Essence Devouring Art

"Ensuring the master’s safety is my bound duty."

The Primordial Star Mother replied coldly, but she did not disobey Wu Dao and released the magnetic field’s restraints.

"Let’s begin."

Wu Dao wasted no time. He poured his faint consciousness into a single basic particle, allowing all other particles to dissipate and be assimilated.

The Primordial Star Mother’s assistance continued.

A massive amount of Creation Qi and Celestial Tribulation Dao Source surged into that one basic particle like a thousand rivers flowing into the sea, wildly strengthening its magnetic field.

BUZZ!

In an instant.

The particle, so minuscule it defied description.

Under the control of Wu Dao’s will.

Driven by the achievements of numerous Heaven-Opening Techniques.

Began its official transformation!

An unimaginably brilliant divine light erupted, like the source of all beginnings. Within it, celestial music echoed—the Daoist Teachings of all Emperors chanting scriptures and ten thousand Saints praising the Great Dao.

Finally.

All the sounds unified.

Becoming a single roar, like that of a Chaos Opening God Demon: "The Great Dao birthed me, and I shall birth the Great Dao! Primordial Magnetism Path, open!!"

RUMBLE—BOOM!

Before the roar had even faded.

Divine lights of all colors, myriad wondrous techniques.

All fused and converged!

Three hundred and sixty-five Heaven-Opening Techniques!

Completely fused into a single fruit!

The Primordial Magnetic Dao Body also transformed from a nascent, ignorant state to a truly enlightened stage of growth, absorbing nourishment from all creation to open up its world!

An indescribable aura.

An aura of utmost might and sanctity.

It seeped out from that source of all things, shaking the Three Thousand Great Paths and all creatures in All Heavens, once again startling countless old monsters.

In the Celestial Court’s Supreme Profound Heaven.

A great and mighty existence, with a body like the Great Dao itself, lowered its gaze and swept it across the boundless Sea of Chaos and the Hongyuan All Heavens and Myriads of Worlds. Its voice was like an ancient, tranquil pool—emotionless and desireless:

"Rootless and sourceless, a Dao that exists outside the Dao... The anomaly from last time..."

In the Mountain and Sea Realm.

At the highest point of West Mountain.

A perfect figure likewise opened their eyes.

After exchanging a glance with the shadow atop Zhongshan and slightly furrowing their brows...

the perfect figure gazed out toward Hongyuan.

After glancing at the mighty shadow in the Heavenly Court’s Profound Sky, which seemed to both exist and not exist, they murmured coldly to themself:

"Now, you’re not the only special one."

...

On the Taiyi Emperor Star.

’How strange, how strange.’

Slaughter Emperor’s gaze was profound. He followed the sensation of the Great Dao’s fluctuations to peer into All Heavens, yet he couldn’t find the source.

This situation...

had happened once before, over twenty years ago.

That time, an unknown existence had stolen the authority of the Great Dao. All those who had reached the pinnacle within the Dao had sensed it, but just like today, they couldn’t find the origin.

It was true that Primordial Chaos was the limit within the Dao.

But with the Daoists’ initiated bodies present, if they truly scoured All Heavens, no secret could remain hidden.

Yet to this day,

the Dao-thief from twenty years ago...

still hadn’t been exposed in any way.

’Now that the Great Dao has been shaken again, does this mean that anomalous Dao-thief has grown strong without anyone noticing?’

"Isn’t this a good thing?"

Elsewhere, a starlit voice spoke faintly:

"Just as you said, only a variable can break a constant stalemate. The sixth tribulation... is perhaps not far off."

In the depths of the Daluo Sky Burial Realm.

another unknown, ancient existence...

also sensed the ripples caused by this anomalous little pebble being thrown into the Great Dao.

"Hee hee, what fun, what fun!"

Compared to the other lofty figures,

this existence was naive and mischievous, clapping with glee like a child who had just seen that an exciting spectacle was about to unfold.

...

While All Heavens turned their gazes to search,

the fluctuations of the Great Dao ceased.

Deep within Nirvana Valley.

The Five-Colored Thunderfire no longer streamed down.

In the empty, dark Infinite Holy Hall.

A magnetic particle of Chaos Color, the very source of the Ten Thousand Techniques and all phenomena, rippled with an immortal Dao Source. It hung high at the end of the darkness, at the starting point before creation, blooming with the eternal light of the Great Dao.

"The Dao gives birth to One."

The eternal silence was broken.

The grand and lofty voice of a Creator rang out.

CRACKLE—

Words Become Law!

The resplendent, all-encompassing Dao Source was like the starting point of a Tree Diagram.

The seed had sprouted.

It began to unleash the essence of the magnetic field!

Motion and change!

Amidst the constant change, a dazzlingly beautiful, dragon-like root system of Primordial Magnetism emerged from the Dao Source, woven from countless magnetic threads.

"One gives birth to Two."

The grand voice of creation sounded again.

Yin and Yang intertwined, and the root system flourished!

"Two gives birth to Three."

The three great Extraordinary Basic Powers of Essence, Qi, and Spirit appeared!

The main Primordial Magnetic trunk, now as thick as a divine pillar, began to fork and branch out. At its ends, it gave birth to three secondary Dao Sources, the beginning of all things.

"Three gives birth to all things."

The grand voice continued.

The Dao Sources of the Three continued to sprout branches.

One branch.

Ten branches.

A hundred branches.

...

Until!

There were three hundred and sixty-five branches of all things!

Each branch...

Emperor Scriptures, Great Divine Techniques, Strongest Divine Techniques, Primordial Magnetic Divine Techniques...

was either a main trunk within the Hongyuan Dao Magnetic Field, or a network no weaker in magnitude than a main trunk!

The moment the three hundred and sixty-five branches were born,

for all creatures throughout the Hongyuan All Heavens and Myriads of Worlds,

every Extraordinary being who cultivated one of those networks felt a strange sensation—the end of their path to the Dao was no longer singular.

However, this feeling was fleeting.

It seemed the "second option" was still too minuscule to contend for authority with the "only option," and was thus just a flash in the pan.

Three gives birth to all things.

The branches of all things were, of course, not limited to just three hundred and sixty-five.

However,

this was only the beginning.

The foundational seed had been constructed and planted. Subsequent propagation was just a matter of time.

"When all things flourish, the Great Dao is born of itself."

The final grand, celestial note fell.

CRACKLE!

In the darkness, the fantastical and splendid Primordial Magnetic Tree Diagram shone brilliantly, illuminating the void and activating the Magnetic Field Power of all existence.

The Primordial Star Mother released the ocean of Celestial Tribulation Dao Source that Wu Dao had previously captured. In an instant, it was devoured like a black hole, vanishing into the Tree Diagram.

All things attain the Dao, and I am the Great Dao!

While devouring the Celestial Tribulation Dao Source, all the branches produced innumerable offshoots of magnetic threads.

Each thread gave birth to Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles, each a new generation in quality, quantity, and microstructure.

They were like eternal and indestructible,

resplendent crystals, the hardest in the universe.

Each one contained a turbine of destructive magnetic fields.

Once fully activated,

it was impossible to imagine what an immense power of magnetic creation and destruction would be unleashed.

When the Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles ceased to multiply—

The Dao gave birth to Wu Dao!

The soft sound of a footstep was heard.

It was as if the Great Dao itself was setting out, and all of creation was returning to it. The Five-Colored Divine Fire that filled the Infinite Holy Hall cheered and surged toward the Infinite Golden Stele.

Atop the Golden Stele,

stood a perfect, sky-supporting human figure, so perfect that all the words of praise in the world would fail to describe it.

In its palm rested the Five-Colored Thunderfire.

But the Five-Colored Thunderfire, which could originally destroy even basic magnetic particles, was now as gentle as a spring breeze, unable to cause any harm.

Within his dark eyes, where myriad phenomena rose and fell,

the magnetic field structure of the Five-Colored Thunderfire was instantly reflected.

HUFF~

He let out a light breath.

After leaving his body, the breath was naturally supported by the magnetic field of Nirvana Valley, transforming into a breath of Five-Colored Thunderfire.

Three gives birth to all things, and all magnetism.

As long as he knew the structure of a magnetic field,

even if he wasn’t a Phoenix,

he could still breathe out Nirvana Thunder Fire.

WHOOSH~

With a flick of his finger,

the previously compressed and condensed field of Five-Colored Thunderfire expanded once more, filling the entire Infinite Holy Hall.

Wu Dao closed his eyes and performed an Introspection.

Inside his body, countless Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles spun like turbines, their magnetic networks connecting to the three hundred and sixty-five Dao Sources of all things.

Each Dao Source...

was many times greater in magnitude than a Hongyuan Perfect Cave Heaven.

Countless streams of information, like scripture symbols,

intertwined and collided around the Daoist Master at the core of each Dao Source, continuously giving rise to more roots and more Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles.

A level higher on the Tree Diagram...

was the even vaster basic Dao Source from which Essence, Qi, and Spirit gave birth to all things.

The Daoist Master within it was the most terrifying of all.

Its magnitude was the sum of all things derived from the three great Extraordinary Basic Powers.

As for the highest level...

needless to say.

It was the end of Yin and Yang, the origin of all things.

The seat of the Dao, majestic and immense!

Hanging at the apex of the Tree Diagram, it was all-encompassing and supreme, its brilliance illuminating every main trunk, branch, twig, and particle.

After performing Introspection on his own body,

Wu Dao observed the world around him once more, and the world in his perception was completely different.

Countless networks,

carrying endless magnetic field information,

filled every inch of space. They were omnipresent and all-encompassing. Even if he exhausted his mind, he could not even begin to trace the nodes of the material Dao Source.

The Dao of Hongyuan...

was already mature and powerful.

It encompassed all things, integrated into the nature of all things.

Unlike his own, which was still nascent and simple.

The nodes born of his Dao were clearly visible.

’Creation Qi...’

Amidst his perceptions,

Wu Dao also discovered the magnetic field energy of Creation Qi, which could only be sensed by those in the Cave Heavens Realm. It was like a milky-white silken mist, fused with all things, spreading throughout time and space, bringing prosperity to the Creation World.

At a deeper level of the magnetic field,

there were also spring-like existences.

These were likely the Creation Mother Qi absorbed by those in the Creation Realm. Beyond that was something even more profound and unobservable, involving the Innate Mother Qi of the Saint realm.

Besides this,

Wu Dao also observed a type of magnetic field network that permeated all creatures and all existence, influencing all motion and change in space-time and the cosmos, and maintaining the order of the world.

The Power of Law!

Great Dao, Yin and Yang, the Three, the Three Thousand Great Paths, infinite laws.

In his Great Dao’s Tree Diagram, the Power of Law...

already held a significant position.

BUZZ~

He gently caused a magnetic law-channel to fluctuate.

RUMBLE!

In a corner of the Infinite Holy Hall,

a gale suddenly raged and swirled,

whipping the Five-Colored Thunderfire into a frantic vortex.

Clearly,

this was a Wind Law.

However, it was still nascent, only a branch of the Wind Law, and its influence on the world’s order was limited.

Wu Dao was not surprised.

Within the Hongyuan System,

although one came into contact with the Power of Law starting from the Cave Heavens Realm, one could only fully grasp and command the power of a law after becoming a Saint.

If he compared himself to the Hongyuan System,

his current authority to command the magnetic field...

was only within the Cave Heavens Realm, still a long way from the Saint realm.

As for his combat power...

that was another story.

With a thought,

the attribute panel opened.

A new set of data appeared—

[Physique: Primordial Magnetic Dao Body]

[Extraordinary: Essence Devouring·Three Lives (365/3000) +]

[Transverse Cultivation: Infinite Primordial Scripture·God and Demon (50/1000) +]

[Divine Cultivation: Juntian Creation Scripture: Pocket World (180/1000) +]

[Soul Cultivation: All Phenomena Divine Luo Scripture: Pocket World (135/1000) +]

[Divine Format: Lower-Rank Primordial Divine Monarch]

[Celestial Treasure: Bitter Dust Robe (Emperor’s Artifact 100%)]

...

[Teleportation Points: ...]

The Primordial Divine Format...

belonged to the Divine Basic Power, one of the three great Extraordinary Basic Powers of Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

After reaching the third stage, it was no longer independent.

Instead, it had become one of the three hundred and sixty-five branches.

The Primordial Celestial Demon...

was one of the Dao Source’s Daoist Masters.

’Whew, the road ahead is long and arduous.’

He closed the attribute panel.

Wu Dao let out a small sigh, knowing he would only go further and further down the path of a "collector."

To achieve Three Lives Perfection,

he needed three thousand branches of the Ten Thousand Techniques, corresponding to the Three Thousand Great Paths.

Three thousand could be a figurative number.

But it could also be a literal one.

Since the third stage of Essence Devouring Art was not the limit,

it was naturally a literal number.

In the fourth stage, he would no longer need to collect them; instead, the Dao Source would autonomously derive the magnetic field networks of all things and all techniques. At that point, the "Three Thousand Great Paths" would become a figurative number.

As for what came after the fourth stage...

When all of magnetism flourished, the Great Dao would form itself!