Desolate Devouring Art-Chapter 850 - Star Cat Race

Liu Wuxie had been running for what felt like an eternity. The Martial Astral Vein was so vast that it stretched to the far end of the horizon.

He had thought he was safe after escaping the Eight-Legged Bull and Blood Python, but who could have expected the Golden-Scaled Roc to persistently chase him, unwilling to give up?

There was no time to rest as Liu Wuxie ran for three days and nights, crossing countless peaks. He had thought of fighting the Golden-Scaled Roc, even killing it if necessary. But things were far more complicated than he had imagined, as the roc could call spiritual beasts over.

He had attempted to fight back earlier, but the Golden-Scaled Roc called upon aerial spiritual beasts to flank him, forcing him to abandon the battle and flee in desperation.

On the fourth day, he crossed a river and came to an abrupt halt at the sight of wooden fences ahead. He narrowed his eyes. Judging by their construction, it seemed like someone was living there.

He had heard rumors of other races living deep in the Martial Astral Vein, but no one knew if they were true.

Liu Wuxie was lost and desperate to stumble right into this place. When he raised his head, he noticed the Golden-Scaled Roc no longer dared to come any closer, and this confirmed Liu Wuxie's speculation that there was something even more terrifying here that even the roc was fearful of.

The fence was about a meter high—not tall enough for a normal person to leap over—and offered little defense. It encircled a patch of land covered in dense woods and blooming flowers, with no soul in sight.

"This is weird. It doesn't seem dangerous, but why doesn't the Golden-Scaled Roc dare to come closer?" Liu Wuxie murmured. He should've been relieved that he was finally free from the roc's pursuit, but an unsettling feeling crept over him as if an unseen threat was drawing close.

Suddenly, A brilliant light pierced through the clouds, causing the Golden-Scaled Roc to cry out and flee.

Liu Wuxie drew the Heretic Blade, alert. The dazzling radiance from the woods was unlike true essence, something he had never encountered before.

With the roc gone, he cautiously stepped back. The place felt wrong, and leaving seemed the best choice.

However, Liu Wuxie soon felt countless eyes on him, sending a chill down his spine. From the dense woods, humanoid creatures with feline heads emerged.

The vast forest blocked his view with what seemed like an entirely new world.

"Are those Star Cats?" Liu Wuxie had read about them from the Liu Clan's Book Collection Pavilion, but the information was limited. Very few books in the market briefly mentioned Star Cat Race.

"Human, don't you know this is a forbidden zone? Any human who dares to step foot in this land will die," said a female Star Cat with a graceful figure.

She had one blue and one red iris, which made her look exceptionally captivating. Her pure white fur looked delicate, and her lips were glistening. Her nose resembled that of a human and a cat, and just looking at her would spark the urge to pat her head. She also had a slightly curled tail that exuded a bewitching aura.

The group of fellow Star Cats behind her looked at Liu Wuxie with murderous intent, ready to cut him down at a moment's notice.

"I was being chased by the spiritual beasts and had no choice but to flee in this direction. I apologize for the disturbance," Liu Wuxie said, cupping his hands together and demonstrating proper etiquette.

He hoped the Star Cats would understand his situation and let him leave. After all, he wasn't foolish enough to think he could stand a chance against them when even the Golden-Scaled Roc feared them.

He could have held his ground against one Star Cat, but he faced hundreds of them. Each exuded a powerful aura, with the weakest being on par with a tenth-grade profound beast.

The female Star Cat who had issued him the warning had a strength rivaling a human cultivator at the fifth-level Spirit Profound Realm. He knew he stood no chance against her.

Due to their high intelligence, the Star Cats weren't considered demonic beasts. They were born with a human body and were no different from humans except for their heads.

"Since ancient times, no humans have survived after invading this place, and you're not an exception," the female Star Cat said indifferently.

The other Star Cats began to advance, ready to strike.

"Hold on!" Liu Wuxie raised his hand to stop them.

What kind of reasoning was that? He had accidentally stumbled into this place, which wasn't intentional trespassing.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" asked the female Star Cat, urging Liu Wuxie to give up resistance.

Moreover, someone at the Nascent Transformation Realm coming here was no different from seeking death.

"What crime have I committed for you to kill me? I clearly explained to you that I was pursued by that spiritual beast and stumbled here by accident. I haven't done anything wrong to provoke your Star Cat Race!" Liu Wuxie's voice contained a hint of anger.

Did they really think he was a pushover? If forced, he would fight to the death. Yet, he still wanted to understand why they were being ruthless.

"It's a crime to stumble here!" said the female Star Cat, not interested in wasting any more time with Liu Wuxie. With a wave of her hand, the other Star Cats charged forward.

"You're all courting death!" Liu Wuxie was enraged and swiftly swung the Heretic Blade. Since these people wanted to fight, he would grant their wish.

A terrifying wave of blade aura swept out, causing the surrounding trees to explode, unable to withstand the blade aura's corrosion.

The leader of the Star Cat group narrowed her eyes, surprised by Liu Wuxie's strength. But the surprise soon faded as she was confident that Liu Wuxie couldn't escape no matter how strong he was.

The Star Cats retrieved a strange weapon that emitted a peculiar radiance. It was the same light that had repelled the Golden-Scaled Roc earlier.

Liu Wuxie's blade aura shattered, unable to withstand the light's force.

"T-That's the power of light?" Liu Wuxie was shocked.

He had encountered dark, space, and light elements in the past few days. The Martial Astral Vein was a place with hidden dragons and crouching tigers. This also put him at a disadvantage after his blade aura was shattered.

Right then, arrows whistled through the air and intercepted the Star Cats' attack. This allowed Liu Wuxie to back away and hide behind a large tree.

He began to wonder who was attacking the Star Cats.

The ground exploded as the Stellar Rat Race emerged. Half the height of a human, they wielded bows and launched a barrage of arrows at the Star Cats. The bows, forged with unique materials, delivered even more tremendous destructive power and were especially effective against the Star Cats. The two races were natural enemies.

Liu Wuxie's eyes twitched. He was already shocked to encounter the Star Cat Race, but now, he met the Stellar Rat Race. They had lived here for countless years, undisturbed by human presence.

The two races had fought for years, suffering heavy casualties each year.

"Kill them all!" the female Star Cat commanded as more warriors leaped into battle, covering over ten meters in a single bound. Their speed and agility were unrivaled.

When the two sides clashed, the Star Cats' weapons unleashed beams of light, piercing through their enemies. But the Stellar Rats were no easy prey. Their archers retaliated with deadly precision, striking down Star Cats and leaving them writhing on the ground in agony.

The battle was intense and shocked Liu Wuxie to the core.

"Perfect opportunity!" he thought, recognizing the chaos as his best chance to escape. He began slipping away unnoticed.

But as soon as he moved, the female Star Cat stood in his way with her heterochromatic eyes emitting a strange light to envelop him.

"This is bad!" Liu Wuxie tried to speak, but his mind grew hazy. Even the Heavenly Dao Book and Soul Shield were ineffective against it.

He soon collapsed to the ground, and the female Star Cat leaped into the Stellar Rats' formation with astounding leaping power exploding from her legs. With a sweeping kick, she sent over a dozen enemies flying away, their bodies shattering mid-air.

Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.

The scene was gruesome, and had Liu Wuxie witnessed it, he would have felt sick. There was no elegance in their fight—only raw savagery, ruthless, cold-blooded, and brutal.

The Stellar Rats had not anticipated such a formidable expert to be present among the Star Cats, and upon realizing their disadvantage, they wasted no time retreating, burrowing swiftly into the ground. The battle lasted less than ten minutes before the Star Cats claimed victory. The battlefield was quickly cleaned, and the fallen were buried.

"Chief, what should we do with him?" The other Star Cats walked over to look at Liu Wuxie lying on the ground. Some even pointed their weapons at him, ready to take his life.

"We will take him with us. We can study the human race through him. The Star Cats had remained unchanged, but humans have been growing more powerful," said the chief, looking at Liu Wuxie.

They quickly subdued Liu Wuxie and took him back to their clan, intending to study the secrets of human cultivation techniques through him. The fact that he could unleash power comparable to the Spirit Profound Realm unsettled the Star Cats, making them wary of future threats if more humans like him emerged.

The only solution was to uncover the secrets of the human body and explain why humans could advance in their cultivation so quickly. Compared to ancient times, the human cultivation system was more refined, and their advanced speed far surpassed that of the Star Cat Race.

......

When Liu Wuxie woke up, he could sense the chill in the surroundings. This made him shiver before he sat up from the ground. He was enveloped in darkness, and it was so dark that he couldn't see his fingers, not to mention trying to figure out where he was.

"Where am I?" Liu Wuxie felt around with his hands and couldn't feel anything besides stone walls. What shocked him the most was the discovery that his true essence had vanished. It felt like an invisible lock was sealing away the desolate world.

"Am I dead?" He stood up, examining himself. Aside from the disappearance of his true essence, he found no external injuries. The thought unsettled him—was he nothing more than a wandering spirit?

"Wait, how can my consciousness be so clear if I'm dead?" Liu Wuxie quickly dismissed the thought that he was dead.