Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1497 - Path of No Return

Chapter 1497 – Path of No Return

A large-scale clash with the undead race would only slow Liu Wuxie down, and he had no time to spare.

He needed to return by the next day, as the auction would begin in three days.

The undead race surrounded Liu Wuxie and Luo Hai in tight ranks and refused to let them pass. After all, news of Liu Wuxie slaughtering countless undead during the Myriad Race Ceremony had already reached them.

“We’re heading to Death Mountain,” Liu Wuxie said with a frown, laying out his objective plainly. He hoped the undead would step aside and stop wasting his time.

The instant the undead heard of Death Mountain, every one of them recoiled and retreated more than a dozen steps before they finally steadied themselves.

“You want to go to Death Mountain?” the leader of the undead asked, his face trembling with fear.

“Are you going to stand in our way?” Liu Wuxie asked, genuinely surprised by how terrified the undead race looked.

“From here, walk a thousand miles ahead, and you’ll see a mountain covered in black clouds. That’s Death Mountain that you seek,” the leader said, and the entire group immediately began to flee, as if they feared even being associated with Liu Wuxie. They vanished as quickly as they had arrived, leaving Liu Wuxie and Luo Hai staring after them in confusion.

The two had prepared themselves to fight, yet the undead had run the moment they heard Death Mountain. The reaction made no sense. Death Mountain sat on this planet and should have had ties to the undead race. Yet raw, unquestionable fear twisted across their faces just at its mention.

“Wuxie, something feels wrong. Why don’t we go back? The Heavenly Dao Society is already on the right track, and in the worst scenario, we can slow our pace of development,” Luo Hai said, worry thick in his voice.

If anything happened to Liu Wuxie, Luo Hai wouldn’t be able to face Xu Lingxue or the Heavenly Dao Society’s upper echelons.

“We’re already here, and I’m even more curious to find out what’s in there now,” Liu Wuxie replied with a cold smirk. Even if Death Mountain hid danger, he had seen countless races in his lifetime as an Immortal Emperor. Could it truly compare to the Fleeting Cloud Celestial Realm?

Unable to persuade him otherwise, Luo Hai could only follow behind, remaining extra cautious.

They followed the direction indicated by the undead, and after traveling roughly a thousand miles, they finally saw it: a colossal mountain ahead, a lone peak spearing up toward the sky.

Black water encircled the mountain. It wasn’t Three Thousand Weakwater, but deadwater saturated with deathly energy, and countless insects drifted across its surface.

“There’s a bridge over there!” Dense fog draped the air above the deadwater and veiled the entire mountain, leaving only the rough outline of Death Mountain visible.

A small bridge stretched across the deadwater, rattling faintly. Narrow enough for only one person to cross at a time, it was anchored by chains on either side, with only a handful of wooden planks spanning the gap.

Liu Wuxie and Luo Hai halted at the edge of the bridge. Before them stood a heavily corroded signpost, its words barely discernible.

“The death bridge, the soul-rending ridge, the life-borrower, and a road of no return,” Luo Hai read as he stepped forward and wiped grime from the signpost.

“Wuxie, what does this mean?” Luo Hai asked. The words sent a chill straight down his spine.

“It means that this is a path of no return. Anyone who steps onto this bridge hands over their lives to others,” Liu Wuxie said in a heavy tone, frowning. Even with his experience as an Immortal Emperor, he had never seen a bridge this bizarre.

“Then are we going to fly over the bridge instead?” Luo Hai suggested. If they flew across, they technically wouldn’t be walking the so-called path of no return.

Liu Wuxie didn’t answer. He reached into his beast pouch, pulled out a small bird, and sent it into the air. Many cultivators carried living treasures for precisely this purpose: scouting unknown terrain before stepping in.

The instant the bird crossed above the deadwater, it shrieked and dropped like a stone into the black surface. Then something even more unbelievable happened: it was stripped bare to its skeleton before it rose again and circled the deadwater, letting out a clattering caw.

A deeper chill stabbed through Luo Hai. What hid in that deadwater that could leave a creature flying with nothing but bones?

The bird circled for a few breaths, then collapsed into the deadwater and vanished completely. Others couldn’t see beneath the surface, but Ghost Pupil penetrated the obstruction, and Liu Wuxie saw countless remains piled deep within the deadwater: humans, demonic beasts, astral beasts, demons, abyssal devils, and more.

Among them, he even saw the remains of Heaven Gaze Realm experts, which meant even they couldn’t fly across. If the two of them tried, they would only court death and soon join the pile at the bottom.

“You stay here,” Liu Wuxie said, then stepped onto the bridge and left Luo Hai behind.

“Wuxie!” Luo Hai tried to stop him, but Liu Wuxie had already landed on the first plank.

The bridge offered only a few wooden planks, and the gaps between them stretched wide. One mistake, and he would drop into the deadwater, and the strange force in the air made flight impossible. The heavy fog also made it difficult for anyone to find a stable footing.

Liu Wuxie still chose to gamble because Ghost Pupil let him see through the fog. He leapt forward several times and disappeared into the haze until Luo Hai could no longer make out his silhouette.

The bridge ran long. Liu Wuxie advanced for about fifteen minutes before the far end finally emerged, and he executed his footwork technique to land steadily on solid ground. The moment his feet settled, he spotted a yellow oil lamp hovering in mid-air about three meters ahead.

Death Mountain lay pitch-black. Even his own hands vanished from sight beneath black clouds, and the lamp illuminated only a three-meter radius. Beyond that, even Ghost Pupil couldn’t extend, and the shock hit him hard.

Liu Wuxie opened his mouth to speak, but the oil lamp drifted forward on its own, slowly guiding the way. With no other choice, he followed behind it while maintaining communication with the Heretic Blade, preparing the Gate of Darkness, and brewing eternity intent. He readied himself to strike the instant danger showed itself.

In the past thousands of years, only a single person had successfully borrowed from Death Mountain, and even after succeeding, that person had never spoken of it.

Following the oil lamp, Liu Wuxie felt stone stairs beneath his feet as he climbed higher and higher. The fog thickened with every step, and black mist surged over him like a flood, drowning him in dense, deathly energy. An uncomfortable feeling settled over him.

“What terrifying deathly energy,” Liu Wuxie murmured.

He had already comprehended the Great Death Mythical Art, yet it couldn’t compare to the deathly energy there. He walked for roughly an hour before the oil lamp suddenly went out, signaling he had reached his destination.

Clattering sounds echoed in the darkness, and more oil lamps ignited one after another. Their light revealed a pitch-black palace before him, and the pale glow only made it look more eerie.

The black gate creaked open, and a rotten stench rolled out from within, strong enough to churn the stomach. About a minute later, the gate opened fully, revealing abyssal darkness within, yet even Liu Wuxie couldn’t see its depths.

“Junior, Liu Wuxie, has come to pay his respect!” Liu Wuxie said as he cupped his fists toward the black palace.

“Come in.” A piercing voice rose from deep within the palace, cold enough to send chills down the spine.

Liu Wuxie steadied his mind at once and strode inside. The moment he crossed the threshold, the gate slammed shut behind him, and oil lamps on both sides lit up as they floated in mid-air.

As the lamps burned, the palace’s rough, interior outline came into view. The hall was massive, and even with so many lamps, the light barely illuminated it.

Liu Wuxie fixed his gaze on the center of the hall and saw three shadows standing there. He took a few steps forward to see them more clearly, and the moment their forms resolved, his eyes narrowed as he shifted into a battle stance.

None of the three elders stood whole. The elder on the left had no limbs and retained only torso and head; the elder on the right was severed at the waist and had only his upper body; and the elder in the middle looked the most horrifying of all, because only a head remained.

“Junior Liu Wuxie pays his respect to three seniors,” Liu Wuxie said again as he cupped his fists toward them.

“Do you know the rules of Death Mountain?” the elder in the middle asked.

“I do not. Senior, please enlighten me,” Liu Wuxie replied, shaking his head. Luo Hai only knew fragments about Death Mountain, and no one had ever told him the exact rules.

“The moment you stepped onto Death Mountain, you stepped onto a path of no return. We can satisfy whatever you desire, but you must hand your life to us,” the elder in the middle said, laying out the law. No one who came here left alive, and they would grant Liu Wuxie one wish in exchange for his life.

“And what if I plan to break that rule?” Liu Wuxie asked. He had no intention of handing his life over, and from the instant he entered, he had studied the three elders and sensed something profoundly wrong.

Any cultivator who reached the Earth Immortal Realm could regenerate lost body parts, and they could even rebuild an entire body from a drop of blood. These three elders existing in such mutilated forms made no sense—unless heaven itself had cursed them, and that possibility slid into his mind like ice.

“That’s the rule of Death Mountain, and no one can break it,” the elder on the right said, his voice like needles stabbing into Liu Wuxie’s ears.

“If there was no such rule before, we can set a new one,” Liu Wuxie said, keeping his composure as he negotiated. The gate had sealed behind him, and even if he wanted to leave, escape wouldn’t come easily. More importantly, these three elders had reached the Quasi-Immortal Realm, making their condition even more unreasonable.

“No one can change the rule that has been set. Since you refuse to state your wish, we’ll take it upon ourselves,” the elder in the middle said, then launched his head straight at Liu Wuxie. A Quasi-Immortal Realm oppression crashed down and immobilized him in place.

“Heavenly crippled body, cursed flesh, dead souls, and staying alive through borrowed lives,” Liu Wuxie said, and he allowed the elder to fly closer instead of resisting immediately.

The flying head abruptly halted a meter from Liu Wuxie, and their eyes locked in a silent standoff.

Neither moved. Liu Wuxie held his ground, wearing a devilish smile.

The standoff dragged on for a full minute, and cold sweat soaked Liu Wuxie’s back before he even noticed it.