Desolate Devouring Art

Cauldron fragments, countless in number, were propelled in all directions, creating sparks upon collision with the walls. The fragments, akin to arrows, left a dense pattern of marks on the walls.

A golden pill hovered in mid-air. Encircling this pill were dragons, their faint roars emanating from within the pill itself.

“It’s a success!” Liu Wuxie collapsed on the ground in exhaustion. After refining fourth-grade pills for an entire day, he only had thirty percent of his true essence left. But refining a fifth-grade pill exhausted all his true essence. There was a vast difference between the fourth and fifth-grade pills.

Liu Wuxie swallowed ten fourth-grade pills and circulated the Desolate Devouring Art. Terrifying spiritual energy began pouring into his body from various directions.

Within a matter of minutes, the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron was filled with liquid, which then flowed into his dantian. The speed at which the mysterious tree drew spiritual energy from the surroundings was no less than that of the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. In less than two hours, he had managed to recover most of his true essence.

Regaining his footing, Liu Wuxie extended his hand to seize the Dragon Origin Pill. “A superior pill!” he exclaimed as he grasped the Dragon Origin Pill, and a surge of boundless energy flooded his body, invigorating every cell.

The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron began to tremble, eager to devour the Dragon Origin Pill.

The violent energy nearly tore his body apart when Liu Wuxie devoured the Dragon Origin Pill. The Dragon Origin Pill was like a dragon, charging into his body and causing cracks on his skin from the overflowing energy. Even if Liu Wuxie had a powerful physique, there was no way his physique could be compared to a cauldron.

Even the cauldron had exploded directly, not to mention Liu Wuxie’s body. He was putting his life on the line: he would make a breakthrough if he succeeded, and he would die if he failed.

When Liu Wuxie circulated the Desolate Devouring Art, the violent energy charging within his body was alleviated. However, blood continued to seep from his pores, soon drenching him in a crimson hue, as his physique showed signs of imminent collapse.

Even those at the advanced stages of the Marrow Cleansing Realm had to exercise caution when consuming a fifth-grade pill. Liu Wuxie, whose cultivation was at the Spirit Cleansing Realm, was arguably reckless in consuming one directly. However, with the impending battle against Qin Shi, he felt compelled to take this risk.

The Dragon Origin Pill turned into a golden dragon and struck Liu Wuxie’s chest, making him throw up blood and dye the ground red; his face also became terrifyingly pale. Cracks appeared on his chest and back, but the runes on his skeleton gave off a faint radiance to absorb the energy within the Dragon Origin Pill.

“I must succeed!” Liu Wuxie declared. Cultivation was a defiance of the heavens, fraught with danger at every step. As one of the ten Immortal Emperors in his previous life, he had witnessed the demise of countless formidable experts.

The pill, once again taking the form of a dragon, surged through Liu Wuxie’s meridians, wreaking havoc along its path. If this continued, it would only be a matter of time before Liu Wuxie’s physique would give way.

It wasn’t long before the sound of cracking emanated from his skeleton, signaling imminent danger. Liu Wuxie’s expression turned grim as he continuously formed seals with his hands, applying them to his body to alleviate the mounting pressure.

As Liu Wuxie’s cultivation ascended, he swiftly reached the seventh level of the Spirit Cleansing Realm. Dragon roars echoed from his body as the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron morphed into a black hole, swallowing the golden dragon within it. This action provided immediate relief to his body, which was on the brink of disintegration.

Without the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, Liu Wuxie wouldn’t dare to consume the Dragon Origin Pill. However, he was gambling on the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron’s ability to aid him in refining the pill. If the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron failed to refine the pill, death would be his only fate.

The golden dragon, now hovering above the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, roared in an attempt to escape. But once Liu Wuxie reached the seventh level of the Spirit Cleansing Realm, his bodily damage began to heal rapidly, and his cultivation continued to ascend.

Surrounded by numerous spirit stones, Liu Wuxie pushed himself to the limit. The spirit stones exploded, and liquefied spiritual energy poured into his dantian, creating a storm that surged throughout his body. As more acupoints were awakened, he would grow stronger upon reaching the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

Liu Wuxie’s cultivation continued to climb, soon reaching the eighth level of the Spirit Cleansing Realm. His cultivation halted at the late phase of the eighth-level Spirit Cleansing Realm, marking two successful breakthroughs achieved with a Dragon Origin Pill.

The golden dragon above the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron also became docile. It flew out from the cauldron and entered the world in Liu Wuxie’s dantian, dissolving into light and nourishing this world.

“It’s strange... I’ve only absorbed less than a third of the Dragon Origin Pill,” Liu Wuxie mused, puzzled. The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron typically provided feedback to enhance his cultivation. Having reached the eighth level of the Spirit Cleansing Realm by absorbing less than a third of the energies, he couldn’t fathom the strength he would attain after absorbing the entirety.

Suddenly, a spark of spirituality emerged in his mind, startling him. His spirituality, also known as the spiritual root, which was crucial for cultivating immortality had awakened.

Spiritual roots came in various forms. These included the common spiritual roots, the more advanced high-grade spiritual roots, and at the pinnacle, the exceedingly rare immortal spiritual roots, which were found in only one out of every ten thousand individuals.

Before this moment, Liu Wuxie was aware that he couldn’t reach the Immortal Realm easily, despite his extensive knowledge of cultivation. This was due to the spiritual root which was an innate attribute. Unfortunately, his current body was severely lacking, devoid of any spiritual root.

Liu Wuxie’s progress thus far was thanks to his knowledge and the Desolate Devouring Art.

His eyes welled up with tears as he contemplated his plan to nurture his spiritual root after reaching the Marrow Cleansing Realm. After all, without a spiritual root, he couldn’t return to the Celestial Realm.

This implied that Liu Wuxie had only one option left to return to the Celestial Realm: to take over the body of someone who possessed a spiritual root and use it for cultivation.

However, the entry of the Dragon Origin Pill into the world within his dantian sparked a glimmer of spirituality. This was a positive development for Liu Wuxie, as his spirituality would gradually intensify with the progression of his cultivation.

The spiritual root determined how high they could go in the Celestial Realm. Those with ordinary spiritual roots were at the bottom of the food chain, and those with high-grade spiritual roots could only be considered ordinary people. Only those with immortal spiritual roots could join the immortal sects.

He had heard of divine spiritual roots, but they were considered a myth. Then again, spirituality still couldn’t be considered spiritual root. It could only be considered an initial awakening of the spiritual roots, and this was the first time he had seen a growth-type spiritual root.

Spiritual roots, once established, remain unchanged until death. An ordinary spiritual root will persist as such throughout one’s lifetime, without spontaneously transforming into an immortal spiritual root.

But Liu Wuxie’s dantian seemed alive, and his spirituality would strengthen. When the mysterious tree sensed the changes brought by spirituality, it gave off wood-attribute energy that contained spirituality.

True essence coursed through Liu Wuxie’s body and took on various shapes through his thoughts, and this was spirituality. When he stood up from the ground, a rumble echoed around him, forming into a tornado that swept out.

The entire alchemy chamber was in a mess; the remaining nine cauldrons were pushed to the corner, the herbal shelves were destroyed, and cracks covered the walls.

“It feels great!” After awakening his spirituality, Liu Wuxie could sense that his body had become lighter, and his soul sea clearer. His divine sense could stretch to five hundred meters away.

Checking the time, Liu Wuxie realized that four days had elapsed in the Treasure Pill Pavilion. He remembered his promise to Xu Lingxue to accompany her back to Azure Billow City the next day.

Upon opening the door of the alchemy chamber, he found the refining region deserted, even though it was afternoon.

“Master Liu, you’re finally out. The lady asked me to give you this before she left,” Gao Hong rushed over to hand him a letter as he emerged.

Unfolding the letter, Liu Wuxie found a message written in delicate handwriting: “Wuxie, I’m going out for a while. I will return in ten days, regardless of whether I can obtain a fifth-grade talisman paper. I’ve entrusted the affairs of the Cloud Xing Pavilion to Master Mao and instructed him to seek you out if there’s any issue.”

Liu Wuxie fell into deep thought as he put away the letter. He would remember Mu Yueying’s favor of helping him search for a fifth-grade talisman paper. However, if the issues with the Cloud Xing Pavilion weren’t resolved, the Treasure Pill Pavilion’s business would continue to decline.

The Treasure Pill Pavilion had been empty for twenty-odd days, and it would close down if this continued.

In Mu Yueying’s absence, all the responsibility fell onto Liu Wuxie. With the pavilion master’s medal, Liu Wuxie had the power to mobilize all resources within the Treasure Pill Pavilion.

“How long has Lady Mu been gone for?” Liu Wuxie asked.

“She left after making arrangements the morning before yesterday,” Gao Hong answered truthfully. After witnessing Liu Wuxie’s accomplishments in the alchemy chamber, Gao Hong was filled with awe for him.

The Treasure Pill Pavilion couldn’t be without a decision-maker for a day, especially considering Liu Wuxie was due to return to the Azure Billow City the next day. Thus, he planned to meet Master Mao and hand the Treasure Pill Pavilion’s matters to him.

“Where’s Master Mao?” Liu Wuxie turned to look at Gao Hong after his divine sense enveloped the entire Treasure Pill Pavilion but failed to find Master Mao anywhere.

Just when Gao Hong was about to reply, a young alchemist hurriedly ran over.

After losing five alchemists, Mu Yueying had transferred a few young alchemists to fill in the gaps.

“Teacher Gao, this is bad. Master Mao has clashed with the Cloud Xing Pavilion!” The young alchemist didn’t recognize Liu Wuxie and went straight to Gao Hong. After all, there wasn’t any business in the Treasure Pill Pavilion, and most staff had taken a break, leaving only Gao Hong there.

Liu Wuxie frowned as he wondered why Master Mao had suddenly gone to the Cloud Xing Pavilion.

“What’s going on?” Liu Wuxie had a speculation, but he still wasn’t sure about it.

The Blood Mirage Pill, a product of the Cloud Xing Pavilion, had been affecting the business of the Treasure Pill Pavilion. Liu Wuxie had already devised a solution. Therefore, it was likely that Master Mao’s efforts to reveal the Cloud Xing Pavilion’s scheme had sparked a dispute between the two entities.

Before her departure, Mu Yueying had provided Master Mao with a strategy to mitigate the crisis.

“Master Liu, I’m not sure about the exact situation. Master Mao led a group of alchemists to the Cloud Xing Pavilion in the morning.”

There weren’t many people who knew about the Blood Mirage Pill.

“Take me to the Cloud Xing Pavilion!” Mu Yueying had gone to procure a fifth-grade talisman paper for him, and he couldn’t just stand by when the Treasure Pill Pavilion was facing such a significant event.

Above all, if anything were to happen to Master Mao’s team, he wouldn’t be able to justify it to Mu Yueying. After all, she had left the Treasure Pill Pavilion to assist him.

Upon hearing Gao Hong refer to Liu Wuxie as ‘Master Liu,’ the young alchemist was filled with fear. He hadn’t anticipated that this young man, who was much younger than him, would be the famous chief alchemist.

Liu Wuxie and Gao Hong hastened their pace, leaving the Treasure Pill Pavilion. They observed that many people were also heading towards the Cloud Xing Pavilion.

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