"So they all want to kill me!"
Inside the Illusion Sky Mirror, Su Yu was flooded with emotion. He felt a thick, palpable malice!
The malice was practically blowing in his face, stopping just short of shouting, *Su Yu, you've been exposed!*
He had to admit that now that his "Calamity" divine character had reached the peak of the fourth tier, its perception was extraordinarily sharp. Even so, it was still lacking slightly—it couldn't identify where the calamity was coming from.
If the day ever came when he could pinpoint the exact source of a crisis, it would be truly formidable.
He wondered if reaching the fifth tier would allow him to discern at least a hint of it.
If he knew where disasters were coming from, he wouldn't have to guess, judge, and rack his brains like this. How nice it would be to live without thinking so much. Using one's brain too much made a person age quickly.
"There are so many Invincibles out there, and I can't take on a single one.
"My strength lies in concealment, not raw power. When it comes to real might, I'm nowhere close to an Invincible!
"Here, I don't have the stone sculptures to help me. My only ally ought to be Xingyue, though who knows if she'll actually help."
In the end, he had to rely on himself!
The crux of the problem was that he simply wasn't strong enough.
The only viable path forward was entering King Gong Mansion and relying on the dead spirits. Lacking strength, he had to borrow momentum to strike momentum; no other method would work.
"Unless I swallow the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus first and let my strength skyrocket. Only then will I have any hope of tangling with an Invincible!"
Indeed, the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus was his sole opportunity to turn the tables.
First snatch the lotus, then deal with his enemies.
His objective was clear!
"So starting from now, even if these Invincibles beat a huge crowd to death, I mustn't make a move, lest I expose myself! Only at the final moment of seizing the treasure can I reveal myself!"
Just as Su Yu was thinking this, another booming laugh echoed from outside!
"Hahaha, I'm back up again!"
At the mouth of the passage, Hetu laughed uproariously. With an earth-shattering boom, death qi surged across the heavens and earth. At that very moment, seven or eight Invincibles moved simultaneously. Su Yu caught sight of numerous figures: the golden-masked Head of the Tian Division, spear-wielding Qin Zhen...
Come to think of it, Qin Zhen looked remarkably fierce.
Su Yu watched for a while. God King Bingfeng wasn't participating in the battle; instead, he lingered on the perimeter, which made it quite convenient for Su Yu to observe.
After watching for a bit, Su Yu felt rather surprised.
Hetu was monstrously powerful, so strong that he beat the other Invincibles back step by step. The other dead spirit was equally formidable. When the two dead spirits joined hands, even the Tian Division Head was repeatedly pushed back. The living were relying entirely on sheer numbers to suppress the two dead spirits.
*Are they really this weak?*
Su Yu was perplexed. Was there really no gap between the seventh and ninth stages of Eternal?
If so, it would make sense that the Tian Division Head couldn't single-handedly suppress two of them. It touched on cultivation intricacies he didn't yet understand.
Still... why wasn't anyone unfurling a river of time? It felt as if they were all just hacking away with ordinary steel and spears.
Or had everyone reached the Invincible realm where anyone could open it, so nobody bothered?
Question after question surfaced in his mind.
Gradually... Su Yu caught on to something.
He noticed that Xia Longwu, that notoriously ferocious Invincible, was blatantly phoning it in right now—his halfhearted attitude couldn't have been more obvious. Xia Longwu, the feared Blood Butcher King throughout the myriad realms, was currently trailing behind Qin Zhen, swinging his saber only once in a while without putting his life on the line in the slightest.
"A bunch of slackers!"
Su Yu suddenly saw the light, rendered utterly speechless.
*Damn it!*
He finally understood why Hetu and that other dead spirit monarch could charge up time and time again and return completely unscathed each time. These bastards were all just going through the motions!
They claimed to be terrified, but in reality, the only ones truly frightened were those below the Invincible realm. These old codgers who had reached Invincibility each had their own schemes running!
"To cultivate all the way to Invincible, their guts certainly aren't small!"
"These dead spirits are all part of the calculation."
Su Yu observed from within the artifact. Around him, even gazing through the Heaven armament, the others wore expressions of deep shock and awe, marveling at how overwhelmingly strong they seemed!
Yet Su Yu couldn't see anything truly impressive about it. A whole crowd gang-beating two dead spirit monarchs—with people present who were even stronger than the dead spirit monarchs, along with other seventh-stage Eternals—and yet they made it look as though Hetu was so peerless that he was taking on five by himself!
Give me a break!
A dead spirit was, after all, a dead spirit. Once dead, they lost the use of various techniques or forgot them entirely. Their death qi was indeed terrifying, but truthfully, under identical cultivation stages, a dead spirit was bound to be slightly weaker than a living being of the same tier.
Yet they fought like absolute garbage?
And to think Hetu was whooping and hollering with excitement!
Truly brainless!
Dead spirits simply lacked a brain cell or two; it couldn't be helped. Once dead, the skull became empty.
Outside, Hetu was riding high on excitement. "Hahaha!"
"You bunch of trash! The seventh floor is my domain! You want to stop me? Keep dreaming!"
"..."
Su Yu watched cold-eyed. Those Invincibles put on quite a show of struggling, five fighting one yet still getting pushed back step by step by Hetu, prompting yet another Invincible to join the fray.
Meanwhile, over by King Gong Mansion, the dead spirit passageway shuddered, and death qi billowed outward. Even Su Yu could feel it.
Evidently, that saber had been jostled considerably off-center by Hetu.
Hetu in all likelihood had some sway over that saber.
However, if they truly didn't want Hetu coming up, he wouldn't have influenced a damned thing.
"What terrifying dead spirits!"
"Those two dead spirits are far too powerful, far too dangerous. At this rate, we might not be able to hold the seventh floor!"
"..."
Around Su Yu, the members of the god race were once again muttering in trembling fear.
Right then, a figure flickered and appeared before them. Zhan Wushuang glanced outside and said calmly, "No need to worry. Even if Hetu and his cohort come up, don't forget there are dozens of Invincibles on the seventh floor!"
"But..."
"No buts!"
Zhan Wushuang cut off the speaker's question and said placidly, "Just stay put here, and nothing will happen. This time, snatching treasure has become secondary. Once the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus finds its owner, we will simply wait to return!"
With that, he glanced sideways at the crowd. "No running around, and no reckless movements! Regardless of what thoughts you might harbor, there are still dozens of Invincibles out there. I hope none of you do anything you'll live to regret!"
Su Yu looked at him with an expression full of admiration, yet inwardly he was suspicious. *Were you saying that to the others, or to me?*
*Do you suspect I'm in here?*
*Or are you just saying it regardless of whether you suspect anything, since dropping a warning costs you nothing?*
Soon, Yu Sheng arrived as well. His eyes gleamed with divine radiance as he swept his gaze across everyone, speaking coldly, "Look all you want, but none of you are to wander off. Understood?"
"Understood!"
The crowd chimed in, and Su Yu echoed them a few times before quickly asking, "My lord, is that vortex up above an exit? If we encounter danger, can we fly out through that vortex?"
Yu Sheng glanced at him with a trace of disdain in his eyes. Recognizing Su Yu's disguise, he gave a perfunctory reply: "Even if we leave, we will escort you out personally to prevent accidents!"
He didn't clarify whether the vortex was real or fake.
There was no need to explain.
Obey, and you would naturally survive. Disobey and run off on your own, and if you died, don't blame him for not warning you.
That vortex was naturally not the exit.
Yu Sheng's gaze subconsciously drifted toward a certain location. Su Yu didn't look directly, but he knew the place Yu Sheng glanced toward was a pavilion.
Was the real exit there?
Of course, he also had to be wary of a scheme within a scheme—a deliberate misdirection. A Quasi-Invincible should still have some brains; even if he didn't suspect Su Yu's identity, he wouldn't make things so blatantly obvious.
Su Yu didn't particularly care. He hadn't planned on leaving through the normal exit anyway. If he really went out that way, wouldn't he be trapped like a turtle in a jar, ambushed and slaughtered at the door?
At this moment, acting just like any ordinary Shanhai, he watched the grand battle outside. After watching for a while until things became blurry, he stopped looking. Finding an uncrowded spot, he sat down cross-legged, staring blankly as if deep in thought.
He looked entirely like someone fretting over whether he could make it out alive this time.
Just as he sat down, however, Zhan Wushuang suddenly walked over. Crouching before him, Zhan Wushuang smiled faintly. "Yun Hao, you want to leave?"
Su Yu hurriedly stood up and said, "Your Highness Wushuang!"
"Don't stand on ceremony."
Zhan Wushuang smiled gently. "You wish to leave?"
Su Yu sighed. "It's not that I want to leave; I want to go home! So many have died, and I'm terrified. I won't hide it from Your Highness—my only thought now is getting out alive. Treasures, benefits—I don't want any of it anymore. Far too many died this time. More than six hundred of us entered... and now less than a third remain alive."
Zhan Wushuang nodded and gave a soft sigh. "A ruthless bastard snuck in. There was nothing we could do."
Su Yu nodded in agreement. "The dead spirits are indeed far too bloodthirsty. Those monsters have already died once, yet they still slaughter like this. Can the myriad races really do nothing about them?"
Zhan Wushuang glanced at him and said softly, "A solution will present itself. Go ahead and cultivate for now; I'll check elsewhere."
"Your Highness... I'm a bit scared. Your Highness, could you speak with me a little longer?"
Su Yu wore an earnest, pleading face. For a minor figure like him to finally encounter a grand personage like Zhan Wushuang, of course he would want to chat as much as possible!
Zhan Wushuang quickly lost interest.
*This can't be Su Yu, right?*
He was scaring himself. Lately, anyone he looked at seemed like they could be Su Yu.
Forget it!
He couldn't probe anything useful anyway. Soon, he walked toward another person and began inquiring after their well-being.
Su Yu sneered inwardly. *Playing this game with me?*
Never mind that Zhan Wushuang was far older than him; when it came to this sort of cunning, he was still green. A bunch of coddled youths who had rarely suffered severe beatings in life simply lacked street smarts. Su Yu was different. Your Grandpa Su had loved bandying words and playing mind games since childhood.
At this moment, he actually found himself missing Haozi a bit.
Sigh!
Haozi didn't seem to have come this time. What a pity... well, not really a pity. It was better that he hadn't come; it was safer.
He wondered how strong his best friend was now. Had he joined the Dragon Martial Guards, or was he still furthering his studies in the academy?
Last he heard, Haozi had stepped into Soaring Sky, but with so few apertures opened, stepping into Soaring Sky still meant being mediocre. He wondered if the Great Xia Prefecture had given Haozi extra benefits to help him advance out of respect for Su Yu.
Pitting wits against these geniuses of the myriad races felt unrewarding to Su Yu. None of them were particularly insidious.
Their environments were simply different!
They didn't have to deal with endless petty schemes; they had been recognized geniuses since childhood, free from worries about food and clothing, provided with whatever they wanted. Why would they bother using their brains?
Being strong was enough!
The stronger, the better!
The ones among the myriad races who truly excelled at calculating schemes were the old fossils. Those who had lived through enough and taken enough beatings had learned how to use their minds.
When it truly came down to scheming, the small races and the human race still had the upper hand.
Only when one lacked strength did one compensate with intellect.
Su Yu actually wished he could be someone who didn't need a brain either. How exhilarating that would be—beating up whoever he pleased.
Outside, a massive boom rang out. Soon, Hetu and Daidai were once again battered back down into the depths. As he was leaving, Hetu laughed wildly: "I will return! Wait for me!"
*Idiot!*, Su Yu cursed inwardly. *If you're coming up, just come up. When the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus blooms, even if you don't come up, someone will drag you up. If you don't come up, how will the situation descend into chaos?*
Without chaos, how could anyone seize the treasure?
By now, Su Yu saw through the situation completely.
*Where are my teachers and the others?*
Su Yu wondered if his teachers were safe. And the little fur ball was still with Huang Jiu; he wondered how it was faring.
Where had formidable experts like Kongkong hidden themselves?
Could those figures also be plotting to seize the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus?
*Kongkong... might actually stand a chance. That fellow's strength is formidable, and crucially, he excels at spatial arts. Darting across to snatch it in an instant might give him an opening. But the Invincibles will definitely be on guard... So even if I want to use Moduona's spatial transit talisman, it's best to wait until Kongkong shows himself; otherwise, someone will surely be watching out for it!*
Many thoughts raced through Su Yu's mind. In that case, he didn't really have any trump cards of his own. His sole trump card... was Xingyue!
"Yes, Xingyue!"
Su Yu's eyes flickered. Everyone was watching him and watching those top experts, but very few would keep an eye on dead spirits, because the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus was useless to dead spirits. There might even be rules suppressing them from touching it, so dead spirits generally wouldn't move against such treasures.
Yet... Xingyue wasn't an ordinary dead spirit; she was *his*!
"Therefore, my only real hope of securing the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus must rest on Xingyue!
"Aside from Moduona, no one knows I have a patron in the dead spirit realm... even if that patron is somewhat unreliable!"
Yes, Xingyue—it had to be her!
Whether he succeeded this time would depend entirely on Xingyue.
Naturally, it was exceedingly perilous. No one would easily surrender something like the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus. If Xingyue truly snatched it, she would probably be beaten to death on the spot.
Su Yu pondered constantly. Xingyue was his only opening.
"The moment I reveal myself, the Invincibles of the various powerful races will fixate on me and ignore Xingyue. But... I'll be in mortal danger!"
Su Yu knitted his brows. Put himself in harm's way?
That was one approach.
The premise was that he had a sure way to escape; otherwise, it would simply be throwing his life away.
"The eighth floor..."
Ideas and schemes welled up inside Su Yu's mind. *If I reveal myself to seize the treasure and fail, my only option will be fleeing to the eighth floor. Invincibles will definitely chase me, and with all eyes drawn to me, Xingyue will have the chance to snatch the treasure and vanish.*
The crucial hitch was that Xingyue wasn't obedient.
Coax her?
Deceive her?
Furthermore, if she snatched the treasure and fled back into the dead spirit realm, how was he supposed to pursue her from the eighth floor?
Troublesome!
Or should he flee directly into the dead spirit realm as well?
While he was lost in thought, Old Hao whispered from the side, "Yun Hao, having spoken with His Highness Wushuang, how do you feel?"
"Truly worthy of being the number one genius of our god race!"
Su Yu praised warmly, "Neither arrogant nor impetuous, completely devoid of condescension—truly magnificent!"
Saying so, he turned toward Zhan Wushuang with a look of boundless yearning.
He looked practically ready to proclaim his adoration.
In truth, however, he was steadily permeating the Heaven armament with his origin qi and willpower to investigate its structure. Naturally, he kept the commotion minuscule, relying primarily on the "Concealment" divine character to probe and map out the entire artifact.
A Heaven armament could only be shattered by an Invincible.
Su Yu was not an Invincible, but if he mastered the backdoor, he could blow it apart himself. Right now, this thing was a cage, which was hardly the outcome Su Yu desired.
He probed and infiltrated bit by bit.
This weapon had been refined by God King Bingfeng, so he still had to tread carefully to avoid drawing the God King's notice.
Outside, the great battle had subsided.
The Invincibles stood in silence, none of them speaking, while the eighth petal of the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus was about to open.
At this moment, they could also see into the void.
That eighth petal was unfurling little by little. Soon, eight petals were visible, swaying gracefully—a breathtaking sight. What an extraordinary treasure!
"Only one petal left!"
Nearby, someone sighed with emotion. "In another two days, the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus will likely be in full bloom!"
Its blooming would also be the harbinger of catastrophe.
...
Right at this moment.
King Gong Mansion.
At the massive entrance to the backyard, the guarding Quasi-Invincibles all looked toward the courtyard. Inside, death qi had begun to permeate, and by the lakeside pavilion, that saber was beginning to shift away from the doorway.
In the lake, around the soon-to-bloom Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus, the power of time rippled, filling each Quasi-Invincible with longing.
A Quasi-Invincible murmured in an almost imperceptible whisper, "What a treasure. A single petal is enough to trade for a carrier!"
Nine whole petals!
"The problem is, even if you have a carrier, you might not be able to trade for it!"
"This is a supreme treasure for becoming an Emperor!"
Dao Integration was what everyone now referred to as Emperor.
Facing such a supreme treasure, who wouldn't harbor a shred of greed?
Yet everyone knew it was not something they could covet. Dozens of Invincibles were waiting for it.
Just as they were sighing in awe, the void trembled, and powerful figures materialized.
They were not Invincibles, but Quasi-Invincibles.
Quasi-Invincibles who had rarely shown themselves until now.
Jiu Yue of the Iron-Eater race, Tuntian of the Ancient Hou race, Changhe of the Destiny race, and Tianzhou of the Tianyuan race!
Four supreme powerhouses!
On the new Dao Attainment List, all of them were ranked within the top ten.
One after another, they appeared in this place.
Tuntian of the Ancient Hou race wore a savage expression, crunching down on a humanoid creature with a sickening snap, exposing snow-white teeth as he chuckled, "Everyone's here? Naturally. For fellows like us, proving the Dao is far too difficult! The gap between our three incarnations is too vast, making union nearly impossible. Only with this treasure—we don't need much, just one or two petals—will it be enough to balance our three incarnations and step into Dao Integration!"
Indeed, these individuals had come for the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus as well.
The lotus's greatest effect was strengthening the three incarnations, fishing them out once more to bolster the past and future.
For these top-tier Quasi-Invincibles, some had future incarnations that were excessively powerful, making the unification of the three incarnations exceedingly difficult. Now, if they had the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus, they might balance their past, present, and future. Once balanced, they could merge the three incarnations once more. In that case, should they successfully prove the Dao, their strength wouldn't be a sliver weaker than Xia Longwu's—perhaps even stronger.
Because even now, every one of them could battle an Invincible.
A single future incarnation possessed Invincible might.
The Ancient Hou took another bite, flesh and blood turning into a gory mess, and chuckled, "Where's Kongkong? That old rascal must have arrived!"
In the distance, Jiu Yue was also eating, rubbing his belly as he mumbled with a naive air, "He's probably here. His balance among the three incarnations is even worse than ours. He stole Tiangu's coffin board and likely merged it into his past incarnation. His past has grown terrifyingly strong; if his future is too weak, how could he ever unify them? Right, Kongkong?"
"I haven't arrived!"
Kongkong's voice drifted from the void as he sighed, "Why is everyone staring at me? Jiu Yue, Tuntian, Changhe, and Tianzhou are the ones you should keep your eyes on. Our methods are out in the open, but those two have peculiar methods and can even join hands! The Destiny race and the Tianyuan race might not be an official alliance, but those two races are truly bizarre and unfathomable. Keep your eyes on them!"
Within the void, Changhe merged into the river of time, chuckling softly. "Kongkong flatters us. No matter how mysterious we are, we cannot compare to you. Tiangu Immortal Emperor's coffin board and the human race's Tombstone of Civilizations—both supreme treasures are in your hands!"
A gathering of Quasi-Invincibles conversing openly right above the heads of the guarding Quasi-Invincibles as if no one else existed.
Arrogant!
Yet the Quasi-Invincibles below all wore expressions of supreme gravity.
At that moment, the figure of an Invincible materialized in the void, eyes blazing like brilliant suns as he looked at them, speaking coldly, "Do you lot also intend to snatch the treasure?"
Jiu Yue chuckled naively. "Just watching, just here to watch the excitement! Demon King, please calm your anger..."
With that, he smiled amiably. "The demon race... not to be trifled with, we won't provoke you! Oh right, where is Immortal King Yueshi?"
The next instant, an Immortal King appeared in the void: Immortal King Yueshi!
Looking coldly at Jiu Yue, he furrowed his brows. "Jiu Yue, you seek me?"
A drop of saliva dripped from Jiu Yue's mouth... which he hastily sucked back in, stammering fearfully, "Immortal King Yueshi is so strong. I didn't mean anything by it. My race doesn't fight, doesn't kill..."
Saying so, he added, "We don't snatch treasures, and we don't eat people!"
Yet even as he spoke, he swallowed frantically, stuffing food into his mouth while transmitting his voice to the Ancient Hou: "Tuntian, Kongkong, how about we lure him out? Let's find a secluded spot, bash him over the head from behind, and roast him to eat!"
Immortal King Yueshi!
Though not ancient beyond measure, he was still an old fossil who had survived the previous tide. He had to be extraordinarily fragrant and delicious!
A fifth-stage Eternal!
A formidable fellow, yet... these great beasts like Jiu Yue weren't that afraid.
Team up and jump him!
Beat him to death, and they could feast on meat.
As for the demon race... they had no interest in dealing with them. Far too foul-smelling!
At this moment, both Tuntian and Jiu Yue felt the urge to drool. Across from them, Immortal King Yueshi's face was chillingly aloof. He sensed the malice!
A few Quasi-Invincibles actually harbored malice toward him.
These fellows were truly insane; they actually wanted to eat him.
Yes, he sensed it—no, he saw it!
Jiu Yue and Tuntian were actively drooling.
A pack of rabid beasts!
Meanwhile, the Demon King's eyes flickered, and he vanished from the spot in an instant. *Play all you like; I'm staying out of it.*
Even he could sense the sheer strength of these Quasi-Invincibles.
Every one of these fellows was blessed with immense fortune. Some possessed past incarnations of terrifying power, while others had future incarnations of overwhelming might. They possessed genuine Invincible combat strength—not the sort that could merely hold off an Invincible, but the kind capable of matching or even slaying one in direct combat!
These were the strongest cohort of Quasi-Invincibles in the myriad realms today.
One might as well treat them as Invincibles!
Otherwise, if ordinary Quasi-Invincibles dared look at him with such an expression, Immortal King Yueshi would have erupted in fury and gone on a slaughtering spree!
Both sides harbored their own thoughts.
Right at that moment, everyone's expression changed abruptly. In the void, one figure after another materialized—men, women, old, and young—all wailing in shrill agony:
"I've been wronged so badly! Apologize, apologize to me!"
"I'm so aggrieved!"
"I'm far too aggrieved!"
As these voices rang out, the void began to tremble slightly once more. It was not as violent as before, yet it still made the Quasi-Invincibles' faces pale.
Boom!
In the void, two formidable waves of power rippled outward. Someone let out a muffled grunt, tumbling out from the endless darkness. A black-robed powerhouse emerged from the shadows, speaking coldly, "Lan Tian, you want trouble with me?"
Tianzhou of the Tianyuan race, ranked fourth on the Dao Attainment List.
And Lan Tian was ranked sixth.
At this moment, figure after figure manifested in the void, only for those figures to rot away rapidly and turn to dust. Lan Tian shrieked pitifully, "You are so cruel, so venomous!"
Another muffled grunt came.
It was Tianzhou!
A trace of death aura seeped from his body and spread out. The Quasi-Invincibles below hastily dodged; that aura was not pure death qi, yet it carried an obliterating effect.
Tianzhou's voice shifted erratically. "What a Lan Tian!"
Lan Tian's true strength might not match his, but the gap was narrow. Right now, Lan Tian seemed to enjoy some kind of amplification here; that shrill, resentful howling carried a secondary effect that battered his sea of will, causing him to suffer a slight setback.
"Tianzhou!"
Lan Tian's eerie voice drifted out. "Your father killed Ye Batian! Tian Sheng said he would wipe out your entire family and exterminate your whole race sooner or later! Tianzhou, your name brings bad luck—it carries 'Tian'! Originally, we belonged to the same family, but now you must die!"
Tianzhou's cold voice responded, "If you have the ability, then kill me. Lan Tian, isn't it?"
"Lan Tian!"
"Lan Tian!"
At this moment, the entire void echoed with that name. Clones of Lan Tian rotted away one after another, instantly disintegrating into dust.
Many clones perished!
No dead spirits appeared.
Because they were merely clones.
Yet Lan Tian wailed piteously, "You're bullying me! Tianzhou, you're bullying me..."
That resentment pierced heaven and earth. Boom!
At that instant, everyone saw a stream of black qi in the void get bitten through and severed in one chomp by a dense, demonic visage!
*Pfft!*
Tianzhou spat a mouthful of blood, instantly disintegrating the blood into nothingness, horror filling his heart. "You..."
Lan Tian's shrill voice rose again: "You're going to die! You will definitely die! You actually killed my clones, you must die!"
*Damn it!*
Tianzhou cursed inwardly. He had always been the one cursing others, yet today he had met his match. That lunatic's resentful cries seemed to connect to something in the dark, and that demonic visage was even more potent than his curse arts!
With a single bite, it had severed his curse technique!
Suddenly, Lan Tian ceased his venomous screaming, turning pitiful, aggrieved, and miserable. "Why bully me? Why? Stop bullying this weak, helpless little woman..."
"..."
All around, Invincibles emerged one after another, their expressions exceedingly peculiar as they looked toward the void. Lan Tian, meanwhile, vanished once more, his pitiful cries drifting from afar: "You're all bullying me! Wronging me!"
"I'm so miserable!"
"Little Su Yu, save me! Someone's bullying me!"
"..."
The expressions of several Invincibles shifted slightly. Lan Tian suddenly broke into laughter, his voice echoing from every direction once again: "Tee-hee, haha, hehe... My Little Su Yu is right here, right among you! He's half my disciple, you know. He received my true teachings in the art of disguise—he's so very formidable!"
"Lan Tian, cease your bewitching nonsense!"
Immortal King Yueshi said coldly, "Do you think a mere Su Yu can accomplish anything? No matter how monstrous he is, this is the Star Residence Mansion! Does he dare show himself here?"
"Tee-hee, he's about to come out!"
"Hehe, he'll be here soon to slaughter you all! Kill, kill!"
"..."
The lunatic's voice drifted further and further away, and Lan Tian began wailing pitifully once more. In the darkness, several Invincibles appeared, each holding onto captured clones. Some wore peculiar expressions as they remarked slowly, "His clones are innumerable; locating the true body is exceptionally difficult!"
"This fellow is thoroughly sinister!"
"More importantly, he seems to have linked himself to something on the seventh floor. That power of resentment is exceedingly immense!"
The Invincibles were no weaklings, and all of them deduced a few things.
Tianzhou had actually suffered a minor setback!
That was incredible.
Before this, Tianzhou was ranked first on the Dao Attainment List!
Regardless of whether the previous ranking was entirely accurate, being ranked first meant there was good reason for it. Long ago, Tianzhou had clashed with Invincibles without falling into a disadvantage.
Yet today, he had suffered a minor loss at Lan Tian's hands.
The Invincibles looked thoroughly grim.
This lunatic had been on a rampage lately.
Killing everywhere!
Crucially, his strength was terrifyingly high!
Down below, however, a Quasi-Invincible was utterly taken aback, asking in a low voice, "Lord Immortal King, has Su Yu arrived?"
Immortal King Yueshi said indifferently, "Does it make a difference whether he has come or not? Can a mere Lingyun overturn the heavens? This is not an ancient city!"
"No, Lord Immortal King, has he actually arrived or not?"
Immortal King Yueshi frowned, asking coolly, "Why, does whether Su Yu comes or not affect us?"
What was with their expressions?
So what if Su Yu was here?
Even that lunatic Lan Tian couldn't stir up any great waves, let alone a mere Su Yu. Immortal King Yueshi found it bizarre. Did they really need to react like this?
He had seen plenty of prodigies in his time.
...
Meanwhile, the other Quasi-Invincibles seemed to have shown up merely to make an appearance, quickly vanishing without a trace.
These Quasi-Invincibles were overwhelmingly formidable.
Before leaving, Tianzhou cast a deliberate glance at the dead spirit gate before swiftly disappearing as well.
...
At the same time.
Below the dead spirit passageway.
Dead spirit monarchs stood with weapons at the ready, looking rather excited.
Just then, a chilling voice suddenly transmitted into the dead spirit passageway: "Honored Monarchs, I am Tianzhou of the Tianyuan race. My race is willing to assist your lordships in breaking through the dead spirit gate. In return, we hope your lordships can enter into a covenant with my race—a covenant originating from ancient times!
"If your lordships agree, my race is willing to usher Lord Hetu and his companions into the seventh floor!"
"..."
Xingyue felt a strange stirring. Beside her, a powerful dead spirit monarch wasn't surprised in the least, chuckling, "The Tianyuan race? The race that fell into the dead spirit realm in ancient times? There is only a single wall separating the Tianyuan Realm and our dead spirit realm!"
"Much good that does. There's no passageway over there, only tiny fissures. We can't get out at all; only small fry can squeeze through."
"..."
These ancient dead spirit monarchs began gossiping among themselves, whereas Xingyue remained completely in the dark regarding many of these ancient secrets.
Soon, a dead spirit monarch chuckled. "Interesting. The Tianyuan race wants to join hands with us... Do we agree?"
"Agree!"
"Why wouldn't we? Living beings are always like this, forever arrogant and conceited, merely wishing to borrow our might for their own gain. Agree to their terms; what they want does not conflict with what we want!"
"..."
Several monarchs discussed it before looking toward Xingyue, asking with a smile, "Monarch Xingyue, what do you think?"
Xingyue said in a deep voice, "Is the covenant he spoke of heavily restrictive on us? Once established, what consequences will it bring? Furthermore, why can he transmit his voice into the dead spirit realm? Aside from dead spirits, it seems others cannot accomplish this..."
At the very least, sealed passageways like this didn't permit it. In ancient cities, one could transmit voice downward only with the guardian's permission.
"Because they are the Tianyuan race..."
An ancient dead spirit chuckled. "They have dealt with the dead spirit realm for countless years; it's merely a petty trick! As for the ancient covenant, you are too young, Xingyue, so you don't know that the Tianyuan Realm and the dead spirit realm have previously established pacts witnessed by the rules! What they want is undoubtedly the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus, while what we want is to go out—to go out quickly and rendezvous with Hetu and the others!"
Xingyue asked in a low voice, "You all intend to enter the covenant?"
"Why not?"
Xingyue thought about it. Indeed, why would dead spirits care about such things?
If it allowed them outside, entering a covenant was fine. The Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus the other party wanted was worthless to them; they couldn't use it anyway.
Xingyue asked again, "Can the Tianyuan race allow us to step outside while disregarding the rules?"
"Who knows? At the very least, it gives us more opportunities!"
Xingyue pressed no further, wondering inwardly whether she should inform that disobedient subordinate of hers, Su Yu.
The Tianyuan race could actually communicate with the dead spirit realm—something Xingyue hadn't known before.
How disgraceful for a dead spirit!
Moreover, under the watchful gaze of so many Invincibles, the other party could still contact the dead spirits in the passageway. That was quite a unique ability.
*Su Yu hasn't opened his yang apertures right now and isn't absorbing my death qi. Is he hiding somewhere?*
*Should I pump in a bit more death qi and expose him?*
Xingyue thought with venomous spite!
Should she?
At worst, she would violate a few rules, endure a minor punishment, and expose Su Yu so someone would finish him off!
After pondering for a while, Xingyue gave a snort and abandoned the tempting thought.
That slippery rogue might not even be affected. If he found out she had tried to set him up, he would definitely seek revenge!
The moment he absorbed her death qi with full force... her flaws would eventually be discovered!
Better drop it for now!
With these thoughts, she refrained from increasing the transmission of death qi, maintaining only the faint conduit from before. The incoming death qi carried subtle fluctuations that only she and Su Yu could understand.
...
At the same time.
Su Yu gave a slight start, rapidly neutralizing the faint death qi. Ever since Xingyue had arrived here, the death qi conduit between them had been reestablished.
It was very faint, and Su Yu was constantly neutralizing it.
Unless he opened his yang apertures to absorb the death qi, it was virtually impossible to detect any death qi on his person.
At this moment, the faint death qi being transmitted seemed to be conveying a message.
Su Yu discerned it carefully while quickly neutralizing the death qi. Soon, his eyes flickered.
Holy crap!
The Tianyuan race?
Impressive! That race actually maintained ties with the dead spirits and could collude with them? Even that was possible?
Wouldn't that make them traitors to the living world?
He rapidly analyzed the pros and cons of this news and how he could reap benefits from it.
*Perhaps... this is also an opportunity for the dead spirits to openly seize the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus, and someone will even assist them. The prerequisite is that Xingyue must obey. When seizing the treasure, the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus must be placed in Xingyue's custody, with the other dead spirits assisting her and the Tianyuan race helping her as well...*
If so, the chances of securing the treasure would increase exponentially!
At this moment, Su Yu's yang apertures gradually began absorbing small amounts of death qi, sending out subtle fluctuations.
He was communicating with Xingyue.
...
Meanwhile, outside, God King Bingfeng furrowed his brows slightly and surveyed his surroundings. Hetu's earlier appearance had caused death qi to permeate the area, allowing even him to perceive a trace of it.
Looking down at the mirror in his hand, he sensed it carefully, detecting no abnormalities.
However, in that brief instant, he had indeed sensed a faint fluctuation of death qi.
Sending his willpower into the mirror to inspect it, he found nothing amiss. After observing for a moment without seeing anything happen, he waved his hand, repelling the death qi around him.
Nearby, another God King transmitted his voice: "What are you doing? Do not disperse the death qi. If you disperse it and the dead spirit passageway fails to open, how are we to handle what comes next?"
Bingfeng remained silent, saying no more as he allowed the surrounding death qi to billow once again.
Indeed, no one was expelling the death qi now, all awaiting the opening of the dead spirit passageway.
Each of them was acting entirely passively. Only the human race's Qin Zhen... whether truly foolish or merely pretending, was once again dispelling death qi. No one knew whether it was because he found it uncomfortable, or because he genuinely didn't want the dead spirits coming up.
Chapter 573