Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1169 - Interlocking Plans
Chapter 1169 – Interlocking Plans
The disciples of the Azure Thunder Sect scrambled to put out the fire, leaving them with no time to chase after Liu Wuxie. They knew the culprits, but extinguishing the blaze had to come first before seeking revenge.
They dragged two disciples out of the flames. Though the two survived, their bodies bore severe burns.
Earlier in the day, the Immortal Slaughter Palace killed one of the branch’s disciples, and the branch had already reported the incident to their sect.
A night raid from the Immortal Slaughter Palace had crossed their bottom line completely, making a full-scale battle inevitable.
Before they could fully subdue the fire, an elder of the Immortal Slaughter Palace descended with dozens of disciples.
“Kill them all!” the elder bellowed, charging straight at the defenders of the Azure Thunder Sect.
The sudden assault caught the Azure Thunder Sect completely off guard. Most of their disciples fought the flames; no one expected the Immortal Slaughter Palace to return so swiftly.
“Immortal Slaughter Palace, you’ve gone too far!” the branch master roared as he burst through the inferno, striking with his palm.
He struck squarely, instantly killing an Immortal Slaughter Palace disciple. Even the Immortal Slaughter Palace’s elder didn’t anticipate the branch master’s sudden appearance as he slipped through the fire unseen. The clash drenched the night in the stench of blood and burning timber, feeding the frenzy of hatred between the two sides.
The sight of their collapsed buildings sent agony through the hearts of the Azure Thunder Sect’s disciples. They had painstakingly built that foundation on Ancient Orchid Star, only for it to be destroyed in just one night.
“Kill them all!” they cried in unison, seizing their weapons. Like demons unleashed from hell, they hurled themselves against the Immortal Slaughter Palace.
The battle exploded instantly, their roars shaking the heavens.
Far away, Liu Wuxie and He Yingwu had already fled to a safe distance. Shedding the purple robes of the Immortal Slaughter Palace, they changed back into their original clothes and casually blended into the onlookers, watching the carnage from the crowd.
He Yingwu’s eyelids twitched as the reality sank in. Within minutes, both factions suffered heavy casualties. The flames lit the battlefield brightly enough for him to see Liu Wuxie’s face. It was all orchestrated by him; the two great forces danced in his palm like puppets.
As the fighting raged fiercer, the stench of blood filled the streets. By the time it ended, the Immortal Slaughter Palace’s elder withdrew with only ten disciples left, leaving over a dozen dead on the ground. The Azure Thunder Sect fared no better; over ten of their disciples had fallen.
The crowd of onlookers stood frozen in horror. For years, these two superpowers had kept their distance, avoiding significant clashes. But tonight, their killing intent erupted uncontrollably, shaking all of Ancient Orchid Star.
“Let’s go back,” Liu Wuxie said flatly. There was nothing left to see. He Yingwu quickly followed behind him.
The Azure Thunder Sect’s disciples struggled to clean the wreckage. With so many buildings destroyed, the branch was as good as ruined.
“Immortal Slaughter Palace, just you wait!” the branch master swore, his face grim as he gazed toward the direction of their retreat. His heart bled for his disciples; the ones who had fallen were nurtured by him personally, and they were as dear to him as his children. He would never let this stand.
Meanwhile, the Immortal Slaughter Palace elder had already reported the incident back to headquarters. The feud between the two sides had deepened into a blood feud.
From the Immortal Slaughter Palace’s perspective, the Azure Thunder Sect sabotaged Anlu Star, and the killing of their disciples tonight was just another ploy to create confusion.
On the other hand, the Azure Thunder Sect believed the Immortal Slaughter Palace exploited the Anlu Star affair as a pretext to target them. Thus, the conflict between the two forces escalated into full-blown enmity.
When Liu Wuxie and He Yingwu returned to their inn, He Yingwu was still buzzing with excitement over the night’s events. For now, Liu Wuxie had successfully diverted the Immortal Slaughter Palace’s attention onto the Azure Thunder Sect.
“Don’t celebrate too soon,” Liu Wuxie said, dousing his enthusiasm with cold pragmatism. “This spark isn’t big enough yet. The truth will surface eventually, and we’re racing against time.”
Tonight’s battle was only the first ripple. His true goal was to spread the flames across Ancient Orchid Star, plunging the planet into chaos. When the conflict grew intense enough, countless cultivators would flee in fear of being dragged into the war.
That chaos would give him the chance to escape, and even the Immortal Slaughter Palace wouldn’t be able to stop him by then.
After sending He Yingwu out, Liu Wuxie sat alone. There was no time to rest. He had to continue studying the maps of the astral domains.
The Blood Fiend Astral Domain came next, but abyssal races wholly inhabited its lands. The Heavenly Dragon Sect could not possibly exist there, so he discarded it without much thought.
The Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain was left. Pouring his divine sense into the Heavenly Dao Book, he projected the vast astral domain before his eyes. Tonight, they were safe. He didn’t have to worry about the Immortal Slaughter Palace breaking down their door just yet.
The Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain unfolded as a colossal map, even larger than the Laman Astral Domain. At its center stood the Indigo Bamboo Star, the namesake of the entire domain.
It was the heart of the domain, brimming with innumerable human cultivators and countless entrenched powers. Searching for the Heavenly Dragon Sect here felt like seeking a needle in an endless ocean.
He had to filter tens of thousands of forces one by one.
Countless planets orbited the Indigo Bamboo Star; those abandoned floated dimly and lifelessly, while those where spiritual energy flourished were deep in color and vibrant.
Liu Wuxie filtered carefully, imprinting hundreds of forces into his mind. When dawn approached, however, he still hadn’t found the Heavenly Dragon Sect.
Just as frustration was about to overwhelm him, a peculiar mountain range caught his eye. It stretched across the land in the form of a giant dragon. Without the Heavenly Dao Book’s upgraded map, it would have appeared as nothing more than ordinary terrain.
“That looks strange,” he muttered, frowning. “The location and density of spiritual energy surpass every other area, but why hasn’t any force claimed it?”
He recalled his divine sense and probed deeper into the region. Suddenly, the landscape shifted and revealed a faint complex of buildings. The sketch looked crude, as if the mapmaker had only outlined it briefly.
His eyes slid to the marking nearby. Every sect and clan marked its gate with a unique symbol on these maps, something he had already grown accustomed to after studying two astral domains.
The Immortal Slaughter Palace marked itself with three bold characters. Other forces, like the Li Clan and the Zhang Clan, did the same.
When the three characters appeared before his eyes, Liu Wuxie shuddered.
“The Heavenly Dragon Sect. I’ve finally found you!” His heart surged with excitement. With this, he could save Han Feizi, protect the True Martial Continent, and reunite with his family.
He stored the map away and closed his eyes, beginning to link the four astral domains in his mind. Traveling from the Laman Astral Domain to the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain was no short journey.
Even with super teleportation arrays, it would take more than half a month. Using ordinary arrays, the trip could stretch to a full year.
Ordinary arrays consumed fewer astral stones, but they moved far slower. By contrast, powerful forces controlled super teleportation arrays and demanded terrifying sums of astral stones each time.
Only two years remained—a blink of an eye for cultivators. He still had to find the Dragon Origin Herb and open the Astral Domain Path. Time was dangerously tight, but Liu Wuxie had no choice but to push forward.
As dawn broke, Liu Wuxie stood at the window, gazing out. His journey was still long, and the first obstacle to leaving the Ancient Orchid Star remained.
By morning, He Yingwu went out again to gather information. The chaos of last night shook the planet, and everyone was already talking about it. A clash between two such great sects represented not just themselves, but the immense powers behind them.
By afternoon, He Yingwu returned with food and excitement in his eyes.
“Wuxie, the Azure Thunder Sect has dispatched a large force of experts to Ancient Orchid Star,” he said. “Your plan worked.”
“What about the Immortal Slaughter Palace?” Liu Wuxie asked.
“No movement yet,” He Yingwu answered, “But I expect more experts by afternoon.”
As Liu Wuxie had predicted, the Azure Thunder Sect could not let the destruction of their branch pass. It was a direct slap in the face, after all. The slightest spark threatened to ignite a war.
An undercurrent surged across Ancient Orchid Star. Many cultivators got ready to leave, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire. Travelers passing through grew even more desperate to escape, knowing wars between such powers often reduced planets to dead worlds.
“Go spread a rumor that the Azure Thunder Sect is planning an attack on the Thousand Leaf Star,” Liu Wuxie instructed.
“The Thousand Leaf Star?” He Yingwu asked in confusion. He didn’t know the four astral domains like Liu Wuxie did.
“Go,” Liu Wuxie said with a faint smile. “The more sensational, the better. It will make people feel the tension.”
He Yingwu was ideally suited for such a task. He earned the title “Thousand-Faced Saint” for a reason. Over the past few days, he had already forged several convincing identities. This time, he disguised himself as a wandering rogue cultivator.
Blending seamlessly into an inn full of strangers, he spread the rumor in hushed tones. Within two hours, the news spread like wildfire—the Azure Thunder Sect was preparing to launch an attack on Thousand Leaf Star.
The truth eluded others, but Liu Wuxie knew it. Thousand Leaf Star was another mining world owned by the Immortal Slaughter Palace, and its resources were even richer than Anlu Star’s.
It also produced astral crystals, far more valuable than astral stones.
The Immortal Slaughter Palace could not afford to lose it.
When the rumor reached them, their fury erupted. True or not, they immediately dispatched experts to guard the Thousand Leaf Star. They would not allow another disaster like what happened on Anlu Star.
This was precisely what Liu Wuxie intended. The rumor didn’t need to spark a direct clash between the two sects; it only needed to deepen the Immortal Slaughter Palace’s conviction that the Azure Thunder Sect had orchestrated everything.
Even if the Azure Thunder Sect were to explain themselves now, no one would believe them. The more they attempted to explain their side, the worse they would look.
