Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 417 - Mysterious Dungeon

After passing through the light screen, Liu Wuxie began to fall. He felt like a stone falling into an endless abyss.

But fortunately, he had prepared in advance. When he lost control, he manipulated the ice-attribute energy to form a shield beneath him to support his body.

He didn’t know how long it would be before his feet touched the ground again. Shortly after he landed, a figure fell from above. But this person wasn’t lucky and had no shield to slow his fall.

The figure fell onto the ground and shattered into pieces, turning into a pool of blood.

Liu Wuxie covered his nose and examined this corpse. He thought it was Shao Wenliang and others who could have chased after him, but it turned out to be a rogue cultivator.

“They’re ruthless in using innocent people as bait.” Liu Wuxie stepped back to avoid being hit by more people falling. After waiting fifteen minutes and verifying there wasn’t anyone else coming down, Liu Wuxie finally felt relieved and began looking around.

This looked like an independent space with dim light, barely illuminating a meter around him. He didn’t dare to be careless because his divine sense was devoured when coming in contact with the light screen.

Liu Wuxie took a stance, held the Heretic Blade in his right hand, and raised his left index finger, prepared for danger. He also executed Ghost Eye to look around this massive space.

“There’s only one path!” Ghost Eye revealed that the surroundings were made of sturdy rocks, impervious to ordinary weapons. A dark passageway in front of him was roughly a meter wide and exuded an eerie aura.

It was as though this path led straight to hell. Thinking of the abyssal wind gushing out from the abyss, Liu Wuxie couldn’t help but shiver and wonder if this path led to the abyss.

He tried flying upwards several times, but an invisible force blocked him, making it a one-way trip down. Realizing he had no other option, Liu Wuxie steeled himself and moved forward.

He decided to give it a try regardless of the outcome. He lit a fire to brighten the surroundings, and light brought him a sense of security, calming his nerves significantly.

After all, Liu Wuxie had seen and experienced a worse environment, surviving against all the odds. This time was no different; it was still unknown if he could leave this place alive.

The passage was long, and Liu Wuxie walked for at least fifty meters according to his calculations, but he still couldn’t see the end of this path.

The fire in Liu Wuxie’s hand began to dim down as though the space around him could devour everything.

Cracks echoed beneath Liu Wuxie's feet. Glancing down, he saw a brittle human skeleton; the thigh bone disintegrated into dust with his step, prompting Liu Wuxie to crouch and examine it more closely.

“This skeleton must have been here for at least a few thousand years. What kind of place is this?” Liu Wuxie mused. His divine sense was ineffective here, being rapidly consumed by an unseen force. Each use drained it faster, leaving him puzzled as he had never encountered such a phenomenon before. Though he had seen entities that devoured human brains and souls, this was different.

He didn’t dare to use the Ghost Eye again recklessly because each usage would consume a significant amount of soul energy.

Looking at the stone walls on both sides, Liu Wuxie saw marks left behind by weapons. The marks were faintly discernable, and he had to look carefully.

After traversing roughly a hundred meters—or perhaps a thousand—Liu Wuxie’s surroundings abruptly changed. He found himself in what appeared to be a vast dungeon.

A thick abyssal energy surged from the ground. It would instantly corrupt ordinary people, but Liu Wuxie had the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron that could devour everything. The abyssal energy was soon refined.

Everywhere Liu Wuxie looked, it was pitch black. As soon as he stepped in, the ground began to tremble, like something was awakening.

A strange light began to rise from the surroundings, illuminating the entire place. The flow of abyssal energy also slowed significantly and no longer obstructed Liu Wuxie’s vision.

“What is this place?” Liu Wuxie was taken aback, staring at the massive dungeon that stretched out several hundred square meters.

His astonishment grew as he scanned the surroundings and noticed two terrifying figures to the right. One appeared to be an abyssal devil, a fearsome creature towering at ten meters tall, reminiscent of a tenth-grade abyssal devil in the True Profound Realm. The other figure, while human in shape, was adorned with wings, giving it a strange and unsettling appearance.

Liu Wuxie recognized that the abyssal devil was on the brink of becoming an Abyssal King, a ruler of a region in the abyssal world.

But this wasn’t why Liu Wuxie was shocked; the abyssal devil had shackles covered with runes he had never seen before. They didn’t look like spiritual, alchemy, or forging runes.

He was experienced and well-versed in many things. This was the first time he saw something he didn’t recognize, so he was shocked.

His past experience appeared to be too little and only restricted to the Celestial Realm. The world was vast, and he lacked the knowledge about other planes.

For instance, Liu Wuxie had never seen the winged, robust man before. Aside from the tattered clothes, the body was well intact.

This was strange because the skeletons in the passage had reduced to dust, but why were these two so well preserved? This meant there was only one possibility: they had a higher cultivation, possibly surpassing the True Profound Realm.

He didn’t dare to be careless and slowly approached. He knew he had to find his way out from these two figures. There was no exit here; who knew if he would be trapped here forever?

He first approached the abyssal devil because he was more familiar with them. He tried poking the abyssal devil with the Heretic Blade.

There was no response, and the abyssal devil was stiff and long dead. The insides of the body were heavily decayed, only leaving behind a shell.

Using the Heretic Blade, Liu Wuxie pried open the abyssal devil’s mouth, revealing a row of crimson teeth.

“Three fangs, this is an Abyssal King!” Liu Wuxie took a step back. He had verified his speculation from this deceased abyssal devil, and this was an Abyssal King that had surpassed the tenth grade.

Abyssal devils only developed fangs beyond the tenth grade, and this one had three, indicating it was more than just an Abyssal King. Liu Wuxie couldn’t determine the devil's exact cultivation when it was alive, but its formidable fangs were unmistakable.

“These fangs are highly valuable. I should take them!” Liu Wuxie decided. Despite their size, these fangs were incredibly durable, resisting even Xinantian treasures.

They were tools the abyssal devils used as weapons to tear through defenses, and one could imagine how powerful the fangs were. The abyssal devil’s body was decayed over the years, but the fangs had remained unchanged.

Liu Wuxie extracted the three fangs and put them in his interspatial pouch. One could be used to forge the Heretic Blade, and the remaining two could be used to forge two Suppression Steles.

“It’s a shame the abyssal devil’s body has withered. If it were intact, I could have devoured it to boost my cultivation!” Liu Wuxie lamented. An abyssal devil of this grade would have contained True Profound Laws, potentially allowing him to make significant breakthroughs and reach the Heavenly Phase Realm. However, as it stood, the devil was nothing more than a specimen.

Liu Wuxie examined the chains binding the abyssal devil with the Heretic Blade. As he tapped them, the runes on the chains seemed to come alive, causing him to retreat a step. The chains emitted sounds for several minutes before gradually tightening, restraining the abyssal devil even more securely.

“This is weird. Could these chains be meant for trapping this abyssal devil, and this unknown person was the one who killed it?” Liu Wuxie temporarily classified the winged man as a human.

After all, this man had similar features to a human except for his wings, just that he was more handsome and chiseled.

The chains were made from rare materials that Liu Wuxie had never encountered before, leading him to conclude that they were likely a valuable treasure.

But it was a pity the chains couldn’t be separated from the abyssal devil. Since there was nothing left to gain from the abyssal devil, Liu Wuxie turned to the unknown human.

As Liu Wuxie circled the winged man, he noted the striking details of the figure. The man’s features were so vivid that Liu Wuxie might have mistaken him for a living person if not for the absence of breath. Apart from this, the body showed no visible injuries, which puzzled Liu Wuxie. How had this winged man met his end?

Suddenly, Liu Wuxie noticed a subtle movement from the figure, causing his expression to shift in alarm. Instinctively, he fell back, unsure if the man was still alive.

Clutching the Heretic Blade, Liu Wuxie was prepared to strike at the first danger sign. Even if he couldn’t win, he wasn’t someone who would give up and would fight with all his might.

But as time passed, this winged man showed no reaction.

“Was it my imagination?” Liu Wuxie shook his head. He was sure the man had moved, and it wasn’t an illusion.

“Junior Liu Wuxie has accidentally intruded here. Please forgive me if I have offended Senior in any way.” Liu Wuxie probed by cupping his fists together.

Since he had introduced himself, he had the right to know why this person wanted to kill him.

His voice echoed in the dungeon. To be more precise, he used Ghost Eye again to detect the slightest movement. But after about two minutes, his divine sense was severely depleted, and he could only stop using Ghost Eye because he couldn’t afford to lose more divine sense, or his soul sea would be damaged.

Just what is devouring my soul energy? Liu Wuxie thought and was frustrated because he couldn’t find the answers.

A minute later, Liu Wuxie observed the winged man stir. The slight crack of his neck confirmed that this was no illusion—he was indeed moving.

“He’s not dead?” Liu Wuxie thought. If the man was alive, he might know a way out of this place. But if he were dead, Liu Wuxie could be trapped here indefinitely.

“Senior, can you hear me?” Liu Wuxie tried again, hoping for a response.

As soon as his voice echoed through the dungeon, the winged man’s eyes suddenly snapped open, filled with an intense and unsettling presence of danger.