Essence Devouring Art

The Asura Sea.

The Infinite Ancestral Hall.

「Five days after the hunt ended.」

All the Primordial Dao Wheels had been refined.

Over five hundred in total!

The newly acquired Heaven-Opening Techniques, after non-stop comprehension by the Star Mother, had all been mastered up to the Creation Realm, ready to accelerate their Cultivation at any time.

However, before that, Wu Dao still needed to equip the Seventy-Two Primordial Demons with Primordial Dao Wheels, construct the Star Mother network, and pull a ’network cable’ for them.

WHOOSH—

The world undulated, vast and expansive.

Within the Inner World that served as the power center of the Infinite Ancestral Hall, Wu Dao sat with his eyes closed atop the Infinite Golden Stele, which soared to the peak of the Nine Heavens.

Behind him, the Primordial Star Mother, as splendid as a galaxy, rotated slowly. Its light illuminated the universe, making him appear like an immeasurable Demon God enthroned at the center of the cosmos.

Below and to both sides of the Infinite Golden Stele, seventy-two dark Demon Pillars stood in parallel rows. Below them, a sea of clouds churned, and around their midsections, clusters of stars orbited. They were as majestic as pillars supporting the very heavens.

BUZZ—

At a certain moment, ripples spread through spacetime.

Having received the summons, the Seventy-Two Primordial Demons ended their arduous Cultivation, returned from the Evil Abyss, and appeared atop each of the Demon Pillars.

To the left, the lead pillar was occupied by Zhao Jianji, his brawny physique clad in a scholar’s robe.

On the lead pillar to the right was Chen Ergou, his Golden Roc pinions spread and his pupils a blazing Crimson Gold.

These two were currently the most powerful among the Seventy-Two Primordial Demons. One possessed a sixteenth-layer Divine Demon Body, the other a fifteenth-layer one.

Their accomplishments in other areas also surpassed the rest of the Seventy-Two Primordial Demons.

In the Heaven-Stealing Alliance, the strong were revered and the capable promoted. They were naturally qualified to occupy the lead pillars on the left and right.

The seventy-two Demon Pillars were also arranged in order of strength.

The stronger one was, the closer they were to the Infinite Demon Pillar—that is, the Infinite Golden Stele—which symbolized the supreme.

""We greet the Alliance Leader! Primordial and without end, may you unify All Heavens!""

As Zhao Jianji and Chen Ergou bowed in reverence, the seventy other Primordial Demons on both sides joined in. Their thunderous voices shook the sea of clouds, and their wild, untamed auras caused the sea of stars below to tremble violently.

"Sit!"

Wu Dao opened his eyes. Deep as two black holes overlooking the cosmos, he uttered a single word with a calm yet irresistible authority.

""Thank you, Alliance Leader, for granting us a seat!""

After receiving permission, the Seventy-Two Primordial Demons bowed once more before sitting cross-legged atop their respective Demon Pillars, their gazes fixed on Wu Dao with a mixture of anticipation and awe.

Vice Alliance Leader Zhao Jianji did not speak either.

They all understood the Alliance Leader’s personality: swift and decisive. If he summoned them, it was for a reason, and he wouldn’t beat around the bush.

’Could it be...’

Zhao Jianji’s gaze fell upon the Dao Wheel behind Wu Dao, which resembled a galactic vortex. Sensing its immense and extraordinary power, a guess formed in his mind, and his breath quickened.

After all the Primordial Demons were seated, Wu Dao began to speak calmly, but his voice was like thunder from the Nine Heavens, shaking one’s very soul. "It is the twentieth year of the Hongyuan Era. By now, you must all be aware of the sheer scale and structure of this world.

The struggle for existence, the survival of the fittest.

The laws of nature here are thousands of times more unforgiving than in the Divine Wilderness. The slightest misstep, a single wrong move, will lead to utter annihilation."

"If you want the Heaven-Stealing Alliance to dominate All Heavens and be revered as supreme, your current strength is far from sufficient."

""We are ashamed...""

Hearing this, Zhao Jianji and the other Primordial Demons lowered their heads in shame, feeling they had failed to live up to the Alliance Leader’s expectations.

The structure of the Hongyuan world.

The Nine Great Celestial Domains, the All Heavens and Myriad Realms.

Heroes compete for supremacy, and Celestial Prides rise in every generation.

Behemoth factions with legacies stretching back through the ages, Supreme Giants who reside high in the Nine Heavens, looking down upon the river of time as sovereigns. With a mere flip of their hand, they can decide the rise and fall of universes and the fate of countless beings.

Its sheer scale was incomparable to some backwater pond.

Through twenty years of trials and tribulations, the Primordial Demons felt this most deeply. Every step they took was like walking on thin ice, terrified of being overturned and vanishing like mist and smoke.

Although the Alliance Leader had now returned, and the Primordial Demons had each achieved considerable success, there were still far too many entities in the food chain of the All Heavens capable of devouring the current Heaven-Stealing Alliance in a single bite.

"But there is no need for self-deprecation."

Wu Dao waved his hand. "To have achieved this much in a mere twenty years means you have already surpassed countless others.

I have summoned you all today for the sole purpose of accelerating your growth even further, so that each of you can soon stand on your own."

As his voice fell, with a single thought from Wu Dao, the Primordial Celestial Demon Circulation inside him erupted with a dazzling, waterfall-like starlight, from which flew seventy-two small, galaxy-like Primordial Dao Wheels.

The seventy-two Primordial Sub-wheels.

Under Wu Dao’s control, they hovered behind the astonished Primordial Demons, and from the core of each vortex, tentacles of Primordial Magnetic filaments extended.

"Open your minds and merge as one."

Wu Dao’s domineering and indifferent voice rang out, carrying a will that could not be resisted or defied.

Upon hearing the command, the Primordial Demons immediately sat up straight, opened the barriers around their Divine Souls and minds, and wholeheartedly accepted the fusion and symbiosis with the Primordial Sub-wheels.

BZZZZZ—

After the Primordial Demons opened their minds, the seventy-two Primordial Sub-wheels seemed to cheer with joy.

As if they had found their own kind, they sprouted numerous star-colored tentacles that burrowed into the Primordial Demons’ Primordial Magnetic Demon Bodies, beginning a fundamental fusion from the inside out, from Divine Soul to physical body.

The Primordial Demons, having been transformed into Primordial Magnetic Demon Bodies, were, in a sense, Incarnations of Wu Dao. Thus, there was naturally no rejection when fusing with the Primordial Sub-wheels, which originated from the same essence as him.

A moment later, the Sub-wheels and the Primordial Demons’ essences merged into one. They floated behind them, rotating slightly in time with the fluctuations of their Life Magnetic Fields.

From Wu Dao’s perspective, he had just gained seventy-two more Incarnations and ’miners’. The only thing missing was establishing a two-way transport channel and linking them to the Primordial Star Mother.

However, this was a minor issue.

In essence, it was just like setting up wireless network sites; once the users were connected, they could access the network’s information database.

This could be achieved through the Faith Channels.

The current Primordial Demon Faith Channels were directly linked to the Primordial Celestial Demon’s Divine Format.

What needed to be done was to add a relay station between the two parties—that is, the first Dao Wheel, the Primordial Star Mother.

Once the setup was complete, the Primordial Demons could not only use their Sub-wheels to download comprehended Divine Communication Technique Emperor Scriptures and computational power from the Primordial Star Mother via spiritual infusion, the gains from their Cultivation would also be fed back to Wu Dao, enhancing his various Cultivation attainments.

Their Cultivation was, in effect, cultivating him.

WHOOSH—

The Primordial Celestial Demon’s Divine Fire blazed.

With a flick of his fingers, the numerous Faith Channels began to change. The faith networks, derived from the points of light representing the Seventy-Two Primordial Demons, were detached from the Divine Format.

Then, Wu Dao manipulated the seventy-two faith networks, linking them to the Primordial Star Mother where they converged into a single beam, which was then re-linked to the Primordial Divine Format.

PHEW—

After finishing the ’surgery,’ Wu Dao let out a slow breath. With a thought, the Seventy-Two Primordial Demons, who had been immersed in a state of ethereal emptiness, all awoke.

"This is..."

Zhao Jianji’s eyes flew open as he was the first to notice the change. His consciousness extended through the Faith Channel, and in an instant, he touched a great, sacred, star-colored sphere of light that contained infinite principles and wisdom.

Behind the great sphere of light, was the shadow of a Demon God, so majestic it was beyond description, unnameable and impossible to look upon directly. It held the sphere of light in its palm, its aura seemingly swallowing the All Heavens and Myriad Realms.

Just by observing a fraction of it, Zhao Jianji felt an impulse to let his entire being fall into it, to assimilate and devote his very self to it.

A god.

Not to be looked upon directly!

His heart filled with reverence, he quickly withdrew his senses, retreating into the comparatively gentler great sphere of light.

Within the sphere of light, it seemed to contain all the profound principles of the All Heavens, the wisdom of Taoist Techniques, and countless symbols of information and scripture, which evolved into one dazzling world after another.

Every flower and every leaf seemed to carry a scripture, a Technique. All of it was interconnected, forming one Heaven-Reaching Great Dao after another.

"Heaven-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique, Five Thunders Celestial Heart Technique... One Origin, Ten Thousand Transformations... Emperor Scripture... Strongest Divine Techniques..."

His Divine Soul’s perception was enveloped by numerous Divine Power Emperor Scriptures that were within arm’s reach. It was as if he were lying in an ocean of the Great Dao, and for a moment, he was completely mesmerized.

Fortunately, his willpower and mind had long been tempered to be unyielding, and he quickly woke from his stupor.

Sensing his surroundings, he discovered that the Divine Thought Incarnations of Chen Ergou, Lv Tiezhu, and the others had also appeared inside the great sphere of light, lost in the Daoist Teachings.

"The Alliance Leader is truly possessed of Mighty Divine Power. With this Star Mother, the Heaven-Stealing Alliance can hold meetings in real-time and instantly transmit orders and information to everyone, no matter if they are at the Ends of the Earth. There will be no need to pass messages one by one anymore."

A sharp glint flashed in Zhao Jianji’s eyes as he thought of many other functions. He muttered to himself,

"More importantly, if we encounter a life-threatening danger while on a mission, we can upload our Divine Soul consciousness to the Star Mother to escape disaster. In a sense, the Seventy-Two Primordial Demons can become Immortal and Undying!"

’He’s quite perceptive...’

Wu Dao watched Zhao Jianji’s Divine Soul’s information activity, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly, confirming that Zhao Jianji’s thoughts were correct.

The Primordial Star Mother’s computational power was terrifying.

It encompassed all phenomena and information, and could construct and reproduce any known Magnetic Field. It could indeed support the Primordial Demons in uploading their Divine Souls into it.

The reason the Divine Souls of the Seventy-Two Primordial Demons could manifest as complete human forms upon entering the Star Mother, rather than as simple streams of thought information, was because the Star Mother deconstructed the Magnetic Field information they carried the instant their thoughts entered, then mobilized Primordial Magnetic Energy to construct a mold that could contain their complete Divine Souls.

If this were his previous life, it could be called digital immortality.

Its strategic significance was immense.

From now on, before the Primordial Demons set out on missions, they could leave a sliver of their Divine Soul and thoughts within the Star Mother. Even if they were ’killed’, their Divine Soul could rely on the Star Mother to escape the danger in an instant.

In the Extraordinary Realm, as long as the very source of one’s Divine Soul was not destroyed, a cultivator at the Dharma Realm could absorb Extraordinary Energy to regenerate their physical body, to say nothing of the Primordial Demons, all of whom possessed the Divine Demon Body.

’If the Star Mother continues to grow, it might become an existence similar to a Main God.’

Wu Dao’s eyes flickered as many ideas for the future formed in his mind.

It wasn’t impossible.

The essential functions of a Main God’s great sphere of light were threefold: life-and-death contracts, mission rewards, and teleportation across the All Heavens.

The contracts were no problem at all.

An ’Evil God’ could control its believers in reverse; a single thought could determine a believer’s life, death, prosperity, or decline.

As for mission rewards and teleportation across the All Heavens, they involved the real-time teleportation of matter, Energy, and information, ignoring the constraints of time and space.

This problem could be solved by a Divine King who had established a Divine Realm within their body and mastered the Power of Law over a world’s time and space.

Such a being could easily ignore distance to influence spacetime, teleport matter, and even have their true body descend across spacetime through a Faith Channel.

’Unfortunately, a Main God isn’t that weak.’

Wu Dao let out a soft breath, temporarily sealing these grand and wonderful ideas in the depths of his heart. With a thought, the Divine Souls of the Primordial Demons, who had been immersed in the Star Mother’s sea of information, instantly returned to their physical bodies.