Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 723 - Dark Spirit Exposed

Liu Wuxie’s words stumped everyone from the Wang Clan. He had guessed everything correctly. There were too many people gathered in the surroundings, and the Wang Clan didn’t wish to escalate the matter. Thus, they planned to kill Liu Wuxie and end everything.

In mere minutes, Liu Wuxie’s words had placed the Wang Clan in a passive position, and no one in the surroundings would believe them no matter what they said. This was human nature; being safe than sorry regarding suspicion was better.

“Patriarch, don’t listen to his nonsense! Let me end him once and for all!” One of the elders couldn’t hold back any longer and struck with his palm, planning to kill Liu Wuxie as no one knew what more could go wrong if they allowed Liu Wuxie to speak any longer.

“Patriarch Wang, regardless of whether his words are true or false, we can verify it with a harmless test. If he’s lying, it won’t be too late to kill him then,” a voice echoed as a figure appeared before Liu Wuxie.

"Who are you to meddle in the affairs of our Wang Clan?!" the elder snarled, his temper flaring as he demanded the stranger step aside. "This is our clan's business with that brat, and outsiders have no right to interfere! If you do, you'll be treated as an enemy of the Wang Clan."

"Forgive my intrusion. My name is Liu Dayue, and I am merely a passerby," the middle-aged man replied calmly, his voice steady yet imposing. "Everyone here has witnessed the events that transpired. It’s clear who is right and who is wrong. This young man has done your clan a great service, and this is how you repay him?"

As he spoke, an invisible pressure radiated from Liu Dayue, enveloping the entire street. The oppressive force froze the Wang Clan elders in place, halting their advance.

"The True Profound Realm!" Liu Wuxie thought, his shock evident. He hadn’t expected this man to be such a powerful expert. The realization further cemented the Central Plains’ reputation as a land teeming with hidden talents.

“Hold on!” Liu Wuxie’s eyes flashed with shock. He began to murmur to himself, “Liu Dayue? Why does his name differ by one word from my father’s name?”

His father’s name was Liu Dashan, and the man before him was called Liu Dayue. But he soon brushed it off as his father had only been in the True Core Realm back then, while this middle-aged man was in the True Profound Realm. The difference between them was like heaven and earth.

“Liu Dayue?” Wang Linshuang’s brow furrowed as the name stirred a faint memory, though he couldn’t immediately place it.

“Patriarch, could he be from the Liu Clan of Astral Glory City?” an elder standing nearby whispered in Wang Linshuang’s ear.

At the mention of the Liu Clan from Astral Glory City, Wang Linshuang froze. The Liu Clan was a towering presence, even in its decline, and far outmatched the Wang Clan in strength and influence. The realization struck him like a thunderbolt as the elder’s words jogged his memory.

“May I ask if you are the third son of Patriarch Liu Xiucheng, Liu Dayue?” Wang Linshuang asked cautiously, his tone laced with deference as he sought confirmation.

“Indeed, I am,” Liu Dayue clasped his hands together.

“What? He’s the third son of Liu Clan’s current patriarch?!” An uproar broke out from the crowd. The Liu Clan was one of the Four Great Clans of Central Plains.

The Wang Clan’s elders staggered, nearly collapsing under the weight of the revelation. The elder who had humiliated Liu Dayue earlier now bore an unmistakable look of dread. Anxiety gripped him as the full gravity of their actions became clear.

Liu Dayue could easily kill everyone with a wave of his hand. Though the Wang Clan might boast an ancestor in the True Profound Realm, they were nothing compared to the Astral Glory City’s Liu Clan. After all, the Liu Clan had an expert in the Spirit Profound Realm and numerous cultivators in the True Profound Realm.

“Brother Liu, this is an internal matter between my clan and him. I humbly request you not to intervene,” Wang Linshuang said after taking a deep breath. Though he feared offending the Liu Clan, the Wang Clan’s prestige in Prosper City would fall if they couldn’t resolve this matter quickly.

“I have no interest in meddling in your affairs, but this matter has become an even bigger issue since he mentioned a dark spirit. This concerns all the human race,” Liu Dayue said.

It was clear his intervention wasn’t merely an act of kindness toward Liu Wuxie—it was a response to the potential threat that could affect everyone.

“What Brother Liu said is reasonable. Why not try it? There’s no harm done if it turns out false. And if he’s lying, you can deal with him afterward,” many people in the crowd agreed with Liu Dayue’s stance.

The Wang Clan had taken it too far today, and no one present was blind. They all felt that the Wang Clan were simply an ungrateful bunch of people.

“I’ve always thought something was off about Young Master Wang,” someone said cautiously. “He hardly speaks and always lets his servants do the talking. Could it really be true that a dark spirit has possessed him?”

After all, Wang Yue’s behavior had indeed been weird recently. For someone of his age, it was unusual for him to speak so little with an unnaturally cold demeanor. Moreover, he hadn’t said anything throughout the event and merely stood there quietly.

The Wang Clan found themselves in a dire situation in the mounting suspicion. Some opportunistic individuals even began preparing blood from black dogs and chickens, mixing them. They were only waiting for the spiritual talisman to be drawn.

Dark spirits were bizarre existences with no physical form or primordial spirit. They were in the shape of a fog and could disguise themselves as water droplets or leaf.

They were born from malevolent spirits; humans wouldn’t feel anything if a dark spirit possessed them. It would only look like the victim had fallen sick, and once they had recovered, they would seem no different from ordinary humans.

Dark spirits had long faded into the realm of legend on the True Martial Continent, with most believing they had vanished entirely. Yet, the older generation still recalled the catastrophic events of thousands of years ago when dark spirits nearly annihilated the entire continent.

Wang Linshuang turned his gaze to his son, Wang Yue, a wave of unease washing over him. He couldn’t deny that his son had grown increasingly distant over the years. Wang Yue’s demeanor had shifted, becoming unnaturally cold and detached, like the lifeless stillness of a corpse.

The mixture of blood from black dogs and chickens was soon placed before Liu Wuxie. Since he had brought up the subject, it was only proper for him to craft the spiritual talisman.

“Wang Yue, do you really want to force my hand to craft the spiritual talisman?” Liu Wuxie asked, his voice cold yet calm. He had hoped to leave some room for redemption, knowing that once the spiritual talisman was drawn, there would be no turning back. The truth would be undeniable.

After all, nothing could escape the Heavenly Dao Book and Ghost Eye. The reason why he hadn’t exposed Wang Yue back in the alchemy shop was because he didn’t want any trouble.

“Hahaha!” Wang Yue suddenly let out an unsettling laughter with his face distorted. When dim light shone onto his face, it made him look sinister, unlike any ordinary human.

Seeing his son in such a state, Wang Linshuang’s heart clenched with anguish.

“You are truly stubborn!” Liu Wuxie’s eyes turned cold, and the mixture of blood flew into the air with a wave of his hand. With rapid movements from his hands, a golden seal appeared, transforming into a talisman that grew in size.

A bizarre spiritual talisman appeared, and his speed of inscribing spiritual runes shocked everyone present. In barely half a breath, a Dark Spirit Talisman hovered in the air, radiating dazzling golden radiance and illuminating the surroundings.

The radiance did not affect ordinary people, but when it shone onto Wang Yue, his voice turned inhuman with his eyes glowing haunting red. He roared, “You all deserve to die!”

Even Liu Dayue felt a chill as dark spirits were too notorious.

“Everyone, back off!” Liu Dayue yelled. He released a shockwave that pushed the onlookers hundreds of steps back, but he stood protectively before Liu Wuxie to ensure the latter’s safety.

His actions touched Liu Wuxie. They were strangers, and Liu Dayue’s compassion demonstrated his noble and honorable character.

When a lump of fog rose from Wang Yue’s body, his feet were slowly lifted off the ground, and the aura he gave off began to rise.

“It’s a dark spirit! A dark spirit really possessed him!” someone cried out from the crowd as everyone began to flee, fearing for their lives.

“I’ll kill you!” Wang Yue spoke in an eerie voice that sounded nothing like a human, and he lunged toward Liu Wuxie.

“Back off!” Liu Dayue said, knowing how unpredictable dark spirits could be.

Even as someone in the True Profound Realm, he wasn’t confident in his ability to deal with a dark spirit. They were known to possess unconventional means of attack, relying on their dark spirit energy to infiltrate the soul sea of others easily.

“His target is me, and there’s no escaping it,” Liu Wuxie replied, shaking his head. He would’ve escaped if it was possible, and he did not need to stand there waiting.

A mass of fog left Wang Yue’s body and shuttled through the air, charging toward Liu Wuxie. As for Wang Yue, he collapsed onto the ground once the dark spirit left his body.

Liu Dayue tried to attack the fog, but his attack only caused it to scatter. The fog evaded his attack effortlessly.

This is bad! Liu Dayue cried out inwardly, but he was one step too late as the fog burrowed into Liu Wuxie’s body, heading toward the latter’s soul sea. It wanted to seize Liu Wuxie’s body and turn him into a new vessel for the dark spirit.

However, there was no sign of concern on Liu Wuxie’s face. He allowed the fog to course through his meridians and seek entry to his soul sea. The fog was traveling at an astonishing speed, and everything happened in the blink of an eye.

On the other hand, Liu Dayue stood frozen on the spot, unsure of what to do. The crowd that had fled earlier began returning, wanting to see what was happening.

When Wang Yue collapsed to the ground, Wang Linshuang quickly rushed over. But Wang Yue’s breathing was faint, and his cultivation was dropping with each passing moment.

“Father...I’m sorry...” Wang Yue said, his voice tinged with pain.

“Yue’er, what happened? How did you get possessed by the dark spirit?” Wang Linshuang asked, his voice trembled as he watched his son’s breathing slowly weaken.

“I ventured to the Sinister Spirit Mountain three years ago,” Wang Yue said, his voice clear to everyone.

“The Sinister Spirit Mountain!” Everyone instantly understood what had happened after hearing what Wang Yue said. It was a notorious forbidden zone in Central Plains where no human dared tread.

Countless lives were lost there long ago; their lingering souls had transformed into dark spirits, and they had lived on the Sinister Spirit Mountain ever since. No one had expected Wang Yue to have the guts to venture there, a notorious zone restricted to humans.

“How foolish of you!” Wang Linshuang wanted to reprimand his son, but he knew it was too late to say anything now. A dark spirit had long taken over his son’s soul sea, and his son was dying now that the dark spirit had left his body.

No one expected something that seemed like a personal feud to spiral into an unimaginable crisis, and even dark spirits were involved. It became clear to everyone that the dark spirit in Wang Yue was something he had brought out from the Sinister Spirit Mountain.

Hundreds of eyes turned to Liu Wuxie in unison. If he couldn’t subdue the dark spirit, he would become the next host and have his soul sea consumed. One victim would soon lead to another, and the chain of tragedy would continue until the dark spirit matured.

It wasn’t surprising that humanity wouldn’t allow dark spirits to exist in the world and worked tirelessly to eradicate them.