Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 234 - Killing Geng Ye

If there was one thing that Liu Wuxie held dear in the Great Yan Dynasty, it was undoubtedly the Xu Clan. Being an orphan without the knowledge of his parents, he was raised by the Xu Clan, a kindness he would never forget.

Thus, threatening the Xu Clan was Liu Wuxie’s Achilles heel.

“I’ll remember what you said today. I’ll hold Prince Yongxian’s Mansion liable if anyone in the Xu Clan dies.” Liu Wuxie wasn’t agitated and stated calmly.

He then descended the stairs without a backward glance. As he stepped out of the Supreme Pavilion, the chill that had enveloped him dissipated, and he reverted to his usual cheerful, youthful self.

Observing Liu Wuxie’s silence, Song Ling chose not to question him and simply accompanied him to the Treasure Pill Pavilion.

Liu Wuxie was concerned about Mu Yueying, who had been injured because of him, and wanted to check on her condition. Although her complexion had improved when he saw her again, she was still not fully recovered.

“Big Sister Mu, this is a healing pill that I refined, and it should be able to help out with your injuries.” He had procured numerous herbs from the royal vault and had refined not just the six fifth-grade pills intended for his breakthrough but also several healing pills.

“Thank you!” Mu Yueying accepted the pill, her eyes narrowing as she examined it closely. Her reaction wouldn’t have been so intense if it were just an ordinary fourth-grade pill. But upon recognizing the pill Liu Wuxie had given her, she sat up straight.

“You refined this?” Mu Yueying’s eyes lit up like she had discovered a new world. This was a fifth-grade pill, and there were no five-star alchemists in the Great Yan Dynasty.

“I hope you can keep this a secret for me, Big Sister Mu,” Liu Wuxie requested, aware that he could no longer hide his ability to refine fifth-grade pills once he revealed this one, but every day was crucial.

“You’ve truly surprised me!” Mu Yueying’s eyes sparkled. She was curious to know how Liu Wuxie, at such a young age, could achieve this. Even in the cultivation world, Liu Wuxie would be considered a prodigy for becoming a five-star alchemist at such a young age.

Following a short conversation, Liu Wuxie made his exit. He discovered that the envoy at the Cloud Xing Pavilion was named Lu Fei, an outer disciple of the Azure Crimson Gate. Rumors suggested that he was an elder’s nephew and wielded some influence.

By the time Liu Wuxie left the Treasure Pill Pavilion, it was late, and the streets were nearly empty, with only a few figures hurrying by.

Liu Wuxie hurried back to the Imperial Academy with Song Ling. Shortly after they left the Treasure Pill Pavilion, a few figures emerged from the darkness.

“Can’t wait any longer?” Liu Wuxie wore a cold smirk and quickened his pace.

Song Ling also noticed something wasn’t right, as rustling sounds came from behind. This was a sign someone was tailing them.

When the two reached the ten-mile-long street an hour later, Liu Wuxie said, “Song Ling, you return to the academy first.”

These people came for him, and it would be perilous for Song Ling to remain. To prevent Song Ling from being seized and used as leverage against him, Liu Wuxie needed Song Ling to depart.

“Big Brother, I’m not afraid of death!” Song Ling declared resolutely, eager to stand by Liu Wuxie’s side.

“I understand, but they’re not ordinary people. Your presence here will only complicate things. Leave quickly!” Liu Wuxie didn’t question Song Ling’s loyalty, but he didn’t want to put him in danger because of his own issues.

Song Ling didn’t dare disobey Liu Wuxie’s instructions and reluctantly ran towards the Imperial Academy. He didn’t want to become a burden to Liu Wuxie.

When Song Ling entered the Imperial Academy, Liu Wuxie slowed his speed as the rustling sounds behind him disappeared. Shortly after, twenty-odd experts leaped out from the darkness.

They were all strong; even someone in the pinnacle Marrow Cleansing Realm would run facing them. Most importantly, someone in the ninth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm was among them.

This was why Liu Wuxie asked Song Ling to leave first. If captured, Song Ling could be used as a hostage against him.

“Jiang Yue, it’s been a while!” Liu Wuxie scanned the crowd, recognizing a few faces. Among the group of about twenty people was Jiang Yue, the chief alchemist of the Cloud Xing Pavilion.

Twenty-seven people formed a formation and surrounded him, blocking his escape. They had been waiting for this opportunity and were determined not to let Liu Wuxie return to the Imperial Academy unscathed.

“Your downfall is imminent, Liu Wuxie!” Jiang Yue proclaimed, his jaw set in determination. Liu Wuxie had caused his disgraceful expulsion from the Treasure Pill Pavilion. Adding insult to injury, Liu Wuxie had also tarnished his name within a month of assuming the role of head alchemist at the Cloud Xing Pavilion.

“Come with me if you all want to kill me!” Liu Wuxie vanished as he didn’t want to alarm anyone else. He could come and go as he wished even when twenty-seven experts surrounded him.

“After him!” Jiang Yue gave the order and led everyone to chase Liu Wuxie.

Liu Wuxie and Jiang Yue’s party passed through the woods, leaving the Imperial Academy and entering a mountain range.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, Liu Wuxie stopped in a canyon. If they fought there, the commotion wouldn’t reach the Imperial Academy.

Jiang Yue’s group of twenty-seven followed behind and surrounded Liu Wuxie.

“Liu Wuxie, there’s no way you can escape today. Surrender!” Geng Ye let out a sinister laughter. He, Zuo Tao, and others were stripped of their status as alchemists. Thus, Geng Ye naturally harbored a deep hatred for Liu Wuxie.

“Do you all want to come at me together or take turns?” Liu Wuxie asked calmly. This was an excellent opportunity to gauge his strength. Aside from the Cloud Xing Pavilion’s alchemists, the other experts were likely Prince Yongxian’s men.

“I alone am sufficient to end you!” Geng Ye advanced, his desire to eliminate Liu Wuxie surpassing all others. His sword emitted a frosty beam, despite his cultivation being merely at the sixth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

“Be careful!” Jiang Yue cautioned. They were still unaware of Liu Wuxie’s recent achievement of killing Yang Shuotian and others.

The Heretic Blade appeared in Liu Wuxie’s hand, releasing a powerful blade intent and enveloping the surroundings.

“A vajra artifact!” Geng Ye narrowed his eyes when he saw the Heretic Blade. He didn’t expect Liu Wuxie to forge a vajra artifact, but he had no path of retreat and could only swing his sword towards Liu Wuxie. They might have been alchemists, but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t put up a fight.

“Liu Wuxie, die!” Geng Ye roared, unleashing a sword ray that manifested into a rhino with his true essence.

“Hmph!” Liu Wuxie raised the Heretic Blade and swung it down. The blade severed the rhino into two and reached Geng Ye. Everything happened quickly, and the Heretic Blade descended before anyone could respond.

Geng Ye couldn’t even let out a scream and was severed into two before he was reduced to a pile of skin on the ground. The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron had devoured the energies within his corpse.

When demonic flames gushed from the cauldron, all the energies were absorbed and refined into three liquid droplets.

“He’s dead?” Jiang Yue showed a hint of fear on his face. He couldn’t believe that someone in the sixth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm couldn’t even take an attack from Liu Wuxie.

Zuo Tao and the other alchemists’ faces turned pale in fright. They weren’t much stronger than Geng Ye. It wasn’t long since their last encounter, and they realized that they were no longer qualified to look up to Liu Wuxie.

“Go at him together!” Jiang Yue didn’t hesitate and instructed, fearing more casualties if they went individually. With a wave of his hand, he and the remaining twenty-six people charged towards Liu Wuxie.

They formed into a tidal wave sweeping towards Liu Wuxie. Facing all of them, even Liu Wuxie was under immense pressure. It was uncertain if he could come out unscathed.

Liu Wuxie looked like a raft in the storm and would be devoured by the wave at any moment.

The ground trembled with powerful explosions caused by the rapid compression of air, with multiple martial techniques directed at Liu Wuxie.

A stunning amount of true essence gushed out from the acupoint at Liu Wuxie’s feet, lifting him off the ground. He was like a nimble crane as he raised the Heretic Blade, causing storms to gather in the sky.

Executing the first form of the Fatality Blade Art, the sky was covered with endless flames mixed with lightning. This scene shocked Jiang Yue’s group, who couldn’t comprehend this power. This level of true essence manipulation wasn’t at the level ordinary people in the Marrow Cleansing Realm could achieve.

“Perish, all of you!” Liu Wuxie was determined to conclude the battle swiftly to prevent reinforcements from arriving. His onslaught resembled a tempest, sweeping across the area with a multitude of detonations akin to thunderous shockwaves.

“Shit!” Everyone’s faces changed at this sight. Aside from Jiang Yue, ordinary cultivators in the Marrow Cleansing Realm couldn’t be Liu Wuxie’s opponents, and they couldn’t even resist or dodge the attack.

The storm had enveloped a few thousand meters of radius, and there was no room for them to dodge the attack.

Liu Wuxie used Ghost Eye to scan everyone; their martial techniques and movements appeared in his mind.

“Die!” Liu Wuxie finally swung the Heretic Blade, enveloped in a boundless blade aura down. The blade aura divided into thousands of blades, which was the Fatality Blade Art’s true power.

The Fatality Blade Art’s first form was unmatched after reaching lesser mastery.

“Disperse quickly!” Jiang Yue bellowed, directing everyone to scatter, as clustering would hasten their demise.

Their protective essence barriers shattered under the corrosive onslaught of the blade aura, leading to casualties in no time.

As blood gushed and sprayed, dying the sky red, the storm continued to rampage, with rocks falling and smashing onto the corpses on the ground.

The blade ray unleashed by Liu Wuxie was like a galaxy reaching the depth of the universe. This was a strike that couldn’t be resisted.

Even Jiang Yue’s initial instinct was to evade, unable to discern a weakness to confront this assault directly.

The ground began to cave in, forming a bottomless crater. Of the original twenty-six, only a handful remained upright, their garments in tatters. The rest had been obliterated under Liu Wuxie’s relentless attack.

It was an incredible sight to kill so many people with one strike, and even Liu Wuxie was shocked by the power.

Jiang Yue was a sight of ruin, his clothes in shreds, his face smeared with dust, and his weapon shattered. The remaining four were in no better state, their faces etched with terror. They could scarcely believe that such power could be wielded by a human.

“What ruthless tactics!” Jiang Yue seethed, his teeth gritted. The heavy toll of casualties meant that even if they succeeded in killing Liu Wuxie, he would have a hard time explaining to Prince Yongxian.

“Likewise!” Liu Wuxie retorted, his expression unchanging as he slowly descended to the ground, his murderous intent looming over the remaining five.

Jiang Yue’s weapon was destroyed. His eyes turned red with terrifying murderous intent, and his aura rose. He hadn’t used his full strength earlier.

“I’ll kill you even if it costs me my life!” Jiang Yue declared, throwing caution to the wind and vowing to kill Liu Wuxie.

The remaining four were formidable experts dispatched by Prince Yongxian, and they were far from weak. All were at the eighth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm, and they joined the battle, weapons in hand.