Desolate Devouring Art-Chapter 904 - Refining the Immortal Rune

Then again, Liu Wuxie had only managed it thanks to the Frost Dao Art. Had it been any other cultivator at the Spirit Profound Realm, they wouldn't have survived a dive that deep, let alone escaped.

With Soaring Dragon aiding his ascent, he had used only half a breath's time to break free from the ocean.

Now in the sky, Liu Wuxie finally exhaled in relief. He retrieved a pill and swallowed it, letting the liquid spiritual energy course through him and nourish his desolate world.

At the same time, a hundred thousand spirit stones exploded to replenish the exhaustion of his true essence.

Casting his gaze across the horizon, he spotted a small island nearly a thousand miles away. Without a moment's hesitation, he shot toward it like a streak of golden light.

For now, he had no intention of returning to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. Mu Tianli and the others were likely occupied with purging the remnants of the five major sects. He would return once their task was complete, which would take a month.

Upon landing on the remote island, he discovered it was no more than a hundred meters in diameter. Aside from a few hardy plants growing in the cracks between boulders, the island was barren, mostly rocky terrain with not a single tree in sight.

He found a quiet spot sheltered from the sea breeze, where the surrounding rocks naturally formed a barrier. There, he laid out array flags to ensure the phenomenon accompanying his breakthrough wouldn't alarm anyone.

Though he was confident no one in the Southern Province could threaten him, he didn't want any distractions during his breakthrough. Now that he had gathered the fire and water elements, he could proceed to forge the two suppression steles.

Before entering seclusion, he took out a Communication Talisman and sent a message to Mu Tianli, informing the latter that he would return in a month.

Back in the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy, he had already gathered most of the required materials. He took out a peculiar stone from his interspatial ring and placed it before him. After cleaning the grime off it, a blue hue was revealed, with golden immortal runes hovering in its depths.

Many immortal runes had faded away, leaving only one that remained clear and distinct.

"This is weird. This immortal rune's aura differs from the Celestial Realm I came from. Could it have fallen from another world?" Liu Wuxie pondered.

This was the first time he had encountered an immortal rune of such kind. Its energy was unfamiliar and its origin unknown.

"Could it have fallen from the Astral Domain?"

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That was the only plausible explanation. This meant an immortal artifact must have been destroyed, and a fragment fell into the True Martial Continent.

The stone itself was hexagonal, shaped like the tip of a weapon.

Liu Wuxie's eyes widened in surprise. "This material is extraordinary, crafted from the Heart of Ocean."

The Heart of Ocean would take ten thousand years to form, making it incredibly rare.

"Time to start forging!"

Liu Wuxie took out the required materials and began refining them. With the experience from his previous attempts, forging the remaining two suppression steles wouldn't be difficult for him.

What concerned Liu Wuxie the most wasn't the forging technique but the material. He had to extract the immortal rune before using the remaining material to forge the suppression stele. However, extracting an immortal rune was no simple feat.

Forming multiple seals with his hands, Liu Wuxie began injecting them into the hexagonal stone to extract the immortal rune within. Even if he were to give this treasure to someone else, it would be useless if they couldn't extract the immortal rune within, and they could only treat it as an ordinary material used to forge weapons.

......

Meanwhile, an upheaval took place in the Southern Province. The news of the five major sects' destruction spread like wildfire as the remnants of the five major sects were gathered and executed before they could flee.

However, the young were spared, per Mu Tianli's decree; no innocent lives were to be taken. Disciples willing to renounce their sects were shown mercy, while those who resisted met their end.

The five major sects were wiped out within days. The remaining disciples were too weak to sustain their legacies, and their vast resources fell into the hands of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, Sky Rift Valley, and Misty Sect.

However, Mu Tianli didn't hoard the spoils and divided them into three equal shares, ensuring the Sky Rift Valley and the Misty Sect received a portion.

Even so, the Sky Rift Valley and Misty Sect accepted only half of what was offered. After all, had Liu Wuxie not returned, they too would have perished on that island.

In truth, they hadn't wished to take anything at all, but refusing outright would make them seem like outsiders. By accepting half, they stood together as true allies.

When Mu Tianli returned to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, he was stunned to see the sect already in the process of being rebuilt, grander and more majestic than ever before.

After this battle, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion would be able to enter a period of rapid growth. The disciples who had abandoned the sect now deeply regretted their actions and were rejected when they tried to return.

They had chosen to flee when danger loomed—now that the Pavilion had risen as the most powerful sect in the Southern Province, they sought to return in shame.

Upon his return, Mu Tianli immediately rewarded those who had stayed loyal. Each received one hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones, ten high-quality pills, and a direct promotion in status.

When everyone heard Mu Tianli's decision, cheers erupted throughout the sect. Xu Yilin, Fan Zhen, and the others were promoted to the rank of elders and granted high privileges within the sect.

As for Han Feizi, he sat leisurely atop a mountain with nothing to do. The sect buildings had been fully restored, leaving him free to wander as he pleased. After all, everyone in the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion knew—he was Liu Wuxie's friend.

Moreover, his strength was beyond fathomable. Even Mu Tianli was left in awe when he saw that the spiritual runes inscribed by Han Feizi were several times stronger than theirs.

"You left me alone in the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion while you ran off without a trace!" Han Feizi grumbled.

Liu Wuxie had sent a message back, informing that it would take him a month to return. This meant Han Feizi had no choice but to wait.

......

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and a thunderous rumble echoed on the nameless island as a complete golden spiritual rune appeared, shimmering with a radiant glow.

"Come!" Liu Wuxie summoned the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, drawing the immortal rune into it.

When the immortal rune entered the cauldron, a cracking sound came from Liu Wuxie's body from the immense pressure.

"What a powerful immortal rune!"

Despite being mentally prepared, Liu Wuxie was still shocked when the immortal rune entered his body. He didn't dare to be careless and had to merge with the immortal rune entirely, making it part of his body.

Demonic flames gushed out from the cauldron and enveloped the immortal rune. When immortal energy flowed out from the rune and into his body, it transformed his physique.

Liu Wuxie was undeniably talented, but he still had a long way to go before becoming an immortal. At the very least, he lacked a spiritual root, and only an immortal root could grant him the possibility of becoming an immortal.

Liu Wuxie had gone a long way from not having a spiritual root to finally possessing faint spirituality. But it was unimaginably arduous to become an immortal. If he could possess an immortal root, it would save him a great deal of time in his cultivation.

With this immortal rune, Liu Wuxie was confident he could forge an immortal root, granting him the potential to become an immortal.

An intense pain surged through Liu Wuxie's body as impurities were forced out through his pores. Even after reaching such a high level of cultivation, traces of impurity still remained within him.

With the impurities within his body being cleansed, Liu Wuxie's bones and meridians also transformed, as they were covered in a faint layer of gold.

"Into the desolate world!"

The desolate world was his foundation, and he transferred the immortal rune into the desolate world once he was almost done refining it.

The moment the rune entered, a violent jolt shook him, and a mouthful of blood spilled from his lips.

"It's too powerful!"

Liu Wuxie took a deep breath and circulated the Desolate Devouring Art to devour the spiritual energy from the surroundings.

A spiritual rain descended upon the island as it merged into his body. The immortal rune slowly dispersed into golden specks of light, filling up the desolate world.

A thunderous rumble echoed within as the world itself began to shift. The laws within grew clearer and more complete, and even his true essence began to carry a faint trace of immortal essence.

"There's no change in my cultivation, but the quality of my true essence has increased more than tenfold!"

Liu Wuxie could hardly believe the changes in the desolate world.

His true essence had grown stronger with each advancement in cultivation. For most, the quality of their true essence was fixed, and few were capable of changing it.

When he circulated his true essence now, he found it flowed more smoothly than ever before, surging through his meridians like a powerful tidal wave. True essence converged on his fingertips and manifested into an ice arrow, piercing a distant reef and creating a massive hole.

"What a frightening true essence!"

Even though Liu Wuxie had anticipated this outcome, witnessing it firsthand astounded him.

"This is great! With this immortal rune, I won't have to exhaust all my true essence when executing the Annihilation Fist!"

A smile appeared on Liu Wuxie's face. In the past, executing the Annihilation Fist would drain him completely—both his true essence and soul energy nearly depleted each time.

But now, with the immortal rune enhancing his foundation, the backlash would be significantly reduced.

He went on to spend an entire day familiarizing himself with the changes in his true essence before preparing to forge the two suppression steles.