Essence Devouring Art

ROAR!

Meanwhile.

Agonized howls shook the heavens, their sound waves vast and mighty.

After Wu Dao’s punch turned the massive, mountain-heavy Jiaomang into a pile of pulp, the follow-up force sent it flying. Its heavy, high-speed body crashed through the air, causing continuous explosions in the airflow.

"A casual strike from me is the limit for you two bastards. What makes you think you can fight me?!"

Crimson Gold lightning crackled from Wu Dao’s magnificent physique as immense streams of air transformed into dragons, soaring to the heavens. He let out a savage laugh that shook the world, looking every bit a Thunder Fire Demon God descending upon the mortal realm.

BOOM!!

He bent his knees slightly, crouching down.

A shockwave of Power, like a nuclear blast, tore through the ruins once more. Amidst the rumbling sonic booms, Wu Dao shot into the sky like a bolt of lightning, pressing his advantage to pursue and kill that charred snake nest!

’A thousand years of bitter Cultivation, how can it all be destroyed in an instant!’

Amidst the rumbling explosions that filled the sky.

Its Divine Soul in turmoil and its physical body on the verge of collapse, the Jiaomang’s heart was filled with boundless fear and unwillingness, which finally twisted into ruthless resolve—

’Raise a seed for a thousand days to use it in a single moment. I still have a chance!’

ROAR!!

In a flash of lightning and flint.

The Jiaomang roared, shaking heaven and earth. Its broken horn glowed brightly, drawing upon the world’s frigid qi to gather with frantic speed, forming a colossal ice spike in the sky that smashed down toward the approaching Wu Dao.

Although Wu Dao was at the Horizontal Refining Fourth Gate.

He was still just using ’pure brute force’.

If his ascent was blocked in the lower atmosphere, he wouldn’t be able to borrow force to push off again.

This moment was its opportunity!

ROAR!!

The Jiaomang twisted its mountain-like body, its newly regrown, savage head opening its massive maw. Like an abyss, it lunged to swallow the half-dead, charred snake nest (Menghuai Mountain).

The minions of the Demon Race.

They weren’t just lackeys; the Demon Embryo within them was also an Immortal Elixir and Marvelous Medicine for a Great Demon, a backup energy source.

As long as it swallowed the Grandmaster-level Demon Embryo in the snake nest, the Jiaomang could activate a Secret Technique of the Snake Race—the Golden Cicada Shell Escape Technique—to its fullest potential and escape with its life.

RUMBLE—

Gales of force exploded as the Jiaomang streaked across the sky.

Three hundred meters!

Two hundred meters!

BANG!

A violent explosion erupted from below.

Ice and fire collided.

The impact kicked up a sky full of dust and smoke, and a cloud of white steam exploded outward, blotting out the sun.

The Jiaomang had no time to check on Wu Dao’s condition. It could only assume the best, frantically igniting its Spiritual Gang as it lunged to devour the snake nest.

One hundred meters!

Fifty meters!

Ten meters!

It was within arm’s reach!

It could already smell the tempting aroma!

But in that instant!

"Trying to steal my food? You’re courting death!!"

SPLASH~

Along with an enraged roar that resounded through the heavens, a large swath of the sky instantly transformed into a vast, deep sea!

Amidst the terrifying waves, the blurry, colossal shadow of a Divine Whale churned and sped forward. An ancient, desolate, and tyrannical consciousness that could suppress the four seas swept across heaven and earth.

BOOM!

The moment the Divine Whale brought its tail down in a cleaving strike!

The entire sea seemed to be split apart by the blow, its waves churning violently!

The mountain-sized whale tail blotted out the sky, carrying the power to overturn heaven and earth as it viciously slammed down on the Jiaomang’s head. In an instant, its Divine Soul felt as if it had been struck by lightning and sliced by a thousand blades.

ROAR!!

An even more terrifying roar echoed out.

The white mist of ice and fire that filled the sky was blasted away by the roar, completely cleared in a single sweep!

The Thunder Fire Demon God-like Wu Dao manipulated the Magnetic Field, resisting the earth’s gravity to borrow force a second time and blast through the sky. He used the Whale Splitting Technique’s Divine Manifestation attack, a single punch nearly shattering the Jiaomang’s Divine Soul and rendering it completely useless.

Then...

CRUNCH!

His volcanic, crimson maw opened wide. Two rows of triangular, shark-like teeth glinted with fiery light. Like a great white shark tearing at its prey on the ocean surface, he locked onto the Demon Embryo with his spirit and, in mid-air, ripped off half the snake nest with one bite.

GULP~

The ultimate aromatic stimulus.

Wu Dao didn’t even bother to chew. His throat expanded, Yang Fire surged, and after incinerating the useless, charred snake nest, he swallowed the Demon Embryo in one gulp.

SWISH!

After swallowing the Demon Embryo.

"Heh, trying to fake your death to escape?!"

Wu Dao’s spirit stirred, and he whipped his head around. His Dragon Pupils shot out Crimson Gold lightning, locking onto the rapidly falling, hundred-meter-long remains of the Jiaomang.

Within his Spiritual Perception.

The Jiaomang showed no signs of life. Its body and Divine Soul were both shattered, melting away like snow, as if it were truly and completely dead.

But that was impossible.

To ensure the freshness of the ingredients and prevent too much nutritional loss.

Wu Dao’s Divine Manifestation punch just now had not been a killing blow; it was impossible for it to have killed the Jiaomang in one hit.

It was clearly faking its death!

ROAR!

As expected.

Along with a slightly weakened roar.

The massive, hundred-meter Jiaomang body suddenly exploded. Like the Golden Cicada Shell Escape Technique, a ten-meter-long, pocket-sized Jiaomang about the thickness of a man’s thigh shot out. It transformed into a black streak of lightning, rocketing into the distance.

But it was fast.

And Wu Dao was faster!

BOOM—

The violent sound of a sonic boom had just begun to echo!

Wu Dao had already teleported, blasting through a kilometer of sky to appear in front of the miniature Jiaomang, blocking its escape route like a Demon Mountain.

With a turn of his Magnetic Field.

Although he couldn’t completely escape the planet’s core—the World’s Earthly Muddy Evil Qi and gravity—to move without restraint, and could only fly at low altitudes with immense Energy consumption due to his heavy physique...

Wu Dao, whose Qi and Blood were like a Dragon, could sustain this consumption. Short-term, low-altitude supersonic flight was no problem at all.

ROAR!!

The moment he intercepted the miniature Jiaomang.

Wu Dao opened his volcanic maw and unleashed a Supreme Yang Dragon Breath. The miniature Jiaomang, caught completely off guard, had no time to change direction and crashed headfirst into the blast.

Even at full strength, it wasn’t certain it could withstand one of Wu Dao’s True Dragon Breaths.

Let alone in its current, desperate state?

The result was predictable!

The moment it hit the rainbow-like dragon breath, a sky-high barbecue feast instantly began. In the blink of an eye, it was cooked crispy and golden brown, its aroma spreading in all directions.

THUD!

A heavy thud echoed as it hit the ground.

Countless fragments of earth and stone exploded into the air.

The eight-meter-tall Wu Dao, as magnificent as a Demon Mountain, held the ten-meter, golden-brown roasted miniature Jiaomang in his dragon-like jaws.

He dug out a Demon Pill that shone like a small sun from the roasted flesh. Licking his lips, he was about to swallow it in one gulp.

"Insolence! If you dare..."

But just then, an ancient, enraged voice rang out from within the Demon Pill, just like when he had eaten the Three-tailed Red Fox.

GULP~

This time, however, Wu Dao couldn’t be bothered to pay it any mind and swallowed the Jiaomang’s Demon Pill directly.

What’s the use of running your mouth?

It was the same as before.

If you have a problem, come and get me!

’Let’s see you stop me from eating this!’

"Teleportation Points +1500."

Another fifteen hundred?

The familiar number made Wu Dao’s mind stir.

His previous guess was correct after all.

The attribute panel’s judgment of Alien Species wasn’t based entirely on strength.

As long as they were of the same realm.

No matter how great the difference in power.

The Teleportation Points gained from eating them were the same.

They all corresponded to the Third Rebirth. The Stone God’s combat power was clearly stronger than Aunt Xiang’s from the Joyful Forest, but Aunt Xiang was also worth 500 Teleportation Points.

The Jiaomang was stronger than the Three-tailed Red Fox.

But eating it yielded the same fifteen hundred points.

In other words.

The attribute panel didn’t convert the Energy of an Alien Species’ life, cultivation, or Divine Soul, things which had clear disparities in strength.

It converted something else.

A higher-level existence that Wu Dao didn’t understand.

But Wu Dao didn’t dwell on it.

There was no point in delving into things he couldn’t understand.

"So fragrant~"

After eating the Demon Pill.

Wu Dao glanced at the ten-meter-long, crispy, golden-brown roasted Jiaomang and forcibly suppressed his desire to eat.

This miniature Jiaomang.

Was the condensed essence of the one-horned Jiaomang’s flesh and blood, refined by Spiritual Qi. The Energy it contained was already comparable to low-level, high-energy aggregates like Spirit Stones and Elemental Stones.

A single, ten-meter-long piece!

A strip of Spirit Stone as thick as a thigh!

In the cultivation world, this was a first-class Cultivation Resource.

Naturally, he couldn’t just wolf down such a Spiritual Object. Besides, even if he did, Wu Dao wouldn’t be able to digest it quickly.

"Looks like I won’t have to worry about Cultivation Resources for a while."

Wu Dao returned to his normal physique and dragged the golden Jiaomang with one hand, like a Fierce Beast returning to its lair after a hunt, searching the ruins for little snacks.

When he descended upon the Four Seas Gang.

His Spiritual Perception had detected not only Menghuai Mountain and the black Jiaomang underground.

But also several ’little snakes.’

After searching for a while.

Wu Dao dug up several more Demon Embryos from the ruins, which together provided him with a thousand points.

This meal today.

Could be considered quite satisfying.

He opened his attribute panel—

"Teleportation Points: 6115."

A balance of over six thousand!

It was enough for the next leap in his Essence Devouring Art.

"Once I enter the Overlord Great Success Domain, I won’t even have to fear a Land Immortal!"

Wu Dao grinned, a hint of anticipation in his eyes. He was in a great mood. Putting away his attribute panel, he started walking out of the ruins.

However, his good mood didn’t last long before it turned icy cold once more.

PAT!

The sound of steady footsteps, not too heavy, not too light, echoed from the lingering dust and smoke at the edge of the ruins.

The rain had stopped at some point.

But the ground was still covered in a layer of puddles.

Wu Dao looked a hundred meters away, where countless raindrops in the puddles trembled and jumped in unison with the steady sound of footsteps.

Sensing the faint, almost nonexistent aura of danger, he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes and stop in his tracks.

At the same time, he also noticed something was wrong.

Without any experts to resist them.

The Overlord Whale Alliance’s attack on Qingyuan City should have met no resistance. By now, they should be rampaging through the city, plundering their spoils, the entire place should be in an uproar.

But in reality, the Inner City was completely silent. Aside from the faint, chaotic sounds of a crowd fleeing for their lives in the distance, there was nothing.

So where were the people from the Overlord Whale Alliance?

Heh...

Wu Dao scoffed, and with a surge of power, he tossed the golden Jiaomang aside. Wisps of Crimson Gold lightning began to erupt from his pores.

This battle today!

It isn’t over yet!

WHOOSH~

The gray smoke cleared, the disturbed water settled, and a figure came into view.

Xu Sheng, dressed in a simple green robe, stepped out of the dust. He glanced at the golden-roasted Jiaomang, his expression complex.

"Alliance Leader Wu, rest assured. Your men are safe and sound, though some of them have been knocked unconscious. The Jingzhe Bureau would not stoop to such dirty tricks as stabbing someone in the back."

’The Jingzhe Bureau?’

A thought flashed through Wu Dao’s mind. Recalling the Jingzhe Bureau’s duties, he understood why this man, who gave off an air of danger, had appeared in Qingyuan City.

He just didn’t know who had intercepted whom.

But that wasn’t important.

What was important.

Was that the Jingzhe Bureau was meddling in his business!

"So?"

Wu Dao tilted his head, producing a series of metallic CRACKS and POPS as his aura grew progressively more dangerous.

It seemed that if he didn’t get a satisfactory answer, he was about to lash out violently!

"So..."

Xu Sheng seemed unfazed by Wu Dao’s actions and sighed. "I implore Alliance Leader Wu to show some compassion and leave them a path to live.

Although Qingyuan City is the Four Seas Gang’s headquarters,

not everyone here is a treacherous villain. Sacking the entire city, in this day and age, is no different from forcing people to kill themselves. It’s too unfair to the innocent and the weak."

???

Hearing this, Wu Dao even paused in his warm-up stretches. He stared at Xu Sheng as if he were looking at an idiot and said coldly,

"In all of history, in every war, the victor plunders the vanquished and enjoys the spoils. It is the law of heaven and earth. Fair? Innocent? Is there something wrong with your brain?"

"But they are not your opponents, nor are they worthy of being your opponents, are they? Why must you bully the weak when there is no grievance between you?"

Faced with Wu Dao’s humiliation.

Xu Sheng’s brow furrowed slightly, but he continued to argue his point.