Essence Devouring Art

Chapter 197: Chapter 180: The 30,000-Year Tribulation

The Southern Border Front.

Puyang Prefecture.

It was one of only three of the Twelve Prefectures of the Southern Border to remain standing after Prince Nanyang’s rebellion.

Bordering the Central Plains, Puyang Prefecture’s location was undeniably critical. The main forces of the Southern Border’s Royalist Faction—the Vast Qi Dao Alliance, the White Deer Sword Palace, and the Da Li Southern Garrison Army—were all stationed within this prefecture.

DRIP... DRIP...

The sky was dark, filled with a bleak wind and cold rain.

As far as the eye could see, a gloomy, oppressive feeling hung over the land in every direction.

But the atmosphere inside the assembly hall of the Southern Garrison Commander’s Mansion in Puyang Prefecture City was even more oppressive than the weather outside.

At the head of the long, oval table, Southern Governor Luo Dingjun set down the Communication Jade Talisman in his hand and let out a soft sigh. His once strong, heroic face now carried a touch of world-weariness from the relentless days of war.

His weary eyes swept over the leaders of the Southern Garrison Alliance Army seated on both sides of the table, and he spoke in a grave tone.

"Wu Dao is confirmed to be heading north. By now, he has most likely met with Prince Nanyang. We have no intel on his purpose. How should we handle this?"

Since Pingliang fell, Luo Dingjun had studied all the intelligence on Wu Dao until he knew it by heart.

At first, he was only slightly surprised, marveling that each generation produces its own great talents.

But after the incident with the Celestial King, that surprise turned into deep apprehension.

Ordinarily, he wouldn’t feel such apprehension.

After all, while the title "number one beneath the Dao Embryo" was renowned, it only meant so much. If they were truly determined to kill Wu Dao, it wouldn’t take much effort.

The problem was, this was wartime—a life-or-death struggle.

Here on the Southern Border, after a period of fighting, the Southern Garrison Alliance Army and the Nanyang King Group had fallen into a stalemate, with neither side able to overcome the other.

The reason for this was a delicate balance of power among the top-tier combatants, forcing both sides to adhere to the unwritten rule of pitting soldier against soldier and general against general.

The Dao Embryo masters, cultivators beyond the Heavenly Human Realm, rarely made a move. They served mostly as a deterrent, because there was no point in acting; the other side could always field an equally matched opponent.

As a result, the main generals leading the battles on both sides were typically at the Heavenly Human Realm.

Under these circumstances, it didn’t take a genius to figure out what would happen if an invincible general—one unmatched below the Dao Embryo realm—were to appear in the Nanyang King Group’s ranks.

If Wu Dao were to join the war, it wouldn’t even matter if he knew how to command an army.

He would only need to visit each of the Central Plains’ defensive cities and challenge their generals to duels one by one to deal a massive blow to our morale!

This ancient and overt battlefield tactic of challenging generals to duels has been tried and tested throughout the history of warfare. It is especially effective when both sides are locked in a stalemate.

And so, those on the side of the Central Plains had to face a question.

If Wu Dao truly entered the war and began dueling their generals, how should they respond?

It wasn’t that they were being needlessly humble; Wu Dao’s past achievements were simply too monstrous.

Though he was a Celestial Being, he possessed the power to threaten a Dao Embryo.

To put it bluntly, against a monster of that caliber... all the contemporary Celestial Prides of the Central Plains combined wouldn’t be enough to handle him alone.

"Governor Luo, are you not giving that junior a little too much credit?"

The cold, middle-aged man to Luo Dingjun’s right, who had sword-like brows, star-bright eyes, and wild, ink-black hair, let out a cold snort.

"The Overlord Whale? If he dares to come, I will ensure it’s a one-way trip!"

His words were arrogant.

But his status was even greater.

He was Yan Feihong, the current Palace Master of the White Deer Sword Palace—one of the Five Peaks of the Southern Border, a sect with the most ancient lineage, which in a past era had suppressed the myriad Sword Cultivators of Zige Mountain to the point of suffocation!

A veteran king of the Southern Border’s Military Dao.

He primarily cultivated the Sword Dao. Many years ago, he had already reached the Fifth Transformation of the Power Realm, mastered a Great Divine Technique, and earned the title of Surprised Swan Sword King.

"Oh? And do you have someone who can deal with him, Brother Feihong?"

Upon hearing Yan Feihong’s confident words, the hale elder in a purple robe to Luo Dingjun’s left—a man who exuded a tranquil, otherworldly aura—raised an eyebrow. He smiled as he looked toward a grim, cold youth in blood-red robes standing behind Yan Feihong.

To be seated at the governor’s left hand meant this elder’s status was naturally extraordinary.

He was Jiang Changsheng, the Old Alliance Leader of the Vast Qi Dao Alliance—another of the Five Peaks of the Southern Border. Having presided over the alliance for nearly a thousand years, he was a veteran Golden Core Powerhouse in the Immortal Dao Realm, bearing the title Great True Monarch of Eternal Life.

Within the Immortal Dao, a title represented the depth of a person’s cultivation and the magnitude of their accomplishments.

There were Qi Refining Daoists and Refining Spirit Zhenren.

Only a Divine Ability User at the Refining God stage could be called a True Monarch. As for the title of Great True Monarch, only a Great Divine Power User was worthy.

"That junior may be able to threaten a Dao Embryo by borrowing Celestial Might, but upon reviewing that battle, it’s not difficult to see that his ability to borrow power is limited to the high heavens. If he doesn’t ascend into the sky, he’s at the Eleventh Floor level at best!"

Yan Feihong’s tone softened slightly. He glanced at the cold, grim youth in blood-red behind him, a flash of pride in his eyes as he spoke.

"My disciple, Li Fengxing, is a peerless prodigy of the Sword Dao. He has achieved Twelfth Floor Peak Sword Intent and, having recently emerged from seclusion, is in need of a suitable whetstone."

"Indeed, a promising young talent."

Luo Dingjun glanced admiringly at the grim, blood-robed youth behind Yan Feihong, but then shook his head as he looked away.

"That intelligence placing him at the Eleventh Floor is nearly a month old.

Our spies in Guangqing don’t dare get too close; they can only monitor his movements, not ascertain his true strength.

His current level is a complete unknown.

"Don’t forget, Wu Dao is a Body Treasure Master. It hasn’t even been a full year since his rise to prominence. For a monster like him who defies all logic, a month is not a short period of time."

The implication was clear: he was not optimistic about Yan Feihong’s disciple.

According to all intelligence reports, Wu Dao progressed in both Transverse Cultivation and his Mental Realm simultaneously, and he also possessed a Main Path for controlling the Heaven and Earth Energy.