Desolate Devouring Art

Agonized cries rolled endlessly across the surroundings.

The Lung Palace had presented mortal danger, yet a route leading to its gate still existed. Even the Heart Bridge had allowed some hope of reaching the opposite side. Here at the Spleen Palace, however, their chances of surviving had plunged to a terrifying low.

The cultivators' hearts grew heavy as they stared at the distant stone golems.

"Are we really going to stay trapped here until we die?" many cultivators murmured, despair hollowing their expressions as their will to survive slowly faded.

Chaos consumed the area within moments. No one spared a glance for the wounded cultivators lying across the ground, abandoning them to face death alone. At that critical moment, human nature revealed its cruelest face. With life and death hanging in the balance, selfishness inevitably conquered compassion.

From the edge of the field, Liu Wuxie watched the entire battle unfold. At the same time, the Heavenly Dao Book had already begun deducing a route through the golem formation.

According to Liu Wuxie's calculations, he had only a thirty percent chance of success if he travelled on the ground. Taking to the air would increase his odds to roughly seventy percent.

Disorder continued mounting as more cultivators arrived. Every newcomer drew in a sharp breath the moment they witnessed the horrifying scene.

"Something isn't right. Elder Shen San should've killed Liu Wuxie by now, so why hasn't he come back?" Shen Mo asked.

He stood among the surviving Shen Clan disciples, all of whom watched the entrance with deeply furrowed brows.

The ordinary stone golems descended beneath the earth one after another, leaving the terrain uneven once more. Only the colossal stone golem remained aboveground, showing no sign of sinking back into the soil.

"Blackie, I need you to help me open the Spleen Palace gate," Liu Wuxie said while communicating with Blackie.

Liu Wuxie intended to reach the gate by flight. The journey, however, would leave him without enough strength to summon the mysterious axe imprint afterward. He therefore needed the power of Blackie's staff to force the Spleen Palace gate open.

Blackie hesitated. It had promised to complete only one task for Liu Wuxie each day, and it had already dealt with Shen San.

"Once the gate is open, I'll give you two hundred crystals," Liu Wuxie said, having no alternative but to tempt Blackie with food.

Blackie considered the offer briefly before finally agreeing.

A smile broke across Liu Wuxie's face. He launched himself into the sky and streaked toward the uneven terrain.

Every moment mattered. If Liu Wuxie delayed too long, the events at the Heart Palace could repeat themselves. The Shen Clan and the Zhu Clan might join forces with the other cultivators again, then inspect every True Immortal one by one until they found him.

As Liu Wuxie shot over the uneven ground, the violent current in his wake sent countless rocks flying in every direction.

"That's Liu Wuxie," someone shouted from the crowd.

Liu Wuxie's footwork technique immediately exposed him. However, he was not concerned about it with Blackie beside him.

The surrounding cultivators sprang upright and watched Liu Wuxie charge directly into the golem formation.

"Don't let him through!"

Countless cultivators surged forward, determined to stop Liu Wuxie at any cost.

"Die, Liu Wuxie!" Gong Shangming roared, releasing his longsword. The blade tore across the sky like a lightning bolt straight toward Liu Wuxie's back.

"Damn you," Liu Wuxie bellowed as fury erupted inside him.

Nothing enraged Liu Wuxie more than a sneak attack from behind. Yet Gong Shangming's sword had already reached him, leaving no time to evade through ordinary means. The strike of a peak Profound Immortal crossed the vast distance in the blink of an eye, its icy aura ripping crack after crack through the surrounding space.

"Up!" Liu Wuxie shouted. With no other option, Liu Wuxie shot vertically into the air.

"How can this be possible?! Since when could Liu Wuxie fly?!" someone asked.

Cultivators stared in disbelief. None could understand how a mere True Immortal had taken to the sky.

Gong Shangming's sword narrowly brushed past Liu Wuxie's feet. Gong Shangming moved his finger slightly, making the blade curve sharply upward, and it resumed its relentless pursuit.

Immortal energy alone kept Liu Wuxie airborne, forcing him to devote all his concentration to maintaining flight. The smallest lapse would send him plunging out of the sky.

Since he could not summon the Bloodthirst Blade, evasion remained his only choice. A greater torrent of immortal energy erupted from the Desolate World and propelled him higher, sending him toward the colossal stone golem like an arrow released from a bow.

"Has Liu Wuxie lost his mind? He's flying straight at that stone golem!" someone murmured.

The cultivators below watched in stunned silence as Liu Wuxie found himself trapped between the towering stone golem ahead and Gong Shangming’s sword closing in from behind.

"Liu Wuxie is dead this time," many cultivators declared through clenched teeth.

Their hatred for Liu Wuxie had long since taken root. Again and again, they had watched a mere True Immortal surpass dignified experts at the Profound Immortal Realm, and they could no longer endure the humiliation.

Shen Can said nothing. His unwavering gaze followed Liu Wuxie as he scrutinized every movement.

"That footwork technique is extraordinary. It can't be an ordinary immortal art," cultivators whispered throughout the crowd.

Gong Shangming's sword swept closer until barely ten meters remained between the blade and Liu Wuxie. Its passage produced a piercing whistle, while Liu Wuxie rapidly approached the colossal stone golem.

Liu Wuxie's arrival instantly caught the colossal stone golem's attention. It launched an enormous fist at him with unmatched momentum, and the fist alone rivaled a house in size. A direct hit would crush Liu Wuxie into nothingness.

The punch generated a violent gale, and its deafening roar collapsed the surrounding space, restricting Liu Wuxie's movements even further.

"Prepare to die, Liu Wuxie," Gong Shangming laughed, a broad smile spreading across his face.

He formed a sequence of seals, driving the flying sword to double its speed in an instant. Everyone unconsciously held their breath, unwilling to miss the dramatic conclusion.

The sword closed to within half a foot of Liu Wuxie, but he abruptly climbed another level. Gong Shangming's blade swept harmlessly beneath him, crashing straight into the colossal stone golem's fist. An immense cloud of dust rose across the battlefield.

The stone golem's fist effortlessly smashed Gong Shangming's sword into countless pieces.

Blood burst from Gong Shangming's mouth as his complexion rapidly paled. The sword had been his lifebound artifact, and its destruction inflicted severe injuries upon him.

"I swear I'll tear you apart, Liu Wuxie," Gong Shangming roared hysterically.

The shockwave produced by his furious voice hurled several weaker cultivators away. No one sympathized with him, as his own actions had invited this outcome.

"Liu Wuxie is terrifyingly cunning. He used the stone golem to destroy Gong Shangming's sword," people whispered in the crowd.

The entire exchange had occurred within the blink of an eye. No one could fathom how Liu Wuxie had timed his movement with such precision. Had he risen even a fraction earlier, he would have collided with the stone golem’s fist. Had he hesitated for even a moment, Gong Shangming’s sword would have pierced him.

"Look! Liu Wuxie got past the stone golem," someone shouted.

Gong Shangming's sword had intercepted the stone golem's attack and created the perfect opening for Liu Wuxie to escape. In hindsight, Gong Shangming had effectively cleared the path for Liu Wuxie himself.

That realization forced out another mouthful of blood from Gong Shangming. His fate perfectly embodied the consequences of overreaching.

Once he slipped beyond the stone golem, Liu Wuxie descended and raced toward the Spleen Palace gate. By then, the colossal golem stood between him and the crowd, completely hiding his movements from their view.

"Blackie, do it now," Liu Wuxie roared.

Before Liu Wuxie's feet touched the ground, a black staff materialized in midair and crashed against the gate, reducing it to countless fragments. Anyone who arrived afterward could now enter the Spleen Palace without needing to break through the gate themselves.

Liu Wuxie plunged from the sky and swept through the shattered entrance of the Spleen Palace.

An incomparably heavy force crushed down upon him the instant he entered, making every part of his body feel as heavy as lead. Even advancing a single step became extraordinarily difficult.

An enormous mountain occupied the Spleen Palace, its towering summit piercing through the clouds. Standing beneath that colossal peak filled Liu Wuxie with profound awe.

"I need to locate the Divine Earth Core immediately," Liu Wuxie muttered.

He was racing against the time and had to claim the Divine Earth Core before the other cultivators entered. Without delay, Liu Wuxie activated Ghost Pupil and spread his mental energy across the surroundings.

With the help of Ghost Pupil's penetrative ability, he found the Divine Earth Core buried deep within the colossal mountain in only several breaths. The mountain itself, however, was dozens of times larger than the golden mountain inside the Lung Palace.

Even if Liu Wuxie carved a tunnel with the Bloodthirst Blade, reaching the Divine Earth Core would still consume several hours. Meanwhile, the destruction of the Spleen Palace gate had caused cracks to spread through the uneven terrain outside, and the stone golems were steadily weakening.

Liu Wuxie therefore had no more than fifteen minutes before the other cultivators entered the Spleen Palace. Once they arrived, his survival would become uncertain, much less his chances of obtaining the Divine Earth Core.

Blackie possessed terrifying strength, but it could contend with only several high-level Profound Immortals at the same time. The vast number of experts waiting outside could eventually exhaust it through sheer numbers.

Refining the Divine Penta Elemental Bolt had become an absolute necessity. Liu Wuxie paced anxiously, knowing that Blackie alone could solve his immediate problem.

"Blackie, I need your help one more time," Liu Wuxie said as he released Blackie from the Desolate World.

Unimaginable power rested within the black staff. One blow from it could easily split the colossal mountain open.

Blackie turned its head away and ignored Liu Wuxie. It had already made an exception by destroying the Spleen Palace gate, despite agreeing to help him only once each day.

"Blackie, my dear brother, I'm running out of time. Please help me," Liu Wuxie said, grabbing Blackie's left hand.

Principles no longer mattered when every moment counted. At worst, Liu Wuxie could offer more crystals to purchase Blackie's assistance.

Blackie abruptly raised five fingers, unmistakably demanding a higher price.

"You have a deal," Liu Wuxie replied without hesitation, handing over five hundred crystals.

Blackie did not devour them this time. Instead, it threw all five hundred crystals toward the black staff.

A strange phenomenon followed as every crystal disappeared into the weapon.

Strictly speaking, an independent space resembling an interspatial ring existed within the black staff. Blackie could store the crystals there and consume them whenever hunger struck.

Every crystal carried a faint thread of primal chaos energy, which Blackie depended upon to sustain its life.

Once Blackie accepted the payment, it strode toward the colossal mountain. It followed the line Liu Wuxie had marked in advance, raised the black staff high overhead, and brought it down with overwhelming power.

The entire yellow mountain convulsed beneath the impact. Countless rocks rained around Liu Wuxie and forced him to evade without pause, while Blackie remained firmly rooted in place. Every boulder that struck its body shattered into fragments upon contact.

The sight did not surprise Liu Wuxie. Blackie's physique could endure attacks from Profound Immortals, so falling rocks naturally posed no danger.

The commotion inside the Spleen Palace was naturally heard by those waiting outside.

"This is bad! Liu Wuxie is seizing the Divine Earth Core," people complained.

Panic erupted among the crowd as cultivators shouted, "We have to get inside now. We can't let him take it."

Cracks multiplied across the ground as the previously formed teams swiftly assembled again. No one held back this time. They released their strongest attacks and blasted aside every stone golem that emerged from beneath the earth.

Shen Can glided like a vulture, crossing more than a hundred meters before appearing directly in front of the colossal stone golem.

Meanwhile, Blackie lifted the black staff once more and smashed it against the mountain with even greater force.

A deafening crack reverberated through the Spleen Palace as the colossal mountain split in two, revealing a long passage that stretched deep into its interior and opened a path for Liu Wuxie.

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