Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 180 - Blood Bat

The black figure’s fangs inched closer to Chen Ruoyan’s neck. Chen Ruoyan, having already lost consciousness, was unable to resist.

“What fair skin! It would be a pity to consume you just like this.” The black figure hesitated, torn between feasting on Chen Ruoyan and preserving her. However, a strong desire overcame him, and he screamed. Just as he leaned in, his fangs a mere inch away from Chen Ruoyan, a sharp ray whizzed past.

Liu Wuxie had swung his blade, releasing a blade ray, hoping to catch the black figure off guard.

In the nick of time, the black figure retreated while the blade aura tore apart the curtain, and the scenery was revealed entirely to Liu Wuxie.

On the stone bed, several dried-up corpses were lying around with their blood sucked dry.

Next to Chen Ruoyan lay a young man who appeared to have died recently. His corpse bore an expression of fear, and two puncture wounds on his neck indicated that the black figure had used his fangs to drain all the blood from his body.

This horrifying sight shook Liu Wuxie to his core. He found it hard to believe that such a brutal individual could exist. Chen Ruoyan hadn’t lost consciousness due to fear but rather due to the sight of the surrounding corpses.

Liu Wuxie dashed towards the stone bed, his blade aura locking onto the black figure. He had only one chance, and he couldn’t miss it.

The black figure, taken by surprise, felt the imminent death threat from the incoming blade. In response, he grabbed a large rock and placed it in the path of the Heretic Blade. The impact caused the underground palace to tremble.

“Did someone actually manage to infiltrate my bat cave?” The black figure, surprised, looked at Liu Wuxie, who had landed on the ground. Liu Wuxie’s attempt to kill the black figure had failed because the latter, who was at the sixth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm, was too powerful.

Upon closer inspection, Liu Wuxie finally got a good look at the black figure. His face was deathly pale, devoid of any trace of blood, and he had two fangs protruding from his mouth.

“Are you responsible for the disappearances in the Western Breeze Mountain Range?” Liu Wuxie was almost certain that this person was behind the mysterious disappearances in the mountain range. He had cultivated a strange technique that allowed him to control the bats outside.

“That’s right. I’ve eaten those who came in.” The black figure was called Blood Bat, and few people knew about him. He practiced a powerful technique derived from bats.

The mystery behind the disappearances was finally solved. Blood Bat had discovered this place for bat demonic beasts to breed and consume anyone who dared to intrude.

“You’re not from the Great Yan Dynasty!” Liu Wuxie searched his memory but found no information on Blood Bat. This meant that he must’ve moved here recently.

“You’re quite astute to deduce that I’m not from the Great Yan Dynasty.” Blood Bat scrutinized Liu Wuxie and felt a certain pressure emanating from this seemingly insignificant young man. Over the years, he had traveled to many places and had narrowly escaped death on several occasions. His actions naturally made him a target of every force, as he brought about widespread death wherever he went.

Half a year ago, the Blood Bat had entered the Great Yan Dynasty’s region. In the beginning, he didn’t dare to start a massacre. However, in the past month, he would capture the cultivators who came into the Western Breeze Mountain Range to train and suck their blood dry.

“Die!” Now that Liu Wuxie was certain that Blood Bat had caused all the disappearance, he swung the Heretic Blade down, wanting to end the battle quickly. There was an old man outside and countless bats. If he were to get trapped, he was practically confident that he would be the one dead.

“I can smell your rich blood essence. As long as I managed to devour you, my Blood Demon Art will reach greater mastery, and it will be a matter of time for me to enter the True Core Realm.”

The Blood Bat took out a weird jade flute, raised it to his lips, and started playing it.

“Damn!” Realizing that the Blood Bat was calling upon the bats, Liu Wuxie understood this wasn’t a simple beast tamer controlling bats through sound. He was a master beast tamer.

The Blood Bat didn’t have to do anything, and the bats were enough to kill him. Not to mention that this place was narrow, making it impossible to flee. His only option was to kill Blood Bat and make the bats disperse after losing their master.

With a dash, Liu Wuxie appeared at the gate of the underground palace. He took out array flags from his interspatial pouches to prevent the bats from entering. He planted the ten flags into the ground, creating a barrier.

In the next second, thousands of bats appeared at the gate, trying to enter, but the spiritual array blocked them out.

This relieved Liu Wuxie because the consequences would be dire if he were slightly slower. But the bats didn’t give up as they continued charging at the barrier, leaving layers of corpses on the ground. If this went on, the spiritual array would be destroyed.

“You’ve surprised me. You even know how to use spiritual arrays,” Blood Bat put away his flute as countless bats, including the old man, converged from all directions. However, they were all kept at bay by the barrier.

Liu Wuxie didn’t hesitate to perform the Blood Gleam Blade Art, sealing off all of Blood Bat’s path of retreat. But for some reason, Blood Bat kept retreating and wasn’t willing to fight him, and this naturally made Liu Wuxie curious.

Using the Ghost Eye technique, Liu Wuxie peered into the Blood Bat’s body and declared, “Ah, I understand now. You’re at a crucial stage in your cultivation and can’t risk using your true essence.”

This presented a golden opportunity. The Blood Bat was engrossed in cultivation and couldn’t mobilize his true essence. The Blood Demon Art was an odd technique. Once activated, it couldn’t be halted until the cultivator had consumed sufficient blood.

“Hmph. I can still kill you even without using my true essence.” Blood Bat was furious upon hearing that. He was in the sixth-level Marrow Cleansing Realm, but he could only be forced to retreat when facing Liu Wuxie.

A strange blood-colored energy permeated in the underground palace. It wasn’t true essence, but something akin to it—likely blood energy.

The Blood Bat’s black robe fluttered open, revealing a figure that hovered like a bat, complete with bared fangs. His nails, more accurately described as claws, were half a foot long, leaving deep gouges in the surrounding walls with each swing of his hands. Their toughness was comparable to weapons, capable of tearing people apart.

Liu Wuxie didn’t dare to be careless because there were over a hundred thousand bats outside, biting at the barrier. Judging from the intensity of their attacks, the barrier could only last for fifteen minutes. He had to kill Blood Bat within fifteen minutes to leave this place alive.

Executing the Nine Heavenly Crane Dance, Liu Wuxie’s true essence materialized into a pair of white wings. The scene was reminiscent of a showdown between an angel and a demon, with Liu Wuxie’s white wings contrasting against the Blood Bat’s black ones.

Wielding the Heretic Blade, Liu Wuxie activated Ghost Eye to identify the Blood Bat’s weakness. His chances of victory were slim against an opponent at the sixth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. A single misstep could lead to his demise. However, this was his opportunity, as the Blood Bat couldn’t utilize his full strength.

He unleashed a powerful blade aura, tearing apart Blood Bat’s hands. But Blood Bat’s nails were tougher than Qian Kun’s Thunderstorm Gloves. As sparks flew, both Liu Wuxie and the Blood Bat were sent flying backward.

Liu Wuxie could sense a shaking in his dantian, and there was something weird about the blood energy that could affect the circulation of his true essence. It was no wonder the Blood Bat could live for so long despite what he did.

Even someone in the pinnacle of Marrow Cleansing Realm might not be able to kill him, which was the benefit of being a demonic cultivator. The strength of demonic cultivators was stronger than ordinary cultivators.

Then again, there were also many flaws, such as not being accepted by everyone and having to resort to extreme means to cultivate.

The moment Liu Wuxie’s true essence infiltrated the Blood Bat’s body, the latter’s countenance shifted dramatically. The destructive nature of the true essence twisted his features into a sinister grimace.

“You’re stronger than I gave you credit for,” Blood Bat admitted, his hands moving swiftly to form a crimson seal.

This revelation caused Liu Wuxie to furrow his brows. The Blood Bat’s power was more formidable than he had anticipated. He shuddered at the thought of facing the Blood Bat in his prime instead of when he was cultivating; a single blow could have been fatal.

Keeping the Heretic Blade, Liu Wuxie began forming seals. This wasn’t a martial technique but a form of defensive seal. There were many means he couldn’t use as he hadn’t reached the Marrow Cleansing Realm. However, using the seals could allow him to control the energy in heaven and earth.

The seals Liu Wuxie formed grew increasingly profound, changing Blood Bat’s face. Despite being so young, he didn’t expect Liu Wuxie to have such means. After all, even a spiritual array grandmaster couldn’t set up an array in a breath’s time.

The crimson seal let out a rumble that echoed in the underground palace.

Seven minutes had passed, and large cracks had begun appearing on the barrier, but Liu Wuxie was still calm and composed as the near-transparent seal enveloped him, reducing the effect of blood energy on him.

Suddenly, Liu Wuxie took on the Overlord Fist’s posture, locking onto Blood Bat, and his true essence shattered the crimson seal.

“What power is this?! How can it be so terrifying?!” Blood Bat began to panic because he felt death looming over him when Liu Wuxie performed Overlord Fist. His body began to tremble, and he felt like a divine beast was looking at him.

The Overlord Fist alone wouldn’t be enough to defeat the Blood Bat. Liu Wuxie, using Ghost Eye, locked onto the Blood Bat, readying a soul attack. It had been a while since he last used such an attack, but with his life hanging in the balance, he had no other choice.

“Blood Bat, your reign of terror ends today!” Liu Wuxie declared.

He unleashed an energy from his eyes that penetrated into the Blood Bat’s eyes.

“ARGGGG!” Blood Bat was caught by surprise because he didn’t expect Liu Wuxie to be capable of unleashing a soul attack. The attack made his soul sea burn while he clutched his head, letting out a scream.

Taking advantage of this moment, Liu Wuxie executed the Overlord Fist once more, unleashing a powerful shockwave that reduced all the furniture in the path of his punch into ashes.