Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1686 - Secretly Conspiring
Chapter 1686 – Secretly Conspiring
On a mysterious planet shrouded in thick astral clouds that blocked ordinary divine sense, many temporary houses stood in a valley, where numerous cultivators resided.
“We welcome the return of the ancestors!” Venerable Grand Unity stood at the front of the group.
Beside him stood the Immortal Slaughter Palace’s palace lord, the Nalan Clan’s patriarch, the Profound Azure Gate’s sect master, and members of the Lingqiong Clan.
Ever since Liu Wuxie fought the avatar projection, the Grand Unity Sect’s upper echelons had vanished, followed by the Nalan Clan, the Profound Azure Gate, and the Lingqiong Clan. They naturally feared Liu Wuxie’s retaliation and relocated all their upper echelons.
As for the weak, they knew Liu Wuxie was not someone who would kill indiscriminately.
The immortals had already received the messages sent to them in advance, and they had left the Skyfall Realm one day early to gather here instead of returning to their sects.
“What’s going on, and why did you call us to gather here?” The Grand Unity Sect’s ancestor frowned as he looked at Venerable Grand Unity. Despite being in seclusion for a hundred thousand years, he still held a strong attachment to the Grand Unity Sect.
“Ancestor, our Grand Unity Sect has encountered a calamity,” Venerable Grand Unity reported. Not daring to hide anything, he recounted everything that had happened to the Grand Unity Sect.
Aside from the Grand Unity Sect, the Immortal Slaughter Palace, the Lingqiong Clan, and the Profound Azure Gate were also reporting to their ancestors.
The current structure of the four astral domains had undergone a drastic transformation, with the upper echelons of the Grand Unity Sect and the Immortal Slaughter Palace nearly wiped out.
“How outrageous! How dare he kill so many people of my Grand Unity Sect!” The Grand Unity Sect’s founder was Yue Jinkang, who reached the Immortal Realm hundreds of thousands of years ago and possessed a strength far surpassing Leng Zizhen’s.
Boundless fury erupted from the surrounding immortals.
The Immortal Slaughter Palace’s ancestor already knew of Liu Wuxie’s existence, and he had once released the power of inner demons that nearly killed Liu Wuxie.
The Nalan Clan’s ancestor was equally furious when he learned that Liu Wuxie had destroyed most of the Nalan Clan’s assets, along with dozens of their experts.
“What are we waiting for then? Let’s go and kill him immediately to avenge the dead!” The Immortal Slaughter Palace’s ancestor roared furiously. He had a fiery temper and wrapped himself in a black robe. He went by the name Gongsun Lin and had reached the Immortal Realm more than a hundred thousand years ago, like Yue Jinkang. His cultivation was high, at the seventh-level Heavenly Immortal Realm.
Leng Zizhen had only managed to reach the fourth-level Heavenly Immortal Realm because he had broken through later, making him somewhat weak compared to these immortals.
In the past, immortals would not act even after leaving the Skyfall Realm, even if they had grudges against one another, and allowed their sects to handle those conflicts. After all, if immortals acted, the impact would be devastating, and Emperor Haoyuan would surely intervene.
There were rumors that Emperor Haoyuan had already surpassed the Heavenly Immortal Realm and reached the High Immortal Realm.
“No hurry. I have invited a few more people, and they should arrive anytime soon,” Yue Jinkang said, interrupting Gongsun Lin. He knew they could not rush this matter, and from everyone’s accounts, they could tell that Liu Wuxie was not simple. This meant they had to ensure absolute success if they chose to act.
Aside from them, several powerhouses at the low levels of the Heavenly Immortal Realm were also present. Most of them were rogue cultivators who had broken through in the past tens of thousands of years.
In the Skyfall Realm, their low cultivation made them easy prey, so they could only attach themselves to powerhouses. Over the years, Yue Jinkang had recruited several people under him.
A series of whooshing sounds echoed as another three figures descended from the sky. The moment their feet touched the ground, the entire planet trembled. The aura they released was too powerful, and one of them had even reached the ninth-level Heavenly Immortal Realm. They were all old monsters who had lived for countless years.
“Brother Yue, why did you invite us over?” the ninth-level Heavenly Immortal asked after arriving.
“Greetings, Brother Xiang, Brother Qu, and Brother Shao!” Yue Jinkang hurried forward and bowed to the three, who stood above him in cultivation.
The trio was Xiang Yiliu, Qu San, and Shao Shan. They had lived for close to a million years and belonged to the same era as Long Xiao and Lingqiong Tian. But their talent was naturally inferior to that of those two.
Lingqiong Tian founded Spirit Jade Heaven and even advanced to the rank of Immortal Emperor. Those feats alone placed him far beyond their reach.
“Speak, why did you call us here?” Xiang Yiliu asked, looking somewhat impatient after sweeping his gaze around.
He had crossed paths with Yue Jinkang when the latter was younger, and they had a decent relationship. That was why he rushed over as soon as he received Yue Jinkang’s invitation.
“I would like to ask the three of you to help me kill someone in return for heavy rewards,” Yue Jinkang said frankly.
“Kill who?” Xiang Yiliu and the other two asked. They had no descendants left, and they planned to ascend to the celestial realm after the great changes in heaven and earth.
“Liu Wuxie,” Venerable Grand Unity said.
Liu Wuxie was their greatest enemy. Once he died, the others would no longer be of any concern.
“Never heard of him,” Xiang Yiliu said after thinking briefly. He did not have that name in any of his memories. Not only him, but Qu San and Shao Shan also shook their heads.
“He’s a disciple of the Heavenly Dragon Sect, and he had reached the Quasi-Immortal Realm at the age of twenty. They say he’s the reincarnation of an immortal, and he has comprehended countless immortal arts, allowing him to take the life of a fifth-level Heavenly Immortal easily,” Lingqiong Mo said through gritted teeth.
His hatred for Liu Wuxie naturally intensified when he learned that Liu Wuxie had killed Ancestor Lingqiong Jing’s clone. If their ancestor had not died, they could have followed him and ascended to the celestial realm.
“Are you sure you’re not joking? Someone in his twenties reached the Quasi-Immortal Realm?” Not only Xiang Yiliu but also Qu San and Shao Shan looked doubtful when they heard this. After all, they had only been in the Transcendent Realm when they were in their twenties.
Clearly, they still did not know that Liu Wuxie had reached the Heavenly Immortal Realm. But for safety reasons, Yue Jinkang did not dare take any risks and planned to gather as many experts as possible. They worried that the Heavenly Dragon Sect would also ally with others like them.
“It’s absolutely true. My ancestor descended from the celestial realm last month, and Liu Wuxie killed him,” Lingqiong Mo answered.
When Xiang Yiliu and the other two heard this, they drew in sharp breaths as peculiar lights flashed in their eyes. For a quasi-immortal to kill an enemy at the fifth-level Heavenly Immortal Realm, he had to be hiding a tremendous secret.
Even more terrifying was Liu Wuxie’s cultivation. When they heard that he had reached the Quasi-Immortal Realm at such a young age, they became even more impatient to meet him. They wanted to see with their own eyes whether he was as monstrous as everyone claimed.
“You want our help against a mere quasi-immortal?” Xiang Yiliu asked, smiling as he looked at Yue Jinkang.
After reaching their level, they built friendships on shared interests. Without enough benefits, talking about friendship was shameless. After all, they had long discarded their mortal emotions after becoming immortals.
“I’ll be honest with you. We’re worried that the Heavenly Dragon Sect also has help from other experts, not to mention that Liu Wuxie is extremely troublesome to deal with. That’s why I invited the three of you to help,” Yue Jinkang said, voicing his concerns without hiding anything.
They naturally feared most that Liu Wuxie had reached the Immortal Realm. So much time had passed since he killed Lingqiong Jing, and even if he could not reach the Immortal Realm, he should only be one step away now.
If he could slay a fifth-level Heavenly Immortal in the Quasi-Immortal Realm, then once he reached the Immortal Realm, even a seventh-level Heavenly Immortal would not be his match.
They were only at the seventh-level Heavenly Immortal Realm, and only Xiang Yiliu stood at the ninth level. They naturally wanted to use Xiang Yiliu as a blade to kill Liu Wuxie.
“Speak, what price are you willing to pay for our help?” Xiang Yiliu exchanged glances with the other two and found this deal worthwhile. They could reluctantly agree to it as long as Yue Jinkang provided sufficient resources.
“This Heavenly Shield Pearl will be yours as long as you can kill him,” Yue Jinkang said, taking out a strange pearl the size of a quail’s egg, but no one dared look down on it.
“You’re truly generous. You refused to sell it when I offered one thousand immortal stones back then, yet now you’re taking it out voluntarily?” Xiang Yiliu’s eyes flashed with greed, as he had coveted it for a long time. This was the main reason he had actively befriended Yue Jinkang over the years. Even Qu San and Shao Shan’s eyes flickered with greed when they laid eyes on the pearl.
Yue Jinkang also knew that he had built his relationship with Xiang Yiliu on self-interest.
The Heavenly Shield Pearl was a rare treasure that contained heavenly soul energy, but Yue Jinkang could not absorb it entirely because he was only at the seventh-level Heavenly Immortal Realm.
Xiang Yiliu, however, had reached the ninth-level Heavenly Immortal Realm. If he could refine the Heavenly Shield Pearl, he would have a fifty percent chance of reaching the High Immortal Realm.
Once he reached the High Immortal Realm, he would have a greater chance of survival in the celestial realm after ascending, so it was no wonder he showed such an expression.
“Good. We have a deal then,” Xiang Yiliu agreed without any hesitation, fearing that Yue Jinkang might change his mind.
With that, a great conspiracy against Liu Wuxie was born.
Everything happened without Liu Wuxie’s knowledge. He walked out of the house at dawn and stretched. Through his repeated efforts, Xu Lingxue’s belly finally showed a slight reaction, though it was still not very obvious.
“Wuxie, the sect master requests your audience immediately,” Dong Wu said, appearing outside Liu Wuxie’s courtyard.
“Alright,” Liu Wuxie replied. He opened the courtyard gate and followed Dong Wu to the Heavenly Dragon Sect’s main hall.
The Heavenly Dragon Sect in Nightmare City had an identical structure to the outside world. As an immortal artifact, Nightmare City could change the design of its buildings with a single thought from Liu Wuxie.
“Master, did you need me for anything?” Liu Wuxie asked. He knew something must have happened for his master to seek him so early in the morning.
“We have discovered many immortals on a nameless planet, and I’m worried that the Grand Unity Sect might be behind it,” Hua Feiyu said. Through repeated investigations, they discovered that several immortals had crossed the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain and entered an unnamed planet in the past two days.
The planet was extremely far away and outside the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain’s range, with no lifeforms on it.
“They should be preparing to act,” Liu Wuxie said, rubbing his chin. Based on his calculations, the Grand Unity Sect would surely stage a comeback.
“Should we send someone to investigate the situation?” Hua Feiyu asked. He had begun asking Liu Wuxie for his opinion on many situations now.
“No need for that. What must come will eventually come, and we will only alert them if we act rashly,” Liu Wuxie replied as he shook his head. There was no point in sending quasi-immortals over. With so many immortals there, they would detect quasi-immortals the moment they got close.
