Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 405 - Tenth Level

It was common for older disciples to harbor resentment towards exceptionally strong newcomers. Liu Wuxie’s presence was particularly striking; he had quickly made a name for himself since joining the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

As Liu Wuxie stepped into the ninth level, a chilling and murderous aura enveloped the area. The open space was tinged with a subtle but palpable murderous intent.

Suddenly, a powerful sword aura shot toward him. Liu Wuxie remained vigilant, aware that the ninth level was fraught with lethal arrays and hidden dangers. The spiritual arrays had progressed from illusions and law-based arrays to deadly threats, with each one presenting a unique challenge.

Liu Wuxie drew his blade, releasing the blade aura. Sparks flew as his blade met the incoming attack, causing his arms to tingle with the impact. Before him, a black figure materialized, shrouded in an impenetrable mist, obscuring its features from view.

"Sixth level of the Heavenly Dipper Realm!" Liu Wuxie narrowed his eyes as he realized that the pressure he was feeling wasn’t from the black figure itself but from the ever-shifting spiritual arrays. He knew he had to break through the array quickly or risk more powerful adversaries appearing.

The sixth level of the Heavenly Dipper Realm posed no real threat to him; he could eliminate it with a single strike if needed.

"I have to speed up!" Liu Wuxie immediately decided and swung his blade down, unleashing a powerful blade aura.

Lethal arrays differed from other spiritual arrays because the slightest carelessness would result in his death. Thus, he had to find the core and destroy it to leave quickly.

The core was the safest and most dangerous part of every spiritual array. After all, the person who had set up the spiritual array must have laid heavy traps in the core, waiting for someone to take the bait.

Liu Wuxie had no choice because setting up a spiritual array to counter this spiritual array would take too long, and the six-hour limit was approaching.

He continued to swing his blade with relentless force, shattering the black figure into dissipating shadows. As the figure was destroyed, a ripple spread around him, and three new black figures materialized, appearing from three different directions.

"Just as I thought!" It was as Liu Wuxie had expected. The black figures would increase if he couldn't find the core, and they were also slowly getting stronger.

He had encountered a similar situation in the Song Clan's Spiritual Array Hall. Back then, there was an issue with the central control system.

The three black figures were in the sixth-level Heavenly Dipper Realm and attacked together. It wasn't an issue for Liu Wuxie to handle one, but handling three simultaneously was different.

The Suppression Stele moved with terrifying power through Liu Wuxie's limbs, and his true essence began flowing into the Heretic Blade.

"Die!" Dazzling radiance shone, and Liu Wuxie didn't hold back from this strike. The blade aura he released split into three and headed towards the three black figures.

The entire space trembled, and Liu Wuxie took advantage of this opportunity to vanish. This type of spiritual arrays were extremely difficult for ordinary people, but Liu Wuxie had already located the core.

The three black figures froze in place, unable to withstand the suppression of the blade aura. They exploded and dissipated.

Shortly after, over a dozen black figures appeared around Liu Wuxie and stood in his way.

"Get lost!" Liu Wuxie opened a path with the Heretic Blade, unleashing several imprints that landed on a distant tree. A bizarre scene occurred as the tree began to shrink until it became an array flag on the ground.

After destroying the core, the black figures vanished. With that, the spiritual array on the ninth level was destroyed.

The entire Array Tower began to tremble when the golden dot moved from the ninth to the tenth level. Disciples of all levels were thrown into a frenzy, unable to believe that Liu Wuxie had managed to survive the ninth level.

Yang Xiao's face was terrifyingly grim and in a daze. The six peak masters glanced at each other with a hint of shock. They knew well about the ninth level's difficulty.

Even the high-level disciples would have to exert some effort to get through the ninth level, but Liu Wuxie only used five minutes. His speed at breaking the spiritual array was even faster than Elder Wu Yang's.

The black figures posed no challenge to Elder Wu Yang, but Liu Wuxie found the core's location faster. If one couldn't find the core, they would be trapped within, and the strength of the black figures would gradually grow stronger.

"He has given me a huge surprise!" admitted the Profound Inscription Peak's peak master reluctantly. As Liu Wuxie emerged from the ninth level, the peak master’s tone lacked its previous confidence.

Even a Nascent Transformation Realm expert was surprised, not to mention ordinary inner disciples. Many of these ordinary disciples had already started to revere Liu Wuxie as a deity.

"This is interesting... there's still almost two hours left. Let's hope he can create a miracle!" The Heavenly Trigram Peak's peak master stroked his beard, hoping Liu Wuxie could bring him more surprises. The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion also needed a change.

"It won't be easy. The tenth level challenges disciples who are close to elite status. If he can't break the spiritual array within five minutes, he'll be trapped inside," the Terrain Summit Peak's peak master said reluctantly.

In the early levels, Liu Wuxie could afford to take his time breaking the spiritual arrays because it didn't threaten his life. But everything changed starting from the ninth level. At that point, lethal arrays appeared, and if one couldn't break them quickly, the enemies they faced would multiply. Even someone in the Nascent Transformation Realm would struggle if they dragged it out.

Elder Wu Yang was trapped on the tenth level for an hour and ran into Astral River Realm opponents. But in the end, he managed to break through the spiritual array, but at the cost of being injured.

"We'll see!" Elder Tian Xing's eyes showed a hint of concern. His expression became even more severe when Liu Wuxie entered the tenth level. He expressed his concern for Liu Wuxie and the outcome of the bet.

When Liu Wuxie reached the tenth level, he wasn't in a hurry to enter and took a deep breath.

He had discovered a pattern from the first to the ninth level, so his speed increased as he progressed. The lethal arrays shared a common feature: a stepwise increase.

If he killed one enemy, three would appear. If he killed three, ten would appear. This would continue until the challenger was thoroughly exhausted, which was why spiritual arrays were so powerful. It would slowly exhaust someone to death.

After calming himself down, Liu Wuxie boldly entered the tenth level. The moment he entered, boundless sword auras assaulted the surroundings and engulfed him.

Three swordsmen attacked simultaneously, targeting his upper, middle, and lower body. Furthermore, the swordsmen were all in the pinnacle Heavenly Dipper Realm, giving Liu Wuxie almost no chance of winning.

"What power!" Liu Wuxie was shocked and performed the Ghost Eye, capturing the trajectories of the three swordsmen.

"I can't get myself entangled and must find the core as soon as possible!" Performing the Nine Heavenly Crane Dance, Liu Wuxie avoided the attacks from the three swordsmen and moved deeper inside the array.

After missing their strike, the three swordsmen vanished and appeared before Liu Wuxie, standing in his way.

"Teleportation!" Liu Wuxie's eyes widened. This spiritual array included teleportation, allowing the enemies to appear at any desired position.

This was terrifying enough, and the swordsmen appeared before him no matter how fast Liu Wuxie moved. When they appeared, the sword aura they unleashed created a vacuum channel and forced Liu Wuxie back.

"Get lost!" Liu Wuxie was furious and drew the Heretic Blade, unleashing a powerful blade aura that shattered the incoming sword aura, forcing the three enemies at the pinnacle of the Heavenly Dipper Realm to step back.

His full strength only forced them to step back because Liu Wuxie couldn't kill opponents in the pinnacle Heavenly Dipper Realm.

Taking advantage of the enemies being pushed back, Liu Wuxie vanished, moving at an even faster speed. As a minute passed, the pressure from the spiritual array intensified, making space feel like it was shrinking and slowing Liu Wuxie's movements. If this pressure continued to increase, it would soon become challenging even to walk.

"Space spiritual runes!" Liu Wuxie decided to go all out. This was an excellent opportunity to improve his skills. When space spiritual runes flew out, the three swordsmen were bound by the spiritual runes.

"Let's go!" Liu Wuxie knew this was the opportunity to leave. Even if he couldn't kill them, restraining them wasn't an issue for him.

He had already found the spiritual array's core with Ghost Eye a hundred meters away. After breaking free from the three swordsmen, Liu Wuxie pushed his speed to the limit.

Sword auras emerged from the ground, forcing Liu Wuxie to retreat. This time, five swordsmen appeared, all infinitely close to the Heavenly Phase Realm.

The tenth level was mainly for elite disciples, and it was practically suicidal for an internal disciple like Liu Wuxie to enter.

The enemies were incredibly realistic, from their facial features to their expressions. They looked no different from real people.

Two minutes later, Liu Wuxie couldn't afford to delay, as the pressure released by the spiritual array's core grew stronger. If he couldn't break the spiritual array within three minutes, he would have to crush the crystal in his pocket to leave.

According to his calculations, Elder Wu Yang should have reached the eleventh level, but he couldn't afford to lose the bet. If he lost, he would not only lose his status in the inner sect but also implicate Elder Tian Xing.

Most importantly, Liu Wuxie wanted to obtain the Heavenstore Wood and Energy Purifying Pill from Elder Wu Yang. Those two were treasures; the Heavenstore Wood could be used to forge the Wood Suppression Stele, while the Energy Purifying Pill could purify his true essence. With the pill, he would have a high chance of reaching the third-level Heavenly Dipper Realm.

The simultaneous appearance of the five swordsmen placed Liu Wuxie in danger. The people outside were equally anxious as they watched time pass while Liu Wuxie was trapped in the tenth level.

Elder Wu Yang had been in the eleventh level for fifteen minutes and was halfway through breaking the spiritual array.

"Screw it!" Liu Wuxie decided to give it all and sheathed the Heretic Blade, resorting to the Primordial Astral Fist. He wanted to use his strongest attack to break the spiritual array.

Surging true essence poured out from his dantian and coursed through his limbs. Hundreds of acupoints opened up simultaneously, compressing and forming a vortex into this punch.

The entire tenth level shook as if an earthquake had struck with an ancient power filling this space.

The Suppression Stele flew out from his spleen and hovered in the air. As the stele descended, the speed of the five swordsmen significantly slowed.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye, and Liu Wuxie descended like an eagle with the power capable of destroying everything with his punch.