Dragon Slayer

"Wow, you've got some serious power!"

Wu Tie stood on a small hill, vigorously rubbing the flesh of his left hand while gazing at the large group of people about ten miles away.

After treatment with the Crystal Ball, his left hand had completely recovered.

However, Wu Tie found it hard to accept psychologically.

That day, under Old Tie's coercion, he had swallowed two Dragon Horns whole.

He had watched his entire palm's flesh burn away, leaving only the palm bone emitting a faint black glow, and smelled the pungent scent of roasted meat in the air...

"I just don't feel like this is my hand..."

Wu Tie frowned and reached out to grab a rock beside him.

Silently, the grayish-brown stone crumbled like tofu under his fingers, which dug deeply into it. The stone shattered into powder, the rock breaking without a sound. Wu Tie's left hand had become a terrifying weapon.

Sticking his spear into the ground, Wu Tie clenched both his left and right hands with force.

His right hand felt excruciating pain, as if it were about to be crushed. Just like his attempt in the Ancient Divine Weapon camp, his left hand was much stronger and sturdier than his right. When he gripped with both hands, his right hand was no match.

"An entire Flood Dragon's bone?" Wu Tie shuddered, recalling the pain he endured when swallowing the two Dragon Horns.

But looking closely at his left hand, which was almost identical to his right except for a slightly darker skin tone.

Wu Tie blinked his eyes, feeling that the deal was still worth it.

Strength, this was power. If all his bones could be tempered to be as hard as stone, like his left palm...

"I hope you guys can handle that big guy... Hmm, Old Tie, the question is, even if they win, how do we snatch that big guy away?" Wu Tie humbly asked Old Tie for advice.

"When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits!" Old Tie stated eight characters cleanly and decisively.

Wu Tie nodded, half-understanding, and looked towards the distant team again.

Twelve Stone Giants, ten meters tall, formed the vanguard. They were clad in specially made heavy iron armor and wielded specially made two-handed Greatswords, advancing like ten mobile bronze walls and iron fortresses with rumbling steps.

Behind the ten Stone Giants were two hundred Ox Tribe warriors in fully enclosed iron armor.

They wore distinctive ox-horn helmets and carried uniformly poisoned Wolf-tooth Clubs.

Behind the Ox Tribe warriors were Lizardmen archers in Soft Armor, holding Longbows. They moved with agile steps, their landings silent as they advanced within the formation.

On the flanks of the team, large groups of Wolf Tribe warriors and Mist Blades assassins patrolled.

The Wolf Tribe warriors wore light Chainmail and wielded poisoned Sabers and Longswords, darting around like gusts of wind.

The Mist Blades assassins' movements were far more secretive. They used the cover of mushroom patches and fern forests, taking advantage of the surrounding mist, leaving afterimages as they flickered in and out of sight like phantoms.

Behind this massive and powerful force, a group of elite Mist Blades assassins surrounded more than a dozen Mist Blades high-ranking officials clad in Black Cloaks.

These Mist Blades assassins were clearly much stronger than their scattered companions. Even from ten miles away, Wu Tie could feel the chilling killing intent emanating from them, like solidified ice.

His gaze swept over the figures guarding the rear. Suddenly, the figures in the center, whose heads and faces were completely hidden by their cloaks, stopped. A tall and burly man in the center raised his head and looked towards Wu Tie from afar.

Wu Tie grabbed his spear and stared intently at the man.

Old Tie stood beside Wu Tie, opened his mouth, and with a hint of 'dog relying on its master' arrogance, barked twice at the sky.

For some reason, ever since acquiring the body of the Howling Celestial Dog and combining his head with its body, Old Tie had a habit of barking 'woof' whenever the mood struck him.

"I am the Mist Blades... Grand Commander of the Mist Blades." The man's voice traveled easily across the ten-mile distance. "You are the... 'masters' of this secret realm?"

When he said the word 'masters,' the Mist Blades' tone became flippant, carrying a hint of dismissive provocation.

Clearly, he did not acknowledge Wu Tie and Old Tie's ownership of this prime location.

Wu Tie raised his spear high, drew a circle in the air, and then slashed it down heavily.

The Mist Blades chuckled. He said in a deep voice, "Two days ago, that beast attacked. For whatever reason, you saved my people... So, I'll give you an opportunity. Join the Mist Blades, and I'll reserve a spot for you as a personal disciple."

The Mist Blades extended his right hand, and a cloaked man handed the White Tiger Blood Banner to him.

With a low chuckle, the Mist Blades suddenly swung his right hand, forcefully throwing the flagpole of the White Tiger Blood Banner.

Swish!

A sharp whistling sound rapidly approached. The flagpole of the White Tiger Blood Banner trailed a long cold glint, tearing a visible white streak in the air, shattering rings of white sonic booms, and heading straight for Wu Tie.

Clang!

The flagpole of the White Tiger Blood Banner precisely embedded itself into a large rock at Wu Tie's feet.

The flagpole sank six feet into the stone, vibrating violently. The White Tiger Blood Banner flapped and danced with the intense vibration, creating a chaotic gust of wind.

Wu Tie swallowed hard with difficulty.

To casually throw the White Tiger Blood Banner's flagpole over ten miles...

Especially when he made his move just now, a towering, burly figure over ten meters tall had vaguely appeared behind the Mist Blades Grand Commander.

Even from ten miles away, that figure still exuded a terrifying aura like a crushing mountain, pressing down heavily on Wu Tie's chest, making it difficult for him to breathe.

"Impressive!" Wu Tie gripped his spear tightly, watching the Mist Blades Grand Commander warily.

"It's just Hercules Magic!" Old Tie snorted. "Nothing particularly impressive... Of course, if Hercules Magic is cultivated to its extreme, one can pluck stars and capture the moon... But nowadays, where are the stars and moon for him to fiddle with?"

Old Tie chuckled, as if he had just told a very amusing joke.

Wu Tie looked at Old Tie as if he were an idiot. "Hercules Magic... plucking stars and snatching the moon? Have you ever seen... stars, or the moon?"

A glint flashed in Wu Tie's eyes.

He recalled the things Master Hui had told him.

Rivers, lakes, seas, flowers, birds, insects, fish... and the sun, moon, and stars... Legend had it that on clear nights, a silver river would appear in the sky, and that 'Milky Way' was made up of countless stars...

"I haven't seen stars!" Wu Tie said softly.

"You will..." Old Tie raised a paw and gently patted Wu Tie's shoulder. The blood-red light in his eyes softened. "You will... Grandpa swears to you... Ah, it's truly, truly wonderful..."

Suddenly, Old Tie became a bit rambling, looking up at the sky and sighing, "Young man, your journey is the sea of stars... So, strive... fight... use the blood and flesh of your enemies... to build a ladder to the heavens... Oh, oh... Woof!"

After the Mist Blades Grand Commander showed off his formidable divine abilities, the massive team continued downstream along the great river.

Wu Tie and Old Tie watched them leave quickly, then followed them without any pretense.

They traveled along the river towards the lava fissure ahead.

During each period of the Void Sun's illumination, the team could travel over two hundred li.

The riverbanks were covered in thick moss, with lush vegetation and various strange biological communities, making the path difficult.

The Mist Blades Grand Commander was not in a hurry to achieve his goals. He steadily ordered the team to maintain formation, causing their speed to slow down even further.

After traveling like this for more than three days, the scouts from the Mist Blades returned.

As expected of a professional assassin organization, these Mist Blades assassins had found the Flood Dragon's lair.

With a command from the Mist Blades Grand Commander, the team picked up speed.

Wu Tie and Old Tie also accelerated. The Mist Blades knew they were following, but no one stayed behind to stop them.

"We're being underestimated, kid."

Old Tie's tone was unhappy. "We're being underestimated... Ah, a tiger fallen into the plains is bullied by dogs... bullied by dogs!"

Wu Tie was speechless. He tapped Old Tie's body with his spear shaft.

Old Tie opened his mouth, then shut it tightly. His two rows of large teeth clacked together, sending sparks flying.

After a moment, Old Tie suddenly laughed. "Not bad, a tiger fallen into the plains is bullied by dogs... Heh heh, being bullied by Grandpa here, a dog with a human head, that's a good omen!"

The team moved forward rapidly. They were only three to four hundred li from the lava fissure. The high temperature radiating from the lava waterfall scorched the surroundings, making the ambient temperature extremely high and the humidity immense. The vegetation on the ground was ten times denser than in the basin where the Ancient Divine Weapon camp was located.

Giant ferns grew densely like ancient trees reaching for the sky. Snakes of various sizes coiled around the thick fern branches, and hissing sounds could be heard from near and far.

On the ground, large numbers of reptiles moved slowly, and large swarms of rodents appeared.

Wu Tie also saw several strange winged creatures gliding and weaving between the giant ferns. Old Tie's red eyes swept over these little guys, and he told Wu Tie with some surprise that some of these strange creatures were birds, and some were insects...

Birds, this was the first time Wu Tie had seen flying birds.

Insects, this was also the first time Wu Tie had seen flying insects...

Moreover, the insects here were enormous. For example, Wu Tie had just killed a 'Mutated Black Centipede' that was over two meters long and as thick as an arm.

From the fern forest ahead, strange fluctuations emanated.

About ten to a dozen breaths later, the air would vibrate slightly.

It was a very strange, very peculiar fluctuation, like a heartbeat, carrying a trace of extremely faint, obscure life force.

The Mist Blades' team advanced in a skirmish line, encircling the area. The Mist Blades Grand Commander and over a dozen other high-ranking Mist Blades members wearing cloaks mingled with the team.

Light emanated from the fern forest ahead.

Through the dense fern leaves, a wetland spanning several hundred mu could be seen in the fern forest ahead.

The wetland was filled with various bioluminescent aquatic plants, densely intertwined. Occasionally, small, glowing insects would fly up from these aquatic plants, their dim luminescence flickering.

The light emitted by each small insect was faint, but with hundreds of thousands of them gathered together, the brightness here was considerable.

However, the main light illuminating this wetland came from a massive crystal in the center of the wetland.

It was a crystal, roughly rhombic in shape, stuck askew in the middle of the wetland. It was over ten meters tall and five to six meters thick, shimmering with seven-colored light, crystal clear and very magnificent.

The Flood Dragon was coiled beneath the crystal, occasionally extending its tongue to lick the viscous liquid dripping from the crystal.

In just a few days, the Flood Dragon's shattered scales had completely regrown, its fractured skull had also been fully regenerated, and two half-foot-long dragon horns had emerged from its new skull.

The rapid recovery of its injuries was clearly thanks to this crystal.

Wu Tie and Old Tie bypassed the Mist Blades' team and approached the wetland from another direction.

Old Tie suddenly stopped. His eyes widened, and he stared blankly at the crystal, speaking to Wu Tie in a very strange tone, "Grandpa's arms... my two arms... Heh heh, I never thought I'd find them again in this lifetime..."

Wu Tie froze, then quickly looked closely.

Inside the crystal, which was over ten meters tall, two deathly pale metal arms were positioned in an extremely bizarre posture. One hand clutched a huge head, while the other hand had penetrated the mouth of that head, piercing straight through its skull and emerging from the crown of its head...

Wu Tie instinctively shivered.

What a ferocious killing move... forcing an arm into the enemy's mouth and then piercing their skull...

Was this something Old Tie did?

Old Tie's head was three times the size of a normal person's, and his arms were naturally much larger than a normal person's. Especially since his arms were relatively long and slender, each arm was at least four times the length of a normal person's.

Wu Tie opened his mouth and murmured, "This guy's head is really big. Otherwise, how could your two massive arms fit inside?"

Old Tie chuckled silently and grumbled in a low voice, "I almost couldn't win... so Grandpa here... self-destructed my entire body... looks like the results are good..."

Gritting his teeth tightly, Old Tie's rows of large teeth shifted, continuously spitting out fine sparks of fire.

"These are Grandpa's arms... no one is taking them away," Old Tie sneered, baring his teeth. "Also, this little grass snake must be eliminated... Grandpa is just wondering, how can such a large Flood Dragon be sustained here..."

"So, it actually evolved by devouring the Life Essence that this dead guy exuded... Its Life Seed has been contaminated and must be killed..." Old Tie's tone conveyed an unquestionable resolve and determination. "Everything that is contaminated... must be eliminated."

Wu Tie remained silent because the Mist Blades had already made their move.

Two heavy Ballistae, unlike any Wu Tie had ever seen, were pushed out by several Ox Tribe warriors.

With two loud 'thump' sounds, two specially made Pure Steel Bolts whistled out and firmly embedded themselves into the Flood Dragon.

Scales shattered as the two arrowheads, glowing faintly, plunged more than a foot deep into the Flood Dragon's body.