Successful Dao Fusion

Where was Su Yu? Still traversing the River of Time, naturally! At this moment, Su Yu was exhausted. Deeply fatigued! Struggling upstream, he was constantly battered by the crashing waves. He seemed to have traveled a great distance against the current, seeing countless tributary Daos along the way, yet the Brush Dao remained nowhere in sight! The farther forward he went, the fewer Daos there were. Su Yu had come to realize that to forge a Dao, one had to keep advancing forward. Otherwise, the section of the River of Time you could tear into would be choked with tributaries, leaving no room to open a Dao of your own—you could only merge with an existing one. Dao fusion was essentially gambling on luck. Gambling that the founder of the Dao had died and no one else controlled it. Otherwise, you would never reach the realm of a Lord of Rules in your entire life. Only by opening a Dao did one stand the greatest chance of becoming a Lord of Rules. Su Yu pressed on upstream! By now, his hundred divine character combat techniques had consumed an immense amount of energy, yet they continued to carry him forward. Boom! Another massive wave surged toward him. Su Yu roared, transforming his brush into a blade and unleashing the Heaven-Opening Slash. With a thunderous blast, the wave shattered! And the instant that slash landed, a tributary appeared nearby. Blade qi soared into the heavens! Su Yu shot it a disdainful glance. This was hardly an uncommon sight on his journey; elements of his various comprehensions attracted nearby Daos, which actively radiated brilliance in an effort to entice him into merging with them. Su Yu looked down on it! The one that had just manifested was likely a Blade Dao of some sort, but a single glance told Su Yu it was far too narrow! In the River of Time, Daos were countless. The length of a tributary was hard to gauge without delving deep inside, but its width was plain to see. Setting aside the River of Time itself, as well as the Dao of the Dead Spirits. The strongest Dao Su Yu had seen so far was the human race's Dao of the Physical Body. Judged by sensory perception and the crests of its waves, it was roughly ten thousand meters wide, with over a dozen surging crests. An incomparably powerful tributary! Below the physical body Dao was likely the Five Elements Great Dao, which was at least three thousand meters wide. Of course, the width perceived in the River of Time was merely an optical illusion; once inside, the Sumeru effect took hold, revealing vast inner space. Below that was probably the Dao of the Huangtian Beast, slightly narrower than the Five Elements Dao, though the gap was not massive. Even so, it proved that the Dao once mastered by the Five Elements Ancestor had been slightly superior to the Huangtian Beast's—though sadly, the ancestor had still perished. Below that were the other Daos, none differing drastically in scale. Oh, the Old Turtle's Dao was actually quite wide as well, but Su Yu hadn't examined it in depth. The same went for Consort Xi's; Su Yu hadn't explored it thoroughly. Now, turning over these thoughts, Su Yu looked at the Blade Dao tempting him from the side and sneered in distaste! Far too weak! At best a thousand meters wide—one glance told him its potential was meager. Moving on! Su Yu forged ahead rapidly. That Dao was decent compared to most he had encountered, but still far too weak. He refused to merge with it. Once he initiated Dao fusion, the power of all his divine characters would be entirely depleted, leaving him virtually no chance of seeking out the Brush Dao! He swiftly bypassed that Dao and continued carving his way through the surging obstacles. With a mischievous streak, Su Yu continuously cycled through various cultivation methods and divine characters as he progressed. Sure enough, quite a few Daos opened up to him, practically crying out, "Come over here, Master!" Dao fusion was just that simple! When your comprehension was profound and your insights deep, countless Daos waited for you to merge with them. It wasn't like opening a Dao, after all! To open a Dao demanded far greater comprehension, along with genuine uniqueness. Moreover, it required greater raw power to forcibly carve out a new tributary. In truth, Su Yu faintly sensed that he stood a chance of opening a Dao. His comprehension of the Great Dao was likely deeper even than that of the little white dog, especially since he possessed several unique divine characters that each represented a distinct Dao. "Tribulation," the "Fire" of inheritance, "Yu"... All of these divine characters had the potential to open an independent Dao. Since ancient times, perhaps few people had ever comprehended them. Even those who did might not have opened a Dao, and even if they had, it might not have been identical to Su Yu's. Yet Su Yu understood that while he might succeed in opening a Dao, it could not swiftly boost his strength. It would take an enormous amount of time to carve it out and master it! Reaching the realm of a Lord of Rules might take endless ages. The Brush Dao was a ready-made Great Dao waiting for him to merge with it. An unmastered Dao wasn't necessarily inferior to one forged by oneself. Any Dao he opened might not even match the Brush Dao. King Wen had controlled it for countless years; even if it had been weak at the outset, King Wen would certainly have strengthened it over time. When it came to the Great Dao, Su Yu believed that once your comprehension deepened later on, it could inevitably be widened! He had even faintly deduced how a Lord of Rules increased their own power: By continually expanding their own Dao! Boom! Another volley of waves battered him. Su Yu panted for breath. This made no sense. Why hadn't he arrived yet? His current strength couldn't possibly be inferior to King Wen's when King Wen originally attained the Dao. If King Wen could forge this Dao back then, why hadn't Su Yu reached it by now? "Could it be... that traversing the River of Time is harder in this era?" Su Yu fell into deep thought. Had cultivation become more difficult for later generations? He gained a sudden realization: there were more tributaries now, and thus more waves. Simply put, as more Daos were opened over time, whenever Su Yu tried to bypass them, he was struck by the waves churning around each one for every stretch of distance he covered. In King Wen's era, there might have been fewer Daos, allowing unimpeded passage. That was the only logical explanation! Su Yu refused to believe that King Wen at the peak of the Sun and Moon Realm had been stronger than he was now. That was impossible. Su Yu had perfected everything and pushed himself to the absolute limit. If there existed a Sun and Moon expert stronger than him, the universe had gone mad. Breaking through the thorns, he pressed on! Wave after wave crashed down. Every single one was an ordeal. Sweat drenched Su Yu, dripping from his body into the River of Time and flowing downstream. Perhaps years from now, someone might pick up his crystallized sweat; if the River of Time did not wear it away, future travelers might truly stumble upon it. 'The Time Master's tears... was that how I got my hands on them?' Techniques and feats that had once seemed miraculous now had clear, natural explanations. Bang! At that exact moment, the brush-blade in his hand trembled violently. Su Yu's gaze shifted slightly as he peered into the distance. Past several surging wave crests, he seemed to catch sight of something! He saw a brush! "I've arrived!" Su Yu was overjoyed. He had finally made it. Any further, and he would have begun suspecting he was traveling back through time to the ancient past! Boom! The waves grew even more ferocious. The closer one was to a powerful Dao, the more violent the surges became—except for the human race's Dao of the Physical Body, where the waves had likely been smoothed out long ago by the sheer number of people who had attained the Dao through it. Having spotted his target, Su Yu was thrilled beyond measure and paid no heed to the waves. His physical body was immensely formidable; now, he charged headlong! He slammed straight into a wave crest, shattering it to pieces! Su Yu slashed! A single slash blew apart the second crest; a sweeping kick tore through the third; a thrust of his brush punctured the fourth... His ferocity surged with every strike! For that looming, indistinct Dao was right before his eyes! "Here it is!" Su Yu bared his teeth and crashed toward the final wave with a deafening roar. This collision pulverized the final crest. Putting everything into his charge, he suddenly collided with an invisible barrier with a loud bang, leaving him dizzy and reeling back several steps. His expression instantly changed! What was this? He looked closer... and his face darkened! A barrier had manifested over the previously unobstructed River of Time, resembling countless interwoven chains that locked down the entire river. "King Wen?" A tremor went through Su Yu's heart. A defensive perimeter erected by King Wen to prevent outsiders from intruding upon the domain of his Dao! To be capable of laying down a grand formation within the River of Time itself... how terrifying! Su Yu faintly sensed that this grand formation could be unsealed—using his divine character combat technique! The combat technique was the key. The Brush Dao divine character in his hand was trembling as well, clearly prompting him to use it to unravel the seal. Since King Wen had left his Dao behind as an inheritance for posterity, he would naturally block anyone else from seizing it. Still, setting up a formation inside the River of Time was truly extraordinary. At Su Yu's current level, whatever he tried to leave behind would be instantly washed away by the crashing waves! How could he possibly leave a defensive formation behind? "I'll give you credit for that!" Su Yu muttered under his breath. Shrugging it off, he used the key to open the formation. The next moment, the brush flew out toward what seemed to be a recess in the center of the defensive formation. Entering the recess, it vibrated intensely, and all at once, the chains forming the barrier parted and receded, opening a passage for Su Yu. Wasting no words, Su Yu stepped quickly through the passageway. The moment he entered, the sensation changed completely! Colossal waves roared thunderously! He instantly beheld a tributary Dao of immense breadth, and a single look filled him with awe. So wide! It even surpassed the Five Elements Great Dao! Compared to the physical body Dao... it wasn't quite as powerful, but Su Yu's immediate impression was that even if it fell short of the physical body Dao, it was comparable to the combined sum of the Huangtian Beast Dao and the Five Elements Dao. To his senses, it was at least five to six thousand meters wide! It equaled half the width of the physical body Dao, perhaps even more than half. "What a powerful Dao!" This was the third strongest Dao Su Yu had ever witnessed: first was the River of Dead Spirits, second was the human physical body Dao, and third was the Brush Dao! Su Yu drew in a deep breath. It was inferior to the physical body Dao, but don't forget, this was merely a Dao King Wen had discarded and left behind, one he no longer even controlled. Evidently, in later stages, King Wen had felt this Dao was no longer formidable enough! He had severed it from himself! Yet a Dao he had discarded was vastly superior to those of the Huangtian Beast and the Five Elements Ancestor. No wonder King Wen, wielding a single brush back then, had been unmatched by so many Lords of Rules! Su Yu drew closer to the Great Dao. Just like other Daos, a gap separated the tributary from the main river. And it was a considerable gap! What method should he choose to attain the Dao? The Weapon Merging Art? Or something else? Su Yu possessed many treasures, especially the Civilization Chronicle, which was originally the weapon he had prepared to attain the Dao with. But this was merely the Brush Dao; Su Yu preferred to have the Civilization Chronicle bear the Dao he opened himself. After all, this Dao wasn't forged by his own hands! "Cross with my physical body!" Su Yu had already made his decision: he would cross directly in the flesh, treating his physical body as the weapon. The Civilization Chronicle still required further refinement. It wasn't strong enough yet! Once he merged with the Brush Dao, he would make another selection and filter through his remaining divine characters to perfect his own "Yu" character. "Physical crossing it is!" That massive gap still retained some connections to the main river. Su Yu paid it no mind. The deeper one's comprehension of the Dao, the easier the fusion. This time, he would forge his way through and see just how deep his comprehension ran, and how much of the Brush Dao he could assimilate! After a brief rest to recover his strength, Su Yu stepped into the chasm. From the void between the main current and the tributary came an immense gravitational pull, threatening to drag Su Yu into an endless abyss. "Break!" Su Yu bellowed, blood and vitality surging to the heavens. He was already exceedingly powerful, and with the appearance of the Brush Dao combat technique, his presence was terrifying. Now, this was merely Dao fusion; powerful though this Dao might be, it could not hold Su Yu back! Su Yu transformed into a giant and strode forward! Rumble! The Brush Dao combat technique carved a path ahead, while his Human Lord Seal manifested to suppress the surging waves! The Civilization Chronicle swept across, repelling the incoming streams of rule power! "Today, I'm merging with this Dao, no matter what!" Su Yu snorted. 'You think you can stop me?' 'I insist on crossing in the flesh! King Wen may have been mighty, but I am no weakling either. This is merely a Dao he left behind, and I'm only merging with it, not snapping it in half—how dare you try to block me?' Rumble! Relying on his formidable physique, he forced his way forward step by step, treading into the Brush Dao. After an unknown span of time, another thunderous roar reverberated! Su Yu's feet had crossed the chasm, officially stepping onto the Brush Dao. He had merged with the Dao! Yes, at this very moment, Su Yu's Dao fusion was a success. Boundless rule power—the unique rule power belonging to the Brush Dao—instantly poured into Su Yu's body, flooding his mind with countless insights. Within the divine character combat technique, the "↑" divine character frenziedly drained the strength of every other character, reducing them to dullness, while the rule power of the Brush Dao surged from the tributary into the "↑" character, strengthening it. The "↑" character grew stronger and stronger! Sharp beyond measure, Su Yu grasped the divine character and gave it a wave. Had he been in the outside world, the void itself might have shattered. "Incredible!" Incalculable rule power flooded Su Yu's body—both tempering him and resisting him! 'You cannot advance any further!' The mighty rule power held him back; even if he could absorb it, there were limits. Su Yu paid no heed. His flesh was being reinforced, his Heavenly Gate Aperture strengthened, rendering his vision ever clearer. His body became increasingly crystal-clear and translucent. His sea of will underwent an earth-shattering transformation. Dao fusion attained! He pressed forward with difficulty. Dao fusion was merely the beginning; he wanted to push farther, to command even more rule power, more of the Brush Dao's might. At the same time, the insights in his mind deepened. The traits of the Brush Dao! First, devastating lethal power—that went without question. Second, the Brush Dao possessed the trait of piercing through Daos. King Wen had loved using the Brush Dao to pierce other people's Daos. In truth, it was an Arrow Dao through and through, but since King Wen insisted it was the power of scholars, Su Yu wouldn't bother arguing. Third, the Brush Dao possessed the trait of engraving upon Daos. Su Yu wasn't entirely clear on this point yet, but he could faintly deduce something. Previously, King Wen had left behind some explanations along with the Sanctification Seal. He had told Su Yu that once Su Yu became sufficiently powerful, he could engrave confining characters onto the Martial Emperor's Great Dao to control the Martial Emperor—though of course, the Martial Emperor might backlash. "What a formidable Dao!" Su Yu was thrilled. If nothing else, its unstoppable piercing power alone was more than enough to satisfy him! The broad Dao continuously consumed his energy while channeling power into him, all while resisting his forward march. Attempting to keep him from advancing far! Clutching the arrow divine character, Su Yu pushed forward. With every step, his power blanketed another inch of the tributary, bringing a portion of its power under his control. Such was the law of rules, the defining mark of the Eternal Realm. Su Yu had officially entered the present-day Eternal Realm—what had formerly been known as the Dao Fusion Realm. Or calling it the ancient Eternal Realm worked just as well. Monopolizing this Great Dao all to himself was hardly any different from having forged it on his own. …… And the moment Su Yu stepped onto the tributary... Across the entire All-Heavens Battlefield, beings seemed to catch sight of something—a brush. Yes, once again, a brush. Far clearer than before! Previously, people had only felt a faint premonition, but at this moment, certain powerful experts could actually see it. Over at the Eastern Rift Valley. King Dazhou looked up as well, divine light bursting from his eyes as he stared at the sky. Faintly, he saw a brush spanning the heavens. And at the base of the brush, there was a figure! Perhaps it was merely his imagination, but he knew it might well be real. Su Yu... seemed to have attained the Dao! And reality quickly corroborated it. Rule power surged across the entire All-Heavens Battlefield. No one knew whether it had come to punish Su Yu or reward him. Geniuses were always rewarded. Yet straying from the Three Bodies method brought punishment. "Su Yu... with this success, I fear he can truly battle Dao Integration experts now, can't he?" King Dazhou murmured to himself. Su Yu had been able to battle Dao Integration experts before, but only by borrowing external strength. Once this was over, Su Yu might truly be able to fight a Dao Integration expert relying solely on his own might. It was a monumental metamorphosis. King Dazhou did not know whether to rejoice or worry. Once Su Yu attained the Dao, the myriad races would truly be unable to sit still. A great war was on the verge of erupting! …… In the Immortal Realm. King Fu saw nothing, feeling only a sense of oppression. Tiangu, however, saw a glimpse. His phantom projected outside the Immortal Realm, gazing up at the sky, head raised, speechless for a long time. Too fast! How long had it been? Had Su Yu... inherited King Wen's Dao? That Dao seemed to be King Wen's. "Dao fusion..." Tiangu murmured. Su Yu was likely still within the River of Time, but when he emerged, he would be a genuine Eternal! Above Tiangu's head, an immensely thick Great Dao faintly manifested as well. That was the Immortal Emperor Great Dao! Tiangu's eyes were conflicted as he muttered, "Immortal Emperor..." Was he dead? No! He had a lingering premonition: the Immortal Emperor wasn't dead yet! As long as the Immortal Emperor lived, Tiangu could never become a Lord of Rules—unless he walked a different Dao. Of course, he could still strengthen himself now. But how? It was no simple task. Some Dao Integration experts of the Immortal race would have to die—specifically, those who walked the Immortal Emperor Great Dao. Over the years, very few had walked that path, as Tiangu had ostracized them all. Or they were already dead! Thoughts flashed through his mind one after another. Gazing toward the realms of the gods and demons, Tiangu felt they could wait no longer! Was their current strength enough? Himself, Jiwu, Moyue, Moji, the Phoenix Emperor, the Nether Emperor, the Ape Emperor, the Heavenly Dragon Marquis, King Fu, the Abyss Marquis, Marquis Jiantian, and Duobao—all told, that was twelve Dao Integration experts! Yet... Duobao and Marquis Jiantian's allegiances were uncertain. "And the God race... is it just Jiwu? Have the two God race Dao Integration experts born in the previous tide all departed?" Tiangu murmured. King Fu had said he didn't know the exact situation either; the God race had little interaction with them, so could they still be around? Things could not go on like this! "Furthermore, the Fate Emperor hasn't made a move." Tiangu calculated for a moment, then thought of several ancient races that hadn't taken part in the previous battle. Some hadn't made it in time because they were still in slumber, waking only after the battle had concluded. Others had hesitated, and once several Dao Integration experts were killed, they chose to retreat. "The old fossil of the Three-Headed Demonic Wolf race shouldn't be dead yet." "The old fellow of the Golden Crow race is still alive as well." "And the old specter of the Kunpeng race is still around!" Tiangu took stock: of those he knew of, there were still four Dao Integration experts in the myriad realms who had yet to act. The Fate race, the Three-Headed Demonic Wolves, the Golden Crows, and the Kunpeng. These were all ancient races, and all formidable. The Fate Emperor was hard to predict, but the other three were similar to the Hou and Golden-Winged Peng—small in population, but their continuous survival testified to their might. "How will these three races choose?" Would they support the humans, or stand united with them? "Su Yu is tyrannical. In the previous tide, these three races all had blood feuds with humanity... They should understand that submitting to Su Yu won't end well for them!" Even excluding the Fate race, if he rallied those three Dao Integration experts, and if the God race was hiding another, that would make sixteen Dao Integration experts! A battle against the humans was still very winnable. The humans hadn't revealed that many Dao Integration experts yet. Tiangu's thoughts spun rapidly as he continued looking at the sky. He didn't know where Su Yu was attaining the Dao, making it impossible to intercept. The times had changed. He could only watch helplessly! Tiangu's gaze turned chillingly cold as he looked toward the other realms. Given Su Yu's strength and talent, once he merged with the Dao, he might possess the power to battle Dao Integration experts. If they didn't stop him, as Su Yu grew ever stronger, they might never survive until the Upper Realm opened! The next instant, Tiangu's phantom flew toward the God Realm—not just one, but over a dozen phantoms. He would contact all sides in person! Right at that moment, the void cracked open. Two fur-balls stared hungrily at the phantoms, longing to eat them; these were Tiangu's will avatars, and they ought to taste quite delicious. Tiangu's voice rang out, cold and harsh: "If you hinder me, I will slaughter you sooner or later!" "Pfft!" Doubao scoffed in disdain and shot through the void to catch those avatars. He wasn't afraid in the slightest. With a crisp crunch, several avatars vanished down Doubao's gullet. But the next instant, Doubao's expression warped violently. "Ptui, ptui, ptui!" "Tiangu, you villain, you're dead! How dare you trick me!" Doubao was furious! Disgusting! It reeked! Tiangu had deliberately set a trap for him. Tiangu said nothing. Against the likes of Doubao, this tactic worked wonders. If you eat everything, well, poisoning you might be hard, but grossing you out was child's play. Sure enough, utterly revolted, Doubao gave up hunting the remaining avatars. They smelled terrible. Nauseating! In truth, Tiangu's transmissions couldn't be stopped anyway. Doubao had merely wanted to grab a quick snack, only for Tiangu's avatars to taste like dung, disgusting him to death. The mother ball on the side sighed in relief: 'Thank goodness I didn't eat them!' …… Tiangu ignored them, his avatars swiftly penetrating the territories of various realms. At the same time, Dao Integration experts of each realm made their appearances one after another. A council of experts began deliberating. It was too late to stop Su Yu from attaining the Dao. Su Yu's Dao attainment differed from everyone else's. No one had even seen where he was; the guy had plunged directly into the River of Time to do it, making him nearly impossible to intercept. Now, their only option was to find ways to suppress the growth of the Human Realm. A decisive battle with the Human Realm right now was not Tiangu's goal. Fought before the Upper Realm opened, a final showdown would inflict catastrophic casualties, likely leading to the deaths of numerous Dao Integration experts. However, they had to suppress him or kill his allies. Such as the two balls, June, or the Hou Emperor. Cut down some of Su Yu's allies! Weaken his strength! Keep the balance intact until the Upper Realm opened. …… The myriad races were growing restless. Meanwhile, Su Yu was struggling along the Brush Dao, forcibly breaking through to take control of more rule power. He didn't even know how long he had been walking! All he knew was that this tributary was long. Endlessly long! Just how long had that fellow King Wen forged this Dao? Still, he had a rough sense of his progress. Reaching a certain threshold of Dao fusion brought a progression, which was the basis for the division into nine tiers of the Eternal Realm. At this moment, Su Yu seemed to have bridged three chasms! Which meant Su Yu was effectively at the fourth tier of the Eternal Realm! For setting foot upon this Dao made him a first-tier Eternal to begin with. "Fourth tier?" "Roughly thirty percent Dao fusion..." Su Yu thought to himself, gritting his teeth as he pushed ahead. 'Formidable as I am, I could only achieve around thirty percent fusion? This Brush Dao is absurdly strong.' Su Yu felt that his current strength definitely exceeded that of an ordinary Dao Integration expert! Even if not top-tier, he was at least mid-tier among them, right? And yet that only amounted to the fourth tier of the Eternal Realm? He walked on and on, but his energy drained too rapidly. The Brush Dao divine character gradually dimmed, its internal rule power almost completely exhausted; his consumption had outstripped the Dao's replenishment! "I'm afraid I can't keep going!" Su Yu sighed. His Dao fusion for now would have to end here. If he pressed on until he was completely drained, it would be difficult to escape the River of Time, not to mention that tribulations might await him once outside. He couldn't afford to overextend himself! "Passable, though it's a pity I didn't even reach the arrowhead..." Su Yu had a hunch that reaching the junction of the arrowhead would correspond to the Dao Integration Realm of the Brush Dao! That would require at least ninety percent Dao fusion. To reach Dao Integration, Su Yu would need to travel twice the distance he had just covered—an impossible task right now. "Never mind, I'll return later! Once I've accumulated enough foundation, I'll push forward again!" Fourth-tier Eternal! That was plenty good. Commanding just thirty percent of the Brush Dao's rule power, Su Yu felt he was already far superior to some Dao Integration experts. "Time to go!" Su Yu quickly retraced his steps. Retreating posed no pressure at all, as the path behind him had already been brought under his control. Before long, Su Yu stepped out of the tributary. His body was vastly more formidable than before! He crossed back across the chasm with effortless ease. Stepping back into the River of Time, Su Yu did not retrace his original path. Instead, he forcibly tore open a rift right where he stood, intending to set an anchor here so he wouldn't have to cross immense distances every time he came to cultivate his Dao fusion. "I've probably traveled beyond the Five Elements Realm!" Su Yu had no idea what lay outside, but who cared? It certainly wouldn't be anywhere like the Immortal Realm. When King Wen forged his Dao, he wouldn't have done it in the territory of the immortals, demons, or gods; it was either in the Human Realm or the All-Heavens Battlefield. …… On the All-Heavens Battlefield. Within the River of Time invisible to mortal eyes, a small slit was gradually torn open. Dark clouds gathered! The next moment, a formidable figure emerged. Rumble! In an instant, the void filled with dark clouds as blood clouds coalesced. Nearby, golden clouds formed as well. Punishment and reward arrived together! Su Yu had attained the Dao, but not through the Three Bodies method. This was not the first time Su Yu had witnessed such a scene. Looking at it now, he could faintly discern elements of the Human Sovereign's Dao principles! Simultaneously, from all directions, gaze after gaze swept toward him! Countless eyes locked onto Su Yu! Many among them were itching to move. Tiangu's avatars were in the midst of conferring with others. Seeing Su Yu suddenly materialize on the All-Heavens Battlefield, he urgently said to the various Dao Integration experts, "This might be our chance. Watch him closely—if he's gravely wounded by the blood tribulation, we can..." Before he could finish, Su Yu unleashed a sudden roar above the All-Heavens Battlefield! "How insolent! A mere councilman's rules dare punish me?" Boom! The Human Lord Seal materialized, smashing into the blood clouds with a deafening boom. Simultaneously, a brush appeared in Su Yu's hand, stabbing straight into the blood clouds! Crash! A colossal blast reverberated across the heavens. Before the eyes of all the realms' mighty experts, Su Yu suppressed the blood tribulation with one seal and pierced the blood clouds with one brush stroke. The dispersing punitive rule power spilled out in massive waves, only for Su Yu to swallow it whole in a single gulp, replenishing his spent reserves! As for the golden clouds, no congratulatory proclamations rang out this time. In the eyes of the ancient experts, Dao fusion was merely the beginning; Su Yu's next major realm breakthrough would be the realm of a Lord of Rules! Su Yu paid no mind, devouring a vast swath of golden clouds in another gulp! He had no wish to become entangled with the rule power, and he didn't exploit it for extra perks this time! Because Su Yu knew that with his current strength, leeching too much could easily cause the Gate of the Upper Realm to open prematurely. It was originally estimated at eight years, but if Su Yu kept siphoning power, that timeframe might be drastically shortened! He ended the matter swiftly, giving the myriad races no chance to mount an attack, displaying overwhelming might right off the bat. Attaining the Dao was merely a starting point—nothing worth getting worked up over. 'You can't hurt me!' 'Don't even dream of teaming up against me right now!' Su Yu swallowed the skies like a leviathan. Whether blood clouds or golden clouds, all were swiftly devoured! A terrifying aura erupted from Su Yu! Looking down upon heaven and earth and sweeping his gaze across the realms, before the horrified stares of countless onlookers, Su Yu said coldly, "Tiangu, be a good boy and stay in your home realm! What can a paltry rule punishment do to me? I merely attained the Dao—did you plan on ambushing me like before?" The myriad realms were struck dumb. "Merely attained the Dao!" He made it sound so casual. And this wasn't an ordinary Dao attainment; it had triggered punitive rules across the heavens, meaning Su Yu had rejected the Three Bodies path. Such individuals had existed in the past, but nine times out of ten, they perished during Dao attainment, and those who survived were severely crippled by the rule power! Yet this time, everyone was left speechless. Su Yu's way of handling the rule punishment was too effortless—he had simply gulped it down! Tiangu had just been about to propose that if Su Yu was gravely injured, they could strike together to kill him, but now... forget it. It was completely pointless. Su Yu was completely unscathed! Attaining the Dao was indeed straightforward for Su Yu, as all the groundwork had already been laid. …… In the Dragon Realm and the Fate Realm. The two ancient marquises who had just descended to the lower realm both wore ugly expressions. The Brush Dao! The Human Lord of this generation had truly inherited King Wen's legacy. They wanted to curse out loud. King Wen's inheritance... had not appeared for nine whole tides, yet in this tide, it had actually surfaced! The people of the lower realm were absolute idiots! Did they have no idea how terrifying King Wen was? To allow King Wen's inheritor to grow up, become the Human Lord, and now even attain the Dao—a bunch of useless trash! The two ancient marquises cursed vehemently in their hearts, but there was nothing they could do. For at this moment, the figures of allied Dao Integration experts were already materializing near Su Yu. King Dazhou was drawing near as well. Unless they wanted to ignite a war across the heavens right now! In the distance, King Dazhou felt increasingly helpless. This Dao attainment... no human had ever attained the Dao so casually. It looked as if Su Yu had merely swatted away a few clouds, yet King Dazhou knew full well what terrifying power that demanded! Su Yu, meanwhile, was all smiles. At this moment, he felt the distinct difference of Dao fusion even more keenly! He seemed connected to the River of Time, linked to the Brush Dao. The next time he struck, he could wield the power of the Great Dao against his foes! "Average difficulty..." "The punishment and reward were average too. Looks like Dao fusion really is just a transition." "Still, since I merged with King Wen's Dao, certain top-tier experts ought to sense something, shouldn't they?" He wasn't referring to the lower realm, but the Upper Realm! Could they sense that he had merged with King Wen's Dao? Especially the Prison King lineage! Consort Xi was suppressed by him, but there were surely others in that lineage. They had been eyeing King Wen's inheritance all along—from King Jintian, to his father, to Consort Xi. All of them had been watching. Yet in the end, King Wen's Brush Dao had been passed down after all! And now that he had merged with the Dao, did the Upper Realm know? Su Yu looked up at the sky with a grin. Perhaps they did! 'Tell me, are you scared? Are you panicking?' …… The Upper Realm. Heavenly origin qi was extraordinarily dense, and the power of rules was exceptionally rich. In a desolate, uninhabited region. A palace suddenly materialized. Inside, someone looked up at the sky, vaguely glimpsing the phantom of that brush, their expression shifting slightly. "Something has happened in the myriad realms. King Wen's inheritance has appeared!" A murmur escaped that person's lips. The next moment, a voice came from deep within the palace: "What is going on down in the myriad realms? What is Ziyan doing?" "Many years ago, she sent word back that she was going to the Dead Spirit Realm... She might be unaware of this." "Ziyan's strength is peerless. I thought that with her in the outside world, she would never allow King Wen's inheritance to emerge... Who would have thought it would appear anyway?" The two conferred inside the palace. One of them spoke with a mixture of anger and helplessness. Ziyan was immensely powerful! With such a mighty figure present in the myriad realms, King Wen's inheritance should never have surfaced under ordinary circumstances. Even if she had paid it no mind before, now that the person had actually merged with the Dao, she ought to take notice! Soon, the voice from deep within the hall replied in a low tone, "Even if Ziyan didn't know before, she must be aware by now. She will handle it. Let us wait and see!" If it could be overlooked previously, it was utterly impossible to ignore now. The Brush Dao had been laid bare for all to see! If she still didn't notice that, Ziyan had lived her life in vain. Soon, both felt somewhat reassured. It wasn't a major issue; Ziyan was exceedingly powerful. If she had been negligent before, now that she knew, she would most likely eliminate this fellow quickly. King Wen, don't even dream of returning! …… And at this very moment, Ziyan—the Western Consort on whom they had pinned such high hopes... Was currently sealed beneath layers of heavy suppression! Consort Xi's sea of will was trapped inside a miniature world. She was conscious, but completely unable to sense anything in the outside world. Su Yu had thoroughly suppressed her within; not even a sliver of willpower could reach outside. Her Great Dao was entirely sealed! It was simply inconceivable. Consort Xi was utterly baffled: what manner of power could seal her to such a degree? What was happening out there right now? 'Curse you, Su Yu! You haven't contacted me even once. Are you in secluded cultivation?' Consort Xi cursed inwardly. Without communication and contact, how was she supposed to find Su Yu's flaws and subdue him? Everything needed a starting point. Now that Su Yu wouldn't even start, all her myriad schemes were useless! 'Are you not even a little bit curious about me?' Consort Xi thought fiercely. 'Sooner or later, you will come looking for me!' …… And at this moment, Su Yu was actually thinking of Consort Xi as well. He was indeed curious! Not about her as a person, but whether he could follow Consort Xi's Dao to directly lock onto every member of the Prison King's lineage and wipe them all out in one fell swoop! With the Dao's interconnections, all the Eternals among them might be caught in his grasp! "I wonder if I can slice her open to study her properly." "Can a Great Dao be sliced open?" Thoughts bubbled up in Su Yu's mind. Ignoring the other Dao Integration experts, he flew toward the Human Realm to gather people to relieve the city guards; he had no time to waste chattering with his enemies. He had been out for quite a while this time; he wondered if Tianzhu and the others had finished forging the weapons. Once the guards were relieved and a bit more time passed, Su Yu could launch a war that would sweep across the heavens. For now, he was primarily waiting for Jiu Yue to attain Dao Integration, for King Daqin and King Daxia to deepen their comprehension, and to see if King Daming had any hope of achieving Dao Integration. Once all of that was in place, he would strike before the myriad realms were fully prepared!