Chapter 59: The Devouring World Art

<Ding!>

[Congratulations, Host!]

[You have obtained the following:]

[Bloodline Essence Thread: Unknown Grade, Blood Curse Seal ×1]

[Skill Tome: Profound Rank Low Grade, Devouring World Art ×1]

[Blood Curse Seal: Most likely a Special-Type, S-Rank or higher Bloodline. No matching information exists within the database. Because it has not yet been synthesized into a complete Bloodline Essence, its exact effects and abilities remain unknown.]

[Devouring World Art: Currently a Profound Rank Low Grade Bloodline Secret Art. Its origin and history are unknown.]

[According to Boundless Energy calculations, its rarity falls under the "Numbered Grade" classification among all known realms.]

[Although its current grade is only Profound Rank Low Grade, its potential is theoretically limitless.]

[Because its initial abilities are relatively weak, the requirements for initial mastery are not particularly high.]

[The rarity of objects across the realms is primarily divided into six grades:]

[Common Grade]

[Rare Grade]

[Endangered Grade]

[Ancient Grade]

[Numbered Grade]

[Unique Grade]

[Rarity does not directly determine strength.]

[Instead, it represents how uncommon, mysterious, and difficult to understand something is.]

[The higher the rarity, the more difficult it is to encounter and the more mysterious its abilities tend to be.]

[Mystery refers to the difficulty of understanding an ability’s nature, limitations, and effects.]

[The more mysterious an ability is, the harder it is for an opponent to anticipate or counter, allowing its user to seize the initiative in battle.]

[After mastering the Devouring World Art, a black "Swallowing World Pearl," approximately the size of a dragon’s eye, will form near the Origin Energy Sea.]

[The pearl will continuously nurture and store a terrifying energy known as World Devouring Power.]

[The Devouring World Art possesses two primary functions:]

[Devour]

[Burst]

[When using "Devour," only a small amount of Origin Energy is consumed to absorb energy-containing substances from the outside world.]

[However, controlling the Devour function is extremely demanding on Mental Awareness and the spirit.]

[The user must also avoid external interference.]

[If the Devouring World Power loses control, it can violently backlash, causing the user’s body to collapse and ultimately be destroyed.]

[Only those with extremely powerful Divine Soul Mental Awareness—capable of reaching the realm of a single thought producing a thousand manifestations—and a mastery level of at least Perfect Grade can control Devour freely in combat without fear of interruption.]

[Therefore, for a newly mastered Devouring World Art, the Devour function is best used within a safe and secluded environment.]

[Anything containing energy can potentially be devoured.]

[This includes Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, flesh and blood, corpses, Bloodline Essence, Mental Awareness, pills, metals, artifacts, and various forms of profound energy.]

[All devoured substances will ultimately be converted into pure energy and absorbed into the Swallowing World Pearl.]

[This energy will continuously nourish and strengthen the World Devouring Power within.]

[World Devouring Power is a terrifying form of energy nurtured by the Swallowing World Pearl.]

[As long as it receives sufficient nourishment, its potential growth is theoretically limitless.]

[However, its initial strength is extremely weak.]

[The user must continuously devour spiritual objects and other energy-rich materials to gradually strengthen it.]

[Devouring through the Devouring World Art is fundamentally different from the human body’s absorption of pills, Origin Stones, Beast Cores, and other cultivation resources.]

[Devouring does not directly increase the user’s cultivation or physical strength.]

[Instead, it only increases the quantity and quality of World Devouring Power stored within the Swallowing World Pearl.]

[When using the "Burst" function, the Swallowing World Pearl will continuously absorb Origin Energy from the user’s body as activation energy.]

[Only then can the World Devouring Power be temporarily released.]

[Once released, it will spread throughout the user’s meridians and reinforce the entire body, temporarily multiplying physical strength.]

[Physical defense and movement speed will also increase to a lesser degree.]

[If the user’s Origin Energy is completely exhausted, the World Devouring Power will rapidly retreat back into the Swallowing World Pearl.]

[The World Devouring Power itself is not consumed when Burst is activated.]

[Instead, it continuously drains the user’s Origin Energy to maintain the enhanced state.]

[Therefore, the amount of Origin Energy within the user’s body directly determines how long Burst can be sustained.]

[As the user’s cultivation realm advances and their total Origin Energy increases, the duration of Burst will also increase.]

[However, Burst should generally be treated as a last-resort trump card.]

[Its greatest weakness is its enormous energy consumption.]

[If the user’s cultivation is insufficient, World Devouring Power can rapidly drain the body’s Origin Energy, leaving the user completely exhausted and vulnerable.]

[Upon initially mastering the Devouring World Art, the user will possess Onefold World Devouring Power.]

[When Burst is activated, physical strength will temporarily increase by onefold.]

[In summary, learning the Devouring World Art is not particularly difficult.]

[Mastery is relatively easy.]

[However, further advancement is extremely difficult.]

[The technique also places extraordinary demands on the user’s physical body.]

[The physical body is both the carrier and container of World Devouring Power.]

[Its strength determines not only the toughness of the muscles, bones, and skin, but also the durability of the meridians.]

[It also determines the maximum amount of energy the Devouring World Art can absorb and the upper limit of World Devouring Power that the body can safely unleash.]

[As the World Devouring Power within the Swallowing World Pearl accumulates, it will grow like a snowball.]

[The greater its reserves, the stronger its devouring force and the faster its devouring speed.]

[Legend states that when the Devouring World Art reaches its ultimate level, it can devour an entire world in an instant.]

[The sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, oceans, skies, and even lightning can all be reduced to nothing beneath its devouring force.]

[Hence its name—Devouring World.]

[However, attempting to devour enormous quantities of energy too quickly carries extreme risks.]

[If the physical body cannot withstand the energy being absorbed, minor consequences include severe bone pain and muscle tearing.]

[In severe cases, the meridians may rupture, the Origin Energy Sea may collapse, and the user may die.]

[The same principle applies when activating Burst.]

[As the Devouring World Art advances, the user’s World Devouring Power can eventually multiply.]

[At higher mastery levels, Burst can amplify physical strength several times over.]

[At its peak, a single strike may possess enough force to shatter the heavens and earth.]

[For this reason, the Devouring World Art has extremely high physical requirements.]

[It is best suited for Enhancement-Type, Lifeform-Type, or Special-Type Bloodlines.]

[Minimum requirement for initial mastery: C-Rank Excellent Bloodline.]

[Multi-Bloodline users are advised to prioritize Bloodlines that strengthen the physical body.]

[If physical strength fails to keep pace with the growth of World Devouring Power, the consequences can be catastrophic.]

[When World Devouring Power amplifies the body beyond its physical limits, the user’s own body may be destroyed by the force before the enemy is.]

[Pfft!]

A stream of black smoke suddenly poured from the mouth of the Boundless Creation Furnace.

A pitch-black Bloodline Essence Thread and the Devouring World Art tome were ejected into the air.

The instant the Bloodline Essence Thread appeared, an oppressive aura spread through the room.

Dark, sinister energy seeped from it like smoke.

The surrounding air seemed to become heavy and stagnant.

"Blood Curse Seal Bloodline Essence Thread..."

"Devouring World Art?"

Ryan’s eyes widened.

His expression changed dramatically after reading the system’s extensive explanation.

He immediately retrieved a small porcelain bottle from his spatial ring.

Using his Origin Energy, he carefully wrapped the black Essence Thread, which continuously emitted wisps of dark smoke, and sealed it inside the bottle.

He then caught the Devouring World Art tome.

Ryan stared at the two treasures in his hands.

He was stunned.

He had never expected an ordinary-looking piece of black beast hide to produce something this terrifying.

Even more astonishing was the fact that a single piece of hide had produced a complete Bloodline Essence Thread.

Normally, obtaining a Bloodline Essence Thread required extracting the remains of a powerful exotic beast.

The beast’s core or corpse was generally necessary.

The hide and flesh left behind after removing the valuable parts were practically worthless.

At best, the flesh could be prepared into expensive dishes by Fire-Type Bloodline chefs.

Extracting a Bloodline Essence Thread from something like this should have been impossible.

Yet the Boundless Creation Furnace had done exactly that.

This Disintegration Creation ability is even more incredible than I thought.

Ryan’s attention returned to the black Essence Thread.

It was completely different from ordinary Bloodline Essence.

The Boundless Creation Furnace couldn’t even identify its grade.

It could only make a preliminary prediction:

Special-Type.

S-Rank or higher.

The Essence Thread continuously emitted wisps of black smoke.

Faint black light flowed within it like something alive.

Looking at it gave Ryan the unsettling sensation of staring into a bottomless abyss.

It was eerie.

And terrifying.

Then there was the Devouring World Art.

That was even more mysterious.

An infinitely growing Bloodline Secret Art.

Ryan had never encountered anything like it.

Even after studying countless cultivation manuals, combat techniques, and secret arts, he had never seen a technique with theoretically limitless growth.

There were plenty of powerful techniques that could advance through multiple stages.

Some had nine stages.

Some had even more.

But none possessed the same terrifying potential as the Devouring World Art.

No wonder Mira and even the Boundless Creation Furnace seemed instinctively wary of it.

Ryan had a feeling that this technique’s origin was far more extraordinary than the system could currently reveal.

There was something else bothering him.

The Devouring World Art gave Ryan an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

It felt strangely similar to the Boundless Creation Furnace.

Yet at the same time, they were opposites.

The similarity was simple.

Both could absorb and process virtually anything.

But their purposes were completely different.

The Devouring World Art consumed everything to strengthen itself.

The Boundless Creation Furnace consumed materials only to transform and create something new.

One devoured.

The other created.

Their principles were fundamentally opposite.

Yet both possessed an almost equally domineering nature.

Ryan’s eyes narrowed.

Could they have been natural enemies in some ancient era?

Perhaps, during some forgotten primordial age, the two had existed as opposing forces—each capable of restraining the other.

It was only a theory.

But the strange feeling refused to disappear.

"This black beast hide can produce treasures like these..."

Ryan’s expression became serious.

"I’ll have to find a way to obtain more in the future."

He sealed the Blood Curse Seal Essence Thread inside the porcelain bottle with a wooden stopper and stored it safely inside his spatial ring.

Then his thoughts returned to the black beast hide.

"What kind of creature did this come from?"

His expression became increasingly puzzled.

"Its remains contain such terrifying things, yet there’s not even a single record of it in the database."

What kind of existence could leave behind something so mysterious?

Ryan couldn’t figure it out.

He decided to put the question aside for now.

His attention shifted to the Devouring World Art.

He eagerly opened the tome.

...

After some time, Ryan’s expression gradually became strange.

There was surprise in his eyes.

And a hint of uncertainty.

Finally, he slowly closed the tome.

He stared at it for several seconds.

Then he retrieved a fire starter from his spatial ring.

WHOOSH!

Flames engulfed the Devouring World Art tome.

Ryan watched silently as the pages burned.

Within moments, the entire tome was reduced to ashes.

A secret art classified as Numbered Grade was far too dangerous to let another person discover.

He had already memorized everything written inside.

There was no reason to keep the physical copy.

The cultivation method was surprisingly simple.

Aside from the explanations regarding the Devouring World Art, the tome contained only one unique cultivation method and a highly specialized meridian circulation route.

Ryan frowned slightly.

"It’s... simpler than I expected."

He retrieved a Low-Grade Origin Stone from his spatial ring and placed it in his right palm.

Then he closed his eyes.

He recalled the meridian circulation route he had memorized.

His breathing gradually slowed.

A moment later—

Ryan began circulating the Devouring World Art.

"Devour."