Essence Devouring Art

”Such intense resentment. You want to turn into a ghost? Too bad you won’t get the chance!”

Wu Dao saw Qin Nanchun’s eyes, wide open in death, staring fixedly at him, and couldn’t help but give a Sen Leng smile.

His Spirit Armor covered his entire body!

His Thunder Listening could perceive the subtlest things, even allowing for Observing Yin and Yang!

He stomped down with his foot!

Not only did he crush Qin Nanchun’s head like a watermelon,

but his savage and brutal Spiritual Consciousness also ground the remnants of his soul to dust, ensuring he was deader than dead!

After dealing with Qin Nanchun,

and to prevent complications from arising due to delay,

Wu Dao scanned his surroundings. After confirming no one had noticed the disturbance in the small courtyard, he once again transformed into a phantom and melted into the torrential, rainy night.

He didn’t have to search for long.

Soon, a winery appeared within his perception.

It was a two-story building shaped like a wine Gourd, hidden within the estate’s central grove. Even from a distance, he could smell the delightful, permeating scent of wine.

Around the winery,

there was a sentry every three steps and a post every five. The security was extremely tight.

This Elder Qin,

was not only insidious but also cherished his life dearly.

He knew his weakness for alcohol was a critical one, so every time he indulged, he would increase the number of guards around the winery, leaving no opportunity for anyone to exploit it.

Under normal circumstances,

faced with such tight security,

it would have been impossible for Wu Dao to sneak in undetected, no matter how good his breath-concealment techniques or how powerful his perception was.

But tonight, the thunderstorm was torrential.

With the weather on his side, no matter how vigilant Elder Qin’s security was, as long as they weren’t forming a literal human chain around the winery, it would be a simple task for Wu Dao.

Avoiding several hidden sentries along the way,

Wu Dao soon reached the wall surrounding the winery. He leaped up like a civet cat, landing silently without alerting anyone.

Just as he was about to enter the winery proper,

an old man dressed as a steward suddenly approached from ahead. He held an umbrella in one hand and a few exquisite wine vessels in the other, muttering to himself:

”His Lordship is really something else. He can’t just take his anger out on his belongings. This set of wine vessels costs thousands of taels, how can he be so... urk.”

Before he could finish his sentence,

the steward heard an unusual sound of something cutting through the air behind him. A sharp pain bloomed in his chest as a small stone shot out from his heart, disappearing far into the rainy night.

An endless darkness quickly filled his vision, and his body involuntarily fell backward.

Seeing this, Wu Dao quickly stepped out of the darkness, caught the steward, and hid his body in the bushes.

Then,

with a series of CRACKLES and POPS from his bones and flesh, he transformed into the steward’s likeness. Holding the wine vessels, he walked brazenly toward the winery.

Although his clothes were slightly different, in the pitch-dark, rainy night, an ordinary person wouldn’t notice anything amiss.

”Steward Liu, you’re finally here. Hurry inside, His Lordship has been calling for you from downstairs.”

At the entrance to the winery’s first floor,

a few Inner Strength Realm Martial Artists saw ”Steward Liu” approaching from the darkness with an umbrella and greeted him.

”Mm.”

Wu Dao hunched his back and mumbled a reply in a stuffy voice. He then walked past them without arousing suspicion and entered the winery.

”Hey, how come Steward Liu changed into gray clothes so quickly?”

”The rain is pouring. Maybe he got wet.”

”True. He’s old and his cultivation is weak. An illness could hit him like a landslide.”

...

Listening to the discussion outside,

a faint smile touched Wu Dao’s lips. He extended his perception and immediately located Elder Qin in a room inside the winery filled with wine cabinets and jars. The old man’s face was flushed red, and he was clearly high from drinking.

It was quite an achievement for him to get drunk.

A Martial Artist who had undergone a Second Rebirth no longer had their Power limited to the external strength of their flesh, bones, and sinews. They would have already tempered their five viscera and six bowels, giving rise to Inner Strength and Dark Force.

With Dark Force protecting their organs,

one could drink the Water of Life and still not get drunk.

However, this was the Extraordinary World.

There were some brewing methods different from the mundane world, so it wasn’t unusual for an Extraordinary to get drunk.

”Lao Liu, Lao Liu! Where’s my Cyan Fish Cup? What are you standing there for? Bring it here, quickly!”

After all, Elder Qin was a Dark Force Martial Artist, so his perception was extraordinary.

Even though he was slightly tipsy and his senses were a little dull, he had still detected ’Steward Liu’ outside right away and was now shouting for him insistently.

’Heh, that saves me some trouble.’

Wu Dao glanced down at the Cyan Jade Wine Vessels on the tray. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he suppressed his aura and strode forward.

CREAK~

The door to the wine room slowly swung open.

The room was brightly lit. Overturned wine jars were scattered about, and the dense smell of alcohol assaulted the senses.

Elder Qin had his back to Wu Dao.

He was in front of a table, holding up a Jade Wine Vat and swaying back and forth, looking utterly blissful.

”*Hic*~ Set them down, fill them up. This wine vat is satisfying, sure, but it’s just too crude.”

Elder Qin gave the order with a drunken burp, not even turning his head.

Wu Dao narrowed his eyes, secretly gathering his Power. He slowly approached Elder Qin. His body, bones, and muscles began to shift and creak, casting a large, increasingly muscular shadow under the lamplight.

Five meters!

Wu Dao spoke in an icy voice:

”No matter how much of this mortal world’s wine you drink, it’ll never be truly satisfying. After all, the vintages are limited. Down in the underworld, the vintages are ancient. You can drink to your heart’s content there.”

Hmm?!

A strange voice sounded from behind him.

An indescribable sense of terrifying, mortal danger enveloped his heart.

At this point,

no matter how drunk Elder Qin was, he knew something was wrong. He shivered violently and spun around.

BOOM!!

But in the instant he turned,

it was as if an Ancient Fierce Beast had stomped the ground, or a massive volcano had erupted!

”Die!!”

Wu Dao roared, stomping his foot with immense force. The packed-earth floor of the room exploded and collapsed as if it were rigged with high explosives. The Power spread outwards, making the entire winery shudder violently as if hit by an earthquake!

WHOOSH!!

A fist of steel compressed and blasted the air, which surged violently to the sides. A fierce gale tore through the room, sending beautiful jars of wine crashing to the floor to shatter!

In the span of a finger snap,

a fist carrying the force of a missile strike slammed squarely into Elder Qin’s chest!

As swift as a Thunderbolt, with the force of a landslide!

A punch without warning, and at extremely close range!

BANG!!

Elder Qin didn’t even have time to react before Wu Dao’s punch sent him flying. With a CRACKLE of shattering bones in his chest, he shot backward like a cannonball, blasting through layer after layer of wooden walls before crashing into the dark, rainy curtain outside!

In his vision as he flew backward,

he only caught a glimpse of a man with hollow eye sockets and the physique of a T-rex. He wore gray clothes and gray pants, had an unfamiliar face, and was crouched down after shattering the ground with his stomp.

Without dodging or evading, the man barbarically smashed through the walls in his path, chasing after his flying body with an overwhelming, ferocious killing intent.

’My newly brewed wine!’

’Bastard!!’

Unexpectedly, despite suffering such a brutal surprise attack,

the first thing on Elder Qin’s mind wasn’t the identity of his attacker, but the fine wine that now lay shattered all over the floor.

BAM!!

Amidst the torrential thunderstorm,

Elder Qin flew out of the winery like a broken ragdoll, disappearing into the night. He crashed through a decorative rockery in the garden, which finally stopped his momentum.

”Ahhh—”

As the rain poured down, Elder Qin let out an inhumanly wretched scream. He lay in the crater, coughing up huge mouthfuls of blood.

The Power behind Wu Dao’s last strike was just too immense.

Caught completely off guard, his sternum had been utterly shattered. Even with the protection of his Dark Force, his internal organs were bleeding profusely. He felt like he was about to explode!

”Old Dog Qin! You and that bastard grandson of yours wiped out my entire family and gouged out my eyes, making my life a living hell! Today, I, Cheng Tiankun, will have my revenge in blood!!”

Before Elder Qin could even recover from the excruciating pain,

Wu Dao’s roar, filled with endless grief, indignation, and killing intent, exploded across the entire estate. It reverberated like a great bell, momentarily drowning out the sound of the Celestial Thunder from the Nine Heavens!

’Cheng Tiankun?’

’Revenge?!’

’Elder Qin has been attacked!!’

Wu Dao’s thunderous roar, which had overpowered the storm itself, spread throughout the entire estate, and cries of alarm rose from all directions.

Whether they had been sleeping or not, everyone’s expression changed drastically. They all grabbed their weapons and rushed toward the winery.