Essence Devouring Art

「The Southern Border Front.」

In the sky outside Xuzhou Prefecture.

”They ran. Heh.”

Wu Dao put away the Communication Jade Talisman. His expression held no surprise, only a chilling smile.

His original plan had been to stay out of the war between the Southern Border and the Central Plains. He only wanted to focus on his cultivation and prepare for the Great Tribulation.

But as the saying goes, the tree may prefer calm, but the wind will not subside.

The Central Plains just had to stir up trouble for him!

That Fengqian Gold was a Peak Three-Change Divine Power User, second only to Qiu Tianjing. The two True Monarchs assisting him were also at the Third Transformation level.

With a Grand Array sealing the area and no way to borrow power from the heavens, even if he had used all his trump cards, his chances of success would have only been sixty to seventy percent.

He could just imagine it.

If his main body had been there this time, he would have suffered a devastating loss!

No grudges and no gains meant no fighting and killing. This had always been Wu Dao’s guiding principle in life.

And as it happened...

the Southern Alliance had crossed both of his lines.

So what else was there to say?

It was on.

Time for a showdown.

’Let’s see who the real master of underhanded tactics is!’

Wu Dao had long been crystal clear about the situation on the front lines.

The Central Plains Imperial Court’s Southern Alliance and the Nanyang King Group were locked in a protracted war of attrition, with the three prefectures of Pu Yang, Yu Yuan, and Jiuchuan as the front line.

The Central Plains Imperial Court was purely on the defensive.

The Nanyang King Group had been unable to break through despite prolonged attacks.

The main reason for this stalemate was that the high-level combatants on both sides—the Divine Ability Users—were evenly matched, preventing any decisive battles.

In this regard,

Wu Dao had to admit he was somewhat impressed with Dali.

They were fighting four territories with the strength of one.

And yet they still managed to maintain a stalemate.

It was the ultimate illustration of the saying, ”A wrecked ship still has three thousand nails, and every single one can be lethal.”

In a situation like this,

both sides were likely hoping for an event—or a person—to appear and break the deadlock.

’What kind of person could break the deadlock?’

Without a doubt,

it could only be a Divine Ability User.

Although Wu Dao had recently encountered several Divine Ability Users, making it seem as if they were common,

the truth was...

the Divine Ability Users he had met...

were all famous, exceptionally rare individuals—beings at the apex of the Extraordinary Realm’s pyramid.

Beings of their caliber...

in the current era where the Great Dao suppressed the three paths, leaving no way forward for latecomers, and where the Divine Power Nine Transformations was the absolute limit.

Across the entire Divine Wilderness World,

the total number of Divine Ability Users likely numbered only in the hundreds.

As for those with Great Divine Techniques,

they were even rarer, typically leaders of a Holy Land or a major sect.

Given this context,

the appearance of a newly ascended Divine Ability User...

would naturally be enough to tip the scales on the battlefield and secure victory in many major campaigns.

Not to mention...

the Southern Alliance’s move today had backfired spectacularly.

Not only did they fail to assassinate Wu Dao,

but they also lost two Dao Embryos to Jiang Yuansheng, a grievous blow to their overall strength.

’This is the perfect time to kick them while they’re down.’

’If not now, when?’

Even if Wu Dao didn’t join the war,

the Nanyang King Group could still conquer the last of the Three Prefectures and drive the Southern Alliance back to the Central Plains.

Of course, that would take some time.

But if Wu Dao were to join the fight,

the situation would be entirely different.

The time needed to conquer the Three Prefectures would be drastically reduced. Prince Nanyang would soon be able to completely unify the Southern Border, reaping enormous benefits.

For all these reasons,

though Wu Dao was furious, he had no intention of rushing to the front lines and fighting for free.

’Fight?’

’Oh, I’ll definitely fight.’

’But first, I need to maximize my own value. I’ll strike a deal with Prince Nanyang, make sure I get enough out of it. It has to be mutually beneficial.’

As for what he wanted,

he already had a goal in mind.

As for whether Prince Nanyang would agree to the deal,

he wasn’t too worried.

Because the essence of this transaction...

or rather,

the significance of what he wanted...

was that he would still, in effect, be fighting for Prince Nanyang.

He couldn’t think of any reason why Prince Nanyang would refuse.

He let out a long breath.

Having finalized the plan in his mind, Wu Dao crossed deep into the territory of Xuzhou Prefecture. He slowed his pace and entered the Prefecture City.

His journey was unimpeded.

In less than half a day,

he was meeting Prince Nanyang once again.

’Last time, it was my Incarnation.’

’This time, it’s my main body. I suppose this counts as our first formal meeting.’

The thought of that Incarnation,

made Wu Dao’s anger flare.

’The Immortal Black Tortoise Divine Skill.’

’Only by entering the Horizontal Refining Ninth Gate can one condense a perfect, flawless Black Tortoise Incarnation.’

’Condensing it at the Eighth Daoist Sect...’

’...was incredibly time-consuming and difficult. Worse, the result was imperfect, amounting to little more than a temporary vessel for my consciousness and Power.’

The vessel’s upper limit was several levels lower than his main body’s, and it couldn’t actively replenish its Energy.

If its Energy was depleted and not recharged in time,

the vessel would simply dissipate.

Wu Dao had wasted several days of cultivation time to condense that Incarnation, only for it to be destroyed by the Southern Alliance before he’d even gotten much use out of it.

In a way,

this was a grudge as deep as if they had killed him himself.

’This matter won’t be over until I’ve repaid them with mountains of corpses, a sea of blood, and heads rolling in the streets!’

「Nanyang Prince’s Mansion.」

Within a familiar courtyard.

By the shore of an artificial lake.

Prince Nanyang sat alone in a pavilion, draped in a white fur cloak, ice fishing.

Snowflakes drifted down from the sky.

Inside the pavilion, a solitary figure fished.

For some reason,

the scene created an ineffable Mental Realm.

WHOOSH—

The gauze curtains of the pavilion fluttered.

”Alliance Leader Wu, we meet again.”

Prince Nanyang removed a fish from his hook, wiped his hands with a towel, and turned with a faint smile, his eyes filled with a trace of admiration.

Now that he was face-to-face with Wu Dao’s main body, he could finally confirm the level Wu Dao had reached, and it filled him with genuine admiration.

”I was just showing off my meager skills before a master. My little tricks must seem laughable to you, Prince.”

Wu Dao returned the smile. There was no awkwardness. With some matters out in the open, the invisible barrier between them naturally dissolved.

Interacting now,

he felt much more at ease.

After Wu Dao took a seat,

Prince Nanyang poured him a cup of tea and then got straight to the point, saying:

”The Southern Alliance’s actions were truly shameless, like a cornered dog lashing out. I wonder, Alliance Leader Wu, how do you plan to pay them back in kind?”