Nine days later.
In the small courtyard, Wu Tie executed the Golden Vajra Demon Subduing Fist, his fists vibrating the air and creating thunderous sounds.
His fists emitted a faint golden light, and with every punch, it seemed as if there was a chanting of sutras accompanying it. The impact was so strong that it made one's ears buzz and their internal organs tremble.
Having consumed both Lava Grass, Wu Tie had successfully mastered the Foundational Formula, reaching one thousand and thirty-two forms. His Yuan Gang had increased several-fold, and the power contained within the two Lava Grass was extraordinary.
Wu Tie's height had also increased to nearly two meters due to the transformation of his bones.
With his imposing height and the incredibly powerful Golden Vajra Demon Subduing Fist, Wu Tie's every move resembled that of a Golden Vajra descending to the mortal realm, exuding an awe-inspiring and domineering aura. The air in the entire small courtyard almost solidified, making it impossible for outsiders to stand.
With a loud roar, Wu Tie's internal organs churned. He suddenly opened his mouth, and a stream of heat rushed out.
The stream of heat crashed into the wall on one side of the courtyard, causing a faint flame and a pungent smell to fill the air. Wu Tie felt a sense of relief throughout his entire body, becoming incredibly light and agile as if his entire body had turned into crystal-clear water.
Looking at the wall, a two-meter-sized black mark was left by the stream of heat.
The power of Lava Grass was astonishing, but the side effects were equally significant.
Compared to the Foundational Pills produced by the Ancient Divine Weapons Camp, the Lava Grass was overbearing, placing a heavy burden on the physical body. Furthermore, the Lava Grass contained impurities and fire toxins. If taken in large quantities in a short period, these fire toxins would accumulate in the body, causing invisible damage to the body.
Wu Tie relied on the profoundness of his Foundational Formula to channel the blood's Qi with the help of the Golden Light from his eyebrows, resonating with the surging righteousness in his body. He gradually expelled the accumulated fire toxins. This was because his practice of the Foundational Formula was exceptionally exquisite, and his Yuan Gang was able to travel through every corner of his body. All impurities and fire toxins were transported to his stomach and temporarily stored there before being expelled through "dong gong."
If it were someone else… once the fire toxins entered their body, even if they used the most exquisite elemental herbs to clean their bodies repeatedly, it would still be extremely difficult to completely cleanse the fire toxins. It would inevitably have a negative impact on their future cultivation.
Lowering his fists, Wu Tie took nine deep breaths, his burning body returning to normal. He then looked at Lao Bai, who was standing in the corner of the courtyard, his face pale from the strength and meaning of his punches.
"Lao Bai, it turns out that Shi Luye sent some good wine. Come... Let's drink and chat," Wu Tie grabbed a piece of coarse cloth and wiped the sweat off his body before casually putting on a long robe and sitting at the stone table in the courtyard.
Lao Bai approached with a smiling face, his hands subconsciously rubbing against each other, and he asked Wu Tie with an incredulous expression, "Steward Xiaotie, did you really consume both Lava Grass?"
Lao Bai could hardly believe it…even the lowest grade elemental herb, Lava Grass, was a bit too overwhelming for them low-level cultivators.
In the past nine days, Lao Bai had only consumed less than half a leaf of Lava Grass, and it had already made him cry and suffer.
Lao Bai was already at the level of a half-step Sense Profound Realm… as for Wu Tie, if he didn't see it wrong, he was only at the Foundation Establishment Realm. Only at the Foundation Establishment Realm!
"Thick-skinned from birth," Wu Tie patted his chest heavily, emitting a dull sound. He looked at Lao Bai and smiled, "This Lava Grass is a bit like taking a shot of strong liquor, it burns a bit."
"My parents gave me a strong body, so I can endure it," Wu Tie smiled brightly, his face slightly reddening.
This was a blatant lie.
Among the Wu brothers, his physical body was the weakest, even a bit fragile. Since childhood, Wu Zhan had determined that he couldn't cultivate.
Saying, "My parents gave me a strong body," made Wu Tie blush even when he said it himself.
Lao Bai chuckled awkwardly and picked up two large stone bowls, pouring a bowl of wine for himself and Wu Tie.
After taking a sip of strong liquor, Lao Bai narrowed his eyes, looked at Wu Tie, and said, "Earlier this morning, Second Master Shi came back... He had a big fight with Sixth Master Shi."
"Oh? What happened next?" Wu Tie drank half a bowl of wine.
This was a dispute between the Shi brothers, and Wu Tie had no intention of getting involved... Did it concern him? None of them were his relatives, were they?
"Second Master Shi was kicked and rolled over a hundred meters by Sixth Master Shi," Lao Bai chuckled, "Second Master Shi's personal guards wanted to take action, but they were crippled by several of Sixth Master Shi's close guards."
"It's no wonder Second Master Shi exploded with anger. Before us, he had recruited five or six batches of people. After us, there were still three batches... They all came to Da Shi City and were all assigned to Sixth Master Shi's control," Lao Bai raised his bowl and took a deep sip of wine, sighing, "Good wine... It's true what they say, having money is indeed one of the Three Great Aristocratic Families."
"What was Second Master Shi's reaction?" Wu Tie lifted his bowl and emptied it, pouring himself another bowl of wine.
"He got up, shouted a few insults, and left," Lao Bai sighed, "What else could he do? He couldn't beat him... If he complained, half of the elder clansmen would protect Sixth Master Shi... Besides shouting a few times, what else could he do?"
Wu Tie took another sip of wine. He put down the bowl, looked at Lao Bai, and said seriously, "Lao Bai, this is their family affairs. We shouldn't interfere... The Shi family pays us a salary, and we work for the Shi family... We're not selling our lives to them."
In these few days, Lao Bai often came to get close to Wu Tie, and they had developed a bit of a relationship, so Wu Tie deliberately reminded him.
"I'm all alone. Whatever happens, I can run," Wu Tie said.
"You're different. You have your whole family, thousands of people... If something really happens, won't you be heartbroken?" Wu Tie pointed at Lao Bai and laughed, "You're the stingiest one. You value those brats in the clan so much."
Lao Bai laughed a few times, picked up the stone bowl, and drank: "How could that be? Me interfering in the affairs of these big families? Am I that foolish? It's just to find stable jobs for my children... Ai, my children are eating so well these days... It's great!"
Raising his head, Lao Bai said longingly, "It would be good if they didn't have to fight and kill each other. Just let me and my children eat and drink in peace. Isn't that great? Tsk, Sixth Master Shi is generous. My little bastards all have meat to eat..."
Swinging his head, Lao Bai chuckled softly, "After eating and drinking their fill, hurry up and pair them off, have children, one generation after another, generation after generation... The endless lineage... What a perfect life!"
Wu Tie's mouth twitched, and he didn't say anything for a while.
The mousemen indeed had small appetites. It took enough food to raise a stone dwarf to feed three of them.
But did they ever calculate their own reproduction rate? If they kept reproducing generation after generation, in ten or twenty years, the entire Shi family would be bankrupted by them...
When the Shi family invited them back, it was to have them serve the family, not to have a bunch of masters come back and consume their food supplies!
Shaking his head, Wu Tie reached out and patted Lao Bai's shoulder, saying, "Take it easy, Lao Bai... You can't have too many children, really..."
Lao Bai chuckled a few times, happily picking up the stone bowl and drinking: "Although the Rat Clan is weak, they have their own way of survival."
Lao Bai had his ideas, so Wu Tie didn't need to worry about him.
Drunk, Lao Bai, supported by a few young ratmen, staggered away, leaving Wu Tie to clean up the wine jugs and stone bowls. After pondering for a while, he too left the small courtyard where he had been hiding for several days.
As he inquired about the Shi family's escorts and warriors along the way, Wu Tie, who had joined the Shi family for so many days, arrived at the heart of Da Shi City for the first time.
Shi Luye's residence and some of the upper-level residences of the Shi family were located here.
Some of the family's power institutions, such as the Penalty Division responsible for punishment, the Foreign Affairs Division responsible for external affairs, and the Internal Affairs Division responsible for internal management, were also established here.
The Foreign Affairs Division was a large two-story building, with a single floor area of at least five or six times that of Wu Tie's small courtyard.
Outside the Foreign Affairs Division, there stood a row of helmeted clad Iron Dwarves. Compared to the common Gray Dwarves and Rock Dwarves, these Iron Dwarves were half a foot taller. They measured about one and a half meters in height and their skin was black as ink, as if they were cast from black iron.
Like other close relatives of the Dwarves, their bodies were square and bulky, like a pile of meat standing there.
They wore well-made armor, held shields in their left hands, and wielded battle axes in their right hands. They all had big beards, exuding a strong alcoholic smell, and their eyes flickered with a hint of ferocity.
A group of Rock Dwarves carried buckets and hurriedly moved around at the entrance of the Foreign Affairs Division. The ground was full of pale red stagnant water, and the air was filled with a bloody smell. The Rock Dwarves quickly wiped the ground, gradually cleaning up the small square outside the Foreign Affairs Division.
Wu Tie thought of what Lao Bai had said when they were drinking. It seemed that Shi Luye not only fought with Shi Erguai but also beat up the Foreign Affairs Division, which Shi Erguai was responsible for.
Judging by the manner of these Iron Dwarves, it was clear that they had just fought with humans.
"So confrontational, this Shi Luye, does he want to tear his face?" Wu Tie smiled, took out his identity waist plate, waved it casually, and walked into the Foreign Affairs Division building.
The first floor of the Foreign Affairs Division was furnished with a long stone table. A row of petite Rock Dwarf girls sat behind the table, and each person had thick animal skins in front of them.
Many powerful warriors stood in front of the table, splashing saliva as they spoke loudly to the Rock Dwarf girls.
Sometimes, there would inevitably be some hot-tempered Bull Tribe warriors who would pound the stone table, roaring loudly, frightening the girls pale.
The entire first-floor hall was in chaos, giving off the feeling of a marketplace bargaining.
Wu Tie approached one of the idle girls, placed both hands on the table, lowered his head, and asked the petite Rock Dwarf girl, "I am a first-degree steward in the Foreign Affairs Division, Xiao Tie. I would like to ask how I can obtain more elemental herbs?"
The girl raised her head, glanced at Wu Tie, and respectfully and fearfully said, "Elemental herbs? The family has tasks for distribution."
Struggling to lift up a beast skin book that was nearly the same height as her body from the table, the girl turned a few pages and pointed to the densely packed words, saying, "Take a look here. These are the tasks issued by the family... Kill a three-headed black mamba, take its venom sac, snake gallbladder, snake fangs, snake tendons, and snake scales. In short, all the materials from a three-headed black mamba can be exchanged for six Lava Grass."
Turning to the next page, the girl continued, "However, the three-headed black mamba's whereabouts are secretive and difficult to track. Therefore, if you can kill a berserk blood giant, you can exchange it for twenty Lava Grass..."
Sighing, the girl looked up at Wu Tie and said, "But the berserk blood giants are at least at the Hall of Heavy Building Realm... First-degree steward Xiao Tie, you are only at the Foundation Establishment Realm, and your strength is probably not enough to deal with a berserk blood giant."
Wu Tie's face reddened when his pride was shattered. After coughing, he said dryly, "Hmm, I only have the cultivation base of the Foundation Establishment Realm, so could you find something more suitable for me to do?"
A berserk blood giant...
There happened to be information about berserk blood giants in the shallow-level information that Old Tie had given him. When the giants of the giant race were breaking through their bloodlines, they accidentally 'went crazy,' completely losing their intellect. However, due to their bloodline advancement, they had acquired powerful divine abilities, becoming a violent and savage variant. They were extremely destructive.
However, according to Old Tie's information, the berserk blood giants were at least at the Hall of Heavy Building Realm, and sometimes even one or two major realms above. They were terrifying existences.
This little girl actually said that the berserk blood giants were at least at the 'Hall of Heavy Building Realm' level?
These berserk blood giants were much weaker than what the information given by Old Tie had claimed... It's just that Wu Tie didn't have the strength to deal with them.
"Well, a recently discovered berserk blood giant has already escaped into the Endless Black Abyss after being hunted down by the family elders... That place is too dangerous, and the area is too vast. It is not recommended for you to go after it," said the girl, frowning, as she quickly flipped through page after page of the beast skin book.
"Kill a two-headed venomous dragon? It's too dangerous."
"Kill a mutated serpent? It's too dangerous."
"Kill an insatiable brain lizard? It's too dangerous."
"Kill a mindshadow lizard? It's too dangerous."
...
...
...
Wu Tie's face gradually turned dark.
This little girl's repeated remarks of "it's too dangerous" felt like slaps, making his face turn red. He was almost about to lose his temper.
He finally couldn't help himself, grabbed the beast skin book in the girl's hand, and poked it fiercely, muttering to himself, "Just don't choose. I'll go with this task."
The first-floor hall suddenly fell silent. All the warriors who had been shouting and yelling turned to look at Wu Tie.
Then came the explosion of laughter, and all the warriors burst into laughter at once.
Especially the Bull Tribe warriors who had just been yelling, they laughed so hard that their bodies trembled, and some even sat on the ground, pointing at Wu Tie and laughing uproariously.
Wu Tie's face turned blue and red. He had indeed been humiliated.
Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the beast skin book and forcefully tapped it, saying, "I've made my choice. I choose this task."
The girl stared at Wu Tie's face, her facial expression frozen, and her mouth twitching violently.
But she dared not speak, only looking at him pitifully, her eyes misty with tears.
(End of the chapter)