Chapter 955 - Mysterious Passage

The dragon's head towered ten thousand meters above the ground. It was a perilous climb even for cultivators at the pinnacle of the Spirit Profound Realm.

As Gu Yu rose into the air, a barrage of wind struck from above, slowing his flight with its violent force. The distorted spatial laws of this world disoriented Gu Yu, making it nearly impossible for him to fly in a straight line. They constantly veered him off course. He had yet to fully adapt to the laws of this world, even after being inside for a while.

"Soaring Dragon!" Liu Wuxie performed the Divine Dragon Phantom, his true essence manifesting into a divine dragon that lifted him into the sky.

The moment Liu Wuxie unleashed his technique, the entire mountain trembled, as if an earthquake had erupted beneath it. It was as though something had awakened, which alarmed the nearby cultivators who were resting.

"What's going on? Why is the mountain shaking?" Liu Wuxie also hadn't expected his movement technique to trigger a reaction from the mountain.

Could I have awakened a dragon's soul buried deep within?

A bold thought took root in Liu Wuxie's mind.

Perhaps what was buried beneath the mountain wasn't a dragon's corpse but a dragon's soul.

When the mountain shook, a boundless dragon aura burst from the mountain's core, and Liu Wuxie felt it resonate through his body.

Neither the Dragon Clan Scepter nor the Heavenly Dragon Seal possessed their own dragon's soul. Though the Heavenly Dragon Seal had absorbed the blood dragon's blood essence, it wasn't the same as a dragon's soul.

Once an artifact reached the level of a heavenly artifact, it would develop its spirit. The Heretic Blade's artifact spirit was a sliver of his soul, and it could function as a clone if it continued to grow.

After possessing an artifact spirit, the Heretic Blade possessed a soul and could cultivate on its own.

However, the Heavenly Dragon Seal hadn't reached that level. The will in the blood dragon's blood essence was violent and lacked a soul form.

If he managed to fuse a complete dragon soul into the Heavenly Dragon Seal, it could restore the damaged corner. Even if full restoration wasn't possible, its power would surge—perhaps enough for it to evolve into an Earth-Spirit Artifact.

An Earth-Spirit Artifact was on par with the power of the Earth Profound Realm. If the Heavenly Dragon Seal could be upgraded to that level, Liu Wuxie would be able to rely on it alone to slay cultivators at the first level of the Earth Profound Realm.

Gu Yu struggled upward against the roaring gale, his pace slowing with every meter.

At that moment, Liu Wuxie suddenly appeared beside Gu Yu and grabbed the latter's shoulder.

"Let's go!"

The two shot upward like two comets.

In a split second, Liu Wuxie grabbed hold of a nearby boulder, anchoring himself just in time to avoid a dangerous fall.

The Soaring Dragon technique had ended, and with it, his control had vanished.

Now, he clung to the boulder, legs dangling precariously beneath the dragon's head as the last traces of momentum faded into stillness.

Gu Yu clung to the other side, doing his best to remain steady. Using only their hands, they crawled along the cliff face like geckos, inching their way to the protruding rock.

Dozens of cultivators gathered beneath the dragon's head, drawn by the sight of the two creeping across the cliff.

The youth hiding behind the boulder declared, "He's Liu Wuxie!"

Liu Wuxie's reputation had already spread beyond the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy. He had made a name for himself with the Great Five Elemental Palm.

"What is he doing up there?" No one could make sense of Liu Wuxie's actions. Without flight capability, a fall from that height would spell certain death.

Reaching the massive rock, Liu Wuxie found a suitable spot and secured a segment of the Earth-Binding Chains around his waist, anchoring him to the other end. This ensured that he wouldn't fall to his death even if he lost grip.

Gu Yu followed suit, reaching out to grab the Earth-Binding Chains to steady himself.

After they steadied themselves, Liu Wuxie placed his right hand on the protruding rock.

He could easily shatter the rock with a punch, but doing so would destabilize the entire dragon's head, especially when it wasn't particularly thick. If that happened, they would both plummet to their deaths.

Liu Wuxie ran his hand along the surface, carefully probing until his fingers brushed against a hidden mechanism.

"Over here!"

Liu Wuxie wrapped his arms around the rock. When his right hand came in contact with a notch, he exerted force, and the notch clicked under his palm, and the rock groaned sideways, revealing a hidden entrance.

"Look! There's a passage!" someone yelled. It was night, and the visibility was low. They could barely see that the rock was shifting.

"I knew it! I knew this mountain wasn't ordinary. It looked like a crouching divine dragon from afar!"

From a distance away, the entire mountain resembled a resting divine dragon. This was why so many cultivators were drawn over.

"He's not simple, that Liu Wuxie. I heard he obtained the four seasonal treasures in the uncharted zone, and he should have other treasures on him."

The news of Liu Wuxie obtaining the four seasonal treasures had spread like wildfire, causing a ripple of excitement in the hearts of everyone, with greed blazing in their eyes.

"We need to get up there before he gets everything!" Some were eager to act, wanting to rush over and enter the passage before Liu Wuxie.

"No need to rush. With only one entrance, there's nowhere for him to run."

Some remained patient. There was only one entrance, and Liu Wuxie would be trapped once he was inside.

After entering, Liu Wuxie would have no way out unless he knew how to dig his way out.

The rock groaned and shifted sideways beneath Liu Wuxie's grip, revealing a shoulder-high passage that required one to crouch down to enter.

"I'll go in first. You stay behind me," Liu Wuxie said. He decided to enter first in case there were any dangers.

He stooped low and entered the passageway, greeted immediately by a damp, earthy stench. The stench likely came from the stale, trapped air behind the sealed passage.

Liu Wuxie blocked his senses, but it wasn't because he was wary of any poison. Thanks to his mastery of the poison essence, no toxin could affect him. He only did it because of the foul stench.

When Gu Yu followed moments later, he asked, "Big Brother Liu, should I seal off the entrance?"

"No need," Liu Wuxie replied. Their actions had already been noticed, and it was meaningless for them to seal off the entrance. Besides, closing the entrance would cut off the supply of fresh air.

The passage was cramped at first, but it suddenly opened up after five minutes, revealing a long stone staircase descending into the darkness.

Now that there was ample space and they didn't have to remain crouched, Liu Wuxie summoned the Heretic Blade. It was better to be safe than sorry.

The musty odor had lessened with fresh air flowing in.

Liu Wuxie lit up a firestick and illuminated a few meters around them.

"Big Brother, look at the wall!" Gu Yu stepped forward and discovered the strange patterns etched on the wall.

Liu Wuxie moved closer with the firestick and said, "These words belong to the dragon clan."

Even with his dragon clan bloodline, Gu Yu knew far less than Liu Wuxie about its ancient legacy. This was mainly because Gu Yu's clan had lost all knowledge of the dragon clan.

"I recognize a few, but not all," Gu Yu said. He only recognized a few from his childhood.

Liu Wuxie said nothing and continued to read the wording on the wall, moving on to the next section once he was done.

"It's a record of the dragon clan's history. A long time ago, there was a dragon clan tribe residing in this world. But when the upheaval came as the sun and moon vanished, a rift opened in the sky, marking the destruction of this world."

Most of the ancient script had eroded with time, leaving only scattered fragments legible.

However, he could still make out the general context.

Perhaps it was thousands or even tens of thousands of years ago that this world was once a paradise.

But when the sky tore open one day, fireballs rained down from above. This turned the sacred ground into a purgatory. The burned trees in the mountain range bore witness to the incineration.

The True Martial Continent would face the same fate—it was only a matter of time. The spatial rift looming above the Heavenly Peak was only sealed for now.

One day, the spatial rift would also rip apart with fireballs raining down to unleash destruction upon the True Martial Continent.

"The Astral Domain Path...could it be...?" Liu Wuxie's gaze darkened as he recalled the words of the Divinekin.

Only by reopening the Astral Domain Path could the True Martial Continent return to the stars... or be shifted elsewhere altogether.

He didn't know precisely what the astral domain was, if it was a continent, a planet, or an entire world. Perhaps the upper echelons of the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy had information about it.

Exhaling, Liu Wuxie cleared his mind. No one could stop what was coming. The only thing he could do was to grow stronger as much as possible, hoping to surpass this world before that day came and survive the continent's destruction.

The stone stairs seemed endless, stretching deep into the mountain.

One after another, cultivators slipped into the passage, following Liu Wuxie's trail.

Liu Wuxie considered wiping them out, but they hadn't provoked him, and some were innocent. Moreover, he didn't know what this place had to offer. There may be treasures or a trap awaiting them.

However, the Heavenly Dragon Seal and Dragon Clan Scepter's reaction confirmed this place was tied to the dragon clan, which indicated that they were approaching the mountain's core.

After an hour of descent, they finally arrived before a massive stone gate.

"There's a stone gate ahead. Let's go take a look!"

Despite the ages that had passed, the stone gate still gleamed with intricate dragon engravings.

"This door isn't simple. There might be hidden mechanisms here. You stay back!" Liu Wuxie warned.

Activating Ghost Eye, he peered beyond the stone gate as Gu Yu stepped back.

If they approached carelessly and activated a mechanism, it could cost them their lives.

"Big Brother Liu, be careful," Gu Yu said. He knew there was nothing he could do to help Liu Wuxie with his strength. Since he couldn't offer any help, what he could do was refrain from being a burden.

Liu Wuxie drew a protective barrier around him and approached the stone gate.