Furious Advancement

Inside the city. Su Yu was already feeling a monstrous, crushing pressure. Within the city, the death qi was boiling as if stronger dead spirits were yearning to emerge, yet held back, restless and stirring. Clearly, the Invincibles outside had made the dead spirit race feel threatened and pressured. At this moment, Su Yu had just completed his thirty-eighth casting. Even thirty-eight castings made him feel that his physical body was incomparably powerful. On any ordinary day, he would have been thrilled and excited, but today, there was nothing to celebrate. He had seen far too many powerful experts today. High-stage Sun Moons were everywhere, and quite a few Invincibles had arrived as well. Su Yu felt like an utter weakling! Of course, he had completely overlooked and ignored the fact that barely a year had passed since he began at the Kaiyuan Realm. So what if he had cultivated for only a short time? Would the Invincibles wait a hundred or a thousand years for you? Having cultivated for a short time was still your own problem. Who told you to be born late? If you had been born earlier, it wouldn't be an issue. Thus, Su Yu rarely used youth as an excuse. Youth was no asset, because the Invincibles would never grant you the luxury of time. "I just didn't expect that so soon after arriving on the All-Heavens Battlefield, I would provoke Invincibles." Su Yu shook his head and sighed. Ah, a man really shouldn't be too outstanding. Even if he died now, he would leave a prominent mark in the history of all races: *On such-and-such date, Su Yu of the human race was besieged and killed by multiple Invincibles!* *Note: Su Yu was only in the Lingyun Realm!* Look at that, what prestige! To kill a mere Lingyun, a single Invincible wasn't even enough—a whole bunch of them showed up. Could any future generation ever top that? Su Yu amused himself with these thoughts. Worry and fear—of course he felt them. Yet having reached this point, he felt surprisingly calm and at ease. No regrets! He felt a trace of resignation, knowing he still had unfinished business. But it didn't matter; without him, the Myriad Realms would still be the Myriad Realms. While the Invincibles had not yet tracked him down, he might as well temper his body a few more times. At thirty-eight castings, his physical strength had already exceeded sixty-seven thousand acupoints of force! The further he progressed, the faster his strength surged. Now, completing just one more casting would boost him by nearly seven thousand acupoints of force—an astonishing, terrifying amount. Of course, the consumption was equally staggering, though Su Yu did not bother calculating the cost. No need to care! Resources were mere objects; once gone, he could plunder, swindle, or seize more! Strength alone truly belonged to him. His current combat strength was already nearing the seventh stage of the Shanhai Realm! Even so, in tempering his flesh, Su Yu also felt the immense difficulty and pressure. It was simply too formidable! At this moment, even if another Lingyun struck Su Yu, they might not even pierce his defense. His thirty-eight castings were far more potent than thirty-eight castings of the Iron Eater race. The Iron Eater race could ignore attacks from Sun Moons while merely at Shanhai. Once Su Yu reached the peak of Shanhai, even peak Sun Moons might not leave a scratch on him. That was the difference! Long Wuyou had entered the Castellan Manor. As Su Yu calculated his options, the voice of another Invincible rang out clearly: "Castellan Heimo, how about sheltering the experts of the various races? If you take them into the Castellan Manor, all races will owe you a favor!" Su Yu's heart stirred. Sure enough, in the next moment, someone said coolly, "What? You want to cram everyone into the Castellan Manor, and then lure out powerful dead spirits to breach the houses?" Was this a human Invincible? Su Yu's heart moved slightly. He was not very familiar with the Invincibles; aside from King Dahan and two others, he didn't recognize their voices. Who was this? Was he telling Su Yu that these people wanted the Castellan Manor to shelter the others solely to flush him out? Dead spirits breaching houses! Powerful dead spirits could certainly break into the ancient houses; that was inevitable. The next moment, the human who had just spoken added indifferently, "When dead spirits reach the Quasi-Invincible or Invincible level, their intelligence is very high. While they may have forgotten their past lives, their intellect is no different from that of a normal person!" "King Daming, is there any point in saying this?" Someone sneered. They knew who King Daming was warning! Indeed, Su Yu seemed capable of blending into the ranks of the dead spirits. But it didn't matter. The current dead spirits had low intelligence; even upon reaching Sun Moon, their minds remained dim. Yet once they reached the Quasi-Invincible or Invincible realm, their intellect would awaken. The intellect of normal people! If such powerful dead spirits were drawn out, let's see Su Yu try pretending to be one! Could he appear and vanish at will just like a true dead spirit? No, he couldn't! Furthermore, dead spirits of that caliber could summon dead spirits or make them disperse. They could even be communicated with! You, Su Yu, slaughtered so many dead spirits. It would be one thing if the dead spirit experts didn't know, but now that they knew and you were still in the city, where could you run? This was the calculation of the Invincibles outside—simple, yet devastatingly effective. The premise was that everyone else had to take refuge inside the Castellan Manor. Last time in Tianmie Ancient City, Tianhe had been impervious to threats or bribes, remaining utterly neutral and not letting a single soul inside. Otherwise, being inside the Castellan Manor was not nearly as dangerous. Heimo of Xinghong Ancient City, however, was not like Tianhe. For the right price, he was willing to shelter others. That way, there would be no need to lose large numbers of Sun Moons. Late-stage Sun Moons were treasures to any race, the reserves of future Invincibles; losing one or two was tolerable, but no race could afford losing more. *** Inside the ancient house. Only now did Su Yu realize that King Daming had arrived. King Daming's words were also a warning to Su Yu not to treat powerful dead spirits as idiots; they possessed intellect. In fact, Su Yu already knew this. The several early-stage Sun Moon dead spirits that had appeared earlier had already displayed traces of sentience. When they saw Su Yu, they had looked somewhat puzzled. Clearly, if Su Yu encountered even stronger dead spirits, he might be exposed instantly. Back in Tianmie Ancient City, he had been able to teleport away directly, but this time, he had no way to teleport out. "Dark Demonic Dragon!" Su Yu muttered under his breath. He had formed a deep grudge with that demonic dragon! Right at that moment, the voice of the Dark Demonic Dragon echoed within the city. "The Castellan Manor cannot shelter so many experts!" "Then there's no need to shelter the humans..." Someone gave a soft laugh. The very next instant, a blade light blanketed heaven and earth, as if severing the entire ancient city in two. A cold, detached voice boomed: "Then you can all go die!" "Heimo, don't you dare take half a step outside this ancient city in your entire life... No, even if you never step out, you will still die!" "..." Silence! At that moment, seven or eight Sun Moon dead spirits abruptly manifested across the ancient city, all cleaved into existence by that single blade strike. Inside the Castellan Manor, the middle-aged man who was the incarnation of the Dark Demonic Dragon had a sudden change of expression. King Daxia's voice drifted in once more, cold and dismissive: "Heimo, think it through carefully. A petty ninth-stage Sun Moon—do you truly believe that relying on this ancient city gives you license to act presumptuously? If I wish to kill you, who under the heavens or across the earth can protect you?" The Dark Demonic Dragon's face shifted repeatedly. He had underestimated the human race's domineering arrogance! At this moment, Xia Wushen stepped through the void, treading directly upon the ancient city's defensive barrier. In an instant, he arrived above the Castellan Manor. His eyes pierced through the death qi, staring straight into the manor and fixing upon the Dark Demonic Dragon within. "If there are too many people to shelter, should we leave the humans out?" King Daxia looked down at him. Even with the ancient city's barrier between them, and knowing King Daxia wouldn't enter, Heimo still trembled slightly. "King... King Daxia... it's a misunderstanding..." Cold sweat dripped down the Dark Demonic Dragon's forehead. King Daxia merely stared at him, those eyes seeming to see through time and space. After staring for a moment, he let out a cold snort. In the next breath, he had vanished. "Do not assume the human race dares not slaughter. Push this king too far, and I will charge into a realm and massacre it entirely! Let's see how your lineage continues, no matter how many Eternals you possess!" King Daxia's voice was frigid. "Do not push us too far. I will not interfere with what happens inside the city, but as for you outside... you had better shut your mouths!" "King Daxia..." Buzz! Blade light flashed once more! Reflecting across the void! King Daxia cleaved open the void with a single stroke and declared coldly, "My grandson is about to attain the Dao. Whether you try to stop him or not, I hope my blade will draw blood on that day. Today, do not force my blade to taste the blood of Eternals!" He was strong! King Daxia was truly immensely strong. Among the Invincibles present today, practically none could match him. Moreover, these Invincibles were not prepared to fight to the death against a human Invincible today. King Daxia's domineering declaration silenced the outside world for a time. Of course, King Daxia had made a concession as well. He would not interfere with affairs inside the city. In return, he demanded that the Invincibles outside not meddle in the city's affairs either. This was likely the limit of what he could achieve. He could have fought a grand battle to awe the four directions. However... he could not afford to die today. He had waited for so many years; his grandson had not yet attained the Dao, and he still had business to finish. Even if Su Yu was monstrously talented beyond measure, he could not battle to the death against the Invincibles of all races here today. That would shatter too many of his plans. *** "King Daxia..." Inside the ancient house, Su Yu was shaken. King Daxia had come! The domineering King Daxia! He was born in the Great Xia Prefecture, where King Daxia was revered as a god. Su Yu had felt the same. Perhaps that was no longer entirely true now, but for eighteen years, he had regarded him as a deity. King Daxia was the spiritual pillar, leader, and savior of the entire Great Xia Prefecture! Today, King Daxia had drawn his blade! A storm of emotions surged through Su Yu. *I... don't need the human Invincibles to save me, nor do I want them to.* Of course, he had once yearned for it. Yet Su Yu swiftly suppressed those thoughts. He did not want an all-out war between human Invincibles and foreign races to erupt on his account. Life and death were in heaven's hands; what I have done, I will bear myself! I don't need anyone else to shoulder my burden! Even if he died here, he would have no regrets. Yet at this moment, King Daxia and King Daming had both arrived. He had grown to feel that the human Invincibles... were not truly worthy of respect! That had been his transformation over this past year. Yet now, two Invincibles had braved the danger and personally rushed to the ancient city. Su Yu felt touched, yet also somewhat helpless. *Don't move me; I don't need it. If you move me, I might have to give up even more in return.* *And I... don't want to sacrifice so much for anyone.* "I don't need the Invincibles to sacrifice anything for me... I don't need King Daxia's blade to be drawn on my behalf..." Su Yu murmured. If King Daxia fought for him today, he might never be able to sever his emotional ties to the Great Xia Prefecture for the rest of his life. He needed himself to be colder, more ruthless. Su Yu took a deep breath! In the next moment, the little fur ball appeared. Su Yu would rather seek help from another race, rather have an Invincible from another race figure out a way, even if it meant risking death or being devoured by the big fur ball. He looked at the little fur ball. The creature was still clutching the Mind Expansion Hammer, its wide eyes staring back at him. Su Yu smiled. "Little fur ball, how about you get your biggie to come save me? If he saves me, I'll let you eat that fragrant thing..." "You're lying to ball!" The little fur ball didn't believe him, piping up in its milky voice, "Can't eat that, and you can't give it to me either!" *I might be small, but I'm not stupid.* *I know you're trying to trick ball!* It had lived in Su Yu's sea of will for a long time and knew very well that the fragrant thing was situated impossibly far away inside fragrant's sea of will, completely unreachable. So fragrant was trying to trick ball again! Su Yu's face darkened. "Fine, even if I don't give you that, I've fed you plenty of good things lately. How about having your biggie come save *you*? Surely that works?" "Can't call him..." The little fur ball looked utterly innocent. "Really, I can't call biggie. I can only think about biggie coming to save my life, but biggie hasn't answered me..." *Biggie must be asleep again!* it thought. Back home, biggie slept every single day. "What about your mommy?" The little fur ball had once said there were only three in its race: itself, its biggie, and its mommy... Of course, Su Yu suspected that because it was so young, it might not know for sure. Perhaps there were other experts in its race. "Mommy isn't home..." "Not home?" "How strong is your mommy?" This fellow's biggie was a Half-Emperor, meaning he was the leader of the race. Even if their race really consisted of only three members, he was still the boss. The little fur ball's mommy ought to be a powerhouse as well, right? "Don't know..." The little fur ball shook its round body. How would it know? As for what realm she was in or where she was now, it had no clue. When it left home, it understood nothing. Everything it knew now had been learned from Su Yu through observation and experience. Back home, it had just laid on biggie's head sleeping every day. What could it possibly know? Su Yu was speechless. This creature was completely clueless! He really wanted to strangle it! Ignoring it, he continued casting his body. While tempering, he asked, "Do you want to eat Sun Moon Xuanhuang Liquid?" If it drank it, getting stronger wouldn't hurt. If this fellow reached Shanhai, it might even be able to finish off Sun Moons... Well, not kill them outright, but burrow into their seas of will. A warrior in the Sun Moon Realm might only have a sea of will the size of a Shanhai's, meaning the little fur ball could bore right in. That would make killing Sun Moons much easier for Su Yu. "Won't eat, will burst!" The little fur ball shook its body. Last time, it had eaten some sword qi and flames—both being an Invincible's willpower—and had nearly burst to death. It still hadn't fully digested them. Not eating! Su Yu felt disappointed. *You really don't know how to enjoy good things. Some glutton you are, turning down such treasures.* Exhaling, Su Yu grinned. No matter. If you won't eat it, I will! Sun Moon Xuanhuang Liquid was used to strengthen and enlarge apertures! It was meant for Sun Moons to expand their apertures! Previously, he hadn't planned to use it, because using it would make future aperture fusion nearly impossible, multiplying the difficulty exponentially. No matter! Having reached this point, why should I care about that? Drink it! He would strengthen his own apertures. He still had the ten drops from his previous reward, and this time the god race had delivered three hundred drops—a full 310 drops in total. In that case, he would empower himself, reinforce himself! Not reinforcing his physical flesh, but reinforcing his divine apertures! He would make his divine apertures grow powerful! That way, his willpower strength might reach the level of the Shanhai Realm. Combined with the Mind Expansion Hammer, tier-four divine characters, and a massive sea of will, plus the little fur ball's assistance, a single hammer strike might be enough to bash a Shanhai to death! As for being unable to advance to Shanhai or Sun Moon later, that was a problem for the future. If he truly couldn't break through, it didn't matter—he could still rule supreme through his physical body! Su Yu had made up his mind with ruthless determination. *You won't let me out?* *Then I'll consume everything so that even if you kill me, you won't gain a single scrap of benefit.* He began tempering his body while simultaneously devouring the Sun Moon Xuanhuang Liquid. One drop! Boom! The moment Su Yu swallowed a single drop, his consciousness scattered. Just like the very first time he opened an aperture, he felt as though he were floating in midair, gazing down upon his own body. Within his sea of will, Su Yu had opened 196 divine apertures, with sixteen remaining unopened. At this moment, those 196 opened divine apertures rapidly absorbed the energy of the Sun Moon Xuanhuang Liquid. The apertures expanded swiftly! The tremendous power stretched the divine apertures continuously wider. In his sea of will, his willpower was compressed and condensed, leaving a shortage of willpower. Without Sun Moon divine characters to cultivate with, this was agonizing. But it didn't matter. As the divine apertures grew stronger, Su Yu took out an Invincible manual. In the past, he had been reluctant to use them like this, but now... why hold back? He would devour the damn Invincible manuals themselves! Powerful willpower adhered to every Invincible manual, which was also the key to outlining divine characters. Su Yu had ten of them! Even if divine characters had been outlined from several earlier, it hardly damaged the manuals, which still retained vast amounts of willpower. For a Civilization Master, devouring the willpower within a text of will was the most standard method of cultivation. Su Yu had simply done it rarely. Mainly, all of his texts of will were treasures, and he had been unwilling to burn them up. Now, Su Yu didn't care anymore. He took the manual from King Dahan and contemplated it while devouring its willpower. Once its willpower was completely drained, the manual would be ruined. Others treated Invincible manuals as priceless treasures, and Su Yu had felt the same before, but now... whatever! Having absorbed a massive amount of willpower, his divine apertures began to stabilize, and the willpower within his sea of will was replenished. He was somewhat similar to Liu Wenyan now. Liu Wenyan also possessed an immense sea of will but lacked the willpower to fill it, preventing him from entering Sun Moon. Thus, Liu Wenyan had chosen to shatter divine characters for cultivation. Su Yu, on the other hand, chose to consume Invincible manuals to cultivate. Between master and disciple, one was more profligate than the other. Su Yu was not afraid of waste. If he died, none of it would belong to him anyway. If necessary, he would forcefully push his willpower straight to the ninth stage of Lingyun. Coupled with the Sun Moon Xuanhuang Liquid enlarging his divine apertures, his willpower would easily surpass that of ordinary Shanhai experts. Whatever made him stronger, he would do. As for the future, only the living had the right to speak of tomorrow. Su Yu wasn't overly worried about the Invincibles outside causing havoc and luring out hordes of dead spirits. If worst came to worst, he would convert into a resident tonight. Even now, numerous residents lived in the ancient city, and even if dead spirits broke into houses, they would not breach the dwellings of residents. This had been proven last time in Tianmie Ancient City. Su Yu still had a way out! Hoping the dead spirits would finish him off? Keep dreaming! Strengthen, absorb, strengthen, absorb... At this moment, Su Yu was growing stronger at a pace visible to the naked eye. His divine characters, the capacity of his sea of will, and the number of his divine apertures all met the standards for entering Shanhai. Yet Su Yu had remained at the second stage of Lingyun because he was constantly compressing himself. Today, Su Yu stopped compressing. Instead, he advanced furiously! Even Dao Cheng had been able to enter Shanhai by devouring certain treasures, let alone Su Yu. In the blink of an eye, the third stage of Lingyun. Soon, the fourth stage of Lingyun. This time, Su Yu didn't compress at all. At most, the heaven and earth rewards would be slightly less. What of it? He wished he could shoot straight to the ninth stage of Lingyun so that killing Shanhai or Sun Moon experts wouldn't grant him any rewards at all, sparing him from being exposed by them. That was the real nuisance! Before, he had craved heaven and earth rewards, but now... Su Yu hardly cared. At worst, he could compress it back down later. It was entirely possible; for instance, after Zhao Li failed his breakthrough, he was forced to compress his sea of will again, causing his realm to drop from the ninth stage of Lingyun back to the seventh stage. Without Su Yu actively compressing it, his willpower rose with incredible speed. After absorbing an Invincible text of will, he quickly reached the peak of the fourth stage of Lingyun. It was just somewhat impure! His willpower was not exceptionally pure, but that was no issue either. Su Yu hammered it a few times with the Mind Expansion Hammer, vibrating away the impurities. Even if it was inferior to that of top geniuses, it was no worse than that of average talents. He continued absorbing the next Invincible text of will. He had ten; he could simply keep devouring! As for the Sun Moon Xuanhuang Liquid, Su Yu realized it was absurdly potent. A single drop took an extended time to absorb. Another drop took another long while. His apertures enlarged! Su Yu did not know the inner workings of the Sun Moon Realm. In the Sun Moon Realm, there was only a single unified aperture. Initially, this aperture was a fan-shaped arc of about forty degrees. As it grew stronger, reaching an eighty-degree arc, one reached the second stage of Sun Moon. A 120-degree arc meant the third stage of Sun Moon. All the way until it became a full moon, forming a complete circle—that was the true peak of Sun Moon, signifying the perfection of that single aperture. That was Sun Moon! As for Su Yu, his divine apertures were not yet fused and remained individual nodes. Yet now, each of those pinpoint lights began expanding into a tiny fan-like shape of roughly one or two degrees. This meant his divine apertures had begun expanding to such an extent that he might never be able to enter the Shanhai Realm in his lifetime! Shanhai required aperture fusion. With his divine apertures so powerful, the repulsive force during fusion would be terrifyingly immense. Yet Su Yu did not care in the slightest. To be honest, he didn't believe the multiple divine character faction was that overwhelmingly powerful, nor that Civilization Masters were so supreme. Most of the time, his willpower and divine characters served a supplementary role. As for the fear of all races... Su Yu couldn't be bothered. Would he be useless if he failed to become an Invincible Civilization Master? Hardly! Even if he didn't become an Invincible Civilization Master, becoming an Invincible warrior would still make him an Invincible. If he couldn't activate the suppression against other races, it didn't matter; Liu Wenyan, Hong Tan, and the others still had hope of doing so. After devouring the willpower from yet another Invincible text of will, Su Yu broke into the sixth stage of Lingyun. Soon, he began devouring another. King Dazhou's manual was exceptionally strong. The one he was devouring this time belonged to King Dazhou. Su Yu had comprehended the divine character "Still" from King Dazhou's manual, and honestly, it had helped him immensely. He had studied King Dazhou's manual many times, but regrettably, he had been unable to comprehend another character from it! Yet now, as Su Yu devoured and contemplated it at the same time, a new divine character gradually began outlining itself in his mind. After previously shattering the character "Beast," Su Yu had only twenty-four divine characters left. And at this moment, a brand-new divine character took shape! "Endure!" "..." Su Yu was dumbfounded. What was this supposed to mean? *I'm reading your manual and burning your manual, and you tell me to endure?* *What the hell is wrong with King Dazhou!* *First 'Still', now 'Endure'—are you an old tortoise or something?* *Stillness this, endurance that!* Like the others outlined from Invincible manuals, this divine character began directly at tier two. "Endure!" Su Yu stared at the divine character for a moment and laughed wryly. Was it telling him to endure at a time like this? How bizarre! Divine characters were born from sudden epiphanies and comprehension. Did that mean he had actually comprehended endurance just now? Yet... I have no way to endure right now! What were the properties of this character? Truth be told, Su Yu still had expectations for the human race's foremost Civilization Master. The character "Still" had been incredibly useful; he wondered if "Endure" would be just as handy. Sensing it and testing it out, Su Yu fell into contemplation. He understood a little! This "Endure"... fuck, was also tortoise-styled! Testing its effects, Su Yu sensed something unique. If he lay motionless and endured, this character possessed a powerful breath-concealing and dormancy effect. Combined with the character "Still" and the breath-concealing technique of the xuan turtle race... Su Yu was thoroughly impressed. Two divine characters and one cultivation technique—all of them were built for tortoises! "Is King Dazhou an old tortoise?" Su Yu blinked. One could actually infer certain truths through divine characters. King Dazhou's texts of will had granted him two divine characters, both focused on restraint and endurance. What did that signify? It meant King Dazhou truly knew how to endure! *** At that very moment. Toward the East Rift Valley. An elegant, middle-aged man in flowing robes and with long hair fluttering in the wind cast a glance into the distance. The Invincible manual he had left behind had been comprehended by someone once more. "Su Yu?" He muttered softly, feeling a touch surprised, yet also taking it as a matter of course. King Dazhou looked toward the horizon, smiled faintly, and paid it no further mind. To still be able to comprehend divine characters at a time like this—the kid wasn't dead, and he even had the leisure to cultivate. Indeed, a scourge didn't die so easily. In the next instant, a figure materialized. "Old Zhou, divine the omens!" King Daqin came stepping through the air. "Whose?" King Dazhou smiled faintly. "Xia Wushen's?" "No, Su Yu's." King Dazhou replied placidly, "Divination is a minor trick. After calculating this and that, man's calculation still falls short of heaven's! Even if I divine that he dies, he might still reverse destiny. Divining... is useless." "Just give it a try!" King Daqin insisted. King Dazhou smiled, gave a slight nod, and said no more. Reaching out into the empty air, shadows coalesced, and a human silhouette resembling Su Yu appeared. Soon, one divine character after another surfaced. In the vision, the figure's fighting spirit soared first, followed by his body cracking open, death qi boiling around him, and finally... the silhouette shattered into dust. King Daqin's brow furrowed slightly. "What does that mean?" King Dazhou said calmly, "He still wants to fight a battle, to take one last gamble. He will fight until his body collapses, transforming into a dead spirit, and then... dies!" "..." Dead? King Daqin frowned, staring at him. "Is the divination accurate?" "As I said, man's calculation falls short of heaven's. If I divine that he dies, does he truly die?" King Dazhou replied calmly, "What you see isn't necessarily true; that is how divination works. It can only be said to be one possibility among tens of millions. Of course, if one utilizes the Heaven-Reaching Mirror at the cost of lifespan, the vision would be clearer." "That thing..." King Daqin shook his head. "Looking into that thing is useless anyway. Back then, I had Old Zhu consult it once for Ye Batian. He saw that Ye Batian would attain the Invincible Dao... and the result... let's not speak of it. Old Zhu burned a hundred years of lifespan for that. Nowadays, I don't even bother asking anyone to consult the Heaven-Reaching Mirror. A rough calculation is enough!" King Daqin didn't put absolute faith in this either, though it served as a reference for a possible future. Su Yu would die in battle! King Daqin let out a sigh. That was the result of King Dazhou's divination. As for anything more, King Dazhou could not calculate it. Even Invincibles were not omnipotent; discerning the most likely possibility was already an achievement. *** Meanwhile, Su Yu didn't dwell on such thoughts. With a rumble, his thirty-ninth casting was complete! Right at this moment, the Dark Demonic Dragon spoke up, his voice resounding across the city: "All living beings within the city may enter the Castellan Manor for refuge. Any race is welcome. Residents need not apply, but identities will be verified... Su Yu... is excluded. I ask Lords King Daxia and King Daming for their understanding: I will shelter the humans, but... I cannot shelter Su Yu!" At this juncture, the Dark Demonic Dragon still chose to shelter the human race. Just not Su Yu! Sheltering Su Yu would offend far too many parties. Besides, Su Yu wouldn't dare come anyway. With so many Sun Moons present, how could he dare show his face? Inside the city, Qin Hao stepped across the void and shouted coldly, "No need!" With those words, he instantly descended before the gates of the Castellan Manor. "Since everyone is here, why bother taking shelter in the Castellan Manor? Let's just have some fun together out here!" He would not enter, nor would he let anyone else enter. Once everyone slipped inside, the Invincibles outside would certainly bombard the city, summoning legions of powerful dead spirits, and then Su Yu would truly be finished. At that moment, Sun Moon experts rapidly flew over through the void. Someone said chillingly, "Qin Hao, do you think you can stop everyone? For the sake of a single Su Yu, are you going to throw away your own life, the life of your eldest brother's son, the life of King Daming's grandson, and the lives of the Great Ming Prefecture's three high-stage Sun Moon generals?" The human race had four high-stage Sun Moons present here, which was one reason few had dared provoke them. They were formidable! To besiege and kill these four would take no fewer than ten late-stage Sun Moons. However, right now, there were far more than ten late-stage Sun Moons gathered here. Qin Hao ignored them, turning his gaze toward the Earth Spirit Sun Moon. Two late-stage Sun Moons from the Five Elements race had also arrived this time. Qin Hao said coldly, "Futiling is probably inside one of these ancient houses. Are you abandoning Futiling?" The faces of the two late-stage Sun Moon experts from the Five Elements race changed slightly! Abandon Futiling... Unless Futiling was truly dead, they shouldn't abandon him. Right now, if things went according to the wishes of the Invincibles outside and formidable Invincible dead spirits were summoned while Futiling was still in an ancient house, Futiling would be dead for sure! What was the Old Ancestor thinking? An Invincible from the Five Elements race should have arrived outside. Had the Old Ancestor truly given up on Futiling? Or could the Old Ancestor simply not sway the decision of the other Invincibles? After all, in the eyes of the other Invincibles, trading Futiling's life for Su Yu's was not a bad deal at all. The two late-stage Sun Moons of the Five Elements race swiftly contacted the outside world via their Heaven Hunting Pavilion sub-rankings. The ancient city was sealed; barring Invincibles or the castellan, virtually no one's voice could transmit outside. This was their only means of communication. Before long, the two received a reply from the Five Elements race: Futiling had to be protected, but... at present, the Five Elements race and the human race could not reverse the will of the gods, demons, immortals, and fiends. They were to stall for time as much as possible and prevent anyone else from taking shelter in the Castellan Manor. The two Sun Moons of the Five Elements race felt deeply helpless! The difficulty of this task... was anything but small. The Old Ancestor was helpless, which meant they were caught in the crossfire. In this environment, even cooperating with the humans would give them only six late-stage Sun Moons—hardly enough to hold off all the other Sun Moons. The Five Elements Old Ancestor gave them another option: force Su Yu out! That way, the Invincibles outside wouldn't need to resort to having dead spirits breach the houses. The difficulty of that... seemed equally enormous! Staggeringly enormous! Either way, neither choice was a good one!