Essence Devouring Art

WHOOSH—

The dream-like vision shattered, replaced by the faint light of dawn.

”Alliance Leader Wu... Alliance Leader Wu?”

A voice, as if calling from the edge of the heavens, grew clearer and more real, pulling Wu Dao’s consciousness back to the present world.

Brilliant white light scattered down from the sky.

It was glaring, a sensation Wu Dao hadn’t felt in a long time, and he narrowed his eyes slightly.

Through the slits of his vision, distant mountains were the color of dark ink, and nearby waters were shrouded in mist.

RUSTLE RUSTLE—

Perhaps a clear summer breeze was blowing past.

It dispelled some of the stifling heat. Lush grass and trees rustled, accompanied by the clamorous chirping of cicadas.

”It’s nothing.”

The myriad emotions in Wu Dao’s eyes melted into indifference as he replied in a calm tone.

In the Sea of Suffering, he had endured countless hardships.

Even the most tragic and desperate lives had failed to disturb him in the slightest; his will was on the verge of Divinity Transformation.

That ’dream’ just now...

It was indeed tragic!

It was indeed shameless!

And it was indeed somewhat infuriating!

It was a profound illustration of the saying, ”An innocent man gets into trouble for possessing a treasure.”

It turned out that the so-called Son of the Celestial Mandate,

if not born into a good background,

was nothing more than a piece of meat in the eyes of the Hunters at the top of the food chain.

But after the dream shattered...

none of it was worth mentioning!

It failed to cause even the slightest ripple in his Heart Lake.

There was no particular reason.

He was Wu Dao, not Mo Chen!

It was as simple as that.

If the karma was settled, everyone would be happy.

If it wasn’t...

...then it would become his, Wu Dao’s, business.

And he would resolve it in his own way.

”That’s for the best.”

Emperor Chenjing also sighed in relief. After Wu Dao had entered the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven, he had frozen in place with a tight frown. The emperor had thought something was wrong.

”Since we’ve entered the Grotto Heaven, we old men will go our separate ways. I wish Your Majesty and Alliance Leader Wu good fortune, and I wish everyone here the success of finding the Creation you desire.”

Just then, the Second Generation Ancestor of Martial King Mountain gave the surrounding landscape a complex look, cupped his hands in salute to the others, and quickly vanished from sight.

The other Great Divine Power Users also didn’t linger.

One by one, they bowed to Emperor Chenjing before scattering in different directions.

Within the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven, the flow of time was different from the outside world. According to the summaries of their predecessors, one day outside was roughly equivalent to seventeen or eighteen days in the Grotto Heaven.

This might seem like ample time,

but after losing their Extraordinary Power and being forced to travel everywhere on foot, it suddenly felt quite tight.

Throughout All Tribulations, plenty of people who entered the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven spent all their time just traveling and ended up with nothing to show for it.

Those who were unlucky might find themselves teleported into deep, old-growth forests or barren lands.

That was the worst luck of all.

As for why Zhan Qian and the others didn’t travel with Emperor Chenjing, the first reason was that each person’s individual opportunities and Creations were different.

The second was that Peak Masters like Emperor Chenjing, with their immense personal fortune, had a clear destination within the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven.

The others, with their insufficient fortune, were not yet qualified to go to that place.

”Alliance Leader Wu, shall we travel together?”

After everyone had departed, Emperor Chenjing glanced at the composed Wu Dao and asked with a hint of deeper meaning.

”Of course.”

Wu Dao nodded slightly and walked down the mountain with Emperor Chenjing, following a dirt path dappled with light and shadow.

People are divided into various ranks.

Fortune has its highs and lows, its noble and humble turns.

Different levels of fortune determine the different heights one can reach in the future, and the privileges granted by the Great Dao vary immensely.

People like Wu Dao and Emperor Chenjing, and this was no empty boast, possessed personal fortunes that were absolutely at the level of a dragon among men. Otherwise, they never would have reached their current heights.

The ’privileges’ they possessed were incomparable to those of ordinary cultivators, or even supreme geniuses.

Across All Tribulations, the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven had opened Nine times.

Their predecessors had also summarized that the current era’s Peak Masters could enter ’Dragon Gate Town,’ the core location of fortune in the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven, to seek opportunities and Creation.

Dragon Gate Town...

It alluded to the idiom of a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate.

To ascend to the heavens in a single step, for a carp to transform into a dragon—

all of it was possible in that small town.

Throughout All Tribulations, there were numerous stories of Peak Masters who, thanks to the Creation they obtained in Dragon Gate Town, took the final half-step beyond the Absolute Peak in a short amount of time.

They walked all the way to the foot of the mountain.

Emperor Chenjing surveyed the surrounding landscape, compared it to the map drawn by the predecessors of All Tribulations in his mind, and said with a faint smile,

”We’re quite lucky. This place is at most ten-some li from Dragon Gate Town. We should be able to arrive by noon.”

Ten-some li.

By noon...

Wu Dao’s gaze lowered to his fair, flawless palm. All traces of his divine aura were dormant and hidden, and his world-overturning power could not be projected even an inch from his body.

It was as subtle and silent as a nourishing rain.

Without them even noticing, they had already been suppressed by the rules of the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven, making them no different from ordinary mortals.

’No, that’s not quite right.’

BANG—

Without any warning, Wu Dao channeled his power slightly and threw a punch at a moss-covered guide stone on the side of the road.

A punch that should have been able to annihilate a thousand li of mountains and rivers was now ’soft and powerless.’

It merely stirred up a slight gust of wind.

The bluish-green guide stone only shed some dust and ash, suffering no damage at all.

Wu Dao retracted his fist.

His knuckles were still as flawless as white jade.

He had likewise taken no rebound damage.

He instantly understood.

’My Divine Power can’t leave my body, but my physique is still that of a god.’

’No matter how much it’s suppressed,’

’it is still just suppression.’

’It doesn’t completely transform the fundamental nature of those who enter the Grotto Heaven into that of a mortal.’

”Precisely. That’s why fighting within the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven has no real meaning.”

Emperor Chenjing seemed to understand what Wu Dao was testing. He let out a breath and said,

”Otherwise, without even waiting for the Great Tribulation to descend, we would all be caught like turtles in a jar and wiped out in one go. Besides that...”

As he spoke, Emperor Chenjing glanced at the dark bluish-green guide stone that Wu Dao had just struck and continued,

”This Dragon Mud Cave Heaven clouds one’s discerning eyes, concealing treasures and hiding their splendor.

What you see with the naked eye—a blade of grass, a tree, a bird, a beast, or even a discarded object by the roadside—could be an incredible treasure or a wondrous beast if taken outside.

If your heart is moved by a sense of affinity,

then you should by all means take it.

Because compared to cultivators from outside the Divine Wilderness, we who enter from the Divine Wilderness are only allowed to choose two Creations.

After the second one,

even if a Supreme Treasure is right in front of you, you will no longer feel any connection to it.”

’Only two, huh...’

Wu Dao nodded slightly. This was the first time he had heard of this secret.

If not for Prince Nanyang’s reminder,

he would have assumed he could take away any Creation he was fated to find.

”Heh heh, you might have the good fortune to take it, but you need to be alive to use it.”

Just as the two were about to continue on their way,

a nondescript green frog leaped from the damp grass by the road onto the guide stone. Its eerily human-like eyes stared coldly at Wu Dao and Emperor Chenjing.

Clearly, this frog’s fundamental nature and origins were not mortal.

It had only reverted to the form of an ordinary green-skinned frog, Returning to the Essence due to the Grotto Heaven’s suppression.

From its cold tone, it wasn’t hard to guess that this frog definitely came from a World that held a grudge against the Divine Wilderness.

”Hah, I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

Emperor Chenjing’s eyes narrowed slightly. His tone was level, showing no anger.

”Might I ask where this senior is from?”

Wu Dao, however, acted out of character, cupping his fist and asking ’respectfully’.

”Tch.”

The green-skinned frog on the guide stone sneered, ”Looking for revenge? What’s the harm in telling you? This god was officially enfeoffed by the orthodox Celestial Court. I am the River God of the Miaoyin River in Wangchun Town of the Thousand Carp Country in the Fuguang World.”

”Oh, so you’re...”

Wu Dao listened to that long string of titles, which in the end amounted to nothing more than the River God of a mere town. He couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, drawing out his words.

”...just a small-time punk.”

He hadn’t heard of the Celestial Court, but he guessed it was some kind of Immortal Gods Group, like in the myths and legends.

He had, however, heard of the Fuguang World.

Thirty thousand years ago, the Slaughter Emperor had bloodily massacred three Worlds.

The Fuguang World was one of them.

It was said to be a World of the Military Dao within the Hongyuan Great World.

As for the other two Worlds, there was the Qingming World, dominated by the Immortal Dao, and the Profound Yellow World, centered on the Human Dao and its dynasties, but possessing all three Daos.

But in the thirty thousand years of the Nine Tribulations, it wasn’t just these three Worlds that came to the Divine Wilderness to reap their harvest and collect debts.

There was another World—

Daluo Heaven!

According to legend, this Daluo Heaven was a World dominated purely by Sword Cultivators, and its Common Lord had been a key figure in the slaying of the Slaughter Emperor.

With such a merit to their name, they were naturally qualified to participate in the harvest of the Divine Wilderness.

As for this one before him...

Wu Dao couldn’t even be bothered to pay him any mind.

He let the frog hop about in fury, treating it like a circus monkey trying to keep its audience, and left the guide stone with the equally uninterested Prince Nanyang.

The mere River God of a town was truly nothing more than a small-time punk to either him or Prince Nanyang.

If he hadn’t been affiliated with the Celestial Court, he wouldn’t even have qualified as a punk.

However, the frog did remind them of one thing.

Unless absolutely necessary, they could not voluntarily reveal their identities.

Otherwise, they would inevitably attract some trouble, more or less.

With everyone reduced to mortal bodies and mortal eyes, as long as they didn’t expose themselves, aside from a few beings with extraordinary insight, others wouldn’t know they came from the Divine Wilderness. Without that barrier between them, their search for opportunities in Dragon Gate Town would go much more smoothly.

”Hmph, you two abominations from the land of sin. Let’s see how long you can keep up your arrogance.”

Watching Wu Dao and Prince Nanyang’s retreating backs, the green-skinned frog snorted coldly, cursed his bad luck internally, and leaped into the grass nearby.

If not for the constraints of his own fortune, which made him reluctant to leave this treasure land, he would have followed Wu Dao and the other, shouting all the way to expose their identities so they couldn’t hope to get any opportunities.

Not all gods were kind-faced and benevolent, devoid of emotion and desire. That was merely the wishful thinking of mortals.

”HYAH!!”

WHOOSH—

After traveling several more li,

dust and smoke billowed as a horse-drawn carriage passed by.

Wu Dao and Prince Nanyang stepped to the side of the road. Through the carriage curtain, which was lifted by a gust of wind, they saw several young men and women sitting quietly inside the luxurious compartment.

They were handsome, with a restrained aristocratic air.

Treasure Swords engraved with Array Patterns hung from their waists.

Even with the naked eye of a mortal, one could tell they likely came from prominent, wealthy families and were no ordinary people.

”Cultivators from Hongyuan?”

Wu Dao withdrew his gaze and exchanged a look with Prince Nanyang, confirming the identities of the young men and women.

The Dragon Mud Cave Heaven connected Hongyuan and the Divine Wilderness.

In every tribulation, starting from the end of the previous one, ’Pseudo-natives’ like that green frog would station themselves in the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven, occupying various places where fortune gathered to absorb it and nourish themselves.

As for the selection rules, those in the Divine Wilderness had no way of knowing.

Besides these pseudo-natives, when the tribulation arrived and the fortune harvested by the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven had accumulated to its peak, the various Worlds would also send the brilliant Celestial Prides of their factions into the Grotto Heaven to seek opportunities.

Aside from these two types of people, the largest population within the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven was still the true natives who were born and raised there.

These people were basically all of mortal flesh and blood.

Their fortune was only that of an ordinary person.

Even if they held Creation in their hands, they couldn’t grasp it. They were unaware of the Treasure Mountain before them, and their treasures would often be snatched up by outside gold-diggers for as little as two taels of broken silver.

However, Wu Dao estimated that things probably weren’t that simple.

To trade for a treasure from the hands of a native, one would most likely have to pay a price, such as their own fortune.