Essence Devouring Art

BZZZT—

Outside the Primordial Star Domain.

Within the boundless, deep, and vast cosmos.

The magnetic field of a certain region of space suddenly distorted and blurred. A towering figure in a patched black Daoist robe stepped out, the Star Sea Dao Wheel behind him swirling like a vortex before disappearing into his body.

’It’s less like a black hole and more like a planetary graveyard.’

A divine light flashed in Wu Dao’s eyes, piercing through the void as he gazed toward a forbidden region of space in the distance, where magnetic storms raged.

Myriad stars had fallen onto a vast, black landmass. At its center, a stellar abyss rumbled and spun, continuously pulling in and devouring the broken stars from the cosmos.

The cosmic forbidden zone—the Star Ruins!

Countless stars had fallen into it.

The magnetic fields of planets converged and collided, throwing the laws of the Grand Cosmos into disarray. This chaos brewed a plethora of terrifying disasters that ran rampant throughout the area: thunderbolts, storms, high-energy pulses, contaminating radiation, and extremes of both heat and cold.

Viewed from the perspective of its magnetic field, one would discover that the Star Ruins resembled a super-massive magnetic turbine spinning like a galaxy. Each of its spiral arms was constructed from countless, densely packed smaller turbines.

At the very center, the enormous stellar abyss was the focal point for all sorts of explosive magnetic fields. It was a chaotic, blurry mass, emitting a heart-stopping, destructive gravitational pull.

Besides the explosive magnetic fields, Wu Dao also discovered many ancient ruins within the Star Ruins. Occasionally, he could even see magnificent clusters of buildings floating in the void.

「Tens of thousands of years ago.」

The Star Ruins was the core continent for hundreds, even thousands, of surrounding Star Realms. It was a vast and prosperous Holy Land for cultivation that had once produced a Saint.

Unfortunately, a great war born of vengeance later brought about a world-ending catastrophe. It was struck by a single palm and turned into a wasteland.

「Tens of thousands of years later.」

It had formed into the cosmic forbidden zone known today as the Star Ruins.

’A perfect training ground.’

Wu Dao retracted his gaze and couldn’t help but clap his hands in admiration.

Within the Star Ruins, all sorts of high-energy magnetic fields from the Grand Cosmos converged, capable of satisfying the cultivation needs for any of his Divine Techniques.

’Desolate God...’

He thought about the impending arrival of the Desolate God.

Wu Dao’s gaze swept across the Star Ruins.

In the outer regions, he discovered a mirage projecting a vast, ancient landscape of rivers and mountains. It seemed both illusory and real, carrying the distinct feeling that it was about to cross through space and time to descend upon the present world.

As for the strength of the incoming Desolate God?

Unknown.

However, according to common sense, the cosmic Extraordinary rules in the Border Wilderness were limited. The Mountain and Sea space-time it was connected to had to maintain a balance, so a hopelessly powerful Desolate God was unlikely to appear.

Otherwise, some of the factions from the surrounding Star Realms wouldn’t come to the Star Ruins to join the fray, knowing full well it could be a suicide mission.

BZZZT—

A fluctuation in the void’s magnetic field not far away pulled Wu Dao back from his thoughts.

Looking over, he saw a fleet, led by a large Grotto Heaven Level Starship, decelerating as it headed for a port city on the outskirts of the Star Ruins.

That’s right, there were human settlements on the outskirts of the Star Ruins.

Tens of thousands of years ago, the Star Ruins had been prosperous and flourishing, home to hundreds of great Extraordinary factions, and Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands were as common as ox hair.

Even after being smashed into a junkyard, it still attracted countless prospectors from all eras who ventured inside to search for ancient legacies, fortuitous opportunities, precious minerals, and Heavenly and Earthly Treasures.

Over time, human settlements naturally sprang up.

Generally speaking, as long as these prospectors didn’t venture too deep into the Star Ruins, they wouldn’t encounter any truly terrifying disasters.

WHOOSH—

Wu Dao glanced at the settlement on the periphery, only tens of millions of miles from the mirage, and began striding toward the city.

The magnetic field fluctuations from the mirage were incredibly strong.

He estimated that the Desolate God would descend soon.

His cultivation could wait for now.

The Desolate God Essence Blood was an accelerant for the Horizontal Refining Ten Sects. If his twenty ’hungry’ Heaven-Opening Techniques had enough Teleportation Points, they could also be quickly advanced to the Dharma Aspect level.

Therefore, this was a feast he could not afford to miss.

...

Lost Star City.

The largest human settlement on the outskirts of the Star Ruins.

It was a place where the tendrils of various factions from surrounding Star Realms reached, where righteous and demonic Loose Cultivators gathered. With no rules to constrain them, it was an extreme mix of the good and the bad.

The only unspoken rule was that no one could destroy Lost Star City.

Thus, no matter how great their conflict, cultivators would not fight within the city. Doing so would provoke a collective attack from everyone else.

WHOOSH—

Wu Dao strode into the city. Concealed by his Bitter Dust Robe, his aura was hidden. He was like an ordinary traveler, drawing no attention.

"Freshly gathered Dragon Crystal Grass from the Star Ruins! A top-grade Great Medicine for Transverse Cultivation! Only five hundred Divine Stones! Don’t miss out, folks, step right up!"

"The Treasure House has just unearthed a new batch of ancient texts! Headlining the auction is the Heaven-Reaching Sect’s ’True Understanding of Talismans’! Bidding starts at one hundred Crystal Phase Stones! It will go to whoever is destined to have it!"

"Linglong Square is sincerely recruiting five Mining Masters! Compensation to be discussed with interested parties!"

"A Relic Treasure Map for sale..."

...

The streets were lined with stalls and shops.

The air was filled with the unending sounds of hawkers crying their wares, soliciting customers, and haggling, giving it the lively atmosphere of a marketplace.

But the occasional flashes of divine, treasured light and the massive Immortal Ships that sometimes descended above the city were a constant reminder of this place’s extraordinary nature.

Wu Dao walked along the street.

He had no interest in treasure hunting or looking for a lucky find.

With a single glance, he could use their magnetic fields to judge the true quality of most of the so-called treasures. They were far too low-grade to arouse his interest.

In comparison, he was more interested in the cultivators within the city.

There were no mortals in Lost Star City.

Even cultivators below the Divine Techniques realm were unqualified to survive on this isolated island in the eye of a magnetic storm.

The Heaven and Earth Energy here was violent and full of contamination.

For those below the Divine Techniques realm, long-term residence and absorption of too many contaminated Extraordinary Factors would, at best, lead to cultivation deviation. At worst, it would damage their Dantian and sever their future prospects.

Even Divine Ability Users had to leave Lost Star City periodically to cleanse their contaminated spirits and bodies. Only those at the Dharma Realm had the ability to survive here long-term.

Because it wasn’t a place for permanent residence, Lost Star City was not large.

Combined with the harsh environment, it was less a city and more of an adventurer’s camp from a video game. With people constantly coming and going, its peak population was around one hundred thousand.

This number might seem small, but if that population consisted almost entirely of Divine Ability Users and Great Divine Power Users from various Star Realms, then its significance was completely different.

’If I were to... Tsk.’

Wu Dao perceived the Divine Ability Users coming and going around him, the corners of his mouth curling slightly. It was as if he were looking at a series of walking, humanoid batteries.

’The purity is very high.’

’Many of them are accomplished Horizontal Refiners whose Life Magnetic Fields are far stronger than those of normal cultivators, which also means they have a longer service life.’

BZZZT—

Just as Wu Dao was about to find a place to stay, a massive shadow fell over Lost Star City. It carried with it a wild, scorching Yang-current, causing a considerable commotion in the city.

"Tyrant Flame Star? The Big Horn Star Domain is who knows how many light-years from the Star Ruins. I can’t believe they came all this way."

"It’s not surprising. I heard the Star Lord of Tyrant Flame Star has been stuck at the Horizontal Refining Ten Sects for many years. He definitely wouldn’t miss out on a supreme treasure for Transverse Cultivation like the Desolate God Essence Blood."

"Heh, now we’ve got a good show to watch. The Vacuum Sect, the Overlord of the Primordial Star Domain, has had its eyes on this since the mirage first appeared. There’s bound to be a fierce struggle."

...

The discussions in the city were endless.

Hearing that the newcomers were also after the Desolate God Essence Blood, Wu Dao couldn’t help but look up, his eyes narrowing slightly.

A million miles above Lost Star City, a gigantic, spherical Grotto Heaven Level Starship was suspended in the void.

It was like a golden sun pressing down from the sky, unleashing a majestic light and heat that was Supreme Yang and Firm, burning the surrounding space until it distorted and blurred.

Within that great, sun-like starship, there seemed to be a hidden dragon’s nest. Inside, Ancient Barbaric Dragons with heaven-shaking qi and blood exuded a magnificent and tyrannical aura. If they were to leave their nest, they could tear apart the stars and the heavens.

BZZZT—

After the resplendent, sun-like starship arrived, no living beings emerged. Nor did it dock at the port. Instead, it occupied the space above Lost Star City, looking down upon the cultivators in the city from its high vantage point.

But most people in the city, faced with this domineering behavior, were angry but dared not speak out. They shot it a glance and quickly looked away.

The reason was simple. It was simply because Tyrant Flame Star was a faction from the Big Horn Star Domain, in the outer ring of the Chaotic Star Heaven. They were far beyond what the ’country bumpkins’ of the Border Wilderness could afford to provoke.

In a sense, this could be considered regional discrimination within the Extraordinary Realm.

Within the Chaotic Star Celestial Domain, those from the core of the Celestial Domain looked down on those from the inner ring, the inner ring looked down on the outer ring, and then everyone looked down on the backwater Border Wilderness.

It wasn’t because of any noble bloodline.

It was simply a matter of the gap in strength.

In a place like the Border Wilderness, even a gradeless Dharma Phase Practitioner like the Golden Cloud Sect Master could become an Overlord and make a name for himself across a Star Realm.

But in the outer ring of the Celestial Domain, a gradeless Dharma Phase Practitioner wouldn’t even rank. Only those with a King Grade Dharma Aspect could hold any sort of status.

The Star Lord of Tyrant Flame Star cultivated the Horizontal Refining Ten Sects. His Body Image world was undoubtedly a Saint Grade Dharma Aspect, and he was a prominent figure in the Big Horn Star Domain. Naturally, he didn’t need to give any face to the country bumpkins of the Border Wilderness.

’A Yang God...’

Wu Dao stared at the Tyrant Flame Starship, sensing a Life Magnetic Field from its depths that was as profound as an abyss and intensely hot and fierce, like a slumbering Ancient Fierce Beast.

’At least the Body Image Fourth Step.’

Based on the intensity of the magnetic field, Wu Dao roughly confirmed the power level of the Star Lord of Tyrant Flame Star.

The various paths of Transverse Cultivation were the most difficult. But once one achieved success, their physical combat power was in no way inferior to the Military Dao, which possessed the greatest killing power.

If one became a Sacred Spirit and entered the realm of the Ten Yang Gods, it would be even more incredible—a guaranteed Saint Grade physical Dharma Aspect.

How big was the gap between Saint Grade and King Grade?

Setting other things aside, this Star Lord of Tyrant Flame Star, at the Fourth Step of a Saint Grade Body Image, could rely on his physical body alone to fight across realms and strike down the Vacuum Sect’s Upper True God, the Mother of the Void.

This was because, according to various intelligence reports, the Mother of the Void’s nascent Divine Country was only Dragon Elephant King Grade. The potential gap was too vast; even if she cultivated to the perfection of the Nine Steps, it would only be equivalent to the fifth step of a Saint Grade path.

RUMBLE—

As Wu Dao was observing the Tyrant Flame Starship, an explosive astral wind, carrying an intense, bone-chilling sharpness, gusted from another direction.

An ominous, disastrous aura boomed out, enveloping all of Lost Star City.

It felt as if the apocalypse had arrived, that endless calamitous punishments were about to destroy the mortal world, making one’s heart tremble in fear.

Opposite the Tyrant Flame Starship, a massive fleet of several hundred sword-shaped starships appeared. They surrounded a main vessel wreathed in wind and thunderbolts, its thousand points and ten thousand blades resembling a mountain of weapons. Releasing an endless, ominous aura of disaster and punishment, the fleet slowly sailed toward Lost Star City, coming to a halt in the sky in a remote standoff with the Tyrant Flame Starship.

Wu Dao didn’t need to inquire; the onlookers in the city already revealed the origin of this massive fleet—

The Qianzai Alliance.

Also from the outer Big Horn Star Domain.

A pure Soldier Cultivator alliance.

Every Soldier Cultivator in it cultivated disaster-related Military Dao Divine Techniques. Their destructive killing power was terrifying; when they fought, it was like the descent of a Disaster God.

The Alliance Leader of the Qianzai Alliance was furthermore a Sword Dao Emperor who possessed a Saint Grade Military Dao Dharma Aspect. His fearsome reputation in the Big Horn Star Domain was on par with that of the Tyrant Flame Star Lord.

POP—

A moment after the auras of the Tyrant Flame Starship and the Qianzai Alliance clashed, the void in another direction peeled open, layer by layer, like flower petals.

It revealed a black lotus as large as a star, constructed from innumerable petals. Waves of devout praise murmured through space, inspiring endless yearning in all who heard it, making them wish to convert and enter the pure and untroubled Vacuum Home.

The Overlord of the Primordial Star Domain, the Vacuum Sect!

"Hmph!"

CLANG!

A cold snort like a clap of Celestial Thunder and the sound of a disastrous blade being unsheathed rang out simultaneously. Ripples spread through space, despotically crushing the spreading divine light of conversion.

The hostility between the Tyrant Flame Starship and the Qianzai Alliance dissipated as they simultaneously targeted the Vacuum Sect. It had the distinct air of an ’Overseas Dragon’ intimidating a ’Local Bully’.

However, although the auras of the three factions were in sharp opposition, they did not immediately break out into a fight. It was clear they all wanted to conserve their strength and settle the score after the Desolate God descended.