Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1609 - Visiting the Santi Tribe
Chapter 1609 – Visiting the Santi Tribe
The Santi Tribe’s defenses locked down the settlement like an iron fist. Giant Archaic Rats formed a ring around it, and that alone made it hard for Liu Wuxie to force his way in. Even if he slipped inside, escaping alive would become even harder.
Liu Wuxie didn’t bother concealing himself because he had come tonight to negotiate with the Santi Tribe. He intended to use the Santi Tribe to wipe out the Immortal Slaughter Palace’s experts on the Serene Peace Star, and that was his second plan against the Immortal Slaughter Palace. Once the Immortal Slaughter Palace took a crippling blow to its assets, he believed the Azure Thunder Sect would seize the chance to take over their territory. With the Azure Thunder Sect pressing from the outside, the Immortal Slaughter Palace would slowly grind itself into exhaustion.
Before Liu Wuxie could close the distance, the Giant Archaic Rats detected him and erupted into strange cries.
Explosions rocked the ground in rapid succession, and the earth shook violently as a large number of experts from the Santi Tribe appeared in front of him, moving on all fours. Each one carried a massive build, and a single spring could cover thousands of meters.
Their faces looked unsettlingly strange, with only thirty percent resembling humans. Aside from their mouth and nose, nothing else matched human features. Triangular eyes glinted as a serpent’s, enormous ears drooped along their heads, and their foreheads bulged beneath a swollen lump on the skull.
They likely had a horn growing on their heads in the past, but evolution had erased it, leaving only a protruding lump behind.
The moment the Santi Tribe arrived, they surrounded Liu Wuxie and released strange sounds he couldn’t understand. They spoke a unique language belonging to the Santi Tribe.
“Human, how dare you intrude on the Santi Tribe! Kill him!” a powerful member of the Santi Tribe said in the human tongue. The instant he gave the order, several members of the Santi Tribe at the Void Realm charged straight at Liu Wuxie.
The Santi Tribe fought in a straightforward style that bore little resemblance to human combat. They didn’t rely on mythical arts at all; instead, they trusted speed and excelled at breathing flame, making their attacks difficult to guard against.
“Freeze!” Liu Wuxie said as he released his aura at the ninth-level Earth Immortal Realm. He raised his right hand and slammed it down, immobilizing the Santi Tribe members rushing at him.
He used the Great Spatial Mythical Art. Although it didn’t carry the shadow of an immortal art like his other mythical arts, its sheer power could trap even an expert at the Heaven Gaze Realm.
Everyone’s expressions became serious. They were ordinary members of the tribe, and no experts from the Heaven Gaze Realm were present.
With Liu Wuxie standing at the pinnacle of the Earth Immortal Realm, no amount of Earth Immortal Realm experts would matter. Only someone from the Heaven Gaze Realm could change anything.
“I mean no harm, and I wish to meet your chieftain,” Liu Wuxie said as he spread his hands. He had already changed his clothes before coming and removed the clothes belonging to the Immortal Slaughter Palace.
“Human, what do you want?” the Santi Tribe member demanded in the human tongue. The Santi Tribe and humans had been sworn enemies for ages, and they had never dealt with each other.
“Cooperate,” Liu Wuxie said coldly, keeping his gaze locked on him.
The aura of the Earth Immortal Realm instantly alarmed the Santi Tribe’s higher experts. Several members at the Heaven Gaze Realm rushed over, and the moment they saw their tribesmen pinned down, they attacked without hesitation.
Facing the suppression at the Heaven Gaze Realm, Liu Wuxie’s gaze turned icy as he struck again. The three Heaven Gaze Realm experts who charged at him froze in place just like the attackers before them.
The sight shattered the Santi Tribe’s composure. The Giant Archaic Rats grew restless and breathed flame that swallowed Liu Wuxie whole.
A massive black hole opened in front of Liu Wuxie and devoured every trace of flame.
The Santi Tribe retreated at once. They could already tell Liu Wuxie’s combat strength rivaled the pinnacle of the Heaven Gaze Realm, and no one here could match him unless the chieftain personally acted. From what Liu Wuxie had shown, he could slaughter everyone present with ease.
“I already said that I mean no harm, and I only want to cooperate with the Santi Tribe,” Liu Wuxie said again, lowering his voice so he wouldn’t alarm the Immortal Slaughter Palace.
“We will never cooperate with humans!” someone shouted from among the Santi Tribe. They would cooperate with anyone but humans.
“You will,” Liu Wuxie replied with a devilish smile. The aura he had released had already drawn the attention of the Santi Tribe’s quasi-immortal, and now he only needed to wait.
The Santi Tribe didn’t dare to attack again, and Liu Wuxie had no intention of starting a massacre.
“Let him enter,” a voice echoed from the depths of the Santi Tribe about five minutes later.
The Santi Tribe members blocking Liu Wuxie’s path were stunned. The voice belonged to their chieftain.
When Liu Wuxie had summoned the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron to swallow the flame, he had deliberately let Tian Can release a trace of a quasi-immortal’s aura.
As long as the Santi Tribe’s chieftain wasn’t a fool, he would know what was best for them.
Liu Wuxie had brought a quasi-immortal with him, and even if the Santi Tribe killed him, they still couldn’t resist what came next.
A female member of the Santi Tribe stepped forward and led him into the settlement. The Santi Tribe’s buildings differed wildly from human structures. Their homes looked like nests; some small, some enormous, and the Santi Tribe inhabitants packed inside them tightly.
They crossed the settlement and stopped in front of a massive cavern. Warriors of the Santi Tribe stood on both sides with heightened vigilance.
The female Santi Tribe member pointed inside, signaling that Liu Wuxie could enter alone.
Most of the Santi Tribe barely knew the human tongue, and the majority spoke only their native language. Liu Wuxie moved forward and stepped into the cavern.
Security tightened the deeper he went. Even Santi Tribe members had to report themselves to pass. Liu Wuxie followed a long passage until he reached a brightly lit chamber.
The cavern had been lavishly decorated, yet to Liu Wuxie it looked chaotic. Traces of the Human Race, the Abyssal Race, and the Santi Tribe’s own tastes piled together in a complete mess, with mismatched elements stacked on top of each other.
A massive member of the Santi Tribe stood at the center, radiating the powerful aura of the Quasi-Immortal Realm.
“Greetings, Santi Tribe’s Chieftain,” Liu Wuxie said as he cupped his fists.
Because the Santi Tribe moved on all fours, they stayed prone most of the time, and the cavern didn’t hold a single chair.
“You’re from the Immortal Slaughter Palace,” the Santi Tribe’s chieftain said as he instructed a tribesman to bring a thick mat for Liu Wuxie.
“I am, but I’m also not,” Liu Wuxie replied as he sat on the mat with his legs crossed.
“What do you mean by that?” the Santi Tribe’s chieftain asked, doubt clearly written across his face.
He had only allowed Liu Wuxie in because he sensed an aura at the Quasi-Immortal Realm. Otherwise, he would have struck Liu Wuxie on the spot.
“To be honest, I have infiltrated the Immortal Slaughter Palace because I plan to destroy it,” Liu Wuxie said, cutting straight to the point. He had already disguised himself before entering the Santi Tribe’s settlement, so even if the Santi Tribe refused to cooperate, his identity would remain protected.
His cultivation was at the ninth-level Earth Immortal Realm, while Meng An was only at the sixth-level Origin Conversion Realm. Even if the Immortal Slaughter Palace tried to investigate, they wouldn’t be able to connect him to Meng An.
“You’re not afraid that I’ll disclose this to the Immortal Slaughter Palace?” the Santi Tribe’s chieftain asked with a smile.
No one who reached the Quasi-Immortal Realm lacked wisdom.
“You wouldn’t have agreed to meet me if you planned to disclose this to the Immortal Slaughter Palace,” Liu Wuxie said as he calmly bit into the fruit served to him. Even though they had met for the first time, no awkwardness lingered between them.
“Do you think that you alone can destroy the Immortal Slaughter Palace?” the chieftain asked, and his tone shifted.
Liu Wuxie had read him correctly. The chieftain wouldn’t have granted this audience if he intended to notify the Immortal Slaughter Palace, and the Santi Tribe alone couldn’t hinder Liu Wuxie’s plan anyway.
“This is why I came to the Santi Tribe to seek cooperation,” Liu Wuxie said.
He knew that even with Tian Can, he couldn’t crush the Immortal Slaughter Palace outright. At best, they could cause trouble and carve wounds.
“Why should I trust you?” the Santi Tribe’s chieftain asked as his gaze sharpened.
From his perspective, Liu Wuxie might be part of an Immortal Slaughter Palace scheme meant to probe the Santi Tribe.
Any sensible person would suspect the same when a stranger appeared out of nowhere and demanded cooperation.
“Because my name is Liu Wuxie,” Liu Wuxie said as he removed his mask.
He knew he had to reveal his identity to earn the Santi Tribe’s trust.
“Liu Wuxie?” the Santi Tribe’s chieftain murmured, and faint doubt flickered across his face as if the name stirred an old memory.
A Santi Tribe member hurried over at once and whispered into the chieftain’s ear.
Liu Wuxie had already stirred a storm across the Laman Astral Domain by destroying the Immortal Slaughter Palace’s assets. He had killed several elders at the Heaven Gaze Realm and slaughtered tens of thousands of disciples in the process, and no one in the Laman Astral Domain remained ignorant of that.
Serene Peace Star might be remote, but the Santi Tribe still kept eyes and ears on other planets.
“You’re Liu Wuxie?!” the Santi Tribe’s chieftain demanded as he rose and stared hard at him.
His subordinate rummaged through the mess, produced Liu Wuxie’s portrait, and compared it to the man sitting before them.
“Do you have any questions now?” Liu Wuxie asked with a faint smile.
“Speak. How do you wish to cooperate with us?” the Santi Tribe’s chieftain asked.
Respect surfaced in his eyes because Liu Wuxie had survived under a quasi-immortal’s pursuit, and the chieftain no longer dared to underestimate him.
“Before we talk about our cooperation, I need some answers,” Liu Wuxie said.
It was still early, and he didn’t need to rush. He only had to return to the campsite four days later, and that meant he could come here again on the next few nights if needed.
“Go on,” the chieftain said with a nod.
“Is the Santi Tribe only attacking the Immortal Slaughter Palace because they’re mining astral crystals?” Liu Wuxie asked.
The Santi Tribe had lived here for countless years, and even if the Immortal Slaughter Palace vanished, other sects would eventually come. It was also impossible for the Immortal Slaughter Palace to mine the planet without first negotiating, indicating some deeper secrets existed.
“No,” the chieftain replied.
Liu Wuxie narrowed his eyes. He knew the conflict couldn’t be as simple as astral crystals.
Astral crystals appeared in staggering quantities, and even if no new veins formed, emptying a planet would still take thousands of years. New deposits would also appear over time.
Overmining might harm Serene Peace Star, but it wouldn’t destroy the planet outright. That meant the Santi Tribe and the Immortal Slaughter Palace clashed over something more valuable than astral crystals.
“Then why?” Liu Wuxie asked. Since it wasn’t about astral crystals, he needed the real reason behind the Santi Tribe’s relentless attacks on the Immortal Slaughter Palace’s territory.
