Chapter 990 - Aftermath

Liu Wuxie was at his wits' end, unable to find his way back. Then, he suddenly noticed a cluster of white gaseous bodies in the distance.

At first, he assumed it was due to the laws of this void realm, but on second thought, he realized something was wrong. There were no laws in this void realm. How could there be a second color in this monotonous world?

The sudden appearance of the white, misty forms made Liu Wuxie's eyes light up. He trembled as though lightning had struck him when he looked closer. He couldn't believe what he saw.

He gasped. "Corpse Devouring Beasts!"

Clusters of them hovered silently in the void realm.

Liu Wuxie knew that many Corpse Devouring beasts were hidden in the Sacred Ground, but he hadn't expected them to survive.

The Heaven-Curtaining Red Luan had consumed many people during the collapse, its shattering laws crushing them to death.

Liu Wuxie had survived only because of sheer luck. After executing the Annihilation Fist, he had drained all the laws from his body, turning it into an empty shell. This was the only reason he managed to escape the rejection of heaven and earth.

If he had fallen into the Heaven-Curtaining Red Luan at his prime, there would be no chance of survival. Otherwise, the moment space shattered, it would have destroyed him.

This explained why those in the Nascent Transformation Realm and Earth Profound Realm couldn't enter the sacred ground in the past; the world had suppressed its laws. Yet, mortals could enter the sacred ground without restriction.

With all the laws in his body drained, Liu Wuxie was no different from an ordinary person. This coincidence was why he survived in this void realm.

But what about the Corpse Devouring Beasts? It made no sense that the void realm allowed them to exist and survive here.

This discovery naturally left Liu Wuxie ecstatic. Perhaps the Corpse Devouring Beasts could lead him home.

The Corpse Devouring Beasts were filled with deathly energy, perfectly matching the void realm's environment.

"Could it be... that these creatures were born in the void realm, and this is their native environment? They only slipped into the sacred ground after the world's destruction..." Liu Wuxie felt he had stumbled onto something critical.

He had once suspected that the Corpse Devouring Beasts had consumed the human cultivators within the sacred ground, but in hindsight, he realized he had been wrong.

When the sacred ground collapsed and tore apart space, the Corpse Devouring Beasts slipped into the void realm and entrenched themselves.

The Corpse Devouring Beasts slowly gathered and merged into a colossal white worm that drifted through the void realm. And surprisingly, they were heading deeper into it.

Liu Wuxie watched in a daze with uncertainty.

"Should I follow them?" Liu Wuxie fell into a dilemma. He didn't know if he should follow the colossal Corpse Devouring Beast or stay in one place and find his way out.

If he left, he might never find this region again. There were no coordinates or landmarks to help him pinpoint his location. Even the slightest movement could displace him by a far distance.

Liu Wuxie pondered for nearly a minute before a glint of determination flashed in his eyes.

"Follow them!" He followed and saw where the colossal Corpse Devouring Beast was going. Following them gave him a chance to find his way out, but he could also end up sinking deeper into the abyss.

Liu Wuxie didn't know, but he was willing to take the gamble. If he were right, he might escape alive, but he would also vanish into the abyss if he were wrong.

His injuries weren't fully healed, and he dared not get too close. Fortunately, he possessed supreme-grade spirit stones, and they helped him recover rapidly.

With no laws present, Liu Wuxie couldn't use his movement technique. He could only drift through the void like a fish. A slight shove with his hand would send him gliding a great distance away.

The massive Corpse Devouring Beast drifted ahead. He soon lost track of his location. He could not tell how long he had been drifting in the void without the concept of time.

Then, something even more bizarre happened. The void realm unraveled the time and space laws in his interspatial ring, reducing everything inside to worthless junk.

Aside from Liu Wuxie's body, the void realm slowly eroded everything on him that contained laws and disintegrated it into dust.

It was a dire omen.

Liu Wuxie quickly threw everything from the interspatial ring into the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron.

To his relief, the void realm couldn't touch the laws inside the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. The precious treasures had to be preserved at all costs, or his losses would be immense.

Even so, he failed to retrieve some treasures and spirit stones in time, and the loss stabbed at his heart.

Realizing he was still trapped, Liu Wuxie chuckled self-mockingly. What use were treasures if he couldn't make it out alive?

As he drifted through the void realm, he continued to send the supreme-grade spiritual vein into the desolate world. He couldn't afford to waste time cultivating and did everything he could to restore himself to his peak condition.

The Corpse Devouring Beasts were dangerous. If a fight broke out, he would be at a severe disadvantage.

He didn't know how long he had been drifting, but weariness settled over him.

......

Meanwhile, the talk of Liu Wuxie had gradually subsided back in the True Martial Continent.

A month had passed since his supposed death.

Everyone believed he had died. No one thought he could survive a month without a single sign.

When Liu Xiucheng received the news, he locked himself in his study room for ten days and nights.

Even Liu Dashan sat beneath the tree in his courtyard for three days straight. He shed no tears and showed no grief, maintaining a terrifying calm the entire time.

When he left his courtyard, he led a squad to raze five shops owned by the Wang and the Yuan Clans, slaughtering over a hundred of their disciples. His action had also started a quiet war between the three great clans.

Among the Four Great Clans, only the Liao Clan remained silent, taking no visible action, while the other three had already begun crossing swords in the shadows.

However, the Liu Clan had begun to consolidate their forces in recent days when the Yuan and Wang Clans had joined forces to counterattack.

......

Back in the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy, no one retaliated after learning about Liu Wuxie's death. It was as if a random disciple had perished.

Then again, the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy had lost numerous prodigies in the sacred ground this time.

Jiang Le, Yu Zhibai, and Shen Rong begged their master to avenge their junior brother by killing Yuan Zilong and Luan Tianzhi when they returned to the Heavenly Gate Peak. But Elder Madman stared at the starry skies in silence.

"Go back and focus on your cultivation," Elder Madman said after two hours, dismissing the trio with a wave of his hand. Nothing was said about avenging Liu Wuxie.

Han Feizi had also vanished without a trace and didn't return to the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy after he escorted Jiang Le, Yu Zhibai, and Shen Rong back.

His token had long expired. It only allowed him three months within the academy.

Lu Liang and the other assassins went their separate ways. They acted as if nothing had happened.

With Liu Wuxie presumed dead, the Soaring Bloom Order naturally lost its effect.

Though they still bore the identities of Black Plume Pavilion assassins, none knew Liu Wuxie had enslaved them eternally.

Moreover, a fracture had appeared on the profound talisman above the Heavenly Peak, perhaps due to Liu Wuxie's disappearance. This caused a violent gale to descend upon the True Martial Continent from the heavens.

"Grandfather, I don't want to restore the clan any longer. I want to avenge Big Brother Liu!" Gu Yu said, sharing his decision after seeing his grandfather.

Restoring the clan took time, and he was exhausted.

"Yu'er, you've grown up now. I won't interfere with whatever decision you make. Go on," Gu Yu's grandfather replied with a wave of his hand.

After all, Gu Yu would never have attained his current accomplishments without Liu Wuxie.

Gu Yu knelt, kowtowed three times, and set off with Fiery toward the Liu Clan, knowing he needed their strength to take revenge.

Watching Gu Yu's back, the old man wept.

"Child, you've finally grown up. Restoring the clan was only an excuse to keep you going, and all I ever wanted was for you to live a happy life," the old man said and returned to cultivation.

......

Liu Wuxie remained oblivious to all of that. He could no longer tell where he was.

The void around him grew denser and blurred his vision.

Due to their massive size, the Corpse Devouring Beasts left ripples in the void as they swam through it. It helped Liu Wuxie keep track of them.

Even so, this couldn't go on forever. He still had no clue where the massive creature was heading.

When Liu Wuxie finally buried the supreme-grade spiritual vein into the depths of the desolate world, he felt his cultivation rise.

Under normal conditions, he would've already broken through to the second level of the Spirit Profound Realm, but the lack of laws here restricted him. Still, he could feel the change taking place in his cultivation.

Time continued to slip by.

......

Back on the True Martial Continent, the Liu Clan launched repeated assaults against the Yuan and Wang Clans. Both sides suffered heavy losses, and though the chaos eventually subsided, it was only a temporary calm.

Gu Yu participated in several battles with Fiery. Though the Liu Clan did not know Gu Yu, they recognized Fiery.

Since leaving the sacred ground, Gu Yu's strength had soared to the threshold of the Earth Profound Realm. He had grown so powerful that even the Liu Clan's elders struggled to match him.

Whenever Gu Yu struck, it felt like a divine dragon descending from the heavens.

Fiery displayed terrifying strength in battle. It had reduced numerous shops of the Yuan and Wang Clans to ashes with the True Samadhi Fire.

Three months had passed since the sacred ground expedition, and news of Liu Wuxie vanished without a trace.

The True Martial Continent returned to calm once again. The Liu Clan had also calmed down after venting their rage and causing much bloodshed.

However, Yan Yu cried herself to sleep every night after learning of Liu Wuxie's death. Jian Xing'er and Chen Ruoyan stayed close to her during that time.

"Aunty, I believe Big Brother Liu will be fine. He will return alive," Jian Xing'er said with unshakable conviction.

"Big Sister Jian is right. I, too, believe that he will return to us one day," Chen Ruoyan said with her fists clenched. She refused to believe that Liu Wuxie would die.

"You're both my children," Yan Yu murmured, gently caressing their heads. How could she not tell that they were trying to comfort her?

After all, no one had ever returned from the void realm alive.

......

In the mysterious Han Clan, Han Feizi's return stirred the entire clan into a frenzy. After five or six years away, he had finally returned home.

Upon returning, the first thing he did was propose the activation of the Celestial Astral Stage, but the entire clan immediately opposed his suggestion.