Essence Devouring Art

"Celestial Court... Heh."

Inside the Star River Central Pond.

Wu Dao’s consciousness watched the golden light on Huanwu Peak that blocked the Primordial Magnetic Celestial Saber. He let out a sneer and stopped wasting his effort.

Ever since his first contact with Mo Chen, when he learned of his unique status in the Dragon Mud Cave Heaven and the importance of having a Celestial Venerable as his protector, Wu Dao had known.

Mo Chen wasn’t just a simple vessel for the Celestial Court to plunder fortune!

It was possible.

That he was tied to one of the Celestial Court’s deeper schemes.

He was also well aware of how difficult it would be to end the enmity between them.

This attack...

was merely a probe.

A probe to test how much resistance he would face in killing Mo Chen, a probe to test just how important Mo Chen truly was to the Celestial Court!

Now...

that the final obstacle had appeared...

Wu Dao had a rough guess as to "Mo Chen’s" true identity.

CLANG—BOOM!

The sound of the Primordial Magnetic Celestial Saber shattering...

boomed throughout the Huanwu Star Sea.

That’s right.

The ever-victorious...

Primordial Magnetic Celestial Saber, which had been unstoppable as it swept across Cosmic Mountain...

had shattered on impact!

Amidst the shattered fragments of the Celestial Blade’s magnetic field, an incomparably supreme and noble Golden Jade Longevity Lock, engraved with the two words of Mo Chen’s true name, glowed brilliantly under Wu Dao’s gaze.

That last slash of his...

had indeed annihilated all of Mo Chen’s cultivation, his body, and his soul. Even the last wisp of his remnant soul had been ground to dust just before the impact!

’Then what is this "Mo Chen" now?’

’Celestial Mandate...’

Wu Dao’s thoughts churned.

In his predecessor’s memories...

the night before the grand scheme was set in motion...

his predecessor, guided by the schemer in Fulong Village, had personally carved his own true name onto this Longevity Lock, turning it into the key artifact that led to his Celestial Destiny and Fortune and true name being stolen.

Mo and Chen.

The two great words of Celestial Mandate.

They were born from the fortune of the Great Dao, and once carved onto the Longevity Lock, they carried a portion of the Celestial Destiny and Fortune, granting a life free of disaster and calamity, long and unfettered.

However,

no matter how strong the true words of Celestial Mandate were, they were still tied to the strength of their owner. Their greatest effect was manifested in one’s fortune.

What truly shattered the Primordial Magnetic Celestial Saber...

was an ancient word of Dao Essence deep within the Longevity Lock—

Seal!

Just a single word!

The Dao Essence it contained surpassed that of the Bitter Dust Robe, a 100% Emperor’s Artifact, by an unknown number of times. It was like comparing a speck of dust to the vast, starry sky.

Within the Celestial Court...

there was a Supreme Dao Artifact—

the Divine Investiture List!

’This word, "Seal"...’

’If it truly came from the Divine Investiture List, a Dao Artifact personally wielded by the Great Celestial Venerable for several kalpas...’

’...then "Mo Chen’s" identity...’

’No wonder a Celestial Venerable would personally condescend to be his protector.’

Wu Dao’s eyes flickered as he watched the Longevity Lock disappear through a tear in spacetime, but he felt no disappointment.

Within the Dao, Primordial Chaos is the limit.

If a Transcender were to enter the Dao, they would be suppressed by the Great Dao; the same applied to the Dao Artifacts of the world.

’They’ve played their trump card.’

’Now the enemy is no longer an unknown!’

’My predecessor, the current Mo Chen... they’re just vessels for Celestial Destiny and Fortune...’

As his thoughts churned,

Wu Dao sorted out the connections.

The Celestial Court never cared about Mo Chen, but rather the Celestial Destiny and Fortune they controlled.

Killing one Mo Chen...

was just breaking one vessel.

The Celestial Court had the ability to create another.

As long as the Celestial Destiny and Fortune did not disperse...

a brand new "Mo Chen" vessel would appear. Only by pushing the vessel to its true, fated end would the Celestial Destiny and Fortune disappear.

Celestial Destiny and Fortune originates from the Great Dao.

You could say it is a program derived from the Great Dao, one with a special mission.

’Thinking about it from that angle...’

’...what is the mission of this Celestial Destiny and Fortune?’

’Or rather, what was the destiny of my predecessor, who had gathered all the favor in the world, before he was carved up and devoured?’

’It couldn’t be...’

Thinking of a certain possibility,

Wu Dao’s thoughts paused for a moment. He didn’t dwell on it further. The great web of fate and karma was a tangled mess, impossible to cut or sort out.

’Before seeing the full picture...’

’...it’s all just my own speculation in the end.’

He had never thought of defying the heavens or fate. If not for fate’s protection, he would have been long gone.

However,

he believed in fate, but he did not resign himself to it.

So-called fate was just the summary of a predecessor’s life by those who came after. The only constant in the world was change itself!

’When the unknown becomes known...’

’...the change begins.’

"The Divine Investiture List... such audacity!"

Deep within the Taiyi Emperor Star.

In a mysterious space.

The Slaughter Emperor watched grimly as the Longevity Lock broke through space and vanished, his consciousness locked onto the word "Seal."

A hint of killing intent emerged from within the bloody light.

"I’ve endured for hundreds of thousands of years. What’s the harm in enduring a little longer?"

Starlight flickered in the depths of the space. The voice was flat and emotionless.

"Celestial Mandate? A Celestial Mandate held in human hands... is that even worthy of the name?"

The Slaughter Emperor suppressed his killing intent and sneered in contempt. As someone who had been beaten down by them before, he naturally knew what the Celestial Court was plotting.

But in this life...

’To hell with this damn fate!’

’Even if it means giving up everything, I will tear a giant hole in the heavens!’

Just then.

"You’ve crossed the line..."

The flat voice in the starlight was now tinged with coldness.

The Slaughter Emperor’s bloody light stabilized, and he looked in the direction of the gaze with great interest.

Beyond the Chaotic Star Heaven.

A stream of Pure Qi was taking One Step across the All Heavens, rampaging like a wild dragon, while in the distant Celestial Court, a sword light was gathering power, ready to strike.

In a place even more distant, beyond the heavens,

a scripture scroll, radiating an endless, primitive aura of the Wilderness and causing the Three Thousand Great Paths to hum and tremble, was unfurling high above the Sea of Chaos. It pulled upon infinite Dao Essence and spiritual opportunity, locking onto the Chaotic Star Heaven from afar.

"The Taotie Race. Interesting."

The Slaughter Emperor withdrew his gaze and looked toward a world where wind and snow evaporated and heaven and earth were in chaos. There, Yaya was being "educated" by a blurry figure.

Then, he thought of Wuchen...

and the karma he shouldered from the Netherworld Reincarnation Emperor.

For some reason,

the Slaughter Emperor let out a delighted laugh.

...

Huanwu Peak!

"Reporting to the Alliance Leader, we have fulfilled our mission! All the ’fish’ are in the storehouse!"

A group of Primordial Demons, returning fully laden, knelt on one knee before Wu Dao as he strode onto Huanwu Peak, and reported excitedly.

From the activation of the array to its end...

it all seemed to take a long time to describe, but in reality, it was over in a matter of minutes.