Cornered at Last

The brilliant blade light descended over Tianmie Ancient City. Cheng Kai tore through the air, pursuing Su Yu. He could not sense where Su Yu was, but the blood cloud had just dissipated and dozens of dead spirits had abruptly materialized—Su Yu was bound to be right there. Boom! Cheng Kai thrust his spear, sending a blocking dead spirit hurtling away, and plunged straight into their midst, yet saw no trace of Su Yu. Death qi surged from all directions! Corrosive energy erupted! The ancient city token on Cheng Kai's body flared with a faint light, shielding him against the corrosive miasma. But there were far too many dead spirits. The next moment, Cheng Kai's heart gave a jolt. Snapping to his senses, he burst out of their encirclement. A few of the dead spirits glanced at him, but they soon drifted away, resuming their pursuit of Su Yu. Cheng Kai was not their primary quarry. Cheng Kai's expression turned frigid, his mood utterly foul. At that moment, the sixth-tier Shanhai Yin Kai and the first-tier Shanhai Fen Kai rushed over. Fen Kai was also wounded—and far from lightly. Lingering dread was still visible in his eyes. Aside from the few of them, nearly all the remaining Lingyun and Tengkong cultivators had been wiped out by Su Yu's single strike. The Lingyun and Tengkong experts could never match the speed of Shanhai cultivators, so they had trailed behind the main group. When the blade came crashing down, virtually none of them had escaped. A catastrophic loss! The Xuan Armor race had stationed over a hundred members in the ancient city, the weakest being in the Tengkong Realm, with plenty of Lingyun cultivators and a full six Shanhai experts. Yet now, only the three of them remained. Cheng Kai abruptly turned toward Dao Cheng. Dao Cheng was currently gripping Jiu Xuan by the arm, preparing to leave. Tracking Su Yu was exceedingly difficult—and becoming more perilous by the second. As if reading his thoughts, Cheng Kai spoke with a chilling tone. "Brother Dao Cheng, if Su Yu does not die, can the myriad races sleep peacefully? Do not forget, he belongs to the multiple divine character faction! He is only nineteen years old, yet he can already slaughter a third-tier Shanhai!" *You want to leave?* *Things have reached this point, and you still want to run?* Dao Cheng met his gaze and fell silent for a moment. "I need reinforcements from stronger experts!" Right now, the danger was immense. The only person present who could reliably suppress Su Yu was Cheng Kai. Neither Dao Cheng nor the sixth-tier Shanhai Yin Kai could guarantee subduing Su Yu, especially within the intricate layout of the ancient city. Cheng Kai's sensory perception was far too weak to pinpoint the enemy, which posed a massive hazard. With a third-tier Shanhai dead, Dao Cheng had to be cautious. If there were a few more ambushes like that, he calculated that the next victim would likely be either Jiu Xuan or Fen Kai. Fen Kai dying wouldn't matter much, but Jiu Xuan dying would cause enormous trouble. That was why he wanted to leave. Cheng Kai said nothing. He looked toward the dense death qi ahead; Su Yu was almost certainly inside, surrounded by the dead spirits. Yet what could they do now? Charge in? He suddenly looked back at Dao Cheng. "My Xuan Armor race possesses little suppression over dead spirits. In fact, we are easily surrounded, corroded, and devoured by them! But the Immortal race has always been the natural bane of dead spirits. Why doesn't Brother Dao Cheng venture inside to investigate, while I protect Fairy Jiu Xuan?" Did these two Immortals think they could get away without lifting a finger? Impossible! It was one thing for Jiu Xuan to hang back, given her weaker cultivation, but Dao Cheng was far from weak. Su Yu had killed a third-tier Shanhai, but you, Dao Cheng, have killed a fifth-tier Shanhai! Dead spirits exerted heavy suppression over other races, but the Immortal race had methods to counter them. The Xuan Armor race knew this well. Cheng Kai said coldly, "Brother Dao Cheng, to capture Su Yu, my race has lost three Shanhai experts and numerous Lingyun cultivators. Does Brother Dao Cheng... truly refuse to expend even a shred of effort? "Su Yu must be encircled by those dead spirits. Since he has survived this long, he definitely has a way to deal with death qi. As for me, if I sink into their midst, even with my ancient city token, its low grade will still leave me targeted and suppressed by the dead spirits... Brother Dao Cheng, what do you think?" He fixed Dao Cheng with an icy glare. Three Shanhai experts and nearly twenty Lingyun experts from his race had fallen. Without offering anything in return, the Immortal race wanted to walk away now? What were they dreaming of! You were the ones who wanted to catch Su Yu, and you were the ones who wanted to flee. In the end, only the Xuan Armor race suffered casualties. Were the Immortals acting a little too arrogant? Seeing Dao Cheng remain silent, Cheng Kai spoke with dark irony again. "If Su Yu doesn't die, that's fine too. My race is willing to pay a hundred drops of Xuanhuang Liquid to resolve this feud! Qing Kai and Hong Kai brought death upon themselves by their own folly. How does that sound to you, Brother Dao Cheng?" Dao Cheng looked deeply at him. He had been checkmated. "Your race and King Tianzhu..." Before Dao Cheng could finish, Cheng Kai cut in coldly, "It doesn't matter. If the clan leader makes a decision, we will form an alliance, and I trust the human race will make concessions!" "Brother Cheng Kai... can you... represent King Xuankai?" "I cannot!" Cheng Kai replied impassively. "However, as the commander stationed in the ancient city today, I will report everything that happened here faithfully to the clan leader. Humans, gods, immortals, demons—I have witnessed the prodigies of the humans and the demons, yet I have seen nothing of the supposed might of the Immortal prodigies!" The message between the lines was unmistakable. If the Immortal race could not show them the strength they needed to see, then sorry, they were done playing along! Losing a few Shanhai experts? They would swallow the loss! Not only would they swallow it, they would even compensate Su Yu with a hundred drops of precious Sun Moon Xuanhuang Liquid. When minor races aligned with great powers, they judged whether to submit based on performance. They did not attach themselves blindly! If the Immortal race could bring them no benefits and showed no overwhelming strength, why should they submit to them? Dao Cheng glanced at him without a word. Jiu Xuan could not help snapping in a low voice, "Does Daoist Brother Cheng Kai mean to suggest that the Immortal race is inferior to the humans?" Cheng Kai replied indifferently, "At least for now, that is the case! Two peerless prodigies capable of killing Shanhai experts, yet you're being led by the nose by Su Yu! As for me, I am merely an old, useless wretch of the Xuan Armor race. My race was never equal to the humans to begin with, nor can we match them!" It was that simple! He openly admitted that the Xuan Armor race was inferior—what could they do about it? They truly couldn't compare to the human race! In this hunt for Su Yu, they had already resolved to give up after Zheng Ping appeared. It was the Immortal race who had guaranteed that killing Su Yu would bring no repercussions and that the Immortals would shoulder everything. The Xuan Armor race had merely wanted to use this opportunity to draw closer to the Immortals, an undeniably mighty race. Yet no matter how strong you were, if you refused to pull your weight, the Xuan Armor race was not stupid. Cheng Kai said chillingly, "Brother Dao Cheng and Fairy Jiu Xuan may leave right now. If you leave, my Xuan Armor race will make peace with Su Yu!" With that, the Immortal race could forget about winning over the Xuan Armor race. He could not represent King Xuankai, but he would report everything that happened today and strongly advise against allying with the Immortals. The Immortal race was far too cold-blooded and selfish; an alliance would bring no benefits to the Xuan Armor race, only disaster! Dao Cheng took a deep breath. He knew he was cornered. If he walked away today, he might forfeit the alliance with the Xuan Armor race. Letting a Top-100 race slip away from the Immortal alliance was a responsibility he could hardly bear. "I can stay!" Dao Cheng took another steady breath. "However, Jiu Xuan cannot. Her strength is inferior to Su Yu's, and she might very well be ambushed and slain. If Jiu Xuan dies, it will bring no benefit to the Xuan Armor race either!" Cheng Kai chuckled darkly. "If she dies... perhaps that would be even better! Brother Dao Cheng, if my clan can die, the Immortal race can die as well! Only if one of you dies might your race fight Su Yu to the bitter end. Don't blame me for being realistic; that is simply how the world works! Otherwise, while my race bleeds against Su Yu, your race might step forward at the last moment and preach about an alliance between humans and Immortals. Where would that leave the Xuan Armor race?" He wished nothing more than for an Immortal prodigy to die! Death was just death! Would the Immortal race discard cooperation with the Xuan Armor race over a single dead prodigy? Impossible! Even if the faction behind Jiu Xuan and Dao Cheng were disgruntled, that faction did not represent the entire Immortal race. Dao Cheng stared at him coldly. "Brother Cheng Kai, there is no need for this. How about this: you and I will go together to slay Su Yu. Jiu Xuan, Yin Kai, and Fen Kai will stay together at all times, never separating. With the three of them joining hands—and Yin Kai being a sixth-tier Shanhai—it will safeguard Jiu Xuan as well as Fen Kai and the others. What does Brother Cheng Kai think?" Cheng Kai considered it for a moment, then replied casually, "Very well! I also wish to witness the true strength of Dao Cheng, the pride of the Immortal race!" "Brother Dao Cheng..." Jiu Xuan sent a voice transmission. Dao Cheng quickly replied, "Be careful, and say nothing! We cannot leave now. Cheng Kai is enraged over the loss of three Shanhai experts. I miscalculated earlier. If we leave, the Xuan Armor race will very likely admit defeat, compromise, and even lean toward the human race. That would be detrimental to our people!" This was the reality of the myriad races. Killing was the norm. But if you were battered until you felt terror, until you realized how formidable the other side was, submitting to them was nothing strange. For instance, due to Modona's overwhelming strength and dominance over recent years, several minor races among the myriad clans had chosen to attach themselves to the Primordial Demon race, simply because their younger generation was so formidable that it showcased the Primordial Demons' terrifying power. Faced with racial survival, losing a few clansmen was hardly unbearable. Therefore, Dao Cheng could not leave. If he walked away, the alliance between the Xuan Armor race and the Immortal race would become a laughingstock. Your race had pushed to hunt Su Yu, yet when the Xuan Armor race lost several Shanhai experts and numerous Lingyun cultivators, you dusted your sleeves and walked away unscathed. That would chill the hearts of any prospective vassal race. Dao Cheng turned his gaze toward the swirling cloud of death qi. He knew Su Yu had to be inside that death qi right now, likely clashing with the dead spirits. Su Yu definitely possessed a method to counter the death qi, perhaps a massive reserve of Heaven Yuan Qi or a specialized divine character. Regardless, the fact that Su Yu had not chosen to hide inside an ancient house, instead tangling with the dead spirits here, proved he did not fear them all that much. A divine character revolved at Dao Cheng's fingertips. A moment later, his face paled slightly as he said, "Su Yu is definitely in there. I will go in to probe him... If it proves truly impossible, I will seek reinforcements and summon Xuan Wuji from our race!" Xuan Wuji, the fourth-ranked expert on the Heaven Ranking. A third-tier Shanhai who had slain a ninth-tier Shanhai. An expert capable of jumping six minor tiers to kill his foe. Naturally, the higher one's realm, the harder it became to skip tiers. While a third-tier Shanhai was only at early Shanhai, being able to slay a peak Shanhai meant that the Immortal race's Xuan Wuji was a genuine prodigy whose strength was no weaker than a half-step Sun Moon. At the very least, he was stronger than Cheng Kai! Hearing this, Cheng Kai's anger finally subsided somewhat, and he said indifferently, "Does taking down a single Su Yu truly require mobilizing Xuan Wuji? Brother Dao Cheng, as long as you drive Su Yu out from the core of the dead spirits, I will kill him!" He was wary of the dead spirits, not Su Yu's personal strength. Su Yu's ability to kill a third-tier Shanhai was shocking, but not enough to instill true fear in him. Dao Cheng pondered for a moment. "I will do my best!" With those words, he said no more. Stepping through the air, he walked toward the miasma. Su Yu... was a massive calamity! *** Meanwhile, encircled by dead spirits, Su Yu was experiencing a massive headache. These dead spirits didn't seem to possess any finishing moves, and their combat style was remarkably simple: they just endlessly spewed death qi. Yet with so many dead spirits, including several formidable ones, several exchanges had drained a tremendous amount of his Heaven Yuan Qi. Of course, golden light was currently swirling around his body—the heavenly reward bestowed for slaying the third-tier Shanhai. Just like last time, it was a streak of body-tempering golden light, extraordinarily potent. The volume was enormous too! However, tangled with so many dead spirits, Su Yu felt deeply exasperated. He wanted to flee, but death qi blocked every route. He had lost his sub-ranking scroll as well, leaving him unable to trade with the Heaven Hunting Pavilion. Su Yu continued dragging the dead spirits along as he ran, his physical body constantly strengthening. Having just reached seventeen casts, he was already showing signs of advancing toward eighteen casts. Truly, slaughter was the finest form of cultivation. Having more dead spirits around wasn't entirely bad either; at least those outsiders wouldn't dare charge in blindly. Just as the thought crossed his mind, a figure emerged outside the swarm of dead spirits. The black robe was torn away, revealing resplendent golden attire. From the perimeter, Dao Cheng listened to the faint sounds echoing from within and spoke up, "Su Yu, the human and Immortal races are allies. I extend another invitation for you to visit the Immortal Realm as a guest. Are you willing?" "Visit your grandfather!" Su Yu sneered. "Drop the act, Dao Cheng, isn't it? Pulling this routine at a time like this—you really are a hypocrite! If you just came out and said you were here to kill me, I might actually hold you in higher regard!" Dao Cheng did not reply. He stepped inside, surrounded by death qi. However, rays of light shimmered across his golden robe, repelling the corrosive miasma. A faint wisp of Heaven Yuan Qi also drifted from his flesh, neutralizing the corrosion. He walked past the dead spirits, and the ancient city token hanging from his waist caused them to steer clear of him. Soon, he spotted the encircled Su Yu. And Su Yu saw him as well. Dao Cheng, ninth-tier Lingyun. A monster who had slain a fifth-tier Shanhai. Seeing how young he looked, Su Yu asked with mild curiosity, "You're only ranked ninth on the Earth Ranking? Why is your rank so low?" Dao Cheng gave him a distinctly dangerous sensation. Dao Cheng replied calmly, "I am not skilled in combat. Slaying that fifth-tier Shanhai was merely a stroke of luck involving external factors. Furthermore, I am somewhat older, so naturally I cannot compare to youths like you." "Is that so?" Su Yu chuckled. "You feel stronger to me than that An Mintian from the god race. He was sixth on the Earth Ranking... no, seventh now. Are you inferior to him?" An Mintian had previously been ranked sixth on the Earth Ranking and was now seventh, still ahead of Dao Cheng. A second-tier Shanhai who had killed a fourth-tier Shanhai. Dao Cheng smiled faintly. "An Mintian? He is a bit younger than I am, and... he merely hails from the Ice Snow God Race, not the Primordial God Race. Otherwise, his rank wouldn't be quite so high." Su Yu nodded thoughtfully. "I see. So the rankings follow that rule—the weaker the race, the higher one's ranking for equivalent strength, right?" "Weaker?" Dao Cheng thought for a moment, then nodded and smiled. Was the Ice Snow God Race weak? Not at all! Yet the person standing before him was Su Yu, a genius on the Heaven Ranking. He continued walking, closing in on Su Yu, while Su Yu steadily backed away. Su Yu actually wanted to test Dao Cheng's strength, but he still sensed immense danger. His Calamity divine character was throbbing, a clear sign that this fellow was far more dangerous than he appeared. All around them, the death qi grew increasingly thick, corroding them so severely that large amounts of golden light and Heaven Yuan Qi fluctuations erupted from both their bodies. "It seems you brought quite a few treasures on this trip!" Dao Cheng continued advancing, smiling. "Su Yu, I am curious: why haven't you found an ancient house to hide in? Do you truly believe you can defeat me?" "No!" Su Yu replied candidly. "I prefer to retain the initiative. Hide in an ancient house so you can besiege me? Besides... you can't kill me!" "You certainly are confident!" Dao Cheng smiled. Yet at that exact moment, Su Yu transformed into a gust of astral wind, vanishing on the spot. Simultaneously, a spatial fissure abruptly tore open where Su Yu had just stood. A divine character in Dao Cheng's palm developed a hairline fracture. Seeing Su Yu escape, he furrowed his brows slightly. "Su Yu, didn't you claim you weren't afraid of me? Didn't you say I couldn't kill you? Why run, then?" "Just talking trash!" As the words fell, an illusion manifested. With a muffled rumble, Su Yu coughed up blood, his Blood divine character trembling violently as Dao Cheng shattered the illusion in an instant! A Civilization Master! Su Yu had known beforehand that Dao Cheng was a Civilization Master—or an immortal art master, as the Immortal race called them. He simply hadn't expected the other's divine characters and willpower to be so overwhelmingly powerful. Dao Cheng had shattered his illusion in a fraction of a second! Su Yu fled rapidly, with Dao Cheng trailing close behind. "I sincerely invited you as a guest, so why bother running?" By now, death qi swirled relentlessly around Dao Cheng's golden robe. Around them, dead spirits eyed him, seemingly hesitating over whether to attack. Dao Cheng felt utterly helpless. Dead spirits were a massive nuisance. The consumption was simply too high! Even he hadn't brought much Heaven Yuan Qi with him. Su Yu had tangled in the death qi for so long, yet he was still holding out. Had this guy uprooted an entire Heaven Yuan Fruit tree from the War God Hall or the Quest Realm? Just as the thought crossed his mind, another divine character emerged in Dao Cheng's hand with a thunderous roar! Golden light erupted from his palm as he grabbed hold of a massive hammer! "The Expanding Will Art?" Dao Cheng's willpower rippled slightly. Giving a low shout, the golden light in his hand surged, squeezing the massive hammer tightly. The Mind Expansion Hammer, usually ferocious and unyielding, showed signs of fracturing under his grip today. Right then, the hammer transformed into a long blade, slashing out once more with a deafening blast! Heaven-scorching flames blazed! Dao Cheng frowned and gave another low shout. Frost condensed in his hand, extinguishing the flames with a hiss. Another divine character manifested, sending the blade flying with a dull smack. Dao Cheng stumbled back several paces. "This is certainly not the strength of a first-tier Lingyun... Your willpower has long surpassed the first tier. "Your multiple divine character battle technique... appears somewhat unrefined, unable to match the might of seasoned multiple divine character Civilization Masters..." Su Yu did not reply, continuing to flee toward the inner zone. From time to time, he retaliated, engaging in willpower clashes. However, he remained entirely on the defensive, completely suppressed by Dao Cheng. This time, Su Yu gained no advantage whatsoever in the realm of willpower. Dao Cheng's willpower was far too formidable! The Mind Expansion Hammer couldn't crush him, and the multiple divine character battle technique only managed to shake him slightly, falling far short of inflicting heavy damage. Furthermore, this fellow possessed an arsenal of bizarre techniques. If not for the warning from his Calamity divine character, Su Yu would have been shredded several times by Dao Cheng's spatial slicing attacks. Every now and then, a spatial rift would come slicing through the air. As the two clashed, one relatively weak dead spirit was sliced clean in two by Dao Cheng's spatial fissure. In an instant, a massive wave of death qi billowed outward in all directions. Both Su Yu and Dao Cheng were enveloped by the surge, inundated by the encroaching miasma. Dao Cheng's complexion darkened! He felt thoroughly exasperated; fighting in this place came with this exact drawback. Sure enough, the very next moment, seven or eight dead spirits manifested in midair, their hollow gazes locked directly onto Dao Cheng. Having slain a dead spirit, he had provoked major trouble—these creatures were not to be provoked lightly. By now, more than thirty dead spirits surrounded the two of them. None were overwhelmingly powerful, but the sheer volume of death qi was already beginning to wear down both Su Yu and Dao Cheng. An ordinary cultivator, even in the Shanhai Realm, would have been corroded to death by now. Su Yu swallowed another drop of third-tier Shanhai essence blood and unleashed a savage slash! Dao Cheng uttered a low shout. Divine characters imprinted across his palm, instantly condensing into a long sword. He thrust it forward, shattering the blade qi with a resounding blast, while the lingering sword qi continued its trajectory toward Su Yu! "Innate blood essence?" Light flickered in Dao Cheng's eyes. Su Yu truly possessed a staggering array of tricks. Yet that wasn't the crucial point. The crucial point was that his physical body could actually withstand the explosive power of a third-tier Shanhai. That meant Su Yu's genuine physical cultivation was exceptionally high, his physique remarkably resilient. "The Great Circulatory Apertures?" Truly terrifying! Su Yu paid him no heed, continuing to trade blows. Though he was outmatched by Dao Cheng, he was nowhere near being beaten to death. Right at that moment, Su Yu's expression changed drastically! He instantly transformed into a shadow and fled. With a thunderous boom, several nearby dead spirits were blasted away as Cheng Kai materialized where he had just stood, frowning slightly. "He possesses an exceptionally sensitive divine character or some similar detection artifact..." Turning toward Dao Cheng, he added, "You couldn't take him down?" After tangling for so long, Dao Cheng still hadn't captured him, which left Cheng Kai thoroughly disappointed. Without waiting for a response, Cheng Kai vanished. Dead spirits were closing in, and he had no desire to kill them and bring trouble upon himself. Dao Cheng surveyed the surrounding dead spirits and let out a sigh. "There are too many dead spirits obstructing me... I need to find an ancient house to purge some death qi. Su Yu carries a vast reserve of Heaven Yuan Qi! Brother Cheng Kai, continue tracking him and exhaust his supply!" Cheng Kai said darkly, "I know. Furthermore... since my ancient city token is useless, we can approach the city lord and borrow his token. Then these Tengkong and Lingyun dead spirits will no longer harm or corrode us!" As the ruler of the ancient city, City Lord Tianhe naturally possessed a high-grade token. Not only would these weaker dead spirits refrain from attacking him, they would even obey his commands. That was the most terrifying aspect. Cheng Kai was running out of patience. If all else failed, he would ask the city lord to borrow it. He might not be able to borrow it himself, but if the Immortal race stepped in, would the city lord truly refuse? *** Meanwhile, Su Yu didn't care about their schemes; he was reaching his limit as well. Time to run! He might as well find an ancient house to take shelter in. If he ended up cornered inside, so be it—if he didn't run now, he would be in serious jeopardy. His Heaven Yuan Qi consumption was far too high! He needed to extract more essence blood to replenish his depleted reserves. Of course, before ducking for cover, he had one more task to accomplish. Rather than killing anyone, he needed to retrieve the sub-ranking scroll he had discarded. It had to be said, being without the scroll was an enormous inconvenience; he couldn't even make transactions with the Heaven Hunting Pavilion. Su Yu had to admit that the pavilion possessed absolute confidence when they allowed clients to take their scrolls. After using it just a few times, Su Yu already felt it was indispensable, even if it could be used to track his location. Leading the swarm of dead spirits in another wide arc, Su Yu quickly found his discarded sub-ranking scroll. Nobody else wanted the thing anyway; aside from checking rankings and trading with the Heaven Hunting Pavilion, it had little practical use. With the scroll back in hand, Su Yu could sense pursuers trailing him from the perimeter—either Cheng Kai or Dao Cheng. He couldn't be bothered to care. Dropping toward the ground, he darted away. In the blink of an eye, he entered the 18th ring and ducked into an ancient house that appeared to have belonged to the human race. Su Yu chose not to leave the city. At this moment, he could technically have fled outside. Yet fleeing outside would be true suicide. Outside the city, there were no dead spirits, and dead spirits would not pursue him beyond the gates. Once Cheng Kai caught up, Su Yu could never outrun him. That would be walking straight into death's embrace, as he was no match for a peak Shanhai. He was far better off playing the waiting game inside the ancient city. Cheng Kai wasn't a resident, yet he had spent two days here. With death qi invading the streets at night, even with an ancient city token, could Cheng Kai hold out longer than Su Yu? Once Cheng Kai gave up and left, it wouldn't be too late for Su Yu to depart. In any case, he still had Heaven Yuan Qi; it was simply a contest of who could outlast whom. As for the prospect of his enemies calling for reinforcements, Su Yu wasn't overly worried. If they could seek help, so could he. Now that he was trapped, he would simply call for aid. If nothing else, the Great Ming Prefecture ought to dispatch at least one Sun Moon expert to save his life! If worst came to worst, he could spend a fortune to hire the Heaven Hunting Pavilion for protection. Su Yu had calculated everything clearly. In short, holding out inside the city wouldn't kill him for now, whereas fleeing outside could lead to a swift death. He didn't want to permanently cripple his physical body just to drag Cheng Kai down with him—it simply wasn't worth it! Outside the door, dead spirits converged and began hammering against the entrance. Cheng Kai quickly arrived, bringing Yin Kai and the others with him. Cheng Kai let out a long breath of relief! After chasing him all night, the brat was cornered at last! Now that he had ducked into a house, coming back out wouldn't be so easy! By now, dawn was beginning to break. Trading the lives of three Shanhai experts just to corner Su Yu inside a room—Cheng Kai wasn't sure whether the price had been worth it. But if they could kill Su Yu, three Shanhai experts... were an acceptable sacrifice. Within the 18th ring, Su Yu was trapped. Soon, daylight fully broke. Several living beings cautiously stepped outdoors to survey the situation. In the inner rings, some experts showed no such hesitation, observing the scene from a distance. Word quickly spread: Su Yu had been cornered by the Xuan Armor race! He was trapped inside that ancient house. *** The news swiftly radiated across the four directions. On the Plain of Desires. Zheng Ping had just slain several experts, his body drenched in blood. The communication talisman on his waist vibrated. Taking it out to read, he wore an utterly speechless expression. Glancing at Huang Teng beside him, he sighed. "Su Yu is in trouble. He's been trapped inside an ancient house by a peak Shanhai of the Xuan Armor race. Right now, experts from various races are rushing toward Tianmie Ancient City. That kid... can't he stay out of trouble for even a moment?!" Huang Teng was also surprised. "Trapped?" He had assumed Su Yu would manage to escape. He had seen the shifts on the rankings; that kid was terrifyingly formidable, having slain a third-tier Shanhai last night. If that was the case, shouldn't he have had enough time to flee? Yet on second thought, fleeing might have led to an even faster death. If it were him, what choice would he have made? Thinking of this, Huang Teng smiled. "Teacher, why don't we go take a look as well?" "Look at what..." Zheng Ping snapped irritably. "Let me escort you back to the East Rift Valley first, and then I'll come back to check. This road isn't safe..." Pausing, he added, "You'd better watch yourself too. Coming to the Plain of Desires has sent my bloodlust through the roof. If I'm not careful, I might accidentally hack you down along with the rest!" The Plain of Desires was hardly a pleasant place. Huang Teng pondered for a moment and could only nod. Never mind, he should head back first. At the very least, he needed to escort Wu Qi back; that woman was on the verge of death. In truth, he still wanted to go and watch. His strength wasn't weak—he had killed Shanhai experts before, so joining the commotion wouldn't easily put him in mortal peril. *** At the same time. In the Human Realm. Thirteen shadows were streaking forward at top speed. The leader, Dark Shadow, felt his communication talisman vibrate. Scanning it quickly, he sent a voice transmission: "Hurry up! That brat has been trapped inside an ancient house! His Excellency ordered us to arrive within three days!" Setting out from the Great Ming Prefecture, reaching the All-Heavens Battlefield, and then arriving at Tianmie Ancient City within three days was a monumental task. Yet right now, Dark Shadow and the others could only obey orders. They had to give it everything they had! Six Sun Moon experts and seven peak Shanhai cultivators, all dispatched to rescue Su Yu. The others said nothing. The peak Shanhai experts simply gripped the arms of the Sun Moon experts, allowing the latter to pull them along at maximum speed. They had to reach Tianmie City within three days. *** Simultaneously. Twin Sages Prefecture. Ye Hongyan walked out of her residence without a word. That old fellow hadn't spoken to her in years, yet now he had actually asked her to rescue Su Yu... Ye Hongyan snorted inwardly, feeling a subtle touch of smugness. *When push comes to shove, you still have to beg me for help!* *Su Yu...* That kid truly knew how to stir up trouble! He had departed only recently, yet he had already triggered a colossal crisis on the All-Heavens Battlefield. Now, experts from every race were converging there. As a member of the multiple divine character faction, couldn't he keep a lower profile? Yet mixed with her irritation was an indescribable sigh... Strictly speaking, the troubles plaguing the multiple divine character faction were tied to her nephew. Before her nephew rose to fame, the faction hadn't faced nearly so much animosity. In the end, it was all the mess left behind by Ye Batian. Because of Ye Batian, the myriad realms dreaded the rise of another powerhouse from the human race's multiple divine character faction. That was why Hong Tan and the others had to sneak around in secret whenever they went to the All-Heavens Battlefield. And now Su Yu had shot onto the Heaven Ranking in an instant; it would be strange if trouble didn't follow. Had he been a warrior, things would never have become so troublesome. Against warriors, the myriad races would kill them if convenient, and let it go if they couldn't. At most, the humans would gain another Invincible—what of it? Back in the day, Xia Longwu and his peers were incomparably mighty, towering geniuses, yet the experts of the myriad races hadn't clamored to hunt them down from the start. Their later desire to kill Xia Longwu was purely because his killing intent was far too ferocious. *** Ye Hongyan set out, and the Shadow Guards were rushing toward their destination as well. And at that moment. Within the human race's primary encampment. King Daqin glanced at the intelligence report and said indifferently, "Leave it be! Do not interfere in conflicts below the Eternal Realm. Moreover... the situation in the ancient city is complicated. If Eternals get involved, it will only create greater trouble!" Below him stood his second son, Commander Qin Hao of the Vanguard Camp. Hearing his father's words, Qin Hao asked in a deep voice, "Father, is the ancient city truly that dangerous?" King Daqin fell into contemplation before replying, "It isn't a matter of danger, but rather... the situation over there is intricate. The ancient cities are actually responsible for guarding certain secrets... You wouldn't understand. Furthermore, the lord of the ancient city oversees the place. If we recklessly meddle, it could easily provoke the ancient city hierarchy into turning against us. This matter can only be resolved by those below the Eternal Realm!" Qin Hao thought for a moment, then suggested, "Then perhaps I could lead some experts from the Vanguard Camp over there?" King Daqin glanced at him and said heavily, "The Vanguard Camp cannot be moved; it must guard the East Rift Valley! If the East Rift Valley falls, the losses will be far greater!" "Then Su Yu... we simply ignore him?" Qin Hao looked at his father. This was the premier genius of the multiple divine character faction. King Daqin replied indifferently, "It doesn't matter. It seems someone is already over there... Let us see how Su Yu saves himself. If he cannot save himself and falls into peril, then he is merely a fool who must fend for himself!" Without sufficient ability, why stir up such massive trouble? Unless an enemy Invincible intervened, King Daqin had no intention of interfering. With that in mind, King Daqin added calmly, "Over the next few days, I will patrol the borders to intercept the powerhouses of the various races. As for the rest... he must take responsibility for his own actions!" Invincibles did not meddle in such affairs; otherwise, an all-out war of Invincibles would have erupted long ago. Whether Su Yu could weather this storm depended on himself, as well as the efforts put forth by the Great Ming Prefecture and the Great Xia Prefecture. Beyond that, King Daqin could not intervene. Besides, the odds of a mishap were low. A few days ago, he had seemingly sensed the presence of a certain fellow, who appeared to be heading in that direction as well. Seeing his father's stance, Qin Hao could only nod and hold his peace.