Desolate Devouring Art

Bai Jingye immediately produced several more talismans, and they shot toward Shi Wa like blades torn from a storm. The powerful air currents unleashed by those talismans swept up the water in the Death Talisman Pool, sending it surging toward Shi Wa.

Outside the Talisman Tower, everyone's heart climbed into their throat. Many mentors rose to their feet, their eyes fixed on every movement unfolding inside the Death Talisman Pool.

"Damn it, Shi Wa's in danger!"

Bai Jingye's actions naturally drew waves of dissatisfaction from the crowd. The competition in the Death Talisman Pool was supposed to decide who could cross the pool first, yet before the challenge had even truly begun, Bai Jingye had already cheated by attacking Shi Wa.

Anxiety filled Ye Linghan's eyes. Xiao Qian stared at the Talisman Tower without blinking, while Xiang Rulong and the others silently cheered Shi Wa on. Even the upper echelons of the Azure Flame Dao Hall had fallen into silence.

Everyone knew that even if Bai Jingye won this battle, his victory would be disgraceful and unworthy of a mentor. A mentor should have led by example by honoring his word and keeping his promises, but Bai Jingye had done neither. Instead, he behaved like a shameless thug.

Facing Bai Jingye's attack, Shi Wa did not forcefully retaliate. He swiped his right hand through the air, and the talisman hovering before him expanded into a carpet, suspending itself in front of him.

"Go!" Shi Wa landed atop the talisman and controlled it to fly across the Death Talisman Pool.

Whoever crossed the Death Talisman Pool first would win this match. As long as Shi Wa reached the other side first, victory would belong to him, and Bai Jingye would still die.

Bai Jingye flew into a rage when he saw Shi Wa actually taking the lead, ignoring him.

"You're asking to die!" Bai Jingye roared, pressing his aura at the Profound Immortal Realm down on Shi Wa.

The surrounding students gnashed their teeth in frustration. "This is shameless! I can't watch this anymore!" They had never seen someone so brazen.

After all, the gap between the two was like heaven and earth. This competition had been set as a battle between talismans, yet Bai Jingye had violated the rules repeatedly.

Even the upper echelons of the Azure Flame Dao Hall could no longer keep their composure. Bai Jingye was not merely breaking the rules; he was dragging the reputation of the entire Dao Hall through the mud.

Zuo Yang turned to look at the elders beside him. They all rose to their feet and began inscribing seals, sending them flying into the Talisman Tower.

In an instant, the Talisman Tower underwent a drastic transformation. Countless runes formed a dense spiderweb that enveloped the entire tower. The moment an invisible restriction descended upon the Death Talisman Pool, it suppressed Bai Jingye's cultivation, and he could no longer mobilize his power as a Profound Immortal.

The sudden change caught Bai Jingye off guard. The pressure he had released toward Shi Wa vanished, falling to the level of an ordinary High Immortal. The attack struck the pool behind Shi Wa, making it rumble like boiling water.

Strangely, Liu Wuxie's face showed no trace of concern. Even if the Azure Flame Dao Hall's upper echelons had not interfered, he still had a way to resolve the danger. Since the upper echelons had stepped in, it merely saved him the trouble.

Shi Wa swayed under the impact, nearly falling from the talisman. Even so, the talisman continued flying forward at a steady, unhurried pace.

The violent impact caused runes to surge out of the Death Talisman Pool, filling the surroundings with countless talismanic marks. Some had existed for a thousand years, while others had appeared only in recent years. Their strength varied wildly, and some of the more powerful runes began attacking the two competitors.

Talismanic runes came in all forms, including offensive, defensive, devouring, flame, ice, lightning, and many others. The Death Talisman Pool had existed for several thousand years, and no one knew how many runes had gathered within it. Among them, the offensive runes stood out the most.

Shi Wa began forming seals with one hand, and the runes rushing toward him suddenly froze in mid-air.

Bai Jingye refused to fall behind and took out a talisman as well. When the talisman expanded, he sat on it and rode it across the pool.

Since Profound Immortals could not fly, he could only rely on talismans to make his way across the Death Talisman Pool.

The pursuit continued. The Death Talisman Pool was massive, and runes constantly surged out to attack them. In just a few breaths, the talisman beneath Shi Wa's feet was already riddled with holes, looking as though it might sink at any moment. If Shi Wa fell into the pool, death would be certain.

The runes were also attacking the talisman Bai Jingye rode, and at this rate, both of them would struggle to last until they reached the other side.

More runes surged out of the Death Talisman Pool, blotting out the sky. The offensive runes, in particular, transformed into sharp swords that came flying toward them.

Shi Wa's expression turned solemn. He only had one arm, which meant his speed in inscribing runes was inferior to Bai Jingye's.

"You're dead, brat," Bai Jingye shouted, laughing sinisterly just as he was about to catch up to Shi Wa.

Despite Bai Jingye's pressure, Shi Wa remained composed. He simply swiped his hand downward, and a triangular seal appeared.

During the class assessment, Shi Wa had once inscribed this triangular seal. The moment it appeared, the Death Talisman Pool instantly grew restless, and more talismans surged toward him.

"Look! The talisman runes are actually merging!" the students exclaimed in surprise as they watched the pursuit from outside.

"What kind of seal is that? How can it control the runes in the pool?" Many talisman mentors stared so hard that their eyes nearly popped from their sockets.

The triangular seal Shi Wa inscribed was like the ancestor of all runes, carrying the authority to command them.

Bai Jingye's heart sank as he watched the surrounding runes gather above Shi Wa. He knew that the only way to stop Shi Wa now was to kill him.

The triangular seal began to split and transform, first becoming a hexagon, then a nonagon, just as it had during the class assessment. The only difference was that Shi Wa's inscription speed had doubled.

A cry of a phoenix echoed through the air, and a fiery phoenix circled above, releasing boundless flames with every flap of its wings. The moment those wings swept down, the surrounding runes transformed into arrows and shot toward Bai Jingye.

"Damn it!" Bai Jingye roared furiously. He was about to catch up with Shi Wa, but with the arrows closing in, he could only slow down. He had no choice but to dodge the incoming attacks first.

When others entered the Death Talisman Pool, they had to avoid the runes with extreme caution. Shi Wa, however, was actually controlling them to attack, a sight that completely overturned everyone's understanding.

Every year, students took the risk of entering the Death Talisman Pool to search for long-lost runes. But aside from a very small number, most students had lost their lives here, let alone found any runes.

A few years ago, one student had managed to obtain a sword rune and became famous because of it. He had relied on that sword rune to forge a powerful Sword Talisman.

The runes sleeping within the Death Talisman Pool continued rushing out.

A series of sharp whistles sliced through the air as arrows manifested from runes and enveloped Bai Jingye. With his cultivation suppressed, Bai Jingye's strength had declined compared to before.

When the arrows pierced through the talisman beneath him, they swiftly riddled it with holes. Bai Jingye swayed unsteadily, as though he would fall at any moment.

"Brat, I'll tear you apart!" Bai Jingye roared in frustration. Never in his life had he felt so stifled.

Before the talisman beneath him could disintegrate, another talisman appeared and expanded. Bai Jingye did not hesitate to leap onto it, finally stabilizing himself again.

It was clear that Bai Jingye had made ample preparations for today's competition.

Shi Wa swept his finger across the air, and runes poured into the talisman beneath him, swiftly repairing the damaged areas before he controlled it to continue flying.

At this moment, Bai Jingye had gone all out. He gripped his longsword and swung it down, sending the nearby runes flying away.

All of a sudden, waves of spatial fluctuation surged, sending ripples spreading across the surface of the Death Talisman Pool.

Everyone outside held their breath, watching nervously.

A crimson arrow shot out from the depths of the Death Talisman Pool and flew toward Shi Wa. The runes within the pool would not distinguish between targets; they attacked anyone who entered.

These runes had existed here for thousands of years, and they possessed no intelligence. That meant they would attack indiscriminately anyone who stepped inside.

Shi Wa's face hardened drastically because the crimson arrow turned out to be a rare sword rune. Such runes were extremely rare, and only a handful of people throughout Eastern Emperor City could inscribe them.

Moreover, Shi Wa could tell that this sword rune had surpassed the peak of the Profound Talisman Realm. After being nurtured in the Death Talisman Pool for countless years, the rune had become even purer and more refined.

The Talisman Tower was a place for students to practice talisman art, allowing them to absorb the energy within the tower to perfect their talisman art and improve their runes.

The talisman runes inside the Death Talisman Pool could not leave this place. Day and night, those runes absorbed energy from the Talisman Tower. From that alone, anyone could imagine how terrifying each rune had become.

The sword manifested by the sword rune had required countless years of nurturing.

"Shi Wa's in danger!"

The students outside grew nervous, and many clenched their fists, wishing they could rush inside and see the situation up close.

Even Liu Wuxie opened his eyes. He had already done everything he could and had calculated many things in advance, but he had not expected a sword rune to exist inside the Death Talisman Pool. From this point on, Shi Wa could only rely on himself.

As the sword approached Shi Wa and was only a few meters away, Bai Jingye burst into laughter. He had not expected Shi Wa to die at the hands of the sword rune.

Once Shi Wa died, the battle would naturally end in Bai Jingye's victory. That meant once he left the Talisman Tower, he would be able to kill Liu Wuxie.

However, Shi Wa suddenly calmed down. His eyes sharpened like those of a venomous snake, locking firmly onto the crimson sword.

When the sword was only one meter away from him, its sword ray had already torn through his robes, leaving them ragged.

This attack was comparable to the strike of a profound immortal, while Shi Wa was only a high-level High Immortal. Resolving this incoming attack was harder than ascending to heaven.

Just as Shi Wa was about to be killed by the sword rune, he did something no one could understand. He actually controlled the nonagonal seal and rammed it straight into the sword rune.

The crimson phoenix vanished, shrinking back into a nonagonal rune that released terrifying flames. This move left even Zuo Yang and the others baffled.

"Has he lost his mind? Shouldn't he dodge at a time like this?" The talisman mentors of the Azure Flame Dao Hall were stunned as they watched Shi Wa control his seal to clash with the sword rune.

"He's trying to cling to life. He's above the Death Talisman Pool right now. Even if he avoids the first strike, what about the second and third?" an older talisman mentor said.

Shi Wa could dodge, but he could not keep dodging forever. Sooner or later, he would have to face the sword rune. Since that was the case, he might as well clash with it head-on, and his chances of survival would increase if he shattered the sword rune directly.

With a loud explosion, the sword rune collided with the nonagonal seal, unleashing powerful ripples that swept outward.