Chapter 172: Stars Reaching for Heaven
Chapter 172: Stars Reaching for Heaven
The jade-carved railings of the twisting corridor, so opulent and gorgeous, completely surprised Mu Yuan!
Seeing the outside setup, Mu Yuan thought this was just a simple gathering place, maybe not completely run-down, but probably plain and functional. Who knew the cave inside was lavishly decorated, thick with vital energy? It turned out to be a precious cultivation ground.
“How strange!”
Mu Yuan walked inward, following a faint trace he could barely sense – a wavering energy signature that sometimes felt strong, sometimes weak. He traced it down.
“Be careful! This seems like an unformed Grotto-heaven Treasure!”
The voice of the Heavenly Fiend Child suddenly rang out!
“A Grotto-heaven Treasure!”
Mu Yuan was startled and quickly asked for details.
“Relax, it’s just a broken piece. Many of its powers are gone. If it were whole, you’d have been discovered as soon as you entered, sealed away by spatial isolation, trapped who knows where without a chance to fight back!”
The Heavenly Fiend Child said casually.
Mu Yuan was frozen for a moment, then yelled in rebuke, “You tricky little brat! Daring to bluff me!”
The Heavenly Fiend Child chuckled, “Even so, you still need to be cautious. There really is something strange here!”
The Heavenly Fiend Child himself was a fusion of dragon soul essence and Earth Vein spirit, incredibly sensitive to energy. Hearing this, Mu Yuan didn’t dare be careless. He proceeded with caution.
The two child attendants had already brought Huang Li in behind him, walking straight ahead. Mu Yuan turned several corners, feeling like he was in a maze. He could sense the energy fluctuations, but couldn’t pinpoint their source. In the end, he just followed the three.
They passed through a few vast, grand halls and arrived before a wide, square altar, roughly three hundred feet across.
In the center of the altar was a pool filled with murky red blood. It bubbled and steamed intensely, thick vapor rising like clouds. Beside the pool sat a middle-aged man, dressed all in black robes, eyes closed as if meditating.
Inside the pool, three young men were completely naked. Steam rose from their bodies as their skin undulated violently, as if something was squirming beneath their flesh. That faint, flickering energy signature emanated from these three!
The black-robed man, however, was silent as a stone, showing no sign of life at all!
The two attendants brought Huang Li forward and bowed to the black-robed man. “Elder Wu, this is the person Elder Ying brought!”
Elder Wu’s eyelids fluttered, then snapped open. In that instant, Mu Yuan felt like a primordial vicious beast had suddenly awakened! Two piercing gleams shot out, sharper than Sword Qi. They swept over Huang Li, and the man gave a slight nod.
Seeing this, the two attendants retreated.
Huang Li, arriving here, was briefly stunned but quickly composed himself.
“Good, good. Your resolve is firm. Far better than these others,” Elder Wu said lightly. He pointed a finger, and a streak of inky black light shot straight into the Mud Pellet Palace on Huang Li’s brow!
Huang Li’s whole body jolted violently. He narrowed his eyes, seeming to absorb something.
Mu Yuan was secretly shocked. He hadn’t expected Elder Wu to be so direct! Without wasting words, he had directly transmitted a thought into Huang Li’s Sea of Consciousness, bypassing any explanation and leaving Mu Yuan unable to eavesdrop on anything.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Huang Li’s face showed a flicker of delight.
“Go!”
Elder Wu moved his right finger slightly. Huang Li’s clothes suddenly exploded and flew off! Huang Li himself plunged straight into the bloody pool!
Mu Yuan focused intently. Within the swirling crimson liquid, countless thread-like wriggling things, like earthworms, rushed desperately into every pore on Huang Li’s body. Huang Li, meanwhile, used some unknown method. Tiny whirlpools appeared at his pores, directly swallowing the bloody threads!
Then his whole body too began to emit that faint, oscillating energy signature. He was growing stronger at a visible rate!
“What kind of technique is this? So unnatural!” Mu Yuan suddenly realized. Whatever these blood-pool waters were made of, they held immense power. The four men inside were devouring and digesting that power.
“Had your fill?”
Just as Huang Li started settling into the process, Elder Wu suddenly spoke up.
Mu Yuan’s heart nearly skipped a beat! This Elder Wu was clearly a level above Ying Tianchou’s group; he had actually seen through Mu Yuan’s concealment!
Without wasting a thought on it, Mu Yuan moved like a breeze or a flash of lightning, sprinting straight back the way he had come!
“Since you’re here, you might as well stay!”
No visible movement came from Elder Wu, but the surrounding space seemed to crumple! Pressure squeezed in from all sides, a colossal force heavier than mountains, pressing down upon Mu Yuan!
“This guy is the owner of this treasure! This one move decides life or death!” Mu Yuan roared desperately. The Heavenly Fiend Child was already ready! The Purple Lightning Dragon Curse merged with the peerless edge of the Longevity Sword. A dazzling purple arc, over thirty feet long, cleaved through the air! In that split second, it transformed countless times, slamming heavily against the spatial barrier trapping them!
“Darn it! If this was a proper Grotto-heaven Treasure, I’d cut off my own head! A broken piece of junk dares block me?!” the Heavenly Fiend Child cursed vehemently. The purple arc twisted like a dragon, unbelievably sharp. Divine Light flickered blindingly.
BOOM!
A colossal explosion! Mu Yuan felt as if he’d been crushed under a great mountain. His bones groaned and cracked, seemingly unable to endure such immense pressure.
Thankfully, his physical body had been tempered by the Dragon King’s Dynamic Force – incredibly tough!
The Dragon King’s Dynamic Force, combining water force and lightning, harmonizing Yin and Yang, was a supreme art capable of shifting between hard and soft. It didn’t lag behind any Daoist Sect or Demonic Path technique!
Moreover, the Longevity Art excelled in nurturing the body. Mu Yuan’s current physique was no weaker than disciples who cultivated Demonic Sect arts. Even so, Mu Yuan felt like his body might fly apart into dust!
Yet, in this critical moment, the sharpness of the Longevity Sword truly shone! Several crisp crack sounds were heard. A burst of light exploded before Mu Yuan’s eyes. Ignoring the dull ache and stiffness flooding his meridians, gritting his teeth against the agonizing pain threatening to rip his flesh apart, he propelled the radiant arc forward! He shot out like a streamer of light!
“Oh?”
Elder Wu’s expression changed sharply.
“What a divine weapon! If I used it to suppress the Heavenly Demon Palace, restoring it to its peak wouldn’t be difficult at all!”
A flicker of excitement crossed Elder Wu’s face. He instantly abandoned caring for the four in the blood pool. Colorful light swirled around him, and he vanished from the spot!
This Elder Wu was named Wu Mo, a senior of the Devil Transformation Sect. Unlike Ying Tianchou’s group, he had genuinely cultivated the Undying Body!
The treasure was called the “Stars Reaching for the Heavenly Demon Palace,” a former Grotto-heaven Treasure of the Devil Transformation Sect!
The Devil Transformation Sect had two supreme legacies: the Soul-Snatching Ghost-Control Grand Art and the Sun, Moon, and Star Devil Canon. This Stars Reaching for the Heavenly Demon Palace was forged according to the highest formation in the Sun, Moon, and Star Devil Canon – the “Stars Reach for Heaven Formation” – refined over countless generations by Demonic Sect seniors!
The Star Sect, where the Five Yin Patriarch resided, had initially targeted the Devil Transformation Sect’s Sun, Moon, and Star Devil Canon. They colluded, plotting to attack Mount Shu. The result was that the Star Sect was utterly annihilated, with only the Five Yin Patriarch and Star Extreme Master escaping!
The Devil Transformation Sect’s own elite fighters also perished. Only by fleeing within the Stars Reaching for the Heavenly Demon Palace did they escape with their lives. But the treasure itself was severely damaged, falling from its former glory, becoming a broken artifact.
Wu Mo, this Undying Body senior of the Devil Transformation Sect, was now considered among their top masters. Determined to restore the sect’s power, his first step was to recover the Stars Reaching for the Heavenly Demon Palace.
With the sect’s resources limited, lacking many materials needed to refine treasures, he colluded with the Sounding Fire Devil Sect, the Heavenly Sword Sect, the Devil Spirit Sect, and the Lunar Devil Sect to overthrow the imperial court and establish the Heavenly Firmament!
As for attacking the Daoist Sect… Wu Mo had fought that battle years ago and no longer had the guts. He planned first to build up power within the mundane world. On one hand, the secular imperial court held many treasures. On the other, after rebuilding the dynasty, they could widely recruit disciples and expand their influence!
But now, seeing such a divine weapon in Mu Yuan’s hands, how could he bother about that distant plan? With a shortcut right before his eyes, he gave chase!
Mu Yuan barely escaped the cave. Without time for anything else, he first masked his energy signature, then drove the Water Restriction Escape Sword, fleeing for his life!
His internal Zhenqi was in turmoil. Despite being broken, the Stars Reaching for the Heavenly Demon Palace had once been a Grotto-heaven Treasure. The collapsed spatial pressure had injured him severely. He could clearly hear the rapid, labored breathing of the Heavenly Fiend Child. Obviously, breaking through the palace hadn’t been easy for it either!
In his frantic escape, Mu Yuan looked up. The battle overhead had taken a new turn!
When he entered, four Demonic Sect elders were surrounding Lin Zongyue. Now, eight figures clashed in combat.
Alongside the original five, there were three more middle-aged men, also dressed like scholars!
Mu Yuan recognized one! It was Ling Xuanji, the head of the Shanhe Academy, who had previously fought the disheveled Daoist from the Tidal Flow tradition!
The other two also had three wispy beards, faces pale as jade. They wore tall hats and long sleeves, drifting gracefully like immortals.
“So Lin Zongyue was prepared too! Ha! These plotters scheming against each other, but I’m the one taking the loss!” Mu Yuan’s thoughts raced wildly. Then came a furious roar behind him. Wu Mo had caught up!
Wu Mo had mostly relied on the treasure to detect Mu Yuan back inside the palace. Currently mastering the Five Elements, Mu Yuan could hide by merging with the natural Five Elements, moving freely at will. He also used the “Water Splendor Heavenly Escape” from the Earthly Abyss Immortal Tome. Demonic Sects weren’t strong in Spiritual Sense; detecting him was extremely difficult.
The Earthly Abyss Immortal Tome didn’t contain overwhelmingly powerful major spells. It mostly held sophisticated minor techniques: hiding identity, disguising appearance, formation arrays, crafting and refining artifacts, and alchemy. Mu Yuan wasn’t much interested in those, having only practiced a few minor Divine Abilities he frequently used.
“Elder Wu, why have you come out? What if something goes wrong!”
Ying Tianchou saw Wu Mo abandon the four academy students inside the palace and yelled in question!
A bloody-red Flame Sword Qi shot towards Ying Tianchou while he was distracted! The attack exploded three inches from his chest! The blast wave surged!
Ying Tianchou’s body convulsed. One of his Demon Dragons instantly shattered! Panicked, he swiftly pulled his focus back and devoted his full strength to blocking the assault!
“I found a treasure! How could I waste time with that now?” Wu Mo scanned the area but saw nothing. He raised both hands, sending a vast wave of starlight falling like liquid silver, pouring into every nook and cranny.
If he couldn’t find Mu Yuan directly, he would blanket the entire area with this searching net! That would force him to reveal himself!