Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 712 - Profound Beast Horde

The divine race didn't stop searching for Liu Wuxie, but they couldn't find any clues.

Liu Wuxie had vanished entirely, weaving through the valley like a shadow. He stayed hidden and never revealed himself, prioritizing his search for the divine race's secrets and information about the Ancestral Tree.

The divine race was still unaware that the Murong Clan's prisoners had been rescued. After all, they had completely abandoned that region and had seen no visitors.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Through Liu Wuxie's relentless search and hunting down several members of the divine race, he finally unraveled the mysteries of the Divine Fruit. Consuming it could strengthen divine force as it was an ethereal force that could only be comprehended.

True divine arts were capable of bringing back the dead, reattaching severed heads, or regenerating lost limbs.

Most people might not be able to comprehend a divine art in their lifetime, but the Divine Fruit could help to open the door to divine arts.

Liu Wuxie rejoiced at the discovery as it would greatly reduce the time for his future cultivation. Most cultivators would spend longer time in seclusion, and the higher their cultivation, the more years they would spend comprehending the profundity of the world. But with the help of the Divine Fruit, it would save him from much of this painstaking effort.

He sat atop a grand tree and laid down spiritual arrays in the surroundings to ensure the divine race wouldn't detect him. Once done, he plucked a Divine Fruit from the Ancestral Tree. The fruit was the size of an egg and looked ordinary, with no extraordinary scent.

But what shocked Liu Wuxie was the divine runes on the Divine Fruit. The runes represented the divine race, and Liu Wuxie began to wonder if dao techniques used by humans originated from the divine race.

After all, the origin of the human race's bloodline remained a mystery, but some speculated ties to the Witcher Clan, the divine race, the demon race, or the Dragon Clan.

The human race's bloodline was the weakest among all the races in the universe, and its cultivation speed was far inferior to that of the other races. Yet, the human race had been dominating the universe for thousands of years. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

When Liu Wuxie took a bite of the Divine Fruit, sweet nectar flowed from his mouth into his body like a gentle stream, coursing through his meridians before finally settling in the soul sea.

A miraculous scene unfolded next as the Heavenly Dao Book opened up with a divine rune appearing on it. Shortly after, the gates hidden in the depths of his soul sea began to tremble with signs of opening up.

Legends said that there were ten gates in a person's soul sea, representing the ten directions of the world, but no one knew if they really existed. There were myths that if one could open all ten, they would be able to comprehend the most powerful divine art in the world.

There were many divine arts in the world, such as the Yin-Yang Art that Liu Wuxie practiced. However, due to the limitation of his cultivation, he couldn't comprehend the profundity of this divine art.

Cracking sounds came from the closest gate to the soul sea, and a crack appeared after being nourished by the Divine Fruit.

When Liu Wuxie glimpsed through the crack, he felt as though he saw a whole new world before him. A mysterious force descended from the starry skies into his soul sea.

This was an indescribable feeling, and clarity washed over Liu Wuxie instantly. He had received enlightenment.

"So this is the usage of the Divine Fruit! If I consume it during a breakthrough, it will increase the chances of success," Liu Wuxie muttered with a devilish smile. He had only consumed an ordinary Divine Fruit, not the largest one.

Yet, he could feel the significant leaps in his cultivation in a single breath, especially his martial and dao techniques, and even his cultivation began to loosen. He hadn't expected the Divine Fruit to hold so many benefits.

If he could refine a fruit produced by a divinekin at the pinnacle of the Nascent Transformation Realm, wouldn't that mean he could use it to open the first gate and receive the empowerment of endless divine force? If that were the case, he could cultivate divine arts.

In the later cultivation phase, cultivators would gradually outgrow from relying on martial techniques to divine arts.

Unlike martial techniques, divine arts were not confined to specific forms or moves. They became more fluid and adaptive, allowing for greater versatility in combat.

For example, if two cultivators had comprehended gold divine force, the one with deeper comprehension would be able to mobilize a greater amount of it for their manipulation.

Liu Wuxie knew he would have to visit the Central Plains sooner or later. The Central Plains were filled with powerful individuals, and divine force was crucial if Liu Wuxie wanted to surpass them, in addition to true essence and laws. In higher cultivation, the battle between two cultivators would no longer be a fight but a clash of the arts, which was a clash of divine arts.

Liu Wuxie didn't hesitate to consume the remaining Divine Fruits. There was a crack on the first gate with an endless flow of divine force gushing out to empower his body. Though there wasn't much increment to his cultivation, his divine arts continued to rise.

"Frost Art!" The ice dao technique was the first dao technique Liu Wuxie had comprehended. The more he absorbed divine force, the more powerful the ice element would become. When Liu Wuxie tried to tap with his finger, the surrounding space began to freeze, inch by inch.

"It's a pity I have only a few Divine Fruits," Liu Wuxie lamented. He believed the Annihilation Fist might become a dao technique if he could absorb more Divine Fruits.

In the days that followed, the divine race's effort to search the area had reduced significantly. They concluded that the disturbance had likely been caused by a profound beast intruding on their territory.

After all, it was nearly impossible for a human to enter the valley without succumbing to the effects of divine force. Only demonic beasts possessed the resilience to withstand it.

Meanwhile, Murong Tianze had turned the depths of the mountain range into a battlefield, his bloodshot eyes reflecting the toll of endless slaughter. He had killed hundreds of ninth-grade profound beasts, each comparable to the pinnacle of the Nascent Transformation Realm, and even enraged a tenth-grade profound beast, whose strength rivaled the True Profound Realm.

But he didn’t stop there. Murong Tianze brazenly stole the offspring of the slain beasts, taking their eggs and cubs—a reckless provocation that escalated the chaos.

His actions were deliberate. Murong Tianze had spared no effort to create an opportunity for Liu Wuxie to escape. Murong Yi also led thirty-odd experts from the Murong Clan to slaughter the profound beasts.

Each day, countless profound beasts were killed, and their offspring were stolen, thoroughly inciting the profound beasts' wrath.

The Western Barren had an abundance of profound beasts, and they displayed remarkable unity. When Murong Tianze angered a tenth-grade Scarlet-Dragon Python, it prompted over five other tenth-grade profound beasts to join the pursuit.

Though they didn’t belong to the same species, it didn't stop them from forming a temporary alliance.

Holding onto the Scarlet-Dragon Python's offspring, Murong Tianze licked his lips.

"Almost done!" Murong Tianze took out the Communication Talisman to coordinate with Murong Yi and the others before carrying several cubs. He flew in the Divine Light Mountain's direction with a deafening roar echoing behind him.

Tens of thousands of profound beasts trampled the ground as they chased after Murong Tianze with unrelenting fury. This was a terrifying scene, with seven to eight tenth-grade profound beasts among them. A force of this scale could rival any of the ten major sects in the Southern Province, and anyone who witnessed this scene would be utterly shocked.

Behind Murong Yi’s group, a massive horde of profound beasts followed in relentless pursuit. Though their strength paled in comparison to Murong Tianze’s adversaries, their sheer numbers made them a formidable force. Each one was a ninth-grade profound beast, and together, they posed a threat capable of overwhelming even a cultivator at the True Profound Realm.

The ground trembled violently like an earthquake, the vibrations perceptible even from thousands of miles away.

The Divine Light Mountain was quiet for now, but it didn't take long before the entire valley began to tremble. The divinekin were alarmed as they emerged from their caves, uncertain of what had happened.

A devilish smile spread across Liu Wuxie’s face as he felt the tremors. He had no doubt that Murong Tianze had spent the last three days orchestrating this chaos, luring and gathering so many profound beasts to create the ultimate distraction.

Warriors of the divine race began to arm themselves and braced for an impending battle.

On the distant peaks, the scouts of the divine race sounded alarms, notifying their kin in the valley of the approaching threat.

In less than an hour, tens of thousands of profound beasts reached the outskirts of the Divine Light Mountain, and they were still advancing relentlessly.

The tremors they produced even caused the houses and caves to collapse, leaving the terrified divinekin to run out with their offspring. The advancing profound beasts completely destroyed their homes.

This left the divine race enraged as they let out roars, but they could do nothing about it.

"Almost there! Almost there!" Murong Tianze muttered through bloodstained lips, his voice a mix of exhaustion and resolve. He was too preoccupied to wipe away the blood as he pressed on, his body bearing the marks of light injuries sustained in battles with the profound beasts over the past few days. Despite the pain, he gritted his teeth and pushed forward.

From another direction, more profound beasts surged toward the valley, a tide of chaos descending upon the Divine Light Mountain.

"Divine race, I'll ensure you all learn that the Murong Clan isn't to be trifled with!" Murong Tianze roared. He had suppressed his anger for two decades and could finally vent it all out today.

Liu Wuxie also opened the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, allowing those inside to see the unfolding chaos outside. Those in the cauldron still had no idea what was going on, and they only saw the offspring of profound beasts being thrown into the valley by Murong Tianze and the Murong Clan.

Due to the valley's unique shape, the pass could only block human entry, but the sky was wide open. When Murong Tianze and the Murong Clan's experts threw all the captured offspring into the valley, the horde of profound beasts, especially the tenth-grade profound beasts, went berserk.

The tenth-grade profound beasts possessed powerful bloodlines, and it would take centuries to produce a single offspring. So, how could they allow their offspring to fall into the hands of the divine race? Some profound beasts could only produce one offspring in their lifetime, and their bloodline would be severed if their offspring died.

Without hesitation, the profound beasts surged toward the valley in an unstoppable charge. The sudden assault caught the divine race, who had been on guard, completely off guard. In the first chaotic exchange, many divinekin were sent flying by the overwhelming force of the horde, unable to withstand the sheer ferocity of the attack.

After Murong Tianze threw the captured profound beasts' offspring into the valley, he swiftly joined the other Murong Clan experts and fled without any hesitation. They knew the profound beasts would inevitably turn their anger towards them, and their only option was to retreat to safety.

In less than a breath, the valley's gates were left in ruins, trampled by the horde of profound beasts. The clash also killed some of the profound beasts' offspring, who were thrown into the valley. This further sent the profound beasts into madness, charging at every divinekin they saw and killing several of them.

"Kill them all!" the divinekin bellowed after feeling challenged. Since the profound beasts dared to charge into their home and kill several of their kind, they were determined to kill all the profound beasts.

An epic battle instantly broke out between thousands of divinekin and tens of thousands of profound beasts.

Perched atop the grand tree, Liu Wuxie merely watched the chaos silently.

"Divine race, your doom has come!" Murong Shanhe snarled through his gritted teeth. Everyone from the Murong Clan cheered along with excitement as they laughed at the rising death toll of the divine race.

No one had expected Liu Wuxie to devise such a cunning strategy. The Western Barren was filled with profound beasts, and the best way to counter the divine race was to manipulate them.

Most importantly, this conflict between the divine race and the profound beasts would forge a blood feud, and if they stayed here, the divine race would face relentless assault from the profound beasts.