Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 86 - Layout Changes

As Liu Wuxie’s blade aura approached Xue Yang’s head, his eyes reflected a fear of death, and a cloud of death miasma rose from his head. It is said that those who are dying release a cloud of death miasma before their death, signaling the end of their life.

Without his sword, Xue Yang was powerless and could only await death. With no way out and the wall behind him, he sighed before dying, realizing that Liu Wuxie had found his weakness at the top of his head. His death wasn’t by chance.

Xue Yang fell before he could even scream as the blade aura entered his head and reached his brain. The elites of the Wan and Tian Clans were all dead, along with the four experts from the Xue Clan, all killed by Liu Wuxie.

The entire street fell into a brief silence as everyone’s brains stopped functioning, not knowing what to say.

“Is it over just like that?” The few shop owners finally regained their senses.

“It looks like Azure Billow City is going to change. We must return quickly and remove the goods from the Wan and Tian Clans and replace them with goods from the Xu Clan.” As more people left the battlefield, they returned to their shops to remove any association with the Wan and Tian Clans.

“Second Brother, lead everyone to the Tian and Wan Clans to uproot them completely. Drive anyone who surrenders out of Azure Billow City and take over the assets of the two clans,” ordered Xu Yilin. Although the two clans had been destroyed, their assets remained, and the Xu Clan needed to quickly take control of them. The Xu Clan had suffered significant losses, including the burning of three oil mills, and needed to replenish their resources.

Having killed experts from the Xue Clan, the Xu clan knew that the Xue Clan would send someone to retaliate. The Xu Clan would soon face off against the Xue Clan, making resources extremely important.

“Roger that!” replied Xu Yishan as he led the deacons and several hundred guards with him. They split into two groups and headed towards the Wan and Tian Clans.

The remaining guards began to clean up the streets, moving the corpses into a carriage.

“Give them a proper burial!” Xu Yilin was a person with a clear sense of grudges. They were already dead, and he would naturally do his best to give them a proper funeral.

The carriages of corpses were transported out with servants cleaning the blood off the street.

“We’re lucky you arrived when you did, Wuxie, or things could have been much worse!” Xu Yilin walked over to Liu Wuxie, patting his shoulder with a sense of relief. He had spent years worrying about Liu Wuxie and was pleased to see him maturing.

“Father-in-law, I’ll go and greet them.” Liu Wuxie nodded before heading in Bi Gongyu and Qi Enshi’s direction. The two hadn’t left yet and were waiting. When Liu Wuxie’s gaze met Qi Enshi’s, they simply stared at each other in silence.

“City Lord Qi, I won’t forget what happened today. We have a long journey ahead of us, so all I can say is good luck,” Liu Wuxie didn’t take action against Qi Enshi. As a City Lord representing the government, it wasn’t easy to kill Qi Enshi, especially considering the City Lord Mansion had its own powerful private troops. He could only use his intelligence to defeat Qi Enshi.

The Xu Clan was still in a state of crisis, and he couldn’t afford to concern himself with the City Lord Mansion. He planned to address the issue with the City Lord Mansion once everything had calmed down.

“Young Master Liu, your performance today was truly impressive. As you said, we have a long journey ahead of us, so I wish you good luck as well,” said Qi Enshi, taking a deep breath to suppress his anger. After speaking, he turned and headed back to the City Lord Mansion.

Liu Wuxie didn’t stop Qi Enshi from leaving. He watched until Qi Enshi’s figure had completely disappeared before turning to Bi Gongyu and bowing deeply.

“I am deeply grateful for the pavilion master’s assistance in restraining Qi Enshi. I will always remember this favor,” Liu Wuxie expressed his sincere gratitude. Without Bi Gongyu’s intervention, the Xu Clan’s chances of victory would have been slim, even with his return. He and his father-in-law were already struggling against Xue Yang. If Qi Enshi had joined in, the fate of the Xu Clan would have been dire.

“No need for thanks, given our relationship. Visit the Treasure Pill Pavilion when you have time.”

Liu Wuxie naturally knew that Bi Gongyu helped him because he wanted his alchemy techniques.

“I’ll pay the Treasure Pill Pavilion a visit after I’m done with everything,” Liu Wuxie said and turned around, returning to the Xu Clan. He was exhausted from rushing back and fighting this battle. He didn’t have much true essence left and needed a good rest.

“Alright. I’ll look forward to hearing your good news!” Bi Gongyu said before leaving with Master Huo.

The battle had finally come to an end, with the Xu Clan emerging victorious. The news spread like wildfire throughout Azure Billow City, shocking everyone. The balance of power in Azure Billow City, which had remained unchanged for decades, had been completely upended in just one day.

An hour later, Xu Yishan returned with the deacons and guards of the Xu Clan, bringing back dozens of carriages filled with resources. This was the accumulated wealth of the Tian and Wan Clans over the past hundred years and was of great value. The colosseum shops belonging to the Tian and Wan Clans were also taken over by the Xu Clan. Liu Wuxie had taught the Xu Clan a beast-taming technique, so it was expected that their business in the colosseum would thrive.

The servants of the two clans were willing to submit to the Xu Clan. As for those who were unwilling to submit, they were given a sum of gold coins and sent away from Azure Billow City. The Xu Clan had a good reputation in Azure Billow City, built up over time.

Upon returning to his courtyard, Liu Wuxie found that it was no different from how it had been ten days ago. This was because the servants had been cleaning it regularly over the past few days.

The entire Xu Clan was like a well-oiled machine as everyone got busy, but Liu Wuxie’s courtyard remained quiet, with no one coming to disturb him. This was because Xu Yilin had given an order that no one was allowed to approach Liu Wuxie’s courtyard without being summoned.

As night fell, Liu Wuxie had spent half a day cultivating and replenishing his true essence. After the battle, he felt his bottleneck beginning to loosen.

Xu Clan’s main hall was brightly lit as the higher hierarchies of the Xu Clan were gathered there. All of them had excitement on their faces, but some showed deep sorrow in their eyes. Today was a big victory, and everyone was supposed to be happy, but for some reason, Xu Yilin couldn’t bring himself to feel joy.

“Patriarch, are you worried about the Xue Clan’s revenge?” Deacon Lan asked, stepping forward.

Everyone frowned at the mention of the Xue Clan. Even after the Tian and Wan Clans were destroyed, the Xue Clan was a huge mountain resting on Xu Yilin’s heart.

They may have survived this crisis, but a larger one was on the horizon, and it was uncertain if they could weather it.

“Patriarch, the Xue Clan is based in the Imperial Capital, and under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t send their most powerful experts here. If we take precautions, we should be safe,” Deacon Qi suggested, expressing his opinion.

The Xue Clan’s power was concentrated in the Imperial Capital, and Azure Billow City was relatively insignificant. Therefore, under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t send any overly powerful experts there.

“But we must remain vigilant. The Xue Clan has many high-level Marrow Cleansing Realm experts. Even if they send someone at random, it would be difficult for the Xu Clan to resist,” Deacon Lan cautioned, emphasizing the need for seriousness. After all, they had killed four experts from the Xue Clan, and no clan would stand by idly in such a situation, which was akin to a slap in their face.

“What should we do then?” The deacons looked at each other, their mood of worry overshadowing any joy they might have felt about their victory.

The main hall fell silent as no one knew what to say. The Xue Clan was a colossus to the Xu Clan, an insurmountable mountain.

Xu Yiling, despite having reached the Marrow Cleansing Realm, was considered an ordinary cultivator in the Imperial Capital. They had a long way to go and were waiting for the patriarch’s decision.

Just then, Liu Wuxie entered the main hall, drawing everyone’s attention. They suddenly realized that all might not be lost. Everyone had seen Liu Wuxie’s performance that day. Given more time, the Xue Clan might not be able to shake the Xu Clan’s position.

“Wuxie, you’re here!” Xu Yilin, still troubled by the Xue Clan issue, greeted him.

“These are the materials I require. I don’t care what you guys do, but gather them within ten days. I will use them to set up a defensive spiritual array. Even if Xue Clan’s experts arrive, they won’t be able to break through the spiritual array,” Liu Wuxie stated straightforwardly. He wrote down the required materials and asked everyone to gather them.

They only had ten days before the Xue Clan would send someone. Therefore, they had to set up the spiritual array before their arrival.

Once Liu Wuxie finished speaking, he turned and left, leaving everyone looking at his retreating figure.

Everyone soon regained their composure. They were aware of the power of Liu Wuxie’s spiritual arrays, especially Xu Yishan, who had dared to return because a spiritual array protected the mines.

“I believe there’s no need for me to say anything more about it. Even if we must turn Azure Billow City upside down, I want all these materials gathered no matter what!” Xu Yilin ordered. He was well aware of the situation with the mines and knew that a defensive spiritual array fortifying the clan could buy them some time.

Over a dozen deacons hurriedly set out to procure the necessary materials, despite the late hour. The most commonly required items were demonic beast cores and spirit stones, both essential for a spiritual array.

Meanwhile, the higher-ups of the Song Clan were still awake. About a dozen people sat in the main hall, their expressions troubled. The power dynamics in Azure Billow City had changed, which presented both opportunities and challenges for the Song Clan.

Previously, the Song Clan held the top rank among the four clans. But with the Tian and Wan Clans now destroyed by the Xu Clan, the Song Clan found itself in an awkward position.

“Patriarch, there is news that the Xu Clan is plundering materials required for spiritual arrays,” an elite disciple came in and reported.

Hearing that, Song Tianhao’s eyes lit up as he turned to the other elders.

“Patriarch, make a decision!” the Grand Elder urged.

Soon after, Song Ling was summoned to the main hall, still groggy from sleep. He was currently under confinement and was not allowed to leave the clan for three months. “Father, why did you call me so late at night?” Song Ling asked casually.

“The fate of our Song Clan now rests in your hands. Take these and deliver them to the Xu Clan...” Song Tianhao explained his plan to Song Ling.

Song Ling nodded like a chicken pecking on the ground. He had heard about the day’s events but hadn’t realized how serious they were.

The gates of the Song Clan opened to let out a carriage laden with goods. Song Ling sat in the carriage, cloaked in fur made from a demonic beast to shield against the cold wind. Typically, at this hour, the restaurants and brothels would still be bustling with activity, but tonight, they were eerily quiet.

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