Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 76 - Fourth Level of the Xiantian Realm

Fourth-grade pills could only be refined by alchemists in the Marrow Cleansing Realm, and the energy contained was massive. It could only be consumed after reaching the late phase of the Spirit Cleansing Realm. The fact that Ji Yang had gone so far as to threaten Liu Wuxie late at night showed just how valuable fourth-grade pills were.

Ke Wen and the others stood at a distance, shocked by the powerful energy fluctuations emanating from Liu Wuxie. “The aura has far exceeded that of the Spirit Cleansing Realm!” they exclaimed.

Everyone wore similar expressions of disbelief. Only a lunatic would consume a fourth-grade pill while in the Xiantian Realm, but Liu Wuxie had already proven himself over the past three days to be capable of such unbelievable feats.

As Liu Wuxie released a shockwave, spiritual energy from within tens of thousands of meters began pouring into his body as if a giant beast was devouring it. The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron quickly converted the energy into a liquid and filled his dantian.

Liu Wuxie’s aura began to climb like a wild horse breaking free from the rein. With his eyes closed, the Desolate Devouring Art was like a stormy wave coursing through his meridians with true energy reaching each inch of his skin.

As the mysterious sapling in his dantian absorbed the condensed spiritual energy from the surrounding atmosphere, it grew taller by several inches and released an even denser wood essence.

“Break!” Liu Wuxie roared, breaking through the shackles in the third level of the Xiantian Realm and reaching the fourth level of the Xiantian Realm. As his aura climbed, more spiritual energy gathered from the surroundings.

Liu Wuxie swallowed all the Heavenly Spirit Pills on him and the few remaining Golden Spirit Pills. But even after swallowing so many pills, it couldn’t satisfy his need for true essence.

Looking at Liu Wuxie, Ji Yang’s gaze became grave because an ordinary person’s dantian couldn’t contain so much true essence. So, he began to wonder how Liu Wuxie managed to accomplish it.

“That’s too terrifying. No wonder he can easily fight those with higher cultivation than him!” Che Jiajun finally understood that Liu Wuxie’s powerful true essence enabled him to fight those with higher cultivation than them.

Many people in the Spirit Cleansing Realm were present but couldn’t absorb much spiritual energy. If they did, their bodies would blow apart, and they would die before they could make a breakthrough.

“What a monster. Not only does he have a monstrous talent in alchemy, but also in martial cultivation. How can ordinary people like us live in the future?” Zuo Hong sighed. There was no way they could compare themselves with Liu Wuxie, and it was frustrating.

Many people thought they were geniuses in alchemy and could compensate for their lack of talent in martial cultivation. But Liu Wuxie’s appearance left them feeling bitter. They couldn’t understand how someone could excel in so many professions at once.

Amid the surrounding discussion, Liu Wuxie spent two hours stabilizing his cultivation. The moment he opened his eyes, two gleams flashed in his eyes, causing the surrounding air to fluctuate.

What a powerful aura! Qin Letian was inwardly shocked by the aura emanating from Liu Wuxie. The entire world seemed to have changed when Liu Wuxie opened his eyes.

As Liu Wuxie’s aura subsided, he retracted it into his body, appearing like an ordinary person once again. But no one dared to meet his gaze, feeling as if they were being preyed upon by a fearsome beast.

When the sky completely darkened, everyone began to leave one after another.

“Young Master Liu, we must take our leave now. We hope to meet again in the future!” Some planned to return to their cities overnight, while others decided to stay in Zen City for the night before setting off the next day.

Liu Wuxie returned their greetings, knowing that befriending so many people would be beneficial for his growth and experience.

“Young Master Liu, this is the medal of the Treasure Pill Pavilion. If you ever visit Imperial City, you can use it to go anywhere, regardless of purchasing pills or herbs. You will also get a 20% discount.” Master Mao took out a medal and gave it to Liu Wuxie. He naturally felt bad for what had happened during the competition and used the medal as compensation.

Both parties understood the unspoken meaning behind the gesture and remained silent. Liu Wuxie accepted the medal without hesitation, knowing he would eventually have to visit Imperial City. His cultivation required a vast amount of resources, as evidenced by his recent breakthrough, and it was inevitable that he would join the Imperial Academy.

After bidding farewell to everyone, Bi Gongyu briefly chatted with the other pavilion masters before departing with Liu Wuxie for Azure Billow City. However, this was merely the calm before the storm. The leak of the competition’s answers before the event was not good news.

“Pavilion Master, I suspect that Shangguan Cai is behind the leak of the answers. After all, Yun Lan couldn’t have obtained them from headquarters,” Lei Tao said as he drove the carriage.

“Everyone knows about it, but no one said it out loud. This concerned the reputation of the headquarters, and I’ll investigate it if there’s a chance in the future,” Bi Gongyu said with a cold light flashing across his eyes. He wasn’t a pushover, not to mention they nearly fell into the trap.

“Since they want to kill me, I will investigate this matter myself,” Liu Wuxie said. He would investigate this matter since he planned to go to Imperial City sooner or later. After getting his answers, he wouldn’t let Shangguan Cai go.

As the carriage sped along the road, they expected to arrive in Azure Billow City by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.

Bi Gongyu expressed his concern, “Wuxie, are you worried about the Xu Clan?” The Tian and Wan Clans had wanted to kill Liu Wuxie back in the colosseum, but Master Huo had bought him one month’s time. With only two days left until the deadline and Liu Wuxie not in Azure Billow City, it was natural for him to be worried about the Xu Clan.

Liu Wuxie frowned, “I have a bad feeling.” The Tian and Wan Clans shouldn’t pose a threat to the Xu Clan with Xu Yilin around, but the oil mill had caught fire before he left Azure Billow City, which wasn’t good news. Things could become troublesome if the Xue Clan got involved and launched an attack on the Xu Clan ahead of time.

After all, Xu Clan has already fallen out with the Tian and Wan Clans. If they received Xue Clan’s support, they would destroy the Xu Clan at all costs.

“Don’t worry about it. Nothing will happen. Before we left Azure Billow City, I told Old Huo to rush over as soon as possible if something were to happen to the Xu Clan, and we’ll make it back by tomorrow afternoon,” Bi Gongyu comforted. Azure Billow City had been peaceful for many years, and the two clans wouldn’t dare to act rashly.

The carriage’s wheels produced a series of noises as it rolled on the ground. Liu Wuxie suddenly felt restless, sensing that a crisis was approaching. “Fuck! Get out of the carriage!” he shouted, leaping out of the carriage through the roof, followed by Bi Gongyu, who created a large hole in the process.

A series of rumbling sounds came from the ground as the four horses flew to the sky and were blown to pieces. But fortunately, Lei Tao reacted quickly and jumped into the bush nearby when the carriage exploded. Even if he reacted fast enough, Lei Tao still suffered injuries to his right arm, with his entire arm covered in blood.

Someone had buried gunpowder underground. The gunpowder wasn’t powerful enough to kill anyone, but it could inflict serious injuries on an ordinary Xiantian Realm cultivator.

Liu Wuxie’s face was gloomy as he stood on a large tree by the roadside, wondering who had buried gunpowder to target them.

Bi Gongyu helped Lei Tao up to his feet; his face was terrifyingly dark. He swept his gaze around and heard rustling sounds from the dense forest in the distance.

“Who is it?! Stop hiding and get out!” A terrifying murderous intent swept out from Bi Gongyu. Fortunately, Liu Wuxie had discovered the threat in time, or the consequences would have been disastrous. Even if the explosion wouldn’t have killed them, it was enough to injure them.

“I didn’t expect you to be so lucky to discover the gunpowder we buried in advance.” Twenty-odd figures emerged from the dense forest, and this voice was familiar. They had heard this voice that day, but they didn’t expect to meet again so soon.

“Yun Lan! It’s you!” Bi Gongyu narrowed his eyes. He didn’t expect Yun Lan to ambush them.

“That’s right. It’s me. You will die tonight!” Yun Lan wore a sinister expression. After all, his disciple was killed, and he was embarrassed back in Zen City. He wouldn’t let this matter go so easily without having Liu Wuxie killed.

The twenty-odd people came out and surrounded Liu Wuxie, Bi Gongyu, and Lei Tao, blocking all their retreat paths.

“I’m curious. We left almost simultaneously, so how could you have the extra time to bury the gunpowder here and arrive one step before us?” Bi Gongyu asked in a low voice. After the competition ended, they left immediately without delay because they feared being ambushed along the way. But they didn’t expect that Yun Lan was still one step ahead of them with twenty-odd people waiting for them.

“Since you’ll die today, I don’t mind telling you. We already sent people to bury gunpowder here yesterday. As for the two of us, there’s a shortcut from Zen City to Azure Billow City, and I have to thank Pavilion Master Shangguan for telling me about it. After all, only very few people know about this shortcut.”

The shortcut was rarely used, and most people wouldn’t know about it. Every time Bi Gongyu came to Zen City, he would take the official path, so he naturally didn’t know about the shortcut.

“Sure enough, this is all Shangguan Cai’s conspiracy. He’s the one who gave you the answer on the last round, right?” Bi Gongyu nodded, and all the mysteries were solved. Even if Liu Wuxie hadn’t won this round, Shangguan Cai had no intentions of letting them return to Azure Billow City alive so that the matter of Shangguan Cai threatening them wouldn’t leak out. Thus, there had already been an ambush here since yesterday.

“Hmph! You can only blame yourselves for seizing the first spot from Pavilion Master Shangguan.” Yun Lan let out a sinister smile as his sword emitted a faint radiance in the dark.

But throughout the process, Liu Wuxie didn’t say a word and only watched their performance quietly.

Yun Lan and Nangong Qi were in the Marrow Cleansing Realm and in the same cultivation as Bi Gongyu. It was hard for Bi Gongyu to stop the two by himself, not to mention there were also twenty-four men in the Spirit Cleansing Realm. Lei Tao was only in the Xiantian Realm, and there was no way he could face so many enemies alone.

As long as Bi Gongyu was restrained, these people could easily take Liu Wuxie’s life.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll escape alive after you’ve told me so much?” Bi Gongyu challenged them furiously. “All I have to do is report this to headquarters, and it will be enough to strip you of your position as pavilion master.” He was angry at their despicable means of achieving their goals.

“You won’t have the opportunity. Do you think you can escape alive with the two of us joining hands together?” Yun Lan sneered as he approached.

The twenty-four men made a gesture as they surrounded Liu Wuxie.