Desolate Devouring Art-Chapter 1398 - Scouting the Loulan City

Chapter 1398 - Scouting the Loulan City
Liu Wuxie still needed time to familiarize himself, as this was his first attempt at controlling the Blackwind Beasts. As for the remaining two members of the loulan race, Xiao Yuesheng subdued them and escorted them into a nearby building, restraining them there in case other loulan clansmen happened to be close by.
He went on inscribing soul runes while the Blackwind Beasts' violent struggling gradually weakened. With Ghost Eye, he observed every subtle change inside their bodies.
The soul runes deepened in complexity as they wove into a tight net around the Blackwind Beasts' primordial spirits, slowly bringing them entirely under his control.
After five full minutes, he finally stopped. The Blackwind Beasts crouched obediently at his feet like domesticated hounds, leaving Xia Yifan and Wu Chang so stunned they couldn't find their voices.
"Brother Wu understands soul runes? Moreover, his attainment in it looks to be above the loulan race!" Wu Chang exclaimed, excitement blazing in his eyes. This meant they finally possessed a real method to protect themselves against the loulan race.
"Go," Liu Wuxie said, a trace of uncertainty still lingering in his heart. He still wasn't entirely sure whether the Blackwind Beasts were completely under his command.
At his silent command, the Blackwind Beasts leaped into the air and streaked into the dense forest, disappearing without a trace in the space of a breath.
About ten minutes later, the Blackwind Beasts padded back, several pieces of prey dangling from their jaws. Liu Wuxie reached out and gave their heads a gentle pat as they settled obediently at his feet.
Once they returned to the building, Liu Wuxie ordered the three Blackwind Beasts to patrol the area outside. Then he turned his gaze on the two loulan captives, his expression utterly impassive.
"Is there anyone else other than you two?" Liu Wuxie asked, fully aware that they could understand the human tongue.
The Blackwind Beasts had already swept through the surroundings and failed to locate any other loulan clansmen, but Liu Wuxie still wanted verbal confirmation to ensure they were truly safe.
"Human, how do you know the art of soul runes?" the two members of the loulan race roared, their eyes turning bloodshot. They could clearly feel that their link to the Blackwind Beasts had suddenly snapped.
Countless humans who entered this world had tried to unravel the mystery of soul runes, but every attempt had failed.
"I'm asking the question here," Liu Wuxie said icily. He flicked his hand, and an ice blade condensed into existence, cleaving off the man on the left's right arm in one stroke.
"
ARGH!
" the loulan tribesman screamed in agony. He had never expected Liu Wuxie to sever his arm so decisively and without the slightest hint of hesitation.
Even Xiao Yuesheng's group of three was taken aback by how ruthless Liu Wuxie could be.
"I'll ask you one more time, is there anyone else aside from you two?" Liu Wuxie asked again, his voice carrying an undeniable authority that bored straight into their minds, leaving them trembling in fear.
"N-No one else," the two loulan tribesmen stammered.
They had never experienced a situation like this; in the past, they were always the ones subjugating humans with the aid of the Blackwind Beasts. Now, the roles had reversed entirely; not only had the Blackwind Beasts failed to tame Liu Wuxie, but he had also wrested control of the beasts away from them.
"Where's the loulan race's main base? What's your overall strength, and who rules the Celestial Jade Star?" Liu Wuxie asked for a clear picture of the loulan race's strength before he could decide on his next move.
Perhaps frightened out of their wits, the two captives no longer dared to conceal anything and laid out the general situation of the Celestial Jade Astral Domain.
The Celestial Jade Star, they said, was ruled by the ancestor of the loulan race. As for that ancestor's exact cultivation, the two captives were far too weak to grasp the details; they only knew that he had long since surpassed the Earth Immortal Realm.
The loulan race's main base lay roughly five days' travel from here, with countless tribes scattered across the land, each commanded by its own chieftain. Astral beasts on the Celestial Jade Star possessed strength on par with the loulan race as well, and the two sides usually minded their own business.
Liu Wuxie also learned from them that the loulan race raised large numbers of Blackwind Beasts. They were used to train their younger generation in soul runes, as the younger generation was taught the Martial Soul Art from an early age.
"How many human cultivators have you all captured?" Liu Wuxie asked. Now that he had a rough sense of the loulan race's situation, he needed to know how many humans had fallen into their hands; if his senior brother were among them, he would have to find a way to rescue him.
"Roughly five thousand. They're all imprisoned in the Tata Prison," the two captives replied, laying bare everything they knew.
Liu Wuxie even went so far as to probe their memories, confirming that every detail matched their words. Once the captives had outlived their usefulness, Xia Yifan executed them and buried their corpses on the spot.
"Big Brother Xiao, what should we do next?" Liu Wuxie asked, turning to him for a decision.
"We don't have any clear goal for now. We can't return to the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain anytime soon, and we also have to face the pursuit of the loulan race. We can only take one step at a time," Xiao Yuesheng said, letting out a quiet sigh.
The Celestial Jade Astral Domain was not their home turf, and danger lurked in every direction; a single careless move could easily cost them their lives.
"I plan to head to the loulan race's main base. I wonder if you three are willing to come along with me?" Liu Wuxie asked, finally voicing his plan. He surely had to visit the Loulan race's main base to verify whether they were holding his senior brother captive there.
When they heard that Liu Wuxie intended to infiltrate the main base of the loulan race, the faces of Xiao Yuesheng and the others immediately changed. In their eyes, such a plan was no different from walking straight into a tiger's den.
"Brother Wu, can you tell us why?" Xiao Yuesheng asked. For someone capable of controlling Blackwind Beasts, no one could regard Liu Wuxie as an ordinary cultivator anymore, and Xiao Yuesheng believed he must have a reason for suggesting something so reckless.
"You've mentioned that over ten thousand people were swallowed by the black hole, and the loulan race had captured half of them. If we can save them, we'll have a much better chance if we can gather everyone's strength," Liu Wuxie said, laying out his perspective.
The trio nodded in agreement with Liu Wuxie's reasoning. With humans scattered in small groups, the loulan race could easily pick them off one by one.
Liu Wuxie then voiced his second point. "Secondly, the loulan race's base is our only way out of the Celestial Jade Star. Explorers discovered Ancient Loulan City in the Blood Fiend Battlefield, and that means that they've been to the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain before. If we can find the route they used, we might be able to find our way back." The first reason sounded noble but carried immense risk. The second left the trio with no room to refuse, as it directly concerned whether they could ever return to the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain.
They could eke out a living here for a while, but survival would not come easily. To persist on this planet, humans would have to contend not only with the astral beasts but also with the relentless pursuit of the loulan race.
"Alright. We had had enough of hiding in the past few days anyway. Since Brother Wu has a plan, the three of us will naturally support you," Xiao Yuesheng said after a brief discussion among the three of them.
In the end, they decided to follow Liu Wuxie to the main base of the loulan race.
Of course, the main reason they agreed so readily lay in Liu Wuxie's ability to control the Blackwind Beasts. With that threat neutralized, the loulan race's advantage over them diminished significantly.
At dawn, the four of them set out toward the main base of the loulan race. Their plan to rescue the captives was fraught with danger, for the Tata Prison would undoubtedly be heavily guarded.
The days that followed passed in relative calm for the four of them. They encountered no loulan patrols along the way, while the Blackwind Beasts trailed behind at a respectful distance.
Their journey stretched on for five full days before a colossal city finally appeared on the horizon. The city was unimaginably vast, far larger than Mount Dragon City, and it was the main settlement of the loulan race.
All four of them drew in sharp breaths when they saw the majestic city walls looming ahead.
"Where is the Tata Prison?"
The two captives had only known that the Loulan race kept the imprisoned humans in Tata Prison, but they had no idea where the prison actually lay within the city. If they walked in openly through the gates, they would only be marching straight into a trap.
"We'll wait until dark before going in," Liu Wuxie said calmly. He activated Ghost Eye and started surveying the entire city.
The city's architectural style resembled that of the Ancient Loulan City in the Blood Fiend Battlefield, but this place was at least a hundred times larger.
The four of them withdrew to a secluded spot in the distance, planning to wait for nightfall before attempting to sneak inside.
When night finally fell, the four perched atop a large tree and watched the loulan clansmen coming and going through the city gates.
"More people got captured!"
They watched as a squad of loulan warriors marched through the gate, escorting dozens of human cultivators in chains.
"It's them!" Liu Wuxie said, narrowing his eyes. He recognized the dozen captives. They were some of the cultivators who had entered this place together with him.
As the night deepened, darkness swallowed the surroundings completely, and Loulan City gradually sank into silence.
"Let's go!" Liu Wuxie said quietly.
Dressed in black, the four of them dashed from their hiding place and slipped into the city under the cover of darkness. Thanks to Ghost Eye, Liu Wuxie already possessed a rough understanding of the city's layout.
"Which way do we go?" Xiao Yuesheng asked, turning to Liu Wuxie for guidance since this was his first time inside the city.
Ghost Eye allowed Liu Wuxie to see only about half the city; many areas appeared blurred, likely protected by powerful experts. In such a massive city, they had no clear sense of direction, and they could wander for an entire year without ever finding the so-called Tata Prison.
Just as the four of them were feeling lost, three figures flashed past not far away. The three moved at terrifying speed and failed to notice Liu Wuxie's group of four.
"Let's follow them," Liu Wuxie whispered as he led the chase after the three shadows.
Through Ghost Eye, he clearly saw that the three were human cultivators.
It seemed there were other humans besides them attempting to infiltrate the city.
The three black-clad figures moved at uneven speeds, weaving through the streets as though searching for something within the city.
Liu Wuxie's group kept about a thousand meters' distance, careful not to draw attention to themselves. Following from afar, they drifted westward toward a district of low buildings that offered better cover.
They slipped between rows of houses for roughly fifteen minutes before the three black-clad figures finally halted before a strange building. The structure was triangular, with guards posted at each of its three corners.
At first glance, it didn't resemble a loulan residence at all.
"Could it be the entrance to the Tata Prison?" Liu Wuxie murmured, still far from certain.
He immediately activated Ghost Eye, trying to peer through the triangular building. However, the structure seemed coated in an invisible substance that blocked Ghost Eye's penetration.
"That's strange," Liu Wuxie murmured as he withdrew his gaze, choosing instead to watch what the three black-clad figures intended to do.
Right then, three hidden weapons shot out, striking the guards at each corner and killing them on the spot; the three bodies crumpled to the ground.
"Go!" the leader of the three barked, making a quick hand gesture as the other two sprang forward.