Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 631 - Absorbing the Ascension Pill

More contestants continued to enter the tenth level and emerged bewildered, puzzled by how easily they had passed through it.

When the Heavenly Origin Sect’s disciples emerged from the tenth level, they were all covered in blood as Wang Ba rushed over to tend to their wounds.

Bai Jin even suggested halting the Spiritual Array Tower’s trial, but Mu Tianli countered him. After all, the first trial would end after the last person came out according to the rules.

By dusk, the Heavenly Origin Sect had lost thirty-seven disciples, who were mostly in the fourth or fifth level of the Astral River Realm. One hundred eight disciples were injured, while over thirty had withdrawn from the tower early, sparing them from harm. Only about a dozen or so people suffered minor injuries.

The Indigo Cloud Gate and Azure Crimson Gate stepped in to treat the injured disciples of the Heavenly Origin Sect. With the Ten Grand Ceremony still ongoing, the heavy casualties dealt a devastating blow to the sect’s morale.

The remaining disciples looked at Liu Wuxie with hatred, and they could barely contain themselves from seeking vengeance.

The points for the Spiritual Array Tower had finally been tallied. Unsurprisingly, Liu Wuxie had secured first place with a flawless score. The second place went to the Misty Sect’s Xu Lingxue, followed closely by Murong Yi, who was only a fraction of a second behind.

Deng Yong, Zhou Ge, Wei Xiu, and others claimed the rank from fourth to tenth, and they were each awarded a ninth-grade pill. However, the ninth-grade pill paled in comparison to the Ascension Pill.

Bai Yuan was ranked outside the top thirty as he only got one point for the tenth level—a humiliation for the Heavenly Origin Sect.

As for overall performance, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion was ranked first, claiming two out of the top three spots.

The Heavenly Origin Sect’s disciples could only grit their teeth in hatred, watching as the rewards fell into the hands of others. When the rewards were distributed, Liu Wuxie, Xu Lingxue, and Murong Yi received Ascension Pills.

Liu Wuxie could barely contain his excitement upon receiving the pills. An Ascension Pill could help an ordinary person to advance one level, but Liu Wuxie’s desolate world was too massive. Just one Ascension Pill alone wasn’t enough for Liu Wuxie to reach the second level of the Astral River Realm.

“Wuxie, you can have this Ascension Pill!” Xu Lingxue ran over and gave her Ascension Pill to Liu Wuxie so that he could make a breakthrough in his cultivation.

She had already reached the pinnacle of the Astral River Realm, and she had to rely on herself to comprehend the Nascent Transformation Realm.

On the contrary, Liu Wuxie was only at the first level of the Astral River Realm, and she had to help him grow swiftly. Not to mention, Liu Wuxie had already fallen out with the Heavenly Origin Sect and was bound to face more dangers at the Ten Grand Ceremony.

“Thank you. I do need the Ascension Pill!” Liu Wuxie accepted the pill from Xu Lingxue, knowing it was her goodwill. With two Ascension Pills in hand, he would have a higher chance of reaching the second level of the Astral River Realm.

“You can also have mine to help you break through!” Murong Yi came over with a smile, handing her Ascension Pill to Liu Wuxie and drawing envy from the surrounding onlookers.

“How the hell did he win the hearts of two beauties?” the onlookers muttered, gritting their teeth.

Xu Lingxue was Liu Wuxie’s wife, and everyone could see Murong Yi’s attitude toward Liu Wuxie.

“Thank you,” Liu Wuxie accepted the Ascension Pills without hesitation. Xu Lingxue wanted him to become stronger to gain the strength to protect himself, while Murong Yi wanted him to grow stronger to save her parents.

“Liu Wuxie, you can’t possibly use all three Ascension Pills yourself. Can you give one to Senior Brother Qin Dao? He’s at the pinnacle Astral River Realm, and we will get a good result on the Ten Grand Ceremony if he can reach the Nascent Transformation Realm,” said a disciple called Sun Shangxiang, hoping to acquire one Ascension Pill for Qin Dao.

Bai Yuan was in the Nascent Transformation Realm, and Deng Yong’s true cultivation couldn’t be concealed from Liu Wuxie despite seeming to be in the pinnacle Astral River Realm. With the Soul Forge Art, nothing could be hidden from Liu Wuxie.

If the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had a disciple in the Nascent Transformation Realm, perhaps they might be able to create miracles at this year’s Ten Grand Ceremony.

“He should earn it himself if he wants one,” Liu Wuxie sneered. If Qin Dao broke through to the Nascent Transformation Realm, he would probably become the latter’s first target.

“You...!” Sun Shangxiang was furious at Liu Wuxie’s indifference.

Ignoring Sun Shangxiang, Liu Wuxie returned to his area, planning to reach the second level of the Astral River Realm. Through this incident, he knew the Heavenly Origin Sect would try everything to kill him.

Liu Wuxie wasn’t particularly concerned with the upcoming trials. But if the Heavenly Origin Sect wanted to kill him, he would have to look for traps in the Spiritual Talisman and Martial Towers.

“Wuxie, the sect master wants to see you,” Elder He said from outside Liu Wuxie’s tent.

When Liu Wuxie went to Mu Tianli’s tent, it was several times larger than the others, and it was the size of a house. Liu Wuxie immediately narrowed his eyes when he entered the tent.

“What do you think?” Mu Tianli asked, satisfied by the shock on Liu Wuxie’s face.

“This cultivation chamber is really important to me!” Liu Wuxie said excitedly, looking at the cultivation chamber before him. He didn’t expect the sect master to be so resourceful to create a portable cultivation chamber.

“Go in and advance in your cultivation as much as you can,” Mu Tianli urged, allowing Liu Wuxie into the cultivation chamber.

There was only a single night available before the second trial the next day. When Liu Wuxie stepped into the cultivation chamber, he could feel dense spiritual energy pouring into his body.

“What powerful time laws!” Liu Wuxie murmured. He realized he had underestimated the sect master. In this cultivation chamber, one day outside was equivalent to five months inside, and one night would be two and a half months for him—enough time for Liu Wuxie to reach the second level of the Astral River Realm.

Liu Wuxie consumed the first Ascension Pill without hesitation, unleashing a powerful outburst of energy in the desolate world as his cultivation began to rise. However, one Ascension Pill wasn’t enough for him to reach the next level as he had anticipated.

He took out the second Ascension Pill and swallowed it, bringing his cultivation closer to the second level. When the Desolate Devouring Art circulated, dense spiritual energy began to pour into Liu Wuxie’s body from the surroundings.

This cultivation chamber was forged with tens of thousands of high-grade spirit stones, and a supreme-grade spirit stone was embedded in the core.

As Liu Wuxie’s cultivation strengthened, the Desolate Devouring Art began to transform, and the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron grew more terrifying. He was fully immersed in his world, forgetting everything in the surroundings.

His cultivation soon reached the pinnacle of the first level, and he only needed one last shove. He didn’t hesitate to swallow the last Ascension Pill; the energy shattered the bottleneck.

The moment Liu Wuxie made his breakthrough, the desolate world began to expand, with terrifying power radiating from his body and the terrifying laws of the Astral River Realm filling the world like stars.

An ordinary cultivator in the second level of the Astral River Realm would only have roughly a thousand strands of law in his body at best, but Liu Wuxie had hundreds of thousands.

When he raised his head, there was a starry river in the sky above the desolate world, and the aura released from Liu Wuxie became terrifying. It wasn’t just an ordinary breakthrough; it was transformative.

Time ticked by, and the Heavenly Mountain was soon enveloped in darkness, but the surrounding atmosphere was lively. There was a vibrant aurora light in the sky, and many female disciples were playing around in the snow.

When light crept into the eastern sky, this signaled a new dawn, and Liu Wuxie had opened his eyes before sunrise.

“The Ascension Pills might be able to help cultivators advance in their cultivation, but the potency fades with each use due to the resistance built up in the body,” Liu Wuxie muttered with a frown.

He had spent three Ascension Pills to reach the second level, and this meant he would need six or even more pills for the next level. Moreover, it wasn’t certain he could obtain first place on the trial today, meaning it would take more time for him to reach the third level.

When Liu Wuxie emerged from the cultivation chamber, he was in his top condition, with his aura fully concealed at the first level.

“How did it go?” Mu Tianli asked. He had been waiting outside.

“Everything went smoothly,” Liu Wuxie replied and gave Mu Tianli a bow, appreciating the sect master's concern for him.

“Today’s trial will be the Alchemy Tower, and you have two rivals. They’re the Heavenly Origin Gate’s Bai Yuan and Azure Crimson Gate’s Meng Qi. They’re the only ones capable of threatening you on this trial,” Mu Tianli explained.

Bai Yuan was famed as the strongest prodigy in the Southern Province, but Liu Wuxie overshadowed him. That didn’t mean Bai Yuan was inferior to Liu Wuxie in strength. On the contrary, Bai Yuan couldn’t be underestimated.

As for the Azure Crimson Gate, there was nothing to say about their alchemy skills. Like the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, they were established with alchemy as their foundation, and Meng Qi was a prodigy in alchemy among the younger generation.

“I will keep it in mind,” Liu Wuxie said as he left the tent.

The alchemy trial was similar to the spiritual array trial, but fewer disciples showed up today. Half of the Heavenly Origin Sect’s disciples gave up because they still hadn’t recovered from their injuries and needed a couple of days of rest to regain their strength.

The other sects that didn’t specialize in alchemy had only a handful of disciples participating. Liu Wuxie estimated that roughly five hundred people had entered this trial.

Even on the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion’s side, more than half of their disciples had opted out of the competition. They knew their chances were slim and would rather preserve their strength for the next day.

Even if Liu Wuxie wanted to opt out, Mu Tianli would most likely drag him into the Alchemy Tower by the ear. After all, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had put all their hopes on Liu Wuxie alone.

With all eyes fixed on them, over five hundred people entered the Alchemy Tower.

The rules mirrored those of the Spiritual Array Tower, and each level had multiple alchemy chambers with identical ingredients. To advance to the next level, contestants were given an hour to refine the pill.

On each level, a crystal assessed the pill. Once the pill was refined, the contestants only had to place it on the crystal for grading.

Purple-red represented the highest grade, red represented a high-grade pill, green represented a mid-grade pill, and yellow represented a low-grade pill. The points would also differ from ten, five, three, and one point for the colors. Failure would naturally result in zero points—and immediate elimination from the trial.