Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 699 - Return

Xu Yilin could tell these people were there for him. They were likely Liu Wuxie’s enemies who couldn’t do anything to the latter and could only come to the mundane world to seek vengeance.

Once he was done speaking, he strode toward the two Hou Clan’s disciples.

“Zi’er, are you afraid?” Xu Yilin suddenly turned to look at his wife. His wife had followed him for over two decades, and they had experienced countless hardships together. Just as the Xu Clan was beginning to flourish and find stability, disaster struck once more.

“I’m not afraid,” Yang Zi said decisively, her voice firm. She had long prepared to stand by her husband, even in death.

Two spiritual talismans appeared in Xu Yilin’s hand as the danger grew closer. These were the talismans Liu Wuxie had arranged to be delivered to him—a safeguard for such moments.

“Kneel!” One of the two Hou Clan’s disciples commanded. They were filled with hatred for Liu Wuxie, who had slain many of their family members. Not only had they lost several elders, but all their disciples in the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion were also slaughtered by Liu Wuxie.

It was pure humiliation to force Xu Yilin and his wife to kneel on the ground.

“Don’t even think about humiliating my Xu Clan even in death!” Xu Yilin threw the two spiritual talismans at the two disciples from the Hou Clan. Even if he were to die, he was determined to drag these two down with him.

“Shit!” The two Hou Clan’s disciples knew the power of spiritual talismans and quickly retreated.

The two disciples were sent flying away when the two spiritual talismans exploded. The shockwave from the impact made them throw up blood. The power of the two spiritual talismans was still too weak, and it only managed to repel those in the Astral River Realm.

Liu Wuxie had sent someone to deliver the spiritual talismans, but they could only deal with cultivators in the Heavenly Phase Realm.

As the shockwave subsided, Xu Yilin and Yang Zi were thrown backward, their bodies battered from the force of the impact. Blood sprayed into the air, and their faces turned pale. Their intention was unmistakable—they were determined to take the two Hou Clan disciples down with them.

“Big Brother!” Xu Yishan’s eyes spewed flames as he charged forward with a blade in hand.

The two Hou Clan disciples were incensed that a mere mortal had managed to injure them. With a cold sneer, one of them swept his palm through the air, sending Xu Yishan hurtling backward. Blood spurted from his mouth as he crashed to the ground, his chest heaving faintly, barely clinging to consciousness.

“Patriarch!” The Xu Clan’s guards rushed forward to form layers of walls by standing guard in front of him. They planned on using their bodies to resist the incoming cultivators; they were determined, even if it meant death.

The unwavering loyalty of the Xu Clan’s guards shocked the Hou Clan’s disciples. They couldn’t believe what devotion drove them to this point.

“Stay back!” Xu Yishan commanded. He didn’t want more innocent lives lost.

Blood dyed the ground red, forming into a river. In just one exchange, there were over a dozen deaths among the Xu Clan’s guards. There were over fifty people heavily injured, and they would have died if they hadn’t been treated in time.

“Not good!” said Liu Wuxie, his voice tinged with worry as he stood on the warship. He had left an imprint in the spiritual talismans he had given to his father-in-law. Upon the spiritual talismans’ activation, the imprint was designed to vanish, and he would detect it immediately. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Wuxie, did something happen?” Fan Zhen asked from behind Liu Wuxie. The warship was fast approaching the borders of the Great Yan Dynasty.

“Stay aboard and keep the warship moving. I’ll go ahead,” Liu Wuxie opened the warship and flew out like a comet, vanishing into the sky. He was much faster than the warship. He only rode on the warship because he had someone accompanying him.

Fan Zhen immediately retrieved a few high-grade spirit stones and added them to the spiritual array, increasing the warship’s speed. This increased the cracks on the warship, and it was on the verge of destruction.

The two Hou Clan’s disciples were slowly approaching Xu Yilin, planning to capture him and his wife alive. After all, they could only use Xu Yilin and Yang Zi to threaten Liu Wuxie if they were alive.

Xu Yilin and Xu Yishan had lost all ability to resist.

“Uncle, do you think you can reclaim what you think is rightfully yours with their help? Don’t forget that we can regain what we lose today as long as Wuxie is alive!” the current Emperor roared, his eyes burning with rage. After all, what was happening that day was all caused by Prince Yong Xian.

Had it not been for Prince Yong Xian, these experts from the cultivation world wouldn’t have arrived. They had violated the cultivation world’s rules forbidding those who surpassed the Astral River Realm from entering the mundane world.

At the mention of Liu Wuxie’s name, the hatred on Prince Yong Xian’s face grew even stronger.

“Capture them! I want them to suffer a fate worse than death!” Prince Yong Xian commanded. Several disciples from the Azure Crimson Gate appeared, charging at the Great Yan Dynasty’s Imperial Palace, aiming to slaughter all of them.

Just as danger loomed, a meteor streaked across the sky. Liu Wuxie could see what was happening from a few thousand miles away, relying on Ghost Eye. The Heretic Blade pierced through the sky and shot over from a thousand miles away.

The Heretic Blade struck with lethal precision, decapitating the two Hou Clan disciples before they could react. Blood spurted three meters into the air, drenching Xu Yilin in crimson.

However, the Heretic Blade didn’t stop there and turned around to claim the lives of the Azure Crimson Gate disciples, who were turned into headless corpses in the blink of an eye.

This caught everyone by surprise as the Heretic Blade hovered in the air.

“Master has returned!” Hu Shi roared. The Heretic Blade might have changed after being repeatedly reforged by Liu Wuxie, but he immediately recognized it.

Countless people, including Prince Yong Xian, raised their heads to look at the sky. They saw a brilliant light streaking across the sky before appearing above the Imperial Capital.

When the figure appeared, he said nothing at first, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings before settling on Xu Yilin. Upon seeing that Xu Yilin had only suffered internal injuries and was not in immediate danger, Liu Wuxie exhaled in relief.

“Liu Wuxie! He has returned!” Cheers erupted throughout the streets of the Imperial Capital.

After all, Liu Wuxie’s legend had long spread throughout the Great Yan Dynasty, with countless clans’ disciples idolizing him and hoping to become someone like him.

Liu Wuxie didn’t have the time to examine his in-laws’ injuries and slowly rose to the sky with boundless murderous intent erupting from him.

A heavily damaged warship on the verge of collapse appeared above the Great Yan Dynasty as Fan Zhen and Song Ling descended.

“Old Headmaster!” Many of the Imperial Academy’s teachers stepped forward at the sight of Fan Zhen.

“What happened here?” Fan Zhen asked Zhao Enzhu. When the latter recounted the earlier events, Fan Zhen trembled in rage.

“Song Ling, treat the injured!” Fan Zhen quickly entered the crowd with Song Ling and began distributing pills to save the injured.

The Imperial Academy’s members also joined to treat the injured. Fan Zhen had brought many pills with him, and they were all prepared by Liu Wuxie beforehand. This could ensure a steady supply of disciples to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, who would remain loyal to Liu Wuxie.

“Prince Yong Xian, two years have passed, and I’m disappointed,” Liu Wuxie stood before Prince Yong Xian. As for those from the Hou Clan, he had directly disregarded them. Two years had passed, and Prince Yong Xian was only in the Heavenly Phase Realm. He hadn’t even reached the Astral River Realm.

“Liu Wuxie, you will die today!” Prince Yong Xian let out an outburst of sinister laughter. They had planned to use Liu Wuxie’s in-laws as leverage against him. But since Liu Wuxie was here, it would save them the trouble, and they could simply kill him outright.

“With garbage like you people?” Liu Wuxie swept his gaze around. Aside from the Hou Clan’s grand elder, who posed some threat to him, he could easily kill the others. Those in the low levels of the Nascent Transformation Realm couldn’t pose any danger to him, not to mention his dao techniques were strengthened through the help of the Celestial Descent Bead.

“Liu Wuxie, I’ll avenge the death of my grandson today!” The Hou Clan’s grand elder spoke with a sinister expression. He had nearly abandoned the thought of vengeance after the Ten Grand Ceremony, awed by Liu Wuxie’s monstrous talent.

However, the Azure Crimson Gate had rekindled his burning desire for revenge.

“There’s no longer a need for the Hou Clan to exist in the Southern Province,” Liu Wuxie declared. With the death of the Hou Clan’s grand elder, the Hou Clan’s position would fall significantly. As long as Liu Wuxie gave the word, many people would willingly help him to destroy the Hou Clan.

Liu Wuxie controlled the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion’s pills, and he had immense sway in the Southern Province. Over ninety percent of the disciples in the Southern Province would seek Liu Wuxie’s favor.

“How arrogant! Even if you can kill those like Bai Yuan, you have no chance against so many of us!” The Hou Clan’s grand elder didn’t deny Liu Wuxie’s strength, but they had over ten cultivators in the Nascent Transformation Realm with them.

“You want to kill me? Come with me!” Liu Wuxie said as he took off. If a battle occurred there, the entire Imperial Capital would be leveled to the ground, and countless people would die.

The Hou Clan’s objective was to kill Liu Wuxie, and they had no interest in mere mortals. They quickly controlled the warship to chase after him.

Prince Yong Xian looked down and hesitated briefly before following after the Hou Clan. He could wait till Liu Wuxie was killed before reclaiming what was his. Fan Zhen and Song Ling had reached the Astral River Realm, and he wouldn’t obtain any benefits against them even if he stayed behind.

With a few flashes, Liu Wuxie entered a barren mountain range. There wasn’t a single human present, and it wouldn’t implicate the Imperial Capital even if the heavens collapsed if they fought there.

“Old Headmaster, do you think Liu Wuxie will be alright?” Zhao Enzhu asked anxiously. The sheer number of experts arrayed against Liu Wuxie was daunting, and he couldn’t fathom how one person could prevail against such odds.

“Don’t worry about it. With Liu Wuxie’s current strength, no one in the Southern Province can threaten him aside from a handful of ancient beings,” Fan Zhen said. He was well aware of Liu Wuxie’s strength, and it was nearly impossible for those in the Nascent Transformation Realm to kill Liu Wuxie unless it was someone in the True Profound Realm.

The news left everyone stunned. It was astonishing to learn that Liu Wuxie had ascended to the pinnacle of the Southern Province within just two years.

Those who had once been his classmates could only sigh in regret, realizing they had been peers to a prodigy of monstrous talent. For the past two years, they had pursued Liu Wuxie with all their efforts, only to discover that the gap between them had grown even wider.

Despite Fan Zhen’s unwavering confidence, concern still lingered among the crowd, compelling them to remain behind. Once Xu Yilin recovered enough from his injuries, he immediately rushed toward the battlefield outside the city. They were determined to stand by Liu Wuxie’s side even if they couldn't lend much aid.

The other cultivators trailed closely, eager to witness a battle of this magnitude—a once-in-a-century spectacle that could shape legends.

Liu Wuxie paused midair, his figure radiating an imposing aura. One hand gripped the Heretic Blade firmly, while the other assumed the poised stance of the ice dao technique. His intent was clear—he was ready to unleash a massacre.