Essence Devouring Art

When Liang Chen and Jia Baocai heard this, a chill instantly ran through their hearts.

They could naturally think of what Wu Dao had thought of. If Su Xiuqi truly dared to betray them and collude with outsiders—scheming with a tiger for its own hide—and had invited a Great Saint as reinforcement, then they would be no match for him at all.

They would either have to swallow their pride and settle for the leftovers, or flee with their Heaven-Burying Steles, ensuring no one got the treasure.

But who would want soup when they could have had meat!

...

”Damn you, Su Xiuqi! If you really dare... If you’re going to be ruthless, don’t blame me for being unjust!”

「In the Business Realm.」

Jia Baocai put away his Heaven-Burying Stele in disappointment.

His previously gentle expression turned into a grimace as he grit his teeth. He clearly wasn’t ready to give up and wanted to test his strength against Su Xiuqi.

”If my Liang Clan ancestor’s grave is to be dug up, I, the rightful descendant, will be the one to do it! Su Xiuqi, you’d better not force my hand!”

「In the Ten Thousand Dragons Realm.」

Liang Chen’s face was also filled with menace. His consciousness focused on a mark within his Communication Jade Talisman that he hadn’t contacted in a long time, his expression flickering between light and shadow.

「Battle Realm.」

Tao Chuan, an ambitious man in his own right, had naturally also learned of Su Xiuqi’s impending return. He even knew the exact time: one month from now.

”You old fossil, couldn’t you just enjoy your twilight years in peace? Why must you keep causing trouble?”

Among the three of them, Tao Chuan was the most caught off guard.

He controlled the fewest Heaven-Burying Steles and hadn’t yet performed the ”filial” act of inheriting Su Xiuqi’s foundation. His wings had not yet fully grown, and he had far too little say in matters.

However, he wasn’t about to quietly accept his fate.

If Su Xiuqi dared to make the first move, he would make the second. He would follow his superior’s lead and see who had more cards up their sleeve.

The news of Su Xiuqi’s return had, without a doubt, ignited the already highly pressurized powder keg that was the Red Dust Realm.

In order to fight for control of the assembly, the three competitors began a new round of struggle over the remaining Heaven-Burying Steles, fighting so fiercely they nearly bashed each other’s brains out.

Wu Dao, who was watching the fire from across the river, was meanwhile reaping benefits from both sides. He used the last ten Heaven-Burying Steles to swindle Liang Chen and Jia Baocai once more.

But the final few steles he never handed over to them.

Every time they asked, he told them to wait for news.

The two of them weren’t fools.

At this point, they understood that the Nirvana True Lord was deliberately stringing them along, waiting for the highest bidder.

What they couldn’t understand was where their competitor was getting so much Grand Thousand World Mother Liquid. No matter how high they raised their price, the Nirvana True Lord wouldn’t budge.

What they didn’t know was that from the very beginning, they had been receiving fakes!

Moreover, even if they were fakes, Wu Dao had no intention of giving them any more. At least, not before he possessed the strength to crush the Heaven-Burying Alliance. He wouldn’t let any one of them gather a complete set.

Amidst the rising storm, another half-month passed.

RUSSSHHH—

Deep within Nirvana Valley, Five-colored Thunderfire, interspersed with wisps of Six-colored Holy-level Nirvana Thunder Fire, burned so intensely that spacetime fell into Chaos and the order of the Heaven and Earth Rules seemed to evaporate.

This area was infinitely close to the Six-colored Nirvana Thunder Fire.

Even those at the perfection stage of the Undying Body would have to stop here; it was fundamentally impossible to survive within.

But Wu Dao could!

After the Nirvana Thunder Fire, a Phoenix Divine Technique, had become one of his branches, his affinity with Nirvana Valley’s Magnetic Field grew daily, and his adaptability improved by leaps and bounds.

Today, he had finally set foot in the limit zone of the Five-colored Thunderfire and could now draw in wisps of the Six-colored Thunderfire to temper his Tree Diagram.

If any living being were to step into this place, they would discover an incredibly fantastical scene.

At the edge of the Five-colored Nirvana Thunder Fire, at the core of a hundred million layers of thunderfire vortices, a magnificent, sacred, humanoid Tree Diagram undulated with its branches. At its end, countless root-like points of light were interconnected with the Magnetic Field of Nirvana Valley.

Within these innumerable points of light, magnetic fusion bodies spun like vortices and wheels, constantly expanding into the Grotto Heavens of various Dao Divine Techniques before contracting back into their initial magnetic source points.

Furthermore, as that indescribable Supreme Primordial Magnetic Dao Source, which seemed to contain everything and be the origin of the Three Thousand Great Paths, breathed in and out the thunderfire and Celestial Tribulation Dao Source, the countless points of light, after regrouping, would split and generate even more points of light.

With every breath, in every briefest instant, the Dao Source of the Tree Diagram and the quantity and quality of the Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles would increase like a roaring tsunami, seemingly without end.

Hooo...

After the Primordial Magnetic Dao Source exhaled once more, a thought stirred in Wu Dao’s mind.

He opened his attribute panel—

[Physique: Primordial Magnetic Dao Body]

[Extraordinary: Essence Devouring·Three Lives (1000/3000) +]

[Transverse Cultivation: Infinite Primordial Scripture·Divine Demon Perfection (300/1000) +]

[Divine Cultivation: Juntian Creation Scripture·Cave Heaven Perfection (350/1000) +]

[Soul Cultivation: All Phenomena Divine Luo Scripture·Cave Heaven Perfection (350/1000) +]

[Divine Format: Primordial Perfect Divine Monarch]

[Celestial Treasure: Bitter Dust Robe (Emperor’s Artifact 100%)

...

[Teleportation Points: ...]

Just one and a half months!

With the help of the Primordial Dao Wheel and massive resources, he had cultivated nearly seven hundred branches!

The progress of the second stage of Essence Devouring Art was one-third complete!

Under the nourishing feedback of these seven hundred branches, the volume of his three basic Extraordinary Dao Sources was pushed to the level of Primordial Grotto Heaven Perfection in one fell swoop!

A realm is just a realm. Power is power.

In fact, the volume of his three basic Extraordinary Dao Sources was far beyond what a mere Grotto Heaven Perfection could compare to; the attribute panel was simply judging it based on the Hongyuan realm system.

It didn’t represent Wu Dao’s true strength.

His top-down cultivation method meant that a slight increase in the Dao Source at the top of the Tree Diagram translated into a massive, base-10,000-scale increase in the Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles below.

From the First Layer!

Hundreds of thousands of trillions!

That is, tens of京.

Hundreds of 京, thousands of 京, tens of thousands of 京, 垓, tens of 垓, hundreds of 垓, thousands of 垓...

Climbing all the way to perfection!

Over thirty amplifications!

At this moment, the number of Wu Dao’s Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles, containing the attributes of a thousand Great Paths, had reached an astronomical figure that an ordinary person could never imagine!

From the Primordial Creation Realm onward, for an Extraordinary being, each layer was truly a world of difference!

Furthermore, it wasn’t as simple as dividing the Thirty-Three Heavens into thirty-three worlds of equal quality. It wasn’t a case of just cultivating them all to reach perfection.

Instead, with every layer one ascended, not only did the quantity increase, but the Inner World as a whole would also undergo a qualitative transformation.

Therefore, only by cultivating multiple Daos simultaneously and having an Inner World Dragon Vein with quality comparable to a High Tier one could one strike across realms.

For those on the same, single path, being one layer higher meant absolute domination. There was no chance of victory.

This was a recognized ironclad rule in Hongyuan.

And the higher the realm, the stricter this ironclad rule became.

However, no matter how great the gap, it was impossible for the difference between every level to be infinite!

That was just nonsense.

Before one achieved Dao Attainment, quantity could still make up for quality!

This was also why Wu Dao, with his vast number of Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles whose essence had only just begun to touch upon the Power of Rule, could step into a Semi-Saint’s Nirvana Thunder Fire Domain.

That’s right, a Semi-Saint!

Wu Dao’s Cultivation was the opposite of Hongyuan’s system, and his attribute panel only evaluated essence. As a result, his power was a complete anomaly.

The Creation Realm. The combat power of the Thirty-Three Heavens Perfection. He had long since surpassed it.

But the chasm between the Creation Realm and the Saint Realm was too terrifying; a thousand branches were far from enough.

Therefore, he was still in the Creation Realm, an unknown number of heavens below the Saint Realm.

Such a state was known as a Semi-Saint within Hongyuan.

This referred to Extraordinary beings whose Power had surpassed the Creation Realm but were still worlds apart from the Saint Realm. Among the Ten Great Demon Saints of the Heaven-Burying Alliance, six of them were at the Semi-Saint level of cultivation.

”Star Mother, compare my Magnetic Field with Jia Baocai’s. Disregarding all other factors, analyze my chances of victory.”

Wu Dao felt the vast, abyss-like Magnetic Field Power within him. With a thought, he decided to see just how big the gap was between him and the Saint Realm.

After multiple encounters, Star Mother had long since recorded Jia Baocai’s Magnetic Field and could perform a rough, surface-level comparison by modeling it.

WHIRRR—

The Star Mother Database activated.

In an instant, it constructed a data model of Jia Baocai at the magnetic information level, followed by one of Wu Dao at his peak state.

And then...

Well.

Wu Dao’s information model was slapped to death by Jia Baocai’s in a single blow, unable to even struggle in the slightest.

”Zero chance of victory.”

Star Mother manifested in the form of a young Yaya, a perfect sprite seemingly constructed from countless stars. With a blank, straight face, she loyally and bluntly stated the result.

At the same time, she also advised:

”Father God, please cherish your life. Do not aim too high.

The prerequisite for using quality to make up for quantity is that the gap in quality is not too large.

Your micro-essence currently only involves the Grotto Heaven level, which is a preliminary contact with the laws.

If you wish to defeat a Saint Realm being who has completely mastered one of the All Things Branches beneath the many Daos—that is, a complete rule-based magnetic field network—you must have the Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles of one thousand five hundred branches evolve to the Creation Realm essence, where they can utilize rules to refine and create worlds.”

’Right. Looks like I really was overestimating myself. And I even got ”scolded” by Star Mother.’

Wu Dao found it amusing.

He naturally knew a Semi-Saint couldn’t fight a Saint Realm expert. He just wanted to see how far off he was to facilitate his future plans.

”Don’t worry, your Father God cherishes his life more than anyone.”

Wu Dao’s consciousness, in the form of a large hand, ruffled Star Mother’s little head. After tossing her the newly acquired Emperor Scripture, he turned and stepped into an even more dangerous area, exploding into micro-particles.

”Liar.”

Star Mother watched as Wu Dao once again entered a state of life and death, looking at him like an unscrupulous father who lied to his daughter. She gave a very human-like pout.

Afterward, like a hamster eating, she munched away at the glowing runic orb in her hands, which contained the Emperor Scripture, devouring the information within. The starlight in her eyes grew a little brighter.

To this day, Star Mother’s main body, the Dao Wheel, had long since reached the pinnacle of Half-Saint Weapons.

If she had a sufficient supply of Holy Soldiers to feed on, and if they waited until Wu Dao’s Divine Dao branch advanced to the Divine King level, then Star Mother’s advancement to a Holy Soldier would be just around the corner.

As for her intellect and computational power, after devouring countless Divine Souls and the brilliant crystallizations of civilizations from all the heavens, it was completely beyond measure by any realm.

An Emperor Scripture, from beginning comprehension to its very end... to her, was like a mortal eating a meal, merely a process of consumption and digestion.

’The improvement in Star Mother’s intellect and computational power might be of great help when it comes time for All Things to Arise from the Three. Once the primitive accumulation is complete, the Primordial Magnetic Dao Source will truly possess the authority of the Dao. It will begin to break away from its reliance on external Daos and start to create and derive its own branches. At that time, with the boost from Star Mother’s powerful computational abilities, the derivation process will surely be twice as effective.’

Wu Dao’s consciousness watched Star Mother, who had reverted to starlight and was operating the Dao Wheel to pour power into him, and he thought of the next stage of the Essence Devouring Art.

’Half a month...’

After retracting his thoughts, Wu Dao thought again of the impending return of Su Xiuqi and sneered inwardly.

’I just hope the Heaven-Burying Alliance behaves itself and doesn’t cause any trouble for me then. Otherwise, don’t blame me, Wu, for not abiding by martial virtue.’