Essence Devouring Art

After the Overlord Whale Alliance annexed the Four Seas Gang,

it unified the north and south,

establishing its position as the absolute Overlord of the entire prefecture.

Though not much time had passed,

its size and influence had grown with astonishing speed.

It was like a colossal tree shooting toward the heavens, its shadow blanketing the whole of Guangqing Prefecture, its roots spreading through countless counties, towns, and villages.

Its intelligence network.

Its chain of command.

Both were beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

At a single command from Wu Dao,

the Saint King Dao—an Evil Dao force that had just begun to surface—was hunted. Though they were exceedingly cautious, hiding deep out of sight,

once the colossal beast that was the Overlord Whale Alliance began to move, every city and town was scoured in a dragnet search. No matter how deep they hid, there was no escape.

Just three days later,

the great beast’s tentacles had already located a well-established nest within the prefecture!

...

Lancang County.

Overlord Whale Alliance Headquarters.

”Feiyun County, Jianshan City, the Fish Nest.”

A glint of greed appeared in Wu Dao’s eyes as he looked at the information on the long scroll in his hand.

’All I need is a location.’

After his Overlord Whale Fist achieved Divine Manifestation, his Spiritual Perception had become exceptionally powerful, allowing him to perceive every minute detail within a radius of several miles!

As far as he knew,

Jianshan City was just a county seat. In a place that small, it didn’t matter how well the fish tried to hide!

However, since it was a Fish Nest,

there were bound to be smaller fish scattered around in addition to the big one.

’Even a mosquito’s leg is still meat.’

At this thought, Wu Dao extended his spirit into the Communication Jade Talisman, sending an order to the clusters of spiritual imprints within:

”Proceed to Jianshan City at once. Take this order and hunt down the Saint King Dao bastards. All Divine Power Realm experts near Jianshan City are also to mobilize and await my signal to strike.”

Within the Overlord Whale Alliance,

there were about fifty people who possessed a Communication Jade Talisman. Some were old veterans, while others had joined after the Alliance’s expansion.

All of them were experts at the Cocoon-Breaking Realm!

There were even ten masters who had undergone the Third Rebirth!

With the Primordial Magnetism Tokens for navigation,

they could handle any Demon Beast that wasn’t at the Innate Realm.

Of course, it wasn’t their place to deal with an Innate Level Great Demon anyway; Wu Dao would handle it himself.

”As you command!”

As soon as Wu Dao issued the command, a chorus of respectful voices, devoid of any hesitation, echoed from the Communication Jade Talisman.

This was the benefit of Mind Control.

No matter what he ordered them to do, they would execute it without the slightest resistance—perfect tools.

...

The northern part of Guangqing Prefecture.

Jianshan City!

Encircled by peaks on all four sides, the city sat on high ground. The land was barren, and the city was exceptionally poor and underdeveloped.

But as the saying goes, fortune and misfortune are two sides of the same coin.

Because of this poverty,

there wasn’t much wealth to squeeze out of the place.

As a result, no major power had ever taken an interest in a remote and backward place like Jianshan City.

Even in these chaotic times,

the power structure in Jianshan City hadn’t changed much.

If one had to point out a change,

it would be that a few of the city’s prosperous clans had joined forces to replace the County Yamen, becoming local tyrants.

After more than ten days of cloudy skies and thunderstorms,

the fiery autumn sun at noon now blazed across the world.

Heat waves rippled through Jianshan City.

Inside the luxurious Li Mansion, which stood in stark contrast to the dilapidated and filthy outer city districts,

in the rear garden,

the Clan Leaders of the Li, Zhao, and Qian clans—the three families that controlled Jianshan City—were enjoying a lavish iced plum soup while discussing important matters.

As for the main course,

it consisted of neatly cut, completely raw pieces of red meat.

”Gentlemen, we need to be a bit more restrained for a while.”

Li Rencai, the Li Clan Leader, tore into a piece of red meat with his teeth. His frost-white beard was soaked with seeping blood as he chewed and mumbled,

”The Holy Land in Chenliu County was destroyed by a group of blasphemers the day before yesterday. The Saint King has issued a Holy Edict, ordering us to keep a low profile for the time being and focus only on developing Jianshan County.”

”Hah!”

The pot-bellied Qian Clan Leader, Qian Duofu, sneered as he gnawed on a stark white bone.

”The Saint King is the heaven-sent Saint Master, our savior! His Holy Technique is boundless. That bunch of demonic filth from the Overlord Whale Alliance won’t be arrogant for long.”

”We still can’t be careless,” said Qian Clan Leader Qian Bai. He ate with more refined manners, speaking slowly and deliberately. ”That Overlord Whale King is number one on the Guangqing Martial Arts List. His strength is extraordinary, and he commands tens of thousands of tigers and wolves.

If he truly turns his attention to us and investigates Jianshan City, our deaths would be a small matter. But if we jeopardize the Saint King’s grand plan, not even ten thousand deaths would be enough to atone for our failure.

Therefore, my opinion is that we should lay as low as possible during this period. The matter of recruiting new Daoist Disciples should be temporarily...”

BOOM!!

An earth-shattering blast, like thunder from a clear sky, suddenly erupted.

A terrifying, cataclysmic roar rang out without any warning, shaking the Ten Directions and cutting Qian Bai off mid-sentence.

The three of them looked up in horror at the same time.

They saw a mountain outside the city burst into flames, its peak exploding!

Millions of tons of earth and rock shattered and flew in all directions like a volcanic eruption, and a cloud of dust swallowed a vast swath of the sky.

”That place is...”

”Oh no, the Holy Temple!!”

After a moment of shock, the three of them shot to their feet, their eyes nearly splitting from rage, and were about to rush out of the city.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

But at that very moment, figures cut through the air. Three silhouettes with profound auras appeared in the rear garden, blocking their escape.

”What vile creatures!!”

The leader was Li Mountain, the Right Guardian of the Overlord Whale Alliance. His gaze swept over the red flesh and white bones on the table, and a look of deep loathing appeared on his face.

”The Overlord Whale Alliance!”

The three Clan Leaders froze. Seeing the Dragon Whale Pattern on the chests of Li Mountain and his two companions, their pupils shrank in disbelief.

’Jianshan City doesn’t have an Overlord Whale Alliance hall.’

’How were we exposed so quickly?’

They could rack their brains and never guess the truth.

The reason they were exposed

was because an Overlord Whale Alliance Hall Master, eager to earn merit, had been patrolling Jianshan City when the searing heat released by his Primordial Magnetism Token—made from the flesh and blood of a Black Wolf—had burned the skin off his hand!

They thought they were well-hidden,

but in reality, they were like a torch in the dead of night. Anyone carrying a Primordial Magnetism Token who passed by would notice them, unless they were blind.

”You dare destroy the Holy Temple!”

”Damn you, Overlord Whale Alliance! I’ll fight you to the death!”

”ROAR!”