Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 269 - Fighting True Core Realm (2)

All the True Core Realm experts in the Great Yan Dynasty had arrived, as this was a rare and momentous occasion in a century. But because of the spiritual array, no one could go in to watch and only stand far away.

They could merely discern the vague silhouettes of Liu Wuxie and Xue Shixiong, a sensation akin to an itch they longed to scratch by dismantling the spiritual array and venturing inside for a closer look.

Lifting the Heretic Blade, Liu Wuxie aimed it at Xue Shixiong, whose true essence emerged as a black war god resembling a demon emerging from the abyss of hell.

Witnessing Liu Wuxie's mastery over his true essence at this level, Xue Shixiong's expression turned grave. He found it incredulous that his command over true essence paled compared to someone in the Marrow Cleansing Realm, despite his cultivation being in the True Core Realm.

However, that was a reality that he had no choice but to accept. Furthermore, the attributes of wood, fire, metal, and ice combined into an unimaginable fusion.

When Liu Wuxie’s blade tip was aimed at the sky, it looked like a crescent moon with suffocating power gushing down. The remaining buildings left in the surroundings couldn’t withstand the force and were reduced to ashes. With that, the entire Xue Clan was leveled to the ground.

The spectators outside finally had an unobstructed view, albeit from a distance. They could now see the battle.

Xue Shixiong’s cane was a rare weapon comparable to mythical artifacts but slightly inferior to actual mythical artifacts. It was a semi-finished product.

Forging a mythical artifact required enormous resources, and the resources in the Great Yan Dynasty were limited. Xue Shixiong had spent half his life collecting resources but could only forge a semi-mythical artifact.

A hint of unusual true essence fluctuation spread out from the cane. This was the first time Liu Wuxie encountered something like this, seemingly earthly and wood yet not quite. It was like a fusion of true essence.

There were various types of true essence, and the five elements were commonly seen.

Two different flows of true essence collided, forming a powerful wave that swept across the surroundings.

“Back down!” Xue Dingtian ordered, urging everyone to retreat to the edge. After all, the momentum caused by an expert in the True Core Realm was terrifying and could easily affect ordinary people.

However, before he could finish, rumbling sounds came from the sky that sounded like lightning, shaking everyone’s eardrums.

The two flows of true essence continued to clash, but neither of them moved as they competed solely on their true essence.

Liu Wuxie’s four-colored true essence would occasionally manifest into a dragon or a dracophant, carrying the unstoppable momentum of an Immortal Emperor.

On the other hand, Xue Shixiong’s true essence was fused with earth attributes that could strengthen his defenses, and he included the power of divine art in it. Most importantly, the energy released by someone in the True Core Realm was highly destructive.

This was why Mo Chong had failed when the surrounding spiritual energy had vanished when he was making his breakthrough. The Marrow Cleansing Realm to the True Core Realm was a tremendous transformation, compressing the true essence within the dantian into a core. This was how the True Core Realm got its name.

The bigger, purer, and brighter the core, the more powerful and talented one would be.

Some people’s core was the size of a pea, while others was the size of a fist. Thus, true cores were also divided into various grades.

Among the True Core Realm experts, Xue Shixiong stood out as one of the weakest. Liu Wuxie had previously glimpsed his core nestled within his dantian, a mere bean in size. This diminutive core was the culmination of a century of cultivation. Upon reaching the True Core Realm, Xue Shixiong's core had only been the size of a pea.

Liu Wuxie’s dantian had a vast world; his true essence could be described as an ocean. If all his true essence condensed into a core, Liu Wuxie couldn’t imagine the size. It might even reach the size of a human’s head. If he released his core's power, he could probably suppress opponents at the same level as him.

As the two flows of true essence diverged, they formed into a potent shockwave that rippled outward. Despite retreating a thousand meters away, many of the disciples from the Xue Clan couldn't evade the force of the shockwave.

Xue Dingtian could only watch helplessly as the Xue Clan’s disciples vaporized under the shockwave.

The shockwave created at the center of the clash sent Liu Wuxie and Xue Shixiong flying away. Liu Wuxie staggered back a few hundred steps before stabilizing himself, while Xue Shixiong retreated fifty meters away with his chest heaving heavily.

In their first exchange, they were evenly matched, and neither obtained the upper hand. In the competition of true essence, Liu Wuxie had proven himself no weaker than an expert in the True Core Realm.

Upon attaining the ninth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm, Liu Wuxie would possess the capability to effortlessly dispatch individuals at the lower levels of the True Core Realm.

“You managed to neutralize my primal true essence?!” Xue Shixiong finally showed a hint of emotion, and he no longer dared to look down on Liu Wuxie.

He was confident that only a few people in the Great Yan Dynasty could neutralize his true essence. He had even clashed with experts in the nearby nations, who were evenly matched in strength. As for cultivators in the Marrow Cleansing Realm, he couldn’t recall how many he had killed.

“Fusion true essence?” Liu Wuxie was briefly stunned before he broke out into laughter, “That’s the weakest fusion true essence I’ve seen!”

Liu Wuxie's unbridled mockery caused Xue Shixiong's face to flush with embarrassment. He hadn't anticipated that the primal true essence, a source of pride for him, would become the target of Liu Wuxie's ridicule.

No wonder Liu Wuxie found Xue Shixiong’s true essence somewhat familiar. Primal true essence focused on defenses and possessed formidable offensive capabilities. Upon reaching a high level, cultivators could even form a barrier around them, making themselves impervious to weapons.

“Liu Wuxie, I’ll kill you!” Enraged by the mockery of his primal true essence before a sizable audience, Xue Shixiong unleashed a furious roar and swung his cane at Liu Wuxie.

His true essence formed into a tidal wave, sweeping up the rocks from the ground and cascading like a black waterfall over Liu Wuxie. With no means of evasion, Liu Wuxie braced himself to confront it head-on. Such was the might of primal true essence, wielding both offensive and defensive prowess simultaneously.

When the Heretic Blade descended, Liu Wuxie tore apart the black waterfall from the center. But the shockwave didn’t end there and rumbled, scaring the Xue Clan’s disciples into fleeing in all directions.

This made Xue Shixiong furious, as he was forced to hold back a little whenever he attacked. He feared that his attacks might land on his fellow clansmen if he went all out. The Xue Clan was isolated from the outside world due to the spiritual array.

Liu Wuxie continued to swing the Heretic Blade down, creating a massive crater over ten meters wide in front of him. Water gushed out from underground and soon formed into a miniature pond.

The terror of the situation was beyond everyone’s imagination.

“Old mongrel, is this the best you can do?” Liu Wuxie was unscathed as he walked out of the ruins with a mocking smile. Each of his words was like a blade stabbing into Xue Shixiong’s heart.

Xue Shichou stood in the corner with his face ashen. He even contemplated committing suicide. This was because his younger brother, grandfather, and parents were dead.

His grandfather had died in the fight with Liu Wuxie, while his parents were accidentally killed by their ancestor. The aftermath of the battle had claimed the lives of hundreds of fellow clan members.

“Little bastard, let’s see how long you can keep hiding!”

Throughout the confrontation, Liu Wuxie predominantly assumed a defensive stance, rarely initiating attacks. This cautious approach stemmed from his adaptation to facing an opponent in the True Core Realm. It marked the first encounter with such a formidable adversary, prompting him to withhold his trump card initially.

The Fatality Blade Art was unlikely to kill Xue Shixiong, and the Overlord Fist would result in mutual perish at best. Thus, Liu Wuxie was waiting for an opportunity.

He waited for Xue Shixiong to let down his guard before using Ghost Eye to catch the latter by surprise. The duel between two experts was often hung by a thread, and the one who could endure till the end would be the true victor.

Xue Shixiong gradually lost his rationale, witnessing his kin collapsing individually. His anger had peaked, his hair fluttering around like a lion’s mane, and his facial expression became sinister.

He vanished like a comet, charging straight at Liu Wuxie. As he approached, he swung his cane, executing the Xue Clan’s strongest martial technique: the Heavenly Tyrant Cane!

This martial technique was created by the Xue Clan’s first ancestor and honed over generations. Through meticulous refinement spanning a millennium, it had evolved to near perfection, attaining the status of an earth-grade martial technique.

The cane descended upon Liu Wuxie akin to a halberd's strike, showcasing the true might of the Heavenly Tyrant Cane. While it outwardly appeared as a simple cane, its construction mirrored that of a halberd in weight and shared certain similarities in shape, magnifying its formidable power.

Liu Wuxie struck with the Heretic Blade in a tricky trajectory as a counterattack. When their weapons clashed, sparks flew as the Heretic Blade was a weapon close to becoming a mythical artifact.

When the blade and cane collided, a powerful gust formed at the point of contact, sending Liu Wuxie and Xue Shixiong flying away.

Liu Wuxie performed a somersault in mid-air and pounced forward instead of retreating.

“What is he trying to do? He should’ve focused on defense and relied on his movement technique to find the opportunity to strike. Choosing to clash with Xue Shixiong head-on was exactly what the latter wanted.” Fan Zhen grew anxious because Liu Wuxie should’ve played it safe.

Fan Zhen was baffled, and no one could comprehend what Liu Wuxie was trying to do. Then again, everyone was already accustomed to how unpredictable Liu Wuxie could be in a fight.

Performing the Nine Heavenly Crane Dance, Liu Wuxie soared to the sky like a celestial crane. His movements became unpredictable, and even Xue Shixiong couldn’t adapt to his rhythm. This was because Liu Wuxie had surpassed Xue Shixiong in terms of speed.

“You want to break through my defenses relying on your movement technique? You’ve underestimated me!” Xue Shixiong’s cane manifested into countless afterimages, hacking at Liu Wuxie with his true essence.

The sky became a flurry of Xue Shixiong's afterimages, initially numbering three and steadily multiplying to dozens. Notably, each afterimage appeared strikingly lifelike, resembling actual individuals in their vividness.

The room for Liu Wuxie to dodge began to shrink. He performed the Seven Dipper Steps, dividing himself into three, and pounced at Xue Shixiong.

The Heretic Blade ripped apart the Afterimages, and the afterimages formed by true essence caused a series of explosions. This was because the density of Liu Wuxie’s true essence wasn’t inferior to someone in the True Core Realm.

As true essence gushed out from them, the two were like ferocious beasts churning up torrential waves. They could no longer be seen in the field as their blurred figures intertwined with explosions echoing in the Imperial City caused by a series of rapid air compressions.

Liu Wuxie attacked with the Fatality Blade Art. There weren’t any fancy moves, but each strike was deadly.

“The fight is too intense, not to mention that Liu Wuxie managed to hold his ground with an expert in the True Core Realm!” The spectators outside were excited as they watched the fight.

That was especially the case for those in the pinnacle Marrow Cleansing Realm because they benefited greatly from this battle, which provided valuable experience for them to learn from.