Essence Devouring Art

"Enough!!"

The Stone God’s explosive roar cut off Wu Dao’s Evil Ghost-like howls. For the first time, it showed a hint of anger.

’Dammit.’

’Am I the one inflicting Spiritual Contamination on you, or are you contaminating me!’

The more it listened, the more its mind descended into inexplicable chaos and tyranny, a subtle thread of terror beginning to spread.

"Hah... Since you insist on fighting..."

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ground continued to crumble and explode.

The Stone God gave Wu Dao, who looked like a frenzied Evil Beast, a deep look. Its power output surged, reversing its disadvantage, and it said icily, "Then I shall accompany you to the very end!"

With its intelligence, how could it not know that Wu Dao was far from a normal person?

No, that wasn’t right.

To call him a person was inaccurate.

He was more like a snarling, starving beast—a starving beast that had targeted it as prey!

The hunt wouldn’t be over until it had devoured its prey’s flesh.

Therefore, one of them had to die today!

WHOOSH—

Without warning, the countless honeycomb-like pores all over the grappling Stone God’s body began to hum in unison, like ten thousand flutes playing at once.

Wisps of black smoke curled upward. The sound of countless whispers, curses, and judgments intensified dramatically, drilling into Wu Dao’s mind like an electric drill.

Although Wu Dao couldn’t feel pain at this moment, he could still perceive that under this intense Spiritual Contamination, his brain instantly turned to chaotic mush.

SPURT! SPURT! SPURT!

The healing speed of the Healing Fluid couldn’t keep up. Scalding blood began to gush from his seven orifices and pores like fountains. The Energy consumption of his Divine Ghost Heaven skyrocketed, and his entire body seemed on the verge of shriveling up.

But something even more terrifying was yet to come...

BOOM!

His Power faltered for a moment.

Wu Dao’s massive, crimson-flamed demonic body was sent flying. His vision went black. Within his chaotic perception, the entire World became pure darkness—he couldn’t see or feel anything!

In the Dark World, the only thing that existed was the sound of countless whispered curses, like rolling thunder, continuously damaging his Spiritual Consciousness and making the world even darker!

BANG!!

Without any warning, and without the slightest hint of detection, a fist containing immense Power seemed to teleport across the Dark World, smashing squarely into Wu Dao’s face.

The tsunami of destructive Power instantly caved in his entire face, sending his steel-like teeth flying and twisting his features into a distorted mess.

His brain, already suffering from endless torment, was nearly blasted into paste by this single punch!

DRONE—

The thunderous, whispered curses filled every corner of the Dark World, interfering with and shackling Wu Dao’s senses from all directions, rendering him blind in every sense of the word.

He could only take the beating passively!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

In the darkness, the Stone God truly seemed to be teleporting. With a mere thought, it crossed vast distances from every direction, landing heavy, charged blows on Wu Dao’s constantly shattering and healing face.

This was a complete rout, a crushing difference in Spiritual Cultivation!

It had completely crippled Wu Dao’s Spiritual Perception, turning him into a "blind man"!

That’s why the Stone God’s attacks seemed like teleportation!

That’s why a once-evenly matched battle had become a one-sided slaughter!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The terrifying, gigantic fists continued their relentless bombardment.

In the darkness, Wu Dao remained silent, only able to cross his arms in front of his face to block the attacks. His body was sent tumbling, smashing through countless rocks and earth along the way, with no telling where he would land.

Under the relentless barrage, his physical body was constantly breaking, and his spirit was like a small boat in a stormy sea during a thunderstorm, in danger of capsizing at any moment.

After the explosive increase in Energy consumption, the duration of his Divine Ghost Heaven began to decrease rapidly.

But even in this seemingly fatal situation, his heart remained perfectly calm.

’Should I unleash the Second Day?’

’No, the Heroic Domain can’t handle the Energy consumption of Shen Wutian, not to mention there are outsiders present...’

In a flash of thought, Wu Dao gave up on using the Second Day Secret Method.

The Energy consumption of Shen Wutian was too terrifying.

His Heroic Great Success Domain would likely cause his body to be burned to ashes in no time, leaving him hanging by a thread afterward!

If there were no outsiders present, he might risk it.

But right now, there were still two Jingzhe Guards in Lin Village.

He didn’t trust anyone!

And he certainly wouldn’t entrust his life to any test of human nature!

That being the case, how should he break this stalemate?

Amidst the relentless bombardment, like a raging tempest and crashing thunder, Wu Dao felt like an outsider, watching his own body and spirit shatter from a third-person perspective. He felt no pain. The sparks of his thoughts collided at high speed as he searched for a way out.

’Spiritual Will and cultivation!’

In a fraction of a second, Wu Dao noticed the Overlord Whale Fist on his attribute panel.

After reaching 220 years of Micro-refined Power, he had faintly touched the barrier to the next level.

But the incident at Lin Village had happened too suddenly.

He hadn’t had time to carefully deduce and comprehend the next stage.

With his current 160 Teleportation Points, he could upgrade it quickly.

Because after increasing his Power by seventy years, the Overlord Whale Fist, which originally required two hundred points to upgrade, now only required 100.

However, upgrading via the attribute panel wasn’t instantaneous.

And another thing... Wu Dao didn’t want to waste his Teleportation Points.

Not even when he seemed to be in a desperate situation.

’The greater the storm, the pricier the fish!’

’The closer one is to their limit, the more brilliantly the body’s potential can erupt!’

’In my past life, I broke my limits countless times in near-death states!’

’How can I shrink back in this life!’

So... for the greatness of Life Transition...

’...it’s time to go crazy again!!’

BOOM!!

Another teleporting fist came flying at him!

But this time, Wu Dao didn’t defend.

He allowed the tsunami of Power to slam into his body, sending rotten flesh and shattered bone flying. He let his body be blasted away, crashing into some unknown location.

DRONE—

The countless venomous, whispered curses roared like the thunder of the Nine Heavens, tormenting his brain without pause.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The Stone God’s relentless bombardment was like the towering waves of a Black Sea, threatening to capsize the lone boat caught within.

Spirit and body!

Both were on the verge of destruction.

Yet Wu Dao’s heart was as calm as still water.

He seemed to have returned to that nameless cave in Canyun Mountain.

Suspended over a boundless sea, performing Thunder Listening to practice his fist, his Brain Domain’s computational power was at its maximum, deducing every move and every secret of the Overlord Whale Fist.

In an instant, countless figures frantically practiced the Overlord Whale Fist within his Brain Domain. Through spring, summer, autumn, and winter, they never stopped. All their gains and insights converged into a torrent, crashing against the dam before them.

"A desperate, dying struggle!"

Outside, seeing Wu Dao stand up once more only to abandon his defense and instead counter with what, from its perspective, was a slow and stiff Overlord Whale Fist, the Stone God sneered.

Its terrifying spiritual sense had previously detected an unreleased Power hidden within Wu Dao’s body.

It had thought that once Wu Dao was at the end of his rope, he would unleash that Power and fight it to the death.

But now, it seemed that using that Power would likely cause an unbearable backlash for Wu Dao.

So he didn’t dare use it!

’Therefore, I’ve won!’

A cruel smile spread across the Stone God’s trypophobia-inducing face. It "teleported" in front of Wu Dao once again, its millstone-like fist aimed squarely at his closed-eyed face.

But this time...

CLANG!

Sparks flew. The forces collided. The shockwaves of Power formed concentric rings that continuously erupted beneath the ravaged earth, destroying the landscape.

’He blocked it?’

The Stone God was slightly stunned. Its free left hand instantly transformed into a palm-blade, crushing the Gangfeng Qi Flow as it chopped down. It tore a huge, gruesome wound across Wu Dao’s chest, revealing his fiery red internal organs.

’Oh. So it was just luck.’

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A new round of relentless bombardment began.

’Kick him while he’s down!’

The Stone God could sense that the healing speed of Wu Dao’s body was slowing, and the blazing blood-flames surrounding him were starting to die down.

As long as it continued its all-out assault, Wu Dao would burn himself to death even without it needing to land a final blow!

But...

CLANG!

CLANG!!

CLANG!!!

The sound of steel striking steel from the clash of their fists grew more and more frequent!

The Stone God’s expression grew darker and darker!

’It wasn’t luck!’

Wu Dao was truly and rapidly adapting to its attack rhythm. As time passed, the effects of its Spiritual Contamination seemed to be weakening, and he was able to block more and more of its blows.

Even... The Stone God could feel that the Wu Dao before it had transformed into a great cocoon. Inside, something that made its heart pound with fear was gestating, pulsing, about to perform the Breaking the Cocoon!

"Stop!!"

"Stop it, I said!!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

CRACK! CRACK...

A feeling of dread spread like wildfire.

The Stone God had lost its previous composure. It went berserk, frantically smashing and breaking Wu Dao’s limbs, trying to stop him from continuing to practice the Overlord Whale Fist.

But Wu Dao was like a block of iron-stone. He felt no pain, showed no emotion. Lifeless, he mechanically repeated the motions of the Overlord Whale Fist amidst the raging storm.

On the attribute panel, the Power of his Overlord Whale Fist had already begun to skyrocket!

years...

Two hundred years...

Two hundred thirty years...

Two hundred fifty years...

In this near-death, extreme state, the potential of the human brain began to shine with a brilliant light.

In his Sea of Consciousness, the countless small figures practicing the Overlord Whale Fist were spewing forth a Dominating Whale Fist Intent that frantically battered the already-cracked dam.

From Wu Dao’s body, an ancient, barbaric, and tyrannical Fist Intent grew ever denser, almost piercing through heaven and earth.

This Fist Intent... was indescribable.

It was like Power, yet not Power. Like intent, yet not intent.

Or perhaps it was a fusion of the two, stirring the Gangfeng Qi Flow, overturning the sea of spirit, surging and roiling, tangibly affecting the boundary between the real and the illusory.

The Stone God was in a daze, unable to tell if it was striking a man or an Ancient Barbaric Whale that roamed the vast oceans.

But it knew one thing.

It absolutely could not let Wu Dao continue!

DONG!!

In a fit of rage, the Stone God landed another heavy punch on Wu Dao’s chest. An earth-shattering Power exploded forth.

CRACKLE...

His sternum instantly shattered and his internal organs ruptured.

Like a leaf in a gale, the mangled, bloody form of Wu Dao was sent flying several hundred meters, kicking up a towering cloud of dust!

"I told you to stop!!"

The Stone God roared madly, bent its knees and blasted the ground apart, its house-sized body creating an explosive shockwave as it tore through the violent Gangfeng Qi Flow, teleporting into the cloud of dust to finish him.

SWOOSH!

But this time, what greeted it was Wu Dao’s eyes snapping open—a pair of dark black pupils that seemed as serene as a saint or a Buddha—and that savage, Evil Ghost-like smile that once again stretched from ear to ear.

RUMBLE! 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

On the level of his Spiritual Will, the dam crumbled with a mighty crash. His soul felt as if it had leaped from a pond into a great river, experiencing an unprecedented sense of freedom and breadth.

On the attribute panel, the frantically jumping Power of his Overlord Whale Fist stopped at three hundred years!

Three hundred years of Thunder Listening!

Divine Arrival!!