Essence Devouring Art

While Wu Dao was feasting in the Piaoxiang Building.

Dozens of miles away, two figures tore across the desolate, ochre desert, moving like Primordial Fierce Beasts and kicking up a rolling cloud of sand and dust.

At one point.

A fierce wind began to rage, and the world grew dark.

Their progress impeded, the two halted and took shelter from the sandstorm behind a rock formation. They threw back the hoods of their black robes, revealing their faces—one young, one middle-aged.

The young man was as burly as a bear, his face fleshy and cruel. His skin was rough and swarthy, and his body was a mass of bulging, iron-cast muscles. A savage, bloodthirsty light glinted from his bell-like eyes, marking him as someone not to be trifled with.

"Mr. Ya, is there a reaction?"

The burly youth’s voice was like rolling thunder. He took a large gulp of water and casually directed his question to the short, gaunt middle-aged man beside him.

The middle-aged man seemed unable to speak. He simply extended his right hand—long-fingered, skeletal, and as black as a steel claw. In his palm, a small, green snake lay coiled, perfectly still.

"Heh."

Seeing this, the burly youth sneered and shook his head. "People aren’t fools. They won’t kill someone and then wait around for us to get revenge. This world’s a big place. It doesn’t matter if that thing’s range is one li or a hundred; if someone’s determined to hide, they’re gone."

"..."

The gaunt, middle-aged man met his words with silence.

"Adoptive Father only cares about his Four Seas Gang. Everyone else is just a tool. That whole ’deep father-son bond’ is just an act for the subordinates.

After wasting so many resources, he probably wishes he could’ve been the one to slice my fourth brother into a thousand pieces."

The burly youth’s face twisted in a self-mocking sneer, a flicker of sorrow for his own kind in his eyes. Though he spoke such treasonous words, the middle-aged man beside him remained impassive, refusing to comment.

"Still, I have my dead ghost of a brother to thank."

At some thought, the burly youth licked his rough lips again, his eyes filling with ambition. "If it weren’t for this trip, how would I have learned that an Alien Species has appeared in Pan Shui Town?

If I can obtain it, I’ll be able to perfect my Pan Mountain Skill in no time. And after Breaking the Cocoon, my power will be far beyond what Adoptive Father and his crooked methods could ever achieve!"

"..."

The middle-aged man still showed no reaction to the youth’s insolent words, merely staring out at the swirling sand in a daze.

If one looked closer.

They would see that his eyes were empty and lifeless, devoid of any intelligent spark, like a puppet that could only obey commands.

A short while later.

The sandstorm subsided, and the red sun at the edge of the desert finally sank below the horizon.

Starlight cascaded down like a waterfall, and the wind blew in cold gusts.

The pair set off again, moving like lightning, and soon vanished into the night.

Their destination: Pan Shui Town.

...

Crescent Oasis, Pan Shui Town.

The night was deep and still, the brilliant Star River hanging high above.

RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE~

A gust of wind swept past. At the foot of Cuoge Cenyun Mountain, the sea of trees billowed, and the sound of a thousand branches and ten thousand leaves rustling was like a great ocean tide, rolling in waves over Pan Shui Town.

The yang energy of the living faded, and a gloomy yin energy pervaded the air.

In the dark corners and alleys untouched by starlight, furtive, shadowy figures seemed to multiply.

Piaoxiang Building.

CREAK~

The sound of a wooden door opening and closing was somewhat piercing in the dead of night.

Clad in a green robe with a sword at his side, he had sword-like brows and star-like eyes.

Cloud Heaven Flow closed his door, glanced at Wu Dao’s tightly shut door next to his, and rubbed the hilt of his sword. In the end, he shook his head and quickly walked away.

Inside the room.

The moment he heard the sound, Wu Dao awoke from a deep sleep. His eyes snapped open, sharp as bolts of lightning, showing no signs of fatigue.

The Essence Devouring Art could hypnotize the user’s mind and body, ensuring a deep sleep that nourished one’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit without losing awareness of the outside world.

On the surface, he was sound asleep.

In reality, a part of his consciousness was always focused on Cloud Heaven Flow in the next room.

A genius renowned throughout the Prefecture wouldn’t waste his time shooting arrows at nothing. He must have already found some clues about the anomaly in Pan Shui Town, which was why he had stayed here for so long.

Therefore.

He hadn’t chosen to act alone, rushing into Canyun Mountain like a headless fly. He just needed to tail Cloud Heaven Flow for a while to get the information he wanted.

WHOOSH~

The night wind howled, the silver moon shone brightly, and the myriad stars vied for brilliance.

Pan Shui Town was as bright as day.

This made it difficult for Wu Dao to stay hidden, adding a layer of difficulty to his tracking. Fortunately, Cloud Heaven Flow wasn’t moving quickly, maintaining a strolling pace, so Wu Dao didn’t lose him.

’Is he deliberately waiting for me?’

Wu Dao hid his large frame in the shadows, narrowing his eyes at Cloud Heaven Flow, who occasionally glanced behind him on the pale white street. Wu Dao couldn’t help but lick his lips.

Clearly.

Cloud Heaven Flow had long since discovered he was being followed, but for some unknown reason, he hadn’t exposed him.

’Is it confidence, or does he have some other scheme in mind?’

However...

Wu Dao didn’t know if Cloud Heaven Flow was confident, but he certainly was. So he simply revealed himself and openly trailed behind him.

Pan Shui Town was very quiet at night.

Aside from the cries of night birds in the mountains and the gurgling of water in the canals, not even a single dog bark could be heard. The silence was somewhat unnerving.

An ordinary person in this environment.

would surely grow paranoid, fearing that some dark, sinister thing was lurking in the starless shadows, and they wouldn’t be able to help feeling on edge.

But Cloud Heaven Flow and Wu Dao were no ordinary men. They walked one after the other, open and composed, completely unconcerned by the strange atmosphere around them.

After winding through a few streets.

They arrived in a dilapidated area. A charred old building came into view, its walls mostly collapsed, its eaves and beams rotten, and its grounds overgrown with weeds. It had clearly been in a fire before.

"Xiangchun Garden..."

On the collapsed gatehouse. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The three mottled, ancient characters of the name were faintly visible in the frosty white moonlight.

’A Pear Garden?’

Hidden around a street corner dozens of meters away, Wu Dao glanced at Cloud Heaven Flow, who was also waiting silently, leaning impassively in the shadows nearby. A flicker of doubt crossed Wu Dao’s mind.

But then.

he noticed something strange.—

The area around the Pear Garden wasn’t quiet at all!

Although they were well hidden, Wu Dao’s Beast King Peak Physique gave him senses no less sharp than a wild animal’s, and he detected the auras of many people.

Some were as robust as tigers and bears, others as deep and enduring as tortoises and whales. If he focused, he could even hear the heavy thumping of their heartbeats.

Clearly, many Jianghu People were already hidden around the opera house, and judging by their auras, none of them were below the Inner Strength Realm!

’What are they waiting for?’

’Could this abandoned Pear Garden be connected to the anomaly?’

Wu Dao narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on the opera house, which looked somewhat bizarre under the pale moonlight. His thoughts churned.

However.

He didn’t want to alert the snake by rustling the grass. He simply adjusted his Essence, Qi, and Spirit, lay in wait, and decided to observe the situation.

WHOOSH~

The moonlight was as cool as water, a mountain breeze rustled by, and time slowly ticked on.

About half an hour later.

The deathly silent Pear Garden finally showed a sign of change.

A warbling tune began...

Without warning, a nameless opera ditty began to play—a tune so mournful and plaintive that it would bring tears to the eyes of any who heard it.

It mingled with the sinister wind, a low, ghostly sob.

It was enough to instantly make one’s hair stand on end and skin crawl with goosebumps, a chill that seeped deep into the soul.

Wu Dao, however, was instantly roused!

He snapped his head up to look at the dilapidated, weed-choked stage in the center of the Pear Garden.

At some unknown point in time.

A young *dan* actress in a blue robe and heavy, painted makeup had appeared on the stage. She danced gracefully, pitying her own lonely shadow, singing that nameless, sorrowful tune.

In the dead of night, in a desolate garden under the moon.

A blue-robed actress, a desolate lament!

No matter how you looked at it or thought about it.

It was a grim, terrifying, and utterly bizarre and horrifying scene!

Is this...

A wraith?

Wu Dao frowned at the heavily made-up actress on the stage. He didn’t feel fear, only astonishment.

It was completely different from the formless, incorporeal spirits in the Red Fire Mine, whose influence on the real world was limited.

If one ignored its bizarre nature.

This was a living person. Its voice was clear, its movements were solid and audible, and it could concretely affect the physical world.

Without a doubt, this was an old wraith with profound power!

Its power was far beyond that of the spirits from the Red Fire Mine, and it was connected to the anomaly in Canyun Mountain!

Otherwise, Jianghu People like Cloud Heaven Flow wouldn’t be wasting their time waiting here!

Wu Dao’s eyes glinted as various pieces of information clicked into place. He was now fairly certain he understood what was going on.

But it was as he’d thought before.

If the enemy doesn’t move, I don’t move. Until he knew the true intentions of Cloud Heaven Flow and the others, he would not make a rash move.

The eerie singing intensified.

On stage, the young *dan* actress in her blue robe and heavy makeup sang with growing fervor. Her voice carried far in the silent, moonlit night, growing ever more bizarre and horrifying.

"Heh heh..."

Abruptly, an entranced chuckle rang out, accompanied by the sound of light, stumbling footsteps.

At one end of the street.

Three men appeared. Their faces were fierce and vicious, but their expressions were currently slack and dazed. Judging by their dress, they were likely low-level Jianghu People who had come to Pan Shui Town to join in on the excitement.

As if their souls had been bewitched, the three men walked with their eyes closed, following the sound of the tune. With strange smiles on their faces, they staggered into the Pear Garden.

’There’s something wrong with that song...’

Seeing this, Wu Dao couldn’t help but focus his attention.

The actress’s song seemed to possess a kind of brainwashing Demon Nature, unconsciously making people feel intoxicated and drawn to it.

The longer it went on, the heavier the breathing of the hidden onlookers became. They were clearly trying their best to resist.

If even the Jianghu People, with their strong bodies and tough minds, were affected like this.

what hope would an ordinary person have?

These three men were only in the Realm of Nourishing Power, not much stronger than ordinary people. Their entranced, soul-lost appearance showed they had clearly fallen under its spell.

However, no one cared.

And no one was preparing to be a hero and uphold justice.

That included Cloud Heaven Flow, who was famous for his chivalry. After an initial slight frown, he withdrew the foot he had started to move, as if deciding the three men weren’t worth saving.

All the Jianghu People remained still, quietly watching the three men walk like zombies into the Pear Garden and up to the stage.

And then...

An even more bizarre scene unfolded.

As the actress’s song grew more mournful, the three men began to move with it, their dancing ugly and clumsy.

Under the pale, cold moonlight.

The three men matched the movements of the graceful blue figure on stage with stiff, jerky motions of their own, until they were perfectly synchronized, moving identically like three stringed puppets.

The song grew more mournful still...

The movements of the blue wraith on stage began to grow bizarre and varied, unnaturally flexible. It was no longer dancing; "yoga" would have been a more fitting description.

Splits, folding in half, connecting head to foot...

Its body twisted through a series of inhuman, joint-breaking movements, like some kind of freakish creature.

The most horrifying part was.

No matter what movement the blue wraith made, the three men below the stage copied it exactly!

This led to a very bloody consequence...

CRACK~ CRUNCH~

The sound of breaking bones and tearing muscle echoed ceaselessly through the moonlit Pear Garden.

The three strapping men from before.

In just a few moments, they had become three Blood Gourds—

Jagged ends of bone protruded, all their limbs were broken, and their bodies were twisted into clumps, like three red-and-white braided dough twists writhing on the ground.

’That man was twisted into a pretzel...’

Li San’s description of the town’s strangeness from earlier in the day echoed in his mind.

Wu Dao hadn’t known what a person "twisted into a pretzel" looked like before, but now, he had a crystal-clear understanding.