Essence Devouring Art

Huanwu Mountain.

The final peak was about to be unsealed.

If one were to look down from beyond this World, they would see a vast Star Sea swirling like a giant vortex. At its core, an endless, mystical light of Creation converged upon Huanwu Peak, shining like a cosmic beacon across the All Heavens and Myriad Realms.

"The Supreme Alchemy Technique from the Great All Heavens Divine Techniques, ’Stone-to-Pill Transformation,’ has appeared! Several All Heavens Emperor’s Lineages are fighting fiercely over it!"

"The legacy of the Four Tribulations Great Spirit Emperor! Someone has already been acknowledged!"

"A Daoist Child was torn apart alive on an Enlightenment Platform! The two factions are now at war!"

"Those below the All Heavens Emperor’s Lineages shouldn’t go above the mountainside! Even if you get a legacy, you won’t be able to keep it. Don’t throw your lives away for nothing!"

As more and more Great Divine Power Emperor Scriptures appeared, the area above Huanwu Mountain’s slopes completely transformed into a battlefield of Gods and Demons!

One Dao Platform after another.

Became an arena for the clashes of Celestial Prides.

From the foot of the mountain, one could look up and see Star Rivers being annihilated, Pocket Worlds collapsing, and divine lights of every color filling and destroying space in all Ten Directions!

"AHH! I curse my fate!!"

The phenomenon of Celestial Prides shedding blood was like the Celestial River pouring down, transforming into a terrifying sea of blood that rolled down from the summit, causing all who witnessed it to pale.

The scale of it all was too terrifying.

Factions below the All Heavens Emperor’s Lineages had no right to even set foot above the mountainside. Many who tried their luck were mercilessly cut down on the Dao Platforms. It was the height of cruelty.

The domain nearing the peak had become the exclusive territory of the Taoist Influences. They carved out spheres of influence, occupying one Dao Platform after another.

As for Celestial Prides from factions below the Daoist Lineages, daring to step foot there was a provocation. The lucky ones were crippled; the unlucky were annihilated on the spot. Their dominance was absolute.

The Heaven Mending Sect.

A long-standing Taoist Influence from the Qingming World, its foundation was no weaker than that of the Thunder Emperor Palace. It had once produced a Mixed Yuan Tao Emperor, the Heaven-Repairing Emperor.

During the time of the Four Tribulations, the Heaven-Repairing Emperor rose from the chaos.

He practiced the Heaven Mending Technique—one of the Seventy-two Heavenly Great Divine Techniques capable of reversing life, death, and Creation—and later forged his own path.

In the late stages of the Four Tribulations, the Heaven-Repairing Emperor even held off powerful enemies from the Mountain and Sea with one hand while reversing time and space with the other to repair the Qingming World, which had been on the verge of shattering during the Great Tribulation. His merits were immeasurable.

Even after his fall, the many lineages of the Qingming World remain grateful to the Heaven-Repairing Emperor to this day, and they treat his legacy, the Heaven Mending Sect, with great respect.

As the saying goes, favor breeds arrogance.

Basking in the glory of their predecessor, the successors of the Heaven Mending Sect considered themselves a cut above the rest wherever they went in the Qingming World. Over time, this fostered an ethos of arrogance and tyranny.

In other words, the Heaven Mending Sect was always the one to bully others. Who would dare to shit on their heads?

Therefore, after hearing Wu Dao’s condescending rebuke, the members of the Heaven Mending Sect were first stunned, then filled with uncontrollable rage.

"What did you say?"

Park Young, the leading Daoist Child of the Heaven Mending Sect, was dressed in snow-white robes and was exceptionally handsome. But at this moment, his face was as dark as water. His narrow, upturned eyes squinted as he smiled out of extreme anger.

"Good, good, good. I’d love to hear it. Where do you get the nerve to be so arrogant!"

Clearly, Park Young was no brainless idiot. He knew enough to ask about his opponent’s background before making a move and didn’t look down on Wu Dao just because of his tattered clothes.

In the Extraordinary Realm, there were plenty of people who enjoyed playing the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

The only reason they had dared to bully the green-robed youth earlier was that they had identified him as a mere Celestial Pride from an Imperial Influence in the Qingming World—bullying him would have no repercussions.

"I told you to get lost. Are you deaf?"

Wu Dao’s expression was indifferent. He glanced back coldly at the noisy Park Young and released a fraction of his aura.

BOOM!!

With just that one glance, Park Young felt his mind instantly plunge into a bottomless Abyss, as if countless heavens were crashing down upon him. His consciousness was like a lone boat in a raging storm, teetering on the verge of collapse under the god-like, demon-like pressure.

GULP~

He struggled to swallow.

The towering rage that had consumed Park Young was instantly extinguished as if doused by cold water. The others turned deathly pale, not even daring to look directly at Wu Dao.

It was too terrifying.

They were like a group of rabbits facing an enraged tiger. The absolute pressure of a supreme predator made them feel as if they were facing a Divine Being, bringing them to the brink of suffocation.

’Where did this monster come from...’

Park Young was horrified.

He was a Daoist Child of the Thirty Layers of Heaven of the Puting Cave Heaven, yet in front of Wu Dao, he couldn’t muster the slightest will to resist.

’With this kind of power, he has to be a Monster Level Celestial Pride above the Three Dao Perfection and Twenty-four Heavens, possibly even on the level of a Son of Revival from a Common Lord Power!’

Park Young had once met a Son of Revival from the Infinite Daoist Palace—a Common Lord Power in the Qingming World—who was in the Cave Heavens Realm. But not even that Son of Revival had exuded such an overwhelming sense of pressure and despair.

’I can’t afford to provoke him!’

In an instant, Park Young understood the gap between them. His expression changed completely as he put on a fawning look, cupped his hands, and said:

"This little brother was a bit loud just now. Please don’t take offense, fellow Daoist. We’ll leave right away, right away."

After speaking, he shot a look at the other terrified Celestial Prides of the Heaven Mending Sect, and they all scurried off the Dao Platform in disgrace.

He who understands the times is a wise man, after all.

When you’re outmatched, there’s no shame in yielding.

Wu Dao watched the hurried retreat of Park Young and his group with a dark glint in his eyes, but he did not move to stop them.

’Daoist Lineages... they all have protectors at the Creation Realm guarding them in secret. A fight would cause a huge commotion.’

This was also why there was no real conflict in the domain below the summit. Everyone was conserving their Power, waiting to fight for the Strongest Divine Techniques on the peak. They wouldn’t act rashly.

’For a few Little Kalamis... exposing my plan... really isn’t worth it.’

’They’re all just meat in the pot anyway. No need to rush.’

BUZZ—

After the members of the Heaven Mending Sect had left,

Wu Dao raised his hand and pressed it against the Enlightenment Stele. Myriad scriptures swarmed in like a tide, vast and ethereal as smoke, continuously pouring into his Sea of Consciousness.