Essence Devouring Art

”Hahaha! You bitch! Who the fuck do you think you are, playing the saint?!”

Zhou Prison, clad in a great red robe, stood atop the Eighteen Purgatories. He faced more than ten Tribulation Descenders alone, yet he remained utterly unflinching, instead letting out a crazed sneer.

”In the thirty thousand years of the Nine Tribulations, the lives lost because of you number in the tens, even hundreds of billions!

And now you have the gall to call *me* a monster!

Your heart is as foul as your three mouths!!”

”Insolent!”

Such vile language instantly enraged the Tribulation Descenders behind the Goddess. A cold shout seemed to shatter the heavens, and their immense pressure made the Eighteen Purgatories groan and creak.

But the Goddess in the lead showed no hint of emotion. She remained as ethereal as smoke, lofty and inscrutable, and spoke with calm indifference:

”Tens of billions, hundreds of billions... Do you have any idea how many lives were lost in my Qingming World when your Slaughter Emperor went on his demonic rampage? Even if this happened a hundred, a thousand times over, it wouldn’t be enough for the Divine Wilderness to repay a fraction of its debt.”

”Cut the fucking crap! What’s the use of arguing about reason?!”

Zhou Prison’s face twisted like that of a maniacal ghost. He set his Hell into motion and roared madly:

”Don’t bother looking! I’ve already killed everyone in the Northern Lands until I was the only one left! Come on, let me fuck you senseless, you bitch!!”

RUMBLE—

The heavens trembled, and thunderclouds churned.

Amidst a divine light of Chaos, the Goddess opened her eyes. She extended a delicate hand, and five-colored lightning instantly blotted out the sky, engulfing everything. Only a voice as indifferent as heaven itself echoed:

”Your killer is Bai Su, Five Thunder Hall Master of the Thunder Emperor Palace in Qingming World.”

The Thunder Emperor Palace!

Another Emperor Level force!

No wonder the Goddess had been so indifferent the entire time.

A figure of her stature.

Stood on a plane far too high in Hongyuan.

Even if her avatar’s strength was limited.

Her fundamental nature allowed her to look down on all others.

She would never lose her composure or become angry in the slightest.

Because...

In her eyes...

The so-called Emperors of the Divine Wilderness, like Zhou Prison and Zhou Chen... they were truly just insects. There was no need to pay any mind to an insect’s provocations.

「While Zhou Prison clashed with the Thunder Emperor Palace.」

「The Western Desert.」

Another group of Tribulation Descenders appeared.

”Impressive Battle Intent.”

The leader, dressed in simple gray robes and carrying a jet-black Sword Box on his back, watched King Long Qian of Ten Thousand Victories rise with his Ringed Dragon Halberd. He clapped his hands lightly in praise and calmly stated his origin:

”I am Wang Fu Jian, Gatekeeper of the Sword Abyss in Daluo World. I hope, young friend, that you can give this old man a decent battle.”

Daluo Heaven!

Upon hearing the old man’s origin, Long Qian’s rugged brow furrowed involuntarily.

This World.

Held the greatest enmity with the Divine Wilderness!

It was because the Slaughter Emperor had been defeated by the sword of the Common Lord of Daluo World. Later, with a single strike, that same lord had annihilated nearly half of the Divine Wilderness’s Extraordinary Power!

Furthermore.

During every tribulation.

Daluo World had always been the main force of the Tribulation Descenders.

And also the greatest beneficiary.

Later generations speculated.

That the Common Lord of Daluo World.

And the Slaughter Emperor were mortal enemies!

「At the same moment.」

It wasn’t only the King of Ten Thousand Victories who encountered Tribulation Descenders from Daluo Heaven.

「The Central Plains of the Divine Wilderness.」

「Celestial Fate County Dali!」

”Four Peak Masters and one with a Pseudo Dharma Aspect. Not bad. This might not be so boring after all.”

The leader of the Tribulation Descenders, who had manifested within a golden light in the sky, looked down with eyes that held a ghastly white Sword Sea. He gazed upon the Peak Masters of Dali within Celestial Fate County and spoke with great interest.

He did not state his origin.

But for those who knew.

Not a single person in all of Hongyuan would dare to underestimate him in the slightest!

Daluo Heaven.

Domain Master of the Life Destruction Domain within the Luotian Sword Realm, the Daoist Lineage of the Common Lord of the World—Bai Wuhen!

He had wielded the power of punishment over the entire Luotian Sword Realm for countless years. In terms of killing power, his Sword Dao was second only to that supreme Common Lord!

「The East Sea.」

The Tribulation Descenders on this battlefield.

Had an equally formidable origin.

They hailed from Fuguang World, where the Military Dao was supreme.

Their leader was none other than an illustrious Supreme Elder from the Ten Thousand Solutions Emperor Sect, an Overlord Force in Fuguang World!

However, unlike the other battlefronts, King Bao Tong of the East Sea wasted no words. The moment the Tribulation Descenders appeared, a churning ocean of Elixir Pills, Arrays, Talismans, and Artifacts surged toward them as he let out a roar completely lacking in Martial Virtue:

”Hahaha, blow yourselves to hell!!”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—

Thousands upon thousands of Dharma Artifacts and Talismans, and even hundreds of Royal Artifacts, exploded simultaneously. The brilliant divine light nearly illuminated the entire Dark World of the East Sea.

As pulses of Energy expanded like erupting supernovas, they instantly crushed the surrounding universe in all directions, annihilating it into a vacuum.

King Bao Tong proved with his actions.

What it meant to be the wealthiest in the world.

The Royal Artifacts, Exotic Treasures, Grand Array Talismans, and Elixirs that Divine Ability Users would fight to the death over—he detonated them all without a second thought.

This show of force.

Had completely emptied the thousand-year reserves of the Black Dragon Commerce Association and the Qian Family!

But...

”Young friend, there’s no need to be so hot-headed.”

From the center of the multicolored, explosive divine light.

An ancient voice rang out. The violent ripples of Energy that tore through the world had failed to even get close to him!

”How is that possible?”

His carefully prepared killing gambit had become a joke.

King Bao Tong’s eyes looked as if they would split. His Dao heart wavered, and the scales of victory in his mind tipped rapidly, thrown off balance by the terrifying gap in power.

「In an unknown, dark place.」

Within the most blazing golden Celestial Pillar.

The Demon Suppression Emperor.

Once the number one person in the world.

Now an unconventional Divine Being who had transcended mortality.

Stood in the void, leaning on his sword with both hands.

Behind him, his Dharma Aspect illuminated the darkness.

His eyes, devoid of any human glimmer, watched the passage in the distant sky, calmly awaiting the arrival of the Tribulation Descender.

VMM~

He did not have to wait long.

A golden light projected from the passage.

Revealing a single figure.

That’s right.

Just one!

His green robes fluttered, and his ink-black hair cascaded down like a waterfall.

His features were as gentle as fine jade, and a Red Gourd hung from his waist.

He projected no world-shocking aura.

He seemed like nothing more than a figure from the mortal Jianghu.

A middle-aged swordsman who roamed the world and called the four seas his home.

But only the Demon Suppression Emperor could feel it.

What terrifying Power was hidden beneath that middle-aged man’s gentle and unassuming physique.

Within that pair of worldly, black eyes.

Faintly.

One could see terrible visions of slaughter: Immortal Gods being punished, Gods and Demons falling, and mountains of corpses and seas of blood drowning the world.

Without a doubt.

This was a titan of the Killing Dao!

The vision of Immortal Gods falling in his eyes had very likely been a real event!

More importantly...

The Demon Suppression Emperor was in constant communion with the changes in Heaven and Earth’s Strange Qi Mechanism, allowing him to sense the strength of the Tribulation Descenders on every front.

If the previous Tribulation Descenders.

Were like a large stone thrown into a pond.

Then the man before him.

Was a meteorite falling from the sky!

The moment he arrived.

The world’s qi mechanism was thrown into a tempest, with ripples spreading throughout the Ten Directions, utterly unable to calm.

If Wu Dao were here.

He would have recognized him at a glance.

This middle-aged man in the green shirt was the same old drunkard from the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven, the one who held the chief position under the Mo Family—the very same Grandmaster Qing that Mo Chen spoke of!

As for his identity...

VMM~

His immense perception spread out.

Information from the memories of survivors in the darkness flooded into his mind.

”The Five Emperors, the Demon Suppression Emperor, Wu Dao...”

The green-shirted man muttered to himself. In the space of a single breath, he had already learned all the information about the Divine Wilderness’s Peak Masters in this tribulation.

When he thought of Wu Dao’s name.

He furrowed his brow slightly, seeming a bit surprised.

After communicating with the Tribulation Descenders in the other lands for confirmation.

His frown deepened.

’Not in the Divine Wilderness?’

’Hmph...’

He withdrew his spiritual perception.

A vision of a roiling sea of blood flashed and vanished within the green-shirted man’s black eyes. He looked at the Demon Suppression Emperor, wreathed in a golden, divine radiance not far away, and sighed softly.

”The Celestial Court never participates in the tribulation of the Divine Wilderness. However, a little fellow ran off with my granddaughter. His name is Wu Dao.

Little Mao God.

Do you know where he is?”

Mao God...

In Hongyuan.

This was a derogatory term for a Divine Spirit.

It specifically referred to Wild Gods from desolate lands, worshiped by few, who did not belong to an orthodox Pantheon recognized by the Celestial Court.

Such a Divine Spirit.

Held the most humble status among the Divine Race of Hongyuan—the lowest of the low. Cultivators could kill them at will without breaking any taboos.

When the green-shirted man called Zhou Yuan a Mao God.

It was not out of contempt.

His status was simply too high.

He was qualified to pass judgment on any Divine Spirit in the world.

If this were in Hongyuan.

For a Wild God to be asked a question by him would be a blessing cultivated over three lifetimes.

There was no other reason.

It was simply because...

He was one of the Celestial Nine Heavens of the Celestial Court in the Hongyuan Great World, ruling over the Divine Spirits of the All Heavens and the fates of countless beings. He was the Cyan Yu Celestial Venerable, who presided over the merits, sins, and punishments of all gods and mortals!

Below the Common Lord Celestial Venerable of the Celestial Court!

The Nine Heavens Celestial Venerables were supreme!

One could only imagine.

How lofty the station of a Celestial Venerable was.

Cyan Yu Celestial Venerable’s question received no answer. The only response was the escalating might of Zhou Yuan’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit, which climbed ever higher toward its peak.

”So be it.”

Cyan Yu Celestial Venerable showed no anger, merely smiling. ”Since I’ve come all this way, your body of Divine Power will surely make a fine first-meeting gift for the little lass.”

’Wu Dao can’t escape.’

’No matter how well he hides, he will eventually be found.’

’Before that happens,’

’plucking a piece of ’candy’ to please a child won’t take much effort.’

ZWING—!

He flicked the Red Gourd at his waist.

The red Gourd trembled slightly.

From within came the sound of a blade being drawn.

A cold glint suddenly illuminated the dark world.

Only a single sliver of its ghastly, life-destroying killing intent leaked out.

Just a single sliver!

Yet it was as if the God of Heaven, who judges all creation, had opened his eyes to gaze coldly upon the world’s insignificant creatures.

The moment the cold light flared like snow,

an endless aura of death pressed down.

It seemed as if Immortal Gods and Sacred Spirits would be decapitated on the spot, bleeding out and perishing with no hope of survival, suffering the punishment of eternal execution by the blade.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG—

The nine Emperor’s Swords trembled and hummed.

It was as if they had encountered a supreme Emperor at the very pinnacle of war and slaughter. Their battle intent diminished, wanting only to prostrate themselves in worship.

VMM~

A large hand, woven from multicolored divine light, reached out.

Imbued with divinity.

It soothed the nine swords’ terror.

Six hundred years ago.

He already knew.

That no matter how he struggled in this tribulation, his chances of victory were but an insignificant sliver.

Terror, trembling, despair...

Even as the world’s number one.

When faced with certain death.

He still couldn’t suppress the pessimistic and negative emotions in his heart.

Therefore.

To avoid succumbing to despair in the future.

To not retreat in the face of the enemy.

To not lose his will to fight.

He had resolutely chosen a path of ’suicide’.

A god.

Has no mortal passions.

It does not feel fear, much less terror.

Even if it means giving everything, until the very last moment,

a god will coldly execute its program, never flinching, burning everything to fight with all its might.

Death itself is not terrifying.

In the sea of bamboo.

He had already faced death calmly once.

What is truly terrifying.

Is a meaningless death.

’So.’

’I’m counting on you.’

’Before I am truly reduced to ash.’

’Let my death weigh more than the Divine Mountain!’

CRACK~

A shattering sound echoed.

The last fragment of humanity in his golden eyes dissipated and vanished.

For over six hundred years.

The faith he had accumulated—the embodiment of the beautiful wishes and devout prayers of all living beings in the mortal world—began to burn. A blazing divine radiance illuminated the dark world.

The god of the mortal world.

Must naturally give his all for it!