Essence Devouring Art

RUMBLE—

As Wu Dao lashed out with a kick.

The world cracked and shattered.

The deafening rumble of thunder boomed, spreading out in all directions.

It could be seen clearly, even from tens of thousands of miles away.

The world formed by the golden Celestial Pillar, which stretched for tens of thousands of miles, shattered like a suspended mirror struck by a heavy hammer, exploding into countless abstract fragments of scenery.

In the center of the dark, swirling eye of a void storm, a towering and majestic figure stood like a Heaven-Opening God Demon shattering the nascent world. He remained in the heart of the Chaos Storm, utterly motionless.

”The Five Days of Primordial Chaos are all sons of bitches...”

His defiant roar was like a meteor crashing into the sea, shaking the very energies of the world. It sent violent, tide-like ripples spreading out, the sound clearly audible even in the most distant lands.

「Tens of thousands of miles away.」

Qing Yu Celestial Venerable, a Red Gourd hanging from his waist, moved like a silent specter. He was soundless and traceless, covering thousands of miles with a single step.

Upon hearing Wu Dao’s wild, arrogant shout, he paused for a moment.

”Heh. So arrogant, for one so ignorant. A frog in a well trying to swallow the heavens.”

Qing Yu chuckled, not feeling the least bit annoyed. To him, it was like a firefly, a mere speck of dust, boasting that the light of the starry sky was nothing special.

When you stand high enough and are powerful enough, anger is an emotion that rarely surfaces. After all, very few are qualified to provoke it.

’Such arrogance!’

’The Divine Wilderness of today would be nothing but a forgotten corner if dropped into any of our worlds. Truly... heh.’

’One’s perspective is limited by what one can see. I suppose you can’t blame him.’

...

Qing Yu Celestial Venerable wasn’t the only one.

The leaders from the Profound Yellow World, the Fuguang World, the Daluo World, and the Qingming World also just shook their heads and chuckled at Wu Dao’s insult.

It was like hearing a tiny nation trying to provoke the ruler of the world—they found it absurd, not angering in the slightest.

However, while they weren’t angry, they did feel a flicker of surprise—the kind of surprise one feels when witnessing a miracle born from the impossible.

There are countless paths to the Extraordinary in this world, with endless Taoist Techniques and infinite Divine Techniques. But ultimately, regardless of the cultivation method—whether one refines the mind or power—the measure of one’s cultivation level has always been the degree of influence one can exert on the world.

After all, you can look down on brute force all you want, and you can proclaim yourself a living Saint with a virtuous heart, but if you lack power, an unreasonable brute can still kill you with a single punch. When someone is trying to kill you, you can’t just suggest a contest of character and a debate on the principles of the sages. Wouldn’t that be insane?

But I digress.

The principle remains the same.

So while the leaders of the Five Days of Primordial Chaos didn’t take Wu Dao’s insult to heart, they were genuinely surprised by the power he displayed.

Shattering the world across tens of thousands of miles with a single kick!

To achieve such a feat while in the Pseudo-Dharma Realm... One could say he was now qualified to contend with any one of them.

If this were the Primordial World, they wouldn’t have been surprised. The All Heavens are full of peerless prodigies capable of rivaling young Celestial Venerables and patriarchs.

But this was the Divine Wilderness!

A land suffering from the Ten Tribulations and the End of the Dharma, a place where the Great Dao itself was suppressed!

This was truly incredible.

’A monster?’

Lv Shengxin, the National Preceptor of the Dayan Imperial Dynasty from the Profound Yellow World, watched Wu Dao from afar. Dressed in plain clothes and straw sandals, with swarthy, bronze skin, he looked like a common woodcutter. Yet within his eyes, the myriad phenomena of the world seemed to evolve.

Hm?

A breath later, he frowned.

’I can’t see through him...’

The space around Wu Dao was enveloped in a strange field that disordered all energies, concealed all information about him, and blocked any attempt at scrying or inference.

Although the Inference Celestial Emperor Scripture was an All Heavens Great Emperor Level Taoist Scripture that claimed to be able to deduce the changes of all that existed within the Dao, the prerequisite was a higher cultivation level.

Zhou Chen’s cultivation level was lower than Lv Shengxin’s, so in Lv Shengxin’s eyes, Zhou Chen held no secrets.

But Wu Dao... he couldn’t perceive or deduce a single thing. The implication was self-evident.

’To think such a miraculous flower could bloom in this harsh environment. Tsk.’

When Lv Shengxin thought of the Dayan Imperial Dynasty’s Little Princess and her upcoming Dharma Ceremony, the determined thought of ’Picking Flowers’ took root in his mind.

’The aura of the Thunder Dao...’

Meanwhile, Feathered Robe, the Goddess from the Thunder Emperor Palace in the Qingming World, stood gracefully. She was sacred and flawless, and within her ethereal, beautiful eyes, a five-colored Thunder Sea was brewing.

She sensed a Thunder Dao aura of an extremely high essence coming from Wu Dao, and her interest was piqued.

’He’s a walking treasure trove!’

The leaders of the Daluo World and the Fuguang World also had a sharp glint in their eyes; they sensed a ’fated opportunity’ in Wu Dao.

Although they couldn’t scry Wu Dao, there was no mistaking that faint, almost imperceptible attraction.

If they could just ’take out’ Wu Dao, they were certain they would reap this tribulation’s greatest rewards.

But as their gazes swept over the middle-aged man in green with the hanging gourd, a deep sense of dread flashed in their eyes. They suspected it wouldn’t be so easy.

And just as they expected...

”Hehe, fellow Daoists,” a calm voice rang in their minds. ”This little fellow shares a destiny with me. Would you permit me to claim him first?”

Though he spoke as if negotiating, his calm voice, which now echoed in the minds of the various world leaders, carried an unquestionable authority.

”You are too gracious, Celestial Venerable. Of course, we have no objection.”

A flicker of reluctance passed through the eyes of Lv Shengxin and the other world leaders, but they still agreed to Qing Yu Celestial Venerable’s request.

It wasn’t just because of his title, ’Celestial Venerable’.

More importantly, it was because of the faction he belonged to: the Celestial Court!

Hongyuan also had its tribulations.

When the world’s baleful energy and Tribulation Qi accumulated to a certain point, a ’Dao Tribulation’ would erupt to purge it.

Thirty thousand years ago, the Slaughter Emperor had bathed Hongyuan in blood.

In a sense, his heart had been deluded by Tribulation Qi, and he became the catalyst for the fifth Dao Tribulation.

During that tribulation, countless ancient Daoist Lineages and Emperor’s Lineages across the four worlds were extinguished in the river of time, and the number of lives affected was immeasurable.

But even so, among all the tribulations since Hongyuan’s creation, the Fifth Tribulation was merely a minor affair.

Before the Fifth Tribulation, Hongyuan had endured four other Dao tribulations that nearly overturned the world and annihilated everything on the Primordial Path.

As for the Celestial Court, its origins traced back to the Second Tribulation, and it was firmly established during the Third Tribulation. By the time of the Fourth Tribulation, the Celestial Court had already begun to exert its authority over Hongyuan. With countless years of accumulated resources, it left all other top factions of the era in its dust.

After the Fifth Tribulation, the four great worlds waned.

The Celestial Court, which had accumulated vast power, finally made its move and became the undisputed Crowned King of Hongyuan.

To this day, although the Celestial Court has yet to truly unify Hongyuan, everyone knew who the absolute Overlord of the Hongyuan Great World was—a power that could not be easily offended.

Furthermore, this request came personally from Qing Yu Celestial Venerable, a figure in the Celestial Court second only to the Great Celestial Venerable himself. Unless their own fundamental interests were at stake, who would dare be so tactless as to refuse?

WHOOSH—

Tens of thousands of miles away, the figures in every direction halted.

A fierce gale raged, causing their robes to flap wildly.

Surprise, indifference, scrutiny, affection... their gazes varied. But they all shared one thing in common: they looked upon him as one would a trapped beast about to die in its cage—or perhaps, a frog at the bottom of a well, trying to swallow the sky.

’Heh~’

Wu Dao’s eyes swept across the onlookers in every direction.

Not one of them met his gaze as an equal; all were filled with condescending arrogance!

The Sen Leng arc of his lips involuntarily curved upward a few more degrees.

FWOOSH FWOOSH FWOOSH—

His green robes fluttered, his aura lofty and inscrutable.

As the onlookers remained silent, Qing Yu Celestial Venerable strode forward. He crossed thousands of miles with a single step, stopping five thousand miles away, becoming the first person to step into the beast’s cage.

”Young friend, we meet again.”

A smile played on Qing Yu Celestial Venerable’s lips as he stood with his hands behind his back, calmly gazing at the towering, majestic figure in the center of the shattered world. He smiled faintly and said, ”This old man doesn’t ask for much. Just return Yaya to—”

Before he could finish his sentence.

BOOM—

The hurricane spanning ten thousand miles collapsed, and the world shook in all directions!

The murderous roar of a God and Demon exploded in all directions—

”You stray dog, all bark and no bite! I’ll kill you to christen my banner!”

Without any warning!

The defiant demon erupted!

RUMBLE—

It was as if the Celestial River had burst its dams, a force akin to the creation of Heaven and Earth!

Tens of thousands of miles of spacetime flickered violently, as if countless supernovas were exploding at once!

Boundless qi and blood erupted from Wu Dao’s every pore, like a billion ancient volcanoes exploding simultaneously.

Pillars of Essence Qi, thick as rainbows, pierced through layers of vacuum. They flickered violently, dazzlingly brilliant, and coalesced into a vast and sacred ancient cosmos.

VMMMM—

And at the very source of that cosmos!

Wu Dao’s eyes opened, like the awakening of the cosmic Candle Dragon. He transformed into the one and only man-shaped Divine Sun in that eternal sky, spewing forth incandescent light and heat. The entire cosmos shone only because it borrowed his light!

Human World Yang God!

The radiance of a single man, illuminating the world!

Even at a mere Half-step into the realm!

Once the vast Power and Yang Qi hidden within his Holy Spirit Blood erupted, it was enough for Heaven and Earth Creation, enough to incinerate all living beings!

The five-thousand-mile distance between them simply ceased to exist!

VMMMM—

The greatest sound is silence; the greatest form is shapelessness.

After that soundless, formless instant.

BOOM—!!!

The world dissolved into a twisted vista of Chaos!

The majestic God and Demon, his physique resplendent with Primordial Magnetism, clenched his fist to perform a Heaven Opening. His fist was like an Ancient Golden Crow dragging the weight of the eternal cosmos as it fell to the mortal world. An ultimate power of light and heat erupted, blasting apart the Chaos!

THOOM!!!

Faster than a thought could form.

A world-ending fist!

As the pupils of all the onlookers contracted in shock.

Just like someone disciplining a stray dog.

It smashed viciously down upon the one who stood at the apex of Hongyuan’s nobility!

The lord of one of the Celestial Court’s heavens...

Right on top of Qing Yu Celestial Venerable’s head!!

Silence!

A deathly silence!

The world seemed to freeze in that instant.

In the nearly frozen spacetime, the defiant, towering God and Demon looked down upon all, his fist a weight upon creation. His twisted, ferocious face wore a smile like that of a Purgatory Evil Ghost.

Beneath that fist, ripples of devastating Power spread out from the crown of Qing Yu Celestial Venerable’s head.

His face began to twist, bit by bit.

That proud spine, which had only ever bent for one person in all of Hongyuan, began to curve by an almost imperceptible degree!

It was slowly bending!

”Kneel!!!”

The Purgatory Demon God’s voice once again shattered the Nine Heavens, carrying a tyrannical will that was utterly lawless and acknowledged no authority but its own.

VMMMM!

The incandescent light and heat suddenly intensified. The eternal cosmos he dragged with him grew deeper and heavier, rumbling as it ground down with crushing force!

THUD—THUD THUD THUD!!

Ripples of pure, savage Power were unleashed, and the tens of thousands of miles of empty space beneath Qing Yu Celestial Venerable shattered like glass, layer by layer.

The vast continent far below, under the crushing weight of immense gravity, was instantly flattened into a disc-shaped crater. It then collapsed madly downward, sinking for an unknown number of miles and forming a cylindrical, pitch-black Abyss.

BOOM!

The Celestial Venerable shot through the air like a falling star, plunging into the darkness.

The Abyss shook and tidal waves of Power surged. The thousands of mountains in the blast’s path trembled, then exploded into nothingness!

One punch!

A Celestial Venerable fell from grace, and alarm bells rang in the hearts of all who watched!

CLANG CLANG CLANG—

Each clang was an alarm that shook them to their core.

’Half-step Yang God? No, it’s impossible... he can’t be this strong!’

Bai Wuhen, the Domain Master of the Life Destruction Domain in the Luotian Sword Realm, was a man whose status was just a notch below that of Qing Yu Celestial Venerable. His wild red hair billowed as he held a scarlet longsword shaped like a discipline ruler.

This sudden, shocking turn of events was so stunning that it made him forget to even process the unbelievable sight of a Celestial Venerable being struck down by a junior of a similar realm.

His eyes were fixed on the Purgatory Evil Ghost that was Wu Dao. Feeling the oppressive life force radiating from the restrained but boundless Blood of the Holy Spirit, a grave expression appeared on his face for the first time.

His blood became a cosmos, his body illuminated the world!

The Human World Yang God of the Horizontal Refining Tenth Dao Gate!

It was unbelievable, but reality was playing out right before their eyes.

Everything proved that Wu Dao, in a desolate backwater like the Divine Wilderness, had somehow stepped into the realm of the Horizontal Refining Ten Daoist Sects!

What was even more terrifying was that at a mere Half-step, he had displayed enough power to catch a ’young’ Celestial Venerable off guard and knock him into the Abyss!

Bai Wuhen was certain of it.

Wu Dao’s Horizontal Refining Tenth Dao Gate... was anything but normal!

’Should we...’

In that fleeting instant, Wang Fu Jian, the Sword Abyss Gatekeeper who also hailed from Daluo Heaven, sent a message thick with chilling killing intent.

The Daluo World held the greatest enmity toward the Divine Wilderness. Their Common Lord had been a mortal enemy of the Slaughter Emperor, and that hostility had been passed down through generations. They could not tolerate any unexpected variables emerging from the Divine Wilderness.

But before Bai Wuhen could voice his disagreement.

”Stand down!”

A cold snort, tinged with a frosty chill, echoed up from the bottom of the Abyss.

It was as if an angered heaven had opened its eyes.

A Celestial Might as oppressive as a prison, a voice like thunder.

The sound rumbled through the hearts of every living being, a power capable of suppressing all disobedience and rebellion.