Everyone Flexes While Dao King Takes a Beating

Tiangu’s expression was grim and cold. The big fur ball and the others had only joined the fray for the spectacle and a whiff of his scent. He was safely inside the Immortal Realm—how could they truly cross over to devour him? It was absurd; if they dared set foot inside the Immortal Realm, Tiangu could likely hack seven or eight Half-Emperors to death working together. If they truly wanted to feast on him, they would have to wait until he came out. The big fur ball and its companions vanished in an instant. He smelled intoxicating, but they couldn't get a bite. Forget it, forget it! At that moment, the blood tribulation dissipated. The battlefield was left in complete ruins! They had gained nothing, having sacrificed seven three-life embodiments for no return. On top of that, Tiangu had suffered minor injuries and drew the predatory eyes of numerous ancient beasts. Not a single gain! As for Su Yu... he remained Su Yu. At this moment, Liu Hong wore an easy smile, looking utterly relaxed. Xinghong, Yunxiao, and Yuhong had all returned to their cities. In the main hall of the castellan manor, however, Old Man Bai was in rough shape. Death qi was surging violently through him, and though he was constantly absorbing it, the rate at which his yang apertures took it in could hardly keep up with how fast it was being generated. One after another, the Half-Emperors retrieved their Councilor Tokens and vanished from the All-Heavens Battlefield. Unless a critical moment arrived, none of the Half-Emperors wished to show themselves. Some were aged and needed deep slumber to recover and preserve their vitality. Others refused to roam outside for fear of being assassinated, knowing they were safer staying inside their ancient realms. Virtually no Half-Emperor truly dared wander unchecked. Both the big fur ball and the mother ball were the same. Previously, when no one paid attention to them, they could roam freely. Now that everyone was wary of them, they no longer dared to wander at whim, lest they be ambushed and encircled. Slaying a Half-Emperor yielded immense benefits. Nor were Half-Emperors unkillable. Without exaggerating, if seven or eight formidable Eternals joined forces, they stood a real chance of felling one. Half-Emperors were not invincible entities capable of suppressing the entire cosmos on their own; otherwise, the heavens would have been unified long ago. "A bunch of cowards!" Tianmie spat at that moment. That was it? Hit me! Damn it! You cowards didn't even dare strike me. If you had, I would have risked it all this time, charged out for a proper brawl, and enjoyed myself to the fullest. What a shame! Still, rules had to be observed. As members of the ancient council, they might not be councilors, but they belonged to the council and were bound to honor certain pacts and laws. Otherwise, over so many years, someone would have snapped long ago. In the void, the Eternals of the various races withdrew one after another, descending back to their respective encampments. Though not a single Eternal had fallen in the massive battle, the unlucky Dao King had lost two incarnations. His face was ghastly pale, and he now had to consider how to prevent further full-scale warfare from erupting. Otherwise, down to only his present incarnation, if someone managed to kill him, he would truly be finished. …… In the distance, Su Yu breathed a quiet sigh of relief. All was safe! He felt a stroke of schadenfreude. The Immortals had certainly suffered this time—five Eternals had lost their past or future incarnations. That race would soon see a surge in bachelors. Over by the god race, the white-haired ghost had taken a club strike that obliterated his present incarnation. Excellent! Keep acting arrogant, then! Go on, keep flexing! Furthermore, Liu Hong had put on quite a convincing disguise. The man was undeniably audacious, daring to converse with poise and ease before so many supreme powerhouses. By contrast, the minor-race figures around Su Yu were nearly wetting themselves in terror despite being so far away. Of course, Su Yu was not acting much better. In his guise as a weakling of the Ironwing Bird race, he appeared thoroughly terrified. The feathers atop his head were nearly trembling off in fright, and the stiff plumage along his back stood straight on end! Pure panic! Terrified! As a weak member of a minor race, anyone not terrified by such a scene was either an utter fool or a peerless powerhouse. Thus, Su Yu had to look frightened. Trembling from head to toe, Su Yu smoothed down the bird feathers on his head. Around him, the crowd was in the exact same state—the pot could hardly call the kettle black, and no one mocked anyone else. A pack of ancient monsters had emerged and the incarnations of Eternals had been blown to pieces; it was simply too horrifying a spectacle. Fear was the natural response. So even when several figures tumbled into the sea and struggled to pull themselves out, nobody laughed. They were all in the same boat. In this way, it made it all the more obvious who was truly strong, who had seen the world, and who possessed genuine nerve. Beside Su Yu, the Black-tailed Profound Marten had reverted to its true form—a small, pitch-black marten whose voice trembled as it spoke. "Too terrifying! It was never like this in previous years. This time, a war broke out before anyone even entered! I’m getting scared! Just now, several Sun Moon experts were devoured like snacks!" While no Eternals had died, several Sun Moons had fallen. More than one! The Iron-eating Ancient Beast had eaten an Immortal, while the Giant Hou and the Golden Roc had each snatched a few on the sly, picking them off at will. Some had even plucked Immortals right under Dao King's nose to eat, and crucially, Dao King had not dared to utter a peep. Because he was terrified of dying! In that moment, he feared that speaking up would get him killed, and if he died now, he was dead for good. The fall of Sun Moons seemed almost comical. Yet to ordinary cultivators, Sun Moons were grand figures. In the past, the demise of a Sun Moon was exceptionally rare, but in the past year, they had been dropping like flies. To this crowd of Soaring and Lingyun cultivators, Sun Moons were towering, pinnacle existences! Su Yu continued smoothing his bird feathers and chimed in with profound agreement. "Indeed, terrifying! But... I fear that next time, it will be the same and we won't even have a chance to hide. That's why I’ve made up my mind: I must enter the Star Residence Mansion. I need to become stronger—Shanhai or Sun Moon will do, anything better than my current Lingyun cultivation!" Many around him nodded in fervent agreement! Right! A long-tailed giant wolf growled in a low voice, "Yi Fei speaks the truth! The chaos of the myriad realms is about to descend, mark my words! The most recent upheaval occurred several hundred tides ago. Our clan records show that it ignited an all-heavens war, and Eternals fell like rain... This time... I reckon it’s coming soon! Every emergence of the human race heralds immense turmoil!" "What?" Some of the minor-race cultivators were ignorant of this and looked toward the giant wolf. The wolf glanced around before sending a voice transmission: "You're all too young to understand! This isn't the first time the myriad realms have descended into chaos. I read in my clan’s ancient records that an upheaval erupts every few hundred tides! It has been ten thousand tides since the ancient era fell! According to those ancient texts, the last one was already the ninth chaotic tide! This coming one might very well be the tenth!" The All-Heavens Battlefield opened once every few thousand years. After being open for about a millennium, ceaseless warfare would inevitably break out! Sometimes it died down after a few decades; other times it dragged on for hundreds or even a thousand years before peace was restored. To this day, nine wars of the myriad realms had already erupted! As for the clash over four hundred years ago, that did not count. That was merely an assault launched by powerful races against humanity, not a true all-heavens war. A genuine war of the myriad realms ended only when one side was utterly annihilated, both sides were mutually crippled, or the fighting dragged on until the All-Heavens Battlefield sealed itself. This current cycle of the All-Heavens Battlefield had already been open for a thousand years; the humans had simply entered the fray some four hundred years ago. A thousand years of being open was typically the hallmark of an impending great war. As the long-tailed giant wolf recounted this, Su Yu grew somewhat intrigued. Interesting—this wolf knew quite a bit. Human records contained nothing of this sort; Su Yu had originally assumed this was humanity's first time participating in the battle of the heavens. Only later, through the Old Turtle, did he learn it had occurred more than once. Curious, he looked toward the giant wolf with a hint of admiration and asked, "Brother Lang Tu, are you from the Night Demon Wolf clan?" The Night Demon Wolves were a mid-sized race. They lacked an Eternal, but possessed quite a few Sun Moons. Had this race lived through several great wars as well? Lang Tu, the giant wolf, glanced at Su Yu. His gaze was naturally cold and grim rather than hostile, and he replied in a deep voice, "Night Demon Wolf... you could say that. However, I carry a trace of Three-Headed Demon Wolf bloodline." At those words, the surrounding minor-race cultivators instantly felt a surge of reverence! A grand figure! The Three-Headed Demon Wolf, true to its name, possessed three massive heads and was an ancient clan ranked twenty-fifth among the myriad races. No race ranked in the top dozens was weak. Some ancient clans even refrained from the rankings entirely. Impressive! Even with just a trace of that bloodline, it signified a vastly higher ceiling. The Three-Headed Demon Wolves could produce Half-Emperors, whereas the peak of a Night Demon Wolf was merely a quasi-Eternal. The gap between the two was immense. "Lord Lang Tu actually possesses Three-Headed Demon Wolf bloodline? How noble..." The surrounding minor-race cultivators began showering him with flattery. Lang Tu was quite formidable himself, possessing the strength of a ninth-stage Lingyun. Whether they truly believed his bloodline claim or not, flattery cost them nothing. Su Yu, on the other hand, was inclined to believe it. Sensing Lang Tu's aura, Su Yu could tell the wolf had not concealed his cultivation, yet he felt noticeably stronger than an ordinary ninth-stage Lingyun. Combined with his knowledge of ancient secrets, he likely did possess the bloodline of a powerful race—perhaps he had even journeyed to the Three-Headed Demon Wolf clan to claim kinship. Lang Tu paid little heed to their praise. Glancing toward the major encampments and then at the ancient cities, he sighed, "It is merely a sliver of bloodline. Compared to these dominant races and their geniuses, what do we amount to? Yi Fei is right: if we do not struggle and grow stronger, death will find us sooner or later! Just like countless minor races, we will vanish from the myriad realms, our domains ruined. Then, hundreds or thousands of tides later, new races will emerge. What serves as rations today might very well become the ruling race in the next great upheaval!" Seeing that he possessed substantial knowledge, Su Yu probed, "Surely it won't come to that..." Lang Tu shook his head. "You don't understand! Take the Fire Pig clan. Weak as they are, they rule an entire domain—the Fire Pig Realm! Yet I once read in the records that in the previous tide, that domain was not called the Fire Pig Realm at all, but the Six-Armed Ape Realm. Later, the Six-Armed Apes vanished into the river of time, giving rise to the Fire Pigs. Before the chaos of the last tide, the Fire Pigs were nothing more than food for the Six-Armed Apes!" Weak though the Fire Pigs might be, they still reigned over an entire realm today! The top figures of their clan even wielded Sun Moon strength. Naturally, there were very few of them. Such a race had once been livestock, yet now they stood openly as members of the myriad races. To be counted among the myriad races did not mean any living creature qualified; one had to possess at least a baseline of strength. Su Yu feigned sudden enlightenment. "So the Fire Pig Realm wasn't originally called that, and they only entered the Myriad Races Ranking later. Brother Lang Tu truly knows a great deal!" Lang Tu shook his head, declining to say more. His Night Demon Wolf clan held average strength and did not make the top hundred. Once war erupted and swept across the heavens, his race might cease to exist by the next chaotic tide. Meanwhile, the prey they fed on today might soon rise to power as a formidable race and rule the Night Demon Wolf Realm. While Su Yu and the others chatted in the aftermath of surviving the crisis, Liu Hong stirred up fresh trouble across the way. With the battle just concluded, Liu Hong smiled once more. "The Sacred City doesn't need so many slots this time. Out of fifty slots, forty are enough for us! Dao King, white-haired brother, both of you had your incarnations shattered. I imagine you're quite short on slots, aren't you? Do you have enough carriers to spare? There are plenty inside the Star Residence Mansion—how about I sell you ten slots?" Su Yu cursed inwardly! Damn it! Is this bastard trying to sell my slots? Even if I don't use them, I'm not selling them! Who gave you permission to sell the slots? Then again, if he sold them and Dao King sent more men inside... perhaps I could kill a few extra. That wasn't entirely a bad thing! Still, if you think you're keeping the money, dream on! Su Yu grumbled inwardly. Liu Hong truly had colossal guts, thinking of selling slots at a time like this. Unbelievable! Several Eternals had just lost their incarnations. If they lacked spare carriers in reserve, they had no choice but to enter the Star Residence Mansion to search for them, as carriers had become exceedingly rare in the myriad realms. Selling slots on short notice right now could fetch an exorbitant price. The quotas had already been allocated, making it difficult for anyone to substitute entrants. At his words, Dao King and several others bristled with fury. They glared at Liu Hong! Yet Liu Hong merely lounged casually on his airborne throne, beaming. "Why glare at me? I'm offering to sell you slots and give you a chance to restore your incarnations—isn't that generous? Or would you rather court death and wait to be slain?" Dao King said coldly, "Su Yu, name your price!" Liu Hong replied with a genial smile, "Just ten slots. Ten extra slots might let ten people enter and bring back three to five carriers for you! Provided, of course, your men are strong enough—or you could simply go in yourselves! The price isn't steep; I'll sell them as a bundle. You probably don't have spare carriers, and my injuries are rather severe, so just give me 10 Demon God Fruits, 100 Five Elements Fruits, and 300 Sacred Origin Qi Fruits!" An extortionate demand! Previously, Demon God Fruits were sold at the equivalent of sixty drops of Sun Moon blood essence apiece! Five Elements Fruits were hardly cheap either, and the same went for Sacred Origin Qi Fruits. Combined, the value of these items exceeded a thousand drops of first-stage Sun Moon blood essence. Ten slots... it could not be called outrageous, but calling it cheap was pure nonsense. Dao King's expression shifted erratically. The Immortal race had secured a full six hundred slots this time, yet he had only been allocated eight. That was normal enough, given that the Immortals had numerous powerhouses, Immortal Kings, and Sun Moons, while Tiangu took the lion's share. Eight slots was no small amount. Yet was it enough? If it wasn't, he would have to send people through the special passageway, but very few could manage to enter that way. Now, ten guaranteed slots were right before him! Each additional entrant meant an extra sliver of hope. He needed two carriers. Unlike the White-haired God King, whose present incarnation had been shattered—where carriers were secondary to the fact that a fallen present incarnation was notoriously difficult to recover—Dao King had lost his past and future incarnations. He needed carriers! And he possessed only one. He needed another! The price was undeniably steep. As he deliberated, a voice transmission from another Immortal King whose incarnation had been slain by Yunxiao reached his ear: "Dao King, buy them. We'll split them evenly!" He needed them too! His allocation had been even smaller than Dao King's—a mere six slots. Helplessness filled his heart; no matter how steep the price, he had to buy! Originally, he had not planned on sending his son, a ninth-stage Sun Moon, inside. Now, he had no choice! His son had to go! Locating and seizing carriers required martial strength. Otherwise, with his incarnation destroyed, internal strife would inevitably erupt in the Immortal Realm, and other Immortal Kings would soon eye his territory! Dao King pondered briefly. If they split the cost, it was still manageable. Before anyone else could speak, Dao King barked in a deep voice, "Fine, I'll buy them!" Silence fell over the crowd. It was only natural for Dao King to buy. The Immortals had lived long and possessed deep wealth; Eternals of other races might not have been able to produce so many treasures on short notice. Purchasing them would likely bleed Dao King nearly dry. Liu Hong beamed. "Dao King is indeed decisive. I do hope you live a long life, Dao King. Otherwise, losing your wealth, losing your incarnations, and then dying on top of it all would be truly miserable—an utter loss!" Like Su Yu, his tongue was laced with venom. Chuckling, he added, "Then again, dying before you've spent all your money is the true tragedy! Look at Lord Dao King: even if you die right now, you won't have lost out, because your wealth will already be spent!" "..." Dao King’s expression was icy, refusing to engage in a war of words. This was unmistakably Su Yu! Anyone else wouldn't be this audacious, this foul-mouthed, or this infuriating! Liu Hong chuckled. "Let's trade! I conduct business with great integrity. Hand over the payment first, and don't worry, I will give you the tokens. With all the races watching, I still care about my reputation!" Dao King said darkly, "I don't have that many specific items, but I can substitute other treasures of equal value!" Liu Hong smiled faintly. "That won't do. The Heaven Hunting Pavilion is right here, the Five Elements race is here, and the demon race is here. Go trade with them! Once you've traded for the items, come back to me. Otherwise, forget it! Who knows whether the treasures you offer are of any use to me? I don't have the energy to appraise them one by one. These few items are much better—I'm familiar with them and can verify their authenticity in an instant!" Dao King cursed inwardly! Trading with others right now meant getting fleeced once more! Sure enough, smiles appeared on the faces of representatives from the Five Elements race, the demon race, and the Heaven Hunting Pavilion. This was an excellent opportunity! Facilitating a trade now would yield a handsome profit. Dao King possessed plenty of treasures given his long life, items he would never normally part with. Dao King inhaled deeply and said in a low voice, "Fine. I will make the trades shortly. Su Yu... I hope you remain inside the ancient city for the rest of your life!" Come out, and I will slaughter you without fail! Liu Hong narrowed his eyes with a laugh. "Listen to you, throwing a tantrum like a petulant child! You might as well say, 'Don't you dare come out, or I'll tell my father to beat you!' Dao King, you're getting up in years. Settle down a little. More than half of you is already dead, so why maintain such arrogance?" "..." You're the arrogant one! Many spectators complained inwardly. This fellow was truly the arrogant one! Toward an Eternal, he exhausted every ounce of mockery, spite, and cruelty! Had Dao King possessed slightly less temperance, he might have choked on his own rage. Liu Hong chuckled inwardly. What did he have to fear? He wasn't Su Yu. Why should he care about offending this old Immortal? Do you even know who I am? Honestly! Besides, Su Yu wasn't afraid of making enemies anyway. To tell the truth, this felt exhilarating! Damn it, he almost hated to let it go. Pretending to be Su Yu felt magnificent—scolding an Eternal into silence. Having mighty backers made all the difference. Go ahead, hit me! I have plenty of Eternals backing me. Even Half-Emperors! Who's afraid of whom? …… In the distance, Su Yu watched Liu Hong's performance in silence. It wasn't bad at all! Bleed Dao King dry! Then, when Dao King sent his men inside, Su Yu would slaughter every last one of them. The old man would cough up blood from grief: wealth squandered, subordinates slain, family savings emptied. That would deal Dao King a devastating blow. The real question was why Liu Hong wanted all those resources. Was he preparing for his ninth Lingyun transition? Those were exceptional treasures! Just because Su Yu looked down on them did not mean ordinary cultivators could attain them. A single Five Elements Fruit was something a minor-race Lingyun could only dream of for a lifetime. As for Demon God Fruits... minor-race Sun Moons had likely never even seen one. Su Yu mused over this. *Those belong to me; I can't let that rascal run off with them.* He had forgotten to mention that before leaving. Exalted figures like Xinghong might not care about such trinkets, which was no good! Nor did Su Yu dare contact Xinghong right now, with so many powerhouses gathered here, for fear of being detected. *No rush. He can't run away any time soon, nor can he digest them all... he couldn't finish them even if he gorged himself. I'll find an opportunity later to communicate with Xinghong through the castellan token.* It wouldn't be difficult to arrange an exchange. Of the forty slots, thirty-four went to the ancient cities and five to the five great beasts, which was plenty. The remaining one had previously been allocated to General Tianmen; Su Yu was unsure whether the general would attend. They were not particularly close, but back in Tianmie Ancient City, the general had offered Su Yu several words of advice. As for Old Wang, Su Yu had advised him against going. Going would likely be sending him to his death. Too many enemies were targeting humanity this time. Particularly those associated with Su Yu. As for the five great beasts, Su Yu had warned them to look out for themselves: stay away if they feared death, but if they were willing to risk it, they could take a gamble inside. Forty slots were just right. There was no need for Su Yu to worry about Liu City; they had already secured their own slots. This time, Liu City had received quite a generous share—perhaps Nan Wujiang had intervened, or perhaps the Great Xia Prefecture had contributed. While Liu Hong conducted the transaction, Tianmie’s curses echoed from within the ancient city: "Su Yu, what garbage are you peddling! When are you coming to serve as castellan for my city?" Liu Hong started inwardly, but quickly smiled. "Soon! As soon as my injuries heal and I advance to the Shanhai Realm, I will come! Rest assured, my lord, next time I will let you venture out for a proper slaughter!" This was another terrifying figure; he dared not offend him. Besides, it wasn't his problem—Su Yu could deal with it himself. He was only responsible for the act! He washed his hands of everything else. "That’s more like it!" Tianmie snorted. He knew this wasn't Su Yu. Yes, he knew! Yet... I'm going to make you agree anyway! The entire world witnessed your promise. Even if you aren't Su Yu, the real Su Yu will have to honor the debt. If he reneges, I'll smash him to death with one swing of my club! …… Before long, Dao King returned with a darkened face! Truly darkened! He had been extorted once again. Seeing his desperation, the Heaven Hunting Pavilion and the Five Elements race had jacked up their prices, taking the stance of take it or leave it, charging thirty percent above normal! This time, he had been thoroughly bled dry! Having lived for so many years, he had his own cultivation to sustain and a clan and descendants to support. His accumulated wealth had been substantial, yet today, it had vanished in an instant! Nothing remained! No, there was still one carrier. That was his final reserve! He was still short by one. Half the purchased slots gave him five, combined with his original eight, making thirteen slots in total. He didn't ask for much—so long as they seized a single carrier for him, it would be enough! Thirteen slots in exchange for one carrier would satisfy him completely! Moreover, he intended to dispatch people to seize slots through the special passageway as well! Under Dao King's sullen gaze, Liu Hong tossed the ten tokens over, chuckling. "Don't be angry, Lord Dao King. You didn't die today, surviving a full-power strike from Lord Hongmeng. That is a joyous occasion! You can announce to the myriad realms that you clashed with a Half-Emperor and lived to tell the tale. It belongs in the history books!" "..." "Hahaha!" Several Eternals burst into outright laughter! Over by the human encampment, King Daxia could not suppress a chuckle, dropping his stern expression as he smiled. "Indeed. Exchanging blows with a Half-Emperor in single combat and surviving a strike—Dao King, you certainly have bragging rights now!" With an icy face, Dao King remained silent and swiftly retreated to the Immortal encampment, fury raging like a tempest within his heart. Suddenly, he turned toward Liu Hong and said coldly, "Castellan Su does not intend to enter the Star Residence Mansion?" Liu Hong chuckled mockingly. "Am I a fool? Go in and wait for you to kill me? I have no shortage of treasures right now. Nine-Leaved Heavenly Lotus? Carriers? I have plenty! Out here, you don't amount to a fart, Dao King, but once inside... you'd seek vengeance like madmen, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you agree, Dao King?" Liu Hong laughed heartily. "Look at today: nine of your Eternals tried to slay me, yet you were all beaten like grandchildren. If this had happened inside the Star Residence Mansion, I would have been pulverized! Therefore, one shouldn't be overly greedy!" With a playful expression, Liu Hong glanced around before calling out, "Brother Moduo, Brother Wushuang, I shall trouble you gentlemen this time!" "..." Zhan Wushuang and Moduona both looked toward him, brows furrowed. What was he playing at? Liu Hong said no more. Discreetly, he cast a glance toward the Five Elements race, landing on Foutuling, before quickly averting his eyes as if terrified of being caught! Few noticed this subtle action, yet some had kept their eyes glued to him the entire time. Instantly, voice transmissions spread: "Keep a close eye on Foutuling! Foutuling... lock onto him!" Su Yu had impersonated Foutuling before. And just now, Su Yu had cast a subconscious glance at Foutuling. What did that imply? …… Over by the god race. The divine eye in the White-haired God King’s hand had not yet been destroyed. Suddenly, the eye snapped open and darted toward Foutuling. Right at that moment, five powerful Eternals from the Five Elements race looked toward the White-haired God King simultaneously. Among them, the Earth Spirit Eternal said coolly, "Tianjue God King, such actions are improper!" This fellow dared spy on a genius of their race! Foutuling was their hope. What did the god race think they were doing? The White-haired God King said nothing, feeling deeply suspicious. …… Inside the city, Liu Hong touched down. He smiled faintly. Hopefully someone had noticed his glance toward Foutuling. That fellow had been set up by him last time and was still searching outside to settle the score; he was a troublesome customer. It would be ideal to borrow someone else's blade to eliminate him! No words were necessary; a stealthy glance was enough. Whether they could piece it together depended on the various races. Hopefully they were clever enough. Why couldn't Su Yu impersonate Foutuling again? Even though there was a Su Yu present in the city, who knew what other tricks Su Yu had up his sleeve? Liu Hong pondered. In truth, he was even more curious about whom Su Yu had actually disguised himself as. That monster was definitely planning to enter. The question was that even Liu Hong could not deduce his disguise. Or perhaps he had simply taken a random guise to enter through the special passageway. Fiddling with the storage ring in his hand, Liu Hong felt thoroughly satisfied. So many treasures! Looking at Old Man Bai in the main hall, Liu Hong smiled warmly. "Elder, your injuries are severe, and great battles may lie ahead where we will need your strength. Please accept this Demon God Fruit!" With that, he offered a Demon God Fruit. Old Man Bai looked at him, and Liu Hong said earnestly, "Even if Su Yu were here, he would do the same. Elder, please accept it. Recovering your strength now is essential for facing the troubles ahead! Once the mansion opens, others may come to test whether Su Yu has truly departed. Please don't be polite, Elder!" Old Man Bai hesitated briefly before nodding. He said nothing more, knowing Liu Hong spoke the truth. He accepted the Demon God Fruit and swallowed it, setting about healing his injuries. A supreme treasure was a supreme treasure indeed. Moments ago, death qi had been thick around him, his physical body decaying; in an instant, the death qi clinging to his flesh dissipated by more than half. Liu Hong smiled. He took the remaining treasures and reverently placed them in the rear hall before the stone statue, smiling. "My lord, these belong to Su Yu. Please safeguard them for him! I won't keep them, lest Su Yu be displeased!" Xinghong was somewhat surprised, then nodded calmly. This Liu Hong was certainly sensible. Liu Hong maintained his smile, unbothered as he watched the storage ring vanish. In front of Xinghong, it was best not to harbor unruly thoughts. …… Outside the ancient city. The turmoil had subsided. The myriad races had quieted down substantially, and the dominant races were no longer as arrogant or aggressive as they had been at the start! Not long after, outside the colossal white jade gates, a black hole suddenly manifested. An Eternal declared impassively, "It is about to open. This black hole is an entrance! But we must wait—only when all 3,260 black holes have opened can anyone enter! Finally, the special passageway will open, permitting only 360 individuals to enter!" …… On Su Yu's side. Lang Tu was indeed well-informed. At this moment, he explained to the minor demons once again: "The appearance of these black holes is the sign that the opening is imminent. It’s quite fast, likely influenced by the recent battle! Across the four directions—east, south, west, and north—nine layers of black holes will appear, totaling 3,260 entrances. Those are relatively safe, but alas... we have no chance of securing those slots. The special passageway is our only opportunity! When the time comes, countless experts will flood in, and those from the dominant races who failed to secure slots will also enter that way. Everyone must be wary of those major-race experts!" Beside Su Yu, the fish-headed girl piped up anxiously, "Lord Lang, if Sun Moons or Eternals enter, won't we be obliterated instantly?" "Not necessarily," Lang Tu explained. "The word 'special' explains everything about the special passageway! Upon entering, space and time become disordered. If our luck is good, we might be teleported directly into the Star Residence Mansion. If our luck is poor, we will encounter formidable foes and have to fight to seize a slot. If our luck is worse still... we will run into those supreme experts. Under normal circumstances, you won't encounter them in the special passageway; they will run into each other instead... That is the chance granted to minor races!" Someone sighed, "What a pity we don't have an ancient city token. I heard that holding one resonates with the entrance and allows direct entry." Lang Tu replied calmly, "Ancient city tokens are extraordinarily valuable; where would one find so many? Besides, an ancient city token isn't all-powerful. Carrying one might instead attract powerful enemies, which would be far more troublesome!" Su Yu listened in silence. Some of these details he already knew, while others were news to him. Evidently, minor figures had their own circles where one could glean quite a bit of gossip. He glanced at the white jade gates, where black holes were slowly materializing one by one. At this rate, the passageways should be fully open in a matter of days. *Then again... what if I take the special passageway and fail to get in?* Su Yu suddenly felt an odd pang of concern. *Wouldn't that mean I came all this way for nothing?* Troublesome! *Oh well. If I truly can't get in, while these Eternals are busy watching the entrances, I'll find an opportunity to go harvest corpses elsewhere!*