Desolate Devouring Art

Liu Wuxie revealed neither the aura of a Spirit Immortal nor a false imitation of an Origin Immortal. Nothing about him seemed remarkable, yet the invisible pressure rolling from his body made everyone instinctively avert their eyes.

"You're nothing but a fraud," Mou Shaochun scoffed, ignoring Liu Wuxie's warning. He lifted his sword and immediately unleashed the Face-Seer Ghost King's Seven Spectral Demon Swords.

Such a sword technique could overwhelm Origin Immortals with ease, but Mou Shaochun had chosen Liu Wuxie as his opponent. Liu Wuxie regarded the approaching attack with complete indifference. Rather than retreat, he dashed forward, materialized before Mou Shaochun, and unraveled every technique with effortless precision.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

A bone-chilling blade skimmed across Mou Shaochun's throat. Only his quick reflexes saved him, for another fraction of delay would have sent his severed head flying.

Mou Shaochun froze, his mind reeling in confusion. He had believed that even a Divine Immortal would struggle against his master's sword technique. Yet Liu Wuxie seemed able to glimpse into the future and seal every possible variation before Mou Shaochun could unleash it.

Yu Jinglong remained behind Liu Wuxie, staring in equal bewilderment. He could not remember ever meeting this masked stranger and had no idea why such a person would save him.

"You're still not leaving?" Liu Wuxie asked. He had no desire to attract more attention or draw even more spectators to the scene. Forcing Mou Shaochun and his companions to retreat would suffice. If the confrontation became a true battle, even Liu Wuxie could not guarantee victory against ten opponents.

Mou Shaochun stood rooted in the spot, looking uncertain. The aura emanating from Liu Wuxie suggested that his cultivation was not especially profound, yet his mastery of the sword bordered on the absurd.

Furthermore, Mou Shaochun's Origin Immortal pressure could not affect Liu Wuxie at all. That alone proved that Liu Wuxie had reached at least the Origin Immortal Realm. Even the Seven Spectral Demon Swords, the source of Mou Shaochun's greatest pride, had crumbled before him with ridiculous ease.

"We're leaving," Mou Shaochun finally declared. He understood when to advance and when to withdraw. Continuing the confrontation would most likely end in defeat, after which he and the Mou Clan disciples would still be forced to leave.

Silence quickly reclaimed the woods. With no spectacle left to enjoy, the surrounding onlookers gradually scattered as well.

"Senior, thank you for stepping in to save us. I, Jing Tong, will remember this kindness forever," Yu Jingtong said, hurrying forward and bowing deeply before Liu Wuxie.

"What caused this conflict?" Liu Wuxie asked, leaving the mask in place.

"I'll tell you everything. We were discussing how to claim the Asura Blade's fragment because we refused to let Immortal Emperor Liu's blade fall into despicable hands. The Mou Clan overheard us, and the argument started from there," Yu Jingtong explained. He concealed nothing and gave Liu Wuxie a complete account of what had happened.

"Did you know Immortal Emperor Liu?" Liu Wuxie asked with a slight nod, quietly engraving the Yu Clan's loyalty into his heart.

"How could insignificant people like us ever know someone as exalted as Immortal Emperor Liu?" Yu Jingtong replied with a bitter smile. "Several decades ago, our Yu Clan happened to save his life, but we never saw him again afterward. Who could have imagined that treacherous villains would eventually betray him and take his life at Soul-Severing Cliff?" Everything Yu Jingtong knew about Immortal Emperor Liu had come from his father and grandfather.

Yu Jingtong had only just entered the world when Liu Wuxie had stayed with the Yu Clan.

"What makes you believe that Immortal Emperor Liu was betrayed?" Liu Wuxie asked.

Eastern Emperor City lay so far from the heart of the celestial realm that few of its residents had ever heard of Liu Wuxie. This region, however, stood near the Celestial Weave Domain, where every living soul knew of the ten Immortal Emperors.

"We don't know precisely what happened," Yu Jingtong admitted. "Rumors mention that Immortal Emperor Liu's most trusted friend betrayed him." He dared not speak with certainty, since he had not witnessed those events and knew only what others had said.

"Then how did the Mou Clan manage to suppress the Yu Clan? How has Yu Di been managing the clan all these years?" Liu Wuxie demanded in a reprimanding tone. He had slaughtered most of the Mou Clan's experts back then, and the survivors should never have been strong enough to threaten the Yu Clan.

"You know my grandfather?" Yu Jingtong asked in shock.

"We crossed paths once," Liu Wuxie answered without offering further details. Yu Di had, after all, been the man who had saved his life.

"The Face-Seer Ghost King killed my grandfather," Yu Jingtong revealed. He did not question Liu Wuxie's claim for an instant. Many people had known his grandfather, and no one could associate this masked stranger with Immortal Emperor Liu.

"He's dead?" Liu Wuxie asked, his gaze turning glacial at the news of his savior's murder.

Yu Jingtong's tone made the truth easy to piece together. Yu Di's death had almost certainly resulted from his connection to Liu Wuxie. After Liu Wuxie had slaughtered most of the Mou Clan's experts, the survivors had sought the Face-Seer Ghost King and begged him to murder Yu Di. From that moment onward, the Yu Clan had steadily declined.

Murderous intent seeped from Liu Wuxie, smothering the surrounding air. Every Yu Clan member fell silent, none daring to utter a word beneath that suffocating pressure.

"Senior, may I ask your name?" Yu Jingtong inquired. Since he had no way to determine Liu Wuxie's true age, he could only address him as Senior. Anyone capable of driving Mou Shaochun away could never be an ordinary person.

"My name is Wu Xie," Liu Wuxie replied, removing his mask while offering an alias instead of his true identity.

The sight of Liu Wuxie's face startled Yu Jingtong. He had never expected the masked expert to be even younger than he was.

"So you're Brother Wu. Thank you again for helping us. Words alone can't repay what you've done," Yu Jingtong said, courteously cupping his fists. "Should you ever require the Yu Clan's aid, you need only say the word."

"The Mou Clan might continue hunting you. Until the Divine Steed Tournament begins, avoid them whenever you can," Liu Wuxie advised.

Though Liu Wuxie appeared several years younger than Yu Jingtong, he spoke with the natural authority of an elder instructing a junior. Now that the Face-Seer Ghost King had killed Yu Di, Liu Wuxie could hardly ignore the welfare of his descendants.

"We understand," Yu Jingtong replied helplessly. "With the Face-Seer Ghost King supporting them, the Mou Clan has flourished at a frightening pace over the years. They eventually forced our Yu Clan to abandon our ancestral estate and move to another city."

Nothing could humiliate a clan more deeply than being driven from its ancestral estate.

As their conversation continued, Liu Wuxie and Yu Jingtong quickly became more comfortable with each other.

"Young Master Wu, do you intend to enter the Divine Steed Tournament alone?" Yu Jingtong asked. Liu Wuxie's earlier remarks made it clear that he had come by himself to participate in the tournament.

"That's right," Liu Wuxie confirmed, settling beneath a towering tree while his divine sense kept watch over their surroundings.

"Then why not join the Yu Clan? We could watch each other's backs," Yu Jingtong offered sincerely. He did not mean to underestimate Liu Wuxie, but any lone competitor would struggle to stand out during the tournament.

Liu Wuxie appreciated the goodwill behind the invitation, yet he still declined, shaking his head.

"That won't be necessary. Once the tournament starts, avoid the stronger divine steeds whenever possible and place your safety above everything else," Liu Wuxie said as he rose to his feet.

Dawn was on the horizon, heralding the imminent start of the Divine Steed Tournament.

Yu Jingtong chose not to press the matter. The Yu Clan's divine steed offered only limited space, and accommodating Liu Wuxie would require one of their disciples to give up their place.

Excitement rapidly swept through the area surrounding the Divine Steed Tournament. Even Liu Wuxie hadn't expected one fragment of the Asura Blade to attract such an immense gathering. Yet the fervor made sense. Even a fingernail-sized fragment from an artifact forged by an Immortal Emperor possessed unimaginable value.

A fragment as large as this could tempt even an Immortal King to fight for it.

Crowds began pouring from the Divine Steed Manor, consisting of those who had arrived several days earlier.

"Look at all those Golden Immortals!" people exclaimed.

Golden Immortals appeared everywhere among the assembling cultivators, and even great Golden Immortals occasionally emerged from the crowd.

"That's an elder from the Divine Will Gate! He was operating the Cloudbreaker Warship yesterday," excited voices called from every direction. From the looks of things, the Divine Will Gate had an excellent chance of winning the tournament.

More than ten thousand people now crowded the grounds before the Divine Steed Manor. Liu Wuxie remained at the very back, blending into the sea of cultivators without attracting the slightest attention.

"Everyone, silence!" the Divine Steed Manor elder, who had addressed them several days ago, commanded as he stepped forward. His powerful Golden Immortal Realm aura descended upon the crowd, crushing the surrounding uproar.

A hush swept across the entire manor as everyone waited for the elder to continue.

"I trust that everyone already knows why our Divine Steed Manor has organized this tournament, so I won't burden you with pointless explanations," the Golden Immortal Realm elder announced, projecting his voice across the gathering. "We are willingly presenting the Asura Blade's fragment as the prize. Whoever claims first place will receive it."

"Will the Divine Steed Manor compete as well?" someone called from deep within the crowd.

"Isn't the answer obvious? Of course they're competing. They arranged this entire tournament so they could keep the Asura Blade's fragment for themselves," another person retorted. "Who could possibly challenge the Divine Steed Manor when it comes to the Divine Steed Art?" Many cultivators openly exposed the manor's intentions without showing its members the slightest respect.

Laughter rolled through the crowd, for everyone had already seen through the Divine Steed Manor's design.

Despite the mocking voices rising around him, the elder's expression never changed.

Conversations continued spreading in every direction, most carrying open ridicule toward the Divine Steed Manor.

"I heard that many experts recently descended upon the Divine Steed Manor and tried to force them to surrender the Asura Blade's fragment," someone remarked. "They only arranged this tournament because the other factions left them no choice. If the manor wins first place, no one can object when they keep the fragment."

"If someone else takes first place, will the Divine Steed Manor truly surrender the fragment?" an Origin Immortal demanded.

That question outweighed every other concern. If the Divine Steed Manor denied the outcome afterward, then all their preparation and effort would be in vain.

"Without question. Whoever wins first place will receive the Asura Blade's fragment directly from the Divine Steed Manor," the elder promised before the entire assembly.

Only after receiving that public assurance did the crowd finally relax. From this moment forward, success or failure would rest entirely upon their own abilities.

"Something about this makes no sense. The Divine Steed Manor obtained the fragment through its own strength, so why organize a tournament at all?" someone asked.

No one could fully understand the manor's purpose. The Divine Steed Manor was hardly weak, and even if other factions had surrounded it, they should not have been forced into such a passive position.

"You haven't heard? The Divine Steed Manor didn't obtain the Asura Blade's fragment by itself. Many people were there when it appeared, and they merely entrusted the fragment to the manor for safekeeping," another person replied.

At last, someone exposed the truth. Under those circumstances, the Divine Steed Manor had no alternative but to organize the Divine Steed Tournament.

Had the manor refused, the other factions would have publicly accused it of attempting to monopolize the fragment. After lengthy negotiations among the various powers, the Divine Steed Manor had ultimately agreed to hold the tournament.

Because the fragment currently rested in their possession, the Divine Steed Manor naturally retained the full authority to determine the rules.

"That's enough gossip. The tournament will begin shortly, and we have already prepared the course," the Divine Steed Manor elder declared, cutting off the discussion before more secrets were exposed. "From this point onward, victory will depend solely on your own abilities."