Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 129 - Frost Spiritual Bead

Liu Wuxie quickly regained his composure and turned his attention to the magma river. At its center, on the rock, sat a black bead that emitted an intense chill, freezing everything within a few meters radius.

But how was that possible? The temperature of the magma river was over a thousand degrees Celsius, capable of melting everything that fell into it. The fact that the black bead could freeze the magma was enough to say that it was no ordinary object. Only one thing could accomplish this: the power of elements.

Even though the magma was extremely hot, it didn’t possess any elements unless it could form a flame core. The birth of each element required thousands, if not tens of thousands of years. For instance, wood elements required a tree to grow for tens of thousands of years. Water elements could only be found in the ocean depths. Metal elements were only present in metal-rich areas, and earth elements were found in massive mountains.

The black bead gave off a terrifying chill that distorted the surrounding space. It possessed a rare chilling yin element. Liu Wuxie quickly sifted through his memories about elements. There were many races in the Celestial Realm capable of wielding elements, which humans referred to as magic. They utilized various elements to unleash different types of magic, and their power was not inferior to martial techniques.

In contrast, humans preferred to incorporate elements into martial techniques, a stark departure from magic.

Only the Flame Sun Cave can give birth to this Frost Spiritual Bead. As the saying goes, Yin and Yang could combine and reject each other. This is magical... Liu Wuxie pondered to himself as he never expected to find a Frost Spiritual Bead in the Flame Sun Cave. As for how the Frost Spiritual Bead was born, Liu Wuxie wasn’t too sure about it.

It had been hidden within the rock, devouring the surrounding spiritual energy. Everything in the world was spiritual. Regardless of the demonic beasts or demons, they would give birth to spirituality after evolving to a certain degree. That was especially the case for the demonic spirit clans. After evolving to a certain degree, demonic beasts could take on the humanoid form, making it hard for anyone to detect that they were demonic beasts.

Some trees and rocks could also give birth to spirituality after absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. To an ordinary person, those were highly precious. Liu Wuxie had witnessed a pill transforming into the humanoid form known as the Pill Immortals. He had also seen weapons, known as artifact spirits, giving birth to spirituality.

Back in the Celestial Realm, one of the ten Immortal Emperor’s true body was a weapon, possessing unfathomable strength. The Frost Spiritual Bead, too, had begun to manifest a hint of spirituality. Although currently negligible, it might evolve into a humanoid form and roam the world in a hundred thousand years. The increased density of spiritual energy in the surroundings, a result of Liu Wuxie’s recent cultivation breakthrough, had likely drawn out the Frost Chilling Bead.

“Yin could also be found whenever there was Yang, and they were polar opposites that attracted each other like a magnet. A hundred years from now, this place will give birth to a Blazing Yang Bead as well...” Liu Wuxie muttered, looking at the Frost Spiritual Bead. He naturally couldn’t give up on such a treasure. If he refined this bead, he could comprehend the frost element and reach the eighth-level Xiantian Realm, relying on the energy contained in this Frost Spiritual Bead.

As the surrounding spiritual energy gradually faded, the Frost Spiritual Bead no longer devoured the surrounding spiritual energy and gradually sank back into the rock. When the Frost Spiritual Bead disappeared, the surrounding chill disappeared shortly after.

“What should I do? I can’t fly in the Xiantian Realm, and there’s no way I can go over there!” Liu Wuxie was about twenty meters away from the rock. It wasn’t a problem for him to reach the rock, but coming back up was an issue. Without the Frost Spiritual Bead, the magma’s temperature would return and devour the rock. At that time, Liu Wuxie would be incinerated into ashes even if he had a powerful physique.

He paced around his current position, unable to find a solution.

“If I land on the rock and obtain the Frost Spiritual Bead, I only have two breaths of time before the magma devours me. That doesn’t work...” Liu Wuxie ran multiple analyses in his mind, and the probability of success was low. However, he wasn’t willing to give up just like that. He had come to the Imperial Academy for resources, and such a precious resource was right before him. Giving up would be akin to forfeiting his path forward.

The Frost Spiritual Bead was a treasure that was hard to come by, and he might not find another one in a thousand years. The Frost Spiritual Bead had absorbed the spiritual energy here for over a thousand years. The longer it was nurtured, the harder it would be to subdue it.

A day had passed without knowing, and Liu Wuxie was restless, unable to focus on his meditation. Whenever he shut his eyes, the Frost Spiritual Bead would appear in his mind.

“There’s a way!” After thinking for an entire day and night, Liu Wuxie finally found the solution and slapped his thigh, standing up.

“There must be a trajectory to the magma. As long as I can find the trajectory, I can avoid the impact and seize the breath of time!” Liu Wuxie rejoiced upon discovering the trajectory. This was akin to a river; one could easily find the river’s flow by observing its changes. Since the Ghost Eye could discover the weakness of its opponents’ attacks, it should be able to discover the trajectory of the magma river.

Without hesitation, Liu Wuxie activated the Ghost Eye, focusing on the magma river, starting from fifty meters. He noticed that when the first magma wave reached forty meters, it encountered a slight bend. The magma was calm until it passed through that segment, generating a powerful impact with the magma reaching five meters high. This continued till the magma reached the rock, splashing on it.

This process lasted six hours, and Liu Wuxie didn’t dare to bat an eye. He exhausted all his soul energy before finding a pattern in the magma flow: the magma would become ferocious every two hours. This meant there would be a period of calm in between, and the speed would slow down during the impact.

He could avoid the ferocious moment if he grasped the exact timing. Furthermore, Liu Wuxie also noticed that when the magma crashed on the rock, it formed into a miniature vortex.

As long as Liu Wuxie obtained the Frost Spiritual Bead, he could escape from the vortex, and the success rate would be at least fifty percent. However, failure would result in him being swallowed by the magma, leading to his demise in the extreme heat.

Liu Wuxie took out everything from his interspatial pouch and found a bunch of ropes. He secured them to a massive rock as he planned on using the rope to descend and ascend as a safety measure. After that, he spent another two hours observing the patterns of the magma river before confirming that everything was as he had calculated.

After ensuring everything was in place, Liu Wuxie sat down to meditate to bring his state to the peak. Being at the seventh level of the Xiantian Realm, his ability to absorb spiritual energy was significantly enhanced. When the Frost Spiritual Bead sensed spiritual energy gathering, it emerged from the rock again to snatch spiritual energy with Liu Wuxie.

After recovering all day and night, Liu Wuxie opened his eyes, a terrifying true essence emanating from him that left holes in the surrounding walls.

When Liu Wuxie stood up, the Frost Spiritual Bead looked somewhat unsatisfied. It was the same as food being taken away from someone mid-meal. After all, such dense spiritual energy was rare. If the Frost Spiritual Bead could continue to devour the spiritual energy, it could shorten the time it required to nurture its spirituality.

Calculating the time, there was an hour before the next calm period, and Liu Wuxie stood quietly at the cliff's edge. He tied the rope against his waist and tested if it was sturdy enough.

An hour later, as the magma’s splashing significantly reduced, Liu Wuxie didn’t hesitate to act upon his decision. In the world of cultivation, indecisiveness was not an option, and once a decision was made, it had to be seen through, even if it meant risking one’s life. This was the heart of a cultivator.

Liu Wuxie crossed the twenty meters in the blink of an eye, taking advantage of the fact that the Frost Spiritual Bead hadn’t sunk into the rock again.

This naturally made the Frost Spiritual Bead sense danger, and it darted towards the rock. Before Liu Wuxie even got close, he could sense a terrifying chill sweeping over him, making him tremble from the cold. He circulated the Desolate Devouring Art to devour the surrounding chill, ensuring that the chill wouldn’t hinder his movement.

Even if someone in the Marrow Cleansing Realm came, they would be frozen solid by the chill. Liu Wuxie wore a special glove to ensure that he wouldn’t be frozen to death upon direct contact with the bead. He reached out at the Frost Spiritual Bead as he approached it.

The surrounding magma seemed to have sensed that the underground magma would become even more terrifying without the Frost Spiritual Bead, as a magma wave swept over, trying to engulf Liu Wuxie.

Liu Wuxie performed a mid-air spin as the magma swept beneath his foot, causing him to break out in a cold sweat.

“That was dangerous!” Even if Liu Wuxie had calculated the trajectory of the magma river, he didn’t expect the trajectory of the magma to change because of the Frost Spiritual Bead. But he had already come this far, and it was futile for him to regret it now. Behind him, the magma had become a flaming dragon charging at him.

When Liu Wuxie got closer to the Frost Spiritual Bead, the terrifying chill engulfed him, covering his brows with a layer of white frost. This significantly decreased his movement speed, which wasn’t a good sign. If he were frozen solid, he would fall into the magma river.

Suddenly, the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron began to revolve, devouring the chill in the surroundings and restoring Liu Wuxie’s freedom. He would've died by now if he didn’t have the Sky Devouring Art or Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron.

The Frost Spiritual Bead had retreated to the edge of the rock. If the bead sank back into the rock, Liu Wuxie would have to spend time splitting the rock to retrieve it, which would delay his retrieval process. Recognizing the need for decisive action, he accelerated abruptly.

“Damn it! Let’s go all out!” Liu Wuxie was like a celestial crane as he sank like a meteor, shuttling past two lumps of magma. He was putting his life on the line as he brushed past the scalding magma. His calculations with the Ghost Eye were precise, allowing him to pass through the two lumps of magma just before they exploded.

But it was a pity that no spectators were clapping for him. He grabbed onto the Frost Spiritual Bead with his right hand just when his body was suspended mid-air. The moment he came in contact with the Frost Spiritual Bead, a terrifying chill swept over him, covering his body with thick ice. But he didn’t have the luxury to think about that and gently tapped his foot on the rock and flew up the cliff using the rope around his waist.