Life-Death Fruit

A sea of eyes turned toward Su Yu. One hundred and thirty-six quotas. Did he really need that many? Did the ancient cities have that many experts who needed to enter the Star Residence Mansion? Hardly! Rather than giving away the excess for free or squandering them carelessly, it made far more sense to sell them. Major races like the Gods, Demons, and Immortals were not hurting for quotas; around six hundred was plenty for them. The real market lay with the minor races. The major races would consider it a poor bargain to pay a steep price for more, but for those minor races with none at all, they were more than willing to spend fortunes to gain entry into the Star Residence Mansion. Out of the 3,240 total quotas, the Gods, Demons, and Immortals had claimed roughly 1,800. The humans had taken 420, the dragons 300, Su Yu 136, and the Heaven Hunting Pavilion 40... All the other races combined had only secured a little over five hundred. Several mighty ancient races had claimed hundreds, while the minor races received pitifully few. If lucky, they might get one or two; if not, they walked away with none at all. Even an organization as formidable as the Heaven Hunting Pavilion had only secured forty, so it was easy to imagine how much harder it was for anyone else. Su Yu was not actually hurting for ordinary resources. His cultivation technique was incomplete, making bodily transformation extremely difficult. However, that was strictly regarding his physical body; when it came to the path of divine characters, he was still missing quite a few things. Treasures of willpower, for instance! Su Yu had no intention of keeping everyone in suspense. Seeing that all eyes were on him, he gave a genial chuckle. "To enter with these quotas, everyone needs a medallion, right?" The White-Haired God King replied indifferently, "Naturally! The Star Residence Mansion is already blockaded. Every race will dispatch experts there. Quite a few human experts are stationed on guard as well—do you mean to say you were unaware?" Su Yu chuckled. "How would I know? I'm not a human castellan; I'm a holy city castellan! So it's blockaded, is it...? In that case, I'll have Hongmeng City move over later to help everyone defend it!" He laughed briefly, then added, "If entry requires medallions, hand them over to me first so things don't get messy!" The White-Haired God King said nothing more and casually flicked his sleeve, sending a cluster of medallions flying across. Su Yu had thought the man might try some underhanded trick, but nothing came of it. He had evidently underestimated the fellow's bearing. Catching the medallions, he found nothing particularly special about them, though each bore the distinct aura signatures of Invincible experts from various races. Gods, Demons, Immortals, humans, and dragons all had their emblems engraved upon the medallions. Beside them, King Dazhou chimed in, "These medallions are used to unlock the restrictions outside the passageways. Restrictions have been placed upon every passage to prevent anyone from forcing their way inside! At the very least, they can buy some time, which is the whole purpose of these medallions!" Enlightened, Su Yu smiled. "Many thanks for the explanation, King Dazhou!" One hundred and thirty-six medallions! Without standing on ceremony, Su Yu casually tossed out a medallion and grinned. "For sale! What bloody use do I have for so many medallions? Whatever you harvest inside might not even be worth what I make selling them! The price is reasonable: for the first medallion, ten Sun Moon divine characters. First-stage will do; second-stage counts as two, and the price doubles as the tiers go up!" The surrounding crowd exchanged bewildered looks. King Dazhou could not help but ask, "What do you want with so many divine characters...?" Su Yu laughed. "To cultivate, of course! Shattering Sun Moon divine characters releases exceptionally pure willpower, allowing for lightning-fast cultivation. Don't tell me King Dazhou didn't know that?" "..." All around, whether Invincibles or non-Invincibles, the crowd stared in utter stupefaction. Damn it! Cultivating by consuming Sun Moon divine characters? Are you out of your fucking mind?! Well, yes—he had always been a madman. A first-stage Sun Moon divine character was precious, yet not extraordinarily so. In ordinary circumstances, Invincible realm cultivators—regardless of whether they were Civilization Masters—would outline a few divine characters of their own, most of which were at the Sun Moon Realm. At this moment, even some of the major races were caught off guard. None of them had anticipated that Su Yu would trade entry quotas for divine characters to cultivate with. Moments later, a massive golden bird fixed its sharp gaze on Su Yu and screeched, "City Lord Su, if you wish to cultivate willpower, using divine characters is far inferior to treasures like the Black Wood Lotus, Seven-Star Purple Orchid, or Jade Spring Fruit! Cultivating with those yields far purer willpower without any residual wills from others!" Su Yu raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You have those? I certainly know about them, but the problem is they're too rare! Divine characters are everywhere; almost anyone can produce them. If we slaughtered every Sun Moon and Invincible present today, we could easily gather thousands or tens of thousands..." Was that something a normal person would say? So you're just picking divine characters because it's convenient? They had assumed that his bulk acquisition of divine characters harbored some hidden agenda. Was he genuinely just using them to cultivate, or did he have something else in mind? Su Yu continued earnestly, "Besides, those rare plants are hard to appraise..." Before his voice had even faded, the Minister of the Heaven Division from the distant Heaven Hunting Pavilion smiled faintly. "Since Elder Su is an elder of our Heaven Hunting Pavilion, we would be glad to handle the appraisal on your behalf. We have elders who specialize in valuation, so Elder Su need not trouble himself." He then added, "If Elder Su is willing, you can entrust the entire transaction to our pavilion. We will only take a five percent commission..." Su Yu grinned. "Forget it, then. I'm not looking to squeeze every penny out of people, and I don't want everyone cursing me as a bloodsucker! Instead of giving five percent to the Heaven Hunting Pavilion, I might as well pass that five percent discount on to everyone here. That way, they'll appreciate my good heart!" "..." Appreciate your ass! Su Yu said with a beaming smile, "All right, any treasure that bolsters willpower can be factored in. My progress in divine characters is frankly pathetic—just a bunch of fourth-tier characters that don't match my strength or status. I'd like to get my hands on some Sun Moon divine characters to play with! The pricing stays as stated: the first medallion is the cheapest, and every medallion after will cost one additional divine character..." "I'll take it!" The moment his words fell, the golden bird tossed three stalks of herbs straight toward him. "These are Seven-Star Purple Orchids. Three stalks are worth well over ten first-stage Sun Moon divine characters—you can ask the Heaven Hunting Pavilion!" Su Yu smiled and looked toward the Heaven Hunting Pavilion, where a faceless elder flew forward and declared, "The value is equivalent!" Su Yu beamed. "Then many thanks! Let me test the effects!" With that, he grabbed a stalk and swallowed it whole. In an instant, a dense wave of willpower surged into his sea of will. It was extraordinarily potent, and in the blink of an eye, one of the few remaining third-tier characters in his repertoire advanced! The "Combine" character, which Su Yu rarely used, stepped into the fourth tier within moments. Su Yu was pleasantly surprised. The effect was remarkable! The onlookers were rendered speechless. Damn it, you actually ate it raw on the spot! What reckless extravagance! Even Sun Moon cultivators rarely laid eyes on such treasures, yet Su Yu traded a single quota for three stalks and gulped one down without a second thought. Unfazed by their stares, Su Yu happily devoured the remaining two stalks as well. He currently possessed twenty-seven divine characters, most of which had already reached the fourth tier, leaving only a few that he had outlined later—such as the crucial "Literature" character. This influx of willpower swiftly propelled those lagging characters across the threshold. The entire crowd watched him feast, their hearts aching at the sheer waste. In the distance, Bai Feng could not hold back a mutter, "What a spendthrift! Three stalks of Seven-Star Purple Orchid, swallowed raw like cabbage! What a waste!" All it did was advance three characters from the third tier to the fourth, which was worth less than a single Sun Moon divine character. Trading an entire quota for a character that had not even reached the Sun Moon tier was essentially what had just happened. Su Yu was simply too extravagant, too wasteful! Couldn't he have reached that point with a little time and cultivation? From every direction, even the Invincibles felt speechless. The kid made money quickly, but he treated it like dirt. Yet all they could do was envy him. Who else had the guts to sell their quotas? Would the major races be willing to sell? Of course not! On the human side, King Dazhou and the others had originally hoped to purchase some, but seeing Su Yu's posture, they gave up on the idea. The boy's asking price was far from low, so they dropped the thought. Meanwhile, Su Yu ate, digested, and burped, while three stone sculptures materialized before him. Burping softly, Su Yu announced, "I have twenty-seven divine characters in total. Now, twenty-five are at the fourth tier, and two are at the third. Once I sell one more quota to boost these last two, I'll consider trading for other treasures..." The moment he finished speaking, the large bird that had purchased the first quota tossed out another three stalks of purple orchids. "Give it to me!" Su Yu let out a satisfied burp and laughed. "Senior certainly has courage! I love doing business with experts like you. What race do you hail from? If I come across good things in the future, we can keep exchanging!" The golden bird gave a shrill reply, "The Golden Crow race!" Su Yu was startled. This was a member of the Golden Crow race? He had heard of them and knew they were formidable, though he had failed to recognize the creature earlier. He could not help remarking, "Senior truly possesses a heroic bearing! Today has certainly broadened this junior's horizons. I wonder if senior would mind taking a photo with me as a keepsake?" "..." You're insane! The Golden Crow was thoroughly speechless. A photo with my ancestors, maybe! What a frivolous brat! Yet Su Yu looked entirely earnest. "Truth be told, my greatest dream in life isn't murder or arson. It's to take photos with the mightiest experts among the myriad races as mementos. The final wish of my life is actually to compile the Records of the Myriad Races! It would be best to include real portraits and life stories—a tale that would be told for generations!" The Golden Crow dismissed it, but King Dazhou cast a searching glance at Su Yu, puzzled by how completely genuine the young man sounded. As the thought crossed King Dazhou's mind, Su Yu promptly added, "I'm serious! Whoever wants to buy a quota shortly, it would be best if you take a photo with me. When you have time, I'd truly love to sit down with you seniors to chat—chat about history, chat about life, chat about dreams..." The crowd stared blankly at him. Yet Su Yu insisted earnestly, "Don't laugh! I've had this idea for a long time. You seniors must believe me—I have no other intentions, just keeping a souvenir!" Seeing the Golden Crow had sparked the idea, but it was not merely an idle whim. In truth, Su Yu had contemplated compiling a record of the myriad races long ago, inspired partly by the golden album. He had wanted to make comparisons and fill in the blanks. He had noticed that the golden album was not necessarily complete; certain races simply never appeared, such as the Fire Pigs. Could it be that the Fire Pigs were not an ancient race and had not existed in antiquity? Was that why they had never been recorded? Su Yu genuinely wanted to collect information on all races, ideally securing physical specimens, including blood essence, flesh, skeletal remains, and cultivation methods. And that very thought... caused the golden album inside his mind to quiver slightly, as though it had sensed something. As Su Yu spoke, a wave of profound comprehension washed over him. Right before everyone's eyes, Su Yu murmured under his breath. An instant later, his willpower surged, and the ambient space rippled as a "Ming" character abruptly manifested within his sea of will. In the next heartbeat, the previously outlined "Wen" character and the newly formed "Ming" character spontaneously converged, fusing together. Civilization! Exploring civilization! Seeking the unknown, probing the future, parsing civilizations, taking all races under the heavens as specimens... Waves of profound realization flooded Su Yu's mind. A Civilization Master should be like this. The purpose of a Civilization Master was to explore the unknown, seek the future, parse the myriad races under the heavens, and unravel the secrets of the past and future... All around, the Invincibles froze. Below, the geniuses and experts stood dumbfounded. At that moment, everyone was stunned. Was this... the true number one on the Heaven Ranking? This was Su Yu! That aura of sudden comprehension—even though they had not experienced it firsthand, they could distinctly sense that Su Yu was having an epiphany. "Ahem! Ahem!" A soft cough rang out, yet it vibrated with tremendous force. The Dao King gave a light cough, while Moge projected his voice, "City Lord Su, are you alright?" They had done it deliberately. Slightly startled out of his trance, Su Yu looked up at them with a smile. "I'm fine. Just outlined a naturally born divine character—bizarre, isn't it? Who knew that just rambling a bit could outline a character? Truly bizarre!" "..." He had a knack for driving people to an early grave! At that moment, King Dazhou stared at Su Yu with a solemn expression, murmuring after a long pause, "Su Yu, you should be a sage..." Su Yu chuckled. Seeing everyone staring at him, he beamed. "Don't take him seriously, everyone! King Dazhou is just trying to get me killed as usual! No need for jealousy or hatred; divine characters are just toys to me. I outline them on a whim all the time—I have a whole bunch of naturally born characters and can't even be bothered to manage them!" Internally, however, he felt deeply unsettled. The "Ming" character was not a human divine character; it was a genuine character of pure will, just like the "Wen" character. This was the second unique character he had ever outlined. It did not belong to the human race! Civilization! These two words held immense significance. Kept apart, they meant little, but combined, the word "Civilization" was not something just anyone could bear. How strange! He had only entertained the thought of compiling a record of the myriad races—why had it spawned such a divine character? It was truly bizarre! For now, he quietly digested the lingering insights in his mind. As for having been seen by everyone, he had not wanted to show off, but his genius was simply unavoidable; when divine characters formed naturally, there was little he could do. He paid no heed to the minor disruptions from the Dao King and the others. Unless they launched a direct attack, merely shaking his focus a bit did not bother him in the slightest; it had virtually no impact. Su Yu turned his gaze back to the Golden Crow. "Senior Golden Crow, how about I take a picture of you? I feel that this character was born precisely because senior's Dao resonance is so profound that it influenced me. Gazing upon senior's majestic form might just trigger another character... Senior, how about this: for the second quota, I'll only charge you two stalks of Seven-Star Purple Orchid?" The Golden Crow was dumbstruck. That works too? Of course, the myriad races possessed specialized secret arts, but no matter how peculiar the technique, an ordinary image recording could never affect an Invincible. Taken by surprise, the Golden Crow figured it was not a bad deal. It soon replied, "Very well! But Su Yu, if you think you can curse me to death using this method, you are sorely naive!" Su Yu chuckled. "Senior worries too much. If Invincibles were that easy to kill, the Tianyuan race would have unified the myriad races long ago. That race specializes in curses, yet I haven't seen them curse me to death!" That was undeniably true. The Golden Crow said no more. Su Yu wasted no time, pulling out an image-recording talisman and snapping an impression of the creature. All the while, thoughts churned rapidly in his mind. Calculations and theories flashed through his thoughts! The golden album... perhaps he had not fully tapped into its potential. When the idea of compiling a record of the myriad races had formed, the golden album had quivered several times. *Could it be...* A faint suspicion emerged in his mind. Suddenly glancing at Lan Tian nearby, the vague notion grew sharper: *Records of the Myriad Races... the golden album... absorbing blood essence... inheritance of cultivation techniques... Dao Integration of the myriad races...* Seeing him lost in thought, the Golden Crow could not help but urge, "Su Yu, time to trade!" I let you take the picture, so hurry up and finalize the second trade! Su Yu nodded. He now possessed twenty-eight divine characters. He had no time to explore the special traits of the "Ming" character, but there was no rush; the character was firmly rooted in his mind and would not run away. True to his word, he accepted merely two stalks of Seven-Star Purple Orchid. And consumed them right there on the spot! Soon, his last two lagging characters reached the fourth tier, leaving only the newly born "Ming" character at the second tier—such naturally born divine characters almost always formed directly at the second tier. Since Su Yu still had many divine acupoints left to open, he produced another medallion. "Continuing to trade for treasures that enhance willpower!" With the Golden Crow paving the way, the other races quickly checked their inventories for suitable treasures to trade for quotas. Su Yu's asking price was not excessively steep. It was within an acceptable range! Soon, another ancient race stepped forward to trade, offering heavenly treasures. Divine characters were not everyday commodities, after all, and no one walked around carrying a spare batch of them. Su Yu consumed every offering on the spot, though before eating, the three stone sculptures would inspect the items to ensure he was not being poisoned. He continued requesting photos. Some agreed, while others declined, but he did not press the matter. If they refused now, they would agree eventually—perhaps by then, he would simply be photographing their corpses! ... "What on earth is that fellow Su Yu doing?" On the human side, someone asked in a low whisper. A group of people immediately glared at him—how dare he say his name aloud? Weren't they afraid the boy would hear and kill them? Xia Huyou curled his lip and chuckled. "Isn't it obvious? Eating everything on the spot lets everyone know that all the goods have been consumed. Aside from killing him, he holds nothing of value. You can't even see through that? Plus, it lets him verify whether these treasures are legitimate!" Meanwhile, Su Yu was gorging himself so heavily that willpower seemed to leak from the corners of his mouth. When someone actually traded divine characters, he shattered them on the spot, using them to cultivate, blast open divine acupoints, and nourish his characters. Su Yu had no intention of keeping these treasures around; hoarding them would only invite greed. *I've used every last bit of it, so now you know how fiercely I spend! You should understand by now just how my terrifying strength was built!* In the blink of an eye, he had sold six quotas. All of his divine characters, including the newly formed "Ming" character, had stepped into the fourth tier. For all twenty-eight divine characters to reach the fourth tier was an extraordinary rarity. As for divine acupoints, opening them had become excruciatingly difficult at Su Yu's current level. Yet by devouring heavenly treasures and using Sun Moon divine characters to nourish and blast through the blockages, he opened over a dozen divine acupoints in moments. In the entire world, he was probably the only person who cultivated in such a fashion. "What a spendthrift!" Earlier it had only been Bai Feng complaining, but now Hong Tan and Liu Wenyan chimed in as well. An absolute spendthrift! Not just them—the surrounding Invincibles, though saying nothing aloud, were undoubtedly cursing him in their hearts: *What a reckless spendthrift!* *One person eating his fill means the whole family doesn't starve, is that it? Using that many top-tier treasures just to boost a little willpower and nourish a few divine characters? If that isn't a spendthrift, what is?* Seeing that the youth intended to keep selling, a Dragon King from the dragon race rumbled in a deep voice, "Su Yu, stop breaking them up. My dragon race will purchase a hundred quotas for one carrier. How about it?" Su Yu scoffed. "What are you dreaming about? What use do I have for that thing?" With a flick of his wrist, two carriers appeared, hovering casually in his palms. One of them was even an ancient Half-Emperor's reverse scale from the dragon race. Su Yu chuckled. "Even if I manage to cultivate to the point of unifying my three bodies, these are already enough. Besides... I might not even live to reach that realm! Having two feels like too many already—why would I want more carriers?" He truly possessed a gift for infuriating people to death. He added with a grin, "If I ever need to, I'd sooner sell carriers myself!" Over on the human side, Qin Zhen could not hold back. "Su Yu, if you truly intend to sell them, our human race..." "Too poor, no deal!" Su Yu cut him off directly. "Manor Head Qin, it's not that I refuse to sell to you; the problem is the human race is too poor! You can't afford it! If I ever decide to sell them down the road, everyone can bid together! These things can't be brought with you at birth, nor taken with you in death! Keeping them is useless. Right now, all I want is to increase my strength; everything else is an illusion!" Though spoken candidly, his words carried a tinge of desolation. *I'm going to die sooner or later! I might not even live to reach the ninth stage of the Sun Moon Realm, so what use are these things to me?* The dragons' expressions flickered. The carrier in Su Yu's hand was precisely the one left behind when their dragon expert had his three-life embodiments shattered by a Half-Emperor during the last clash. They had hoped to exchange carriers for quotas, but Su Yu did not care about carriers in the slightest. That made things exceedingly difficult! Moments later, Su Yu smiled and declared, "I'm pausing trades for willpower treasures for now; we'll resume that later. Right now, I want blood essence—at least from the seventh stage of the Sun Moon Realm or higher! I need to craft innate blood essence, and anything weaker won't cut it. Do you seniors have any? If so, the price is negotiable. Blood essence is easy enough to get by killing a few Sun Moon experts. If you don't have any on hand, the Brightlight Bird Realm is right over there; an Invincible can just pop in and slay a few seventh-stage Sun Moons! Let's say thirty drops of seventh-stage Sun Moon blood essence for one quota—that's just three kills! Ten drops of eighth-stage blood essence for one quota! And just five drops of ninth-stage blood essence—kill one, and you get two quotas!" "..." All around, the Invincibles wore strange expressions. Strictly speaking, it was a remarkably generous trade. However... it was rather awkward. With everyone gathered here, exterminating another race's realm in broad daylight seemed inappropriate, didn't it? The mighty expert of the Hou race could not help but grumble, "City Lord Su, I already claimed that race for myself... What are you playing at?" Su Yu smiled. "I was only speaking casually! Out in the open like this, would anyone truly go wipe out a realm? Don't be so dramatic! You seniors have lived for countless years; everyone has treasures stashed away. I refuse to believe none of you has a drop of Sun Moon blood essence. Don't tell me Invincibles are saints who never kill?" He chuckled and added, "Rest assured, I won't verify whose blood essence it is on the spot, so I won't cause trouble for anyone! We can all keep our mouths shut! The price is truly a steal: five drops of ninth-stage Sun Moon blood essence—slay one ninth-stage expert, and you get two quotas... Perhaps the two people who enter will stumble upon the Nine-Leaved Heavenly Lotus!" As he spoke, King Dazhou smiled from a distance and tossed over a bottle. "Ten drops of ninth-stage Sun Moon blood essence and fifty drops of eighth-stage blood essence for seven quotas. Am I correct?" *Loaded!* Su Yu muttered to himself, while Qin Zhen hastily tossed over a bottle as well. "I have some here too—thirty drops of seventh-stage Sun Moon blood essence and twenty drops of eighth-stage! For three quotas!" They certainly possessed blood essence like this; a massive battle had occurred recently, and though it had primarily involved Invincibles, years of war meant they maintained a decent stockpile of Sun Moon blood essence, especially from higher tiers that few people had use for. Su Yu grinned and tossed out ten medallions. Soon, others stepped forward, exchanging blood essence for another twenty quotas. By this point, Su Yu had only one hundred quotas remaining. He had accumulated a massive hoard of blood essence. The minor races were exceedingly pleased. The cost was nowhere near as exorbitant as they had feared; while far from cheap, it involved common treasures they could actually produce. Everyone could afford it! Had Su Yu demanded carriers, none of them could have paid, yet when the dragons offered one, Su Yu had flatly ignored them. He had no use for carriers! Even though several ninth-stage Sun Moon cultivators in the crowd watched with reddened eyes, there was nothing they could do. He didn't want them, refused to trade for them, and possessed his own. As for trying to rob Su Yu, they might as well wash up and go to sleep. Looking at the remaining one hundred quotas, Su Yu smiled. "Out of the thirty-six ancient cities, I'll reserve one for each of the other thirty-four cities! For my side, I'll keep sixteen, and the remaining fifty are up for sale!" He only needed sixteen: he had promised entry to the five great demons, so giving one to each would suffice, leaving eleven for later. Hearing that Su Yu still had fifty quotas to sell, the crowd was overjoyed. As expected, having Su Yu seize the quotas had worked out in their favor after all—at worst, they could just spend some money to buy them back! Su Yu pondered briefly before speaking, "I have blood essence, and my willpower is sufficient, so next... Since everyone present is an esteemed senior, someone must possess ancient human cultivation techniques! Even if they aren't from the ancient era, techniques from the first, second, or third revitalizations of the human race will do! As long as they're suitable, I'll trade for them!" At these words, several expressions shifted. Among the humans, King Dazhou's eyes flickered, while the others looked bewildered. What did he mean? What first and second generations? Even the major races were caught off guard. The Dao King asked impassively, "Su Yu, what use do you have for those techniques?" Su Yu said exasperatedly, "Research, obviously! I'm a Civilization Master—didn't you know? I love deducing cultivation techniques! I've read almost every modern human technique, and they're boring! Give me some ancient techniques in exchange so I can study them. What's wrong with that?" The Dao King replied coldly, "Ancient human techniques, including those of subsequent generations, have all been destroyed. You can give up on that idea!" Su Yu looked around and laughed. "That ruthless? It seems the human race truly terrified you all! Fine, then I'll trade for materials to forge Heaven armaments. Remember, Heaven armaments—not trash! Don't try offering me junk!" At this, King Tianzhu could not help but ask, "You want to forge a Heaven armament?" People had almost forgotten that Su Yu was an armamentsmith. Was this fellow actually planning to forge a Heaven armament? Su Yu chuckled. "No rush. Right now, I can barely forge Earth armaments, but I want to craft a handy weapon for myself down the line. If I die before I can forge it, I'll just bury it somewhere and wait for a destined successor!" "..." Hardly a word out of his mouth was true. In reality, Su Yu wanted to forge something specific: a vessel for the Records of the Myriad Races! The insights he had gained earlier had given him a clear direction. Naturally, he could not forge a true Heaven armament yet, but he could craft an initial prototype. It didn't need to be at the Heaven grade; an Earth armament would suffice. Materials capable of forging weapons—especially Heaven armaments—were exceptionally rare. However, powerful armamentsmiths were scarce across the myriad realms, so even if people had the materials, they rarely had any use for them. Soon, people began trading. Watching the exchange, King Tianzhu's eyes turned red with envy; he sorely wished he could just rob Su Yu blind. The materials the kid was raking in were enough to forge two or three Heaven armaments! Suddenly, Su Yu looked over and grinned. "King Xuan Armor, if you're willing to trade your corpse, I'll give you fifty quotas. What do you say?" "..." In the distance, King Xuan Armor's face darkened, and he vanished instantly into the void. That bastard Su Yu was harboring sinister designs! Fifty quotas... some of the ancient races might genuinely have been tempted to take the offer. Trading for one thing after another, Su Yu's quotas gradually dwindled as his hoard of treasures swelled. Even the Gods and Demons could not resist stepping in to trade for a few. The cost was not unreasonable, making it entirely acceptable. Meanwhile, Su Yu quietly ran through his inventory. He had gathered plenty of materials for forging Heaven armaments, and his stockpile of blood essence was sufficient. As for Civilization Master blood essence... he couldn't openly ask people to gather it, as some secrets could not be revealed too clearly. He hoped that among the blood essence he had collected, some belonged to Civilization Masters. In any case, those Invincibles didn't care whether the blood came from a Civilization Master or a warrior; warrior blood essence was generally considered higher quality, so those fellows might well have handed over Civilization Master blood without thinking twice. What else was he missing? Su Yu calculated that he still needed treasures for the Nine Transformations, but without the appropriate cultivation technique, gathering those treasures was pointless; it would not be too late to seek them after deducing the technique. As for his divine characters, he might need a bit more willpower to open divine acupoints. Additionally, there were texts of will, but Su Yu could only use those from the human race; texts from other races were useless to him. Just as he was pondering what else he might need, Lan Tian's voice transmission suddenly rang out beside him: "Trade for a Life-Death Fruit!" Su Yu was startled. *What is that?* Lan Tian said urgently, "Just trade for it! You still have eighty quotas left—use the remaining thirty to trade for one! Someone should be willing to make the deal!" Though surprised, Su Yu spoke aloud, "The remaining thirty quotas will not be sold individually. I want to trade them for a Life-Death Fruit!" At these words, several gazes turned peculiar. The Hou King said in an eerie tone, "A Life-Death Fruit... that's not easy to come by! Su Yu, are you preparing a way out for yourself?" Su Yu was baffled inside. He had no idea what the king meant. Naturally, he didn't show it, replying with a smile, "Old King Hou, do you have one?" The Hou King shook his head and chuckled. "That thing is exceedingly rare! The Demons and Gods might have one, and the Immortals... might as well! A Life-Death Fruit is terribly difficult to acquire. Back in the day, Hetu consumed one, and after dying, he quickly recovered part of his memories. It seems you're preparing to follow Hetu's old path!" Su Yu's heart jolted. *Used for recovering memories?* At that moment, the Dao King remarked indifferently, "Su Yu, once a person dies, why pursue the next life? Starting anew as a dead spirit isn't so bad either. Besides... you might not even get the chance to start over!" Moge chimed in as well, "That thing is far too rare! It grows within the Heavenly River of Dead Spirits. How many people dare step into the Dead Spirit Realm? Moreover, the places where it grows are perilously dangerous; under normal circumstances, it only grows upon the dead spirits of Half-Emperors..." Su Yu was astonished once more, wondering how Lan Tian had known about this. The fellow truly knew a startling amount. More importantly, could this fruit truly restore a dead spirit's memories? In that case, it was genuinely a priceless treasure! To retain memories after death was something no ordinary dead spirit could accomplish. Most dead spirits were blank slates; even if they possessed memories or intelligence, those were usually developed long after death. Hetu had consumed one in the past, which explained why he had regained his memories so quickly after dying, even if they were incomplete. Now understanding its value, Su Yu immediately pressed, "Thirty quotas, everyone—that's no small number! A race entering with thirty people might secure thirty carriers, or perhaps even the Nine-Leaved Heavenly Lotus! Even if you don't get the lotus, picking up a few divine weapons would make you rich! All I want is a Life-Death Fruit. A dying man merely wants to leave some preparations and hope for after his death. Even if I turn into a dead spirit, I won't be able to leave anyway. Hetu regained some memories, yet after all these years, can't he do nothing but roar in impotent rage?" The major races fell silent. Did they have a Life-Death Fruit? At the very least, the Demons had possessed one previously. When the Flame Demon recovered some of his ancient memories, people had deduced that the Demons had sent someone into the Dead Spirit Realm to feed him a Life-Death Fruit to awaken his memories and intelligence. Only then had they guided him back; otherwise, retrieving a mindless spirit would have been completely pointless. Just as everyone remained silent, a demonic silhouette suddenly materialized in the void, radiating terrifying power. His blood-red hair fluttered as he said indifferently, "I'll trade! Su Yu, if you want a Life-Death Fruit, I have one!" "Bloodfire Demon King!" Moge frowned, looking toward him. The Bloodfire Demon King stepped out from the void and tossed a black box straight to Su Yu, saying calmly, "You can let Xinghong and the others inspect it. This is a Life-Death Fruit!" Su Yu looked toward Xinghong. A gleam flashed in Xinghong's eyes as he peered into the box. After a long moment, he nodded and sent a voice transmission, "I wanted to mention this to you earlier, but it is exceedingly rare! The Demons have one only because the previous generation's Demon Half-Emperor secretly infiltrated the dead spirit passageway and perished shortly after returning... likely from severe injuries sustained in the Dead Spirit Realm. I hadn't expected the Demons to still have one left." Crucially, it was in the hands of the Bloodfire Demon King. This was indeed a supreme treasure; preserving memories even after death was invaluable for a mindless dead spirit. Beside Su Yu, Tianhe and the others caught on, their mouths practically watering with envy. To be an ancient city castellan was practically synonymous with certain death and turning into a dead spirit. If they had such a treasure, they could retain some memories after dying, which would be extraordinary! When non-Invincibles perished and became dead spirits, it was virtually impossible for them to retain their intellect. Su Yu glanced at the Bloodfire Demon King. The man had tossed the item over without hesitation, and for a fleeting moment, Su Yu was tempted to grab it and run. But after brief consideration, he dismissed the thought—this fellow was not someone to cross. While not quite a Half-Emperor, his strength was comparable to King Daxia, perhaps even stronger, and hardly inferior to King Daqin. After a moment's hesitation, Su Yu tossed the thirty medallions over. Catching the medallions, the Bloodfire Demon King did not spare the others a single glance. He vanished instantly, leaving without a trace—arriving like lightning and departing even faster. Evidently, he wanted to secure as many quotas as possible so more of his people could enter, likely setting his sights on the Nine-Leaved Heavenly Lotus to help him step into the Half-Emperor realm. No matter how precious the Life-Death Fruit was, it was meant for the dead; it held zero value for the living. What was the point of keeping it—waiting until he died to use it? Seeing Su Yu finalize the trade, Lan Tian let out a quiet breath of relief and transmitted, "Keep it safe for now, and don't rush to use it! Wan Tiansheng told me to pass this message to you. He said Ye Batian might have turned into a dead spirit and likely lost his memories. If you ever run into him, this might prove useful! If you don't find him and are on the brink of death yourself, then use it on yourself!" Su Yu was speechless. *Cursing me again!* So this had been Old Wan's intention all along—he wanted Su Yu to guide Ye Batian back? Could the Fifth Generation truly have become a dead spirit? That wasn't guaranteed! The Fifth Generation had not been a resident of an ancient city, so he might not have turned into a dead spirit at all. Of course, rumors claimed that exceptionally powerful beings could be claimed by the Heavenly River of Dead Spirits. With that, Su Yu had traded away all the remaining quotas. Keeping fifty quotas for himself did not draw much attention. He had reaped a considerable harvest. In truth, while these items were considered priceless treasures to some, they were ordinary to others; particularly the Life-Death Fruit, which virtually no one could use. This worked out well, ensuring that the crowd would not fixate on him out of greed for his wealth. At least in the eyes of the Invincibles, Su Yu possessed very little that was worth coveting; a Life-Death Fruit held far less appeal than a carrier. With that, the distribution of quotas was fully settled. The White-Haired God King swept his gaze over the crowd and announced coolly, "We shall meet at the Star Residence Mansion in one month! Those without medallions may not enter! The special passageways remain open to all races at their own peril! Su Yu, I hope to see you on that day!" If Su Yu didn't enter, things would be far less entertaining; if he did, killing him would be vastly simpler. Su Yu replied with a genial grin, "Rest assured, I'll be there! I've never seen the Star Residence Mansion before! As for whether I actually go inside... that depends on whether you seniors target me. If you target me too hard, I'll have to reconsider!" The crowd said no more and dispersed in an instant. All that remained now was to await the official opening of the Star Residence Mansion.