Desolate Devouring Art-Chapter 957 - Dragon Pearl

Liu Wuxie ran his gaze over the sculpture repeatedly. It looked flawless, without a single blemish. But what puzzled him were its hollow and lifeless eyes, as though they were missing a spark.

The sight instantly reminded him of the ancient tale Painting the Dragon's Eyes—a story of a divine dragon blinded in darkness until a passing cultivator tapped twice over its eyes, restoring its sight.

Though no one could prove its truth, the legend endured. Over time, it passed into the mortal world, where people dotted the eyes of dragon and lion costumes before festival dances. It was a ritual meant to breathe life into the beast and bring harmony to the land.

Liu Wuxie took out a brush and channeled his dragon aura into it. He knew he couldn't use ordinary ink and had to use his dragon aura to bring this divine dragon to life.

He tapped the sculpture's eyes twice and waited silently.

The dragon aura flowed into the hollow sockets and vanished into the sculpture. Suddenly, something strange happened. Liu Wuxie caught a flicker of life in the dragon's eyes.

Three breaths later, the sculpture let out a grinding groan as its mouth slowly opened.

This caused gasps to ripple through the crowd. They had also previously examined the sculpture, but they had failed to uncover its secrets.

Then again, even if they had discovered something unusual about the sculpture, there was nothing they could've done. Everything in this underground palace had to be activated using dragon aura.

When the sculpture's mouth opened, it spat something out. It wasn't the dragon pearl Liu Wuxie had expected. Instead, it was an ancient scroll preserved inside the dragon's mouth, and he didn't hesitate to grab it.

The next moment, the surrounding cultivators flocked over, wanting to snatch the scroll from Liu Wuxie. Since the dragon clan had hidden it, it had to be the clan's relic. They didn't care what it was; all that mattered was for them to seize it first.

Gu Yu had prepared in advance. He struck the moment the crowd surged forward, trying to stop them from snatching the scroll from Liu Wuxie.

However, Liu Wuxie didn't even glance in their way; they were nothing more than fools in his eyes. Without hesitation, he threw the scroll into the interspatial ring before descending from the sky.

With no support, Gu Yu couldn't hold back the dozens of attackers. He had already been forced to take a few steps back.

"Die," Liu Wuxie said. He waved his palm, turning the dozens of cultivators who were attacking Gu Yu into blood mists, killing them all with a single strike.

He hadn't attacked earlier because he had no reason to kill them. But he now, they had attacked Gu Yu.

Those who hadn't attacked Gu Yu now stood frozen, staring at Liu Wuxie in silent terror. In a single strike, he had obliterated dozens of Spirit Profound cultivators.

Though those cultivators weren't at the pinnacle of the Spirit Profound Realm, their strength was still formidable.

"Get lost if you don't want to die," Liu Wuxie said coldly. His voice rang with such authority that none dared meet his gaze.

They all took a step back, with a few casting venomous glares at Liu Wuxie. Their eyes were glued to the interspatial ring in Liu Wuxie's hands.

Undoubtedly, it was a secret technique of the dragon clan. The dragon clan's dao techniques surpassed those of humans, and anyone who could learn them would possess the dragon clan's combat strength.

"Let's go," Liu Wuxie said before leading Gu Yu to the next region.

He had already scanned the area with Ghost Eye when they had first entered, and aside from the sculpture, there was nothing else of value.

The Dragon Clan had long since vanished, and perhaps even their bones had turned to dust. Liu Wuxie doubted there were any true dragon remains left in this place.

Most dragons had already fled or perished when the rift had opened in the sky. The scroll was likely something left behind in haste.

He led Gu Yu toward the Retreat Palace—the resting quarters of the Dragon King and his consorts.

Several cultivators lingered in the Dragon Palace, unwilling to admit defeat. In frustration, they even started attacking the stone pillars with their swords.

Their attacks produced grinding sounds in the hall. This was the only way they could vent their anger now that Liu Wuxie had taken the scroll.

"Quick, follow Liu Wuxie! He must know where the other treasures are!"

More than half of the crowd rushed over and followed Liu Wuxie, but they didn't dare to get too close, afraid they would get themselves killed.

They passed through several corridors and sculpted mountains. The scale of the entire underground palace rivaled that of a royal tomb.

Countless luminous pearls were embedded in the ceiling, casting a glow as bright as daylight, illuminating the entire place.

In ages past, some had mocked the Dragon Clan as nothing more than worms, ridiculing their underground dwellings. But after that insult took root, the dragons slowly rose to the surface, shedding the slander along with their subterranean origins.

In ancient times, the surface was covered in a sea of fire, and dragons could only dwell beneath the ground or deep in the ocean. It was only later that they emerged and revealed themselves to humans.

After passing through the corridor, they saw a row of houses. After reaching the level of a Dragon King, dragons could assume human or other forms.

The Retreat Palace wasn't as grand as Liu Wuxie had expected. The buildings barely exceeded the size of human dwellings.

When the cultivators behind entered the Retreat Palace, they rushed into the houses, forcing their way into every door they saw. But it wasn't long before they came out disappointed.

The houses were empty and Liu Wuxie had already verified it with Ghost Eye when he had entered the Retreat Palace and searched every inch.

Since the mysterious scroll was found in the Dragon Palace, a treasure was likely hidden in the Retreat Palace, but ordinary people couldn't detect it with their naked eyes.

However, the Heavenly Dragon Seal and the Dragon Clan Scepter could sense it.

"Big Brother, I can sense a faint presence," Gu Yu whispered through his divine sense. He could sense a faint aura lingering in the Retreat Palace.

"I felt it, too," Liu Wuxie nodded. He was also searching for the origin of that aura. He even summoned the Heavenly Dragon Seal, which floated before him, to search for the source.

"Over there!" Liu Wuxie pointed at a sculpted mountain from afar and flew over swiftly.

The aura came from one of the sculpted mountains but was so faint that Liu Wuxie wouldn't have noticed it without the Heavenly Dragon Seal's guidance.

Meanwhile, the others were still searching through the rows of houses. They even searched through the beds.

When they saw Liu Wuxie heading toward a particular sculpted mountain, they abandoned their search for the houses and hurried over.

Before Liu Wuxie could act, a cultivator at the high levels of the Spirit Profound Realm swung his sword at the sculpted mountain, hoping to seize the treasure before Liu Wuxie.

His action triggered a thunderous explosion accompanied by an overwhelming aura that sent the man flying away. The man coughed up blood when he hit the ground. The sculpted mountain's toughness had completely taken him by surprise.

The brute force didn't work with everything shrouded in mystery. No one else dared to make a move after that.

Liu Wuxie walked up to the sculpted mountain and circled it carefully. He found a small spring vent in front of it, where spring water once flowed. But the spring water had long since dried up.

"Gu Yu, you give it a try this time," Liu Wuxie said, letting Gu Yu handle it.

He wanted Gu Yu to gain experience. Besides, he had already secured the scroll and wanted the Gu Yu to obtain the next treasure.

"Okay!" Gu Yu nodded. There was no need for courtesy between them.

The result would be the same no matter who retrieved the treasure; after all, they shared everything.

As Liu Wuxie stood guard for Gu Yu, he swept his gaze around, causing the surrounding cultivators to back away in fear.

When Gu Yu walked over to the sculpted mountain, he reached out with his right hand and channeled his dragon aura into the spring vent. If there were no surprises, the sculpted mountain's secrets lay within the vent.

Even Ghost Eye couldn't pierce the sculpted mountain and unravel its secrets.

Pure dragon aura flowed into the spring vent from Gu Yu's arm. As a descendant of the dragon clan, he naturally possessed the divine dragon's aura.

But even after injecting a large amount of dragon aura into the sculpted mountain, there was no reaction. This made Gu Yu turn to look at Liu Wuxie, disheartened by his failed attempt.

However, Liu Wuxie signaled him to maintain his composure. The sculpted mountain had already changed, but Gu Yu hadn't noticed it.

A moment later, a light beam shot out from the sculpted mountain.

"Another treasure has appeared!" someone shouted. The crowd buzzed with excitement, and they readied themselves to strike. If they could seize the treasure, they would escape immediately with their prize.

Cracks spread across the sculpted mountain as it split like a stone gate.

"It's coming out!" someone gasped, and everyone held their breath, afraid to miss even the slightest detail.

Gu Yu also stared nervously at the sculpted mountain. The moment the treasure appeared, the crowd would undoubtedly flock over.

The Heretic Blade appeared in Liu Wuxie's hand, its edge gleaming with murderous intent. One wrong move, and he would strike.

Murderous intent had begun to spread within the Retreat Palace, with everyone harboring different intentions.

A strange light curled around a spherical object as it slowly rose from the heart of the sculpted mountain.

Everyone saw it clearly, yet no one dared to move. They knew that acting too soon might cause the treasure to sink back into the mountain.

Liu Wuxie's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected a dragon pearl to be hidden in the Retreat Palace.

"Gu Yu, prepare to retrieve it," Liu Wuxie said.

Gu Yu didn't need to worry about the others. Liu Wuxie had his back. He nodded and reached out for the dragon pearl.