Slaying Lei Jue and Fleeing Anew

As the Primordial God Art circulated, sacred energy was consumed. The ambient saber qi continued to gather, growing denser and denser. Su Yu glanced around. With the saber qi this thick, unless Lei Jue was an absolute fool, he would never dare approach upon seeing it. Moreover, if Su Yu simply stood there in plain view, Lei Jue was no idiot; he would immediately suspect a trap. By now, Su Yu did not dare underestimate these geniuses. Every single one of them was a desperate daredevil, yet sharp and vigilant to a fault. Su Yu's mind worked rapidly. He muttered to himself, "I need to find someone to fight and kill. Someone strong—preferably strong enough to pin me down. Only if Lei Jue sees me tangled up will he dismiss his suspicions." Otherwise, if Su Yu, who had been fleeing non-stop, abruptly halted, wouldn't anyone see through it at a glance? Who should he look for? They couldn't be too weak, nor could they be too strong. If they were too strong, Su Yu might not even be able to defeat them, which would put him in an awkward spot. Fu Tuling was actually a good choice! However, that fellow's earth escape technique was rather troublesome. Never mind that for now! Su Yu cast the thought aside and decided to sneak along and see. Once he ran into an expert, he would strike. He swiftly moved forward underground, circulating the Primordial God Art continuously to absorb sacred energy. It would be best to absorb all the sacred energy in the area; that way, executing the Heaven-Cleaving Blade would meet no resistance. Although the power left behind by that ancient Invincible was formidable and of an exceptionally high tier, countless years had passed, and the saber qi and sacred energy had been grinding against each other. The residual power scattered over a radius of hundreds of li was actually quite faint. Su Yu advanced quickly, concealing his tracks without deliberately leaking his whereabouts. These fellows were all shrewd as ghosts. Whether a trail had been leaked intentionally was something they could deduce with ease. The number of geniuses inside Heaven-Severing Valley had dropped considerably. Many had been slaughtered! Of those remaining, some had fled, while others, confident in their own strength, chose to stay. Su Yu had traveled only a few thousand meters when, up ahead, a golden dragon opened its jaws and snapped the neck of an enormous mountain goat. The goat's head tumbled off! Su Yu stared blankly. Dragons bite too? He hadn't known that! This golden dragon looked rather familiar. Was it the fellow who had fought the Xuan Armor race alongside him earlier? It actually bit its prey? Su Yu was genuinely stunned. This was the first time he had seen a dragon bite someone. In truth, he hadn't had many opportunities to see dragons at all, but in his mind, dragons either swept with their tails or spewed fire, water, or other elements... Never mind that this dragon had wielded a sword earlier—now it was biting too? It certainly had quite a repertoire of skills! Having bitten the goat to death, the golden dragon suddenly shrank in size and turned wary eyes toward Su Yu. Its draconic gaze was filled with vigilance, its long tail swaying slightly as if poised to strike. This fellow possessed the strength of the Lingyun ninth stage, far from weak. The Dragon race was also one of the ten strongest races. While golden dragons were not the paramount Celestial Dragon race, they ranked just beneath them and were remarkably powerful. However, this young dragon might not be very old. Judging by the mountain goat it had just slain, the prey had probably only been in the Lingyun Realm. Su Yu observed it, considering whether to pick this fellow as his target. But its strength was truly considerable; if it ended up joining forces with Lei Jue, Su Yu would find himself in deep trouble. Just as he was pondering, a golden light flashed in the dragon's eyes. Gazing toward Su Yu, it spoke: "Cui Lang?" Surprised, Su Yu revealed himself and looked at it. "How did you recognize me?" It really was him! The golden dragon grew extremely alert, retreating slightly without forgetting to stow the mountain goat's carcass. "I have seen your escape technique. It is formidable and exquisite. Sensing a powerful presence nearby without detecting any tracks, I guessed it was you!" It wasn't stupid after all. Su Yu had thought his concealment had been seen through. The golden dragon quickly said, "Do you intend to kill me?" "Of course not!" Su Yu smiled. "We are comrades-in-arms who fought the Xuan Armor race together!" "No, you want to kill me. I felt your killing intent..." The golden dragon cursed inwardly! Did he take it for a fool? This guy had enormous nerve to actually contemplate killing it. Having witnessed him slay Red Armor, the dragon remained quite wary of Su Yu. It spoke up: "The ones targeting your human race are the gods and demons, not the dragons. The Dragon race is mighty; do not provoke us without cause!" "Never!" Su Yu replied with a smile. Why would he? The Dragon race, of course he knew of them. Zhu Tiandao had a dragon mount, which was also a golden dragon. The second head of the Great Xia Prefecture had also possessed a dragon mount, seemingly a white dragon. Su Yu did not know if it had belonged to the Celestial Dragon race. Celestial dragons were white, but there was also a distinct White Dragon race. The difference lay in the number of claws: celestial dragons had nine claws, golden dragons had eight claws, and white dragons had seven claws. Su Yu was unsure how many claws the second head's dragon had possessed. If it had been a nine-clawed celestial dragon... that was highly improbable. A nine-clawed celestial dragon was equivalent to a primordial god or demon, capable of slaying a Sun Moon ninth stage while only at the Sun Moon seventh stage. Most likely, it had been of the White Dragon race. The little golden dragon said nothing more and continued to back away. "Cui Lang, I won't provoke you, and you shouldn't provoke me either. There are plenty of targets to kill in this place; there is no need for us to fight. Lei Jue seems to be searching for you." "Indeed!" Su Yu smiled. "Then, brother dragon, please make way. I need to leave, and you are blocking my path. It is best that we avoid conflict." "Fine!" The little golden dragon swiftly retreated toward a nearby fissure and darted inside. Su Yu burst through the air and flew onward. The little golden dragon watched him depart, its gaze flickering. This human gave it a dangerous feeling. As it pondered, rumbling thunder soon echoed from all around. In the next instant, a bolt of thunder swept past with a deafening roar. The little golden dragon lashed its tail, shattering the lightning. Soaring into the air, the little golden dragon looked at Lei Jue across the expanse. Lei Jue's expression changed slightly, and he said, "I am tracking someone. I have no intention of making an enemy of the Dragon race!" The little golden dragon hesitated for a moment, then glanced backward. "Cui Lang just left. Lei Jue, if you sweep your thunder across my territory again, don't blame me for being discourteous!" "Pardon the intrusion, Brother Wuyou!" Lei Jue refrained from harsh words. Both were at the Lingyun ninth stage, and the strength of the Thunder God race and the Golden Dragon race was comparable. There was no need to clash with a golden dragon. With those words, he transformed into lightning and resumed the pursuit. The little golden dragon watched his receding silhouette, shrank its body, and turned into a streak of golden light to follow from behind. Perhaps it could scavenge some spoils; both Lei Jue and that Cui Lang had brought it a measure of pressure. ... "You'll do!" At that moment, having traveled several thousand meters, Su Yu encountered another creature. It looked very familiar! It resembled a silkworm, yet it possessed a large head akin to that of a dragon—a Dragon Silkworm! The Dragon Silkworm race! The mortal, irreconcilable enemy of King Miecan, a race that barely squeezed into the top one hundred. The Dragon Silkworm also sensed danger. Its body squirmed slightly, and in an instant, it slipped into the void and vanished. Su Yu was startled, his gaze shifting. Taking a step through the air, he unleashed a kick, circulating Time. With a boom, the void rippled, and the Dragon Silkworm seemed to be kicked straight out of the void back into reality. The Dragon Silkworm was also stunned. Staring at him, it let out a voice: "You... you are Wang Hu's successor?" Wang Hu? Su Yu was baffled. Who on earth was Wang Hu? He had never heard of him! Who the devil knew who Wang Hu was? Could it be King Miecan? The Dragon Silkworm race would certainly never refer to him as King Miecan. Calling other Invincible kings by their regal titles was a mark of respect for their might, but if the Dragon Silkworm race used King Miecan's title, they would be humiliating themselves. Not bothering to waste words, Su Yu stamped downward. An insight struck him: the Dragon Silkworm race was far from weak, and that creature had just phased into the void using a specialized technique. Perhaps the Time battle technique had originally been created specifically to counter the Dragon Silkworm race! As his kick landed, the Dragon Silkworm indeed showed fright. But soon, realizing his strength was not as terrifying as it had imagined, it let out a low hiss and spat a long strand of silk from its mouth. The Dragon Silkworm was remarkably fast, circling Su Yu in a blur. Bang! Bang! Bang! In the void, the moment Su Yu clashed with the Dragon Silkworm, layers of threads enveloped the surroundings. Even the void was bound up! A cold glint appeared in the Dragon Silkworm's eyes. It seemed his grasp of Time was far from mature. If it killed this fellow, the King would surely reward it handsomely. Killing Wang Hu's successor was a monumental achievement! To the Dragon Silkworm race, slaying Wang Hu's heir was a greater deed than felling a Sun Moon expert. King Miecan had charged into the Dragon Silkworm Realm multiple times, thrashing their King to the point where he dared not show his face. The Dragon Silkworm silk wove through the void, gradually wrapping Su Yu inside. Within the cocoon, Su Yu slashed his saber repeatedly, producing continuous screeching sounds, yet the outer layers of silk were astonishingly resilient! "Fine material for weapon crafting!" Su Yu marveled. This Dragon Silkworm was in the Lingyun Realm and possessed considerable strength; the silk it spat was truly prime material for crafting soft armor. Dragon Silkworm soft armor even had the potential to be forged into an Earth-tier armament. He had claimed he was out gathering materials, and look at that—they were delivering materials straight to his doorstep one after another. Armors of the Xuan Armor race combined with Dragon Silkworm silk—Su Yu calculated that crafting a powerful suit of armor would be well within reach, perhaps even helping him formally forge a formidable Earth armament. As for being trapped inside, Su Yu was in no hurry. He had engaged the Dragon Silkworm precisely to lure Lei Jue over. Though the silk was tough, it was not as if Su Yu could not escape or carve his way out. Meanwhile, the Dragon Silkworm was thoroughly elated. Wang Hu's successor had been trapped by its silk! Of course, his strength was undeniably formidable, and it had no confidence in killing him directly—only in binding him. This was the inherent shortcoming of the Dragon Silkworm race: exceptional trapping capability, but comparatively weaker lethality. Right at this moment, the roar of thunder echoed in the distance. The Dragon Silkworm's expression shifted. Someone was coming. Who could it be? Not everyone knew that Lei Jue was hunting Su Yu. Sensing an expert drawing near, the Dragon Silkworm's expression wavered. As the figure closed the distance, the silkworm recognized him. "Lei Jue!" An expert of the Thunder God race! Just then, the trapped Su Yu let out a furious roar and slashed with his blade. A thunderous boom resounded as though he were on the verge of breaking free. In the distance, Lei Jue was ecstatic. Trapped by a Dragon Silkworm! This bastard truly deserved to die. It was difficult for a Dragon Silkworm to kill him, but once trapped, escaping would be nearly impossible for Cui Lang. Years ago, King Miecan had suffered the same fate, bound by the Dragon Silkworm King. Unable to kill him, the Dragon Silkworm King had swallowed him in a fit of rage, hoping to slowly grind him to death! The Dragon Silkworm King's body contained even more silk; it hadn't eaten him merely for sustenance. Later, King Miecan had raised such hell inside the Dragon Silkworm King's belly that the creature had no choice but to excrete him out. "Bisuo, hold him down!" Lei Jue bellowed. "Kill him, and I will reward you handsomely!" The Dragon Silkworm, Bisuo, hesitated. It wanted to flee, not being particularly acquainted with Lei Jue, yet having trapped Wang Hu's successor, it was reluctant to leave. But it couldn't kill him on its own. Seeing that the human was about to break through, it struggled internally for a moment. In the next instant, it spat out even more silk. Inside the cocoon, Su Yu unleashed his strength, explosive booms echoing as strands of silk snapped one after another. Bisuo's expression changed again. He was too strong! It shouted, "Lei Jue, if we kill him, I want nothing else—only his pair of legs!" Lei Jue froze for an instant. It wanted the legs? "He is Wang Hu's successor! Kill him, and the Dragon Silkworm race will grant you immense rewards!" Lei Jue was taken aback, and then overjoyed! King Miecan's successor? No wonder he had tangled with a Dragon Silkworm! In that case, there was no need to worry about the Dragon Silkworm turning on him. The Dragon Silkworm race and King Miecan's lineage were blood enemies; no matter who collaborated, those two sides would never work together. King Miecan regarded that ancient incident as the ultimate humiliation! And the Dragon Silkworm King, harassed year after year, was long consumed by fury, wishing nothing more than to exterminate King Miecan's entire line. Hearing this, how could Lei Jue not be thrilled? At the same time, he felt surprise and shock. King Miecan's successor meant he knew Time... yes, the Time Battle Technique! Earlier, the footwork Su Yu had used to slip away indeed carried traces of Time. Time, the Heaven-Cleaving Blade, the Mind Expansion Hammer, multiple divine characters... Vaguely, Lei Jue seemed to grasp something. Because Su Yu had never visited the All-Heavens Battlefield before, they knew very little about him. Yet Lei Jue was certain he had heard someone mention this. "Cui Lang... no, that's not it. Who said it..." He couldn't quite recall, as it had only been brought up in passing back then. Something related to Liu Wenyan of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction. Liu Wenyan... Su... Su Yu? In that moment, an unfamiliar name surfaced in his mind. It seemed to be him. Could it really be? Su Yu! The successor of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction! Vaguely, more memories returned. He hadn't paid much attention back then because that person had been in the Human Realm, far too distant from them. "Right, it's Su Yu! The human race introduced an art called the Primordial Spirit Aperture Opening Art—that's the one! My father mentioned it once..." He remembered! His father, a general in the Thunder God race's army, had brought it up, mentioning that the human race was promoting this art on a massive scale and referencing Su Yu. But Lei Jue hadn't cared at the time. A researcher from the Multiple Divine Characters Faction... It was Su Yu! Lei Jue's expression changed as he rushed over, first surprised, then overjoyed. Su Yu! This person seemed immensely important—at least far more important than Cui Lang! Even if he didn't know the exact extent of his importance, this was the creator of an art that had caused even his father a headache. Slaying this man would surely yield an astronomical reward! "Su Yu!" A thunderous roar erupted! Lei Jue called out to test him. Inside the cocoon, Su Yu wore a helpless expression. Was he simply too dazzling? He had still been recognized! Ordinary members of the myriad races shouldn't have known of his existence. This was his first time here! Yet Lei Jue had still identified him. Of course, it was also because he had exposed too much. It couldn't be helped; many of his techniques were exceedingly unique, known by very few. If everyone knew Time, the Mind Expansion Hammer, and the Heaven-Cleaving Blade, Su Yu could have stayed hidden easily. The problem was that virtually no one else knew them, and he was the only one who wielded all of them together. His identity was simply too glaring! "Nonsense!" Su Yu shouted back. "Lei Jue, you've pursued me all this way—what exactly do you want? Slaying Huang Teng would be far better than killing me..." "Huang Teng?" Lei Jue sneered. From a distance, lightning flickered, blasting into the cocoon while rapidly laying down layer upon layer of thunderous purgatory around it. "Huang Teng said you are far more important than he is! Are you a scion of the Xia family?" "What?" "What is your real name?" Lei Jue was also growing confused. "Cui Lang? Xia Lang? Su Yu? Xia Yu?" No matter what, this person was of paramount importance! Killing him would undoubtedly allow Lei Jue to advance to the Shanhai Realm and become a supreme prodigy. Inside, Su Yu roared, slashing with the Heaven-Cleaving Blade. The strike severed countless strands of silk. Outside, the Dragon Silkworm, Bisuo, was also turning the name Su Yu over in its mind, finding it somewhat familiar. Just as Su Yu did not know the names of geniuses from other realms who hadn't entered the All-Heavens Battlefield, and wouldn't remember them even if mentioned, these geniuses were the same. Experts and prodigies of various races who hadn't stepped onto the All-Heavens Battlefield or made the rankings were completely unknown to him. It was the same for them! The name sounded familiar, yet it couldn't place who it was. Though Bisuo couldn't remember, it had no time to dwell on it, frantically spinning silk to reinforce the bindings. Finally, Lei Jue arrived. The instant he arrived, without a word, a divine lightning spear materialized and thrust directly into the cocoon! Boom! With precise control, the cocoon was left undamaged, while the entire force of the blow concentrated squarely upon Su Yu. Su Yu slashed, shattering the lightning, yet the shock left the webbing of his hand scorched and charred. Retreating continuously, Su Yu bellowed, unleashing the Heaven-Cleaving Blade. Blade and kicks lashed out together, repeatedly snapping the silk. Outside, the Dragon Silkworm shuddered violently. The threads it spat were being shattered. "Lei Jue..." Bisuo shouted, "Can you kill him?" Lei Jue's eyes turned ruthless. "Wait a moment!" With that, he pulled back his spear, unlocking all his apertures as boundless thunderous power poured into the weapon. He intended to impale this fellow to death with a single strike! The opportunity was too perfect! Lei Jue had never imagined this fellow would actually be trapped by a Dragon Silkworm. In such a confined space, one strike would finish him off! He dared not hold back, unleashing his full power. Aperture force erupted with terrifying might. Even Bisuo standing beside him felt a chill run down its spine. Could Lei Jue turn around and finish it off as well after killing the human? Though there was no conflict or clash of interests between them, and it only wanted a pair of legs... did one even need a conflict of interest in this place? Yet glancing at Lei Jue, who was exhausting so much power, a single strike would probably leave him incapable of killing it. It would be fortunate if the Dragon Silkworm didn't kill him instead. Reassured by this thought, it relaxed slightly. If Lei Jue exhausted himself too much, it might even be possible to kill him afterward... While the Dragon Silkworm plotted, Lei Jue had not expended literally everything; he still held a fraction in reserve. Upon the spear, the thunderous power surged higher and higher! Bisuo's strain grew heavier. Su Yu seemed to sense the mortal peril, roaring, "You Dragon Silkworm bastard, disperse your silk, or if I die, you won't live either!" He too unleashed his full power, slashing with his blade as will force erupted and divine characters vibrated, severing countless strands. Yet for the moment, he simply could not break out. Watching the spear's power climb toward its peak, the 'Calamity' character throbbing incessantly, Su Yu judged the timing. It was about ready. With this much power gathered, if Lei Jue could still escape, he would be ridiculously formidable. At that moment, a sacred aura radiated from Su Yu's body. Lei Jue faltered slightly, momentarily suppressed. The power of the Primordial God Race! This power rapidly absorbed the surrounding sacred energy. In the next instant, the Heaven-Cleaving Blade erupted, gathering countless strands of saber qi. Still not enough! Su Yu bit down on a drop of blood essence and swallowed it, a surge of Shanhai power erupting within him. "Cleave the Heavens!" A fierce shout resounded to the clouds. I've been waiting for you all this time! If you don't die to this strike, I'll take off my hat to you! Before the blade even fully struck, the cocoon exploded! Boom! The entire cocoon blasted apart. Bisuo spat a mouthful of blood, its eyes wide with shock! "Shanhai..." The Shanhai Realm! This man was a Shanhai Realm expert? No, the Primordial God Race, wait, the Heaven-Cleaving Blade... Its thoughts descended into utter chaos! Right at that moment, an invisible shadow instantly invaded its sea of will. Bisuo shrieked, light flashing atop its head as something assaulted its sea of will. Meanwhile, Lei Jue, having channeled most of his power into the spear, saw his expression shift drastically. "What is this..." There was no time to think! Most of his power had already been committed, and lightning exploded from the spear. At this point, he could not flee; thrusting forward to slay Su Yu was his only viable option. Fleeing would only lead to a swifter death! "Thunder Destroys All Mortals!" With a furious roar, the spear rose. In the sky, a lightning spear cast its radiance in all directions; the entire Heaven-Severing Valley witnessed the strike! Lightning flashed across the firmament above the valley. A Lingyun ninth stage of the Thunder God race! Yet in the next breath, a colossal blade swept across the sky, saber qi stretching for thousands of meters. This single slash instantly drained all the saber qi within a radius of thousands of meters. The white mist and ambient saber qi above Heaven-Severing Valley vanished in an instant, exposing the valley's true terrain. Far away, Huang Teng had just unleashed his blade as well... His saber qi shuddered, and he couldn't help cursing violently! Fuck! What was that fellow over there doing? Sucking dry all the saber qi in his area caused the saber qi elsewhere to rush in that direction, instantly weakening his own strike by ten percent! Opposite him, Tianduo was first stunned, then relieved... Huang Teng, the heavens do not favor you! Huang Teng couldn't care less about that! He slashed out as well, his strike spanning over a thousand meters and draining the surrounding saber qi. One in the south and one in the north, the two of them instantly stripped away nearly a tenth of all the saber qi in Heaven-Severing Valley. Su Yu had drawn far more! At this moment, erupting with Shanhai power, his physical strength exceeded ten thousand apertures, noticeably stronger than Huang Teng. Two massive blades hung across the sky! Su Yu's was longer and grander! The blade slashed down! Everyone witnessed the scene: the lightning spear was cleaved cleanly in two. A deafening boom resounded as thunder erupted everywhere. As Su Yu's blade descended, Lei Jue's spear snapped, yet the remaining lightning still surged forward, blasting into Su Yu's flesh. Boom! Thunderous power erupted across Su Yu's body. At this crucial juncture, the tier-four 'Thunder' divine character displayed its might! This was the opportunity Su Yu had been waiting for all along! He had waited for the 'Thunder' character to advance; a tier-four character possessed Shanhai capability. Though Su Yu himself had not reached the Shanhai Realm, the divine character's eruption instantly neutralized a massive portion of the lightning. The remainder was swiftly absorbed by the character. Tempering himself! Faced with the full-power strike of a god race expert near the Shanhai Realm, Su Yu had neutralized most of it, yet he was still charred black on the outside and tender within, coughing up blood as his flesh ruptured. And in that precise instant, the blade fell! This strike pulverized everything in its vicinity! Boom! A colossal roar echoed through the entirety of Heaven-Severing Valley. With Shanhai strength and drawing upon King Daxia's ambient saber qi, the explosive power of Su Yu's strike was unimaginable! Like slicing through tofu, the blade cut straight through. Lei Jue's body remained suspended in midair, yet his aura vanished instantly, his sea of will collapsing. His eyes were wide! The thunder mark on his forehead faded away. Staring at Su Yu, his lips moved: "Su Yu... right?" He wanted to know whose hands he had fallen to. As for how that Shanhai power had erupted, or why he knew the art of the Primordial God Race, Lei Jue had no desire or energy to find out. He was dying; he only wanted to know who had killed him! Su Yu smiled, his hair standing on end, a large hole blasted through his chest. "It's me!" Su Yu! Lei Jue was the strongest opponent he had ever slain, a combatant truly possessing Shanhai might. Since he was dying, it was only right to fulfill his final wish. Su Yu considered himself a good person. He would not conceal the truth from a dying man; he was simply too kind-hearted. Of course, it was also to allow him to die in peace, lest he turn into a ghost and haunt Cui Lang—though he wouldn't even have the chance to become a ghost! Lei Jue was content! The light in his eyes slowly faded. After rampaging across the All-Heavens Battlefield for over a decade, he had still fallen here. From the moment he stepped out of the God Realm onto this battlefield, he had prepared himself for this day. Every genius knew that here, one either rose to supremacy or perished! There were no regrets. Su Yu had more tricks up his sleeve, and he accepted his defeat. Had he killed Su Yu, it would simply have meant Su Yu was inferior. Lei Jue's body split in two, bursting with a bang into fine dust. Su Yu reached out and snagged the storage ring. Next, the 'Blood' character activated, absorbing and collecting the scattered blood essence around him. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Su Yu swung his hammer backward. With a boom, the Dragon Silkworm's sea of will shuddered, giving the little fur ball the opening it needed. The two had been locked in a stalemate just moments ago. The little fur ball burrowed inside and took a bite, causing the Dragon Silkworm to shriek in agony. Su Yu paid it no heed. At that moment, a massive cloud appeared between heaven and earth. It materialized in an instant and merged directly into Su Yu's body. An immensely powerful surge of will force! Not a divine character, not Heaven Yuan Qi, nor anything else—pure will force... As for the other side, where that distant blade seemed to dim considerably, Su Yu didn't care. Huang Teng was also slashing... what did that have to do with him? Su Yu was killing his opponent; Huang Teng couldn't manage to kill his. If Huang Teng was affected, so be it. After all, Su Yu had absorbed and neutralized the sacred energy himself; Huang Teng hadn't contributed an ounce of effort! As the potent will force flooded in, Su Yu's sea of will absorbed it frantically. In the blink of an eye, his will force began climbing rapidly. Su Yu, who had remained at the Lingyun first stage, crossed into the second stage in an instant. Yet Su Yu had no desire to advance. The Mind Expansion Hammer slammed down repeatedly, fiercely compressing the will force. Why advance now? Advancing meant smaller rewards later. The gap in realm would narrow! He was staying at Lingyun first stage! His divine characters hadn't absorbed enough yet. His divine characters and all 180 divine apertures began greedily devouring the will force. Suppressing his breakthrough, he forcefully hammered his second-stage will force back down to the first stage; Su Yu had no wish to advance right now. Yet his strength grew nonetheless. Turning around, he cleaved out with another blade strike! The Dragon Silkworm, whose sea of will was already on the verge of collapse from the little fur ball's bites, was cleanly bisected by the slash, its sea of will disintegrating completely. The little fur ball was truly quite formidable! In the next instant, it flew out of the shattered sea of will, dove back into Su Yu's sea of will, and began frantically absorbing the cloud of will force. This was mine! The delicious-smelling guy said he'd pay me back! It sucked away hungrily! Su Yu didn't renege on his debt. Having borrowed some earlier, paying a bit back was fair. However... if it tried to take too much, he would hammer it to death! Su Yu collected the Dragon Silkworm's carcass, gathered the broken strands of silk, and stowed away the shattered lightning spear... All of them were top-grade treasures! By now, the saber qi had dispersed from his area, allowing him to see the scenery outside Heaven-Severing Valley. Before long, figures began drawing near. The weaker ones dared not approach! In the distance, a white dragon approached—a nine-clawed one, Long Zhan of the Dragon race. Moments later, An Mintian also drew near, staring at Su Yu from afar. Su Yu smiled. In the next instant, he dissolved into astral wind, vanishing from where he stood, breaking out of Heaven-Severing Valley entirely. Neither Long Zhan nor An Mintian gave chase, their expressions grim. An Mintian suddenly barked, "To cultivate the Heaven-Cleaving Blade to such a degree, lacking Shanhai cultivation yet unleashing Shanhai power... who on earth are you! That was innate blood essence, wasn't it? You are not Cui Lang!" "Innate blood essence?" In the distance, a genius recalled something and called out: "Innate blood essence... innate blood essence... that is the secret heritage of the Great Xia Prefecture's Multiple Divine Characters Faction!" He wasn't Cui Lang! Definitely not! At that moment, a figure soared past overhead, shouting, "Run!" With that roar, the black-armored expert astride a flying tiger crossed Heaven-Severing Valley, replying offhandedly, "Idiots, that's Su Yu! Who else could it be? Do you even need to ask?" A bunch of morons! Of course, his identity was bound to be exposed sooner or later! The Heaven-Cleaving Blade, innate blood essence... who the hell else could it be but Su Yu? Ask any random human, and they would know! Only this flock of idiots would still be asking who he was! The black-armored youth showed not the slightest fear of An Mintian, even flying directly toward him. An Mintian didn't say a word and turned on his heel to flee—Qin Fang! He truly might not be Qin Fang's match! Even though Qin Fang's cultivation was far lower than his own, the human race's foremost genius possessed terrifying offensive power. He dared to hunt Huang Teng, but he dared not hunt Qin Fang. Qin Fang ignored him, simply passing by. That shout of "Run!" hadn't been aimed at An Mintian, but at another figure fleeing through the air in the distance. Far off, Huang Teng froze. You're here, so why are we running? "Kill them! Qin Fang, where are you going..." "Run!" Leaving behind only that word, Qin Fang spurred his flying tiger, fleeing at breakneck speed. Huang Teng was stunned again. Taking advantage of the moment Tianduo was injured, combined with Qin Fang's appearance, he gritted his teeth and fled with Wu Qi. Why run? Damn it! Let's join forces! We're strong! And that Su Yu, don't run either—come back! Besides, they were fleeing toward the west; Tianmie City lay in that direction. Were these guys crazy? Why head that way? Just as the thought crossed his mind, his face changed. He accelerated, shooting forward in a flash to trail Qin Fang toward the west! Several top human geniuses had fled one after another, yet none of the others dared pursue... they were all monsters capable of slaying Shanhai experts. As for why they were fleeing... No one quite understood! Tianduo, An Mintian, and the others were actually somewhat terrified. If those humans had joined forces, that would have been a massive disaster. Yet all of them had fled in the blink of an eye! In the next instant, everyone understood. A figure emerged in the void, possessing long purple hair. "Moduona!" Someone shuddered—Moduona, rank one on the Heaven Ranking! Everything became clear! No wonder even Qin Fang was running! Moduona was hunting him! In the distance, Huang Teng wanted to weep. Holy crap! Now I know why you ran, and why you didn't come save me! Damn it, you actually lured Moduona here! That freak has slain a Shanhai seventh stage; beneath the Shanhai Realm, no human can match him! A monster who killed a Shanhai seventh stage while at Lingyun seventh stage! Even the human Bai Tianhao had only managed to slay a Shanhai seventh stage at the Lingyun ninth stage by paying with his life, whereas Moduona had walked away perfectly fine afterward! That guy might already be at Lingyun eighth or ninth stage by now. Word had it that when he killed that opponent, the worldly reward had even granted him an Earth-tier armament—an extraordinarily powerful one. How the hell were they supposed to fight that? Run! As for Su Yu fleeing, that was no surprise. That fellow had drained his power with that single strike; he would be crazy not to run. Perhaps he had sensed the danger from the east as well, which was why he had headed west. The truth was precisely as Huang Teng guessed. Originally, Su Yu had intended to flee east, ideally returning to human territory. But the moment he moved east, the 'Calamity' divine character began throbbing wildly, scaring him into darting west instead. He felt thoroughly depressed: What happened to the east? I just killed Lei Jue, and now I can't even head east? Midair. Moduona glanced toward where Lei Jue had been slain, smiled faintly, and said softly, "Lei Jue is dead... An Mintian, who killed him?" "Cui... no, Su... Su Yu..." An Mintian was somewhat tense. A Shanhai second-stage god feeling nervous before a Lingyun seventh-stage demon—this was a first! "Su Yu?" Moduona seemed to recall something and smiled. "Interesting. Huang Teng, Su Yu, Qin Fang... they're all here!" "Let's go have a look together. Wiping them out will break the spine of this human generation!" With that, he stepped through the void, pursuing them. Could they escape? ... At this moment, silence descended upon all directions. In that brief span, far too much shocking news had battered their senses. Lei Jue was dead! His killer was Cui Lang—no, perhaps Su Yu. Qin Fang had arrived, only to flee faster than anyone without lingering for a second, because Moduona was hunting him. Tianduo had lost track of Huang Teng, and much of the saber qi in Heaven-Severing Valley had dispersed. In the future, this perilous ground might no longer remain so perilous. Right at this moment, some cultivators noticed a shift on the rankings. Cui Lang, Lingyun first stage, fifth on the Earth Ranking. Battle record: Slew Lingyun ninth stage. Fifth on the Earth Ranking! Yet this was under the name Cui Lang! What if it were Su Yu? At this moment, everyone realized that the Heaven Hunting Pavilion had likely not confirmed his identity, or perhaps they did not know whether Cui Lang truly was Su Yu. Otherwise, once his age was updated, his ranking would certainly not look like this! "Humans... gods... demons..." Several geniuses swiftly slipped away. This was no longer something they could meddle in; monstrous figures from the Heaven Ranking had arrived, which was terrifying. Neither Qin Fang nor Moduona were foes ordinary Shanhai experts could provoke. Even Huang Teng could not be easily slain. On top of that, an individual of unconfirmed identity had just emerged and slain Lei Jue, leaving even newly ascended Shanhai geniuses trembling with apprehension. That group seemed to have all fled toward the west. In that direction lay several ancient cities.