Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 719 - Saving the Siblings

Liu Wuxie gathered the gist of their feud from their heated exchange. A month earlier, the siblings had passed through Mercenary City and witnessed Chou Ba’s vile acts of bullying the weak. Unable to turn a blind eye, they intervened, thwarting his actions.

Outnumbered and overwhelmed, Chou Ba had lost an arm to the siblings. However, ten days ago, Chou Ba had broken through to the Nascent Transformation Realm, dramatically boosting his strength. Meanwhile, the siblings were still at the pinnacle of the Astral River Realm, leaving them at a severe disadvantage. The tables had turned, with Chou Ba using his misfortune as fuel to push himself beyond his limits.

Such was the story Liu Wuxie had pieced together based on their conversation.

"I will consider giving you a painless death if you kneel before me," Chou Ba said coldly, his aura seething with murderous intent. The disparity between their cultivation levels was glaring—the difference between the Astral River Realm and the Nascent Transformation Realm was akin to heaven and earth. Unlike prodigies like Liu Wuxie, most cultivators were ordinary and bound by their limitations.

"Dream on! We won't beg for your mercy even in death!" The siblings declared in an unwavering tone. They had steeled themselves for the worst.

"Very well, I’ll grant you the deaths you so desperately seek!" Chou Ba sneered as his aura surged forward like a tidal wave, sweeping through the area. The suffocating pressure lifted dried leaves from the ground, swirling them into a storm that engulfed a radius of over a dozen meters.

It was a spectacular scene, and Chou Ba was notorious since he could make a living in the Mercenary City. Otherwise, he wouldn't have earned his place as the mercenary group's captain.

"Sister, are you afraid?" The man looked at his younger sister, and a hint of pain reflected in his eyes as if he had failed to protect her.

"I'm not afraid!" the woman replied resolutely, her expression unwavering and filled with determination.

With no further words exchanged, the siblings wielded their swords and attacked Chou Ba together, wanting to perish with him.

"Die!" Chou Ba roared. The iron hook on his left arm shot forward with lightning speed, propelled by a hidden mechanism. The siblings were caught off guard, and with the suppression of Chou Ba’s Nascent Transformation Realm aura, they had no room to retreat.

Just when the hook was about to pierce into the young man's chest, a cold ray shot over out of nowhere. The surrounding temperature plummeted, and the hook was frozen in mid-air before anyone could react, encased in a glistening block of ice.

"Who is it? Who dares interfere?!" Chou Ba's eyes gleamed with rage as he sensed someone nearby. The other mercenaries quickly drew their weapons and scoured the area.

Liu Wuxie descended gracefully from a giant tree. Since he would be discovered sooner or later, he revealed himself first.

The siblings were taken aback to see him. Though they had shared the same teleportation array to Mercenary City, they had never spoken before.

"Young man, you dare interfere in our captain's business? Are you tired of living?!" The mercenaries rushed over to surround Liu Wuxie after seeing his cultivation. They didn't know where Liu Wuxie got the confidence to intervene based on his cultivation.

"These two are my friends, so let them go," said Liu Wuxie. He didn't want to kill anyone, nor did he want to interfere in their feud. He wished to save the siblings, and what happened to them in the future had nothing to do with him.

"How dare you?! Since they're your friends, we will also kill you!" Rumbling true essence gushed out from Chou Ba, shattering the ice encasing the hook.

However, he didn't know Liu Wuxie had merely used one-hundredth of his ice-attribute energy. If he had used his full strength, everyone would have been turned into corpses.

Liu Wuxie was briefly stunned. He only wanted to prevent a massacre, and he didn't expect Chou Ba to disregard the chance he gave him.

"Are you sure you want to fight me?" Liu Wuxie scrutinized Chou Ba, hoping the latter could reconsider the fight.

"Enough talk! You can die now!" Chou Ba bellowed as the hook returned. His figure blurred as he lunged at Liu Wuxie.

"Run!" The young man yelled, urging Liu Wuxie to escape while he could. He didn't want an innocent person to lose his life because of them.

"No one can leave this place today!" Chou Ba's murderous intent surged. No one could stop him, and he was determined to kill these three to avenge his severed arm.

His strength hadn't diminished even after losing his arm. A spiked club appeared in his right hand, and he swung it at Liu Wuxie. As they weren't far from each other, Chou Ba crossed the distance immediately and reached Liu Wuxie.

When the spiked club finally descended, Liu Wuxie calmly raised his arm to block the incoming attack—barehanded. If someone else tried to withstand this strike head-on, they would probably be turned into minced meat. But Liu Wuxie was planning to withstand the impact of such a powerful origin artifact with his physique, and this was no different from courting death.

The siblings averted their eyes; they couldn't bear to watch the scene of Liu Wuxie's death. On the contrary, Chou Ba let out sinister laughter as he imagined Liu Wuxie turning into a bloody pulp under his club.

When the club struck Liu Wuxie's arm, the impact produced a loud sound accompanied by cracking sounds.

"This brat is courting death, planning to withstand our captain's weapon with his bare hand. Let's see how he dies!" The other mercenaries let out an outburst of laughter. This was unprecedented since ancient times, as the human body couldn't contend with the toughness of weapons.

"That crack must be coming from his arm! We can torture him after he's crippled!" The other mercenaries all looked relaxed as they gathered together.

The collision produced a powerful shockwave that extended outward. The leaves on the nearby trees fell in cascades under the tremor, and an eerie silence settled in once the aftershock subsided.

All eyes turned to the battlefield, each brimming with astonishment, including the siblings.

"How is this possible?!" Chou Ba looked at the broken spiked club in his hand, unable to accept the reality. Though the spiked club wasn't a powerful origin artifact, it wasn't something someone in the Astral River Realm could withstand with their physical bodies.

On the contrary, Liu Wuxie merely shook his arm. He looked unharmed while Chou Ba's spiked club broke into two—one half lay on the ground, while the other remained in Chou Ba's grip.

The mercenaries behind Chou Ba stood frozen, their eyes wide in disbelief.

"This is impossible! How can the captain's weapon break? Is he a monster?" one mercenary muttered, as this was beyond their comprehension. By all rationality, Liu Wuxie's arm should have been crushed.

"Brat, stop your tricks. See how I'll kill you!" Chou Ba growled. He thought that Liu Wuxie's arm must be augmented with a powerful weapon. He refused to believe Liu Wuxie could withstand his strike with his physique alone.

The iron hook on his left arm vanished as it shot toward Liu Wuxie's chest. The two were only a meter apart, and it was tough for anyone to dodge a surprise attack, even if Chou Ba was facing someone in the Nascent Transformation Realm.

But in the next moment, Chou Ba realized the grave mistake. He wasn't fighting an ordinary person but a deity who ruled life and death.

"You can die now!" Liu Wuxie said. He didn't want to waste his time here as he still had to head to Prosper City. With a finger tap, he unleashed a cold ray that froze the incoming hook. But it didn't stop there as a chill crept along the metal, spread toward Chou Ba's arm, and engulfed him in ice.

In a fraction of a second, Chou Ba's body slowly became stiff until he was frozen in ice.

The smug expressions on the remaining mercenaries’ faces froze, gradually replaced by pure terror. Everything had happened too quickly—Chou Ba was dead before they could even react.

The siblings also looked at each other with deep shock. They began to wonder if Liu Wuxie was even human, as it was impossible for any ordinary being to achieve such feats.

The remaining mercenaries didn't hesitate to flee for their lives, abandoning Chou Ba's frozen corpse. They were fast, but Liu Wuxie's attacks were faster. Cold rays shot like fine needles stabbing into their bodies, freezing them as they crumbled into nothingness.

The entire battle had ended in just a single breath, and killing such flies couldn't pique Liu Wuxie's interest. He had only acted for the siblings’ sake, seeing them as decent people deserving of help.

Three breaths later, the siblings finally recovered from their stupor as they hurried over to Liu Wuxie, their faces brimming with reverence.

"Thank you for saving us. We owe you our lives!" The young man gave Liu Wuxie a bow, and his words contained his heartfelt gratitude. If Liu Wuxie hadn't intervened today, they would've met a gruesome ending.

"No need for thanks," Liu Wuxie replied, waving off their gratitude as though it were a trivial matter. He hadn’t even expended a wisp of his true essence.

"My name is Wang Rui, and this is my younger sister, Wang Lan!" the man introduced himself and even dragged his younger sister over to give Liu Wuxie a bow.

"Liu Wuxie," Liu Wuxie replied. Through a simple conversation, he learned that the siblings were heading to Prosper City, where their clan resided. It was a coincidence as the trio decided to journey together.

With Wang Rui’s familiarity with the Genflame Mountain Range, Liu Wuxie was able to avoid unnecessary detours, making his journey smoother. The trio reached Prosper City on the fifth day without incident.

When they entered the city, Wang Rui offered to be the tour guide upon learning that this was Liu Wuxie's first time in Prosper City, pointing out the notable features of the city.

Liu Wuxie listened quietly, absorbing the information. The Central Plains held many complexities, and this was a valuable opportunity to broaden his understanding.

When dusk arrived, Wang Rui invited Liu Wuxie to visit their clan, which he politely declined. Their connection was fleeting, and they were unlikely to meet again. And so, they bid their farewell on the street.

Wang Rui saw that he couldn't convince Liu Wuxie and could only arrange an inn for the latter to stay, promising to visit the next day.

Upon entering the room, Liu Wuxie asked for a hot bath to wash away the fatigue of the journey. The journey across the Genflame Mountain Range was relatively safe, but Liu Wuxie had to remain on high alert throughout the trip, his nerves taut with vigilance. He could finally relax now.

He planned to take the teleportation array to Astral Glory City the next day, though his expectations of finding answers were low. From Wang Rui’s descriptions, Astral Glory City was a thriving hub filled with countless cultivators and experts.