Who Is Tai Shan?

Inside the Star Astral Mansion. On the sixth floor. A god race expert at the seventh stage of the Sun Moon Realm suddenly felt his blood boiling. His expression shifted slightly. He quickly found a place to hide, evading the surrounding hazards before finally turning his attention inward. Sinking his consciousness into his sea of will, he felt an odd, eerie sensation. Why was his father contacting him at a time like this? Projecting willpower into this place from the outside world had to be unimaginably difficult! A phantom gradually materialized within his sea of will. "The first floor... danger..." "Father, what?" "On the first floor, countless casualties! Danger! The crisis... is spreading! Be careful! The crisis will soon make its way up. No matter which floor you are on, the enemy might arrive! Which floor are you on right now?" "The sixth floor!" "When I contact you next time, I won't say another word. The moment your blood boils again, leave the sixth floor immediately—that will mean the crisis is nearing the sixth floor..." The god race expert said hurriedly, "Then where do I go? Go up? The seventh floor is even more dangerous!" "Foolish... There are many experts on the seventh floor, making it safer instead. On the sixth floor, with your strength, you inevitably belong to the top tier. The crisis... will target you first... Come out alive... Once you are out... claim that you went to investigate the first floor..." "Father..." Before the god race expert could finish, the phantom collapsed. The god race Sun Moon expert looked bewildered. A crisis? His father was warning him that when contacted again, he shouldn't even stay on the sixth floor, but flee to the seventh? What was going on? Had some colossal disaster occurred down below? Unfortunately, even with his father sending the message, the transmission had been intermittent and rushed. Not much had been conveyed beyond the warning that the moment his blood boils again, he had to run. "Once I'm out, claim that I went to the first floor to investigate..." The man murmured to himself. He stopped dwelling on it; surviving to make it out was what mattered! ... At that exact moment. Outside the Star Astral Mansion. Beside an Invincible expert, the River of Time snapped with a wet crunch, and a mouthful of blood sprayed out. The power contained within that blood was instantly corroded by the severed River of Time. Panting heavily, the Invincible expert looked around. "Using bloodline power and the ability of time retracing, I have informed my son! He will soon head down to the first floor to investigate... Let us hope all goes smoothly..." A lingering fear flickered in his eyes as he added, "It is best not to probe this place from the outside. It nearly obliterated my River of Time! Even so, it cost me a drop of blood essence and a tenth of my power. It will take at least dozens of tides to recover..." He glanced around. The surrounding Invincible experts said nothing and tossed over a few treasures according to their prior agreement. One person frowned and asked, "Divine King Yangyu, are you certain the message was delivered?" The expert known as Divine King Yangyu turned a cold gaze on him. "Are you questioning my strength, or do you believe that after paying such a heavy price, I couldn't even transmit a few sentences?" "Divine King Yangyu misunderstands..." The speaker dropped the subject. The severed River of Time and the loss of blood essence were plain for all to see. The price paid had indeed been steep, and the compensation requested was reasonable, so no one raised any further objections. As long as word had been sent inside and a seventh-stage Sun Moon expert went to investigate, everyone would gain a clearer picture of what was happening. As for the possibility that he hadn't delivered the message... Nonsense. Why would Divine King Yangyu pay such a tremendous price to bridge the gap if he hadn't sent it? The expenditure of an Invincible's blood essence was far beyond anything a Sun Moon expert could fathom. At that moment, hardly anyone imagined that the words whispered into the mansion were completely at odds with what he claimed publicly. Divine King Yangyu couldn't be bothered to explain. Nonsense—knowing full well it was dangerous, would he send his own son to die? Though he had many sons, the one who had entered this time was his favorite! He had originally intended to warn his son about the immense peril anyway. Now, seeing that everyone wanted to send a message, he had simply turned a profit on the side to recoup his losses. It was a win-win! As for suspicion... Who had proof that he hadn't transmitted the message? He didn't care about what happened to the others so long as his own family was safe and his son was warned. The next time he contacted him, there would be no need for words; a jolt through the bloodline would be enough for his son to know that danger was approaching. Just run! At the very least, his son would have a far better chance of survival than those who were completely unprepared. For now, most of the Invincibles still harbored a glimmer of hope, waiting for this seventh-stage Sun Moon expert to investigate the situation, while a minority remained indifferent. In reality, no seventh-stage Sun Moon expert was going to look for trouble. Only a fool with too much time on his hands would do that! ... Meanwhile, Su Yu naturally had no idea that a Divine King outside had just pulled off a brilliant swindle. Spending other people's money to warn his own son of danger while utterly disregarding everyone else—if they weren't his kin, their deaths meant nothing to him. On the first floor. By this point, Su Yu had arrived at the Ear Sea. It was a vast, boundless ocean. "The Ear Sea..." Behind Su Yu followed a small group. Su Yu looked at the waters with some confusion. Why would an ear have an ocean? The Ear Sea was exceedingly hazardous, yet sparse in treasures, so very few people ever came here. Normal cultivators rarely visited the Ear Sea. A genius had once drowned here, which had made unprecedented news at the time. Puzzled, Su Yu turned to Xia Huyou. "Does the Xia family have records concerning the Ear Sea?" Xia Huyou nodded. "A little, but not much. There's not much good stuff here, so the Great Xia Prefecture cautioned against coming to the Ear Sea when entering the first floor. Of course, the Ear Sea does hold some treasures. Deep on the seabed, there are water condensing beads that contain extremely dense Heaven Yuan Qi! It's said that in the deepest depths, there might even be water condensing beads comparable to sacred fruits. But ordinary people can't dive down, and those who do can hardly make it back up. The water of the Ear Sea is a treasure in itself, but it is extraordinarily heavy!" Because of that weight, even powerful experts who dove too deep could easily be crushed to death by the water above. Su Yu remained silent, staring at the great sea before him. The Ear Sea... Was this caused by pooled water? Or had it festered with pus? Had the ear been injured? Su Yu rubbed his chin. The creator of this place had crafted it entirely according to the characteristics of a human body. The Ear Sea wouldn't have become an ocean for no reason; there had to be a cause. "Water condensing beads..." Su Yu asked, "What do they look like?" "Yellow, round, shaped like water droplets. That's why they're called water condensing beads. They're supposedly formed from the condensed water of the Ear Sea..." Hearing this, Su Yu said with a strange look, "No, that's earwax! I get it now. Too much earwax accumulated and blocked the ear canal, causing water to pool here!" "..." Xia Huyou blinked, staring at Su Yu with a bizarre expression. Beside them, Huang Teng gave a dry cough. "What do you mean? Water condensing beads are treasures—exceptional treasures! Whether for body tempering or the nine Lingyun transformations, they're incredible..." Su Yu glanced at him. "Have you eaten one?" "..." Indeed, he had. Huang Teng kept his mouth shut. Not only had he eaten them, but many in the Great Xia Prefecture had eaten them as well. Xia Huyou also said dryly, "These things really are great treasures. Every ten years when we enter the Star Astral Mansion, the Great Xia Prefecture brings back some harvest, including a few water condensing beads. To be honest, their effects are even better than Heaven Yuan Fruits." Su Yu said calmly, "They should be good. In this place, nothing is truly inferior! Now I understand a little more—with the myriad realms nourishing a single mansion, how could anything here be bad?" "Wait, you just called it earwax..." Su Yu smiled. "Earwax, so what? The Ear Sea... was probably formed within the last few thousand or tens of thousands of years. It likely wasn't an ocean originally. Over time, as the earwax—no, the water condensing beads—accumulated and blocked the canal, origin qi pooled from the outside, gathered impurities, and formed the Ear Sea." Su Yu stroked his chin, muttering, "In that case, the Ear Sea might contain peerless treasures, because all of you seem to have only reached the outer crust of the earwax and never actually entered the ear canal." "..." All three looked at Su Yu. At this point, even Huang Jiu couldn't resist chiming in: "Uh, water condensing beads are actually very good. They're genuine treasures..." "I never said they weren't!" Su Yu said curiously. "What's the matter? Is there anything in this place that isn't a treasure? Everything is! But... the Ear Sea isn't a real ocean; it's just a puddle of pooled water. Poor guy—no one helped him clean his earwax, so his ears got plugged up. At least with the nostrils, boogers can be sneezed out with a breath..." "..." Xia Huyou truly couldn't take it anymore. "Su Yu, just because it's called the Ear Sea, do you have to call it earwax?" "What do you know!" Su Yu ignored him and surveyed the surroundings. The sea was quite vast; by the looks of it, it belonged to a massive ear. The surface of the sea had a slight slant. Su Yu flew up, quickly taking in the layout and comparing it to his own ear. He soon landed and said, "Come on, follow me! Hardly anyone has ever gone deep into this Ear Sea. When it comes to treasures, I'm certain there are plenty here!" "For real?" Xia Huyou looked at him skeptically. "Su Yu, are you really treating this Human Face Realm as an actual person?" "Nonsense!" Su Yu snapped impatiently. "Foolish fellow! It was crafted in the likeness of a human! After all these years, has no one ever paid attention to that?" "That's not true. We humans discussed it before, and we did find a few treasures by analyzing the human body. But... it felt like the danger outweighed the opportunity. And the Ear Sea... aside from water condensing beads, there really aren't any other treasures." Su Yu nodded. Those people had simply thought the terrain might have been shaped by artificial factors, or perhaps created out of someone's twisted sense of humor. But because they failed to find the corresponding treasures, few continued to pursue that line of thought. However, only Su Yu understood that every part of this construction had meaning. They might not seem as prominent as carriers or standard treasures, but the things hidden within were extraordinary. "Let's go!" Su Yu said no more. His "water" divine character manifested, turning into a sphere that enveloped the group as they plunged into the water, vanishing beneath the waves. As they dove deeper, the seawater above grew heavier and heavier, until even Su Yu felt somewhat suffocated by the pressure. He paid it no mind, but Xia Huyou and the others were scared half to death. If they dove any deeper and Su Yu was crushed, they would all perish. "That's enough! If we go any deeper, we won't be able to get back up..." "Who said we're going deeper?" Su Yu glanced at him, adjusting his heading according to his deductions and diving toward the side. An ear wasn't like an eye, which was embedded in the front of the face; it was set into the side of the head, and one had to enter through the ear canal. It was just that the outer auricle had been flooded, submerging the ear canal, so ordinary people had never seen where the entrance lay. Pushing through the water toward the side, Su Yu said, "Diving straight down only leads to a dead end with no benefits. This is the left ear, so we need to head toward the right—the right side is where the entrance to the ear canal is." "Are you serious?" Xia Huyou said skeptically. "Humans have explored this for hundreds of years, and others have checked before. But the right side... it's solid rock! The ground of the Star Astral Mansion is nearly impossible to breach, and there's no benefit to breaking through..." "Don't believe me then!" After a moment, Su Yu determined their position and quickly began striking the seabed wall. After a barrage of punches, the deep trench of the shoreline remained completely unyielding. Xia Huyou muttered, "See, told you..." "Shut up and back away!" Su Yu went all out, throwing a punch that carved out a modest indentation. He chipped away at it bit by bit, saying as he hammered, "Once I open a small breach, we'll head inside. Seawater will gradually seep in, so we'd better be careful. Going by natural human reflexes, once water gets into someone's ear, they shake their ears... and then we'll be in massive trouble!" "How is that possible!" Xia Huyou laughed. Shake its ears? You've got to be kidding me. Yet deep down, a strange unease stirred. It wouldn't actually shake its ears, would it? How terrifying would that be! This was an entire realm, known as the Human Face Realm. If it shook its ears, wouldn't that cause the earth to split and mountains to collapse? Meanwhile, Su Yu continued to hammer with his Sun Moon strength. Even after half an hour of relentless punching, he had only shattered a tiny patch. A normal person would have given up long ago. What kind of madman spent half an hour pounding on a solid stone wall? If a Sun Moon expert struggled this much, wouldn't Shanhai or Lingyun cultivators have to spend an entire month just to make a dent? Yet Su Yu paid it no mind. He firmly believed there was an ear canal behind this wall. The wall itself had formed later—it was effectively a layer of solidified earwax. Once breached, they could enter the ear. As for the water condensing beads, they were most likely fragments of earwax. This wall was the true obstruction blocking the ear canal. An hour later, even Su Yu was panting. Huang Teng couldn't hold back any longer. "Brother Su, how about we drop it? With the seawater pressing down from above and the wall refusing to give... are you certain there's a passageway behind this?" Su Yu didn't bother replying. As he struck, he said, "You three hold onto each other tightly. In a moment, grab my arm. Once the passageway opens and water rushes in, there might be movement. If it shakes its ears, the Ear Sea will be gone... After today, there might not even be an Ear Sea anymore..." What a joke! The three thought to themselves, yet Su Yu spoke with such conviction that they couldn't help feeling nervous. It couldn't be true, could it? Just as the thought crossed their minds—crack! The wall in front of them shattered! In that instant, their expressions changed drastically. There really was a passage! Su Yu wore a look of triumphant satisfaction, thoroughly overjoyed! Behind that shattered wall, an unimaginably dense wave of origin qi surged forth. In that moment, the entire Human Face Realm seemed to let out a collective groan of immense comfort! The ear had been unclogged! What relief! It had been blocked for so long that even the Human Face Realm had felt stifled. Now, someone had finally chipped away a piece of the blockage—what pure bliss! However, right after that relief, the trickle of seawater seeping inside quickly made the Human Face Realm uncomfortable. By then, Xia Huyou and the others were completely stunned. Endless origin qi billowed forth! Accompanying the blast was an avalanche of treasures—water condensing beads, countless and enormous! Massive, perfectly round orbs spilled out like supreme treasures, radiating intensely rich Heaven Yuan Qi. Xia Huyou's eyes turned green with greed. "Holy crap! A single one of these could forge a warrior at the ninth stage of the Tengkong Realm—no, it's enough to complete Lingyun transformations... Holy crap, there are so many!" These were supreme treasures for tempering the physical body! He glanced at Su Yu, who didn't even look back as he said, "All trash, nothing more than earwax scraps. Pick some up if you want... I'm heading inside. Are you coming?" "Of course!" Xia Huyou hurriedly signaled Huang Teng, and together they frantically began scooping up the water condensing beads. As the surging eruption subsided, seawater began pouring into the cavernous ear canal. Su Yu swiftly grabbed the three of them. "Let's go! These are all scraps; you can pick them up later! This ear... I think it's about to twitch!" No sooner had he spoken than the world turned upside down! Xia Huyou felt utterly dizzy. Looking down from above, the entire ear appeared to be shaking violently. Over the Ear Sea, towering waves swept through heaven and earth! Near the Ear Sea, several geniuses and experts hunting for treasures were struck by the colossal waves! With a thunderous roar, the monstrous surge smashed the treasure hunters into bloody paste, disintegrating them entirely! The colossal ocean roared, sweeping in all directions. At that moment, the entire Human Face Realm felt the violent upheaval. Everyone turned toward the distance, watching waves tens of thousands of meters high crash down. The sheer weight of that water was enough to crush a Shanhai expert to death! Never mind Tengkong or Lingyun cultivators—even a Shanhai expert caught here would be pulverized. "Run!" "A catastrophe has struck the Human Face Realm!" "..." In all directions, experts and geniuses turned pale with terror. For countless years, the Human Face Realm had never experienced such a violent upheaval! The waves lashed out as if the ear were trying to shake away the water pooling outside. Water had gotten into the ear! Water had entered the left ear. Although the right ear couldn't hear either, it was still plugged by earwax, so the right Ear Sea remained relatively calm. But with water rushing into the left ear canal, that natural reflex was triggered! Rumble! Mountains collapsed and the earth split! The massive waves crushed dozens of cultivators along the shores of the Ear Sea. Every single victim died filled with despair and indignation. How could this be? Why was this happening? The Ear Sea had suddenly erupted! People had previously mocked the old tales of someone drowning here. Now, no one was laughing, because cultivators had just been battered to death by the waves! ... Outside the realm. In an instant, more than thirty channels shattered simultaneously. The Invincibles' faces twisted in shock. Damn it! Again! Many turned to look at Divine King Yangyu. Still recovering his strength, Divine King Yangyu frowned and said, "Could it be that my son reached the first floor and erupted into a massive battle with the enemy? Or has that fiend gone on another slaughtering spree?" Someone couldn't bear it any longer. "What on earth is happening on the first floor? Someone else make contact with their descendants down there! Whose descendants are definitely still alive on the first floor right now?" The Invincibles exchanged glances. Soon, an Immortal King from the Immortal race said in a low voice, "Someone from my lineage is on the first floor, but I don't know if he has left..." "Contact him and ask! Whatever the cost, we will share the burden!" The Immortal King furrowed his brows, weighed his options, and nodded. "I will inquire about the situation. A few humans died this time as well, so it feels..." It didn't quite feel like the handiwork of a human! This time, Su Yu hadn't cared. It was already generous enough of him not to hunt humans; he was under no obligation to run around warning everyone to back away because he was about to hunt for treasure. Even if he had warned them, no one would have believed him! Once inside the Star Astral Mansion, life and death were up to fate. If you told people to leave, they might just think you were trying to hoard the treasures for yourself. The Immortal King was both anxious and curious; several members of his lineage had already perished on the first floor. He quickly sat cross-legged and tore open the River of Time. ... At the same time. On the first floor, an Immortal race expert was leading a group of his kin in a frantic escape. Suddenly, his sea of will trembled and his bloodline boiled. He was instantly overjoyed, but grief quickly followed as he watched several slower companions behind him get crushed to dust by the towering wave. He fled frantically, burning his blood essence! Only after running for a long time, when the colossal wave ceased its pursuit, did he hurriedly enter his sea of will. Inside, an anxious phantom materialized: "What happened..." He had maintained the connection for a while already! He was nearing his limit! "Ancestor... A catastrophe struck the Human Face Realm! The Ear Sea roared, the heavens collapsed and the earth split... Dead... So many people are dead..." "Caused by the Ear Sea?" Was it an internal hazard native to the realm itself? The Immortal King felt he could no longer hold the connection and quickly vanished. ... Outside the realm, the Immortal King coughed up a mouthful of blood as the temporal channel collapsed. Pale-faced, with an odd and strained expression, he looked around, his voice cracking: "It wasn't a massacre... It was... an upheaval in the Human Face Realm! The Ear Sea roared with monstrous waves, crushing the treasure hunters!" "What?" "Impossible!" "Then why did so few humans die?" "..." The Invincibles were dumbfounded. An internal upheaval in the Star Astral Mansion that had nothing to do with any person? Damn it! And they had all been swearing moments ago that a human expert was behind the slaughter—only for it to be an environmental disaster? Many turned to look at Dao King in the distance. That fellow had been utterly convinced that Su Yu was the culprit! Leaving aside the fact that Su Yu was still in the ancient city, the key point was... this wasn't something a mortal could orchestrate! It was a natural cataclysm. Had something gone wrong with the Star Astral Mansion itself? ... Meanwhile. Inside the Hunting Heaven Pavilion. Several Invincibles were equally taken aback. "I thought a human powerhouse had truly emerged to slaughter the myriad races, but that wasn't it at all!" "An internal upheaval in the Star Astral Mansion?" "It hasn't changed in all these years, yet they had to run into it this time. Those people... truly unlucky!" "Alas! Our pavilion lost a few good seeds as well!" "..." The Invincibles sighed in lamentation. At that moment, at the pinnacle of the grand hall inside the Hunting Heaven Pavilion, where no one could see, the scholar murmured, "An upheaval in the Ear Sea... The Ear Sea... The Ear Sea never existed originally... Could it be Su Yu? An upheaval in the Ear Sea... Could the ear canal have been opened..." Murmuring to himself, the scholar looked exhausted. He felt this matter was likely connected to Su Yu. However, there was no need to speak of such things to outsiders. As for the Ear Sea, it hadn't existed in ancient times; there had been no sea at all. It was likely that the opening of the ear canal had triggered a reflexive reaction, causing the upheaval in the Human Face Realm. "Is it Su Yu? If so, what secret has he uncovered?" The scholar murmured. The Human Face Realm... the first floor. In the ancient past, this floor had been inhabited by the Human Sovereign's subordinates; members of the myriad races rarely visited. He wasn't entirely clear on all the treasure troves in the Human Face Realm, but he knew one thing for certain: the Human Face Realm held many secrets. The entire Star Astral Mansion was filled with secrets! "Does this signify that a new sovereign is truly about to descend?" He grew increasingly certain! First the shaking of the White Jade Gate, then the upheaval in the Human Face Realm, along with anomalies during teleportation—all of it pointed to the fact that someone truly extraordinary was among those who had entered this time! ... While the outside world was abuzz with shock and debate, Su Yu and his companions were also seeing stars. Su Yu clung desperately to an outcrop near the ear canal, scraping his palms raw. After waiting for a good while, he finally let out a breath. Things had at last quieted down! Looking back out... there was no point. The sea was gone! All that water had been shaken away! By now, it had flown off to who knew where, probably crushing quite a few people upon landing. With the water cleared away, the original seabed—the surface of the auricle—now revealed countless enormous orbs. Pale yellow in color! Every single one was a water condensing bead like the ones Xia Huyou had described. Submerged on the seabed for countless years, they were stuck firmly to the surface of the auricle. Gradually regaining their senses, Xia Huyou and the others looked outside and were instantly awestruck. Looking down from their perch at the mouth of the ear canal, it felt as though they were standing in a cave midway up a sheer cliff. Looking down... Xia Huyou swallowed hard in frantic disbelief. Countless water condensing beads! It was a staggering sight! Some were massive—as massive as mountains. Xia Huyou muttered, "Impossible, it's impossible for water condensing beads to be this big. This has to be fake. When I was young, I only ever ate one the size of a broad bean..." Huang Teng was equally dazed. "I've used them a few times too. The largest one I ever had was only the size of a steamed bun..." I'm completely stunned! Truly speechless! So water condensing beads could actually come in mountain-sized chunks? Even Huang Jiu, who was widely traveled and had consumed plenty of fine treasures, was utterly dumbfounded. "I... back in the Hunting Heaven Pavilion, the largest one I ever saw was the size of a millstone..." She spread her arms to illustrate, then looked down at the mountain-sized water condensing bead outside, dazed beyond recovery! To say nothing else, that single mountain-sized water condensing bead alone could nurture thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of Tengkong and Lingyun cultivators! Body forging, origin qi transformation—it could accomplish all of it! It might even be usable as a carrier! And that wasn't the only one; it was merely the largest. There were plenty of others. The smaller ones had been swept away by the colossal waves, but many table-sized beads remained glued to the auricle. There were countless beads of that size! Su Yu was somewhat surprised as well, smiling. "Not bad. I'll take the largest one. The rest, you can pick up as much as you like!" In an instant, Xia Huyou dropped down and began snatching them frantically. He had lost his mind! I don't need to go anywhere else—just bringing these treasures back will quickly restore all the vitality the Great Xia Prefecture lost before! He didn't dare dream of taking the largest one. Even the smaller ones made him filthy rich! Truly struck gold! Huang Teng swiftly dove down to gather them as well! Huang Jiu felt the urge to move, but soon snorted and gave up. Unlike those two, she was still under Su Yu's control! No matter how many she gathered, Su Yu could easily take them from her. Su Yu was in no hurry. Only one day had passed. What was the rush? Take it slow! He floated his tome downward. Over a dozen Sun Moon phantom beasts materialized, straining together to haul the colossal water condensing bead, but they could barely budge it. Soon, even more Sun Moon phantom beasts emerged! With a tremendous rumble, the mountain-sized water condensing bead was pulled into the tome. Seeing Xia Huyou and Huang Teng still frantically hauling beads while Su Yu waited quietly, Huang Jiu couldn't resist saying, "That single water condensing bead alone could be traded for at least two carriers!" "Too little!" Su Yu said calmly. "For the largest piece of earwax, accumulated over tens of thousands of years, I'd only consider three or more." By his count, combined with the two golden nose hairs, he had already gathered treasures worth at least five carriers. In fact, he had also harvested quite a few slightly weaker nose hairs. In just over a day, he had scavenged treasures equivalent to more than six carriers. And that was merely a side benefit. Originally, Su Yu had owned eight carriers, two of which had been integrated into his civilization chronicle, leaving six. Now, he had gathered an equivalent number. Even though these weren't true carriers, trading them outside would likely fetch genuine ones. So many treasures, and Su Yu had acquired them all in a single day. Meanwhile, countless people, including Invincibles, fought madly over a single carrier. Su Yu had squandered quite a few; otherwise, his count would have long surpassed ten. Huang Jiu fell silent, having nothing left to say. A moment later, Xia Huyou and Huang Teng returned. They hadn't gathered everything—there were simply too many! Knowing Su Yu had business to attend to, Xia Huyou flew back up and said hurriedly, "Go ahead with what you need to do! Huang Teng and I will pick up a few more; it'd be too wasteful to leave them!" Su Yu smiled. "It's fine! Let Huang Jiu pick them up and do the chores. We're heading inside; there might be more benefits. Some of the junk I don't care for would be great for you to take back!" "..." Huang Jiu felt like coughing blood. Xia Huyou gave an awkward laugh. "Well... never mind then..." Su Yu chuckled. "It's fine, let's go! The Great Xia Prefecture suffered heavy losses before. To be honest, to me, these things are all trash! Let's head inside!" He turned and walked toward the entrance of the passage. Xia Huyou and Huang Teng exchanged a glance, unable to resist the temptation. Glancing at Huang Jiu, the two laughed awkwardly and swiftly followed Su Yu inside. A miracle worker! Following this miracle worker, whatever crumbs he dropped were enough to stuff them to bursting—no, enough to feed half the Great Xia Prefecture! For the first time, they realized that seizing treasures in the Star Astral Mansion could be this simple. Catching up, Xia Huyou couldn't help remarking, "Why do I feel like this place is your home? Su Yu, you... this Star Astral Mansion has the character 'Yu' in its name, and so do you. Could it actually be connected to you?" It was impossible not to wonder! Su Yu didn't dwell on such thoughts. Walking through the ear canal, he looked around and said, "This place belongs to me! If it isn't mine now, it will be sooner or later! The Human Face Realm... the clues it gives are actually blindingly obvious! You people just don't know the method. When we find the spot later, slice off your left ears and toss them down to play with—I guarantee it'll be fascinating." Are you out of your mind?! The two were speechless. Were you serious? Along the way, the two gathered quite a few more treasures. Su Yu had exceedingly high standards, only collecting materials suitable for forging weapons or items beneficial to his own growth; anything below the level of a Heaven armament failed to catch his eye. When they reached the end, Xia Huyou and Huang Teng suddenly began vomiting blood uncontrollably. Su Yu's left ear also throbbed with swelling pain, and blood trickled out. Without hesitation, Su Yu swiftly sliced off his left ear. His ear apertures vibrated, and he tossed the ear directly onto the massive platform ahead, where an extraordinary sound wave reverberated through it. Xia Huyou and Huang Teng stared in utter disbelief. By now, their brains throbbed with agonizing pain, feeling as if they were about to shatter. Seeing Su Yu do this, both gritted their teeth, ripped off their own ears in a bloody mess, and hurled them onto the platform. The instant they did, the agonizing pain vanished! Meanwhile, their detached ears were being battered by waves of sound on the platform! Su Yu said, "Anyone who doesn't understand the trick would have their brain pulverized by the sound waves if they stayed here too long, even at the Sun Moon Realm. And anyone who isn't human would be killed here! This place is essentially a sacred cultivation ground for humans! The Star Astral Mansion belongs to the human race... Of course, by 'human race,' I most likely mean me!" "..." The two were rendered speechless. This time, Huang Teng was genuinely awed. "Su Yu, did you... figure this out on your own, or do you have some ancient records?" "Figured it out on my own." Su Yu glanced at him and smiled. "Does this sort of thing require records? The clues are so obvious—it's called the Human Face Realm! Eyebrow Mountain, Ear Sea, Twin Dragon Gorge... What records could you possibly need?" The clues on the first floor were plain as day! How could anyone miss something so obvious? Xia Huyou said helplessly, "How could it be that simple! Who comes to a place like this and casually cuts off their own ear for fun?!" No sane person would do that! At most, someone might strain their ears to listen! To just slice off an ear... He couldn't help asking, "Did you slice off your nose earlier too?" Su Yu nodded, ignoring his bizarre stare. At that moment, he focused on the changes in his ear, listening intently to sounds that had previously been inaudible. "It hurts so much..." "The agony!" On that platform, the sound seemed to be weeping in torment. Su Yu's expression shifted slightly. What was this? What did it mean? Torment? In Su Yu's eyes, the Human Face Realm was merely a weapon, a mansion crafted in the likeness of a human. Why would such a voice exist? "It hurts so much..." "The agony!" "Why kill me... Why... I did nothing wrong... Why..." Su Yu's expression flickered with uncertainty as the voice drifted in and out. He said urgently, "Xia Huyou, did you and Huang Teng hear anything?" "What?" "Did you hear someone speaking?" "No..." The two looked at him in bewilderment. What was wrong? Su Yu frowned. No, I heard it! I heard cries of excruciating anguish! Damn it... What was going on? Massive waves of shock crashed through his heart! The person who forged the Star Astral Mansion... had slain an incomparably peerless expert and used his severed head to forge this Human Face Realm! Could that be it? Why could he hear the voice when Xia Huyou and Huang Teng couldn't? Su Yu's eyes flickered. Suddenly, he sealed one of his apertures. The moment that aperture was blocked, the voice whispering in his ears vanished instantly! Su Yu's face changed! "The Zhoutian Apertures!" Because the slain expert had also opened the Zhoutian Apertures, Su Yu was able to hear it? Was that why? He reopened the sealed aperture, relinking his 360 origin apertures. Sure enough, he heard the voice once more—fragmented and faint, yet undeniably present! "Why... I did nothing wrong... Tai Shan... you killed me... I do not accept this..." "..." Tai Shan! Who was Tai Shan? The Human Sovereign? Or someone else? Was the one who forged this mansion truly the Human Sovereign? Question after question, thought after thought, flashed furiously through Su Yu's mind. In that moment, he was thoroughly shaken to his core. A peerless human expert had been slain, and the creator had used his severed head to forge the first floor... That... was utterly ruthless! "This is real!" "An actual human head!" "Tai Shan killed him... What realm was the victim in? Dao Integration? Or beyond Dao Integration?" Stormy waves surged in Su Yu's heart. Was this someone at Dao Integration? Could Dao Integration experts be this powerful? Even in death, could a severed head form a realm of its own? Terrifying! The more Su Yu thought about it, the more chilled he felt. The person who forged this place was no benevolent soul. Was he human? If so, why would he execute such a formidable human expert? "It hurts..." The cries of pain persisted. Alarmed, Su Yu hastily sealed an aperture. Through the tempering of his ear apertures, he had actually overheard something astonishing! That voice continued to echo in his mind! Su Yu feared that if he kept listening, he would go mad. His face grew slightly pale. It was merely the lingering voice of undying resentment, yet the shockwaves were already causing his sea of will to tremble! "Tai Shan..." At the very last moment, that furious, resentful, indignant roar echoed once more! Tai Shan! This was the very first true name of an ancient expert Su Yu had ever learned—not a title, but a real name: Tai Shan! Was he the Time Master? The master of the Civilization Tombstone? Or the Human Sovereign? Among the figures of the ancient era, Su Yu was most intrigued by those three. All three were likely human. The Time Master, the Human Sovereign, the master of the Civilization Tombstone—could Tai Shan be one of them?