Essence Devouring Art

A month passed.

In the Extraordinary Realm, it was practically nothing.

Just as Wu Dao had expected, the Heaven-Burying Alliance hadn’t given up; they were still clinging to hope.

The only change...

...was that they’d probably withdrawn all the wealth they had invested into Soul Coins, likely out of fear that Wu Dao would settle accounts with them later.

As for the other Demon Saints in the Burial Realm...

...most of them ultimately couldn’t resist their own greed. They dispatched numerous spies to watch the Emperor’s Tomb and secretly prepared all sorts of trump cards.

Meanwhile, Wu Dao...

...while urgently increasing the branches of his cultivation...

...also dispatched an Incarnation with the vast wealth he had amassed to the Daluo Celestial Domain.

Its mission was to visit trading houses renowned throughout the All Heavens and purchase various Big Killing Artifacts and Great Thousand World Mother Liquid.

Never underestimate an opponent.

This was a belief he always lived by.

He’d swindled two gourds of Great Thousand World Mother Liquid...

...from Jia Baocai and his companion. Naturally, they would anticipate his tactics and prepare countermeasures; they weren’t fools.

In that case...

...there was only one option left: spend a fortune.

Wu Dao wasn’t stubborn. If his own power was insufficient, he would use any external advantage he could get.

When resources are scarce, use surgical strikes.

When you’re rich, blanket everything in firepower!

Wealth.

Is also a form of power!

Cosmic Mountain, the Heaven-Burying Alliance, the Heaven-Stealing Alliance Treasure Vault, the Celestial Prides of the All Heavens, the Soul Coin industry...

The various resources and wealth he had accumulated...

...could rival that of an Ancient Holy Land!

If converted into actual strength, he alone could become a one-man super-fortress of war!

Of course...

...external power in the Extraordinary Realm...

...wasn’t like firearms that just anyone could wield.

If one’s own strength was lacking, possessing more power was just for show.

Take Emperor’s Weapons, for example.

Not only did they require Cosmic Chaos Mother Qi, but they also needed at least Great Saint Realm combat power to activate.

Even the Big Killing Artifacts a tier below Emperor’s Weapons...

...with few exceptions...

...required the power of the Saint Realm for normal activation.

Therefore...

...while purchasing various Big Killing Artifacts, Wu Dao didn’t neglect his own cultivation.

He cultivated every moment on the verge of self-destruction. The Primordial Dao Wheel was running at full capacity, unleashing the Divine No Evil Lotus to frantically pour power into Wu Dao and elevate his cultivation.

In just under a month...

...five to six hundred Second Generation Sub-wheels had already overloaded and been destroyed, and even the main body of the Primordial Star Mother was beginning to show cracks!

However...

...all this madness was worth it!

One month later.

When the field of rules at the entrance to the Heaven-Burying Emperor’s Tomb began to rapidly shift and weaken...

The Heaven-Burying Alliance.

And all the Demon Saints of the Burial Realm...

...all gathered confidently before the Heaven-Burying Great Tomb. They looked at their rivals as if they were watching clowns.

’The Nirvana True Lord, hah!’

Dressed in a long gray robe, his salt-and-pepper hair fluttering in the wind, Su Xiuqi’s gaze swept over the crowd of ’Polluted Bodies’ before the Emperor’s Tomb entrance as he sneered inwardly.

’A beast trapped in a cage.’

’To think it wants to compete with us for the spoils, relying on a few ’Chong Ghosts’... truly fanciful.’

’The Heaven-Burying Alliance has accumulated resources for ten thousand years.’

’During this time, we’ve converted nearly all of it into actual power. We’re not afraid now, even if the Nirvana True Lord breaks free.’

’As for...’

’...this group of clueless old relics.’

’This bullshit Black Mountain Demon Saint...’

’Their greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. Let them burn their final embers of light and heat to illuminate our grand path forward.’

’A prize like the Emperor’s Tomb isn’t something only you are willing to risk everything for...’

The group of Demon Saints, led by the Black Mountain Demon Saint, gave Su Xiuqi and the others a smile that didn’t reach their eyes.

’Any single one of us...’

’...may not have the wealth and resources of the Heaven-Burying Alliance, but if we join forces... Heh heh...’

While the Demon Saints at the Emperor’s Tomb were all plotting their own schemes...

「Deep within Nirvana Valley.」

Wu Dao’s metamorphosis had reached its most critical juncture. The Tree Diagram formed by the frenzied fission of his Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles resembled a colossal tree from the Star Sea. As the Supreme Dao Source flared, it drove countless root tips to squirm continuously into the Six-colored Thunderfire!

It was like a carp leaping the Dragon Gate!

As the Supreme Primordial Magnetic Dao Source crossed the thunderfire, the celestial sound of the Great Dao boomed like rolling thunder. Strands of Supreme Dao Vein Talismans intertwined and collided within it, as if performing genesis, giving rise to a spiderweb-like Power of World Rules.

Once the Primordial Magnetic Dao Source crossed this ’Dragon Gate’...

...a top-down metamorphosis would begin!

The very essence of the countless Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles would transform from a conglomeration of embryonic rule-based magnetic fields into something capable of creating a world-level field!

Quantity would make up for quality.

The chasm-like gap in power would be no more.

And Wu Dao would finally step into the realm of Saint Level combat power!

One percent...

Ten percent...

Twenty percent...

Driven by Wu Dao’s indomitable will, the Primordial Magnetic Dao Source transformed frantically, like a drill bit relentlessly pushing into the region of the Six-colored Thunderfire.

The metamorphosis grew more and more pronounced.

Until...

BOOM!!

When all of his Dao Sources broke past their ultimate shackles, Wu Dao heard the celestial sound of the Great Dao, heralding the birth of the All Heavens and Myriad Realms. His self-concept and informational awareness were elevated at incredible speed.

He watched as the Supreme Dao Source rapidly derived the origin of rules and channeled it into his three fundamental Extraordinary Dao Sources.

The three Daoist Masters of Essence, Qi, and Spirit...

...flourished like all of creation. Like young saplings, they rapidly sprouted branches, growing into towering trees whose root systems delivered higher-quality nutrients into the one thousand five hundred other Dao Sources.

The one thousand five hundred Daoist Masters of those Dao Sources...

...upon receiving this nourishment...

...also began to grow magnificent and mighty, sprouting branches and extending countless roots to transport nutrients to the very tips of the Tree Diagram.

BOOM!!

Like a cosmic big bang giving birth to countless stars, the Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles of various rule attributes, having received ample nutrients for their metamorphosis...

...began to reshape their microscopic magnetic field structures.

They were Breaking the Cocoon!

As the Primordial Magnetic Field of each particle unfolded, a miniature world was born. Networks of various rules spread out, complementing and generating one another to give rise to all things!

And at this very moment...

...Wu Dao could see, perceive, and even touch the boundless network of rules of the Primordial Path that permeated every inch of the spacetime outside him, as well as the magnetic field of higher-world Creation Qi that filled all existence!

Hooo~

The Primordial Magnetic Dao Source began to inhale like a black hole!

Instantly, the web-like network of external rules linked to his Dao Source!

They acted like countless siphons.

As the magnetic black hole spun, it frantically siphoned the Magnetic Field Power of various rules and the energy of Creation Qi from this space, converting it all into nourishment for Wu Dao’s metamorphosis.

If one could observe this from the domain of magnetic fields...

...they would witness a fantastical sight.

At the core was the Primordial Magnetic Dao Source!

Above, it connected to the root system of the Primordial Rules; below, it nurtured the tree-like network of Primordial Magnetism.

It was like sand flowing through an hourglass.

Or like a magnificent, ancient tree grafting onto a young sapling.

The sapling, the Primordial Magnetic Tree, ceaselessly devoured the nutrients from the roots of the Primordial Giant Tree, converting them into its own essence. It then fed this power back down from top to bottom, enhancing its own main trunk, branches, roots, and terminal nodes.

Every instant.

The number of Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles grew exponentially, finally reaching a quantity as vast as the sands of the Ganges. Miniature worlds then spawned within the magnetic fields unfolded by these particles, pushing Wu Dao’s Life Magnetic Field energy to a whole new level!

(Fun fact: Ganges Sand is a Buddhist numerical unit equivalent to 10^52. Even larger units include Asamkhya (10^56) and Nayuta (10^60)... For context, the estimated number of particles in the known universe is around 10^80.)

RUMBLE!

The Star Sea sank, the Nine Heavens shook!

Wu Dao’s metamorphosis was too astounding.

It provoked the wrath of the Great Dao. A terrifying sea of Celestial Tribulation roiled with world-ending power, seeking to bury the taboo and inauspicious existence within the valley!

The network of rules drawn in by the magnetic field...

...caused waves that shook the vast Nirvana Valley!

From the outside, even those at the peak of Creation Perfection could vaguely see it.

A great attractor seemed to have appeared in the core region of Nirvana Valley!

It rumbled as it pulled at the horrifying Thunder Sea of the Celestial Tribulation. Billions of layers of Nirvana Thunder Fire formed a titanic tornado that reached beyond the Ninth Heaven, annihilating the Star Sea. It was as if a Demon God was breathing in and out!

The mere sound was suffocating and chilling to the bone!

”Heavens! Is Nirvana Valley about to explode? The entire field of Heaven and Earth Rules is being drawn in, and it even spawned such an inauspicious Celestial Tribulation! My own Inner World is trembling on the verge of shattering!”

”Bullshit! As long as the True Lord is here, nothing can happen to Nirvana Valley!”

”Are there any Saint Realm Great Powers here? What in the world is happening in there?”

The terrifying changes in Nirvana Valley...

...caused a great panic in Nirvana City.

Every Demon Cultivator could clearly feel it: a source of impossibly violent destruction seemed to have appeared in Nirvana Valley!

If it were to explode...

...the consequences would be unimaginable!

Fortunately...

...that aura, which felt like the destruction of all realms, came and went in a flash.

As the fiery tornado that reached the Nine Heavens dissipated and fell back, the world-ending Celestial Tribulation was swallowed in a single gulp, and the destructive fluctuations in Nirvana Valley returned to calm.

”The True Lord is mighty! His Divine Power is boundless!”

The countless Demon Cultivators in Nirvana City, who felt like they had just had a brush with death, erupted in cheers, believing that the Nirvana True Lord had suppressed the great catastrophe.

Hmm...

And that was indeed the case.

With Wu Dao’s breakthrough complete and his ascension to a higher realm, the chaotic order of the world naturally returned to normal.

Hooo~

「At the edge of the Six-colored Thunderfire.」

Wu Dao let out a soft breath and opened his eyes.

Within his abyssal eyes, a turbine of starlike Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles spun. As their fields expanded and contracted, a sacred tapestry of worlds being born and then vanishing unfolded.

This was no illusion.

After mastering the root system of the Primordial Rules...

...any world created by one of his Primordial Magnetic Fields was real, each representing a different root system of rules, one of the one thousand five hundred attributes of the Great Dao!

Although they were miniature worlds...

...their size and quality were nowhere near that of a normal Saint Realm’s Small Thousand World.

But quantity made up for quality!

A Ganges Sand’s number of Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particle turbines—once unfurled, they would unleash the power of an equal number of world-fields!

With such unprecedented Magnetic Field Power...

...Wu Dao had a distinct feeling that if he unleashed the magnetic fields of all his Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles at once, he could effortlessly annihilate a sea of galaxies in an instant!

Oh.

Wait, no.

There was no need to estimate.

Wu Dao raised his gaze toward the region of the Star Sea beyond the Ninth Heaven, now completely dark and annihilated, which had been pierced by the Six-colored Thunderfire. That destruction was the result of the very magnetic fields he had stirred up during his breakthrough!

Saint Level combat power!

This was the majestic, boundless might of Saint Level combat power!

Within the Hongyuan System, a Saint Master Venerable could effortlessly shatter the primary structure of a cosmos with a mere wave of their hand.

As for the Emperor Realm...

Hooo~

Wu Dao retracted his gaze, not wanting to dwell on such lofty matters. He calmed the restless Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles and opened his attribute panel—

[Physique: Primordial Magnetic Dao Body]

[Extraordinary: Essence Devouring·Three Lives (1500/3000) +]

[Transverse Cultivation: Infinite Primordial Scripture·Undying Body (500/1000) +]

[Divine Cultivation: Juntian Creation Scripture - Creation (500/1000) +]

[Soul Cultivation: All Phenomena God Luo Scripture - Creation (500/1000) +]

[Divine Format: Primordial Lower-Rank God King]

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

...

[Teleportation Points: ...]

All Things Arise from the Three!

Wu Dao was already halfway there!

In the future...

...as his hunt progressed, more branches would be derived. Perfection was not far off.

RUMBLE—

He closed the attribute panel.

Wu Dao rolled his neck, producing a grinding sound like billions of worlds rubbing together. His magnificent, heaven-propping physique, like a Divine Peak rising to the sky, slowly straightened up, shaking the vast magnetic field around him.

”Heh, it’s nice to get a breath of fresh air and stretch my limbs once in a while.”

After viewing the scene at the Emperor’s Tomb, Wu Dao took an appreciative breath and broke into a sunny smile.

BOOM!

He took a single step, his wild hair flying!

The magnetic field of rules swarmed, forming a Celestial Blade!

The multi-colored Nirvana Thunder Fire before him instantly submitted, parting like waves. A wide, Heaven-Reaching path of the Great Dao instantly extended to the canyon at the far end!