Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1550 - Gong Gongs Awakening

Chapter 1550 – Gong Gong’s Awakening

Troops of the Black Crow Clan that couldn’t flee in time died at Liu Wuxie’s hands. He cast the Dragon-Grasping Hand, and countless claws formed in the sky and plunged downward, each descent claiming a Black Crow Clan warrior’s life.

Heirad tried to escape, but the Spirit Clan’s chieftain struck him with a palm and ground him into ashes.

The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron devoured faster and faster, its laws growing more complete with every breath. Its released aura climbed higher and higher. Now Liu Wuxie stood only one step away from the sixth-level Earth Immortal Realm.

The battle lasted for fifteen minutes. More than a hundred thousand warriors of the Black Crow Clan had arrived, yet only a little more than ten thousand managed to escape alive. With so many dead, the Black Crow Clan could no longer pose any threat to the Spirit Clan.

With that, the Spirit Clan claimed a tremendous victory. Inside the Sky City, celebrations erupted because this was the first large-scale victory the Spirit Clan had achieved in hundreds of thousands of years.

Everyone cheered in unison, “Feathered Emperor!”

Liu Wuxie’s status surged as well, rising until he stood only second to the chieftain.

The Spirit Clan’s elders stepped forward together because they knew this chance might never come again. “Chieftain, should we strike while the iron is hot and wipe out the Black Crow Clan in one sweep?”

The Black Crow Clan had already lost one Quasi-Immortal, leaving only the other behind. If the chieftain coordinated properly, they could eradicate the Black Crow Clan entirely.

“Exterminating the Black Crow Clan will not be simple. The most likely outcome would be mutual destruction, and their defensive artifacts cannot be underestimated. Even if the Feathered Emperor and I join forces, complete annihilation would be difficult,” the chieftain said, formally recognizing Liu Wuxie as the Feathered Emperor.

Today’s victory put the Spirit Clan in a favorable position, but the Black Crow Clan’s experts still waited in their own territory. If the Spirit Clan pressed forward, they would pay a terrifying price. The Spirit Clan had fewer than ten thousand people left, and they couldn’t afford another war of that scale.

The three grand elders nodded in agreement. “The chieftain is right. But through this battle, the Black Crow Clan won’t be able to cause any trouble for us in the next tens of thousands of years. This gives us a perfect opportunity to breathe, and we can take this opportunity to grow stronger.”

“Feathered Emperor, tell us your thoughts,” the chieftain said, turning her gaze to Liu Wuxie.

Liu Wuxie had cultivated the Soul Forge Art before, but he had only held an incomplete version. Now that he had mastered the complete version, even the chieftain had to acknowledge him as the Feathered Emperor.

“The Black Crow Clan will surely reinforce their defenses once they return. It will be unwise to attack them at this moment, and the best method is to suppress their development. We can send people to attack them at regular intervals to seize their territory slowly. In a few years at most, the Black Crow Clan would collapse on its own,” Liu Wuxie replied, laying out his thoughts. If they attacked now, the fight would become a desperate battle to the death, and no one would truly benefit.

As for how the Spirit Clan should develop in the future, Liu Wuxie refused to get involved. He bade farewell to the chieftain and returned to his courtyard.

The moment Liu Wuxie stepped inside, Ariel pounced over and burrowed into his embrace.

“It’s fine now,” Liu Wuxie said, gently caressing Ariel’s head. He understood she must have been frightened by the battle.

He played with Ariel in the courtyard for a short while, then returned to the room to cultivate. Suddenly, a stir rose from his soul sea as Zhen Yiming surfaced from the Pool of Faith.

“Master, I have news,” Zhen Yiming’s voice echoed from within Liu Wuxie’s soul sea.

“What news?” Liu Wuxie asked, sending his consciousness into his soul sea.

“I saw a batch of counterfeit Soul Pills shipped out of a mysterious building today. I have been keeping an eye on them for a few days now,” Zhen Yiming said, reporting everything he had uncovered.

“Good. I’ll head over as soon as possible. Do not startle them for now,” Liu Wuxie replied, then severed the connection because someone knocked on his courtyard gate.

When Liu Wuxie stepped outside, the chieftain had already walked into the courtyard.

Liu Wuxie gave her a bow. “Greetings, chieftain.”

“There’s no need to be so formal,” the chieftain said as she sat in the courtyard. Her gaze lingered on Ariel beside Liu Wuxie, and a flash of heartache flickered deep in her eyes.

“Chieftain, do you need anything from me?” Liu Wuxie asked. He had planned to visit her anyway because it was time for him to leave now that the Spirit Clan had stabilized.

“Thank you for finding the complete version of the Soul Forge Art for our Spirit Clan,” the chieftain said. Liu Wuxie had already told her how he had discovered it, and even she hadn’t expected someone to have kept the complete Soul Forge Art concealed in Sky City all this time.

“It’s just a coincidence,” Liu Wuxie said with a faint smile. He knew an accident had truly led him there.

“What do you plan to do next?” the chieftain asked, because she knew Liu Wuxie wouldn’t remain in the Spirit Clan.

“I was just about to seek you with the same purpose. I came to the Spirit Martial Astral Domain specifically to return the Earth-Binding Chains, and I have other matters to attend to. I plan to leave the Spirit Clan tomorrow,” Liu Wuxie said sincerely as he rose to his feet.

“I won’t stop you from leaving. Take her along with you,” the chieftain said, and she placed Ariel into Liu Wuxie’s embrace.

Liu Wuxie pondered briefly. He understood that he was the reason Ariel had become like this.

“Chieftain, if you trust me, you can let Ariel stay by my side. I swear that I will restore her to her previous form one day,” Liu Wuxie said, lifting his head and making his promise.

The chieftain made that choice because she had seen how Ariel preferred to stay with Liu Wuxie. She knew that if she forced Ariel to remain in the Spirit Clan, something would surely go wrong.

“She chose this herself, so don’t burden yourself with guilt,” the chieftain said. By rights, she should have hated Liu Wuxie because her daughter had become this way. However, Liu Wuxie had saved the Spirit Clan, helped them defeat the Black Crow Clan, and recovered the complete version of the Soul Forge Art.

As a mother, resentment still lived in her heart. As the Spirit Clan’s chieftain, gratitude filled her instead. Before she left, she pressed an interspatial ring into Liu Wuxie’s hand. She didn’t give Liu Wuxie a chance to refuse; this was the Spirit Clan’s token of appreciation.

When Liu Wuxie sent his divine sense into the ring, a bitter smile surfaced on his face. The ring contained thirty million astral crystals. Combined with the thirty million he had obtained from the Black Crow Clan’s chieftain, Liu Wuxie now held a total of sixty million astral crystals.

Nevertheless, the number of astral crystals he would need for future breakthroughs would only grow even more terrifying.

The Spirit Clan’s living space was limited, and they couldn’t offer many other treasures. These astral crystals represented their accumulation across countless years. With them, Liu Wuxie could buy whatever he required.

At daybreak the next morning, Liu Wuxie left the Spirit Clan. No one came to see him off; they only stood along the streets and waved their hands to bid him farewell. Even grown men cried as they watched him go.

As for Ariel, Liu Wuxie kept her inside the desolate world. The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron was pitch-black within, and Ariel would not feel comfortable there. The desolate world had already given birth to its own laws through the cycle of day and night, so staying inside would not differ from the outside. Every day, Liu Wuxie would spend time communicating with Ariel, deepening their bond.

After he flew out of the Sky City, Liu Wuxie turned into a comet and vanished into the horizon. He didn’t return to the Limitless Sea; instead, he headed for the nearest large city, planning to use its teleportation array to reach Kaya City and save a great deal of time.

So much time had passed that the Nalan Clan’s experts had likely left already. After all, they could not keep camping around a teleportation array forever.

It would take three days for Liu Wuxie to reach the teleportation array, and he maintained constant vigilance the entire time. On the second day, a tremendous power erupted from within the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron and nearly shattered it from within.

“Gong Gong has awakened,” Liu Wuxie murmured.

This was Gong Gong’s fourth awakening, and Gong Gong had fallen into deep slumber ever since Liu Wuxie had reached the Earth Immortal Realm.

Liu Wuxie summoned the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron and released Gong Gong. The moment Gong Gong emerged, his aura crashed down like a colossal mountain and weighed on Liu Wuxie.

Gong Gong had grown even larger than before, with a serpent head and a human body that looked more terrifying than ever. His appearance had changed drastically, and with a casual breath, he could make the surrounding space collapse. His cultivation had reached the pinnacle of the Heaven Gaze Realm, yet his true combat strength rivaled the Quasi-Immortal Realm.

“I’m leaving,” Gong Gong said the instant he appeared.

“What?” Liu Wuxie frowned. He had poured enormous amounts of witcher energy into Gong Gong, hoping Gong Gong would become a pillar of support once he grew strong, yet Gong Gong now declared he would leave.

“Why are you leaving? Don’t you need the nourishment of witcher energy anymore?” Liu Wuxie asked. He had expected this day would come, and only a trace of disappointment surfaced. Gong Gong was an independent being, and Liu Wuxie still felt grateful for everything Gong Gong had done.

“I have other matters to attend to. I’ll come back for you when I’m done with my affairs,” Gong Gong said. He had never been a man of many words, and his conversations with Liu Wuxie had always been few.

This time, Gong Gong could finally speak a complete sentence after waking from his slumber.

Gong Gong must have awakened all his memories now and understood his past and present. Those restored memories naturally told him what he needed to do next.

“Since you’re determined to leave, I won’t force you to stay. If you want to find me later, you can come to the Heavenly Dao Society,” Liu Wuxie said. He stayed calm and did not try to hold Gong Gong back.

“Alright,” Gong Gong said, then vanished without leaving a trace.

“How heartless. I spent countless days nourishing you with witcher energy. Shouldn’t you pass me a few witcher clan’s mythical arts now that you have recovered your memories?” Liu Wuxie murmured with a bitter smile after Gong Gong disappeared.

Suddenly, memories surged inside Liu Wuxie’s soul sea.

“The Witch Wheel Blade’s cultivation technique!” Liu Wuxie exclaimed. Before leaving, Gong Gong had passed the cultivation technique for the Witch Wheel Blade to him.

“Not bad. The Witch Wheel Blade can combine with the Heaven-Severing Blade to make it even stronger than before,” Liu Wuxie said, and a hint of joy lit up his face. The disappointment at Gong Gong’s departure faded away.

Without Gong Gong, however, Liu Wuxie knew he would have to rely on himself from now on. He did not fear cultivators at the low levels of the Heaven Gaze Realm, but experts at the higher levels could still threaten him. Against opponents at the Quasi-Immortal Realm, he still had no chance, even with the complete version of the Soul Forge Art. When killing the Black Crow Clan’s quasi-immortal, the Spirit Clan had provided ninety percent of the effort, while Liu Wuxie had contributed only ten.

On the third evening, Liu Wuxie finally left that region, and a massive city appeared ahead. From this city’s teleportation array, he could travel to Kaya City.

The city sprawled enormously and teemed with cultivators, all dressed in strange fashions. Most wore flamboyant attire, so someone like Liu Wuxie, dressed in a simple azure robe, stood out among the crowd. Even so, he didn’t rush toward the teleportation array; he planned to rest there for the night and set out the next morning.

As Liu Wuxie passed an alchemy shop, he heard someone hawking Soul Pills.

“Soul Pills! High-grade Soul Pills for sale!”