Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 87 - Azure Wood Killing Array

As dawn broke, the Song Clan’s carriage arrived at the Xu Clan. Azure Billow City was blanketed in a silvery layer, with rooftops and streets covered in thick snow, lending an air of tranquility to the city.

Upon stating his purpose, Song Ling was ushered into the Xu Clan’s main hall, where Xu Yilin was still awake. As Song Ling entered, he promptly bowed to Xu Yilin.

“Young Master Song, why did you come so early in the morning?” Xu Yilin asked, remaining seated as an elder.

The goods from the carriage were brought into the main hall. The deacons who had been sent out to procure materials for the spiritual array also returned, as some items could not be found in Azure Billow City.

“Uncle Xu, my father sent me to deliver these items to you. He said that since the Xu Clan needs them urgently and the Song Clan does not, I should bring them over,” Song Ling explained, gesturing towards the large chest. When his butler opened it, it was filled with materials needed for spiritual arrays.

In Azure Billow City, only the Song Clan could provide such a large quantity of materials for spiritual arrays. The last time the central control system was damaged, Song Tianhao had purchased a large amount of materials for spiritual arrays from the Imperial Capital, and many were left over.

“Patriarch, these are the materials that the young master requires!” Deacon Lan stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with excitement at the sight of the chest. Despite searching all night, they had found nothing. But now, the Song Clan solved their problem by delivering these materials. While they might not seem much, they were worth at least tens of millions of gold coins in the market.

Xu Yilin pondered deeply, understanding the implications of the Song Clan’s actions. The Xu Clan had already taken down the Tian and Wan Clans, and it wouldn’t be difficult for them to do the same to the Song Clan. However, the Xu Clan had no such intentions. The Song Clan’s gesture of delivering the necessary materials for spiritual arrays overnight clearly indicated their desire to form an alliance with the Xu Clan.

“Please convey my thanks to your father, and we will gratefully accept these materials,” Xu Yilin decided after a brief consideration. If he declined, the Song Clan might interpret it as a sign that the Xu Clan intended to overpower them. Accepting their offer was the best way to foster a harmonious relationship between the two clans.

“Uncle Xu, I’ll look for Big Brother Liu now!” Song Ling heaved a breath of relief upon hearing that Xu Yilin was willing to accept the materials. His father had instructed him to stay in the Xu Clan if they refused, so he was relieved that things were going smoothly.

“Go on!” Xu Yilin waved his hand. He naturally knew about the friendship between Song Ling and Liu Wuxie, including the fact that Liu Wuxie had repaired Song Clan’s spiritual arrays. Deacon Lan had reported everything to Xu Yilin.

The Xu Clan had no intention of dominating Azure Billow City. Their actions were purely defensive. Even if the Song Clan hadn’t delivered the materials, Xu Yilin wouldn’t have taken action against them. However, since they had sent the materials, Xu Yilin decided to accept them. Ordering them from the Imperial Capital would have taken over ten days, and the Xu Clan couldn’t afford to wait.

Liu Wuxie wasn’t surprised by Song Ling’s arrival. However, Song Ling became reserved in Liu Wuxie’s presence. He had heard about Liu Wuxie’s day of battle, where he had slain thousands like a war god sweeping through his enemies.

“Big Brother, I won’t hold you back from cultivating. I’ll come back again during the day. I might not know other things, but I can more or less help with spiritual arrays,” Song Ling offered as dawn broke over the city.

Setting up a large-scale defensive spiritual array would be a time-consuming task for Liu Wuxie to undertake alone. Song Ling, as the direct descendant of the Song Clan, had extensive knowledge of spiritual runes. His assistance could significantly reduce the time required for Liu Wuxie.

Liu Wuxie nodded and didn’t refuse Song Ling’s offer. In the Xu Clan, he didn’t have anyone else capable of helping him besides Deacon Lan, and the only person he could trust was Song Ling.

As the sun reached its zenith, the entire Xu Clan mobilized. Xu Yilin exhausted all of the Xu Clan’s funds to purchase spirit stones, which were essential for setting up a spiritual array.

Upon learning that Liu Wuxie intended to set up a spiritual array, Bi Gongyu delivered 100 spirit stones to the Xu Clan free of charge. However, he only stayed briefly at the Xu Clan before departing.

“Azure Wood Killing Array!” After an entire night of deduction, Liu Wuxie finally figured out the Azure Wood Killing Array. This spiritual array required wood essence to activate and was suitable for the Xu Clan. The Xu Clan had several centuries-old trees with deep roots that covered the entire clan’s grounds.

With those trees as the foundation, Liu Wuxie walked around with Lan Yu and Song Ling. The Xu Clan’s residence was massive, with tens of thousands of square meters. The Azure Wood Killing Array, by its nature, could not encompass the entire Xu Clan. It could only protect the core areas of the clan. Even so, it was more than sufficient.

Over the next few days, Liu Wuxie worked on setting up the array and laying down the necessary materials for the spiritual array. Relying on his potent soul energy, he completed the Azure Wood Killing Array in three days, with only the killing arrays left to be filled.

Five days later, Liu Wuxie stood in his courtyard with five exquisitely carved jade tokens in his hands. He asked his father-in-law to select five people to fuse their blood essence into the tokens, allowing them to freely enter and exit the array. After they were done, Liu Wuxie placed dozens of spirit stones in the heart of the spiritual array.

In the next second, a faint mist enveloped the entire Xu Clan and gradually became thicker. It looked like a layer of green screen enveloping the entire clan.

“This is the spiritual array?” Xu Yilin looked at this scene with disbelief on his face. The other deacons were also dumbfounded because it looked different compared to the Song Clan’s spiritual arrays.

However, only Song Ling was aware that the spiritual arrays of the Song Clan were insignificant. Authentic spiritual arrays harnessed the power of nature. Liu Wuxie utilized a few trees as the core, and as long as these trees were alive, they could provide an endless supply of wood essence to the array, sustaining the operation of the entire spiritual array.

“From today onwards, we must enforce strict restrictions on entry and exit from the Xu Clan. The Azure Wood Killing Array can last for about a year.” Liu Wuxie swept his gaze through the Xu Clan’s higher hierarchies. Those who met his gaze quickly lowered their heads, unable to withstand his piercing stare.

One year was enough for Liu Wuxie to grow stronger. If Liu Wuxie couldn’t erase the Xue Clan within a year, he might as well just give up on his own life.

Suddenly, two thuds echoed from the sky’s light screen as two birds flew into it. Unaware of the defensive spiritual array, they were killed by the Azure Wood Sword Aura and absorbed by the light screen upon contact.

“This...” Everyone was taken aback. The Song Clan’s spiritual arrays were primarily used for cultivation and rarely had offensive capabilities. But this spiritual array could attack on its own, which made everyone regard Liu Wuxie with newfound respect. Just as everyone was about to disperse, a tremor suddenly emanated from the spiritual array.

“Someone is attacking the spiritual array!” The alarm was raised, and everyone swiftly rushed to the main gate as the spiritual array came under assault. Upon reaching there, they were met with the sight of three middle-aged men brandishing swords and wearing fierce expressions.

“Who are you, and why are you attacking my Xu Clan?” Xu Yilin bellowed. It was clear that the three men were prevented from entering the Xu Clan and were repelled by the Azure Wood Sword Aura each time they tried to approach.

“How dare your Xu Clan murder members of my Xue Clan? Today, I’ll send the entire Xu Clan to join Xue Yang in death!” The man in the middle roared.

They were from the Xue Clan, as expected. However, everyone was surprised that news of Xue Yang’s death had reached the Xue Clan so quickly.

“Hmph, your Xue Clan falsely accused us and paid the price with their lives. They got what they deserved!” Xu Yilin retorted defiantly. With things having escalated to this point, there was no room for reconciliation, and they could only face what came next.

After five days, another group of people gathered outside the Xu Clan. But this time, everyone from the Xu Clan did not go out.

“You think the Xu Clan is safe inside? We’ll keep watch here. Unless you plan on hiding inside forever, we’ll kill anyone who steps out!” The man in the middle sneered. They had tried attacking the spiritual array several times, but each attempt was met with a counterattack from the array. Thus, they dared not make a move and could only wait outside.

They didn’t believe the Xu Clan could hide inside forever, as they would soon run out of food.

Everyone from the Xu Clan frowned because they didn’t expect the Xue Clan to be so unreasonable.

Xu Yilin had no solution and asked, “Wuxie, what should we do now?”

The three middle-aged men were in the third level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm, and any one of them was enough to wipe out the Xu Clan. As they pointed out, the Xu Clan had many members, and their daily food consumption was substantial. Although there were food reserves in the clan, they would only last for three to five days at most. Without food, they would all starve.

“Wait!” Liu Wuxie responded calmly. Everything was unfolding within his expectations, including the early arrival of the Xue Clan’s experts. Given that they had arrived a day early, they must’ve traveled overnight.

What are we waiting for? However, since Liu Wuxie didn’t provide an explanation, Xu Yilin didn’t press further. If Liu Wuxie said they needed to wait, then they would wait together.

......

A luxurious carriage appeared outside Azure Billow City. The coachman halted and approached the carriage, announcing, “Miss, we’ve arrived at Azure Billow City!”

“Proceed!” a pleasant voice responded from inside the carriage.

As the carriage entered Azure Billow City, it immediately drew attention due to its opulence. Many of the intricate designs adorning the carriage were unfamiliar to the residents of Azure Billow City.

The four Wildblaze Scarlet Horses snorted as they pulled the carriage into Azure Billow City. The Wildblaze Scarlet Horse was a rare breed known for their fiery temperament and difficulty to tame.

The appearance of a Wildblaze Scarlet Horse in Azure Billow City was unprecedented. Its arrival caused a stir among the onlookers, who were captivated by the beautiful horses.

An hour later, the luxurious carriage stopped outside the Treasure Pill Pavilion.

“Miss, we have arrived in Azure Billow City’s Treasure Pill Pavilion,” announced the coachman, bringing the carriage to a halt and placing a small stool beside it to assist the passenger in alighting.

A woman in her mid-twenties emerged from the carriage as the curtain was drawn back. She was dressed in a dark green gown and stepped onto the stool. Her eyes were slender, her brows thin, her lips like cherries, and her figure was curvaceous.

“Miss, you have finally arrived!” Bi Gongyu Bi Gongyu, who had been waiting outside the Treasure Pill Pavilion, quickly bowed in respect as she approached.

“Pavilion Master Bi, let the champion of this competition come and meet me.” The woman glanced at Bi Gongyu but didn’t see the champion of this year’s competition anywhere. Master Huo and Lei Tao stood far away, seemingly not even qualified to approach.