Mist Blades Ambush

Wu Tie watched from the side.

The techniques Old Tie had taught him were very useful. Wu Tie had become extremely proficient at hiding and tracking in the wilderness. With the help of those Metal Spiders, ordinary people wouldn't be able to detect Wu Tie's movements at all.

The Longevity Cult's three wooden boats found the place where Grandma Hong, Shi Lingqing, and the others had perished.

Ox Hero's body had completely disintegrated, and the stone cave where the ruins were located had also collapsed. A large pit, hundreds of miles in diameter and thousands of meters deep, had appeared in the basin.

Countless large stones were piled on top of each other.

Grandma Chi and the other two had already sensed that Grandma Hong's wooden boat was beneath the thick rock layers. They had worked for several days, mobilizing the young men and women to dig a pit dozens of meters deep, but in the end, they had to give up searching further.

That wooden boat was buried so deep that it was impossible to excavate by human strength.

Giving up the search for Grandma Hong and the others' bodies, Grandma Chi and the other two became extremely interested in the exotic realm itself.

Setting aside the Gobi Desert surroundings, the basin in the center of the realm, about a thousand miles in diameter, was exceptionally fertile. It had rich soil, abundant water sources, lava rivers providing sufficient heat, and an original ecosystem of vegetation and living organisms.

This was an absolute treasure land.

How big was the Wu Valley occupied by the Wu Family? A stone cave less than ten miles in diameter. Even with the added tunnels, mining caves, and the Xiong Family's territory conquered by the Wu Family, how large was the total area controlled by the Wu Family?

This basin, a thousand miles in diameter, could accommodate thousands of Wu Families.

Tangible benefits were what moved people. As for those who had already died, they were worthless.

The Longevity Cult was by no means a benevolent force. Even Grandma Chi, who appeared to have a good relationship with Grandma Hong, quickly cast aside the matter of investigating the 'truth' to the back of her mind.

The three wooden boats repeatedly surged back up the Yin River against the waterfall's current, bringing back manpower each time.

Wu Tie saw the shuttle-shaped transport tool that Shi Lingqing and Luolin had used to mistakenly enter this exotic realm that day. It was a fully enclosed submersible that could travel for extended periods in the Yin River.

Grandma Chi and the other two steered their wooden boats, with a long string of shuttle-shaped submersibles trailing behind each boat, carrying varying numbers of Gray Dwarves, Rock Gnomes, and other personnel, constantly returning to the exotic realm.

In just over a month, Grandma Chi and the other two had made four or five trips, like ants moving house, and had transported over three thousand Gray Dwarves and Rock Gnomes, along with hundreds of skilled servant warriors.

Near the riverbank where Shi Lingqing and the others had landed that day, a small but sizable settlement quickly took shape.

The gnome slaves worked diligently. They built stone walls about two miles long and wide to defend against wild beasts and erected sheds for shelter. They even opened up three farms outside the settlement, planting large quantities of Earth Rice Mushrooms and Big Meat Mushrooms.

Wu Tie had been observing the Longevity Cult's actions, and he felt a deep sense of unease.

It was a primal anxiety, like a powerful beast whose territory had been invaded by another pack.

But Wu Tie had no good countermeasures. He could only watch helplessly as the Longevity Cult's settlement gradually expanded and more and more people were brought in.

Two months later, the Longevity Cult's settlement began dispatching exploration teams to conduct detailed surveys of the entire basin.

Wu Tie dared not rashly engage or confront the Longevity Cult's exploration teams. He could only avoid them.

Since the Longevity Cult's stronghold was not too far from the Ancient Divine Weapon Camp, and the camp was within the scope of their exploration, Wu Tie's activity range rapidly shrank, and hunting became much more difficult.

Wu Tie dared not leave obvious hunting traces, so he couldn't hunt the large Giant Hippopotamuses or Great Water Pythons. He could only prey on Gray Rock Lizards, and even snakes and rats.

This hunting efficiency was very low. Fortunately, Wu Tie had been suppressing the cultivation of the Foundation Establishment Form, so his demand for Foundation Establishment Potions had decreased significantly in recent days. Otherwise, his supply of Foundation Establishment Potions would have been a problem.

More than two months later, something that shocked Wu Tie happened.

On this day, Wu Tie lay on a small hill hundreds of meters away from the Longevity Cult's stronghold, gazing at the movements within the stronghold from afar.

The distant waterfall suddenly roared, and a water column tens of meters in diameter shot out. A large amount of water splashed outwards, and Grandma Chi's three wooden boats glided out of the waterfall. Behind the three wooden boats, three pitch-black iron chains were pulled taut.

The chains emitted a 'buzzing' sound, and a fully enclosed, giant shuttle-shaped object rushed out of the waterfall.

It was over twenty meters in diameter and more than a hundred meters long. This was a specially made giant submersible, and it was clear that it did not have the flying function of the three wooden boats; it was just an ordinary submersible.

The giant submersible rushed out of the waterfall and plummeted downwards under the force of the waterfall's torrent.

The sails of the three gliding wooden boats suddenly lit up, and the characters 'Longevity' erupted with dazzling light, desperately pulling the iron chains and gliding forward.

The submersible rapidly descended. The three wooden boats could not withstand the immense pulling force of the submersible and fell slowly from high altitude in a sorry state. Fortunately, with the full effort of the three wooden boats' flight, the submersible's descent speed was significantly slowed.

Even so, when this specially made giant submersible landed on the turbulent river surface, it still emitted a tearing sound as if it could not bear the load. The thick black skin on the hull cracked, and the churning river water poured in.

The three wooden boats slammed heavily onto the river surface.

Grandma Chi and the other two's shouts could be heard from afar. The three wooden boats sped forward, dragging the slowly sinking submersible through the waves.

On the shore, many Gray Dwarves and Rock Gnomes, paddling rafts made of large ferns, rushed to meet them at full speed.

After a period of chaos, before the submersible sank, Grandma Chi and the others managed to pull it to the shallows. Hundreds of Gray Dwarves and Rock Gnomes emerged from the submersible.

Wu Tie, lurking in the distance, frowned as he watched.

For such a massive submersible, Grandma Chi and the others had clearly invested a great deal.

The Rock Gnomes continuously moved in and out, carrying large amounts of strange and exotic items from the submersible. These were many oddly shaped metal components.

Over the next few days, Wu Tie watched as Grandma Chi and the other two controlled their flying boats, constantly flying up to the dome. They carved complex grooves in the dome and fixed large quantities of metal components into the grooves.

Half a month later, something Wu Tie was very familiar with took shape on the dome.

It was a 'Void Sun' nearly a hundred meters in diameter!

Grandma Chi and the others had assembled a 'Void Sun' here!

A few days later, Grandma Chi and the others tinkered around the 'Void Sun' with unknown purpose. The edge of the 'Void Sun' slowly lit up, and then its brightness increased. Gradually, the entire 'Void Sun' lit up, its gentle, warm, and life-giving radiance illuminating the basin for a hundred-mile radius.

The power of this Void Sun was much stronger than the Void Sun above the Wu Family's stone castle. Not only did its coverage area reach an astonishing hundred-mile radius, but its brightness and heat were also far beyond what the Wu Family's stone castle's Void Sun possessed.

Directly below the Void Sun was the Longevity Cult's stronghold. The Rock Gnomes had established new farms, and Grandma Chi and her companions had brought peculiar crop seedlings, planting them neatly in the fields.

For days, Wu Tie had watched Grandma Chi and the others with his jaw on the ground.

He had personally witnessed the birth of a Void Sun.

He now understood how these Void Suns, which brought life and light to the cave world, were constructed artificially.

Even though he couldn't grasp the manufacturing process or the working principles behind the Void Suns, Wu Tie still felt it was incredible, truly incredible.

An unprecedented tremor filled his entire body. Wu Tie lay on the ground, staring blankly at the Void Sun emitting powerful light and heat, goosebumps rising all over him from excitement.

He suddenly had a vague understanding of what Master Hui had always emphasized as 'wisdom'.

'Wisdom is the most powerful force.' Wu Tie wholeheartedly agreed with this statement.

Even though he interacted daily with the Ancient Divine Weapon camp, and with strange creations like Old Tie and Big Iron, Wu Tie's shallow understanding was nowhere near comprehending the greatness of the Ancient Divine Weapon camp, Old Tie, or Big Iron.

The Void Sun, a constant companion since his childhood, provided light and heat, the source of life for everyone in the Wu Family's stone fort. This was the extraordinary power he was most familiar with and understood best.

Wu Tie smiled as he looked at the Void Sun. It was truly remarkable!

Wisdom, truly remarkable, the most powerful force.

Grandma Chi and the other two stood at the bow of their wooden boat, hovering hundreds of meters above the ground, laughing freely.

This realm was incredibly precious. Such a vast territory was an immeasurable fortune, beyond description.

With this Void Sun, they had truly established a foothold in this realm.

Wu Tie was still young and lacked experience with many things, making them incomprehensible to him.

Only Grandma Chi and her companions understood that only where the Void Sun shone was a true 'home'.

"From today onwards, this territory belongs to the Azure Flame Domain branch of the Longevity Cult," Grandma Chi declared from the bow, looking down at the stronghold below with satisfaction. "This territory is enough to support millions of people… this achievement of conquering and expanding territory…"

An old man with two bloody skull patterns embroidered on his sleeves. Through his observations in recent days, Wu Tie knew he was called Eunuch Gu.

Hearing Grandma Chi's words, Eunuch Gu chuckled and nodded. "Indeed. With this territory, Sister Hong's death won't matter… compared to this achievement, the loss of three or five Sister Hongs is nothing."

Grandma Chi's face suddenly turned grim.

Another old man, whom Wu Tie heard being called Eunuch Lan, deliberately cleared his throat and laughed loudly. "Old Gu, you can't say that… after all, she was one of our own sisters, hahaha… hahaha, we should still be grateful to her for finding this treasure trove for us. She herself reaped not a single bit of benefit…"

Grandma Chi let out an angry roar and stomped her foot fiercely. "Enough! You two, after enjoying the benefits from her, you're still going to slander Sister Hong like this?"

Eunuch Gu and Eunuch Lan chuckled twice, hands behind their backs, heads held high arrogantly, glancing sideways at the vast territory below.

They completely ignored Grandma Chi's anger.

The Azure Flame Domain was merely a remote and desolate region. The highest leaders of the Longevity Cult's branch there were these four individuals.

The four formed alliances in pairs, vying for power and profit, which was a tactic the Longevity Cult used to control its branches.

With Grandma Hong dead, and Grandma Chi allied with her, Eunuch Gu and Eunuch Lan saw no reason to fear her.

Even…

A fierce glint flashed in Eunuch Gu's eyes as he exchanged a look with Eunuch Lan.

If they could make Grandma Chi perish here, wouldn't this precious realm fall under their private control?

Eunuch Lan's eyes flickered. With his hands behind his back, he surveyed their surroundings thoughtfully.

Grandma Chi instinctively sensed something was amiss. Her boat suddenly drifted hundreds of meters to the side, far away from Eunuch Gu and Eunuch Lan's boats.

"Hmph, I will report Sister Hong's death to the higher-ups," Grandma Chi said sternly. "I'd rather be labeled 'incompetent' by them than…"

Eunuch Gu and Eunuch Lan's expressions shifted slightly. Seeing Grandma Chi's boat rapidly flying towards the direction of the waterfall, they quickly called out, "Grandma Chi, we can talk about anything, discuss anything."

"Grandma Chi, please stop for a moment, don't be agitated, don't be agitated!"

"We all have brotherly affection for each other, please don't misunderstand anything."

Eunuch Gu and Eunuch Lan steered their boats towards Grandma Chi's, chasing after her while loudly trying to persuade her.

Their eyes flickered, their facial expressions changing rapidly, clearly still hesitating whether to strike now or to plan further.

Wu Tie watched the events unfolding in the sky with wide eyes. Following Old Tie and having experienced previous events, Wu Tie had matured considerably. He could tell that Eunuch Lan and Eunuch Gu harbored ill intentions towards Grandma Chi.

He couldn't grasp the deeper implications, but it was clear the two eunuchs' intentions were far from benevolent.

"Fight, fight until you're all bloody," a fist-sized metal spider landed on Wu Tie's shoulder, Old Tie's malicious voice emanating from it.

Wu Tie nodded repeatedly. Outside the Longevity Cult's stronghold, on the river, black figures suddenly surged into the sky, stepping on the water's surface, creating ripples. With bone-chilling coldness, like specters reaping souls, they rapidly charged towards the stronghold.

At first glance, there were nearly a thousand of these black figures. They were all clad in black soft armor and carried straight swords on their backs, dressed identically to Luolin and his companions.

Still nearly a hundred meters from the stronghold, these black figures simultaneously waved their hands. Hundreds of egg-sized projectiles, gleaming with metallic coldness, whistled through the air and landed heavily within the stronghold.

Billows of fire engulfed the entire stronghold. Amidst the explosions, large numbers of Gray Dwarves and Rock Gnomes were blown into the air, their severed limbs scattering everywhere.

Within the stronghold, many of the Longevity Cult's servant warriors were disoriented by the explosions, running around aimlessly with their weapons.

The black figures drew their long swords and charged into the stronghold without a sound.

Blade light flashed. These black figures attacked with extreme ruthlessness, fighting as if their lives were on the line, disregarding their own safety. Every move was a desperate struggle.

The combat effectiveness of the Gray Dwarves and Rock Gnomes was almost zero. Within a single charge, hundreds of them were cut down.

The Longevity Cult's servant warriors also lost their formation, unable to withstand the fierce assault of these desperate killers. Within a few breaths, they suffered heavy losses.

From the river in the distance, a high-pitched, powerful laugh echoed: "You've even built a Void Sun? I accept this grand gift, Mist Blades."