Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 769 - Corpse

The half-cleaved mountain was at least ten thousand miles away, yet they could see its smooth summit, which indicated that it was at least hundreds of thousands of meters in diameter.

The size of the mountain was more like a mountain range instead. Yet, such a mountain range was sheared clean in half.

The path was treacherous, and they could run into formidable profound beasts and spiritual beasts along the way. Aside from the Liu Clan, various groups were walking on the treacherous path, heading toward the mountain.

When the path ended, they would draw their weapons to hack through the dense bushes to create a path.

"Why can't we fly?" several disciples grumbled. Flight would have made the journey far easier, reducing the time to a mere hour at most. On foot, exhaustion was inevitable, even if they managed to reach the mountain by day's end.

"Flying is prohibited in the Heavenly Spirit Mountain. This is a rule set by the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy, and only their disciples can fly here," explained the elders.

Anyone who dared to fly here would provoke the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy. Moreover, the academy had set restrictions there to restrict flights.

However, they could fly here after becoming disciples of the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy and receiving the academy's token.

After hearing the explanation, the participants fell silent and resigned to the arduous march.

After walking for half a day, they still had one-third of the journey left, and they should be able to reach their destination by nightfall.

When they stopped to rest, Liu Wuxie circulated the Desolate Devouring Art secretly to devour the surrounding spiritual energy, gathering a terrifying amount of liquified spiritual energy above the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron.

The group resumed their journey after resting.

However, just when Liu Wuxie took a few steps after rising, Fiery suddenly darted out from his clothes, vanishing into the far-away bushes.

"Fiery!" Liu Wuxie called out. This place was dangerous, and Fiery would fall prey if it encountered a powerful profound beast. He chased after Fiery without any hesitation, worried for the latter's safety.

"Wuxie, don't wander off!" Liu Dashan quickly followed behind, worried that Liu Wuxie might lose his way. The environment here was too complicated, and the consequences would be dire if Liu Wuxie wandered into a spiritual beast's territory.

In mere moments, Fiery had disappeared. This gave Liu Wuxie no chance but to push through the bushes and follow the aura left behind by Fiery, with Liu Dashan following closely behind.

"You all stay here!" Liu Xiucheng ordered firmly before darting after them, leaving the rest of the Liu Clan members stunned and rooted in place.

"He's such a troublemaker to wander off at a time like this," someone muttered bitterly. Disapproval rippled through the group, particularly as the Wang Clan had already overtaken them. Arriving ahead would have secured an advantageous spot and a favorable impression from the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy's higher-ups.

"If he weren’t the patriarch’s grandson, he’d have been dealt with long ago," another remarked sharply. Even the neutral disciples now regarded Liu Wuxie's actions with frustration.

Fiery's speed was fast, but it began to slow down after three minutes.

As for Liu Wuxie, the Heretic Blade had appeared in his hand as he followed behind, wary of any dangers in the surroundings.

"Wuxie, what's going on?" Liu Dashan asked. The Heavenly Spirit Mountain was filled with dangers, and one might wander into a forbidden zone if they were careless, not to mention the possibility of offending the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy.

"I'm not entirely sure myself," Liu Wuxie said, shaking his head. But he knew something must've caught Fiery's attention for it to run off. When he peered through the grass, he saw Fiery digging into the soil frantically.

"What is it doing?" Liu Dashan asked, perplexed.

"There's something buried there," Liu Wuxie said. He was certain Fiery must've discovered something that attracted it over.

Right then, Liu Xiucheng finally caught up and furrowed his brows together.

"There's a dangerous aura nearby!" Liu Xiucheng had reached the Earth Profound Realm, and he could sense an approaching aura, relying on his powerful primordial spirit.

When Liu Xiucheng finished, a powerful aura came crashing down as Liu Xiucheng quickly shielded Liu Wuxie and Liu Dashan behind him. A middle-aged man arrived, exuding an oppressive aura as he looked at Liu Xiucheng's group of three.

Right then, Fiery finally unearthed something: an interspatial ring. Judging from Fiery's reaction, it likely contained fire-attributed fruits inside.

"It's a corpse!" Liu Wuxie exclaimed as his eyes fixed on the shallow pit dug out by Fiery. It was a fresh body that had just been buried.

The discovery of the body immediately sent an ill foreboding over the trio as it wasn't normal to discover a body here out of all places.

"You killed him?" the middle-aged man said in a voice devoid of emotion, releasing his aura into the high levels of the Earth Profound Realm at the trio.

"Senior, this is a misunderstanding. My name is Liu Xiucheng, and I am the patriarch of the Liu Clan. I'm here with members of the Liu Clan to participate in the recruitment test, and we stumbled upon this body while we were passing by," Liu Xiucheng explained. This was the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy's territory, and they would be doomed if they were to bear the crime of murder.

"You expect me to believe that? You were about to bury him when I arrived, weren't you?" The middle-aged man said, his voice growing colder. An outburst of murderous intent swept out from him and alarmed many people in the surroundings.

When the Liu Clan's members saw that the patriarch wasn't returning after so long, they rushed over to take a look and came upon this scene.

Facing someone in the high levels of the Earth Profound Realm, even Liu Xiucheng had to be respectful. After all, the fact that the middle-aged man could fly here meant he was an academy member.

"We're only passing by, and I hope senior can investigate carefully," Liu Xiucheng said, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. This incident surprised them as they were heading to the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy.

Other than those from the Liu Clan, those in the surroundings had also gathered.

Liu Xiucheng had deliberately released his aura in the Earth Profound Realm to attract more people. If this man wanted to attack them, he wouldn't dare to act recklessly before so many witnesses.

"You three claim to be innocent, but the body is here. Stop denying it, and you three must be the murderers," said the middle-aged man, accusing Liu Xiucheng's group of three of murder.

Meanwhile, Liu Wuxie had furrowed his brows together as everything seemed far too coincidental for the middle-aged man to appear shortly after Fiery discovered the body. This meant this middle-aged man hadn't gone far and returned immediately the moment the body was found.

The body that was buried deep in the crater was partially exposed now.

"It's someone from the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy!" Gasps rippled through the crowd as the realization sank in. The death of an academy member sent a wave of unease, prompting many onlookers to retreat quietly, unwilling to get involved.

"We didn't kill him; everyone can vouch for us!" Liu Xiucheng said, his face darkened as this was a baseless accusation and an act of malice.

With how the divine sense of someone in the Earth Profound Realm could cover tens of thousands of meters, the middle-aged man knew better than anyone that they weren't responsible for this body, and it made no sense why the latter wanted to blame them.

Most importantly, no one stepped forward to vouch for Liu Xiucheng. They were naturally more than happy, as one less competitor would mean better chances to enter the academy.

"If I say you’re guilty, then you are guilty," the middle-aged man declared coldly. "For killing a disciple of the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy, the punishment is death!" the middle-aged man said and struck out with his palm.

"Hold on!" Liu Wuxie said, stepping forward to stand before his grandfather and father, looking at the middle-aged man straight in the eyes.

One hovered in the air while the other stood firmly on the ground, and Liu Wuxie had retained his composure facing the oppression of someone in the Earth Profound Realm. The Heavenly Dao Book had opened up to neutralize all the oppression.

This left the middle-aged man hovering in the air, visibly stunned.

"Speak your last words," said the middle-aged man. He had decided to give Liu Wuxie one last chance to say his last words before death.

"What I want to stay is... he's not dead yet," Liu Wuxie said, pointing at the body in the pit.

The man flinched at Liu Wuxie’s words. Though his reaction was subtle, it didn't escape Liu Wuxie's keen eyes.

"What a joke. He has no sign of life, and you tell me he's alive?" mocked the middle-aged man, brushing off Liu Wuxie's claims as garbage.

"You'll see soon enough with your eyes," said Liu Wuxie as he crouched by the pit and pulled the body out.

This young man appeared to be in his thirties, with a cultivation in the Spirit Profound Realm. Someone so young to reach the Spirit Profound Realm could be considered a prodigy in the academy, not to mention the Liu Clan.

After laying the body flat on the ground, the spectators who were backing off stopped to watch.

"What are you trying to do now?" said the middle-aged man as he ran out of patience. He had raised his hand, intending to strike the next moment.

With Liu Wuxie's current cultivation, someone in the Earth Profound Realm could kill him with a finger, needless to say, a palm strike.

"You'll find out soon enough!" Liu Wuxie said as he retrieved several silver needles and inserted them into the body. His hands moved so quickly that he had inserted several needles in before the man hovering in the air could speak.

Once he was done, he even injected a surge of true essence into the body before taking out the Heretic Blade.

"Lightning, come forth!" Liu Wuxie roared. The Heretic Blade had absorbed much lightning from the tribulation, and a lightning arc struck the body on the ground at Liu Wuxie's command. The moment the lightning struck, the body's clothes were shredded on the chest with charred flesh exposed.

"How dare you defile the corpse of a Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy's disciple!" The middle-aged man could no longer hold back and struck his palm down.

"Please calm down. Since my grandson said this man isn't dead, he must have his reasons," Liu Xiucheng said as he intervened. While he couldn't be compared to someone in the high levels of the Earth Profound Realm, it wasn't an issue for him to block an attack.

When the two palms clashed, a powerful shockwave was unleashed in the surroundings, sending Liu Wuxie's clothes fluttering wildly. Even loose rocks, clouds of dust, and trees flew out.

"How dare you resist! Since that's the case, all of you can die here!" The middle-aged man was enraged as he channeled even stronger power to crush the trio.

Liu Xiucheng's expression turned serious, and he quickly signaled to Liu Dashan to leave with Liu Wuxie while he stayed behind to hold the enemy off.

Just when a battle was about to break out, the person on the ground suddenly sat up and coughed violently. This scene caught everyone by surprise, including the middle-aged man who was hovering in the air.

They all couldn't comprehend how a dead person had come back to life.

From the moment Liu Wuxie had laid eyes on the body, he had noticed that the person had been recently buried, and his body was still warm. Most importantly, his heart was on the right while the attack he suffered was on the chest, which resulted in him falling unconscious and his heartbeat stopped.