Essence Devouring Art

In truth, Wu Dao’s decision to leave the Primordial Cave Heaven had been the right one.

For some reason, the Vacuum Sect was in desperate need of a powerhouse at the True God Peak, or even the Divine Monarch Level.

Long before this, the Vacuum Sect had been collecting Divine Fire from various sources. They had even initiated multiple divine wars in the Primordial Star Domain, wiping out many weaker pantheons.

The path of advancement for a Divine Being is unique.

The first method is sacred and gentle.

It involves absorbing the Faith and Willpower of one’s followers to strengthen the Divine Fire. This requires a vast number of devout believers praying day and night, an advancement only possible through long-term accumulation.

The second method...

...was more akin to the law of the jungle: preying on the weak to strengthen the strong. It involved plundering the Divine Fire of other Divine Spirits to rapidly elevate one’s own standing.

However, this second method was excessively cruel and vicious.

Typically, only Evil Gods would stoop to such measures. It was a practice that could easily provoke a unified assault from other pantheons, and thus was confined to the "small ponds" of the Wilderness.

This was especially true in regions governed by Saint Level, or even Emperor Level, pantheons.

The act of plundering Divine Fire...

...was the foremost taboo of the Divine Race, utterly forbidden by the gods.

After the decline of the Primordial Divine Sect, the Vacuum Sect absorbed many of the Assistant Gods from within the Primordial Pantheon, instantly becoming the preeminent Overlord of the Primordial Star Domain.

In this remote corner of the Wilderness, one could say there were no taboos, so they naturally didn’t worry about breaking any.

Upon learning that the "Primordial Divine Monarch’s" Divine Fire had been rekindled, their grand army immediately boarded the colossal Grotto Heaven Level starship, the Vacuum Ship, and set off at full speed toward the Primordial Cave Heaven.

While a Grotto Heaven Level warship lacked the full capabilities of a Grotto Heaven Master, even a small Star Shuttle possessed the power to warp the void and make spatial jumps.

As for a giant Grotto Heaven Level Immortal Ship, its speed was comparable to a Star Sea Light Shuttle.

It crossed the vast expanse of space in a matter of days, arriving outside the Primordial Cave Heaven, which resembled a Primordial Ball.

VMMMM—

The void trembled.

Space rippled open like water, and a warship as large as a star emerged from the spatial passage. It had a peculiar shape, resembling a black lotus.

Its terrifying mass, merely by hanging in the cosmos, caused the protective astral winds of the Primordial Cave Heaven to reverse course and spill into the void, triggering all sorts of celestial disasters within.

After a brief pause,

hundreds of black lotus petals peeled off the exterior of the Vacuum Ship, transforming into Continent Level warships that sailed into the Primordial Cave Heaven.

Unfortunately, they were destined to find nothing.

After a thorough search,

they found only the empty halls of the Primordial Divine Sect; not even a shadow of the Divine Fire was discovered. However, the search parties did bring back many of the Primordial Divine Sect’s followers.

Divine Beings can sense each other’s Divine Fire.

Using the Faith Channel, a True God Level Divine Spirit could pinpoint the location of another Divine Being’s Divine Fire.

Inside the Vacuum Ship’s Pocket World Divine Hall,

the Vacuum Sect Master, his broad frame draped in a Black Lotus Divine Robe, paced out of the Divine Hall, mulling over the divine oracle sent down by the Mother of the Void.

Afterward,

his expression was one of regret and astonishment. He shook his head at the High Priests who were waiting for the results and said, "The Primordial Divine Monarch’s Divine Fire has indeed been rekindled, but... the Supreme God cannot scry its location."

’Cannot scry it?’

The High Priests frowned. This was illogical.

When a Divine Being returns, no matter how powerful they once were, they retain only a sliver of their powerful essence. Everything else must be rebuilt from the beginning.

’How could a New God possibly evade the scrying of an Upper True God?’

"The commotion over at the Black Ruins is getting louder," one of the High Priests said, his expression grim as he gnashed his teeth. "I doubt we can keep it under wraps for much longer. If the Mother of the Void can’t advance, we won’t even get the scraps..."

A Divine Monarch’s Divine Fire, even if its rank has fallen and it must start anew, still contains the essence of a Divine Monarch. To any Divine Spirit below that level, it is an unparalleled Supreme Treasure.

If they could obtain the Primordial Divine Monarch’s Divine Fire, even if it didn’t allow for a full advancement, the Supreme God worshiped by the Vacuum Sect could at least reach the peak among True Gods. This would rapidly increase Her Divine Power and bring great benefits for the future.

"There’s no need to be so pessimistic."

The Vacuum Sect Master let out a soft sigh. "The fluctuations from the Black Ruins are no greater than that of a Human Immortal. At most, they will alert the fringes of the Celestial Domain. Our chances are still very good."

The Chaotic Star Heaven is vast and boundless.

Although the Border Wilderness is barren, it offers a certain natural geographical advantage.

It’s not like a Pocket World, where spacetime is confined. There, the slightest scent of blood in the water would attract sharks from all directions.

The distance between stars is immense, often spanning hundreds of millions of miles.

Even a Great Divine Power User could die of exhaustion trying to cross a small star realm.

Without a Starship for transportation, only a Dharma Phase Practitioner would have the basic ability to survive long-term in the cosmos and cross a Star River, and even then, their speed would be far slower than a Starship’s.

"Then what about the Primordial Divine Monarch’s Divine Fire?"

The priests still couldn’t stop thinking about the Primordial Divine Monarch’s Divine Fire.

"Naturally, we can’t give up."

The Vacuum Sect Master’s eyes glinted.

"If some major figure were behind this, they wouldn’t have needed to flee in such a hurry after silencing everyone, nor would they have bothered taking the Jinxiao Ship. This was most likely the work of a local power familiar with us."

At this thought, the Sect Leader issued a command. "Notify all powers in the Star Realm to check their ports. Any information regarding the Jinxiao Ship must be reported immediately.

Also,

deploy all the Holy Son Ships.

Create a search grid in the surrounding space. At the Jinxiao Ship’s speed, it couldn’t have gotten far. At close range, I refuse to believe it can evade the Supreme God’s detection."

"As the Sect Leader commands."

...

While the Vacuum Sect was searching for the Primordial Divine Monarch’s Divine Fire, aboard the Jinxiao Ship, which had been traveling at full speed since leaving the Primordial Cave Heaven...

...Wu Dao, who was in the middle of transforming his followers, sensed a powerful and unfamiliar divinity reaching out from a great distance along the Faith Channel, attempting to lock onto his position.

’Mother of the Void...’

Wu Dao’s thoughts flickered for a moment, but he quickly dismissed it.

His 100% Emperor’s Artifact-level Bitter Dust Robe, even if it was just form without substance, was not something just any riffraff could trifle with.

VMMMM—

Just as he thought.

After that divine presence had traveled only a short distance down the Faith Channel...

...the Bitter Dust Robe, which resembled a tattered beggar’s garment within his very essence, vibrated. It faded into mist, Concealing the Celestial Secret and shielding all information about Wu Dao.

"I hope you don’t go looking for trouble."

Wu Dao let out a soft sigh, a cold glint disappearing from his eyes. He returned his focus to synchronizing and modifying the Life Magnetic Fields of his followers.

He had no interest in pointless conflict.

For the time being, these tens of thousands of followers were enough to meet his cultivation needs. Once their transformation was complete, the next step was to open the All Heaven and break through to the Divine Country.

Only when he was truly free and unrestrained could he begin to implement certain plans.

While transforming the Polluted Bodies...

...Wu Dao was also monitoring the Jinxiao Ship’s speed. He was somewhat dissatisfied and began to consider how to increase it.

The Chaotic Star Heaven was not a true vacuum.

The Star Sea between the stars was filled with all sorts of Extraordinary Factors.

These served as fuel for Continent Level Immortal Ships.

As for Grotto Heaven Level ships, their engines simulated a Grotto Heaven. They drew power from the great field dynamics of the universe, allowing them to influence spacetime to a degree and perform spatial jumps.

A Continent Level Immortal Ship could travel over a hundred thousand miles in an instant.

It was difficult for even a typical Dharma Aspect to keep up.

This seemed fast, but compared to the vastness of the cosmos, it was slower than a snail.

Wu Dao’s destination was a forbidden zone outside the Primordial Star Domain: the Star Ruins.

Within this forbidden zone, cosmic fields were chaotic and violent, swallowing and shredding any who dared to intrude. It was somewhat like the black holes from his past life, the main difference being that the Star Ruins were actively hostile.

For cultivating the Essence Devouring Art, at every stage, the best method was always to temper oneself in extreme, life-or-death environments, thereby receiving the "gift of the brave."

After achieving the Dao Body, he possessed unparalleled potential. However, it also meant that each stage of his progress with the Essence Devouring Art would be far more difficult than for other Extraordinaries, even as it made him peerless within his realm.

After all, he wasn’t some child of Celestial Mandate.

He couldn’t just wander through scenic mountains and have great fortune and Creation fall into his lap, nor could his cultivation soar just by casually grasping some profound truth.

Every bit of his strength was forged through trials of life and death. It had always been this way, and it always would be. Only a death zone like the Star Ruins was his personal cultivation paradise.

"At this speed, who knows how long it will take to reach the Star Ruins."

Wu Dao’s consciousness peered into the Jinxiao Ship’s interior via his followers’ Magnetic Fields.

A great golden sun, thousands of miles in diameter, hung suspended. It was constructed from tens of thousands of layers of Spirit Gathering Arrays, ceaselessly devouring Cosmic Spiritual Energy to propel the Jinxiao Ship forward.

’Spiritual Qi is too rudimentary,’ Wu Dao thought. ’If I modify this for magnetic field jumps, reaching the Star Ruins before I’m completely free won’t be a problem.’

Wu Dao withdrew his gaze and looked at the "batteries" within the Jinxiao Ship. An idea began to form.

Back when he was a Pseudo Dharma Aspect...

...he could distort magnetic fields, create a gravitational slingshot, and perform instantaneous jumps.

When he was just traveling and not fighting, he could cross over a hundred thousand miles of void in an instant, comparable to the legendary technique of shrinking the ground to an inch. Now, at two hundred rotations, covering a million miles in an instant was trivial.

In other words...

...the Jinxiao Ship needed a new power core—a Primordial Magnetic Vortex with over a hundred rotations—to rapidly traverse the cosmos.

This was not a difficult task.

He had plenty of ready-made materials, after all.

The tens of thousands of elite members of the Jinxiao Sect were mostly Land Immortals or stronger.

After creating the Primordial Magnetism generators, he still had plenty of spare "batteries" left—enough to build another two-hundred-rotation engine.

One hundred fifty rotations would be dedicated to devouring magnetic energy, while the rest would handle power conversion and maintaining the Jinxiao Ship’s stability.

No sooner said than done.

Wu Dao immediately split his focus. He gathered the "batteries" at the Jinxiao Ship’s core, fused them into a single mass, and began constructing a Primordial Magnetic Vortex Wheel, rotation by rotation.

In the end...

...a small sun, only a hundred meters in diameter and glowing with the colors of the cosmos, was completed. It was formed from a two-hundred-rotation Primordial Magnetic Vortex Wheel.

In terms of sheer size, it was nothing compared to the Spirit Gathering Engine, but the energy it contained and the power it provided utterly eclipsed its predecessor.

After converting the Spirit Gathering Engine into magnetic energy and devouring it, Wu Dao stabilized the Jinxiao Ship with one hand while installing the brand-new magnetic drive into the core with the other.

CRACKLE—

Instantly...

...streams of Primordial Magnetism, like frenzied dragons, surged from the power core. They spread like thousands of tentacles, enveloping the entire Jinxiao Ship.

VMMMM—

The moment the terrifying magnetic gravity appeared, it caused the various magnetic fields in the surrounding space to twist and blur. The Jinxiao Ship became like a stone pulled taut in a slingshot, ready to be launched.

"Let’s go!"

With a single thought, Wu Dao sent the activation command to the central engine. The Primordial Magnetic Vortex Wheel began to spin, madly twisting the cosmic magnetic field into a propellant for the slingshot effect.

CRACK!

A flash of starlit magnetic light burst forth.

The Jinxiao Ship vanished from its original position, entering the magnetic field domain. It began to jump across a blurry, abstract canvas of magnetic lines.

In an instant, hundreds of times shorter than a second, it jumped nearly one and a half million miles. Its speed had increased by an unknown multiple.

(This is all just made-up nonsense, so don’t take it too seriously. This isn’t a hard sci-fi novel, after all.)

If one were to observe from a distance, from the perspective of the magnetic field...

...they would see the Jinxiao Ship as a star, constantly shifting and twinkling within a perpetually extending and twisting magnetic channel.

In the blink of an eye...

...the Jinxiao Ship left vast swathes of dark space behind it, all without causing the slightest disturbance.

’Not bad. Now this is what interstellar travel should feel like.’

Within his Divine Country...

...Wu Dao felt the explosive increase in the Jinxiao Ship’s speed and nodded with satisfaction.

After letting it run for a while...

...and seeing that the Jinxiao Ship remained stable and without issue, Wu Dao switched from manual to automatic control.

He withdrew his consciousness from the magnetic engine and turned his attention to constructing another two-hundred-rotation Primordial Magnetic Vortex Wheel.

This was the Primordial Magnetic Network he would use for his cultivation.

It was integral to the "subcontracting" of his future cultivation.

Its required level of refinement was far beyond that of a simple absorption-and-conversion engine, and it would demand a great deal of his concentration.