Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 727 - Dispute

Astral Glory City was truly a world that belonged to cultivators. Buildings floated in the air, and cultivators traversed through them.

“That’s called the Spirit Jade Pavilion. It primarily sells items used by cultivators, and there’s also an auction hall, though the prices are exorbitant,” Liu Dayue said, introducing Astral Glory City’s situation to Liu Wuxie.

For buildings to suspend in mid-air, they would have to be powered by an unimaginable amount of spirit stones, which fueled the spiritual array to keep them afloat.

Aside from spirit stones, these places also required powerhouses to serve as their core pillars. The Spirit Jade Pavilion’s foundation wasn’t inferior to the Liu Clan.

Along the way, Liu Dayue didn’t just introduce the layout of Astral Glory City but also the distribution of forces within Central Plains. Liu Wuxie learned that even though the Liu Clan was one of the Four Great Clans in name, their development had declined over the years compared to the other three clans. Some first-tier clans had managed to surpass them.

The Liu Clan could remain one of the Four Great Clans because they had ancestors who had once served as an elder in the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy, a lifetime honor shared by the Four Great Clans.

As for the other first-tier clans, they would also require an ancestor to attain such rank in the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy if they wanted to join the ranks.

Curious, Liu Wuxie asked Liu Dayue more about the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy. But the latter said nothing, stating that Liu Wuxie would discover it in due time and that they should focus on the clan’s affairs for now.

If the clan's predicament couldn't be resolved, Liu Dayue felt there was little point in sharing further details with Liu Wuxie. He only briefly explained the cultivation realms, providing just enough context.

Liu Wuxie knew about the Astral River Realm, Nascent Transformation Realm, and True Profound Realm. But after that came the Spirit Profound Realm, which Liu Wuxie had only heard Murong Yi mentioning back in the Southern Province.

After that were the Earth Profound Realm, Heaven Profound Realm, and the Void Realm. As for realms higher than that, even Liu Dayue knew nothing.

Liu Wuxie was inwardly shocked after listening to Liu Dayue’s explanation. He didn’t expect the True Profound Realm to be insignificant in the Central Plains. His grandfather had already reached the pinnacle of the Spirit Profound Realm and was poisoned when trying to comprehend the Earth Profound Realm.

The Heaven Profound Realm could be considered the pinnacle in the Central Plains, while the Void Realm had only existed in legends. Those who could reach the Void Realm could grasp the essence of the world and traverse the universe, free from the constraints of the world.

This made Liu Wuxie realize he still had a long way to go.

“Uncle, have you heard of the Astral Domain Path?” Liu Wuxie asked as they set off for the Liu Clan after they left the teleportation array. He vividly recalled the divine race mentioning the Astral Domain Path on the Divine Light Mountain, which was why they had activated the ancient altar to send their people to the Central Plains.

“I haven’t,” Liu Dayue said, shaking his head.

It seemed that the Astral Domain Path was a secret only known to the divine race, or perhaps it was a mystery only accessible to those who had reached the Heaven Profound Realm. With Liu Dayue’s cultivation in the True Profound Realm, he wasn’t qualified to gain access to such secrets.

Moreover, Liu Wuxie noticed the spatial laws were far more stable when he entered Astral Glory City. It was onefold stronger than Prosper City and tenfold stronger than Scarlet Ridge City. This meant it would be challenging to fly in this city.

The pressure in this city allowed Liu Wuxie’s true essence to compress further, increasing the purity. Though his reserves of true essence had diminished, the purity had increased severalfold after the impurities were expelled.

“The Liu Clan is up ahead,” Liu Xing said, pointing to a mountain range. He was also eager to return home after spending one month outside.

“A mountain city!” Liu Wuxie murmured in astonishment. The entire mountain range was excavated to house an entire clan, and there were over a hundred thousand disciples in this mountain city, but most of them were branch disciples. The core members only numbered in thousands.

The surroundings were mountains, and the Liu Clan wasn’t far from Astral Glory City, with a grand path that connected the two places.

When Liu Wuxie was fifty meters from the Liu Clan, he could see many shops on both sides of the streets, extending to Astral Glory City.

Daily consumption was immense for a prominent clan like Liu Clan, which had over a hundred thousand disciples. These shops thrived, relying on the Liu Clan to sustain themselves.

As they approached the Liu Clan, Liu Wuxie couldn’t help feeling nervous. His memories of his parents had blurred over time, but he had inherited this body along with the emotions of a deep longing for his family.

Liu Wuxie had spent the journey reading through books, and he finally found the poison his grandfather was suffering from.

“Uncle, you’re finally back!” A youth ran over anxiously when Liu Dayue stepped into the Liu Clan.

“What’s going on?” Liu Dayue’s thoughts immediately drifted to his gravely ill father.

“The second master has allied the other elders to hold the highest council meeting to impeach the acting patriarch, wanting to dismiss him to elect a more suitable patriarch,” that disciple reported.

“Outrageous!” Liu Dayue clenched his fists and stormed toward the clan’s main hall.

In the inn, Liu Wuxie had already learned that his father was the acting patriarch who handled the clan’s affairs. However, due to his low cultivation, he couldn’t get any support, and these past few years had been filled with hardships.

“Hurry and follow up!” Liu Xing grabbed Liu Wuxie by the arm and hurried along.

The Liu Clan had twenty grand elders, all in the Spirit Profound Realm possessing extraordinary strength. If more than half of them agree to replace the patriarch, the decision would be valid and proceed.

Over the years, Liu Xiaotian had secretly garnered the support of those grand elders, but not everyone sided with him, as some stood on his grandfather’s side. Otherwise, Liu Xiaotian wouldn’t have put up with it for so long.

On their way to the main hall, they could see many Liu Clan’s disciples whispering among themselves. Liu Wuxie naturally caught their conversations, and they all discussed the major upheaval in the Liu Clan.

Re-electing a new patriarch wasn’t a small matter; it was akin to a nation changing its ruler. Once the rightful lineage lost its power, it would be relegated to a branch lineage, while another lineage would inherit the leadership.

In any clan, every branch lineage naturally wanted to replace the main lineage to secure more resources and authority.

The Liu Clan’s main hall stood towering at fifty meters in height, thirty meters wide, and a hundred meters deep. It was a magnificent construct resembling a dragon coiling up in the Liu Clan’s depth.

At this moment, over a hundred people were seated at the hall’s center. Aside from the twenty grand elders, many ordinary elders and deacons sat on both sides. However, the ordinary elders and deacons had no say in the discussion and could only listen.

The final decision rested in the hands of the twenty grand elders. Normally speaking, the clan would re-elect a new patriarch only in circumstances such as the death of the current patriarch or the current patriarch who had committed treason against the clan.

In addition to these two conditions, convening the highest council to impeach the current patriarch was strictly prohibited, and a heated debate took place in the main hall.

“I believe I have made myself clear, and a nation cannot go a day without a king, nor can a clan go a day without a head. For centuries, the Liu Clan has been declining, and it’s time for us to make a change now that the current patriarch is gravely ill. Or do you want us to watch the Liu Clan fall to a second-tier clan?” An old man stood at the hall’s center. He had the appearance of someone in the fifties or sixties, but his actual age was over a hundred.

This man was Liu Xiaotian, and twenty grand elders were seated in the upper seat in the main hall, which formed into a row. On the other side was a middle-aged man with locked brows, and he was the acting patriarch, Liu Dashan.

“Liu Xiaotian, the patriarch is only poisoned, and Liu Dayue has been searching for an antidote. The patriarch will recover once it’s found, so why are you hurrying to convene this meeting?” The elder seated third on the right stood up and retorted. He disapproved of Liu Xiaotian’s urgency, and his intention was evident.

“Eighteenth Elder, you can’t put it that way. No matter what, Liu Xiaotian is only speaking up for the clan’s benefit, and the patriarch has been poisoned for over a year now with no improvement. His condition is only worsening by the day, and it’s a pressing matter to re-elect a capable patriarch,” the fifth elder seated on the right stood up and argued. He felt that Liu Xiaotian was doing this for the clan’s benefit.

While his words sounded cold, his reasoning was grounded for the future development of the clan.

“I agree with the Fifth Elder. The clan cannot go a day without its head, and it’s time for our Liu Clan to change,” the Eleventh Elder stood up in support of the Fifth Elder.

“Bullshit! Over the past year, the acting patriarch has done a great job while the patriarch is unconscious, and the clan’s decline has already been halted. That’s a positive sign!” The Eighteenth Elder snorted. Even if the patriarch was unconscious, they had an acting patriarch to handle the clan’s affairs effectively.

“What a joke! How can someone in the Nascent Transformation Realm lead the entire clan?!” The sixth elder on the left stood up with disdain on his face. The so-called acting patriarch was a joke, as no one had listened to him besides the patriarch’s trusted aides.

Liu Dashan sat silently by the side, not saying a single word. His cultivation couldn’t even be compared to a deacon, so he had no say here. He could only clench his fists together. If not for Liu Xiaotian, how would the clan have fallen this far, how would he have left the Central Plains, and how would his father have been poisoned?

The neutral elders remained silent, not wanting to pick sides.

“As long as the patriarch is still alive, I will not agree to re-elect a new one,” the Eighteenth Elder declared firmly. He would only agree to re-elect a new patriarch if the current patriarch had died.

“Eighteenth Elder, your refusal is pointless, and the decision is valid as long as more than half of us agree,” the Fifth Elder retorted. He had been at odds with the Eighteenth Elder since their youth.

“Do you want to see the Liu Clan fall apart? Our Liu Clan’s decline isn’t because we lack a patriarch but because we’ve all become split. The entire clan is infested with parasites, and picking a new patriarch won’t fix it,” said the Eighteenth Elder.

So what if they picked Liu Xiaotian as the new patriarch? Would the clan’s situation change because of that? Everyone knew it was Liu Xiaotian who had caused the clan to be in such a mess.