Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 348 - Jian Xing’er

The talisman in Liu Wuxie’s hand gradually flew into the sky after being infused with divine power. He slowly approached because the abyssal devils would be alerted and evade it in advance if he was too far away.

The woman’s condition was dire, with her injuries worsening by the second.

When Liu Wuxie was ten meters away from the abyssal devils, the talisman hovering in the air flew out.

The thirteen abyssal devils’ attention was focused entirely on the woman, and they were oblivious to his presence.

When the talisman flew out, Liu Wuxie swung the Heretic Blade down to grab the woman’s hand and pull her out of the battle.

Shortly after, a loud explosion echoed in the underground world, causing rocks to fall. The abyssal devils were caught off guard and were sent flying away. Five abyssal devils stood the closest to the talisman and were covered in blood from the explosion.

Three abyssal devils had their arms blown off and screamed in pain. Only those who stood further away remained mildly or unaffected by the explosion.

“Damn it! There’s another human!” The less injured abyssal devils chased Liu Wuxie.

After Liu Wuxie grabbed the woman, he performed the Nine Heavenly Crane Dance to traverse the underground world, evading the pursuing abyssal devils. In terms of speed, the abyssal devils were no match for him.

An hour later, after Liu Wuxie finally shook off the abyssal devils, he entered a cave and inserted array flags in the surroundings to prevent anyone from intruding.

The woman was heavily injured, and she quickly sat down to heal.

"Take this. It can help neutralize the poison in your body," Liu Wuxie said, offering the woman an Antidote Pill. He had noticed her wounds beginning to rot, knowing that timely treatment was crucial to preserving her foundation.

“Thank you!” The woman raised her head to look at Liu Wuxie with a hint of curiosity. When Liu Wuxie had left the auction house, she had stayed until the auction ended.

“You saved me!” The woman smiled bitterly. She had thought that Hou Chi would’ve surely killed Liu Wuxie and was surprised to see him again in the Abyssal Underground World.

"I should have died in Fan City in your eyes," Liu Wuxie said in a self-deprecating tone. It was both surprising and miraculous that he had managed to leave Fan City at all.

"Why did you come to the Abyssal Underground World?" The woman swallowed the Antidote Pill, bringing her injuries under control. She needed only a few hours of rest to fully recover.

“Mission!” Liu Wuxie didn’t hide it. Most people who came to the Abyssal Underground World did it for missions because the treasures here were useless to humans.

“Which sect are you from?” the woman asked.

Liu Wuxie had changed his clothes when he had left the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, which is why the woman couldn’t recognize his sect.

“The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion!” Liu Wuxie said and sat three meters away from the woman. After all, they had no significant ties. He had saved her as a gesture of gratitude for the reminders she had given him back in the auction house, and now they were even.

“You’re also a disciple from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion?” The woman’s eyes lit up upon hearing what Liu Wuxie said, and her tone became more amicable.

“You’re also a Heavenly Treasure Pavilion’s disciple?” Liu Wuxie asked, looking at the woman.

“Yeah. My name is Jian Xing’er, a Mortal Plume Peak’s inner disciple,” Jian Xing’er introduced herself, instantly deepening their relationship.

“Nice to meet you, Senior Sister Jian!” Liu Wuxie cupped his fists together. Most of Heavenly Treasure Pavilion’s disciples were decent. Not everyone was like Su Ji and others.

“What’s your name?” Jian Xing’er asked.

“Liu Wuxie, a Heavenly Trigram Peak’s outer disciple!” The two chatted a lot more after that, with Jian Xing’er sharing a wealth of information.

She was also on a mission and had decided to join the fun after hearing about Fan City’s auction. After the auction, she had stayed in Fan City for another day before entering the Abyssal Underground World.

It had been three days since she had entered, and the abyssal devils had besieged her while she had failed to complete her mission.

“Junior Brother Liu, what mission are you on? Let me help you once I’m done healing.” Jian Xing’er was still unaware of Liu Wuxie’s strength. Liu Wuxie had saved her life, and this meant she owed him one. Thus, she planned to help him with his mission.

“Thank you for your goodwill. I have five missions, but they’re not particularly tough,” Liu Wuxie said gratefully because the missions weren’t challenging. Then again, ordinary cultivators in the True Core Realm couldn't complete them.

“You saved my life, so it’s settled then.” Jian Xing’er had a straightforward and open-hearted personality. She had been genuine with her offer.

Seeing Jian Xing’er’s insistence, Liu Wuxie could only smile wryly and accept her offer. He also knew it would increase his success rate this way.

After they agreed, they fell silent as Jian Xing’er focused on healing her injuries.

“These are some ointments, and they should help with your external injuries.” Liu Wuxie offered. Jian Xing’er was not a stunning beauty, but having scars left behind could affect her psychologically.

“I have already applied some ointment. Thanks for your goodwill.” Jian Xing’er declined, as the ointment she used was expensive and effective.

"My ointment can prevent any scarring," Liu Wuxie offered. Whether Jian Xing'er accepted it was entirely her choice.

Upon hearing that it would prevent scarring, Jian Xing'er changed her mind and quickly took the ointment, fearing that Liu Wuxie might retract his offer. After all, no woman wanted scars on her body as it could evoke feelings of inferiority.

Jian Xing’er’s wounds began healing rapidly after applying Liu Wuxie’s ointment. In less than fifteen minutes, scabs were forming on her wound, and no scars were left after the scabs fell off. There were just faint marks that would disappear in a few days.

“What high-quality ointment. Where did you buy it from?” Jian Xing’er asked with shock on her face. She was experienced and was also an alchemist herself. But the ointment Liu Wuxie offered was beyond her comprehension.

“You can have this bottle. You can’t find it anywhere in the market.” A bottle of ointment could be used for a long time, and Liu Wuxie gave it to Jian Xing’er directly.

“Y-You refined it?” Jian Xing’er opened her eyes wide. It wasn’t hard to deduce that Liu Wuxie had refined the ointment himself.

After applying Liu Wuxie’s ointment, she fully recovered from her injuries within two hours, and they no longer hindered her ability to fight.

"Junior Brother Liu, I won't forget you saving me. My mission isn’t urgent, so I can assist you with yours first. I've ventured into the Abyssal Underground World multiple times and am quite familiar with it," Jian Xing’er said, understanding that Liu Wuxie had recently joined the sect and might be unfamiliar with the underground realm.

When Liu Wuxie revealed his five missions, Jian Xing’er was shocked.

“Junior brother, don’t tell me you plan to complete them by yourself?” Aside from the first mission to kill fifth-grade abyssal devils, the remaining four weren’t simple, especially the one retrieving a Demonic Dragon’s egg. Even she wasn’t confident in completing it.

Demonic Dragons were powerful, and snatching their eggs would result in their endless pursuit. Not to mention capturing a Profound Yin Butterfly because it could only be found in the central region.

Liu Wuxie merely smiled upon hearing that because his strength couldn’t be gauged normally. He knew that Jian Xing’er’s mission would be more difficult as an inner disciple, and he asked, “Senior sister, what’s your mission?”

“My mission is to kill a Frost Demon Ape,” Jian Xing’er replied. The Frost Demon Ape was powerful and hostile against humans. The ice they breathed out could even freeze an expert in the Heavenly Dipper Realm.

“Have you found any clues on your mission?” The Frost Demon Apes were cunning and had no fixed location. It was hard to find their whereabouts, and one could only rely on luck.

“Not yet, and I can only rely on my luck. Let’s focus on your missions first.” Jian Xing’er said. Her mission was optional because she wouldn’t lose anything even if she couldn’t complete it.

With the help of an expert in the Heavenly Dipper Realm, Liu Wuxie’s mission became smoother. They ran into several fifth-grade abyssal devils along the way, and they were all killed to complete the first mission.

“Junior brother, I know where the Demon Flame Grass can be found. Let me bring you there!” With Jian Xing’er leading the way, it saved Liu Wuxie a lot of time.

They traveled swiftly; three days had passed since Liu Wuxie had entered the underground world.

"This is the place!" The duo arrived at a small canyon teeming with abyssal devils, particularly evident from the presence of traces of sixth-grade ones. Harvesting the Demon Flame Grass here wouldn't be straightforward.

“So many abyssal devils!” Liu Wuxie said with a grave expression. This meant it wouldn’t be easy to retrieve the Demon Flame Grass.

“Junior brother, I’ll lure the abyssal devils away while you harvest the Demon Flame Grass.” The two could only work together if they wanted to complete this mission.

“I’ll do it while you harvest instead. We’ll meet over there in two hours!” Liu Wuxie decided to take on the job of luring the abyssal devils away instead.

“No! The abyssal devils are powerful and will be dangerous for you.” Jian Xing’er rejected it because the task of harvesting a Demon Flame Grass was safer.

“I know you mean it out of goodwill, but please do as I say,” Liu Wuxie said and vanished, reappearing before the canyon. With a slight provocation, over a hundred abyssal devils turned to look at him.

The abyssal devils were furious after being provoked by a human and charged at Liu Wuxie.

Liu Wuxie glanced at Jian Xing’er before performing the Seven Dipper Steps, maintaining a decent speed to ensure the abyssal devils couldn’t catch up.

In the blink of an eye, all the abyssal devils in the canyon were lured away as Jian Xing’er swiftly entered the canyon.

It was a spectacular scene to see hundreds of abyssal devils chasing after a human, and tremors could be felt coming from the ground.

The abyssal devils started to encircle Liu Wuxie, wanting to prevent him from running.

After Jian Xian’er obtained the Demon Flame Grass and left the canyon, Liu Wuxie was already a thousand meters away.

“Let’s hope Junior Brother will be fine!” Jian Xian’er looked worried and swiftly headed to the meeting location.

On the other hand, Liu Wuxie drew the Heretic Blade and cut down the abyssal devils, blocking his way to tear open a hole in the encirclement.