Thinking of You

Outside Heaven-Severing Valley. Tianduo observed the gorge for a while longer, then turned toward Mo'erba and the others, saying indifferently, "We must go in. The longer we delay, the more Huang Teng and the other one will recover. The humans might also send reinforcements, and delays breed trouble!" The demon geniuses nodded. Indeed, there was no time to lose. Mo'erba's eyes turned sharp as he cast a cold glance at the geniuses of the other races in the distance, asking in a low rumble, "What about those fellows?" "They'll go in!" Tianduo remarked flatly, "They are all geniuses, all looking for a piece of the pie, all confident that they won't die. Huang Teng is heavily wounded. Killing him might bring them massive leaps in strength, and none of them will let such an opportunity slip by." Only a genius truly understood a genius. Every one of them considered themselves a child of destiny, every one wished to make a name across the myriad realms, and every one aspired to attain the Invincible Realm. Anyone lacking such ambitions wasn't worthy of being called a genius. Since that was the case, as long as the demons entered, the others would soon follow. As for the blade qi left behind by an Invincible, countless years had passed, after all. Although those people were cautious, they all possessed some tricks up their sleeves. Tianduo added, "If we keep waiting, some human geniuses will arrive. If people like Qin Fang show up, we may not fear them, but it would easily cause chaos and give Huang Teng and his companion a chance to escape." "Move out!" Tianduo waited no longer. In truth, he hadn't been waiting idly before; he had been searching for a way to mitigate the threat of the blade qi. Now, that problem was resolved. Hearing this, the demon prodigies offered no objections. Soon, the group plunged into Heaven-Severing Valley through a weak point in the blade qi. …… In the distance. Several god prodigies and geniuses from minor races had gathered around An Mintian. Watching Tianduo and his group enter, An Mintian glanced around and said swiftly, "We go in from the north!" The demons had entered Heaven-Severing Valley from the south; by entering from the north, they could pinch the targets in a pincer attack and see who would claim Huang Teng's head first. The god experts promptly flew north, preparing to enter the valley from that direction. Once they left, figure after figure manifested where they had been standing. A being hovered in the air, his voice echoing coldly in all directions via voice transmission: "Everyone, the gods and demons are pincering the human Huang Teng. Anyone interested in getting in on the action?" "An Mintian and Tianduo are neither of them weak. Be careful not to get played by them!" "Long Zhan, are you going in?" Someone asked Long Zhan of the Sky Dragon race. Long Zhan merely glanced at the great rift, ignoring the speaker. Beside him, the little golden dragon soared through the air and suddenly dove into Heaven-Severing Valley without asking for Long Zhan's opinion. Long Zhan's white brows twitched slightly. This fellow from the Golden Dragon race certainly had guts. An Mintian was extremely hostile toward it right now; if it ran into An Mintian, it had better watch out, or it might get killed. With that thought, Long Zhan smiled faintly and vanished from the spot. The blade qi above Heaven-Severing Valley rippled for an instant as Long Zhan went in. Experts from the three great races—Gods, Demons, and Dragons—had all entered! The next moment, ripples of blade qi emanated from various spots as more figures entered. …… In a forest not far from Heaven-Severing Valley. Atop the canopy of a colossal tree, several faint figures hovered in the air. Both men and women, all quite young. Once Long Zhan of the Dragon race also slipped into the valley, a young woman restrained the glow in her eyes and gave a soft laugh. "How interesting. The Gods, Demons, and Monsters have all gone in. Looks like the humans are in huge trouble this time. I wonder whom Great Xia Prefecture will send to the rescue." Beside her stood a long-haired young man brimming with ethereal immortal grace and exceptional bearing, currently looking toward Heaven-Severing Valley as well. Hearing her words, he smiled faintly. "Jiu Xuan, do you think Huang Teng will die?" The woman named Jiu Xuan chuckled softly. "How would I know? A human prodigy whom Great Xia Prefecture focused on nurturing must have some skill. Huang Teng is quite famous among the humans; I don't think he'll be killed that easily." The long-haired youth nodded slightly. "He won't die that easily. Since Huang Teng chose to come to Heaven-Severing Valley, he must have some confidence in surviving." With that, he added meaningfully, "However... if someone were to ambush them on the only path leading from Heaven-Severing Valley back to East Rift Valley... that would be another story!" Jiu Xuan offered a gentle smile. "Brother Dao Cheng, we are allies with the humans. Don't go doing anything reckless." "Of course!" The long-haired youth chuckled softly. "The humans are beset with crises and still need our help. Why would we make things difficult for them?" As his words fell, he gave a light laugh and casually tossed a jade talisman, which melted into the void and vanished. Jiu Xuan looked at him with an amused smile. "Brother Dao Cheng, what was that...?" "That Cui Lang killed two geniuses of the Black Armor race. How could the Black Armor race let it go? Unfortunately, with so many prodigies gathered here, the powerhouses of the Black Armor race might not be able to make it in time. But if they find a secluded spot and wait for a while, they might be in for a pleasant surprise!" The more prodigies gathered in an area, the more it rejected older experts. Even if the Black Armor race wanted revenge, anyone coming right now might lose their way on the Desire Sea Plain. However, if their target wasn't this place, but rather a waypoint along the retreat path, it would be far safer. Jiu Xuan beamed. "Brother Dao Cheng, you couldn't have miscalculated, could you?" The long-haired youth remained completely composed. "From Heaven-Severing Valley back to human territory, there are only three routes that are the safest and quickest, avoiding dangerous terrains and minimizing encounters with enemies..." "What if they don't return?" Jiu Xuan questioned deliberately, "What if they choose to keep heading west, pushing westward all the way? What then?" "West?" Dao Cheng smiled and said nothing. Heading west would truly be courting death. To the west lay Tianmie City, and the Black Armor race's passageway was reportedly nearby. Moreover, those ancient cities were exceptionally perilous, and venturing further west would lead right into the heart of the Monster race's territory. If they wanted to live, Heaven-Severing Valley was the boundary. Just like them, very few individuals ever infiltrated east of East Rift Valley; most who ventured across were slain, with only a small fraction escaping. Jiu Xuan did not argue with him, maintaining a gentle smile as she asked, "Brother Dao Cheng, can you deduce anything about that Cui Lang? He had no renown before, yet suddenly shot to prominence. Could there be some mystery behind him?" "Cui Lang?" Dao Cheng pondered for a moment, then said, "Let me cast a divination and see. This man suddenly made a name for himself; perhaps he does warrant some attention." With that, several divine characters hovered in his hand, aligning in a specific order. Dao Cheng visualized Cui Lang's appearance in his mind—the likeness shown on the Heaven Hunting Ranking. He rapidly shifted the divine characters, channeling streams of willpower into them. Jiu Xuan watched the divine characters intently. Nearby, several other members of the Immortal race also looked over with curiosity and anticipation. Dao Cheng's art of divination was truly formidable. Even in the Immortal Realm, he stood at the very pinnacle of his generation. As the divine characters combined, they instantly formed a rippling mirror of water, gradually revealing Cui Lang's image. Women! Around Cui Lang were countless women. The scene flashed and vanished in an instant! The onlookers furrowed their brows, and Jiu Xuan chuckled softly without speaking. Dao Cheng shook his head slightly, though he felt a strain—was it because they were on the Desire Sea Plain? The next moment, the water rippled faintly again, and another image surfaced: a figure stood opposite Cui Lang, somewhat illusory. "A man?" Jiu Xuan teased. After nothing but women, the sudden appearance of a man was rather amusing. Just as the thought crossed her mind, with a boom, the image shattered! Dao Cheng stumbled back several steps, raising his brows with a laugh. "Looks like some mighty expert has shielded him, likely prepared in advance. Great Ming Prefecture... has produced quite an interesting fellow." He hadn't seen much—just women, an endless sea of women. Even that worked? Dao Cheng shook his head. Could someone like this truly go far? Perhaps he was merely a flash in the pan. …… At that very moment. In the Human Realm. On Yuexin Island. Niu Baidao looked up at the sky and sighed. Dammit! That kid had indeed attracted some attention. The divination technique was not weak, piercing vaguely through the all-heavens, though it didn't feel overwhelmingly powerful either. After a moment's thought, he muttered, "Someone from the Immortal race? A Shanhai Realm diviner?" It shouldn't be too strong. If it had been a Sun Moon or an Invincible, an Invincible he couldn't block, and a Sun Moon would have been strenuous. Yet he had shattered that metaphysical prying without exerting much effort. "What a headache!" Shaking his head again, Niu Baidao felt thoroughly exasperated. Hadn't they agreed that the kid would only go to some ruins to fetch a few things? Bloody hell, your ruins are on the All-Heavens Battlefield? Like hell I'd believe you! "The Immortal race... heh!" After cursing Su Yu for a while, Niu Baidao sneered coldly. It was probably someone from the Immortal race, right? Many races knew the art of divination. Yet piercing through the all-heavens wasn't something just any race could pull off. The real Cui Lang was in the Human Realm, which was entirely different from being on the All-Heavens Battlefield. "I wonder if they saw anything." Niu Baidao stroked his beard. He didn't know which type of divination the other party had used. If it was the kind that peered directly into the target's true nature, that was somewhat better; but if it was a tracking and locating spell, that would be troublesome! He had to scramble the spiritual aura! With that thought, Niu Baidao waved his hand. A massive formation appeared over Yuexin Island, blotting out the sky. The island plunged into darkness for an instant. A moment later, the formation receded, and Yuexin Island returned to normal. "Did he even manage to provoke the Immortal race?" Niu Baidao muttered again. If that brat really crossed paths with them, killing them was fine, but he absolutely must not do it like he had slaughtered the Black Armor race, or it would invite monstrous trouble! Killing members of the Immortal race had to be done in secret—both the humans and the Immortals handled it that way. After all, the two sides were still allies for now, jointly resisting the powerful God and Demon races! Once the facade was torn away, anyone who sparked overt conflict would meet a terrible end. "I hope that brat understands this truth." Niu Baidao sat cross-legged, the sun and moon rotating in his eyes. He stopped worrying about Su Yu; he couldn't control him anyway. He turned his gaze toward the north—toward Great Xia Prefecture, where the Multiple Divine Characters Academy would soon open for classes. And chaos would soon ensue. "It might not be a bad thing for that kid to stay on the All-Heavens Battlefield a bit longer. My only worry is him stirring up trouble; if he cultivates there peacefully, it's actually safer." Shaking his head, Niu Baidao was rendered speechless. Cultivating peacefully there would yield great results. The only worry was that the fellow refused to stay quiet. …… Inside Heaven-Severing Valley. In the sea of will of Su Yu, who was transformed into a broken blade, the "Calamity" divine character pulsed faintly once again. This signaled that the danger was not severe. However, some danger did exist. What was going on? Su Yu was somewhat puzzled. That pulse had come out of nowhere, yet after waiting for a while, he detected no danger whatsoever. "Is it broken?" Of course, Su Yu knew that was impossible. This meant that just a moment ago, something related to him had definitely occurred, something that might bring him some danger. "Forget it, no point overthinking it!" He had no clues and couldn't figure it out, so he would simply remain cautious. Heaven Yuan Qi swirled around the broken blade. The Heaven-Cleaving blade qi and the sacred power clashed continuously. The thirteenth tempering was nearly complete. This place was simply too well-suited for body tempering. Right at that moment, Su Yu suddenly restrained all his energy fluctuations. The golden luster on the broken blade vanished, making it appear like a rusted, discarded scrap lying to one side, completely unremarkable amidst a few nearby skeletons and broken weapons. A moment later, noiselessly, a shadow appeared in the gorge. It was not from the Shadow race, but a special skill. Su Yu made a quick assessment; he was familiar with the Shadow race. Sure enough, an instant later, the shadow materialized. It was not humanoid, but a large insect resembling a locust. "A dark locust!" Su Yu immediately recognized it. This was a branch of the Locust race that also possessed cloaking abilities, though the race had no Invincible expert holding the fort and was not considered a major race. A race without an Invincible dared to meddle here too? Courting death! "Its strength isn't bad, though—fifth or sixth stage Lingyun!" Yet such strength was hardly formidable in this place. The dark locust's form materialized as its antennae probed the surroundings. Its protruding eyes swept across Su Yu's direction with a hint of doubt. Soon, it stopped inspecting, melted back into a dark shadow, and vanished. Su Yu did not resume cultivating, waiting silently. On his sensing jade, the dot of light had not disappeared. He remained still. After about seven or eight minutes—a considerably long time—a dark shadow surfaced from underground once more. The dark locust extended its antennae again, sweeping over Su Yu's vicinity one more time. Nothing abnormal. The dark locust emerged once more, its eyes gleaming with curiosity. Nothing here? Could it be a treasure? It looked toward the scattered skeletons. Earlier, it had sensed unusual fluctuations, but when it arrived, they were gone. At that thought, the dark locust abruptly slashed down with its limb! With a thud, several skeletons were smashed into fine powder! Only then did the dark locust feel much more at ease. No living being was hiding by pretending to be bones. Good! Only then did it tentatively relax and hop toward Su Yu. The broken blade that was Su Yu was blasted into the air by the impact, hovering suspended. Just as the dark locust relaxed, a sudden sense of crisis struck it. The sensation vanished as quickly as it came! In that split second, the broken blade merged into a divine character battle technique. Over twenty divine characters instantly formed a longsword battle technique that pierced through the dark locust's head with a wet squelch! A divine character battle technique! A battle technique composed of multiple tier-four divine characters struck noiselessly, instantly shattering the dark locust's sea of will. The next moment, the dark locust's corpse crashed to the ground. Su Yu resumed his human form and thrust out a hand. With a squelch, he pierced its head, activating the "Blood" divine character. A large quantity of green blood was extracted and refined, condensing into ten drops of blood essence in an instant. Su Yu pondered for a moment, eyeing its limbs. They might serve as weapon-crafting materials, so he simply collected everything. After swiftly stowing the corpse away, Su Yu vanished from the spot. This fellow was not a prodigy on the Heaven Hunting Ranking. Killing it was easy enough. Prodigies on the Heaven Hunting Ranking weren't cheap cabbages scattered everywhere; there were only so many of them. Yet even though this one wasn't on the ranking, it had been exceptionally vigilant. Su Yu had hidden himself well enough, yet simply because of the faint ripples from his earlier cultivation, the creature had still managed to sense something. "There truly are countless geniuses among the myriad races!" Su Yu lamented as he relocated. A minor race like the Locust race, lacking an Invincible expert, had produced someone this strong. Though he had taken it down in a single blow, that didn't mean the creature was weak. "The Star Astral Mansion..." Su Yu pondered a question. In the past, the human side entering the Star Astral Mansion had mostly consisted of Lingyun Realm cultivators. People like Bai Feng, who were at the high stages of the Tengkong Realm, had fought hard just for a spot back then, which showed that the Tengkong Realm wasn't enough. With mostly Lingyun and a few Tengkong, Su Yu had once thought Lingyun cultivators were very strong. Yet now... weren't those people just marching to their slaughter? Wouldn't the Gods and Demons send Shanhai experts? Moreover, that fellow Suanni had gone in at the ninth stage of Tengkong and still made it out alive. Was the Star Astral Mansion safe or dangerous after all? Pushing these thoughts aside, Su Yu stopped overthinking. The next moment, he transformed into a broken blade once more, resting amidst a patch of battlefield ruins. Su Yu now felt that the Five Elements race was truly formidable. Their five elements escape arts were powerful, and their innate skills were remarkable. Their cloaking ability was extraordinary! Of course, that was on the premise of possessing many specialized divine characters. Su Yu had employed numerous divine characters alongside the breath-concealment technique of the Xuan turtle race to conceal himself so thoroughly. "Stop disturbing me and let me temper my body. I can't be bothered with you all!" Su Yu was disinclined to hunt anyone down for now; finishing his body tempering came first. After a few more hours, the broken blade of Su Yu's form suddenly erupted with golden light! Boom! The surrounding stones shattered. Su Yu promptly fled, vanishing from the spot—the thirteenth tempering was complete! …… Not long after he left, the ground rumbled, and the head of an earth person poked out from below. Looking at the freshly blasted crater, it felt somewhat puzzled. Someone from the Five Elements race? A kinsman of mine? I didn't see any kinsmen coming... Well, that water person didn't count. That fellow was a troublemaker, now hiding who knew where, and he simply acted as though he didn't know or see the guy. Fu Tuling glanced around, found nothing, and swiftly vanished. Just after he vanished, an agile figure stepped into the area. The moment it landed, the earth seemed to tremble. In an instant, the ground formed massive hands that seized the newly arrived golden leopard, multiple colossal earthen hands binding it tightly. The next moment, an earthen spike erupted from within the grasp! With a squelch, it pierced the leopard's belly. "Roar!" The leopard roared in agony, screaming, "Fu Tuling... how dare you..." With a bang, the leopard burst. The surrounding giant hands vanished, and the ground returned to normal. Fu Tuling emerged, morphing into a lump of mud that instantly enveloped and devoured the leopard, remarking, "Tastes decent..." With a laugh, Fu Tuling vanished once more. Among the powerhouses on the Heaven Hunting Ranking, hardly anyone was benevolent. May as well kill one in passing! Fu Tuling disappeared from the spot. After another while, a stone person strode over, its foot stomping onto the earth. Sensing the area, it grunted, "Fu Tuling! That fellow turned this place into a feast?" The stone person shook its head and stomped down, instantly crushing all the traps set into the ground. Far in the distance, Fu Tuling felt a prick of sensation and cursed under his breath. It was that stone-head. What a pain; that fellow was difficult to deal with, and if they clashed, he would most likely lose, being somewhat countered. If the water person were here, they could counter the stone-head to some degree. "Never mind, that Water Spirit fellow is even more of a nuisance!" Fu Tuling quickly slipped away, unwilling to tangle with the stone-head. The Stone Person race was technically a variant of the Five Elements race, but they refused to acknowledge it. After all, the ancestor of the Stone Person race had broken through to the Invincible Realm, claimed a major realm, and established an independent race, cutting ties with the Five Elements race. The Earth Spirit race was even somewhat countered by them, and the stone people were even less willing to serve as a foil to the Five Elements race, having split off long ago. …… At this moment, slaughter raged everywhere within Heaven-Severing Valley. Geniuses not listed on the Heaven Hunting Ranking were being hunted down one after another. Gradually, some prodigies realized something was amiss and began to retreat. …… Meanwhile, Su Yu couldn't be bothered with any of this, simply changing locations to continue his cultivation. The rewards granted for killing were far less efficient than cultivating on his own. Heaven Yuan Qi was the trashiest reward of all. Killing those weaker foes almost exclusively rewarded Heaven Yuan Qi. Su Yu could only say that the heavenly rules of the All-Heavens Battlefield were stingy beyond belief. Moreover, when divine characters were granted, none were human ones—utterly pointless! Of course, if they were granted and shattered, they still yielded a copious amount of divine character resonance and willpower, which was actually quite decent, at least better than Heaven Yuan Qi. Heaven Yuan Qi was genuinely lousy. Only Su Yu would dare make such a claim. To anyone else, even Sun Moon cultivators, Heaven Yuan Qi was immensely useful. Whether for opening acupoints, tempering the body, strengthening the physical form, or healing injuries... Heaven Yuan Qi was a precious treasure. Yet because Su Yu could extract it at will, he naturally found it useless. Hunting a prodigy carried the risk of capsizing; it was better to buy blood essence and refine it. Of course, under continuous slaughter, Su Yu's "Kill" and "Battle" divine characters were showing signs of strengthening and advancing. The most frequently used "Tranquility" character was also trending that way. Among the five element divine characters, the "Fire" character had advanced, while the other four had all received some enhancement. In such an environment, it was intensely thrilling. That thrilling, razor-edge sensation felt as though Su Yu had returned to the dreams of his childhood, where a single misstep meant certain death. Slaughter erupted everywhere, and small clouds of heaven-and-earth rewards continually formed throughout Heaven-Severing Valley. Each appearance served as a beacon. Soon, others would know that someone had died there and a prodigy had claimed a reward, turning that prodigy into a target for even more hunters. Huang Teng and Wu Qi hadn't died yet, but a whole host of geniuses from other races had already perished. The myriad races were never short of prodigies. A few from each race in every generation added up to tens of thousands of geniuses. Only those who could grow through adversity, seize immense benefits, and grow steadily stronger step by step were true prodigies. This was also how many races raised their warriors—like venomous insects fighting in a jar. The All-Heavens Battlefield was fundamentally a crucible for raising such champions. The strong only grew stronger! …… Boom! A massive explosion rang out in Heaven-Severing Valley. Huang Teng coughed up blood, grabbed Wu Qi by the hair, and dragged her as he sprinted. Wu Qi made no sound and uttered no complaint. Blood streamed down her chest and her face was deathly pale, yet she remained far from despair. Even as Huang Teng dragged her along, Wu Qi let out a low growl, and a slender sword materialized above her head! With a squelch, it pierced the void. A seventh-stage Lingyun expert who had just caught up was instantly run through by the sword, yet the burly man merely sneered as the wound on his flesh closed immediately. "Wu Qi, is that all you've got?" Wu Qi said nothing! Right at that moment, the burly man's expression twisted. The next instant, he melted into corpse fluid, rotting away completely in a flash. Only then did Wu Qi let out a breath of relief. Slapping Huang Teng's hand away, she stumbled forward, grabbed his arm, and snapped, "Move! What are you staring at?!" Huang Teng clicked his tongue and bolted, remarking as he ran, "You're ruthless! That's a civilized armament coated in poison. Aren't you afraid of poisoning yourself?" Before Wu Qi could reply, he added hurriedly, "How about giving me some of that poison? It's terrifyingly potent!" Truly terrifying! Wu Qi ignored him, frowning slightly. "That guy's strength was mediocre. If we kill another one, maybe we can get some heaven-and-earth rewards to help heal my injuries." "Keep dreaming! Run first, more powerhouses are chasing us!" Huang Teng didn't waste words; running was the right call, as more experts were closing in from behind. As for Wu Qi slaying—no, poisoning—the foe with a single sword strike, he still felt a lingering chill, unable to resist asking again, "You didn't poison me too, did you? Is that poison your own, or did you get it from your great-aunt?" "Shut up!" Wu Qi was utterly annoyed. When running for your life, why babble so much nonsense? Huang Teng clamped his mouth shut instantly and picked up the pace, fleeing rapidly. There were smaller crevices in the great gorge leading to other fissures; Heaven-Severing Valley was shaped somewhat like an underground labyrinth. Of course, no matter what, they would all eventually converge into a single line—a colossal rift valley. Not long after they fled, Tianduo caught up with his subordinates. Looking at the pool of green water on the ground, he said coldly, "What potent poison! Stay on guard, everyone; we underestimated Wu Qi. I don't know whether this poison is hers or if she got it from Wu Yuehua." Wu Yuehua was a top-tier alchemist, equally skilled in crafting poison. However, when outsiders used poison, it was easy to end up poisoning themselves. After warning his companions, Tianduo swiftly led the pursuit. They couldn't escape! Heaven-Severing Valley was a dead end! All he needed to guard against was Huang Teng triggering the blade qi here in his dying moments; other than that, there was nothing to worry about. …… Su Yu also heard the colossal noise. Of course, it wasn't the only one. Inside Heaven-Severing Valley, chaos reigned supreme right now. He had no intention of joining the fray, continuing his own cultivation instead. How sweet was body tempering? Once the blade qi and sacred power were no longer of much use to him, he would consider hunting down the myriad races. "The fourteenth tempering should take about a day!" Such a wonderful place could not be wasted. Outside, completing a single tempering every ten days to half a month was far too slow; nothing matched the thrill here. In a day, he would likely achieve the fourteenth tempering. After the fourteenth tempering, his physical strength would reach around seven thousand acupoints' worth of power. Coupled with the Yang acupoint and the "Power" divine character, it would rival the physical bodies of some God and Demon powerhouses. Even if a gap remained, it wouldn't be as vast as it was now. "There are just too many people, constantly disturbing me so I can't cultivate in peace... I really wish I could just kill them all and cultivate in peace." Su Yu sighed. Killing them all would be best. Of course, the absolute best method would be capturing King Daxia and the Invincible god he had fought, having them personally provide power to temper his body... That thought flashed and vanished. He couldn't let his imagination run wild. …… At that very moment, at the edge of the God Realm, a burly man roaming the void frowned slightly. Who the hell is thinking of me? And thinking nothing good! That fat brat from my family? He had to be thinking of me in a place related to me, harboring malicious thoughts, which was why he could sense a faint ripple even across an immeasurable distance. Similarly, at this moment, an Invincible powerhouse of the Primordial God Race in secluded cultivation slowly opened his eyes. Looking into the endless void, who had a death wish, harboring ill intent toward him? The sensation was faint, but it certainly existed.