Essence Devouring Art

"AHHH!!"

Agonized screams rang out.

Some disciples of the Carefree Emperor Sect, unable to evade in time, were sacrificed alive on the spot by the Power of Law unleashed from the three World Heavy Artifacts, refined into nothing but dust!

A vast ocean, spanning countless trillions of miles,

was completely evaporated in a single instant.

It exposed the densely packed ancient stars and massive skeletons on the seabed, only for them to be ground to dust the next instant, blasted down layer by layer into an abyss.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!—

At the center of the storm, Golden Immortal Island teetered on the verge of collapse. Its Island Protection Array was continuously shattering, like a small boat in a raging sea, threatening to break apart at any moment.

Within the island,

Lv Tiezhu desperately activated the Sealing Evil Seal to block the calamitous shockwaves from the clash, his blood boiling. He wished he could rush out immediately and join the Alliance Leader in a satisfying slaughter.

However, amidst his excitement, he remained calm.

The three World Heavy Artifacts were in a full-blown confrontation.

The very Qiankun Space-Time was shaking and collapsing.

The slightest wisp of their aura was Transcendent, far beyond the limit of what a Tenth-Layer Emperor Grade Cave Heaven could withstand. Without the Island Protection Array, its Mighty Power was utterly beyond their ability to resist.

If he went out, even with the protection of the Sealing Evil Seal, his Divine Demon Body would be instantly blasted to dust, to say nothing of the other Primordial Demons. Going out would only be counterproductive and cause trouble for the Alliance Leader.

Most importantly, the Primordial Demons had an almost blind, fanatical confidence in their Alliance Leader, believing that nothing in the World could ever defeat the great Alliance Leader!

ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!—

GROWL! GROWL! GROWL!—

In the heart of the battlefield,

with the Asura Killing Blade now sharing the burden of the Furnace Abyss Gourd’s Mighty Power, the Yin-Yang Double Flood Dragon Scissors also broke free from its suppression.

The two Saint Grade Heavy Artifacts struck in unison.

They continuously unleashed torrents of the Power of World Law, their vast and worldly baleful aura blasting the heavens in the Ten Directions into Chaos. For a moment, they actually seemed evenly matched with the Furnace Abyss Gourd.

"Hmph, let’s see you act so vicious now!"

Jiang Yu felt he was back in control. Wielding the Yin-Yang Double Flood Dragon Scissors, he gave Wu Dao a sinister, chilling sneer and said,

"The Power you get from an Artifact is ultimately not your own. Without your Heavy Artifact, I, the Emperor’s Son, can kill you in a single move!"

BUZZ!

Before his words had even faded, Jiang Yu fully unsealed the thirteen Emperor-Grade Mixed Caves in his Purple Mansion. His Emperor’s Might surged across the Nine Heavens and ten lands as his Dragon Veins spewed world-ending currents of air. The entire world filled with the Venerable-class phenomenon of Immortals and Buddhas singing praises and Gods and Demons bowing in worship.

Such an overwhelming, Venerable-class pressure.

For anyone in the same realm who had not reached the Emperor Grade, just facing it required immense courage, let alone resisting it.

It could be said that every Emperor Grade Celestial Pride was a dazzling star, blessed by destiny and favored by the Great Dao.

Their arrogance stemmed from their strength.

An Emperor’s Son was the focus of all eyes, an unattainable existence for countless others. Any amount of arrogance was to be expected.

"Yin Yang Furnace, kill!!"

As Jiang Yu’s eyes opened and closed, the sun seemed to sink and the moon to shatter. He unleashed a world-shocking killing light, the aura erupting from his Grotto Heavens tearing through the Chaos of the Nine Heavens. With a roar, he unleashed a Slaughter Divine Technique of the Carefree Emperor Sect!

It was not a Great All Heavens Divine Technique, but it was terrifying enough.

The Yin Yang Furnace was a Divine Technique that ranked among the top legacies of the Carefree Emperor Sect, comprehended from the sect’s Emperor’s Artifact, the Yin Yang Creation Furnace.

It could refine all things in heaven and earth into Yin and Yang origin energy to benefit the user. Only an Emperor’s Son was qualified for its Cultivation, and it was an exceedingly vicious and cruel Technique.

Jiang Yu had been in Cultivation of this Divine Technique for a hundred years.

It had long since become his Main Path. Boosted by his Thirteen Emperor-grade Yin Yang Cave Heavens, he believed himself to be unrivaled among those in the same realm.

RUMBLE!!

The Chaos once again transformed into a swirling, flashing maelstrom of the two colors of Yin and Yang.

At the center of the World,

a furnace constructed from black and white Divine Fire hovered in the center. The moment its lid opened, it spewed a torrent of world-ending Divine Fire toward Wu Dao, intending to sacrifice him alive on the spot!

But to Jiang Yu’s alarm, even though his Heavy Artifact was suppressed and he was being targeted by the Yin Yang Furnace Divine Technique, Wu Dao remained indifferent and calm throughout.

His eyes, as dark as an abyss, watched Jiang Yu with the benevolent gaze one would use for a mischievous child, which made him absolutely furious!

However, his fire was about to be extinguished.

"Little children who play with fire are prone to wetting the bed."

A kind and incredibly tolerant voice echoed in Jiang Yu’s ear.

In a daze, he thought he saw a Holy Father, wreathed in light, stroking his head.

"Ah! You bastard! How dare you humiliate me like this!"

Jiang Yu broke free from that demonic Spiritual Contamination, feeling as if his entire body was unclean. The corners of his eyes nearly split and bled as he used all his strength to reactivate his Divine Technique!

BOOM!!

The black and white Divine Fire spewing from the Yin Yang Furnace suddenly blazed with far greater intensity, like the floodgates of the Nine Heavens’ silver river bursting open. The mouth of the furnace then flipped over and descended!

It seemed that in the span of a single thought, it could suck Wu Dao into the furnace and refine him into Yin and Yang origin energy!

But in that very same span of a thought,

Whoosh~

Wu Dao opened his mouth slightly and, as if blowing out a candle, exhaled a puff of white qi that crackled with arcs of electricity.

WHOOSH—BOOM!!!

A single breath to shake the universe!

The insignificant puff of electrical breath had just left his body when it erupted like a cosmic pulse ray in a cone-shaped fan, radiating out into the boundless Chaos before him.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!!

The sound of Celestial Soldiers and Celestial Swords grinding and colliding was like an unending clap of thunder!

The fan-shaped river of breath, crackling with electrical light, explosively expanded at extreme speed, covering the sky. It devoured the baleful Soldier Qi between heaven and earth, transforming it into countless Divine Weapons.

Then, driven by Primordial Magnetic Power, all magnetic fields in its path were drawn in with the same force, forming a roaring tornado of blades that could pulverize all things in the world. It displayed a terrifying Mighty Power that should not belong to the Dharma Aspect realm!

A Great All Heavens Divine Technique—

Breath into Soldiers!

Under normal circumstances, Wu Dao would not normally use Divine Techniques other than those of Primordial Magnetism, because every Divine Technique was entangled with significant karma.

But after learning the specifics of the Great All Heavens Divine Techniques, he felt there was no need to be so overly cautious.

The Seventy-two Heavenly Great Divine Techniques.

The Ten Great Supreme Divine Techniques.

All of them were the crystallization of the shared civilization and wisdom of the Primordial Ten Thousand Races. In the countless years since the Heaven Opening, their legacies had long since scattered across the All Heavens and Myriad Realms. They were not the patented, private property of any single person.

What he truly could not expose were the Emperor Scriptures, which had inseparable karmic ties to the All Emperors and Celestial Venerables, were never passed to outsiders, and could only be cultivated by a Son of Revival of a major power!

RUMBLE!

The electromagnetic tornado of blades reached from the starry sky above down to the Nine Nethers below, sweeping across the eight wildernesses and six harmonies.

The endless sharp edges, killing intent, and baleful light rumbled, churning Qiankun. Driven by the Primordial Magnetic Power, it seemed about to destroy the Three Thousand Worlds!

The Great All Heavens Divine Technique, Breath into Soldiers, revealed its supreme Mighty Power—worthy of being called the king of Divine Techniques—and its absolute, domineering suppressive force the moment it was formed!

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!~

Wherever the tornado of blades passed, the black and white Divine Fire spewing from the Yin Yang Furnace was truly as fragile as the light of a firefly or a candle, extinguished with a single puff. The furnace itself shook and began to disintegrate as if it were made of tofu dregs.

Divine Techniques draw upon a cultivator’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit as their source.

When a Divine Technique is broken, its master suffers a backlash.

The instant the Yin Yang Furnace was shattered,

"PWAAH!!"

Jiang Yu spat out a large mouthful of blood. His head swam and his vision blurred. He felt as if his Divine Soul had been sliced into countless pieces by innumerable blades and swept up into a gale.

Cracks appeared on the thirteen Mixed Cave Dragon Veins that were his pride. His entire body swayed, on the verge of collapse, and his aura rapidly weakened.

"A Great... All Heavens Divine Technique... Breath into Soldiers?"

Like an old man on the verge of death, Jiang Yu struggled to raise his head, his face filled with shock and horror as he watched the world-ending tornado of blades crush his furnace and press down on him.

Any of the Great All Heavens Divine Techniques, when mastered to the level of Great Success, possessed the incredible Mighty Power to shatter the myriad realms of the universe.

At any stage, they were the kings among Divine Techniques, suppressible only by an Emperor Scripture or one of the Ten Great Supreme Divine Techniques.

They were also extremely precious.

Most Imperial Influences did not possess them.

Only the true behemoths of the All Heavens held their complete legacies. Very few had been scattered throughout the All Heavens, and for an ordinary person, obtaining one was harder than ascending to the Nine Heavens.

This person...

’Who in the world is he?!’

Endless questions and fear swirled in Jiang Yu’s mind.

Then, it transformed into a powerful will to survive.

"No!!"

With his hair disheveled, Jiang Yu, combined with his androgynous appearance, truly looked like a young maiden in distress. He actually dropped to his knees on the spot, his eyes brimming with tears, and kowtowed to Wu Dao, begging for mercy.

"Don’t kill me! I surrender, I surrender! You can do whatever you want with me! I’m begging you, please don’t kill me."

’A living Celestial Pride is the only kind of Celestial Pride that matters.’

Having grown up in a power like the Carefree Emperor Sect, which encourages indulging one’s nature, Jiang Yu possessed none of the backbone or will that would lead one to say ’a gentleman can be killed, but not humiliated’.

’As long as I’m alive, anything is possible.’

’If I die, then I’ll truly have nothing left.’

These were his thoughts at that moment.

"Emperor’s Son, how could you..."

On the other side,

the old man who had been wielding the Asura Killing Blade to desperately defend against the Furnace Abyss Gourd saw Jiang Yu’s pathetic display. His face was a mask of grief and disappointment, furious at his lack of fortitude.

And then...

just as Wu Dao thought the old man would resist to the bitter end...

THUD!

the old man abandoned all resistance without the slightest hesitation, dropped to his knees, and kowtowed to him.

"Spare me, great hero! This old man has drifted his whole life. I was just following this damn rabbit to get by. I have absolutely no intention of resisting."

His movements were extremely practiced.

Clearly, this was not the first time he had done this.

"Spare us, Grandpa!"

"If you’re going to kill someone, kill that damn rabbit! It has nothing to do with us!"

"Yes, yes! Grandpa, you can play with him however you want. He knows a lot of tricks."

At the edge of the world sealed by the Furnace Abyss Gourd, the dozen or so disciples of the Carefree Emperor Sect also kowtowed and prostrated themselves, showing no backbone whatsoever.

"You all..."

Abandoned by all his followers, Jiang Yu’s face flushed red. He pointed at his kowtowing attendants, trembling with rage.

Haaa~

Wu Dao took a slow breath, retracting the Great Divine Technique, Breath into Soldiers, back into his All Heaven. His gaze swept over the disciples of the Carefree Emperor Sect, each one utterly subservient and selling out their master for their own gain. A strange look appeared on his face.

After reviewing the information he had on the Carefree Emperor Sect of the Qingming World, it all became clear.

The subordinates were merely following the example of their superior!

The Carefree Immortal Emperor of the Carefree Emperor Sect... before achieving his emperorship, was the type who would hide if he could avoid a fight, flee if he couldn’t win, and surrender if he couldn’t escape. His main principle was, simply put, to survive thoroughly.

It was said that when he was weak, the Carefree Immortal Emperor had even worked as a courtesan in the All Heavens Bliss City in order to cultivate his Yin Yang Technique.

Such an Immortal Emperor...

...raising such a group of disciples.

’Hmm.’

’It seems to make sense.’

Haaa~

Suppressing his thoughts, Wu Dao took a single step, appearing before Jiang Yu. He ruffled his hair and said with a benevolent smile, "You silly child. I couldn’t even dote on you all enough, how could I bear to kill you?"

"..."

At that moment, Jiang Yu was moved to tears of gratitude. It was as if he once again saw that merciful Holy Mother, wreathed in light, delivering all living beings from suffering.

’Only... ’

’Why does the Holy Father’s hand have tentacles?’

As his mind wavered in a trance, Jiang Yu felt his entire being, from head to toe, every inch of his soul and flesh, being wrapped in warm silk threads.

It was like returning to his mother’s womb.

An unprecedented comfort and warmth caused his eyelids to slowly close, and he fell into an infant-like sleep.

BZZZ~

After "enlightening" the disciples of the Carefree Emperor Sect and ferrying them into his Divine Country, Wu Dao was in a pleasant mood. He then collected the Asura Killing Blade and the Yin-Yang Double Flood Dragon Scissors.

After developing the Second Generation Primordial Dao Wheel, he would need a large number of High-level Weapons as the main material for the Dao Wheel.

Two World Heavy Artifacts.

This was a pretty good haul.

BOOM!

At that exact moment,

a gap opened in Golden Immortal Island’s nearly-shattered Island Protection Array.

A dozen or so Primordial Demons, led by Lv Tiezhu, rushed toward Wu Dao with tears in their eyes, like baby Fierce Beasts looking for their mother. Their Barbarian God Physiques rumbled, shattering Qiankun with every step.

Wu Dao stood quietly in the Chaos, his hands clasped behind his back.

His eyes held a hint of a mother’s gentle smile as he watched the crowd of Primordial Demons running wildly toward him, tears streaming down their faces.

THUD!

About a half-kilometer away,

Lv Tiezhu’s massive, dark-skinned body came to an abrupt halt. He dropped to one knee, slapped his left hand over his heart, and punched his right fist into the air, roaring with a resonant clang:

"Lv Tiezhu, Hall Master of the Overlord Whale Alliance, pays his respects to the Alliance Leader! May the Alliance Leader live for a thousand autumns and ten thousand generations, and unify the All Heavens!!"

Following him,

""...Huang Dynasty, Cheng Sheng, Wu Guang... pay our respects to the Alliance Leader! May the Alliance Leader live for a thousand autumns and ten thousand generations, and unify the All Heavens!""

came the resonant roars of the other Primordial Demons, who had all dropped to one knee and struck their hearts in the same way.