Searching for Foutuling

Out on the open sea. As things stood, there remained one massive flaw. Foutuling! Failing to capture Foutuling was Su Yu's greatest regret, and it had left an enormous loophole in his scheme. With the slightest carelessness, if Foutuling showed up or exposed him, Su Yu would find himself plunged into grave danger. Concealing his tracks as he traveled, Su Yu pondered how to resolve this immense loophole and troublesome loose end. Without taking care of this problem, Su Yu simply did not have the nerve to see this transaction through. Of course, having impersonated Foutuling and fought a massive battle against Tianduo, it was possible that Foutuling, having gotten nothing out of it, was deliberately framing him... Not everyone would necessarily believe Foutuling's words, but once the possibility that Tianduo might actually be Su Yu was raised, people would verify it just to be safe, even if they doubted it. "Foutuling!" Su Yu cursed inwardly. What a pain! A tremendous haul was almost within his grasp, yet he still dared not head to Nine Stars City right now. "What a real nuisance!" Time and again, Su Yu shook his head. Before the plan even began, he had known Foutuling was a vulnerability, but there had been nothing he could do. He hadn't been able to locate Foutuling, who had also gone missing! Just as he was thinking this, Su Yu's gaze flickered. He was just about to steer clear— —when a rumbling sound like muffled thunder came from behind! "Tianduo! Where did Foutuling go?" A figure shot forward from the rear amid continuous roaring booms! Shizun! Shizun was not slow either. In fact, he had been tracking them all along. Seeing only Tianduo now and not a trace of Foutuling, he bellowed in fury, "Where is he? Damn it, he runs fast! He already played me once two days ago! I thought he was hiding in Xinghong Ancient City, but who knew he came out to sea—and now he's run off again!" "..." Su Yu had originally intended to slip away first, but now his eyes flickered slightly. He asked nonchalantly, "Shizun, you clashed with Foutuling as well?" Shizun's thunderous voice rang out again in anger. "That shameless scoundrel's escape arts are too swift! I clearly cornered him into the ancient city, yet he managed to slip away! Did he use his escape technique to flee outside the city?" He was baffled too. Ancient city entrances were fixed. Could Foutuling have escaped without him noticing? It was possible! With that, he fumed again, "That shameless scoundrel finally showed his true ambition this time—uniting the five elements! No wonder he insisted on trying to seize my Stone Man heart before; he was probably trying to perfect his Five Elements heart!" Holy crap! In an instant, Su Yu understood why Shizun and Foutuling had been locked in relentless conflict. Foutuling's ambition truly was grand! Perhaps because his Five Elements heart was imperfect, he had actually set his sights on Shizun's Stone Man heart. Strictly speaking, the Stone Man race could be considered part of the Earth Spirit race—a mutated offshoot—though Su Yu wasn't entirely certain of the specifics. The Stone Man race was very formidable. Though not an ancient race, they ranked among the top hundred races and possessed Invincible beings among their ranks. In an instant, Su Yu caught several key pieces of information! First, Foutuling had encountered Shizun earlier. Second, Foutuling might still be inside the only ancient city on Nine Stars Island and hadn't left yet. Third, Shizun had come specifically looking for Foutuling; he didn't seem interested in fighting Tianduo, perhaps didn't even care about the Invincible's corpse, or didn't feel confident he could take Tianduo down. Foutuling was in the ancient city! Su Yu's gaze shifted slightly. Feigning composure, he said, "That fellow is indeed tricky to deal with. Shizun, you might not necessarily be able to best him!" Shizun huffed in a low, muffled rumble, "I counter him—why would I fear him? He belongs to the Earth Spirit race! His strongest earth escape, earth defense, and earth attacks are useless against me! Even if he unites the five elements, he remains primarily an Earth Spirit! Why would I fear him?" He wasn't afraid of Foutuling in the least! He and Foutuling weren't playing house; they had engaged in life-and-death battles multiple times. Formidable as Foutuling was, he had never been able to gain the upper hand against Shizun, and had instead been battered into fleeing all over the place. That was racial counter in action. Even if Foutuling truly united the five elements, Shizun would not fear him! Scanning the surroundings, Shizun said coolly, "Tianduo, if you run into him, remember to notify me. I'll hunt him down again! He won't get away!" Having spoken, he prepared to leave. Su Yu swiftly called out, "Shizun, when I was fighting him just now, were you nearby?" "What of it?" Shizun snapped angrily, "It's all your fault, you useless trash! You ran off over some crummy ruin! If you had tangled with him just a bit longer, I would have arrived and killed him for sure! Isn't killing Foutuling far better than some petty relic? Fool!" With that, Shizun tore through the air and took off. Grandpa Stone saw the ancient corpse, but Grandpa Stone doesn't care—I want to kill Foutuling! Compared to killing Foutuling, everything else was a trivial side matter. Su Yu was speechless! I thought you didn't see it, but it turns out you did, yet you still ran off this quickly, devoted entirely to hunting down Foutuling... Now that is true love! Still, it was just as well that he left! Su Yu didn't want any further complications. A thought crossed his mind: *I really can't seem to untangle myself from these ancient cities!* Foutuling was very likely in the ancient city. Then I'll go into the ancient city to find him! It would be best to get rid of him entirely! Even if he couldn't kill him, he needed to trap him inside the ancient city or prevent him from having any chance to emerge. The guy probably didn't carry a sub-ranking, so communicating with the outside world would be very difficult. As long as he was trapped inside an ancient house, unable to send word out, Su Yu wouldn't care whether he came out or not once his own business was concluded. Thinking of this, Su Yu promptly draped a robe over himself. To conceal his appearance first! Just then, inside Tianduo's storage ring in his hand, a transmission talisman vibrated. Su Yu took out the transmission talisman, his brow furrowing slightly. This thing... was a bit troublesome. Transmission talismans operated on specific frequencies. Without knowing the frequency, one could open and read incoming messages, but could not transmit messages, because one wouldn't know their own transmission frequency. Fortunately, it didn't matter if he didn't reply to anyone right now. He opened it and took a look; the Demon race's transmission talismans were quite high-grade. Messages were archived and could be reviewed quickly. He glanced at the contact who had just sent him a message—it was labeled as coming from an expert named Dawo. Dawo? Su Yu's mind stirred. He knew this name. On his first day entering the city, a dispute had broken out between the Dragon race and the Primordial Demon race, and that Dawo had staged a massive clash against a giant dragon. Dawo, a powerhouse of the Primordial Demon race, at the seventh stage of the Sun Moon Realm! "Tianduo, where are you?" This was the message Dawo had sent to Tianduo. Su Yu had no way to reply. Replying required matching both his own frequency and the recipient's transmission frequency—a safeguard specifically designed to prevent people from using captured transmission talismans to frame others after killing their owners. Su Yu knew neither Tianduo's frequency nor Dawo's. So naturally, he could not reply. Transmission talismans were handy items, but back in the day, people had used them for phishing and ambushes, leading to substantial improvements in design over time. "Dawo..." Su Yu murmured to himself and paid it no further heed. Right at that moment, the talisman vibrated once more. "Tianduo, return to Nine Stars City as soon as possible. No one will rob you of what you obtained, but... it's best to trade it to the Demon race. You will find it very hard to keep hold of it yourself!" Modona! Looking at the sender label, Su Yu was slightly surprised. Modona and Tianduo actually keep in touch? I thought those two wouldn't have any contact at all. Frowning slightly, Su Yu swiftly transmitted to the little fur ball, "Work on Tianduo with everything you've got and force out his transmission frequencies! Once you get them, I'll give you something delicious to eat!" Indeed, if Tianduo were to reply now, it might further cement his identity. Of course, not replying was also fine. Having just stumbled upon a tremendous opportunity, it was only natural for Tianduo to go dark. Even so, maintaining the cover could come in handy. Clad in the black robe, Su Yu moved swiftly toward the ancient city while instructing the little fur ball to interrogate Tianduo for the transmission frequencies. The Demon race seemed to attach great importance to this matter. Even Modona had sent a transmission urging him to trade the items to the Demon race. Su Yu did not reply. Soon, another message arrived from Dawo. "Tianduo, many powerhouses are searching for you! You are in great danger! Come back, and we will protect you! Whether you trade it to the Demon race or return to the Demon Realm to present it to Demon King Lade, either is far better than having it seized by outsiders!" Demon King Lade, Tianduo's ancestor. Whether Tianduo sold it to others in the Demon Realm or dedicated it to his own ancestor, the Demon race could accept either outcome. What they feared most was someone else snatching it away. That would be a true loss! This corpse of an ancient Invincible... well, rumored to be an ancient Invincible. It was quite possibly the only surviving corpse of an ancient Invincible in existence today. Even if not an Invincible, it was at least a Quasi-Invincible. Its research value was immeasurable! There were also ancient divine characters, ancient Heaven armaments, and potentially relics tied to ancient secrets. In short, this corpse was of paramount importance! Both the Demon race and other races were currently scouring the area for Tianduo. Another faction was searching for the witnesses present at the time, as well as the fellow who had snatched the ancient divine arrows. Even the site of the collapsed ancient space that Su Yu had staged was being investigated by several powerhouses. ... Deep beneath the sea. Multiple powerhouses had arrived at the battle site. Among them were several in the Sun Moon Realm. These included a white-masked figure from the Heaven Hunting Pavilion, a radiant golden figure from the All-Heavens Myriad Treasures Building, and powerhouses from various other races. The spatial rift vortex had already dissipated, but lingering spatial fluctuations remained. After inspecting the scene, a top powerhouse remarked calmly, "A spatial pocket did indeed shatter here, but because it had existed for too long, the area of collapse was not very large..." As he spoke, he reached out a hand, parting the seawater and instantly retrieving a piece of shattered armor. Examining and appraising it closely, he remarked calmly, "An artifact from the ancient era. The original material seems to have been of the Earth rank, but it was likely completely pulverized when the space collapsed!" He then sighed. "Time is merciless. Even in an enclosed ancient space, left without maintenance and nourishment, even an Earth armament turns to scrap." At that moment, another powerhouse stepped into the area and noted coolly, "There is a scent of death qi. From the looks of it, there may have been a tendency toward conversion into a dead spirit before death, though for some reason the process was terminated..." Hearing this, a Demon powerhouse said in shock, "An ancient powerhouse could reverse the death qi conversion? Our Demon Emperor once said that the Invincibles of the ancient era might all have been converted into dead spirits... their corpses converted into dead spirits. Could it be that the one here failed to finish the conversion?" Why had the corpses of ancient Invincibles all vanished? According to the deductions of several long-lived powerhouses, the vast majority had likely been converted into dead spirits. Granted, no traces of those ancient Invincibles had yet been found in the dead spirit realm, but some ancient Invincibles did indeed exist. The Demon Emperor, God Emperor, and a few others had actually ventured into the dead spirit realm, even preparing to guide certain Invincibles back. "Could it be that he wasn't an Invincible?" "Even if not an Invincible, it was still the corpse of a Quasi-Invincible. According to the onlookers, the moment the space shattered, there was still the lingering pressure of a late-stage Sun Moon powerhouse. And how many years has this person been dead?" "..." The powerhouses made their swift assessments. Meanwhile, the white-masked figure from the Heaven Hunting Pavilion inspected the area for a time before speaking up: "Traces of Tianduo's aura remain, but none from Foutuling. That little fellow is exceedingly cautious. Both of them discarded their sub-rankings, making it difficult to track them down right now!" Without finding the individuals, discussing anything else was pointless. A Demon powerhouse said coldly, "And what if you find him? He is a genius of the Primordial Demon race, and a descendant of Demon King Lade! Are you daring to plot against my Demon race?" What brazen nerve! At this moment, a Dragon powerhouse spoke up with a frigid sneer, "If Tianduo can't protect it, then naturally it doesn't belong to your Demon race! Dawo, by your logic, that Dragon Blood Ancient Tree of yours should be returned to my Dragon race as well!" Naturally, whoever snatched it owned it! Dawo snorted coldly, inwardly furious. For an item of this caliber, these people would hardly show any restraint. Of course, as long as Tianduo returned to their side, it wouldn't be a major issue. Would they dare launch a full-scale assault on the Demon encampment? That would be a genuine declaration of war! Right now, since Tianduo had run off without a trace, if he was intercepted and killed, there would be nowhere to seek redress. Dawo sent a few more messages to Tianduo. Since the transmissions went through, it indicated Tianduo was still in the surrounding region; otherwise, the transmission talisman wouldn't reach that far. Yet Tianduo did not reply! That idiot! Dawo cursed inwardly. You are a descendant of Demon King Lade. No matter what, the Demon race wouldn't rob you; they would surely give you substantial benefits, or you could personally offer it to Demon King Lade. And now look at him—the brat refused to reply! What did he mean by this? Swallowing it all for himself? Would keeping it for yourself do you any good? Whether it was the corpse of an Invincible or a Quasi-Invincible, a mere Lingyun couldn't possibly digest it! Furthermore, this corpse's overall worth went far beyond its inherent material value. The corpse of an ancient Quasi-Invincible or Invincible was far more valuable than a contemporary one! Dawo cursed repeatedly under his breath and swiftly ordered other demons to search for Tianduo. Under no circumstances could powerhouses of other races be allowed to find Tianduo first. Killing Tianduo was a minor loss; losing that corpse was the real catastrophe! One by one, the powerhouses departed in haste. Soon, with the others gone, the golden-glowing powerhouse from the All-Heavens Myriad Treasures Building chuckled, "Hey, Heaven Hunting Pavilion folks, don't you have sub-ranking tracking? You still can't locate anyone?" "Are you deaf?" The white-masked figure replied coldly, "Didn't you hear me say they discarded their sub-rankings?" The golden-robed powerhouse sneered and retorted, "Looks like this opportunity won't fall to your Heaven Hunting Pavilion! Perhaps... it will end up with my Myriad Treasures Building in the end!" With that, he vanished. The white-masked figure couldn't be bothered to argue. He continued examining the surroundings, furrowing his brow, and soon brought out a book, writing rapidly: "Confirmed spatial collapse with ancient relics. Severity of collapse was mild; seawater agitated; ruins cannot be traced; fragments have vanished..." A line of text soon surfaced on the book. "Can the identity of the remains be confirmed?" "Cannot confirm!" The white-masked figure continued writing: "The space retains faint traces of pressure around the eighth stage of the Sun Moon Realm, along with lingering death qi; likely corroded by death qi. According to eyewitnesses, the remains bore a longbow on the back..." "Can the style and color of the longbow be documented?" "Did not inquire in detail. Black, approximately three zhang long..." Shortly after, another line appeared on the pages: "Track Tianduo and Foutuling! If a trade is possible, offer a high price! The Pavilion will swiftly scour ancient archives to verify the remains' identity. An archer... should be identifiable." An archer powerhouse had to be at least a Quasi-Invincible, if not an outright Invincible! He might belong to the Tianyi God race. This information was enough for them to trace the ancient corpse's true identity, though whether they succeeded depended on the completeness of Heaven Hunting Pavilion's records. The white-masked figure continued writing: "If Tianduo is encountered, should he be killed to obtain the item?" "If no witnesses are present, kill him! If secrecy cannot be guaranteed, trade!" The Heaven Hunting Pavilion was no benevolent organization. If no one knew, they would naturally rob him. If someone was watching... then they would trade. The Heaven Hunting Pavilion sold intelligence, dabbled in assassinations, and brokered high-value goods on the side; they still needed to maintain their reputation. Of course, if no one saw it, taking out another crook didn't count as breaking trust! The myriad races were well aware of this. Yet knowing it changed nothing. Under ordinary circumstances, the Heaven Hunting Pavilion was reliable, and when they double-crossed someone in the shadows, no evidence remained. At least their conduct was far cleaner than petty organizations! And they could actually put up genuine hard currency for transactions! The white-masked figure asked nothing further and swiftly departed. He had to find Tianduo or Foutuling. Lately, more and more people were discarding their sub-rankings. ... At the same time. In the endless void, inside a palace floating in the emptiness, the Faceless Elder commanded, "Everyone without pressing duties, pause your work! Scour the records and cross-reference identities: archer, ninth-stage Sun Moon to Eternal, possibly a Tianyi God race expert, wields a Heaven armament bow and Earth armament arrows..." Following the Faceless Elder's orders, the masked operatives without other assignments immediately set to work scouring various archives. After a while, a masked figure reported, "Elder, according to existing archives, six figures relatively match the profile." "First, King Yi of the ancient era, a Tianyi God race powerhouse in the Eternal Realm. He wielded a Heaven armament bow, but his arrows were also Heaven rank..." "Second, the sixth-generation patriarch of the Tianyi God race, titled King Tianshe. Eternal Realm, wielded a divine bow, and once shot and killed an Eternal. It doesn't quite match, though the possibility of the divine weapon degrading in rank cannot be ruled out..." "Third, King Lietian of the ancient era, a human-god half-blood possessing both Tianyi God and human lineages..." "Fourth..." As candidate after candidate was brought forward, the Faceless Elder reviewed them, frowning slightly. "Something is off. Among these, there are several I know of who can be eliminated... Continue digging through other records. Not many meet all criteria simultaneously." "Understood!" The Heaven Hunting Pavilion resumed checking uncataloged archives. The Faceless Elder pondered for a moment before shaking his head. Never mind, investigate slowly. If all else failed, they could obtain the corpse first and compare it at leisure. Where would that fellow Tianduo go now? Leave the Sea of Stars and return to the Demon Realm? Or stay put and linger in the Sea of Stars? The Faceless Elder pondered briefly and soon instructed, "Keep an eye on the Demon race's movements. If Tianduo delays showing himself, he may be looking to abandon the Demon race and swallow this haul alone. The Demon race might use blood essence tracking to pinpoint his whereabouts!" Tianduo was not without family. Soon enough, powerhouses from Demon King Lade's lineage might arrive to locate him via his blood essence. They could not allow Tianduo to make contact with the Demon race first. Otherwise, as an Invincible's descendant of the Demon race, once he rejoined them, acquiring these treasures would become next to impossible. ... Factions on all sides were searching for Su Yu's whereabouts—or rather, Tianduo's. Meanwhile, Su Yu was making a beeline toward the ancient city. Ancient cities were still relatively safer. Xinghong Ancient City was the nearest ancient city in this region. Su Yu moved quickly, yet did not fly carelessly in the open. He concealed his tracks carefully. It was not until night fell that, several thousand li away from Nine Stars City, Su Yu caught sight of an immense ancient city! Its style was similar to other ancient cities, with slight variations. At the other ancient cities he had seen, such as Tianmie and Yunxiao, Su Yu hadn't seen a moat, but Xinghong Ancient City possessed one. Encircling the outer walls, it gave Su Yu an ominous feeling, as death qi rolled thick across its waters. This ancient city felt deeply corroded by death qi. He didn't know whether this was because the dead spirits in the city were stronger or due to some other cause. Su Yu landed. At the city gate, a cluster of living dead clad in armor gazed at him in dead silence. "Living dead"... The reason Su Yu called them this was that the death qi clinging to them was too dense; it gave him the impression that they might convert into dead spirits at any moment. In Tianmie City, he had seen many gate-guarding commanders like Tianmen. While they bore death qi, they still carried the scent of the living. The guards of Xinghong Ancient City, however, reeked heavily of corpses! Su Yu possessed some knowledge of this ancient city. Its city lord was a ninth-stage Sun Moon powerhouse from the Dragon race—and not an ordinary dragon either, but a rare breed among them: a dark demon dragon. Reputedly, they were a hybrid of the Dragon and Demon races. Dark demon dragons were few in number and held in low regard by the Dragon race. It was said that this dragon city lord had fallen out with the Dragons in the past, defected from the race, and assumed the position of Xinghong Ancient City's city lord. Over the years, ensconced in the ancient city, the Dragon race had never come to cause trouble for him. Su Yu understood the basic intelligence. Furthermore, the guards of Xinghong Ancient City were exceptionally domineering, even having ventured outside the walls in the past to slaughter powerhouses, a habit heavily influenced by the city lord. That dark demon dragon was similarly ruthless and tyrannical. So around here, one had to tread carefully to avoid being struck down by that ninth-stage Sun Moon dragon city lord. That would be disastrous! Moreover, few people frequented this ancient city. At night, with death qi thick and suffocating, virtually no one visited. At the vast gate, aside from the guards, Su Yu was the only one walking inward, while a few beings who could no longer endure the conditions inside were making their way out. Seeing Su Yu head inside, no one paid him any mind. There were always bold individuals who relied on their exceptional skills to enter in the dead of night, fearing neither dead spirits nor death itself; there was nothing to be done about that. ... Having visited two ancient cities before, Su Yu possessed a fair understanding of their layout. If he were Foutuling, he certainly wouldn't linger in the outer rings. Starting his search within the 18th ring was the right move! Setting permanent residents aside, non-residents who took up lodging were recorded and displayed. Within the 18th ring, there wouldn't be many non-residents staying. "Foutuling isn't weak, but at most, he would stay between the 18th and 12th rings. Deep inside, he likely lacks the capability to enter." "Taking up lodging is possible, but he won't necessarily gain benefits." Su Yu made a rough deduction. Ancient houses were mysterious; even his perception jade could not penetrate their interiors. Otherwise, finding Foutuling would have been trivial. The guy was definitely here! Shizun had said Foutuling had gone inside and hadn't come out, which meant he most likely hadn't left yet. After all, Shizun had only departed the ancient city a short while ago. Right now, many powerhouses were probably scouring the region for him. That Dawo had sent several transmissions already, which Su Yu had no time to entertain, while Modona had sent one and then gone silent. Now that Su Yu had entered the city of death, transmission talisman signals became patchy; wherever death qi was slightly denser, messages likely failed to get through altogether. "If the transmission fails to go through, the demons might deduce that I entered an ancient city—or perhaps that I dove deeper into the Sea of Stars..." In short, strong experts might be drawn here very soon. He had to locate Foutuling as quickly as possible and close this loophole. Dead spirits drifted along the streets, and Su Yu swiftly steered clear. Guards patrolled the night, and Su Yu avoided any clash with them, moving away rapidly to keep out of their path. "A house belonging to the Five Elements race..." Perhaps that would be most suitable for Foutuling. Su Yu narrowed down his search area step by step. Bold and confident in his abilities, he made good use of the empty midnight streets, which proved ideal for his investigation. Su Yu kept scouting around, preparing to transform into a dead spirit once no one was paying attention to search for Foutuling. That would be much more convenient! As long as he wasn't targeted by the city lord inside the city. Before long, Su Yu found a secluded spot. Activating his perception jade and the 'Calamity' divine character, he waited until everything was quiet before swiftly transforming into a dead spirit. ... At this exact moment, in the Prefecture Lord Manor. In the rear hall, a stone sculpture opened its eyes. Just as the stone sculpture opened its eyes... a tiny humanoid figure strode across the void, looking at the sculpture with a helpless expression. "Just passing through. Not a dead spirit! A special cultivation technique!" The stone sculpture gazed silently at the miniature figure for a long time before speaking: "Su Yu, who came from Tianmie Ancient City and caused chaos?" "Senior knows of him?" "I am in the sacred city; nothing within it escapes me. A few days ago, living beings mentioned him!" The stone sculpture continued woodenly, "Tianmie has a good temper. My temper is not good. Do not cause trouble! Otherwise... I will mete out punishment!" The tiny figure thought for a moment and said, "The God-Devouring race's Half-Emperor had him stir up trouble, hoping to lure out Invincible Civilization Masters from the powerhouse god and demon races to devour a few, while giving his descendant an opportunity to temper itself..." The stone sculpture's gaze shifted slightly toward Su Yu. In the next instant, he saw through Su Yu's sea of will, spotting the little fur ball sprawled across the Mind Expansion Hammer. The God-Devourer Half-Emperor instructed this human to stir up trouble? He indeed sensed a faint trace of power on the little fur ball—not from the Half-Emperor, but from Tianmie. Tianmie had likely intervened to protect this little God-Devourer in the past. To lure out god and demon powerhouses and devour them. The stone sculpture sank into thought. A moment later, he said coldly, "And who are you? I have never seen you before!" "Senior could not possibly have seen every being across the myriad heavens and myriad realms..." "This will clone of yours is on the verge of dissipating. If I strike, you cannot block it!" The tiny figure nodded. "I cannot block it! Not to mention that it is nearing dissipation—even if it weren't, I still couldn't block Senior! I was entrusted by several Human Kings, including King Daqin, King Daxia, King Daming, and King Dazhou, to protect this person! He is the disciple of King Miecan and King Tianzhu..." Rattling off a long string of Invincibles in one breath, he added, "He has also inherited the legacies of multiple Human Kings, including King Dasong and King Dahan..." The stone sculpture sensed silently. Indeed, he also detected faint traces of Eternal aura—numerous and diverse, derived from the divine character heritages or cultivation legacies of Invincibles. Among them, the legacy of saber qi was exceptionally potent. "His saber... was learned from Xia Longwu?" "Yes!" The stone sculpture fell silent. That was Xia Longwu's saber, not Xia Wushen's. The stone sculpture could distinguish between them; he had met King Daxia and also Xia Longwu. A very troublesome person! Bearing the heritages of so many Invincibles! He spoke again: "If there is no business, do not bring trouble to me!" With that, he closed his eyes! Forget it! He couldn't be bothered to meddle. It was truly troublesome. Moreover, there was that God-Devourer Half-Emperor, who had lived for far too long—so long that the stone sculpture wondered whether this God-Devourer Half-Emperor was still the same one from back then. If so... that fellow had survived for a terrifying span of time. Even Tianmie had shown him respect, so it likely was the very same ancient figure. And now, an old oyster had miraculously yielded a pearl, siring an offspring—bizarre indeed. Was he nearing his death? Spawning a child to pass on his legacy? He couldn't quite fathom the situation. The tiny figure dissolved and returned. However, after emerging several times, it was already on the verge of fading away completely, leaving it feeling utterly resigned. He was far too good at causing trouble! Just stone sculptures alone, it had already met several! How much time had passed? Just one or two more times, and it would dissipate entirely! Today's Su Yu was no longer the Su Yu of the past; leaving an imprint on him silently without detection was exceedingly difficult now. ... Su Yu had no knowledge of the exchange between the stone sculpture and the miniature figure. In any case, he had never truly interacted with a stone sculpture before. The only time he had come close, the other party hadn't spoken, and Su Yu had simply assumed it was an ancient city opportunity. Inside the city, Su Yu, transformed into a dead spirit, continued searching for Foutuling's whereabouts. From the 18th to the 12th ring, he conducted a rapid sweep. Not counting permanent residents, there were a total of sixty-two houses occupied by living beings—far too many! Evidently, quite a few powerhouses had checked in. To lodge within the 18th ring, one needed the strength of the Shanhai Realm to have the confidence to do so. In other words, sixty-two beings comparable to Shanhai powerhouses were staying in these rings. "Under normal circumstances, these people will leave within three days at most... Tomorrow during the day, some might emerge, which will allow me to eliminate a few more." Su Yu thought to himself that this way, within three days at most, he would be able to rule out the majority of them. Yet three days was far too long! "Foutuling... damn it, what an annoying pest!" Su Yu felt helpless. Failing to kill Foutuling had left him constantly uneasy; it was a huge nuisance. Without resolving this hidden danger, his current swindling scheme could suffer severe disruptions! "I really hope this guy triggers an opportunity inside the house that locks him in for eight to ten days..." If that happened, he could easily brush his sleeves and walk away once everything was settled! Eight to ten days would be plenty of time to conclude his transactions. The real danger was if the guy suddenly popped out right in the middle of a transaction! Su Yu continued screening. Never mind, he had to keep investigating! Assuming the form of a dead spirit, he deliberately began knocking against various doorways. Some occupants ignored it, while others barked a reprimand. A few powerhouses even pulled open their doors to inspect. Seeing a dead spirit wandering about and bumping against the wooden boards... they ignored it. Dead spirits acting restless? Who cared! The target pool gradually shrank. Forty houses, thirty houses... As dawn approached, Su Yu quickly found an empty house to take shelter in, shifting back into Tianduo. Once daylight broke, he deliberately strolled past those rooms to investigate. Some residents left, some stepped outside, and others kept their doors firmly shut. Outside, the wider world was in total uproar, everyone hunting for Tianduo. Yet Su Yu remained calm and unhurried. Over the course of the day, he ruled out nineteen houses, leaving only eleven. If Foutuling was inside these six rings, he had to be in one of those eleven rooms—one of them was definitely his! ... And indeed, at that very moment, Foutuling was inside one of those rooms. He felt uneasy, sensing a prickle of impending crisis. "What's going on?" "Did Shizun track me down?" "I'm inside an ancient city, tucked away in a house. Can that stone lump still find me?" Foutuling was deeply perturbed. Why did he keep feeling this lingering sense of danger? What a nuisance! He hadn't found any opportunities in this ancient house either. Did he have to leave this place? Leaving the ancient city might be even more perilous; both Su Yu and Shizun were searching for him. "It couldn't be Su Yu, could it?" Foutuling pondered in silence. Surely not. Could that fellow find me this quickly? No one even knew he was in the ancient city. Plagued by irritation and unease, Foutuling considered stepping outside several times, but abandoned the idea each time. Forget it, I'll wait and see! Right then, subtle noises sounded outside the door. Foutuling became intensely vigilant, remaining deathly quiet. Outside, Su Yu gently scraped against the wooden planks. No reaction! Yet someone was inside. This was the seventh room he had inspected. Of the previous six, he had eliminated four; the remaining two, like this one, gave off no reaction or sound whatsoever. There were still four left to check. If the remaining four behaved the same way, there would be seven rooms that could potentially house Foutuling. Su Yu continued making that noise—the sound of claws scraping against wood. Inside the room, Foutuling was on extreme alert. What's going on? Is someone out there? Or what kind of creature is out there? He was slightly nervous; last time, he had nearly died inside an ancient city. After a while, the noise ceased. Foutuling breathed a sigh of relief, though he still didn't dare open the door. Who knew what phantom was lurking outside? Just like that, half an hour passed, and the sounds started up again. Su Yu had returned! Among the seven rooms, three occupants couldn't resist opening their doors to check the situation after he walked away. None was Foutuling. Su Yu hadn't lingered right outside; instead, he stayed within a thousand meters, coordinating his senses with the perception jade. Once the doors opened, those people naturally could not escape his detection. None of the three was Foutuling! That left only the remaining four rooms. With continuous harassment, curiosity would eventually get the better of people, compelling them to check. Even if they held back initially, once they felt the danger had passed, they would still peek out. The range of targets grew smaller and smaller. Inside the room, Foutuling grew exceedingly irritable. What the hell? Why is it back again? "Who is it?" Foutuling hissed in a low growl. Who on earth was playing tricks? Damn it, could some bastard be intentionally trying to spook him? He was the future co-ruler of the Five Elements race—did they think they could scare him? Believe it or not, I'll slaughter you! A tiny golden sword appeared in his grip. Believe it or not, I'll gut you in a single strike! Outside the door, Su Yu paused. He smiled! The dead spirit smiled! Foutuling, I found you! The fellow truly was hiding right here. The voice had changed slightly, but that didn't matter—it was unmistakably Foutuling's! At this moment, Su Yu let out a massive sigh of relief. This guy had likely never left the room, which meant Su Yu's secrets probably hadn't been leaked, and Foutuling almost certainly had no idea that Su Yu was impersonating Tianduo. "Foutuling, I found you. Excellent..." A smile lit up Su Yu's eyes. This was the final flaw.