Desolate Devouring Art

About two hours later, Liu Wuxie and Ye Linghan stepped out of Fourfold City's teleportation array.

Ye Linghan did not return home. Instead, she boarded an aerial immortal beast with Liu Wuxie, and the two headed straight for Moon Reverence City.

By afternoon, they reached Moon Reverence City. The moment they entered, they caught a faint thread of murderous intent drifting through the air, mixed with the lingering scent of blood.

After the White Tiger Merchant Association and the Azure Bamboo Gang fell, the Peace and Stability Merchant Association naturally rose as the overlord around Moon Reverence City.

The Peace and Stability Merchant Association seized the White Tiger Merchant Association's territories, while several smaller clans used the opportunity to rise and snatch away part of the remaining assets.

Chen Ping was not an unreasonable man. If he ate meat, he always left scraps for others.

Since that battle, Moon Reverence City had remained peaceful, and everyone had coexisted without incident. But a few days ago, the Peace and Stability Merchant Association's goods were robbed repeatedly, causing the deaths of many guards. That naturally dealt the merchant association a heavy blow.

Soon after, the Peace and Stability Merchant Association's shops in Moon Reverence City were raided. The shopkeepers had suddenly vanished, and the goods had disappeared completely. Even though those goods were not especially precious, the attacks had still dealt the merchant association a second blow.

Losing goods meant the Peace and Stability Merchant Association had to compensate its clients, while damaged shops resulted in a direct loss of income.

However, the disaster had not stopped there. When the Peace and Stability Merchant Association launched a large-scale investigation, a group of mysterious people had stormed into the merchant association and killed anyone they saw. In just one hour, the Peace and Stability Merchant Association had suffered devastating casualties. Chen Ping had sustained serious injuries during the fight, though he had managed to force the enemies back.

The moment Liu Wuxie stepped into the Peace and Stability Merchant Association, murderous intent blazed from his eyes. Large sections of the headquarters had collapsed, and blood stained the ground.

Every so often, Liu Wuxie saw figures crawl out from the ruined buildings, searching for corpses buried beneath the rubble.

"Uncle Liu!" Chen An rushed out from the ruins with bloodshot eyes. The moment he appeared, he dropped to his knees without hesitation.

"Stand up and tell me what happened," Liu Wuxie said. He had already swept through the entire Peace and Stability Merchant Association with Ghost Pupil the moment he had entered. Since its founding, the merchant association had never suffered a blow this heavy.

In past years, guards had also died while escorting goods, but those losses had always stayed within an acceptable range. Losing so many people in a single day was absolutely unprecedented.

"Uncle Liu, please save my father," Chen An pleaded anxiously as he climbed to his feet.

"Take me to him," Liu Wuxie said.

Chen An led the way, while Ye Linghan followed silently behind. From the beginning, she had not spoken a single word, but a cold light shone in her eyes, along with a trace of guilt. Unless something unexpected had happened, the Wen Clan had to be behind all of this.

Liu Wuxie had no feud with the Wen Clan. Yet because he had treated Ye Guhai, the Peace and Stability Merchant Association had been dragged into this disaster.

Chen Ping lay in the room with several sword wounds crossing his body. Bandages already covered the wounds, and the bleeding still had not stopped, but those injuries were not fatal.

The most serious injury was the palm print on his back. It had sunk inward by about an inch and damaged his bones. A large amount of black substance also clung to his internal organs.

The black substance was poison forced into Chen Ping's body through the palm strike, and Chen Ping had only survived until now because of his peak Profound Immortal Realm cultivation.

"Brother, I dragged you into this," Liu Wuxie said as he sat beside Chen Ping. His fists clenched tight, and the murderous intent in his eyes almost became tangible. He would not rest until he avenged his brother.

Chen Ping's brows were locked tightly together, and he had fallen into a deep coma. Without timely treatment, he could only last another half a day at most.

Liu Wuxie took out a set of silver needles and sealed the major acupoints throughout Chen Ping's body. The Ancestral Tree could heal his physical injuries, but it could not deal with the poison.

Not everyone could remain immune to poison, and the Wen Clan excelled at using it. Otherwise, they would never have dared provoke the Nine-Tailed Heptabane Serpent.

For Liu Wuxie, however, this poison was not especially difficult to treat. He secretly used the Great Poison Mythical Art, and the poison inside Chen Ping's body rapidly disappeared. In just one hour, Liu Wuxie dragged Chen Ping back from death's door.

When Chen Ping slowly opened his eyes and saw Liu Wuxie, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"Wuxie, you shouldn't have come back," he said. The smile on his face quickly vanished, replaced by a trace of reprimand. The Wen Clan's experts were still in Moon Reverence City, and if they discovered Liu Wuxie had returned, they would certainly come back.

The Wen Clan had spared Chen Ping only to lure Liu Wuxie over. Now that Liu Wuxie had returned, it was no different from stepping into the Wen Clan's trap.

"Your injuries have only just stabilized. Rest for the next two days. Don't worry about anything else. Leave it to me," Liu Wuxie said, patting Chen Ping's shoulder.

Since he had returned, he had no intention of standing by and watching. The Wen Clan had chosen to provoke him, so this would only end when one side was annihilated. So what if they had Origin Immortals or Divine Immortals? No one Liu Wuxie wanted dead could escape his grasp.

He left Chen An behind to look after Chen Ping, then walked outside with Ye Linghan.

Just as Chen Ping had said, the Wen Clan's experts had learned of his return the moment he had stepped into Moon Reverence City.

Liu Wuxie activated Ghost Pupil, and his vision pierced through buildings. More than twenty experts were rushing over at an astonishing speed. The streets had already fallen into chaos, and the aura of the Profound Immortal Realm sent several ordinary people flying when they failed to dodge in time.

After all, in the eyes of Profound Immortals, ordinary people were no different from ants.

"This may turn into a hard fight," Liu Wuxie said as he looked at Ye Linghan. But all he saw was a blazing fighting spirit in her eyes. She had also been waiting for this battle because this was not only a feud between the Peace and Stability Merchant Association and the Wen Clan, but also between the Wen Clan and the City Lord Mansion.

"I've waited too long for this day," Ye Linghan replied with a nod. She could already tell that the coming battle would not be easy.

The Frostsword released a chilling energy, while everyone inside the Peace and Stability Merchant Association had already evacuated under Chen Ping's arrangements.

A violent rumble exploded. Liu Wuxie had no time to move the battlefield elsewhere because the Wen Clan's experts arrived too quickly. The moment they entered, they blasted a wall apart, sending clouds of dust surging into the air.

There were twenty-three experts in total. Among them were eight Profound Immortals, two Origin Immortals, and the rest were all Spirit Immortals. With such a lineup, they could easily crush the Peace and Stability Merchant Association.

The greatest threats to Liu Wuxie were the two Origin Immortals, who possessed high cultivation at the fourth and fifth levels. This meant the Wen Clan had already predicted that Ye Linghan would return with Liu Wuxie.

"Wuxie, I'll hold them back. Find a chance to run," Ye Linghan said after sweeping her gaze across the enemy lineup. She urged Liu Wuxie to take Chen Ping and the others out of Moon Reverence City and seek refuge in Fourfold City's City Lord Mansion.

After all, even Ye Linghan did not have much of a chance against so many experts.

"Run?" Liu Wuxie licked his lips, and a trace of madness flashed through his eyes. Since his debut, he had never fled once. He had not run in the past, and he would not run now.

Several talismans appeared in Liu Wuxie's hand. He had waited for this day for far too long.

A portion of the sword runes Shi Wa had brought out from the Talisman Tower had fallen into his hands. In Shi Wa's hands, those runes could not unleash their full power, but in Liu Wuxie's hands, they became weapons of slaughter.

The fifth-level Origin Immortal let out sinister laughter as his sharp gaze swept over them. "Liu Wuxie, Ye Linghan, your deaths have arrived."

"Wen Qiong, your Wen Clan is truly despicable, attacking ordinary people like this. If you have the courage, come to our City Lord Mansion instead," Ye Linghan mocked, glaring at the fifth-level Origin Immortal.

"A true man must be ruthless. Will you kill yourselves, or do you need us to do it for you?" Wen Qiong asked with a sneer. He wore a strange glove on his right hand, and it had fused with his skin. He had likely attacked Chen Ping with it.

The Profound Immortals and Spirit Immortals spread out, forming an encirclement around Liu Wuxie and Ye Linghan to prevent them from escaping.

Ye Linghan had already sent a message to her father, asking him to dispatch experts to assist them. But Moon Reverence City was far from Fourfold City, and even flying would take several hours.

Though her father was a Divine Immortal, he dared not leave the City Lord Mansion. His absence would give the Wen Clan the perfect opportunity to attack it.

The City Lord Mansion's experts were already on their way, which meant the Wen Clan had to end this fight quickly.

"Wuxie, leave now," Ye Linghan protested. She only needed to delay them until the City Lord Mansion's experts arrived, and then they would be safe.

Liu Wuxie stood in place without moving. His gaze remained fixed on the twenty-three enemies.

A mysterious crossbow appeared in his hand. Although it was still daytime, which made concealing the arrow difficult, Liu Wuxie believed that with his recent breakthrough to the fourth-level True Immortal Realm and the help of the Divine Tribulation Pupil, he still had a high chance of killing Spirit Immortals.

"Stubborn fool!" Wen Qiong roared in fury when he saw Ye Linghan attack. He swept his palm horizontally, releasing a poisonous cyclone.

"Be careful!" Liu Wuxie warned Ye Linghan through voice transmission.

Ye Linghan didn't fear a fifth-level Origin Immortal with the Heaven-Veiling Banner in her hand. However, using it would drain her immortal energy, so she would not use it unless necessary.

Ye Linghan naturally understood the Wen Clan's methods well, especially Wen Qiong's, since he was an expert in poison art. She sealed her five senses and swung her sword down, unleashing a sword curtain that tore through space and opened a pitch-black spatial fissure.

After Ye Linghan's injuries healed, her combat strength had become far greater than it had been in the Dragon Burial Mountain Range.

This should have been because Liu Wuxie had broken through to the fourth-level True Immortal Realm. When Liu Wuxie had broken through, Ye Linghan had also absorbed a large amount of liquid spiritual energy that had transformed her body.

The two fought fiercely, and neither side could gain the upper hand.

"Attack!"

The remaining Origin Immortal led the other experts in a charge toward Liu Wuxie, their true target.

They attacked with thunderous momentum, releasing rumbling waves of energy toward him. The ripples locked him in place, revealing the power of an Origin Immortal.

In a direct confrontation, even a Profound Immortal could easily crush him, let alone an Origin Immortal.

Yet as the Origin Immortal charged toward him, he remained completely calm and let them rush closer.

This made Ye Linghan anxious. She wanted to use the Heaven-Veiling Banner, but Liu Wuxie stopped her. The show had only just begun, and bringing out the Heaven-Veiling Banner now would disrupt his rhythm.

Ye Linghan guessed that Liu Wuxie had a method, but she could not understand how he intended to deal with an Origin Immortal. She quickly retreated and stopped ten steps away from Liu Wuxie, ensuring that she could save him immediately if he failed to withstand the attack.

The remaining experts closed in. When they were only several dozen meters from Liu Wuxie, he suddenly spread his arms apart.