Picked Up a Skeleton

"Where are we heading now?" After emerging from the Ancient Space Beast race, Lan Tian asked, adding, "Right now you're Wu Yue and I'm Yuan Yue. We still need to rush back." "No rush," Su Yu chuckled. "Didn't they say ten days? Only one day has passed. What's the hurry?" Saying that, he quickly added, "First, let's find Xia Longwu and the others. We can't lose them!" Last time, he had brought several people up to the Upper Realm. Hu Xiansheng was still escorting Marquis Dingjun's daughter, Xia Longwu had struck out on his own, King Mican and several others were elsewhere, and there were also multiple Guardians. Now that several Celestial Venerables had noticed their presence, they needed to gather everyone and get them out in time. "True enough!" Lan Tian chuckled. "We definitely need to find Mican. I think he's quite afraid of me..." "..." Nonsense! Who wouldn't find you unbearable? Su Yu could not be bothered to indulge him. Lan Tian continued, "Are you worried Marquis Liekong might betray us?" Su Yu smiled. "Worrying doesn't change anything! At this stage, whether we worry or not, this is our only path forward. Manor Head Wan and the others have already headed to Mount Chaos. Even if they're betrayed, it's not like they have zero means of resistance... And if they truly couldn't even manage that, then this war would be impossible to fight anyway." Su Yu sighed. "Inaccurate intelligence gets people killed! I originally thought the Upper Realm only had seventy or eighty Dao Integrators and three to five Heavenly Kings—ripe for the taking! But look at it now... None of these ancient relics came out before, yet in my era they all crawl out of the woodwork. What is that supposed to mean?" Seventy or eighty Dao Integrators? To hell with that! There were three to five hundred! As for Heavenly Kings, eleven had already died, and right now, all the races combined easily possessed around thirty, not even counting any more ancient fossils that might surface—if more appeared, the count might reach fifty! Three to five, my foot—adding a zero to that would be closer to the truth! And as for Celestial Venerables, nine had already revealed themselves, and who knew if there were more? They would easily exceed ten! The God race only having one Celestial Venerable? He did not believe it! Did major races like the Dragon and Phoenix races really have no Celestial Venerables left? He did not believe that either! In any case, Su Yu was thoroughly speechless at the bastards who had provided the intelligence. Even if many experts had broken through over the past six thousand years, so many old fossils had stayed hidden without being mentioned beforehand. Those informants were utterly inexcusable. "War is ultimately an intelligence war!" Su Yu lamented. "If your intelligence is inaccurate, how can you fight? Fortunately, the myriad races are now being forced to reveal their hidden trump cards themselves. Otherwise, we'd have ended up killed by those fellows sooner or later!" Lan Tian chuckled faintly. "It can't be helped. Who told this era to be so intriguing that every hidden expert came crawling out? It's fine this way—we can wipe them all out together and save ourselves future troubles." "Easier said than done!" Su Yu shook his head. It sounded simple enough, but doing it was another matter entirely. Su Yu did not dwell on the matter and quickly shifted topics. "We still need to strengthen ourselves while weakening our enemies! The Dao of Chaos is worth studying. Once we stir up enough chaos in the Upper Realm, we'll head back to the Lower Realm and study it thoroughly!" "Do you have a plan yet?" "Not for the moment." Su Yu shook his head, then added, "This time, our main objective remains reconnaissance: figure out both sides' foundations and uncover their true strength! Once we investigate them inside out, we'll kill as many as we can!" "I'm worried that if we kill too many, both sides will target us," Lan Tian said with an eerie chuckle. "Why not focus our killing on just one side? We already killed quite a few experts from the myriad races. This time, I suggest we exclusively target the Prison King lineage, making the myriad races think it's dog-eat-dog!" The phrasing was unflattering, but it was the truth. When one was still relatively weak, fighting both sides made it all too easy to become a shared target. Lan Tian continued, "Earlier, even though we killed Heavenly Kings of the myriad races, from their perspective, we were framing the Prison King lineage! If we now turn around and slaughter the Prison King lineage, the myriad races will believe our true objective has always been them! If the Prison King lineage displays enough formidable power to evoke fear, the myriad races will gladly sit back and watch us tear each other apart!" Lan Tian chuckled softly. "In my view, the Prison King lineage is actually far more terrifying than the myriad races! After all, the myriad races aren't a single entity. No matter how closely the three dominant races cooperate, they aren't one body! But the Prison King lineage is different. Take their raid on the Nether race: their internal hierarchy is rigid, and orders are executed without hesitation—just like us! "A disorganized rabble isn't frightening, no matter how powerful they are. What is truly terrifying is a structured, strictly disciplined organization! So if you ask me to assess them, even though their full strength remains unclear, they are the ones I fear more!" Lan Tian's voice turned chilly. "Furthermore, they excel at ambushes. That aura-concealment formation of theirs is genuinely terrifying; the stronger they are, the more lethal it becomes! The Nether race's two Heavenly Kings were hiding elsewhere and were still sniffed out, which means they have ways to probe the Great Dao! Their capabilities overlap with ours, making them exceptionally troublesome!" Lan Tian's tone grew colder. "Emperor Yu, an opponent like this is the truly thorny one! The strength of the myriad races is just a paper tiger! Besides, this faction has remained concealed in Mount Chaos all this time. Nobody knows what conditions are like inside, or why so many powerhouses could be cultivated there! Natural talent? Resources? What about combat experience? Without battle, one cannot become an expert! "We excel at ambushes and blitzkrieg warfare, and so do they! "We are the Human race, and so are they. In places where we face no suppression, they likely face none either, don't they? "We can disguise ourselves and blend into the myriad races—and what about them? They could even infiltrate our ranks! "..." Lan Tian listed the Prison King lineage's dangerous traits one by one. Even though they had only seen the tip of the iceberg, he felt that the immediate priority was dealing with the Prison King lineage, not the myriad races. "Even if the myriad races have ten or twenty Celestial Venerables, so what?" Lan Tian sneered. "To put it bluntly, once the Martial Emperor in the Star Residence Mansion breaks free, he might just slaughter them all! Would he show mercy to the myriad races? I don't think so! But if you asked the Martial Emperor to kill the Prison King lineage... why would he? He might even feel he shares a common plight with the Prison King, united in mutual hatred, and decide to kill us instead!" This point gave Su Yu a jolt of awareness. If the Martial Emperor broke out and actually helped the humans, which faction would he help? Helping the Prison King lineage would certainly be more satisfying to him! Both shared King Wen and the others as enemies; both were humans. For a Martial Emperor who took pride in his human heritage, in order to cleanse the remnants left behind by King Wu and King Wen, would he spare Su Yu to attack King Wen's foes? The enemy of my enemy is my friend! Su Yu's expression changed slightly. Lan Tian's laughter grew increasingly eerie. "Emperor Yu, if you ask me, for now, we shouldn't treat the myriad races as true enemies. They might even be our helpers!" Su Yu narrowed his eyes, silent for a while before saying, "You rascal, you're asking me to help the myriad races fight against humans—even if those humans have cast aside their humanity. You really are rotten to the core." Lan Tian's chilling tone vanished instantly, replaced by a playful giggle. "Big Brother Emperor Yu, how can you say that about me? I'm only reminding you not to confuse our targets. The Prison King lineage is truly far more troublesome than the myriad races!" Su Yu nodded slightly. One hundred thousand years... Just how much strength had they amassed over these hundred thousand years? And then there was the Hell Gate. The Prison King had guarded the Hell Gate for a thousand years before his lineage retreated into Mount Chaos. What connection lay between the two? The Prison King lineage had an ancestral decree: never allow King Wen to return! Left behind by the Prison King himself! That implied the Prison King might know where King Wen was and what he had encountered. Was King Wen's misfortune plotted by the Prison King? Thoughts surfaced one after another in his mind. The ancient Human Sovereign and the Four Polar Human Kings were the most genius, formidable figures of that era. More than forty Rule Masters had suppressed over a hundred Rule Masters of the myriad races. Even with the myriad races united, the humans had smashed them to pieces. Why on earth did the Prison King betray them? King Wen punished him... Both were Four Polar Human Kings. Even if King Wen was stronger, for King Wen to punish him with the Human Sovereign's approval, what crime had the Prison King committed? A tangled mess! Moreover, the Prison King lineage shared a bloodline connection with the Demon Emperor... Su Yu almost felt like gossiping. Could it be because humans and demons were forbidden from intermarrying, staging a drama where lovers were cruelly torn apart, and King Wen was the one holding the stick? Was that why the Prison King rebelled? For the sake of his beloved... so he wanted to kill King Wen and the others? Tsk tsk! How touching! While lost in these wild theories, Su Yu suddenly shuttled through the void, appearing in a secluded spot, and grabbed hold of someone. That person's face changed drastically, but upon seeing Su Yu, he let out a slow sigh of relief. "Emperor Yu!" Su Yu chuckled. "Senior Mican, looks like you had quite a harvest!" King Mican smiled and was about to speak when his expression froze. Seeing Lan Tian, who had morphed into a woman standing nearby, King Mican's face turned livid, his teeth grinding. "Enough!" Lan Tian said plaintively, "Ah Hu, whatever is the matter?" "..." King Mican was about to explode. Su Yu cleared his throat lightly. "Enough. Does infuriating King Mican do you any good?" "..." Gritting his teeth in fury, King Mican said, "Emperor Yu, tell this fellow... keep him away from me! I refuse to be near him!" Su Yu laughed and nodded. "Alright. Go spend some time in the civilization chronicle! By the way, disguise yourself as someone from the Prison King lineage and have a chat with that Wen Qi. Tell him you were captured by me as well... You have the Prison King's bloodline, so disguising yourself shouldn't be a problem. Probe him. If there's an issue with him, we can eliminate him sooner rather than later. My civilization chronicle is turning into a complete hodgepodge!" Having just suffered under Lan Tian's torment, King Mican was overjoyed at the prospect. Without needing Su Yu to say more, he said eagerly, "Understood. Wen Qi, right? Emperor Yu, brief me on the situation—I want to try my hand at conning someone too!" Su Yu gave him a brief overview, and King Mican was thrilled. "I can definitely handle this..." Lan Tian said in a mournful tone, "You're so clumsy and slow-witted. Can you really pull it off?" "Shut your mouth!" King Mican snapped angrily. Although he knew Lan Tian was immensely powerful... he simply couldn't suppress his rage! With Emperor Yu present, what could Lan Tian do if he blew off some steam? Of course, if Su Yu weren't here, ahem... he would stay as far away from Lan Tian as possible, unable to afford offending him. Lan Tian merely giggled, unfazed. Yet his smile sent chills down King Mican's spine. King Mican hastily ducked into the civilization chronicle. Never mind—the more this creep smiled, the more terrified he felt. It would be far better if the lunatic just lost his temper! ... Once King Mican went inside, Su Yu chuckled, though his expression soon turned stern. "Stop fooling around. We're all on the same side. Don't push things so far that someone ends up rebelling! The Prison King was one of the pillars of the Human race back then, and didn't he betray us in the end?" Lan Tian's smile froze slightly. After a long pause, he nodded. "Fair point... Though a fellow like Mican lacks both the capital and the wits to betray anyone. In my eyes, the one most likely to turn traitor is still King Dazhou!" "..." Su Yu was speechless. So you're still fixated on King Dazhou, aren't you? Lan Tian chuckled faintly again. "Traitors are almost always smart people; fools rarely betray anyone! Among us, King Dazhou's betrayal index ranks number one, Tiansheng is number two, and I'd place myself at number three. So long as Emperor Yu keeps a close watch on the three of us, there won't be any big problems." Su Yu suddenly let out a laugh. Lan Tian asked with a smile, "Why does Emperor Yu laugh?" Su Yu smiled. "Nothing much. I just think that if all three of you were to betray me... it wouldn't really matter. You could go off and play by yourselves! I wouldn't bother playing with you. There are plenty of fun things in this world, so why get bogged down playing games of betrayal back and forth, only to end up not even knowing who it was all for? The Human Sovereign acted out of responsibility; I do not. Since the day I began cultivating, it was never for the sake of duty—I care only that things accord with my will!" Accord with my will! Lan Tian murmured the words silently to himself. How difficult that was! In this world of countless experts and endless trivialities, how could everything possibly go according to one's desires? Su Yu's pursuit was even harder than the Human Sovereign's. Even the Human Sovereign couldn't ensure that everything went as he wished! ... Su Yu continued collecting his companions. Marquis Juzhu was helping retrieve people as well. With Lan Tian's clones providing location tracking, finding them was not difficult. The second person they found was Zhou Tianyuan. After not seeing him for a short while, Little King Zhou's aura had grown significantly stronger, showing faint signs of surpassing King Mican. King Mican was already nearing the seventh level of Eternity. Both of them were practically at the seventh level. The third group he retrieved was Xuanjia and Yun Chen, who were acting together. Both were nursing considerable injuries; when Su Yu found them, the two were being actively pursued. ... One by one, everyone was located and brought back. The Guardians returned to their positions one after another. Finally, Hu Xiansheng and Yuexi were brought over by Marquis Juzhu. Along with Xia Longwu, Su Yu did a headcount, and his expression shifted slightly. "What happened?" Having regrouped, Marquis Juzhu saw Su Yu's expression wavering and couldn't help asking. Su Yu furrowed his brow slightly, silent for a while before saying, "Someone's missing!" "Dead?" Marquis Juzhu consoled, "That's normal. Death is to be expected..." "No, missing!" Su Yu looked at Lan Tian. Lan Tian also frowned. "He is indeed missing. My clone vanished abruptly." "Who went missing?" Xia Longwu, whose aura had grown substantially stronger since his return, asked, "Did Mican disappear?" "Not him." Su Yu shook his head and said softly, "Changhe is gone!" Changhe of the Destiny race! Even Tuntian had been found, yet Changhe was nowhere to be seen. "Changhe?" Xia Longwu's expression shifted slightly. "Did he... turn traitor?" Su Yu fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "Hard to say! Perhaps... someone came and took him away!" Su Yu narrowed his eyes. "Everything Tiance said to me earlier was passed along on Marquis Tianming's behalf. Marquis Tianming knows quite a bit, and has even seen through certain matters, discerning much about us... With Changhe, a genius of the Destiny race, ascending to the Upper Realm carrying the Destiny Emperor's token, could Marquis Tianming truly remain completely oblivious to him?" He suspected Changhe had been picked up by Marquis Tianming! Although Marquis Tianming seemed to still be hauling the mountain right now... Changhe was not a Dao Integrator. Even a mere clone could easily whisk him away. Everyone else was fine; only Changhe, this Destiny race fellow, had vanished. Su Yu exhaled. "Forget it. Whether he was taken away or died... there's nothing we can do about it now." Marquis Juzhu said grimly, "What if he wasn't taken by the Destiny race, but... captured by someone else? Wouldn't our secrets, including everything about the Lower Realm, be completely exposed?" Su Yu shook his head. "Not necessarily. I planted traces of rule power within their seas of will that can easily detonate! Searching their memories is impossible unless... Changhe actively confesses of his own accord. If that happens, there's nothing I can do! "Right now, that thread of rule power has also been shielded, preventing me from pinpointing his location... It was definitely done by an expert. Ordinary cultivators wouldn't be able to block my tracking." Changhe had vanished! Was Su Yu worried? A little. However, he guessed there was a higher probability that the Destiny race had done it themselves. That wily old fox Marquis Tianming likely knew something already, and taking Changhe away now was probably to learn more. Beside him, Lan Tian also furrowed his brow, speaking in a low voice, "Emperor Yu, we cannot stake everything on the premise that the Destiny race will help us. We must account for the possibility that Changhe discloses everything and Marquis Tianming secretly alerts everyone to plot against us!" They couldn't place their destiny in the hands of others! Circumstances were different now. Back then, they were gambling their lives; now, safety came first. "At worst, they learn about everything in the Lower Realm..." "Changhe knows where the passage to the Lower Realm is!" Lan Tian said in a heavy tone. "That is the crucial point!" Knowing about the Lower Realm was fine; they couldn't contact the Lower Realm anyway. The real worry was that the passage at Soul Burying Mountain might be discovered. That would be the most disastrous scenario. Once Changhe took the initiative to reveal it, Su Yu's passive countermeasures against memory extraction would be useless, as he hadn't implemented any preventive measures against someone voluntarily speaking out. Su Yu raised an eyebrow, then gave a low chuckle. "I set up several small traps over there. If someone truly discovers it, I'll know immediately! If things truly reach that point... we'll descend through the River of Time at the first opportunity and wipe out the Destiny race before anything else!" "That would still be too late..." "Too late for what?" Su Yu smiled. "If worse comes to worst, we'll just fight a war in the Lower Realm first! So long as the experts haven't fallen, who would usually target the weak first? If the myriad races truly slaughter all the humans, they'd better think twice: we could go into hiding and intermittently assassinate their weaker kin. Who could afford that kind of war of attrition?" Such was the nature of war in the Myriad Realms. Unless a race's powerhouses were virtually wiped out, very few would strike at the weak. The total annihilation of a race was uncommon. Extermination was predicated on the opposing experts being utterly wiped out, leaving behind remnants incapable of making waves. Lan Tian said nothing more, merely taking a deep breath, his eyes glinting with an eerie light. My clone was destroyed! If it was the Destiny race... regardless of what Marquis Tianming intends, we'll see about that! Su Yu pushed aside his irritation as well. Changhe's disappearance left a bad taste in his mouth. If another race had done it, so long as Changhe didn't willingly confess and the rule power remained untriggered, it meant they hadn't learned anything. His greatest fear was Changhe actively spilling the beans. If it was the Destiny race... Changhe might very well voluntarily divulge information, particularly regarding the Soul Burying Mountain passage. He had indeed been somewhat careless on that front. He hadn't considered the matter thoroughly enough! Everyone who had ascended with him that day knew the exact coordinates of the passage. No one was perfect, and Su Yu was no deity. He wouldn't anticipate treachery from Changhe and the others right from the start; had he mistrusted any of them completely, he wouldn't have brought them along in the first place. Licking his lips, Su Yu let out a laugh, sounding somewhat relieved. "Whatever! If the Lower Realm passage is truly discovered, then we'll have a massive brawl! Whoever dares go down, we'll smash them! "Besides," Su Yu chuckled, "it's not like I only control a single passage to the Lower Realm!" Lan Tian also chuckled. "True enough! Those with bare feet have nothing to fear from those wearing shoes! We... are still barefoot after all!" "Alright, enough of this!" Su Yu cut off the topic, turning his gaze toward Xia Longwu and the others. "Enter the civilization chronicle first. It looks like several Guardians have a chance of breaking through... but now is not the time! "Marquis Juzhu, go oversee the migration and cover up our absence." "..." Su Yu gave a few instructions, and Marquis Juzhu departed promptly. Xia Longwu and the others cast aside their hesitations and swiftly entered the civilization chronicle. Turning toward the east, Su Yu smiled. "Off to the Dao Source Land! While those Celestial Venerables are still busy hauling the mountain, let's scout out the situation. Today, we'll open the Heavenly Gate without restraint. We should be able to see quite a bit!" Nine Celestial Venerable-tier experts had departed! Even if there were still some left inside the Dao Source Land, how many could there be? Now that most powerhouses had left, leaving the area sparse, it was the perfect time for a large-scale reconnaissance. ... The Dao Source Land. Shrouded in light curtains, it remained as enigmatic as ever. Across this vast land, countless heroes lay buried. Some had directly died of old age in this sacred ground, while others, unable to break through, had chosen to slumber here for eternity. A hundred thousand years! Some experts whose lifespans were already running low at the end of the ancient era had likely perished of old age here long ago. The lifespan of a Dao Integrator was only around a hundred-odd thousand years. Take Su Yu, for instance: his lifespan was originally just over a hundred thousand years, but he had burned through most of it to open a Dao for Lan Tian. Before reaching the Rule Master realm, he might never be able to increase his lifespan! And a hundred thousand years had already passed since the ancient era came to an end. Some experts had already lived for tens of thousands of years during the ancient era. Even if deepening their cultivation postponed the deadline of their longevity, by now, many could no longer hold out. Among the older generation, many were simply reaching their limits! In Su Yu's era, a large number of older experts stepped forth; after remaining dormant for so long, restlessness took hold, and they could no longer sit still, choosing to emerge into the world. Lifespan had been a joke a hundred thousand years ago. With over a hundred thousand years left to live, asking someone to worry about their lifespan would have been ridiculous. Cultivators rarely worried about such things, especially once they reached Eternity—hardly anyone died of old age. At the Sun Moon Realm, it was possible! Yet now, dying of old age seemed to have become an imminent reality. Even the Heavenly Kings Su Yu had slain at Sealing Mountain last time were all decrepit and decayed; had a few hundred more years passed, they would have died of old age on their own without Su Yu needing to kill them! ... Su Yu arrived at the Dao Source Land once again. With the Star Residence Seal suppressing the turbulent light curtains, the entire Dao Source Land was now far quieter, appearing somewhat deserted. A great number of experts had evacuated the Dao Source Land and chosen to leave. The fall of multiple Heavenly Kings last time had made several Dao Integrators sense impending danger. Coupled with the news from Mount Chaos, Dao Integrators were continually flying outward from this place. Shortly after Su Yu entered, a formidable aura surged in the distance. A powerful entity tore through the earth, exuding a ferocious presence as a furious roar echoed: "Bastards! Attending some myriad races council, relocating our daochangs—ridiculous! My race has stood firm in the Upper Realm for countless ages; how can we casually relocate our daochang?" Evidently, this was an ancient fossil who had just awakened. Filled with wrath and accompanied by a Dao Integrator, he rapidly flew outward. Observing from afar, Su Yu raised his eyebrows slightly. "A Heavenly King!" Lan Tian nodded and chuckled. "It seems... to be the Taotie race from the records." Su Yu glanced at the imposing figure and nodded slightly. "He matches the records somewhat. I don't think we see any in the Lower Realm anymore?" "None left down there. Records say they were wiped out during the third tide! A few seem to remain in the Upper Realm, but their numbers are scarce..." "Mm." The two discussed it quietly. Running into an awakened Heavenly King right upon entering was quite a stroke of luck. However, Su Yu had no interest in dealing with him; there was no need. This race possessed mediocre strength in the Upper Realm. With this old Taotie waking up, he might very well go cause trouble for the three dominant races. Watching the spectacle would suffice. With his Heavenly Gate manifesting, Su Yu chuckled. "If the myriad races were willing to let me help them search for people, I'd sweep through inch by inch and unearth even the strongest bastards for them!" Lan Tian chuckled mischievously. How could that ever happen? Su Yu swept his gaze across the terrain, his brows rising slightly. "There really are far fewer people now. Previously, a single glance would reveal at least several Dao Integrators. Now, looking around, I can only faintly spot one Dao Integrator ahead. No wonder the emergence of a Heavenly King didn't cause any stir." Under normal circumstances, the awakening of a Heavenly King would at least prompt some Dao Integrators to flare their auras and investigate. Of course, investigating carried risks, and one shouldn't stick their nose into trouble. Lan Tian laughed lightly and didn't mind. Fewer people was fine by him. Su Yu continued probing forward, examining every inch. He wanted to see just how many people were hiding in this damned place. Earlier, when the nine Celestial Venerables were here, he hadn't dared probe too brazenly. Now, he could act with relative impunity! In his eyes, the world took on an entirely different appearance. Su Yu himself possessed Quasi-King combat power now; even if he probed a Celestial Venerable at this moment, the other party might not detect him. However, the Dao Source Land was truly massive! After pondering for a moment, Su Yu suddenly said, "Let's enter the River of Time first to see if there are any pseudo-Dao experts left!" True Dao experts were difficult to locate. Pseudo-Dao experts, on the other hand, could be dug up even in deep slumber! As long as you possessed such a Dao, even if you weren't actively connected to it, the Dao still existed within the River of Time. The Human Sovereign's Dao wasn't excessively long, incomparably shorter than the River of Time of the Myriad Realms. By searching bit by bit, he was sure to find them. Lan Tian had no objections; in this realm, Su Yu was far more capable than him. Soon, Su Yu dove into the River of Time. ... Diving inside, Su Yu started investigating from the severed end. Suppressing the rules' power with the Star Residence Seal, he brought Lan Tian along as they traveled all the way to the other end before working their way back, scanning bit by bit. Wherever there was a tributary branch, there was a pseudo-Dao. If a pseudo-Dao expert had left the Dao Source Land, the Dao would be disconnected with no one nearby, which was easy to spot. If they hadn't left... it meant the person was still here. As for pseudo-Daos, one also had to see how much of it had been integrated, which could be discerned in broad strokes. If very little was integrated, the cultivator was merely at the Eternity Realm, not worth a second glance. Su Yu mainly looked for those that were heavily integrated, even showing signs of being brought under control. That would represent either a Dao Integrator, a Heavenly King, or a Celestial Venerable. Even against a pseudo-Dao Celestial Venerable, Su Yu had nothing to fear! If they truly clashed and he suppressed them with the seal, who would win or lose? Most likely, victory would be his. Why should he fear them in the slightest? After traveling a short distance, the first pseudo-Dao came into view. Su Yu instantly tore through the river and emerged alongside Lan Tian, conducting a swift probe. Soon, Su Yu shook his head and said, "He's gone. Should be a Dao Integrator, but not in the Dao Source Land. There's no trace of an active Dao connection nearby; the Dao seems to be projecting toward Mount Chaos." That meant the person had left. Su Yu continued his search. ... The second and third branches were the same: the individuals were no longer here, having already departed. The fourth and fifth branches were very weak upon Su Yu's casual inspection—incomplete rule Daos that could produce at best a low-tier Dao Integrator even if fully refined. He couldn't even be bothered to look closely. Inferior even to King Dazhou's Dao of Endurance, there was no chance of them producing Heavenly King-tier experts. Moving along and inspecting as he went, Su Yu's eyes soon flickered. Ahead, a tributary felt remarkably potent. Muffling his movements slightly, he and Lan Tian tore through the river without a sound, reappearing in the outside world. ... Before them stood a rocky mountain that had existed for who knew how many years. The moment Su Yu emerged, he looked toward the connection point of the Dao, furrowing his brow slightly as he sent a voice transmission: "The person might be right here. Not dead, but has severed their connection to the Great Dao, likely in absolute slumber!" He looked down at the rocky mountain beneath his feet. It seemed ordinary enough—such places were commonplace throughout the Dao Source Land. Yet an immensely powerful being might be slumbering right underneath. "Let's earth-escape down and take a look!" A pseudo-Dao expert who had severed their Dao connection would need time even if they awakened. Su Yu wasn't worried in the slightest. Both knew earth-escape techniques and immediately sank into the ground. Descending all the way down, the earth became increasingly dense. Digging here wouldn't necessarily yield water; one could dig for years only to hit an colossal boulder or even a world barrier that could never be pierced! After descending for an unknown duration, Su Yu and Lan Tian reined in all their aura. Deep within the earth, a small stone chamber appeared before them. Inside sat a humanoid creature in meditative posture, looking as though it had long died, resembling nothing more than a desiccated skeleton. There was not a shred of vitality, only a faint aura of decay drifting within the chamber. "A stone hut made of magic-forbidding stone can eliminate traces of aura. This is an expert in death seclusion!" Lan Tian transmitted rapidly. Su Yu also looked at the figure and observed for a moment before replying, "Not human. Looks like a God race expert, with a faint trace of God aura... Cultivated his pseudo-Dao to the pinnacle, and the Dao isn't weak. If he awakens, he probably possesses Heavenly King combat strength!" This was a God race powerhouse! He had been in death seclusion here for who knew how many years! "Should we make a move?" Lan Tian looked at Su Yu. "With you suppressing him with the Star Residence Seal, he isn't even connected to his Dao or awake. Under suppression, he probably only has Eternity-level combat strength. Taking him down would be effortless!" Actually, he would only have Sun Moon-level strength, but being a Heavenly King, even without connecting to his Dao, his physical vessel could unleash Eternity-level power. "What's the point of capturing him?" Su Yu smiled, narrowing his eyes. "A pseudo-Dao expert in death seclusion means nothing to me... but to others, he's still a genuine, bona fide Heavenly King! "Aren't the three dominant races planning to sweep for experts? Fine... I'll tamper with his Dao a bit so that the moment he connects to it, he goes berserk. It'll be perfect if Celestial Venerable Yue stumbles upon him during the sweep. Will he kill one of his own? If not, a mad Heavenly King... even a Celestial Venerable would have to handle him carefully!" "You're truly wicked!" Lan Tian's voice suddenly turned soft and seductive. Goosebumps erupted across Su Yu's entire body. Damn it, stop talking like that! Ignoring him, Su Yu quietly escaped upward. Halfway up, he embedded a wisp of rule power within the rock and transmitted, "I'm providing full-service here—I'm worried they won't even find him! Leaving behind a bit of God aura will give Celestial Venerable Yue a pleasant surprise when he spots it. Perhaps this is an expert his God race forgot about... Suddenly awakening an expert, a Heavenly King at that, ought to make him beam with joy!" "Big Brother Emperor Yu is getting more and more wicked!" Lan Tian voiced that chillingly sweet tone again. Su Yu desperately wanted to punch his head off, but chose to ignore him and sped upward. Lan Tian pursued from behind, transmitting, "What if they suppress this person without killing him?" Su Yu retorted, "Nonsense, do you think I haven't thought of that? I'll spike his Dao so that if he's suppressed, he detonates himself... Let the myriad races go crazy!" "Will that work?" "Don't ask if it will work. In the Myriad Realms, it wouldn't, but here, it definitely does!" Having the Star Residence Seal was the greatest guarantee. The other party's Dao connection was severed; as long as Su Yu suppressed it with the Star Residence Seal, he could rework the Dao into a mess without the person ever noticing. In the Myriad Realms, Su Yu couldn't pull this off; otherwise, he would have stolen Dao power from the Myriad Realms on a grand scale long ago. ... Very quickly, Su Yu entered the River of Time and used the Star Residence Seal to suppress and tamper with the other's pseudo-Dao. Frenzy, chaos, slaughter, demonic madness! Su Yu was well-versed in all manners of willpower. Applying them now was second nature! Spending some effort, he thoroughly reworked the pseudo-Dao. Su Yu was very satisfied, merely waiting to see the result. He truly hoped those Celestial Venerables would arrive soon. A deranged Heavenly King was technically of the same overall tier—there ought to be a good show! ... Su Yu noted the location and continued his search. Before long, he found a second slumbering Dao Integrator. However, this one was merely a third-tier Dao Integrator—utter trash... Su Yu didn't even bother altering it, lest it draw the attention of the myriad races' powerhouses. There were quite a few pseudo-Dao experts, but most had already left. ... Taking nearly an entire day, Su Yu finally located a second slumbering pseudo-Dao Heavenly King. This one was deep beneath a massive river. Both Lan Tian and Su Yu frowned. At the riverbed's depths, a skeleton-like humanoid lay motionless in the mud, devoid of any aura, looking genuinely deceased! "A human?" Lan Tian was uncertain. "Feels like a human... but is he dead? There's not a wisp of aura left." The person had slumbered here for countless years; this river might not have even existed when he first entered seclusion. Now, the river had flowed for ages, likely collapsing the cavern dwelling and washing out the skeletal frame. Su Yu observed closely, opening his Heavenly Gate. After a long while, he shook his head. "Alive, but hanging by a thread. If we hadn't come, he'd have quietly passed away in a few more years! It's hard to say if this guy can even wake up... Did humans also cultivate pseudo-Daos back then?" This fellow had been in seclusion for many years, meaning he wasn't from the last ten thousand years; he might even date back a hundred thousand years. Humans had already started cultivating pseudo-Daos back then? How utterly lacking in ambition! According to Marquis Dingjun and the others, prior to the ninth tide, humans hardly ever cultivated pseudo-Daos because pseudo-Daos were inherently hollow. Every generation of Human Master, including Hundred Battles, had advised against cultivating them. Lan Tian smiled. "Perhaps he was near death and just seeking a chance to survive... What should we do with this one? Blow him up as well?" "You're vicious!" Su Yu said with disdain. "He's a fellow human, after all!" "And what if he's an enemy?" "Then blowing him up solves it!" Saying that, Su Yu transmitted with a grin, "Not necessarily, though. Not all ancient fossils are enemies. A pseudo-Dao Heavenly King is still a Heavenly King... Let's see how things stand first. I'll suppress him, and you capture him. Don't make a big commotion!" "Alright!" Their division of labor was clear. Su Yu pressed down with the Star Residence Seal, instantly severing the faint thread of Dao connection. At that moment, the dried skeleton deep in the riverbed twitched slightly. It seemed on the verge of waking, but before it could fully regain consciousness, Lan Tian cast a massive net over it and hauled it in. Baring his teeth, Lan Tian said, "This is the first time I've captured a Heavenly King this weak. Feels inferior even to an Eternity cultivator!" He had never seen such a feeble Heavenly King-tier expert! Caught in the net, the skeleton's eyelids fluttered. Only after quite some time did it barely manage to open its eyes, which held a glazed stupor and a tinge of deathly pallor—the hallmark of having remained in seclusion for too long and being on the verge of death. After staring blankly for several seconds, a raspy voice emerged from the skeleton: "Who... are you?" He seemed to recognize that Su Yu was human, his voice gravelly to the extreme: "Is the Human Master... still Yue Gang?" Yue Gang? Su Yu quickly racked his brains. He seemed to have a faint impression—the Human Master of the third tide? Probably! That meant at least seventy thousand years had passed! And this fellow thought the Human Master was still Yue Gang! "Yue Gang has been dead for tens of thousands of years..." A look of bewilderment appeared in the skeleton's eyes. Dead for tens of thousands of years? What year was it now? "Then... Minshan... What about Minshan?" "Just died not long ago." "Dead?" The skeleton froze. "Then... Bingku?" "Dead!" "Marquis Tianyang?" "Dead!" "Danyu?" "Dead." "Marquis Dingbei?" "Dead!" "Marquis Yuyang?" "Dead!" "..." The skeleton broke down completely, despair filling its eyes. "All dead?" Opening his eyes again, the world had changed beyond recognition! Everyone he knew was dead! How could this happen? At this moment, the skeleton's voice was hoarse to the limit: "Is not... a single soul alive?" Su Yu thought for a moment. You didn't ask about anyone who's actually alive! "Marquis Dingjun is still alive..." "How is that possible!" The skeleton was aghast. "That useless weakling had pathetic strength! When the mighty fell, how could he... possibly be alive?" "..." Su Yu felt that Marquis Dingjun not being here right now was a colossal pity! Just listen to that! Look at what he's saying. If I were Marquis Dingjun, I'd strangle this skeleton right now. You're in such a wretched state yourself, yet you look down on others! However, the ancient marquises mentioned by this fellow were indeed exceptionally powerful. With those figures dead, Dingjun still being alive was indeed hard to believe. Su Yu said offhandedly, "Nothing we could do. Some years ago, a powerful Human Master who was completely useless led over a hundred Dao Integrators to fight the myriad races and got wiped out in one fell swoop. Everyone died." "Powerful... yet useless? All dead?" The skeleton was shaken to its core. Su Yu nodded. "Indeed. Tremendously strong, but utterly incompetent. The myriad races rounded them up and wiped them out. The people you knew were all eradicated in that battle!" "Who... was this person?" "The Hundred Battles King!" "Useless trash... cough, cough..." The skeleton coughed violently, hacking up black blood. Unbelievable! The powerhouses of the Human race had been wiped out in one fell swoop? "Hundred Battles..." The skeleton murmured, tinged with resentment. "How could this happen... Then you... who are you?" Su Yu laughed. "The new-generation Human race! Alright, you're about to kick the bucket, so speak less! After searching for half a day, all I found was a pseudo-Dao human expert, and who knows if you can even recover... Feels like a loss. Lan Tian, let's go. Don't let him die; inject some origin qi to keep him alive!" "Alright!" Lan Tian chuckled and infused a bit of origin qi into him. Su Yu thoroughly erased all traces left at the scene and swiftly departed with the skeleton. As for whether the skeleton could recover, who cared? If he couldn't, so be it; from the looks of it, he wouldn't live much longer anyway. Just a bag of bones, dirt-poor, cultivating a pseudo-Dao—Su Yu had little interest in him; he didn't even have any family assets. Paying him no further mind, Su Yu took the skeleton and continued investigating the River of Time. First, he needed to finish investigating the pseudo-Dao experts. Spending another full day, Su Yu discovered yet another pseudo-Dao expert. This spot was already near the River Mouth of the Heavenly River at the river's end, clearly making this likely the last expert. This powerhouse was neither human nor from the three dominant races. Su Yu examined closely; it seemed to be a giant bird. As for what bird, it likely wasn't a phoenix, but probably one of the extinct races. This one also had Heavenly King combat power. Su Yu showed no hesitation, copying the treatment given to the first Heavenly King and spiking its Dao. As for who would suffer for it, that was up to luck. Upon completing the survey, there were only three pseudo-Dao Heavenly Kings—referring to slumbering ones like these—and five second-tier Dao Integrators. Su Yu didn't bother checking the rest. The remaining pseudo-Dao Heavenly Kings had likely departed. Exactly how many, Su Yu couldn't say for sure, but probably five or six. Adding the six he had killed last time, that meant a total of fifteen or sixteen pseudo-Dao Heavenly Kings had been born over these years, which was quite a substantial number. By now, the third day had arrived. Just as Su Yu finished tampering with the third Heavenly King, he sensed powerful auras rippling across the distance. The six Celestial Venerables had arrived! Su Yu didn't even have time to investigate the True Dao experts. Evidently, Human Mountain had already been hauled away, and those fellows were now coming to sweep the Dao Source Land.