The Four Realms Pacified

Tens of thousands of phoenixes had been captured and brought before them. They were filled with panic, terror, hostility, and resentment. Resentful aura surged to the heavens! Yet they were completely powerless to change their fate. Su Yu, however, barely spared them a glance. After staring into the sky for a moment, he suddenly chuckled. "I will not kill you. I have not taken a single life during this entire venture; all I desire is a mutually beneficial cooperation. Slaughter is not the way to resolve problems." At this moment, Su Yu even released a fraction of the willpower of those captured Eternals, including the Phoenix Emperor's. With a sliver of their willpower seeping through, they could all hear his words. Activating his "Saint" Dao divine character, Su Yu gave a gentle smile. "I came here to resolve the war among the myriad races, not out of a simple desire to slaughter. However, I knew pleasantries would achieve nothing, so I had no choice but to subdue everyone before discussing peace! "If I wanted to annihilate the Phoenix clan, I could wipe you all out right now! "Yet extermination is not my wish!" Su Yu said softly, "Therefore, I will give you a choice. I can release one Eternal to oversee the Phoenix Realm, while the remaining Eternals—including the Phoenix Emperor—must be detained! If you are not held captive, as you well know, you would soon become formidable foes against me!" At this, King Dazhou and the others hesitated, holding back their words. Meanwhile, in the void, the experts whose willpower trickled out were filled with surprise, shock, and agitation. He wasn't going to kill them? He wasn't going to exterminate the Phoenix clan? The Phoenix Emperor was also agitated, her voice turning slightly shrill. "Are you... truly in earnest?" The Phoenix Realm had lost! A catastrophic, utter defeat! Extermination stared them right in the face. Could this be Su Yu's stalling tactic? The Phoenix Emperor shrilled, "Are you afraid that killing us will trigger upheaval across the myriad heavens? Su Yu, you are merely postponing our execution!" Su Yu gave a faint laugh. "How childish. Even if I were stalling, what could you possibly do? If I slaughtered everyone below the Eternal Realm, would you, Phoenix Emperor, even be able to self-detonate? "I am simply giving you a chance. Blind slaughter cannot unify the myriad heavens. In the past, I didn't understand the Human Sovereign or the Hundred Battles King, but now I do. Slaughter... only breeds disaster." Looking full of sorrow and compassion for the world, Su Yu paused for a long while before murmuring softly, "I have felt many things today. Whether you agree or not is your own choice. I am offering you a way out. If you do not care for it, then cast it aside." Extermination! The Phoenix Emperor's phantom projection flickered before she blurted out, "I accept! Su Yu, if you release me, I can serve you..." "No need," Su Yu replied calmly. "I want peace across the myriad realms, not endless trouble for myself. You are a Dao Integration expert—if I released you, wouldn't that make me an idiot? Pick out a low-stage Eternal to oversee the Phoenix Realm! Furthermore, they must remain under my control. I seek peace, not betrayal and backlash. Could it be that the Phoenix Emperor thinks I, Su Yu, am as foolish as you or Tiangu?" A contemptuous smirk played on his lips. The Phoenix Emperor's projection fell silent for a moment before conceding, "Fine, I agree!" In truth, there was no choice. Either complete extinction, or picking a low-stage Eternal to govern the realm. The Phoenix Emperor wracked her mind, trying to decipher Su Yu's intentions. Not executing the experts was somewhat understandable, but wiping out everyone below Eternal wouldn't have cost him anything. Why spare them? She couldn't grasp it! Did he want to win the hearts of the people? Or did he want to win over and subjugate experts like herself? Unable to fathom it, she could only assume that Su Yu wanted to subdue the Phoenix Realm through various means rather than exterminate it. That had to be why he showed restraint. Still, this was fine. At least there was hope. Just moments ago, she had believed the Phoenix Realm was utterly doomed. Su Yu smiled, then turned to the captured phoenixes and said placidly, "In a war between races, it is kill or be killed. I, Su Yu, have shown the utmost benevolence by sparing your clan from annihilation! There is no need to bear hostility toward me; you can only blame yourselves for picking the wrong side! "Now, cultivate diligently. I hope your people will see the situation clearly! However, just to be safe... King Dazhou, you and I shall lay down a grand formation over the Phoenix Realm to prevent any information from leaking outside!" Su Yu said indifferently, "You may try sending transmissions outside the realm, but if you are caught, total annihilation may descend at any moment! Once our grand formation is laid, transmitting messages will be impossible anyway. The realm passage is sealed, and the dead spirit realm is my territory. I would like to see how any of you plan to leave this realm." The crowd of phoenixes remained silent. Being alive was enough! This was already far better than their grim expectations. At this point, the South King could not help frowning. "Human Master, if we do not cut grass and pull up its roots, it will inevitably lead to endless future trouble! This Phoenix clan..." Su Yu raised a hand. "Slaughter is not what my heart desires!" "However..." The South King still felt uneasy. Su Yu smiled and said, "The Phoenix Emperor and the others are suppressed by me, leaving behind only the weak. If the Phoenix Emperor dares make any reckless move, I will kill her and destroy her race. Rest assured, I am not showing indiscriminate mercy!" Very well. The South King sighed helplessly. She truly felt that Su Yu was far too merciful today. This was completely out of character for him. What was going on? Su Yu said no more on the matter and turned to King Dazhou with a smile. "King Dazhou, let us set up the grand formation in the Phoenix Realm, primarily to prevent them from transmitting messages outside!" With that, a great seal flew out—it was the Great Ming Seal left in the Phoenix Realm. Su Yu instructed, "Use the Great Ming Seal as the core to lay the formation. If there are any suspicious movements, the dead spirit passage can be opened at any time to obliterate the Phoenix Realm! "In addition, secretly mobilize three human Eternals to come to the Phoenix Realm to suppress any disturbances! "With the Phoenix Emperor and the others suppressed by me, a mere low-stage Eternal can be subdued at any moment!" As Su Yu laid out his arrangements one by one, the Phoenix clan experts listened carefully and found nothing amiss. On the contrary, Su Yu's meticulous posture made it seem as though he genuinely intended to subjugate and integrate the Phoenix Realm. Had he simply walked away and left them unattended, they would have worried about some hidden plot. Su Yu then added quickly, "At the realm passage entrance, dispatch two Dao Integration guardians to take guard! Although suppressed, they will still wield Eternal-level power! Should war erupt, they can break through the seal at any moment and charge outside!" Order after order was issued, and King Dazhou noted every one. In his heart, he still felt bewildered. Not destroying the realm? Even if that was pardoned, why keep all these people? Even if he feared making too much noise in the Phoenix Realm, he could have just crippled their cultivation instead of killing them. Yet Su Yu didn't even cripple them! He simply could not fathom Su Yu's mind! Having finished his orders, Su Yu soared into the air and said briskly, "Let us begin. Set up the formation!" King Dazhou had no choice but to take to the air and begin setting up a silence formation. Su Yu paid it no heed as he suppressed the Phoenix Emperor and the others once more. Opening his heavenly gate, he could faintly discern a phoenix soaring with spread wings high above the Phoenix Realm. That was the Phoenix clan's Great Dao! "Killing them would be such a waste; they might as well help me nurture my Dao tome!" Su Yu mused internally. Killing them was far too wasteful. Absorbing their blood essence or other spoils only yielded a one-time benefit—how could that compare to having them continuously nurture his Dao? A bunch of experts longing to cultivate rapidly, grow powerful, and seek revenge... Right now, their drive to cultivate was at its absolute peak! "However, the Phoenix clan's Great Dao is difficult to pinpoint. No matter; I can leave the upper realm alone and simply distribute pages into the Daos within this realm!" While King Dazhou worked on the formation, Su Yu instantly tore his Phoenix clan page into countless fragments. Observing carefully, he inspected Great Dao after Great Dao and swiftly integrated tiny page fragments into the Daos of these Phoenix experts. Even some peak Sun Moon cultivators had vaguely touched upon the Great Dao, so Su Yu integrated fragments into theirs as well. As for those below Sun Moon, none had touched the Great Dao yet, but all the myriad races possessed rudimentary forms of Daos—their innate racial skills, which were essentially embryonic Daos. Only the humans truly had no access to the power of the Great Dao below Sun Moon. Su Yu continued his placements, weaving his pages into their Daos. His current strength was not enough; otherwise, he could have directly torn open the River of Time and integrated the page straight into the Phoenix clan's Great Dao. Currently, however, that was beyond his reach. Moreover, the Phoenix clan still had experts in the upper realm who were not suppressed. Forcibly merging with it would easily be detected, not to mention how difficult it would be to fuse directly. Only by dispersing the fragments into various smaller Daos could they eventually, as these minor Daos grew stronger, facilitate a forced fusion with the Phoenix clan's Great Dao. While laying down the formation, King Dazhou was also keeping an eye on Su Yu. He had no idea what Su Yu was doing, but seeing page after page appearing like torn images in Su Yu's hands, he was secretly alarmed. He was convinced that Su Yu was not acting out of kindness! This fellow had never had a benevolent bone in his body. Sparing the Phoenix Realm was one thing, but releasing an Eternal to govern it and keep it from falling into chaos... that was simply too unbelievable. Now, taking advantage of the formation-building, Su Yu seemed to be setting up some hidden trick. "Is that his civilization chronicle?" "He's tearing pages of his civilization chronicle apart—what on earth is he doing?" King Dazhou noticed that Su Yu was dripping with sweat and appeared visibly drained. Clearly, whatever he was doing was not something good. After a good while, Su Yu flew over, panting, and asked with a smile, "King Dazhou, is it ready?" "It is ready!" King Dazhou nodded. "So now..." "Head back first and mobilize two Dao Integration guardians, along with drafting three human Eternals to garrison this realm! If we take all four realms, we will handle them in the same manner. That requires eight Dao Integration guardians and twelve Human Realm Eternals. We can't let everyone sit idle, right?" Su Yu laughed. "With so many people, what would they do idling around?" Continuing, he added, "Ideally, we would have one human Dao Integration expert garrisoning each realm, but we have too few of them on our side! As for Tianyue, I plan to station him in the Dragon Realm. As for you, Director Wan, and the others, I still need you to assist me elsewhere... so we can only hope the others can step into Dao Integration quickly." King Dazhou nodded. "There is still a chance. After switching their Daos, everyone has been progressing quite swiftly. The Great Han King, King Datang, King Dashang, King Dasong—all of them have a shot at stepping into Dao Integration!" Su Yu gave a slight nod. Without lingering on the topic, he soon released one of the suppressed low-stage Eternal experts. At this moment, the low-stage Eternal's face was pale as he looked at Su Yu, at a loss for words. Su Yu, on the other hand, was exceptionally amiable and smiled. "As long as you stay obedient, govern the Phoenix Realm well, and ensure no major disturbances break out, you will be the Acting Phoenix Emperor! Of course, if you act out and insist on making trouble, then the Phoenix Emperor and the other dozen or so Eternals can only wait for death! You could always give it a try—perhaps you might even take the opportunity to eradicate the Phoenix Emperor and the rest!" The Phoenix clan experts all heard these words. Below, the crowd of Sun Moon cultivators remained deathly silent, not daring to utter a word. Su Yu gave a faint laugh. "I will arrange people to garrison this place. Under normal circumstances, they will not interfere with your affairs, but if any abnormalities arise, they will swiftly suppress and execute you. Weigh the pros and cons yourself! "Seventy percent of the Phoenix Realm's resources must be handed over. The remainder is yours to cultivate with; I will not interfere! "Toward all of you, I have shown the utmost benevolence!" The released Eternal took a deep breath, suppressing the shock that still pounded in his chest, and asked in a low voice, "Su... Human Master Su, when does the Human Master intend to release our clan's experts?" Surrendering seventy percent of their resources was a minor matter. Having troops stationed here was also a minor matter. His sole concern was what would become of the captured experts. Su Yu smiled. "In truth, I do not intend to execute them. Constantly suppressing them is more trouble than it's worth! I will find a minor realm to keep them under guard. Once a Dao Integration expert enters a minor realm, they are only as strong as an Eternal! The captured Phoenix experts will be detained either in the Iron-Eating Beast Realm or in one of our allied realms! As long as you remain obedient, you can cultivate as usual and go about your days; I won't interfere much!" Hearing this, the Eternal felt a surge of joy. Only detention! This... this was far better than expected! Su Yu said indifferently, "The prerequisite is that you behave! Do not force me to exterminate your race!" As he spoke, a willpower projection appeared in the void once again. The Phoenix Emperor's expression was grave. "Does the Human Master truly intend only to detain us? If that is so, for the sake of our clan and ourselves, we will make no hostile moves!" Su Yu smiled faintly. "I certainly hope so!" The Phoenix Emperor let out a silent breath of relief. This was the best possible outcome. She had never imagined that Su Yu would not only spare their lives, but would not even seal them away, choosing instead merely to detain them across various realms! A splendid outcome! This was far better than being imprisoned in the Human Realm! It meant there was still a chance—a massive chance. Meanwhile, the Phoenix populace shifted from despair to joy, overcome with unrestrained excitement. Not a single one was executed! This... exceeded their wildest expectations. They had truly believed that their doom was sealed! Over on the other side, the South King and her companions were growing restless. Kill none of them? Not even seal or suppress them? Just detain them across various realms... Su Yu's approach was far too prone to backfiring! Su Yu had always been decisive. Why was he acting so irresolute today? Yet out of absolute trust in Su Yu, the dead spirits could only repress their misgivings, feeling utterly helpless. Su Yu soon said, "By the way, hand over the Phoenix Realm's Councilor Tokens. How many do you have?" "Only two," the Phoenix Emperor said, cooperating fully now. She added quickly, "They are inside my heaven weapon. You can search there." "Good!" Su Yu gave a light laugh, then said, "King Dazhou, head back first and bring the people over to garrison this realm!" "Understood!" King Dazhou said nothing more and swiftly slipped into the dead spirit passage. Bringing living beings through could easily agitate the River of Dead Spirits, but King Dazhou's breath-concealment abilities were superb; bringing just a few people through would not pose much of an issue. Su Yu stayed behind to maintain the passage. The dead spirits refrained from moving about to avoid spreading their presence and incurring rule-based punishment. In this battle, almost no one had been killed. *** After waiting for a while, King Dazhou returned with the reinforcements: the two guardians were Zhouchi and Shuangying, and the three human Eternals were King Datang, King Dayong, and King Daliang. They were all thoroughly stunned! The two guardians held their composure well enough, but for the three human Eternals, this was their first time seeing so many dead spirit marquises, each radiating an overpowering aura that sent shivers down their spines. Furthermore, seeing two Dao Integration guardians filled their hearts with immense shock. Without making a whisper of commotion, the human race had actually taken the Phoenix Realm—something completely beyond their imagination. Incredible! "Greetings, Emperor Yu!" The several experts, including Zhouchi and Shuangying, bowed with the utmost reverence. Taking the Phoenix Realm had defied everyone's expectations. It was too unbelievable; not a trace of commotion had leaked out. Su Yu smiled. "Your mission from now on is to garrison this place, which may take a considerable amount of time. Once the war among the myriad realms erupts again and Tiangu and his allies call upon the Phoenix Realm to mobilize, you gentlemen can lend Tiangu a hand!" Hearing Su Yu's mischievous smile, the others paused before bursting into hearty laughter! One could only imagine: once war broke out anew, Tiangu and his allies would be waiting for Phoenix reinforcements, only for several human-aligned Dao Integration experts to emerge and deliver a savage backstab, which would probably reduce them to tears. "King Datang!" King Datang swiftly wiped the grin from his face and looked at Su Yu, awaiting instructions. Su Yu said with a smile, "For you human Eternals, origin qi is abundant in this realm. The Phoenix Realm must surrender seventy percent of its resources, and I will allocate thirty percent of that total to the three of you. King Datang has the highest chance of breaking through to Dao Integration... I hope you can achieve it soon! When you are ready to break through to Dao Integration, notify me in advance. I will take you to a secluded place to advance—do not do it here, as the commotion would be too grand!" "Understood!" King Datang responded solemnly. "I shall do everything within my power!" Resources were plentiful, though at his level, it depended far more on Dao insights. Su Yu smiled. "When I have time, I will come take you on a few trips through the River of Time! If the Phoenix Realm remains obedient, do not interfere in their affairs; let them be!" At this point, he added, "Even if someone in the Phoenix Realm attains the Dao and ascends to Eternal, let them be!" Hearing this, not only King Datang and his companions, but even the group of Phoenix experts froze in astonishment. The low-stage Eternal governing the realm felt his heart tremble, and he asked in a small voice, "Human Master, are these words... truly sincere?" He wouldn't even interfere if someone from their clan broke through? This... made him deeply uneasy. Could there be some sinister conspiracy? Su Yu said aloofly, "A bunch of trash Sun Moon cultivators breaking through and integrating into the Phoenix clan's Great Dao is actually a good thing! I would love nothing more than to have more of such trash siphoning away the power of the Phoenix Great Dao. You might not understand, but the Phoenix Emperor probably does!" At this moment, the Phoenix Emperor's phantom reappeared. Looking at Su Yu and then down at her clan's experts, she sighed softly. "Human Master Su... your comprehension of the Great Dao is remarkably profound. I only began grasping some of this in recent years..." Su Yu sneered. "That is only because you are useless! What good are Eternals? It would be best if the Phoenix clan produced a hundred more, or better yet, more Dao Integration experts, to dilute the power of your upper-realm Phoenix experts and weaken their rule power—that is what I wish to see!" Although many did not comprehend the Phoenix Emperor's words, they grasped the general idea: Su Yu harbored no sinister intentions. He wouldn't even hinder their breakthroughs. Because Su Yu believed doing so would disperse the rule power of the upper-realm phoenixes. Meanwhile, the Phoenix Emperor thought to herself that Su Yu was being overly conceited! The Phoenix clan had few Dao Integration experts; even if three to five more emerged, it would hardly deplete the Dao power of other Phoenix experts. One could only say Su Yu was overthinking and had overestimated the Phoenix clan—they didn't have many Dao Integration experts in the upper realm anyway. A single Great Dao could easily accommodate ten Dao Integration experts integrating into it. "Enough idle chatter!" Su Yu looked at Zhouchi and the others. "Guard this realm in peace. If nothing happens, so be it; if trouble arises... exterminate them! Merciful though I may be, I am not incapable of ruthless slaughter!" At this, the Phoenix Emperor's phantom sighed. "People of my clan, remain dutiful and cultivate diligently!" She turned to the Eternal. "Feng Qi, behave yourself... do not provoke these esteemed guests... the future of the Phoenix clan... is in your hands!" She was admonishing Feng Qi to stay in line and refrain from stirring up trouble. For now, the Phoenix clan still had a chance. Stirring up trouble would only bring about their extinction. "Emperor, I will!" The low-stage Eternal responded gravely. He knew what she meant: keep a low profile, bide their time, endure, and avoid antagonizing the human race at all costs. Su Yu smiled and said, "May everything go well. Gentlemen, I shall depart this realm to take the other realms, so that all the myriad realms may fall under the control of my Emperor Yu Manor!" "Respectful farewell to Emperor Yu!" Zhouchi and the others bowed with deep admiration, watching as Su Yu swiftly departed with his massive contingent of experts. Once they had departed, King Dayong looked at King Datang as if in a daze, murmuring, "Old Tang, we... we took the Phoenix Realm?" "Indeed!" King Datang was filled with deep emotion. Looking at Zhouchi, he hesitated before asking, "Senior Zhouchi, you... have achieved Dao Integration?" Zhouchi chuckled. "We have! And not just us. Counting Tianmie and the others, plus the Boss, we now have eleven in the Dao Integration Realm!" A sharp intake of breath! King Datang's heart pounded. On top of those numerous dead spirit experts, Su Yu had kept all this so quiet that not even the human Eternals knew he had hidden so many Dao Integration experts under his command. That meant that in the previous battle, the humans hadn't even exerted their full might! Zhouchi chuckled again. "Emperor Yu's idea is simple: conceal our strength so the upper realm won't be alarmed and the other races won't be driven to despair, while quietly taking realm after realm. As you can see, the Phoenix Realm was captured without losing a single soldier! Should war break out, we can strike out directly from the Phoenix Realm at any moment!" Speaking of which, he looked at King Datang. "You are now walking the Dao of Weapon Integration as well. When you are free, feel free to exchange pointers with us. We have cultivated for over a hundred thousand years—our comprehension of the Great Dao might not be exceedingly profound, but we certainly have experience on the path of weapon integration! The thirty percent of Phoenix Realm resources Emperor Yu bestowed upon you can primarily be used to temper your integrated weapons! Once your comprehension reaches the threshold, Dao Integration won't be difficult!" "Thank you, Senior!" King Datang was delighted. Having a veteran practitioner with over a hundred thousand years of experience on the Dao of Weapon Integration willing to guide him was an incredible boon. It would save him countless detours. King Datang sighed with emotion. "A few Dao Integration experts have emerged among our humans now, but we are still lagging behind. Without the combat power of Dao Integration, it is becoming hard to keep up with the pace. I hope that during this garrison post, I can step into the Dao Integration Realm." "There is great hope!" Zhouchi said with a smile. "Humans are uniquely blessed by heaven, and Emperor Yu personally helped you switch your Daos. Currently, no one else walks those Daos—save for a few old fellows from the ancient era. If they are still alive, they might compete with you, but if they are dead, you monopolize an entire Dao for yourself. That, in itself, is a tremendous opportunity!" "That is true..." King Datang and the others conversed with the two guardians for a while, quickly establishing their station in the Phoenix Realm. All five retained Eternal-level combat strength, mostly at the high stages. A mere low-stage Eternal in the Phoenix Realm stood no chance of defying them. *** In the dead spirit realm. The South King frowned again. "Human Master, are you truly sending them into other realms for confinement?" Su Yu nodded. "Indeed." Seeing that she was still uneasy and anxious, Su Yu thought for a moment and transmitted mentally, "Worry not, Mistress, rest assured. I am no fool; why would I raise a tiger only to court disaster? I have my own plans: to have the myriad races cultivate the Daos for me!" How could he possibly have the time to refine every single Great Dao bit by bit on his own? It was too troublesome, exhausting, and demanding of time and energy. Let the myriad races cultivate the Daos on his behalf! Once they perfected his illusory Daos, he would harvest them one by one. It was so for the Phoenix Realm, and Su Yu would most likely handle the other realms in the exact same manner. As long as these fellows cultivated, they were helping him perfect his Daos. Once his book pages fused into their Daos, they would become puppets that Su Yu would eventually drain dry! While the possibility of backlash existed, everything carried risks, and simple suppression carried risk of backlash as well. Handled this way, the payoff was vastly superior. Hearing Su Yu address her as "Mistress" and lay out his logic, the South King held her tongue. As for the others, they followed Su Yu unconditionally; since Su Yu had decided, no one raised any objections. Su Yu did not attack the Ape Realm immediately. He still had business to handle. Managing so many people and keeping so many suppressed was straining even for him, so he decided to escort the Phoenix Emperor and the others to the Iron-Eating Beast Realm first. *** Su Yu swiftly exited the dead spirit realm. A short while later, in the Iron-Eating Beast Realm. Inside the colossal Iron-Eating Beast Imperial Palace. The Iron-Eating Beast Emperor, Liu Yue, was feeling elated when his gaze shifted, his large black eye circles twitching. Soon, he chuckled, "Emperor Yu, you have arrived! Why didn't you give advance notice so I could welcome you properly?" Su Yu stepped through the void with a smile. "Congratulations! Jiu Yue, you have actually reached Dao Integration. Congratulations!" Jiu Yue gave an honest, foolish chuckle. "I owe it all to Emperor Yu. If not for Emperor Yu and the Old Ancestor looking out for me, I wouldn't have reached Dao Integration so quickly." Indeed, Jiu Yue had finally reached Dao Integration. The Iron-Eating Beast clan had gained its second Dao Integration expert. Su Yu smiled. "It was your own fortune!" Liu Yue also chuckled warmly. "It is all fortune brought by Emperor Yu. Now that Jiu Yue has advanced, I have also made up my mind to pass the Beast Emperor's throne to him. Going forward, I will focus entirely on cultivating and strengthening myself to prepare for the battle in the upper realm!" "There is no rush for that," Su Yu said with a smile. "I came here today to ask Senior for a favor." "Emperor Yu need only command!" Liu Yue was exceptionally polite. This generation's Human Master possessed terrifyingly formidable methods, beating the myriad heavens into silence in the blink of an eye. Best of all, none of their allies had suffered losses; they had reaped nothing but benefits, which felt immensely satisfying! Su Yu smiled. "Help me suppress some fellows—essentially just guarding them. If Senior passes the throne to Jiu Yue and there is no warfare in the near future, you can keep watch over them for me." "Guard?" Liu Yue was puzzled. "Guard whom?" To think they had to be sent here—who was worthy of such treatment? Without another word, Su Yu flicked his sleeve. Over a dozen Eternals and one Dao Integration expert appeared. At that moment, their physical bodies were swiftly regenerating, though still frail, and their auras were heavily suppressed. The Eternals were reduced to Sun Moon strength, while the Dao Integration expert was reduced to Eternal strength. Both Liu Yue and Jiu Yue's jaws dropped, their black-ringed eyes widening in stunned disbelief! Holy crap! Who was this? Was this the Phoenix Emperor? Hadn't they sealed their realm? How had they been caught hook, line, and sinker? Neither of them had heard a single whisper! Liu Yue's mouth hung wide open before he stammered dryly, "Phoen... Phoenix Emperor?" Inside the hall, the Phoenix Emperor was far more composed now. Letting out a soft sigh tinged with bitterness, she said, "Greetings, Brother Liu Yue! In the days ahead... I must trouble you to take good care of us." Su Yu said calmly, "Just keep watch over them! I have already taken the Phoenix Realm! However, I gave them a chance, wishing not to cause further slaughter! Therefore, they are to be detained in the Iron-Eating Beast Realm. I will have to trouble Senior Liu Yue!" Liu Yue felt somewhat dazed, but quickly nodded. "No problem! Here, they will be suppressed, so guarding them won't be difficult. Should we seal their seas of will directly...?" "No need!" Su Yu chuckled lightly. "When Senior has time, feel free to chat and drink tea with the Phoenix Emperor. You are old acquaintances, after all; there is no need to be so harsh. As long as they behave, let them be; if they misbehave... execute them!" Su Yu smiled again. "I have other matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave..." Pausing, Su Yu hesitated before adding, "Senior should still have Councilor Tokens on hand. I require them right now and can trade treasures for them..." Before he even finished, Liu Yue produced two Councilor Tokens. "These? Keeping them is useless to me anyway. If Emperor Yu needs them, take them! Why speak of trading treasures? Jiu Yue reaching Dao Integration is the greatest blessing!" Su Yu smiled. "Then my thanks!" He was not one to stand on ceremony; his collection of Councilor Tokens had grown once more. Looking at Jiu Yue, Su Yu said, "There is no war in the immediate future, but do not slack off. You have the potential to become a Ruler of Rules!" With those words, Su Yu vanished into thin air. Once he was gone, both Liu Yue and Jiu Yue stared wide-eyed at the phoenixes in the hall. After a while, Jiu Yue gave an honest chuckle. "Old Ancestor, the Phoenix Realm was actually taken!" Liu Yue was equally stunned and nodded. "It seems that aside from the Gods, Demons, and Immortals, the other realms will likely suffer the same fate! Emperor Yu is truly brilliant, taking the Phoenix Realm without breaking a sweat!" Smiling, he looked toward the Phoenix Emperor and chuckled. "Everyone, in the days ahead, please cultivate diligently here in my realm. Do not wander about, or else... our heavy paws might accidentally swat someone to death, and that would be terribly embarrassing!" Within the Iron-Eating Beast Realm, these fellows couldn't stir up any trouble! The Phoenix Emperor sighed internally and said nothing. Let it be! If she was unlucky, the Ape clan and the other races wouldn't meet a good end either! *** Su Yu soon returned to the dead spirit realm. Next stop: the Ape Realm! In the Ape Realm. The Ape Emperor's injuries had still not healed. Unlike the Phoenix Emperor, he had not gathered his subordinates to discuss countermeasures. However, at this moment, he felt an encroaching restlessness. Restless while healing, he was forced out of his meditative state. Regret weighed heavily on his heart. Had he known earlier, he wouldn't have stepped forth to fight desperately against the humans, which had not only left him severely wounded but also forced his realm into isolation. Sighing, the Ape Emperor walked out of the cultivation chamber, visibly unsettled. Outside the doors, his descendant—an Eternal expert—saw him emerge and asked cautiously, "Old Ancestor, have your injuries healed?" "No, how could it be so fast?" The Ape Emperor had participated in two battles and suffered wounds in both; the accumulated injuries were no trivial matter. He sighed, "It is already a blessing to have escaped with my life! Across two battles, eleven Dao Integration experts perished. That I am alive is pure luck!" Sighing once more, the Ape Emperor looked around and asked, "After sealing the realm, is everyone holding up well?" "Relatively stable, since Old Ancestor is still here. It's just... there is still lingering worry that the humans might breach the realm!" The Ape Emperor nodded helplessly. Soon, he glanced toward a certain area, frowning slightly. "What is happening over there? I sense fluctuations. Is someone fighting?" His descendant looked in that direction as well, which was outside the palace. After watching for a moment, he shook his head. "Unclear. Perhaps people are feeling anxious and a scuffle broke out? I'll go check..." Without another word, the Ape Emperor extended his willpower to see who was fighting with such intense fluctuations. Before his probe even reached the spot, his face changed drastically. Death qi? How could there be death qi here?! "Ape Emperor, say nothing. Endurance is your only chance of survival..." The Ape Emperor was momentarily dazed, and in the next instant, Su Yu's voice rang in his ears: "Trust us, we have come to save the Ape clan!" The Ape Emperor's expression changed wildly! "Not good!" A furious roar tore from his throat. The next moment, Su Yu cursed under his breath, "Disobedient fool! Shatter the physical bodies of all Ape clan experts—leave none intact!" Boom! A colossal roar erupted as the heavens collapsed and the earth shattered. Dozens of overwhelmingly formidable experts surged forth! The Ape Emperor possessed strength comparable to the Phoenix Emperor, and more crucially, was heavily injured. Although Su Yu and his forces had not manifested right in front of his eyes, they weren't far away either. Furthermore, with the masterfully controlling King Dazhou present, the Ape Emperor met the exact same fate as the Phoenix Emperor. Aside from managing to shout "Not good!", he had virtually no power to resist. "Endure it, calm your mind, don't move!" King Dazhou hissed. What was this? Looking down on him? He had actually let the fellow shout once! Battles quickly erupted in other spots as furious shouts rang out, only to be promptly quelled. On Su Yu's side, it was the same old drill: the four top experts struck together, subduing the Ape Emperor in the blink of an eye! *** Moments later, the exact same routine played out! Just like in the Phoenix Realm, one Ape Realm Eternal was left behind to govern the realm. However, more lives were lost in the Ape Realm, though fortunately they were mostly around the Sun Moon stage, which was of little consequence. As for the guardians, Didang and Huangji took up posts here, while King Dashang and two other human Eternals came to suppress the realm. The procedure was familiar and the routine identical. Su Yu also tore apart the page belonging to the Ape Realm and integrated the pieces into the Daos of the Ape experts. The Ape Realm experts were escorted by Su Yu to the Hou clan for custody. The Hou Emperor was suited enough to watch over them; Su Yu's only worry was that the Hou Emperor might eat them. He repeatedly warned him, until finally the Hou Emperor nearly wept as he swore he wouldn't eat them! "You don't trust me!" Besides, apes tasted foul unless one ate their brains—and more importantly, the Hou Emperor wouldn't dare. According to Su Yu, the Phoenix clan was imprisoned in the Iron-Eating Beast Realm, the Ape clan in the Hou Realm, and the Kunpeng and Dragon clans would soon fall as well. Such terrifying feats scared the Hou Emperor half to death; how could he dare eat the prisoners Su Yu delivered? *** Third stop: the Kunpeng Realm. This clan had even fewer Eternals than the previous two, making the conquest remarkably easy. The Kunpeng Half-Emperor's strength was mediocre, so taking him down was no harder than the other two realms. Three battles, three swift victories: Su Yu had thoroughly subjugated three realms. The Kunpeng Half-Emperor was escorted by Su Yu to the Ancient Spatial Beast clan for suppression. Thus, three of the four realms Su Yu targeted had been successfully conquered. Only the Dragon Realm warranted extra caution from Su Yu. Marquis Tianlong was stronger than the other three leaders, and Su Yu worried about complications. Before leaving, he returned to the Human Realm and brought Wan Tiansheng along. To ensure absolute success this time, not only did Su Yu bring Wan Tiansheng, he also instructed Old Turtle multiple times: if Marquis Tianlong proved difficult to subdue, they would knock him directly into the dead spirit realm. If he still couldn't take him down smoothly with all these precautions, Su Yu could only admit powerlessness. If worse came to worst, he could only rely on King Daming on the outside to block any commotion. *** In the Dragon Realm. The Dragon clan actually possessed very few Eternals now. In the previous grand battles, the dragons had contributed immense effort. Following the Dragon Emperor's death in battle, they had sealed their realm once before, and now they had sealed it again. Presently, aside from Marquis Tianlong, only seven or eight Eternals remained in the entire Dragon clan. Marquis Tianlong had also been severely wounded by King Dazhou last time. Today, just like the other half-emperors, he was uneasy in the extreme. Yet while he was uneasy, a small dragon outside the Dragon Palace was even more anxious. Things were about to blow up! The small dragon was an avatar of Lan Tian. He felt that his operation was about to crash and burn—for no other reason than that the great seal he had buried near the Dragon Palace seemed to have been detected by Marquis Tianlong. Trouble! Could this really be blowing up? As Lan Tian panicked internally, he watched Marquis Tianlong, who seemed to have sensed something, fly directly toward the spot where the seal was buried. Lan Tian bared his fangs in frustration. He was actually going to fail? That would never do! Su Yu and the others hadn't even activated the seal yet! Just as Marquis Tianlong was about to inspect the area, a thunderous draconic roar erupted outside the Dragon Palace. "Bastards! Why can't we ally with the humans?!" Roaring at the top of his lungs, Lan Tian sent a weak Shanhai Realm dragon flying with a whip of his tail, bellowing, "I want to see Lord Marquis Tianlong! "Our Dragon clan once cooperated with the humans! "There are dragons in the Great Xia Civilization Academy and the Daming Prefecture! I want to serve as an envoy to the humans! How many experts have died from opposing the humans? I do not want to see the Dragon clan annihilated! I want to see Lord Marquis Tianlong! I want to go to the human race to negotiate!" Marquis Tianlong frowned. Negotiate? A tiny Sun Moon dragon dared urge the Dragon clan to surrender and negotiate! At this moment, several Eternal dragons appeared as well, each staring at the dragon outside the hall—a dragon at the Sun Moon Realm. Yet this dragon was boldly proposing to serve as an envoy and negotiate with the humans. Instantly, peculiar expressions flickered across everyone's faces. Negotiate? Surrender to the humans? Many Dragon experts looked toward Marquis Tianlong, who said coldly, "Negotiate? What a joke! Our Dragon clan possesses immense power in the upper realm—how dare a mere Sun Moon presume to speak on the grand affairs of our race?!" He had no choice but to handle this. Though it was only a Sun Moon dragon, his greatest fear was that it might kindle the same thoughts among the rest of the clan. Right now, even those Eternal dragons might be harboring such inclinations. Simply executing him wouldn't resolve the underlying issue either. Marquis Tianlong had originally intended to investigate the subtle fluctuation he had just sensed, but now he had no time for it. If left unaddressed, the Dragon Realm would erupt into internal strife. Seeing Marquis Tianlong fly toward him, Lan Tian breathed an inward sigh of relief and roared, "Lord Marquis Tianlong, every dragon shares responsibility for our race's survival! This clan does not belong to you alone, My Lord... Since you refuse to negotiate, I shall awaken the Dragon clan with my own blood!" With that, he began burning his dragon body, shouting in grief and indignation, "With my blood, I remonstrate before my kin! Burning my flesh..." Seeing this, an Eternal dragon shouted, "Reckless! Stop this at once! Lord Marquis Tianlong will discuss this thoroughly with everyone—do not do something foolish!" The entire crowd's attention was captivated by Lan Tian. What an unyielding dragon! Marquis Tianlong hadn't even outright refused yet, and this guy was already going to kill himself! This... was simply too extreme! Marquis Tianlong was equally helpless. Fuck! What kind of maniac was this? He was going to kill himself just like that? If this fellow truly died, divisive voices would surely spread throughout the Dragon Realm. While he personally feared nothing, internal strife was never a good thing. He had no choice but to hastily shout, "Stop! This Marquis was merely..." Boom! Right at that moment, Su Yu and his forces finally activated the seal. Marquis Tianlong instinctively turned his head, but from up ahead, Lan Tian's voice drowned out everything else: "I don't believe you! I am killing myself! The Dragon clan needs peace!" Boom! A self-detonation roared out, completely smothering the sound of the realm opening. Before many dragons could even react, seven or eight giant hands slammed violently toward Marquis Tianlong! *** By the time Marquis Tianlong's physical body was shattered and Su Yu kicked his sea of will into the dead spirit realm to be suppressed by Old Turtle, the dragons outside still had no clue what had just transpired. All they knew was that a Sun Moon dragon had detonated himself! When Su Yu learned of the full situation, he was torn between tears and laughter. Lan Tian... thank goodness for him! They had nearly been discovered beforehand. If a fellow like Lan Tian grew even stronger, he alone could stir up storms across the world. Fortunately, the fellow had noticed in time and caused a commotion, allowing Su Yu and his forces to smoothly take the Dragon Realm. With that, all four realms had been successfully subjugated. Although the Dragon Realm had experienced a minor hiccup, it had only cost one of Lan Tian's avatars, which was of little consequence. At the cost of a single avatar of Lan Tian, Su Yu had successfully conquered the four realms. At this point, the perils of the lower realm were virtually settled. The Gods, Demons, and Immortals had no allies left! Once Marquis Jiantian and Duobao were dealt with, Su Yu could temporarily set the lower realm aside.