Chapter 291 – The Truth of Pure Martial Arts? The Calamity of Severing the Dao!

Lu Yuan continued reading.

A large section of the mural depicted the little figure battling these monsters.

In the painting, the little figure was exceptionally heroic, shattering monsters with a single punch and tearing them apart barehanded.

Although the little figure was incredibly brave, by the end of the battle, he was gravely wounded.

The little figure sat atop a tall mountain, his body covered in blood.

Surrounding him were the dismembered limbs and remnants of monsters, along with other little figures kneeling down.

Even with the simple and somewhat crude lines of the mural, Lu Yuan felt a strange sense of tragic heroism.

Lu Yuan kept reading.

He noticed that the blood-soaked little figure seemed to be on the verge of a breakthrough in the next section of the mural.

From the dismembered limbs of the monsters and the kneeling little figures, mysterious substances emerged and flowed into the little figure like myriad streams merging into a river.

Lu Yuan didn’t know what these substances were.

The mural depicted them with simple dots and lines.

Nevertheless, the little figure’s “powers increased immensely,” and a sphere formed in the center of his chest.

“Uh…”

Lu Yuan was stunned the moment he saw the sphere, instantly thinking of the blood sphere in the center of his own chest.

The blood sphere he had formed upon ascending to an extraordinary Grandmaster looked very similar to the sphere depicted in the mural, but he wasn’t sure if they were the same type of thing.

If they were…

Did that mean the extraordinary martial arts path he was currently on had actually existed a long time ago?

That he wasn’t the pioneer, but… an inheritor!

With a serious expression, Lu Yuan continued reading.

In the next section of the mural, besides the sphere at the little figure’s chest, three lotus flowers also appeared on his shoulders and head.

In the following section, five clouds of smoke surrounded the little figure with the three lotus flowers.

“The Gathering of Three Flowers at the Apex, The Convergence of Five Energies to the Origin?!”

Two phrases instantly popped into Lu Yuan’s mind, and he hurriedly read on.

In the next part of the mural, the three lotus flowers on the little figure’s head and the smoke clouds around him disappeared. In their place, the sphere on his chest began to radiate a dazzling light.

“Is this the hierarchy beyond the Grandmaster level?”

Lu Yuan’s eyes sparkled with excitement, his emotions surged as if he had discovered a new continent.

In the following sections of the mural, the little figure with the glowing sphere on his chest became invincible. Monsters turned to dust wherever he went, and more and more little figures knelt at his feet.

The little figure himself also grew larger.

Eventually, he became towering, almost like a giant.

The subsequent content was rather fantastical.

To emphasize the little figure’s enormous size, the mural depicted small Dirt Slopes under his feet to represent mountains, and a sun next to his head to suggest that he “stood between heaven and earth.”

Then, suddenly, a bolt of Thunder and a ball of flame appeared in the mural, along with several massive monster hands.

All of them aimed at the little figure.

And then…

“Boom!”

The little figure exploded, leaving behind only a vase-shaped diagram in the mural.

“The Hutian secret realm!”

Lu Yuan instantly recognized the significance of the vase-shaped diagram, his mind churning.

“This mural reveals the origin of the Hutian secret realm!”

“So, the Hutian secret realm… was it actually man-made?”

“Was it the product left behind by an ancient, powerful martial artist after death?”

Lu Yuan found it hard to believe and continued to read.

In the subsequent sections of the mural, there were no more monsters. The mural always featured that vase-shaped diagram along with some little figures.

These little figures went in and out of the vase-shaped diagram, which continued to shrink in the mural.

Lu Yuan could tell that the little figures in the mural seemed to be trying to expand the vase-shaped diagram.

But none of them could reach the level of the first little figure.

They could no longer produce a sphere in their chests, bring Three Flowers and Five Energies to their exteriors, nor transform into giants…

The mural ended abruptly there.

Lu Yuan stared blankly at the densely packed, radiant glow-concealed mural before him.

“A martial arts epic…”

He muttered to himself.

Had the Lord of Heaven, Wu Chao, seen these murals?

He probably had, considering he had lived in the Hutian secret realm for two hundred years.

Did he believe it?

Lu Yuan didn’t know.

Most likely, he didn’t, because even Lu Yuan found it fantastical and unbelievable after seeing it.

But at the moment before he died… Wu Chao probably did believe.

“No wonder Wu Chao felt that his path was wrong the moment he saw these murals. He likely connected it to this series of mural content.”

Lu Yuan’s expression was complex. “So, the Hutian secret realm wasn’t always this small. It’s reduced to its current size because no one had the ability to maintain and nourish it anymore.

Perhaps a century from now, the Hutian secret realm will completely disappear?”

At this moment, Lu Yuan’s emotions were tumultuous.

He realized that if everything he saw on the murals was true, then the decline of pure martial arts wasn’t caused by the rise of new martial arts systems and technological modifications.

Pure martial arts had waned long, long ago.

Pure martial arts once led directly to the heavens!

But later…

This path was severed.

“Severed by the Thunder, flames, and that gigantic claw…”

Lu Yuan looked closely at the mural depicting the death of the first little figure.

He didn’t know what the Thunder, flames, and gigantic claw in the mural represented. The information conveyed by the mural was too scant.

“Could they represent an ancient evil deity?”

Lu Yuan pondered.

“If that’s the case, could it mean that ancient evil deities didn’t allow such powerful figures to exist in this world…

Or perhaps…”

Lu Yuan’s eyes flashed as another possibility occurred to him.

“Because the little figure’s powers grew too quickly, to the point where they could threaten the beings represented by the Thunder, flames, and gigantic claw in the mural.

So, he was forcibly eradicated.

And it even caused the path of pure martial arts to be severed. Future pure martial artists couldn’t even surpass the first little figure, much less reach the level I am at now-the true Grandmaster Realm!”

Lu Yuan immediately thought of the secret realms of the evil deities.

The truth about the Wailing Ruins was that the Hundred-eyed Nether Crow, an underworld creature, had destroyed a world to form it.

But that didn’t mean every evil deity secret realm was like this.

The official explanation was that-evil deity secret realms were perfect divine kingdoms created by ancient evil deities for their Followers.

An Ancient Evil Deity created a world to shelter their Followers, much like how the death of the little figure in the mural led to the birth of the Hutian secret realm, which in turn benefited countless pure martial artists thereafter.

The truth seemed to be on the verge of revealing itself at that moment-

The little figure in the mural had a chance to attain godhood through martial arts!

Or rather, had a chance to reach the heights of an Ancient Evil Deity.

So… he died.

A sudden, immense sense of dread surged from deep within Lu Yuan.

“I’ve inadvertently walked the true path of the pure martial Grandmaster. If my strength continues to grow, will I face the same fate as the little figure in the mural?!”

Lu Yuan’s face immediately became grim.

He touched his chest, feeling the blood sphere within, continuously rotating and slowly growing. It was as if he saw his future.

Even the little figure in the mural, who had the power to create a spatial realm, a secret realm, and a cavernous heaven, had met his end. Could Lu Yuan withstand the future ordeal of severing the path ahead?

He didn’t know. His expression fluctuated continuously.

But after a brief turmoil, his emotions quickly calmed down.

“My situation is different from that of the little figure in the mural.”

“At that time, the little figure was the only exceptional person, which made him a prominent target. Back then, pure martial arts was the only path available.”

“But now, it’s different. Even though I’ve become an extraordinary Grandmaster, there are still many who are stronger than me.

New martial arts, modifications, and Extraterrestrial Martial Arts-these paths aren’t weak either.

The circumstances involving the Ancient Evil Deities must have changed as well.

Nowadays, the Ancient Evil Deity sects in the world are like rats in the street, and evil deity secret realms are freely accessed by various extraordinary organizations.

There’s no reason for the Ancient Evil Deities to target them and yet come after someone like me first.”

“Even if things go really bad…”

“I have a range of extraordinary professional panels. If necessary, I can completely disguise myself as a follower of an Ancient Evil Deity, biding my time and acting as an ‘undercover’…”

Lu Yuan had been quite successful in this regard with the Crow Deity Sect.

The Crow Deity had taken a great liking to him, often “intimately interacting” with him in dreams and even gifting him the Hundred-eyed Nether Crow, a legendary treasure, in the real world.

“Boldly speculating, the Starry Sky factions might be severely oppressing the Ancient Evil Deities.

If I reach the same heights as the little figure in the mural, showcasing a potential to ‘become a deity,’ the Ancient Evil Deities might not only refrain from attacking me but might even express goodwill and attempt to ally with me against the powers of the Starry Sky…”

Thinking this way made Lu Yuan feel much better.

Of course, all of this was just his conjecture and imagination.

He didn’t actually know what the real situation was.

“This time, successfully reclaiming ‘Penglai’ has earned me enough merit.

When the time comes, I’ll definitely shamelessly ask Yuwen Tong to purchase the three volumes of the [Origin Heart Sutra] from the merit shop for me. I want to see what the differences are between Extraterrestrial Martial Arts and the true pure martial path I’m currently following.

Which is stronger, and which has more potential.

If Extraterrestrial Martial Arts proves to be superior, there’s no need for me to stubbornly cling to pure martial arts….”

As Lu Yuan thought this through, his mind became completely clear.

He took a final glance at the murals around the cave entrance, contemplating whether to erase them or not.

After some thought, he decided to leave them.

Even if someone saw the contents of these murals, it wouldn’t matter much.

In this world, aside from him, there’s probably no one else who would believe that pure martial arts once had such a glorious past.

Most people would likely dismiss it as ancient people’s exaggerated worship and boasting of martial arts and laugh it off.

Lu Yuan flapped his wings, gently descending from the top of the Hutian secret realm.

He began to sort through the “relics” left behind by Wu Chao.

First was the golden Mecha located at the center of the space.

It’s something no man could possibly refuse.

The design was incredibly cool, resembling the heavenly generals from ancient myths.

Lu Yuan didn’t know whether this Mecha model was considered advanced or not.

He jumped up and sat in it, but found that the energy levels were insufficient to start it. Regrettably, he got back down.

Scattered around the Mecha were numerous notebooks.

Lu Yuan casually picked up a few and flipped through them, discovering that they were all written in Wu Chao’s handwriting.

Through the notebooks, he gleaned a shocking realization-the Mecha had actually been built by Wu Chao himself!

“Time truly is the most valuable resource.

Over two hundred years, how much did Wu Chao teach himself to be able to build a Mecha by hand?!”

Lu Yuan couldn’t help but marvel.

He speculated that Wu Chao had perhaps felt he reached the end of the road in pure martial arts and began to seek more powerful Strength from other directions.

He even attempted to build a Mecha. Despite being honored as a martial arts legend, the true ceiling of the pure martial world, and a living legend through several eras, his thinking hadn’t become rigid. He remained modern and open to new ideas.

“In this light… the appearance of the False Wu Chao can also be explained.”

Lu Yuan thought, his eyes flickering, before he began to move step by step toward the bio-laboratory in the corner of the secret realm’s space.