Chapter 1751 - Second-Level High Immortal Realm
Everyone looked shocked when they saw Liu Wuxie effortlessly slay a member of the Veiled Race despite their ferocious assault. The Veiled Race had always remained mysterious, and their attacks earned a fearsome reputation because almost no one could defend against them. Their concealment techniques, in particular, made them exceptionally troublesome opponents. Even the Yin-Yang Elders couldn't conceal the surprise that surfaced in their eyes.
The ordinary laws of the High Immortal Realm could no longer help Liu Wuxie make a breakthrough. However, the birth of the Veiled Realm caused the desolate world to expand slightly, stirring his cultivation once again into restless motion.
Liu Wuxie slowly licked his lips as murderous intent surged within him like a rising tide. He raised the Bloodthirst Blade toward the heavens, his gaze firmly locking onto the three remaining members of the Veiled Race.
Discussions erupted throughout the surroundings. "This brat is too strange. How did he discover the Veiled Race's location?" Many True Immortal cultivators even released their divine senses, yet none of them could capture the Veiled Race's movements.
"This fight is getting more interesting now!" Excitement lit up countless faces as spectators rubbed their palms together. They cared little about who would ultimately win the challenge and only wanted to witness a thrilling battle.
The death of one of their own sent the remaining three members of the Veiled Race into a frenzy. They attacked simultaneously, transforming into three ripples that appeared from three different directions around Liu Wuxie.
A cold gleam flashed through Liu Wuxie's eyes as he raised the Bloodthirst Blade once more. A faint blade force spread through the surroundings, and the immense pressure it released forcibly exposed the three hidden members of the Veiled Race.
He had released only a trace of his blade force. Had he unleashed it fully, crushing the three into dust would have been effortless.
"That's blade force!" Horror filled the eyes of the cultivators surrounding the cage. None of them could believe that Liu Wuxie had already comprehended blade force at such a young age.
The instant the Veiled Race members revealed themselves, Liu Wuxie swung the Bloodthirst Blade. The strike claimed all three lives in a single motion. Their bodies exploded apart as Liu Wuxie devoured every law and strand of energy they possessed and absorbed them into the desolate world.
After rapidly refining all four members of the Veiled Race, Liu Wuxie's cultivation surged upward and broke into the second-level High Immortal Realm. The sudden advancement caught everyone completely off guard. No one had expected him to use the deaths of the Veiled Race members as the foundation for his breakthrough.
"What a terrifying breakthrough speed!"
Liu Wuxie's advancement was so swift that calling it monstrous was the only fitting way to describe it. Ordinary cultivators needed time to achieve a breakthrough, but Liu Wuxie was different. Once the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron refined everything and poured the resulting energy into the desolate world, the breakthrough arrived as naturally as flowing water.
At that very moment, the iron gate opposite Liu Wuxie creaked open once again, and five Quasi-True Immortals emerged from within. With each successive round, the number of opponents Liu Wuxie had to face would increase.
The moment the five fighters stepped into the cage, they launched their attacks without the slightest delay. Their afterimages flooded the arena as they sought to kill Liu Wuxie while he was still in the middle of consolidating his breakthrough. Within the cage, only two outcomes existed—kill or be killed.
"Get lost!" Liu Wuxie roared.
Although he had successfully advanced to the second-level High Immortal Realm, he still needed time to stabilize his cultivation. The Desolate Devouring Art circulated at full speed as immortal energy surged toward him like a roaring tide.
Nearly ten thousand immortal stones flew into the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron and instantly dissolved into liquid. As the refined energy poured into the desolate world, it flooded every corner of Liu Wuxie's body, leaving him with the sensation of being reborn.
A violent surge of power erupted from his body, forcing the five fighters to retreat. One of them was even hurled into the cage wall by the shockwave.
"What terrifying power!" Fear surfaced in everyone's eyes as they stared at Liu Wuxie. Nothing about that aura resembled someone who had just entered the second-level High Immortal Realm. Had someone claimed he was a ninth-level High Immortal, few would have questioned it.
When Liu Wuxie was only an eighth-level Heavenly Immortal, he could already kill opponents at the ninth-level High Immortal Realm. Now that he had broken through to the second-level High Immortal Realm, even a multitude of ninth-level High Immortals would stand no chance against him.
Immortal energy roared through the surroundings while countless laws revolved around him. Shockwaves rippled outward in every direction, leaving the crowd deeply shaken.
The expressions of the Yin-Yang Elders darkened considerably. Every fighter Liu Wuxie killed was a direct loss to the underground fight club.
After forcing the five fighters back, Liu Wuxie swept his gaze across them as murderous intent churned within his eyes.
"Form the Five Elements Emerald Wave Array immediately!"
The five fighters sprang into action and rapidly assembled a spiritual array. As the formation circulated, the power of the five elements gradually emerged. Each fighter had comprehended a different elemental attribute, allowing them to combine their strengths through the spiritual array.
Unfortunately for them, using the five elements against Liu Wuxie was no different from trying to teach a master craftsman his own trade. No one understood the mysteries of the five elements better than he did. If he refined these five fighters, the strength of his own five elements would increase substantially.
"Towering Five Elements!" The spiritual array condensed into a vast layer of dark clouds that spread across the sky above them. Rather than confronting Liu Wuxie directly, the five fighters had chosen a guerrilla strategy designed to exhaust his immortal energy.
They had clearly received guidance from the Yin-Yang Elders beforehand and deliberately avoided a direct clash. This was only the fifth battle, and five more battles still awaited Liu Wuxie. As long as they could deplete his immortal energy, the sixth battle would become his grave.
How could Liu Wuxie fail to see through their intentions? He pretended not to notice and moved calmly through the spiritual array. No matter how the formation shifted or transformed, he navigated it with effortless ease.
A series of thunderous explosions echoed throughout the cage as giant palms materialized and slammed toward the ground. Yet every attack missed Liu Wuxie completely, making it nearly impossible for anyone to harm him.
"What a bizarre footwork technique! It's as if he can predict where the spiritual array's next attack will land." The surrounding crowd had long since become numb with shock. Not only was Liu Wuxie's combat strength terrifying, but his attainments in spiritual arrays had also reached an astonishing level.
The Bloodthirst Blade remained sheathed. Liu Wuxie continued waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Once that opening appeared, he would eliminate his enemies with the least amount of effort.
As the battle dragged on, anxiety gradually surfaced on the faces of the five fighters. Not only had they failed to deplete Liu Wuxie's immortal energy, but their own reserves were being consumed at an alarming rate instead.
By now, the battles in the surrounding cages had already ended, and countless cultivators had gathered here to watch the fight.
"Change the array!" ordered the fighter controlling earth-attribute energy as the spiritual array immediately began to transform.
The woman controlling water-attribute energy twisted her body, sending streams of water energy coiling toward Liu Wuxie's waist to bind him. If she succeeded, the consequences would be disastrous.
Almost simultaneously, the fighter controlling wood-attribute energy attacked. Vines burst forward as wood-attribute energy surged toward Liu Wuxie.
The Five Elements Emerald Wave Array was renowned for its unpredictability. Once the five elements were combined, they formed a complete spiritual array, yet each element still retained the ability to attack independently.
The Bloodthirst Blade descended from above and instantly shredded the incoming vines. Seizing the opening, Liu Wuxie shot forward and headed directly for the woman, completely ignoring the powerful currents sweeping toward him.
Just as the woman moved in to entangle him, the situation changed abruptly.
The Bloodthirst Blade descended from the heavens, carrying a majestic blade force that crashed downward like a towering mountain. Every incoming current exploded beneath its overwhelming pressure.
Liu Wuxie's attack blasted the woman charging toward him backward. Had it been a one-on-one battle, Liu Wuxie could have crushed any of them with a single hand.
At that moment, a powerful sword aura swept across the battlefield. The fighter controlling metal-attribute energy had launched his attack. Golden metal-attribute energy condensed into a sharp sword that circled Liu Wuxie's neck, poised to sever his head at any moment, instantly placing him in grave danger.
The coordination among the five fighters was flawless. This was clearly not their first time fighting together. Had Liu Wuxie been an ordinary cultivator, he would have died already.
Liu Wuxie sneered. "You want to injure me with this garbage sword aura?" His blade force intensified once more, and the incoming sword aura couldn't even approach him.
The sight left everyone utterly shaken. Even now, they still couldn't determine the limits of Liu Wuxie's combat strength in the fifth battle. No matter what opponent he faced, he always appeared stronger and always found a way to kill them.
That was what made him truly terrifying. Some even began to wonder whether Liu Wuxie was not a High Immortal at all, but a Profound Immortal. Yet cultivation could not be faked. If Liu Wuxie had concealed his cultivation from the very beginning, the Yin-Yang Elders would have discovered it long ago.
The instant the golden sword flew aside, Liu Wuxie lunged forward and appeared directly in front of the woman.
The woman was startled, but before she could react, she discovered that her heart had already stopped beating. The Bloodthirst Blade pierced straight through her chest without causing her the slightest pain. Moments later, her body gradually shriveled as the Bloodthirst Blade devoured every drop of her blood essence.
With one fighter dead, the spiritual array began to collapse immediately. The remaining four fighters could no longer threaten Liu Wuxie.
Liu Wuxie had only recently advanced and urgently needed High Immortal laws to consolidate his cultivation. The five fighters were his perfect prey. Furthermore, the birth of the Veiled Realm had further expanded the desolate world. By now, immortal stones alone could no longer satisfy his needs.
A mass of water-attributed energy exploded within the desolate world, causing Liu Wuxie's cultivation to rise yet another step. As Liu Wuxie grew stronger, his opponents became weaker. If this continued, victory would only be a matter of time.
Liu Wuxie evaded every incoming attack with effortless precision while the four remaining fighters struggled against his assaults. That was the true difference between them. Though all of them stood within the High Immortal Realm, their combat strength couldn't be compared to Liu Wuxie's.
Each of Liu Wuxie's attacks appeared simple, yet every strike contained the profundity of heaven and earth. The trajectory of the Drawblade Technique became increasingly elusive and unpredictable. Every attack it unleashed claimed a life.
The four fighters were now thoroughly gripped by fear. Though they had spent years fighting in the underground fight club, they were still afraid of death. Fear eroded their fighting spirit, made their attacks less decisive, and left them unable to cope with the overwhelming pressure of Liu Wuxie's blade force.
By this point, everyone's nerves had long since become numb. At the beginning, no one believed Liu Wuxie could survive. They had all assumed he would die at Qi E's hands in the very first round.
"Your turn next," Liu Wuxie said as he fixed his emotionless gaze upon the four fighters.
"Kill him!" the Yin-Yang Elders ordered.
If the four fighters failed to kill Liu Wuxie, the Yin-Yang Elders would make them wish they were dead. Every fighter's family remained under the underground fight club's control, and disobedience would subject their loved ones to unimaginable torture.
With no other alternative, the four fighters' eyes turned bloodshot. They would kill Liu Wuxie at any cost, even if it meant choosing self-distruction.
"Everyone, retreat!" The cultivators standing closest to the cage immediately backed away, unwilling to be caught in the aftermath.
A solemn expression appeared on Liu Wuxie's face. The darkness hidden within the underground fight club ran deeper than he had imagined. He knew someone had most likely forced these people into becoming fighters.
After all, once many cultivators had accumulated enough resources, they would naturally choose to retire. No one wanted to spend an entire lifetime fighting within cages.
People such as Qi E, the White Demon Brothers, the Wild Rat Brothers, and many others had not appeared for over a year. They had most likely grown weary of endless battles.
The bodies of the four fighters began to swell. Just as everyone had anticipated, they intended to self-destruct in an attempt to injure Liu Wuxie.
"Die!" Liu Wuxie forced the word through clenched teeth as his figure vanished, the Bloodthirst Blade slashing downward.
