Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 616 - Faces Swollen

Everyone fell silent after hearing what Tian Xing said. In the past years, only true disciples could represent the sect during the Ten Grand Ceremony, and Liu Wuxie only appeared to be at the pinnacle of the Heavenly Phase Realm, judging from the aura he gave off.

This made no sense because Tian Xing couldn't lie when the list was finalized, and Liu Wuxie's name was on it. This meant that the sect could not penalize Liu Wuxie as the Ten Grand Ceremony held more priority than anything else.

All internal strife had to be set aside to rally all the disciples to achieve a good result for the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

A faint smile appeared on Liu Wuxie's face because he had already anticipated this. Fan Zhen and others had tried to stop him because they feared he would ruin his future by breaching the sect's rules.

After all, Song Guang hadn't killed Song Ling but only injured him. However, the matter escalated when Liu Wuxie stormed into the Lesser Blade Association's headquarters to kill Song Guang. It was no wonder why Fan Zhen and others had tried to hide it from him.

"Tian Xing, you're spewing bullshit! Only disciples in the Astral River Realm can participate in the Ten Grand Ceremony, and he's only in the Heavenly Phase Realm!" Qing Mu sneered. If the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion sent a disciple in the Heavenly Phase Realm to participate in the Ten Grand Ceremony, they would be reduced to a laughingstock.

The sect's upper echelon couldn't agree to it because this involved the sect's reputation.

"Elder Qing Mu, I'm afraid I will have to disappoint you. I have already reached the Astral River Realm a few years ago," Liu Wuxie said as he released the aura of his actual cultivation level.

The surrounding space trembled because Liu Wuxie's aura was nearing the fifth level of the Astral River Realm, causing an uproar among the crowd.

It had only been over a year since Liu Wuxie had joined the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, but he had gone from an outer disciple to a true disciple.

"H-He reached the Astral River Realm?!" Many elite disciples muttered, feeling bitter because they were a bunch of failures compared to Liu Wuxie.

"What a prodigy!" many people exclaimed. They knew they couldn't catch up to Liu Wuxie.

Qing Mu's face was terrifyingly ugly because he didn't expect Liu Wuxie to have reached the Astral River Realm. If Liu Wuxie had only been in the Heavenly Phase Realm, he would have had plenty of ways to prevent Liu Wuxie from participating in the Ten Grand Ceremony.

"Even if he's not killed, he has to be punished for his crimes! Participating in the Ten Grand Ceremony isn't an excuse for the murder of a fellow disciple!" Qing Mu said, unwilling to let it go. He wanted Liu Wuxie to be punished even if he wouldn't be killed today.

"That's right! It's too vile to kill another true disciple openly, and he must be punished!" Another elder stepped forward in support.

The other Lesser Blade Association members supported Qing Mu's words.

"Tian Xing, you should know that every true disciple is painstakingly cultivated by the sect with countless resources, but one of them was so casually killed by Liu Wuxie. Where will the sect's honor stand if it spreads out?" Qing Mu sneered.

Even if Liu Wuxie represented the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion in the Ten Grand Ceremony, it wasn't an excuse or a permit to murder a fellow disciple.

"Making such a big deal over a piece of garbage? Are true disciples really that precious?" Liu Wuxie mocked, and his words stung everyone present. After all, Liu Wuxie had reached the Astral River Realm in just one year, while many true disciples had spent ten or twenty years to reach their current level.

Not only had Liu Wuxie offended Qing Mu and his faction of elders, but his words had now alienated nearly all the true disciples. Even those who had remained neutral turned to glare at him with open hostility.

"Liu Wuxie, you’re really arrogant. Since you claim a true disciple is nothing more than garbage, why don’t you raise one yourself?" declared a true disciple in the Astral River Realm, stepping forward. Their voice carried the collective indignation of the true disciples, whose pride had been wounded by Liu Wuxie’s remarks.

Elder Tian Xing sighed internally, frustration simmering beneath his calm exterior. His original intention had been to defuse the situation, but Liu Wuxie’s provocative words had only inflamed it further. Of the more than fifty true disciples present, even the youngest among them was over thirty years old, apart from Liu Wuxie.

Many were in their forties or fifties, having endured decades of grueling effort to reach the Astral River Realm. For Liu Wuxie to dismiss them all as garbage was a direct insult that struck deeply.

Liu Wuxie's situation became precarious, with more people gathering over to watch.

Even Murong Yi had arrived, standing at a distance. She was surrounded by a group of suitors, each vying for her attention and fawning over her like loyal puppies, eager to please.

"Song Ling, come over!" Liu Wuxie waved his hand.

Song Ling quickly approached and stood before Liu Wuxie. Under the Heavenly Dao Society's nurturing, he had now reached the high levels of the Heavenly Phase Realm.

"Eat it," Liu Wuxie said as a golden fruit appeared in his hand.

Song Ling didn't hesitate to eat the fruit, and he wouldn't hesitate even if it were poison. The fruit melted in his mouth with a warm energy coursing through his body.

Although many disciples couldn’t identify the golden fruit, the elders in the Nascent Transformation Realm recognized it instantly.

"The Golden Spirit Fruit!" The exclamation came from the crowd as everyone went insane. They didn't expect Liu Wuxie to be so extravagant as to let Song Ling eat a complete Golden Spirit Fruit.

The energy within the Golden Spirit Fruit was so potent that Song Ling’s body began to strain under the overwhelming force, his face contorted in pain.

Reacting swiftly, Liu Wuxie formed a series of hand signs and channeled them into Song Ling’s body, guiding the immense energy to prevent an overload. Under his precise assistance, Song Ling’s cultivation surged, rapidly reaching the pinnacle of the Heavenly Phase Realm—and it showed no sign of stopping.

Everyone in the surroundings was shocked and couldn't believe a fruit could help someone make multiple consecutive breakthroughs.

All the elders present felt heartache at seeing Liu Wuxie's extravagant action.

“What a waste!” one elder muttered, echoing the unspoken sentiment of the others. To them, refining the Golden Spirit Fruit into pills would have been a more prudent choice, potentially aiding many disciples in their cultivation. Seeing an entire fruit consumed by just one person was almost unbearable for them.

"Bai Lin, sit beside Song Ling!" Liu Wuxie ordered. The Golden Spirit Fruit's energy was too powerful, and it was impossible for Song Ling to absorb it by himself. This was why he asked Bai Lin to sit beside Song Ling.

When Song Ling and Bai Lin sat side-by-side, the Golden Spirit Fruit's energy formed into a cycle between the two. When the Golden Spirit Fruit's power was injected into Bai Lin's body, his cultivation also began to rise, and he was only one step away from the Astral River Realm.

Liu Wuxie crushed a few high-grade spirit stones and directed their energy into Bai Lin and Song Ling. Liu Wuxie forcibly shattered their bottleneck as they both reached the Astral River Realm before so many eyes.

Many people had their jaws agape and couldn't believe what they saw. They began to wonder if reaching the Astral River Realm was really easy.

"I remember now! Liu Wuxie obtained a Golden Spirit Fruit's seed from Serene Sea City. Could it be that he has already cultivated it?" someone said, and everyone looked at Liu Wuxie with their eyes ablaze.

The same was true for those in the Astral River Realm. The Golden Spirit Fruit could raise their cultivation by one level unconditionally. For someone at the pinnacle of the Astral River Realm, it could even increase their chances of breaking into the Nascent Transformation Realm by fifty percent. This realization made the true disciples who had mocked Liu Wuxie earlier begin to regret their words.

In the span of an hour, both Bai Lin and Song Ling rose from the ground, their cultivation significantly improved. Song Ling had reached the second level of the Astral River Realm, while Bai Lin advanced to the first level.

"I killed a true disciple, and I’ve nurtured two for the sect. That should balance things out, don’t you think?" Liu Wuxie said, his mocking grin directed at Qing Mu.

Qing Mu’s face twisted in fury as if he’d been struck by an invisible slap. Even the elders who had ridiculed Liu Wuxie earlier lowered their heads in silence, unable to meet his gaze.

On the other hand, Qin Dao had a cold glint flashing across his eyes.

Everyone knew that Liu Wuxie's success was due to the Golden Spirit Fruit, but they couldn't find any reason to refute it. It was undeniable that Liu Wuxie had succeeded, and a Golden Spirit Fruit could save decades of hard work.

Even Elder Tian Xing had a hint of shock in his eyes at this scene.

After consuming one of the Golden Spirit Fruits, the remaining fruits were still unripe. However, Liu Wuxie utilized the laws of the Astral River Realm to accelerate their ripening process.

"Liu Wuxie, how many more Golden Spirit Fruits do you have?" an elder asked in a flattering tone.

"No more," Liu Wuxie responded with a shrug.

"Do you know the value of the Golden Spirit Fruit? If you give it to us, we can maximize the fruit's effects!" the elder didn't give up and even reprimanded Liu Wuxie on the high mortal point since he couldn't obtain one.

"The Golden Spirit Fruit is mine, so I can use it however I like. Why the fuck should I give it to you?" Liu Wuxie asked, his eyes flashing with irritation.

"Liu Wuxie, I'll offer fifty million spirit stones for one!" a cultivator at the pinnacle of the Astral River Realm stepped forward, his tone laced with certainty. He suspected Liu Wuxie wasn’t being entirely truthful and likely possessed more Golden Spirit Fruits.

After all, it was well-known that Liu Wuxie had obtained a seed in Serene Sea City, fueling speculation that he had used the Golden Spirit Fruit to reach the Astral River Realm. If there was one fruit, there could easily be more.

"Not for sale!" Liu Wuxie replied firmly and unyieldingly. Even if he had more Golden Spirit Fruit, selling them was never up for consideration. After all, the other Golden Spirit Fruits were still green and needed time to ripen fully.

"I offer a hundred million!" another person in the pinnacle Astral River Realm stepped forward. It was a sum that most elite disciples couldn't even dream of amassing in their lifetime.

"I've made myself clear that they're not for sale!" Liu Wuxie said. This wasn't about money, and he had no intentions of selling them regardless of the offer.

Tension rippled through the crowd, and the air grew heavy as more cultivators flocked closer. The rising interest hinted at the possibility that some might resort to force to claim the fruits.

Sensing the growing unease, Elder Tian Xing stepped forward to restore order. "The feud between Liu Wuxie and Qin Dao will have to wait until the Ten Grand Ceremony concludes!" he declared, his voice authoritative.

The animosity between Qin Dao and Liu Wuxie had escalated to a point of no return, and a deathmatch seemed inevitable after the ceremony. Both sides understood that there was no room for compromise.

None of the two spoke, acknowledging what Elder Tian Xing said.

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