Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 562 - Egg Yolk

Liu Wuxie's action left everyone baffled. This was a challenge with his life on the line, and he sent a woman to pick out the stones for him, especially when Jian Xing'er had tried cutting a stone earlier, only to find it empty.

Everyone began to wonder if Liu Wuxie wasn't afraid of dying to send her again.

"Junior Brother, I..." Jian Xing'er hesitated, feeling deeply troubled. It wasn't that she was unwilling to help, but she lacked the confidence.

"Go ahead. Remember to pick out the cheapest ones," Liu Wuxie said, gently patting Jian Xing'er's shoulder to ease her burden.

Jian Xing'er nodded reluctantly, her expression filled with hesitation. Despite her reservations, she trusted Liu Wuxie's words. In her heart, she knew that if he fell, she wouldn’t survive either.

Taking a deep breath, Jian Xing'er approached the Sky Rift Valley's area. The area was divided into many sections, with the largest being controlled by the three major sects. The place they were standing on was located between the borders of the Sky Rift Valley and Azure Crimson Gate.

Teng Yue picked the stones from the Azure Crimson Gate's area, and Liu Wuxie picked his stones from the Sky Rift Valley.

All eyes were on Jian Xing'er, watching how she weaved through the stones and purchased the three cheapest stones according to Liu Wuxie's instructions, only spending five thousand spirit stones in total.

The largest was barely bigger than a bowl, and the smallest was only the size of an infant's fist. Its size made it practically impossible for it to contain spiritual essence.

"I heard that Liu Wuxie also chose the cheapest stones when he gambled with Cheng Chen. Could it be that we were all going in the wrong direction? The expensive ones don't necessarily mean better, and perhaps the cheaper stones had a higher chance of containing treasures," someone in the crowd murmured. Many people were present when Liu Wuxie had gambled with Cheng Chen.

When they compared the stones, they realized that all the stones Liu Wuxie had picked since he entered Serene Sea City were the least favored and cheapest batch.

Once the selection was complete, the Sky Rift Valley's personnel delivered the stones.

"Let's begin!" Teng Yue took out a dagger and began cutting the stones picked for him by the Ling Clan's three elders. Stone fragments began falling, and the stone barely had any left in the blink of an eye.

"There's spirituality coming from it!" the crowd exclaimed. They could all sense a faint spirituality in the stone, and Teng Yue's movement grew faster and more confident.

"As expected of the Ling Clan's three elders. The stones they picked have an incredibly high chance of containing spiritual essence," whispered the onlookers. They were eager to curry favor with the Ling Clan's three elders, hoping they could assist them in picking stones.

Only Liu Wuxie wore a devilish smile. He had already noticed that the Ling Clan wanted to kill him, so they cooperated with the Azure Crimson Gate. Since that was the case, there was no need for the Ling Clan to exist any longer.

When the Ling Clan's three elders appraised the stones earlier, he had already noticed them. But he didn't know that they were picking stones for Teng Yue. He had observed how they appraised the stones.

Exclamations could be heard as Teng Yue cut open a spiritual essence the size of a fingernail from the first stone.

"Liu Wuxie, it's your turn now!" Teng Yue taunted, holding onto the spiritual essence in his hand.

"Senior Sister Jian, I'll leave it to you," Liu Wuxie said calmly. He didn't bother to cut it himself and entrusted it to Jian Xing'er.

"How could Liu Wuxie make such a beauty work? Doesn't he know how to cherish a beauty like her?" the crowd buzzed disapprovingly.

Jian Xing'er retrieved a dagger and began cutting the stone the size of a bowl. It only took her one minute to do so, and no spirituality was inside.

"There's none," Jian Xing'er said, looking at Liu Wuxie with guilt on her face.

"It's fine. Don't we have two more?" Liu Wuxie gently patted Jian Xing'er's shoulder to reassure her.

The first round ended in Liu Wuxie's complete loss. Two more rounds were left, and Liu Wuxie would lose if he couldn't cut open any spiritual essence.

On the other hand, Teng Yue was brimming with confidence as he swiftly picked up the second stone and began cutting it. His technique was masterful as the stone spun rapidly in his hand. Each spin would leave fragments on the ground, and the crowd applauded his technique.

"What excellent technique!" the crowd praised. The intricate display of skill was more captivating than unveiling the treasure in a stone because it was a spectacle to everyone.

When Cheng Chen made the last cut, there wasn't any spirituality this time, and the second stone was empty.

A flicker of disappointment flashed on Teng Yue's face. However, he still had a high chance of winning with one spiritual essence in hand.

It was Jian Xing'er's turn again, and anyone could see her nervousness. Her cutting had slowed down significantly compared to before. A stone that others could easily cut in just a few breaths took her a full five minutes to get through.

"It's empty again!" Laughter erupted from the Azure Crimson Gate's faction. Many Azure Crimson Gate disciples gathered in the surroundings after hearing about a gamble between Liu Wuxie and Teng Yue.

Jian Xing'er was on the verge of bursting into tears, and she crouched on the ground, unwilling to get back up. With no choice, Chen Ruoyan had to step forward to help her up and offer her comfort.

"Liu Wuxie, you're doomed today!" Jia Fengmao stepped out. He was still seething from the embarrassment the Azure Crimson Gate had suffered at Liu Wuxie's hands on the boat, not to mention they lost two disciples.

Sneers and mockery could be heard, and the pressure grew on Liu Wuxie. Yet, Liu Wuxie remained terrifyingly calm with no changes in his expression.

Teng Yue grinned widely as he approached the final stone, exuding confidence with every step. His dagger moved swiftly, as though he could already taste victory. The last stone stood as tall as a person, requiring more time and effort to cut through.

"You're not worried? Not even a little?" Murong Yi finally spoke after remaining silent throughout the time.

"He's just a clown, and I don't mind letting him jump around for now," Liu Wuxie said with a cold smile. He wouldn't mind letting Teng Yue smile for now because he wouldn't get to smile later.

Murong Yi's heart skipped a beat at the sight of Liu Wuxie's cold smile. She began to wonder if Liu Wuxie was pretending to look troubled earlier.

Teng Yue spent seven minutes cutting the stone, reducing it to the size of a bowl.

"He found another one with spirituality inside!" cried the Azure Crimson Gate disciples. With that, Teng Yue had cut out two spiritual essences.

There was none on Liu Wuxie's side, and he was bound to lose even if the last stone contained spiritual essence. After all, Teng Yue could clench the victory for this gamble with two spiritual essences.

An intermediate-grade spiritual essence was uncovered in front of everyone. It gave off a powerful spirituality that made everyone take deep breaths greedily.

"Liu Wuxie, it's your turn!" Teng Yue urged, eager for Liu Wuxie to cut the final stone. Unless the last stone contained a supreme-grade spiritual essence, Liu Wuxie could not win the gamble. Even if Liu Wuxie cut open a high-grade spiritual essence, the gamble would only end in a draw.

"Senior Sister Jian, you might as well cut the last one too," Liu Wuxie said, not taking up the dagger himself.

Jian Xing'er reluctantly walked over to the last stone, the size of an infant's fist, cutting it carefully. It looked as though she was peeling an egg, layer by layer.

The Azure Crimson Gate disciples had already begun celebrating because such a small stone couldn't contain any spiritual essence.

"Liu Wuxie, you should give up and stop wasting everyone's time!" Jia Fengmao jeered, urging Liu Wuxie to admit defeat and end this farce.

Liu Wuxie remained unfazed at the surrounding ridicule, his expression unnervingly calm. If it were another person in his position, they would've panicked even if they didn't collapse from the pressure, which was nowhere to be seen on Liu Wuxie.

Jian Xing'er's knife moved even slower now, but no one rushed her and let her slowly peel it by layers. After all, they wouldn't mind letting her buy some time for Liu Wuxie to take his last breath.

"Look, why is it yellow?" the crowd exclaimed. It was yellow beneath the layers of the stone that Jian Xing'er had peeled. Spiritual essence was supposed to be ink-green, so what was with the yellow?

Moreover, the stone did not emanate spirituality, which contained no spiritual essence. The stones were white, and the yellow made no sense to the onlookers.

Jian Xing'er focused and slowed her cutting speed even further. She didn't dare touch the yellow part and slowly cleaned off the outer layers, revealing the yellow, which was the size and color of an egg yolk.

"What's that?" the crowd muttered in puzzlement. They had never seen anything like this before and could only ask those beside them.

"No idea. It's probably just junk!" someone scoffed. Since it wasn’t emitting any trace of spirituality, they assumed it to be worthless. After all, it was common knowledge that treasures would naturally radiate spirituality.

Jian Xing'er turned to look at Liu Wuxie, waiting for his guidance on whether she should continue.

"Liu Wuxie, the outcome is clear. Take your own life!" Teng Yue took a step forward and released an overwhelming aura, pressuring Liu Wuxie to take his own life.

However, Liu Wuxie remained unfazed by Teng Yue's aura and dismissed the pressure he gave off with a wave.

"Senior Brother Teng, don't waste time with him and kill him with the Life-and-Death Curse," many Azure Crimson Gate disciples stepped forward, urging Teng Yue to activate the Life-and-Death Curse to take Liu Wuxie's life, like how Liu Wuxie had crippled Yin Jingwu's cultivation.

Teng Yue immediately tried to activate the Life-and-Death Curse in his soul sea, but it was weird because there wasn't any reaction.

"What's going on?" Teng Yue's face paled because this meant that the gamble wasn't truly over.

The crowd noticed something amiss and wondered if anything was inside that egg yolk.

A sense of foreboding began to creep into Teng Yue's heart. The other Azure Crimson Gate disciples also fell silent, with a chill running down their spines. They knew the Life-and-Death Curse could only be activated if a clear victor existed.

"Senior Sister Jian, what are you waiting for? Keep cutting!" Liu Wuxie urged Jian Xing'er to continue cutting.