Desolate Devouring Art

With his strength fully restored, Liu Wuxie got up. The Bloodthirst Blade's blood markings stirred without warning, streaming across the metal beneath an eerie glow.

"The time has come. Let's begin the fusion," Liu Wuxie murmured.

In response, the blood marking receded into the depths of the Bloodthirst Blade. Liu Wuxie then waved his hand, drawing all the purified materials together.

"Now it's your turn, Asura Blade fragment!"

The fragment lifted from its box and floated before him. Powerful suction surged from it, dragging the surrounding materials inward and absorbing them.

Liu Wuxie had forged the Asura Blade himself. He understood every detail of its internal structure, and that knowledge allowed the fusion to proceed smoothly. In just fifteen minutes, he incorporated hundreds of materials into the fragment, shaping it into a blade tip. Joining that tip to the Bloodthirst Blade was the only step left.

The approaching tip met a powerful force of rejection. Liu Wuxie immediately produced a dagger and sliced his wrist, scattering blood infused with his will over the Bloodthirst Blade and its new tip.

His formidable divine sense enclosed both the Asura Blade and the Bloodthirst Blade. Above them, the Heavenly Dao Book opened and flooded the chamber with brilliant light. Beneath that radiance, the repulsive force slowly diminished, letting the two draw nearer.

Seals formed under Liu Wuxie's hands. He inscribed rare runes whose appearance alone could shake the world if anyone witnessed them.

From every direction, countless blacksmithing seals swept inward like a rising tide.

He had used only a handful of blacksmithing runes during the competition between the two Dao Halls. Now Solar Rune, Lunar Rune, and Form Rune emerged one after another, filling the air. Hundreds of Solar and Lunar Runes circled him, generating the power of yin and yang.

"Fuse!" Liu Wuxie swept his right hand, turning the blacksmithing runes into chains that drew the Asura Blade and the Bloodthirst Blade together.

The chamber convulsed at the moment of contact. Aura erupted from the Bloodthirst Blade, threatening to burst the room apart. The Asura Blade fragment countered with its own power, releasing the Immortal Emperor's will in an attempt to suppress the Bloodthirst Blade and take control.

The Bloodthirst Blade intended to assimilate the fragment. The Asura Blade intended to use the Bloodthirst Blade for its rebirth. Neither power would submit.

Locked in that struggle, the weapon changed shape incessantly. Cracks began spreading through the tip. If the conflict persisted, the Asura Blade fragment would break apart.

"I'll have to risk it!" Liu Wuxie said through gritted teeth. With no other option, he bit his tongue and spat out blood essence. He then tore another fragment from his soul and forced it into both blades.

His soul nourished the two weapons. Slowly, the Bloodthirst Blade and the Asura Blade quieted, and their resistance began to fade.

Solar Runes and Lunar Runes streamed into them from the surrounding air. Supported by the Form Runes, the Asura Blade's fragment finally began fusing with the Bloodthirst Blade.

"Demonic flame, I leave the rest to you," Liu Wuxie said.

Merely joining the two sections had not made them whole. A fierce battle could still snap the tip off and reignite the struggle between them. Only complete fusion could eliminate that danger.

Demonic flames spilled from the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron and swallowed the Bloodthirst Blade. Neither blade could resist this time. Their forms began changing beneath the flames' relentless tempering.

Like water, the Asura Blade fragment flowed into the Bloodthirst Blade's depths. In return, the Bloodthirst Blade's energy penetrated the fragment. Each gradually became part of the other.

"Blackie, help me temper it!" Liu Wuxie roared. Overseeing the fusion demanded his attention, so he could only leave the tempering to Blackie.

Blackie came out of the Desolate World and hammered the Bloodthirst Blade repeatedly. With the missing tip restored, the weapon finally assumed its complete form, extending well beyond its previous length.

Every strike of the staff refined its shape further. The Bloodthirst Blade grew more slender, making it better suited to the Heavenly Crest Divine Blade Art.

The work continued. Whenever fatigue overtook Blackie, Liu Wuxie tossed him several crystals.

Ten days elapsed inside the cultivation chamber before the Bloodthirst Blade's form approached completion. Within it, Liu Wuxie's soul had settled like an embryo.

After consuming over a thousand crystals, Blackie had also become considerably more robust. Liu Wuxie estimated that its combat strength could now match that of Golden Immortals.

"That's enough!" Liu Wuxie withdrew the demonic flames. Blackie stopped hammering and slumped to the ground, panting with exhaustion.

Blacksmithing was steadily becoming a larger part of Blackie's duties.

A faint smile touched Liu Wuxie's face as he examined the Bloodthirst Blade hovering before him. Its subtle curve gave it an elegance absent from its former woodcutting-blade appearance. It now matched the Heretic Blade in length, making it even more suitable for his needs.

As he gripped the Bloodthirst Blade, soothing coolness entered his body, carrying with it an unmistakable connection. Previously, it had merely been a powerful artifact in his grasp. His blood and soul had now made it an extension of himself. He could place it in the Desolate World and nurture it there.

Liu Wuxie swung it gently. The force alone made the surrounding air shudder and compress with a succession of sharp cracks.

"What a magnificent blade," Liu Wuxie murmured, running his hand lightly along the reforged weapon. More fragments of the Asura Blade would allow him to strengthen it further, until it surpassed the weapon he had wielded in his previous life.

A dark red hue distinguished the Bloodthirst Blade from ordinary weapons, making it look as though blood itself had formed the metal. Its crimson marking had receded into its depths, but Liu Wuxie could call it forth whenever he wished.

Absorbing the Immortal Emperor's will from the Asura Blade had strengthened that marking even more.

"The Bloodthirst Blade's grade is now comparable to at least the Divine Immortal Realm," Liu Wuxie remarked.

He practiced the Heavenly Crest Divine Blade Art, and a new lightness entered his movements. Each execution required less immortal energy as well.

The weapon answered his will as precisely and effortlessly as if it were his arm.

"Return!" Liu Wuxie commanded, placing the Bloodthirst Blade inside the Desolate World. He intended to nourish it with the world's laws and accelerate its growth.

Laws immediately gathered around the blade. Vast quantities of wood-attribute energy entered it, dispelling its murderous aura. Liu Wuxie had no intention of forging a weapon ruled by bloodlust.

Artifacts possessed their own spirituality. Careless forging could expose an owner to backlash, although such occurrences were rare in the Celestial Realm.

Liu Wuxie had once witnessed a sword kill its master, take on his appearance, and travel through the Celestial Realm wearing his guise.

As wood-attribute energy continued nourishing the Bloodthirst Blade, its murderous aura gradually receded. The weapon became increasingly restrained.

Several days remained before his rental time expired. Liu Wuxie would devote them to consolidating his gains.

Reforging the weapon had granted him considerable insight, especially into the Immortal Emperor's will within the Asura Blade. The Heavenly Dao Book had recorded that will.

During the competition between the two Dao Halls, the Heavenly Dao Book had alerted him to something he could not interpret. Now that it had absorbed the Immortal Emperor's will, the book finally shrank, and its inscriptions assumed an even more ancient form.

Its reduced size did not impede Liu Wuxie in the slightest. Every character and illustration remained clear to him.

When the light covering the stone gate faded, Liu Wuxie knew his allotted time had run out and an entire month had passed inside the cultivation chamber.

The gate opened, and he stepped through with a faint smile. Those three days outside had brought substantial rewards. He had repaired the Bloodthirst Blade, and his cultivation had reached the third-level Profound Immortal Realm.

"Now, on to the Celestial Weave Domain," Liu Wuxie murmured.

Resolve sharpened his gaze as he walked toward the Ten-Foot Pavilion's exit. Ordinary Divine Immortal Realm cultivators could no longer contend with him. With Blackie beside him, he felt confident enough to confront even those at the second- or third-level Golden Immortal Realm. He finally could protect himself in the Celestial Weave Domain.

Yet cultivators there differed profoundly from those in Eastern Emperor City. Their varied treasures meant cultivation alone could not reliably measure their strength.

Disciples of superpowers could even challenge enemies above their own realms. Liu Wuxie could theoretically kill Divine Immortals, but those prodigies would still demand caution.

He returned the jade token and left the Ten-Foot Pavilion. Dusk had marked his arrival, and it greeted him again outside. He found an inn for the night as he planned to use the teleportation array to reach the Celestial Weave Domain the next morning.

Liu Wuxie couldn't fly until he reached the Origin Immortal Realm. Travelling on foot, he might not reach the heart of the Celestial Weave Domain even after a year or two.

Only Immortal Venerables could traverse space and travel between the Celestial Weave Domain and Eastern Emperor City in just half a day. An Origin Immortal may need three to five years to cover that distance. A teleportation array, however, would greatly shorten the arduous journey.

At dawn, Liu Wuxie left the inn and headed straight for the teleportation array. His original plan had been to visit the Grand Supreme Palace Mountain Range, where he had cultivated in his previous life.

After so many years, someone had most likely taken possession of those mountains. Returning now was impossible. He therefore redirected his journey toward the Azure Jade Palace.

Joining the Azure Jade Palace offered a sensible way forward. At the least, its protection could help him avoid the Heavenly Alliance's scrutiny and quickly secure a foothold.

Making his way in the Celestial Weave Domain required a safe place to settle. Belonging to a force would also give him access to channels through which he could obtain more resources.

He expected the Azure Jade Palace to provide him with nothing. Unlike an ordinary disciple, he meant to use his influence and connections to pursue his own goals.

Most disciples joined a force for the benefits it offered. Liu Wuxie needed only the opportunities its channels could open.

Travelers crowded around the teleportation array, many bound for the Celestial Weave Domain. One journey cost a hundred thousand immortal stones, more than an ordinary cultivator could afford.

Liu Wuxie paid the fee and took a seat inside the array.

"Has he lost his mind? A mere Profound Immortal is using an advanced teleportation array like this? The spatial teleportation will tear him apart," surrounding travellers remarked the moment he sat down.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Travel across such immense distances took considerable time. Throughout the journey, passengers endured spatial pressure that even Divine Immortals found difficult to withstand.

Liu Wuxie ignored them. Closing his eyes, he waited for the teleportation array to activate.