Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 59 - Blade Intent

As Liu Wuxie’s consciousness sank into his dantian, the painting disappeared and the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron spat out a powerful blade aura that rushed to his soul sea.

Swords had sword aura, and blades had blade aura, but only a true genius could comprehend the blade aura.

When the golden blade aura merged with his soul sea, it manifested into a golden blade hovering in his soul sea.

“Blade intent! This is the blade intent!” Liu Wuxie exclaimed and jumped, nearly knocking his head on the roof. Even the slightest blade intent could destroy everything. Compared to blade intent, the sword intent was easier to comprehend, which was why the blade was considered the king of weapons.

Throughout history, blades and swords were often mentioned together, but blades always came first. Due to the difficulty in comprehending blade intent, most cultivators preferred to use swords, leading to their widespread popularity. There were many swordsmen, but few truly stood out.

As Liu Wuxie’s consciousness left his soul sea, a terrifying blade aura swept out from him, reducing the table and chairs in the room into fragments. The room was messy, and each fragment was like a blade piercing through the wall and window, heading towards other rooms.

In an instant, the entire room was riddled with holes, and all the furniture was gone. Moonlight shone into the room through the holes, making them look like a hornet’s nest. The room seemed on the verge of collapse.

Bi Gongyu and Lei Tao had just gone to bed, knowing they needed to rest well for the competition the next day. But they were soon awakened by a powerful surge of energy.

“Yun Lan, you bastard! How dare you sneak up on me at night?!” Bi Gongyu roared, charging out of his room riddled with holes, thinking that Yun Lan had attacked him in his sleep.

Lei Tao was also startled awake, rolling off the bed in fear as projectiles flew towards him, capable of tearing through his defenses.

Bi Gongyu and Lei Tao rushed out of their rooms, not even stopping to put on their clothes. Liu Wuxie also emerged from his room, and the three of them stood in a triangle formation, staring at each other in shock.

Bi Gongyu and Lei Tao were shocked to see Liu Wuxie’s room, with its walls riddled with holes and looking as if it might collapse at any moment.

“Y-You’re the one who caused all of this?” Bi Gongyu lowered his guard, realizing that it wasn’t an attack from Yun Lan, and pointed at Liu Wuxie’s room, speechless. As a cultivator in the Marrow Cleansing Realm, it was rare for anything to make him nervous, but this scene was beyond his understanding.

“Sorry about that. I lost control while comprehending martial intent.” Liu Wuxie said, scratching his head in embarrassment. He hadn’t expected to cause such destruction while comprehending blade intent, and that was even with him holding back. If he had unleashed his full power, the entire courtyard would have been leveled.

“T-T-The painting you bought in the afternoon contained martial intent?!” Lei Tao stammered, his legs shaking and sweat dripping down his forehead. He was still puzzled as to why Liu Wuxie had bought such an ordinary painting for 100 gold coins.

“That’s right. The painting contained blade intent,” Liu Wuxie admitted openly to Bi Gongyu and Lei Tao. It would have been impossible to hide it from them, and they would have figured it out eventually. Besides, even if Bi Gongyu wanted to kill him, it wouldn’t be easy.

After calming down, Bi Gongyu realized that the destruction had indeed been caused by blade intent.

“Alright then,” Lei Tao said, at a loss for words. Xiao Mingyi had spent 1,000,000 gold coins on a fake painting, while Liu Wuxie had bought a painting containing blade intent for just 100 gold coins. Comparing himself to Liu Wuxie would only lead to frustration.

“Can I see the painting?” Bi Gongyu asked, curious about the painting that had allowed Liu Wuxie to quickly strengthen his blade intent. He thought he might benefit from seeing it.

But Liu Wuxie spread his hands apart with an innocent smile. He had revealed the truth because the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron had already consumed the painting. “Will you believe me if I say that the painting disappeared?”

Liu Wuxie’s innocent expression seemed genuine, and Bi Gongyu didn’t press the matter. He knew that if Liu Wuxie wanted to hide something, he could easily come up with an excuse. But he had chosen to reveal the truth, which made Bi Gongyu feel that they were friends.

“I’ve heard that it’s a long process to comprehend marital intent in a painting, ranging from a year to ten years. This is the first time I’ve heard someone comprehending blade intent in just one night.” Bi Gongyu was knowledgeable, but this was within his knowledge blindspot. If he were the one trying to comprehend a martial intent in a painting, it would take at least a year for him to comprehend anything.

The True Core Realm, or grandmasters, could infuse their martial intent into various items. Artists could infuse their martial intents into paintings, sword masters could engrave their martial intent on walls, talisman masters could infuse their martial intents into talismans, blacksmiths could infuse their martial intent into weapons forged by them, and alchemists could infuse their martial intent into pills.

The martial intent left behind by each grandmaster was different, and it couldn’t be comprehended overnight.

“Please help me keep this matter a secret. If someone asks about it, just tell them my true essence went berserk because I was careless in my cultivation.” Liu Wuxie cupped his fists together. He didn’t want to cause too much trouble, and many people would come after him if they knew he comprehended martial intent.

Being in the Xiantian Realm didn't hinder him from comprehending martial intent, a feat usually achievable only by grandmasters. Since he had already grasped martial intent, it was just a matter of time before he became a grandmaster himself.

“Don’t worry about it. We won’t divulge a single word about what happened tonight. It’s getting late, and you should rest quickly. We’ve offended many cities, and I’m afraid many people will target us in the competition tomorrow.” Bi Gongyu wasn’t a fool. He would naturally choose to establish a good relationship with a future grandmaster in advance because there were only benefits and no losses.

“I’ll cultivate for a little longer. Pavilion Master, you can go and rest first.”

Liu Wuxie’s room was already inhabitable, and he could only wait for the Treasure Pill Pavilion of Zen City’s branch to repair it the next day.

With that, Bi Gongyu and Lei Tao returned to their rooms while Liu Wuxie stood in the courtyard holding the blade in his right hand. There was an artificial mountain in the courtyard's center and several massive trees, but Liu Wuxie’s gaze was fixed on the mountain.

As he drew his blade, a cold light flashed from its reflection. He didn’t release his blade intent, knowing that it would destroy the entire courtyard, but even so, the blade aura emanating from his blade was ten times stronger than before.

The blade aura plunged into the fake mountain smoothly without a hint of resistance, leaving Liu Wuxie stunned.

“What’s going on? Liu Wuxie wondered, confused. The blade aura he had released should have been able to kill someone at the peak of the Spirit Cleansing Realm, but there was no sign of any energy fluctuation. As he approached to investigate, the artificial mountain suddenly began to crack down the middle. It shattered into pieces, releasing a powerful burst of energy from within. Stone fragments flew out as the mountain was reduced to rubble, causing further destruction to the room.

“Isn’t this a little too powerful?” Liu Wuxie curled his lips, realizing that his fighting prowess had risen tenfold, and no ordinary Spirit Cleansing Realm cultivator could withstand a strike from his blade.

He sheathed his sword, not daring to test his strength further.

As the blade aura dissipated, Lei Tao lay in bed, still shaken from when Liu Wuxie had drawn his sword. He pulled the covers over his head and muttered, “Monster... he’s a monster... not human at all...”

The night passed quickly, and Liu Wuxie sat in the courtyard throughout the night, circulating the Desolate Devouring Art to devour spiritual energy. His cultivation had improved, and he was closer to the fourth level of the Xiantian Realm.

Liu Wuxie was determined to win the competition and claim the fourth-grade pill as his reward, using it to reach the fourth level of the Xiantian Realm. But he kept his goal to himself, not wanting Bi Gongyu to think he was overreaching.

In the morning, Bi Gongyu and Lei Tao emerged from their rooms with dark circles under their eyes, yawning. It was clear that they hadn’t slept well. Every time they closed their eyes, the image of Liu Wuxie’s terrifying blade would appear in their minds, causing them to startle awake. Even trying to cultivate couldn’t calm them down, so they stayed awake until dawn.

As the morning progressed, people began to leave their courtyards and head towards the plaza at the center of Zen City, where the competition was being held. All the clans and notable figures in Zen City had been invited to attend.

Azure Billow City’s team of three came out of their courtyard, freshly groomed and ready for the competition. Forty alchemists in total were participating, with the top-ranked cities sending two representatives each.

As Liu Wuxie made his appearance, all eyes turned to him, filled with curiosity, shock, and even hatred.

Liu Wuxie scanned the crowd, sizing up his competition. While he felt some pressure from the top-ranked alchemists, he paid little attention to the others.

“Brother Liu, you certainly made a name for yourself yesterday!” exclaimed Zuo Hong as he approached and clapped Liu Wuxie on the shoulder. This gesture surprised everyone, as Zuo Hong was known for his pride and aloofness. The sight of him being friendly with Liu Wuxie left many baffled.

The forty alchemists ranged in age from their twenties to fifties, with Liu Wuxie standing out as the youngest at sixteen or seventeen.

“Even you’ve heard about it, Brother Zuo,” replied Liu Wuxie with a wry smile. “I’m embarrassed to talk about it, but what can I do when someone insists on being put in their place?”

As Xiao Mingyi and Du Mingze approached, they overheard Liu Wuxie’s words and nearly tripped in surprise. They shot him a glare, their eyes conveying that their feud from the previous day was far from over.

Zuo Hong, however, merely smiled and continued walking alongside Liu Wuxie, following behind Bi Gongyu and Lei Tao.

“Brother Liu, how did you know the painting was fake? And how were you so certain?” Zuo Hong asked curiously. After all, even Kuang Zhan, the second elder of the Kuang Clan, had been unable to tell that the painting was a forgery.

Not far away, two young women paused in their tracks to listen. Female alchemists were a rare sight, and they, too, were eager to hear Liu Wuxie’s answer.

“I guessed it!” replied Liu Wuxie nonchalantly. Zuo Hong’s forehead creased in confusion, while the two women covered their mouths and giggled at the unexpected response; this was their first time seeing such an interesting person.

Xiao Mingyi and Du Mingze, on the other hand, were seething with rage, feeling as though they could spit blood at Liu Wuxie’s outrageous luck in guessing correctly.

“Brother Liu, you truly are a talent!” exclaimed Zuo Hong, shaking his head in disbelief. He decided not to press the matter further and made his way down the stairs to the competition venue.

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