Essence Devouring Art

RUMBLE—

Nirvana Valley.

Thunder boomed and rolled as the world turned upside down!

Guang Jun’s Twenty-four Heavens Undying Body erupted with full force. An endless, world-ending torrent of energy spewed from his pores, making him look like a venerable God and Demon remaking the world with Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind!

He cleaved down with the Fangtian Halberd in his hand.

The burial soil of the Ten Directions exploded into an abyss, and the astral winds of the Nine Heavens’ crimson cloud sea were blasted apart by the surging black and gold thunderfire!

Countless pocket dimensions and Grotto Heavens were annihilated. Nirvana City, swaying like a lone boat on a stormy sea, would have been instantly reduced to nothingness if not for the protection of its Heavy Artifact Grand Array!

Horizontal Refining Twelve Gates Undying Body!

Immortal and indestructible, a venerable existence in the universe!

Within the Hongyuan System, it was truly unparalleled and invincible among those in the same realm. Some Great Realms would find it difficult to nurture even one such individual, even if they exhausted all their power.

Not to mention a Twenty-Four Celestial Levels Undying Body like Guang Jun’s. With a raise of his hand, he could shake the Star Sea; with a drop of his fist, he could annihilate all realms. It was easy for him to cross three minor stages to fight those at his same major realm. He would be called an expert anywhere he went!

’An Undying Body, tsk tsk.’

Sikong Xuan, who had retreated to a safe distance, watched the mighty Guang Jun with a storm of thoughts in his mind. Although he was reluctant to admit it, he knew he was no match for Guang Jun in a head-on clash.

The higher one went on the path of Transverse Cultivation, the fewer fellow travelers there were, and the more terrifying the transformation of one’s fundamental life essence became.

Take Tao Chuan, the Lord of Fighting Realm, for example. He was the only one in the Creation Realm among the three great competitors, yet no one dared to look down on him. The reason was that Tao Chuan possessed a Thirty-Three Heavens Perfection Undying Body!

A Horizontal Refiner of this caliber had such tenacious lifeblood and Life Force that even a Saint Realm Great Power would find them difficult to kill!

Once they achieved Body Ascension and became a Saint, they would be indestructible by worldly tribulations.

At the same level, they could cut down their enemies like chopping vegetables!

’What a vibrant and youthful body.’

Elder Ji’s eyes were filled with envy and jealousy. Once one achieved an Undying Body, their lifespan would match the heavens. As long as there was no external interference, they had already achieved immortality.

’This young man has no idea of the immensity of heaven and earth. He’s probably about to take a huge fall!’

Out of sheer jealousy, Elder Ji couldn’t help but curse him maliciously in his heart.

BOOM—

The very instant that thought arose, the storm of destruction kicked up by Guang Jun’s Fangtian Halberd seemed to obey his wish.

It halted at the edge of the canyon suffused with the Three-Colored Divine Fire, whipping Zhao Jianji’s black robes about but unable to advance another inch!

BUZZ!!

In that same instant, a terrifying pressure, as if Three Thousand Worlds were being overturned, erupted from the core of Nirvana Valley.

It was like an enraged primeval Saintly Demon had awoken. The Law Order of Three Thousand Worlds roared and wailed, on the verge of total collapse!

BUZZ!!

Deep within the blurry chaos of Nirvana Valley, a pair of terrifying eyes slowly opened, containing the horrifying vision of All Heavens rising and falling, living and dying.

The moment those eyes opened!

The vast Nirvana Valley began to tremble violently!

The void in all Ten Directions exploded into Chaos. Billions of layers of thunderfire rolled back to incinerate the heavens. All things and all beings became as insignificant as ants. Under that inviolable holy might, their minds went blank. They dared not look directly, capable only of kowtowing!

”The Saint Realm?!?!”

The instant Guang Jun was locked in the gaze of those terrifying eyes, he felt the undying blood and qi in his entire body freeze. His mind plunged into a bottomless abyss, and he couldn’t even move an inch!

”Hiss... Peak Saint Realm, at least!”

Sikong Xuan, watching from afar, was so frightened he dropped his Feather Fan. Elder Ji’s scalp went numb, and without a second thought, he turned and fled for his life!

Within Hongyuan, those in the Creation Realm were called experts.

But those in the Saint Realm were called Great Powers!

It implied they had Mighty Divine Power and were nigh omnipotent!

While it was an exaggeration, the saying ”all are ants below the Saint Realm” was a universally acknowledged fact throughout All Heavens!

Compared to the Saint Realm, a life form from the Creation Realm was from a completely different dimension. There was simply no comparison!

No matter how demonic a genius in the Creation Realm was, at most, they could forge thirty-three Inner Worlds.

But once one became a Saint, their Inner Worlds would undergo a great leap and transformation by refining Innate World Mother Qi. Not only would their World Law Order become complete, but they would also instantly expand to Three Thousand Worlds, which was a Small Thousand World!

Compared to that, calling someone from the Creation Realm an ant would be a compliment!

Throughout history, no existence, no matter how demonic or heaven-defying, could cross this chasm to defeat a Saint by their own power. This was an iron law!

The same went for a perfected Undying Body.

Being able to punch above one’s weight didn’t mean one could truly contend with them. If you really encountered a Saint Realm Great Power in their prime, no matter how tenacious your life was, they could still slap you into oblivion!

The Saint Realm experts in the Burial Realm were generally well-known.

Elder Ji never imagined that a Saint Realm Alien Species would actually emerge in this barbaric Border Wilderness, and that they had been swaggering right up to its doorstep.

They were practically courting death!

If that Nirvana True Lord were to get angry, relying on the power of Nirvana Valley as a forbidden zone, even Jia Baocai and Liang Chen would have to think twice before acting!

”AHHH!!!”

As he fled for his life, Elder Ji heard a bloodcurdling, inhuman roar from behind him. A fleeting glance nearly scared the soul out of his body!

The vast Nirvana Valley!

In an instant, it had transformed into a giant black hole that devoured All Heavens!

From the abyss at the end of that infinite darkness, an indescribable, multi-colored, and ominous great hand reached out.

It encompassed all existence, obscuring the light and time of all realms!

And with a single slap, it annihilated Guang Jun—who, despite fully unleashing his Undying Body and being as majestic as a world, was still as tiny as a speck of dust—into the void!

One slap!

That’s all it took!

A Twenty-four Heavens Undying Body. Guang Jun, who could fight opponents up to the Twenty-Seven Layers of Heaven, was instantly blasted into tribulation ashes, deader than dead!

Run, run, run!!

Elder Ji’s mind went blank. The only thought left was to escape. To hell with the Yang Realm Heaven-Burying Stele! It was better to die later than sooner!

It all sounds like it took a long time to describe, but from start to finish, it only lasted a few moments.

An existence who had roamed the Burial Realm freely had his body and Dao perish. It all felt like a dream, yet it was a bloody reality!

RUMBLE—

The terrifying Black Abyss in the depths of Nirvana Valley dissipated.

The thundercloud sea of the Nine Heavens and the astral winds of the abyss still echoed violently.

Nirvana City was like a flickering firefly in the Dark World. Inside, the billions of Demon Cultivators, who felt like they had just taken a trip to the Yellow Springs, were utterly silent.

GULP~

At the edge of the dark abyss, Sikong Xuan stood with his hair disheveled. His Feather Fan was nowhere to be seen, and the calm composure of a carefree hermit was gone. His face was deathly pale as he subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

That slap just now had been too world-shatteringly absolute. Its might and momentum were enough to refine and destroy Three Thousand Worlds. It was undoubtedly the Mighty Power of the Saint Realm!

In fact! It wasn’t even an ordinary Saint!

Sikong Xuan had seen Jia Baocai take action before.

Comparing the two, Jia Baocai was like a child just learning to walk. His application of the Law Order was nothing compared to the unfathomable Nirvana True Lord.

Could it be that the Nirvana True Lord was a Great Saint or even a Saint Master who was rebuilding his cultivation after a calamity...

A terrifying guess emerged. Sikong Xuan didn’t dare to think about it any further. If not for the Divine Envoy’s prior voice transmission, he would have definitely turned tail and run just like Elder Ji!

”Come in. Our True Lord has a deal to discuss with your master.”

In the great canyon of Nirvana Valley, Zhao Jianji spoke to Sikong Xuan with a casual air, holding a Heaven-Burying Stele in his right hand.

The Yang Realm Heaven-Burying Stele!

Sikong Xuan stared at the Heaven-Burying Stele in Zhao Jianji’s hand. He took a deep breath to suppress the shock in his heart, straightened his appearance, and walked into Nirvana Valley with a stiff smile on his face.

Jia Baocai’s original intention was to offer some small benefits to send them away. If they didn’t know what was good for them, he would use force to seize it.

But now...

Seize it by force?

That would be asking for a death wish.

He feared they would have to pay a steep price to get this Heaven-Burying Stele.

’I hope the conditions aren’t too outrageous.’

His thoughts in turmoil, Sikong Xuan nervously relayed the news to Jia Baocai while stepping into a teahouse that Zhao Jianji had conjured.

While Zhao Jianji and Sikong Xuan were discussing the deal, in the core region of Nirvana Valley, within the Five-Colored Thunderfire, a large, starry, and profound cocoon unraveled layer by layer, revealing the Infinite Holy Hall, its immortal golden light now withdrawn and calm.

PHEW~

Within the Five-Colored Thunderfire, Wu Dao’s Sea of Origin was withered and dim. It only began to recover its vitality after devouring a massive amount of Celestial Tribulation Dao Source. ’The price of posturing is really high,’ he thought.

In order to revive the Infinite Holy Hall, the Heaven-Stealing Alliance’s trump card, the Little Thousand Innate World Mother Qi, was burned up in a few moments. Only then was he able to display the fleeting Mighty Power of a peak Saint.

In order to disguise the unleashed Holy Soldier’s Magnetic Field as a Life Magnetic Field, all the Soul Coins stored by the Primordial Star Mother were burned away. Wu Dao, who controlled the soldier, also had the vast majority of his Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles burned, leaving only a few behind.

From the battle at Huanwu Mountain, he had obtained the complete version of ”Primordial Soldier Resolution.” After advancing to the Three Lives and All Things Realm, this Strongest Divine Technique, which allowed him to control the wonders of All Heavens across realms, became one of the branches of his Magnetic Field.

In addition, he had long since gained the recognition of the Infinite Holy Hall—in other words, it had acknowledged him as its master—which made controlling it much less difficult.

All of these factors combined resulted in the heaven-shrouding, world-ending slap that had crushed Guang Jun in the eyes of outsiders.

Unfortunately, he only had the power for that one slap.

That old coot Elder Ji got away.

But it didn’t matter.

The main point of this move was to frighten the tiger by shaking the mountain. It was enough for the Heaven-Burying Alliance to know that the Nirvana True Lord was a peak Saint they couldn’t mess with.

Of course, the main goal was still to increase his bargaining chips for the negotiation with Jia Baocai!

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~

While Wu Dao was recovering, on the outskirts of Nirvana Valley, Zhao Jianji and Sikong Xuan got down to business. Zhao Jianji’s tone was still faint and cold:

”The Heaven-Burying Stele is indeed of no use to the True Lord, but he won’t give it away for free either.”

”That’s only natural.”

Sikong Xuan sighed to himself, then said, ”What are the True Lord’s demands? Please speak freely, Divine Envoy. My master is a businessman; he prefers to make wealth amicably.”

”Simple.”

Zhao Jianji’s eyes narrowed slightly as he said flatly, ”Five Emperor Level Cultivation Techniques, and one gourd of Grand Thousand World Mother Liquid.”

”This...”

Hearing Zhao Jianji’s conditions, Sikong Xuan’s expression stiffened. If he weren’t wary of the True Lord, he would have slammed the table and stormed off in a rage.

What an exorbitant demand.

This was beyond extortionate!