Desolate Devouring Art-Chapter 1405 - Ceiling Mural Painting

When the first attack team launched its assault, Liu Wuxie concealed himself in the shadows, keeping a steady watch on the tower. Terrifying mythical arts rained down upon it, causing the ground to tremble and rumbling sounds to echo far into the night.

The commotion instantly alarmed countless members of the loulan race. Waves of their experts surged toward the site, just as Liu Wuxie had anticipated. All the experts stationed there immediately rushed out.

The second attack team soon followed, fifty or so members attacking the tower with even more mythical arts, causing the surrounding area to collapse in their wake.

"Humans, you're courting death!" the loulan race roared in fury at the sight of the collapsing buildings. An Earth Immortal struck out with his palm.

Shi Yuan reacted instantly, stepping forward to hold the Earth Immortal in place.

Then, Blackwind Beasts began emerging in packs.

Upon seeing the Blackwind Beasts, Liu Wuxie inscribed soul runes, doing his best to control as many of them as possible.

The remaining teams launched their attacks as well. Divided into squads of fifty, they attacked from various angles, catching the loulan race off guard. If the loulan race defended the left, the humans would attack from the left and vice versa, always surprising their enemies.

The two squads numbered fewer than four hundred, but their coordinated assault created the illusion of thousands.

Shi Yuan's powerful palm strike forced the loulan race's Earth Immortal back. The collision generated a shockwave that swept through the area, causing the surrounding buildings to crumble and clearing a patch of open ground.

Both Earth Immortals hovered in the air, neither daring to strike again.

"Humans! Why have you attacked this place?!" the loulan race demanded. They were unaware that Liu Wuxie's group had arrived on the Celestial Immortal Star via the sevenfold heaven and mistakenly believed that they were brought here by the black hole.

More experts from the loulan race gathered, even pulling reinforcements from the Tata Prison to bolster their forces.

Everything unfolded just as Liu Wuxie had predicted. The tower held great significance to the loulan race, and for them to abandon the Tata Prison, there had to be something vitally important hidden inside it.

As the Earth Immortal of the loulan race spoke again, Shi Yuan did not dare to take things lightly. He knew that any misstep here could cost him his life.

On Luan Xiuwen's side, he, too, faced heavy opposition as large numbers of loulan race experts poured in. A battle had erupted in nearly every district, sending ripples of alarm through Loulan City.

With the Blackwind Beasts joining the fray, the human cultivators gradually found themselves on the defensive.

"Most of their experts have been drawn away. Let's start the rescue and free the captives," Sun Xiao commanded.

At his order, the three squads advanced—the first to rescue the captives, the second to clean out the loulan race forces underground, and the third to guard the surface, creating flawless coordination.

Although they hadn't rehearsed this plan, every individual was an elite capable of taking on a hundred enemies by themselves.

With so many experts pulled away from Tata Prison, the remaining defenders were too weak to mount a significant resistance. Yu Zhuang's group broke through the defenses with ease and charged into the underground world.

The squad led by the blood fiends' leader focused on securing the prison and hunting down the loulan race within it. Meanwhile, Sun Xiao's squad faced the greatest pressure, tasked with standing guard on the surface.

The members of the loulan race launched waves of assaults, but Sun Xiao had led over two hundred cultivators into a defensive battle formation, holding their ground against the oncoming attacks.

Once everyone reached the surface, the human forces would regroup, significantly increasing their collective strength.

The rescue team encountered fierce resistance underground. No one had expected an Earth Immortal to lurk below. The blood fiends' leader immediately engaged in battle with the opponent, while Yu Zhuang pressed forward to the forefront.

There, he saw many humans imprisoned in cells, their eyes lifeless, with some even having taken their own lives, unable to bear the harsh conditions.

"Someone has come to save us!" A cheer erupted from the captives as they scrambled to their feet.

They dared not retaliate while an Earth Immortal was present, but now that the rescue team had their own Earth Immortal, the captives began attacking the cell doors with renewed vigor.

The construction of each cell involved special materials that prevented cultivators at the Void Realm from breaking them open. However, that was not the worst of it. The humans trapped here had their primordial spirits drained daily.

Many had been unable to endure the torment and had chosen to end their lives, as evidenced by the corpses littering the ground.

The members of the loulan race practicing the Martial Soul Art had captured these humans with the goal of controlling their souls. Over a thousand people had died with their primordial spirits completely stripped. Though more than three thousand people remained alive, their strength had severely diminished due to the continuous torment.

The rescue team killed the members of the loulan race stationed in the underground area and seized the keys. Then, they began opening the cells to free the captives.

"Everyone, move out quickly! People are waiting for you at the exit!" Yu Zhuang shouted, urging the captives not to crowd the passage. The tunnel was narrow, and a stampede could be fatal.

Despite his warnings, a stampede erupted as everyone surged toward the exit, trampling weaker cultivators to death. Yu Zhuang slammed his palm on the ground to intimidate the crowd, forcing the captives to move in an orderly fashion.

Yu Zhuang and Luan Xiuwen had changed dramatically over the past few days, as Liu Wuxie had deeply influenced them.

As the captives began pouring out of the underground prison, Sun Xiao started his retreat, guiding the group steadily toward the outskirts of Loulan City.

Though they had rescued most of the prisoners, they still lost a few along the way.

"Yu Zhuang, retreat immediately with everyone, while I'll go support that side," Sun Xiao commanded. He planned to assist the other team in their withdrawal as the battle grew fiercer.

"Understood!" Yu Zhuang replied, leading the charge as he cut down any loulan race members in his path, urging the others to follow him.

The squad led by the blood fiends' leader covered the retreat, still locked in battle with the loulan race. The cultivators who had escaped the underground prison swiftly followed Yu Zhuang, retreating as fast as they could.

With every passing moment, more people died, and the killing went on without end.

Just then, a loud rumble echoed from the tower as a massive gap appeared.

"We have freed the prisoners! Retreat immediately!" Sun Xiao called out. He had arrived and moved in with his squad to cover the retreat.

More experts from the loulan race appeared, and many cultivators found themselves ensnared by powerful enemies, unable to break free. They had no choice but to perish with their enemies.

"My name is Huang Haishan. Remember my name! When all of you leave the Celestial Immortal Star, tell everyone that I had a part in making it out alive!" someone shouted from the crowd, followed by a deafening explosion that sent a wave of destructive energy rolling in all directions.

The cultivator named Huang Haishan had chosen to self-destruct, using his sacrifice to cover the others' retreat.

"My name is Chen Yifeng, remember my name, too!" Another explosion tore through the battlefield as another cultivator chose to self-destruct.

One by one, human cultivators chose to self-destruct alongside the loulan race. Most of them had suffered severe injuries and had no chance of escaping. Rather than dying in vain, they chose to buy time for others to flee.

The internal strife among humans was fierce, but when it came to the survival of their race, they would always stand united.

"I will remember you all! You're all heroes of humanity!"

Those who escaped engraved their names onto their hearts.

With Sun Xiao's leadership, the retreat gained momentum.

Just then, a series of whistling sounds filled the air as several powerful Earth Immortals shot toward them.

"This is bad! More of their experts are gathering here! Everyone, pick up the pace!" Luan Xiuwen yelled, leading the group in another direction. They could always regroup with the other squads once they had escaped Loulan City.

Seizing the brief window before the experts could arrive, Liu Wuxie darted toward the seven-storied tower, catching everyone by surprise. While they all faced outward, he moved in the opposite direction.

The area around the seven-storied tower had become a safe zone since the humans had started their assault from five hundred meters away.

Liu Wuxie took advantage of the opening and rushed over. Meanwhile, the battle outside continued, with the loulan race's Earth Immortals in pursuit of Sun Xiao, Shi Yuan, and the others.

Sun Xiao's anxiety grew when he saw Liu Wuxie charging toward the tower, but it was too late for him to intervene.

"Senior Brother, leave immediately!" Liu Wuxie's voice echoed in Sun Xiao's mind, originating from within the tower, causing his expression to change.

"Junior Brother, what about you if I leave?" Sun Xiao asked. If they all withdrew from the city, Liu Wuxie would be left behind in enemy territory, and escaping would be nearly impossible for him.

"Don't worry about it. I have a protector with me, and our master has given me a life-saving treasure. I'll be fine. You all leave first," Liu Wuxie replied.

Initially, Sun Xiao had planned to stay behind while everyone else retreated.

However, without him, the Earth Immortals could catch up quickly and slaughter the ordinary cultivators.

Everyone turned to Sun Xiao, their eyes filled with hope. Whether they could leave Loulan City alive now depended on him.

"Let's go!" Sun Xiao gritted his teeth after a moment's hesitation and gave the order for everyone to retreat.

If anything were to happen to Liu Wuxie, he would vow to slaughter every last one of the loulan race, even if he had to give up his own life. Having once vowed to kill a million blood fiends, he would do the same to the loulan race.

As the battle neared its end, the fighting outside began to subside.

Once Liu Wuxie entered the seven-storied tower, he began scanning his surroundings with his Ghost Eye.

"What a strange building. Every level here has a soul rune," Liu Wuxie murmured. The soul runes twisted into a peculiar shape, resembling those he had encountered on the fifth level of the Sevenfold Heaven.

However, he had no time to collect them now. He needed to find the way home quickly and leave before the Earth Immortals of the loulan race returned.

Liu Wuxie performed a series of flickers, soaring up the tower until he reached the top.

A strange sight greeted him—the ceiling was not stone but a transparent mural covering the entire dome. A painting appeared before Liu Wuxie, its images ancient, dating back over a million years. Many portions had blurred with age.

The loulan race appeared in the tower as Liu Wuxie scanned the contents with his divine sense, analyzing them in his mind.

"This painting looks like a map of the entire Celestial Immortal Star! The central region should be Loulan City," Liu Wuxie murmured. The mural's landscape mirrored the environment he had seen, almost like a miniaturized version of the planet.

Wait, what's that? Liu Wuxie's gaze landed on a spherical structure. The building wasn't in Loulan City but located in a mountain range a thousand miles away. The range was well hidden and invisible to ordinary cultivators.

To enter the mountain range, one would have to pass through Loulan City. Liu Wuxie could see large groups of the loulan race heading toward the spherical structure, some even traveling with families while carrying heavy baggage.

"Could it be...?" Liu Wuxie's eyes narrowed as he pieced the mystery together.