Essence Devouring Art

Deep within Nirvana Valley.

’The Azure Dragon Emperor Scripture, a Transverse Refining Technique...’

Wu Dao wore a strange expression as he mentally reviewed the Emperor Scripture. ’That Liang Chen really is a loose cannon,’ he thought. ’It only took a few words to completely dupe him.’

The situation was not complicated.

Liang Chen, worried that the "Nirvana True Lord" had struck a deal with Jia Baocai, sent Elder Ji to his door with an Emperor Scripture as an apology.

The apology was just one part of it. The main goal was to probe the situation and see if cooperation was possible.

Since a benefit was being delivered right to his door, Wu Dao naturally had no reason to refuse. He pulled the same trick, bamboozled Liang Chen, and struck another deal. The goods, of course, were the forty Heaven-Burying Steles.

However, Liang Chen was a little poorer. He could only produce one Emperor Scripture and a gourd of Grand Thousand Mother Liquid. The terms of the deal were the same as the one with Jia Baocai.

As for why Elder Ji fled in such a sorry state, looking as if he’d been blasted out—well, if you’re going to put on an act, you have to go all the way.

For both Liang Chen and Wu Dao, it was naturally best that as few people as possible knew about this.

As for when the goods would be delivered, Wu Dao, having completely cowed Liang Chen, simply told him to go back and wait for news. This kept Wu Dao firmly in control and made it easier for him to execute his future plans.

Phew...

After tossing the Azure Dragon Emperor Scripture to the Star Mother, Wu Dao breathed a sigh of relief and opened his attribute panel.

[Physique: Primordial Magnetic Dao Body]

[Extraordinary: Essence Devouring·Three Lives (380/3000)+]

[Transverse Cultivation: Infinite Primordial Scripture·God and Demon First Layer (53/1000)+]

[Divine Cultivation: Juntian Creation Scripture·Grotto Heaven First Layer (185/1000)+]

[Soul Cultivation: All Phenomena Divine Luo Scripture·Grotto Heaven First Layer (142/1000)+]

...

[Teleportation Points: ...]

It had been over a month since he reached the third stage. His three fundamental Extraordinary Dao Sources—Essence, Qi, and Spirit—had advanced a level. Under their top-down influence, his three hundred and eighty Branch Dao Sources had naturally progressed in tandem.

For a Hongyuan Cultivator, improvement manifests in the Grotto Heaven Dragon Veins and the number of Grotto Heavens. For Wu Dao, however, the feedback flowed downward, layer by layer.

The most obvious change was at the final nodes of the Tree Diagram—the countless Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles that constituted Wu Dao’s being.

After reaching the third stage, the total number of his Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles had long surpassed the number of cells in a human body. It was a true qualitative transformation, increasing from tens of trillions to hundreds of quadrillions.

A jump of several orders of magnitude!

Every time a branch was added or the Primordial Magnetic Dao Source was upgraded, the number of particles would increase explosively.

Of course, their quality also improved.

RUMBLE—

Under Introspection, the hundreds of quadrillions of Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles within his body resembled countless swirling maelstroms, each one crackling with thunder and lightning.

Within each particle, Primordial Magnetic Vortex Wheels of myriad colors and radiances spun with a low rumble, tightly gripping the Magnetic Field Power of all things in the universe, in all their various forms.

As the Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particles moved at high speeds, linked by the force of their magnetic fields, they would give birth to even higher-level Primordial Magnetic Vortex Wheels.

This process scaled up, layer by layer, until it constructed the entirety of the Primordial Magnetic Dao Body.

’Creating a Grotto Heaven, an act of Heaven and Earth Creation, is no difficult task for me now...’

With a mere thought from Wu Dao, the magnetic field of a single Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particle within him expanded.

It forcibly carved out a Jiezhi Chaos Space within that finite area.

Before Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind could erupt into chaos, the particle’s magnetic field locked them down and refined them, creating a stable pocket space. Inside, a miniature Geng Metal Dragon Vein darted about, and a hurricane of weapons swirled with a metallic clang.

Evidently, the Dao Source for this Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particle on the upper branches of the Tree Diagram was Breath into Soldiers, one of the Seventy-two Heavenly Great Divine Techniques.

HUMMM—

The magnetic fields of particles with the same attribute continued to expand and merge. Wu Dao felt like a speck of dust falling into a new world, feeling himself shrink as the space around him was constantly created and expanded.

An instant later, he found himself at the core of a Super Giant Grotto Heaven, where a tornado of weapons raged.

He looked down upon the Grotto Heaven. Everything was completely real, with no hint of illusion.

The Dragon Veins nestled within the Three Great Divine Ridges were like the world’s spine, constantly inhaling and exhaling Heaven and Earth Creation Qi.

’All Things Arise from the Three; the body is like the Great Dao.’

Wu Dao carefully savored the mysteries of his Primordial Magnetic Dao Body and murmured to himself,

"Perhaps on the day I truly achieve the Dao, once my Primordial Magnetic Field is fully unleashed, it will be able to generate all things, all beings, and all phenomena. It could create the All Heavens and Universe, countless Eternal Sand Worlds. The sheer scale and authority of my being alone will be infinite, boundless—comparable to the entire Primordial Extraordinary Civilization!"

HUMMM~

The Primordial Magnetic Crystal Particle’s field contracted. The Super Giant Grotto Heaven of Breath into Soldiers collapsed like a series of twisting scrolls, rapidly shrinking back into the source particle. The magnetic vortex reappeared, its form returning to that of a pure magnetic field aggregate.

’All Things Arise from the Three, and all things must flourish. I still have a long way to go.’

Wu Dao sat quietly amidst the Five-Colored Thunderfire, suppressing the grand vision in his heart. He began to walk deeper into the flames.

The Three Thousand Great Paths represented his stage of primitive accumulation.

Once the Three Thousand Great Paths were gathered and forged as one, the main spinal veins of so many Hongyuan magnetic fields would nourish his Supreme Dao Source, allowing it to leap from its "petri dish" and truly transform into the ’Dao’.

He would be completely free from his reliance on external Daos!

He would be able to generate his own branches, preliminarily wield the authority of the Dao, and create all the myriad things and profound mysteries of the Great Dao!

’Soon...’

Immersed in the even more violent Five-Colored Thunderfire, Wu Dao’s form dissolved into that of the Dao Source Tree Diagram. He gazed forward, past the Six-colored Saint-level Thunderfire, toward the Great Saint Level nine-colored thunderfire at the very end.

His consciousness, however, shifted its focus. He looked to the Primordial Demons and Incarnations that were being dispatched to the Hongyuan Heavenly Realms through the Daluo Celestial Domain’s Juntian Super Star Hub.

After reaching the third stage, the number of his Incarnations had surpassed the limits of a Grand Circulation, giving him enough spare capacity to handle many other matters while his main body focused on Cultivation.

If he entered the fourth stage, All Things Arise from the Three, the old method of combining Incarnations into Dao Wheels would be limited in number and likely become obsolete. At that point, he would need to upgrade to the Primordial Dao Wheel 3.0.

Wu Dao already had a rough blueprint for it. He was just waiting to perfect the third stage before attempting it. Once he took that step, he might truly become an enemy to the All Heavens.

HUMMM~

As his thoughts churned, the Communication Jade Talisman on one of his peripheral Incarnations began to vibrate. Wu Dao sent a sliver of his consciousness to it, and a gentle, unfamiliar voice spoke:

"Heh, this is Jia Baocai, the Business Realm Master. I have long admired the True Lord’s great name. I hope the Divine Envoy will forgive this abrupt contact."

’Jia Baocai?’ Wu Dao’s thoughts flickered. He quickly realized what was happening. ’It must be about Elder Ji’s visit. That must have attracted his attention. After all, Nirvana City is crawling with his spies.’

Wu Dao, feigning ignorance, took control of the Incarnation and gave a cold, aloof reply before cutting the connection without any further explanation. "I will pay a visit in three days."

In this transaction, he held the dominant position. He had no need to explain himself; doing so would only shatter his mysterious, powerful, and aloof persona, which would in turn arouse suspicion.

Giving a precise time would also serve to reassure Jia Baocai and keep his imagination from running wild.

However, from the desperate ambition both Jia Baocai and Liang Chen showed for the Heaven-Burying Steles, Wu Dao confirmed one thing.

Even if those two couldn’t decipher the secrets of the Heaven-Burying Steles themselves, they most likely had another way to open the Imperial Tomb Vault, for which the steles were the key.

In that case, it was necessary to muddy the waters.

As long as he held most of the genuine Heaven-Burying Steles, then no matter what tricks those two had up their sleeves, the decision of when the Emperor’s Tomb could be opened would be his and his alone.

The Emperor’s Tomb of the Heaven-Burying Great Emperor had been opened once ten thousand years ago before being sealed again. Since then, it had been under the control of the Heaven-Burying Alliance. The world knew it was an Emperor’s Tomb, but was unaware of the secrets it held.

In other words, to get the treasures within the Emperor’s Tomb, simply holding the key was not enough. One needed at least enough power to crush the Heaven-Burying Alliance!

Wu Dao estimated that he would need to collect over half of the Three Thousand Great Paths, integrate them as branches, and wield a Saint Master Divine Weapon to be completely confident.

But before that, he would first get his hands on most of the keys. And along the way, he’d let Jia Baocai and Liang Chen "charitably" sponsor him with a large amount of Grand Thousand World Mother Liquid.

「Meanwhile.」

Within the core city of the Business Realm.

"Three days?"

Jia Baocai put away the Communication Jade Talisman, feeling quite pleased. Far from being embarrassed and angered by the cold reception, he felt that such an attitude was exactly what one should expect from an ancient, powerful master.

At the same time, he recalled how Elder Ji had visited Nirvana Valley only to be blasted away, fleeing in disgrace. He couldn’t help but sneer.

"That bumpkin Liang Chen, a mere peasant with mud on his legs, thinks he can compete with my wealth? He truly doesn’t know his own limits."

"Unfortunately, cultivation in the Saint Realm is tied to destiny and is incredibly difficult to advance in. Otherwise, I wouldn’t need to rely on that Nirvana True Lord."

There are also different strengths within the Saint Realm. The Saint Grade has Nine Heavens, while the Emperor Grade has thirty-three All Heavens.

The gap between each heaven is equivalent to an entire Small Thousand World.

Both Jia Baocai and Liang Chen had advanced to the Saint Realm within the last century, and both possessed the potential of an Emperor Grade Ninth Heaven. Their strengths were nearly identical.

Therefore, they were locked in a stalemate, with neither able to gain an advantage over the other.

The reason they held little respect for Su Xiuqi was twofold. First, they wanted to replace him. Second, they looked down on him for entering the Saint Realm with only a Saint Grade potential. Barring some heaven-defying stroke of luck, his cultivation would stall at the Great Saint Realm for the rest of his life.

But they were different. They had entered the Saint Realm with Emperor Grade potential. Barring any accidents, they could become Saint Masters. And if they had enough Dao Stones to alter their fate, even the Emperor Realm was not out of reach.

「At the same time, within Ten Thousand Dragons City in the Ten Thousand Dragons Realm.」

"Excellent!"

Liang Chen put down the Communication Jade Talisman and clapped his hands in praise. Full of himself, he said with disdain,

"What’s the damn use of being rich? When destiny isn’t on your side, Jia Baocai, you’ll still have to drink my foot-washing water."

He was genuinely surprised. He hadn’t expected the Nirvana True Lord to actually agree to cooperate. He was suspicious at first, but the words of the Nirvana Divine Envoy had dispelled his doubts.

The reason the Nirvana True Lord had agreed to cooperate wasn’t because he was interested in Liang Chen’s paltry offerings. If he were after profit, he would have chosen Jia Baocai, whose wealth could rival an entire realm.

The main reason, the Nirvana Divine Envoy had cryptically revealed, was that the Nirvana True Lord had once had dealings with one of Liang Chen’s ancestors from the era of the Five Tribulations. He had chosen Liang Chen merely to resolve that karmic tie.

The message was cryptic. It didn’t specify which ancestor, hinting at some unspeakable taboo.

And this time, the bluff had landed perfectly.

Liang Chen was a descendant of the Heaven-Burying Great Emperor, and the Heaven-Burying Great Emperor had once served the Slaughter Emperor—a connection that was naturally a taboo secret.

If not for the True Lord’s distant attitude and the fact that his own bloodline was too sensitive to reveal, Liang Chen would have rushed over to claim kinship and latch onto this powerful backer.

For a returned Saint Master, regaining his peak strength would not be difficult. With such a patron watching over him, he could do as he pleased in the Burial Realm.

Of course, the reason Wu Dao used to fool Liang Chen wasn’t something he had fabricated out of thin air.

He had already investigated both of his "partners" in detail through Nirvana City. While he didn’t know the full extent of Liang Chen’s background, he was aware of certain secrets hidden from the public.

Liang Chen hailed from a ruined great family in the Burial Realm. His lineage was mysterious and ancient, with many powerful experts among his ancestors.

It could even be traced back to the era of the Five Tribulations.

With a background like that, coupled with the persona of an ancient, mysterious master that Wu Dao had crafted, it was easy to deceive him with ambiguous rhetoric.

And so, thanks to Wu Dao’s machinations, both Liang Chen and Jia Baocai believed they were the chosen one.

Each man scorned the other, while eagerly anticipating the delivery of the Heaven-Burying Steles.

Wu Dao did not break his promise.

「Three days later.」

More than ten of his Incarnations arrived as promised, descending upon the Burial Realm Jun Tian.