Essence Devouring Art

WHOOSH—

His chaotic thoughts settled.

Wu Dao’s gaze swept over the completely shattered Giant Axe Ancestral Land without lingering. Taking all the spoils from his trip, he started back the way he came.

The Creation within the Giant Axe Ancestral Land.

Aside from the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe and the Great Divine Power of Heaven and Earth Creation, everything else had been cleaned out by the Slaughter Emperor hundreds of thousands of years ago.

There was no need to waste time searching.

Besides...

There were still plenty of experimental materials outside waiting for him to collect.

He hadn’t forgotten.

On this trip, the Daylight Saint Child, the Profound Yin Saint Child, and the strongest of them, Meng Zheng, had all brought a large number of followers into the Giant Axe Sacred Land.

Their numbers totaled at least a thousand.

And they were all experts in the Dharma Realm!

Not only that.

There were also over ten Grotto Heaven Level Starships.

The Starship materials could also be used as feed for the Magnetic Mother Star Bead, accelerating the assimilation of the other Celestial Soldier Dragon Veins.

WHOOSH—

With the Magnetic Mother Star Bead clearing the way, the return journey became exceptionally easy.

Wu Dao passed safely through the Tribulation Qi Forbidden Area outside the Ancestral Land and returned to the gloomy Giant Axe Sacred Land.

"You from the Ten Thousand Laws Alliance! If anything happens to our Emperor’s Son, your Alliance Leader won’t have an easy time of it!"

"Hah! Inside a forbidden area, everyone fends for themselves. Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at for saying something so ridiculous?"

"Exactly! Besides, you were the ones who plotted against us! How dare you threaten us? You’re utterly shameless!"

Interestingly enough, outside the forbidden area, the followers of the three factions had taken over different parts of the sky. The tension was palpable, as if they were seconds away from a full-blown fight, just daring each other to make the first move.

"Stop arguing, someone’s coming out!"

When Wu Dao emerged from the forbidden area, the crowd, which had been full of animosity, fell silent. Then, their brows furrowed.

"Heaven-Reaching, where is the Saint Child?"

Someone from the Daylight Saint Child’s faction asked anxiously, sensing that something was wrong.

After all, they were all in the same boat as the Daylight Saint Child. If he fell, their futures would certainly be bleak.

"And our Saint Child!"

"You dog slave, did you see our Emperor’s Son?"

The other two factions were also on edge.

Several of them even began to curse at Wu Dao without restraint.

"Do not be anxious. Do not worry."

Wu Dao toyed with the Star Bead in his hand, resembling a buddha walking among mortals. Unannoyed and unangered, he seemed to embrace all greed, anger, foolishness, and resentment. A warm smile touched his lips as he said,

"Once the karmic threads align, you will naturally meet again."

RUMBLE—

As his voice fell,

endless darkness enveloped the Ten Directions of the cosmos.

From the deepest heart of the darkness,

starlight Divine Fire blazed furiously.

A pair of demonic eyes—sacred and compassionate, encompassing the worship of all living beings—slowly opened, looking down upon the lost lambs in all directions.

...

「Several days later.」

A sensational piece of news spread throughout Ten Thousand Laws City and the Xuanwu City of the Star God Hall.

Two Saint Children from the Ten Thousand Laws Alliance!

One Emperor’s Son from Xuanwu Hall!

Over ten Grotto Heaven Saint Children from Xuanwu Hall!

More than a thousand top-tier Dharma Aspects!

They had all been wiped out in a forbidden area—not a living soul nor a dead body to be found!

According to a frank admission from the followers that the Star God Hall’s Emperor’s Son had arranged to hide outside, they had set their sights on the Giant Axe Sacred Land, but after Meng Zheng and the two Saint Children from the Ten Thousand Laws Alliance entered, they never came out again.

Afterward, both factions sent a large number of Grotto Heaven experts into the Sacred Land, but aside from a field of ruins, they couldn’t find a single trace.

Some speculated that Meng Zheng and the others had likely been taken advantage of by a third party who then killed them to silence them.

Others guessed that they had encountered a spatial-temporal shift and been transported to an unknown part of the forbidden area.

Some even said that after obtaining the Giant Axe inheritance and the Divine Axe, Meng Zheng, the Daylight Saint Child, and the others had gotten greedy and decided to defect from their respective factions.

The rumors were wild and varied, but there was no definitive explanation, and the incident became a complete mystery.

But before the discussions in Ten Thousand Laws City and Xuanwu City could die down,

another sensational piece of news

spread throughout the entire forbidden area, even affecting the outside world—

The factions from the All Heavens stationed in the forbidden area almost simultaneously had a batch of Grotto Heaven or Dharma Realm Celestial Prides vanish into thin air, and most of them were Saint Child and Emperor’s Son Level figures!

This matter was too big.

The various major figures from the outside world all ordered a thorough investigation.

In the end, they received a piece of infuriating information.

Those Emperor’s Sons and Saint Children, before their disappearances, had all been approached by someone offering treasure, claiming to have discovered a Creation Land. Lured by greed, they had fallen into a trap.

Well, then.

This was an organized and premeditated ’pig-butchering scam’!

Furthermore, it targeted the top factions of the All Heavens. It was an act of audacious, heaven-defying boldness!

"Could it be people from the Dragon Hunting Tower?"

Amid the clamor of discussion, someone thought of a certain mysterious faction that specialized in hunting the Celestial Prides of the All Heavens and cautiously offered their speculation.

But this was quickly refuted.

"Impossible. The members of the Dragon Hunting Tower are at the top of the All Heavens’ most-wanted list. The Great Emperors are always watching them. They could never have slipped into the Star Divine Domain without the two Star Lords noticing."

"The Dragon Hunting Tower mainly targets Celestial Prides from the Transverse Cultivation lineage. Among the Emperor’s Sons and Saint Children who vanished, most had not yet reached the Yang God realm."

"Besides, the biggest difference is this: each group of vanished Celestial Prides had opened a Creation Land, only to have someone else reap the rewards. This clearly suggests the perpetrators are limited in strength and can only rely on schemes and plots."

Someone else said with righteous indignation, "This is too vicious! They not only take the Creation, but the people as well. I heard they don’t even leave a single Starship behind. They’re like a plague of locusts."

Someone else recalled a somewhat similar incident: "Why does this style sound so familiar? Not long ago, a Demon appeared in a peripheral gathering place, specializing in tricking people and ’butchering pigs,’ not even leaving scraps behind."

Of course, some were envious: "My goodness, so many treasure lands... imagine all the Creation and opportunities."

"I heard that top-tier Saint Master Divine Weapon from the Giant Axe Sacred Land was also taken. A Saint Master Divine Weapon, Great All Heavens Divine Techniques... tsk tsk, you could build a peak-level clan with all that."

The major gathering places in the forbidden area were in an uproar.

With nearly a hundred Grotto Heaven Celestial Prides and tens of thousands of Dharma Celestial Prides from the All Heavens involved, plus a haul of Creation that would make even Imperial Influences green with envy, no one could remain calm.

At the same time, most people became suspicious of everything and everyone.

With such a cautionary tale before them, no one dared to casually trust anyone of unknown origin who came offering treasures.

Especially not those whose names and Daoist titles sounded inexplicably impressive.

Because, after the All Heavens summarized their intelligence, they discovered that within that group, there were names like Supreme Celestial Hongjun... every single one of their Daoist titles was enough to make one’s body tremble upon hearing it, giving off an incredibly profound impression.

In any case, after this incident, the various Daoist grounds and cities of the All Heavens within the forbidden area fell into a state of panic for a time. Anyone below the Fourth Layer of the Emperor Grade Cave Heaven realm dared not act alone.

While the Celestial Prides of the All Heavens were seeing enemies in every shadow, the culprit, Wu Dao, was like an Evil Dragon that had just plundered a massive hoard of treasure. Temporarily satisfied, he began to take stock of the spoils his incarnations had brought back.

Deep within the Red Thunder Abyss.

The crimson thunderbolts were boundlessly violent, almost condensing into a mercury-like slurry. Even an expert at the Tenth Layer of the Emperor Grade Cave Heaven realm would feel their heart pound with fear just by approaching.

SPLASH—

The Foggy Thunder Sea churned.

Wu Dao’s cross-legged figure slowly emerged. He paused his Cultivation, and his consciousness delved into a Minor Circulation, where his vision was filled with the divine glow of countless treasures.

The ultimate Supreme Treasure, placed at the very top, was undoubtedly the Saint Master Divine Weapon, the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe.

Below the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe, floated countless Divine Weapons and Heavy Artifacts radiating brilliant light—axes, poleaxes, hooks, forks, blades, swords, hammers, cauldrons, furnaces...

Next, there were mountains of rare minerals, Elixir Pills, Talismans, Array Plates, Star Shuttles, Treasure Bones...

They covered every aspect of the Extraordinary path.

It was a veritable Treasure Mountain and Treasure Sea.

One could say that the wealth of an ordinary Holy Land could not compare to what Wu Dao now possessed.

’Not bad. I’ve obtained another five Great All Heavens Divine Techniques.’

Wu Dao calmly swept his gaze over the Treasure Mountain and Treasure Sea as five brand-new Great All Heavens Divine Techniques, including Heaven and Earth Creation, appeared in his mind—

Heaven and Earth Creation, Subduing the Dragon and Taming the Tiger, Drawing Ground as Prison, Breath into Soldiers, and Sleeve Universe.

These were all regrets that the Slaughter Emperor had missed when he roamed the Emperor Star. The process of obtaining them was more or less the same as with Heaven and Earth Creation, so there’s no need to go into detail.

The only difference was perhaps that he didn’t encounter the Slaughter Emperor’s lingering will again. Maybe it was too embarrassed to show its face after being slighted.

The five Great All Heavens Divine Techniques covered the Martial Dao, the Military Dao, and the Immortal Dao.

But regardless of the Dao, to Wu Dao, they were all nothing more than Third-class Miners for the second stage of the Essence Devouring Art, used to excavate the potential of his Primordial Magnetic Dao Body.

The second class was Emperor Scriptures.

The first class was the Ten Great Supreme Divine Techniques.

After cultivating these five Great Divine Techniques to the Dharma Aspect level, he could once again "devour" Five Directions Human Body Minor Circulations, excavate a massive amount of his Dao Body’s potential, and convert it into Primordial Magnetic Power.

’Next, I’ll be quite busy.’

Wu Dao’s consciousness turned to the Primordial Celestial Demon Circulation, where he could see large, humanoid, starlight-colored cocoons hanging within the Divine Domain.

And in the hands of the Primordial Celestial Demon, was the constantly flicking Magnetic Mother Star Bead, as if it were performing a consecration ritual.

His Main Body’s current strength was accurately measured through the Magnetic Mother Star Bead.

When fully contaminating the Nine Dragon Veins, setting aside the factor of the Magnetic Mother Star Bead’s affinity for him and measuring it by Hongyuan’s standards, his power was at the Seventh Layer of the Emperor Grade Cave Heaven realm.

As for his incarnations, they were a full tier lower in every aspect.

This resulted in a three-layer gap, with their strength limit being only the peak of the Fourth Layer of the Emperor Grade Cave Heaven realm.

’Now that all preparations are complete, it’s time to forge the Primordial Dao Wheel 2.0.’

A sharp glint flashed in Wu Dao’s Divine Soul.

With a single thought, the faint Artifact Spirit of the Magnetic Mother Star Bead cheered joyfully, like a spider being fed by its master.

The Nine Dragon Veins extended thousands of Primordial Magnetic Arm, which plunged into the cocoons. GURGLE GURGLE... They began absorbing large amounts of Divine Soul magnetic force, which became nourishment for the Artifact Spirit’s intellectual growth.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—

The Primordial Celestial Demon also ignited its blazing Divine Fire, capturing the ever-strengthening Artifact Spirit within the Magnetic Mother Star Bead and beginning to construct the foundational Faith Channel for the Primordial Dao Wheel.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

At the same time, the sound of weapon forging and iron hammering rang out.

Wu Dao synchronized with the source of the magnetic field, reforging the nine completely contaminated Magnetic Mother Star Beads. He transformed their internal microstructures, forging them into the rings and nodes of the Primordial Dao Wheel.

The Primordial Dao Wheel 2.0 was a major hardware upgrade based on the original’s functions.

The Primordial Dao Wheel constructed from the physical and spiritual magnetic fields of living beings had too short a lifespan.

Working under prolonged overclocked loads, it would quickly wear out and be retired. This required constantly finding new nodes—in other words, capturing stronger materials—which was very troublesome.

The Second Generation Primordial Dao Wheel was different.

Using indestructible Divine Weapons as the main body of the Dao Wheel and dispersing the Artifact Spirit into the nodes to act as a computer array, it would never become obsolete as long as he continued to upgrade the Divine Weapons’ grade and feed the Artifact Spirit.

Of course, more importantly, the Dao Wheel forged from the Magnetic Mother Star Bead was far more powerful and potent.

Because its Mighty Power surpassed that of Wu Dao’s own body!

The computational power it provided and the cultivation workload it could handle were things the first-generation Primordial Dao Wheel could only dream of.

Once it was successfully forged, his cultivation speed would be equivalent to having an expert pouring power into him and raising his level at every single moment!

One can only imagine how perverse that was!

As for the materials to upgrade the Dao Wheel, those were not in short supply.

Wu Dao was currently filthy rich; what he lacked least were weapons and all sorts of rare minerals.

The only thing he needed to consider was that upgrading the Artifact Spirit’s computational ability required a large amount of Divine Souls.

After all, the Faith Channel communicated with the Artifact Spirit. If the Artifact Spirit was subpar and couldn’t keep up, it naturally wouldn’t be able to turn the Dao Wheel.

However, that wasn’t a major problem either.

Currently, Wu Dao’s Divine Country contained tens of thousands of top-tier Dharma Aspect materials and hundreds of Grotto Heaven materials. He wouldn’t have to worry about running out for some time.

And even if he did run out, it wouldn’t matter.

There were as many lost wanderers outside as he could ever want.

When the time came, he could just go out and "enlighten" another batch with "love." In any case, the Artifact Spirit of the Primordial Dao Wheel wasn’t a picky eater.