Hetu Is Here, Run!

"The Immortal race... Tiangu issued a kill order on me, didn't he?" Su Yu chuckled softly and scanned the surroundings. This fellow wasn't weak—seventh level of the Shanhai Realm, equipped with Invincible blood essence, and with Tiangu's bloodline, his bloodline power wouldn't be faint either. No matter how you looked at it, he was an expert. Killing him wouldn't be impossible, though. He just had to be careful that the guy didn't detonate that Invincible blood essence, wherever he had managed to get it from. As the thought crossed Su Yu's mind, he heard the Immortal speaking to someone in the distance. "That fellow Dao Cheng ran off so quickly that I forgot to mention Bai Feng and the others fled to the third floor. Anyone connected to Su Yu has to die. I wonder if they'll wait for us on the third floor... so we can team up and slaughter Bai Feng's group!" "Dao Cheng?" Su Yu was slightly taken aback. The guy ran? How could he be so uncanny? That guy seemed to possess ridiculous luck. Seriously, Su Yu had wanted to swat him dead long ago, but several times he hadn't found the opportunity—or rather, when the opportunity arose, he hadn't targeted him. Last time, he had targeted Zhan Wushuang instead. Subconsciously, he had focused on dealing with Zhan Wushuang and forced the god race experts to hunt Zhan Wushuang rather than Dao Cheng. That guy was here just a moment ago? Su Yu's brow furrowed slightly. Dao Cheng... having survived multiple times, he definitely had to be killed this time around! One shouldn't fear strong enemies, but rather enemies who were like cockroaches. Refusing to die over and over meant something was eerily abnormal about him, which might lead to great danger. "The third floor... Fine. I'll sweep through floor by floor and take you down in a bit!" Dao Cheng had to die! This time, Su Yu set a small goal for himself. Dao Cheng had actually fled before Su Yu even arrived, which meant the guy had sensed danger. His instincts were sharp indeed. "Kill these ones first!" With a flick of his hand, Su Yu cast out his book, letting it fade into the void. How to kill them wasn't difficult. Shouting "Taishan" one more time would do the trick. The instant eruption would surely throw them into panic, giving him the chance to dispatch this seventh-level Shanhai. As for the rest, none of them would even have a chance to flee. "Taishan!" "I will kill you! Kill you..." At that moment, in Su Yu's mind, Old Zhou went completely berserk, mad with fury! A suffocating resentment surged! Taishan again! Taishan yet again! He wanted to destroy everything, destroy Taishan! Boom! Near the Dragon Blood Fruit Tree, flames erupted instantly into a boiling inferno. The terrifying blast injured more than a dozen Immortals at once. The leader, Gu Zhu, turned pale and barked, "Fall back—" Before the word fully left his mouth, his expression changed drastically. Danger! He jerked his head aside, but saw nothing. Yet from empty void, a figure suddenly materialized without a word, claws tearing straight toward his heart. "You—" Gu Zhu was horrified. Just as he attempted to strike back and retreat, his head was struck by an agonizing, excruciating pain. An invisible sledgehammer smashed into him, sending violent tremors throughout his sea of will. With a wet squelch, Su Yu's hand clamped onto a droplet of blood essence! Sizzle! The Invincible blood essence thrashed and roared, immediately setting Su Yu's arm ablaze. When cultivators like Gu Zhu carried Invincible blood essence, it had been tamed by their elders or belonged to those elders directly. Su Yu, however, was an enemy. At this moment, the blood essence unleashed its immense power of its own accord, burning into Su Yu's arm. Though Su Yu's physical body was exceptionally robust, at this moment the flesh was incinerated away. In a heartbeat, his blood boiled, and his flesh vanished. Even his bones began to char. Wracked with intense pain, Su Yu gritted his teeth and let out a low roar. A book descended, and dozens of Sun Moon colossal beasts emerged, instantly engulfing the other Immortals. Soon, the dozens of Sun Moon beasts turned in unison to suppress the droplet of Invincible blood essence! Right then, a shadowy human figure flickered atop the blood essence, appearing as though it wanted to step forth. "Insolence!" A voice actually echoed from the blood essence, berating the myriad-race projections. In that split second, the phantoms seemed gripped by fear, hesitating together. Seeing them falter, Su Yu's expression shifted sharply as he snapped in fury, "Useless bastards!" What good are you! You're just projections of dead blood essence, yet you dare disobey me because you're scared? Damn it! In his towering rage, the two characters "Civilization" blazed into existence. With a deafening boom, they blew the hesitant phantoms apart. Even more projections surged forth, no longer afraid. Nearly a hundred Sun Moon phantoms materialized, roaring as they pinned down the droplet of blood essence, tearing and biting at it! Gu Zhu was not yet dead. His eyes wide with shock and disbelief, he stared at Su Yu and opened his mouth to scream, "Su—" Slash! With a backhand sweep of his blade, Su Yu lopped his head off. The book swept out, devouring him in an instant. Su Yu directed all his focus toward subduing that droplet of blood essence. Copious amounts of Sovereign Saliva covered his body, allowing the Invincible blood essence to scorch him as he refused to let go! I refuse to believe it! If I, Su Yu, can't fight an actual Invincible, am I incapable of handling a single drop of Invincible blood essence? What a joke! Today, you will be suppressed! Furious, Su Yu whipped around and threw a vicious punch. The impact drew another furious roar from within the blood essence: "Insolence!" The owner of this blood essence was likely still alive. Su Yu suspected this was an elder of the fellow he had just killed. Whether it was Tiangu, he wasn't sure—most likely not, as it lacked that aura of absolute suffocation. "Insolence your ancestors!" Su Yu bellowed, raining punch after punch upon it! Boom! Boom! Boom! Dozens of Sun Moon phantoms clamped down on the blood essence. By now, the faint silhouette of a middle-aged man had formed over the droplet, brimming with wrath as he bellowed, "Insolence—" Damn it, is that the only word you know? Enraged, Su Yu thought, *Who are you looking down on?!* "Bite him to death!" The dozens of phantoms multiplied to over a hundred, every single Sun Moon beast lunging to tear into him! Su Yu seized the opening to unleash his full might, throwing punches, kicks, blades, spears, swords, halberds, and the Five Elements Cage. He was actually brawling against a single drop of blood—and truth be told, without the aid of the Civilization Chronicle and without opening his yang apertures, he might not have even beaten it! Now that was embarrassing! No, it was alarming. The true body of this Invincible was undoubtedly formidable. *** Meanwhile. In the Immortal Realm. An Invincible suddenly shot into the air from his secluded cultivation grounds, his face darkening as he looked toward a certain direction. He quickly opened a spacetime channel, and before long, arrived at the boundary entrance. "Forebear!" At the realm's entrance, Tiangu was still standing vigil. The middle-aged man's expression shifted as he reported, "Forebear, Gu Zhu seems to have perished." Tiangu said nothing, merely nodding slightly to acknowledge it. Dead was dead! He had few first-generation descendants left; most had died of old age or fallen in the previous era, or the era before that. This middle-aged man was already his fifth generation. Gu Zhu would be considered the seventh generation. Seventh-generation descendants... he had plenty. Losing one meant little. Having lived for so long, he hardly cared about the death of an occasional junior. Yet his expression suddenly shifted. Looking at the middle-aged man, he said coldly, "Insolence! Did you give him your own blood essence? You utter fool!" He had suddenly realized something was amiss. What did the death of a single descendant matter? Did it warrant this fellow rushing straight out of secluded cultivation to report it in person? A closer inspection revealed that the man's vital energy had waned slightly, prompting Tiangu to roar in fury, "Idiot!" "Forebear, I..." Tiangu said coldly, "Even if you wished to seize the Nine-Leaved Heavenly Lotus, you shouldn't have handed your blood essence to a descendant. Going in person would have been far more reliable than this! You fool, you are still alive! If your blood essence is seized by someone... you'll be in immense trouble!" In the myriad worlds, while you lived, your blood essence should never fall into external hands. Blood essence was far too vital. Enemies had countless methods to use it against you! Even a Tengkong cultivator wouldn't easily let their blood essence circulate outside, let alone an Invincible. Was this descendant of his an idiot? No matter how reliable or beloved a descendant might be, could they guarantee your blood essence wouldn't be taken? Moron! The middle-aged man turned pale and hung his head. "Forebear, I... I only wanted him to help me..." "Idiot!" Tiangu scoffed coldly. "Do not venture out anytime soon, lest others notice anything amiss. Your blood essence might have self-destructed! Once the mansion closes, try to sense it. If it hasn't been destroyed... I will find a way to help you retrieve it!" This descendant was actually quite powerful. Unfortunately, he was too overconfident. Why would you assume no one would dare kill your descendant? Now there was serious trouble! If it fell into ordinary hands, it wouldn't matter much. But if it was seized by someone capable of targeting an Invincible... Nonsense, anyone capable of slaying someone protected by Invincible blood essence was neither weak nor lacking a powerful backer! Tiangu felt a burst of annoyance, though he quickly regained his composure. "Can you still sense the presence of your blood essence right now?" The middle-aged man kept his head lowered and said, "No. Ever since he entered, I haven't been able to sense it. But just now... it seemed like the seal I placed on the blood essence was triggered. I came to see whether Gu Zhu's passageway had severed." Tiangu closed his eyes. From the Sea of Stars, a faint trace of willpower drifted over. Gu Zhu's passageway had indeed severed! And not just his—several other Immortals' passageways had severed as well! Tiangu quickly understood the situation. Looking at the middle-aged man, he said coldly, "He is dead!" The middle-aged man's face twisted into an ugly scowl. Truly dead. If his blood essence had self-destructed, all was well. But if it had been taken... trouble loomed. *** Outside the Star Astral Mansion. The crowd fell silent. A dozen Immortal passageways had severed all at once. Had the Immortal race run into disaster? Granted, none of them were prominent figures, though Gu Zhu was among the more recognizable, being Tiangu's descendant from the Ancient Immortal clan. Still, ordinary cultivators knew little of the details. Without knowing about the Invincible blood essence, Gu Zhu's death was just another casualty. Dao King, however, curled his lips slightly and scoffed inwardly. Gu Zhu was dead, and that boy seemed to have been carrying someone's blood essence. Splendid! Whether that drop was destroyed or seized, seeing others suffer misfortune was always better than suffering it oneself! *** "Suppress!" With an enraged bellow, Su Yu unleashed another punch. With a thunderous boom, the phantom shattered, and the immensely powerful droplet of blood essence ceased its rotation in midair. The sliver of consciousness within it was utterly extinguished by his blow! Su Yu let out a breath of relief. Even so, the blood essence remained extraordinarily formidable. Without wasting time on words, Su Yu commanded the Sun Moon phantoms to swarm the Invincible blood essence, sealing it into the book in the blink of an eye. Su Yu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Damn, that was tough to deal with! He had nearly capsized! Fortunately, he had been smart enough to slay the fellow immediately. Otherwise, had the Immortal detonated the blood essence, the trouble would have been massive. Truly terrifying! Invincible... It was merely a single drop of blood essence, yet he had nearly failed to overcome it. Su Yu ground his teeth in frustration. How humiliating! Am I really this weak? At that moment, several figures flew over from nearby. Xia Huyou and the others wore strange expressions, while Huang Jiu no longer displayed any hint of defiance. She murmured in utter shock, "That was... the blood essence of a living Invincible!" Su Yu retorted in annoyance, "Nonsense, did you think it was dead? A dead one wouldn't be anywhere near this terrifying. I've got dead Invincible blood essence on me right now!" "..." Huang Jiu opened her mouth, left entirely speechless. He had some! He actually possessed Invincible blood essence! Xia Huyou stared blankly as well. "You... you have some?" Exasperated, Su Yu said, "What, am I not allowed to have some? Last time, several Invincibles died in the Human Realm. Manor Lord Zhu beat several to death. One died and left behind a drop of blood essence. The person is dead, but the blood essence still holds considerable might. I've kept it untouched all this time." He didn't care if they knew. Now that he had obtained another drop, they had all seen it anyway. The Civilization Chronicle was so powerful, and everyone had witnessed it, so what was there to fear about them seeing a drop of blood essence? He now possessed two drops of Invincible blood essence! Of course, they weren't from the same race. One belonged to the god race, left behind by God King Huoji. *An Immortal race Invincible blood essence...* Su Yu murmured inwardly. Zhu Tiandao seemed to possess an Immortal King corpse. Should he trade a drop with him later? Trade Huoji's for it? Su Yu would have to use Invincible blood essence sooner or later. The first drop would unlock the Invincible page in the golden booklet. He didn't need to unlock cultivation arts anymore since he already knew them, so unleashing Invincible combat power would require at least one more drop. He shook his head, pushing the thought aside. Besides, this expedition was far from over; perhaps there would be further gains. Just then, Xia Huyou said hurriedly, "That's blood essence from a living Invincible, Su Yu! This..." Su Yu chuckled. "I know what you're thinking. I don't know curses, and even if I did, I couldn't curse an Invincible to death! Handing it over to some Half-Emperors or other powerful races might let them deal with him, but he's almost certainly Tiangu's descendant. Ordinary folks wouldn't dare move against him..." Xia Huyou said hastily, "The human race dares..." Su Yu dismissed it casually. "We'll see. It's mine. If the human race trades Invincible blood essence for it, that might work. Otherwise... no chance." Whether they could deal with the guy didn't concern him. He couldn't right now, but he would be able to sooner or later. There was no way he would just hand the blood essence over to them! Hearing him say this, Xia Huyou didn't press the matter, though his teeth ached with awe. "That weapon of yours is way too ridiculous. With so many Sun Moon projections, it even suppressed Invincible blood essence. Did you forge this yourself? It's absurdly powerful!" Absurdly powerful was an understatement! Su Yu chuckled. "It's decent. Just a bit trashy—they're already dead, yet they still feared the Immortal race!" Su Yu found it utterly exasperating! It was an ingrained fear. Even in death, even after becoming projections within Su Yu's weapon, they had still been intimidated by the other party. It was too embarrassing. Su Yu resolved that once he had time, he would properly discipline those cowardly races who had frozen up earlier! They had nearly ruined his plans! Right now, wrapped in Sovereign Saliva, his injuries were gradually healing. Su Yu exhaled, no longer bothering with the dead Immortals. He collected all their corpses, making the Immortal race page increasingly powerful. Previously, the Immortal blood essence integrated into it was only at the first level of the Sun Moon Realm, but now it possessed the might of the second level. He hadn't integrated the Invincible blood essence. He hadn't even collected the owner's corpse, and the man was still alive, so what was there to integrate? Su Yu suppressed it under the book cover for now and would deal with it later. At this moment, Su Yu looked toward the Dragon Blood Fruit Tree and smiled. The explosive burst earlier had sent flames billowing in all directions. Now that Old Zhou's wrath had subsided, the flames had thinned considerably. In truth, even if they hadn't weakened, they wouldn't have affected Su Yu much. The next instant, Su Yu transformed into a flaming figure and strode into the inferno. Another massive harvest! A drop of Invincible blood essence and a Dragon Blood Fruit Tree—both were excellent! I'll gladly accept them! The second floor might hold other good things, especially this magma. If it truly was blood... he might be able to gather some. *** Meanwhile, in the distance, the ground rippled faintly. A figure was fleeing in haste! Foutuling! Terrified! At this moment, Foutuling was cursing frantically in his heart: *Holy shit!* Was that Su Yu? He didn't know; he hadn't dared to approach. But just now, after the battle ceased, Su Yu transformed into a flaming figure and walked into the flames, making Foutuling realize in an instant that he had likely run into Su Yu. Holy shit! Did he actually come in? Originally, Foutuling had intended to pull chestnuts from the fire. He had his eye on that Dragon Blood Fruit Tree as well, waiting for the Immortals to exhaust themselves so he could snatch it away disguised as a flaming figure. Yet at this moment, Foutuling had abandoned every ounce of that ambition! "The anomaly on the first floor, the anomaly on the second floor... maybe it was all him!" Foutuling had only caught a distant glimpse. He wasn't entirely certain it was Su Yu, but it didn't matter—treating him as Su Yu was the safest bet! Run! That guy was simply too terrifying. For Foutuling, strong enemies weren't what he feared. The strong weren't scary; sometimes their luck was poor and they couldn't kill him anyway. But against someone whose destiny burned as brightly as Su Yu's, he could easily end up dead! "To the third floor... No, straight to the seventh floor!" Foutuling gritted his teeth. Why bother with the third floor? The third floor was too dangerous. Going to the seventh floor, at least there were a bunch of Invincibles up there. As long as he kept a low profile and didn't vie for the Nine-Leaved Heavenly Lotus, the danger wouldn't be excessive. "Once Su Yu finishes scouring every floor he can reach, I'll figure out a way back down!" Foutuling fled rapidly. Before long, he appeared at a passageway entrance, vanishing into thin air without looking back. *** At the same time. On the third floor. Dao Cheng's expression shifted slightly. Beside him, Xuan Wuji also looked alarmed. The strand of hair in Dao Cheng's hand had completely incinerated! "Dead!" Dao Cheng said calmly, "I told him it was perilous, but he wouldn't believe me! Now he's dead. In my estimation, the one who killed him possesses at least the strength of the fifth level of the Sun Moon Realm!" Xuan Wuji frowned. "Impossible! How could a fifth-level Sun Moon appear on the first or second floor?" "As long as they're young enough, they can!" Dao Cheng hurried toward the entrance to the fourth floor, speaking as he walked: "Don't forget, there is one person who fits the bill: Su Yu! Let's go, don't linger on the third floor!" "But the Immortals issued orders to slay Bai Feng and his companions..." "Go do it yourself then!" Dao Cheng didn't even turn his head. "Crisis is descending! I don't know if it's Su Yu, but even if it isn't, this danger is closing in on us. If we get tangled up with Bai Feng and the others and drag things out, we will surely die!" He added, "The Immortal orders only apply outside; this is the interior of the Star Astral Mansion!" In any case, he sensed an immense crisis looming. He had no desire to court death, so he was heading upward immediately! "Then we'll have gained almost nothing so far!" "Once we go higher, there will always be opportunities!" Dao Cheng had no wish to say more. Xuan Wuji hesitated for a moment before nodding. Previously, he hadn't held Dao Cheng in such high regard, but now, he valued him more and more. If nothing else, this fellow was truly skilled at divination. He could avert crises, and his survival instincts were top-notch. *** On the second floor, shortly after Su Yu's arrival, forty to fifty people had already died! By now, Su Yu had harvested the Dragon Blood Fruit Tree and was in high spirits. However... soon, Su Yu's brow furrowed slightly. The "Calamity" divine character suddenly throbbed. What was going on? "Bizarre!" There was still danger for him on the second floor? As strong as he was, could anyone on the second floor actually threaten him? *** Just as Su Yu pondered this. On the first floor. Near the glabella aperture. Hetu walked forward, followed by Daidai, who in turn was followed by a dozen-odd dead spirits. These were the remnants of the first floor, all gathered here. Hetu looked at the vortex where the glabella aperture was located and smiled faintly. "Something seems to have happened on the second floor. Interesting! The first floor has been swept clean. Unfortunately... I only gathered a dozen dead spirits. Still, their talents aren't weak, and perhaps a batch of powerful dead spirits will soon be born!" Those who could survive in such a harsh environment were all geniuses. Alas... first Su Yu swept through, followed by Hetu sweeping through! That was the truly terrifying part! A sweep without a single blind spot! The first floor had become a land of the dead. Not a living soul remained! *** Outside the Star Astral Mansion, everyone fell quiet. The Fate Emperor's prophecy seemed to be coming to pass! Two thousand nine hundred! That was the number of survivors. Every race had suffered grievous losses. Even the humans had sustained substantial casualties; including the special passageway quotas, over 450 humans had entered, and forty to fifty had already fallen. The Immortal race suffered the worst! Out of more than six hundred, over a hundred had perished! The mighty Immortal race had suffered far heavier losses than the humans, while most human deaths had resulted from being besieged by other races. Two days had nearly passed. The third day was about to begin! Yet the numbers continued to dwindle. The experts on the higher floors might not even know what was unfolding down below. So far, most of the deceased were beneath the Sun Moon Realm. The Invincibles wore grim expressions, but there was nothing they could do—they couldn't enter! Even if they could, it might not help. Over twenty Invincibles were already inside. *** Second floor. Su Yu frowned. The "Calamity" divine character continued to throb. He never took the movements of this divine character lightly; it was extraordinarily profound, and Su Yu had relied on it to save his life countless times. Frowning, Su Yu said suddenly, "You guys go up to the third floor first! Huang Jiu, don't even think about running—the fur ball will stay with you! Go to the third floor and find my teacher, Wu Lan, and the others. They should be near the Heavenly River Sand..." Xia Huyou was startled. "We go ahead first?" "Move, quickly!" Su Yu said in a heavy voice, "I have an ominous premonition!" What kind of joke was this? You're the biggest harbinger of doom here! Xia Huyou thought Su Yu was teasing him and was about to crack a joke when Su Yu said gravely, "Go! Hurry! I feel like something is coming up from the first floor!" "No way... What about you?" "I'm going to wait and see!" Su Yu exhaled. "I'll head toward the passageway entrance as well. If trouble arises, I'll leave immediately! Go to the third floor first. Once you find my teacher and the others, if I haven't arrived after a while, have them head straight to the entrance of the fourth floor..." The "Calamity" divine character was throbbing harder and harder! Seeing his grave demeanor, Xia Huyou also furrowed his brow. "Then... there are still some humans on the second floor. Should I... go notify them?" Su Yu frowned, then said quickly, "Suit yourself! Just pass the word. There's danger—whether they leave or stay is up to them!" "Understood!" Xia Huyou said no more. He still trusted Su Yu; if Su Yu said there might be danger, it was very likely a massive disaster. Just as he was about to leave, Huang Jiu said abruptly, "I'll keep your secret, just take that thing away..." Su Yu's gaze turned chillingly sharp. "You don't have the standing to negotiate with me! Protect them well, or I'll eat you!" Huang Jiu felt a chill run through her heart! In her sea of will, the little fur ball bounced gleefully. *Don't be scared, talk back to him, he won't dare punish you...* *I don't want to be separated from Fragrant One!* *Keep going, and Fragrant One will definitely let me eat your sea of will, so I won't have to leave.* Huang Jiu took a deep breath, said nothing more, and silently followed Xia Huyou and the others away. The little fur ball felt immensely dejected, sending a transmission to Su Yu: *Fragrant One, how long until you come up?* *Being away from you for a single minute makes me miss you!* Though it wasn't currently in Su Yu's sea of will, they had still been together. Now they were being separated—one on the third floor, one on the second floor, separated by an entire realm! It was unbearable! Su Yu was somewhat speechlessly amused, his earlier irritation fading significantly. He transmitted back, *Cut the nonsense. Keep a close eye on her. Best to find Teacher Liu to verify her identity. If she's an impostor, just devour her sea of will!* *Okey-dokey!* The little fur ball bounced happily. That sounded great! Best if she wasn't the real deal, so it could just eat her. Of course, if she was real, that was fine too—just dump her on Liu Wenyan. The little fur ball truly couldn't bear to leave Su Yu. A single day apart felt like three autumns! *** The group vanished quickly, and Su Yu paid them no further heed. As for whether they notified anyone else, Su Yu didn't care. Looking after himself was enough. Meanwhile, he had no idea where the few great demons from the ancient city had gone; he hadn't seen them at all and wondered if they had perished. "The second floor is mostly blood vessels. The neck doesn't hold anything particularly crucial..." "The crisis is drawing closer. I need to see what kind of danger could make even me feel threatened!" Su Yu felt puzzled, truly puzzled. It seemed to be coming from the first floor, as though the crisis were tracking him from behind. There had been a faint trace of it earlier as well, but very subtle. When he left the first floor, the Calamity character had throbbed once, but it flashed and vanished so quickly that Su Yu hadn't paid it any attention, as he had been teleporting right at that moment. Now, however, it seemed persistent. This meant the danger was drawing nearer. Su Yu exhaled, feeling rather disgruntled. *Did I piss Old Zhou off so badly that his head is climbing up to kill me?* Su Yu grumbled internally. Aside from that, what else could it be? He hadn't even searched the second floor thoroughly yet. Putting the thought aside, he flew rapidly toward the passageway, intending to set up an ambush there. If anyone tried to enter the third floor, he could kill them directly! And if danger struck, he could flee immediately. Su Yu soon reached the passageway entrance. The entrance on the second floor wasn't located here originally, but Su Yu had a rough idea of its location—somewhere around the middle of the neck made sense. Before long, Su Yu arrived at the passageway, getting there even faster than Xia Huyou and the others. Shortly after his arrival, Xia Huyou's group appeared. Su Yu vanished into the void, so none of them detected him, save for the little fur ball, which sensed Su Yu was nearby. But being in a hurry to leave, it didn't bother calling out. Beside Xia Huyou were a few extra human cultivators. Whether they were all that remained or simply the only ones willing to believe his warning of danger, it wasn't clear. Xia Huyou was no saint. If some refused to listen, he couldn't be bothered to waste his breath. Warning them once fulfilled his duty as a fellow human; whether they listened had nothing to do with him. Soon, these people vanished through the passageway. Su Yu sensed the process and understood somewhat: the passageway didn't open easily. Without Lingyun-level strength, forcing it open was difficult. The passageway was like a lid; you had to push the lid upward to open it and ascend to the third floor. In all likelihood, the other floors worked the same way. Without Lingyun strength, it was best to travel alongside a Lingyun expert; otherwise, a solitary Tengkong wouldn't even be able to leave if they wanted to. Seeing them depart, Su Yu felt much more at ease. The "Calamity" divine character began throbbing again—not violently, but in a steady, continuous rhythm. Without wasting words, Su Yu manifested his book and laid it directly over the passageway entrance, waiting for newcomers to walk right into its pages. Across 301 pages, 300 had wide-open mouths, ready to swallow prey at any moment! Before long, several experts from minor races flew toward the area, shooting upward into the sky. The colossal beast projections began sorting them: those of the same race were swallowed immediately; those of different races, or without a corresponding page, were also swallowed, but kept stored in spatial pockets rather than integrated. Once Su Yu forged pages for their respective races, he would integrate them. Gradually, the storage rings in Su Yu's hands accumulated. Since spatial items couldn't be nested, the rings piled up. Annoyed by carrying so many, Su Yu soon opened a dedicated spatial page in the book specifically to store treasures. A moment later, that cube measuring a thousand meters long, wide, and high was nearly packed full. Before Su Yu lay roughly three hundred discarded storage rings. In other words, since entering, he had personally slain three hundred individuals! Of course, many had died indirectly because of him through natural disasters and violent upheavals—easily over a hundred more. "What a slaughter machine!" Su Yu muttered to himself. Truly ruthless! All of them were geniuses from various races; non-geniuses wouldn't have been allowed into the Star Astral Mansion. He seriously suspected he had killed over fifty geniuses from the Heaven Hunting Ranking! Some of them he hadn't even gotten a clear look at before the book swallowed them whole. Yet after devouring so many people, not a single heavenly reward had descended upon Su Yu, which was truly absurd. Did the rules consider his method of killing too inhumane? Should he switch methods next time? Su Yu continued waiting silently in ambush. Better to stay low-key. There were still plenty of people on the second floor; if no one showed up soon, he would just shout "Taishan" again. A few more shouts would surely drive people toward the third floor! *I'll do the same on the next floor. Camping the exit is the best strategy!* Su Yu plotted in his heart. But right at that moment, his "Calamity" divine character began throbbing frantically. Su Yu instantly activated his divine characters—concealing his aura, falling silent, enduring, and erasing any sense of danger! He had to know what on earth was threatening him. Unknown danger was the truly terrifying kind! Only by knowing the source of the crisis could he solve the problem. Right then, two overwhelmingly powerful death auras burst into Su Yu's perception. Su Yu's heart seized in horror! Holy shit! He knew a dead spirit passageway existed inside the Star Astral Mansion, but when he had asked earlier, it wasn't on the lower floors, but on the upper floors! Why... why were dead spirits entering from the first floor?! No, these weren't ordinary dead spirits. Holy shit, these were... dead spirit monarchs! As someone who dealt with Xingyue every single day, it was impossible for him not to recognize the caliber of a dead spirit monarch's death qi. In that split second, even though only a faint wisp of death qi drifted over, Su Yu identified it instantly! Dead spirit monarchs—and not just one, but two! The source of all the danger was clear: it came from dead spirits! "I..." Su Yu cursed madly in his heart! Fuck! He was finished. Dead spirit monarchs weren't ordinary dead spirits; otherwise, he could have reversed his aura to disguise himself. But dead spirit monarchs possessed intelligence. Unless they brought an army of dead spirits with them, an extra dead spirit appearing out of nowhere would stick out like a sore thumb—did he think they were blind?! "Ah!" Wretched screams erupted in an instant, and over a hundred figures took to the air, fleeing in terror. "Dead spirits!" "There are actually dead spirits!" "No... impossible..." "Dead spirits are coming up from below..." Cultivators on the second floor were petrified. In that instant, everyone understood why disaster had struck the first floor: dead spirits had appeared! The first floor had likely suffered total annihilation! "Hahaha, so many living beings, I love it!" A booming laugh echoed in all directions, terrifying everyone out of their wits. A dead spirit that could speak—they were doomed, it was a monarch-level entity! Truly doomed! At this moment, Su Yu's face turned completely pale. Holy shit! I know who the danger is—Hetu! It's Hetu! He recognized that voice; the guy was obnoxious as hell. Without a shred of hesitation, Su Yu vanished into the passageway. Hetu had actually come up from the first floor—what the hell! Before leaving, Su Yu conveniently recorded the scene! Speaking of which... if I make it out alive... every single murder can be pinned on Hetu! A dead spirit monarch had actually broken in! Who else would take the blame? No one would suspect a thing! Even as he fled for his life, Su Yu was already scheming to make Hetu his scapegoat! Meanwhile, in the distance, Hetu's booming laughter faltered slightly. For a split second, he had felt as though someone was thinking of him, plotting against him. What was going on? *I came up from below; no one should know I'm here, right?* *What the hell?* Hetu paused, bewildered, his brow furrowing as he glanced sideways at Daidai. *Could this fool have been plotting against me just now?*