Desolate Devouring Art

The impact detonated across the Death Talisman Pool like a thunderclap. The blast hurled Shi Wa and the talisman beneath his feet more than ten meters backward. Behind him, the void continued to tremble as waves of aftershocks rippled outward.

Bai Jingye stood farther away, barely affected. The remnant force only made the talisman beneath him quiver. When he looked up, he saw the sword rune and Shi Wa's seal locked together in midair, gnawing at one another like two starving beasts.

No one had expected the clash to end like this.

Although surprised, Shi Wa did not waste even a breath. His fingers continued moving, forming seal after seal as he inscribed fresh runes and drove them into the nonagonal seal to strengthen it.

The sword rune thrashed with savage force, trying to rip open the seal and break free. This was no longer a simple contest of runes. It had become a direct war between two talisman arts.

The nonagonal seal under Shi Wa's control could not truly be called a talisman. A proper talisman did not take such an unnatural form.

Bai Jingye drove the talisman beneath him forward and rushed toward Shi Wa, intending to join forces with the sword rune and kill him outright.

Shi Wa was already straining against the sword rune with everything he had. Bai Jingye, closing in, only turned that pressure into a killing net.

"I never thought Mentor Bai would be this despicable. I was blind to ever respect him," many students roared in anger, including Bai Jingye's own students. They could not accept that the mentor they had once admired would throw away all dignity just to win.

Even if Bai Jingye walked out of the Death Talisman Pool alive, he wouldn't be able to recover his lost reputation, and no student would willingly join his class again.

Shi Wa's eyes turned bloodshot as the sword rune launched its counterattack. A powerful sword intent erupted and forced the nonagonal seal backward, cracks spreading across it like wounds. If this continued, the sword rune would eventually tear the seal apart.

Bai Jingye's sword had already arrived, sealing Shi Wa in a deadly pincer attack.

At the critical moment, Shi Wa bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood essence, sending it pouring into the nonagonal seal.

The nonagonal seal erupted with blinding radiance. A towering aura surged from it, wild and ancient, like a primordial beast awakening after countless years of sleep.

The entire Death Talisman Pool roared. Waves surged upward and drenched both Shi Wa and Bai Jingye, while more runes erupted from the pool's depths. They might not have been as terrifying as the sword rune, but they didn't dare underestimate them.

A deep roar thundered from within the nonagonal seal as a fireball transformed into a ferocious beast and swallowed the sword rune whole. The sword rune vanished, devoured by the nonagonal rune and fused into it. That was the power of the Ancestral Talisman.

The Ancestral Talisman was the oldest talismanic rune in existence, something that had gradually formed over time. It could be considered the ancestor of all talismans.

Just as the nonagonal seal absorbed the sword rune, Bai Jingye's sword reached Shi Wa's back.

"Back off!" Shi Wa roared, slashing horizontally with his dagger and unleashing the assassination art.

Under Liu Wuxie's guidance, Shi Wa's dagger produced not even the faintest ripple when he swung it. That silence made the strike almost impossible to defend against.

Bai Jingye was shocked by the sudden attack and finally realized he had underestimated Shi Wa's strength. He failed to dodge in time, and a wound split open across his lower abdomen, blood gushing out of it.

After suppression weakened his laws and cultivation, Bai Jingye's cultivation had fallen to a level comparable to the High Immortal Realm. That was why Shi Wa's strike succeeded.

The instant Shi Wa wounded Bai Jingye, he controlled the talisman beneath his feet and retreated several meters, ensuring Bai Jingye would not be able to launch another surprise attack so easily.

"What a terrifying assassination art!" the mentors outside exclaimed, shocked. None of them had ever seen the assassination art Shi Wa had just performed.

Shi Wa had managed to wound Bai Jingye so easily mainly because the latter had underestimated him.

"I'll kill you!" Bai Jingye roared after briefly treating his wound. He drove the talisman beneath him forward and chased Shi Wa again.

Thus, a fierce pursuit erupted above the Death Talisman Pool. After absorbing the sword rune, the nonagonal seal's power had grown dramatically, releasing a terrifying aura that repelled the surrounding runes.

Bai Jingye swung his longsword again and again, and each sword ray that struck the pool released a sizzling hiss.

"Look at Shi Wa," someone shouted.

Shi Wa did not counterattack despite Bai Jingye's pursuit. He focused entirely on dodging, leaving countless spectators puzzled.

"He's devouring the runes inside the Death Talisman Pool," a mentor cried out, his face filled with shock.

"Could he be..."

The Death Talisman Pool was enormous, and even after such a long chase, the two were still nowhere near the far edge.

Shi Wa had already swallowed more than a thousand runes. As the nonagonal seal gradually stabilized, it slowly evolved into a complete talisman.

Although the nonagonal seal had looked like a talisman earlier, it still lacked many essential parts. A complete nonagonal seal could split into three parts and merge back into one.

A terrible premonition rose in Bai Jingye's heart, followed by a heavy sense of approaching danger.

Several more sword runes burst out from the Death Talisman Pool, and this time, they attacked both Shi Wa and Bai Jingye.

Facing the incoming sword runes, Bai Jingye finally gave up chasing Shi Wa and chose to deal with the sword runes first. This gave Shi Wa a precious chance to breathe, and after breaking free from Bai Jingye's pursuit, he finally sighed in relief.

He guided the nonagonal seal toward the sword runes and began plundering them wildly, causing ordinary runes to vanish one after another. If this continued, the devouring force would eventually consume all the runes inside the Death Talisman Pool.

Without those runes, the Death Talisman Pool would gradually return to normal. If Shi Wa could absorb every rune inside the Death Talisman Pool, it would be a tremendous contribution to the Azure Flame Dao Hall.

The sword runes charging toward Shi Wa disappeared rapidly as they were absorbed and assimilated into the nonagonal seal.

Bai Jingye was not so fortunate. Unlike Shi Wa, he lacked the Ancestral Talisman's suppression. The sword runes manifested into sharp swords and rampaged around him, nearly piercing his body several times.

"Get away from me!" Bai Jingye roared. The sword in his hand manifested into a curtain of sword light and shattered the sword runes.

The sword runes broke apart and scattered into heaven and earth.

After Shi Wa devoured two sword runes, the nonagonal seal instantly doubled in size. It blotted out the sky, hanging in the air like a vast curtain.

After shattering the sword runes, Bai Jingye charged forward and quickly caught up to Shi Wa.

The two had been chasing each other for a long time, and they were finally closing in on the far side of the Death Talisman Pool. If Shi Wa reached the opposite shore first, he would win the competition.

Bai Jingye naturally refused to let that happen. His sword flew out, forcing Shi Wa to veer right and drift farther and farther away from the opposite shore.

An old man approached Liu Wuxie respectfully and asked, "Mentor Liu, may I ask you something?"

Just yesterday, the Azure Flame Dao Hall had announced Liu Wuxie's official promotion to Mentor. This meant his status and privilege would rise even higher than before.

"Ask," Liu Wuxie replied, looking at the old man. If he could answer, he naturally would.

The old man was Chen Yi. Among all the talisman mentors in the Azure Flame Dao Hall, he was the oldest and had taught for the longest time. He also had a fairly good reputation.

The moment Chen Yi arrived, Ye Linghan had already told Liu Wuxie everything she knew about him.

"I can sense a mysterious aura inside the nonagonal seal Shi Wa is controlling. Can you tell me what it is?" Chen Yi asked. The question was somewhat excessive, which was why his attitude remained humble.

The surrounding mentors and students gathered closer. They were also curious, knowing that whatever power could suppress the sword runes could not be ordinary.

Even Profound Immortals could only destroy sword runes head-on, yet Shi Wa had overturned everyone's understanding by absorbing and refining them.

"Heaven and earth mark the beginning of all things. The talisman path marks the origin, the divine as essence, energy as unity, humanity as life, and death as nothingness. This is the power of nihility," Liu Wuxie explained. He did not directly reveal the Ancestral Talisman and left the rest for them to comprehend.

The Ancestral Talisman was born at the beginning of the universe, when heaven and earth had formed. The talisman path marking the origin meant it had existed since the beginning of the universe. The divine as essence referred to the inseparable nature of essence, energy, and spirit.

Energy represented unity because only one energy should exist in the body. If another energy appeared, it would clash within the body. Humanity represented life, while death represented nothingness. This also represented yin and yang, heaven and earth, along with the six paths of reincarnation.

Chen Yi could not understand everything, but he still bowed to Liu Wuxie. He believed that if he continued pondering Liu Wuxie's words, he would eventually find an answer. As for the others, they became even more confused after hearing Liu Wuxie's explanation.

The nonagonal seal devoured faster and faster. The runes hovering in the air gradually thinned out, with most of them already swallowed.

A powerful suction force surged outward, stirring the Death Talisman Pool into greater unrest. The devouring force rapidly consumed the energy beneath Bai Jingye's and Shi Wa's feet, and they could hold on for another fifteen minutes at best. If this continued, both of them would fall into the pool.

"Brat, you forced my hand!" Bai Jingye said, retrieving five talismans. Each one carried a different color, corresponding to a different element.

"It's the Pentabolt Talisman!" Although there were five talismans in total, they were not the Five Elemental Talismans but the Pentabolt Talismans.

The white talisman represented Crimson Thunderbolt, the red represented the Flame of Destruction, the golden represented the Divine Annihilation Thunder, the black represented the Origin of Destruction, and the green talisman gave off a less intense energy. It was Thundervine, capable of manifesting countless vines to locate the opponent's body.

It was clear that Bai Jingye had brought out his strongest trump card solely to kill Shi Wa.

The moment the Pentabolt Talismans appeared, even Liu Wuxie rose to his feet, murderous intent flashing through his eyes.

"Wuxie, will Shi Wa be all right?" Ye Linghan asked.

Judging from the current situation, Shi Wa was in grave danger. Once the five talismans were combined, they would form five thunderbolt pillars capable of killing even Profound Immortals.

Shi Wa was only at the Heavenly Immortal Realm, and he had no chance of winning against the Pentabolt Talisman. This was a death trap prepared for him.

Liu Wuxie did not reply. His gaze remained fixed on the Talisman Tower, waiting for Shi Wa's next move. He had personally trained Shi Wa, and he believed Shi Wa could resolve this crisis.

Perhaps influenced by the Pentabolt Talismans, even more runes surged from the Death Talisman Pool. The number of sword runes had reached more than a dozen, accompanied by lightning runes, frost runes, five elemental runes, and many others.

There were too many elements in the world, and each one could give birth to a rune. The runes began flying toward Shi Wa and merging into the nonagonal seal before him.

"What is Shi Wa trying to do? Is he planning to borrow the power of every rune in the Death Talisman Pool to fight Bai Jingye's Pentabolt Talismans?"

Judging from the current situation, that was exactly what Shi Wa intended. After all, with his own strength, he had no chance against the Pentabolt Talismans. His only option was to borrow the power of the runes inside the Death Talisman Pool.

Bai Jingye naturally would not give Shi Wa enough time. The Pentabolt Talismans smashed down, striking at Shi Wa from five different directions.

Shi Wa formed seals with one hand and swept his palm across the void. A black hole appeared before him, and another triangular seal emerged.