Essence Devouring Art

Among the thirty-three Great Divine Techniques,

many were left behind by experts at the peak of the Daoist Embryo Nine Transformations from the era of Martial King Mountain’s founding ancestor. Their mighty power was unrivaled in the world.

If one could obtain just a single one,

in this day and age,

dominating the Jianghu and reaching the peak in the future would be a simple matter.

The Transverse Refining Dao wasn’t bad, either,

but it was far too difficult!

The further one progressed on this path, the difficulty of strengthening the physique would increase a hundredfold, even a thousandfold, compared to a normal path, until it became utterly hopeless.

The founding ancestor of Martial King Mountain, whose physical talent had been stunning and brilliant, was a prime example.

Before the Eight Daoist Sects,

his progress was explosive, advancing a thousand miles in a single day.

After the Eight Daoist Sects,

progress became nearly impossible. He expended countless amounts of energy and sweat just to enter the Ninth Daoist Sect, but his potential was completely exhausted. For hundreds of years, he couldn’t advance another inch, and he died with regret.

As for the Wu Dao of today...

Although his talent surpassed even that of the Martial King Mountain’s ancestor,

even so,

Qiu Tianjing was not optimistic about Wu Dao’s future on the Transverse Refining Dao.

”Everyone has their own path. How many years has this monster even been cultivating? Conventional logic doesn’t apply to him.”

Elder Wu, however, stroked his beard and smiled faintly, completely confident in Wu Dao’s future.

He had even accomplished the outrageous feat of reaching the summit of Wuliang Mountain as a Celestial Being.

Any more miracles in the future,

as long as they happened to Wu Dao,

Elder Wu would consider them normal. Nothing was impossible for him.

”Perhaps...”

Qiu Tianjing gazed at the golden mass of flesh and bone on the summit, which was surrounded by the light of many Great Divine Techniques, his eyes filled with an indescribable emotion.

His pessimism about Wu Dao

wasn’t because he didn’t believe in Wu Dao’s talent.

The main reason was...

The Great Tribulation was coming.

And there wasn’t much time left.

With the same world-class talent,

if Wu Dao’s talent hadn’t been focused on the nigh-impossible path of the physical body, he might have had a fighting chance in the near future...

’I hope Junior Brother wasn’t mistaken.’

Qiu Tianjing let out a soft breath, suppressing the heavy, unspeakable feeling in his heart.

...

The summit of Wuliang Mountain!

As Wu Dao reached the summit, all thirty-three Great Divine Techniques manifested, their surging Divine Light churning everything within sight and perception into a state of chaotic blur.

In the center of the ocean of divine light!

Wu Dao, whose name had flickered countless times in the Book of Life and Death, had once again broken the boundary between life and death before King Yama could write his fate, stubbornly clinging to existence.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~

As the Life Origin Magnetic Field spun,

all sorts of magnetic field energy from heaven and earth swarmed and gathered, devoured by Wu Dao like an oceanic black hole and converted into all-healing energy beneficial to the human body.

The fist-sized mass of golden flesh and bone also began to visibly grow in size, squirming and twisting until it gradually took on a human form.

A short while later...

CLANG!!

An arm, its muscles seemingly woven from Barbaric Dragons, extended from the twisting golden flesh. Its five fingers closed into a fist, creating a sound like Divine Iron clashing.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG—

The ringing of Divine Iron echoed continuously.

It was as if an ancient war machine was reviving and coming online.

”Hah... That feels good!”

Wu Dao tore the membrane of flesh from his face and stretched his neck, his expression a mixture of relish and a desire for more.

The previous life-and-death tempering at the limit

had unearthed a great deal of his body’s potential at the Human Extreme Limit. The training effect was even more significant than being struck by lightning.

If not for the fact that Wuliang Mountain had an owner,

and that activating it consumed a great deal of a King’s Artifact Origin, requiring a long time to replenish,

he would have wanted to stay on Wuliang Mountain all day.

Unfortunately...

He clicked his tongue with regret.

Wu Dao turned his attention to the surrounding manifestations of the Great Divine Techniques, each a direct path to the Daoist Embryo Nine Transformations.

Now,

it was time to pick and enjoy the spoils of war!

Primordial Great Capture... Treasure Vase Seal... World Peace... Three Emperors Arrogant World... Dragon Capturing Technique... Five Elements Magnetic Divine Light... Heaven-Supporting Sea-Raising... Unrivaled in the World... Immortal-Burning Fire...

His Spiritual Consciousness swept over them.

The names of one Divine Technique after another, each of which had once shaken the world, entered his mind, manifesting terrifying scenes of their mighty power shattering mountains and rivers.

But Wu Dao skipped over all of them.

The foundation of these Great Divine Techniques was the Dao Embryo, which evolved from a Divine Power Seed in the Martial Dao Dantian.

Even if he used his Primordial Magnetic Power to find an alternative way to learn and master them, without the amplification of a Dao Embryo, he wouldn’t be able to unleash even half of their full mighty power.

A path was best when it suited oneself.

He had various forms of Primordial Magnetic Power, as well as offensive and defensive moves developed from his Meat God—

Primordial Magnetic True Gang, Primordial Magnetic Celestial Saber, Celestial Essence Magnetic Burst Fist, Primordial Magnetic Celestial Prison Cage, Ten Directions Divine Slaughter, Primordial Magnetic Tribulation Finger...

If these moves were allowed to grow,

with the amplification of his magnetic field and physical body, they wouldn’t necessarily be weaker than Divine Techniques. There was no need to be fickle and think the grass was greener on the other side.

With a thought,

Wu Dao locked onto a jet-black stone stele deep within the light of the many Great Divine Techniques. Its aura was as deep as an abyss and as vast as the sea, standing as unshakable as a Celestial Pillar in the ocean of divine techniques—

The Immortal Black Tortoise Divine Skill!

’Found you!’

The corner of Wu Dao’s mouth curved up. Without hesitation, his Spiritual Consciousness reached out toward the jet-black stele carried on the back of a Black Tortoise!

For this mountain climb,

he was only after a Cultivation Technique for after the Horizontal Refining Seventh Gate.

Naturally, he had done his homework well in advance.

The founding ancestor of Martial King Mountain from 1,500 years ago had reached the pinnacle of the Transverse Refining Dao in his era. He was only one step away from entering the Tenth Daoist Sect and the Human World Yang God Realm.

The Transverse Refining Technique he cultivated

was precisely the Immortal Black Tortoise Divine Skill!

According to legend,

this top-tier Transverse Refining Technique not only allows one to step into the Horizontal Refining Ninth Gate Eighteen Extreme Yang Heaven Limit, but also to cultivate a Black Tortoise Incarnation!

That’s right!

An External Incarnation Technique!

Even if the main body is killed, one can transfer their consciousness and continue to exist through the incarnation. It’s equivalent to having multiple lives—Immortal and Undying, in a sense.

This point alone

was enough to blow all the other Great Divine Techniques out of the water.

This method of having an undying incarnation

was something even Wu Dao from his previous life, who stood at the Peak of Human Extremes, could not achieve.

After reaching the Peak of Human Extremes,

the most he could do was achieve a state where as long as a single cell survived, so did he; he could regenerate from just one cell.

As for incarnations,

he could create them, but only within the range of his perception. It was equivalent to splitting his own consciousness into pieces and constructing a network of magnetic field connections.

If they went beyond the range of his Spiritual Perception,

the thoughts within the incarnation would disappear.

Furthermore, after splitting, his Magnetic Field Power was also divided, which was a major limitation.

He had once envisioned

that after reaching the Peak of Human Extremes, he could create tens of millions of incarnations. These millions of selves would cultivate together, then gather their magnetic fields to nourish the main body.

Unfortunately...

Of course,

in Wu Dao’s vision, these incarnations were merely cultivation puppets, lacking self-awareness.

Every life is unique.

The same goes for one’s soul and consciousness.

No one could calmly face another ’person’ who had the same soul, the same consciousness, and even the same thoughts as them.

Because if that were the case,

the concept of ’I’ would cease to exist. What would be the point of being powerful then?

BOOM—

As Wu Dao’s Spiritual Thoughts entered the stele that recorded the Immortal Black Tortoise Divine Skill, he instantly felt his consciousness enter a vast and boundless world.

At the four corners of the world!

Four unimaginably majestic, jet-black Celestial Pillars held up the endless sky and suppressed the Abyss and Purgatory.

At the highest point,

one could even see the Star Sea embracing it, the sun and moon rising and setting, and a Black Tortoise opening its mouth to devour the universe, creating and destroying a world with its breath.

’What magnificent spirit!’

An unimaginable sense of shock instantly filled his mind.

Wu Dao took a deep breath. Standing in the cosmos, he focused his mind and calmly observed every move of the Black Tortoise Divine Beast that stood taller than the heavens.

As he observed, a flood of Cultivation Diagrams, cultivation essences, and a vast amount of information poured into his mind, making his brain feel slightly swollen.

First level...

Second level...

Third level...

...

Eighth level...

The nine-level Undying Black Tortoise Body!

RUMBLE—

After the entire inheritance of the Immortal Black Tortoise Divine Skill was poured into Wu Dao’s mind,

the four limbs of the Black Tortoise that supported this world of spiritual thought—the four celestial pillars—began to shake violently. Stars fell like rain, and a powerful repulsive force was generated, ejecting Wu Dao’s thoughts.

But at the last moment,

Wu Dao clearly observed

that on the back of the Black Tortoise that carried the Star Sea, a wild and unrestrained, tall, bare-chested, mysterious figure manifested, his long black hair flying, resembling a God and Demon.

The moment he opened his eyes, his gaze crossed the Star Sea, and seemed to cross the ages, watching Wu Dao from afar. After giving an appreciative nod, he spoke a single sentence tinged with a hint of unwillingness:

”To break through the Ten Daoist Sects, one must first become a Sacred Spirit.”

’A remnant will of the Martial King Mountain’s ancestor?’

’Ten Daoist Sects?’

’A Sacred Spirit?’

BOOM—

Just as these questions arose in Wu Dao’s mind, the spiritual inheritance world of the Immortal Black Tortoise Divine Skill completely closed.

BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!

The moment his Spiritual Thoughts withdrew from the jet-black stele,

the steles on the summit of Wuliang Mountain that recorded the many Great Divine Techniques also went silent at the same time.

The climber had made his choice.

They naturally stopped manifesting. This was the rule of Wuliang Mountain.

The divine light scattered, and the void receded.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~

In the surging, turbulent astral wind,

Wu Dao stood against the wind, his eyes flickering as the words of guidance from the Martial King Mountain’s ancestor echoed in his mind—

To break through the Ten Daoist Sects, one must first become a Sacred Spirit.

’A Sacred Spirit?’

’What is a Sacred Spirit?’

’A divine being, born Innate!’

’In other words,

a Sacred Spirit is a child of the Dao Rules, the source of countless races.’

’How can a human achieve this postnatally?’

Hoo~

Suppressing the doubts in his heart,

Wu Dao stopped pondering the problem. His Main Path was the Essence Devouring Art. He already had ideas for the road beyond the Peak of Human Extremes; he was not without a path forward.

There was no need to be fixated on the Transverse Refining Dao.

With a thought,

he opened his attribute panel—

[Physique: Human Extreme (Limit)]

[Extraordinary: Essence Devouring Art (92% Potential Release) +

Thunder Punishment Dominating Whale Fist 8000 years (True Intent Tenth Floor) +

Divine Desolate Transformation 8000 years (Horizontal Refining Seventh Gate Limit) +]

Immortal Black Tortoise Divine Skill 100 years (+)

[Teleportation Points: 44,615]

His three Cultivations.

There hadn’t been much change.

The only one was that his Thunder Punishment Dominating Whale Fist had stepped into the tenth floor during today’s life-and-death trial.

As for the Essence Devouring Art and the Divine Desolate Transformation,

one had reached the Human Extreme Limit, where the difficulty of releasing every 1% of potential far surpassed before.

The other had reached the upper limit of the Cultivation Technique.

It would be difficult to improve them in a short period.

At the same time, Wu Dao also noticed the newly appeared Immortal Black Tortoise Divine Skill.

Because it was a direct ’infusion’ method,

in that short period,

he had directly and thoroughly understood the theoretical knowledge of this Cultivation Technique.

What surprised him slightly was that

it would actually take an ordinary person a full one hundred years to thoroughly understand these theories!

In other words,

even if a mediocre person obtained this Divine Skill, they could only guard a Treasure Mountain without being able to enter. They could spend their entire lives and still find it difficult to grasp its true essence.

’How realistic.’

’Good thing my brain still works pretty well.’

He grinned.

Wu Dao put away the attribute panel, not planning to level up the Immortal Black Tortoise Divine Skill.

Transverse Refining Techniques.

Each one has a unique macro- and micro-level structure for the physical body. It’s impossible to practice multiple at once; one can only deduce, fuse, and create a new technique based on an existing foundation.

If he were to press that plus sign,

Wu Dao couldn’t guarantee that his body’s cellular structure wouldn’t collapse immediately.

’Black Tortoise... Black Tortoise...’

The various profound essences of the Immortal Black Tortoise Divine Skill churned in his mind.

For some reason,

Wu Dao thought of something interesting.

The first Transverse Refining Technique he cultivated was the Giant Whale Skill, representing the power of the whale.

Later, he integrated the Stinging Dragon Skill,

representing the power of the dragon.

The two evolved into the Dragon Whale Dominating Body.

After that came the Kunpeng Body Casting Technique,

which was the power of the Kun and the Peng.

This evolved once again into the even stronger Divine Desolate Dominating Body.

And now, he had added a Black Tortoise.

Tsk~

’I’m practically refining my body into a ’zoo’.’

He shook his head and chuckled.

Just as Wu Dao was about to step forward and head down the mountain, a flash of lightning went off in his mind, and his outstretched foot froze in mid-air.

’Evolution... evolution...’

’Ancestral Return!’

’I see!’

’A Sacred Spirit cannot be achieved postnatally.’

’But one can evolve into a Sacred Spirit through Ancestral Return!’

’A snake becomes a python, a python becomes a flood dragon, a flood dragon becomes a True Dragon, and a True Dragon becomes an Ancestral Dragon!’

’The ancestor of True Dragons is definitely a Sacred Spirit!’

’So a person...’

’By emulating the transformation into a dragon, one can become a Sacred Spirit!’

’Using all sorts of Holy Spirit Techniques, I will forge my Holy Spirit Body!’

’Turns out, opening this ’zoo’ was the right move after all!’

The corner of his mouth curved up.

Wu Dao’s foot landed steadily. His heart felt light as he strode down Wuliang Mountain like a meteor.