Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 418 - Spirit Clan

When the winged man opened his eyes, the entire dungeon began to shake violently.

What kind of gaze was that? It was as though this winged man was looking down on the world, sweeping through the skies with invincibility.

Liu Wuxie felt his soul energy disappearing rapidly as though some mysterious force had devoured it. He couldn’t stop it no matter how he tried, and he would be reduced to a retard even if he survived if he exhausted all his soul energy.

Just when his soul energy was about to be fully exhausted, the Heavenly Dao Book opened up and locked his soul sea.

The mysterious force devouring his soul energy disappeared, but Liu Wuxie was still shocked. He had never been so panicked in all his years.

The winged man scanned his surroundings. As his gaze settled, the intense aura he had been emitting gradually subsided.

“Was it you who awakened me?” After a few minutes, the winged man’s indifferent gaze swept over Liu Wuxie.

“I pay my greetings to Senior. I intruded here unintentionally, so please forgive me if I have disturbed your rest.” Liu Wuxie cupped his hands politely.

“What year is it now?” The winged man asked, his voice echoing with a sense of detachment. The overwhelming aura he had emitted upon waking had slowly dissipated, leaving only a faint residual energy. He seemed more like a fleeting shadow of life rather than a fully revived being.

“It’s Year 1980419 of the Heaven Calendar!” Liu Wuxie responded, noting that humans had used the calendar for nearly two million years since its inception.

“It has been a hundred thousand years?” The winged man’s expression turned contemplative, though he paid little attention to Liu Wuxie’s reaction. From his words, it was clear that he had been trapped in this dungeon for a hundred millennia, a feat that made his awakening after such a long time nothing short of a miracle.

“Senior, are you alright?” Liu Wuxie asked cautiously while remaining on guard.

This winged man might have opened his eyes, but his body had long been decayed over the past hundred thousand years. Only his primordial spirit had awakened, and his body couldn’t contain his soul.

In the cultivation world, there existed a fearsome technique known as soul possession, which allowed individuals to achieve rebirth by taking over another’s body. Essentially, this technique involved forcibly seizing a new host and reviving oneself through that vessel.

Formidable beings often sought to possess the bodies of the younger generation before their own demise. When a soul took over a new body, it would invade the host’s soul sea and consume it, thereby becoming the new master of the body.

Liu Wuxie was understandably apprehensive that this winged man might attempt to possess him, given the latter’s formidable presence. After all, Liu Wuxie was just in the Heavenly Dipper Realm, insignificant in comparison to someone of the winged man’s caliber.

“Your soul energy is unusual—it’s what managed to awaken me,” the winged man said, reflecting on his circumstances.

Liu Wuxie’s eyes widened in understanding; the winged man must have absorbed his soul energy to regain some semblance of vitality.

“Senior, could you tell me what this place is and how you came to be here?” Liu Wuxie inquired, eager to uncover the mysteries surrounding this situation. If he were to face his end here, he wished to understand the events that led to this predicament.

“It’s a long story, and I have little time left. I might’ve awakened, but this is only a strand of my soul. Most of my primordial spirit was used to suppress this abyssal devil, and my last remnant soul will soon disappear.” The muscles on the winged man’s face were stiff, barely squeezing out a smile that looked eerie.

“Senior, where did you come from?” Liu Wuxie went straight to the point. He guessed this man had perished with the abyssal devil in a battle, and the details were no longer relevant. What mattered was understanding the identity of this winged man and finding a way out.

“Have you heard of the Spirit Clan?” The winged man’s gaze grew profound.

“The Spirit Clan?” Liu Wuxie repeated, intrigued. This was the first time he had encountered this name.

Many races existed, such as humans, demons, abyssal devils, elves, etc. But Liu Wuxie had never heard of the Spirit Clan.

“The Spirit Clan goes way back; naturally, you haven’t heard of it. The Spirit Clan has probably disappeared after so many years.” The winged man’s eyes shone with a hint of loneliness and sadness.

“Senior, don’t overthink about it. The world has its own rules, and it’s fate if they have disappeared. There’s no need to dwell on it,” Liu Wuxie tried to comfort the winged man.

Perhaps Liu Wuxie’s words worked because the loneliness in the man’s eyes lessened.

What Liu Wuxie said was right because some races would disappear daily and be replaced by new ones. The universe was vast, and many races unknown to Liu Wuxie had vanished through time.

Ultimately, they only existed in human memory and would never reappear again.

The subsequent conversation was more relaxed, but Liu Wuxie could sense the winged man’s soul energy rapidly depleting. He eventually learned of what had happened there.

The Spirit Clan did not reside on the True Martial Continent but on another plane entirely. They had faced a devastating assault from the abyssal devils, resulting in immense losses. The winged man before Liu Wuxie was the supreme leader of the Spirit Clan, holding a status comparable to that of a monarch in human society.

Known as the Feather Emperor, he had earned this title due to his clan's unique ability to fly with their innate wings. To the abyssal devils, the Spirit Clan was referred to as the Feather Clan.

An apocalyptic conflict had ensued, claiming countless lives among the Spirit Clan, while the abyssal devils had also suffered severe casualties. The Feather Emperor had clashed with the Abyssal King, causing rifts in space and ultimately crashing down onto the True Martial Continent.

A hundred thousand years ago, the Southern Province was a desolate wilderness, with the Scarlet Sun Mountain Range remaining unexplored and untouched. After their fall, both the Feather Emperor and the Abyssal King were gravely wounded and unable to return to their plane. In a desperate move, the Feather Emperor had deployed the Spirit Clan's ultimate treasure, the Earth Binding Chains, to imprison the abyssal devil.

Liu Wuxie was surprised because he hadn’t expected the chains to be so powerful and capable of restricting an Abyssal King. This meant the Earth Binding Chains was no ordinary weapon.

After a hundred thousand years, the energy within the Earth Binding Chains had significantly waned. What once was a formidable treasure now resembled something only slightly superior to spiritual artifacts, and restoring it to its former glory would be no small feat.

Unable to return to his own plane, the Feather Emperor had established a dungeon on the True Martial Continent to contain the abyssal devil. He had used the Spirit Clan’s technique daily to bind the Abyssal King, maintaining the confinement as best he could.

This process had continued for a hundred thousand years. Though the Abyssal King had eventually perished, the Feather Emperor, too, had exhausted his primordial spirit, leaving only a remnant of his soul behind.

Liu Wuxie's repeated use of the Ghost Eye had inadvertently contributed to this outcome. The Feather Emperor had absorbed the soul energy Liu Wuxie had emitted, though it wasn’t intentional. Unlike humans, the Spirit Clan’s cultivation techniques focused on their primordial spirit, essentially their soul sea, rather than true essence. They relied solely on their soul energy for combat.

Liu Wuxie sighed after hearing the actual story. The Feather Emperor had died in a foreign land, sacrificing himself to avenge his people and perish with the Abyssal King. Such a noble spirit was worthy of Liu Wuxie’s respect.

The abyssal race was a blight on the universe, consuming everything in their path like a cancer. They attacked any race they encountered, aiming to conquer and transform the universe into an abyssal realm under their dominion.

An hour had passed without knowing, and the light in the Feather Emperor’s eyes became dim. His last remnant soul would disappear when the light in the eyes vanished.

“Young friend, I have a request for you. Please help me fulfill it.” Feather Emperor’s eyes shone with a hint of hope. His facial muscles had long stiffened, and he could only convey his emotions through his eyes.

“Senior, please speak. I will do my best as long as it’s something within my power.” It wasn’t hard to tell the Feather Emperor was a man of great loyalty, willing to sacrifice himself for his clan.

“If you get the chance one day, make a trip to the Spirit Clan and bring my remains back, along with the Earth Binding Chains. This is the supreme treasure of the Spirit Clan, and the Spirit Clan can’t maintain a footing in the universe without it.” The Feather Emperor requested this, hoping Liu Wuxie could visit the Spirit Clan.

Bringing the remains back was secondary because the Earth Binding Chains were too important to the Spirit Clan.

“I don’t know where the Spirit Clan is, and I’m powerless even if I intend to help you.” Liu Wuxie smiled bitterly. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help, but this was the first time he had heard of the Spirit Clan. If he blindly agreed to it, he would only be bluffing himself.

The Feather Emperor sighed. He also knew he had lost the Spirit Clan’s coordinates because he had emerged from a spatial rift with the Abyssal King.

“I can tell from your words and actions that you’re not ordinary. I believe it won’t be hard for you to reach the Heaven Pry Realm in the future. At that time, you’ll be able to find the Spirit Clan’s location.” The Feather Emperor was hopeful that Liu Wuxie would agree to help.

His remnant soul couldn’t last much longer, and he would never awaken again once it dissipated.

“The Heaven Pry Realm!” Liu Wuxie muttered. This was one step before becoming an immortal.

“I can promise you that I’ll do my best!” Liu Wuxie shrugged because even he was uncertain if he could find the Spirit Clan. The Heaven Pry Realm was too far off now, and Liu Wuxie didn’t think that far ahead. Even the True Profound Realm was out of his reach for now.

“I believe you can find it. My Spirit Clan has a mysterious technique to foresee a person’s destiny. Your fate is extraordinary, free of worldly constraints, and you will walk an unprecedented path.” The Feather Emperor’s words were not mere flattery to extract a promise from Liu Wuxie; they were a heartfelt plea born from deep conviction.

Liu Wuxie acknowledged it because he realized his fate had changed after rebirth, especially after cultivating the Desolate Devouring Art.

Sometimes, he couldn’t even glimpse his fate.

For the Feather Emperor to trust him with the Earth Binding Chains, could he really foresee a person’s fate and nature?

The Feather Emperor had lived for a hundred thousand years and had encountered countless individuals. His keen eyes could easily discern character, and Liu Wuxie’s sincerity was apparent to him. Liu Wuxie’s eyes reflected purity and unwavering resolve, qualities that spoke to his reliability.

“I attempted to remove the Earth Binding Chains earlier, but they tightened whenever I touched them,” Liu Wuxie explained, acknowledging the difficulty he faced.

“This is not a problem,” the Feather Emperor reassured him. “Your soul is unique and powerful. By using the Spirit Clan’s technique, you should be able to control the Earth Binding Chains.” The sadness in the Feather Emperor’s eyes began to recede, replaced by a glimmer of hope.