Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 623 - Ten Grand Ceremony's Beginning

The clash between the two sects' disciples even alarmed their sect masters. Many powerful auras lurked in the shadows. They didn't intervene and chose to observe in silence. They were naturally delighted to see the ferocious confrontation between the other sects.

"No one can stop our Heavenly Origin Sect from killing someone," declared the sect master, Bai Jin, as he appeared with a spatial fluctuation. He was Bai Yuan’s father.

He wasn't old and had been the sect master for fifteen years. He was the youngest among the ten major sects, followed by Mu Tianli, who was close in age.

The tension in the air grew as the surrounding space began to distort at the appearance of two experts in the True Profound Realm. Some disciples in the low levels of the Astral River Realm couldn't withstand the aura they gave off and backed down, covering their ears.

"You'll have to answer to me first if you intend to touch anyone from my Heavenly Treasure Pavilion," Mu Tianli declared, stepping forward to shield Liu Wuxie and the other disciples. His stance made it clear: no harm would come to them as long as he was present.

The battle between two experts in the True Profound Realm was earth-shattering, and it was unknown if the Heavenly Mountain could withstand the force of their clash. In the distance, there was a towering mountain with snow that had been accumulating for tens of thousands of years. If their fight caused an avalanche, everyone would be buried here.

The aura Bai Jin and Mu Tianli released caused the surrounding space to tremble, and rumbling sounds could be heard coming from the distant mountain—a sign that an avalanche could be unleashed at any moment.

Neither side was willing to take a step back as the tension rose.

Everyone in the surroundings was afraid because if an avalanche were to occur, they would all be buried alive.

To flee the Heavenly Mountain, the icefield was a necessary path to cross, and even warships would be torn apart if the avalanche caused a blizzard.

When they had arrived, the skies were clear, allowing the warships to enter unhindered. However, a blizzard would distort the surrounding laws, leaving death as the only outcome for all except True Profound Realm experts.

"Is this clash really necessary when the Ten Grand Ceremony is about to begin?" The Sky Rift Valley's sect master stepped forward, hoping to ease the tension. After all, the Ten Grand Ceremony was more important than anything else.

"Sect Master Quan is right. Let’s settle this dispute after the Ten Grand Ceremony concludes," said the Dugu Clan’s patriarch, stepping forward to align himself with the Sky Rift Valley’s sect master.

The ten major sects were gathered, along with some second-tier sects. There were more than thirty experts in the True Profound Realm present.

"Mu Tianli, no disciples from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion will leave the Heavenly Mountain alive if you don't hand that brat over!" Bai Jin threatened to use the Ten Grand Ceremony as an opportunity to crush the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

All the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's disciples represent the sect's future, and it would be a significant blow to the sect if all the true disciples died there.

"We'll see!" Mu Tianli smirked, unfazed by the threat, before leading everyone to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's territory.

Before departing, Liu Wuxie gave Xu Lingxue a few words of assurance.

When the group returned to the camp, Mu Tianli’s expression darkened as his piercing gaze swept over the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion’s disciples. None dared to meet his eyes, and all the true disciples lowered their heads, unable to endure the weight of his anger.

"You have all disappointed me," Mu Tianli said, his tone sharp and cutting. "When a crisis looms over the sect, you scatter like leaves in the wind!"

He refrained from placing full blame on Liu Wuxie for the earlier incident. After all, anyone with pride in the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion would have acted to defend its honor in the face of such provocation.

But what infuriated him was the lack of unity displayed by the other disciples. Aside from those aligned with Lan Ling, the rest had simply stood by and watched. Despite Liu Wuxie’s valiant act of slaying a disciple from the Heavenly Origin Sect, the incident reflected poorly on the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. It revealed their lack of cohesion compared to the other sects, a humiliation Mu Tianli could not ignore.

"Sect Master, you can't blame us for it! Elder He instructed us not to leave the camp, but someone ignored the instructions and ran to another sect's territory, nearly bringing a disaster upon us all!" The one who protested was Sun Shangxiang, putting all the blame on Liu Wuxie. He had a close relationship with Qin Dao. He naturally felt wronged when Liu Wuxie brought trouble upon the sect.

"I will naturally hold him accountable, but what about all of you? Don't you feel ashamed to turn on your fellow disciples instead of supporting each other in times of danger?" Mu Tianli snapped, causing everyone to lower their heads.

"I'm the cause of this incident. Please don't blame the others, and I will take full responsibility for this matter," Liu Wuxie said as he captured everyone's facial expression in his eyes.

"Alright, everyone can go and rest now. The Ten Grand Ceremony will begin tomorrow," Mu Tianli said, his tone firm but weary. He was unwilling to linger on the matter any longer. Unity among disciples was an ideal, but he knew it was impractical to expect complete cohesion within any sect.

Discord existed among family members, not to mention disciples of a sect.

When everyone dispersed, Liu Wuxie approached Lan Ling and thanked the latter for having his back. "Senior Brother Lan, I'm grateful for how you stood up for me earlier."

"We're all fellow disciples, and there's no need to thank me," Lan Ling replied, patting Liu Wuxie on the shoulder.

Liu Wuxie nodded and would remember this favor in his heart. He stood on the spot when he was the only one left, allowing the biting cold to blow on him.

The following day passed calmly, and the Heavenly Origin Sect didn't come after Liu Wuxie.

Liu Wuxie spent the majority of his time in meditation. After reaching the Astral River Realm, his cultivation progressed rapidly daily, and he could foresee himself reaching the second level of the Astral River Realm soon enough.

The ten major sects' upper echelons were busy preparing for the Ten Grand Ceremony, and the day passed in the blink of an eye.

Everyone emerged from their cultivation when dawn arrived. Liu Wuxie spent the day perfecting his ice dao technique and progressed rapidly. The lethality of the ice dao technique had increased by ten-odd folds. Upon executing it, he could freeze everything within a hundred meters of radius, turning the surroundings into an ice world.

The Ten Grand Ceremony officially began on this day. Countless disciples stepped out of their tents and saw several strange structures on the platform in the center. This was the masterpiece of the ten major sects, and Heavenly Mountain had been entirely transformed.

There were five towering pagodas before Liu Wuxie, and each pagoda had ten levels, which corresponded with the ten major sects.

Everyone had memorized the rules of the Ten Grand Ceremony by heart. The five towers represented the spiritual array, blacksmithing, alchemy, spiritual talismans, and martial techniques.

According to the ten major sects' rankings, the Heavenly Origin Sect was at the highest level, the Divine Sun Palace at the lowest, and the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion at the middle.

Within each sect's designated level, countless traps were set up for the other sects' disciples to break through. If a disciple successfully overcame a level, they were awarded one point, and the final points represented the final ranking of the ten sects.

For consecutive years, the Heavenly Origin Sect had claimed victory with overwhelming points, outshining others.

Everyone entered the spiritual array tower representing the Divine Sun Palace, and they had to break through the spiritual array. Everyone only had an hour and would be awarded points based on their speed. The shortest time taken would obtain ten points, and the longest time taken would obtain one point. If anyone exceeded the time limit, no points would be awarded.

The rules were simple: Test the comprehensive strength of the ten major sects to determine their rankings in Southern Province. Five-point tiers were established within the hour, and the difference between the highest and lowest was as vast as heaven and earth.

The faster the traps were disarmed, the greater the disciples' comprehension of spiritual arrays. To secure the best results for their sect, the ten major sects painstakingly increased the difficulty of their tests, making it nearly impossible for the other sects to obtain any points.

The trials became more difficult with each passing year. If they couldn't secure high points for themselves, they could only prevent the other sects from obtaining points.

The ten major sects prioritized rankings more than their lives, and those ranked lower found it harder to survive. They struggled to recruit disciples and often ended up getting involved in trades after their position declined.

A thousand years ago, the Divine Sun Palace was only a second-tier sect, and they had risen over the years. But if they continued to end up at the lowest among the ten major sects, it would only be a matter of time before they got replaced by another second-tier sect.

Take the Grand Banner Gate, for example. Due to their rapid development, they had a high chance of replacing the Divine Sun Palace as one of the ten major sects.

All one hundred fifty disciples of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion were gathered together.

"The Ten Grand Ceremony is about to begin. All of you will no longer represent yourselves but the sect's honor. I hope you can give it your all," Elder He said as he gathered everyone from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion before leaving. He hoped they could work together to increase the sect's ranking.

"We got it!" scattered replies could be heard, but everyone's mood wasn't high.

Elder He sighed and led everyone to the designated area for the Ten Grand Ceremony.

"We have set many rewards for this year's Ten Grand Ceremony. The ten major sects jointly contribute these rewards, and the top three on each pagoda will receive an Ascension Pill. Those ranked in the fourth to tenth would obtain a ninth-grade pill, and the first on all five pagodas would receive doubled rewards," Bai Jin announced as he swept his gaze around.

Everyone was excited upon hearing about the Ascension Pill. After all, this was a prize from the ten major sects, and it could unconditionally increase the consumer's cultivation by a level, and it was heaven-defying.

Such pills couldn't be found in the market. Even those in the pinnacle Astral River Realm had a high chance of reaching the Nascent Transformation Realm with the Ascension Pill.

The value of ninth-grade pills was exceedingly high, and Liu Wuxie understood how difficult it was to obtain one unless the sect awarded it.

However, a ninth-grade pill was negligible to Liu Wuxie because the desolate world was too vast, but it was priceless to ordinary cultivators.

This was only the collective reward, and the sect would offer further rewards if one obtained a good result. It was no wonder that everyone scrambled for the opportunity to participate in the Ten Grand Ceremony.

Liu Wuxie's eyes lit up as he had long heard rumors of the Ascension Pills, but he didn't expect the Ten Grand Ceremony to offer them as rewards. If he could secure a few of those, he could use them to make a breakthrough in his cultivation.

He could easily advance through the levels in his realm with sufficient resources. However, Liu Wuxie had exhausted all his resources in his last breakthrough to the Astral River Realm, and he needed more resources besides some spirit stones.

The pills given to him by Bi Gongyu were all in the eighth grade, and they were far from meeting his needs.

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