Invincibles Gather

Within an ancient house of the inner ring. With the moat sealed off and no way into the Castellan Manor, Su Yu had chosen to take refuge inside an ancient house to cultivate. A bit more strength would make killing dead spirits that much easier. If he slaughtered a few more Sun Moon dead spirits, he might even lure out an Invincible among them. If he had to die, everyone might as well go down together! Su Yu had no desire to die, but he did not fear death. Just as Modona and the others had thought, every genius who set foot on the All-Heavens Battlefield had prepared themselves to kill or be killed. Was Su Yu unsafe in the Great Ming Prefecture? He was exceptionally safe! Yet he had still ventured into the All-Heavens Battlefield to forge his own strength, refusing to spend his days living under another's roof and leaning on another's shelter. After all, shelter from others was merely something granted by them, never truly one's own. *** "Heaven and Earth Profound Light!" Seated cross-legged, Su Yu gazed at the wisps of Heaven and Earth Profound Light nestled inside his storage ring and calmed his turbulent thoughts. Five hundred strands! "Will this be enough to complete all seventy-two castings?" At present, Su Yu's body had undergone thirty castings, leaving forty-two to go. During his previous session of body casting with Heaven and Earth Profound Light, it had taken nearly six strands per casting near the end. The stronger the physical frame grew, the greater the consumption—that was an undeniable truth. Every casting brought a ten-percent leap in prowess, elevating his strength not by a minor degree, but by an enormous margin! Attaining great power demanded massive expenditures of energy and resources. Consumption scaled directly with growth. It was the most natural thing in the world! Five hundred strands might not suffice to see him through to seventy-two castings; Su Yu was already mentally prepared for that outcome, and it did not trouble him. He would forge as many as he could manage! Even if he fell short of the full seventy-two, finishing several more would still grant him an enormous surge in combat power. Without another second of hesitation, Su Yu swiftly began devouring the Heaven and Earth Profound Light. His breathing technique surged into motion! His flesh seemed utterly ravenous, rapidly absorbing the incoming strands. Heaven and Earth Profound Light was far easier to refine than Heaven Yuan Qi, and assimilated at a much faster rate. Su Yu cast aside all thoughts of what was unfolding outside. As for transforming into an ancient city resident, he had yet to make up his mind. He would consider it only when the Invincibles actually dared to step into the city—and those Invincibles might not even possess the courage to enter. *** An hour slipped by. His body shuddered faintly. The thirty-first casting was complete, consuming seven strands of Heaven and Earth Profound Light. Su Yu pressed on. Whatever was happening beyond his walls did not concern him. No one had come hunting for him so far, and it would take at least three days for the dead spirits to disperse. He would reevaluate in three days. Another hour passed, and dusk yielded to night. Su Yu's flesh trembled once more. The thirty-second casting was finished, costing eight strands of Heaven and Earth Profound Light. Time marched forward, bit by bit. Outside, the world grew quieter and quieter. When the third hour elapsed, Su Yu's body quaked, his vital blood churning violently as a terrifying aura billowed out. With a thunderous boom, his thirty-third casting was complete, having swallowed nine strands. Three castings alone had consumed twenty-four strands. Each successive casting demanded an even greater toll. Su Yu continued his silent cultivation. Suddenly struck by an idea, he began devouring Heaven Blood Fruits. These were astonishingly valuable treasures as well! Two strands of Heaven and Earth Profound Light for a single fruit. They served specifically to nourish and bolster vital blood. Strengthening the physical vessel did not mean one's vital blood would instantly match its caliber; it required steady nurturing, allowing the flesh to slowly fortify the blood over time. With Heaven Blood Fruits, the dynamic changed completely—vital blood could be replenished and expanded at tremendous speed. Of course, unless one was a supreme prodigy or fabulously wealthy, consuming them like this was sheer wastefulness; the price tag was simply too steep. Su Yu couldn't care less! Resources swindled from others existed solely to be burned for cultivation. The moment a Heaven Blood Fruit slid into his belly, his vital blood seemed to ignite. The energy that had grown slightly depleted was reinforced and reinvigorated in the blink of an eye! Rumble! Like crashing breakers, his blood roared through his vessels and surged across his flesh, producing the rushing din of a tidal wave. Su Yu was deeply awed by the sheer potency. The god race truly had an abundance of marvelous treasures! Without these Heaven Blood Fruits, allowing his vital blood to swell naturally would have taken at least three to five days. A single fruit had shaved off roughly five days of tedious refinement. Well... it certainly was expensive! That was why only elite geniuses could bear to use them so casually; ordinary cultivators would never dream of it, reserving them as sacred elixirs to recover vital blood when severely depleted during life-and-death crises. Right now, Su Yu treated wealth like dirt! At a critical crossroads between life and death, what use was hoarding money? Maximizing his own strength was the only absolute truth! In reality, Heaven Blood Fruits were items carried by Sun Moon experts during grueling warfare, consumed at dire moments to restore their vital blood and sustain their combat efficacy. Using them simply to assist ordinary body tempering was exceedingly rare! As Su Yu devoured the fruit, he discovered another benefit: consuming it seemed to accelerate the pace of his body casting! Previously, insufficient vital blood had created friction in the forging process. Now, before long, Su Yu's frame shuddered once more. A potent wave of blood qi erupted, and he promptly finalized the thirty-fourth casting. This time, it burned ten strands of Heaven and Earth Profound Light—a heavy expenditure! Su Yu took stock of his reserves. Thirty-eight castings remained, and he had 466 strands left. It might not be enough! No matter; he would keep forging. He would push as far as his resources carried him. *** While Su Yu immersed himself in casting his body, a multitude of dead spirits roamed the streets outside, multiplying steadily. This was not Su Yu's doing, but rather Zhu Guangshen and his companions secretly taking out dead spirits every now and then. Now, night had fallen. Death qi boiled across the streets! Apart from high-stage Sun Moon experts, ordinary cultivators could hardly endure the suffocating death qi outside. Many of them sought refuge inside ancient houses under the protection of their Sun Moon guardians, avoiding any contact with the dead spirits. Inside a spacious ancient house, the doors stood wide open. Zhu Guangshen's party and Qin Hao's group had gathered together. Their expressions were somber. Qin Hao said in a low voice, "Do you think he managed to slip away?" Zhu Guangshen shook his head. In all likelihood, he had not. How could he? Here in the ancient city, some already knew Su Yu had used a Shuttling Talisman before. As a result, high-stage Sun Moon experts maintained a continuous airborne patrol around the perimeter of the ancient city's barrier. Su Yu wouldn't have the slightest opening to activate a Shuttling Talisman, even assuming he still possessed another. The breach in the moat was thoroughly blocked! The city gates were sealed shut! Beyond the city, a dense congregation of Sun Moon experts kept watch. Across the All-Heavens Battlefield, aside from the military experts anchored to their garrison duties, countless unaligned Sun Moons had rushed over. Cultivators from various domains were hurrying here as well, eager to watch the spectacle or fish in troubled waters to see if they could snatch an advantage. Qin Hao spoke again: "The Five Elements race contacted me in secret. They said that so long as Su Yu reveals Foutuling's location and guarantees his safety, they can offer assistance and shelter..." Zhu Guangshen waved his hand dismissively. "Don't count on it. Besides, if Su Yu actually stepped forward, he'd be walking straight into their trap. The Five Elements race aren't benevolent either. Ignore them!" Qin Hao let out a heavy sigh, fell quiet for a moment, and added, "Su Yu... I always knew the boy was gifted, but I never expected him to be this reckless. The dragon race's Invincible is likely arriving soon. If this goes on, Su Yu won't have anywhere left to run!" Where could he go? There was no way out! Even if human Invincibles arrived, the other races had Invincibles of their own. Insisting on sheltering Su Yu might spark a full-blown Invincible War. After all, Su Yu's display this time was simply too monstrous. His ruthlessness, temperament, talent, strength, and raw audacity! The boy killed without blinking an eye! Dozens of Shanhai experts—he slaughtered them the moment he chose. Last time, he had entrapped and killed a massive host of Sun Moon cultivators. The number of Sun Moons who had died directly or indirectly at his hands exceeded the tally Qin Hao had killed in his entire life. Could the myriad races tolerate Su Yu's continued existence? Talents like Modona and Zhan Wushuang might be monstrous, but when it came to madness, neither could compare to Su Yu. He was the quintessential desperate outlaw, indifferent to anything beyond benefits and gains. Life and death were things he cast entirely from his mind. Qin Hao felt deeply conflicted. He wanted to protect Su Yu! He believed his father wished to as well, but... could it truly be done? Su Yu had trapped himself in a vicious cycle! If he failed to prove sufficient worth, humanity would not pay an exorbitant price to defend him. If he demonstrated exceptional worth, the myriad races would gladly pay an even steeper price to obliterate him. All because he was a genius of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction! Thus, Su Yu was caught in an inescapable trap unless he chose to stay humble and quietly holed up inside the Great Ming Prefecture. Yet sheltering in the Great Ming Prefecture might work for a short spell; over the long run, even the greatest talent would wither away. Qin Hao looked toward Zhu Guangshen. "Did your father leave any instructions?" Zhu Guangshen gave a wry, simple chuckle. "My father said my grandfather will try to protect him. If he can protect him, he will; if he can't... well, there's nothing else to be done." King Daming would protect Su Yu, but King Daming was still only King Daming. Qin Hao nodded and took a deep breath. "If humanity goes all out and commits to protecting him, it can be done! Humanity has many Invincibles—dozens of them. Even I don't know the full count, but I know of forty-six! If we truly threw everything into the fray, so long as the Half-Emperors of the gods and demons haven't ascended to Emperors, how would they dare wage war on humanity?" The crux of the problem was that not all human Invincibles were willing to ignite an Invincible War right now merely to shield Su Yu. Moreover, there was a traitor among the human Invincibles. Perhaps more than one! That was the true threat! No one knew who it was. If that person turned hostile and struck from behind at a critical moment, it would lead to the fall of an Invincible—perhaps several. This lurking peril cast a shadow over the entire circle of Invincibles. Zhu Guangshen nodded, saying nothing. His father, Zhu Tiandao, had spoken of this before. His father's stance was simple: wait! Wait for the Great Xia Prefecture to make its move! Indeed, the Great Xia Prefecture would inevitably act to purge these obstacles. As for the specifics, Zhu Guangshen did not know, and neither did Zhu Tiandao. The only certainty was that once the Great Xia Prefecture acted, humanity's circumstances might improve. As they were talking, the experts inside the room suddenly stiffened. Above the ancient city, a massive golden dragon thundered across the sky! Even without crossing into the city, its boundless, suffocating pressure seemed to seep through the barrier. Down below, the young golden dragon, Long Wuyou, abruptly bolted out of his ancient house and cried out in joy, "Grandfather!" The Great Elder of the Golden Dragon race! The dragon race's Invincible had arrived! From the Dragon Realm nearest to this area, an Invincible had descended. "Wuyou!" The dragon's voice thundered straight into the city, shaking the surroundings, though he made no move to enter. Its colossal form blotted out the sky and sun, seeming to blanket the entire ancient city and bathing the shadowy streets in brilliant golden light—the resplendence of a golden dragon. Long Wuyou's grandfather turned his enormous draconic gaze toward the Castellan Manor. Obscured by death qi and shielded by the city's barrier, the great dragon could not see with complete clarity, but that hardly mattered; knowing it was the Castellan Manor was enough. "Heimo!" The dragon's voice rumbled once more. "Open the city gates and permit Wuyou to leave the ancient city!" A draconic roar echoed back! The Dark Demonic Dragon manifested, hovering over the Castellan Manor, and spoke coldly: "Elder, do not force my hand. Opening the gates... I can do it, but at a tremendous price. When dead spirits seal the city, as Castellan, I am obligated to enforce the lockdown rather than break the gates open. Were I to open them, I fear my own life would be forfeit soon after. Why place me in such an impossible position, Elder?" The Golden Dragon Great Elder paused briefly before speaking again: "Grant Wuyou sanctuary within the Castellan Manor. From this day forth, the Golden Dragon race will no longer trouble you!" The Dark Demonic Dragon sank into contemplation. Once a full-scale battle erupted and chaos took hold, the Castellan Manor was arguably the safest enclave within the ancient city, even though the Sun Moon dead spirits had emerged from this very courtyard. The Dark Demonic Dragon weighed the offer. The Golden Dragon race possessed formidable power. Among the dragons, the Heavenly Dragon race reigned supreme, followed immediately by the Golden Dragon race. This was the Golden Dragon Great Elder; his promise that his clan would not antagonize him carried weight. The Dark Demonic Dragon was on terrible terms with the dragon race, who branded him a traitor; if they met beyond the city, bloodshed would be inevitable. With that in mind, Heimo's voice boomed: "Very well! Long Wuyou may enter the Castellan Manor. No other dragon is permitted!" "Agreed!" The Golden Dragon Great Elder said no more and vanished from the sky in an instant. The ancient city trembled. With the arrival of an Invincible, even more formidable dead spirits stirred faintly within the Castellan Manor. The Golden Dragon Great Elder had chosen to withdraw; if he provoked an Invincible dead spirit that slaughtered everyone trapped inside the city, the myriad races would never forgive him! Just like the previous incident when several Invincibles reached Tianmie City—they had refrained from entering, yet their mere presence had drawn forth terrifying dead spirits. If an Invincible strayed too close, the dead spirit race would deploy top-tier entities, perhaps even a Dead Spirit Monarch. A Dead Spirit Monarch was a powerhouse on par with the Invincible Realm. A moment later, Long Wuyou entered the Castellan Manor. *** Inside his ancient house, Su Yu cracked the door open a fraction and peered outside, watching the Dark Demonic Dragon descend, then looking up at the sky as the darkness reclaimed the void, stripped of its golden sheen. An Invincible! The first Invincible Realm powerhouse had arrived! It wasn't as though he had never laid eyes on Invincibles before—he had seen three gathered together at once—but those had been humans. When those Invincibles visited the Great Xia Prefecture, they had kept their auras restrained and maintained a low profile. This time, however, was fundamentally different. Even through the ancient city's barrier, that suffocating pressure was palpable. Terrifying! What truly constituted an Invincible? What kind of qualitative transformation did their strength undergo? Since ancient times, Ye Batian appeared to be the only person to ever slay an Invincible from the Sun Moon Realm. Just how much stronger was an Invincible compared to a Sun Moon? Pondering this, Su Yu did not dare step outside. Shutting the door, he returned to his cultivation. At this moment, his body had reached thirty-five castings, on the verge of the thirty-sixth. Strands of Heaven and Earth Profound Light were consumed in succession, and Su Yu soon swallowed another Heaven Blood Fruit. Rumble! This casting felt considerably more violent than any before. Thirty-six castings was the absolute pinnacle for most elite geniuses. Thunderous booms echoed within him, accompanied by the crashing roar of surging waters—the sheer magnitude of his vital blood. His breathing technique drew in and expelled energy, burning origin qi at a blistering rate. Su Yu's physical form was undergoing a metamorphosis. Thirty-six castings was the traditional limit. The consumption of Heaven and Earth Profound Light grew even steeper. After a long while, an explosive roar erupted from his interior. Su Yu snapped his eyes open, a faint gleam passing through them. In that split second, something seemed to have shifted. Yet it also felt as though nothing had changed at all. It seemed like a simple reinforcement of his physical frame, but Su Yu sensed there should be a distinct qualitative difference. Examining his body closely, after a moment, Su Yu let out a soft breath. He had identified the change. Whenever his vital blood surged, an additional defensive barrier naturally manifested outside his flesh. Inherent! Or rather, naturally generated. Su Yu tested its resilience. Gauging its strength, his heart stirred; his defensive capacity had risen by at least ten percent. It was vastly sturdier than before! A ten-percent boost might not sound staggering, but it was equivalent to gaining the benefits of an extra casting. At thirty-six castings, effectively attaining another casting's worth of power was no small feat. "The thirty-sixth casting actually produces such an effect... Is it just me, or does everyone experience this?" Su Yu was uncertain. Among the geniuses he had clashed with, it was unlikely any had achieved thirty-six body castings. Take Tianduo, for instance; he almost certainly hadn't reached thirty-six castings. At this moment, Su Yu's explosive output exceeded the force of 55,000 acupoints. With his Yang acupoint, divine characters, vibration layering methods, and numerous other techniques, his true combat power far surpassed that figure. Moreover, reaching this physical milestone elevated his overall attributes across the board. Right now, he was already stronger than the fifth-stage Shanhai expert he had fought back at the Vanguard Camp. Of course, relying purely on his own power, Su Yu was still likely inferior to Modona. Yet after a few more castings, Modona might no longer hold an edge over him. His physical body had reached the level of an ordinary fifth-stage Shanhai cultivator. Previously, refining the essence blood of a seventh-stage Shanhai had been an agonizing endeavor that tore his flesh apart. Now, Su Yu felt that consuming seventh-stage Shanhai essence blood would pose little issue. Naturally, his ambition did not halt at the seventh stage of Shanhai. He wished he possessed the might to butcher an Invincible right this instant! Though he recognized it as sheer fantasy, Su Yu still yearned to grow stronger. Going from thirty to thirty-six castings across six rounds had consumed a staggering sixty-five strands of Heaven and Earth Profound Light. Su Yu felt a touch of helplessness; at this pace, later castings would burn resources at an alarming rate. Sure enough, even with this colossal haul, it might not suffice to see him through to seventy-two castings. Geniuses were obliged to devour resources like monsters. Mediocrities hit a wall and ceased growing stronger regardless of what they consumed; geniuses, by contrast, saw their ceiling expand without limit. That was the divide between the mediocre and the gifted. Regardless of talent, both required fuel. Power could never emerge from nothing! "An Invincible has arrived... yet he dares not enter the city. That works in my favor." Even so, Su Yu knew that once more Invincibles assembled, the dynamic might change. He hoped the Invincibles would take their time. Even if they were delayed, Su Yu still couldn't oppose an Invincible, but it would at least grant him the capital to slaughter more of his foes. A savage resolve hardened in his chest. *Invincibles, is it?* *I won't step outside. I'll stay right here butchering dead spirits like a maniac. If an Invincible forces their way in and I manage to take one down with me, even dying will be a win!* *A Lingyun taking down an Invincible—have you ever seen that before?* Keep forging! Devour Heaven Blood Fruits! *** While Su Yu was engrossed in casting his body, outside the ancient city, the Golden Dragon Great Elder assumed human form and stood suspended in the void, waiting in silence. After an indeterminate time, the void rippled. A towering demonic figure appeared. The Golden Dragon Great Elder glanced sideways and said calmly, "You old ghost certainly take this to heart. You arrived quickly!" "You flatter me!" The newcomer let out a sigh. Draped in an earthen-gray robe, he murmured, "The Earth Spirit race has no intention of meddling; we only want Su Yu to hand over Foutuling. The boy vanished and has likely sealed himself inside some ancient house." "As long as he isn't dead!" The Golden Dragon Great Elder thought little of it. If he wasn't dead, that was enough! The Earth Spirit Invincible in the gray robe gave a faint smile and held his tongue. Indeed, surviving was what mattered; there was still hope. He hadn't wanted to come here in the first place, considering this was Nine Stars Island. Yet now... he had no choice. At this moment, above each of the nine cities encircling Nine Stars Island, a colossal phantom loomed. These were the paramount experts—even clan patriarchs—of the nine realms, personally guarding their realm portals. Their auras were unimaginably formidable! Nine peak ninth-stage Sun Moon experts drew upon the suppressive force radiating from their realm gates to shroud their cities, linking together into a formidable defensive ring. Positioned at their realm thresholds, these nine very likely commanded combat strength comparable to Invincibles. The nine Sun Moons had united purely for self-preservation. With Invincibles arriving, they were compelled to exercise extreme caution! Pay no heed to how reasonable these Invincibles sounded, claiming they had merely come to rescue their kin or eliminate Su Yu... If an opportunity presented itself, no one would be surprised if they suddenly stormed into a minor realm and annihilated it. Minor realms naturally possessed valuable resources! Without treasures, no one would bother conquering them, and claiming an additional minor realm added to a race's foundation. The nine mighty Sun Moons sensed the arrival of the Five Elements Invincible as well. None of them spoke, but their vigilance deepened. The realm portals expanded further as suppressive pressure rolled outward. Swarms of Sun Moon experts entered the cities; while their own strength wasn't amplified, any invaders would have their power suppressed. They were on absolute alert! Yet the two Invincibles couldn't be bothered to glance their way. Today, this was not their stage. The god race's Invincible had yet to arrive! Nor had humanity's! The Earth Spirit powerhouse turned his gaze toward the city and murmured, "Elder Long Yue, do you think war will break out this time?" "Hard to say!" The Great Elder replied indifferently. It was impossible to predict. "However, if Su Yu shows himself and is slain, perhaps there won't be a war." "The Multiple Divine Characters Faction..." The two Invincibles conversed in quiet tones. Su Yu was truly audacious. He was likely the first Lingyun cultivator whose name was constantly on the lips of Invincibles. Right at that moment, a brilliant radiance swept across heaven and earth; in the next instant, the sky seemed to rupture. The Golden Dragon Great Elder curled his lip. The god race was even more arrogant than the dragons. Moments later, the void ripped open, and an overwhelmingly formidable God King descended. With aloof detachment, this God King looked down upon the ancient city, swept his eyes over the two Invincible powerhouses, and asked flatly, "Su Yu isn't dead yet?" The Earth Spirit expert chuckled. "I only just arrived myself. To think God King Pingyu would come in person..." God King Pingyu said nothing. He had arrived burning with fury. Scammed? Yet he couldn't even explain the exact nature of the trick. The message Zhan Wushuang had relayed was that he still hadn't noticed anything wrong with the goods, only that he had been conned by Su Yu. That made it the grandest joke of all! God King Pingyu was incensed! Just as the thought crossed his mind, a dazzling blade light illuminated the firmament, slashing straight toward the previously composed God King Pingyu! From far away, a chilled voice bellowed, "Get lost! You're in my way!" The blade light tore through the void! God King Pingyu's face shifted. Not just him—the Invincibles of the dragon and Earth Spirit races changed color as well. *Damn, he actually came!* The next instant, an imposing figure stepped through the shattered void. Saber in hand! Glancing at the evading God King Pingyu, he sneered, "Pingyu? What use is a piece of trash like you being here? Now that I've arrived, you can scram!" "Xia Wushen!" Pingyu's expression turned frigid, though shock rippled through his chest. King Daxia had come! Domineering beyond measure, King Daxia strode across the void and barked, "Out of my way! Blocking my path—do you want to die?" The Invincibles of the Earth Spirit and dragon races actually stepped aside. This was one of the premier Invincibles of the human race! By the estimates of all races, King Daxia was slightly weaker than King Daqin, but not necessarily below King Dazhou. Among humans, he was firmly in the top three, though whether he held second place was up for debate. When an Invincible of this caliber arrived, they had no choice but to yield ground. Even more terrifying was the fact that King Daxia had slain Invincibles before! Humanity had actually sent him here! At this moment, even the formidable King Daming was largely overlooked by the crowd. He was another Invincible ranked in humanity's top five; even if the three Invincibles of the dragon, Earth Spirit, and god races joined hands, they might not best the two of them. Right then, a boisterous laugh tore through the air! "Now this is a good show!" Blood and fire billowed, turning the entire firmament a crimson red! King Daxia looked coldly at the sky and said indifferently, "Xuemailuo, are you picking a fight with me?" "Haha, not at all!" The next moment, a blood-red Demon King descended. Catching sight of King Daxia, his pupils shrank slightly, and he chuckled, "A misunderstanding, purely a misunderstanding! Xia Wushen, you go deal with Pingyu. I'm just here to watch the show..." The Blood Fire Demon race loved brawling and killing, but... they didn't fancy courting death. King Daxia! This man was simply too monstrous. Only in recent years, because Xia Longwu was preparing to attain the Dao, had he kept a lower profile; otherwise, he was a lethal Invincible who guarded the boundless void year in and year out. Why did he guard the void? To kill! Whenever he stumbled upon an isolated Invincible, he would strike from the dark! King Daxia was extraordinarily powerful—an undeniable reality. Thus, even the Demon King of the Blood Fire Demon race adopted a more cautious tone, laughing awkwardly. Then, noticing King Daming, his interest was piqued again, and he laughed, "King Daming, how about a brawl?" "..." King Daming stared at him in silence. *Brawl your ancestors!* *If we were in the boundless void, believe me when I say I'd beat you to death!* *Did you truly think the second-in-command of the Quest Realm was someone you could mess with?* On the god race's side, Pingyu frowned and spoke: "Now that both of you are here, let us dispense with nonsense. Su Yu must die! He has severely disrupted the peace of the myriad realms..." "Peace?" King Daxia looked at him coldly. "A mere Lingyun threw the myriad realms into chaos? Does Modona need to die? Does Zhan Wushuang need to be executed? Does that old geezer of your god race need to be put down? Kill them, and the myriad realms will have peace!" "Impudent!" God King Pingyu barked, "Xia Wushen, do you truly insist on provoking the god race?" A flash of blade light emerged! Heaven collapsed and earth cracked! Yet it unfolded in absolute silence! In a split second, the void shattered and time dissolved into chaos. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of li away, God King Pingyu reappeared, hands clasped behind his back. At this moment, those hands hidden behind him were already dripping with fresh blood! He stared silently at King Daxia, and King Daxia stared back. In this instant, heaven and earth fell dead silent. The other Invincibles shifted away from their positions one after another to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. Even the Demon King of the Blood Fire Demon race dodged away in a flash, silently cursing: *Xia Wushen is ridiculously fucking strong!* He truly lived up to his reputation as someone who had cleaved an Eternal with his blade! With a single strike, God King Pingyu had suffered a painful blow. On the periphery, the experts of the nine realms grew even more anxious. Against Invincibles from other races, they still had some hope; against human Invincibles... forget it. If human Invincibles attacked, they would likely be wiped out in an instant, because human Invincibles suffered no realm suppression—that was what made them terrifying. King Daxia ignored them and did not press the kill. First, an Invincible was difficult to slay. Second, other Invincibles were watching. Third, killing an Invincible would immediately ignite an all-out war, which humanity was currently ill-prepared to wage. Fourth, humanity's internal rifts remained unresolved; if war erupted now, the pro-war faction might suffer devastating losses, completely ceding authority to the appeasement faction. Even so, he had drawn his blade. A display of force to put them in their place! If he didn't strike now, matters would only grow more intractable later. The god and demon races certainly wouldn't send just one Invincible each. With him and King Daming here, both races would soon dispatch more. Indeed, newcomers were already arriving. In the distance, the Dao King appeared. Shortly after, King Xuan showed himself—the grandfather of Xuan Wuji. Moments later, demonic qi surged to the heavens as a Demon King of the Primordial Demon race arrived. One Invincible after another gathered on Nine Stars Island today. Even more numerous than those outside Tianmie City previously! After a long pause, an Invincible said coldly, "Humans, state your terms! King Daxia, King Daming, do you two truly intend to make enemies of the myriad races for Su Yu's sake?" King Daxia replied indifferently, "Terms? There are no terms. If you have the guts, enter the city!" Enter the city? Many glanced toward the ancient city blanketed in death qi. Entering the city still carried immense danger. Ignoring the challenge of entering the city, God King Pingyu—now flanked by another God King—spoke again: "There is no need. In three days, the death qi will disperse on its own. Seal Xinghong Ancient City for three years!" Just that simple! To Invincibles, what did three years amount to? Sealed for three years, even the most peerless genius would be ruined! Even if he survived, he would completely become an ancient city resident. Lock down the city! At these words, King Daxia's brow furrowed slightly. He wasn't afraid of them entering the city; the dead spirit race was not to be trifled with. However... if they sealed the city, that would be genuine trouble. Right at this moment, the stone sculpture, who almost never communicated with them, suddenly transmitted a voice that echoed with mechanical rigidity: "Seal the city? Have you asked me?" Pingyu immediately looked toward the ancient city, frowning slightly as he said evenly, "You ancient city guardians—if you are willing to explain yourselves, we will naturally take it into consideration. But you have guarded for years without uttering a word... Alternatively, hand over Su Yu, and we will depart on our own!" They knew about the ancient city guardians. Yet these figures said nothing. Supposedly they guarded against dead spirits, but when dead spirits emerged, they paid them no heed. The truth was exceedingly murky. The god race knew a few general details, but nothing specific. They were also intensely curious about the state of these stone sculptures. Ancient Invincibles! The ancient Invincibles had nearly all perished, with precious few survivors. How on earth had these stone sculptures managed to persist? Inside the ancient city, the stone sculpture opened its eyes and gazed beyond the walls. This time, it spoke no further. The next instant, its gaze shifted toward the house where Su Yu sat, seeing straight through the walls to Su Yu casting his body... The Iron-Eating Seventy-Two Castings! Even within the Iron-Eating race, scarcely anyone had completed all seventy-two castings. This human had actually cultivated the Iron-Eating Seventy-Two Castings—no wonder he required so much Heaven and Earth Profound Light. Relying on himself, it would take hundreds or thousands of years to finish. "Multiple divine characters... Zhou Heavenly Acupoints... Iron-Eating Seventy-Two Castings... Five Elements Divine Art..." The stone sculpture observed in silence, saying nothing more, and closed its eyes, ignoring the matter entirely. Tianmie had good reason for sending him away. It hadn't paid much attention before, but looking closely now, this youth was a walking heap of trouble. In this human, it glimpsed the style and bearing of ancient powerhouses. Outside the city, the Invincibles also fell silent. Both King Daxia and King Daming felt a pang of helplessness. As time marched on, saving Su Yu would only become harder and harder!