Devouring The Heavens

“Earlier, the teleportation array was destroyed. I don’t think it’s possible for us to reach the capital from here. We need to find another way.” Xuanyuan looked at the map that Chief Shi had given him. On it, a point was marked. Clearly it was a confidential document. If the Mo clan got their hands on this. there would have been more casualties.

“Hurry up.”

Xuanyuan put away the map. While the pig could now use long-distance teleprotation, Xuanyuan was reluctant to use it. If they encountered danger of some sort, they wouldn’t be able to escape, since it was possible to only use it once every ten days

“Boy, you should pay me back first. One million pounds of pure energy source. Don’t you dare skimp out.” The pig grinned.

“Didn’t I already give you the Hundred Spirits Energy Source? You said we are even with that.”

“I killed two xian realm fighters for you. If we had hired contractors to do the same thing, it’d cost around one million pounds of energy source. Since we know each other well, I’ll charge you only 800,000 pounds.”

Amused by the pig’s greed, Xuanyuan’s lips twitched, half in amusement and half in exasperation.

“I didn’t ask you to kill them for me. You did it for yourself. After all, you’re the one who benefitted the most from them. And now you want me to give you another million? No fucking way.”

Knowing that he couldn’t fool Xuanyuan, the pig sighed.

“Very well boy, looks like I have to be honest. Now that I have reached the peak of the emperor realm, I have hit a bottleneck. I need a large number of pure energy sources to break through to the xian realm. Once I do that, I can find the other parts of my soul and regain my strength. You are already skilled at stone refining. Why don’t you find a gambling house where you can gain more stones? That is the fastest way.”

Xuanyuan frowned. He didn’t expect the pig to hit a bottleneck. He contemplated the pros and cons. On one hand, it cost a lot of money. On the other, if the pig broke through, their journey in the Northern Lands would become far more safer.

The North was no safer than the East, but at least in the Eastern Dynasty, he had the support of the Yin family to guarantee his safety. In addition, the power of the Nightmare Ghost was at its strongest there. But here, he didn’t have any of his fallbacks. No matter how strong he was, he couldn’t fight against an entire army. Thinking about it carefully, he replied.

“I understand. Let’s see if Tianshuang City has a bigger stone gambling house. If they do, I’ll gamble and try to win as much as possible.”

Ever since he had gambled in Lishou City, Xuanyuan had never gambled again. Gambling had gone down drastically since the economy got hit. The only place he could even try to make some money out of gambling was the stone gambling house. Xuanyuan was no fool. The pig had managed to absorb two xian realm fighters when he was only in the Emperor realm. His strength once he broke through to the xian realm would be unimaginable.

Even though it was just one step, there was a world of difference between the two realms.

“Haha, this is a good opportunity to test how far your skills in stone refining have come. While your skills in dispositions have certainly drastically improved, you have had no chance to test your stone refining. It doesn’t matter if you lose, after all the experience is what matters. Success is built off of countless failures. Furthermore, this is just a side distraction, Yin Zhenluo’s safety is our main objective.” Greed laughed in Xuanyuan’s mind.

The Emperor of Acquisitions was the most knowledgeable person in the field of dispositions and stone refinement. Even the Devouring Emperor couldn’t help but admit that he was far superior to him when it came to those matters.

Since Xuanyuan had received the Book of Acquisitions, it was equivalent to receiving the inheritance of the Emperor of Acquisitions. Greed naturally expected him to one day achieve the same proficiency, one day surpassing even the Devouring Emperor. After all, the inheritance of the Devouring Emperor complemented the skills of the Book of Acquisitions.

“Very well, since you want me to get you some pure energy source, I have to hone my understanding of the Book of Acquisitions. Be my mount and take me to Tianshuang City, for I cannot waste time. Otherwise, I’ll just waste time and pure energy sources in a futile gambit.” Xuanyuan laughed, giddy with excitement. Despite the mount supposedly being his ‘mount’, he had never sat on him.

“Boy, you go too far. A man would rather die than be humilated. You wnat me to carry you like a common mule? That’s disgustingly low.” The pig viciously replied, he’d rather die than acquiese.

“A man? You’re no man, you’re just a pig. You don’t have to worry about pride.” Xuanyuan smiled like a Buddha, completely at odds with his word.

Contemplating whether it was worth it to bow his knee, the pig finally sighed. “Looks like I have to suffer the feeling of your ass on my back. Remember, this is the first and last time I shall lower myself like this.”

Xuanyuan sneered, “That’s going too far.”

Xuanyuan sat on the pig, his legs crossed. The mysteries of the Book of Acquisitions began to flow through his mind. If one were not proficient in dispositions, they wouldn’t be able to understand what they were seeing.

The experience and knowledge on dispositions that Xuanyuan had gathered thus far allowed him to further understand some of the details in the book. He could feel his understanding deepening, and his body undergoing a subtle change.

Pure energy sources were formed due to the natural topography of the surrounding terrain. The passage of time condensed the energy of the heavens and the earth, slowly refining it into a pure energy source. This pure energy source would slowly transform into the various other energy sources depending on where it was located, eventually breaking through to the level of spiritual ice.

No ordinary terrain was suitable for the formation of spiritual ice. Only a strong terrain, filled with dense Qi, would slowly transform the energy source into spiritual ice. Beyond spiritual ice lay the xian source and the godly source. The godly source stage of energy sources was something only the ancient sages had seen, and it supposedly could create miracles.

Xuanyun was like a sponge, rapidly absorbing the information contained within the book. As time passed, a mysterious energy surged through his eyes. Despite his eyes being closed, Xuanyuan could see the entire world. Shocked, he exclaimed, “Is this the Heavenly Eye of Acquisitions?”

People who continued to peruse the book would slowly transform as they gained information on how the world worked. Humans themselves were filled with potential. As they gained information, their potential would be realised, slowly transforming parts of their bodies. Once Xuanyuan had completely understood the book, he would have experienced a massive transformation.

Flipping to the chapter on the Heavenly Eye of Acquisitions, Xuanyuan tried to understand the intricacies of his new found physiology. The highest level of the eye would allow one to see through the mysteries of the world, be unaffected by all illusions, and even create their own illusions. There were nine levels of the eye, each of them slowly being unlocked as one gained a greater understanding of the Book of Acquisitions.

Tianbing city was the last standing garrison city between Tianshuang city and the Eastern Dynasty. If this barrier was destroyed, there would be no danger in travelling all the way. As they reached the city. the pig whispered to Greed.

“I didn’t expect the kid to have the guts to go to the North alone. I don’t have a good idea of the Northern Lands. Furthermore, we are so far away from the Nightmare Swamp that the power of the Nightmare Ghost is almost ineffective. I don’t feel comfortable going so far without your strongest chips.”

“Haha, aren’t you enough? If what you said is true, you are the greatest trump card he has. If you’re close to breaking through to the xian realm, it means I’m not far behind either. Even though he acts standoffish, I can sense that he’s relieved. Looks like the Body of All Creation trusts the Immortal Beast of All Creations.”

“You forget, my teleportation technique can only defeat normal xian realm fighters. If those we encounter are at the semi-imperial Emperor realm, they can easily tear through the space distortion and grab us before we can teleport… Maybe I’m just overthinking it, nobody can be that unlucky. Anyway, the kid is not here to make a massive mess.”

The pig had slowed his pace down over the last three days deliberately, giving Xuanyuan more time to understand the Book of Acquisitions.

Xuanyuan slowly opened his eyes, and gazed at the world around him. He felt as if he could see the world more clearly, and he could almost see something under the surface. Happy, he thought to himself, “Now that the first stage of the Heavenly Eyes of Acquisitions have formed, I have greater confidence in the gamble.”

Looking into the distance, Xuanyuan saw a grand city appear in front of him.