Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 565 - You Afraid?

Just moments ago, everyone had doubted Liu Wuxie, assuming that his recent victories—first against Cheng Chen on the streets, and then against Teng Yue—were nothing more than lucky breaks. After all, he had never participated directly, leading many to believe his success was purely by chance.

However, they began to doubt themselves and wondered if luck could still explain this feat.

"He must have a technique to appraise the stones. With such a high success in appraising stones, even the Ling Clan can barely compete with him."

It was certain now—Liu Wuxie, like the Ling family, had mastered a technique that allowed him to appraise the stones with a high success rate. They would become the next Ling Clan if anyone could grasp his technique.

Liu Wuxie's action was swift, revealing a high-grade spiritual essence roughly the size of a fist. It was practically identical to the one the Ling Clan's third elder had cut out.

"This..." Many were stunned because this was too much of a coincidence for the two to cut out spiritual essences in similar sizes and grades.

The faces of the Ling Clan's three elders change when Liu Wuxie cut out a spiritual essence. They realize they had underestimated the latter.

Ling Feichi's eyes flashed with a hint of malice because Liu Wuxie's presence had now threatened the Ling Clan's status in the city. The art of appraising stone was the Ling Clan's foundation, and they couldn't afford to lose the gamble.

"That's impressive, Young Master Liu!" The Ling Clan's grand elder gave Liu Wuxie a thumbs up. His praise dripped with sarcasm, insinuating that Liu Wuxie's success was a mere fluke of luck.

"Well, I can't compete with the Ling Clan. After all, the Ling Clan even dared to defy heaven and violate the basic moral code of all cultivators. I even have to bow to the Ling Clan for your courage," Liu Wuxie replied.

Both sides exchanged sharp words, but the faces of the Ling Clan's three elders became sinister after hearing what Liu Wuxie said. They wondered if he had discovered something, and cold sweat rolled down their foreheads, including Ling Feichi.

The faces of the Ling Clan's higher-ups became pale, and they panicked after hearing what Liu Wuxie said. While most people didn't notice it, many cultivators in the Nascent Transformation Realm could even detect the slightest change in a person's aura, not to mention the drastic shift in the Ling Clan's elders’ facial expressions.

"Brat, what nonsense are you spouting?" The Ling Clan's second elder roared, trying to brush Liu Wuxie’s words as nonsense.

"Don't you all know whether I'm spouting nonsense?" Liu Wuxie's smile deepened. He wouldn't bother with the Ling Clan if they hadn't jumped out to provoke him. However, since they had helped Teng Yue in an attempt to kill him, he did not need to spare them.

In addition to the Ling Clan, the Qiu Clan was also marked by him to be eradicated.

The eyes of the Ling Clan's three elders flashed with murderous intent when they exchanged a look.

"Liu Wuxie, I want to raise the stakes. You will have to take your own life if you lose, but if we lose, we will never show our faces in Serene Sea City ever again," the Ling Clan's grand elder said, increasing the stakes of their gamble. They didn't just want Liu Wuxie's Golden Spirit Fruit's seed but his life.

"Trying to silence me because I've exposed the Ling Clan's secrets?" Liu Wuxie chuckled because the Ling Clan had finally revealed their true nature. They were like animals pushed to a corner, desperate to kill him.

The conversation between Liu Wuxie and the Ling Clan's three elders left the crowd baffled—what exactly did the Ling Clan do to violate the moral code of all cultivators? What did they do for Liu Wuxie to describe as 'heaven-defying?'

The onlookers were fools, and there must have been some truth in Liu Wuxie's words for him to speak up. The Ling Clan's behavior was also suspicious. Why would they react so strongly to Liu Wuxie's words if they had nothing to hide?

The determination they displayed to kill Liu Wuxie was a strong sign, like a dog's tail being stepped on.

"The Ling Clan has no secrets to hide. Let us continue," the Ling Clan's grand elder quickly noticed they had lost their composure, so he promptly redirected the topic back to the gamble. After all, they could silence Liu Wuxie if they won the gamble, and the Ling Clan's secrets would remain buried.

"If I'm not mistaken, the Ling Clan's birthrate has been declining over the years until it has reached a critical point, hasn't it?" Liu Wuxie suddenly wore a devilish grin, flashing his teeth.

But in the eyes of the Ling Clan, Liu Wuxie looked like a beast baring his fangs, wanting to take a bite and rip their flesh off, a demon thirsting for their blood.

Ling Feichi trembled after hearing what Liu Wuxie said.

"Come to think of it now, the Ling Clan has been declining in numbers in recent years. Most of the people left in the clan are old men now," someone among the crowd remarked. No one had paid much attention to it before Liu Wuxie pointed it out, which struck them with a realization.

The crowd erupted in an uproar. Liu Wuxie had just arrived in Serene Sea City, so everyone wondered how he knew that the Ling Clan's numbers had been diminishing in recent years. They even asked if he had investigated it beforehand.

Even Ling Feichi had produced several offspring in recent years, but they had either died at a young age or succumbed to illness. Only his eldest son had survived.

This was why the entire Ling Clan doted on Ling Feichi's only remaining offspring, even going to great lengths to kill Liu Wuxie. After all, Young Master Ling was the clan's future.

"Liu Wuxie, don't blame us for being ruthless if you continue to spread lies. Even the House of Tea Art won't be able to stop us from killing you!" The Ling Clan's three elders finally couldn't contain themselves. Their fists were clenched with murderous intent radiating outwards, enveloping a radius of tens of thousands of meters.

"You three scared?" Liu Wuxie suddenly burst into laughter, which caught everyone by surprise. They couldn't fathom what he was saying.

However, those with sharp minds had already realized that Liu Wuxie knew the Ling Clan's greatest secret, which was why the Ling Clan had reacted so strongly.

Even those in the Nascent Transformation Realm began to discuss among themselves, trying to figure out what Liu Wuxie meant.

Many things have happened in the past few days, but almost all were related to Liu Wuxie. This was why no one dared to underestimate him now.

This seemingly insignificant figure had killed so many Azure Crimson Gate disciples, enraged the Ling Clan, and even humiliated the Qiu Clan. Not to mention, Liu Wuxie even killed a true disciple from the Azure Crimson Gate before their Nascent Transformation Realm elders.

Everyone realized that those who had looked down on him were dead.

"Scared? Let's continue to cut the stones!" the Ling Clan's second elder urged, forcibly changing the topic, not wanting to dwell on it in case they reveal anything.

Liu Wuxie could only continue their gamble since the other party didn't want to discuss the topic, no matter what he said, but this was far from over.

The crowd's attention fell on the Ling Clan's second elder, who used the same technique as the third elder. This stone was found in the Sky Rift Valley's designated area, which had cost a fortune—1,400,000 spirit stones.

However, the Ling Clan didn't lack money, and they only purchased the finest stones. The odds of finding a treasure in an expensive stone were higher.

The stones shipped back from the barren land were divided into three tiers: low, intermediate, and high. The three major sects priced them after a strict filtering and selection process.

Liu Wuxie had purchased all low-grade stones, and only one of the three barely reached the level of an intermediate-grade stone.

The stone was swiftly reduced in size as stone fragments flew around. There was a noticeable change in the atmosphere around the Ling Clan, who seemed to be hurrying to end the gamble.

This only made everyone curious about what Liu Wuxie had said to make the Ling Clan so afraid.

In just over a minute, the stone was reduced to the size of a washbasin.

The stone exploded with spirituality, a sign that the Ling Clan had uncovered another spiritual essence. It was still a high-grade spiritual essence, which left the crowd envious.

With so many spiritual essences already excavated, the odds of uncovering spiritual essences from the remaining stones had dwindled.

"The Ling Clan has struck a fortune! The two spiritual essences alone could fetch over ten million spirit stones, and they only spent a few million to purchase them," many in the crowd were envious. Most of them had spent a fortune to walk away with nothing. It was natural for them to be jealous when the Ling Clan had uncovered two high-grade spiritual essences.

"Liu Wuxie, it's your turn now!" The Ling Clan's second elder said with a cold smirk. He wouldn't rest until Liu Wuxie was dead and had to take the risk even if the House of Tea Art would intervene.

Liu Wuxie calmly picked up the second stone, and his cutting technique was unhurried. Each stroke of the blade felt like the breathing of nature with a rhythm. There weren't any fancy moves, but his performance was mesmerizing.

This was like how someone walked, but each step felt measured with similar lengths.

The stone began to shrink under Liu Wuxie's dagger, but there was still no sign of spirituality. This made the crowd murmur if Liu Wuxie would finally fail.

The Ling Clan's three elders smirked. They had examined that stone before but had detected no spirituality within it.

With each passing movement, the stone grew smaller. It was now the size of a fist, but there was still no sign of spirituality. By now, it was practically certain that there was nothing in this stone.

However, Liu Wuxie's action puzzled everyone because he didn't give up and continued to cut the stone.

"Liu Wuxie, give up. There's nothing inside," someone called out. After all, when there was no sign of spirituality after it was cut to the size of an infant's fist, it was practically certain that there was nothing inside.

Even Murong Yi's face revealed a trace of doubt as she watched Liu Wuxie. He wasn't the type to act without purpose, but there seemed to be no logic in continuing to cut the stone when no spirituality was emanating from it.

The Azure Crimson Gate disciples also laughed at Liu Wuxie's persistence.

"Liu Wuxie, just admit defeat. There's nothing inside—stop wasting everyone's time!" yelled Jia Fengmao, and he leaped into the air like a monkey. If it weren't for the Azure Crimson Gate’s elders being present, Liu Wuxie would've slapped him to death a long time ago.

More people began to join in to jeer, especially those who had a good relationship with the Ling Clan. This was the perfect opportunity for them to curry favor with the Ling Clan, so how would they give it up?

However, some waited with bated breaths and anticipation. After all, no one could say for certain that there was nothing inside the stone until the very last moment.

The stone continued to shrink in size, and it became difficult for Liu Wuxie to hold it in one hand. He slowed down with extra caution.

For some reason, the surrounding air began to shift, and a deep tremor passed through the crowd. This was a strange sensation because it felt as though something was going to awaken, and it was so powerful that it made everyone feel uncomfortable.

No one knew where this power came from. But they soon realized that the strange feeling came from the stone in Liu Wuxie's hand, which had been reduced to the size of a quail's egg.

Despite the stone's reduced size, Liu Wuxie’s dagger continued to slice with precision. Each cut separated only a small fragment as his expression grew increasingly focused. His movements became delicate, careful not to rush. Slowly and meticulously, he peeled away the outer layers of the stone, ensuring he didn’t damage whatever was hidden inside.

When everyone lost patience, a terrifying aura swept the hall, throwing the nearby cultivators into the air.