Essence Devouring Art

”Zhou, you worry too much. One would need the ability to make a move in the first place.”

Wu Dao simply shook his head, indicating he wouldn’t act recklessly. Of course, the possibility of acting recklessly didn’t exist anyway.

Inside the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven.

The Great Dao suppresses all that is Extraordinary.

Once inside, ”Divine Techniques cannot leave the body; if they do, they devolve into Mortal Power.”

Even if you tried to fight.

It would just be a harmless brawl between mortals. Not only would it cause no real damage, but it would also attract the crushing suppression of the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven’s rules.

Only a complete idiot would try to fight.

Of course.

It was impossible for the Chenjing Emperor not to know these things.

The reason he gave a special reminder...

...was because...

Although the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven was created by the Great Dao...

...it was essentially territory outside the Divine Wilderness.

The two sides already had a mortal enmity, so tensions could easily flare. A reminder was absolutely necessary.

Time within the Grotto Heaven flows differently than in the Divine Wilderness.

Furthermore.

Long ago, natives of Hongyuan from beyond the Divine Wilderness began living inside the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven, absorbing the Celestial Destiny and Fortune of the Divine Wilderness that the Grotto Heaven devoured.

In a sense.

It could be seen as a cradle, a nurturing ground for the All Heavens beyond the Divine Wilderness to raise their younger generations.

It was just that the ’baby formula’ was a bit too bloody.

But when one thought of what the Slaughter Emperor had done, this seemed almost saintly by comparison.

As for...

...whether it was right or wrong for the later generations to pay for the sins of their predecessors, that was a matter of different standpoints and different perspectives.

In any case, as far as Wu Dao was concerned.

’Right or wrong...’

’...if it doesn’t concern me, I couldn’t care less.’

’But if it *does* concern me...’

’...then you are all courting death!’

”Well, those are the rules. I wish you all great martial fortune and a blessed fate that reaches the heavens.”

After reminding everyone of a few points to be aware of, the Chenjing Emperor wasted no more time. A divine light enveloped his body, and he was the first to plunge into the fissure in the sky.

After him.

came the Great Divine Power Users from the Southern Border.

Soon.

The only one left between heaven and earth was Wu Dao, frowning and hesitating before the fissure.

The reason he hadn’t followed immediately...

...was because.

The closer he got to the passage connecting to the world beyond the Divine Wilderness, the more he felt an inexplicable throbbing in his heart.

It wasn’t danger.

It was something else, like the trepidation of a wanderer returning home, a feeling that stemmed from deep within his bloodline.

’The previous owner...’

’Get the hell out of me!’

A thunderous roar erupted from Wu Dao’s soul. The Divine Ghost Heaven annihilated all distracting thoughts, and with them, the final lingering obsession of his body’s previous owner deep within his bloodline.

A long time ago.

He had realized that the origins of his predecessor were far from simple. It was highly likely he wasn’t from the Divine Wilderness and carried some great karmic burden.

’But...’

’...what the hell does that have to do with me!’

’I think, therefore I am!’

’I am me.’

’And there can only be me!’

’Whatever karma my predecessor had, it should have vanished like smoke when he died. He can forget about two souls in one body, shaking my true self, or interfering with my life.’

WHOOSH—

The Divine Ghost Heaven was deactivated.

The obsession in his bloodline dissipated.

That strange throbbing also vanished without a trace.

”Such a pathetic, weak obsession thinks it can disturb my mind? Ridiculous!”

Wu Dao sneered coldly.

He lingered no longer.

And strode into the pitch-black fissure.

RUMBLE—

The moment he stepped into the fissure...

...it was as if he had arrived in the Netherworld, an Exotic Realm.

Everything became unfamiliar.

Thunder boomed and astral winds howled.

Wu Dao ignored the Thunderbolt and astral winds, which weren’t even strong enough to scratch an itch for him. He advanced at full speed, rushing continuously into the depths of the darkness until he was completely swallowed by it.

...

Light and shadow shifted, seeming both real and illusory.

On the border between darkness and a vibrant, multicolored world.

Wu Dao’s Spiritual Consciousness...

...lapsed for a moment.

In that daze.

he seemed to have entered a dream.

The scenes in the dream...

...were bizarre and fantastical, making it hard to tell truth from illusion.

It was like watching an old, incomplete film.

All sorts of people and things.

Fragmented scenes flashed by rapidly.

Playing out a strange life that felt both familiar and not.

In the dream.

Wu Dao became a young man named Mo Chen, experiencing an eighteen-year life from birth to death.

”Husband, look how beautiful the baby’s eyes are! They’re so big and bright, they dazzle my heart. He looks like a scholar-official, he’s sure to have a great future.”

”Of course! My son, Mo Tieniu’s son, is destined for more than eating chaff and wild greens, toiling away in the fields.”

”The master said this child is born extraordinary. We’ll call him Mo Chen. He said it means ’unbound by the mortal dust of the world.’ Anyway, it’s a great name.”

Inside a thatched hut with only four bare walls.

A dim, yellow oil lamp illuminated a middle-aged couple. Their skin was dark, and their faces were honest and kind.

Two pairs of rough, large hands...

...endlessly teased the ray of hope in their hard life, their joyful laughter never-ending.

One year old...

Two years old...

Three years old...

The arrival of a new life...

...brought a great deal of light to the originally bleak and toiling family.

The couple rose early and worked late into the night.

No matter how hard or tiring it was.

Even when plagued by illnesses from overwork.

they poured all their love into Mo Chen, raising him into a sturdy, robust little boy who had a happy and blissful childhood.

But...

Four years later.

a great hand descended from the sky and snuffed out the only light in the couple’s difficult life.

Mo Chen lost his memory.

And Wu Dao, the dreamer, could no longer remember the beautiful three years of happy family life he had just dreamt of.

As light and shadow shifted.

he seemed to experience another reincarnation.

His name was still Mo Chen.

But the place where he grew up changed from Moshi Village to Fulong Village.

The kind and honest couple...

...had vanished completely from his memory.

In their place...

...was a blind old grandmother with a full head of silver hair.

Several children born at the same time.

His supposed childhood friends.

And...

...many aunts and uncles, grandpas and grandmas, whose smiles were very fake.

But in a way that a small child could not discern.

Four years old...

Five years old...

Eight years old...

Little Mo Chen grew up day by day.

He developed deep bonds with his childhood friends, running wild and causing all sorts of mischief throughout Fulong Village with great bravado.

The villagers were very tolerant of Mo Chen. No matter how naughty he was, they would only lecture him verbally, never scolding him harshly.

At the same time.

they also showed great care for Mo Chen and the blind old woman—this orphan and his lonely guardian—in matters both big and small.

This allowed little Mo Chen, who had no father or mother...

...to have a relatively happy childhood. In his little heart, he also learned to be grateful.

The only bad thing was...

...the village chief and some of the grandpas and grandmas wouldn’t let little Mo Chen leave the village. From a young age, they told him that there were monsters and demons outside, and if he went out, he would be eaten.

A child’s heart is simple.

When everyone said it, he believed it.

In his tenth year...

Mo Chen cried his heart out for the first time.

Because his grandmother, whom he had depended on for survival, had passed away.

He didn’t understand.

His grandma had a rosy complexion just yesterday.

Why were they suddenly separated by life and death?

He only remembered...

...that before his grandma passed away...

...she had grabbed his hand, tears streaming from her dark eye sockets, and said:

”Good child, remember Grandma’s words... run. Before you turn eighteen, you must... you must escape...”

Her words were left unfinished.

Only the sound of little Mo Chen’s heart-wrenching sobs remained in the dim room.

And from that day on...

...for the first time, a trace of suspicion towards the village chief and the others grew in Mo Chen’s heart.

However.

this suspicion soon dissipated amidst the meticulous care the villagers showed him afterward.

Eleven years old...

Thirteen years old...

Fifteen years old...

The first stirrings of young love, a blush rising on her cheeks.

Under the full moon.

The young man nestled together with the dimpled girl he had teased since they were little.

The girl gazed at the desolate, cold moonlight.

Though still childish, she was breathtakingly beautiful. Her eyes, like stars in the sky, stared intently at Mo Chen, as if to imprint his image into the deepest part of her heart.

Silent tears soaked the front of her dress.

Mo Chen didn’t understand why. He held the girl and comforted her with all his heart, only able to catch her faint, dream-like whisper: ”Brother Mo Chen, I will definitely not... forget you.”

Sixteen years old...

Seventeen years old...

Eighteen years old!

On this morning.

the gate to his small courtyard remained tightly shut from morning till night.

Fulong Village was deathly silent.

Only the mournful howls of Dahuang, the big yellow dog that had accompanied the grandmother and grandson for over a decade, could be heard as it staggered through the village, whining and shedding sad tears.

All was a chaotic blur, with shadows overlapping.

Atop the altar.

the mangled body of the young man had only a faint gasp left in him.

”As expected of a Child of Destiny and Fortune. To think he still has a breath left in him after all this.”

Amidst the blurry lights and shadows.

someone exclaimed in surprise.

But more than that...

...there was greedy impatience.

Their gazes were like those staring at a peerless treasure.

”The Three Major Dantians, the companion Dao Treasure, the Celestial Treasure, the Celestial Destiny and Fortune, the legacy of the powerful expert he carries... We already agreed on how to graft and divide everything before setting up this Fulong trap. I hope none of you go back on your word at the last minute.”

”Soldier, Martial, and Immortal are all different paths. Over the past ten-plus years, the fortunes of the Three Major Dantians have been matched with and plundered by different little ones. Why would I go back on my word? No matter how good it is, it wouldn’t be suitable for my boy.”

”Regardless of the rest, my young master must have his fortune, memories, and true name.”

These undisguised, greedy voices...

...came from the mouths of the elders who had always been so kind in the past.

But he no longer had the strength to be angry.

At the final moment.

he vaguely felt the world seem to stop. A perfect woman shrouded in the light of Chaos stepped out and spoke with a scoff:

”Several Worlds ganging up to plot against a single child. You truly have no sense of shame!”

”Sigh...”

”Never mind.”

”Although it was the Great Dao that forcibly tied this thread...”

”...it is, in the end, our karmic destiny.”

”And it must be concluded.”

”Things have come to this; there’s nothing that can be done to reverse it.”

”I’ll save your life, and with that, the bond between us will be considered finished.”

As the sigh faded.

endless darkness completely swallowed everything.

The dream shattered without a trace.