While Su Yu was reaping opportunities in the Star Residence Mansion, in the Upper Realm, at the Source of Dao...
After waiting for an entire day, Celestial Venerable Mo and Celestial Venerable Yue could no longer hold out. Even for experts of their caliber, withstanding the tremendous crashing force of the great river for a full day took a massive toll, forcing them to pull back.
As for whether Su Yu had died, they had no way of knowing.
In the Upper Realm, the fall of a powerhouse produced no heavenly phenomena.
Such phenomena occurred only at the exact instant of death, when a Great Dao severed and the power of rules violently detonated, churning up a rule vortex. If someone died elsewhere, no one could detect it unless they belonged to the same race or cultivated the very same Dao.
To their eyes, Su Yu was an expert of the Chaos race. Whether he was dead or alive was something probably only his fellow cultivators in that so-called Chaos race would know.
***
Celestial Venerable Mo and Celestial Venerable Yue stepped out of the River of Time.
They could not determine Su Yu’s fate. By common sense, he was dead without question. Yet if he had truly opened the Heavenly Gate... such peerless monsters sometimes possessed monstrous luck and were exceedingly difficult to kill.
Still, at this point, they had no other choice.
As the two stepped out from the river, several figures appeared beside them in the blink of an eye.
There was Celestial Venerable Ming from above the great river, Celestial Venerable Huang, who had been buried in the earth, and Mo Tian, who had slept in Seal Mountain—another Celestial Venerable-level powerhouse.
Counting the two newcomers, there were five Celestial Venerables gathered together.
Celestial Venerable Mo emerged and knitted his brows slightly. Having grasped the general situation, he asked, "Did he escape?"
Celestial Venerable Huang, newly awoken from his subterranean slumber, carried an aura of majesty without even trying to show anger. He nodded faintly. "He got away. He is Hundred Battles, after all—the absolute pinnacle beneath the Rulers of Rules. Even with one seal remaining, he isn't someone who can be killed easily."
He continued, "However, he paid a steep price. He won't be able to fight again anytime soon. The only thing he can do right now is undo that final seal."
At that, Celestial Venerable Huang added, "That seal is no ordinary technique. Could this so-called Chaos lineage... actually be the Prison King's lineage?"
He looked toward the others with uncertainty. "Back then, when that woman sealed Hundred Battles, the technique she used looked suspiciously like the Prison King's sealing arts. Hundred Battles has been unable to free himself for all these years, and now this Chaos race suddenly emerges... Could there be a connection between the two?"
It struck him as bearing the hallmark of the Prison King from ancient times.
The Prison King's sealing arts were extraordinarily potent. One needed only to look at how the Prison King had sealed Er Yue's Great Dao—sealing the Dao itself away so that it could neither manifest nor be cultivated.
Celestial Venerable Ming frowned slightly. "Regardless of whether they are or not, this lineage... is terrifying! As for Hundred Battles escaping..."
The corner of his lips curled into a cold sneer. "Let him run! Hundred Battles is impulsive by nature and has been sealed away for thousands of years. If he goes to settle the score with the Chaos lineage, all the better! If he doesn't, someone of his temperament will probably try to gather all the remaining human forces in one place... which is even better. We can wipe them out in a single sweep and avoid a repeat of the past six thousand years!"
Hundred Battles' escape did not truly matter. If he caused trouble for Mount Chaos, that would be ideal. If he didn't, knowing he was no match for them right now, he would most likely try to rally his old subordinates. People like Marquis Dingjun had become entangled with Mount Chaos and were probably dead by now anyway.
Hundred Battles might try to seek out allies, or simply wait for the passage to the Lower Realm to open so he could gather the humans down there—even if the Lower Realm hardly possessed many experts left.
Yet these Celestial Venerables knew that figures like Hongmeng had already become entangled with the humans of the Lower Realm.
It would be best if Hundred Battles dragged out every last hidden card and remnant foundation the humans possessed, allowing the various races to eradicate them once and for all, rather than dealing with another six thousand years of humans scattering and hiding everywhere, impossible to purge completely.
At those words, Celestial Venerable Yue said softly, "Hundred Battles' strength remains undeniable. We must still be cautious!"
Celestial Venerable Ming replied indifferently, "That was six thousand years ago. The likes of Bingku from back then are all dead! Today, a solitary tree cannot make a forest. What can Hundred Battles achieve all by himself?"
Celestial Venerable Mo chuckled softly. "What if he joins forces with Mount Chaos?"
At those words, the group exchanged glances and suddenly broke into laughter.
"That would be an even greater joy!"
Even Celestial Venerable Yue could not help smiling. "If he joins hands with Mount Chaos, nothing could be better! If Hundred Battles joins Mount Chaos, that hidden faction will no longer be able to conceal itself. Hundred Battles is impatient, rash, and accustomed to being the supreme leader. Who would call the shots in Mount Chaos? If he were in charge, we would truly have nothing to fear. If he weren't in charge, with his pride, could he ever bow his head and serve as a mere vanguard for Mount Chaos?"
They all laughed.
Yet the laughter faded an instant later, and their expressions turned solemn. Celestial Venerable Mo said softly, "Mount Chaos... that lineage might be far more terrifying than we imagined. Back then, we speculated there might still be some people hiding in the dark, but we thought it was only a handful. Yet now, you have all seen it..."
This time, eight Heavenly King-level experts had been slain.
Meanwhile, the other side had merely lost a single Heavenly King.
Of course, the other two might be dead as well, but even an eight-to-three trade was a devastating loss.
Still, if that person had truly opened the Heavenly Gate, it would be another story entirely, and perhaps not such a loss after all.
At this point, Celestial Venerable Ming asked, "What about those individuals?"
Celestial Venerable Mo shook his head. "They plunged into the end of the Place of Giant Waves. Celestial Venerable Yue and I kept watch for a day, but the crashing of the waves became too much for us to bear. There was no trace of them."
"Then they are dead for sure," Celestial Venerable Ming said.
Celestial Venerable Yue, however, did not offer a definitive answer, murmuring, "Not necessarily. No one knows what lies at the very end of the Place of Giant Waves. I have long suspected it might be connected to the River of Time, or harbor some unique property. Is it the true River of Time? Or the River of Time of the Lower Realm? In short, without seeing a corpse, we cannot be certain they have perished."
The others pondered this and nodded slightly.
Soon, Celestial Venerable Huang exhaled, stirring waves of rule ripples, and said heavily, "Enough. Since they were driven into the end of the Place of Giant Waves, let us treat them as nonexistent!"
Celestial Venerable Huang continued in a deep voice, "Back at Seal Mountain, I sensed that one of their Quasi-Kings died, named Zi Yan! It is hard to determine the exact strength of the Chaos lineage right now, but they should still be weaker than us; otherwise, they would have emerged long ago!"
His tone grew weightier. "However, their strength is genuinely formidable. The Council of All Races must be convened as soon as possible, and we must quickly decide on how to deal with Mount Chaos! Otherwise, panic will spread, and after suffering such massive losses, we will have a hard time giving an explanation to the various races!"
He added, "This time, our races lost eight Quasi-Kings, while the other side lost three, along with multiple Dao Integration experts... Terrible as it was, their losses were not light either!"
Having framed the narrative of the skirmish, Celestial Venerable Huang continued, "Additionally, there is something we must heed... There are issues with the newly emerged Great Daos of rules."
At this, everyone's brows furrowed.
Celestial Venerable Huang said solemnly, "You all sensed it as well. In their final moments, the auras of Hongding and the others plummeted drastically, and their Dao power even completely dispersed..."
His voice was grave. "We examined those replacement Daos previously. Though somewhat flimsy, they did not seem to pose any major issues at the time, and they gave our people an opportunity to boost their strength. Now it seems we underestimated the trouble behind them! The Chaos lineage might possess a method specifically targeting them. If that is true... then destroying them becomes even more urgent! There are far more than one or two powerhouses who switched Daos!"
Everyone turned solemn; this matter demanded their utmost attention!
They had indeed sensed it!
If the Chaos lineage truly held a way to counter those who switched Daos, then Mount Chaos had to be annihilated. Many experts across the various races had swapped Daos, and several were exceptionally powerful; the recent surge in Quasi-Kings was largely tied to those Great Daos of rules.
If those experts were neutralized, at least a third of their Dao Integration experts would be rendered useless in combat. That would be an unfathomable catastrophe.
Celestial Venerable Mo nodded. "This matter indeed warrants our vigilance! Furthermore, we must be wary of San Yue and Tianming. Tianming is less of a concern, as he was never entangled with Hundred Battles back then. But San Yue rushed toward this region earlier, likely intending to offer rescue."
Their gazes turned toward the distance, where a mountain stood—San Yue's mountain.
Mo Tian gave a sinister cackle. "Since Hundred Battles got away, why don't we join forces and slay San Yue first, so we don't have to worry about him harboring treacherous thoughts?"
Celestial Venerable Mo said softly, "San Yue looks simple on the outside, but his heart is shrewd and ruthless. He is not so easily killed! We could certainly slay him if we set our minds to it, but... we have yet to uncover the full depth of Mount Chaos. If we clash with San Yue right now and one of us falls, it will only benefit Mount Chaos! San Yue might be willing to aid the humans, but he won't necessarily help Mount Chaos. After all, Hundred Battles' sealing was closely tied to that lineage, and what's more, it was that lineage that exhausted humanity's foundation..."
At that point, Celestial Venerable Mo chuckled softly. "Spread the news! Tell everyone about the grievances between Hundred Battles and Yueluo, and reveal the truth behind humanity's downfall! Back then, to preserve the dignity of the various races, the truth was suppressed. But since Hundred Battles has fled... let it spread! I want to see whether Hundred Battles will have the face to ally with them once all races and all humans know that Mount Chaos is the chief culprit behind the exhaustion of humanity's foundation!"
"If he allies with them, I refuse to believe every single human has turned spineless and won't dare to rebel! If it sparks internal strife, so much the better!"
"Hundred Battles trusted a human traitor, blinded by lust, and brought about humanity's ruin. I want to see if the humans of today still dare to remain loyal to him!"
Celestial Venerable Mo gave an eerie smile. "Will humanity's allies, including San Yue, dare to choose Hundred Battles? He failed once and squandered humanity's entire foundation. If he fails again, what does humanity have left for him to ruin?"
The others exchanged glances, smiles spreading across their faces.
To destroy a man, destroy his heart!
Once the news spread throughout both the Upper and Lower Realms, could it be that humanity lacked even a single person of integrity?
As long as there was even one, Mount Chaos and humanity could never truly stand together.
Though the human race was no longer strong, who could say whether they still harbored hidden foundations?
Even in this Source of Dao, who could guarantee that no human powerhouses lay slumbering?
As for the humans of the Lower Realm, they had previously managed to slay Marquis Meteor and his companions; if nothing else, they certainly had a few Dao Integration experts. Moreover, would creatures like Doubao and Hongmeng dare to ally with Hundred Battles now?
"Agreed!"
They nodded in unison; they would proceed with this plan.
Since Hundred Battles had escaped, they would broadcast his past deeds to sow deliberate chaos.
Had he remained sealed without escaping, there would have been no need to speak of it.
With him sealed, most believed he was dead; spreading the truth back then would have only made it easier for humanity to raise a new Human Master, a new savior.
***
With the approval and orchestration of several Celestial Venerables, the news spread across the Upper Realm almost instantly.
The Chaos race was officially brought into the light.
Three Quasi-Kings and multiple top-tier Dao Integration experts had entered the Source of Dao to unseal Hundred Battles. A total of eleven Quasi-Kings and over ten Dao Integration experts had died in battle, and every expert who went to unseal Hundred Battles had perished!
Furthermore, the long-hidden secrets behind the battle of six thousand years ago were laid bare.
Back then, Hundred Battles had trusted Yueluo, a powerhouse of the Chaos race. Blinded by lust, he was betrayed by her and sealed within the River of Time, causing over a hundred Dao Integration experts from humanity and their allied races to perish in battle!
And now, the Chaos race had unsealed Hundred Battles merely to turn him and the remaining humans into their pawns and vanguard once more!
To further provoke Hundred Battles, rumors even claimed that his lust remained unquenched. Despite having brought about humanity's ruin on account of Yueluo and himself, now that he had escaped, he would likely cooperate with her again. To win Yueluo's favor, he would not hesitate to lead humanity into another ruinous defeat, willingly serving as Mount Chaos's vanguard!
When these rumors broke, even experts among the various races felt contempt.
Hundred Battles!
Was suffering once not enough? Did he really intend to consort with Yueluo again after escaping, selling out the human race a second time?
The rumors spread like wildfire!
The entire Upper Realm was abuzz with discussion.
The affairs of Hundred Battles and the Chaos race completely overshadowed the news of so many Quasi-Kings dying in battle.
As for Hundred Battles' escape, the times had changed. Hundred Battles stood alone, and his previous sealing had shattered his myth; the various races no longer feared him as they once had.
So what if he ran?
Moreover, the rumors portrayed him as a lust-blinded fool who had squandered humanity's entire foundation, naturally causing others to look down upon him and stripping away whatever reverence remained.
***
In the Iron-Eating race's territory.
When the news broke, Marquis Juzhu's expression shifted.
Within the grand hall, the faces of several Dao Integration experts paled.
Dead?
They turned their eyes to Jiu Yue. Jiu Yue, however, appeared utterly unconcerned and shook his head. "It must be a rumor. Putting Emperor Yu's strength aside, his methods are endless, and his life-saving means are terrifyingly abundant. How could he fall so easily?"
Smiling, he added, "If he had truly fallen, there would have been some commotion—a detonation of rule power. Yet there is complete silence, and they claim he was buried in the River of Time. That makes me believe it even less! Emperor Yu has opened the Heavenly Gate; the River of Time lies completely bare before his eyes. If anyone else died in the River of Time, I might believe it, but with Emperor Yu, it is impossible!"
Jiu Yue continued, "To take a step back, even if he truly had no way to escape, with Emperor Yu's personality, he would have fought to the death. Whoever pursued him would certainly have been killed, even if he had to take them down with him!"
Jiu Yue simply refused to take it seriously.
It was nothing but a rumor!
Knowing Su Yu's temper, if he were truly driven into a corner, he would detonate himself just to tear a chunk of flesh off his enemies. He would never go quietly like this, without kicking up the slightest ripple.
Marquis Juzhu looked at him thoughtfully. "You have that much faith in him?"
Jiu Yue shook his head. "It is not that I have faith in him; it is that the Ancestors should trust what they have witnessed with their own eyes. Back then, our Iron-Eating race did not believe he could win either. When Ancestor Liu Yue stepped forward to help him, it was merely out of loyalty to our alliance and because he had mastered the Iron-Eating Seventy-Two Castings... None of us could have foreseen the outcome that followed!"
"Before this, did Ancestor Juzhu believe Emperor Yu could slay eight Heavenly Kings? As for the fallen Zi Yan, she was an enemy as well, making it nine in total! Even now, the various races are kept entirely in the dark, acting like fools as they prepare to target the Chaos lineage..."
Jiu Yue chuckled softly. "Since that is the case, what is there to worry about? Rest assured, Ancestors. If Emperor Yu is fine, he will likely come to Mount Zhu soon! There are still many humans in the Upper Realm; Emperor Yu will not abandon them."
Marquis Juzhu and the others fell silent.
Beside Jiu Yue, Yuan Yue said with worry, "Jiu Yue, I heard King Hundred Battles has also been unsealed. If King Hundred Battles comes to our Iron-Eating race, how should we handle it?"
Jiu Yue laughed. "Treat him to good wine and fine food, then inform Emperor Yu and let Emperor Yu decide! For now, just string him along. We shouldn't make an enemy of Hundred Battles, but there is no need to treat him as a friend either. As for an alliance, ignore it entirely!"
Marquis Juzhu smiled. "So you mean to just placate him with empty gestures?"
"Naturally!"
Jiu Yue spoke as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Putting aside his murky relationship with the Prison King lineage, even if he has no ties to them at all, when forced to choose between Hundred Battles and Emperor Yu... all the Ancestors know what the choice must be! Furthermore, the reports say Emperor Yu might have stepped into the Heavenly King realm. If that is true, why would we need to care about Hundred Battles?"
"Our race did not ally with humanity just to throw our lives away!"
Jiu Yue spoke with eloquent ease. "Ever since our race allied with humanity up to this day, Emperor Yu has brought us nothing but benefits. As for Hundred Battles... he owes me my grandfather's life! And the Prison King lineage killed our Second Ancestor—a blood feud as deep as the sea! How could we possibly cooperate with Hundred Battles!"
His grandfather, Qi Yue, had gone to reinforce Hundred Battles back then and was slain in battle; Jiu Yue remembered that clearly.
Si Yue also nodded slightly. "Indeed, it is not wise to ally with Hundred Battles! Jiu Yue's words make sense. Let us just put him off with pleasantries. If he truly comes, there is no need to show hostility either; Hundred Battles is immensely powerful, after all."
The Iron-Eating beasts swiftly reached a consensus.
As for whether Su Yu was dead or alive, they would wait and see.
Jiu Yue was convinced he was alive, and after considering it, Marquis Juzhu and the others realized the likelihood was indeed high. Moreover, this new Human Master was an absolute ruthless character: tasked with killing three Dao Integration experts, he had gone and slaughtered eight Heavenly Kings instead.
If they assumed he was dead and acted rashly... they would have to be very careful of the consequences.
***
The entire Upper Realm was buzzing with discussions about these events.
Meanwhile, the center of the storm—the Chaos race, the Prison King's lineage—was utterly infuriated.
***
Deep within Mount Chaos, upon the vast valley plain, lay a new world resembling a grand kingdom.
At this moment, furious roars echoed from within the ancient hall!
"Useless!"
"A bunch of useless trash!"
"Dammit, how could this happen?"
"Zi Yan is dead! How did she even ascend to the Upper Realm?"
"If she ascended, why didn't she contact us?"
"They say Zi Yan unsealed Hundred Battles, so where did the other two Quasi-Kings come from?"
"..."
Roars rang out incessantly.
Although the Prison King lineage maintained an extremely low profile in the Upper Realm, they were by no means cut off from information; otherwise, they would not have known about the previous attack on the Dragon race.
At this moment, the mighty expert addressed as Ancestor said in fury, "When the Dragon race was attacked last time, I sensed something was amiss! Who would have thought that in just a few days, the world would be turned upside down, and the entire Upper Realm would learn of our existence!"
"We endured patiently for a hundred thousand years! Why couldn't we hold out for just this final stretch?"
The Ancestor fumed. Soon, someone whispered, "Calm your anger, Ancestor. Our race was already preparing to make a move during this tide anyway, so it would have been difficult to keep hidden for much longer. When Aunt Yueluo struck back then, the various races were already put on guard..."
"Silence!"
The Ancestor let out an enraged roar, cutting off the middle-aged man before him. "Knowing about us is one thing! Back then, the various races didn't know our depth; they only thought we had a few dozen or a few hundred people at most, and doubted we even had a handful of Dao Integration experts! But now? Nine Quasi-Kings and eight Dao Integration experts of the various races were slaughtered in one go... Even an idiot would realize our race possesses immense strength and must be guarded against with full force! Can the two situations be compared?"
Yueluo's strike back then had indeed exposed them somewhat.
However, that exposure had only revealed Yueluo alone.
How could the various races have known the true strength of their lineage? For all these years, the various races had found nothing, assuming only a few individuals were hiding somewhere. How could they have guessed this lineage possessed such overwhelming power?
And now look at what happened... Nine Quasi-Kings of the various races were dead!
If you tried to tell anyone your strength was mediocre now, who would believe you?
In his fury, the Ancestor said coldly, "Something is deeply wrong here. Zi Yan has fallen, and the exact circumstances remain unknown! But how Zi Yan reached the Upper Realm is the first question! Second, even if Zi Yan reached the Upper Realm, she wouldn't have acted recklessly unless she was coerced. Otherwise, why would Zi Yan sacrifice her own life just to rescue Hundred Battles?"
"Third, who in the world are those other two Quasi-Kings? Did they come from the Lower Realm? If they are from below, does the Lower Realm even possess Quasi-King-level powerhouses?"
"Fourth, the various races are now convening a council to discuss how to deal with us. That is our greatest loss from this debacle!"
"Fifth, Hundred Battles has been unsealed... Given his temperament, he will certainly come seeking revenge against us and Yueluo! Though still bound by a seal, Hundred Battles remains immensely powerful. To escape from the hands of multiple Celestial Venerables while sealed proves how terrifyingly strong he is..."
They had been framed!
The Ancestor had already deduced this much. Taking a deep breath, he looked around at the silent crowd in the hall and asked in a low voice, "Who do you think is orchestrating all this and framing us?"
The crowd found it genuinely difficult to judge.
Did the Lower Realm possess the capability to orchestrate such a scheme against them?
Soon, a young woman said softly, "If we truly have been framed, could it be the final member of the Torchbearer lineage?"
At those words, the eyes of the crowd flickered.
The woman continued gently, "Do not forget, there are only two passages connecting the Lower Realm to the Upper Realm. The first belongs to the Fate race, and the other... should be controlled by the Torchbearers!"
Hearing this, the Ancestor nodded slightly. "The Torchbearers had three leaders. Bingku and Danyu fell, but it is said their core leader has remained alive, never showing his face! Back then, when Yueluo asked Hundred Battles about it, Hundred Battles urged Bingku to invite that person out, but Bingku claimed that person was the true master of their Torchbearer lineage. They could die in battle, but that person could not... In the end, Hundred Battles had no choice but to give up."
At that, the Ancestor frowned slightly. "If so, Zi Yan's arrival in the Upper Realm makes sense! That Torchbearer leader possesses strength comparable to Bingku, who held the power of a Celestial Venerable... So capturing and coercing Zi Yan would be entirely plausible."
"As for the two Quasi-Kings who cooperated with Zi Yan... they might be remnants of the Torchbearers!"
Taking a deep breath, the Ancestor said, "Tracing these clues, Zi Yan was likely captured by that third leader of the Torchbearer lineage, or perhaps she betrayed us outright and leaked the information, leading to the trap we find ourselves in today!"
His voice carried a mix of fury and helplessness. A massive miscalculation!
In the hall, the middle-aged man who had spoken earlier said, "Ancestor, even if we try to argue our innocence now, I fear... no one will listen!"
"Argue our innocence?"
The Ancestor sneered coldly. "Would you believe the excuses of your enemy? Would you believe the words of people who have hidden in the dark for a hundred thousand years? Would you believe that those who sealed Hundred Battles are the good guys?"
Putting themselves in the shoes of the various races, they would treat such claims as utter nonsense!
Pure rubbish!
Your lineage hid for a hundred thousand years and stirred up so many covert plots—first sealing Hundred Battles, then unsealing him, while slaying a swarm of Quasi-Kings. If you stepped out now and claimed you were the good guys, who would believe you?
The elder wasted no more breath on the matter and commanded in a heavy voice, "Recall everyone stationed outside immediately! Have all those in secluded cultivation prepare to emerge! Once the Council of All Races convenes, targeting us will likely be placed on their immediate agenda! Previously, the various races dared not venture deep into Mount Chaos, but now, that may no longer hold true!"
"Find a way to stir up the ancient beasts on the periphery and herd them together. Do not let the various races pick them off one by one! If they gather, the various races will have to pay a steep price to slay them!"
"Prepare for war!"
The elder spoke with chilling resolve. "Furthermore, whether the various races believe it or not, leak the information. At the very least, both we and the various races should be prepared for the possibility of a third party: the Torchbearer lineage!"
He added, "Also, beware of Hundred Battles..."
The middle-aged man hesitated. "Should we... have Yueluo try again? Hundred Battles, he..."
The elder fell silent for a long moment before nodding. "I will notify Yueluo. Even if she cannot subdue Hundred Battles again, she must keep him occupied so he does not bring trouble to our doorstep!"
"Since we can no longer keep things hidden or concealed... then let the outside world know just how powerful my Sacred race truly is!"
The elder suddenly straightened his posture. An overwhelmingly powerful aura erupted, sweeping across the grand hall as he declared coldly, "In the ancient past, the king of our race, the Prison King, performed monumental deeds for humanity! Subduing the Demon Realm, suppressing Tianyuan, purging the Dragon race... His merits were no lesser than King Wen's! Yet King Wen, that treacherous official, abused his power to bully others, while the Human Sovereign was blind to talent, listened to slander, and punished our king—an act of utter muddleheaded incompetence!"
"Since the human race had no place for us, we founded a new race: our Sacred race!"
"Now, the world has changed! Our race has accumulated strength over a hundred thousand years, producing countless powerhouses. These heavens... shall revere our Sacred race!"
The elder spoke with stirring passion. "Six thousand years ago, Hundred Battles proved incompetent, bringing about humanity's defeat! Over these six thousand years, humanity's providence waned while our race flourished. Humanity's providence shifted to us, blessing our lands with extraordinary talents and an abundance of experts! Now that secrecy is no longer an option, we shall step into the world and let all races know that my Sacred race is the true master of these heavens!"
Within the hall, the gathered powerhouses felt their spirits surge!
Filled with intense excitement, they shouted their assent in unison.
The middle-aged man laughed heartily. "Whether this was a plot or not, it remains a fact that nine Quasi-Kings of the various races have fallen! And with the Torchbearer lineage losing two Quasi-Kings, eleven Quasi-Kings vanished in a single stroke! The strength of the various races has been shaved down considerably. Heaven blesses our Sacred race!"
Whether it was a trap could not be unraveled for now.
Yet counting Marquis Xuelong of the Dragon race, nine Quasi-Kings of the various races were truly dead!
Dead meant their strength was depleted—that was an undeniable truth.
Otherwise, had this third party not appeared, those powerhouses would still be alive to fight.
The elder smiled!
Viewing it from this perspective made him feel considerably better. Indeed, regardless of everything else, the various races had suffered massive losses—that was a concrete fact!
It was only a pity about Zi Yan...
No, she had it coming!
That useless wretch had likely betrayed them; otherwise, how could the Torchbearers have framed them so easily?
He simply did not know whether Zi Yan had accomplished the mission assigned to her: unsealing the experts in the Dead Spirit Realm and subduing the Western Heavenly King and his cohort.
The elder pondered this briefly before setting it aside.
Zi Yan was dead, and there was no way to learn the truth for now. Once the passage to the Lower Realm opened, everything would naturally come to light.
The elder dismissed the crowd. After a moment's contemplation, he stepped into the void.
Moments later, the elder appeared in a place of utter darkness.
A colossal black gateway stood erect in the abyss.
Near the gate, numerous powerful auras manifested.
This was the true core of their lineage.
It was also the very place the Prison King had guarded in the ancient past: the Gate of Hell!
As the elder arrived in the darkness, figures opened their eyes, offered greetings, or looked on with curiosity...
The elder walked straight ahead.
Soon, beneath that colossal gateway, a woman with an exquisite figure came into view.
Sensing the elder's arrival, she opened her eyes. A gaze filled with peerless tenderness fell upon him; without a single word, that look alone was enough to bewitch the soul.
"Ancestor..."
Her voice was gentle and soft, carrying an indescribable, pitiable charm.
The elder glanced at her. A flicker of desire surfaced in his eyes, only to be swiftly replaced by cold composure. He said softly, "Yueluo, your power is growing more terrifying by the day."
"The Ancestor flatters me."
The woman offered a faint smile, a smile that once again stirred a trace of infatuation within the elder. He quickly regained his calm, took a deep breath, and said, "Hundred Battles has been unsealed! Aside from your final seal, all the seals placed by the various races have been broken!"
Yueluo said softly, "Did he... come out?"
Her voice carried tenderness and a touch of nostalgia as she murmured, "How wonderful. When I sealed him back then, my heart was filled with endless regret. Ancestor, has he truly emerged?"
The elder pretended not to hear. One must never take Yueluo's words at face value!
"I came to find you—"
"There is no need for the Ancestor to say more."
Yueluo let out a soft sigh. "I shall go see him. I wronged him back then; whether he chooses to kill me or cut me to pieces, I shall accept it, so long as he understands my heart. I did it for my race, just as he did for his... Blame only our fate, which brought us together without the fortune to stay..."
Suppressing the restless stirrings in his heart, the elder wasted no words and said swiftly, "Then prepare yourself. Even if you cannot subdue him again, you must tie him down!"
He added quickly, "Furthermore, the third leader of the Torchbearers may have appeared! He framed us. If you find an opportunity, have Hundred Battles find a way to deal with him... Of course, if you cannot, do not force it..."
Yueluo said with delicate vulnerability, "Ancestor, how can your heart be so cruel? Hundred Battles has only just been freed; he still needs to rest and recover."
The elder did not reply. Knowing Yueluo's nature, he had no wish to linger. In the end, he said, "I leave Hundred Battles to you. The various races may push into Mount Chaos soon, and our race has no energy to spare for Hundred Battles right now..."
With that, the elder turned to leave. Behind him, Yueluo called out with a hint of sorrow, "Is the Ancestor leaving already? Yueluo hasn't even had the chance to share some warmth with the Ancestor..."
The elder's footsteps only quickened!
Throughout the entire dark domain, other cultivators trained together, but Yueluo alone occupied the vicinity of the Gate of Hell; not a soul dared linger near her.
Only after stepping outside the perimeter of the Gate of Hell did the elder bark, "Prepare for battle! Be ready to march out of the mountains at any moment!"
"Understood!"
Voices echoed from all around.
Feeling much more at ease, the elder departed swiftly.
Shortly after he left, the frail and delicate Yueluo stepped out of the darkness. The surroundings instantly fell dead silent.
"What a heartless bunch!"
Yueluo spoke with delicate petulance, feigning innocent sorrow. "How could you treat me so cruelly?"
In an instant, pity and lust welled up in several hearts, driving them with an urge to call out in comfort.
Quickly, someone nearby coughed lightly, sending a shockwave through the void that instantly snapped those individuals back to their senses.
Yueluo wore an expression of utter heartbreak, lamenting softly, "Fine, fine. I shall go find Hundred Battles. You heartless wretches are truly wicked!"
With that, an enchanting, bewitching smile blossomed across Yueluo's face, completely shedding her earlier delicate vulnerability.
Only after she vanished did the sound of exhaled breaths echo through the surroundings.
Someone let out a breath and remarked, "Yueluo has finally left. She is becoming more terrifying by the day!"
"Hundred Battles has been unsealed? Well, that gives Yueluo someone to play with. Better to let her go amuse herself with Hundred Battles."
"Hundred Battles might very well take the bait again... that fool..."
"Speak no more of him. It seems a great war is upon us; everyone, prepare yourselves!"
The voices gradually faded away.
Deep within the dark domain, following Yueluo's departure, several pairs of cold, icy eyes seemed to manifest upon the colossal Gate of Hell, peering from behind the doors out into the world.
Chapter 737