Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 150 - Ninth Level of the Xiantian Realm

“Brother, this brat is too slippery. He’s been evading us for too long using his movement technique. Let’s use our most powerful attack!” Losing patience, Bo Er swung his sword, which mirrored the grace of a crane spreading its wings. Using a tree branch as a springboard, he launched a direct assault on Liu Wuxie’s head.

“Agreed!” Bo Yi disappeared, burrowing into the ground, which shocked Liu Wuxie. This was the first time he had seen someone using a ground burrowing technique in a battle.

The elder twin, Bo Yi, had mastered the properties of the earth and developed a technique to manipulate it. On the other hand, the younger twin, Bo Er, had comprehended the characteristics of the wind, enabling him to hover and glide in the air briefly.

The twins were extraordinary, and it was no wonder Ji Yang sent them, believing it would be hard for Liu Wuxie to defend against their unpredictable attacks even if he was strong.

“What pitiful tricks!” Liu Wuxie’s lips rose into a smirk. He was more or less done with tempering his physique and didn’t want to waste any more time with the twins. Drawing his blade, Liu Wuxie executed Ghost Eye and could see every single movement of the two brothers.

In an abrupt move, Liu Wuxie swung his blade downward, causing blood to spray into the air as a head was severed. The blade had found its mark on Bo Yi’s neck, staining the ground red with his blood before he could even launch his attack.

“Brother!” Bo Er’s scream echoed through the night, filled with anguish. He lunged at Liu Wuxie, ready to risk everything in a desperate attempt to avenge his fallen brother.

A powerful sword aura tore apart the surrounding trees, expelling the darkness and allowing moonlight to illuminate the surroundings.

“You’re courting death!” Liu Wuxie retorted, unleashing a fierce blade aura that tore through the sword aura.

Bo Er momentarily froze in mid-air before being cleaved in two, his blood splattering onto the ground to join his brother’s. His eyes, filled with unending hatred, gradually lost their light.

After securing the twins’ interspatial pouches, Liu Wuxie wasted no time and returned to his courtyard. Upon entering his courtyard, he activated the spiritual array, isolating his courtyard from the outside world.

“Let’s see if you can help me reach the ninth level of the Xiantian Realm!” Liu Wuxie declared, pulling out three types of pills—Bone Refining, Marrow Cleansing, and Soul Refining. After spending ten days in the Flame Sun Cave, he had amassed over two thousand units of liquid in the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. Coupled with the pills, this should be sufficient for him to ascend to the ninth level of the Xiantian Realm.

A vortex formed around Liu Wuxie as he circulated the Desolate Devouring Art, consuming half of the spiritual energy above the Imperial Academy. Upon ingesting the three pills, he experienced an intense pain, as if his meridians were being ripped apart.

The Marrow Refining Pill felt like a fireball burrowing into his meridians, forcibly trying to strengthen his blood. The excruciating pain from this process wasn’t something bearable for ordinary people.

A deep roar came from Liu Wuxie’s mouth. But due to the spiritual array, the roar was trapped in the courtyard. His expression became ferocious, with each vein and bone being tempered repeatedly.

“I can bear it!” Liu Wuxie said, gritting his teeth. He had the will of an Immortal Emperor, and this pain was nothing to him. It wasn’t enough to make him crumble.

At the same time, impurities flowed out from his pores. He had worked hard to temper his physique in the past few months. But this time, his entire body was undergoing a complete transformation. The stronger his physique, the higher his future achievement would be. It was something that the will of an Immortal Emperor couldn’t provide for him.

His soul sea also felt like it was being torn apart. After consuming three Soul Refining Pills, the energy from the three pills was like a powerful gale, broadening up his soul sea. The soul sea was like dantian, with the size fixed at birth.

However, Liu Wuxie’s soul sea was different from others. His soul sea was golden, something he had never heard before. As his soul sea began to expand, this soul energy that was initially dense became thinner. It looked like his soul energy had weakened, but that was the opposite.

The pain continued for an entire day and night before it gradually subsided. Liu Wuxie’s spiritual sense gradually sank into his body, and the runes covering the surface of his skeleton looked like a layer of membrane protecting it. The blood in his veins felt like flowing magma, with each impact causing a rumbling sound.

When his consciousness entered his soul sea, he discovered that the scale of his soul sea had increased by one-fold. The golden threads became sparse as they dispersed around in his soul sea. But as he continued cultivating, the golden threads would become dense again.

His bottleneck also began to shake like a galloping wild horse.

“Time for my breakthrough!” The two thousand droplets from the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron poured out, filling the barren world within his dantian. As a rumbling sound emanated from his dantian, the world within began to expand and stretch. A faint crystalline barrier also materialized around this barren world, making it increasingly resemble a complete world.

The Origin Yang Pills also melted into a liquid form, further filling his dantian. In an instant, he had consumed over five hundred Origin Yang Pills, a rate that would be intolerable even for someone in the Marrow Cleansing Realm. But that wasn’t all. Liu Wuxie took out ten spirit stones, placing them in his palm. Dense spiritual liquid flowed from the stones, seeping into his body through his pores.

“This feels incredible!” As Liu Wuxie’s cultivation began to rise, he soon broke through his bottleneck, reaching the eighth-level Xiantian Realm and heading straight for the ninth-level Xiantian Realm. Upon his breakthrough, a powerful storm erupted from his surroundings, surging from his pores and sweeping across the area.

The furniture in the room began to creak before it was reduced to dust by the shockwave. This shocked Liu Wuxie, who couldn’t believe this was the power in the ninth-level Xiantian Realm.

The Desolate Devouring Art was like a beast, devouring all the spiritual liquid formed in the sky. In the next moment, this alarmed the entire Imperial Academy.

“What’s happening? Where has all the spiritual energy gone?” Immersed in their cultivation, numerous students opened their eyes as they sensed the thinning of the surrounding spiritual energy. They emerged from their rooms one by one; their gazes turned skyward in confusion.

“Holy shit, the spiritual energy is all heading towards the Earth Grade district!” A Heaven Grade student muttered to himself, bewildered by the individual capable of consuming such vast amounts of spiritual energy. He wondered if that person wasn’t afraid of bursting from ingesting so much spiritual energy.

Everyone spent the night in uneasiness. After all, the exhaustion of spiritual energy wasn’t a good sign. But fortunately, the disappearance of the spiritual energy gradually stopped after daybreak, and the surrounding spiritual energy was gradually restored.

Over the next two days, Liu Wuxie stayed in his courtyard to stabilize his cultivation. He gradually stopped after consuming five each of Bone Refining Pills, Marrow Refining Pills, and Soul Refining Pills. His cultivation was stuck at the pinnacle of the ninth-level Xiantian Realm, and any more progress became difficult.

When knocking sounds echoed from outside, Liu Wuxie opened his eyes. A terrifying light flashed in his eyes, producing a buzzing sound in the courtyard as the trees began to sway without wind.

Li Shengsheng had been waiting outside for a while, and he had just sensed a threat to his life, prompting him to step back.

Gathering himself and suppressing his aura to the eighth level of the Xiantian Realm, Liu Wuxie emerged and opened the door to find Li Shengsheng standing there.

“Junior Brother, the banquet is about to begin. Freshen up; we’ll be leaving soon!” Li Shengsheng stated his purpose outright. The end-of-year banquet was always a lively affair, with various classes competing against each other.

“Alright!” Liu Wuxie returned to his room. He was covered with a layer of impurities because of his breakthrough. He cleaned himself and changed into a set of new clothes before exiting the room.

Li Shengsheng’s mouth dropped when he saw Liu Wuxie again. He teased, “Junior Brother Liu, I’m afraid you’ll charm many junior sisters if you go out with that face of yours.”

Liu Wuxie was handsome, with defined eyebrows and clear pupils. Combined with his tall figure, this made him stand out among the crowd, like a crane among a flock of chickens. He had undergone a complete transformation; those were the only words to describe the current Liu Wuxie.

The Bone Refining Pills, Marrow Refining Pills, and Soul Refining Pills had transformed his body entirely, making it perfect. His skin was smooth and delicate, which could make any woman jealous.

Song Ling and the other students from the advanced class seven had already left for the banquet. Engrossed in his breakthrough, Liu Wuxie would have completely forgotten about the event without Li Shengsheng’s timely reminder.

“Senior Brother Li, what are the usual arrangements for these banquets?” Liu Wuxie inquired. He was new to the academy and unfamiliar with the annual end-of-year banquet.

“The banquet primarily involves academic exchanges in martial techniques, alchemy, blacksmithing, and spiritual arrays. If you prefer not to participate, you can simply observe. Our Advanced Class Seven typically prefers to keep a low profile,” Li Shengsheng explained. The event was akin to a year-end assessment.

Since the academy didn’t have a ranking system, the banquet allowed everyone to make a name for themselves.

“Junior Brother, you need to be wary of a few individuals. I’ve heard that the Xue Clan has set their sights on you for this banquet. However, as long as you ignore them, they won’t be able to touch you,” Li Shengsheng cautioned in a hushed tone. It was no secret in the academy that the Xue Clan planned to use this opportunity to eliminate Liu Wuxie.

Liu Wuxie nodded in understanding. He knew that the Xue Clan wouldn’t allow him to continue growing and would do everything possible to eliminate him.

The banquet venue was located at the martial arts field in the academy. The field was vast and could accommodate tens of thousands of people. The place was brightly lit, with everyone waiting. The field was separated into three regions for Earth, Profound, and Heaven Grade students.

Each region was further subdivided into smaller regions for the elite, advanced, and ordinary classes. The advanced class seven had the fewest people. Even with Liu Wuxie and Song Ling included, they only had ten people.

The scene was bustling from a distance, with numerous individuals taking to the arena to display their skills and prowess. The martial arts field housed several arenas. The banquet was more than just an academic exchange and sparring session among students.

“Hold on, Young Master Liu!” A figure emerged from the nearby woods, obstructing Liu Wuxie’s path.

“Lady Chen!” Chen Leyao appeared to have been waiting for some time.

“Young Master Liu, you must be careful of the Xue Clan. They have sent many experts to challenge you at the banquet until they kill you.” Chen Leyao, being of royal lineage, had her own sources of information. Having been in the academy for several years, she was well-connected. Upon hearing about the Xue Clan’s intentions, she promptly sought out Liu Wuxie to warn him.

“Your information is much appreciated, Lady Chen!” Liu Wuxie didn’t need to speculate that she had likely alerted the elder in the Alchemy Hall to caution him. After all, he had previously rescued her from Xue Baisheng, which meant she was indebted to him.