"There's quite a show to see in Jinduan Gorge!"
Lately, the world behind the Heavenly Gate was no longer deathly still, but had grown bustling with activity.
For many years, only the Lord of Dead Spirits had stirred up any major commotion. As for King Wen, he had spent all these years clashing with Mount Yongsheng without letting the conflict spread, worried that the other forbidden land masters might join forces to besiege him.
After ages of quiet, who would have thought things would suddenly become so lively?
In the past, ordinary people couldn't watch the spectacles, nor could they afford to.
The combatants had simply been too strong!
This time, however, it was a show everyone could watch.
Though many powerful figures were involved, the battle was still within a range rogue cultivators could fathom!
Outside Jinduan Gorge, a rogue cultivator who had just emerged from secluded cultivation overheard the crowd murmuring. Keeping his distance, he asked cautiously, "Fellow Daoists, may I ask what spectacle there is to see in Jinduan Gorge? Has the Forbidden Land Conference begun?"
"Not at all!"
The cultivator spreading the news grinned. "You don't know, fellow Daoist? In Jinduan Gorge, three major forbidden lands have clashed! Using rogue cultivators as their foundation, they're staging a contest of powers! Over the past few days, cultivators from all three forbidden lands have been joining the fray one after another! It's a continuous gauntlet of matches, non-stop battling! Even rogue cultivators can enter the ring to represent one side. Win a single match, and you have a chance to earn a forbidden land's recognition—some people have even obtained a guest token from a forbidden land..."
The rogue cultivator who had just emerged was instantly taken aback. "A contest between forbidden lands?"
"Indeed! But for now, the supreme figures of the forbidden lands haven't taken the field. At present, it's only the Sword Sovereign, the Shura Envoy, and Emperor Mingtu clashing from afar. It hasn't reached the point where they step into the ring in person!"
At these words, shock rippled through the surrounding crowd.
Three supreme experts clashing from afar!
A clash between forbidden lands was something no one had witnessed in years.
"Fellow Daoist, where can this spectacle be seen?"
"The City of Light!"
"The City of Light?"
"It's Mount Liufang and Hupo Cave—the vassal forces of Mount Tianqiong and Dead Spirit Hell. Now, experts from the forbidden lands have come forward in person. For now, the fighting is restricted to those under twenty-five Daos... But mark my words, if the Forbidden Land Conference doesn't convene soon, even those above twenty-five Daos will have to step into the ring and slaughter each other!"
"Fellow Daoist, how about we head there together?"
"..."
Cultivators began banding together to make the journey. Traveling alone felt perilous; there was safety in numbers.
***
Meanwhile, though Jinduan Gorge was said to be bustling, the gorge itself was practically deserted—everyone had flocked to the City of Light.
Not only rogue cultivators, but even major factions like Mount Liufang had packed up and relocated their headquarters entirely to the City of Light.
Inside the City of Light.
The arena was already splattered with blood.
Outside the stage, layers of protective barriers shimmered.
Inside the barrier, a thunderous boom erupted.
A third-rank rogue cultivator was slain on the spot!
On both sides of the arena, tension hung thick between the opposing forces. On Mount Liufang's side, Lady Xuelong's gaze flickered slightly at the sight, and she shouted, "Are there any other rogue cultivators willing to fight for Mount Liufang? By decree of Mount Tianqiong, Mount Liufang oversees Jinduan Gorge! Win five matches in a row, and you may claim a guest token of the Weapon Hall!"
Among the watching rogue cultivators, some grew excited, some looked apprehensive, and others wore helpless expressions.
They simply lacked the strength!
Those stepping onto the stage who lacked the power of eight Daos or more were almost invariably killed by their opponents.
This was already the third day!
The third day of the contest between the two sides!
At first, it had been the experts of both sides fighting each other. Then Mount Liufang took the initiative to mobilize rogue cultivators to fight as substitutes, offering a guest token directly for five consecutive victories.
Remarkably, a rogue cultivator had actually managed to claim one at the start.
However, Hupo Cave quickly followed suit and began deploying rogue cultivators as well.
Over the course of three days, twenty to thirty rogue cultivators had fallen in battle, while those who obtained a token could be counted on one hand.
Now, when Mount Liufang called for volunteers, scarcely anyone responded. They were terrified.
Seeing this, Lady Xuelong gritted her teeth and yelled, "Win three matches in a row, and you will receive a quota to exit the Heavenly Gate! Win five matches, and you will receive both a quota and a guest token!"
These words triggered an immediate uproar.
In the crowd, a first-rank expert's expression shifted, and he said in a deep voice, "Lady Xuelong, is that true? You still have quotas to exit the Heavenly Gate?"
Lady Xuelong replied firmly, "Though it hasn't been finalized and we do not know how many Mount Liufang will receive... you must not forget that our Mount Tianqiong is the premier forbidden land!"
"Hmph!"
Across the arena, Qu sneered and murmured coldly, "The premier forbidden land? Where does that leave Dead Spirit Hell?"
Lady Xuelong could not be bothered to reply to him, shouting again, "Mount Tianqiong can certainly spare a few quotas!"
She glanced toward Jian Kong, who stood high in the air looking stern and cold, and called out, "Lord Jian Kong, Mount Tianqiong has the right to allocate quotas, does it not?"
Jian Kong gave a slight nod and said coolly, "Lady Xuelong's words are my promise! Win three consecutive matches, and Mount Tianqiong shall grant one quota!"
He cast a frigid glare across the way.
On the opposing side stood countless experts as well. The Daoist transformed from Hei Long sneered, his tone chilling. "Quotas? You speak as if you're the only ones who have them..."
Jian Kong scoffed. "Your Dead Spirit Hell really doesn't! Hei Long, do you actually think Dead Spirit Hell will get any? They would give them to anyone before giving them to Dead Spirit Hell!"
Hei Long's expression darkened slightly.
Right at that moment, beside Hei Long, an aloof, gorgeous woman resembling a blooming snow lotus said coldly and calmly, "Even if Dead Spirit Hell doesn't have any, my Luohun Valley does! Anyone who fights on behalf of our two forbidden lands does not need three consecutive victories—three accumulated victories will suffice! Even if Luohun Valley doesn't leave, we will yield the quota!"
"You..."
Jian Kong frowned, but said no more on the topic. Looking down at the rogue cultivators below, he said indifferently, "You all know how powerful Mount Tianqiong is! You also know the origin of Dead Spirit Hell! As for Luohun Valley... it is petty and narrow-minded, cultivating nothing but sinister and shadowy Daos..."
"Jian Kong!"
The snow-lotus-like woman's expression turned frost-cold. "You dare slander my Luohun Valley?"
Jian Kong said impassively, "It is merely the truth! Among the four forbidden lands of Jinduan Gorge, Mount Tianqiong specializes in the Weapon Dao, the War Dao, and the Combat Dao! Mount Yongsheng specializes in the Law Dao! Aside from being outsiders, Dead Spirit Hell isn't lacking in combat power either... But as for your Luohun Valley, everyone knows where you stand!"
He scoffed with open disdain. "The facts are right here. Who doesn't know it?"
Indeed, Luohun Valley was the weakest of the four forbidden lands, and its Six Soul-Searching Envoys fell short compared to the champions of the others. Mingtu and the Sword Sovereign were at twenty-eight Daos or even stronger, whereas Luohun Valley's strongest, the Heavenly Soul Envoy, was only around twenty-seven Daos. The other envoys were probably only at twenty-five Daos, though the Shura Envoy—the master behind this woman and Shang—might have recently attained the power of twenty-six Daos.
They were certainly top-tier experts, but still slightly inferior to Mingtu and the Sword Sovereign.
As for the masters of the forbidden lands, while the master of Luohun Valley also seemed to have reached thirty-two Daos, who among the Lord of Dead Spirits and the Lord of Mount Tianqiong wasn't stronger than him? And Fa, who cultivated the Myriad Law Dao, seemed on the verge of being able to open a world, possessing immense combat power; otherwise, King Wen and King Wu wouldn't have failed to best him even while fighting together.
At this moment, Jian Kong was utterly irritated by them, so he lashed out without restraint.
Cultivating the Sword Dao demanded clear and unhindered thoughts.
Lately, however, Mount Liufang had subtly been at a disadvantage, suffering several defeats and losing more people than the other side. The two factions had joined hands to suppress them. Hei Long's presence was bad enough, but the woman opposite him was also a twenty-two-Dao expert from Luohun Valley.
The two of them working together to keep him in check had only deepened Jian Kong's resentment!
Hei Long, seeing this, did not bother letting the woman argue further with Jian Kong. In truth, he felt the same way, but since they were allies for now, it wasn't his place to speak. Instead, he bellowed, "Jian Kong, if you don't dare fight, have Mount Liufang surrender! Cut the nonsense!"
Jian Kong sneered. "Don't dare?"
Before he could finish his words, Blade Master suddenly flew forward from below, gritting his teeth despite his injuries. "My lord, I'll go!"
Jian Kong frowned slightly. Blade Master possessed only seventeen Daos of power and was already wounded from his previous clash with Qu. Fighting again now...
Sure enough, on the opposing side, Qu chuckled darkly. "If you're eager to die, I'll grant your wish!"
With those words, the two leaped into the arena. The clash was thunderous; in an instant, earth and sky seemed to tear apart.
Such a massive commotion drew the attention of countless spectators.
Even when some movement stirred within a certain house inside the city, no one paid it any mind. Perhaps someone's cultivation had been disturbed?
***
Meanwhile, within his world, Su Yu thrust out a palm!
The burly man opposite him, though suppressed, roared repeatedly. A power of confinement erupted from his body to bind Su Yu, while his boundless physical strength drove a fist straight toward Su Yu!
Anxiety flashed across the man's eyes, mingled with fury. "It's all a conspiracy! You scoundrel, it's all a trap!"
Just now, the sudden clash between the two first-rank experts outside had kicked up a huge ruckus precisely because Su Yu needed to draw upon more power to mask his presence. He had no choice but to let the two fight to divert everyone's gaze.
That was the advantage of having the battle outside!
With such a loud disturbance out there, no one would notice anything here.
At this moment, Su Yu was thrilled—he had hooked a big fish!
Fishing until today, he had finally landed a truly big catch.
Su Yu grinned radiantly. "You're no rogue cultivator. Tell me, which forbidden land do you hail from?"
He was strong!
Moreover, he didn't just excel in one Dao, but two: one was Confinement, and the other was remarkably the Physical Body Dao.
His cultivation was also formidable.
Twenty-four Daos of power!
This was the peak before stepping onto the path of the supreme overlords—anything higher belonged to the true hegemons of the forbidden lands!
Twenty-four Daos was practically the ceiling for rogue cultivators, though in truth, almost no rogue cultivator ever reached such heights.
It wasn't that Su Yu couldn't take him down. In his own world, how could he fail to suppress an opponent?
However... there were far too many people around.
He couldn't use his full strength. If he unleashed the full might of his world, the City of Light would easily be exposed.
Studying him, Su Yu suddenly remarked, "No, wait—you specialize in three Daos! There's also an Aura-Concealing Dao!"
He had almost overlooked it!
Su Yu hadn't probed this man thoroughly earlier, only scanning him broadly and estimating him around eighteen Daos—an easy target. But when he came to subdue him, he hit a solid brick wall!
Twenty-four Daos of power!
The man's eyes were frigid, but terror churned in his heart.
A conspiracy!
This City of Light was a monstrous conspiracy!
The tournaments, the contest of powers—it was all a facade.
An expert was ambushed here, quietly assassinating rogue cultivators. Worse still... he felt himself being suppressed. His eyes darted about. A Myriad Law Domain?
Was this person an expert from Mount Yongsheng?
Mount Yongsheng's Myriad Law Domain was quite renowned.
But to suppress his strength, could this man be one of Mount Yongsheng's lineage masters?
He had never heard of him!
Refusing to waste time thinking, he made his move—flee!
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, he slammed a fist toward the void. Su Yu materialized instantly, pressing down with a palm. Both the palm and the fist carried traces of confinement, and Su Yu suddenly found his movements turning rigid.
He was slightly surprised. This Confinement Dao was extraordinary; it even possessed a numbing effect!
Despite the man's powerful build, his physical frame was merely a diversion; the Physical Body Dao wasn't his primary path. In a flash, his massive hands moved with incredible dexterity, weaving through the void to knit a giant net that rapidly descended over Su Yu.
He had no desire to fight—he only wanted to escape.
This was no place to linger!
He had stumbled into a trap this time. He had assumed there would only be a few twenty-two-Dao experts here at most; who could have known an expert of this caliber was lurking in secret?
The net descended rapidly toward Su Yu, brimming with powerful confinement and numbing energy.
Even Su Yu was immobilized for a fraction of an instant!
Su Yu quickly jolted his Daos, dispersing the force, and chuckled. "Impressive! Too bad I can't go all out. Otherwise, I’d truly love to have some fun with you!"
At this moment, he could only unleash around twenty-three Daos of power; the majority of his strength was tied up in maintaining his world!
And Su Yu had grown even more intrigued by this man's background.
Three formidable Daos!
Confinement, Physical Body, and Aura-Concealment.
He appeared to be a hulking, simple-minded martialist, but he was anything but. Even Su Yu had nearly misjudged him. This man was exceptionally strong, and his ability to conceal himself was even more remarkable—almost slipping past Su Yu's scrutiny.
Under normal circumstances, only a forbidden land master could see through him.
While some experts from the forbidden lands enjoyed traveling in disguise, there was no reason for a twenty-four-Dao expert to be so cautious. Su Yu knew there were other forbidden land experts in the city, but none of them concealed their tracks as flawlessly as this man.
"Lock!"
A massive lock manifested in the world and descended toward him.
Not only that, but portals materialized in all directions, sealing off his escape routes. Fleeing inside Su Yu's own world? As if!
Now, the man grew frantic. He gritted his teeth and roared, "If you keep pestering me and force me to fight to the death, the secrets of this place will be exposed, and you won't end well either! Mount Yongsheng secretly built the City of Light to purge rogue cultivators and plot against the other three forbidden lands... You're courting death!"
Su Yu sneered, ignoring him, as streams of Dao power surged forth to attack!
Suppressed by the world, the man could only exert about twenty-three Daos of power, and Su Yu could only afford to unleash that much as well. Any more, and the world's tremors would alert outsiders to the anomaly.
The same tier!
At least for now, they were in the same tier.
Su Yu refused to believe it! He had always fought above his cultivation level—how could he fail against someone on equal footing?
"You're the first formidable opponent I've met since my breakthrough... Big guy, if you give me a satisfying fight, I might just let you go!"
"Hmph!"
The man snorted coldly. Easier said than done—who would believe that?
Wasting no more breath, he threw a punch laced with sealing power. Su Yu slashed forward with a blade, shattering the sealing energy, and the two clashed violently.
Rumble!
Deafening booms echoed as Su Yu unleashed a multitude of Daos.
Thunder, Sealing, Confinement, Silence, Bloodlust, Destruction, Corrosion...
All kinds of Daos erupted!
The man grew increasingly alarmed as the fight went on. Su Yu had seemed somewhat unpracticed at first, like a newly ascended expert, but the longer they clashed, the more fluid he became. Before long, he had thoroughly mastered his combat rhythm.
Confronted by an endless repertoire of battle techniques, the burly man—who rarely met a match among his peers—gradually began to feel the pressure!
He grew frantic!
He couldn't keep going like this!
If this continued, he might actually be defeated. Being defeated wasn't the scariest part; what terrified him was this bizarre place!
Two experts above twenty Daos had been fighting for this long, yet not a single soul had shown up.
They were inside the city!
With so many experts present, including several at twenty-two Daos, had not one of them noticed?
He had hoped to cause a massive disturbance to draw investigators and force this man to retreat!
Finally unable to hold back, the man yelled, "Where in the world is this place?!"
Su Yu laughed, refusing to answer.
Where?
Inside my body!
He merely wanted to familiarize himself with his combat techniques after his breakthrough since his hands were rusty. Otherwise, even though he couldn't draw upon vast amounts of power personally, nearly a hundred experts were standing right outside this layer of the world.
Among them were six first-rank experts!
And over thirty second-rank experts!
If all of them joined forces, never mind twenty-four Daos, even a twenty-six-Dao combatant would be blasted to pieces!
Still, Su Yu was in no hurry. His world was stable, so he chose to continue fighting this man.
As Su Yu unleashed wave after wave of Dao power, the man grew more and more rattled.
Mount Yongsheng's Myriad Law Dao?
The Myriad Law Dao also encompassed a vast number of Daos and was considered a form of Dao integration. Some forbidden land masters had taken the path of fusing multiple Daos before unifying them to reach the level of thirty-two Daos.
Others, like King Wu, pursued a single Dao to the very end, directly expanding it to the power of thirty-two Daos.
The Myriad Law Dao clearly belonged to the former.
Yet to possess this many Daos... was unheard of.
The Myriad Law Dao claimed to encompass myriad laws, but in reality, even Fa, a supreme-tier existence, cultivated fewer than a hundred Daos.
Yet this young man before him had already displayed dozens of different Daos and was still bringing out new ones!
"What relation are you to Fa?" the man barked!
Was this man Fa's direct disciple? Or a blood descendant?
In Jinduan Gorge, only Mount Yongsheng possessed such methods.
Su Yu didn't bother to reply, continuing his relentless barrage while constantly calibrating his various Daos. During the fight, Su Yu noticed a few flaws: his Daos were once again slipping out of balance.
When Daos had drastically different strengths, swinging from first-rank one moment to fourth-rank the next, the disparity was too jarring. In such a state, facing an opponent stronger than himself who caught the right opening could easily prove fatal!
Su Yu frowned slightly. There was no helping it.
One couldn't simply integrate whatever Dao one wished without discrepancies; deviations were inevitable.
All he could do was try his best to restore balance!
Su Yu attacked continuously!
Rumble!
Inside the world—or rather, inside the aperture—earth and heaven were turned upside down, a battle far more intense than the clash between the two first-rank experts outside.
The man grew increasingly desperate!
Where am I?!
Even if this were a Myriad Law Domain, fighting like this should have shattered it by now, yet it showed no signs of breaking.
His opponent was only growing fiercer!
He was rapidly reaching his limit!
Gritting his teeth, the man roared violently. Before Su Yu's slightly startled gaze, his blood qi surged exponentially, and his Daos erupted to their absolute limit. Su Yu hastily shouted, "Wait, don't break that side—"
The man was ecstatic!
He found the right spot!
To hell with you!
The way out is right here!
Su Yu genuinely panicked. Wait, no! If he breaks through that side, over a hundred experts are waiting outside! If they instantly obliterate him, it would be a massive loss! Su Yu shouted in a frenzy, "Don't kill him!"
The man didn't even hear him, and wouldn't have cared even if he did.
His fist surged with power pushed to the absolute extreme!
He unleashed the strike!
Boom!
The world barrier shattered!
Seeing the confinement break, the man was overjoyed.
"Hahaha, I—"
He wanted to scream in triumph: I'm out! You're finished! This Mount Yongsheng expert had laid an ambush that no one noticed because of this barrier. Now that he was out, the bastard was doomed! He would expose this conspiracy to the world!
But just as he let out his booming laugh and prepared to speak, his expression warped violently!
Right in front of him stood over a hundred experts, some looking on in shock.
He broke out?
The Lord of Tribulation didn't take him down?
Of course, being battle-hardened experts, their surprise didn't hinder their reflexes. In an instant, the six leading first-rank experts bellowed together: "Strike!"
Boom!
Over a hundred Daos erupted at once!
Ranging from fourth-rank at the weakest to first-rank at the strongest, a torrential wave of power surged forth!
The man's face twisted in horror. Holy shit! Where the hell did I just walk into?!
He thought he had escaped to freedom, only to realize he hadn't fled anywhere—he had leaped straight into a den of wolves!
No matter how strong he was, he couldn't withstand the combined strike of nearly a hundred experts!
If he could, he wouldn't be at twenty-four Daos; he would have stepped into the supreme tier long ago!
"No—!" the man screamed in despair.
He was dead for sure!
At that moment, Su Yu roared once more, "Don't kill him!"
At the same time, Su Yu frantically drew away their power, siphoning strength from them to weaken the blast!
Boom!
A tremendous explosion!
No matter how formidable the man's physical body was, it couldn't withstand such an onslaught. In an instant, his physical body was pulverized, exposing his sea of will. Just as those Dao energies were about to obliterate his consciousness, Su Yu finally arrived, absorbing and extinguishing all the remaining destructive energy in one swift sweep!
Su Yu let out a long sigh of relief.
The man reconstituted his physical body, pale and feeble, staring at Su Yu and then at the hundred-plus experts.
Every single one of those experts trembled in fear and dropped to one knee, calling out in unison, "Forgive us, Lord of Tribulation!"
Su Yu waved a hand. "It's fine! I was only worried you'd kill him and cost me a massive fortune!"
Realization dawned on the crowd!
He truly was formidable! Even though they hadn't fought with their lives on the line and Su Yu had weakened their blast considerably, failing to destroy both his body and his sea of will in a single blow proved his power was extraordinary!
The man looked at Su Yu in sheer disbelief.
Lord of Tribulation?
Who was that?
He had never heard of him!
Yet his subordinates were anything but weak—a full six experts above sixteen Daos, plus over a hundred Rulers of Rules.
The man gulped. Now he finally understood why the guy had told him not to run this way.
It was suicide!
Unable to hold back, he stared at Su Yu. "What exactly are you trying to do?"
Gritting his teeth, he continued, "Do you know that if you kill me, you will certainly pay the price? Even if you imprison me, if I don't return, disaster will befall you. The secrets of this place will be exposed sooner or later!"
He said hastily, "You have immense nerve, setting up a scheme like this in the City of Light, right under the noses of several forbidden lands!"
Su Yu chuckled.
Looking at the man, he said, "Your strength isn't bad."
Then he smiled and added, "Setting up a scheme like this—so what if I did?"
The man gritted his teeth. "Don't get too arrogant! A large number of experts from the forbidden lands are rushing here now. You probably didn't anticipate that Mount Liufang and Hupo Cave would draw so many forbidden land experts!"
Even three emperor-tier figures had been lured over!
One could imagine the immense danger.
Su Yu looked at him with a beaming smile. "What are you talking about? How could I not have anticipated it? If I hadn't, how could I have had Blade Master, Qu, and the others lure them here in the first place?"
"..."
The man froze, staring at Su Yu in absolute horror. What did he mean?
Su Yu smiled radiantly. "What's the matter?"
"What... what do you mean?"
Su Yu chuckled. "So you still haven't recognized me? Allow me to introduce myself: Master of Mount Liufang, Heimu! Oh, and also Master of Hupo Cave, Master of Panshi Cliff, Master of Tiancan Ridge..."
Su Yu's smile was dazzling. "Understand now?"
"..."
The man turned pale with fright!
He understood!
This lunatic wasn't hiding here or sneaking around the rogue cultivator factions to pull this off—he was the one running all of them!
This... was impossible!
He knew that between the two factions outside, there were fourteen experts of sixteen Daos or above!
In sheer disbelief, he stammered, "Impossible... Why would the forbidden lands cooperate with you? Why would they submit to you..."
Su Yu chuckled. "They haven't. I'm merely making use of them! Of the fourteen experts outside, Hei Long, Jian Kong, and the two from Luohun Valley aren't my men. Only ten of them belong to me!"
Of course, there were more than fourteen now. Both sides were mobilizing reinforcements; the twenty-two-Dao woman from Luohun Valley had only just arrived, and Jian Kong was calling for more people as well.
As of now, Su Yu only had sixteen first-rank experts.
Only!
The man's expression grew increasingly complex. "You... you have monstrous audacity!"
Madness!
He was making enemies of three major forbidden lands!
He quickly turned his gaze toward the crowd and shouted, "I know you, Di Jiu! Have you all lost your minds too?"
He recognized some of the rogue cultivators!
It seemed everyone here had been a rogue cultivator. Had they all gone crazy?
Rogue cultivators daring to oppose the forbidden lands!
Had they been bewitched by this Heimu?
At that moment, the first-rank expert he called out to smiled. "We haven't lost our minds! I never expected you to be so powerful, fellow Daoist... As for the forbidden lands, they weren't born into this world; they were founded by people. If others could establish forbidden lands, then with our Lord of Tribulation here, we rogue cultivators can naturally forge a forbidden land of our own!"
"You're insane!"
The man roared, "Him? He's quite impressive, possessing around twenty-four Daos of power, but you people have no idea how terrifying the forbidden lands are! Most forbidden land masters have thirty-two Daos of power! Even the weakest forbidden land masters possess no less than thirty Daos, not to mention their special techniques..."
Beside them, Su Yu chuckled, looking slightly sheepish. "Er... my apologies. When I fought you just now, I was only using about twenty percent of my power."
The man snapped his head around and scoffed coldly. "Bluffing! How could that be possible..."
Trying to act powerful?
Su Yu sighed, and the others sighed as well. Di Jiu clicked his tongue with pity. "Fellow Daoist... how truly foolish! This City of Light is our lord's world. Our lord had to sustain the City of Light—saying he used twenty percent against you was being modest!"
Di Jiu's face was full of reverence. "Our lord's strength is boundless, opening a world of his own! Soon, our lord will become an existence on par with the forbidden land masters..."
This time, Su Yu didn't need to explain anything himself.
The hundred-plus people began chiming in all at once, bombarding the man with details.
A world-opener, seven hundred and twenty Daos, integrating Daos into the world, establishing a forbidden land, all the factions in Jinduan Gorge already having submitted... they were all on the same side!
Hearing all this, the man was utterly appalled.
Impossible!
A world-opener?
He didn't believe it!
In the next instant, the man couldn't help roaring, "Impossible! In this era, there can never be another world-opener! You've all been duped by him! What do you people know?! In this era, no new world-opener can ever be born unless they have been outside, entered the Myriad Realms, and absorbed massive amounts of Yang Realm qi! Or unless they had already opened a world back in the ancient past! Otherwise, opening a world is impossible!"
He suddenly realized these people had been tricked!
He shouted, "You've all been deceived by him! Even Fa of Mount Yongsheng was capable of opening a world long ago, but lacking sufficient Yang qi, he had no choice but to absorb Wen Yu's Yang qi in an attempt to open his world... only to be outschemed by Wen Yu! You people know nothing at all!"
A bunch of idiots, every single one of you has been played!
To make them believe him, he yelled frantically, "How powerful is Fa? Yet even cultivating over a hundred Daos, he couldn't open a world! He had to absorb Wen Yu's Yang qi and siphon her myriad Dao powers to create his own world... He half-succeeded, but also failed! The half-formed world he opened was filled with vast amounts of Wen Yu's Dao power. Far from falling under his control, Wen Yu seized leverage over Fa! That is why, after all these years, Wen Yu has never been killed! You people don't understand a thing! He claims to have opened a world, and you actually believe him?!"
The crowd stared blankly. What kind of nonsense was this?
Are you an idiot?
We're experts ourselves—how could we not know whether someone has opened a world? We severed our Daos, reconnected our Daos, we're alive, and our strength is intact... Are you a total fool?
The entire City of Light is right here!
You don't know shit!
Babbling nonsense you picked up who-knows-where and daring to question our Lord of Tribulation!
Di Jiu grinned from among the crowd. "Lord of Tribulation, this man is stubborn to the core, spreading rumors and stirring up trouble. In my opinion, we might as well kill him. Subduing him will be too difficult!"
The man grew frantic. "It's the truth! I am a twenty-four-Dao cultivator with an extraordinary background—why would I lie to you all?!"
Beside them, Su Yu rested his elbow in his hand, rubbing his chin in deep thought.
Now this was interesting!
Impossible to open a world?
Because of insufficient Yang qi?
Meaning there wasn't enough aura from the Myriad Realms, making it impossible to open a world unless one came from the Myriad Realms or had successfully opened a world before the Heavenly Gate sealed!
Fa couldn't open a world on his own, but he managed it by borrowing the Time Master's power.
And the Time Master was truly formidable; she seemingly seized control of his world core and turned the tables, preventing Fa from killing her all these years!
These were top-secret revelations!
Su Yu suddenly grew very interested in this man's identity. Barely anyone knew about these matters, right?
At least, none of the first-rank experts he knew had any inkling of this.
Otherwise, they would have raised doubts long ago.
The reason no one doubted it now was that they had all succeeded. Sometimes, truth was not held by the minority; when everyone firmly believed something, speaking the truth only made you look like a lying rumormonger!
Clearly, no one believed the man's words.
They had all experienced the feeling of integrating into the world firsthand!
The man felt a wave of sorrow. He had shouted for so long, yet no one believed him.
Overcome with despair, he cried, "A bunch of fools, every last one of you deceived by Heimu! Don't you see? How could anyone open a world... We belong to a past era! We are figures of the past! We have only a past, no future! Opening a world represents the future... In an era that has already ended in destruction, how could a world-opener ever appear?!"
How tragic!
How had this Heimu pulled it off?
He believed these people couldn't be stupid enough to fall for a simple trick, yet why were they so utterly convinced?
Su Yu watched him in silence. After a long while, he smiled. "Done talking?"
The man glared back through gritted teeth. "You demon! You've deceived these people, and they're fools for believing you, but I never will!"
Su Yu smiled. "What is your name?"
"Hmph!"
The man snorted coldly!
Su Yu shook his head. "Not obedient in the slightest, nor endearing. Someone like you needs to be handled by force!"
With that, without another word, he stepped forward and seized the severely injured man.
Fine, it didn't matter if you didn't believe it.
I have plenty of ways to make you believe!
Forceful conviction!
You might refuse to speak now, but once your worldview is shattered to pieces, you will talk.
Su Yu forcefully stripped away his Dao power!
Sure enough, three powerful Daos manifested. The man roared furiously, "Don't think you can trick me! If you kill me, you will certainly regret it..."
He struggled violently!
Yet heavily wounded as he was, how could he break free from Su Yu's grip?
Not to mention, so many experts stood watching nearby.
Su Yu stripped away the Daos one by one.
When he reached the Physical Body Dao, Su Yu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Forget it. I've never let anyone cultivate the Physical Body Dao, but you're not weak. You can keep cultivating it for now!"
Previously, he had been reluctant to cultivate the powerful Daos of the Myriad Realms again.
Yet this man was truly formidable.
Severing his Physical Body Dao would be a waste!
Better to reconnect it for now!
Boom!
The Physical Body Dao snapped!
Su Yu directly absorbed the man's Physical Body Dao power and reconnected it to his own Dao, smiling. "Integrate your insights yourself. Of course, no rush—the insights are in your own heart. If you prefer to stay weak forever, feel free not to integrate them!"
He proceeded to snap the second Dao.
Then the third.
Both were incredibly powerful!
The man had first waited in despair for death, then looked on in absolute shock, before falling completely dumbfounded.
Once all three Daos were reconnected, although his Daos were far weaker than twenty-four Daos because he hadn't yet integrated his insights, he could be certain of one thing: he was still alive.
In a daze, he mumbled, "Impossible... It's all fake! An illusion? It must be! Unless someone emerged from the Myriad Realms or absorbed massive power from the Myriad Realms, opening a world is impossible... I don't believe it..."
This completely overturned his worldview!
He knew about world-opening.
Back when the Lord of Dead Spirits opened a world here, he had asked several ancient elders, and their answers had all been the same: impossible!
People of past eras could never open a world behind the gate.
Not even masters of the forbidden lands could do it!
Despite outside rumors claiming that certain forbidden land masters had opened worlds, it was all pure nonsense!
Fa had indeed opened half a world.
Unfortunately, driven by greed and the delusion of eternal life and indestructibility, he had ended up constrained by Wen Yu instead. Otherwise, there would have been no need to tangle with King Wen and his companion for all these years.
Yet now, a genuine world-opener stood right before his eyes!
His Daos had truly been reconnected!
He still refused to believe it!
He threw a punch, and the unmistakable, genuine explosive feedback was undeniably real!
"No, it can't be... Right, I'm too weak right now to see through it. Once I recover my strength, I'll see right through it—it's all sleight of hand..."
He hastily integrated his insights to empower his Daos!
The three Daos surged with power in an instant, and his aura rapidly escalated.
In the blink of an eye, he reached sixteen Daos of power.
Meanwhile, Su Yu silently comprehended, experienced, and relished the influx of energy.
Gradually, his aura shifted.
It was inching toward twenty-nine Daos, yet still felt just a fraction short. Su Yu furrowed his brow slightly. Still not enough?
From a twenty-four-Dao expert!
At this rate, he wouldn't step into twenty-nine Daos until he subdued Jian Kong and the others. As for thirty Daos... that would be vastly more difficult!
"To reach thirty Daos, will I need those few experts?"
Which ones?
The Sword Sovereign and his tier, of course!
Su Yu sighed inwardly. Meanwhile, the man's aura climbed all the way to twenty Daos before halting abruptly!
Yes, twenty Daos.
At present, Su Yu's world was sufficient to support a twenty-Dao expert.
However, Su Yu was not particularly satisfied.
Once he reached thirty Daos, it might be able to support a twenty-four-Dao expert; the further along he went, the stronger he grew, and gaining a single Dao was far more potent than before.
Maintaining experts above twenty-five Daos, however, would be extraordinarily difficult.
He would likely need to advance even further!
Restored to twenty Daos of power, the man froze, muttering, "No... this is... the restriction of a world master?"
He whipped his head toward Su Yu. "You even know about this... You... you put on such a convincing act! You actually know that if a world master lacks sufficient strength, it restricts the strength of the experts within the world... Do you... know a world master? Or did someone tell you?"
You act so convincingly!
Su Yu curled his lip and abruptly locked the man's power. Then countless bolts of lightning descended from the heavens, blasting the man as he shrieked in agony!
Not only that, whips materialized in midair, lashing down stroke after stroke!
The man screamed without pause.
Su Yu said nonchalantly, "It's all sleight of hand—don't be afraid, it won't kill you. Whenever you're ready to admit it's not sleight of hand, come find me!"
With a wave of his hand, the man vanished, reappearing in the distance, screaming piteously under the onslaught of lightning and whips. Yet he refused to believe it to the bitter end, roaring, "It's all fake!"
"I'm not afraid!"
There could never be a world-opener!
The onlookers were rendered speechless. Serves you right, you bastard! We hope you get beaten to death!
Still calling it fake?
Look at how thoroughly thrashed you are!
***
No one knew how much time passed. While Su Yu was busy with other matters, he suddenly heard a feeble, agonizing groan: "I believe it... truly... stop... please stop hitting me..."
When Su Yu reappeared, the man had been beaten beyond recognition, pathetic and utterly drained, bleeding profusely from head to toe. "I... believe it... It's real... Illusionary Dao power... could never... could never cause me such excruciating agony..."
"Yet... it shouldn't be..."
He croaked desolately, "It makes no sense... Unless... you... you came from the Myriad Realms... or... you're an offspring born to King Wen or the others in this place..."
He suddenly froze, snapping his head up to stare at Su Yu in sheer terror!
Are you... could you really be an offspring born behind this gate to King Wen and his peers?
"No... that's impossible... Did King Wen and the others... even... even have time... to father children?"
He stammered, his face pale with utter shock.
Did I... have I just uncovered some monumental secret?!
Heavens above!
This man might be an offspring of King Wen or King Wu!
An offspring born behind the gate!
Chapter 899