Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 263 - Eighth-Level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm

The self-detonation was similar to spiritual talismans. The shockwave formed could sweep through everyone in the same cultivation level.

Under normal circumstances, no one would resort to self-detonation unless they had no hope because it was the same as perishing with the enemy.

However, spiritual talismans were limited, and avoiding them would increase one's chances of survival. However, it was hard to dodge self-detonation.

The three elders chose a drastic course of action, sacrificing their lives.

“Hmph, you three have no chance of self-detonating in front of me!” Liu Wuxie sneered, and a black demonic cauldron appeared, devouring the three elders. Before the three could scream, their bodies were converted into spiritual liquid.

The spectators staggered when they saw this scene.

“What the hell is that? Is that a mythical artifact?” Only a mythical artifact could possess such power to kill experts quickly in the ninth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

As the number of Xue Clan’s elites dwindled, only a few remained. Xue Shichou’s face was a mask of grim determination, his sword radiating a potent sword ray.

The spiritual talismans in the air had vanished, having exhausted all their energy. This meant that Zuo Hong and the others were safe for the time being. The Xue Clan couldn’t harm them as long as the barrier held.

“Now, it’s your turn!” After killing the three elders, Liu Wuxie slowly walked towards Xue Shichou and the remaining elites. There were only twenty people left.

Each step Liu Wuxie took forward sent a wave of fear through them, causing them to retreat. Despite their numbers and a fifth-grade talisman, they had failed to kill Liu Wuxie.

“Attack him!” The remaining twenty or so individuals lunged forward. With fewer numbers, their coordination improved significantly. However, the crowd around them greatly limited their attacks, preventing them from unleashing their full potential.

Their concerted efforts sent waves of attacks towards Liu Wuxie, with Xue Shichou’s sword being particularly fierce, always on the lookout for an opening.

Executing Ghost Eye, Liu Wuxie was able to observe their every movement.

“Die!” Executing the Nine Heavenly Crane Dance, Liu Wuxie transformed into nine celestial cranes, swooping down on everyone. The Heretic Blade released a barrage of blade rays, blocking all possible escape routes. After all, he had already discerned everyone’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

Blood splashed as a few heads flew to the sky before exploding. This was a one-sided massacre, and no one could put up any resistance.

Three breaths later, only Xue Shichou remained standing. He lowered the sword in his hand and looked at the corpses around him.

“Do you know why I didn’t kill you?” With Liu Wuxie’s current strength, killing Xue Shichou was no different from crushing an ant, but he didn’t target the latter immediately.

“You want me to pass the message to the Xue Clan?” Xue Shichou wasn’t stupid. He had already deduced why Liu Wuxie had spared him.

“That’s right. Tell the Xue Clan they will meet their doomsday when I return to the Imperial City. I will uproot you all. So wash your necks and wait for me.” Liu Wuxie’s words were devoid of emotion. He intended to resolve the grudge before the Battle of the Hundred Nations.

“I will remember those words!” Xue Shichou gritted his teeth. He glanced at Zuo Hong and the others before leaving the Python Mountain Battlefield. With the battle's conclusion, Liu Wuxie emerged victorious, annihilating all the elites of the Xue Clan and ascending to the zenith of the Great Yan Dynasty.

When Liu Wuxie dismissed the spiritual array, Zuo Hong and others were more or less recovered.

“Brother Liu, thank you for saving us!” Zuo Hong and the others bowed, thanking Liu Wuxie for saving their lives.

“I should be the one apologizing,” Liu Wuxie said with a hint of guilt on his face. He knew he was the reason the Xue Clan had captured Zuo Hong and the others. Thus, it was natural for him to save them.

As friends, there was no need for much formalities because they understood each other well. If Liu Wuxie were in captivity, Zuo Hong wouldn’t stand idly by.

The Python Mountain Battlefield had reached the end, with fog emerging and covering the entire mountain range.

Everyone gradually emerged from the Python Mountain Battlefield. Over five thousand people had entered, but less than half came out. Such a high fatality rate was unprecedented. The news of the python den shocked everyone.

“Brother Zuo, I’ll go ahead!” Liu Wuxie was in a hurry to return and refine the Golden Marrow to reach the eighth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. Thus, he wasn’t willing to waste any time.

“Brother Liu, please go ahead!”

Upon Liu Wuxie’s departure, the Yan and Qin Clans experts hastened their pace, eager to return to the Imperial City swiftly. They needed to warn their clans to be wary of the Xue Clan.

Two days later, Liu Wuxie returned to the Imperial Academy. He went straight to his abode without even greeting Fan Zhen. With only half a month left until the Battle of the Hundred Nations, time was of the essence.

Having plundered the resources from over a hundred Xue Clan elites, Liu Wuxie had more than two hundred thousand spirit stones and countless spiritual herbs.

“Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, refine!” Liu Wuxie commanded, tossing the Golden Marrow into the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, which was then engulfed in demonic flames.

The Golden Marrow began to dissolve into a golden liquid that hovered above the cauldron, representing the essence of metal.

Liu Wuxie had already grasped ice, water, and fire attributes. The combined ink-green, pitch-black, purple, and golden liquid was poured into the world in his dantian.

In the next second, a terrifying fluctuation came from the world in his dantian. Even the mysterious tree began to sway around. Wood was weak against metal, and wood essence naturally suffered a significant impact after metal essence was added into this world.

The most significant advantage of his battle with the Xue Clan was the stabilization of his cultivation. After all, he had made multiple breakthroughs in the Python Mountain Battlefield, which had naturally rendered his foundation somewhat unstable. However, this allowed him to temper his cultivation through actual combat, reaching the pinnacle of the seventh level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

“Break!” Liu Wuxie’s cultivation soared, reaching the pinnacle of the eighth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. All the spiritual energy within tens of thousands of meters of radius was rapidly devoured. Then again, everyone in the Heaven Grade region was already used to it.

“This is going to be interesting. Senior Brother Mo Chong returned a few days ago and is on the verge of making a breakthrough. With the surrounding spiritual energy being devoured, he will surely be furious.” Ten-odd disciples came out of their caves with a gloating expression.

Torrential murderous intent suddenly swept out from the cave fifty-odd meters away from Liu Wuxie’s. The cave's owner was in the critical moment of making a breakthrough, but the surrounding spiritual energy had disappeared.

“Damn it, I have already condensed the core and was just a step away from making a breakthrough, but it stopped abruptly!” Mo Chong stood up with his murderous intent enveloping the Heaven Grade region.

Condensing the core was a process to reach the True Core Realm, but it was forcibly disrupted, so it was natural for him to be furious.

His sharp gaze landed on Liu Wuxie’s cave as he exited his cave. He could sense all the surrounding spiritual energy pouring towards that cave. The density of the spiritual energy was so high that it condensed into a liquid form and flowed into the cave.

Such a significant disturbance would be impossible even for someone making a breakthrough to the True Core Realm, which stunned Mo Chong.

A group of disciples approached from a distance and stood before Mo Chong.

“Who occupies that cave?!” Mo Chong’s icy gaze swept over them, his murderous intent simmering as if he was ready to storm into Liu Wuxie’s cave at any moment.

“Senior Brother Mo, that person is named Liu Wuxie. He joined the Imperial Academy only about six months ago and has recently gained fame. He must have just returned from the Python Mountain Battlefield.” A few disciples stepped forward, their expressions a mix of obsequiousness and gloating as they glanced at Liu Wuxie’s dwelling.

“Liu Wuxie? I’ve encountered his name numerous times while on the frontlines,” Mo Chong pondered, his brow furrowed. He had repeatedly encountered Liu Wuxie’s name over the past few months but hadn’t given it much thought.

He had ventured to the frontlines to hunt demonic beasts and hone himself for a breakthrough to the True Core Realm. If he could reach the True Core Realm, his chances of participating in the Battle of Hundred Nations would significantly increase. This was a rare opportunity, and his aspiration was to enter the world of cultivation.

However, just as he was about to reach the True Core Realm, Liu Wuxie disrupted his breakthrough, so it was no wonder he was so furious.

“Liu Wuxie is oppressive and ruthless. Senior Brother Mo, you have to help us eliminate him.” These Heaven Grade students didn’t dare to express their anger towards Liu Wuxie directly and could only seek help from Mo Chong.

Mo Chong could naturally tell that these people were trying to instigate him, using him to take revenge on Liu Wuxie. But he had no reason to refuse because Mo Chong wouldn’t let Liu Wuxie off, even if they didn’t mention it. This was because his next breakthrough to the True Core Realm would be delayed for a few days because of Liu Wuxie’s interruption.

Liu Wuxie was naturally unaware of what was happening outside as he was fully immersed in his cultivation. This breakthrough cost him a staggering expenditure of fifty thousand spirit stones.

The world in his dantian began to expand, and the true essence stored in his dantian was like an inexhaustible ocean.

An ordinary person’s true essence could only support them in fighting for two hours, but Liu Wuxie could easily fight for three days and three nights.

As time wore on, five days had passed since the conclusion of the Python Mountain Battlefield. These days had been a period of torment for the Xue Clan. The loss of numerous elites dealt a crippling blow to the Xue Clan, even rousing their secluded ancestor to contemplate the assassination of Liu Wuxie.

When Prince Yongxian disappeared, most of his remnants were constantly eliminated, and the Imperial City underwent drastic changes.

Because the Xue Clan had colluded with Prince Yongxian, the recent days had been difficult for them. Many of their businesses were affected, causing them to plummet.

Liu Wuxie dedicated three full days to solidify his cultivation. Upon opening his eyes, a potent shockwave radiated outwards, obliterating everything in the cultivation chamber except for the mat he was seated on. The surrounding walls bore the scars of sword marks.

His golden soul sea began to rumble, and his soul energy had surpassed ordinary experts in the True Core Realm. Even his divine bridge became wider, meaning his divine art's power would strengthen.

As he stood up, rumbling sounds came from within his body that caused the entire cultivation chamber to tremble.

“What power! Is this the eighth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm?” Liu Wuxie clenched his fists together, which caused a series of explosions from the rapid compression of air.

When Liu Wuxie came out from the cultivation chamber, there were ten days left until the Battle of the Thousand Nations, and he had many things to do.

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