Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 566 - Dragon Blood

Chapter 566 - Dragon Blood

A sudden surge of energy swept out, catching everyone by surprise. Those who were standing nearby were thrown into the air.

When the stone crumbled entirely in Liu Wuxie's hand, a golden drop of blood hovered in front of him.

"Dragon's blood! That's dragon's blood!" The crowd erupted into chaos. Liu Wuxie uncovered a drop of dragon's blood, challenging everyone's knowledge.

It became clear why no one could sense any spirituality—the dragon's blood was deeply concealed within the stone, meaning no one could feel anything until it was entirely cut open.

The Ling Clan's three elders stood in a daze, completely dumbfounded. They couldn't believe that Liu Wuxie had uncovered a mythical treasure like the dragon's blood.

In ancient times, dragons were creatures revered as children of heaven. They were born before humanity, and only the Divine Clan could compete with them.

A single drop of the dragon's blood was priceless and couldn't be measured with spirit stones.

When the dragon's blood appeared, the Heavenly Dragon Seal within the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron began to stir, wanting to leap out and absorb the dragon's blood.

Liu Wuxie was momentarily stunned. The Heavenly Dragon Seal was damaged, and the best method to restore it was to repair it with the dragon clan's materials, especially the broken corner. If it could be repaired, the Heavenly Dragon Seal might be elevated to the level of a heavenly artifact.

Even an expert in the True Profound Realm would have difficulty contending with it if repaired.

The Azure Crimson Gate's disciples were stunned, staring at the dragon's blood in shock.

Li Hongda, who had kept silent during the jeering, wore a darkened expression in frustration. He might not have joined in jeering at Liu Wuxie, but his expression sold him out; he hoped for Liu Wuxie's failure.

As for Jia Fengmao, he looked like he had swallowed something foul, unable to conceal his disgust. He recalled his earlier performance, and he felt like a clown.

The sudden appearance of the dragon's blood was a resounding slap to the faces of those who had mocked Liu Wuxie earlier, and everyone could feel a burning pain on their cheeks. Liu Wuxie's triumph stung even more because it wasn't just one victory—it was a series of them, one after another.

The vast dragon aura filled the entire hall, and only those in the high levels of the Heavenly Phase Realm could barely withstand it. Those in the low levels could only retreat. As for those in the Heavenly Dipper Realm, the sheer pressure left them immobilized on the ground.

A faint halo appeared around Murong Yi when the oppressive dragon aura appeared. Madam Li quietly released her aura in the Nascent Transformation Realm to shield the three ladies, ensuring the outburst didn't throw them away.

Liu Wuxie took out a porcelain bottle containing the dragon's blood, and the aura finally faded.

The surroundings became calm once more, but the onlookers couldn't calm down. They couldn't believe Liu Wuxie's incredible luck. Not only had he uncovered a Golden Spirit Fruit's seed earlier, but he even found something like the dragon's blood.

Judging from the current looks, Liu Wuxie had taken the lead. In terms of value, the dragon's blood had far exceeded high-grade spiritual essence, and the Ling Clan was at a disadvantage now.

It could spell a disaster for the Ling Clan if they lost this gamble because they would have to leave Serene Sea City. If they left Serene Sea City, the Ling Clan would fall because they relied on stone betting to establish themselves in the city.

No other place in Southern Province had a more thriving stone betting culture than Serene Sea City.

Ling Feichi was starting to regret challenging Liu Wuxie. When he heard about what had happened on the boat the other night, his first thought was to seek revenge for his son. Now that he looked back at his choice, he realized it had been a grave mistake. This decision could very well lead the Ling Clan into the abyss.

However, there was no turning back now. It was either the Ling Clan's destruction or Liu Wuxie's death, and he had no choice but to follow it through. This meant the Ling Clan's fate now lay in the final stone.

The Ling Clan still stood a chance, but the odds seemed faint. As the ridicule directed at Liu Wuxie faded, no one stepped forward to purchase the dragon's blood. They knew Liu Wuxie wouldn't sell it, and there was no purpose in asking.

Rather than asking to buy it from Liu Wuxie, it was better to find a way to seize it after the gamble. Everyone was calculating the odds of bypassing the House of Tea Art to kill Liu Wuxie.

The Ling Clan's grand elder silently picked up the third stone that they had selected from the area designated for the Azure Crimson Gate. This stone had cost them 1,500,000 spirit stones, and he could only win if he could uncover a treasure like the dragon's blood.

His hands were steady, unshaken by Liu Wuxie's earlier success. There was only a brief pause because he continued to cut it steadily. They wouldn't admit defeat until the very last moment, and stone fragments soon piled up around him.

As pieces of stones began to fall, his speed increased with every stroke. The stone had shrunk to half its size in just a few minutes, and a terrifying outburst of spirituality came from within.

"What intense spirituality! Could it be a supreme-grade spiritual essence?" someone exclaimed. Only four supreme-grade spiritual essences had been discovered over the years in Serene Sea City, in addition to the ones found by Liu Wuxie. They began to wonder if another one was going to be uncovered today.

The eyes of the Ling Clan's grand elder gleamed with hope. If it was a supreme-grade spiritual essence, the Ling Clan still had a chance at victory. He quickened his pace after seeing hope, and the spirituality released grew more robust with each cut.

"This must be a supreme-grade spiritual essence! After all, a high-grade spiritual essence couldn't release such powerful spirituality," another onlooker declared confidently.

Many people among the crowd were skilled in stone betting, and they could sense the aura of a supreme-grade spiritual essence even if few were discovered over the years.

Even those in the Nascent Transformation Realm stood silently, confirming the crowd's speculation that this was a supreme-grade spiritual essence.

Li Hongda's face became terrifyingly grim because this stone was selected from the area designated for the Azure Crimson Gate. The sect's higher-ups had filtered through the stones once, and they had taken the valuable ones to cut themselves. They couldn't believe they had let a stone containing a supreme-grade spiritual essence slip through their fingers.

"It's not even a spiritual essence, but a spiritual core!" someone yelled when an even stronger outburst of spirituality exploded. A spiritual core was worth more than supreme-grade spiritual essence, almost equal in value to the dragon's blood.

The Ling Clan's members let out a collective sigh of relief. The discovery of a spiritual core gave them a flicker of hope of winning the bet.

The crowd watched as a bean-sized spiritual core appeared before the Ling Clan's grand elder, which everyone had predicted judging from the spirituality it had given off.

"Bravo!" Those who supported the Ling Clan cheered with more confidence in their tone this time.

All eyes turned to Liu Wuxie because he had one more stone to cut, and everyone wondered if he could create another miracle.

"All Liu Wuxie needs is a low-grade spiritual essence to win." The current score was a draw, but Liu Wuxie could win if he could uncover something in the third stone. If there were nothing, the match would end up in a draw.

Serene Sea City was the Ling Clan's home city, and they could easily argue that the value of the spiritual core was above the dragon's blood. Neither side had signed a Life-and-Death Pledge, meaning there was nothing Liu Wuxie could do even if they insisted the value of spiritual core was higher. Not to mention, there were many supporters of the Ling Clan present.

Liu Wuxie took up the final stone and weighed it in his hands.

"All bystanders, move ten meters back!" Liu Wuxie said before cutting the stone. The dragon's blood was an excellent example because those who were standing near him had been thrown away by the sudden outburst of dragon aura, coughing up blood.

"Liu Wuxie, stop with your trickery. Do you think something like the dragon's blood is so common that it can reappear? Only a few drops have been found in the last few centuries," scoffed an Azure Crimson Gate disciple and even took a few steps forward on purpose.

After all, it would be humiliating for them to retreat just because Liu Wuxie said so. Only a few in the crowd heeded the warning and retreated.

"Let's retreat as well," Murong Yi said, and she took ten-odd steps back with everyone.

Madam Li even prepared a protective shield in advance because she had been startled by the sudden outburst of the dragon's aura earlier.

Only the Azure Crimson Gate disciples remained at the front, stubborn and refusing to budge.

Liu Wuxie merely glanced at them and decided not to bother with them. It was their choice since they had ignored his warning and took the risk.

Li Hongda and others secretly mustered their strength, ready to intervene should any danger arise.

Liu Wuxie raised the dagger and began to cut the stone, much slower this time. Time slowly passed, and only a third of the stone was removed after ten minutes.

The crowd began to grow impatient, urging him to hurry up. They still had to pick stones after the bet was over.

However, Liu Wuxie remained calm and ignored the voices in the surroundings. He continued at his own pace, shaving the stone slowly.

When only half was left, the stone began to crack. No one had seen this before, and many onlookers were in shock and disbelief.

The stone cracking apart wasn't apparent at first, so most people ignored it. They assumed the stone cracked because it had aged over the years, making it normal to develop fissures. Some also thought the stone cracked because Liu Wuxie used too much force when cutting it.

"What do you all think will be uncovered from this stone?" a few whispered, intrigued by the unfolding scene. They felt that the event was already worthwhile to witness this gamble. Not only was a spiritual core discovered, but the dragon's blood was also found.

"The chance of a spiritual essence is rare because there's no sign of spirituality even after the stone has cracked. This stone can't contain any spiritual essence," someone said confidently, dismissing the possibility of finding one inside.

"Looking at Liu Wuxie's confidence, there must be treasure within this stone, not to mention how he requested everyone to step back. Could it be that he can see through the stone and already knows what's inside?" Liu Wuxie's action left a lingering suspicion in everyone's minds. What he said was taken to heart by others.

They began to ponder if it was a careless or deliberate remark from Liu Wuxie, a question only Liu Wuxie could answer. He was sending a signal that he could identify what was inside the stone even before cutting it.

This conflicted with his earlier desire to lay low. His sudden change in attitude left everyone puzzled, and they wondered what had caused him to reveal his ability to identify the treasure within stones.

They knew this was more complex than it seemed because Liu Wuxie wouldn't make a useless remark based on the intelligence he had shown.

The mystery would soon be unveiled, as the stone was shrinking in size in Liu Wuxie's hands.

The cracks suddenly began to spread even faster. The stone fragments didn't look like they had fallen naturally but were ripped apart by some power.

Before anyone could react, a dazzling blade ray appeared out of nowhere and cut through the air.