Essence Devouring Art

"Primordial Divine Monarch, the Greatly Merciful and Holy... return to the Primordial, your Taoist Techniques are boundless..."

The Primordial Sect’s Divine Hall.

The resounding sound of hymns and praises from three thousand disciples was incessant, echoing through the surrounding mountains.

Electromagnetic light burst from the body and soul of every disciple, and from between their eyebrows, a Primordial Magnetic Arm erupted, tearing open their Dantians.

Like whales, they swallowed the Heaven and Earth Magnetic Field Energy, forming a colossal magnetic vortex in the sky above the mountain peak that connected the heavens and the earth.

But beneath the cover of the Magnetic Field...

To the outside world...

Whether by the naked eye or Divine Soul...

The mountains where the Primordial Sect was located showed no signs of abnormality. The peaks rose one after another, a sea of clouds churned, and amidst the ethereal mist, it was a scene of a peaceful Immortal Realm.

Before the shadowed idol in the Divine Hall.

Four newly joined True Monarchs—three men and one woman—prostrated themselves in pious worship, their bodies and souls undergoing a baptism from the True God.

Within the Divine Country.

Wu Dao finished remodeling the four new True Monarchs through the Faith Channels, turning them into the main force of the Primordial Magnetic Computer Network. In an instant, its power increased by several dozen revolutions.

’Faith is truly a wonderful thing.’

After retracting his senses.

Wu Dao’s entire body blazed with Divine Fire. He perceived the more than three thousand arms extending out from himself as the core and sighed in admiration.

By stealing the Divine Format...

And establishing Faith Channels with believers...

As long as a believer remained pious for a single day...

No matter if they were at the ends of the earth...

Regardless of the distance separating them...

A Faith God could control everything about their believers—perform miracles, grant boons, plunder, and exploit.

This was far more effective than avatars.

Next, Wu Dao planned to merge the Power of Faith with his One Origin, Ten Thousand Transformations, treating the avatars he created as believers as well. The cultivation gains of his avatars would be fed back to him without them needing to return.

PHEW~

After a slight exhale.

Wu Dao reviewed the memories of the several True Monarchs to understand the current state of the outside world of Hongyuan.

’Eighteen years ago, the Five Days of Primordial Chaos suffered a defeat in the Divine Wilderness... A terrifying Tribulation Demon was born in the Divine Wilderness... Status between life and death unknown...’

As he sifted through the memories of the four True Monarchs in his Sea of Divine Soul, Wu Dao’s eyes glinted. He finally understood the timeline of events in Hongyuan.

Information within the Primordial Divine Sect was too isolated.

The Sect Leader, True Monarch Guangming, only had a Third Transformation Divine Techniques cultivation base. He couldn’t pass through the gang wind barrier of the Primordial Cave Heaven and had no idea what major events had occurred in the outside world.

These four new hard-working slaves...

Although they also only had Divine Techniques cultivation, their status as pawns of the Jinxiao Sect meant they had learned a great deal about the outside world from the Dharma Realm’s Golden Cloud Immortal, Zhao Yuanming.

The flow of time in Hongyuan and the Divine Wilderness was different.

One day in the Divine Wilderness...

Was eighteen days in Hongyuan.

Eighteen years. In other words, from the end of the great battle to his later escape from the clutches of death, his return, and his crossing of the void storm...

Wu Dao had spent a total of one year.

In that one year...

Eighteen years had passed in the Hongyuan Calendar.

The Hongyuan Calendar marked the end of a tribulation as a new era.

It was now the 480,000th year of the Fifth Tribulation in the Hongyuan Calendar.

’Eighteen years... Primordial Demon, Yaya, Mo Chen, Little Mudman...’

Images of the pawns and enemies connected to him by karma surfaced in Wu Dao’s Divine Sea, and his emotions fluctuated.

Eighteen years.

For an ordinary Cultivator, it was but the blink of an eye.

But whether it was the Primordial Demon, Yaya, or that cheap grand-nephew of his, they were all people blessed with great opportunities or, one might say, immense fortune.

Even the weakest of them, the Little Mudman.

With the various inheritances he had provided, as long as it hadn’t met an untimely end, it must have achieved something significant by now.

Among them...

Wu Dao was most concerned about the current status of the one hundred Primordial Demons.

After the tribulation of the Mud Hell Sea.

The old monster had told Wu Dao about many hidden treasures and backup plans in Hongyuan.

But Wu Dao didn’t want to get too entangled with the old monster, so he had erased all of the Primordial Demon’s information about the Divine Wilderness and himself, sending them into Hongyuan ahead of time to unearth those treasures.

As long as the Primordial Demons followed the trajectory he had set, they must have grown considerably in eighteen years by using the old monster’s treasures.

Unfortunately...

The Primordial Demons were different from the Polluted Bodies.

There were no Faith Channels.

The distance across space-time was too great.

Wu Dao could only rely on the faint, thread-like connection he had with the Demon Embryos to confirm that seventy-eight of the original one hundred Primordial Demons were still alive. He couldn’t obtain any other information.

But there was no rush.

An unbreakable karmic link existed between him and the Primordial Demons, as well as with Yaya and that grand-nephew.

They would meet again one day.

There was another reason.

Although a Dharma Aspect in Hongyuan wasn’t at the bottom of the hierarchy...

They couldn’t be considered a major figure either.

’My power is limited, so I should avoid conflict when possible. For now, my focus should be on hidden development, not on making a name for myself.’

Although the Bitter Dust Robe was now an Emperor’s Artifact...

Unless a Daoist appeared...

No one could divine any information about him.

But if he exposed himself, it would be a completely different story. The heavens were vast and filled with infinite mysteries.

He didn’t dare to bet that there wasn’t some incredible technique that could see through the Bitter Dust Robe and locate him after he revealed himself.

The turmoil caused in Hongyuan by that battle in the Divine Wilderness was too great. To this day, there was still discussion about it in the outside world. He had completely and utterly offended the Five Days of Primordial Chaos, including the Celestial Court.

Once the Five Days learned that he was not dead...

An endless pursuit would await him. Worse, a Great Power might reach out from beyond the heavens and execute him on the spot the moment he was exposed.

The path of the strong was to model oneself after nature.

It lay in adapting to all kinds of survival environments, with a balance of Firmness and Flexibility, acting within one’s means, and never fighting a battle of reckless courage just for a moment’s glory.

This corner of the Border Wilderness in the Chaotic Star Heaven of the Primordial Star Domain was quite good. The distance to the neighboring star realms was an unknown number of trillions of li away. Even the greatest storm would be nothing more than an insignificant ripple in the ocean here.

It was enough for him to develop safely for a long time.

Mhm.

Of course, that was on the premise that no one blind enough to a long life came to disturb him.

’Isn’t it good to be alive? Why must there be all this fighting and killing?’

Thinking about the Golden Cloud Sect Master...

Wu Dao sighed with great pity. ’So much hostility. Can’t they learn from me? Isn’t it good to just focus on Cultivation?’

However, he had always been a kind-hearted and helpful person.

When faced with a restless soul chasing the wind and waves, he felt it was his duty to enlighten them, help them see the error of their ways, and guide them onto the correct path in life.

The Jinxiao Sect was over a hundred thousand li from the Primordial Sect.

A distance that would make ordinary people sigh in despair.

But in the Extraordinary Realm, it was nothing at all.

The Primordial Heaven and Earth was filled with countless rare treasures.

Since the flourishing of the Extraordinary, the Cultivation Realm of Hongyuan had created all sorts of Supreme Treasures for traversing heaven and earth, the Star Sea, and even for jumping through dimensions of space-time.

The Jinxiao Sect was just a no-name local bully in the Border Wilderness of the Chaotic Star Heaven, but it still possessed a Continent Level Crossing Sky Treasure Ship.

Traveling at full speed...

It was no slower than a Dharma Strongman traversing the void. A distance of over a hundred thousand li, crossing one continent after another, could be covered in a mere moment.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—RUMBLE RUMBLE.

Ten thousand li away from the Primordial Divine Sect.

The Nine Heavens Gang Wind was compressed, expanded, and pushed aside by a colossal object, creating a series of deep, rolling thunderous booms.

The continent-sized giant ship devoured Heaven and Earth Energy like a sea eye, bursting with ten thousand rays of golden light. It was like a great sun crossing the sky, its might suppressing the heavens and earth for tens of thousands of li.

On the deck.

Tens of thousands of the Jinxiao Sect’s elite troops stood in formation, awaiting orders.

Zhao Yuanming, dressed in a golden Dharma Robe with large, flowing sleeves, had the air of an immortal. His Dharma Eye pierced through the void, gazing at the Primordial Divine Sect shrouded in clouds and mist ten thousand li away, his brow slightly furrowed.

He couldn’t see through it.

Within a thousand-li radius of the Primordial Divine Sect.

There seemed to be a peculiar field that shrouded it, distorting any prying divine senses from the outside world.

’The Primordial Divine Sect’s Religion Protection Array was damaged long ago, and they were unable to repair it. What’s with this strange field now?’

"Sect Leader, do we attack or do we challenge them?"

The Grand Elder of the Jinxiao Sect stepped forward and asked in a low voice, unsure of Zhao Yuanming’s intentions.

"Idiot. If you kill them all, are you going to find the Divine Fire?"

Zhao Yuanming shot the Grand Elder a cold look.

’If I wanted to use brute force, I could turn the pathetic Primordial Sect to dust with a single slap.’

Has the Divine Fire been ignited?

Where is the Divine Country?

What happened inside the Primordial Sect that caused my spies and those few True Monarchs to vanish from the face of the earth, losing all contact?

Until these questions were answered...

He couldn’t make a move on the Primordial Sect just yet.

The reason he, Zhao Yuanming, had been able to get to where he was today was by relying on one word: stability.

With this in mind...

Zhao Yuanming decided to first use his power to pressure them and probe the Primordial Sect’s depths. He immediately channeled his Divine Power and shouted in a booming voice:

"Fellow Daoist Guangming, avoidance won’t solve the problem. I’ll give you ten breaths. If you don’t open your mountain gates, don’t blame me for showing no mercy."

A naked threat.

In other words: ’If you don’t want the Primordial Sect to be annihilated, then obediently hand over what I want.’

RUMBLE—

A Cultivator at the Human Immortal Level...

Could obliterate rivers and mountains with a single breath.

Even though it was just a normal shout, it was like Celestial Thunder exploding in the mortal world. The shockwaves and sound waves swept across a radius of tens of thousands of li, causing the mountains and rivers along the way to tremble and shake.

But strangely...

When the World-Ending Level hurricane and terrifying waves reached the thousand-li radius of the Primordial Sect, they all vanished without a trace, unable to blow away even a wisp of mist.

"This..."

On the deck.

The elders and disciples of the Jinxiao Sect looked at each other in astonishment, finding it quite unbelievable.

Although their Sect Leader was only an unranked Human Immortal, he was still a genuine member of the Dharma Aspect ranks, a One Cave Heaven Dominator.

That shout just now...

Had clearly been infused with a bit of a Dharma Aspect’s Divine Power.

How could it not even stir the clouds and mist around the Primordial Sect in the slightest?

There was something damned strange about this.

Could it be that the Primordial Sect had a hidden old fossil at the Dharma Aspect level in residence?

Zhao Yuanming’s brow twitched as well.

His expression turned somewhat grave. If the Primordial Sect truly had a Dharma Aspect master, then his plan to scheme for the Divine Fire would be basically impossible.

But that didn’t make sense.

If the Primordial Divine Sect still had a Dharma Aspect, why would they need to be so secretive?

The only possibility was...

There was something wrong with that Dharma Aspect!

Its Divine Power couldn’t extend beyond the thousand-li radius of the Primordial Sect.

It had to be said...

None who could cultivate to the Dharma Aspect were fools.

With a simple probe...

Zhao Yuanming had analyzed the Primordial Divine Sect’s current situation with about eighty to ninety percent accuracy.

The only discrepancy was...

Although Wu Dao couldn’t leave his Divine Country, his arms had no such restriction.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~

While the people of the Jinxiao Sect were filled with suspicion and uncertainty, the vast sea of clouds enveloping the Primordial Sect began to rotate.

Flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder could be faintly seen exploding within the eye of the vortex. At the same time, a cold, judgmental voice echoed throughout the heavens and earth:

"With your arrogant and wild words, and your betrayal of the faith, you have committed the unforgivable sin of blasphemy!"

That voice was extremely strange.

It was as if thousands of men, women, old, and young were all speaking at the same time in the same tone, causing the heads of those who heard it to throb and hallucinations to blossom.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~

The sea of clouds and the gang wind churned endlessly.

Faintly, a figure seemed to walk out. With each step, he crossed rivers and mountains, walking alone towards the Jinxiao Sect’s giant ship.

He stopped a thousand li away.

Everyone could now clearly see who the aged figure was, and they all frowned.

"The Sect Master of the Observing Cave Sect?"

"Great Cave True Monarch?"

"Isn’t the Observing Cave Sect a vassal force of our Jinxiao Sect? How did he get mixed up with the Primordial Sect?"

The elders and disciples looked at the old True Monarch of the Observing Cave Sect who had appeared here, completely unaware of what had happened before.

"Fellow Daoist Huang, what is the meaning of this?"

Zhao Yuanming looked at the cold-faced Sect Master of the Observing Cave Sect. He sensed that something was wrong, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He could only question him in a frosty tone.

Who would have known...

Faced with Zhao Yuanming’s questioning...

The Sect Master of the Observing Cave Sect, who should have been meek and subservient, instead had a fanatical look on his face. He spread his arms wide and boomed from on high, "Since you have seen the Primordial, why do you not bow?"

"..."

These crazed, fanatical words...

Were met with a deathly silence.

’Primordial? The Primordial Divine Monarch has been dead for ages! You must be worshiping an Evil God!’

"You dare to rebel? Playing tricks and putting on a charade! Get down here!"

Zhao Yuanming’s patience was exhausted, and a trace of anger rose in his heart. Daring to poach his people and boss them around on his own turf—he was truly courting death!

BOOM!

A brilliant golden hand rose up, like a great sun or star crossing the sky. Its radiance lit up the Nine Heavens, and the lines on its palm were like a thousand mountains and ravines. It crushed layers of the void as it suppressed the Sect Master of the Observing Cave Sect above.