Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 163 - Spirit Cleansing Realm

Bai Zhan didn’t wait for Liu Wuxie’s response and launched a punch, releasing a potent wave that morphed into a storm, resembling a ferocious dragon lunging at Liu Wuxie. The force of this punch was no less than that of anyone in the first level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm, underscoring Bai Zhan’s extraordinary abilities and audacious demeanor.

Even someone in the high levels of the Spirit Cleansing Realm might be unable to take this attack head-on. Bai Zhan’s goal was simple, which was to kill Liu Wuxie.

The elder responsible for the third floor hid under the table, preferring to stay out of the fray.

Bai Zhan’s swift punch left Liu Wuxie with scant time to react. In a fraction of a second, Liu Wuxie retaliated with the Overlord Fist. He had regained half of his strength, as a full-force attack could potentially kill someone in the lower levels of the Marrow Cleansing Realm, and he had no intention of taking a life at the moment.

Bai Zhan’s origin was unknown, but his audacity to commit murder here suggested he had a formidable backing.

The third floor's rumbling and shaking alarmed many students from the second floor, who quickly ascended to see what was happening.

Bai Zhan’s fist, enveloped in flames, forced the nearby students to shield their eyes, preventing them from getting a clear view of the battle.

The shockwave produced by the punch rocked the five-layered golden pagoda, which was built to withstand battles even between Marrow Cleansing Realm experts. The students who had come up to watch were sent flying away.

Both Liu Wuxie and Bai Zhan retreated. Liu Wuxie took ten-odd steps, retreating to the entrance of his cultivation chamber. As for Bai Zhan, he retreated to the counter, and the impact shattered it. The elder who hid beneath the table came out with dust covering his face.

Bai Zhan’s face was terrifyingly dark. Even though he had not used his full strength in that punch, it should have been enough to kill someone in the Xiantian Realm.

Liu Wuxie felt as though his arm was electrocuted with a powerful force coursing through his veins. He had underestimated Bai Zhan. This person was a formidable foe and wasn’t as simple as he looked.

Meanwhile, Bai Zhan’s arm was also shaking lightly with a sharp pain that made him take a deep breath. They didn’t continue to fight; they stood where they were, looking at each other.

Murderous intent appeared on Bai Zhan’s face, with a blood stench permeating the entire third floor. As for the students from the second floor who were sent flying away, they got back up and looked at the two with horror.

“It’s Bai Zhan! Who provoked him?” a student cried out upon recognizing Bai Zhan.

“Isn’t that Liu Wuxie? Why is he fighting with Bai Zhan?” Another student, clinging to a distant pillar, noticed Liu Wuxie. The previous night's events were still fresh in everyone’s minds—how Liu Wuxie had slain Xue Rui with a single strike of his blade, earning him instant fame. Discussions about Liu Wuxie had been rampant recently, and his background had been thoroughly investigated.

Unfazed by the ongoing chatter around him, Liu Wuxie inserted the token into the slot of the cultivation chamber. As the stone gate gradually opened, he stepped in without a moment’s hesitation, leaving behind Bai Zhan, who was gritting his teeth in frustration. Had it not been for the numbness in his arm, Bai Zhan would have launched an attack to kill Liu Wuxie on the spot.

As Liu Wuxie entered the cultivation chamber, Bai Zhan, in a fit of rage, kicked a nearby pillar, causing it to crumble and sending the second-floor students fleeing in fear.

“I don’t care who you are, but I’ll tear you apart for hindering my breakthrough to the Marrow Cleansing Realm.” Bai Zhan threatened. He had finally found an opportunity to make a breakthrough on this trip, which was why he had immediately headed to the cultivation chamber upon his return, only to find it occupied.

With no other options, Bai Zhan headed to the second floor and entered a cultivation chamber.

When Liu Wuxie stepped into the cultivation chamber, he could sense dense spiritual energy pouring into his pores.

“Not bad! The fifty credits are worth it!” he exclaimed. The cost, equivalent to 5,000,000 gold coins, was beyond the reach of an average person. In Azure Billow City, it was the annual income of a major clan, yet they could only afford a single day’s cultivation in the chamber.

The cultivation chamber was spacious, approximately fifty square meters in size. A mat was centrally placed, emanating a subtle ripple effect around it. The walls, crafted from special materials, were impervious to ordinary weapons, making them a popular choice for those wishing to test their strength post-breakthrough.

As Liu Wuxie only had one day, he didn’t dare to delay further and sat down on the mat, circulating the Desolate Devouring Art. The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron began to devour the surrounding spiritual energy without his control. The spiritual energy here was denser compared to the Flame Sun Cave.

Within a moment, the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron generated ten droplets of the enigmatic liquid, and the count kept rapidly increasing. After reaching the ninth level of the Xiantian Realm, Liu Wuxie had nearly depleted all the mysterious liquid. He estimated that he might need at least ten thousand liquid droplets to ascend to the Spirit Cleansing Realm.

When Liu Wuxie circulated the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron at full force, a black vortex appeared above his head, devouring all the spiritual energy in the cultivation chamber at an alarming rate.

“This won’t do. The spiritual energy in this cultivation chamber isn’t sufficient for me to make a breakthrough!” Liu Wuxie opened his eyes and surveyed the cultivation chamber. His gaze, enhanced by the Ghost Eye, penetrated the walls and observed the central control system.

The five-layered golden pagoda was constructed with a massive array, extracting the spiritual energy from underground veins and channeling it into the individual chambers. The chambers on the first floor had the thinnest density of spiritual energy, roughly about three times compared to the outside world, ten times for the second floor, and fifty times for the third floor.

Despite the high concentration of spiritual energy, it was still insufficient to meet Liu Wuxie’s needs. His dantian couldn’t be measured in the usual way because the purity of his true essence was a hundred times that of others.

“Alter the array!” The first thing Liu Wuxie thought of was to modify the spiritual array and gather the surrounding spiritual energy.

Removing the blue slabs on the ground, Liu Wuxie began forming seals and injecting them into the spiritual array. An unusual scene unfolded as the spiritual energy in the cultivation chamber became denser.

“That’s more like it!” Liu Wuxie clapped his hands and returned to the mat to cultivate. His consciousness entered his dantian as the amount of liquid increased in the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. The liquid had increased to over a hundred droplets in just ten minutes.

As time passed, Liu Wuxie continued to circulate the Desolate Devouring Art. The spiritual energy in the chamber had become so dense that it formed into a small river.

“This feels great!” Liu Wuxie exclaimed, taking out the remaining Bone Refining Pills and swallowing them. They were better than nothing. Half a day had passed unknowingly, and the liquid accumulated in the cauldron had increased to over five thousand droplets. He even harbored the desire to stay here for ten days and nights. If he did, he might even reach the third level of the Spirit Cleansing Realm.

In the end, Liu Wuxie could only sigh that he didn’t have that many credits on him.

“What’s going on? Why is the spiritual energy thinner than usual?”In the other chambers on the third floor, everyone was asking the same question as they emerged to investigate the situation. The depletion of spiritual energy was even more noticeable on the second floor, with half of the spiritual energy being drained, and the first floor was roughly the same.

On the first floor, over a hundred students came out of their chambers because the density of spiritual energy had become comparable to the outside world. This naturally alarmed the spiritual array masters in the Imperial Academy, who sent people to investigate. However, no matter how they tried, they couldn’t identify the problem.

Bai Zhan screamed in frustration. He was on the verge of a breakthrough, but the sudden disappearance of spiritual energy led to his failure. This meant he was still stuck at the pinnacle of the Spirit Cleansing Realm. He would have to try another time if he wanted to make a breakthrough.

Then again, Liu Wuxie knew nothing about that, immersed in his own world. When dusk arrived, the liquid in the cauldron reached a count of ten thousand droplets.

“Time to make my breakthrough!” Liu Wuxie’s meridians released a roar that flowed in his veins like magma. The ten thousand liquid droplets poured out from the cauldron. A terrifying scene occurred as cracks appeared on the ground in the world, manifested within his dantian, and more saplings emerged.

However, for some reason, only the ancient tree grew taller, while the growth of the other saplings was slow. The nutrients they absorbed were all sent to the ancient tree.

Liu Wuxie didn’t know the name of this ancient tree, so he simply referred to it as the ancient tree. Despite scouring many books, he couldn’t find any clues about it.

The ancient tree began to grow violently, with lush leaves and branches stretching to the void. Shortly after, Liu Wuxie swayed and nearly fell as a branch emerged from his body, absorbing the spiritual energy in the chamber.

“Could it be that the Desolate Devouring Art is evolving?” Liu Wuxie was perplexed. This was his first time practicing the Desolate Devouring Art, and he lacked experience. He could only proceed cautiously, taking one step at a time.

As the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron evolved, the Desolate Devouring Art also evolved as they were interconnected.

“The speed of the cauldron absorbing spiritual energy has increased.” Another tree branch reached into the void and devoured spiritual energy. The liquid in the cauldron also began to grow at a rapid rate.

Liu Wuxie decided to put his thoughts on hold as his breakthrough was fast approaching. He planned to take his time to analyze the recent changes after he had completed his breakthrough. Regardless, he perceived the current changes as beneficial rather than detrimental.

Each breakthrough of his dantian required a tremendous amount of spiritual energy. Since the branch of that mysterious ancient tree could aid him in devouring spiritual energy, it was only logical to utilize it.

The process of his breakthrough was like a hammer smashing against the crystal wall, producing a rumbling sound. It felt like a certain acupoint had opened up, with his true essence flowing throughout his body like a tidal wave, soon permeating every corner.

This feeling was superb. In the past, his body and soul were separated. But after reaching the Spirit Cleansing Realm, his soul and physique had perfectly merged, and he could sense it distinctively. This was a drastic transformation and not just a breakthrough in his cultivation.

The liquid that had pooled on the ground was entirely absorbed. This is why Liu Wuxie had decided to enter the cultivation chamber. If he were to absorb spiritual energy in the outside world, it would take at least a month to accumulate such a substantial amount to aid in his breakthrough.

As Liu Wuxie’s meridians began to expand, his dantian became bigger. Vast chunks of boulders also rose from the ground, a sign that the earth attribute was awakening.

Liu Wuxie’s true essence coursed throughout his body, completing thirty-six cycles before returning to his dantian. When the true essence returned to his dantian, they were much purer than before.

The true essence of ordinary people was in the form of mists, but Liu Wuxie’s true essence was in the form of liquid, converging into rivers in his dantian.

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