Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 492 - Life and Death Battle (2)

The sudden outburst of the heavenly phase power caught everyone by surprise, and no one had expected Liu Wuxie to have concealed his actual cultivation.

"His actual cultivation is in the fourth level of the Heavenly Phase Realm!" Even the elite disciples were shocked because Liu Wuxie had only joined the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion for a year. In just one year, he had advanced from the True Core Realm to the fourth level of the Heavenly Phase Realm.

How could this be possible? This meant Liu Wuxie had made a breakthrough of two levels each month.

Such rapid advancement in cultivation was rare, and those who achieved it throughout history were peerless geniuses. Those peerless geniuses received excellent training since they were young and received a vast supply of resources.

But what did Liu Wuxie have? He was known as a garbage in the mundane world before the age of seventeen, and it had only been two years since his rise.

Jiang Gongming's expression darkened. He had anticipated that Liu Wuxie might be hiding his true cultivation level but only expected him to have reached the first level of the Heavenly Phase Realm. The sudden revelation of Liu Wuxie's power caught him off guard.

Elder Tian Xing clenched his fists, and he finally knew where Liu Wuxie's confidence came from. His cultivation in the fourth-level Heavenly Phase Realm should be enough for him to confront someone in the second level of the Astral River Realm.

"He deceived us all!" Fan Zhen smiled bitterly. They had been worried about Liu Wuxie all along, but their worries seemed unnecessary.

"I already said that my big brother's cultivation isn't something you people can guess, but you just refused to believe me." Only Song Ling had an unwavering belief in Liu Wuxie and had never doubted him.

His words made everyone frown.

"What a powerful aura! He has hidden himself deeply!" An elite disciple said coldly. Everyone who could become an elite disciple was a prodigy, capable of challenging those at a higher level.

As their cultivation rose, it wasn't just about cultivation but also about treasures and various techniques. With a powerful treasure, one could challenge those with a higher cultivation.

"So what even if he hid himself deeply? He'll still die either way. There's a drastic difference between the Heavenly Phase Realm and Astral River Realm unless he has a heaven-defying treasure." Five to six hundred elite disciples gathered together, discussing among themselves.

The inner disciples' area was in dead silence.

Liu Wuxie had just advanced to an inner disciple for six months and had already reached the Heavenly Phase Realm. On the contrary, many people were still stuck in place after being promoted to the inner sect for a long time.

For example, there was Chen Lin, who had just reached the ninth level of the Heavenly Dipper Realm. Yet, Liu Wuxie had already left her far behind.

Those who had joined the sect at the same time as Liu Wuxie were bitterly struggling in the outer sect, and they didn't even have the qualification to look up to Liu Wuxie now.

Jiang Gongming quickly regained his composure. He was caught off guard when Liu Wuxie released his actual cultivation in the fourth-level Heavenly Phase Realm.

It was mainly because Liu Wuxie's talent was too monstrous. Everyone had dug out his achievements over the past year, and it wasn't a secret that Liu Wuxie could fight those with a higher cultivation than him.

"Liu Wuxie, it's impossible for you to escape death even if you have reached the fourth level of the Heavenly Phase Realm." Jiang Gongming drew and pointed his sword at Liu Wuxie, unleashing a suffocating murderous intent in the martial field.

The longsword was decent, but it was a low-grade monarch artifact. His terrifying Astral River Realm's laws formed a turbulent current that made the surroundings restless, and an earth-shattering battle was about to unfold.

"I have long heard that Deacon Jiang practices the Sky-Cleave Sword Art, one of the top ten martial techniques in the sect." The surrounding discussions gradually subsided, with everyone holding their breath to observe the arena.

The longsword was pointed to the sky with a faint aura enveloping Liu Wuxie.

Liu Wuxie raised the Heretic Blade, his mastery of the Fatality Blade Art now complete. His father had instructed him to practice the technique only after reaching the True Core Realm, yet Liu Wuxie had begun mastering it in the Marrow Cleansing Realm. His understanding and control over the technique were far beyond expectations.

An invisible shockwave swept out even before the fight began, clashing with the surrounding spiritual array.

"Liu Wuxie, die!" No one expected Jiang Gongming to attack first by swinging his sword down. The most profound aspect of the Sky-Cleaving Sword Art was the ability to break through spatial resistance to unleash the full power of this sword technique.

The sword was already approaching Liu Wuxie before he could respond, and the laws of the Astral River Realm were descending from the sky to form a cage, enveloping him.

It was no wonder why Jiang Gongming could become a deacon of the Law-Enforcement Hall, and he was even stronger than Li Xiaohai.

With Ghost Eye activated, Jiang Gongming’s sword technique appeared to slow down, and each of his movements became clear and predictable to Liu Wuxie. In terms of combat skill, Liu Wuxie had far surpassed Jiang Gongming, and with the manifestation of his primordial spirit, his soul power rivaled that of the Astral River Realm.

Liu Wuxie swung the Heretic Blade out and found the flaw in the Sky-Cleaving Sword Art.

The two vanished like two comets with swords and blades filling the sky.

Sparks flew around, with the entire sky covered in blade intent and sword aura, making it impossible for anyone to distinguish between them. The clashes of their weapons stirred a violent wave of energy that swept out like ferocious beasts.

The elders standing guard around the arena assumed a defensive posture because the arena was hastily constructed, and the spiritual array wasn't perfect.

The array flags inserted in the surroundings began to tremble violently, with multiple craters appearing in the arena. The two stood apart, and they had merely exchanged their positions.

"What kind of weapon is that? How can it withstand the impact of my attacks?" Jiang Gongming was shocked. His weapon was a monarch artifact containing the laws of the Astral River Realm.

Xiantian treasures couldn't withstand the impact of monarch artifacts, but Liu Wuxie's blade showed no signs of shattering. On the contrary, a notch had appeared on Jiang Gongming's sword.

After all, Liu Wuxie had added a segment of the dragon bone and xiantian spirit when reforging the Heretic Blade. He had also smelted a monarch artifact into it.

The Heretic Blade might not have reached the level of a monarch artifact, but it was much stronger than Jiang Gongming's trash monarch artifact.

"Who do you think you are? You're not qualified to know anything!" Liu Wuxie couldn't be bothered to waste time with Jiang Gongming and vanished.

He perfectly merged the Nine Heavenly Crane Dance and Seven Dipper Steps, with seven to eight afterimages appearing in the arena, making it impossible to differentiate which was the real him.

"What incredible speed! How did he resolve Deacon Jiang's attack earlier?" Discussions erupted from the surroundings, with everyone eager to know how Liu Wuxie had resolved Jiang Gongming's attack.

"This brat has practiced a formidable eye technique!" It wasn't a secret that Liu Wuxie had practiced an eye technique.

Liu Wuxie manifested into several celestial cranes, like a ghost circling in the air. His speed had even surpassed that of most cultivators in the Astral River Realm.

Jiang Gongming's facial expression became solemn. He was far inferior to Liu Wuxie regardless of his aura or speed. There was no room for retreat, especially since they had signed the Life and Death Pledge.

"Sky-Cleaving Earth Destruction!" Jiang Gongming was quick. His speed was faster than his peers, but it was a pity he ran into a monster like Liu Wuxie.

The ground trembled as slabs bulged upward, swept away by the violent sword wind. Countless rocks shot toward the afterimages, an expertly executed move perfect for large-scale attacks—ideal against Liu Wuxie’s elusive movements.

"Sixth Fatality Form!" Liu Wuxie had already anticipated this and performed the most lethal attack of the Fatality Blade Art. The sky was filled with blades crashing down like a mountain.

The sky was covered with blades, and even light was absorbed by one blade, turning the sky dark.

"What a powerful strike!" Many people couldn't help standing up, fearing they might miss anything.

A battle of this level wasn't something ordinary elite disciples could comprehend, and only those in the high levels of the Heavenly Phase Realm could see it roughly.

The faces of the true disciples present became solemn. The Fatality Blade Art transformed into a blade demon, taking on Liu Wuxie's performance, cleaving down at Jiang Gongming.

The entire martial field fell into a deathly silence, and everyone was captivated by this attack.

"What a terrifying strike!" The arena was already in ruins when they had started fighting.

Jiang Gongming’s sword mountain was split in two, shattering into countless sword auras that shot outward like arrows in every direction.

"This is bad!" The surrounding elders exclaimed and quickly formed seals with their hands to block the incoming sword aura and prevent them from harming the disciples nearby.

If the sword aura struck the inner disciples, they would undoubtedly die.

The sword auras contained the laws of the Astral River Realm, which were impossible for even those in the Heavenly Phase Realm to resolve, not to mention those in the Heavenly Dipper Realm.

Liu Wuxie was in the storm's center, and his aura had boosted tremendously after transforming into a blade demon, with boundless true essence pouring into the blade demon.

This time, it was the roar of abyssal devils with an abyssal aura rumbling from the blade demon. Those faint-hearted felt their hearts were on the verge of exploding, unable to withstand the overwhelming abyssal aura.

"Senior Brother Liu is too strong!" Bai Lin and others waved their hands around in excitement. Their worldview was overturned when they saw how Liu Wuxie responded calmly while facing the oppression of the Astral River Realm cultivator.

"Liu Wuxie, your strength is impressive, but you're only in the fourth level of the Heavenly Phase Realm. You're still too naive to think you can kill me with such pitiful strength!" Jiang Gongming roared.

He didn't deny that Liu Wuxie was strong, but because of his low cultivation, he couldn't unleash the full power of this blade technique.

Liu Wuxie knew this very well. The Fatality Blade Art could deal with those in the Heavenly Phase Realm, but he couldn't kill those in the Astral River Realm.

When Jiang Gongming's words fell, a mysterious energy surged from within his body. The longsword emitted a strange glow that looked like a curtain of light enveloping him.

"The Trigram Origin Art!" Everyone was surprised that Jiang Gongming had practiced the Trigram Origin Art, a powerful defensive technique.

An uproar broke out from the crowd because no one had expected Jiang Gongming to have also hidden his strength.

On the contrary, Liu Wuxie could already guess it because his battle with Li Xiaohai was a near-death experience.

After using the Trigram Origin Art, Jiang Gongming's strength was significantly boosted as he cleaved his sword down at the blade demon.

True essence dissipated after the blade demon took this attack head-on, turning into countless energy streams and vanishing into the world.

As the blade aura shattered, Liu Wuxie seamlessly transitioned into the Seventh Fatality Form. Though its raw offensive power wasn’t as overwhelming as the Sixth Fatality Form, it embodied the essence of all six preceding forms, culminating in his most refined strike.

When the Heretic Blade descended, the sky began to change with a cold wind blowing violently, mixed with the power of Frost Finger.

"It's futile. Your blade technique can't kill me!" Jiang Gongming laughed, telling Liu Wuxie not to waste his effort because he was confident of winning this battle.