Desolate Devouring Art

The Heavenly Dao Book floated in perfect silence above Liu Wuxie's soul sea.

When Liu Wuxie sent his divine sense into the golden page, an immeasurable ocean of patterns unfolded before him. Many stirred a strange sense of familiarity, as though he had encountered them somewhere long ago. Yet no matter how deeply he searched his memories, their origin remained beyond his reach, and the elusive recognition nearly drove him mad.

Countless patterns remained veiled in profound obscurity. Liu Wuxie could only set them aside and gradually unravel their mysteries.

"The Heavenly Derivation Codex is even more profound than I imagined," Liu Wuxie murmured.

His gaze traveled across the endless tapestry of interwoven patterns. Some resembled swords and blades, while others appeared as drifting clouds, towering mountain ranges, boundless oceans, or human figures. Regardless of their forms, every pattern contained a fragment of the Heavenly Dao.

Liu Wuxie had not comprehended the Heavenly Derivation Codex merely to spy upon heavenly secrets, much less to violate the Heavenly Dao. His ambition stretched far beyond deciphering it. One day, he intended to rule over the Heavenly Dao and stand above it.

Of course, his current cultivation remained far too weak for him to recklessly entertain such thoughts. Hei Shan's fate stood as a living example before him. Even so, Liu Wuxie firmly believed that he would eventually transcend the Heavenly Dao and ascend as a supreme deity.

That conviction came from the Desolate Devouring Art. The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron had given him the potential to climb to the pinnacle, while the Desolate World offered him the hope of becoming its ruler one day.

Liu Wuxie closed the golden page and entrusted the remaining mysteries to the Heavenly Dao Book. With his destiny hidden, the immense weight pressing upon his heart finally lifted. He no longer needed to fear the endless pursuers dispatched by his enemies.

From that moment onward, no one in the celestial realm could uncover his true identity unless they personally recognized him.

Only two dangers remained.

The first was the Void Immortal who had witnessed Liu Wuxie's true appearance before escaping to the Grand Unity Sect.

The second was Lingqiong Mo. Liu Wuxie had destroyed only his avatar, while his true body still existed somewhere in the celestial realm. Despite the two realms separating them, Lingqiong Mo should still have sensed the death of his clone.

Liu Wuxie could not erase every danger through concealment alone. He needed to find those two people and kill them. Unfortunately, the celestial realm stretched across an unimaginable expanse, and locating two specific individuals within it would be anything but easy.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, Liu Wuxie had completely consolidated his cultivation at the pinnacle of the seventh-level True Immortal Realm. Rather than continuing his cultivation, he activated Ghost Pupil and swept his vision across the entire Shadow Divination Gate.

High in the sky, the sect master had deteriorated into a writhing mound of putrid flesh, so grotesque that the sight bordered on unbearable. The moment Hei Shan lost the Heavenly Derivation Codex, the Heavenly Dao's backlash stripped the laws from his body.

After witnessing Hei Shan's condition, Liu Wuxie urged the Heavenly Dao Book to accelerate its devouring process.

"Come to me," the sect master roared, madness consuming what remained of his reason.

He thrust one hand toward the ground and swept it across the air. An irresistible force dragged hundreds of Shadow Divination Gate disciples into the sky, where their lifeforce began escaping their bodies at astonishing speed and streaming into his mutilated form.

Hei Shan had resorted to borrowing life once more, desperately trying to withstand the Heavenly Dao's backlash.

Hundreds of disciples died within a single instant and dropped limply from the sky. Their bodies bore no wounds, and none had shown any visible signs of agony. Their lifeforce had simply vanished, erasing their existence.

"Run! The Sect Master has gone insane," the surviving Shadow Divination Gate disciples screamed as they scattered in every direction.

Black Tiger and Venomous Viper exchanged grim looks as a horrifying possibility entered their minds. Demon King had never returned after entering the sect master's cultivation chamber. After witnessing Hei Shan devour hundreds of disciples, they began to suspect that Demon King had suffered the same fate.

Once Hei Shan consumed the disciples' lifeforce, the writhing mound gradually reconstructed itself into a human form. Yet the decay covering his body showed no improvement. Instead, the rot continued spreading through his flesh.

"Hei Shan, why do you continue resisting the inevitable?" Elder Meng asked with a weary sigh.

He could not prevent Hei Shan from consuming the Shadow Divination Gate disciples. Hei Shan's cultivation still exceeded his own, with one foot already planted in the Golden Immortal Realm.

Once Hei Shan recovered his human form, overwhelming killing intent erupted from his eyes.

"Kill every last one of them," he roared.

At his command, Black Tiger, Venomous Viper, and Enchantress charged into battle. Aside from the sect master, the three were the Shadow Divination Gate's strongest combatants. Numerous elders at the Origin Immortal Realm surged forward alongside them.

"Die!" Meng Nong bellowed.

The Heavenly Divination Gate's experts met the charge head-on without hesitation. Their combined strength was no less formidable than that of their enemies.

A full-scale war engulfed both factions, and the thunder of battle carried across thousands of miles. The earth split beneath the combatants, rivers reversed their flow, and mountain after mountain exploded into immense clouds of dust.

Violent shockwaves tore through the ground, collapsing the underground chamber and forcing Liu Wuxie back to the surface. Amid the overwhelming chaos, however, no one noticed him emerge.

Hei Shan summoned a sword and leveled its point at Elder Meng. The instant their attacks collided, the surrounding heaven and earth trembled beneath the impact.

Liu Wuxie concealed himself behind a massive boulder and silently watched the battle unfold.

At that moment, Envoy Shen drove her sword into Enchantress from behind. The ambush came without warning, giving Enchantress no chance to defend herself. The blade pierced straight through her body, and fresh blood flooded across her robes, staining them crimson.

"So you were the assassin!?" Enchantress shrieked.

No one could have imagined that the assassin who had repeatedly tried to kill Enchantress had spent all those years hiding by her side.

"Enchantress, you stole my husband and murdered my child!" Envoy Shen declared in her original voice. "Today, I'll avenge them both."

Enchantress had abducted so many men over the years that even she could no longer remember them all. She had drained the yang energy from an even greater number, making it impossible for her to recall which victim had been Envoy Shen's husband.

"Envoy Shen, Master treated you well all these years. Why would you betray her?" the other two spectral envoys demanded as they rushed forward and surrounded her.

"I stayed beside her for the past decade waiting for this day alone," Envoy Shen replied. She slowly removed her mask, exposing a deathly pale face.

The ambush had grievously wounded Enchantress. Even if the strike had failed to kill her, she could no longer continue fighting. With the Heavenly Divination Gate launching a full-scale assault against the Shadow Divination Gate, her death seemed all but certain.

The Heavenly Divination Gate had arrived fully prepared, and the battle gradually shifted in its favor. Shadow Divination Gate disciples fled in every direction, reducing the once-powerful sect to a disorganized mob.

Numerous elders and deacons also deserted the Shadow Divination Gate after realizing that defeat was inevitable.

Within a few breaths, fewer than twenty people remained able to fight for the Shadow Divination Gate. Hei Shan’s most trusted followers gathered around him in a defensive formation, preventing anyone from interfering in his battle with Elder Meng.

The Heavenly Divination Gate's experts rapidly tightened their encirclement, trapping Black Tiger, Venomous Viper, and the remaining defenders.

"We need to break through their encirclement," Black Tiger said, exchanging a glance with Venomous Viper.

Hei Shan's condition made it clear that he could no longer hold Elder Meng back. The Shadow Divination Gate was destined for destruction, and neither Black Tiger nor Venomous Viper intended to be buried with it.

Elder Meng and Hei Shan remained locked in a ferocious clash, unleashing one devastating technique after another.

They had fought each other for centuries and understood one another's methods intimately. That familiarity made defeating the other far more difficult.

The Heavenly Dao Book suddenly pulsed within Liu Wuxie's soul sea. The patterns inherited from the Heavenly Derivation Codex revolved across its pages, summoning a terrifying power of the Heavenly Dao from the heavens. That power condensed into an immense chain and wrapped itself around Hei Shan.

Hei Shan fought against the restraints with everything he had, but he could not tear himself free. Liu Wuxie had borrowed the authority of the Heavenly Dao itself to suppress him.

"The power of the Heavenly Derivation Codex!? You actually obtained the Heavenly Derivation Codex!?" Hei Shan cried in disbelief. He swept his gaze over the battlefield until he found Liu Wuxie concealed behind the massive boulder.

Hei Shan could not comprehend how Liu Wuxie had taken possession of the Heavenly Derivation Codex.

The Heavenly Dao's backlash intensified with terrifying force. Hei Shan's body collapsed once more into a writhing mound of rotten flesh, causing his combat strength to plummet even further.

Elder Meng seized the opening immediately and summoned an unusual rope. It resembled the Earth-Binding Chain but stretched noticeably farther, clearly marking it as an extraordinary treasure.

The rope streaked through the air and wound tightly around Hei Shan. It constricted without pause, swiftly immobilizing him and binding him completely in place.

Elder Meng did not execute Hei Shan on the battlefield. As a traitor to the Heavenly Divination Gate, Hei Shan needed to be brought back alive and judged before the sect master.

The instant Black Tiger saw Hei Shan captured, his remaining fighting spirit shattered. Without hesitation, he turned and fled into the distance.

"Stop them! Don't let either of them escape!"

An elder at the pinnacle of the Origin Immortal Realm shot forward and blocked Black Tiger and Venomous Viper before they could break through the encirclement.

The Heavenly Divination Gate now possessed an overwhelming advantage. In fewer than ten breaths, its experts killed both Black Tiger and Venomous Viper.

Enchantress escaped the slaughter only because her grievous injuries had already removed her from the battle.

Elder Meng produced a peculiar sack and placed Hei Shan inside. The moment Hei Shan entered, the sack rapidly contracted until it rested comfortably within Elder Meng's hand.

With the Shadow Divination Gate's sect master captured, the remaining members abandoned every thought of resistance. They stood motionless across the battlefield in despair.

"Young man, thank you," Elder Meng said after descending from the sky. "Your actions saved countless lives."

Although Elder Meng was a Divine Immortal, he displayed none of the arrogance expected from someone of his stature. He treated Liu Wuxie with genuine respect because the latter had grasped the Heavenly Derivation Codex and now wielded a trace of the Heavenly Dao's power.

Elder Meng could already foresee that Liu Wuxie's future accomplishments would surpass all imagination if he continued to grow stronger.

Someone had entered the Shadow Divination Gate's dungeon to rescue the first group of students transported from the Shadow Divination Dao Hall.

Those students had arrived believing they would become disciples of the Shadow Divination Gate. Instead, the sect had imprisoned them the instant they arrived. They had cried and begged for help, but the Shadow Divination Gate had ignored every plea. Only then had they realized that they had been deceived.

Liu Wuxie slowly entered the battlefield and fixed his gaze upon Enchantress. He bore little personal hatred toward her, knowing that without her intervention, Black Tiger would've already killed him.

Even so, Enchantress deserved to die. The blood of countless innocent people stained her hands.

"If you're willing to repent and change your ways, I will consider sparing your life," Liu Wuxie said, looking at her.

He offered Enchantress this chance to survive as repayment for saving him from Black Tiger.

Envoy Shen opened her mouth to protest, but Liu Wuxie silenced her by raising his hand.

"Will you let me see your true appearance?" Enchantress asked, her complexion deathly pale.

She had already lost the desire to live, and a bitter smile slowly appeared on her lips. Never had she imagined that Liu Wuxie would ultimately become the person pleading for her life.

Liu Wuxie released his disguise and revealed his true appearance.

"You truly are handsome," Enchantress said after carefully studying his face, a trace of regret entering her eyes. "If I were still chaste, I might have willingly given myself to you and lived as an ordinary woman."

She had committed countless sins throughout her life, and retribution had finally come to collect its debt.

Silence spread across the battlefield. No one spoke. Even the cruelest person could reveal the kindness buried in the deepest corner of their heart when death stood before them.

From a purely practical standpoint, Liu Wuxie had every reason to keep Enchantress alive. If he subdued her and brought her under his command, a ninth-level Origin Immortal Realm expert would become an invaluable asset at his side.

From the perspective of an ordinary mortal, however, even a hundred deaths could never atone for her crimes.

After speaking her final words, a thin stream of blood slipped from the corner of Enchantress' mouth. She had severed her own heart meridian, and her body slowly collapsed toward the ground.

"Master!" the two spectral envoys cried as they rushed forward and caught Enchantress before she struck the earth.

As the final light faded from Enchantress' eyes, the two envoys drew their swords without hesitation and followed her into death.

The war between the Heavenly Divination Gate and the Shadow Divination Gate finally ended. Who could have imagined that a sect whose legacy spanned centuries would ultimately fall because of a mere True Immortal?

Elder Meng immediately issued a gag order, forbidding everyone present from revealing Liu Wuxie's involvement in the affair.