Desolate Devouring Art

The strong could turn even adversity into an opportunity for growth.

Those who remained inside the ring were undoubtedly prodigies. They used the immense pressure to temper their soul seas, much as a blacksmith hammered impurities from an artifact. Each round of tempering left their soul energy purer. Given countless such refinements, their soul seas would become all but indestructible.

Elder Kong's announcement brought many cultivators to their feet. They moved to the left, opening broad gaps within the ring.

Soon, only a thousand or so remained. Every one possessed formidable cultivation. Most of them were high-level Divine Immortals, with a few Golden Immortals.

"Why is that brat still there? What's going on?" the Ji Clan disciples asked. They had passed the trial and were leaving the ring when they noticed Liu Wuxie.

A thunderous rumble swept across the platform. Every gaze snapped toward the center.

Around Liu Wuxie, the thunder rolled with the force of a gathering storm. Even the ten elders above stared in disbelief.

The last reserves of energy within him dissolved under refinement, carrying him smoothly into the fourth-level Profound Immortal Realm.

The ten examiners and the cultivators watching from outside the ring were astonished. "He's cultivating with the soul energy pressure? How is that possible?!"

While everyone else was focused on resisting the pressure, Liu Wuxie had used it to advance his cultivation. Enduring such power was impressive enough, but turning it to his own advantage was an entirely different feat.

"An extraordinary talent indeed," Xu Rui remarked, a faint smile forming on her lips.

The moment Liu Wuxie entered the fourth-level Profound Immortal Realm, soul energy began to flow into his body. He was refining the soul energy of Immortal Venerables themselves. The feat defied belief.

Another peal of thunder sounded, and pressure crashed down with the weight of a mountain. This onslaught was ten times as strong as the last.

More than five hundred participants coughed up blood simultaneously. Color drained from their faces as they were on the verge of losing consciousness under the crushing weight.

Those around them fared little better, and Liu Wuxie was no exception. He recognized that the sudden assault had targeted him.

"Get out! Quickly!" people screamed.

The cultivators who had coughed up blood scrambled out of the ring and hurried to the left. In an instant, fewer than five hundred remained, all numbered among the assessment's finest prodigies.

Blood rose in Liu Wuxie's throat. He barely prevented himself from spitting it out, forcing it back down before lifting his head. That abrupt wave of soul energy had come close to killing him.

His recent breakthrough had left his soul energy briefly vulnerable. The attacker had seized that opening to disrupt the breakthrough and destroy his soul sea. Nothing about such a despicable strike left any doubt about the intent. Liu Wuxie followed the soul energy back to its source, killing intent glinting in the depths of his eyes.

Elder Kong demanded. "What are you doing, Elder Ji Pei? Raising your soul energy so suddenly could kill them all!"

The other elders were equally bewildered. The trial required only thirty percent of their soul energy, yet Elder Ji had suddenly unleashed eighty percent. That was enough to kill Divine Immortals with ease.

"The hour is over. An ordinary trial no longer challenges them. If we're extending it, then increasing the difficulty is only reasonable," Ji Pei replied, his expression unmoved. Thirty percent of their soul energy posed little trouble for those still inside. More pressure would reveal who could endure to the end.

"I agree. They chose to remain and temper themselves. We should adjust the rules accordingly," Cao Qizheng said, raising his own soul energy to support Ji Pei.

The other elders remained silent. An extended trial did warrant a gradual increase in pressure, so Ji Pei's argument had merit. His timing was another matter. At the exact instant Liu Wuxie broke through, he had raised his output from thirty to eighty percent. Anyone would have been caught off guard by a surge like that.

Fortunately, the Heavenly Dao Book had protected Liu Wuxie's primordial spirit. Without it, disaster would have followed. His soul sea would have shattered.

"You could have waited for him to consolidate his cultivation before increasing the pressure. Why choose the very moment of his breakthrough?" Elder Kong objected. He still felt indebted to Liu Wuxie. After Ji Pei's earlier intervention on behalf of the Ji Clan disciples, this latest act only strengthened his disapproval of Elder Ji.

"You presume to question me?" Ji Pei demanded. A powerful aura erupted from him, striking Elder Kong and forcing him to stagger backward.

"Enough. Both of you. It has already happened, and the boy is alive. Will you fight in front of all these people?" Xia Ru interjected. Her words reminded them of their status among the Azure Jade Palace’s upper echelons. Quarreling in front of the crowd would only damage their reputation.

Liu Wuxie extended his mental energy and heard everything. Above the ring, the descending soul energy continued to intensify, weighing ever more heavily upon those beneath it.

"To hell with this! I've had enough!" exclaimed a nearby pinnacle Divine Immortal. He rose and left the ring to await the next trial.

Others followed as the pressure climbed. Over an hour had passed, and only about a hundred participants remained.

"You need to leave now, Brother Huang," Liu Wuxie said. He could no longer afford to divert soul energy to protect Huang Zechang.

"Then take care, Brother Liu," Huang Zechang replied with a grateful nod. He understood that Liu Wuxie's protection alone had allowed him to last this long.

He left the ring without hesitation.

Reclaiming his soul energy, Liu Wuxie continued to bear the Immortal Venerables' pressure. Waves rolled through his turbulent soul sea. In the past hour alone, his soul energy had increased by roughly fifty percent.

The magnitude of that gain was almost beyond belief. An equally astonishing sight remained at the center of the ring, where three Golden Immortals stood alongside a lone Profound Immortal.

Liu Wuxie's bones crackled beneath the strain. His head dipped slightly, but his spine remained straight as a rod. Soul energy kept gathering around him, leaving everyone in no doubt that someone was deliberately targeting the center.

"Damn it! How is he lasting better than we are?" the three Golden Immortals nearby demanded. Their expressions grew increasingly sinister as relentless waves of soul energy battered them.

"Heavenly Dao Book, help me expand my soul sea!" Liu Wuxie called, his resolve hardening. If someone insisted on playing this game, he would see it through to the end.

The mysterious memories surfacing in his mind had convinced him that an enormous secret lay within his soul sea. Unraveling it would expose the truth of his past and present. Who he truly was, and where his path should lead, were questions that had troubled him for a long time.

When the River of Fate was severed, he had clearly seen a figure from his past lives. That figure was not the Immortal Emperor he remembered being. It was someone else entirely.

The Heavenly Dao Book drew in all the soul energy descending from above and transformed it into fresh soul energy that merged with his soul sea. The combined power of ten Immortal Venerables now nourished Liu Wuxie, driving that sea to expand.

"Where is our soul energy going? Why does everything we release keep disappearing?" Xu Rui asked. She had increased her output to about fifty percent, only to find it vanishing without any apparent cause. Nothing in their understanding explained the phenomenon.

They were dignified Immortal Venerables, cultivators standing near the summit of the Celestial Realm. Yet not one could explain what was unfolding.

"How very strange," several other Immortal Venerables remarked, clicking their tongues in bewilderment.

Except for Elder Kong, every examiner had raised their soul energy output to fifty percent. Ji Pei drove his to ninety percent, but even that could not force Liu Wuxie out of the ring.

"Increase it again. I want to know how long he can endure," Xia Ru urged. A faint flush colored her face, and a trace of frenzy shone in her eyes.

Liu Wuxie had arrived at a critical moment. Forcing his soul sea to expand was immensely dangerous, and one mistake could rupture it. With the Heavenly Dao Book safeguarding him, however, he felt little apprehension. Anyone else would have succumbed to the pressure long before this.

More! Liu Wuxie roared inwardly. It still was not enough. Even now, the descending soul energy could not provide the power needed to expand his soul sea.

The Heavenly Dao Book had changed his soul sea at its foundation, placing it beyond ordinary comparison. Though it looked small, ancient runes emerged along its crystalline walls. They held it firmly together, preventing the surrounding pressure from making it yield.

A terrifying torrent of soul energy poured from the sky. Deep within Liu Wuxie's soul sea, sharp squeaking sounds arose, as though countless rats were gnawing inside.

He felt a hairline crack form in its depths, like the hard shell of a fruit splitting from within. Once that shell broke open completely, the innermost reaches of his soul sea would become accessible.

The fracture spread. Boundless soul energy rushed through like a raging ocean, and his soul sea swelled outward, carrying the soul energy that had already condensed into liquid.

His upper dantian jolted, then expanded rapidly. As the Divine Tribulation Pupil advanced, his mental energy swept outward like a fierce gale.

Nearby, the three Golden Immortals wore ever more sinister expressions. All had reached their limits. They hadn't noticed, but the participants around the perimeter had withdrawn, leaving only the four at the center.

"I'm stopping here," one Golden Immortal announced as he rose. He could endure no more. Staying longer could damage his soul sea.

All three Golden Immortals had already reaped considerable benefits from tempering their soul energy.

"That's enough for me, too," said the second Golden Immortal, rising and heading out of the ring.

The last spat blood. With no choice but to stand and withdraw, he shot Liu Wuxie a venomous look. He was certain that, without Liu Wuxie, he would have been the most outstanding participant.

Excelling in the assessment meant attracting greater attention after joining the Azure Jade Palace. An elder might even notice a promising applicant and accept them as a disciple. Yet Liu Wuxie had taken all that glory for himself.