Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 626 - Celestial Descent Bead, Dragon Phantom Mirror

Everyone was shocked when Liu Wuxie was the first to reach the fifth level. This was the first time anyone had achieved such results in the thousands of years the Ten Grand Ceremony had taken place.

Disciples had already begun to forfeit the challenge on the Spiritual Array Tower's third level, and some were left heavily injured by the spiritual arrays. They chose to give up to preserve their energy for the later trials.

For example, those proficient in alchemy had given up on the Spiritual Array Tower long ago.

"Mu Tianli, do you dare to bet with me? I'll bet he can't make it through the fifth level within an hour," said the Azure Crimson Gate's sect master, Feng Gaoqiu, as he looked at Mu Tianli with a provocative gaze.

The Grand Banner Gate's loss had indirectly shaken the Azure Crimson Gate's reputation, as fewer sects might dare to align themselves with them in the future.

"Since Sect Master Ma is so inclined, I'm naturally more than happy to bet with you," Mu Tianli replied, agreeing to Feng Gaoqiu's wager.

The Azure Crimson Gate was confident in its spiritual array; otherwise, Feng Gaoqiu wouldn't have made a bet with such confidence.

"I have a Celestial Descent Bead, and it will be yours if I lose the bet," Feng Gaoqiu said as he took out a glistering bead the size of an egg. The bead began releasing dazzling brilliance when he took it out.

The Celestial Bead was also known as the Firmament Emerald Bead.

The crowd erupted in astonishment, taken aback by Feng Gaoqiu's boldness in wagering the Celestial Descent Bead. This bead, nurtured by the heavens before descending to the underworld and refined over countless ages, was a treasure of unparalleled value.

Each Celestial Descent Bead contained immense power, coveted by anyone in the True Profound Realm. If they could refine it, they would be able to comprehend the laws within to gain insight into the Spirit Profound Realm.

"Since Sect Master Feng is willing to wager with a treasure like the Celestial Descent Bead, I'll wager with this Dragon Phantom Mirror," Mu Tianli said before retrieving a palm-sized mirror from his interspatial ring. This was a strange mirror that wouldn't reflect anything on it.

"Is that the legendary Dragon Phantom Mirror? I heard it can reveal anything within ten thousand miles, and nothing can hide from it!" The crowd exclaimed again, captivated by the mysterious mirror in Mu Tianli's hand.

The older generation knew what kind of treasure it was, but it was the first time the younger generation had heard of it, and they watched in awe.

One could even see a tiny tree ten thousand miles away with the Dragon Phantom Mirror. Moreover, that was only the most basic function.

It puzzled everyone that the two sect masters would wager such treasures because losing either one would be a severe blow to them. However, there was no turning back now because their words were law as masters of their sects.

All eyes were focused on Liu Wuxie, as this level concerned the fate of the two sects. The Azure Crimson Gate couldn't afford to lose, as they would soon be removed from the position of one of the ten major sects after losing their alchemy market.

If they couldn't suppress the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion on the Ten Grand Ceremony, they wouldn't be able to raise their heads in the future and would be reduced to a second-tier sect within a century.

Liu Wuxie stood at the fifth-level entrance, unaware of the commotion outside. Like before, he used Ghost Eye to study every detail of the spiritual arrays.

"This is interesting... there's a hidden lethal array here that not even the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion managed to discover," Liu Wuxie muttered. He didn't act hastily, as he knew the Azure Crimson Gate would surely temper the spiritual arrays meant for the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's disciples.

Time passed, and Liu Wuxie stood at the pathway for five minutes. Meanwhile, Bai Yuan had almost caught up to him, having solved nearly half of the spiritual arrays on the fourth level.

"Azure Crimson Gate, you've underestimated my skills," Liu Wuxie said softly as he finally began to move after observing for five minutes. His speed was slow this time, and he often stopped and even retreated, leaving the onlookers outside bewildered.

"The Seven Snare Array uses external triggers to activate the spiritual array. It looks like the Azure Crimson Gate's intention isn't to kill me but to trap me here," Liu Wuxie muttered after realizing the Azure Crimson Gate's true intentions.

If other Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's disciples came in, they could progress smoothly as long as the Azure Crimson Gate's upper echelons didn't activate the Seven Snare Array.

The Seven Snare Array was explicitly designed for him, like a cage that blocked all pathways and sealed every escape route.

The genius of this array lay in its ability to seal a person's seven orifices and trap them within. If Bai Yuan came in, it would be troublesome for him to deal with this spiritual array.

Liu Wuxie remained motionless in the center of the pathway. He couldn't move because the Seven Snare Array would turn into the Seven Murderous Array if he moved, attacking his vitals. On the other hand, there would be no danger if Liu Wuxie stayed on the spot, as the Azure Crimson Gate intended to trap him for an hour.

"Fifteen minutes have passed, so why hasn't he moved?" someone remarked outside the tower. Anyone could tell that Liu Wuxie's behavior was unusual compared to his performance on the fourth level.

"Sect Master, the Azure Crimson Gate must've tampered with the spiritual array; that's why they dared to bet with us," Elder He commented through his observation.

"We can't back down even if this is a plot of theirs. We can only place our hope in him," Mu Tianli said. He already knew that the spiritual arrays on the fifth level were tampered with from the moment Feng Gaoqiu offered the Celestial Descent Bead as a wager.

However, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion couldn't back down from the wager. If they had refused the wager, they would have been labeled cowards and certainly mocked by others, especially after how they had previously wagered with the Grand Banner Gate.

Elder He's eyes were fixed on the fifth level because Liu Wuxie had been standing in place for fifteen minutes.

On the contrary, Bai Yuan emerged from the fourth level, ready to enter the fifth level. If Liu Wuxie remained trapped, Bai Yuan would overtake him.

"So he's a piece of garbage to be trapped there. He finally showed his true colors," mocked the Grand Banner Gate's disciples. After all, it was a great humiliation to the sect to have their elder's knees shattered.

The second-tier sects, which were vassals to the Heavenly Origin Sect, also began to join in. They all felt that Liu Wuxie was courting death to go against Bai Yuan.

"He finally moved!" someone yelled. Just as the ridicule reached its height, Liu Wuxie seemed to deliver a resounding rebuttal as if he could hear every word.

Of course, Liu Wuxie couldn't actually hear them; it was all just a coincidence.

After spending fifteen minutes analyzing the spiritual array through the Heavenly Dao Book, Liu Wuxie finally found the flaws in the Seven Snare Array. He vanished from the fifth level before everyone's eyes and entered the sixth.

"This is impossible!" An elder from the Azure Crimson Gate stood up in disbelief.

His words drew everyone's attention to the Azure Crimson Gate, and they wondered if foul play had been involved. After all, anyone could tell, judging from that elder's words, that Liu Wuxie shouldn't have made it through the fifth level, and why were they so confident about that?

Feng Gaoqiu's gaze was terrifyingly grim. He looked at Liu Wuxie, who was entering the sixth level, with his sinking heart.

The onlookers weren't fools; anyone could tell that Liu Wuxie must've encountered an obstacle for his prolonged stay on the fifth level.

"Sect Master Feng, hand over the Celestial Descent Bead," Mu Tianli smiled, looking at Feng Gaoqiu. He was stuck on the second level of the True Profound Realm and would have a strong chance of making a breakthrough if he could refine the Celestial Descent Bead.

In the entire Southern Province, the third level of the True Profound Realm would place him at the top of the pyramid.

"Mu Tianli, it's still too early for you to rejoice!" Feng Gaoqiu retorted. He would naturally keep to his words as the sect master, and he threw the Celestial Descent Bead over.

There were still traces of Feng Gaoqiu's imprint on the Celestial Descent Bead, which Mu Tianli forcibly erased with his divine sense, causing Feng Gaoqiu to roar in frustration. After all, he had intentionally left his imprint behind, hoping to delay Mu Tianli's efforts to refine it, giving him a chance to win it back.

However, Mu Tianli's actions proved his strength was higher than Feng Gaoqiu's.

"Sect Master Feng, thanks for your gift!" Mu Tianli even thanked Feng Gaoqiu, which drew furious looks from everyone in the Azure Crimson Gate.

The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had set up the sixth level, and it was naturally easy for their disciple to make it through. As long as the disciple practiced the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's cultivation technique, the spiritual arrays would make way for them by circulating their true essence.

The ten major sects naturally made it easy for their disciples to advance on their level.

While Liu Wuxie didn’t practice a cultivation technique belonging to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, dealing with the spiritual arrays wasn't an issue for him.

The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion was known for its fairness, and the spiritual arrays weren't dangerous. Most were meant to trap instead of injure.

Liu Wuxie only took three minutes to conquer the sixth level and advanced to the seventh. The Indigo Cloud Gate set had up the seventh level, and their spiritual arrays were more challenging.

The difficulty would increase with each level, and Liu Wuxie was far ahead of others. He had already made it to the seventh level while they were still struggling on the third level, and the difference in skill was plain to see.

"Sect Master Xu, your sect's Grand Vajra Array is famous, and even the spiritual array guarding your sect has shadows of the Grand Vajra Array in it. It should be able to stop that boy in his tracks, right?"

Witnessing how Liu Wuxie advanced in the tower stirred envy from many onlookers. After all, no one wished to be overshadowed by someone at the first level of the Astral River Realm.

The Indigo Cloud Gate had high hopes of securing the top three this year, and they didn't go easy on their trials in the five towers to give their disciples an advantage.

Everyone from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion displayed a trace of worry when they heard about the Grand Vajra Array. It was notorious for being the most difficult spiritual array during the previous competitions. In past attempts, even when their disciples managed to pass, they often earned just one point, scraping by at best. Securing the full ten points seemed as difficult as reaching for the stars.

"The Grand Vajra Array is constructed with the Eighteen Arhats. It requires exceptional skill to break through the spiritual array, while Liu Wuxie is only in the first level of the Astral River Realm. He's in danger now."

The Grand Vajra Array had been perfected over the years, making it even more potent.

Liu Wuxie stood on the seventh level's pathway with a sharp gaze, scanning every inch of space.

"Plan to stop me with this little trick?" Liu Wuxie sneered and sped up.