Essence Devouring Art

The Giant Axe Ancestral Land, on the Central Divine Mountain.

RUMBLE!

The Heaven-Opening Divine Axe, a weapon befitting a Four Tribulations Saint Master, seemed to activate. It shot out beams of world-ending light, and a ferocious tide of vicious aura surged forth, sweeping through and filling the entire Ancestral Land.

Great fissures tore across the sky as star after star trembled violently. The space-time of the Ten Directions was like a boiling powder keg, oppressively volatile and seemingly ready to explode at any moment.

SCREECH!!

Within the source of the vicious aura.

As the Daylight Saint Child strained to revive it, the Golden Crow Treasure Wheel’s immense Great Sun Essence Fire erupted, unleashing nearly half of its Mighty Power.

The searing, blinding light and heat transformed into one Ancient Golden Crow after another. Crying out as they carried suns in their beaks, they continuously melted layer after layer of space and incinerated the Gods and Demons in all directions.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~

The Netherworld Cauldron wielded by the Profound Yin Saint Child was also extraordinary; it was as if it had opened a channel to Purgatory, spewing forth countless Asura Evil Ghosts and a monstrous wave of Nether Fire.

The ghastly, bone-chillingly evil Yin aura faintly harmonized with the Golden Crow Treasure Wheel, creating a resonance of Yin and Yang that elevated the Mighty Power of their combined attack to a new level.

"Kill!!"

With their hair whipping about wildly and a Supreme Treasure right before them, both men were lost in a killing frenzy. They relentlessly slaughtered the ancient Shadows of Gods and Demons left by the Giant Axe and suppressed layer after layer of vicious aura, drawing closer and closer to the weapon.

The Emperor Star had spent tens of millions of years eroding the Tribulation Qi.

It was impossible to say how much the Giant Axe’s vicious aura had weakened. After all, hundreds of thousands of years ago, it had been so ferocious that it had even thwarted the Saint-level Slaughter Emperor.

「But in this era.」

The Mighty Power of the Giant Axe’s vicious aura was a shadow of its former self.

Two Grotto Heaven cultivators wielding Saint Grade Celestial Soldiers could actually fight their way in.

If nothing unexpected happened, the Daylight Saint Child and the Profound Yin Saint Child might actually succeed.

But just after they broke through another layer of the vicious aura’s blockade, the two of them suddenly stopped their assault.

Instead, they exchanged a chilling glance.

And then...

"Stop skulking in the shadows and get out here!"

BOOM!!

The two of them roared in unison as they spun around.

The six great Mixed Caves in their Purple Mansions rumbled, threatening to crush the very cosmos. Their Dragon Veins spewed Creation Qi into their Celestial Soldiers. The Golden Crow Treasure Wheel and the Netherworld Cauldron simultaneously fired a destructive pulse behind them, instantly tearing across the void for an immense distance!

HUMMM!

Just as the two world-ending pulses—one Yin, one Yang—were about to hit their target, starlight suddenly erupted at that spot, as if an entire Star Sea had just opened up.

Twenty-four massive stars pressed down, like twenty-four starry Grotto Heavens opening at once. Their Mixed Caves were linked together in a chain, and within them, countless Dragon Veins roared across the All Heavens.

As the chain of stars rotated, it formed a domain like a stellar abyss. It unleashed an unparalleled stellar Magnetic Field, a gravitational force that actually swallowed both attacks launched by the two Saint Children!

"The Magnetic Mother Star Bead?"

"Meng Zheng!"

The Daylight Saint Child and the Profound Yin Saint Child stared at the Star Bead formed from the twenty-four magnetic stars. When they saw the tall figure walking out from within, their pupils shrank. They recognized him instantly.

An Emperor’s Son!

A Grotto Heaven-level Emperor’s Son from the Star God Hall!

Although he was only at the Second Layer of the Grotto Heaven realm, the sheer quality of his Emperor Grade was enough to crush the combined might of two Saint Grade cultivators at the Third Layer!

Not to mention...

The Magnetic Mother Star Bead!

An Emperor Grade Celestial Soldier of the Twenty-Four Celestial Levels.

It was refined from Magnetic Mother Star Crystal, a material so rare one might not find a single piece in an entire Star Realm of the Grand Cosmos. The mass of a single bead exceeded that of ten thousand stars, and if fully unleashed, it could crush and tear a World apart!

As for their numbers, the Profound Yin Saint Child glanced at the dozen or so Saint Grade Grotto Heaven followers at the Second and Third Layers standing behind Meng Zheng and nearly ground his teeth to dust.

Earlier, while they were attacking the Giant Axe’s vicious aura, they had used the power of their Celestial Soldiers to detect a faint, probing gaze. They knew someone was waiting to swoop in and steal the prize.

They had assumed it was just some petty thief. Who would have thought...

’This is trouble!’

The two exchanged a look and could see the frustration and resentment in each other’s eyes.

"Don’t be resentful."

Meng Zheng, who towered like a mountain, wore a Starry Long Shirt. The sharp lines of his features held an air of undisguised nobility and dominance. With his hands clasped behind his back, he looked down upon the two Saint Children and said magnanimously,

"To thank you for paving the way, you may choose one Creation from this Ancestral Land as your reward.

No need to thank me. My principle in life is that everyone gets to eat, but I have to eat my fill first."

His condescending attitude, like an Emperor tossing a coin to a beggar, was so humiliating that the faces of the two Saint Children instantly turned black as soot.

"Meng Zheng, what are you barking about?"

The Profound Yin Saint Child sneered. "You’re just a mud-caked bumpkin from the barren Border Wilderness. You put on human skin and really think you’re somebody special?"

Inside the Emperor Star.

Once you leave the safe zone and enter a forbidden one, all contact with the outside world is severed. Your background is worthless.

Life and death are determined by fate; riches and honor are decreed by the heavens.

These were the rules set by the great powers of the All Heavens.

Here, strength is all that matters.

Although Meng Zheng was strong, he and the Daylight Saint Child had come well-prepared and believed they had nothing to fear.

They had exhausted every ounce of their strength to suppress the Giant Axe’s vicious aura, leaving only the final layer. How could they simply hand over such a Creation to someone else?

"Profound Yin, you are insolent!"

Seeing their master insulted, Meng Zheng’s followers immediately stepped forward, glaring at the Profound Yin Saint Child as if they wanted to hack him to pieces.

"So, the two of you truly refuse to back down?"

Meng Zheng’s expression turned grim.

He was, in fact, from the barbaric Border Wilderness. His status couldn’t compare to the orthodox Emperor’s Sons of the Star Hall, and he hated it more than anything when people brought up his origins.

Yet he himself often loved to use his status as an Emperor’s Son of the Star God Hall to lord it over others, full of a sense of superiority.

Now that his old wound had been torn open and his face slapped in public.

The killing intent in his heart toward the two Saint Children surged.

"Hmph. Enough talk. Let’s settle this with our fists!"

The Daylight Saint Child’s voice was frigid. A vicious glint flashed in his eyes as he detonated an Elixir Pill within his Grotto Heaven. His aura instantly skyrocketed, forcibly raising his cultivation by a full layer!

He wasn’t the only one.

The Profound Yin Saint Child did the same. His power, originally at the Third Layer of the Saint Grade Grotto Heaven realm, climbed to the Fourth Layer after the Elixir Pill exploded. A fourth Netherworld Mixed Cave appeared above his head.

"A Mixed Cave Pill?"

Meng Zheng’s brow furrowed slightly before he sneered in disdain. "Trying to rush your growth will only damage your foundation. The Power granted by a pill is, in the end, not your own!"

The Mixed Cave Pill.

A top-tier Emperor Grade Elixir Pill for Grotto Heaven cultivators.

Consuming it could forcibly and temporarily raise one’s cultivation by a single layer, but the price was that the foundation of one’s Grotto Heaven Dragon Vein would suffer a Dao-inflicted wound that was incredibly difficult to heal.

Clearly, faced with a heaven-defying opportunity like the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe and the legacy of the Giant Axe lineage, the two Saint Children were ready to risk it all.

They were willing to pay any price, even damaging their foundations and jeopardizing their future, to obtain it.

"Kill!!"

The medicinal power from the Mixed Cave Pill surged like a tidal wave.

The Daylight Saint Child’s body was stretched to the breaking point, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. Reviving the Golden Crow Treasure Wheel to its peak, he unleashed a monstrous Great Sun Essence Fire that could incinerate all creation and took the lead in charging toward Meng Zheng.

"A pack of groveling dogs dares to yell at me? Die!"

Perhaps thinking of ’Heaven-Reaching’...

...The Profound Yin Saint Child’s killing intent erupted like a volcano. His Netherworld Cauldron locked onto Meng Zheng’s followers as he commanded innumerable Evil Ghost Nether Fires to devour the heavens and earth, turning the entire Ten Directions into a Purgatory.

"I’ll show you the vast difference between a Saint Child and an Emperor’s Son!"

The twenty-four Magnetic Mother Stars, heavy as a Star Sea, hovered above Meng Zheng’s head. The two Mixed Caves in his Qi Sea Dantian rumbled, spewing the oppressive might of an Emperor. Instead of retreating, he advanced, choosing to meet the Golden Crow Treasure Wheel head-on with his bare fist.

RUMBLE!

As Meng Zheng bore down on them.

It was as if an entire cosmos was being unleashed.

A monstrous torrent of Supreme Yang Holy Blood erupted from the pores of his body. The Yang Fire of his physical form actually rivaled that of the Golden Crow Treasure Wheel!

ROAR ROAR ROAR!

Twenty-six layers of an ancient starry sky filled the heavens and the earth. One Sacred Spirit after another roared with world-shaking might, crushing the vacuum in the Ten Directions.

A Human World Yang God!

With Twenty-six Layers of Heaven!

And a Yang God at the Grotto Heaven Level, no less.

Compared to him, the physique of a Dharma Yang God was like scrap iron next to refined steel.

A Martial Arts Cave Heaven, and the Ten Sects of Transverse Cultivation!

He cultivated a Dual Dao and had achieved astonishing success in both!

No wonder Meng Zheng, despite his barbaric origins, could become an Emperor’s Son of the Star God Hall.

"Starry Sky Divine Fist!"

CLANG!

Meng Zheng fully unleashed his physical power. His fist radiated a world-overturning might, as if a Star Saint King were wielding Stellar Power itself to crush the Ten Directions. He brutally smashed a sun-bearing Golden Crow, scattering it into the void.

"Kill!"

The great battle erupted instantly.

The Daylight Saint Child faced Meng Zheng, while the Profound Yin Saint Child took on the crowd alone.

The moment they clashed, the battle reached a fever pitch.

It was like a herd of Ancient Barbaric Dragons going berserk.

The Power of Creation, born from the collision of their Grotto Heaven Dragon Veins, unleashed waves of spatial annihilation that tore apart the pocket dimensions within the Ancestral Land, reducing them to Chaos and leveling thousands of mountains.

"AHH!!"

「After a few moments of fierce battle.」

The Daylight Saint Child let out a pained scream as half of his body was blasted away by Meng Zheng. He was almost killed on the spot.

Even his Golden Crow Treasure Wheel wavered under the suppression of the Magnetic Mother Stars. He was at a complete disadvantage.

The strength gained from a pill was, in the end, no match for power earned through true cultivation.

Furthermore,

Meng Zheng was also a Yang God. His physique was comparable to an ancient Sacred Spirit, and his tyranny was unmatched. Each of his fists carried immense Stellar Power, beating the Daylight Saint Child so badly he couldn’t even lift his head.

The Profound Yin Saint Child, on the other hand, was faring better.

He moved with tactical genius, his ferocity unmatched.

Despite fighting one against many, he had elevated himself to the Fourth Layer of the Saint Grade Grotto Heaven realm, which was more than enough to suppress a group whose strongest were only at the Third Layer.

However,

Once the Daylight Saint Child was defeated, the same fate would await him.

Gradually,

the thought of retreat began to form in their minds.

They had never imagined Meng Zheng would be this terrifying. An Emperor’s Son truly did crush a Saint Child in every single way, leaving them unable to even catch their breath.

Losing the Creation would be a pity, but if they lost their lives, they wouldn’t even have the chance to feel regret.

"Hmph. Thinking of escaping? It’s too late!"

Meng Zheng sensed the Daylight Saint Child’s intent to retreat and let out a cold sneer.

He fully awakened the twenty-four Magnetic Mother Stars above his head, forming a deadly gravitational domain that pressed down on the Daylight Saint Child, intent on refining him to death on the spot.

WHINE!

The Golden Crow Treasure Wheel let out a series of mournful cries.

Its gushing Great Sun Essence Fire was relentlessly torn to shreds by the Magnetic Mother Stars, leaving it unable to protect the Daylight Saint Child. It looked as though he was about to be killed.

"No! Profound Yin, save me!"

The Daylight Saint Child was a miserable, blood-soaked sight. His physical body was disintegrating under the power of the Magnetic Mother Stars. He roared in despair, even crying out for help from his rival, the Profound Yin Saint Child.

But the Profound Yin Saint Child wasn’t in much better shape.

Meng Zheng’s followers had joined forces, using their King Grade Celestial Soldiers to form a Star Array that suppressed the Netherworld Cauldron, trapping him like a cornered beast.

"Hahaha! Try to be more discerning in your next life!"

Meng Zheng laughed wildly, showing no mercy.

His Mixed Caves spewed vast Creation Qi into the Magnetic Mother Stars, empowering them until they spun like twenty-four black holes, completely enveloping the Daylight Saint Child.

But just then.

HUMMM—

The twenty-four Primordial Magnetic Mother Stars suddenly began to tremble violently. The magnetic force they released became unstable, and they seemed to exude a sense of infatuated longing.

It was like a wanton woman laying eyes on a virile stud, ready to abandon her useless husband and cheat on the spot!

"Who?!"

Meng Zheng’s gaze sharpened, his face turning black as soot. He hurriedly stabilized the ’aroused’ Magnetic Mother Stars and whipped his head around to stare into the primordial depths behind him.

He had refined the Magnetic Mother Stars for over a century after obtaining them. It was impossible for them to betray him on the spot just because of some attraction.

But in that brief moment, Meng Zheng had felt as if a magnetic Abyss had opened its floodgates in the primordial depths.

The magnetic force it released was indescribable, so supreme and sacred that even his Magnetic Mother Stars felt an instinctual urge to pay homage.

What was even more terrifying was that,

the magnetic force originated from a living being!

But by the time Meng Zheng extended his senses to investigate, the magnetic fluctuation had vanished without a trace, like a drop of water dissolving in the ocean.