Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1558 - Uphold Justice
Chapter 1558 – Uphold Justice
With the Emperor Refinement Cauldron gone, a massive abyss opened in the underground world, and residual flames still burned along its edges. After the experts from the Skyward Gate withdrew, they slipped into the crowd and disappeared without a trace.
Zhen Yiming stepped up beside Liu Wuxie and assumed the posture of a loyal guard. After about a minute, Su Ling and the others returned, but this time they didn’t bother concealing themselves.
After all, someone had already exposed Liu Wuxie’s identity, so they no longer needed to hide. Liu Wuxie removed his mask, revealing his true appearance.
“He’s really Liu Wuxie!” Many people in the Spirit Martial Astral Domain weren’t unfamiliar with the name.
Countless cultivators stared in bafflement. “What is he doing in the Spirit Martial Astral Domain? Shouldn’t he be in the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain? What business does he have here in the Spirit Martial Astral Domain?” people wondered.
“It must be due to the Soul Pills. After all, counterfeit Soul Pills have appeared in recent months, and that has forced the Heavenly Dao Society’s pills off the market,” the crowd murmured among themselves, and some even began to gather their strength to act against Liu Wuxie quietly.
However, the moment the upper echelons of the Skyward Gate had appeared, those thoughts were snuffed. Although the Skyward Gate had declined, it still stood as a first-tier sect with immortals behind it. That was why no one dared to provoke them even in their weakened state.
As long as the Soul Pills secured the market smoothly, the Skyward Gate could swiftly return to its past glory. The alchemists who had escaped began gathering behind Liu Wuxie at Li San’s call.
News of the underground world events spread through Kaya City like wildfire, yet the identity of the mastermind behind the counterfeit Soul Pills remained a mystery.
Liu Wuxie asked, sweeping his gaze across the crowd, “I believe everyone must be curious about what I am doing in the Spirit Martial Astral Domain?” Even as he spoke, more cultivators joined the crowd, and the swelling presence made the surrounding space feel as if it would collapse.
Cultivators at the Earth Immortal Realm, the Heaven Gaze Realm, and the Void Realm all packed the sky as well.
A cultivator at the Heaven Gaze Realm finally demanded, “Liu Wuxie, stop beating around the bush and get straight to the point. What’s going on here?”
No one could accept a cultivator from the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain entering the Spirit Martial Astral Domain and killing people at will.
“I’m here to uphold justice,” Liu Wuxie said, his voice resonating across the sky.
Plenty of people rolled their eyes at his words, and they couldn’t even be bothered to expose him. After all, his deeds at the auction had long spread throughout the Spirit Martial Astral Domain. The four astral domains had all heard how Liu Wuxie had used various tricks to destroy the Divine Alchemy Sect and fool the Grand Unity Sect.
“Liu Wuxie, we’re not three-year-old children. Get to the point,” someone snapped.
“I believe everyone knows about the cooperation between the Heavenly Dao Society and the Skyward Gate in the sale of Soul Pills. But recently, the appearance of counterfeit Soul Pills has greatly disrupted the order of the alchemy world,” Liu Wuxie said with righteous grief, slapping a huge label on the counterfeit pills right from the start.
“What a joke! Who says that counterfeit pills are disrupting the alchemy world’s market? The pills produced by your Heavenly Dao Society are expensive, while the counterfeit pills are way cheaper and deliver seventy percent of the effects. Why should we pay more to buy the authentic pill then?” A cultivator at the Earth Immortal Realm sneered, convinced Liu Wuxie was too arrogant.
Many people nodded, agreeing with him.
Liu Wuxie glanced at the cultivator, and a mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips.
“The Soul Pills produced by the Heavenly Dao Society might be more expensive, but there are no side effects when consuming them. I believe everyone knows that better than I do. But the counterfeit pills contain a powerful toxin that will cause black substance to appear in your soul sea if consumed for a long time, slowly corroding your primordial spirit,” Liu Wuxie continued.
His words instantly threw the crowd into an uproar, like a rock tossed into a lake. People exchanged looks and immediately began inspecting their soul seas.
“Bullshit! I’ve taken hundreds of the counterfeit Soul Pills, and my soul sea is perfectly fine. You’re just furious that someone stole your market and tried to spread false rumors,” the same cultivator shouted, still refusing to believe Liu Wuxie.
“Liu Wuxie, don’t blame us for being impolite if you don’t explain yourself today,” the crowd said. Among the hundreds of thousands of cultivators present, ninety percent had consumed counterfeit Soul Pills, and even those at the Heaven Gaze Realm had taken a few.
If their primordial spirits developed problems, it would be a fatal blow.
“Trying to find out is simple. You all know that I possess the Three Thousand Weakwater, and we can test it,” Liu Wuxie said, producing a porcelain bottle that contained Three Thousand Weakwater.
Countless eyes immediately locked onto the porcelain bottle, greed flaring openly. They all wanted to seize the Three Thousand Weakwater for themselves.
Liu Wuxie then took out a hundred counterfeit Soul Pills he had purchased, tipped out one, and tossed it into the Three Thousand Weakwater. The instant the pill touched the liquid, wisps of black energy seeped out as its ingredients broke down and dissolved.
“The Mystic Spirit Flower!” An uproar rippled through the crowd.
The Mystic Spirit Flower wasn’t a rare spiritual herb, and it could be found everywhere in the Spirit Martial Astral Domain, much like the Soul Illusory Spirit Flowers. Cultivators could refine the soul energy released by the Soul Illusory Spirit Flowers to strengthen their soul energy.
The Mystic Spirit Flower could also strengthen the soul, but its effects were addictive, like a drug. If one consumed too much, the soul sea would become dependent, and one would never be able to break free from its control.
Most importantly, the Mystic Spirit Flower carried a peculiar fragrance that could slowly corrode the primordial spirit once it entered the soul sea.
The people in the crowd could no longer hold themselves together after seeing the Mystic Spirit Flower. If the counterfeit Soul Pills truly contained Mystic Spirit Flower, the danger became real. Though it wouldn’t threaten life directly, it would leave everlasting damage to the primordial spirit.
After being refined into a Soul Pill, even an expert at the pinnacle of the Heaven Gaze Realm wouldn’t be able to detect it.
“Who is it? Who’s refining the counterfeit Soul Pills?!” Someone cursed aloud after probing their own soul sea and discovering several tiny black spots in their primordial spirit. The spots were so faint they would never have noticed them if Liu Wuxie hadn’t warned them.
Those black spots would gradually erode the primordial spirit and deepen addiction. If they stopped consuming the counterfeit pills, they would feel restless and unwell throughout their bodies.
Just moments ago, the crowd had been questioning Liu Wuxie. Now, after the Three Thousand Weakwater produced proof, the crowd erupted, demanding to know who was the mastermind behind the counterfeit pills.
Liu Wuxie’s earlier claim of upholding justice no longer sounded hollow, and his actions had truly saved cultivators in the Spirit Martial Astral Domain.
Even so, Liu Wuxie had exaggerated slightly, since one would need to consume over ten thousand pills for the counterfeit pills to cause irreversible damage to the primordial spirit. But for these cultivators, even the slightest chance felt unbearable.
Cultivators of the Skyward Gate continued fanning the flames, denouncing the mastermind behind the counterfeit pills and demanding to know why they wanted to harm all cultivators of the Spirit Martial Astral Domain.
“Everyone, don’t fall for Liu Wuxie’s trickery. The counterfeit pills might contain Mystic Spirit Flower, but the amount is low, and it’s not enough to threaten life,” an old man said as he stepped out of the crowd, urging everyone to calm down and not be led by Liu Wuxie.
“Fuck you! No wonder I can’t make a breakthrough in my cultivation. So I’ve been consuming counterfeit pills all along,” a burly man roared, cursing outright.
“Exactly, my soul energy has been unstable ever since I consumed the counterfeit pills!” More voices rose from within the crowd.
Zhen Yiming gave Liu Wuxie a subtle glance, a faint smile flickering across his face. He had arranged those actors to steer public opinion. One voice wouldn’t be enough, but ten or a hundred could make even the doubtful start to believe. Public opinion could turn what was false into truth.
Liu Wuxie only needed a lever to pry open the massive beast behind the scheme. The counterfeit pills truly carried side effects, but the severity didn’t matter to him.
The mastermind behind the counterfeit pills wasn’t a fool. If they had refined outright poison, they would have thrown themselves into the storm’s center.
Li San and the abducted alchemists cried out about the brutality they had endured in the underground world.
At first, many cultivators held a poor opinion of Liu Wuxie. But once they learned he had saved so many alchemists, gratitude surfaced on their faces. After all, the abducted alchemists belonged to various sects and clans.
With Li San and the abducted alchemists testifying, righteous fury ignited across the crowd. “Who would be so inhuman to harm cultivators of the Spirit Martial Astral Domain for the sake of refining counterfeit pills?”
For the sake of profit, someone had crossed the bottom line of humanity. The atmosphere grew hotter as calls to denounce the mastermind behind the counterfeit Soul Pills grew louder.
Liu Wuxie had said all of this to kindle hatred throughout the crowd. The captured black-clad guards remained inside the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, and he still hadn’t released them because the crowd’s anger hadn’t yet reached a boiling point. After all, any force capable of controlling the Emperor Refinement Cauldron and producing thirty thousand Soul Pills daily could not be an ordinary sect.
All eyes immediately swung toward the Indigo Dragon Cult’s region. The Indigo Dragon Cult stood nearby, and suspicion naturally fell on them first.
The Indigo Dragon Cult’s people looked ready to curse when they noticed the stares. They weren’t capable of something so filthy. Then the crowd turned to the True Flame Hall, and the cultivators of the True Flame Hall looked like they wanted to kill someone on the spot.
After all, Kaya City connected to three major sects: the Nalan Clan, the True Flame Hall, and the Indigo Dragon Cult.
Someone voiced the doubt aloud, “This is strange. Why isn’t there anyone from the Nalan Clan here yet?” With such an enormous commotion in Kaya City, it was impossible for the Nalan Clan not to have noticed. Their absence after so long only made imaginations run wild.
A cold smirk tugged at Liu Wuxie’s lips. Earlier, he had forcibly extracted someone’s memory with his divine sense within the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, gaining a great deal of useful information.
“Liu Wuxie, stop stalling and tell us who’s the mastermind behind the counterfeit pills already!” By now, this was no longer just about selling counterfeit pills—it was about cruelty, and the crowd burned with rage.
Talented alchemists from many forces had vanished mysteriously. Several alchemists from the Indigo Dragon Cult had disappeared as well, and they had likely died in the underground world without exception.
Beyond the Indigo Dragon Cult, the True Flame Hall had also lost several alchemists. In Kaya City itself, alchemists had vanished in large numbers without explanation.
A mysterious organization recruited some and kidnapped others outright.
Liu Wuxie reached out, seized the air, and dragged a black-clad man into the open. Liu Wuxie had sealed the man’s cultivation and placed him under complete control, leaving him unable to commit suicide even if he wanted to.
Countless eyes fixed on the black-clad man. He had reached the second-level Heaven Gaze Realm, and no one with that cultivation could be a nobody in the Spirit Martial Astral Domain. Once someone tore off his mask, everyone would see his identity.
