Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 174 - Underground Palace

A gust of wind swept through the main hall, forcing the henchmen outside to shield their eyes. This effectively prevented them from witnessing the events unfolding within the hall.

The punch's force produced a whooshing sound accompanied by flashes of lightning. Rocks the size of basins rained from the ceiling, and the entire hall was on the brink of collapse.

A storm appeared at the hall’s center. Liu Wuxie raised his hand and delivered a punch with such immense force that it created a powerful gust of wind. Qian Kun found lifting his head against this wind impossible and had no choice but to meet Liu Wuxie’s Overlord Fist head-on.

Their true essence took on various shapes, which could only be accomplished by those in the higher levels of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. This proved that Liu Wuxie and Qian Kun were extraordinary.

The impact resulted in a loud boom, sending Qian Kun flying and causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood. The Thunderstorm Glove he wore began to crack and shatter in mid-air.

The destruction of a high-grade profound artifact clearly demonstrated the power of Liu Wuxie’s Overlord Fist, which would continue increasing with his cultivation level.

Qian Kun’s palm bone cracked, inflicting excruciating pain. Without the Thunderstorm Glove, he was like a tiger without fangs, and what awaited him was Liu Wuxie’s fury.

The pain forced Qian Kun to draw a sharp breath, and his face turned pale. He realized that his hands were essentially crippled.

Liu Wuxie advanced towards Qian Kun. His punch had depleted approximately seventy percent of his true essence, momentarily draining his dantian. Swiftly, he took out a pill and swallowed it to replenish his true essence.

Simultaneously, the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron absorbed spiritual energy from the environment, transforming it into a liquid that flowed into his dantian. In a matter of seconds, Liu Wuxie had regained fifty percent of his true essence. The speed of his recovery was truly astounding.

Liu Wuxie drew the Heretic Blade, wanting to end the battle quickly. The Scarlet Dragon Association still had over a thousand people, and he had to kill Qian Kun to deal a blow to the Scarlet Dragon Association.

Liu Wuxie launched his blade downward, not allowing Qian Kun any time to react. However, before his blade could land, a large hole appeared in a nearby wall, and a hook snagged Qian Kun by his clothes, dragging him into the cave.

Fuck! Cursing under his breath, Liu Wuxie realized his lapse in vigilance against Ye Xiao had allowed Qian Kun to be rescued. He, too, entered the cave, which was pitch dark and filled with countless hidden weapons that fired at him as soon as he stepped in, forcing him to retreat.

The cave was riddled with traps. The Scarlet Dragon Association had established their stronghold here for years, taking full advantage of the favorable terrain.

The group leaders had long fled to the foot of the mountain, seeing that even the grand leader wasn’t Liu Wuxie’s opponent.

“What should we do? Qian Kun has created countless passages here, and they’re all interconnected. There’s even food stored inside. We might not be able to find them even if we search for a year or more,” Chen Ruoyan said, approaching with an anxious look on her face. Their efforts would be in vain if they failed to kill Qian Kun.

“I can find him even if he is hiding underground.” Liu Wuxie couldn’t wait a year, and his time was limited. Thus, he had to kill Qian Kun as soon as possible. He decided to keep Lu Huangzhong’s head as proof. As for the body, it had long turned into a pile of skin, with everything devoured by him.

“Can you really locate them?” Chen Ruoyan asked, her emotions running high. Their chances seemed promising, with Qian Kun severely injured and Ye Xiao posing no real threat.

“This is my fight. You need to leave this place with the others immediately,” Liu Wuxie insisted. He was wary of getting too involved with members of the royal family. He urged Chen Ruoyan to evacuate with the rescued women, primarily because he didn’t want to reveal his Ghost Eye.

Nothing could hide from his Ghost Eye, and he could dig them out even if they hid underground.

“I refuse to leave! I was the first to stand against them!” Chen Ruoyan declared, adamant about staying by Liu Wuxie’s side to confront their enemies.

Chen Ruoyan was the third princess, and Liu Wuxie couldn’t possibly chase her away. Furthermore, he had no right to interfere with her decision as this place was the Dragon Head Mountain.

“What about these people?” Liu Wuxie asked, pointing at the captured women. They were weak, and they would only be killed if they continued to stay there.

A maid, who had also been captured by the Scarlet Dragon Association and harbored a deep resentment for them, emerged from the ruins. “Leave them to me. I know a secret passage where they can hide for now,” she offered. Liu Wuxie’s defeat of Qian Kun had bolstered her courage.

After ensuring the women’s safety, Liu Wuxie entered the side door and increased his speed. This was to prevent Qian Kun from escaping. If Qian Kun managed to recover from his injuries, it wouldn’t be easy for Liu Wuxie to kill him as he didn’t know if there were other secret passages leading outside.

“Wait for me!” Chen Ruoyan quickly caught up with him. As they ventured deeper, the number of secret passages multiplied, and they resolved to eliminate any members of the Scarlet Dragon Association they encountered.

After about fifteen minutes of travel, they reached a cross-section. Chen Ruoyan was panting heavily, unaccustomed to navigating such narrow paths. Leaning against the wall to catch her breath, she asked, “Have you found their hiding spot?”

Liu Wuxie ignored Chen Ruoyan and executed Ghost Eye. His vision penetrated through the walls and captured everything within two hundred meters of radius.

“A rabbit with three burrows!” Liu Wuxie smiled and patted the right wall. He didn’t choose any of the paths. The seemingly sturdy wall turned out to be a stone gate that was several inches thick. When he shattered the gate, another passage appeared before him.

As they ventured into the passage, they found the environment to be relatively dry compared to the outside. “There’s blood!” Chen Ruoyan exclaimed, immediately noticing the bloodstains on the wall upon entering.

Wielding the Heretic Blade, Liu Wuxie performed the Seven Dipper Steps which was suitable for such a narrow path.

Chen Ruoyan followed behind, pouting her lips. She knew that Liu Wuxie was still upset about what had happened yesterday. After all, no one would be in a good mood if they were accused of being a member of the Scarlet Dragon Association and attacked for no reason.

However, in reality, Liu Wuxie didn’t talk to her because he didn’t want to get too close to her.

Traveling for about two hundred meters, they ran into a stone gate that stood in their way.

“The path ends here!” Chen Ruoyan exclaimed, drawing her sword and striking at the stone gate. However, her efforts only resulted in sparks as the sword made contact with the gate, leaving no marks.

“Don’t waste your energy. This gate is made of diamond stones. Ordinary weapons can’t break it,” Liu Wuxie cautioned, his brow furrowed in concern. Qian Kun was hiding behind this door, and Liu Wuxie knew he had to break it down if he wanted to eliminate him.

The passage was flanked by cliff walls, and digging a new passage would take at least a year. Liu Wuxie activated his Ghost Eye ability, allowing his vision to penetrate the stone door and reveal everything beyond it.

“Big Brother, don’t worry. There is plenty of food for you to recuperate here. Once you get better, we can go out together.” Ye Xiao supported Qian Kun to a clean chair. Behind the gate was a fully furnished underground palace, well-stocked with food.

There was also an underground river, ensuring a steady supply of water. It was no wonder the Scarlet Dragon Association had managed to evade eradication.

“Thank you, Second Brother!” Qian Kun’s hands were still trembling. His hands were bloodied from blocking Liu Wuxie’s Overlord Fist, and his Thunderstorm Glove had shattered. If not for Ye Xiao’s timely rescue, he would have met his end at Liu Wuxie’s hands in the main hall.

“Big Brother, are your hands alright?” Ye Xiao asked, looking worried. Without Qian Kun, the Scarlet Dragon Association would swiftly fall apart.

“Big Brother, are your hands okay?” Ye Xiao asked, his worry evident. He knew that without Qian Kun, the Scarlet Dragon Association would quickly fall apart.

“That brat’s fist technique is weird, containing a destructive force that injured my meridians. It would take at least a month for me to recover.” Qian Kun was still lingering in fear, recalling Liu Wuxie’s punch. Even the Thunderstorm Glove couldn’t stop it, and he feared he might have lost his arms if he had taken the full brunt of the attack.

“Big Brother, something about today’s situation is off. Usually, our superiors would alert us if someone was dispatched to eradicate our Scarlet Dragon Association, but there was no such warning this time,” Ye Xiao remarked, pacing the room in confusion. Over the years, they had faced numerous assaults on the Scarlet Dragon Association. If the opposition were too powerful, they would retreat into hiding. If the opposition were weak, they would be consumed. This was their survival strategy.

This time, even the third princess herself was present, along with a young expert.

“I suspect that something big has happened in the Imperial City, and they didn’t have enough time to notify us,” Qian Kun speculated after some thought.

The two fell into silence and wondered what had happened. In the end, they could only wait till their injuries healed before killing Liu Wuxie and contacting the higher-ups.

Chen Ruoyan attacked the stone gate with her sword over a dozen times, but it remained immovable, bearing only shallow marks from her efforts. “Hey, why aren’t you doing anything? Are we just going to wait here?” she asked, noticing Liu Wuxie deep in thought.

“The mechanism is behind the gate, and it’s impossible to open it from outside,” Liu Wuxie concluded after observing the gate. There was no way to open the gate, meaning their effort would go down the drain.

“Are we just going to let him live then? If he survives another day, who knows how many people will suffer because of him? He must be eliminated as soon as possible!” Chen Ruoyan declared, her face twisted with hatred and her teeth gritted. This made Liu Wuxie wonder what Qian Kun had done to provoke such hatred from her.

“Rest assured, he won’t survive the day!” Liu Wuxie declared with a smirk. After dealing with Qian Kun, he still had to make his way to the Western Breeze Mountain Range to complete the three tasks as swiftly as possible.

“You have a way to open the gate?!” Chen Ruoyan jumped in excitement.

This left Liu Wuxie speechless. He had been observing everything that transpired behind the gate, including their conversation. As a result, he stumbled upon the shocking revelation that the Scarlet Dragon Association had ties to the higher-ups in the Imperial City.

The Scarlet Dragon Association must be a force backed by someone powerful, and they were more than mere bandits. They could be mobilized in critical situations. However, their exact objective remained a mystery to him.

“Step back!” Liu Wuxie waited for Chen Ruoyan to retreat to the passage before he formed seals with both hands and injected them into the stone gate.

This puzzled Chen Ruoyan. As the third princess, she had seen all kinds of people before. However, Liu Wuxie was an enigma to her, a person she found impossible to comprehend fully.

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