Desolate Devouring Art

The Shadow Divination Gate had selected this precise location for its extraordinary geomancy.

Several thousand miles separated Windmoon Mountain from the Shadow Divination Gate, so the two should have had no connection in theory. Even Windmoon Mountain's destruction should not have affected them.

The reality, however, proved far more complicated. Windmoon Mountain possessed an exceptionally unusual landscape, with a mountain rising to its left and a sea stretching along its right. If anyone opened a breach there, seawater would rush through the opening and thunder toward the lower terrain.

The Shadow Divination Gate stood on relatively low ground, directly above a dragon vein that formed a natural riverbed extending all the way to Windmoon Mountain.

Once Windmoon Mountain fell, the seawater would surge along that riverbed and engulf the Shadow Divination Gate within a matter of days.

Of course, the vast distance would gradually weaken the water's force, making it difficult for the flood to deal a devastating blow to the Shadow Divination Gate. The Shadow Divination Gate must have accounted for that possibility as well. Although a Divine Immortal lacked the power to move mountains and fill seas, stopping an approaching flood would hardly pose a challenge.

If such a situation arose, the Shadow Divination Gate would merely need to carve open another channel and redirect the seawater elsewhere.

"That won't be necessary. I want to see what he's planning," the Shadow Divination Gate's sect master said, dismissing Enchantress with a casual wave.

Enchantress offered no response, and their conversation moved on to several other matters.

......

Meanwhile, Liu Wuxie poured everything into breaking through to the sixth-level True Immortal Realm. As soon as the three droplets of Agarwood Dew entered the Desolate World, an immeasurable fragrance swept across the entire realm.

That fragrance seeped from Liu Wuxie's pores while the Agarwood Dew rapidly purified his body, driving every impurity stored within him out through his skin.

Indescribable comfort flooded every inch of him. His cultivation climbed with unstoppable momentum, and the gateway to the sixth-level True Immortal Realm emerged before him.

"Now!" Liu Wuxie urged himself. He had no time to spare and needed to finish the breakthrough immediately. Summoning the mysterious axe hidden beneath the Ancestral Tree, he swung it down with crushing force and instantly smashed the gateway to the sixth-level True Immortal Realm into fragments.

Soon afterward, a terrifying aura burst from his body and swept in all directions through rippling waves.

Liu Wuxie had already planted array flags throughout the surroundings to prevent his breakthrough from alerting anyone. At the same time, he had consumed all five hundred thousand immortal stones, transforming them into a vast river of liquid energy that poured into the Desolate World.

Sharp cracks rang through the Desolate World as the pressure forced it to expand. The Ancestral Tree swayed violently, driving itself deeper into the earth to draw power from the immortal veins beneath the Shadow Divination Gate.

Boundless immortal energy followed, surging like an incoming tide until it inundated the Desolate World.

The immortal veins beneath the Shadow Divination Gate contained astonishingly pure energy, allowing Liu Wuxie to devour it without the slightest restraint.

"This energy is incredibly pure. It'll save me a considerable amount of immortal stones," Liu Wuxie murmured, a faint smile touching his lips.

His cultivation had already advanced into the late phase of the sixth-level True Immortal Realm. He directed the excess liquid energy into the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, preserving it so that his next breakthrough would consume far fewer immortal stones.

Two hours passed before Liu Wuxie's absorption finally began to slow.

Even by noon, Enchantress had yet to return to her palace, giving Liu Wuxie the perfect opportunity to complete his breakthrough. When he got up and tested his movements inside the room, the explosive aura pouring from him nearly tore the entire residence apart.

Once he had adjusted to the changes brought by his breakthrough, Liu Wuxie concealed his true cultivation by suppressing it to the fifth-level True Immortal Realm. He then retrieved the tree bark and studied it closely.

When the Ghost Pupil penetrated the tree bark, a peculiar internal structure unfolded before him. The runes appeared to be characters and images at the same time.

Liu Wuxie inspected them repeatedly, yet their meaning continued to elude him. Abandoning the Ghost Pupil, he instead sent a powerful stream of mental energy surging into the tree bark.

His mental energy seemed to awaken the internal structure, causing the patterns to overlap until they resembled a network of lines. Once Liu Wuxie examined them through the Divine Tribulation Pupil, however, he realized that the patterns were not one-dimensional at all, but three-dimensional.

It resembled the difference between viewing a tree from afar and standing directly before it. From a great distance, the tree looked one-dimensional, like a figure painted on a canvas, but its cylindrical form became clear upon closer inspection.

As soon as the lines assumed a three-dimensional form, they transformed into miniature figures that moved of their own accord.

This footwork is actually an immortal art. Liu Wuxie realized, stunned by the discovery.

He possessed many formidable footwork immortal arts, but using any of them would expose his identity, so he had never dared to display them. Since arriving in the celestial realm, he had fought entirely through his combat technique and instincts.

Yet he was completely unfamiliar with this footwork immortal art. Its movements followed strange, unconventional paths and differed sharply from every traditional technique he knew.

It took Liu Wuxie roughly fifteen minutes to memorize every movement recorded across the three pieces of bark. Together, they contained nine transformations, and when they merged, they assembled into a single line of text.

"Divine Ninefold Step." The name resounded through Liu Wuxie's mind.

The characters remained visible for three breaths before the tree bark in his hand began to decay, crumbling into fragments that slipped through his fingers.

Even as Liu Wuxie stared at the crumbs, the entire encounter felt like a dream. He stepped into the cramped courtyard, where the limited space should have made practicing any footwork technique impossible. The Divine Ninefold Step defied that limitation, allowing its cultivator to perform all manner of inconceivable movements even within a confined area.

The Heavenly Dao Book analyzed every transformation and carved them deep into Liu Wuxie's memory, enabling him to execute each movement effortlessly. One moment, he alighted atop a wall as lightly as a falling leaf; the next, he seemed to melt into the stone itself.

The Divine Ninefold Step bore little resemblance to other movement techniques. Instead of merely enhancing its practitioner's combat strength like conventional footwork techniques, it seemed to transform the body itself.

After practicing for one hour, Liu Wuxie stopped upon mastering the first three transformations. The third transformation proved especially remarkable because it allowed him to conceal himself. Once he executed it, even ordinary Origin Immortals would struggle to locate him.

He did not truly disappear. The technique instead merged his presence perfectly with his surroundings.

When Liu Wuxie ended his cultivation and looked toward the sky, evening had already arrived. Enchantress would likely return soon.

He formed a succession of seals and drove them into the surrounding restrictions, subtly altering their structure. His divine sense could then pass through them without resistance.

Upon sending his divine sense into the residence on the left, Liu Wuxie found the youth captured alongside him standing dejectedly in the courtyard. The youth had contemplated ending his life there, only to abandon the thought when the fear of death overwhelmed him.

A gaunt stranger occupied the residence on the right, his frame reduced to little more than skin and bones. He had nearly depleted all the yang energy within his body, leaving his complexion waxy and yellow as he stared blankly across the courtyard.

Liu Wuxie's divine sense could penetrate only the adjacent residences. To investigate farther, he would have to enter the next residence and break through its restrictions as well.

Rather than act recklessly, he resumed practicing his footwork technique. By the time the lamps shone brightly throughout the palace, someone arrived to deliver the evening meal.

The food container looked exquisite, but Liu Wuxie had no appetite. At his current cultivation, he could sustain his daily energy consumption by absorbing immortal energy directly from his surroundings.

"Number 179, you're coming with me!" someone called from beyond the courtyard as the gate swung open.

Every residence possessed a specially constructed gate that only someone on the outside could open.

The feminine man appeared before Liu Wuxie once again. Left with no choice, Liu Wuxie followed him through the rear garden until they reached the bedchamber where Enchantress resided.

"Go inside," the man ordered. After escorting Liu Wuxie to the entrance, he bowed and withdrew, leaving Liu Wuxie alone.

The bedchamber resembled a typical woman's bedroom, with an enormous bed dominating its center. Enchantress reclined upon it in a nightgown that revealed every curve of her figure, beckoning him closer with a wave of her hand.

"Greetings, Guardian Enchantress," Liu Wuxie said, cupping his hands while feigning fear and refusing to approach.

"Come here. I promise I won't eat you," Enchantress said, her eyes burning with seductive heat. She swept aside the pink curtains surrounding the bed and descended, forcing Liu Wuxie to turn his gaze away.

As soon as she reached him, she draped her right arm across his shoulder and pressed her nails against his neck. If he refused to cooperate, she could take his life in an instant.

"I-I'm not ready for this yet," Liu Wuxie stammered, forcing his voice to tremble. His performance sent Enchantress into peals of laughter.

"That doesn't matter. I'm ready, and I'll show you pleasure beyond anything you can imagine," she said, drawing him toward the bed.

Desperation consumed Liu Wuxie. He knew he had badly miscalculated, and his thoughts raced as he searched for an escape, knowing the consequences would be unimaginable if he truly fell into her hands.

Enchantress possessed the heart of a venomous viper. If she uncovered the secrets hidden within his body, she would undoubtedly kill him to ensure his silence.

When Enchantress shoved him onto the bed, Liu Wuxie silently gathered his strength. If every other option failed, he would strike with everything he had.

A hazy look clouded Enchantress' eyes as she began removing the final piece of clothing from her body.

While she occupied herself with taking off her nightgown, Liu Wuxie swept his gaze around the room and spread his mental energy outward in search of an escape route.

Without warning, Liu Wuxie's eyes sharpened as he detected another person concealed inside the bedchamber. The intruder must have slipped inside before Enchantress had returned. His concealment art was exceptionally profound, and without the Divine Tribulation Pupil, Liu Wuxie would never have discovered him.

Had this person come to assassinate Enchantress? The thought flashed through Liu Wuxie’s mind, momentarily distracting him from his own predicament and leaving him with no interest in the woman before him.

However, if the intruder intended to assassinate Enchantress, how had he entered her bedchamber? Could he have been captured just like Liu Wuxie? That explanation made no sense. If the Shadow Divination Gate had captured him, he should have been imprisoned inside one of the residences.

The intruder's aura revealed a high cultivation among the upper levels of the Origin Immortal Realm. The discovery only deepened Liu Wuxie's fascination, and it only seemed plausible that this man also belonged to the Shadow Divination Gate.

After discarding her nightgown, Enchantress suddenly pressed her body against Liu Wuxie and slipped her arms into his collar, intending to strip away his clothes.

The instant Enchantress lowered herself onto him, the black-clad figure hidden among the shadows finally struck. He shot forward like a thunderbolt, sending a razor-sharp sword ray hurtling toward Enchantress' back.

The attack came with such speed that Enchantress had no chance to evade, especially from such close range.

"Who's there?!" Enchantress shouted as she sprang into action from atop Liu Wuxie. However, her reaction came a step too late.

The sword ray raced toward her back, its tip aligned directly with her heart. If it landed, she would unquestionably die on the spot. After all, Origin Immortals had not yet reached the level where they could regenerate lost limbs.

Just as the sword threatened to end Enchantress' life, Liu Wuxie made an inconceivable decision. He locked his arms around her and rolled, reversing their positions so that Enchantress lay beneath him.

The sword plunged into him, sending blood spraying through the air. He twisted to protect his vital organs at the last instant, allowing the blade to pierce only the left side of his ribs, but the resulting spray drenched Enchantress in his blood.

Enchantress seized the opening and drove her palm into the black-clad man's left shoulder, blasting him away. The assassin turned the force of her strike to his advantage, smashing through the window and disappearing without a trace.