Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 608 - Slaughtered

The barrier had cut off all escape paths for the Azure Crimson Gate's group.

"Are you going to take your own lives, or shall we have the honor?" Elder He said as he approached Li Hongda. The latter was the strongest of the five but was only in the fifth level of the Nascent Transformation Realm.

Yan Shan's cultivation was low, and his status was only due to his alchemy skills.

"Liu Wuxie, this is all your fault! I want you dead!" Li Hongda roared and lunged at Liu Wuxie. He was determined to drag Liu Wuxie down with him even if he would die.

"You're courting death!" Elder He vanished. Anyone here could die today, but not Liu Wuxie. The latter was the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's hope, and the sect master had given the order to ensure his safety no matter what. If Liu Wuxie lost even a strand of hair, the sect master would hold him accountable.

Li Hongda was fast, but Elder He was faster. The other elder from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion went after Yan Shan and Wan Xingwen's group of three, planning to kill them.

When a palm descended, Li Hongda crashed onto the barrier and spat out blood.

Liu Wuxie narrowed his eyes as he observed Elder He’s display of strength. He had seen Yi Xuan and Tian Xing fight before, but Elder He was on another level. This man was ruthless, but it was an essential quality for someone who was tasked with important tasks by the sect master.

Elder He brought out his full strength right from the start, leaving Li Hongda with no way to put up a fight.

"Don't kill me!" Wan Xingwen screamed before he was reduced to a pool of blood.

Then, it was Bao Zhe and Ma Shi's turn to die. They couldn't even put up a resistance against someone in the Nascent Transformation Realm.

Throughout the process, Liu Wuxie merely stood there quietly as if he knew that Elder He would shield him from harm.

A crowd gathered outside, observing the fight using their divine senses.

Yan Shan stayed rooted to the spot, resignation etched across his face. He understood the gravity of the situation—there was no saving it now, and any resistance would be futile. Meanwhile, Li Hongda was the only one still standing, clutching his chest as blood trickled from the corners of his lips.

"Liu Wuxie, you demon! You'll meet a horrible end!" Li Hongda spat, his voice raw and strained as blood gushed from his mouth with every word. Elder He's earlier strike had gravely injured his heart pulse, leaving him unable to resist.

"You won't live to see that day," Liu Wuxie said calmly. While he couldn’t predict his own fate, he was certain Li Hongda wouldn’t survive to witness it.

Elder He advanced steadily toward Li Hongda, each step radiating increasing murderous intent. Today’s events had been precariously close to disaster; if not for Liu Wuxie, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion’s reputation might have been irrevocably tarnished.

He had strongly opposed Liu Wuxie's proposal to make the formulas public. After all, this was unheard of since ancient times, but he finally knew Liu Wuxie's purpose—it was all a trap to lure their enemies out.

Liu Wuxie had foreseen that the Azure Crimson Gate wouldn't let this matter rest and would try to cause trouble. Thus, he wanted to use this opportunity to eliminate them in one strike.

With Li Hongda dead, Elder He slowly walked over to Liu Wuxie and gave the latter a thoughtful look. This young man, who appeared barely twenty, instilled a deep sense of fear in him. Only a god could accomplish something like this—effortlessly controlling life and death.

From the very beginning, Liu Wuxie had done little more than refine a batch of pills and speak a few words. Yet, his actions had indirectly led to the deaths of five experts, two of whom were in the Nascent Transformation Realm.

In the Southern Province, the death of someone in the Nascent Transformation Realm was rare, but two had died today.

When the Heavenly Pill Pavilion's staff called off the barrier, they quickly cleaned the battlefield as if nothing had happened.

What remained no longer interested Liu Wuxie, so he left the pills in the hands of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's shopkeeper, knowing that they could discern who to give them to.

He had been away for ten days, and it was time to return to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, hoping to reach the Astral River Realm soon.

Following what had happened, the Lesser Blade Association would need time to recover, and it was unlikely for them to provoke the Heavenly Dao Society again.

Not long after Liu Wuxie left, all the pills in the Heavenly Pill Pavilion were sold in less than half a day. The orders were packed for months to come.

The most sought-after pill was the Transcendent Pill, but it was a pity that only twenty were available per day, making it nearly impossible to obtain. Some were willing to pay fifty million spirit stones to get one. Even so, it was a market with demand, not supply, because no one would sell the Transcendent Pill.

With the crisis averted, Liu Wuxie returned to the sect with Fan Zhen. Bai Lin and Lan Yu remained behind to help with spiritual talismans and pills.

On the path back to the mountain, over a dozen people lay in ambush in the woods. They had been waiting there for half a day.

"Is the information reliable?" Ye Dao asked in a low voice.

"I'm certain that Liu Wuxie will return to the sect today. The higher-ups have given the order to kill him no matter what," whispered someone in the first level of the Astral River Realm.

"Isn't it a little rash? Liu Wuxie has just done great service to the sect. If we killed him, none of us would come out unscathed if the sect pursued this matter," another person said. There were a few people who didn't support the killing of Liu Wuxie. After all, they had witnessed Liu Wuxie's contribution to the sect.

"He caused so much trouble for the Lesser Blade Association, and he has to die today no matter what! The pills have already been established, and he's no longer as important as you think," Ye Dao said.

Liu Wuxie had turned the crisis around and saved the sect, but he didn't expect the Lesser Blade Association to still come after him.

The other members fell silent because there was no turning back now.

"He's here!" Those who were sent as scouts returned, with Liu Wuxie slowly approaching.

The Lesser Blade Association had camped there for days, mainly to wait for Yi Xuan's return to the sect. They had received news of Yi Xuan's return yesterday and had laid their ambush there.

......

On his way back to the sect, Liu Wuxie suddenly stopped, a cold smirk forming on his lips.

His divine sense was comparable to someone in the high levels of the Astral River Realm. Combined with Ghost Eye, he could detect everything within miles of range. He had long noticed the Lesser Blade Association members but pretended not to notice them.

"Old Fan, you wait here for me," Liu Wuxie said and vanished, heading straight toward the ambush. Before the Lesser Blade Association members could react, Liu Wuxie stood before them.

"Liu Wuxie!" they gasped. Liu Wuxie had discovered their ambush. Luckily for them, Liu Wuxie didn't attack immediately and merely stood before them.

"You people have waited long enough for me, haven't you?" Liu Wuxie asked in an icy tone as he gazed through the crowd like he was looking at a dead person.

Aside from Ye Dao, the others were nothing more than rubbish in his eyes.

"Liu Wuxie, today will be your last!" the ambushers cried, and they encircled him.

Ye Dao placed his right hand on the hilt, ready to strike any moment.

"Are you certain you want to do this?" Liu Wuxie asked, offering them one last chance. They were all disciples of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, and Liu Wuxie wouldn't mind sparing them if they picked the right path now.

"Enough talk—die!" yelled the disciple in the first level of the Astral River Realm, his sword swinging down at Liu Wuxie at blinding speed.

They were resolved to kill Liu Wuxie, and this was a rare opportunity. They wouldn’t get this chance again once Liu Wuxie returned to the sect.

"What a pity..." Liu Wuxie sighed. He raised his palm and created a giant palm with Frost Finger. Before those who charged over could react, they were crushed to death in a single blow.

This left the others frozen in disbelief. Killing so many people in the Astral River Realm with one strike made everyone wonder if Liu Wuxie had reached the high levels of the Astral River Realm.

Even Ye Dao's face changed, and he took a step back. Even he himself couldn't kill someone in the Astral River Realm with one strike.

"All of you can come at me! Seeing that you are all disciples of the sect, I'll give you all a swift death," Liu Wuxie said and gestured for them to attack together.

Everyone looked at each other, hesitant if they should attack. They knew there would be no path of retreat the moment they struck.

Everyone's eyes drifted to Ye Dao, their leader. If Ye Dao didn't act, it would be futile even if they attacked.

"Liu Wuxie, I have to admit that you're strong. But only one party can leave here today," Ye Dao said as he took a deep breath. When he unsheathed his blade, a powerful surge of blade intent exploded and came crashing down on Liu Wuxie. Even before his blade struck, anyone could tell he was an expert in the blade.

A tinge of pity flashed across Liu Wuxie's face. If Ye Dao could carry on honing his skills, it wouldn't be an issue for him to become a blademaster.

He drew the Heretic Blade to execute True Strike, a single slash swift as lightning, cutting through the air in one strike. This was a simple move, but it was imbued with unfathomable power.

Over the past few days, Liu Wuxie had been analyzing the profundity of True Strike through the Heavenly Dao Book, deepening his insight daily.

"How could this be?" gasped the onlookers as their bodies were all split into two by Liu Wuxie's blade.

Among them was Ye Dao, who was killed before he could even strike.

"Hahaha!" A bleak, hollow laughter escaped from Ye Dao as blood poured from his throat. Reflecting on their actions over the past few days, he suddenly saw the folly of it all.

Liu Wuxie had not gone out of his way to kill them—this much was clear, and it wasn’t fear that had stayed his hand.

"I, Ye Dao, lived my life with arrogance, and now this is how my journey ends. Retribution... I deserve this fate!" Ye Dao declared before collapsing to the ground, his body falling backward with a thud. The others who stood with him didn’t even have a chance to speak before their bodies disintegrated into fragments, consumed by their fates.

Then, Liu Wuxie summoned demonic flame with a wave of his hand and consumed the entire woods, erasing all the traces of what had happened.

Fan Zhen arrived moments later, hurriedly approaching after sensing the disturbance. "The Lesser Blade Association?" he asked, scanning the burned remains.

Liu Wuxie nodded, but he did not explain. There was no satisfaction in killing the likes of Ye Dao, and his mood was somber instead.

He knew these individuals were not inherently evil—they were merely following Qin Dao's orders. He knew that he could only resolve their conflict by killing Qin Dao.

The two picked up their pace and returned to the sect by midday. When they returned to the sect, a crowd gathered, cheering.

Word had already spread throughout the sect about how Liu Wuxie had averted the crisis and saved them, earning him the respect of everyone. Bouquets were presented to him as a display of admiration.