Daidai!

The dead spirit realm. A furious roar rang out. "Impudent! Who dares cross my realm?" In the void, Hetu wore an easy smile and called out, "Saber Wolf Monarch, it is I, Hetu! Merely passing through on my way back to Hongmeng." In the distance, an incomparably formidable dead spirit monarch emerged within the void, taking the form of a wolf. Its pitch-black eyes swept over the group, quickly landing on Xingyue. It snorted coldly. "Xingyue, you dared force your way into this king's domain earlier. Had I not been unwilling to tangle with you, this king never would have spared you!" Xingyue stared coldly at it, sending a voice transmission to Su Yu. "Beat it to death. Together!" Su Yu: "..." *Xingyue, you've changed!* At the side, Hetu was equally speechless. He sent a voice transmission of his own. "Don't stir up trouble. Slaying a dead spirit monarch here brings no benefit. Besides, we're all our own people. We'll have use for it sooner or later!" With that, Hetu smiled and called out, "Saber Wolf Monarch, Xingyue acted without malice. An urgent matter arose earlier—a riot in Star Residence Mansion. For my sake, let it slide. Next time there is an opportunity, I will host a feast to apologize to you..." "A riot in Star Residence Mansion?" The giant wolf murmured to itself, looked at the group again, and snorted. "This time, for Hetu's sake, I shall let it pass. If there is a next time, I will cut you down without mercy!" Xingyue stared coldly at it. *Sooner or later, I will beat you to death!* Su Yu had no desire to stir up trouble either, at least not right now. His current goal was to find the divine aperture diagram. Beating this fellow to death wouldn't be hard; he could simply do it after opening his divine apertures. Now that Xingyue was easy to talk to, Su Yu could descend from Xinghong Ancient City at any time. Su Yu comforted her, "Rest assured, Milady. In a few days, I will beat it to death and eat wolf meat!" "Hmph! Eating such trash would sicken me!" Xingyue wore an aloof expression, not even bothering to glance at the giant wolf again. Along their journey, this was already the third time such a situation had occurred. If Su Yu was the social butterfly of the living realm, Hetu was the social butterfly of the dead spirit realm. He knew all the monarchs in the vicinity. He could name every one of them and chat with them for a bit. Soon, the group flew past this monarch's kingdom. To call it a kingdom was generous; it was merely a tract of desolate wasteland. In the center of such wastelands, some monarchs erected massive palaces, others simply curled up in rough shelters, and some did not even have that. These monarchs seemed to be having quite a miserable time. Naturally, Su Yu saw plenty of scattered dead spirits. A few monarchs had recovered a decent amount of their living memories, or had been generals in life, possessing standing dead spirit armies within their kingdoms. Well-organized, they were far easier to manage. Dead spirits were also easy to sustain—they needed no food or drink, only a bit of death qi to absorb. Monarchs ruling such kingdoms were generally on the stronger side. In contrast, within disorganized kingdoms, some monarchs had only just begun developing their intelligence and remained somewhat muddled. In two places, the monarchs were practically like Daidai—dim-witted and wooden, blankly watching them fly past without even bothering to stir. If you didn't look for trouble with dead spirits, they wouldn't bother troubling you. Hetu had nearly flown down to hoodwink them into acting as thugs, but in the end, likely disdaining their low strength, he had not descended. Meanwhile, as Su Yu flew, he felt increasingly suffocated. Once they cleared that monarch's domain, he couldn't resist speaking up. "This blasted place is too stifling. A living person could suffocate to death here!" Both Hetu and Xingyue looked at him with ghostly gazes. *What on earth are you talking about?* Su Yu was speechless. He quickly asked, "Milords, what do dead spirit monarchs usually do with their time?" Hetu smiled. "Plenty! First, organize the dead spirit armies and prepare to storm the living realm! Second, clash with the Old Turtle, denying him peace so he lacks the time to digest death qi! Third, win over other monarchs and prepare for major battles at any moment! Fourth, find time to explore the Heavenly River of Dead Spirits and build up our strength! Fifth..." At any rate, he had endless business to attend to and stayed very busy! As for Xingyue, after holding back for a long time, she muttered, "Cultivate!" That was it! She didn't care about anything else. Su Yu was speechless. *You truly lead a boring life. You've cultivated all this time, yet I don't see you being particularly strong. Look at Hetu—he lives quite comfortably, bustling about. Truly worthy of being a pivotal figure of the first tidal shift!* Su Yu remained very interested in Hetu. Hearing him say this, he smiled and said, "Lord Hetu, I'm curious about one thing. Back then, how did you manage to lead a dead spirit army to storm the living realm?" This was crucial! Incomparably crucial! Hetu chuckled. "Want to learn?" "A little!" "Why should this seat tell you?" Su Yu thought for a moment before speaking. "Fate. In life, we were both humans, both masters of Hongmeng Ancient City, both opened 360 yuan apertures, both mastered the yuan aperture reversal method, both men, and both visited Star Residence Mansion... Thus, Milord, the affinity between us is immense!" "..." Hetu was left speechless. Come to think of it, they really did share that sliver of affinity. Having been flattered by Su Yu, Hetu gave a half-smile. "You wish to guide dead spirit monarchs out to wage war? In truth, it isn't difficult. Since you know the yuan aperture reversal method, you can naturally reverse origin qi into death qi! When death qi in an area grows excessively dense, you will faintly sense that the realm barrier has weakened. Breach the realm, and you can guide dead spirit monarchs out! Naturally, you must come to an agreement beforehand. Otherwise, if an uncontrollable monarch emerges... you will only bring disaster upon yourself!" Hetu sighed with lingering emotion. "Back then, everything was proceeding smoothly for this seat. In the end, several disobedient dead spirit monarchs appeared, slaughtering and converting dead spirits indiscriminately, which provoked the Old Turtle's wrath! Rotten luck!" At the side, Xingyue sneered mockingly. "Serves you right! Dead spirit monarchs are not so easily controlled!" Hetu scoffed. "What do you know!" *You don't know a damn thing!* An unexpected mishap had indeed occurred. Back then, he had already negotiated terms with several monarchs in the dead spirit realm. Yet he was ruined by a few bastard monarchs who happened to be passing by. Seeing an opening to escape outside, those bastards grew wildly excited and wormed their way straight out. Hetu hadn't paid them much heed since he was busy at the time, but the moment those bastards emerged, they slaughtered everyone on sight! That was what had caused his catastrophic downfall! Hetu continued, "Even if you guide them out, they are difficult to control. They lose control too easily, throwing the rules into chaos. In the living realm, the thirty-six guards embody the rules! Those individuals represent the rules themselves! Don't let the fact that the Old Turtle is helping you now fool you—heh, when that time comes, he will kill you too!" Su Yu nodded slightly. After pondering, he said, "When Milord led the dead spirit monarchs into battle back then, you did not violate the rules in the early stages..." Su Yu fell into deep thought and soon said, "First, the dead spirits remained under Milord's control! Second, the death qi of the ancient city was drawn away by Milord! Third, you tried as much as possible to let the enemies infringe upon the rules first! Fourth, no slaughtering of innocents! Fifth, no allowing death qi to spread... Milord, did you satisfy these conditions?" "More or less!" Hetu looked at him with some surprise and offered a faint smile. "Satisfying these allows you to run virtually unchecked with dead spirits! However, one point is extremely vital: cleaning up the mess. You must continually absorb that death qi and prevent it from spreading!" In truth, the most paramount aspect of the rules was never allowing death qi to spill into the living realm. Hetu added, "In the living realm, you have three days at most to reclaim all the death qi you generate and clear it away. The moment death qi spreads... you are finished!" Hetu sighed with endless melancholy. *Back then, this seat suffered from this very mistake.* Those few bastards were beyond control, running wild everywhere. He had chased after them across the entire world trying to clean up their mess, but it was useless. After all, they were monarchs themselves and moved too swiftly. Curse it all, he had been ruined to death by them! He instructed Su Yu further. "Also, remember to maintain the principle of equivalent exchange!" "What?" Seeing Su Yu's confusion, Hetu explained, "However many living beings the dead spirits kill, you had best kill an equivalent number of dead spirits to uphold the principle of exchange! A balance of life and death! A minor imbalance does not matter, but once dead spirits slaughter excessively, causing an influx of dead spirits in the dead spirit realm while living beings diminish, it violates equivalent exchange... You will face punishment from the rules!" Su Yu firmly committed this to memory! As expected, the ancients knew far more. If he had fumbled around on his own, he easily could have tripped over the rules. At the side, Xingyue glanced at Su Yu and said coldly, "This seat will not wage war on your behalf. Give up on that thought!" Su Yu nodded with complete nonchalance. "Milady should simply cultivate peacefully in the passageway. Don't let anything happen to you. If something happens, I worry I might lose my position as city master." Hetu laughed. "No matter. If Xingyue dies, this seat can convert you... Never mind, you're a bit hazardous. Seeing that half your heaven aperture is opened, messing about like that, this seat fears you might suck me dry!" Clearly, he knew a bit more. He continued, "To dare open a heaven aperture recklessly—you truly have monstrous audacity! In our era, it wasn't that no one knew how to open a heaven aperture, but... under normal circumstances, even those who knew wouldn't open it unless in a fight to the death! Once opened, trouble follows! Can a Civilization Master guarantee opening 360 yuan apertures? Can a warrior guarantee opening 360 divine apertures? If that cannot be guaranteed, the heaven aperture remains incomplete, and you will torment yourself to death! Thus, those who opened heaven apertures either had perfected both, or were a hair's breadth from perfection, barely prying it open with the ability to seal it!" Su Yu nodded and sighed helplessly. "I felt my way through step-by-step on my own. How could I have known any of this?" *A freak!* Hetu cursed silently in his heart. It had to be admitted: this kid was an absolute monster. To figure it out entirely on his own—what else could be said? Under normal circumstances, nobody nowadays opened 360 yuan apertures anymore, and the heaven aperture ought to have become an ancient legend! Yet Su Yu had gone and opened it. "Are you certain you can open your divine apertures and complete the opening of your yin apertures? Once you fail... that so-called yang aperture of yours will sooner or later suck you to death! The stronger you become, the greater the suction. How long do you think Xingyue can sustain you?" Su Yu did not make a sound. *I'll test it and see!* *I shouldn't have any problem!* It was only 360 divine apertures. Su Yu had already opened 290 of them, and it truly hadn't felt all that difficult. His talent was immense! Su Yu himself couldn't help wondering: *What is going on with my talent?* *It's simply too terrifying!* Some things were hard for him to judge—whether this talent stemmed from the golden booklet in his mind or was innate to him. If it was innate... that would be somewhat terrifying! *If it was modified by the golden booklet, that makes more sense.* Su Yu thought to himself. If the golden booklet truly was left behind by the Time Master of the previous era, it had to be exceedingly powerful, making it hardly surprising if it had transformed his talent. This time, Su Yu hadn't come to explore the dead spirit realm. He had important business to attend to! He had to be swift! The faster, the better! Without delaying, they continued flying at full speed. Passing through the territories of several more dead spirit monarchs, they soon drew close to a massive river spanning heaven and earth! "The passage is near there!" Hetu pointed ahead and smiled. "Earlier, right after I finished negotiating with the fool, I saw a black hole open up over there. Inside was the very scene you described. There aren't any other dead spirit monarchs nearby..." Just as he spoke, a booming rumble echoed from the distance! Hetu felt as though he had been slapped across the face! *Damn it!* A battle between monarchs! *Are you not giving me, Hetu, any face at all? Am I, Hetu, completely shameless?* *I just said there were no monarchs here, and you immediately start a massive battle?* Without a word, Su Yu and Hetu instantly restrained all their aura, preparing to fly over. Xingyue, however, was about to unleash her aura to announce to the other monarchs that Monarch Xingyue had arrived... Pushing off her feet, she suddenly realized the two behind her hadn't moved. She came to a halt at once, glanced back... and fell speechless. *We need to conceal our auras?* *Aren't monarchs supposed to act openly and uprightly?* *Which dead spirit monarch hides their aura?* Xingyue's mind briefly froze. Soon, somewhat unnaturally, she reined in her aura bit by bit. Su Yu glanced at Hetu, who looked utterly composed. Habit had become second nature—even after dying, this habit had been maintained for a very long time. There was no need to stare. "Three of them!" Hetu murmured, sensing the situation, and said with some uncertainty, "Two fighting one. Are they attacking the fool? The fool might have returned here. Could he have been targeted by other dead spirit monarchs?" He wasn't entirely sure; death qi made it rather difficult to distinguish distinct auras. A powerful dead spirit like Daidai, whose memories had barely recovered and who seemed dim-witted, was an easy target. Slaying him was simpler, and the benefits of killing him were substantial. The combatants in the distance were all formidable. It was likely top-tier dead spirits had set their sights on Daidai. After thinking for a moment, Hetu suddenly looked toward Su Yu. "Your aura is faint, so just stick close to me. Xingyue, don't follow—stay right here! I'll go check the situation. If they truly are dealing with the fool..." Su Yu immediately took over. "First cozy up to them, then strike when the chance arises! This place must not be exposed. We beat those two dead spirit monarchs to death! Lord Hetu will pretend to aid them, while I pretend to be a quasi-Invincible dead spirit to launch a sneak attack!" "Splendid!" Hetu nodded with deep satisfaction. See? Talking to a living person was so much simpler. If he discussed such matters with the fool or Xingyue, it would be an absolute headache. Xingyue might even scold him, claiming a monarch would never be so shameless! What tedious dead spirits! Hetu still yearned for resurrection; life in the dead spirit realm was simply too dreary. That was why Hetu was willing to help Su Yu, and why, after a few words from him, Hetu had brought him here. He hoped Su Yu could truly reach the point of resurrecting dead spirits. When that day came, even if he fell under Su Yu's control, he still wanted to be revived! Once alive, everything could be discussed! Meanwhile, Su Yu didn't forget to pacify Xingyue. He said solemnly, "Milady, this location is of paramount importance. Please remain on guard at the perimeter! Should we slip up and allow someone to escape, we hope Milady can intercept them. Otherwise... we will be in grave trouble!" Xingyue disliked Hetu's manner of speech, but hearing Su Yu's words, she felt appeased. She said coldly, "This seat has her own plans!" "..." Good, handled! Nothing more needed to be said; Xingyue would obediently remain here. Then, Su Yu quickly added, "Milady had best find a safe place. At a critical juncture, I may need to borrow Milady's power!" "..." This time, Xingyue did not speak, though some panic stirred in her heart. She truly needed to find a safe spot—not because she feared danger, but because she dreaded being sucked dry by Su Yu and having someone witness her powerless state! That was entirely unacceptable! …… Soon, Su Yu and Hetu concealed their auras and flew forward together. The Heavenly River of Dead Spirits drew closer and closer. The death qi also grew increasingly dense. Su Yu opened a few of his yang apertures to absorb the death qi, preventing it from becoming so thick that it caused his heart to burst. Gradually, the scene ahead entered Su Yu's sight. Beneath the heavenly river, three dead spirits were indeed engaged in fierce combat. None of them spoke, trading blows in grim silence. One appeared somewhat familiar—it was Daidai. At this moment, Daidai was likely injured from his earlier clash with Blood Fire. His death qi was somewhat thin, and he was being besieged by two armored dead spirits. Hetu's gaze shifted slightly. He sent a voice transmission. "They are among the overlords of this nearby region: the Tiger Brothers! Both possess the power of the seventh stage of the Eternal Realm. Their territory borders my Hongmeng Kingdom, and we have clashed several times. In life, the two brothers were seemingly overlords of the Tiger race during the ancient era. They were slain simultaneously by a peerless powerhouse, revived at the same time, awakened together, and founded the Double Tiger Dead Kingdom in the dead spirit realm!" "They are troublesome and short-tempered. This seat attempted to recruit them several times, only to be rejected!" "From the looks of it, the fool is heavily wounded. His death qi is leaking, and these two brothers have set their sights on him, intending to slaughter him, devour his death qi, and absorb his dead spirit imprint... They won't be easy to deal with. A sneak attack will be difficult—they recognize me and are hardly my friends." Even a social butterfly had a few stubborn targets he couldn't win over, and these two were among them. Hetu had tried to persuade them multiple times, even exchanging blows on several occasions, to no avail. These two were completely impervious to reason. In a one-on-one duel, neither could match Hetu, but once they joined forces, Hetu couldn't overcome them either. After several inconclusive fights, Hetu had simply stopped bothering with them. Who would have thought he'd run into them here! Su Yu didn't mind. He quickly said, "Milord, then I will disguise myself as a mindless dead spirit wandering over..." "Foolish! A mindless dead spirit still fears dead spirit monarchs and would never dare approach voluntarily. Why would it wander over?" *Is that so?* Su Yu understood and said swiftly, "Then I will pretend to be a greedy dead spirit wandering nearby, aiming to reap the fisherman's spoils. My aura is weak. If those two are truly overbearing, they certainly won't tolerate it and will send one over to strike me down. I will seize the chance to beat him to death, while Milord launches a sneak attack on the other!" "Are you sure?" Hetu was not entirely convinced. "This seat often encounters unreliable fellows who easily botch minor tasks. Are you certain you can manage?" "Of course!" Su Yu was speechless. For such a trivial matter, of course he was certain! If he went all out, opening his yang apertures and unleashing an explosive strike, even if a single punch didn't kill the target, crippling him wouldn't be difficult. Dead spirits possessed fewer techniques than living beings anyway; the only thing to fear was their death qi, which Su Yu didn't fear at all! When dead spirits clashed with the living, their greatest weapon was death qi, which easily corroded opponents, turned them into dead spirits, and suppressed their origin qi. That was where their strength lay. Strip that away, and at the same realm, dead spirits were lacking in techniques, rule power, and intelligence—they were practically waiting to be thrashed! …… Su Yu said no more and quickly vanished. His aura leaked out ever so slightly. Acting somewhat furtively with a glint of greed, he hovered several thousand meters from the three dead spirits. Hunching over, radiating greed and desire, he took cautious, hesitant steps forward, creeping in their direction. The three dead spirits engaged in combat naturally noticed him. With a slight sweep of their senses, the Tiger Brothers sneered with disdain! *A weakling!* A quasi-Invincible, or someone who had barely scraped into the ranks of dead spirit monarchs. It possessed a sliver of intellect, yet its greed far outweighed its wits—daring to conceal its movements right under their noses, hoping to snatch a share of the spoils! "Second Brother, go kill him!" "No, Eldest Brother, you go!" The two brothers pushed the task onto each other. The fellow before them was on the verge of doom! This was a massive prize. Devouring him could allow either of them to advance, provided one consumed him alone; splitting it between two made it far more difficult. Now, someone had arrived hoping to scavenge scraps. Ordinarily, they would gladly devour such a morsel, but compared to the prize before them, that scavenger was far too pathetic. Both feared that if they departed, the other would promptly finish off the target and monopolize the spoils! "Second Brother, you go!" The elder Tiger dead spirit sent a voice transmission. "Rest assured, this one won't die that quickly! Go kill him and come right back—there will still be time! Do not give that little runt any opening. If he interferes at a crucial juncture and ruins our prize, regret will come too late! A dead spirit monarch this formidable has just awakened, his intellect hasn't fully returned, and he is wounded. Who knows who injured him? We must end this swiftly, lest the one who harmed him catches up!" The second brother was somewhat reluctant, but what his elder brother said made sense! After a brief struggle, the second brother quickly flew toward Su Yu at extreme speed. A distance of several thousand meters was crossed in an instant! Seeing the second brother charge toward him, Su Yu's dark face dropped in panic, and he immediately fled backward! "Hmph!" The second tiger dead spirit was thoroughly displeased. *Running?* *Where can you run?* *Delaying my business!* If Eldest Brother took the chance to kill that fellow, he would receive a smaller share of the feast. He pursued Su Yu with haste, his razor-sharp claws lunging toward the back of Su Yu's head! *I'll crush your reckless little head, you audacious nobody from who knows where!* …… Su Yu fled rapidly, appearing clumsy and panicked. Inwardly, he felt helpless. As expected, dead spirits were easy to trick. The fellow hadn't even probed carefully! Then again, they were already dead. Were there really dead spirit monarchs who hid their strength? Perhaps! Never mind. Today, Su Yu would teach them a lesson: even in death, one had to remain cautious. Fall into someone's trap, and you would die a second time—with no chance of resurrecting again! At this moment, his yang apertures flared, the seal on his heart gradually loosened, and death qi began to diffuse, drawing upon Xingyue's power. His objective was singular: unleash a punch and crush this fellow to death! If one punch didn't do it, he would throw two! Behind him, the second tiger arrived with blinding speed, appearing directly at Su Yu's back. A claw slashed at his head as he sneered coldly, "Courting death, little runt!" Suddenly, Su Yu spun around, giving it his all as a punch exploded outward! The other party hadn't even bothered to dodge! Such a fellow was guaranteed to take the full brunt of his blow! *By the way, do I get a reward for killing a dead spirit monarch?* Su Yu pondered this as his punch blasted forward. *Probably not!* He had slain many dead spirits before without receiving any rewards. Dead spirits did possess blood essence, but it was of little use to Su Yu... Wait, that wasn't right... *Perhaps I can unlock a page in my dead spirit manual!* Su Yu had a sudden thought! Yes, it was time to open a dead spirit manual! Leaving such a powerful dead spirit out of his book would be a waste! Dead spirits were also a race. Even if they weren't, his book answered to him—he could include whatever he wished. *Boom!* An earth-shattering boom erupted. The second tiger didn't even have time to utter a word, filled only with shock and bewilderment. It felt as though someone had struck him with an earth-shattering fist! *A counter-kill?* With a thunderous explosion, he shattered into pieces. Bones scattered in every direction, and black blood sprayed through the air! In the distance, the elder tiger froze, glancing toward them. Just as he turned his head, a palm struck from behind! Hetu! Hetu was thrilled and sighed with relief. As expected, cooperating with a living person was delightful. Su Yu killed when he said he would kill, utterly decisive! Curse it all, working with other dead spirits in the past had been agonizing! They always dropped the ball at critical moments! This time, he could finally eliminate these two brothers. They were his greatest adversaries in this region. With them gone, he would reign supreme here! Hetu was overjoyed. His palm struck out with a loud *boom*, fracturing the elder tiger's dead spirit body! Over there, Daidai stared woodenly, then followed up with a punch of his own, smashing the elder tiger into pieces! Daidai stared blankly at Hetu, who ignored him and pursued the remnants at high speed! Though blown apart, a dead spirit monarch was not so easily slain; every fragment of the body had to be obliterated! …… Meanwhile. Su Yu swiftly retrieved his booklet. The pages expanded over heaven and earth as hundreds of Sun Moon phantoms manifested, ravenously devouring the scattered pieces of the dead spirit body. Soon, chunks of black flesh and bone were swallowed up. At the very end, Su Yu grabbed a crystal-like block, looking puzzled. *Is this a dead spirit imprint?* He had never seen such a thing drop when killing weaker dead spirits. Slaying this fellow had actually yielded one. What was this used for? Earlier, Hetu and Xingyue had mentioned that when dead spirits killed one another, they primarily devoured death qi and dead spirit imprints. Was this it? Inside the crystalline block, something seemed to be struggling, faintly resembling the second tiger. Su Yu didn't dwell on it. He quickly resealed his heart, suppressed the object within the booklet, and swiftly flew over. …… A moment later. Hetu was beaming with joy, laughing aloud. "Su Yu, you did splendidly!" "A minor matter!" Su Yu smiled as well. These dead spirits were rather foolish and not difficult to kill. It truly wasn't a major affair! It felt even simpler than killing the crippled Blood Fire. With Blood Fire, there had at least been the danger of capsizing, whereas with this fellow, there was virtually none! Yet Hetu said excitedly, "This is no minor matter! I could never deal with the two of them working together. I contacted other monarchs several times, but they were utterly unreliable, botching things at every crucial moment without a single success. I was so furious I wanted to slaughter them all!" Su Yu chuckled. Seeing that Hetu was also holding a crystal-like object, he asked, "Milord, is that a dead spirit imprint?" "Indeed!" Hetu laughed. "Good stuff! Both brothers were ancient figures. Upon revival, both held the power of the seventh stage of the Eternal Realm. Devouring this dead spirit imprint will strengthen our own imprints, restoring more of our memories—more memories of our past lives... It aids both in awakening intellect and bolstering strength!" With that, he looked at Su Yu. "You must have taken one as well. It's useless to you anyway, so why not give it to me? In the future, if I have treasures I cannot use, I will give them to you!" Su Yu grinned. "Not this time. This one is reserved for Monarch Xingyue..." In the distance, Xingyue walked over looking frail. Hearing this, she said coldly, "This seat has no need of it!" Su Yu grinned and replied, "Milady, how can you say that? I am your subordinate, have you forgotten? What's mine is yours, and what's yours is mine... Milady, this is considered a tribute from a subordinate. You can simply reward me with some treasures later!" The same old routine! Yet Xingyue ate it up completely. Hearing this, she pretended to ponder before speaking coldly. "Once this seat acquires treasures by slaying a few Eternals and seizing their carriers, I will bestow them upon you!" "Then many thanks, Milady!" As Su Yu spoke, he tossed the crystalline block over. Xingyue caught it, thoroughly satisfied. She couldn't have killed the Tiger Brothers on her own. If she could, she would have done so long ago. This time, she had truly picked up a treasure! "Not bad!" Xingyue offered a rare word of praise. *This subordinate of mine is decent enough—passable, barely meeting my standards. It seems converting him back then wasn't a total failure!* She cast a provocative glance at Hetu: *Remember, he is my subordinate, not yours!* Hetu couldn't even be bothered to look at her! Having claimed one for himself was good enough. At this moment, he looked toward the wooden Daidai and said in surprise, "Huh? He swallowed a Life-Death Fruit, yet why does his intellect still seem so mediocre?" Finding it somewhat strange, he looked at Daidai. "Fool, do you still remember me?" "He... Hetu..." Daidai responded, looking at Hetu with a bewildered gaze. Hetu nodded. *Not bad, at least you haven't forgotten me.* "Fool, you seemed to have recovered a bit of memory earlier. Who were you, exactly?" Daidai was wooden. He looked at Hetu, then at Su Yu. For a long time, his eyes flickered between clarity and confusion before he finally struggled out, "Tomb... tomb keeper..." "..." Hetu paused slightly. "Tomb keeper? Guarding whose tomb? There were plenty of tomb keepers!" Su Yu's eyes flickered, and he quickly asked, "Guarding a tomb? The Tomb of King Wen?" "..." Daidai's eyes struggled for a long time before he gave a slight nod. "The previous generation's tomb keeper?" Su Yu furrowed his brows. Guarding a tomb... the one who obtained the Tombstone of Civilization was considered the tomb keeper, wasn't he? He asked hurriedly, "Do you know Liu Wenyan?" *Could this be Ye Batian?* Daidai remained wooden, showing no reaction. "What about Ye Batian?" Daidai remained equally blank, seemingly lost in deep thought. Su Yu raised an eyebrow again. *He doesn't know Ye Batian?* Tomb keeper... could this be related to the Multiple Divine Character Faction? In the Multiple Divine Character Faction, the first generation was Xia Chen, the third was Nan Wujiang, the fifth was Ye Batian... that was the lineage. In truth, the second and fourth generations weren't of the Multiple Divine Character Faction. Strictly speaking, the inheritance ran: Xia Chen—Nan Wujiang—Ye Batian, Yun Chen, Wan Tiansheng—Liu Wenyan, Xia Longwu, Hong Tan—Bai Feng, Chen Yong—Su Yu, Wu Jia... Hearing the title 'tomb keeper' now, Su Yu's eyes gleamed as he suddenly called out, "Prefect Xia Chen!" The third generation hadn't died, and Ye Batian didn't seem to have inherited the title of tomb keeper—he was a titled general. Tomb keeper... Xia Chen? The first generation? Su Yu felt a surge of disbelief. The first generation, Xia Chen, had indeed been well-acquainted with King Daqin. He was from King Daxia's era, a cousin of King Daxia, not an immediate brother. Xia Chen had founded the Daxia Civilization Academy, the Quest Sacred Land, and the Multiple Divine Character Faction. It could be said that without Xia Chen, much of what followed—and many of the figures—would never have existed! As for how Xia Chen died, Su Yu wasn't very clear. Xia Chen didn't seem to have attained the Dao! Could this extraordinarily powerful Daidai truly be Xia Chen? Daidai's eyes struggled, looking toward Su Yu with trembling pupils. "You... who are..." "Do you know Nan Wujiang?" "I... I..." Beside them, Hetu quickly interjected, "Stop asking! His memories are clashing. If it doesn't work, give him a dead spirit imprint to stabilize them! Xia Chen? Fascinating! The path-opener of divine characters in the tenth tidal shift?" Even he knew of Xia Chen! Not only him, but Xingyue in the rear knew of Xia Chen as well. Looking somewhat bewildered, she spoke up. "He is Xia Chen? I met Xia Chen once back then—clad in robes white as snow, alone with a single sword, roaming the heavens and traversing the world unhindered. Was he this foolish?" Su Yu was speechless. *What nonsense!* *The man is dead!* *What else do you expect?* *Besides, what is this about robes white as snow?* *Isn't that describing me?* *Did Xia Chen share this habit as well?* He looked toward Daidai again. Daidai was currently struggling violently, gritting his black teeth. After a long moment, he forced out, "I... tomb keeper... Tombstone of Civilization... ominous... Multiple Characters... discard this object..." *Boom!* Daidai slammed a fist into the ground, his aura erupting before quickly returning to calm. The innate nature of dead spirits suppressed that sliver of memory, and he reverted once more to his dull, wooden state. Hetu rubbed his chin and chuckled. "Stop asking. It's been suppressed again! It seems he harbors a great secret. Perhaps near death, he sealed his own memories, making it all the harder for them to unseal and awaken after death!" Su Yu's heart, however, was shaken. The Tombstone of Civilization! Ominous? This wasn't the first time he had heard such words, yet he hadn't felt anything unusual himself! Earlier, a great figure like the Old Turtle had said the same thing. Figures of that caliber wouldn't make casual remarks. Could there truly be a problem? Yet he genuinely hadn't sensed anything! He looked at Daidai again, brow furrowed. Was this Xia Chen? The first generation... the tomb keeper! Had he become the tomb keeper by obtaining the Tombstone of Civilization, or... had Xia Chen been the tomb keeper from the very beginning, with the ruin under his control all along, until he took the Tombstone of Civilization and stepped out into the world? Those two possibilities were entirely different concepts! At this moment, thoughts swirled through Su Yu's mind! *Once I return, I must learn more about Xia Chen!* Because he hadn't paid much attention to the first generation previously, he hadn't really looked into him. Compared to the fifth generation, the first generation was far less renowned. Back at the Civilization Academy, Su Yu hadn't even known Xia Chen's name; only upon seeing Xia Chen's name on the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao did he learn that this was the first generation. How the first generation died wasn't very clear either. All he knew was that he had left behind the Sea of Will Mystic Realm! The Sea of Will Mystic Realm was certainly no ordinary realm. *Nan Wujiang might know something!* Nan Wujiang was the first generation's disciple. The first generation had died rather early, passing away not long after establishing the academy. Could there be another reason? The crux was: if this was the first generation, why was he so strong? Even upon revivifying, Hetu was only at the seventh stage of the Eternal Realm! Daidai's strength didn't seem much weaker than Hetu's. Could he have been at the ninth stage of the Eternal Realm in life as well? Wasn't that absurd? Right now, Su Yu wished he could instantly restore Daidai's memories. *Go on and explain—why is the Tombstone of Civilization ominous?!*