Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 493 - Evenly Matched

Jiang Gongming sneered, dismissing Liu Wuxie's efforts, telling him to stop wasting his time.

Undeterred, Liu Wuxie ignored him, swinging his blade down with a force that tore through the air, creating twin currents that surged outward. The impact left a fine crack in space, showcasing the immense power of the Heretic Blade.

"H-He managed to tear open space?" an elder in the Astral River Realm exclaimed, shocked by Liu Wuxie's performance.

It was public knowledge that only those in the Nascent Transformation Realm could tear open space and traverse it. This was why they were shocked when they saw Liu Wuxie tear a small spatial rift.

"Myriad Streams Shattering Void!" Jiang Gongming's aura continued to rise. They both had hidden cards up their sleeves, and neither brought out their full strength.

"Frost Finger!" Liu Wuxie shot out ice beams that flew like arrows and reached Jiang Gongming. It was naturally impossible for him to kill Jiang Gongming relying on Frost Finger, but that wasn't Liu Wuxie's goal because his objective was to restrict Jiang Gongming's speed.

The Frost Finger was hard to defend against, and Jiang Gongming was frozen multiple times. However, due to his powerful physique in the Astral River Realm, he managed to break through the frozen state by circulating his true essence.

When the Seventh Fatality Form and Myriad Streams Shattering Void clashed, the loud sound caused everyone to cover their ears.

The martial field shook violently as if an earthquake had struck. Even the buildings a thousand meters away were trembling, and some old houses collapsed instantly.

Relentless shockwaves swept out in the form of ripples, which sent Liu Wuxie and Jiang Gongming flying out.

Liu Wuxie's breathing became erratic as he felt like a hammer had struck his chest.

Jiang Gongming didn't have it easy either because it felt like he was hit by a ferocious beast when Liu Wuxie's true essence struck him, which caused a burning pain in his internal organs.

The two performed a somersault in mid-air and landed on opposite sides of the arena, several hundred meters apart.

When everyone saw how Liu Wuxie was evenly matched with Jiang Gongming, no one dared to look down on him again. The fact that he could hold his ground against Jiang Gongming, who was in the Astral River Realm, was nothing short of a miracle.

"Liu Wuxie, you leave me with no choice!" Jiang Gongming's hair stood up. His appearance became sinister, and he began to form seals with his hands after he put away the longsword.

"Dao technique! Jiang Gongming is going to use a dao technique!" Only those in the Astral River Realm could comprehend dao techniques. Since Jiang Gongming had reached the Astral River Realm more than ten years ago, it was only natural for him to have comprehended a powerful dao technique.

Liu Wuxie didn't dare to be careless in this fight unless he wanted to resort to the Earth Binding Chains. However, there would be dire consequences if he did that; his soul energy would be instantly drained, and he would reveal the secrets of the Earth Binding Chains before so many eyes.

When Jiang Gongming formed seals with his hands, a thick yellow mist spread across the arena. The mist was so dense that the naked eyes couldn't see through it, and everyone had to use their divine sense to see through it.

"It's the Trigram Origin Palm! If I'm not wrong, Jiang Gongming has been cultivating it for decades, but he rarely uses it," some elders and deacons whispered.

After being colleagues for decades, they were all familiar with each other and naturally knew what martial techniques they cultivated.

Liu Wuxie’s expression hardened as he sensed the formidable pressure emanating from the Trigram Origin Palm. The vast laws of the Astral River Realm coalesced into a colossal palm that seemed to strain the ground beneath it, exposing the bare earth.

At the center of the storm, Liu Wuxie appeared poised to be crushed by the immense force of the palm.

"Let's see how Liu Wuxie dies this time!" The disciples who had witnessed Liu Wuxie kill Hou Yue were brimming with hatred. They had just begun to secure Hou Yue's favor, only for Liu Wuxie to take his life.

Elder Tian Xing also looked worried. Jiang Gongming might be less outstanding among his peers, but he was still in the Astral River Realm. He felt that Liu Wuxie might've been a little too hasty because he believed Liu Wuxie could surpass Jiang Gongming if given enough time.

The situation became increasingly unfavorable for Liu Wuxie. Massive energy waves gathered to form a palm, striking Liu Wuxie with absolute destruction.

The strike caused the arena to sink, and its immense power was felt even from thousands of meters away. Nearby disciples watched in horror as the shockwave shattered the tiles beneath them.

When the giant palm descended, it formed into a powerful storm mixed with lightning, and the more timid disciples didn't dare to look at the arena directly.

"Liu Wuxie, accept your fate and die!" Jiang Gongming roared ferociously and gathered all his power in this strike.

The boundless waves produced by this strike enveloped Liu Wuxie, ensuring that he couldn't break through this attack no matter how he tried.

"Hmph, you think you can kill me just because you're using a dao technique?" Liu Wuxie sneered.

His Frost Finger was also a dao technique, but he couldn't unleash its full potential due to his cultivation. This meant the power of the Frost Finger would be significantly enhanced when he reached the Astral River Realm, becoming his strongest attack. With the Fatality Blade Art reaching perfection, he could only rely on Frost Finger for his future fight.

Liu Wuxie soared to the sky and advanced instead of retreating. He raised his right hand to the sky and unleashed a powerful shockwave that ripped through the clouds.

"Heed my call, the ancient star!" Liu Wuxie had no expression on his face. When he reached the fourth level of the Heavenly Phase Realm, the power of the Primordial Astral Fist was brought to a new height. It wasn't a dao technique, but it surpassed most dao techniques.

The rumbling sound echoed from the sky, resembling the sounds of heaven and earth's collapse. Shortly after, an ancient galaxy gathered to form a brilliant star floating in the air, accompanied by an incomparable aura that felt like the descent of a deity that stood proudly in the sky.

"What a terrifying power!" Many disciples stood up in shock and looked at the materialized star with disbelief.

“What’s truly frightening isn’t his martial technique but the sheer power of his true essence. The ability to materialize a star is beyond belief,” many high-ranking elite disciples remarked solemnly. Liu Wuxie’s true essence was astonishingly strong, far surpassing that of ordinary cultivators.

Jiang Gongming's eyes narrowed when the ancient star materialized. He had long known that Liu Wuxie practiced a powerful fist technique, but he didn't expect it to be this formidable.

Two different powers began to clash in the air, and the ancient star descended with an unstoppable force. The descent of the ancient star even pushed back Jiang Gongming's Trigram Origin Palm.

This scene defied everyone's understanding to witness how Liu Wuxie gained the upper hand against someone in the Astral River Realm.

Jiang Gongming's face became ugly because Liu Wuxie was like a cockroach that couldn't be killed when victory was in sight. No matter how he attacked, Liu Wuxie could unleash more power that defied logic.

"Trigram Origin Cauldron!" The palm converged to form a cauldron, which significantly boosted the power of the Trigram Origin Palm, forming an encirclement to devour the ancient star's astral energy.

This was no longer a battle of martial techniques but dao techniques. Liu Wuxie and Jiang Gongming stood proudly in the air as their hands formed into seals.

Their true essence poured out continuously in waves, and the two were locked in a stalemate, with neither capable of gaining the upper hand against the other.

However, it looked from the surface that Jiang Gongming held the upper hand in this confrontation because his true essence was stronger than Liu Wuxie.

"Liu Wuxie, let's see how long you can keep holding on!" Suffocating laws of the Astral River Realm manifested into various forms as Jiang Gongming began to draw the power of cosmic stars.

A mysterious force descended from the sky and empowered Jiang Gongming. This astral river power enabled one to draw power from cosmic stars after reaching the Astral River Realm, far exceeding ordinary true essence.

Everyone observed that Liu Wuxie was draining his true essence rather than his dao technique. This implied that if their cultivations were equal, Liu Wuxie would be nearly invincible. The ancient star was continually consuming power, and its energy began to wane.

Liu Wuxie, unfazed by Jiang Gongming's sneers, remained expressionless as he wielded the ancient star with unyielding resolve, bringing it down forcefully upon the arena.

The earth trembled once again with a powerful shockwave swept out, containing power capable of destroying the entire martial field.

The surrounding array flags formed a barrier to contain the shockwaves within the arena, with the elders in the surroundings forming seals with their hands to fortify the barrier.

The ancient star shattered into an array of shockwaves, whipping up fierce winds and scattering debris throughout the arena. The shockwaves also impacted the Trigram Origin Palm, causing it to collapse like a crumbling building and crash into the arena.

The two were swept by the raging waves and had to perform several somersaults to resolve the kinetic energy before they landed firmly on the ground.

Liu Wuxie's face was flushed, and his chest heaved violently. He had depleted his true essence severely in the previous clash, and it wasn't easy for him to kill Jiang Gongming without using the Earth Binding Chains.

Jiang Gongming wasn't in any better state either. His complexion alternated between red and white, and his chest also heaved violently. He was also injured by the shockwave earlier.

The ancient star's energy felt like a heavy hammer that struck him, even though he had managed to withstand it thanks to the Trigram Origin Art's powerful defense.

They were more than thirty meters apart with their eyes locked, and sparks collided in the air.

"Liu Wuxie, I regret not killing you on the way to the Blood Sea Abyssal Island!" Jiang Gongming no longer hid his murderous intent for Liu Wuxie with how the situation was developing.

He was certain that Liu Wuxie would die on the trip to the Blood Sea Abyssal Island, so he hadn't acted; he feared Elder Tian Xing's wrath. But if given another choice, he would kill Liu Wuxie without hesitation, even if he had to face Elder Tian Xing's wrath.

"What a joke! Do you really think you could have killed me on the way there?” Liu Wuxie sneered. If Jiang Gongming had attempted to kill him, Liu Wuxie would have used the Earth Binding Chains immediately, even at the risk of mutual destruction. Without any third party intervening, Jiang Gongming would have faced certain death once Liu Wuxie’s soul energy recovered even a little.

“Let’s see how long you can keep up that arrogance!” Jiang Gongming snarled, unwilling to waste any more words. He prepared to unleash the Trigram Origin Palm once again.

Astral river power descended from the sky, while the recovery speed of Liu Wuxie's true essence was inferior to Jiang Gongming. The situation gradually became unfavorable for Liu Wuxie, but this was inevitable because the gap between them was too vast.

The laws of the Astral River Realm were like earthworms intertwining in the sky, and it was twice as powerful as before. To kill Liu Wuxie, Jiang Gongming no longer held back, and this was his strongest attack.

"Deacon Jiang, hurry up and kill him!" Countless disciples stood up to show their support for Jiang Gongming.

Liu Wuxie's momentum of growth had been strong ever since he had joined the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, surpassing many peers.

While many disciples had impressive talents, they paled in comparison to Liu Wuxie's rapid rise and accomplishments.

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