Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 250 - Refining the Golden Fruit

Before Liu Wuxie could react, the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron soared into the air, unleashing a formidable devouring force. A black hole materialized above the valley, obscuring the entire sky.

In a startling turn of events, the Golden Python lying on the ground was suddenly lifted into the sky. A potent suction force emanated from the black hole, swallowing the Golden Python whole until it disappeared.

Even those who were ten-odd miles away could see this. The black hole soon disappeared and returned to the world in his dantian, as though what had happened earlier was an illusion.

Liu Wuxie’s mouth was wide open. He knew that the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron could devour demonic beasts. But it was unbelievable to watch the massive Golden Python being devoured by the cauldron so effortlessly.

Demonic flames gushed out from the cauldron and enveloped the Golden Python, producing sizzling sounds. It didn’t take long before spiritual liquid droplets began to form as they were energies refined from the Golden Python’s corpse.

The speed of refining the Golden Python’s corpse increased, and the corpse disappeared in less than five minutes with over a thousand spiritual liquid droplets hovering above the cauldron.

“So much spiritual liquid!” Liu Wuxie was shocked because refining someone in the pinnacle of the Marrow Cleansing Realm only produced ten-odd spiritual liquid droplets.

The spiritual liquid flowed into the world within Liu Wuxie’s dantian, and a potent aura permeated the entire valley. A strong gust of wind, with Liu Wuxie at its epicenter, swept across the area, causing loose rocks to scatter.

In less than a breath, the bottleneck to the fifth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm broke open forcibly. This was the first time Liu Wuxie had made such an easy breakthrough before he could react.

Liu Wuxie knew he had to strike while the iron was hot. He swallowed the Golden Fruit and planned to reach the sixth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm in one go. He had plundered many spirit stones, and there was no need to worry about resources.

The Golden Fruit dissolved the moment he placed it in his mouth. The dissolved energy coursed through his limbs, causing a storm even more significant than the Golden Python’s corpse.

With another forceful breakthrough, Liu Wuxie’s cultivation reached the pinnacle sixth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. He had never made two consecutive breakthroughs so smoothly.

Numerous battles erupted in various places. The discovery of spiritual fruits and herbs resulted in many people's breakthroughs.

Liu Wuxie sat down because he needed time to consolidate his cultivation. The surrounding spiritual energy was already devoured when he circulated the Desolate Devouring Art. Even the spiritual energies within the surrounding flowers and grasses were extracted, reducing the valley into a dead land.

Two days later, the speed of Liu Wuxie’s advancement slowed down. When he stood up, rumbling sounds echoed from every inch of his body.

When Liu Wuxie clenched his hand, his action caused an explosion from the rapid compression of air, producing a violent ripple spreading out.

He retracted his aura and concealed his cultivation in the fourth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. He took out the map and looked at the surrounding regions.

Others must have plundered a few hundred miles in the surroundings. His objective was simple: reach the pinnacle of the Marrow Cleansing Realm in twenty days if he wanted to obtain good results in the Battle of Hundred Nations.

As the one-year agreement drew closer, Liu Wuxie knew that his pursuit of the Dao would not be complete until the Xue Clan was eradicated.

“Let’s head here!” Liu Wuxie decided, setting his sights on a region approximately three days’ journey from his current location.

Performing the Nine Heavenly Crane Dance, Liu Wuxie ascended to the sky, resembling a celestial crane in flight. He would occasionally slow his pace, often encountering remnants of battles along the way. As he had anticipated, the surrounding area had been thoroughly looted, and numerous corpses littered the path.

Three days later, a vast lake appeared before Liu Wuxie. This was called the Mountain Seeking Lake. It was rumored that someone had found traces of the Blood Flame Devil Blue here.

The Blood Flame Devil Blue was a rare treasure found only in harsh environments, and it had to absorb demonic aura to grow.

Liu Wuxie attracted countless gazes when he descended.

“That’s Liu Wuxie! I heard that he obtained the Golden Fruit!” When Liu Wuxie arrived, hundreds of eyes turned towards him. The value of a Golden fruit was priceless, and there was a high chance that someone at the pinnacle of the Marrow Cleansing Realm would reach the True Core Realm by consuming it.

Those who had been with Wu He weren't strong enough to compete for the Golden Fruit. Thus, they purposely spread the news, planning to use others to get rid of Liu Wuxie.

“He’s still in the fourth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm, and he probably hasn’t refined that Golden Fruit.” Everyone looked at Liu Wuxie with a gloating expression.

Upon hearing about the Golden Fruit, the crowd exploded into an uproar, and they gathered towards Liu Wuxie.

“Liu Wuxie, I’ve heard that you took the Golden Fruit?” Five people came over to Liu Wuxie. They were all in the pinnacle Marrow Cleansing Realm, and the oldest was in his fifties.

Liu Wuxie frowned upon hearing their voices and looked at them coldly. Zhang Shuli was among them; he didn’t expect the Heavenly Govern Academy’s Vice-Headmaster to be here.

When Prince Yongxian was defeated, the Heavenly Govern Academy was dismissed, and its students had left. However, the teachers and vice-headmaster stayed in the Imperial City, and Zhang Shuli was in the pinnacle Marrow Cleansing Realm.

As long as Zhanf Shuli could obtain the Golden Fruit, he could reach the True Core Realm and stand at the top of the pyramid in the Great Yan Dynasty. He had arrived with a few people after learning that Liu Wuxie possessed a Golden Fruit.

“Vice-Headmaster Zhang, you want to snatch the Golden Fruit from me?” Liu Wuxie smiled. There was a hint of disdain in his eyes, and he couldn’t remember how many experts in the pinnacle Marrow Cleansing Realm he had already killed. These people were just courting death, in his opinion.

Then again, anyone would take the risk if the potential harvest was more significant than their lives. If someone could reach the True Core Realm, they would step into the threshold of cultivation, extending their lifespan.

“Liu Wuxie, we held some grudges in the past, but it doesn’t matter anymore. As long as you’re willing to hand the Golden Fruit to me, I’m willing to buy it for 50,000 spirit stones.”

In the past, Zhang Shuli and Liu Wuxie had their differences, but that was history. In this world, there were no perpetual grudges, only shifting interests. The Golden Fruit, capable of aiding someone in the Marrow Cleansing Realm to advance a level, was valued far less than 50,000 spirit stones.

“Not interested!” Liu Wuxie replied coldly. He had already refined the Golden Fruit, and he wouldn’t sell it to Zhang Shuli even if he hadn't. The moment Zhang Shuli reached the True Core Realm, the first person he would go after would be him, and Liu Wuxie wasn’t out of his mind to help his enemy.

The atmosphere became tense after Liu Wuxie’s response, and Zhang Shuli’s face turned grim.

“Liu Wuxie, don’t push it! Do you think we’re afraid of you because you can kill cultivators in the pinnacle Marrow Cleansing Realm?” A Star Teacher of the Heavenly Govern Academy stepped forward, releasing his aura infinitely close to the Quasi-True Core Realm.

As for the crowd gathered in the surroundings, they merely tugged their hands together and watched with smiles.

“If you want a fight, I’ll give you a fight. Otherwise, don’t bother me!” Liu Wuxie couldn’t be bothered with these people.

“Vice-Headmaster Zhang, why waste time with him? Let’s attack him together; I don’t think he can deal with all five of us.” Everyone knew it was impossible for both sides to become friends, and Zhang Shuli’s party couldn’t be bothered to waste time with Liu Wuxie.

“Liu Wuxie, I’ll fulfill your wish since you’re courting death!” Zhang Shuli's face revealed a hint of murderous intent, and he took out a small and weird bell.

Upon spotting the bell, Liu Wuxie’s eyes narrowed. It seemed to be the source of their newfound confidence. They must have believed they could handle him, given they had the audacity to provoke him despite knowing his ability to effortlessly eliminate experts at the peak of the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

His alertness spiked instantly. It wasn’t the group of five that concerned him, but the bell in Zhang Shuli’s possession. He had once fallen victim to Yuan Jun, and Xu Lingxue had risked her life for his rescue. He was determined not to repeat the same mistake.

“Attack!” With Zhang Shuli’s order, all five drew their weapons and charged at Liu Wuxie, causing five water geysers to rise on the lake.

It was five against one, and no one knew Liu Wuxie's odds of winning. However, no one in the surroundings was interested in interfering.

“Is Liu Wuxie really capable of killing experts in the ninth-level Marrow Cleansing Realm?” Ninety-nine percent of the people here had never seen Liu Wuxie before. Some had only seen his portrait and heard his stories.

“It’s probably a rumor. Do you think it’s easy to fight someone with a higher cultivation? He’s only in the fourth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. I reckon that he succeeded by relying on sneak attacks. He won’t last more than ten moves in a real life-and-death battle.” People generally tend to trust their own eyes more than rumors.

The six people clashed together, but Liu Wuxie didn’t draw the Heretic Blade. He used his movement technique to evade the incoming attacks easily, and he remained unscathed after a few hundreds of exchanges.

Liu Wuxie was waiting for an opportunity. After all, there was no need for him to expose his trump card with so many eyes around, and he would be able to fool these people if he pretended to win with incredible difficulty.

“I see...he relied on his movement technique to face experts in the ninth-level Marrow Cleansing Realm!” Mockery sounded from the surroundings, and everyone now had a clear gauge of Liu Wuxie’s strength.

“Let’s see how long he can hold on!” A youth emerged from the crowd, his face displaying murderous intent.

“Xue Shihong, I heard that the Xue Clan plans to take this opportunity to kill him. Why aren’t there any movements after so many days?”

The youth who spoke earlier was Xue Shihong of the Xue Clan, who had a powerful cultivation at the pinnacle of the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

“Hmph, he’s dead for sure!” Xue Shihong didn’t bother explaining the Xue Clan’s plans.

As the battle intensified, Zhang Shuli and his four comparisons became anxious because they realized they couldn’t do anything to Liu Wuxie even after attacking with such high intensity.

The five suddenly entered a pentagon formation, with each person holding onto a palm-sized bell identical to Zhang Shuli’s.

“Form the formation!” Zhang Shuli commanded. As the five individuals began to rotate, the bells in their hands chimed, creating a sonic field that enveloped Liu Wuxie. The shrill sound penetrated Liu Wuxie’s soul sea, causing him discomfort and distorting his vision. As expected, the bells had the power to ensnare the soul.

“Those are the Soul Captivating Bells. He’s finished now!” Xue Shihong sneered as the Xue Clan had a close relationship with the Heavenly Govern Academy.

The Xue Clan had disciples in the Imperial Academy and Heavenly Govern Academy. Coincidentally, Xue Shihong was a Heaven Grade student of the Heavenly Govern Academy.

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