Essence Devouring Art

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP—

The heartbeat of a Divine Being, like the beating of war drums.

It thundered from beneath the Dalili Imperial City, shaking the city until it cracked. Countless buildings collapsed, rising and falling with the rhythm, like the throbbing of a great womb gestating a God and Demon.

Supreme and absolute, ruler over all the world.

An Emperor’s might, one that made all people want to prostrate themselves in worship, swept across the land. It was as if a supreme figure who once looked down upon the Great Era was about to reawaken and fight once more in this age.

”This old subject... respectfully welcomes the Great Ancestor!!”

「On the border of Celestial Fate County.」

The Nine Transformations of Da Li felt that familiar, domineering imperial pressure. Overcome with emotion, tears welled in their eyes as they turned toward the Imperial City, bent their waists, and bowed their heads.

”The Demon Suppression Emperor?”

「To the east and west of Heavenly Fate County City.」

King Bao Tong and the King of Ten Thousand Victories, who were not related to the imperial family by blood, stared at the Imperial City, which throbbed like a womb.

They also saw the Nine Transformations of Da Li shouting and bowing.

Both frowned, endless dread rising in their hearts. A divine light enveloped their bodies as they retreated several hundred miles with their subordinates in tow.

”Hahaha, Zhou Heng, you bastard! And you called me cruel and ruthless. Compared to your heartlessness, I am truly put to shame!”

「To the north of Celestial Fate County.」

Red hair, red brows, red eyes.

The King of the Living Prison, Zhou Prison, whose face was as fierce as a Fierce God and looked like the Yama of Hell incarnate, sneered coldly. But he, too, retreated several hundred miles.

He had once competed with Zhou Heng for the imperial throne.

And he had managed to retreat with his life afterward.

The secrets of Dali he knew were far beyond what the unfavored Prince Nanyang could compare to.

From a long time ago...

He knew what kind of existence was buried beneath the Imperial Palace Grand Ancestral Hall.

To awaken that being...

And what price had to be paid.

He had thought that with Zhou Heng’s moderate, gentle temperament and his mouth full of a Saint’s great principles, he would never play that trump card, even if he was at the end of his rope.

’I never expected...’

’He’s actually gone mad!’

’The Great Tribulation is coming. In order to survive...’

’They’ve all chosen to go insane, just like me, the King of the Living Prison! They’ve chosen to stop at nothing!’

He did not plan to stop it.

Because stopping it was useless. Zhou Heng and Dali’s three Absolute Peak masters would definitely intercept him with their lives on the line.

He and the other Three Kings were not at a dead end. Although today’s battle had its regrets, they had eaten their fill. There was no need to continue fighting to the death with a madman.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP—

The deafening throb, like a fetal heartbeat that echoed in the souls of all living beings, continued to sound from beneath the core Imperial City of Celestial Fate County. The spewing gray, deathly aura seemed endless, submerging thousands of miles of sky.

It was as if an Emperor among corpses was about to be born.

Below the Ninth Transformation...

Whether they were Extraordinaries or ordinary people...

Immersed in that ubiquitous, wailing Deadly Evil Qi and corpse qi...

They all felt a tremor from the depths of their souls. Completely enveloped by an ominous, malevolent energy that seemed to come from the Purgatory Abyss, they trembled uncontrollably and fell prostrate on the ground.

”Father Emperor... No!”

”Your Majesty, you...”

”Your Majesty, spare me!!”

BANG! BANG! BANG!—

At the core of the endless, blackish-gray Deadly Evil Qi...

Accompanied by the increasingly rapid throbbing, a series of miserable screams and explosions rang out.

But strangely...

Not a single drop of blood or piece of flesh splattered.

All the members of the imperial clan seemed to have been sent into the giant maw of an unknown Abyss. Only the hair-raising sounds of swallowing and chewing from underground could be heard.

BUZZ—

A moment later.

The throbbing that had spread throughout Celestial Fate County stopped, and the sounds of consumption also vanished.

SWISH!!

Deep in the darkness at the source of the endless death and corpse qi, a pair of eyes that had been closed for over six hundred years suddenly snapped open. Their gaze pierced the earth, looked down upon all living things, and surveyed the mountains and rivers of the world.

”So be it... I hope you are worthy of this selfish desire of mine.”

A nearly inaudible sigh sounded.

In their sunken sockets, the dark Emperor’s eyes revealed a complex hint of humanity.

But it was only for an instant.

As the sigh faded...

That sliver of humanity was submerged by a cold divinity, completely vanishing into the darkness, leaving the old shell, and becoming deathly still once more.

Then...

”ROAR!!!”

An earth-shattering roar rose from beneath the Imperial City, spreading out and shaking the fabric of space and time.

It was like an Ancient Fierce Beast had awakened.

It opened its abyssal maw and swallowed the ominous Deadly Evil Qi permeating Celestial Fate County in a single gulp, then began to devour thousands of miles of the world’s Spiritual Qi.

A massive vortex of Deadly Evil Qi and Spiritual Qi...

...connected heaven and earth, shaking and spinning.

It was clearly visible even a thousand miles away.

It seemed as if it would swallow the entire world, the Essence Qi of the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers, to serve as sustenance for its return.

”Hiss... what a delicious aroma!!”

「Five hundred miles from Celestial Fate County.」

Wu Dao stopped once more, his gaze fixed on the subterranean core of the heaven-connecting vortex. An unprecedented greed and hunger erupted in his eyes.

’A Corpse Demon!’

’A Corpse Demon with the same essence as the Celestial Empress!’

’It’s completely different from the resurrection of someone like the Celestial King, who escaped from suppression.’

’It’s just a corpse that has gained Spirituality!’

’It has become an Alien Species!’

’An extremely terrifying, super Corpse Demon!’

Even from a thousand miles away...

Wu Dao could feel a biological pressure from a superior Hunter that made his very genes tremble.

’At least the realm of a Three Steps Peak!’

’The Demon Suppression Emperor’s...’

’Corpse?’

Information surged through Wu Dao’s mind.

In a single thought, he confirmed the Corpse Demon’s identity.

Back when the Demon Suppression Emperor faked his death...

...countless Great Divine Power Users from all lands had attended the Emperor’s funeral.

Although it was too bizarre...

They had personally witnessed the thoroughly dead body of the Demon Suppression Emperor being interred in the Imperial Mausoleum. Many had sighed in regret, lamenting that a Great Emperor of his generation had died young in his prime, and hating the injustice of the Celestial Dao.

But only a few knew the truth.

Not only had the Demon Suppression Emperor not died...

The empty shell of a corpse he left behind was not buried in the Imperial Mausoleum. Instead, it was interred at the core of Celestial Fate County’s Faith Grand Array, where the world’s providence converged.

Using providence to nourish the corpse.

This preserved the Mighty Power of the corpse, making it incorruptible.

It was Dali’s trump card for a desperate struggle for survival.

If one day Dali was pushed to the brink with no way out, the current Celestial Emperor could activate the Faith Grand Array of Celestial Fate County.

Using six hundred years of Faith and Willpower...

...as ’nutrition’ for the corpse’s revival.

Then, by using the bloodline of his descendants to resonate with the bloodline in the Demon Suppression Emperor’s remains, a sliver of the original self would be awakened to suppress the ’rebellious heart’ born within the corpse.

After that...

The current Celestial Emperor could then activate the Heirloom Seal of the Realm, which the Demon Suppression Emperor had forged, to control the revived corpse.

Following this whole procedure...

...Dali would have a Nine Transformations Peak master who had no emotions, obeyed only the Celestial Emperor, and wholeheartedly protected Dali.

The Demon Suppression Emperor’s cultivation had reached the pinnacle back then. He alone monopolized the world’s providence, and at his peak, he had gone further than anyone else of his era.

There were speculations...

...that before the Demon Suppression Emperor faked his death...

...he had already taken that half step. Dali’s providence was no longer useful to him, so he began to lay out a plan to take the remaining half step.

The remains of someone half a step Above Divine Techniques.

The body definitely contained the various methods the Demon Suppression Emperor possessed in life.

Nourished into incorruptibility by six hundred years of the world’s providence.

Now that it was revived...

’Saying it’s at Three Steps is a bit conservative.’

’It’s highly likely an existence on the same level as Prince Nanyang and the other three kings!’

’If I could eat it...’

HUUFF—

Wu Dao took a deep breath, suppressing the hunger and greed in his heart.

’No rush.’

’There’s still a considerable gap between me and a Nine Transformations Peak. If I force it, I’ll definitely break my teeth.’

’As long as Zhou Heng doesn’t give up on Dali...’

’...the fish won’t be able to get away.’

’There will be plenty of opportunities later.’

’Today, I’ll let Zhou Heng fund a little of my growth. I’ll be sure to repay him generously in the future.’

RUMBLE—

At the core of Celestial Fate County.

Following the revival of the Demon Suppression Emperor’s remains, the heaven-connecting super-tornado of Spiritual Qi, which had been devouring thousands of miles of Spiritual Qi, raged for a good while before finally subsiding.

The world returned to peace.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP—

Under the sneering, reverent, and solemn gazes of all parties...

Heavy footsteps shook the heavens and the earth.

Wearing the Flat Heaven Crown and the Sun, Moon, Mountains and Rivers Emperor’s Robe, the ancient Emperor—familiar yet strange to all living beings—stepped out of the darkness. He ascended to the Sky Dome Peak, looked down upon his enemies in all directions, and faintly uttered six words:

”Advance to die, retreat to live!”

BZZZT—

The six words, spoken neither lightly nor heavily, were like the first thunder of spring, Jingzhe, booming across the world, shaking and dominating countless insignificant souls.

My will is Heaven’s will!

To defy me is to defy Heaven!

This was the imperial majesty born from having suppressed a hundred nations, ruled the entire world, and looked down upon all living beings.

Even after several hundred years...

...as he looked down upon the world once more...

...his era had not yet passed.

Hearing his voice was still like hearing the heavens speak—supreme and absolute. He was revered like a Divine Being, and no one dared to defy or resist him in the slightest.

”Those who wish to overthrow Dali, you may all enter the county and fight me to the death!”

A hoarse roar shattered the dead silence.

Zhou Heng, his Emperor’s Robe soaked in the blood of his kin, stood beneath the Great Ancestor. He held high the equally blood-soaked Heirloom Seal of the Realm, his blood-red hair fluttering, his crimson eyes shooting out killing light as he looked down on the kings outside the county.

”Enter the county and fight to the death!”

”Enter the county and fight to the death!”

”Enter the county and fight to the death!”

...

After Zhou Heng...

...one after another, resounding killing cries shook the heavens and earth.

They came from the sky.

They came from On the Mountain and below, all across Celestial Fate County.

The Nine-Transformed who supported Dali.

The Great Divine Power Users.

The Divine Ability Users.

Even Celestial Beings, Land Immortals...

After the Great Ancestor’s ’return,’ all of them were filled with tears. The loyal and heroic spirit of protecting the nation in their bones was completely ignited, transforming into an endless Battle Intent.

Regardless of their strength...

...they all drew their weapons and flew into the sky, their eyes bloodshot.

They rapidly converged at the border of Celestial Fate Prefecture, forming a human wall that sealed off the heavens and the earth. Sharing a common enemy, they would rather be shattered jade than an intact tile!

”Prince?”

「To the south of Celestial Fate Prefecture.」

The Nine-Transformed from the Southern Border looked at the hundreds and thousands of Dali cultivators blocking their path, their expressions complicated. They then looked uncertainly toward Prince Nanyang.

Do we fight, or...

They were all Nine Transformations Great Divine Power Users.

They could naturally sense how strong the revived remains of the Demon Suppression Emperor were; it was definitely not inferior to the current Prince Nanyang.

Coupled with Zhou Heng, the number one person of the current age...

...and the three Absolute Peak masters...

...Dali’s weakness had been filled.

This last county...

...it seemed Zhou Heng might really be able to defend it.

”A pity he’s not at the Absolute Peak yet...”

Nanyang shook his head slightly. He didn’t say whether to fight or retreat, just muttered this cryptic sentence.

「To the north of Celestial Fate County.」

”Hahaha, Zhou Heng, you’re ruthless enough, but...”

The King of the Living Prison did not advance either, just sneered, ”I’d like to see just how long this last bit of Dali’s foundation can sustain you!”

’This body of the Demon Suppression Emperor...’

’...is, in essence, a Corpse Demon.’

’It relies on the blood sacrifice and familial bonds of his descendants to suppress the Corpse Demon’s consciousness.’

’But this is, after all, a double-edged sword.’

’Once the bloodline power suppressing the Corpse Demon’s consciousness dissipates...’

’...who knows?’

’We might not even have to act.’

’The remains of the Demon Suppression Emperor might personally destroy the Dali he created.’

’When that time comes...’

’...what will Zhou Heng do?’

’Will he kill it or not?’

The King of the Living Prison greatly looked forward to that day.

”Drinking poison to quench his thirst!”

In the north, the King of Ten Thousand Victories—clad in black heavy armor, his ink-black hair flying, his demeanor majestic and cold with a domineering aura—raised a sharp eyebrow. He too saw through the ploy and snorted coldly.

”Such audacity...”

In the east...

Amidst a glow of pearls and treasures...

King Bao Tong, dressed head to toe in gleaming Royal Artifacts, had a jade-like face and bright, gentle eyes. Shaking the Wealth Jade Fan in his hand, he glanced at the blood-soaked Zhou Heng with admiration.

To make such a move, burning his boats and sinking his ships...

Zhou Heng clearly had the confidence to take that final step before the ship sank. Only someone with great audacity would dare to take such a risk.

”Those who wish to overthrow Dali, you may all enter the county and fight me to the death!”

”Enter the county and fight to the death!”

The death-defying cries of Zhou Heng and the Dali cultivators echoed throughout the world. Everywhere their gazes passed, there was silence. None of the kings took another step forward.

With the remains of the Great Li Ancestor present...

...if they continued to advance...

...it would truly become a battle to the death. It wasn’t worth it.

”Wu Dao! Get the hell out here!!”

The world fell silent for a moment.

Zhou Heng suddenly roared with furious eyes, his boiling, surging killing intent tearing apart a thick bank of dark clouds outside the prefecture.

”Tsk~ No need to be so hot-headed.”

Under the stunned and suspicious gazes from all directions...

...from within the void of the dissipating dark clouds...

Wu Dao’s magnificent, heaven-propping, tyrannical figure was revealed. His slightly narrowed Black Abyss eyes were filled with untamable arrogance as he grinned fiercely and said:

”If you’re too hot-headed, you really will burn someone to death!”