The City of Light stood tall in the void.
The arrival of Emperor Mingtu and the Sword Sovereign had once again brought many opportunities to the City of Light.
This time, on this day, the major factions no longer even bothered to hide anything.
Before long, news spread.
Hupo Cave was recruiting!
The previously mysterious masters of Hupo Cave revealed their true identities: First Cave Master Qu hailed from Dead Spirit Hell, while Second Cave Master Shang came from Luohun Valley.
With their identities exposed, the two were recruiting experts in the name of the forbidden lands!
Right as Hupo Cave revealed its allegiance, Blade Master and the others consulted Jian Kong and swiftly responded. Mount Liufang publicly proclaimed itself an affiliate of Mount Tianqiong, sending shockwaves in all directions!
The major rogue cultivator factions of Jinduan Gorge were actually all tied to forbidden lands.
No wonder they were so arrogant, forbidding any killing around the City of Light!
***
When the news broke, rogue cultivators throughout Jinduan Gorge were astounded.
Forbidden lands!
The forbidden lands they had dreamed of!
Even if these were merely affiliated factions, to many, even an affiliate was backed by a forbidden land and possessed a forbidden land as its patron.
What was more, they were not simple affiliates.
Word had it that experts from several forbidden lands were rushing over to reinforce these rogue cultivator factions—a truly rare occurrence.
Ordinarily, even if a rogue cultivator faction leaned on a forbidden land, the forbidden land would not interfere much.
Now, however, experts from the forbidden lands were personally stepping forward to take charge. This was no longer just an affiliate; it felt more like the forbidden lands were expanding directly, establishing outer sects.
***
In the void, voices rang out continuously.
"Did you hear? Mount Liufang and Hupo Cave both have the backing of forbidden lands! They're mustering forces, preparing for a showdown to determine who rules Jinduan Gorge!"
"I heard! Mount Tianqiong hasn't made a move in years, but now they're taking on two at once—one forbidden land battling two! You know how terrifyingly powerful the Lord of Dead Spirits is, yet who would've thought the Lord of Mount Tianqiong would be this ruthless!"
"..."
Rumors spread like wildfire.
The City of Light became the focus of virtually every rogue cultivator.
Even experts from other forbidden lands who had arrived early to scout the area had their attention drawn to the City of Light.
This great city established by rogue cultivators saw its fame spread across the entire Heavenly Gate in a single day.
And for good reason—it appeared to be a microcosm of the conflict between the forbidden lands of Jinduan Gorge.
***
At the same time, even King Wen, secluded in closed-door cultivation, caught wind of the rumors echoing through the area.
"The City of Light?"
He had not expected the rogue cultivators of Jinduan Gorge to form such a massive power.
Mount Liufang...
Nearby, several rogue cultivators were discussing the matter.
Mount Liufang... King Wen pondered. These outsiders only spoke of Mount Liufang; few knew that Mount Liufang was formerly Mount Guiyun, so none mentioned it.
Had anyone mentioned it, King Wen would likely have realized something in an instant.
Although no one mentioned it, they still referred to the hegemon of the northeastern region.
The northeastern region... wasn't that right near him?
King Wen looked in that direction.
He had stayed here for many years after all. While he did not venture out often, he had not stayed entirely rooted either; he still went out occasionally to look around and scout.
"What major powers are in the northeastern region?"
"Mount Xuelong, Blade Valley, Mount Guiyun, Heavenly Tomb Domain..."
Had they all been unified?
He still knew of Mount Guiyun—Gui!
That fellow who had been in contact with Su Yu. And since Su Yu's heavenly gate had closed, Gui had almost certainly been hooked and reeled away by Su Yu.
If Su Yu had entered the Heavenly Gate, would he have gone to Mount Guiyun?
If he had, how could Mount Guiyun have been so easily unified by someone else? King Wen did not know the exact extent of Su Yu's strength, but it wouldn't be easy for rogue cultivators here to deal with him.
Thoughts flashed through his mind.
King Wen sank into contemplation. Did Mount Liufang, which was supposedly connected to several forbidden lands, have anything to do with Su Yu?
It had even established a connection with Mount Tianqiong.
"Heimu, Master of Mount Liufang... Heimu... Su Yu..."
King Wen muttered the name, growing suspicious. Could this Heimu be Su Yu?
Yet... could it really be so exaggerated?
Even if Su Yu had entered the Heavenly Gate, it hadn't been that long. Could he have already unified half of Jinduan Gorge?
Of course, if he concealed his identity well and was strong enough, it was possible.
Hiding his identity was indeed a sensible choice.
Unfortunately, King Wen had never had that luxury. From the day he entered the Heavenly Gate, eyes had been on him. He had been forced to hide, and the slightest abnormality would get him discovered.
Countless thoughts raced through King Wen's head, but he stopped dwelling on them and glanced sideways at King Wu beside him.
He felt a touch of helplessness.
He couldn't leave!
King Wu was on the verge of a breakthrough. King Wen could already faintly sense it: this fellow was about to integrate the Daos into his body and officially become a top-tier existence.
Over the years, King Wen himself hadn't made much progress, but King Wu had made tremendous strides.
From the power of twenty-odd Daos back then to now, where he was about to cross that threshold. King Wen sighed softly, nearly inaudibly. He himself had run into some bottlenecks in recent years.
Back then, he had hoped to resolve his troubles early; if not, he could use the projection of the Heavenly Gate on the Human Sovereign's side to find a way to communicate with his own world.
In the end, not only had the problem remained unsolved, but over on the Human Sovereign's side... that damnable Lord of Mount Tianqiong had relocated Mount Tianqiong right there! It had almost made King Wen spit blood. He had never seen someone act like that!
Thoughts flickering, King Wen suppressed his urges as he looked at King Wu.
He truly couldn't leave!
This fellow could break through at any moment. Judging by the current situation, he might break through before the Forbidden Land Conference. If so, they would have a fine opportunity to join hands and kill Fa before the experts of the forbidden lands arrived.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but think of Su Yu again.
What an outrageous bastard!
You gave me a chance to transmit world power, and then you fucking shut it down. I truly have to hand it to you.
Right now, he could actually transmit some world power himself, though not as smoothly as when Su Yu had channeled it over. Primarily, while the boot was one of the cores, it was not the foundation of the world.
The Classic of the Ten Thousand Daos where the Book Spirit resided was the true foundation.
And King Wen was not a spirit of the world either.
"Still... if I'm truly pushed too far, summoning my world isn't out of the question..."
He could follow the Lord of Dead Spirits' example. However, after the Lord of Dead Spirits pulled that stunt back then, it seemed to have caused the Heavenly Gate to heighten its defenses and stay vigilant against such things. It would require the power of a world to penetrate the true Heavenly Gate!
"If it really comes to summoning my world, the trouble will be even greater. The Heavenly Gate itself might even strike at me..."
All sorts of thoughts flashed across King Wen's mind.
Still, that was a matter for later.
The pressing priority right now was still King Wu.
If King Wu truly broke through and integrated the Daos into his body—Daos from the myriad realms, no less—the commotion would definitely be immense. The River of Time would churn violently, and that would be when the real crisis struck!
Before he and King Wu could even make a move, the enemy might strike first!
Nearby, the rogue cultivators were still gossiping.
King Wen closed his eyes and paid them no further heed.
He couldn't spare the attention to deal with Su Yu right now, and his earlier scheme to kill Fa had to be put on hold as well.
***
At the same time, atop Mount Yongsheng.
A glorious palace stood upon the colossal mountain. People came and went in complete silence, occasionally glancing into the depths of the grand hall without daring to stare.
Today, the Mountain Master was receiving the Sword Sovereign from Mount Tianqiong!
It had been many years since experts from other forbidden lands visited, for Mount Yongsheng had been entangled with King Wen and his companion all this time, and nobody wanted to invite trouble upon themselves.
In the massive hall, Fa leaned back against his throne. Below, the Sword Sovereign stood and bowed slightly. "Mountain Master, this is the Lord of Tianqiong's wish. On the day the Forbidden Land Conference convenes, Lord Qiong hopes Mountain Master will accommodate him!"
Fa's expression did not change. Below, a female expert whose eyes shimmered with prismatic colors spoke softly, "Sword Sovereign, relocating a forbidden land comes at no small cost. Besides, the distance isn't too great, and that Xingyu was heavily injured years ago... It would be better for the Lord of Mount Tianqiong to come here instead. As for Xingyu, I believe leaving behind a single hall master to watch him would be more than sufficient!"
Relocate Mount Yongsheng over there?
This wasn't just a matter of cost; it was a matter of face!
It had been agreed that it would be hosted at Mount Yongsheng, and Mount Yongsheng had paid a heavy price for the privilege. Yet the Lord of Mount Tianqiong did nothing at all, only to demand that Mount Yongsheng move over there once the preparations were made!
What kind of logic was that?
Fa had not spoken; the one speaking was a lineage master of Mount Yongsheng. Mount Yongsheng's structure differed somewhat from other forbidden lands. Fa walked the Dao of Ten Thousand Laws, and most within the forbidden land followed the path of their master.
At Mount Yongsheng, only those who gathered Daos into a lineage could become lineage masters, and their strength was never weak, generally exceeding twenty-five Daos.
The Sword Sovereign considered her words and said softly, "Lineage Master Yu's point is indeed reasonable... However, Human Sovereign Xingyu has recovered. Word has it that he may have already routed all races and returned to the myriad realms! Things are different now; Lord Qiong cannot leave his post!"
The moment these words were uttered, Fa, who had remained silent above, suddenly spoke: "Xingyu has left the upper reaches of the River of Time?"
"Yes!"
The Sword Sovereign replied. This was what his Mountain Master had said; he didn't know if it was true or not. Lately, his Mountain Master spent all day staring at a large seal, barely paying him any attention, leaving the Sword Sovereign with no choice but to follow orders.
Fa's brows knitted slightly.
The Human Sovereign had recovered?
He couldn't be certain either.
According to previous assessments and deductions, the Human Sovereign shouldn't have resolved his troubles so quickly. He had been gravely injured, and without him, the humans could never have defeated all races.
"The Human Sovereign's Heavenly Gate has opened again?"
"Yes!" The Sword Sovereign nodded.
He had witnessed this himself. A few days ago, he had seen a phantom portal appear atop the mountain peak. He had no idea what his Mountain Master was doing; this time, the master hadn't attacked the other party, merely stared at the gate the entire time.
Fa's frown deepened. What was Qiong doing?
Had he not intervened?
Or was that fellow hatching some scheme—could he be trying to lure the Human Sovereign inside?
Unlikely!
Thoughts surfaced one after another. After a moment of silence, Fa spoke: "I will consider it further. Even if I agree, the other forbidden lands might not be willing to go there... Qiong hasn't involved himself in the affairs of the forbidden lands for years. Now that he suddenly wants to participate, the others might not welcome it."
The Sword Sovereign seemed to have anticipated his concern and nodded. "Lord Qiong stated that if anyone refuses, Mountain Master need only pass the names of those who object to Mount Tianqiong, and Mount Tianqiong will handle it! On this point, Mountain Master may rest assured!"
"..."
A blanket of silence fell over the hall.
The Lord of Tianqiong might stay out of everyday affairs, but when he acted arrogant, he was unmatched in arrogance.
He anticipated they might not agree; no problem, just give him a list of whoever objected, and he would pay them a personal visit!
Among the masters of the forbidden lands, how many could match the Lord of Mount Tianqiong?
If he really came knocking at your door, you would certainly get a bitter taste of his medicine!
Fa was thoroughly speechless. That fellow Qiong was as overbearing as ever!
"Understood," Fa replied flatly. He would wait and see.
In any case, the time had not yet come.
The Sword Sovereign nodded and said no more. "Then I will not disturb Mountain Master any longer. I must return and report to Lord Qiong."
Fa nodded slightly, remaining silent.
Before long, the Sword Sovereign walked out of the hall. Behind him, Lineage Master Yu caught up to escort him out of the forbidden land. As they walked, she said, "I received word earlier that the local rogue cultivators established a City of Light, and that Mount Liufang has some connection to Mount Tianqiong? It wouldn't happen to be some brazen rogue cultivators usurping Mount Tianqiong's name, would it?"
Lineage Master Yu seemed to be making casual conversation. The Sword Sovereign thought nothing of it and replied offhandedly, "Not at all. Mount Liufang was indeed established by one of our guest elders... However, his original intention was not to dominate anywhere; it was Dead Spirit Hell and Luohun Valley that went too far!"
"Mount Yongsheng did not take part, so you likely do not know. Those two forbidden lands are overbearing and tyrannical. Bullying other rogue cultivators is one thing, but when our Mount Liufang guest elder established a small rogue cultivator territory and revealed his identity, instead of showing restraint, they redoubled their efforts!"
Speaking of this, the Sword Sovereign sneered. "What was even more outrageous was that just a few days ago, Mingtu of Dead Spirit Hell personally traveled to the City of Light over such a trivial matter, intent on destroying Mount Liufang! Fortunately, I was passing by on business to this place, or Mount Liufang would have already been wiped out!"
At this point, a chill crept into the Sword Sovereign's tone: "Originally, it was just a petty affair among rogue cultivators. Heimu of Mount Liufang is only a guest elder of the Weapons Hall, and strictly speaking, a guest elder isn't a true member of the forbidden land! But they went too far!"
The Sword Sovereign was genuinely irritated!
They truly had pushed too far. As if experts from two forbidden lands teaming up to besiege him wasn't enough, Mingtu had gone in person! What was that supposed to mean?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got!
Sword cultivators naturally favored swift, direct retribution. Had he not been wary of sparking a war between forbidden lands and bringing trouble to his Mountain Master, he would have dealt with Mingtu right then and there!
Seeing him on the verge of losing his temper, Lineage Master Yu quickly changed the subject and smiled. "Jinduan Gorge has been quite lively lately. Regrettably, Mount Yongsheng cannot take part. Dead Spirit Hell and Luohun Valley have indeed gone too far... It's a shame we can't step away; otherwise, we could have joined forces with Mount Tianqiong to teach them a lesson!"
Polite pleasantries, nothing more.
Mount Yongsheng truly lacked the energy to meddle in such affairs recently. She had only asked because rumors suggested three major forbidden lands were involved.
Hearing the Sword Sovereign's explanation gave her a general sense of the truth.
On the surface, it appeared to be a struggle between rogue cultivators, but in truth, it was likely a confrontation between this Sword Sovereign and Mingtu.
No wonder it had caused such a stir that they even invoked the names of their forbidden lands. Under normal circumstances, an ordinary sixteen-Dao expert operating outside would never dare recklessly invoke the name of a forbidden land, let alone in a squabble among rogue cultivators.
Lineage Master Yu paid it no further heed. If the three wanted to fight, so be it; Mount Yongsheng would stay out of it.
Seeing her fall silent, the Sword Sovereign didn't care either. He hadn't checked on that side over the past two days, but hearing Lineage Master Yu's words reignited his irritation. "I left Jian Kong behind and instructed him not to stir up trouble actively... Since they've invoked the names of the forbidden lands, as expected, it must have been the other side who first used their forbidden lands' names to pressure Mount Liufang, correct?"
Lineage Master Yu had no idea who had proclaimed it first, but with the Sword Sovereign right before her, she didn't mind agreeing on such a small matter. She nodded. "Yes, Hupo Cave was the first to fly that banner..."
"Mingtu!"
The Sword Sovereign sneered. "A forbidden land founded by an outsider dares to act so brazenly! My Mount Tianqiong may not meddle in idle affairs, but we won't be pushed around either! Fine, since he's discarded all shame, then let us fight! I'd like to see who comes out on top!"
With that, having reached the entrance, he said no more and took to the sky!
Lineage Master Yu watched him depart, shaking her head slightly.
Soon, another figure appeared beside her, asking with a light chuckle, "Yu, did you anger him?"
"Me?"
Lineage Master Yu chuckled. "How could I? It's not like I'm Lineage Master Huo. It was Mingtu who provoked him! I heard that earlier in the City of Light, the two had already clashed..."
She added with a smile, "It seems both sides intend to borrow the strength of rogue cultivators in the City of Light to have a contest!"
The man beside her smiled. "Shall we join in? It sounds rather amusing. With a bit of steering, we might provoke a clash among the three forbidden lands."
"Forget it," Lineage Master Yu said, shaking her head. "Don't forget, there are two fellows waiting outside. If our people enter and leave rashly, trouble will easily follow!"
At those words, the man fell quiet, feeling some regret.
In truth, he had seen an opportunity.
The Sword Sovereign wasn't overly short-tempered, but members of Mount Tianqiong shared a common trait: an arrogance deep in their bones. Now that people from two forbidden lands had provoked him, a little more prodding might actually push the Sword Sovereign into a full-blown clash with them!
Yet, thinking of King Wen and King Wu hiding outside, the man abandoned the idea.
For all these years, King Wen and King Wu had kept their eyes glued to Mount Yongsheng.
They didn't dare barge in recklessly, but the moment anyone from Mount Yongsheng stepped out, misfortune would swiftly follow.
Even when Fa tried to use people as bait to lure them into an ambush, the crafty King Wen would swallow the bait and run, inflicting heavy losses without ever being caught.
The man said nothing more and re-entered the hall with Lineage Master Yu to discuss the matter of relocating the mountain with the Mountain Master.
The Sword Sovereign had come in person conveying the Lord of Mount Tianqiong's intention; refusing outright would easily incur the Lord of Mount Tianqiong's wrath.
***
Meanwhile, in the City of Light.
As the news spread, the previously quiet City of Light became packed with people.
Drawn by the names of the three forbidden lands, countless rogue cultivators rushed over.
There were even quite a few individuals from forbidden lands—experts from forbidden lands beyond the four local ones who had arrived early and decided to join the spectacle.
Many were interested in a clash between three forbidden lands.
Inside the city, an enormous arena drew countless eyes.
A battle was currently underway atop it.
A great deal of effort had gone into constructing this arena. Powerful sealing restraints enveloped the entire platform, capable of withstanding even battles between first-rank experts.
At this moment, a thunderous boom erupted!
Blade Master sent an expert flying with a slash of his blade, barking coldly, "Panshi Cliff, what audacity! I originally intended to spare your lives, never imagining you would collude with Hupo Cave!"
The one he had struck back was an earthen-yellow muscular man who was coughing up blood. Hearing this, he spat blood and retorted, "You think you can kill me? Is that even possible? Besides, it's your Mount Liufang that went too far!"
As the two clashed, Qu suddenly called out from below, "Enough! Above sixteen Daos, deciding life and death is no simple feat! Blade Master, Heimu isn't even here, yet you dare act so arrogantly? Are you courting death?!"
Blade Master sneered. "Even if Lord Heimu isn't here, you are still no match for us! What's more... having Lord Jian Kong here is more than enough!"
Qu sneered. "A couple days ago, I might have feared you a little. But now... Brother Hei Long!"
Following his call, death qi billowed outward. The onlookers gasped in shock as darkness suddenly blanketed the sky above the entire City of Light, and an enormous black dragon materialized!
Below, Lady Xuelong's expression shifted slightly as she said coldly, "Hei Long?"
In the sky, the colossal black dragon looked down with cold eyes, gazing upon all living things. "Xuelong?"
With a contemptuous sneer, he said, "Back then you were stronger than me, but today... it seems you are nothing special!"
Lady Xuelong frowned.
At that exact moment, a gleam of sword qi illuminated heaven and earth, accompanied by a light laugh: "Fellow Daoist Hei Long, now that you've arrived, don't block out this rare sunlight. Such pitch-black darkness isn't very pleasant!"
Hei Long looked into the distance. A sword-wielding Daoist walked out of Mount Liufang's encampment—none other than the Sword Sovereign's son, Jian Kong!
Hei Long said nothing. He vanished swiftly, transforming in the blink of an eye into a black-robed Daoist who landed in Hupo Cave's encampment.
Within the city, the crowd grew thrilled.
Real big shots from the forbidden lands!
And more than one! Hei Long of Dead Spirit Hell and Jian Kong of Mount Tianqiong were both experts with combat power exceeding twenty Daos!
Among rogue cultivators, there were first-rank experts, but most had only just stepped across the threshold, or had been there for a long time without making any further progress. Rogue cultivators who could reach twenty Daos or higher were exceedingly rare!
***
Meanwhile, Su Yu smiled.
More and more people were arriving!
Fascinating!
The struggle between the three forbidden lands had drawn countless onlookers, including those seeking to join the forbidden lands, as well as scouts sent by other forbidden lands to assess the situation. They might fool others, but they couldn't fool Su Yu.
At this moment, Su Yu seemed not to exist at all.
Suddenly, he appeared inside a large courtyard.
Experts within the city could claim these residences, which was vastly better than sleeping in the open. While trivial to true powerhouses, occupying a grand compound in the City of Light was still a symbol of status and strength.
The compound before him was occupied by a twelve-Dao expert.
While others were busy watching the spectacle outside, this fellow was seizing the time to cultivate in peace.
The instant Su Yu stepped inside, the entire compound turned into a cage!
Not only that, to outside observers, the compound still sat right where it was.
In reality, the entire compound had entered one of Su Yu's apertures.
An inner world!
This way, any commotion could be completely muffled.
At that moment, the cultivating expert seemed to sense something. He snapped his eyes open and saw Su Yu, his face instantly turning pale with horror!
He was an expert in his own right; how could someone have approached him this closely without being noticed?
Just as he prepared to resist, an immense suppressive force erupted!
His original twelve-Dao strength was suddenly crushed down, reduced in the blink of an eye to barely eight or nine Daos!
"Who are you?!" the cultivator exclaimed in shock.
Su Yu smiled. "Heimu."
"The Master of Mount Liufang? Aren't you in closed-door seclusion and not in the city?"
Su Yu ignored him. With a wave of his hand, seven or eight figures materialized beside him—all experts, some first-rank, some second-rank.
Upon seeing them, the rogue cultivator's expression changed dramatically!
"It's you?!"
He looked at one of the first-rank experts and said in shock, "Di Jiu, didn't you leave a few days ago?"
He recognized several of them. This Di Jiu was a sixteen-Dao expert, quite formidable among rogue cultivators.
He had arrived at the City of Light two days ago, but stayed less than a day before leaving early, supposedly to visit an old friend.
Yet here he was!
Right beside this Heimu!
Di Jiu wore a brilliant smile. "Leave? That was merely to throw off onlookers. I have already sworn allegiance to the Tribulation Lord! The Tribulation Lord's might is beyond your imagination! The fifth forbidden land of Jinduan Gorge is about to emerge, and right now is an opportunity, a stroke of fortune..."
Su Yu said nothing. He didn't feel like wasting his breath every single time. One or two was fine, but moving forward, this scenario would play out constantly.
Thus, these individuals were all the eloquent, persuasive type.
In short, this was a brainwashing squad specifically tasked with breaking down resistance and convincing targets that surrender offered the best prospects!
"The Tribulation Lord will only recruit seven hundred and twenty Great Dao masters. I see you cultivate the Dao of Shattering, which is currently unmastered. The moment you join, you will be one of the seven hundred and twenty Dao masters..."
After some persuasion, the twelve-Dao expert chose to surrender.
In truth, he wasn't persuaded so much as utterly suppressed into submission!
What choice did he have? He found himself surrounded by so many people, unable to trigger any notice through his Dao fluctuations, with no one coming to help and no clue where he had been taken.
Under such circumstances, it was either death or surrender!
Between death and surrender, there was no real choice!
Even when forced to sever his Dao afterward, he had no alternative. Fortunately, after severing his Dao, he quickly reconnected it and truly regained his strength. With that, this newcomer transformed into the same mold as the others!
A sycophant... no, a loyal follower!
A world-opener!
An unbelievable world-opener was well worth serving!
Before long, the newcomer was led to a vast, open area where quite a few people were gathered. When the newcomer arrived, some glanced over while others ignored him and continued cultivating.
The twelve-Dao newcomer, however, was filled with shock.
So many people!
Here, he spotted familiar faces, as well as individuals who had supposedly departed the City of Light earlier—they were all here!
There were several experts at or above sixteen Daos.
To say nothing of those below sixteen Daos!
***
Meanwhile, Su Yu continued his operation.
Capturing people!
Severing Daos, reconnecting Daos!
Since these people had entered his world and stepped inside the residences, capturing them was not difficult. Most chose to surrender; those who refused were beaten to death!
Over the past few days, rogue cultivators had been coming and going from the City of Light.
In reality, quite a few people had vanished!
Those who surrendered and reconnected their Daos—as long as their Daos were not duplicates—would go outside once, make a visible departure under the eyes of others, and then sneak back in secretly.
As for those who died... they were simply dead.
Few cared if rogue cultivators vanished.
However, Su Yu knew in his heart that he had to speed up. A fair number of people had died, and several well-known rogue cultivators had disappeared—all sharing the common trait of having visited the City of Light.
Right now, the forbidden lands and prominent rogue cultivators weren't paying attention, but before long, they would sense something was amiss.
Even with so many experts incorporated, Su Yu's strength had not increased noticeably.
Though it grew continuously, his twenty-eight Daos of strength had not pushed him into the twenty-ninth Dao.
Only now did Su Yu realize how difficult it was to advance at this stage.
"I need to reach twenty-nine-Dao strength as quickly as possible, and then... capture a few experts from the forbidden lands!"
Su Yu had a plan: deal with the rogue cultivators first and leave the forbidden land experts untouched for now. Once he reached twenty-nine Daos, he would take care of them. At present, there were quite a few forbidden land experts in the city.
Those above twenty Daos included Jian Kong and Hei Long. As for Luohun Valley, they had also sent two first-rank experts to reinforce their side, but their strength was mediocre, only at sixteen Daos.
All of them had to wait until later.
Moving against forbidden land members right now would be too easy to expose.
***
Room by room, Su Yu harvested them, completely unbeknownst to anyone outside.
Everyone was still thrilled by the impending clash between the three forbidden lands.
***
Meanwhile, Jin Feng and the others clustered around Jian Kong. Lady Xuelong said in a low voice, "My lord, we're in trouble! Hupo Cave, Panshi Cliff, and Tiancan Domain have joined hands. Luohun Valley sent two sixteen-Dao experts to reinforce them, and now Hei Long has arrived... Their side has nine experts at or above sixteen Daos!"
Lady Xuelong added helplessly, "Whereas on our side, Lord Heimu is away. Although the three of us managed to win over Lord Yueqi of Mount Yueqi, counting you, my lord, we only have five..."
The disparity was immense!
Jian Kong frowned as well.
The two forbidden lands joining hands had indeed gained the upper hand over Mount Tianqiong, prompting Panshi Cliff and Tiancan Domain to pledge allegiance to the other side—right under his nose!
He had actually visited them once before, only for them to turn around and side with the opposition.
What a slap in the face!
Previously, he had been strong and fearless.
Yet now... Hei Long had arrived!
Their momentum had been abruptly suppressed.
Heimu still hadn't returned, leaving him effectively in charge of Mount Liufang!
But... what should they do now?
He said in a deep voice, "They wouldn't dare attack rashly..."
No sooner had he spoken than a harsh shout rang out: "Xuelong, get onto the arena and let me slay you today!"
Lady Xuelong's face fell. Within the city, Qu's triumphant voice resonated between heaven and earth: "Mount Liufang, surrender! We have no desire to initiate a slaughter and are willing to show Mount Tianqiong respect! But remaining at an impasse won't do. Starting today, our two sides shall duel on the arena until one side is wiped out or surrenders!"
"Everything takes place on the arena—one-on-one combat! Either surrender or die, until one side has no one left to fight!"
Lady Xuelong and the others turned pale!
They all looked toward Jian Kong. Blade Master gritted his teeth and said, "My lord, they want a battle of attrition, fighting continuously until we are severely injured or killed!"
Jian Kong's expression turned frigid!
With him standing right here, the other side dared to act this brazenly? Did they truly not place Mount Tianqiong in their eyes?
He said coldly, "Accept their challenge!"
He hadn't wanted to get too involved or invest too much into rogue cultivators, but the opposing side had pushed too far!
Since that was the case... Jian Kong said chillingly, "Hold out for now. I will send a message to Mount Tianqiong. My Mount Tianqiong does not lack experts! Since they want a duel... I'll let everyone within the Heavenly Gate know that Mount Tianqiong is the premier forbidden land!"
He would summon more reinforcements to aid them!
He was determined to crush the two forbidden lands!
Even if you join hands, my Mount Tianqiong has nothing to fear!
Blade Master and the others were overjoyed—genuinely ecstatic! Come, the more reinforcements, the better! Blade Master said excitedly, "My lord, how about transferring some saber experts from the Weapons Hall? Fellow Dao practitioners... perhaps we could even listen to the seniors' insights and comprehension of the Dao..."
Jian Kong couldn't help but chuckle, though he didn't refuse. He nodded. "Very well. The Weapons Hall has no shortage of saber experts."
Blade Master was so thrilled he nearly jumped for joy!
Fortunately, he knew not to get carried away and forced himself to hold back.
Beside him, the others looked on with intense envy!
Lady Xuelong wanted to ask for experts skilled in the Dao of Ice to be brought over... but Mount Tianqiong didn't seem to specialize in that Dao, whereas Mount Yongsheng had plenty. What a pity.
This was an opportunity to strengthen themselves!
They knew full well that once those people arrived, they would sooner or later be integrated into the world. When that happened, as the first Dao experts to integrate their Daos, anyone else would either die or be forced to integrate into their Daos.
That way, they would quickly become experts of eighteen Daos, nineteen Daos, or even stronger!
Seeing how delighted they were, Jian Kong smiled as well.
These rogue cultivators truly were easily satisfied.
He hadn't even promised they would teach anything; was there any need to be this happy?
Though these thoughts ran through his mind, he did not show it. Looking into the distance, he sneered inwardly. Very well. This time, I will crush you completely! No matter who stands in my way!
Chapter 898