Desolate Devouring Art

The Purgatory Palace had crushed the water giant, yet it regenerated once more. The surrounding ocean began boiling violently, filling the air with furious bubbling as mysterious white vapor rose from its surface.

Meanwhile, Blackie had its hands full and could spare no strength to help Liu Wuxie. As long as the ocean remained, the giant could regenerate without end and remain virtually indestructible.

Liu Wuxie could now only tear open the Kidney Palace gate and force his way inside.

The newly regenerated arms stretched toward Liu Wuxie at once, carrying overwhelming momentum.

The water giant ignored the Purgatory Palace's suppression and erupted with power comparable to an ordinary Origin Immortal.

The phantom of the Purgatory Palace could manifest only for a limited time, so Liu Wuxie had to finish the battle quickly. Every passing moment drained the immortal energy within the Desolate World at a terrifying rate.

Liu Wuxie had refined more than six hundred cultivators inside the Liver Palace, and much of their energy remained unabsorbed. Without hesitation, he poured all that residual power into the Desolate World, replenishing the immortal energy that was being rapidly consumed.

With that fresh torrent of energy nourishing it, the Purgatory Palace gradually became more solid and substantial.

"Void-Roaming Dragon," Liu Wuxie thundered, soaring into the sky like a divine dragon. Using the Purgatory Palace as a foothold, he launched himself upward and threaded through the raging torrents with the support of his immortal energy.

"Divine Eternal Fist!"

Inside the Ancient Origin Spatial Realm, Liu Wuxie did not need to fear exposing his aura and could freely mobilize the power of eternity. Overwhelming force erupted from his fist and effortlessly shattered the colossal fist hurtling toward him.

The water fist burst apart in mid-air, releasing a torrent that crashed over Liu Wuxie and drenched him from head to toe.

With the Purgatory Palace pinning down the water giant, Liu Wuxie seized the opening and charged directly toward the Kidney Palace gate.

"Blackie, fall back," Liu Wuxie ordered. A black vortex instantly opened above the ocean, and Blackie leaped into it without hesitation.

Had Blackie withdrawn even a moment later, he couldn't have escaped. Too many water fists were erupting from the ocean for it to handle alone. The blows could not truly injure Blackie, but each one still made it howl in pain.

With the water giant suppressed, Liu Wuxie advanced without obstruction and soon came within a hundred meters of the Kidney Palace gate. At that moment, the Bloodthirst Blade descended from the sky as the mysterious axe imprint appeared beside it.

The mysterious axe imprint moved at terrifying speed, twice as fast as Instant Flash. Countless cracks raced across the gate the moment the axe struck it, yet even that blow failed to break through in one strike.

As the mysterious axe imprint descended, Liu Wuxie fused Instant Flash and Mountain Blade into the attack. Two entirely different forces intertwined, giving birth to a strike of overwhelming destructive power.

The axe crashed down like a thunderbolt, resembling an entire galaxy plunging out of the heavens.

Liu Wuxie held back nothing. He poured every trace of immortal energy that had recovered within the Desolate World into the attack. If the Kidney Palace gate withstood the blow, he would immediately fall from the sky.

Liu Wuxie knew precisely what awaited him in the ocean below. Countless water fists would crush him into meat paste, for he didn't have Blackie's absurdly powerful physique.

Meanwhile, the Purgatory Palace began fading as the energy sustaining it neared exhaustion.

A resounding crack split the sky as the Kidney Palace gate finally shattered into countless fragments. Liu Wuxie seized the opening and shot through the entrance. The residual shockwave rippled outward, churning the entire kidney region.

Large groups of cultivators were traveling through the water when the sudden ripple struck them and blasted them violently away.

The cultivators exchanged bewildered looks, unable to identify the source of such a terrifying disturbance.

"What just happened? How could a shockwave be that powerful?" a few cultivators shouted.

"It was probably Liu Wuxie. He must have shattered the Kidney Palace gate," someone replied.

By now, Liu Wuxie's astonishing feats had left everyone numb. No one else came to mind as capable of creating such a commotion. Without hesitation, they followed the direction of the ripples and hurried toward the Kidney Palace gate.

......

At the critical moment, Liu Wuxie slipped through the opening and successfully entered the Kidney Palace. The gate sealed rapidly behind him, leaving only the dense network of cracks across its surface as silent evidence of the brutal battle outside.

Instead of water, Liu Wuxie found a jellyfish-like mass hovering before him.

"The Yin Water Essence," Liu Wuxie murmured, the corner of his mouth rising. The Yin Water Essence existed on an even higher level than the Divine Water Core. The immense water-attribute energy contained within it convinced him that refining it would carry his cultivation into the third-level Spirit Immortal Realm.

More importantly, Liu Wuxie had finally gathered all five elements and could now craft the Divine Penta Elemental Bolt. Even so, he dared not recklessly collect the transparent Yin Water Essence floating before him. He could clearly sense that it had already developed a faint trace of spirituality.

Seizing it through brute force carried a high risk of backlash. The safest method was to earn the Yin Water Essence's acknowledgment.

Liu Wuxie summoned the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron and released the energies of several elements, hoping they would attract the Yin Water Essence. The result disappointed him. The Yin Water Essence remained completely indifferent and instead unleashed terrifying pressure upon him.

That reaction was far from encouraging. The Yin Water Essence had clearly become enraged. Cracking sounds erupted from Liu Wuxie's body as the overwhelming pressure forced him downward, while web-like fissures spread rapidly across the ground beneath his feet.

"I gave you the opportunity to merge with me willingly. Since you rejected my goodwill, don't blame me for using force," Liu Wuxie snapped, anger flashing within his eyes.

He immediately summoned the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, opening a pitch-black vortex above the Yin Water Essence. The devouring power bursting from it could swallow space itself, much less the Yin Water Essence.

The colossal jellyfish-like mass slowly drifted toward the black vortex. Unwilling to risk the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron failing to suppress it alone, Liu Wuxie also summoned the Demonic Purgatory Chains and wrapped them tightly around the Yin Water Essence.

Combining the two methods strengthened the devouring force even further. Since water restrained fire, Liu Wuxie didn't use the demonic flames, which the Yin Water Essence would only suppress.

Once the Yin Water Essence entered the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, Liu Wuxie would possess countless ways to subdue it. Even so, the Yin Water Essence struggled violently and fought desperately to break free from the Demonic Purgatory Chains.

"Get inside," Liu Wuxie roared.

He was running out of time. The cultivators behind him had followed the ripples and located the Kidney Palace gate, meaning they would soon force their way inside.

Liu Wuxie circulated the Desolate Devouring Art without hesitation and began extracting the Yin Water Essence's power. His aura immediately climbed, rapidly approaching the third-level Spirit Immortal Realm.

At the same time, he separated a portion of the Yin Water Essence and formed seals with both hands, beginning the refinement of the Divine Penta Elemental Bolt.

Water-attribute energy surged from the depths of Yin Water Essence and poured into the Desolate World. The gateway to the third-level Spirit Immortal Realm manifested far sooner than Liu Wuxie had expected. The primary reason was that he had gathered all five divine cores, allowing the five elements to form a complete cycle in which they generated and restrained one another.

"I'll soon be able to condense the Five Elemental Divine Palm again," Liu Wuxie murmured.

Liu Wuxie had cultivated the Great Five Elemental Palm in the mortal realm, but it had existed only at Dao technique level then. Its power had become insufficient after he entered the celestial realm, so he needed to elevate it into an immortal art before using it effectively again.

Once Liu Wuxie successfully manifested the Five Elemental Divine Palm, another formidable trump card would enter his arsenal.

Cracks spread across the Yin Water Essence as streams of water-attribute laws erupted like a fountain and surged into the Desolate World.

"Time to break through!"

With time running out, Liu Wuxie temporarily abandoned the forging of the Divine Penta Elemental Bolt and focused entirely on advancing his cultivation. He could no longer suppress the breakthrough.

The surrounding immortal energy flooded into the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron like a raging tide. After sensing that dense power, the Yin Water Essence unexpectedly drifted toward the cauldron on its own, as though it had finally acknowledged Liu Wuxie.

The moment the Yin Water Essence ceased resisting, Liu Wuxie's refining speed rose dramatically. He simultaneously summoned the mysterious axe imprint and directed it toward the gateway to the third-level Spirit Immortal Realm.

When the gateway shattered into countless fragments, the Desolate World expanded at a terrifying rate. Its immortal energy increased by roughly one-third, while its mountains became even more majestic than before.

"Come in!"

After Liu Wuxie completed his breakthrough, his cultivation surged once again. The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron also underwent another evolution, tremendously increasing its devouring power. With one sweeping motion, it swallowed the entire Yin Water Essence.

Once everything stabilized, Liu Wuxie's refining speed increased dramatically and allowed him to complete the process in only fifteen minutes. Even Liu Wuxie struggled to believe that he had refined the Yin Water Essence so quickly.

"Blackie, anyone who comes through that gate dies," Liu Wuxie instructed.

The Yin Water Essence had not yet completely merged with Liu Wuxie, and he still needed time to consolidate his cultivation. He therefore ordered Blackie to stand guard and kill anyone who entered before his cultivation stabilized.

Blackie nodded and raised the black staff, whose surface bore the blood of countless victims. The lingering blood slowly seeped into the weapon, where it was absorbed and transformed into new patterns.

Large numbers of cultivators had already assembled before the Kidney Palace gate. They could not approach it directly and had no choice but to stand upon the hill Liu Wuxie had manifested, which could barely accommodate a few hundred people.

More cultivators continued arriving, and within only fifteen minutes, people packed every inch of the hill.

The stronger cultivators who arrived later immediately drove off the low-level spirit immortals and ordered them to surrender their places.

"Get out of the way!"

The spirit immortals burned with fury but dared not voice their resentment. They might have arrived first, but their cultivation was inferior to those who came later, leaving them no choice but to yield.

Even Liu Wuxie had never anticipated that the hill he had created to give Blackie solid footing would eventually benefit the other cultivators. However, it no longer mattered because he had already absorbed the Yin Water Essence.

"Liu Wuxie must have entered the Kidney Palace. Everyone, combine your strength and shatter the gate with a single attack," the newly arrived peak Profound Immortals declared, their hatred for Liu Wuxie already carved into their bones.

Many had lost relatives and friends because of Liu Wuxie inside the Liver Palace. Naturally, they would never rest until they killed him.

Shen Can, Zhu Li, and the others had also arrived, but they remained together at one corner of the hill and stared at the Kidney Palace gate. Dense cracks covered the entire surface, each left behind by Liu Wuxie's earlier attack.

"What are you waiting for? Attack the gate already," Wei Wenbin roared impatiently. Every wasted second granted Liu Wuxie more time to refine the Yin Water Essence.

At that moment, a water giant emerged in the distance and hurled a colossal fist toward the crowd.

"Everyone, strike," Zhu Li roared, leading the cultivators to focus their strength upon a single point and effortlessly shatter the approaching fist.

The surrounding ocean suddenly roared. More water fists erupted from its depths, catching everyone completely unprepared.

A chain of explosions followed as hundreds of cultivators were struck in mid-air. They burst apart and scattered a rain of blood across the surroundings.

The remaining cultivators screamed in panic, "Run for your lives!"

Large numbers of cultivators plunged into the water and swam away desperately, wishing their parents had given them two additional legs. Even then, many failed to escape before the pursuing water fists struck them.

They lacked Blackie's formidable physique and could not withstand the crushing force contained within the water fists.

The slaughter continued without pause, and blood soon dyed the surrounding sea crimson. Corpses and mutilated chunks of flesh drifted across the surface, creating a gruesome spectacle almost impossible to behold.