Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 675 - Disgust

Mu Tianli left the warship with Liu Wuxie, allowing Elder He to accompany the other disciples to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

“Wuxie, have you memorized the Heavenly Nether Battlefield’s map I sent you?” Mu Tianli asked. If Liu Wuxie were to travel on foot, it would take him an entire month to reach the battlefield. By then, Mu Yueying might already have met her demise.

Cultivators at the True Profound Realm could tear through space and traverse the distance in just three days. Along the way, Mu Tianli had shared critical information about the Heavenly Nether Battlefield with Liu Wuxie.

“I’ve practically memorized it,” Liu Wuxie replied. Mu Tianli’s energy enveloped him as they traveled through the void, shielding him from the biting pitch-black winds that swirled in the darkness.

Three days later, they emerged from the void and found themselves in a barren wasteland, where the biting, cold wind howled relentlessly. There wasn’t a speck of green, and the surroundings looked lifeless, as though the world had abandoned them. This place was devoid of life, not to mention signs of humans.

“This is the Heavenly Nether Battlefield?” Liu Wuxie asked. It differed from how he had imagined it to be based on the information he had received.

“This is the Heavenly Nether Battlefield’s entrance. Once you enter, you will face experts from the Southern Province and other regions, such as the Central Plains,” Mu Tianli explained solemnly.

The Heavenly Nether Battlefield was dangerous, and Liu Wuxie had to rescue Mu Yueying while ensuring his own safety.

“The Heavenly Nether Battlefield is linked to the other regions?” Liu Wuxie asked. Mu Tianli hadn’t provided any information on that. He had only received the Heavenly Nether Battlefield’s map and standard information. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“That’s right. The Heavenly Nether Battlefield is located at the True Martial Continent’s center, and several spatial rifts act as entrances. So it’s common to see cultivators from the other regions inside,” Mu Tianli explained.

Liu Wuxie nodded at the explanation. He had practically seen all the prodigies in the Southern Province, while the demon clans mainly dominated the Western Barren.

The only concern was the Central Plain, the strongest region in the True Martial Continent.

From many books, Liu Wuxie had learned that the Central Plains was stronger than he had imagined. Not to mention, the Central Plains also had teleportation arrays for the other astral realms. The True Martial Continent was only a tiny realm and insignificant compared to astral realms.

“Do you see that crack over there?” Mu Tianli asked, pointing at a spatial rift between two bald mountains. The powerful wind blew out from the spatial rift, turning the surrounding place into a wasteland.

“I will do my best to rescue Big Sister Mu,” Liu Wuxie said and vanished. He had conjured a protective shield that prevented him from being swept away by the wind.

Before he left, Mu Tianli had given him a pill. Mu Tianli had kept it with him for decades but never had the heart to use it. He hoped it could ensure Liu Wuxie’s safety in the critical moment.

Liu Wuxie accepted the pill without any hesitation as he knew it was dangerous in the Heavenly Nether Battlefield. This pill would ensure his safety and increase his chance of rescuing Mu Yueying.

When Liu Wuxie stepped into the spatial rift, he experienced waves of searing pain and felt like he was enveloped in flames. The sensation lasted for ten or so breaths before he began to fall from the sky, overwhelmed by a desolate aura.

When he landed on the ground, he began scanning his surroundings. He saw brown trees. The landscape here was different from that in the Southern Province.

The laws of this place were far stronger, making the surrounding space unusually sturdy. The moment Liu Wuxie stepped inside, he immediately noticed his cultivation being suppressed. Where once he could crush a mountain with a single punch, now he could only unleash a fraction of his power. His strength had been reduced by at least tenfold.

As a result, both the true essence and the governing laws here were also weakened by a similar factor. It wasn’t that Liu Wuxie had grown weaker—rather, this world was far more powerful, imposing restrictions on those who entered.

For most cultivators in the Astral River Realm, the immense pressure here would place their physiques under tremendous strain. It would cause discomfort, and in some cases, the sheer force of the pressure could even prove fatal.

However, the effects of this world were also obvious. The powerful spatial laws allowed cultivation to progress more rapidly.

The Heavenly Nether Battlefield was vast and seemingly without end. From the information Mu Tianli had provided, Liu Wuxie knew this was only a portion of the battlefield; much of it remained unexplored. Those who had dared venture into those uncharted areas had never returned.

“This is the heavenly nether energy?” Liu Wuxie muttered, sensing the unfamiliar energy permeating the atmosphere. Unlike the spiritual energy he was accustomed to, this energy was unique to the Heavenly Nether Battlefield.

The Heavenly Nether Battlefield had terrifying native creatures known as Heavenly Nether Deathguards. After humans died there and absorbed enough heavenly nether energy, they would be converted into deathguards.

The deathguards lacked intelligence, and their bodies would continue to rot even after they were converted, ultimately turning into skeletons. They would pounce relentlessly if they ran into humans and drain their victims’ energy.

Powerful deathguards were comparable to the pinnacle Astral River Realm cultivators among humans, and they were impervious to ordinary weapons. They grew stronger by absorbing the energy from humans. This was the first time Liu Wuxie had heard of such creatures.

The abyssal devils feasted on human blood as a source of food, while demonic beasts had a long-lasting feud with humans, not because they were fond of consuming human flesh. But the deathguards were different as they were genuinely fond of devouring energy from humans. The energy from humans also acted as a means of evolution for them.

Most importantly, the most ancient deathguards lived for eons and lay dormant underground or concealed in the shadows, waiting to ambush the unsuspecting human.

As Liu Wuxie devoured the heavenly nether energy, it was converted into azure liquid after being refined by the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. But there was something weird about it, so Liu Wuxie didn’t dare to absorb too much.

He still wasn’t sure if he could refine the heavenly nether energy. If his body couldn’t refine it, there would be more risks than benefits if he absorbed it recklessly.

Liu Wuxie tried it by pouring dozens of droplets into the desolate world, instantly filling it with a deathly aura.

The heavenly nether energy was also known as deathly energy or corpse energy. This was the true origin of the Heavenly Nether Battlefield’s name and why it wasn’t called the Heavenly Nether Realm or the Heavenly Nether Plane.

This was because too many lives had perished here throughout the years, and the corpses of the deceased would convert into deathly energy. As time passed, the deathly energy was gradually transformed into the current heavenly nether energy.

The Heavenly Nether Battlefield was located at the heart of the True Martial Continent. According to the ancient records, armies clashed here incessantly. As the other regions often held their battles here, the space was finally shattered, thus forming the Heavenly Nether Battlefield.

Due to the isolation caused by the Heavenly Nether Battlefield, various regions of the continent had remained disconnected for countless years. Over time, these regions developed their own independent laws. For instance, it was rare to find cultivators from the Southern Province in the Central Plains, and the same held true for other regions.

It was similar to how Gu Yu’s grandfather had traveled tens of thousands of miles with Gu Yu to reach the Southern Province, an experience that aligned with the information Mu Tianli had shared. As the sect master of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, Mu Tianli naturally possessed insight into such unspoken secrets of the True Martial Continent.

After he adapted to the spatial laws, Liu Wuxie executed his movement technique and began his journey. Finding Mu Yueying in the vast Heavenly Nether Battlefield was akin to searching for a needle in a haystack, and he could only rely on luck.

Liu Wuxie had given himself a month to find Mu Yueying and would leave if he couldn’t find her. After all, too many matters were awaiting his attention—he still had to bring his father-in-law and mother-in-law into the cultivation world and head to the Western Barren to rescue Murong Yi’s parents.

Once he had taken care of his responsibilities, he planned on leaving the Southern Province and heading to the other regions to search for his birth parents. Due to the laws, he couldn’t advance further in the Southern Province, and his limit was the Nascent Transformation Realm. He would have to journey to stronger realms to advance further in his cultivation.

Choosing a random direction, Liu Wuxie disappeared into the distance. His speed, however, was far slower than in the Southern Province, forcing him to travel on foot to conserve energy.

After traversing a dense forest, the landscape opened up before him, revealing a dilapidated city. Long ago, humans had thrived in the Heavenly Nether Battlefield, but after the ancient war, most survivors fled, leaving only ruins in their wake.

To his surprise, upon closer examination, the city appeared well-preserved. Typically, buildings of this age would have succumbed to the relentless erosion of time, and the restrictions that once protected them would have long since faded without human upkeep.

He increased his speed and shot forward like an arrow, heading toward the city. Once he stepped into the city, it wasn’t as deserted as he had expected. There were taverns and teahouses, along with cultivators walking on the street.

This shocked Liu Wuxie as the Heavenly Nether Battlefield was more bustling than he had imagined. Few people were on the street as most were here to rest and would leave shortly after they were done.

Upon seeing an unfamiliar face, many cultivators stopped to look at Liu Wuxie walking into an inn.

“Hello, are you here for food or lodging?” The shopkeeper came out to ask. His demeanor wasn’t very welcoming, and his facial expression was grim, as though Liu Wuxie owed him money.

“Have you seen this person before?” Liu Wuxie asked, taking out Mu Yueying’s portrait. The urgency weighed on him; with the Alert Talisman activated three times, time was quickly slipping away.

“Get lost if you’re not here to eat or stay. I’ve never seen her before!” The shopkeeper waved his hand impatiently, demanding Liu Wuxie to leave. However, there wasn’t much business in opening a tavern in the Heavenly Nether Battlefield.

“Bring me some food then,” Liu Wuxie said, and the shopkeeper’s face finally improved.

Five minutes later, a plate of food was brought to his table. The dish appeared to be some kind of meat but emitted a strange, foul odor that made Liu Wuxie’s brows knit together. Suspicious, he activated his Ghost Eye to inspect it more closely.

What he saw made his stomach turn. The meat released an ink-green vapor, its true form revealed as a lump of putrid, decaying flesh. To his horror, it was human meat.

Suppressing the nausea, Liu Wuxie’s gaze turned cold, and he wondered if he had stumbled into a slaughterhouse.

When he turned to look at the shopkeeper, the latter stood behind a counter, his face devoid of life. It didn’t look like the facial expression of an ordinary person.

He soon turned to look at the other guests and saw them feasting on the meat ravenously. Their grotesque enjoyment sent chills down his spine, and a wave of nausea overtook him.

Liu Wuxie’s stomach began to churn violently as he retched, throwing up a mouthful of bile.

The commotion he caused attracted the attention of the other diners, who chuckled at him with pieces of rotten meat dangling on their lips.