Chapter 831 - Eighth-Level of the Nascent Transformation Realm

Liu Wuxie wondered whether the Desolate Devouring Art, at a higher level, could one day devour dao techniques. If he slew someone who had mastered a formidable dao technique, could he absorb not only their memories but also their dao itself?

This was only speculation. The Desolate Devouring Art had not yet developed such an ability, but who could say what the future held? A few years ago, he never would have imagined it reaching its current level.

For now, Liu Wuxie was focused on consolidating his cultivation and organizing Ru Shou's memories. He could feel that the rise of his cultivation had slowed down after his accumulated foundation had nearly run dry.

The reason he had broken through three levels in succession was largely due to external treasures.

Liu Wuxie's divine sense entered his soul sea, diving deep into the fragmented memories of Ru Shou. It took him an entire day to sort through them. Though the memories were highly fragmented, Liu Wuxie reconstructed some of them, relying on his divine sense and the Heavenly Dao Book.

Ru Shou was eight feet tall. He had golden hair, with each strand resembling a spike and brimming with powerful metal-attribute energy. Among the memories, Liu Wuxie obtained snippets of information on the Witcher Clan. The Witcher Clan hadn't been completely wiped out and still existed worldwide.

Some of the twelve divine avatars still had living descendants, while others had faded into history. However, Liu Wuxie remained unsure of the Witcher Clan's location.

The memories also didn't disclose the Witcher Clan's whereabouts. However, according to the Heavenly Dao Book's calculations, it was highly probable that they had formed an independent realm.

This meant they were somewhere in the distant world, perhaps a different world or a distant star domain. They were safeguarded by formidable spatial barriers that made it impossible for outsiders to enter.

They had formed an independent realm much like the Dragon Realm. If outsiders wished to enter, they would have to pass through the barrier, and it was nearly impossible to go undetected.

Setting those thoughts aside, Liu Wuxie knew it wasn't his immediate concern if the Witcher Clan was still in existence. The most pressing task was to comprehend the metal element.

He had mastered the art of poison but disdained using it unless absolutely necessary.

Following the memories, Liu Wuxie delved deeper and saw a figure wielding a sword, splitting heaven and earth. He could see the clouds part, the earth crumble, and mountains collapse in one strike.

This made him feel overwhelming despair as this was no mortal strike. This was an attack capable of destroying the world.

Before he realized it, Liu Wuxie was drenched in cold sweat. The sheer force of the sword’s aura had nearly cleaved his primordial spirit apart.

"What a mighty sword! It has surpassed the limits of spirit-grade martial techniques. If I can fuse it with True Strike, I might be able to evolve it into a spirit-grade martial technique, one that rivals a dao technique."

However, merging the two was no simple feat. Not only did he need to comprehend the sword technique fully, but he also had to find the perfect balance between them. Still, with the Heavenly Dao Book, he felt confident in his ability to achieve this.

As he continued to observe this sword technique with his divine sense, it struck once more. But he was prepared this time, as he had paid close attention to the sword technique's changes.

This was a sword technique, but it bore the sharpness of a blade technique, the grace of a sword technique, the speed of a spear, and the defense of a shield. This was one strike that encompassed many factors.

It was a technique that could be executed with a sword, a blade, or even other weapons. Rather than relying on a fixed form, it existed purely as intent, adapting to the wielder’s weapon and mastery.

The intent behind the technique was what Liu Wuxie needed to comprehend—not just its fixed form. If he merely learned the structured movements, he would only wield its form, not its true essence. Only by grasping the essence could he execute this attack with any weapon.

Liu Wuxie began analyzing the technique repeatedly but still couldn't comprehend its depth. Then again, it wasn't as though he had gained nothing, as he now had a clearer understanding of a spirit-grade martial technique, at the very least.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and Liu Wuxie had consolidated his cultivation at the eighth-level Nascent Transformation Realm. He had dedicated all his time to refining this new technique.

He began analyzing this mysterious sword technique and True Strike in the Heavenly Dao Book. He planned to use the book to merge the two techniques and form a new one.

As golden light shone on the Heavenly Dao Book, Liu Wuxie's cultivation began to climb. The book's accumulated heavenly dao laws began to increase and grow stronger.

Combining these two techniques was similar to how Liu Wuxie had merged the Primordial Astral Fist and Annihilation Palm to create the Annihilation Fist. For now, the Annihilation Fist could be considered a dao technique.

Though he could use it to contend with cultivators at the Spirit Profound Realm, there was a flaw, as it would have a devastating impact on his physique. Now that his cultivation had risen, his physique had grown stronger. This meant the Annihilation Fist's power had also increased.

A sword and a blade continued to clash within the Heavenly Dao Book, and Liu Wuxie’s divine sense observed intently, fully immersed in the spectacle. Each collision sent waves of enlightenment surging through his mind.

Suddenly, his soul sea began to stir, and boundless divine force gushed out from the divine ability gate, flooding into his body.

"What's going on? Why is there such an overwhelming divine force?" Liu Wuxie was shocked.

His divine force had always grown at an excruciatingly slow pace, yet now it surged like an unstoppable tide. There was only one explanation—the two techniques were finally on the verge of merging. If he succeeded, he would create an original dao technique, one that belonged to him alone.

A dao technique required divine force to execute. Though Liu Wuxie’s divine force already far surpassed his peers, it was still insufficient to perform a spirit-grade martial technique. However, with this sudden surge of power, that limitation had been erased.

If he succeeded, this would mark the first dao technique he had ever comprehended—a milestone few cultivators ever reached. The path of dao techniques was vast and profound, and truly grasping one was no easy feat.

The clash between the sword and blade sped up, and he could no longer distinguish between them. When the sword and blade finally fused, a miniature version of him appeared in the Heavenly Dao Book, wielding the Heretic Blade with his eyes closed to comprehend the changes.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, Liu Wuxie swung the Heretic Blade down at an unbelievable speed that tore through his soul sea. His soul sea was split apart, leaving him shocked. This move was over ten times stronger than the sword technique alone.

The sun and moon lost their brilliance, and Liu Wuxie was unaware that a phenomenon had unfolded outside the cave as a golden sword aura descended from the sky.

A deafening explosion erupted from Liu Wuxie's soul sea, followed by another that shook the mountain range itself. The golden sword aura carved a deep ravine into the earth, instantly vaporizing countless profound beasts before they could even react.

This scene drew the attention of many cultivators from thousands of miles away who were training in the mountain range.

"It must be the emergence of a treasure!" Countless cultivators flocked over from the surroundings, convinced that a peerless treasure had appeared.

Their assumption wasn’t unreasonable. The sheer might of the golden sword aura had far surpassed that of ordinary dao artifacts, hinting at something even greater—perhaps a treasure corresponding to the Earth Profound Realm or even the Heaven Profound Realm. Given such possibilities, it was no surprise that so many were drawn to the phenomenon.

Meanwhile, Liu Wuxie remained oblivious to the chaos he had caused. Even as his consciousness returned to his body, he did not rush to awaken. He needed to comprehend the strike he had unleashed within the Heavenly Dao Book.

He knew he couldn't wield such an attack at full force—not yet. But if he could grasp even one-tenth of its power, he would already be satisfied.

When Liu Wuxie's eyes snapped open, two sharp beams of light shot forth, reducing a massive boulder before him to dust.

Through countless simulations, he had finally stepped across the threshold, grasping a fragment of the technique’s profundity. As he stood up, his bones crackled like popping beans, and with steady, controlled movements, he stepped out of the cave, gripping the Heretic Blade firmly in his hand.

Meanwhile, Fiery had nearly recovered from its injuries, but Liu Wuxie was surprised to see how much it had changed. It had doubled in size, now standing over a meter tall, yet its transformation didn’t stop there. Two fearsome horns had sprouted from its head, crackling with arcs of lightning, and its fur had become razor-sharp, resembling a forest of needles.

When Liu Wuxie caressed Fiery's fur, the fur instantly softened, becoming smooth and pleasant to the touch.

With a leap, Liu Wuxie left the cave and landed in the dense forest. His cultivation had reached a bottleneck, and it was tough for him to make a breakthrough anytime soon. His only path was to comprehend dao techniques to increase his strength.

He raised the Heretic Blade and pointed it to the sky. He had discarded True Strike, and a new technique had taken place. When he raised the blade, the Metal Suppression Stele began to tremble violently, with metal-attribute energy gushing out from his body and channeling into the blade.

The moment the metal-attribute energy channeled into the blade, the trees on both sides exploded into splinters, unable to withstand the sheer aura.

"What a powerful blade aura!" Liu Wuxie was shocked. He had anticipated its strength, but even he hadn’t expected such overwhelming force.

His mind raced. He had simulated this move hundreds of times in his soul sea, reaching near perfection. The only thing left was to use it in a real battle.

With a thunderous roar, Liu Wuxie swung the Heretic Blade, unleashing a dazzling golden radiance that blazed like fire. It expanded outward, enveloping thousands of meters, illuminating the entire forest in its radiant glow.

The surrounding trees exploded one after another, reducing the landscape to utter devastation. The scene before Liu Wuxie resembled the end of the world. Even more astonishing, the laws of the world actively merged into his blade technique, further empowering it.

"I have finally comprehended a dao technique!" Liu Wuxie exclaimed with joy.

Unlike ordinary martial techniques, dao techniques could manipulate the surrounding laws, bending them to the wielder's command. The Heretic Blade carved a vacuum passage stretching tens of thousands of meters, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake.

The suffocating metal-attribute energy was so overwhelming that Fiery fled back into the cave.

Even Liu Wuxie found breathing difficult, and this technique's power had far exceeded his expectations.

"What a powerful technique!" Liu Wuxie looked at the devastation he had caused with disbelief. Had there been anyone nearby, they would've been obliterated by the metal-attribute energy alone.