Return of the Comeback

Countless crystal clusters of various sizes fell from the dome of the cave, which spanned a hundred miles.

The crystal clusters snapped at their bases and then crashed down heavily, colliding with the countless crystal clusters standing like forests on the ground.

Sparks flew, and loud noises echoed. Fragments of crystal clusters scattered everywhere, and the entire cave trembled slightly.

The architectural ruins around the main hall were smashed to pieces.

The main hall was gone, the surrounding ruins were gone, all the bricks, tiles, beams, and pillars turned into fragments, eventually covered by thick layers of crystal cluster debris.

Chu Tian squatted at the entrance of the cave's passageway, staring blankly at the scene of destruction.

Ox Hero, a thousand meters tall, seemed to be the pillar supporting this cave. As Ox Hero's body collapsed, the strange energy filling the cave's air immediately triggered its collapse.

Faint golden light spots still drifted in the air; Ox Hero had completely turned to ash.

Old Tie lay beside Wu Tie, also staring blankly at the drifting golden light spots in the air, watching countless crystal clusters and giant rocks fall from the dome.

"This guy's temper is still so stubborn..." Old Tie grumbled in a low voice. "Having been dead for so many years, he still clings to one thought, determined to see who gets this treasure."

"Holding on for so many years... was it lonely? Was it despair? Or like me, was he truly desperate?" Old Tie murmured. "Only prolonged despair could have reduced his body to such a state of ruin."

"With his cultivation, his body should have lasted for eternity... Only despair originating from himself could have instantly and completely destroyed his body." Old Tie shook his head. "But, it's good... he was joyful before he was destroyed, and that's good."

Wu Tie touched his forehead.

The bloody characters 'Longevity', the size of a thumb, on his forehead were like burn marks from a branding iron, deeply seared into his flesh and blood. The surrounding skin felt a little hot, and his skull felt a slight stinging pain.

Wu Tie felt a sense of inexplicable reverence for Ox Hero, but he didn't have many strong emotions.

Because he wasn't familiar with Ox Hero.

Because he wasn't familiar, the sudden 'revival' of Ox Hero and the scene of him shooting light beams from his eyes, while shocking, didn't evoke much emotion in Wu Tie.

Conversely, Shi Lingqing had self-destructed and left these two bloody characters on Wu Tie's brow.

The psychological impact on Wu Tie was far greater than the complete collapse of Ox Hero and the destruction of the cave.

"This woman has gone mad..." Wu Tie looked at Old Tie, bewildered. "I didn't want to kill her... I have no grudge against her. Although she beat me up... my father told me that a man doesn't bully women... and I wasn't going to kill her."

"Grandpa here doesn't understand women." Old Tie was silent for a long time before turning to look at Wu Tie.

"Because Grandpa here has no need for that kind of body, I've never spent time or energy studying women."

Shaking his head, Old Tie sighed. "But, whether it was Yang Jian or Ox Hero, those guys, when they usually bragged... I listened to countless stories..."

"Women... you think you haven't offended her, but you've actually offended her terribly..." Old Tie glanced at Wu Tie dismissively. "You think she'll be grateful if you don't kill her?"

"Shouldn't she be?" Wu Tie looked at Old Tie, very confused. "My father said..."

"How did your father teach his children?" Old Tie snorted coldly. "But, that's right, you're still young..."

With a flash of bloody light in his eyes, Old Tie sighed. "You don't understand... When a naked, quite attractive little woman tries every means to seduce a man, and the man just doesn't fall for it... that offends her a hundred times more than digging up her ancestral grave!"

Standing up, he patted Wu Tie's shoulder with his front paw and shook his head.

"In the future, experience more, and you'll understand."

"That Shi Lingqing, she was at the peak of her life. She used her 'clever tactics' and 'intelligence' to scheme against experts from two powerful organizations, gaining immense power, loyal followers, and a bright future..."

"Suddenly, she was knocked down from the peak of her life with a single blow, suddenly returning to a state of having nothing..."

"At this time, if you were to cry your eyes out, hug her feet, lick the soles of her feet, and become her slave, willing to be driven by her... she would be very satisfied and full of confidence to continue striving..."

"But you, kid... Hmph, hmph..."

"You disappointed her too much... not to mention, that treasure ultimately chose you, not her, who thought so highly of herself... Although this little girl is somewhat shrewd, cunning, and has some acquired malice..."

"Still too young, unable to withstand the blow... If she can't have it, she'll drag you down with her, isn't that a natural choice?"

Old Tie shook his head and wagged his chin, lecturing Wu Tie. Although Wu Tie couldn't fully understand these words at the moment, he diligently committed them to memory.

"Women are truly... complicated and terrifying..." Wu Tie also stood up, gripping his spear with both hands and muttering, "It's better to be a man like my elder brother, second brother, or third brother..."

"You won't like a tomboy... Ha, ha, ha, when you grow up, you'll know that you'd rather like a 'green tea bitch' like Shi Lingqing than a tomboy..." Old Tie laughed heartily and turned to walk into the long passageway.

Without looking back, without a hint of emotion, he left the burial place of Ox Hero. Old Tie's steps were exceptionally steady.

"Green tea bitch?" Wu Tie hurriedly caught up with Old Tie. "Explain it to me? What's a green tea bitch?"

"Do you know what green tea is?" Old Tie's voice came from the depths of the passageway. "No? Then... alright, I won't corrupt a child. You'll understand later... Hmm, let's set aside the third word and first learn what green tea is."

"What kind of treasure is that bone fragment?"

"How would I know?"

"Although Grandpa here is knowledgeable... that bone fragment..."

"Grandpa here can only guess that it's something legendary... Grandpa here hasn't seen it with his own eyes, so I can't be sure."

"It drilled into your body? What's the big deal? You're alive and well, isn't that enough?"

"Now, let's continue talking about green tea bitches... oh, no, green tea..."

"Tea, this thing..."

A giant rock, over three hundred meters in diameter, crashed down from the cave's ceiling, crushing the Longevity Cult's wooden boat, which Wu Tie and Old Tie hadn't had time to move, beneath it. Immediately after, countless giant rocks fell, and the entire cave collapsed.

In the following days, Wu Tie returned to his normal routine.

He hunted prey, made Foundation Establishment Potions, practiced the Foundation Establishment Form, and trained his spear techniques.

It was likely due to the Bone Crusher that had merged with Wu Tie, as his progress in practicing the Foundation Establishment Form over the next three months was astonishingly fast.

In just three months, he had already reached the 719th form of the Foundation Establishment Form. Once he broke through to the 720th form, the Origin Power surging through Wu Tie's body would condense into a higher-level Origin Force.

Origin Power could only circulate within the body, enhancing Wu Tie's strength and speed.

Origin Force, however, could be projected outwards to harm enemies, and could even be used to control weapons for short-range aerial attacks.

Furthermore, infusing Origin Force into the body would greatly boost both physical strength and speed, vigorously train bones and muscles, and significantly strengthen physical defense.

Cultivators at the third level of Foundation Establishment were at least ten times stronger than those at the second level.

However, Wu Tie's progress was so rapid that Old Tie intentionally had Wu Tie suppress his cultivation speed, only practicing up to the 719th form each time and deliberately delaying the breakthrough to the 720th form.

Continuously accumulating Origin Power and refining his body, Wu Tie's internal Origin Power became increasingly abundant, gradually reaching a point where every cell was stretched to its limit, unable to store even a trace more Origin Power.

An enraged beast's roar echoed as a Giant Hippopotamus charged headlong towards Wu Tie.

The Giant Hippopotamus, weighing tens of thousands of pounds, charged at high speed, its impact carrying a force of at least hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Wu Tie, who had reached the peak of the second level of Foundation Establishment, still dared not confront such a colossal beast head-on.

He lightly sidestepped a few steps. His speed was so great that it even left behind a blur of afterimages.

Holding his spear in his right hand, he thrust out with precision.

The spear whistled as it pierced the Giant Hippopotamus's ear canal, penetrating its brain.

The massive beast's body convulsed violently and it crashed to the ground.

Its enormous body slid forward for over a hundred meters, carving a deep track in the thick moss.

Wu Tie pulled out his spear and carried it on his back. A Metal Spider scurried out, its large abdomen opening to expel a blade formed from white metallic fluid.

Wu Tie skillfully picked up the blade and meticulously began to butcher the giant beast.

Dozens of meters away, a nest of over twenty Gray Rock Lizards lay docilely on a pile of rocks, watching the scene with their tails swaying.

With large prey like the Giant Hippopotamus, Wu Tie had not bothered the Gray Rock Lizards for some time.

Instead, he would occasionally give some benefits to several nests of Gray Rock Lizards near the Ancient Divine Weapon camp.

Wu Tie would discard the internal organs and less desirable meat of the Giant Hippopotamus to these Gray Rock Lizards.

Over the past few months, Wu Tie had developed a decent relationship with these Gray Rock Lizards.

Every time he interacted with them, Wu Tie would recall the large creatures kept by the Wu Family's stone fort.

"Seriously, here to get handouts again? Be good from now on, and you'll get meat."

Wu Tie chuckled, cut off a large piece of bloody, bubbly meat, and tossed it far away.

A group of Gray Rock Lizards let out happy 'hoo hoo' sounds and quickly pounced on the meat, devouring it. Over the past few months, their quality of life had significantly improved thanks to the meat Wu Tie occasionally threw them.

A faint clinking sound was heard as a Metal Spider quickly scurried over.

Wu Tie didn't know what Old Tie and Big Iron had done, but over the past few months, the energy puppets at the Ancient Divine Weapon camp had expanded their operational range, now able to move freely within a radius of hundreds of miles.

The number of energy puppets, large and small, was also increasing. In the past two months alone, Wu Tie had seen at least a hundred new Metal Spiders.

A palm-sized Metal Spider leaped forward, its sharp appendages lightly tapping a branch of a large fern, landing on Wu Tie's shoulder as swiftly as a breeze.

Old Tie's voice came from within the Metal Spider: "Hurry up and clean this up, outsiders have arrived again... Tsk, they just won't leave us alone."

Wu Tie froze for a moment. He sped up, his blade flashing as he quickly chopped the Giant Hippopotamus into dozens of pieces.

A swarm of Metal Spiders rushed forward, each dragging a piece of meat and running at full speed to transport the Giant Hippopotamus back to the Ancient Divine Weapon camp.

Another group of Metal Spiders swarmed over, professionally bringing moss and soil from a distance to cover up the tracks left by Wu Tie's hunt. At the same time, they also concealed the tracks left by the Metal Spiders that had transported the prey.

Led by the palm-sized Metal Spider, Wu Tie raced along and soon arrived at the riverbank.

Crouching behind a large rock, concealed by a clump of large ferns, Wu Tie gazed out at the river.

Three entirely black wooden boats, each over ten meters long, floated on the river. Sails billowed from the masts, and the blood-red characters 'Longevity' were quite striking.

On the bow of each of the three wooden boats stood three elders, two men and one woman.

All three, like Grandma Hong, had white hair and youthful complexions, their faces so ruddy they looked unnaturally so, as if blood energy was radiating from every pore.

Behind them stood twenty to thirty elegantly dressed, handsome, and beautiful young men and women. These youths also appeared full and plump, like bean sprouts that had absorbed ample water and nutrients, excessively robust and full.

Beneath the river's surface, a ripple suddenly surged.

A Water Python, as thick as a water vat, suddenly shot out of the river, opening its cavernous mouth to swallow the young men and women on one of the wooden boats.

An elder standing on the bow of the wooden boat, dressed in a black robe embroidered with two skull heads in blood-red silk thread on the sleeves, chuckled and reached out his right hand towards the Water Python.

The Water Python, dozens of meters away, suddenly tilted sideways, drawn towards the elder by an immense force.

The elder's right hand suddenly became engorged with blood, his palm expanding to the size of a foot. His five fingers turned a vibrant red, as if carved from blood jade.

His fingers, like hooks, dug deep into the Water Python's body. The python's half-inch thick scales became incredibly fragile in the elder's hands. The elder's fingers sank deep into the Water Python's flesh, and in just a single breath, the python slumped limply into the river.

The elder let out a satisfied burp. He exhaled a long breath, which was a deep blood-red color.

"Very nourishing," the old man chuckled in praise. "This place is good, really good... I never expected that even after Old Grandma Hong died, she'd find such a good spot for our Cult."

On another wooden boat, an old woman in a blood-red robe let out a cold snort with a grim expression. "Sister Hong is dead, and you're all happy? If you can't find the real killer, how will you report back to the higher-ups?"

Another old man chuckled dismissively. "Report? What's there to report? Isn't it clear? Grandma Chi, it was the Mist Blades' people who caused this trouble. Eliminate the Mist Blades, and the problem is solved, isn't it?"

"Eliminate the Mist Blades? You make it sound so easy," the blood-robed woman, Grandma Chi, said sinisterly. "They're the local power in the Azure Flame Domain... it's not that easy to get rid of them..."

She stomped her foot, and the wooden boat floated into the air. Grandma Chi said in a deep voice, "No matter who the real killer is... I won't let them get away with it."

Grandma Chi's gaze was like a knife, fiercely sweeping over the two old men.

The two old men smiled and simultaneously steered their wooden boats into the air.

The three wooden boats flew off rapidly in three different directions.