Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1172 - Indigo Bamboo Star
Chapter 1172 – Indigo Bamboo Star
In just five days, they spent seventy to eighty thousand astral stones, choosing super teleportation arrays each time.
Few cultivators ever attempted traveling between astral domains. Most people lived their entire lives on their native worlds, and even those who traveled often kept their journeys within the Laman Astral Domain. Leaping between two astral domains demanded a terrifying number of astral stones.
A vast distance and a heavenly river separated the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain and the Laman Astral Domain. Only inter-domain teleportation arrays could carry travelers across. The heavenly river, also called the Astral Domain Sandstorm, was a raging torrent of particles born from countless colliding stars. The heavenly river swallowed up anyone who stepped into it rashly.
Only cultivators of the highest level could cross the astral domain by themselves. Even cultivators at the Primal Origin Realm could not accomplish such a feat.
……
Meanwhile, the Astral Domain Bounty still raged as the Immortal Slaughter Palace raised the reward from one to five million astral stones, and countless cultivators left seclusion to hunt for Liu Wuxie. Even those at the Primal Origin Realm joined the chase for such a fortune.
The events on Ancient Orchid Star dealt a heavy blow to the Immortal Slaughter Palace’s prestige. The palace lord was enraged, declaring Liu Wuxie their number-one enemy. Thus, people named Liu Wuxie the first Heaven Profound Realm cultivator to become the top enemy of a superpower.
The Immortal Slaughter Palace launched a purge across the Laman Astral Domain. As long as Liu Wuxie remained within its bounds, they swore to dig him out sooner or later. Even the other planet lords joined in and ordered their citizens to search for any trace of him. The bounty kept rising, and the Immortal Slaughter Palace added prizes that drove cultivators mad with greed.
……
Unaware of this, Liu Wuxie and He Yingwu stepped into the last super teleportation array bound for the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain. The cost was one hundred thousand astral stones each, and Liu Wuxie had nearly exhausted all his wealth.
As they entered the array, sidelong glances from the surrounding cultivators put them on edge. They quickly found their seats and ignored the glimmering stars around them. Both of them had the lowest cultivation among everyone present. Even the weakest in the array had reached the Primal Origin Realm.
Over a dozen cultivators sat within, each exuding powerful auras. Some surpassed even the Primal Origin Realm and collapsed the space around them with their pressure.
He Yingwu grew terrifyingly nervous. He clenched his clothes tightly, struggling to keep his panic from unsettling Liu Wuxie.
Liu Wuxie, by contrast, sat calm and composed. The Heavenly Dao Book unfurled silently within him, melting away the surrounding pressure.
“Young lad, are you also heading to the Indigo Bamboo Star?” asked an elderly man across from them. By appearance, he seemed to be in his fifties or sixties. From the instant Liu Wuxie entered, he had been surprised. Liu Wuxie’s companion looked visibly nervous, yet Liu Wuxie carried himself with ease. His composure wasn’t an act but the natural bearing of someone with status.
“That’s right,” Liu Wuxie replied with a slight nod.
“Someone at the Heaven Profound Realm dares to cross astral domains? You don’t even know the meaning of death,” a cold snort came from another section.
Indeed, to cultivators of that level, Liu Wuxie and He Yingwu looked as though they were courting death. The pressure of inter-domain teleportation could tear apart the body of a Heaven Profound Realm cultivator.
The other cultivators looked on with indifference. At their level, someone at the Heaven Profound Realm was no more than an ant.
As the discussion faded, the glyph-patterned runes of the teleportation array lit up, and distortion surged from all directions.
He Yingwu immediately felt dizzy as a tearing force assaulted his body. Just as they warned, inter-domain teleportation was tantamount to suicide for someone at the Heaven Profound Realm. Previously, they had only bridged between planets, but now the pressure was a hundredfold stronger.
The tearing force mounted. He Yingwu’s face twisted in agony as blood seeped from his pores. He endured only because of the Jade Soul Divine Physique Liu Wuxie had taught him.
Liu Wuxie, meanwhile, had cultivated both the True Dragon Physique and the Divine Thunder Physique. True essence reinforced his body, keeping him firm and unbroken in composure.
The old man across from him observed closely, astonished that Liu Wuxie remained calm. There was no way someone merely at the Heaven Profound Realm should withstand the laws of the astral domain.
But He Yingwu’s suffering deepened as the pressure grew. At this rate, he would die before reaching the Indigo Bamboo Star. Even cultivators at the Transcendent Realm looked pained, showing how powerful the pressure was. Only those at the Origin Conversion Realm could remain composed.
Painful growls escaped He Yingwu, his voice rough like a beast’s roar. The tearing force threatened to shatter his dao heart. Just as his body neared collapse, Liu Wuxie gripped his hand and injected true essence, stabilizing his injuries.
The old man’s surprise grew. For Liu Wuxie to aid his companion while resisting the pressure himself was remarkable.
With Liu Wuxie’s essence nourishing him, He Yingwu’s pain eased slightly, but he was still far from free.
Fine cracks appeared on Liu Wuxie’s arm. If he didn’t need to divert energy, the laws couldn’t harm him. But splitting his essence to sustain He Yingwu left his own body vulnerable.
The danger mounted as more cracks spread across his body.
“Wuxie, leave me. It’s enough that I’ve come this far. Tell them for me that the Thousand-Faced Saint is no coward!” He Yingwu laughed even as blood dripped from his lips. His internal organs strained on the verge of rupture.
The “them” he referred to was the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy. If the Astral Domain Path opened one day, he would be satisfied just to have played his part.
Liu Wuxie said nothing, continuing to pour his essence into him. He had never abandoned a comrade before, and he never would.
Others in the teleportation array had overheard. Some sneered, others looked away, but no one offered aid.
The old man across from them, however, continued watching.
Then, a soft radiance spread out, enveloping Liu Wuxie and He Yingwu and easing the pressure. The pressure still pressed heavily, but now it lay within tolerance.
Liu Wuxie lifted his gaze, meeting the old man’s smile, and nodded with gratitude.
“Senior, thank you,” he said hoarsely, speaking as little as possible to conserve strength.
“No need for thanks. Your spirit moved me,” the old man replied, closing his eyes again.
Time blurred. At last, the crushing pressure lifted as He Yingwu neared fainting.
Liu Wuxie immediately directed the Ancestor Tree’s energy into him, mending his injuries. Streams of wood-attribute energy healed the cracks on Liu Wuxie’s body.
They had walked the edge of death several times, but at last, the torment dissipated.
“Senior, thank you for saving our lives,” Liu Wuxie said sincerely. “Words can’t express my gratitude. May I know your name so that I can repay you one day?”
Without the old man, both he and He Yingwu would have perished in the array.
“It was a trifling effort. Think of it as good karma,” the elder replied with a smile, unconcerned. In truth, cultivators at the Heaven Profound Realm were as ordinary as grass in the astral domain, and the odds that one would become a powerhouse remained slim.
When the teleportation array finally stopped, everyone else rose and departed. By the time Liu Wuxie and He Yingwu staggered out, most cultivators had already forgotten them.
Outside, new laws pressed against them, different from the Laman Astral Domain.
The laws of the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain resembled those of the True Martial Continent. For Liu Wuxie, arriving here felt like returning home. The True Martial Continent itself once belonged to this astral domain before splitting away.
The streets bustled as they stepped into the Indigo Bamboo Star, the largest planet of the domain and home to countless cultivators. Yet, humans inhabited less than half of it.
Wilderness and mountains covered most of its lands, places even powerhouses feared to tread.
Finding a quiet corner, Liu Wuxie set He Yingwu down and slipped several pills into his mouth. Though he survived, he would need time to recover.
When He Yingwu regained some strength, he rose shakily, still shaken by the ordeal.
“That was dangerous. Thank heavens that senior lent us a hand, or I don’t dare imagine the outcome,” he admitted.
Liu Wuxie nodded. He, too, was shaken. But they had no choice. If they lingered in the Laman Astral Domain, the Immortal Slaughter Palace would have hunted them down sooner or later.
The two entered the city’s depths, resting a day before beginning their journey to the Heavenly Dragon Sect.
Liu Wuxie already grasped the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain’s layout. Many forces here rivaled the Heavenly Dragon Sect, and clans beyond counting established their assets on this planet.
They found an inn with modest conditions, safe enough for cultivators of their level. Staying in crowded, high-class places would only invite trouble.
After a day’s rest, their injuries had mostly healed. But their journey still required more teleportation arrays.
From their current location, the journey to the Heavenly Dragon Sect would take about two days.
At dawn, they set off, hoping to avoid the crowds. Yet when they arrived at the teleportation array, they were startled by the crowd already gathered.
