Desolate Devouring Art

The crowd sighed and shook their heads in unison. The three clans had ignored the wiser path and chosen the most extreme one instead.

Liu Xiucheng wasn't an extraordinary leader, but his unwavering loyalty to the Liu Clan meant he would give his life for it without hesitation. Though not a brilliant strategist, he was a responsible patriarch, and that was enough.

Liu Wuxie descended from the sky and landed before Liu Shen.

He stared at the once-familiar Grand Elder, now a stranger. His gaze sharpened like a blade.

"Speak. How did you fool us into believing that the Golden Cauldron Pavilion had poisoned my grandfather?" Liu Wuxie asked, his voice calm but cold. He still needed answers.

Ye Hongyi had exposed Liu Shen as the mastermind, but she hadn't revealed the whole truth.

Everyone, even Liu Xiucheng, looked stunned. They all believed the Golden Cauldron Pavilion was behind it, but Liu Wuxie's words revealed otherwise.

"I didn't know about the Golden Cauldron Pavilion at first," Liu Shen replied. "One day, someone branded the puppet under my control with a mysterious imprint. And that was when I learned of their existence."

The Golden Cauldron Pavilion had been operating in secret. Only a few on the True Martial Continent were privy to its existence.

The puppet was someone Liu Shen had raised from childhood. The puppet was trained to mirror him in every detail—speech, gait, and expression. While the puppet acted in the open, the real Liu Shen remained in the shadows, pulling strings.

"What poison did you use on my grandfather?" Liu Wuxie asked. He still didn't know what had afflicted Liu Xiucheng and Liu Hanyi, only that its potency would have killed even him if he hadn't mastered the Poison Dao Art.

"Heavenbane Witchcraft Poison," Liu Shen answered coldly.