Chapter 1085 - Transformation to the Eyes

The world ahead resembled an apocalyptic wasteland.

The mountain where Tian Wucang had once stood had vanished entirely, replaced by a vast, bottomless gorge that stretched endlessly.

Such terrifying devastation left both of them deeply shaken. This was the true power of cultivators, capable of tearing heaven and earth apart with just a single move.

With the battlefield far behind and Liu Wuxie unable to use the Ghost Eye, he could only vaguely perceive the situation through divine sense.

"Who won?" Tian Wucang asked in confusion.

They had waited for quite some time, yet the battlefield remained eerily quiet. It seemed as if the clash had already ended.

"Most likely mutual injury. Ji Gu's attack must have shattered the projection clone, but the backlash should have severely wounded him," Liu Wuxie said after a moment of reflection.

For now, Ji Gu's injury came as good news. At least, it meant they didn't have to worry about another Heaven Profound Realm cultivator chasing after them in the short term.

Although the Eighteen Peak Cities were home to numerous Heaven Profound Realm experts, only Ji Gu had shown up. The others were likely in deep seclusion, uninterested in worldly affairs.

To them, sending a single Heaven Profound expert should have been more than enough to deal with any cultivator in the Eastern Domain, especially someone like Liu Wuxie.

No one had expected him to be carrying the clone of a Heaven Profound Realm powerhouse.

"For the time being, we should be safe from pursuit," Tian Wucang said with a trace of relief in his voice.

After the turmoil, the cultivators from the Eastern Domain began to withdraw one by one.

"Let's keep moving," Liu Wuxie said, turning toward Ghosthead Mountain.

Tian Wucang racked his brain and managed to recall a viable route from his hazy memories.

"I remember the Abyssal Emperor once saying that the Barefooted Elder lives in a Ghost House deep within Ghosthead Mountain. If I'm not mistaken, the entrance lies within the Dark Canyon," Tian Wucang said, carefully sifting through his memories to ensure they wouldn't waste any time taking the wrong path.

Danger riddled every corner of Ghosthead Mountain. The faster they found the Barefooted Elder, the sooner their harrowing journey would come to an end.

"If that's the case, I'll be relying on you, Brother Tian," Liu Wuxie responded. Unfamiliar with the terrain, he relied entirely on Tian Wucang's guidance.

Together, they began moving cautiously toward the Dark Canyon, located in the deepest recesses of Ghosthead Mountain.

That place was drenched in ominous energy and haunted by malicious ghosts. Their odds of survival were slim at best.

A clouded haze lingered over Liu Wuxie's vision as the burning in his eyes worsened with each step. Now and then, he would rinse them with clean water to temporarily alleviate the pain.

"Brother Liu, are your eyes okay?" Tian Wucang asked, concerned by Liu Wuxie's growing discomfort.

He saw Liu Wuxie's face tightening with pain, and even more alarming, two streaks of blood were trailing from the corners of his eyes.

That wasn't a good sign. Any further damage to Liu Wuxie's vision could deal a devastating blow to his future cultivation.

"My eyes are burning," Liu Wuxie said, sitting down. Even the water no longer offered any relief. He had considered sealing them shut with ice, but feared it would damage his eye meridians, possibly resulting in permanent blindness.

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

In the end, he could only grit his teeth and endure the agony, resisting the urge to scream.

"I'll go search for herbs that can counter fire poison," Tian Wucang offered, getting to his feet.

"It's useless," Liu Wuxie muttered.

He knew the pain wasn't ordinary in origin. Something was happening to the Ghost Eye, and he couldn't tell whether it would result in a blessing or a curse.

For the first time, he began to suspect that the Ghost Eye was not an ordinary martial technique but something that originally belonged to the ghost clan.

Liu Wuxie sat cross-legged, calming his mind and sending his divine sense into his eyes to assess their condition. However, the moment his divine sense entered, he felt dizzy and nearly collapsed from the shock.

"What's happening to my eyes?" Liu Wuxie gasped in disbelief as he saw the distorted ocular meridians. It felt as though his eyes had vanished entirely, replaced by two vortexes of swirling energy.

If he truly lost his sight, how could he face the world?

Because of the Soul Forging Art, the Ghost Eye had long since fused with his soul sea, its power drawn from the upper dantian. But now, that upper dantian was saturated with ghost laws left behind by the Ghost King.

Once those ghost laws had entered his upper dantian, they had begun influencing the Ghost Eye, which explained the sudden loss of vision.

Then, the Heavenly Dao Book suddenly unfolded, releasing a brilliant radiance in an attempt to purify the ghostly miasma. Yet, even after glowing for a long while, nothing changed. Instead, the ghost runes merged directly into the book.

This indicated that the ghost rune had become part of heaven and earth and was fully integrated into the Heavenly Dao Book.

If that was the case, then it made sense that the ghost fog continued to linger within Liu Wuxie's body.

Following the Ghost Eye's cultivation method, Liu Wuxie resumed his cultivation, praying for a miracle.

Time flowed quietly as Tian Wucang remained nearby, silently guarding him.

When Liu Wuxie began circulating the Ghost Eye once more, he was shocked to discover that the ghost fog in his upper dantian began to liquefy, turning into droplets of pure essence that flowed directly into his eyes.

The burning sensation in his eyes eased significantly, bringing him immense relief.

As he had guessed, the Ghost Eye was undergoing a profound mutation; it was no longer an ordinary eye technique.

What Liu Wuxie didn't realize was that cultivating the Ghost Eye typically required one to gouge out one's own eyes.

However, by a twist of fate, the Ghost King's ghost laws had eroded his vision. Though his eyes remained intact, they had completely lost their original function.

As Liu Wuxie continued to cultivate, the ghost fog gradually dissipated, and clarity returned to his upper dantian.

Where once there had been a turbid, chaotic lake, there was now a crystal-clear sea of energy.

The pain vanished entirely. Liu Wuxie could sense his eyeballs reforming, but they were no longer the same. He felt a new gateway open within him. His eyes could now move and rotate at unnatural angles that he had never thought possible.

An entire day and night passed without disturbance. Tian Wucang stood guard the whole time, never daring to interrupt.

Night in Ghosthead Mountain was especially perilous. Dozens, even hundreds, of Yin-Faced Ghosts emerged from the darkness, drawn by the scent of human flesh.

To the ghosts, Liu Wuxie and Tian Wucang were like two beacons in the dark, impossible to miss.

Liu Wuxie's twisted ocular meridians thickened and grew more defined. Each one now resembled a sturdy root, connecting deeply with the upper dantian. This new structure allowed Liu Wuxie to activate his eye technique far more efficiently than before.

Previously, he had to draw soul energy through an indirect bridge. But now, he could channel soul energy directly into his eyes.

A cool, soothing current poured into his pupils, and they began to feel distinctly different. Though he couldn't fully explain the sensation, it was deeply comforting.

Just then, Tian Wucang shot to his feet, sensing danger.

Hundreds of Yin-Faced Ghosts had appeared on the nearby slope, each radiating powerful energy. With his current strength, he couldn't take them all on at once.

Worse yet, Liu Wuxie was still in a critical stage of seclusion. He couldn't be disturbed now.

Gripping his spear tightly, Tian Wucang positioned himself between the swarm of enemies and Liu Wuxie, determined to hold them off.

Meanwhile, Liu Wuxie remained fully immersed in exploring his transformed vision. He still kept his eyes tightly shut.

When his divine sense entered his eyes once more, he noticed a startling change: his pupils had turned a deep black, laced with subtle threads of shimmering gold.

Most astonishing of all, Liu Wuxie discovered that he could now contract and expand his pupils at will.

The transformation extended beyond the sockets. When his pupils contracted, they generated a powerful suction force, and when they expanded, they emitted a faint golden glow.

"What's happening to my eyes?" Liu Wuxie murmured to himself, unsure whether to feel joy or dread. However, at this point, there was no turning back. He didn't know if his vision would ever fully return, but even partial recovery would be enough.

Meanwhile, several Yin-Faced Ghosts lunged forward. Tian Wucang met them head-on, thrusting his spear with such force that it sent them flying.

However, these ghostly entities came in various forms, often concealing their true selves within their surroundings. No matter how many he struck down, the Yin-Faced Ghosts refused to die.

Though these ghost faces couldn't kill outright, they could erode the mind. Prolonged exposure to their ghostly presence would slowly corrode one's sanity.

Liu Wuxie's divine sense suddenly snapped back. Only then did he realize how much time had passed during his cultivation.

He rose swiftly to his feet, keeping his eyes tightly shut as he swept the surroundings with his divine sense. To his shock, Yin-Faced Ghosts now surrounded them.

Strangely, the moment Liu Wuxie stood, all the ghosts froze. Even those hidden in the surroundings revealed themselves and stared at him silently.

"Brother Liu, don't worry. I won't let these ghosts hurt you," Tian Wucang said firmly.

Now that Liu Wuxie's sight was impaired and his strength had yet to recover fully, Tian Wucang knew it was his duty to shoulder the burden, especially since they still had to find the Barefooted Elder.

"I'm fine now," Liu Wuxie replied, giving Tian Wucang's shoulder a reassuring pat.

After everything they had endured, Liu Wuxie had nearly forgotten that Tian Wucang was the son of an Abyssal Emperor.

The Yin-Faced Ghosts remained motionless, continuing to stare at Liu Wuxie in complete silence.

"What's wrong with them?" Tian Wucang frowned. He had already steeled himself to fight to the death, determined to drag as many ghosts down with him as possible.

However, something unexpected was now happening. The ghosts turned and began retreating.

Just a moment ago, they had been closing in from all sides, but now they vanished in the blink of an eye. Even Liu Wuxie reeled in surprise at their sudden disappearance.

"Did they suddenly stop craving human vital essence?" Tian Wucang joked weakly, trying to ease the tension. He had never heard of Yin-Faced Ghosts simply losing interest in their prey.

"No... they must've sensed something terrifying," Liu Wuxie said, frowning deeply.

Though his eyes remained shut, Liu Wuxie's divine sense detected the fear etched on the ghosts' faces. They didn't even dare to look in his direction.

Liu Wuxie began to suspect that it was due to the light element within him. It was the only explanation that offered any comfort.

"How strange," Tian Wucang muttered. Still, if the ghosts weren't attacking, that was all that mattered.

With the threat gone, the two sat down, and Liu Wuxie prepared to open his eyes for the first time since the transformation.

To avoid a mishap, he asked Tian Wucang to watch for any abnormal changes in his eyes.

Liu Wuxie's eyelids trembled as he slowly pried them open.

However, the moment he cracked them open a sliver, Tian Wucang stumbled back in horror, nearly tumbling off the cliffside.