A Complicated Situation

Three of the Invincibles besieging King Daqin had perished. Two god kings and one demon king. Thus far, thirteen Invincibles remained around King Daqin, and three immortal race Invincibles surrounded Xia Longwu and his group. Five Invincibles had fallen today! By this point, Su Yu, Lan Tian, and King Daqin had appeared one after another—three generations of human powerhouses. Reaching Su Yu, that strength had peaked. In this generation, Su Yu rampaged across the heavens. In the distance, Su Yu's expression was cold and detached. Surveying all directions, he said darkly, "And people like you dare call yourselves Invincibles?" Provocation! Insolence! Utterly brazen! At this moment, Su Yu's physical body was absorbing the gleaming golden power of the rules. To Invincibles, such a reward might no longer hold much value, mostly because its efficacy functioned differently for them, but to Su Yu, it was still of immense benefit. His physical apertures absorbed it eagerly. Rewards bestowed by heaven and earth had one major advantage: they digested and absorbed rapidly, though they could easily lead to an unstable cultivation foundation. Right now, Su Yu could not care less. Far off, a dead spirit monarch charged straight toward him. Even further away, Xingyue cursed under her breath, grateful she had not struck. She was currently locked in a standoff against the Head of the Heaven Division alongside several other dead spirits. Had she joined the fray, being drained by Su Yu in the middle of combat would have made it all too easy for her to be shattered! Su Yu was truly a monster! No matter how many unexpected factors had intervened, and no matter how many calculations had gone into it, Su Yu had slain an Invincible with his own hands. That was an indisputable fact witnessed by all. This was not like before, when he had used others to kill Invincibles; Su Yu had killed this one himself! King Daqin had destroyed one embodiment, while Su Yu had destroyed two! "Su Yu!" a group of Invincibles roared in fury. Originally, there were five god kings and five immortal kings. Now, two from each race had fallen, leaving only three Invincibles each for the gods and immortals. The demon race had seven, with six still remaining, suffering the lightest losses. Twelve Invincibles from the three major races! Along with four from the dragon, underworld, and Tianyuan races, that made sixteen—this was the current situation. If King Daqin were uninjured, he could have fought on. However, King Daqin had exerted himself far too much. His injuries were too severe! After slaying several Invincibles in succession, even he was reaching his limit. He could still kill, but doing so again would cost him his life. "What are you barking at your granddaddy for?" Su Yu sneered. "A bunch of useless trash. Shouldn't you all be thanking me? If not for me, how could you be fighting so smoothly without interference? I cleared away plenty of small fry for you!" At those words, several faces changed. God King Leiting barked, "Did you kill Wushuang and the others?" "Not yet!" Su Yu replied calmly. "If the god race withdraws, I promise not to make things difficult for you this time. That goes for me and every other human here. If the human race breaks this promise, I, Su Yu, will defect from the human race and make them pay! That is my vow. How about it? Withdraw, and I'll release Zhan Wushuang and the rest!" "In your dreams!" God King Leiting snapped coldly. "Su Yu, you're hallucinating!" "Stubborn fools!" Su Yu sneered. "Leiting, you bunch of garbage—let's see just how many of you are prepared to die!" Sixteen Invincible Realm experts remained hostile! And that didn't even count the dead spirits, nor did it include the Five Elements race and their peers. As for the Head of the Heaven Division, Su Yu did not look at him. That man had blocked the dead spirits, but Su Yu had no idea what he intended. In short, that guy was no good either! "Su Yu, you're dead!" God King Leiting yelled coldly, roaring, "Kill!" Boom! They struck at King Daqin. King Daqin was already heavily wounded; ignoring him to be tied down by Su Yu would be idiocy. If King Daqin died, not a single human would leave here alive, and the dead spirits would deal with Su Yu anyway! On Su Yu's side, that dead spirit monarch had indeed arrived. Su Yu shouted, "Hetu, help me deal with him!" Outside the mansion, Hetu paused in shock. *I know you're Su Yu, but aren't you being a bit too fucking arrogant?* *Why should I lift a finger for you?* *Just because you beat up my lingering resentment?* *What kind of joke is that!* Hetu couldn't be bothered with him. Just then, Su Yu's voice transmitted directly into his mind: "Hetu, don't you want to freely enter and leave the realm of living beings whenever you wish? That place you came from—are there three hundred and sixty stars rotating there? Do you think you'll ever be able to enter it again on your own? Impossible! But I can. I know how to enter! Furthermore, if you and I join forces, perhaps we can find a way to let you freely enter and leave Hongmeng Ancient City..." Hetu ignored him. Who would bother entertaining you? "Hetu, do you want to be resurrected? To become a true, living person again? I... can give you that chance! You can reverse death qi, right? If you still retain your memories, you should know that once I grow strong enough, reversing life and death means I might truly be able to resurrect you! Did you never consider this back then? In all the myriad heavens and realms today, I, Su Yu, am the only one who has opened all three hundred and sixty origin apertures, and the only one who knows the origin aperture reversal art! Perhaps you know it as well, but you are already dead—can you still reverse life qi on your own?" Hetu shuddered. Outsiders didn't understand. Outsiders couldn't do it! He could! Yes, he could. He knew the origin aperture reversal art. That had been his key to opening the dead spirit passage in the past, and the key to leading the dead spirits to campaign across the myriad heavens. He had opened three hundred and sixty origin apertures, which was why he knew how. Apart from him, no one else did. No—now there was someone! Su Yu! Resurrection? Yes, he knew it was theoretically possible. Hetu had actually attempted it in the past, but the dangers were immense, and he had failed multiple times. Yet failure did not mean impossibility. Hetu retained memories regarding this. "Hetu, in all the myriad heavens and realms, you understand me best. Others don't, but you and I are the same kind of person. When I say resurrection is possible, others might not believe it, but do you?" Su Yu paid no heed to the dead spirit monarch closing in from behind. He looked toward Hetu. He was gambling—gambling that Hetu longed to live again! As for Xingyue... let her keep tying down the Head of the Heaven Division. It also served to mislead the Tianyuan race. By now, they might already be suspicious, but Hetu had signed no covenant with them. There was no need to push Xingyue further, especially since absorbing so much death qi had already left her drained and powerless. Hetu's expression shifted repeatedly! Resurrection! A conflicted look surfaced in his eyes. Resurrecting him... could Su Yu really do it? Perhaps he could? The risk was enormous. He had tried it himself, and the outcome had been disastrous—he had blown up the living cultivator who was converting for him. Yet Hetu firmly believed there was hope—a great deal of hope! Because he had experienced it firsthand, and he knew how it worked. Therefore... he believed it! Previously, he hadn't known that Su Yu knew the reversal art. Thinking about it now, he finally understood. Su Yu knew it; otherwise, he could never have concealed himself so thoroughly. *Buzz!* The void trembled. Just as the dead spirit behind Su Yu was about to strike, and Su Yu had already prepared to pull out the Life and Death Fruit, Hetu suddenly appeared! "Stop!" The formidable Hetu instantly materialized before the attacking dead spirit, his voice cold. "Fulai, he is my man!" Yes, his man. At this moment, Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief. He hoped this would mislead the Tianyuan race into believing that Xingyue and the others had acted because of Hetu! Not because of Xingyue! Otherwise, if Xingyue were exposed, the Tianyuan race would be prepared, making them far harder to deal with. Hetu's intervention was the perfect cover. After all, Hetu had fought alongside Su Yu all the way from the first floor to the seventh. Xingyue, on the other hand, had emerged from the dead spirit gate; no one would suspect she had traveled all the way from Xinghong Ancient City across countless mountains and rivers just to find Su Yu. Far off, Xingyue's emotions surged. *Just as I thought!* *Just as I thought!* *Su Yu, you bastard, you betrayed me! You really did hook up with Hetu! You looked down on my strength because Hetu is stronger, so you went and allied with him!* Dead spirits never negotiated terms. No matter how fine a treasure you possessed, it was practically useless to them. Slaughter was their sole passion. Yet now, Su Yu had convinced Hetu using resurrection. Because they were kindred spirits! Opening three hundred and sixty origin apertures and mastering the origin aperture reversal art—no one understood better than Hetu that Su Yu genuinely possessed the potential to resurrect a dead spirit, despite the countless perils and variables involved. Su Yu could not be allowed to die. If he died, no one in the myriad heavens and realms would ever be able to resurrect a dead spirit again. At the very least, there was currently no second person who had opened three hundred and sixty origin apertures. Even if someone did open all three hundred and sixty, they wouldn't necessarily grasp the reversal art. As for Hetu himself... he was dead; he could no longer impart it. "Hetu?" The eager dead spirit suddenly halted. His strength was inferior to Hetu's; Hetu was exceptionally powerful. He was shocked and infuriated. "Hetu, you... you're stopping me? I came in response to the rules, and you dare block me?" He had been summoned by the rules, yet Hetu had stepped in! Hetu's voice was chillingly venomous. "Get lost! If you kill him now in accordance with the rules, I won't do anything to you here. But once you return to the dead spirit realm, I will personally march on your kingdom and obliterate you, plunging you into eternal damnation! Violating the rules brings only minor punishment, but crossing me... you'll die!" "..." Silence fell! The dead spirit monarch was stifled and furious, burning with the urge to kill Hetu, yet he knew he was no match for him. He didn't care about living Invincibles. At worst, he could abandon his task and flee. But since a fellow dead spirit monarch was shielding Su Yu, he dared not force the kill. If Hetu returned to the dead spirit realm and came after him, Hetu had deep roots and countless allies there! At that moment, understanding dawned on everyone watching. Right, Hetu! From the start, people had claimed that Hetu commanded a formidable general under his banner, and some had guessed it was Su Yu. Now, that guess had simply been confirmed. As expected, Hetu's initial appearance had been linked to Su Yu all along. These two bastards had teamed up long ago! Scoundrels! Everyone came to this realization, King Daqin included. None of them suspected Xingyue; they assumed Xingyue was merely a local dead spirit monarch, whereas Hetu and that Daidai had been present from the very beginning. Su Yu had merely proven that connection. After rebuking Fulai, Hetu turned to look at Su Yu, a cold glint in his eyes as he transmitted his voice: "Su Yu, last time you destroyed my grudge spirit, and now you owe me another favor!" Su Yu cupped his hands and transmitted back, "I have nothing to repay you with now, but once I reach the Invincible Realm, I will perform the conversion for you, My Lord. However... I cannot guarantee success. You were too powerful in life, nearly at the Dao Fusion Realm. I might not succeed!" Hetu fell into deep thought. Behind him, Fulai was seething with boundless rage. He desperately wanted to strike down this man who had turned his back on him—he wanted to rip him to shreds! Yet... could he really kill him? Fulai was utterly incensed! The other Invincibles, meanwhile, felt profoundly suffocated. A horde of them continued their frenzied assault on King Daqin. Bloodfire Demon King said in an eerie voice, "Hetu, shielding the living and defying the rules? Take care, or the rules will punish you!" The rules! In all the myriad heavens and realms, the rules were the most terrifying force. Hetu didn't even bother acknowledging him. He too looked toward King Daqin. King Daqin said nothing; seeing that Su Yu was safe, he swept his spear across his surroundings once more with peerless might. Even heavily injured, his strikes kept the surrounding Invincibles from daring to close in recklessly. Yet these Invincibles continued inflicting shallow wounds upon him. Whenever King Daqin focused on killing one of them, the rest unleashed all-out attacks against him. After several exchanges, King Daqin's injuries grew increasingly severe. On the other side, Lan Tian was forcing Tianzhou to retreat step by step. Xia Longwu and his companions had also gained a slight upper hand. None of that, however, was decisive. Winning easily would not be simple for them; the critical crux lay entirely with King Daqin. Taking advantage of Hetu's presence, Su Yu turned to the Head of the Heaven Division and said in a heavy voice, "Chief, the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus is yours. We won't contest it. If you want it, take it! What do you say?" The Head of the Heaven Division remained silent. Su Yu pressed on, "What do you want, Chief? A carrier? Something else? Name your price. If it's within our power, we will naturally satisfy you! The Hunting Heaven Pavilion is indeed powerful, but you should think carefully—do you truly wish to help the myriad races suppress humanity?" The Head of the Heaven Division was silent for a while before finally speaking: "I don't ask for much. Only the Time Master's legacy!" "..." Su Yu laughed. "You must be joking, Chief." "I am not joking," the Head of the Heaven Division said calmly. "It is not that I want it, but rather... the Hunting Heaven Pavilion needs it! The Warden of Heaven needs it! Su Yu, I invited you earlier precisely for this. Hand over the Time Master's legacy, and today I will help humanity eliminate Bloodfire. That is my promise! I do not take things for nothing; an exchange of equal value is the principle of the Hunting Heaven Pavilion!" "And what if I say I don't have it, or refuse to hand it over?" The Head of the Heaven Division remained calm. "Then I will merely do what I must. Whether humanity triumphs or they do, anyone who wishes to kill me must pay a price!" "Then blocking them right now means you are making an enemy of me, and an enemy of humanity!" The Head of the Heaven Division was still unruffled. "No, this is not making an enemy of humanity. The living have their rules, and the dead spirits have theirs. In truth... I am merely following those rules." Su Yu said nothing more. *I'll remember this!* Although the Hunting Heaven Pavilion had not attacked King Daqin, this man was blocking the dead spirits from wiping out the immortals. Either he belonged to the immortal race—an unlikely possibility—or the Hunting Heaven Pavilion simply did not want humanity to reign supreme. Perhaps it was for the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus, or perhaps for the Time Master's legacy. As for why he hadn't attacked Su Yu directly, whether it was due to scrupulousness or something else remained unclear. Su Yu transmitted to Hetu, "If you and Xingyue's side join forces, can you kill that guy?" Hetu replied coldly, "You're thinking too much. I will not fight on your behalf. I will only offer you reasonable protection. You must fulfill what you promised me, or else... even if you turn into a dead spirit, I will hunt you down in the Dead Spirit Heavenly River and end you! Using me to deal with others is entirely out of the question!" "Don't dead spirits crave slaughter?" "That doesn't mean I'll let you use me. Su Yu, I was pulling tricks like this a hundred thousand years ago!" "..." Fine, he had run into an old veteran. At that moment, Su Yu's body quivered slightly. His third physical transformation was barely complete, but the metamorphosis would still take a little time to stabilize. As expected, slaying an Invincible brought enormous benefits. Unfortunately, it still wasn't enough! Moreover, the transformation required time and remained somewhat unstable. Meanwhile, King Daqin's situation grew increasingly perilous. With a wet squelch, a god king pierced King Daqin's chest. King Daqin's spear had already snapped; swinging the remaining half like an iron cudgel, he smashed down and obliterated that god king's third embodiment! Yet the enemy was not dead. Having lost only one embodiment, he quickly retreated to the periphery, looking overjoyed. King Daqin's three embodiments had been beaten so badly they were threatening to separate. Once the three embodiments materialized, even if each of King Daqin's embodiments was exceptionally powerful—comparable to an Eternal of the seventh or eighth stage—it would be useless. He would be swiftly overwhelmed and butchered! That would be the hour of King Daqin's death! "Roar!" In the distance, Xia Longwu let out a thunderous roar. His saber swept out once more, rending heaven and earth. With a sickening crack, he cleaved off his opponent's head, only for his own body to be blown apart by a retaliatory punch. Crazed, Xia Longwu snarled and threw a shattering punch. In an instant, a divine character detonated, plunging his foe into a momentary hallucination. With another boom, he destroyed another of the immortal's embodiments, though one of Xia Longwu's own embodiments was shattered in return, dropping a carrier. Trading one embodiment for two! At this point, he and Qin Zhen charged together toward that immortal king, who had only a single embodiment remaining. In the other two clashes, the battles raged fiercely as well, blood splattering in all directions. Ferocious! Yet ultimately futile! They couldn't finish their enemies in the short term. Su Yu wasted no more words. Swallowing another drop of Quasi-Invincible essence blood, he unleashed a punch toward the distance. Tianzhou! He wanted to kill Tianzhou first! Just as he threw the punch, a figure materialized before him—an immensely powerful presence. Among the myriad races, three Invincibles had not joined the battle: The Destiny race, the Five Elements race, and the Phoenix race. And now, that glamorous woman of the Phoenix race had appeared. Looking at Su Yu with an unreadable expression, she said calmly, "The Phoenix race has no desire to participate in the strife of the myriad races. However, humanity has triggered nine tidal shifts, and our Phoenix race has declined from an ancient powerhouse to retaining less than a tenth of our former strength... Su Yu, if King Daqin falls and humanity retreats to the Human Realm, it would be a blessing for all." At this moment, Hetu stood beside Su Yu but did not attack. She seemed to have discerned Hetu's intentions: Hetu would only safeguard Su Yu's life and would not fight on his behalf. That was the source of this Phoenix race Invincible's confidence. Su Yu's eyes turned icy. "The Phoenix race has refrained from intervening until now. Must you interfere at this juncture? Are you not afraid of bringing disaster upon your entire race?" The Phoenix woman replied softly, "Su Yu, you understand what all races fear. Be it the gods or the immortals, even if a Dao Fusion Realm expert steps into the Phoenix Realm, our Phoenix Emperor can resist or even slay them. Only humanity... is the exception!" Once a human reached the half-emperor level and marched into an ancient realm, there would be no realm suppression. Even a grand realm like the Phoenix Realm could not suppress them, and the Phoenix Emperor might not be able to match King Daqin. How could they possibly fight then? Su Yu let out a breath and chuckled. "Indeed. Of all the races, humanity is the most dangerous, which is why the myriad races all seek our demise!" "It is best that you understand," the Phoenix woman murmured. "Unless driven to extremes, our race is unwilling to make an enemy of humanity. Yet some matters are neither humanity's fault nor ours. If your race suffered realm suppression upon entering other domains, we would not interfere in the slightest today!" All of this was useless talk. Humanity's immunity to realm suppression was not something Su Yu or anyone else could alter; it was a rule from ancient times. Yes, a rule. Su Yu now understood that realm suppression was dictated by rules. Only by activating the rules could realm suppression be triggered. Whether such a rule existed for the Human Realm remained unknown. If it did, there were two paths to activating it: First, be stronger than the rules. Second, employ special methods, such as those possessed by an Invincible Realm Civilization Master. Su Yu pushed these thoughts aside. He hadn't expected that his own emergence would prompt the Phoenix race to take action. Though she had not attacked him out of wariness toward Hetu, she clearly meant to prevent Su Yu from interfering in any of the battles. The Head of the Heaven Division had done so, and so had the Phoenix race Invincible. The only ones who still had not intervened were the Destiny race and the Five Elements race. Su Yu had no idea what they were thinking. Abruptly, he roared, "Kongkong, Huang Jiu is in my hands! Help me kill an Invincible, and I will give you Huang Jiu! Not only that, the Civilization Tombstone will be entirely yours! I will never ask for it back!" An ethereal voice drifted over: "Su Yu, why bother? You know her identity, and I know it too. Is it appropriate to threaten me with her?" Su Yu snapped coldly, "Forget about her, then. Lend a hand just once, and the matter of the Civilization Tombstone is settled! Otherwise, you will never be able to activate it. I can even tell you the method to activate it!" "I'm only a Quasi-Invincible..." Kongkong said faintly. "This isn't very nice!" Su Yu frowned, then barked, "Fine, I won't force you. Go kill the Quasi-Invincibles of the various races, and the Civilization Tombstone is yours! Killing them should be easy for you, shouldn't it?" Were there still Quasi-Invincibles from the various races? Of course! It was just that their battle was less prominent. In the distance, Cheng Mo was tangling with them, clearly at a disadvantage. However, because King Daqin's clash was so ferocious, that skirmish seemed negligible by comparison. "Quasi-Invincibles?" Kongkong said faintly. "Will you truly tell me how to activate the Civilization Tombstone?" Su Yu stated flatly, "I swear upon the rules that I will tell you everything I know. If I withhold anything, may I die on the spot! Of course, if you still cannot activate it... you can't blame me. The Civilization Tombstone might simply not be suitable for you!" *I'll tell you everything, including the fact that yours is a fake.* *If you can't activate it, there's nothing I can do about it.* *Because the real one isn't in your hands anyway.* Nearby, an Invincible bellowed, "Kongkong, don't you dare!" "Oh, I wouldn't dare..." Kongkong chuckled. Suddenly, the space in the distance rippled. A Quasi-Invincible who had been battering Cheng Mo vanished without warning, swept away by spatial power. In the blink of an eye, Kongkong appeared faintly outside King Gong Mansion, striking with... a coffin lid, smashing it down! *Boom! Boom!* Embodiments separated—no, that opponent only possessed two embodiments. Kongkong hammered down dozens of blows in a frenzy, and with a thunderous *bang*, that Quasi-Invincible exploded into mist! Outside King Gong Mansion, there were no restrictive rules. However, a dead spirit monarch charged toward him almost immediately, and Kongkong vanished on the spot. He was exceptionally adept in spatial power; catching him was nearly impossible! Kongkong's ethereal voice drifted back again: "Su Yu, I'm placing my trust in you. Don't play any tricks! You saw it—I've killed a Quasi-Invincible for you!" He was terrifyingly strong! A Quasi-Invincible had been slaughtered in an instant, hauled straight outside the mansion and obliterated before even the dead spirit monarchs could intercept him. Su Yu paid no further attention to that. He suddenly turned his gaze toward King Daqin, gritted his teeth, looked toward Xingyue in the distance, and transmitted, "When I go to rescue him in a moment, have the Tianyuan race Invincibles come kill me!" Xingyue gave no response. Steeling his resolve, Su Yu abruptly charged toward King Daqin's battlefield! That was a pack of Invincibles! A single misstep would mean certain death. Yet no one else could save King Daqin now, and King Daqin could not be allowed to fall! Su Yu was exceptionally daring. His only hope rested on the Tianyuan race fools coming to kill him... They had no choice; bound by their covenant, those two from the Tianyuan race were obligated to obey the dead spirits' commands! If they disobeyed, the rules would strike them dead. If they obeyed... killing Su Yu would bring the exact same result. Of course, the rules required time to activate... Su Yu glanced toward the distant Guiyuan Saber. The embodiment of the rules resided there; he wondered whether the power of the rules would mobilize faster here! Last time, when the rules attempted to kill Yunxiao, there had been a delay while the tribulation lightning gathered, allowing the half-emperors to break it. This time, would it be tribulation lightning, or would the Guiyuan Saber act? Su Yu was uncertain, so he urgently transmitted to Hetu, "Lord Hetu, if someone violates the rules here, will it summon tribulation lightning, or will the Guiyuan Saber strike?" "You're asking me?" Hetu replied indifferently via transmission. "I don't know. I don't remember!" *Fuck!* *Totally unreliable!* *Whatever!* Su Yu still had another card to play. If the rules truly manifested as tribulation lightning... to hell with it, he would have "Taishan" ready on his lips, send Old Zhou into an uncontrollable rage, and shake the entire seventh floor to see who died first! That was his ultimate trump card! If it wasn't the Guiyuan Saber, and someone tried to kill him, he would scream "Taishan" until the world tore apart! The moment Su Yu charged forward, Lingyuan of the Tianyuan race suddenly felt the covenant in his mind thrum: *"Kill Su Yu and seize his Time Master legacy! Remember, take that book of his—it is vital to us!"* The Time Master's legacy? Lingyuan was slightly shaken; the Head of the Heaven Division had just mentioned that as well. Yet... what was the relationship between these dead spirits and Su Yu? He quickly pulsed the covenant: *"What exactly is your relationship with Su Yu?"* *"His ties are with Hetu... that is between him and Hetu. We only reached an understanding with Hetu beforehand, and Hetu falls outside the scope of our covenant!"* "..." Lingyuan remained hesitant, worried that something might go wrong. The dead spirit race no longer seemed quite so simple. Too many complications had arisen this time. Just as he was pondering, Lingyuan's heart jolted. *Boom!* A spear scraped past his ear, splashing blood! Lingyuan was terrified out of his wits—King Daqin! He had actually zoned out while fighting King Daqin, nearly having his head impaled. A ruthless resolve hardened in his chest. The covenant dictated that he had to serve the dead spirits, and the dead spirits would seize treasures for him. Refusing to obey was a violation of the rules, while obeying... at least allowed him to back away from King Daqin. He had grown afraid. The gods and demons were determined to slay King Daqin, and he wanted him dead too, but he didn't possess the strength for it. He might as well take this chance to withdraw for a moment. The current King Daqin was an arrow at the end of its flight, which made him all the more dangerous. More Invincibles might very well die right now! With that in mind, the moment he saw Su Yu charging over, he immediately shouted, "I will go kill him!" Beside him, the dragon race and underworld race Invincibles cursed inwardly. They had wanted to slip away too, but this slippery bastard had beaten them to it! Lingyuan shot forward at once, shouting, "Feng Ming, hold off Hetu for me!" The Phoenix race powerhouse frowned slightly. Soon, her gaze turned toward Hetu. Hetu also frowned, glancing at Su Yu. That kid brought nothing but trouble wherever he went! Endless headaches! Even he wasn't confident in protecting Su Yu here; it was far too perilous, with danger lurking in every direction! "From the Tianyuan race?" Su Yu roared, his aura surging as he lunged straight toward Lingyuan, bellowing, "My feud with your Tianyuan race will never end!" He instantly closed the distance between them! Just as Lingyuan prepared to strike, a cold dread seized his heart. He rapidly recoiled, and with that retreat, Su Yu knew trouble had arrived. The opponent had likely sensed the danger; King Dazhou's "Quiet" character could no longer shield him. Indeed, the "Quiet" character was only at the peak of the fourth tier. While it had a chance of deceiving Sun Moon Realm cultivators, shielding against the keen instincts of an Invincible over an extended period was simply too difficult! Earlier, even Bingfeng had sensed something amiss. The moment Lingyuan prepared to attack, an intense sense of mortal danger washed over him. He instantly pulled his hand back, dissolved into a phantom, vanished into the river of time, and retreated into the distance, eyeing Su Yu with deep suspicion! What was going on? He stared at Su Yu, then at the dead spirits, then at Hetu, and back at Su Yu... His gaze grew increasingly bizarre. He swiftly transmitted to Tianzhou, "Does Su Yu have ties to those nine dead spirit monarchs?" Tianzhou, who was locked in a brutal struggle with Lan Tian, was taken aback and replied via transmission, "Probably not..." "Not 'probably'! I'm asking you, is there any possibility of a connection?" Lingyuan was practically seething with fury as he transmitted, "One clause of the covenant forbids us from attacking dead spirits or their subjects! Su Yu isn't a dead spirit, and as for subjects, we only signed the covenant with the nine local dead spirits. Su Yu couldn't possibly be their subject! Yet the moment I went to strike, I felt a lethal crisis!" How could the nine local dead spirit monarchs be connected to Su Yu? That sounded absurd! Yet... Lingyuan had indeed felt that mortal peril. It was impossible, unless... the only explanation was that among the nine dead spirit monarchs who had signed the covenant, one of them was the monarch who had converted Su Yu. But that... made no sense! Su Yu had transformed into a half-dead spirit inside Xinghong Mansion, which meant that particular dead spirit monarch was from Xinghong Ancient City. How the fuck could that be?! Yet... even Hetu had been brought here by Su Yu, and Hetu hailed from Hongmeng Ancient City. Was it really impossible for Su Yu to have brought someone from Xinghong Ancient City as well? He dared not fathom it... yet in his heart, he guessed that this was indeed the case! Su Yu was colluding with more than just Hetu; there was another one! The one from Xinghong Ancient City! And that monarch was among those nine! Lingyuan was about to explode with rage. This was... unimaginable. It was truly beyond comprehension that Su Yu's reach had extended all the way into the dead spirit realm. It was monstrous, utter madness! Yet he felt certain his deduction was correct! Meanwhile, the other Invincibles watched on. One of them roared angrily, "Lingyuan, do you think humanity will spare you if you let him go? Your race killed Ye Batian! Even if King Daqin spares you, Su Yu never will!" They all assumed Lingyuan was attempting to switch sides! That he was holding back deliberately! Yet Lingyuan could not voice his grievance; explaining it would sound completely preposterous! He dared not reveal that his race had formed a covenant with the dead spirits. At this moment, all he could do was shout, "Someone else come kill him! I'll go fight King Daqin..." That was his only choice! However, now that he was suspected of treachery, who would dare let him rejoin them? The powerhouses of the god and demon races snapped in fury, "Hurry up and kill Su Yu, then come help us!" Unless you kill Su Yu right now, no one will trust you! If you come over here, we'll be on guard against you—we might even kill you ourselves! Seeing their reaction, Lingyuan felt like spitting blood. *Having you guys kill him while I go fight King Daqin is the best option! Otherwise, I can't touch Su Yu at all!* Yet the covenant with the dead spirits could never be made public. Once revealed, the dead spirits would turn on him, to say nothing of the other races. "Damn it!" Lingyuan was beside himself with rage. Meanwhile, Su Yu charged straight at him, grinning. "My Lord, stop playing around—go take them down..." As Su Yu closed in, Lingyuan could only flee in frustration. *Fuck!* While retreating, he gritted his teeth and suddenly darted toward Xia Longwu's group! *Curse you, Su Yu, I can't deal with you, but I can deal with them!* *This is unbearable!* Now that the gods and demons doubted him and he couldn't touch Su Yu, he would kill Xia Longwu and the others to prove his innocence! Yet before he even arrived, the three heavily wounded immortal kings raised their guard to the absolute limit. Their blood qi erupted, burning their essence blood to force Xia Longwu's group back even as their embodiments teetered on the verge of collapse, desperate to prevent Lingyuan from joining forces to butcher them all! Seeing them ready to detonate themselves, Lingyuan was driven to utter exasperation! *Idiots!* *Fine, I'll go kill Lan Tian! Only Tianzhou knows why I'm in this miserable state. I'll kill Lan Tian to prove my innocence!* He moved at blinding speed—Su Yu couldn't even keep up! Meanwhile, Lan Tian was genuinely puzzled, cackling weirdly, "Tianzhou, are we actually on the same side? You've got to be kidding!" Even as he spoke, he rapidly fled. On the same side? Even if that little lunatic Su Yu chose to ally with the gods and demons, he would never choose the Tianyuan race. They were the ones who had killed Ye Batian! No matter how little Su Yu acknowledged Ye Batian, he would never collude with the enemy who slew his martial grandmaster. Of course Su Yu wouldn't... He just couldn't catch up! At this moment, Su Yu was also fuming. *What's so great about being an Invincible? Running this damn fast!* Fortunately, he had relieved some pressure for King Daqin. Slaying one and luring another away left twelve Invincibles around King Daqin... Well, still twelve! *Hang in there, King Daqin! Just hold on a little longer. Once I finish off Lingyuan, grab another reward to reach the fourth transformation, and swallow another drop of Invincible essence blood, I'll help you take down another Invincible. I, Su Yu... have done more than enough for you!* Thinking this, Su Yu swiftly shouted, "Lan Tian, come to me! He's a friend—don't be reckless!" "Understood!" Lan Tian quickly fled toward him. Meanwhile, Lingyuan and Tianzhou both seemed to realize something. They turned their gazes toward the Head of the Heaven Division, looking at the dead spirit who had led the charge earlier... *Fuck!* *That one! That's the one!* *That must be the dead spirit monarch who converted Su Yu!* *Damn it, Su Yu isn't colluding with just one or two dead spirit monarchs—there are several of them! Multiple monarchs!* They were going mad. How could this be? What in the world had Su Yu promised them to make a dead spirit monarch cross endless mountains and rivers just to find him? It defied logic! Both experts felt ready to burst with frustration. Violating the order meant death, yet killing or harming Su Yu would trigger punishment from the rules! What were they supposed to do? The others no longer trusted them because instead of killing Su Yu, they were actively avoiding him. Even if the others sensed something was amiss, who had the time or luxury to figure out the truth in the heat of battle? Prudence came first! No matter how many doubts they harbored, they would remain suspicious for now. "You suppress Su Yu—just don't injure him! I'll kill Lan Tian, and then everyone will believe we aren't traitors!" Lingyuan transmitted. Tianzhou's expression shifted, but he soon gritted his teeth and agreed! Fine, he would try to suppress Su Yu! For now, Su Yu didn't possess the strength to kill them outright; as long as he took care not to injure Su Yu, everything would be fine! At that moment, the battlefield presented a bizarre spectacle that left several Invincibles baffled. ... Over by the Five Elements race, their Invincible was utterly perplexed. What in the world was going on? Lingyuan and Tianzhou were chasing Lan Tian, Su Yu was chasing them, and Lan Tian was looping around to meet up with Su Yu. The three parties were running in a giant circle... Were they playing a game? Had the Tianyuan race truly reached some sort of agreement with humanity? Otherwise, why would two mighty experts allow themselves to be led around by the nose by Su Yu and Lan Tian? Working together, even if they couldn't immediately destroy Lan Tian, every clone Lan Tian sent out should have been pulverized, and Su Yu could easily have been slapped to death within a few moves—even if the current Su Yu was formidable! Right now, only he and the Destiny race Invincible had not taken part in the battle. Even the Head of the Heaven Division and the Phoenix race powerhouse were at least pinning down some opponents. The Five Elements powerhouse transmitted his voice: "Foutuling, you advised against making an enemy of humanity, but humanity seems... entirely out of options. If we don't act now and the myriad races win, that fellow from the Destiny race and I will be the first to face retribution. The Destiny race is elusive and enigmatic, meaning I will be the one who dies!" King Daqin was faltering. Among the twelve Invincibles besieging him, several had had their embodiments broken, but King Daqin's own embodiments had been shattered as well. He had fallen out of his unified state—a clear sign that he was nearing his demise! He might still hold out a little longer, but who could possibly reverse this? There was one person... the Head of the Heaven Division! If he stepped in to assist, the tide could turn. For anyone else, turning this around would be nearly impossible. Yet the Head of the Heaven Division was currently locked in a standoff against the dead spirits! Inside the Five Elements powerhouse's Heaven armament, Foutuling's expression shifted rapidly. Soon, Foutuling urged, "Watch a little longer. If Su Yu truly runs out of options, do as you see fit, Elder. But if Su Yu resolves those two from the Tianyuan race... strike immediately, Elder! Disregard everything else and go slay the immortal race Invincibles... You must kill them!" "Foutuling, are you truly willing to gamble both your life and mine on Su Yu?" Slaying an immortal Invincible... if humanity lost, he would surely die. Of course, if humanity won, that would be another story. "Elder, trust me! I would never bring harm to the Five Elements race! We may be late to act, but choosing a side too early will only get us killed. Elder, listen to me—wait a little longer, watch a little longer! Unless Su Yu is killed, in which case you can ignore everything else and help butcher humanity!" Acting late was fine, so long as they struck eventually and declared their stance. Even if the other races harbored resentment, they wouldn't rashly wage war against the Five Elements race. Humanity or the myriad races—both were the same. They sought no great merit, only to stand on the right side at the crucial moment! If Su Yu could deal with the Tianyuan race, Foutuling felt certain the boy had other tricks up his sleeve. Su Yu could never be judged by conventional logic. When that time came, the Five Elements race stepping in to kill an immortal would earn them a favor from humanity. Even if that favor wasn't worth as much as it would be right now, it didn't matter. They didn't seek great glory—only to survive without fault! The Five Elements forefather took a deep breath and said no more. He was gambling! He would place his trust in Foutuling this once! Foutuling was the hope of unification for the Five Elements race—the only one capable of cultivating the five elements art, the hope of restoring their ancient glory. That was why this elder chose to trust him. To the Five Elements race, Foutuling was far more vital than the likes of Zhan Wushuang or Moduona were to theirs! At this moment, Su Yu's side would determine the future of several Invincibles.