Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 590 - Danger

The Heavenly Dao Society's name gradually took root in everyone's heart, and many silently committed the name to their memory.

"How can we trust that there are no issues in the pills produced by the Heavenly Dao Society?" Many people stepped forward to refute this, believing that Liu Wuxie was only saying this to suppress the Lesser Blade Association. There were still many supporters of the Lesser Blade Association among the crowd.

"Because it's called Heavenly Dao Society!" A majestic scholar's aura emanated from Liu Wuxie, his body glowing faintly with golden radiance as if a great scholar had descended.

An uproar buzzed from the surroundings, and they were stunned. Looking at Liu Wuxie, they exclaimed, "A resonation from heaven and earth! He actually named his faction after Heavenly Dao!"

The name "Heavenly Dao Society" alone was enough because it represented Heavenly Dao. Since it represented Heavenly Dao, this ensured that there was no issue with the pills sold by Liu Wuxie, or it would go against heaven.

However, the crowd remained skeptical, not daring to entirely trust what Liu Wuxie said.

Liu Wuxie wasn't in a hurry either. After severing the Lesser Blade Association's pill trade, these people would naturally flock to the Heavenly Dao Society. As long as he applied a bit of strategy using the superior pills produced by the Heavenly Dao Society, he wasn't worried about having no customers.

"Young Master Liu, you still haven't enlightened us on how to get rid of the poison in our body after saying so much," said the Green Python Gang's leader, urging Liu Wuxie for a solution.

"Your bodies aren't poisoned, but rather, plagued by inner demons," Liu Wuxie explained. He continued, "When my shop opens, I'll refine some Demon Purging Pills to eliminate the inner demons in your bodies. You can just come and purchase them at that time."

The Demon Purging Pills couldn't be found in the market, and these people had given birth to inner demons after consuming Earth Origin Pills tainted with a hint of demonic traits over an extended period.

After consuming the Earth Origin Pills for over a year, their inner demons had grown severe, with a red hue in the depth of their eyes. If they continued to consume the tainted pills, they would follow the path of demons.

"Okay, I'll believe you this once. When will the shop be open?" The Green Python Gang's leader asked. Liu Wuxie seemed to have gained his trust. Their symptoms resembled signs of inner demons because they would feel restless every full moon.

"Five days at the earliest and ten at the latest," Liu Wuxie replied, giving a rough estimation, mainly because finding the right location for the shop would take time.

Outside the shop, an old man in a bamboo hat concealed his face. When he heard what Liu Wuxie said, he vanished and left the black market.

The farce had ended, and the Lesser Blade Association was finished. Rumors of their poisonous pills began to spread like wildfire, and more people vented their anger upon the Lesser Blade Association.

Liu Wuxie left the shop leisurely, calmly walking towards the exit of the black market. But a burly figure stood in his way just when he was about to leave.

"Who are you, and why are you blocking my path?" Liu Wuxie asked, his eyes sharpened. He could sense that this person was an expert and couldn't see through this man's cultivation. This meant that this burly man must be an expert in the Nascent Transformation Realm.

"You broke the black market's rules and wish to leave without consequences?" The burly man's face was obscured as though there was an invisible barrier, and only a vague outline could be seen.

"You're the owner of the black market!" Liu Wuxie said, secretly mustering his strength. He would summon the Earth-Binding Chains if there was danger and flee immediately.

"You're smart, but clever people have seldom lived long since ancient times," the burly man acknowledged in an icy tone.

"I happen to share a different view. It's precisely because they know how to adapt and use everything around them that they survive longer," Liu Wuxie countered.

The two fell into a tense silence, neither speaking nor making a move. The burly man remained five steps away from Liu Wuxie, and the silence lasted for a full minute.

"I'm surprised to feel pressure from you. If I'm not mistaken, you'd still have the means to escape even if I attacked with all my might, right?" The burly man asked, his oppressive aura dissipating. This meant his murderous intent for Liu Wuxie was slowly dissolving away.

He was in the Nascent Transformation Realm but felt pressure from Liu Wuxie. No one would believe him if he told anyone about it, but that was the undeniable truth, and he could feel the weight of the pressure.

He could see boundless confidence in the depths of Liu Wuxie's eyes. The latter was calm and composed as though nothing could halt his footstep. Such a person was terrifying, which was why he dismissed the murderous intent he had for Liu Wuxie, and a strange thought of befriending Liu Wuxie even emerged in his mind.

"Can I leave now?" Liu Wuxie asked. He had no intentions of admitting to anything, and he wouldn't fight unless absolutely necessary. After all, his odds of winning were too low against someone in the Nascent Transformation Realm, and he would be heavily injured with all his trump cards revealed even if he won.

Moreover, the black market was too chaotic, and it would be impossible to flee if he suffered heavy injuries.

"You may leave now, but you're forbidden to set foot in this black market," the burly man replied. Liu Wuxie's presence this time had brought about monumental changes. Now that the Lesser Blade Association had lost its market, the black market would also lose a cut of profits from the sales of those pills.

Liu Wuxie said nothing, acknowledging the condition. He had already thoroughly explored the black market and couldn't find anything of value, so it didn't matter to him, even if he couldn't return.

Taking giant strides, Liu Wuxie brushed past the burly man and climbed back to the surface through the spiraling stone stairs. A cold wind greeted him when he reached the surface, involuntarily making him shiver.

His back was covered in sweat, unbeknownst to him. Whether it was his confrontation with the Lesser Blade Association or the black market's owner, that was no different from dancing on the edge of a blade and his life hanging by a thread.

"That was really close," Liu Wuxie whispered to himself. What happened tonight was dangerous, and it would be wise to avoid such risks in the future. If the Lesser Blade Association had retaliated by rallying all their experts, it would have been tough for him to escape unscathed.

He was lucky there were no mishaps and left the western streets to find an inn to settle for the night.

Bai Lin and Fan Zhen returned in the dead of the night, and they had practically found everything they needed to know about the Lesser Blade Association's human trafficking operations. When they sat down to drink cold cups of tea, Bai Lin quickly shared what they had found out.

"Senior Brother Liu, you may find this difficult to believe, and you can't begin to imagine the cruelty of the Lesser Blade Association," Bai Lin said, standing up with anger flashing in his eyes.

Although Fan Zhen said nothing, his expression confirmed Bai Lin's words.

"Speak," Liu Wuxie said.

The Lesser Blade Association had four channels to generate revenue. Liu Wuxie was planning to target their talismans in the upcoming event, and he had already clipped off their pill market. This meant that the Lesser Blade Association was only left with their human trafficking channel to generate revenue for them.

"They raise ordinary people like livestock in a town a hundred miles away from here," Bai Lin said, his voice growing grim. He continued, "They capture ordinary people from the nearby towns, forcing men into slavery and women to the brothels."

What Bai Lin said was only the tip of the iceberg because the reality was over a hundred times crueler.

"Wuxie, they even went as far as harvesting human organs aside from human trafficking according to the information we gathered, selling them to demonic cultivators," Fan Zhen added with his brows frowned in disgust.

Though ordinary people were beneath them in terms of status, they couldn't do something as slaughtering of their own kind in this manner.

"Senior Brother Liu, we have to do something! We went to see for ourselves this afternoon, and it was simply a living hell," Bai Lin pleaded. He hoped to help those innocent people even if there were no benefits.

"We have to create a plan for that. It's impossible with our current strength," Liu Wuxie said, shaking his head. It wasn't that he didn't want to save the victims, but he didn't have the ability for the time being. If he rushed in, he would only alert the Lesser Blade Association and put them in a perilous situation.

The Lesser Blade Association was teeming with experts, and Liu Wuxie didn't fear if he was by himself. But if Bai Lin and the others died because of it, he would feel guilty for the rest of his lifetime.

"Senior Brother Liu, you have to save those innocent souls," Bai Lin pleaded for Liu Wuxie to find a way to save those suffering in hell.

"Bai Lin, Wuxie has his own decisions. Let's not disturb his rest," Fan Zhen stood up and dragged Bai Lin out of the room to the neighboring room.

The talisman event was three days away, so they did not need to head back to the sect for now. However, they still had to find a suitable location for their shop, all of which required time.

"Old Fan, why did you stop me? Didn't you see how those people suffered?!" Bai Lin questioned, his voice thick with frustration. He couldn't figure out why Liu Wuxie refused to save the victims.

"You're not seeing the whole picture here," Fan Zhen responded with a deep sigh. "It's not as simple as charging in and rescuing them. There are so many ordinary people, and the Lesser Blade Association might act out of desperation if we push them too hard. If they killed everyone, wouldn't that make us responsible for their deaths?"

Fan Zhen was the headmaster of the Imperial Academy and had lived enough to see further than Bai Lin. He understood the dilemma that Liu Wuxie was in.

Once they left, Liu Wuxie remained seated, his brows knitted in deep thought. He didn't bear any anger toward Bai Lin's disrespect, as they were brothers, and only true brothers could speak so freely with each other.

He picked up the report from Bai Lin, Fan Zhen, and the Memory Talisman. With a flick of his hand, he ignited the talisman and saw the horrific images recorded.

The more he watched, the darker his facial expression became. His fists were clenched tight, and murderous intent flashed in the depths of his eyes.

Inside the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, the main hall glowed brightly against the dead of night, and an old man wearing a bamboo hat paced back and forth, his steps echoing through the quiet space.

Suddenly, space fluctuated as Mu Tianli appeared in the middle of the hall.

"Greetings, sect master!" the old man said, removing his hat and bowing deeply to Mu Tianli.

"Elder He, no need for the formalities. What brings you here so late at this hour?" Mu Tianli asked and gestured for the old man to take a seat. Since Elder He had come in the middle of the night, it meant this matter must be urgent.

"Sect master, please take a look at this," Elder He said as he retrieved a Memory Talisman from his sleeve and tossed it to the air, unfolding the scenes from the underground black market before them.

The recorded scenes weren't complete, and they started with the Green Python Gang's leader slapping Mu Yongyuan across the face. The scene continued for two hours, and the two watched silently as the story unfolded.