Chapter 1857 - Disappear
Night had fallen, but Demon King still hadn't returned. Without the sect master's permission to leave, Black Tiger, Venomous Viper, and Enchantress had no other choice but to wait in the hall.
"Are you certain it was an earthquake?" Venomous Viper asked, turning toward Enchantress for confirmation.
"I can't say for certain. The ground split apart, and a fissure opened beneath us," Enchantress replied, describing everything she had witnessed.
By the time she finished recounting, Black Tiger and Venomous Viper were frowning deeply. More than two hours had passed since Demon King had disappeared into the depths of the hall. Night had already deepened, yet no word had emerged from within.
"I suspect someone may have plotted against the Sect Master," Venomous Viper said suddenly, contemplation flickering through his shifting eyes.
"Impossible! The Sect Master is a Divine Immortal. Who could scheme against someone so powerful?" Enchantress retorted.
If anyone had truly plotted against the sect master, suspicion would fall upon Enchantress first. The three Guardians soon erupted into an argument, but despite trading accusations, they couldn't come to a conclusion.
......
Meanwhile, Demon King had already crossed the second stone gate. Horror widened his eyes the instant he stepped through. A grotesque mound of black flesh writhed across the floor ahead, unable even to raise itself upright.
"Sect Master!?"
Despite its horrifying appearance, Demon King recognized the mass immediately. It was the sect master of the Shadow Divination Gate.
Demon King stepped forward but stopped abruptly. A corpse lay beside the mass of writhing flesh. Its limbs had still been twitching when he entered, but the last trace of life faded before his eyes.
The mound slowly twisted. A half-rotten head protruded from its surface, revealing the ruined face of the sect master. The moment their gazes met, terror drove Demon King backward. He clutched the doorway to keep his legs from buckling under him.
"Demon King," the sect master rasped, his voice drifting through the chamber like the wailing of restless ghosts. "How have I treated you throughout all these years?"
"Without the Sect Master's guidance, I would've died beneath the fangs of a wolf pack long ago," Demon King replied, bowing his head respectfully.
Many years earlier, the sect master had rescued Demon King from a pack of wolves and granted him a second chance at life.
The sect master inclined his ruined head, seemingly satisfied with the answer.
"Then are you willing to sacrifice your life so that I may continue living?" the sect master asked.
Demon King's heart plummeted. He instinctively retreated several steps. He had sworn absolute loyalty to the sect master, but surrendering his own life was another matter entirely.
He had fought and struggled for countless years to obtain his present cultivation, authority, and status. How could he willingly abandon everything and walk into death?
"What is it? Are you unwilling?" the sect master asked, every trace of warmth vanishing from his voice beneath a sinister chill. He had personally shaped Demon King into the man he was today, and he could destroy him just as easily.
"The heavens can testify to my loyalty, Sect Master. But..." Demon King replied, continuing to retreat before the rest of the sentence could leave his lips. For the first time in his life, the thought of fleeing the Shadow Divination Gate entered his mind.
"But you don't want to die here. Is that it?" the sect master said, seeing through Demon King's thoughts without effort. Every excuse ultimately arose from Demon King's fear of death.
"Sect Master, I'll find fresh lives for you immediately," Demon King exclaimed before turning to flee.
He understood exactly what the sect master intended. Over the years, Demon King had personally delivered countless fresh lives for the sect master to extend his lifespan.
"That would be useless. Their lives are far too weak," the sect master replied.
An arm erupted from the writhing mound of flesh with the speed of a thunderbolt and clamped around Demon King's shoulder.
Demon King was only at the peak of the Origin Immortal Realm. He was not a match for a Divine Immortal.
"Sect Master, spare me," Demon King pleaded, struggling desperately as he tried to tear himself free from his grip.
"I nurtured you for so many years. The time has come for you to repay your debt," the sect master replied, unmoved by Demon King's pleas.
He drew a deep breath and began siphoning Demon King's lifespan at terrifying speed. The sect master had drained countless mortals' lives over the years, but their lifeforce could never compare to that of a peak Origin Immortal.
The mound of rotting flesh slowly rose from the floor. Its distorted mass reshaped itself piece by piece until it once again resembled a human figure.
Demon King crumpled in his place, his body emptied of every trace of life.
"Demon King... forgive me," the sect master murmured. Pain briefly entered his eyes, for Demon King was someone he had personally rescued, raised, and nurtured.
Still, that sorrow lasted only an instant before disappearing without a trace. The sect master turned away and strode from the stone chamber, murderous intent blazing within his eyes.
"The Heavenly Dao's backlash arrived earlier than it should have. What happened? Why is the Heavenly Derivation Codex revealing far less information than before?" he murmured.
The Heavenly Derivation Codex could no longer suppress the Heavenly Dao's backlash. In only two days, the backlash had reduced the sect master to an inhuman mound of rotting flesh. Fortunately for him, Demon King had arrived in time, providing the lifeforce he needed to recover temporarily.
The remaining three Guardians were still waiting inside the main hall when the sect master finally appeared.
"Sect Master, you've finally emerged!" the three Guardians exclaimed, their tense expressions visibly relaxing.
The sect master took his seat and looked at each of them.
"Sect Master, Demon King entered to look for you. Why hasn't he returned?" Enchantress asked, stepping forward.
"I sent him away to carry out another task," the sect master replied without hesitation.
If the three Guardians discovered that he had consumed Demon King's lifeforce, they would undoubtedly turn against him and abandon the Shadow Divination Gate. Without their support, the entire sect would descend into chaos.
None of the three suspected his explanation. Demon King had always been the sect master's most trusted subordinate and frequently received private assignments from him.
"Sect Master, we feared something had happened to you..." Venomous Viper blurted before considering his words.
"Sect Master, Venomous Viper didn't mean it that way," Black Tiger hastily interjected, seizing Venomous Viper by the arm before he could finish.
The sect master ignored them and looked at Enchantress.
Enchantress' heart began hammering. The sect master rarely looked at her with such unsettling intensity.
"Go and bring Jian Zongcheng to me," he ordered.
Suspicion had begun to gather around Liu Wuxie's identity. The sect master's connection to the Heavenly Derivation Codex had started weakening only after the earthquake, and at that time, Enchantress and Liu Wuxie had been the only people near him.
"Sect Master, did something happen?" Enchantress asked cautiously, but he offered no answer.
"I knew there was something fishy about that brat. I should've killed him when I had the chance," Black Tiger roared after hearing the command.
He charged from the hall and raced toward Enchantress' palace, determined to kill Liu Wuxie regardless of the consequences.
After bidding farewell to the sect master, Enchantress hurried after Black Tiger, with Venomous Viper following close behind. As an Origin Immortal, Black Tiger needed only ten breaths to reach Enchantress' palace, and his violent arrival immediately alarmed everyone nearby.
"Where is Number 179?" Black Tiger demanded, grabbing a gardener by the collar and hauling him off the ground.
"H-He's inside his courtyard," the gardener stammered. Terror overwhelmed him so completely that he lost control of his bladder while dangling from Black Tiger's grasp.
When the three Guardians stormed into Liu Wuxie's courtyard, they found it utterly deserted. Liu Wuxie had disappeared without leaving the slightest trace.
"Enchantress, explain this. That brat must be a spy planted by the Heavenly Divination Gate," Black Tiger roared, coming dangerously close to attacking her on the spot.
The sect master had revealed nothing in the grand hall, but the terrifying aura surrounding him had spoken clearly enough. He was suppressing unimaginable fury. Now that Liu Wuxie had vanished under mysterious circumstances, capturing him was their only means of uncovering the truth.
"Venomous Viper, report to the Sect Master immediately and seal the entire sect. No one leaves," Black Tiger commanded. With Demon King absent, he possessed the highest authority among the three remaining Guardians.
Venomous Viper vanished immediately, leaving Black Tiger and Enchantress alone inside Liu Wuxie's courtyard.
The three spectral envoys appeared and dropped to their knees before Enchantress.
"Master, what happened?"
"Where is Number 179?" Enchantress demanded, glaring furiously at them.
Bewilderment passed between the three envoys. Not long ago, they had personally watched Number 179 enter this courtyard. How could he have vanished so completely?
"Master, we have been keeping a close eye on him this entire time. He never left this courtyard," the envoy standing to the right of Envoy Shen reported. He had personally monitored Liu Wuxie without relaxing for even a moment.
"Then where is he now?!" Enchantress snapped.
Her last shred of patience vanished as she demanded an explanation. If Liu Wuxie had never left the courtyard, how had their search failed to uncover even the slightest trace of him?
They scoured every corner and nearly dug three feet into the ground. Enchantress had personally overseen the courtyard's construction, so she knew with certainty that no hidden passage existed beneath it.
How could Liu Wuxie have vanished without a trace?
"You're in serious trouble now, Enchantress. You brought a spy directly into the sect," Black Tiger roared, seizing the opportunity he had long awaited to bring about her downfall.
"Seal the entire palace and search every inch of it," Enchantress ordered furiously.
No one could leave the palace without her authorization. Even the three spectral envoys needed Enchantress' permission before stepping beyond its boundaries. Everything they knew pointed toward the same conclusion. Liu Wuxie had to be hiding somewhere inside the palace.
The three spectral envoys joined numerous palace experts emerging from the shadows and searched every residence. Even after half a day of combing through the entire palace, they found nothing. The last confirmed sighting of Liu Wuxie was at the entrance of his courtyard.
The moment Venomous Viper's report reached the sect master, a terrifying storm of murderous intent erupted from him. Chaos engulfed the entire Shadow Divination Gate. The sect master's wrath terrified the disciples so deeply that none dared leave their residences or even step outside.
The searchers turned the entire palace upside down, yet found no trace of Liu Wuxie. They summoned every gardener and questioned them one by one, but each gave the same answer. Liu Wuxie had last been seen entering his courtyard. Not one person detected the faint fluctuation of mental energy coming from the large tree standing within that very courtyard.
"The Divine Ninefold Step truly is extraordinary. It can create a disguise indistinguishable from reality," Liu Wuxie murmured.
He had never left the courtyard. Hidden within the crown of the old tree, he had disguised himself as part of its trunk and merged perfectly with the wood around him.
His mental energy distorted how others perceived his soul aura. No matter how carefully they searched, their senses registered Liu Wuxie as nothing more than another section of the tree trunk. His only concern was the sect master. If a Divine Immortal came to investigate personally, the disguise would undoubtedly fail.
A deafening rumble suddenly shook the mountain. Just as the Shadow Divination Gate sealed itself completely, a colossal sword ray descended from the sky and cleaved the entire mountain range in two. Countless buildings collapsed beneath the devastating impact.
"Enemy attack!" the disciples of the Shadow Divination Gate screamed as they fled from their residences. The sight of the sundered mountain range sent them scattering wildly in every direction.
Black Tiger and Enchantress rushed out of the palace immediately, with the three spectral envoys following close behind.
Liu Wuxie’s voice suddenly echoed in Envoy Shen’s mind, momentarily startling her. "This is as far as I can help you. I sincerely hope you succeed in taking your revenge."
Envoy Shen did not look back. She continued forward, following closely behind Enchantress.