Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 1799 - Mysterious Bow

They found a clean patch of ground and kindled a bonfire. Firelight flickered across their faces, yet neither of them broke the silence.

Ye Linghan sat before the flames with her knees drawn to her chest. When she stole a glance at Liu Wuxie from the corner of her eye, she found him meditating without the slightest intention of speaking, and her lips instantly puckered when she realized he would rather cultivate than talk to her.

The quiet night slipped by just like that.

At daybreak, the two resumed their journey toward the exit of the Dragon Burial Mountain Range. The life-and-death battle between Shi Wa and Bai Jingye was drawing closer, and without realizing it, the duo had already spent about half a month inside the mountain range.

They traveled without speaking, with Liu Wuxie leading the way. Relying on Ghost Pupil, he avoided the powerful immortal beasts, making their journey smoother.

"We'll be able to leave in another day," Liu Wuxie said.

They had already returned to the outskirts of the mountain range, where powerful immortal beasts were unlikely to appear. Large numbers of cultivators had also left by now, and calm had once again settled over the mountain range.

Wen Qi had spent the past three days leading his fellow clansmen in guarding the exit, yet they still had not discovered any trace of Liu Wuxie. When they had chased him to the abyss deep within the Dragon Burial Mountain Range, they could only watch helplessly as he escaped.

"Third Elder, are we going to keep waiting here?" the other Wen Clan disciples asked, their patience wearing thin.

"Stay put. This is the path back to the Azure Flame Dao Hall, and he'll come here if he's alive," Wen Qi ordered. He remained seated on a boulder, murderous intent surging around him.

"If that brat died in the Dragon Burial Mountain Range, wouldn't we be wasting our time here?" the man who had spoken earlier continued asking. His cultivation was high, having reached the Quasi-Origin Immortal Realm.

This time, the Wen Clan had dispatched a large number of experts to kill Liu Wuxie, ensuring that every exit remained guarded.

Wen Qi turned his gaze toward the depths of the Dragon Burial Mountain Range. "He won't die that easily," he said.

Even the mysterious eyeball had failed to kill Liu Wuxie, instead causing a massive disturbance that led countless cultivators to slaughter one another. Most of the people stationed at the exit had not witnessed the scene in the abyss, so they naturally could not judge it for themselves.

One day later, two figures emerged from the depths of the Dragon Burial Mountain Range.

"Let's speed up. We should be able to return to the Azure Mist Mountain Range before dark," Ye Linghan said. She looked exhausted because she had barely rested over the past few days.

Liu Wuxie nodded in response and quickened his pace. Before long, however, he abruptly stopped, forcing Ye Linghan to halt as well.

"What's wrong?" Ye Linghan asked. Although her divine sense was powerful, it could not extend tens of thousands of meters away.

However, with Ghost Pupil fused with the Eye of Insight, Liu Wuxie could see across a great distance and perceive distant movements through mental energy.

"There's an ambush at the exit," Liu Wuxie said. He could not yet determine who was guarding the exit, but he could sense that they were waiting for him. This was one of the wondrous uses of the Eye of Insight.

The Eye of Insight could perceive everything beneath heaven.

"Are they coming for us?" Ye Linghan asked.

"That's right," Liu Wuxie replied with a nod.

"What should we do?" Ye Linghan asked. By now, she sought Liu Wuxie's opinion on nearly everything.

Liu Wuxie remained silent and activated the Eye of Insight, peering into the distance. The surrounding vision shifted continuously, and the exit soon appeared before his eyes. Before long, he noticed Wen Qi seated on a massive boulder, along with several other experts concealed in the shadows.

"It's the Wen Clan!" Liu Wuxie withdrew his gaze. That single glance had already consumed thirty percent of his mental energy, which meant he would have to use this ability sparingly from now on.

The moment Ye Linghan heard that it was the Wen Clan, frost instantly covered her face. Only after returning to Fourfold City had she learned that the Wen Clan had used a tactic to lure her away from Liu Wuxie. She had not expected them to be this despicable.

"We can take a detour to another exit if needed," Ye Linghan replied. Her main concern was Liu Wuxie's safety.

"No need. I'm sure that the Wen Clan also has experts guarding the other exits," Liu Wuxie replied, shaking his head. He knew this matter was not as simple as Ye Linghan imagined.

The Wen Clan had prepared a foolproof plan this time, all for the sake of killing him.

"Since that's the case, we'll kill our way out!" The Frostsword appeared in Ye Linghan's hand. She planned to take the lead in charging forward, certain that they would be safe once they broke through.

"No hurry," Liu Wuxie replied with a wicked smile. Many experts guarded the exit, including two Origin Immortals. If they rushed out like this, it would be no different from walking straight into the enemy's trap.

Since they wanted to play, Liu Wuxie naturally did not mind playing along with them.

Ye Linghan's eyes lit up. Whenever Liu Wuxie revealed that wicked smile, she knew he was about to set a trap for someone. During the class assessment, he had laid traps for many mentors, setting a new record in the Azure Flame Dao Hall, the first in centuries.

"Tell me your plan," Ye Linghan said, rubbing her hands together. The Wen Clan and the City Lord Mansion were irreconcilable enemies, and they had once nearly poisoned her father to death. She had yet to settle that debt with them.

"Let's talk again after dark," Liu Wuxie said. He felt no urgency and planned to wait until nightfall.

With the Eye of Insight and Ye Linghan's cultivation, they could catch their enemies unprepared if they managed to strike by surprise. During the time left before nightfall, Liu Wuxie took materials from his interspatial ring and laid them on the ground.

"What are you planning to do?" Ye Linghan asked, unable to understand Liu Wuxie's intentions.

Liu Wuxie only smiled without answering, making Ye Linghan stomp her foot in frustration.

His hands began tracing through the air, and talismans gradually appeared. However, these talismans did not possess much offensive power, since their primary purpose was to confuse the enemy. Talismans came in many variations, and illusion talismans were among them.

After refining over a dozen talismans, he began refining a crossbow, which left Ye Linghan even more bewildered. After all, crossbows would not work against Profound Immortals.

"Don't tell me that you plan to kill them with a crossbow?" Ye Linghan asked, doubt filling her face as she stared at the half-finished crossbow.

"This isn't an ordinary crossbow," Liu Wuxie replied.

He could not explain some things clearly to Ye Linghan. In the celestial realm, there was a race whose mechanical art stood unmatched, and Liu Wuxie had once seen a civilization cannon activated by immortal stones, a weapon powerful enough to slay immortal regnants.

Although that race's cultivation could not compare with humans, they mainly relied on all kinds of strange and ingenious technologies in battle. Because of this, everyone from the older generation was familiar with the Celestial Forge Clan.

Most people would consider the Celestial Forge Clan's martial cultivation average at best, but they possessed powerful mental energy. Many of their mechanisms required mental energy to control.

Eastern Emperor City was too far away, located on the edge of the celestial realm. Thus, it was only natural that Ye Linghan had never heard of the Celestial Forge Clan.

In his previous life as an Immortal Emperor, Liu Wuxie had once helped the Celestial Forge Clan. That had allowed him to come into contact with their mechanical art, and he had forged this crossbow using their technology. It did not rely on a bowstring, but on immortal stones.

Only when dusk arrived did Liu Wuxie finish forging the crossbow. Unlike ordinary crossbows, this one had no winch, no bowstring, and no arrows.

"Can this thing even be used to kill?" Ye Linghan asked, staring at the bare crossbow. It measured a little over a foot long, with a groove at the back used to store immortal stones.

Liu Wuxie merely smiled and did not explain. Instead, he began inscribing in the air, and spiritual runes flashed before entering the crossbow.

The runes on the crossbow instantly seemed to come alive, releasing a dim glow that wove into patterns Ye Linghan had never seen before. This made her even more certain that Liu Wuxie was not from Eastern Emperor City and might have come from the central region of the celestial realm.

Only someone from the central region of the celestial realm could carve such exquisite runes. When the final rune burrowed into the crossbow, its color immediately dimmed, making it look plain and unremarkable. It did not even feel heavy when Liu Wuxie held it in his hand.

"Do you want to know its power?" Liu Wuxie asked, holding the crossbow and aiming it at Ye Linghan.

For some reason, a chill ran down Ye Linghan's spine the moment the crossbow was pointed at her. She felt as though an ancient beast had fixed its gaze upon her.

Liu Wuxie had never refined anything from the Celestial Forge Clan in the past because his limited mental energy held him back. Even if he had successfully refined such an item, he would not have possessed enough mental energy to activate it.

After refining the Eye of Insight, Liu Wuxie's mental energy had surpassed ordinary people by far, to the point that even ordinary members of the Celestial Forge Clan could not compare with him.

Ye Linghan took a deep breath and immediately assumed a defensive posture, wanting to witness the crossbow's power personally.

"Retreat about fifty meters away. It'll hurt you if you're too close," Liu Wuxie said. The crossbow could mainly be used for sneak attacks, and killing someone in direct combat would prove difficult if the other party had made preparations.

After Ye Linghan retreated, she summoned the Frostsword into her hand.

Liu Wuxie took out an immortal stone and placed it into the groove on the crossbow. The moment the immortal stone entered, the entire crossbow seemed to awaken. Every pattern activated, and a strange arrow began to manifest atop the crossbow.

The arrow had no physical form, as it was condensed from the energy within the immortal stone. In one thousandth of a second, the white arrow transformed into a streak of light and tore through the sky.

Ye Linghan thought the arrow would need some time to reach her. Yet before she could even react, the arrow suddenly appeared three meters in front of her, catching her off guard.

The Frostsword swiftly descended from the sky, displaying the reaction expected of an Origin Immortal. But the moment her sword fell, the arrow split into two and launched a pincer attack from her left and right.

The arrow startled Ye Linghan, for she had never seen anything so bizarre. Since the arrows had no physical form, they produced no sound even when her sword clashed with them.

What made the arrows terrifying was not their impact, but their strange speed. The arrow could also shift its trajectory under Liu Wuxie's mental energy, striking from the east one moment and from the west the next.

Soul energy could only control objects with physical form, such as artifacts, tables, or chairs. Mental energy, however, could control illusory objects.

Ye Linghan no longer dared to clash with the arrows, afraid that they might split further into four. She relied on her footwork instead to dodge them. Yet whenever she moved, the arrows moved with her, clinging closely behind.

The chase continued, and the arrows pursued Ye Linghan no matter where she went. The entire pursuit lasted for only a few breaths before the arrows began to dissipate.

She was an Origin Immortal, but if she had been a Profound Immortal, she would have already been heavily injured by now.

At the same time, dizziness swept over Liu Wuxie. He had controlled the arrows with mental energy for too long, and a faint sting rose from his upper dantian. He immediately closed his eyes and guided the Eye of Insight to absorb mental energy from the atmosphere.

Although mental energy had no visible form, it truly existed.

"I also want a crossbow like that!" Ye Linghan rushed to Liu Wuxie and asked in a coquettish tone. She wanted it, as it was an excellent tool for sneak attacks.

"You can't activate it," Liu Wuxie replied, shaking his head. He gently stroked the crossbow, fondness visible in his eyes.

"I don't care! I also want one!" Ye Linghan stomped her foot, looking as though she would not give up until she had one in her hands.