Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 671 - Killing Bai Yuan

Liu Wuxie had managed to recover about thirty percent of his true essence, but the injuries to his soul sea would require time and care to heal fully.

The celestial runes flickered like a towering mountain, forming a formidable nebula that spanned hundreds of miles across the surroundings.

Fortunately, the disciples from the other sects had long evacuated, or they would have perished in the chaos.

The avalanche felt like a flood, engulfing the surrounding mountains and burying them in layers of ice and snow.

When the Annihilation Fist collided with Bai Yuan, the bell he depended on emitted a sharp, grating sound as it struggled to absorb part of the devastating impact. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"This is interesting," Liu Wuxie muttered with a sneer. With precise movements, he began forming intricate seals, and a surge of mysterious power erupted. The sudden emergence of this new force caused the heavens and earth to tremble, rendering the sun and moon dim.

Space within tens of thousands of meters collapsed, creating a massive void. Despite retreating a thousand miles away, the Demonic Heart Palace disciples could still feel the overwhelming dread emanating from the Annihilation Fist.

The commotion was so great that it spread out in ripples, drawing the attention of those outside the battlefield. The entire Heavenly Mountain was sinking—a phenomenon that had never occurred before.

When the second wave of energy descended with unstoppable force, cracks began appearing on the bell, spreading like a spiderweb.

However, the relentless assault showed no signs of abating as the force continued to descend. Each wave of the Annihilation Fist's power penetrated deep into the bell, destabilizing the very laws inscribed within.

The might of the Heavenly Dragon Seal alone wasn't enough to destroy the bell, but it was a different story with immortal runes.

Bai Yuan threw up blood when the Annihilation Fist's power passed through the bell and reached him. His face became pale instantly, and his blood dyed his clothes red.

"What the hell is this power? How can it shatter my Heavenly Primal Bell?!" Bai Yuan roared. The Heavenly Primal Bell was forged painstakingly over a hundred years with primal true essence, a gift from his father meant to be his lifeline.

However, the mysterious golden immortal runes had disrupted and shattered the intricate laws within the Heavenly Primal Bell, allowing the devastating power of the Annihilation Fist to bypass its defenses and strike Bai Yuan directly. The force riddled his internal organs with fractures, leaving him gravely injured.

To begin with, Bai Yuan's physique was no match for Liu Wuxie’s. Even someone in the high levels of the Nascent Transformation Realm would struggle to face the impact of the immortal runes.

"I refuse to accept this! I refuse to accept this outcome!" Bai Yuan roared. He had been dyed red by his blood, and it even pooled beneath him. This was a pitiful sight as the immortal runes' power had penetrated his body, damaging his life force.

"This aura... it's the aura of immortals! Could he be an immortal?!" Bai Yuan's eyes widened in terror as he recognized a trace of an immortal aura in the attack. It perfectly matched the descriptions he had read in ancient texts, confirming his worst fears.

If Liu Wuxie were truly an immortal, it wouldn't be a disgrace for Bai Yuan to be killed by him.

"What kind of enemy have I provoked?" Bai Yuan murmured bitterly. If Liu Wuxie possessed immortal aura within his body, even ten of him wouldn't be able to defeat the latter.

Regret soon filled Bai Yuan's heart. He realized that he had been gravely mistaken right from the very beginning. It was no wonder Liu Wuxie had confidently told him that he couldn’t kill him even if there were outside.

Thousands of people gathered a hundred miles away. They were all disciples from the other sects, and their gazes fixated on the black hole in the distance, their faces lingering with fear.

"Do you think Senior Brother Liu will survive?" someone whispered. Liu Wuxie was strong, but so was Bai Yuan. They had witnessed how Bai Yuan shattered the surrounding space with the Divine Toad Art.

"I believe in him!" Many disciples from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion regarded Liu Wuxie as their idol, a model for the younger generation. After all, no one could accomplish what Liu Wuxie did.

The other sects also discussed this. Regardless of the outcome, they knew this battle would shake Southern Province.

"The Southern Province will be shaken with the death of so many elite disciples. The Heavenly Origin Sect won't let it slide," murmured a Divine Sun Palace disciple.

"Let's see how the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion will resolve the crisis. I can already foresee the three sects joining forces to target them."

The Dugu Clan didn't dare challenge the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, as it was one of the weakest among the ten major sects. But it was different for the Heavenly Origin Sect and Indigo Cloud Gate, which had the strength and guts to take revenge against the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

As for the Azure Crimson Gate, they were destined to fall to a second-tier sect as long as the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion existed and continued to overshadow them.

......

Outside the barrier, the leaders of the ten major sects maintained a wary vigilance against each other. The second-tier sects were wise enough to retreat to a safer distance, fearing they would be caught up in the brewing storm.

......

The golden immortal runes had converged into a mighty fist radiating with golden brilliance. This was the Annihilation Fist's true power.

The Heavenly Primal Bell shattered under the Annihilation Fist and fractured into eight pieces. But the fist's power didn't decline and continued to surge forward, slamming into Bai Yuan.

"I don't want to die!" Bai Yuan cried, but his cry was short as he exploded into countless fragments of flesh that scattered around. Even his primordial soul couldn't escape in time, and he had been completely obliterated.

After killing Bai Yuan, Liu Wuxie staggered, and his face turned pale. He was struggling to remain standing after exhausting the remaining thirty percent of the true essence that he had recovered. His soul sea was in a mess, and he would require several days to recover from the damages.

The avalanche continued to tumble in the distance, soon transforming the Thorn Peak Valley into complete ruin.

Right then, an invisible force surged into Liu Wuxie's body, reigniting a faint spark of energy in the dried-up desolate world.

"The blessing of a region!" Liu Wuxie was taken aback. He had gained the blessing of the entire Southern Province after killing Bai Yuan. This meant that it would be challenging for anyone to kill him in the Southern Province as it would be the same as challenging the entire region.

Although the blessing couldn't boost Liu Wuxie's cultivation, there were many benefits, such as dramatically reshaping his destiny and increasing his fortune. After all, luck was also a factor in strength. Those with great fortune tended to have a powerful cultivation as well.

Liu Wuxie began to move as he circulated the Desolate Devouring Art to extract spiritual energy from the surroundings. The mysterious tree in the desolate world reached the void to extract energy from heaven and earth to replenish Liu Wuxie's exhaustion.

......

Meanwhile, Bai Jin surprisingly couldn't feel pain at the sight of the last soul tablet shattering in his hand. He had already prepared for the worst beforehand.

"Bai Yuan is dead!" exclaimed Deng Lei, the sect master of the Divine Sun Palace, his voice filled with disbelief.

All along, Bai Yuan had been crowned the strongest prodigy in the Southern Province, but he had died in the Ten Grand Ceremony.

On the contrary, Liu Wuxie's soul tablet remained intact in the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's corner. Aside from the Divine Sun Palace and Dugu Clan, who suffered slightly more losses, the other sects only lost a handful of their disciples in the final battle. Such casualties were insignificant to the scale of their organizations.

"They're all dead. Every last one of the disciples from the Heavenly Origin Sect, the Indigo Cloud Gate, and the Azure Crimson Gate are dead," the Transcendent Plume Gate's sect master muttered. He looked visibly shaken, and he couldn't imagine who would possess the strength to kill so many people.

Based on the three sect's forces, only a cultivator in the high levels of the Nascent Transformation Realm could accomplish something like this. However, aside from Bai Yuan, few disciples among the ten major sects had reached the Nascent Transformation Realm, and they couldn't achieve such a feat even if they had all joined forces.

The situation was bizarre. If the snowmen had been the mastermind, why did the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion suffer close to no losses while the three sects had lost all their disciples?

This left everyone deeply unsettled, and everyone wore a grave expression. Thunderclouds began to appear in the sky, foretelling an impending storm.

Bai Jin's face was terrifyingly grim as he set down his son's shattered soul tablet before turning to look at the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. He had a feeling Liu Wuxie had played a part in the death of his son.

......

The avalanche grew even more intense, and the spectators standing a hundred miles away continued to retreat further.

After consuming hundreds of high-grade spirit stones, Liu Wuxie had recovered about thirty to forty percent of his true essence—enough for him to continue his journey.

"Someone's approaching!" Despite the avalanche growing stronger and producing rumbling sounds, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion disciples had yet to leave, and they saw a shadow emerging from the blizzard.

"It's Junior Brother Liu!" Lan Ling stood at the forefront and recognized Liu Wuxie's silhouette.

Without hesitation, he vanished from his spot and raced toward the storm's center, disregarding the danger to his life. If the avalanche engulfed them, they would all be buried by the snow for eternity in the Heavenly Mountain.

Though Liu Wuxie had moved swiftly, the avalanche was even faster. Massive ice blocks, as large as houses, surged forward, forming a new mountain range, rumbling across the ground like a magnitude 50 earthquake.

The ground split open, revealing deep ravines as seawater gushed from beneath, rapidly freezing into towering icy formations under the intense cold. These newly formed ice mountains finally halted the avalanche's advance, giving Liu Wuxie a brief window to escape.

He took a deep breath before channeling all his true essence to his legs, executing the Nine Heavenly Crane Dance, and vanished. He had already regrouped with Lan Ling and the others in mere moments.

However, the exhaustion of true essence had taken a toll on him. He staggered and fell backward.

"Junior Brother Liu!" Lan Ling darted over and caught Liu Wuxie by the waist.

"Quick, we must leave this place immediately! This place is no longer safe!" Lan Ling urged. Though the avalanche had paused, it was only a temporary reprieve. They needed to find shelter before the next disaster struck.

Two disciples from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion stepped forward to carry Liu Wuxie as they swiftly departed the area.

Xu Lingxue appeared with Murong Yi, her heart aching as she saw Liu Wuxie's face contort in pain. Without hesitation, they joined Lan Ling and the rest of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion disciples, moving swiftly to escape the chaos.

The blizzard fueled by the avalanche raged on as the group traveled nearly a thousand miles before finally finding a safe haven. Once there, the disciples carefully set Liu Wuxie down and examined him. To their surprise, he bore no visible injuries despite the evident pain etched on his face.

"I need to go into seclusion for a few days. Stand guard for me," Liu Wuxie said to Murong Yi and Xu Lingxue. He trusted them implicitly, far more than the other Heavenly Treasure Pavilion disciples, aside from Lan Ling.

"You can be rest assured and focus on recovering," Xu Lingxue said as she took a pill and carefully placed it into Liu Wuxie's mouth.

When the pill entered Liu Wuxie's mouth, it dissolved instantly, transforming into a stream of nectar that coursed through his body.

"What an extraordinary pill!" Liu Wuxie marveled. Even though he didn’t know what pill it was, he could tell by the energy it radiated that it was at least a ninth-grade pill.

"This is the Ethereal Cloud Pill. The sect master only gave me one, and this pill ensures rapid recovery regardless of the type of injury," Her tone was soft, exuding the care and warmth of someone deeply devoted, as she attended to Liu Wuxie with the diligence of a wife tending to her husband.

Murong Yi stood by the side quietly, watching Liu Wuxie and Xu Lingxue interact without saying a word.

"It's all thanks to Senior Sister Murong this time, or none of this would have gone so smoothly," Liu Wuxie said. His complexion had improved visibly after consuming the Ethereal Cloud Pill, but there was a hint of guilt in the depth of his eyes when he looked at Murong Yi.

"I’ve already thanked Big Sister Murong. Let me take care of you from now on," Xu Lingxue said, remaining steadfastly at Liu Wuxie's side.

The atmosphere shifted subtly, with a faint tension hanging in the air from jealousy.

Xu Lingxue couldn’t ignore the unusual way Murong Yi looked at Liu Wuxie. Her intuition as a woman whispered that there was more between them than she understood.

But since they wouldn't speak, Xu Lingxue wouldn't pry as she continued to fulfill her role as Liu Wuxie's wife.

"We're all fellow disciples; there's no need to be formal. You two can continue while I stand guard," Murong Yi said with her usual smile, leaving for a quiet place to meditate.