Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 45 - Setting Up Array

“Charge out!” The remaining mercenaries surged towards the exit like a tidal wave. With their leader defeated, their morale had been shattered, and they had lost the will to fight.

After breaking free from Tian Qihong, Liu Wuxie strode the Seven Dipper Steps, splitting himself into three and scattering out. When he swung his blade, it radiated with a horrifying blade aura, forming a curtain of energy that pressed down upon his enemies.

Accompanied by a rumbling noise, the camp began to tremble like a five-magnitude earthquake. Huge cracks began to appear on the ground that swiftly spread to the surrounding houses.

The blade aura swept over them, blinding everyone and plunging them into darkness. All they could hear were screams echoing in their ears. When the dust finally settled, the camp was silent, with a lone figure standing in the center. He seemed to tower over them like a mountain, an imposing presence that left everyone feeling small and insignificant.

The Xu Clan’s guards took in a cold breath because the ground was littered with corpses, and everyone from the Wolf Fang Mercenary was dead. Liu Wuxie had killed a hundred people with one blade strike, and just how terrifying was that?

On the other hand, fifty-odd corpses were lying at the exit, all shot to death.

Xu Yishan sheathed his sword and walked toward Liu Wuxie with a bitter smile. His facial expression was strained and unnatural.

“When did you reach the Xiantian Realm? Does my elder brother know about it?” Xu Yishan asked. It had been six months since he last returned to Azure Billow City. Liu Wuxie used to be garbage, and there was only one possibility since he could grow so fast; he had been concealing himself.

“He knows,” Liu Wuxie replied simply. He didn’t have much of a relationship with Xu Yishan, and they rarely saw each other throughout the year. In contrast, Xu Yishan was quite close to Xu Lingxue.

Whenever Xu Yishan returned from the Iris Gold Mine, he would bring interesting things back for Xu Lingxue. But when it came to Liu Wuxie, Xu Yishan would only scold him. That was why Liu Wuxie tried to avoid Xu Yishan whenever he visited.

“I’m sorry for what happened in the afternoon. I was at fault, and things could have ended badly if it weren’t for you,” Xu Yishan said, apologizing sincerely. He knew that he had been in the wrong earlier and wanted to make amends.

The other guards also approached, wearing respectful expressions, especially those who mocked Liu Wuxie earlier. They lowered their heads like children who made mistakes, fearing that Liu Wuxie might punish them.

“I’ll go and rest if there’s nothing else. Here’s a list of materials; have Father-in-law gather them as soon as possible. I want to set up a large-scale spiritual array here. At that time, even Spirit Cleansing Realm experts will die if they dare to come here.” Liu Wuxie gave Xu Yishan a list of tasks to complete before returning to his cultivation, waiting for the necessary materials to arrive. He made his way through the crowd and back to his house, seemingly unaffected by the night’s events.

“Young Master seems to have changed!” a guard whispered. The aura emanating from Liu Wuxie made them afraid, and they didn’t dare to look Liu Wuxie straight in the eyes.

“Young Master is too strong! He killed Wolf Fang with three blade strikes, and I can foresee the Xu Clan rising!” Cheers echoed in the entire camp.

“No one is to disclose what happened tonight. Treat the injured brothers and clean up the battlefield as soon as possible. Resume your normal duties once you guys are done.” Xu Yishan ordered the injured guards to rest while everyone else cleaned up the battlefield. Most importantly, he issued a strict gag order.

Everyone quickly cleaned up the camp, and the mines continued to run as normal at day. The miners went to the mines as truckloads of ores were transported out.

A guard respectfully bowed outside Liu Wuxie’s house and asked, “Young Master, breakfast is ready. Would you like to eat in the canteen or have it brought to you here?”

“Bring it here,” Liu Wuxie replied, preferring to limit his interactions with others. He expected the materials for the spiritual array to arrive within two days, after which he would set up the array and leave. He needed to return to Azure Billow City before the one-month deadline approached, so he spent the next two days in cultivation.

When Xu Clan’s transportation team arrived, an acquaintance was among them.

“Young Master, I brought you the materials you need!” Deacon Lan stood outside the door. When Xu Yilin received Xu Yishan’s message, he didn’t hesitate to mobilize funds to purchase the materials listed and transported them over immediately. Deacon Lan personally escorted the team this time to avoid any accidents.

Liu Wuxie opened the door and came out. His cultivation had improved slightly over the past two days, but his cultivating speed was getting slower because he needed resources.

“How’s the current situation in Azure Billow City?”

Liu Wuxie and Deacon Lan stood in an open space. Xu Yishan stood in the distance and didn’t come over because he felt a hint of respect for Liu Wuxie in his heart.

“The Tian and Wan Clans joined forces a few days ago to launch a sneak attack on our weaponry workshop. But fortunately, our patriarch was prepared and caught them off guard. As a result, the two clans suffered heavy losses.”

Azure Billow City had been anything but peaceful in recent days. Unable to restrain themselves, the two clans had launched a night raid, only to suffer a crushing defeat.

“Any other news?” Liu Wuxie asked, eager for information about the Terrabreak Army. He wanted to know if there was any news after fifty soldiers from the Terrabreak Army went missing for so long. The Terrabreak Army was an elite force, with each soldier’s name recorded. Even if they died in battle, detailed accounts of their lives would be available. The disappearance of fifty Terrabreak Army soldiers should have been enough to shake the Great Yan Dynasty.

“There are rumors circulating in the city about an issue with the Song Clan’s Spiritual Array Hall,” Deacon Lan said uncertainly. “But no one knows if it’s true.” After all, too many things happened in Azure Billow City in the past few days.

“Anything else?” Liu Wuxie and Deacon Lan walked as they chatted. The camp was huge, and it would take a long time to circle the entire camp.

“There are also rumors that the Terrabreak Army came to Azure Billow City, but they somehow disappeared. There are rumors that the Imperial City has dispatched investigators over.” Deacon Lan lowered his voice. After all, the disappearance of the Terrabreak Army could be serious.

Liu Wuxie nodded, taking in the information. Deacon Qi had imposed a strict gag order, and they would rather die than break it. If word of what had happened in Phoenix Roost Gorge were to get out, they would all be doomed.

As for Qi Enshi, Tian Clan, and Wan Clan, they would naturally keep quiet about the matter. After all, they were also involved, having made use of the Terrabreak Army.

Three carts loaded with materials were brought in and unloaded, all of them containing the supplies Liu Wuxie needed.

“Deacon Lan, I’ll need your help for the next few days,” Liu Wuxie said. Setting up the spiritual array on his own would take too long, so he wanted to divide the work.

“Young Master, just give the order!” What happened in the camp had been reported back to the Xu Clan. Xu Yilin didn’t conceal it, and Deacon Lan knew about it. This was why Deacon Lan wore a respectful expression as he followed behind Liu Wuxie with a paper and brush. Because there were many obscure parts in what Liu Wuxie said, he had to go through them again when he returned.

This array required fifty cores surrounding the entire Iris Gold Mine, which would cover a radius of fifty miles. So a single person couldn't complete such a large-scale spiritual array. After Liu Wuxie made arrangements, Deacon Lan led fifty guards to start digging into the spots marked by Liu Wuxie to set up a spiritual array.

A powerful spiritual array definitely couldn’t be completed just by planting flags on the ground; that was just for show.

Spiritual arrays could be divided into three types. The first type of spiritual array could be arranged with spirit stones, but this sort of spiritual array was considered consumable as it exhausted energy daily. This type of powerful spiritual array could last for a few months, while an ordinary Spirit Convergence Array could only last a few days.

The second type used heaven and earth laws, but this spiritual array was hard to set up. If the Spiritual Array Master made a mistake, they would suffer a backlash.

The third type was even more complex, requiring not only the laws of heaven and earth but also the infusion of the essence of spiritual arrays into the cores. Only a Spiritual Array Grandmaster could set up an array of this level.

The Earth Elemental Waves Array that Liu Wuxie was setting up combined geography and the essence of spiritual arrays, killing two birds with one stone. It took an entire day for them to set up all the cores, and Liu Wuxie spent an entire day and night forging fifteen flags. The size and color of each flag were different, and they naturally represented different attributes.

According to the blueprint provided by Liu Wuxie, Deacon Lan inserted the flags into the cores, and a powerful gale suddenly raged in the camp, shrouding it in a faint mist that made the camp disappear from the outside world. If one looked from outside, the entire camp was enveloped in a heavy fog, and no one could see the camp's interior.

Interestingly, those within the camp could see what was happening outside. The Earth Elemental Waves Array drew its energy from the earth, so relying on spirit stones to maintain it was not a sustainable solution. Once the spirit stones were depleted, the spiritual array would collapse.

Liu Wuxie’s approach, on the other hand, harnessed the energy of the earth to keep the spiritual array running, demonstrating the true depth of spiritual array knowledge. The rest was up to Liu Wuxie, who needed to establish rules within the spiritual array. Without them, no one would be able to enter or leave.

To a certain degree, the person who set up the spiritual array was the soul of the spiritual array. Liu Wuxie placed two spirit stones in each core, one representing Yin and the other Yang, creating a balance of Yin-Yang energy. With that, the spiritual array had been established.

When the cores returned to normal, no one could get close even if they knew the location. A killing array enveloped each core, and even an expert in the Spirit Cleansing Realm would die if they got close.

“Y-Young Master, how did you do that?” Deacon Lan had participated in setting up the array. Although he was only responsible for simple matters, he couldn’t understand anything about spiritual arrays.

“You want to learn?” Liu Wuxie turned to Deacon Lan and smiled. Deacon Lan was loyal to the Xu Clan, and Liu Wuxie would eventually leave Azure Billow City. In the future, the Xu Clan would have to rely on people like Deacon Lan, just as they had relied on Hu Shi, whom Liu Wuxie had taught the art of weapon forging.

“Master, please accept my bow!” Deacon Lan was decisive and went down on his knees directly. If he could comprehend such a powerful spiritual array, his position would rise in the Xu Clan.

“Give me a droplet of your blood!” Like Hu Shi, Liu Wuxie needed to form a soul contract with Deacon Lan. If Deacon Lan dared to betray the Xu Clan in the future, Liu Wuxie could take his life anytime.

Deacon Lan squeezed out a droplet of blood without any hesitation. Liu Wuxie began forming seals with his hands and infused a large wealth of knowledge about spiritual arrays into the blood and a soul contract. When the blood entered Deacon Lan’s forehead, Deacon Lan was shocked by the massive information that filled his mind.