Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1490 - Tables Turned Around
Chapter 1490 – Tables Turned Around
The crowd froze at Liu Wuxie’s question. They had all watched the Memory Talisman only moments ago, and none of them had noticed anything amiss, leaving them to trade equally blank looks.
“Liu Wuxie, are you doubting the authenticity of the Memory Talisman?” Li Hong sneered. The Memory Talisman was genuine, and everything in it looked crystal clear.
“We’ll know if it’s real or not once we test it,” Liu Wuxie said, his smile deepening as he gestured for Li Hong to play the Memory Talisman again.
Right before everyone’s eyes, Li Hong played the Memory Talisman once more. His group battled the Golden-Horned Bull, and his companion—running low on true essence—pulled out a pill and prepared to swallow it.
“Hold it right there,” Liu Wuxie said, and he waved his hand to pause the Memory Talisman.
“Liu Wuxie, why did you stop it? Is there a problem here?” A middle-aged man asked as he stepped out from the crowd. He was a local cultivator in Mount Dragon City, neither hostile nor friendly toward the Heavenly Dao Society, and curiosity alone had pushed him forward.
“Everyone, look carefully. This person turned his back against the talisman before he consumed the pill, and he turned back around in the exact moment he took it. Don’t any of you find it strange?” Liu Wuxie asked.
At Liu Wuxie’s prompt, everyone leaned in, and the detail snapped into sharp relief. They saw the man turn away before taking the pill, his back facing the Memory Talisman, yet he happened to turn around at the exact moment he swallowed it. He nearly got killed by the Golden Horned Bull in that same instant.
“It doesn’t make any sense. In an actual fight, you’ll swallow the pill immediately if you’re short on true essence. Why would you make an extra effort and take the risk to turn around?” Someone in the crowd asked.
No one had noticed that detail earlier until Liu Wuxie had pointed it out.
“Did Li Hong’s group deliberately want to let others see that the person had died because he swallowed a pill produced by the Heavenly Dao Society?” Another voice rose.
If he had kept his back turned, no one would have seen him take the pill, and that made it seem intentional. Otherwise, why would the victim suddenly turn around to swallow the pill in the middle of a life-and-death fight with an astral beast?
Everyone turned to look at Li Hong, all of them waiting to see how he would explain himself.
“Liu Wuxie, you’re twisting logic here. Who says that people can’t change their posture when consuming pills?” Li Hong asked, and a hint of panic flickered in his eyes.
Li Hong wasn’t wrong; no such rule existed. Liu Wuxie had only pointed out a suspicious detail. Even if someone swallowed a pill while lying down, no one would find it unreasonable, but turning around in such a dangerous moment felt unnatural and instantly raised suspicion.
“You’re right. There are no such rules, and I’m just trying to say that this Memory Talisman is fused. The previous scene is real, but from this moment on, everything is fake,” Liu Wuxie said, pointing to the exact moment he had paused.
Everything before the pill went down was genuine, and an expert had added everything that came after. Across the entire Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain, only Quasi-Immortal Realm cultivators could perfectly combine two spiritual talismans.
“What? This is an artificially fused Memory Talisman?” An uproar exploded through the crowd.
Many Heaven Gaze Realm experts stood present, yet even they hadn’t spotted anything wrong. They had no idea how Liu Wuxie had seen through it.
“That can’t be right. Why would Li Hong do that? Moreover, how could he possibly fuse two Memory Talismans with his strength?” People in the crowd pointed out.
If someone proved that someone had artificially fused the talisman, Li Hong’s frame-up of the Heavenly Dao Society would become undeniable.
The situation flipped in an instant, and the momentum grew increasingly unfavorable to Li Hong. Even Li Hong’s earlier aggressiveness faltered, and the panic flashing in his eyes became apparent to everyone.
“Liu Wuxie, what proof do you have that this Memory Talisman is fused?” Li Hong demanded, still refusing to give up. He glared at Liu Wuxie with a menacing expression, knowing it would all be pointless if Liu Wuxie couldn’t prove it.
“Do you think that the work of a Quasi-Immortal Realm expert is flawless? This Memory Talisman has too many flaws, and since you want proof, I’ll prove it to you,” Liu Wuxie sneered, cold light shining in his eyes as Li Hong’s heart sank.
Even the people standing behind Li Hong felt unease creep over them under Liu Wuxie’s gaze.
“Liu Wuxie, if a Quasi-Immortal had altered this talisman, how are you going to expose the flaw in it?” an Earth Immortal Realm expert from the Comet Temple asked.
The Comet Temple had partnered with the Heavenly Dao Society, and that expert had come to Mount Dragon City to make purchases.
“You’ll know soon,” Liu Wuxie replied, and he flicked his gaze toward the Medicinal Hall, where Bi Gongyu soon walked out.
“What’s that?” The crowd asked, baffled when they saw Bi Gongyu carrying a washbasin.
“Everyone should know that fusing talismans is an intricate work, and the spiritual talisman will detonate at the slightest mistake. Even our Heavenly Dao Society can only increase the profound talisman’s level through talisman runes,” Liu Wuxie said, and the crowd nodded along, including those at the Heaven Gaze Realm.
Fusing low-level spiritual talismans wasn’t tricky, but seamlessly combining two high-level Memory Talismans into a single talisman was another matter entirely.
“Liu Wuxie, stop beating around the bush and just reveal it,” someone from the Divine Sun-Moon Palace said, impatience sharp in their tone. They wanted Liu Wuxie to unravel the method so they could learn from it.
Many people already suspected Liu Wuxie was the rebirth of a powerhouse. The knowledge he displayed at his age felt even more frightening than that of ancient beings.
“Talisman runes come from the patterns of heaven and earth, and there’s one thing capable of breaking them down—the Three Thousand Weakwater. It can restore anything to its original form,” Liu Wuxie said, making it clear why Bi Gongyu had brought a washbasin—to restore the Memory Talisman to its original state.
“What?! Liu Wuxie has Three Thousand Weakwater on him?”
This time, even the Heaven Gaze Realm cultivators couldn’t keep their composure.
Even such rare and pure energy of heaven and earth sat in Liu Wuxie’s hands, and it suddenly made sense why he could fight opponents above his cultivation.
They didn’t know that the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron had built his current accomplishments.
“Liu Wuxie, you have Three Thousand Weakwater on you!?” Even the Comet Temple’s elder couldn’t stay seated.
The Three Thousand Weakwater had never been seen for countless years now, and even ancient beings who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years had never seen it. No one knew where Liu Wuxie had obtained it.
If the Three Thousand Weakwater had surfaced in the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain, those ancient beings wouldn’t have remained ignorant of it.
Liu Wuxie smiled and waved his hand, summoning a black substance that flowed like liquid into the washbasin.
The moment the crowd saw it, greed lit their eyes green. It was indeed Three Thousand Weakwater. A single droplet could cleanse the body of impurities.
The Heaven Gaze Realm experts reacted the most. They revealed themselves and landed near Liu Wuxie, and in the blink of an eye, more than a dozen of them appeared, stunning everyone.
At that moment, the claim about defective pills became secondary.
“Liu Wuxie, can I buy ten drops of Three Thousand Weakwater?” Yan Guichou asked as he rubbed his hands together. At that moment, he carried none of the dignity of a palace lord.
Then again, he asked because a successful grasp of Three Thousand Weakwater could let him comprehend the Immortal Realm.
“Palace Lord Yan, you’re being too polite. I can give you a hundred droplets once today’s matter is settled,” Liu Wuxie said casually, refusing to entertain them further right now.
When Liu Wuxie promised him a hundred droplets, Yan Guichou nearly felt the urge to kiss him for that generosity.
Liu Wuxie didn’t act out of pure generosity, though. He had already guessed that the Grand Unity Sect and the Divine Alchemy Sect stood behind Li Hong’s group, and he intended to use this chance to reinforce the alliance with the Nine Dragon Palace.
Once Yan Guichou accepted the gift, the Nine Dragon Palace wouldn’t lean toward their enemy, and it could even join the other sects in blocking the sale of spiritual herbs to the Divine Alchemy Sect. This was Liu Wuxie’s true objective.
Li Hong finally panicked when he saw the Three Thousand Weakwater, and his legs nearly went soft. He trembled under the presence of so many Heaven Gaze Realm experts, but the pressure eased because those experts stepped back instead of crowding the center.
“The Three Thousand Weakwater is a heaven-defying treasure, and Liu Wuxie gave droplets of that so easily?” People whispered among themselves. Sects that had no cooperation with the Heavenly Dao Society immediately contacted their upper echelons, determined to secure Liu Wuxie’s cooperation at any cost.
As for the sects that were already working with the Heavenly Dao Society, Liu Wuxie had promised them some Three Thousand Weakwater as well.
With that single move, Liu Wuxie isolated the Grand Unity Sect and the Divine Alchemy Sect completely. Anyone who chose to work with the Heavenly Dao Society would effectively abandon those two sects.
The effects wouldn’t show in a month or two, but given enough time, the Grand Unity Sect would gradually find itself isolated.
The noise slowly died down as everyone’s gaze fixed on the washbasin. Whether the Memory Talisman was true or false would reveal itself soon.
If the Three Thousand Weakwater proved the Memory Talisman hadn’t been tampered with, it would mean the Heavenly Dao Society’s pills were defective. But if it proved the Memory Talisman was fake, then Li Hong had staged the entire frame-up.
Everyone waited, anticipation tightening in their chests.
Liu Wuxie waved his hand and summoned the Memory Talisman into his palm, leaving Li Hong no time to keep it. Then again, it wasn’t surprising to see Liu Wuxie snatching something from Li Hong’s hand with ease.
“Liu Wuxie, what right do you have to take away my Memory Talisman?!” Li Hong yelled, panic flooding his voice.
“Are you afraid now?” Liu Wuxie said, and his lips curled with mockery. He was already far too late to be afraid.
Liu Wuxie lowered the Memory Talisman into the Three Thousand Weakwater right before everyone.
The crowd instantly held its breath; even Li Hong froze.
Within the crowd, several plainly dressed elders exchanged a glance, each seeing deep shock reflected in the others’ eyes.
When the Memory Talisman hovered above the Three Thousand Weakwater, pure energy flowed in, and a strange scene unfolded next.
