Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 177 - Western Breeze Mountain Range

Liu Wuxie smiled bitterly. He didn’t expect these people to be so cautious.

Then again, they had to be vigilant against sneak attacks due to the loss of several junior brothers. The other junior brothers also raised their heads to look at the tree, and they could see Liu Wuxie through the layer of leaves.

Liu Wuxie gently landed on the ground, standing outside the encirclement.

“Who are you, and why are you eavesdropping on our conversation?” The senior brother asked with a hint of surprise because he didn’t expect Liu Wuxie to be so young.

“I was resting here, and you all were the ones to disrupt my rest,” Liu Wuxie said, rubbing his nose. He wasn’t willing to offer much explanation and was about to hit the road as he was almost done resting.

“Hmph, since you’ve been eavesdropping on us, you’ll face the consequences!” The other two youths stabbed their swords at Liu Wuxie.

A cold light flashed in Liu Wuxie’s eyes as they attempted to stir up trouble, and he was visibly irritated.

“Both of you, stop! This could be a misunderstanding!” The senior brother was reasonable as he stopped his two junior brothers from attacking Liu Wuxie. This single action significantly improved Liu Wuxie’s impression of him.

The two junior brothers didn’t dare to disregard their senior brother’s words and withdrew their swords. However, they still remained vigilant.

“My name is Wei Dong, the disciple of the Crimson Flame Manor. How can I address you?”

Liu Wuxie didn’t expect this person to be a disciple of the Crimson Flame Manor. He had heard of Crimson Flame Manor before, and they could be considered a righteous sect with strict restrictions on their disciples.

Liu Wuxie had read numerous books at the Imperial Academy and was aware of the power distribution in the Great Yan Dynasty. The Crimson Flame Manor was located roughly five hundred miles from this place and had hundreds of disciples, and they could be considered a second-tier sect.

“Liu Wuxie, student of the Imperial Academy!” Liu Wuxie cupped his fists together. Liu Wuxie, having a decent impression of Wei Dong, chose to disclose his identity.

Upon learning that Liu Wuxie was a student of the Imperial Academy, the group’s perception of him shifted. The Imperial Academy was the most prestigious institution in the Great Yan Dynasty, and they, due to their aptitude, were not qualified to join.

They might have reached the high levels of the Spirit Cleansing Realm, but they weren’t young. Wei Dong was close to thirty, and everyone else looked in their mid-twenties.

Someone of their aptitude could only be considered ordinary in the Imperial City. But in the Crimson Flame Manor, they were deemed top-tiered disciples.

“So you’re a student of the Imperial City. My apologies for our rudeness earlier!” Wei Dong said in a polite tone. They didn’t belittle Liu Wuxie because his cultivation was lower than theirs. This was the first time they saw someone reaching the fourth level of the Spirit Cleansing Realm at such a young age.

“Brother Wei, what happened to you all? Why are you all injured?”

After their introductions and the improvement in their relationship, the two who had initially wanted to attack Liu Wuxie promptly apologized.

Wei Dong’s expression was one of concern. “This is a complex matter. Brother Liu, are you considering training in the Western Breeze Mountain Range?” he asked. Of the eight who had set out to train, only five had survived, and the third junior brother was on the brink of death. Wei Dong was at a loss as to how to explain this to their master upon their return.

“Yeah, I plan to train in the Western Breeze Mountain Range.” Liu Wuxie didn’t mention that he was investigating the disappearance case.

Upon hearing this, Wei Dong quickly rose to his feet, attempting to dissuade Liu Wuxie. “Brother Liu, I strongly advise against it. There’s something strange about the Western Breeze Mountain Range. In the past two months, several cultivators who ventured in have gone missing. We were lucky to make it out alive,” he warned.

Liu Wuxie’s eyes sparkled with interest as he realized that these individuals had valuable information about the mountain range. Given their high-level Spirit Cleansing Realm abilities, this group was far from weak and should be safe unless they encountered enemies in the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

“Brother Wei, can you tell me what happened in the mountain range?” Liu Wuxie’s expression remained unchanged. He was determined to investigate what was happening in the mountain range, even if it was dangerous.

“I can’t say for certain what happened. The only anomaly was the presence of numerous bat demonic beasts. We were encircled by thousands of them. Three of our junior brothers risked their lives to carve out a safe escape route for us,” Wei Dong recounted, his fear palpable as he recalled the previous day’s events.

“Bat demonic beasts?” Liu Wuxie frowned. Bat demonic beasts were rare in the Western Breeze Mountain Range. Could someone have deliberately incited this?

“Brother Liu, I’m a few years older than you. Heed my advice and leave immediately. Don’t enter the mountain range,” Wei Dong said, still trying to dissuade Liu Wuxie from entering.

“Third junior brother, third junior brother...” The woman’s cries echoed as the aura of the unconscious man gradually faded, and his eyes slowly fluttered open, a sign of terminal lucidity.

Wei Dong got up, providing a comforting embrace for the man. Liu Wuxie watched this interaction, surprised by the deep camaraderie among the group.

“Senior Brother, I can’t make it. Thank you for taking care of me all these years...” The man said weakly in Wei Dong’s arms. His face had no regret because he was an orphan, and Wei Dong had helped him enormously over the years.

“Third junior brother, don’t speak. Nothing will happen to you.” Wei Dong hugged his third junior brother tightly. The atmosphere was heavy, and the woman began to sob quietly.

Liu Wuxie used his Ghost Eye to examine the man’s condition. He noticed the man’s blood had turned a dark green, indicating the bat demonic beasts were venomous.

“Take this. It should neutralize the poison in his body, and with some rest, he should recover in about half a month,” Liu Wuxie said, producing a pill from his interspatial pouch. This was a Detoxification Pill he had prepared for emergencies, and it proved useful now.

This was no ordinary Detoxification Pill. The ones available in the market were incapable of treating such potent poison. However, the pill Liu Wuxie had refined could neutralize most toxins.

“Brother Liu, we can’t thank you enough, and I’m grateful on behalf of my third junior brother.” Wei Dong took the pill without any hesitation and gave it to his third junior brother.

His junior brother was teetering on the brink of death. They had to explore every possible solution, hoping for a miracle.

Being a student of the Imperial Academy, Liu Wuxie had his own set of survival strategies. He recognized that this Detoxification Pill was exceptional, far superior to the ones they had.

After ingesting the Detoxification Pill, the third junior brother’s complexion improved. Wei Dong immediately channeled his true essence to aid his third junior brother in digesting the pill, and the unconscious man quickly regained consciousness.

“Third junior brother, you’re awake! This is great!” The group hugged each other joyfully while Liu Wuxie quietly left. When they came to their senses, Liu Wuxie was already nowhere to be seen.

One day later, Liu Wuxie entered the Western Breeze Mountain Range with the Heretic Blade. He wasn’t guarding against demonic beasts but the Assassin Pavilion’s assassin. He was certain they were in hiding, waiting to ambush him.

“This is the Western Breeze Mountain Range?” Liu Wuxie sat on a huge rock. The mountain range was massive, and it was impossible to reach the other end even if he walked for ten days and nights straight. Trying to investigate the disappearance case was no different from finding a needle in a haystack.

“This is weird. I’ve been walking for so long; where are the demonic beasts?” Liu Wuxie frowned. According to his information, the Western Breeze Mountain Range should be filled with demonic beasts. But he couldn’t even see a bird in sight, not to mention demonic beasts. Just when he sat down, the faint murderous intent appeared once more.

“Show yourself. Don’t bother hiding!” Liu Wuxie’s gaze landed on a large tree about fifty meters away, where a man dressed in black was concealed. The moment the man’s murderous intent slipped, Liu Wuxie had him in his sights.

Caught off guard by Liu Wuxie’s swift detection, the assassin was taken aback. He had been lying in wait for two hours, anticipating Liu Wuxie’s arrival.

A chilling glint flashed in his eyes as he launched a silver dart aimed at Liu Wuxie’s neck. As the dart took flight, the man in black moved with his sword, zeroing in on Liu Wuxie like a deadly viper, intending to strike a lethal blow.

He covered the fifty-meter distance in an instant, determined not to give Liu Wuxie a chance to react.

With a swift swing of the Heretic Blade, Liu Wuxie deflected the silver dart. Simultaneously, a sword was aimed at his neck. The plan was flawless, with every move calculated. Even if he could dodge the dart, he couldn’t evade the sword.

True essence materialized into a pair of wings behind Liu Wuxie as he soared to the sky, dodging the sword that flew past beneath him.

In the blink of an eye, the assassin changed his tactics, tapping his sword on the rock and soaring to the sky with his sword aimed at Liu Wuxie’s sole.

When Liu Wuxie landed on a tree, he suddenly performed a somersault, clashing with the assassin head-on in mid-air.

They exchanged a few hundred moves in a split second, producing a powerful shockwave that swept out like a hurricane. The surrounding trees exploded under the shockwave, producing a flat ground of ten-odd meters.

When Liu Wuxie and the assassin separated, they stood on a tree separately.

The assassin was well masked aside from his eyes. He also had a high cultivation in the second-level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. To kill him, the Assassin Pavilion had even sent out someone in the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

Silence prevailed. Liu Wuxie knew that even if he managed to capture this assassin alive, he wouldn’t be able to extract any useful information. All of them had undergone special training; failure in their mission equated to death.

Simultaneously, Liu Wuxie and the assassin moved. The clashing of the sword and blade created a thunderous rumble. The aura of the blade and sword left cracks on the ground as they fell.

The strength of this assassin wasn’t any weaker than Qian Kun, and Liu Wuxie would have to spend some effort to kill him.

Then again, Liu Wuxie wasn’t the same person as before. After reaching the fourth-level Spirit Cleansing Realm, his strength had increased by more than a hundredfold.

As the Heretic Blade shifted direction, Liu Wuxie’s blade intent sealed every inch of the surrounding space as he executed the Blood Gleam Blade Art. It seemed virtually impossible for the assassin to penetrate his defenses.

“Die!” Liu Wuxie roared, vanishing into thin air, transforming into a celestial crane soaring through the clouds. The Heretic Blade materialized above the assassin’s head, poised to strike.