Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 760 - Killing the Butcher

The blade grazed the back of the Butcher's head, and cheers erupted from the crowd, amazed by Liu Wuxie's swift and precise movements.

"This brat has strong adaptability, but he doesn't know the Butcher is impervious to ordinary weapons," someone remarked. The cheer was for Liu Wuxie's swift response, but that didn't mean everyone was optimistic about him winning.

Many people had witnessed the Butcher's terror and he had killed plenty of challengers who were more potent than Liu Wuxie.

When the Heretic Blade struck the back of the Butcher's head, Liu Wuxie felt he was hacking on a stone. The blade produced a crisp sound before it rebounded. The Heretic Blade had failed to cut through the back of the Butcher's head.

After realizing his strike had failed, Liu Wuxie didn't hesitate to retreat, leaving no room for the Butcher to launch his counterattack.

Sure enough, the Butcher reacted as though he had eyes on the back of his head. The moment Liu Wuxie retreated, the Butcher spun the battleaxe backward and struck the place Liu Wuxie was in earlier.

Fortunately, Liu Wuxie had retreated swiftly. If he had lingered for another moment, the battleaxe would've split him into two. Even if Liu Wuxie had a powerful physique, his body remained mortal, and he couldn't regenerate his limbs if he lost them.

If someone in the Nascent Transformation Realm was split into two from their waist, they could only survive by escaping with their primordial spirit. However, as Liu Wuxie was still in the Astral River Realm, he would die if his body died.

The counterattack from the Butcher produced a loud rumble from the rapid compression of air.

The situation was growing increasingly unfavorable for Liu Wuxie, and it would only be a matter of time before he revealed a weakness at this rate. After all, frustration would gradually set in if the battle dragged out and he couldn't break through the Butcher's defenses.

With a somersault in mid-air, Liu Wuxie landed on the ground with a grave expression. The Butcher's true terror didn't stem from his cultivation or martial techniques but from his physique and boundless stamina.

A vacuum-like forcefield had formed around the Butcher, extending ten meters in radius. If Liu Wuxie ventured too close, he would risk getting attacked by the battleaxe.

Liu Wuxie performed the Ghost Eye, knowing he had to end the battle quickly. After all, the longer the battle dragged on, the more likely he would expose his weakness.

The surrounding space began to slow down as the Butcher approached Liu Wuxie with the battleaxe in hand. A terrifying, ominous aura in red swept out, making Liu Wuxie uncomfortable.

"Kill him!"

"Kill him!"

"Kill him!" the spectators roared with bloodlust, urging the Butcher to kill Liu Wuxie quickly. This way, they could recoup all their losses. Their hearts had long been distorted after witnessing deaths daily, and their voices naturally reached Liu Wuxie as well.

Fueled by the crowd's frenzy, the Butcher let out a guttural roar and raised his battleaxe again. This time, his swing carried even more destructive power than before.

When he raised the battleaxe, the Ghost Eye revealed to Liu Wuxie the Butcher's circulation of true essence.

"Just as I suspected. He has mastered a powerful defensive technique, the Stone Limb Art!" This unique dao technique could harden the body's toughness to that of rocks, making the practitioner impervious to ordinary weapons.

However, the Stone Limb Art also had a fatal flaw. Practicing it would cause the practitioners to lose their emotions and be reduced to mindless killing machines. They could only be satisfied through killings, or they would descend into an uncontrollable rage.

A swirling vortex beneath the Butcher's naval contained the energy of the Stone Limb Art. If broken, the Stone Limb Art would naturally break as well.

However, it was nearly impossible for someone to strike at such a precise point. Even those who had discovered the Butcher's weakness—no fewer than ten challengers—had failed to exploit it and were ultimately slaughtered by him.

Liu Wuxie vanished and dodged the Butcher's battleaxe. The entire arena was already reduced to rubble, left in destruction.

"Now's the time!" Liu Wuxie thought inwardly, and his body appeared in another region. Like a cat, he lowered his center of gravity and appeared beneath the Butcher's arm. This was no different from courting death when they saw Liu Wuxie would risk his life to approach the Butcher.

Through Ghost Eye, Liu Wuxie had found the Butcher's weakness. While it was difficult for others to take the strike, Liu Wuxie only needed a fraction of a breath.

When Liu Wuxie got under the Butcher's arm, a hint of fear flashed in the depth of the Butcher's eyes. The Butcher had sensed the threat with a blade ray aimed at his lower abdomen.

It was too late for the Butcher to shift the battleaxe to defend his weakness, and he could only punch Liu Wuxie's head.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye, and the audience forgot to breathe, fully engrossed in the intense battle. When they saw Liu Wuxie relying on his bizarre movement technique to retaliate, applause erupted from the crowd. It was a stark reminder that superior cultivation wasn’t always necessary to claim victory.

"You're too slow!" Liu Wuxie said with a cold smirk as he had already calculated everything when the Butcher's fist descended. He shot forward, and the Heretic Blade flew from his hand. He pivoted himself to the right to avoid the devastating blow.

Only Liu Wuxie could achieve such a seamless fusion between speed and martial technique. He had become one with the blade, merging perfectly with the dao and blade techniques. He had achieved his goal through today's battle—grasping the true essence of speed.

When the blade aura pierced through the Butcher's lower abdomen, the entire blade went in until the hilt was left.

The moment the blade struck, the Butcher froze as the energy in his body dissipated. To make things worse, his body began to shrink like a deflated balloon punctured by a needle.

It didn’t take long for the Butcher’s body to shrink back to its normal size. While his frame was still larger than that of an ordinary human, he no longer looked as menacing as before. This was because the hulking figure he had displayed earlier was a result of practicing the Stone Limb Art, which caused his body to swell unnaturally.

The spectators fell silent when they saw how the Heretic Blade stabbed into the Butcher. Their discussion ceased, and even their applause had died down.

No one had anticipated the invincible Butcher to be defeated by an insignificant figure.

As the Butcher’s body reverted to its original form, a look of relief flickered in his eyes. For the first time in years, he felt at peace. He looked at Liu Wuxie with gratitude as though silently thanking him. The Butcher had long grown weary of his existence—enslaved by others and condemned to a life of endless slaughter.

Liu Wuxie sheathed the Heretic Blade but didn't find any interspatial ring on the Butcher. Like his title, he was a butcher groomed by One Sword Shakes Mount Spirit.

Word of the Butcher's defeat soon spread throughout the One Sword Shakes Mount Spirit, drawing attention from every corner.

Liu Wuxie descended from the crumbled arena and walked away, step by step. His combat prowess had increased significantly through the five battles, and he no longer needed to keep challenging the arena.

Meanwhile, Liu Xing had amassed over three hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones. Through five battles, Liu Wuxie multiplied his initial wager of ten thousand high-grade spirit stones by thirty-two times, reaching an astonishing amount of 320,000.

On the contrary, Liu Xing's stakes had also flipped multiple times, going from five thousand high-grade spirit stones to 160,000. This was a staggering amount. Though such a feat wasn't entirely unheard of, it was rare for someone in the Astral River Realm to amass such wealth.

"Brat, hand over your spirit stones! We have lost everything because of you!" yelled an enraged voice. After all, many people had placed their bet on Cui Shan and the Butcher, only to lose everything.

"What a joke! You're free to wager as you wish, and it's your fault for making a flawed judgment!" Liu Xing said, keeping all the spirit stones in his interspatial ring without glancing at them.

His confidence came from his position as a disciple of the Liu Clan. While he would behave like a harmless lamb before Liu Wuxie, that didn't mean his pride would allow him to lower himself before others.

"Fuck! Let's see how stubborn you can get when you're dead!" Many people were enraged after losing so many spirit stones, and they were determined to snatch them from Liu Xing. The one who spoke was a burly man who struck Liu Xing with his palm.

With his cultivation in the high levels of the Nascent Transformation Realm, there was no way Liu Xing could resist. But right then, a long whip appeared and lashed out at the burly man.

The burly man failed to dodge in time, earning a red lash mark across his hand that made him howl in pain. The strike had come from the woman named Xin’er, who had stepped in. Having placed a bet of twenty thousand spirit stones on Liu Wuxie and collected her substantial winnings, she acted without hesitation upon seeing someone attack Liu Xing.

"Who are you, and how dare you interfere!" The man roared, demanding Xin'er to step aside.

"Don't blame me for what will happen next if you continue your nonsense," said Xin'er. She stood firmly between Liu Xing and the burly man with unwavering determination that she wouldn't let them harm Liu Xing.

"Don't blame me since you're all courting death!" A blade appeared in the burly man's hand as he swung it over.

"Big Sister Xin'er, run!" Liu Xing didn't want Xin'er to stay behind as it was dangerous.

"Escape? Not a chance!" The burly man was determined to kill Liu Xing and Xin'er to reclaim his losses.

It was also strange that the One Sword Shakes Mount Spirit's higher-ups didn't intervene. After all, this place was a venue for everyone to fight and kill legally.

In addition to the burly man, many people have also directed their hatred at Liu Xing and Xin'er. Everyone began to form an encirclement around the two to ensure they couldn't escape.

As the blade aura closed in, Xin’er’s face grew grave. Although she was at the eighth level of the Nascent Transformation Realm, her opponent was no pushover, and she also had to protect Liu Xing. The confined space further restricted her movements, making it nearly impossible to wield her whip effectively. In an open area, she might have had a chance, but here, her attacks were repeatedly deflected.

The situation grew increasingly unfavorable for Liu Xing and Xin'er. The burly man wasn't the only one, as more people were gathering around them, trying to find an opportunity to strike.

As the blade approached, Xin'er lashed her whip at the man's legs. Since she couldn't find a breakthrough in the burly man's blade technique, she could only unleash her counterattack, resorting to a strategy of mutual destruction.

Everyone was surprised by Xin'er's decisiveness in making the right decision at the critical moment. If someone else were in her position, they would have chosen to retreat.

"Little girl, you're still too tender!" The burly man had anticipated this move and leaped off the ground like an eagle, pouncing at the two.