Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 256 - Python Nest

More individuals began to emerge from the other passages, but they were in a dire state. They had entered full of vitality, but their conditions had drastically deteriorated in a short span.

“I want to leave!” Some were on the verge of collapsing and wanted to leave.

“The entrance is sealed; we’re trapped here!” Others who had attempted to retrace their steps discovered the exit was sealed, confirming their entrapment.

Many women, overwhelmed by fear—a common reaction to snakes—broke down in tears.

“Brother Zhao, what should we do? We’re all trapped here now!” Everyone automatically grouped. They had no choice but to band together to find their way out.

Of the over a thousand people who had entered, slightly less than half had perished. Only about seven hundred remained, forming roughly ten groups.

Liu Wuxie remained still, silently observing the unfolding chaos.

“Have you all considered this? Since the pythons can survive here, they must venture out to hunt for food. They can’t possibly live underground their entire lives,” Zhao Chen proposed after a moment of contemplation.

Liu Wuxie gave a nod of approval. Zhao Chen’s ability to think clearly amidst the panic set him apart from the rest.

“Brother Zhao is right. These pythons need to hunt for food, so where do they go out from? We only have to find the cave to leave this place!” Everyone wasn’t thinking about treasures but surviving.

The same conclusion was reached in the other areas. However, since the underground palace was so huge, no one knew where the exit was.

Everyone rested for fifteen minutes before standing up and searching for the exit, relying on luck.

The Ghost Eye could only see seven to eight hundred meters away, and Liu Wuxie couldn’t find the exit within eight hundred meters of a radius. He didn’t dare to keep using Ghost Eye as it would exhaust his soul energy. The underground palace was dangerous, and he had to be prepared to fight.

With unhindered vision, Liu Wuxie stopped executing the Ghost Eye and headed southwest. If he remembered correctly, the map marked the southwest region as dangerous.

But why was he heading towards a dangerous region? A decade ago, someone had discovered many pythons in the southwest region, so where did the pythons come from? There was only one possibility: they came from underground.

Apart from him, several groups also headed in the southwest direction, sharing the same thoughts as Liu Wuxie.

Rustling sounds could be heard ahead, and everyone stopped in their tracks. Liu Wuxie also stopped when they were fifty-odd meters apart.

The air was filled with the chilling hisses of numerous pythons, causing everyone to shudder in fear. This was particularly true for the female cultivators, whose legs turned to jelly in terror.

“Prepare for battle!” Zhao Chen, who had unwittingly become the group’s leader, commanded. At his instruction, everyone promptly drew their weapons.

“Look above!” A woman cried out as she felt droplets falling on her head while sitting on the ground. She instinctively looked up, only to see dozens of pythons on the ceiling.

Humans were a delicacy to them, and they were getting impatient with more pythons hurrying over, opening their mouths, and biting down on the woman.

With a sickening crunch, the woman was swallowed by the python from her waist up. A nauseating smell of blood permeated the underground palace.

The pythons were fast, and each one was formidable. They were all adult pythons with strength comparable to the pinnacle Marrow Cleansing Realm.

The cultivators present, who were only at the fifth or sixth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm, were no match for these pythons.

Liu Wuxie found himself isolated, with three pythons slithering towards him, effectively blocking his path. His only option was to fight his way through. He swung the Heretic Blade, emitting a fearsome glow.

Having connected the divine bridge, Liu Wuxie had ascended to the seventh level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. His strength had surged to an extraordinary level, rendering him a formidable opponent even for typical experts in the True Core Realm.

With a resounding crack, Liu Wuxie severed the head of the attacking python. A foul odor permeated the air as the pythons on either side opened their jaws wide, aiming for his neck.

“Die!” Liu Wuxie exclaimed. Now was not the time for him to hold back his strength, for even the slightest error could cost him his life. He executed the Fatality Sword Art, releasing two blade auras that decapitated the two pythons. However, being cold-blooded creatures, the pythons’ bodies continued to move towards him, despite their severed heads.

The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron appeared and devoured the corpses of the three pythons, converting them into over a hundred spiritual liquid droplets. Their bloodline was too weak and couldn’t be compared to the Golden Python he had faced, but it was better than nothing.

This spiritual liquid was far from enough for him to reach the eighth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. This shocked the cultivators at the front, as it was unbelievable that Liu Wuxie killed three pythons so easily.

This also angered more pythons as more gathered towards Liu Wuxie, wanting to kill him. However, when they got close, they hesitated because Liu Wuxie was giving off an aura they were afraid of.

“Let’s move quickly!” Breaking free from the pythons, Zhao Chen led the group swiftly towards the southwest, leaving Liu Wuxie alone, watching them depart.

“Hmph, you all might survive if you stay behind. Rushing in will only lead to your deaths,” Liu Wuxie snorted. Not only were they ungrateful for his efforts in diverting the pythons’ attention, but they also abandoned him and fled on their own.

Then again, this was human nature. When facing a life-threatening crisis, most people would only care about themselves, and it wasn’t surprising for someone to abandon their brothers.

Thirty-odd pythons hissed as they slowly approached Liu Wuxie.

“Perfect! All of you can become nutrients for me to grow!” Liu Wuxie didn’t even have to make a move as the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron flew out. The cauldron had previously only released small black hole as Liu Wuxie wanted to avoid causing a stir among the others present.

Now that he was alone, he could unleash the full power of the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. The cauldron, akin to the mouth of Taotie, exerted a powerful suction force, drawing all the nearby pythons into it.

As demonic flames gushed out from the cauldron, it didn’t take a breath before they were all converted into spiritual liquid. The higher his cultivation, the more spiritual liquid he required for the next breakthrough.

He had relied on the Blood Flame Devil Blue and thousands of spiritual liquid droplets to barely reach the seventh level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. This meant that the resources he required in each breakthrough would increase along with his cultivation level.

The pythons further away attempted to flee, struggling with all their might. However, the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron devoured everything within a radius of several hundred meters, and its powerful suction force immobilized them all.

“They’re afraid of the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron?” A glint of realization flashed in Liu Wuxie’s eyes. Demonic beasts had a strong sense of danger, and they must’ve sensed the threat from the cauldron, which was why they hesitated to approach him.

In the span of a few dozen breaths, around thirty pythons were completely consumed by the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. The surroundings returned to a state of calm as Zhao Chen’s group had long since fled. However, after eliminating all the pythons, Liu Wuxie didn’t hasten but instead slowed his pace.

Echoes of roars and screams could be heard from other regions, with the death toll rising as time passed. More than half of the thousand individuals who had entered were now dead.

Approximately three hundred people managed to escape towards the southwest, with fewer survivors in the other areas.

As Liu Wuxie ventured further, the path began to widen. He would occasionally come across blood stains and python corpses. After roughly two hours of walking, a massive stone gate came into view.

Strangely, the stone gate had the same seal as the outside entrance. At the lower right corner of the stone gate was a one-foot-wide hole, but it was too small for humans to enter. The pythons must’ve come from this hole.

The walls on both sides were tough, and the weapons couldn’t even leave any marks.

“The exit should be behind this stone gate!” The few hundred survivors had reached there with incredible difficulty. As long as they could open the gate, they would be able to leave this place.

Five individuals from the Murong Clan had embarked on this journey, but midway, they had suffered the loss of two members. Only Murong Shan, Murong Qi, and a female member were left standing.

“Senior Murong, hurry up and open the stone gate!” The geniuses, who were usually prideful, practically begged Murong Shan to open the stone gate.

“The seal on the stone gate is peculiar. I’ll need some time.” Murong Shan also wanted to leave this place. He had already warned everyone that this might not be a tomb, which was true. This place wasn’t a tomb but a python nest.

However, his warnings were now futile as he began to examine the seal with his tools. As time ticked away, more individuals started to congregate from other areas, having reached dead ends and left with no choice but to return.

Approximately three hundred people had gathered, their spirits dampened. Some attempted to force the stone gate open with their weapons, only to create sparks against the unyielding gate.

A day passed, and Murong Shan’s forehead was slick with sweat, but the stone gate remained as steadfast as ever.

“Look, there’s something seeping out from behind the stone gate!” A cry of alarm echoed as a red fluid began to trickle from the cracks beneath the stone gate. This sudden development sent waves of panic through the crowd as they struggled to comprehend why blood was oozing from the stone gate.

Liu Wuxie maintained a safe distance, choosing not to intervene. The situation was graver than he had anticipated. Even though he couldn’t see what was trapped behind the stone gate, he had never encountered this seal before and was clueless about how to break it.

The stone gate began to creak open, lifting upwards in the same manner as their entrance. Upon seeing this, the crowd of three hundred swiftly retreated, fearing the unknown that might lurk behind the gate.

The stone gate stopped after rising three meters. Behind it, nothing appeared except a massive hall.

“There’s the exit!” someone exclaimed as there was an exit behind the stone gate.

“Quick, hurry up!” The three hundred people swiftly ran into the hall, heading towards the exit. But there were too many of them and only one exit.

Realizing that he couldn’t fit through the exit, Liu Wuxie was caught in a moment of hesitation. Just then, the mysterious tree within his dantian stirred, seemingly guiding him in a certain direction.

“Could there be a treasure in that direction?” Liu Wuxie wondered.

The underground palace was so peculiar that even as an Immortal Emperor, he was unable to decipher any clues about it. However, given the reaction from the mysterious tree, he decided to explore in the indicated direction, hoping that it might lead to unforeseen opportunities.

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