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Chapter 233

Memory Fragments

"Senior Wang, Chen Ming, why don't you two stay here? I'm going to head further in." Inside the All-Races Pit, Su Yu turned around and smiled at the two, whose faces were turning somewhat pale. "My 'Kill' divine character has already reached Tier 2, so I need to venture deeper to take a look. You two can wait here, or head further out and wait for me." "Su Yu... this..." The two of them had taken his money and accepted the mission. Wasn't it inappropriate to stop here? Su Yu smiled. "It's fine. I have both the 'Kill' and 'Blood' divine characters, so the baleful qi here doesn't affect me, but it will have a considerable impact on you." Wang Zhishan said somewhat awkwardly, "Then... thank you, Junior Brother." They truly couldn't go any further; pushing deeper would easily lead to trouble. Still, they had taken his money and agreed to accompany him. Su Yu smiled. "Tempering your willpower here for a bit will also do you good. This place is quite suitable for honing your murderous edge!" The two nodded. This place truly was good. Honing killing intent here was a solid choice! There were others around, but all had found their own spots to cultivate in isolation, with no one exchanging words. What Su Yu admired were some of the people further down—some guys had descended straight into the deep pit to cultivate, not even minding the stench of corpses. ... Leaving Wang Zhishan and Chen Ming behind, Su Yu picked up his pace. As he walked, he asked in a low voice, "Did you two notice anything about that woman just now?" "Seventh-layer Tengkong, warrior, not a Civilization Master." That was Shadow's voice. A moment later, Water Person's voice emerged from the water-droplet accessory on his chest: "That woman isn't weak, but she's not the crucial part. It's the child..." After a pause, Water Person said, "Something's off." "Off?" Su Yu was puzzled. He truly hadn't noticed anything amiss. "The moisture content is different!" Su Yu didn't understand. Water Person explained in a low voice, "That might not be a child. The Water Spirit race is extremely sensitive to liquids. People of different age groups contain different amounts of water. This is especially distinct among humans—the younger one is, the higher the water content. That child... the water content in their body isn't what a child should have; it belongs to an adult." Pausing, Water Person added, "I didn't pick up on much else because a Tengkong was right beside him, so I didn't probe further. I could only sense the amount of moisture. By my estimation, he could be forty or fifty years old, or even older. Cultivators' moisture levels fluctuate, though, so the perception isn't entirely precise." Su Yu grew pensive. Not necessarily a child? He wasn't surprised. Leaving aside the cultivation world, even among ordinary mortals, adults looking like children wasn't unheard of. In the world of cultivators, countless possibilities existed. Take the Single Divine Character Faction students from last time—one of them possessed a Transformation divine character capable of shrinking or enlarging at will. "Not a child..." Su Yu smiled. Interesting. The manor army recognized them, which clearly indicated they had lived here for quite a while and were a prominent local family. Yet their child... might be an adult? Su Yu genuinely hadn't noticed anything wrong. That child looked no different from an ordinary young boy, just rather cold and aloof, which Su Yu had assumed was due to his injuries. Looking back now... perhaps it was just inconvenient for him to speak. "What's the strength of the Longwu Guards stationed here?" "There's a ninth-layer Tengkong!" Shadow replied quickly. Ninth-layer Tengkong was formidable. Stationed here at the All-Races Pit, they represented the Great Xia Manor and the Xia family! Even a Shanhai Realm expert generally wouldn't dare make trouble here. However, a ninth-layer Tengkong likely wouldn't bother prying into a young woman who was also in the Tengkong Realm—that would be seen as a provocation unless she were under active suspicion. Su Yu said no more. He continued walking deeper! Two Tengkongs were nothing to fear—he had brought two Lingyuns with him, after all. Still, he had to remain cautious and avoid getting ambushed. Advancing further, the pressure mounted, and the baleful qi grew thicker! The surrounding paths became obscured. Everything was crimson! Resentment! Inside his sea of will, the "Blood" divine character vibrated, dispersing the blood mists rather than absorbing them; taking in this kind of resentment offered no benefit to the divine character. The "Thunder" divine character also leaped forth. Around Su Yu, lightning flickered—this too was a way to temper the divine character. Tempering his divine characters as he walked, Su Yu forged ahead. Ahead, someone was present. Hearing the commotion, a muffled voice called out from in front, "War Academy student cultivating. Do not disturb!" "My apologies!" Su Yu chuckled and said no more, making a detour around him. He couldn't clearly see the person's appearance and didn't bother probing him, lest it be taken as a provocation and invite trouble. Seeing him detour, the man softened and spoke with a touch of goodwill: "Don't go any further. Up ahead is the dumping ground for corpses of top experts who were slain. Although the yuan qi and willpower are dense, they are tainted with baleful qi. It's best not to absorb even the yuan qi." When a top expert was killed, their yuan qi dissipated—much like the Blood Fire Cult leader who had been executed back then, whose death had fueled the cultivation of many people. Naturally, the experts slain here had died long ago; their yuan qi had largely scattered, and what little remained had coalesced to form the bloody baleful qi of this place. Hearing the warning, Su Yu hastily replied, "Thank you for the warning, Senior Brother!" Since the other party was a student, it meant he wasn't in the Tengkong Realm. Out of courtesy, Su Yu naturally addressed him as Senior Brother. Hearing this, the man sounded surprised. "You're an academy student too?" "Yes, from the Civilization Academy." "Civilization Academy... Jiutian? Or Great Xia?" "Great Xia Civilization Academy!" The man sounded uncertain. "You can walk all the way here and remain so composed? A top-ranking student on the Top 100 Rankings?" Su Yu smiled. "You could say that. Which academy are you from, Senior Brother?" "Great Xia War Academy!" Both being academy students, even if their two institutions were not on the friendliest terms, there was no deep-seated enmity between them. The man grew even friendlier and chuckled. "You Civilization Masters have plenty of tricks up your sleeves, so I won't try to dissuade you, but take care, Junior Brother. In the giant pit below, even Shanhai Realm corpses are buried. Further ahead... there's even a Sun Moon Realm corpse. Even though a dead Sun Moon doesn't pose any great threat, you still need to watch out for the baleful qi assaulting your sea of will!" "Many thanks for the warning, Senior Brother!" Su Yu thanked him once more and, without another word, strode onward. Once he left, a figure emerged in the blood mist: very young, wearing short sleeves, with well-defined facial features and short hair. The young man looked suspiciously in the direction Su Yu had departed, catching a faint glimpse of white robes. Quite strong! Even he was finding it hard to endure here, yet that guy was still pressing forward. *Zhan Hai has broken through, and I know Zhai Feng and Jiang Mu... Who is this guy...?* The young man pondered. After a moment, a name flashed across his mind: Su Yu! The freshman, Su Yu! Could it be him? "To think I'd bump into him here." The young man smiled with a hint of regret. He wouldn't be able to participate in this year's battle between the two academies; otherwise, he would truly have loved to test his mettle against this much-hyped rookie king. Still, he might go watch when the time came. The junior brothers and sisters of this incoming class were in for trouble! Judging by appearances, this guy was ruthless too; despite such thick baleful qi, he didn't react in the slightest. Putting it out of his mind, the young man sat back down cross-legged to cultivate. ... Up ahead. Su Yu glanced back over his shoulder, his brows lifting slightly. That was an expert, likely one of the top students on the Wanshi Rankings. He had opened quite a few apertures! The man wasn't very skilled at concealing himself, and with Su Yu's formidable willpower, he could sense the dense yuan qi even without deliberately probing—at least one hundred and eight apertures, and already merged. Probably someone who had merged apertures above the one-hundred-and-eight mark! Paying it no further mind, Su Yu pressed on, enveloped by the blood mist. The pressure grew heavier, and his sea of will suffered several impacts. Unfortunately for the mist, it had encountered Su Yu... The moment the blood mist neared his sea of will, his little hammer swung down, instantly obliterating it. Hardly any effect at all! The people were dead; whatever lingering influence remained after their deaths was nothing remarkable. As he ventured further, Su Yu gradually felt a lingering aura of suppression. Without hesitation, he leapt directly down into the giant pit! Down in the pit, the stench of rot was nowhere near as foul as in the earlier section. This was where the corpses of powerful figures were piled. Slain experts amounted to only a few a year. Sometimes, bagging one in several years was considered a good haul. Non-human remains from all races were immediately put to use; only human members of the All-Races Sect were left here without anyone claiming their bodies. His foot stepped down onto a desiccated bone. It didn't snap, remaining remarkably sturdy. Su Yu didn't dwell on it; it appeared decades old and wasn't the corpse of that Tianyi God Cult leader. That fellow had been killed only half a year ago. As a Sun Moon Realm expert, his corpse likely hadn't even decayed. Taking a few more steps, Su Yu felt his little hammer reacting more and more vigorously. It hammered away at the blood mist! The blood mist here carried an aggressive edge, eroding the sea of will. Anyone below the Tengkong Realm likely couldn't even reach this depth. Even a Tengkong Realm cultivator arriving here would likely be in a similar state to Su Yu, having to withstand enormous pressure. Without his little hammer, Su Yu wouldn't have had such an easy time dealing with it. The shadow beneath his feet looked somewhat peculiar at this moment. Down here, sunlight couldn't penetrate, yet a shadow remained—an unnatural sight. However, ordinary people wouldn't pay attention to it unless they looked closely. ... Continuing for several hundred meters as the pressure mounted, an open clearing suddenly appeared before Su Yu! A vacuum zone! A headless corpse lay discarded on the ground. At this moment, all surrounding blood mists were repelled to the periphery by the corpse. Su Yu raised his eyebrows! No head? Xia Longwu was truly ruthless. Why chop off someone's head and leave him without a complete corpse? Who knew where the head had been tossed! Sun Moon Realm warriors possessed the ability of rebirth from a single drop of blood, but Xia Longwu had been too overwhelmingly strong, wiping out all his life force with a single blade strike—including the vitality within his blood—leaving him no chance of rebirth. Right then, Water Person suddenly trembled, blurting out, "So powerful!" It wasn't referring to the slain cult leader, but to Xia Longwu! Slaying a Sun Moon Realm expert with just a single slash! Just like that day when he had executed the Blood Fire Cult leader with one strike. Water Person warned gravely, "Don't get close! This corpse... you might not be able to touch it. Blade qi is sealed inside. Manor Lord Xia was too strong; once that blade qi leaks out, you'll be killed!" Su Yu said in a low voice, "I know. It's fine. I practice the Heaven-Cleaving Blade; our blade qi shares the same origin... It shouldn't be a problem." He was aware of the danger and had done his homework beforehand. Xia Longwu had used the Heaven-Cleaving Blade to kill him, which shared the same blade qi as his own. As long as he showed no hostility, the blade qi wouldn't harm him. Su Yu slowly drew near as the one hundred and forty-four Heaven-Cleaving Blade apertures shone with light. Blade qi condensed! Body protection! Though he claimed not to fear it, he still whispered, "If the blade qi really erupts, you two hold it off while I run!" "..." Water Person and Shadow were struck speechless. Not even human! Someone could die here! The blade qi leaked by an expert nearing the Invincible Realm—blade qi that had slaughtered a Sun Moon Realm master—was something neither of them could withstand either. If not for their desire to live, they would have butchered this little bastard on the spot. At that moment, as Su Yu drew ever closer to the corpse, a gleam of blade light suddenly flashed across the body and slashed straight toward Su Yu! Fast! Incomparably fast! Yet just as the blade light reached his crown, it instantly withdrew as if sensing something, dispersing into thin air. Cold sweat drenched Su Yu from head to toe. Terrifying! Just now, he had been entirely paralyzed! That glimmer of blade light had nearly ended his life. Meanwhile, Shadow and Water Person hadn't made a single move. "You guys..." Pfft! Before he could finish, Shadow's form suddenly materialized from under his feet. The pitch-black shadow, even without a visible face, radiated helpless resignation. "My lord, it's not that we didn't want to act... We couldn't act!" Just the reverberation of the aftershock had jolted it straight out of Su Yu's shadow. Terrifying. At this moment, both Water Person and Shadow felt utterly powerless. Xia Longwu! A supreme expert nearing the Invincible Realm, an overlord even across the Myriad Realms—truly someone not to be crossed. ... Meanwhile. Great Xia Manor, the Manor Lord's Residence. Inside a secret chamber, Xia Longwu was reading a book when he suddenly turned his head toward a certain direction—the All-Races Pit. A moment later, he said in surprise, "What is he doing there?" As if realizing something, an odd look flickered in his eyes. Could he be... eyeing the Tianyi God Cult's treasure? Quite audacious! Back then, the Tianyi God Cult leader had tried to plead for his life using that treasure, but Xia Longwu hadn't bothered humoring him and had simply split him in two with a single slash. Afterward, he had sent people to search for the treasure, but upon finding nothing, he stopped caring. To him, whether any such treasure even existed was questionable. Even if it did, it wasn't worth mentioning. How much good stuff could the Tianyi God race possibly grant these running dogs? Xia Longwu might harbor some interest in their masters' treasures, like ransacking the Tianyi God race's home turf—though that prospect was slim, given they had Invincible Realm experts of their own. "Quite bold. Not even afraid of getting accidentally killed..." Xia Longwu chuckled softly. Ordinary people knowing his blade qi lingered would never dare touch that corpse. If people from the All-Races Sect touched it, they deserved whatever death came to them. Since Su Yu practiced the Heaven-Cleaving Blade, it wasn't much of an issue. Xia Longwu resumed reading, paying it no more mind and letting Su Yu mess around as he pleased. If he found it, the meat stayed in the pot—he was a person of Great Xia Manor, after all. If he didn't find it, that was Su Yu's own business. Xia Longwu ignored him and continued reading. Cultivating mind and temperament—he still wanted to try breaking into the Sun Moon Realm along the path of Civilization Masters. ... Meanwhile, inside the All-Races Pit. Sweat dripped down Su Yu's brow, but he hadn't walked away empty-handed: inside his sea of will, both the "Saber" and "Kill" divine characters were flickering. It was as if they were absorbing something! This had been a strike from an expert nearing the Invincible Realm; even if only remnants remained, it still provided significant stimulation to the divine characters. Without the blade qi, this dead Sun Moon expert was nothing more than a lifeless husk. Su Yu took another step forward, no longer feeling that overwhelming suppression. With no head present, he didn't examine it closely. Manifesting his cultural weapon, he thrust a blade forward from a distance. Even in death, the man's physical defense remained extraordinarily tough; the strike surprisingly failed to pierce through. Water Person spoke up quickly: "Extract blood from the neck wound!" Su Yu realized it as well and hastily asked, "Does he still have blood?" "Yes!" "Good!" Breathing an inward sigh of relief, Su Yu activated the "Blood" divine character. From the mirror-smooth severed neck, wisps of bloody mist began to be drawn out. Water Person was also adept at this! Seeing what he was doing, it offered, "Need my help?" "Do it!" Water Person said no more. The blood mist began seeping out much faster, and moments later, a drop of blood coalesced in the air, though it wasn't essence blood. "Condense a bit more before we can refine it into essence blood..." Water Person commented. It had guessed what Su Yu wanted to do, but asked no questions; extracting essence blood was standard practice among all races. Gradually, one drop, two drops... Blood was drawn out drop by drop. There was no trace of vitality, as Xia Longwu's single slash had long severed every shred of life. Little Bro "Blood" seemed eager to absorb it, but Su Yu denied it. Extracting essence blood to observe memories was putting waste to good use. Absorbing human blood... Su Yu found that repugnant. Even if a Sun Moon expert's blood might grant Little Bro "Blood" substantial growth, he still refused; there was no need for that. After extracting over a dozen drops of blood, Su Yu's "Blood" divine character vibrated as he began condensing essence blood. Water Person spoke up again: "I can condense it too, and faster." Su Yu was speechless. Stealing his job now? Still, if Water Person was willing to pitch in, that was a good thing. Without grumbling, he urged, "Then get to work!" ... A few minutes later, a single drop of essence blood was fully condensed. With a wave of his hand, Su Yu caught it. "Keep an eye out for me. Tell me if anyone comes!" Giving the instruction, Su Yu set about breaking down the essence blood to extract memory fragments. Ever since Bai Feng had taught him the method, Su Yu had tested it numerous times on Soul-Devouring Insect essence blood and succeeded a few times. Of course, his success rate wasn't high. Without lab instruments here, the odds might be even lower, but Su Yu didn't mind; at worst, he could extract more blood and condense another drop of essence blood to try again. This was the first time Su Yu had ever seen human essence blood. Unlike that of other races, there was no miniature figure flickering within. He wasn't sure if it was because of racial innate skills—humans had no innate skills. First, he peeled away the outer layer of the essence blood, then separated the memory fragments and innate skill fragments inside... Since humans lacked innate skills, it was actually easier to deconstruct. ... Over half an hour later. Drenched in sweat, Su Yu gingerly split open the essence blood, revealing a tiny sliver of black matter inside. This had to be the memory fragment. No innate skill fragments—that was fortunate. However, this memory fragment was bordered by some resentment and death qi, which had to be cleared away as well. After spending another half hour, Su Yu finally extracted a faint, translucent silhouette. He exhaled a quiet breath of relief. Success. Not bad! It seemed his hundreds of practice runs dismantling essence blood hadn't been in vain. Without another word, Su Yu shot out a wisp of yuan qi, shattering the small silhouette. The next instant, a slightly blurry scene flashed before his eyes. ... In the vision, two figures appeared. Both were very blurred! Their faces were indistinguishable. Su Yu made a comparison: the one on the left had to be the Tianyi God Cult leader, wearing the exact same robes. The one on the right had an unidentifiable face. He couldn't hear what the two were discussing, so Su Yu stopped paying attention to their words and looked past them. They seemed to be inside a palace. Whether it was a palace or not wasn't certain, but Su Yu committed the layout to memory regardless. After speaking for a while, the scene shifted. The person on the right reached out and patted the Tianyi God Cult leader on the shoulder. Su Yu hadn't thought much of it at first, but suddenly froze slightly: on the left arm that the person had extended, there seemed to be a pattern marking their forearm. Su Yu focused his gaze, but his vision blurred, and the scene abruptly vanished. The next moment, the Tianyi God Cult leader appeared alone in another location. Holding a box in his hands, he solemnly set it down onto a dais, then backed out of the chamber. "A treasury?" Su Yu was startled. It truly existed! But where? Memory fragments only recorded matters of the deepest obsession. The Tianyi God Cult leader's greatest obsession was that conversation with the person, followed not by the treasury itself, but by that box! And then? Su Yu widened his eyes, straining to see. What was the use of seeing the treasury without knowing the location?! The Human Realm was vast—how on earth was he supposed to find it? Yet the scene flashed past as the cult leader exited the treasury, and then... nothing! "Fuck!" Su Yu couldn't help swearing loudly. Fuck! Gone? Just like that? The vision came to an abrupt halt! Everything was gone! ... Just as Su Yu was cursing, inside a colossal palace elsewhere. A powerhouse deep in cultivation suddenly opened his eyes, turning his head toward a certain direction, murmuring, "Someone is spying on me?" His gaze shifted, as if trying to pierce through the void. As he looked, a flash of blade light manifested within his eyes! Pfft! Blood dripped from his eye! Drip, drop. The blood struck the floor, giving off wisps of black smoke. "The Heaven-Cleaving Blade..." He murmured again. This was not Xia Longwu striking now, but a lingering echo of a past clash—what the expert had glimpsed was the strike with which Xia Longwu had slain his opponent that day. "Nearing Invincibility? No... he might already rival the Invincible Realm!" He whispered once more. Terrifyingly strong. With a faint smile, he dismissed it. Even if someone spied on him, what could they possibly glean? ... At that exact moment, inside the Manor Lord's Residence of Great Xia Manor. Xia Longwu frowned slightly! *What did that kid touch?* It had actually disturbed the past and brushed against the domain of the Invincible Realm? Fortunately, it had lasted only an instant. Xia Longwu's thoughts flickered, but he couldn't trace it either. He shook his head helplessly. His cultivation was still lacking; he had felt an inkling, but could pinpoint nothing specific. Turning his gaze toward the All-Races Pit once more, he thought, *Does it involve the Tianyi God Cult? An Invincible of the Tianyi God race?* Or something else? Hard to guess. Su Yu might know something; he would have that little fatty at home ask about it later. ... By now, Su Yu wasn't thinking about any of that. He had spent a moment venting his fury! His face was fraught with gloom. Shadow said in an eerie tone, "The moment he stepped out, some imagery was still displayed. It ought to be inside a mountain..." Su Yu replied irritably, "I know, but it was just a fleeting glimpse! How am I supposed to find it? It's hard to say if it's even within Great Xia Manor. The Tianyi God Cult didn't originally operate in Great Xia; this could be in the territory of some other manor. The Human Realm is massive—how do I search when all I know is that it's in a mountain?" Shadow remarked faintly, "It might not be in another manor. According to what you said earlier, they moved out en masse to set up shop in Great Xia Manor. Would they really leave their treasury behind in their previous territory? They likely intended to stay in Great Xia Manor permanently..." "Hard to say!" Su Yu said gloomily, "I made things out to be too simple. Their treasury might have already been cleaned out by the Tianyi God race, or carried off by remnants of the cult, or maybe what I saw was just an old treasury that was moved later on..." He realized he had indeed oversimplified things! Catching a glimpse of it didn't guarantee finding it. "Let's give it a shot anyway!" Su Yu sighed, not overly disheartened, and muttered, "Maybe I can still locate it. I caught sight of some flora; hopefully those plants only grow in specific regions. Some of them I've never seen before. When I head back, I'll look them up—maybe I'll uncover something." The moment the Tianyi God Cult leader emerged, Su Yu had seen a mountain. It wasn't particularly tall, just ordinary and without distinct landmarks, but he had caught sight of various plants. Some he hadn't recognized before. That meant they weren't common flora; perhaps he could track down the treasury's whereabouts based on that. All in all, things had gone relatively smoothly. At least he had seen something! Furthermore, the Tianyi God Cult leader's deepest obsession had been his conversation with that person. Who was that? An expert of the Tianyi God race? That person's status... had to be higher than the cult leader's. Patting him on the shoulder... that was usually a superior's gesture toward a subordinate, wasn't it? Would a Sun Moon expert casually let just anyone pat his shoulder? That person was likely at the Sun Moon Realm, or perhaps... even stronger! *A pattern on his left forearm...* Su Yu etched this critical piece of information into memory, vague suspicions forming in his mind. According to earlier speculations, the Tianyi God Cult establishing a foothold in Great Xia Manor to target Xia Longwu had deeper motives: forcing Liu Wenyan to break through quickly to the Tengkong Realm, perhaps in hopes of making him manifest the divine character. Could that fellow from the Tianyi God Cult have been acting under the influence of the Invincible expert they had always suspected? Was it? Could it be possible? Could the person conversing with him back then have been that traitorous Invincible? *A pattern on his arm...* Once someone reached the Invincible Realm, reshaping their physical body was effortless; forget an Invincible, even a Sun Moon could do it. If the pattern hadn't been erased, did it hold some special significance, or was it personal preference? Or perhaps it was simply an insignia? *Could the one who sabotaged our Multiple Divine Characters Faction be this guy?* The thought crossed Su Yu's mind, but he quickly pushed it away. Don't dwell on it! If that really was an Invincible, even if Su Yu knew who it was, he couldn't do anything to them. Besides, he lacked evidence. What could he do, go find the Great Xia King and ask him to execute an Invincible at random? Stop joking! The Great Xia King wasn't his father! "And that box... for even a Sun Moon to regard it with such importance, what was stored inside? Has it been used up?" The more Su Yu thought about it, the more his head throbbed. Forget it, he would deal with it after returning. He would look into the location; maybe it really was within Great Xia Manor. If he couldn't find it himself, he could always ask the others at the research institute. "Let's head back. You two go back into hiding. Honestly, I'm hoping someone jumps out at me!" Su Yu curled his lip, but remained cautious. A voice transmission talisman appeared in his hand. "Fatty, come pick me up in a bit. But be careful not to let anyone see you, and bring some powerhouses along!" Xia Huyou quickly replied, "Enemies?" "Not sure. Help me look into... a Zhang family near the All-Races Pit. The young madam of the household is in the seventh layer of Tengkong, and she has a wounded son who needs baleful qi to suppress his condition..." "Alright!" Xia Huyou agreed readily; it was a trivial matter. Was this fellow Su Yu being too jumpy? Running into a random Tengkong and immediately assuming someone was out to harm him? If he was going to be like that, he might as well never step outside, lest someone harm him! Despite his skepticism, investigating a minor family was child's play to him, so he said nothing more and promptly set off to investigate this Zhang family.