Essence Devouring Art

’He can endure this much?’

Wu Dao, on the other hand, was slightly surprised by the Saint King’s emotional control. He had dealt with the Saint King twice before.

Arrogant and conceited, a man who would exact revenge for the smallest grievance.

That was his entire impression of the Saint King.

He never expected it.

After just a few short years, it was as if he were a completely different person. Faced with such humiliation, he didn’t even show his anger. His temperament had undergone a complete transformation.

’Those destined for greatness...’

’...know when to yield and when to stand firm, never letting joy or anger show on their face.’

’The Saint King at this moment...’

’...truly has the air of a ruthless conqueror.’

’Hmm...’

’He’s also become more... fragrant.’

Wu Dao gazed at the Saint King’s back and couldn’t help but lick his lips, as if he were looking at a peerless beauty.

”HISS... how strange.”

Under the gateway,

Lu Hongye suddenly felt as if a starved Evil Beast were lusting after his body. He shuddered involuntarily and immediately quickened his pace.

He hadn’t paid close attention before.

But after the Saint King appeared,

and he took a good look around,

Wu Dao finally noticed that there were several familiar faces in the long line.

King Bao Tong, the King of Ten Thousand Victories, Zhou Heng, and Zhou Prison—these current Emperors of the Divine Wilderness Country—had all retracted their sharp edges, quietly moving along with the crowd.

Even the ever-violent and crazed Zhou Prison

didn’t cause any trouble.

He just maintained a cold expression the entire time,

projecting an unapproachable, ”stay away from me” aura.

The line moved quickly.

Aside from Zhou Heng and the others causing a small commotion due to their origins, which drew waves of hateful, sneering gazes,

nothing else happened.

「As the midday sun began to dip.」

A towering shadow fell over the green-skinned, middle-aged Sun Wusheng, who was feigning sleep in his bamboo chair.

”Hm? Did it get cloudy?”

Sun Wusheng scratched his face and opened his eyes, only to see Wu Dao, who was like a sky-supporting Fierce Beast, blotting out the sun and blocking the fiery sunlight.

Those unusually black eyes

were like an Abyss, watching silently.

It made Sun Wusheng involuntarily narrow his eyes.

’This person...’

’...is a bit menacing.’

”Name, origin and sect, and...”

Suppressing the strange sense of pressure in his heart,

Sun Wusheng adopted a rare seriousness, his expression turning slightly grave as he asked.

”No need to ask.”

Wu Dao’s expression was indifferent. He patted Sun Wusheng’s shoulder, a few Copper Coins materializing from thin air to fall from his palm. He said calmly,

”Wu Dao, Shenhuang Dominator Whale King. I’m very much looking forward to you coming for me.”

After speaking,

Wu Dao ignored the undisguised, cold, and disgusted gazes from all around. He strode forward with his head held high, passing through the Dragon Gate without any obstruction.

”Wu Dao... Heh. I’ll remember that.”

Sun Wusheng watched Wu Dao’s broad back as he entered the gatehouse, cracked his neck, and gave a ferocious grin, like a predator that had locked onto its prey.

”Zhou Chen, the Divine Desolate Great Xu Emperor.”

Zhou Chen was after Wu Dao. He also calmly stated his origin, likewise ignoring the strange looks from the crowd, who stared at him as if he were a pest, and entered Dragon Gate Town with complete composure.

The common folk of Dragon Gate Town didn’t understand the gravity of what had just happened in front of the gatehouse.

They just saw it as some novel excitement.

After all,

the small town wasn’t well-known in the surrounding hundreds of miles, and it rarely had outside visitors. For so many to arrive today was certainly a novelty.

Not to mention,

these outsiders were all dressed in rich silks and brocades. A single glance told you they weren’t short on money. If they could fleece one of them, it would count as a bountiful harvest for the year.

However,

this group of townsfolk also knew how to pick their targets.

Sun Wusheng was the town’s local tyrant. Not that he ran rampant without restraint, but he was in charge of the entire town’s security and held all its Martial Power. He was not someone to be easily offended.

From Sun Wusheng’s attitude,

it wasn’t hard to see

that Wu Dao and his group had definitely provoked him. Naturally, it was best to avoid them if possible, to keep from getting dragged into their mess.

And so,

upon entering the town, Wu Dao and his group

were basically ignored by the residents.

”This young master is so dashing and talented! I wonder if you’ve come to our town to sightsee or to rest for the night? Our Yuelai Inn is a century-old establishment...”

”Oh, what a pretty young lady! Come, come, where would you like to go? This auntie will show you the way...”

”Our Dragon Gate Town might be a bit poor, but as they say, ’a mountain’s fame isn’t in its height, but in the spirit that dwells within.’ We have plenty of historical sites...”

”Take a look! The finest clay figurines, a craft passed down for two hundred years! First-class heirlooms...”

Touts, guides, vendors hawking their own wares...

As the outsiders entered,

a massive crowd swarmed them, chattering all at once, their enthusiasm like fire.

Only Wu Dao and Zhou Chen’s area remained cold and deserted, untouched by the hustle and bustle, as if they existed in a separate world.

’No need to think about it.’

’The Saint King and the others before us...’

’...most likely received the same treatment.’

Wu Dao glanced at the crowd of Hongyuan’s Celestial Prides surrounded by the townspeople and frowned slightly.

It wasn’t that he felt it was unfair.

It was just that...

...there were too many of them!

In the entire Divine Wilderness, you could count the number of people qualified to leap the Dragon Gate on one hand.

But outside the Divine Wilderness,

Wu Dao himself had already witnessed several dozen, and that wasn’t even counting the long line still outside.

’This disparity...’

PHEW...

He let out a slow breath.

Wu Dao didn’t dwell on it any longer.

Because this wasn’t something unreasonable.

To put it bluntly,

the current Divine Wilderness was just a backward, desolate, rural place.

Stripped away by the Nine Tribulations, one after another,

until today,

the entire world had shrunk by an unknown number of times.

The regions where the Extraordinary Factor existed,

if you added them all up, would probably be smaller than a single remote corner of the Hongyuan Great World.

With such a huge gap,

how could they possibly compare to a prosperous and flourishing ’metropolis’?

’Hardship forges a True Dragon?’

’Don’t be ridiculous.’

’How many True Dragons could be raised in impoverished lands and treacherous waters?’

’The achievements we bleed and toil for are things they can obtain effortlessly, having already won at the starting line. What is there to compare?’

’Perhaps...’

’...this is also why the Divine Wilderness was defeated in the Nine Tribulations.’

’From the very beginning...’

’...this was an extremely unfair...’

’...and total domination of the poor by the rich.’

”At least the rules of the game aren’t set by them,”

Zhou Chen also sighed. Seemingly aware of what Wu Dao was thinking and fearing he might become pessimistic, he offered a word of comfort.

”Do the Divine Ability Users of Hongyuan have the concept of the Ninth Transformation and the four steps?”

But Wu Dao showed no hint of pessimism, simply asking an out-of-the-blue question.

”Hongyuan has no suppression from the Great Dao, so that concept doesn’t exist. But...”

Zhou Chen shook his head, his expression grave.

”Their Cultivation environment is far superior to ours. Besides the most difficult Transverse Cultivation, regardless of whether it’s Soul Cultivation or Divine Techniques and Skills,”

”it’s very easy for a Celestial Pride or a Demon-level talent to master them. It’s common for one person to have mastered the inherited Divine Techniques of several major powers, as well as various top-tier Soul Cultivation Techniques.”

”It’s said that during the Nine Tribulations,”

”there was once a Celestial Pride from Hongyuan who had mastered five Great Divine Techniques. He single-handedly swept across all the Divine Power Peak experts of the world. The founder of Martial King Mountain was defeated and killed by his hand.”

”Based on that point alone,”

”they are beyond compare for a Divine Desolate Cultivator, who must exhaust themselves just to cultivate a single Divine Technique or great power to the Ninth Transformation.”

’Five techniques...’

’Tsk, that’s a lot.’

Wu Dao raised an eyebrow. He now had a better understanding.

He said no more.

He nodded to Zhou Chen and then strode off alone into the town, which was both bustling and desolate.

They had arrived at Dragon Gate Town.

Each had their own opportunities and Creation to seek.

There was no longer a need to travel together.

Zhou Chen understood this as well. He gave one last, grave look at the gathered Celestial Prides and quickly disappeared from the front of the town gate.

At the Rising Dragon Street Corner, just inside the town,

Wu Dao looked up at an inn’s sign. He paused slightly, his eyes fixed on the four mottled, ancient words: ”Blessings Across Four Seas.”

As he stared at the final word,

waves surged in his consciousness, vast and boundless like the sea.

It seemed that obtaining it would allow him to leap freely like a fish in the wide sea, to travel the four seas as a dragon in peace, to roam the heavens and earth with absolute freedom.

’This word...’

’...has a connection with me.’

’But not that strong of one.’

’It’s the type that I could take or leave.’

’Fortunate if I get it,’

’but no great loss if I don’t.’

’In that case...’

’...I might as well not take it.’

He retracted his gaze.

Just as he was about to continue walking,

”Here comes the Funeral Star!”

from deep down Rising Dragon Street,

a burst of children’s mocking laughter and roughhousing suddenly rang out.

”You damn kid, watch your mouth.”

”Are you asking for a beating? Get home right now!”

”Such bad luck.”

Accompanying it were the scolding voices of parents and elders. Some of the ruder ones shot cold glares and spat on the ground with disgust.

Wu Dao’s interest was piqued. He lifted his gaze to look toward the end of the street.

And then,

when he saw the young boy running quickly from the end of the street,

his eyes narrowed slightly once more.

His Divine Ghost Heaven couldn’t be used.

He couldn’t suppress it.

He couldn’t hold it back.

And he certainly couldn’t sever the intense feelings of nostalgia, familiarity, and sorrow rising from his bloodline.

’This boy...’

’...has a connection with me.’

’A boundless connection!’

”What did you say? Watch out, or this young master will beat you up!”

”If you have the guts to curse me, then have the guts to not shut your door!”

”Tomorrow, this young master will pull up your family’s vegetable patch!”

The boy’s skin was slightly dark and his eyes were like bright stars. Though he wore tattered, patched clothes, his bearing still held a trace of nobility that hadn’t been worn away by hardship. It seemed he really had been the young master of a wealthy family before.

As for now...

”Who are you trying to scare, Mo Chen? You jinxed your parents to death, jinxed your grandmother to death, and jinxed your great wealth into utter poverty. If you’re not a Funeral Star, what are you?”

”Exactly! Still calling yourself ’young master’? That’s hilarious! Why don’t you worry about where your next meal is coming from!”

”It’s bad enough being a Funeral Star yourself, but you’re also raising another walking disaster at home. You’re really not afraid of dying fast enough, are you?”

The residents on the street weren’t afraid of the boy’s threats at all. They opened their windows to retort mockingly, angering the boy so much that his already dark face flushed beet red.

”You’re grown adults, bullying a child. Have you no shame? Watch out, or I’ll give you a whipping.”

It wasn’t until a sturdy, bare-chested, dark-faced middle-aged man walked out of a wood toy shop, brandishing a sharp carving knife, that the surroundings finally quieted down.

”Uncle Qin, thank you. I’ll keep looking for good wood for you tomorrow.”

The boy glanced gratefully at the dark-faced, sturdy man. His flushed face returned to normal, as if he were already accustomed to this kind of situation.

”You’re a real pest, you know that? Fine. But I’m only paying in meals.”

The carver glanced at Wu Dao at the street corner, his eyes narrowing slightly before he looked away. He spoke to the boy with a cold exterior but warm heart, then returned to his shop and went back to carving the bird in his hands.

Mo Chen...

Mo Chen!

Heh...

The ripples in Wu Dao’s gaze calmed, and the corners of his mouth curved up slightly. His Abyss-like eyes watched impassively as Mo Chen ran toward him.

’The Dragon Mud Cave Heaven.’

’A cradle where the top powers of the Hongyuan Heavenly Realms nurture their successors.’

’If several worlds in the dream could set a trap to plunder everything from my predecessor to cultivate their descendants, then they can naturally set another trap here in Dragon Gate Town to let their descendants devour karmic fortune.’

’There’s no such thing as a coincidence.’

’Not to mention...’

’...that uncontrollable throbbing I just felt!’

’This connection...’

’It truly is...’

’...wondrous beyond words.’