Killing a Chicken to Scare the Monkeys

The grand battle that had lasted an entire day finally drew to a close. Everyone returned to their own homes. The various races retreated back to their respective realms one after another, sealing off their boundary passageways. A great race without an emperor holding the fort like the dragons went so far as to seal off their entire realm following the Dragon Emperor’s fall, guarding against a surprise attack by the human race. Tianyuan was decimated, the Spirit Realm was thrown into turmoil, and the Golden-Winged Roc race lived in perpetual terror! Such was the war of the myriad races! No matter how powerful a great race was, the moment their supreme powerhouse died in battle, they faced an existential crisis at any moment. Without sufficiently deep foundations, making a single wrong choice during the shifting of tides would reduce them to history, to the past, to a race of mere legends. The humans, gods, demons, and immortals held hegemony over the myriad realms precisely because of their profound foundations. The human race could rally allies. The immortal race could summon two Dao Harmonizers from the upper realm, the demon race could haul out an old antique who had allegedly died in ancient times, and while the god race kept a low profile, that was only because the war had not reached the God Realm and the God Emperor was never in danger. Had it been otherwise, unforeseen events might have unfolded as well. *** Outside the passageway to the Human Realm. Su Yu panted, thoroughly exhausted. In this battle, he had fought all the way from the Human Realm out into the heavens, slaying Invincibles and Dao Harmonizers until he was covered in wounds and so exhausted he could barely breathe. At this moment, he saw several Invincibles of the Human Realm cleaning up the battlefield. Su Yu glanced over, having little interest in lingering on the sight. He was simply too tired! Beside him, Tianmie was also panting for breath as he walked over wielding his great club, chortling, "That felt damn good! Su Yu, when are we doing this again?" "..." Su Yu was helpless. He gave a soft laugh. "Lord Tianmie, in the next battle, I'm afraid anyone below the Dao Harmonizer realm will be in grave danger." "..." Tianmie stared at him, his towering frame looking down at Su Yu with a frown. "I get the feeling you're looking down on me!" Su Yu smiled. "Absolutely not!" "Hmph!" Tianmie gave a cold snort. There was definitely contempt in there. What did he mean, anyone below Dao Harmonizer would be in danger? Was that an indirect dig at him? So what if he was below the Dao Harmonizer realm? In the distance, the Old Turtle did not approach, but his voice echoed across: "All of you, return your weapons and suppress the passageways! The dead spirit realm is in turmoil; go back and recuperate! Su Yu, we shall take our leave first. Once you settle your matters here, come back to the sacred city!" The dead spirit realm was indeed in upheaval. This time, two dead spirit Marquises had been slain. Now, the Eastern King was likely to launch a punitive strike, and the Old Turtle needed to find a way to deal with that trouble soon. Tianmie curled his lip. Fine, then. He had originally wanted to stay out and play a bit longer! Further away, Yunxiao had an indignant look on her face, grumbling in fury, "When can our seals be undone?! That bitch—twice now, I've failed to kill her!" "..." Both the Old Turtle and Su Yu were rendered speechless. Her obsession with killing Immortal King Hanxiang was truly deep! Unfortunately, Yunxiao was only at the eighth stage, while Hanxiang was at the ninth. Although Yunxiao's weapon-fusion method was slightly stronger than Hanxiang's three-incarnation method, an eighth stage against a ninth stage was at best an even match. Moreover, she was hampered by the stone sculpture seal, so on the whole, she held no real advantage. Su Yu smiled, saying nothing of it. He cupped his hands toward the panting guardians and said, "Seniors, please return first. I will be back soon!" Xinghong smiled. "Call on us if anything comes up!" "Will do!" Following Su Yu's words, the guardians returned to their ancient cities, which once again suppressed the dead spirit passageways. In the blink of an eye, the thirty-six ancient cities vanished. They, too, needed to rest and recuperate. In this battle, every single guardian had sustained injuries, and with the dead spirit realm still in turmoil, they needed to swiftly suppress the unrest. *** With the ancient city faction having departed, Su Yu looked toward the dozen or so Iron-Eating Beasts ahead. He suddenly felt an urge to laugh. Because... they were all carved from the exact same mold. All dozen-plus Iron-Eating Beasts had the same expression, the same posture, the same weapons, the same massive dark eye circles, and were gnawing on something in the same manner... Looking at them, Su Yu really couldn't help a chuckle. Still, he managed to recognize Jiu Yue among them, whose frame was slightly smaller. As for the Iron-Eating Beast Emperor, that was easy to spot too—he was the largest of them all. The entire pack of Iron-Eating Beasts was busy eating. Soon, Su Yu spotted a peculiar one among them... Han Pangzi, the one from Daming Prefecture, had somehow slipped into the group of giant Iron-Eating Beasts without anyone noticing. Noticing Su Yu looking over, Han Pangzi gave a goofy grin and spoke up, "Su... Sacred Lord Su, I'm going back to the Iron-Eating Beast Realm. My strength is too weak, and our clan has so few members. If I go back, my strength can improve a bit!" As he spoke, a little Iron-Eating Beast suddenly poked its head out from behind his neck... Su Yu understood at once! He was returning home for his child. A man drifting about outside might not care about himself, but once he had a kid, he really had to go home! Poor Han Pangzi! Su Yu smiled. "Fair enough. You have lived in the Human Realm for many years; you are welcome back anytime!" With that, he turned to the massive Iron-Eating Beast Emperor, cupped his hands, and smiled. "This time, many thanks to Lord Beast Emperor!" The Iron-Eating Beast Emperor continued munching on his food without much concern, answering naively, "You are too polite, Human Sovereign. My clan has been on good terms with the human race since ancient times! We formed an ancient alliance, and in this battle, the primary credit belongs to you, Human Sovereign!" *Oh!* This seemingly honest Iron-Eating Beast clan sure knew how to flatter! Su Yu smiled and bowed slightly once more. "The Beast Emperor flatters me! A debt of gratitude needs no words, and today is not convenient for hosting guests. I see that several Daoists of the Iron-Eating clan are also wounded; the Beast Emperor may return first. Once Su Yu handles these trivial matters, I will naturally pay a visit!" The Iron-Eating Beast Emperor had indeed wanted to leave, but since Su Yu had not said so, he had felt embarrassed to walk away directly. Hearing this, he gave a goofy smile. "Then my clan welcomes the Human Sovereign's visit at any time!" With those words, the group of Iron-Eating Beasts showed no further hesitation, tearing open the void and striding away. Over on the other side, the Ancient Hou was still devouring the Ape Emperor's severed thigh. Seeing Su Yu glance his way, he put on a somewhat ferocious grin and laughed heartily. "Su... fine, you're the Human Sovereign now! Human Sovereign Su, we're taking our leave as well! The Hou Realm also welcomes your visit at any time!" Su Yu cupped his hands with a smile. "The Hou Emperor has toiled hard this time as well! When the Golden-Winged Roc and the Ape Emperor attacked simultaneously, you were still willing to come to our aid. Su has been negligent in hospitality today, but I will surely repay you handsomely in the future!" "No need to be polite!" the Hou Emperor laughed boisterously. "Just introduce me to some good food, and that will be enough! A pity King Bing detonated himself; otherwise, eating an old immortal would have tasted magnificent!" With that, he too tore open the void and strode away, his voice echoing back: "The thousand-year deadline is not far off; Human Sovereign, make preparations early. Right now the human race is in decline. Though we are willing to assist, our races in the upper realm... are also stretched thin! Whether it be my clan or the Iron-Eating clan, we have been on friendly terms with the human race since ancient times. Over the nine tidal shifts, most of the races allied with humanity have perished. Those of us that remain are extremely weakened in the upper realm; across nine tides, very few Dao Harmonizers have been born!" The races allied with humanity had in fact faced severe suppression. Over the nine tidal shifts, over a hundred ancient races friendly to humanity had disappeared! Of those that remained, they had either gone into hibernation or declined severely. Today, they possessed few powerhouses. "Many thanks for the reminder, Hou Emperor!" Su Yu expressed his gratitude once more. Over there, the mother ball, flitting to and fro, looked over in exhaustion and said, "Little fellow, I'm heading off too. I'm going home to sleep, I'm so tired!" It had truly engaged in countless battles, fighting all the way from the Human Realm until now. The main issue was that it was not particularly bright and had been blown up multiple times by suicidal detonations. Hearing this, Su Yu hurriedly said, "Senior Chui has worked hard this time. Once I finish my business, I will bring the little fur ball to visit you!" "Whatever!" "..." Su Yu was speechless. *Whatever?* What a way to put it! On his head, the little fur ball also popped out, happily wiggling its body toward the mother ball. *Mama, hurry up and go. If you don't leave, I'm worried my breeding farm will become yours.* The mother ball could not be bothered to say anything to it. So long as the little fellow was not lost, and seeing that Su Yu was keeping it nice and plump, it had nothing to worry about. Soon, the mother ball shuttled through the void and departed. The Old Turtle, the Ancient Hou, the Iron-Eating Beasts, and the mother ball had all left. At this moment, the Book Spirit and the Tea Tree approached. The Book Spirit manifested a human form and said softly, "We have failed the Human Sovereign. Of the immortal race's two Dao Harmonizers, we only managed to keep one. That King Fu escaped!" Su Yu smiled. "Seniors, you two have been of immense help this time! Slaying two dead spirit Marquises, slaying King Bing and the Golden-Winged Roc—without the two of you, today's grand victory would have been impossible. You have worked hard!" "It was our duty," the Book Spirit replied, then added, "In that case, should the Tea Tree and I avoid the crowd for now?" Avoid the crowd? Su Yu paused slightly. Did they have no interest in talking more with the rest of the humans? After a thought, he nodded. The Book Spirit transformed into a book, the Tea Tree entered it, and the two instantly vanished, returning into Su Yu's sea of will. All six Dao Harmonizers were gone. Over by the Tianyuan Realm, which was quite a distance away, King Dazhou and the others had not yet returned. In the blink of an eye, only the human group remained in the entire void. There were not many of them, and all were missing arms or legs. The bachelor Invincibles Su Yu had brought out earlier had barely managed to besiege two or three Invincibles, and even so, they were severely wounded. From bachelors, they had now turned into cripples. God knew how many Invincibles had been mangled in this fight. Soon, King Daxia and King Daming both arrived. Both men were gravely wounded, and some of their three incarnations might have fallen. Su Yu could not tell at the moment; their auras were severely depleted, looking identical whether an incarnation had perished or not. As King Daxia flew over, he sighed, "I felt it... several more old friends have died!" Over at the Tianyuan Realm, there were not so many high-stage Eternals. For several to die was completely normal. On Su Yu's side, the guardians were mighty, and as the enemy Dao Harmonizers were slain, they had consistently held the upper hand, so no one here had died. Over there, several more Invincibles had fallen, a fact Su Yu was aware of. "It is already quite an outcome!" Su Yu said calmly. "From start to finish, eight senior human Invincibles fell, while over a hundred enemy Invincibles and five Dao Harmonizers were slain, including two dead spirit Marquises. This can be considered a miraculous triumph!" King Daxia nodded, saying nothing. That was true enough, but there were things Su Yu did not quite understand. It was not that he could not comprehend it intellectually, but that he lacked the lived experience. Because those who had died were old friends, comrades-in-arms, and brothers of King Daxia and the others! Su Yu, after all, was not well-acquainted with them. In this battle, six prefecture founders had fallen. Four had died in earlier years, leaving only twenty-six of the thirty-six founding kings. Before the founding of the prefectures, over fifty Invincibles had arisen in the human race; now, less than half remained! Su Yu did not wish to dwell on it either. Casualties in a massive war were the norm. In the past, he had hoped that not a single one would die, but later he understood that such things were merely wishful thinking. King Daxia and the rest had experienced much; they did not need his comfort, they were simply feeling sorrowful at this moment. The group of powerhouses gathered at the entrance. A moment later, Qin Zhen and several others who had returned from scouring the battlefield displayed satisfied smiles. The harvest was tremendous! "We picked up dozens of carriers!" Qin Zhen grinned broadly. "We're rich!" They had never seen so many treasures at once! Su Yu nodded slightly. It was decent. Carriers were secondary; the corpses of Invincibles were what held true value, especially those of the Spirit race that had self-detonated, leaving fragments of their bodies behind. Whether for forging armaments or concocting pills, those materials were priceless treasures. Su Yu said nothing further. He looked into the distance, toward the remote Tianyuan Realm. King Dazhou and the others were beginning to make their way back. He wondered if anyone had been left behind to guard the Tianyuan Realm. Seeing Su Yu gaze in that direction, King Daxia and the others looked over as well. King Daming cursed, "That bastard Old Zhou actually advanced to the Dao Harmonizer realm! Unbelievable!" *A liar!* *A massive fraud!* How could he have advanced to the Dao Harmonizer realm?! There was definitely something fishy about it! Su Yu smiled and said nothing. King Shady—it was only natural. Without a degree of certainty, would King Dazhou have dared lead troops to invade the Tianyuan Realm? Su Yu felt that even if he had not returned with reinforcements this time, King Dazhou might still have had a way to resolve the crisis. Of course, the spoils of war would never have been as glorious as they were now, or King Dazhou would have acted long ago. Su Yu kept quiet, continuing to heal his wounds and digest the power of rules. His divine characters were also steadily growing stronger. The little white dog's essence blood was truly potent, bloating Su Yu's physical body to the point where it had still not settled down. For Su Yu, this grand battle had yielded astronomical gains. First, he had advanced to the Shanhai Realm, and subsequently, both his body and will had stepped into the Sunmoon Realm! At present, his strength and realm were no longer low. He had also gained a deeper understanding of things like the Time Record and the rules. Rules... Speaking of which, he was reminded of Wan Tiansheng and Lan Tian. Neither of them had shown up during this colossal battle. Su Yu had no idea where the two of them had gone! With a war so fierce, logically speaking, even if their strength was insufficient, those two would never avoid battle. Yet they had not appeared from beginning to end. Setting aside Lan Tian, Wan Tiansheng possessed formidable combat power, and last time he had seemed to attain some kind of comprehension. Aside from them, several other powerhouses had failed to appear during such an intense clash. Duobao had not shown up, nor had the West Pavilion Master... Just as he was pondering this, a ray of multi-colored light suddenly shot forth in the distant Sea of Stars! In the next instant, a powerful entity flashed with golden brilliance and fled at extreme speed. In the distance, Tianmie, who had just returned to his ancient city, suddenly roared, "You grandson of a bitch, you're fucking courting death! You actually snatched treasures to harmonize your Dao!" The golden light flickered at incredible speed as Duobao's laughter drifted over: "I didn't steal it, I found it! Brother Tianmie, that wasn't yours anyway; it was a treasure I picked up from the battlefield. Harmonizing my Dao this time was merely for self-preservation... Brother Tianmie, I'm taking my leave! Until we meet again!" *** On the human side. Su Yu frowned, gazing into the distance with knitted brows. "Duobao harmonized his Dao?" King Daming thought for a moment and nodded. "It's normal. He was close to harmonizing his Dao long ago. He was injured during the first tide; otherwise, he would have done so back then. This time... who knows what treasure he picked up to actually break through!" *What treasure?* Su Yu was uncertain as well. That guy had seemingly hidden in the Sea of Stars; what could he have picked up? From the start of the battle until now, none of the fallen Dao Harmonizers had died over there. What could he have scavenged? As Su Yu wondered, the Book Spirit sensed something in his mind and transmitted, "That was the Treasure-Passing Mouse. He has indeed stepped into the Dao Harmonizer realm... It seems he took the Guiyuan Saber!" "..." Su Yu's expression changed slightly. *The Guiyuan Saber?* Did King Daqin lose that thing? And it enabled Duobao to step into the Dao Harmonizer realm? That was a divine weapon! The Book Spirit knew quite a lot. The crux was, hadn't the Guiyuan Saber always been in King Daqin's hands? King Daqin wasn't dead, was he? If he were dead, Su Yu should have known. While he was thinking, King Dazhou's voice reverberated across heaven and earth from the distant void, sighing, "Duobao, you snatched Qin Guang's divine weapon. That is not something you are qualified to take! You are courting death!" "I'm giving it back to you! I merely drew out a wisp of treasure qi! Back then, Hetu prevented me from advancing to Dao Harmonizer. Today, I extracted a strand of treasure qi from King Gong's divine weapon to perfect my Great Dao and harmonize my Dao. Every drink and bite is predestined by karma! I have no intention of seeking death..." With those words, a precious saber shot out from the void. It remained mighty, though a portion of its treasure qi had been drained. Duobao had already been very close to harmonizing his Dao. Su Yu did not know what his Dao entailed, but advancing by drawing treasure qi meant he had likely been just a sliver away, and this incident had merely satisfied that final condition. Su Yu looked into the distance, his voice echoing across heaven and earth: "Duobao, you have offended me and the human race time and again! Last time, I said I would surely kill you! You'd better find a place to hide well. Otherwise... when I have free time, I'd like to skin your rat pelt and see just how much gall you actually have!" The void fell silent. In the myriad realms today, Su Yu had to be counted among the most dangerous people to provoke. Duobao did not reply, vanishing swiftly. If he spoke any further and Su Yu pinned down his location, leading a swarm of Dao Harmonizers to hunt him down, where would he go to plead his case?! "Hmph!" Su Yu gave a cold snort, prompting a wry sigh from King Dazhou in the distance. *Look at that. Even I couldn't frighten Duobao, yet this fellow Su Yu scared him away!* These days, ruthless people truly were more effective. Su Yu was ruthless enough! He had slain a large batch of Invincibles and several Dao Harmonizers; even Dao Harmonizers were wary of him. Just as the powerhouses were discussing Duobao harmonizing his Dao, another incident erupted in the myriad realms. In a distant direction, over by the Spirit Realm. The realm passageway violently shook, and in the next moment, a beam of light fled through the void and vanished. Right then, the few surviving Invincibles of the Spirit Realm charged out from their realm, heedless of the danger. A Spirit Invincible roared, "Human race, must you drive us to extinction?! Then let us perish together! If you come again, my clan will detonate this realm and drag you down with us!" "Wan Tiansheng, you stole my clan's supreme treasure..." The roaring quickly cut off as other Spirit powerhouses rushed out, pulled back the shouting Invincible, and swiftly sealed the realm gate. The Spirit race had suffered catastrophic losses, with fewer than five Invincibles remaining. If they went out again and were slain, the Spirit Realm would truly face annihilation! Su Yu froze for a moment. *Wan Tiansheng and Lan Tian!* Those two... went treasure-looting? Before he could finish the thought, the Phoenix Realm shook violently. The silhouette of the Phoenix Emperor manifested above the Phoenix Realm, roaring in fury, "Human race, return my Phoenix clan's three thousand phoenix eggs, or war will resume!" Another bizarre catastrophe had occurred? Who did this? While Su Yu was still in a daze, a massive phoenix appeared on the battlefield of the myriad realms, lifelike and vibrant, looking completely real! "Come on, kill me! Little baby!" Lan Tian's chilling laughter rang out. "Little baby, I am the great general guarding the Phoenix Cave. How could you speak to me like that? I am merely taking the other little babies out to roam the myriad realms!" "Little baby, come kill me!" "I'm right here!" The massive phoenix spread its wings and soared high, its golden feathers radiating beams of golden light. On its back, three thousand phoenix eggs reflected across the heavens, emitting radiant golden rays. "Phoenix Emperor, little baby, come kill me! If you don't come, I'll take these little babies out to play!" "Hehe, this is so fun!" "..." Lan Tian's laughter echoed across heaven and earth. In an instant, he transformed into a Golden-Winged Roc, carrying a cluster of tiny golden-winged rocs on its back. Lan Tian giggled, "Phoenix Emperor, little baby, you are so sharp! The Golden-Winged Roc clan didn't even notice! Hehe, over a hundred fledglings—I'm taking them out to play. The myriad realms are so much fun!" At this moment, Su Yu was utterly dumbfounded. Not far from Lan Tian, King Dazhou and the others felt their teeth aching. What kind of stunt was this...? The Phoenix and Golden-Winged Roc races were not particularly populous. Three thousand phoenix eggs... wasn't that virtually the Phoenix clan's entire upcoming generation? This... was cutting off their bloodline! Right now, the Phoenix Emperor's furious roars incinerated the heavens, flames bursting forth, yet he dared not step out of the realm lightly! Across heaven and earth, everyone watched as a massive phoenix continually shifted forms, switching into a Golden-Winged Roc, then back into a phoenix... Lan Tian's playful laughter rang out, "Tiansheng, big baby, let's go! Let's eat roasted roc, let's eat boiled phoenix eggs... They must taste wonderful! I'll take you to eat them!" "..." In the distance, Wan Tiansheng, who had just flown out of the Spirit Realm, could not be bothered to say anything. He swiftly rendezvoused with Lan Tian, and in the blink of an eye, the two flew toward the boundless void. Lan Tian's creepy laughter continued to drift over: "Phoenix Emperor, big baby, come find us in the boundless void! Offer yourself up for me to eat, and I'll release your little babies!" "Lan Tian!" The Phoenix Emperor's enraged roar reverberated through heaven and earth! He was genuinely infuriated! Even if several Invincibles had fallen in battle, it would not have mattered as much. But three thousand phoenix eggs, just as King Dazhou suspected, represented virtually the entirety of the Phoenix clan's next generation. Creatures of the dragon and phoenix kind were not extraordinarily rare, but having three thousand in a single generation was considered quite an achievement; their current numbers had been accumulated over ages. Having three thousand phoenix eggs swept away in one fell swoop meant that for a thousand years, it would be difficult for the Phoenix clan to produce new life. When phoenixes gave birth, they laid eggs first and placed them in their sacred ground to absorb heaven-and-earth origin qi, strengthening them from within the shell so that their strength could progress rapidly afterward. The sacred ground was guarded by Invincibles! Ordinarily, there were at least three Invincibles stationed there! This time, when the great war erupted, most of the Phoenix Invincibles had departed, leaving only a single Invincible to guard the Heaven Yuan Sacred Ground. As a result... that guardian had been duped by Lan Tian into leaving to join the battle, while Lan Tian disguised himself as a Phoenix general to personally guard the sacred ground... With him guarding it, what good end could there be? It was only when the Phoenix Emperor returned with his entourage that he discovered the Phoenix Cave in the Heaven Yuan Sacred Ground was completely empty! *** In the Human Realm. Su Yu, King Daxia, King Daming... Every single powerhouse was twitching at the corners of their mouths, drawing in sharp breaths. King Daxia coughed dryly. "This fellow... has extraordinary guts!" His guts were truly massive! Big enough to pierce the heavens! Wan Tiansheng had immense strength, so stealing treasures from the Spirit race was one thing, but Lan Tian was the truly ruthless one—he had scooped up an entire race's next generation in one pot! This guy wasn't even an Invincible, for goodness' sake! How on earth had the idiots of the Phoenix clan let him worm his way into the position of guarding the Phoenix Cave? Such a vital post, swindled away by Lan Tian just like that? This was... simply indescribable! Only in the current chaos could he pull it off; otherwise, the Phoenix Emperor would have personally led a swarm of Invincibles to hunt him down! King Daming chuckled. "Your Daxia Prefecture... certainly produces quite a few talents!" He placed heavy emphasis on the word "talents"! King Daxia could not be bothered to respond. Su Yu, on the other hand, chuckled. "The Phoenix race... I was just saying they hadn't suffered much this time, hardly losing any Invincibles. This turns out quite well!" In this battle, the participating races had all suffered considerable losses. Looking closely, the Phoenix race had really lost almost nothing. The Phoenix Emperor had fought the Archaic Giant King for half a day without taking any serious wounds, and fewer than three Phoenix Invincibles had died! In fact, Su Yu had not noticed, but only one had died; the battle had not erupted at first, and once it did, it ended quickly. Now, three thousand of their descendants were gone. Let them deal with that! Not only the Phoenix race—Su Yu narrowed his eyes as he reflected—the god race had not suffered huge losses either. Across these recent clashes, the god race had never suffered catastrophic damage. Of course, Su Yu had slain five God powerhouses in the Human Realm, a few had died when the war broke out, and a few more had been killed in the Star Residence Mansion... All told, over ten God Invincibles had perished, but that could not compare to the immortals. The immortals had lost a Dao Harmonizer, and their dead Invincibles exceeded twenty, perhaps even thirty; Su Yu had not bothered to tally them carefully. Lan Tian and Wan Tiansheng had not rendezvoused with the human forces and had instead fled directly. Su Yu did not dwell on it. For the time being, the Phoenix clan would not dare venture out to look for them. It wasn't a major issue. *** After a while, King Dazhou and the others returned. King Dazhou led the group, which had noticeably thinned. It was another band of Invincibles missing arms and legs, with King Daqin being carried back on someone's back. In this battle, the human race appeared to have won a grand victory, but lacking deep capital, their losses remained immense. Eight Invincibles had died. At this moment, apart from Su Yu, all human Invincibles were present—every one of them accounted for. Twenty-six founding kings, plus several Invincibles born before the founding, and a few who attained Invincibility afterward—counting carefully, there were only forty-three. Including King Fenhai, nine Invincibles had died. Adding them up, were there fifty-two Invincibles in total? Yet when Su Yu looked again, King Jintian was missing. Did that mean there had been fifty-three human Invincibles earlier? Everyone roughly knew the number of human Invincibles. However, according to Su Yu's calculations, there should have been fifty-six in total. Why were three missing? Where were the remaining three? Su Yu pondered this in his heart, saying nothing. The forty-three Invincibles present met face-to-face, looking at one another with heavy sighs, tinged with sorrow and helplessness. King Daxia looked at King Daqin, who was being carried on someone's back, and frowned slightly. "Is Old Qin all right?" "He's crippled," King Dazhou replied calmly. King Daxia's brow furrowed. "We're not guarding the Tianyuan Realm anymore?" "No way to guard it!" King Dazhou smiled. "Right now, it's a complete mess inside. We drove away several dead spirit monarchs, along with massive hordes of dead spirits. The surviving members of the Tianyuan race are currently battling those dead spirits. The power of rules is erupting, and heavenly punishment has descended. We'll go back and check after everyone is dead!" *Go back and check after everyone is dead!* King Dazhou added, "Don't worry, I sealed the realm boundary passageway. Unless one is a Dao Harmonizer, getting out is nearly impossible. It won't be an issue." *Ruthless!* This way, the remaining Tianyuan people could only slaughter the dead spirits surging out. With heavenly punishment already appearing, their race might truly be annihilated in the end! King Dazhou spoke casually, but in truth, he was a ruthless character! King Daxia said nothing more on that. Looking closer, he asked, "Where is Jintian?" One person was missing. As for the others, he knew they had died in battle. King Dazhou smiled and waved his hand. A person appeared, his face slightly pale, his cultivation suppressed. Looking at the crowd, then at King Dazhou, he sighed, "King Dazhou, how have I offended you...?" King Dazhou smiled and waved his hand again, sealing the man's mouth. He chuckled, "He's probably going to defend himself; I can't be bothered to listen! I originally thought of having him die in an 'accident' during the battle, but on second thought, let's hold a public trial instead! This fellow is the one behind Fenhai!" "I had initially thought to eliminate him in secret so everyone wouldn't suspect one another, but after seeing Old Liang and the others die in battle... I thought he didn't deserve the same treatment as Old Liang!" King Daxia was shaken. "You mean..." Among the crowd, a stir rippled through the others. They turned to look at King Dazhou, then at the suppressed King Jintian. Jintian was the traitor?! King Dazhou smiled. "No need to stare. This fellow nearly let Tianyuan escape. Had he let the Tianyuan Half-Emperor get away back then, the situation today might have unfolded entirely differently! Without slaying the Tianyuan Half-Emperor, the Archaic Giant race and the Space Ancient Beast race might not have chosen to take a stand... He nearly ruined my plans!" Without slaying a Dao Harmonizer, the tides might not have turned so rapidly. Slaying the Tianyuan Half-Emperor was precisely what gave everyone the firm conviction to invest their support. In the crowd, someone spoke up: "Old Zhou, are you certain... could it have been an accident...?" King Dazhou smiled. "Isn't he still alive? Never mind me; I've brought the man here, so let the Sacred Lord judge him!" It was awkward for him or the others to execute one of their own. Let Su Yu do it! Su Yu glanced at King Dazhou with a cold sneer. Without wasting words, he reached out a single hand toward King Jintian! King Jintian's expression changed slightly, wanting to speak, yet completely unable to utter a sound! Su Yu could not be bothered to waste breath. Grabbing him like a chick, he lifted him up and strode through the void toward the entrance of the Human Realm, remarking as he walked, "Let's kill him in the Human Realm, lest we become a laughingstock to foreign races!" From behind, the veteran King Dashang could not help but speak: "No trial? Is there evidence?" This was a human Invincible! Su Yu did not even look back. "Kill him first. Once I extract some of his memories, I'll naturally know whether he was wronged!" "..." The crowd was speechless, and King Dazhou was at a loss for words. *I handed him over to you hoping you would investigate thoroughly before executing him. Saying you'll kill him first and extract memories later... that's a bit much.* Once a man was dead, if he turned out to be innocent, everyone would feel sick about it. Su Yu continued walking. Sensing the hesitation among the crowd behind him, he looked back at them and said flatly, "You think this is improper?" "It is improper!" King Dashang said in a deep voice. "Nothing has been confirmed yet. If you kill Jintian now and he turns out to be innocent... won't our human race be killing one another, giving the myriad races reason to gloat?" King Jintian, held in Su Yu's grasp, struggled violently as well. He had never expected Su Yu to move straight to execution, intending to extract memories only after killing him! This was terrifying! He wasn't even being given a chance to speak! "King Miecan, lend me some blood!" King Miecan said nothing, flicking out a drop of blood. Su Yu caught it, sliced King Jintian's forehead, and dripped the blood inside... The blood merged naturally without the slightest repulsion. Some looked on in confusion. What did this mean? Su Yu, however, had confirmed it. This fellow truly possessed the Prison King's bloodline! Su Yu smiled, looking at the captive Jintian. "If you don't want others to know, you shouldn't have done it in the first place! Your disguise was quite good, but... the dead can speak. Do you understand? I met your father in the dead spirit realm. Why else do you think I suspected you? I even tested you personally! Having you cast a formation was purely to test you! Your father was killed by Xia Chen, and he revived alongside Xia Chen... When dead spirits first awaken, they don't possess much emotion!" "Back then, your father saw King Miecan, replaced his bloodline, and converted him into the Prison King bloodline, whereas you were converted into pure human blood! I know all of this! Jintian, how about I take you to see your father, and then send you on your way so you two can be reunited? Perhaps you can turn into a dead spirit too..." King Jintian ceased his struggling. He turned to look at Su Yu, a trace of helplessness in his eyes. Su Yu smiled. "Furthermore, General Hongmeng is the Spirit-Suppressing General. You probably didn't know that he possesses a Three Lives Stone capable of illuminating a dead spirit's past and discerning their identity. Everything your father did in the past was revealed on the Three Lives Stone. Did you think that once a person dies, no one under heaven would know what you've done?" King Jintian frowned slightly. Su Yu threw a punch, sending out a jolt of willpower that shattered King Dazhou's seal. King Dazhou raised an eyebrow slightly. This fellow hadn't asked him to undo it, opting to break it directly himself! Was he trying to show off his strength to him? Now able to speak, King Jintian looked at Su Yu and let out a soft breath. "You... truly met my father?" Su Yu smiled. "What do you think?" King Jintian sighed. "Sure enough, there are no walls in this world that don't leak wind! Even the dead... can speak!" With a touch of self-mockery, King Jintian sighed, "I did not betray the human race. Slaying the multiple divine characters faction was not a personal grudge, but a generational feud! My lineage has always kept its eyes on King Wen's faction..." Beside them, King Dazhou said calmly, "You let the Tianyuan Half-Emperor go. That is betrayal!" King Jintian smiled bitterly. "I didn't want to either, but... you all pushed Su Yu to become the Human Sacred Lord. If he truly succeeds, where does that leave me?" At this moment, the others were profoundly shaken. King Jintian had confessed! King Daxia demanded harshly, "Over fifty years ago, did you instigate Fenhai to launch a sneak attack on Ye Batian?!" King Jintian sighed. "If I said no, would you believe me? Actually, it wasn't instigation. Fenhai had issues with his own three incarnations. He claimed Ye Batian had humiliated and degraded him, but in truth... nothing of the sort happened. I didn't take action either; I merely guided him slightly, and he hallucinated the rest himself. Would you believe that?" "..." The crowd was stunned. *It never actually happened?!* King Jintian sighed. "Truly, it was a hallucination of his own making!" Su Yu frowned. "You didn't take action?" "I didn't. I merely contacted the Tianyuan race and leaked some information regarding Ye Batian and Wan Tiansheng, that was all." "What about the Liu family?" Su Yu's gaze turned frosty. "Fenhai said he never intended to wipe out the Liu family, only to force my teacher to return!" King Jintian was silent for a moment before speaking: "King Wen's lineage was something I had to resolve. Liu Wenyan refused to return, and King Daxia was constantly guarding Nanyuan, so I had no choice but to force him back this way. Little did I expect... Liu Wenyan was ruthless enough to endure it!" Su Yu let out a breath and turned to the others. "Any further doubts?" The crowd remained silent. King Jintian said nothing more, looking at Su Yu. "Where is my father? May I see him once?" King Jintian gave a bitter smile. "I did not spend much time with him. When he died, I couldn't even see him one last time. If I die, I may not necessarily become a dead spirit, and even if I do, I may not revive... Can you let me see him once?" Su Yu said calmly, "I lied to you." "What?" The crowd looked at Su Yu in shock. What did he mean? Su Yu said flatly, "I lied to you, didn't you hear? You believe whatever random words I say; are the Invincibles of today this stupid? When I tell the truth, no one believes me, but when I tell lies, every single one of you takes it as gospel!" A flash of fury surfaced in King Jintian's eyes. "You... lied to me?!" He had genuinely believed it! Not just him—apart from a select few, almost everyone had believed it. Su Yu had spoken with such vivid detail, sounding as if it were entirely real, and since he truly could travel through the dead spirit realm, no one had doubted it! Su Yu's face was full of disdain. "So what if I lied to you? I've lied to plenty of people; what can you do to me?" "..." King Jintian was furious beyond measure. "Su Yu, I've told you everything! I only wished to see my father once before dying, yet you..." "Why on earth should I indulge you?" Su Yu sneered. "What kind of thing are you? A traitor—do I have any obligation to grant your dying wish? Laughable! Your father... let alone not turning into a dead spirit, even if he had truly revived and I encountered him, I would have killed him on the spot! Would I waste breath chatting with him? Where is your brain? Would I waste words on a traitor?" "Don't worry. If your grievance is deep enough, perhaps you'll revive soon. Go find your father in the Dead Spirit Heavenly River yourself! When you find him, give me a shout, and I'll send the two of you on your way a second time!" With those words, Su Yu pierced through the realm boundary and stepped into the Human Realm. At this moment, within the All-Heavens Prefecture, tens of millions of soldiers were looking forward with eager anticipation. The moment they saw Su Yu appear, a deafening cheer erupted. "Welcome the triumphant return of the Sacred Lord!" Victory! Naturally, some also noticed King Jintian being held in his hand! In the next instant, the human Invincibles teleported back one by one. Su Yu did not look at them, nor did he bother asking anything. He looked around and shouted, "In this battle, the human race has won a grand victory! We have slain seven Half-Emperors and over a hundred Invincibles! A glorious triumph!" "Mighty!" The entire Human Realm instantly erupted! Su Yu waited for the cheers to subside before his voice rang across the Human Realm once more: "In this battle, humanity's powerhouses fought with their blood! King Dayuan, King Daliang, King Dayue... the kings who died in battle, humanity grieves together for them!" The world fell silent. Eight Invincibles had fallen in battle! "Furthermore, King Jintian colluded with the myriad races and betrayed humanity! He conspired with the Tianyuan Half-Emperor, slaughtered human compatriots, and committed every heinous deed imaginable! He massacred the entire Liu family of Liu City, orchestrated the assassination of Ye Batian... His crimes are monstrous; he deserves death!" In an instant, the Human Realm was thoroughly stunned! A traitor? An Invincible traitor had emerged among them?! Su Yu's voice rang out loudly once more: "Nothing in this world can be concealed from me, Su Yu! I command the realms of both life and death! Traitors shall be executed! The dead can speak too! What King Jintian has done—I hope he is the first human powerhouse to betray us, and that there will never be a second! What is there to fear from the myriad races? We still slaughter them until they kneel and beg for mercy! "Since the start of my rise, I have slain over a hundred Invincibles and several Half-Emperors! This world is still the world of humanity, and still the world of Su Yu!" Arrogant! "Today, I execute Jintian. May you all take this as a warning!" *Boom!* A deafening explosion rang out. King Jintian was blasted into pieces. Just as he shattered, his three incarnations manifested, only to shatter again, manifest again, and shatter once more! *Rumble!* Heaven and earth roared! Blood clouds gathered, but Su Yu threw a punch, and with a thunderous blast, the blood clouds dissipated! A crown manifested, suppressing the Human Realm! The unrest vanished! "A traitor is not worthy of throwing the Human Realm into turmoil!" Su Yu's voice was cold. The civilization chronicle appeared, instantly sweeping up all the remnants. There were still matters he needed to inspect through King Jintian's memories! Behind him, the human Invincibles wore heavy expressions. Just like that, he was killed? Su Yu... was truly cold and ruthless! Well, he was not acquainted with King Jintian anyway, not to mention the man had ruined the Liu family. Still... Su Yu's decisive slaughter left these Invincibles feeling unsettled. Su Yu turned to look at them, offering a smile that carried a rather chilling edge. "I hope there will not be a next one!" Su Yu placed special emphasis on his glance toward King Dazhou. King Dazhou wore an expression of complete indifference. *What are you looking at me for?* *Is this fellow... warning me?* *Kid, you really are overbearing!* *I am currently the human race's only Dao Harmonizer, yet here you are, killing a chicken to scare the monkeys—and by the looks of it, I'm the monkey you're warning?!* King Dazhou was helpless! This fellow Su Yu did things with absolute ruthlessness. If he truly came to believe you were a traitor, he might not even bother looking for evidence before wiping you out!