Killing the Body and Crushing the Spirit!

On this day, Su Yu dealt with the two experts through rather unorthodox means. It was entirely unlike his previous brutal assaults and forceful strikes. *I rule this heaven and earth!* Within the realm of his world, he was omnipotent. Anyone whose strength or Great Dao fell short of his would be suppressed with utter ease! At this moment, Su Yu thought of the myriad realms, and he thought of the dead spirit realm. Were the Time Master and the Lord of Dead Spirits the same? Yes, absolutely! Within their own domains of heaven and earth, they were omnipotent. Anyone inferior to them in power would be effortlessly subdued. And to transcend... opening a world was the only way! Those who did not open their own worlds would only ever be easily suppressed. Because their Great Daos still resided within the River of Time... …… Inside heaven and earth. The Chaos Dragon and the Eight-Winged Tiger had sealed themselves, their faces masks of sheer despair. Being captured like this was profoundly depressing. What was worse, Su Yu had not even lifted a hand. With strength like this, did world-openers really progress so fast? A moment later, Su Yu's heaven and earth contracted, transforming into two chains that bound the dragon and the tiger together. The Eight-Winged Tiger grumbled mournfully, "Emperor Su, we already sealed ourselves. Why chain us up?" This was hardly sporting! Su Yu said nonchalantly, "You aren't honest!" The Chaos Dragon immediately shot a gloomy glare at the Eight-Winged Tiger. *Hear that? It's because you weren't honest that we got chained up!* The Eight-Winged Tiger felt equally gloomy, but had no choice but to drop the topic. Being dragged along by Su Yu, he spoke again with a hint of resignation: "Emperor Su, whatever you want us to do, we'll go through fire and water without hesitation!" "You want to devour Yu Qing, don't you?" "Not devour her! We don't eat people, we eat chaotic will!" He was very cautious. *Don't misunderstand, we don't eat humans.* If he admitted to eating her, wouldn't Su Yu turn around and say, *How dare you eat humans,* and then... beat them to death? Very likely! Deceitful humans were always like that. Su Yu did not care about his excuses. He nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and said, "You two know far too many of my secrets!" "Understood!" The Eight-Winged Tiger chimed in immediately. "The more you know, the faster you die—unless you're on the same side! And now we are! Whatever Your Majesty commands, we will do!" Su Yu smiled. "A wise man knows..." "...when to yield!" the Eight-Winged Tiger finished. Su Yu merely looked at him in silence for a long time before saying, "Interrupt me again, and I'll enjoy a Dragon-Tiger Feast." Silence fell! While the Eight-Winged Tiger sulked, the Chaos Dragon nearly swatted him to death. *You think you're clever? Showing off like that? Keep it up and you'll get us killed!* Ignoring their antics, Su Yu continued, "Chaos Dragon, you once fought the ancient human kings. Your strength isn't weak, though taking on an ordinary Ruler of Rules might be tough. But if you and the Eight-Winged Tiger join forces, you can hold your own against an ordinary fourth- or fifth-tier Ruler of Rules." "Fourth or fifth tier?" "An ancient physical body human king counts as fifth tier." The two powerhouses understood. The Chaos Dragon thought it over and said, "We can manage that, as long as the other party's Great Dao isn't too bizarre! Some Daos are strange; even if their combat power isn't high, their tricks are endless, and we'd have no way to deal with them. Most ancient chaos beasts follow martial paths." Su Yu gave a slight nod. "Then the two of you just need to help me deter the God Imperial Concubine!" "The God Imperial Concubine? She's very weak..." As the Chaos Dragon spoke, Su Yu remarked flatly, "She became a Ruler of Rules!" "How could that be?" The Chaos Dragon was utterly stunned. The Eight-Winged Tiger was equally baffled. "Your Majesty, how is that possible?" "I'm the one who reconnected her Dao!" The dragon and the tiger froze. What did that even mean? You helped her advance, and now you want us to deter her? What kind of madness was this? Su Yu added, "I was also the one who released the Martial Emperor." Well, that much they had roughly guessed. Su Yu chuckled. "Is this task simple enough for you two? All you have to do is deter her. If the God Imperial Concubine makes a move, you deal with her for me. It's much easier than fighting me and the Martial Emperor together, isn't it?" Meaning, if they refused, they would have to face him and the Martial Emperor combined? The Eight-Winged Tiger despaired at the thought. Fine, better to take on the God Imperial Concubine. He sighed dejectedly. "Then... of course we obey Your Majesty. But we'd much rather deal with Yu Qing..." "No rush for that!" Su Yu smiled. "First we deal with the myriad races, then we deal with Yu Qing! Once you arrive at Human Mountain, apply pressure step by step! I will keep tightening the screws on the myriad races, but once there, you must obey the orders of the Great Zhou King!" The Eight-Winged Tiger suggested cautiously, "Your Majesty, I have some wit about me, and the broken-tailed dragon here isn't friendly to anyone except me. Why don't I take command..." Su Yu glanced back at him and said calmly, "That works too. I happen to be short a pot of Dragon-Tiger soup." The Chaos Dragon cut in instantly: "I'll listen to whoever you say!" The Eight-Winged Tiger was trying to drag him down with him, and he wasn't having it. Way too dangerous! Su Yu did not bother bantering further and asked, "If I send you two over, will you run?" "No!" "Will you rebel?" "Never!" The dragon and the tiger answered decisively, without a shred of hesitation! *Never, rest assured! We're obedient!* Su Yu said nothing to that. A moment later, back within his heaven and earth, Su Yu reached out into the void. Two specks of light materialized in the world. Looking at the dragon and the tiger, he said calmly, "Since you won't betray me, you won't mind if I place a tracking imprint on both of you, right?" The dragon and the tiger exchanged glances, feeling an inexplicable sorrow. This was simply too miserable! "If you two believe you can escape my pursuit, or think you can turn around and kill me, you are welcome to try!" Su Yu chuckled. "There are still a few factions in the myriad realms today—Hundred Battles, the sin race, the myriad races..." The Eight-Winged Tiger hurriedly spoke: "We wouldn't dare! How could they ever compare to Your Majesty!" This time, the Eight-Winged Tiger was genuinely serious: "Your Majesty is a world-opener. If we were unwilling to submit to Your Majesty, we would never submit to them! If we wouldn't bend the knee to an open-world master, why would we ever defect to those people?" He wasn't stupid. If they truly had to submit, they had to choose the one with greater potential and a brighter future. Passing up a world-opener just to side with Hundred Battles and the like would be the height of idiocy. "You do have a bit of brains after all!" Su Yu smiled. "Very well, head over to Human Mountain now!" He added calmly, "Once you're there, listen to the Great Zhou King and pressure the myriad races!" "Understood!" The Eight-Winged Tiger and the Chaos Dragon were actually terrified of staying around Su Yu. The pressure here was suffocating, especially inside Su Yu's world, where they felt even more endangered. Earlier, they had only been within the range of his world's projection, not inside the true world. Now they were standing right in it! They had no doubt that Su Yu could kill them here with the flick of a finger. The dragon and tiger could not wait to leave, desperate to get away. Staying by Su Yu's side was agonizingly stressful! Su Yu nodded slightly. The two specks of light sank into their bodies, vanishing instantly. The Chaos Dragon and Eight-Winged Tiger dared not resist. Resigned to their fate, they accepted that they were thoroughly trapped. "Go!" Su Yu waved a hand, and the two vanished on the spot. Staying here was far too nerve-racking. …… Watching their departing backs, Su Yu smiled faintly. Would they rebel? Hard to say! However, so long as nothing happened to Su Yu himself, the likelihood was slim. Of course, if Su Yu fell into trouble, they would turn on him without a second thought; that much was inevitable. "Pressure on the myriad races must be increased step by step!" Su Yu chuckled. He would make them slowly feel the impending doom of death, the threat of total extinction. …… Before Human Mountain. The champion duels continued. This round's combatants were Xia Longwu and a third-tier Dao Harmonizer of the god race. Xia Longwu walked the Dao of the Saber, while his opponent practiced the Dao of Ice and Snow. Ice and snow blanketed the sky. Xia Longwu appeared entirely frozen! Across ten thousand li of sky, frost reigned supreme. Snowflakes drifted down, each flake carrying lethal intent. Xia Longwu had been thoroughly encased in ice. Below, King Daxia wore a grim expression. Xia Longwu had harmonized with the Dao not long ago before directly merging into Su Yu's world. Inside Su Yu's world, he possessed power approaching a second-tier Dao Harmonizer, but that was within the world. Outside Su Yu's world, Xia Longwu only had the strength of a weaker third-tier fighter. His opponent, however, was a top-tier third-tier expert. The Dao of Ice covered ten thousand li. Xia Longwu seemed utterly suppressed! Right at that moment, a gleam of saber light illuminated heaven and earth. "Heaven Opening!" A low shout echoed in all directions. In midair, the expert of the ice Dao flinched slightly. The very next second, the ice shattered, and with a keen hum, a beam of saber light split the world asunder! *Buzz!* The void cracked. With a wet squelch, the ice-wielding expert froze the area around himself, yet could not halt the blade. He was cleaved in two, his physical body shattered. High above, Xia Longwu strode forward, shaking off the ice clinging to his frame. Staring coldly at his foe, he brought down another slash! Slicing the physical body was not enough. The opponent's Great Dao had yet to snap! Only severing the Dao truly killed an enemy! A collective gasp rose from atop Human Mountain. Tiangu and his peers frowned. Some wanted to intervene, but hesitated, unwilling to act rashly. Among the god race, Celestial Venerable Rimian also frowned. A third-tier Dao Harmonizer was no weakling. Losing one was a grievous blow. Should they strike? Just as the thought crossed his mind, his expression shifted, and he chose to remain silent. *Boom!* A tremendous roar rang out as Xia Longwu cleaved down once more, shaking the sky and earth. A massive burst of essence fireworks soared into the sky. Yet at this moment, the top experts of the myriad races had no time to mourn. With a lingering sense of foreboding, they stared deep into the chaos. Soon, everyone saw two colossal auras rising into the heavens. The next instant, a dragon and a tiger flew into view at blistering speed. A brief commotion stirred the human ranks, but the Great Zhou King barked, "Calm yourselves!" He could communicate with Su Yu. Lan Tian was right here! Sure enough, Lan Tian nodded slightly, yet sent a transmission warning: "Stay alert, keep your guard up!" The Great Zhou King acknowledged. The next instant, the massive frames of the dragon and tiger blotted out the sky, looming over heaven and earth. The Eight-Winged Tiger roared fiercely, "The Dragon and Tiger Kings of the Emperor Yu Mansion have arrived to assist in battle!" Silence fell on all sides! Atop Human Mountain, the faces of Tiangu and the others changed dramatically. The Chaos Dragon's aura was terrifyingly potent. His roar rattled the heavens: "Dragon race of the myriad realms, why have you not submitted? I am the Dragon of Chaos! The dragon race of the myriad realms was founded by my kin! Do you intend to betray your ancestors?" On the mountain, Celestial Venerable Long frowned slightly. What the Chaos Dragon said was not a lie. Still, countless eras had passed; there was no need to take it too seriously. Yet now, the Chaos Dragon and the Eight-Winged Tiger had actually aligned themselves with Su Yu! That was the truly terrifying part! The God Imperial Concubine's expression hardened as she said in a low voice, "If this dragon and tiger join forces... I'm afraid... it will be difficult for me to bring them down!" Never mind that she had advanced; handling both of them would be an ordeal. Before reconnecting her Dao, she had struggled even against Yue Zhan, able to injure or severely wound him only through a desperate, mutually destructive gamble. Now, she was significantly stronger than before, yet the Chaos Dragon alone was no weaker than Yue Zhan—and there was an Eight-Winged Tiger beside him. Tiangu's face shifted. The pressure was mounting by the second. And Su Yu himself had not even arrived! If war broke out right now, with the Eight-Winged Tiger and Chaos Dragon keeping the God Imperial Concubine occupied, Fat Ball remained an immense threat. Neither Rimian nor Saint Marquis could match it alone; they would likely have to team up just to hold it off. And Su Yu's side still had seven other Celestial Venerables. Their side had seven—Heavenly Venerable Yue, Celestial Venerable Huang, Heavenly Venerable Dao, Long, Feng, Ming, and Yuan Sheng—matching their numbers. But Heavenly Venerable Yue and Celestial Venerable Long were not at peak strength. From a purely numerical standpoint, the two sides were practically evenly matched—and their side was even at a slight disadvantage! That was the terrifying part! There were certainly more powerhouses on Su Yu's side who had yet to arrive. …… Meanwhile. Outside the Prison King Realm. Wu Ji and his companions sucked in sharp breaths. Su Yu had subdued the Chaos Dragon and the Eight-Winged Tiger? That changed everything! Beside him, Lei Bao had a complicated look in his eyes, his thoughts racing. Su Yu subjugating those two was hardly shocking; the man was a world-opener, far stronger than everyone imagined. Wu Ji breathed, "Why did those two ancient chaos beasts side with Su Yu? Could it be a feigned surrender?" No one could say for sure! Regardless, the pressure on the myriad races would only worsen! Wu Ji bared his teeth. "At this rate, once Su Yu arrives in person, will he launch the final assault right away?" Hard to say! None of them could fathom Su Yu's intentions. This was only the second day of the siege. And by the second day, the myriad races were already feeling unbearable pressure. The three-month deadline was still a long way off. …… That was the second day. On the third day, under the shocked gazes of all present, another Celestial Venerable aura erupted from the direction of Soul Burying Mountain. A low chuckle echoed across the heavens! "Wan Tiansheng of the Emperor Yu Mansion has arrived to assist in battle!" Another Celestial Venerable joined the ranks! In an instant, the pressure on the myriad races reached its limit. Another figure from the Emperor Yu Mansion had arrived! Another Celestial Venerable combatant! Wan Tiansheng had truly stepped into the Celestial Venerable realm. Atop Human Mountain, Tiangu closed his eyes, falling into deep contemplation. Another one! They had not arrived all at once on the first day to crush them under sheer numbers. Instead, they trickled in piece by piece. What was Su Yu trying to accomplish? Soon, a realization struck him. Opening his eyes, he said flatly, "He wants to grind down our will to fight!" Chills ran down the spines of the onlookers. What did that mean? The God Imperial Concubine understood. She sighed. "He is dismantling our morale step by step! If this many powerhouses had shown up on the first day, we would either have fought to the death or resigned ourselves to annihilation. Fight or flee, we would at least have known the true extent of his strength..." "Yet now, the champion duels continue. We have no reinforcements coming, while their side grows stronger by the day..." Psychologically, this was devastating! *Unbeatable!* Furthermore, during the duels, the newly advanced experts on Su Yu's side were formidable, far from the pushovers everyone had assumed. These newcomers had fought their way up through blood and fire; almost none of them had reached their level purely on luck. The God Imperial Concubine looked toward Tiangu. "Do you think they still have more powerhouses?" Tiangu pondered for a moment and nodded. "Undoubtedly. Hongmeng has yet to show himself!" As of now, Su Yu's side had gathered ten Celestial Venerables: Fat Ball, Lan Tian, Wan Tiansheng, the Great Zhou King, San Yue, Giant Axe, Tianming, Tongtian, along with the dragon and tiger. Were there more? Almost certainly! And they would not arrive all at once. They would appear one by one, methodically shattering the resolve of the myriad races' experts. As Wan Tiansheng's aura surged into the sky, ripples of unease swept through Human Mountain. Panic began to spread. Could they really stand against the human race and the Emperor Yu Mansion? These newly arrived figures did not attack. They simply hung suspended in the sky, exerting terrifying pressure across the battlefield. The longer they waited, the more hopeless it felt. On the first day, before knowing their full might, they still had the courage to fight. By the third day, that courage was waning. On the first day, everyone had been prepared to burn their boats. Today was only the third day of dueling. According to the Great Zhou King, the duels were meant to last three months! The decisive battle was slated for three months from now. Should they resist now, or wait three months to look for an opening? Even among the Celestial Venerables, resolve was faltering, making a unified decision impossible. Tiangu looked around and sighed. He knew that right now might be their only chance. Yet... dared he gamble? He did not! He could only stall, hoping an unexpected variable would emerge. Yet he also knew that dragging things out would only make their plight worse, and disaster was inevitable. At this moment, Tiangu felt suffocated by the crushing pressure. He struggled, several times on the verge of shouting to charge out and seize a sliver of hope. If they fought their way out, perhaps the Prison King's lineage would intervene, or Hundred Battles would move against Su Yu... But he did not dare. Bitterness filled Tiangu's eyes. *After all these years, has even my courage been eroded away?* If it were just himself, he would dare. But here on this mountain lay the foundations of all their races, the bedrock of the immortal race, tens of millions of experts. If they fell, the Lower Realm would become lambs led to slaughter! What was he to do? …… On the third day, Wan Tiansheng arrived. On the fourth day, another overwhelmingly powerful aura surged forth. The eleventh Celestial Venerable on Su Yu's side had arrived! Hongmeng! Hongmeng revealed his true form—an enormous ancient tortoise that blotted out the sun and sky. "Hongmeng of the Emperor Yu Mansion!" The eleventh Celestial Venerable had arrived! His aura shook heaven and earth! A colossal mountain hovered beside him—it was Dragon Coiling Mountain, formerly belonging to Celestial Venerable Long. …… "Damn, how many are there?" Outside the realm, Wu Ji and his companions were stunned. Just how many had come? Eleven already! Su Yu's faction had barely had any time to build up strength. Where had so many experts come from? Granted, many were ancient powerhouses, but they had ancient powerhouses too, and none of those figures had been this formidable in the past! Wu Ji asked in disbelief, "You think there are more?" All the ones they recognized seemed to have arrived! Could Su Yu have any more Celestial Venerables under his banner? They looked at one another, at a loss. Blood Shadow hesitated. "Probably... no more, right?" Would Su Yu appear in person tomorrow? And would the general offensive begin shortly after? None of them could say for sure! Wu Ji suddenly said, "Hey, that woman on Su Yu's side, the one in fiery armor—doesn't she look familiar to you guys?" Everyone traded glances. After a long pause, Marquis Nanxi said, "Familiar!" Very familiar! Yet no one dared guess, nor did they want to. Because... she looked remarkably like Marquis Lanshan, who had fallen countless years ago. Moreover, her aura was potent, faintly carrying the peak combat power of a Heavenly King. Not only that, the fire-path expert beside her would also look familiar to certain ancient beings—Tianhuo of the long-extinct Fire God race. Naturally, few recognized him now, but Tianhuo's aura was exceptionally strong as well. His aura matched Lanshan's. He faintly resembled a Celestial Venerable, yet his precise aura seemed closer to peak Heavenly King. Regardless, the two of them working together could easily match a Celestial Venerable. A terrifying display of strength! At this point, onlookers grew genuinely curious: would yet another powerhouse arrive on the fifth day? Over at the myriad races' camp, the atmosphere had grown heavy enough to wring water from the air! Every expert was weighted down by dread. Hongmeng had arrived. Could there still be more? …… There were! The fifth day arrived in the blink of an eye. Today, yet another powerful aura soared into the heavens. "Qi Rong of the Emperor Yu Mansion!" A cool, clear voice rang out as lightning energy flared. Qi Rong, Consort Qi! Dressed in resplendent finery, Qi Rong appeared with regal poise, treading through the void. Within Su Yu's world, she was second only to the Southern King, surpassing Marquis Lanshan and Tianhuo. Stepping outside, she faintly radiated the power of a true Celestial Venerable! Treading the void, she gazed into the distance toward Wu Ji and his group, her eyes carrying a chilling disdain! *I am Qi Rong!* *I have returned!* "Consort Qi!" Wu Ji and the others stiffened. Consort Qi was alive! She had been executed back in the third tide, the Dao companion of the third-generation human ruler. She was actually still alive! Not only that, she had crossed into the Celestial Venerable realm and joined Su Yu! Most of the ancient powerhouses who had pressured Yue Gang into executing Qi Rong had died in battle, but a few survived. Wu Ji had never pressured him, but Long Eyebrows, now under Hundred Battles, had been one of the instigators. And now, Consort Qi had returned! Dressed in grand attire and exuding a formidable aura, Qi Rong looked toward the myriad races and let out a cold sneer: "Return to me!" Before everyone's astonished eyes, seven or eight false-Dao experts among the myriad races suddenly began to struggle. The next moment, some roared and tried to fly outside Human Mountain, while others shrieked in agony as the Great Daos ripped themselves from their bodies, their auras vanishing instantly! False Daos flew out from Human Mountain! Consort Qi reached out and beckoned. Seven or eight false Daos gathered in her grasp. After a brief inspection, she nodded slightly. "Not bad. Nurtured quite decently!" At that moment, the color drained from everyone's faces. Heavenly Venerable Yue and the others remembered! Indeed, Su Yu had once declared that he could control the false Daos. But because it had never happened again, everyone had either deliberately ignored it or genuinely pushed it out of mind, never mentioning it again. Today, the moment Consort Qi appeared, she instantly dispatched seven or eight Dao Harmonizers! Tiangu barked, "Qi Rong, the Emperor Yu Mansion agreed to champion duels! What is the meaning of this?" Consort Qi replied coldly, "Why the shouting? I deliberately gave these false Daos to them in the past so they would nurture them for me. They were mine to begin with; is it not natural that I take them back? His Majesty Emperor Yu has not reclaimed the other false Daos! Tiangu, did you truly not know of this? His Majesty mentioned to Yueshi and the others back then that all false-Dao experts are under his control!" Consort Qi said indifferently, "His Majesty honors his past promise and will not strip those false Daos, which is why the rest of you still draw breath. Otherwise, not a single false-Dao practitioner among you would be alive! But that is His Majesty's mercy. As for my own possessions, naturally I take them back. Do you have an objection?" "Impossible..." "My lord, is this true?" A collective shudder ran through the false-Dao experts. Was it true? Within the crowd, Liuyi of the god race looked exceedingly grim. It was true; he knew it firsthand! Back then, Su Yu had controlled him, forcing him to fight his own allies. Only when Su Yu relinquished control had he regained his senses. However, the higher-ups had hushed it up, placing a gag order on him! Yet today, the truth was laid bare! With the demons' betrayal, the departure of the Destiny race and others, and the losses from previous battles, the myriad races only had around one hundred and fifty Dao Harmonizers left. Still a considerable force! At their peak, they had numbered nearly three hundred! Yet now, at least a third of them walked false Daos! At least fifty false-Dao experts! Among them were even two or three Heavenly King-level figures! Panic erupted. The false Daos could be controlled? Before, they had taken it as an empty boast. Now, they had no choice but to believe it. With a wave of Consort Qi's hand, seven or eight Dao Harmonizers had their Daos stripped right in front of multiple Celestial Venerables! Heavenly Venerable Yue's face darkened as he said heavily, "Su Yu promised back then that he would not move against false-Dao practitioners..." Consort Qi replied coolly, "His Majesty naturally honors his word! We never said we would move against them... But that applies to His Majesty. As I said, these few individuals were cultivated by me back then! These Great Daos are my personal property!" She smiled coldly. "Tiangu, you know full well that the humans executed me back in the day! And the pretext was these very false Daos! They were the key evidence used to kill me. So what is wrong with me taking them back?" Tiangu's expression was grave. "I heard whispers of that matter back then! Su Yu said that as long as we attacked the sin race, he would not tamper with or harm the false-Dao practitioners... In the last battle, we slaughtered many sin race experts! If you, Qi Rong, wish to reclaim your belongings... we accept it! But going forward, will Su Yu break his word?" He was genuinely worried now! This struck a catastrophic blow to morale! A third of their experts were false-Dao practitioners, including himself. If Su Yu could truly control them... Truth be told, he had previously assumed that exerting control would be exceedingly difficult and costly for Su Yu. He had believed that right up until now. Yet with a single wave from Consort Qi, seven or eight Dao Harmonizers had perished on the spot. It was too horrifying! It would shatter the army's resolve! Denying it now would be pointless; it would only amplify their terror. Make them even more afraid! Thus, he had to make Su Yu's promise public, ensuring everyone knew that Su Yu had guaranteed not to harm false-Dao practitioners! Consort Qi smiled faintly. "That is His Majesty's concern. Since His Majesty gave his word, he certainly will not break it!" Words were one thing, but terror was already taking root! The false-Dao practitioners were petrified, terrified that at any moment they would end up like those seven or eight, dying without even knowing how! Having your Great Dao ripped away meant certain death! Consort Qi had shown no mercy. She certainly hadn't helped suppress the rampaging rules inside their bodies; the moment the Daos were extracted, they either detonated or had their seas of will collapse entirely! Dead was dead! Intimidating the myriad races was all that mattered. …… Atop Human Mountain. Every face was dark as thunder. Celestial Venerable Huang could no longer endure it, gritting his teeth: "Let's fight! When will this agony end? Three months... I fear before three months are up, we will collapse from within!" A battle of psychological warfare! Su Yu was utterly vicious. Qi Rong had definitely done this on purpose—without a shadow of a doubt! With over a hundred Dao Harmonizers, a third of them compromised, how could anyone still dare to fight? And twelve Celestial Venerables were already arrayed against them! Were there more? If more appeared, total despair would set in. Layer upon layer of crushing pressure rolled over them without pause, suffocating everyone present! …… "Brutal!" Wu Ji clicked his tongue in shock! Red Moon and the others nodded solemnly. Su Yu truly had endless tricks up his sleeve. Even as mere onlookers, they could feel the utter despair drowning the myriad races. Their enemies grew by the day! And the false-Dao practitioners had completely lost the will to fight! By the fifth day, twelve Celestial Venerables had appeared. Could there really be more? …… There were! The sixth day arrived. Yet another aura soared into the heavens! This time, the aura was even more formidable, a suffocating pressure rolling across the land. "Yu Ziqi of the Emperor Yu Mansion!" A bone-chilling voice resonated across the void! The Southern King! Shock rippled across all four directions. Someone gasped, "The Southern Heavenly King!" "Dead spirit resurrection!" The moment the Southern King appeared, everyone realized an unthinkable truth: dead spirits had been brought back to life! This was the Southern Heavenly King! Few knew the name Yu Ziqi, but that did not mean no one did. The moment she announced herself, minds shattered across the battlefield. Atop Human Mountain, the God Imperial Concubine shuddered, floating into the air to stare at the Southern Heavenly King in disbelief. "Yu Ziqi, you've returned to life?" The Southern Heavenly King stepped through the void, exuding a faint chill. "Returned to life! Did you only just notice?" It wasn't that they had only just noticed—it was that they hadn't dared believe it before! The Southern King said calmly, "Thanks to His Majesty's grace, we were guided out of the River of Dead Spirits and brought back to life. Dying in battle... is nothing to fear! Any general of the Emperor Yu Mansion who falls, so long as they can be guided back... will surely live again! You didn't truly think connecting the Upper and Lower Realms was just to make it easier to hunt you down, did you? Opening the passage between realms was done solely to let the River of Dead Spirits extend here... to retrieve the fallen warriors of the Emperor Yu Mansion!" Those words landed like a bolt from the blue! Heavens! If they died in battle, they could be revived! That meant they had two lives. And if they died after being revived, could they be brought back again? If so, wasn't that infinite resurrection? Then... what was the point of fighting? Their will to fight completely shattered! Now, not even Tiangu could suppress the panic. Below, the masses fell into bottomless despair. Someone cried out in madness, "Impossible... they can be revived after dying, but what about us?" "Why even bother fighting?" "The heavens want the myriad races dead!" "What do we do?" "Surrender?" "They won't accept our surrender!" "……" Pure despair, bottomless and absolute. The enemy had thirteen Celestial Venerables, the false Daos were compromised, and the dead could be brought back to life... Each revelation broke another piece of their spirit! The expressions of Tiangu and his peers were ghastly. Morale was gone, the army's spirit was broken. If an all-out battle erupted, they stood no chance against Su Yu's camp. The false-Dao experts were useless, and the true-Dao experts wouldn't dare fight. Killing an enemy accomplished nothing! Tiangu roared, "Even if you can be revived, it cannot be that easy..." With a wave of the Southern King's hand, nearly twenty experts materialized behind her. Hetu emerged; Xia Chen emerged. Hetu chuckled faintly. "It isn't easy, quite difficult in fact. Last time, only twenty-some of us were revived. Marquis Lanshan and Senior Tianhuo were brought back, and we were fortunate enough to be revived as well!" Hetu's laughter was chillingly cold. "I am Hetu, fortunate to walk among the living once more! Back in the first tide, quite a few of you laid vicious hands on me. And now, I have returned!" Tiangu took a step back, his face pale. Not because of Hetu, but because... every single figure beside the Southern King was a resurrected expert! Every single one! As if anticipating their skepticism, or the thought that resurrection was rare, more than twenty revived experts stood right there. What kind of joke was this—twenty-plus experts! Was it really that difficult? Even Hetu was back! Su Yu... was monstrously cruel! This was no champion duel; this was a war on their minds, killing the body and crushing the spirit! Before he had even begun killing, he had already broken their hearts! The enemy did not fear death; they could simply come back to life! The enemy possessed overwhelming power, boasting a full thirteen Celestial Venerables! And some had still yet to arrive—Su Yu himself had not even shown his face. More importantly, did Su Yu have even more Celestial Venerables under his command? No one could say; no one knew for certain! No one knew if Su Yu had more hidden away. Even if he didn't, the myriad races were already in despair. Counting Su Yu, that made fourteen Celestial Venerables. Even with a Ruler of Rules on their side, could they possibly prevail? The Southern Heavenly King's aura was terrifyingly vast, on par with the likes of Fat Ball and the Chaos Dragon. That was the truly dreadful part! Was Su Yu planning to win without even fighting? Tiangu looked up at the sky, filled with bewilderment, despair, and bleakness... The myriad races had lost their last shred of hope. Hearts were scattered, the strong were terrified, and no one dared fight to the death... Because what was the use of fighting to the death? What was the use of detonating oneself? If you blew up an enemy, they could be revived; if you died, who would revive you? You would simply die in vain! Meanwhile, the human camp possessed soaring morale and towering spirits, each warrior radiating lethal intent! Yes, we are invincible! We have over a dozen Celestial Venerables! We can come back from the dead! What do we have to fear? By this point, the gulf between the two sides was astronomical—not merely in raw strength, but in morale and battle intent. In a clash between supreme powerhouses, those factors were paramount, deciding victory and defeat. Every human was fearless, while the myriad races felt that dying was utterly pointless. How could the battle even continue? …… It wasn't just the myriad races who felt despair! When the Southern King appeared accompanied by over twenty resurrected experts, Wu Ji and his companions fell into dead silence. Dead spirits had been brought back to life! Terrifying! It was a catastrophic blow! Suddenly, they found themselves wondering: if the Hundred Battles King fought Su Yu's side... could he win? Most likely... most likely not, right? Thirteen Celestial Venerables! That was five more than their own faction—no, six more, counting Su Yu. Their side had His Majesty, but could His Majesty truly match six or seven Celestial Venerables at once? Wu Ji's face was grim. "This Southern King... is very strong! And that Fat Ball, and the Eight-Winged Tiger, they're all monstrously strong!" By strong, he meant he might not even win against them! As for the Chaos Dragon, he was certainly no match. And he was the foremost warrior under Hundred Battles, yet over there, he might barely squeak into the top five. "Don't forget... there is also the Martial Emperor!" Red Moon said in a low voice, "With this human ruler, we can only cooperate... we cannot turn hostile. I hope Long Eyebrows and the others won't egg His Majesty into making the wrong decision again!" Su Yu's faction cast a daunting shadow over the entire world! From this moment on, no one dared look down on Su Yu's side anymore, and no one believed he lacked the standing to sit as an equal with Hundred Battles! He had it! Not only did he have it, his strength might already surpass Hundred Battles' faction. "Six thousand years of biding our time... only for this to be the result?" Within the group, Blood Shadow let out a soft, bewildered sigh. *We went into hiding for six thousand years, and this is what we waited for?* A human race devoid of ancient heritage and left without powerful protectors had, under Su Yu's leadership, exploded with strength far surpassing their own! That was the most terrifying realization of all! Six thousand years had become a complete joke! Hundred Battles' decision to bide his time had become an absolute mockery! …… At that same moment. Before the Gates of Hell. Heavenly Venerable Mo wore a complicated expression as he muttered, "Can we... match them?" Their side had two Rulers of Rules, an existence nearing a Ruler of Rules, and himself. But... could they match those thirteen Celestial Venerables across the way? The Polong Beast had also grown much more solemn. Soon, he sneered, "If they aren't Rulers of Rules, so what if they are Celestial Venerables?" Of course, talk was cheap; in an actual brawl, it would be troublesome! The Polong Beast bared his fangs. "Yu Qing, how about... we strike and kill those fellows outside, then guide one or two more over!" Kill Wu Ji and his group! And summon Rulers of Rules over! Wu Ji's group only consisted of six Celestial Venerables. He wasn't afraid of them single-handedly! They had to summon more allies. Otherwise, even the Polong Beast was getting nervous. Dammit, where had the human race pulled so many Celestial Venerables from? During the ancient era, the humans had many Rulers of Rules, and many ancient beasts trying to exit the Gates of Hell had been slaughtered. In this era, Polong had assumed it would be safe. He was a peerless, mighty existence! Yet now that he was out... he wanted to curse at the top of his lungs: *Curse your ancestors, humans are absolute monsters!* They were supposed to have so few experts, yet in the blink of an eye, a whole horde of Celestial Venerables had appeared! Su Yu would be very hard to kill now. With so many subordinates guarding him, how could they kill him? "Also, contact the myriad races and see if we can cooperate..." Polong still offered that suggestion. Having lived this long, he wasn't completely brainless. At a time like this, cooperation was the best choice! Without cooperating, no single faction could stand against them! Yu Qing remained silent. Heavenly Venerable Mo's eyes were filled with profound complexity. He had thought the Prison King's lineage was all-powerful. Yet the moment the demons defected, two Celestial Venerables died, and not long after, these two Rulers of Rules were already contemplating an alliance with the myriad races. If that was the case... what had been the point of betraying the myriad races in the first place? Hadn't the two fallen Celestial Venerables died for nothing? Had he known this would happen, he wouldn't have defected at all! In the end, they still had to cooperate. At this moment, Heavenly Venerable Mo felt utterly dejected. The two demon Celestial Venerables had truly died in vain, without gaining a single thing in return!