Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 314 - Winning Consecutively

After summoning a cauldron, a ball of fire burst out of Wen Ling's body.

"Heavenly flame!" Exclamations could be heard from the surroundings. Heavenly flames were extremely rare, and even the spiritual flame from the Fire Spiritual Bead couldn't be considered a heavenly flame.

The most significant benefit of the spiritual flame was the ability to keep evolving, becoming purer over time.

Wen Ling began taking out ingredients and slowly tossing them into the cauldron. Everyone held their breaths at this scene, afraid to interrupt. Fifteen minutes passed without them knowing, and a bean appeared in Wen Ling's hand.

"It's the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom!" When Wen Ling picked the bean, a dense fragrance began spreading and filling Book Collection Hall's second level.

"It smells nice!" The fragrance was faint and different from the Heavenly Heart Pills.

When Wen Ling tossed the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom into the cauldron, he accelerated his refining speed and reached the last step. He took out a porcelain bottle and hesitated briefly before pouring the Silver-Circlet Emerald Dragon' ’s blood from the bottle into the cauldron.

According to the commonly known refining method, Frost Dew had to be added, but he had swapped it with the Silver-Circlet Emerald Dragon's blood.

Wen Ling was fully prepared for the cauldron to explode and ready to extinguish the fire at the slightest sign of trouble. Yet, strangely, the refining process proceeded to the forming stage without incident. The cauldron remained eerily calm, with no signs of an explosion.

"What's going on? Shouldn't there be a rich fragrance by now?" Aside from Wen Ling, many disciples from the Treasure Pill Pavilion were present and expressed their doubts.

There was only a faint fragrance in the air, quite different from the strong aroma typically released during the refinement of the Heavenly Heart Pill.

"This is very unusual. The Silver-Circlet Emerald Dragon's blood can replace Frost Dew!" Dozens of Treasure Pill Peak's disciples exclaimed.

"Rise!" When the cauldron opened up, ten golden-yellow pills appeared before everyone. The pills gave off a strong fragrance, causing everyone in the surroundings to absorb the energies emitted from the pills greedily.

"Exceptional grade pills!" Wen Ling took a huge step back, unable to believe that he had refined these Heavenly Heart Pills.

Looking at the Heavenly Heart Pills, Deacon Kou fell into deep thoughts with a hint of shock in his eyes. Was it a coincidence that the fragrance had vanished?

The Heavenly Heart Pill had existed in the True Martial Continent for tens of thousands of years, and no one had ever thought to modify the formula. Everyone was accustomed to the strong fragrance released during refinement, making this faint aroma unusual and difficult for everyone to accept.

"Junior Brother Liu, allow me to bow to you!" Wen Ling said, bowing to Liu Wuxie. He couldn't believe he had just refined pills of exceptional quality. The outcome made Liu Wuxie's victory clear.

The author of the book had deliberately hidden the answer in the form of an acrostic poem. However, Liu Wuxie was the only one capable of finding the answer after so many years.

Lin Mingxu looked bewildered by the mystery unveiled and stood there at a loss. It wasn't because he couldn't afford to accept his loss; each person only lost two spirit stones in the bet. But he couldn't take the blow to his dignity.

That was especially the case for Deacon Kou and others. They would be ashamed to show their faces in the future because they were inferior to someone who had just joined the sect. If news of this got out, they would become a subject of ridicule, not to mention that a cultivator's dignity and reputation were sometimes more important than their lives.

With that, 1,200 spirit stones entered Liu Wuxie's pocket without surprise. In addition to the spirit stones he had won earlier, he now had nearly two thousand spirit stones, even causing Yun Lan to look at him with envy.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward, and they needed to decide whether to continue. They weren't afraid of losing spirit stones, but they feared losing their dignity.

"I know you all aren't willing to accept the loss like that. Why don't we carry on betting? Three spirit stones this time?" Liu Wuxie was slowly digging a trap for everyone to fall into. If these people wanted to take back their losses, they would indeed carry on betting with him. After all, they would win one spirit stone on top of everything they had lost if they won.

Like that, the numbers gradually went from one spirit stone to ten spirit stones, and everyone's faces turned red with frustration from the losses.

No questions could stump Liu Wuxie, and the trickiest question by far was Su Ji, who asked him what the last line of the sentence was on the Celestial Record's hundredth page. It was a question that tested Liu Wuxie’s memory.

The Celestial Record was a miscellaneous book over half a foot thick, containing knowledge of astronomy, physiognomy, and other bizarre subjects.

The bet began with one spirit stone, increasing to two for the second round, three for the third, five for the fourth, and eight for the sixth. Though the increments seemed small, the cumulative effect caused everyone to run out of spirit stones before they realized it.

This was a subtle process that gradually made everyone sink deeper. After all, it would deter many people from joining if Liu Wuxie had started with a considerable sum right from the start. He slowly let everyone catch a glimpse of hope each time, only to end up in despair.

"Again! I want to raise it to one hundred spirit stones this time!" Su Ji's eyes turned bloodshot. He had lost too much and wanted to turn the tide in one bold move, raising the bet to one hundred spirit stones.

Many people followed suit, taking out their spirit stones to go big. But some withdraw from the bet. They noticed that Liu Wuxie purposely maintained this tense atmosphere to make them feel there was an opportunity to exploit.

"Brother Fan, do you believe there's something like a photographic memory in this world?" Yun Lan asked Fan Xi with his arms tugged together. After all, Yun Lan couldn't find another word to describe how Liu Wuxie could memorize over thirty thousand books.

"I'm afraid just having a photographic memory won't be enough. There are many things I can't understand about him." Fan Xi shook his head. After reaching their cultivation level, they could easily speed-read, but wanting to achieve Liu Wuxie's level of proficiency was another story.

"It's getting late. How about this: we'll decide the winner in the last round. There's only one chance left, and I hope you all can seize it." Liu Wuxie grinned. After winning ten-odd rounds, tens of thousands of mid-grade spirit stones entered his pocket, bringing a bright smile to his face.

This was his plan, which was to gradually raise the stake like boiling a frog.

"I'll bet one thousand!" A disciple in the eighth-level True Core Realm took out his remaining spirit stones and bet them all.

Su Ji also gritted his teeth and took out all his spirit stones to bet.

In just a few minutes, Liu Wuxie amassed over fifty thousand spirit stones, likely representing everyone's entire assets.

Liu Wuxie's gazed at Deacon Kou. After all, Su Ji and others didn't mean much because Deacon Kou was his primary target.

"Deacon Kou, it's your turn now," Liu Wuxie said lazily. Deacon Kou was the wealthiest among them, and Liu Wuxie aimed to go big, needing many spirit stones to break through to the fourth level.

Thousands of eyes turned to Deacon Kou, who was in a dilemma. Giving up now would be like giving up over a thousand mid-grade spirit stones he lost to Liu Wuxie earlier.

Deacon Kou wasn't willing to give up yet but wasn't confident after Liu Wuxie's performance. Everyone had sunken deep into the trap and could not extricate themselves.

"Five thousand spirit stones!" Deacon Kou gritted his teeth and took out five thousand mid-grade spirit stones from his interspatial ring.

When he took out all the spirit stones, the Book Collection Hall was enveloped in a radiance because no outer disciple had seen so many spirit stones in their lives.

Deacon Kou intended to win back all the spirit stones he had lost and drain Liu Wuxie of all his resources. This meant the final round would determine the winner.

"This time, I'll pick the topic!" Deacon Kou walked over to the books and began flipping through them. But no one came to stop him because they knew they had to change their approach since Liu Wuxie could remember the contents of the books each time.

An ancient-looking book appeared in Deacon Kou's hand, and he brushed the dust off the cover. This book had been sitting in a corner, seldom read, because most of its content had little to do with cultivation.

"Night Talks? What kind of book is that?" Everyone was baffled when they saw the two characters on the book's cover. They couldn't comprehend why Deacon Kou picked this book.

Then again, Deacon Kou had wagered five thousand mid-grade spirit stones, and no one dared to speak up. After all, Deacon Kou would lose all his assets if he lost this round.

As he gently flipped through the book, everyone in the surroundings backed away to avoid revealing the book's contents.

"There's a question mentioned in this book. What is the definition of inscription runes?" Deacon Kou asked after stopping on a page and closing the book.

Night Talks recorded many things that couldn't be verified. This question left everyone in the room dumbfounded because this question had no correct answer. Even if Liu Wuxie answered correctly, Deacon Kou could easily claim that Liu Wuxie's answers were wrong, and no one could prove it otherwise.

Liu Wuxie needed to provide convincing evidence to persuade everyone with his answer. After all, inscription runes existed in heaven and earth. They were undeniably real despite being unseeable or touchable.

Yun Lan and Fan Xi were also lost in their thoughts, pondering what inscription runes were. All eyes were on Liu Wuxie, quietly waiting for his answer.

Deacon Kou deliberately made it difficult for Liu Wuxie, and the latter would lose if he couldn't answer. Not only would he have to return all the spirit stones he had won through betting, but he would also lose everything. From this alone, anyone could tell how malicious Deacon Kou was.

"Deacon Kou, the bet between us is if I can remember the contents in a book. Even the book where you picked the question from has no answer provided," Liu Wuxie sneered as he questioned Deacon Kou.

"Liu Wuxie, are you afraid? Since this question is mentioned in this book, there must be an answer. It's just that you don't know it." Lin Mingxu commented.

"Since it's mentioned in the book, there must be an answer. Hurry up and answer!" Hundreds of people chimed in, throwing their dignity aside. Their words were filled with malice, and it looked as if they would resort to violence in the next moment.

If Liu Wuxie couldn't answer the question, they would immediately seize his resources and trample on him.

Deaon Kou sneered because even he couldn't answer this question. After all, inscription runes were comprehensive, containing the laws of the natural world. Only someone who had reached the Astral River Realm could possibly comprehend the profundity.

"Liu Wuxie, hurry up and admit defeat. Don't waste our time!" Gongsun Zhen sneered, urging Liu Wuxie to admit defeat.

"Since you all are in such a hurry to lose the bet, I'll fulfill your wishes." A cold light flashed from Liu Wuxie's eyes. This question might stump ordinary people because inscription runes were comprehensive. They would be used in alchemy, blacksmithing, spiritual arrays, etc.

One could only learn some of the runes. For example, an alchemist would only learn runes related to alchemy, while a blacksmith would only learn runes related to forging.

"Hurry up! Don't waste our time!" Su Ji looked impatient.

"Inscription runes are divided into two parts, with inscription representing heaven and runes representing dao. If you combine them, it would be Heavenly Dao!" Liu Wuxie said. As soon as he was done, the Book Collection Hall shook violently as though it had connected to something in the world.