Essence Devouring Art

Within the main army.

The clang and roar of Divine Iron echoed as wave after wave of vast Venerable auras swept across the Great Saint Pass, the pressure so immense that it crushed the Sea of Death in this region, causing it to sink and dissipate!

"Retreat!!!"

A voice like thunder boomed across the battlefield.

The order was absolute, and the army fell back!

They were no longer making foolhardy sacrifices in a blind charge, but were steadily retreating, pushed back by the pressure at the defensive line.

BZZZ—

Wu Dao paused in his steps.

He looked up, his gaze following the path cleared through the army as it parted like a tide, and landed on the Venerable Desolate Gods standing tall atop the towering, colossal ships in the center of the enemy formation.

There were members of the Tuomu Race, and also the Luo Fish Race.

The strongest among them was the lead Tuomu Race Venerable, who was clad in Divine Gold Battle Armor of unknown origin and was infinitely close to the rank of Great Venerable, a step away from condensing a Cosmic Seed.

As for Wu Dao.

Right now, without using the Divine Image Heaven.

His combat power couldn’t exceed the Tenth Heaven of the Venerable realm.

But...

So what?

’Star Mother...’

Wu Dao’s expression was indifferent. His Black Abyss eyes swept over the Venerables of the two races as if they were nothing. After communicating with the Star Mother, he continued to walk forward.

’Understood!’

In the depths of the sea.

The Star Mother received the command.

Within her Origin Space, waves of destructive aura began to charge up rapidly. At the same time, she connected to the Faith Channel of the Seventy-Three Primordial Demons.

"How dare you!!"

Wu Dao’s completely dismissive attitude instantly sent the killing intent of the two races’ Venerables soaring to its peak. With furious roars and no further words, they charged toward Wu Dao and the Primordial Demons.

They were Venerables!

Their strongest was an Emperor’s Son at the peak of Venerable Perfection!

Wu Dao and his Primordial Demons were strange, but they seemed to be, at most, at the level of newly ascended Venerables. To dare ignore them was arrogance beyond measure!

Soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals!

The two races were giving Wu Dao and the Seventy-Three Primordial Demons their utmost attention!

The strongest among them, the Venerable Emperor Crow!

His three heads and six tails erupted with rays of divine Venerable light as he gathered the power of various rule veins to strike at Wu Dao, while the other Venerables surrounded and attacked the Primordial Demons from different directions.

"Being a hero comes with a price!"

The Emperor Crow of the Tuomu Race was the fastest! With a cold snort, the pupils of his rightmost head shot out beams of white light that pierced through space-time, allowing him to instantly cross the distance from the main army to the front lines!

What was even more terrifying was that, without any warning, the Emperor Crow suddenly brandished a Grand Venerable Level Thunder Hammer! CHIIII— It unleashed billions of streaks of purple Thunderbolt, each powerful enough to destroy the fabric of the universe, and instantly tore apart Wu Dao’s Infinite Magnetic Shock Domain!

That’s right!

A Great Venerable Divine Weapon!

And it was used in a hidden sneak attack, all just to kill a low-level Venerable!

Even a lion uses its full strength to catch a rabbit!

Although Wu Dao had revealed the aura of a Venerable, he was far too strange!

As a battle-hardened veteran who carried the fierce blood of a Desolate God, the Emperor Crow knew better than anyone that once an enemy like this was locked on, you had to hunt them like a wild beast—

Efficient, unscathed, and one-hit kill!

You couldn’t give them any chance whatsoever!

There was no room for arrogant posturing or testing the waters.

The notion of sending in underlings to die first simply didn’t apply here. This was a life-or-death battlefield, not some playful tournament for rankings!

Respect every opponent!

Use any means necessary—that was the supreme law of survival on the battlefield!

However, what the Emperor Crow didn’t know was that Wu Dao was a Fierce Beast who thought the exact same way. The only difference was that Wu Dao was better at hiding, better at luring his prey in for a one-hit kill!

And so—

SHREEEED!!!

The instant the Great Venerable Thunder Hammer tore through the Infinite Magnetic Field, billions of rays of blazing golden light, like the dawning sun, erupted with endless light and heat, abruptly shredding the Thunderbolt and engulfing the Emperor Crow!

CLANG CLANG CLANG—

In that infinitesimal moment, the Heart Lake Alarm Bell of the Emperor Crow of the Tuomu Race rang wildly!

Within his senses!

He perceived that the source of the endless light and heat was an Extreme Yang Proto-Cosmos, a condensed Endless World containing countless great suns—

A Quasi-Emperor Weapon!

The Great Sun Divine Hammer!

KRACHA—BOOM!

The instant the might of the Quasi-Emperor Weapon erupted!

The Great Venerable Thunder Hammer, as if made of paper, was directly torn to shreds by the abyssal force field of the Proto-Cosmos contained within the Great Sun Divine Hammer!

THUD!!

The Emperor Crow was forced to his knees on the spot. His physical body began to shatter, his Inner Supreme World disintegrated, and he was suppressed in every possible way!

"You despicable... human!"

Its feathers continuously shattered as it struggled to lift its three heads, only managing to see the blurry silhouette of someone wielding the Great Sun Divine Hammer amidst the endless light and heat.

Quasi-Emperor Weapons.

The Tuomu Emperor Clan certainly didn’t lack them.

But they had descended in violation of the rules, enduring the repulsive force of the Primordial Path from the Six Celestial Passes!

One Great Emperor, one Emperor’s Weapon, and over ten Quasi-Emperors—this was already pushing them to their absolute limit.

If they had also brought a Mountain and Sea Quasi-Emperor Weapon.

Forget about fighting.

The moment they entered the Five Celestial Passes, the repulsive force of the Great Dao would have crushed them, rendering them completely immobile!

According to their previous intelligence.

The Reincarnation Battlefield had a certain amount of hidden power.

For example, the news that the Reincarnation Heavenly King possessed an Emperor’s Weapon had long been sold out by the Mountain and Sea’s spies within Hongyuan, and they had arranged corresponding forces to counter it.

But for all their careful calculations.

They had never accounted for the secretive Wu Dao and his Primordial Demons. They were a completely unforeseen variable, and it was impossible to know how great an impact they would have.

"Despicable? So you’re allowed to launch a sneak attack, but I’m not allowed to have a hidden card?"

Wu Dao gave the Emperor Crow a strange look, hefted the Quasi-Emperor Weapon, the Great Sun Divine Hammer, in his hand, and gave him no chance at all.

With a sunny smile, he raised it high and declared:

"Little bird, my hammer is bigger than yours."

In the next instant, with but a thought!

BOOM—RUMBLE!!!

The light and heat, like countless exploding stars, formed a blazing, indestructible great sun that illuminated the entire Great Saint Pass battlefield. It expanded at extreme speed, incinerating every tangible and intangible thing in its path!

And Wu Dao’s location!

The very heart of the Mountain and Sea Army!

This was no less than dropping a high-yield nuclear bomb into a sea of mortals. One can only imagine how terrifying the instantaneous destructive power was!

The countless soldiers of the two races didn’t even have time to react. They saw only a blindingly intense light, and then they were instantly incinerated into nothingness by the Mighty Power unleashed by the Quasi-Emperor Weapon, not even dust remaining!

One hammer to annihilate ten thousand troops, leaving the battlefield burned to emptiness!

This was a Quasi-Emperor Weapon!

When fully awakened, its power was no less than that of a Quasi-Emperor striking personally. Against anything below the Quasi-Emperor realm, it was a dimensional-crushing attack, leaving no possibility of survival!

Needless to say, the Emperor Crow was obliterated into dust and smoke before the Great Sun Divine Hammer even struck him, deader than dead.

DING DING DING—

The wonderful sound of rising numbers rang out.

It wasn’t from the attribute panel.

Wu Dao had long since ignored and blocked that outdated thing. This was the notification tone from his Battle Merit Order, indicating a rapid increase in battle merits.

Once the great battle was over.

These battle merits would be immediately converted into his Dao Source Food!

’Tsk tsk, Star Mother, full power charging!’

Wu Dao hefted his Divine Sun Hammer and smiled with delight as he looked toward the end of the Great Saint Pass, where another army led by Venerables was tearing through the frontline blockade from a Space-Time Node.

Quasi-Emperor Weapons.

He was not lacking for them now.

The Great Venerable Divine Weapons he had cultivated in the Nine-Colored Earth, nourished by an abundance of high-end "fertilizer" like Cosmic Divine Liquid and Quasi-Emperor materials, had all evolved into Quasi-Emperor Weapons before he came to Shanhai Pass!

It was no problem to arm every member of the Heaven-Stealing Alliance with one. His main strategy was simple: if you’re rich, you overwhelm them with firepower and push through!

To be honest.

Wu Dao also wanted to have a good, hearty fight.

Unfortunately.

Looking back at the battles he’d fought since arriving in Hongyuan, almost all of them had been extremely perilous high-stakes encounters that never gave him a chance for a fair fight.

Gradually.

Wu Dao had come to an epiphany.

If you can just steamroll everything, why fight to the death?

How you fight doesn’t matter.

As long as you can kill the enemy, that’s all that matters.

And so—

"Everyone, equip your Quasi-Emperor Weapons!"

"Star Mother, full firepower!"

Wu Dao cracked his neck, raised the Great Sun Divine Hammer, and led the Seventy-Three Primordial Demons and the Star Mother—who was controlling one top-tier Big Killing Artifact after another—in a counter-charge back toward the front line!