Essence Devouring Art

RUMBLE—

Ink-black clouds roiled, and the world grew dim.

Somber, heavy clouds covered the entire Divine Wilderness. Lightning flashed and thunder roared from time to time as a baleful wind howled, intensifying the desolate, deathly stillness between heaven and earth.

Ever since the second celestial disaster descended.

In the month since,

the gloomy clouds in the sky had not scattered for a single day, and the celestial disasters in every land grew increasingly severe.

As of today,

across the lands, aside from the major human city-settlements protected by the Extraordinary Realm, there were basically no traces of human activity left. It was simply impossible to survive.

Every day, rumors spread throughout the Jianghu and among the common folk.

Many of the small nations in the desolate, spirit-barren lands outside the Dali domain,

lacking sufficient power to resist the celestial disasters, had fallen one after another, their people fleeing to the Divine Wilderness Central Earth for sanctuary—a tragic and sorrowful fate.

Besides the celestial disasters,

this past year had also seen many major events that changed the world’s landscape.

The most important of these events,

was what happened a month ago.

The kings launched their final offensive against Dali.

In the end, although the Emperor of Dali drank poison to quench his thirst—reviving the remains of the Demon Suppression Emperor to protect Celestial Fate County—

everyone knew the truth.

Dali truly existed in name only.

In its heyday, Dali ruled the five lands of the Divine Wilderness Central Earth. Its territory was vast and its subjects numbered over ten billion. How prosperous and glorious it was!

But now, disaster had struck.

It desperately defended its last remaining county,

with fewer than ten million subjects.

The difference in its status before and after was like that of heaven and earth—an utterly bleak contrast.

As the saying goes, when a whale falls, all life flourishes.

The fall of Dali, the collapse of its destiny, and its subsequent carving up by the masses gave rise to the heroes of the world.

The decisive battle in the Central Plains a month ago,

although it failed to completely destroy Dali,

for the kings of the various lands,

devouring ninety-nine percent of the territory of Dali’s last Three Prefectures,

was still considered a great victory.

After carving up and absorbing the territory of Dali’s final Three Prefectures,

the kings seemed to have reached a tacit understanding.

They simultaneously made a decision that shocked the world—

To establish their own nations and proclaim themselves emperors!

The Thirteen Prefectures of the South Border, plus three of the Nine Prefectures of the Central Plains that were subsequently divided up, totaled sixteen prefectures.

A month after the decisive battle in the Central Plains,

Prince Nanyang, with a wave of his hand, turned his domain into a nation. He chose the name ’Xu’ and the era name ’Chenjing.’

Da Xu.

It meant ’the radiance of the rising sun that never falls.’

The era name, Chenjing.

’Chen’ represented hope and light.

It signified that from the first year of Da Xu, all beings and all things within the nation would have a bright future.

At almost the same time,

the other three kings also proclaimed themselves emperors.

The East Sea’s King Bao Tong established the nation of ’Da Feng’ with the era name ’Wanyun.’

The Western Desert’s King of Ten Thousand Victories established the nation of ’Daqian’ with the era name ’Qianyuan.’

The King of the Living Prison from the Northern Lands was the most morbid of all.

No one knew what was going on in his head.

He established the nation of ’Yellow Springs’ with the era name ’Return to Prison.’

When this nation’s name and era name were announced, everyone in the world thought the King of the Living Prison had lost his mind, as if he were afraid his country wouldn’t collapse fast enough.

But the King of the Living Prison had always been deranged and violent.

A famous madman.

Within his own country, his word was law, and no one dared to say a thing.

In the Extraordinary World,

manpower could reshape heaven and earth.

For ordinary people, establishing a nation was a major undertaking, troublesome in every aspect, and consuming much time and effort.

But in the Extraordinary Realm,

it was a completely different matter.

With absolute power centralized in the hands of the four new emperors, countless Extraordinaries were set into hurried motion by their iron-fisted methods.

Laws and policies, production and daily life, currency and social classes...

and so on—all the rules of a nation.

They quickly broke free from the old framework of Dali and formed brand-new systems.

Most ordinary people,

before their minds could even recover from the chaotic era of Dali’s impending fall, were swept up by the tide of the times and stumbled headlong into a new age.

In the Jianghu and among the common folk,

regarding the kings’ sudden decision to establish nations and proclaim themselves emperors,

most people had a limited perspective.

They all believed the kings were too hasty, blinded by power, and thus couldn’t wait to ascend to the supreme throne.

The great war had just ended.

Stabilizing the home front and healing the wounds should have been the priority. Acting too hastily would only add chaos to chaos.

But only a small minority knew the truth.

The reason the kings were so eager to become emperors,

was not because they coveted power and authority.

They wanted to gather the destiny of their nations, using the final blessings of an emperor’s fortune to take that last half-step before the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven completely devoured the Divine Wilderness’s destiny.

As for whether they could succeed,

they could only do their best and leave the rest to fate.

As for who was most affected by the kings establishing their nations and becoming emperors,

it was undoubtedly Zhou Heng, the Celestial Emperor of the Dali dynasty, which now existed in name only.

On the day the kings proclaimed themselves emperors,

he was so furious he nearly smashed the Wenyuan Pavilion with a single slap.

’Before the kings declared themselves emperors,’ he thought, ’no matter how chaotic the world was or how much Dali resembled a setting sun, in the Divine Wilderness Central Earth, there was ultimately only one nation in the hearts of the people: Dali. All systems and rules were still based on Dali’s, and its national destiny gathered most of the Human Dao’s fortune from across the world.’

It was for this very reason,

that Zhou Heng had defended the last Celestial Fate County at all costs.

As long as Celestial Fate County remained, Dali was not considered fallen. It could still enjoy the fortune of the Human Dao, and he was confident he could completely take that half-step within two months at most.

But with the kings suddenly establishing their own nations and becoming emperors...

the Human Dao fortune that Dali still possessed was instantly split five ways.

’Two months?’

’I’d be lucky if my ancestors’ spirits intervened and let me take that half-step before the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven opens.’

But after his anger subsided,

Zhou Heng calmed down.

’Although the kings have the blessing of national destiny, this destiny was gathered too hastily and is far too thin. Under the suppression of the Dao Calamity, their overall growth rate is no different than before. They are merely using their national destiny to offset the suppression of the Great Dao.’

At the same time,

this was also good news for Dali.

’No great nation is born from prolonged war; conflict inevitably consumes destiny. In a way, the kings establishing their nations is an end to the chaotic era. From now on, it’s basically impossible for a great war of the Human Dao to break out again within the Divine Wilderness.’

’In other words,’

’the kings have given up on destroying Dali.’

’They understand that continuing to fight a life-or-death battle with a Dali that only has one county left would only result in mutual destruction. The disadvantages outweigh the benefits. Absorbing their gains to face the coming tribulation is the correct path. There’s no need for any more internal strife.’

However,

even though the kings had given up on destroying Dali,

the gloom in Zhou Heng’s heart never dissipated.

’Wu Dao!’

A month ago, that monster’s hidden avarice for the remains of the Demon Suppression Emperor...

no matter how well he concealed it,

Zhou Heng had still noticed.

’I know that once that monster has the confidence to destroy Dali, given his temperament, he won’t care one bit about destiny or fortune. Dali will definitely face another tribulation in the future!’

As for when...

’Two months? Three? Or four?’

Zhou Heng couldn’t predict it.

Wu Dao’s cultivation simply defied all common sense.

But he wasn’t too worried.

’Wu Dao is growing, but how could I be standing still? The limits of this world are set. To destroy a Dali that possesses five Absolute Peaks, he would have to reach the Absolute Peak himself and join forces with the alliance of emperors. Otherwise, he alone cannot succeed, not even a monster like him. Not to mention... after the four lands established their nations, the other emperors will not dare to attack Dali and risk destabilizing their own national destiny.’

...

Besides the kings proclaiming themselves emperors,

there was another matter worthy of note.

At the end of the decisive battle in the Central Plains, Wu Dao had ”kidnapped for ransom,” forcing the Celestial Emperor to bow his head, and then ”killed the hostage” before calmly departing.

Unsurprisingly,

this once again sent shockwaves through the entire Divine Desolate World.

Even though he had vanished without a trace again, and even though the four kings subsequently established their nations, their brilliant light dazzling the world,

the legends about Wu Dao, and the endless positive and negative discussions and evaluations about him, continued unabated.

Some busybodies,

even placed Wu Dao on the same level as the Five Emperors—

the Five Emperors and One King!

The six individuals publicly acknowledged as the strongest in the world.

Each was an overseer of their era, a master of the great tides, possessing the ability to single-handedly influence the entire world’s landscape.

This was an incredibly high evaluation.

But now, this was no longer considered a case of setting him up for a fall.

Because in the hearts of many,

although Wu Dao had the smallest faction,

he had accomplished things that none of the emperors had.

He had twice changed the landscape of the world.

Suppressed the Seven Great Nine Transformations while in the same realm.

Berated the King of the Living Prison.

Forced the Celestial Emperor to bow his head.

Played the Seven Great Nine Transformations of Dali to death and still escaped unscathed.

Each and every one of these deeds,

taken alone, was enough to make the blood of cultivators across the world boil and leave them looking up at his back in awe.

Setting aside questions of good and evil, right and wrong,

based on these accomplishments alone,

he was qualified to stand in the same ranks as the Five Emperors.

The title of ”Five Emperors and One King.”

While perhaps not as widely circulated in other regions,

in the Southern Border—

now the nation of Da Xu—it was almost universally acknowledged, both On the Mountain and off.

The reason for this,

was that after Prince Nanyang founded his nation and became emperor, he did not suppress the Overlord Whale Alliance in the slightest.

Whatever status the Overlord Whale Alliance held in the chaotic era, it still held after the founding of Da Xu.

Some with malicious intent,

even described the Overlord Whale Alliance’s status as a ’Country within a Country.’

But most people understood.

The reason Chenjing Emperor (formerly Prince Nanyang) gave the Overlord Whale Alliance special privileges was not because the alliance itself was so formidable.

The fundamental reason,

was Wu Dao, the man behind the Overlord Whale Alliance!

As for the specific reasons why,

some said that Wu Dao was too violent and cruel, and Chenjing Emperor did not want to antagonize him and bring disaster upon Da Xu.

Others said the two were allies.

The latter explanation was the mainstream view.

Looking at Wu Dao’s rise to power, he had interacted with Chenjing Emperor too many times, and the shadow of the Emperor’s forces could be seen behind many events.

Now that their statuses were nearly equal,

calling them allies

was certainly not a problem.

...

While the world’s landscape was undergoing massive changes, and the kings were establishing their nations, gathering their destiny, and climbing toward the peak,

Wu Dao, who had disappeared after the battle in the Central Plains,

had likewise not stopped his own climb toward the peak—not for a single second.

「A month and a half after the battle in the Central Plains.」

Somewhere in the outer regions of the Divine Wilderness Central Earth,

at an altitude of 18,900 meters in the sky,

within a nearly pure white Celestial Thunder and Gang Wind Sea Eye,

Wu Dao, who had been in seclusion for a month and a half,

his soul and body having finally adapted to the Celestial Thunder Gang Wind at 18,900 meters, slowly opened his deep, abyss-like eyes.

Within his eyes,

the forms of a True Dragon, a Kunpeng, a Black Tortoise, a Qiongqi, and a Holy Elephant

—the shadows of the Five Great Sacred Spirits—roared in the abyss, evolving all sorts of terrifying primordial visions as they crazily collided and merged.

Finally,

the five great beings roared in unison.

No longer rejecting or conflicting with one another,

they merged into the body of a humanoid Sacred Spirit—a silhouette constructed from billions of stars that was gradually becoming clear within fifteen lustrous great suns that shone with the divine radiance of the Sacred Spirits.

VMMMM—

SHHHHH—

The moment the ancient and splendid, star-river-like blood flowed through his body,

an incomparably noble pressure, like that of an Ancestral Sacred Spirit standing at the apex of the myriad races of the primordial era, swept across the entire world.

Wherever it passed,

all tangible living beings—

insects and beasts, birds and fish...

all felt an ancestral call from the very depths of their bloodlines and genes.

As if on a pilgrimage,

they expressed their reverence and worship for Wu Dao at the Sky Dome Peak in their own ways, pious and yet insignificantly humble.

...

Huuu—

He lightly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

The pressure of the Sacred Spirit that had blanketed the world dissipated.

The lustrous great suns in Wu Dao’s eyes faded, and he opened his attribute panel—

[Physique: Peak of Human Extremes]

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

Three-Phase Divine Punishment Fist 25,000 Years (Eight Fist Transformations) +

Pseudo-Sacred Spirit Transformation 3/5 25,000 Years (Horizontal Refining Ninth Gate, Eighteen Extreme Yang Heavens, Great Success) +]

[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, Juntian Sacred Armor.]

[Great All Heavens Divine Techniques: Immune to All Laws (Eight Transformations) +]

[Teleportation Points: 402,150]

On the attribute panel,

the overall data hadn’t changed much.

The only change,

was the progress of his Holy Spirit Transformation.

With the integration of the ”Holy Elephant Heaven-Equalizing Force,” it had increased by one-fifth, leaving two-fifths to go before reaching the Tenth Daoist Sect.

At the same time as the Holy Elephant Heaven-Equalizing Force was integrating, and through his uninterrupted, arduous cultivation,

Wu Dao’s Horizontal Refining Mastery had also entered the Great Success Domain of the Ninth Daoist Sect’s Eighteen Extreme Yang Heavens. His physical qi and blood were so vigorous that he could manifest fifteen Divine Suns.

Unfortunately,

the feedback from achieving Great Success in the Ninth Daoist Sect,

did not improve his Main Path, the Essence Devouring Art.

His Human Potential Release progress remained at 98%.

As for his Three-Phase Divine Punishment Fist,

although it had gained two thousand years of Power,

this Cultivation Technique, which integrated three types of Fist Momentum, was too difficult to advance. It was still in the domain of Eight Transformations.

Of course,

both the 98% Human Potential Release and the Eight Transformations of the Three-Phase Divine Punishment Fist,

thanks to his arduous cultivation and the feedback from his Transverse Cultivation,

after a month and a half,

had both reached the very end of their current domains. It wouldn’t be long before they entered the next stage.

Overall,

in this month and a half,

although Wu Dao’s strength had increased considerably,

he was still one final step away from the Absolute Peak.

Once he crossed it,

and his Human Potential Release reached 99%,

his strength would definitely be able to enter the ranks of the Absolute Peak.