Immense Harvest

The Old Turtle was genuinely surprised. Hetu had appeared inside the Star Residence Mansion—and on the lower floors, no less. That shouldn't have happened. Even if he did appear, he shouldn't be slaughtering indiscriminately, let alone massacring everyone in all directions. Every single detail pointed to one conclusion. Hetu had not entered through a dead spirit passage! He had found another way in! *Didn't he go to fetch reinforcements?* The Old Turtle wondered with growing suspicion. Could this be related to the reinforcements he had gone to recruit? Just whom had he gone looking for? As he pondered this at an unhurried pace, the ancient being in the void spoke once more: "Brother Hongmeng, has Hetu departed?" Only then did the Old Turtle snap back to reality, replying languidly, "He is not here. He leaves often. As for where he is, I have no idea." The moment those words were spoken, the void trembled. Towering, formidable projections manifested once again. Someone remarked in surprise, "He isn't there? Hetu entered the Star Residence Mansion? How did he get inside? Even if he did, he shouldn't have appeared on the first floor! The seventh floor has suffered few casualties, so why have the lower levels sustained such horrific losses?" For an Invincible dead spirit to enter, deaths were only to be expected. In fact, some felt the casualties weren't even as high as they could have been. The crux was not the slaughter, but how Hetu had entered in the first place. "Could it be... that the Dead Spirit Realm also possesses a passage into the Star Residence Mansion?" "Impossible! If such a passage existed, why would an anomaly only occur this time? This is hardly the first time the Star Residence Mansion has opened!" "..." As powerful figures emerged one after another, the space throughout the entire All-Heavens Battlefield seemed to freeze. Even more ancient beings revealed themselves this time! Several Invincibles turned pale. Just how many old monsters were still alive across the myriad realms of the heavens? Had the preceding nine tidal changes failed to wipe them all out? *** At the same time. King Daxia was taken aback for a moment before suddenly sending a voice transmission: "Old Zhou, all these ancient races have lingering old fogies. What about our human race?" The protagonists of nine tidal changes! Could it be that the human race didn't have a single ancient survivor left? Setting antiquity aside—it was normal for everyone from that era to have fallen, for if humanity hadn't been wiped out back then, the myriad races would never have had a chance to upend the order. But had all the experts who emerged across the subsequent nine tidal changes died as well? They themselves were the powerhouses of the tenth tidal change. If this era drew to a close, was it possible that not a single one of several dozen Invincibles would survive? Anyone who lived through it would be counted among those old monsters! King Dazhou replied calmly, "It's difficult! First, the human lifespan cannot compare to theirs. Second, humanity lacks Civilization Masters in the Eternal Realm, and warriors naturally have shorter lifespans. Many of those ancient fossils are actually dual Eternals. Third, we were the protagonists of nine tidal changes. Time and again, a tidal change never truly ended until our foundation was stripped completely bare!" In short, after nine cycles, humanity had ended in defeat each time. A few times they had nearly reunified the heavens once more... and then... there was no 'then.' The ancient fossils refused to permit it. King Dazhou continued via voice transmission: "Don't be fooled by their silence right now. I suspect that during the previous nine tidal changes, every one of them may have made a move against humanity!" King Daxia gave a slight nod, his gaze solemn. That was only natural! Whether humanity sought to reunify the heavens or the myriad races sought to exterminate humanity, those old monsters would likely strike against mankind at the critical moment. They held back now only because the time wasn't ripe, and none of them wanted to act first only to let someone else reap the benefits. Across the nine tidal changes, quite a few ancient fossils who stepped in had actually fallen as well. This time, during the tenth tidal change, no prospect of humanity reunifying the heavens was yet in sight. The longer these old fellows lived, the more terrified of death they became. They would not recklessly move against humanity for fear of triggering unforeseen variables. *** The Old Turtle couldn't be bothered to pay them any mind, calmly closing his eyes. Little Hetu had vanished. He had gone to the Star Residence Mansion. That meant there was likely a retreat route within the Dead Spirit Realm that led straight there. *Is this the fallback path you left for yourselves?* *Waiting for the day to stage a comeback?* The Old Turtle mused inwardly. This had to be the work of humanity. To think that after antiquity, through ten tidal changes, humanity's foundation still had not run entirely dry was simply terrifying, utterly staggering! Upon death, one entered the Dead Spirit Realm. The passages were guarded, yet fallback routes remained—such as the Star Residence Mansion. Were they meant to awaken and revive within the mansion, to fight and carve out glory for humanity once more? During the previous nine tidal changes, supreme human experts had indeed appeared. Some were remnants of the previous era, and during the first three, genuine ancient humans had even emerged to do battle. Yet now was the tenth, and those old fellows had all fallen in battle one by one. Besides, once turned into a dead spirit, did racial distinctions even matter anymore? At the very least, Hetu hardly seemed to care. That fellow was a descendant of a Human King, yet after transforming into a dead spirit, he showed little regard for humanity. Certain memories had faded, and he had even forgotten some of the ideals he held when he was human. Dead spirits... were an entirely new race! They were no longer human! Past memories flashed by like scenes in a revolving lantern, merely allowing you to look upon another person's history and know fragments of the past. But one's race had become that of the dead spirits. While the Old Turtle was still pondering this shift within the Star Residence Mansion, someone spoke up again: "Brother Hongmeng, you suppress the Dead Spirit Realm. Could you investigate whether any changes have occurred within the dead spirit domain?" Hearing this, the Old Turtle said placidly, "I have neither the time nor the energy to investigate. If you all are interested, you may come to Hongmeng City and take my place guarding this realm. I can confer several more guardian posts, and if you are willing to descend and look around then, I will not stop you." "..." Silence fell. What a joke. Who would ever want to become a guardian? This was not the ancient era. Had antiquity endured, the Human Sovereign and the Council who set the rules would have rotated posts periodically. Now, once you became a guardian, as long as the rules stood unbroken, that duty stretched across endless eternity! Unless, one day, someone surpassed the Human Sovereign and antiquity itself, shattering the rules or forging a new order. Otherwise, even if you unified the heavens, it would be useless—there was still an overbearing in-law hanging above your head: the rules! The rules would teach you how to behave. The Old Turtle said indifferently, "If you are unwilling, then forget it. This old one has no time to investigate anything inside the Dead Spirit Realm. Or, if any of you wish to look for yourselves, you can take advantage of Hetu's absence to go down and try... whether you can come back out is another matter entirely!" Living beings could indeed descend. The problem was that once down there, you might never make it back up. People like Xia Longwu had entered before, but they had only lingered near the passage before retreating swiftly. Had they stayed any longer, they wouldn't have been able to leave even if they wanted to. The aura of life was too thick; it would instantly attract hordes of dead spirits. Silence fell once more before an ancient fossil chuckled. "Brother Hongmeng still loves his jokes..." "I never joke." The Old Turtle's tone turned detached. "This general is neither subordinate nor vassal to anyone! Cease questioning this old one. Even Marquis Jiantian should mind his own business. If anyone believes they can replace me and become the Zhenling General, feel free to try." He had no patience for their inquiries; offering a few replies was already a courtesy. At that moment, Tianmie, ever eager to see the world burn, bellowed, "Hold it right there, you grandson! You've got some nerve trying to pick a fight with us! I remember you—an unranked general under Marquis Diping! Just because you stepped into Dao Integration, you think you're invincible under the heavens? Believe me, I'll smash you to death with one swing of my club!" "..." The ancient being was rendered speechless. A madman! I merely asked a question, and you're itching to come out and brawl with me? Despite his exasperation, the ancient fossil replied evenly, "Brother Tianmie, you were an unranked general yourself. Are you looking down on your own rank?" Tianmie retorted dismissively, "You're still nothing compared to me! We followed the boss here to serve as guardians. Back then, it was agreed that once our duty concluded, I would be appointed Zhanling General! And once I achieved Dao Integration, I would become the Zhanling Marquis! Who would've thought the Council was pulling my leg—a thousand years into our post, the whole damned thing went under! Where the hell am I supposed to take my grievance!" Tianmie cursed relentlessly, thoroughly aggrieved. "A piece of trash unranked general like you thinks he's worthy of tangling with me?" "..." At this point, everyone else ignored him. None of the guardians, including Yunxiao, chimed in. Because... strictly speaking, they were unranked generals as well. Irregulars, the lot of them! The Council really had made that promise to Tianmie, but unfortunately, before it could be fulfilled, everything collapsed. The seas had turned into mulberry fields, and the Tianmie of today no longer had the standing to throw his weight around. The juniors of yesteryear had all grown up. Sensing the strange atmosphere, Tianmie felt the humiliation of a tiger bullied by dogs on flat ground. Suddenly, he cursed, "Even an irregular general managed to reach Dao Integration, yet you, Duobao, are an utter waste! I was pinned under a seal at least; what's your excuse?" Duobao held a renowned title. Yet he was just as pathetic! He still hadn't crossed into Dao Integration! *** In the void, the prosperous-faced General Duobao wasn't angry in the slightest, chuckling softly. "Brother Tianmie, ever since antiquity, I've spent most of my time nursing wounds. My lot hasn't been much better than yours. During the first tidal change, Hetu coveted my treasures and tried to kill me, tricking me terribly. Who would have thought... no sooner do I emerge from seclusion than I cross paths with him again!" A sigh escaped him, tinged with helplessness. During the first tidal change, powerhouses were beyond count. Hetu had been driven into a corner. He hadn't been the strongest human of that era, but he had been the ruthless sort: turning into an ancient city lord, forcing open a dead spirit passage, and leading legions of dead spirits to war across the heavens, commanding countless dead spirit monarchs... The past Su Yu had glimpsed was merely fragmented shards. Back then, Hetu had been formidable, leading dead spirit monarchs to strike down many ancient fossils and severely wounding Duobao. Someone murmured cryptically, "This is no longer the first tidal change! Hetu is dead. How much of his memory remains? Now a dead spirit, how many of his former methods can he muster? As he is now, he might not even be a match for the Dao King." In the distance, the Dao King frowned. *Why drag me into this?* He was, after all, at the seventh stage of the Eternal Realm. He had simply been unlucky enough to have his three-life embodiment shattered by the Old Turtle; otherwise, he wouldn't hold so much dread toward these figures. While these ancient fossils were formidable, not all of them were at Dao Integration; quite a few were merely high-stage Eternals. While the crowd debated heatedly, Mo'er of the Demon Race frowned. "Enough. The matters of you seniors can be discussed later! The Heaven Hunting Ranking can now penetrate the Star Residence Mansion and transmit messages. We still do not know if this Hetu is truly the Hetu of the Dead Spirit Realm! How is this crisis to be resolved? It is not just one or two of our factions inside; all of us have people there. Even you humans—do you truly believe Hetu will spare you just because he was human in life?" At these words, King Dazhou remarked faintly, "Hard to say. The humans have suffered few casualties; perhaps Hetu still cherishes old ties. Whatever the case, he was once human. Thus... solving this crisis is your problem, not ours!" He couldn't care less whether Hetu was truly responsible; the fact remained that few humans had died. Even if Hetu were the culprit, he might genuinely be showing mercy to the humans. If that was the case... why should he care about the survival of other races? *** Outside, the factions were negotiating how to resolve the crisis while continually transmitting messages inward in hopes of gathering more intelligence. Unfortunately... Su Yu had cut them off. The Heaven Hunting Sub-ranking was vibrating faintly, drawing the attention of some surviving holders, but the critical problem was that no messages could manifest. *Heh!* Su Yu sneered inwardly. *I'll open it if I feel like it. If I don't, you won't transmit a single word inside!* Dismissing it from his thoughts after confirming that the ranking could only convey messages when it vibrated, Su Yu ignored it entirely. On the third floor, he had business to attend to. Treasure hunting! The Smiling Lotus and the Heavenly River Sand. With all those experts slain, Su Yu's Civilization Chronicle had grown significantly stronger, and the 146th golden inscription faintly threatened to manifest. The Old Turtle had said the Smiling Lotus was an ornamental treasure. If so, where would the scenery be most breathtaking? Su Yu looked around, and it likely had to be the Heavenly River Waterfall! That waterfall cascaded straight from the heavens. The scenery here was magnificent. Of course, it would be even lovelier if one ignored certain things. At that moment, he was examining the notes Wu Lan had left behind, his expression growing odd. *Bile?* *Incredible!* Su Yu muttered to himself. *How on earth did you come up with bile?* *Even I didn't think of that!* Had Wu Lan... dissected someone for research? *Hard to say!* Su Yu harbored serious doubts. Otherwise, no normal person would think in that direction. A grand waterfall that had existed since antiquity—and you claim it's bile... Tsk, tsk, not even ancient folk would believe that. *According to Wu Lan, the upper source might be the liver! Are you kidding me?!* Su Yu grimaced. If you stole someone's liver... wouldn't Old Zhou go insane? He'd go mad just to kill me! This treasure really wouldn't be easy to claim. *This is tough!* *I wonder if there are gallstones. If there are, I could take those. Something sedimented over countless years ought to count as a supreme treasure, right?* Su Yu muttered. Forget about taking the liver. This bile had flowed for countless years; perhaps gallstones had precipitated out. They could exist in the Heavenly River below or at the source above. *The Heavenly River Sand is probably a kind of stone precipitate too, right?* Recalling Wu Lan's analogy comparing it to bile salts, Su Yu racked his brain for a moment before finally recalling what bile salts were. It was fortunate he was well-read; otherwise, he wouldn't even know their purpose. *That woman is terrifying! She might genuinely have dissected someone in secret for research!* Wu Lan possessed an extraordinarily broad range of knowledge. For instance, the clues to the Starfall Mountain treasure had actually been provided by her. That woman knew a bit of everything, which was how Su Yu had easily located the Starfall Mountain treasure through a few stalks of grass back then. With these thoughts in mind, Su Yu took a deep breath. He had to harvest the treasure swiftly before Hetu arrived! *** *Rumble!* The moment Su Yu stepped into the waterfall, he understood why no one entered the water directly, choosing instead to scavenge sand from the shores. Agonizing pain! The cascading water possessed the terrifying property of breaking down physical bodies. At that moment, Su Yu's 72-cast physique, bolstered by two layers of defensive arts, actually felt as though it were being dissolved! "Holy crap!" Su Yu cursed under his breath. Beneath the seventh stage of the Sun Moon Realm, no one could hope to enter this godforsaken place! More to the point, someone at the seventh stage of the Sun Moon Realm wouldn't linger on the third floor. Descending wasn't that simple! No wonder no one had ventured in. With his feet planted in the water, his legs felt on the verge of being corroded away. If people like Wu Lan took a single step inside, they would likely dissolve into liquid. No wonder among hundreds of people, not a single one had waded in to plunder the Heavenly River Sand, choosing instead to comb the riverbank for scattered grains washed ashore. *Terrifying!* Even Su Yu felt excruciating pain, let alone anyone else. He took a step forward, and with a thunderous roar, the waterfall crashed onto his body. The colossal pressure caused his bones to creak violently! *Pfft!* Su Yu coughed up blood from the crushing weight, unable to stop himself from cursing again! Still... truth be told, this bile was actually good stuff. It possessed a degree of corrosiveness, though that was under conditions of reflux. And wasn't it flowing backward right now? Under normal circumstances, it served to neutralize stomach acid. It was alkaline and non-corrosive. Now that it had become corrosive, it was likely due to the reflux. Su Yu muttered inwardly: *Does this mean Old Zhou really was hung upside down, his neck snapped, and his hair driven into the Dead Spirit Realm?* *How miserable!* Taishan was truly vicious, the Human Sovereign was truly vicious, and whoever forged the Star Residence Mansion was truly vicious. Of course, all three might be the same person. In any case, whoever it was had been utterly cruel. How could they treat Old Zhou like this? *Look how nice I am by comparison—I even store corpses in my Civilization Chronicle.* Finding humor in adversity, Su Yu continued striding toward the cliff face behind the falls. Behind the cascading Heavenly River was a sheer cliff. Could it be flesh and tissue? Whatever, Su Yu didn't care. As he walked, he collected Heavenly River Sand from the water. There was an immense quantity, likely because no one had ever been able to venture this deep. Su Yu still held vivid memories of this treasure. Back then, opening the Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm required this material, and the Single Divine Character Faction had depleted their entire stockpile of Heavenly River Sand just to open it that once. Normally, the Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm was fairly useless. Yet with an abundance of Heavenly River Sand, that place was a supreme sacred ground! At the very least, a supreme sacred ground for Civilization Masters! That pure willpower was something Su Yu still reminisced about even now! *A sack of this should be enough, right?* Su Yu gathered a portion. There was plenty in the water, but the current's corrosive bite was genuinely agonizing. As he scanned his surroundings, he searched for the Smiling Lotus. Unsure if it was even here, he could only search blindly. That was a top-tier treasure! If he couldn't find it, he'd keep gathering Heavenly River Sand. Soon, Su Yu's legs felt nearly dissolved away. He hastily stepped onto a boulder to rest his feet, drawing in sharp breaths of cold air as he continued to endure the battering agony of the waterfall. After catching his breath, he prepared to move on... only to freeze. *A rock?* *Where did a rock come from?!* He tilted his head to look at the spot where he had just rested his feet. After a long moment, he froze in utter disbelief. *Holy crap!* *Heavenly River Sand?* *A... a millstone-sized lump of Heavenly River Sand?!* He wanted to ask if anyone had ever seen such a thing! Heavenly River Sand was tiny, usually no larger than a broad bean, which was already considered quite large. Yet the stone before him... was this Heavenly River Sand too? "Holy crap, it's huge!" Su Yu stared blankly. Just how many times could this open the Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm? *A thousand times ought to be enough, right?* He refused to believe the Single Divine Character Faction had managed to gather much Heavenly River Sand; one or two jin would have been plenty, right? Yet this massive boulder... had to be one or two thousand jin, right? Su Yu hurriedly reached out to grab the boulder, letting out a low grunt as he hoisted it from the riverbed. He drew in a sharp breath. *Damn, the bottom is even bigger!* This was far more than one or two thousand jin—it was nearly ten thousand jin! "This... Holy crap! If this were used to open the Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm, burning one jin a day, it could stay open for ten thousand days!" Filled with utter shock, Su Yu scanned the area to see if there were more such boulders. Lo and behold, there were! Gritting his teeth, Su Yu suddenly plunged headfirst into the subterranean river. He was considering a question: since this fluid was so corrosive, could the entire riverbed be composed of Heavenly River Sand? Otherwise, wouldn't it have dissolved away? Before long, Su Yu broke the surface, his entire body steaming and hissing with sizzles, yet his hands clutched heaps of Heavenly River Sand. "Holy crap, there's so much!" Su Yu marveled. There was an enormous amount down below! However, the riverbed wasn't made of Heavenly River Sand, but likely flesh and tissue. He saw no massive bed of sand, but loose Heavenly River Sand lay scattered in abundance. *With this much, why bother looking for the source!* Su Yu swiftly dove down again, sweeping through the area. There were so many treasures! If he took this back and borrowed the Great Xia Prefecture's Sea of Consciousness Mystic Realm—or simply crafted his own apparatus—wouldn't he have an inexhaustible supply of pure willpower to draw upon? Whether it was himself, Zhao Li, or Liu Wenyan... all of them lacked willpower. Everyone lacked it; every Civilization Master lacked it! There wasn't a Civilization Master alive who had enough! At this moment, Su Yu stopped calling Heavenly River Sand garbage. *Gather, keep gathering!* To Su Yu, the stimulation this treasure offered was far greater than carriers. What were carriers good for? *I don't lack them!* *No, I lack them immensely, but even if I don't have them, it's not the end of the world.* Heavenly River Sand, on the other hand, was marvelous. With this, one could potentially extract pure willpower from blood essence, from books, from countless materials. For Civilization Masters, this was extraordinarily vital. Though Su Yu's cultivation as a Civilization Master might not seem overwhelmingly strong, that didn't mean the path was weak. Take the unique traits of various divine characters, for example. Without them, Su Yu would be nothing more than an ordinary cultivator with Sun Moon combat strength. Without divine characters, he wouldn't possess such a formidable Civilization Chronicle; without divine characters, he couldn't disguise himself so thoroughly that not even Invincibles or Half-Emperors could see through him. Without divine characters, how could he anticipate impending crises? Without divine characters... Su Yu would never have made it this far. It might appear that his divine characters were currently outmatched by his physical body, but Su Yu had never abandoned strengthening them. Strong divine characters were the true foundation of his unchecked dominance. That was why he had elevated all his divine characters to the fourth rank, with two even reaching the fifth rank. Only then could he rely on his warrior strength to overwhelm opponents of equal caliber, because they lacked the sheer variety of his methods. He dove deeper and deeper. Until his Calamity divine character began thumping frantically, Su Yu was in no rush to leave. Hetu was likely sweeping through the second floor; he would wait until Hetu approached before making his getaway. *** Over an hour later. Su Yu bared his teeth, grinning so broadly his jaw nearly split. *At least thirty thousand jin, right?* He grinned ear to ear. While others measured their harvest in grains, he measured his in jin—or even tons if necessary! "Hehehe..." Su Yu couldn't hold back his chuckles, utterly delighted and invigorated. He peered into his booklet, gazing upon the two massive boulders. Those two alone had to weigh at least twenty thousand jin, right? In the future, if anyone ever dared tell him Heavenly River Sand was scarce—heh, he'd crush them with a massive boulder! He still remembered how back in Bai Feng's private laboratory, when he had secretly absorbed willpower, Bai Feng had bristled like a frightened cat because it consumed Heavenly River Sand, nearly bursting into tears. If he could return to that time... *heh, I'd crush you to death with a boulder.* Su Yu could already picture how unhinged Bai Feng would become upon seeing such colossal boulders of Heavenly River Sand; he'd probably foam at the mouth, ecstatic to the point of madness! "These ought to be called Heavenly River Stones!" Su Yu swiftly stowed all the Heavenly River Sand, the smile never leaving his face. Before long, he darted toward the space behind the waterfall. When he was diving earlier, he had caught sight of what seemed to be a treasure grove, though he wasn't sure if it was the Smiling Lotus. *** A short while later, Su Yu emerged red as a boiled crab, having finally broken through the curtain of the waterfall. Behind the waterfall, all was tranquil. There was a small pond here. Beside the pond stood a stone table, looking as though someone in ages past had sat here playing chess and chatting, stopping by at their leisure to sip tea. The small pond was filled with blooming flowers—lotuses! Exquisitely beautiful, dazzling to the eye! As Su Yu gazed upon them, he felt as if the lotuses were smiling back at him! "Smiling Lotuses!" Su Yu murmured, utterly overjoyed. They really were here! *Good grief, an ordinary person could never reach this place.* He didn't immediately inspect the lotuses, turning his attention instead to the stone table. It stood there as if it had weathered endless epochs, two stone chairs set at its sides. In antiquity, perhaps countless grand figures had sat behind this waterfall, gazing upon the cascade while admiring the lotuses. Of course, for the third floor... the stature of those figures might have been limited, perhaps merely Sun Moons or Invincibles, with few Half-Emperors. Su Yu stepped forward, glancing at the stone table and sensing its composition carefully. Shaking his head, he sighed, "Cheap. It hasn't even reached the durability of a carrier. At best, it could serve as material for forging Heaven armaments. Still, with its size, forging a Heaven armament should be feasible, which means there's hope of turning it into a carrier!" Su Yu possessed Heaven armaments. Right now, he held two in his hands, both suppressed within his booklet. Having slain those experts earlier, he had claimed their Heaven armaments, and their quality was quite decent. An armament needed 109 golden inscriptions to qualify as a Heaven armament, but that was merely the entry tier. Under normal circumstances, such Heaven armaments were difficult to use as carriers because they lacked sufficient durability. A mid-tier Heaven armament with around 118 golden inscriptions was sturdy enough to serve as a carrier. Of the two in Su Yu's hands, one bore 120 golden inscriptions, while the other had only 109. That meant one could serve as a carrier, while the other could not. *I'll destroy them both later. They look like an Invincible's gear; destroying them and merging them into the booklet will prevent anyone from recognizing them!* Su Yu put away the stone table and chairs; they were all fine materials. However, having seen so many treasures, acquiring these didn't stir much emotion in him. Turning back, he gazed into the pool carved into the mountain stone. Lotus after lotus blossomed in enchanting splendor. Stunningly beautiful! It was as though peerless beauties were smiling, frolicking, and splashing water... After staring for a moment, Su Yu hurriedly shook his head! *Fine treasures! These are incredible treasures.* "The Old Turtle said the seeds are lethal poison, the lotus roots are supreme healing treasures, and the blossoms are useless ornaments meant only for viewing. But... the blossoms are the true supreme treasures!" Su Yu muttered to himself. Back in antiquity, plenty of people had failed to tell them apart, making laughingstocks of themselves. In this era, how many could still distinguish them? *I'll sell them as Nine-Leaved Heavenly Lotuses!* Of course, he had to sell them discreetly. Otherwise, he could only sell to one buyer; done quietly, he could sell to countless buyers. Whoever obtained one would surely keep it hidden and secretive! When that time came, tsk, asking for one carrier per blossom wouldn't be excessive, right? He glanced at the pond and drew in a sharp breath. "Let me see... 188 blossoms! Holy crap, where am I going to find 188 clients? That's the real problem!" *Still, virtually every Invincible would want one!* *Finding 188 Invincibles across the heavens is easy enough; the hard part is finding ones who won't just murder me to rob the goods...* Su Yu inhaled sharply. If he put these up for sale at the price of one carrier each, everyone would fight tooth and nail to buy them. The crux lay in how to hoodwink the clients... ahem, how to make everyone believe he had obtained the Nine-Leaved Heavenly Lotus. If the genuine article fell into someone else's hands instead of his, the scam wouldn't work; even if he could swindle people, he wouldn't fool many. Only if the real thing was believed to be in his possession would everyone firmly believe that what he produced was genuine! "I'll harvest them first!" Su Yu retrieved jade boxes one after another, lightly landing upon the water's surface to begin harvesting the Smiling Lotuses. Truth be told, while the Old Turtle called them useless, the blossoms were remarkably resilient, on par with Profound armaments. Of course, to the Old Turtle, they were merely scenery; Profound armaments were worthless trash, and Earth armaments weren't much better. He plucked a single Smiling Lotus and inspected it closely. Nine petals, stunningly graceful, with golden veins tracing each petal. Yet just as the Old Turtle had said, they were somewhat irregular and chaotic. A genuine Nine-Leaved Heavenly Lotus possessed immaculate, orderly patterns—that was the difference. Of course, there were also uglier Nine-Leaved Heavenly Lotuses whose patterns might be slightly irregular as well. "Good stuff!" Su Yu swiftly plucked every single lotus! Next, he dove into the water, digging up one to two hundred lotus roots. They were quite small, but translucent and crystal-clear like quartz. "Good stuff!" Su Yu marveled, wondering whether this grew naturally or was part of some internal bodily tissue. *It's most likely a natural growth, right?* Su Yu thought to himself. After all, the human body didn't have an organ that grew lotuses. Perhaps someone had transplanted them here. He comforted himself with this thought, primarily wanting to reassure himself that the root was edible and wouldn't sicken him. Soon, Su Yu rinsed a piece of lotus root and took a bite... He sucked in a sharp breath! *Damn, that's delicious!* Sweet, crisp, and refreshing. With that single bite chewed and swallowed, a cool, invigorating energy instantly coursed through his entire body. His previously damaged skin, bones, and flesh began regenerating at remarkable speed! Su Yu's aura surged at a rate visible to the naked eye! "Holy crap, several hundred sections of root... this is a supreme healing elixir! A single stalk rivals the legendary Heaven Pills, doesn't it?" Su Yu swallowed his saliva and took another bite, savoring the flavor so much his mouth watered! More importantly, it restored injuries—that was the best part! After finishing a single section of root, Su Yu's injuries were practically healed! "Terrifying! With this, I won't even need to fear having my physical body blown apart next time... provided my flesh can still regenerate, and then I eat a stalk of this!" And he had several hundred stalks! Su Yu's joy swelled further. The third floor was truly a land of treasure. On the first floor, he had acquired several carrier-grade treasures; on the second, he had seized the Dragon Blood Ancient Tree; on the third, massive amounts of Heavenly River Sand plus these lotuses and roots... The Star Residence Mansion held far too many treasures! In his hands, he also held a clutch of crystal-clear lotus seeds. They looked exquisite, but even the Old Turtle had warned they were lethally toxic, capable of poisoning Sun Moons to death. Better not test them on himself; he could find a Sun Moon from the myriad races to test them on. Who knew if some fool might eat one, letting him see whether it could truly poison them to death! "A massive profit!" Su Yu collected some of the waterfall water and attempted to fly upward to check for gallstones... but halfway up, his expression shifted slightly. Time to run! Forget the gallstones, and he didn't dare touch the liver either; in fact, he couldn't take it even if he tried. The crucial point was that a sense of crisis had returned. Hetu was probably about to ascend! "My thanks to Hetu for taking his sweet time! Much obliged!" Su Yu murmured inwardly. *Thank you very much. I've reaped an immense harvest, and as a bonus, the blame has been pinned seamlessly on you. Many thanks!* *Next time I see you, I promise to be a bit more polite!* Time to vanish! Su Yu melted into the void, disappearing in an instant. *** Shortly after Su Yu fled from the entrance of the third floor, Hetu finally arrived. By now, the dead spirits trailing behind him numbered over three hundred. Hetu frowned slightly. There weren't many people on the third floor. Not that it mattered! Whether they had ascended or died, either was entirely normal. Yet... why was it that every time he reached a new floor, an uncomfortable sensation washed over him, as though someone were scheming against him? Just now, he had felt that more than one person was involved—or rather, a powerful sensation of being thoroughly schemed against had lingered and still hadn't faded. He glanced at Daidai with a peculiar look. Was Daidai playing dumb? Had he recovered his memories and begun plotting against him? Could it be? He stared at Daidai, who merely stared back with a vacant, wooden expression. Hetu locked eyes with him, giving a cold, superficial smirk while scoffing inwardly. *Scheming against me? Fat chance!* *I'll be keeping my eye on you!* *Now, it's time for a grand purge of the third floor.* His mood brightening, Hetu let out a hearty laugh, dismissing the earlier unease. "Blockhead, go block the passage over there! Hahaha, I'm going to sweep the third floor!" In high spirits, Hetu watched death qi billow across the third floor. He would sweep through floor by floor! He was in no hurry. He would make every single person who entered this time experience true terror! *Those fellows outside are probably scared out of their wits. With so many dead, no one would ever imagine I could get inside!* Hetu chuckled inwardly. No one would ever guess! Nor would anyone ever know! Because even he hadn't anticipated his own entry, so how could outsiders possibly know? Those outside were likely losing their minds wondering why so many had perished. *I've killed several hundred already!* Hetu laughed uproariously. *Hurts to watch them die, doesn't it?* *Out of thirty-six hundred slots, I've slain over three hundred!* At that moment, he had no idea that Su Yu had killed nearly six hundred! And every ounce of that blame belonged entirely to him. Outside, every Invincible and Half-Emperor burned with murderous hatred for Hetu. Utterly detestable! At this moment, the death toll continued to climb as passages shattered one after another. Regrettably, no matter how many messages were transmitted, not a single reply came back. The Heaven Hunting Ranking was ultimately broken; even pieced together, it was merely an assembled patchwork, no longer truly unified. *** "Hetu, you beast!" Outside, a roar of pure venom tore through the void! To think that even in death he would throw the heavens into chaos—he was even more loathsome than Su Yu!