Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 412 - Mysterious Cave

Two days later, Liu Wuxie navigated through layers of thorns and canyons, traversing continuous mountain ranges. He encountered hundreds of profound beasts along the way before reaching the source of the light.

The area was a desolate mountain range, its trees flattened and the ground scarred by signs of fierce battles. The light emanated from a cave, and thousands of cultivators had gathered around it. Liu Wuxie spotted several disciples from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion among the crowd.

The crowd was divided into factions. The Azure Crimson Gate had the largest group, followed by the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. The Divine Sun Palace had the fewest disciples, numbering only a dozen.

Additionally, numerous rogue cultivators and those from various large cities were stationed around the cave, forming three distinct groups to guard the area.

The terrifying factor wasn't the human cultivators but the hundreds of profound beasts in the western area. The rumbling demonic aura they released was overwhelming.

"Brother, why hasn’t anyone entered the cave yet?" Liu Wuxie asked a friendly-looking disciple from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. From his earlier inquiries, Liu Wuxie had learned that the seven-colored ray had persisted for days, and many cultivators had arrived. Yet, no one had ventured inside.

"Do you think we don't want to? The cave is filled with highly toxic gas, and everyone who has entered has died," the disciple replied, glancing at Liu Wuxie but offering little more information.

The cave was filled with highly toxic gas, which stopped anyone from entering. Ordinary toxic gas couldn't harm Liu Wuxie because he could absorb it with the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. But there was no reason for Liu Wuxie to take the risk.

Activating his Ghost Eye, Liu Wuxie peered into the cave, penetrating through its layers. What he discovered was startling: the back of the cave was hollow, resembling an entire mountain carved out. The cave’s interior was vast, and even the Ghost Eye could not fully explore its extent”.

A powerful suction force suddenly appeared, devouring Liu Wuxie's divine sense and forcing him to retract the Ghost Eye.

This piqued Liu Wuxie's interest, and he wondered if a powerful beast was lurking in the cave. The fact that so many humans and profound beasts were attracted by the phenomenon proved that the cave wasn't simple.

Profound beasts had far keener sense than humans, and some mysterious force had attracted them to the cave.

"What dense fragrance!" Dense fragrance wafted from the cave, and thousands of people inhaled it eagerly. Even the profound beasts weren't an exception as they raised their noses to sniff in the fragrance.

When the fragrance entered Liu Wuxie's nostrils, he felt comfortable throughout his body, as though his pores had all opened up.

"What fragrance is that? My soul energy greatly increased after taking a breath!" Liu Wuxie was shocked. He had read many books and was surprised because he couldn't recognize this fragrance.

The humans' reaction was even more exaggerated because they began to sniff the fragrance greedily. The profound beasts started to get restless, and several powerful sixth-grade profound beasts approached the cave, wanting to enter ahead of the humans.

"A rare spiritual fruit must be emitting that fragrance! It even has the power to enhance my primordial spirit. I can only imagine the effects if the fruit were consumed," speculated an expert in the seventh-level Heavenly Dipper Realm, suggesting that the cave's treasure was likely a spiritual fruit tree.

"That's right! I've read about this fruit in books. If a cultivator consumes it, it can increase the cultivation and strengthen the soul sea," many echoed in agreement, but it was unknown if they had really read about it.

Many people deliberately spread rumors about the fruit's effects to lure others into the cave while they reaped the benefits later. Such tactics might deceive ordinary individuals, but most of those present were too astute to be fooled. Nonetheless, around a hundred naive people rushed into the cave upon hearing about the treasure.

The toxic gas seeping out gradually weakened, becoming less harmful to humans. The few leading disciples took out a special mask, which could help them block the toxic gas. They probed several times and quickened their pace after finding no danger.

Roars sounded from the gathered profound beasts, and a few powerful profound beasts sprinted towards the cave.

The profound beasts were swift, knocking several cultivators away before they could react. They were powerful, and only cultivators at the pinnacle of the Heavenly Dipper Realm could subdue them.

Liu Wuxie had observed thousands of people. The strongest were at the pinnacle of the Heavenly Dipper Realm, while the weakest were only in the first level. There was a drastic difference in strength.

"We must hurry and not let the profound beasts get ahead of us!" Hundreds of people rushed towards the cave in the blink of an eye.

The cave entrance was huge and could accommodate dozens of people. But Liu Wuxie stood still and wasn't in a hurry to enter.

"Brother, why aren't you going in?" a Heavenly Treasure Pavilion disciple came over and asked Liu Wuxie.

"No hurry!" Liu Wuxie frowned. He had a feeling this cave was more complex than it looked. Given how close it was to the outer region, many cultivators should have passed by it annually, but why had no one discovered this cave in the past?

The sudden appearance of the seven-colored ray could be a trap designed to lure them in. Liu Wuxie had to remain cautious, remembering his past experience with the serpent pit—many had ventured in, but only a few had emerged alive.

In the blink of an eye, a few thousand people had entered the cave, leaving only a handful still pondering their next move.

After a moment's hesitation, Liu Wuxie decided to proceed into the cave. His journey outside the sect was meant to explore the True Martial Continent and encounter more prodigies; leaving now would mean missing out on a significant event.

He reasoned that as long as he stayed vigilant, he should be fine. After all, this was only the outer region of the Scarlet Sun Mountain Range, where the profound beasts weren't particularly formidable.

Liu Wuxie didn't draw the Heretic Blade but kept his right index finger ready, making it convenient for him to execute the Frost Finger if needed.

Although the index finger's attack was not the strongest, it was the fastest. This allowed him to attack immediately the moment there was danger.

He had already looked into the cave using Ghost Eye, so he wasn't surprised after entering. The cave's interior was hollow, and the deeper he went, the larger it became. The entire mountain was hollowed out as he saw through the Ghost Eye.

The light was very dim, barely enough to see a rough outline. But even the night wouldn't hinder the vision of someone in the Heavenly Dipper Realm because they could sense everything in their surroundings, relying on their divine sense.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, a beam of light appeared ahead, scattering most cultivators. The profound beasts that had entered the cave had all vanished.

A faint fragrance lingered in the cave, and no one knew where the source was.

Roars came from the depth of the mountain, which echoed throughout the cave, shaking everyone's eardrums.

"Those profound beasts have gone insane!" The sounds of weapons clashing indicated that humans and profound beasts had clashed.

Moreover, the fights were taking place in multiple locations. Liu Wuxie quickened his pace, wanting to see what was happening.

The ground was uneven, and Liu Wuxie could only maneuver using his movement technique. A massive cave appeared before him, with countless stalactites hanging from the mountain's waist.

"What an ancient karst landscape!" Liu Wuxie's face flashed with a hint of amazement. Such a landscape would take tens of thousands of years to form.

There were countless layers of rocks, with the thickest part reaching tens of thousands of layers. This meant this karst cave had existed for hundreds of thousands of years.

"Since there's a karst cave here, there must be ten-thousand-year-old stalactites!" Liu Wuxie's eyes flashed with a hint of joy.

Stalactites were extremely rare, and the liquid dripping down them was highly valuable. They were worth countless times more than pills. Consuming a droplet could extend a mortal's lifespan and ward off diseases.

If a cultivator consumed one, it could strengthen their cultivation and transform their physique.

Below the karst cave were dozens of profound beasts fighting with human cultivators, causing stalactites to fall from above and crash onto the ground. A massive profound beast was killed to death by a stalactite, with blood flowing everywhere.

A large amount of blood seeped into the ground and disappeared without a trace as if absorbed by something or someone. It was as if there was an underground river that could devour everything.

In addition to this, fights took place in several other locations.

"What's going on? Why are they fighting for no reason?" Liu Wuxie was puzzled because this fight made no sense when there weren't any treasures.

"Liu Wuxie soon realized the cause of the problem: the poison. The toxic gas lingering in the area would disrupt their divine senses if inhaled too much, causing them to attack each other in confusion."

All the toxic gas Liu Wuxie absorbed was devoured by the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, which posed no threat to him. Those lower-level cultivators didn't have that ability and had their soul seas corroded by the toxic gas.

"Someone found the stalactite droplets!" An exclamation came from Liu Wuxie's right, and several droplets were seen dripping from a broken stalactite. The white liquid emitted a powerful fragrance that opened everyone's pores.

Liu Wuxie remained still, noting that the issue had stemmed from just a few droplets. There were likely many more droplets hidden, and these few had already sparked a bloody conflict, resulting in over fifty deaths.

Performing the Ghost Eye, Liu Wuxie quickly scanned the surroundings for more droplets. Aside from him, several experts at the pinnacle of the Heavenly Dipper Realm were also searching the area.

A few droplets could be highly valuable—while a single droplet was sufficient to affect a mortal, a cultivator would need a larger quantity for a significant impact.

After scanning hundreds of stalactites, Liu Wuxie suddenly stopped before he vanished, heading into the depths.

A profound beast suddenly appeared before him, but it was soon frozen into an ice sculpture. Liu Wuxie didn't have time to deal with the sculpture and continued to speed up.

Since he could find the location of more droplets, others could also find it. These people were geniuses, each possessing unique skills. To them, finding the stalactite droplets was only a matter of time.