Essence Devouring Art

”PRIMORDIAL KING!!!”

Geng Cang, Marshal of the True Dragon Fortress, who was locked in combat with Gu Tianhuang, saw Wu Dao madly slaughtering and harvesting the grand army on the battlefield. His eyes blazed with such hatred they seemed to split, and his roar shook the Grand Cosmos!

”Worry about yourself!”

Gu Tianhuang glanced aside. With a peerless, heroic bearing and a physique that stood like a God and Demon, he kept Geng Cang completely pinned down.

Even though he was injured, his Divine Fist continued to unleash streams of golden light that tore through the universe. He battered Geng Cang’s draconic form, causing it to explode repeatedly until the bones were clearly visible. He fought on, bathed in Dragon Blood!

He could see.

’The Primordial King is an absolute god of destruction on the battlefield! Nothing is left in his wake. Even the top Great Venerables are helpless against him. If this slaughter continues, the True Dragon Fortress won’t be able to withstand it!’

And indeed, that was the case!

WOOOO WOOOO WOOOO—

Wu Dao frantically plowed through the battlefield.

He dealt a devastating blow to the True Dragon Fortress, and soon, the blare of dragon horns echoed from their rear. The sound reverberated throughout the Grand Cosmos—it seemed they were sounding a retreat!

”RETREAT!!”

The Quasi-Emperors of the True Dragon Fortress shot a final, bitter and venomous glare at Wu Dao as he carved a path of destruction across the battlefield. Still, they began to fight their way back toward the True Dragon Fortress.

With a meddling bastard like Wu Dao in the mix, combined with the Dragon-slaying Battlefield’s terrifying reinforcements hiding so many elite combatants, continuing this fight could lead to their entire army being wiped out!

Between the True Dragon Fortress and the Purgatory Grand Universe, the True Dragon Race had paid a heavy price to establish an Emperor Level protective Grand Array. As long as they fell back behind it, the Dragon-slaying Battlefield would be helpless against them.

’Take back their territory?’

’Wishful thinking!’

”ROAR, GET LOST!!”

On the Great Yu Core Battlefield, Geng Cang went berserk, covering the army’s retreat. His golden Emperor’s Sword, revived to its limit, fought desperately against the Dragon Burial Map. He whipped his dragon tail, knocking Gu Tianhuang back, and charged toward the True Dragon Fortress!

”The True Dragon Fortress will fall today!”

Gu Tianhuang merely sneered coldly.

He had no intention of letting him go, hounding Geng Cang like an inescapable plague!

”Hm? Trying to escape?!”

On the battlefield, with the Quasi-Emperors no longer pressing him, the pressure on Wu Dao lessened considerably. When he saw the True Dragon Emperor Clan starting to retreat, he was not pleased. ’I haven’t had my fill yet!’

”Run! That Evil God is coming after us!”

”That beast!”

”I pray the Ancestral King descends and annihilates him!”

When the grand army of the Golden True Dragon Clan saw Wu Dao relentlessly pursuing them, their courage shattered. All formation was lost; their only thought was to get as far away from him as possible!

’He’s utterly deranged!’

’He won’t even fight you head-on.’

’He just hides inside that Holy Spirit Emperor’s Plate and throws Destruction Bombs out. A single blast kills us in droves; even Great Venerables can’t take it!’

’And those bizarre black particles!’

’They’re absolutely terrifying!’

’One dragon gets contaminated, and the entire army ascends to heaven!’

In a short amount of time, the psychological trauma Wu Dao inflicted upon the Golden True Dragon Clan was so profound that the mere mention of the Primordial King struck terror into their hearts. He was a walking plague, a living catastrophe!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Inside the distorted Space-Time Channel, Wu Dao became a living bomber. He chased the grand army of the Golden True Dragon Clan, piloting the Holy Spirit Emperor’s Plate at a frantic pace while continuously dropping Divine Image Bombs that had reached their self-destruction threshold.

In other directions, the Primordial Demons followed his lead.

For a moment, an absurd scene unfolded.

Seventy-four individuals were crushing the countless legions of the Golden True Dragon Clan, sending them fleeing for their very lives toward the fortress with their forces in complete disarray.

BOOM—

Suddenly, an impact that shook the universe exploded!

Wu Dao felt the Magnetic Field ahead of him crash like a tidal wave against a Divine Wall.

He looked up.

ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!

At the very edge of space-time, a massive sky curtain woven from the forms of countless Ancient Golden Dragons had appeared. Faint Emperor Dao Patterns flickered across its surface, blocking the advance of the Dragon-slaying Battlefield’s army!

It was even more terrifying than the Crimson Sky Curtain!

It only allowed the True Dragon Race to pass through. Even Gu Tianhuang, the strongest expert of the Dragon-slaying Battlefield, couldn’t break through while wielding the Dragon Burial Map!

Without a doubt, this Emperor Dragon Array was a fortress defense constructed from an Emperor’s Weapon, and not just an ordinary one at that!

”Gu Tianhuang! Primordial King! You won’t live! Mountain and Sea will not spare you!”

Geng Cang, Marshal of the True Dragon Fortress, provided cover for his army’s retreat from just outside the Emperor Dragon Sky Curtain. His golden draconic eyes, each as vast as a Little Cosmos, were fixed on Gu Tianhuang, but he made sure to call out Wu Dao by name!

Wu Dao had simply killed too many!

More than half of the Great Venerables and Venerables of the True Dragon Fortress had been beaten or blown to death by him!

The army had suffered countless casualties. He had even slaughtered two young female dragons from the Candle Dragon Race. The Dragon Race would definitely return to exact their revenge!

”Retreat!”

At this moment, the Battle Merit Orders of all the Celestial Kings received Gu Tianhuang’s order to retreat, and they immediately fell back to a safe zone.

’Another expert?’ Wu Dao’s expression turned solemn. He sensed an extremely terrifying Life Magnetic Field awakening within their own army, one no weaker than the Demon Awakening Emperor!

’The Dragon-slaying Battlefield... was actually hiding a Great Emperor!’

’Judging from the information in the Magnetic Field, he cultivates the Martial Dao and most likely belongs to Buzhou Heaven. He must be one of the elite reinforcements sent for this campaign!’

The military faction of Buzhou Heaven.

Its supreme commander is the Grand Elder, the Martial Ancestor.

’To secretly dispatch a Great Emperor to the Dragon-slaying Battlefield... it’s most likely to prevent spies within the All Heavens Alliance from leaking intelligence!’

”Let’s go!”

Wu Dao gave a reluctant glance at the Dragon Race army in the True Dragon Fortress, but still led the seventy-three Primordial Demons to quickly retreat from the battlefield.

’If a Great Emperor attacks the fortress, the Purgatory Grand Universe would be shattered in an instant!’

There was no reason to stick around for a thankless task. More importantly, he had already made an absolute killing!

HUMMM~

Just as Wu Dao retreated, he felt an Emperor Dao aura that suppressed the universe instantly flood the endless Purgatory Grand Universe like a torrent.

In a fleeting glimpse, he saw Geng Cang, the Marshal of the True Dragon Fortress, roar in terror, desperately reviving his golden Emperor’s Sword and frantically retreating into the Emperor Dragon Sky Curtain!

”A Great Emperor! Since when... Close the Emperor Dragon Sky Curtain! Hurry!!”

He also saw a flawless, white-jade fist rise up.

It shook the vast Purgatory Grand Universe as it struck the Emperor Dragon Sky Curtain, which was now flawed in its open state. Wherever the peerless Emperor’s Fist passed, space-time collapsed, the universe shattered, and everything dissolved into a state of Chaos!

HUMMM—

At the same instant that the unfamiliar Great Emperor struck, an invisible Emperor’s Might warped the space-time field, enveloping all the soldiers of the Dragon-slaying Battlefield, including Wu Dao.

Sensing no malicious intent, Wu Dao did not resist, allowing the power of space-time to transport them out of the Purgatory Grand Universe.

By now, he also understood that the reason the Great Emperor hadn’t acted until now was due to the Emperor Dragon Sky Curtain protecting the True Dragon Fortress.

’If it were in its closed state, even a Great Emperor would have a hard time blasting it open. But with the True Dragon Emperor Clan in a full rout and fleeing, the Emperor Dragon Sky Curtain was left open, drastically reducing the difficulty of breaking through it!’

If nothing unexpected happened, the True Dragon Fortress was definitely going to be eradicated!

Although the Great Dao’s repulsive force at the Six Celestial Passes was much weaker than at the Five Celestial Passes, the True Dragon Race was caught unprepared and simply couldn’t transport a Great Emperor over to deal with the situation!

Outside the Purgatory Grand Universe, Wu Dao watched the Purgatory Grand Universe dissolve into a state of Chaos, the Divine Fist at its far end shaking the Emperor Dragon Sky Curtain. His eyes flickered slightly. ’The foundations of Hongyuan truly cannot be underestimated.’

’With the two realms’ civilizations at all-out war, and with spies in the high command of the All Heavens Alliance, Mountain and Sea must have a clear picture of how many elite combatants Hongyuan has. At every Celestial Gate, they have deployed corresponding defensive forces. But even under these circumstances, Hongyuan can still send in an unknown Emperor Level combatant!’

’This is just the tip of the iceberg. The other hegemons of the Celestial Domains most likely have many unknown, terrifying reserves of their own. As the war between civilizations intensifies, they will surely begin to surface.’

’It would be best if this war lasted for a hundred, or even a thousand years!’

Wu Dao checked the merits in his Battle Merit Order, feeling extremely pleased.

’The battle merits accumulated in this great battle... If I exchange them all for Five Tribulations Dao Source, it would definitely allow my Initial Tribulation Primordial Magnetism Path to rapidly approach perfection!’

’As long as the war at Shanhai Pass doesn’t end, and the two civilizations remain in a balanced stalemate, I can keep killing enemies, earning merits, and shearing the wool off the Primordial Path!’

But Wu Dao estimated, ’A hundred or a thousand years is absolutely impossible! Mountain and Sea must have had the confidence to initiate this tribulation. When the Tribulation Qi of the All Heavens accumulates to a sufficient level, that will likely be the time for their all-out assault!’

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The sound of a Divine Being hammering the sky curtain with its fist constantly blasted through the universe, parting the Chaos and shaking the entire Purgatory Grand Universe. If not for the Mire of Flesh and Mud’s constant regeneration, the universe would have already exploded!

”Qin Zhou, you are truly courting death!!”

At the end of Chaos, a dragon’s roar of boundless majesty resounded. From within the Emperor Dragon Sky Curtain, a black-and-white dragon claw that could crush the Grand Universe reached out, viciously grabbing for the Divine Being hammering the curtain.

’An Ancestral King of the Candle Dragon Emperor Clan! At least at the Tenth Heaven of the Emperor Realm or higher!’

A chill went down Wu Dao’s spine. ’Good thing we left quickly. Otherwise, if that claw had grabbed for us, we and the Stone Plate would have been suppressed in an instant, so thoroughly that we couldn’t even open the Faith Channel.’

”A mere crippled Emperor dares to stop me?!”

BOOM!

Fist met claw, and Chaos exploded!

The Martial Arts Emperor named Qin Zhou was peerlessly dominant. He met the unknown Candle Dragon Race’s Tenth Heaven Ancestral King head-on and forcibly pushed him back!

’The Six Celestial Passes! They don’t allow Mountain Sea Ancestor Kings to descend! Forcing a descent... truly results in just a crippled Emperor!’

”Go!!”

At that moment, the Dragon-slaying Battlefield’s Military Lord, Gu Tianhuang, emerged from the Purgatory Grand Universe with a pale face. He unfurled the Emperor’s Weapon, the Dragon Burial Map, enveloping the army and rapidly moving away from the Purgatory Grand Universe.

’When Great Emperors above the Tenth Heaven get serious, even ten endless Grand Universes aren’t enough to contain their Power. Those below the Great Emperor realm don’t even have the right to watch!’

RUMBLE!

The Dragon Burial Map had just fled into the distance when the Immortal Purgatory Grand Universe exploded outright!

The Mire of Flesh and Mud’s endlessly folded space-time dimensions collapsed into Chaos, completely unable to withstand the aura released by the clash between the man and the dragon at the far end!

Even from within the Dragon Burial Map, Wu Dao could clearly feel the absolute oppressive pressure emanating from those supreme, Emperor Level beings.

Under this pressure, even in his current state, he felt more insignificant than a dust particle. He now had a profound understanding of the saying: below the Great Emperor realm, all are ants!

’Only by achieving Emperor Level combat power can one have the right to contend for glory in this vast Great Era of Extraordinary Civilization!’

The outcome of the great battle held no surprises.

The hidden Martial Emperor of the Dragon-slaying Battlefield, Qin Zhou, was at the Thirteenth Layer of cultivation. The True Dragon Race, caught off guard, was completely unable to respond.

The forcibly transported Ancestral King was also unable to exert his full combat power due to the Great Dao’s repulsion. In less than ten exchanges, the Emperor Dragon Sky Curtain was torn apart, and Qin Zhou obliterated the True Dragon Fortress with a single slap!

That Ancestral King of the Candle Dragon Race even had one of his dragon claws torn off. Maddened and unwilling, he abandoned the True Dragon Fortress and retreated back into the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The large Space-Time Channel that had once connected Mountain and Sea to the Dragon-slaying Battlefield was also shattered by a single punch from Qin Zhou, collapsing back into numerous Tree Diagram-like Space-Time Nodes.

After this, Qin Zhou would guard the True Dragon Fortress for a long time, buying time for the Shanhai Pass’s Great Dao to establish Garrison Cities in front of those Space-Time Nodes.

All the Garrison Cities within Shanhai Pass were not built by men. They were the product of the congealed tribulation and fate of the Great Dao, formed after the collision of the two realms’ space-time.

When Mountain and Sea has a Space-Time Node connecting to Hongyuan, the program of the Primordial Path will create a Dao Celestial Stele and a Garrison City in front of these Space-Time Nodes to repel the Alien Species from Mountain and Sea, just like a tower defense game.

The reason the True Dragon Fortress was established was because the original Dao Celestial Steles at its location had all been destroyed by Mountain and Sea. The Space-Time Nodes then converged and unified, giving them a stable, large-scale transport channel.

With the rebuilding of the Garrison Cities and the Celestial Steles, and with Qin Zhou standing guard, it was basically impossible for Mountain and Sea to replicate their success with the True Dragon Fortress.

The reconstruction of the Garrison Cities was overseen by Qin Zhou, Gu Tianhuang, and the other top experts of the Dragon-slaying Battlefield. The other ’grunts’ were given a brief opportunity to rest and recuperate.

But the Dragon-slaying Battlefield was not peaceful. On the contrary, it was abuzz with discussion and eager anticipation.

Because everyone who survived knew what had happened on the battlefield—

In that battle, the Primordial King had not only slain a Great Supreme Emperor’s Son of the Candle Dragon Race, but he had also killed countless enemies, reaping a massive amount of battle merits!

Once those battle merits were exchanged, a new Sealed Heaven King would be born in the Dragon-slaying Battlefield!

He didn’t make the soldiers of the battlefield wait long.

As soon as the army returned to the Dragon-slaying Battlefield, Wu Dao immediately exchanged all of his battle merits.

HUMMM—

In an instant, the Dao Celestial Stele in the main city of the Dragon-slaying Battlefield began to tremble, spewing forth endless divine waterfalls and auspicious signs. It lifted the name ”Primordial” and promoted it into the sequence of Celestial Kings—

”Hongyuan Calendar, Era of the Five Tribulations... For illustrious merits in the battle for the Purgatory Grand Universe in the Dragon-slaying Battlefield, for slaying the Candle Dragon Emperor’s Son... the Primordial King is hereby sealed: Primordial Heavenly King!”