Desolate Devouring Art

Even death had not erased the anguish from the victims' faces or their refusal to accept such a gruesome end. Their severed heads lay facing the Azure Jade Palace.

"Look! Is that writing over there?" someone exclaimed.

Beneath the displaced bodies, a small line of characters emerged on the ground. The crowd pressed forward to examine it, and Liu Wuxie squeezed his way among them.

Murderous intent saturated the tiny characters. "Death awaits anyone who joins the Azure Jade Palace!" Merely looking at them gave the onlookers the sensation of a sword lunging straight at them.

Liu Wuxie averted his eyes at once. The writer's cultivation had reached at least the Immortal Lord Realm, and a remnant of an Immortal Lord's will lingered within the inscription.

"So they really are trying to keep us out of the Azure Jade Palace!" Liu Wuxie murmured.

Suspicion had become certainty. The killers had spelled out their warning, leaving these bodies as a promise of what awaited anyone bold enough to join the Azure Jade Palace.

Several Azure Jade Palace disciples and deacons stood among the crowd, and one of them commanded, "Send word to the Azure Jade Palace! Now!" Others immediately took out their Communication Talismans, reporting the massacre and asking the palace to send people to investigate.

Should Immortal Lords or Immortal Venerables be lying in ambush along the way, the travelers would face mortal peril. The Azure Jade Palace might not receive a single living arrival.

Many prospective applicants wasted no time turning back. "Forget the assessment! I'm withdrawing. Let's leave while we still can!" Admission was not worth gambling their lives.

Frowning, Liu Wuxie slipped away from the gathering. He had not accounted for a development like this. Still, daylight would provide some measure of safety, and any further attacks would most likely come after dark.

News from elsewhere soon revealed the massacre's wider reach. Hundreds of cultivators had perished over the course of a single night.

"Is this the Heavenly Alliance's doing?" Liu Wuxie murmured once he had put some distance between himself and the crowd.

The Azure Jade Palace had expanded its recruitment because of a recent confrontation with the Heavenly Alliance. The alliance would surely look for a way to undermine those efforts without acting openly.

If these ambushes were indeed its work, the trouble ran far deeper.

With one-third of the Celestial Realm under its control, the Heavenly Alliance now wielded staggering power and influence. Countless forces stood ready to respond to its call. Defying it was a little different from opposing the entire Celestial Realm.

Meanwhile, life continued as usual within the Azure Jade Palace. Although disputes over resources occasionally disrupted the peace, the palace remained tranquil compared to other factions. Women outnumbered men among its disciples, and Immortal Emperor Shui Yao's achievements had earned her the admiration of virtually every female cultivator in the Celestial Realm.

Today, a deacon broke that tranquility. He rushed into the Elders' Hall with the reports that had reached him.

The Azure Jade Palace sprang into action. Immortal Emperor Shui Yao remained in seclusion, leaving the two deputy palace masters to oversee most of the sect's affairs.

Fury swept through the Elders' Hall, stirring every elder's anger. "This is outrageous! The Heavenly Alliance thinks it can slaughter people on our territory?!" The Azure Jade Palace ruled the lands within a radius of three thousand miles. By killing within those boundaries, the Heavenly Alliance had openly challenged its authority.

Two figures entered the hall, a man and a woman. They were the Azure Jade Palace's two deputy palace masters.

"Our respects, Palace Masters!" the elders called, rising together and bowing.

"We've received the reports. Send experts into the mountains immediately to escort the participants. Should you encounter experts of the Heavenly Alliance, concentrate on driving them off. Avoid a major battle wherever possible," the male deputy palace master ordered.

The Azure Jade Palace wished to avoid enmity with the Heavenly Alliance. Fear, however, had nothing to do with its restraint.

"At once!" the elders answered. They rose and left the Azure Jade Palace without delay, setting out for the nearby mountain range to protect the participants making their way to the palace.

Liu Wuxie spent the next two days advancing with care and avoiding gatherings whenever he could. If the Heavenly Alliance meant to intercept the participants, talented candidates would surely draw its attention first. Someone at the Profound Immortal Realm barely merited a second glance.

His weak cultivation had, ironically, become his protection. Neither Immortal Lords nor Immortal Venerables would be likely to expose themselves to the Azure Jade Palace just to kill a Profound Immortal.

Elsewhere, the number of dead continued to rise. The Azure Jade Palace's experts only brought the ambushes under control when they arrived on the third day. During those two short days, however, over five to six thousand participants had already fled the mountain range for Mulberry Sea City.

On the fourth night, Liu Wuxie sheltered inside a hollow tree. Lighting a fire was out of the question. He devoted his attention to suppressing his aura, setting cultivation aside as he sat with the stillness of dead wood.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Without warning, a thunderous rumble rolled across the distance from three hundred miles away. A terrifying fireball erupted overhead, illuminating half the sky.

Liu Wuxie eased out of the hollow and cautiously scanned the distance.

"Immortal Venerables are fighting..." he murmured, a deep furrow forming between his brows. Cultivators at the Immortal Venerable Realm already occupied a place near the Celestial Realm's pinnacle. For experts of that caliber to clash here showed just how determined the Heavenly Alliance was to place the realm under its dominion.

The ground shuddered violently. Countless travelers came out of hiding, and still more abandoned the journey and turned back.

Hundreds of thousands had initially set out to attend the Azure Jade Palace's recruitment, but more than ten thousand had already abandoned the journey, including many talented prodigies. The fighting continued for about fifteen minutes, ending only when the ambush failed and the attackers withdrew.

A voice rang out as gifted prodigies began to leave. "Stay calm, everyone! The Azure Jade Palace will keep you safe!" It rolled across the distance, reaching every traveler, including Liu Wuxie.

Backing down was no longer an option for the Azure Jade Palace. If it could not safeguard those coming to join it, its prestige throughout the Celestial Realm would collapse.

That pledge brought many wavering travelers around. Those who had been preparing to depart turned back toward the palace.

The palace intended to bring the scattered travelers together along one protected path, stationing experts along its length to guard them. "We've secured a route! Follow it, and you'll reach the Azure Jade Palace safely!" someone informed.

Within an hour, over ten thousand people had converged on the secured route. Azure Jade Palace experts stood at regular intervals, making this road considerably safer.

Liu Wuxie left the hollow tree and headed toward the path. Earlier, keeping to himself had offered the best chance of survival. Now, the crowd provided greater protection.

The travelers formed groups as they moved onward. Voices mingled with laughter along the road, and the tension that had gripped them began to ease.

"Why would anyone go to these lengths to stop us from joining the Azure Jade Pavilion?" the surrounding cultivators asked.

Liu Wuxie walked among the nearby experts. Cultivators at the Profound Immortal Realm were scarce here, and most of his companions had reached the Divine Immortal Realm.

"Remember how the Heavenly Alliance recently invited the Azure Jade Palace to join their ranks, only to be turned down? My guess is these attackers are Heavenly Alliance men in disguise," the travelers speculated, speaking freely.

"I doubt it. The Heavenly Alliance is huge already. Why push farther south? Besides, the Azure Jade Palace is a superpower backed by an Immortal Emperor. Bringing it into the alliance would be no easy feat," many replied, shaking their heads. They could not believe the Heavenly Alliance would go to such lengths.

Would it truly dare to turn the Azure Jade Palace into an enemy? In the Celestial Realm, sheer numbers could not settle every contest of strength. One Immortal Emperor could hold against an army numbering hundreds of millions.

Immortal Venerables, however numerous, could not survive even a single attack from an Immortal Emperor. Only an Immortal Regnant could withstand one for a time.

Then sword light slashed toward them from afar, arriving without the slightest warning.

Screams burst out around Liu Wuxie. "We're under attack!" The enemy has struck in broad daylight! Sword intent drove through the victims' soul seas, and their bodies folded to the ground.

As a terrifying aura bore down, Liu Wuxie instantly activated the Divine Ninefold Step and shot into the bushes.

More than a hundred people had made up their group. Barely fifty escaped unharmed. Over a dozen were dead, and dozens more lay clutching their heads, wracked with pain.

A formidable presence rushed toward the scene from the distance and shouted, "You dare attack them?!"

Two figures collided overhead moments later. One wore the robes of an Azure Jade Palace elder. Black clothing concealed the other from head to toe.

"Name yourself! Why are you attacking the Azure Jade Palace?" the elder thundered at the man in black.

The attacker darted away without answering, forcing the Azure Jade Palace into another pursuit. Such repeated threats bore down on the travelers' nerves. Those whose resolve could no longer withstand the pressure began heading back.

"Brother, are you on your way to the Azure Jade Palace's recruitment too?" asked a young man lying not far from Liu Wuxie. He appeared to be in his mid-twenties, just slightly older than Liu Wuxie. He had witnessed Liu Wuxie's swift response as he had dived into the bushes before the attack had landed.

Liu Wuxie nodded, though the question scarcely needed an answer. At a time like this, who would enter these mountains for any reason other than reaching the Azure Jade Palace?

"I'm Huang Zechang. What should I call you?" the young man asked.

"Liu Wuxie," came his reply.

Across the immense Celestial Weave Domain, there were surely others who bore that name. Hiding it would accomplish little anyway. To register at the Azure Jade Palace, he would have to manifest his soul and give his real name.

Superpowers subjected prospective disciples to strict scrutiny. Yet no organization could investigate every individual among so many applicants. Having each disciple place a soul imprint on a sect token proved to be the best answer.

"Did you travel here by yourself, Brother Liu? Where's your family?" Huang Zechang asked. Several clan elders had accompanied him to the recruitment.

"I came on my own," Liu Wuxie said, leaving it at that. By then, the attacker had retreated, and calm had returned to the road.

The attackers had achieved what they wanted nonetheless. Every fresh disturbance tightened the strain on the travelers, pushing more of them to relinquish their hopes of entering the Azure Jade Palace.

"Continue toward the sect! More Azure Jade Palace experts are on their way to escort you. You have nothing to fear," the elder assured them.

With that, he gave chase to the fleeing attacker. Taking the man alive would expose the identity of whoever was targeting the Azure Jade Palace.

The survivors hastened from the bushes. "Come on! Let's get out of here!" Some chose to retreat, but others continued onward, unwilling to relinquish an opportunity so rare. They knew that entering the Azure Jade Palace would become much more difficult in the future.

Ordinarily, the Azure Jade Palace admitted only one to two hundred disciples a year. According to reports, this year's expanded quota stood at three thousand. Most applicants had already reached the limits of their potential. Only the support of a powerful sect could give them a chance to break through those limits and advance their cultivation.