I, the spirit of the primitive land, have the ability to understand the universe and prove the origin of the universe
Chapter 5 - Heaven-Devouring Demon Art, Mid-Stage Golden Immortal

Chapter 5: Heaven-Devouring Demon Art, Mid-Stage Golden Immortal

Zhong Yue’s actions, seen by the cultivators who had not yet left, immediately sparked curiosity among many.

“What is he doing? Why has he returned to that shattered earth vein?”

“Is he searching for treasures left by the Black Scorpion Lion?”

“Give it a rest; the Black Scorpion Lion is a ferocious beast, understand? What treasures would such a creature have?”

The cultivators discussed fervently, but none dared to approach and investigate.

The strength Zhong Yue had just displayed had instilled awe in them; many believed they could defeat the Black Scorpion Lion, but none could do so as effortlessly.

As for those without such confidence, there was even less to say.

Time passed, and as years turned to ages, these cultivators, seeing Zhong Yue’s prolonged absence, assumed he had claimed this place and dispersed.

At this moment, deep within the earth vein, Zhong Yue was unaware of their thoughts—or, even if he knew, he would not care.

In his eyes, they were mere straw bags; wasting time on them was pointless.

Arriving at the earth vein’s core, he tossed the Black Scorpion Lion’s corpse to the ground and sat cross-legged.

Without hesitation, boundless mana surged from his body, pouring directly into the Black Scorpion Lion’s corpse.

He began analysing the Black Scorpion Lion’s structure, probing the mechanism by which it devoured demonic energy.

For a cultivator, such an act would be futile, as their power resided in the primordial spirit, the body merely a vessel.

But the Black Scorpion Lion was a ferocious beast, its abilities rooted in its physical form, which held great secrets.

Time flowed on; using mana as a blade and his heaven-defying comprehension [nì tiān wù xìng]^1 as a guide, Zhong Yue tirelessly dissected the beast’s essence.

Countless pieces of information gathered in his mind, ultimately broken down, categorised, fused, and transformed…

With his formidable comprehension, after a millennium, the prototype of a technique took shape in Zhong Yue’s mind.

【You used the beast’s corpse, dissecting it with heaven-defying comprehension, successfully grasping the beast’s core and refining it, creating a great divine ability—Heaven-Devouring Demon Art [tūn tiān mó gōng]^2.】

【Heaven-Devouring Demon Art: A great divine ability, seizing the fortune of heaven and earth, encroaching on the mysteries of sun and moon, capable of devouring all spirits and assimilating myriad laws into oneself; at its pinnacle, it can devour the heavens.】

As this information surfaced, Zhong Yue slowly opened his eyes.

“A great divine ability, is it?”

He murmured softly, gazing at the Black Scorpion Lion’s corpse before him, a deep puzzlement emerging in his eyes.

In the Primordial Wilderness, divine abilities were divided into three tiers, from low to high: minor divine abilities, great divine abilities, and Primordial Dao Laws.

Minor divine abilities were exemplified by the seventy-two Earthly Fiend Techniques of later eras, while great divine abilities were represented by the thirty-six Heavenly Constellation Techniques.

As for the so-called Primordial Dao Laws, these were not the laws of saints, who cultivated rules; here, Primordial referred to Quasi-Saints, or Primordial Golden Immortals, with the most iconic being Zhen Yuanzi’s Universe in the Sleeve [xiù lǐ qián kūn]^3.

Of course, this was not absolute, as some abilities produced vastly different effects depending on the wielder.

For instance, one of the thirty-six Heavenly Constellation Techniques, Mediating Creation [wò xuán zào huà]^4, in the hands of an ordinary cultivator might only heal flesh or revive bones, but in Nüwa’s hands, it could create life and even lead to comprehending the Law of Creation.

As a great divine ability, the Heaven-Devouring Demon Art was not a lofty achievement, but neither was it trivial.

What truly puzzled Zhong Yue was his sense that this Heaven-Devouring Demon Art was incomplete, yet he lacked sufficient information to perfect it.

After a long while, Zhong Yue sighed helplessly.

“It seems the Black Scorpion Lion’s level was too low, or perhaps my own strength is too limited, making this technique imperfect.”

The Black Scorpion Lion, after all, was only at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm, its contained information limited; Zhong Yue himself was merely a Golden Immortal, his grasp of the Great Dao too shallow to innovate further.

Understanding this, Zhong Yue was not discouraged; with his current strength, a great divine ability was sufficient.

Shifting his gaze, Zhong Yue stood up from the ground and walked towards the earth vein’s source.

Having created the technique, it was time to take formal action.

Arriving at the earth vein’s source, the area was, as before, heavily tainted with demonic energy.

“Heaven-Devouring Demon Art, devour for me.”

Zhong Yue raised his hand, immortal light bursting from his body, the Heaven-Devouring Demon Art unleashing with force.

In an instant, an aura of devouring the heavens emerged from his hand, forming a massive vortex, as if to swallow the entire world.

Within the vortex, Zhong Yue accepted all—spiritual energy, demonic energy, malevolent energy—all were drawn into his body.

The Heaven-Devouring Demon Art was created based on the beast’s essence; ferocious beasts fed on the Primordial Wilderness’s negative energies, including malevolent energy.

Soon, as the demonic energy dissipated, a vast aura rose from within Zhong Yue.

Through this devouring, Zhong Yue had unexpectedly achieved a breakthrough.

Immortal light billowed like mist, divine brilliance flashed—something within Zhong Yue’s body seemed to shatter, as though a certain shackle had been broken. At that moment, his cultivation successfully advanced to the mid-stage Golden Immortal realm.

After the breakthrough, his rate of devouring became even more terrifying.

In just a few short days, the demonic energy running through the entire leyline was completely consumed, and even the spiritual energy had dropped to its lowest ebb.

However, this posed no issue. After swallowing all that demonic energy, Zhong Yue did not leave. Instead, he sat cross-legged at the leyline’s source.

He began manipulating the surrounding mountains and rivers using the Primordial Heaven Divine Art (Yuān Tiān Shén Shù), initiating the restoration of the broken leyline beneath him—while also conveniently drawing on its origin power.

Time flowed on. Under his control, the leyline gradually healed, and the concentration of spiritual energy slowly recovered.

He himself was the incarnation of a leyline—now that the demonic energy had dissipated, repairing the land’s veins was as effortless as lifting a finger.

Several years later, a long-absent spiritual rain finally fell from the heavens, covering only the area nourished by the leyline below.

This was the leyline returning its blessings to the earth. With its restoration complete, the surrounding land began to flourish once more.

The spiritual rain fell for several days, reviving vitality across a radius of ten thousand miles. The spiritual energy grew denser and more vibrant by the hour.

Only after the rain ceased did a lone figure emerge from deep within the leyline, heading west—toward the heart of the Western Continent.

Footnotes:

^1 逆天悟性 (nì tiān wù xìng):

• Meaning: Literally “heaven-defying comprehension,” it refers to an extraordinary, almost supernatural ability to understand and grasp profound concepts or truths, often used in fantasy or cultivation novels to describe a character’s exceptional talent.
• Origin: Common in Chinese web novels, particularly in the xianxia (immortal hero) and xuanhuan (mystical fantasy) genres, where characters possess unique traits that defy natural limits. It draws from Daoist and mythological ideas of transcending heaven’s will.
• Cultural Significance: In Chinese culture, “heaven” (天, tiān) represents the natural order or fate. Defying it signifies breaking free from predetermined limits, a celebrated trait in stories of personal triumph and cultivation. The term underscores Zhong Yue’s prodigious intellect and potential in the narrative.

^2 吞天魔功 (tūn tiān mó gōng):

• Meaning: Literally “Heaven-Devouring Demon Art,” it refers to a powerful divine ability created by Zhong Yue, inspired by the Black Scorpion Lion’s ability to consume negative energies, enabling the user to absorb various energies and laws to enhance their own power.
• Origin: Unique to the narrative, this term is typical of xianxia genres, where protagonists devise custom techniques to overcome challenges. It reflects Daoist ideas of seizing cosmic forces for personal growth.
• Cultural Significance: The term evokes the audacious ambition of defying natural limits, a recurring theme in Chinese cultivation stories where individuals strive to transcend mortality by harnessing the universe’s energies. It highlights Zhong Yue’s ingenuity and bold vision.

^3 袖里乾坤 (xiù lǐ qián kūn):

• Meaning: Literally “Universe in the Sleeve,” it refers to a legendary divine ability attributed to Zhen Yuanzi, allowing the user to contain vast spaces or entities within their sleeve, symbolising mastery over space and containment.
• Origin: Rooted in Chinese mythology and popularised in xianxia literature, it appears in works like Journey to the West, where Zhen Yuanzi uses it. It draws from Daoist concepts of manipulating the cosmos.
• Cultural Significance: The term reflects the Chinese fascination with spatial manipulation and the idea of containing the infinite within the finite, a metaphor for profound cultivation. It serves as a benchmark for high-level divine abilities in the narrative.

^4 斡旋造化 (wò xuán zào huà):

• Meaning: Literally “Mediating Creation,” it refers to a divine ability among the thirty-six Heavenly Constellation Techniques, capable of manipulating life and creation, with effects ranging from healing to creating life depending on the user’s prowess.
• Origin: Derived from Chinese mythology and xianxia literature, it is associated with figures like Nüwa, who used creation powers. It stems from Daoist and cosmological ideas of harmonising and shaping existence.
• Cultural Significance: Creation is a revered concept in Chinese philosophy, symbolising mastery over life and the universe. The term illustrates the potential of divine abilities to vary dramatically based on the wielder, reinforcing Zhong Yue’s aspiration to achieve greater mastery.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.