Having swallowed the essence blood of the Golden-Winged Peng, Su Yu seemed to see Dao marks unfolding before his eyes.
Following those traces, he tore through the void. A single spatial leap carried them hundreds, even thousands of li.
His speed was astonishing!
Tianmie and the others were thrilled yet on edge, gripping Su Yu tightly as they traversed the void alongside him.
Meanwhile, Su Yu continued to carry Marquis Lanshan. With her Dao body ruptured, her strength had plummeted, and her severe injuries left her perhaps not even at the eighth or ninth stage of Eternity. She kept her eyes fixed on Su Yu, seemingly having entrusted her fate entirely to his hands.
As Su Yu was traversing space, the void behind them suddenly tore open. The Eastern Heavenly King, his face icy cold, led five dead spirit marquises in hot pursuit!
Their speed was equally terrifying!
The Eastern Heavenly King was truly formidable. The Four Heavenly Kings were peak existences among Dao Integration experts, beings whom even Old Turtle could not rival, which spoke volumes of their might.
At that moment, the Eastern Heavenly King's voice boomed across the expanse. "So you are that Su Yu?"
He knew of Su Yu because he had recently met with the Talisman King. The Talisman King had visited him in person specifically to ask him to devise a way to eliminate Old Turtle and the others.
Su Yu's voice thundered back, "Insolent wretch! I am the Human Lord, your master! How dare you address me directly? A traitor like you deserves death!"
The Eastern Heavenly King's eyes turned chillingly dark.
Strictly speaking, Su Yu was not wrong.
Yet no one wished to shoulder such infamy. A traitor? He was no traitor!
Before the Eastern Heavenly King could speak, one of the pursuing dead spirit marquises rasped coldly, "Traitor? Your human race acted against the natural order, slaughtering across the myriad realms and meddling even in life and death, seeking dominion over the dead spirit realm as well. It was the human race that defied heaven. Otherwise, how could the humans have fallen?"
Su Yu continued hurtling through the void, channeling the spatial traversal power of his divine character to comprehend the Dao of Space. Hearing those words, his laughter shook the surroundings. "Ignorant fools! The human race has fallen? Just because you have seen a few dead Human Kings, you dare claim humanity has fallen? Do you truly believe the Human Kings have perished? King Wen and King Wu possessed peerless might, and the Human Sovereign unified the myriad heavens. Do you think humanity falls just because you say so? Does that rebel Eastern King dare utter that the human race has fallen?"
In the rear, the Eastern Heavenly King's expression shifted slightly. He said coldly, "Su Yu, you cannot escape!"
As the words left his mouth, just as Su Yu was about to tear open space once more, the void violently trembled!
Behind them, the Eastern Heavenly King's death qi erupted!
A faintly visible Great Dao of dead spirits spanned heaven and earth. As it vibrated, space convulsed, and Su Yu's traversal speed abruptly plummeted!
Su Yu was startled.
At this moment, he wielded Dao Integration combat power equivalent to a Golden-Winged Peng. Dead spirits had potent death qi, but in terms of versatile techniques, they fell far short of living beings. Yet even with the speed of a Golden-Winged Peng, Su Yu found himself constrained by the Eastern Heavenly King's influence.
His speed dropped drastically!
Was this the true power of the Four Heavenly Kings? No wonder they ruled the dead spirit realm. An ordinary Dao Integration expert caught by them would surely meet a dead end!
Su Yu's expression hardened as a small seal materialized in his palm.
"Mountains and rivers of the human race, stabilize my spacetime!"
With a soft murmur, the power of providence surged from the Sacred Lord Seal, and faint strands of rule power manifested in the void. Mobilized by the seal, they instantly stabilized spacetime!
Su Yu resumed his high-speed traversal.
Behind him, the Eastern Heavenly King frowned slightly. Humans! Indeed, the dead spirit realm still harbored the rule power laid down by the ancient human race. He simply had not expected Su Yu to be able to mobilize it using the Human Lord Seal.
...
Tianmie marvelled, "This thing is that amazing? It can mobilize the rules of the dead spirit realm? How come I never saw this before?"
Su Yu replied calmly, "Did previous Human Lords ever attack the dead spirit realm?"
"..."
Tianmie reflected for a moment and shook his head. No, they never had!
First, the guards had not taken sides with past Human Lords. Second, during the wars across the myriad heavens, the conflict in the lower realm was rarely resolved before the upper realm opened, leaving no time to invade the dead spirit realm. While battles occurred here, they were generally dead spirits fighting dead spirits. Only a handful of supreme experts had ever charged into the dead spirit realm to wage war. The only conflict on a truly grand scale was Hetu's incident, which had drawn numerous dead spirit monarchs into battle.
"Then that explains it!" Su Yu smiled and transmitted, "We'll find a way to lure these fellows in and butcher them! We'll kill every last one of them. Slaying them out here yields no rewards, but inside, rewards abound, especially for killing dead spirits! As guards, slaying a dead spirit marquis—Eternity slaying Dao Integration... gentlemen, this is your opportunity!"
Their opportunity to step into Dao Integration!
Killing dead spirits in the dead spirit realm accomplished little. But in the Star Astral Mansion, the disparity in cultivation rank would grant rules rewards, and guards slaying dead spirits that invaded the living realm should be rewarded as well. Only then would the three of them have hope of seizing the chance to step into Dao Integration!
The three guards felt their hearts stir, though they quickly came to their senses. It sounded wonderful, but the crucial problem was that these enemies were exceedingly difficult to kill!
As they were speaking, Marquis Lanshan, held in Su Yu's grip, spoke up with an anxious look. "We cannot go any further! Ahead lies the passage to the Star Astral Mansion. It is guarded by rule power, and dead spirits cannot enter! That is the first issue. Second, multiple dead spirit monarchs block the way. If they obstruct us, even if you can slay them instantly, we will still be delayed for a breath... and then the Eastern King will catch up!"
Lanshan was fraught with anxiety. Why not head for a guard passage to escape? She recognized Tianmie and the others as part of the thirty-six guards. Escaping through a guard passage was an option. Of course, leaving through a guard passage would bring disaster upon her, but the Eastern King and his subordinates would not dare chase them outside recklessly.
What was this new Human Lord thinking? Why was he plunging straight into the depths?
A trap? An ambush? What a joke! It was virtually impossible to set an ambush here. Any living being would be sensed, and among dead spirits, was there anyone stronger in the Eastern King Domain than the Eastern King himself? If such a force existed, they could have stormed the Eastern King Manor directly.
Su Yu ignored her. Growing frantic, Marquis Lanshan called out again, only for Su Yu to snap, "Shut your mouth and follow along! Stop trying to command! You're barking blindly! I told you to fight your way out alone, not to drag the Lanshan Guard with you. And look what you did!"
Lanshan froze, her expression shifting. "The Lanshan Guard's charge weakened the Eastern King Manor's forces, and I was able to take the opportunity to slay one or two dead spirit marquises to ease the Human Lord's burden..."
Her intentions had differed from Su Yu's. Su Yu had merely wanted to bait the Eastern King into pursuit. Lanshan had wanted to fight one final battle before leaving to weaken the Eastern King Manor. She and the Lanshan Guard had succeeded. Even without Su Yu's intervention, she and her guard had slain two marquises and dozens of monarchs! For such an achievement, even dying in battle would have been worth it. She could not comprehend why Su Yu was berating her.
Lanshan felt aggrieved, even resentful. She and the Lanshan Guard had paid the price of near-total annihilation to break out and meet this Human Lord, only for him to dismiss her efforts.
Su Yu barked through transmission, "Did I ask for your tactical direction? I ordered you to break out and stage a revolt to draw the Eastern King Manor's attention, while letting your subordinates scatter or simply stay put! The Eastern King wouldn't have purged them right away, and I had my own ways to ensure he never returned!
"An incompetent general exhausts the entire army!"
Su Yu held nothing back, cursing her furiously through divine transmission. "Acting on your own initiative! Did you think fighting to the bitter end made you heroic? You disrupted my grand plan! If I seize the Eastern King Domain, where will I find enough human dead spirits to govern it? If not for the fact that we are in the middle of battle, I would execute you on the spot for insubordination!"
Marquis Lanshan stood dumbfounded, suffocating under a wave of humiliation.
Since ancient times, she had been renowned for her valor, earning praise directly from King Wu himself. Yet now, this new Human Lord was scolding her, reprimanding her, and even threatening to execute her!
"I..."
"'I' what?!" Su Yu cursed as he fled. "So many dead spirit monarchs, thrown away by you! Tell me, if I take the Eastern King Domain, are you going to manage the entire territory by yourself?"
"..."
Silence.
Lanshan felt suffocated with grievance. She believed she did not deserve such treatment. She had led the forces accumulated over countless years and fought her way out in a river of blood. How could he treat her like this?
"Human Lord... speaking such words chills the hearts of the loyal. Those brothers who fell in battle..."
"They were heroes, and you are incompetent!"
Su Yu cut her off sharply. "Save your breath! If you were a general under my command and disobeyed orders, you would be dismissed the moment this battle ended! If you still remember you are human, then obey me! When I tell you to go east, you go east! Do not question, only obey!"
Lanshan was at a loss for words. After a long pause, she choked out, "Understood!"
This new Human Lord was domineering even while running for his life. She felt thoroughly conflicted. We are fleeing! Aren't you afraid I might turn on you right now? Furthermore, the Eastern King is still on our heels. Are you truly certain you can escape his pursuit?
Su Yu tore through the void once more. Behind them, the Eastern King's group drew ever closer.
Right at that moment, Hetu appeared in the distance and shouted, "Over here, hurry!"
Seeing him, Su Yu immediately dashed in that direction. In the blink of an eye, they rendezvoused with Hetu, who urgently said, "Come on, inside! We'll teleport out. Once we leave, we'll be safe!"
The group swiftly plunged into a dark opening.
The Eastern Heavenly King and his entourage paused, looking at the black hole with hesitation. A dead spirit marquis beside him said in a deep voice, "Heavenly King, this place..."
The Eastern Heavenly King frowned slightly. "This place... I seem to have visited it once, long ago. It seems... somewhat peculiar!"
After a moment's hesitation, he commanded, "Go in!"
"Understood!"
The dead spirits surged into the dark passage.
...
At the end of the passage, Su Yu's group arrived in haste.
Three hundred and sixty stars floated in midair, their light somewhat dim.
Hetu swiftly led them onto the stars, looked at Su Yu, and transmitted, "Can you activate it?"
"Of course!"
Su Yu did not waste words. He circulated his 360 divine apertures and ran the Zhou Heavenly Art! Beyond that, he channeled massive amounts of energy into the 360 stars.
This was the passage through which ancient human powerhouses entered the Star Astral Mansion. With Dao Integration-level strength, how could Su Yu fail to activate it?
The next instant, all 360 stars blazed with light!
Hetu was genuinely surprised. It actually worked! Marquis Lanshan was equally astonished. What was this?
The 360 stars spun into motion. Su Yu stepped onto one of them and quickly transmitted to Tianmie and the others, "Go to the third star on the upper left, you go to the fifth on the upper right... move!"
Su Yu assigned each of them positions, including Hetu. He needed Hetu to guide them; otherwise, unfamiliar with the subterranean level, Su Yu risked getting trapped there.
Once the assignments were given, Su Yu said, "Tianmie, enter the small chambers and circulate your corresponding divine apertures..."
Before he could finish, Tianmie said awkwardly, "We're not human. We don't have the corresponding divine apertures."
Hetu and Marquis Lanshan exchanged an awkward glance and transmitted, "As dead spirits, we don't have divine apertures anymore!"
"..."
A miscalculation!
This was the first time today Su Yu realized he had made a blunder. Damn it! Now he could only pray that the Eastern Heavenly King and his followers would land within the thirty-nine divine apertures under his control.
Su Yu knew the layout here should mirror the upper levels, where a single primary aperture could govern thirty-nine secondary apertures, and nine primary apertures controlled the entire system. Of course, that might not strictly hold true here. Above, primary apertures controlled secondary passages, but here there were none. Su Yu could only make an educated guess. If he could not control them, so be it.
He swiftly initiated the teleportation.
At that moment, the auras of the Eastern Heavenly King and his followers swept toward them.
Judging the timing, Su Yu initiated the teleportation before they even came into sight. He saw no reason to wait for them. That would look too deliberate! What he wanted was to give them no time to react—they would either follow impulsively or miss their chance. If they missed it, there would always be another opportunity. But if given time to think, they might hesitate and suspect a trap.
Having deceived countless foes, Su Yu knew how to wage psychological warfare.
When the Eastern Heavenly King and his entourage emerged and saw the astral formation, portals materialized over Su Yu's group, whisking them into the endless void. Su Yu's mocking voice echoed back: "Eastern King, once I settle matters in the living realm, I will return to deal with you!"
The Eastern Heavenly King caught sight of their departure, and his expression changed dramatically.
A teleportation array? One leading to the living realm? Impossible... or perhaps not!
His face darkened—they were escaping! He swept his gaze across the chamber and saw Tianmie and the others dispersed across various stars, where teleportation energies were already swirling. The Eastern King wanted to deliberate, but he knew there was no time left.
"Disperse onto the stars, quickly!" he roared.
His Great Dao power erupted, forcibly suppressing space for an instant! His supreme might managed to freeze the teleportation for a fraction of a second. Su Yu and the others, who had been on the verge of vanishing, reappeared as the teleportation energy stalled.
"Hah!" the Eastern King bellowed, his aura exploding with boundless force, locking the teleportation in place for that fleeting moment. He chose not to attack Su Yu's group, knowing there was neither time to reach them nor time to shatter the protective portals enveloping them.
He instantly plunged onto a star. The five dead spirit marquises hesitated, but the Eastern King barked, "Hurry!"
They had no time to ponder and scrambled onto the stars, occupying them in an instant.
The teleportation energy surged violently once more, whisking them all away. Su Yu's voice echoed with boundless fury, "Damn you!"
The Eastern Heavenly King breathed a slight sigh of relief. Good, be as angry as you want!
He truly had not expected this place to conceal an ancient teleportation array, nor that Su Yu could activate it. What did this imply? It meant Su Yu could bring dead spirits in and out of the living realm at will, circumventing the rules! Whether traversing through normal passages or elsewhere, dead spirits passing between realms faced severe rule punishments. Yet Su Yu held control over an ancient teleportation array that might bypass those constraints entirely!
In that single breath, countless thoughts flashed through the Eastern Heavenly King's mind. If I leave through this passage... can I also avoid the punishment of the rules? If so... he felt a surge of excitement! If he could enter the living realm, with his strength, who could stand against him?
More crucially, dead spirits experienced no suppression inside small realms, just like humans. Being dead, their Dao was singular. What suppression could there be? Unless a realm's rules were strong enough to suppress the mighty Great Dao of dead spirits itself, he would suffer no suppression whatsoever!
"A passage... a direct teleportation passage..."
With longing and anticipation, the Eastern King wondered if he could now leave the dead spirit realm without restriction. If so, today's losses were entirely acceptable! The prerequisite was to kill Su Yu—no, better yet, capture him and search his memories to learn how to activate this array!
...
Inside the teleportation corridor, Su Yu focused his senses, unsure whether he could guide anyone through these portals as he had done before. Regardless, he gave it a try.
Circulating the corresponding divine apertures, points of light materialized within the portal.
It actually worked!
"Teleporting through here will likely drop everyone onto the subterranean level, probably in close proximity... that's the trouble!" Su Yu mused. "So the moment we arrive, I must shout Old Zhou's name to shake the world. While the Eastern King and the others are disoriented, we'll slip away immediately! Once we reach the first floor... we'll have a chance to kill them!"
Where would they kill them? It might not require Old Zhou directly; a slight tremor would suffice. Su Yu clearly remembered that massive mouth—one bite, and anyone caught in it would be crushed to death!
Su Yu preferred not to agitate Old Zhou too much if possible. He wanted to wait until Tianmie and the others achieved Dao Integration and bolstered their foundations before seeking an opportunity to speak with Old Zhou. Ideally, they would go to the seventh floor, where Su Yu could escape into the eighth floor to save his own life. The eighth floor was likely beyond Old Zhou's reach.
If he provoked Old Zhou on the first floor and things went sour, escaping would be difficult. He could only hope the method his teacher researched for opening the realm barrier would work without a hitch! If it failed mid-escape and he could not open the barrier, disaster would ensue.
With these thoughts swirling, Su Yu probed the thirty-nine teleportation points under his control and found that only a single dead spirit marquis occupied one of them.
No matter! Weakening the enemy was always a gain.
Su Yu rattled the divine aperture, striking the light point until it boomed with turbulence.
...
Within the teleportation channel, a dead spirit marquis's face shifted as his passage began to violently oscillate. Spatial tearing forces surged toward him. This marquis was a seasoned expert, far from the weaklings of the past. Roaring, he unleashed a wave of death qi to suppress the spatial blades.
Yet no sooner had he quelled one wave than an even stronger cutting force crashed in.
This was an inter-realm transit from the dead spirit realm to the living realm; the spatial pressure was already immense! A black spatial tear slashed across his arm in a burst of sparks, shattering his black flesh and bone.
"Suppress!" the marquis bellowed in fury. What infernal place was this, and why was the teleportation so unstable? He struggled frantically to maintain control, yet countless tears sliced across his body one after another. In mere moments, he was battered and bleeding, his aura dwindling so rapidly he nearly lost his mind to rage. Dead spirits were prone to fury by nature. As his wounds deepened, he feared he might perish right here. But then, light appeared ahead!
He was about to emerge!
Damn it, this teleportation array was terribly unstable. Still, it was ancient, so some instability was understandable. At least he had survived!
...
Su Yu felt a twinge of regret. "Didn't die? A Dao Integration expert is a Dao Integration expert after all!"
He had shown no mercy, shaking the portal relentlessly. The last time he pulled this trick, his target had nearly died. This fellow had survived—impressive indeed. A pity, but no matter.
Su Yu saw the light ahead; their arrival was at hand.
The next instant, Su Yu materialized beneath countless colossal pillars.
He knew they were strands of hair.
At the same time, the others emerged in various directions. Hetu found himself dangerously close to a dead spirit marquis. His face darkened in horror—how could he be so unlucky?
Su Yu wasted no time thinking. He transmitted urgently, "Hetu, lead the way! Ignore everything else!"
Hetu jolted, and in the next moment, Su Yu opened all his yuan apertures.
"Taishan!"
A low shout tore through the space, and countless voices instantly roared in their ears. The subterranean level convulsed violently as enormous pillars swept across the void!
Rumble!
"Taishan! Damn you, you are not Taishan! Who in the world are you?!"
Old Zhou's voice sounded far clearer than before, laden with boundless wrath.
Damn it all! Who was this? Here again! It hadn't been that long! He remembered this voice, remembered this bastard who kept screaming 'Taishan' into his ear. He was furious enough to kill! You dare return?!
Countless strands of hair transformed into colossal pillars, sweeping in every direction!
Su Yu was fully prepared. Tearing through the gaps, he scooped up Hetu and the others and shot toward the sky. When the Eastern King's group emerged, still reeling from the aura of the living realm, the tempest of pillars struck them!
The Eastern King and the uninjured marquises managed to withstand the blow, but the wounded marquis was battered backward, spitting mouthfuls of black blood. The scent of that blood seemed to further enrage Old Zhou.
Old Zhou's voice echoed in Su Yu's ears again. "Dead spirits? Damn it, even dead spirits dare show themselves?!"
Rumble!
Massive pillars swept across the realm once more, converging especially on the unfortunate, wounded marquis. Old Zhou seemed to possess only fragmented consciousness, and sensing the stench of death blood, he directed a barrage of pillars straight at him.
The Eastern Heavenly King had intended to chase Su Yu, but seeing his subordinate on the verge of death, he frowned and reached out. With a thunderous boom, he snapped several pillars and yanked the wounded marquis out of harm's way, shouting, "Pursue them!"
Damn it! What kind of place was this? He did not recognize it at all. Even on the first floor, he wouldn't have known where he was. He had never been to the Star Astral Mansion. Long before the ancient era, back when King Wu and the others campaigned in the dead spirit realm, he had already resided there. Subdued later on, he had never been granted an audience at the Star Astral Mansion.
The dead spirit marquises dodged the flailing pillars. One tried to swat a pillar aside and snapped it, only to draw dozens, hundreds more crashing down upon him, beating him backward. These were Old Zhou's hairs; if you broke them, he would naturally retaliate!
...
Meanwhile, Su Yu dodged the pillars with practiced ease. Hetu's voice rang in his ear: "Up! Fly straight up! Don't get trapped by the pillars! Take the middle—there are fewer pillars there!"
Understood! The part in the hair—less hair along the midline, of course!
Su Yu flew straight up through the center. Behind them, the Eastern King and his marquises shattered several pillars and spotted Su Yu. The Eastern King tore through the void to follow close behind.
Su Yu clearly knew where they were. Following him was the right move!
Su Yu swallowed another drop of peng essence blood, piercing the void like a Golden-Winged Peng spreading its wings, vanishing from sight in an instant.
The Eastern Heavenly King snorted coldly and bellowed, "Su Yu, you cannot escape! Hand over the teleportation method, and this king will spare your life!"
The living realm! And without rule punishments! He had made it out!
The Eastern Heavenly King was thrilled. This truly was the living realm; he could sense a completely different aura, entirely devoid of death qi!
Marquis Lanshan, held in Su Yu's grasp, was equally shaken and excited. She hurriedly transmitted, "You must never tell him! Otherwise... the living realm will be plunged into catastrophe! If dead spirits invade, their monarchs outnumber the living experts tenfold!"
Even setting aside Dao Integration experts, dead spirit monarchs outnumbered their living counterparts by more than ten to one. That was a conservative estimate. In the dead spirit realm, monarchs were practically everywhere!
Stating the obvious! Su Yu did not bother replying. Of course he wouldn't tell him.
Hetu transmitted, "Be careful in a moment. The barrier ahead is sealed. We'll have to smash through it to reach the first floor! It took me and Daidai quite some time to break it back then!"
Su Yu said nothing, speeding upward. Soon, an immense platform appeared—likely Old Zhou's forehead. Stepping onto the brow, he rapidly approached the barrier leading to the first floor.
What Hetu said about smashing through was nonsense. He simply didn't know how to open it!
The Baihui aperture atop Su Yu's head flared with power. With a thunderous boom, a vortex naturally appeared in the barrier. Su Yu stepped through, and the vortex snapped shut!
Hetu was dumbfounded.
What the hell? Su Yu knew this place better than he did?! How was that possible?
Behind them, the Eastern King and his marquises caught up, only to find the vortex gone. These powerful dead spirits unleashed their might, pounding the barrier until cracks spread across it, teetering on the verge of collapse.
Meanwhile, Su Yu bolted toward the mouth!
The most perilous place on the first floor was that mouth! That colossal maw had bitten through space itself during Su Yu's previous test.
Hetu could not resist transmitting, "Didn't you say you'd never been here? How do you know how to open the realm barrier?"
Su Yu ignored him.
I know this place well. Even if I haven't walked every step, I understand its layout. And forcibly breaking the barrier? What foolishness! This place was designed for humans, not dead spirits or the myriad races. Naturally, they had no way to open it legitimately.
Throughout the journey, Su Yu remained remarkably composed. Everything remained within his calculations, the only wildcard being Old Zhou. Everything else was going according to plan.
In his ears, Old Zhou's voice began to fade. It seemed the stimulus hadn't been sufficient, so Old Zhou had only stirred briefly before settling down again.
Su Yu sped forward. Behind them came a deafening roar as the Eastern King and his forces blasted through the barrier. It had taken Hetu and Xia Chen a long time, but powerhouses of their caliber required only moments.
Paying them no heed, Su Yu transmitted to the guards, "Listen closely. If you see someone on the brink of death, take the chance to strike and steal the kill! Make sure you land the final blow, especially on that wounded marquis! Whoever kills him might step into Dao Integration. Tianmie, you take priority—you are the closest!"
Tianmie was still dazed. Aside from the initial ambush, they had been running for their lives. Could they truly kill a dead spirit marquis? And killing one would let him break through to Dao Integration? Was that real?
He wasn't sure, but he knew following Su Yu was the right course. Su Yu never took a loss! Unfamiliar with this region—despite having lived in the Star Astral Mansion long ago—they decided to follow Su Yu's lead.
In a flash, Su Yu spotted the massive canyon ahead.
That was the mouth! On either side, colossal teeth rose like mountain ranges, unidentifiable as teeth to the untrained eye.
Su Yu remembered the bite point from his last visit! He shot through the air, landing directly upon that bite point. Behind him, the Eastern King and his dead spirit marquises were already closing in, looking around with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. Where were they?
One dead spirit marquis suddenly called out in excitement, "Heavenly King, this is the Star Astral Mansion! Not the passage by King Gong's Manor, but another one entirely!"
The Star Astral Mansion!
The Eastern Heavenly King was taken aback. This was the legendary Star Astral Mansion? It shouldn't be the time for it to open, should it? His excitement surged further. If Su Yu could teleport in, he could teleport out—perhaps straight into the living realm! Even if not, the Star Astral Mansion was said to hold boundless opportunities.
Yet deep down, an instinctive trepidation gnawed at him. This place might not be safe! He swept his senses across the surroundings but detected no living beings. Aside from Su Yu and his companions, there was not a soul to be seen. Could the danger lie on the upper floors?
Ahead, Su Yu turned back, his expression dark. "I didn't expect you to catch up so quickly. It seems I underestimated you! Stop following me! There are multiple human marquises guarding this place, all still alive! Eastern King, we have no reason to fight to the death. If you push me too far, none of you will benefit!"
"Human marquises?"
The Eastern Heavenly King chuckled. Are you mocking me? If there were living human marquises, they would have emerged long ago! Nine tides had passed—did Su Yu think he knew nothing? Did he believe dead spirits were so easily duped? Laughable! This Human Lord was far too naive.
Ignoring the Eastern King, Su Yu surveyed the surroundings, his face darkening as he abruptly blurted, "We missed the entrance to the second floor!"
At that moment, a dead spirit marquis realized something and called out in delight, "Heavenly King, the entrance to the second floor isn't ahead, it's behind us!"
The Eastern Heavenly King looked back, and indeed, far in the void behind them was a faint vortex of light—located at the brow! That was the true entrance to the second floor!
The Eastern Heavenly King almost laughed aloud. Su Yu had overshot his mark!
Marquis Lanshan was horrified, nearly cursing aloud. What an idiot! Was this Human Lord a fool? The passage was right by the barrier, and he clearly knew the way, yet he had dragged them all the way out here, miles away from the entrance! What an utter fool! Was this truly the Human Lord? The mouth and the brow were vastly far apart!
Su Yu's expression grew grim as he turned and fled through the void.
The Eastern King's group rejoiced. They had never imagined Su Yu would run right past the entrance. What a bizarre blunder!
The Eastern King barked, "Don't give them a chance to escape!"
Though he doubted there were human marquises above, finishing off Su Yu here was far better than taking unnecessary risks on higher floors. Even if they had to venture upward, they needed to eliminate these pests first.
Several dead spirit marquises lunged directly onto the spot where Su Yu had stood—the exact location Su Yu had meticulously calculated they would occupy.
The moment they touched down, Su Yu's lips moved in a rapid whisper. "Taishan, Taishan, Taishan... Martial Emperor, Taishan has come looking for you..."
"Damn you! I will kill you!"
Rumble!
The world changed!
Laden with infinite fury and resentment, the entire first floor shuddered as Old Zhou's brow seemed to knit together. In the next instant—CRUNCH! The colossal jaws snapped shut in a rage-fueled, teeth-grinding bite!
He wanted to crush this little bug! A tiny pest had been tormenting him non-stop! He had finally drifted off to sleep, only to be jolted awake again today. He had awoken once before, infuriated by the events on the seventh floor, and had barely calmed down before this pest returned!
CRUNCH!
The void itself exploded under the force of the bite!
Two dead spirit marquises happened to land squarely on the bite point. The speed of the jaws closing was horrifying. In that single snap, before the two marquises could react or flee, their dead spirit forms were cleaved in half! Even their internal Dao bodies were crushed to dust!
Old Zhou was terrifyingly powerful!
"Little bug, I will kill you!"
Old Zhou's enraged roar reverberated through Su Yu's ears, shaking his sea of will. Su Yu flared his Human Lord Seal, murmuring like a sleepwalker, "I am the Human Lord. Martial Emperor, if you still consider yourself human, heed my command..."
"Command your ancestors! Little bug, you are dead!"
Old Zhou's furious bellow answered him, leaving Su Yu speechless. Damn it! Can't you show a shred of respect for the Human Lord? Aren't you human too?
In that split second, as the Eastern King and his survivors retreated in sheer terror, Su Yu hurled Tianmie forward!
Tianmie cast all caution aside with a ferocious roar, transforming into a colossal ape. Bringing his fists together, he smashed down toward the severed remains of a dead spirit marquis!
Rumble!
A deafening explosion rang out. Unsealed, Tianmie possessed terrifying strength, and even without his club, he was fiercer than an ordinary ninth-stage Eternity expert. Finishing off a marquis whose physical form and Dao body had already been shredded was well within his capabilities.
With a thunderous crash, half of the dead spirit marquis's body was pulverized!
Rumble! A torrent of rule power descended from the heavens, showering over Tianmie!
Tianmie roared, seizing the remains of the other bisected marquis and tossing them toward Xinghong and the others. Xinghong and Yunxiao struck with full force, and Su Yu joined the fray. Under the combined assault of the three, the second marquis's remnants exploded into dust!
Another wave of rule power cascaded downward, splitting into three portions. Finding his share negligible, Su Yu gathered the rule power into a sphere and shoved it directly into Marquis Lanshan's body!
He then retreated at top speed. Just as he pulled back, the Eastern Heavenly King's palm shattered the void where he had stood!
Su Yu fled with his group, and Tianmie dashed madly after them, greedily absorbing the massive rule reward. He had absorbed the lion's share!
The Eastern Heavenly King's expression was grim beyond measure.
Dead! Before he could even process what had happened, two marquises were dead! How had this occurred?
He looked toward the canyon mouth, his eyes filled with dread. What kind of monster was that? Those things that had snapped shut looked like teeth, and in a single bite, two dead spirit marquises had been obliterated, Dao bodies and all!
In Su Yu's ears, the voice sounded once more—Old Zhou's venomous fury!
"Accursed little bug, you dared feed me stinking vermin?! You are dead!"
He could taste it—he had bitten into something foul beyond measure, vile as excrement! That infuriated Old Zhou beyond all reason; this little bug had humiliated him! Dead spirits were nothing more than filth in his eyes!
Su Yu's expression shifted. Old Zhou was clearer than before. Previously, his rage would subside quickly, but now he was lucid enough to curse.
Trouble! Even after eliminating two dead spirit marquises, Su Yu felt no joy. Old Zhou was on the verge of waking fully. And the Eastern Heavenly King remained unscathed. Even if they took down the remaining two marquises, as long as the Eastern King lived, they stood no chance in a direct clash. If they could not fight him, Su Yu would have to invoke Old Zhou again. And if Old Zhou grew angrier and more lucid... disaster would strike!
In the distance, Tianmie was howling with laughter. The massive influx of rule power sent his Great Dao surging. He bellowed wildly, "I think I'm breaking through! Hahaha! One hundred thousand years!"
Tianmie was ecstatic! Already on the threshold of Dao Integration, the deluge of rule power now allowed a faint Great Dao to manifest above his head, which he was rapidly merging with; it resembled a giant club. His Dao was peculiar, one walked by few.
As Tianmie roared, a colossal black palm materialized behind him.
Boom!
The palm struck downward—it was the Eastern Heavenly King! Tianmie roared and threw a punch in response!
BANG!
The newly triumphant Tianmie coughed blood as his Great Dao rattled. Knocked flying, he smashed into a massive mountain, sending tremors through the rock. Spitting blood, Tianmie scrambled toward Su Yu without hesitation, yelling, "Take me with you!"
Su Yu glanced back in exasperation. I thought you could hold your own, but you couldn't take a single hit!
"Taishan!"
The void convulsed, and the entire first floor shook violently. Both the Eastern King and Tianmie stumbled, but Su Yu, fully prepared, tore through the void, grabbed Tianmie, and bolted!
In a flash, they reached the entrance to the second floor, and Su Yu dove straight in!
Within a breath, Su Yu's group vanished.
The Eastern Heavenly King's expression was dark as coal. He did not rush to follow. The two remaining dead spirit marquises flew to his side, trembling with shock and confusion. They barely understood what had transpired before two of their peers were wiped out. Today, their marquises had died in the most absurd ways imaginable.
"Heavenly King..."
The Eastern King said nothing, scanning the surroundings with brooding eyes. What was this entity? What was this place? He could sense signs of life! Don't tell me... this is a person?!
He rose into the air, looking down upon the first floor, his face growing increasingly grim. "The Star Astral Mansion... what kind of existence is this...?"
A chill ran down his spine. Below him lay what looked like a colossal face, twisted in rage!
Wasn't the Star Astral Mansion supposed to be a land of treasure? Why was it so sinister?
With a heavy heart, he looked toward the second-floor entrance. Ill fortune from the start! Nine mighty marquises had served under him, yet in the blink of an eye, only two remained, one of them wounded! Damn it, will someone tell me what is happening?!
To pursue, or not to pursue? If he didn't, could he even return to the dead spirit realm? He had no idea how to get back! Was he supposed to wait here indefinitely?
Torn with regret and hesitation, the Eastern King said in a low voice, "Stay on guard. This place... is sinister! Don't lose your lives!"
The two marquises nodded solemnly. Who wanted to die? But why was this infernal place so bizarre?
Saying no more, the Eastern King flew to the entrance, gazed at the swirling vortex, and muttered, "Up!"
"Heavenly King... are we... still pursuing them?"
"If we don't, are we going to rot here?" the Eastern King said coldly. "Do you know how to get out? The seventh floor! The passage there might be our only way out! If we don't go up, we can only wait here for them to lay an ambush!"
The two marquises shuddered and spoke no more. Filled with vigilance and unease, they followed the Eastern King into the entrance.
...
On the second floor, Su Yu rushed toward the entrance to the third floor. Marquis Lanshan, still held in his grasp, asked in shock, "What was that?"
"The Martial Emperor's mouth!"
"What?"
"Nothing!"
Su Yu did not elaborate. Looking at the coughing Tianmie, he asked in a deep voice, "Haven't you broken through yet?"
"Almost..." Tianmie wheezed, burning away the lingering death qi. He grumbled, "Can you stop finding me opponents that strong? Damn it, he's too terrifying... one palm almost killed me!"
Su Yu hadn't expected Tianmie to fail to withstand even a single blow. How disappointing. You're too weak! Then again, I should have anticipated it. After all, Tianmie didn't have his club and hadn't yet achieved Dao Integration.
"How much longer?"
"Give me a bit more time..."
Just as he spoke, the auras of Yunxiao and Xinghong beside them surged, both breaking through to the ninth stage of Eternity!
Yunxiao and Xinghong were invigorated. Yunxiao quickly said, "If we kill one more, I might step into Dao Integration!"
Xinghong added eagerly, "Of the remaining three, give the Eastern King to Tianmie, and Yunxiao and I will split the other two!"
"..."
To hell with both of you! Tianmie was speechless. I'm not doing that; that guy is a monster!
Su Yu paid them no mind—it was enough that they had broken through. Carrying the group, he swallowed another drop of essence blood and soared toward the higher floors!
To the seventh floor!
He would scream 'Taishan' at the top of his lungs to finish them off! At worst, he would duck into the entrance of the eighth floor and take his chances!
...
At that very moment, on the eighth floor, the entrance trembled faintly. A phantom manifested, glancing around with dread.
"Danger..."
With a faint murmur, the entrance vanished from sight.
Terrified, it concealed the entrance first—it seemed another massive disaster was heading its way!
Chapter 658