Leaving the City

Having secured the stone statue's promise, Su Yu was overjoyed. He finally had some real backing! This was the very first Invincible Su Yu knew for certain he could turn to if trouble arose. Of course, calling upon him was rather inconvenient—one had to go to a specific place, as he couldn't just come on command. Well, no need to sweat the small details! Adopting a waste-not-want-not mindset, Su Yu promptly brought out the two treasures he had recovered and spoke deferentially: "My lord, these are the treasures left behind after you routed those Invincibles. Do you still want them? If not, I can keep them safe on your behalf." He had to say they belonged to the statue, but in all likelihood, the statue wouldn't want them. What use would he have for them anyway? *I'll hold onto them for you!* That way, it wasn't looting spoils of war! Of course, if the statue did take them, Su Yu wouldn't lose much either. He couldn't use them right now anyway, so it would simply count as buttering up his new patron. The stone statue ignored him. Evidently, he didn't care about such things. Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief and pressed on, "My lord, can these be used to bear the three incarnations? Can anyone use them as carriers for the three incarnations?" This time, the stone statue spoke. "Bearing the three incarnations requires treasures of differing attributes," the stone statue said calmly. "For instance, if someone specializes in physical melee combat, a sufficiently sturdy material will suffice. If one is a Civilization Master who excels in the Dao of Spacetime, one requires more specialized materials. Races with unique demands—such as the Thunder God race, the Frost God race, or the Earth Fire Demon race—fare best by using treasures suited to their elements as carriers for their three incarnations. "The three incarnations vary in strength; some are strong, others weak, and thus they demand different carriers. If a mighty ninth-layer Sun Moon dredges up and captures a potent incarnation from within the River of Time, ordinary carriers will not suffice!" Enlightened, Su Yu looked at the two items in his grasp: one resembled a lump of iron, while the other was a lustrous, pearl-like orb. The stone statue spoke again: "That iron is the primary material for Heaven armaments—a mid-grade Heaven-rank treasure known as Heavenly Gold Profound Iron. That pearl is a dragon pearl formed by a Dragon race cultivator at the peak of the Sun Moon Realm. It matches the Dragons, and they would use it to bear their three incarnations as well." Su Yu understood completely! One was Heavenly Gold Profound Iron, and the other was a peak Sun Moon dragon pearl. The dragon pearl unquestionably belonged to the Dragon Invincible, while the Heavenly Gold Profound Iron had belonged to one of the others. In any case, it had to be one of those few! Regardless, both were exceptional items. "My lord, could I save them until I reach the ninth layer of the Sun Moon Realm?" The stone statue replied indifferently, "Get there first before worrying about it!" To be fretting over that already—the boy was truly getting ahead of himself. A thought struck Su Yu, and he asked, "My lord, can I attain the Dao here in the ancient city? If I do, will any other Invincible who comes to attack me get entangled by the dead spirit monarchs?" If so, he wouldn't need to fear anything during his ascension. The stone statue felt weary. *You're looking way too far ahead.* "No!" The stone statue squashed his notion, stating coldly, "Attaining the Dao means unifying the three incarnations! During your ascension, you must traverse the River of Time, merging the past and the future into the present to achieve Eternity! The River of Time flows, and the sacred cities are fraught with unexpected perils. At the slightest mishap, the River of Time could fracture, resulting in outright failure. With death qi choking the air here, attempting to attain the Dao in this place is courting death! When attaining the Dao, it is best to find an isolated realm entirely free of disturbances!" Su Yu was disappointed. So it was impossible. In that case, when the time came to attain the Dao, he couldn't do it inside an ancient city. With that in mind, Su Yu ventured, "My lord, what if I hauled all thirty-six ancient cities together in a ring and attained the Dao in the middle? Would that work?" "..." *Sure it would!* Of course, the stone statue gave no reply. He simply had no desire to humiliate himself by humoring Su Yu. What a grand notion. What an utterly idiotic idea! Haling all thirty-six ancient cities into a circle, and then... attaining the Dao in the dead center? Believe it or not, the first ones to beat him to death would be the statues themselves! He couldn't be bothered with him. Failing to get an answer, Su Yu felt a twinge of regret. Oh well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it; he was still far from attaining the Dao anyway. Thinking this, Su Yu withdrew from the grand hall. After a moment's consideration, he donned his mask and asked, "Elder, what kind of benefits do we get for being dispatched to the Human Realm? Also, if you reimburse my Heavenly Yuan Qi, is there a cap on the reimbursement?" "..." Xuanjia was left speechless. *Do you really need reimbursement?* At least he was alive! "Are you all right?" "I'm fine. When the big battle erupted, I hid inside an ancient house. It had nothing to do with me. Our Heaven Hunting Pavilion carries a formidable reputation, so no one went out of their way to target us!" "Then..." Xuanjia started to say something, but quickly gave up. Instead, he asked, "You're heading to the Human Realm?" "Is our Heaven Hunting Pavilion taking the passage in the All-Heavens Prefecture?" "Probably not," Xuanjia answered. "There are other passages into the Human Realm. Many experts infiltrate through those alternatives." Su Yu wasn't surprised. "Elder, do you know where this passage is? Does the Heaven Hunting Pavilion control a secret route into the Human Realm?" "Don't ask me, I don't know. But several Department Heads and Pavilion Masters likely do. Otherwise, if the humans knew full well you were planting spies, would they ever let you stroll in?" Xuanjia quickly added, "Can you leave the ancient city?" "Of course!" Xuanjia had nothing to say to that. After a pause, he said, "Then one month from now, all members of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion assigned to go will rendezvous near Tianmie City." "Why Tianmie City? Come to Xinghong Ancient City instead!" It seemed as though Xuanjia's ability to respond had jammed. After a long silence, he answered, "We're afraid that if we go there, not a single one of us will return!" What nonsense! With him lurking there, who would dare set foot inside? How many people had died already? Only because he was there did anyone even dare approach, and without him, no one would dare go near Tianmie City either. That being said... Xuanjia warned, "Once you reach Tianmie City, do not cause trouble!" He didn't want the Pavilion's elites all wiped out because of him! Su Yu was speechless. A moment later, he asked, "Elder, are you going as well?" "I am!" Su Yu grew a bit more cautious. Xuanjia was going too? That could be troublesome! Traveling together meant Xuanjia knew his identity. If Xuanjia tracked his location, he might not be able to get away, and if Xuanjia betrayed him... he wouldn't have an easy way out. After turning it over in his mind, he relaxed somewhat. It was fine. As long as they were on the All-Heavens Battlefield, the moment he invoked the castellan token, Boss Stone Statue would know. Besides, he had a decent relationship with the boss of Tianmie City, who had even bestowed plenty of opportunities upon him last time—virtually one of his own people! Come to think of it, what did he have to fear? Those other people should be the ones shivering in their boots! It was just as well. He could use this chance to gauge Xuanjia's attitude. If Xuanjia didn't betray him on the All-Heavens Battlefield, doing so in the Human Realm would be far harder. After all, that was his home turf. Even if he hadn't made the biggest splash across the entire Human Realm, he could still maneuver easily in the Great Ming Prefecture, couldn't he? "Elder, once I reach the Human Realm, will I have a chance to command some subordinates? Like taking charge of a single line of operations?" "There is a chance!" This time, Xuanjia didn't mislead him, promptly replying, "This expedition involves twelve elders and eighty white masks from the Four Departments! Twelve elders cannot cover all thirty-six prefectures, so some white masks will inevitably take charge of individual prefectures. You can strive for that, which will also lay a solid foundation for you to become an elder later on!" Su Yu said eagerly, "Elder, how about this: you take charge of the Great Ming Prefecture, and I'll take the Great Xia Prefecture. They border each other, so we can control the Human Realm together!" Listen to that—how wonderful! He was even yielding his old stomping grounds, the Great Ming Prefecture, to Xuanjia! Of course, there was an added benefit: if anything went wrong, Su Yu could contact experts in the Great Ming Prefecture at any time to put an end to Xuanjia! Elders were late-stage Sun Moons and exceedingly powerful. Yet... what was there to fear? It wasn't as if the Great Ming Prefecture lacked late-stage Sun Moons; they had several. Xuanjia ignored him. That wasn't up to Su Yu to decide, nor was it up to Xuanjia. Meanwhile, Su Yu was already calculating how he should proceed once he returned to the Human Realm. Then, another question occurred to him, and he asked, "Elder, will we be promoting our trading system in the Human Realm? The Heaven Hunting Ranking doesn't cover the Human Realm, does it?" "Indeed. However, the Department Heads are working on a solution. Following standard protocol, they will likely forge a powerful sub-ranking of the Heaven Hunting Ranking and place it within the Human Realm, granting temporary coverage so the sub-ranking can continue relaying information!" Impressive! A sub-ranking would have to be at least on par with a Heaven armament; otherwise, how could it maintain coverage? They truly were wealthy! If he could snag it down the road... well, best not to dwell on that for now. After chatting a bit longer with Xuanjia, the late-stage Sun Moon elder grew impatient and terminated the connection. He had no desire to keep talking to Su Yu. The kid was practically on the verge of asking for advice on the best way to rob the Heaven Hunting Pavilion! He had even sounded like he wanted to rope him in as an accomplice! Xuanjia was utterly exasperated. *Are you insane? Join you in robbing the Heaven Hunting Pavilion?* *Did you think the Invincibles running the Heaven Hunting Pavilion were pushovers?* With Xuanjia brushing him off, Su Yu had no choice but to shut his mouth. One month! In one month, he would enter the Human Realm. By his reckoning, it was now late August in the year 351 of the Human Realm's Anping Calendar. That meant they wouldn't cross into the Human Realm until late September or early October. "One month... I'll spend it in closed-door cultivation. I've got plenty of resources and wealth, so I might as well indulge myself and cast my body more!" Su Yu had only completed fifty-three castings so far, still a far cry from seventy-two. He was short by nineteen castings! In a month, he could probably complete around five more. The further along he went, the harder it became. And the longer it took! He aimed to finish his fifty-eighth casting before entering the Human Realm. This was a rare, legitimate opportunity to return without anyone discovering his true identity. He would take the Heaven Hunting Pavilion's passage! That way, everyone would believe he remained in the ancient city, or perhaps think he had died, completely unaware that he had slipped back into the Human Realm. As for the Sun Moons in the city, twelve of them had landed in his trap this time. He'd leave them be for now! Once the city gates opened three days later, ten of them would already be residents. As for the remaining two... they might still harbor some stubborn hopes, but when he sealed the city again, they would finally resign themselves to their fate! Converting more Sun Moon residents meant that even if he wasn't around, these fellows could help hold down the fort for a time. Of course, even in his absence, Su Yu would still have to shoulder his share of the death qi, and the burden would double. As for the ancient city's census, he would hold off on that for now! Furthermore, later on, he would toss out those guard tokens and general tokens to see if anyone picked them up. Those fellows probably had no idea that the castellan could transfer death qi through those tokens. He'd toss them right in front of the Sun Moons' doorsteps! Plotting everything out, Su Yu chose not to cultivate in the Castellan Manor this time. That place was too dangerous; if an enemy struck, the manor was always their first target. Demon King Lade's earlier strike had served as a stark reminder. Finding an ancient house, Su Yu began devouring the mystic light of heaven and earth, formally entering closed-door cultivation. See you in a month! …… The fall of the Dragon Silkworm King soon triggered aftershocks. Near the Eastern Rift Valley, the aura of several Invincibles emerged. The Invincibles of the god and demon races began stepping out of their domains, showing signs of encircling humanity. Humanity had quite a few Invincibles. Previously, caught off guard, they had allowed several mighty human Invincibles to slip away and slay the Dragon Silkworm King. Now, the Invincibles of both races were seeking to intimidate humanity. If the human Invincibles dared make another move, they risked drawing a joint siege from both races. In the Vanguard Camp at the Eastern Rift Valley. A grand hall had been temporarily repurposed as a gathering ground for Invincibles. King Daqin remarked calmly, "Those fellows blockading the far side of the Eastern Rift Valley aren't doing so to trap us, but to ensure we have no leeway to interfere in the Human Realm. In all likelihood, a large number of experts will soon infiltrate the Human Realm!" He was no fool; those experts were merely creating an opening for others. A contingent of powerhouses would certainly seize this opportunity to slip in. To the side, King Dasong smiled faintly. "Should we dispatch someone to patrol the boundless void...?" King Daqin raised a hand. "No need. Going alone is too hazardous, and sending too many might prompt them to turn this charade into a full-scale clash at the Eastern Rift Valley!" With that, he turned his gaze toward King Daxia and said in a heavy voice, "What is the truth behind the Nanyuan ruins? You oversaw Nanyuan for so many years—did you truly never notice anything before?" King Daxia replied coldly, "There was nothing out of the ordinary before. It only drew attention after Su Yu emerged! Back then, I too suspected that since ruins existed in Dongyuan, Xiyuan, and Beiyuan, Nanyuan might possess one as well. Even Liu Wenyan went to Nanyuan with that in mind, yet nothing was ever found..." It was genuinely hard to say. The group of Invincibles fell into deep thought. After a period of silence, King Daqin spoke up: "Because of Su Yu, Nanyuan has become the center of attention! Now, every race is wondering just how formidable the Nanyuan ruins must be to allow someone as young as Su Yu to effortlessly claim first place on the Heaven Ranking, slay Sun Moons, and stir up such colossal waves! Moreover, with the city gates sealed for half a month this time, Su Yu might not even be dead; there could be hidden secrets involved. In addition, the stone statue stepping out of the city is something entirely unprecedented, and it may well be linked to Su Yu... After all, the thirty-six ancient cities of the All-Heavens Battlefield represent an overwhelmingly immense power!" Right now, many were placing their hopes on Nanyuan. If a stone statue could be brought out of a city... could the thirty-six ancient stone statues be brought under human banner? If so, that would be monumental! Even King Daqin spoke with a grim tone: "That stone statue is exceedingly powerful! Lade was no weakling, yet he was routed with ease. Even if that statue is not quite as strong as I am, the gap is narrow, putting him on par with Old Xia and the rest..." King Daxia kept a stony face, offering no comment. *Don't use me as a benchmark!* "One or two stone statues may not equal a Half-Emperor, but three to five could well match one!" King Daqin inhaled deeply. "And there are thirty-six such statues in total, along with several dead spirit monarchs. The thirty-six ancient cities are not inferior to any major power!" It was a formidable force that demanded serious attention. Pondering a moment, he added, "Should the Great Xia Prefecture or the Great Ming Prefecture send someone to look into it? Ideally, we could meet with Su Yu and discuss this matter. If humanity can secure the aid of the thirty-six ancient cities, then even if the gods and demons unite, an alliance between humanity and the ancient cities would have nothing to fear from them!" This was a major, monumental matter. King Daxia held little hope. "It will be difficult. Besides... after Lade's strike, is he truly still alive?" Someone murmured in a low voice, "Summon Su Long and test Su Yu's condition using Su Long's blood essence..." "Su Yu has already become a living dead; even Su Long's blood essence might not reveal anything about his state." "We shouldn't do that. If Su Yu isn't dead, it would only breed hostility." "Hostility? For his sake, humanity slaughtered an Eternal, leading to the siege at the Eastern Rift Valley! Does this Su Yu feel not a single shred of gratitude?" "..." The Invincibles debated back and forth until King Daqin raised a hand to cut them off. "Enough. Let the matter rest here!" The hall fell silent. Soon, someone asked, "King Qin, what about the matters back in the Human Realm... regarding Ye Batian's death, and the Sun Moon divine character clones that have appeared multiple times? King Qin surely hasn't forgotten, has he?" King Daqin fell quiet, sweeping his gaze across the Invincibles. Only after a long while did he say, "Since we're speaking openly, let us be even clearer! That person might very well be sitting among us right now. However, if I asked everyone to open their sea of will for my inspection, I doubt a single one of you would agree!" Silence fell over the room. Indeed, opening one's sea of will was something even fathers and sons would hesitate over, let alone comrades who were not kin. "Even if you did open your seas of will, who could tell how many Sun Moon divine characters that person has outlined over all these years? Even if several were detonated, we might never discern who truly did it!" The Invincibles sighed once more. That was indeed the crux of the problem; uncovering the truth was simply too difficult. King Daqin stated calmly, "Therefore, whether that person is among us or not, I hope there will not be a next time! When Ye Batian fell back then, we didn't think too deeply on it. Looking back now, the incident was riddled with suspicious points! You acted once, and you acted twice. If you stop now, there may still be a chance. If you do not... do not think humanity is truly powerless to deal with you!" Silence reigned. King Daxia waited a moment before speaking slowly: "Saying all this accomplishes nothing! That fellow's mind is made up! Besides... he might not even be human." He explained, "To this day, no one has truly seen his original body. It could all be a diversion deliberately aimed at inciting internal discord within humanity. I have considered this point before. I once suspected a certain someone and watched him for many years, but turned up no issues whatsoever." That "certain someone" naturally referred to King Dazhou, who sat first on the right. Many eyes drifted toward King Dazhou. King Dazhou paid them no mind. He quietly examined the cup in front of him, so unobtrusive that he seemed practically invisible if one didn't pay close attention. Right now, this foremost figure of the Quest Realm appeared frighteningly low-key. King Daqin said nothing further on the topic, asking instead, "Old Zhou, do Polong and the others actually cultivate the Multiple Divine Characters path?" At these words, many turned their eyes toward King Dazhou. Only King Daqin would ask so bluntly. King Dazhou remained silent for a moment, then shook his head. "No." King Daqin nodded and pressed no further. If he said no, then no it was. Reflecting on this, he swept his eyes across the assembly once more. "I know that some among you have secretly nurtured quite a few geniuses and multiple divine character experts to campaign across several minor realms. They possess good talent and considerable strength, and some have even become local overlords, sweeping through their generation!" No one spoke up. King Daqin continued, "Yet can these individuals truly be relied upon? Can they become the key to opening the barrier? Galloping across minor realms... those minor realms are generally under our control. Humanity reigns supreme there, and people show respect, but that doesn't mean those geniuses are truly mighty! In my view, they must be brought out and tested sooner or later. Remaining confined to minor realms will only restrict their future horizons. Those realms don't even have Eternals; sitting at the bottom of a well looking up at the sky is never a good thing!" The minor realms controlled by humanity generally capped out at the Sun Moon Realm. Invincibles never went there! Such minor realms could produce geniuses, but if they never stepped outside and only roamed within those borders, King Daqin believed their vision would inherently be lacking. Just look at the contrast! On the All-Heavens Battlefield, Sun Moons walked everywhere, and Invincibles could be seen at every turn. Take Su Yu, for instance—how many battles between Invincibles had he witnessed already? With so many Sun Moons and Invincibles around, to people like Su Yu, a Sun Moon was an expert, but not an absolute hegemon. An Invincible was a hegemon, yet incapable of running rampant across the myriad realms unimpeded. Even a Half-Emperor was not entirely invincible in these heavens. In a minor realm, however, a Sun Moon might be an uncontested overlord, a founding ancestor. Slaying a Shanhai could shake an entire minor realm. Yet on the All-Heavens Battlefield, the death of a Shanhai failed to stir a single ripple. It was a matter of perspective! The ambition of a minor-realm genius might be merely to reach the Shanhai or Sun Moon Realm, whereas the geniuses on the Heaven Hunting Ranking aimed to attain the Dao and achieve Eternity! King Daqin was aware of these clandestine efforts, but he had refrained from interfering. It was an experiment in its own right! In truth, it was a good thing—at least it preserved a sliver of hope for humanity. However, keeping them cooped up in minor realms was something he could not support. The dangers of a minor realm did not even compare to those of the Human Realm; only after humanity had cleansed those minor realms did they come to exist, leaving no truly terrifying adversaries within them. Even the geniuses of the Human Realm had to venture out! All the more reason for those secret disciples to step forth and witness the world. Among the crowd, an Invincible nodded slightly. "They truly ought to venture out. Without stepping outside, their experience is too narrow. Back then, even if our own horizons were limited, we only walked further and attained Eternity after enduring the trials of the all-heavens war..." "The Human Realm is in turmoil right now; perhaps we should let some of them return. That could also foster their sense of belonging, as growing up outside the Human Realm might make it feel alien to them." "The myriad races will soon send infiltrators inside, which provides a fine opportunity for our youths to witness the strength of other races and the might of foreign geniuses." "Furthermore, the Star Residence Mansion is about to open, and humanity's quota has yet to be finalized. Why not let them vie for a few spots? Missing out on the Star Residence Mansion would be a profound regret!" "..." The assembly chimed in one after another. Some had not fostered such disciples, while others had done so in secret. Regardless, bringing those geniuses out of the minor realms was indeed necessary. At this moment, King Dahan smiled faintly. "Bringing them out is fine by me. My only fear... is that once they step forth, they'll be wiped out with ease. That would be quite an embarrassment." "Did your Great Han Prefecture not nurture any?" King Dahan replied with a light smile, "A few. But... to be frank, I used to think they were decent, yet now I find them lacking. They're missing something. Ah, when it comes to the Multiple Divine Characters Faction, the lineage from the Great Xia Prefecture still held the most promise. What a pity!" King Dahan shook his head. It truly was a pity. That lineage in the Great Xia Prefecture had been scrutinized far too closely! Soon, an Invincible asked, "King Daxia, is the Divine Character Battle Art Monument of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction on Su Yu, or is it with Chen Yong? Without that monument, we lack several powerful divine character battle arts..." King Daxia replied impassively, "Go ask them yourselves! I have no idea! Ever since Ye Batian died, I have washed my hands of their affairs!" Someone frowned, unable to press further. Yet it had to be said that without that monument, the Divine Character Battle Art Monuments in other prefectures were distinctly inferior, offering only a limited selection of battle arts. If successors could no longer imprint battle arts from it, the heritage would be severed entirely. Since King Daxia refused to involve himself, they had no ground to push the matter. King Daqin didn't dwell on it either, declaring, "Let us leave it at that! I have nothing more to add. For the time being, cultivate in the vicinity of the Eastern Rift Valley to prevent the gods and demons from finding an opening!" "What about the Immortals...?" "Disregard them for now!" "King Daming is still in the Human Realm. Should we summon him back?" "No need. Having an Eternal overseeing the Human Realm is a good thing; it prevents any sudden upheavals from escalating beyond control!" "Xia Longwu is still on the All-Heavens Battlefield. King Daxia, is he about to attain the Dao?" "..." The Invincibles continued their discussion, but King Daxia couldn't be bothered to listen. He rose and said, "Longwu's ascension depends on his own fortune. As for whether to protect his Dao, you may all decide for yourselves. If he truly fails... then so be it!" Leaving behind those words, his figure vanished on the spot. Someone chuckled. "Old Xia still has that temper of his. He never explicitly said he wouldn't protect Xia Longwu's Dao." King Daqin said nothing more, his silhouette fading away. Once he departed, someone turned to King Dazhou. "Old Zhou, what are Polong's and Potian's plans this time?" King Dazhou looked up, his eyes fathomless. He smiled lightly. "That depends on them. Attaining the Dao cannot be forced. Polong has already captured his three incarnations, but Potian has not; he might not make it in time for this opportunity." The others pressed no further, though someone laughed. "King Daming's son might be useless, but Niu Baidao emerged instead. He might try to attain the Dao alongside them this time." "That is not for us to fret over!" "..." One by one, the Invincibles dispersed. King Dazhou smiled faintly and vanished instantly from where he stood. …… Day after day slipped by. The heavens grew quiet! The myriad realms grew quiet as well! Yet everyone knew that undercurrents were surging. The Dragon Silkworm King's demise prompted the Invincibles of several minor races to secretly reach out to one another. Smaller factions, such as the Thousand Domains Alliance, lacked any Invincibles whatsoever. Now, numerous ninth-layer Sun Moons were conferring: should they seize an opportunity to attain the Dao? How should they do it? Naturally, during a clash between major races, when no one had the spare attention to interfere! For instance... when Xia Longwu sought to attain the Dao! The Invincibles of humanity, gods, demons, and Immortals would all be tangled in battle. That would be the golden opportunity for the minor races. It wasn't that the minor races lacked individuals capable of attaining the Dao; they had them, but none dared try. The major races suppressed the minor ones, denying them the chance to ascend. In the past, minor-race Sun Moons had occasionally attempted to attain the Dao, but nine out of ten had failed—and crucially, one couldn't even determine why. Even attempting it inside a minor realm carried an immense probability of failure! Those with grander ambitions who ventured onto the All-Heavens Battlefield to attain the Dao saw fewer than one in ten survive! In recent years, far too few had successfully achieved the Dao. It wasn't that they lacked hope; they were deliberately sabotaged. With the major races dominating the myriad realms, who among them wanted a hegemon rising in a minor realm they controlled? Everyone understood this truth, and the impending chaos across the heavens might just be their chance. …… Inside the ancient city. Five days later, Su Yu completed his fifty-fourth casting. Twelve days later, he finished his fifty-fifth. On the twentieth day, he completed his fifty-sixth casting. By this point, rumors that Su Yu had survived were beginning to circulate. The reason they were certain of his survival was simple: the two Sun Moons from the Nether race and Ape race still couldn't leave, and they were practically in tears. Driven to desperation, they had no choice but to convert. They couldn't afford to harbor any remaining hope! With so many Invincible incarnations lost here, expecting an Invincible to come rescue them was pure fantasy! These two—one at the eighth layer of the Sun Moon Realm and the other at the seventh—chose to convert after Su Yu kept the city sealed for another seven days. On the tenth day of Su Yu's secluded cultivation, they successfully completed their conversion, and only then did Su Yu reopen the city gates. All told, Su Yu had kept the city sealed for nearly a month! When the gates finally opened this time, not a single soul came. Even though the Star Residence Mansion was stirring and numerous treasures had surfaced recently, people restricted their activities to the vicinity of Tianxia Island. No one dared approach the ancient city anymore; the ghostly place was simply too terrifying! And from this ordeal, the ancient city had gained twelve Sun Moons. Originally, the city had housed only a handful of Sun Moon residents, but twelve newcomers—including two late-stage Sun Moons—instantly boosted the count to fifteen. Among the thirty-six ancient cities, Su Yu's likely possessed the greatest number of Sun Moons. As news spread, the castellans of other ancient cities were tempted to pull off a similar stunt! The castellans were well aware of the mechanics: having more Sun Moons and residents helped shoulder their burden. Yet unless driven to utter despair, what Sun Moon would ever volunteer to become a resident in an ancient city? Now, Su Yu had opened up a new avenue for them—or rather, a dead end. First, sealing a city triggered severe backlash. Second, after sealing it, weren't they afraid of Invincibles storming in? While Xinghong Ancient City had intimidated several Invincibles, that was Xinghong Ancient City; it didn't mean other ancient cities could replicate the feat. …… Under circumstances where no one dared approach, time marched toward late September. Su Yu officially emerged from his seclusion. He had reached the fifty-seventh casting, falling just shy of the fifty-eighth, but he was getting close. He emerged specifically to rendezvous with the Heaven Hunting Pavilion. As for his combat strength... Su Yu was so terrifyingly strong that he almost frightened himself. His physical aperture strength had shattered the four-hundred-thousand-aperture mark—how terrifying was that? A strength of four hundred thousand apertures might not rival a god or demon Sun Moon, but it was substantially stronger than a first-layer Sun Moon from a minor race. With his physical body reaching this caliber, Su Yu was even contemplating whether to consume the blood essence of a fourth-layer Sun Moon. If he did, he might even be able to unleash power on par with the mid-stage Sun Moon Realm. And it had only been four months or so since he left the Great Ming Prefecture in May. Returning to the Human Realm this time, he would lie low for a while to solidify his foundation. Once his strength grew even further, he would settle all his scores—an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth! On September 28, moving like a phantom, Su Yu donned his white mask and slipped out of the ancient city under the cover of night. Drifting across the Sea of Stars, he left Xinghong Ancient City behind. After his departure, the stone statue opened its eyes and sighed. Instead of properly fulfilling his role as castellan, the boy insisted on running off. Who knew if he would ever return? If he perished out there, finding another castellan wouldn't be easy, and even if one were found, none would be as capable as Su Yu! He had already become a living dead, yet he spent all day bustling about without a moment's rest! …… Naturally, Su Yu couldn't care less about any of that. He was going home! When he had set out, even fighting a first-layer Shanhai had been a struggle; now heading back, he could beat Sun Moons to death! Returning this time, if any fools dared act arrogant in his presence, he would beat every last one of them to death, leaving none alive! Come to think of it... could he beat Grandmaster Hong Tan to death right now too? He was truly weak! Su Yu sighed inwardly, finally appreciating the hardships Hong Tan had endured. He was simply too weak, which was why he couldn't even defend his own foundation. …… At that exact moment. In the Human Realm. Great Xia Prefecture. Hong Tan rubbed his nose, feeling an odd sensation that someone was cursing him. Well, even if someone was cursing him, he couldn't sense it properly anyway. He wondered if simply too many people in the city were badmouthing him.