Desolate Devouring Art

The Eternal Spirit Mountain towered over the northwestern reaches of the Central Plains, surprisingly close to the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy.

Few in the Central Plains knew of the two great forces, the Southern Heavenly Spirit and the Northern Dragon Emperor. But Liu Wuxie was already aware of the deep connection between their academies.

This time, he was in no rush. He traveled at a relaxed pace, taking breaks along the way to admire the scenery.

The past few years had worn down the four women. Liu Wuxie was always on the move, seldom staying long. Every reunion was fleeting, every parting abrupt.

Now that they were finally together, he was determined to treasure every moment.

Over time, the four women grew more in sync. During meals, Murong Yi, Chen Ruoyan, and Jian Xing'er would naturally leave the seat beside Liu Wuxie for Xu Lingxue, silently acknowledging her position as his main wife.

The five of them sat together in a modest restaurant. Though food was no longer a necessity at their level of cultivation, they still enjoyed the warmth and familiarity that came with sharing a meal.

"Did you hear? Something strange happened in the Eternal Spirit Mountain," whispered someone at a nearby table.

"What is it?" asked another, equally curious. They, too, traveled toward Eternal Spirit Mountain.

This was a common resting point en route to the Eternal Spirit Mountain, so news flowed freely here.

"My friend told me that a mysterious coffin suddenly emerged from underground. It just rose from the earth by itself!" said the first cultivator, speaking with such vivid detail that one might think he had seen it with his own eyes.

"A coffin? Rising by itself?" someone scoffed. "Come on. How big could it possibly be?"

Even the largest coffins were only a few meters long. Why would anyone find that terrifying?

"They say when it rose, the sky turned black and the entire Eternal Spirit Mountain shook. A hidden force is said to be buried deep within the mountain range!"

Liu Wuxie listened carefully, already suspecting that the hidden force was the Golden Cauldron Pavilion.

The coffin's sudden emergence drew cultivators from all over. And the headquarters of the Golden Cauldron Pavilion lay hidden within the Eternal Spirit Mountain—its presence obscured by thick fog that enveloped the range year-round. Few dared to enter, and so its secrets remained unknown to most.

"Please, as if any sect could survive in that cursed place," someone sneered. "Sounds like a story made up to scare people."

But the storyteller only grew more animated. "I'm telling you, it's real! The ground split open! Mountains collapsed, revealing the entire mountain range!"

The exaggeration only drew more ridicule.

After all, even the strongest Earth Profound Realm expert couldn't topple a mountain. No one was buying it.

As the conversation drifted toward idle gossip, Liu Wuxie retracted his divine sense and resumed eating quietly. After the meal, they continued on their journey.

They chose to walk instead of flying, not wanting to tire the women.

As they followed the winding trail into the mountains, Chen Ruoyan skipped ahead playfully while Liu Wuxie and Xu Lingxue lingered at the rear.

Then, Liu Wuxie suddenly stopped.

"Xue'er, take the others and wait for me a hundred miles ahead," he said calmly.

Xu Lingxue frowned. "What is it? Are we in danger?"

Though their cultivations were only at the lower levels of the Earth Profound Realm, they could still support him if necessary.

"It's nothing serious," he replied, gently brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. "Just go ahead."

The other three ladies overheard their conversation and immediately gathered around.

"Big Brother Liu, we're not leaving," Murong Yi said firmly. "We'll face it together."

"If you won't listen, then none of you will follow me into Eternal Spirit Mountain," Liu Wuxie said sharply.

"Let's go," Xu Lingxue finally said in a soft voice. She knew Liu Wuxie—once he made a decision, no one could change it.

With silent tears in her eyes, she turned to leave, followed by the others.

Watching their retreating silhouettes, Liu Wuxie sighed heavily.

"Are we going to leave him like this?" Chen Ruoyan asked, gripping Xu Lingxue's arm.

"You all know how stubborn he is," Xu Lingxue replied, wiping her eyes. "Let's go about fifty miles ahead, then we'll circle back."

Murong Yi and Jian Xing'er nodded silently.

As soon as they vanished from view, Liu Wuxie turned back, his expression hardening into a cold mask.

"Come out," he commanded coldly.

Two faint waves of killing intent rippled through the air.

"You sensed us? Impressive," came a voice as two dark figures emerged from the brush, swords in hand.

They struck without hesitation. They struck with lethal swiftness—the unmistakable style of Black Plume Pavilion assassins.

Liu Wuxie had sensed them days ago. But with the four ladies nearby, he hadn't acted. Now that they were safely away, he could deal with the assassins without distraction.

"You've been tailing me for days," he said calmly. "Why wait until now?"

He had known the Black Plume Pavilion was after him for some time—their murderous aura was impossible to hide.

"The dead don't need answers," one of the assassins hissed as his sword lashed out like a venomous serpent.

The other, on the left, wielded a dagger with chilling precision, its blade glinting with murderous intent.

"Two assassins at the pinnacle of the Earth Profound Realm? The Black Plume Pavilion must think very highly of me," Liu Wuxie muttered coldly.

Through his Ghost Eye, he tracked every contraction and release of their muscles. His body shifted smoothly to the left, the Heretic Blade materializing in his grasp. In the same instant, he struck with a curved, unpredictable arc.

A sharp clang echoed through the forest.

In a single fluid motion, Liu Wuxie not only dodged the sword strike from the right but also intercepted the dagger slash from the left. It all happened in a flash. Any other cultivator at that level would've died instantly.

Though Liu Wuxie was only at the eighth level of the Spirit Profound Realm, his combat prowess rivaled or even exceeded those at the peak of the Earth Profound Realm.

The two assassins were visibly stunned. Realizing they couldn't take him down in one move, they swiftly changed tactics. Adopting a hit-and-fade approach, they moved like phantoms, probing for weaknesses and planning to wear him down over time.

The battle reached a deadlock.

Liu Wuxie could handle typical Earth Profound experts with ease, but these were trained assassins—masters of lethality. Killing them wouldn't be easy. What made it worse was their readiness to retreat the moment the situation turned against them.

Soon, Liu Wuxie sensed something was off.

"You're not here to kill me. You're stalling," he said, eyes narrowing. "You've been following me for days, but only now do you act. Where are the others?"

The assassin on the right smirked. "Sharp guess. Pity it's too late."

But then his expression faltered. Their backup hadn't arrived.

Liu Wuxie's eyes flashed with realization. If the others weren't here, that meant... they had gone after Xu Lingxue and the others.

"Damn it!" he cursed under his breath.

"They're probably already in our hands," the left assassin sneered, mocking him. "You thought we'd fight you head-on?"

From the beginning, brute force was never their strategy. Their goal had been simple: buy enough time for their allies to strike elsewhere.

"You're all dead," Liu Wuxie growled, his tone ice-cold.

If anything happened to the four women, he would never forgive himself.

An explosive surge of spiritual energy burst from his body, tearing through the air. A spatial rift cracked open behind him—he was ready to make a break for it.

But the two assassins roared and lunged to block his path. Their orders were clear: hold him here at all costs.

Just as Liu Wuxie tried to retreat, a sudden strike from the assassin on the right forced him back again. Their trap had been flawless so far, and they weren't about to let it fail.

"Curse Dao Art! Death Dao Art! Great Five Elemental Palm!" Liu Wuxie roared, unleashing his full strength at once.

As the three powerful dao arts collided with reality, the expressions of the two assassins darkened. The Death Dao Art was especially terrifying—it drained their life force with every passing second.

The Curse Dao Art wasn't directly lethal, but it warped fate itself, turning them into walking disasters.

The Great Five Elemental Palm followed like a massive grindstone descending from the heavens, pressing their movements into sluggish delay.

Their speed faltered. Their precision dulled.

"Frost Dao Art!" Liu Wuxie's voice rang out again, followed by the shimmering glow of ice law condensing around the battlefield.

Then—

"Annihilation Fist!"

The moment of hesitation was all he needed.

Liu Wuxie lunged forward with all his might, his fists blazing with cataclysmic energy as the Annihilation Fist struck the assassin on the right.

A deafening explosion rang out.

The assassin was pulverized instantly, his body scattered like dust.

The other turned to flee, but the frost had already locked his limbs in place. Before he could escape, the massive palm from the Five Elemental Art descended and crushed him into the earth, ending his life in one merciless blow.

Liu Wuxie was panting, his spiritual essence nearly depleted from executing so many high-level techniques. But there was no time to rest.

He turned and sprinted.

"Please be safe..." He kept repeating those words in his heart, trying to soothe the growing storm of dread.

The forest blurred around him, each step driving his speed to the limit.

If anything had happened to the four women, he would never be able to face his parents or his father-in-law.

And he would never be able to forgive himself.