Chapter 1084 - Heaven Profound Realm's Battle

After slaying the Ghost King, Liu Wuxie immediately fled with Tian Wucang. Ahead of them, the edge of the forest finally came into view.

They emerged from the forest and entered a barren stretch of woods. Haunting cries echoed through the trees as ghost beasts darted between the shadows.

"Brother Liu, your eyes!" Tian Wucang suddenly stopped in his tracks, his expression tightening as he noticed something wrong. Liu Wuxie had kept his eyes shut the entire time, and Tian Wucang feared he might be seriously injured.

"The Ghost King's blood splashed into them. They're burning terribly," Liu Wuxie answered, halting as well. The pain in his eyes was sharp and searing, and he didn't dare touch them.

The Ghost King's body exploded, splattering poisonous blood into Liu Wuxie's eyes. But at that moment, escaping from the toxic miasma forest with Tian Wucang had taken priority.

"You need to treat it quickly! The Ghost King's blood is highly venomous, laced with ghost laws that can blind you permanently," Tian Wucang urged, his voice filled with urgency.

Liu Wuxie quickly took out clean water and tried to rinse his eyes, but when he opened them, all he saw was blackness.

It was just as Tian Wucang feared—the ghostly blood blinded him.

"Brother Tian... has night fallen?" Liu Wuxie asked quietly. He hadn't released his divine sense yet, and to him, the world remained utterly dark.

"Brother Liu, you have to expel the ghost laws from your eyes right away!" Tian Wucang exclaimed. It was still broad daylight; how could it be night?

When Liu Wuxie finally extended his divine sense, his surroundings once again came into view. But it was a vision conjured by his consciousness, not his eyes.

"I... I'm blind?" Liu Wuxie muttered, unwilling to accept it. But the truth was unavoidable.

Without hesitation, he began channeling the Desolate Devouring Art into his eyes, trying to force out the ghost laws left behind by the Ghost King's blood.

Though he had refined ghostly energy before, that didn't mean his eyes could withstand the full force of a Ghost King's blood, especially with remnants of will from a high-level Earth Profound expert.

But what shocked Liu Wuxie most was what he saw within his own eyes when he probed them with divine sense. The withered Ghost Eye, long dormant, had begun to transform.

The Ghost King's blood essence triggered a form of evolution.

He wasn't sure whether this change was a blessing or a curse. But try as he might, he couldn't drive the ghost laws out. They were slowly fusing with the Ghost Eye technique.

"This place is too dangerous. We can't stay here," Liu Wuxie finally said after several fruitless attempts. With no choice, he could only accept the situation for now.

Countless cultivators from the Eastern Domain still hunted them. If caught, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Tian Wucang sighed and passed Liu Wuxie the end of his spear, guiding him like a blind man deeper into the Ghosthead Mountain.

Back in the toxic miasma forest, chaos reigned. Thousands of human cultivators died, and only when a Heaven Profound Realm expert descended and crushed the ghost faces with a single palm did the remaining survivors escape.

......

The mountain paths ahead were rugged and winding. Tian Wucang led Liu Wuxie through ancient thickets and across jagged, stone-strewn slopes. But soon, he realized they were lost.

Ghosthead Mountain was enormous. Although he once traveled here with an Abyssal Emperor, his memories were murky and incomplete.

"Brother Tian, let's take a break," Liu Wuxie said, sensing the exhaustion building in Tian Wucang.

Tian Wucang had yet to recover from his injuries fully, and the relentless travel was taking a toll.

"Alright," Tian Wucang nodded, helping Liu Wuxie sit down on a large boulder. He then pulled out an abyssal crystal and began circulating energy to heal his wounds.

Though blind, Liu Wuxie could still perceive his surroundings clearly through divine sense. He noticed the worn and nearly depleted abyssal crystal in Tian Wucang's hand. Tian had been relying on it repeatedly, and it was evident the crystal no longer held much abyssal energy.

Just like spirit stones for human cultivators, abyssal crystals served as cultivation resources for abyssal devils. This made it clear that Tian Wucang had led a difficult life, constantly on the move, lacking proper resources, and unable to focus entirely on cultivation.

A figure suddenly appeared nearby, silent and still. The stranger said nothing, simply standing a short distance away and quietly watching Liu Wuxie.

"What must come will come," Liu Wuxie murmured. Though his divine sense hadn't picked up the intruder, the Heavenly Dao Book had already warned him: a powerful enemy approached.

Tian Wucang opened his eyes and squinted toward the figure. His expression darkened the moment he spotted a humanoid shape less than ten meters away.

"Who are you?" Tian Wucang barked, immediately raising his spear and taking a guarded stance.

"Brother Tian, fall back," Liu Wuxie said calmly, giving Tian Wucang's shoulder a light pat. He could tell instantly that this newcomer was no ordinary cultivator, and it was someone who had stepped into the Heaven Profound Realm.

Against someone at that level, neither of them stood a chance.

Even though Liu Wuxie had just slain a Ghost King, that feat meant little against a Heaven Profound Realm cultivator.

"How interesting... How did you sense me?" the expert asked, raising a brow. He wasn't in a hurry to attack. Liu Wuxie's calmness intrigued him.

"You're here to kill me, aren't you? Then spare me the chatter and do it," Liu Wuxie replied coolly. He had no intention of dragging things out, and anyone who came chasing him here clearly wasn't here for conversation.

"You're right. You deserve death. Got any last words before I end you?" the man asked coldly. Killing intent surged from him like a wave, locking Liu Wuxie in place.

He didn't even glance at Tian Wucang. From the aura alone, he had discerned Tian Wucang's abyssal devil bloodline, the son of an Abyssal Emperor. Only other abyssal devils had the right to kill someone like that. If a human interfered, it would be tantamount to declaring war on the abyssal devils.

"At least let me know whose hand I'll die by," Liu Wuxie said. He already accepted the possibility of death. After all, what chance did he stand against someone at the Heaven Profound Realm?

"Ji Gu," the man replied flatly.

Then, without hesitation, he released a terrifying aura. Ji Gu's aura at the Heaven Profound Realm surged toward Liu Wuxie, threatening to crush him on the spot.

Liu Wuxie remained still, his eyes shut, his expression unreadable. No one could guess what was going through his mind.

Suddenly, he summoned the peculiar token Elder Madman had given him. He had reserved it for life-or-death moments like this. He didn't know if it could truly withstand a Heaven Profound attack, but he had to believe in miracles.

No one could match the overwhelming might of a Heaven Profound Realm expert. Even Tian Wucang could only watch helplessly, unable to intervene.

"The Heaven Profound Realm... I'll reach it one day too," Liu Wuxie said bitterly.

If he could step into the Earth Profound Realm, even Heaven Profound experts might not be his match. But time was the one thing he lacked. Fate wouldn't wait for him to catch up.

"You shouldn't have come to the Eastern Domain," Ji Gu said coldly. Liu Wuxie stood out as an outsider, as no native cultivator would seek out the Barefooted Elder on Ghosthead Mountain.

"Elder Madman... I hope you didn't lie to me," Liu Wuxie whispered.

The moment Ji Gu's palm strike fell, the surrounding mountain range exploded. The shockwave tore through the mountains, blasting Tian Wucang backward with violent force.

As the palm drew near, Liu Wuxie's body groaned under the pressure, bones creaking and muscles tearing. He immediately activated both the True Dragon Physique and Divine Thunder Physique, wrapping himself in the Divine Glazed Cloth.

Even so, the strength of a Heaven Profound Realm expert was beyond imagination.

Yet something strange happened. Though he had just reached the seventh-level Spirit Profound Realm, Liu Wuxie felt his aura intensifying under the overwhelming pressure. It was as though the suppression was triggering something deeper within him, causing his strength to rise once again.

The pain was excruciating, andLiu Wuxie's body neared collapse.

Just as he poured his true essence into the token, a bizarre scene unfolded as a white figure suddenly stepped in front of him and materialized from the token.

"Grandmaster?" Liu Wuxie froze in disbelief. The apparition was an exact mirror image of the grandmaster.

"A mirror clone!" Ji Gu's expression twisted into shock. He hadn't expected Liu Wuxie to carry a projection clone of a Heaven Profound Realm expert—one whose strength surpassed his own.

Liu Wuxie's thoughts raced to make sense of it. The grandmaster must have given the token to Elder Madman long ago, with instructions to pass it on when the time was right.

Back when Liu Wuxie left the Sacred Ground, Elder Madman had still been in seclusion. That explained why he only received the token after the Elder broke through to the Heaven Profound Realm.

The grandmaster does look after me,

Liu Wuxie thought.

The grandmaster's clone neutralized the oppressive pressure, making it vanish instantly.

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"You cannot kill him," the clone stated in a rigid tone, clearly a pre-recorded message. Though it only possessed half of the grandmaster's full power, it was no less daunting. It lacked sentience, but its strength was undeniable.

"Why?" Ji Gu demanded, his killing intent momentarily receding.

"You'll understand in time," the clone replied flatly, clearly anticipating such a question from the start.

"No. He must die today," Ji Gu said after a brief pause. No matter what was said, it wouldn't sway his resolve.

"What are you waiting for?" the grandmaster's clone suddenly intoned—this time directed at Liu Wuxie.

Without hesitation, Liu Wuxie grabbed the stunned Tian Wucang and retreated at once. He didn't know how long the grandmaster's clone could hold Ji Gu back, but staying was not an option.

Once Heaven Profound Realm cultivators engaged in battle, even the shockwaves alone could kill someone like him a thousand times over.

Moments after their escape, Ji Gu launched his attack. The aura he released surged like a volcano, the searing heat radiating outward and felt even from several hundred miles away.

"Brother Liu, you've been carrying a Heaven Profound clone all this time? No wonder you had the nerve to enter Ghosthead Mountain," Tian Wucang said in awe. He didn't realize Liu Wuxie himself hadn't known about the clone.

Liu Wuxie gave a bitter laugh, saying nothing, and turned his gaze toward the distant battlefield.

There, the two Heaven Profound experts had begun their clash, each movement carrying enough force to shatter worlds.

A devastating force flattened the mountain where Liu Wuxie had just stood, reducing it to rubble.

The explosion's aftermath swept through the toxic miasma forest, scattering its poisonous mist in all directions.

The cultivators of the Eastern Domain, who had been rushing toward the location, halted in terror at the sheer sight of the two Heaven Profound Realm experts battling in the distance.

The grandmaster's clone quickly gained the upper hand. Even as a projection, a single palm strike from him carried more force than Ji Gu's strongest attacks.

If Liu Wuxie's guess was correct, the grandmaster had already reached the fifth-level Heaven Profound Realm, whereas Ji Gu was only at the first or second level. Had the grandmaster come in person, Ji Gu would have already lost.

As their palms collided, a shockwave erupted, covering tens of thousands of miles and shaking heaven and earth.

Liu Wuxie and Tian Wucang felt the pressure as if it were peeling the flesh from their bones.

A pillar of divine light surged from the center of the battlefield, followed by a massive mushroom cloud that blotted out the sky.

"So this is the power of Heaven Profound Realm experts?" Tian Wucang murmured, stunned. It was his first time witnessing combat at such a terrifying level.