"Martial Emperor, don't push it!"
High in the void, Su Yu snapped, "Do you really think I have no way to deal with you? You haven't fully broken your seal yet, and I just didn't want to waste energy on you. If you keep this up, believe it or not, I'll muster every scrap of power I have to slaughter you first!"
The Martial Emperor snorted coldly and thrust a fist through the void. There was little Dao power behind it—his Dao was sealed—yet he had no need for Dao power. A mere phantom fist slammed out, rattling the Brush Dao!
"Slaughter me?" The Martial Emperor let out an eerie chuckle. "You're welcome to try!"
"So you really won't quit, will you?"
Su Yu suddenly produced a large seal. Radiant light erupted from it, making the phantom of the Martial Emperor freeze. Su Yu sneered, "Try making another move. Do you recognize what this is?"
The phantom stopped his fist, staring at Su Yu, then at the great seal in his grasp. After a long pause, he said chillingly, "The Dao of Sacred Transformation?"
Su Yu grunted. "Good, you recognize it. In your current state, can you withstand this? I just didn't care to waste it on you! Don't flatter yourself into thinking I can't touch you!"
The Martial Emperor's voice turned arctic. "It's a fine treasure. Unfortunately, at most it could only disrupt me a little. You can't break my physical body, nor can you sever my Dao. Worst comes to worst, it merely delays my unsealing a bit longer!"
Even so, he abandoned any thought of continuing to tangle with Su Yu.
Su Yu ignored him. The civilization chronicle unfurled, blanketing the surroundings. Countless severed strands of hair were drawn into it one after another.
The Martial Emperor looked furious. "What are you doing?"
"Putting waste to good use!" Su Yu replied blandly. "It's about time for a haircut anyway. Leaving these broken hairs around would only dirty the ground, so I'm doing you a favor and sweeping up."
The Martial Emperor's gaze turned chillingly cold as he glared at Su Yu. *Do you take me for a fool? That little bastard didn't stop at severing my hair; he actually wants to take it away as materials for weapon forging? Despicable! Infuriating!* In the Martial Emperor's eyes, the first person who deserved death was Taishan, and the second was this Su Yu. The boy was detestable—and worse, completely shameless!
Su Yu ignored him, secretly astonished. That had only been a projection of the Martial Emperor, void of Dao power. The phantom had merely tapped into some aperture strength, yet had managed to fight him to a draw.
Su Yu did not dare claim he had reached the Heavenly King tier, but wielding the Brush Dao now, his strength ranked well above average among Dao Integration experts. If he had to draw a comparison, he was likely on par with the Hou Emperor.
None of these ancient Half-Emperors were weak.
The first tier was the Heavenly King level.
The second tier consisted of Old Turtle, Tiangu, Marquis Jiantian, King Dazhou, and Doubao—all of whom could be considered peak Dao Integration experts, though Doubao was slightly weaker.
The third tier was comparable to King Daqin, King Daxia, Jiwu, and Moji.
The fourth tier comprised the likes of the Hou Emperor and the Phoenix Emperor.
The fifth tier had figures like Moyue and Tianmie.
There was also a sixth tier: newly advanced Dao Integration experts or certain dead spirit marquises.
Naturally, there were variations within each tier. Old Turtle was significantly stronger than Doubao, a being truly on the cusp of the Heavenly King level.
Su Yu was amazed that a mere projection of the Martial Emperor could contend with him without even using Dao power. If he could tap into his Dao, wouldn't his might be unimaginable? Could his Dao power even be used? Or was it completely sealed? Or perhaps, once he used it, would he be sealed back into a dazed stupor? None of this was easy to ascertain. Because the other had not used Dao power, Su Yu could not locate where his Dao lay.
Turning these thoughts over in his mind, Su Yu paid the Martial Emperor no further heed and turned to look at the crowd absorbing rule power. When he did, he paused in surprise.
Beside him, Marquis Lanshan, Hetu, and Marquis Tongtian quickly caught up. By now, they could all clearly see the Martial Emperor's phantom—it was no longer invisible as before. Wary and solemn, they formed a protective ring around Su Yu.
Su Yu said nothing to them, turning to Shanqi and the others in mild disbelief. "How did you pull this off?"
He had assumed that fighting Cangshan Ming would cost at least a few lives, no matter what. Even if they won, casualties were inevitable. Su Yu had mentally prepared himself for three to five deaths as normal, and even seven or eight would have been understandable. But... not a single one had fallen? What was going on?
Indeed, it seemed not one had died. Although all twenty-seven guardians were injured—some quite severely—and currently absorbing rule power to recover, surviving was surviving. Heavy injuries were nothing to fear.
*How is that possible?*
Su Yu found it hard to believe. He glanced at Marquis Lanshan and the others. "Did you step in?"
Seeing Su Yu's gaze, Marquis Tongtian hurriedly said, "Emperor Yu, we didn't lift a finger! Don't look at us like that—looking like that means you suspect we interfered! We really didn't. We follow your orders to the letter, so please don't overthink it..."
Su Yu frowned. "Get to the point!"
Marquis Tongtian shut his mouth instantly. Beside him, Hetu chuckled and spoke up: "It had little to do with us. Something went wrong with Cangshan Ming during the battle."
"Went wrong?" Su Yu asked, perplexed. "What went wrong?"
Hetu answered quickly, "Not just him—for a split second, everyone experienced a minor issue, though it vanished immediately! We weren't fighting, so it didn't affect us much. Something probably went wrong with the Dead Spirit Dao. Suddenly, our vision went black..."
*Vision went black?*
Su Yu was thoroughly baffled. How could that be? At their level of power, their vision had gone black? What blackness could possibly overcome them? The Dead Spirit Dao was already dark enough; what could possibly black out dead spirits?
He had entered in a rush earlier and hadn't asked the Southern King about their situation. Hearing this now, he could not help but frown. In the midst of battle, their vision had suddenly blacked out? What had caused that?
Marquis Lanshan had felt it as well and said, "Yes, our vision went dark for an instant. Since our Daos weren't fluctuating heavily, the impact wasn't severe. But Cangshan Ming was locked in a brutal struggle and heavily injured. If he experienced what we did, his six senses might have been blocked in a flash! As for the specifics, we aren't entirely sure."
While they were unclear, the Martial Emperor let out an eerie, mocking laugh. "Merely a Dao disturbance! A parasite seized the moment to secretly siphon off Dao power!"
"A parasite?" Su Yu turned toward him.
The Martial Emperor sneered, "Who else does such things but you so-called Civilization Masters? A pack of shameless scoundrels—is there anything you won't do? Secretly opening a tributary atop a Great Dao, attempting to steal the main river's power and usurp the host... It isn't the first time your kind has pulled this!"
Su Yu pondered, his eyes flickering. *A tributary... Treating the Dead Spirit Great Dao as the River of Time, opening a tributary atop it to steal power and usurp the Dao!*
He understood!
Su Yu's eyes gleamed. "The Ink Dao?"
"The Ink Dao?" The Martial Emperor considered it and sneered. "So it really is that Dao. Back before I was sealed, I heard vague mentions of it, though I never saw it! I wondered who possessed such capability—turns out it was him! The Ink Dao... quite a method! Siphoning rule power from the Dead Spirit Great Dao, attempting to take control of it?"
It was the Ink Dao!
Su Yu was largely certain. It was King Wen's legacy—the Ink Dao. And remarkably, the Ink Dao wasn't connected to the River of Time!
All Daos, aside from the Dead Spirit Great Dao and the Time Master's Time Dao, were tributaries opened off the River of Time. But this time, King Wen had treated the Dead Spirit Great Dao as if it were the River of Time, actually carving out a tributary atop it! Was such a tributary strong? Certainly not!
That was Su Yu's assessment. However, this Dao served a purpose: it stole power from the Dead Spirit Great Dao to usurp the host. Its ultimate aim was nothing less than seizing control of the Dead Spirit Great Dao!
In other words, if someone relied on this Ink Dao to master a Dao and become a Rule Master, even if they succeeded, they would be weak—perhaps the weakest of all Rule Masters, because it was anchored not to the River of Time, but to the Dead Spirit River! No matter how formidable the Dead Spirit Great Dao was, it could not compare to the River of Time!
Other Daos were secondary branches; the Ink Dao was a tertiary branch, closer to the virtual Daos collected in the Time Book.
In that moment, countless thoughts raced through Su Yu's mind.
*Did Liu Hong integrate with the Dao? Did Cangshan Ming's intense Dao fluctuations give that fellow an opening to siphon rule power from the Dead Spirit Great Dao, or draw that energy to bolster his tributary? Was it Liu Hong? If so, that was astonishingly fast!*
Su Yu was secretly stunned. The Ink Dao was a Dao of the dead spirit realm—perhaps its only tributary. Was that it? He hadn't seen it himself; had he, he would have felt something. The Martial Emperor likely had, as Cangshan Ming had been fighting right here.
Su Yu thought through this, then sneered, "Usurping the host? Siphoning power? Shameless scoundrels? Laughable! In this world, who isn't siphoning power from the River of Time? Martial Emperor, sometimes your naivety is almost endearing! If the River of Time is itself a Great Dao, tell me, have you never stolen power from it? Yet you have the nerve to mock this and sneer at that! If we treat the Dead Spirit River like the River of Time, then the Ink Dao is simply the very first Dao opened atop it!"
"Back then, when the Lord of Dead Spirits created the dead spirit realm, did he do it just so everyone would merge into his Dao? Did he not think of creating his own River of Time, so countless people could carve tributaries from his Dao, just like the River of Time? Since he possessed such ambition, someone opening a Dao atop his is an acknowledgment of his greatness. What do you know!"
Su Yu curled his lip. The Martial Emperor gave a cold laugh. "Whatever you can see, I can see as well! Those two are entirely different concepts! The Daos on the River of Time are merely branches, whereas this Dao seeks to supplant the host..."
Su Yu chuckled. "How childish! If I could control the River of Time, I'd supplant the host too! Martial Emperor, the fact that you never had such thoughts only proves your incompetence and your narrow horizon! You only care about your own little plot of land. Your grandest ambition is probably just to expand your Dao to the scale of the Physical Body Dao, isn't it?"
The Martial Emperor's face darkened, but he said nothing.
Su Yu mocked, "Looks like I hit the mark! The greatest ambition of your entire life was probably just to catch up to King Wu. You likely thought that matching his Dao would be enough. An even loftier dream would have been expanding your Dao until it was as vast as the Physical Body Dao. In your whole life, you've probably never even imagined creating an entirely separate Dao, have you?"
The Martial Emperor stared at Su Yu for a long while before chuckling softly. "A newborn calf fears no tiger; youth is always arrogant. When I was young, I shared that dream. When I first opened the Heavenly Gate, I too believed no one under heaven was my match! I believed that sooner or later, I would rule the River of Time, and all Daos would submit to me!"
He, too, had been a peerless prodigy of his era. How many people had ever opened the Heavenly Gate? Seeing the River of Time and the myriad diverging Daos for the first time, who hadn't thought, *I will become the master of this river*? But only after truly opening a Dao and trying to strengthen it did one realize the sheer, staggering difficulty!
The Martial Emperor smiled faintly. "Right now, you are merely walking someone else's Dao, Su Yu. Once you master this Brush Dao, then try figuring out how to strengthen it and devour the River of Time! Only then will you understand... how childish, how laughable your thoughts today truly are! A mantis trying to stop a chariot, overestimating its own strength!"
He had passed through this arrogant phase himself. Once Su Yu took a few beatings from reality, he would understand why the Martial Emperor no longer entertained such notions.
Su Yu did not argue. Certain matters were difficult to dispute. Ideas were wonderful and dreams were magnificent, but after tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years without making an inch of progress, even the proudest spirit would be ground down.
The Martial Emperor's pride had clearly been worn away!
Still, Su Yu had learned a few things. The Ink Dao had been claimed—or rather, someone had integrated with it. That cunning bastard Liu Hong had seized the opportunity, sensing the violent ripples in Cangshan Ming's Dao, and secretly siphoned off Dao power!
*Crafty rogue, as always! Last time he lied to me, saying he was just fetching a key, and that the treasure was on the ninth floor of the Star Residence Mansion!* Su Yu cursed inwardly. Still, by stealing that power, the fellow had inadvertently saved the guardians.
As for whether this would undermine the guardians' Dao heart... nonsense. It was an accident. An unexpected mishap during a life-and-death clash that neither side had anticipated was hardly the same as having a nanny hold their hands. Even Su Yu hadn't foreseen it.
What puzzled Su Yu even more was: wouldn't the Ink Dao be able to influence many dead spirits? The Ink Dao had tainted the Dead Spirit Great Dao. Earlier, the Southern King had mentioned that resurrection was linked to the Daos of brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Su Yu now wondered whether the Ink Dao could actually strip away the Daos merged by dead spirit experts.
If so, Liu Hong could truly be considered a dead spirit slayer! Against dead spirits, he certainly had a trick up his sleeve!
*Still... I don't know what his situation really is. I always feel like he has his own agenda.* Su Yu muttered inwardly, then looked back at the guardians still absorbing power, breathing a slight sigh of relief.
A great outcome!
Destiny was on his side!
At the crucial moment, Cangshan Ming had some of his Dao power siphoned away, causing him to lose his six senses. In a life-or-death battle, losing one's senses meant certain death!
Su Yu glanced at the shattered dead spirit imprint nearby, his eyes shifting. "General Shanqi, may I distribute Cangshan Ming's dead spirit imprint and his remnant body to the dead spirits?"
Shanqi, who was healing, opened his eyes promptly and said solemnly, "Emperor Yu may allocate them as you see fit. Had Emperor Yu not granted us this chance, Cangshan Ming would have been killed long ago!"
"Then you have my thanks!"
With a beckoning wave, a crystal-clear imprint flew into Su Yu's hand. He waved his hand again, and the civilization chronicle absorbed the surroundings, instantly drawing in the black blood, death qi, Dao body fragments, and other remnants. A moment later, the debris in Su Yu's hands condensed into three drops of essence blood.
One imprint, three drops of essence blood—all from a Heavenly King-level expert.
In addition, Su Yu still held a drop of the Eastern King's blood and a drop of the Western King's blood. In total, he had five drops of essence blood and one imprint.
He looked at Hetu and Marquis Lanshan. Marquis Lanshan was not weak, but her natural talent was somewhat lacking. Hetu, on the other hand, had great aptitude; if Hetu devoured these, he might take another step forward. Even if he didn't reach the Heavenly King tier, he could likely enter the third or second tier. Dead spirits progressed comparatively easily.
At this moment, Marquis Lanshan was roughly on par with Su Yu, stronger than average dead spirit marquises, sitting near the upper fourth tier and close to the third tier—likely a bit weaker than King Daqin and the others.
Who should receive them?
Su Yu could keep them for himself, but he preferred that one of these two advance further, seizing some power from the Dead Spirit Great Dao to prevent the Northern King's faction from continually growing stronger or birthing an even more terrifying being!
After a moment's hesitation, Su Yu gave everything to Marquis Lanshan. "Absorb these. Even if you don't reach the Heavenly King tier, deepening your comprehension of the Dead Spirit Dao will surely push you into the top tier of Dao Integration!"
From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Hetu, who didn't seem to mind.
Marquis Lanshan wasn't foolish either. After a moment of silence, she said, "Your Majesty should give them to Hetu! His aptitude surpasses mine, he improves faster, and he has a greater chance of becoming the next Heavenly King..."
Su Yu said coolly, "Do not question my words! Hetu will have his chances later. Consume them—quickly! While the Great Dao is still trembling, it's the best time to comprehend and devour them! We have many battles ahead; today was merely an appetizer!"
Marquis Lanshan struggled internally for a moment, but ultimately accepted all the essence blood and the imprint. Hesitating, she asked, "Will Your Majesty not keep a few drops?"
Su Yu smiled. "No need!"
"Then..."
"Absorb them, cultivate, and stop wasting words!"
"Understood!"
Marquis Lanshan sat cross-legged and began devouring the essence blood and the dead spirit imprint.
Hetu remained silent, and Su Yu said nothing more. Beside them, however, Marquis Tongtian rolled his eyes and said with a grin, "Emperor Yu is wise! One look at Hetu and you know he has too many schemes and a petty heart. Marquis Lanshan has a good heart and is loyal!"
"..."
Su Yu glared at him. "You have a mouth, so use it properly. Otherwise, believe it or not, I'll make sure you don't have one anymore?"
Marquis Tongtian gave a dry laugh. *Wasn't I just trying to lighten the mood? Did I strike a nerve? Fine, I won't expose him.* He quickly consoled Hetu, "Little Hetu, don't worry, your turn will come next time. Your ancestor King Gong would be thrilled to know this. Speaking of which, your ancestor King Gong loved chatting with me back in the day—we once talked for an entire year straight! Once Emperor Yu unifies the realm, how about you and I become neighbors again?"
"..."
Hetu felt exhausted. *I don't even want to acknowledge you—can you just shut up? My ancestor loved chatting with you? He must have been terribly idle, unimaginably bored!*
Meanwhile, among the guardians, the Dao power of one individual surged. A wave of rule power rippled through the air. Moments later, Shanqi, who had already been formidable, fully recovered from his injuries. Furthermore, a Great Dao manifested above his head.
Dao power belonging to Shanqi swiftly climbed upward. In the blink of an eye, it leaped across a chasm, his aura transforming. He had achieved Dao Integration!
The moment he integrated with the Dao, Shanqi stepped out of the pillar of light and flew toward Su Yu, bowing low. "Shanqi of the Spirit Suppressing Army greets Your Majesty! I have achieved Dao Integration—many thanks for Your Majesty's grace!"
A smile broke across Su Yu's face!
"No need to thank me. You killed Cangshan Ming yourselves, so you earned substantial rewards—even more than Tianmie and the others received, since they never managed to kill a Heavenly King."
Shanqi said nothing; that had been a different circumstance.
Su Yu looked toward the others and asked, "How many do you think can achieve Dao Integration?"
Shanqi glanced over and said, "Besides me, probably about five others—those who were stuck at the ninth stage before! The other brothers only just reached the ninth stage; achieving Dao Integration will be exceedingly difficult for them!"
Su Yu nodded. Besides Shanqi, five other guardians had previously been at the ninth stage: Didang, Zhanqiong, Zhouchi, Shuangying, and Huangji. According to Shanqi, only those five had a shot at advancing.
Shanqi added with a hint of regret, "Changping didn't come. Otherwise, Changping and Haizang were also at the ninth stage and had a real chance of advancing!"
Among the five guardians who had departed, two had been at the ninth stage and quite formidable. Had they come, those two would have had an immense probability of advancing.
Su Yu said nothing.
To each their own. Achieving Dao Integration brought greater strength, but also far greater danger and stronger enemies to face.
Su Yu waited quietly.
The outcome was entirely within expectations. The other twenty-one guardians merely solidified their ninth-stage cultivation without advancing, whereas Zhanqiong and the other four all achieved Dao Integration. A single Cangshan Ming had produced six Dao Integration experts—a remarkable haul!
At this point, the guardian faction alone, counting Old Turtle, possessed ten Dao Integration experts and twenty-one ninth-stage powerhouses!
In the Southern King's faction, aside from the Southern King herself, there were ten dead spirit marquises.
Counting Hetu and his companions alongside Marquis Lanshan, two new dead spirit marquises had been born outside. Added to the previous three, plus Hetu and Marquis Lanshan, that made seven dead spirit marquises.
Across the entire dead spirit realm, including the Southern King, there were eighteen dead spirit marquises—no, Xia Chen had likely advanced as well, bringing the total to nineteen!
*On the human side, there are King Dazhou, King Daxia, King Daqin, and Tianyue. King Daming entered earlier, and I feel he's nearly there; if he advances, the human race will have five Dao Integration experts!*
*The two fur-balls and Fat Ball—three in total—the Ancient Spatial Beast, the Hou race, Liu Yue, Jiu Yue, and the Primordial Giant make another ten.*
*If Big Wood attains spirit form, plus Marquis Tongtian, that's two more.*
Adding it all up across both life and death, excluding Su Yu himself, the Dao Integration forces under his command numbered up to forty-four!
Of course, some could not be deployed freely. Marquis Tongtian could not leave, and dead spirits were ill-suited for action in the living realm. Even so, Su Yu could not help but sigh with emotion.
From a time when a single Dao Integration expert was impossible to find, to now, where Dao Integration combatants kept emerging under his banner... though still far behind the upper realm, he could finally see hope!
The other twenty-one guardians might also have a chance to advance later, especially since they had captured several dead spirit marquises.
Additionally, while the Five Elements race had no Dao Integration experts, their two combined formations were each comparable to one!
Pondering this, Su Yu said, "We still have several captured dead spirit marquises. Even though captured foes yield fewer rewards, let's give it a try. Don't spread the rewards thin—concentrate them on one person to see if we can push them into Dao Integration! At the same time, once the marquises are killed, their imprints can be fed to Marquis Lanshan. I wonder if that will push her into the Heavenly King tier!"
Having captured several, Su Yu believed slaying them might grant one more guardian an advancement. True, they had hoped to advance through the crucible of combat, experiencing life and death—but hadn't they already experienced that? Slaying dead spirit marquises now was merely topping off their rule power. It was worth a shot!
Soon, Su Yu teleported out.
When he teleported back in, the Star Residence Mansion had practically become his backyard; he came and went as he pleased. The Martial Emperor hadn't wanted to let him in, but Su Yu's earlier display of the Sacred Transformation Seal had made him wary enough to look the other way.
Su Yu continued to extract rule power here. *Drain it all!* The more he drew, the greater the power he could wield!
...
Next came another round of slaughter!
Among the guardians, Doukou was assigned to deliver the killing blows. He had previously been at the eighth stage, later advancing to the ninth by killing monarchs, and had just absorbed a substantial amount of rule power rewarded from Cangshan Ming's death.
After slaying three marquises in succession, he still failed to advance—primarily because those marquises had been severely wounded, and captured dead spirit marquises were never in pristine condition. Only after slaying the fourth did Doukou finally achieve Dao Integration.
Yet he clearly felt slightly weaker than Shanqi and the others.
Left with no choice, Su Yu abandoned the idea of capturing more dead spirit marquises. Slaying too many risked triggering the awakening of stronger dead spirits, and more importantly, rewards for non-solo kills were simply too meager.
Some of his grand schemes fell flat; he would have to wait and see if they could slay powerful foes on their own later!
Still, gaining one more Dao Integration expert was already a tremendous boon!
However, a new problem arose: having broken their petrification arts, these guardians could no longer remain in the dead spirit realm. They needed to leave as soon as possible, as their living aura was far too potent without the petrification technique!
Su Yu had no desire to agitate the dead spirits in the Dead Spirit Heavenly River and awaken more ancient horrors.
...
Meanwhile, Marquis Lanshan had devoured numerous dead spirit marquis imprints along with the essence blood of several Heavenly Kings.
She had practically depleted Su Yu's entire stockpile of dead spirit treasures. After nearly a day of digestion, Marquis Lanshan finally regained consciousness. Having integrated much of that energy, her aura had surged noticeably.
To Su Yu, Marquis Lanshan now felt no weaker than King Daqin and his peers, even faintly approaching Old Turtle's level.
Yet... she still fell short of expectations.
Su Yu felt a twinge of regret. Marquis Lanshan had consumed so many treasures, yet reaching the Heavenly King tier would evidently require slow, painstaking grinding. Dead spirits had few paths to advancement: they had to have been mighty in life, possess extraordinary comprehension, or devour the imprints and essence blood of supreme experts. Marquis Lanshan's comprehension was average, and her mortal foundations were spent. Becoming a Heavenly King would depend entirely on whether she could devour more treasures in the future.
Su Yu lingered no longer; it was time to lead the guardians away.
He avoided teleporting out through the origin apertures, as appearing in the Starry Sea would draw too much attention. He chose to travel through the dead spirit realm instead. Though their living aura was dense and might provoke dormant experts to awaken, moving quickly enough would ensure few, if any, stirred.
...
After a period of rapid transit, Su Yu delivered all the guardians back to Hongmeng Ancient City.
At this moment, Hongmeng Ancient City had gathered an astonishing concentration of Dao Integration combatants. The grand array laid by the Western King's Consort on the perimeter was nearly strained to bursting by their sheer presence, even with everyone exercising restraint. King Daming was constantly reinforcing the formations! Had it not been for this, the myriad races would have detected them long ago. The aura of Dao Integration was simply too immense, and with so many present, the slightest leakage would cause tremors in the Great Dao.
At this moment, anyone attempting a surprise attack on Old Turtle would be walking straight into their own funeral! A single Heavenly King, two, or even three would be beaten to death on the spot!
...
While Su Yu continued amassing his strength, the myriad races were accelerating their own preparations.
Just as Su Yu returned the guardians to Hongmeng Ancient City, the immortal, demon, god, and other realms quietly arranged for large numbers of Sun and Moon cultivators to attempt Dao verification in utmost secrecy! They didn't care whether they succeeded or failed! It didn't matter! All that mattered was burning through massive amounts of rule power!
...
In the Destiny Realm.
The Fate Emperor furrowed his brows and once again ascended Destiny Mountain. The illusory passage in the sky was growing clearer by the moment, the punitive power within it gradually dissipating even as fresh punishment formed.
At that moment, Marquis Shenyuan fixed a chilling gaze upon the Fate Emperor and said in a low voice, "Wuming, this matter is of paramount importance. If you have nothing else to attend to, stay here with me and watch!"
The Fate Emperor frowned.
Marquis Shenyuan added darkly, "This is not my opinion alone, but the collective will of the gods, demons, immortals, dragons, nether, and phoenixes! No matter how strong the Destiny race is, you must weigh your actions carefully. If you claim neutrality... then remain properly neutral!"
The Fate Emperor said nothing.
He knew he could not leave, nor could he send any more secret messages. The moment he was discovered, catastrophe would follow! The various races had gone mad! They were burning through their racial foundations in secret, meaning vast numbers of Sun and Moon cultivators were undergoing Dao verification. This was no ordinary ascension; such an endeavor would inevitably cost the lives of hordes of peak Sun and Moon experts—not just one or two! Each race was likely sacrificing over a hundred peak Sun and Moon cultivators!
To trade such casualties for the descent of Dao Integration experts... if he exposed this, the myriad races would never let him off.
Meanwhile, thunderous roars echoed continuously through the void passage!
After a long while, two formidable figures, bearing minor injuries, descended from the sky. One billowed with monstrous demonic flames, while the other was shrouded in ethereal immortal qi! Powerhouses of the demon and immortal races!
Marquis Shenyuan took a look and was inwardly startled. He spoke at once: "Marquis Yunxing, Marquis Modang!"
Two ancient marquises!
He, too, was an ancient marquis, but the immortals and demons were immensely powerful. During the ancient era, their Dao Integration experts had been numerous, yet not all could be ennobled; only the most formidable among them had received the title of marquis! With every changing tide, the immortals and demons produced new Dao Integration experts, such as King Bing and King Fu. Yet compared to these ancient marquises, the gap was substantial. Even Marquis Tianlong, who had descended earlier, was inferior to these two.
This time, the ancient marquises of two major races had descended!
Never mind how Su Yu had routed the dead spirit marquises of the immortals and demons in the dead spirit realm—those had been dead men. The living were far stronger than the dead, to say nothing of those who had survived from antiquity to the present day.
The Fate Emperor was surprised. Nodding slightly to the two ancient marquises, he asked, "No powerhouse from the god race descended?"
The god race was remarkably low-profile. Both the immortals and demons now had three Dao Integration experts present. What were the gods thinking, leaving only Jiwu here?
The two ancient marquises glanced at him. Marquis Modang of the demon race sneered, "The god race? Those fools are waiting for us to deplete ourselves! A bunch of idiots! Never mind them—someone from their ranks will definitely descend next time! If no one comes down then, they can be wiped out for all we care!"
Turning to Marquis Shenyuan, he asked coldly, "Shall we march on the Human Realm now?"
"Out of the question!" Marquis Shenyuan said hastily. "Tiangu's intention is for you two to wait here first. Either we do not strike, or we strike with thunderous finality! We cannot let those fellows escape; it is best to wait for the upper realm to open! Our presence here is not to annihilate the human race right away, but to prevent them from acting like cornered beasts. Should any unexpected mishap occur, you will serve as the myriad races' trump card!"
Marquis Modang sneered, "Tiangu remains as timid as ever. If it were up to me, we would simply march over right now. How many people does the human race even have left in this tide? As for those assisting them, once the human experts are slain, the rest will scatter like dust!"
Beside him, Marquis Yunxing of the immortal race offered a faint smile. "What's the rush? Let them drag it out a little. Tiangu is prudent by nature; there's no need to be hasty! Besides, waiting gives the upper realm time to see if they can encircle and exterminate those few fellows. After stirring up trouble for so many years, it's about time to finish them all off!"
The Fate Emperor raised an eyebrow slightly. These two clearly knew more than the others. Not wishing to guess, he asked, "Seniors, how many human Dao Integration experts remain uneradicated?"
Marquis Yunxing smiled, appearing genial, and nodded slightly. "Only a few remnants, scattered and hiding in several treacherous domains. A few days ago, we finally killed Marquis Minshan, who had been on the run for years! The entire Minshan lineage has been wiped out! Marquis Minshan was no weakling, but alas... he couldn't hold out to the end!"
His smile was cold.
The Fate Emperor shuddered slightly. *Marquis Minshan is dead! This...*
Marquis Minshan was among the strongest surviving ancient human marquises, a powerhouse on par with Hongmeng. In the previous tide, he had been the greatest pillar supporting the Hundred Battles King, and one of the few top human marquises to flee to the upper realm! And he was dead?
The Fate Emperor was shaken to his core. With Marquis Minshan dead, even if a few human marquises still survived in the upper realm, did the human race truly stand any chance of turning the tide?
As he pondered this, Marquis Shenyuan was equally astonished. "Marquis Minshan was killed? Why didn't I hear of this?"
Marquis Yunxing replied with a mild smile, "We were worried the news would leak and cause the other remnants to flee, so we kept it quiet! Now that we've descended, it no longer matters."
Marquis Shenyuan fell silent for a moment, still reeling in shock. "With Marquis Minshan dead, the human race's roots in the upper realm are likely severed. In this tide, it seems... there truly will be no humans left!"
He sighed softly. "Marquis Minshan was a top-tier powerhouse who survived from antiquity. If even he has fallen, the extermination of the human race is only a matter of time."
Marquis Modang sneered, "An inevitable outcome! Minshan overestimated himself; after running for so many years, he still couldn't escape death! It's a pity the human race has so few old bones left down here. Otherwise, the moment news of Minshan's death broke, they would have fallen into chaos!"
With a cold grin, he added, "Inform Tiangu—isn't he full of schemes? Spread the news of Minshan's death to the humans. Are there still any ancient relics among them who remember Minshan?"
Marquis Shenyuan smiled. "Probably a few. That King Dazhou might be one!"
"All the better! Spread the word, saying you learned of it. Once Minshan is dead, let's see if they have any will left to fight!"
"Very well!"
...
Two marquises had descended from the upper realm, bringing momentous news.
And this news was quickly acquired by the human race, for the humans were currently traversing the Allheaven Battlefield unhindered. The immortal race made no effort to conceal the news—there was no need! This was a prime opportunity to shatter human morale!
Marquis Minshan of the human race in the upper realm had been slain!
...
In the Human Realm.
Eastern Rift Valley.
King Dazhou's body trembled slightly. His power slipped from his control, shattering the teacup in his hand.
Marquis Minshan... had fallen!
Around him, several Eternity experts looked puzzled. Who was Marquis Minshan? They truly did not know.
King Dazhou could not conceal his sorrow. He hadn't wanted to speak, but seeing everyone staring at him and noticing his loss of composure, he spoke with great difficulty: "Marquis Minshan... one of the three hundred and sixty ancient Human Marquises! The foremost general under King Wu!"
"He commanded the Minshan Guard, conquered thirty-eight minor realms, and slew seven Dao Integration experts. He was also the Left General under the Human Master of the first tide, commanding half the human race's military forces..."
"In the ninth tide, he was the foremost general under the Hundred Battles King, a top-tier Dao Integration expert who once suppressed Hongmeng..."
In an instant, the entire hall fell dead silent.
King Dazhou was overwhelmed with grief. Even Marquis Minshan had fallen in battle.
Did the human race... did Su Yu... truly have any hope?
The excitement from earlier dissipated rapidly.
Previously, he had thought that once the upper realm opened, Su Yu would not be standing alone. Marquis Minshan had survived the last war, and might still be alive, as no word had ever come of his demise. But now, Marquis Minshan was dead!
How had he died?
Not only was Marquis Minshan extraordinarily powerful, he had lived for ages. Crucially, he was no fool; he never fought recklessly. When he saw that the battle was lost in the ninth tide, he had promptly led his forces in retreat, preserving some of their vital strength. His death meant their foundation in the upper realm might be utterly ruined!
In this moment, King Dazhou was lost. Did anyone remain in the upper realm?
Chapter 688