Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1284 - Vanya
Chapter 1284 – Vanya
The atmosphere between Liu Wuxie and the saintess grew strange. They held each other’s gaze, each trying to read the other’s thoughts.
Liu Wuxie’s reply amounted to an admission that he knew Vandore, and the saintess’s portrait proved she knew him as well.
“How do you have Vandore’s portrait?” Liu Wuxie asked after taking a deep breath to steady himself. He couldn’t possibly search her soul when she had saved his life twice.
“Tell me where you met him first,” the elven saintess said. As long as Liu Wuxie answered, she would tell him where the portrait came from.
“A place very, very far away,” Liu Wuxie said. He couldn’t tell her he met Vandore in the Fleeting Cloud Celestial Realm, since he wasn’t sure whether the saintess also came from that realm.
“The celestial realm?”
“The outer realm?” the saintess asked, listing several places, including the celestial realm.
Liu Wuxie frowned. From her questions, she clearly didn’t know where Vandore had gone, and she knew nothing about the Fleeting Cloud Celestial Realm. Relief eased his heart.
“I don’t know specifically where. Anyway, it’s a very, very far place. Now, tell me what’s going on with this portrait,” Liu Wuxie said. He didn’t mention the celestial realm, but he wasn’t lying when he said it was far away.
The saintess looked disappointed when she failed to get a specific answer. Liu Wuxie sensed her disappointment, yet he didn’t know how to comfort her.
“My name is Vanya, descendant of Vandore,” the saintess said, introducing herself and stating her relationship to Vandore.
Liu Wuxie nodded. All the riddles fell into place. It was no wonder Vanya sensed a familiar aura from him; it must have come from Vandore.
“I see. You’re Vandore’s descendant,” Liu Wuxie said with a smile. He had few friends in the celestial realm, and Vandore was one of them; their friendship ran close.
“What did my ancestor tell you? Did he say when he would return?” Vanya asked. Her relationship with Liu Wuxie warmed instantly—he was the last person to see her ancestor after so many years.
Liu Wuxie coughed lightly, unsure how to answer. He couldn’t tell her that Vandore wouldn’t return. No one could return from the Fleeting Cloud Celestial Realm unless they projected an avatar down, and one’s actual body could never return.
“Forget it if it’s inconvenient,” Vanya said, pouting. The moment she learned Liu Wuxie knew her ancestor, she seemed like a different person, and an indescribable feeling stirred within her.
“It’s nothing much. He only gave me some guidance in my cultivation,” Liu Wuxie said. He guided Vandore in the martial path, while Vandore guided him in magic. Most of the time, they drank together.
As the trio exited the cave, Vanya’s magical force had risen significantly with the help of the Divine Fruits, filling the surroundings with terrifying magical laws.
“What do you plan to do next?” Liu Wuxie asked. He had to continue searching for blacksmithing materials; the lives of countless people on the True Martial Continent depended on it, and he couldn’t make mistakes.
“We will naturally follow you,” Vanya said. Her reply nearly made Liu Wuxie stumble.
“Wait, what did you say?” Liu Wuxie asked, thinking he had misheard. He had no idea why these elves wanted to follow him.
“Follow you and wait for you to take me to my ancestor,” Vanya said. Her words darkened Liu Wuxie’s expression. She wasn’t going to give up and wanted to rely on him to find the elven race’s ancestor.
“Vandore has gone to roam the world. He will return when the time is right, and I don’t even know where he is now,” Liu Wuxie said, hoping Vanya would reconsider. Even if she followed him, seeing Vandore would be impossible.
“It’s fine. I’m not in a hurry. Since you can receive my ancestor’s guidance, he must’ve regarded you as his disciple. I’m sure he will come back to find you,” Vanya said, retaining her playful self and lifting into the air with magic.
Her reply left Liu Wuxie speechless. He couldn’t reveal the truth about Vandore without exposing his secret—that he was from the celestial realm. If he kept silent, they would continue to pester him. He was in a dilemma.
Before reaching the Immortal Realm, he wouldn’t reveal his true identity lest ill-intentioned people learned it. Since entering the astral domain, he had discovered many superpowers tied to the celestial realm, and the consequences of exposure would be unimaginable. Those people from the celestial realm would certainly project avatars down to eliminate him.
“Don’t you also have to search for blacksmithing materials?” Liu Wuxie asked. Since the elven race had participated in the Myriad Race Ceremony, they would surely strive for a good result.
“We only took part to broaden our horizons, not to compete,” Vanya said. Her words extinguished Liu Wuxie’s hope. He couldn’t shake her off.
Liu Wuxie could only smile wryly, knowing words were useless. Having Vanya by his side was helpful for future battles; she could use healing magic and even mend serious injuries. He could fight without worrying about recovery.
They set out together, Liu Wuxie with two elves at his side. From Xiao Lan’s words, he could tell Vanya held a high status among the elven race and might someday inherit the position of planet lord. As a descendant of Vandore, she carried the purest elven bloodline.
They crossed several valleys, and Liu Wuxie reached the central area where blacksmithing materials were more abundant.
“Young Master Liu, there seems to be someone tailing us,” Vanya said after a day’s travel. The elven race possessed special sensing ability, and since Vanya had opened her magical gate, her perception even surpassed Liu Wuxie’s. By human classification, she had reached the high levels of the Primal Origin Realm.
“No need to care about them,” Liu Wuxie said. He had sensed them as well, but chose to pretend otherwise.
With Vanya’s powerful magic assisting him, he found several blacksmithing materials in a single day and had gathered almost everything he needed.
At dusk, Xiao Lan used magical flame to cook a sumptuous dinner. Liu Wuxie sat on a large rock, meditating with eyes closed. Divine Fruits fell from the Ancestral Tree, and the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron collected them, while Vanya and Xiao Lan sat nearby.
Suddenly, Liu Wuxie’s eyes snapped open, and Vanya rose to her feet. Several powerful auras sped toward them.
“They’re finally here,” Liu Wuxie said, standing with a cold smile tugging at his lips.
“Who’s here?” Vanya asked, stepping forward and preparing for battle.
After reaching the fifth-level Origin Conversion Realm, Liu Wuxie’s Ghost Eye could detect activity more than a thousand meters away, and he could sense someone even behind large boulders. His divine force had grown terrifyingly strong.
“Stop hiding and come out,” Liu Wuxie said.
Whooshing sounds cut the air as five figures approached, each releasing a Primal Origin Realm aura. All five stood at the fifth level—neither high nor low.
“Who are you, and why have you been following us?” Vanya asked. She had noticed them tracking the group since earlier in the day.
“We’re here to kill him, and it has nothing to do with you. Leave at once!” the leader said. He looked at Vanya and urged them to leave; this was their feud with Liu Wuxie and had nothing to do with the elven race.
“We won’t leave. He saved our lives, and I’ll be the first to disagree if you want to kill him,” Vanya said, taking her place in front of Liu Wuxie.
Warmth ran through Liu Wuxie’s chest at her action.
The five men’s faces darkened. Powerful magical force rumbled off Vanya’s body, and with her intercepting, Liu Wuxie sat on the boulder and watched the fight.
He knew Vanya’s strength; ordinary Primal Origin Realm cultivators wouldn’t match her. Yet the elven race carried an apparent weakness, especially those who practiced light-attribute magic. In raw offense, light lagged behind dark.
“Since that’s the case, don’t blame us for being ruthless,” the leader said.
Vanya’s beauty made most people hesitate to strike. Unless forced, they didn’t want to attack her.
The five drew their weapons without another word, unleashing a powerful current of energy toward Vanya. Xiao Lan couldn’t even join the fight.
Vanya had no chance against eighth-level Primal Origin Realm experts, but against the fifth level, she held her ground. She raised her short spear and began chanting.
“Water Magic—Rain Arrow!” Vanya said. A curtain of water unfolded, enveloping her and Liu Wuxie and blocking the incoming attacks. Countless rain arrows shot from the curtain and targeted the five.
The Rain Arrow was an intermediate-level spell with strong offensive power. If Vanya could comprehend high magic, its power would soar.
Scholars divide magic into tiers, akin to humans’ dao techniques, mythical arts, and immortal arts. Intermediate magic aligned with mythical arts, and high magic aligned with immortal arts.
The five felt their attacks sink into a quagmire; sword rays and laws stalled against the water curtain. They could only grit their teeth while Liu Wuxie watched them with a smile. There was nothing they could do about it.
Outside the battlefield, Shen Tian gritted his teeth and growled, “He’s fortunate to have elves fighting for him.”
Just as his men finally found Liu Wuxie and prepared to kill him, the elven race intervened. Clearly, Shen Tian and Mu Tian hadn’t realized that Liu Wuxie had killed Li Dayuan; they hadn’t paid him attention in the past few days. Who knew what they would think if they found out?
As the rain arrows poured down, the five immediately raised their swords, forming a screen to block the barrage.
“There’s a big problem with your magic. The offensive power of these arrows isn’t enough,” Liu Wuxie said from behind Vanya, seeing straight through the flaw in her spell.
