Essence Devouring Art

Back in the time of the Four Tribulations.

Although the Mountain and Sea Realm had broken away from Hongyuan, it actually remained within the domain of the Primordial Path. It constantly sought to counter-attack Hongyuan and become the sole master of the Heaven and Earth Path.

Shanhai Pass.

This was the jagged front line where the two realms clashed. This war over the Dao between two civilizations was no small matter, destined to be a prolonged war of attrition lasting for hundreds of millions of years.

The two sides, attacker and defender.

They had been fighting since the Fourth Tribulation. They didn’t even cease hostilities when the Fifth Tribulation erupted, and the sheer scale of resources and soldiers poured into the conflict was already unimaginable.

If the Pass stands, the realm survives; if the Pass falls, the realm is doomed.

Whenever a Hongyuan Cultivator advanced to the Cave Heavens Realm, their elders would tell them of the battlefield that decided the fate of their realm. Most of those with ambition would also throw themselves onto that battlefield to temper themselves and slay their foes.

’Has Wuchen gone to Shanhai Pass?’

As his thoughts churned, Wu Dao thought of Wuchen, who had vanished without a trace after the battle at Huanwu Mountain.

The karma of the Reincarnation Emperor that Wuchen carried had been exposed during his conflict with Mo Chen. There was no place for him in the All Heavens, so he had probably hidden himself away in Shanhai Pass.

Grudges within the Pass stay within the Pass.

Only Shanhai Pass could protect him.

BOOM!

A heaven-shaking collision roared, interrupting Wu Dao’s thoughts.

In the forbidden zone beneath the sea of clouds, the war between the two sides had escalated once again. Masters at the Martial Dao Creation Realm, possessing Undying Bodies at the level of the Twenty-four Heavens or beyond, were clashing!

With every clash of divine light, worlds were born and annihilated!

All sorts of rules and orders of Creation swarmed and converged between heaven and earth.

Destructive shockwaves surged upward, piercing and shattering layer after layer of space. The hundreds of millions of great stars and Pocket Worlds that had already been shaking all dimmed and collapsed in unison.

From countless light-years away, the sea of clouds upon the Nine Heavens churned and surged amidst a roar like hundreds of millions of great suns exploding at once, forming towering, furious waves. The sheer power was utterly terrifying.

"Xiao Teng, you are truly shameless! Sun Chief Mountain clearly discovered this Star Gold Vein first! It’s one thing for your Xiao Family to stick your nose in, but after your champion lost the duel, you dare to step in and bully a junior?!"

"Hmph! Treasures belong to the capable. When did I ever say the clash between two juniors would decide its ownership?"

"You... Fine, fine! Then let’s settle this with our own hands!"

...

The moment the Creation Realm Undying Body experts from the two forces attacked, they held nothing back. They shook the heavens and sundered the earth, creating and destroying worlds with their blows. The vast forbidden zone was blasted into pure Chaos, utterly unable to withstand the aftershocks of their battle.

’Now this is more like it. Why waste time on arguments and petty squabbles when you can just fight?’

Atop the Divine Mountain, a slight smile touched Wu Dao’s lips. His gaze, however, was fixed with fiery intensity on the two Grotto Heaven Daoist Children still fighting relentlessly at the edge of the battlefield.

The Xiao Family and Sun Chief Mountain.

Both were Imperial Influences from the Buzhou Celestial Domain with long and deep-rooted legacies. Before the Fourth Tribulation, they had nurtured more than one Chaos Body.

Wu Dao’s main purpose in coming to the Buzhou World was to collect the three most difficult Transverse Refining Technique legacies. Naturally, he had long since targeted the Daoist Children of certain Imperial Influences in the Buzhou Celestial Domain known for their Transverse Cultivation.

Sun Chief Mountain.

The Xiao Family.

Were just two of them.

However, they were the first to present an opportunity for him to strike.

Mm.

The reason was that what the Dragon Hunting Tower did last time was simply too depraved.

Although they had been beaten down by the All Heavens and didn’t dare show their faces now, all the major powers of the All Heavens had still strengthened the Guardian protection for their respective Celestial Prides.

Grotto Heaven Daoist Children.

Most of them had powerful Creation Realm Guardians, making it difficult to find one who was alone and an easy target.

This was also why, although the Primordial Demons had only taken a few days to reach the various Celestial Domains, they had spent nearly half a month investigating and searching for targets.

"Hell is empty, for suffering fills the Human World. Through the Reincarnation of Three Thousand Realms, the Guest leaves no trace..."

As Wu Dao recited the creed of the Human World, his aura and attire changed dramatically. Dressed in black from head to toe, he resembled a phantom shadow drifting through the realms.

Activating the All Heaven Great Escape, Wu Dao instantly merged into the spacetime Magnetic Field. Wielding a Heavy Artifact, a Black Blade, he silently descended through the sea of clouds, rapidly closing in on his targets.

Before, with two High Tier Undying Body experts watching and the Magnetic Field destabilized by their battle, it would have been difficult for him to strike unnoticed.

But now that the two Undying Body experts were fighting for real, their attention was no longer on their respective juniors. This gave him the perfect opportunity to hunt.

RUMBLE—

In a corner of the battlefield that had been shattered into Chaos, the Daoist Children of the Xiao Family and Sun Chief Mountain were already fighting with true killing intent. Their perfected Divine Demon Bodies constantly exploded and reformed in the clash, neither willing to submit to the other.

"Xiao Yi, you can’t win! My Divine Demon Body reached perfection long ago, and I’m only half a step from the Undying Body. What makes you think you can fight me?!"

The Daoist Child from Sun Chief Mountain was an imposing Female War God. Wielding a long spear, her fists tore through the world around them, and with every sharp, murderous shout, she gradually suppressed the Xiao Family’s Daoist Child until he could barely breathe.

"You..."

Xiao Yi reformed his body in the distance. He stared at the valiant, aggressive Female War God who was lecturing him from a position of superiority, and when he remembered she was even younger than him, his heart filled with shame and indignation.

"What, unconvinced?"

With a flash in her phoenix-like eyes, the Female War God sneered, her words piercing straight to the heart:

"An elder had to step in during a clash between peers. You are unworthy of the name Celestial Pride. You’re nothing but an incompetent loser!"

"Bitch, how dare you insult me like that!"

Xiao Yi’s face turned ashen with rage. His Essence, Qi, and Spirit erupted as he prepared to charge forward recklessly and fight to redeem his name.

HUMMM!

But at that very moment, space rippled slightly.

A dark, chilling Black Blade emerged without a sound and touched Xiao Yi’s lower back, locking onto his Martial Dao Dantian. A ghostly cold voice, like that of King Yama himself come to claim a soul, echoed in his ear:

"The Human World is a Sea of Suffering, but the far shore is bliss. Someone has paid for your transcendence.

Don’t blame me."

’The Human World!!’

’When? Who hired them?’

Upon hearing the Human World’s signature death whisper, the hot blood that had been surging through Xiao Yi’s veins instantly turned to ice. He felt as if his life was being squeezed by a pair of massive, invisible hands, and he didn’t dare move an inch.

In this life-or-death moment, like a drowning man grasping for a straw, he instinctively looked toward the distant Female War God for help.

But in the next moment, his pupils contracted once more.

It wasn’t just him!

Behind the Female War God from Sun Chief Mountain, a shadowy phantom had appeared. One of its arms was wrapped gently around her waist, while the other held a Black Sword pressed against her Dantian.

The Female War God, once as proud as a Phoenix, was now deathly pale, not daring to move an inch. All traces of her previous imperious arrogance had vanished.

’The Human World is a Sea of Suffering, the far shore is bliss... Our names are on the Book of Death, and the Guests are more than one...’

The Human World.

The number one assassin organization in the Hongyuan Heavenly Realms.

As long as one could pay the price, even if an Emperor Realm expert’s name appeared on the Human World’s Book of Death, a ’Guest’ would dare to accept the mission to hunt them!

This was no empty boast. The organization’s most glorious achievement was hunting down and killing an Emperor Realm expert shortly after the Fifth Tribulation, a feat that made their name known throughout the All Heavens and Myriad Realms!

More importantly, the Human World’s Book of Death was rumored to be a supreme Celestial Treasure. Not only was its Mighty Power unfathomable, but it also contained information on the lifespan of all beings. There was no use in running!

It was said that many of the top Celestial Prides in the All Heavens were external members of the Human World.

They took on assassination missions to temper themselves!

’Who wants us dead?’

The thought flashed through the minds of both Xiao Yi and the Female War God like lightning. The faces of countless enemies surfaced in their minds.

A general’s success is built upon a mountain of bones; they had offended far too many people on their path to power.

"Wait, I can offer a higher price!"

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. Xiao Yi clung to his last straw of hope, attempting to bribe the assassin.

The Black Blade in Wu Dao’s hand slowly pushed into Xiao Yi’s waist. A Magnetic Field sealed Xiao Yi’s Divine Demon Qi Blood and Martial Arts Divine Techniques as Wu Dao said in a chilling, ghostly voice:

"We are in the heavens right now. Can any price you offer be higher than Heaven itself?

Besides...

I’m a Dead Guest, you see."

’Dead Guest...’

Hearing this, and feeling the Power drain from his body like water, Xiao Yi’s last shred of hope was utterly extinguished.

Within the Human World, assassins were divided into Living Guests and Dead Guests.

Living Guests were external recruits, not bound by the Human World’s strictures, and their professional ethics varied from person to person.

Dead Guests, however, were assassins trained and raised by the Human World. Once they were paid, the job would be done, no backing out. They were impossible to reason or negotiate with.

Because if they failed their mission, the Dead Guests themselves would be hunted down and "purged" by the Human World!

"Senior Brother... save...!"

Under the threat of death, unlike Xiao Yi, the Female War God of Sun Chief Mountain refused to accept her fate. She suddenly let out a great roar toward the heavens, hoping to startle the assassin and make him flee.

’So disobedient.’

Seeing that he now had an audience, Wu Dao no longer hesitated.

He plunged the killing blades into the two Celestial Prides’ Dantians. As the Magnetic Field erupted, he instantly extracted all of their legacy information and, in the same motion, ended their lives.

Afterward, not forgetting the Human World’s standard procedure, he extracted both of their Divine Souls, sealed them within a replica of the ’Book of Death,’ and vanished into space, making a clean getaway.

BOOM!!

The instant Wu Dao left, two gigantic hands shattered the Chaos, striking from the core of the battlefield with incredible speed and blasting that region of spacetime into a complete vacuum.

After understanding what had happened, the two peak Creation Realm experts recognized the All Heaven Great Escape—the standard-issue Divine Technique for the Human World’s Dead Guests—from the traces of the Escape Dao’s Magnetic Field that Wu Dao had deliberately left behind. Their eyes practically split with rage as they roared at the heavens:

"Human World... Who?! Who the hell dares to put a bounty on our clans’ Celestial Prides! Aaargh! You damn rats, just let me find you!!"

As for Wu Dao, who had already escaped the forbidden zone, he couldn’t help but give a knowing smile when he heard the blame being successfully pinned on the Human World.

’I get the prize, you take the blame.’

He had to admit, this feeling was rather pleasant.

’The Nine Yang Emperor Scripture and the Sky Dome Dominating Body. Both are Transverse Refining Techniques that lead directly to an Emperor Realm Chaos Body. Not bad at all.’

After inspecting his haul, Wu Dao’s mood grew even more cheerful.

After sending the two Transverse Refining Emperor Scriptures to his Main Body, he showed no signs of stopping. He quickly traveled across the Buzhou Celestial Domain, heading for his next target.

He would strike once, then move on.

He couldn’t keep preying on the same area, or he would risk messing up and attracting unnecessary trouble.

The Daluo Celestial Domain was vast and boundless. After countless years of history, it wasn’t just the Emperor-ruled Sects that possessed Emperor Level Transverse Cultivation legacies. As long as he was careful, collecting enough Transverse Refining Techniques wouldn’t be a problem.

Wu Dao didn’t have to use his assassin identity from the Human World every time. For targets without Guardians, if he had the time to ’persuade’ them into submission, it was as simple as a pat on the shoulder.

’He, Wu Dao, really wasn’t a bloodthirsty person!’

While Wu Dao moved from place to place hunting in Buzhou Heaven, his various Incarnations and the Seventy-Two Primordial Demons also began to make their moves across the All Heavens.

For a time, every region of the All Heavens echoed with the unending, hoarse roars and curses of the various Overlord Forces, all directed at the Human World.

Although... it was very impolite to build one’s happiness on the suffering of others.

But Wu Dao had to admit.

He was becoming rather addicted to it.

The rapid growth of his Emperor Scripture reserves.

The two "angel investors" from the Heaven-Burying Alliance were also steadily providing him with charitable donations of Grand Thousand World Mother Liquid.

Deep within Nirvana Valley.

Wu Dao couldn’t help but let out the cackle of a Great Demon King.

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