Successive Breakthroughs

Star Residence Mansion. Seventh floor. A vast surge of heavenly and earthly rule power descended. Rather than raw power, it felt more like the pure essence granted as a reward after the world had filtered it. The Eastern Heavenly King was an incomparably formidable Dao Integration expert. Today, he had fallen under their joint assault, and the resulting reward of rule power was staggering. Most of it went to Su Yu! Su Yu absorbed the rule power with wild fervor. First, he used it to heal his injuries. Second, he channeled it to strengthen his sea of will and empower his divine apertures, guiding them toward fusion. Once merged, his divine and origin apertures would expand, and all of them could be incorporated into his Heavenly Gate! From there, he would circulate the Great Heavenly Circulation method within the Heavenly Gate, breaking through its barriers to achieve true union of origin and divine spirit! As Su Yu frantically absorbed the energy of heaven and earth to mend his wounds, he quickly regained his voice and bellowed, "Tianmie, once you Dao Integration experts heal, withdraw immediately! Yunxiao, Xinghong, withdraw the moment you achieve Dao Integration! Lanshan, you're a dead spirit—devour the Eastern Heavenly King's remnants! Hetu, stop absorbing! Go collect the remnant marks and blood of death from the other fallen dead spirit marquises and feed them all to Lanshan! Hongmeng restricted you to prepare for your revival; you can't grow stronger anyway, and even if you did, it'd be useless!" Amidst the group, Hetu's face filled with sorrow. *I knew it!* No wonder no matter how much he absorbed or cultivated, he could never grow stronger. That old bastard was truly something else. Revival? Did he even have any guarantee of revival? He didn't, yet he went ahead and restricted him anyway! Utterly shameless! Then again, that old turtle wasn't human to begin with! Hetu felt at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He had no way to advance unless he broke the seal. That wasn't entirely impossible—though the Old Turtle was strong, there were plenty of powerful figures present. If they truly set their minds to breaking the Old Turtle's shackles, they could pull it off. Yet... forget it! Hetu cursed silently. *Forget it, keep me shackled if you want!* Without those restrictions, he could have reached at least the ninth stage of Eternity from this windfall. Without another word, Hetu hurried off to collect the dead spirit marks and blood of death scattered across the battlefield. Aside from him, Lanshan was the only dead spirit present, and these things benefited only dead spirits. Everyone was frantically absorbing power. Even the little fur ball was gobbling away voraciously. Having seemingly found its mouth again, it was ecstatic—it had a mouth once more! Su Yu, however, remained vigilant to the extreme. He transmitted his voice to the Argumentative Gate: "Marquis Tongtian, be ready at any moment to open a passage and teleport us to the eighth floor!" One could not forget that an even more dangerous entity lurked here! The Martial Emperor! From the very beginning, Su Yu had never expected the Martial Emperor to talk reasonably, negotiate in good faith, or genuinely help him. That was impossible. His goal from the outset had been to use him. Later, once the emperor regained clarity and could no longer be used, Su Yu had switched to deceiving him. Either way, Su Yu had never planned on having an honest talk. And neither had the Martial Emperor! Putting himself in the other's shoes, if someone had reduced Su Yu to such a state, would Su Yu calmly sit down and hand over cultivation methods? How could that be possible! *If I were reduced to this pathetic state, I'd want to take revenge on the entire world the second I got out!* Everyone continued absorbing the rule power, and the injuries across Su Yu's physical body healed rapidly. Slaying a top-tier powerhouse second only to the ancient Human Kings yielded an unimaginably generous reward. Yet he remained exceedingly cautious. In truth... the Martial Emperor still wanted to kill him! Su Yu knew this deep down! Otherwise, even if the Martial Emperor couldn't strike freely without losing control, he could have opened a dead spirit passage to let them leave. Yet he had neither offered nor done so from start to finish. Evidently, he had no desire to see Su Yu and the others depart safely. This battle had ended in a great victory! The greatest contributor was actually the little white dog, followed not by Su Yu, but by Marquis Lanshan. Looking at the situation now, if Lanshan hadn't slain two marquises early on, the addition of two more enemy marquises might have rewritten the outcome. One could only say that mistakes had somehow yielded a fortunate turn. Su Yu had miscalculated once—the Martial Emperor had regained clarity far too quickly. By Su Yu's estimates, even if he came around, it shouldn't have been so swift. Of course, if there had truly been two more enemy marquises, Su Yu might not have held back until the very end before erupting. Yet killing the Eastern Heavenly King would likely have been far harder. As thought after thought surfaced in his mind, the Martial Emperor's voice echoed beside his ear once more: "Little bug, you certainly know how to scheme, and you're ruthless enough too! Weren't you afraid every last one of your followers would die?" Su Yu had actually managed to hold back his trump card until the final moment! Had the slightest mistake occurred, the others would have perished. Marquis Lanshan had truly been on the verge of utter destruction, yet Su Yu hadn't stepped in until Tianyue appeared. Furthermore, if Marquis Tongtian hadn't joined the fray, Su Yu's side would still have been outmatched. "To find life in the jaws of death!" Su Yu didn't mind chatting a bit to stall for time. He smiled and said, "This is war! The essence of war is to gamble for the greatest possible gain with the smallest possible cost. There was a gap between us and the enemy. When the weak fight the strong, are we supposed to line up for an honorable pitched battle? When outmatched, one must win through unconventional means! If our side held crushing superiority, we would overwhelm and eradicate them in an instant. The crux is that we were the weaker ones, weren't we?" The Martial Emperor seemed to fall into thought. After a long silence, he asked again, "What if that gate and that white-haired fool hadn't joined the battle?" "I had a retreat route. Even if no one else joined or if you chose not to intervene... I was never out of options. You didn't seal off that time passage, only concealed it. I came here last time, and I believe I still had a chance to lead everyone away—even if it meant getting lost in the River of Time!" As Su Yu spoke, he slipped in a bit of flattery: "You did leave us a sliver of hope after all!" The time passage! The very place Tianyue had charged out from earlier! It was also the passage behind where the Nine-Leaf Heavenly Lotus had once bloomed! Of course, where that stretch of the River of Time led, and whether one would become lost within it, were entirely uncertain. Su Yu and his companions might have ended up wandering through the currents of time, only to emerge thousands or tens of thousands of years later in the outside world. No matter how mighty an expert was, one could not return to the past. Yet one could go to the future. It was not that one could actively traverse time; rather, what felt like a short journey within the River of Time might correspond to millennia or tens of millennia outside. It was not true time travel, but merely the reality of spending all that time wandering. "A way out? Hah! I simply forgot about it, that is all!" The Martial Emperor sneered. "Little bug, so you were prepared to flee from the very start. If so, why put on such a righteous facade earlier... Hypocrites are all cut from the same cloth, just like those sanctimonious bastards from back then!" So Su Yu had planned to run all along! Even fleeing into the unknown currents of the River of Time, with no destination or era guaranteed. He had never intended to die here! Su Yu laughed and replied, "Hypocritical? Sanctimonious? I am merely seeking survival! In this world, who isn't trying to survive? Since I can live, why seek death? What value is there in dying? You are so immensely powerful and so seemingly righteous—why do you still seek survival? Why not just kill yourself today? After being trapped for so many years, why do you still yearn to break free?" "People always love double standards. When I seek survival, it's hypocrisy; when you wish to break free, it's righteousness. What do you think, Martial Emperor?" Su Yu spoke with fluent ease. By now, having absorbed the rule power, his injuries were entirely healed. His nine divine apertures were currently merging! Drawing upon the massive influx of rule power, Su Yu fused the apertures unhurriedly, continuing, "The complete cultivation method you promised earlier—shouldn't you give it to me now?" "You actually dare demand it from me?" The Martial Emperor's voice turned cold. Su Yu replied placidly, "Why wouldn't I?" Pausing briefly, he added, "I know you possess unmatched might. If you truly strike, even if all of us combined our strength, we wouldn't be your match! However, the moment you strike, the clarity you've fought so hard to maintain will quickly devolve into chaos! Once you plunge into madness this time, I... will never come back to awaken you. In this world today, aside from me, no one has opened all 360 origin apertures, and no one else can help awaken your true mind!" Su Yu said calmly, "I am no idiot, and I doubt you are either. We both see the reality clearly! If you feel insulted, you are welcome to strike and test it out. In a state of chaos, do you truly have the certainty of killing us? If you fail... then continue sleeping. Perhaps after another hundred thousand years, another genius like me will appear to rescue you!" The Martial Emperor said coldly, "Little bug, do you think this seat can be intimidated by your words?" Su Yu's tone gradually turned chilly, and he gave a faint, eerie chuckle. "Of course not! But... I believe that even if you strike in a frenzy, I won't die! An unhinged Martial Emperor had such a hard time killing a single Blood Fire. At worst, I'll suffer heavy injuries, and I'm confident I can escape! Once I flee, we'll see where things go from there!" The Martial Emperor fell silent. He was being threatened by Su Yu! Su Yu was exceedingly brazen. Or rather, Su Yu understood that no other kind of rhetoric would allow normal communication with the Martial Emperor. A peerless powerhouse who had been humiliated and sealed away was consumed by venomous resentment toward King Wu and the others. The humans of today were the heirs to that very lineage—would the Martial Emperor ever speak pleasantly with them? Impossible! What did human righteousness or mortal survival have to do with him? Precisely because Su Yu understood this, he didn't bother beating around the bush. He went straight to the heart of the matter, pointing out the drawbacks of the emperor striking: he couldn't kill Su Yu, and doing so would only plunge himself back into madness. Without Su Yu's provocation using the name 'Taishan,' the chaotic emperor might never regain clarity again. Right at that moment, beside them, Xinghong let out a roar as his massive true form rose into the air. In the void, the Great Dao surged with a thunderous boom! His blood qi shook the heavens! The Great Dao intertwined in the void. Overjoyed, Xinghong laughed wildly, "I've stepped into Dao Integration!" He had broken through! Immediately following him, Yunxiao also let out a sharp cry. The void trembled as Daos intertwined, and a longsword Great Dao stretched across heaven and earth. Xinghong also cultivated the sword path, yet their Daos seemed slightly different, though Su Yu couldn't quite discern the nuance. He paid it no mind, merely smiling with immense relief! This time, he had brought three Guardians out, and all three had broken through! Among the Guardians, Tianmie had been the first he met, Xinghong Ancient City was the first city he had governed, and Yunxiao was the first who had dared to uproot her city to fight in defiance of the rules. All of them were old acquaintances. Today, all three Guardians had achieved breakthrough! After guarding the passages for a hundred thousand years! Having succeeded in their Dao Integration, the two swiftly withdrew from the area covered by the rule power. Tianmie and Tianyue quickly pulled back as well. Over to the side, Marquis Tongtian was still absorbing rule power, looking thoroughly pleased. As he absorbed the energy, he condensed into a human silhouette. Glancing toward Su Yu from the corner of his eye and noticing Su Yu staring at him, Marquis Tongtian put on a broad smile. "I'm fully recovered, leaving right now!" With that, he promptly withdrew! He figured the young man was begrudging him for absorbing too much! *Forget it. As reluctant as I am, I'd better retreat first. Humans are not to be trifled with.* He remained genuinely wary of human figures, especially someone like Su Yu. Last time, he had already realized Su Yu was trouble. Su Yu was the first person who had ascended to the eighth floor purely to kill, departing immediately once the deed was done. Without lingering for a single second! Such a person appeared easy to talk to, yet possessed an unshakable core. Having lived for so long, Marquis Tongtian had seen everything. As long as a figure like this didn't die, whoever crossed him was bound for misfortune! Su Yu said nothing. The Argumentative Gate had misunderstood him. He was actually quite generous; since the gate had joined the fight, Su Yu didn't mind him absorbing a bit extra. Five Dao Integration combatants! Su Yu looked at the five powerhouses who had pulled back, all of them in the Dao Integration realm! Before entering the dead spirit realm this time, he hadn't brought a single Dao Integration expert with him. Now, he had five! No, more than that. There was also Marquis Lanshan! At this moment, Marquis Lanshan was devouring the dead spirit mark belonging to the Eastern Heavenly King while frantically absorbing rule power. She absorbed the greatest share because her Dao body had shattered and required reconstruction. A Dao body was essentially like a carrier, somewhat similar to the method of the three incarnations—a medium capable of carrying massive amounts of rule power and connecting to the Great Dao. Such a thing required rule power to repair! Slaying the Eastern Heavenly King had proved immensely rewarding. Marquis Lanshan's aura steadily swelled. Soon, with a thunderous roar, a Dead Spirit Great Dao manifested, and her Dao body was fully restored. Just as she prepared to withdraw, Su Yu barked, "Keep absorbing! Digest it and elevate yourself! With the Eastern Heavenly King dead, the Eastern King Domain will inevitably fall into turmoil, and the other three Heavenly Kings might cast greedy eyes upon it. You are a dead spirit, and I need you to remain behind to oversee the Eastern King Domain. Without sufficient strength, how will you protect yourself?" Marquis Lanshan had to stay in the dead spirit realm! She was to help Su Yu control the Eastern King Domain! Of course, the Old Turtle would assist her. Even so, for an ordinary marquis to govern the Eastern King Domain was an extraordinary challenge. The other Heavenly Kings each commanded more than ten marquises beneath them, not to mention their own formidable strength. They might not dare act right now, but once enough time passed and it became clear the Eastern Heavenly King was dead, some of them would surely be tempted. To seize the Eastern King Domain! When that time came, great battles would inevitably erupt in the dead spirit realm. Hearing his words, Marquis Lanshan closed her eyes and continued absorbing vast quantities of rule power, digesting the Eastern King's remnants. Su Yu added, "Once you return, take control of the Eastern King Domain first, and see if you can summon the other human dead spirit marquises to gather there! Naturally, you must maintain absolute control—any dead spirit marquis who enters the Eastern King Domain will be your subordinate, and you will answer only to me!" "If you run into any difficulties, you can seek out Senior Hongmeng! In addition, you can summon the dead spirit experts of the Iron-Eaters, Ancient Hou, Spatial Beasts, and Primordial Giants. In the living realm, I will soon take control of those major races!" "..." Su Yu continued instructing Marquis Lanshan—or rather, issuing commands. Marquis Lanshan was a valiant vanguard general. She was no strategist! Everything had to be laid out clearly. If left vague, she might act according to her own inclinations, which would only create trouble and disrupt Su Yu's overarching plans. Marquis Lanshan memorized every instruction in silence. Meanwhile, Su Yu kept a close eye on the Martial Emperor's movements while speaking to her. The Martial Emperor made no move whatsoever, nor did he offer to pass along the rest of the cultivation method. Su Yu didn't know what the emperor was thinking. Perhaps he was weighing his options. Even if the emperor refused to give it, it didn't matter—Su Yu could deduce it on his own! …… In the living realm. At this moment, ripples of activity spread outward. Vast numbers of powerhouses attached their willpower outside their respective realms, gazing toward the Sea of Stars! Over in the direction of the Star Residence Mansion, a glint of blade light had flashed outward, causing many to furrow their brows. What had occurred within the Star Residence Mansion? At this moment, no one connected it to Su Yu, nor did they suspect the dead spirit realm. Life and death were separated by a boundary! Aside from a few Guardians who had sensed disturbances in the dead spirit realm, none of the others could perceive it. Besides, no one dared entertain such thoughts! All the top powerhouses were sequestered within their own realms. The same held true for the humans! The Old Turtle was present, still visible wandering near the Sea of Stars. King Dazhou went without saying, still making origin qi rain down across the Human Realm. As for the other experts allied with Su Yu, the two fur balls were currently tearing open the void, peering around with curiosity. Under such circumstances, who would suspect Su Yu? It was entirely normal for that fellow to run around everywhere. Still, some people caught onto a thought and murmured, "Could he have entered the Star Residence Mansion again?" This crossed several minds. Su Yu was nowhere to be seen! Had the fellow found a way to re-enter the Star Residence Mansion ahead of schedule? Was this disturbance caused by Su Yu? …… Immortal Realm. Tiangu frowned slightly. Looking toward King Fu, who had recently returned, he said in a low, uneasy voice, "There has been some disturbance in the Star Residence Mansion. It is possible Su Yu entered again! Did he enter through the dead spirit realm? There is a passage leading to the seventh floor from down there... When you met with the Eastern King earlier, what did he say?" King Fu answered hastily, "He said he would arrange for subordinates to deal with Hongmeng in the near future before addressing other matters! Without eliminating Hongmeng, dealing with Su Yu will be exceedingly difficult. The Eastern King meant that when he moves against Hongmeng, he hopes we can contribute as well! A pincer attack from within and without, giving Hongmeng no chance of survival!" He continued, "The Eastern King also mentioned that among the Four Kings, there are still those who support the humans, so he cannot act recklessly lest he trigger internal strife among the four." Tiangu's brow furrowed deeper. "I know a bit about that. In the past, two of the Four Kings likely supported the humans. Later, one of them altered their stance, leaving only the Southern King stubbornly holding on... The Southern King... Did the Eastern King not mention contacting the other two kings to resolve the nuisance that is the Southern King?" "He did not." King Fu shook his head. "He may still harbor misgivings or have other plans." Tiangu let out a sigh. He rarely did so, yet now he felt a creeping unease! Where exactly had things gone wrong? Su Yu's faction was by no means weak at present, but they were still far from strong enough to assault the major realm domains. Tiangu cast his gaze into the distance. He had also sensed that blade light just now. Though he didn't know who had unleashed it, it was undeniably formidable. To think it could penetrate all the way out from the Star Residence Mansion! Was it the result of a fierce battle, or had someone triggered a powerful restriction? In this tenth tide, the humans had started at their weakest, yet massive upheavals kept occurring, leaving Tiangu feeling somewhat lost. According to their current arrangements, they held the upper hand in the dead spirit realm. The Upper Realm was on the verge of opening, which was another absolute advantage. Though they had fallen slightly behind in the Myriad Realms, it wasn't as if they couldn't fight back. If they truly gathered all their ancient powerhouses, including all the Eternity experts, to battle the human alliance to the death, it wouldn't matter if the humans gained a few more Dao Integration experts. Three or five Eternity cultivators couldn't defeat a Dao Integration expert, but what about ten or twenty? At the Eternity level, the various races were far stronger. However, doing so would inflict catastrophic losses on all races. Once the humans were wiped out, none of the races would have the strength left to vie for supremacy. Thus, everyone was waiting for the Upper Realm to open, hoping to destroy the human race at the lowest possible cost. Tiangu took a deep breath. "No matter. We will await the Destiny race's reply! That Wuming seems to have his own agenda, continually delaying giving a clear answer to the various races!" Wuming was also a Dao Integration expert! Moreover, he held ties to the Upper Realm. If the Destiny race chose to intervene, they could wear down the rule power. Because Wuming was at Dao Integration, even if Tiangu personally entered the Destiny Realm, he would be suppressed. The Destiny Realm was vital! Any expert descending from the Upper Realm would face suppression, except for humans. Controlling the Destiny Realm made one a terrifying variable. The myriad races had considered forcing the Destiny race to withdraw, but that race was far from weak. The Tianyuan race was merely an offshoot that had split away from them. The Destiny Realm had always maintained neutrality, and annihilating them would carry too steep a price. Across nine tides over countless millennia, the Destiny race had remained neutral. Tiangu harbored faint suspicions, yet felt it unlikely. Wuming couldn't be so foolish. The humans held the upper hand for now, but that was a far cry from an assured victory. Rubbing his temples, Tiangu realized this was one of the most vexing days he had experienced in years. With Su Yu having slipped into the Star Residence Mansion, would his strength take another massive leap? If so, things would truly become troublesome! …… Human Realm. King Dazhou had no attention to spare for other matters. Just moments ago, a dog had suddenly materialized before him. It had darted out out of nowhere, only to skid to a sudden halt! It had happened in a fraction of an instant! Hardly anyone else had even glimpsed the dog's shadow. Yet King Dazhou saw it clearly. It appeared to be a completely ordinary little white dog, and even looked somewhat feeble. And yet... At this moment, the dog was staring at him, its gaze exerting an invisible, suffocating pressure upon King Dazhou. The little white dog watched King Dazhou without a word. It simply tilted its head toward the sky. Su Yu seemed to be fine again, though he had consumed the second drop of sealed essence blood. He had likely slain his foe! Since that was the case, the dog didn't need to go. It still had to watch the house. However, it had spotted a person—an interesting person. The little white dog watched King Dazhou for a few moments, blinked, and without bothering to speak, vanished on the spot. It needed to return home to guard the gate and had no interest in chatting with this man. King Dazhou let out a soft breath and transmitted his voice: "Senior, did something happen to Su Yu?" "He's fine!" With those words lingering, the little white dog had already plunged straight into the Time Waterfall! Indeed, it had stepped right in! Earlier, the Book Spirit and the Tea Tree had been brought inside by Su Yu, who had used the power of the Time Book to neutralize the effects of the Time Waterfall. Yet the little white dog came and went directly! It could walk out! And it could return just as easily. Su Yu hadn't known this before. In fact, for a hundred thousand years, no one had seen the little white dog; clearly, it had never stepped outside once. Watching the ripples of the Time Waterfall fade away, King Dazhou frowned slightly. What was Su Yu up to now? The little white dog had bolted out suddenly, likely because Su Yu was in trouble. Since it had returned, Su Yu had probably resolved it. "Star Residence Mansion... blade light..." King Dazhou looked up at the sky, his brow furrowing deeper. Truth be told, Su Yu was far from his ideal Human Lord. He was too self-centered, overly domineering, and supremely confident in himself. He refused to listen to anyone's advice! He ruled entirely by his own will! Such a disposition might suit a founding emperor carving out a dynasty, but that wasn't the situation today. Su Yu was the eleventh Human Lord. Before him were the ancient Human Sovereign and nine Human Lords. Those nine had all operated within controllable boundaries—or rather, everyone knew what they intended to do. Only Su Yu... resembled the ancient Human Sovereign! The sovereign who had carved out the human race's dominion across the heavens! You never knew what he was going to do or what he was thinking. He would never consult you, and even if you spoke up, he might not listen. Across ten tides of upheaval, this was utterly unprecedented! Every other Human Lord had been protected and groomed from the start. Those lords listened to their elders and respected the counsel of veterans. "Sigh!" "I know not whether this is a blessing or a curse!" King Dazhou sighed, truly uncertain. He had assumed Su Yu would settle down for a bit, or perhaps take advantage of this rare period of peace to cultivate and elevate himself. Instead, the fellow had run off to... the Star Residence Mansion. Then again, that place was indeed a fine location for advancement. There was no need for him to overthink it! As long as the boy didn't die, it was fine. Yet today, the human race's destiny had fluctuated several times, and King Dazhou had felt it clearly. Even his Great Zhou Seal had its destiny tapped multiple times. He truly had no idea what Su Yu was doing. King Dazhou felt a headache coming on. He had encountered a true adversary! An immensely troublesome one! …… At the same time. In the dead spirit realm. Far across the realm from the Eastern King Domain stood three colossal palaces, with countless dead spirits scurrying about in relentless activity. Northern King Domain. Northern King Mansion. A formidable figure wearing a black crown stood with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the somber, dim sky with grave eyes. The Eastern King was dead! Slain! Who had killed him? The Four Heavenly Kings were all peerless experts. Long ago, when the humans unified the heavens, they had executed those who defied them. Later, the Four Kings submitted. Recognizing their immense strength, the humans chose not to eradicate them, instead conferring titles upon them to govern the dead spirit realm. Now, with human hegemony gone for a hundred thousand years, the Four Heavenly Kings had enjoyed absolute freedom, bound by no one. Their rebellion against humanity had been driven by the desire to prevent the humans from rising again and forcing them back into servitude. The Eastern King bordered the Spirit Suppression Domain and had resisted humanity most overtly. Yet now, he was dead. There had been no massive disturbance in the dead spirit realm. Had Hongmeng killed him? Was Hongmeng capable of slaying the Eastern King? Or had some other unforeseen variable arisen? As the Northern King pondered, an armored marquis marched in, saying in a heavy voice, "Heavenly King, news has arrived from the Eastern King Domain!" The Northern King looked down at him. The general reported grimly, "A massive battle broke out earlier in the Eastern King Mansion, plunging it into total chaos! Marquis Lanshan led the Lanshan Guards in rebellion, slaying Marquis Yueming. Afterward, all the experts of the Eastern King Mansion gave chase. It is reported that Marquis Lanshan claimed to be acting under the orders of the Human Lord, fighting her way out of the Eastern King Domain to return to his service!" "Human Lord?" The Northern King frowned, asking flatly, "Which Human Lord?" "The Human Lord of this tide!" The general answered solemnly, "Su Yu!" "Su Yu?" The Northern King murmured, "I have heard the name... but supposedly, he is merely a young man in his twenties. His title as Human Lord seems to have been forced upon him by certain humans who saw his good relationship with the Guardians, using him to forge an alliance with them. Is that not so?" "It is!" The general replied, "The man himself is not overly formidable, but he can consume essence blood to empower himself, occasionally achieving combat strength... at the Dao Integration realm!" "Reaching Dao Integration through external power... would never be enough to deal with the Eastern King!" The Northern King's brow knitted. Then how had the Eastern King died? The situation was growing increasingly incomprehensible! Just as he was thinking, his expression hardened, and he said coldly, "Trespassing into this king's domain uninvited—are you seeking death?" "The Northern King is as cold and ruthless as ever..." A soft chuckle drifted through the air. In an instant, a dark shadow materialized, draped in black robes. It was a woman, her laughter eerie and faint. "Northern King, it has been quite some time!" The Northern King said indifferently, "Western King's Consort, what business brings you to my domain instead of staying in the Western King Mansion?" The Western King's Consort! At these words, the general below changed color slightly, bowed, and quickly withdrew. Among the Four Heavenly Kings, both the Southern and Western Kings had originally supported the humans, while the Northern King's stance remained ambiguous, and the Eastern King opposed them. However, after the previous tide, the Western King's attitude had shifted drastically. Rumor had it that this woman had played no small part in that change! Soon, the Western King had become a staunch opponent of humanity's resurgence! With the general gone, only the two of them remained in the grand hall. Both were exceptionally powerful! The Western King's Consort gave a faint smile. "Northern King, the Eastern King is dead. Are you aware?" The Northern King replied coldly, "This king is not blind!" "He was likely finished off by the humans," the Western King's Consort murmured softly. "Northern King, with the Eastern King dead, continued inaction may invite trouble. My visit today is to discuss whether we should join forces to eliminate the Southern King!" "Kill the Southern King?" The Northern King stared at her, his expression impassive. "Your ambitions are grand indeed. Slay the Southern King, and then you and the Western King can turn around and kill me to unify the dead spirit realm?" "How could that be!" The Western King's Consort said resentfully, "My strength is feeble, while you are mighty, Northern King. Besides, only an alliance between the two of us can suppress this dead spirit realm. Why would we turn against each other and throw the realm into chaos? With the Eastern King dead, I fear the humans will turn their sights on you next, and the Southern King remains hopelessly stubborn... Wouldn't it be better to rule this heaven and earth ourselves? Why must she insist on being a dog for the humans?" The Northern King said coldly, "Enough! Set your mind at ease! It's just as well that the Eastern King is dead. With him gone, the rest of us will naturally grow stronger! Just because they could kill him doesn't mean they can kill us. Let us observe the situation first!" "Northern King, how can you be so indecisive!" The Western King's Consort sighed regretfully. "Had you not remained noncommittal for so long, and instead reached out to the Eastern King earlier to eliminate the Southern King, this dead spirit realm would have known peace long ago! If you feared the Western King and me back then, an alliance between you and the Eastern King would have easily suppressed us... Why let things reach this point?" Pausing, she continued, "Northern King, I know you suspect the Western King and me of conspiring against you... There is no need. Truth be told... I can barely hold out any longer. I must leave the dead spirit realm! If I don't depart soon, I will fully transform into a dead spirit and likely have to take a plunge into the River of Dead Spirits!" The Northern King looked at her coldly. "Leave? You've spoken of leaving for years, yet I haven't seen you take a single step! If you truly leave, it will likely be when the Upper Realm opens. Haven't you been lurking here all these years precisely waiting for that moment?" "You have sharp eyes, Northern King, but that was before. The situation has changed!" The Western King's Consort sighed. "The humans have gained the upper hand in the living realm! Those useless fools like Tiangu sat back and watched the humans rise, and now they've been forced to shrink back into their own realms. If this continues, the humans will only grow stronger, so I must leave! Entering the living realm will at least allow me to find a way to suppress Hongmeng—ideally launching a pincer attack from within and without to slay him!" She chuckled. "The strongest pillar on the human side is that very Hongmeng! Now, with the Southern King and Hongmeng connecting through the Eastern King Domain, an alliance between them... would spell immense trouble. Hongmeng must be dealt with!" The Northern King raised an eyebrow slightly. "Kill Hongmeng... He is no easy mark. His strength is slightly below ours, but he can tread freely between both the living and dead realms, and he commands the suppression of rules within the Spirit Suppression Domain. Those rules were bestowed upon him by the ancient Human Court. Within the Spirit Suppression Domain, his strength is on par with any one of us!" Inside the Spirit Suppression Domain, the Old Turtle's power matched that of the Four Heavenly Kings. Of course, outside of it, he was half a notch weaker; though the gap wasn't massive, he was suppressed to a degree. The Western King's Consort smiled faintly. "That was because no outside pressure was applied to him, and the coordination between inside and outside was lacking, giving him opportunities to escape. If I head out this time, I will seek an opening to kill him! Once he dies, the day the dead spirit realm charges outward will be right around the corner!" "Charge outward..." The Northern King looked up at the sky. Did they truly still have a chance to charge out? If they broke out, could they truly be revived? To live another life! He did not know! The Western King's Consort smiled and said, "Give it careful consideration, Northern King. The Eastern King's death might just be an opportunity. If you cultivate diligently during this period and grow stronger, even if you step into the Spirit Suppression Domain, the rules of that old turtle may no longer be able to suppress you!" All three remaining Heavenly Kings would grow stronger. With the Eastern King dead, the Dead Spirit Great Dao would bestow upon them more rule power and greater authority over the rules. The Northern King said nothing, and the Western King's Consort soon faded from view. The Northern King frowned slightly. The Western King taking in such a woman might not be a blessing—and for him, it was certainly no good thing either. She was exceptionally powerful! Over the years, she had remained in the Western King Mansion, suppressing every dissenting voice on the Western King's behalf. Every dead spirit marquis under the Western King, including all the human dead spirit marquises, had quietly vanished without a trace! The entire Western King Mansion had become her private domain! She controlled a quarter of the dead spirit realm's authority! What was the Western King thinking? The Northern King felt a flicker of crisis stir within him. It was best to grow stronger as soon as possible, ideally reaching the level of the ancient Human Kings. At present, they still fell somewhat short of those true Human Kings. Of course, those Human Kings who had only reached the peak of the physical body Dao were not vastly stronger than them. Take someone like the Hundred Battles King—he had cultivated the physical body Dao to its absolute apex, supposedly on par with ancient Human Kings. In truth, he was comparable only to those Human Kings who had merged into the physical body Dao, still falling short of the Human Kings who commanded their own distinct Great Daos. Even so, the Hundred Battles King was slightly stronger than the Heavenly Kings were now. "The Eastern King is dead... the Western King... Hongmeng... the Human Lord?" With lingering doubts, his thoughts turned back to Su Yu. Was a young man in his twenties truly the mastermind behind all of this? Or was he merely a puppet, with someone else pulling the strings behind the scenes? He couldn't help wondering, because Su Yu was simply too young! So young that his ascension to Human Lord felt utterly absurd to everyone. No previous Human Lord had ever claimed the mantle at such an age. Even the Hundred Battles King had only formally assumed the title past the age of three hundred, prior to which humanity had been guided by veterans of the eighth tide. Only after the Hundred Battles King stepped into Dao Integration did those old relics yield authority, allowing him to become the shared sovereign of mankind. "The tenth tide..." Murmuring softly, the Northern King vanished into the depths of the hall. …… Seventh floor. Su Yu's body shuddered slightly as his sea of will churned, and his nine divine apertures completed their total fusion! Su Yu let out a breath of relief! Yet he was somewhat puzzled—why hadn't the Martial Emperor made a move? Was he going to strike or not? Forget it, no matter. He had absorbed nearly all the rule power he could! Over to the side, Marquis Lanshan opened her eyes, her aura markedly stronger than before. In this battle, the marks of the fallen dead spirit marquises and the Heavenly King had all been granted to her! Having absorbed a massive amount of rule power on top of that, her Dao body was completely restored, and her Great Dao power was far stronger than before! Though she had not yet reached the level of the Eastern Heavenly King, she was considerably more powerful than an ordinary marquis. Opening her eyes, Marquis Lanshan looked toward Su Yu, dropped to one knee with genuine reverence, and declared, "Lanshan pays her deepest gratitude to the Human Lord!" This generation's Human Lord... was simply incredible! The Eastern Heavenly King had remained a persistent thorn in their side for nine tides, yet in this single tide, he had been slain by this Human Lord! During the ninth tide, the Hundred Battles King had been immensely mighty and had ventured into the dead spirit realm several times, yet even he had failed to kill the Eastern Heavenly King! In truth, the Hundred Battles King had wanted to kill him and had nearly succeeded once, only to draw the intervention of the other Heavenly Kings. The Northern King had stepped in, joining forces with the Eastern King to drive him back. After several attempts, the Hundred Battles King had chosen to retreat. He had no way to slay him! Moreover, the Hundred Battles King had not dared wage an all-out war to the death in the dead spirit realm, as that would have compromised the larger strategic balance. Yet today, Su Yu had succeeded! He lacked the overwhelming martial presence of the Hundred Battles King and appeared scholarly and frail, yet he was terrifying to an unimaginable degree. This reminded Marquis Lanshan of King Wen! If the Hundred Battles King was akin to King Wu, then Su Yu was King Wen. In ancient times, King Wu had suffered his share of defeats, but whenever King Wen commanded the armies, he was virtually invincible, having seemingly never tasted defeat. She had been a general under King Wu, but that did not diminish her reverence for King Wen. Looking at her, Su Yu could roughly guess what she was thinking. It annoyed him! Su Yu never considered himself similar to anyone else. King Wen... supposedly liked wearing white robes just like him and was also a scholar, but did being a scholar automatically make one King Wen? Su Yu was speechless! Who decreed that only King Wen was allowed to wear white robes? Honestly! "Rise!" Su Yu waved a hand, gesturing for her to stand. Scanning his surroundings, a feeling of deep satisfaction washed over him! Six Dao Integration combatants! Putting aside the somewhat glaring presence of Hetu, who sat at the seventh stage of Eternity, Su Yu had brought six Dao Integration experts out of the dead spirit realm this time! Once he brought them out, it would inevitably shake the heavens! Adding the Book Spirit, the Tea Tree, Feiqiu, Doubao, Chuibing, the Iron-Eating Beast Emperor, Jiu Yue, and Hongmeng, Su Yu could now field fourteen Dao Integration combatants. He hadn't counted several others, as he wasn't certain whether they were truly on his side. Figures like King Dazhou, the Primordial Giant King, and the Space Ancient Beast Emperor... Su Yu wasn't entirely sure they belonged to his camp. One could only say that those individuals currently stood on the side of the human race. Standing with the human race did not mean standing with Su Yu. Shaking off those thoughts, Su Yu looked up at the sky. The Martial Emperor had remained silent the entire time. Should he leave now, or... venture up to the eighth and ninth floors to take a look? Perhaps there was a way to restrain the Martial Emperor up there! Now that the Martial Emperor had regained his wits, he had become a hidden threat. He was brimming with resentment toward the human race; the only reason he hadn't attacked was the fear that losing control would leave him with no one to awaken him again. If the Martial Emperor truly held no malice, he would have handed over the complete cultivation method by now. The fact that he hadn't was the basis of Su Yu's deduction. The emperor would rather break his word than let Su Yu easily obtain the technique! In truth, that only delayed Su Yu slightly! Yet through this minor detail, one could clearly see the Martial Emperor's mindset. *I resent you all!* *So even if I break my promise, I'll make sure you suffer some frustration!* Su Yu understood him, but understanding did not mean allowing him free rein. The emperor could go direct his hatred toward King Wu and the others all he liked, so long as he didn't cause trouble for Su Yu! If he fought King Wu until both perished, Su Yu wouldn't care in the slightest! The true fear was that once this man broke free, instead of dealing with the myriad races, he would turn his wrath against humanity first! The ancient Human Sovereign and the others had surely known the Martial Emperor was still alive. With this thought, Su Yu transmitted his voice to Marquis Tongtian: "Open the gate to the eighth floor. We're going up!" He still needed to check it out! Without placing restrictions on the Martial Emperor, Su Yu could not rest easy. A chaotic Martial Emperor was endearing, but a lucid Martial Emperor was terrifying. Su Yu had no desire to see such an ancient, hostile expert break free—unless he held the means to control him! Without a word, Marquis Tongtian swiftly opened the portal. Su Yu didn't hesitate and leapt straight inside. The others followed immediately! The portal vanished in an instant! The Martial Emperor's willpower rippled faintly. In the void, a flickering, semi-transparent face appeared, gazing at the spot where the portal had vanished with an inscrutable expression.