Chaotic Power

Shortly after Xia Longwu and the others departed, Su Yu also stepped out of Daoshi Mountain. Daoshi Mountain was among the smallest peaks in the vicinity, surrounded by several mountains towering tens of thousands of meters high. And all of this was merely the outer periphery. Su Yu headed toward the ten-thousand-meter-tall mountain nearest to Daoshi Mountain. With his Heavenly Gate open, he could see that there were experts inside these peaks. These experts were connected to the chaotic power of this realm, projecting phantoms that ordinary people could not detect, but Su Yu could see them clearly. The mountain he chose seemed to harbor a giant beast with two massive tusks. Exactly what it was called, Su Yu did not know. Its most defining feature was those two tusks—exceedingly sharp, somewhat resembling an elephant's, but straighter. …… Before long, Su Yu arrived near the towering mountain and observed it from afar. There were no other ancient beasts on the mountain. In contrast, on some of the peaks without projecting phantoms, there might be weaker ancient beasts. A projection meant a high probability of a Dao Integration realm being present. With such an expert occupying the ground, ordinary ancient beasts dared not draw near. Observing further, Su Yu spotted a gray pillar of light atop the peak. Looking closer, it was actually a current of air formed by the absorption of chaotic power. "Dwelling at the mountaintop turns out to be for absorbing this chaotic power more easily." Su Yu observed carefully and finally saw the giant beast. Right at the summit! Its body was colossal and its aura overwhelmingly potent. It was not the Dao power of ordinary cultivators; rather, its entire being was brimming with chaotic power. "Ancient beast... Great Dao... River of Time... chaotic power..." Su Yu studied it intently. This Giant-Tusk Beast was not cultivating a conventional Dao; it seemed to simply strengthen its physical body. Did this count as an alternative Physical Body Dao? "How does a Physical Body Dao forged with this chaotic power compare to the human race's Physical Body Dao? Where are the gaps? What are the pros and cons?" Su Yu pondered, evaluating. The Wild Heavenly Beast was similar—it cultivated the Physical Body Dao, yet it had connected to the River of Time. This Giant-Tusk Beast, however, did not seem to be connected. Why did the Wild Heavenly Beast connect to the River of Time? One question after another rose in Su Yu's mind. Since coming to the Upper Realm, his greatest puzzle lay in Chaos Mountain, and his greatest harvest lay here as well. Though he had arrived not long ago, it had exposed him to an entirely different system—one that did not walk the path of the River of Time! For Su Yu, witnessing and grasping this was an exceedingly important realization. Su Yu was pondering and did not draw any closer. He needed to observe the situation before making a move. …… Atop the mountain, the Giant-Tusk Beast slumbered, continually drawing in the chaotic power. Its two massive tusks glinted with a cold gleam. Now, the tusks flickered faintly. Suddenly, a tiny slit opened in the beast's colossal eye. In the next instant, one of the massive tusks shot out abruptly! Shattering the void! Piercing through space! In a flash, it rocketed beyond the giant mountain. …… Boom! With a thunderous crash, Su Yu first tried to evade. Finding it impossible to dodge in time, he threw a punch. He did not mobilize any Dao power, relying solely on pure physical strength. As his fist slammed forward, Su Yu fled rapidly, shaken to the core. How sharp! Here, concealment abilities were diminished considerably. Moreover, grasping Dao power made him stand out like a sore thumb here. Su Yu did not dare expose the power of his Brush Dao, which was why he had clashed using only physical might. Boom! Pfft! The massive tusk stalled for an instant under Su Yu's punch, yet without lingering at all, it lunged again in the blink of an eye, piercing clean through Su Yu's arm. Su Yu let out a low growl and tapped forward with his brush. With a tearing sound, he sent the giant tusk flying and escaped in the blink of an eye. Had he gone all out, the Giant-Tusk Beast would likely have been no match for him. But the moment Su Yu exerted the Brush Dao, he clearly felt the projections on several nearby peaks tremble. Evidently, those ancient beasts had also sensed an intruder. If Su Yu continued fighting with the Brush Dao, even if he managed to kill the Giant-Tusk Beast, he would face attacks from even more ancient beasts. …… A few minutes later, Su Yu reined in his aura once more and hid in a mountain valley, looking grim. What sharp instincts! The Giant-Tusk Beast might not have truly spotted him, but instinctively sensing danger nearby or that someone was peering at it, it had struck decisively, shooting a giant tusk straight at him. "A very sharp tooth. Purely in terms of destructive power, it possesses the lethality of a fifth-class Dao Integration. "And that's just a single tusk. Even if it's the core of its power, the Giant-Tusk Beast as a whole probably possesses fourth-class or third-class Dao Integration strength!" Third-class was the standard for veteran ancient marquises, such as Marquis Yunxing, Marquis Dingjun, and Marquis Modang. Fourth-class was the strength of veteran Dao Integration experts from the Lower Realm like Ape Emperor. Fifth-class was standard Dao Integration combat strength. Sixth-class consisted of the weaklings among Dao Integration—either freshly advanced or having broken through via the Three Incarnations method, quite feeble. To think that a mere beast on the periphery possessed third- or fourth-class Dao Integration combat power was terrifying. "Then again, these giant beasts have lived for so long. Grinding away bit by bit until they reached their current combat power is only natural." Many giant beasts in Chaos Mountain were beings from the ancient or even primordial eras, so having such strength was not entirely unexpected. Su Yu looked at his arm. It had been pierced through by the tusk, the bone snapped. The tusk was enormous, nearly severing his arm outright. In terms of physical toughness, Su Yu surpassed many Dao Integration experts, but compared to these chaotic path experts who cultivated the physical body exclusively, there was still a substantial gap. "Chaotic power also carries a corrosive force." Su Yu sensed it carefully. This chaotic power, cultivated and refined by the giant beast, clung to the wound, making its various destructive properties even more palpable to him. "It even feels somewhat like death qi!" He examined it closely, then nodded slightly. It truly did share a semblance with death qi. Now that was interesting—chaos inherently contained death qi. Sure enough, the myriad daos encompassed the Death Dao. The Dao of Death Qi in the River of Dead Spirits ultimately originated from the myriad daos. No matter how many changes occurred, they never departed from the fundamental source; it was still a product of the same system as the River of Time. "The new neighbor isn't very friendly." Su Yu shook his head. To fool someone, one at least had to meet face-to-face and talk. Running into these creatures that wouldn't speak and simply lashed out immediately was truly troublesome. It proved Bai Feng's words true: no matter how silver-tongued you are, if I ignore you and punch you in the face, you'll still suffer. "Sure enough, the best way to deal with swindlers and smooth-talkers is to ignore them and hit them right away!" Su Yu laughed self-deprecatingly, then chuckled. "Its detecting me, sensing me, and targeting me was probably all due to the Brush Dao. Even though I masked it, traces of the Great Dao still leaked out. "I need an array like the one used by the Prison King lineage to completely mask those fluctuations, allowing me to unleash my full strength without worrying about alerting other ancient beasts and becoming a target. "Or simply cultivate the path of chaos." Su Yu pondered. The civilization chronicle inherently possessed the concept of reopening chaos. Perhaps he could cultivate a pseudo chaotic dao right now. "The jumbled mix of myriad dao powers is the path of chaos. "Sorted out, it becomes the myriad daos. "Lan Tian might be able to test it by mixing the myriad daos together. If it works for him, I can give it a try..." At this thought, Su Yu called out, "Lan Tian?" He called out tentatively. Had Lan Tian followed him out? To be frank, without using Dao power, even Su Yu had trouble detecting the fellow. Of course, if he opened his Heavenly Gate and Lan Tian used Dao power, Su Yu could spot him. But Lan Tian wasn't an idiot; he was unlikely to deploy Dao power here. "Lan Tian?" Su Yu called again. No one answered. Su Yu smiled. "Come on out for a chat!" The moment he spoke, less than a thousand meters away, a small stone suddenly revealed two eyes. Lan Tian asked in an earnest tone, "Emperor Yu, what did you call me for?" "..." Su Yu stared at the little pebble, barely holding back a curse. You really are here! I was only testing! Two legs sprouted from the stone, and it scurried over to Su Yu. Its aura was faint, barely noticeable. With two eyes blinking on its rocky surface, it ran up to Su Yu and said innocently, "Emperor Yu, what is it?" Helpless and amused, Su Yu asked, "You actually made clones?" A stone clone? He had to hand it to him! "Just testing the waters. This place repels the Great Dao quite heavily. I'm currently contemplating this chaotic power, so I made quite a few clones to comprehend it. That's better than trying to grasp it alone." Fine, you win. Su Yu smiled. "Can your Common People Dao accommodate this chaotic power?" Stone Lan Tian said earnestly, "Not for now. The so-called chaotic dao is a tangled mix of the myriad daos, whereas my dao was actually sorted out from the myriad daos. To turn it into a chaotic dao, the prerequisite is throwing my own Dao power into disorder, which could easily trigger conflicts and cause my clones to burst..." Lan Tian explained briefly, then added, "It requires fine-tuning. The chaotic dao should also consist of specific proportions. Emperor Yu, you can open your Heavenly Gate to take a look, analyze the ratios of various Dao powers and how they blend together, and in the end, formulate a power akin to chaotic power!" Stone Lan Tian gave an honest smile. "All the Great Daos under heaven never depart from their origin. They came from chaos, so naturally, they can return to chaos!" Su Yu nodded thoughtfully. "You make a good point." Lan Tian added, "Chaotic power isn't necessarily superior; you don't need to assume this dao is inherently stronger, Emperor Yu! Predecessors had good reason to sort out the powers of the Great Dao. Dao power once organized can return to chaos at any time, whereas chaos cannot simply be sorted into the myriad daos on a whim." Lan Tian chuckled ingenuously. "The so-called chaos is merely a lack of deep comprehension of the Great Dao, an inability to untangle it. These brute beasts may seem strong, but their intellect is low; their strength was ground out purely over eons of time." Su Yu nodded once more. Lan Tian continued, "Of course, as I see it, this is a process: emerging from chaos, sorting the myriad daos, and then returning the myriad daos to chaos. In the end, returning to chaos is also an expression of immense power. However, if you skip the stage of organizing the myriad daos, it simply means you don't understand the Dao." Su Yu nodded again with a smile. "Fellow Daoist Lan Tian truly has deep roots in the Dao." Su Yu understood Lan Tian's point naturally. Tracing the myriad daos back to their source and returning them to the chaotic dao—that was true capability! Being able to use only chaotic power—that was ignorance, relying on brute force alone. Being able to use only a single Dao power—that was one-sided specialization, knowing nothing about other daos beyond one's familiar path, carrying far too many limitations. "Analyzing the composition of chaotic power..." Su Yu sighed with slight regret. "I'm not particularly adept at this sort of thing, but for now, I'm the only one who can do it. Fellow Daoist Lan Tian, you hail from the Modification Department, so you should understand research like this, right?" "Naturally!" Stone Lan Tian chuckled. "These past few days, I've actually been studying the ratios. But even if I work it out, only I can use it. Can you manage it, Emperor Yu?" "Of course I can!" Su Yu chuckled, then pondered and smiled. "Never mind that for now. Let's see who our neighbors are first. Once we've checked them out, we'll head back and study it together. First, I'll use the civilization chronicle to sketch out a pseudo chaotic dao!" He could also craft a new page to temporarily house the pseudo chaotic dao. Ideally, he would slaughter a weaker ancient beast to analyze it thoroughly, or even absorb it with the civilization chronicle to perceive its memories. Killing a powerful beast at the Dao Integration level would create too much commotion, but killing a Sun Moon or Eternity realm beast shouldn't be an issue, right? With Su Yu's current strength, even without using Dao power, an ordinary ninth-stage Eternity would kneel before him. At this moment, Su Yu felt a twinge of regret. It was a pity that his teacher Bai Feng and the others were too weak and lacked deep comprehension of the Great Dao. Otherwise, if such a task were tossed to them, they would soon have it analyzed down to the finest detail, deciphering exactly which Dao powers were blended inside. Every profession had its specialty. Su Yu was strong and versatile, but he truly was not a master of everything. He could analyze the ratios, but it would cost him time. …… Before long, Su Yu set off again to scout the surrounding neighbors. In this outer sector, using a thousand-li radius around Daoshi Mountain, Su Yu found seventy-seven peaks, three chaotic rivers, and one primeval forest. Among the seventy-seven peaks, twenty-two harbored Dao Integration beasts. It wasn't as many as imagined, but still stronger than anticipated, representing twenty-two Dao Integration beasts—terrifyingly formidable. It was no wonder the myriad races never dared enter this damned place! As for the three chaotic rivers, Su Yu sensed beasts in all of them; he didn't dare draw too close. That primeval forest likely harbored experts as well. If so, that meant within a thousand li, there were twenty-six Dao Integration beings! An astonishing figure! Beyond that lay the true interior of Chaos Mountain. Su Yu dared not venture further, treating the forest and one of the chaotic rivers as the boundary. During his scouting, he found no trace of the Prison King lineage. Either they were not here, or they resided deep inside. If they were truly living in the interior, their audacity was staggering; a single misstep would invite catastrophe. "Over twenty Dao Integration beings..." Su Yu sighed in amazement. Chaos Mountain was indeed a perilous zone, perhaps the greatest and most dangerous treacherous ground in the entire Upper Realm. Even if the myriad races conquered the Upper Realm, they wouldn't dare enter Chaos Mountain. "However... the beasts of Chaos Mountain don't dare leave rashly either." In Chaos Mountain, these beasts held the upper hand, but Su Yu observed that once they left, they would likely be suppressed. If they entered the Lower Realm, where the power of the River of Time flourished most brightly, they would have virtually no room to survive, their chaotic power smothered entirely. "Sure enough, there's a reason wild beasts don't exist in the Lower Realm; it isn't suitable for their survival. Unless, like the Wild Heavenly Beast, they transform their Dao to connect with the River of Time..." By now, Su Yu's understanding had deepened. The Wild Heavenly Beast's Dao connected to the River of Time, which meant it actually possessed considerable wisdom. Within the reach of the River of Time, had it not opened a Physical Body Dao, it would have been horribly suppressed. Continuing down the ancient beast path would drastically diminish its strength. When in Rome, do as the Romans do—in the myriad realms, it had to follow the rules of the myriad realms. And the rules of the myriad realms were dictated by the River of Time. "If the River of Time is a Great Dao, then its master turned the myriad realms into his personal domain, ordering the entire Great Dao so that any chaotic creature entering the realms must abide by his rules of the myriad daos!" The more he realized this, the more terrifying the River of Time seemed. …… This scouting trip took Su Yu three days. He was injured several times, though none posed grave peril. There were many Dao Integration beasts among the peripheral peaks, but mostly third- or fourth-class; second-class ones were rare. At this point, only five days had passed since Su Yu arrived in the Upper Realm. Sharpening the axe does not delay the woodcutter; Su Yu felt these three days were well spent. …… Daoshi Mountain. Su Yu returned. Marquis Dingjun was growing anxious. The moment Su Yu got back, he said hurriedly, "Emperor Yu, three days have passed. Are we going to contact Marquis Anying? He sent another invitation to meet..." "No rush!" Marquis Dingjun was helpless. No rush even now? What was this man planning? Su Yu didn't bother explaining and quickly said, "King Dazhou, Lan Tian, call King Daming up. Let's do some research together and analyze the composition of chaotic power." The other Dao Integration experts present were Jiu Yue, Xinghong, and Marquis Dingjun. Su Yu didn't call on these three; they weren't cut out for research. Under the blank stares of Marquis Dingjun and the others, King Daming soon came up from the array foundation. Hearing Su Yu's proposal, the Civilization Masters were all intrigued. They were all Civilization Masters! Indeed, Civilization Masters invariably did some research. Studying chaotic power was an interesting and profoundly meaningful project. Inside the cave. Jiu Yue, Xinghong, and Dingjun sat off to the side like fools, while in the center of the cavern, Su Yu and his companions worked overtime, diligently dissecting the ratios of chaotic power. …… At this moment, that old schemer King Dazhou brought out his real skills. Divine characters surfaced one after another—"Dismantle," "Divide," "Separate," "Merge," "Dissolve"—breaking apart the chaotic power. As he dismantled it, King Dazhou remarked, "In fact, several experts back in the ancient era conducted research on chaotic power. If I remember correctly, the Human Sovereign, King Wen, Prison King, and King Ming all studied it." Sitting aside and watching the show, Xinghong chuckled. "What about King Wu?" "That barbarian didn't understand this..." King Dazhou blurted out, then quickly caught himself with a dry cough. "Ahem, no, what I meant was King Wu wasn't interested in such things." He salvaged a shred of King Wu's dignity. Lan Tian had manifested numerous clones, each investigating different ratios of Dao power. Countless clones laughed in unison, "Why try to hide it? King Wu was a barbarian, what's wrong with saying it! Without anyone backing him, he would just be a second Martial Emperor! Undoubtedly, the Human Sovereign and King Wen helped him a great deal back then; otherwise, he never would have reached that height." King Dazhou grinned wryly, not commenting further. Marquis Dingjun, on the other hand, felt his teeth ache hearing this. These people were insulting King Wu! He personally favored King Wu: frank, loyal, deeply affectionate, a true man. People like King Wen... as mighty as they were, Marquis Dingjun was actually somewhat frightened of them. You never knew whether they might smile at you one moment and slaughter you the next. He sighed inwardly. Looking at Su Yu and his companions now reminded him of the ancient Human Sovereign and the others. Deep down, he actually rather liked the Hundred Battles King, because looking at the Hundred Battles King felt somewhat like looking at King Wu. Dealing with someone like King Wu was very comfortable. Yet in his heart, Marquis Dingjun also knew that during the ancient era, King Wu was merely a vanguard general. Decision-making fell to the Human Sovereign and King Wen; even when neither was around, Prison King might preside, or perhaps King Ming. In any case... it was rarely King Wu, unless there was no other choice. Dealing with people like Su Yu, if you were on their side, felt extraordinarily easy. Whatever could be done, they did. You didn't need to rack your brains; they arranged everything. You only had to follow orders: whom to kill, and you would almost certainly kill them, without things descending into chaos. Sigh! Marquis Dingjun sighed again. It was a good thing, yet it also put great pressure on people like him. While he was lost in thought, countless Lan Tians suddenly spoke up simultaneously: "One unit of chaotic power divided into ten thousand parts. Fire power accounts for nine parts, comprising nine different types of fire..." "There is raging fire, corrosive fire, scorching fire, five-elements fire..." He rapidly supplied several ratios, which Su Yu swiftly recorded. Lan Tian was the best suited for research because of his multitude of clones, each comprehending different Great Daos. Soon after, King Daming spoke: "There are twenty-seven different array powers. Hard to categorize specifically, but I can demonstrate them, divided into ten thousand parts for proportioning..." King Daming began demonstrating promptly. While Lan Tian was still calling out figures and King Daming was demonstrating, King Dazhou's voice chimed in continuously: "Spatial, sealing, silence—various rule powers are all present, in varying proportions..." "..." Marquis Dingjun transmitted his voice to Jiu Yue and Xinghong: "Do you two understand any of this?" Xinghong and Jiu Yue nodded. Marquis Dingjun looked at them in awe. In truth, he just found it terribly noisy and irritating! Mainly because there were so many Lan Tians, all chattering at once with endless numbers and ratios. Take the Five Elements: wasn't it just metal, wood, water, fire, and earth? Yet from what Dingjun heard, there were over fifty varieties of Five Elements power alone. Was there really a difference? Words failed him! Did those two truly understand? Jiu Yue transmitted back with a naive chuckle: "I understand the words, so I just listen!" In short: I can hear the speech; who can't hear words? As for what it meant and how the ratios worked, that wasn't his concern—far too tedious. Some of those powers, he had never even encountered. Xinghong nodded as well. Exactly, just listen, why babble so much? Marquis Dingjun sighed helplessly and transmitted again: "Are they always like this?" "Rarely," Xinghong replied with a smile. "Unless they run into a problem too difficult for one person to solve, they seldom analyze and research together like this. Emperor Yu used to specialize in this sort of thing, though he set it aside in recent years." "He's only twenty-two; he worked on this before?" "Indeed." Xinghong didn't bother elaborating. In fact, much of what Su Yu possessed had been deduced by himself. Opening the Heavenly Gate in this era took fortunate encounters, but it wasn't all luck. Besides, even if someone else had been given those opportunities, they might not have seized them. …… Su Yu and the others ignored them, steadily dismantling the chaotic power. Breaking down these forces was something ordinary cultivators could never achieve. Even if they could, they wouldn't be able to distinguish the nuances between different powers. There were many types of fire power alone; how could someone without deep comprehension of the Great Dao differentiate them? Fortunately, Su Yu and his companions were familiar with them. Su Yu continuously synthesized the data. In truth, chaotic power revolved around only a few primary forces. The Five Elements, Yin and Yang, Life and Death—Su Yu had contemplated all of them before; they formed the foundation of his "Yu" divine character, so his perception was sharper than anyone else's. Of course, other forces existed in abundance, and their breakdowns were manifold. But Su Yu had previously witnessed myriad Dao powers to siphon power from the River of Time, so he felt some resonance with most of them. The one providing the greatest help was Lan Tian. That fellow had truly dabbled in every power imaginable. However, with so many systems of power, the group worked day and night until they nearly forgot why they had come to the Upper Realm in the first place. …… Meanwhile, in the Upper Realm. Inside a small city. Marquis Anying frowned. Seven days had passed since his first message to Marquis Dingjun, yet there was still no reply. Where on earth was Marquis Dingjun? Did he want to meet or not? Or was he unable to meet? Sigh! Marquis Anying sighed inwardly, growing anxious. What had happened to Marquis Dingjun? Just then, Marquis Anying's expression shifted slightly, his ears twitching. In the distance, two demon race experts were flying through the air. Before Marquis Anying could hear their conversation, one of the two demon experts shouted loudly: "Envoy of the demon race requests an audience with Dao Master Shengming!" Within the small city, an expert who had recently stepped into the Dao Integration realm manifested in the air, asking coolly, "What business does the demon envoy have?" "By order of the Demon Council, we invite the powerhouses of all races to encircle and suppress the human race's Marquis Huoyun!" The demon expert shouted, "The human remnants have evaded eradication, repeatedly raiding various races and plaguing the myriad races of the heavens! Today, the whereabouts of Marquis Huoyun at Divine Fire Mountain have been exposed! The demon race invites heroes across the world to slay the scoundrel Huoyun! At present, the demon race has already locked down Divine Fire Mountain..." In the void, Dao Master Shengming listened for a moment, frowning slightly. After a long pause, he said slowly, "Understood. Ten days from now, I will go to Divine Fire Mountain to lend support." The demon envoy smiled. "Dao Master Shengming is righteous. This battle is merely to deter the other human remnants. Slaying a remnant like Huoyun through the combined might of the immortal, demon, and other races will be effortless; flattening Divine Fire Mountain won't take the slightest effort! We must visit other daochangs, so we will take our leave." "Safe travels," Dao Master Shengming said politely. The two envoys quickly departed. Marquis Anying's face paled. Marquis Huoyun... was exposed! Although everyone knew the general whereabouts of certain human marquises, perilous lands were vast; even knowing someone was there, plunging in recklessly would easily result in casualties. Divine Fire Mountain was far more dangerous than Bright Moon Flower Valley. In Bright Moon Flower Valley, the flowers possessed only Dao Integration power and had to join forces to kill a Dao Integration expert. But Divine Fire Mountain was a volcanic region rooted in earth veins, where flames surged to the point of posing danger even to Heavenly Kings. It was easy to guess Marquis Huoyun was there because he was Marquis Huoyun, and his combat power peaked in such an environment. Previously, fearing losses, the myriad races hadn't bothered him much even knowing he was there. Yet now, they were actually going to encircle and suppress Marquis Huoyun! And they had invited experts from across the myriad races! "Marquis Huoyun..." Anying's heart trembled. With such immense fanfare, Marquis Huoyun wouldn't be able to escape. Crucially, it was suddenly made known to everyone... Evidently, the demons weren't worried about leaks; or rather, they had leaked the news intentionally. Marquis Dingjun! Marquis Anying deduced rapidly. Perhaps this was related to Marquis Dingjun. Dingjun had been taken away, and Anying had been wondering who took him. A human expert? An ally? Or an enemy? Now it seemed likely an ally or human cultivators, and the demons wanted to draw them out! Torn between doubts and hesitation, Marquis Anying quickly sent out a third meeting signal: disaster had struck. Marquis Huoyun was among the stronger of the six Dao Integration experts the human race had left, boasting top-tier Dao Integration combat power. If Marquis Huoyun died as well, catastrophe would follow. Minshan dead, Dingjun missing, Huoyun slain... it would be an absolute disaster. Then the human race in the Upper Realm would have only three Dao Integration experts remaining: himself, Marquis Yunshui, and General Yingwu. Three Dao Integration experts... what could they accomplish? "Did Dingjun betray us or not? Is someone backing him?" Beset by questions, Marquis Anying grew frantic. With the news spreading so far and wide, he worried even more that Marquis Yunshui and General Yingwu wouldn't be able to hold back and would rush to Divine Fire Mountain. If so... the human race's foothold in the Upper Realm could easily be wiped out in one fell swoop. Granted, according to prior agreements, they were supposed to avoid mounting rescues during crises. But previously, Marquis Minshan had held down the fort; with Minshan dead, Marquis Anying couldn't rein in the others. At this moment, Marquis Anying could hardly wait. Ten days! Ten days later, the experts of all races would converge at Divine Fire Mountain. "Five days at most. If Marquis Dingjun still doesn't reply... I must head to Divine Fire Mountain early to scout out the situation. I hope Yunshui and the others don't show up..." Marquis Anying was weighed down with worry. …… Meanwhile, Marquis Dingjun was also frowning deeply. Marquis Anying had sent a third transmission. And this time, the message made it clear that they had to meet; the situation was dire. Marquis Dingjun could hold back no longer. He stood up, looked at the experts who were completely absorbed in their work, and said solemnly, "Emperor Yu, Marquis Anying sent a third message. The situation is urgent; he wants to meet!" Su Yu was currently compiling all the data. He glanced sideways at Dingjun, appearing in a slight daze for a long moment before muttering, "Marquis Dingjun?" "..." Damn it! Marquis Dingjun was rendered speechless. Had they forgotten they were in the Upper Realm? Had they also forgotten he had been waiting here for days? Even that iron-eating beast Jiu Yue had fallen asleep; they had probably forgotten all about the rest of them. Helpless, Marquis Dingjun repeated himself. Only then did Su Yu snap to full awareness. He nodded. "I see. How much time has passed?" "Eight days in total!" For these past eight days, these people had gone without sleep or rest. The countless Lan Tians had not stopped chattering for a single moment, driving Marquis Dingjun to the brink of madness. He truly admired Jiu Yue for managing to sleep through it. He had to yield to that! Yet right now, he couldn't care about any of that. With Marquis Anying attempting to arrange a meeting three times in a row, he was growing anxious. Were Su Yu and the others done yet? How much longer would this take? At that moment, Su Yu tidied up the materials and exhaled. "Only eight days? I thought it had been much longer." He was in no rush to reply. Looking over what he had recorded, he smiled. "I think it's largely complete. There might still be some gaps, but for now, it's hard to distinguish them. Only continuous trial and error will help us pinpoint the missing powers." Countless Lan Tians merged into one, turning into Lan Tian's true form—a handsome young man. Well, heaven only knew if it was truly his real self. Lan Tian's face was pale as he chuckled. "Even if we've identified all the powers, reassembling and proportioning them into chaotic power won't be an easy task." Su Yu nodded. "I know. No rush, we can test it gradually! If we succeed, you and I will have a chance to transform into chaotic power, walking freely through Chaos Mountain, or even masquerading as ancient beasts!" "Emperor Yu..." Marquis Dingjun grew anxious. Su Yu glanced at him and said after a pause, "What's the rush? Marquis Anying isn't dead yet! If he were in grave danger, he wouldn't have the time to look for you, let alone meet!" Su Yu rebuked him, then quickly added, "We'll meet tomorrow. Tonight, I will attempt to deduce chaotic power." He wasn't in the slightest hurry. Naturally, it was also because it didn't concern him directly. Could anything be more important than deducing chaotic power? Besides, with things being so urgent, one had to beware of a trap. What a coincidence—nothing happened while they weren't here, yet the moment they arrived, everything became a dire emergency? Su Yu felt there was an eight or nine out of ten chance that this was a trap, or aimed at them. If they could endure for six thousand years, couldn't they wait a few days now? Marquis Dingjun was blinded by concern, whereas Su Yu saw clearly as a bystander. Most likely, this had something to do with their arrival. If he could reconstitute chaotic power... Su Yu thought rapidly, a faint smile surfacing on his face. Did the Prison King lineage know chaotic power? Undoubtedly someone did! Not derived from the myriad daos like his own, but purely cultivating chaotic power just like the ancient beasts. Once he mastered chaotic power, the myriad races would quickly connect it to Chaos Mountain. He wouldn't need to create a massive spectacle; simply revealing this power would promptly draw the attention of the myriad races toward Chaos Mountain! That was what truly mattered! "Very well. This is about as far as we can deduce for now. It just so happens we can go meet Marquis Anying tomorrow... If it's a trap, we'll just be careful. At worst, we flee right back into Chaos Mountain!" With that in mind, Su Yu began adjusting the forces repeatedly. Before him, strands of rule power continually collapsed. King Dazhou and the others watched quietly. None of them were in a hurry. Haste makes waste. Despite his advanced age, Marquis Dingjun still couldn't see through such things. …… That night, Su Yu attempted the process countless times. The next day, Su Yu's face was pale, looking somewhat drained. Under Marquis Dingjun's slightly worried gaze, several Dao Integration experts flew toward the outside of Chaos Mountain together. Midway through the flight, Lan Tian vanished. After another stretch, King Dazhou and the others vanished as well. In the end, only Su Yu and Marquis Dingjun remained. Together, they landed outside Chaos Mountain, where Marquis Dingjun impatiently crushed his jade pendant, waiting for Marquis Anying to arrive.