Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 424 - Soul Spear

Hou Ye finally clearly stated his true objective. Everyone finally recalled Liu Wuxie had obtained a large amount of stalactite essence, which was why Shao Wenliang and others had chased him, causing him to fall into the abyss.

"So, this is your real goal?" Liu Wuxie smirked. It was no surprise that Hou Ye had come rushing in right after Liu Wuxie's return from the Scarlet Sun Mountain Range. Clearly, Hou Ye aimed to kill him and seize the stalactite essence before anyone else could intervene.

With Hou Clan's influence, they could easily safeguard the stolen stalactite essence from Liu Wuxie.

The mere thought of the ten-thousand-year-old essence stirred greed among the onlookers. They speculated that Liu Wuxie must still possess a significant amount, though they dared not challenge him, knowing their own limitations.

Hou Ye was in the seventh level of the Heavenly Dipper Realm and thus qualified to snatch it from Liu Wuxie.

Only a few people knew that Liu Wuxie had reached the fourth-level Heavenly Dipper Realm. Shao Wenliang and others hadn't mentioned Liu Wuxie's cultivation when they had returned.

What happened there was a humiliation for them because Liu Wuxie could escape with so many experts around. Since Liu Wuxie was presumed dead, no one would pay attention to his cultivation.

Moreover, Liu Wuxie had purposely concealed his cultivation in the Heavenly Dipper Realm's third level before returning. No wonder Hou Ye dared to be arrogant; he was in the seventh level of the Heavenly Dipper Realm, and dealing with someone at the low level was easy for him.

Hou Ye didn't dare to delay further and had to snatch the stalactite essence from Liu Wuxie before more people arrived.

"Liu Wuxie, the ten-thousand-year-old stalactite essence isn't something you can have. Hand it over immediately!" Hou Ye finally tore apart his pretense with a sinister smile hanging on his lips.

"Senior Brother Hou, kill him!" Zhang Shu instigated because they finally didn't have to be crippled.

"Senior Brother Hou, that woman is a beauty, and she's yours as long as you kill Liu Wuxie!" Lin Mingxu got up with a sinister expression, wishing he could snap Liu Wuxie's neck.

"You two will die!" Liu Wuxie's eyes fixated on them. It was no longer just about crippling their cultivation; he intended to end their lives. As he spoke, he reached out his palm towards them.

"Liu Wuxie, do you dare kill in my presence?" Hou Ye moved swiftly, reaching towards Liu Wuxie. When he unleashed his aura, the surrounding disciples with low cultivation were flung away.

"Fine, I'll kill you as well!" Liu Wuxie's voice was filled with boundless murderous intent, enveloping the entire Mission Hall.

He advanced instead of retreating, seizing the opportunity to test the Soul Forge Art.

"Soul Spear!" An invisible spear shot out, unseen by others but Liu Wuxie, looking like it didn't exist in this world.

When the spear shot out, Hou Ye screamed before collapsing to the ground with white foam coming from his mouth.

Everyone panicked and was clueless about what had happened. They had only heard a roar from Liu Wuxie, and then an expert in the seventh-level Heavenly Dipper Realm had fallen to the ground. Did Liu Wuxie use some evil technique?

This was Liu Wuxie's first time performing Soul Spear technique, and he hadn't mastered it entirely. To ensure Hou Ye's death, he brought his palm down with tremendous force, shattering Hou Ye's body.

The hall was filled with heavy breathing as everyone struggled to accept that Liu Wuxie had killed someone in the seventh-level Heavenly Dipper Realm with a single strike.

Lin Mingxu trembled in fear. He had hoped Hou Ye would avenge him, but now Hou Ye lay dead from one blow.

After killing Hou Ye, Liu Wuxie turned to look at Lin Mingxu.

"Die!" Liu Wuxie shot an icy ray that turned Lin Mingxu's body into an ice sculpture.

The disciples who had stood up, quickly went down on their knees again. Zhang Shu was trembling in fear, desperately wishing he could find a hole to hide in and escape from the Mission Hall.

"Do you all want me to make a move personally?" Liu Wuxie's voice grew colder as he scanned through the fifty-odd people. It was his biggest concession not to take their lives.

Many people gathered outside the Mission Hall, including inner disciples. But no one dared to take a step forward because the scene of Liu Wuxie killing Hou Ye with one strike was too terrifying. They knew no one could put up a fight against Liu Wuxie unless it were someone in the pinnacle Heavenly Dipper Realm.

"Senior Brother Liu, we were wrong. Please spare us!" The fifty-odd people began to kowtow on the ground, and some even began to bleed from their foreheads.

Liu Wuxie tapped out his finger, first crippling Gongsun Zhen's cultivation before moving on to Zhang Shu. As the Frost Finger struck, cries of pain echoed.

"Liu Wuxie, that's enough!" A dignified voice came from outside as Elder Tian Xing stepped in. Someone had gone to inform Elder Tian Xing, who arrived in time, or fifty-odd people would have their cultivation crippled.

The fifteen people who lost their cultivation looked at Liu Wuxie viciously, wishing they could tear him apart.

Liu Wuxie could only stop when Elder Tian Xing arrived. He had pretty much vented his anger after killing Hou Ye and Lin Mingxu, not to mention he had crippled more than ten people.

Looking at the crippled disciples and Hou Ye's shattered corpse, Elder Tian Xing's eyes twitched. He wanted to reprimand Liu Wuxie because there was no need for a killing spree, even if they were the ones who had provoked him.

"Elder Tian Xing, please uphold justice for us! He's a monster!" Zhang Shu and others went before Elder Tian Xing. They had lost their cultivation and couldn't stay in the sect as miscellaneous disciples.

"You people brought it on yourselves!" Elder Tian Xing kicked Zhang Shu aside furiously. There wouldn't have been so much trouble if they hadn't provoked Liu Wuxie.

Seeing that even Elder Tian Xing wasn't standing on their side, those who were crippled no longer dared to speak and continued to lay on the ground.

"Can you show some leniency and let them go? Let's end this matter here today," Elder Tian Xing said, not even glancing at those kneeling on the ground as he approached Liu Wuxie, hoping for his cooperation.

"Get lost!" Liu Wuxie waved his hand, and all the disciples kneeling on the ground felt relieved. They quickly scrambled out of the Mission Hall without looking back.

In the blink of an eye, the Mission Hall was empty, only leaving behind Liu Wuxie's group with Elder Tian Xing.

The closed counters reopened, and the deacons peeked out. Even Zhang Shu and ten-odd others had fled because losing their cultivation didn't affect their walking ability.

"What exactly happened, and why did everyone say you died in the Scarlet Sun Mountain Range?" Elder Tian Xing asked in a concerned tone.

Ordinary disciples' lives couldn't be compared to Liu Wuxie's. The outer sect's competition was to weed out the weak. Liu Wuxie was outstanding, while others were trash, and Elder Tian Xing would naturally favor him.

This was natural because, like how teachers preferred excellent students and bosses were fond of outstanding employees, the sects naturally favored exceptional disciples.

"You should ask Shao Wenliang about that!" Liu Wuxie replied irritably. He was filled with anger just thinking about the events in the Scarlet Sun Mountain Range.

"Let's go. This isn't the place to talk." Elder Tian Xing led everyone back to Liu Wuxie's courtyard.

"Elder Tian Xing, these are my friends and family. I heard each inner disciple can pick a few followers. Can I apply to have them reside in the inner sect?" Liu Wuxie asked upon returning to his courtyard.

The outer sect was too dangerous for Fan Zhen and others. If anyone with ill intent tried to kill them, Liu Wuxie wouldn't have time to save them.

With the stalactite essence in his position, someone might try to capture and use them to threaten him.

Each inner disciple could have a few followers, and those followers were mainly chosen from miscellaneous disciples, with a maximum of three. The followers mostly handled chores and personal matters for inner disciples, and the inner disciple would pay them stipend.

"You must think this over. If they stayed in the outer sect, they would enjoy the treatment of an outer disciple. But if they become your follower, they won't receive any treatment from the sect and could only be treated as miscellaneous disciples."

Increasing two spots was fine, but Elder Tian Xing was worried about their identity. It was challenging to secure five spots, and they might be unable to accept becoming miscellaneous disciples.

"What do you all think? Do you want to start from an outer disciple or stay with me?" Liu Wuxie turned to look at the five, seeking their opinion.

"I'll stay behind and serve you," Lan Yu was the first to express his intention, not caring about becoming an outer disciple.

"I also want to stay with Big Brother!" Song Ling was the second to express his opinion.

"Me too!" Bi Gongyu stated.

Only Fan Zhen and Chen Ruoyan were left, and their relationship with Liu Wuxie differed. Fan Zhen was the headmaster of the Imperial Academy, so it might be hard for him to accept becoming Liu Wuxie's follower.

Chen Ruoyan, on the other hand, was the third princess of the Great Yan Dynasty, and she couldn't lower her status.

"I'll start from being an outer disciple!" Chen Ruoyan bit her lip and made a tough decision. She wanted to rely on her effort to stand firmly in the cultivation world.

Liu Wuxie had anticipated this from her, but he didn't stop her. Instead, he turned to look at Fan Zhen, waiting for his decision.

"I'm too old to achieve anything much in the outer sect. I'll stay behind." Fan Zhen smiled bitterly and chose to become Liu Wuxie's follower.

"Everyone's tired. Rest for now, and I'll hold a feast to welcome you all later." Liu Wuxie sent them to rest while he stood with Elder Tian Xing in the courtyard.

The courtyard was small but enough to accommodate four to five people so that it might be crowded.

It wouldn't take long for Liu Wuxie to become an elite disciple. He would then be given a large courtyard, which could accommodate dozens of people. The environment would also be better compared to the inner sect.

Hearing Liu Wuxie's accounts of what had happened in the Scarlet Sun Mountain Range, Elder Tian Xing slammed his palm on the tree beside him. He roared, "Outrageous! Disciples of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion colluded with the Azure Crimson Gate?!"

Liu Wuxie didn't exaggerate the matter because Elder Tian Xing could discover what had happened with some investigation.

"I'll settle this score with them, and I don't need any help."