Essence Devouring Art

Giant Axe Sacred Land.

Deep within the Chaos Forbidden Area on the outskirts of the Ancestral Land.

CLANG!

A jet-black killing light, erupting from the Ancestral Land’s mutated World-Protecting Array, swept past.

The Tribulation Chaos Sea instantly erupted into a frenzy.

All was chaos, a blur in every direction. The stable Pocket World Passage split in two and disintegrated.

"AHH!!"

A blood-curdling scream rang out.

Although the Profound Yin Saint Child was protected by the Netherworld Cauldron, a top-tier Saint Grade Celestial Soldier,

the rampaging Tribulation Qi was too terrifying. In an instant, it swept away several Dharma Aspect masters, who were then refined alive into nothingness on the spot by the dark, baleful light.

The Daylight Saint Child’s side also met with disaster.

He did everything in his power to reactivate the Golden Crow Treasure Wheel.

The Great Sun Essence Fire burned magnificently, yet it still flickered and dimmed under the grinding force of the dark, baleful light. Several of his attendants exploded into a mist of blood.

’The pressure is too much. Where’s Heaven-Reaching? Damn it!’

The pressure was too great.

The Daylight Saint Child coughed up a mouthful of blood.

He also realized his trusted general, Heaven-Reaching, had vanished. He assumed Heaven-Reaching had been swept away by the Tribulation Qi during the chaos—a near-certain death.

The mutated World-Protecting Array, steeped in Tribulation Qi, was too horrifying. It targeted all intruders without exception, its dark, baleful light lashing out like a supernova, continuously destroying the passage.

"A bunch of useless trash!"

The hidden Emperor’s Son of the Star God Hall, Meng Zheng, was also caught in the shockwave, his expression turning grim.

It was too chaotic.

His senses couldn’t even penetrate the turmoil.

He had no idea what was happening up ahead, only assuming that the Daylight Saint Child and the others had triggered some taboo. He quickly threw out a string of Star Treasure Beads, which burst into starlight to protect his group.

RUMBLE—

Within the raging Magnetic Field of Tribulation Qi,

Wu Dao, having blended into the field, was like a fish swimming against the current, continuously making his way toward the jet-black Boundary Wall below.

Although he couldn’t control the Ancestral Land’s Magnetic Field,

his affinity for magnetic fields, granted by the Primordial Magnetic Power, still allowed him to avoid being locked on by much of the domain array’s killing intent.

Like a slippery loach,

he dodged and weaved through the exploding Magnetic Field. While the Daylight Saint Child and the others were pinned down by the baleful light of the World-Protecting Array, he was the first to pass through the Boundary Wall and slip into the Giant Axe Ancestral Land.

Trying to brute-force it was useless.

The Slaughter Emperor had ventured into the Giant Axe Ancestral Land once, and the dangers he faced were beyond what any latecomer of this era could possibly imagine.

Back then, the Slaughter Emperor had also tried to force his way in.

But he later discovered something.

Someone had to bear the brunt of the Ancestral Land’s Grand Array’s killing intent lock-on.

Only then could others enter.

A direct assault would only provoke the Grand Array to unleash increasingly terrifying power against them.

Therefore,

if the Daylight Saint Child and the others wanted to enter the Ancestral Land, they had no choice but to sacrifice a large number of their subordinates, to plug the gap with human lives.

If he had stayed any longer,

by the time they figured it out,

Wu Dao might have been exposed after being conscripted as cannon fodder.

He was, in their eyes, a mere tenth-layer Emperor Grade Dharma Aspect.

He didn’t believe for a second that the Daylight Saint Child’s affection for his subordinate was so deep he’d be unwilling to sacrifice him and give up on the Giant Axe Ancestral Land.

’Did they really think the two Saint Children went to all this trouble to bring so many Dharma Aspect followers because they wanted everyone to ascend to glory together and get rich?’

That was just too naive.

"No, Saint Child, I’ve been completely loyal to you!"

"Profound Yin, may you die a horrible death!"

"Wang Tongguang, you son of a bitch!"

Just as expected.

Right after Wu Dao left,

the two Saint Children realized what they had to do, a vicious look flashing across their faces.

Without any hesitation,

they grabbed their remaining attendants, balled them together, and hurled them out of the Sacred Artifacts’ protective zone, smashing them into the baleful light erupting from the Grand Array.

BOOM!

Dozens of top-tier Dharma Phase Practitioners were like bricks used to block the gushing baleful light of the Grand Array.

Although they were consumed at an extremely fast rate,

it bought the Daylight Saint Child and the Profound Yin Saint Child a single moment to catch their breath. For cultivators of their level, a single moment was enough to escape.

"Hmph. ’Serve with utmost dedication until death.’ Those were your words!"

Wang Tongguang snorted coldly, feeling not a shred of guilt. A greedy look on his face, he steered the Golden Crow Treasure Wheel and shot toward the Boundary Wall below.

After him,

unwilling to be left behind, came the Profound Yin Saint Child, shrouded in vast Nether Fire.

After the two of them entered,

the Star God Hall’s Emperor’s Son, Meng Zheng, followed suit, sacrificing a large number of his Dharma Aspect followers to gain entry into the Ancestral Land.

In the mortal world,

there’s a saying: "A higher rank can crush a man."

The same was true in the Extraordinary Realm.

When the benefits were great enough,

most people were no different from beasts. The strong held absolute power over the weak.

...

HUM~

As for Wu Dao,

once he passed through the jet-black, dilapidated Boundary Wall array, it was as if he had entered an incomparably prosperous Ancient Immortal Realm.

The vault of heaven was filled with sacred light and auspicious rosy clouds.

The mountains and rivers were boundless and magnificent.

As far as the eye could see,

Divine Mountains that pierced the Star Sea blanketed the land, releasing boundless Essence Qi. Mighty Dragon Veins roamed the vast world, spewing endless Innate Origin Creation Qi and blessing all of existence.

Divine Beings roared as they wielded axes, cleaving Heaven and Earth. Sacred Spirits inhabited Blessed Lands, vying in glorious prosperity. Faint, mystical Daoist Teachings drifted from the depths. Everywhere, it was a scene of ancient sanctity.

But...

It was all fake!

"Disperse!"

Wu Dao snorted coldly. He calmed his heart and mind, and the glorious scene in his eyes instantly faded like an old photograph, turning grey and desolate.

WHOOSH~

An intensely suffocating, pitch-black tribulation wind ravaged the sky and land.

Looking again now,

where was the auspicious light and sanctity?

Only ruin remained!

The clear blue heavens were now filthy and dark, rent by massive black fissures in which lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, releasing a terrifying, heart-pounding aura of destruction.

On the land below,

the divine mountains and spiritual rivers had collapsed, bereft of all Spirituality. Of the countless magnificent and vast structures, only the foundations remained.

One Grotto Heaven Blessed Land after another had been smashed to bits by falling stars and spatial rifts. The Creation Qi that had once filled the world had transformed into Death Killing Tribulation Qi that would give rise to Heart Demons in anyone who so much as smelled it.

The once-flourishing Giant Axe Ancestral Land,

was now nothing but ruins.

Phew~

Wu Dao took a deep breath. Sensing the fluctuations from the Boundary Wall behind him, he had no time to lament the passage of time and the changes it brought.

He looked up toward the central region.

Atop the highest Divine Mountain,

a jet-black beam of light, like a gamma-ray burst, pierced the Nine Heavens. Deep within it, one could faintly see a peerless Divine Axe, its might suppressing the Ancient Universe Primordial Chaos and capable of creating Three Thousand Worlds, rising and falling—

The Heaven-Opening Divine Axe!

A top-tier Saint Master Level Divine Weapon, second only to an Emperor’s Artifact!

More importantly...

’The Seventy-two Heavenly Great Divine Techniques!’

’The All Heaven Technique, needed for the second stage of the Essence Devouring Art to unlock the potential of the Primordial Magnetic Dao Body!’

He could give up on any other fortune in this Ancestral Land.

But that Heaven and Earth Creation, one of the Great All Heavens Divine Techniques...

Wu Dao had to have it!

With this thought,

Wu Dao no longer hesitated. Following the information left by the Slaughter Emperor, he flew rapidly toward the depths of the ruined Ancestral Land.

The Heaven-Opening Divine Axe was not so easy to obtain.

During the Four Tribulations,

the Giant Axe Commander had wielded the Divine Axe to slay countless members of the Mountain Sea Wilderness Clan. Ninety percent of the entire Ancestral Land’s Tribulation Qi had gathered within the Divine Axe, turning it into a truly vicious weapon.

If that hadn’t been the case,

the Slaughter Emperor would have taken the Divine Axe and the Great Divine Technique within it long ago. There would be nothing left for later generations.

Now, after tens of millions of years had passed,

with the Emperor Star’s purification running its course, the Tribulation Qi in the major forbidden areas had weakened significantly compared to millions of years ago.

However,

trying to take the Divine Axe

was still an incredibly dangerous affair.

One needed a specific token, one closely related to the Giant Axe inheritance, to have even a sliver of a chance.

The Slaughter Emperor had obtained that item back in his day, but unfortunately, the Divine Axe’s vicious aura was too terrifying in that era.

Even after comprehending and mastering the token’s use,

he couldn’t break through the Tribulation Qi to gain the Divine Axe’s recognition.

But in this era,

the intensity of the Tribulation Qi was completely different.

As long as he had that item,

Wu Dao’s chances were very high!

BUZZ!

Just after Wu Dao’s front foot left,

the somewhat battered figures of the Daylight Saint Child and the Profound Yin Saint Child burst in.

They were not like Wu Dao,

who understood the principles of the world’s various magnetic fields.

Even with their Celestial Soldiers protecting them,

they had still been subjected to the Grand Array’s considerable grinding power within the Boundary Wall, leaving them covered in dust and grime.

However,

when they saw the shadow of the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe in the center of the Ancestral Land—an image of such domineering and unstoppable power that it ruled over the Ancient Universe Primordial Chaos—it all felt worth it.

"The Heaven-Opening Divine Axe!"

The Profound Yin Saint Child trembled, swallowing hard. The fervor in his eyes was almost tangible!

A top-tier Saint Master Divine Weapon!

When Emperor’s Artifacts are hidden, Sacred Artifacts reign supreme!

A single artifact capable of creating Three Thousand Worlds!

Even the Ten Thousand Laws Alliance, with its million-year heritage, didn’t possess a single one. Obtaining it would mean one could dominate the universe, look down upon all worlds, and even build a peak clan that could shake the heavens.

This was a heaven-defying stroke of luck, a monumental creation!

Even a Saint’s Great Power would lose their composure, let alone two cultivators at the mere Grotto Heaven realm.

However,

after their greed surged,

the Profound Yin Saint Child and the Daylight Saint Child calmed down.

The Giant Axe was heaven-defying,

but it had now become a vicious weapon, shrouded in terrifying Tribulation Evil Qi. They would likely have to break a few teeth to obtain it.

"Cooperation!"

The two looked at each other and, for the moment, suppressed their ulterior motives and personal grudges, choosing a win-win cooperation.

The Giant Axe Holy Soldier was too extraordinary.

It was also tied to one of the Great All Heavens Divine Techniques.

Neither of them could take it alone, and even if they did, they couldn’t hope to keep it.

Only the Ten Thousand Laws Alliance behind them

had the power to claim the Giant Axe without fear of covetous vermin.

Of course,

before that, they could try to claim the Great All Heavens Divine Technique for themselves, but they would need to work together to have any chance of breaking the seal of vicious Tribulation Qi.

WHOOSH!

Having reached an agreement,

the two no longer hesitated. They once again summoned their two Celestial Soldiers and rushed toward the Central Divine Mountain where the Rising and Falling Giant Axe was.

As for the other fortunes in the Ancestral Land,

they could wait until after they secured the Giant Axe.

Only a fool would pick up a sesame seed and drop the watermelon.

BUZZ~

After the Profound Yin Saint Child and the Daylight Saint Child left,

the void rippled again.

The Star God Hall’s Emperor’s Son, Meng Zheng, also broke into the Ancestral Land, along with a group of Grotto Heaven Celestial Prides.

"The Heaven-Opening Divine Axe..."

Even Meng Zheng, who had seen the world,

could not hide the burning desire in his eyes upon seeing the Giant Axe. He cast a derisive glance at the two Saint Children from the Ten Thousand Laws Alliance up ahead.

He continued to hide his presence and tail them,

planning to strike at the critical moment.

RUMBLE—

The Heaven and Earth Creation’s baleful aura from the Giant Axe erupted like an ancient volcano, forming a pillar whose power affected the entire space-time of the Ancestral Land. The closer one got, the more frenzied the Power of Destruction became.

"OPEN!!"

Outside the Celestial Pillar of destruction,

the Profound Yin Saint Child and the Daylight Saint Child pushed their Essence, Qi, and Spirit to their absolute peak, fully reactivating the mighty power of the Netherworld Cauldron and the Golden Crow Treasure Wheel to bombard the baleful Tribulation Qi.

Two top-tier Saint Grade Celestial Soldiers,

like two worlds revolving, spitting out the light of creation and destruction, crushed the vast mountains and rivers. The stars in the Nine Heavens trembled, fell, and exploded, unleashing a world-ending might.

One black and one gold, one yin and one yang,

The Creation Qi surging from the Grotto Heavens of the two Celestial Soldiers transformed into Ancient Cyan Dragons that stretched across the sky. They roared and bellowed, shaking the cosmos, and with peerless, tyrannical power, slammed viciously into the Divine Axe’s baleful aura.