Essence Devouring Art

”I may be bullying the young, but I’ll weigh your strength myself! Let’s see just how heaven-defying a monster like you can be!”

RUMBLE!!

His bent spine snapped straight!

A world-conquering aura erupted, as if he were propping up world after world. The pressure made his very cells thunder as he unleashed a torrent of essence blood!

But the Infinite Saint Master remained unfazed!

Like an ancient dragon, dormant for eons, suddenly awakening, the boundless Slaughter Qi from the battlefields of the Four Tribulations erupted from him. Shouldering the Power of Destruction from countless worlds, his wild hair whipping about, he charged straight at Wu Dao!

”Hahaha! You want to weigh me?!”

Wu Dao’s voice boomed like thunder from the depths of hell, his face twisting like a rapidly spinning Star River vortex.

He cracked his neck defiantly.

He made no move to dodge or evade. Wreathed in endless flames of Primordial Magnetic starlight, he charged like a raging dragon, plowing through the Chaos to meet the attack head-on!

BOOM—CLANG!!

In a ten-thousandth of a flash!

The sound of a universe shattering erupted once more!

Two ancient tyrant dragons plowing through the Chaos clashed fist-to-fist, their blows carrying enough force to overturn the cosmos!

From a distance, it looked as if two worlds were colliding. One was a tempest of stellar magnetic fire, the other a torrent of boundless, indestructible golden light!

VMMMM—BOOM!

The instant their fists met, a terrifying shockwave of multicolored Power erupted. It radiated from them, more brilliant than a supernova, before expanding in a sphere.

The sphere rumbled as it expanded, bursting into layered rings that spread out in all directions, crushing and annihilating every tangible and intangible, Macroscopic and microscopic thing in its path!

BOOM!!

In that instant of recoil, Wu Dao felt as if he had been struck by a speeding, ancient Divine Mountain. His protective Magnetic Field was pierced instantly. His right fist and entire arm were annihilated into Basic Particles, and half his body exploded into nothing!

CRACK CRACK CRACK—

Meanwhile, the Infinite Saint Master, clad in his profound, immortal armor of golden flesh, only suffered a ripple of damage that spread from his fist before vanishing completely.

And this was with the Infinite Saint Master suppressed by twenty World Heavy Artifacts, unable to fight at full strength!

’A full-power punch would have been...’

”Hahaha! Now that’s what I’m talking about!”

Wu Dao bellowed with maniacal laughter. The annihilation of his right arm and half his body caused him no pain; instead, it only further ignited his wild fighting spirit.

In the nearly two years he had been in Hongyuan, he truly hadn’t met an opponent who could force him to be serious, let alone injure him.

Now, being ’injured’ again, a long-lost passion for battle instantly flared to life!

”Infinite Magnetic Shock! Die!”

Looking like a crazed demon, Wu Dao devoured all available Magnetic Field Power, his right side regenerating in an instant. His intact left palm shot up, its center vibrating with the network of all magnetic fields, and slammed viciously into the Infinite Saint Master’s chest!

VMMMM—BAM! BAM! BAM!

The moment their Magnetic Fields resonated, the very cellular structure of the Infinite Saint Master’s Undying Golden Body began to vibrate and shatter. An area of collapse began at his chest and spread rapidly, the body losing its Spirituality.

’According to the Star Mother’s analysis of his Magnetic Field model...’

’To break the Infinite Golden Body, one must shatter the magnetic structure linking the Golden Body to its microscopic tissues.’

’The Infinite Magnetic Shock is undoubtedly the best killing move for the job!’

THUMP!!

But this palm came at a price.

The Infinite Saint Master’s fist obliterated Wu Dao’s head and upper torso, turning them to nothing!

’The Infinite Magnetic Shock...’

Yet even though he had the upper hand, the Infinite Saint Master felt no joy, only a growing sense of dread.

When that palm had struck him, he felt the connecting network between the macro and micro structures of his Infinite Golden Body threatening to shatter. ’It’s clearly a perfect counter!’

”DIE!”

Before the Infinite Saint Master could react, Wu Dao—despite his head and upper body being gone—remained just as ferocious. His regenerated right hand unleashed another Infinite Magnetic Shock, slamming down viciously on the Infinite Saint Master’s head.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A new round of battle began.

The two Ancient Barbaric Dragons fought their way out of the hall, continuously turning the Chaos into a vacuum only to blast it back into existence again.

No matter how grievous their wounds, both recovered in an instant. It was a clash between two Immortal Demon Gods!

However, any discerning eye could see that Wu Dao was being suppressed the entire time. Even merged with the Primordial Star Mother, his physical constitution was far inferior to the Undying Body.

’This human form is holding me back! Detonate!’

「After several hundred rounds of battle.」

Wu Dao, now just a mangled mass, abruptly self-detonated. He exploded into an abstract, blurry, colorful curtain that closed into a sphere, enveloping a pocket of spacetime.

From this sphere sprouted countless fists, feet, and blades, unleashing all kinds of Divine Techniques in a torrential assault on the Infinite Saint Master at its center.

”Kill that old bastard!”

The Primordial Demons had gone berserk as well.

They recklessly reactivated the World Heavy Artifacts, unleashing their world-destroying Mighty Power. They fired through the channel of the colorful cocoon to bombard the Infinite Saint Master!

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

For a time, the incessant sound of striking metal rang out.

The besieged Infinite Saint Master at the center was like a man facing ten thousand dragons bursting from their nest. His Undying Body was constantly being damaged and repaired, and he was suppressed so completely he couldn’t move an inch.

’Great Thousand Seal, Dragon-breaking Skill, Heaven-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique, Breath into Soldiers...’

The more the Infinite Saint Master fought, the more horrified he became.

’This Fierce God has mastered far too many Great All Heavens Divine Techniques! And he’s advancing them all at the same time! It’s completely unbelievable!’

’Mastering even one Great All Heavens Divine Technique past the Dharma Aspect stage is no small feat. Even a monster could only cultivate a few at most.’

’Any more would be counterproductive. One simply wouldn’t have the energy to cultivate them all, nor could one’s body bear the strain. You can only use others’ techniques as a reference to grasp their essence.’

’But this Fierce God...’

’He has dozens of Great All Heavens Divine Techniques in one body!’

’What’s more, he’s mastered many terrifying killing techniques whose origins I can’t even begin to fathom.’

’Is he even human?’

’And that monstrous Demon Evil Qi of his... it’s more like a beast’s than a man’s.’

’If he’s allowed to fully mature...’

He drew a sharp breath.

At this thought, the Infinite Saint Master realized the gravity of the situation. He had died in his past life protecting the Human Race; he would not allow a demonic scourge the chance to run rampant and sow chaos.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Amidst the torrential bombardment, the Infinite Saint Master’s voice boomed like Celestial Thunder. ”Junior, with your accomplishments, you are truly unparalleled in all of history. No one throughout the Four Tribulations could contend with you. But it ends here!”

VMMMM!

An extremely heavy and dangerous aura, accompanied by a magnificent golden light like the rising sun, suddenly soared from the Golden Stele in the distant Ancestral Hall.

It was like a boundless Divine Mountain bearing down!

It descended with a torrential Slaughter Qi, capable of suppressing all the Evil Demons and Fierce Gods of the All Heavens!

The Infinite Ancestral Hall!

”Hmph. Star Mother!”

Wu Dao, who had been expecting this move, showed no signs of panic. While continuing to bombard and suppress the Infinite Saint Master with all his might, he contacted the Primordial Star Mother.

SHIIING!!

A flash of axe light capable of Heaven and Earth Creation soared into the sky!

It tore through the Three Thousand Worlds!

It sundered the Chaos of the All Heavens!

Its aura of supreme sharpness now revealed, the long-hidden Heaven-Opening Divine Axe finally emerged.

It hovered high above the battlefield.

Under the Star Mother’s control, the Giant Axe’s internal Divine Techniques awakened, and it slashed toward the world-suppressing golden light emanating from the Infinite Ancestral Hall!

”The Heaven-Opening Divine Axe? This is bad!”

The instant the Infinite Saint Master saw the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe, his heart sank and alarm bells shrieked in his mind.

The lineage of the Giant Axe had also shone brilliantly during the Four Tribulations. The supreme Divine Weapon, the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe, was in no way inferior to the Infinite Ancestral Hall!

The moment he was revived, the Infinite Saint Master had sensed a change in the laws of the Emperor Star. He couldn’t revive the full Mighty Power of the Ancestral Hall and could only unleash the power of its Divine Techniques.

At the time, however, he hadn’t thought he would need to use the Infinite Ancestral Hall to deal with Wu Dao and the others.

Besides, the purpose of the Boundless Sacred Land was to protect the Human Race. He didn’t want to start slaughtering his own kind right after being revived, as that would violate the ancestral teachings.

Who could have imagined that Wu Dao’s Demon Nature would be so ferocious, or that his potential and strength would be something even monsters could only gaze at from afar?

And! Wu Dao had control of the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe from the Giant Axe lineage. That was the last straw!

By the time he realized the gravity of the situation, he had already fallen completely into Wu Dao’s trap.

”Hahaha, too late!”

Wu Dao continued to bombard the Infinite Saint Master from all sides like a meteor shower and laughed coldly.

”Deep within the Infinite Ancestral Hall is a Sea of Ancestor Essence Blood that would ensure you suffer no attrition in battle. Standing inside the Ancestral Hall would also let you better unleash its Mighty Power.”

”Taking you down under those circumstances would have been quite troublesome.”

”But what a pity.”

”You were so blinded by your past glory, so condescendingly calling me ’junior,’ that you chose to leave the Ancestral Hall to fight me and ’weigh’ my strength!”

”Come on!”

”Tell me now, am I fated to have the Infinite Ancestral Hall or not?!”

BOOM!!

Before he had even finished speaking, Wu Dao’s aura surged violently. The Mighty Power of his Infinite Magnetic Shock skyrocketed, shaking the entire sealed space and causing the Infinite Saint Master’s physical body to peel away rapidly like a shedding shell.

Clearly, in order to lure the Infinite Saint Master out of the Ancestral Hall, he had not only hidden the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe but had also been holding back during their fight!

”You devious whelp of the Evil Dao!”

The Infinite Saint Master, suppressed by Wu Dao’s fully unleashed strength and the numerous World Heavy Artifacts, was completely overwhelmed, able only to grit his teeth in frustration.

But what shocked him even more was that the pocket of spacetime Wu Dao had created with his own body had completely sealed him off from the outside world.

He couldn’t absorb even a shred of Heaven and Earth Creation Qi or any other Energy to restore himself.

In other words, if he couldn’t find a way to break out, Wu Dao and the others would slowly but surely grind him to death right here!

”Evil Dao? Hahaha!”

Wu Dao laughed wildly. ”In a hunt, only the result matters. Who cares about the methods?”

With that, Wu Dao stopped talking and attacked with his full power.

The Dao of man is simply the Human Dao.

You have your path, and I have mine.

There is no standard definition.

If my path is still, all is still. If my path moves, all can be killed!

This was his, Wu Dao’s, Human Dao!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!—VMMMM! VMMMM! VMMMM!

Amidst the relentless bombardment, the Infinite Saint Master’s aura, cut off from external energy and forced to rely on his internal reserves, quickly began to wane. His Infinite Golden Body was shattered beyond recovery, leaving only a thin, fragile layer behind.

”So be it... The world is a lonely place. What use is there in me living on?”

The Infinite Saint Master raised his head with difficulty and looked toward the depths of the Infinite Ancestral Hall, at the Golden Stele that symbolized generations of the Holy Land’s glory.

Faces of old friends from glorious bygone eras surfaced in his mind.

Unwillingness and desolation intertwined in his heart.

’In the end...’

’...am I still to be cast aside by the new era?’

’Hm? He’s trying to take me with him!?’

Suddenly, Wu Dao’s heart leaped.

He sensed a dangerous aura rising from within the desolate body of the Infinite Saint Master.

Without a second thought, he contracted the fleshy prison, rapidly closing in.

He had gone to all this trouble for that Glazed Destiny Stone.

It would be a total loss if it was destroyed.

VMMMM! VMMMM! VMMMM!

Primordial Magnetic Celestial Saber! Primordial Magnetic Celestial Prison Cage!

As Wu Dao’s form enveloped the Infinite Saint Master, it sealed off and severed all Magnetic Field connections, forcefully suppressing the self-destructive power that the cornered Saint Master had been trying to unleash!

”You... Mmph!”

Before the Infinite Saint Master could even voice his horror, innumerable writhing tendrils of Primordial Magnetism bored into his body and soul, enveloping him completely.

”There, there. You’ve slept for tens of millions of years. It’s time to go back to sleep.”

Wu Dao’s soft, almost gentle voice was the last thing the Infinite Saint Master heard. Then, he sank into a boundless, warm light, never to awaken again.

*Phew...*

On the churning, chaotic battlefield, the ripples of the conflict spread through the Nine Heavens before finally settling.

At the center of the battlefield, Wu Dao separated from the Primordial Star Mother, who was reluctant to part from their fusion. After reverting to his human form, he let out a slow breath.

He sent his consciousness into the Heavenly Demon Circulation.

There, he saw the Primordial Celestial Demon purifying a Human-shaped Glaze Stone Embryo!

Withdrawing his consciousness, Wu Dao’s gaze became placid and emotionless. He contacted Zhao Jianji and the other Primordial Demons and said calmly, ”Reel in the net.”

*Phew...*

As his words faded, he took a step. His majestic, towering form crossed the threshold into the Infinite Ancestral Hall.

Behind him, in the starry expanse, the Primordial Demons descended upon the various corners of the Boundless Ancestral Land. Like Celestial Demons descending upon the mortal world, they wielded their Heavy Artifacts with vicious expressions, ready to ’fish’.