Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1018 - Half-Moon Nunnery
Chapter 1018 – Half-Moon Nunnery
This clue meant everything to Liu Wuxie because it confirmed what he had long suspected.
Still, he held back from hoping too much. The ice peak looked untouched by humans for countless years. The stairs had likely been carved by hand thousands of years ago.
They quickened their pace, climbing step by step along the ancient stone stairs.
The mountain was massive, reaching nearly ten thousand meters in height. As they ascended, the aurora grew brighter. They felt like they could reach out and touch it.
By nightfall, they still hadn’t reached the summit, though it loomed just ahead. They dug out a small cave for shelter, as camping in the open would’ve meant suicide in this harsh environment.
The aurora lit up the starry sky in breathtaking brilliance.
A streak of light flashed across the sky above the mountain.
“Quick, look! A shooting star!”
As the shooting star blazed across the sky, the trio suddenly spotted a structure atop the mountain. Despite being blurred, they had all seen it.
“You guys saw that? I think I saw lights at the summit,” Ji Qiu exclaimed, rubbing his eyes, unsure if he was imagining things.
When they had climbed the mountain, the sky had gradually turned dark, blocking the summit from their view. But the shooting star earlier had lit up half the sky, enough to reveal the rough outlines of the summit.
“I think I saw railings,” Miao Jianying said uncertainly. He wasn’t entirely sure either.
Liu Wuxie, on the contrary, remained silent. He had also seen it.
“I’m climbing tonight,” Liu Wuxie declared. He had no time to lose if Murong Yi and Xu Lingxue were in danger.
Since buildings and lights were at the summit, there was a high possibility of people residing there.
“We’ll come with you!” Ji Qiu and Miao Jianying said without any hesitation.
They knew Liu Wuxie was worried about the two ladies, and they would follow him even if they had to trek mountains of blades or a sea of fire.
The trio pushed through the violent winds, sliding back two steps for every three they took forward. But they never stopped.
A wide platform crowned the summit, with railings set up to guard against the wind.
“Xue’er, why have you come out?” Murong Yi asked, hearing footsteps behind her as she stood against the railing.
“Big Sister Murong, I’m feeling uneasy tonight for some reason,” Xu Lingxue said, holding onto Murong Yi’s arm.
“Me too. That’s why I came out to clear my head,” Murong Yi replied. She hadn’t expected Xu Lingxue to feel the same. She’d come out hoping to shake off the unease stirring inside her.
“Could something have happened?”
The fact that they both felt unsettled wasn’t natural.
“It’s too cold outside. Let’s go back inside,” said Murong Yi. The duo stood outside for several minutes before they returned to the room, their faces flushed red from the cold.
Meanwhile, the three clawed their way up the slope.
Liu Wuxie’s hands bled from scraping bare rock, his nails torn raw by the climb.
They knew there was likely an alternate way up the mountain, but they didn’t know its location.
Ji Qiu and Miao Jianying followed closely, their hands digging into the bloodied path Liu Wuxie carved. They tried persuading Liu Wuxie to rest, but the latter refused to stop.
When dawn broke, the summit was already in sight. They only had one last stretch left from ascending the mountain.
Miao Jianying pointed to the left. “There’s a slope there we can use!”
The summit came into clear view. They spotted the rough outline of an elongated building, and it was clear someone had flattened the peak by hand.
The trio had successfully reached the summit and stood on a platform.
“There is vegetation here!” Ji Qiu pointed to the vegetation growing in the cracks far from the platforms.
“That’s Frostmirth Grass! The colder the place, the better it thrives,” Ji Qiu explained. The Frostmirth Grass was rare in the extreme north.
As a precious spiritual herb, cultivators had harvested it to the brink of extinction.
Ji Qiu saw three words engraved on a plaque above the platform. “Half-Moon Nunnery!”
The snow on the summit had been clearer, exposing the gray-white rocks beneath.
The trio crossed the platform and stopped before the Half-Moon Nunnery’s main gate.
Time had weathered the door handle that was left untouched for centuries.
Liu Wuxie lifted the handle in the shape of a ring and knocked it against the gate several times. He could feel that this place was inhabited by humans, though not many.
The gentle knocks produced an echo throughout the mountain.
A few minutes later, Liu Wuxie sensed several powerful auras heading his way. A young nun, her head wrapped in gray cloth, pushed open the wooden gate, and it creaked open.
The young nun looked furious that someone had interrupted their peace. “Who are you three, and why have you come?”
“I have no intention to disrupt the peace here, but I have come to look for two people. I hope you can help us,” Liu Wuxie replied politely. He knew his manners and was aware that it was rude to come uninvited.
“There’s no one you’re looking for over here. Please leave. If my master finds you here, none of you will leave this place alive,” the young nun warned, advising the trio to leave out of kindness.
Her master had forbidden any stranger’s presence, especially men. If she found out the trio had arrived, she would kill them and toss their bodies off the mountain without hesitation.
“May I ask if you know these two?” Liu Wuxie naturally wouldn’t be intimidated by those words as he took out portraits of Xu Lingxue and Murong Yi.
When the young nun saw the two portraits, she froze. Though her reaction was subtle, Liu Wuxie noticed it.
“I don’t know, and we don’t have anyone like that here. Please leave,” the young nun replied, wanting to shut the gate.
“They say Buddhists are compassionate. We’ve come a long way. May we have a bit of water to drink? We’ll leave right after,” Liu Wuxie said and stored the portraits.
He knew the young nun had recognized Xu Lingxue and Murong Yi. Though she hid it well, her eyes betrayed her. Liu Wuxie had dealt with enough people to know the young nun was lying.
Miao Jianying and Ji Qiu echoed behind Liu Wuxie, requesting something to drink before leaving.
The request cornered the young nun.
“I can’t agree to your requests. My master instructed us that no men are allowed here. Don’t blame me for being rude if you three refuse to leave,” the young nun said and summoned a longsword, trying to drive the trio away by force.
“Forgive me,” Liu Wuxie said. He was worried that Murong Yi and Xu Lingxue were in danger, so he executed the Spatial Dao Art to trap the young nun.
He had no intention to harm her, as she also had no thoughts of hurting him. After trapping the young nun in place, Liu Wuxie charged inside the gate and began searching for the two ladies.
However, his entry didn’t go unnoticed. The door knock was too sudden, and the commotion had alarmed many people. Four nuns appeared in the blink of an eye, charging with their swords.
“Who dares barge into the Half-Moon Nunnery!”
A sword aura intercepted Liu Wuxie’s advance. The formidable sword aura tore through space, leaving Liu Wuxie with no choice but to retreat.
Ji Qiu and Miao Jianying were weaker and could only follow behind Liu Wuxie.
Liu Wuxie waved his sword and deflected the incoming aura, though the impact still forced him back three steps.
Meanwhile, the four women made their way over and stood before Liu Wuxie. They donned the same clothes as the little nun from before, with their heads wrapped in gray cloth.
“Who are you people, and why did you barge into the nunnery?” one of the nuns demanded.
“I’m here for someone,” Liu Wuxie said, his patience wearing thin.
“There is no such person here. Leave immediately, or don’t blame us for being impolite!” the four women demanded with murderous intent.
“You don’t even know who I’m looking for, and you claim that the person I’m looking for isn’t here?” Liu Wuxie questioned, his suspicion deepening.
“Since you’re courting death, don’t blame us for it! Go into formation!”
The four women fell into a formation that aligned with wind, rain, frost, and snow, each channeling a distinct dao technique.
Once they established their formation, they didn’t hesitate to launch their attacks at Liu Wuxie without warning.
“You two, back off!” Liu Wuxie said.
The four women weren’t weak; all were at the pinnacle of the Spirit Profound Realm. Ji Qiu and Miao Jianying were no match for them.
He summoned the longsword he had used in the duel, not the Heretic Blade. He had come to find two ladies, not massacre nuns. It would make things more complicated if the four nuns were injured.
Liu Wuxie used the Origin Sword to shatter their attacks with ease, but the four nuns didn’t give up and continued their assault. It didn’t take long before the spiritual array wrapped around Liu Wuxie and dragged him into its grip, making it more difficult for him to defeat them.
The four women combined their power into an Earth Profound Realm-level assault, and the elements they performed corresponded perfectly.
For now, Liu Wuxie couldn’t break free without resorting to powerful attacks, but he would injure the four if he did.
Then again, he would unleash lethal attacks if they pushed him into a corner, as he didn’t want to waste time with these four.
“Don’t blame me for resorting to lethal means if you keep forcing my hand!” Liu Wuxie snapped. His patience had run out, and he could only start a massacre if they refused to let him in.
“You’ll have to get through us if you want to pass,” the four women retorted, increasing their speed. The elements spun into a raging vortex, threatening to devour Liu Wuxie.
“You asked for it!” Liu Wuxie growled. He would grant them their wish since they wouldn’t let him pass without defeating them.
He unleashed the ultimate form of the Origin Sword and thrust the blade through their formation with uncanny precision, splitting it into four streaks of sword aura, each locked on a nun’s throat.
His attack was too fast for the four nuns to react. Despite his cultivation at the second-level Spirit Profound Realm, Liu Wuxie’s overwhelming strength caught them off guard.
When they came to their senses, it was too late, with Liu Wuxie’s sword aura locked onto their necks. If they dared to move, Liu Wuxie would claim their lives at a whim.
