Essence Devouring Art

The Hongyuan Nine Domains.

From the simplicity of the Heaven Opening's Initial Tribulation, they developed over the course of Five Tribulations, gradually flourishing to form the All Heavens and Myriad Realms—the structure of an endless, cosmic expanse.

Their scale ranged from small to large.

Grotto Heaven, World, Small Thousand, Middle Thousand, and Great Thousand World, Venerable World, Great Venerable World, Proto-Cosmos, Complete Universe, All Heavens and Universe, and a Celestial Domain.

But in essence,

there were only two categories.

The first category was the Original Dao Realms, nurtured into existence by the Great Dao.

The other category, which was far more common, consisted of worlds and universes created by the Extraordinary beings of All Tribulations.

Many Original Dao Realms...

...had existed for so long their origins could be traced back to the era of Chaos during the Heaven Opening's Initial Tribulation, born at the same time as the Nine Great Celestial Domains.

However,

civilization did not necessarily grow stronger with age.

Rather, it grew stronger with prosperity.

For this reason,

those ancient Original Dao Realms,

because their Dao Laws failed to keep up with the changing times,

were mostly superseded by stronger Tao Realms born in later tribulations, reduced to barren worlds unworthy of a second glance.

The Qianyuan Realm, located in the Border Wilderness of the Qingming World,

was one such antique among the many Tao Realms, an ancient relic born during the Initial Tribulation.

Although it possessed the scale of a Great Thousand World,

it was already ancient and in decline, long past its prime. Desolation and decay were visible everywhere within.

Extraordinary Influences.

It had only a handful of them, barely worth mentioning, and was largely isolated and ignored by the outside world.

However,

on this day,

two uninvited guests arrived outside the ignored Qianyuan Realm.

BZZZT—

In the rippling spacetime of the outer domain,

two mysterious figures in colorful Daoist Robes appeared silently outside the Qianyuan Realm. A third-rank Evil Lotus formed the hood of each robe, revealing their identity as Saint Master Level Divine Envoys from the Primordial Sect.

The two had not arrived together,

so their simultaneous appearance was a surprise to both—

"Red Lotus Demon Lord?"

"Evil Moon Immortal?"

After they stated each other's names,

the two fell into a brief silence.

Then,

the sinister-looking youth asked:

"Shall we split it?"

"The sect forbids creating unnecessary complications. I suppose that's fine."

Although the dark, ruddy-faced old man was reluctant, the thought of the consequences for breaking the sect's rules made him nod in resignation.

Evil Moon Immortal and Red Lotus Demon Lord!

In the poorly-informed Border Wilderness,

their names might be unknown.

But in the prosperous lands of the Qingming World, the two were infamous Great Demons with fearsome reputations.

Their Cultivation at the Saint Master Realm...

...was enough to make the various Holy Lands turn pale at the mere mention of their names.

But today,

these two tyrants, who each dominated their own territories, had coincidentally converged on the Border Wilderness, apparently taking an interest in the Qianyuan Realm.

Never mind what others would think—

they themselves were completely bewildered.

They couldn't understand why the Great Daoist Venerable had suddenly issued a divine edict adding Primordial Dao Realms of the First Tribulation to the list of required sacrifices.

And those with insufficient scale were not acceptable.

The minimum requirement was a Great Thousand Tao Realm, though an elementary Venerable Tao Realm was preferred.

However,

the Great Daoist Venerable was supreme.

If he had a demand, his followers had to satisfy it!

There was no need to ask why.

Besides,

the rewards for hunting down Tao Realms were extremely generous.

Sacrificing a desolate Great Thousand Tao Realm would yield all sorts of precious Saint Master Level Cultivation Resources. It was practically like picking up money off the ground. Only an idiot would refuse such an offer.

"It's a pity our strength is insufficient. If we could sacrifice a Venerable Tao Realm, according to some Venerables on the Star Mother network, the reward would be a complete Emperor Scripture!"

Evil Moon Immortal said with envy.

The Red Lotus Demon Lord beside him smacked his lips, his expression filled with yearning as he said:

"Don't worry. As long as we piously serve the Great Daoist Venerable, we'll get everything we want. Becoming a Venerable is only a matter of time."

With such a tangible reward in sight,

both men were instantly filled with vigor. Standing in the outer domain, they scanned the Qianyuan Realm, and Evil Moon Immortal couldn't help but remark with a sigh:

"A Great Thousand World this vast, yet its strongest inhabitants are only at the Creation Realm. The Great Dao is ruthless, always replacing the old with the new. Once you're left behind, your fate is truly bleak."

"Haha, if it hadn't withered, taking it down wouldn't be this easy."

The Red Lotus Demon Lord, however, had no time for such melancholy reflections. He took out several discs shaped like stellar whirlpools and remarked with satisfaction:

"The sacrifice requires the World Dragon Vein to be intact. These Pulse Fixing Wheels, bestowed by the Daoist Venerable, certainly save us a lot of trouble.

Otherwise,

this Dragon Vein, fragile as a flickering candle, might have been shattered with one careless move."

"Let's get to it. Delays invite complications."

Evil Moon Immortal also took out several Pulse Stabilizing Threads. He and the Red Lotus Demon Lord began moving to various points around the Qianyuan Realm, placing the Pulse Fixing Wheels at the core points where the domain's field converged.

"Refine!!"

After finishing their work,

the two began to exert their power.

Boundless Red Lotus Karmic Fire and the sinister light of the moon began to radiate rapidly outward from a single point, enveloping the entire Qianyuan Realm.

"What's happening?"

"Why do I feel the world wailing in sorrow?"

"Catastrophe is upon us! Run!"

Within the Qianyuan Realm.

Within the Great Thousand World.

Countless living beings, regardless of their strength, sensed that heaven, earth, and all of spacetime were grieving. It felt as if a great disaster was imminent, and chaos erupted everywhere!

"ROAR— ROAR— ROAR—"

Outside the realm.

the two Saint Masters, Evil Moon Immortal and Red Lotus Demon Lord, clearly observed that as they began to refine and claim the Qianyuan Realm,

the spine of the Great Thousand Dragon Vein—the very thread connecting all existence within the realm—shifted from an intangible state to a tangible one. It roared and howled without end, a futile, dying cry of furious resistance.

This struggle,

like a terminally ill elder flying into a rage, only hastened its decay and death. It showed faint signs of collapsing entirely.

BZZZT—

But at that moment,

the Pulse Fixing Wheels installed outside the Qianyuan Realm began to activate. They released a suppressive Magnetic Field Power that formed a cage, forcibly restraining the Qianyuan Realm's Dragon Vein, which had been trying to drag its attackers down with it in mutual destruction.

Not only that,

all that existed within the Qianyuan Realm...

...also seemed to fall silent, as if time itself had stopped.

The Pulse Fixing Wheel.

It was, in fact, a portable Primordial Magnetic Celestial Prison Cage. With Wu Dao's current level of Cultivation, even a Pulse Stabilizing Thread he casually pinched into existence was enough to suppress and immobilize any being below a Venerable.

More advanced Pulse Fixing Wheels,

which were linked to Wu Dao's own strength, could immobilize even a Third Layer Venerable. He could create even more powerful versions by unleashing his full abilities, but there was no need, as they would be unstable.