight chainmail, wielded poison-coated scimitars and longswords, and moved around like a gust of wind.
The movements of the mist sabers assassins were much more mysterious. Taking advantage of the mushroom grove and fern forest cover and the surrounding dense fog, they brought forth lingering afterimages, occasionally appearing like ghosts.
Behind this formidable and powerful force was a group of elite mist sabers assassins, crowding around a dozen individuals cloaked in black.
This group of mist sabers assassins seemed much stronger than their agile companions. Even at a distance of several miles, Wu Tie could feel the chilling killing intent emanating from them.
As his gaze swept over this group at the rearguard, suddenly, the individuals in cloaks, their faces obscured, halted their footsteps. A tall and burly man in the center lifted his head and gazed towards Wu Tie from a distance.
Wu Tie grasped his spear, staring directly at the man.
Lao Tie stood beside Wu Tie, opening his mouth and howling 'woof woof' twice, with a hint of arrogance. Ever since he had obtained the body of the Sky Howler, Lao Tie liked to casually bark 'woof' at any given time.
"I, Mist Saber... the Chief Commander of the Mist Sabers." The man's voice crossed the distance of several miles, effortlessly transmitting, "You, are the... 'Master' of this... 'treasure land'?"
When it came to the word 'Master,' the mist saber's tone became disdainful, with a hint of provocation.
Evidently, he did not acknowledge Wu Tie and Lao Tie's ownership of this fengshui treasure.
Wu Tie raised his spear high and drew a circle in the air before heavily chopping down.
The mist saber chuckled, his voice as deep as a well, "A few days ago, when that monster attacked, regardless of your reasons, you saved my people... So, I will give you a chance. Join the Mist Sabers, and I will reserve a position for you as my trusted disciple."
The mist saber extended his right hand, and a cloaked man handed him the flagpole of the White Tiger Blood Flag.
With a low laughter, the mist saber vigorously swung his right hand, forcefully throwing the flagpole.
Swoosh! A piercing sound swiftly approached, and the flagpole of the White Tiger Blood Flag, with a trail of cold brilliance, tore through the air, leaving behind a visible white mark, shattering layers of white airbursts, and flying straight towards Wu Tie.
Ding! The flagpole of the White Tiger Blood Flag accurately pierced a large rock at Wu Tie's feet.
The flagpole penetrated six feet into the stone, violently shaking. The White Tiger Blood Flag fluttered vigorously due to the intense vibrations, creating a chaotic gust of wind.
Wu Tie swallowed hard.
Throwing the flagpole of the White Tiger Blood Flag casually for over ten miles...
Especially when he just made his move, behind the Mist Saber's Chief Commander, a figure towering over ten meters appeared.
Despite being several miles apart, that figure still exuded a terrifying aura, as heavy as a mountain, pressing against Wu Tie's chest and making it hard for him to breathe.
"Formidable!" Wu Tie gripped his spear tightly and warily watched the Mist Saber Chief Commander.
"Nothing more than the Great Strength God Technique!" Lao Tie hmphed coldly. "Not that impressive of a technique... Of course, if it is cultivated to the extreme, it can hold the stars and pluck the moon... However, these days, where can one find stars and moons for him to play with?"
Lao Tie laughed softly as if he had just told a very amusing joke.
Wu Tie looked at Lao Tie like he was looking at a fool. "Great Strength God Technique... Pluck the stars and moon? Have you ever seen... stars or moon?"
Glimmers sparkled in Wu Tie's eyes.
He remembered the things Grey Master had told him.
Rivers, lakes, oceans, flowers, birds, insects, fish... and the sun, moon, stars...
It was said that on clear nights, a silver river would appear in the sky, formed by countless stars...
"I've never seen stars!" Wu Tie whispered.
"You will see them..." Lao Tie raised a paw and gently patted Wu Tie's shoulder, the bloodlust in his eyes turning tender. "You will see them... I swear... That is, a very good thing..."
Suddenly, Lao Tie went on a tangent, as if his mind had wandered off, "Young man, your journey is among the stars and seas... So, strive... Fight... Build a staircase with your enemies' blood and flesh... Oh, oh... woof!"
After showing off his powerful technique, the Mist Saber Chief Commander resumed the group's course towards the downstream of the river.
Wu Tie and Lao Tie watched them leave quickly and then unabashedly followed behind.
Advancing in the direction of the magma crack, following the river's flow.
The group could cover more than two hundred miles each time the illusory sun appeared.
The riverbank was covered in thick moss, abundant vegetation, and various unique life forms, making the journey difficult.
The Mist Saber Chief Commander was not in a rush. He ordered the formation to maintain its shape, resulting in a slower pace.
After three days, the mist saber assassins sent as scouts returned from ahead.
Undoubtedly, being a professional assassins' organization, these mist saber assassins had already found the dragon's lair.
Upon the chief commander's command, the group increased their speed.
Wu Tie and Lao Tie also hastened their pace. The mist sabers were aware of their presence but did not stop them.
"We've been underestimated, little guy."
Lao Tie's tone was displeased. "We've been underestimated... Ah, to be bullied when weakened... Bullied by a dog!"
Wu Tie was speechless. He knocked on Lao Tie's body with his spear.
Lao Tie opened his mouth, then fiercely closed it, and the rows of his large teeth clashed together, sparking with numerous fire sparks.
After a while, Lao Tie suddenly burst into laughter. "Not bad, huh? Bullied when weakened... Eh, what a good sign!"
The group rushed forward. Only three to four hundred miles remained to the magma crack. The high-temperature roasting from the magma waterfall made the temperature and humidity here extremely high, ten times denser in vegetation compared to the basin where the Ancient God's Camp was located.
Large ferns grew like ancient trees, their thick branches entwined with snakes of various sizes writhing around them. Hissing sounds could be heard from nearby.
Numerous crawling creatures moved slowly on the ground, and hordes of rodents were present.
Wu Tie even saw many winged peculiar creatures gliding between the giant ferns. After Lao Tie's red eyes swept over these little fellows, he told Wu Tie with some surprise that some of these peculiar creatures were birds, while others were insects...
Birds, this was the first time Wu Tie had seen flying birds.
Insects, this was also the first time Wu Tie had seen flying insects...
Moreover, the insects here were enormous. For example, Wu Tie killed a "Mutation Black Centipede" over two meters long and as thick as a human arm with a single spear thrust.
Strange ripples emanated from ahead in the fern forest.
In about ten breaths, the air would tremble slightly. It was a very peculiar, very strange wave, like the beating of a heart, carrying an extremely faint, obscure life force.
The Mist Sabers' formation flanked and approached the front, and the Mist Saber Chief Commander and a dozen other cloaked Mist Saber higher-ups mixed in with the group.
There was light coming from the front in the fern forest. Through the dense fern leaves, they could see a large wetland covering hundreds of acres.
The wetland was filled with various noctilucent aquatic plants, densely entwined, and occasionally, small glowing insects would take off from these aquatic plants, their dim lights flickering.
The light source illuminating this wetland came from a gigantic crystal in the center of the wetland.
It was a rhombus-shaped crystal, slanted and stuck in the middle of the wetland. It was over ten meters tall, five to six meters thick, and emitted colorful shimmering lights. It was sparkling and translucent, exuding magnificent beauty.
The dragon coiled under the crystal, occasionally extending its tongue to lick the strands of viscous liquid flowing down.
In just a few days, the dragon's shattered scales had completely regrown, and its shattered skull had fully regenerated. Two half-foot-long dragon horns had even sprouted from its new skull.
Its injuries had healed so rapidly, evidently due to this crystal's credit.
Wu Tie and Lao Tie bypassed the Mist Sabers' formation and approached the wetland from a different direction.
Lao Tie suddenly stopped. He widened his eyes and stared dumbfoundedly at the crystal, whispering to Wu Tie in a very strange tone, "My arm... my two arms... hehe, I thought I would never find them again in this lifetime..."
Wu Tie was also taken aback and quickly focused his gaze.
Inside that over ten-meter-tall crystal were two white, pitiful metallic arms, gripping a large head in an extremely peculiar posture. One hand was clasping a massive head, while the other hand extended into the mouth as it opened, piercing through the head from its crown...
Wu Tie couldn't help but shudder.
A gruesome, murderous move... stuffing one's arm forcefully into the enemy's mouth and then piercing through their head...
Was this Lao Tie's doing?
Lao Tie's head was three times the size of a normal person, and his arms were naturally much larger. Moreover, his proportionate arms were longer than those of a normal person, at least four times their length.
Lao Tie opened his mouth, and then fiercely closed it, the rows of his large teeth clashing together, emitting a shower of sparks.
After a while, Lao Tie suddenly burst into laughter. "Not bad, huh? Bullied when weakened... Hehe, being bullied by this old dog... not bad!"
The Mist Sabers already took action.
Two heavy bed crossbows that Wu Tie had never seen before were wheeled out by several bull tribe warriors.
Bang! Bang! Two loud noises rang out as two specially made steel bolts whistled through the air, forcefully piercing the dragon's body.
Scales shattered, and the bolts, with flickering dim lights, penetrated the dragon's body, extending more than a foot.
(End of Chapter 48)