Essence Devouring Art

CLANG!!

But before the denizens of All Heavens could even process what was happening, a bell tolled! It echoed once more through the Burial Realm!

The moment the Slaughter Emperor’s Incarnation became a bulwark to hold back the titans of All Heavens, Wu Dao was finally free. His eyes turned frigid as he decisively struck the Extreme Dao Bell!

CLANG CLANG CLANG—BOOM!!

The final three streams of Immortal Dao Light protecting Ye Xuan began to crack and shatter under the assault of the crimson torrent of slaughter unleashed by the Extreme Dao Bell!

”No!!”

From within the Chaos, a roar of maddening hatred erupted!

CLANG CLANG CLANG—

Wu Dao remained unmoved. Unleashing his Evil Lotus State to its very limit, he struck the Extreme Dao Bell again and again, relentlessly pulverizing the Dao Light that protected Ye Xuan’s Divine Soul!

’An opportunity like this would never come again!’

’Today, he would sever this karmic shackle!’

CLANG CLANG CLANG—

But at that very moment, the alarm bell in Wu Dao’s Heart Lake, which had just quieted, began to ring with frantic urgency. The Bitter Dust Robe teetered on the brink of collapse as another familiar, fundamental aura locked onto him—

The Dragon Hunting Tower!!

The viper in the dark!

With the titans of All Heavens occupied and Wu Dao’s trump cards all on the table, it finally bared its fangs!

The Extreme Dao Bell. The Free Divine Format. And Wu Dao, that strange anomaly who must be captured, an object of the Tower Master’s fascination.

All of them were gathered in one place!

It was worth any risk!

’They’re finally here...’

Wu Dao remained calm in the face of danger, a cold sneer forming in his consciousness. With the Bitter Dust Robe pushed to its limit, he could pinpoint the newcomers’ location!

’That makes things easy!’

VMMMM!

He abruptly changed the direction of the Extreme Dao Bell’s mouth. Burning the Chaos Mother Liquid and following the senses of his Bitter Dust Robe, he amplified his voice out into the Chaos beyond the heavens, roaring with frantic excitement:

”’When the dragons are headless, it is a day of great fortune for the world! We reverently welcome the Tower Master’s descent!!!’”

’What the hell?!’

Within the Dragon Hunting Tower, hidden in some unknown region of Chaotic Space-Time, the Supreme titans of the Dragon Hunting Tower, who had been on the verge of making their move, were momentarily stunned when they heard the voice booming from the Extreme Dao Bell.

But before they could react, back on the fiercely contested Chaos Battlefield outside the Burial Realm, the white-robed child—Great Zizai Heaven—had a flash of inspiration. Taking Wu Dao’s cue, he suddenly shouted toward a region of the Chaos:

”Tower Master, help me!!”

RUMBLE—

The mighty roar parted the Chaos, forcibly revealing a towering Nine-Layered Black Tower that had been lurking at the edge of the battlefield!

’We’re screwed!!!’

A collective ”FUCK!” resounded in the minds of the Dragon Hunting Tower’s leadership!

As if by reflex, they had a sinking feeling that they were about to be saddled with an enormous load of blame!

”You goddamn jinx!!”

A Supreme from the Dragon Hunting Tower felt his scalp tingle as dozens of Sen Leng gazes from across All Heavens locked onto them, and he couldn’t help but curse out loud!

’He was a total jinx!’

Anytime they got even remotely involved with that fiend, the Dragon Hunting Tower either ended up as the scapegoat or under siege by All Heavens. And now, another massive heap of blame was being dumped on them!

Worse, with the Dragon Hunting Tower’s reputation as vermin everyone loved to hate, explaining was useless. No one would even listen!

After the Great Freedom Celestial Demon’s shout, the Slaughter Emperor also knew what Wu Dao was thinking.

Now that he was exposed, he indeed needed to redirect the trouble.

So, without a moment’s hesitation, he twisted the knife in the Dragon Hunting Tower’s back:

”Hahaha! Excellent! If we get through this, I’ll agree to your Dragon Hunting Tower’s terms as well!”

’Terms?’

’What terms? Don’t just make things up!’

The members of the Dragon Hunting Tower were about to lose their minds.

’They’ve all planned this out!’

’So this is their shameless game, huh?!’

’Making it look like we’re teaming up with the two great Tribulation Masters for some earth-shattering conspiracy!’

”Dragon Hunting Tower!!”

”You are courting death!”

”This bunch of Hongyuan tumors, no wonder the Great Freedom Celestial Demon and the Slaughter Emperor dared to show themselves!”

”Destroy them!!”

...

The situation escalated once again!

The roars of even more titans echoed through the All Heavens Domains as they charged into the Sea of Chaos, giving the Dragon Hunting Tower absolutely no chance to escape!

Even the Crownless King Celestial Court of Hongyuan, which had, for some unknown reason, remained an indifferent spectator, finally made its move. After the Dragon Hunting Tower appeared, its Celestial Venerables received a Profound Celestial Order. They too charged into the Sea of Chaos, their target aimed squarely at the Dragon Hunting Tower, as if it contained something the Celestial Court was determined to acquire.

”Aaaargh! Bastards! This is too much!!”

The eyes of the Dragon Hunting Tower’s Supremes nearly burst from their sockets in fury!

They never expected it.

Not only had their ploy failed, but they had been smeared with a filth they could never wash away!

’How were we exposed?’

’There’s no time to think about it now.’

With the titans of All Heavens besieging them, the Dragon Hunting Tower could be overturned at any moment. They had no opportunity to be distracted by other thoughts. They had to fight, whether they wanted to or not!

RUMBLE—

The Endless Chaos Sea once again churned with colossal waves!

With the Dragon Hunting Tower now joining the fray as ”reinforcements,” the pressure on Great Zizai Heaven and the Slaughter Emperor suddenly decreased drastically.

In return, they would advance and retreat together with the Dragon Hunting Tower!

「In the distant Mountain and Sea Realm, on West Mountain, at the peak of the Jun Tian Supreme God Mountain.」

Two figures gazed out at the churning, turbulent Sea of Chaos, where all kinds of Great Dao divine lights clashed ceaselessly.

One of them, his gaze profound, said:

”Quite the spectacle. He is letting this happen deliberately. What is His intention?”

”A Dao Tribulation.”

The other, a perfect figure, her gaze reflecting the rapidly expanding Burial Realm, rippled slightly. She then looked out at the Hongyuan Heavenly Realms, where Tribulation Qi was rising, and said indifferently:

”A battle of this scale will breed endless Tribulation Qi within the Dao. All it needs is a little more fuel, and the Six Tribulations will begin on its own.”

”The Mountain and Sea will light the fire?”

The man across the chessboard toyed with a piece in his hand. Although it was a question, his tone carried an air of certainty.

”A Great Tribulation throws the Great Dao into chaos. The benefit isn’t His alone. It makes anything possible. It might even be possible to replace Him.”

In the perfect woman’s emotionless voice, for the first time, there was a hint of coldness.

”What about the Celestial Mandate? The Celestial Mandate for this tribulation is also in His hands.”

”Someone will help us shatter it.”

The corners of the perfect woman’s lips curled up slightly.

CLANG~

At this moment, the echo lingered as the Extreme Dao Bell fell silent.

Within the perfect woman’s perception, another seed of Celestial Mandate shattered!

”Dragon Hunting Tower!!!”

In the Sea of Chaos, the titans of the Luotian Sword Realm also sensed the shattering of that seed of hope. They instantly went berserk, recklessly attacking the members of the Dragon Hunting Tower!

”Aaargh!! You stupid pigs, just die!!”

The Dragon Hunting Tower was going insane too!

They unleashed all sorts of world-shocking hidden powers!

Their ferocity was unstoppable!

Standing firm under the siege of All Heavens!

They joined forces with their ”good allies,” the Slaughter Emperor and Great Zizai Heaven.

They fought until the Chaos bled, fought until they went mad!

It was hard to tell if they were mad with rage or mad with bloodlust.

CLANG CLANG CLANG—

「Within the Burial Realm.」

As the Extreme Dao Bell returned to tranquility, all the protections shielding Ye Xuan were torn apart. All signs of life were reduced to ash and smoke. He was deader than dead.

In that same instant, Wu Dao clearly sensed it.

The karmic shackle of the Great Dao that bound his very concept had vanished. On the future path to escaping the prison of the Great Dao, one towering Divine Mountain blocking his way was gone!

However...

’Now is not the time to relax.’

CLANG CLANG CLANG!

The Extreme Dao Bell’s ringing didn’t stop!

’The danger isn’t over!’

Titans battled in the Chaos.

Outside the Burial Realm, there were also Great Emperors from the Luotian Sword Realm and other Great Emperors from All Heavens. They had revived their Emperor’s Artifacts and were cleverly bypassing the Celestial Punishment, simultaneously suppressing the Burial Realm while bombarding the Great Freedom Celestial Kingdom!

If not for the Extreme Dao Bell being the Five Tribulations First Fierce Weapon and its ability to hold its own, Wu Dao would have long been turned into tribulation ash under the bombardment of the Emperor’s Weapons.

”Wu Dao, we can’t hold on much longer! Light the fireworks, quickly!”

The Great Freedom Celestial Demon manifested a shadow in the center of the Chaotic Space-Time that was being annihilated into nothingness, waving at Wu Dao and urging him on.

Behind Him, a holy white great sun illuminated the Chaos. It had already expanded to its limit, almost to the point of bursting the Great Freedom Celestial Kingdom.

This holy great sun was what the outside world saw as the Free Divine Format.

In reality, it was a diversionary tactic by the Great Freedom Celestial Demon!

A giant firecracker meant to detonate the main tribulation eye of the Burial Realm. The real Divine Format wasn’t in the Great Freedom Celestial Kingdom at all; He had taken it long ago!

”Wu Dao? Wu Dao?”

Seeing no reply from within the Extreme Dao Bell, the Great Freedom Demon urged him again. His figure was somewhat illusory; he clearly couldn’t hold on for much longer.

Inside the Extreme Dao Bell, Wu Dao had long since degraded into Basic Particles and was still breaking down further, struggling on the precipice of life and death every single moment.

The successive, beyond-limit revivals of the Extreme Dao Bell. Using a Great Saint’s power to challenge the titans of All Heavens. It was impressive, alright. But the price was also enormous.

The backlash he suffered completely transcended what he had experienced during the Three Lives Tribulation by an unknown number of times!

In every single, infinitesimally short instant, it was as if he were fighting against the Divine Image Heaven itself.

He was being subjected to an endless magnetic force that crushed and disintegrated his microscopic existence.

Combined with the attacks from the outside, his very existence was rapidly degrading.

His Immortal Level consciousness flickered at high frequency between light and darkness. If he entertained even a single thought of giving up—

his basic magnetic particle structure would completely disintegrate!

He would be annihilated on the spot!

”Wu Dao... you...”

Just as the Great Freedom Celestial Demon thought Wu Dao had succumbed to the backlash and been annihilated, his little mouth pouting in displeasure, a voice sounded.

”I’m fine... just a minor injury.”

From within the Extreme Dao Bell, Wu Dao’s indifferent voice sounded.

”Ha! You’re still joking at a time like this? Hurry up, hurry up.”

Great Zizai Heaven’s face broke into a wide grin, and he rubbed his hands together with an impatient look.

The Extreme Dao Bell obscured everything. He couldn’t see what Wu Dao was going through and assumed it was truly just a minor injury, so He eagerly urged Wu Dao to detonate the other tribulation eyes within the Burial Realm.

”Father God, the Tribulation Veins have been gathered. We can detonate all Quasi-Emperor Weapons and ignite all tribulation eyes at any time.”

Star Mother’s voice reported.

”Ignite!!”

Wu Dao’s consciousness was still struggling between the flickering darkness and light. Enduring the bombardment from the Emperor’s Weapons outside, he spoke in a Sen Leng voice.

’Enjoying the bombardment, are you?’

’Then I’ll give you something with a real kick!!’

”Nangong!”

The moment he gave the order, Wu Dao’s consciousness stirred, and he threw Nangong Li out of the Extreme Dao Bell.

”I am willing to...”

BOOM!

Before Nangong Li could even finish his pledge of loyalty, the boundless Mighty Power of the Emperor’s Weapons vaporized him into a microscopic existence!

But he couldn’t die!

The Heaven and Earth Profound Sect—

A path to the heavens, a gate into the earth!

This Celestial Treasure displayed its reality-defying conceptual Mighty Power!

Amid this hopeless predicament, it opened a great Profound Yellow gate!

The gate swung shut, carrying Nangong Li and the Extreme Dao Bell—which had just crashed inside—out of the deathtrap!

At the same time.

”As you command!”

Star Mother’s resonant reply rang out.

VMMMM VMMMM VMMMM—

The next instant, Star Mother gave the command remotely.

Throughout the various Chaotic Space-Times of the Burial Realm, the Quasi-Emperor Weapons, all linked to the main network of the Burial Realm’s Tribulation Qi Magnetic Field, rapidly grew incandescent and dangerous!

Like cosmic singularities gathering endless Energy, mass, and heat, they compressed the Tribulation Qi Magnetic Field, reaching the critical point of a big bang!

CLANG CLANG CLANG—

In that same instant, the Heart Lake Alarm Bells of the many Great Emperors outside the Burial Realm rang wildly. They sensed that the Burial Realm’s Tribulation Qi, which they had suppressed, was now erupting out of control!

’The Burial Realm is going to explode!’

A terrifying thought suddenly arose in their minds!

VMMMM!!

But before they could react, in the core of the Burial Realm, within the silent, stagnant space-time, a blazing white Divine Sun rose with extreme speed!

’No!’

’Not just one!’

Smaller Divine Suns of various colors were rising simultaneously in the Ten Directions of the Burial Realm, gathering all field energy, collapsing space-time and Chaos, like primordial singularities of the universe!

And then—

The sound was so immense, it was silent!!

One by one, the blazing white singularities violently exploded!

In the shortest possible time, they spread endless light and heat, detonating the countless compressed Tribulation Qi fields. Under the chain reaction, the Burial Realm, this Three Tribulations tribulation eye... could no longer be suppressed!

VMMMM—

A blindingly intense black and white light, carrying the Great Dao’s Tribulation Qi that had accumulated for hundreds of millions of years, drowned everything.

It was clearly visible even from the Chaos Battlefield in the Sea of Chaos!

An unknown number of titans were struck with horror!

Hundreds of millions of years later, the beings of the Daluo Celestial Domain would still not forget this day, would not forget the great sun of destruction that had illuminated the entire Daluo Celestial Domain!