Chapter 1054 - Ten-Sided Annihilation Array

Thus far, none of the Heavenly Dao Society’s members had joined the battle. Only Liu Wuxie had fought. And yet, the three clans had already suffered devastating losses.

Fiery, a divine beast, hadn’t returned to the Central Plains with Liu Wuxie after they had left Northern City. Instead, it had detoured to the Western Barren. After Liu Wuxie had killed Steward He, Fiery had quietly departed on its own, while Liu Wuxie had made his way back alone. Drawing upon its divine bloodline, Fiery had subdued a vast number of profound beasts and brought them to the Heavenly Dao Society just days prior.

During that time, Xu Yilin had secretly overseen the excavation of underground tunnels throughout the Society's territory. They had dug the tunnels beyond the city limits, successfully hiding the beast horde’s arrival.

Individually, profound beasts weren't mighty, but their overwhelming numbers compensated for their lack of strength. Liu Wuxie's plan was clear: wear down the enemy's stamina and deplete their true essence by forcing them into relentless combat.

Even high-level Earth Profound Realm cultivators lost patience, striking at the swarming beasts in irritation, blood and flesh flying with every blow.

Fiery, however, was in a league of its own. The True Samadhi Fire was terrifying, capable of incinerating even Earth Profound Realm experts with a single touch.

"The Heavenly Dao Society is too shameless to resort to such means!" some shouted in outrage. If Liu Wuxie’s earlier strategies had been viewed as tactical, unleashing a beast tide was now deemed utterly despicable.

“You call me shameless when your three clans ganged up on us?” Liu Wuxie retorted coldly. "Using external forces is smart, not dishonorable. Defeating the strong while being weak is what makes a hero."

The Heavenly Dao Society would do whatever was necessary to win. Ultimately, no one would care how they achieved victory.

The beast horde swept through the battlefield like a storm, devastating it. The three clans were scattered, disorganized, and visibly shaken. Another hundred of their cultivators lay dead.

Liu Wuxie’s blade tore their bodies apart mid-air, turning them into clouds of bloody mist, unable to escape the chaos.

"Attack!" Liu Wuxie roared.

Now was the moment to strike before the enemy could recover. With that command, he led over two hundred elite fighters from the Heavenly Dao Society directly into battle.

He moved with blinding speed, raising the Heretic Blade as he unleashed the Heavenly Dragon Seal.

Liu Wuxie had no intention of prolonging the battle. He needed to kill as many enemies as possible, as quickly as possible, to minimize the Heavenly Dao Society's casualties.

The long-awaited moment had arrived.

With him at the front, the forces of the Heavenly Dao Society surged forward, bloodlust igniting in their veins. Behind him came the roar of warriors ready to carve a path through the chaos.

The beast horde had shattered their formation and scattered their ranks in all directions. This was the moment Liu Wuxie had been waiting for.

Without hesitation, he swung the Heretic Blade downward, striking swiftly and mercilessly.

In less than half a breath, he had already killed five low-level Earth Profound Realm cultivators. They burst apart in mid-air, exploding into clouds of bloody mist. Their true essence and law fragments were instantly devoured by him, fueling his strength.

The nine experts brought by his senior brothers fought nearby. Each one was formidable, their strength tipping the balance. Among them, the experts at the fifth-level Earth Profound Realm displayed combat prowess comparable to the sixth level.

As the battle raged on, cultivators at the lower levels of the Earth Profound Realm began to fall like wheat under a scythe. Strike after strike, blood painted the battlefield red.

From a distance, spectators watched in horror, their eyes wide with disbelief.

What they saw was not a battle; it was a massacre.

The three clans were unable to mount a counterattack. One by one, they were slaughtered by the Heavenly Dao Society's advance.

The scene was brutal, and everyone finally realized that it was a one-sided slaughter.

The beast horde had done its job, shattering the enemy's cohesion and leaving their flanks wide open. All Liu Wuxie had to do was exploit that chaos.

And he did.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

So long as the enemy remained disorganized, they would kill without hesitation.

Corpses fell in droves. Soon, blood, limbs, and broken weapons littered the ground, covering the battlefield like a sea of ruin.

"Get out of my way!" roared an elder from the Liao Clan, his cultivation at the seventh-level Earth Profound Realm erupting in a violent burst of energy.

In an instant, a wave of devastating force cleared the surrounding profound beasts, and the elder’s force hurled several Heavenly Dao Society members violently through the air like broken dolls.

"Retreat!" Liu Wuxie ordered.

Everything unfolded rapidly.

Within moments, the Heavenly Dao Society had slain over seventy cultivators from the three clans. They had already wiped out most of the Spirit Profound Realm cultivators, and even among the Earth Profound Realm, many had fallen, several killed directly by Liu Wuxie.

By contrast, the Heavenly Dao Society had suffered only a few injuries, with no deaths.

Their achievement would shake the world.

No sect, no clan, could claim such an achievement in open battle.

The Heavenly Dao Society had expended a vast fortune of countless spiritual talismans, array compasses, and hundreds of millions of spirit stones. After all, spirit stones were just external wealth. As long as they survived this trial, they could always earn more.

What mattered most were the people. And to Liu Wuxie, every member of the Heavenly Dao Society was priceless.

He would protect them at all costs.

Across the bloodstained battlefield, Wang Yuanhou and Yuan Huaiguang stared at the carnage, their hearts heavy and bleeding. Corpses lay strewn across the ground, and the air was thick with death.

Even if they destroyed the Heavenly Dao Society, the cost would be unbearable.

Suddenly, the fighting stopped across the battlefield.

A strange silence fell over the field as the spectators gasped, struggling to process the scene before them.

"What terrifying combat strength... and this is an organization formed just a year ago?" muttered one expert at the Earth Profound Realm, his voice trembling with disbelief.

The heavy stench of blood in the air burned their nostrils, confirming the grim truth.

This wasn't an illusion.

"What's terrifying is their coordination, not their combat strength. Their movements were flawless, like an unbreakable wall," whispered the onlookers around the battlefield. At that moment, many felt compelled to reassess their perception of the Heavenly Dao Society.

This single battle elevated the Society’s status. They were no longer viewed as a fledgling force, but one that could now stand on equal footing with the great sects and clans.

"I want to know how Liu Wuxie did it," someone murmured. "How could someone at the Spirit Profound Realm possibly gather so many people willing to fight and die for him?"

That was the actual mystery.

In the cultivation world, it was human nature to follow the strong. Yet, Liu Wuxie wasn't particularly powerful compared to the continent's giants. Nor did he have a notable background. And still, he had drawn allies from across the land.

That kind of loyalty came not from power, but from charisma.

Meanwhile, the three clans moved quickly to clean the battlefield, dragging the wounded from the frontlines and doing what they could to stabilize their injuries.

When they counted their losses, the blow was staggering.

Of the thousand elite cultivators they had brought to annihilate the Heavenly Dao Society, more than nine hundred were dead.

The truth hit them hard, sinking into their chests like iron.

Morale collapsed. Warriors stared into the distance with hollow gazes, with spirits shattered.

"This must be fake..." muttered Yuan Ziping, drenched in blood, his eyes fixed blankly ahead. He had just watched one of his comrades cleaved in two by Liu Wuxie's blade.

Not far from him, Yuan Zilong stood trembling, fists clenched tightly. He hadn't even been able to approach Liu Wuxie. Miao Jianying had sent him flying with a single strike of his sword. The impact on his body was severe, but the blow to his dao heart was even worse.

The shame cut deeper than any blade.

"Liu Wuxie, I swear I'll kill every one of you!" Yuan Huaiguang roared, his fury erupting into the sky.

The sword trembled, then broke free and soared on its own.

It was an earth-spirit artifact, already possessing its spirit, capable of acting independently of its master. It circled him in the air, releasing waves of pressure and killing intent.

If it were a heaven-spirit artifact, it would be even more terrifying, capable of changing size and form at will.

The Liao Clan's patriarch silently wiped the blood from his face, his gaze sweeping over the countless corpses surrounding him.

Nearby, Wang Yuanhou clutched his abdomen, blood seeping from his reopened wound. His face contorted with pain and fury, barely restraining the wrath simmering inside him.

“You still refuse to repent after coming this far!?” Liu Wuxie sneered, a cruel smile curling on his lips. "Since that's the case, none of you will leave this place alive."

A flicker of madness danced in his eyes. He was ready, ready to drench Astral Glory City in the blood of the three clans. Today, he would make the Heavenly Dao Society's name known across the continent.

"What arrogance!" barked a Liao Clan elder at the seventh-level Earth Profound Realm, stepping forward as an overwhelming pressure burst from his body, sweeping across the street. The sheer force of it sent nearby spectators flying.

The Wang and Yuan Clans had brought elders of similar strength. While the strongest cultivators stayed behind to guard their sects from opportunistic attacks, the three clans had only dispatched one-third of their elites to this campaign.

Even if every last one of them died here, the clans would only suffer heavy losses, not destruction. Their legacies spanned tens of thousands of years. They would not fall so easily.

However, after today, one truth had become undeniable: the three clans would never dare to belittle the Heavenly Dao Society again.

The Liao Clan's elder wasn't wrong. Even after everything, the surviving elders alone were strong enough to annihilate the Heavenly Dao Society. The weakest among them was at the fifth-level Earth Profound Realm, and just one at the seventh level could lay waste to the entire society.

The situation was dire.

And yet, Liu Wuxie's face showed not a trace of concern.

After everything he had done today, no one dared to underestimate him. They knew he had trump cards left, and none dared to act without his command. One misstep could unravel his carefully laid plans.

"Are you all prepared?" Liu Wuxie turned to the nine elders whom his three senior brothers had brought with them.

Strangely enough, each brother had brought exactly three elders. Liu Wuxie had expected more, given their positions, but it all made sense in hindsight.

The nine elders nodded in unison, signaling their readiness.

Nine experts at the fifth-level Earth Profound Realm now stood together. On their own, they were formidable. Together, they became a force that could turn the tide.

"Activate the Ten-Sided Annihilation Array!" Liu Wuxie commanded.

The nine elders rose into the sky alongside him, creating a perfect formation. A radiant light screen descended from above, engulfing the advancing experts of the three clans.

"What?!" gasps erupted from the crowd.

No one had expected Liu Wuxie to hold yet another trump card.

Before his senior brothers had departed to seek help, Liu Wuxie had personally taught them the Ten-Sided Annihilation Array. When they returned to their clans, they brought back three elders each.

If they helped Liu Wuxie repel the three clans today, he would gift them the array as a gesture of gratitude.

Nothing in the world was free.

Saving his senior brothers’ lives hadn’t been enough to convince the clan representatives to side with Liu Wuxie, especially if it meant offending the three great clans. He understood that well.

He knew his senior brothers held influence, but influence alone wasn't enough to sway entire clans into risking everything. There had to be value, and he had offered it.

The spiritual array was only the beginning.

Liu Wuxie had promised them supplies of pills and spiritual talismans and offered their clans exclusive reseller rights.

At first, their clans had hesitated. But once they examined the Ten-Sided Annihilation Array, everything changed.

With it, they saw a path to ascendancy. The array was so powerful that it was said to be capable of slaying even deities.