Essence Devouring Art

”Dragon Mud Cave Heaven...”

Wu Dao’s Star Sea-like eyes, both divine and saintly, gazed into the distant world. He could feel an ineffable Magnetic Field between heaven and earth swarming toward a single point.

Fortune!

The Dragon Mud Cave Heaven was opening.

The last vestiges of the Divine Wilderness’s fortune would now be completely reaped.

BUZZ—

The holy light within his eyes receded.

Wu Dao withdrew his gaze, his expression placid and indifferent. With a thought, his attribute panel appeared in his mind—

[Physique: Peak of Human Extremes]

[Extraordinary: Essence Devouring Art (99% Potential Release) +

Three-Phase Divine Punishment Fist (28,000 years, Nine Fist Transformations) +

Pseudo-Sacred Spirit Transformation 4/5 (28,000 years, Horizontal Refining Ninth Gate, Eighteen Extreme Yang Heavens, Limit) +]

[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, Chaos Heart Monkey.]

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

[Teleportation Points: 432,150]

It had been two and a half months since he had integrated the Holy Elephant Heaven-Equalizing Force.

After two and a half months of grueling, multitasking Cultivation through life-and-death trials.

Wu Dao had finally stepped into the nineteen-thousand-meter-deep Heavenly Punishment Domain, and every aspect of his Cultivation had taken a huge leap forward.

His Main Path, the Essence Devouring Art.

Human Potential Release at 99%!

Ninety-two revolutions of his Immortal Extreme Gold Cells and Primordial Magnetic rotational Power!

He was just 1% away from the final 100%!

His Soul Cultivation technique, the Three-Phase Divine Punishment Fist.

Its three supreme catastrophic fist stances had all simultaneously entered the realm of Nine Fist Transformations!

His Transverse Cultivation, the Pseudo-Sacred Spirit Transformation.

Four out of five!

With the integration of the Vermilion Annoyance World Burning Scripture, he was now just one step away from a true Sacred Spirit Body.

At the same time, his Horizontal Refining Ninth Gate path was complete, and he had reached the Limit of the Eighteen Extreme Yang Heavens!

’Absolute Peak, heh...’

Dismissing the attribute panel, Wu Dao felt the cataclysmic Power surging within him, a slight smile gracing his lips.

The contemporary Peak Masters of this world possessed Divine Techniques at the Ninth Transformation.

The weakest among them had achieved the Dual Dao Nine Transformations.

If you included their Celestial Treasures, they were effectively at the Three Dao Nine Transformations.

And because of those Celestial Treasures, their Ninth Transformation was far stronger than a normal one, which was how they dominated the Absolute Peak domain.

Back then, Wu Dao had indeed been leagues behind the Five Emperors.

But now...

99% Human Potential Release.

92-revolution Magnetic Field Power.

Three fist stances at the Ninth Transformation.

The limit of the Horizontal Refining Ninth Gate, integrating four Holy Spirit Techniques.

Ten Great Divine Techniques at the Ninth Transformation!

One Great All Heavens Divine Technique at the Ninth Transformation!

With so many aspects of his Cultivation having reached the Ninth Transformation, even if he had just entered this stage, under the amplification of Shen Wutian, Wu Dao dared to say to any Peak Master who stood before him:

’I’m not trying to single you out. I’m saying everyone here is garbage!’

Except for...

The Demon Suppression Emperor!

”Seemingly so, yet not.”

Those words carried immense weight.

No matter the Path of Transcendence, the gap in power always widened exponentially the further one progressed.

Within the Ninth Transformation Domain alone, each of the four steps was a crushing leap in combat strength over the one before it.

One could only imagine how powerful the Demon Suppression Emperor was, who was described as ”ostensibly Above Divine Techniques.”

Before he completed that final 1%, Wu Dao admitted he did not have the strength to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Demon Suppression Emperor.

But he was getting close.

Now that his various Cultivations had entered the Ninth Transformation stage, he didn’t need another breakthrough. He just needed to walk to the end of the paths he had already forged and reach perfection. The last 1% would naturally be completed.

The only thing he cared about now was the whereabouts of the final Holy Spirit Technique!

However, he already had a lead.

「A short while ago.」

His incarnations, roaming the world, had discovered that in many places, the Demon Race had already been wiped out by someone else, and it wasn’t the work of the Human Dao. He didn’t have to think hard to know it was the Saint King.

Although the Saint King’s cleanup work was thorough, Wu Dao had still found some clues. After the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven event, it would be time for him to harvest the fifth Holy Spirit Technique.

”Chaos Heart Monkey.”

His thoughts returned to himself.

Wu Dao thought of the Holy Spirit Divine Technique he had obtained from integrating the Vermilion Annoyance World Burning Scripture, and his expression turned slightly odd.

BUZZ—

Under Introspection, he could clearly see it.

Within his heart—a heart constructed from the weaving of countless points of starlight—there seemed to exist a world where the fires of war and chaos never died.

At the center of this war-torn world stood the towering, blurry shadow of an Ancient Fierce Beast. It was shaped like an ape, with a white head and red feet, sharp teeth and claws. Its heart pounded like a war drum.

Wherever the sound of its heartbeat reached, countless beings would instantly see their eyes turn crimson, their blood boil, and Tribulation Qi cling to them.

They would become unusually aggressive and belligerent, their every desire amplified infinitely, indiscriminately starting wars and massacres, brewing all sorts of human tragedies and disasters.

Chaos Heart Monkey.

Wu Dao’s consciousness withdrew from his heart.

He now had a clear understanding of this Holy Spirit Divine Technique.

People often spoke of the ”heart monkey and will horse,” referring to the dark desires of the human heart.

The source of all calamity was these desires.

The Vermilion Bird, an ancient Sacred Spirit, was said in legends to command war and disaster. Wherever it went, war would erupt and chaos would reign, plunging the world into misery.

Why was that so?

In his past life, there was no specific reason; it was just a case of ”it can because it can,” a sort of self-justifying logic.

In this life, the Chaos Heart Monkey Divine Technique offered a reasonable explanation.

”It’s somewhat similar to the Heart Demon Dao.”

Based on the Mighty Power of Chaos Heart Monkey, Wu Dao thought of the Heart Demons that Cultivators often spoke of.

When a Heart Demon caused trouble, obsessions and desires would seize control of the soul.

If it couldn’t be suppressed, the victim would, at best, be unable to advance an inch, or at worst, would descend into madness, venting their desires and obsessions, becoming what the world called a Demon.

The Chaos Heart Monkey, with its power to incite Heart Demons, was truly terrifyingly lethal against those with unclean minds.

In the midst of a life-or-death battle, it could also throw an enemy’s mind into disarray and weaken their combat effectiveness.

If... he combined it with Qiongqi’s Karmic Fire, which incinerated sins...

Tsk—

’That’s going to be a special kind of hell for them.’

Phew—

Suppressing his racing thoughts, Wu Dao tapped into the Earth and Heaven Magnetic Field, confirming the direction from which the earlier celestial roar had come.

For the first time in a long while, he ended his nonstop grueling Cultivation. Shaking off the clingy Celestial Thunder and Gang Wind Little Demons, he left his land of tenderness and sped toward the distant point where the Magnetic Fields converged.

「This time.」

He planned to go in his Main Body.

Within the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven, fortune converged, giving rise to all sorts of supreme treasures and opportunities.

An opportunity was a matter of timing and destiny.

This was true for the relationship between people and treasures. Only when one’s own fortune aligned and destiny arrived could one obtain the Creation within an opportunity.

An incarnation was, in essence, a ’dead thing.’

The fortune it could carry was extremely limited.

To maximize his harvest of opportunities, his Main Body had to go.

Wu Dao was also extremely curious. After a thousand years of accumulated fortune, just how many incredible treasures could have been born inside the Grotto Heaven?

He didn’t care about the methods for getting stronger.

He only cared about the result.

He had been coveting this world’s Celestial Treasures for a long time. If he were lucky enough to get one, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.

Even if there were no Celestial Treasures, he would not miss any other treasures that could increase his strength.

...

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—

The Nine Heavens Gang Wind raged, and the mortal realm was plunged into darkness.

In what was once Nanyang Prefecture in the Southern Border, now the capital of the Da Xu, a sinister black fissure tore through thousands of miles of the sky. Within it, Gangfeng Thunderbolt rumbled and rolled, like the gaping maw of a God and Demon, swallowing the national fortune that Da Xu had only recently gathered.

Hundreds of miles outside the Daxu Imperial City, beneath one of these celestial fissures, a group had gathered.

Chenjing Emperor; Zhan Qian, the second-generation ancestor of Martial King Mountain; the Supreme Grand Elder of Zige Mountain; several reclusive Ninth Transformation experts; and every Great Divine Power User of any renown in the Southern Border had all assembled. They stared up at the great fissure tearing through the sky, their faces grim as they stood ready.

WHOOSH—

A light breeze swept by.

Silently, Wu Dao’s figure appeared beside Chenjing Emperor, instantly causing the hair of every Great Divine Power User present to stand on end. Their scalps tingled as if a tiger had just walked into a rabbit den.

Even without revealing any of his might, simply by standing there, he exuded a profound and heavy pressure, like an abyss or a mountain, that made even the circulation of their blood and qi sluggish.

’This monster... he’s gotten stronger again.’

’He has definitely stepped into the Absolute Peak domain. Otherwise, he couldn’t possibly give off such a terrifying pressure.’

Taking a deep breath, the crowd managed to suppress their fear and forced themselves to look away, not daring to focus on Wu Dao any longer.

”It has been several months, Alliance Leader Wu. Your strength has greatly advanced once more. This is truly worthy of congratulations.”

Chenjing Emperor, Zhou Chen, felt the aura from Wu Dao—an aura that was not only his equal but even gave him a faint sense of danger. He was surprised, but he offered his congratulations calmly.

”A minor achievement, not worth mentioning,” Wu Dao replied with a placid expression, his gaze fixed on the great fissure tearing open the sky above.

He briefly sensed the Magnetic Field and discovered that the field at this fissure node was incomparably weaker than elsewhere.

The power of the Celestial Thunder and Gang Wind within the fissure was weak enough for even Great Divine Power Users to pass through.

It was unlike other places, where even the current Wu Dao could feel a faint sense of danger. If he were to rashly enter through a random spot, some unforeseeable peril might occur.

This was likely the reason why Zhou Chen and the others had all gathered here, and why they had specifically told Wu Dao to meet them at this spot.

With Wu Dao’s final arrival, Zhou Chen’s expression grew a little more solemn, and he spoke.

”Everyone, while the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven holds great Creation, it is fundamentally a creation of the Great Dao and is constrained by various irresistible rules.

The first and foremost rule is this:

No matter what happens inside the Grotto Heaven, you absolutely must not fight. Otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable.”

As he spoke, Zhou Chen gave Wu Dao a pointed look.

It seemed he was afraid Wu Dao didn’t know this rule and would cause a disaster by acting recklessly inside the Grotto Heaven.