Essence Devouring Art

”WOOF WOOF WOOF~”

The frantic barking of a dog shattered the dawn’s peace and quiet in Dawan Manor.

A large yellow dog with floppy ears whined and circled the villagers who were starting their day’s work, its barks filled with sorrow.

”Isn’t that Dahuang, the dog Iron Child raised?”

”Oh my, why is the dog crying?”

”The boy and his grandfather went up the mountain to gather herbs yesterday. A neighbor said they didn’t come back all night, and now only Dahuang has returned...”

”Something must have happened. Quick, inform the village chief.”

The villagers were startled by Dahuang’s strange behavior. Connecting it to the fact that Iron Child and his grandfather had been gone all night, they knew something was wrong and hurried to notify the village chief.

The old village chief soon arrived with the able-bodied men of the village. After questioning a few Medicine Gatherers who had seen Iron Child and his grandfather the previous night, he leaned on his cane and said with grief and indignation:

”How foolish. ’There is great evil in the mountains; you must leave before sunset.’ It’s a rule passed down for generations. How could Old Liu... Sigh. Hurry up the mountain and search for them.”

Dawan Manor was not large.

Nearly every household was related in some way.

Upon hearing that Iron Child and his grandfather might be in trouble, everyone grew anxious. They quickly assembled a search party of over a hundred people, armed with hoes and sickles, and headed up the mountain.

But once they went, not a single person who entered the mountain that morning ever returned.

The mountains were vast and wild, with ancient trees that reached for the sky.

The familiar mountain paths seemed to have transformed into roads to the Netherworld—strange, treacherous, and thick with a sinister air, silently devouring one life after another.

「Dusk.」

The wails of the women and children left behind in the village shook the heavens. They all realized something terrible had happened and gathered at the foot of the mountain, screaming hysterically at the sprawling range.

Fortunately, some level-headed individuals managed to hold back a few women who wanted to rush into the mountains, preventing the tragedy from repeating itself.

Over a hundred able-bodied men had vanished all at once.

It couldn’t have been the work of wild beasts. Besides, this was just the outskirts of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Generations of exploration meant that the veteran hunters and Medicine Gatherers of Dawan Village could navigate it with their eyes closed.

It wasn’t beasts, and they weren’t lost.

Then...

”Sigh... At dawn tomorrow, go to the County City and inform the Overlord Whale Alliance. We’ve most likely encountered those... inhuman things...”

The old village chief gazed at the mountains being gradually swallowed by shadows, his expression filled with guilt. He seemed to age decades in an instant as he spoke, his voice weak and drained.

After the Overlord Whale Alliance established its presence in Wanshan Prefecture, they had sent men into the villages and mountains on several occasions. They spread the word to all human settlements, regardless of their size, that demons and monsters were real.

Moreover, they posted wanted notices with contact information everywhere. If any Alien Species were reported, and the report was confirmed, the Overlord Whale Alliance offered a reward of a thousand silver!

Although Dawan Village was remote, the Overlord Whale Alliance’s pervasive reach had long since incorporated it as a link in their vast intelligence network.

「Noon, the next day.」

In the Overlord Whale Alliance’s branch hall in Longlin County, which Dawan Village fell under, Hall Master Nangong Li’s brow furrowed. ’Over a hundred people vanished without a trace?’

Killing a hundred ordinary people wasn’t difficult.

Any Inner Strength Martial Artist could do it.

But for a hundred people to vanish without a trace?

And... it might involve an Alien Species?

’A big fish!’ he thought, his eyes lighting up. ’At least at the Second Rebirth level!’

He took out a Communication Jade Talisman and quickly notified a Commander-in-Chief.

After the Overlord Whale Alliance absorbed the Pingliang Royalist Faction, the experts from the Nangong Family, Fangcun Sword Hall, and the original Pingliang Army had all become Clawed Primordial Demons under Wu Dao.

Today, the Overlord Whale Alliance was a different class of organization.

A Hall Master of a small County City like Nangong Li was an Immortal Dao Cultivator who had lit his Dao Fire once, the first stage of Breaking the Cocoon.

Those who could serve as Squad Leaders in a County City had to be at the Second Rebirth level at minimum.

As for the five Commander-in-Chiefs guarding the Wanshan Sub-Alliance, whether they followed the Immortal Dao, Martial Dao, or Military Dao, they were all Grandmasters of the One Step. In the past, they would have been overlords of an entire prefecture, like Qi Canghai.

With such strength, it was safe to say that as long as it wasn’t a major Alien Species at the Innate Second Step, the Overlord Whale Alliance could resolve the issue perfectly without notifying Wu Dao.

Therefore, even though he realized this might be a sizable fish, Nangong Li had no intention of reporting it to headquarters.

If they had to notify the Alliance Leader and use a cannon to shoot a mosquito for every Alien Species they encountered, what was the point of having subordinates like them? Were they just for decoration?

The Longlin County hall was under the jurisdiction of Luo Ying, one of the Overlord Whale Alliance’s Commander-in-Chiefs for Sanjiang County. He was a former Military Dao Grandmaster from Fangcun Sword Hall.

After receiving Nangong Li’s report, he gave it due importance. He quickly gathered his men, brought sufficient weaponry, and rushed to Dawan Manor.

RUMBLE—

「Dusk.」

On the Main Path outside Dawan Manor, dust billowed and fierce horses neighed.

Luo Ying, the Sword Dao Grandmaster and Commander-in-Chief, led the way, followed by a group of Hall Masters who had undergone Rebirth and a large contingent of those in the Divine Power Realm.

Nearly a hundred men, all of them Primordial Demons!

From a distance, one could feel a roiling, soul-shakingly violent and baleful aura.

Inside Dawan Village, lamentations filled the air. The cries of women, children, and the elderly were everywhere.

The sky had darkened. There was still no news of the hundred-odd men who had gone into the mountains the day before. Everyone knew they had likely met a terrible fate. Dozens of families were destroyed in an instant, a tragedy beyond what the word ”miserable” could describe.

Luo Ying gave the scene a cursory glance and paid it no further mind. In the past, he might have been heartbroken, but after becoming a Primordial Demon, the only one in his heart was Wu Dao, their ”Mother Goddess.”

The common passions and desires of the Human World could no longer stir any empathy in them.

Galloping all the way, Luo Ying and his retinue soon arrived at the foot of Ganyin Mountain behind Dawan Manor.

Looking up, they saw a sea of mountain forests shrouded in lilac-colored shadows. It was a primitive, untamed wilderness that resembled a crouching Ancient Fierce Beast, utterly soul-stirring.

”The Commander-in-Chief is here!”

The main entrances to Ganyin Mountain had already been sealed off by the Overlord Whale Alliance members from Longlin County. Upon seeing Luo Ying and his men arrive, they all shouted a greeting.

”Greetings, Commander-in-Chief!”

Nangong Li, who had been waiting for a long time, hurried forward to greet him and report what he had found. ”We’ve confirmed the general location. It’s deep within Ganyin Mountain, but...”

Here, Nangong Li’s tone turned grave.

”The area is shrouded in an extremely dense Yin Fog. I sent out several Yin-Searching Talismans, but they all started spinning in circles after a few hundred meters, unable to pinpoint the exact location.”

”You can’t find it?”

Luo Ying, carrying a Brass Spirit Sword on his back, had sharp brows and eagle-like eyes, exuding a cold, stern aura. He dismounted, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Nangong Li was an Immortal Dao Cultivator who had lit his Dao Fire once, and his Spiritual Power was much stronger than that of an ordinary Extraordinary of the same level.

The Talismans he could control were low-grade Spirit Talismans at the very least, capable of preventing any Alien Species below the Innate realm or Second Rebirth from using any Escape Form.

But the reality was that they couldn’t even get past the Yin Fog. ’Looks like we’ve really hooked a big one this time!’

A fervent glint appeared in Luo Ying’s eyes. If he could capture this big fish, the Alliance Leader would be greatly pleased and would surely bestow a reward!

To motivate his Primordial Demon subordinates, Wu Dao would reward those with outstanding contributions with a few Ten Thousand Healing Crystals—a supreme cultivation treasure for Primordial Demons, no less valuable than Dragon Liver and Phoenix Marrow.

In any case, the wool came from the sheep’s own back. Why not offer a little incentive to make the sheep work with two hundred percent enthusiasm, as if they were on stimulants?

”I’d like to see just how devious it can be!”

Luo Ying snorted coldly, suppressing the fervor in his eyes. He took the brass sword from his back and charged into Ganyin Mountain, leading the way.

”Quick, quick, keep up!”

Nangong Li and the hundred-plus Primordial Demons immediately took out their gear and followed closely behind Luo Ying.

This group was composed of minor experts, at the Divine Power Realm at the very least. Their Leg Strength was naturally extraordinary.

Sprinting all the way, it took them only a moment to converge in a relatively flat area of primeval forest deep within Ganyin Mountain.

As far as the eye could see, a hazy Yin Fog that blotted out the sky stretched like a city wall, bisecting the forest and extending into the far distance.

A Yin Fog of this scale would be difficult to break with brute force unless a Grandmaster of the Innate Second Step took action.

The Magnetic Field that disrupted one’s mind was too strong. Anyone below the Third Rebirth would likely get lost upon entering.

But every trade has its specialist. The Primordial Demons of the Wanshan Sub-Alliance were created specifically to deal with Alien Species, and they had long since developed a wealth of experience and countermeasures.

”Trifling tricks. Consume the Tongyou Grass!”

Luo Ying glanced at the Yin Fog with a cold smile and turned to the logistics members in his retinue.

”Yes, sir!”

CLANG CLANG CLANG—

Several logistics members took the mechanical Treasure Chests from their backs and opened them like multi-layered drawers.

Inside the layers of drawers, weapons, talisman paper, Array Plates, and special treasures were neatly categorized, a dazzling and overwhelming collection.

Most of these treasures came from the Nangong Family, a Cultivation Family, as well as the Extraordinary Influences of Pingliang City.

Now, they had naturally become the foundation of the Overlord Whale Alliance’s power. For a mission, one only needed to submit a request to use them.

A short while later, the logistics personnel retrieved a handful of tree-like herbs from a middle drawer. The herbs glowed with a faint green light, their leaves resembling eyes, and distributed them to the members of the Overlord Whale Alliance.

After consuming the herbs, the Overlord Whale Alliance members could be seen shivering, their expressions becoming incredibly excited, and their eyes as bright as torches.

Tongyou Grass. It often grew in places of death. When consumed by the living, it could clarify the mind, calm the spirit, greatly enhance perception, and allow one to discern the true from the false between Yin and Yang.

Looking at the sea of Yin Fog before them now, even a Divine Power Realm expert felt as if they had gained X-ray vision. Everything was crystal clear in the twilight, with every detail laid bare. The feeling of their perception being blocked was gone.

As for Luo Ying, the Sword Dao Grandmaster, he became a human radar. Within a radius of several hundred meters, not even the rustle of grass in the wind or the crawling of an ant could escape his perception.

”Go!”

After an Incantation, a sharp cry rang out.

After consuming the Tongyou Grass, the greatly enhanced Spiritual Power of Nangong Li and several other Dao Fire cultivators allowed them to form a simple Array. They joined forces to activate a mid-grade golden Yin-Searching Spirit Talisman, which transformed into a Talisman Crane.

The Spiritual Crane danced in the air, glittering with golden light. It spun rapidly like a compass needle before locking onto a direction and charging into the sea of fog.

CLANG!

The Brass Spirit Sword was unsheathed, flashing with a crimson ribbon of killing intent.

Luo Ying kept his eyes fixed on the golden crane, advancing swiftly with his sword. He led the hundred Primordial Demons, their blades drawn and auras seething, deep into the sea of fog.

”Hee hee hee—”

After advancing several li, the enchanting, flirtatious giggle of a woman sounded, and the golden paper crane came to a halt in mid-air.

Luo Ying’s eyes narrowed. He raised a hand, gesturing for his men to spread out and surround Pond Lake, while he used the brass sword in his hand to part the bushes before him.