Essence Devouring Art

For an ordinary person, this would be nigh impossible.

Their properties were fundamentally incompatible; one was incredibly forceful, while the other was steeped in malevolent energy. Fusing them would be tantamount to creating an entirely new cultivation technique from scratch.

But for Wu Dao, these were hardly major issues.

The Divine, Ghostly, Celestial Release had unlocked his Brain Domain, granting him terrifying computational and deductive abilities. His Comprehension was now on par with a genius among geniuses, making the fusion of these two cultivation techniques far from an impossible task.

At most, it would take some time and a few resources to maintain his Divine Ghost Heaven State.

He had absolute confidence that, in a short amount of time, he could not only fuse the two cultivation techniques but also achieve remarkable results!

And so, for the next few days, while remaining vigilant, Wu Dao once again entered a state of intense cultivation, shutting out the world.

From dawn till dusk, sunrise to moonfall, he poured all his energy into deducing and fusing the two cultivation techniques.

...

The second day after the destruction of Yellow Dragon Temple, following Wu Dao’s departure from Lancang County City...

At the White Whale Martial Arts Hall headquarters.

Inside Qi Canghai’s private training room.

PTOO!!

He spat out a large mouthful of foul-smelling black blood.

Qi Canghai, who had appeared so calm and composed in front of Wu Dao, now looked completely drained.

His paper-white face was shrouded in a faint, black demonic aura, and his eyes were filled with lingering terror.

’Damn it!!’

Sensing the Immortal Family within him—which had been overtaxed and had now fallen into a deep slumber—Qi Canghai’s expression turned grim as he cursed through gritted teeth.

’He hadn’t expected Wu Dao’s strength to be so unfathomable, nor his mind so terrifyingly meticulous.’

’During their brief clash on Fuguang Mountain, he had revealed nothing but his Innate Primordial Qi, carefully concealing any Human Dao techniques.’

’But even so, Wu Dao had still grown suspicious and come straight to his door.’

’If he hadn’t taken precautions and brought a life-saving Great Medicine, and if the Immortal Family within him didn’t possess such a profound concealment technique, he probably would have been exposed.’

’And if he had been exposed, given Wu Dao’s brutal nature, the man would have attacked him without a moment’s hesitation.’

’He had his own trump cards, of course. But if he had used them in front of everyone, he could forget about living as a human ever again. He would be forced to spend the rest of his life cowering in the shadows, scorned by all.’

However, even though he had managed to fool Wu Dao today, it had come at a heavy price.

The damage from Wu Dao’s Overlord Whale Fist Divine Strike was immense—not to his body, but to his Divine Soul.

Injuries to the Divine Soul were the most difficult to heal. Even with the aid of a Great Medicine, it would be impossible for him to recover quickly.

Furthermore, the Immortal Family within him had paid a huge price to help conceal his injuries. There was no telling when it might awaken.

’This rash move was a prime example of trying to steal a chicken and ending up losing the entire farm!’

’Celestial Treasure Masters are truly no simple matter. I can’t be so impulsive from now on.’

Qi Canghai let out a shaky breath, his heart filled with extreme apprehension toward Wu Dao.

’A monster who defies all logic...’

’Unless you were absolutely certain you could crush him in a single blow...’

’...otherwise, failing to finish the job would bring endless disaster!’

’Still, I need to start preparing. That wretch’s attitude toward me today was a clear sign of rebellion!’

Thinking of Wu Dao’s utter lack of respect earlier that day, a chilling killing intent surfaced in Qi Canghai’s eyes.

’He had toiled and schemed for half his life to build the White Whale Martial Arts Hall into what it was today.’

’He would not allow anyone to covet his position, no matter the cost!’

At this thought, Qi Canghai’s mind turned to the Immortal Family backing him. He began to ponder how he could persuade them to take action and eliminate the grave threat that was Wu Dao.

...

「On the third day after the destruction of Yellow Dragon Temple.」

News of the event finally began to spread throughout the Jianghu of Guangqing Prefecture.

It was like a meteor striking the ocean, sending colossal waves of shock through the martial world.

The event was simply too massive to be concealed.

Even without the surviving disciples running around and wailing, the worldly factions with ties to Yellow Dragon Temple would have noticed something was wrong and quickly traced it back to Wu Dao.

Therefore, Wu Dao had never intended to hide his actions from the start.

As expected, the moment the news broke, the entire Jianghu of Guangqing Prefecture was in an uproar.

At first, many people were in disbelief, dismissing it as a mere rumor.

After all, Yellow Dragon Temple was an ’On the Mountain’ power so formidable that even the ’three great mountains’—the top factions of Guangqing Prefecture—wouldn’t dare to provoke it lightly.

Years of accumulated prestige had made it a symbol of the mysterious, the powerful, and the invincible in the hearts of many.

For such an untouchable behemoth to be annihilated so silently...?

And by a single person, no less? The whole affair felt utterly absurd.

But after wave after wave of bold Jianghu Travelers ventured up Fuguang Mountain and witnessed the ruins, which resembled a volcanic crater, all voices of doubt within the Jianghu vanished completely.

Yellow Dragon Temple was well and truly gone!

Instantly, opinions in the Jianghu split into two distinct camps.

Those of the Evil Dao were all clapping and cheering, feeling a sense of shared glory in the birth of a new Great Demon.

Some enterprising individuals even gave Wu Dao a new moniker—

The Overlord Whale King!

This directly elevated his status to the same height as the ’Black Whale King’ Menghuai Mountain and the ’White Whale King’ Qi Canghai.

Slaying a Qi Refining Daoist—with such a feat to his name, Wu Dao was more than qualified to bear this title.

The local storytellers, in particular, embellished Wu Dao’s exploits, dubbing the situation the ’Battle of the Three Whales.’ They predicted an inevitable clash between the three Whale Kings of Guangqing Prefecture, a tale that generated immense buzz.

In stark contrast to the celebrations of the Evil Dao, the righteous factions held the opposite view.

Many highly respected veterans of the Martial World immediately came forward to publicly condemn and denounce Wu Dao’s bloody and brutal actions.

They branded Wu Dao a Great Demon whom all had a right to execute, a fiend loathed by gods and ghosts alike, and they cried injustice on behalf of Yellow Dragon Temple.

Some hot-blooded young cultivators even rallied their friends, planning to march on Tan County and demand justice for Yellow Dragon Temple with their fists, all in the name of upholding righteousness.

However, these cries of righteous indignation did not last long.

By evening, thanks to the machinations of the Black Dragon Commerce Association, the public narrative surrounding the Yellow Dragon Temple’s annihilation had completely flipped on its head.

Selfish and self-serving!

Treacherous and ungrateful!

Colluding with evil, a scourge upon the Human Race!

And when exposed, he resorted to murder to silence witnesses!

A lie told three times becomes the truth!

A lie told a hundred times becomes a torrent!

A thousand? Ten thousand?

And what about a ’fact’ asserted with absolute certainty by the entire Guangqing Prefecture?

That becomes more real than gold itself!

One could only say that the Black Dragon Commerce Association truly lived up to its name as a behemoth that had been entrenched in Dali for five or six hundred years. Its resources, intelligence network, information channels, and top-to-bottom efficiency were beyond the imagination of any ordinary person.

In just half a day, voices proclaiming the ’evil deeds’ of the Yellow Dragon Daoist could be heard in every major town and village in Guangqing Prefecture, to say nothing of the counties and the County City itself.

"Did you hear? The story about Yellow Dragon Temple completely flipped. Turns out the Yellow Dragon Daoist was the real demon all along."

"Pfft, old news. They say that to speed up his refinement of Spiritual Objects, the Yellow Dragon Daoist turned a blind eye to evil spirits harming people. He even turned on his own savior."

"Heh, that’s nothing. The version I heard is way worse. They say that when the Overlord Whale King stormed Yellow Dragon Temple...

...the Yellow Dragon Daoist was in the middle of a blood-sucking cultivation session! The ground beneath his medicine garden was filled with countless skeletons. It was the most evil place in all of Guangqing Prefecture!"

"Whoa! It goes that deep? Tsk, tsk. And to think this morning people were praising him as some pillar of the righteous path. I’m embarrassed for them."

This stark contrast was incredibly satisfying for the uninformed masses, who began to blindly follow the trend and parrot the new narrative.

Things were slightly better in places closer to Li Tan County.

Some people personally traveled to Lin Village to investigate.

Since Wu Dao had specifically arranged for Lin Zongwu to be "reminded," the "truth" these investigators uncovered was not much different from the official story.

As for places farther from Li Tan County, the stories just grew more and more outrageous with distance.

After all, very few people had nothing better to do than travel all the way to Tan County just to verify a piece of gossip that had nothing to do with them.

The power of public opinion is a terrifying thing.

Combine that with the power of money and the willingness of the Evil Dao to kick a man while he’s down...

By evening, more than eighty percent of the voices in Guangqing Prefecture were verbally and textually crucifying the Yellow Dragon Daoist, while heaping praise on Wu Dao for his ’fearlessness in the face of power and his hatred for evil’.

Most of the righteous figures who had previously been so indignant quickly changed their tune to avoid drawing fire themselves.

They declared that one can know a person’s face but not their heart.

Didn’t know the man.

Weren’t familiar with him at all.

And if anyone dared to suggest they were associated with that Evil Dragon, there would be hell to pay.

Are you kidding?

The vast majority of people in Guangqing Prefecture were calling the Yellow Dragon Daoist a monster devoid of all conscience, and the rumors had even begun to spread outside the prefecture’s borders.

In such a climate, even those who knew it was a frame-up didn’t dare to sing a different tune. No one wanted to be the stubborn fool who stood against the tide.

As for those who had been clamoring to march on Tan County and demand justice? That was all just talk. Did people really take them for fools?

So-called ’justice’ was nothing more than the voice of the majority drowning out the rights of the few.

Not to mention, this ’justice’ was backed by absolute violence.

That Overlord Whale King... he had single-handedly destroyed the entire Yellow Dragon Temple. What kind of power was that?

Challenging him at his doorstep? That was just asking for a death wish.

Even the Martial World veterans who truly knew the Yellow Dragon Daoist’s character had no choice but to fall silent and sigh to themselves. Faced with this overwhelming ’momentum,’ they had to protect their own reputations.

A few who had been on good terms with the Yellow Dragon Daoist banded together and approached the Black Dragon Commerce Association, hoping to retract the smear campaign and restore the Daoist’s good name.

But Wu Dao had long since prepared for such a contingency.

When he sent Zhao Jianji to negotiate with the Black Dragon Commerce Association, Wu Dao had given him a clear instruction.

If anyone tried to pay the Black Dragon Commerce Association to stop the campaign, no matter the price, Wu Dao would pay double!

Truly righteous individuals, men of integrity who wouldn’t stoop to corruption... how much money could they possibly have?

Forget double the price. The base cost of 1.5 million taels alone was enough to make them despair.

It could be said that within Guangqing Prefecture, unless the massively wealthy and powerful Fangcun Sword Hall intervened personally, Wu Dao wouldn’t even bat an eye. The other righteous factions could sell off everything they owned to raise the funds, and it wouldn’t make him break a sweat.

The reason was simple.

He was rich, and he was ruthless!

He held the entire hundred-year accumulation of the Yellow Dragon Temple. Any single one of their secret manuals on Cultivation, Artifact Refining, Alchemy, or Talisman Refining would fetch at least a million taels at auction.

Even if the Fangcun Sword Hall were to intervene, it would be useless. Wu Dao could simply sell off a few items he had no use for and raise enough capital to severely wound them.

However, that was highly unlikely.

The Extraordinary Influences of this world, regardless of whether they were righteous or demonic, were generally divided into two camps: ’On the Mountain’ and ’Below the Mountain.’ Each had its own code of conduct.

Those ’On the Mountain’ were reclusive hermits, cultivating in seclusion. They did not meddle in the karma and mundane affairs of the mortal world.

Those ’Below the Mountain’ scrambled for power, mired in feuds and conflicts.

While the two factions shared a certain kinship as cultivators of the same path, in truth, they rarely interacted. Their bond was tenuous at best, certainly not close enough to feel that ’if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold’.

When they happened to align, they were of the same origin. When they didn’t, their connection was purely spiritual, existing in name only.

The ’On the Mountain’ Hermit Sects almost never participated in the struggles ’Below the Mountain’.

Likewise, the worldly sects ’Below the Mountain’ were not about to go to war over an ’On the Mountain’ grudge. It simply wasn’t their business.

Voicing some token support was the most they were willing to do.

And so, the Yellow Dragon Daoist was fated to take the fall, unable to rest in peace.

Then again...

The man had been turned to ash.

How could he possibly rest in peace?