Desolate Devouring Art

The Face-Seer Ghost King's body contained the immense energy reserves of an Immortal King. If not for the limitations of Liu Wuxie's current cultivation, refining him could have propelled Liu Wuxie directly into the Origin Immortal Realm.

The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron began competing with Liu Wuxie for the Immortal King Realm laws. Its evolution after refining Profound Myriad-Aspect Sand had not ended, and it continued growing stronger every day.

Before long, the Desolate World also began absorbing the laws, leaving only a handful for Liu Wuxie himself. Blackie joined in as well, taking several strands for its own use.

As the Immortal King Realm laws entered the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, the engravings on its surface became increasingly distinct. Primal chaos power permeated every pattern, gradually carrying the vessel toward the Primal Chaos Cauldron.

Liu Wuxie's suspicions were finally confirmed. The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron had come from primal chaos. What primal chaos actually looked like, however, remained beyond even his knowledge.

The Immortal King Realm laws nourished the Desolate World and transformed it on a vast scale. Traces of runes from the Immortal King Realm appeared along its crystalline walls, greatly strengthening the entire world.

Beneath the ground, the dormant larval beast suddenly rolled over, its body having grown larger. What mattered most to Liu Wuxie, however, was the increase in world force.

The stronger the Desolate World became, the more world force it could supply, directly increasing the power of his Divine Eternal Fist.

The gateway to the second-level Profound Immortal Realm gradually emerged. Space collapsed around Liu Wuxie in rapid succession, but the resulting rifts swiftly repaired themselves. This protection was among the advantages of using a cultivation chamber.

Refining an Immortal King outside would undoubtedly have unleashed numerous phenomena.

The closer he drew to the Celestial Weave Domain, the more dangerous his circumstances became. Every breakthrough from this point onward would demand a secure location.

Higher cultivation would also require him to absorb increasing quantities of Primal Chaos Shards, making each successive breakthrough more difficult. Even knowing that, Liu Wuxie felt astonished that such a tremendous influx of energy from the Immortal King Realm had drawn no response from within him.

He gathered all of his power and drove it against the gateway to the second-level Profound Immortal Realm.

"Break open!" Liu Wuxie roared. The gate exploded into countless pieces, and its fragments merged with the desolate world.

"Once more!" Liu Wuxie shouted, intending to use the abundant energy of an Immortal King to advance directly into the third-level Profound Immortal Realm. Reaching it would give him the strength to contend with cultivators at the lower levels of the Divine Immortal Realm.

Vast quantities of immortal stones burst apart while he refined dozens of Primal Chaos Shards into strands of primal chaos energy.

"Keep going!" Liu Wuxie snarled.

For any other Profound Immortal, refining an Immortal King Realm expert would provide enough energy to cross three to four levels without stopping. For Liu Wuxie, advancing even two levels already defied the heavens.

With the Primal Chaos Shards supporting him, he broke through the gateway to the third-level Profound Immortal Realm.

As the gate shattered, exhaustion swept over him. He had consumed the final reserves of energy taken from the Face-Seer Ghost King. Without pausing, he retrieved pills and threw them into the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron.

Years of accumulation had left the Face-Seer Ghost King with a substantial store of pills, including sixth-grade immortal pills.

A sixth-grade immortal pill had once allowed Liu Wuxie to advance by two consecutive levels. Although such pills could no longer raise his cultivation, their energy remained useful for consolidating his foundation.

The immortal pills nourished him, swiftly stabilizing his aura at the late phase of the third-level Profound Immortal Realm.

He continued circulating the Desolate Devouring Art and pulled immortal energy toward him. The Ancestral Tree swayed, drawing energy from heaven and earth. Above the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, the Purgatory Palace slowly ascended and began devouring the surrounding energy as well.

The Profound Immortal Realm had greatly transformed his physique. Over forty immortal roots intertwined inside his body, and every future breakthrough would produce another.

Boundless spirituality gathered around Liu Wuxie. Its soft radiance made him resemble a deity.

Time continued passing. More than half a day elapsed outside, while seven to eight days went by within the cultivation chamber.

The chamber's immortal energy had grown noticeably sparse. The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron was probably responsible. Replenishment could no longer keep pace with Liu Wuxie's absorption.

Within the Desolate World, crystals fell like rain, each containing primal chaos energy.

Blackie caught several and tossed them into its mouth, crunching them between its teeth.

Liu Wuxie's rising cultivation had improved the quality of those crystals. He immediately collected them in his interspatial rings before Blackie could consume the entire supply.

There would be other occasions when he needed Blackie's help. These crystals would pay for it.

After eating several more crystals, Blackie settled down for cultivation. Its aura strengthened steadily as boundless black miasma spilled from its body, lending it a terrifying appearance.

Whether it truly was the Black Demon God remained a question Liu Wuxie could not answer.

He spent more time ensuring that his cultivation had fully stabilized.

When dawn arrived, the five Immortal Regnants left Sandriver City, taking Nanmen Qing and the other two captives with them.

Liu Wuxie rose and stretched. His bones crackled as he moved.

"My unity with heaven and earth has improved too," he murmured, examining his physique. It now matched the higher levels of the Origin Immortal Realm.

At his present cultivation, he could easily kill enemies at the higher levels of the Origin Immortal Realm using physical strength alone.

The cultivation chamber was modest in size but still provided room to practice his fist technique. After warming up, he drew the Bloodthirst Blade and began working through the Heavenly Crest Divine Blade Art.

His third-level Profound Immortal Realm cultivation allowed him to perform the fifth form and barely manage the opening stance of the sixth form. Without using immortal energy, he executed the Heavenly Crest Divine Blade Art solely through physical strength.

When he unleashed Wind Blade, the fifth form, a powerful gust swept unhindered through the chamber. Combining all five forms would create a formidable sequence of speed, strength, flame, water, and wind. The unpredictable nature of Wind Blade would give him another means of catching his enemies off guard.

The blood marking coursed along the Bloodthirst Blade, its contours much clearer than before.

"It's time I reforged you," Liu Wuxie murmured, gently stroking the weapon.

No restoration could undo the Asura Blade's shattering. Yet Liu Wuxie sensed that merging its fragment with the Bloodthirst Blade might raise the latter beyond the weapon it had once been.

He brought out the box holding the Asura Blade's fragment and tenderly caressed the fragment. It responded to his aura with a faint movement.

"Forgive me, old friend," Liu Wuxie whispered.

The Asura Blade had once possessed its own mind and could even assume human form. It used to keep him company during his long periods of cultivation on the Grand Supreme Palace Mountain Range.

At a crucial moment in that devastating battle, the Asura Blade had detonated to force his enemies back. The recollection unleashed boundless murderous intent from Liu Wuxie before he could restrain it.

Opening the box revealed a dark brown fragment the size of an infant's palm. Unusual patterns covered its surface.

Cold seeped into Liu Wuxie as he placed the fragment upon his palm. This was the Asura Blade, the weapon of an asura, forged to subdue the heavens.

Years had passed, but the Asura Blade had not forgotten him. Even with its will shattered, it still recognized his presence.

"Asura Blade, I'll merge you with the Bloodthirst Blade and bring you back to my side in a different form," Liu Wuxie told it. Rebirth had given him another life. Now, the Asura Blade would receive its own.

The patterns lit up as though in reply, bringing a smile to his face. He had worried that the fragment would reject fusion with the Bloodthirst Blade. Its will had once been exceptionally powerful.

The Bloodthirst Blade warranted equal consideration. Its origins remained a mystery to Liu Wuxie, and the strange blood marking across it resembled both a meridian and a blade seal.

He removed all the blacksmithing materials from the interspatial ring. Although he had consumed every pill he had obtained from Face-Seer Ghost King, the remaining materials were untouched, and each was worth a fortune. Together, they gave Liu Wuxie confidence that he could repair the Bloodthirst Blade.

For now, the weapon looked crude and unwieldy, resembling a woodcutting blade more than a proper weapon.

Liu Wuxie formed seals and sent them into the stone walls. The engraved runes shifted, reconfiguring the cultivation chamber into a blacksmithing chamber. This adaptability demonstrated the Ten-Foot Pavilion's ingenuity, as its chambers could change at will.

Heat began filling the room as blacksmithing runes appeared across the walls.

"Time to begin!" Liu Wuxie declared.

The Bloodthirst Blade floated beside the Asura Blade fragment while Liu Wuxie prepared to refine the other materials. Repairing a damaged artifact demanded greater care than forging one from nothing. One error could shatter the Bloodthirst Blade, and combining two different powers made the process harder still.

The Asura Blade fragment might welcome the fusion. That did not mean the Bloodthirst Blade would accept it.

Over the past six months, Liu Wuxie had tried reforging the Bloodthirst Blade several times, with scarcely any improvement. Most materials failed to satisfy its appetite.

The arrival of the Asura Blade fragment had finally drawn an unmistakable display of desire from the weapon.

Liu Wuxie swept a hand over the piled materials, raising them from the floor. Demonic flames answered his summons and began tempering them. Hundreds of materials passed through the fire as he steadily removed their impurities.

Crimson light flowed from the Bloodthirst Blade and washed across the purified materials, subjecting them to further tempering.

The cultivation chamber's isolation allowed Liu Wuxie to work without fear that the aura of his previous life would leak out. He spent the next three days tempering hundreds of materials before preparing for fusion.

The most demanding stage still awaited him. He needed to integrate the materials and the Asura Blade fragment into the Bloodthirst Blade. The smallest mistake could destroy everything he had accomplished.

Liu Wuxie delayed the attempt, having expended a considerable amount of immortal energy while purifying the materials. He first needed to return to his peak condition.

He drew a deep breath and absorbed the immortal energy around him, gradually replenishing the Desolate World. His soul sea stirred with considerably purer soul energy. Blacksmithing and alchemy both placed heavy demands upon it.

His upper dantian continued expanding. Mental energy flowed through it like mercury, permeating every corner.