Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1416 - Roundabout Insult
Chapter 1416 – Roundabout Insult
The face of Jianmu Star’s planet lord alternated between red and green. He clearly hadn’t expected Liu Wuxie to dissolve his question in such a way.
“Hmph!” He snorted and flicked his sleeve, turning away. He didn’t even offer Liu Wuxie a word of blessing for passing his trial.
Watching the planet lord leave, Liu Wuxie continued up the stairs. He would soon reach the summit. His steps stayed perfectly measured, each one so steady and precise that watching him climb felt pleasing to the eye.
Under the sunlight, the golden threads hidden in his red ceremonial robe glimmered faintly, framing him like a deity descending into the mortal world. The sight drew cheers from the surrounding female disciples.
“Senior brother, I want to give you a whole pile of Wuxies!”
“Junior brother, I like you!”
“Junior brother, look here! Look what I prepared for you!” Their overlapping voices darkened the faces of the male disciples of the Heavenly Dragon Sect.
By now, Liu Wuxie had become the most popular person in the Heavenly Dragon Sect. Many elders even began to show open favor toward him. After all, he had tricked a group of Void Realm experts at the pinnacle of their realm into death, and even Earth Immortals struggled to do anything to him. A prodigy like him might not appear again even in ten thousand years.
Liu Wuxie, however, kept his composure. He only wanted to finish the ceremony quickly. He still didn’t know how the Heavenly Dao Society was faring, and, even with the Martial Soul Art, he didn’t know whether they could secure a foothold in the astral domain.
What he lacked was an opportunity to make the Heavenly Dao Society’s name resound throughout the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain. If he wanted the Heavenly Dao Society to integrate into the astral domain truly, he needed the recognition of all its forces.
Although everyone already knew that he had founded the Heavenly Dao Society, most people still brushed it off as child’s play. Establishing a true power required deep foundations, its own industries, and influence woven throughout the astral domain. The Heavenly Dao Society was still far from that standard.
When Liu Wuxie was a hundred steps away from the summit, two people appeared before him.
“They’re from the Divine Alchemy Sect,” a Heavenly Dragon Sect disciple exclaimed.
The Divine Alchemy Sect kept close ties with the Grand Unity Sect; the two were practically breathing through the same nostrils. Their appearance could only mean one thing—they had come to help the Grand Unity Sect reclaim some face.
In the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain, the Divine Alchemy Sect monopolized thirty percent of the alchemy market. Thirty percent might not sound like much, but across the whole astral domain, that number was terrifying. In comparison, the Heavenly Dragon Sect held about five percent of the market, while the Grand Unity Sect controlled close to ten percent.
Other first-tier forces, such as the Nine Dragon Palace, the Comet Temple, and several others, each held around five percent. From that alone, one could see just how popular the Divine Alchemy Sect’s products were.
If the Heavenly Dao Society wanted to break into the market and make an impact, they would have to confront the Divine Alchemy Sect sooner or later. Within the astral domain, demand for spiritual arrays, talismans, and artifacts still lagged behind that for pills.
Most powerful cultivators knew at least a little about talismans, arrays, and artifact forging—especially artifacts. Only when a smith forged a weapon specifically for its wielder could it achieve perfect resonance, unlike on the True Martial Star, where people bought artifacts off the shelf and refined them with a drop of blood. It was the same for spiritual arrays. Array compasses were practically worthless here.
Profound talismans still maintained a decent market, but most experts preferred to seal their own power into a talisman, leaving profound talismans as a low-end product.
Only the alchemy market remained lucrative.
The Divine Alchemy Sect had once been a second-tier sect, but it clawed its way upward on the strength of alchemy alone. Now, in overall power, it sat somewhere between the first- and second-tier sects, and its rise had accelerated in recent years thanks to the Grand Unity Sect’s support.
As for its origins, Liu Wuxie knew them like the back of his hand. The sect’s founder had obtained the Profound Pill Record and then used it to create the Divine Alchemy Sect, mastering countless pill formulas in the process.
Very few people knew the actual contents of the Profound Pill Record, but rumors claimed that it contained recipes for immortal pills. Even so, the Divine Alchemy Sect had never refined an actual immortal pill, if only because they could not gather the necessary ingredients.
If they ever produced one, they might create an immortal. But no one knew whether those rumors were true, and the Divine Alchemy Sect avoided that topic whenever possible.
Their main products—the Imperial Extremity Pill, the Ancient Spirit Pill, and the Spirit Condensing Pill—were wildly popular and accounted for the bulk of their income.
The formulas for those pills had long been lost through time, leaving only the Divine Alchemy Sect still in possession of them. With such a monopoly, other forces found it nearly impossible to threaten their hold on the alchemy market.
When Liu Wuxie saw the Divine Alchemy Sect appear, a faint smile curved his lips. He had been thinking for some time about how to push the Heavenly Dao Society into the alchemy market. Since the Imperial Extremity Pill, Ancient Spirit Pill, and Spirit Condensing Pill were so popular, he could refine new pills to replace—or surpass—them.
As long as he could lower production costs while matching or surpassing those pills’ effects, he believed the cultivators of the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain would naturally turn toward the Heavenly Dao Society.
In terms of alchemy, Liu Wuxie could rank in the top ten even in the Fleeting Cloud Celestial Realm. Of course, many years had passed since then, and the Fleeting Cloud Celestial Realm constantly birthed new prodigies in the alchemical arts.
Everyone could see that the trial set up by the Divine Alchemy Sect would not favor Liu Wuxie. No one was surprised when the disciples of the Heavenly Dragon Sect around them cried out.
Pei Hong watched with a faint smile. He finally had a chance to see Liu Wuxie stumble.
“Young Master Liu, our Divine Alchemy Sect has an issue that has troubled us for a long time, and we would like to seek an answer from you,” said the two elders from the Divine Alchemy Sect standing before him. Both had high attainments in alchemy and clearly stood here as the sect’s official representatives.
They even skipped any formal congratulations and went straight to their question. The contempt in their tone was obvious. The outside world loved to talk about Liu Wuxie’s skill in alchemy and how he had taken first place in the alchemy event of the Myriad Race Ceremony.
However, these two elders believed that the result only came because they hadn’t sent any Divine Alchemy Sect disciples. They felt sure that if their own disciples had participated, the results would have been entirely different.
The Divine Alchemy Sect was, after all, only a second-tier sect. Those who earned outstanding results in the Myriad Race Ceremony usually came from first-tier powers. Even if the Divine Alchemy Sect had sent disciples, it was unlikely that they would have made a splash.
“Senior, please go on,” Liu Wuxie said with a gentle smile that felt like a spring breeze. He knew perfectly well that these two had come to make trouble, but he still greeted them warmly. Today was his apprenticeship ceremony; for the moment, he could set aside all his grudges.
“The Kudzu-Leaf Herb, Ephedra, Mystic-Clear Vine, Mountain-Spirit Ginseng, and Riverland White-Hope Herb… These are all precious medicinal ingredients. Combined, they can produce the Intestine Cleansing Pill, which expels poisons from the body—yet that pill is basically garbage. Can you tell me how to turn garbage into a treasure?” asked the Divine Alchemy Sect elder on the left.
That was hardly a sincere question. It was a thinly veiled insult against Liu Wuxie. He implied that Liu Wuxie might have gathered many treasures and even taken first place in all four events of the Myriad Race Ceremony, but that didn’t change the fact that, in his eyes, Liu Wuxie would always be a piece of garbage.
The Divine Alchemy Sect’s elders had gone to great lengths to humiliate Liu Wuxie in front of everyone. In other words, even if Liu Wuxie lost his treasures, he would still “refine” nothing but a garbage pill.
The Heavenly Dragon Sect’s elders could no longer hold themselves back. The Divine Alchemy Sect had gone too far. No matter how Liu Wuxie replied, he would find it difficult to escape their trap.
Using so many precious herbs to make a useless pill, then demanding that someone “turn garbage into treasure,” was no different from asking that person to ascend the heavens in one step.
Hua Feiyu frowned. The Divine Alchemy Sect’s behavior was nothing less than an open attempt to provoke the Heavenly Dragon Sect.
Jianmu Star’s planet lord had been petty, but at least he had maintained basic courtesy. The only reason he had left in a huff was Liu Wuxie’s counter.
The Divine Alchemy Sect, however, was different. They had just called Liu Wuxie garbage in front of all these people, and today was the day he would formally become the Heavenly Dragon Sect’s personal disciple of the sect master.
If the disciple was garbage, what would that make the master? No wonder the Heavenly Dragon Sect’s elders were fuming.
The disciples below grew nervous. If Liu Wuxie chose to back down here, it would be no different from admitting he was trash. At that point, the Heavenly Dragon Sect’s prestige would plummet, and everyone would see the Grand Unity Sect’s scheme for what it was—truly vicious.
On the summit, Sun Xiao clenched his fists. He wanted to step in and drive the two Divine Alchemy Sect elders away, but he knew he couldn’t afford to act rashly. Everything they did today reflected directly on the Heavenly Dragon Sect’s reputation.
“Young Master Liu, we can drop the question if you cannot answer it. You can carry on,” the elder on the left said with a smile, gesturing for Liu Wuxie to continue his climb. In their minds, they had already achieved their goal of humiliating Liu Wuxie and the Heavenly Dragon Sect, killing two birds with one stone.
“I wonder if you two have ever heard a certain saying?” Liu Wuxie asked, looking at the two Divine Alchemy Sect elders instead of moving on. The surrounding disciples and elders of the Heavenly Dragon Sect had already introduced them to him. The elder on the left was Bai Ran, and the one on the right was Feng He.
“What are you saying?” Bai Ran asked curiously.
Everyone turned their eyes to Liu Wuxie, wondering if he truly intended to answer the question. In the cultivation world, it wasn’t strange for a combination of precious herbs to produce a trash pill. The Grand Unity Sect had only chosen this example to insult him.
“Only garbage refines garbage,” Liu Wuxie said with an innocent expression, maintaining his gentle smile as he looked at Bai Ran and Feng He.
His words triggered an instant uproar. Liu Wuxie had directly returned the insult, calling the two Divine Alchemy Sect elders garbage. After all, garbage pills didn’t form on their own. They resulted from an alchemist’s insufficient skill. In that sense, his words weren’t wrong.
“Young Master Liu, are you saying that we’re garbage alchemists?” Feng He asked coldly, murderous intent flickering in his eyes. Being called rubbish before representatives of the entire Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain was no different from having their dignity ground underfoot.
“That’s right,” Liu Wuxie replied. His answer left many people choking on their tea.
Coughs echoed across the summit as everyone stared at him in disbelief. The way he toyed with his opponent’s temper made them secretly suspect that Liu Wuxie had already planned his response.
The Divine Alchemy Sect had taken the long way around to call Liu Wuxie trash, but he had chosen the shortest path in response. It wasn’t that he didn’t know how to speak in circles—he couldn’t be bothered.
If someone insisted on provoking him, trading polite jabs would only invite further mockery. The most straightforward approach was to give the insult back, with interest.
“Young Master Liu, if you don’t give us an explanation today, I will make sure everyone witnesses how your Heavenly Dragon Sect bullies those beneath you,” Bai Ran said.
The Divine Alchemy Sect might only be a second-tier sect, while the Heavenly Dragon Sect ranked among the first-tier powers. However, Bai Ran still tried to twist the situation, slapping a label on them and accusing the Heavenly Dragon Sect of bullying the weak with their strength.
