Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 574 - Shitheads

Liu Wuxie spent the next six hours refining the seal. By the time he was done, the sky had turned dark, and the Heavenly Dragon Seal’s glow had slowly faded away.

With a wave of his hand, the Heavenly Dragon Seal shrunk down to the size of an egg and returned to Liu Wuxie's palm.

Even Liu Wuxie couldn't determine whether the Heavenly Dragon Seal was a xiantian treasure or a monarch artifact. However, he was at least certain that ordinary monarch artifacts couldn't compare to the Heavenly Dragon Seal.

Liu Wuxie smiled wryly as he looked at the buildings in his vicinity. This was the downside to not having a cultivation chamber—it was easy to destroy one’s surroundings when forging artifacts. He decided to apologize to Murong Yi tomorrow for the damages he had caused.

The Heavenly Dragon Seal entered the depth of the Sky-Devouring Divine Cauldron, which in turn cleansed it with spiritual energy. As the impurities inside began to decrease, the seal began to emit a faint golden glow. However, a strange and eerie hint of crimson lurked within its radiance.

Since he still had some time before dawn, Liu Wuxie took out the mysterious blade tip from the interspatial ring that he had cut open on the last stone.

When the blade tip appeared, it began to release the same terrifying blade ray that had slain over thirty disciples of the Azure Crimson Gate.

He hadn’t found the chance to examine it until now since he had always been around huge crowds. Upon inspecting it, though, he could tell that it was no ordinary object. It seemed to contain a profound amount of blade intent that was so powerful it made even him—an Immortal Emperor in his past life—a bit uneasy.

Liu Wuxie speculated that ancient immortals had visited the True Martial Continent, and this blade tip was a remnant of that era. The barren land likely flourished in the past much like the Celestial Realms, which was why so many spiritual essences were produced.

Since he had only managed to subdue it before thanks to Madam Li's help, Liu Wuxie fortified the surrounding barrier to prevent it from escaping. It would be challenging to subdue it again with his cultivation.

......

The black-clothed elder sat in Murong Yi's courtyard for five minutes before leaving as Murong Yi wept.

Meanwhile, the Azure Crimson Gate's upper echelons gathered in a grand hall to discuss eliminating Liu Wuxie. They could not accept that a young man had managed to fool them and destroy their reputation.

Not only did they lose many disciples, but they also lost Qiu Dingtian, a long-standing sect elder.

Even though Qiu Dingtian had established his own clan, he still held the status of elder within the Azure Crimson Gate. Nevertheless, in just a few days, Liu Wuxie had slapped the Azure Crimson Gate’s faces multiple times. The other major sects had likely already received news of it.

What they found most infuriating was that Liu Wuxie didn’t even have to draw his weapon to humiliate them. He relied on a mere gamble to cripple two of their disciples. They also mysteriously lost three true disciples in an ambush last night, for which they held the House of Tea Art accountable.

During the stone-betting event, Liu Wuxie relied on a gamble to kill Teng Yue and wagered that the mysterious blade tip could kill over thirty disciples. Moreover, the Azure Crimson Gate also suffered losses during the fight against the Ling Clan and when they fought the Qiu Clan to death. He treated them like complete, utter fools.

Recalling what had happened in the past few days, Li Hongda stomped his feet in rage. He wanted nothing more than to charge into the House of Tea Art and tear Liu Wuxie apart.

Desiring vengeance for their fallen disciples, he stood up. “Please give us the order to kill him, Sect Master!"

Most of the over a hundred elders seated in the grand hall remained silent. The Azure Crimson Gate had never needed so many of them to discuss a single matter in the past few centuries.

"This incident has severely affected the sect's reputation, Sect Master. If we don't retaliate, our reputation will plummet even further during the Ten Grand Ceremony," another elder said.

The Ten Grand Ceremony’s rankings were very important to sects. After all, the higher their rank, the more resources they could access and the more talented disciples they could recruit. The stronger sect would grow stronger, while the weaker sect would fade through history, like the once-mighty Divine Sun Palace. It had been years since they last saw a talented disciple.

This system ensured that the younger generation could only compete with the other sects once those sects had gradually declined into second-rate sects.

"Let us not act recklessly, Sect Master. If this matter had merely been about dealing with that boy, I would have already suggested sending someone to kill him. However, the House of Tea Art is involved. If we fail to handle this matter properly, we’ll risk making an enemy out of them.”

The elders who had stayed neutral on this matter felt that they shouldn't just mindlessly charge in. The Azure Crimson Gate wouldn't benefit from making an enemy out of the House of Tea Art.

The House of Tea Art's background remained a mystery, but it was known that they had a formidable expert in the True Profound Realm within their ranks. If they handled this matter poorly, it would bring endless trouble to the sect.

"Elder Chen has a point. We have to tread carefully. Otherwise, we might fall into that brat's trap," another elder nodded in agreement. The majority of the elders agreed with Elder Chen.

"What are you trying to say, Elder Chen? Are you suggesting we, the mighty Azure Crimson Gate, should fear the House of Tea Art?" Li Hongda questioned.

Elder Chen stood up. "I've made myself clear. The sect wouldn't have been dragged into such a precarious position if it weren't for a certain person!"

Anyone could tell that Elder Chen and Li Hongda didn't have a good relationship. As the tension in the hall increased, the elders separated into two factions, one supporting Li Hongda and the other supporting Elder Chen.

Both sides made valid points. Elder Chen felt that it was Li Hongda's fault that the sect was in such a precarious position and that he should be held responsible. He also reasoned that making an enemy out of the House of Tea Art could bring disaster to the sect.

The ten major sects would only ever unite against an external threat. After all, it was still impossible to achieve harmony even within just one sect. The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion was no exception.

Sect elders usually had old grievances from back when they were young or due to misguided allegiances, which continued to linger until one side was defeated.

With his qualifications as an elder being put into question, Li Hongda's anger was ignited.

"What nonsense are you spouting?!" he roared so loudly that the roof shook, causing tiles to fall, as his face flushed with fury.

The tension in the hall grew. Sparks flew between the two men, gradually escalating toward an inevitable confrontation.

"I'm spouting nonsense? Qiu Dingtian voiced out his intentions in front of a large crowd, yet shitheads like you still stormed into their clan and wiped them out! Your actions have already caused rumors to circulate that the Azure Crimson Gate cannot distinguish between right and wrong!" Elder Chen countered.

Though he was being harsh, he was also already holding himself back. Everyone had already started labeling the Azure Crimson Gate's disciples and elders as shitheads, echoing the insults that Liu Wuxie had thrown at them. In fact, the rumors had long reached the Azure Crimson Gate, including some of its elders.

Due to the Qiu Clan massacre, Liu Wuxi’s insult stuck. Many even called them the Retarded Sect now, causing irreparable damage to their reputation.

Hence, the elders couldn’t help but direct their frustration toward Li Hongda's group. After all, only retards could make a mistake so grave that it brought massive losses to their sect. If they had just used their brains, Liu Wuxie couldn’t have fooled them like monkeys.

"That’s enough!" the sect master commanded, silencing everyone and making them return to their seats.

All of his people turned to him and waited for his decision on whether they would hold back or go to war with the House of Tea Art.

"This incident has dealt a severe blow to our sect," he said, making the hearts of Li Hongda and his supporters sink.

Worried that the sect master would hold them accountable, Li Hongda quickly reasoned, "Sect Master, allow me to take responsibility for this matter. After killing that brat, I will personally seek punishment to give our fallen disciples an explanation.”

His intentions were now clear—he wanted nothing more than to kill Liu Wuxie.

"You do not have to blame yourself for this, Elder Li. Now that it has already been done, it is futile for us to push the blame now. Moreover, I have already arranged for someone to deal with this. We should instead prioritize restoring our reputation," the sect master explained.

Although he didn't openly criticize Li Hongda, he did indirectly order the latter to stay out of this matter. However, he could not make the decision to wage war with the House of Tea Art alone. The deputy sect master and grand elders also had to approve of it.

The Azure Crimson Gate didn't belong to a person but a collective group. The sect master's authority was only temporary, and the grand elders held the right to oversee the sect master's decision.

If the sect master made any mistake that affected the sect, the grand elders had the power to remove him from his position and pick a replacement. However, in most cases, the grand elders didn't interfere with the sect master's decision.

"Sect Master, is the House of Tea Art really that powerful?"

The elders could tell that the sect master didn't want to make an enemy out of the House of Tea Art, which baffled them. Their potential enemy barely had a hundred people while the Azure Crimson Gate was filled with experts, some of which had even reached the True Profound Realm. They couldn't understand why they should fear such a small group.

"That's not it. The House of Tea Art's True Profound Realm expert has reached the peak of True Profound Realm, and he's just one step away from the Spirit Profound Realm," the sect master explained. He didn’t doubt the loyalty of those present since they were all from the upper echelons of the sect.

Everyone gasped and broke into a cold sweat.

"The Spirit Profound Realm?!"

The Southern Province had many True Profound Realm experts, most of whom were in the lower levels. Perhaps because the laws restricted them, their cultivation progress slowed down after reaching the True Profound Realm unless they ventured somewhere with a bigger stage.

Though the clamor gradually faded, everyone still looked as if they couldn’t believe what they had just heard.

"Are we just going to let that brat run free then, Sect Master?" an elder asked in frustration.

If the House of Tea Art had an expert in the pinnacle of the True Profound Realm, they would never be able to kill Liu Wuxie for as long as he was under their protection.

"Haven't any of you noticed yet? The House of Tea Art only temporarily ensures his safety. They won't interfere with anything else. It won’t be difficult to take his life," the sect master answered. Although he paid little attention to the outside world, he could deduce an answer through various information.

Since the House of Tea Art had no intention of becoming enemies with the Azure Crimson Gate, the latter still had a chance to kill Liu Wuxie. After all, the House of Tea Art didn’t intervene when others challenged Liu Wuxie into stone betting.

"Sect Master, does that mean we can bypass the House of Tea Art? We can send our an expert to hold off the House of Tea Art's expert and another to strike down Liu Wuxie!"

All the elders finally understood what the sect master meant.