Desolate Devouring Art-Chapter 972 - Spirit Profound Realm

The Divine Thunder Physique not only granted Liu Wuxie control over lightning energy but also transformed his physique in a terrifying fashion. His body now brimmed with strength, at least a hundred times greater than before.

Even if he failed to break into the Spirit Profound Realm, he could rely on raw strength to kill cultivators at the pinnacle of the Spirit Profound Realm without using any true essence or dao techniques.

The physique wielded terrifying power. It served as a vessel, and as it grew stronger, it held more laws and true essence within.

As Liu Wuxie's cultivation began to stir restlessly, he took over a hundred million spirit stones and dumped them into the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron.

He had burned through all his spirit stones during his previous breakthrough to reach the peak of the True Profound Realm. However, he had replenished his reserves when he had slaughtered thousands to save Fiery. He even found several supreme-grade spirit stones among them, which he tossed into the cauldron.

He needed a terrifying amount of spirit stones for the breakthrough, possibly more than a hundred million. He reserved the supreme-grade spirit stones for critical moments, planning to refine them only if necessary.

Someone approached, and the spiritual array pulsed a warning in response.

Lu Liang and the other three assassins immediately stepped out of the spiritual array to deal with the intruders. Footsteps echoed from a distant tunnel, drawing their attention.

"Our Master is in the critical moment of his breakthrough, and we can't allow anyone to interfere," Lu Liang said firmly to his group.

"This is strange. Why is the spiritual energy here so dense? There's even lightning energy mixed among them," muttered one of the intruders with a frown.

They couldn't explain why lightning energy coursed through the underground mine.

"Liu Wuxie!" Someone quickly connected the clues.

Liu Wuxie had obtained the Thunder Saint Pearl half a month ago before vanishing without a trace. Everyone had searched the entire sacred ground, but he was nowhere to be found. It turned out that he had been hiding in this underground mine to cultivate.

"It has to be him! He's using the lightning energy to make a breakthrough! Quick, let's hurry up! We have to stop him before he succeeds," suggested an intruder.

They could trigger Liu Wuxie's inner demons if they interrupted the breakthrough now.

They followed the surge of spiritual energy straight to Liu Wuxie, needing no effort to search for the path.

"Kill!" Lu Liang and the other assassins burst out from the shadows without hesitation.

The intruders recoiled in shock. None of them had expected Liu Wuxie to be guarded during his breakthrough. The assassins' swords flashed, cutting down four intruders in the blink of an eye while the rest barely escaped with their lives.

An intense standoff ensued. More than twenty cultivators surrounded Lu Liang's group of four, overwhelming the assassins with sheer numbers.

The surging spiritual energy lured more cultivators deeper into the underground mine. Once inside, they could easily sense the lightning energy and link it with Liu Wuxie.

The ancestral tree's aura drew the twelve fiends straight to the mine.

"He's nearby!" one of them said.

The twelve fiends had trained together as brothers, forging a vague telepathic bond through shared bloodshed, letting them communicate heart-to-heart without the need for Communication Talismans.

Just one day earlier, a fiend had sensed the ancestral tree's aura nearby and summoned the others over. Now gathered, they headed toward the ancient sect where Liu Wuxie was.

With the surge of spiritual energy, even a fool could tell that something was stirring underground.

Liu Wuxie sensed the chaos outside, but taking action would disrupt his breakthrough. He was in the critical moment of his breakthrough, which was beyond his control.

The desolate world continued to expand, causing the surrounding space to collapse. He noticed that his mastery of spatial art was surging at a stunning pace as he continued to absorb spatial laws from the outside world.

Spatial arts worked that way; the more spatial fragments Liu Wuxie refined, the deeper his comprehension grew.

Fiery grew increasingly restless, eager to leap out of the spiritual array to deal with the intruders. But Gu Yu held it back. Now wasn't the time, and their task was to guard the spiritual array.

If Lu Liang's group failed to deal with the intruders, they would retreat into the spiritual array. The spiritual array's defenses stood firm and would make it difficult for the intruders to break through.

Lu Liang's group faced overwhelming numbers, with intruders now exceeding fifty. They retreated into the spiritual array, waiting for their chance to counterattack.

"Everyone, break the spiritual array together! We can't allow Liu Wuxie to make a breakthrough!" someone yelled.

Among the fifty-odd people were spiritual array experts. In less than two hours, they scoured the array for weaknesses and exposed several vulnerable points.

With limited time and resources, Liu Wuxie had lacked the means to construct a powerful spiritual array. This was a painful compromise, as setting up such an array would require time and effort. Given the circumstances, managing to build even the current one was nothing short of a miracle.

"Liu Wuxie, surrender immediately! There's no way you're getting out of this today!" someone jeered from outside the spiritual array, attempting to distract Liu Wuxie.

After all, the slightest distraction during a breakthrough could be fatal.

The Desolate Devouring Art devoured spiritual energy rapidly, surging like a relentless stream. Now that the Divine Thunder Physique was complete, lightning arcs crackled and twisted across Liu Wuxie's crystal-shimmering body, forming a set of robes known as the Divine Glazed Cloth.

These robes surpassed ordinary clothes, and regular true essence couldn't pierce them. Most importantly, they could withstand some incoming attacks.

Liu Wuxie took a deep breath and drew all the remaining spiritual energy into his body.

"Break!" Liu Wuxie muttered, unperturbed by the chaos outside.

He could always give up if he was pushed into a corner, but he still had the Divine Thunder Physique.

His true essence surged through his reforged meridians and struck the gateway to the Spirit Profound Realm. His transformed physique allowed his true essence to flow freely through his body without fear of self-injury.

In the past, he would be injured from the impact whenever he attempted his breakthrough. But now, his body remained intact and unharmed with the Divine Thunder Physique.

He repeatedly struck until he cracked open the gateway to the Spirit Profound Realm. He doubted he could've broken through if he hadn't tempered the Divine Thunder Physique.

The moment the gate was broken through, a terrifying sight appeared: spiritual energy from tens of thousands of miles away surged toward him, forming a vast sea.

"This is bad! Liu Wuxie is about to complete his breakthrough!" someone cried out.

If Liu Wuxie succeeded in his breakthrough, they would be the ones to die.

"Accelerate the breakthrough!" another voice yelled.

The intruders, including those who had just entered the underground mine, joined forces. Their scattered formation made it impossible for Lu Liang to defend from every direction.

The four assassins launched surprise attacks, weakening the spiritual array further with every clash. Their retaliation was effective once or twice, but their enemies soon adapted to their assaults.

After several failed attacks, He Hai'an took a blow and staggered back into the spiritual array.

As for Gu Yu, he tightened his grip on the Dragon Clan Scepter. If the intruders breached the first layer of defenses, he would act without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Liu Wuxie continued with his breakthrough to a major realm. He couldn't complete it immediately and needed time to consolidate his cultivation.

A hundred million spirit stones exploded inside the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, liquefying into spiritual energy that surged into Liu Wuxie's body.

Liu Wuxie's Divine Thunder Physique absorbed the surging energy without faltering while the desolate world expanded by nearly one-third, devouring nearby spatial laws.

This increased Liu Wuxie's reserves of true essence by a factor of two, and the thick laws of the Spirit Profound Realm appeared within his body.

As the powerful laws of the Spirit Profound Realm rampaged through his body, they reshaped his physique, cultivation, soul sea, true essence, and internal laws.

Liu Wuxie needed time to consolidate the breakthrough. He couldn't rush it.

Rumbling lightning surged around Liu Wuxie, twisting into a thunder dragon that coiled above his head.

Everyone was shocked. Faint drumbeats and celestial music echoed in their ears. They couldn't believe Liu Wuxie had triggered such a spectacular phenomenon while breaking through to the Spirit Profound Realm.

"What are you all standing around for? Hurry up, or he'll be done with his breakthrough!" someone roared.

Everyone was stunned by Liu Wuxie's breakthrough, but they soon recovered and continued to attack the spiritual array.

In just a few hours, the spiritual array was in shambles. Had Lu Liang and the assassins not fought so fiercely, the invaders would have shattered it long ago.

"Charge!"

When someone finally tore an opening in the spiritual array, they surged through the crack and stormed toward Liu Wuxie, determined to end his breakthrough.

"Get lost!" Gu Yu roared.

He swung the Dragon Clan Scepter, crushing the first man who charged in, reducing him to a bloody pulp. Crouched in the shadows, he waited patiently for the next fool to breach the array, then struck with lethal precision.

Within moments, more enemies burst through the spiritual array and surged forward.

Gu Yu was heavily outnumbered and could only stop one or two people. With so many enemies, there was nothing he could do. Even the four assassins had been pushed to their limit. Each one battled five or six foes alone, suffering cuts and bruises beneath the endless assault.

Even then, their attempts were futile, as they could not repel all the intruders.

More than ten intruders breached the spiritual array. Gu Yu tried to hold them off desperately, but seven or more made it past him.

When several attackers closed in on Liu Wuxie, Fiery erupted from the shadows and let out a deafening roar. It had unleashed flames that shot out in a straight line, incinerating the two closest men into ashes.

"Damn it!" the other one cursed.

Even those who managed to dodge in time couldn't escape unscathed. Flames licked at their clothes, and one unfortunate man lost his eyebrows and hair entirely, leaving him looking utterly ridiculous.

"It's the Qilin, Liu Wuxie's divine beast! Kill it!" someone roared, and over ten people attacked together, unleashing a barrage of attacks at Fiery.

In just a few strikes, Fiery roared in pain as wounds tore across its body. The intruders had gone all out, using whatever was useful.

Liu Wuxie had witnessed everything...