Essence Devouring Art

BZZZT—

The Sea of Death had not been licking its wounds in silence for long.

When the void outside the domain trembled.

A Five Realms Emperor emerged, wreathed in Nether Fire. His presence was sharp and intimidating, and he wore a black Emperor’s Crown.

"Greetings, Guan Lord."

As soon as this Great Emperor appeared,

the expressions of the many Domain Masters in the outer territories shifted, and they all bowed in unison.

There was no other reason.

It was simply because this man was the City Lord of Fengdu City, the governor of the Five Celestial Passes military department, and also the Guan Lord of the Five Celestial Passes—the Nether Fire Emperor.

"Hmph."

The Nether Fire Emperor gave a flat nod. His gaze swept over the almost-demolished Sea of Death before landing on Demon Awakening City, and he spoke, his words astonishing:

"Demon Awakening, is this the Sea of Death you were supposed to protect? Nine out of ten Garrison Cities are destroyed, with countless dead and wounded. Tell me, what exactly did you protect?"

Dead silence!

At his words,

the entire Sea of Death, inside and out, fell silent.

The Great Emperors outside the domain looked on, stunned.

Within the domain, Wuchen and the many surviving soldiers glared with rage. If not for their lowly status, they would have erupted on the spot!

The Sea of Death suffered countless casualties!

The Demon Awakening Emperor had even fought two other Emperors to the death.

The entire domain had paid a terrible price to stop the Mountain and Sea Army within its borders, preventing a catastrophe that would have swept through the Five Celestial Passes!

But after this pyrrhic victory,

the Nether Fire Emperor, the Guan Lord of the Five Celestial Passes, offered no comfort or reward. Instead, he came to condemn the Domain Master, the Demon Awakening Emperor!

This was no longer a matter of sidelining or suppressing him.

This was complete madness!

A trumped-up charge!

He was hell-bent on destroying the Sea of Death!

"Heh..."

Facing the Nether Fire Emperor’s accusation, the Demon Awakening Emperor, who had just finished a great battle, seemed to understand something and simply sneered.

The Heaven-Burying Emperor, who was standing to the side,

watched the Nether Fire Emperor with great interest. Then, his gaze shifted to a Law Enforcement Team emerging from the void at the far end of the Five Celestial Passes.

’Sacrificing a pawn to save the chariot? What boldness...’

Wu Dao also watched the mad Nether Fire Emperor, his eyes glinting as he understood the reason for his insanity.

There was something strange about Mountain and Sea’s entire operation this time.

In the Sea of Death, aside from the Demon Awakening Emperor himself, all other hidden assets—like the Reincarnation Heavenly King’s Emperor’s Weapon—had been completely exposed!

Before the great battle even began,

the main forces of the domains surrounding the Sea of Death were drawn away. Furthermore, the hidden forces in other domains also seemed to have been targeted, completely tied down with no chance to provide support.

It was all too coincidental, too strange.

To say there wasn’t an inside man working with them...

...not even a ghost would believe it.

Moreover,

that mole was likely a high-ranking official in the military department and absolutely could not be exposed.

The Nether Fire Emperor jumping out like this...

...was most likely an attempt to be the scapegoat, to eliminate any possibility of digging deeper for the true mastermind.

As expected...

BOOM!!

The thought had barely crossed Wu Dao’s mind.

"DIE!!!"

Endless Hellish Nether Fire surged and raged!

The Nether Fire Emperor erupted without any warning!

Wielding a Nine-Colored Desolate God Emperor’s Killing Saber of the Tuomu Race, he slashed at the nearest Great Emperor!

"Nether Fire, you dare!!"

At the far end of the Five Celestial Passes,

the Law Enforcement Team, composed of Ten Realms Heaven Emperors, instantly flew into a rage. They joined forces, unleashing a great suppressive power that sealed off all of the Nether Fire Emperor’s escape routes.

The Law Enforcement Team.

It was a very special entity in Shanhai Pass.

It reported directly to the Panwu Emperor.

Every single member had been approved by the main body of the Dao Celestial Stele in Shanhai Pass—the strongest of the Ten Celestial Passes. They were absolutely loyal to the Hongyuan Civilization and had the authority to take action within Shanhai Pass.

For battles that occurred in any of the All Heavens Pass,

the subsidiary Dao Celestial Steles would record the impact and merits. The Law Enforcement Team monitored these in real-time, so they naturally discovered the anomaly in the Five Celestial Passes and knew there was a traitor in the military department!

This trip,

they had come to investigate this matter thoroughly.

And they had already shut down all the Star Hubs in the Five Celestial Passes to prevent the traitor from escaping.

Their number one suspect...

...was naturally the Guan Lord of the Five Celestial Passes!

But they never expected...

...that the Nether Fire Emperor would be so extreme and insane as to lash out violently. His decisiveness was terrifying!

RUMBLE!

The Law Enforcement Team had just made a move!

Dao thunder rolled, majestic and vast!

Celestial Punishment also descended the moment the Nether Fire Emperor attacked. Celestial Punishment originated from the Great Dao; the Law Enforcement Team couldn’t interfere with it!

Clearly,

the Nether Fire Emperor was seeking death!

The power of the Great Dao Celestial Punishment in Shanhai Pass was inversely proportional to the danger level of the Celestial Gates—the closer a Celestial Gate was to Hongyuan, the stronger the punishment!

Otherwise,

Shanhai West Mountain wouldn’t have only sent a few Great Emperors to the Five Celestial Passes after paying such a heavy price.

Violating the Celestial Rules.

Attacking within the Five Celestial Passes.

Assaulting a Great Emperor of Hongyuan!

The descending Celestial Punishment would surely be at the Emperor Destruction Level!

The Nether Fire Emperor knew he couldn’t escape.

Death was inevitable either way.

So he would use the Great Dao Celestial Punishment to erase all information about himself, cutting off any possibility for the Law Enforcement Team to dig deeper!

"May Mountain and Sea flourish forever, ten thousand..."

BOOM!

The Celestial Punishment, which oppressed the vast Celestial Gates, descended in an instant, carrying the wrath of the Great Dao!

It transformed into a bolt of Chaos Divine Thunder that outshone the endless void, capable of obliterating Dao Veins and Dao Essence. Before the Nether Fire Emperor could finish his last words, it erased all of his power and blasted him into nothingness!

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The suppressive power unleashed by the Law Enforcement Team had just reached the Sea of Death when the traitor, the Nether Fire Emperor, completed his suicide attack, his body and Dao utterly annihilated!

"Damn it!"

The leader of the Law Enforcement Team had an extremely dark and ugly expression. The Nether Fire Emperor’s decisiveness proved that the "big fish" hiding behind him was no small matter!

"Secure Fengdu City, and detain the Great Emperors of all other domains besides the Sea of Death! Don’t let a single one escape!"

The Great Emperor leading the Law Enforcement Team glanced at the Heaven-Burying Emperor and the Demon Awakening Emperor, as well as the post-war Reincarnation Battlefield. He gave them a nod that was neither distant nor familiar, then sped towards Fengdu City with ruthless efficiency.

Outside the Sea of Death,

the group of Great Emperors who had just barely escaped the Ghost Gate with their lives didn’t dare to resist. They obediently cooperated and followed the Law Enforcement Team to Fengdu City.

"A pity..."

In Demon Awakening City,

the Heaven-Burying Emperor rested his hand on his saber’s hilt, a hint of regret in his eyes. If not for the deterrent of the Celestial Punishment, he would not have given the Nether Fire Emperor the chance to kill himself.

If he had managed to drag out that "big fish,"

with such a merit,

restoring his previous life’s peak strength would have been just around the corner.

"This junior, Demon Awakening, pays his respects to the Buried Emperor."

After everything had calmed down,

the Demon Awakening Emperor had lost his previous domineering coldness. Like a common soldier seeing a general he admired, he bowed respectfully to the Heaven-Burying Emperor.

"You’ve grown up. Not bad."

The Heaven-Burying Emperor looked at his former subordinate, who had now become a great figure, and nodded in appreciation. Then, he glanced at Wu Dao, who was stepping into the Reincarnation Pass City.

He recalled the mission the Slaughter Emperor had given him.

...

「Reincarnation Battlefield.」

In the Main Garrison City, beneath the Dao Celestial Stele.

Phew~

Wu Dao let out a slight sigh of relief and pressed the Battle Merit Order in his hand against the Dao Celestial Stele, preparing to exchange it for a Five Tribulations Dao Source.

The Seventy-Three Primordial Demons.

Did the same.

They all pressed their Battle Merit Orders against the Dao Celestial Stele.

"Congratulations."

Before the Dao Celestial Stele,

the Reincarnation Heavenly King had recovered some of his vitality.

He opened his eyes, and his face twitched as he looked at Wu Dao, who was ignoring him.

But he still offered a sincere congratulation.

He had witnessed the full extent of Wu Dao’s contributions in this battle with his own eyes.

If not for the limits of his current strength, Wu Dao could have definitely been crowned a Heaven-Sealing King just like him, commanding an entire battlefield.

"The Dao Celestial Stele was born from the source of the Great Dao. The main stele is also a Dao Artifact, possessing the authority of Great Dao creation. It can do more than just exchange for Dao Sources."

Seeing that this seemed to be Wu Dao’s first time exchanging battle merits, the Reincarnation Heavenly King added another reminder, even though he suspected Wu Dao might already know.

But to form a good relationship with such a figure...

...was never a bad idea.

"Oh, thank you."

Wu Dao smiled politely.

He glanced at the Netherworld Battle Armor the Reincarnation Heavenly King was wearing, then withdrew his gaze and sent his consciousness into the Dao Celestial Stele.

’Was he just coveting my Emperor’s Weapon?’

The Reincarnation Heavenly King’s eyelid twitched. He instantly lost all desire to interact with Wu Dao and even subconsciously distanced himself from Wu Dao and his group.

BZZZ~

The moment his consciousness entered the Dao Celestial Stele,

Wu Dao once again felt that familiar, majestic, and indescribable presence—he didn’t know if it was the consciousness of the Great Dao or that of the Dao Artifact in Shanhai Pass.

However,

he soon had his answer.

"Calculating battle merits..."

As the cold, emotionless voice rang out,

the various scenes of him killing enemies recorded by his Battle Merit Order, along with the contributions he made in the Reincarnation Battlefield, flowed like a waterfall into the depths of the stele.

A moment later,

the cold voice spoke again:

"Total: Five thousand Great Venerable Dao Sources. Your merits are outstanding. You are eligible to be crowned a War King. Do you wish to take ’Primordial’ as your royal title?"

’Five thousand Great Venerable Dao Sources!’

A thought flashed through Wu Dao’s mind.

’He had killed a hundred or so Great Venerables at most. As for the other Venerables, Saint Masters, and cannon fodder, converting all of them would probably only amount to a few more Great Venerable Dao Sources.’

But now, upon calculating his merits,

the Dao Source count had reached five thousand!

The reason,

was most likely because he had thwarted Mountain and Sea’s plot, led the Primordial Demons to defend the Reincarnation Battlefield, and played a huge role in the battle for the Five Celestial Passes’ survival.

’Primordial King?’

’Not bad.’

Hearing the Dao Celestial Stele’s question about his title,

Wu Dao’s thoughts returned to the present, and he nodded in delight.

’The title doesn’t matter.’

’The Dao Source is my primary goal!’

’Five thousand Great Venerable Dao Sources!’

He was absolutely confident that after absorbing them, he would have more than enough to create all the All Things Dao Veins for the Primordial Magnetism Path’s Initial Tribulation!

’Shanhai Pass... not bad at all.’

...

"Hongyuan Calendar, Year of the Five Tribulations... Primordial thwarts Mountain and Sea, saves the Five Celestial Passes... crowned a King, the Primordial King!"

After receiving Wu Dao’s confirmation,

the Dao Celestial Stele boomed and trembled!

A congratulatory celestial voice echoed from every Battle Merit Order and every Dao Celestial Stele in Shanhai Pass, and countless soldiers listened with curiosity and excitement.

In that moment,

the Dao Celestial Steles in numerous Garrison Cities erupted with divine waterfalls and auspicious clouds. Amidst the blowing of conches by Immortal Saints and countless other fortuitous signs, the title "Primordial King," radiating an endless kingly aura, slowly rose into the sequence of Venerable Military Kings!

This meant that,

with the approval of the Dao Celestial Stele,

a new king of the battlefield had been born!

「Nether God Pass.」

"Primordial King..."

Wuchen was also exchanging his battle merits.

When he saw the title "Primordial King" slowly rising on the Dao Celestial Stele and heard the recounting of the heroic deeds, how could he not know it was referring to his mysterious master?

Although he hadn’t observed the details of the previous battle, the strict requirement to be crowned a King was a Venerable Cultivation!

He had only just stepped into the Saint realm!

But his mysterious master, who always felt like a beast from the Primordial Chaos, ready to devour him whole, had already reached the combat power of a Venerable!

’How can I ever catch up?’

’And in the future, how am I supposed to resolve the karma between us?’

For a moment,

even though Wuchen’s will was already as tough as Divine Iron, faced with a gap so large he couldn’t even see his master’s back, he felt a profound sense of powerlessness.

"Let’s go to the Six Celestial Passes."

The Big Black Wolf noticed that Wuchen’s spirit was a little down.

Although it didn’t know what had happened,

it could sense Wuchen’s desperate desire to grow stronger, to escape from some great terror, so it offered a suggestion.

The Six Celestial Passes.

Its battlefields were far crueler than those of the Five Celestial Passes.

A Saint who had been granted the rank of general would only be a Little Commander of minor importance in the grand army of the Six Celestial Passes. Only a Military Marquis held some real status.

For Wuchen, it was very dangerous.

But with danger came more opportunities to earn merits—great merits.

"Primordial King... To take ’Primordial’ as a title, what boldness."

「Heaven-Seizing Pass.」

The second disciple, Jiang Han, knew less and was unaware that the Primordial King was Wu Dao. Instead, he was filled with admiration and a powerful sense of yearning.

In Shanhai Pass,

a title wasn’t just about military authority and status.

It was also closely related to the great fortune of the Dao. A being who was crowned a King, especially one crowned in a battle like the one that just occurred,

would receive a Hongyun Dao Source from the Great Dao.

If they assimilated it,

they would essentially have a reserved spot in the Great Venerable Realm!

And the speed at which they would reach the Great Venerable rank would leave the so-called Celestial Prides from the Primordial Greenhouse speechless.

You could say it was the Great Dao itself pouring power directly into them!

The Hongyuan Emperor’s Road Shanhai Pass!

A place where miracles manifested. As long as you dared to fight and struggle, accumulating merits and rising through the ranks, it wasn’t impossible to become a Great Emperor in just a few decades.

Furthermore,

this miracle,

was an opportunity available to every soldier in the passes.

That was what made it so appealing.

"...thwarted Mountain and Sea, saved the Five Celestial Passes... crowned a King in one battle, named Primordial..."

「At the same time.」

The news of Wu Dao being crowned the Primordial King spread via the Dao Celestial Stele and Battle Merit Orders. The tale of his deeds reached one Celestial Gate after another, sparking a new wave of admiration and heated discussion.

They weren’t just discussing Wu Dao’s title,

but also the various figures who had turned the tide in the treacherous, twist-filled battle that had just concluded in the Five Celestial Passes.

The Reincarnation Heavenly King, the Demon Awakening Emperor, and the Heaven-Burying Emperor who had truly saved the day with a single slash...

However,

the matter of the Nether Fire Emperor and the mole after the battle...

...seemed to have been locked down by the Law Enforcement Team. It hadn’t spread to the other Celestial Gates and was only known within the Five Celestial Passes and among certain high-ranking officials.

Until that "big fish" was caught,

it most likely wouldn’t be made public.

"Primordial King?"

「Meanwhile.」

In the Seven Celestial Passes, the up-and-coming Three Lives Army Master, Long Chen, who had just been promoted to Quasi-Emperor Army Master, also witnessed the promotion of the Primordial King on the stele after leaving the battlefield.

But for some reason,

Long Chen found the title inexplicably grating to the eye.

It was like seeing a beggar, a stepping stone who had once lost everything, suddenly become a dazzling star one day.

That feeling...

...was truly, incredibly irritating.