Essence Devouring Art

HUMMM—

At a certain moment,

high in the firmament, amidst a boundless, dreamlike radiance of starlight,

two magnificent, dazzling, glazed suns slowly rose.

Within the two great suns,

a bizarre spectacle unfolded continuously: a dragon merged with a whale, the Dragon Whale merged with a Kunpeng, which in turn merged with a Black Tortoise.

After the four merged, a faint, humanoid Sacred Spirit began to gestate, releasing the ancient aura of a Primordial Ancestor from the Primordial Chaos, one that could make all of creation kneel in worship.

Unfortunately,

this strange phenomenon did not last long. Lacking stamina, it soon faded back into the two glazed suns.

Beneath the two glazed suns,

CRACK—

CRACK—

The sound of a cocoon shell shattering echoed.

The original Divine Desolate Dominating Body, which had been dozens of zhang tall, had now fully entered the Undying Transformation. Like a cicada shedding its shell, countless cracks appeared on its surface. From within these fissures seeped a glazed light even more brilliant than the sun.

BANG—

The next moment,

the cocoon shattered, turning to dust and smoke.

Amidst the scattering ashes,

cleansed of all impurities, a complete Rebirth had occurred.

Wu Dao sat cross-legged in the void, looking like a God and Demon brought into the world.

After the Undying Transformation,

his physique was no longer monstrous and deformed. His nine-foot-tall, imposing body seemed to be forged from the glazed celestial crystals of the Nine Heavens, shimmering with a faint glow and reflecting an eternal, indestructible aura.

The blood flowing within him was a brilliant gold, like solar plasma, yet it was also streaked with wisps of the majestic colors of a Star River, so sacred and ancient that a single drop could make all creation see its ancestors and bow in worship.

The crystalline muscles covering his body, rippling like dragons and snakes, were each a perfect masterpiece, as if sculpted by Heaven itself with painstaking effort, without a single flaw.

With every flex and ripple, they held an infinite Magnetic Field Power like a vast abyss, as if he could prop up the heavens with a raised hand and shake the nine hells with a stomp of his foot!

Ten thousand years of the Undying Transformation!

Horizontal Refining Eighth Gate—

Six Yang Celestial Light!

CRACKLE—

After his Transverse Cultivation broke through to the Horizontal Refining Eighth Gate, Six Yang Celestial Light,

Wu Dao’s breakthrough was still not over!

As his sea-like Thunder Strike Dominating Whale Fist Intent erupted,

the violet Celestial Punishment Thunder transformed into a twelve-layered ocean of Fist Intent that covered the sky. Overlord Whales churned through it, kicking up ten-thousand-zhang waves and shattering the void in all directions.

”WHUUUU—”

The next moment,

within the twelve-layered ocean of Fist Intent,

twelve Thunder God Dominator Whales

all began to bellow, their cries shaking the world. They opened their maws to devour swathes of the Thunder Sea, then began to collide and merge, blasting out countless dazzling bolts of lightning that illuminated the entire world.

”I am—Celestial Punishment!!”

BOOM—

At a certain moment,

from the center of the dazzling violet sun of lightning, the roar of a newborn king echoed.

An endless torrent of crimson thunder erupted, tearing apart the violet cocoon of lightning that enveloped it. It descended upon the mortal world with the overwhelming momentum of a force that could punish and extinguish all things!

CRACKLE...

The crimson Celestial Punishment Thunder, like dragons and snakes, shattered the heavens and earth as it flashed and converged.

Finally,

beneath the two glazed suns, it formed a ten-thousand-zhang-tall, majestic, crimson figure that was part man, part whale, and propped up the sky.

WHUUUU—

The instant this terrifying figure appeared,

the very momentum of the world changed!

As its eyes, two surging seas of red lightning, gazed into the distance, the world itself seemed to be heading toward an irreversible doomsday judgment.

Thunderbolts of Celestial Tribulation spontaneously formed in the void, blasting the distant mountains in the vast desert to dust. The earth was torn into an abyss, creating a scene of apocalypse.

Ten thousand years of the Thunder Punishment Dominating Whale Fist!

It had officially broken through the Twelfth Floor of the Mental Realm and stepped into the Realm of Fist Momentum!

The Fist Intent of a man becomes the momentum of the world!

A torrential momentum, unstoppable!

WHOOSH—

HAAAA—

His exhale was a hurricane, his inhale a rolling thunder!

Wu Dao opened his mouth and began to inhale, replenishing his depleted body after the breakthrough.

After the Dual Technique Breakthrough,

his Life Magnetic Power had naturally soared!

As his Magnetic Field rotated,

it shook the Ten Directions and eight poles. He seized and devoured the Energy of the Earth and Heaven Magnetic Field within a hundred-mile radius, a true humanoid black hole, a great attractor of magnetic fields!

A moment later,

his energy was replenished.

The glazed suns faded, and all phenomena dissipated.

Wu Dao’s crystalline, glazed Undying Tyrant Body returned to its normal state, yet it remained flawless, like a sacred piece of jade untouched by dust.

The golden starlight blooming in his deep, galaxy-like eyes made one feel as if they were facing a Holy God, daring not to have the slightest thought of blasphemy.

[Physique: Human Extreme (Limit)]

[Extraordinary: Essence Devouring Art (94% Potential Release)+

Thunder Punishment Dominating Whale Fist 10,000 Years (First Transformation of Fist Momentum)+

Undying Transformation 10,000 Years (Horizontal Refining Eighth Gate, Six Yang Celestial Light, Minor Achievement)+]

Little Divine Techniques:

Primordial Magnetic Gang Shield, Primordial Magnetic Celestial Saber, Ten Directions Divine Slaughter, Primordial Magnetic Tribulation Finger, Celestial Essence Magnetic Burst Fist, Primordial Magnetic Celestial Prison Cage, Primordial Magnetic Demon Embryo, Black Tortoise Incarnation.

[Teleportation Points: 46615]

He took a look at his attribute panel.

As expected,

the data for his three main Cultivation Techniques had changed drastically!

Moreover,

a new category for Divine Techniques had been added.

’Little Divine Techniques...’

Wu Dao’s consciousness focused on the new Divine Technique category on his attribute panel, and with a thought, he understood.

Ninety-four percent Human Potential Release!

Fifty rotations of Primordial Magnetic Field Power!

Just in his normal state, the rotation of his body’s Magnetic Field could affect the world for a hundred miles around.

In a fight,

the Mighty Power released by his applications of the Magnetic Field, like the Primordial Magnetic Celestial Saber, could naturally match the Little Divine Techniques of this world.

’I just don’t know... which transformation level of Divine Technique can I contend with?’

In the Taoist Embryo Divine Domain,

the First to Fourth Transformations are considered Little Divine Techniques.

The Fifth to Ninth Transformations are Great Divine Techniques.

The limit of a Little Divine Technique, in terms of destructive power alone, could sink an area four hundred miles in radius.

As for Great Divine Power Users,

their strength was comparable to living Immortals and Buddhas from mythology.

According to legend,

back in his day, the Demon Suppression Emperor, at his peak, had mastered the Great Divine Technique, Demon Vibration and God Slaying Sword. From a border fortress, he had raised his sword and executed an enemy King from a thousand miles away—an utterly domineering feat.

’That level of strength... Even I, at the peak of the Human Extreme realm in my past life, couldn’t have hoped to match it.’

In his own estimation,

his peak strength in his previous life was at most equivalent to a Cultivator in this world who had just entered the Peak of Four Transformations, someone on the level of Qiu Tianjing.

’As for this life... With the combined support of Soul and Flesh Refinement, the same Essence Devouring Art, but with stronger raw materials, every stage of my Human Potential Release is far stronger than in my past life.’

’How strong will I be at the peak of the Human Extreme realm?’

Wu Dao couldn’t accurately estimate it.

He was certain, however, that if he completed the Horizontal Refining Ninth Gate, he could stand shoulder to shoulder with a Great Divine Power User of the Dao Embryo’s Ninth Transformation.

After all,

the Primordial Ancestor of Martial King Mountain was a prime example.

’So, how strong am I right now? In my normal state, I’m definitely at the Divine Power First Transformation level. If I unleash the Undying Tyrant Body, Divine Ghost Heaven, Godlessness Heaven...’

”Tsk, my hands are getting itchy!”

Wu Dao cracked his neck. The explosive surge in his Power had also heightened his combative nature considerably.

He was eagerly awaiting some fool who didn’t know their place

to come along and give him a chance to stretch his muscles.

”Hoo... The Undying Transformation is complete. Although the Black Tortoise Incarnation has its flaws, it’s good enough. It’s time to find Prince Nanyang.”

He let out a soft breath,

suppressing the seething, restless fighting spirit in his heart. Rotating his Magnetic Field, he flew toward Lancang County City.

This strange change in the world

had given him a sense of crisis.

After his power breakthrough,

that feeling of crisis in his heart had only grown stronger.

It was definitely not an illusion.

The further one progressed in life’s evolution, the clearer the premonitions of danger became.

The natural world was full of creatures that could predict danger, let alone a powerful being like him who was extraordinary, transcendent, and capable of destroying the world at a whim.

In his premonition,

in the near future,

some major event was going to occur that would threaten his life.

’Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles.’

Prince Nanyang surely had detailed information about this future calamity. The sooner he learned about it, the sooner he could prepare.

...

「A few days later.」

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—

Cold wind and chilling rain filled a grim, desolate world.

After enveloping the Southern Border for half a month, the extreme blizzard finally gave the world a chance to breathe, turning into a day of gloomy winds and freezing rain.

Several miles outside Lancang County City,

in the sky.

”This damn weather! It’s not giving anyone a chance to live!”

Hidden in the void, Lin Song gazed at the sky, overcast with rain clouds and filled with a cold wind and rain that cut like knives, and cursed under his breath.

”The Southern Border is still better off,”

his colleague, also hidden from sight, said with a sigh. ”The blizzard may have cut off all signs of life, but at least it left a sliver of a chance.

The Central Plains is pure despair.

Earthquakes happen every other day without any warning. Not even Great Divine Power Users can do anything about it. Dozens of County Cities have been destroyed, and nearly ten million people have been affected.

How can you call that the mortal realm? It’s absolute Purgatory.”

”Damn it, I just don’t get it,”

Lin Song said, gritting his teeth in resentment.

”With such a massive disaster sweeping the world, why aren’t the rebels from the four regions doing their utmost to provide relief? Why do they insist on attacking Dali?

With natural disasters plus the disaster of war, if this keeps up, the world will be torn apart before a winner is even decided. What’s the point of being a bare-bones emperor?”

”You’re not wrong, but...”

His colleague on the other side shook his head and said,

”Do you think those Rebel Kings haven’t thought of the same things we have?

After all, among the Rebel Kings of the four regions, apart from that tyrannical King of the Living Prison, the others have a reputation for being virtuous. There must be a deeper reason why they have no choice but to fight.”

”Virtuous, my ass! They’re just a bunch of traitors who’ve forgotten their ancestors, blinded by ambition and greed, who are bringing ruin to the people—”

His words cut off abruptly.

Lin Song’s expression changed dramatically. He quickly pulled out a scorching hot White Jade Compass from his robes, which was carved with numerous complex Talismans.

On the mirror-like surface of the White Jade Compass,

it was clearly visible

that within the miniature city at the center, a crimson figure flashed like a star, soared into the sky, and was now speeding into the distance.

’That direction...’

”Oh no, this is a disaster!”

A chill ran down Lin Song’s spine. He hurriedly took out a Communication Jade Talisman to contact his Demon Suppression Bureau colleagues along the route:

”Urgent emergency! The Overlord Whale is suspected to be heading north! Reply immediately upon receipt!”

BUZZ—

The message had just been sent

when a reply came back instantly:

”Dammit, he’s really going north! He’s already passed through more than ten counties!”

”Hurry and notify the Commander to contact headquarters!”

Lin Song felt like his eyes were about to split, his Spiritual Thoughts practically roaring.

Once Wu Dao headed north,

Lin Song couldn’t even begin to imagine the horrific consequences for the front lines.

It was for this very reason

that the Central Plains Imperial Court had spared no expense to send a large number of spies to the Southern Border to monitor Wu Dao’s movements around the clock.

But now...

their worst fears had come to pass.

Wu Dao, that human-shaped catastrophe of war,

was heading north!