Mistblade's Ambush

Wu Tie watched from the side.

The techniques Old Tie had taught him were very useful. When it came to hiding and concealing his tracks in the wilderness, Wu Tie had already become extremely proficient. With the assistance of those Metal Spiders, ordinary people simply could not discover his whereabouts.

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 collapsed, and the stone cavern containing the ruins had also entirely caved in. A massive pit more than a hundred miles across and several thousand meters deep had appeared in the basin.

Countless huge boulders lay piled atop one another.

Grandma Chi and the other two had already sensed that Grandma Hong's wooden boat lay beneath the thick layers of rock. After struggling for several days and urging those young men and women to dig a pit dozens of meters deep, they ultimately had no choice but to abandon the search.

That wooden boat had been buried so deeply that it was simply beyond the power of human hands to excavate.

After giving up the search for Grandma Hong and the others' bodies, Grandma Chi and the other two developed an immense interest in this strange realm itself.

Never mind the Gobi wasteland surrounding it—the basin at the heart of this strange realm, roughly a thousand miles in diameter, was extraordinarily fertile. It had rich soil, abundant water, lava rivers supplying sufficient heat, as well as pristine vegetation and biological communities.

This was a treasure land through and through.

How large was the Wu Valley occupied by the Wu Family? It was merely a stone cavern less than ten miles in diameter. Even including the corridors and mine tunnels excavated around it, as well as the territory of the Xiong Family conquered by the Wu Family, how much total land did the Wu Family control?

This basin, a thousand miles across, could accommodate over a thousand Wu Families.

Only tangible benefits could move people's hearts. As for the dead, dead people had no value.

The Longevity Cult was by no means a kind force. Even Grandma Chi, who appeared to have had a fairly close relationship with Grandma Hong, quickly tossed the matter of investigating the "truth" beyond the clouds and skies.

Again and again, the three wooden boats surged upstream through the waterfall's raging torrent and returned to the Yin River, then came back again and again with more people.

Wu Tie saw the spindle-shaped vehicle Shi Lingqing and Luolin had ridden when they accidentally entered this strange realm. It was a fully enclosed diving vessel capable of sailing through the Yin River for extended periods.

Grandma Chi and the other two piloted the wooden boats, each time towing a long string of spindle-shaped diving vessels behind them. The vessels carried varying numbers of Gray Dwarves, Rock Gnomes, and other manpower as they continuously returned to the strange realm.

In just over a month, Grandma Chi and the other two made four or five trips back and forth like ants moving house, forcibly transporting over three thousand Gray Dwarves and Rock Gnomes, along with several hundred tough servant warriors.

Near the riverbank where Shi Lingqing and the others had landed that day, a modestly sized settlement rapidly took shape.

The gnome slaves worked hard. They erected a stone wall roughly two miles long and wide to guard against attacks from wild beasts, then built shelters for themselves. They even cleared three farms outside the settlement and planted large quantities of Earth Rice Mushrooms and Giant Meat Mushrooms.

Wu Tie had been observing the Longevity Cult's movements all along, and he felt a deep unease.

It was the unease that rose from deep within the bloodline when a powerful beast had its territory 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 meticulous surveys of the entire basin.

Wu Tie did not dare rashly approach or attack the Longevity Cult's exploration teams. He could only keep far away from them.

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

Wu Tie did not dare leave overly obvious hunting traces, so he could not hunt the huge, robust Giant Hippopotamuses or Water Pythons. He could only target Gray Rock Lizards, snakes, mice, and the like.

Such hunting was highly inefficient. Fortunately, Wu Tie had been suppressing his cultivation of the Foundation Establishment Form, and his need for Foundation Establishment Potions had greatly decreased these days. Otherwise, even his supply of Foundation Establishment Potions would have become a problem.

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

That day, Wu Tie lay prone on a small hill several hundred meters from the Longevity Cult's stronghold, observing the activity within from afar.

The distant waterfall suddenly let out a tremendous roar. A water column dozens of meters wide burst forth, sending great waves splashing everywhere. Grandma Chi's three wooden boats glided out of the waterfall, and behind them, three pitch-black iron chains were stretched taut.

The iron chains gave off a thunderous hum as a fully enclosed, spindle-shaped behemoth burst from the waterfall.

It was over twenty meters in diameter and over a hundred meters long: a specially made giant diving vessel. Clearly, it did not possess the flying capabilities of the three wooden boats and was merely an ordinary diving vessel.

After bursting from the waterfall, the giant diving vessel suddenly plunged downward beneath the battering of the waterfall's torrent.

The sails of the three gliding wooden boats abruptly lit up. The two characters "Longevity" erupted with dazzling radiance as they strained with all their might to pull the iron chains forward.

The diving vessel fell rapidly. Unable to withstand its immense pulling force, the three wooden boats descended slowly and awkwardly from the sky. Fortunately, with the three wooden boats flying at full strength, the diving vessel's descent slowed considerably.

Even so, when this specially made giant diving vessel landed upon the churning river, it let out a tearing groan as though overwhelmed. The thick black outer skin covering its hull split open, and river water poured in, churning as it flooded the vessel.

The three wooden boats slammed heavily onto the river's surface.

Grandma Chi and the other two shouted from afar. The three wooden boats sped forward, towing the slowly sinking diving vessel through the waves.

Quite a few Gray Dwarves and Rock Gnomes on the shore paddled rafts made of giant ferns and rushed out at top speed to meet them.

After a bout of frantic chaos, Grandma Chi and the others dragged the diving vessel onto the shallows before it could sink. Several hundred Gray Dwarves and Rock Gnomes emerged from within it.

Wu Tie lay concealed in the distance, frowning as he watched.

For such an enormous diving vessel, Grandma Chi and the others had clearly paid a tremendous price.

Rock Gnomes continuously went in and out, carrying large quantities of strange and peculiar objects from the diving vessel. They were oddly shaped metal components.

Over the following days, Wu Tie saw Grandma Chi and the other two control their flying boats, constantly ascending to the cavern ceiling. They carved intricate grooves into the ceiling and secured countless metal components within them.

Half a month later, something Wu Tie found extremely familiar had fully taken shape on the cavern ceiling.

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

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

Several days later, Grandma Chi and the others fiddled with that Void Sun for some unknown reason. Its edges slowly lit up, then grew brighter and brighter. Gradually, the entire Void Sun illuminated, its gentle, warm, life-filled radiance lighting the basin for a hundred miles around.

The power of this Void Sun was far greater than the one above the Wu Family's stone fortress. Not only did it cover an astounding area a hundred miles wide, but neither its brightness nor its heat could compare with the Void Sun possessed by the Wu Family's stone fortress.

Directly beneath the Void Sun was the Longevity Cult's stronghold. The Rock Gnomes cleared new farms, and Grandma Chi and the others planted strange crop seedlings in neat rows across them.

These days, Wu Tie had stared open-mouthed every day at Grandma Chi and the others' actions.

He had witnessed the birth of a Void Sun with his own eyes.

So the Void Suns that brought life and light to the stone cavern world were built artificially in this way.

Though he completely could not understand the process behind creating a Void Sun, nor could he understand how a Void Sun worked, Wu Tie still felt that it was incredible—truly incredible.

An unprecedented tremor filled his entire body. Wu Tie lay on the ground, staring blankly at the Void Sun radiating immense light and heat, every hair on his body standing upright with excitement.

He suddenly seemed to understand, vaguely, what Master Hui had always emphasized by "wisdom."

"Wisdom is the greatest power." Wu Tie sincerely agreed with those words.

Even though he dealt every day with the Ancient Divine Weapon Camp, with Old Tie, Big Iron, and these strange creations, Wu Tie's shallow understanding simply could not comprehend the greatness of the Ancient Divine Weapon Camp, Old Tie, Big Iron, and the others.

The Void Sun—the Void Sun that had accompanied Wu Tie since childhood, that provided everyone in the Wu Family's stone fortress with light and heat, with the source of life. This was the extraordinary power with which he was most familiar, the power he understood best.

Wu Tie gazed at that Void Sun with a beaming smile. It truly was incredible!

Wisdom truly was the most incredible and most powerful force.

Grandma Chi and the other two stood at the prows of their wooden boats, floating several hundred meters above the ground and laughing freely.

This strange realm was extraordinarily precious. Such vast territory was wealth beyond estimation; even "priceless" was insufficient to describe its value.

With this Void Sun, they had truly put down roots in this strange realm.

Wu Tie was still young. There were many things he had never encountered and could not understand.

Only Grandma Chi and the others could understand that only where the Void Sun shone could truly be called a "home."

"From this day onward, this territory belongs to the Azure Flame Domain branch of my Longevity Cult." Grandma Chi stood at the bow, looking down at the stronghold below with an air of triumph. "This territory can support a million people... such merit in expanding our lands..."

The old man with two blood-red skulls embroidered on his sleeves was called Eunuch Gu, as Wu Tie had learned through his observations these days.

Hearing Grandma Chi's words, Eunuch Gu nodded with a chuckle. "Exactly. With this territory, the death of Sister Hong is no longer worth mentioning... Compared to such merit, what does the death of three or five Sister Hongs amount to?"

Grandma Chi's expression suddenly darkened.

The other old man, whom Wu Tie had heard called Eunuch Lan, deliberately raised his voice and laughed. "Old Gu, you cannot put it like that... After all, she was one of our own sisters. Hahaha... Hahaha, we should still thank her for finding us this treasure land, while she herself gets not even a shred of credit..."

Grandma Chi let out an angry, drawn-out cry and stamped her foot furiously. "Enough! You two have enjoyed her benefits, and yet you still speak of Sister Hong like this?"

Eunuch Gu and Eunuch Lan gave two "heh heh" laughs. With their hands clasped behind their backs, they held their heads high in arrogance and surveyed the vast land below out of the corners of their eyes.

They completely ignored Grandma Chi's anger.

The Azure Flame Domain was merely a poor and desolate region. Within the Longevity Cult's Azure Flame Domain branch, the highest leaders were the four of them.

The four formed alliances in pairs and struggled against one another for power and profit. This was originally the Longevity Cult's method of controlling its branch halls.

Grandma Hong was dead. In the eyes of Eunuch Gu and Eunuch Lan, what deterrence could Grandma Chi, who had allied with her, possibly still possess?

Perhaps...

A vicious gleam flickered in Eunuch Gu's eyes as he gave Eunuch Lan a meaningful look.

If they could make Grandma Chi perish here, would this treasure land of a strange realm then fall into their private control?

Eunuch Lan's gaze flickered. With his hands behind his back, he looked around thoughtfully.

Grandma Chi instinctively sensed that something was wrong. Her vessel suddenly drifted several hundred meters to one side, moving far away from Eunuch Gu and Eunuch Lan's vessels.

"Hmph. I will report Sister Hong's death to those above." Grandma Chi said in a deep voice, "Even if they give me the judgment of 'incompetent,' I will..."

Eunuch Gu and Eunuch Lan's expressions changed slightly. Seeing Grandma Chi's vessel swiftly fly toward the waterfall, they hurriedly called out, "Grandma Chi, everything can be discussed, everything can be negotiated."

"Grandma Chi, stop for now. Do not get agitated, do not get agitated!"

"We are as close as siblings. You must not misunderstand anything."

Eunuch Gu and Eunuch Lan drove their vessels after Grandma Chi's, loudly trying to persuade her as they pursued.

Their eyes flickered, and their facial expressions shifted rapidly. Clearly, they were still hesitating—whether to strike a killing blow now, or to deliberate further.

Wu Tie stared wide-eyed at what was happening in the sky. Having followed Old Tie, especially after experiencing those earlier events, Wu Tie had matured considerably. He could also see that Eunuch Lan and Eunuch Gu harbored ill intentions toward Grandma Chi.

He could not yet fully think through the deeper implications, but it was obvious that the two eunuchs' intentions were deeply malicious.

"Fight. Beat each other until your dog brains spill out." A fist-sized Metal Spider drifted down onto Wu Tie's shoulder, carrying Old Tie's voice, brimming with malice.

Wu Tie had just begun nodding repeatedly when, outside the Longevity Cult's stronghold, black figures suddenly shot into the sky from the river's surface. Their feet skimmed across the water, kicking up ripples. Carrying a biting, bone-chilling chill, they rushed toward the stronghold like ghostly shadows reaping souls.

At first glance, there were nearly a thousand of these dark figures. All wore black Soft Armor and carried straight blades on their backs, dressed exactly like Luolin and the others.

Still nearly a hundred meters from the stronghold, the dark figures simultaneously swung their hands. Several hundred egg-sized pellets, gleaming with cold metallic light, whistled through the air and landed heavily within the stronghold.

Bursts of flame engulfed the entire stronghold. Amid the explosions, large numbers of Gray Dwarves and Rock Gnomes were blasted into the air, severed limbs and shattered bodies raining everywhere.

Within the stronghold, many Longevity Cult servant warriors were blasted senseless, clutching their weapons as they ran about in all directions.

The dark figures drew their long blades and charged into the stronghold without a word.

Blade light flashed. These dark figures struck with extreme savagery, fighting in a life-for-life style. They showed no concern for their own safety; every move and every strike was a desperate gamble with their lives.

The Gray Dwarves and Rock Gnomes possessed virtually no combat strength. With a single charge, several hundred Gray Dwarves and Rock Gnomes were slaughtered.

The Longevity Cult's servant warriors also fell into disarray. They could not withstand the fierce assault of these desperate killers at all, suffering devastating losses within just a few breaths.

A high-spirited, powerful laugh rang out from the distant river surface. "You even built the Void Sun for me? I, Mistblade, will accept this grand gift."