The entrance to the dead spirit realm.
This was Su Yu's first time stepping into the dead spirit realm. The moment he crossed the threshold, dense death qi surged toward him.
He looked left and right—not even a ghost of a shadow was in sight!
Clearly, when Old Zhou erupted earlier, the nearby dead spirits had either been slaughtered or fled.
Su Yu was curious about something and asked, "Milady, whenever someone is killed within a certain area, dead spirits appear instantly. Where do these dead spirits come from, and how do they appear in an instant?"
"Rules!"
Having returned to the dead spirit realm, Xingyue seemed to have returned to her home turf. She was noticeably more confident, her voice cooler and prouder, her posture high and haughty!
"As for the dead spirits, those in the ancient cities are generally converted from residents like you! They wait in a dead spirit conversion pool, ready to be dispatched to the ancient cities at any moment! In other places, most are randomly drawn out by the rules!"
With that, she looked at Su Yu, her gaze dark and chilly. *This is my territory now!*
"Su Yu, I have many friends in the dead spirit realm!"
Su Yu nodded with an indifferent look and smiled. "Then congratulations, Milady!"
*Cut the crap!*
*Where would you get friends?*
*You're just a moldy shut-in dead spirit. You didn't even go help when Hetu attacked Hongmeng Ancient City. I know that—did you think I didn't?*
*The dead spirit guarding Tianmie Ancient City went to help, but you didn't. Did you think I didn't know that either?*
*With a personality like yours, you have friends?*
*Who are you kidding!*
He didn't believe a word of it, but he couldn't be bothered to argue. Instead, he asked, "Milady, I noticed that dead spirits love collecting ancient city tokens. Why is that? Even over here, toss out a few ancient city tokens and you can bribe them."
Moreover, many dead spirits wore ancient city tokens.
In the ancient cities, killing dead spirits could yield drops of ancient city tokens.
Xingyue said aloofly, "Ancient city tokens are not actually ancient city tokens, but identity tokens from the ancient era! They represent duties conferred by the rules. When an ancient city token is of a sufficiently high rank, wearing it can allow a dead spirit to recover some of their intellect—also conferred by the rules!"
Su Yu came to a sudden realization. "You mean, as long as the ancient city token is high-ranking enough—like the ones in my hands, which are relatively high in rank—the rules will actively help revive some of your intellect?"
"Correct!"
Xingyue said indifferently, "However, the ancient city tokens that survive today are mostly low in rank. Even those in the ancient cities are merely identity tokens of minor figures from the ancient era. Very few are of genuinely high rank!"
To be considered high-ranking, a token had to have belonged to at least an untitled general.
Su Yu actually had some on him. Tokens like the Xinghong ancient city token had belonged to untitled generals, while the Hongmeng ancient city token counted as a titled general's token.
These things could accelerate a dead spirit's awakening?
No wonder!
So dead spirits pursuing ancient city tokens was a kind of instinct—instinct drove them to obtain them, to gather more, in hopes of accelerating the recovery of their memories.
The myriad races probably didn't know much about the dead spirit realm.
They only knew one thing: there were many dead spirit monarchs.
Su Yu was also very curious about this realm. Like an inquisitive toddler, he pressed, "Milady, does the dead spirit realm have cities?"
"Cities?"
Xingyue said coldly, "Dead spirits only possess a shred of intellect upon reaching the Sun Moon Realm. Only upon reaching the quasi-Invincible stage can they speak, and only at the monarch level do they possess true self-awareness. What would we need cities for?"
Of course, some monarchs would build palaces and the like for themselves, driven by memories from life.
Cities were unnecessary!
What was the point of having cities?
In a vast kingdom with one dead spirit monarch and a few quasi-Invincibles, would they build a massive city just to wander the streets with mindless dead spirits?
Bored out of their minds!
Su Yu was speechless. Just as he was pondering, Xingyue added, "However, while there are none near us, it seems... there are some elsewhere. I once heard a traveling dead spirit monarch say that in the eastern region, there is a city of dead spirits. Many dead spirit monarchs go there to trade or cultivate. There are numerous dead spirit monarchs there, and it's said there are Dao Integration experts present!"
Su Yu was surprised. "You've never been?"
"Why should I go?"
Xingyue's voice was frigid. *Why should I go?*
*I just like staying over by Xinghong Ancient City. Got a problem with that?*
Su Yu understood. As expected, still a rotten shut-in—so shut in she'd gone stale!
So there were cities in the dead spirit realm after all, just none in this area. Su Yu asked again, "Milady, are there many Dao Integration experts in the dead spirit realm?"
"I don't know."
"Then have the top experts who died in the ancient era revived?"
"I don't know. Either they've revived, or they're in the Dead Spirit Heavenly River. You can go inside and look for them yourself!"
Xingyue spoke bluntly. *Go look for them yourself!*
The Dead Spirit Heavenly River!
Su Yu looked into the far distance at the heavenly river traversing heaven and earth, then asked, "Milady, is the Dead Spirit Heavenly River really a river?"
"Of course. In that river, death qi manifests as water, running through the entire dead spirit realm, summoning dead souls. When living beings perish, they may appear in the Dead Spirit Heavenly River, and given the right coincidence, their memories will awaken!"
Su Yu nodded. He had heard of this before.
However, that heavenly river looked exceedingly distant.
Xingyue added, "The heavenly river is the territory of dead spirits, yet even dead spirits rarely go there, because no one knows if a powerful dead spirit might suddenly revive, nor whether one might be swallowed by the river. As for you, the moment you go there, you will be completely transformed into a dead spirit!"
That terrifying?
Alright, I have no desire to test whether I can hold out.
Su Yu looked around. Everything was murky gray, feeling somewhat oppressive.
The surroundings possessed a desolate bleakness that felt ancient and eternal.
The earth was pitch-black!
Su Yu stomped his foot. The ground didn't budge at all, appearing incomparably solid. Wafts of death qi seeped out from underground.
Su Yu wanted to dig up some soil to see what material it was composed of.
Just as he squatted down to dig, Xingyue snapped, "Don't touch anything! In the dead spirit realm, this black earth protects the dead spirits. If it gets dug up, it can sometimes cause huge trouble!"
"What kind of huge trouble?"
"I don't know."
"Huh?"
Su Yu was speechless. *You don't know?*
"Because it's different every time!"
Xingyue said coldly, "Sometimes you'll dig up an ancient dead spirit slumbering beneath! Sometimes you'll unearth corrosive qi capable of corroding even death qi, and sometimes you'll dig up a curse..."
Alright. Su Yu was speechless. Was the underground really that complicated?
Better heed the elder's advice so as not to suffer.
He abandoned his research inclinations. He wasn't like Wu Lan or Bai Feng, daring to dig anywhere just for research.
Su Yu calculated the time. Today was probably already the twentieth day since Star Residence Mansion opened.
He had better rush back before the thirtieth day to deliver a backstab!
*You think I'm outside, but I'm inside. You think I'm inside, but I'm outside...*
*You want to corner me? I'll bring people to corner you instead!*
Su Yu had no interest in exploring the dead spirit realm right now. One had to live within one's means. Countless people had died in the ancient era; ghost knew if there were true emperors here. Even if there weren't, the Dao Integration experts in the dead spirit realm would hardly be few.
In the ancient era, marquises were Dao Integration experts, and some titled generals were Dao Integration experts too!
Even if those fellows had become dead spirits and hadn't fully recovered, they were still stronger than Su Yu.
Soon, Su Yu asked, "Milady, is there a way to find Hetu?"
"Yes!"
Su Yu was overjoyed.
There really was a way.
Just as he thought that, a shrill shriek pierced the air: "Hetu! Come out!"
"..."
*Holy shit!*
Su Yu almost lost his mind.
*This is the way you meant?*
He quickly straightened up, adopted a proper posture, and walked behind Xingyue. *Good grief, this crazy woman Xingyue... is this how you people in the dead spirit realm look for someone?*
Xingyue, however, was quite satisfied!
Yes, this was how you looked for someone!
How else would you look for someone if not like this?
Search and probe inch by inch?
The dead spirit realm was so vast that even Xingyue hadn't explored much of it. Who knew where Hetu had run off to? Hetu wasn't like ordinary dead spirit monarchs who stayed in one spot without moving; that fellow frequently roamed about recruiting people, traversing too many places.
Besides, who knew whether Hetu was dead or alive?
She wanted to see if there were living dead spirits nearby to ask about the situation.
……
"Hetu, come out!"
That shrill cry echoed continuously through the dead spirit realm.
Hetu, who was in the middle of sweet-talking some muscle, paused slightly. He seemed to hear shouting. Listening closely for a moment, he looked at Tuofa and asked, "Tuofa, is Xingyue calling me?"
Tuofa hadn't heard clearly and didn't care. He said in a deep voice, "Hetu, skip the side talk. It's not impossible for us to go to your kingdom, but you must yield the Dead Spirit Heavenly River to us..."
Hetu was speechless!
*I'm talking serious business, and you bring this up.*
*I really seemed to hear someone calling me!*
*Xingyue?*
*Did that fellow not die?*
Maybe she really hadn't died. Xingyue was colluding with Su Yu, and when Su Yu left, he seemed to have taken her along. Does that mean she came back alive, and the turmoil in Star Residence Mansion has ended?
He was still somewhat disappointed this time.
His trip to Star Residence Mansion had been an accident, but he had hoped to build Su Yu an army of his own in Star Residence Mansion—only for everything to go up in smoke!
At this moment, he listened again.
A moment later, he suddenly said, "I'll go take a look. It seems Xingyue really has come out!"
With that, he vanished on the spot.
Seeing him dash off, the other dead spirit monarchs hesitated before flying after him toward the distance.
……
On Su Yu's side, he was wandering aimlessly behind Xingyue.
As Xingyue walked, she said, "Hetu might be dead. If he's dead, we'll return to my Kingdom of Xingyue!"
"That won't do. I need to find that place!"
"Hmph!"
Xingyue snorted. She didn't want to search; this place was so vast, where would they even look?
Yet if they didn't look, Su Yu would keep draining her death qi, which was also troublesome.
She hoped Hetu was still alive!
Su Yu didn't say much either, following her forward. Along the way, there was nothing. The entire dead spirit realm felt like a graveyard, excessively oppressive, without even a minor dead spirit in sight.
According to Xingyue, under normal circumstances, there were actually quite a few mindless dead spirits wandering around the dead spirit realm.
These were weak dead spirits; some crawled out of the Dead Spirit Heavenly River on their own, while others were born directly in the dead spirit realm. The truly powerful experts slumbered in the depths, awaiting their awakening.
There were none here probably because they had all been summoned out earlier and wiped out in one go.
It would take time for mindless dead spirits from surrounding territories to drift over.
In this vast territory with just Su Yu and Xingyue, Su Yu actually felt somewhat depressed. Exploring this damn place alone would probably bore someone to death.
Just as he was thinking this, Su Yu's heart stirred.
Xingyue also looked in a certain direction. Soon, a dead spirit gradually emerged from the void. In the distance, Hetu spoke with a chuckle, "Xingyue, it really is you!"
As he spoke, Hetu looked with some puzzlement at the dead spirit behind Xingyue. Where had she picked this one up?
His mind worked rapidly. As a wise man of the dead spirit realm, Hetu considered his intellect superior. After pondering for a moment, he grew uncertain: *Could this be Su Yu?*
*Su Yu can turn into a dead spirit, can't he?*
Hetu also knew the method of reversing origin apertures, but his memory was hazy now, making him unsure for the moment.
Su Yu, on the other hand, was delighted.
Hetu was still alive!
Alive was good. He had been worried Hetu might be dead—if he were dead, where would Su Yu find the teleportation site?
Thus, the moment he saw Hetu, Su Yu didn't bother hiding; there was no point. He swiftly sent a voice transmission: "Lord Hetu!"
"..."
Hetu froze for a second. It really was this fellow! What immense guts!
A living person entering the dead spirit realm was practically begging for death.
He glanced back at Tuofa and the others following behind, transmitting to Su Yu: "Whatever business you have, wait until I handle them!"
Su Yu coming here most likely meant he had business with him.
Hetu didn't bother asking more; better to deal with Tuofa and the rest first.
Soon, Tuofa and the others arrived. Seeing Xingyue, Tuofa asked directly, "Xingyue, what's the situation over there?"
"The Guiyuan Blade is gone!"
"So everything is safe?"
Tuofa was overjoyed. Even the Guiyuan Blade was gone?
He quickly looked at Su Yu. "Where did this one come from?"
"I just converted him in Star Residence Mansion!"
Tuofa said with some displeasure, "That's our territory!"
*Converting dead spirits on our turf—did you ask for our opinion?*
Xingyue said indifferently, "There are still plenty of people inside, including King Daqin. Monarch Tuofa is welcome to go try!"
Tuofa fell silent.
*Piss off, I'm not going.*
Even if King Daqin was crippled, he had no wish to provoke him.
At this moment, Tuofa couldn't be bothered to argue with her over this. Delighted, he said, "Hetu, if there's no danger over there, we won't be going to your kingdom! With the Guiyuan Blade gone, Star Residence Mansion will be our territory from now on. You're welcome to come visit when you have time!"
Their home base was still there—why go to Hetu's place!
Hetu cursed inwardly, glaring at Xingyue. *Couldn't you have lied to them?*
*Told them it's extremely dangerous inside and they can't stay there anymore!*
Meanwhile, Su Yu transmitted to Xingyue: "Milady, it looks like there are only three dead spirits left, and their strength is mediocre. How about we team up with Hetu and slaughter them?"
If they killed them, could they reap some benefits?
They were at the Invincible level after all!
Xingyue ignored him. *Bloodthirsty maniac!*
*All he thinks about is kill, kill, kill!*
*We dead spirit monarchs don't spend all day slaughtering either.*
Xingyue ignored Su Yu and instead said, "There might still be other dangers in Star Residence Mansion. Decide for yourselves!"
She had no desire to deal with these monarchs either. Looking at Hetu, she asked, "I have business with you. Are you heading back to Hongmeng Ancient City?"
The Hongmeng Ancient City region and her Xinghong Ancient City region were not far apart, so it was on the way.
Seeing that duping Tuofa and the others was no longer likely to succeed, Hetu was speechless as well. He smiled faintly and said, "Yes, I'll head back. I haven't returned in quite some time; I've let that Old Turtle enjoy too much peace!"
With that, he looked at Tuofa and the others, cupped his hands with a smile, and said, "In that case, congratulations to you all. Star Residence Mansion belongs to the realm of the living. With your territory expanding there, you will soon be able to formally step into the living realm!"
Tuofa laughed. "When the time comes, Hetu, you're welcome to be our guest!"
*Guest your ass!*
Hetu cursed in his heart. Disinclined to say more, he looked at Xingyue and said, "Then we shall take our leave. Next time there's a good opportunity, I'll come find you all again!"
Tuofa and the others had no interest in paying attention anymore; they all wanted to check out the seventh floor and flew toward the passageway entrance one after another.
Once they had flown off, Hetu said, "Xingyue, you ruined my good deed!"
Xingyue couldn't be bothered to respond.
Su Yu smiled and cupped his hands. "Greetings, Lord Hetu!"
Hetu said coldly, "You truly have tremendous guts!"
"Just learning from your example, Milord!"
Su Yu smiled. "Milord had plenty of guts during your lifetime as well."
Hetu chuckled, but quickly resumed his cold demeanor. "Entering the dead spirit realm all by yourself—aren't you afraid I'll tell the other monarchs? If word gets out, you will surely die! There are many dead spirit monarchs here. Once your living aura is forced out, the rules will teleport countless monarchs over!"
"Milord would never do that!"
"Heh!"
Hetu sneered, glanced at Su Yu, then at Xingyue, and said with a faint smile, "Xingyue, you're actually colluding with a living being. If the rules find out, you're dead as well!"
Xingyue said coldly, "Hetu, mind your own business!"
The two started bickering, but Su Yu didn't want to waste time. He cut straight to the chase: "Lord Hetu, I want you to take me to the area where you were teleported over. It should still be there right now."
Hetu said softly, "You want to go there? Didn't Xingyue say she knew where it was?"
Su Yu chuckled. "Milord jokes. How could we know where that place is?"
*Then why did you act as if it were true?*
He didn't bother elaborating and flatly refused: "Impossible! That is the only outlet left to the dead spirit realm by the rules. Only there can one enter and exit normally, or even find a way to enter the living realm through it without being subject to any rule restrictions!"
A place like that naturally couldn't be revealed to Su Yu!
Su Yu wasn't surprised by his refusal and promptly said, "Milord, when you become a living being, the so-called rules are worthless! You will be able to exit from anywhere—why fret over a single passageway?"
Hetu said indifferently, "You want to reverse a dead spirit back into a living being—do you really think it's that simple? In the past, I also knew the method of reversing death qi and once attempted to reverse a monarch. In my understanding, when my rate of reversal exceeded the rate at which his death qi was generated, it would succeed! As it turned out, I was wrong. The reversal failed; halfway through, the death qi and life qi clashed, and he blew apart!"
Thus, reversal was nowhere near that simple!
He then added, "Furthermore, reversal has other difficulties. For instance, a death qi conduit must be established. The conduit you've established right now is with Xingyue. If you reverse anyone, at present you can only reverse Xingyue! Either that, or sever the death qi conduit with Xingyue before you can think of helping other dead spirits reverse... Besides, you're too weak..."
*Boom!*
The moment he finished speaking, Su Yu burst through the air and threw a punch!
The void shuddered!
With this punch, barring activating his yang apertures, Su Yu gave it his all. As the fist descended, Hetu's eyes flickered, and he took the punch head-on, stepping back slightly.
Su Yu smiled. "Milord, I'm not that weak, am I?"
Hetu looked utterly surprised!
How long had it been? How had this fellow grown so much stronger again!
Su Yu smiled. "Milord, I believe my rate of progress is quite fast. While I may not be able to reverse you now, I think it won't be long before I can give it a try! Besides, does Milord really insist on waiting ten years before using that passage again? Milord probably doesn't understand that place very well either, whereas I know many things. Once my strength is sufficient, I can open that teleportation channel at any time!"
Hetu gave him an odd look. "You can open it at any time?"
"Of course!"
Hetu fell into deep thought. Su Yu didn't dwell on that point and asked instead, "Milord, where is that dazed dead spirit monarch?"
"You're looking for him?"
"I'm just asking about his situation. He seemed to have been a human during his lifetime, possibly from this current tide change. I'm somewhat curious as to which human of this era could possess such immense strength after death."
Hetu was just as curious. He said, "Indeed. This tide change hasn't been going on for long. That fellow recognized King Daqin, so he might truly be a dead spirit born in this tide change. To possess such immense strength after turning into a dead spirit... was he a ninth-tier Eternity before dying? Or was he extremely powerful and extraordinarily talented before death, gaining benefits in the Dead Spirit Heavenly River?"
He didn't know much either and soon added, "That fellow was teleported back by me, but having consumed a Life and Death Fruit, his living and dead spirit wills clashed, making him somewhat out of control. Even if you found him, it wouldn't be of much use. However, in all likelihood, he ran back to the place where he first awakened."
Dead spirits were like that. With Daidai recovering some memories, Hetu found it hard to control him as well.
"If we go there, we might run into him!"
Saying that, Hetu looked at Su Yu again. "If you want to go there, tell me first: what kind of place is that, exactly?"
Su Yu thought for a moment and smiled. "I won't hide it from Milord. My guess is that the place is a special passageway in Star Residence Mansion corresponding to the myriad heavens and realms. There should be 360 great stars or portals, which represent the locations where divine apertures are opened..."
He added, "Star Residence Mansion was actually created by a living person. Did Milord know that? And that living person was terrifyingly powerful; they must have opened 360 origin apertures and 360 divine apertures! Where we were teleported from are all the locations of their apertures..."
Hetu froze for a moment. He truly didn't know.
Of course, he had harbored some guesses earlier.
Even though he was dead, Hetu felt shaken. After pondering, he said, "During my lifetime, I never heard such news!"
He was a descendant of King Gong!
If even he didn't know, then clearly very few people did.
He continued, "During my lifetime, I didn't even know such a passage existed in the dead spirit realm. It seems no one ever mentioned it!"
Su Yu's words stoked the curiosity of even this dead man.
"Was that face you summoned earlier his?"
"Yes!"
Hetu was awed. "Is that person dead or alive... How powerful. When his face appeared, I thought the Human Emperor had revived..."
At the side, Xingyue said impatiently, "Are we going or not? What's so strange about that? Star Residence Mansion was originally forged from a human corpse! Of course, not many seem to know. King Wu mentioned it once, disgusted a lot of people, and kept his mouth shut afterward..."
Hetu froze, and Su Yu was stunned as well. Both turned to look at Xingyue.
Xingyue's face remained cold. "What are you looking at! I have some fragmented memories from my lifetime. Is there a problem? When you mention it, I remember a bit; if you don't mention it, I don't remember either!"
Hetu was astonished. "You... just who were you? King Wu... you had access to King Wu?"
Bizarre!
Xingyue said coldly, "So what if I had access? We're already dead. Thinking about this all day—aren't you tired?"
Pointless!
*We're dead already, yet you dwell on this day in, day out. Isn't it annoying!*
Su Yu was curious as well. "Lady Xingyue, who was King Wu? What was his name, do you know?"
"How would I remember!"
Xingyue said impatiently, "Everyone called him King Wu; who remembers their personal names!"
Hetu, hearing this, spoke up: "In the ancient era, when it came to grand figures, there were indeed a few who were truly monumental! Mountainous peaks to be looked up to! The Human Emperor, King Wen, and King Wu were definitely among the top three! Of course... one might have to add the Time Master, but the Time Master was far too mysterious!"
He added, "As for what King Wen was called, hardly anyone knows. As for King Wu... perhaps... probably named Taishan?"
He wasn't entirely certain.
Su Yu's heart stirred.
Taishan?
Old Zhou cursed Taishan all day long. Did that mean the one who killed Old Zhou was actually King Wu?
*Holy crap!*
*That formidable?*
How strong Old Zhou was could be seen from when his grievance manifested earlier. Yet in the ancient era, Old Zhou had been killed by Taishan. That meant Taishan was even stronger than Old Zhou?
Was King Wu Taishan?
"Lord Hetu, are you sure King Wu was Taishan?"
"I don't remember clearly. Probably!"
Saying that, Hetu looked around. "Try not to speak the names of such beings! If they are alive, mentioning them too often will surely alert them! If they are dead and revived in the dead spirit realm, a being like that will sense it when you speak of them! If they are still in the Dead Spirit Heavenly River and you say their name too much, you might summon them to wakefulness, which could cause catastrophic upheaval!"
Even Hetu harbored immense dread toward an entity like King Wu.
Fearing Su Yu might not understand, he continued, "In the ancient era, whether the Human Emperor was the strongest in combat... is hard to say for certain right now, but the Human Emperor was incomparably powerful and truly suppressed the myriad realms! King Wen and King Wu were actually likely stronger than those ancient Half-Emperors. Only by the three human powerhouses suppressing together could they keep the myriad realms in check!"
"You should understand that in that era, though the Human Emperor was strong, it didn't mean he was the sole transcendent! The Half-Emperors of some powerful races were, in terms of realm, not inferior to the Human Emperor. The Human Emperor was able to suppress them because King Wen and King Wu rendered great contributions. Only by the three joining forces could they suppress the myriad heavens and realms; missing even one wouldn't have worked."
"From this, you can imagine just how formidable such beings were!"
Su Yu nodded with understanding. "Transcendents?"
"Just a term I defined arbitrarily!"
Hetu didn't mind. "In the ancient era, those who were enfeoffed as marquises were almost all in the Dao Integration Realm! Dao Integration merely differed in strength. But the Human Kings and the Half-Emperors of each race were likely at a different realm altogether. The Human Emperor might also have been in that realm. I define them as transcendents. Once they reached that level, they wouldn't care too much about such distinctions anyway!"
As he spoke, Xingyue sneered with derision. "Knowing nothing, yet daring to bluff others! For one thing, as far as I know, Human Kings weren't all the same. Ordinary Human Kings—beings like King Gong—were roughly on the same tier as ordinary Half-Emperors! Meanwhile, others like the Immortal Emperor were likely on the same tier as the Human Emperor and his peers. Such beings were divided into at least two tiers!"
Hetu felt she was mocking him!
His eyes grew much colder!
King Gong was his ancestor!
Well, he didn't feel deeply about it—he was already dead—yet it still rankled!
Who said King Gong was on the weaker tier?
Su Yu was helpless between the two and hastily intervened: "My Lords, why don't we first go over there and inspect the situation? Besides, both of you are individuals of vast experience and knowledge. I imagine there are some things you would certainly know!"
"What is it?"
Su Yu condensed a petal in the void. "Lord Hetu, you are a descendant of a Human King. Do you recognize this bloodline emblem?"
Yes, a bloodline emblem.
Seen in Su Yu's memories!
The moment he manifested this emblem, both Hetu and Xingyue glanced at it. Hetu said dismissively, "A mixed-blood legacy, impure! That's a Hell Lotus, combined with flame patterns... The Hell Lotus, let me think... should be the legacy of the ancient Prison King. As for the flame patterns... there are many possibilities. Because it's impure, it's hard to make a specific judgment!"
The ancient Prison King!
Su Yu's heart stirred. So the human race indeed still possessed some Human King bloodlines, and that fellow conspiring with the cult master of the Heavenly Archer Cult was a descendant of the ancient Prison King.
This was also his first time confirming the origin of that person's bloodline!
Su Yu quickly asked, "Milord, under normal circumstances, would someone deliberately display such an emblem?"
Hetu sneered, "Some would! To flaunt their noble status! When meeting subordinates or the weak, they'd inform them: 'My status is incomparably noble, a direct lineage of an ancient Human King!' Of course, pureblood descendants rarely did this, but for mixed-bloods... it's hardly surprising! In the ancient era, mixed-bloods were lowly beings. The bloodline of a Human King was exalted; why would they intermix with other races..."
"Wait!"
Su Yu asked hurriedly, "Could it not be the bloodline of two Human Kings?"
Hetu scoffed, "What do you know! If both sides were Human Kings, their offspring wouldn't form an emblem like this. Such a mixed emblem signifies chaos. For genuine Human King bloodlines, even if both parents were Human Kings, the offspring would manifest either the paternal or maternal bloodline emblem, or simply a brand-new special emblem—never an untidy, blended emblem like this. This signifies mixed blood!"
"The offspring of two Human Kings is not called mixed blood!"
Hetu explained. He knew more about this than Old Turtle; Old Turtle wasn't human after all, so he didn't understand these matters intimately, whereas Hetu was a genuine direct descendant of a Human King.
Having explained this, he added, "Where did you see this emblem? Did that person display it openly? If so, this person is definitely of mixed blood and likely knows some ancient secrets. Perhaps feeling inferior, they displayed the emblem to tell everyone they were an incomparably noble descendant of a Human King. In reality, such mixed-bloods were generally unacknowledged!"
Su Yu realized. *No wonder!*
If the other party was truly strong and capable of concealment, there was no reason to deliberately leave this emblem!
It turned out to be deliberate—flashing it intentionally so that whether you understood it or not, they were telling everyone that their status was exceedingly exalted, a Human King's legacy.
A descendant of the Prison King!
Su Yu committed this to memory: mixed-blood, possibly not purely human.
Indeed, when it came to knowing things, these dead people knew the most.
Who said dead men tell no tales?
Look, aren't dead men speaking right here?
Su Yu thought to himself: in the future, killing someone to silence them might not be reliable; one would have to kill their dead spirit to truly silence them.
Killing the living body wasn't enough. To ensure a secret was buried forever, one had to track down their dead spirit incarnation and slay it too—that was the proper way. Otherwise, even the dead could talk!
Hetu didn't dwell on this and soon said, "I can take you to have a look. But Su Yu, if you dare play any tricks, I will kill you! Also, you humiliated me before—I still remember that..."
At the side, Xingyue said coldly, "So what if he humiliated you? Take it out on me! Hetu, I'm not afraid of you!"
Hetu cursed under his breath. *What's wrong with you!*
*I'm talking to Su Yu, why are you butting in!*
Su Yu shut his mouth immediately. Since Xingyue wanted to step up, let the two of them bicker. Right now, he only wanted to see the layout of those divine apertures—ideally observing the circulation pathways, though it didn't matter if he couldn't!
Just let him open his yin apertures first. If he didn't open his yin apertures soon, he felt like he was going to explode!
Hetu actually seemed quite easy to talk to—truly a good guy. Su Yu hadn't even coaxed him much.
Meanwhile, Hetu, having just been handed a "good guy" card, was pondering: Star Residence Mansion was forged from a living person—was that person dead or alive? If alive, could Hetu subjugate them?
As for Su Yu wanting to take a look, looking wouldn't hurt.
He noticed that this kid Su Yu really knew quite a lot.
The party of three—two dead people and one half-dead person—swiftly flew through the air, heading toward the depths of the dead spirit realm.
……
At the same time.
Xinghong Ancient City.
In the vicinity, more and more experts were gathering. News of Su Yu entering seemed to have been deduced and leaked. Many were trying to determine whether Su Yu was truly inside the city or not.
In the City Lord Manor, Liu Hong walked into the rear hall, looked at Xinghong, and bowed. "Milord, things cannot continue like this. We must find an opportunity to deter them again and confirm that Su Yu is here. Otherwise, even if Su Yu can come out, it will be very difficult for him to return to the city!"
Xinghong opened his eyes and gave a slight nod. Indeed, they had to let others believe Su Yu was here!
Otherwise, once Su Yu exited, close though the distance was, returning to the ancient city would be difficult.
"Wait a little longer. If anyone dares provoke us, I will strike!"
Liu Hong bowed and retreated. Excellent. Once someone provoked them and Xinghong took action, Liu Hong could slip away. Xingyue seemed to have been absent this whole time, which was splendid—he could head down. The dead spirit realm was fraught with perils; advancing his strength a bit further sounded great.
Leaving within a month would suffice; there were still ten days left.
Within ten days, he had to leave before that brat Su Yu returned.
"Little Su Yu, you're still too green. I'll be leaving soon..."
Liu Hong sighed with emotion and smiled inwardly. Su Yu was impressive and calculated everything, but he hadn't calculated that Liu Hong would dare enter the dead spirit realm!
Terrifying, isn't it?
Even if you return, I'll already be gone!
Farewell, Su Yu!
At this moment, Liu Hong was filled with boundless sentiment. He looked at the City Lord Manor, looked around, glanced back at Xinghong, then floated up into the air and gazed outside. *Once I enter the dead spirit realm, I might never have the chance to see these beautiful vistas of the outside world again!*
*May everything go smoothly!*
He looked at the crowd of Invincibles encircling the perimeter, sneered, and laughed mockingly, his expression dripping with infinite scorn and disdain as he called out loudly, "A bunch of idiots! What are you staring at? Do you dare enter the city and fight me? Trash!"
Arrogant!
His sheer arrogance made quite a few people doubt themselves once more. *Is this guy really not Su Yu?*
Damn it, being this arrogant—to be honest, anyone claiming he wasn't Su Yu would hardly be believed!
Chapter 589