Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 251 - Play Along

As the name implies, the Soul Captivating Bell could affect the enemies' souls. Liu Wuxie had encountered the Summoning Bell and Soul Stabilizing Bell before. He might not know the effects of the Soul Captivating Bell, but the effects were similar.

Liu Wuxie’s eyes gradually blurred, and his movement slowed down. This made Zhang Shuli’s group to smile brutally because they knew that the Soul Captivating Bells had taken effect.

The chimes affected the soul, even causing those in the surroundings to feel muddle-headed. But the effects weren’t that strong as they were somewhat far away.

“Don’t kill him. I want to extract his soul. He must have a secret since his cultivation improved so much in six months,” Zhang Shuli ordered.

After all, Liu Wuxie’s rise could be considered legendary. There were rumors that he was possessed by an old monster, allowing him to make rapid progress in his cultivation.

“Alright, let us speed up!” The few teachers waved their hands around in excitement. They began to dance, which further strengthened the chimes produced by the Soul Captivating Bells.

Liu Wuxie looked as though he was drunk, with his body swaying around and his eyes gradually closing. When he stopped moving, Zhang Shuli stopped and stored the Soul Captivating Bell.

This technique was taxing to the soul, and the five of their soul energies were heavily exhausted.

“His soul energy is powerful. If it were someone else in the Marrow Cleansing Realm, they wouldn’t have lasted for ten breaths under the Soul Captivating Bell.” They had relied on the Soul Captivating Bells to kill countless experts in the past, and no one had lasted over ten breaths before.

Liu Wuxie lasted for fifteen minutes, and this was exhausting for them.

“Is it over just like that?” The crowd drew closer, curious about the unfolding events. Liu Wuxie stood motionless, eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to the murmurs around him.

“The Soul Captivating Bells are formidable. They’ve managed to subdue an expert in the Quasi-True Core Realm,” Xue Shihong asserted, standing apart from the crowd. No one had a better understanding of the Soul Captivating Bell than him. If even a Quasi-True Core Realm expert couldn’t resist it, Liu Wuxie stood little chance.

“He won’t wake up, right?” Everyone was still feeling uneasy because the Soul Captivating Bell affected the soul, and one would recover from it sooner or later. Thus, everyone was baffled, but they dared not get too close and stopped ten meters away from Liu Wuxie.

“Hmph! The Soul Captivating Bells, refined by me, has never failed before. Without an entire day and night, he won’t wake up from it!” Zhang Shuli snorted, unhappy with the doubts surrounding him. He continued, “An entire day and night is enough for us to search his soul and dig his secrets out.”

The teachers moved closer, all of them practitioners of soul art, akin to Liu Wuxie’s Ghost Eye. This allowed them to delve into others’ souls and explore their memories.

Such techniques, known as soul-searching arts in the Celestial Realm, were a brutal method that inflicted immense pain on the victim and could even obliterate their chances of reincarnation.

Only those who practiced unorthodox arts would resort to such a ruthless technique. It was scorned by the orthodox path, and only the most irredeemable villains would employ the soul-searching art.

“Hold on. First, seize his interspatial pouch!” Zhang Shuli was not in a rush to probe Liu Wuxie’s soul. His initial aim was to secure the Golden Fruit, which would aid him in reaching the True Core Realm.

Even if Liu Wuxie regained consciousness, Zhang Shuli thought that he could easily kill him, relying on his cultivation in the True Core Realm. The four teachers were naturally unwilling but didn’t dare disobey Zhang Shuli.

If they were to uncover Liu Wuxie’s secrets, they could distribute them among themselves. However, the Golden Fruit held little value for the four of them, as reaching the True Core Realm was a formidable challenge. Only Zhang Shuli, with his profound foundation, had the greatest potential to ascend to the True Core Realm. For the others, the Golden Fruit would be squandered.

Liu Wuxie head was bowed, and no one could see his face. Despite the passage of time, he remained motionless. If one were to lie on the ground, one might catch a glimpse of the derisive smile playing on his lips.

As the four teachers walked towards Liu Wuxie, one reached out for Liu Wuxie’s interspatial pouch. However, something unexpected occurred when he was about to come into contact with it.

“Fatality Blade Art!” A wave of terrifying blade intent swept out with Liu Wuxie in the center. It was too late for the four teachers to stop, as everything happened so fast that no one could react in time.

No one noticed when the Heretic Blade appeared in Liu Wuxie’s hand as he raised his head with murderous intent sweeping out. Violent ripples also began to appear on the lake due to his murderous intent, causing waves to crash towards the shores.

Onlookers, standing a mere ten meters away, scattered in fear of being caught in the blade’s aura.

Liu Wuxie’s movement was too fast. Before anyone could respond, four heads flew to the sky and fell into the lake, dyeing the lake red with blood.

Four headless corpses fell to the ground and began to wither with the energies in their bodies absorbed by the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. The entire process was only one-thousandth of a second.

Zhang Shuli, standing just five steps away, was powerless to intervene. It was too late for him to act. Blood dripped from the Heretic Blade onto the ground, and in an instant, the crowd had vanished. Only Liu Wuxie and Zhang Shuli remained, standing amidst the eerie silence.

Everyone retreated to the opposite side of the lake. They just wanted to distance themselves from Liu Wuxie as the latter was too terrifying to kill four pinnacle Marrow Cleansing Realm experts with one blade. There might be aspects of sneak attacks, but this wasn’t something ordinary people could accomplish.

Most importantly, Liu Wuxie wasn’t affected by the Soul Captivating Bells. He pretended to be affected and attacked when their guards were down, catching everyone by surprise. This was Liu Wuxie’s plan to play along with them.

Xue Shihong’s face took on a frighteningly stern expression. Having witnessed the effects of the Soul Captivating Bells, he had initially assumed Liu Wuxie was done for. As he gazed at Liu Wuxie, a murderous glint began to seep into his eyes.

“You’re...you’re not affected?!” Zhang Shuli stammered, pointing at Liu Wuxie as if he had seen a specter. He had never experienced failure with the Soul Captivating Bells he had refined, but today, they had failed against Liu Wuxie, leaving him utterly bewildered.

“It’s just trivial trickery!” Liu Wuxie mocked. The Soul Captivating Bells were the same as Yuan Jun’s blade, which was meant to affect the opponent’s soul. He had previously fallen for it because he wasn’t on guard against it and wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. When executing Ghost Eye, all forms of soul energy attacks were useless against him.

Zhang Shuli was in a state of panic, his hand trembling as he brandished his sword. He was the last one standing, and he was no match for Liu Wuxie.

“Apologies, Liu Wuxie. I was wrong to have conspired against you. I hope you can overlook our past, considering I once extended an invitation to you,” Zhang Shuli implored, his voice softening, hoping Liu Wuxie would let bygones be bygones.

He had once invited Liu Wuxie to join the esteemed Heavenly Govern Academy in the Imperial City. However, when his recruitment efforts had failed, he had dispatched a group of experts to ambush Liu Wuxie, only for them to be defeated instead.

This incident had fueled Zhang Shuli’s resentment towards Liu Wuxie and ignited his desire for revenge. Unfortunately, he never got the opportunity.

“Vice-Headmaster Zhang, you were a dignified vice-headmaster. Why bother pretending when we both know that only one can live?” Liu Wuxie mocked coldly. There was no way they could resolve their feud peacefully.

“You want to push it?!” Zhang Shuli’s eyes flashed with a ferocious gleam, and his sword emitted a terrifying sword ray.

Liu Wuxie remained silent, but his expression spoke volumes. A peaceful resolution was impossible. He had previously dealt with numerous experts in the pinnacle Marrow Cleansing Realm. Now, with Zhang Shuli standing alone, eliminating him would require just a single strike.

Zhang Shuli made his move. His sword was like a viper, manifesting in various afterimages, and he shot towards Liu Wuxie. He resorted to his strongest attack immediately because he knew he only had one chance. Pouring all his true essence into his sword, he unleashed two energy streams at two sides.

As the sword auras began to expand, Liu Wuxie raised the Heretic Blade, which looked like the antlers of a deer with no discernible trajectory. This was the strength of the Fatality Blade Art, as it didn’t have a fixed move.

When the sword was a meter away from Liu Wuxie, he moved. He left behind an afterimage and vanished before he reappeared behind Zhang Shuli.

Since everyone had speculated that he relied on his movement technique to kill experts in the ninth-level Marrow Cleansing Realm, he did not need to expose his strength further. It was best to let them misunderstand his strength, as this would allow him to catch his enemies by surprise.

As Liu Wuxie brought down the Heretic Blade, Zhang Shuli stumbled forward a few steps before collapsing into the lake, his blood tinging the water a gruesome red. His lifeless body floated on the surface, untouched by anyone. Thus, the Vice-Headmaster of the Heavenly Govern Academy met his end.

After killing Zhang Shuli, Liu Wuxie turned to look at Xue Shihong. The latter was a descendant of the Xue Clan, and he couldn’t let him go. He could also discover what traps the Xue Clan had set up for him.

In a flash, Liu Wuxie materialized before Xue Shihong, startling him. His blade was already poised to strike before Xue Shihong could react. The crowd dispersed once again, particularly after witnessing Liu Wuxie’s ruthless elimination of numerous individuals. A chill ran down everyone’s spine.

“Liu Wuxie, how dare you?!” Xue Shihong was furious as he retreated. But the Heretic Blade stuck close to him, and he couldn’t break free no matter how he tried.

“And what can you do about it?” Liu Wuxie retorted, showing no mercy towards any member of the Xue Clan. Remembering the Xue Clan’s actions over the past six months, Liu Wuxie’s murderous intent intensified. His blade was now just an inch away from Xue Shihong’s neck.

“Liu Wuxie, even if you kill me, you won’t survive the Python Mountain Battlefield!” Xue Shihong declared, fear evident in his voice. Yet, a fierce light flashed in his eyes as he lunged at Liu Wuxie, a radiant aura emanating from him.

Shit! Liu Wuxie exclaimed inwardly and retreated, performing the Nine Heavenly Crane Dance and soaring to the sky like a celestial crane.

“Liu Wuxie, you can’t escape! If I can’t kill you, I’ll take you down with me!” Xue Shihong vowed. Unable to defeat Liu Wuxie, he decided to use a spiritual talisman to obliterate him. As it turned out, Xue Shihong possessed such a talisman.

In the past, Liu Wuxie had used a spiritual talisman to eliminate Qin Shi. The thunderbolt that day was rumored to be a mere coincidence.

The spiritual talisman turned into a streak and caught up to Liu Wuxie. When it was a few meters away, it exploded. The shockwave from the explosion caused Liu Wuxie to fall from the sky, blood gushing out of his mouth.

An even more powerful force surged from the ground as Xue Shihong took the explosion head-on, and he was sent flying away.