Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 410 - Integrate

Fifteen books were placed before Liu Wuxie in less than ten minutes. The contents exactly matched Liu Wuxie's recitation.

The elder responsible for guarding the Scripture Collection Hall became silent. He had picked those books meticulously, but Liu Wuxie had recited the contents word for word, which was no coincidence.

There was no need for further testing; if Liu Wuxie could recall fifteen books, remembering 150 would be well within his capabilities.

The elder had no choice but to believe such a monstrous prodigy existed.

A smile crept on Liu Wuxie's face, and he cupped his fists together. "I'll take my leave if there's nothing else. I won't further disturb the elder's rest."

After speaking, Liu Wuxie walked towards the main gate. The gate opened, and Liu Wuxie returned to his courtyard at dusk.

"A prodigy! A true prodigy! He grasped half of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's techniques and must be closely monitored. If he joins another sect, the consequences would be unimaginable." A grey-robed elder emerged from the void, and he was the elder guarding the Scripture Collection Hall.

Historically, most disciples practiced only two or three techniques each, which helped prevent widespread leaks. However, today's events served as a stark reminder to the sect.

The grey-robed elder vanished and hurried to the main peak to report this matter to the sect master.

Upon hearing the news, Mu Tianli wasn't surprised and remained calm, listening to the elder's report.

"Sect master, shouldn't we do something about it? If the techniques are leaked out, the consequences would be dire. I suggest we confine him and prevent him from leaving the sect." The grey-robed elder voiced his opinion.

"This is no longer a secret!" Mu Tianli smiled bitterly and took out a booklet, throwing it to the grey-robed elder. Just moments ago, Mu Tianli had learned that Liu Wuxie had won a battle of spiritual arrays with Elder Wu Yang.

It hadn't been long, and the elder guarding the Scripture Collection Hall came to report something on Liu Wuxie.

The booklet recorded Liu Wuxie's history in recent months, including his performance in the mundane world. A look of disbelief flashed when the grey-robed elder placed the book down. He asked, "Can such a prodigy exist in this world?"

The elder still found it hard to believe. They had lived for centuries and had seen many geniuses, but someone like Liu Wuxie was too rare.

"I’ve received reports that several major sects have new prodigies emerging, and intriguingly, all of them come from the mundane world," Mu Tianli said as he handed another booklet to the grey-robed elder.

The ten major sects would closely monitor each other's development. After reading the names on the booklet and their cultivation speed, the grey-robed elder gasped in astonishment.

"Won't the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion be left far behind at this rate?" The grey-robed elder was worried. The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had only begun to improve in recent centuries, but were they going to be suppressed by the other sects again?

"The Heavenly Mountain Gathering in half a year will reveal everything." Mu Tianli wore a mysterious smile. The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's situation could not be improved in just a day or two; it was a long process.

"You want to let that brat participate in the Heavenly Mountain Gathering? He's only in the Heavenly Dipper Realm, and even if he makes swift progress in the next six months, he can't reach the Heavenly Phase Realm." The grey-robed elder shook his head. He understood the sect master's intentions, hoping Liu Wuxie's arrival could bring fresh energy into the sect, and he could make a name for himself in the Heavenly Mountain Gathering.

This was the only way the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's status could be elevated.

"We'll see!" Mu Tianli didn't dwell on the topic. Apart from Liu Wuxie, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had recently cultivated many outstanding disciples for the Heavenly Mountain Gathering.

......

After Liu Wuxie left the Scripture Collection Hall, he immediately went to the cultivation chamber. After reading so many books, his mind was a mess, and he had to organize the information quickly.

The cultivation chamber was undoubtedly the best place for him to do that. Not only was the cultivation chamber fortified with time law, but it also offered complete tranquility.

Liu Wuxie found a cultivation chamber and went in. When he sat down, his consciousness sank into his soul sea, with thousands of books hovering in it.

He carefully pondered and discarded some useless books while keeping the essence. Those discarded were like repetitive techniques.

The Heavenly Dao Book slowly opened up, and a bizarre scene unfolded. All the books he had recorded became new texts appearing in the Heavenly Dao Book.

Liu Wuxie was no longer surprised because every character represented a sequence. The cultivation and martial techniques were the result of countless people's efforts.

The books in Liu Wuxie’s soul sea began to disappear and were wholly integrated into his memory. This meant they could be accessed at any time, whenever he wanted.

"The Divine Phaseless Art...is a decent cultivation technique, but I've already practiced the Desolate Devouring Art. I don't need this for now, and I can give it to my father-in-law and mother-in-law when they come," Liu Wuxie murmured.

He could build a formidable clan with the knowledge from all those books if he organized them properly.

As he went through the books, Liu Wuxie's divine sense suddenly stopped.

"Way of Ice!" Liu Wuxie had read this book before but had yet to comprehend or memorize the contents. When he read through the contents now, he became increasingly astonished. This wasn't a peerless martial technique but an ice-attribute dao technique.

It had been in the Scripture Collection Hall for thousands of years, but no one had read it. After all, it wasn't a martial technique or a cultivation technique. There was a small line of texts at the end of the book, and an ancestor of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had created this.

That ancestor had comprehended ice-attribute energy, and he had recorded his insights in this book. After that ancestor's death, the book was stored in the Scripture Collection Hall.

Many disciples had attempted to learn it, but the results could have been better. This was because ice-attribute energy was too rare and difficult to comprehend.

There were no defined moves or detailed instructions on how to practice. As a result, everyone had gradually forgotten this book and left it in a corner.

After many years, Liu Wuxie found and read the book. Disciples possessing ice-attribute energy mainly chose to practice techniques like the Frost Palm or Ice Shatter Fist, which were less powerful and often abandoned halfway through.

"Such unique and precise insights about ice-attribute energy." Liu Wuxie was stunned when he was only halfway through because the content benefited him.

On the contrary, techniques like Firecloud Leg Technique and Cloud Shattering Palm were useless to him because they weren't comparable to the Fatality Blade Art or Primordial Astral Fist.

Practicing these techniques would not only waste time but also deplete true essence. However, the greatest advantage of these martial techniques for Liu Wuxie was their ability to compensate for his weaknesses.

After spending some time integrating all the martial techniques, Liu Wuxie believed he could create a new, more powerful technique than any of them.

The Way of Ice inspired Liu Wuxie; perhaps this was the path he needed to take next by integrating ice-attribute energy into his martial techniques, taking an unprecedented path.

Liu Wuxie immediately put his thoughts into action. The Heavenly Dao Book opened, and the recorded martial techniques merged and reshaped according to his thoughts.

He had the Fatality Blade Art for close range and the Primordial Astral Fist for pure power. The only lacking factor was ranged attack. When he fully comprehended the Way of Ice, insights began rising in his heart.

The greatest weakness of martial techniques is that they're in specific moves, like Yun Lan's Seven Sword Art. If one focuses too much on the form, it would result in mediocrity. Liu Wuxie pondered, deciding to break free from such constraints of being restricted in forms.

The Fatality Blade Art was an excellent example because there was no exact form, but each attack encompassed countless variations.

Countless texts began to overlap in Liu Wuxie's mind, and a vague outline gradually formed.

The martial techniques in the Heavenly Dao Book were repeatedly dismantled and reassembled, forming into palm, sword, dao, leg, blade, and staff techniques.

Even after creating hundreds of martial techniques, Liu Wuxie was still unsatisfied because these martial techniques didn't match well with ice-attribute energy.

Ice might seem to be formless, but it had a form. Since he wanted to take his opponents by surprise, he would have to defy conventional logic.

Time passed by the second, and many disciples had left the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion for the Scarlet Sun Mountain Range in the past two days.

It was rumored that a treasure had emerged there. In addition to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's disciples, several other sects’ disciples had also gone to the Scarlet Sun Mountain Range.

Liu Wuxie had been in seclusion for two days but still showed no progress.

His hands made various movements in the cultivation chamber, allowing ice-attribute energy to course through his veins to find the best attacking method.

Suddenly, a strand of ice-attribute energy shot out from Liu Wuxie's index finger, hitting the wall of the cultivation chamber. This was an accident because Liu Wuxie lost control of the ice-attribute energy coursing through his meridians.

When Liu Wuxie looked at the wall, a fine mark was left behind. Just a strand of ice-attribute energy was enough to leave behind a mark; he couldn't imagine the power if he used the ice-attribute energy at full force.

Liu Wuxie rejoiced at this sight because ice-attribute energy wasn't suitable for wide-range attacks due to the extreme temperature. The best method was to compress it into one point and unleash it.

"Hahaha! I have finally found the way!" Liu Wuxie burst into laughter. He had been fixated on mainstream techniques like the palm, sword, and blade. But he had overlooked another form of martial technique, the finger.

The best way to use ice-attribute energy was to strike through the finger. Finger techniques weren't restricted by form and could be executed regardless of his actions, whether sitting, standing, or walking.

Furthermore, they were versatile enough to be used in any setting. Most importantly, the finger technique's strongest aspect was its concealment, making it ideal for ambushes and long-range attacks.

The only drawback was the rarity because Liu Wuxie couldn't find a finger technique even after searching through all the books in the Scripture Collection Hall.

However, that wasn't important because he had a library of martial techniques, and it was easy for him to create a finger technique.