Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 533 - Saint Glazed Liquid

Liu Wuxie casually picked up a stone valued at ten thousand spirit stones. Ten thousand spirit stones were dirt cheap compared to the price Cheng Chen had paid for his stones.

No one dared to mock Liu Wuxie this time; instead, they held their breaths in anticipation. Among the crowd, the number of people who had ever successfully cut open an ancient fragment could be counted on one hand—if at all.

“He looks unfamiliar. Which sect is he from?” Many people asked curiously because they hadn’t seen Liu Wuxie before.

“He must be from outside the region,” someone speculated. Despite thorough investigation, no one had managed to uncover any information on him.

Meanwhile, in the House of Tea Art, Murong Yi was sipping her tea calmly when a maid hurried over to whisper something into Lady Yan’s ear. Lady Yan, after listening, waved the maid away, and then stepped behind her young mistress.

“Speak!” Murong Yi commanded, sitting upright and setting her cup down.

“There’s news that Young Master Liu had a conflict with Cheng Chen on the street, and they’re engaged in stone betting. Young Master Liu has just cut out an ancient fragment,” Lady Yan explained briefly.

“Interesting!” Murong Yi stood up and opened the window. Looking out at the bustling streets, her divine sense soon crossed several streets, locking onto Liu Wuxie.

The distance between Liu Wuxie and the House of Tea Art was tens of thousands of meters, and only someone in the high levels of the Astral River Realm could extend their divine sense that far.

Like before, Liu Wuxie’s method was crude and bold, making the onlookers' hearts clench with every cut. If there was spiritual essence inside the stone, it was highly likely that his cutting method would destroy it.

“This is the kid that cut out an ancient fragment?” Many latecomers asked in confusion because Liu Wuxie looked like a complete amateur judging from his technique.

“Who cares about skills when luck is on his side?” everyone said in a sour tone filled with envy. That was especially true for those who had studied stones for decades. The years they had dedicated couldn’t compare to Liu Wuxie.

When the stone began to shrink, it didn’t take long before it was reduced to the size of a fist, with fragments piling up on the ground.

“Look, there’s a crack in the stone!” Someone with sharp eyes noticed the stone cracking in Liu Wuxie’s hand.

Initially, it was only a hairline crack, but in just a few breaths, the crack was already visible to the naked eye, and a terrifying wave of spirituality gushed out.

“Spiritual essence! He has cut out a spiritual essence!” The crowd cheered because cutting open a spiritual essence was a cause for celebration. No matter how everyone was envious of Liu Wuxie, they couldn’t deny his extraordinary luck.

The spiritual essence in Liu Wuxie’s hand was bigger than the one cut out by Cheng Chen, and the spirituality was far superior.

Like spirit stones, spiritual essence was also classified into different grades. The most common was a low-grade spiritual essence Cheng Chen had cut out.

However, the one cut out by Liu Wuxie had reached mid-grade, a whole grade higher. With that, Liu Wuxie had defeated Cheng Chen once more.

Cold sweat began rolling down Cheng Chen’s forehead. It was unbelievable that Liu Wuxie had cut out an ancient fragment and a mid-grade spiritual essence from two stones in a row.

Even master appraisers couldn’t accomplish this feat as there was never a hundred percent chance of success.

Terrifying spirituality began burrowing into Liu Wuxie’s body when he held onto the spiritual essence. The desolate world in his dantian might have been formed, but it was devoid of life and spirituality. Even the trees looked dead and lacked vitality.

The land was dry, and the rivers and mountains were colorless, all lacking any signs of vitality.

The desolate world within Liu Wuxie could only be revitalized through the infusion of spiritual energy. However, with too many people nearby, he decided to wait until he returned to the courtyard to absorb the spiritual essence and breathe life into his barren inner realm.

He had also uncovered a curious phenomenon: the more his desolate world expanded, the more complete and stable it became, which in turn bolstered his strength.

Spirituality was tied to one's spiritual root, and at present, Liu Wuxie’s spiritual root was no more advanced than that of an ordinary cultivator. The prospect of achieving an immortal-level spiritual root seemed like an impossible dream—one that felt ever out of reach.

His spiritual root could only grow by absorbing a vast amount of spirituality, which was his most significant advantage.

Most people had a fixed spiritual root, and the benefits were minimal, no matter how much spiritual energy they absorbed. However, Liu Wuxie’s spiritual root was different and could continue to grow.

“Are you willing to sell this spiritual essence?” Shopkeeper Li asked again. Low-grade spiritual essence wasn’t rare, and many shops sold them, but mid-grade spiritual essence was a different story because its value was several times higher.

“Not for sale!” Liu Wuxie replied. If he wanted his spiritual root to grow, he estimated he would need an enormous amount of spiritual essence, so how could he sell it?

“You’re only in the Heavenly Phase Realm. You can’t protect the ancient fragment and spiritual essence. So you might as well sell them, or you might lose your life,” someone began to threaten Liu Wuxie blatantly.

The ancient fragment and mid-grade spiritual essence were rare treasures that many people coveted. This meant many people would be after Liu Wuxie’s life the moment he left this place.

However, Liu Wuxie ignored the threats.

As the stone betting continued, a mysterious old woman appeared among the crowd. She looked ordinary as she slowly walked toward the center of the crowd with a cane in her hand, and her eyes were fixed on Liu Wuxie.

Liu Wuxie put away the spiritual essence and turned to look at Cheng Chen; it was his turn next.

Cheng Chen’s mood had plummeted after cutting the second stone. Losing wouldn’t lead to death, but he dreaded the humiliation of kneeling and kowtowing. Most importantly, everything excavated by the losing party in this event would go to the winner.

“Senior Brother Cheng, don’t be discouraged. You have eight stones left, and you can still win if you find an ancient fragment.” The three youths standing behind Cheng Chen came forward to comfort him.

Now wasn’t the time to be disheartened because there was no path of retreat. Furthermore, it was still uncertain who would win the fight.

“Junior Brother Qian is right. I can’t lose!” A powerful fighting spirit exploded from Cheng Chen because he couldn’t afford to lose, nor would he lose. If he failed, it would disgrace the Azure Crimson Gate.

Cheng Chen looked the three-meter-tall stone. This was the most expensive stone, originally priced at one million spirit stones, though even with a discount, he still paid seven hundred thousand. It had the highest likelihood of containing an ancient fragment.

He picked up the third stone and took a deep breath, and his face gradually returned to normal. His cutting had slowed down significantly compared to before; he was more cautious this time.

Only the sounds of stone being cut could be heard on the street. The stone that Cheng Chen was cutting this time was about as thick as a barrel, so it took longer for him to cut.

After fifteen minutes of cutting, Cheng Chen finally reached the core. Cold sweat began to drip from his forehead, and no one knew if it was from tension or fear.

“Spirituality! There’s spirituality!” Exclamations echoed from the crowd from those who had arrived later.

This drew eye rolls from the surroundings because it was no longer enough to surprise them. They were eager to see if this stone betting would reveal more ancient fragments.

The ancient fragments, the size of a palm, were considered priceless, while those the size of a nail were considered ordinary goods.

Cheng Chen made the final cut. When the stone split open, a spiritual essence about the size of a quail egg was revealed. It wasn’t any weaker compared to the one cut open by Liu Wuxie, and it was also a mid-grade spiritual essence.

Moreover, this spiritual essence was slightly larger than Liu Wuxie’s. Cheng Chen’s face relaxed, and a faint smile hung on his lips at the sight of the spiritual essence.

However, there were no changes in Liu Wuxie’s facial expression, as if he had already expected it. The desolate aura could block out the divine sense of others, but it couldn’t hinder Liu Wuxie’s Ghost Eye.

After mastering the Soul Forge Art, Liu Wuxie’s Ghost Eye had evolved beyond ordinary techniques.

Many cultivators in the True Martial Continent had practiced an eye technique, and they would’ve made a fortune long ago if their eye technique could see through the stone. However, their eye techniques couldn’t even pierce through the stone's surface, let alone see what was inside.

“It’s your turn now!” Cheng Chen’s face flashed with a hint of ferocity. He had obtained two spiritual essences, while Liu Wuxie only had one spiritual essence and one ancient fragment. They were roughly even in terms of value.

Liu Wuxie picked up the rotten wood, covered in layers of mud. It was likely fished out from a swamp. He had picked seven stones and three pieces of wood.

With a swift cut, Liu Wuxie split the wood apart, revealing a strange liquid that began flowing out.

“Why is there liquid flowing out? What’s that?” Many were baffled because they couldn’t comprehend how a liquid could seep from the wood.

Liu Wuxie took out a porcelain bottle to contain the liquid. There wasn’t any spiritual essence but the liquid.

Everyone exchanged confused looks, unsure of what it was.

“That’s the Saint Glaze Liquid!” an exclamation came from someone in the Astral River Realm, and all eyes turned to him. Over ninety percent of the people present didn’t know what the Saint Glaze Liquid was, and they all had curiosity on their faces.

Upon hearing the mention of Saint Glaze Liquid, Cheng Chen staggered and almost fell over, but he was saved by someone who caught him from behind.

The Xiang Clan Manor’s patriarch felt a strong urge to commit suicide. That rotten wood was kept in the clan’s collection for countless years before being sold off.

Who would’ve thought that not only would Liu Wuxie find an ancient fragment, but he even cut out the Saint Glaze Liquid? Each find was more valuable than the last, and he wouldn’t be surprised that Liu Wuxie could cut open a complete ancient fragment at this rate.

“What’s the Saint Glaze Liquid?” someone asked, wanting to know its value.

“In ancient times, there existed a divine tree called the Glazed Tree. This tree was extremely precious because each leaf was comparable to a spiritual essence, and the liquid harvested from the trunk was called the Saint Glazed Liquid, a treasure coveted by every cultivator.” The Glazed Tree had already gone extinct, and the wood that Liu Wuxie had cut was a segment of the Glazed Tree’s trunk.

“A leaf was comparable to a spiritual essence?!” Many gasped in shock because one spiritual essence was enough to drive people insane.

A tree naturally had countless leaves, and whoever owned a Glazed Tree would have no worries about becoming immortal.

Everyone looked at Liu Wuxie with greed, wanting to rush forward and snatch the bottle away. After all, the value of the Saint Glazed Liquid was even higher than spiritual essence, and the liquid flowed for roughly half a minute, producing roughly thirty-odd droplets.

When Liu Wuxie sealed the porcelain bottle, he paid no attention to the surroundings and kept it in his interspatial ring.