Essence Devouring Art

Chapter 538: Chapter 467: World Fate Arena

Nangong Li, the perfect tool, was the fastest.

After all, his Heaven and Earth Profound Sect was too unique. He was constantly escaping death in the Miasma Abyss, and on top of that, he had the Primordial Dao Wheel and an ample supply of Five Tribulations Dao Source.

His progress was basically like fattening a pig for slaughter.

Now, his cultivation stood out like a crane among chickens. He had reached Great Venerable Perfection and would soon break into the ranks of Quasi-Emperors.

Below him, the veteran Primordial Demons like Zhao Jianji, Lv Tiezhu, and Chen Ergou had reached the Great Venerable Twenty-fourth Heaven or higher.

Even the weakest Primordial Demon had reached the Great Venerable Twenty Heavens.

By the time Wu Dao came out of seclusion, they should all be able to reach the Quasi-Emperor rank. With the enhancement of the Primordial Magnetic Armor, their Primordial Magnetic Demon Bodies would have no problem steamrolling anyone below the Great Emperor realm.

After all, the Primordial Magnetic Demon Body was a weakened version of his Dao Body.

As a Great Venerable, Wu Dao had slaughtered Quasi-Emperors like dogs. If they couldn’t steamroll other Quasi-Emperors after reaching that rank themselves, then it would only prove that he had truly been raising a bunch of pigs.

Once the Seventy-Three Primordial Demons entered the ranks of Quasi-Emperors, and with the addition of Wu Dao’s Peak Quasi-Emperor incarnations, teaching the Human World and the Dragon Hunting Tower a harsh lesson would be no problem at all.

After that, with the Primordial Demons holding down the fort at the Primordial Sect, he could continue his own rapid development at Shanhai Pass in peace.

…

Wu Dao’s line of thinking wasn’t wrong.

After he went into seclusion, his presence or absence didn’t really have much of an impact on the battle between the Seven Days Pass and the Mountain and Sea forces.

If one had to point out a difference, it would be that the defensive lines he used to be responsible for were now under greater pressure, forcing Hongyuan to fill the gaps with human wave tactics.

Furthermore, some of the plans the Mountain and Sea side had prepared specifically for him had to be scrapped due to his sudden departure, which infuriated the Kunpeng Race to the point of apoplexy.

That bastard, the Primordial Heavenly King.

He had killed far too many of their Quasi-Emperors recently, yet he was slippery as an eel, giving them no chance to retaliate fiercely.

They had just been preparing for the final kill, but he simply decided he was done playing.

It was a truly shitty feeling.

In fact, this was one of the reasons Wu Dao had withdrawn from the battlefield. He had been killing too fiercely and had become a marked man on the Mountain and Sea side.

If he continued, it was only a matter of time before he’d mess up.

Then he would be captured and forced into hard slave labor.

It was necessary to ease off for a bit and divert the attention of the Mountain and Sea forces.

On the side of the Seven Days Pass military command, they had assumed Wu Dao needed to digest the Dao Source to advance, so not a single military order was sent to rush him, giving him plenty of time.

「On the tenth day of his seclusion,」 Wu Dao’s three basic Extraordinary Dao Sources reached perfection. At the same time, his One Tribulation Great Dao officially entered the breakthrough stage, and he no longer paid any attention to the outside world.

「Half a month into his seclusion,」 Wu Dao felt himself touch upon the wondrous realm between the finite and the infinite. Within the Origin of his Primordial Magnetic Dao, Tribulation Qi churned—the Second Tribulation was imminent.

At the same time, the consumption of his Dao Source, Divine Soul, and Tao Realm began to skyrocket wildly.

Fortunately, Wu Dao had prepared for everything before entering seclusion, and his reserves were sufficient to support him in breaking through the barrier between the First and Second Tribulation.

「A month and a half into his seclusion,」

RUMBLE—

A thunder that arose from the friction and collision of inscrutable Great Daos in the unseen void, a sound that rippled through every inch of spacetime in the All Heavens Pass, jolted Wu Dao awake.

An ethereal magnetic field of Dao fate began to swarm and converge, intertwining with the Dao fate of the Mountain and Sea Great Dao outside the Seven Days Pass, undergoing a miraculous transformation.

‘Something unexpected must be happening on the battlefield!’ Wu Dao realized.

“Could it be…”

Wu Dao recalled the major event that occurred three years ago during the final stage of the Mountain and Sea’s all-out assault on Hongyuan. Unable to sit still, he split off a sliver of his consciousness and sent it to descend upon an incarnation he had kept in reserve at the Six Celestial Passes.

This change was not limited to the Seven Days Pass. Starting from the Eight Celestial Passes, it radiated outward to all the Celestial Gates behind it. Everyone could feel the two indescribable, majestic streams of Dao fate crashing into each other at high speed outside the passes!

Faintly, it seemed as though something that would determine the fate of both realms was about to be born at the junction of the All Heavens Pass.

…

「At the same time.」

The Ten Celestial Passes!

The very front line of the Chaos Abyss!

The magnificent founding ancestor of the Martial Dao, his spine as straight as Buzhou Divine Mountain, sat cross-legged in the churning Sea of Chaos. The grand and vast river of his Martial Dao civilization clashed with two Desolate Ancestors on the other side of the Abyss.

He noticed the changes occurring at the Eight Celestial Passes and below. He also knew what the Mountain and Sea side was planning.

But…

Opposite him in the Abyss, a perfect woman stood amidst the Chaos. With every blink of her eyes, the Great Dao roared, and a torrent of Dao civilization, born from the creation of myriad qi and endless wonders, continuously eroded and battered the majestic torrent of the Martial Dao.

At another point of the triangular standoff, stood another indescribably magnificent figure. He seemed to be the primordial ancestor of all Desolate Gods, the first life form of the Mountain and Sea!

Within the surging torrent of his civilization, one could see the Daos of the Ten Thousand Races and all living beings of the Mountain and Sea!

The Queen Mother of the West and Emperor Huang!

The two great Daoists of the Mountain and Sea.

The former had achieved the Dao through the primordial wondrous qi of heaven and earth from the Second Tribulation of the Immortal Dao, and could be considered the Primordial Ancestor of Immortals.

The latter…

Emperor Huang!

He had forged his Dao by fusing the Daos of the Ten Thousand Races of the Mountain and Sea during the Four Tribulations!

He was just one step away from claiming the Classic of Mountains and Seas and merging with the Dao of the Mountain and Sea itself!

SPLASH~

On this supreme battlefield, which transcended the observation of Primordial Chaos, within each splash of the waves, the All Heavens and Myriad Realms underwent endless cycles of birth and destruction.

Spacetime, dimensions, all Daos, and all existences were as insignificant as dust within the clashing torrents. Only the undying light of civilization shone with supreme brilliance.

“Fellow Daoist, since you know what He is trying to do, why bother with these futile efforts?”

The moment the anomaly occurred at Shanhai Pass, the Queen Mother of the West spoke indifferently. Her celestial voice, a manifestation of the Great Dao, was devoid of emotion or desire. She and Emperor Huang slowly took a step forward, once again forcing back the magnificent, blazing torrent of the Martial Dao civilization.

For the past three years, or perhaps ever since the Four Tribulations, the three-way standoff had always been like this, with scarcely a moment of rest.

The Queen Mother of the West and Emperor Huang advanced.

The Martial Ancestor retreated.

This simple exchange of steps already revealed a great deal. The Martial Ancestor was barely holding on, even though He was the founding ancestor of the Martial Dao and the first Daoist of the Ten Thousand Races.

At the same rank, with the same cultivation at the peak of the Initial Tribulation, fighting one against two… the price was simply far, far too high.

“What does it matter if I must sacrifice myself and disperse my Dao to protect Hongyuan?”

The Martial Ancestor’s gaze was proud and his expression indifferent, without a ripple of emotion.

Even as ages passed and tribulations rose and fell, the spirit that had once held up the dark heavens and earth, guiding and protecting the rise of the Ten Thousand Races, remained utterly unchanged.

Fighting one against two, a standoff that had lasted for eons.

The price was the dispersion of his Dao!

Once the Dao within his Dao was completely scattered, his final karmic link with his motherland, Hongyuan, would be severed. He would no longer be able to interfere in the slightest with the fate of its myriad lives or the future of the All Heavens!

But just as He said, what did it matter if he had to disperse his Dao? He had once protected the people of the Hongyuan Ten Thousand Races, holding up the sky during the darkest of times, and had personally witnessed Hongyuan’s step-by-step journey to prosperity.

How could He allow it?!

How could He allow the motherland that had birthed, nurtured, and elevated Him to be devoured by ambitious wolves, and stand by indifferently as the beings of the All Heavens plunged into darkness once more?

But… with a wolf at the front and a tiger at the back, Hongyuan was surrounded!

There was truly little He could do.

He could only do his best to stop or delay the start of that Taotie feast before his Dao completely dispersed, trying to buy a few more slivers of possibility for the future generations of the Hongyuan Heavenly Realms.

“The Celestial Mandate is with Him. Your efforts are futile.”

Emperor Huang, standing at the pinnacle of the Mountain and Sea civilization, knew of the Martial Ancestor’s unyielding nature and couldn’t help but sigh softly.

The Martial Ancestor was betting on the future.

Betting that a successor would one day appear.

One who could hold up the heavens for Hongyuan amidst the encircling darkness, just as He once had.

Until then, He would spare no effort to buy more time.

But this way of thinking was ultimately too idealistic, because *that person* already controlled Hongyuan’s Celestial Mandate, having cut off any possibility of a spoiler to some extent!

“Celestial Mandate? That might not be the case…” the Martial Ancestor’s voice was faint.

“He is a Dao Thief from outside the Dao.”

A ripple passed through the Queen Mother of the West’s eyes. She knew what the Martial Ancestor was talking about. The Dao Thief who had appeared time and again was indeed a major variable.

But She would not give him time!

Furthermore, she had already determined the Dao Thief’s identity!

‘The karma between you and I is not yet finished. No matter what tricks you have, there is nowhere for you to hide.’

The Queen Mother of the West’s beautiful eyes gazed toward Shanhai Pass.

Her casual action back then had created the monster of today. Every cause has its effect. As long as one remains within the Dao, if the fruit is not picked one day, no one can sever this connection!

However, the fruit was not yet ripe.

Naturally, there was no need to reveal such a secret.

Every Daoist was a competitor!

“A Dao Thief…”

Hearing this, the Martial Ancestor’s eyes grew slightly cold, and he added indifferently,

“This tribulation is the Tribulation of No Dao. It has given rise to an unprecedented great fate of Dao protection. The Great Dao of Five Tribulations is immeasurably vast and magnificent. For you all to think you can destroy it in a single battle is like an ant trying to shake a tree.”

Great tribulations give rise to great fate.

The Great Dao is ruthless but orderly.

When the system falls into chaos, it naturally gives birth to protectors of the Dao. The All Tribulations Provers were born from such circumstances.

The so-called Celestial Mandate is both concrete and abstract.

He who bears the Celestial Mandate is the Heaven’s Chosen One.

He who resists the One Tribulation is also chosen by fate.

Be it the Mountain and Sea, the Celestial Court that controls the ‘Celestial Mandate’, or even that mysterious Dao Thief, to foolishly attempt to challenge the Five Tribulations with the power of One Tribulation, to shake and challenge the all-encompassing Creator, the Hongyuan Five Tribulations Dao, is to be destined to become the vanquished in this tribulation!

“Success depends on human effort. We shall wait and see.”

Emperor Huang and the Queen Mother of the West were unmoved.

Their feet took another step forward!

RUMBLE—!!

The three of them seemed to bear the fate of the two realms on their shoulders.

Following another step forward from the Queen Mother of the West and Emperor Huang, and another step back from the Martial Ancestor, within the vast expanse of Shanhai Pass, the thunderous clash of the two realms’ Great Dao fates grew even more intense!

The Mountain and Sea forces roared in triumph, while Hongyuan’s fell silent!

Countless beings turned their gazes toward the sacred structure outside the All Heavens Pass, a structure woven from the collision of innumerable Dao Patterns!

BUZZ—

The battlefield was divided, and the great war came to a halt!

At the boundary line of the All Heavens Pass, amidst the vast Chaos and the highest of the Nine Heavens, all that remained for a time were the blood-colored arenas, symbolizing the gamble for victory in the contest of the two realms’ fates!

WHOOSH~

On the front line of the first domain of the Six Celestial Passes.

“The World Fate Arena…”

Wu Dao narrowed his eyes, joining the silent Great Venerable Heaven Kings in gazing at the blood-colored arena. It hung high in the Chaos beyond the domain, connecting to endless veins of fate and exuding a pressure that weighed down upon the vast Six Celestial Passes.

Three years ago, during the final stages of the war between the two realms, the World Fate Arena had also appeared.

The Celestial Prides from both realms at every Celestial Gate had stained the arenas with their blood!

In the end, the Mountain and Sea Realm had won a great victory, and its Dao fate had surged. From the Ten Celestial Passes down to the Six Celestial Passes, they had encroached upon and occupied Hongyuan’s territory to varying degrees!

Three years later, less than three months after the war began, the Mountain and Sea Dao had forcefully contended with Hongyuan’s to open the World Fate Arenas.

This meant… in the war at the very front, Hongyuan had once again fallen into a disadvantageous position.

Otherwise, the Mountain and Sea side wouldn’t have had such a strong surge in fate, enough to rapidly open the arenas and attempt to force a decisive battle!

In this kind of contest, the Mountain and Sea side undoubtedly held the absolute advantage.

This was because external powers exceeding one’s realm were forbidden in the arenas. At the same level, it was difficult for Hongyuan’s cultivators to match the Desolate Gods of the Mountain and Sea’s Primordial and Di Races!

In the last inter-realm arena battles, Hongyuan’s side had won less than one in ten matches. Across all realms, far too many Celestial Prides and powerful masters had died, resulting in the loss of vast territories.

Now that they were open again… within the eight major Celestial Passes, most of the soldiers could only grit their teeth in silence.

“On the World Fate Arena, the combatants from both sides fight representing the fate of their respective realms. If you win, the Great Dao’s fate will smile upon you. The reward is no longer Hongyun Dao Source, but… the Origin of Great Dao Civilization!”

A sharp glint flashed in Wu Dao’s eyes as he stared at the World Fate Arenas. His heart coveted that Origin of Civilization immensely.

The strength of a Dao was determined by the tribulations of its civilization.

His Primordial Magnetism Path was no different. If the Five Tribulations Dao Source was an accelerator, then the Origin of Great Dao Civilization was a direct infusion of power!

If he could obtain enough of this Origin, after entering the Second Tribulation, he feared that as soon as the Star Mother deduced the next stage of civilization’s path, the Second Tribulation Hongyuan Great Dao would use the Origin of Great Dao Civilization to rapidly pave that path for him.

Of course, the same applied to his own cultivation.

Not only would his growth not slow down, it would become even more freakishly absurd!

‘Shanhai Pass… it truly is a Blessed Land.’

He cast a covetous glance at the blood-colored arenas.

Wu Dao’s consciousness then returned to his main body. He needed to break through to become a Great Emperor as soon as possible to get a nice slice of the pie in this feast!