Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 31 - Second Level of the Xiantian Realm

Liu Wuxie carried Song Ling in his hand, leaving behind an Azure Wolf’s corpse on the ground with every step he took. This scene nearly made Song Ling’s eyes fall out.

The blade ray split into three, and the blade aura decapitated the three incoming Azure Wolves. Wherever Liu Wuxie and Song Ling passed, a heap of corpses was left behind, and there wasn’t much challenge in this one-sided slaughter. But the bloody scene made Song Ling clutch his stomach and vomit everything he ate at noon, including his stomach acid.

“Momentous Gleam!” Liu Wuxie swung his blade down furiously, causing the sky to darken under his attack. A powerful fluctuation came from the spiritual array, a sign that it was reaching its limit. This attack was the ultimate move of the Blood Gleam Blade Art, which combined all seven forms.

His blade aura was like an endless mountain range, and all the incoming azure wolves were sent flying away before the blade aura raged through them. The blade aura had formed a dome with Liu Wuxie as the center, and the thousand Azure Wolves were all slaughtered around him.

When Liu Wuxie sheathed his blade, the surrounding corpses dissipated into heaven and earth. This was the profundity of spiritual arrays, constructing a world using the energy of heaven and earth.

“Awoooo...” Terrifying demonic energy swept out as a massive golden Azure Wolf descended from the sky, biting down at Liu Wuxie’s neck. Everything happened too quickly.

“The Wolf King, a second-grade demonic beast!” Song Ling screamed, his fats trembling as a Xiantian aura descended. Being a Houtian Realm cultivator, he couldn’t resist this aura and could only hide behind Liu Wuxie.

“I see... This is how they died...” Liu Wuxie smiled as he realized the fate of those who had entered before him. Without releasing his Xiantian Spirit, he swung his blade in a horizontal arc, forcing the Wolf King to dodge mid-air.

As the Wolf King landed on the ground, it was as tall as a person and over two meters long. Its golden fur shone with a faint radiance, each strand like a golden needle, emitting demonic energy.

“Big Brother, we need to find a way out of here,” Song Ling urged, fear in his voice. “This spiritual array is too strange, and the demonic beasts keep getting stronger.” He grabbed Liu Wuxie’s arm, desperate for a way to escape the array before it was too late.

“There’s no rush,” Liu Wuxie said with a mysterious smile. “Don’t you want to fix the spiritual array?” As he spoke, the Wolf King pounced with its Xiantian Spirit released.

Liu Wuxie released Song Ling and executed a drawing strike. This simple strike caused the surrounding air to tremble, and the Wolf King wailed as it fell from the sky. Just like that, Liu Wuxie slayed a second-grade demonic beast with one strike, despite restraining his cultivation to the ninth-level Houtian Realm.

“Big Brother, you know how to repair this spiritual array?! This is great!” Song Ling’s fear dissipated. If they could repair the array, they could leave safely. This spiritual array was the greatest foundation of the Song Clan, and much of their knowledge came from it. Their ancestor had spent his entire life setting up this mysterious spiritual array.

“I still have some doubts,” Liu Wuxie said, scanning his surroundings. “But I’ll figure it out soon.” If he wasn’t mistaken, there were even more powerful demonic beasts lurking nearby...

However, before Liu Wuxie could finish his thoughts, he was interrupted by three black figures. The moment they appeared, they locked onto him. Silently, they formed a triangular formation around him and launched their attack, brandishing longswords. Each one was at the second level of the Xiantian Realm.

Liu Wuxie still didn’t release his Xiantian Spirit because he wanted to excavate all his potential. He only relied on his suppressed cultivation at the ninth-level Houtian Realm to fight with the three black figures evenly.

The clashing between the blade and swords created a clanging sound, and Liu Wuxie’s desolate true essence sent the three black figures flying away. But it didn’t feel good for Liu Wuxie either because the rebound force numbed his arm.

“Die!” Liu Wuxie shouted, pushing his speed to the limit as he strode the Seven Dipper Steps. He appeared before his opponents and swung his blade out. The three black figures couldn’t react quickly, and their heads toppled off their necks. Liu Wuxie effortlessly dispatched three second-level Xiantian Realm opponents without breaking a sweat.

Song Ling watched the entire fight in amazement, unable to comprehend Liu Wuxie’s true cultivation level. Even three opponents at the second level of the Xiantian Realm were no match for him.

Five opponents in the third level of the Xiantian Realm appeared next, but Liu Wuxie defeated them effortlessly.

Next, seven opponents in the fourth level of the Xiantian Realm appeared. As Liu Wuxie progressed, the number and strength of his opponents increased. Facing seven fourth-level opponents, even Liu Wuxie felt the pressure and was evenly matched with them. This was the limit of his strength in the Houtian Realm.

But when he released his Xiantian Spirit, he was like a ferocious beast in a herd of sheep. He moved so quickly that he left afterimages, his attacks forming a curtain that locked onto his seven opponents. Heads flew into the air as Liu Wuxie easily dispatched his fourth-level Xiantian Realm opponents.

Unfortunately, there was a massive problem with the spiritual array. The quality and quantity of opponents continued to increase, and if the error couldn’t be fixed, the challenger would have to fight until death.

When nine opponents in the fifth-level Xiantian Realm appeared, Liu Wuxie’s gaze changed. This was his limit unless he used the Ghost Eye.

Meanwhile, Song Ling sat on the ground, numb from Liu Wuxie’s performance. He even pulled out candy from his pocket and ate it while watching Liu Wuxie fight.

Liu Wuxie was momentarily taken aback when he saw the nine opponents form a formation. It was the Nine Dipper Formation, not something an ordinary person could come up with. But it was no match for Liu Wuxie, who easily broke through it with his ghostly footsteps and powerful blade technique.

His blade flowed like water as he faced the nine opponents. Through this honing period, Liu Wuxie had adapted to his current strength perfectly and had already achieved the training he wanted.

He raised his blade to the sky and swung it down with such speed that its trajectory couldn’t be tracked. This meant that there was no solution to counter this attack. Cracks spread across the ground like a dense cobweb, and a powerful shockwave formed into a hurricane that swept outwards.

The shockwave was so powerful that it sent Song Ling staggering, blown a few meters away. Rocks were swept up by the hurricane as Liu Wuxie moved through it, emitting an aura like the return of an Immortal Emperor. A suffocating pressure descended.

“Die!” Liu Wuxie’s voice sounded like a reaper as the nine opponents were blown apart without even a piece of them remaining. He had fused all his power into that sword, including a wisp of soul energy.

When Liu Wuxie swung his sword, his dantian also released a roar as his true essence rampaged through his body, and his cultivation reached the second level of the Xiantian Realm. He relied on the spiritual array's pressure to make a breakthrough amid a battle.

Activating the spiritual array required five spirit stones, which filled it with spiritual energy. Liu Wuxie used the powerful suction of the Desolate Devouring Art to absorb all the surrounding spiritual energy and convert it into his true essence. But this also meant that the five spirit stones were completely drained, and the spiritual array began to crackle as if it would collapse at any moment.

“Stay here and don’t move,” Liu Wuxie instructed Song Ling. “No matter what happens, don’t be afraid. Just pretend you haven’t seen anything.” With that, he disappeared in a certain direction, determined to fix the issue with the spiritual array.

If he didn’t repair it, the opponents would continue to grow stronger until the challengers eventually died. Over the past few decades, the Song Clan had sent people to test the array, but all had perished.

Rumbling thunder sounded from the array, and Song Ling sat on the ground, hugging his head and closing his eyes. Lightning bolts struck the ground, one landing beside Song Ling’s foot. He screamed in fright but covered his ears. It wasn’t surprising, given that he was still young, only fifteen or sixteen years old.

The spiritual array was filled with rumbling thunder, torrential rain, howling winds, and even hailstorms, mimicking various extreme weather conditions. This lasted for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense before the surroundings began to change.

Song Ling found himself back on the inkstone ground, inside the stone house.

When Liu Wuxie emerged from the darkness, his aura had returned to that of the Houtian Realm.

“Big Brother, did you really fix the spiritual array?” Song Ling asked excitedly, brushing the dust off his clothes and standing up. The fate of the Song Clan was tied to the spiritual array, so he eagerly grabbed Liu Wuxie’s arm.

“Yeah,” Liu Wuxie nodded. The spiritual array had been upgraded and was even more powerful than before. It could easily accommodate several hundred people training at once.

“That’s great! Big Brother, you’re really my idol!” Song Ling danced like a child, unable to contain his excitement.

“Don’t tell anyone that I’ve reached the Xiantian Realm,” Liu Wuxie said as he and Song Ling walked towards the door. “Keep it a secret for me.”

Song Ling nodded eagerly, promising not to reveal what had happened.

But when they stepped out, ten-odd people gathered outside, looking at Liu Wuxie and Song Ling as though they were looking at two monsters.

“Y-You two came out alive?” Song Tianhao heaved a sigh of relief.

Liu Wuxie was confused. Were they expected to come out dead?

“Father, why are you all here?” Song Ling asked with a smile. Everyone present was his senior, and they all looked at him strangely.

“How dare you enter the spiritual array without permission!” Song Tianhao scolded, grabbing Song Ling by the ear and lifting him into the air.

This naturally made Song Ling scream in pain, begging for mercy, “Father, it hurts...”

“The clan has forbidden anyone from entering the spiritual array,” Song Tianhao scolded. “Since you knowingly violated the order, you will be confined to the clan for three months!” The spiritual array had long been designated as a forbidden area, off-limits to outsiders. The Song Clan knew that no one who entered would come out alive, and they were all afraid of it.

When Liu Wuxie activated the spiritual array, the Song Clan must have sensed it and rushed over. They didn’t know that Song Ling had brought people over.

“Father, this spiritual array has been repaired. Song Ling said, rubbing his sore ear and looking at Song Tianhao with an aggrieved expression. “If you don’t believe me, ask Big Brother Liu.” He had expected his father to praise him, but instead, he had been punished.

“What did you say?! This spiritual array has been fixed?!” Song Tianhao and the Song Clan’s elders were shocked. For decades, the entire clan had tried everything to repair the spiritual array, but to no avail. And now it had been mended in such a short time?

“It’s true,” Song Ling insisted. “And it’s all thanks to Big Brother Liu. Not only did he repair the spiritual array, but he even upgraded it!” Song Ling wasn’t lying at all. As a member of a clan of spiritual array experts, Song Ling could easily tell if an array was good or bad. He could see that the scenes within the spiritual array were much more advanced than what was recorded in the clan’s records.

Everyone turned to look at Liu Wuxie. Wasn’t he the son-in-law of the Xu Clan? How could he know how to repair spiritual arrays?

“Young Master Liu, is what my son said true?” Song Tianhao asked. He had seen Liu Wuxie defeat the twelve members of the Wan Clan, using a strike that would have taken at least ten years of practice to master.