Essence Devouring Art

A Taoist Influence.

Beneath the Common Lords, yet above the Ten Thousand Unities.

Their names thundered throughout the All Heavens and Myriad Realms. They were known by all, and few dared to offend them!

ROAR—

The Nine Dragon Thunder Chariot tore through the core region unimpeded, hanging high in the Nine Heavens. The shadow of its Thunder Sea enveloped a vast expanse of space and time.

No explanation was needed.

The Little Thunder King’s arrival meant that the Thunder Emperor Palace wanted a piece of the pie, and it would have to be given!

”I heard the Little Thunder King cultivates the Immortal Body, Soul, and Three Paths simultaneously. He has Monster Level talent and inherited the Cang Lei Saint Body from the Thunder King of the Thunder Emperor Palace!”

”That’s right. He most likely came here to break through to the Twelve Dao Gates Undying Body. He’s determined to get his hands on the treasures of the Boundless Sacred Land!”

”Now we’ve got a good show to watch. The rule on the Taiyi Emperor Star is that everyone relies on their own abilities. Other factions might give the Thunder King some face, but when it comes to a major Creation, there’s bound to be a fierce struggle.”

The Celestial Prides from all the different Worlds looked up at the vague, imposing figure within the Nine Dragon Thunder Chariot, whose presence was as majestic as the Thunder God himself. They murmured amongst themselves, their gazes sweeping over the other top-tier factions from All Heavens in the area.

The Little Thunder King.

The son of the Thunder King, Peak Master of Cang Lei Peak in the Thunder Emperor Palace—a Taoist Influence in the Qingming World!

He had made his debut a mere fifty years ago.

And he had already stepped into the Emperor Grade realm of the Twenty-four Heavens!

The Twenty-four Celestial Caves.

It wasn’t particularly high.

In terms of pure cultivation level, many of the Celestial Prides present surpassed him!

But cultivation level did not equal strength!

The Three Paths and Twenty-four Heavens!

A Monster Level Demon!

His strength couldn’t be measured by his realm at all. In a real fight to the death, only a Daoist Child at the Twenty-Eight Layers of Heaven or above in a single path would be qualified to face the Little Thunder King!

With such power,

The Little Thunder King was, without a doubt, the strongest contender for the greatest treasure in the Boundless Sacred Land this time.

However,

the other factions could not be underestimated.

The Profound Yellow World, the Buzhou World, the Fuguang World, and the Qingming World!

The Nine Heavens of Primordial Chaos!

Emperor Level Overlord Forces from four of these Worlds had their eyes on the unsealed Boundless Sacred Land!

Although the leaders of these groups lacked the foundation of a Monster like the Little Thunder King, every single one of them had a pure cultivation level at the Pocket Realm of the Twenty-four Heavens or higher!

They were all top-tier Celestial Prides whose names shook their respective Worlds. Even an Emperor’s Son had to step aside; the Daoist Children were the true protagonists of this grand event!

Moreover,

they all wielded World Heavy Artifacts.

If a true battle were to break out,

it was truly hard to say who would emerge victorious.

’A monster, is he?’

At the edge of the Saint Realm’s space-time,

Wu Dao, dressed in a black Daoist Robe, gazed at the Little Thunder King’s Treasure Chariot hanging high in the Nine Heavens. He could clearly sense what seemed to be an ancient Thunder God of supreme, tyrannical might lying dormant within!

However,

it was only for a single glance.

Wu Dao calmly retracted his gaze. The Little Thunder King was certainly powerful, but his main target was the one inside the Ancestral Land.

At this thought,

Wu Dao’s gaze shifted to the fissure in the Boundless Ancestral Land, which was spewing out a deluge of Creation Essence Qi. He then looked at the Celestial Prides from All Heavens, who were all rubbing their hands in anticipation, and a strange expression crossed his face.

Who could have imagined

that inside what they believed to be a heaven-defying treasury,

a little mouse had already scurried in long ago? He wondered just how much it had eaten, and if there were any scraps left.

’Fellow Daoist Yang Li, shall we join forces?’

Outside the fissure of the Boundless Ancestral Land,

Lian Yue, the Daoist Child of the Eternal Emperor Sect, had a body like a Tyrannosaurus Divine Peak and the face of a Fierce God. After sweeping a cold glance over the surrounding Daoist Children from the various Worlds, he sent a voice transmission to Yang Li, the Daoist Child of the Xing’e Imperial Dynasty.

’I was just thinking the same thing.’

Yang Li nodded coldly. His face was pale and strange, and he wore a Plague Disaster Daoist Robe. He exuded a gloomy aura, and his eyes were filled with a bone-chilling cold.

Too many factions had gathered here now.

It would be impossible to gain much by fighting alone. Only by joining forces could they contend with the Little Thunder King and the others.

After forming their alliance,

the two of them took a deep breath, barely suppressing their frustration and anger. They snorted coldly and spoke in a booming voice to the surrounding factions, ”The crack in the Boundless Ancestral Land has already been chiseled open. If we work together, we can open it immediately.

If you all still want to reap what you haven’t sown,

then you can all just wait. In any case, we won’t be putting in any more effort.”

Their words were laced with fury.

After all, they had been played for fools for months. If they could still just laugh it off and accept their losses, they’d have the patience of a living Black Tortoise.

The moment his voice fell,

before the various factions could even react,

”Stop dawdling. Get out of the way!”

A tyrannical, cold snort suddenly echoed from within the Nine Dragon Thunder Chariot. It was like the roar of an angry sky god, stirring up countless waves in the Thunder Sea.

The next moment—

DONG—BOOM!!

The silhouette of a Divine Being appeared in the Nine Heavens Thunder Sea, beating a great hammer against a wedge. The sound waves struck like thunder, shaking the very sea of consciousness of every living being.

CRACKLE!!

A purple divine lightning bolt, crackling and blazing across the vast Nine Heavens, tore through space and time.

Carrying the Power to both destroy and create a World, it commanded the boundless might of the Thunder Sea, cleaved the vast universe of the Holy Elephant in two, and struck viciously at the fissure in the Ancestral Land!

KRAK—BANG BANG BANG!

The tide of purple divine lightning, carrying a world-destroying power of ultimate yang and tyranny, cascaded down again and again, continuously widening and blasting through the Ancestral Land’s fissure.

The endlessly spreading and erupting destructive Thunderbolt

made the hearts of the surrounding Daoist Children and Emperor’s Sons pound with fear. He had clearly used a World Heavy Artifact, and an Emperor Grade one at that, one that was almost fully revived to its peak. The display of wealth was utterly domineering.

”So tyrannical.”

Amidst the chaotic and violent spiritual energy of the Saint Realm, the smaller factions kept a wide berth, watching the Divine Being in the Nine Heavens that wielded a hammer and commanded thunder to strike the Ancestral Land.

They had long heard that the Little Thunder King was brutal and tyrannical, having inherited his overbearing temperament from the Thunder King. He was, for all intents and purposes, the little overlord of the Qingming World.

They had no doubt

that if they didn’t get out of the way,

the Little Thunder King wouldn’t care one bit if they lived or died. To die here would be to die in vain.

BOOM!

After the Little Thunder King’s relentless bombardment with his Emperor Grade Heavy Artifact, heedless of the cost,

the fissure in the Boundless Ancestral Land finally widened into a gaping maw and shattered completely. It spewed forth endless Divine Spirit Radiance, revealing a vast, boundless Immortal Sacred Land within!

WHOOSH...

Endless ancient Energy diffused outwards.

Everyone present activated their Divine Eye Dharma Eye, their gazes filled with the urgent excitement of opening a treasure chest as they peered into the Ancestral Land.

”My heavens! Great Medicine of Creation! On a mountain, I see a sentient, dragon-shaped great medicine of Creation! It looks like the Ten Thousand Dragons Tree! A whole grove of them, an entire grove!”

Someone spotted a group of brazen blood dragons in a medicinal garden atop a Divine Mountain, breathing in Celestial Essence and Earthly Splendor. With every sway of the Ten Thousand Dragons Trees, a deluge of Essence Qi scattered into the air!

”A Divine Gold Mine! It’s a Five Elements Mother Copper Ore Vein, enough to forge a Heavy Artifact!”

”Golden Cores that have gained sentience! Good heavens, they’ve undergone Spirit Transformation and are just wandering around!”

...

Cries of shock and excitement rang out endlessly.

The reserves of the Treasure of Creation within the Boundless Ancestral Land were simply astonishing. It was a veritable Treasure Mountain and Treasure Sea. If it were completely emptied, one could build an entire peak-level race!

”The Infinite Holy Hall!”

Compared to those inexperienced minor factions, the Little Thunder King, Yang Li, Lian Yue, and the other Monster Level Daoist Children...

...had their gazes instantly leap across thousands of mountains and rivers to lock onto the golden Holy Hall suspended in a Star Sea of immortal light at the center of the Boundless Ancestral Land!

The Infinite Golden Body!

The supreme inheritance of the Boundless Sacred Land!

The core treasure!

It was surely all inside that Holy Hall, the symbol of the Boundless Sacred Land’s center of power!

”ROAR—”

The roar of a Thunder Flood Dragon shattered the Nine Heavens as the Little Thunder King drove his Treasure Chariot, leading a group of Emperor’s Sons from the Thunder Emperor Palace. He was the first to charge into the Boundless Ancestral Land.

”Get the Holy Hall first!”

Yang Li and Lian Yue’s eyes were also bloodshot, their breathing heavy. They led their own group of Celestial Prides, following close behind with immense momentum.

After them,

came the various Imperial Influences from the four Worlds, who also poured into the Ancestral Land.

”The Little Thunder King and his group only want the Holy Hall! The rest is up for grabs! What are you waiting for? A heaven-defying Creation is right in front of you! Charge!”

After the major factions had gone in,

someone in the crowd suddenly roared.

This completely ignited the greed of the thousands of Celestial Prides, suppressing the fear in their hearts. They scrambled over one another as they surged into the Sacred Land.

”That bastard! Who shouted that!?”

At the head of the pack,

the Little Thunder King heard the roar from within his Thunder Chariot. He turned to see the massive flood of Celestial Prides from All Heavens pouring into the Sacred Land, and his eyes practically spewed thunder and fire!

Originally, that mob of mud-legs,

intimidated by the might of their few Imperial Influences, would never have dared to enter the Ancestral Land to compete for treasures.

Once the Holy Hall was claimed,

the other Creations would have just been divided amongst their factions.

But now, some bastard had shouted, and greed had completely overwhelmed fear. All the Celestial Prides had rushed in.

Though the Little Thunder King was tyrannical,

he wasn’t brainless. If he tried to forcefully stop and slaughter all these Celestial Prides, and even one managed to slip through the net, not even the Thunder Emperor Palace could withstand the resulting resentment.

”If I find out who it was, I’ll rip their mouth off!”

Yang Li and the others also wore extremely ugly expressions. Their murderous gazes swept over the massive influx of Celestial Prides, but they couldn’t lock onto the person who had just shouted.

”What’s the fun in it being so cold and empty? The more the merrier.”

Outside the fissure,

the instigator, Wu Dao, grinned as he watched the thousands of Celestial Prides from All Heavens pour into the Boundless Ancestral Land like a can of sardines. To him, they looked like a flock of fat sheep.

’Alliance Leader, when do we make our move?’

At that moment,

Zhao Jianji arrived with a group of fully-armed Primordial Demons. Hiding in the void, he sent an eager voice transmission.

After a month of grueling, life-or-death training,

their growth, aided by the Primordial Magnetism Demon Body, was astonishing.

Every member had reached the Third Layer of the Divine Demon Body or higher. The strongest, Zhao Jianji, had even reached the Thirteenth Layer, enough to unleash the full Mighty Power of a Heavy Artifact to its Limit.

’No rush. Wait for my signal.’

Wu Dao watched the endless stream of Celestial Prides pouring into the Boundless Ancestral Land. With a thought, a hundred of his Incarnations, hidden in the surrounding space-time, also moved into position.

Just as he had said:

The Heaven-Stealing Alliance either takes nothing...

...or it takes everything!

After arranging his Incarnations to hide around the fissure of the Ancestral Land,

”Let’s go!”

Wu Dao saw that nearly all the Celestial Prides from All Heavens within the Saint Realm had surged into the Ancestral Land, with only a few stragglers hesitating. He then led the Primordial Demons silently into the Ancestral Land.

BOOM!

”Get lost! This is mine!”

”You’re courting death!”

As soon as he entered the Ancestral Land,

Wu Dao saw a Divine Mountain that pierced the Nine Heavens Star Sea collapse. Two Celestial Prides, from who knows which World, were fighting over an Immortal Herb and Treasure. Their battle shattered the heavens and earth, causing stars to fall.

”The Bright Sun Sacred Land has claimed this mine! Scram if you don’t want to die!”

”Who the hell do you think you are!?”

”Kill!”

...

Everything he saw and heard along the way

was a perfect depiction of the primitive food chain. Slaughter and plunder were everywhere.

Screams of pain, angry curses, excited roars...

Mountains and rivers shattered, and the universe fell into chaos.

Millions of years of dead silence were broken. Seas of blood and beacons of war quickly stained the entire Ancestral Land, which had once been filled with holy light and auspicious signs.

It proved that

when the benefits were great enough,

there was no difference between humans and animals.

Wu Dao swept his indifferent gaze across one battlefield after another.

He didn’t stop, but instead led the Primordial Demons at full speed toward the majestic Celestial Palace Sacred Hall at the center of the Ancestral Land’s Nine Heavens Star Sea.

The closer he got,

the more he could sense a very ’intimate’ aura from deep within the Holy Hall!

It was calm and unhurried, yet condescending.

It was as if it were looking down on a pitiful worm wallowing in the mud, exactly like that useless batch of Celestial Venerable Great Powers who had descended upon the Divine Wilderness back then!

The difference was,

on this person,

Wu Dao could clearly feel an undisguised, bone-chilling killing intent!

Speaking of which,

this little darling and his predecessor had a pretty good relationship.

The closer they got,

the more their karmic auras collided.

More bonds emerged—

In the dead of winter, goose-feather snow fell.

A thin, sallow ’Mo Chen’ struggled to place a bundle of firewood inside a dilapidated little courtyard. After catching his breath, he waved to the Little Douding inside the house and called out:

”Su Chen, hurry and start a fire to brew your medicine. I’m heading back now.”

”Brother Mo Chen!”

From inside the house,

a scrawny, monkey-like boy with yellow hair ran out. He was sweating profusely after just a few steps, his face as pale as paper. He knelt on the ground, wiping away tears as he spoke with immense gratitude:

”My parents died early, and I’m plagued by a chronic illness. If it weren’t for Brother Mo Chen... When I make something of myself in the future, I will definitely repay you.”

”Repay me? Get up, quickly...”

BUZZ!

The vision was cut off.

Wu Dao looked up toward the Nine Heavens Star Sea.

His Black Abyss eyes crossed the vast expanse of space-time and met a pair of cold, indifferent eyes shrouded in Chaos. The curve of his lips grew even more amicable:

”Hello, Su Chen.”