Essence Devouring Art

When Qiu Tianjing, Elder Wu, Qiu Ruoshui, and the other Direct Disciples saw this, they were astonished by Wu Dao’s mastery of the Fist Dao, but they also realized who he was targeting.

They were also eager to see.

When two peerless Demons from this brilliant era faced each other in the same domain, who would come out on top?

With the blessing of Wuliang Mountain.

The Mighty Power of the imprints left by climbers could be maintained at its peak state indefinitely.

Therefore, Wu Dao’s challenge to Prince Nanyang’s fist was completely fair and just.

Of course.

If they knew that Wu Dao’s actual attainments in the Fist Dao were only at the Ninth Floor, they probably wouldn’t be thinking this way.

HUMMM—

On Wuliang Mountain.

A boundless Thunder Sea churned with infinite Celestial Might.

The moment his supremely tyrannical and destructive Fist Intent pressed down upon everything...

The stone monument left by Prince Nanyang seemed to sense Wu Dao’s challenge.

The monument rumbled and roared, erupting with a magnificent, vast, and brilliant golden light. It transformed into a blurry figure in green robes whose head touched the heavens. Without dodging or evading, it also clenched its fist and threw a punch!

BOOM!!

The punch was thrown!

It was as if an Emperor had descended upon the world, with a boundless dominion!

A sea of Twelfth Floor Fist Intent.

It manifested the myriad forms of the mortal world and its countless living beings across the sky.

Natural disasters and man-made calamities!

Trials and tribulations!

With a single punch, I can pacify them all!

’What an imposing will!’

Wu Dao felt the will contained within ’Prince Nanyang’s’ fist—a will for World Peace, where every person could be a dragon—and he praised it in his heart.

But your Dao is prosperous, and mine is certainly not lacking!

BOOM—

A twelve-layered ocean of Thunderbolt surged, carrying an aura of judgment that sought to punish and annihilate all living things. It was the complete opposite of Prince Nanyang’s Taiping Fist Intent, as incompatible as fire and water.

The instant they collided.

An earsplitting silence fell!

Within the silent world.

It was as if endless Purgatory had crashed into a world of light. Swathes of the Celestial Sea exploded and shattered, as a tsunami of gold and violet light crushed the void in all directions, grinding all other radiances into a blurry Chaos!

「Southern Border Front.」

「United Front Central Mansion.」

Inside the council hall, Prince Nanyang, who was discussing the war situation with numerous experts and generals, paused slightly. His deep, Star Sea-like eyes gazed in the direction of Martial King Mountain.

An instant later.

He retracted his gaze and smiled faintly, but deep within his eyes, a hint of his own inferiority surfaced.

RUMBLE—

「Martial King Mountain.」

「On Wuliang Mountain.」

The aftershocks from the collision between the Thunderstruck Dominator Whale and the Taiping Fist’s will were still raging, throwing the void and the world into turmoil. But Wu Dao’s figure had already vanished from the 2,200-zhang domain.

”Evenly matched?”

At the foot of the mountain.

Qiu Tianjing and Elder Wu looked at each other, their tones uncertain.

In that brief exchange just now...

Neither had overpowered the other.

In terms of pure Fist Dao, it truly seemed they were evenly matched.

But...

That was only the Fist Dao!

The contest on their Main Path...

...was still an unknown.

”Damn, to be able to fight Senior Brother Zhou to a standstill in the same domain of the Fist Dao... I, Wang Xing, admit that he is now the number one person beneath the Dao Embryo realm.”

”I agree, I agree.”

The other Direct Disciples, after their brief shock, were also completely convinced.

That punch just now.

Wu Dao hadn’t used any tricks.

He had met Prince Nanyang of the same period head-on in the Fist Dao and proven to be his equal.

Based on this point alone...

...it was enough to shatter the last trace of doubt in their hearts.

Not to mention...

Wu Dao had already stepped into the 2,300-zhang domain!

A new legendary record was born!

And!

He was still continuing upward!

”To be able to do this at the Celestial Human Level... with such talent and courage, even the founding ancestor would be impressed if he were alive today!”

Qiu Tianjing watched Wu Dao, who, despite his slowing pace, was still relentlessly climbing. His face was filled with admiration.

The rule of Wuliang Mountain was that a climber had to defeat the imprint left by an expert to obtain the Cultivation Technique within the monument.

But if one accomplished the impossible, broke the Limit, and earned the recognition of an expert’s imprint through peerless talent and willpower...

...then there was no need to defeat it.

The imprints left by those experts would proactively offer their Cultivation Technique, begging you to cultivate their Dao.

Back then, Prince Nanyang...

...had used his Heavenly Human Domain to break the Limit and step into the limit of the Dao Embryo First Transformation domain. He earned the recognition of numerous expert imprints, who came from all directions bearing gifts to congratulate him.

Today, Wu Dao was even more outstanding than Prince Nanyang.

It was hard to imagine what kind of gift he would receive from Wuliang Mountain.

’He’s pursuing the Transverse Refining Dao. If he can reach the summit, he might gain the recognition of that one Cultivation Technique, but...’

Qiu Tianjing’s eyes flickered with anticipation, but then he shook his head, feeling it was somewhat impossible.

On Wuliang Mountain, the best Cultivation Techniques were naturally at the summit.

Fifteen hundred years ago.

The founding ancestor of Martial King Mountain possessed a Transverse Refining skill that participated in Creation. He was only One Step away from becoming a Tenth Daoist Sect Human World Yang God, and with his physique, he was unrivaled in the Dao Embryo Nine Transformations.

Among the legacies he left at the summit...

...was a top-tier Transverse Refining Technique that led directly to the Ninth Daoist Sect Limit.

Unfortunately.

In fifteen hundred years...

...no small number of climbers had reached the summit, but none had been able to gain the recognition of that Cultivation Technique’s imprint.

For example, Qiu Tianjing’s master.

He would often go to the summit to try and coax it, using both hard and soft tactics, but he could never make the stone monument vibrate.

Qiu Tianjing also knew in his heart...

...that since it was a Transverse Refining Technique, the main criterion for judging a climber was naturally their attainment in the physical body.

One’s realm was secondary.

Talent and potential were the most important things.

The Transverse Refining Dao...

...although unaffected by the era...

...had always been the most difficult of all Daos.

Throughout history, those who reached the Eighth Daoist Sect were exceedingly rare, and they had usually exhausted all their potential and switched to cultivating their Main Path.

The Ninth Daoist Sect!

That was already the stuff of legends.

There were none in the current era.

Even the most stunningly brilliant Prince Nanyang did not have his primary talent in the Transverse Refining Dao, so he couldn’t obtain the ancestor’s imprint’s recognition.

Wu Dao, on the other hand, had a chance.

In less than half a year...

...he had rocketed all the way to the Seventh Daoist Sect.

His talent and potential could be called unparalleled through the ages.

But he had come too early!

With his current strength, there was basically no chance of him reaching the summit. If he were at the limit of the Eighth Daoist Sect, then he might have a slight possibility.

”He’s at 2,500 zhang!!”

A disciple’s trembling, shocked cry suddenly interrupted Qiu Tianjing’s thoughts.

What?

He too was startled. He snapped his head up and saw a scene that made his pupils contract.

2,500 zhang!

On Wuliang Mountain, in the Divine Power Third Transformation domain!

The five-colored, five-rayed Five Elements Magnetic Power had already taken on a Condensed Mercury state, becoming unimaginably heavy. Coupled with the bombardment of various Divine Techniques...

...Wu Dao’s Primordial Magnetic Gang Shield could no longer hold. He simply dispelled it, no longer wasting Energy, and endured it with his physical body!

And then...

...right before everyone’s eyes...

...under Qiu Tianjing’s shocked gaze...

...his flesh and blood were directly crushed and blasted away by the Five Elements Primordial Magnetism and the various Divine Techniques, leaving behind a skeleton surging with golden lightning and fire!

”He’s... still not stopping?”

”Yeah, his body is strong, but there’s no Heaven and Earth Energy to replenish him on Wuliang Mountain. It’ll be dangerous if he keeps going.”

The disciples looked at Wu Dao, who had been reduced to a skeleton, and swallowed hard. They couldn’t imagine the pain Wu Dao must have suffered in that instant.

But what made their scalps tingle was that...

...Wu Dao didn’t even make a sound!

What kind of monster was this?

”Alliance Leader Wu, do you need to stop?”

Qiu Tianjing’s face also showed some worry. He sent a voice transmission to Wu Dao, asking if he wanted to end the climb. They could immediately deactivate the Array.

”A mere flesh wound. It’s not worth mentioning.”

But the only response Qiu Tianjing received was Wu Dao’s calm and unruffled words.

And then...

BOOM—CRACK!

Under the incredulous gazes of the crowd...

...Wu Dao, who was already a skeleton, actually began to ”sprint” against the infinite pressure and slaughter, forcefully entering the 2,700-zhang domain of the Dao Embryo Fourth Transformation.

After charging for some distance...

...his golden skeleton, which was covered in cracks, suddenly exploded into countless fragments!

But strangely...

...connected by threads of golden electrical currents...

...those fragments didn’t scatter. Instead, they stubbornly formed a blurry human figure that kept squirming toward the summit.

”Not bad. Now this is a bit exciting.”

Wu Dao’s voice, sounding both wild and unhinged, rang in Qiu Tianjing’s mind, making his hair stand on end and leaving him numb with shock all over again.

”A body at the Seventh Daoist Sect is this strong... Is that even human?”

The many Direct Disciples...

...all had terrified expressions as if they were questioning reality. In their minds, their impression of Wu Dao had completely changed from a human to an immortal Demon God, sending a chill down their spines.