Essence Devouring Art

The primary reason Mo Chen was able to create the Worldly Grass Sword, which encompasses the myriad Sword Daos of the world, was his Sword Nurturing Gourd.

For years, he had traveled across the All Heavens.

He challenged one prestigious Sword Dao sect and clan after another.

He was constantly completing the ascension ritual for his Celestial Treasure. Now, the Sword Nurturing Gourd was just a hair’s breadth from reaching the ranks of a Heavy Artifact!

But even though it hadn’t become a Heavy Artifact yet...

...the current Sword Nurturing Gourd was already terrifying. It had imprinted and nurtured the sword qi of Sword Dao titans from across the All Heavens.

Once the gourd was opened!

It was like having a procession of Sword Dao Great Powers, their realms suppressed, all attacking at once. At the same cultivation level, it was enough to crush anyone!

"I have a sword, to slay gods and vanquish demons!"

At the Peak of Chaos.

Mo Chen’s robes whipped in the wind, making him look like the Sword Dao Lord incarnate. His eyes contained the principles and order of countless Sword Daos as he pointed his fingers like a blade, slashing down at Wuchen from a distance!

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The moment his sword-fingers slashed down...

...the towering figures of Sword Dao titans, filling the universe in every direction, simultaneously raised their swords. They unleashed slashes of sword light that outshone all of history, sealing off life and death as they brilliantly illuminated the entirety of Huanwu Mountain and lit up the desolate Star Sea!

Unrivaled and inexorable!

One sword was unleashed, and ten thousand followed!

The principles and order of the Sword Dao throughout history transformed into a surging river of swords that submerged everything. The unparalleled sharpness filled every inch of space, its pressure causing Wuchen’s physical body to begin to disintegrate!

...

"A Celestial Treasure..."

「Outside Cosmic Mountain.」

Wu Dao, who was in the final stages of establishing a blockade, glanced sideways at Huanwu Peak. He saw the towering figures unleashing sword light that illuminated the All Heavens and shattered Chaos.

As a fellow Celestial Treasure Master, he naturally recognized at a glance that the Sword Nurturing Gourd was a Celestial Treasure and wasn’t surprised that Mo Chen possessed one.

’The Power of Rule...’

’It seems to imprint the Sword Daos of the All Heavens, nurturing and benefiting itself, while also being able to transform into an unparalleled Killing Array.’

’In a battle between peers, with the help of this Celestial Treasure, one would indeed be invincible. Even that Su Chen he encountered some time ago would be no match.’

’However...’

’Relying on a single Celestial Treasure... won’t be enough to suppress that little guy Wuchen.’

He exhaled.

After looking away, Wu Dao sped up his search for the core nodes of the Star Sea Array’s Magnetic Field. He estimated that after a few more exchanges, both sides would have revealed all their trump cards.

’Before that happens, I must take advantage of the fact that the attention of the All Heavens is drawn to their battle to quickly link these core nodes together.’

’So... don’t disappoint your master, little Wuchen.’

’Just hold on a little longer.’

...

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

On the ceaselessly shaking Venerable Enlightenment Platform, billions of sword lights converged into a tide. The Sword Dao Great Powers of all ages struck in unison, their attack swirling like a glorious sea, sealing off all of Wuchen’s escape routes at the eye of the storm!

"Is this... your... trump card?!"

Amidst the endless barrage of sword light, Wuchen slowly looked up like a Purgatory Demon God being suppressed and judged by the heavens. His eyes shot out a glint of unyielding defiance as the Purgatory Karmic Fire engulfing his body blazed fiercely!

DANG! DANG! DANG!

The moment his gaze met Wuchen’s Abyss Demon King-like eyes, the Heart Lake Alarm Bell finally rang in Mo Chen’s mind. The power of his descending sword-fingers intensified!

BUZZ—

And in the instant before the Sword Sea completely submerged Wuchen!

Billions of strands of ancient black light—deeper than a black hole and seemingly from the lowest depths of Hell—suddenly burst from Wuchen’s every pore, carrying an intensely ominous aura of death!

WHOOSH!

That eternal black light was like the perfect accelerant for the Karmic Fire, carrying with it the wails and screams of countless tormented Gods and Demons.

It ignited a black Purgatory flame that pierced the Nine Heavens, burning down the Sword Sea and even collapsing Chaos itself!

ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!

RUMBLE!

Amidst the agonized roars of billions of Gods and Demons, the Eighteen Netherworlds—representing ultimate death from the deepest part of the Netherworld—began to open up within the black Karmic Fire!

Evolving all kinds of Hell Realms, it seemed to want to bury everything in the world, dragging all existence in the All Heavens and even the Immortal God Path into Eternal Purgatory to suffer for eternity without hope of release!

BUZZ!!

Then, with another thought, the Eighteen Netherworlds and the black Karmic Fire raging through the Nine Heavens suddenly contracted and condensed, forming a black killing blade in Wuchen’s hand that devoured all light in the world!

Holding the blade of black light, Wuchen whispered hoarsely, like an evil ghost from the deepest pits of Hell:

"I have a blade, Abi Eighteen."

CLANG!!

With a single slash!

Ghosts and gods wailed, and the Great Dao mourned!

The impossibly deep abyss of blade light erupted, swallowing all the brilliance in the world. The ultimate dark Reincarnation of Hell annihilated all creation, submerging all existence!

Sword Dao titans, Celestial Treasure Rules, Taoist Magic and Divine Techniques...

...under this one slash, all lost their color, buried in a dark Hell for eternity with no hope of release, a fated and predetermined end!

Abi Eighteen!

The ultimate skill that the Reincarnation Emperor spent ten thousand years comprehending in the Eighteen Netherworlds!

One slash!

The Eighteen Netherworlds manifest!

Bury everything, punish everything!

During the time of the Five Tribulations!

This ultimate skill had shone brilliantly, once even burying a Mixed Yuan Tao Emperor on the battlefields of the Netherworld!

DANG! DANG! DANG!—BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Wherever the dark Purgatory passed, it truly possessed the terrifying Mighty Power to bury all of Reincarnation. Even the Celestial Treasure Sword Nurturing Gourd trembled!

The phantoms of the Sword Dao Great Powers shattered and were annihilated one by one as the attack surged unstoppably toward the only point of light left in the darkness—Mo Chen!

The Demon!

It seemed he would truly extinguish a god!

But...

Even though his Sword Nurturing Gourd technique had been broken, even though the demonic flames and darkness submerged everything, Mo Chen showed not a hint of panic or alarm. A myriad of holy lights and principles intertwined in his eyes, piercing through the darkness to gaze upon the Demon God-like Wuchen.

"Evil can never defeat righteousness. If this Demon Dao technique is your trump card..."

WHOOSH!

The last sliver of light, nearly crushed by the darkness, suddenly erupted with brilliant holy light at the final moment. The sound of rustling leaves accompanied the ringing of Daoist Teachings as it scattered countless rays of enlightening wisdom that washed away all demonic filth and Illusion Barriers.

HISSS—

Wherever the golden light of the Great Dao passed, the boundless darkness melted like snow. As if it had met its nemesis, it frantically retreated and dissipated, replaced by a radiant Saint Realm that tolerated no evil, filth, or Illusion Barriers.

At the core of the Saint Realm, a towering Bodhi Tree, woven from thousands of Dao Patterns and principles of law, swayed gently.

Its countless lush, green leaves exuded a fragrance that cleansed the soul and eliminated Illusion Barriers, its radiance illuminating the entire Dark World!

"An Innate Spirit Root, the Bodhi Enlightenment Tree! That little bastard’s luck is simply heaven-defying!"

「Inside the personal Grotto Heaven.」

The Big Black Wolf stared with bloodshot eyes at the Bodhi Enlightenment Tree that was resonating with Daoist Teachings, almost unable to resist jumping out to seize it on the spot!

Innate Spirit Root!

As the name implies, they are ancient Spiritual Objects formed from the convergence of the world’s spiritual energy and Dao rhythm that have existed since the Heaven Opening.

In a sense, Innate Spirit Roots are the true treasures of the Celestial Dao, also known as Dao Treasures. They possess all sorts of heaven-defying, fate-changing, and incredible powers.

According to legend, there is a type of Innate Spirit Root called the Ginseng Fruit Tree. A mortal who eats one of its fruits can become an Immortal True Immortal, with a lifespan equal to the heavens, living forever!

Mo Chen’s Bodhi Enlightenment Tree is ranked among the highest of the many Innate Spirit Roots. With this Spirit Root, one is free from barriers and demons, possessing a Dao heart of clear wisdom.

Any Taoist Magic and Divine Techniques, one learns them instantly and masters them in a flash!

Protected by the Bodhi Enlightenment Tree, one need not worry about Dao injuries, external demons, or Illusion Barriers on the path ahead. It truly is a heaven-defying object that countless cultivators, even Great Emperor Celestial Venerables, would fight to possess!

UPROAR—

The moment the Bodhi Enlightenment Tree appeared, below the Venerable Dao Platform, all the spectators—whether they were at the Creation Realm or were Celestial Prides of a Grotto Heaven—had fervent gazes, unable to suppress the greed erupting in their hearts.

’Such a heaven-defying Dao Treasure. If I could make it my own, the path of the Great Dao would be wide open!’

But when they thought of the Celestial Court backing Mo Chen, their greedy gazes were all extinguished.

’They might have the life to take it, but they wouldn’t live to enjoy it!’

But before the fire in their hearts could be extinguished, another heaven-defying object appeared on the battlefield!

"So what if you have a Bodhi Enlightenment Tree? Be destroyed!!"

Even though his Abi Eighteen had been broken, Wuchen’s aura didn’t diminish in the slightest. He suddenly opened his mouth wide like an abyss and spewed forth a vast, sky-covering river. It was murky yellow and foul, and within it, the myriad phenomena of Reincarnation rose and fell!

The Yellow Springs River!

An Innate Holy River that flowed from the Netherworld Abyss Prison at the beginning of the Heaven Opening! Anyone who enters this river, regardless of their kind, will enter the cycle of life and death. The filth will wash away everything, turning them into a blank slate in the womb!

It was also ranked as an Innate Spirit Root!

Although Wuchen had only obtained a fragmented section of the river on the Emperor Star and couldn’t unleash its full power, the same was true for Mo Chen.

’So what if his Bodhi Tree is complete? There’s a limit to the power one can unleash in the Cave Heavens Realm. My fragmented Yellow Springs River’s filth will have no problem contending with it!’

"The Yellow Springs River..."

Below the Venerable Dao Platform, the old man from the Infinite Daoist Palace had a sharp glint in his eyes.

He had humbled himself to secure face for Mo Chen, but it wasn’t because the Infinite Daoist Palace truly feared the Celestial Court and was kowtowing to them. The two were merely allies; there was no absolute master-servant relationship.

It was because the Taiqing Empress had promised that if Mo Chen defeated his fated enemy, the Infinite Daoist Palace could choose any one of the fortunes on his body.

Before, he had thought it wasn’t quite worth it.

But now...

"Kill!!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

On the Venerable Enlightenment Platform, the Yellow Springs River held the Bodhi Enlightenment Tree in check. The gap between the two was closed once more, and they again engaged in close-quarters combat!

Wuchen’s black hair danced wildly, his roars shattering Chaos. It was as if billions of Gods and Demons were roaring inside his body—ferocious and utterly unstoppable!

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

He repeatedly unleashed Abi Eighteen, striking out with one Dark World after another. A single sliver of the dark blade light could shatter billions of great stars and crash down upon a Pocket World!

"Great Silence of All Heavens!!"

Under the tsunami-like assault, Mo Chen retreated again and again. A fierce glint suddenly appeared in his eyes as he activated the Power of Annihilation of the All Heavens and Myriad Realms!

BUZZ—

In the span of a thought!

Everything seemed to vanish, buried.

The Great Dao had reached its end. The universe and All Heavens died a heat death. A forbidden power of certain doom spread out, and a thermal-death darkness deeper than Hell buried everything.

It submerged the maddened, demon-like Wuchen!

Great Silence of All Heavens!

One of the Ten Great Supreme Divine Techniques!

Cosmic heat death, where nothing survives!

A Supreme Divine Technique said to be able to bury the All Heavens and bring an end to all things!

’After the Five Tribulations, only Cyan Yu Celestial Venerable mastered the Great Silence of All Heavens. This boy...’

When the Great Silence of All Heavens was unleashed, the spectators below the platform all sucked in a sharp breath, horrified by Mo Chen’s background. It was definitely not as simple as him being the Celestial Court’s Celestial Emperor, their counterpart to the Son of Revival!

Cyan Yu Celestial Venerable!

A titan of the Killing Dao who wielded the power of life, death, and punishment over all gods and spirits in the Nine Heavens! An ordinary Celestial Emperor whose temperament didn’t suit him wouldn’t even earn a second glance, let alone be bestowed a Divine Technique like the Great Silence of All Heavens!

This Mo Chen clearly didn’t practice the Killing Dao.

And yet, Cyan Yu Celestial Venerable had made an exception and taught him the Great Silence of All Heavens!

’Could it be...’

As they thought of a certain terrifying possibility, all the spectators shrank back, not daring to think any further.

They couldn’t think any further, either!

Because...

...there was a new development on the battlefield!