Essence Devouring Art

BOOM!

The Sea of Death raged, and the entire domain trembled!

Even in the farthest reaches of the vast domain!

One could clearly see the brilliant, boundless, nine-colored torrent of destruction that tore through Chaos, striking toward Reincarnation Pass City from the very edge of time and space!

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG—

The spiritual pressure of the Dao Essence was incredibly oppressive and heavy. The Dao Rules fractured wildly, and all living things felt as if the heavens were collapsing upon them, leaving them feeling suffocated and utterly insignificant!

A Great Emperor Ancestor King!

One who had forged a perfect Inner Universe!

One whose Cosmic Ancestor Dragon Vein had transformed into a Dao Vein!

Their sheer scale made them a fundamental torrent within the Great Dao itself. Once they acted, their Taoist Techniques were truly boundless, their Divine Power infinite!

A Sixth Heaven Ancestor King!

Such a being was on an entirely different plane of existence. Lower-level Extraordinary beings had practically no hope of resisting them!

"I’ll go all out!"

In the Nether God Pass.

Amidst the utterly terrifying pressure.

Wu Dao gritted his teeth. The Big Black Wolf inside him was already preparing to reawaken the Yuan Tu Blade. The attack’s range was simply too vast to escape; their only choice was to face it head-on!

At the same moment.

Within the Heaven-Seizing Pass.

Jiang Han’s expression was also sharp. After three years of training under the white-robed child and venturing through the forbidden zones of All Heavens, he had naturally accumulated some trump cards of his own.

As for the other Garrison Cities.

The soldiers and generals who had just escaped one disaster...

...were now plunged into despair once more. Faced with an enemy whose attack was like a strike from a higher dimension, they couldn’t even muster the will to resist.

"The Tuomu Race!!"

Outside the Sea of Death.

The group of Great Emperors who had rushed to provide aid stared at the nine-colored torrent erupting from Chaos, their eyes nearly splitting with a crazed hatred.

Although they had marginalized the Sea of Death region...

...their animosity was directed at the people, not the place. Now that the Sea of Death was about to be annihilated, the chain reaction would affect the entire Five Celestial Passes!

How could they not be filled with rage and hate?

But what was the use of hate?

A single strike from a Sixth Heaven Ancestor King.

Even if its Mighty Power was eroded by the repulsive force of the Great Dao, it would still land with the force of the peak of the Fifth Heaven. They were completely powerless to stop it!

CLANG!!

In that desperate, hair-raising moment when despair filled the Ten Directions.

The resounding cry of a saber shook the Sea of Death!

All beings and all things in the Five Celestial Passes!

Even the Great Emperors felt their scalps tingle and a chill pierce their very marrow. They all felt as if a great Dao-slaying blade, capable of burying everything, now hung above their heads!

Before the next thought could even form!

SCHING—

The killing blade was unsheathed with a piercing cry!

Before the Reincarnation Battlefield!

Blood-red robes fluttered, and ink-black hair danced wildly!

A tall figure, whose spine seemed to hold up the heavens with endless, ancient majesty, stood firm at the end of the nine-colored torrent. With a flicker of his eyes, he suddenly drew the Heaven-Burying Saber in his hand!

BOOM—

An endlessly incandescent bolt of crimson silk split the sky!

With a single slash!

Chaos was sundered and divided!

The All Heavens and Universe witnessed birth and destruction!

The baleful crimson bolt that could bury heavens and Daos split everything apart, interring all existence, its brilliant might oppressing the entire Five Celestial Passes!

And even...

...the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Celestial Passes could clearly sense that ancient, boundless torrent of the myriad Daos of All Heavens, a power that surpassed even Great Emperors!

"The Realm-Slaying Blade!"

"The Heaven-Burying Emperor has returned as well?"

’That slash...’

Within the All Heavens Pass.

Many ancient Great Emperors in the midst of battle.

Including the Mountain Sea Ancestor Kings, all glanced toward the Five Celestial Passes, which had been split in two by the bloody light of the blade. They recognized a certain "old friend."

The Heaven-Burying Emperor!

During the Five Tribulations, he was the foremost among the All Heavens Emperors under the Slaughter Emperor, a king among Great Emperors. His Ultimate Skill, the Realm-Slaying Blade, had struck terror into the hearts of All Heavens—a memory still fresh to this day!

No one had ever expected...

...that this Fierce God had not actually died.

And now, he had returned alongside the Slaughter Emperor!

SHLIIICK—

The Realm-Slaying Blade was brilliant and boundless. Once drawn, it struck without a shred of hesitation, utterly annihilating the nine-colored torrent launched by the Mountain Sea Sixth Heaven Ancestor King with a single slash!

But the slash was not over!

"Heaven-Burying, you dare!!"

BOOM—BANG!

Within Chaos.

The enraged roar of the Primordial Giant from Shanhai West Mountain had just begun!

When the crimson bolt from the Realm-Slaying Blade split that Sixth Heaven Ancestor King in two, even his Cosmic Dao Vein was directly obliterated. It was supremely tyrannical!

One slash!

He had instantly killed a Sixth Heaven Ancestor King!

And it wasn’t a suppression through superior cultivation!

In the perception of All Emperors, the Heaven-Burying Emperor currently only had a Quasi-Emperor Cultivation, and the Heaven-Burying Saber had not yet recovered to the All Heavens Level!

It was merely at the Sixth Heaven!

This was complete and utter contempt!

’My realm is inferior.’

’So what if my external power is only at the same level?’

’I can still cut you down with a single slash!’

The king of the past had returned, and he was still the king!

"That slash..."

Outside the Reincarnation Pass.

Wu Dao had witnessed the Heaven-Burying Emperor slay that Sixth Heaven Great Emperor with one slash, and the impression it left on him was profound.

’It wasn’t simply a matter of reviving an Emperor’s Weapon with energy!’

’It was...’

’Dao Essence!’

The Heaven-Burying Emperor had reclaimed the Dao Essence he once possessed as one of the All Heavens Great Emperors. Realm meant nothing to him; for a Quasi-Emperor like him to fell a Great Emperor was an effortless task.

This was the terror of those who returned from their tribulations.

As long as they weren’t completely and truly dead...

...the imprints of their former Dao Essence would never be extinguished.

One could say that once Attainment was achieved, it was achieved for eternity.

After returning, they could directly cultivate their former Dao Fruit.

By reclaiming their imprints within the Great Dao, the chasms between realms were completely non-existent for them.

Take the Slaughter Emperor and Great Zizai Heaven, for instance.

These two Tribulation Masters were even stronger.

Three years ago, they could fight All Heavens Primordial Giants with just a sliver of their former Dao Essence!

Wu Dao was indeed lucky.

Back then, the Heaven-Burying Emperor he had encountered in the Heaven-Burying Emperor’s Tomb had only just returned and had not yet reclaimed his former Dao Essence.

Otherwise...

...who would have won and who would have lost...

...was truly up for debate.

BUZZ—

After annihilating the Sixth Heaven Ancestor King with a single slash.

And suppressing a Great Tribulation.

The Heaven-Burying Emperor did not stop. He locked onto the Luo Fish Race’s Trident Emperor Soldier. Reaching out, his hand shook the All Heavens and Universe, extending across the vast Sea of Death to grab the Trident.

An Emperor’s Weapon.

Regardless of the era.

Was always a Big Killing Artifact capable of suppressing an entire region!

They could be plundered.

And no one would ever pass up such an opportunity.

"Heaven-Burying, you are truly courting death! In the future, Mountain and Sea will surely bring judgment upon the Slaughter Emperor’s entire line!"

From the depths of Chaos.

The roars of the West Mountain giants shook the vast Chaos. In their frenzy, they recklessly joined forces to push back against the Great Dao’s repulsive force, attempting to once again unleash their mighty power to obliterate the Heaven-Burying Emperor.

But it was utterly impossible!

RUMBLE—

The Dao Celestial Steles in the countless Garrison Cities of the Five Celestial Passes instantly roared back to life. Above the Nine Heavens, the Dao Divine Thunder churned and crackled, weaving a net that sealed the power of the West Mountain’s Primordial Giants within Chaos!

The Five Celestial Passes!

They were too far from the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The influence and erosion of Mountain and Sea on the Primordial Path of Hongyuan were far weaker here than at the Celestial Gates further ahead.

A Venerable was the limit!

To send power exceeding that of a Venerable, Mountain and Sea had to pay an immense price.

As for All Heavens Emperors and Primordial Chaos beings? Don’t even think about it!

Even a revived Dao Artifact could not tear through the Great Dao’s repulsive force in the Five Celestial Passes!

"Judgment? Heh!"

The Heaven-Burying Emperor gave a cold, indifferent sneer. Possessing the same domineering aura as the Slaughter Emperor who looked down on all, he paid no mind to Mountain and Sea’s threats!

"Suppress!!"

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!!

The crimson hand that overshadowed the Sea of Death closed its grip!

The Luo Fish Race’s Trident Emperor Soldier struggled frantically, but under the suppression of the Great Dao’s repulsion and an All Heavens Emperor’s Dao Essence, it had no hope of escaping his palm!

After a few moments of resistance.

It was suppressed on the spot by the Heaven-Burying Emperor!

"AHH, YOU BASTARD!!!"

A roar of ultimate frenzy rang out.

The West Mountain Primordial Giants were so enraged they could spit blood and go mad. A Great Emperor, an Emperor’s Weapon, and numerous elite main forces—either dead or lost.

An extremely heavy price.

And they had gained nothing in return. They had lost everything, down to their very last scrap!

RUMBLE—

But their hatred was useless!

The Primordial Path of Hongyuan in the Five Celestial Passes had fully awakened. It was raging and rampaging, shaking along with the Dao Celestial Steles!

The Dao Divine Thunder pervading the Nine Heavens transformed into a torrent of Celestial Punishment that charged into Chaos, battering those great and lofty figures until they swayed on the brink of collapse, forcing them to frantically retreat from the Five Celestial Passes!

It wasn’t just the West Mountain Primordial Giants.

"No!!"

In the Sea of Death.

The remaining armies of the two races.

Also suffered a devastating blow, instantly cleared from the field by the Celestial Punishment Divine Thunder. The sight made Wu Dao’s heart ache.

HUM!

After the aggrieved forces of Mountain and Sea retreated.

The Heaven-Burying Emperor shot a meaningful glance at Wu Dao before departing without pause, heading toward the Demon Awakening Main City.

The Tuomu Ancestral King had self-destructed.

And the Demon Awakening Emperor was still using all his power to suppress the aftermath.

’The situation at Shanhai Pass is about to change...’

Wu Dao’s eyes flickered as he watched the Heaven-Burying Emperor take action outside the distant Demon Awakening Main City. He had a premonition that the war at Shanhai Pass was about to escalate once again.

He wasn’t particularly surprised by the Heaven-Burying Emperor’s arrival.

Great Tribulations beget great fortune!

When civilizations clash, the Great Dao manifests!

For those who had returned from their tribulations, like the Heaven-Burying Emperor, the Five Tribulations Dao Source was also the best nourishment for them to return to their peak.

’Perhaps.’

’In the near future...’

’The Slaughter Emperor and Great Zizai Heaven...’

’...will also appear in the Ten Celestial Passes!’

A sense of urgency.

Arose in Wu Dao’s heart.

From the Heaven Opening until now.

Aside from the Second Tribulation, when the Ten Thousand Races warred against the gods and Hongyuan was whole, resulting in an incredibly dense convergence of All Heavens’ fortune that gave birth to multiple Daoists...

...in All Tribulations that followed...

...the fortune of a single tribulation could only produce one Daoist. This had become an iron law of Hongyuan!

Before a Daoist transcended.

They possessed the ability to briefly pause within the Dao to settle all their karma!

Wu Dao carried too much karma.

It could be said that he had no allies in this regard.

If the Dao Fruit were to fall into someone else’s hands...

...then no matter how many trump cards he had, he would have no chance of victory against a Daoist who was, for a brief time, equivalent to the Great Dao itself!

Not to mention...

...that Great Celestial Venerable from the Celestial Court.

What he wanted to do was inextricably linked to the birth of the Dao Fruit, and he had set his sights on Wu Dao long ago.

Judging by the madness Mountain and Sea had displayed today.

The start of the tribulation was a foregone conclusion!

The birth of the Dao Fruit was not far off.

There wasn’t much time left for Wu Dao to grow!

SPLASH—

The Sea of Death churned, its Emperor’s Might brilliant and vast.

As Wu Dao’s thoughts churned.

The many Great Emperors from the Six Celestial Passes who had rushed to aid the Sea of Death also arrived.

But they all stopped at the edge of the domain.

They looked with trepidation toward the blood-robed figure at Demon Awakening City and did not advance further, merely casting complex gazes upon the Reincarnation Battlefield, which had suffered the most severe damage and was almost completely destroyed.

Within Reincarnation Pass City.

The Reincarnation Heavenly King’s life force was extremely faint.

His withered, corpse-like body sat cross-legged before the Dao Celestial Stele, proof that he had not taken a single step back even in the most perilous moment.

"With such a great contribution, becoming a Quasi-Emperor is likely just around the corner for him."

A Great Emperor remarked, looking at the Reincarnation Heavenly King.

If Mountain and Sea’s sudden attack on the Five Celestial Passes had succeeded, the consequences would have been unimaginable. As one of the main forces in this battle, both the Reincarnation Heavenly King and the Demon Awakening Emperor had earned great merit!

The Heaven-Burying Emperor, who arrived later...

...had saved the day at the brink of collapse, earning even greater merit.

However.

If one were to speak of who had the greatest contribution...

Countless gazes.

Turned to Wu Dao and the Seventy-Three Primordial Demons standing tall in Reincarnation Pass. Without this powerful and mysterious Demon Army, the Reincarnation Battlefield would have been pierced through by Mountain and Sea in the very first moment!

"Are they from Primordial Pass?"

"Never heard of them."

"In recent years, there has been a rampant Evil God Teachings in Hongyuan called the Primordial Sect..."

"All grievances end before Buzhou Mountain. Besides, with such a great contribution, does it matter whether they are or not?"

The All Emperors communicated via Divine Thought.

Their gazes toward Wu Dao and his people held both admiration and aversion—a very complex mix.

From a black-and-white standpoint.

If Wu Dao and his people were truly from the Primordial Sect, then they were enemies everyone should strike down.

But from the standpoint of their civilization.

It was undeniable that Wu Dao and his people had made a monumental contribution this time.

Outside the Reincarnation Pass.

Wu Dao naturally sensed the majestic gazes sweeping over them.

However.

Infighting was forbidden within the passes.

The threat of Celestial Punishment.

He wasn’t worried about whether this group of Great Emperors would harbor any ill intentions toward him, unless they were madmen who didn’t fear death.

But what Wu Dao didn’t expect was...

...that there really were madmen!