Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 667 - Breathtaking Battle

The world plunged into a brief darkness, and everyone lost their sight. They could only rely on the dim lighting to discern their surroundings.

Their battle formation and attacks were all futile before Liu Wuxie's blade. It felt as though everything in the surroundings had been destroyed.

The death toll continued to rise, and the panic led to a stampede. The battle formation was messed up when everyone panicked, caused by one strike from Liu Wuxie.

"A bunch of clowns!" Liu Wuxie's cold voice echoed, striking terror into their hearts.

He was right. These people, driven by their ulterior motives, lacked unity. None were willing to stand their ground, thus giving Liu Wuxie an opportunity.

The chains of death extended out from the endless void, burrowing into the ground. This caused screams to echo and erupt from the surroundings.

When the darkness receded, what remained was the ground riddled with holes, along with blood and pieces of flesh.

A bizarre scene unfolded in the skies above. Numerous figures were suspended in the air, immobilized as though an invisible chain bound them.

Then, to everyone's horror, piles of empty skin began falling to the ground. It was a dreadful sight to behold. Hundreds of human skins rained down from the sky.

Everyone has seen rain, snow, and even hail, but human skins were raining today. The other sects' disciples, watching from a distance, felt their legs buckle and teeth chatter at the sight, many collapsing to the ground.

Terror struck them from this gruesome scene. They thought they had witnessed everything as cultivators, but what happened today had overturned their understanding.

There were many means to kill, but extracting the victims’ energy and turning them into a pile of skin in such a short time was unheard of. Liu Wuxie had shattered their understanding of brutality.

......

There was an uproar outside the battlefield. Bai Jin, Feng Gaowiu, and Xu Yanghui rushed toward the soul tablets. Their hearts twitched when more than half of the soul tablets shattered in unison.

This was unprecedented in the history of the Ten Grand Ceremonies, and over two hundred disciples were lost in a single breath.

On the contrary, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion suffered practically no casualties. So far, they had only lost five to six disciples in the final battle.

"What's going on?" One of the Sky Rift Valley's elders trembled. Everyone's hearts had tensed at the sudden shattering of over two hundred soul tablets. Though the Sky Rift Valley and Misty Sect didn't suffer many casualties, it was unavoidable for them to worry it might happen to them.

The competition was far from over, and the collective approval of the ten major sects was required to prematurely conclude the final battle.

"Could it be...?" The Divine Sun Palace's elder thought of a wild possibility.

"Could it be what?" The disciples from the second-tier sect asked, eager to know what was happening. After all, the deceased disciples were painstakingly nurtured by the three sects, but they had all perished in the Heavenly Mountain.

"Could they be killed by the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion?" The Divine Sun Palace made bold speculations. While it might be inconceivable for Liu Wuxie to slay so many disciples by himself, it might be plausible if everyone from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion united.

"That's impossible! The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's strength is weaker than the Azure Crimson Gate. How could they kill so many people?" someone immediately retorted, dismissing that idea.

There were various speculations. Some suggested the Demonic Heart Palace did it, and others proposed the possibility of them joining forces with the Transcendent Plume Gate. If the two sects joined forces, they could eliminate so many disciples.

Yet, after much speculation, no one could imagine the truth. The deaths were all the work of one man—Liu Wuxie.

......

Over a dozen meters of radius around Liu Wuxie was empty. All the disciples from the three sects who had charged over were all dead.

Countless people took a deep breath, and the snowmen retreated silently. They had abandoned their pursuit of Liu Wuxie after witnessing his strength. The thief who stole the ten-thousand-year Snow Lotus was in the Thorn Peak Valley, but the snowmen didn't dare to approach, intimidated by Liu Wuxie's blade strike.

Of the four-hundred-strong army, half had been wiped out in the blink of an eye.

"Senior Brother Liu is too strong, holding his ground even against over four hundred people," the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion disciples guarding the entrance cheered. They were worried at the beginning, but their fears were clearly unfounded.

No matter how many Astral River Realm experts there were, none of them could pose a threat to Liu Wuxie.

"Don't celebrate too early. Junior Brother Liu's real opponents are Bai Yuan and Deng Yong," Lan Ling said, his face still clouded with concern. The ordinary disciples in the Astral River Realm were of no concern, and killing them held little significance.

Liu Wuxie could only obtain victory by killing Bai Yuan and Deng Yong.

......

"This is a real man. Only someone like him is worthy of Senior Sister Xu," said the Misty Sect disciples with admiration. Many had initially criticized the relationship between Xu Lingxue and Liu Wuxie, but their attitudes had completely shifted after witnessing his strength and resolve. Only a hero like Liu Wuxie was worthy of their Senior Sister Xu.

......

Treading over countless corpses, Liu Wuxie walked steadily toward Bai Yuan and Deng Yong. As for the other disciples, they were of no concern as Liu Wuxie could butcher them easily if he wanted.

With the entrance blocked, the valley became a cage for the three sects' disciples.

The Thorn Peak Valley was initially a cage the three sects had set up for Liu Wuxie, but the situation had changed. If the three sects' disciples wanted to flee, they had to get past Lan Ling.

With the addition of the spiritual array Lan Ling had set up under Liu Wuxie's guidance, it was ensured that no one would leave the Thorn Peak Valley alive.

"Bai Yuan, come fight me!" Liu Wuxie roared, pointing the Heretic Blade at Bai Yuan. The latter was his true enemy; he could quell his rage only after killing him.

Yu Tianyi stood before Bai Yuan, trembling. He had completely lost the courage to face Liu Wuxie.

"Liu Wuxie, I underestimated you. I should have killed you when we were outside," Bai Yuan growled, his face contorted with fury. This battle had brought devastating losses to the Heavenly Origin Sect, with nearly seventy true disciples—its younger generation's elite—lost.

The same was true for the other two sects, which had lost many of their elites.

"Do you think you could have killed me outside?" Liu Wuxie retorted with a cold smirk. "You never had the ability to kill me—not then, and certainly not now."

Liu Wuxie's words were arrogant, but he had made it clear to everyone that Bai Yuan was not his match.

......

"Everyone, attack! Exhaust his true essence!" Deng Yong said, planning to use their numbers to wear down Liu Wuxie's true essence. But few were willing to listen to his command. They had been intimidated by Liu Wuxie's display of strength earlier, and their courage had been shattered.

When Liu Wuxie approached Bai Yuan, Yu Tianyi suddenly darted in an attempt to flee.

"Yu Tianyi, do you remember our feud from two years ago?" Liu Wuxie's eyes fixed on Yu Tianyi, causing the latter to freeze in place, not daring to move an inch. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"W-What do you want?" Yu Tianyi panicked. He knew that without Bai Yuan's intervention, his death was inevitable if Liu Wuxie decided to attack him.

"To kill you!" Liu Wuxie replied. His only intention was to kill Yu Tianyi.

"You dare kill someone in my presence?" Bai Yuan finally acted. The Heavenly Origin Sect couldn't suffer any more losses, and he had to stop Liu Wuxie's killing spree. The Heavenly Origin Sect's strength would be further weakened with every death.

"No one can stop me from killing someone I want," Liu Wuxie declared. The Earth-Binding Chains shot out like a lightning bolt and bound Yu Tianyi in place. The latter's fate was sealed without Liu Wuxie needing to lift a finger.

When the Earth-Binding Chains tightened, Yu Tianyi was lifted into the air. He swung his limbs around in an attempt to struggle, but the chains had rendered him utterly powerless.

If Shen Ling were still alive, the sheer terror alone would likely frighten him to death. The Earth-Binding Chains displayed the true power of a treasure, rendering his Extreme Yang Rope utterly insignificant in comparison.

Bai Yuan's expression darkened as he realized Yu Tianyi had already fallen into Liu Wuxie's hands before he could intervene. This was a blatant humiliation. Despite being in the Nascent Transformation Realm, Bai Yuan was powerless to stop Liu Wuxie when the latter was intent on killing.

"Liu Wuxie, release me!" Yu Tianyi screamed in panic, his voice filled with desperation.

"Die!" Liu Wuxie merely tapped out with his finger, and the Earth-Binding Chains tightened, snapping Yu Tianyi's body into two.

The primordial soul couldn't leave the body without reaching the Nascent Transformation Realm, and Yu Tianyi was killed without any chance of survival.

After killing Yu Tianyi, Liu Wuxie shifted his gaze to Ye Feng. He didn't dare to use the Earth-Binding Chains recklessly against Bai Yuan or Deng Yong as they were too strong. He could risk damaging his soul energy if he used the Earth-Binding Chains on them.

The Earth-Binding Chains had to be controlled with soul energy, which would be troublesome if his opponents' soul energy was stronger than his.

Ye Feng panicked. He had already concealed himself in the crowd, but Liu Wuxie still found him.

Liu Wuxie was determined to kill him no matter what. The fact that Ye Feng could rise from a cultivator in the mundane world to a true disciple had proven his talent.

Ye Feng was relentlessly ensnared by the Earth-Binding Chains and brutally strangled to death. The gruesome sight was chilling as Liu Wuxie retracted the Earth-Binding Chains after dispatching both of his targets.

Controlling the Earth-Binding Chains each time would exhaust his soul energy, and Liu Wuxie had to preserve his strength as he still had to face Deng Yong and Bai Yuan. The actual battle had only just begun.

"Brother Bai, let me deal with him!" Deng Yong declared, waving his hand to dismiss the others. Sending those in the Astral River Realm would only lead to needless sacrifices.

The three sects could no longer afford additional losses. The sheer number of deaths had already inflicted a devastating blow, and it would take at least a century for their sects to recover from the damage, leaving their foundations dangerously fragile.

True disciples were the backbone of their sects, and their loss threatened to leave a void that would weaken the sects for generations.

Bai Yuan nodded in agreement. Both were in the Nascent Transformation Realm and had no intention of lowering themselves to gang up on Liu Wuxie.

Deng Yong advanced slowly, his murderous intent intensifying with each step. The surrounding space began to fracture and distort, a display befitting someone at the second level of the Nascent Transformation Realm.

"Liu Wuxie, you can die now!" Deng Yong roared, striking down with his palm at Liu Wuxie.

Liu Wuxie, however, used the rebound force from the strike to evade, a tactic that had humiliated Deng Yong before. The memory of that moment continued to gnaw at Deng Yong, fueling his fury.