Chapter 1610 - Heretic God's Remains

Curiosity gripped Liu Wuxie immediately. If the Immortal Slaughter Palace and the Santi Tribe weren't clashing over the overmining of astral crystals, then what were they truly fighting for?

"The remains of a Heretic God," the Santi Tribe's chieftain disclosed.

Liu Wuxie's brows drew tight as a sharp glint flashed through his eyes.

"You mean that a Heretic God has appeared in the Laman Astral Domain?" Liu Wuxie asked, and a sudden thought struck him as he fixed the chieftain with a razor-sharp gaze.

"That's right. Heretic God failed to break through to the Immortal Realm, so he chose Serene Peace Star as his burial place.

Mining for astral crystals is only one part of it, and searching for the Heretic God's remains is the priority." The chieftain didn't elaborate further.

Failing to make a breakthrough to the Immortal Realm meant the Heretic God had already surpassed the Quasi-Immortal Realm and was only one step away from claiming the throne of an immortal. After he fell, he withdrew into the depths of the Serene Peace Star to ensure no one discovered his remains.

Anyone who dared attempt a breakthrough to the Immortal Realm would have to face a life-and-death tribulation from heaven and earth. Those who succeeded would ascend, while those who failed would die.

That reality explained why so many people never dared to challenge the Immortal Realm. If their accumulation fell short, the first tribulation alone could claim their lives.

As a result, the number of quasi-immortals increased, while the number of people willing to gamble on the Immortal Realm kept dwindling.

"So, your Santi Tribe also wants the Heretic God's remains, and this is why you keep attacking the Immortal Slaughter Palace's camp," Liu Wuxie concluded, nodding as the truth clicked into place.

That Heretic God might have failed his tribulation, but the life-and-death tribulation had caused that failure. That meant his remains held numerous immortal runes and clues left behind by the tribulation, and it was a lethal temptation to any quasi-immortals. Those clues might even reveal a way to evade the tribulation itself.

Liu Wuxie had only learned of the Heretic God's legend from ancient records. He had reached the Heavenly Gaze Realm at a young age, the Quasi-Immortal Realm within a hundred years, and attempted to break into the Immortal Realm within a thousand.

Even after hundreds of thousands of years, cultivators across the Laman Astral Domain still spoke about the Heretic God's legend. Whoever found the Heretic God's remains could unravel the secret of becoming an immortal, and both the Santi Tribe's chieftain and the Immortal Slaughter Palace's palace lord had remained trapped in the Quasi-Immortal Realm for far too long.

The longer they lived, the more cautious they became, and the less they dared to gamble. They had grown accustomed to their lifestyle and authority, while a breakthrough to the Immortal Realm demanded immense resolve at a brutal price, as failure meant death. That made the Heretic God's remains a sliver of hope they could not ignore.

"Not only that. The Immortal Slaughter Palace killed our chieftain's son, who sparked the war, and we later captured a high-ranking elder and found out about the remains of the Heretic God from his memories," the strategist standing behind the chieftain said.

"Do you know the exact location of the remains?" Liu Wuxie asked, weighing it quickly. If he could seize the remains, he could borrow them to make his breakthrough to the Heaven Gaze Realm.

With Tian Can at his side, he could run wild inside the Immortal Slaughter Palace and wouldn't need such careful planning anymore. As long as immortals didn't appear, no one would be able to threaten his life.

"Let's talk about how you want to cooperate," the chieftain said, steering the conversation away.

After all, the Immortal Slaughter Palace had stationed a quasi-immortal to guard the vein, along with countless experts, and they had already gone all out to ensure they seized the Heretic God's remains.

"There should be other races on the Serene Peace Star aside from the Santi Tribe, right? Otherwise, how did those disciples of the Immortal Slaughter Palace die?" Liu Wuxie asked, keeping his tone even. He needed a full understanding of the planet before he could shape his plan.

"The ones who killed the Immortal Slaughter Palace's disciples are the Snake-Scorpion Clan, and it has nothing to do with us," the Santi Tribe's chieftain replied, shaking his head. They attacked only the Immortal Slaughter Palace's camp, and they never laid hands on ordinary disciples.

"The Snake-Scorpion Clan!" Liu Wuxie said, and a peculiar light flickered in his eyes as he recalled their brutality. Even the Santi Tribe refused to associate with them.

"Is there any way we can ally with the Snake-Scorpion Clan? It will increase our odds of victory," Liu Wuxie asked. He had just arrived on this planet, and he still lacked familiarity with its true layout.

"Our two races have never interacted," the Santi Tribe's chieftain said, waving the idea aside. He refused to involve the Snake-Scorpion Clan in any assault on the Immortal Slaughter Palace's camp because that would amount to bargaining with the tiger, and they would be swallowed down to the bone if they misstepped.

A hint of regret crossed Liu Wuxie's face because an alliance with the Snake-Scorpion Clan would raise their odds of victory.

"I need to probe the camp's layout, and we don't have to rush to attack the camp. I will come up with a detailed plan within ten days. When the time comes, the Santi Tribe will have to cooperate," Liu Wuxie said as he rose. He had only arrived on the Serene Peace Star today, and too many restrictions in the camp still blocked even his Ghost Pupil.

If the Santi Tribe rushed in blindly, the spiritual array could hold them outside and turn the assault into a massacre. Since he had chosen this path, he couldn't afford even a sliver of failure.

Liu Wuxie left right then, and the chieftain made no move to keep him. He didn't even stand to see him out.

"Chieftain, are we really going to cooperate with him? He's only at the Earth Immortal Realm," the Santi Tribe's strategist asked.

"Liu Wuxie's name is enough," the Santi Tribe's chieftain replied with a mysterious smile. He might have rejected cooperation if another quasi-immortal had come, but Liu Wuxie carried a different weight.

Liu Wuxie had destroyed so many assets belonging to the Immortal Slaughter Palace and killed dozens of elders at the Heaven Gaze Realm. Even a quasi-immortal could not easily replicate that feat.

Not only that, but he had even infiltrated the Immortal Slaughter Palace and planned to bring it down from within.

Liu Wuxie executed his movement technique and returned to the patrolling zone, where the trio still slept like logs. With a gentle sweep of his hand, he roused them as though a cold breeze had brushed across their faces.

"Meng An, what time is it?" Nanmen Shan asked, blinking hard as he woke from sleep that felt too deep.

"It's just past midnight. I didn't wake any of you up, as you've all been sleeping too well. Now that you're awake, it's my turn to rest," Liu Wuxie replied, smiling lightly.

"Since that's the case, you rest while I keep watch," Nanmen Shan said, rising as he stretched.

When Liu Wuxie returned to the tent, he lay down, yet he never truly slept. He replayed every word he had exchanged with the Santi Tribe's chieftain. The Santi Tribe did not share his race, and he could only exploit them at best; the moment he lost his value, they would turn on him without hesitation.

The night slipped by without incident, and the four continued to take turns to patrol as dawn arrived. The Santi Tribe's settlement lay too far away for them to reach, so they sat on broken stones and chatted while Liu Wuxie spent his time cultivating.

Suddenly, faint hissing threaded through the air. The sound stayed quiet, but its sharpness made it impossible for the other three to miss.

"What is it?" Nanmen Shan asked, springing to his feet as he scanned the surroundings.

Through Ghost Pupil, Liu Wuxie had already detected a few members of the Snake-Scorpion Clan lurking beneath a large boulder not far away. The Snake-Scorpion Clan had caused the disappearances of the patrolling disciples.

A triangular head slid out from a crack, snake-like but not quite, because no snake's tail carried tentacles.

"It's the Snake-Scorpion Clan!" Nanmen Shan exclaimed, immediately retreating.

Liao Yongming and Sun Yizhou couldn't pull back in time, while Liu Wuxie had deliberately positioned himself farther away after spotting the threat early.

Several Snake-Scorpion Clan members burst from the crack and shot toward the two like comets. If they had reached the Primal Origin Realm, they could have held their ground, but Liao Yongming and Sun Yizhou were only at the ninth-level Origin Conversion Realm.

The Snake-Scorpion Clan moved with terrifying speed, and their attacks carried power comparable to the Origin Conversion Realm.

"ARGH!"

Two screams tore out of Liao Yongming and Sun Yizhou as the Snake-Scorpions climbed onto their heads, the tentacles on their tails stabbing into their skulls as they devoured their brain matter.

Liao Yongming and Sun Yizhou withered in seconds, their skin turning black as they died in agony, and the sight left Nanmen Shan horrified.

"Run!" Nanmen Shan yelled, then bolted without hesitation.

Liu Wuxie followed behind as more Snake-Serpents surged in from the surrounding terrain.

"Senior Brother Nanmen, wait for me!" Liu Wuxie shouted, careful not to push his speed too far while he still wore the mask of a sixth-level Origin Conversion Realm cultivator. If he moved faster, he would expose himself.

The Snake-Serpents gave chase, and Nanmen Shan didn't even spare Liu Wuxie a glance. Friendship and discipleship meant nothing when death loomed.

Liu Wuxie drew his longsword and cut down several Snake-Serpents that rushed at him, then increased his pace just enough to catch up with Nanmen Shan.

Nanmen Shan was surprised, but he had no time to dwell on it with his life on the line. They ran for a full hour before they finally broke away from the pursuit.

Once they reached safety, Nanmen Shan pulled out the flute and lifted it to blow, but Liu Wuxie stopped him with a quick movement.

"Meng An, why are you stopping me?" Nanmen Shan demanded. The Snake-Serpent Clan still prowled nearby, and without reinforcements from the camp, both of them could die here.

"The deacon said that we can only blow in it if we run into the Santi Tribe," Liu Wuxie replied, keeping his voice steady.

"I don't fucking care. I'm blowing it," Nanmen Shan said, fear swallowing him whole. Even if the sect punished him later, it could not compare to death, and staying here would cost his life.

Liu Wuxie felt his plan teeter on the edge of collapse the moment Nanmen Shan decided to blow the flute and summon experts from the camp. Since that would shatter everything, he couldn't allow Nanmen Shan to notify the camp.

A golden ray flashed and sank into Nanmen Shan's soul sea, and about a minute later, Nanmen Shan's gaze filled with absolute reverence as he turned toward Liu Wuxie.

"Greetings, Master," Nanmen Shan said with a deep bow.

"Give me the flute," Liu Wuxie ordered.

The Snake-Serpent Clan still prowled around them, and they offered perfect material for martial souls to Liu Wuxie. Their intelligence could not compare to the Santi Tribe's, and cooperation with them would never be possible, given their brutal nature. Since that path remained closed, he would refine them into martial souls instead, and perhaps a surprise would come from it.