Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1071 - Taboo
Chapter 1071 – Taboo
Someone had carefully carved the mountain path by hand along the steep slopes.
Aside from the trees that clung tenaciously to the cliffside, someone had cleared the surrounding rocks, forming a winding road that spiraled gradually up the peak.
Overhead, the crimson moon hung high in the sky, casting a blood-red veil across the Eastern Domain.
The region resembled a veiled beauty with her true face obscured behind a crimson curtain, revealing only the vague outline of her silhouette, making her appear mysterious and unreachable.
Activating his Ghost Eye, Liu Wuxie peered through the ancient trees and gazed deeper into the mountain’s interior. There, he spotted a cluster of strange structures nestled along the cliffs.
He had never seen houses like these before.
Built entirely from wood, they clung precariously to the rock walls. There were no doors or windows, and access was only possible through the rooftops.
There were no courtyards or plazas, just flat rooftops, all connected, forming a large elevated platform. The only entrance to this platform was a central opening atop each house.
“What bizarre houses,” Liu Wuxie murmured to himself. “Built into sheer cliffs with no doors or paths, they looked more like cages than homes.”
Everything about the Eastern Domain exuded an air of strangeness and mystery. Even these houses varied drastically in size. Some were massive, capable of housing thousands, while others were barely one-third the size of an ordinary home, unfit for human habitation.
As he approached the area, Liu Wuxie exercised caution, not daring to draw too close. The residents had sealed their homes tightly, leaving their houses silent beneath the scarlet moonlight.
He decided to wait until morning before making any move. There was no need to rush, and he was already deep within the Eastern Domain.
Finding a suitable rock, Liu Wuxie sat down and closed his eyes, quietly circulating the Desolate Devouring Art. Since reaching the sixth level of the Spirit Profound Realm, he hadn’t found the opportunity to advance further. It was the perfect time to solidify his foundation. \n(o)v.e\l.com
As the night deepened, mist cloaked the entire mountain. Cursed energy slithered into Liu Wuxie’s body despite his defenses, and this time, he couldn’t force it out.
When he first entered the Eastern Domain, the cursed energy hadn’t been particularly intense. It would linger briefly, then fade away.
Now, it clung to him, and the laws within made it nearly impossible to expel it.
Since he couldn’t expel the cursed energy, Liu Wuxie had no choice but to let it be and take things one step at a time.
The night passed without incident, and he remained seated in deep cultivation.
At dawn, the oppressive, cursed energy began to dissipate. While it still lingered faintly, it no longer overwhelmed him as it had during the night.
The sky still glowed crimson, but now, faint traces of vitality stirred across the Eastern Domain.
Rising to his feet, Liu Wuxie looked toward the distant cliffside houses. Each mountain resembled a massive tribe, unlike the city-based human settlements of the Central Plains.
Here, the Eastern Domain operated differently. Every mountain housed an entire tribe, living communally and governed by a local chieftain.
As the rooftop entrances opened, men, women, children, and elders emerged from within, absorbing the ambient spiritual energy to begin their daily cultivation.
With a flicker, Liu Wuxie dashed toward the nearest dwelling. He stopped before a middle-aged man who looked approachable and calm.
However, as he drew closer, a horrifying surge of cursed energy erupted from the man’s body, and Liu Wuxie’s expression immediately shifted.
From a distance, he hadn’t noticed, but up close, it became clear that every person here had cursed energy deeply embedded in their bodies. Compared to them, the curse within him was negligible.
After all, the locals cultivated by absorbing spiritual energy, but a curse had saturated the Eastern Domain’s energy. Over time, the cursed energy would become stronger within them unless they gave up cultivation altogether.
Yet, without cultivation, survival on the True Martial Continent was impossible. It was a cruel paradox with no solution.
“Who are you?” the middle-aged man asked warily. Their tribe had lived in this remote region of the Eastern Domain for years, and strangers were a rare occurrence.
“I’m Liu Wuxie. I want to ask about someone,” he said politely, cupping his fists in respect.
Though Liu Wuxie’s attire marked him as an outsider, the man didn’t press the matter. Outsiders who entered never left the Eastern Domain.
“Who are you looking for?” the man asked, his voice slightly more relaxed upon sensing no hostility from Liu Wuxie.
“The Barefooted Elder,” Liu Wuxie answered without hesitation. Time was short, and he needed answers.
The man staggered back a step, eyes wide in horror, the moment he heard the name.
“Y-You want to find the Barefooted Elder?” he stammered, struggling to steady himself. His earlier composure vanished entirely.
Judging from the man’s reaction and expression, Liu Wuxie could tell that this man knew something about the Barefooted Elder.
Joy flickered in Liu Wuxie’s heart. He hadn’t expected to find a lead so soon after arriving.
“That’s right. Can you tell me where I can find him?” Liu Wuxie asked, keeping his tone calm and respectful.
However, the man’s expression only grew darker. His hands trembled as he drew a strange whistle and blew hard into it.
A shrill, piercing tone echoed across the entire mountain, even reaching the neighboring peaks.
Liu Wuxie frowned in confusion. Before he could ask why the man reacted this way, he sensed movement.
Crowds gathered swiftly as cultivators rushed in from all directions, exuding sharp and hostile auras.
The laws of the Eastern Domain were no weaker than those of the Central Plains. In fact, they were even stronger.
Among the approaching figures, Liu Wuxie sensed several cultivators at the Earth Profound Realm. His expression shifted. Had he said something wrong?
“He asked about the Barefooted Elder!” the middle-aged man shouted, pointing directly at Liu Wuxie.
Instantly, thousands of hostile gazes locked onto Liu Wuxie.
“Kill him!” someone roared, and the entire tribe moved as one. A tidal wave of power surged toward him, filled with murderous intent. Among the attackers were high-level Earth Profound Realm experts, the tribe’s upper echelons, and not a single one hesitated.
“Why are you attacking me?” Liu Wuxie asked as he weaved through the onslaught. Even cultivators at the peak of the Earth Profound Realm would struggle to take him down. He didn’t want to harm anyone, as there was no enmity between them.
“I don’t care who you are! You’ll die here today!” bellowed an old man. His palm strike exploded with a force comparable to Miao Hanxuan’s. The shockwave from his attack shattered the nearby houses, yet no one seemed concerned about the destruction. They were ready to pay any price to eliminate Liu Wuxie.
Even the children, unarmed and wild-eyed, charged at him like fearless little berserkers.
Liu Wuxie was taken aback. All he had done was ask about the Barefooted Elder, and yet, the entire tribe wanted him dead. He couldn’t understand what he had done to provoke such extreme hostility.
Then he remembered Elder Madman’s warning: people called the Barefooted Elder the Harbinger of Misfortune, and this journey would be fraught with danger. He hadn’t taken it seriously back then, but now, those words struck with chilling clarity.
“Please! Let me explain! What have I done to deserve this?” Liu Wuxie shouted, rising into the sky to avoid the relentless barrage.
The surrounding mountains shook with thunderous rumbles. More experts were converging on the location, intent on taking his life.
“You dare speak his name? Come down and die!” roared the elder, his face twisted with fury as though Liu Wuxie had slaughtered his kin or committed some unforgivable crime.
Liu Wuxie clenched his jaw. He had merely mentioned a name, and they were treating him like a mortal enemy.
“Kill him before misfortune descends upon us!” someone shouted. The rest followed suit, escalating their attacks until the very space around them began to tear apart.
No one was willing to listen. Their madness drowned every explanation he tried. Their blind fear and rage began to wear on his patience.
As even more powerhouses approached from the horizon, realizing he had no choice, Liu Wuxie tore a path through the chaos and escaped, determined to uncover the truth another way.
Shortly after he fled, thousands of cultivators arrived, with some of them already touching the threshold of the Heaven Profound Realm. If he had waited a moment longer, he might have been encircled and killed.
Once Liu Wuxie vanished, the villagers immediately dropped to their knees, kowtowing fervently to the heavens. Though he was too far away to hear them, their actions radiated dread and reverence.
Then came a horrifying spectacle. The mountain began to collapse with a deafening roar. From beneath, flames erupted, devouring all those who failed to escape. In moments, the entire peak became a blazing inferno and a living hell.
Liu Wuxie watched in stunned silence.
“What… is happening?” he whispered. He had intentionally taken the battle to the sky to avoid harming innocents. Why would the mountain suddenly erupt in flames?
Agonized screams echoed as survivors glared up at him with hatred in their eyes.
“Harbinger of Misfortune… Did I bring disaster just by speaking his name?” Liu Wuxie murmured.
His expression turned grim. “Is his name a taboo in the Eastern Domain?”
If that was true, his search had become infinitely more complex. How could he find someone no one even dared to name? Did they expect him to scour every inch of the Eastern Domain blindly?
And even if he did, he didn’t know what the Barefooted Elder looked like or where he resided.
In the distance, more experts were rushing toward the area, passing messages like wildfire.
Within minutes, people had started circulating Liu Wuxie’s name and portrait throughout the Eastern Domain.
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