Reunited

To leave or to stay? Who would leave, and who would stay? To choose Baizhan, or to choose Su Yu? On one side was an apex expert comparable to an ancient human king, followed by several ancient marquises. On the other was Su Yu, who had just suffered a catastrophic defeat, emptied out his entire foundation, and was preparing to retreat into the dead spirit realm. Both were peerless geniuses, both Human Masters of their respective eras. People had heard about Baizhan; foreign races might fear him, but as for the humans, word was that Baizhan had always treated them well. Granted, six thousand years ago, Baizhan had suffered a crushing defeat. But now, hadn't Su Yu also been defeated? Inside the hall, no one left. They were all communicating through voice transmissions. "Old Liu, what do you say?" someone asked King Dahan. King Daming and the others were gone. Whether they were dead or, as Su Yu claimed, their seas of will still existed and were hiding somewhere, no one could easily tell. Zhu Tiandao and Marquis Xia remained remarkably calm; they felt their elders might still be alive. Yet... who knew if they were merely putting on a double act with Su Yu? Besides, did Su Yu have any reason to fake such a disastrous defeat? He was even abandoning the Human Realm! Before this, forty-three Eternals had remained in the Human Realm, twenty-six of whom were mansion founders, while the rest, like Xia Longwu, had advanced later. That count hadn't included Marquis Xia and Zhu Tiandao; including them, the Human Realm had possessed forty-five Eternals in total. Now, King Dazhou and three others were gone, and five more—Xia Longwu, Yun Chen, Xuanjia, the Silkworm Exterminating King, and Zhou Tianyuan—were gone as well. By this point, another nine experts were lost, leaving thirty-six. However, several people had advanced recently. The human race currently had forty Eternals. Four advancing over these past days was not a small number, and including Zhu Tiandao and Marquis Xia, a full six people had broken through in just a few short months. Forty in the Eternal Realm! None had stepped into the Dao Integration Realm. Many turned their gazes toward King Dahan, King Datang, and King Dashang. Following the disappearance of King Daming and his companions, these kings were the strongest of the group, all nearing the domain of Dao Integration. In addition, the newly risen expert King Tianzhu was also approaching Dao Integration from having forged so many weapons. At this moment, everyone's eyes turned toward them. How should they choose? And how would the foreign races choose? The Space Beast Emperor looked toward June, but June was utterly silent, sitting motionless without uttering a word, as though turned to stone. Others looked toward the human race's few Dao Integrators, such as Tian Yue, and Chongming, whom Marquis Dingjun had left behind. Marquis Dingjun seemed to have fallen in battle as well. Where would that leave Chongming? Tian Yue hadn't belonged to this tide's human race to begin with—what about him? And Duobao of the foreign races, who had previously joined of his own accord because Su Yu's power was too vast—now that Su Yu was evacuating, what would Duobao do? The guardians would most likely listen to Hongmeng. But Hongmeng... would he leave with Su Yu now? Thoughts flickered through everyone's minds. The dead spirit realm was unfit for living beings. No matter what Su Yu tried, it was no long-term solution. What was more, Su Yu didn't seem to have much life left. Just then, Zhu Tiandao stood up and smiled faintly. "Everyone, there's no need to overthink it. Go if you want to go, stay if you want to stay! Everyone has their own choice, and no one will force anyone to die! "Having guarded the Human Realm for hundreds of years, it's only natural to feel reluctant to abandon it at a moment's notice! As for who serves as Human Master, to us, perhaps it makes no difference!" King Datang looked at him and asked suddenly, "Did your father really fall?" Zhu Tiandao shook his head. "I'm not sure. Something went wrong in the Upper Realm. My father and I don't cultivate the same Dao, so I wouldn't necessarily sense it. Unless we walked the same Dao and shared blood ties, I might be able to feel it, but right now... it's hard to say! King Daqin and King Daxia go without saying—they both converted their bloodlines, and I don't see Xia the Second feeling a thing!" Marquis Xia was rendered speechless. After a moment, he nodded. "I haven't felt anything." Zhu Tiandao continued, "To be frank, even if they're still alive, the outcome remains the same. If Emperor Yu weren't outmatched by the Upper Realm and Baizhan, he wouldn't choose to evacuate. Who would willingly abandon a realm they've just conquered? Perhaps this departure... means never coming back! "Everyone, think it over carefully. Xia the Second, come with me to take inventory of our supplies. Also, spread the word, recall all the armies, and inform the military: whoever wishes to leave may leave, and for those who don't, we will arrange for them to remain and garrison!" Zhu Tiandao added calmly, "Though Baizhan may lack benevolence, we cannot lack righteousness; after all, this is for the human race! Handing over an intact human realm to him will avoid turmoil. Preserving a complete governing structure will allow him to take over smoothly—otherwise, it's the common people who will suffer!" Marquis Xia nodded, and the two departed in an instant. In the hall, the Hou Emperor let out a sigh. "I have no retreat left. My race is not like yours... Fine, then. To the dead spirit realm it is. It's better than staying here. Baizhan... no matter how strong Baizhan is, he is no backer of ours!" He left. He returned to prepare the evacuation and abandon the Hou Realm. The Hou race was not strong in the Upper Realm. He had stepped up to help in several battles. The Iron-Eating Beast race had March and Marquis Juzhu; the Space Beast race had Marquis Liekong; the Destiny race had Marquis Tianming. What did he have? He had nothing. Staying was useless. The Hou Emperor tore through the void and left, taking the Hou race's few Eternals with him. He had no other choice. At this moment, Chongming also rose. He had previously brought back over a thousand of Marquis Dingjun's subordinates, including quite a few Eternals. Now, he had to go check on them. Seeing him get up, Tian Yue quickly followed and transmitted his voice, "Fellow Daoist Chongming, do you... intend to stay?" Marquis Dingjun had fallen in battle. And Marquis Dingjun had been a supporter of Baizhan in the previous tide. If Chongming stayed, it would actually be a decent choice, especially since Chongming commanded the Dingjun Guards and possessed some formidable experts. Chongming spoke as he walked, "I don't know. I'll ask everyone for their opinion! Now that the Marquis is gone... I must ask them where they want to go. If everyone feels we should continue following Emperor Yu, I will continue to follow him. If they feel we should stay and wait for King Baizhan... then we stay!" With that, he asked, "Fellow Daoist Tian Yue, what about you?" "Me?" Tian Yue replied softly, "I follow Emperor Yu. I belong to King Wen's lineage. The Hunting Heaven Pavilion was originally the Heaven Overseeing Pavilion, and now the legacy of King Wen's lineage rests upon Emperor Yu. Naturally, I will follow him." Chongming nodded, his mood turning gloomy and subdued. "Tell me... why did things suddenly turn out like this when everything was going so well? Has the Marquis truly fallen? We had only just caught sight of hope... only for it to turn into despair so soon!" His voice was laced with an unspeakable helplessness and sorrow. Tian Yue was silent for a time. He, too, could not fathom why everything had unfolded so abruptly. ... On this day, news began to spread across the Human Realm. The invincible Emperor Yu had led a host of experts to the Upper Realm, only to suffer a catastrophic defeat with devastating losses. Now, the ninth-generation Human Master, Baizhan, was on the verge of returning. Emperor Yu had chosen to evacuate to the dead spirit realm to make a comeback later. He and Baizhan were destined never to cooperate or work together; it was no secret that Su Yu held Baizhan in disdain. Now, a portion of the ancient marquises who had survived chose to back Baizhan's restoration. With his strength gravely depleted and his lifespan nearly spent, Su Yu chose to withdraw from the Human Realm and yield the realm. In an instant, the news set off colossal waves! ... In the Daming Mansion. The streets bustled with clamor as storytellers broadcast the news. One storyteller declaimed with passionate agitation, "Folks, the Mansion Lord has issued an order: anyone willing to follow Emperor Yu must gather at Starfall Mountain within ten days! Leaving our homes behind... alas, once we depart, we may never return to our homeland for the rest of our days!" "I hear King Baizhan treats humans quite decently. I wonder if he'll treat us kindly when he returns." "Going to the dead spirit realm, though... they say it's just like the underworld. You never see the sun. Never mind enjoying life—even eating and drinking are problems! I've heard that once you're there, all you can eat is rotting corpses..." "No way!" "It's true! Two doors down from me, Old Man Wang's son serves in the army. He said he came into contact with dead spirits last time... Heavens, they drank blood and ate rotting flesh!" "That miserable?" "That miserable!" "How on earth did Emperor Yu lose? Ah, look at this mess—we've lost the myriad realms! We just conquered all the heavens, and I was planning to take my wife traveling to the other realms, and now it's all gone?" "Tell me, is this newcomer King Baizhan as formidable as Emperor Yu? I heard that thousands of years ago, he also suffered a huge defeat and lost heaps of experts..." "..." Discussions raged everywhere. To leave or to stay—this question ignited heated debates across the entire Human Realm. People were unfamiliar with Baizhan. They were fairly familiar with Su Yu, knowing at least that this new Human Master had led them to the pinnacle of their history, bringing the myriad realms to their knees! Of course, he had been defeated now. The dead spirit realm, though... If he had stayed in the Human Realm, people would still have supported Su Yu. After all, even in defeat, Su Yu still held their hearts, and they largely knew nothing about Baizhan. Yet having to go to the dead spirit realm meant a true separation between the living and the dead, which extinguished the thought in countless minds. How could anyone follow him there? Among the common folk, in the army, across academies and clans, everyone was discussing, deliberating, and deciding. Meanwhile, in various regions, Zhu Tiandao and the others were rapidly sweeping up all available resources. Food and everyday provisions were left behind, and basic supplies were ignored, but secret realms and high-grade resources newly plundered were not spared in the slightest—not a speck was left for Baizhan. Not that Baizhan was empty-handed; despite being sealed away for all those years, he had not lacked subordinates. ... The entire Human Realm was in turmoil. Yet Su Yu had no time to concern himself with this. At that moment, he arrived at the Tianyuan Realm with a small group: just Su Yu, Hongmeng, Fat Ball, the Destiny Emperor, and Marquis Tongtian. Stepping into this realm, the Destiny Emperor sighed with emotion. "Back then, the Tianyuan lineage rebelled, just like the human race today. Well, perhaps it wasn't a rebellion, but rather differences in ideology that made us part ways!" It was very similar to the human race's present situation. Su Yu somewhat resembled the Tianyuan race back then, leading a group of people to flee into the dead spirit realm. Su Yu smiled. "I have no desire to become the Tianyuan race!" With that, he looked around. Devastation met his eyes everywhere. Not only had King Dazhou and the others bombarded this place relentlessly, but a large number of dead spirits had flooded in at the time, triggering the rules' punishment to erupt. Nearly the entire Tianyuan Realm had been swept clean by the rules' retribution. Their race had truly been annihilated! In this vast Tianyuan Realm, not a trace of vitality remained, only dilapidated walls and ruins. From the distant depths, faint wisps of death qi permeated the air, drifting toward them. The Destiny Emperor also looked into the distance. "Find the core of the Tianyuan Realm and merge this realm into the dead spirit realm! It will be equivalent to carving out a minor realm in the dead spirit realm, just like the myriad realms!" Su Yu nodded. The myriad realms had been formed the same way: originally there were no minor realms, but later people carved them out, giving rise to the myriad realms. "Carving out a realm isn't difficult!" Su Yu nodded. "In truth, as long as one has Dao Integration combat power, one can carve out a realm; the realms created simply vary in strength! The Tianyuan Realm is fairly strong, so there is no need for us to create one ourselves. The key lies in how to block the invasion of death qi once it merges in." That was the real difficulty! The Destiny Emperor chuckled. "That... will require the Petrification Technique! Back then, King Gong's Petrification Technique was remarkably adept at blocking death qi. Just look at the guardians and you'll know—they remained uninvaded for a hundred thousand years..." Su Yu froze for a moment. The Petrification Technique! That was right! And... didn't he currently hold someone who knew the Petrification Technique—Qi Rong! A false-dao Heavenly King was still a Heavenly King! There was no need for a hundred thousand years—a few hundred years would do, wouldn't it? If not, would a few decades suffice? "Petrifying a layer outside the realm, covering the entire realm..." Su Yu muttered. The Destiny Emperor shook his head. "No need. Petrifying the weak points will be enough. The Tianyuan Realm isn't weak, and the realm wall has defensive power of its own; death qi won't seep in from everywhere!" Su Yu nodded, though petrifying everything would certainly be ideal! Qi Rong! Su Yu was not skilled in the Dao of Petrification. With that in mind, he immediately summoned Qi Rong. The corners of the Destiny Emperor's mouth twitched! To hell with you! Didn't you say all your subordinates were wiped out? This... isn't this a Heavenly King? Fuck you! You huge fraud! Su Yu explained, "I picked her up along the way. Princess Consort Qi, Qi Rong. Do you know her?" "Princess Consort Qi?" Wuming froze slightly, looking at Qi Rong, whose form had grown increasingly corporeal. Catching faint traces of her former appearance, he was somewhat astonished. "Princess Consort Qi... is still alive?" "Wuming?" Qi Rong also spotted Wuming, looking surprised. Then, glancing around, she found the surroundings strange. "This is..." "The Tianyuan Realm!" Su Yu smiled. "I was recently defeated in the Upper Realm and am planning to sink the Tianyuan Realm into the dead spirit realm to make my escape! But I'm worried about death qi invading the Tianyuan Realm. Princess Consort Qi, you specialize in the Petrification Technique. How much does yours differ from King Gong's?" Countless questions arose in Princess Consort Qi's heart, but she refrained from asking and answered swiftly, "Put it this way: it's the difference between true and false. If King Gong were here, I could devour him!" "..." The corners of Wuming's mouth twitched again. Hearing those words... felt utterly bizarre! Qi Rong paid it no mind. Looking around and gazing into the depths, she nodded. "It can be petrified, but I'm not a Ruler of Rules after all, so it won't hold out forever! It will have to be reinforced once every three to five hundred years!" Su Yu smiled. "Then there's no problem!" Princess Consort Qi, this skeleton he had picked up, was indeed useful! The Petrification Technique seemed quite exceptional. "Then let's find a way to sink this place into the dead spirit realm! Merge it in, seal the exits, relocate the thirty-six ancient cities here, and rebuild this place..." As he spoke, Su Yu added, "I forgot to ask: once this place sinks into the dead spirit realm, will its connection to the myriad realms be severed, freeing it from the influence of the Great Daos so that it no longer suffers suppressive force?" At this point, Su Yu fell into contemplation. "Having suppressive force would still be inappropriate! After all, it might not just be one race entering. The human race wouldn't be affected, but if the other races are suppressed, that wouldn't be good!" By general judgment, the influence should be severed. The suppressive force within a realm was related to the realm's creator—the expert who had carved it out! Once sunk into the dead spirit realm, the rules created by the experts who originally opened this realm would likely dissipate. The Destiny Emperor also nodded. "It should be severed. Otherwise, look at the dead spirits—regardless of race, they suffer no suppression in the dead spirit realm! That's because the entire dead spirit realm possesses only a single Great Dao power..." At this point, he hesitated slightly. "Emperor Yu, how will everyone's cultivation be ensured? That will be a problem! Those below the Eternal Realm can cultivate using origin qi, but those in the Eternal Realm and above must comprehend the Great Dao!" Su Yu also found this troublesome. After pondering for a moment, his eyes shifted slightly. "Let's open an aperture! We can follow the ancient Human Sovereign's example and carve a small opening in the Tianyuan Realm to channel over a portion of the Time Dao..." It sounded like fantasy! Even Hongmeng couldn't help but say, "Can this... really be done?" Was that achievable? Qi Rong was equally appalled. Could that actually work? Su Yu nodded. "Once I find the point of entry, it should be feasible! Of course, the prerequisite is that I can break through the River of Time, which I expect will be quite difficult!" This was equivalent to digging a hole in the River of Time. Opening a Dao was one thing—that was opening a dedicated tributary Dao. Digging a hole was entirely different—that meant tapping into the tributaries of all myriad Daos. The two were not the same. Stroking his chin, Su Yu said, "Furthermore, the opening must be stabilized. Otherwise, if everything gushes out at once, we're finished—this place might very well revert to chaos. That won't do. We must comb through it bit by bit, stabilize it, and construct a passage capable of temporarily containing the power of the River of Time... That is the real challenge!" The others drew sharp breaths, their brows furrowing. This was likely the greatest obstacle to maintaining cultivation after merging into the dead spirit realm! Su Yu's eyes flickered slightly. "To be fair, this is actually a fantastic method to cultivate and comprehend the Great Dao—truly coming into contact with the power of the myriad Daos. Naturally, there are dangers! However, with the Star Residence Seal, I should be able to control it somewhat. Besides, we don't need to dig as large an opening as the ancient Human Sovereign did all at once, nor do we need to match the Lord of Dead Spirits!" The Lord of Dead Spirits had carved a hole the size of a millstone in the River of Time, while the ancient Human Sovereign had dug a hole the size of a pond! Su Yu's demands were modest: digging a hole the size of a bowl would suffice! For now, that would be enough for everyone to cultivate! Unless they gained many more experts later on, or even Rulers of Rules emerged. By the time they reached that stage, he would have fought his way back out anyway, so why would he care about this? "As the power of the myriad Daos flows in, we must comb through, integrate, and stabilize them one by one... This truly is an excellent way to comprehend the Great Dao!" Su Yu muttered, "So this time, I might bring some people along to dig the hole with me!" "..." Everyone was speechless. You... truly are daring! The Destiny Emperor said hesitantly, "Can it really be dug out? Everyone has come into contact with the River of Time, even if we can't see it as clearly as Emperor Yu. But merely diving to the riverbed is an ordeal—ordinary people simply cannot do it! Furthermore, the impact of cleaving the river is not something just anyone can withstand. Even Dao Integrators would be washed to death!" Su Yu smiled. "We can use the Time Book and the Star Residence Seal to stabilize it; temporary stabilization can certainly be achieved! I'll figure that part out. What you need to do is very simple: I'll dig the hole from within and let the water in, while you help me comb through the river water below. It cannot be allowed to mix; otherwise, it will turn into chaotic power!" The Destiny Emperor suddenly let out a sigh. "Are you giving us benefits again?" They would merely be helping to comb through the Daos down below! He suddenly felt that Su Yu, at times, was truly damn generous and righteous! Su Yu was going to dig the hole himself while letting everyone comb through the Great Daos below—the danger levels involved were completely different. Su Yu laughed. "Don't think too much of it; the difficulty is immense! Combing through myriad Daos is no simple task! Furthermore, a powerhouse will definitely be needed to oversee and control it. Only Lan Tian will do..." As he spoke, Su Yu tossed something forward. A little girl appeared, her aura feeble and her expression carrying a hint of resentment as she looked at Su Yu. "Big Brother Emperor Yu, I blew up! I'm done for!" The Destiny Emperor pressed a hand to his forehead! Fuck! Lan Tian? Sure enough, I knew Su Yu's words were pure bullshit! This is what you call dead? Although... she was pitifully weak, and this clone probably possessed only Sun and Moon Realm strength, she was still alive, wasn't she? Su Yu smiled. "Cut the nonsense; here's your chance to recover! I'm going to dig a hole in the River of Time, and you will receive the flow below. You can embezzle some power of the myriad Daos to strengthen your Dao of Common Folk. That way, you should be able to recover very quickly!" At this point, Su Yu added, "I'll also find a way to fish Old Wan out. He controls the Human Dao, the seven emotions and six desires. If he can comb through his own Human Dao and comprehend the myriad Daos at this time, he might also recover swiftly..." "..." The Destiny Emperor wore a look of complete resignation. He really wanted to ask: who on earth actually died? Don't tell me who didn't die—I know there must be many. I just want to know how many actually perished! Meanwhile, Su Yu stroked his chin and continued, "Come to think of it, if I dig a hole and have everyone comb through the power of the myriad Daos, perhaps they can all take the opportunity to recover a bit and comprehend the Great Dao. Without their physical bodies, instead of comprehending the Fleshly Body Dao, they can truly comprehend the Daos that belong to them... In this light, it's actually a good thing, as it strips away the interference of the Fleshly Body Dao!" The Fleshly Body Dao had too great an influence. Whether it was King Daqin or King Daxia, these people claimed to cultivate spear techniques or saber techniques, but in the end, they all converged back onto the Fleshly Body Dao. Now that none of them had physical bodies, being freed from that influence might actually be a blessing! Of course, no sane person would do such a thing—detonating their own physical body just to better comprehend the Dao. Many of them had cultivated their physical bodies for countless eras; who could bear to detonate them just like that? You'd have to be insane! If nothing came of it, wouldn't they cough up blood from the loss? Lan Tian giggled. "Digging a hole? Sounds fun! I want to go dig too!" "Dig my ass!" Su Yu snapped. "With your current strength, the moment the river water rushes over you, you're dead!" Su Yu was different; he had two supreme treasures on him, so he still stood a chance of diving down, severing the river, and digging that hole. Anyone else, even a Celestial Venerable, would likely be washed to death in moments without those two treasures! After scolding Lan Tian, Su Yu quickly beamed. "That is to say, if the combing goes smoothly this time, everyone's comprehension of the Great Dao should see a fundamental improvement! Then, those who haven't entered the Great Dao can go comprehend the Great Dao Chart, which might grant them further advancements!" "The only issue..." Su Yu frowned. "Physical bodies won't be easy to restore. Not that they can't be restored at all, but rather that restoring them to their previous state will be difficult! No matter how formidable an expert is, even if they don't walk the Fleshly Body Dao, their physical body won't be weak—it serves as the vessel of power! But restoring a physical body requires replenishment from the rule power of the Fleshly Body Dao..." Su Yu suddenly cursed, "That bastard Baizhan monopolized the Fleshly Body Dao! As a result, the physical power we can draw upon is actually limited, which makes repair considerably difficult! Otherwise, repairing physical bodies wouldn't be hard at all!" Beside them, the Destiny Emperor couldn't hold back and whispered, "From the sound of Emperor Yu's words... everyone only lost their physical bodies, while their seas of will... are all still intact?" Su Yu looked at him, squinting with a smile. "What do you think?" What do I think? Like hell I know! I think it's possible that not a single one actually died. Fuck! You're not human! Earlier, I actually judged that with things looking so tragic and so many killed, some must have fallen. As it turns out... none of them died? Were the myriad races and King Baizhan's faction all played for fools by you? Thoughts raced through the Destiny Emperor's mind. The next moment, Su Yu waved his hand, and clusters of light materialized nearby. They were all seas of will! Soon, illusory figures manifested, exchanging glances with mixed expressions of helplessness and sorrow. We're utterly finished! We've all been reduced to seas of will! Where are we now? Good grief, everyone saw familiar faces—they were all still alive. Among these illusory figures, Marquis Dingjun looked rather dejected and let out a heavy voice: "Emperor Yu, what about... the others?" There were many people he didn't see! He didn't see Wan Tiansheng, nor did he see those ancient marquises and ancient experts. He only saw a handful of people, such as Yingwu and Marquis Huoyun, while Shadow, Yunshui, and the four who arrived later were nowhere to be found. Su Yu said calmly, "Aren't you clear on that yourself?" A look of pain surfaced in Marquis Dingjun's eyes, his illusory form wavering. "I..." Su Yu said indifferently, "Alright, most of them are likely still alive. However, it seems someone did die—Shadow might have fallen. I don't know the exact details; Baizhan might have a chance to save him!" Marquis Dingjun fell silent. Beside them, Lan Tian looked at Su Yu in surprise. "This guy knew as well?" She had only just found out! Su Yu smiled. "Even if he didn't know, could he not have guessed a thing after so many years? Marquis Dingjun may be straightforward, but that doesn't mean he's a fool. If he were truly an idiot, how could he have survived when so many others died?" Su Yu mocked, "Tianmie over there seems reckless, yet he's as shrewd as a ghost, let alone Marquis Dingjun!" Over to the side, the illusory Tianmie glanced left and right. Talking about me? Do you think I'll take the bait? Not a chance! Meanwhile, Marquis Dingjun's illusory form trembled. After a long pause, he said downcastly, "I... merely had some suspicions, because King Baizhan... truly wasn't someone easily plotted against... Before that, we won a hundred battles out of a hundred!" Indeed, they had been victorious in every battle. Even when they didn't win, the ones who died were the allied experts. Yet in the end, everyone had been buried in a single strike! Furthermore, before that, the experts who went to their deaths were all Baizhan's direct subordinates. Some things could eventually be seen through, especially after six thousand years. Over those six millennia, they had deduced some of it, even if they hadn't known back then. Su Yu said indifferently, "So, you weren't aware of the plan?" Marquis Dingjun looked embarrassed. "I wasn't." "Heh!" It was a mocking laugh, and Marquis Dingjun understood it full well! Marquis Dingjun sighed helplessly. "Back then, my strength was on the weaker side, and... my personality was rather blunt. Perhaps King Baizhan felt that if he told me, I... I might leak the secret or expose it unintentionally?" With that, he asked with a trace of longing, "Emperor Yu, today you were able to fake our deaths. Back then... did those fellow Daoists and comrades die for real, or did they fake their deaths?" Since Su Yu could disguise their fake deaths, what about Baizhan? He wasn't entirely clear on that. Su Yu said calmly, "I'm not too sure. Some certainly died! If I were Baizhan, I wouldn't care whether those who were disobedient or refused to submit lived or died—if they died, so be it. It would be unnatural if not a single person actually died!" Beside them, Marquis Huoyun's illusory figure said heavily, "A portion must have died. If I recall correctly, a group of people fell in battle later on, and most of them were likely true deaths. However, those who died earlier to yield their Daos are very likely still alive! That's because King Baizhan was sealed away later, leaving him without enough time to arrange for their rescue... Of course, someone might have collected their remains in secret." Su Yu looked surprised. "You didn't know either?" Surely not? He had assumed Marquis Huoyun might have known the plan. Marquis Huoyun sighed and shook his head. "I was a direct subordinate of King Yue. My allegiance was to Lord King Yue, and I didn't cultivate the Fleshly Body Dao either, so perhaps there was still some distance between us..." "Bullshit!" Su Yu laughed. "Yunshui and Shadow didn't cultivate the Fleshly Body Dao either, nor were they direct subordinates of King Dou! It can only be said that back then, your loyalty to Baizhan wasn't absolute! You people... there's really nothing to say about you." The fact that these people didn't know Baizhan's plan only proved that they had not been completely devoted to Baizhan. Su Yu believed that those truly loyal to Baizhan all knew the situation. Marquis Huoyun offered no defense. Perhaps so! Complete loyalty? Sometimes, it wasn't that simple. The more upright one was, the harder it was to transfer one's loyalty from a previous benefactor to serve the next master so quickly. Both Marquis Dingjun and Marquis Huoyun had their own original masters; it wasn't easy for them to devote themselves to someone else. Su Yu glanced at King Dazhou, who had remained silent the entire time, but said nothing to him. Soon, he laid out his plan. "Restoring your physical bodies to their previous state won't be easy, but you can comprehend the Great Dao and draw closer to it. Even if your physical strength cannot return to its previous peak immediately, some of it should still recover. Coupled with strengthened rule power from the Great Dao, your combat strength won't necessarily be lower than before! "Once you rebuild your physical bodies later, everyone's strength might even take another step forward!" From among the crowd, General Yingwu suddenly asked, "Yunshui... did she deceive me?" Su Yu chuckled. "How can you call that deception? Perhaps her admiration for King Wen was genuine, and her disdain for Baizhan was real at the time, only for her to be won over by Baizhan later. How can that be considered deception? Besides... even if she did deceive you, what can you do about it?" "..." General Yingwu fell utterly despondent and said nothing more. King Daming asked anxiously, "What about Wan Tiansheng?" Did he really die? "Chief Wan... I still have to make a trip into the River of Time to see!" Wan Tiansheng's opponent had been a Celestial Venerable, making it exceedingly difficult for his sea of will to escape. Faking it would have been nearly impossible, as Yuehao and the others had been watching closely during the battle's climactic moments. Thus, Wan Tiansheng had truly been shattered. However, Old Wan had prepared in advance, leaving behind some remnants within his own Great Dao that should allow him to be fished back out. Su Yu said no more on the matter, concluding swiftly, "I will first retrieve Chief Wan. Then, I'll find a way to open an aperture and merge the Tianyuan Realm into the dead spirit realm so everyone can comprehend and comb through the Great Daos. This time is an opportunity! If you don't destroy, you cannot build; only after destruction can there be creation! Normally, your physical bodies hindered your perception of the Dao. Later, I will find a way to restore your bodies... If all else fails, we'll kill Baizhan and seize his Fleshly Body Dao!" Su Yu beamed brightly. Beside him, Qi Rong suddenly said in a low voice, "Human Master Su..." "I'm no longer the Human Master!" Su Yu chuckled. "Just call me by my name!" "Su... Never mind, I'll just call you what they call you." Qi Rong quickly adjusted her mindset and spoke, "Emperor Yu, restoring physical bodies doesn't necessarily require the human race's Fleshly Body Dao. All Daos trace back to the same source, and the human race's Fleshly Body Dao isn't the only one! From what I see, those two seem to be walking different physical body Great Daos..." She pointed at King Daqin and King Daxia. Her eyes were sharp; after all, neither of them had a physical body right now. "I believe that Dao could perhaps be divided among everyone to restore some physical strength... It wouldn't necessarily require integrating the Dao, but rather stripping out the physical power within it..." She suggested, "The Great Daos of the world, as I mentioned before, are of the same origin and category, and can ultimately be merged..." The moment these words fell, King Dazhou, who had remained silent all along, suddenly looked toward Qi Rong. After a long while, he spoke: "You are Princess Consort Qi?" Qi Rong looked at him, frowning slightly. King Dazhou said softly, "Princess Consort Qi's learning is indeed vast! Daos of the same origin and category can indeed be merged. Emperor Yu should have seen this before as well. Non-human physical body Daos are still physical body Daos; they were simply modified in the past to better suit specific races! The Dao of the Wild Heavenly Beast that King Daqin and King Daxia cultivated is also a type of physical body Dao, and some physical power can be extracted from it... However, doing so will weaken that Dao, and Old Qin and Old Xia might have to switch Daos once again!" Su Yu stroked his chin and smiled. "Well... that seems feasible. From what I see, those two progress far too slowly on the Fleshly Body Dao. They might as well switch back to the Dao of the Saber and the Dao of the Spear! They don't necessarily have to walk the exact same path as Xia Longwu and the others; walking a different branch works too! Any saber or spear Dao leads to the same destination, because the ultimate goal is the unity of identical Daos!" Of course, that was a matter for later. At this moment, King Daqin said gruffly, "Fine by me. I never felt suited for the Fleshly Body Dao anyway. Old Xia and I are better suited for the Dao of the Saber and the Spear!" This was great! The Wild Heavenly Beast's Dao wouldn't go to waste either; at the very least, everyone could divide and consume it now! They could restore their physical bodies together! That way, everyone would recover their strength even faster. As for what they had lost... perhaps they hadn't lost anything at all, merely weeding out some people who weren't worthy of trust. Su Yu smiled. "Then let's get to work! Settle everything quickly and cultivate in peace while letting them fight it out! Since they all want to play turtle, we'll play turtle for a while too. Once we've accumulated enough strength, we'll be free of burdens—who would we fear then?" As for Su Yu himself, he also had to consider opening a Dao! The Brush Dao was merely ordinary! Su Yu didn't particularly want to integrate the Brush Dao. Of course, if the opportunity arose, he could strip all the power from the Brush Dao—no, not steal it; it was already his! What if he stripped all the power of the Brush Dao and integrated it into his civilization chronicle? Could King Wen bite him for it? He had abandoned it and passed the legacy to Su Yu, so wasn't it Su Yu's? Honestly! With that in mind, Su Yu stroked his chin. It made sense—this Dao had to belong to him after all! Transforming from King Wen's orthodox Brush Dao into Su Yu's very own Brush Dao.