Found You!

Word was that the eighth floor was where the residences of grand figures were located, so Su Yu was naturally quite interested. Of course, what interested him even more was which part of Old Zhou this place was. According to his deductions, it should be the legs. Yet who had legs like this? Or had Old Zhou's two legs been split apart, wrenched wide, and pulled straight into a T-shape? If that was the case, the eighth floor had to be extraordinarily long! Two long legs pried wide, kept in that posture across endless eras... If he were ever truly resurrected in the future, would he even be able to walk normally? At this moment, Su Yu couldn't help wondering. Because Old Zhou was simply too terrifyingly powerful! For an expert of that caliber to be reduced to this state by Tai Shan... even though Su Yu didn't know this Tai Shan and had never laid eyes on him, he couldn't help thinking, *Damn, what a ruthless bastard!* Death was just a nod of the head—what kind of deep-seated grudge and hatred could have led to this? Before long, his thoughts drifted to the few individuals present. Were there any others on the eighth floor? Teacher Liu and Grandmaster should have arrived quite some time ago, so why were they still loitering around the periphery? Su Yu, transformed into a shadow, silently observed the surroundings. Activating his "Calamity" divine character, he sensed carefully and soon discovered something. Faint strands of rule power were densely interwoven across the void. The eighth floor was heavily constrained by rules! "Rule power!" Su Yu was fairly knowledgeable about this. It seemed the eighth floor might possess certain inviolable rules. "Senior Lan Tian, finish off the others so we can hunt down Blood Fire as soon as possible. He shouldn't be lightly wounded!" Lan Tian didn't reply. He chuckled sinisterly and vanished from his spot. Rumble! With a tremendous crash, the opulent elder from the All-Heavens Myriad Treasures Tower retreated rapidly, shouting in a low voice, "Lan Tian, stop acting crazy! This is the site of the ancient council! If you start a fight here without cause, you'll be punished by the rules!" "Hehehe, I'm not afraid!" Lan Tian snickered. Deeply frustrated, the elder gritted his teeth and abruptly struck out with a palm toward the surrounding void. In the next instant, a colossal hand of rules materialized in the void and came grasping down toward them! It was a gigantic hand forged entirely from rule power, descending upon both of them in an instant. The opulent elder wanted to make this madman understand that triggering the rules here could easily get someone killed. "This is only the outermost perimeter! Lan Tian, get a grip!" The opulent elder roared furiously. At this moment, the gigantic hand of rules was immensely formidable, so much so that even the power of time couldn't hold it back. Lan Tian, curious to test the severity of the punishment, struck out with a palm against the descending hand. With a thud, Lan Tian was forced back a step, a few drops of blood sliced from his hand. Meanwhile, the opulent elder, naturally inferior to Lan Tian, took a direct blow from the hand. With a dull slam, he crashed to the ground, spitting a mouthful of blood. He had known the rule power was terrifying, yet he had triggered the upheaval anyway—precisely to show Lan Tian that if an all-out battle broke out and he killed him, Lan Tian would also be punished by the rules. "Lan Tian, this was merely a private brawl! Once it becomes a fight to the death, the rule power will be far stronger than this! In the ancient era, the eighth floor was where grand figures resided, and brawling was strictly forbidden. Strict rules were enacted for all of this, and the punishments are exceptionally harsh..." Coughing blood, the opulent elder said, "I have no grievance with you. If you insist on killing me, you will also be severely wounded! Why bother?" He was genuinely at his wit's end dealing with this lunatic. A normal person wouldn't undertake such thankless, self-destructive tasks, but Lan Tian wasn't normal. Lan Tian let out a cackling laugh. "Is that all? That's not enough! Doesn't look like it can kill me. A severe injury... I'm not afraid of that!" In the blink of an eye, seven or eight Lan Tians materialized around him. As for the shadowed Su Yu... after a brief thought, he figured, *Indeed, Lan Tian has so many clones. Why should I bother pretending to be a shadow?* In the next instant, Su Yu shifted his form into a middle-aged man—the appearance of Zhao Ming from back then—and blended right into the group of clones. A whole bunch of Lan Tian's clones had been slaughtered earlier, yet he still had plenty left. It had to be said, this fellow was truly a monstrous slayer! The opulent elder's expression changed slightly, and he cursed under his breath before quickly fleeing deeper along the White Jade Boulevard. What rotten luck! He must have stepped in dog shit today to cross paths with such a lunatic. As clones moved to intercept him, the opulent elder instantly flung out over a dozen treasures. The man was indeed wealthy—every single one was at the level of an Earth rank weapon—hurling them toward the clones while carefully weaving left and right, sprinting forward along the boulevard. The White Jade Boulevard was still somewhat perilous, with quite a bit of rule power permeating the air. In ancient times, reception emissaries would have come to the Reception Hall to guide them. Nowadays, the eighth floor had long been abandoned and empty; there were no emissaries left, leaving them to rely entirely on themselves to venture deeper. *Pfft!* Before the opulent elder had even run a hundred meters, a strand of rule power blocked his path. Earlier, the Blood Fire Demon King had passed through unscathed, but the elder was obstructed. The rule power tore directly through his physical body, mangling his flesh and blood in an instant. The elder paid it no heed; running came first! Nearby, Moduona, Changhe, and the Second Elder of the Hunting Heaven Pavilion showed no interest in tangling with the madman Lan Tian. All of them strode forward. Lan Tian's arrival had shattered the brief peace. Gritting his teeth, the opulent elder tore into the River of Time and crossed a hundred meters in a single stride. The river surged under the suppression of the rule power, but he paid it no mind. Better to escape first! Lan Tian's clones followed closely behind, and suddenly, the clone of a middle-aged man appeared right behind him. The elder couldn't be bothered with it. Lan Tian's clones were fairly strong, but killing him would still be difficult. Taking a single punch wouldn't be a big deal; putting distance between them was the priority. Behind him, a strange look flashed across Su Yu's eyes. *Offering yourself up for me to kill?* *Sigh!* Quasi-Invincibles these days had zero sense of danger. Even though he had used his "Stillness" divine character to mask the man's crisis intuition, he was still a Quasi-Invincible, after all. Could he really be this oblivious? *You're asking for a beating... then don't mind if I do!* Truth be told, reaching this stage, Su Yu had never actually struck someone with full force. With that thought, Su Yu threw a punch! Mountain Suppressing Fist! A martial technique of the Multiple Divine Characters lineage! As the punch was unleashed, the opulent elder's face twisted in horror. An overwhelming sense of lethal peril made every hair on his body stand on end as he shrieked, "No! I know the method to open General Duobao's Mansion—" *Boom!* With a single punch, the opulent elder was blown to smithereens. The River of Time churned, and in the next moment, a past embodiment resembling a young man emerged—the elder's appearance during his youth. His face was currently paper-white. *Impossible! Lan Tian can't possibly be this strong!* *This isn't the offensive power of a Quasi-Invincible!* Just as the thought crossed his mind, a tremendous kick landed. Time erupted as the kick shot out, causing the River of Time to tremble. With a loud snap, the river fractured, and the young man was kicked into pieces! Simultaneously, a tome materialized, instantly stowing away everything, including a carrier. Essence blood, shattered flesh—everything was gathered up by Su Yu. Soon, another small portrait appeared on the immortal race page. Su Yu raised an eyebrow. He really had been of the immortal race. The All-Heavens Myriad Treasures Tower was rumored to be connected to the god, demon, and immortal races, and it turned out to be true. An immortal had actually been embedded within it; an immortal had nearly slipped through the net. A setting sun plunged from the sky! Along the flanks of the boulevard, everyone about to depart froze, turning to look at Su Yu in shock. Meanwhile, Su Yu leisurely held his tome, pacifying the rule power sweeping toward him. This was the punitive rule power; killing someone here would incur retribution. However, Su Yu could tell that the punishment's intensity wasn't all that terrifying—roughly enough to annihilate a Quasi-Invincible. Most likely, this was because they were still in the outer perimeter. Those at or above the Invincible Realm probably wouldn't be casually executed by it. Su Yu blocked it briefly with the civilization chronicle, then allowed the gigantic hand of rules to seize him. With a sharp creak, it squeezed until his physical body glowed with radiance, only for the rule power to finally dissipate. Su Yu rubbed his arm and sighed in wonder. "Terrifying! It squeezed my arm until it swelled!" Silence! Absolute silence! Changhe, the Second Elder, and Moduona were all utterly dumbfounded. Was... was this even human? "Su Yu!" Shock washed over Moduona's face. Without a second word, he crushed a jade talisman and vanished on the spot. In the distant void, ripples of rule resistance could be seen. Having shifted tens of thousands of meters away, Moduona's shadow flickered briefly across the distant expanse before vanishing entirely. Su Yu was speechless. "Why run? We're partners!" In the distance, Moduona didn't look back or spare him a single glance, quickly dropping to the ground and disappearing into a massive manor. *Screw you!* Moduona was practically frightened out of his wits. This fellow had become terrifyingly strong. Earlier, it had still seemed somewhat normal, taking a fair amount of effort to kill a Quasi-Invincible. Now, he killed a Quasi-Invincible with effortless ease. If that were all, so be it, but under the punishment of rule power—which would normally obliterate a Quasi-Invincible—Su Yu merely complained that his arm was swollen! *Screw you!* Moduona wouldn't dare talk about cooperation with him now! Cooperation had to be built on an equal foundation, like last time. But now... what a joke. Su Yu's strength had surged exponentially. Under these circumstances, what kind of partnership could there be? None was needed! In that case, why wouldn't he run? Not far away, Changhe tore open a time passage without regard for the danger, forcibly displacing himself and vanishing from his spot in an instant. Meanwhile, the Second Elder of the Hunting Heaven Pavilion let out a low shout. A small boat appeared beneath his feet, drifting through the void and the River of Time as he fled rapidly. Both were shaken to the core! *Holy shit!* *That was Su Yu?* *He's this terrifying?* Slaughtering a Quasi-Invincible like slaughtering a baby chick. Too terrifying! Even though Changhe was powerful enough to battle an Invincible, at that moment, he had seen the vision of his own death in the River of Destiny—slain by Su Yu. The shock made him unwilling to linger for even a second, and he vanished immediately! It was simply too damn terrifying! Even if it cost him a heavy price, Changhe was determined to put distance between himself and Su Yu. Behind them, Su Yu, clad in snow-white robes, floated in midair with a smile on his face, calling out lightly, "Take care, you two! No need to rush! I had no intention of killing you! If you manage to make it out, I hope you'll put in a few good words for me. I've only killed around a thousand people; the rest weren't my doing—Blood Fire killed them all..." The two fled faster than rabbits! As for the rest, they didn't care in the slightest. They realized that something truly catastrophic must have happened on the seventh floor! Su Yu... that lunatic possessed terrifying strength. They didn't know how Su Yu had pulled it off, but they understood—and shuddered at the realization—that the remarkably young Su Yu might now possess genuine Invincible combat power! This was simply too horrifying! People like Changhe had accumulated their strength over countless years to reach their current level. Humanity was truly frighteningly formidable. Once they had left, Lan Tian asked faintly, "Not going to chase and kill them?" Su Yu smiled. "No rush. If we can kill them, great; if not, forget it. Let them go outside and spread the word. There aren't many survivors left anyway." Hardly anyone was left alive! A few had to make it out to help shoulder the pressure for humanity, right? Besides, it would advertise that he, Su Yu, had arrived. In any case, those few didn't know anything. Killing that opulent elder had merely been to let those fellows see clearly just how strong he was. King Daqin... King Daqin hadn't come, after all! Now, there was only one person left who knew the truth: Blood Fire. Once Blood Fire was killed, Su Yu would gladly shoulder the entire blame. At the very least, he had an ancient city to rely on. Otherwise, if news about King Daqin leaked out, that would be the true disaster. Besides, the myriad races of the heavens had wanted to kill him for ages anyway! He was used to it! A faint smile played on Su Yu's lips. Soon, he turned back to look at the stunned Liu Wenyan and Hong Tan, his expression brightening into a radiant grin. "Teacher Liu, Grandmaster, did you miss me?" "..." Hong Tan and Liu Wenyan continued to stare at him dumbfoundedly. The two of them were men of the world! Their master had once fought an Invincible while still at the Sun Moon Realm, achieving a genuine kill. Even today, there were barely any experts who could slay an Invincible at the Sun Moon Realm. What grand spectacles hadn't they witnessed? Yet... wasn't Su Yu only at the Lingyun Realm? Killing a Quasi-Invincible truly looked as easy as slaughtering a chick. What in the world had he eaten to suddenly become this powerful? Liu Wenyan stared blankly at him. "Which strike had the problem?" "..." Su Yu was speechless. Bringing this up again. "Teacher, it was the fifth strike that had the problem. All right, I'm Su Yu. If I weren't, I could crush you with a single finger..." "..." Liu Wenyan's expression shifted continuously. Hearing those words just felt completely off. What was that supposed to mean? He glanced at Su Yu, then at Lan Tian. Since he had arrived together with Lan Tian, it was most likely the real Su Yu. Even so, Liu Wenyan couldn't resist asking, "How did you get this strong?" Su Yu chuckled. "You taught me well, Teacher, so naturally I'm strong!" "Speak human!" "*Ahem*, it's simple: opened three hundred and sixty origin apertures, completed seventy-two physical body castings, eight origin qi transformations... Isn't it only normal for me to be a bit stronger?" Normal? Liu Wenyan thought silently, *Is that really normal?* *Screw your grandfather!* *It's not normal at all, all right?!* A normal person couldn't possibly achieve any of the things you just rattled off. Exhausting! Great strength always had a foundation. Liu Wenyan calculated it briefly; if it was truly as Su Yu described, this kid's strength was terrifying to an appalling degree. "Why did you come to the eighth floor?" Liu Wenyan asked, then added, "What about the others?" Su Yu smiled. "They're all fine, doing well. Teacher, why are you and Grandmaster running around recklessly? It's so dangerous here! Quasi-Invincibles are dying worse than dogs, and Invincibles aren't dying much better than dogs. What did the two of you come up to the eighth floor for?" "..." *Are you looking down on us, or are you worried about us?* Hong Tan felt helpless and didn't really want to speak. Liu Wenyan, on the other hand, said indifferently, "What do you know! In this place, sheer strength isn't everything. No matter how strong you are, can you be stronger than a Half-Emperor? Here, it's not about raw power; it's about rules, status, and rank... I have Tier 5 clearance here!" At that point, Liu Wenyan smiled and said, "You don't understand that, do you? Tier 5 clearance is equivalent to the clearance of a titled general in the ancient era! Do you know what a titled general is?" Su Yu chuckled. "Of course I know! I get it! Titled generals aren't as high-ranking as marquises, right? The old turtle Hongmeng is a titled general. Teacher, don't forget that I'm the castellan of Hongmeng City. Tier 5 clearance isn't anything special..." Liu Wenyan froze, then cursed inwardly. *Fuck!* *I totally forgot!* Su Yu quickly added with a laugh, "Besides, I have Tier 4 clearance, not Tier 5." "Huh?" Liu Wenyan was stunned. Before he could ask, Lan Tian suddenly interjected angrily, "How come you have Tier 5 clearance? I am the head of the Tiandao Academy; why am I only Tier 7?" *Well...* Liu Wenyan glanced at Lan Tian and said awkwardly, "Yours was conferred by Manor Head Wan, right?" "Yes!" Liu Wenyan coughed awkwardly. "Manor Head Wan seems to have inherited the office of a miscellaneous-titled general. The most he could confer on you is a rank one tier lower. As for me, before my master died, he passed down the office he inherited back then to me, so my rank is slightly higher..." Lan Tian grew dejected. Su Yu, on the other hand, asked curiously, "The Fifth-Generation Head inherited the office of a titled general back then?" Liu Wenyan nodded. Hong Tan chimed in urgently, "Is that Blood Fire really wounded? Let's not chat about this now. If he's truly heavily injured, we should hurry and find a chance to kill him! Otherwise, he might obtain some immense fortune in this place at any moment, recover from his injuries, and cause huge trouble!" *The two of you are actually reminiscing here!* *Hurry up and go kill Blood Fire!* Su Yu smiled. "Grandmaster, no rush. We need to figure out the rules of this place first. There were far too many mighty figures in the ancient era who set down rules. If we make a slight misstep, we could trigger them and end up dead without even knowing how." That was fair enough. Hong Tan and Liu Wenyan quickly and concisely explained what they had learned. In short, the two of them had come up this time specifically to reach the Mansion of King Wen... though they most likely wouldn't be able to. The Mansion of King Wen was said to be in the deepest depths. According to the rules, Tier 4 clearance allowed entry into the Tier 1 zone, but that only meant entry—it didn't mean one could act carelessly. In reality, venturing beyond one's corresponding tier zone brought endless trouble. A single mistake could lead to utter ruin. Su Yu listened silently, pondering and nodding. According to their explanation, moving around the marquis manor area wouldn't be overly dangerous for Su Yu. As long as he didn't actively seek trouble, the rules wouldn't bother him. However, the moment he stepped outside the marquis area, he had to be cautious at all times. "Understood..." Su Yu nodded, then asked, "Teacher, do you know if the voice that spoke at the entrance was rule power or a living person?" "Not sure about that." Liu Wenyan answered quickly, "My master came to the eighth floor back then, but his cultivation wasn't particularly high at the time, so he didn't explore many things thoroughly. As for whether the gatekeeper was a rule or a living person, he didn't have the strength to investigate either." Ye Batian had been to the eighth floor! It wasn't entirely surprising, yet it was still a little unexpected. Su Yu had sensed it: without the strength of multiple Sun Moon stages, it was extremely difficult to ascend to the eighth floor. How had Ye Batian managed it? Or had he already been several stages into the Sun Moon Realm when he came up? Which period had Ye Batian visited? Very few people ever made it to the eighth floor, and among those who did, hardly any left alive. Ye Batian had certainly been bold. At this point, Su Yu didn't really want to explore. Because there was danger! He wanted to leave right now. His main purpose in coming up had been to find Liu Wenyan and the others. Having found them, killing Blood Fire would be ideal; if he couldn't, then so be it. However, his teacher and grandmaster seemed to have their own ideas. Su Yu asked, "So Teacher came up this time purely to look for something? Something belonging to King Wen?" Liu Wenyan explained, "Not looking for any specific object, mainly to see if there's a method to advance to the Invincible Realm—a method for Civilization Masters to advance." He looked at Su Yu and said, "After all, our lineage doesn't follow the physical body path..." Su Yu nodded. "Yes, exactly. We're all scholars; we should follow the civilized path. Progressing along the warrior path is too simple, lacking any challenge whatsoever. I can already blow up Invincibles!" "..." *Fuck you!* *Get lost!* Liu Wenyan roared in his heart, *Get the hell away from me!* He knew he shouldn't talk to this brat. Every word felt like a stab to the heart, thoroughly miserable. When they said they didn't follow the physical body path, on one hand, their physical bodies were indeed frail, but on the other hand, the physical path largely depended on resources. The civilized path, in many cases, relied on comprehension and insight, consuming far fewer resources. Advancing or outlining divine characters mostly came down to enlightenment and serendipity; forcibly piling up resources to push forward was extremely difficult. Yet when things fell into place naturally, the resource consumption was remarkably low. Su Yu, on the other hand, had to stab them in the heart. This kid had consumed an endless mountain of resources, forcefully hammering his physical body to this stage. One could only say... he had the wealth to be willful, and his talent was genuinely absurd. Though the physical path was slightly simpler, Su Yu was different from ordinary cultivators. Whether opening apertures or casting his body, he had pushed everything to an absolute limit—a limit almost no one could surpass. Even in ancient times, there were those who opened the Heavenly Cycle apertures, but opening all the Heavenly Cycle apertures while simultaneously completing seventy-two body castings was practically unheard of. Seventy-two castings of the physical body was simply not something a human was supposed to accomplish. The Iron-Eating Seventy-Two Castings represented the pinnacle of that concept. Su Yu didn't continue teasing his teacher, smiling instead. "Then let's take a look. Teacher, Grandmaster, it's best if you two head down now. I'll go search. It's still very dangerous up here; the seventh floor is somewhat safer." Liu Wenyan furrowed his brows. "An extra person means an extra bit of strength. Your grandmaster and I won't hold you back. If we really run into trouble, you don't need to look out for us..." Su Yu sighed. "Listen to what you're saying. With you two here, how could I not look out for you? You're both well past your youth—why talk like that?" "..." *I don't want to talk to you anymore. You just think we're weak!* Liu Wenyan cursed inwardly. *This old man is already at the fourth stage of the Sun Moon Realm. I was originally planning to ask if you were scared, but now... forget it, I won't even mention it!* Exhausting! To the side, Lan Tian had been studying certain landmarks. At this moment, he turned his head and chuckled sinisterly. "Let's go, kid! Stop wasting time with these two! Blood Fire's clearance is most likely not very high. If he went anywhere, it's probably to some demon race manors! I've observed the layout—these residences seem to follow a pattern! That area over there is thick with demonic qi; it's likely the demon race territory. Let's move!" Su Yu looked at Liu Wenyan and Hong Tan. "Teacher, you two can either wait for me here or find a place to hide. I'll take out Blood Fire and come right back. As for retrieving treasures... if not this time, we can come back next time. No rush!" With that, Su Yu smiled and added, "Soon enough! Other people can only enter this place once every ten years, but if I'm strong enough, I can open it anytime. There's no hurry right now; in any case, it's not time for our Civilization Master ranks to advance yet." The two were surprised. *Enter anytime?* Neither asked further. After a moment of thought, Liu Wenyan quickly said, "Then be careful. Blood Fire is an elite expert among Invincibles, after all; even wounded, he won't be easy to kill! Treasures can be retrieved anytime, and you're right—your grandmaster and I won't cause you trouble. But remember one thing: don't go near the Council Hall!" "Why?" "I don't know. My master mentioned it once back then, and I remembered it. As for the exact reason, I didn't ask at the time." "All right!" Su Yu said no more and quickly stepped onto the White Jade Boulevard alongside Lan Tian. As the two rushed ahead and vanished from view, Liu Wenyan grumbled with a trace of grievance, "Damn it, this brat... Junior Brother, did we just embarrass ourselves again?" Hong Tan nodded and sighed. "Indeed. In the past, we could at least suppress him a bit, but now... forget it! Senior Brother, I say we just poke around the periphery for some minor opportunities to bolster our strength. Let's not think about too much else." Thinking back to how the two of them had cautiously groped around for half a day, only for Su Yu to arrive... *Heh, grope for what?* *I am immensely powerful!* *I charge straight through!* *I'm even going to hunt down the Blood Fire Demon King!* How could he have time to dawdle slowly like them? Helplessly, Liu Wenyan put on a look of melancholy. He was falling further and further behind this kid. Whatever; he would listen to his junior brother and just wander the outer edges. *** Outside. It was the nineteenth day since the residence opened. There were eleven days left until the Star Residence Mansion closed. However, all passages had collapsed, and no one knew whether they could reopen or transmit anyone out again. How many living people were left inside? After a long silence, someone sighed. "Let us wait a bit longer. I see many names still remaining on the Heaven Hunting Ranking. If nothing has gone wrong with the ranking, then they are most likely still alive. Moduona, Zhan Wushuang, Changhe, Jiu Yue, Tuntian... all these names are still on the list." Since their names hadn't disappeared, they were probably alive. However, Tianzhou's name had vanished. He had likely fallen! This drew a sigh from the experts of the Tianyuan race. As for Lingyuan, his connection had severed long ago—severed before the great upheaval—so he was probably dead as well. The Tianyuan race had suffered considerable losses this time. On the immortal race's side, they maintained cold, indifferent expressions, appearing entirely calm. Yet everyone knew the immortals were nowhere near as serene as they appeared. Over the past two days, immortal kings had been continually emerging from seclusion and rushing here. Clearly, all their people inside had died, and the immortals refused to accept it. Once the residence opened and survivors emerged, the immortal race would likely initiate hostilities. Regardless of which race came out, they might strike; their own people were gone anyway. On humanity's side, several Invincibles had arrived as well. The other races were doing much the same. Invincibles were actually more numerous now than when the opening had begun. "Still no word from the inside?" "The Star Residence Mansion has stopped trembling, and it's been quite a while since any messages were transmitted out!" "Are there any other descendants inside? Contact them and see what happened! We will share the cost of the consumed resources!" At this moment, everyone was burning with anxiety. What on earth had happened inside? Someone looked toward the demons. "Demon King Mo Ge, why not contact Moduona? Moduona is still on the ranking, so he's likely alive..." Mo Ge furrowed his brow slightly and said flatly, "He's not the only survivor. Zhan Wushuang is alive, and Changhe and Jiu Yue haven't died either. On humanity's side, King Daxia can contact Xia Longwu." In the distance, King Daxia replied coolly, "Would it matter if I contacted him? Even if I told you, none of you would believe it!" That was certainly true. In truth, it would be best for multiple people to make contact and ask what had transpired. Unfortunately, the gathered Invincibles were currently unwilling to waste their essence blood. They might ask now, only for the contact to drop dead a moment later. *** On humanity's side, King Daxia pondered for a moment before sending a voice transmission: "We should still ask about the situation. I'll check on Longwu..." "Let me do it!" King Dazhou transmitted, "I'll contact Tianfang." Yes, Zhu Tianfang. King Dazhou... did not seem to be King Dazhou, or... was Zhu Tianfang of the Zhou family bloodline? King Daxia wasn't surprised, transmitting back, "That works. Burn some essence blood; when a real fight breaks out later and your strength is slightly diminished, no one will find it strange. Otherwise, it'll be easy to blow your cover!" "Are you implying I'm inferior to Old Zhou?" King Dazhou glanced at him, his gaze profound. *You think I'm not as good as Old Zhou?* King Daxia's expression didn't waver as he transmitted, "You know the answer yourself! Can you match that spear strike of his?" "Heh, we can test that!" King Daxia couldn't be bothered to argue. Indeed, the King Dazhou here... was King Daming in disguise. The real King Dazhou was holding down the Eastern Rift Valley, while King Daqin had disguised himself as King Daming to enter the Star Residence Mansion. By reallocating their top-tier combat power, they had created the illusion that King Daqin was still at the Eastern Rift Valley. This time, humanity's primary goal had been to help King Daqin achieve his breakthrough, yet the commotion transmitted earlier hadn't seemed very promising. King Dazhou... no, King Daming said nothing more. He glanced sideways toward Xinghong Ancient City once again, frowning slightly. If unforeseen events had unfolded, who knew what role that kid Su Yu had played in them. Soon, he sat cross-legged, burned his essence blood, and began contacting Zhu Tianfang. Seeing this, the experts from the other factions didn't interfere, merely watching. It seemed humanity couldn't sit still either—were they contacting Zhou Polong? Before long, King Daming faintly established a connection with Zhu Tianfang. In an instant, he entered a specialized domain. Next, he saw Zhu Tianfang's phantom image. Without wasting words, he asked urgently, "How is Old Qin?" "Heavily wounded. Two of his three incarnations have fallen!" King Daming's heart violently convulsed. "What about the others?" "Xia Longwu and Qin Zhen are gravely injured and currently recuperating. I'm doing all right. Also..." "What else?" "Su Yu is here. He's ruthlessly vicious—he slaughtered countless experts..." "Be careful. When you're ready to be transmitted out, stay alert. The passages have collapsed, so you might not be able to transmit straight back. I have the gist of things..." In an instant, King Daming fell out of the specialized state, his complexion somewhat pale. Not merely due to the excessive exhaustion, but also because King Daqin had truly met with disaster. A massive catastrophe! Noticing King Daxia's inquiring gaze, he forced a slight smile and nodded. Then, sensing the eyes of the others on him, he abruptly adopted a sorrowful expression. "It's over, it's all over! Our human race has suffered catastrophic losses! So tragic..." The crowd was speechless! *Screw you!* *Humanity suffered the fewest losses, and you probably have the most survivors right now. Anyone who believes you is an idiot! This bastard's acting is so transparent!* King Daming chuckled with breezy calm. Soon, he transmitted to King Daxia: "Be prepared. Old Qin met with disaster; two of his three incarnations fell. Once they emerge, retrieve Old Qin immediately. Don't let anyone notice anything. In the Human Realm, only you and I know—at most, we tell Old Zhou... Don't breathe a word to anyone else!" King Daxia's heart shook violently. Old Qin had met with disaster! The worst-case scenario had come to pass! "What about the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus? If push comes to shove, as long as we obtained it, whether Old Zhou or I advance to Dao Integration, and as long as Old Qin doesn't die, we can still suppress the others..." "Didn't ask. There wasn't time. Most likely didn't get it." A dark cloud loomed over King Daxia's heart. This was going to be troublesome. Soon, King Daming transmitted again: "Also, that kid Su Yu did indeed enter. He slaughtered countless people; this upheaval might be tied to him. I didn't ask for specifics either. If he emerges, getting back to the ancient city will be difficult. Even though the distance isn't far, you and I need to consider whether we should escort him back to the city." "Of course!" "However..." King Daming transmitted, "One is Old Qin, and the other is him. Both sides will be in extreme danger. Tell me, are the few of us enough?" King Daxia fell silent. After a long pause, he transmitted, "Back then, we gave up the Multiple Divine Characters lineage. Are we going to abandon them again now? Time and time again... If it comes to it, mobilize all Eternals! While Old Qin and the rest of us are still drawing breath, we'll fight a war against them! If we battle them fiercely once, the myriad races will hesitate!" "Let's wait until Old Qin emerges before deciding. Furthermore... Old Zhou needs to play his part well over there; otherwise, huge problems will arise. If Old Qin truly dies in battle, announce that I was the one who fell. In the short term, I'll continue posing as Old Zhou, and Old Zhou will pose as Old Qin... We have to pull off this performance perfectly!" If a King Daming died, the human race would be shaken, but it wouldn't collapse. If a King Daqin died, the outcome would be drastically different. Therefore, King Daming could disappear, but King Daqin had to exist at all times. King Daxia said nothing. If that moment truly arrived, that would be the only choice. Old Zhou might be formidable, but stepping into Old Qin's shoes would be far too difficult. Never mind others—he, Xia Wushen, wouldn't accept it! At this moment, the two human powerhouses were deeply weighed down with anxiety, yet they couldn't reveal a single trace of it, maintaining serene, unflinching expressions. *** Meanwhile, on the eighth floor of the Star Residence Mansion. Su Yu and Lan Tian tracked rapidly. Even when encountering massive manors, they didn't pause to investigate. Treasure hunting was secondary; the primary objective was finding the Blood Fire Demon King. When it came to locating someone, formidable though Su Yu and Lan Tian were, truth be told... they weren't as useful right now as the tiny little fur ball! That creature was exceptionally sensitive to scents, divine character flavors, and the smell of the sea of will. In reality, Su Yu and the others couldn't smell a thing. Yet the little fur ball genuinely could. After searching for a while, the little fur ball suddenly twitched its nose in Su Yu's mind. "Up ahead! Right inside that big house..." Su Yu looked over immediately, his eyes flashing. "General Xueqi's Mansion!" Su Yu scanned the surroundings, uncertain whether this was the residence of a miscellaneous-titled general or a titled general. Regardless, the Blood Fire Demon King had burrowed inside. "Found you!" Su Yu exchanged a glance with Lan Tian, and both vanished from their spot in an instant. Farther off, within that colossal manor, the Blood Fire Demon King had slipped inside, his expression grim. A sense of crisis! Someone was pursuing him! *Damn it, I hope they don't find me. There are so many manors here; they shouldn't be able to pin down my location.* "General Xueqi..." The Blood Fire Demon King muttered inwardly. The Blood Fire Demon race had a few records regarding this General Xueqi. Looking deeper into the manor's interior, he hoped there would be some good items inside to help him restore a fraction of his strength.