Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 8 - Refining Pills

Liu Wuxie withdrew his palm and retreated from the fight with a gentle tap on the ground. The murderous intent in his eyes disappeared in a flash, and Tie Li was lucky to be saved.

“What happened here? Why are you guys fighting!” Xu Yilin prohibited any form of fighting in the clan. The conflicts in the clan were mostly small fusses due to minor grievances. It was rare for fights to occur. As the patriarch, Xu Yilin had someone taking care of his daily life and barely came to the Dining Hall once a year. As a result, he was naturally unaware of the conflicts between servants.

“Patriarch, you have to uphold justice for me!” Tie Li burst into tears and knelt before Xu Yilin, crying at the top of his lungs with tears rolling down his cheeks. Many people’s eyes twitched at his performance.

“Speak. I’ll punish Wuxie if he’s at fault.” Xu Yilin was partial in front of outsiders and expected more from Liu Wuxie, especially in front of servants.

The servants in the surroundings smirked, and many looked at Liu Wuxie with sympathy. Liu Wuxie would soon have to bear Xu Yilin’s rage.

“The Dining Hall has been short on tables and chairs recently, so I moved the young master’s table and chair for temporary use. But he didn’t care about our hardship and mocked and assaulted us instead. So please uphold justice for us, patriarch!”

Lui Wuxie’s eyes flashed with killing intent again when he heard Tie Li’s words. He stared at Tie Li with a terrifying look. Tie Li cringed and cowered in fear. He didn’t know when Liu Wuxie’s gaze became so scary.

“Is that the truth?” Xu Yilin looked around, asking the other servants. If Tie Li spoke the truth, he would punish Liu Wuxie harshly.

“Tie Li is right. We’ve been using the tables and chairs to save money, and we just hope the young master can appreciate our efforts.” A few servants ran out from the Dining Hall, but none of them defended Liu Wuxie. This incident showed how low Liu Wuxie’s status was in the Xu Clan.

“Don’t worry. I will uphold justice for all of you. All your good intentions are well-appreciated. Go have your injuries treated.” How could Xu Yilin not notice that there were many unused tables and chairs around? But he comforted the servants and glared at Liu Wuxie. “Come out with me!”

Xu Yilin flung his sleeves and left the Dining Hall. As for Liu Wuxie, he had no choice but to follow behind his father-in-law obediently. If there was a person Liu Wuxie respected in the True Martial Continent, it was Xu Yilin who raised him as though he was his biological son.

Neither Xu Yilin nor Liu Wuxie spoke until they left the Dining Hall and stood before a small pavilion. When he saw they were alone, Xu Yilin turned to Liu Wuxie and said, “You have suffered a lot over the years. From now on, just dine with us.”

Liu Wuxie was expecting his father-in-law to scold him, so he was surprised to see Xu Yilin care for him with a kind smile. With cultivation in the Spirit Cleansing Realm, Xu Yilin could easily tell who was honest and who was lying. He would’ve lived his life in vain if he couldn't do that much.

“You’re not going to reprimand me?” Liu Wuxie was stumped because he thought his father-in-law would scold him or even lock him up like in the past.

“You and Xue’er are married. You’re an adult now. I can’t reprimand you like before, and I will investigate what happened today. You don’t have good talent and can only rely on hard work. Too many things happened in the clan recently, and I don’t have the time to look after you. You must learn to take good care of yourself. If you can do that, I’ll be able to give Big Brother Liu an explanation if he comes back,” Xu Yilin said. When he mentioned Liu Wuxie’s father, he had a hint of respect in his eyes.

Liu Wuxie was initially still furious and wanted to kill Tie Li. But after hearing Xu Yilin’s words, he smiled bitterly. Since when did a majestic Immortal Emperor like him lower himself to the level of a mere fly?

“Father-in-law, has the matter with the defective weapons been resolved?” Liu Wuxie generally didn’t meddle in the Xu Clan’s business, but he didn’t mind lending a helping hand if needed.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll find a way to resolve it. It’s getting late, so you should go back and rest early. As for your meal, I’ll get someone to bring it to you.”

Liu Wuxie returned to his courtyard and resumed practicing his blade technique after taking his leave. The butler personally delivered him a feast with many dishes. He ate his fill and then sat in a lotus position to cultivate the Desolate Devouring Art. He only stopped when the night was deep.

“Time to refine the Heavenly Spirit Pill!” Liu Wuxie rested for an hour to adjust his condition. Pill refining required flawless concentration, and he chose the late night to avoid any interruptions.

The dried wood crackled as the flames blazed vigorously. A true alchemist had to seek heavenly flames. Luckily, Liu Wuxie came across the True Samadhi Fire in his previous life, and he was probably the only one who dared to use ordinary flames to refine second-graded pills. Even Master Huo used pill flames to refine his pills.

Liu Wuxie gradually threw the herbs into the cauldron. His pill-refining skill had improved after refining the Body-Refining Elixir. He controlled the flames with his true essence, and the herbs swiftly dissolved and emitted a dense herbal fragrance.

Liu Wuxie multitasked as he sat beside the cauldron, cultivating and controlling the flames. A few droplets of the mysterious liquid appeared in the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. He prepared to make a breakthrough to the fifth level of the Houtian Realm using the Heavenly Spirit Pill after he refined them.

Liu Wuxie threw a few herbs into the cauldron every ten-odd minutes and added more firewood to the flames. As the fire crackled, he gently fanned the flames with his hand using great agility. He was using a secret technique that made his hands look like a phoenix flapping its wings.

Master Huo would be scared to death if he saw this scene. No one at the fourth level of the Houtian Realm had such a profound fire-controlling technique. This was even beyond Master Huo’s level.

A potent aroma wafted from the cauldron after two hours. The first batch of Heavenly Spirit Pills was almost done. Liu Wuxie was still relatively unfamiliar with the process the first time, and he could smell some burnt pills from the cauldron. Even so, this was already quite the feat for his first attempt.

He stood up and unleashed a powerful true essence from his palm, causing the flames to rise and envelop the entire cauldron. He knew that he was in a crucial moment now.

“Congeal!” The last step was highly critical, even if the process by far was perfect. Despite successfully purifying the herbs, many alchemists stumbled at this stage. This required a strong demand for flame control.

But Liu Wuxie had refined countless pills in his past life, and refining common pills was no challenge for him.

“Come!” The fire went out suddenly, and a rich herbal aroma filled the cauldron and the whole courtyard. He opened the cauldron and saw twenty Heavenly Spirit Pills and five brown ones. The brown pills were spoiled pills and couldn’t be consumed. He had a porcelain bottle ready and put the pills in it. The spoiled pills could be purified further and fed to spiritual beasts.

“I’ll stop here today and continue after making a breakthrough to the fifth level of the Houtian Realm. At that time, my refining speed and success rate will increase.”

Liu Wuxie returned to the room and took out a Heavenly Spirit Pill. A strong fragrance entered his nose when a pill rolled out of the bottle. The value of this pill was ten times higher than the Energy Condensing Pills and the Heart Nourishing Pills on the market because it contained a wisp of spiritual essence.

When he swallowed the pill, a powerful current coursed throughout his meridians, and every acupoint in his body greedily absorbed the energy. As he absorbed more energy, his bottleneck began to loosen. He didn’t waste any time and used the few drops in the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron to break through.

Circulating the Desolate Devouring Art, he gathered the spiritual energy in the courtyard once again. Even so, the supply couldn’t meet the demand, and the spiritual energy from the other courtyards was also drawn over. The spiritual energy was so thick that it almost turned into liquid, but Liu Wuxie gulped it down.

A crackling sound echoed from his body like a small chick hatching from an egg. He cleared an acupoint in his body and broke through his bottleneck to the fifth level of the Houtian Realm.

Liu Wuxie spent the entire night cultivating and stopped after reaching the pinnacle in the fifth level of the Houtian Realm. He wasn’t hurrying to make another breakthrough because the foundation was crucial. The mysterious liquid produced by the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron transformed his body, and he no longer had any impurities. He could even reach the ninth level of the Houtian Realm in one go if he wanted. But he was patient and wanted to solidify his foundation step by step.

The better he polished himself in the Houtian Realm, the higher his future achievements would become. It would be too late to polish his foundation after reaching the Xiantian Realm, and this was the same as building a house. It would be too late to change the foundation of a house after it was built.

The night flew by, and Liu Wuxie saw two whirlpools before him when he opened his eyes. The spiritual energy gathered in his room swiftly dissipated and returned to normal.

Returning to the courtyard, Liu Wuxie continued to practice his blade technique while getting familiarized with his cultivation. He repeated the process without getting bored, and this was like tempering his body in the Houtian Realm. The foundation was crucial.

If a hundred people performed the same martial technique, it would produce a hundred different effects. But the more stable his foundation was, the more proficient the blade technique would be in his hands.

“This blade is too light, and the length isn’t suitable either. I need to find one that’s suitable for me.” Liu Wuxie stopped practicing the blade technique. The curvature and weight of a blade were important when it came to practicing martial techniques, and this blade was unsuitable with the Blood Gleam Blade Art. The weapon had to be suitable to exert maximum effectiveness.

Liu Wuxie didn’t rush to visit the Xu Clan’s workshop when the sun rose as it was still closed. He fetched clean water and poured the Body-Refining Elixir into it before entering the tub. He circulated the cultivation technique and continued his training.

He could sense his strength increasing. Even though he was still in the fifth level of the Houtian Realm, his physique was already comparable to the ninth level of the Houtian Realm. Paired with the Blood Gleam Blade Art, he was invincible beneath the Xiantian Realm.

After using up the Body-Refining Elixir, he came out of the tub and hastily consumed the leftover rice from the day before to satiate his hunger. Then he changed his clothes and departed from the Xu Clan, heading towards the workshop.