Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 691 - Advance in Soul Energy

A wild idea began to form in Liu Wuxie’s mind, and the ten-thousand-year deathguard was already closing in, leaving him with no room to retreat.

Behind him was a thick stone wall without any passage, while there were thousands of deathguards to his sides, and the altar shrouded in blood curses stood at the center. What other options did he have in such a desperate situation?

Ji Qiu and Tang Hong were both consumed by anxiety. There was nothing they could do to help but to watch from a short distance away.

“It’s up to you now, Heavenly Dao Book!” Liu Wuxie murmured to himself.

The Heavenly Dao Book suddenly flew out from his soul sea, and his body weakened, nearly collapsing onto the ground when it emerged. This action had drained almost all his soul energy.

When he poured the last of his soul energy into the Heavenly Dao Book, it transformed into a ray of sacred light that resembled a book and pure energy, burrowing into the skull of the ten-thousand-year deathguard.

Everything happened in an instant. The entire underground world was illuminated when sacred light poured like a waterfall.

Even the deathguards far off in the distance couldn’t withstand the sacred light’s crushing force, and many disintegrated into fragments.

There was no reaction from the ten-thousand-year deathguard when the Heavenly Dao Book burrowed into its skull, but it let out a chilling scream half a breath later. The sound was unbearable and shook the entire underground world.

Massive stones began to fall onto some of the thousand-year deathguards. The ten-thousand-year deathguard had gone berserk, swinging its arms wildly—occasionally smashing the altar and the thousand-year deathguards in the surroundings.

Amidst the chaos, Liu Wuxie caught a glimpse of the death crystal the size of a fist beneath the deathguard’s skull. The death crystal was dissolving at a visible speed, evaporating into deathly energy that escaped into the air.

The wails of the deathguard continued for five breaths before it finally collapsed, crumbling into bone fragments that scattered across the floor.

The Heavenly Dao Book had become incredibly dim, smeared with black energy as it returned to Liu Wuxie’s soul sea, guarding the core.

Liu Wuxie quickly took out another handful of Soul Condensing Pills and swallowed them. This time, the recovery speed of his soul energy was slow, and it might take ten days to half a month to fully recover. His soul sea was in ruins and severely damaged.

After killing the ten-thousand-year deathguard, Yu Lin exchanged a look with his companions, and they could all see the hint of greed in each other’s eyes.

“Young Master Yu, if we can obtain that mysterious book, won’t we be able to roam freely in the Heavenly Nether Battlefield?” One of Yu Lin’s lackeys whispered, his tone full of temptation to take the golden book for themselves.

Then again, Yu Lin had already eyed the Heavenly Dao Book even without their prompting, intending to claim it as his own. He and his men were free to act now that the deathguard was no longer a threat. As Liu Wuxie was currently gravely injured, he had become their ideal target, and they began to let out menacing chuckles.

“Brat, don’t say I didn’t give you a chance. Hand the golden book over, and I can spare your life!” Yu Lin said, walking over to Liu Wuxie, who had sat down to recover.

“You ungrateful scoundrels! Without Brother Liu killing the ten-thousand-year deathguard, you would have died long ago! How dare you turn on him instead of showing your gratitude!” Ji Qiu’s voice trembled with rage. He finally couldn’t keep watching any longer and stood before Yu Lin’s group, trying to stop them from advancing toward Liu Wuxie.

“Get lost!” Yu Lin snarled! He had no time to waste with Ji Qiu—his focus was on the golden book before escaping from this place. After all, the death guards didn’t dare to approach the golden book, which meant they had a high chance of escaping.

Ji Qiu couldn’t hold off Yu Lin and was sent flying away. His blood sprayed on the wall behind him, and his face became weak. Yu Lin didn’t hold back this time and delivered a blow meant to kill.

Tang Hong quickly stepped forward to support Ji Qiu. His internal organs were ruptured, and he needed a long time to recover. She immediately took out pills and fed them to Ji Qiu, protecting his heart.

Without Ji Qiu’s obstruction, Yu Lin continued to approach Liu Wuxie. The odds were stacked against him, not to mention Liu Wuxie couldn’t put up any resistance. He could only rely on his physique to confront Yu Lin at best.

Without soul energy, he couldn’t use the Earth-Binding Chains, the Heavenly Dragon Seal, inscribe immortal runes, or the Annihilation Fist.

......

“Brat, hand over the golden book, or don’t blame us for what happens next!” Yu Lin’s group encircled Liu Wuxie, preparing to strike.

“You all deserve to die!” Liu Wuxie growled, his eyes bloodshot with ferocity. He suddenly stood up, planning to use the life-saving pill that Mu Tianli had given him. But just when he was about to use the pill, something stirred in his soul sea.

His Soul Forge Art suddenly advanced, comprehending the second stage. The Soul Shield was only a vague shadow in the past, but it had now materialized into a formidable defense.

When Liu Wuxie made a breakthrough, several gates in the soul sea opened up, and boundless energy gushed out, filling his soul sea. The Heavenly Dao Book began to shine brightly with golden brilliance, and he had recovered most of his strength in less than half a breath.

This was why so many people were fond of putting themselves in danger, aiming for moments that would allow the human body to break through the limit. He had risked his life when he used the Heavenly Dao Book, putting his life on the line. The slightest mistake would’ve buried him in the ground.

But in the final moment, the advance of the Soul Forge Art had saved his life. Then again, he had also used the Heavenly Dao Book on a whim as he still had the life-saving pill gifted to him by his sect master, which served as his ultimate trump card.

He wouldn’t use it unless required, as the pill was too precious. No one knew how long Mu Tianli had hidden it for.

It had been a year since Liu Wuxie had started practicing the Soul Forge Art, and he was vexed that he couldn’t reach the second stage. The Soul Forge Art was only the first stage, and Liu Wuxie believed there were more stages.

From the information given to him by the Feather Emperor, he had learned that the actual Soul Spear could manifest into a spear reaching a thousand feet long, capable of piercing through the heavens and earth.

However, Liu Wuxie’s Soul Spear only spanned a foot long. He didn’t know how long it would take him to attain a thousand-feet-long spear. But judging from the current situation, the Soul Forge Art was enough for him to use.

The sudden transformation of Liu Wuxie’s aura changed Yu Lin’s expression. He hadn’t expected Liu Wuxie to make a breakthrough in the critical moment, raising his cultivation.

Liu Wuxie’s soul sea instantly brimmed with soul energy. Not only did he recover all his soul energy, but the amount of his soul energy even increased. This meant Liu Wuxie’s soul energy was dozens of times stronger than before his injuries.

According to his calculations, the Soul Spear could reach over a meter in length the next time he used it. The longer the Soul Spear, the more powerful it would become, thus increasing the chance of him killing his enemy.

Meanwhile, the Soul Shield had condensed into a defense that sealed his soul sea. Even powerhouses in the True Profound Realm would find it impossible to search his soul.

“You all deserve to die!” Liu Wuxie declared and took out the Heretic Blade. Time was running out, and he had to kill them quickly before dealing with She Bishi. He unleashed the True Strike that swept through the underground world with a fierce impact.

“Not good!” Yu Lin and his companions panicked. Liu Wuxie didn’t look injured and was many times more fearsome than before. This caught them off guard, and they had no chance to react. They hadn’t expected Liu Wuxie to recover his strength entirely.

As one body exploded after another, all eleven people were killed aside from Yu Lin. They couldn’t withstand the blade aura released by Liu Wuxie.

After all, Liu Wuxie could kill someone in the low levels of the Nascent Transformation Realm with one strike, not to mention those in the Astral River Realm.

Ji Qiu and Tang Hong were rooted in place, their faces frozen in shock. They hadn’t imagined Liu Wuxie’s strength to be so overwhelming.

“Yu Lin, it’s your turn now!” Liu Wuxie growled as the murderous intent he gave off increased with each step he took.

The Twin-Eared Serpents outside had already broken through the second layer of defense, and they were only one layer away from entering. As he fought Yu Lin, he tapped out with his finger and created an even more powerful ice shield.

However, this was only a short-term solution, and he raised the Heretic Blade high, executing True Strike once more. A terrifying aura from him made Yu Lin feel suffocated; he had never seen such a powerful blade technique before.

He was a cultivator from the Central Plains, and it was humiliating that he couldn’t deal with Liu Wuxie, who was in the fifth level of the Astral River Realm.

“Do you think I am powerless in front of you?” Yu Lin had been hiding his strength all along. His sword drew out a trajectory to disrupt the surrounding blade aura.

“Great River Sword!” A curtain of sword auras materialized, effectively intercepting Liu Wuxie’s True Strike. It became clear that Yu Lin was no ordinary opponent; the strongest foe Liu Wuxie had encountered so far in this life. Even Bai Yuan was pale compared to him.

“It’s futile! Your sword technique might be impressive, but that’s all to it!” Liu Wuxie’s power surged with every second, and he channeled yin and yang energies into his arms, creating a powerful blade aura that descended.

Facing Liu Wuxie’s attack, Yu Lin’s sword aura shattered, forcing him to retreat.

“How is this possible? We’re both in the Astral River Realm, but your strength is comparable to those in the fifth level of the Nascent Transformation Realm!” Yu Lin's expression turned grave as he couldn’t escape the surrounding blade aura. His back was pressed against the stone wall, and his death seemed inevitable.

Liu Wuxie had attacked with the intention of killing, and he had never felt such an intense urge to kill someone.

Yu Lin’s bones began to crack, and he looked as though he would die the next moment.

“You can’t kill me!” Yu Lin sneered and swiped his fingers together to undo a seal within his body. His aura began to rise and broke through to the Nascent Transformation Realm.

He did not need to make a breakthrough as he had already reached the Nascent Transformation Realm, but he had sealed his cultivation to enter the Heavenly Nether Battlefield.

If he had made a typical breakthrough, he would have required time, and Liu Wuxie would have had the chance to kill him over ten thousand times. But sealing his cultivation was different as he could undo it in less than half a second.

“Damn it!” Liu Wuxie cursed. He had already anticipated that Yu Lin had concealed his actual cultivation.

He didn’t hesitate to unleash the Earth-Binding Chains, determined to stop Yu Lin from escaping. If Yu Lin managed to escape, he would undoubtedly become a formidable foe in the future, and Liu Wuxie would have to kill him no matter what, and the Earth-Binding Chains would have flown out like a comet.

“Too late!” Yu Lin smirked as he tossed a corpse from his interspatial ring at the Earth-Binding Chains.

He had long anticipated Liu Wuxie would use the Earth-Binding Chains, and he had prepared for it after seeing how he had used them against the ten-thousand-year deathguard.