Essence Devouring Art

Western Desert.

Thousand Souls Cave.

Demon Qi surged to the heavens as black clouds roiled.

"Teleportation Points +500..."

High in the sky,

Wu Dao swallowed the last of the Saint King’s followers and opened his attribute panel—

[Physique: Peak of Human Extremes]

[Extraordinary: Essence Devouring Art (99% Potential Release) +

Three-Phase Divine Punishment Fist 28,000 Years (Nine Fist Transformations) +

Pseudo-Sacred Spirit Transformation 4/5 28,000 Years (Horizontal Refining Ninth Gate, Eighteen Extreme Yang Heavens, Limit) +]

[Great Divine Techniques:

Primordial Magnetic Celestial Saber, Ten Directions Divine Slaughter, Primordial Magnetic Tribulation Finger, Celestial Essence Magnetic Burst Fist, Primordial Magnetic Celestial Prison Cage, Primordial Magnetic Demon Embryo, Black Tortoise Incarnation, Qiongqi’s Karmic Fire, Juntian Sacred Armor, Chaos Heart Monkey.]

[Great All Heavens Divine Techniques: Immune to All Laws (Ninth Transformation) +]

Wind and Thunder Qilin Scripture 100 Years (+)

[Celestial Treasure: Bitter Dust Robe (Spiritual Artifact 50%)

Celestial Treasure Advancement Ceremony: Suffering Dust Mortal Transformation.

Celestial Treasure Law: Concealing Celestial Secret, Cause and Effect Immunity.]

[Teleportation Points: 932,150]

The Saint King was the strongest Alien Species he had ever devoured.

The attribute panel had judged it as a Ninth Transformation being.

A single Demon Pill from it had provided 200,000 Teleportation Points.

After the matter in Naihe County was settled,

Wu Dao had used the Saint King’s memories to track down the followers enslaved by its Celestial Treasure.

Unfortunately,

the Saint King, that hairy beast, had turned many of its Great Demon followers into Cultivation Resources to practice the Wind and Thunder Qilin Scripture.

During its desperate, final struggle,

it seemed to have also burned a large number of its followers.

As a result, after Wu Dao had picked everything clean, he had only harvested about 300,000 Teleportation Points.

In other words,

from this single "sheep," the Saint King,

after "letting it graze" for so long,

Wu Dao had fleeced a total of 500,000 Teleportation Points.

This amount...

was not small.

But it was definitely not a lot at the moment, either.

Because...

after his several power-ups,

the Teleportation Points required to break through the Peak of Human Extremes had barely decreased. He still needed 1,400,000.

A deficit of nearly 500,000...

’Even the most skilled housewife can’t cook a meal without rice.’

Wu Dao let out a soft sigh, feeling a little emotional.

Back in the Warring States period,

the Demon Suppression Emperor had been too ruthless in his slaughter.

In this era, hundreds of years later, only a few big and small cats were left among the Alien Species.

If he had been born in the Warring States period,

he might have already stepped Above Divine Techniques by now.

Unfortunately...

the Saint King was dead.

The biggest source of Alien Species left in the world was the Demon Suppression Emperor’s remains in Dali.

But it was said that not long ago,

the Demon Suppression Emperor had acted to erase the demonic nature from his remains. It was unknown if they still counted as an Alien Species.

But even if they were,

Wu Dao was no longer interested.

’Even if I devoured the Demon Suppression Emperor’s remains, it’d only be 200,000 Teleportation Points.’

’Not to mention, the risk is too great.’

’The reward doesn’t justify it.’

Given the Demon Suppression Emperor’s admonition—or rather, warning—today, it would be foolish to instigate another war between Absolute Peak experts.

Having reached this stage,

Wu Dao finally understood the frustration of the world’s Five Emperors.

In a word:

they were born at the wrong time.

His attribute panel couldn’t get its fill in this Dharma Decline Era.

As Celestial Treasure Masters, the Five Emperors

were also full of ambition, but the environment simply wouldn’t allow for it.

In other words,

their cheats were for the wrong version of the game.

’Fortunately, external power has never been the foundation of my survival.’

Wu Dao’s expression returned to one of indifference. He put away his attribute panel, and his main consciousness returned to his Main Body.

From the Saint King,

besides the 500,000 Teleportation Points,

he had also obtained two rather nice treasures.

Once things settled down,

he could study them properly.

As for this incarnation,

Wu Dao arranged for it to return to the Overlord Whale Alliance’s headquarters.

The Great Tribulation was approaching.

Some plans needed to be prepared in advance.

...

「Divine Wilderness Outer Domain.」

Beneath the Pure White Punishment Domain.

Wu Dao sat cross-legged in the void, his Spiritual Consciousness probing the scale covered in mysterious patterns and the black, diamond-shaped crystal in his palm.

WHOOSH~

A moment later,

Wu Dao opened his eyes and raised a slight eyebrow. "An unexpected delight."

After some investigation,

the nature of the two strange objects in his palm

was already clear to Wu Dao.

The scale covered in mysterious patterns.

It concealed a sea of vibrant Starry Sky Ancestral Blood and seemed to be a Molted Scale from some kind of Sacred Spirit. The aura of age was too ancient to tell which tribulation it was a product of.

But its origin was unimportant.

What was important was the help this scale could provide him.

His Holy Spirit Transformation was now at a critical stage. With the help of the Holy Spirit Ancestral Blood in the scale, his Cultivation would surely be twice as effective with half the effort.

As for the second strange object,

it was also extraordinary.

Although it couldn’t compare to that old monster’s domain, the soul essence within the diamond-shaped crystal still far surpassed the Tenth Tribulation.

With the support of this pure Soul Energy,

not only could he quickly cultivate his Three-Phase Divine Punishment Fist to Nine Transformations Perfection,

but the world-shaking wisdom of the Divine Ghost Heaven, which was suppressed by the Great Dao, could also bypass its restrictions to some extent.

It would accelerate the fusion of the Wind and Thunder Qilin Scripture with his Holy Spirit Transformation,

as well as the fusion of Reversed Celestial Spirit and Immune to All Laws.

The benefits were simply too numerous.

’What a lucky star he was.’

Wu Dao looked at the two strange objects in his palm, and the sense of urgency in his heart dissipated considerably.

The Dao Calamity was growing by the day,

suppressing the Extraordinary in every aspect.

In three months’ time,

even he wasn’t 100% confident he could take that final 1% step.

But now that he had these two strange objects,

it was a completely different story.

It wasn’t just about achieving 100% Human Potential Release.

He had absolute confidence

that in three months, he could fully integrate the final Holy Spirit Technique and cultivate until he took a step into the Half-step Yang God realm!

Once he reached that stage,

how strong would he be?

"Haa... let’s begin."

After calming his mind,

Wu Dao swallowed the two strange objects, flexed his muscles, and strode into the eye of the Pure White Heavenly Punishment sea.

RUMBLE—

The instant he stepped into the pure white ocean,

the liquid, slurry-like Celestial Thunder Gang Wind began to turn like a world-destroying millstone, instantly pulverizing his flesh and leaving only a skeleton in less than a breath.

But Wu Dao’s expression remained unchanged.

He continued to walk forward.

BANG!!

Nineteen thousand one hundred meters.

Wu Dao got his wish.

He exploded into countless cellular particles that seemed to contain a cosmic structure, profound and vast, with galaxies shining within them—like an ancient, starry sky adorning the pure white world.

WENG~

The Magnetic Field spun as he multitasked with his mind.

Under the pull of the Magnetic Field,

the Energy hidden within the Holy Spirit Scale and the ancient expert’s Soul Crystal transformed into a torrential river, pouring into Wu Dao’s countless cells and his soul.

The brilliant starry sky flickered incessantly.

Countless stars, as if they had consumed a Great Nourishing Pill, rapidly multiplied and purified, causing the purity of his Holy Spirit Blood to increase at a swift pace.

CLANG CLANG CLANG—

The world-shaking wisdom of the Divine Ghost Heaven also broke free from its shackles.

Its computational and deductive abilities

nearly returned to their normal levels before being suppressed by the Dao Calamity.

The Wind and Thunder Qilin Scripture...

ROAR!

With a single thought,

a purple Qilin Sacred Beast with a lion’s head, deer antlers, a tiger’s eyes, an elk’s body, dragon scales, and an ox’s tail, its hooves trampling on wind and thunder, charged out of his memory.

In his Sea of Consciousness, woven with divine lights of all colors, it began to collide and merge with his Pseudo-Sacred Spirit Transformation.

At the same time,

Reversed Celestial Spirit fused with Immune to All Laws...

the Three-Phase Divine Punishment Fist Stance transformed into three colossal Celestial Punishment Demons that stood between heaven and earth, manifesting the tribulations of heaven, earth, and man, continuously punching out to strike the surrounding Celestial Thunder Gang Wind...

waves churned in the Sea of Suffering, each crest carrying a fragment of Wu Dao’s tenacious and unyielding life of hardship, resonating with the Bitter Dust Robe to complete the Celestial Treasure Ceremony...

the Primordial Magnetic Field spun, devouring the magnetic energy of the Heavenly Punishment ocean like a whale to maintain the balance of life and death...

And at that very same moment,

’Four days. Barely acceptable.’

A thought flickered in Wu Dao’s mind as he perceived the scene his incarnation, the one teaching Yaya, was witnessing. He offered a detached comment and fell silent once more.

...

「Southern Border.」

The border of the Great Xu Country.

Deep within a boundless, black snowfield.

DONG!

From the bottom of a dark, deep well,

came the muffled sound of earth and rock exploding.

A thick, violent, and savage aura,

accompanied by a powerful updraft, blew away the goose-feather snow falling from the sky.

CRACK!

A small, shriveled hand with broken fingernails, completely lacking any youthful tenderness, gripped the edge of the well, the frozen earth as hard as pig iron.

Messy, weed-like white hair danced in the wind,

revealing a pair of crimson pupils, cold, hollow, and devoid of any emotion. She looked like a Fierce Beast from the arctic wastes that had finally emerged from darkness after enduring countless torments, staring indifferently at Wu Dao.

No one could have imagined

that this Fierce Beast, reeking of brutality,

had been just an innocent, mischievous little girl four days ago.

Four days...

In the rock-solid, dark well,

she had scratched and climbed, again and again.

Again and again, her fingers broke, and she fell back into the darkness, her skin splitting open, the pain seeping into her very marrow.

Upon the thousands of meters of smooth, vertical well walls,

were countless, shocking, blood-stained scratches, and even bite marks!

Her crying, questioning, and hysteria

lasted less than a single hour.

In the time that followed,

there was silence...

...and more silence...

Within the darkness-eroded well,

there was only a deathly silence.

The only sound was the continuous, teeth-grinding scrape and slide of her climbing and falling.

A hundred meters...

Three hundred meters...

Five hundred meters...

...

Like a tireless,

painless, cold machine,

she climbed, fell, and was broken, again and again...

Her humanity was constantly being extinguished.

The primal bestiality hidden in her bloodline was rapidly awakened, transforming into an endless drive to survive.

Finally...

after four days,

a brand-new Yaya—forged and tempered, having undergone a complete Rebirth—climbed out of the well, breaking the long silence.

CRUNCH—CRUNCH—

At the mouth of the well,

Wu Dao looked down at Yaya, whose crimson pupils were deathly hollow. His large foot pinned her small hand to the well’s edge as he relentlessly tore at the piece of thigh meat in his hand.

An unprecedentedly tempting aroma

caused the pores all over Yaya’s body to open involuntarily. Saliva flooded her mouth, and every cell in her body craved the meat in Wu Dao’s hand.

For four days,

not a drop of water or a grain of food had passed her lips.

Her only source of energy was the unknown, high-energy gas that permeated the air.

It was this energy

that supported the trembling of her bloodline, repaired her broken body again and again, and allowed her power to grow rapidly as she climbed without stopping.

But she still felt hunger.

The greed and bloodlust in her bloodline

were simply impossible to suppress in the face of high-grade meat, something she hadn’t had in so long.

And so,

Yaya ignored the small hand being crushed under Wu Dao’s foot. She tilted her head back, her silver hair flying, and her crimson pupils stared directly into Wu Dao’s Black Abyss-like eyes. She smiled hoarsely.

"Yaya’s out, good papa... is there a reward?"

The same innocent liveliness.

Mixed with a bit of a young girl’s naive charm.

What was different was...

...every single word

...was devoid of emotion.

It was like the anthropomorphic voice of a cold machine, chilling one to the bone.

GULP~

Under Yaya’s dead-eyed gaze, Wu Dao swallowed the last bite of meat. A fatherly smile appeared on his expressionless face as he leaned down and dotingly patted Yaya’s somewhat gaunt little cheek.

"A day early. Yaya did a great job."

Just like when they first met,

Yaya narrowed her eyes like a kitten and docilely nuzzled against Wu Dao’s large, warm hand. But in her heart, there wasn’t a trace of warmth.

"Not bad. You’ve even learned the principle of concealing your edge when your strength is inferior. Papa is liking you more and more."

Regarding Yaya’s continued obedient and docile behavior,

and the way she buried all her hatred and loathing deep in her heart,

Wu Dao praised her without reservation.

’A beast of prey is indeed better than a human at adapting and learning the laws of survival from pain and danger.’

’My educational methods are not wrong.’

’Then,’

’it’s time for the second lesson.’

"A reward..."

Wu Dao stroked Yaya’s small head and said in a soft, gentle voice, "Of course there is. But it depends on how sharp our Yaya’s little claws are."

PFFT~

As his voice fell,

an invisible blade of magnetic field sliced through the air.

Flowers of blood bloomed.

But Yaya’s nerves were already numb; she felt no pain at all.

WHOOSH—

Having lost her grip,

Yaya fell back into the darkness once more, trailing a spray of blood.

Ringing in her ears

was only Wu Dao’s gentle lesson:

"I’ll teach you the second lesson—

"The strong desire and plunder. The weak are helpless and pray for their portion.

"If you want to fill your stomach,

"then begin the joyous hunt."

As he spoke,

Wu Dao’s body trembled, and drops of his blood vibrated before falling into the dark Abyss.

At the same time,

RUMBLE—

the deep well shook and expanded,

transforming into a nine-story earth-tower.

Within each story of the tower,

blood drops of varying strength and levels fell, swelled, and squirmed, growing into ferocious Evil Beasts that roared and snarled, their baleful auras surging to the heavens.