Chapter 830 - Refining Ru Shou's Embryo

Liu Wuxie vanished and appeared before the man on the right. The latter was prepared and brandished his sword without hesitation, executing an airborne dance. His sword split into countless blade projections, forming an overwhelming barrage.

"Myriad Swords Unite!" The sword projections increased to thousands as they rained down on Liu Wuxie. The youth had unleashed his ultimate attack, determined not to give Liu Wuxie a chance to catch his breath.

At that moment, the other man seized the opportunity, coordinating his attack seamlessly as he thrust his sword toward Liu Wuxie's back.

"Junior Sister, run!" the second man yelled, urging their junior sister to flee.

"No one can leave this place!" Liu Wuxie's murderous intent surged and formed into a swirling vortex in the air. When his words fell, an icy chill erupted from the surroundings, instantly sealing thousands of meters of radius.

This was the initial form of a barrier, as an actual barrier could seal off an entire continent, trapping everything within.

The woman attempted to flee, slashing her sword desperately against the ice barrier. However, her attack only produced a loud impact, leaving the barrier unscathed. Her face turned pale instantly—there was no escape.

With the surroundings sealed off, Liu Wuxie could finally focus on the battle. As he lifted the Heretic Blade, golden blade rays flickered ominously. Earlier, neither he nor his opponents had fought at full strength. That had merely been a warm-up.

A devastating force erupted, sweeping across the battlefield, knocking the incoming sword projectiles away, unable to reach him.

"Earth-Binding Chains!"

"Heavenly Dragon Seal!"

Liu Wuxie unleashed two trump cards, determined to end the fight swiftly.

Since someone could find this place, there was a chance others would, too. If an expert at the Spirit Profound Realm came, things would become troublesome for him, and he could only flee then.

Though Liu Wuxie could easily slay cultivators at the pinnacle of the True Profound Realm, he had no chance against those at the Spirit Profound Realm. Those at the Spirit Profound Realm existed far beyond mere martial techniques and had grasped dao techniques.

If Liu Wuxie wanted to slay cultivators at the Spirit Profound Realm, he would need to master a powerful dao technique. However, he had only just grasped the foundations of one, and his ice dao technique remained incomplete.

His only hope of fully comprehending a dao technique lay in reaching the True Profound Realm. Two paths stood before him: the ice dao technique and True Strike. If he could refine True Strike into a spirit-grade martial technique, it would rival the power of dao techniques.

Faced with Liu Wuxie's two powerful artifacts, the remaining youths were overcome with despair. The Earth-Binding Chains alone were nearly unbeatable in one-on-one combat. As for the Heavenly Dragon Seal, its strength had increased drastically after absorbing the flood dragon’s blood essence.

The surroundings plunged into darkness, and the Heavenly Dragon Seal compressed the surrounding air, creating a black vortex. The Heavenly Dragon Seal was comparable to the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm in terms of raw power.

The youth struck by the Heavenly Dragon Seal was crushed to death before his primordial spirit could escape. The bloody mist created by his corpse was devoured by the Heavenly Dragon inside the Heavenly Dragon Seal.

"Please, let me go!" The remaining youth bound by the Earth-Binding Chains stood in place, struggling and trying to break free.

Liu Wuxie put away the Heavenly Dragon Seal, then turned to the last remaining youth. With a mere tap of his finger, a cold ray shot forth, piercing straight through the man's neck. Just like that, all four men had fallen—each slain by Liu Wuxie in a single, effortless strike.

Recalling the Earth-Binding Chains, Liu Wuxie slowly approached the woman. Fear was etched across her face as she instinctively retreated, only to be stopped by the ice barrier sealing off her escape. Her hand trembled around the hilt of her sword as she watched him draw closer.

"I don't kill women. Take your own life!" Liu Wuxie said. He wouldn't take a woman's life unless necessary, and he offered her the dignity to take her own life.

"Do you want to take it that far?" The woman sheathed her sword. She understood that she was no match for Liu Wuxie. After all, what hope did she have when even her four senior brothers had perished at Liu Wuxie's hands?

"I gave you all a chance, but you five failed to cherish it," Liu Wuxie said indifferently. Though he wouldn't kill a woman unless necessary, that didn't mean he would let her leave. He kept the Heretic Blade and stood ten steps away from the woman, giving her the dignity of taking her own life.

"I can give myself to you. Can you let me go? I won't speak of today's matter to anyone, not even my sect," the woman said as she slipped off her outer robe, revealing her flawless skin.

Truth be told, the woman was undeniably beautiful. Then again, cultivators who reached the True Profound Realm could no longer be considered ordinary humans—their appearance became increasingly refined with each breakthrough, edging closer to perfection.

Perhaps, in her eyes, offering her body in exchange for survival was a reasonable trade. After all, in the cultivation world, having multiple dao companions was common. Such relationships were not bound by love but driven by the pursuit of power, using the balance of yin and yang to enhance their cultivation. Worldly affections had long been cast aside on the path of ascension.

"Why disgrace yourself? Do you think you can buy your way out of this?" Liu Wuxie turned his head away, uninterested. No matter how beautiful she was, there was no way she could be comparable to Xu Lingxue, Murong Yi, or Jian Xing'er. She was utterly ordinary compared to them. Moreover, Liu Wuxie wasn't someone controlled by desires.

The woman was enraged by Liu Wuxie's indifference, as this was the first time she had been so thoroughly disregarded. After all, countless men sought her favor, each driven by desire. But Liu Wuxie didn't even spare her a glance.

Madness flashed in her eyes, and she seized the opportunity when Liu Wuxie turned around to launch her assault with her sword.

Letting out a sigh, Liu Wuxie shook his head. The woman froze in place as a surge of icy energy entered her body from the ground. It didn't take long before she was turned into an ice sculpture.

With all enemies eliminated, Liu Wuxie swiftly cleaned up the battlefield, erasing all traces of battle. He even repaired the spiritual array before returning to the cave.

Through this battle, he had consolidated his cultivation at the seventh-level Nascent Transformation Realm. This was also why every sect had a training ground to help their disciples accelerate their breakthrough.

The Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy also had a similar place, but Liu Wuxie had no time to spare, and that would have to wait until the next time.

Unbeknownst to Liu Wuxie, half a month had passed in seclusion. Ru Shou's embryo remained trapped within the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, and the ancient deity's laws had more or less been stripped away.

Six days had passed since he had slain his five enemies when a terrifying surge of the ancient deity's power began flooding into the desolate world. Now, he was finally prepared to refine Ru Shou's embryo, using it as a catalyst to push himself toward the eighth-level Nascent Transformation Realm.

But that was only part of his goal. More importantly, he sought to extract Ru Shou’s memories, hoping to uncover secrets that could reveal a higher-level cultivation technique. The adversaries he would face in the future would not be limited to the True Profound Realm or even the Spirit Profound Realm.

This meant he had to comprehend a dao or spirit-grade martial technique—he was racing against time.

As he activated the Desolate Devouring Art, the ancient deity's laws poured into the desolate world. Each law carried an overwhelming force, intertwining with the laws in his body to form a dense web, like interwoven strands of spider silk, firmly anchoring the desolate world in place.

At the same time, Liu Wuxie's aura rose, drawing closer to the eighth-level Nascent Transformation Realm. Then, fragments of memory started to appear in his soul, which contained Ru Shou's memory.

Ru Shou was the progenitor of metal, bringing the attribute of metal to the world. No one could surpass Ru Shou when it came to the metal elements.

If Liu Wuxie could even comprehend one ten-thousandth of it, it would be more than enough for his current needs. Moreover, it would be like giving wings to a tiger after being combined with the Metal Suppression Stele.

As memories began pouring into Liu Wuxie's mind, there was too much to process, and his priority was to make a breakthrough first.

All the spiritual energy within hundreds of miles began to gather. The six-day pause had allowed the surrounding spiritual energy to replenish.

A terrifying vortex appeared above Liu Wuxie, forming a giant black hole that instantly devoured all the spiritual energy. The gateway to the eighth-level Nascent Transformation Realm also appeared, flickering in and out of sight.

But Liu Wuxie wasn't in a hurry. Cultivation required patience, and there was no need to force his way through.

On the third day, the eighth-level Nascent Transformation Realm gateway appeared before Liu Wuxie. Only then did he channel his true essence to strike the gate.

But despite dozens of strikes, the gateway didn’t budge—a clear sign that breaking through was becoming increasingly difficult as his cultivation advanced.

"Break!" Liu Wuxie roared, channeling the ancient deity's power to forge a spear. He hurled it at the gateway with overwhelming force, unleashing a tidal wave of energy upon impact.

Rumbling sounds echoed from within Liu Wuxie like an impending thunderstorm. When his consciousness entered his body, he could see flashes of lightning and raging tempests. His body was no longer an individual vessel but had become a vast universe.

The spear, constructed from the ancient deity’s power, streaked toward the gateway like a blazing comet. The moment it struck, a shockwave rippled through Liu Wuxie’s body, making him feel like he was about to be torn apart.

But his internal organs remained unscathed after they had been repeatedly tempered, and such impact wouldn't cause any threat to them.

The gateway to the eighth level splintered with a deafening crack before vanishing within him. At that moment, a surge of power coursed through his body, filling him with an indescribable sensation—like basking in golden sunlight, pure and comforting.

As he broke through, the Desolate Devouring Art also advanced. The speed at which it absorbed spiritual energy skyrocketed—he wasn’t just devouring the energy around him but also siphoning the very laws that governed the world.

Though the absorption of these laws was minuscule, it was enough to make Liu Wuxie ecstatic. He had never imagined the Desolate Devouring Art possessed such heaven-defying potential. If it could consume the laws of the world, didn’t that mean he could one day devour the heavens, the sun, and the moon themselves?

Most importantly, the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron and Desolate Devouring Art complemented each other—one absorbed, the other refined. Together, they were flawless.