Su Yu was still thinking about the Time Booklet and the Civilization Tombstone when Wu Lan and Bai Feng lost their patience.
Wu Lan said urgently, "That's not the point! The point is, let us research that Primordial Spirit Aperture of yours!"
Pay attention to what actually matters!
Are you trying to change the subject?
Su Yu was stunned for a moment...
Holy crap!
You guys have really changed!
Now, a Great Dao leading to transcendence is right here, and you don't care.
A weapon that could easily be considered a Heaven Armament or even a God Armament, and you don't care about that either!
Do you know your cultivation is too trash, so you've just given up?
"Have you two abandoned all hope?"
"What on earth are you talking about?!" Wu Lan protested unhappily. "What do you know! If we can develop a path to convert between willpower and origin qi, and use origin qi to nurture divine characters... we could abandon our physical bodies at any time! Even though our bodies aren't weak!"
Bai Feng also nodded. "Apprentice, you don't understand research! Research makes people strong! In this world, the one thing never in short supply is origin qi! Once we master a method to nurture divine characters with origin qi... Heh, don't look down on us just because you're formidable now. You might not amount to much compared to us in the future!"
Bai Feng declared proudly, "When that time comes, we will give up strengthening our bodies. With powerful willpower, supremely mighty divine characters, and even by turning divine characters into spirit—where I am the divine character and the divine character is me—we will achieve transcendence in a single bound!"
Su Yu froze!
Yes, he was completely stunned.
"What did you say?"
Uncomfortable under his stare, Bai Feng said irritably, "What? I'm your teacher. Can't I lecture you a bit?"
"No, Teacher, what did you just say?"
Bai Feng said awkwardly, "What do you mean, what did I say? I said that in the future, the divine character will be me and I will be the divine character, using divine characters to transcend in a single bound. What of it?"
"No..."
Su Yu's gaze turned strange. "What I mean is, how would you preserve your true nature while merging with the divine character?"
Bai Feng chuckled. "Isn't that simple? You just cultivate the divine character as if it were your own physical body..."
Su Yu sank into deep thought, quickly sending a voice transmission: "Senior Chui..."
At that moment, the mother ball had also overheard. Somewhat dazed, it murmured, "Little guy, is he saying... divine characters... rules... God-Devourers... Is he saying that we divine characters might originally have been living beings?"
Su Yu also felt an immense sense of bizarre realization!
Bai Feng's words had instantly made him think of the God-Devouring race!
That race was, in essence, composed of divine characters!
Earlier, Doubao had claimed that they were born naturally from the rules of heaven and earth.
Yet Bai Feng was now saying that he and Wu Lan wanted to take a different path—the path of Dao Integration through divine characters, where he was the divine character and the divine character was him! In the future, he would cultivate only divine characters, perhaps even just a single one!
Wouldn't that damn well turn him into a God-Devourer?
So were Doubao and the others truly born naturally from heaven and earth, or had they been artificially created later on?
At that moment, even Su Yu was frightened by his teacher's insane idea.
What was this?
Another path entirely?
Were there no normal people in the Multiple Divine Characters Department?
Wan Tiansheng walked the path of 'Only Me,' Lan Tian walked the path where 'Myriad Daos Are All Me,' and now his teacher, that weakling Bai Feng, was telling him that he wanted to walk the path where 'Divine Characters Merge with Me'!
Was this path easy?
It was definitely not easy!
Right now, a single question echoed in Su Yu's mind: was Doubao truly just a simple divine character?
Could it... perhaps have been a person in the past?
A member of the Multiple Divine Characters Department!
Later, it embarked on the path of merging divine characters with oneself, ran into trouble, and King Wen, the progenitor of the Multiple Divine Characters Department, preserved its life—at the cost of all of Doubao's memories.
Did such a possibility exist?
Perhaps Doubao was merely a spirit born from a corpse, and that corpse was Doubao's true form!
The God-Devouring race!
Bai Feng had no idea that his words amounted to transforming himself toward the God-Devouring race.
*The God-Devouring race... might actually be humans...*
Waves churned within Su Yu's heart!
His teacher and Wu Lan had been focusing intently on research recently. Su Yu hadn't paid much attention before, but now their research seemed to have turned abnormal, straying far beyond the realm of ordinary study!
"Su Yu?"
Bai Feng looked perplexed. Had his apprentice been stunned into silence by his genius?
*I came up with such a brilliant idea, and you aren't going to support me?*
Snapping back to his senses, Su Yu looked at Bai Feng, thought for a moment, and said solemnly, "Teacher, divine characters are rules! Rules are emotionless. When you merge your true nature and memories into a divine character, the Great Dao is merciless. If it dissolves your memories... then... you will no longer be you!"
Bai Feng nodded. "That's certain! Once I merge my memories, my flesh, blood, and everything else into it, the Great Dao is the Great Dao after all. It might not permit me to merge with it and seize control of it! If I fail, I might die, but that divine character will definitely possess some spirituality... I think it could be passed down!"
Spirituality!
Bai Feng had deduced that as well!
That was precisely how Doubao and the others were!
So... were those three members of the God-Devouring race born naturally, or formed later on?
Su Yu had no way of knowing.
Bai Feng added, "This is a shortcut, you know? Once I merge with it, I won't have to care about the Shanhai, Sun Moon, or Eternity Realms anymore! As long as I devour rule power to perfect the divine character, I can keep growing stronger indefinitely! Using the divine character as my foundation, I won't even need to worry about the bearing capacity of my sea of will, because the divine character is me. I won't need a sea of will at all!"
"Teacher... you... might have gone crazy."
Su Yu stated this truth with profound grief.
His teacher might have lost his mind to research.
Bai Feng rolled his eyes at him, exasperated. "You're the crazy one! You went crazy long ago, you lunatic! This is research, understand? Research! I've found a path, a path that might suit us!"
Bai Feng said excitedly, "Lan Tian was the same. Through his continuous process of modifying himself, he found his own Dao! That's why he grew strong so quickly. And me... I don't think the Dao I've discovered is any worse than his!
"However, my Dao might not be fully fleshed out yet. It isn't complete, and I always feel like it's missing something!"
As Bai Feng spoke, he continued, "Also, should I base it on a single divine character, or on my divine character battle technique? Of course, basing it on the divine character battle technique would definitely be stronger, but it would also be much harder!"
Bai Feng rambled on, while Su Yu remained silent.
Wu Lan, however, nodded at first, only to shake her head shortly after. "Teacher Bai, I think your thinking has gone astray! As for what divine character to use as the base... put it this way: an innate divine character might be a single rule all on its own, whereas divine characters learned and comprehended on one's own might require countless characters to form a single rule! If you don't possess an innate divine character, then merge your Dao with a divine character battle technique; if you do, merging your Dao with a single innate divine character is enough!"
Bai Feng nodded. "That makes a lot of sense!"
Stroking his chin, Bai Feng said, "I'm starting to understand what innate divine characters really are. They are fragments of rules scattered across heaven and earth. If you happen to experience an epiphany that naturally resonates with one, a divine character is born—that is an innate divine character!
"On the other hand, a divine character comprehended from reading books is actually a rule comprehended by some powerhouse. They understood a portion of it and passed it down to you, and then you comprehended it. In that case, your rule will definitely overlap with that powerhouse's!"
"..."
Su Yu was dumbfounded.
Truly, at that moment, he suddenly felt as though he had achieved enlightenment on several matters.
Innate divine characters versus comprehended divine characters... so that was the difference between the two!
Innate divine characters were fragments of rules naturally scattered across the world. No one had necessarily comprehended them before, so if you comprehended one, it would certainly be formidable and far easier to strengthen, because no one was competing with you for that Dao!
As for comprehended divine characters, you might be able to raise them to great power right now, but later on, conflicts might arise between you and the original person who comprehended them... Of course, that was an issue only after Dao Integration.
Before Dao Integration, there probably wouldn't be any conflict at all!
For example, Su Yu's "Tribulation" character was an innate divine character; no one was necessarily competing with him for that Dao. But his "Stillness" character definitely had a competitor—King Dazhou!
Su Yu might be able to achieve Dao Integration, but once King Dazhou took that step to reach the Great Dao tier, it would be impossible for Su Yu to rely on that character to reach the Great Dao tier.
Bai Feng's words had sorted out a great deal for Su Yu!
Meanwhile, Bai Feng continued, "I understand now..."
*What did you understand now?*
In the past, it was always Su Yu who understood everything. Today, Bai Feng had been understanding one thing after another. What had he understood this time?
Bai Feng stroked his chin. "Actually, it's simple. Innate divine characters and self-comprehended divine characters don't necessarily conflict! Take this brat Su Yu, for instance. He has innate divine characters as well as self-comprehended ones... In my opinion, they don't conflict! For example, once an innate divine character reaches the Great Dao tier, he can either fight others for control of the rule behind the comprehended divine character, or simply give it up—shattering that divine character and dispersing its rule to strengthen the rule of his innate divine character! That way, weakening another's Dao to strengthen his own is actually a great thing!"
With rising excitement, he added, "Wait, is that what happened when ancient powerhouses engaged in great wars? I shatter your Dao and merge it into mine, so your Dao becomes smaller and mine becomes larger, until finally... I destroy your Dao completely! You're finished, and I become stronger! Devouring each other?"
At this moment, Su Yu was speechless!
He felt that his teacher might have actually guessed right.
Was that how the ancient powerhouses waged war?
The Time Master... why had the Time Master killed so many people to forge the Time Booklet?
To preserve civilization?
Nonsense!
The Time Master was definitely stripping others of their Daos to strengthen her own!
Yes!
It had to be! The Time Booklet truly was a weapon of slaughter. It devoured the minor Daos of others, gradually stripping away the Great Daos of experts, until ultimately the Time Master would kill the masters of those Daos, wiping out their Great Daos along with them!
A vicious figure indeed!
At this moment, Su Yu finally understood why the Time Master was universally condemned. She was an utterly ruthless creature; her corpse collection was merely a means to weaken others and strengthen herself, eventually killing off Great Dao-tier experts!
Some Great Dao-tier experts might not have even realized how they ended up dead by her hand!
Beside him, Bai Feng continued to chatter away: "Good apprentice, dear apprentice, let us research your Primordial Spirit Aperture! Once we learn how to convert origin qi and willpower... that will be extraordinary! I'm already prepared to abandon my physical body and find a core divine character to cultivate directly..."
Su Yu gave a wry smile. "The Primordial Spirit Aperture... was called the Heavenly Gate Aperture in ancient times! One needs to open seven hundred and twenty apertures just to unlock it! Even if you learn the principles, it won't do you any good..."
"Idiot!" Bai Feng said exasperatedly. "We can replicate it! Who said we have to open the Heavenly Gate? For instance, if your conversion rate is one hundred percent, we can build a machine that only converts at thirty percent. But that doesn't matter—thirty percent is more than enough for us!"
Su Yu thought about it and nodded. Then he asked, "I'm actually curious about something. The Heavenly Gate continuously absorbs energy—is that energy stored within the Heavenly Gate? When will the Heavenly Gate become fully usable for myself?"
"When it's fully connected!"
Even though Bai Feng didn't possess one and hadn't seen the interior of the Heavenly Gate, he answered swiftly, "Once the origin apertures and spirit apertures are connected through, there shouldn't be any problem! They will merge naturally! Right now, the energy you absorb is probably stored within the Heavenly Gate Aperture, bursting out whenever you need to use it! You've been absorbing death qi—absorb less of it! If you absorb too much, you might pollute all your apertures into dead spirit apertures, and then you could turn into a dead spirit!"
Su Yu nodded; this aligned closely with his own thoughts.
He looked at his teacher again, pondered, and said, "Teacher, if you truly want to walk the path of Dao Integration through divine characters... in the future, I can introduce you to a few friends. They are exceptionally skilled at it!"
"Who?" Bai Feng was surprised. "No way, I just came up with this myself. Someone already knows how to do it?"
He added indignantly, "Why is it that no matter what I research, someone always claims they've already researched it!"
Su Yu laughed. "That's normal; it just comes down to who has mastered it better! Still, regarding abandoning your physical body... I advise you to think twice, Teacher. In my view, what makes the human race human is inseparable from things like the physical body!"
"Research knows no boundaries!" Bai Feng dismissed the concern. "Even if I transform into a divine character, as long as I consider myself human, I am still human! Conversely, if I have a physical body but don't consider myself human, then I'm not human! This matter is a question of the heart, not the flesh!"
Su Yu nodded. "As long as Teacher knows what you're doing."
With that, he turned to Wu Lan. "Wu Lan, do you also want to walk the same path as my teacher? Such a path... has an uncertain future..."
Wu Lan said casually, "I don't know, I'll see! There are thousands of Daos in the world; there's no need to walk a single one to a dead end! Besides, according to what you said, the Three Incarnations Method has become the only way to prove the Dao nowadays... Venturing onto other Daos will inevitably incur all sorts of tribulations. Let's watch Teacher Bai first. If he dies, I'll gather the lessons from his failure before making a decision!"
Bai Feng was speechless!
*Those words sounded an awful lot like a curse on my life!*
"You won't be able to research the Heavenly Gate Aperture; I can't even research it thoroughly myself..."
As Su Yu spoke, he drew out a diagram displaying all seven hundred and twenty apertures!
The moment the diagram appeared... lightning suddenly formed in the void!
A bolt struck downward!
Instantly, Su Yu's "Thunder" divine character erupted—not to shatter the bolt this time, but to swallow it whole. Su Yu's eyes flickered, and he chuckled. "Interesting. The heavens and earth won't even allow me to draw the Cosmic Diagram!"
Outside, the onlookers watching were filled with shock.
What had Su Yu done now?
He had been struck by lightning!
Had this heinous fellow committed so many sins that he was struck by lightning yet again?
Su Yu, however, didn't care in the slightest; instead, he smiled. He had just been fretting over how to fleece the rules for benefits, and this turned out to be a wonderful method!
Ignoring the commotion, he quickly sealed the diagram with willpower and origin qi, then handed it to Bai Feng. "Teacher, take this and research it yourselves. This is the Cosmic Primordial Spirit Diagram! All seven hundred and twenty apertures are on it, and I've marked the position of the Heavenly Gate Aperture as well!"
Taking it in hand, Bai Feng asked uncertainly, "I won't get struck by lightning, will I?"
This thing had been struck the moment it appeared!
Su Yu glanced at the sky. The lightning tribulation had already been shattered and swallowed by his "Thunder" divine character, proving not particularly powerful. He smiled. "It's fine. Heaven and earth permit this thing to exist; it's just that some Rule Master didn't allow it to appear and established a rule back then. They're probably dead by now, so the rule power isn't very strong. Once it strikes once, it's done!"
Bai Feng nodded and put the diagram away, chuckling. "This is pretty interesting. I'll memorize this thing, and next time I run into an opponent, I'll suddenly draw the diagram... Do you think they'll be dumbfounded when a bolt of lightning crashes down on them?"
Su Yu's mind stirred. That was indeed a great idea!
It could serve as a combat tactic!
He just didn't know if drawing the diagram repeatedly would eventually stop triggering tribulations.
He could test it next time!
Having obtained the Cosmic Diagram, Bai Feng was fully satisfied. He chuckled, "Alright then, I won't dissect you! Brat, I wanted to cut you open a long time ago, but you always managed to dodge it. Fine, I'll find another chance to cut you open later!"
Su Yu was at a loss for words.
*Believe it or not, I could blow you to death with a single breath or crush you with an eyeball!*
*And you still want to dissect me!*
Ignoring Bai Feng, his teacher had brought him considerable benefits today. At the very least, Su Yu now had a general idea of how to use and manipulate the Civilization Tombstone.
Furthermore, rumor had it that this object was crafted by King Wen's disciples after King Wen fell...
Another thought occurred to Su Yu: who among the disciples had forged it?
They didn't even want King Wen's divine characters?
Not even caring about a Great Dao divine character?
Could it have been the Battle King?
The ancestor of the Xia family?
What role did the Battle King play in all this?
Did he have any connection to King Wen and the Time Master?
Moreover, both the Civilization Tombstone and the Time Booklet had appeared in the Great Xia Prefecture, which had been founded by the descendants of the Battle King... It truly was an entangled mess. Could the Battle King have been a third party?
Or did he harbor an unrequited crush on the Time Master?
Su Yu was practically constructing an entire melodrama in his head!
Or perhaps... did the Battle King have an unrequited crush on King Wen?
Good grief!
Antiquity truly was complicated!
...
While Su Yu was still immersed in these ancient affairs, news of the incident between him and King Dayuan had already spread across the myriad realms.
Su Yu and King Dayuan had clashed!
King Dayuan lost control and launched an ambush on Su Yu on the spot. Su Yu retaliated, and in a one-on-one battle, he shattered King Dayuan's present and future incarnations, nearly killing him! If his teacher hadn't intervened, an all-out war between the ancient cities and the human race might have erupted right then and there!
This piece of gossip was explosive!
In the blink of an eye, it threw the myriad realms into an uproar!
...
The Immortal Realm.
Someone was reporting to Tiangu. After listening for a while, Tiangu said calmly, "There is nothing worth celebrating! King Dayuan lost control, so severing his three incarnations is for the best; at least it spares his life! Su Yu might not have genuinely intended to kill him! Furthermore, Kings Dazhou and Daxia were present, yet they failed to stop Su Yu... Perhaps they merely used Su Yu's hand to sever King Dayuan's three incarnations. Su Yu might have simply been used as a blade!"
It wasn't appropriate for them to sever King Dayuan's three incarnations, but it was fitting for Su Yu to do so.
It established authority and prevented internal strife among the existing human Invincibles.
It was a good outcome!
Tiangu didn't care much about it. Besides, even if King Dayuan had truly been killed, a seventh-stage Eternity expert wouldn't change the grand scheme of things.
Below, King Yu, who was delivering the report, continued, "Emperor, regarding Su Yu's desire to become the master of the human holy land... I believe King Daqin and the others are paving the way for him. Do we need to do something? If the ancient city guardians truly join forces with the human race... the threat to the various races will become even greater!"
"It isn't that simple... Those guardians aren't doing it for the human race, but for Su Yu. Once Su Yu dies, the alliance will collapse on its own!"
"But Su Yu isn't easy to kill..."
"No rush!"
Tiangu said placidly, "Wait for news; wait for word from the dead spirit realm! Right now, Su Yu still has a way out. Even if I went to kill him personally, he could still escape by fleeing into the dead spirit realm! That would only make others look down on us! Wait until arrangements are in place in the dead spirit realm—then we will strike from both inside and outside for a guaranteed kill!"
"What about the Star Residence Mansion...?"
"Pay it no heed!"
Tiangu said calmly, "Even if that terrifying existence inside were to come out now, it would only trigger a catastrophe across the myriad realms, rather than disaster solely for us. If it truly can be lured out... when the grand catastrophe descends, the immortal race... has a way out!"
King Yu nodded slightly and asked, "Emperor, will we leave the Human Realm completely unattended then?"
After thinking for a moment, Tiangu said, "We will manage it! Continue contacting certain human Eternity experts. Offer high terms—so high that they cannot refuse! As long as they are willing to transform their bodies and turn into immortals, they will receive bloodlines of at least the Dao Integration level, Heaven Armaments, and carriers. Furthermore, the immortal race will guarantee that their lineage produces an Eternity expert for three consecutive generations! They shall reign as kings within the immortal domain, dominating their own territories!"
Tiangu added indifferently, "Extend the target to the Sun Moon Realm as well! The human race lacks carriers; use carriers to tempt them..."
"Well... our immortal race doesn't possess that many either. Also, King Dao and the others are currently applying to the Immortal Emperor Palace for carriers... Should we grant them?"
"King Dao?"
Tiangu's brow furrowed slightly. "More than enough to ruin things, entirely inept at accomplishing anything! Scheming and plotting back and forth... costing the immortal race dearly! His grandson Dao Cheng, however, is a pity! Very well, approve one carrier for him..."
King Yu nodded and continued, "What about the god and demon races...?"
"The gods and demons?"
Tiangu chuckled. "Last time, those two races deliberately held back, waiting for my immortal race to suffer heavy losses! Now that King Zhi is dead and Su Yu has threatened us, it also demonstrates to all races just how great a threat he poses. Rest assured, when the battle resumes next time, the gods and demons will exert their full strength!"
King Yu nodded once more, then quickly added, "There is one more matter! Su Yu still possesses some petals of the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus. According to reports, he might be intending to sell them. Right now, various races are converging toward the Human Realm! Su Yu might still have seven petals in hand..."
"The Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus..."
Tiangu murmured softly. After a long silence, he said slowly, "Would Su Yu be willing to sell such an item to outsiders? The Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus..."
Pondering, he said, "I have a vague impression that back during the ancient era, counterfeit Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotuses seemed to have appeared..."
"Counterfeits?"
King Yu was startled. Tiangu's brow furrowed slightly. "It's difficult to confirm. That was during the ancient era, and nothing of the sort was heard of afterward. Su Yu... is acquainted with Hongmeng, and the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus grew in King Gong's Mansion. Hongmeng might know something..."
Shocked, King Yu said, "Could the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus be fake?"
"Hard to say..."
Even Tiangu wasn't certain. King Yu said quickly, "Should we inform the other races..."
Tiangu said indifferently, "Why inform them?"
"..."
King Yu frowned slightly. "Emperor, do you mean that even if it's fake, it will deplete the foundations of the other races... But if the items fall into Su Yu's hands, he might become even stronger, which would turn into a far greater problem later on!"
Tiangu replied calmly, "Then let me ask you: if we announce to the world that the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus is fake, do you think the myriad races will believe us?"
"..."
Would they believe it?
Hard to say!
Wouldn't they suspect the immortal race was deliberately calling it fake out of fear that other races might produce a Dao Integration expert?
Of course, some might hesitate; after all, this wouldn't be the first time Su Yu swindled people.
Tiangu thought for a moment and smiled. "Send our people as well. Tell Su Yu: if he wants to sell... however much he sells, give half to the immortal race, or else we will expose him!"
"Will he agree?"
"Let's try!"
Tiangu laughed. "If he refuses, it doesn't matter! If he refuses... then we tell the myriad races. At the very least, some will hesitate."
"Very well then!"
King Yu thought about it and nodded. Indeed, it was worth a shot!
If Su Yu agreed, they would split the profits fifty-fifty.
If he refused... they would expose him. Even if Su Yu continued trading and some refused to believe the warning, his gains would at least be drastically reduced.
...
At the same time.
The Hunting Heaven Pavilion.
The Southern Tower Pavilion Master was also delivering a report. The scholar ignored him, staring at the Heaven Hunting Ranking before him for a long while before finally saying, "It's fake. It's a Smiling Lotus."
"What?"
The Southern Tower Pavilion Master didn't understand. The scholar said calmly, "Something very similar to the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus and exceedingly difficult to distinguish. Even ancient powerhouses mistook it back then. Su Yu most likely obtained this item; Hongmeng probably knows where it was kept."
"He's running a scam?"
The Southern Tower Pavilion Master was astounded!
"Most likely!"
The scholar didn't seem to care much. The Southern Tower Pavilion Master said hurriedly, "Then let us announce publicly that the item is a Smiling Lotus!"
The scholar said flatly, "Do you want to be hunted down by him like a rabid dog?"
"..."
The Southern Tower Pavilion Master froze. "Then... we just leave it alone? Someone is bound to fall for it!"
Indeed, if the Hunting Heaven Pavilion spoke up, that rabid dog Su Yu might genuinely hunt them down relentlessly!
If the immortal race spoke, people might not believe them.
But if the Hunting Heaven Pavilion spoke—a faction that had built its foundation on trading treasures and knew them like the back of its hand—their revelation might truly cause Su Yu's plan to fall through!
"If they fall for it, so be it,"
the scholar said placidly. "Once Su Yu gets the carriers, what can he do with them besides merging them into his civilization chronicle? That civilization chronicle of his harbors far too much ambition; even if he cons dozens of carriers, it won't change anything. Instead, it will only harden the resolve of the myriad races to kill him! These items cannot bring about any qualitative transformation for Su Yu! Su Yu is greedy, thinking that treasures from the myriad races are so easily taken. If he remains unyieldingly powerful, fine; but the moment he shows weakness... everyone he swindles today will come to kill him tomorrow!"
The treasures Su Yu wanted to swindle could not grant him a qualitative leap at this stage.
Therefore, both Tiangu and the scholar chose to wait and watch.
If the treasures Su Yu obtained through trickery could instantly make him immensely powerful... neither side would be sitting by so calmly.
Marquis Jiantian ignored the matter, silently calculating before asking, "Did he and King Dazhou go to the Great Zhou Prefecture?"
"Yes, they went once in the middle of forging the grand array!"
The scholar nodded slightly, glanced at the Heaven Hunting Ranking before him, and after a moment's thought, said, "Make a trip to the Tianyuan Realm. Find the Tianyuan Half-Emperor and tell him that I am willing to trade a peak Heaven Armament for the 'Atlas' character fragment."
"Will he agree?"
The Southern Tower Pavilion Master felt it was unlikely. He added, "Furthermore, Su Yu said he wanted to trade the 'Record' character fragment for humans, yet there hasn't been any movement to this day. My Lord... should we..."
Unhurried and composed, the scholar said slowly, "It would be best if we can trade for it. If not..."
He smiled faintly. "The item will be lost sooner or later anyway. The Tianyuan race is entangled in death qi and has offended the two existences with the strongest destiny across the heavens... Heaven wills their destruction! If they fail to recognize the Mandate of Heaven, they shall plunge entirely into the dead spirit realm!"
A strange look crossed the Southern Tower Pavilion Master's eyes.
*Was that even possible?*
He understood what Marquis Jiantian meant: by holding onto that item, the Tianyuan race had offended both Marquis Jiantian and Su Yu, and Su Yu definitely wanted it as well.
The two of them possessed the greatest destiny in all the myriad realms!
So Heaven willed the destruction of that race?
Yet the Tianyuan race was extraordinarily powerful!
They had a Dao Integration-level expert, and as for Invincibles... they likely had around twenty, even though they claimed to possess only seven or eight publicly!
One could never take the words of these ancient races at face value!
For example, the Iron-Eating race claimed to have only one Dao Integration expert and two Eternity experts—would anyone believe that?
*I certainly don't!*
A Dao Integration expert had lived for countless years; if they nurtured one expert per tide change, after nine tides, there would be nine. Very few Iron-Eating Invincibles had died before.
Whoever believed them was a fool!
The same held true for the Archaic Giant race. Within their ranks were Mountain Giants, Archaic Giants, Magma Giants, Earthfire Giants, Thunderstorm Giants... countless giant breeds, yet they claimed to have only three Invincibles. Would anyone believe that?
*Not a chance!*
Take the words of these ancient races that had survived to this day with a grain of salt!
The Life race even claimed that only one ancient relic remained among them, with the strongest among the rest being Wusuanzi, followed by Chang He... Claiming their race had only those three powerhouses—who would believe that?
Whoever believed them was an idiot!
Until the brink of extermination, one would never know just how much these ancient races had kept hidden!
Though these thoughts ran through his mind, the Southern Tower Pavilion Master said nothing. He nodded, "Pavilion Master, then I shall go and ask..."
Just as he spoke... Marquis Jiantian felt a slight stir in his heart. After a swift calculation, he said, "Go and ask. If it doesn't work out, leave immediately!"
"Leave immediately?"
Pondering the meaning behind those words, the Southern Tower Pavilion Master nodded. "Understood. This subordinate will take his leave!"
"Go!"
The Southern Tower Pavilion Master's figure faded, vanishing from the spot.
Once he was gone, Marquis Jiantian frowned slightly. After a moment's contemplation, he wrote a name on the Heaven Hunting Ranking—the true name of the Southern Tower Pavilion Master, Xiao Qi.
At that moment, the name trembled slightly, showing signs of instability.
"A crisis of demise; destiny beginning to dissipate..."
Marquis Jiantian's heart stirred. Was disaster about to strike the Tianyuan race, or would the Southern Tower Pavilion Master encounter misfortune on this journey?
Filled with uncertainty, he hesitated before writing another name with great effort... *Boom!*
The moment it was written, a blast of dark light erupted, and the name blew apart!
A cold snort resonated through the hall: "Who dares spy upon my heavenly secrets?"
With a casual wave of his hand, Marquis Jiantian wiped away the aura and the voice. He shook his head; spying on the fate of a Dao Integration expert was simply too difficult, especially since this ranking was incomplete after all.
He had wanted to observe the fate of the Tianyuan Half-Emperor... but the moment he wrote the name, he was detected.
Marquis Jiantian paid it no mind. After some thought, he wrote the name of another Invincible of the Tianyuan race. This time, no anomaly occurred, but the name fluctuated faintly.
"Is their destiny already beginning to dissipate?"
"Is it truly so efficacious?"
Even Marquis Jiantian was surprised; this race was still very powerful!
Could it be that once an item fell into Su Yu's sights, they truly were doomed to perish?
Was it really that exaggerated?
"Su Yu..."
Marquis Jiantian hesitated for a moment, then, for the countless-th time, wrote the two characters "Su Yu" upon the Heaven Hunting Ranking.
In the past, whenever he wrote Su Yu's name, it remained utterly motionless.
Today, however, an unexpected shift occurred.
The instant he finished writing Su Yu's name... within the book, the tip of a brush or blade suddenly thrust straight at him!
The art of peering into fate carried severe backlash.
That tip instantly struck between his brows with a wet puncturing sound, and blood flowed freely!
Drops of blood trickled down from between his eyebrows.
Marquis Jiantian's expression shifted slightly. *His destiny has grown even stronger!*
*Has this brat stumbled upon another fortuitous encounter?*
...
At the very same moment.
Su Yu felt a subtle tremor. Within his sea of will, the Civilization Tombstone suddenly shook, transforming into a writing brush that jabbed into the void... With a faint popping sound, it seemed to pierce right through something!
"Spying on me?"
Su Yu's mind stirred. He quickly observed, examining his sea of will carefully. The Civilization Tombstone had retaliated, while the golden booklet trembled faintly.
"The Heaven Hunting Ranking!"
Su Yu grasped the situation instantly. He let out a cold snort—Marquis Jiantian!
That man had seemingly just been peering at him!
Su Yu frowned. Why was Marquis Jiantian suddenly spying on him right now?
Peering across space... he must have utilized the power of the Heaven Hunting Ranking!
*Did that old fellow discover something? Or does he feel I'm slipping out of his control?*
Su Yu sank into deep thought.
These old fossils truly possessed no shortage of tricks. Marquis Jiantian was not someone to provoke lightly—though he was the one who had provoked Su Yu first!
*No, my strength is too weak right now, and all my trump cards have been exposed. If this continues, danger will find me sooner or later. I must find a way to rapidly strengthen myself!*
*Strengthening the civilization chronicle is one path; besides that, strengthening my divine characters and physical body are both utterly essential!*
However, after nine transformations of his physical body, Su Yu felt his progress had slowed significantly.
*Divine characters... rules...*
Perhaps he needed to find an opportunity to fleece the rules for benefits, rapidly bolstering his divine characters and perfecting his divine character battle technique to advance along the Great Dao of rules!
*Comprehending innate divine characters comes from fragments of rules... Rule punishments and rewards are both manifestations of rule power... Perhaps I can use this opportunity to comprehend even more divine characters!*
Su Yu tapped the table. *Once I pull off this scam, I'll go play with the rules and stop wasting time with everyone else!*
Otherwise, with so many trump cards exposed under the current circumstances, he would be targeted sooner or later!
Without a doubt, major races like the gods, demons, and immortals were definitely scheming in the dead spirit realm, aiming to strike him from both inside and outside to wipe him out!
*The human race plans to attack the Tianyuan race... Perhaps I should go take a look, taking the chance to kill a Dao Integration expert... Or I could simply open a few dead spirit channels and let dead spirits deliberately run amok, provoking the rules into punishing me without actually killing me...*
One idea after another surfaced in Su Yu's mind.
Kill enemies to strengthen the civilization chronicle.
Kill enemies on the Allhead Battlefield to receive heaven-and-earth rewards.
Violate certain rules to force the rules to punish him...
In short, he had to grow strong quickly.
Beating a single King Dayuan had taken so much effort and relied on the grand array's assistance. With only this much strength, whom could he hope to face?
By now, dusk had fallen.
Outside the door, the Five Elements race arrived once more. Fu Tuling's voice requesting an audience sounded again. Su Yu's eyes flickered. *Punishment... Holy crap, the Five Elements race is the perfect candidate! How about I help you cultivate the Five Elements Divine Art?*
*Let me, Su Yu, bear the brunt of the punishment!*
*I'm not afraid of being punished!*
*Aren't we good friends?!*
This was far more dependable than other rule punishments, and it might even allow him to perfect his Five Elements divine characters!
Su Yu's eyes gleamed with excitement... *Yes, the Five Elements race!*
*I love you guys!*
*I'll teach you the Five Elements Divine Art, take the punishment, and fleece the rules for all they're worth! Go ahead and have your entire race cultivate it—I, Su Yu, will shoulder the lightning for you! It'd be best if it blasts me to pieces!*
The next instant, Su Yu opened the main gates.
The moment Fu Tuling and the elder stepped inside... Su Yu beamed at Fu Tuling with a radiant smile.
That smile... made Fu Tuling hesitate to even enter!
It sent chills down his spine!
A cold dread seized his heart!
*What do you want?*
*I've already cooperated with you, what more do you want?*
Yet while Su Yu's dazzling smile struck terror into Fu Tuling, the accompanying elder beamed with delight. What a sincere smile!
Just looking at that smile, the elder felt that Su Yu held great goodwill toward their visit!
And Su Yu... seemed thoroughly trustworthy!
The Sun Moon Realm elder was deeply swayed, whereas Fu Tuling felt only icy dread. Then, Su Yu's voice rang in his ears:
"Brother Fu Tu—no, successor to the Five Elements Progenitor—should I be addressing you as Progenitor?"
"..."
Fu Tuling's face drained of color!
At that moment, his only desire was to flee—to flee as far away as possible!
Su Yu... he knew!
Chapter 626