Heaven's Devourer

By the time Wu Yu realized this, he had already been surrounded by a surging sea of flowers. 

Before this, he had assumed that this sea of flowers was merely an illusion that Mu Lingche used to hide her position. He believed that Mu Lingche was using it to find an opportune moment to strike, so he was focused on tracking her movements. He wanted to be prepared for a clash that could begin at any moment.

However, the scent of the flowers assailed his nostrils and Mu Lingche did not move an inch. When he came to the realization that this sea of flowers was a Great Dao Mystique, it was already too late. Mu Lingche's attack on him was this sea of flowers itself. Furthermore, the crux of this Great Dao Mystique of hers was, in fact, its fragrance. 

Wu Yu had never faced an attack that targeted his sense of smell. Just holding his breath would not be enough. He had to completely sever his link to the spiritual qi of his surroundings in order to catch his breath. However, this would negatively affect his Jindan essence's ability to recover and replenish itself. 

Since this was the first time he had come across such an attack, he reacted to it far too late. Before the battle had even begun, he had already breathed in no small amount of this fragrance. The effects were beginning to kick in. His energy faded and his vision started to blur. This fragrance was essentially a poison that attacked one's energy and will. Its dizzying effect, combined with Wu Yu's lack of understanding about his opponent, swiftly made him feel light-headed. In no time at all, he had lost all senses and collapsed to the ground. 

Wu Yu would later find out that Mu Lingche's Great Dao Mystique was known as the Hundred Flower Fantasy. Even all the spiritual energy in the world combined would not allow one to resist the scent of these hundred flowers. In such a battle, passing out for even one second would lead to one's unavoidable demise. 

Hu!

As the Hundred Flower Fantasy scattered away, Wu Yu fell to the ground in a thud. His eyes were shut and he had already lost all consciousness.

Mu Lingche towered over Wu Yu. With a cold laugh, she remarked, "That was only one hit."

As she said this, the hundred flowers gathered to form a sword made of petals in her hand. Mu Lingche stepped over and pointed this sword at Wu Yu.

"Junior sister Mu, destroy his Jindan!" Chen Fuyou excitedly called out.

The surrounding crowd started to laugh. In fact, the result of this battle was exactly as they expected.

"Wu Yu has been defeated, ai!"

"Alas, his streak of impossible miracles has ended. His defeat of Xiao Huanshan was already a feat of its own."

"In the world of cultivators, everyone is equal. The legend of Wu Yu ends here. He has to adjust his attitude in order to improve in the future."

A skyrocketing roc had just been felled. 

Mu Lingche acted quick and violently. However, the Earth sword rank disciple was quick to intercept at this moment. He said, "Wu Yu has already been defeated. You've clearly won this battle. There is no need to break the rules of the Immortal Battleground."

Mu Lingche raised her eyebrows and arrogantly replied, "You dare to go against me?"

The Earth sword rank had a begrudging expression on his face. He replied, "I naturally would not dare. However, I'm just doing my duty. I have to maintain the trust that the sect has placed in me. Please do not make things difficult for me, Junior Sister Mu."

When he finished his reply, a few other Earth sword rank disciples came to block Mu Lingche off from Wu Yu as well. Indeed, the victor had been decided. She would not be allowed to go any further.

Xiao Huanshan angrily interjected, "How dare you all. Don't you think that I'll call my father here to get you all to get lost?"

His father was the Domain Master of the Xuan Sword Domain. 

Before anyone could say anything else, Wu Yu had already begun to slowly come to his senses. The Hundred Flower Fantasy's disorienting effects only lasted for a short while. After one came back to their senses, there would not be any side effects. However, Wu Yu would have been easily slain in a real fight the moment he had passed out. Wu Yu had clearly been defeated in this battle.

Huo!

Wu Yu stood up. His forehead was full of cold sweat.

He understood what had happened. He couldn't help but lament that Mu Lingche's Great Dao Mystique was too strong for him to deal with. It had directly crushed him in a single blow. 

All battles had a winner and loser. Wu Yu accepted his defeat. This did not affect him too much. He had suffered defeat many times in the Supreme Hunting Ground after all.

It would not be that easy for Mu Lingche to foil his plans.

However, Wu Yu noticed the Earth sword rank seniors before him. At the same time, Mu Lingche had a bad expression on her face as well. Wu Yu quickly realized that even after the battle had been decided, Mu Lingche still wanted to harm him. Wu Yu took note of her hatred and desire and revenge. 

"After being defeated, you still have the cheek to wake up?" Mu Lingche glared at him. Her quivering lips revealed the disdain she felt towards him. 

The anxious Xuan sword rank disciples finally calmed down. They actually did not want anything bad to befall Wu Yu either.

Chen Fuyou and the rest heaved sighs of relief as well. They naturally started to mock Wu Yu.

"Compared to Junior Sister Mu, this Wu Yu is so much weaker. It's so embarrassing how he overestimated himself."

"How shameful it is for him to think so highly of himself. Junior Sister Mu has taught him an important lesson today. Someone will always be above you."

Wu Yu was unperturbed by his defeat. However, he felt sorry that he had lost the only 2,000 Golden Essence Pills he had left. The Earth sword rank disciple was already giving his wager to Mu Lingche. He announced, "This duel is done. This is your reward."

Mu Lingche stretched out her delicate fingers. She first kept her own Sumeru Pouch before pinching Wu Yu's Sumeru Pouch. She opened it on the spot and retrieved the 2,000 Golden Essence Pills from it. When the 2,000 Golden Essence Pills emerged, they danced like petals around her hands. With a nonchalant wave, the 2,000 golden petals immediately scattered to the edges of the earth. They flickered brilliantly in the light and fell to the earth like heavy rain. They probably ended up as far as the Common Sword Domain.

"These are trash to me. I can easily obtain as many as my heart desires." Mu Lingche stared plainly at Wu Yu and explained this as though it was no big deal.

2,000 Golden Essence Pills was actually no small amount.

She wanted to provoke Wu Yu's with such a stunt, but Wu Yu only felt that she was being childish.

On the other hand, Chen Fuyou and the rest were cheering at the way Mu Lingche had humiliated Wu Yu. They were hoping for some signs of despair from Wu Yu, but Wu Yu remained calm. One's mental temperament was not really related to one's birthright. Through his training in the imperial family and his battles as part of the masses, his mental temperament was far better than that of Mu Lingche and friends. 

"Let's go. This man is no longer worth our attention," Mu Lingche said to her companions.

Leaving after winning was so inelegant.

"Alright. I heard that there is a challenge going on in the Earth Sword Domain, for the Leaderboard of Earth Sword Immortals. Let's go check it out."

"Let's go together."

Chen Fuyou and friends mounted their flying swords in pairs and flew to the sky. Without even looking at Wu Yu, they vanished in no time at all.

Even though they belonged to the Xuan sword rank, their birthright of the Heaven Sword and Shushan Immortal Domains gave them the authority to roam anywhere they pleased on Clear Sky of Shushan.

They were a group that was as close to the Sky Palace of heaven as could be.

Despite this, they were still nothing compared to Nangong Wei.

After they had left, many of the Xuan sword rank disciples came forth to console Wu Yu. Most of them had come to the Shushan Immortal Sect from outside and trained really hard to enter. They had worked their way up from the Common Sword Domain to the Xuan Sword Domain, so they were well aware of Wu Yu's feelings. They harbored similar feelings of injustice as well.

"Don't be disappointed. If you work hard at it, your future achievements will be no worse than theirs."

From this day on, Wu Yu would go on to attain great heights. However, his convincing defeat to Mu Lingche would no doubt spread throughout all of Shushan.

Despite this, Wu Yu remained calm. What he cared most about now was not the fact that he had lost, but that his “starting capital” was now gone. 

"Man, this really sucks. Now that I don't even have 2,000 Golden Essence Pills, even 7,000 Golden Essence Pills will be difficult to obtain. 45,000 Golden Essence Pills is totally out of the question. Without any Golden Essence Pills, I'm afraid that even my cultivation speed will be hampered. I'll definitely improve slower than before...”

This was indeed a problem to him.

After bidding farewell to the crowd, he prepared to head back to the Heaven's Equal Cave Abode to think things through.

On the way back, however, he heard someone calling out his name. As he turned back, he noticed a silhouette within the clouds. The figure wore a sword lanyard and had stars circling him. Within his pupils, a galaxy swirled, giving him an otherworldly impression. This naturally had to be the Galaxy Sword Sage, Shen Xingyao.

"Sword Sage, what brings you here?" The fact that the Sword Sage had come from the Huang Sword Domain meant that he was looking for him in particular. Wu Yu was hoping that there had been some headway made regarding the curse insignia of Blood Dragon of Mount Wu. 

Shen Xingyao asked, "I just saw you lose. How does it feel?"

Wu Yu was taken aback for a second. He never expected this question. He replied honestly, "I've been defeated many times before. Only through both victories and losses can one walk the path of dao."

Shen Xingyao nodded. He did not wish to harp on this matter any longer. He just wanted to make sure that Wu Yu was not too disappointed.

"There is currently a challenge going on in the Earth Sword Domain for the Leaderboard of Earth Sword Immortals. Xingyu will battle soon. Do you want to take a look? At your current level, watching a battle between Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea cultivators should do you some good," Shen Xingyao said.

Wu Yu never expected the Sword Sage to personally bring him along to such grand occasions.

At present, Shen Xingyao was a Shushan Sword Sage. He had the right to bring anyone along with him to any part of the Clear Sky of Shushan. As long as he wanted to, he could even bring Wu Yu to the Shushan Immortal Domain.

This was good news to Wu Yu, so he naturally agreed. After all, he had just lost his Golden Essence Pills and had no immediate plans for the future.

"Follow me."

Shen Xingyao put his hands behind his back as he cruised forward on his sword. Wu Yu immediately followed him. Shen Xingyao noticed the Yin Yang Dao Swords that Wu Yu was riding and remarked, "This spiritual immortal treasure seems to match your skill level."

Wu Yu laughed. He was looking forward to harder fights.

"However, as you experience the journey of obtaining such things, I'm sure that you'll find that easily obtained prizes never feel as precious as things you've worked hard for."

Shen Xingyao declined to comment any further. He led Wu Yu towards the peak of the Clear Sky of Shushan. His was able to travel without using any of the passageways, and directly brought Wu Yu through the barriers around the Xuan Sword Domain and the Earth Sword Domain.

Before passing through each barrier, he created a glowing ball of light in his outstretched hands and surrounded Wu Yu with it. He then simply dragged Wu Yu through the barrier. They soon arrived at the Earth Sword Domain. At first glance, the Earth Sword Domain was clearly smaller than the Xuan Sword Domain, but everything here seemed to be an upgrade.

The Earth Sword Domain was located at what was already considered to be halfway up the Clear Sky of Shushan. As Wu Yu looked below, the streams below Shushan seemed absolutely tiny. From this place, even the entire Common Sword Domain looked small.

Spiritual qi was thick in the air of the Earth Sword Domain. Just like in the immortal palace, the spiritual qi of heaven and earth congealed into a mist that lingered everywhere. Many mystical-looking spirit designs adorned the domain's walls, and there were even entire palaces that were floating in mid-air. This place was certainly magical.

Apparently, there were not that many Earth sword rank disciples. There were only about seven or eight hundred of them. There were even fewer Heaven sword rank disciples. The Heaven sword rank disciples numbered about 100, but just reaching the Earth sword rank was enough for you be higher ranked than millions in Shushan.

Over at the Earth Sword Domain's Immortal Battleground, a battle for the Leaderboard of Earth Sword Immortals was going on.