Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 649 - Bait

By the time the ten Heavenly Origin Sect disciples realized what was happening, it was already too late. The Demonic Purgatory Chains had wrapped tightly around their ankles, yanking them off their feet. They lost control and were flipped upside down, left dangling helplessly in mid-air.

"What's going on? How did we fall into his trap?" Jia Fengmao gasped. He couldn't believe all ten had fallen into Liu Wuxie's trap.

"Liu Wuxie, you're a despicable scoundrel! Release us at once! I challenge you to a one-on-one fight!" bellowed a disciple at the pinnacle of the Astral River Realm. His voice trembled with rage as he struggled against his bindings, demanding freedom.

Liu Wuxie emerged from a pine tree, clapping his hands. He hadn't expected the Demonic Purgatory Chains to bind all ten people simultaneously.

This discovery excited him. It meant he could use the same trap on others to slowly whittle down his enemies.

"Jia Fengmao, I spared your life in the Battle of Hundred Nation, and you chose to provoke me repeatedly without remorse. I'll end your life today!" Liu Wuxie slowly approached Jia Fengmao and pressed the Heretic Blade against his neck.

Jia Fengmao trembled, his eyes wide in shock. Whenever he trembled, the Demonic Purgatory Chains tightened. His ankle was crushed, and the intense pain covered him in a cold sweat.

"I made a mistake. Please, spare me!" Jia Fengmao begged. He had finally obtained his current position with great difficulty, and all his efforts would go down the drain if he died there. This was different from how it was supposed to play out. Shouldn't he be the one to kill Liu Wuxie before ascending to glory?

Just moments ago, Jia Fengmao had been tailing him, yelling with provocation. And now, he groveled for mercy, leaving the other Azure Crimson Gate disciples sneering in disdain.

"I've made myself clear. I gave you a chance during the Battle of Hundred Nation, but it's a pity that you didn't cherish it," Liu Wuxie said coldly and swung the Heretic Blade down.

Jia Fengmao was decapitated, and he couldn't figure out how things had ended in this manner when ten of them were in pursuit of Liu Wuxie.

After slaying Jia Fengmao, Liu Wuxie turned and walked steadily toward the remaining nine disciples. They trashed around in an attempt to break free after witnessing Jia Fengmao’s demise, but there was nothing they could do. The chains bound onto their ankles only tightened, and the pain increased as they struggled. Ultimately, they could only give up resisting.

"Liu Wuxie, you vile creature! How dare you use such a despicable method!" the nine yelled in unison, their voices brimming with curses.

Liu Wuxie was unmoved as he approached the first disciple. He swung the Heretic Blade down and decapitated that disciple. But he didn't stop there, relentlessly continuing the slaughter. By the time the third disciple fell, sheer terror gripped the remaining six, their panic so overwhelming that some lost control, wetting themselves in utter despair.

"Young Master Liu, we were wrong. We shouldn't have opposed you! Please, spare us!" They pleaded desperately.

However, Liu Wuxie remained unmoved and continued to slaughter them without hesitation. Only now did they realize how terrifying he was, but it was already too late.

"Don't you think how laughable it is to beg for mercy now?" Liu Wuxie sneered as the Heretic Blade flew out from his hand, decapitating the other Heavenly Origin Sect disciples.

As the Demonic Purgatory Chains tightened, the energies from their bodies vanished, and they were only left with an empty shell. He raised his hand and incinerated the remnants of their corpses with a ball of demonic flame before vanishing after he was done cleaning the battlefield. He had taken a total of thirty lives today.

"Senior Brother Zhou Ge, Liu Wuxie has shown up again!" The two Transcendent Plume Gate disciples ran into Liu Wuxie again after they had left the frozen lake.

Zhou Ge could only manage to wear a bitter smile before leaving again with his junior brother, determined to flee farther away from Liu Wuxie.

Their swift retreat left Liu Wuxie stunned, wondering if he was that frightening. After all, he had no intention of killing them.

"The murderous aura around him is too terrifying," Zhou Ge murmured. Even someone in the Quasi-Nascent Transformation Realm like him was terrified by the murderous aura emanated from Liu Wuxie, a clear display of the fearsome power Liu Wuxie possessed.

"Senior Brother Zhou Ge, should we inform others of Liu Wuxie's plans?" asked the Transcendent Plume Gate disciple. Only Zhou Ge saw through Liu Wuxie's plan to slowly eliminate the disciples of the three sects.

"Feel free to notify the Heavenly Origin Sect if you want to make him your enemy," Zhou Ge replied. He had no plans of becoming enemies with Liu Wuxie, even if he had reached the Quasi-Nascent Transformation Realm.

After hearing Zhou Ge’s words, the disciple’s resolve crumbled. He lowered his head and put away the Communication Talisman.

"Senior Brother Zhou Ge is right. If the Heavenly Origin Sect suffers a heavy loss, our Transcendent Plume Gate will be able to obtain first place," the disciple said. Though he didn't say it aloud, he wasn't stupid and understood Zhou Ge's strategy, as remaining silent would ultimately benefit their sect.

"Knowing and speaking out are two different matters. Let's act like we're unaware and head elsewhere to train," Zhou Ge said, knocking that disciple on his head. The younger disciple shared the same master as him, and they often cultivated together. Thus, they had a strong bond.

Meanwhile, Liu Wuxie reappeared on the frozen lake again.

When they had first encountered each other, Liu Wuxie had considered killing Zhou Ge, but he had restrained himself as the latter's eyes carried no trace of hostility. The second time they ran into each other again, Liu Wuxie completely abandoned that idea. If they had truly harbored ill intentions, they would've informed the other sects. Clearly, Zhou Ge didn't do that, which is why Liu Wuxie saw no reason to eliminate them.

......

Feng Gaoqiu was stunned like Bai Jin when he looked at the shattered remnants of another ten soul tablets. This marked the twentieth disciple the Azure Crimson Gate had lost, and their deaths remained a mystery.

"This year's Ten Grand Ceremony is full of uncertainties," murmured the onlookers. For many older generation cultivators, this wasn't their first time attending the Ten Grand Ceremony, but their first time witnessing such a death toll.

"It’s because of Liu Wuxie this year," someone said grimly. No matter what chaos unfolded, it all seemed to trace back to Liu Wuxie as the source.

"Liu Wuxie! We finally found Liu Wuxie!" A group of disciples from the Indigo Cloud Gate exclaimed at the sight of Liu Wuxie on the frozen lake.

Most importantly, they had the opportunity to kill Liu Wuxie and take his treasures for themselves before others came. Many people were flocking over, wanting to kill Liu Wuxie.

When the pursuers came near the frozen lake, Liu Wuxie would change his location and continue hunting.

The Indigo Cloud Gate's group was larger than the Heavenly Origin Sect and Azure Crimson Gate, not to mention Peng Bin was among them, who was nearly killed by a kick from Liu Wuxie on the first day in Heavenly Mountain.

They were emboldened this time, confident they could take Liu Wuxie down with fifteen of them.

There were still shadows flickering from afar, and over a hundred people were rushing over. Bai Yuan's group was further away from the frozen lake, and it would take them a few hours to get there.

Performing his movement technique, Liu Wuxie darted toward the pine forest again. The Indigo Cloud Gate disciples followed closely behind, unaware of the deaths of disciples from the Heavenly Origin Sect and Azure Crimson Gate. It didn't take long before Liu Wuxie vanished, hidden in the pine forest again.

"Everyone, be cautious. Don't forget that Liu Wuxie is cunning!" The Indigo Cloud Gate acted cautiously and divided into three smaller groups of five, each maintaining a distance of fifty meters to ensure mutual support in case of danger.

Liu Wuxie was also surprised that the Indigo Cloud Gate disciples would be so cautious. However, it was understandable, as Liu Wuxie couldn't be considered an ordinary person.

"Liu Wuxie, stop hiding and die!" Peng Bin yelled, hacking his sword at a nearby pine tree, causing the tree to shake and the ground to tremble.

Suddenly, a blade aura shot out from behind another pine tree, which alarmed the other disciples at the front, who motioned to converge to surround Liu Wuxie.

"Over here!"

However, that blade aura was swift, not to mention it could change its direction in mid-air.

"This is bad!" Peng Bin muttered under his breath, frantically retreating behind the other disciples. As the weakest among the group, he dared not stand out. Yet, to his horror, the blade aura abruptly changed direction mid-air, honing in on him with deadly precision.

He hastily raised his longsword and swung down at the blade aura.

Though his sword was fast, Liu Wuxie's blade aura was even faster. The blade aura was further strengthened with Qin Dao's throwing knives technique, which Liu Wuxie had integrated into his blade aura to increase the power.

"Duck! Don't just stand there!" the disciple beside Peng Bin urged.

However, it was too late as the blade aura was only inches away from his neck, and he reacted with a desperate backward lean, a move that barely saved his life as the blade aura brushed past his neck and shot into a pine tree behind him.

Peng Bin was drenched in cold sweat, beads of perspiration rolling down his forehead as he struggled to steady his breathing.

The group of fifteen immediately converged as they slowly approached the tree where the blade aura came from in an encirclement, assuming that Liu Wuxie was hidden behind that tree.

"Liu Wuxie, come out now!" Peng Bin yelled furiously, planning to tear Liu Wuxie apart after capturing him.

However, they were surprised to find no commotion coming from behind the pine tree. He slowly routed around the pine tree, only to find nothing but empty air.

"We've been tricked! He's not here!" one of the Indigo Cloud Gate disciples shouted, his voice laced with panic as realization set in. Liu Wuxie had deliberately released a strand of blade aura to mislead them, luring them toward the pine tree.

It was already too late, even if they turned around immediately.

"Too slow!" Liu Wuxie's voice came from above as he shuttled through the group with the Heretic Blade in his hand, catching everyone by surprise. By the time they reacted, his blade aura had already swept out.

"Fight back! Fight back!" The fifteen disciples fell into chaos, realizing they had underestimated Liu Wuxie right from the beginning, who had fooled everyone with a strand of blade aura.

Corpses began falling to the ground, and Liu Wuxie claimed seven to eight lives with just one blade strike. He had to end the battle quickly and leave the frozen lake.