Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1356 - Return (1)
Chapter 1356 – Return (1)
By the time Liu Wuxie returned to the Heavenly Dragon Sect, it was already deep into the night. Back in his courtyard, he sat down cross-legged, yet he did not begin cultivating as images flashed one after another before his eyes.
“The Ancestral Tree has been warning me repeatedly in the past few days. The warning means a grave danger is approaching, but what is it?” he murmured to himself.
Aside from the Lingqiong Clan, no one in the Heavenly Dragon Sect would dare to kill him. He had become the sect master’s disciple, so who would dare lay a hand on him? Even if the Lingqiong Clan wanted him dead, they still wouldn’t dare to make a move within the Heavenly Dragon Sect.
It raised a single question—where was the danger coming from?
“The True Martial Continent!” Liu Wuxie’s eyes snapped open as a terrifying chill radiated from him.
Since the danger wasn’t from within the Heavenly Dragon Sect, it could only be within the True Martial Continent. He began to wonder whether the True Martial Continent itself was facing a great crisis.
Countless continents drifted through the universe, like the True Martial Continent, and the Sacred Ground was one of them. Many such continents supported countless lifeforms, with their overall strength varying according to each continent’s size.
On an incomplete planet like the True Martial Continent, the laws remained imperfect, and the Heaven Profound Realm was the highest level that cultivators could reach.
The Grand Unity Sect had been unusually quiet over the past few days, but he knew an undercurrent was brewing—one that could swallow him whole with a single misstep. Even so, he had no time to brood over it. He had to focus on comprehending various mythical arts.
When dawn broke, Liu Wuxie’s eyes snapped open, and he stepped out of his room the instant he sensed a gray figure standing outside the courtyard.
His brows soon furrowed at the sight of the gray-robed elder. The latter’s aura felt familiar; he had sensed it once before during the Wisdom Stone auction.
“Come with me,” the elder said, wasting no more words.
“Senior, how may I address you?” Liu Wuxie asked.
“Your three senior brothers address me as Elder Sword, and you can also address me the same way,” the gray-robed elder said as he soared into the sky, with Liu Wuxie following behind.
As they traveled through the thick layers of fog, they completely left the boundaries of the Heavenly Dragon Sect and entered a barren mountain range where over a dozen people had already gathered.
“This is the Heavenly Dragon Sect’s forbidden ground,” murmured Liu Wuxie.
This place was a forbidden ground; no one could enter it, and the Heavenly Dragon Sect had buried its ancestors here. The dragon clan’s hall lay not far from this place.
In the depths of the forbidden ground, Elder Han and several disciples of the Spirit Sealing Institute were busy engraving spiritual arrays onto a stone platform.
When Liu Wuxie arrived alongside Elder Sword, the latter gave Hua Feiyu a deep bow before retreating respectfully to the side.
“I pay my respect to Master, Elder Han, and all the seniors here,” Liu Wuxie said, bowing to everyone after he landed.
“Everything arranged?” Hua Feiyu asked, showing none of the airs of a sect master.
“I have already made all the arrangements, but there’s one matter I’d like the sect to handle on my behalf,” Liu Wuxie said with a slight nod.
“Elder Jian has already handled it for you, and no one will stir any trouble for the time being,” Hua Feiyu replied. He already understood what Liu Wuxie wanted to say.
Liu Wuxie’s act of establishing his own force in the mountain range had already drawn the attention of the various forces in Mount Dragon City, who had come to cause trouble and interfere. Leaving the situation alone was not a viable solution.
“Thank you, master, Elder Sword!” Liu Wuxie immediately bowed in gratitude.
With the Heavenly Dragon Sect intervening, they could resolve many problems at once. Otherwise, who knew how long it would take to complete the fortress if they had to keep dealing with harassment from the forces in Mount Dragon City? The conflict could even escalate into something far worse if it continued.
“Sect Master, the engraving is complete,” Elder Han said as he rose to his feet. His face had turned pale as carving this spiritual array had drained his energy.
“You’ve worked hard, Elder Han,” Hua Feiyu said warmly.
Elder Han nodded. Then, he looked at Liu Wuxie with a gentle gaze. He explained, “Wuxie, these three will be coming with you to the True Martial Continent. Get acquainted with them, and they will be responsible for constructing the interstellar teleportation array there.”
He brought over three young disciples, all in their late twenties. These three were elites of the Spirit Sealing Institute, personally chosen by Elder Han, and he had already taught them how to construct an interstellar teleportation array.
“Greetings, Snior Brothers,” said Liu Wuxie, cupping his fists to the three.
After the introductions, he learned that their names were Han Shan, Han Shi, and Song Ying. For this opening of the Astral Domain Path, there were also three elders at the Quasi-Immortal Realm aside from Hua Feiyu. They stood quietly off to the side, eyes closed as they sank into deep contemplation.
“Wuxie, step into the spiritual array and squeeze a drop of your blood essence on it,” Elder Han gestured, indicating that Liu Wuxie could now enter the spiritual array’s heart.
The spiritual array existed to determine the coordinates of the True Martial Continent, and it needed Liu Wuxie’s blood as its guide. Back when Liu Wuxie had fallen into the void, Han Feizi had used the Celestial Astral Platform and exhausted all of his own blood essence to help Liu Wuxie find his way home.
Likewise, Liu Wuxie now had to use his blood essence to create the interstellar teleportation array and return to the True Martial Continent.
Liu Wuxie drew out a dagger and swiped it across his palm, letting his blood drip onto the platform. A strange spectacle unfolded as the runes on the spiritual array activated.
The runes began to intertwine, merging into an uncanny scene as they flew into the sky. The spiritual runes then descended and wrapped around Liu Wuxie.
Hua Feiyu and the three Quasi-Immortal Realm elders exchanged a nod and moved out to occupy the four corners of the spiritual array. As they swiftly formed seals, the surrounding space began to collapse, and Liu Wuxie felt a tremendous tearing force sweeping across him.
Gradually, a black hole appeared above Liu Wuxie, and the spiritual array encasing him began to spin even faster.
“Found it!” Hua Feiyu exclaimed as they locked onto the True Martial Continent’s coordinates.
“You tree, get in there quickly!” Elder Han urged the three disciples of the Spirit Sealing Institute to enter the spiritual array. The Astral Domain Path would only open for an instant, and it would be troublesome if they missed that moment.
The three disciples did not hesitate and rushed into the spiritual array. Together with Liu Wuxie, the four linked their hands as their bodies began to whirl. The black hole above them swelled larger, and an even stronger tearing force surged down from it.
“Liu Wuxie, the Astral Domain Path will only last for three days. No matter what happens on the True Martial Continent, you must return within that time,” Hua Feiyu shouted. If the Astral Domain Path were closed entirely, it would be difficult for Liu Wuxie to come back.
“Understood!” Liu Wuxie yelled back. A powerful surge of wind erupted from the black hole, and the raging storm shredded their voices. The horrifying suction force swallowed all four of them, and they vanished without a trace.
The platform gradually calmed as Hua Feiyu and the three elders continued to form seals to stabilize the Astral Domain Path. They executed tens of thousands of hand signs to keep the black hole steady.
In the next three days, Hua Feiyu and the four elders would have to take turns guarding the Astral Domain Path.
Watching Liu Wuxie’s group of four disappear, Elder Han let out a long sigh.
……
Meanwhile, the divine race also opened another Astral Domain Path on their own planet. They intended to reach the True Martial Continent before Liu Wuxie and slaughter everyone on it. They planned to exterminate all the humans there and bring the divinekins back to the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain.
A similar scene played out in the Laman Astral Domain’s Immortal Slaughter Palace. The palace lord fell into deep thought after listening to Ji Yuzhen’s account.
“Open the Astral Domain Path and send experts down,” the palace lord said, his eyes snapping open as he decided to dispatch a batch of experts to kill Liu Wuxie.
This was a golden opportunity for them, as it would become increasingly troublesome to kill Liu Wuxie once he returned to the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain.
The events of the Myriad Race Ceremony had already spread to the Laman Astral Domain the day before, and the Immortal Slaughter Palace was shocked to hear that Liu Wuxie had single-handedly dominated all four events.
Upon hearing that, they knew they couldn’t allow a prodigy like him to continue growing.
……
Ferocious wind howled past Liu Wuxie’s ears as he felt a powerful, tearing force sweeping across him. Black storms raged on both sides of him, making it impossible for the four of them to open their eyes. They even had to circulate their true essence at full force to resist the erosion of the black storm.
The passage of time eluded Liu Wuxie, but the pressure remained mounting as they drew closer to the True Martial Continent. When a spatial rift finally opened, the four of them plummeted from the sky, and a familiar aura greeted Liu Wuxie.
They had appeared high above the True Martial Continent. Only one month remained of the three-year agreement, and he had made it back just in time.
“This is the True Martial Continent?” Han Shan asked curiously as he looked at the terrain below.
“That’s right. This is a fragment split from the Dragon Expense Mountain Range, but it has grown larger compared to before,” Song Ying replied with a nod. He could tell that the True Martial Continent resembled the fragment that had split off from the Dragon Expense Mountain Range.
The True Martial Continent had already begun evolving toward an independent planet with a vast landmass.
“Junior Brother Liu, where are we going next?” Han Shi asked.
Now that they were on the True Martial Continent, they were only responsible for setting up the interstellar teleportation array. They would follow Liu Wuxie’s arrangements for everything else.
The three of them were far from weak, each at the third-level Void Realm. They could be considered monstrous prodigies to have reached such a level at their age, yet they carried themselves without any airs.
“We’ll go to the Han Clan first,” Liu Wuxie said, suppressing the urge to return home immediately.
Upon hearing that Liu Wuxie planned to visit the Han Clan first, a hint of respect flashed in the eyes of Song Ying and the other two. If it had been anyone else in Liu Wuxie’s position, they would have gone straight home to see their family first.
The three withdrew their aura, and the surrounding space collapsed. The laws they carried were too powerful, and the True Martial Continent could not withstand them.
The moment Liu Wuxie’s group of four arrived on the True Martial Continent, all the Heaven Profound Realm experts sensed it. The spatial fluctuation released by their arrival spread outward in all directions.
……
In the Han Clan, Han Long wore a grave expression.
“Big Brother, the Heavenly Fate Soul’s energy is nearly exhausted, and it might not last a full three years,” he said solemnly, looking at Han Feizi’s deathly pale face as the aura his son emitted grew weaker and weaker.
Han Shanzi merely stood to the side, his face completely devoid of expression.
“Three years… it has already been three years?” he murmured with a bitter smile. His heart ached as he gently caressed his son’s face.
Han Long did not feel any better; he looked as if he had aged decades in just three years.
“Big Brother, let’s go out,” Han Long said. He had resigned from his position at the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy and spent the past few years accompanying his elder brother.
Over the past few months, Han Shanzi had been visiting Han Feizi almost every day, growing increasingly despondent with each visit. He feared that his brother would take his own life and thus stayed by his side, not daring to let his elder brother out of his sight.
Han Shanzi let out a sigh and turned to leave the chamber.
Just then, four figures appeared above the Han Clan, and their sudden arrival startled everyone.
