The Beginning of Opening a Dao

Su Yu could not be bothered with the Martial Emperor. At this moment, leading several hundred experts, he marched toward the Land of Gui Ruins. …… Deep within the Land of Gui Ruins. In the sealed grounds, human faces once again manifested upon the black pillars of light, all bearing grim expressions. "Is the Realm of Living Spirits going to wage war against us again?" Lately, the Land of Gui Ruins had known no peace. After the Northern King retreated here with his subordinates, things had been relatively quiet at first. The Northern King did not seem keen on provoking them either. Yet before long, Marquis Longxue under the Northern King's command led his forces into clashes with them. Over the years, the sealed figures had brought many powerful dead spirits in the Land of Gui Ruins under their control, which soon led to skirmishes. Marquis Longxue acted without restraint; though he knew they were powerful, he also knew they could not break their seals. During this recent period, he had pressed forward step by step, slaughtering a large number of powerful dead spirits. Not only that, but recent days had seen several powerful beings awaken within the River of Dead Spirits. Instead of dealing with them, the Four Kings Domain had driven them toward the Land of Gui Ruins, even opening passages to send them straight through. The Land of Gui Ruins had been tranquil for countless ages, yet recently, it had witnessed one massive clash after another. Just a few days ago, the Tianyuan Realm had plunged down here. And today, dozens of Harmony experts, led by multiple Heavenly Kings, were marching straight in this direction. All of them were experts from the realm of the living! No... a vast host of experts from the dead spirit realm followed them as well. With those dead spirit marquises joining their ranks, the number of Harmonys had exceeded a hundred! A terrifying figure! "Are they starting a war?" Someone murmured. Another sneered, "Even if war breaks out, it's against Ming Douhe and his bunch! We're sealed away. Killing us will only give birth to even stronger beings!" Besides, if the enemy actually breached the seal, who knew whether that would be a blessing or a curse for them! …… At the same time. The area where the Northern King's faction was stationed. At this moment, a large gathering of experts was assembling. A few of the dead spirit marquises originally under the Northern King had died, but powerful dead spirits had recently awakened in the River of Dead Spirits, and new blood had joined them. Counting Marquis Longxue, the Northern King currently had over ten Harmony experts under his banner. Right now, the Northern King wore a somber expression as well. Not far away, Marquis Longxue also frowned. So many experts. Did the realm of living spirits still possess so many powerhouses? "Longxue!" The Northern King looked toward Marquis Longxue, his gaze dark and unfathomable. "How do you think we should respond?" Lately, Marquis Longxue had been exceedingly active, and his strength had grown at a frightening pace. By now, even the Northern King was not entirely certain how strong the fellow truly was. After all, they had not crossed hands yet. Longxue was still his chief general! Yet the Northern King had also sensed something unusual. Many of the Harmonys who had arrived from the Heavenly River of Dead Spirits had been following Marquis Longxue into battle everywhere lately, seeming to heed Longxue's words even more than his own. That was not a good sign! Of course, the Northern King said nothing and did nothing about it for now. They were plagued by both internal and external troubles. Internally, there were the experts of the sealed grounds; externally, there were the powerhouses of the Four Kings Domain. Neither was someone they could afford to provoke. Marquis Longxue looked solemn. "My lord, are they here to deal with us?" It was a possibility. Still, wasn't that overestimating them a bit? There had to be over ten Heavenly King-tier beings among that host, didn't there? A group of dead spirit experts gathered swiftly, each weighed down with dread. What should they do? Flee? They had already fled all the way to the Land of Gui Ruins. Where else could they go? If they didn't flee... were they supposed to just wait here to be slaughtered? As the dead spirits gathered, one yelled in rage, "If it comes down to it, let's fight to the death with them!" Fight to the death? How could they fight? Both the Northern King and Marquis Longxue couldn't even be bothered to respond. They stood no chance. Marquis Longxue's eyes flickered, and he said, "My lord, what if we feign surrender?" "Feign surrender?" The Northern King looked at him. Marquis Longxue smiled darkly. "That human Su Yu—doesn't he want to subdue the dead spirit realm? Why don't we pretend to surrender... and divert the disaster eastward? We can lure them toward the sealed grounds and see if they deal with Dizhiluo and his crowd!" Dizhiluo's side was exceedingly powerful. Moreover, the Death Emperor resided there. That was a figure even Marquis Longxue dreaded immensely, one who might have truly attained the realm of a Rule Master. Whether he truly had reached it was difficult to tell while he remained sealed, but countless years ago, that being had already been extraordinarily formidable. The Northern King said nothing, for those several hundred auras were already drawing near the Land of Gui Ruins. He swiftly ordered, "Move. Veer off from their path. We shouldn't clash with them. Let's see whether they're actually coming for us!" If they shifted course and the enemy still pursued them, today would not end well. The group of dead spirit experts wasted no words and quickly retreated alongside the Northern King. Meanwhile, Marquis Longxue glanced back in Su Yu's direction, feeling a faint, unusual sensation. Something on Su Yu's side seemed to be drawing him in. …… On Su Yu's side. Sensing the movement of a large mass of dead spirit auras, the Southern King said in a low voice, "Should we wipe them out while we're at it?" The Northern King was no longer worth mentioning! It was not that he lacked strength, but that Su Yu's side had too many Heavenly Kings. Dealing with the Northern King now carried none of the immense pressure from before. Su Yu's forces were ten times the enemy's. Su Yu glanced in that direction, watching the retreating Northern King, and smiled. "Forget it. Chasing them while they run takes time, and today isn't a day to waste time!" With that, he looked toward the pitch-black depths. "Let's head over there and take a look. I can vaguely sense the presence of some experts in that direction!" They were probably sealed experts. He would see what the situation was first! As he walked, Su Yu said, "Right now, the Southern King is only one step away from Celestial Venerable, and Marquis Lanshan is only one step away from Heavenly King!" "If we slay a few more Heavenly King-level experts, perhaps both of you can succeed in advancing!" "Of course, there's no rush... If I manage to resurrect everyone, the moment of resurrection—transitioning from dead spirits into living beings—might boost your strength by a fair margin." The Southern King remained silent, but Marquis Lanshan asked excitedly, "Your Majesty, can we truly be resurrected?" "Hard to say." Su Yu smiled. "Much as I'd like to give you a definitive answer... life and death are hard to predict. I haven't experienced true death yet. Perhaps only when I truly comprehend death will I have the chance to resurrect you!" Marquis Lanshan felt dejected and said nothing more. She was a little disappointed. Deep down, she still wished to become a living person again. Su Yu paid no further mind to Marquis Longxue and his group. That side was actually quite amusing. A great many experts had awakened in the River of Dead Spirits. Counting both the newly awakened and the original ones, there ought to have been over twenty Harmonys by now. Yet after all this fighting, their numbers remained roughly the same, with hardly any increase in Harmonys. Marquis Longxue had contributed quite a bit to that outcome. Which was great! He could just let the fellow quietly clean them out. Before long, Su Yu's group crossed the territory previously held by the Northern King. Vast numbers of dead spirits wandered this area, but now they trembled in terror. Su Yu's ranks held an immense number of powerful dead spirits, exerting overwhelming pressure through sheer hierarchy. They continued onward. Su Yu opened his Heavenly Gate. In an instant, more than a dozen gigantic pillars of light came into view. Su Yu's heart gave a jolt! Those pillars seemed to sense something as well. Even under the seal, at the deepest point, a massive, utterly black pillar of light suddenly formed a human face, turning its gaze straight toward Su Yu! Just like when Su Yu had observed the Celestial Venerables in the Dao Origin Land, at this moment, he beheld an expert who might be even stronger than a Celestial Venerable—one who had truly attained the realm and power of a Rule Master! Su Yu's original heading had drifted slightly away from that spot, but now he turned directly toward it and flew over. As they approached, the Southern King and the others vaguely sensed something as well. …… Soon. A curtain of light came into view. On the perimeter, chains sealed the world, locking down the surrounding space in every direction. Within stood over a dozen black pillars of light. At that moment, a human face emerged upon one of the pillars—the very same Dizhiluo who had spoken with the Northern King back then. Dizhiluo glanced at the Southern King, recognized her, and sneered coldly, "Yu Ziqi, you running dog, have you taken a new master again?" The Southern King stared back at him coldly. Su Yu surveyed the surroundings carefully and counted them up. There were quite a few—a full fifteen pillars of light, and all of them possessed immense strength. Dizhiluo was not particularly strong among them. None of those who had been sealed were weak. If they were too weak, why bother sealing them? If they were truly minor figures, killing them would have solved everything. Why waste time? Among the fifteen experts, the weakest were roughly at the Heavenly King level. Dizhiluo belonged to this weakest tier. Judging by the pillars of light, there were about ten Heavenly Kings. The other five pillars were somewhat stronger; four gave Su Yu the impression of possessing Celestial Venerable combat strength. As for the last one... Su Yu judged that it likely possessed the combat strength of a true Rule Master! Back then, they really had sealed away quite a few powerful beings. Su Yu pondered internally. Hearing Dizhiluo's words, he took no offense. Separated by the seal, he smiled and asked, "What is your name?" "Are you asking your grandfather?" Dizhiluo sneered coldly. "Dizhiluo! Little brat, did you bring so many people here because you want to kill us? Come on, then! Break this seal first, and come inside to kill me!" Only when the seal broke would they have their chance at freedom. "Dizhiluo?" Su Yu smiled faintly. "Fine, I'll remember you! It seems King Wu and the others made a rather poor decision by choosing to seal you lot back then... If it were me, I would have slaughtered you all until the single strongest being emerged... No matter how strong that being became, could it surpass the Lord of Dead Spirits? They really were looking for trouble, leaving behind headaches for us later generations!" Those who refused to obey back then should have simply been exterminated! He had no idea what the ancients had been thinking, leaving behind so many powerful figures. There really were a lot! It exceeded his expectations. Su Yu had previously thought there might only be a few. Still, it wasn't too bad; there seemed to be only one Rule Master. Su Yu smiled. "The one in the deepest part—disaster comes from a loose tongue, you know? This subordinate of yours is far too unruly! Provoking a scholar who isn't particularly broad-minded is not a wise move!" Dizhiluo opened his mouth to retort sharply; nothing would please him more than Su Yu attacking his way inside. Yet at that very instant, an exceedingly handsome face suddenly materialized upon the pillar of light in the deepest recess. It carried a hint of effeminate grace—the cold grace characteristic of a dead spirit. He looked virtually indistinguishable from a living person! Unlike the Southern King and the others, who still bore a faint withered-yellow hue, this face showed no trace of yellow at all. "Dizhiluo." The face's lips parted slightly, uttering a voice that was not particularly stern. Yet Dizhiluo trembled slightly and promptly shut his mouth. A faint smile appeared on the face as it looked toward Su Yu, meeting his gaze across the distance. "You must be Su Yu, the Human Lord of this generation?" Su Yu smiled. "You could say that!" With that, he asked curiously, "Can you fight a Rule Master?" "Are you curious?" The face carried a faint smile, as though the two were old friends chatting. Su Yu nodded. "A bit. Who is stronger, you or the Martial Emperor? That lunatic back there—I couldn't be bothered with him. Could you beat him?" The face smiled. "The Martial Emperor should be slightly stronger. Even among Rule Masters, there are ranks and tiers! As mighty as the Four Polar Human Kings were, the War King and his peers stood just below them. In those days, the Martial Emperor's strength was roughly comparable to the War King's... Of course, he might be inferior now, because far too much time has passed!" The Martial Emperor had been a top-tier Rule Master back then. Yet hundreds of thousands of years had passed since he was sealed. While others fought and advanced, he had remained imprisoned. In truth, the gap had only widened. King Wen back then might still have wielded the Brush Dao. King Wen today had long since abandoned the Brush Dao. The Human Sovereign back then might have wielded other Daos, but later opened his own heavens. With so many years having passed, Su Yu felt he might have overlooked something. Indeed, one could not measure those powerhouses by ancient history alone. Perhaps some of the surviving Rule Masters today already possessed the strength of the Four Polar Human Kings of old. "What is your name?" Su Yu asked. The face smiled again. "A name is merely a label used in life. In death, people prefer to call me the Death Emperor." Su Yu grinned. "Emperor... Quite an impressive title!" "Where are you headed?" The Death Emperor swept his gaze across the gathering and asked with a smile, "Do you intend to go deeper, into the chaos?" He did not believe Su Yu had come to attack them. They remained sealed; breaking the seal offered Su Yu no benefit. Su Yu nodded, smiling. "I'm headed there. You're certainly sharper than the Martial Emperor. Who has the spare time to look for trouble with him? By the way, are you lonely? If you are, how about I invite the Martial Emperor over to keep you company?" The Death Emperor laughed. "You can call him over?" Su Yu chuckled. "Hard to say! But you might be the only Rule Master-level expert he could ever meet, and you're both sealed. Wouldn't it be nice for fellow sufferers to sympathize with each other?" After cracking the joke, Su Yu quickly said with a smile, "Fifteen experts—a considerable faction! If you gathered the other Harmonys, you might even be able to fight a battle against Baizhan's side, perhaps even outmatching them slightly... It seems I truly am the weakest party between heaven and earth!" Pausing, Su Yu added, "You're strong and have lived a long time. Let me ask you something: are you from the Archaic Era, or the Heaven-Opening Era?" Su Yu asked curiously, "Did you live through the era when the Lord of Dead Spirits opened the Dead Spirit Dao? Are you among the first generation of dead spirits here?" The face remained impassive, offering neither word nor reply. Su Yu chuckled again. "The most ancient dead spirits should be the batch born right after the Dead Spirit Dao was opened. The Dead Spirit Dao was likely forged toward the end of the Heaven-Opening Era. So you must either be someone from the tail end of the Heaven-Opening Era or from the Archaic Era, right?" The history of the dead spirits was far shorter than that of the myriad realms. These old fellows were so powerful that they had likely recovered a great deal of their memories. The Southern King was not young either, but she was probably not as ancient as this one. Su Yu rarely probed into the Southern King's past. Seeing that he did not respond, Su Yu smiled. "Fine, it looks like you don't want to talk about it! That's fine. Then let me ask something else. You probably know about it—do you know of the Archaic Giant race?" This time, the Death Emperor answered, saying flatly, "The Giant race, you mean?" He dropped the word "Archaic," because in his eyes, the "Archaic Era" did not exist as a separate ancient past. Su Yu nodded. "Yes, the Giant race!" "I know a little." The Death Emperor smiled faintly. "The Giant race rose during the Archaic Era. At first, they were not particularly strong, but they grew increasingly powerful over time. They once dominated for a period, ranking among the top races of that era... Their numbers were never very large." "I heard they are descendants of the Human Ancestor. Is that true?" The Death Emperor fell silent for a moment before answering slowly, "Perhaps it is true! The Giant race was called the Giant race because they resembled the human race so closely, with minimal differences. The greatest distinction was their enormous physical size, but that might simply have resulted from the formidable power of their Physical Body Dao." "Have you seen the Human Ancestor?" Nearby, several hundred people, including Dizhiluo and his companions, were utterly speechless. Are you two seriously having a casual chat? They had no words! The Death Emperor pondered for a moment and said softly, "I once saw him from afar. However, he was a supreme expert, while I... was merely a bystander!" Su Yu was astonished. "You really saw him? Then you truly are ancient! Do you know how the Heaven-Opening Era ended? Was it done by the Human Ancestor?" "Or was it done by the Lord of Dead Spirits?" The two should have lived roughly in the same era. The Death Emperor chuckled softly. "I told you, I was merely a bystander. How could a weakling know such things? You overestimate me!" "True. If you weren't weak, you wouldn't have been killed and turned into a dead spirit." "..." Beside him, the Southern King and her dead spirit followers looked toward Su Yu. Was Su Yu insulting them too? Did dying mean they were weak? Su Yu gave a dry cough and dropped the subject, smiling warmly. "You're probably just like the Martial Emperor: once the Upper Realm opens, the realm's power disperses, and the rules fluctuate, your seals will likely break, right?" "More or less." Su Yu continued, "May I ask what your plans are?" Su Yu's smile looked thoroughly earnest. "Do you plan to submit under my banner and acknowledge me as your master, or will you vie with me for control of the dead spirit realm once your seal breaks?" This time, before the Death Emperor could speak, Dizhiluo snapped in fury, "Ridiculous fool! You think you're worthy? Once our seals are broken, it will be the day of your death!" Su Yu laughed, glanced at Dizhiluo, and then looked back at the Death Emperor. "This fellow's temper is far too reckless! Some people like brutes, while others don't! When a brute belongs to one's own side, one has no choice but to tolerate him... but someone else's brute is thoroughly repulsive! What's more, he has a foul mouth! Death Emperor, if you wish to join me, find an opportunity to kill him and bring his death imprint as a pledge of allegiance. I might consider taking you in!" Silence. This was the Death Emperor's first interaction with Su Yu, his first time dealing with him. Yet it was also the first time he sensed how difficult and domineering Su Yu was. What an arrogant fellow! Is it because our seals haven't broken yet? As he spoke, Su Yu stepped forward and suddenly touched one of the chains. Instantly, an immense power surged toward him! Su Yu sensed it carefully, took a few steps back, and chuckled. "Interesting. This doesn't seem to be a seal laid by the Prison King. It looks somewhat like King Wen's... but not quite. Who laid this?" "King Ming." The Death Emperor said softly, "The restriction array laid by King Ming." Su Yu nodded. "No wonder! So it was set by King Ming." He asked again, "By the way, right above your heads—that's where the Human Realm is, isn't it?" "Presumably." The Death Emperor said softly, "Because we have never opened it. Do you care to try?" Su Yu smiled. "Forget it. If the opportunity arises, I might give it a try! By the way, the Human Realm will soon have experts who might not be any weaker than you. If the chance presents itself, should I lock him in here to keep you company?" Su Yu let out a sigh of emotion. "What an awful era this is—all sorts of monsters are showing up! You lot have been sealed for so many years, and it looks like you're about to be freed in this era... The Martial Emperor is breaking his seal, the descendants of the Prison King are emerging from their mountains... For me to rise in an era like this is truly... lucky!" Su Yu laughed heartily. "All right, that's enough chatting for today! I'll visit you again when I have time. Perhaps we won't even need to wait for the Upper Realm's seal to break—I'll find a chance to come over and help you break your seals!" Dizhiluo sneered, "With your pathetic ability?" Su Yu smiled. "The first thing I do upon breaking the seal will be beating this fellow to death. I hope the Emperor won't mind! I'm not one to hold grudges—I usually settle them on the spot! The name Dizhiluo, I've noted it down. Quite a rarity!" After all, he couldn't beat him to death right now. "Everyone, until next time!" With a laugh, Su Yu quickly led his group away. The several hundred experts at his side said nothing. Of course, several of them cast indifferent glances at Dizhiluo. He was a dead man! Their stares made Dizhiluo distinctly uncomfortable! Once the group had departed, he sneered, "A bunch of cowards! Emperor, why bother acknowledging such a person!" From the depths, the Death Emperor glanced at him and murmured softly, "Why must you do that? Someone who can make several hundred experts submit, someone to whom even Yu Ziqi willingly bends the knee... Why offend him to the point of no return before our seals have even broken?" With a soft sigh, the face vanished. Why bring this upon yourself? Could someone capable of subduing so many powerhouses truly lack real ability? Originally, before the seals were undone, there was no conflict between them. Dizhiluo's words had thoroughly provoked the other party. If the seal truly broke... are you certain you can match him? That was simply creating a formidable enemy for oneself. Dizhiluo frowned slightly, but soon scoffed internally, paying it little mind. Once the seal breaks, would I be afraid of him? …… Ahead. The Southern King frowned and said, "The Death Emperor is actually still alive. That caught me somewhat by surprise. I thought he died long ago." Su Yu smiled. "It doesn't matter. But there are quite a few sealed experts. Aside from that fellow, there are probably four Celestial Venerable-level beings! The reason they weren't killed back then was likely out of fear that killing them would give birth to an entity on the Martial Emperor's level, or even an even stronger Four Polar Human King-level expert." From what he could see, the disparities among Rule Masters were not small. Sealing them early on made sense, but what puzzled Su Yu was why they weren't finished off later. He shook his head. "Leaving them alive right after conquering them is one thing, but later on, the ancient imperial court lasted tens of thousands of years. Why didn't they eliminate these fellows then? Even if an expert on par with the Four Polar Human Kings was born, kill it if it refused to obey! It wasn't as if they couldn't kill it!" "If they kept killing, I refuse to believe it would actually draw out the Lord of Dead Spirits..." As he said that, Su Yu paused slightly. That was hard to say! Perhaps... the Human Sovereign and his peers truly had harbored that exact concern. If they kept slaughtering endlessly, the deaths of all those powerhouses might ultimately give birth to an unimaginably terrifying entity. The Lord of Dead Spirits? Shaking his head, he stopped dwelling on it. Su Yu continued deeper, already faintly sensing the aura of chaos along the way. Sure enough, an uncarved expanse of chaos still existed in the depths. …… The chaos appeared to be separated from the Land of Gui Ruins. On one side was dense death qi; on the other lay chaotic power. It was very much like Chaos Mountain, where one side was origin qi and the other chaotic power. When Su Yu's group reached the deepest recess, they all saw two distinctly different worlds. A faint membrane seemed to separate them. At this moment, everyone wore solemn expressions. Wan Tiansheng said in a low voice, "Are you opening it right here? If you do, the experts of the dead spirit realm might all sense it and realize what's happening. Won't that cause trouble?" Su Yu said nothing. He flew forward for a short distance and soon reached out a hand toward the chaotic region. Plunging his hand inside, he quickly felt that familiar chaotic power. Frowning slightly, Su Yu said in a low voice, "There's no need for you to tell me the dangers of opening a Dao. What worries me is something else!" Everyone turned to look at him. Su Yu looked into the depths of the chaos. "I'm wondering—are there chaotic ancient beasts in this place?" At those words, everyone who had been to the Upper Realm frowned slightly. Ancient beasts! Ancient beasts lived within the chaos and almost never crossed the boundary, whether due to restrictions or some other reason. Even a creature as formidable as the Wild Heavenly Beast had chosen to transform its Chaos Dao into the Physical Body Dao upon entering the myriad realms. Perhaps it was repulsion! The myriad realms had the Great Dao of Time, the Upper Realm had the Human Sovereign Dao, and the dead spirit realm had the Dead Spirit Dao. Perhaps chaotic ancient beasts would be suppressed upon entering. That was why no chaotic ancient beasts had ever been seen in the dead spirit realm. However, once a Dao was opened within the chaos, would it draw chaotic ancient beasts over? Chaotic ancient beasts were not bound by realm restrictions. Those that had lived long enough could very well have reached the realm of Rule Masters. Wan Tiansheng frowned. "That truly is possible! I'm even wondering whether the chaos is interconnected. Could the chaos here connect to the depths of the boundless void of the myriad realms, or to the depths of Chaos Mountain?" "If they are connected... that will be troublesome. Even if there are none here, Chaos Mountain has plenty of ancient beasts." Su Yu nodded slightly, then smiled shortly after. "It won't matter too much. This is the boundary between realms. If worst comes to worst, we can retreat into the dead spirit realm. Chaotic ancient beasts generally won't come out." The others remained silent. It was easy to say, but Su Yu was going into the chaos to open a Dao. If powerful ancient beasts truly arrived, what would Su Yu do? Su Yu took a deep breath. Having reached this stage, there was no turning back. If he didn't open a Dao now, with his current strength, how could he talk about contending for supremacy? How could he compete against the others? Opening a Dao was an absolute necessity. "Manor Head Wan, you keep watch... If chaotic ancient beasts appear below the Rule Master level, you can deal with them. If a Rule Master-level beast arrives, retreat immediately back into the Land of Gui Ruins!" Even if a Celestial Venerable came, it would only be slaughtered. The fear was that what came would be more than just Celestial Venerables. There was no passage of time within the chaos; who knew whether ancient behemoths lurked within the shadows. …… Su Yu delayed no further and stepped out of the Land of Gui Ruins. Emerging from the death qi, he stepped into the chaos. He continued forward. This place was too close to the Land of Gui Ruins, which was not ideal. Venturing deeper would also prevent people from rashly intruding and disrupting his Dao creation. Behind him, Wan Tiansheng and the others were about to follow when Su Yu looked back and said, "No need to follow. Just watch from across the distance! With too many people, the aura of the myriad Daos will be too dense, which will only work against us!" Lan Tian, however, paid him no heed and followed straight after him, a faint wisp of chaotic aura rising from his body. Meanwhile, Feiqiu swept his tail against the little girl beside him. "Tea Tree, you go too!" Tea Tree looked back, and Feiqiu transmitted his voice: "Go on. You're considered part of the Chaos race too. If chaotic ancient beasts really show up, you can chat with them—maybe you won't even have to fight!" Tea Tree looked bewildered. Could that work? Fine, since Feiqiu said so, she would believe it. Tea Tree quickly chased after them. Unlike the others, who felt oppressed, entering the chaos brought her a sense of ease. She tumbled through the chaos and swiftly caught up to Su Yu, giggling cheerfully, seemingly in high spirits. Su Yu glanced back and said nothing. Tea Tree truly walked the Chaos Dao; no wonder she could swim in the River of Time. They pushed forward several tens of thousands of meters. Looking back toward the boundary, Wan Tiansheng and the rest were silently watching from afar. At this distance, it was about right. Any further, and they might not be able to clearly witness the process of opening the Great Dao. Beside him, Lan Tian chuckled. "Go ahead and open your Dao. Tea Tree and I will protect your Dao. Ordinary chaotic ancient beasts will be easy for us to handle." Protecting the Dao! Back when Lan Tian opened his Dao, Su Yu and Wan Tiansheng had been his protectors. Now that Su Yu was opening his Dao, Lan Tian had to act as protector no matter what. Tea Tree played behind them, rolling around in high spirits. Hearing Lan Tian's words, she asked with a grin, "Lan Tian, will chaotic ancient beasts come to fight us?" Lan Tian smiled faintly. "Who knows?" The possibility certainly existed. Taking Tea Tree by the hand, he quickly vanished from the spot, repositioning himself further ahead of Su Yu just in case. Su Yu said nothing more. At a time like this, there was no need to stand on ceremony. A book emerged—the civilization chronicle. Soon, another book materialized faintly—the Time Record. Next, the Xingyu Seal and the Human Lord Seal appeared one after another. They hovered all around Su Yu. This time, every one of them might come in handy. The civilization chronicle unfolded, its pages flipping rapidly. Su Yu had retrieved all those Great Dao pages from the River of Time. They had not been nurtured for very long—only a few months! There were three thousand pages in total! Some were strong, and some were weak. The powerful ones, like the Demon race page, possessed phantoms with the strength of a third-tier Harmony. The weak ones, like the Fire Pig page, barely carried phantoms with Soaring strength. Far too weak! The imbalance of power was also a problem, though Su Yu had several plans in mind. The Great Daos of power within the Time Record were far more balanced than those in Su Yu's civilization chronicle. That was a difference born of accumulated time. Su Yu had accumulated power for far too brief a period; even though he had embedded them into the Great Dao to nurture them, it had only been a few months. Taking these out was still not enough. Vast quantities of treasures—Heavenly Yuan Qi, Sun Moon Xuanhuang Liquid, and more—were retrieved by Su Yu and set aside. One divine character after another leaped out from his sea of will, fusing into their corresponding pages. At this moment, the civilization chronicle appeared exceptionally sacred and mysterious. Su Yu's spirit, qi, and soul all began to erupt, brewing toward their absolute peak! …… In the rear. Wan Tiansheng and the other Heavenly Kings all looked on with worry. The Great Zhou King also furrowed his brows and sent a mental transmission: "He truly isn't fully prepared yet. The time has been far too short! Given another few decades, he might have been able to open the heavens smoothly, but right now... it's too fast!" Su Yu was a monstrous genius, a peerless talent. Yet the time had truly been too brief. His comprehension of the Great Dao was not deep enough, and the nurturing of the myriad Daos had only just begun. Under such circumstances, Su Yu choosing to open the heavens carried risks beyond imagination! Wan Tiansheng sighed and transmitted back, "There is no other way! Time presses hard. The great war has erupted in the Upper Realm, and down here, Baizhan has returned! Even if Su Yu walks the Brush Dao, he could hardly step into the Celestial Venerable realm in short order! As for the Human Sovereign Dao you mentioned... that was opened by the Human Sovereign after all. If the Human Sovereign returns, what happens then?" The Human Sovereign wasn't dead! That was a Dao opened by the Human Sovereign, his core Dao, not something like the Brush Dao that could be readily cast aside. When the Human Sovereign returned, would Su Yu yield the Dao or not? If he yielded it... what would Su Yu cultivate then? If he didn't, taking away a Dao the Human Sovereign had half-opened would also lead to trouble. Now that Rule Masters had appeared, there was no time left for Su Yu to cultivate at a leisurely pace. The Great Zhou King fell silent. If Su Yu were less ambitious, even if he returned the Dao to the Human Sovereign upon his return, Su Yu could still cultivate by relying on the Human Sovereign Dao, and attaining the combat strength of a Rule Master wouldn't be much of an issue. One had to realize that both the Physical Body Dao and the Dead Spirit Dao could give rise to beings with Rule Master combat power. The Human Sovereign Dao would be no exception! Yet... would Su Yu resign himself to that? Su Yu's refusal to inherit the Human Sovereign Dao was likely tied to this consideration. If the Human Sovereign were dead, Su Yu might have inherited it. The crux was that the Human Sovereign was not dead—he was still alive! The Great Zhou King took a deep breath and said no more. Everyone looked toward Su Yu in the distance. At this point, the only thing they could do was pray that all went smoothly. As for fools like Tianmie who trusted Su Yu blindly, there was nothing to be done about them. In the distance, Su Yu's aura climbed steadily, growing ever more formidable! Though Su Yu was clearly only in the Sun Moon Realm, at this moment, it felt as though even a Harmony might not be his match! Right now, no one was opening their Heavenly Gate. Otherwise, they would be able to see that above the civilization chronicle before Su Yu, several thousand traces of Great Dao power were faintly emerging—all virtual Daos, rather than the power of the Great Daos within the River of Time. The chaos began to shudder. The chaotic power pushed against these Great Dao powers, and page after page began to flutter without any wind. "Settle!" A low shout rang out, and two great seals descended into the void, suppressing the slightly turbulent chaotic power. The opening of the heavens was about to officially begin. Everyone watched with bated breath, their gazes converging with profound complexity. Could he succeed?