Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 72 - Making Use

The spiritual energy around Kuang He formed into a small vortex above him, and in just a brief moment, he had fully recovered the true essence of his dantian. But then something even more shocking happened—Kuang He’s cultivation began to rapidly increase.

“Look, he’s going to make a breakthrough in his cultivation!” This was simply unbelievable. Not only did the Golden Spirit Pill recover Kuang He’s true essence so quickly, but it even allowed him to make a breakthrough.

However, this was a pure coincidence because Kuang He had stayed in the fifth level of the Xiantian Realm for a long time and was already on the verge of making a breakthrough. So the Golden Spirit Pill was like a knock on the bottleneck. Even so, this was enough to shock everyone.

Kuang He opened his eyes, his expression a mix of excitement and gratitude. Black filth had been expelled from his body through his pores—the impurities that had been cleared from his meridians by the Golden Spirit Pill. Just as Liu Wuxie had said, the pill not only strengthened his foundation but also broadened his meridians.

When Kuang He’s aura finally settled down, his cultivation had stabilized at the mid-sixth level of the Xiantian Realm. Furthermore, his true essence had increased tenfold—an extraordinary achievement for someone who had just made a breakthrough.

“He’er, how are you feeling?” Kuang Qiu asked in a concerned tone. If there were no issues with the pill, the effects of the Golden Spirit Pill would be too heaven-defying.

“Father, I’m fine. Not only were my meridians broadened, but my internal organs have also been cleansed. My talent has doubled compared to before!” Kuang He smiled happily. When everyone checked Kuang He’s body with their consciousness, they couldn’t discover any toxin, and the effects of the Golden Spirit Pill were the same as what Kuang He had described. The internal structure of his body had been greatly improved after being transformed by the Golden Spirit Pill.

“Brother Liu, I’m grateful for the pill.” Kuang He came over and gave Liu Wuxie a deep bow. A pill like the Golden Spirit Pill couldn’t be found in the market, and it was an opportunity for him to consume one.

Liu Wuxie nodded in response, indicating that he had a favorable impression of Kuang He. This was likely because Kuang He had not opposed him during their previous encounter at the Thousand Seal Chamber of Commerce.

“Young Master Liu, I want to buy all the pills. How much do they cost? I won’t haggle, no matter the price,” said Ke Wen, rushing forward to grab Liu Wuxie’s attention. He was determined to purchase the remaining fourteen pills before any of the other pavilion masters could make a move.

“Ke Wen, you’re shameless! How can you buy all fourteen pills?!” Che Jiajun rushed over. He grabbed Liu Wuxie’s shoulders and said, “Young Master Liu, I only need one pill. I won’t bargain no matter how much it costs!”

As Ke Wen and Che Jiajun shamelessly fought for the pills, the other pavilion masters looked on in disgust. Chaos soon erupted as they all rushed forward to grab Liu Wuxie, each hoping to obtain a Golden Spirit Pill for themselves. Some grabbed his arms, others his legs, and in the commotion, the three judges were pushed out of the way.

Yun Lan watched in despair as the chaos unfolded. There was no doubt that the Golden Spirit Pill was effective—in fact, its effects far exceeded anyone’s expectations.

“Why am I born in the same generation as him!” Ji Yang smiled bitterly. His alchemy skills had improved greatly over the past year, and he could easily refine third-grade pills. After this competition, he was planning to head to the Imperial Capital to undertake the test to become a four-star alchemist, but what happened today was a great blow to his confidence.

“Yang’er, you don’t have to be disheartened. This might be a coincidence, and your alchemy skills are second to none in the Great Yan Dynasty.” Shangguan Cai didn’t know how to comfort Ji Yang. After all, how could it be a coincidence for Liu Wuxie to refine such a heaven-defying pill with pill runes on them?

“That’s enough. Look at how you are behaving now! Do you all still look like pavilion masters? Go back to your seats!” Master Mao roared, and the venue fell silent. The pavilion masters gathered around Liu Wuxie could only return to their seats helplessly. But before they left, they all gave Liu Wuxie a friendly gaze.

“Young Master Liu, you must visit Ling City when you’re free!” said the pavilion master from Ling City, a woman in her forties. She was pretty good-looking and gave Liu Wuxie a wink. But this only made Liu Wuxie feel goosebumps rising on his skin, as she was old enough to be his mother.

“Please don’t worry. I will hand the fourteen pills to Pavilion Master Bi, and you can look for him if you want to buy them.” Liu Wuxie finally heaved a sigh of relief after everyone left, and he threw the problem to Bi Gongyu. He didn’t come to this decision on a momentary impulse but made it after careful consideration.

The other cities isolated Azure Billow City. But with the fourteen pills, this was a good opportunity for them to win the other cities over on their side. If they sold the pills at a low price, those pavilion masters would owe them one, and the number of people who supported Liu Wuxie would increase greatly.

As for the result of this round, it was undisputed that Liu Wuxie was the first. Ji Yang ranked second, Qin Letian third, Zuo Hong fourth, and so on.

Liu Wuxie’s sharp gaze fell onto Du Mingze, Xiao Mingyi, and Wen Song, causing them to tremble in fright, and they took several steps back instinctively.

“Shouldn’t the three of you fulfill your bets now?” Liu Wuxie said coldly without a hint of emotion in his tone.

The three men trembled as they looked around, their eyes pleading for support. But no one came to their aid this time. People didn’t want to risk offending a talented alchemist like Liu Wuxie, who was capable of refining pills with runes on them. Even if they couldn’t buy the pills, they still wanted to befriend Liu Wuxie and learn from his alchemy skills.

Du Mingze turned to look at Mo Shidao, but Mo Shidao turned away. Seeing that his master was unwilling to even look at him, Du Mingze knew that he had been abandoned. If Mo Shidao spoke up now, he would become a public enemy.

“Liu Wuxie, we’ve lost. But it’s still too early to rejoice!” Wen Song was the first to go down on his knees. He feared Liu Wuxie’s blade that nearly killed Du Mingze the day before.

“What about the two of you?” asked Liu Wuxie, turning his gaze towards Du Mingze and Xiao Mingyi and releasing his soul energy towards them. The two men felt as if they were standing on the edge of a cliff, facing a raging torrent. Their legs buckled involuntarily under the pressure of Liu Wuxie’s golden soul sea, which had grown even stronger. He could easily control the souls of those at the fifth level of the Xiantian Realm, and they were powerless to resist.

“I’m unconvinced!” Xiao Mingyi roared with blood tears rolling down his cheeks. He had clenched his fists so hard that blood dripped down his hands, but no one sympathized with him because he asked for it.

“Boy, you’re courting death!” Yun Lan stepped forward, his palm aimed at Liu Wuxie. Despite being an expert in the Marrow Cleansing Realm, he was willing to attack someone in the Xiantian Realm.

As Yun Lan unleashed a powerful gale from his palm, Ke Wen reacted faster than Bi Gongyu as he stepped forward and stopped the attack, yelling, “How dare you?!”

When their palms collided, a powerful gust of wind swept outwards, causing the tables and chairs around them to shatter under the force of their attacks.

“Yun Lan, how dare you? Young Master Liu is a rising star of our Great Yan Dynasty’s alchemy world. Yet, you want to make a move and take his life? Can it be that you’re a spy from other dynasties, wanting to suppress the genius of my Great Yan Dynasty?!” Ping Shao, the pavilion master of Eastern Capital, stood up and reprimanded Yun Lan.

More pavilion masters joined in, condemning Yun Lan for going too far. They had all witnessed the bet and knew that it was only fair to honor it after losing. In an instant, more than twenty pavilion masters had stepped forward to support Liu Wuxie, creating an impressive display of solidarity.

Yun Lan was so furious that he wanted to throw out a mouthful of blood in this situation. Because of the Golden Spirit Pills, even the pavilion masters who had a close relationship with him turned against him.

“Let everyone here bear witness,” declared Che Jiajun, stepping forward. “If anything happens to Young Master Liu in Zen City, we will join forces with the headquarters to ensure that he is punished!” Yun Lan trembled at these words as he realized that he had lost.

Most of the pavilion masters were on Liu Wuxie’s side, and if Yun Lan continued to oppose him, he would have to face their combined wrath.

Nangong Qi and Heng Zheng remained silent, their faces pale.

“I am grateful to all the pavilion masters who have spoken up in my defense,” said Liu Wuxie generously. “To show my appreciation, I will give each pavilion master a Golden Spirit Pill.” He wasn’t stingy and planned to refine another batch of pills that night. If he could use the support of the pavilion masters to suppress Yun Lan’s faction, why not?

As for Shangguan Cai and Yun Lan’s faction, there were naturally no Golden Spirit Pills for them, and this made them grit their teeth because Liu Wuxie was too cunning.

“Then we’ll thank you in advance, Young Master Liu!” The twenty-odd pavilion masters cupped their fists with smiles on their faces. They planned to research the Golden Spirit Pill upon receiving it, especially its pill runes. They had a feeling the Golden Spirit Pill could aid them greatly.

With that, the farce came to an end.

Before everything was officially over, Ke Wen dragged Bi Gongyu away, saying, “Pavilion Master Bi, it has been a long time since we drank together. I’ll take care of the bill this time. Don’t refuse my offer, or don’t blame me for falling out with you.” The other pavilion masters followed behind, leaving Shangguan Cai, Li An, and Yun Lan with bitter expressions on their faces.

In the blink of an eye, everyone was gone.

When Liu Wuxie left the venue, the sunset shone down on him, making his figure look lonely. The Pill Gathering Pavilion was quiet as everyone had gone out, and only Liu Wuxie returned to the courtyard. Entering his room, he closed his eyes with his consciousness sinking into his dantian.

Meanwhile, the sapling in Liu Wuxie’s dantian had undergone a drastic transformation after absorbing the wood essence from a hundred herbs. The leaves became more vibrant, and the sapling had grown taller by a huge chunk, giving off dense wood essence.

Liu Wuxie figured out that the emergence of the pill runes seemed to be closely related to the sapling. He was intrigued by the sapling, as he had never encountered it before. The Great Desolate World had vanished long ago, leaving only a few fragments drifting through the universe. It was astonishing that such a small tree could emit so much wood essence, and Liu Wuxie could only imagine what it would look like when it grew into a towering tree.

As he circulated the Desolate Devouring Art, the surrounding spiritual energy poured into his body, and the sapling in his dantian reacted. The leaves slowly spread out to absorb the spiritual energy, which had formed into rain in Liu Wuxie’s dantian.

After being watered by liquefied spiritual energy, the ground of the world in his dantian exuded an ancient aura, and the purity of Liu Wuxie’s true essence began to rise.