Essence Devouring Art

[Since you’re all so insistent, I’ll power through my exhaustion to finish this section for you. Hehe.]

...

「The Mountain and Sea Realm!」

Gouwu Mountain, in the Juntian of North Mountain!

Beneath Gouwu Mountain lies the Jade Abyss, home to the North Mountain Master who devours heaven and earth!

HUMMM—

Within the Jade Abyss, shimmering with myriad colors.

In the deepest darkness, a place that seemed to have buried All Heavens and Myriad Realms and endless space-time.

A behemoth began to stir and tremble!

The Great Dao sank, and all worlds shattered!

A supreme aura pierced through the Jade Abyss. It suppressed the vast North Mountain, spread across the ancient Mountain and Sea Realm, and rippled through the boundless Chaotic Void Sea. It reached out, searching for the brilliant, immeasurable behemoth at the center of the Chaotic Void—

Hongyuan!

"Yaya..."

An ancient, world-weary murmur filled with warmth and longing permeated everything, startling the ancient titans within the Jade Abyss!

"Open the North Mountain Scripture! Welcome Her Highness home!"

A trembling, impassioned voice echoed from the Ancestral Hall in the depths of the Jade Abyss. Supreme Dao Essence manifested, its roar shaking the Sea of Chaos!

HUMMM—

An ancient scripture, part map and part text, which contained all the phenomena and Ten Thousand Races of North Mountain and manifested all sorts of supreme principles and orders, soared out from the Jade Abyss. It forcefully bypassed the blockade of the Ten Thousand Races Alliance at Shanhai Pass!

SHRRRAAAA—

The sound of its pages turning, audible to all living things, rose and fell like a tide. It grew ever louder, its fluctuations reaching across the Three Thousand Great Paths and the countless worlds and timelines!

The radiance of its supreme order was omnipresent!

At its peak, it even illuminated and shook the vast Sea of Chaos, unleashing the mighty Power of the Great Dao to envelop the behemoth, Hongyuan, at the center of the Chaos!

Its target!

Was aimed directly at the Chaotic Star Heaven!

...

「The Chaotic Star Heaven!」

Huanwu Mountain, on the Taiyi Emperor Star!

Before the disturbance in the Mountain and Sea Realm!

As the Divine No Evil Lotus first bloomed!

CLANG!

Heeding Little Caique’s warning and urged on by a sense of mortal danger, Yaya fled with all speed toward the outskirts of Cosmic Mountain.

But she was still a step too slow.

She came to a halt at the edge of the last world, a place of raging wind and snow, and smashed a fist against the cage wall woven from countless chains of starlight!

"When the dragons have no leader, the world knows great fortune!"

The thunderous voice of a mysterious expert, who seemed to embrace the Star River, shook the various pocket dimensions of Cosmic Mountain.

Immediately after, the sound of stars falling to earth resounded throughout Huanwu Mountain. THUD THUD THUD—

It was as if Abyssal Demon Gods were descending one after another. Even across the void of different worlds, Yaya could still feel the terrifying pressure from each of them.

’The Dragon Hunting Tower?’

Yaya took a deep breath. She pulled her gaze away from the mysterious expert who was gradually blurring into the Star River and turned to face the imposing, black-robed demonic figure that had appeared at the other end of the world.

"Grave danger! Grave danger! Yaaah!!"

Inside her Grotto Heaven.

The moment Little Caique saw that demonic figure, all of its feathers stood on end.

It finally understood the source of the terrifying, dark omen it had sensed ever since entering Huanwu Mountain!

’The target isn’t milady!’

’It’s all the living creatures on this mountain, including milady!’

’It’s over!’

’My life as a bird is over just as it began!’

Little Caique cried out in despair. Inside Yaya’s Grotto Heaven, it hugged its head and shivered like an ostrich.

From every single one of those demonic figures descending from the Star Sea, it felt a suffocating, despair-inducing pressure—the aura of an absolute apex predator.

’Milady could give it her all.’

’She might be able to take down the one in front of her in a mutual-destruction gambit.’

’But there are hundreds more, not to mention that terrifying Demon King looming over the Star River like the face of heaven itself!’

’We’re screwed!’

’We’re really, truly screwed!’

"Not bad."

Wu Dao’s Incarnation, dressed in a black robe, stood tall and imposing at the other end of the desolate world. An ominous, bloodthirsty Magnetic Field enveloped him. His eyes glowed faintly as he gazed at the peerless, Red-Armored witch at the world’s edge, and he couldn’t help but clap his hands in praise.

’His Main Body’s pressure is suppressing all of Huanwu Mountain.’

’Almost no one below the Creation Realm can even stand. This cold, iron-willed witch before me is clearly only at the Cave Heavens Realm, yet she’s completely unaffected.’

’That level of cultivation and willpower...’

’It’s not the least bit inferior to the two young Venerables, Wuchen and Mo Chen.’

’When I first locked onto her as a target,’

’I didn’t have time to study her in detail. I just felt this little cutie was a bit mysterious.’

’I didn’t expect...’

’...that she would give me such a pleasant surprise. She’s even more alluring now.’

Yaya’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the mysterious person at the other end of the world. She spat out two cold words, "A fake!"

’I am protected and concealed by a Supreme Mark.’

’And this person before me...’

’...gives me the feeling of being one of my own kind. He’s clearly also using some supreme characteristic to hide his true information.’

’I can’t see through him.’

’But that doesn’t mean I can’t sense it.’

’Hm?’

This time, Wu Dao was genuinely surprised. ’Within my Dao, Primordial Chaos is the extreme. My Bitter Dust Robe, a 100% Emperor’s Artifact, may just be a tiger’s skin to bluff with, but it still possesses a supreme characteristic.’

’To sense a supreme characteristic...’

’...one must possess a similar supreme Power!’

’This little cutie...’

HUM!

The magnetic field information of all existence began to seethe.

Wu Dao’s eyes glowed as he analyzed the witch’s magnetic field information on a deeper level. Deep within layer after layer of data...

...he found a familiar and obscure supreme magnetic field.

’After twenty years.’

’I’ve finally captured it again!’

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~

Wind and snow raged as space-time fell into disarray.

Wu Dao quietly watched the perfect figure at the end of the world. Her black hair was gradually dusted with snow, a crimson light bloomed in her Black Pupils, and a primitive, bestial nature was slowly and fiercely taking over.

In a trance,

he seemed to once again see the snow sprite who had danced so gracefully in the blizzard twenty years ago.

’She’s lost her childish mischief.’

’And gained far too much violent, ferocious balefulness.’

’The adorable, soft little kitten I once held in my arms has finally become what I wanted her to be.’

WHOOSH~

The wind and snow grew even more intense.

It was now tinged with the frenzied, savage aura of a cornered beast fighting for its life.

’Although fate has been somewhat capricious,’

’however,’

’twenty years ago, I already foresaw what it would be like when father and daughter met again.’

’It’s happened much earlier than expected.’

’And the auspicious signs foretold by destiny show no sign of coming true.’

’But...’

’...checking my daughter’s homework ahead of schedule,’

’providing some appropriate loving education,’

’and preventing her from going astray by guiding her onto the correct path of growth—these are the duties of a father.’

HUM—BOOM!

Wu Dao’s gaze was calm. His dormant, abyss-like aura began to awaken, strand by strand, sending billions of tons of snow surging backward to drown the world.

Amidst the blinding blizzard that obscured heaven and earth, Yaya stood on high alert. The Heart Lake Alarm Bell in her mind was ringing wildly.

Finally, she heard that familiar, gentle voice—a voice that made her heart ache, her throat tighten, and the blood-red light in her eyes burn with unparalleled intensity:

"My Little Yaya is all grown up. Are you homesick? Then come home."

’The same loving gentleness.’

’The same...’

’...domineering cold-bloodedness!’

"Heh... heh heh..."

Twenty years of accumulated "longing" erupted in an instant. A thousand words were reduced to a bewitching, dangerous, and frenzied laugh.

Under that pressure, which was as deep as an abyss and as vast as the heavens,

her snow-white hair, three thousand strands strong, danced in the wind. The perfect, wondrous figure that outshone the stars strode forward with unwavering steps.

The Asura-like bloodlight in her crimson eyes was profound. The curve of her smile grew ever more beautiful as she broke through the wind and snow, marching step by step toward that seemingly insurmountable mountain.

"Don’t... treat me... like... a plaything in your hands... anymore, you old bastard!!"

Her frenzied murmurs grew louder and more resonant, becoming like thunder, her killing intent laid bare!

Like a rebellious blade from the Abyss.

A wild beast in a cage!

It let out a hysterical roar at its master outside the bars, refusing to accept its fate!

ROAR!!

A primitive beast’s roar from the primordial wilderness shattered the starry sky of the Nine Heavens. The supreme aura of a Primordial Ancestor was fully unleashed, its pressure annihilating the vast, snow-white canopy of the Ten Directions!

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~

The predator’s pressure, originating from the Life Ancestor’s lineage, was like a ferocious, baleful gale from the primeval era of Heaven Opening. It whipped Wu Dao’s black robes, making them flutter wildly.

Within his pupils, which rippled slightly,

was the reflection of a primeval, supremely Fierce Beast that devoured heaven and earth, its pressure suppressing all living beings in the All Heavens—

As massive as a Divine Peak, it was covered in snow-white fur. It had the body of an ox, the horns of a ram, and the head of a lion, with eyes under its armpits. Its head had no facial features, only a great, crimson, serrated maw that rumbled and churned like a bottomless abyss!

A Taotie!

’One of the four great Heaven-Opening Primordial Races of the Mountain and Sea!’

’The Common Lord of North Mountain!’

’No wonder, no wonder...’

’All my previous doubts...’

’...vanished the moment Yaya finally revealed her true form. Everything makes sense now.’

’Yaya has the bloodline of the North Mountain Common Lord.’

’Wuchen has the legacy of the Netherworld Reincarnation Emperor.’

’My judgment really is impeccable...’

Wu Dao’s black robes fluttered. A faint smile touched his lips as his plans for the future became even clearer.

’However...’

’...first, I still need to educate my disobedient, rebellious daughter.’

CRACK CRACK~

Wu Dao cracked his neck and took a step forward, shattering the Life Ancestor’s pressure that Yaya had unleashed with her bloodline. A ferocious, evil-ghost-like grin spread across his face.

"We haven’t seen each other for twenty years. It seems you’ve forgotten what I taught you: when your strength is inferior, you hide your edge and restrain your sharpness. So-called belief and dignity are nothing but a joke in the face of absolute power!"

"You’ve grown up, and that makes Daddy very happy."

"But Daddy is not satisfied with how foolish you look right now!"

"Enough! Who do you think you are? What right do you have to decide my life? I’ll go where I want and do what I—"

BOOM!!

A punch as heavy as the toppling heavens!

It cut off Yaya’s frenzied roar!

Her abyssal head, tens of millions of times larger than any star, twisted and compressed. Her Taotie body, massive as a Divine Peak or a Celestial Pillar, cracked and shattered nonstop as she was smashed viciously against the starlight barrier!

"My foolish daughter, have you forgotten again? Words and glares can’t kill people. They only provoke your enemy and make you die faster!"

Wu Dao hovered at the world’s zenith. He grinned and flexed his fingers. His body was as tiny as a speck of dust, but to Yaya, he felt heavier and more profound than tens of millions of mountains!

ROAR!!!

Spurred on by the pain and her increasingly rebellious, frenzied consciousness, Yaya’s bloodline was completely unleashed, and she fully transformed into her beast form!

The aura of her Taotie Primordial Ancestor bloodline surged. Her giant crimson maw became like an abyss swallowing the world, pulling everything around it toward utter destruction!

The reason Yaya hated Wu Dao!

It wasn’t because he had personally pushed her into the Abyss time and time again, bringing her to the brink of eternal damnation!

Just as Wu Dao had said.

’All of fate’s gifts come with a price tag.’

Without Wu Dao,

her fate would have been even worse.

The main reason she hated Wu Dao,

as she herself had said,

was that he had been scheming against her from the very beginning, treating her like a marionette, a plaything in his hands to be carved and manipulated at will!

Of all the living beings in the world,

not a single one with the capacity for independent thought

would be willing to have their life and destiny controlled and toyed with by another, to be led toward a predetermined fate and become an empty-shelled puppet!

It was like that twenty years ago.

And it’s like that again twenty years later!

Coming home.

Yes, she did want to go home.

She could go home anytime she wanted.

But if going home was also just another part of Wu Dao’s plan for her life...

Then—

NO!!!

"Coming home is for your own good. You’ve become fixated."

Wu Dao watched Yaya, who had become even more frenzied after being provoked, and sighed helplessly.

’Yaya’s obsession with me...’

’...has become twisted and pathological. She’s completely fixated, possessed even, rebelling just for the sake of rebellion.’

’But it doesn’t matter.’

’A disobedient child has usually just not been beaten enough!’

’She won’t go back?’

’Then I’ll just have to give her a harsh lesson. Once I crush all the foundations of her rebellion, she’ll naturally learn to behave.’

...

「Huanwu Mountain.」

As one of the All Heavens Emperor’s Soldiers from the era of the Four Tribulations, even in its dormant state, its structure and scale were extraordinarily vast.

From the foot of the mountain to its peak, numerous spatial interlayers, Grotto Heavens, and Pocket Worlds were hidden within the space-time of the Ten Directions.

The world where Wu Dao was "educating" Yaya was just one small corner and didn’t attract anyone’s attention.

Of course, no one had the energy to pay attention right now.

After the Star River Array sealed off Huanwu Mountain, while Wu Dao’s Main Body was targeting Mo Chen, his Incarnations, like Gods and Demons, swarmed into Huanwu Mountain like a plague of Primordial Demon locusts.

Wielding enhanced versions of the Immortal Binding Rope and disguised as members of the Dragon Hunting Tower, they used their Magnetic Fields to lock onto the Pocket Worlds where the Celestial Prides of the All Heavens were hiding. They knocked out and bound the Celestial Prides one by one, like catching piglets, and packed them up to be taken away.

Resistance?

It was a complete joke!

Each transformed Primordial Demon could slay a Son of Revival at the Cave Heavens Realm. Even a monster at the Cave Heavens Realm who had unlocked the Mixed Lotus Extreme Path and perfected three paths of the Thirty-Third Heavens wouldn’t last more than a few rounds!

Not to mention, most of the teams were reinforced by Incarnations that were just one level below Wu Dao himself.

They steamrolled everything in their path!

Like picking up fish on a beach, they swiftly rounded up batch after batch of "plump fish." They took every single one, planning to use them as hardworking power generators!

CLANG—!!

As the "fishing" operation proceeded with frantic intensity in all directions, the struggle on the summit of Cosmic Mountain—to see whether man’s will would triumph or if Celestial Mandate was truly inviolable—had reached its final stage.

The sound of a billion great bells and metal instruments clashing in unison thundered throughout Huanwu Mountain, reverberated across the Star Sea, and traveled to the farthest reaches of the cosmos.