Re-entering the Dead Spirit Realm

Tianmie City. Su Yu tore through the void and arrived. Tianmie opened his eyes. In the castellan's estate, Tianhe let out a bored yawn, glanced up at Su Yu, and then went back to his own cultivation. With Su Yu visiting so often nowadays, Tianhe had gotten used to it and couldn't even be bothered to greet him. Su Yu paid him no mind either, descending straight into the rear hall. Tianmie looked at him quizzically. "Going to fight again?" "..." Su Yu smiled and nodded. "Lord Tianmie is as sharp as ever!" "Fight who?" Tianmie wasn't as excited as before. Instead, he grumbled with some grievance, "I can't fight Dao Integration experts! It's fight after fight every day, and the worst part is I can't kill any of them! It's so suffocating! Can't you stop finding me opponents who are too strong to kill every single time?" He loved fighting! Yet constantly fighting opponents he couldn't kill, staying pent up with frustration—that was thoroughly miserable! At that, Su Yu genuinely laughed. "Don't worry. This time, our opponent will be dead without us even needing to fight!" Tianmie gave him a strange look. Don't you try to trick me. Dead without needing to fight? Then why call him along? The next moment, a thought struck him, and he asked rather uncertainly, "Don't tell me we're going to fight dead spirits!" "Bingo!" Too bad there was no prize. Tianmie's face fell flat, utterly speechless as he looked at Su Yu. "Dead spirits... are so annoying! You kill one, and two more take its place. There's no end to them!" Su Yu chuckled. "There is an end. Once we're done this time, you'll have it much easier in the future, my lord." Tianmie shot him a sidelong glance, feeling as though he was being conned. Whatever, consider it an excuse to get out and catch some fresh air. The next moment, Tianmie shrank from his giant form to normal human size. Looking down at the passage below, he soon asked, "Am I taking the sacred city with me?" It was his weapon. "Not for now!" Su Yu explained, "So we don't attract attention. This time, we're going into the Dead Spirit Realm to hit someone. Keep a low profile, my lord!" Low profile, my ass. Tianmie thought to himself: Who's the one who doesn't keep a low profile? The least subtle person here is you, Su Yu, all right?! Every single time, you make a terrifyingly grand spectacle that ends up known throughout the myriad realms. He couldn't be bothered to argue. Together with Su Yu, he swiftly vanished from Tianmie City. Treading through the air, Tianmie glanced down at the quiet, desolate Allhead Battlefield and sighed. "It actually feels a bit like when the battlefield used to be sealed. Boring and dull! Every time it sealed, it was the loneliest period." Back then, almost everyone would leave, and those who didn't would almost certainly die. That was also when the stone statues were at their most bored, without even the chance to listen to gossip. Su Yu smiled. "Once you're liberated, you won't be lonely anymore. You can go wherever you please!" "Sigh, there's no leaving!" Tianmie sighed. He wasn't a sentimental fellow, but after a hundred thousand years, even he felt a tinge of melancholy. Could he really leave this godforsaken place in this lifetime? "You reaching the point where you can unravel the rules is still a long way off. And given your track record of fighting from dawn to dusk, you might not even live to see that day. If you ask me, my liberation is looking pretty slim!" Su Yu laughed. "You hold me in such low regard, my lord?" "Not really," Tianmie said with a chuckle. "In this tidal change, you're easily the most monstrous talent! But in this same tidal change, the human race is at its weakest! As you've seen, you only have one Dao Integration expert. How many do the myriad races have?" "I have allies." "Allies aren't reliable!" Tianmie said seriously. "When you're winning, sure, no problem. But when the wind blows against you, how many do you really think will fight to the bitter end?" Su Yu smiled. "Then we'll just keep fighting winning battles!" "Wishful thinking. The moment those fellows from the Upper Realm descend, you're finished." "Then we won't let them descend!" Tianmie gave him an odd look. The two had already reached Yunxiao Ancient City, so Tianmie pressed no further. Inside the ancient city, Yunxiao instantly opened her eyes and asked, "Going to kill Hanxiang?" "..." Su Yu was speechless. Yunxiao had been provoked by Hanxiang so much lately that she was acting a bit unhinged. The moment they met, she wanted to kill Hanxiang. Could it be that the ancient castellan who was seduced back then and Yunxiao were... Well, best not to overthink it. The real question was, why did all these folks assume he was calling them to fight the moment he showed up? Was he really that violent? Su Yu smiled. "Not killing Hanxiang. We're killing her ancestor!" Yunxiao snorted, feeling as though Su Yu was cursing at her. Su Yu laughed. "Really! I'm planning to kill a few dead spirit marquises, and maybe one of them will be Hanxiang's ancestor! If we can't kill Hanxiang yet, we can go kill her ancestor!" Yunxiao paused. Kill dead spirit marquises? Well... it actually seemed possible that Hanxiang's ancestor was among them. Tianmie sucked in a breath. "Kill dead spirit marquises? They're slightly weaker than ordinary Dao Integration experts, but not by much. It's just that they have fewer methods and rely mainly on death qi. Ordinary living beings might not even be a match for dead spirits of the same rank; after all, death qi is difficult to deal with." Just the few of us going to kill dead spirit marquises? Then he relaxed. "Well, that's true, you can unleash that power capable of slaying Dao Integration experts, so it should be fine." Su Yu chuckled. "No, no, no. This time, I'm counting on you, Lord Tianmie, and the others to each kill a Dao Integration dead spirit marquis!" Tianmie: "..." Tianmie stared at Su Yu for a while. Quit joking, I can't kill one. If I could, I would've done it long ago, all right?! Su Yu smiled. "No rush for now, let's see how things go! If the opportunity arises this time, you should unseal yourself, my lord!" "Unseal?" Tianmie frowned. "If I unseal, no one will suppress the passage. Once dead spirits breach it, the others will suffer!" He had a fiery temper and had wanted to run off long ago. Yet... what then? If the rules' punishment killed him, fine, but what about the others? They were his old brothers! Over a hundred thousand years, whenever he felt lonely, these old brothers were the only ones he could talk to. If not for them, Tianmie would have abandoned his post ages ago. Su Yu smiled. "It's fine. Of course, it might be delayed a little while! I will scout candidates from the human race, the Iron-Eaters, and other races to help liberate you all!" Then Su Yu added, "Once we conquer the Dead Spirit Realm and bring the dead spirits under control so they no longer storm the passages to get out, it won't even matter if no one suppresses them for a short time! As long as the dead spirits don't emerge, there won't be any punishment!" Tianmie looked at Su Yu with a grave expression, and Yunxiao also gave him an odd look. What was Su Yu saying? Conquer the Dead Spirit Realm? Was he joking?! Su Yu didn't say much more, quickly adding, "Let's go. We'll fetch Lord Xinghong. This time, it'll just be the four of us!" The group soon entered Xinghong Ancient City. ... Inside Xinghong Ancient City. Hearing Su Yu's plan, Xinghong gasped, "Have you lost your mind?! You want to target the Eastern Heavenly King?" Tianmie and Yunxiao were equally shaken. He actually wanted to take on the Eastern Heavenly King! They had thought dealing with a single dead spirit marquis was the limit. Yet Su Yu's ambition was even greater! Su Yu smiled. "What's there to fear? The bold feast while the timid starve! If we succeed, everyone enjoys the spoils; if we fail... we go down together! This isn't the first time the three of you have dealt with me, and you're the only ones I called on this time. Just tell me: do you dare or not? We know each other well; I wouldn't speak so plainly to anyone else!" Tianmie grew restless. "Of course I dare! The problem is, we can't beat them!" Tianmie spoke with a heavy voice: "If we really can't beat them, our only choice will be to unseal! Unsealing... well, unsealing isn't the end of the world. Even if I unseal, I can hold out a bit longer. I've been sick of this stone skin for ages anyway! But dealing with nine dead spirit marquises and a Heavenly King-level powerhouse... Su Yu, the odds of us getting slaughtered are way higher!" Su Yu smiled. "Scared?" Tianmie sneered. "If you're not scared, why would we be? How many days have you lived, and how long have I been around? If the boss hadn't held me back, I would've charged in long ago and slaughtered those dead spirits!" "Then there's no problem!" With a smile on his face, Su Yu said, "Lord Hongmeng has agreed to help guard your cities for now, so nothing will go wrong. Let's go!" With that, the passage beneath Xinghong Ancient City opened. One human and three stone statues swiftly stepped into the passage. Over all these years, this was one of the few times the stone statues had stepped into the Dead Spirit Realm. Inside the passage, Xingyue, who was meditating cross-legged, suddenly opened her eyes, scrambled backward, and stared at Xinghong and the others with extreme vigilance. Su Yu chuckled. "Lord Xingyue, it's fine. We're on the same side, not here to deal with you. Why are you running?" Xingyue looked at them coldly, her chilling gaze sweeping over the group. The next moment, she vanished on the spot. She had fled. Su Yu chuckled helplessly. Why run? Honestly! He gave chase immediately. Exiting the passage, he saw Xingyue glaring at him coldly from a distance. Without dwelling on it, Su Yu smiled and said, "My lord, your subordinate has acquired some good things to pay tribute to you!" With that, a fragment of a dead spirit mark emerged—one belonging to a dead spirit marquis. It was from the one the Book Spirit and the others had slain last time! Not only that, but there was also some blood of death—Dao body blood essence, equivalent to Dao Integration blood essence. Xingyue furrowed her brows and said coldly, "I have no need for them!" Su Yu chuckled. "Don't be polite, my lord. If you devour these and advance your strength—ideally reaching the eighth or ninth stage of Eternal—that would be best! The Dead Spirit Realm will likely experience turmoil soon; if you are too weak, it'll be far too easy to die!" "Turmoil?" Su Yu nodded slightly. "I intend to wage a great war against the Dead Spirit Realm, and I might need your help, my lord! We can expand the territory of our Xingyue Kingdom—this territory of ours is far too small. What do you think, my lord?" Xingyue looked at him, brow furrowed, her face dark... well, it was already pitch-black. The cloak she wore shifted in color, turning black one moment and gray the next, leaving no clue as to what was going through her mind. After a long pause, Xingyue reached out and took the items into her grasp, stating coldly, "I accept your tribute. What reward do you seek from me?" Su Yu smiled. A reward, really! Fine, whatever makes you happy. "I haven't thought of anything yet. I'll let you know when I do, my lord!" As Su Yu spoke, Tianmie and the others arrived. Tianmie glanced at Xingyue, looking somewhat surprised. "I didn't pay attention before, but Xinghong, how come your dead spirit monarch here has always been the same one?" Su Yu turned to look at him. Tianmie remarked casually, "What are you looking at? The dead spirit monarchs on our side have been replaced quite a few times! The one under my city has changed five or six times already! Some killed each other, while others refused to follow the rules and insisted on charging out, so I put them down! Over all these years, going through five or six is considered low." Xinghong smiled, looked at Xingyue, and said, "Xingyue is relatively restrained. Unless pulled by the rules, she rarely assaults the dead spirit passage." It was that simple. With such a low-maintenance dead spirit monarch, why replace or kill her? It was too much trouble. Sometimes, when outside dead spirit monarchs tried to seize her territory, Xinghong wouldn't even allow it. With that, Xinghong chuckled again. "Besides, Xingyue and I have known each other for years, so we can be considered old friends. Right, Xingyue?" Across from them, Xingyue gave a cold snort, feeling that these guards were provoking her! Granted, she couldn't beat a single one of them! Even if they provoked her, there was nothing she could do. But then Xingyue thought of something and said coldly, "Su Yu, take them and scram. I have no desire to see them!" You are my subordinate! Su Yu coughed lightly and nodded. "We'll leave right away. Lord Xingyue, may I ask where Senior Xia Chen and the others are?" That included Liu Hong; that bastard was missing. He had likely entered the Dead Spirit Realm. Could he be searching for King Wen's residence here? Was he the successor of Mo? "I don't know. They left!" Well, she probably genuinely didn't know. Su Yu didn't linger. Turning to the others, he said, "Shall we first find a way to contact Marquis Lanshan?" Xinghong said heavily, "Marquis Lanshan should be in the Eastern King Manor. It won't be easy to contact her." "Let's go over to the Dead Spirit Heavenly River first and take a look!" Su Yu suggested. "Maybe we can reach her. I saw that the Immortal race could contact those dead spirit marquises... let's give it a try! If that doesn't work, we can try finding a dead spirit to deliver a message!" In the distance, hearing this, Xingyue said coldly, "I can help you contact her. You are all living beings; crossing the Dead Spirit Heavenly River, you will definitely be discovered!" Su Yu glanced back at Xingyue and smiled. "No need. You focus on absorbing the dead spirit mark, my lord!" For no other reason than that she was too weak. Even now, she was only at the sixth stage of the Eternal Realm! From her revival in antiquity until now, she was still in the sixth stage... even Su Yu was impressed. Xingyue felt mocked by Su Yu. With a stony face, she vanished in an instant, returning to her castle. She felt completely looked down upon by Su Yu! ... Su Yu and the others paid her no heed and departed swiftly. After walking for a while, Xinghong remarked, "Xingyue's identity is likely somewhat special. She revived very early on. Put it this way: when the passages were first established, she was already here! Technically speaking, she arrived even earlier than I did." Tianmie scoffed. "And that makes her special?" Xinghong didn't know whether to laugh or get angry. "Nonsense! Think about it: before we arrived, who guarded this place? Back then, the dead spirit passages weren't guarded by the likes of us. The Dead Spirit Realm had just been pacified, and several Human King-level powerhouses—even King Wu and King Wen—visited often! When you first arrived, were there dead spirits at the level of dead spirit monarchs here? Monarchs have intelligence; would they not understand death? Back then, the only spirits here were mindless ones—only they were fearless. Yet when I arrived, Xingyue was already building her castle right here!" Tianmie was taken aback. "Really? Why didn't you ever mention this?" Xinghong chuckled. "There was nothing to say. No matter how special her identity was, she's already dead, so what's the point of bringing it up? When I arrived, she had this exact strength, and she hasn't improved at all over all these years... Which is bizarre. Even if she disliked cultivating, after so many years, with death qi naturally congregating, she should have advanced by now." With that, he shook his head, puzzled himself. Yunxiao, however, scoffed. "Isn't that obvious! Some great figure must have restrained her cultivation growth." "Why?" Xinghong found that unlikely; there was no reason for it. Yunxiao sneered in disdain. "Stupid! Men are all fools! Isn't it obvious? Because that great figure wanted to resurrect her! If she's too strong, it's hard to resurrect her; only when she's weak is it easy. Have you seen Hetu make any progress over these years? Do you think Hetu staying at the seventh stage makes any sense? Isn't it because the boss suppresses Hetu's advancement, fearing that if he becomes too strong, resurrecting him later will be too difficult?!" Beside them, Su Yu was slightly shaken. That... actually makes a lot of sense! Indeed! The stronger a being became, the harder it was to revive them; the more powerful the dead spirit, the harder the resurrection. A hundred thousand years ago, Hetu was an expert approaching Dao Integration. After reviving as a dead spirit, he was straight at the seventh stage, and a hundred thousand years later, he was still at the seventh stage! Su Yu had seen him devour plenty of dead spirit marks, yet his strength seemed not to have grown at all! Could this... be Old Turtle's doing? Su Yu took a deep breath. It was genuinely possible. Yunxiao continued, "Some great figure definitely sealed her strength, but that figure later perished, so naturally she had no way to undo the seal. Otherwise, she would have grown considerably. After so many years, how could she not have improved at all?" Xinghong nodded as well and smiled. "Yunxiao, you certainly know a lot. I never thought of that; I always assumed Xingyue simply didn't care about cultivating." At this, he looked at Su Yu. "Now that you mention it, it's truly a possibility! Xingyue might really have had her strength sealed... It wasn't obvious before, but you'll see when we look back later. If she still can't break through into the seventh stage after devouring that dead spirit marquis's mark, then she's definitely sealed!" The mark of a dead spirit marquis was no joke. Xingyue was in the sixth stage, and after a hundred thousand years in the sixth stage, she should have reached the seventh stage with her eyes closed. If she still couldn't... then something was definitely wrong! Su Yu grew rather curious. "Then whose family did she belong to? She knows quite a bit. Also, what race was she in life? Was she human?" He wasn't sure whether Xingyue was human. It was difficult to tell with dead spirits unless they revealed traits of their true form, but Xingyue didn't seem to have any discernible non-human traits. "Human, probably?" Xinghong said uncertainly. "Most likely human. If a dead spirit belonged to another race, some memories would usually surface, and physical racial traits from life would be revealed. She doesn't seem to have any." Fine! Su Yu didn't pursue it further. Her identity in life wasn't particularly important anyway. He was just pondering something: he had heard that King Wen came to the Dead Spirit Realm in the past to resurrect someone, but ultimately failed. And Xingyue seemed to have had her strength sealed by a great figure to prevent advancement, seemingly also for the sake of resurrection. Could Xingyue and the person King Wen wanted to resurrect be the same person? Xingyue had existed for a very long time, so she probably wasn't the Time Master. Then for King Wen to expend such immense effort to resurrect her... if it was Xingyue, could she be King Wen's wife? Tsk tsk! No way, right?! Antiquity was so complicated! Thinking of this, another matter crossed Su Yu's mind, and he asked out of curiosity, "I heard that the Sea of Stars was originally on land back in the day, but a great figure lifted it into the sky! Supposedly, this great figure did so to please his wife. Do you know which great figure did it?" The Sea of Stars was immensely vast, occupying half of the entire Allhead Battlefield. Lifting it straight from the ground into the sky unquestionably required the power of rules! Only the power of rules could keep the Sea of Stars suspended without falling! That person was definitely at the level of a Ruler of Rules! And not just any ordinary Ruler of Rules either. Even now, Dao Integration experts constantly fought in the Sea of Stars, and in antiquity, battles between Human King-level figures had occurred there, yet none had ever brought the Sea of Stars crashing down. That alone showed how remarkably stable it was. Xinghong glanced at Tianmie, who snapped, "What are you looking at me for! It wasn't me, and I don't have that kind of power!" With that, he looked at Su Yu and said, "I'm really not sure about that, because it was already floating ages ago. Rumor has it... it's only a rumor, mind you... that it might have been King Ming's doing, but nobody knows for certain! In any case, whoever did it had to be one of those peerless powerhouses! Wen, Wu, Ming, Yu, plus the Human Sovereign—those were the five peerless powerhouses of the human race back then! With the Human Sovereign at the center and the Four Extremes Human Kings being overwhelmingly formidable, it was precisely because of them that humanity could unite the myriad realms!" Another human? Su Yu was speechless. Human powerhouses were truly bored back then. To think it might have been King Ming. King Daming's ancestor was terrifyingly powerful as well. "Do any of you know much about King Yu?" "King Yu?" Xinghong and the others thought for a moment and shook their heads. Yunxiao chimed in, "Not really. Su Yu, don't think too highly of us; we're just minor figures! Or rather, we weren't at the very bottom, but we certainly weren't at the top either! In antiquity, only Dao Integration experts were considered to have stepped into the upper echelon. A figure like King Yu only interacted with titled marquises and kings; it was practically impossible for us to ever cross paths with him!" Xinghong agreed. "We were merely members of the Spirit Suppressing Army. The boss might have had contact with those top-tier powerhouses, but the highest-ranking figure we ever interacted with was King Gong! If you ask about King Gong, we know a little, but the other Human Kings, including members of the Parliament—none of them were people we could interact with!" Su Yu nodded again. Thinking of King Jintian's side, he asked, "During the last tidal change, when the Allhead Battlefield was sealed, did any of you see a female powerhouse who didn't leave the battlefield...?" With that, Su Yu manifested her likeness. It was a woman with an perpetually icy, expressionless face; the few times Su Yu had seen her in memories, she wore that very expression. Since she had remained on the battlefield, even if others didn't know of her, perhaps these guards had seen her. The three looked at the portrait. Xinghong shook his head right away; he hadn't seen her. Yunxiao also shook her head; she hadn't seen her either. Su Yu found it strange. How could that be? Every powerhouse had a history of rise; powerhouses didn't just appear out of nowhere unless they were like the Book Spirit and the others, but even they had a heritage traced to King Wen's former residence. Just as Su Yu was pondering, Tianmie said somewhat suspiciously, "This... I think I might have seen her!" "You've seen her, my lord?" Surprised, Su Yu looked at him. Tianmie said uncertainly, "I don't know if it was her, but during the last tidal change when the battlefield was sealed, there was indeed a woman who liked to wear a black robe and veil her face, constantly wandering around... At first, I thought she was from the Tianyuan race. Once, she entered my city, and after sensing her aura a bit, I realized she wasn't Tianyuan." "When was the last time you saw her, my lord?" "Must be almost five hundred years ago?" Tianmie thought back. "It should be not long before the Human Realm passage opened..." Su Yu furrowed his brows. "You never saw her after that? What was she doing wandering around all the time? Do you know, my lord?" "I really don't know much about that..." As Tianmie spoke, he suddenly remembered something and frowned. "Hold on, that fellow might... might be in the Dead Spirit Realm?" Su Yu frowned. "Why do you say that?" "I'm not completely certain, but I remember she came to my place specifically to extract death qi!" Tianmie chuckled. "I was more than happy to let her extract death qi for me. As you know, during the sealing period, the city was empty, so I had to suppress the death qi all on my own! When she came to my place, her strength wasn't weak, and she drew out a huge amount of death qi. I was quite pleased. She came a few times, extracting massive amounts of death qi each visit, which made things much easier for me back then!" "Extracting that much death qi was most likely to open a dead spirit passage. Since she never showed up again and didn't come back to extract death qi, she might very well have entered the Dead Spirit Realm. But it's been five hundred years... entering the Dead Spirit Realm and never coming out, she must have kicked the bucket, right?" Tianmie was unsure, looking at Su Yu. "Are you looking for her? A lover or an enemy?" "An enemy. Blood debt over a son!" "You have a son?" "..." Su Yu rolled his eyes. What kind of mental leap is that? She hasn't appeared for centuries—obviously I killed her son! Su Yu committed this matter to memory and said no more. Soon, they arrived at the Dead Spirit Heavenly River. According to Old Turtle, the Dead Spirit Heavenly River encircled the perimeter. The central area was the region guarded by King Gong, Old Turtle, and the others, which was further subdivided into many smaller sectors. Crossing the Dead Spirit Heavenly River led to the domains of the Four Great Heavenly Kings. Old Turtle's side bordered closer to the Eastern King Domain. ... The Dead Spirit Heavenly River. The four gazed upon the heavenly river suspended in midair. This was Su Yu's first time being so close, and he could even faintly hear the rushing waves of water. "This is the Dead Spirit Heavenly River?" Su Yu hesitated, saying, "It feels very similar to the River of Time!" Xinghong nodded. "Legend has it that the Dead Spirit Heavenly River is a River of Time opened by a peerless powerhouse, commanding the Dao of Life and Death to guide the dead spirits of powerhouses across heaven and earth! Supposedly, this powerhouse sought to break through the barrier between life and death! Pursuing eternal immortality, so that even after death, one could undergo reincarnation..." With that, he sighed with emotion. "However, the Dead Spirit Realm only seems to have half-succeeded. It cannot be considered a complete land of reincarnation." Su Yu took a breath. "You mean this place was actually created by someone?" "Unclear. That might be something from the Archaic era." Xinghong shook his head. "For people like us, our understanding of the Dead Spirit Realm only began after King Wen and the others unified the myriad realms. Back then, King Wu and the others conquered the Dead Spirit Realm, laid down the rules, and opened passages; only then could the living and the dead be connected!" Su Yu asked no more. Stepping into the air, he stepped directly into the pitch-black Dead Spirit Heavenly River. Boom! Just as he stepped in, a claw shot out and grabbed at his foot. Su Yu reached out to seize the claw. With a crunch, he grabbed it firmly and instantly dragged out a fish-headed dead spirit! Water from the heavenly river splashed onto his arm, exerting an immense corrosive force—it was water condensed from death qi! The Dead Spirit Heavenly River was actually made entirely of water formed from death qi! The dead spirit Su Yu caught wasn't strong, feeling only at the Sun Moon Realm. It seemed devoid of intelligence as well, acting purely on instinct. Behind him, Xinghong explained, "Countless dead spirits reside in here, both strong and weak. Be careful. Some top-tier powerhouses have been slumbering within and haven't revived; if provoked into awakening, it would be massive trouble!" Su Yu nodded slightly and looked across. The heavenly river was vast; Su Yu couldn't see the other side at a glance. Yet since Marquis Qishan and the others could cross, it meant passage was possible. At that moment, Xinghong took out a seal. "This is a Guard Token! It can slightly suppress dead spirit fluctuations. When crossing the river, use this to suppress them. The boss's General Token works even better and can even manipulate some rule power!" Su Yu smiled. "I know. Supposedly, the Eastern Heavenly King's Dead Spirit Seal can also manipulate rules." "As a Heavenly King of a domain, of course he can. That was an authority granted to them by the ancient Imperial Court!" Su Yu nodded and looked around. Divine radiance erupted in his eyes as he looked down at the water's surface, where countless dead spirits seemed to dwell. On the surface of the river, countless dead spirits could also be seen floating; those floating on the outside generally weren't strong. Su Yu watched in silence. He saw a dead spirit float for a while until a surge rose from the great river, and a wave slapped the dead spirit right out of the heavenly river. It crashed to the ground with vacant eyes, stiffly walking off into the distance. It was a Sun Moon dead spirit! And within the heavenly river, innumerable dead spirits existed. Sometimes a single cresting wave would wash out as many as a thousand dead spirits, after which they would wander in all directions, dispersing across the entire Dead Spirit Realm. Just then, Su Yu reached out and grabbed a massive dead spirit—a colossal dragon. Su Yu asked in surprise, "You're of the Dragon race?" The massive dead spirit dragon wore a look of daze mixed with dread. It seemed to possess intelligence, its voice stiff: "Who... are... you..." Su Yu frowned. "Why do you look familiar to me?" With that, he suddenly looked at Xinghong. Xinghong was stroking his chin, and seeing Su Yu look over, he chuckled, "It couldn't be such a coincidence, could it? Besides, you blew that fellow's physical body to pieces. What's more, resurrection shouldn't happen this fast, right?" "Who?" Tianmie asked, bewildered. Yunxiao sighed in exasperation. "Do you not pay attention to what's happening in each city at all? Xinghong and the others are wondering if this is his previous castellan, that Dark Demonic Dragon." "Oh!" Tianmie said dismissively. "Castellans get replaced every few centuries; there have been countless ones. Who keeps track of that stuff? In my memory, Xinghong's castellan was an ox. Who knew when it changed to a dragon?" Xinghong couldn't be bothered with him and studied the giant dragon for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't think so. Moreover, that fellow was a castellan, a semi-dead spirit. Although he wasn't guided away back then, if he died... hold on, it actually is possible he revived early, since he was already half a dead spirit! Still... I think it's just a resemblance, not the same one." Su Yu smiled. "Whether it is or isn't doesn't matter!" With that, the civilization chronicle materialized, and the giant dragon vanished in an instant! Su Yu chuckled. "Whether it's him or not, anyone who offends me gets killed in life, and if they die, I'll just kill them again!" "..." Talk about ruthless! Killed by him in life, and killed again in death—he truly was a ruthless character. Whether it was that dragon or not was irrelevant anyway; the Dragon race had enmity with Su Yu regardless, courtesy of the Dragon Emperor's intervention. "What do we do now? Cross over?" Tianmie looked at Su Yu. Su Yu looked at the surface of the river and said slowly, "Crossing over means entering the Eastern Heavenly King's home turf. The danger is too high! As for Marquis Lanshan, I'm unfamiliar with her, nor do I know what she thinks..." With that, Su Yu smiled, and the next moment, a divine character incarnation appeared! If King Fenhai could create a divine character incarnation back then, Su Yu certainly could as well. It was the incarnation of the "Endure" divine character. As the avatar formed, Su Yu attached a wisp of willpower to it. A moment later, a small seal materialized—it was the Sacred Lord Token. Rather than shaping it into a crown, Su Yu kept it as a small seal and handed it to the incarnation. "Cross the river, find the Eastern King Manor, and figure out a way to see Marquis Lanshan. Tell her that the Human Lord of this era, Su Yu, wishes to meet with her!" Tianmie blurted out, "You're sending a divine character incarnation over? What if that seal gets lost?" Su Yu smiled. "No matter. Only I can use this item; no one else can! It is a symbol of my identity. Even if it gets lost, it's fine; in anyone else's hands, it's useless trash. I'll just retrieve it when I have time!" The Sacred Lord Token could only be used by Su Yu in the present world! Each generation of Human Lord had their own seal, and previous Human Lords might not have even had one like this. This object possessed far greater symbolic significance than practical utility. The divine character incarnation stowed the Human Lord Seal and dashed toward the opposite bank of the heavenly river. Silent and soundless! The "Endure" divine character remained steady as a mountain. Even so, dead spirits still attacked. Su Yu followed along, and whenever a dead spirit attacked, he directly absorbed it using the civilization chronicle. The civilization chronicle escorted the divine character incarnation all the way out. Soon, the civilization chronicle returned, and the incarnation vanished from sight. At worst, he would lose a divine character! Su Yu didn't care! This divine character had also come from King Dazhou. If not for the "Quiet" divine character being so thoroughly useful, Su Yu wouldn't have even wanted to sketch King Dazhou's divine characters. Even if "Endure" shattered, it was no great loss. Once his Heavenly Gate was fully opened and his combat techniques transformed into divine characters, Su Yu would not lack divine characters! ... The Eastern King Domain. The Eastern King Manor! The colossal Eastern King Manor loomed between the dim heavens and earth. Within the manor, countless dead spirit powerhouses attended to their duties, governing the entirety of the Eastern King Domain. The main palace was the hall of the Eastern Heavenly King. Outside the main palace stood dozens of side halls, each serving as the residence of other dead spirit marquises. At its peak, the Eastern King Domain possessed dozens of dead spirit marquises. Many had perished since, leaving only ten today—there were twelve previously, but two had been eliminated recently. Now, only ten side halls remained open. One of those halls was Lanshan Palace. That was the residence of Marquis Lanshan. Compared to the bustling activity of the other halls, Lanshan Palace was desolate. Barely any dead spirits were in sight, with only a sparse few walking about woodenly. Among them were some monarch-level dead spirits. Those were human dead spirits as well! Right now, the spirits were weighed down with gloom. Recently, Marquis Qishan and his peer had fallen, and Marquis Yueming along with others had accused Marquis Lanshan of colluding with the spirit-suppressing generals to slay the two marquises. The Eastern Heavenly King had flown into a rage; although he didn't execute Marquis Lanshan, he had her Dao body whipped three hundred times, leaving her heavily injured. A few human dead spirits walked forward with heavy steps, and soon, a great hall appeared before them. In the center of the hall, Marquis Lanshan stood with her back to the doors, gazing at a painting hanging in the central hall. It was pitch-black; in this Dead Spirit Realm, even paintings were black. "My lord!" A dead spirit monarch entered, his tone grim. "The Eastern King has convened a monarch council, preparing to launch a forceful assault on the Spirit Suppressing Domain to apprehend Hetu and the others! Your forces, my lord... have been appointed as the Vanguard Army, and I have been named the vanguard general!" Marquis Lanshan turned back to face the dead spirit, her voice cold and aloof. "Does he truly no longer care about the Imperial Court?" The dead spirit monarch sighed softly. "My lord, antiquity... is in the past! The Imperial Court has fallen! Today, this Eastern King Manor is the world of the Eastern King and his kind. My lord... we... are helpless!" Years ago, several human dead spirit marquises had dwelled here, but after several tidal changes, only Marquis Lanshan remained. Marquis Lanshan had lain low for years, constantly enduring, but last time she couldn't hold back and chose to act, making her situation even more perilous now. Marquis Lanshan fell silent for a moment. "Deploy for battle! Just follow orders!" "My lord, if this continues, you will be in danger sooner or later. Why not flee while we can..." Marquis Lanshan said nothing. Flee? She had endured here for so many years—for what? To receive and shelter these human dead spirits! Once she left, with the Eastern King Manor ruling the entire Eastern King Domain and not a single human dead spirit marquis remaining, from that day on, not a single human dead spirit would ever survive in the Eastern King Domain! Would Marquis Yueming and the others ever allow human dead spirits to grow here? Over the years, she had gathered thousands of human dead spirits, ranging from the Sun Moon Realm to the Eternal Realm. If she weren't around, these dead spirits would likely have become nourishment for the spirits of other races long ago! As long as she remained, the Eastern Heavenly King still had to show some restraint. If she truly left... Marquis Lanshan let out a soft sigh in her heart. She could not leave. Leaving meant humanity had completely abandoned the Eastern King Domain. As she pondered, Marquis Lanshan's eyes flickered, and she suddenly looked into the distance, murmuring, "I seem... seem to sense something!" She abruptly walked out the door and looked into the distance! She felt as though something was approaching, something extraordinary! What was it? She had a faint recollection, yet couldn't put her finger on it right away. The next moment, Marquis Lanshan's expression changed. Even if dead spirit marquises showed little emotion, the dead spirit monarch behind her noticed it and asked anxiously, "My lord, what is it?" "Nothing!" Marquis Lanshan glanced toward the distant Eastern King Palace, her eyes flickering, then looked once more outside the Eastern King Manor. Restricted as she was right now, she pondered for a moment before speaking: "Yusheng, take some men and go stir up trouble with Marquis Yueming's subordinates. Claim that you refuse to serve as the vanguard! Make some noise!" "Understood!" The dead spirit asked no questions, departing swiftly. Soon, leading six or seven dead spirit monarchs, he headed toward another palace. A moment later, boom! The dead spirit Yusheng's roar rang out: "Why the hell should I have to be the vanguard general while you bastards sit around gloating?!" Rumble! The loud commotion shook the area, and in that instant, quite a few dead spirit marquises looked in that direction. Simultaneously, Marquis Lanshan flicked her sleeve, releasing a streak of death qi that swiftly drifted out of the Eastern King Manor. ... The moment Su Yu's divine character incarnation approached the Eastern King Manor, a voice whispered in its ear: "Leave! Get further away!" The divine character incarnation was somewhat wooden, yet it promptly followed the streak of death qi, moving swiftly away. After retreating some distance, the death qi condensed into an illusory figure who looked at the incarnation with an odd expression. "Who are you?" "The incarnation of the contemporary Human Lord! Are you Marquis Lanshan?" "Human Lord?" Marquis Lanshan's phantom form wavered slightly. "What business does the Human Lord of this era have with me?" "We request that Marquis Lanshan rebel against the Eastern King Manor, slay a dead spirit marquis, and flee into the Spirit Suppressing Domain. This is an order from the Human Lord!" With that, a small seal appeared in the avatar's hand. "This is the Sacred Lord Token! Marquis Lanshan, do you accept this order?" Marquis Lanshan's illusory figure trembled violently. Rebel against the Eastern King Manor and flee into the Spirit Suppressing Domain? Then what about the Eastern King Domain? She struggled. "But... our human race still has a large number of dead spirits here..." The divine character incarnation said woodenly, "The Human Lord has his own methods. Marquis Lanshan, do you accept this order?" Marquis Lanshan was filled with conflicting emotions. This generation's Human Lord is utterly overbearing! Without explaining anything, he simply expects me to take orders? "Did the Human Lord... leave any other instructions?" Marquis Lanshan asked. The divine character incarnation remained silent for a moment before finally speaking: "This operation offers a slim chance of survival, or perhaps near-certain death. Marquis Lanshan, you may consider carefully before making your decision! If you are willing, the sooner you strike, the better!" Marquis Lanshan asked once more, "If I leave, the human dead spirits here might be slaughtered by the Eastern King Manor..." "They will not be killed instantly. Before Marquis Lanshan is dead, they may not act against them!" The divine character incarnation said woodenly, "Marquis Lanshan, do you accept this order?" Marquis Lanshan looked at the small seal, seeing the emblem of the thirty-six prefectures, seeing the present-day Human Realm. Venerated by the entire Human Realm! The Human Lord of this era! This was his Human Lord Seal! She did not know Su Yu and had never met him. In truth, during the last battle when Su Yu slew King Zhi, they weren't far apart, and she had glimpsed him from afar, but they had never officially met. After a moment of silence, Marquis Lanshan whispered, "Lanshan... accepts the order!" The divine character incarnation handed the small seal to her. "This seal must not be lost! When you see the Human Lord, return it to him. The Human Lord can also pinpoint your location at any time through it!" With those words, the divine character incarnation swiftly vanished from the spot. Watching the avatar leave, Marquis Lanshan held the Human Lord Seal in her hand, her emotions swirling with complexity. The Human Lord Seal was now in her hands. That man... was truly overbearing, truly forceful. If she had refused the order, would this generation's Human Lord have charged into the Eastern King Domain himself to retrieve the seal? At this thought, Marquis Lanshan suddenly smiled. Perhaps... the human race of today needed a Human Lord like this! "Fight my way out of the Eastern King Domain..." Marquis Lanshan looked toward the Eastern King Manor, and her phantom figure dissolved.