"Just what business do you have with us?" Amidst Stone Meng's booming laughter, Lao Bai was the first to jump up as if he had been bitten on the ass by a rabid dog.
With all his white fur standing on end, Lao Bai waved his hands and splattered saliva as he shouted, "Boss Liu, this guy is simply—"
Before he could finish his profanity, a burly man from the Yan family suddenly roared. With a flick of his left hand, flames burst forth from the copper armguard on his left arm, forming a circular flame shield with a diameter of one and a half meters.
The burly man, standing over two meters tall, raised his left arm, using the flame shield as protection, and charged forward like a mad bull, his footsteps rumbling as he dashed straight into the crowd.
Wu Tie and his group stood behind the crowd, with several high-ranking officials from Da Shi City in front of them.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack from the Yan family, the members of Da Shi City were defenseless. Seven or eight armored men were burned and scorched by the high-temperature flame shield, their screams resonating as they were sent sprawling by the tremendous force.
Lao Bai's profanity was at the tip of his tongue as the flame shield came right in front of him.
Curling up and turning dry, his white fur emitted thin wisps of smoke and a fine spray of sparks as the scorching flame shield approached. Several large blisters formed on his face from being roasted.
Lao Bai couldn't care less about continuing his curses. Screaming, he curled himself into a ball and swiftly darted through Wu Tie's legs, bouncing into a dark corner of the hall with astonishing speed.
The flame shield made a whistling sound as it charged towards Wu Tie.
Wu Tie snorted coldly, "Yan family, think you're so impressive?"
His fists clenched as he unleashed the power of the Vajra Devil Subduing Fist. His muscles rippled like flowing water, bulging beneath his fair-as-jade skin, which suddenly shimmered with a faint golden light.
With a loud roar, Wu Tie turned his body to the side, and his fists struck out one after another, unleashing a barrage of explosive punches.
A deafening explosion filled the air, and shockwaves rippled out. Black Pi, Tie Eighty-Eight, and Cyclops, who were standing next to Wu Tie, all groaned together, stumbling and retreating. Black Pi, the weakest among them, clutched his ears, blood streaming from one of them.
His heavy punch landed on the flame shield.
Blinding flames erupted from the shield, engulfing Wu Tie's fists. The heat burned his fists, and the air carried a pungent smell of roasting meat. The members of Da Shi City, including officials, widened their eyes in shock. Incinerated by the intense flames, their flesh and skin became charred. What excruciating pain!
Wu Tie roared, and the vital energy in his body surged like two mighty rivers, rushing out from his fists.
Amidst a deep rumbling, golden fist-sized fist qi shot out from his fists, striking the flame shield with weighty force. The flame shield trembled violently, and the thunderous booms melded into a resounding thunderstorm.
The Yan family's burly man shook vigorously with each blow of Wu Tie's fist qi against the flame shield. His body shuddered with each strike, and uncontrollably, he stumbled back half a step.
Step by step, Wu Tie closed in. His low growl filled the air as his golden fist qi continued to bombard the flame shield. Ripples spread across the shield, and fragmented sparks of fire burst in all directions. The Yan family warrior howled, his body trembling like a sieve, blood oozing from the corners of his mouth.
With sheer brute strength, Wu Tie broke through the flame shield and assaulted the internal organs of the burly man, causing severe damage.
Currently, Wu Tie possessed over 200,000 catties of pure physical strength. Combined with the infusion of vital energy, the strength of his punches was multiplied several times. He also enveloped his arms with an invisible force field, continuously increasing the impact force and speed of his strikes...
Not to mention the Overpowering Demon Subduing Fist's formidable and domineering nature, which possessed a terrifying amplification effect.
With all these factors combined, each fist qi unleashed by Wu Tie surpassed the weight of a million catties.
In barely half a breath's time, Wu Tie had already unleashed over a hundred fist qi. How unlucky for the Yan family warrior, subjected to hundreds of strikes, each weighing over a million catties.
Sounds of bone fractures erupted like popcorn.
Finally, the sound of bones shattering erupted, resembling the cracking noise of frying beans.
The burly man's copper armguard cracked open with dozens of fissures, and numerous copper fragments dropped to the ground with tinkling sounds.
Blood sprayed from the burly man's seven orifices as his body swayed, collapsing weakly onto the ground. He stared wide-eyed, a look of incredulous horror in his eyes, fixated on Wu Tie.
"Foundation Establishment... Foundation Establishment..." Blood gushed out from the man's mouth. His tongue struggled laboriously, repeatedly stuttering the words "Foundation Establishment."
Everyone present could sense Wu Tie's aura. His strength was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, nothing more than a cultivation assisted by vital energy infusion.
Yet, he used just his fists to thoroughly crush a Yan family elite who had just entered the Towering Pavilion stage.
Wu Tie clenched his fists, his skin burnt and tattered, oozing a fiery heat. Standing over the fallen Yan family warrior, he looked down at him.
"Why? Isn't this your territory, Yan family... You said earlier that you wanted to do what to us? You want us dead?"
The hall fell silent for a moment. After two or three breaths, Stone Meng suddenly jumped up, raised his big axe in his left hand, and swung it ferociously. Laughing heartily, he exclaimed, "Well done... Hahaha, kill all these bastards from the Yan family!"
The faces of the Yan family soldiers present turned black.
Meanwhile, the occupants of Da Shi City cheered loudly in the hall, raising their arms and clapping and stomping their feet hysterically.
Members of their own Stone family, a young man at the Foundation Establishment stage, had directly overpowered a warrior from the Yan family!
The Yan family!
This was a member of the Yan family!
Among the three major families in Cang Yan Domain, the Yan family was known for their violent bloodlines and the production of powerful warriors.
Yan family warriors had always been domineering, and in terms of combat strength alone, it often took three to five people from the Stone family or Lu family working together to contend against a warrior of the same cultivation level from the Yan family.
In front of so many people, Wu Tie, with a cultivation level only one stage higher, openly overwhelmed a rogue hooligan from the Yan family!
Just moments ago, they were pushed away by the flame shield of the Yan family warrior and burnt, but now, the members of Da Shi City who were injured and burned to ashes were laughing maniacally, mocking the other Yan family warriors with insulting gestures.
The red-haired, red-skinned Yan family warrior lifted his head and let out a furious roar.
The roar was as thunderous as it rolled forth, causing a rush of hot air. The tremendous sound waves reverberated through the hall, overwhelming the members of Da Shi City, who instinctively shut their mouths.
His crimson hair spewed strands of flames as the Yan family warrior looked at Stone Meng and bellowed, "Stone Meng, you want to start a war?"
Stone Meng swung his axe, splitting his chair in half. He stood eight zhang tall, pointing at the Yan family warrior and shouting, "Yan Bao, if you want a fight, then let's fight... Brothers, grab your weapons and turn these bastards into meat pies!"
A clangorous sound reverberated through the hall as the members of Da Shi City unsheathed their weapons and surrounded the few Yan family warriors. They were brandishing knives and swords, ready to kill.
Stone Meng sat recklessly on a broken half of a chair, grinning. "Yan Bao... Do you actually think I don't know who you belong to? Hehe, that old devil you're working for, just like Stone Hui, has also sided with the Church of Longevity... Even within the Yan family, there are people who want you dead."
"Hmph, you damn bastards, do you really think you can scare us?" Stone Meng, with his injured body covered in burns, wiped his blood-soaked face with a haphazard swipe of his hand, giving Black Pi a thumbs-up with a ferocious grin. "But, Black Pi, killing Yan Bao, from now on in Cang Yan Domain, you can only follow me and walk the dark path... Hehe, there's nowhere else for you except to serve me."
Black Pi's face wore a bitter expression as he respectfully bent his waist, bowing to Stone Meng.
Wu Tie quietly observed Black Pi's clandestine action and Stone Meng's sudden eruption of rage and lethal attack.
The situation had evolved beyond Wu Tie's expectations. He had assumed that both sides would exchange words and negotiate. He did not expect Stone Meng to be so ferocious, directly slaying the emissary from the Yan family.
"Wipe them out!" Stone Meng raised his axe and pointed at the several roaring Yan family warriors in the hall, then suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
As the congealed blood spurted out, it immediately ignited with intense flames.
Clearly, the punch Yan Bao had landed on Stone Meng's abdomen was not something that could be easily endured.
The members of Da Shi City surged forward, brandishing their weapons, and executed the Yan family warriors. Stone Meng sat brazenly on the broken half of a chair, grinning.
"Yan Bao... Did you think I didn't know who you really are? Heh heh, she married Stone Hui's grandson, so she had to die..."
Yan Bao seethed with anger as fiery sparks shot from his mouth. He raised his fist and struck Stone Meng's lower abdomen.
Stone Meng abruptly lifted his right leg and ruthlessly collided his knee with Yan Bao's chest.
Standing three meters tall, Stone Meng towered over Yan Bao by a meter, gaining an absolute advantage in terms of physique.
After colliding with Stone Meng's knee, Yan Bao's chest bones exploded with a loud crack, and dark blood sprayed all over Stone Meng's face.
"Stone Meng, no room for negotiation?"
"There's nothing to negotiate. Didn't someone from the Yan family just die?" Stone Meng howled unreasonably, "She married that old ghost Stone Hui's grandson, so she deserved to die..."
Infuriated, Yan Bao raised his head, just as Black Pi made his sneaky approach.
With a loud bang, Black Pi shot a poisoned crossbow bolt at Yan Bao's back. At a disadvantage against Stone Meng, Yan Bao lacked the strength to resist, and the bolt plunged half a chi deep into his body.
Colluding with Lao Bai's gang, Black Pi not only coated the arrow with poison from the Black Pi Bandit Group's secret recipe but also soaked it in some worthless bone marrow he bought at a discount from Lao Bai.
The rotten bone marrow was extremely poisonous. As soon as the arrow entered Yan Bao's body, black smoke billowed from the wound, and pus dripped like a gushing fountain. Yan Bao writhed in pain, his eyes turning dark as he let out a hoarse and agonizing wail.
Stone Meng's expression darkened.
He glanced at Black Pi, then at Yan Bao, who was severely injured. Suddenly, he let out a loud roar, lifting his axe and bringing it down on Yan Bao's neck.
With a cracking sound, Yan Bao's neck was severed by Stone Meng in one chop, and fresh blood gushed forth. Yan Bao's body convulsed, losing strength quickly. Without hesitation, Stone Meng lifted his large axe and hacked Yan Bao into two pieces.
"Black Pi, well done!" Stone Meng, covered in high-temperature blood plasma from Yan Bao, wiped his face with a blood-soaked hand and gestured with his thumb, grinning maliciously. "But by killing Yan Bao, you can only walk the dark path with me in Cang Yan Domain... Hehe, apart from giving me your undying loyalty, nowhere will accept you."
Black Pi's face wore a troubled expression as he bent over, giving a bow to Stone Meng.
Wu Tie quietly observed Black Pi's treachery and Stone Meng's sudden murderous rage. The situation had gone beyond Wu Tie's expectations. He had assumed there would be more verbal exchanges and negotiations. He did not expect Stone Meng to be so aggressive, directly killing the Yan family's emissary.
"The Stone family's position?" Wu Tie muttered to himself, his wrinkled face devoid of any emotion. "Is this the attitude of the Stone family, or Stone Meng's attitude?"
"Completely... unwilling to negotiate anymore?"
"Stone Hui's old friend is dead... Is your Stone family determined to tear off the mask?"
"But do you all seriously believe that you can preserve the foundation of the Stone family?"
"Longevity Church's strength, you don't understand."
"The wonders of longevity, you understand even less."
"For the sake of longevity... hehe... how many lives lost would be worth it? Even if it means losing the entire Stone family or the entire Yan family, it would be worth it."
Columns of flame burst forth from the old man's hands. With a wave of his hands, small groups of crimson ants, each the size of a small wolf, shot out from behind him, hurtling towards Da Shi City with a howl.
"Flame Devouring Golden Ants... Destroy Da Shi City... Let the Stone family see our resolve."
(End of Chapter 85)