Essence Devouring Art

Of course.

That wasn’t to say a Celestial Treasure Master couldn’t advance at all if they couldn’t find the specific item for their ritual.

There was a cruder method.

A way to bypass the limitation.

It involved substituting quality with quantity.

The price was that the required quantity would be utterly absurd.

A long time ago,

Zhou Heng had learned of the Golden House’s limitations.

That was why he made the decision to go against his ancestors, becoming a Dissolute Monarch who ignored state affairs and joined the Taihua Immortal Sect, the leader of the Divine Wilderness Immortal Dao.

He single-mindedly studied the books of Saints and Sages.

He turned a deaf ear to the world outside.

For decades,

the world had belittled and humiliated him with the title of ’Gatekeeper Emperor’.

They had no idea.

That in those decades,

he had not only read every Classic in the Taihua Immortal Sect’s Scripture Pavilion

but had also gained the approval of the sect’s many Supreme elders, becoming the designated next Sect Master.

After hiding his brilliance for decades,

it wasn’t until he descended the mountain again

that his restrained edge was finally revealed, shocking the world. He regained his imperial demeanor, looking poised to restore the nation.

Unfortunately...

Despite all his efforts,

the heavens were unblessed and the people were not united.

He ultimately couldn’t prop up the great sun setting over the West Mountain.

Given the current situation,

the brand of the last Emperor had clearly burned through his imperial robes.

Soon,

it would be seared deep into his flesh and soul.

WHOOSH~

A slight breeze stirred.

The Wantu Emperor, Zhou Hong, dressed in simple gray robes, appeared in the study.

After the last great battle,

he had grown even more decrepit and aged. His vitality was weak, and it seemed he still hadn’t recovered.

Looking at Zhou Heng, who was engrossed in his reading,

Zhou Hong felt a sense of relief but also sighed. ”How much longer do you need to take that half step?”

RUSTLE~

The turning page paused for a moment.

Zhou Heng’s gaze remained lowered, a flicker of shadow in his eyes. He said calmly, ”With the blessing of the Emperor’s fortune, two months.”

’Two months...’

The Wantu Emperor’s brow furrowed slightly. He spoke gravely, ”The kings of the four regions have been making frequent moves lately. I estimate they will launch their final, decisive assault in the coming days.

Last time, we threw everything we had at them just to make our loss less humiliating and hold on to the last Three Prefectures.

This time...”

The implication was clear.

The Dali Dynasty had truly reached the end of its rope.

They had to prepare for the worst and plan an escape route.

”No.”

But to his surprise, Zhou Heng shook his head. ”As long as even one Prefecture remains, Dali is not truly destroyed. A portion of the people’s hearts and the nation’s fortune will still belong to the Emperor.

Without the blessing of this fortune,

it would be impossible for me to take that half step.

Therefore, we must defend against this attack no matter what. In the worst-case scenario, Wandeng Prefecture must remain.”

Hearing this, Zhou Hong’s brows knitted tightly.

’He insists on doing what he knows is impossible.’

’Zhou Heng clearly still has a trump card.’

Suddenly,

Zhou Hong seemed to realize something. His expression became incredibly solemn, but a moment later, it softened into resignation. He said:

”So be it. So be it. We’ve reached such a desperate state... it is truly a matter of life and death, as the founder said. If it must be used, then use it.”

After his sigh,

Zhou Hong didn’t linger. As he was leaving, he remembered something else and added a warning, ”Not long ago, that Overlord Whale who vanished for four months reappeared. After showing himself, he went to Puyang Prefecture to find Chen’Er.

If all goes as expected,

he will also participate in this battle.

With his vengeful nature of seeking retribution for the smallest grievance and eradicating threats to the root, he most likely won’t play by any rules.

We tried to kill him last time. Although we were thwarted and failed, it remains a feud of life and death.

After four months,

given his monstrous growth rate, for him to seek out Chen’Er... I suspect he wants to settle the score.”

”Father, you mean?”

At the mention of that aberrant monster, Wu Dao, Zhou Heng’s expression also grew grave. He had already guessed what the Wantu Emperor wanted to do.

”If you get a chance to land a killing blow, this old man will spare no expense to clear the way for you.”

The Wantu Emperor’s eyes narrowed slightly. He left those words hanging in the air and vanished from the study.

After four months,

no one knew what level Wu Dao had reached.

It was highly likely he had stepped into the Ninth Transformation.

An enemy like that...

...must be eliminated preemptively if the chance arises.

Otherwise,

if allowed to continue growing,

he would definitely become an immense threat to Zhou Heng in the future.

The Wantu Emperor chose to bet everything on Zhou Heng.

He hoped that Zhou Heng could restore the Dali Dynasty, sweep away the darkness, and quell the Great Tribulation. He had placed immense expectations on him.

It could be said

that he had entrusted all the ambitions he was powerless to achieve himself onto Zhou Heng.

Anyone who could potentially threaten Zhou Heng, as long as it was within his power, he would not allow them to continue existing—even if it cost him his old life.

”Wu Dao...”

In the quiet study,

Zhou Heng tightened his grip on the book’s pages, letting out a long, turbid breath. He suppressed the churning emotions in his heart, focused his weary mind, and accelerated his pace of devouring scroll after scroll of books.

...

As the smoke of war was about to rise and tensions reached a breaking point,

and as the cultivators of the Central Plains felt the heavy, oppressive atmosphere of an approaching storm,

time slowly passed.

Another four days went by.

This evening,

Wu Dao’s Incarnation received a message from Prince Nanyang—

”Tomorrow at the chen hour, the four regions will launch a full-scale assault. Holy Elephant Mountain is located in Changyuan Prefecture.”

The message was concise and to the point.

After half a month of sharpening their weapons, feeding their horses, and recuperating,

the four regions were finally ready to launch their all-out attack on the Dali Dynasty.

”I will be there.”

Wu Dao sent a brief reply, and his consciousness returned to his Main Body, which had been in closed-door cultivation for half a month.

BUZZ~

In the sky above the Southern Border Territory,

at an altitude of 18,700 meters,

within a Celestial Thunder and Gang Wind Sea Eye of pure gray streaked with white, Wu Dao slowly opened his eyes, which were as deep as an abyss.

Within his eyes,

a True Dragon, a Kunpeng, a Black Tortoise, and a Qiongqi...

...the shadows of the four great Sacred Spirits roared in the darkness, spinning and soaring before finally merging into thirteen great suns of glazed glass that spewed black Karmic Fire and were constructed from Primordial Magnetic currents.

In just half a month,

the pressure of the Sacred Spirit released from Wu Dao’s physique and bloodline had grown even stronger.

His originally glazed-colored blood showed signs of transforming into the color of the vast, starry cosmos.

It was the most ancient of all.

The Blood of the Holy Spirit, from an Innate Sacred Spirit born alongside the cosmos.

At this moment,

Wu Dao was not far from this step.

HUUFF~

He gently exhaled a turbid breath.

The great suns bobbing and the Sacred Spirits roaring within the eye sockets of Wu Dao’s skeletal form vanished as he opened his attribute panel—

[Physique: Peak of Human Extremes]

[Extraordinary: Essence Devouring Art (98% Potential Release) +

Three-Phase Divine Punishment Fist 23,000 years (Eight Fist Transformations) +

Pseudo-Sacred Spirit Transformation 2/5 23,000 years (Horizontal Refining Ninth Gate, Eighteen Extreme Yang Heavens, Minor Achievement) +]

[Great Divine Techniques:

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, Qiongqi’s Karmic Fire.]

[Great All Heavens Divine Techniques: Immune to All Laws (Eighth Transformation) +]

[Teleportation Points: 365,100]

After half a month of arduous cultivation,

blessed with divinity and astonishing wisdom,

five days ago,

he had finally and completely fused the Undying Transformation and the Karma Fire Qiongqi Scripture, transforming them into two-fifths of a Holy Spirit Technique: the Pseudo-Sacred Spirit Transformation.

At the same time, he also obtained a brand-new physical Divine Technique—Qiongqi’s Karmic Fire, which could draw out the evil desires and karmic obstacles in a living being’s heart to burn their soul and body.

In addition,

his Reversed Celestial Spirit’s progression from the Seventh to the Eighth Transformation had also merged with his Primordial Magnetic True Gang.

After this powerful combination,

it had transformed into the Invincible True Gang—a technique that, when taken to its theoretical limit, could reverse all attacks, rendering him completely impervious to any form of Magnetic Field Power.

After the four techniques were fused,

another five days passed,

and Wu Dao’s strength had increased significantly.

98% Potential Release!

The power of Eighty-Four Transitions of Primordial Magnetism!

The three aspects of the Three-Phase Divine Punishment, all at the Eighth Fist Transformation!

Thirteen great suns of vitality!

His Eighteen Extreme Yang Heavens was only one great sun away from stepping into the Great Success Domain.

With the enhancement of all these Divine Techniques,

if he were to fully unleash his power...

Heh~

Wu Dao grinned savagely. He rolled his neck and stretched his body, his bones and sinews producing a series of terrifying clangs, like Divine Iron striking Divine Iron.

BOOM!

His Heaven-Supporting Physique flexed with just a sliver of its strength,

yet it crushed and distorted a vast expanse of the surrounding void, blasting apart the sea of Celestial Thunder Gang Wind that could instantly annihilate a first-step Ninth-Transformation expert.

In the blink of an eye,

RUMBLE—

the dark sky, after a moment of calm, erupted with the violent sound of expanding and exploding air. It was split in two by a pitch-black vacuum tunnel.

Wu Dao’s figure

had already vanished at the far end of the sky, where the pitch-black vacuum tunnel stretched to the horizon.