Desolate Devouring Art

Upon falling onto the demonic path, cultivators would lose their consciousness and turn into a puppet, as their inner demon would take complete control of them.

The disciples nearby fled in panic, terrified that the demonic energy would affect them.

From a distance, they could still observe the battle. Everyone knew the black-robed grandmaster still had more tricks up his sleeve, and none of them dared risk getting caught in the fallout.

The only way to save the true grandmaster was to eliminate the inner demon.

Miao Hanxuan, however, was standing near the edge of Heavenly Gate Peak. He hadn't fled in time, so the stampeding crowd knocked him off the cliff and sent him crashing down the mountainside.

The nearby disciples were stunned by the sight.

When Miao Hanxuan finally reached the base of the mountain, he looked so disheveled that he wished he could crawl into a hole and disappear from shame.

Just as he stood up, another wave of disciples came rushing down from above. Covered in filth and nearly unrecognizable, several disciples mistook Miao Hanxuan for a large boulder and trampled him.

One disciple even stomped on his face.

Miao Hanxuan felt like crying, but no tears would come out.

The Heaven Profound Realm barrier blocked flight, so the disciples had no choice but to flee on foot, and in doing so, thousands trampled on Miao Hanxuan.

Cultivators had turned the Heaven Gate Peak into a forbidden zone. Even aerial profound beasts that ventured too close were shredded into pieces by the laws surrounding it.

When the final foot stepped off him, Miao Hanxuan coughed blood and nearly fainted from rage and pain. As a dignified Earth Profound Realm elder, he could never have imagined himself being reduced to such a humiliating state, and no one would believe him even if he were to tell them about it.

"Hey, is that a person lying over there?" a disciple asked, turning back and noticing something wriggling on the ground.

The others looked and gasped. "Isn't that Elder Miao? What's he doing on the ground? I thought there was a pit there. Could it be that Elder Miao used his body to fill it so we could pass safely? Such noble self-sacrifice!!"

When Miao Hanxuan regained consciousness and heard the mocking praise, he passed out again.

Meanwhile, the purification ritual in the sky continued. The five cultivators' chanting echoed across the heavens as a golden, pentagonal talisman blazed above the black-robed grandmaster, completely enveloping him.

The inner demon struggled violently but could not break free from the binding talisman.

As time passed, Qu Su and the other elders grew more adept at channeling the Demon Purging Scripture. Their synchronization enhanced the power of the chant, and they infused their willpower into the formation.

None of the elders had reached the Heaven Profound Realm, but each stood at the Earth Profound pinnacle. Combined, their power commanded respect.

Liu Wuxie was the weakest among them in terms of cultivation, but he had infused an immortal rune into his chanting.

Without that rune, the five of them alone wouldn't have been able to suppress a Heaven Profound Realm's inner demon.

The black-robed grandmaster writhed and roared in fury, "Divine Sun Sword, kill them all!"

The black-robed grandmaster's enraged voice echoed throughout the academy.

On the central peak, the Divine Sun Sword stirred. Bound to the grandmaster by a spiritual contract, it could not defy his command. The inner demon shared the same soul signature as the grandmaster, so the former could also command the Divine Sun Sword.

"Purification Art." The real grandmaster opened his eyes inside the cave and cast a powerful technique that instantly calmed the Divine Sun Sword down, shielding it from outside influence.

The battle between Liu Wuxie and the inner demon wasn't just a personal grudge. It was shaking the foundation of the entire Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy.

The grandmaster had gone so far as to injure his cultivation to keep the inner demon restrained. He also had to use the Purification Art to keep the Divine Sun Sword from being misused.

The Divine Sun Sword transformed into a middle-aged man and sat motionless beside the grandmaster.

"Liu Wuxie, you deserve to die!" the black-robed grandmaster snarled, his face twisted into something no longer human, more abyssal devil than man.

The distant elders grew increasingly anxious. They wanted to help, but the inner demon had no tangible body; physical attacks were useless against the latter.

Just then, the black-robed grandmaster's body began to expand as he formed hand seals.

"Heavenly Dragon Seal!" he roared, unleashing one of the grandmaster's most terrifying martial techniques.

The grandmaster and his inner demon shared the same strength and memories; the only difference was their temperament and form. The sky cracked open, unleashing countless black holes that poured dark winds across the land.

Under the pressure of the Heavenly Dragon Seal, Qu Su and the others nearly collapsed.

"Fiery, now!" Liu Wuxie growled.

With a thunderous roar, Fiery emerged. True Samadhi Fire swirled beneath its feet.

"Burn!"

Fiery breathed a sea of flame that engulfed half the sky.

The True Samadhi Fire burned so fiercely that it seemed like it could ignite the heavens themselves. When the fire consumed the black-robed grandmaster, he shrieked in agony.

"Soul Capture!" Liu Wuxie shouted.

He had been waiting for this exact moment. Now that the inner demon was burning and vulnerable in its soul form, Liu Wuxie made his move.

A massive vortex opened before Liu Wuxie and sucked in a portion of the black miasma—soul energy—converting it into nourishment for his cultivation.

The soul energy, taken from a Heaven Profound expert, brimmed with terrifying power. It was fed directly into Liu Wuxie's soul sea, which was located in his upper dantian.

The Heavenly Dao Book unfurled and pressed downward, sealing the inner demon's soul even tighter.

Qu Su and the other elders were stunned. They never expected that Liu Wuxie would dare to absorb the soul of a Heaven Profound Realm expert.

If that soul lost control for even a moment, it could destroy the soul sea of anyone below the Heaven Profound Realm. Liu Wuxie, only at the Spirit Profound Realm, was walking on a razor's edge.

The black-robed grandmaster's strength dropped significantly after losing a chunk of his soul energy.

Meanwhile, within the cave atop the central peak, the grandmaster sat surrounded by a stream of blood. If no one destroyed the inner demon soon, the grandmaster would die.

Even Heaven Profound Realm experts weren't immortal—they merely had longer lifespans.

"You forced me!" the black-robed grandmaster hissed with a sinister grin. His figure dissolved into thick black miasma and surged toward the five cultivators, aiming to invade their bodies and awaken their inner demons.

"This is bad!" Qu Su cried out.

The inner demon was attempting mutual destruction, trying to take them all down with it.

"Immortal Rune—suppress!" Liu Wuxie roared, already anticipating the move.

He summoned an immortal rune that slammed down from above, absorbing the remaining black miasma into itself.

However, the price to pay was severe. Liu Wuxie's face turned deathly pale as the drain on his true essence grew unbearable. Even his soul sea teetered on the verge of collapse.

Qu Su and the elders exhaled in unison. They had skimmed death by a hair's breadth. Without Liu Wuxie's intervention, they would have perished.

As the last of the black miasma faded into nothingness, the result became clear. Liu Wuxie's method worked. The elders managed to suppress the inner demon.

The elders ceased chanting the Demon Purging Scripture and immediately moved toward Liu Wuxie.

"Liu Wuxie, are you alright?" Qu Su asked, noticing the ghastly pallor on Liu's face.

Liu Wuxie coughed up a mouthful of blood and began to fall from the sky.

"Wuxie!" Qu Su hurried to catch him and gently lowered them both to the ground.

"I was careless," Liu Wuxie said, clutching his chest, his voice weak.

"Inner demon energy!" one of the elders cried out, eyes widening.

Everyone turned and saw a thin black line creeping along Liu Wuxie's arm, slithering slowly toward his forehead.

Inside his body, a thread of black miasma had buried itself in his heart like a malignant seed. The moment his will faltered, it would sprout and spread throughout his entire being.

"That's impossible! We just killed the inner demon! How did it enter your body?" Qu Su asked in disbelief.

Liu Wuxie said with a bitter smile. "Elder Qu Su, I need to enter seclusion for a few days. Please guard me while I recover."

He hadn't expected the inner demon to be so cunning. When he used Soul Capture, a fragment of the demon's will was actually hiding within the soul energy that he had absorbed. The fragment then buried itself deep within him.

"No problem," Qu Su responded without hesitation.

None of the elders were willing to leave. The Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy owed Liu Wuxie far too much to abandon him now.

Just then, a middle-aged man appeared before them in a flash.

"Senior Divine Sun!" the four elders greeted him with a respectful bow.

With the inner demon gone, its influence over the Divine Sun Sword had finally broken.

"He asked me to give this to you. It can suppress the inner demon within you," Divine Sun said, producing a golden pill and handing it to Liu Wuxie.

"Please thank the grandmaster for me," Liu Wuxie said, quickly swallowing the pill.

Divine Sun sword nodded and turned into a streak of starlight, vanishing toward the central peak.

Back on that peak, the grandmaster slowly withdrew his blood-soaked hand from his chest. He gazed toward Heavenly Gate Peak and murmured, "Thank you, child."

He had deliberately made things difficult for Liu Wuxie when the young man had just joined the academy, hoping to accelerate his growth through hardships. If Liu Wuxie had been even an hour late, the inner demon would have completely taken over, and the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy would have fallen into ruin.

Those who reached the Heaven Profound Realm could faintly glimpse into the threads of destiny. The grandmaster had foreseen all this a long time ago. He knew Liu Wuxie was fated to resolve this crisis.

For that reason, he had created the projection clone at a tremendous cost, sacrificing thousands of years of cultivation. All of it was to ensure that Liu Wuxie would grow strong enough in time.

And now, it had all proven worthwhile.

After taking the golden pill, Liu Wuxie sat down cross-legged and began refining it.

Suddenly, a peal of eerie laughter echoed in his mind.

"Become my slave." A dark, whispering voice echoed, smooth and tempting. "Together, we can conquer this continent. You will wield unimaginable power and authority!"

A black, twisted face materialized before him. It was a manifestation of the inner demon.

"A mere inner demon dares to tempt me?" Liu Wuxie sneered and shattered the face with sheer will.

"It's useless," the voice replied, unfazed. "I'll remain with you for eternity. Why fight me? Let's join forces. You'll rule the day, and I'll rule the night."

"Annoying pest, begone!" Liu Wuxie roared inwardly.

Countless trials had forged his will, tempering it like steel in divine flame. He carried the resolve of an Immortal Emperor, and he would never succumb.