Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 406 - Glimmer of Hope

After reaching the second-level Heavenly Dipper Realm, this was Liu Wuxie's first time executing the Primordial Astral Fist. The power formed into a star and descended from the sky.

The swordsmen pouncing at him had no time to react, and they were sent flying by the astral energy. Even if Liu Wuxie couldn't kill them, it wasn't an issue for him to slow them down.

When they were sent flying away, Liu Wuxie took the opportunity and turned into a light streak, charging towards the core. The surrounding pressure grew stronger as he advanced, and he felt constrained, his footsteps staggering.

The growing resistance was troubling, hinting that the tenth level was more complex than anticipated, despite the relatively low cultivation of the three swordsmen.

"Heretic Blade!" Liu Wuxie's movement was greatly hindered, and he had no choice but to use the Heretic Blade. When the Heretic Blade descended, the ground trembled, and three minutes had passed.

A crater appeared in the spiritual array's core, shattered by the Heretic Blade. If Liu Wuxie were slightly slower, he would've been crushed to death by pressure.

The surrounding pressure was increasing and reaching the Heavenly Phase Realm. Although Liu Wuxie had a powerful physique, there was a massive gap between him and the Heavenly Phase Realm.

The surrounding pressure began to decrease, proving the spiritual array was broken. Three breaths later, the surrounding space began to change, and Liu Wuxie found himself in a room about a thousand square meters in size. This was a massive spiritual array.

"I'm fortunate," Liu Wuxie muttered to himself. He had relied on Ghost Eye to detect the spiritual array's core; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Even if he had managed to crush the crystal, he would have suffered heavy injuries.

Looking at the time, there was only a little time left until the six-hour mark. Liu Wuxie needed to hurry and head towards the eleventh level.

Outside the Array Tower, the spectators fell into a deathly silence as they saw Liu Wuxie's dot move to the eleventh level. Everyone took a deep breath, unable to believe he had made it through the tenth level.

"H-He made it through the tenth level?" The higher-level inner disciples became unsettled and were dumbfounded, unable to accept this outcome.

"Did the Array Tower become easier?" someone speculated, suggesting this as the only explanation for how Liu Wuxie had made it through the tenth level.

"What a joke. The Array Tower was established thousands of years ago, and the spiritual arrays inside have never changed. The only difference each time is the location of the core," someone immediately refuted. This meant that the spiritual array's core would change the next time Liu Wuxie entered.

"Did he conceal his actual cultivation? Is he actually in the Heavenly Phase Realm?" A bolder speculation rose among the crowd, thinking Liu Wuxie had reached the Heavenly Phase Realm.

"Do you think the elders and peak masters are fools? They would have seen through Liu Wuxie if his actual cultivation were in the Heavenly Phase Realm." Various speculations were soon overturned, none aligning with Liu Wuxie's performance.

Unaware of the discussions outside, Liu Wuxie proceeded to the eleventh level after leaving the tenth. He had barely made it through the tenth level by luck, and he might not be so fortunate on the eleventh.

With only fifteen minutes left to the six-hour mark, Liu Wuxie took a deep breath at the eleventh level's entrance.

"Let's go!" Liu Wuie gritted his teeth and stepped into the eleventh level, but the powerful force nearly sent him flying away. A suffocating force had already swept over before he stepped into the eleventh level.

The force came and left quickly. The eleventh level was quiet, with no attack aura or anyone ambushing him.

"Do you all know what's on the eleventh level?" The highest record set by any inner disciples was the tenth level. As for the eleventh level, no one knew what was inside.

Everyone shook their heads because only elite disciples knew what was on the eleventh level.

When Liu Wuxie stepped into the eleventh level, he couldn't even sense any murderous intent. This was too unusual because it made no sense that there was no danger here.

He had barely escaped death in the tenth level, so how could the eleventh level be without dangers? The surroundings were pitch-black, with only dim lights flickering. Spreading his divine sense out, Liu Wuxie wielded the Heretic Blade. The spiritual array was highly unusual, unlike anything he had encountered before.

After walking about ten-odd steps, soft light emerged from the ground, lighting up the surroundings without affecting Liu Wuxie's vision.

Sweeping his gaze, Liu Wuxie was stunned because this wasn't a spiritual array but a small room. At its center was a chessboard with an unfinished game.

The room was completely enclosed, with no windows or doors. Liu Wuxie realized he was trapped with no visible way out. The only option was to crush the crystal, but when he reached into his pocket, his heart skipped a beat.

"Where's the crystal?" Liu Wuxie was dumbfounded—the crystal had vanished.

A moment later, he noticed his interspatial ring was also gone. His Heretic Blade, pills, and spirit stones had disappeared too, leaving him with only his robe.

"Does this mean I can't break the spiritual array or leave?" If that were true, disciples reaching this level would be trapped forever. It didn't make sense, but he decided to make the best of the situation.

Shaking off all the thoughts, Liu Wuxie focused on the chessboard. Black took the lead, with white as the guest, and Liu Wuxie was on the side of the white chess pieces.

As he studied the chessboard, he noticed that white was trapped. Black had an overwhelming advantage and was ready to devour white at any moment.

The chessboard could mimic a battlefield and spiritual runes. In a fight, spiritual arrays were like a drill charging into the enemy, which was also a form of spiritual arrays.

"Tian Xing, leaving the eleventh level upon entering is impossible unless he gives up. But based on his personality, the odds of him admitting defeat is very low!" After the outer sect's competition, Song Yuanqiu had a rough understanding of Liu Wuxie's personality.

Suddenly, he frowned because if a genius like Liu Wuxie died in the Array Tower, it would be a massive loss for the sect.

Elder Tian Xing frowned, not having expected Liu Wuxie to reach the eleventh level. If Liu Wuxie chose to give up, he could leave the stone room. But if he didn't, there were only two outcomes: win and leave alive or lose and die in the Array Tower. The spiritual array at the eleventh level was particularly lethal and potent.

Song Yuanqiu was right because the thought of giving up never appeared in Liu Wuxie's mind. Stepping into the path of cultivation meant there was no path of retreat.

Elder Wu Yang was also in a predicament on the eleventh level. He sat before the white chess pieces for an hour and made no progress while the black chess pieces surrounded him.

If he couldn't break the spiritual array, he would face two choices like Liu Wuxie.

This made Elder Wu Yang feel conflicted, and he wasn't willing to leave like this. But with the game reaching this point, his odds of winning were minimal, and he could only wait for the six-hour mark. If he still couldn't make progress by then, it wouldn't be too late to give up.

"Hmph, that brat is still too young, and he'll only end up dead trying to compete with me. I bet he's suffering on the eighth level right now!" Elder Wu Yang muttered fiercely, the wound on his right arm causing him pain. The injury had occurred when he was on the tenth level.

He speculated that reaching the eighth level within six hours was already Liu Wuxie's limit.

When Liu Wuxie sat down, an illusory figure appeared on the other side, representing the black chess pieces, who looked like a person. But the black shadow's appearance was blurred, and he could only see a hand on the chessboard.

"The white pieces are on the brink of defeat. No matter what move I make, they can't withstand the black pieces' onslaught," Liu Wuxie said, hesitating with a white chess piece in hand.

Liu Wuxie's mind began to race because he was also a chess enthusiast in his past life, but this was his first time encountering this setup.

"I remember the Chess Immortal once said by placing yourself in a dead end, only you can be reborn."

The Chess Immortal was the only person who comprehended dao through chess.

Performing Ghost Eye, the entire chessboard was captured in Liu Wuxie’s eyes, which appeared in his soul sea as he began deducing. He tried dozens of methods, and all his attempts failed.

Despite the urgency, Liu Wuxie remained calm. With fifteen minutes remaining until the six-hour mark, he was unhurried. Others might have panicked by now, but Liu Wuxie found calmness even in the face of imminent danger.

"Does placing myself in a dead end mean I need to cripple myself?" Liu Wuxie muttered, struggling to find a solution after hundreds of deductions.

Suddenly, a bold idea rose in his mind, which he began deducing through this trail of thought. Time passed, and those outside were anxious because Liu Wuxie and Elder Wu Yang had stopped moving after reaching the eleventh level.

"Only ten minutes left!" The Terrain Summit Peak's peak master glanced at the clock, knowing there had to be a resolution soon.

Elder Tian Xing was growing increasingly anxious about Liu Wuxie. If things continued as they were, the situation could become dire. In such a case, he would have to appeal to the sect master to extract Liu Wuxie from the Array Tower.

The Heavenly Dao Book opened, and a chessboard identical to the one in the room appeared on it. Two tiny figures were seated on the chessboard, and they looked exactly like Liu Wuxie, manifested from his primordial spirit.

The primordial spirit was born after reaching a high level of cultivation, occupying the soul sea, and guarding the divine palace.

Liu Wuxie's primordial spirit grabbed onto a white piece and placed it down. The next second, the situation changed drastically, and the chessboard underwent massive changes. The white pieces began to disappear under the black pieces' onslaught.

The white pieces suffered heavy losses in just one breath, barely hanging on, and would soon be swallowed by the black pieces.

Right then, Liu Wuxie placed the second white piece on the board. The situation changed once again, and the entire game was changing. Although the white pieces suffered heavy losses, they managed to open up the game.

The white pieces were trapped, seemingly with one arm injured. This meant Liu Wuxie had two choices: either heal his arm and fight or sever this injured arm to fight unhindered.

Liu Wuxie chose the second path, which was severing his right arm. Although a portion of the white pieces were devoured, the game became clearer, which was the path to victory.

It became evident why the Chess Immortal had claimed that a glimmer of hope always existed in dire situations.

The person who invented this setup was a true genius. With his right hand descending, Liu Wuxie withdrew his divine sense from the soul sea.