Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 398 - Second-Level of the Heavenly Dipper Realm

Five people were gathered in a courtyard meant for inner disciples in the Profound Inscription Peak. Everyone had dense, murderous intent on their faces, and it had been two days since the outer sect's competition.

"This is outrageous! This brat killed Hou Chi and even caused our Hou Clan to be banned from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion for the next three years." With murderous intent, a disciple furiously slammed his right hand on the stone table.

"Hou Lie, calm down first!" The other four remained silent, with one significantly older than the others being the leader. When he spoke, everyone became quiet to listen to him.

"Calm down? How do you want me to calm down when the clan has ordered us to kill that brat?" Hou Lie sat down furiously. He had a close relationship with Hou Chi, and they had grown up together. He had chosen to join the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, while Hou Chi had decided to join the Azure Crimson Gate.

"We should follow Hou Yue's arrangements. This matter cannot be rushed, and we have to do it openly and honorably since we've decided to kill him. We can't resort to an assassination which might bring unnecessary trouble for the clan." Hou Qiang stood up and patted Hou Lie's shoulder. Hou Chi was already dead, and they had to find a way to avenge him.

Getting angry would only cause them to make the wrong decisions, and it was of utmost importance to come up with a plan to kill Liu Wuxie.

The four looked towards Hou Yue, the strongest among them, who had cultivation in the ninth level of the Heavenly Dipper Realm. He had joined the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion five years ago and was the one who had sent Deng Chong to kill Liu Wuxie in the competition.

Not only did Deng Chong fail to kill Liu Wuxie, but he also got himself killed. Furthermore, this incident brought trouble to the Hou Clan, which resulted in the Hou Clan being banned from sending any disciples into the sect for the next three years, a severe punishment for the clan.

"I have already made arrangements. You four focus on your cultivation and don't make any mistakes for some time," Hou Yue said, sweeping his gaze through the four, making them lower their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.

The four nodded and didn't dare to disobey Hou Yue's orders.

"Senior Brother Hou Yue, I heard a phenomenon of colorful clouds took place in the Scarlet Sun Mountain Range. This might be an indication of a treasure's emergence. The Azure Crimson Gate and Divine Sun Palace have sent someone over. Should we go there as well?" The man called Hou Qiang asked cautiously. His cultivation was in the sixth-level Heavenly Dipper Realm.

"You guys go ahead. I’ve had some revelations recently, and I plan to try to make a breakthrough into the Heavenly Phase Realm." Hou Yue waved his hand, not planning to go.

It was still unknown if there was a treasure, and Hou Yue didn't want to waste his time. He had some revelations recently and planned to use this opportunity to reach the Heavenly Phase Realm.

By becoming an elite disciple, he could only have a stable status in the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. After that, not even Elder Tian Xing would dare to punish him easily.

"We’ll extend our congratulations to Senior Brother Hou Yue in advance for your anticipated breakthrough to the Heavenly Phase Realm. Achieving elite disciple status would elevate our Hou Clan’s standing within the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion," the four said, rising with expressions of flattery.

Liu Wuxie remained completely unaware of these developments, as he was deeply focused within his own world. With a ten-fold speed multiplier in effect, five days inside the cultivation chamber felt like only half a day outside.

When Liu Wuxie's cultivation finally stabilized, he was at the pinnacle of the first-level Heavenly Dipper Realm. He was only one step away from the second level.

He retrieved the Meridians Purifying Pill from his interspatial ring and held it in his palm. The ink-green pill radiated an exceptionally pure energy.

The primary function of the Meridians Purifying Pill was to strengthen his meridians and skeleton.

Liu Wuxie practiced the Desolate Devouring Art and the Primordial Astral Fist, but the strain on his meridians and physique had become increasingly intense due to the additional ice-attribute energy he had absorbed.

Relying solely on spiritual energy to fortify his body was no longer sufficient, and the Meridians Purifying Pill was essential for addressing this issue. It would allow him to utilize the Primordial Astral Fist more freely in the future.

Moreover, he had yet to fully harness the ice-attribute energy. Once he developed his dao technique, it could rival the power of the Primordial Astral Fist and Fatality Blade Art. His attacks were currently limited, forcing him to rely primarily on the Primordial Astral Fist or Fatality Blade Art.

As he swallowed the Meridians Purifying Pill, it dissolved into energy that flowed through his body, resembling silver threads weaving through his meridians, causing them to contract and fortify.

It was a painful process in the beginning, but the pain only lasted for a few minutes before fading away.

The inner walls of his meridians were significantly thickened, covered in a faint golden radiance. This allowed true essence to course through his meridians faster, and the tearing sensation disappeared entirely.

The Meridians Purifying Pill not only strengthened Liu Wuxie’s meridians but also cleared out numerous tiny, obstructed meridians. This enhancement allowed him to circulate his true essence more effectively.

Suddenly, Liu Wuxie's cultivation rose to the second-level Heavenly Dipper Realm. Without hesitation, he circulated the Desolate Devouring Art to devour the spiritual energy drawn from the underground spiritual vein.

Over ten thousand drops of liquid poured into the world within his dantian, boosting Liu Wuxie's cultivation. Yet, he didn't pause there. He retrieved an additional fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones and cast them into the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron to continue refining.

High-grade spirit stones were too precious, and Liu Wuxie didn't plan to use them for now. Given his current cultivation, mid-grade spirit stones were sufficient for his needs, even though the quantity he required was astonishing.

Liu Wuxie's cultivation began to climb steadily, reaching the pinnacle of the second-level Heavenly Dipper Realm. He had utterly refined all the energy from the Meridians Purifying Pill, and the rise in his cultivation began to slow down.

Liu Wuxie was in no rush, knowing that a solid foundation was crucial. The stronger his foundation, the more explosive his future growth would be.

He took the Suppression Stele into his palm and began to deliberate. Two paths lay before him: the first was to refine the Suppression Stele and integrate it into the world within his dantian. This would greatly amplify his true essence, enhance his defenses, and potentially enable a breakthrough in his cultivation level.

The second path was integrating the Suppression Stele into his spleen to strengthen his internal organs. The internal organs could be classified according to the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The kidney corresponded to water, the lungs to metal, the liver to wood, and the spleen to earth.

In ancient times, someone had integrated five Suppression Steles into the five organs, strengthening the body to the level of celestial artifacts, achieving unity with the steles, and becoming almost invincible.

This meant the person would become invincible unless the five Suppression Steles were destroyed.

Liu Wuxie only had one Earth Suppression Stele, and he still needed four other steles to form a cycle among the five elements, making his internal organs indestructible.

In the short term, the optimal choice was to absorb the Suppression Stele, transforming it into wood-attribute energy to boost his combat power. However, in the long run, integrating five such steles into his internal organs could exponentially enhance his combat capabilities for the final stages.

One offered short-term benefits, while the other provided long-term benefits. Thus, it was up to Liu Wuxie to decide.

An ordinary person would only consider the short-term benefits because the future was unpredictable. Thus, prioritizing the immediate strength was crucial.

Liu Wuxie, however, had a different perspective. His goal was not just to achieve immediate gains but to enter the Celestial Realm and reach heights beyond the imagination of others.

However, integrating it into his spleen would give him another challenging task: forging the other four Suppression Steles. The forging methods were easy for him, but gathering the materials was difficult.

Acquiring all the materials for the other four Steles within a short period was unlikely, but with a few years, it was feasible.

Liu Wuxie planned to integrate the Suppression Stele into his spleen to enhance his physique. This was because the requirement of his physique for the Primordial Astral Fist would become harsher as he progressed, and the Meridians Purifying Pill's effect would gradually diminish over time.

He wouldn't have to worry about his physique with a Suppression Stele guarding his internal organs.

Liu Wuxie put his thoughts into action and began forming seals. This was because Shao Wendong's imprint was still on the Suppression Stele, and he had to erase it, which became somewhat transparent after he was done. He could see the spiritual runes inside clearly.

Although the cultivation chamber wasn't suitable for forging weapons, it didn't prevent Liu Wuxie from inscribing spiritual runes.

"What a waste of materials to forge such trashy Suppression Stele!" Liu Wuxie observed the Suppression Stele multiple times with a hint of pity in his eyes. If Shao Wendong had forged the Suppression Stele to a higher grade, the outcome of their battle could've been different.

He spent two days cleansing the impurities in the Suppression Stele, which now emitted a faint glow and was greatly enhanced in quality. Spirituality was stronger than before and felt soft rather than hard and rigid.

"Let's start inscribing immortal runes!" Since Liu Wuxie had decided to integrate the Suppression Stele into his spleen, he naturally had to do it perfectly. He began inscribing an incomplete immortal rune into the stele, planning to forge it into a celestial artifact in the future.

The incomplete immortal rune was intended to continuously strengthen the Suppression steel. As unusual seals were injected into it, it began to emit a dazzling radiance.

Two days passed outside, which equated to twenty days in the cultivation chamber. By now, news about Liu Wuxie had spread throughout the inner sect.

Liu Wuxie took out ten thousand spirit stones, extracted their spirituality, and injected it into the Suppression Stele. After killing so many people, Liu Wuxie had naturally taken their interspatial pouches and rings, which meant he had a vast amount of resources.

The only thing he couldn't take was their points, as the sect had taken back their medals.

He found several rare materials from Shao Wendong's interspatial ring. Shao Wendong must have planned to strengthen the Suppression Stele but didn't have the time due to the outer sect's competition.

"Hillsink Sand, this is a good find!" Liu Wuxie found a porcelain bottle containing over a hundred grains of Hillsink Sand. This material was as rare as the Earth Essence, containing the power of Earth.

Aside from Hillsink Sand, there were more treasures containing the power of Earth, which Liu Wuxie dissolved and fused into the Suppression Stele.

Liu Wuxie's forging technique was far superior to Shao Wendong's, making the Suppression Stele shine brightly. It had become ten times more powerful.

With just the Suppression Stele, Liu Wuxie could easily suppress cultivators in the fifth-level Heavenly Dipper Realm. With the Primordial Astral Fist, Liu Wuxie could even kill someone in the sixth level.

Additional spiritual runes, resembling intricate earthworms, now adorned the surface of the Suppression Stele. These ancient inscriptions were integral to Liu Wuxie’s plan to restore the Suppression Stele to its former grandeur, necessitating this method.

The inscribing process gradually slowed, with more than ten incomplete immortal runes fusing into the Suppression Stele, which grew in size.

The Suppression Stele grew to over a meter in size before shrinking back down. This time, it shrank to only a few inches. It was shorter than an adult's pinky finger but contained an extremely powerful energy fluctuation.

The most critical moment had arrived because the power contained in the Suppression Stele was too strong, and the internal organs were fragile. Thus, integrating the Suppression Stele into his spleen was a delicate task.