Su Yu didn't dwell on Daidai any longer. In life, Daidai had been human. In death... like Hetu, he might still retain some vague notions, but any lingering human sentiment had faded to near imperceptibility.
Daidai had consumed a Life and Death Fruit, which seemed to have restored a sliver more of his memories. Only because of that had he chosen, at the critical juncture, to block the Blood Fire Demon King for King Daqin.
Right now, Su Yu was far more interested in what Bai Feng and the others had found.
Could it really transform origin qi?
Truth be told, if this truly was Old Zhou's blood, its efficacy would undoubtedly rival the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus. Old Zhou was simply too terrifyingly powerful!
The magma on the second floor had felt like Old Zhou's boiling blood, but it hadn't actually been blood. Even if it had been, it was merely an outermost trace that had never touched the core.
Su Yu was full of anticipation for the effects of this blood pool. Yun Chen's attainment of the Dao might well have been connected to it.
"Teacher, where is the blood pool?"
"I'll take you there..."
Bai Feng said excitedly, "We were just about to use it! We let Grandmaster Yun Chen try it first. After all, he's incomparably powerful. If he used it and didn't die, we could give it a shot. Since he survived, the benefits clearly outweigh the risks. I was just gearing up to try it when you guys showed up."
Behind them, Yun Chen said nothing.
Even now, he remained somewhat dazed—and naturally on guard against Xingyue. She was, after all, a dead spirit lord.
Among everyone present, he was the only one capable of matching her in a fight.
As for Bai Feng using him as a guinea pig, he couldn't be bothered to complain. At least the benefits had been real.
To be honest, he hadn't expected to gain anything here either.
The blood's effects were truly extraordinary.
Soon, the group headed deeper inside. After walking for a short while, Su Yu spotted a blood-red pool.
Bai Feng said eagerly, "Right here!"
The blood-red pool was placid.
Inside, blood simmered faintly.
There wasn't much of it, yet it gave off a subtle fragrance.
*Could this be a blood cell?* Su Yu wondered inwardly. *Could this count as one of Old Zhou's blood cells?*
Blood was born within it—or rather, this was a component of his blood.
At that moment, he caught the scent. Before he could move, the little fur ball popped out, twitching its nose. "Smells so good!"
Su Yu glanced at it. "You drink blood too?"
"..."
The little fur ball looked depressed. "This isn't blood! This is delicious fragrance!"
It didn't drink blood, but it wanted tasty treats!
Just as Su Yu went to step forward, Yun Chen spoke up. "The blood is too potent. Even a tiny trace contains an immense amount of energy. You could easily burst from the strain."
Su Yu smiled.
Me?
I'm about to undergo my fifth transformation!
Me, burst?
What a joke!
Saying that about Bai Feng made sense, but Su Yu's fifth Lingyun transformation was nothing like an ordinary one.
Once he completed all nine transformations, he would likely be able to step into the Sun Moon Realm before long. Only then would he truly be formidable.
Without a word, Su Yu took another step forward, crouched down, and examined the modest blood pool. Calling it a pool was generous; it was roughly the size of a standard washbasin, though the blood inside was remarkably rich.
Su Yu reached out, submerging his hand, and carefully probed it with his senses.
Behind him, Yun Chen opened his mouth as if to say something, readying himself to pull Su Yu back out...
Yet upon closer inspection, his expression shifted.
Beside them, Lan Tian chuckled faintly. "Don't be shocked. This terrifying kid just tore apart several Invincibles outside..."
"..."
Bai Feng's eyes went wide as he stared at Lan Tian.
*Am I hallucinating?*
As if reading his mind, Lan Tian remarked breezily, "You can seal your six senses and pretend you heard nothing! Just now, an epic battle raged outside, and dozens of Invincibles died. This kid tore through several of them on his own. King Daqin was almost beaten to death, but this brat called in a bunch of shady friends to help, and everyone who survived just now was saved thanks to the allies he summoned! Little Bai Feng, you're falling behind!"
Bai Feng's jaw dropped. Without looking back, Su Yu casually replied, "Ignore him, Teacher. You're not as bad as he says. You're a grand researcher, after all. Besides, by my count, I only ripped apart three Invincibles' three-life embodiments; I didn't actually kill an Invincible. Senior Lan Tian is exaggerating!"
"..."
*Screw you!*
Bai Feng wanted to roar!
*Only three?!*
*Only Invincible embodiments?!*
*Get lost!*
He immediately snapped, "I'm getting into this blood pool! You get lost, scram, it's mine!"
He had originally planned to let his disciple soak in the tub, but now... beat it!
Not happening!
Su Yu laughed. "Teacher, you'd better pass. You'll explode... Don't worry, though, I have a way! The energy in this blood is far too potent; you won't be able to handle it."
With that, he pulled out a large washtub...
Bai Feng gave him a startled look. *Why are you carrying that around?*
"It's not a washtub. It's a carrier—it just happens to be shaped like one."
Su Yu explained that this wasn't an actual tub; who knew what it had originally been made for? Did they think he was bored enough to carry a bath around on his person?
Behind them, Yun Chen opened his mouth again, struck dumb for several seconds.
*Are carriers that cheap nowadays?*
Soon, Su Yu brought out some Water Condensation Beads, followed by various natural treasures, Sovereign Saliva Liquid, and chunks of lotus root. Then, after a moment's thought, he tossed in a hefty piece of Heavenly River Sand.
After another brief consideration, the Fire of Inheritance flared up, and he used his Five Elements divine characters to temper the mixture...
Only then did he carefully scoop up drops of blood from the pool, sprinkling them into the basin.
Watching this, Yun Chen stood frozen in utter disbelief.
Glancing around... he felt a surge of gloom. It seemed he was the only one flabbergasted.
Indeed, only him!
There were quite a few people present: Wu Lan, Wu Qi, Bai Feng, Wu Jia, Lan Tian, Su Yu, Xingyue... Yet he was the only one stunned. Everyone else looked entirely nonchalant, as though this were everyday routine.
Yun Chen consoled himself: *These people simply don't know goods. They don't grasp how precious these treasures are.*
Just this tub of ingredients—excluding the blood—was worth a carrier in Yun Chen's estimation.
Just as he was thinking that, Wu Lan frowned. "Neutralizing the blood's energy? Your recipe has conflicting elements. Heavenly River Sand carries a corrosive property mainly meant for purification, which actually enhances the blood's ferocity. You tried to neutralize that with Sovereign Saliva Liquid, which works to an extent, but it still wastes medicinal efficacy. That lotus root is meant for healing and regeneration, right? I think you added too little..."
*So they DO know!* Yun Chen was speechless!
Su Yu smiled. "I know. It doesn't matter. A little waste is fine; they wouldn't be able to digest it otherwise anyway. This should be about right. Teacher, all of you get in and soak together. Once neutralized like this, the effect will be great. All of you, hop in. Tempering your physical body won't be difficult, nor will transforming your origin qi..."
As he spoke, he chanted a series of profound, sacred words that entered everyone's ears.
"This is a breathing technique. Breathe according to it while you cultivate."
Moments later, Su Yu continued reciting.
"This is the Iron-Eating Seventy-Two Castings. Cast as many as you can. It doesn't matter if you can't finish; if you can't, just complete the nine Lingyun transformations!"
"..."
A breathing technique and the Iron-Eating Seventy-Two Castings.
Both were cultivation arts of the absolute highest tier!
"Focus on the physical body first; willpower can wait."
Su Yu chuckled. "Alright, that one's for you guys. I'll jump straight into the blood pool to try it out!"
Neutralizing the power of those ingredients had inevitably degraded some of the blood's strength, which was technically wasteful. But for Bai Feng and the others, excessive potency would have caused them to explode.
Weakening it slightly was just right. Expending a massive amount of resources purely to dial down the strength was something virtually no one else would do, and this blood hadn't been intended for mere physical tempering or nine qi transformations in the first place.
Yet to Su Yu, none of that mattered.
Besides, his teacher had discovered this blood anyway.
Shortly after, Su Yu leaped into the pool.
A surge of formidable blood energy rapidly permeated his entire body. His "Blood" character, which had already been teetering on the verge of advancement, absorbed just a tiny wisp of blood qi before—*boom!*—it finally completed its evolution!
Fifth rank!
A Sun Moon divine character!
With that, Su Yu now possessed three fifth-rank divine characters.
A trace of blood seeped into Su Yu's body, seemingly attempting to alter his physical form. But Su Yu was exceptionally powerful now; a mere trace of blood was insufficient to reforge his fundamental structure.
Old Zhou was of an unimaginably high level, but this wasn't blood essence—merely an ordinary fraction of his blood. Su Yu had never contemplated collecting Old Zhou's blood essence. First, doing so might awaken Old Zhou, which would mean certain death.
Second, the tier was too high. True blood essence could not be absorbed by the golden album, and Su Yu would detonate.
Third, Old Zhou was still alive. Swallowing his true blood essence would make Su Yu an easy target for possession, just like Moduona. Old Zhou's lingering resentment remained intact, making soul possession a real threat.
Thus, Su Yu's only concern right now was this pool of blood.
Everything else could wait.
Bai Feng and the others hesitated for a second before piling into the basin. Though the tub appeared modest from the outside, stepping inside revealed a vast internal space—it truly was a treasure on par with a carrier.
Apart from Lan Tian, Yun Chen, and Xingyue, the rest of the group jumped in.
Down below, Su Yu soaked in the pool, drawing upon the power to steadily urge his origin qi through its transformation. As he soaked, he looked up at Lan Tian. "Senior Lan Tian, are all your clones gone?"
"Gone,"
Lan Tian replied with a mournful sigh. "This is the only clone I have left."
Su Yu understood. "Your primary bodies are still around, right? Do you have many of them?"
"..."
Yun Chen couldn't make heads or tails of their exchange. Lan Tian said he had none left, so Yun Chen had assumed this was his sole remaining physical form—yet Su Yu turned around and asked how many primary bodies he had?
*What kind of human conversation is this?!*
Lan Tian, however, wore a pitiful expression. "A few of the primary bodies blew up too. I only have a handful left."
"Your primary bodies are too weak. I think you should merge with some Invincible primary bodies."
"Invincibles are too strong. They aren't easy to merge with."
Su Yu shook his head. "Not necessarily. I figure if we extract the Invincible blood essence, their physical toughness... isn't actually that big of a deal! Later, we'll go look around to see if any Invincible corpses were left behind. If we find any, I'll draw out the blood essence, and you can try merging with them. That way, if you fuse with a dozen or several dozen, you'll truly be able to fight Invincibles!"
"Makes sense. We could give it a try. But a primary body without blood essence has no soul."
Su Yu laughed. "One bite at a time. What's the rush? By the way, did the Manor Head really not come this time?"
"He didn't. He's waiting outside."
Lan Tian made no effort to conceal it, saying casually, "He said that once you went inside, a mountain of trouble and heaps of corpses were guaranteed. He's standing by outside to back us up. Don't worry, when we head out, he'll take action to prevent any unexpected turns. His main priority is escorting you back to the ancient city."
"The Manor Head is truly thoughtful!"
Wan Tiansheng indeed hadn't entered. It appeared he was stationed outside to receive everyone. However, with the situation so murky, the outside world had likely turned upside down as well. Extricating them would be no easy feat.
As Su Yu chatted, he steadily absorbed the blood's power. The ferocious energy pushed him toward his fifth transformation. Having already been close, his physical body shuddered after a short while, and—*rumble!*—a colossal surge of power swept in all directions!
In the distance, Xingyue let out a muffled grunt.
Su Yu immediately chuckled apologetically. "My apologies, my apologies! I can't seal my yang aperture right now. As I grow stronger, the aperture draws in even more power. Please bear with me, My Lady. I'll find a way to resolve this trouble!"
Having completed his fifth transformation, Su Yu had become terrifyingly strong!
His physical strength, without opening the yang aperture, reached an astonishing thirteen million apertures of power!
While the relative amplification from the yang aperture had weakened slightly, it remained immense. Once the yang aperture opened, Su Yu's strength exceeded twenty million apertures of power.
Su Yu was certain that, in terms of sheer physical force, he could rival some of the weaker Invincibles.
With the yang aperture open, of course.
Physical power was merely physical power; it didn't equate to overall mastery.
Even so, he finally had some genuine capital to protect his life. Resolving the yang aperture was now an urgent priority. If he didn't fix this nuisance, Xingyue would eventually be drained dry by him!
Su Yu couldn't accurately gauge Xingyue's exact prowess, but she was definitely inferior to Hetu. She hadn't reached the seventh stage of Eternal—fifth or sixth stage at best. Furthermore, a dead spirit of the same tier was generally weaker than a living cultivator.
All things considered, Su Yu felt Xingyue might not even match Xia Longwu; at best, they were on par.
And Xia Longwu had only attained the Dao a few days ago.
Having completed the fifth transformation, Su Yu felt zero hesitation. Suddenly, a lotus petal dropped into the blood pool. Yun Chen reached out a hand to stop him... then thought better of it and gave up.
At that moment, Yun Chen's heart thrashed violently.
*You... are utterly mad!*
That was a Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus petal!
A treasure almost impossible to find under heaven!
And you're squandering it just like that?
Su Yu paid no mind to any of that. The moment the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus petal dissolved into the blood, its temporal properties took effect. His vision blurred faintly, and the River of Time suddenly materialized.
Su Yu exerted his strength with a fierce heave—*rip!*—and tore open the River of Time!
Indeed, his current might far exceeded that of an ordinary ninth-layer Sun Moon cultivator.
The Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus had one specific purpose: to integrate multiple three-life embodiments, strengthening both the embodiments and the true self until they met the standard for unification.
Yet Su Yu had no interest in manifesting any three-life embodiments.
Right now, Su Yu felt he could conceivably manifest his embodiments directly at the Lingyun Realm, but he knew the method was riddled with flaws. He had no desire to touch embodiments at this stage.
It was far better to advance step by step along his own path!
The River of Time trembled. Su Yu possessed very little control over it, nor did he care to overcomplicate things. Right now, he was shielded by a protective force—the power of the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus. Soon, Su Yu felt as though he had traveled back to moments ago, back to the thick of battle, back to when he had absorbed the Invincible blood essence...
Arriving before a surge of waves, Su Yu halted abruptly and dove straight in without a second thought!
Sure enough, he caught a glimpse of himself tearing through Invincibles just moments earlier.
Without wasting words, Su Yu seized that version of himself, let out a thunderous roar, and stepped from the past back into the present. Under the protection of the lotus, he made a swift return. Along the way, the other Su Yu's power steadily dissipated into the River of Time, but Su Yu didn't mind.
It had been external power to begin with!
Shortly after, Su Yu returned. With a tremendous roar, an illusory figure merged into his body, releasing an overpowering surge of strength. *Rumble!* The violent force caused Su Yu's physical body to rupture repeatedly, only to heal just as swiftly.
One after another, with a resonant blast, 360 acupoints blazed like radiant suns!
The sixth Lingyun transformation!
Not only that, but the blood's power continued propelling him forward. Without hesitation, Su Yu cast out another petal of the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus!
He had three petals in total and had only used one!
This time, he hoped that with the combined power of the blood and the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus, he could push straight through to the ninth transformation. Once that was done, if all went smoothly, he could quickly charge into the ninth layer of the Shanhai Realm!
Then he could formally begin unifying his apertures and step into the Sun Moon Realm!
...
"Inhuman!"
At this sight, Yun Chen sighed in deep amazement.
"If he wished, he could bypass the Shanhai and Sun Moon Realms entirely right now and step directly into quasi-Invincible..."
Beside him, Lan Tian looked at him like he was an idiot. "Wouldn't that make him a fool? If he did that, he'd be forced onto the path of three-body unification and miss out on countless opportunities to elevate himself, all just to become a quasi-Invincible? It's not like he hasn't killed them before. Quasi-Invincibles, Invincibles—they're all trash. Realms don't mean squat; actual strength is what matters!"
Just moments ago, had Su Yu wished, he could have skipped those stages, using a carrier to bear the past embodiment he had seized, establishing his three embodiments, and formally becoming a quasi-Invincible powerhouse.
Yet such a Su Yu... would merely be a somewhat stronger-than-average quasi-Invincible.
He would cease to be an unmatched monstrous prodigy!
He would have skipped far too much. His origin qi would no longer transform, leaving him shackled to the path of three-body unification to prepare for attaining the Dao, becoming just one ordinary quasi-Invincible among many.
Quasi-Invincible... a realm countless souls pursued their entire lives, yet Su Yu couldn't care less. He hadn't entertained the thought for a second, not even with his mountain of carriers.
In the distance, Xingyue's death qi was trembling from being drained, yet she let out a cold sneer. "Quasi-Invincible? The path of three-body unification?"
"This seat's memories are sparse, but I know this much... the path of three-body unification... is deeply flawed. True ancient powerhouses—true experts... not trash—would never cultivate something like three-body unification!"
Yun Chen glanced at her and said placidly, "Everyone knows this; it is not some secret known only to you. The ancient era left behind records as well. The path of three-body unification has many flaws, boundless trouble, and immense danger... Yet what you do not know is that when the Ancient Council fell, a rule was left behind: anyone who does not walk the path of three-body unification will be destroyed by the rules! Any cultivation method outside the path of three-body unification will be obliterated. That is why the path of three-body unification has become the foundation of the myriad realms today. Otherwise, do you think so many Eternals could have emerged? While three-body unification weakens one's ultimate power, it provides an accessible route to attain the Dao. At the very least, one does not have to face the Tribulation of the Rules!"
Xingyue ignored him; she couldn't care less about such matters.
Su Yu, who was in the midst of cultivating, suddenly opened his eyes. "Senior Yun Chen, you mean... the path of three-body unification is mandatory?"
"Yes!"
Yun Chen nodded, then studied Su Yu for a long while before adding, "Of course, you walk your own path. When the time comes for you to attain the Dao, the Tribulation of the Rules might not be able to stop you either."
With that, Yun Chen held his peace.
Just because he couldn't accomplish something didn't mean Su Yu couldn't. It would be perilous, of course.
Then again, when was Su Yu ever not in danger?
Su Yu asked no further questions. He quickly refocused on driving his power, tearing into the River of Time once more. He didn't venture into the future—the future could not be pursued, whereas the past was real. He average-wise captured past embodiments from his recent history and merged them into himself. They weren't true embodiments, merely a raw borrowing of past might.
All to temper his origin qi!
The second lotus petal was consumed, and Su Yu's aura erupted once more. *Boom!* The seventh transformation was complete!
The blood continued pushing him toward the eighth transformation, and he still had one petal left. The eighth was guaranteed; as for the ninth... it was hard to say, but even if it fell short, it wouldn't be far off.
Su Yu tossed the third petal directly into the blood pool and plunged into the River of Time again!
Inside the washbasin, Bai Feng and the others were also undergoing continuous transformations.
Tempering their bodies was laughably easy.
The resources were practically limitless!
Their consumption was negligible compared to the sheer abundance of treasures, enough to fuel their physical tempering for ages.
Transforming their origin qi was just as straightforward.
Bai Feng had only been at the second layer of the Lingyun Realm before, but now he was advancing by leaps and bounds. Su Yu had only reached the seventh transformation, and Bai Feng was already hot on his heels. Opening his eyes, Bai Feng sighed wistfully. "I'm about to surpass you, Su Yu! Kid, you're still falling short..."
They only talked about realms, never about strength—strength was irrelevant!
They only looked at realm!
Never mind how weak he was in battle; his realm would soon overtake Su Yu's!
Su Yu couldn't even be bothered to retort!
*Even if you reach the ninth layer of the Shanhai Realm, I could squash you with a single finger!*
Well, no need to say that aloud. Let his teacher savor the moment and console himself, lest despair drive him to become as abnormal as Lan Tian.
...
Another half an hour passed. Su Yu's vital energy erupted violently. *Boom!* A terrifying aura enveloped the entire area!
Both Yun Chen and Lan Tian flinched slightly!
The eighth transformation was complete!
"Humph!"
A muffled snort sounded nearby. In the distance, Xingyue's body shuddered, her death qi growing chaotic.
Su Yu immediately halted his cultivation.
His yang aperture swiftly began drawing upon his own reserves and blood qi instead of death qi. Su Yu rapidly channeled those energies, instantly consuming the lion's share of the power that had been driving him toward the ninth transformation.
Just as he was about to begin the ninth transformation, he abruptly aborted it.
Forty-four million apertures of power!
Without any bonuses, without opening the yang aperture—that was Su Yu's baseline.
Meanwhile, under his relentless absorption of death qi, Xingyue had reached her absolute limit. If Su Yu hadn't switched to feeding the yang aperture with his own power, she would have dispersed completely.
Su Yu vaulted out of the pool. The blood pool had run dry, but he paid it no heed. As his foot struck the ground, the entire cellular space trembled.
Her death qi disheveled, Xingyue glared at Su Yu and said coldly, "Did you think this seat couldn't hold on? What a joke! Su Yu, don't flatter yourself!"
"You're absolutely right, My Lady!"
Su Yu replied perfunctorily as his yang aperture fed on his own internal reserves. *Keep being stubborn.*
He had no doubt that if he had kept absorbing, Xingyue really would have perished.
There was no pressing need to rush the ninth transformation; it would happen sooner or later anyway!
He needed to resolve the divine aperture issue first. Once he opened his yin aperture, the yang aperture would be neutralized, allowing him to close it at will. Only then would it be appropriate to complete the ninth transformation. Otherwise, under the strain of the ninth transformation, if the yang aperture slipped out of control during battle, Xingyue would be done for.
She had been a massive help in turning the tides this time around.
Su Yu remembered grudges, but he remembered kindness just as keenly.
Right now, if he truly wanted to kill Xingyue, it would be trivially simple.
He could just madly drain her death qi, step forward, and land a single punch—and she'd likely be dead... She wouldn't even be able to dodge, given how overwhelmingly the yang aperture pulled on her.
At the same time, Su Yu could feel that his foundation was slightly unstable.
He had grown too powerful, too fast!
His physical body and willpower were somewhat out of sync.
His control over his power was also slipping.
He needed time to make adjustments!
After a moment's contemplation, Su Yu looked toward Yun Chen. "Senior Yun, in terms of pure physical strength, what range does an Eternal typically fall into?"
"Pure physical strength?"
Yun Chen glanced at him, thought for a moment, and said, "Attaining the Dao physically as an Invincible through three-body unification yields around thirty million apertures of power. If the embodiments separate... the power drops noticeably. Each embodiment has roughly twenty million..."
This was precisely why top quasi-Invincibles could slay Invincibles. So long as they forced the unified embodiments apart, certain quasi-Invincibles could beat them to death.
Su Yu nodded slightly. "That's quite a transformation. Does that count as the first stage of Eternal?"
"No, that counts as the second stage,"
Yun Chen explained. "True first-stage Eternals are actually rare. First-stage cultivators are those who attained the Dao within small realms. Their power isn't strong, roughly on par with top quasi-Invincibles—around twenty million apertures of power! Under normal circumstances, so long as one doesn't attain the Dao in a small realm, they possess the strength of the second or third stage."
Understood!
So first-stage cultivators were rare, essentially bottom-tier Invincibles.
"Does each stage add roughly ten million apertures of power?"
"It varies, but generally speaking, yes."
Thirty million for the second stage, forty million for the third stage?
Then in terms of pure physical force, Su Yu was already at the third stage.
Of course, an Invincible's true terror lay in their mastery over the rules of space and time.
Even so, Su Yu felt remarkably formidable.
If an ordinary Eternal stood before him and he caught them off guard with a full-power punch, he might just blast them to pieces on the spot!
*I really am strong!* Su Yu marveled internally. He was growing more formidable by the day!
His gains from entering the Star Residence Mansion had been massive—though naturally, greater gains brought equal measures of trouble.
Su Yu couldn't be bothered to worry about that now.
He glanced over at Bai Feng and the others, who were still cultivating. Without disturbing them, he retrieved the civilization chronicle and began channeling copious amounts of blood into it.
He had slain countless foes this time.
While he hadn't gathered many corpses, he possessed a vast quantity of blood essence.
He had also seized numerous Heaven armaments, alongside drops of Invincible blood essence...
There was no point in holding onto these items.
They made him far too easy to track!
As the blood essence was absorbed, the golden lines upon the civilization chronicle multiplied.
113, 114...
As the absorption continued, the moment Su Yu fed it the Invincible blood essence, the entire civilization chronicle shuddered violently with a resounding rumble!
118 golden lines!
Having devoured an ocean of blood essence, the civilization chronicle advanced into the mid-tier Heaven armament rank!
Yun Chen and Lan Tian watched in silence. This kid was terrifying!
Yet Su Yu was far from finished.
Moments later, he retrieved six Heaven armaments.
With a peculiar glint in his eye, he said, "Seniors, lend me a hand. I want to shatter these Heaven armaments and fuse them into the civilization chronicle!"
"..."
Yun Chen and Lan Tian stared at him, utterly bewildered.
*Good grief!*
This kid was genuinely insane.
"Are you sure?"
Yun Chen couldn't help but ask, "You're an armamentsmith. Even if these Heaven armaments have tracking marks, you could take your time erasing them..."
"No need!"
Su Yu grinned, baring his teeth. "Converting them into personal strength is what matters. Heaven armaments, carriers—none of them are important! Once you're strong enough, you can have whatever you want!"
With that, Su Yu smiled. "Seniors, help me out. It's enough for the main volume to reach mid-tier Heaven armament rank. I'll fuse one weapon into each page, and I have plenty of carriers to fuse into the sub-pages as well..."
Su Yu chuckled merrily. "I'm strong enough to handle it now! It'd be best if every sub-page reached the Heaven armament grade, and the main book advanced to divine armament grade soon. That would be truly terrifying..."
At this point, even an eccentric like Lan Tian couldn't hold back. "Just how many carriers do you have?"
"Haven't checked closely. Around twenty, give or take."
Su Yu smiled. "Not that many. Only six Heaven armaments too, making twenty-six pieces in total. Right now, I have 301 pages, so that's not even a tenth. Fortunately, I already fused one carrier earlier, dispersing its essence throughout the entire book. If I fuse all of these now, that'll make twenty-seven..."
"Madman!"
Lan Tian cursed under his breath. "I was only talking big when I said I wanted ten thousand! I never actually planned on doing it! You lunatic, you're actually doing it!"
*I was just blowing hot air!*
*You, you bastard, you're actually doing it! You're a doer!*
*I yield!*
At this moment, Lan Tian didn't feel crazy at all—because compared to Su Yu, Su Yu was the real madman.
*Are you out of your mind?!*
*Are you sick in the head?!*
He had genuinely just been bragging; he had never realistically intended to fuse ten thousand carriers into himself. That was impossible.
Yet Su Yu, counting these, was already about to fuse twenty-seven!
*Has he lost his mind?!*
Su Yu, however, remained thoroughly composed. "Senior Lan Tian, what kind of talk is that? If you can dream it, you should do it. As Civilization Masters, we seek the unknown and explore the future. Everything is for what lies ahead; who knows what tomorrow brings? Besides, having a pile of carriers sitting around does me no good. My teacher and the others can't use them yet anyway."
He then chuckled, "Furthermore, when the time comes that they do need them, I'm not worried about running out of people to kill. The myriad realms want my head. In this life of mine, as long as the realms remain unsettled, I am destined to fight without pause. I won't lack for carriers!"
Yes, absolutely.
So long as he lived and the myriad realms remained in turmoil, the fighting would never cease.
Su Yu had already become an overlord figure whom the myriad realms dreaded.
The power backing him was equally terrifying. Without realizing it, Su Yu had rallied an astonishing number of Invincibles behind him!
If he truly stepped into the open, he would be one of the overlords of the realms.
Not merely a regional power, but an independent faction on par with the God, Demon, Immortal, Human, and Dragon races!
"Once I step outside and word leaks out..."
Su Yu smiled. "Do you two seniors honestly think I'll have any other path left? To kill me, those bastards might even join forces to wipe out the ancient city!"
"So, I must keep growing stronger!"
Su Yu's gaze turned chillingly cold. "I have no desire to be cornered time and time again, trapped inside an ancient city. If they don't come for me, I will eventually march to their doorsteps and collect their corpses one by one!"
In his hands, the civilization chronicle shuddered faintly.
Su Yu smiled brightly. "Don't rush. The corpses of the myriad races are waiting for us. If Su Yu decrees a man must die at midnight, no one shall live to see the dawn! Rest easy!"
The chronicle quivered slightly before quieting down.
Su Yu then began shattering the Heaven armaments and carriers.
He had lacked the strength to do so before, but now his power was sufficient. With Yun Chen and Lan Tian assisting, pages of the chronicle were steadily fused with carriers and Heaven armaments.
The pages dedicated to the major races—God, Demon, Immortal, Dragon, Nether—were all reinforced with carriers. Su Yu had realized that these races possessed far too many powerhouses; without sufficiently sturdy pages, they couldn't be contained. Only sheer power could suppress them all.
*Rumble!*
Page after page began to advance.
Soon, over twenty pages advanced to the peak Earth armament tier.
The illusory projections within them were continuously empowered as well.
Among them, the Immortal race's page saw its projected phantom reach the seventh layer of the Sun Moon Realm!
Terrifying!
The chronicle as a whole advanced alongside them. By the time Su Yu was gasping for breath, exhausted to the point of collapse, 126 golden lines appeared upon the civilization chronicle. Moments later, with a dull boom, the 127th golden line materialized!
High-tier Heaven armament!
Barely over the threshold!
Even so, the entire civilization chronicle was frighteningly potent.
A high-tier Heaven armament!
Not even some ancient relics possessed a weapon of this caliber.
Meanwhile, the two divine characters representing "Civilization" grew noticeably stronger as the weapon advanced.
Finally, Su Yu absorbed everything he could, leaving behind only a single drop of Invincible blood essence—the drop belonging to Gu Zhu, blood essence from a living powerhouse.
Su Yu was in no hurry to absorb that drop; it had other uses.
The next time he encountered that Invincible, it could prove immensely useful. He could shatter it instantly to shock the man's physical body and take him down!
"Formidable!"
Su Yu sighed in admiration. His tattered clothes vanished, replaced in an instant by pristine white robes. Holding the book in hand, with his long hair fluttering gently, a divine, sacred aura radiated from him.
Looking toward Yun Chen and Lan Tian, Su Yu cupped his hands with a gentle, spring-breeze smile. "Greetings, fellow Daoists!"
"..."
Both Yun Chen and Lan Tian felt an involuntary impulse to draw closer, followed immediately by an icy shiver in their hearts.
Both men shuddered, looking at Su Yu with the distinct feeling that peace would never return to this world. This lunatic looked entirely too normal right now!
So normal that one felt compelled to chat with him about dreams and discuss the future!
"Su Yu..."
Lan Tian muttered wistfully, "Could... could you teach me how to be so abnormal that people don't think you're abnormal at all, but actually want to be close to you?"
*Seeking guidance! Online and waiting, pretty urgent!*
*People always ostracize me because I'm abnormal. Tell me, how can I be so twisted that people don't reject me?*
Lan Tian suddenly felt an inkling of inferiority. *The reason I don't fit in with everyone else... is that I'm simply not twisted enough!*
Su Yu maintained his bright smile. "Fellow Daoist Lan Tian jokes. A scholar understands propriety and nature; by default, they put others at ease. Reading more books will do you good, my friend."
With that, he flipped open the civilization chronicle, turning to the page of the Immortal race, and began writing: *"Among the myriad races are the Immortals; among them was Xuan He, fifth stage of Eternal, master of the Heavenly Strike..."*
At this moment, his expression was solemn and devout as he composed Xuan He's epitaph.
As he wrote, Su Yu murmured under his breath, "No, I'm still missing something. I need a brush. A scholar writing with his bare fingers is far too unkempt. I still need a divine brush!"
*Madman!*
Lan Tian roared in his heart once more. *You're a complete lunatic! The terrifying part is, watching you write right now, even I feel like walking over to be your friend! Absolutely horrifying!*
Chapter 583