Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 403 - Soulstone

The first to third levels were meant for outer disciples, and they naturally posed no difficulty for Liu Wuxie. The few minutes of delay was because he wanted to familiarise himself with the Array Tower. He had a feeling the real difficulty would start from the tenth floor onwards.

"I remember the second level is an ice world. I almost failed there when I was an outer disciple." Most people knew the situation inside the Array Tower.

"The first few levels shouldn't be a problem for him!" Many disciples had witnessed Liu Wuxie's skills in spiritual arrays, and such low-level illusory arrays would be broken in three minutes at most.

While everyone discussed it, as expected, Liu Wuxie was already heading to the third level.

"This kid is interesting... he's quick in breaking the spiritual arrays!" Elder Wu Yang had already reached the sixth level, while Liu Wuxie had just reached the third level, widening the gap between them.

Upon stepping into the third level, a ferocious wolf pounced at Liu Wuxie with incredible speed. But before Liu Wuxie could react, the wolf was already getting close.

If he weren't careful, the wolf would attack him. Although it wouldn't be fatal, it would slow him down, leading to failure in breaking the spiritual arrays.

Failing to break the spiritual array would mean losing the bet and being teleported out of the spiritual array.

"Get lost!" The profound beasts were manifestations of spiritual energy created through spiritual arrays. In reality, they weren't any different from actual profound beasts.

Aside from not having an actual physique, their attacks were even more formidable than those of real profound beasts.

The wolf was shattered into countless pieces with a single strike and disappeared into the air.

Liu Wuxie couldn't even be bothered to use Ghost Eye on such low-level spiritual arrays, and he found the spiritual array's core within two breaths.

After destroying the core, the spiritual array on the third level was destroyed.

"What's going on? He's speeding up!" The Profound Inscription Peak's disciples were baffled because it made no sense for Liu Wuxie to speed up when it should logically slow down.

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After all, it only made sense to slow down as they progressed, but Liu Wuxie only spent seven to eight minutes to break the spiritual array on the third level, which defied logic.

"It's futile no matter how fast he is. Elder Wu Yang has reached the eighth level." The disciples supporting Elder Wu Yang sneered in disdain. They all felt Liu Wuxie was courting death to challenge Elder Wu Yang.

The gap widened, and Liu Wuxie slowly entered the fourth level. He wasn't in a hurry because he had six hours.

"This kid's chance of winning isn't high!" Song Yuanqiu whispered to Elder Tian Xing.

"Don't be so sure about that!" Elder Tian Xing smiled mysteriously and stroked his beard. Only he understood Liu Wuxie better than anyone else in the entire sect.

"Tian Xing, I know you've taken a liking to this kid and even want to take him as your disciple, but aren't you overestimating him?" The Profound Inscription Peak's peak master was unhappy and still held a grudge over Wen Haoran's incident.

"It will soon be revealed if he's overestimating himself!" Elder Tian Xing ignored everyone else and continued to look at the Array Tower with a smile, and Liu Wuxie had broken the spiritual array on the fourth level.

When Liu Wuxie stepped into the fourth level, terrifying thunderbolts exploded near his feet.

Interesting...using the power of nature to set up a spiritual array. I didn't expect the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion to have some skills. Liu Wuxie thought. If the sect's higher-ups heard that, they would probably go insane.

The Array Tower was the accumulation of wisdom from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, consuming countless resources and involving dozens of grand elders.

In Liu Wuxie's view, their skills were only modest. The true power of spiritual arrays lay in harnessing natural forces, like summoning fierce gales, rain, lightning, and illusions.

These elements made spiritual arrays exceptionally formidable and difficult to defend against

On the fourth level, the array drew lightning from the sky. If Liu Wuxie couldn't dismantle it swiftly, the increasing thunderbolts would strike him.

The sheer volume of lightning made every inch of space perilous, intimidating most into inaction. After all, against the raw force of nature, human beings were mere specks.

Liu Wuxie formed seals with his hands and infused spiritual runes into the spiritual array. The thunderbolts vanished in the blink of an eye, and the fourth level returned to normal, transforming into an empty room.

"How boring!" After breaking the spiritual array, Liu Wuxie moved to the fifth level.

Elder Wu Yang briefly lingered on the eighth level and spent roughly fifteen minutes before reaching the ninth level.

An uproar broke out among the crowd when Liu Wuxie left the fourth level. The fourth level was challenging even for inner disciples, but Liu Wuxie easily broke it.

"How far do you all think Liu Wuxie can climb?" More people gathered outside the Array Tower, including some elite disciples.

"The seventh level at most!" a Profound Inscription Peak's disciple suggested.

"I don't think so. He should be able to reach the ninth level!" Many people supported Liu Wuxie. Elder Wu Yang was overbearing, and many had suffered at the hands of his disciples, Han Xing and Kong Yan. They were naturally happy to see the trio suffer.

"How ridiculous! I'll kneel and kowtow to you if he can reach the ninth level!" A Profound Inscription Peak's disciple sneered as he looked down on Liu Wuxie.

"Yang Xiao, remember what you said. There are so many witnesses here!" The Heavenly Trigram Peak's disciple smiled. It was evident this disciple had a feud with Yang Xiao.

"Wei Dong, what if he can't reach the ninth level?" Yang Xiao sneered.

"I'll kneel and kowtow to you if he can't reach the ninth level!" The man called Wei Dong said furiously. No one stopped them, and they enjoyed the spectacle, hoping more people would join the fun.

"Look, he's done with the fifth level!" The crowd shifted their attention back to the Array Tower, noticing how Liu Wuxie emerged from the fifth level and headed to the sixth level.

Elder Wu Yang was still stuck on the ninth level without any progress.

"This is impossible! He must be cheating! How can he break the fifth level?!" Kong Yan looked vicious as he turned to Elder Tian Xing, suspecting a foul play.

An invisible palm sent Kong Yan flying, and he fell to the ground with blood dripping from his mouth.

"You two are the source of this conflict, and I haven't settled accounts with you two yet. Speak another word, and you'll face the sect's punishment!" Elder Tian Xing was furious. He didn't move and only used a wisp of his true essence to send Kong Yan flying.

He had been putting up with Kong Yan for Elder Wu Yang's sake. His two disciples were the ones who had tried to barge into Liu Wuxie's courtyard in the middle of the night and had their cultivations crippled. Yet, they showed no remorse and even involved Elder Wu Yang in this conflict, which violated the sect's rules.

Kong Yan was frightened after Elder Tian Xing mentioned the sect’s punishment and didn't dare to say another word. After all, his life and death would no longer be in his control if he entered the Law Enforcement Hall, and even his master wouldn't be able to interfere if he were punished.

Many disciples cast scornful glances at Kong Yan. The Array Tower was tamper-proof from the moment it was activated. Not only did Elder Tian Xing lack the authority to alter it, but even if he had permission, his cultivation in the Nascent Transformation Realm was insufficient compared to the True Profound Realm experts who had built the Array Tower

The sixth level was a dark room, and Liu Wuxie couldn't even see his hand. It felt as though he had fallen into the abyss. Those with weak minds would collapse if they entered this room.

Liu Wuxie felt as though he was freefalling, and he could hear ghostly wails around him. Years ago, an inner disciple was scared to death in the sixth level, and countless had gone mad here.

"This place contains sonic attacks capable of affecting the divine sense and soul sea. I wonder what the seventh level holds..." Liu Wuxie closed his eyes and isolated himself from the outside world, which felt as though he was floating above the sea.

Liu Wuxie remained unmoved, allowing the raging waves and ferocious winds to sweep over. Roughly ten breaths later, Liu Wuxie opened his eyes and stared sharply to the right.

"So, you're the one behind it!" A black rock fell into Liu Wuxie's hand, and the sound wave came from within.

"A Soulstone that can only be found in battlefields..." The rock was called Soulstone, which could be commonly found in the mundane world.

Whenever two nations clashed, they would choose a vast battleground, leading to rivers of blood. Soulstones were ordinary rocks that turned black from absorbing this blood.

The deaths on the battlefield gave rise to lingering resentment, which hovered above and was eventually absorbed and sealed within the black rocks.

Many people reported hearing ghostly wails as they walked through the battlefield, but these sounds were not from spirits—they emanated from the Soulstones.

Liu Wuxie released extreme yang energy from his palm and injected it into the Soulstone.

"It's best to avoid using such items as they're against the world's harmony!" Screams came from the Soulstone as the souls within were being burned away.

A few breaths later, the Soulstone was reduced to ashes, with the vengeful spirit within dissipated. The spiritual array naturally fell apart, and Liu Wuxie appeared in a stone room.

The seventh level was typically the limit for inner disciples, with few able to handle its challenges and often forced to crush the crystal to exit the Array Tower.

Elder Wu Yang took an hour to break through the spiritual array on the ninth floor and advanced to the tenth. Meanwhile, Liu Wuxie approached the seventh level, where the spiritual arrays became progressively more difficult. It remained uncertain who would ultimately have the last laugh.

"The spiritual array on the sixth level hasn't recovered; the Soulstone must've been destroyed!" The Mortal Plume Peak's peak master muttered, looking at the Array Tower.

"How is that possible? The Soulstone contained powerful, vengeful energy. How can someone in the Heavenly Dipper Realm destroy it?" The Terrain Summit Peak's peak master was baffled and couldn't believe it.

"I'm also curious because only extreme yang energy can destroy the Soulstone. It looks like we have a mysterious kid here!" The Mortal Plume Peak's peak master looked like an elegant scholar with a fan.