Desolate Devouring Art-Chapter 1349 - Home

Liu Wuxie swept his gaze through the hall, a domineering presence rolling off him—not an act, but something etched into his bones.

"What did you say?" Many Earth Immortals rose to their feet when they heard Liu Wuxie mention the ancient battle, anger flashing in their eyes.

Few in the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain spoke of that war three hundred thousand years ago. For the Heavenly Dragon Sect, it had become a forbidden topic, one that cost the sect dearly; most importantly, Long Xiao had suffered grave injuries in that battle and passed away.

"Let him continue," Hua Feiyu said, signaling there was no need to overreact.

The elders sat back down and waited for Liu Wuxie's explanation.

Nodding at Hua Feiyu, Liu Wuxie said, "I believe everyone present knows better than me how brutal that battle was. All I want to say is that the shattered continent didn't disappear—it sank into the depths of the universe."

Liu Wuxie's words echoed through the main hall. Even after hundreds of thousands of years, the mission section for the Dragon Expanse Mountain Range had never closed.

Several Heaven Gaze Realm experts fell silent. Back then, they had just joined the sect as ordinary disciples; they witnessed the carnage, the countless lives lost, and they watched the sect nearly bleed dry.

"Liu Wuxie, you're trying to say that the shattered continent still exists and hasn't disappeared?" Zhuge Ming asked, piecing it together.

"That's right. That continent still exists, and it is still expanding. And I come from that continent," Liu Wuxie said, and the hall plunged into a deathly silence.

Hua Feiyu already knew, yet hearing it from Liu Wuxie still stirred his heart. Many Heavenly Dragon Sect disciples had vanished with that continent; to many Earth Immortals present, those were their own ancestors, the sect's disciples.

But they vanished after that ancient battle, and no one knew whether they disappeared with the missing continent.

"Liu Wuxie, is what you said true?" A Heaven Gaze Realm expert appeared before him, eyes blazing with heat. If true, his forebears might still be alive.

"Absolutely true. This is the proof," Liu Wuxie said and produced a token.

From Elder Long's reaction at the sight of the token, Liu Wuxie could gauge its weight. He also produced a letter personally entrusted to him by the grandmaster.

With a wave of his hand, Hua Feiyu summoned the token and the letter into his palm.

"This is indeed the token left behind by Senior Long Xiao. There were two in total—one remains with Elder Long, and the other vanished with that ancient battle," Hua Feiyu said, his voice bleak.

Everyone's hearts turned heavy. The lost continent still drifted through the universe, unable to find its way home, like an orphan without its mother.

Opening the letter gently, each word in it struck Hua Feiyu's heart like a hammer.

"I am the fifth grandmaster of the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy. I have inherited the first grandmaster's will to lead the True Martial Continent back to the astral domain and find a way back home..." Hua Feiyu read the letter out loud.

His words tugged at every soul present, and sobbing sounds rose. The letter was like a child's note to parents, saying they missed home. Everyone here had parents; some had lost their ancestors when the continent split from the Dragon Expanse Mountain Range.

By the time Hua Feiyu finished, he folded the letter with care. Its meaning to him was significant.

No one in the main hall spoke; they digested the truth in silence.

"I only have one request—bring those who have been wandering outside back home and let their souls return to their birthplace. I hope that the sect master and all the elders present can fulfil my request," Liu Wuxie thundered, nearly shouting.

At this moment, he no longer spoke for himself, but for the countless on the True Martial Continent who wanted to return home. He represented billions of lives.

The True Martial Continent stood on the brink of destruction. Without an interstellar teleportation array to lead it back to the astral domain, it would vanish like the Sacred Ground.

"Liu Wuxie, you're saying that you're willing to trade all your rewards for the Myriad Race Ceremony to establish an interstellar teleportation array? I admire your righteousness, but building a teleportation array isn't something that can be completed within a day or two," said an Earth Immortal Realm elder.

Though cultivators at their level had long forsworn attachments, Liu Wuxie had awakened the softest part of their hearts. The letter stated the True Martial Continent could last only another decade, and Liu Wuxie had already spent over a year in the astral domain.

Trying to set up an interstellar teleportation array wasn't easy; even at best, it would take three to five years. The materials required were staggering, and even the Heavenly Dragon Sect would need time to gather them. Many Heaven Gaze Realm cultivators would be required to engrave the teleportation runes—a time-consuming and draining task.

"Even if we agree, an interstellar teleportation array must be built from both sides. How do we even reach the True Martial Continent to set it up?" an elder asked, voicing the problem squarely before them. For example, an array linking the Laman and Indigo Bamboo Astral Domains requires construction on both ends.

Zhuge Ming's eyes flickered. He had not expected Liu Wuxie's journey from the True Martial Continent to be so hard-won.

"That's not a problem. I have already contacted several elders to set up a temporary Astral Domain Path and let Liu Wuxie return," Hua Feiyu said. His reply carried assent; he could gather elders to open the Astral Domain Path and send Liu Wuxie home.

"No!" A voice boomed from outside, interrupting Hua Feiyu.

Shortly after, thirty-odd people entered the main hall. The moment they stepped in, a powerful aura swept through the chamber. Over twenty were in the Heaven Gaze Realm; the others were in the Earth Immortal Realm.

As they entered, every elder in the hall rose to their feet.

Liu Wuxie turned to look at them. A middle-aged man at the rear felt unsettlingly familiar, though he could not recall where they had met. The man looked his way with a cold smirk.

The Heavenly Dao Book had recorded everything; if they had met before, Liu Wuxie would remember.

At the sight of the newcomers, disgust flashed through Hua Feiyu's eyes. The reaction sharpened Liu Wuxie's curiosity about a group that could make all elders stand.

"They're from the Lingqiong Clan," Zhuge Ming said, sending his voice to Liu Wuxie.

Upon hearing the name, Liu Wuxie's body went rigid. Looking again, he was certain: the middle-aged man was the Spirit Jade Pavilion's pavilion master, whom Liu Wuxie had slain. A wisp of his soul had escaped, returned to the astral domain, and borrowed a corpse to resurrect—seizing another body.

"The Lingqiong Clan hasn't shown itself for tens of thousands of years. Why have they come to the main hall now?" whispers spread through the crowd. They had faded from sight after the ancient battle.

Aside from the older generation, the younger barely knew the Lingqiong Clan existed. Their absence from public view did not mean they had vanished; they hid in a lesser realm to develop.

The Heavenly Dragon Sect had two lesser realms: one held by the sect master and elders, which Liu Wuxie had visited; the other, far away, occupied by the Lingqiong Clan.

"Lingqiong Gong, what a pleasant surprise for your sudden visit," Hua Feiyu said, masking his disgust as he stepped down to meet the elder leading the party.

Lingqiong Gong, the clan's current patriarch, was no weaker than Hua Feiyu. Behind him stood his two sons, Lingqiong Zhi and Lingqiong Ye, both formidable in their own right.

"Sect Master Hua, let us speak plainly. I object to building the interstellar teleportation array," Lingqiong Gong said with a snort, stating his intent bluntly.

A hint of murderous intent flashed in Liu Wuxie's eyes. He had not expected the Lingqiong Clan to intervene, given that almost all elders agreed. Even dissenting voices could not have overturned the decision, yet their sudden move cast a shadow over his heart.

"Liu Wuxie is exchanging his own rewards for the interstellar teleportation array, and I have no reason to refuse as the sect master," Hua Feiyu replied, returning to his seat. "Moreover, the lives in the True Martial Continent originate from our Heavenly Dragon Sect, and we have no reason to stand aside while they drift abroad."

He did not offer the Lingqiong Clan a seat, and the atmosphere grew strained. Many were still unhappy with the clan's conduct in the ancient battle and had not forgiven them even after hundreds of thousands of years.

"To act on a man's word alone is too childish. He's a disciple of the Heavenly Dragon Sect, and it's what he should do to bring honor to the sect. As for the rewards, they should be distributed according to the rules," Lingqiong Gong replied, tone unyielding.

As a disciple of the Heavenly Dragon Sect, it was only proper for Liu Wuxie to bring honor to the sect; the rewards ought to follow the rules, and building an interstellar teleportation array was out of the question.

"Ling Qiong, it was your handiwork in trying to stop me from joining the Heavenly Dragon Sect, right?" Liu Wuxie asked, fixing his gaze on the middle-aged man at the rear.

He had suspected as much when hunters came for him on the Avatar Star. Back then, he could not imagine who could pull so many strings that even elders were involved, but the answer was plain now.

"Boy, who do you think you are talking to?" asked a member of the Lingqiong Clan, glaring at Liu Wuxie and releasing overwhelming pressure.