Keep Calm in the Face of Trouble

Within Xinghong City, Sun Moon experts from the mighty god and demon races mobilized one after another! Some inspected the dead spirits, while others shouted furiously at Qin Hao and his companions. "Qin Hao, what do you think you are doing?" On the demon race's side, Dawo roared in anger. These humans were endlessly slaughtering dead spirits. If this continued, it would cause massive trouble. Although they had plenty of Sun Moon experts—and many in the late stages—no one had forgotten what happened in Tianmie Ancient City. If they truly lured out too many Sun Moon dead spirits, chaos would ensue! No matter how many Sun Moon experts they had, none could withstand an Invincible. Before Qin Hao could respond, Xuan Wuji of the immortal race said placidly, "General Qin, it is not even confirmed whether that is Su Yu. Even if it were, do not joke with everyone's lives!" Boom! The moment the words left his mouth, a spear thrust forward with lethal intent. A late-stage Sun Moon powerhouse from the immortal race swung his longsword. A tremendous crash reverberated through the surroundings. The immortal powerhouse's face shifted slightly, and Xuan Wuji instantly grew solemn. Qin Hao swept a chilly gaze over them, killing intent erupting as he said dismissively, "When adults are speaking, children should shut their mouths! Xuan Wuji, your father was beaten to his knees by me in the past, begging for mercy. Only after your grandfather personally came to make peace with my father did I spare him. Who do you think you are to lecture me?" Xuan Wuji's expression darkened. Qin Hao sneered. "Just because you made the Heaven Ranking, you forget who you are! Do you know who I am?" He barked coldly, "I am King Daqin's direct son, Commander of the Human Vanguard Army! A little brat like you is nothing. You dare lecture me? The Human-Immortal Alliance is not allied with the Xuan family alone. If King Xuan wishes to tear up the pact, let him come tell me himself! What right do you have to spew nonsense in front of me?" His gaze turned piercingly cold as he looked at the late-stage Sun Moon immortal guarding Xuan Wuji, stating coldly, "Keep your pampered infant in check! Does your race's Ancient Immortal King know this toddler is out here bossing me around?" The late-stage Sun Moon immortal's expression shifted slightly. He said in a deep voice, "General Qin misunderstands. Wuji meant no such thing. However, your wanton slaughter truly invites disaster. The lesson from earlier is right before our eyes. If an Invincible dead spirit is drawn out, none of us will escape death. It is not just our two races here; the dragons, monsters, Five Elements, and ancient races are all present. Please think twice, General Qin!" "Now that sounds like human speech!" Qin Hao smiled, as if he had not been furious moments ago. He chuckled and said, "Fair enough. My hand just slipped in the heat of the slaughter! You know our Vanguard Army specializes in killing. Once I start, the habit takes over. My apologies, take no offense!" The other races watched with cold detachment. Even the god and demon experts did not intervene, smirking derisively. The Human-Immortal Alliance was a laughingstock, long existing in name only! The immortal race had been growing restless recently anyway. Let them bicker. The alliance would shatter sooner or later, and the first to strike against the humans might not even be the gods or demons, but the immortals themselves. Qin Hao ignored them, though he ceased his slaughter. If he kept killing, now that the immortals had voiced their discontent, the other races would also worry about drawing out too many dead spirits, which would make things truly troublesome. There was no need to make himself the target of universal condemnation. Qin Hao thought to himself, *I've done my best. As for that kid... Come to think of it, if he really disguised himself as a dead spirit, could I have accidentally killed him?* Feeling slightly uncertain, he glanced at Qin Fang and sent a voice transmission: "Quick, check the ranking. Is he still on it?" Qin Fang was speechless. If Su Yu were dead, the ranking would tremble. He checked. Su Yu was still there. Qin Hao let out a faint breath of relief. Fortunately, his reckless killing had not taken out the boy. Not bad, it seemed his targeted strikes had been quite precise. Not only Qin Hao, but Shadow over on the other side had also stopped after a brief flurry of attacks. He feared nothing except accidentally striking down Su Yu amid the chaos! That kid could definitely disguise himself as a dead spirit! If a seventh-stage Sun Moon accidentally struck him, the boy probably would have no means to resist. Killing him by accident... that would be mortifying. *We were trying to provide cover for you, only to kill you ourselves... If Su Yu died like that, it would be far too aggrieved and absurd.* Of course, the likelihood was low. In an actual clash, the strength of a dead spirit was fairly discernible. Though the humans stopped killing, the dead spirits had been thoroughly provoked. They surged endlessly toward Qin Hao and the others. At this point, the attacks were indiscriminate; every creature out in the open was targeted without exception. The death qi thickened even further! Above the Prefecture Lord Manor, a Sun Moon dead spirit materialized. The city gates officially began to close. Without a word of nonsense, that Sun Moon dead spirit charged swiftly at Qin Hao and his companions! These people had slaughtered dead spirits. A fierce battle erupted instantly! Qin Hao felt no fear, nor did he retreat. He simply led the dead spirit around in circles, causing it to lash out at everyone else. The others fought with deep frustration; they could not kill it, and even when knocked back, it rushed straight back in! A dead spirit at roughly the second stage of the Sun Moon Realm was actually forcing a group of high-stage Sun Moon experts to constantly evade. They had no choice. Killing it would only summon more. Fortunately, their cultivation was formidable, and the arriving dead spirit was merely at the early Sun Moon stage. For the moment, the death qi could not harm them. It was unlike Tianmie Ancient City, where several late-stage Sun Moon dead spirits and dozens of early- to mid-stage ones had appeared. Moreover, only four late-stage Sun Moon experts had been in the city back then. This time, there were more than twenty! The impact on them was minimal, yet the number of dead spirits had risen sharply, exceeding two thousand across the entire city. Furthermore, more dead spirits continued to appear. Someone was undeniably assassinating dead spirits in secret! At this point, on the god race's side, Zhan Wushuang had no interest in minding the humans. He barked, "Release your willpower! Monitor every dead spirit!" A late-stage Sun Moon powerhouse from the god race instantly unleashed his willpower, enduring the agonizing corrosion of death qi to monitor the movements of all the dead spirits. An umbrella-like weapon appeared in Zhan Wushuang's hand. In the next instant, he unfurled it. All around him, the pervasive death qi automatically parted. Holding the umbrella aloft, he led the late-stage Sun Moon expert of the Tianyi God race through the air, looking down upon the dead spirits below. Meanwhile, the dead spirits simply ignored him. With a cold face and divine light gleaming in his eyes, Zhan Wushuang swept his gaze across the dead spirits. *Is Su Yu hiding among them?* It had been complete chaos at the beginning, with the humans deliberately causing trouble and slaying dead spirits everywhere. That had caused dead spirits to manifest endlessly and scramble about, leaving them no time for a meticulous search. Now, the immortals, demons, and dragons were all keeping an eye on the human powerhouses. In truth, an unspoken consensus had formed. Find Su Yu! The god race suffering a loss was fine and well, but Su Yu had to die! This youth's threat was growing greater and more terrifying by the day. Moreover, how had he disguised himself as a dead spirit? Was his camouflage technique truly that formidable? Meanwhile, the Five Elements race was also searching! By now, many things had become clear. Su Yu had likely captured Tianduo and impersonated him. Foutuling must have known something, which was why Su Yu had targeted him. Since Foutuling was not dead, he was probably imprisoned somewhere. Su Yu posed far too great a threat. No Lingyun expert had ever stirred up so much trouble wherever he went like Su Yu did. In the distance, several late-stage Sun Moon experts from the ancient races were also searching. Their goal was simple: killing Su Yu did not matter to them—in fact, it was best not to do it themselves—but if they encountered him, they had to rob him! A treasure trove worth 2,300 strands of Heaven and Earth Profound Light—who would not be tempted? As for whether the god race would demand it back afterward... to hell with that! *You paid it yourself, and we snatched it from Su Yu. What right do you have to ask for it back?* Independent late-stage Sun Moon experts, including Gu Shan, were searching relentlessly. There were only around two thousand dead spirits in the city. Searching through them was relatively straightforward. Even if their numbers kept growing, it would only expose Su Yu's hiding place, since he was the only one sneaking around assassinating dead spirits right now. And by this point, dead spirits had stopped appearing. Evidently, Su Yu had abandoned his assassination spree. In the distance, Zhan Wushuang walked through the air, taking no chances. Flanked at all times by a late-stage Sun Moon expert, he inspected the dead spirits one by one, calling out coldly, "Su Yu, I know you are here. Hand over the items I just gave you, and the past will be forgiven!" Invincibles would arrive soon! However, they still needed time. Before that, he had to reclaim the resources he had paid out. Otherwise, Zhan Wushuang would bring immense disappointment to the god race's Invincibles. Even though he was not the only one duped today... Everyone had been fooled! Yet only he had paid out a staggering amount of treasures. The two late-stage Sun Moon experts were merely his escorts; he was the true decision-maker for this expedition. He was on the verge of stepping into the ninth stage of the Shanhai Realm. Once he achieved the Sun Moon Realm, he would become a true wielder of authority within the god race. If he suffered such a monumental humiliation and catastrophic loss here, his future standing would be severely affected. He had to recover the treasures before the Invincibles descended! Capturing Su Yu alive or slaying him on the spot was the only way to wash away this disgrace! On the demon race's side, Dawo sent a voice transmission to Modona: "Modona, shall we search for Su Yu?" "Let the gods try first!" Modona surveyed his surroundings and transmitted, "Be careful. If that fellow still possesses Ye Batian's divine characters and suddenly erupts, it will remain perilous." Dawo was dismissive. *Could he possibly kill a seventh-stage Sun Moon?* If he could, that would be unreasonably monstrous. Modona's recent actions seemed somewhat unfitting for the number one genius on the Heaven Ranking... Well, now number two. Modona offered no explanation. Since the gods wanted to lead the charge, there was no need to stick his neck out. In any case, the demon race's loss was... not small either. Tianduo was dead, but when a genius was killed by someone of the same generation, Modona truthfully did not care all that much. A genius who was slain was no longer a genius. Even if he himself were killed by a peer one day, that would simply be normal. It would only mean he was not brilliant enough to sweep across all peers of the myriad races. Modona watched for a while, then glanced at the ancient houses around them. He suddenly spoke up, "Search the ancient houses as well. He is a living person, not a dead spirit! He can enter the ancient houses to take refuge!" At these words, numerous powerhouses surged toward the surrounding ancient houses to inspect them. Modona did not join in. After a brief contemplation, he spoke once more, "Last time, he used an ancient city translocation talisman to leave directly. Everyone had better send word through the Heaven Hunting Pavilion and have experts surround the perimeter of the ancient city. Beware of him using translocation to escape!" At this, several powerhouses immediately moved to communicate with the outside world, naturally relaying messages through the Heaven Hunting Pavilion's sub-rankings. Of course... it came at a price! The white-masked operative from the Heaven Hunting Pavilion was also present. He secretly transmitted instructions to the elders to increase the fees. No matter how exorbitant it was, these people would pay up. Su Yu was truly a gold mine for them. As an observer for the Heaven Hunting Pavilion, the white-masked operative constantly transmitted intelligence back to be resold. Others could transmit ordinary messages, but when it came to intelligence within the ancient city, the Heaven Hunting Pavilion held first-hand exclusive rights. A monopoly business! In just a brief period, the Heaven Hunting Pavilion had sold information to various races nearly a thousand times. The fee seemed modest: one drop of Sun Moon blood essence for one hour of message transmission. It did not sound too outrageous... In reality, it was terrifyingly lucrative! Naturally, those willing to pay right now were the major races. As for individuals, only Sun Moon powerhouses or top-tier geniuses could afford such prices. In just this short span, the Heaven Hunting Pavilion had netted over a thousand drops of Sun Moon blood essence inside and out. It was a good thing Su Yu did not know; otherwise, he would have gone mad! He had painstakingly plotted for so long, paid a massive price, and risked his life to earn 2,300 strands of Heaven and Earth Profound Light—worth about 2,300 drops of blood essence—plus some miscellaneous Sun Moon blood essence, totaling around 2,500 drops. Yet the Heaven Hunting Pavilion, relying purely on sub-rankings to peddle Su Yu's intelligence to the myriad races, had earned nearly as much in the blink of an eye without anyone batting an eye. Because they sold it in such vast quantities! Each faction only spent a pitiful few drops of blood essence, which was virtually negligible to the great races. Naturally, Su Yu was oblivious to all this. The Heaven Hunting Pavilion took the cue and stopped investigating or pursuing Su Yu. In fact, the white-masked operative received orders: if he encountered Su Yu, he was to secretly lend a hand to stall for time, allowing the Heaven Hunting Pavilion to livestream the situation longer! Yes, livestream! Livestreaming the turmoil within the ancient city! A transmission every hour! This was the real business! Even the closest Invincible would take at least half a day to arrive. Those departing from their own racial realms might take a day or two. Under such circumstances, anyone seeking front-line intelligence had to rely on the Heaven Hunting Pavilion. It was a complete monopoly! Therefore, Su Yu needed to hold out as long as possible. If he were caught or killed right now, wouldn't they lose the chance to make a fortune? If they could stall for half a day, what Su Yu had earned would pale in comparison to their profits. *** At that moment, Su Yu was unaware of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion's schemes, nor did he care. The safe houses he had prepared were proving useful. Currently, he was hiding inside one of them. Outside, the markings of an ancient city resident were carved into the door. In truth, Su Yu was not an official ancient city resident yet, but he had prepared dozens of such safe houses. *Those fellows will notice something strange sooner or later. I only started using death qi recently, so they haven't caught on yet. Soon, they will realize I might disguise myself as a dead spirit and inscribe these ancient houses...* The most distinctive feature of an ancient city resident was their likeness carved onto the wooden plaque. Right now, those people were busy searching among the dead spirits. But with only a few thousand dead spirits, they would finish checking soon. Then they would turn to the ancient houses. Fortunately, there were countless ancient houses, and they could not forcefully breach every single one. Inside the small room, Su Yu was in no hurry. *Keep calm in the face of trouble. What is there to panic about?* It was not as though he had left himself without backup plans! When it came to setting traps in ancient cities, he had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. Right at that moment, a massive boom echoed outside! A thunderous explosion erupted from within one of the ancient houses! In the next instant, countless dead spirits surged forth. Simultaneously, someone shouted in fury. "Great Ming Prefecture!" "Zhu Guangshen, look at what you've done!" Outside, Zhu Guangshen wore a helpless expression. Looking at the large black ants blown everywhere in the distance, he said with resignation, "It has nothing to do with me! It must be Su Yu. He probably brought a large batch of Sky-Devouring Ant larvae from the Great Ming Prefecture himself!" The explosion had just obliterated an entire nest of ants. It was impossible to count how many there were! And these counted as living beings. In an instant, several thousand dead spirits were added to the city. Of course, none were particularly strong, but such sheer numbers infuriated Zhan Wushuang and his companions! *Damn it!* What were they supposed to do now? They could have checked them one by one earlier, but now? Thousands more had appeared all at once! And who knew how many more Su Yu had prepared? It could only be said that none of them had ever played the ancient city like this, but Su Yu... was a master of it! He played so hard that everyone was driven half-mad! Indeed, killing living beings in the ancient city spawned dead spirits. Killing anyone was still killing: killing people was killing, killing powerhouses was killing, and killing ants... was killing just the same! Su Yu had only thought of this when he saw Zhu Guangshen arrive, remembering that he had taken some Sky-Devouring Ant larvae when leaving the Great Ming Prefecture! Everyone felt their eyes had been opened! Having had his eyes opened, Zhu Guangshen casually and seemingly inadvertently tossed countless Sky-Devouring Ants into an empty ancient house. *Damn, what a brilliant idea. Why didn't I think of that earlier?* *What a waste of all the ants I brought along!* *If I had known, squashing a few hundred thousand would have spawned a few hundred thousand dead spirits!* *Terrifying!* The entire ancient city would soon become a city of the dead! Although no excessively powerful dead spirits had appeared yet, with so much slaughter taking place, if the dead spirits failed to kill these living beings, Sun Moon dead spirits would inevitably keep emerging. Furthermore, once the death qi grew too dense, everyone would be forced to take refuge inside the ancient houses. When that time came, Su Yu would have his opportunity. Zhu Guangshen had already deduced Su Yu's plan. Like him, the other Sun Moon experts frowned deeply. *Damn it!* They had truly never considered this. Who would bother killing ants in an ancient city unless they were out of their minds? If killing ants could summon dead spirits, should they bring even smaller creatures to slaughter next time? Of course, unless someone had nothing better to do and wanted to take revenge on society, no normal person would try it. Boom! Another explosion sounded, and thousands more dead spirits appeared. Zhu Guangshen put on a look of sheer astonishment, silently muttering, *Nothing to do with me. The ants blew themselves up. I just learned this trick too!* "Bastards!" a Sun Moon expert cursed furiously! Several thousand more! At this rate, the dead spirits had already exceeded ten thousand. Stronger dead spirits would soon appear. *** Inside the ancient house, Su Yu cracked the door open a sliver, listening to the sounds outside. Another explosion! Thousands more dead spirits, and the death qi was terrifyingly thick. Su Yu was surprised. *What's going on?* *I didn't do this one!* *Could it be... Zhu Guangshen and his people?* There was no one else. Su Yu chuckled. The crown prince of the Zhu family was quite sly, pinning the blame on him like that. Not bad at all! He did not have that many ants on hand anyway. Killing other creatures was not cost-effective and far too cumbersome. Ants were the best: one blast wiped out an entire nest, easily yielding several thousand. If he had known the ancient city could be exploited like this, he would have brought hundreds of thousands or even millions of ants! Unfortunately, he had only brought a single nest. Blowing it up had spawned that many dead spirits. Now, with another several thousand appearing, there were over ten thousand dead spirits in total. *Let's see you check them one by one now.* *The Invincibles have probably been alerted. They didn't enter the city last time, but they might not hold back this time!* Su Yu pondered. He had to leave this place or find a secure spot before the Invincibles arrived, somewhere they could not see him. If they saw him, all his efforts would be in vain! An Invincible could see right through him! Su Yu checked on the little fur ball inside his mind, which was secretly absorbing the willpower rewarded earlier. He wondered whether he should just pinch it to death. If he pinched it to death, its elder would come, right? If it encountered the god and demon Invincibles, would it go berserk and slaughter them? That would be amusing! Of course, that assumed the Invincible was a Civilization Master. If a warrior came... it was hard to say. Warriors had seas of will too, but their primary combat strength did not rely on them. Could the big fur ball of the Devouring God race slaughter an Invincible warrior? Inside the sea of will, the little fur ball happily gorging itself shivered slightly. A wave of intense malice washed over it. *Is the fragrant one thinking of pinching me to death again?* *Dead ball!* *Whatever, eat first. Since he wants to pinch me to death anyway, I'll eat my fill and worry later.* This time it did not even bother hiding, eating openly and brazenly! *You were the one thinking bad thoughts first!* Su Yu cursed under his breath, snapping, "Still eating? We might both be finished this time!" Of course, he had anticipated these dangers. If it were that easy, several thousand strands of Heaven and Earth Profound Light would have been obtained too cheaply. He did not know that someone else had already made an absolute fortune with zero effort. Su Yu swiftly assessed the situation and opened the door a crack again. After a moment's thought, he transformed into a dead spirit and headed toward the openings along the moat. Just then, above the Prefecture Lord Manor, a black dragon suddenly soared into the sky and roared, "I forgot to mention: though the city gates are sealed, several connection points along the moat will not close! Of course, the death qi there is dense; ordinary Sun Moon experts cannot pass!" Just because ordinary Sun Moon experts could not pass did not mean no one could! At these words, several Sun Moon experts immediately flew toward the city walls. They understood! Guard against Su Yu escaping through the moat! Su Yu froze, looking toward the Prefecture Lord Manor and the descending black dragon... *Splendid!* He had not expected this Dark Demonic Dragon to remember this detail and actively remind the others. Now, that avenue was likely sealed off! "Well done!" Su Yu gritted his teeth. *Splendid indeed.* *If I really end up becoming an ancient city resident, I'll stay here long-term and fight you to the bitter end!* *If I left, you'd have an easier time. If I stay and become a resident, you're in for a nightmare!* *** Outside, Zhu Guangshen converged with Qin Hao and the others. Qin Hao sent a voice transmission: "Does he still have one of those ancient city translocation talismans?" "Even if he does, it's useless. Nearby powerhouses have certainly arrived outside by now!" Zhu Guangshen sighed. "There are many god and demon experts near the Nine Stars Island. The perimeter is bound to be sealed off!" Thus, Su Yu was truly cornered this time! With the dead spirits multiplying, tracking Su Yu was difficult. Yet the ancient city was only so large. Sealed by so many Sun Moon experts, he would be ferreted out sooner or later. Could Su Yu truly be indistinguishable from a genuine dead spirit? Not necessarily! As long as the ancient city remained locked down, Su Yu could not escape! A multitude of Sun Moon experts would keep watch outside until Su Yu met his end in the ancient city or fully transformed into an ancient city resident. Once he became a resident, the trouble would be immense. Then again, how had he blended into the dead spirits in the first place? At this moment, many harbored suspicion. Qin Fang could not help transmitting, "That fellow is truly ruthless! So black-hearted! How did he even conceive of scamming so many resources..." It was simply too much; he did not even dare imagine it. The entire Qin family's assets combined could not match that sum. Of course, selling his grandfather would still fetch more. Zhu Guangshen was equally speechless. *Don't ask me; I don't know him well.* That kid was in massive trouble this time. Zhu Guangshen quickly transmitted, "If worse comes to worst, our two sides can slay a few more Sun Moon dead spirits to draw out late-stage Sun Moon dead spirits to tie everyone down. Perhaps that will give him a chance to flee..." Naturally, that would put them in grave danger. If they summoned that many late-stage Sun Moon dead spirits, the Sun Moon experts of other races who had originally remained neutral might join forces to slaughter them! Right now, few were willing to gang up on them, which was why no one had made a reckless move. But if they provoked too many experts from the various races, the rule of not punishing the crowd would apply. If they were truly killed, would King Daqin really wage war against all the top ten races and ancient race domains just for them? The gods and demons would love nothing more than for them to do something so suicidal! Qin Hao said nothing. That was an absolute last resort; for now, it was best not to provoke the neutral races. *** Inside the ancient house, Su Yu fell into deep thought. The moat was blocked, which was a huge problem. He had counted on the moat as one of his escape routes. *Can't get out?* Su Yu pondered silently. If he truly could not leave, he could only hide within the city. He still had other ancient houses to hide in, but they might not be entirely safe. *The safest place might be the Prefecture Lord Manor. The problem is sneaking in; it seems locked down... But this Dark Demonic Dragon holds a grudge against me. Perhaps I can lure him into opening the gates again and slip inside?* Su Yu contemplated this, hoping to enter the manor's rear hall. Last time, he had obtained three translocation talismans there. Perhaps there was another opportunity in the rear hall to help him escape? His mind set, Su Yu stepped out of the ancient house once more and blended into the vast horde of dead spirits. In the sky, powerhouses were still patrolling. However, as the dead spirits multiplied and the death qi grew denser, some were forced to retreat into ancient houses for shelter. Su Yu grumbled internally. *I'm just lacking an Invincible divine talisman.* *Otherwise, if I dropped one down and wiped out these ten thousand dead spirits, tens of thousands more would appear in an instant, including a swarm of Sun Moon dead spirits. That would give you plenty to chew on!* It was a pity he did not have one. Otherwise, slaughtering a few more Sun Moon dead spirits to lure out even stronger ones would wipe out the whole lot of them! *Go to the Prefecture Lord Manor, or head to the innermost ring, open a house, and become an ancient city resident... Or hide for three to five months without transforming, until they assume I'm dead, and then leave...* Unfortunately, the damn Heaven Hunting Ranking kept displaying his existence! Su Yu's heart stirred. *If I become an ancient city resident, will the Heaven Hunting Pavilion still track me?* Indeed, he had never considered this question. Did an ancient city resident count as a living person? However, it seemed no ancient city resident had ever appeared on the Heaven Hunting Ranking. Perhaps they were not talented enough, or perhaps they simply did not qualify for listing. It was hard to say. Perhaps only the Heaven Hunting Pavilion knew for certain. *If fully transforming into an ancient city resident removes me from the ranking, becoming one might not be the worst idea...* Su Yu thought to himself. In the past, he had felt it was glorious to be on the ranking. Now, there was only one word for it: get lost! *If not for being dragged down by this ranking, would I be in such a mess?* *People wouldn't even know if I were dead or alive!* Now, with the ranking active, everyone knew he was alive. He could not even play dead! Furthermore, whenever he killed a genius on the ranking, everyone knew about it instantly. It was impossible to keep a low profile! And then there were the heavenly rewards for killing them. In the past, he had thought they were great, but now... what a trap! It was the ultimate beacon exposing his location! The All-Heavens Battlefield truly was not friendly to geniuses! Every move of a genius was monitored. While it brought fame, it also brought immense pressure! *The All-Heavens Battlefield...* Su Yu had a rough grasp of the rules now. It was designed to encourage geniuses to slaughter one another in direct combat. In covert assassinations, the moment you killed someone, you were exposed. Assassination was exceedingly difficult. This damned place was a colossal arena of death! The fact that geniuses encountered one another so easily was proof enough. Pushing those thoughts aside, Su Yu soon followed the horde of dead spirits near the Prefecture Lord Manor. He first checked if there were any dog holes. Last time, Foutuling had hidden in a dog hole in the manor. Looking now... unfortunately, there were none. The manor did not keep dogs. Otherwise, Su Yu would not have minded slipping in through one. Of course, being discovered would be walking right into the tiger's den! *The dead spirits aren't numerous enough, nor strong enough. They don't pose a sufficient threat to these people. Once the Invincibles arrive and enter the city, I'll be in serious trouble!* Su Yu knew the ancient city had mechanisms targeting Invincibles. In the past, an Invincible had perished here, which made Invincibles wary of entering lightly. But that did not mean they could not enter! *If worse comes to worst... I'll just pinch the little fur ball to death!* Su Yu secretly resolved, feeling no hesitation. As for the little fur ball dying... *If you die, I probably won't live much longer either. It's fine, we'll die together. Loyal enough, right?* Inside his mind, the little fur ball set its sights on the divine characters. It sensed the malice once more. *Whatever, I'll die a full ball!* If the fragrant one kept thinking such thoughts, it would eat his divine characters! Su Yu glanced back. Many powerhouses had still not sought shelter; instead, they were flying through the air, searching for his traces. Truly persistent! After circling the Prefecture Lord Manor once and finding no opportunity to enter, Su Yu quickly located a backup ancient house within the first ring. If all else failed, he would shut himself inside for a few months. He wondered if an Invincible could forcefully breach it. *If I can get out, I'll get out. If not... I'll outlast the Invincibles!* Su Yu hardened his resolve. If push came to shove, he would find a place to forge his body first. He had plenty of Heaven and Earth Profound Light—a full five hundred strands—enough to forge his body many times over. Once he grew stronger, he would come back out and slaughter a few of these bastards. Becoming an ancient city resident... The thought surfaced once more! There seemed to be a difference between becoming an ancient city resident and disguising oneself as a dead spirit. If an ancient city resident was strong enough, they could apparently serve as city lord or join the city guards. There had to be mechanisms that outsiders were unaware of. *It would be best to drag this Dark Demonic Dragon down and kill him!* He had actually directed people to block his escape route; that was an unforgivable grudge! Without the position of ancient city lord, that dragon would certainly be beaten to death the moment he stepped outside. The dragon race had wanted to eliminate him for ages! *** Just as Su Yu was contemplating becoming an ancient city resident, in the rear hall of the Prefecture Lord Manor... The stone sculpture opened its eyes, feeling quite irritated. What a complete mess! Last time, it had mocked Tianmie, but now... as expected, a source of trouble was always trouble! If this human and the Devouring God fellow died here, it would inevitably attract Eternals. Tianmie giving him those translocation talismans had probably been an attempt to hurry him along so he could plague someone else. Now, the plague had landed right on its doorstep! Look at what Tianmie had done! It opened its eyes and surveyed the entire city. Death qi was boiling, and numerous Sun Moon experts were flying through the air. After searching for a moment, it spotted Su Yu lingering before an ancient house, feeling utterly resigned. Send him away, or let him be killed? Sending him away was no simple task either. Outside the sacred city, powerhouses were gathering; it could sense them. Yet it could only oversee its own domain. Should it forcibly send him away? If he were killed outside, the battle of Eternals would not erupt inside the city, right? The stone sculpture sank into contemplation! *** At that very moment, in the Ancient Devouring God Realm... Beside the big fur ball, tiny bubbles surfaced once again. The big fur ball opened its eyes and fell into deep contemplation, pondering the meaning of a ball's life. *When was the last time I woke up?* *How long has it been?* *Has the young lad run into trouble again?* *It seems to be in a sacred city once more!* *Could it be that last time was just a dream, or time flowed forward in the dream, and I foresaw something?* The big fur ball pondered whether it had truly made a move to rescue him last time, or if it had merely been a dream, and today was when that vision was actually taking place. Had it seen the future in a dream? That was entirely possible. Having lived for so long, the big fur ball had experienced such things before; it was called precognition. "Then according to the dream, should I go have a chat with the sacred city's guardian?" The big fur ball sank into contemplation once more. Come to think of it, was this truly the same sacred city as last time? Why did it feel... somewhat different from before? No, somewhat different from the dream. The big fur ball felt in a daze. Its memories were somewhat muddled. It could not be helped; with far too many memories stored away, it had nearly lost track of the passage of time.