Desolate Devouring Art

Ye Linghan did not cultivate. She sat nearby with her right hand propping up her chin, her eyes resting quietly on Liu Wuxie's face.

The Desolate Devouring Art began devouring the surrounding energy without the slightest restraint. This was the western region of the Dragon Burial Mountain Range, a place where few cultivators dared to set foot. It was nothing like the southern route Liu Wuxie had entered before, which most cultivators preferred to take.

Even so, only Profound Immortals would dare enter the Dragon Burial Mountain Range through the western region. Anyone below the Profound Immortal Realm would be courting death by coming here.

Along the way, Liu Wuxie would have died countless times if not for the Ghost Pupil and the Divine Tribulation Pupil, as many powerful immortal beasts prowled this route.

Although Liu Wuxie and Ye Linghan had known each other for some time, this was the first time she watched him cultivate from such a close distance. In the past, Liu Wuxie had always cultivated inside his room, and no matter how great the commotion was, Ye Linghan could not sense anything.

The moment a vortex formed above Liu Wuxie, Ye Linghan shot to her feet in excitement.

"What an incredible pull!"

Ordinary cultivators cultivated by slowly drawing immortal energy from the surrounding atmosphere. Liu Wuxie was the opposite. He plundered it, seized it, and devoured it by force. If any other cultivator absorbed energy at such a terrifying speed, that energy would have blown them apart.

Yet Liu Wuxie looked as if he were enjoying it, and the sight left Ye Linghan horrified. The vortex hung above him like a funnel, condensing the surrounding energy into liquid before dragging it into the black hole. Inside the desolate world, immortal energy multiplied at a terrifying pace.

The immortal energy in the Dragon Burial Mountain Range was far denser than in the Azure Flame Dao Hall. Here, he could devour freely. In the Azure Flame Dao Hall, he had never dared to create too much commotion, since that would only invite unnecessary trouble.

All kinds of elements began growing rapidly, especially the mystic yin energy. The Divine Mystic Yin Needle was mainly used for sneak attacks, and its effects were not especially strong in a direct battle.

The first form of the Heavenly Crest Divine Blade Art had already reached perfection. If Liu Wuxie wanted to cultivate the second form, he would likely have to wait until his cultivation reached the late phase of the True Immortal Realm.

It was not because Liu Wuxie could not comprehend the second form. He had already carved all eight forms into his mind long ago, and only his cultivation held him back.

Liu Wuxie did not dare pour all the Origin Immortal Realm laws into the desolate world at once. Instead, he extracted only a few strands first.

The instant the Origin Immortal Realm laws entered the desolate world, thunderous rumbles shook through it, and cracks began spreading outward. Those laws were too powerful, and even though Liu Wuxie had prepared himself, they still caught him off guard.

Fortunately, he had not absorbed all the laws in one breath. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable, and the entire desolate world might have shattered apart.

The Desolate Devouring Art began circulating faster, drawing energy from the void. This was not immortal energy, but the laws of heaven and earth, which contained the profundity of heaven and earth, including the various elements.

Ye Linghan could no longer describe what she felt. She had witnessed her father's breakthrough to the Divine Immortal Realm, yet the commotion he had caused could not compare to what Liu Wuxie was creating now.

A phenomenon manifested around Liu Wuxie, as though countless celestial children were playing wondrous celestial music.

"Who exactly are you? How could Eastern Emperor City possibly produce a monster like you?" Ye Linghan murmured.

She knew very well that Eastern Emperor City was only a remote region in the celestial realm. Here, Divine Immortal Realm experts were already considered peerless, yet Liu Wuxie's talent had exceeded anything she could comprehend.

Her father had once told her about the world beyond Eastern Emperor City, and it was far more dangerous than she could imagine. Over the years, Ye Linghan had thought of leaving Eastern Emperor City, but her father had stopped her each time.

Time slowly passed. The few strands of Origin Immortal Realm laws Liu Wuxie had absorbed into the desolate world were completely refined and fused into it.

Nourished by the laws of the Origin Immortal Realm, the desolate world expanded several times over. The greatest change came from its spatial laws, which had become incomparably sturdy.

A vast number of laws in the True Immortal Realm began fusing. As before, the merged laws became far stronger than they had been.

Millions of True Immortal Realm laws shrank to hundreds of thousands in the blink of an eye. When another dozen or so Origin Immortal Realm laws entered the desolate world, the commotion they caused was no longer as violent as before.

While Liu Wuxie strengthened the desolate world, he also tempered his unity with heaven and earth. After all, the bodies of the Origin Immortal Realm cultivators contained powerful essences, and absorbing them sent immense power surging through his body.

A tearing pain suddenly ripped through Liu Wuxie, but he clenched his teeth and endured it. He knew his unity with heaven and earth was close to breaking through. If his physique reached the Spirit Immortal Realm first, he would have a much better chance against low-level Spirit Immortal Realm enemies in the future.

A dull rumble sounded from within Liu Wuxie's body, and Ye Linghan's expression changed drastically.

"What a terrifying physique!" When Liu Wuxie inhaled, wind rumbled in his abdomen, his bones thundered, his flesh trembled like drums, and his blood surged through his veins, thick as crimson slurry.

Even a profound immortal's physique could not reach such a state, yet Liu Wuxie had done it. Sensing the surging aura inside him, he took out a handful of pills and swallowed them all at once.

Those pills had come from the four Origin Immortals, and many of them served to temper the physique. Now, they were exactly what he needed.

By the time Ye Linghan wanted to stop Liu Wuxie, it was already too late. Refining so many pills in one breath was far too dangerous, and one mistake could make his body explode.

After Liu Wuxie swallowed the pills, his physique rapidly refined them. A powerful force swept outward from him, causing the surrounding rocks to slide down continuously. Cracks also began spreading around Liu Wuxie.

The scene became terrifying, and Ye Linghan had already gotten accustomed to it.

Once the Desolate World absorbed enough Origin Immortal Realm laws, the gateway to the fourth-level True Immortal Realm began to appear.

Liu Wuxie did not hesitate. He mobilized all his strength and transformed it into an axe a hundred thousand feet long, then brought it crashing fiercely against the gateway to the fourth-level True Immortal Realm.

With a deafening rumble, the gate shattered in a single strike. Even Liu Wuxie had not expected the breakthrough to come so easily. This was thanks to the essence he had absorbed from the corpses of the four immortals. With the advancement of his unity with heaven and earth added to it, the breakthrough naturally happened smoothly.

The strength of Liu Wuxie's physique continued rising and soon reached the first-level Spirit Immortal Realm. Even his primordial spirit evolved rapidly after absorbing the soul energy of the four Origin Immortals.

Aside from Liu Wuxie's cultivation itself, his physique and primordial spirit had both become comparable to the Spirit Immortal Realm.

As the Divine Tribulation Pupil absorbed mental energy from the surroundings, the purity of his mental energy doubled, though the size of his upper dantian stayed the same.

More than five hundred immortal stones detonated at once, melting into liquid before pouring into the Desolate World.

Cracking sounds rang out from the Desolate World as it expanded rapidly. After Liu Wuxie reached the fourth-level True Immortal Realm, the world doubled in size. Its terrain grew even more majestic, and faint clouds appeared in the starry sky, indicating that the Desolate World was once again evolving toward perfection.

The various realms began competing with one another, each seeking control.

The night had already passed into its latter half, yet the cave remained bright as day. The light came from Liu Wuxie, whose body radiated a powerful glow while various elements appeared one after another.

Ye Linghan curled her lips into a pout. Shock had turned into numbness, and numbness had slowly turned into acceptance.

Under the impact of five hundred thousand immortal stones, Liu Wuxie needed only two hours to consolidate his cultivation at the late phase of the fourth-level True Immortal Realm. He had refined Wen Qu and the other three.

The Desolate Devouring Art gradually slowed and was no longer as violent as before. The strange sights inside the cave also began to settle down.

Only at daybreak did Liu Wuxie finally open his eyes, and two sharp beams shot out from them. When those beams struck the stone wall, they carved two terrifying cracks into it.

Cyclones of energy had formed inside Liu Wuxie's body, and he could easily use them to slay ordinary True Immortals.

When Liu Wuxie stood, loud rumbles echoed from every part of his body. His unity with heaven and earth had advanced successfully. Sensing the surging power within him, he allowed a faint smile to appear at the corner of his lips.

Now that Liu Wuxie had stepped into the fourth-level True Immortal Realm, he had officially entered the intermediate phase of the True Immortal Realm. As long as he had enough resources, he could continue breaking through without limit.

Ye Linghan stepped forward, looking even happier than if she had made the breakthrough herself, and exclaimed, "Congratulations on reaching the fourth-level True Immortal Realm."

"Let's head back," Liu Wuxie replied.

After his breakthrough, he had originally planned to train for a while longer in the Dragon Burial Mountain Range. Yet for some inexplicable reason, the unease in his heart still had not faded. He began wondering whether something had happened in the Azure Flame Dao Hall or to Chen Ping.

With the Wen Clan's methods, they had likely investigated his relationship with the Peace and Stability Merchant Association. Chen Ping was a brother Liu Wuxie had grown up with, and he could not let him fall into danger because of him.

Ye Linghan did not object. She had already sworn that she would never leave Liu Wuxie, whether in life or death. If they died, they would share the same grave.

The two left the cave and returned, taking their original route. It took them more than a day to make it back to Eastern Emperor City.

This time, the Shen Clan and the Zhu Clan had each lost one person, which dealt both clans a heavy blow.

Just as Liu Wuxie and Ye Linghan were about to return to the Azure Flame Dao Hall, the Communication Talisman Liu Wuxie used to contact his elder brother suddenly lit up.

"Uncle Liu, this is bad! Father was severely injured, and he's in critical condition!"

The voice from the Communication Talisman belonged to Chen An, not Chen Ping. Chen An had probably taken Chen Ping's Communication Talisman to contact him.

Liu Wuxie's eyes turned cold. Everything had happened just as he had suspected. Ye Linghan had also heard the voice coming from the Communication Talisman.

"I need to return to Moon Reverence City. You go back first," Liu Wuxie said, then rushed toward the teleportation array. He had to get back to Moon Reverence City before something happened to his elder brother.

"I'm going with you," Ye Linghan said. She could not possibly leave Liu Wuxie alone at a time like this.

If she allowed Liu Wuxie to return to Moon Reverence City by himself, wouldn't that be no different from letting him walk straight into the Wen Clan's trap? If she accompanied him, she could protect him at the critical moment.

This time, he did not stop her, as even he didn't know what awaited him in Moon Reverence City.

The two rushed swiftly toward the teleportation array. But the teleportation array could only take them to Fourfold City, not a small city like Moon Reverence City. For long-distance travel, most people relied on aerial immortal beasts.

After Liu Wuxie and Ye Linghan paid two thousand immortal stones, the teleportation array lit up.

Not long after the two vanished, the Shadow Divination Gate established a branch in Eastern Emperor City and began recruiting disciples widely. In just a few days, they recruited hundreds of followers, revealing an astonishing speed of expansion.

This matter quickly alarmed the Eastern Emperor Pavilion and the Xiang Manor. Various forces were dispatched to investigate, only to discover that every follower had joined the Shadow Divination Gate willingly.