Four supreme experts had gathered—or rather, the four figures from outside the gates were now assembled within the Heavenly Gate.
Apart from the trapped Time Master, everyone from beyond the gates was present.
At this moment, the atmosphere turned extraordinarily bizarre.
Each of them harbored their own calculations.
The Lord of Dead Spirits wanted to seize Su Yu and examine his Life-Death Heaven.
King Wen was pondering whether there was an opportunity right now to help King Wu achieve his breakthrough.
And Su Yu was calculating even further: could he reap some benefits from this situation?
For a time, the tension grew stifling.
King Wu looked at Su Yu, glanced at King Wen, and finally shifted his gaze to the sneering Lord of Dead Spirits. After a long pause, he couldn't help but speak up. "Hey, you three, how long are we going to just stand around staring at each other?"
*Haven't you three looked at each other enough?*
Though all three stood right beside him, King Wu felt as though their thoughts were drifting off into the distance, leaving only him isolated outside their world. This feeling was... truly frustrating as hell!
He was an exalted peak powerhouse of thirty-one Daos, on the verge of breaking through to become a master of a forbidden land.
Good grief!
Not a single one of them was paying any attention to him.
Right at that moment, Su Yu flashed a harmless, gentle smile and turned toward the Lord of Dead Spirits, his tone exceptionally warm. "Senior Lord, do you think there might be some room for cooperation between us?"
He wasn't easy to fool!
So Su Yu chose to get straight to the point!
They were all enemies of enemies. Though they weren't friends yet, couldn't they become friends?
The Lord of Dead Spirits sneered coldly. "This seat has already established a firm foothold here. Until the very end, do those people dare turn against me? I claimed Dead Spirit Hell only after slaying a master of a forbidden land. I am not like you!"
In other words: I have sufficient deterrence!
What about you?
You possess none right now!
Cooperating with you would more likely result in a severe loss. The Lord of Dead Spirits had little interest in that. Naturally, he wanted to inspect Su Yu's Life-Death Heaven; apart from that, even if this group was not weak, he had no desire to ally with them.
Neither this Su Yu nor King Wen looked like good people!
King Wen let out a light laugh. "You are mistaken, Lord. Once they take us down, those forbidden land masters will turn on you sooner or later. In my view, before anyone exits the Heavenly Gate, they will finish me off first, and shortly afterward, they will move against you!"
Su Yu chimed in, "That is an absolute certainty! Back in the day, Senior's world pierced straight through the Heavenly Gate. I imagine the Heavenly Gate won't show you any courtesy either!"
King Wen continued, "Furthermore, bringing your world out intact from this place will be no simple feat. Everyone knows how peerlessly formidable you would be if your two worlds merged into one. Who would willingly let that happen?"
Su Yu nodded. "Even if the Heavenly Gate cannot stop you, the Human Gate will not sit idly by. Senior, your real troubles still lie ahead!"
King Wen smiled and nodded in agreement, casting an encouraging glance at Su Yu before adding with a grin, "Moreover, it appears the Lord has been attempting the transformation between life and death. Yet that is the most difficult path of all. The death qi in your Dead Spirit Hell lacks sufficient life energy—which means you failed, didn't you?"
Su Yu's eyes lit up. "As it happens, this junior knows a thing or two about the interchange of life and death. If Senior doesn't mind, we could exchange insights!"
King Wen felt a flicker of pleasant surprise in his heart, and he chuckled along. "Indeed. If the Lord can master the transformation of life and death, you are bound to take another step forward! We are all world openers. Grand Daos are easy to seek, but opening a world is rare and precious. We can certainly exchange a pointer or two!"
Su Yu said with a beaming smile, "I have observed the worlds across the heavens: the Human Sovereign's Heaven, King Wen's Heaven, the Dead Spirit Heaven, and even the Heaven of Common Mortals... In terms of the number of worlds observed, I doubt anyone present can rival me. Perhaps I could discuss the Dao with everyone!"
"..."
The two bantered back and forth in perfect harmony, leaving King Wu completely unable to get a word in.
As for the Lord of Dead Spirits, he had originally intended to interject, but as soon as they brought up opening worlds, he fell silent.
When Su Yu mentioned observing the heavens, his eyes flickered, and he looked intently at Su Yu. "Did Xingyu truly open a world?"
Su Yu smiled and nodded. "Naturally!"
"And what is this Heaven of Common Mortals?"
"Another world opener!" Su Yu smiled. "If Senior is interested, we can discuss it in greater detail shortly!"
The Lord of Dead Spirits' expression shifted continuously.
Opening a world was exceedingly rare!
Today, three world openers were gathered here, and Su Yu claimed he had even seen the worlds of several others. The path of world opening was truly as difficult as ascending to heaven!
For a moment, his interest was piqued.
Just because he had opened his world early and possessed immense strength did not mean he understood everything or had seen it all.
Every world opener possessed their own unique expertise!
At that moment, Su Yu and King Wen exchanged a glance, a mutual look in their eyes that said, *He's hooked.*
The Lord of Dead Spirits lacked for nothing, but since they were all world openers, there was an opportunity to discuss the Dao. Once they began that discussion and talked at length, certain insights could naturally be gleaned.
King Wen looked at Su Yu with a faint smile, his eyes showing clear approval of their seamless teamwork.
*This Su Yu... not bad!*
*He coordinates exceptionally well!*
Su Yu smiled back. King Wen was indeed on the same wavelength; his only fear had been failing to connect.
Sure enough, there was still someone who wasn't on the same wavelength at all. King Wu looked at King Wen, then at Su Yu, and then back at King Wen...
He glanced back and forth for several moments, his expression turning odd, until he couldn't hold back any longer. "Nephew, you and Second Brother Wen..."
*Are you two father and son?*
*They look so much alike!*
Leaving aside the resemblance in appearance, their demeanor, tone, even their attire...
Truly, the more he looked, the more he felt he might have hit the nail on the head!
Su Yu smiled faintly, not showing his teeth, his expression gentle and benign.
King Wu, however, gave a start, shrinking his neck back as he blurted out, "Don't look at me like that! Whenever Second Brother Wen looks at me that way, it usually means he's planning to beat me up. Never mind how gentle your smile looks—are you getting ready to scheme against me?"
Su Yu was taken aback. *My gentle smile doesn't work on him?*
King Wu was feeling quite gloomy himself!
*Damn it!*
*Even that devious, scheming smile looks identical to Second Brother Wen's! Luckily I have experience, otherwise, on a first meeting, I'd definitely have been bamboozled by this kid!*
To the side, King Wen was rendered speechless.
He shot a glare at King Wu. *If you don't know how to speak, keep your mouth shut.*
*Careful, or someone really will trick you!*
With his clowning around, the atmosphere eased slightly. In the distance, the Lord of Dead Spirits looked at them and spoke coolly, "You cannot linger here for long, especially you!"
He pointed a finger at King Wu and said coldly, "Hoping to break through on my territory, draw the attention of all factions, and divert trouble toward me... That is out of the question!"
"However, as for discussing the Dao... we may exchange a few thoughts!"
He did harbor some genuine interest in discussing the Dao with fellow world openers.
Everyone's methods, techniques, and realizations regarding world opening were likely different.
Su Yu and King Wen exchanged a look and understood.
The Lord of Dead Spirits was reluctant to let the opportunity slip by, yet refused to pay any price. He was like a scoundrel who only wanted to reap benefits without offering anything in return!
Su Yu smiled. "Only discussing the Dao!"
King Wen also gave a slight nod. "The Great Dao is a long and arduous journey; one must search high and low. If one hears the Dao in the morning, one may die content by evening!"
At this moment, the Lord of Dead Spirits felt a surge of resonance, and he suddenly stated, "If we discuss the Dao, we stick strictly to that. You two... speak of nothing else!"
*I will only discuss the Dao!*
In essence, he wanted to swallow the sugarcoating while spitting out the cannonball.
Both Su Yu and King Wen beamed brilliantly, nodding in unison. "Very well!"
The Lord of Dead Spirits suddenly found himself conflicted!
As an overlord—a supreme hegemon—he shouldn't have displayed an expression of indecision.
Yet right now, he truly was conflicted.
He knew very well that the two before him were not good people. Hopefully... nothing untoward would happen!
With a wave of his hand, boundless death qi surged around them, sealing off the four directions.
King Wen chuckled and waved his sleeve. Clouds drifted into view, forming a cloud platform beneath each person's feet.
Seeing this, Su Yu broke into a bright smile as a blazing sun manifested in midair.
While King Wu looked on in bewilderment, the three of them sat cross-legged.
Su Yu spoke with a smile, "As the youngest and the latest to open a world, allow me to make a fool of myself first. Having cultivated the Dao for only four or five years, I shall briefly explain the foundation of my Grand Dao..."
"..."
All three turned to look at Su Yu.
This time, the Lord of Dead Spirits couldn't hold back and asked, "How old are you?"
"Just over twenty!" Su Yu sighed with a smile. "Time ages a person so quickly. In the blink of an eye, I'm already pushing thirty!"
"..."
Silence fell.
At this moment, the Lord of Dead Spirits and King Wen reached a rare tacit understanding: they ignored him completely, treating his words like thin air.
King Wen smiled. "Su Yu, begin!"
"Very well!"
Su Yu felt a trace of regret. What a pity—if they were shocked, why pretend to be calm and collected? Look at King Wu, whose jaw was practically unhinged enough to swallow an egg. Now that was normal!
Soon, however, Su Yu turned solemn.
"I have opened two worlds: the All-Dao Heaven and the Flesh Heaven!"
The moment those words were spoken, the others cast all extraneous thoughts aside and turned their full attention to Su Yu.
"The All-Dao Heaven, the Heaven of All Laws, benefited from Time Master Wen Yu's Time Record. I suppose I can be considered half a successor to Wen Yu..."
Su Yu beckoned with his hand, and a tome manifested: the civilization chronicle.
Of course, it was not the actual civilization chronicle at this moment.
"All laws unified into one, all Daos merged into one, the Grand Daos woven together—that is the core of this world!"
The power of the Grand Dao manifested in Su Yu's hands. One Dao after another appeared, swiftly intertwining and beginning to fuse.
King Wen and the Lord of Dead Spirits leaned forward, watching without blinking.
Both observed the unfolding phenomena before Su Yu: the nascent birth of a world, surrounded by myriad Daos, interlacing into a unified whole...
Although it was merely a demonstration, it accurately depicted the scene when Su Yu had first opened his world.
The Lord of Dead Spirits watched with rapt fascination. This was the first time he had ever witnessed another person's process of opening a world.
Myriad Daos interwoven!
This was entirely different from how he had opened his own world!
Just as he was thoroughly captivated, his expression suddenly shifted. He glared fiercely at Su Yu, his eyes sharp and his teeth clenched!
*I want to see the Life-Death Heaven!*
*This bastard Su Yu!*
*Furious beyond belief!*
Indeed, when Su Yu reached the Dao of Life and Death, he merely brushed past it without demonstrating anything. The Lord of Dead Spirits nearly exploded with rage. That was precisely what he longed to see the most, yet this scoundrel had shrouded it in haze, virtually blurring it out!
Su Yu paid him no mind. What a joke—in a discussion of the Dao, how could he reveal everything right from the start? If he laid it all out at once and the other party refused to discuss further, wouldn't he be the one losing out?
As the world unfolded, an incomplete realm manifested before Su Yu, trembling violently!
King Wen took a look and nodded slightly. "Using myriad Daos as the foundation—then what serves as your source? When opening an All-Dao Heaven, stabilizing the source is a daunting challenge!"
Su Yu nodded. "I knew establishing the foundation of myriad Daos would be difficult, so I gathered the destiny of all four quarters, the faith of Emperor Yu Manor, the loyalty of my subordinates, the affection of my friends, and the contributions of my fellow Daoists... to forge the Emperor Yu Seal! I used faith, conviction, trust, and destiny as my bedrock!"
King Wen furrowed his brows slightly. "This method is ill-advised... Not entirely unviable, but your world becomes bound to others. Everything linked to the seal represents your responsibility. This is similar to my elder brother's world—it is not ideal!"
Su Yu said calmly, "There is nothing unideal about it. Living a lifetime in this world, one cannot act entirely as one pleases without any rules or constraints. To exist without rules or constraints is only possible if one has no family, no friends, no Dao, and no emotions... The seven emotions and six desires constitute the human Dao, the way of being human. My teachers taught me that the reason a human is human is because we possess sentiment!"
The Lord of Dead Spirits sneered, "Nonsense!"
Su Yu looked at him. This was the essence of discussing the Dao: others might not agree with your Dao, so you had to persuade them to acknowledge it. Even if they didn't cultivate it, you had to prove to them that your Dao was sound!
Su Yu said placidly, "Senior's statement is the true nonsense. Senior, do you have kin or friends?"
"No!"
"Do you possess sentiment?"
"No!"
"Then Senior is full of hot air..."
"Insolent!"
Su Yu smiled. "Senior feels anger. Anger is an emotion. If you have anger, how can you claim to have no sentiment? The Great Dao is emotionless; supreme detachment lacks all feeling. If you were truly emotionless, why would you get angry? Thus, I say that humans are humans precisely because of sentiment. Does Senior agree?"
The Lord of Dead Spirits raised a brow, remaining silent for a long moment before grunting, "Barely passable!"
Sentiment?
Perhaps he did have it!
Capable of wrath meant he had not achieved supreme detachment.
Even so, the Lord of Dead Spirits remarked indifferently, "Forging a foundation from sentiment, destiny, and trust imposes immense limitations on your world. You may have established three thousand Grand Daos, yet you are constrained by others. If those people perish, your world will inevitably collapse!"
Su Yu smiled. "If they are all dead, what point is there anyway? Of course, here I opened the Flesh Heaven, taking the physical body as the foundation. It is devoid of sentiment and obligation—powerful, yes, but cold. Personally, I find the world of the myriad realms far preferable!"
He demonstrated once more!
Opening the Flesh Heaven!
Seven hundred and twenty acupoints, with Grand Daos spreading outward, interweaving to form a world.
The Lord of Dead Spirits and King Wen watched in entranced fascination. Gradually, the expressions in their eyes shifted. While Su Yu was still weaving his world together, their faces tightened.
After a long while, a gateway manifested.
Their expressions changed completely!
"A gate!"
The Lord of Dead Spirits' demeanor altered as he stared at Su Yu, his voice turning deep and solemn. "It's a gate?"
King Wen sighed softly. "The world tremors from earlier—was that you opening a world?"
Su Yu nodded.
The Lord of Dead Spirits' expression fluctuated. "Does this mean the origin of the Three Gates might be identical to yours? That they were opened as worlds of the physical body or the spirit?"
Su Yu pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "I cannot say for certain. Perhaps!"
Their expressions were complex, and none spoke for a time.
Beside King Wen, King Wu paid no heed to any of this. At this moment, he was like an inquisitive child, watching with undivided attention. Though martial artists might seem crude, their focus was pure!
He did not understand the path of world opening, yet all Daos lead to the same destination!
Though their directions differed, their ultimate goals were one and the same.
He absorbed everything he could, contemplating it all. The interweaving and merging of those Grand Daos, in particular, made him scratch his ears and cheeks in excitement; he desperately wanted to examine it in detail, even experience it for himself.
Meanwhile, Su Yu and the other two had fallen silent because of the gate.
After a long pause, the Lord of Dead Spirits spoke up: "A gate is nothing extraordinary. With sufficient strength, it can naturally be shattered!"
He ceased dwelling on the matter!
Never mind Su Yu's potential gate; even if a true gate descended, he would feel no fear.
Seeing that Su Yu had concluded his demonstration, the Lord of Dead Spirits smiled faintly, having gained some insights himself. With a wave of his hand, a world manifested before them.
"Life and death... Death is the terminus of life!"
"What lies beyond death?"
"Mortals fear death, yet all inevitably march toward it... Great devastation, great annihilation, great terror... Death is the true destination!"
At this moment, the Lord of Dead Spirits expounded his path of world opening to them.
Why he had opened a world, how he had done so, and what death truly entailed.
...
Meanwhile, Su Yu used these words to reflect upon his own insights.
His insights into life and death!
The Lord of Dead Spirits asserted that death was both an end and a beginning. Su Yu agreed in part, but disagreed in part.
Once the Lord had spoken at length, Su Yu said softly, "The dead spirits of the dead spirit realm are merely origins Senior guided from the River of Time. Those origins originally belonged to them, which means their imprints were never truly extinguished!"
Su Yu said in a solemn voice, "If an imprint is thoroughly obliterated, how could someone be revived? How could they become a dead spirit? Therefore, what Senior calls death is not true death; they still retain a remnant within the myriad realms!"
The Lord of Dead Spirits fell silent.
Su Yu continued, "True death is annihilation—complete and utter extinction. Does Senior know what an annihilated world looks like?"
The Lord of Dead Spirits sank into contemplation. After a long while, he shook his head. "I have never died. What is great annihilation like... an eternal slumber?"
He did not know.
Su Yu smiled. "How can someone who contemplates death without ever having died truly comprehend the Grand Dao of Death?"
The Lord of Dead Spirits frowned. "You are mistaken. Death is an instinct, a fundamental nature. One cannot truly die just to gain enlightenment! If that happened, one would enter the state of annihilation you speak of. Once completely extinguished, how could one revive?"
The Lord of Dead Spirits added, "Mine is indeed a pseudo-death. But if a true Grand Dao of Death exists in this world, it is absolute annihilation!"
He pointed toward the void. "Just like this void—so thoroughly dead that it will never revive! The true realm of death may be right beside us, yet it remains completely extinct!"
"My Dao of Dead Spirits exists somewhere in between!"
In true death, everything had already perished; where would revival come from? There would only be silent oblivion, and that was true death.
Su Yu nodded.
Over on the side, King Wen spoke up: "Thus, the Lord's Dao of Death, at its core, ought to be a Dao of attack and search."
Attack was something everyone understood.
Search, however... King Wu was utterly bewildered, staring blankly at King Wen. *What is Second Brother babbling about?*
King Wen paid him no mind and continued, "The Lord's Dao and the Lord's world both possess the effect of gathering worldly origin! In the myriad realms, you can gather origins, assemble them, and bring beings back to life! Yet here, you cannot accomplish that..."
King Wen looked at him, and the Lord of Dead Spirits nodded. "There are no scattered origins within the gates."
He paused for a moment before saying, "Those within the gates have no past, no present, and no future... They are merely non-existent beings who stole the heavens and switched the sun, hiding within the gate. Their past is gone! Their origins cannot be collected! Hence, if they wish to become true living beings... they must reach the myriad realms!"
King Wen nodded, thought for a moment, and asked, "What is Senior's ultimate pursuit?"
The Lord of Dead Spirits answered, "The Grand Dao! The wheel of life and death, mastering destiny, taking control of my own fate rather than leaving it to the heavens! If I die while my origin remains, I shall be immortal and undying! My ultimate goal is to manufacture origins... to create life!"
He calmly stated his final aspiration: "I want to be the Creator! What is the essence of living beings? How does one bestow wisdom, bestow a soul, bestow an origin upon them? If I can unravel all of this... only then will I have truly reached the pinnacle!"
Life and death were merely the exterior; at his core, he pursued the creation of a world!
At this moment, Su Yu's eyes gleamed with revelation. *Creation!*
Only now did he grasp the true essence of the Lord of Dead Spirits' Grand Dao. It was not merely death; his ultimate ambition was to create worlds, mold beings, fabricate life... This touched upon the fundamental origin of life itself!
Where did the earliest life originate?
Both King Wen and Su Yu furrowed their brows. If that were the case, the Lord of Dead Spirits' world was far more profound than it appeared; the core nature of his Grand Dao ran immensely deep, completely distinct from the death perceived by ordinary eyes.
Yet the difficulty of such a path was something even the Lord of Dead Spirits likely lacked the confidence or ability to achieve.
Creating a world was manageable, but how could one manufacture living beings?
Seeing their silence, the Lord of Dead Spirits felt a twinge of disappointment and sighed softly. "What truly is the origin of life? From where does it arise?"
Su Yu pondered briefly before saying, "That path is too profound; I have yet to touch upon it..."
King Wen also shook his head. "We still pursue the Dao, whereas what the Lord pursues has already surpassed the scope of the Dao!"
The Lord of Dead Spirits chuckled. "No matter. That is my ultimate goal. For now, what interests me most is still the transformation of life and death!"
He looked toward Su Yu.
Su Yu, however, ignored him, quietly waiting for the others to proceed.
...
Following the Lord of Dead Spirits came King Wen.
Su Yu had already seen King Wen's world before.
Now, King Wen manifested his world and spoke: "The essence of the Grand Dao lies in the pursuit of knowledge. The thirst for knowledge is a desire, and also an instinct. If a living being lacks even the desire to learn, then their existence... holds no meaning at all!"
As he manifested his world, Su Yu's eyes flickered continuously.
He couldn't help but stare intently at King Wen!
When King Wen opened his world, thousands of Grand Daos appeared. Su Yu had assumed he had mastered countless distinct Daos, but... that was not the case!
Only now did he catch a glimpse of the truth.
Even the Lord of Dead Spirits couldn't help but laugh. "Fascinating! How thoroughly intriguing!"
Indeed, King Wen's world opening resembled an inquisitive child. His Dao of Knowledge and Dao of Inquiry acted like a tiny avatar posing question after question.
"What is fire?"
Thus, a Dao of Fire was born within King Wen's world, brought into existence by curiosity!
Curiosity spurred exploration.
Even King Wu was seeing this for the first time, looking utterly dumbfounded. "So you're saying your Daos were all just made up out of thin air?"
The Daos of King Wen's world had all branched out from a single Dao!
This was entirely beyond expectation!
King Wen maintained an impassive expression, ignoring King Wu's words, and said calmly, "What is the Dao of Fire? If you perceive it as fire, then it is fire... It is a matter of cognition. In reality, my world reverses yin and yang, confounding the five elements... If I claim fire is water, who is to dictate that fire must be fire? Those definitions were merely established by predecessors. For my part, I focus on exploring unknown Daos..."
Su Yu didn't dwell on that. Instead, his thoughts drifted toward another implication, and he murmured, "So a Grand Dao can be conceived purely through thought? You don't necessarily have to comprehend it in person?"
"Not so!"
King Wen shook his head. "It is not conjured out of nothing, but crafted through my understanding!"
"I determine what this Dao ought to be, what properties it should possess, and why it should possess them... In the grand scheme of things, there is a coherent logic to it!"
At this moment, the Lord of Dead Spirits muttered, "In that case, if I believe my world ought to contain a Dao of Life, and I integrate my definition of life into my world, will a Dao of Life be born?"
...
King Wu felt completely lost once more.
He could understand every word these people said.
Yet understanding was useless; he couldn't replicate it.
*Sigh... I really don't fit in with these fellows!*
King Wu wore a helpless expression. *I command thirty-one Daos, for heaven's sake! I'm almost at thirty-two!*
Fortunately, he had still gained some insights.
He watched the three as they continued their discussion, even beginning to experiment with one another's Daos. At this moment, Su Yu was attempting something: synthesizing King Wen's and the Lord of Dead Spirits' concepts, he was trying to transmute a Dao of Fire into a Dao of Water!
Both King Wen and the Lord of Dead Spirits watched closely.
As Su Yu experimented, he remarked, "If this succeeds, it will be terrifying! Grand Dao power could be interchanged... water becoming fire, fire becoming water... This is truly revolutionary!"
King Wen countered, "It is not entirely revolutionary. Everything possesses a foundation. It simply depends on whether it is worth the effort! You must continually dismantle and deconstruct it, expending enormous energy just to turn fire into water... That might not be worthwhile!"
"When you deconstruct down to the absolute fundamental level, a simple example is turning stone into gold! Transmuting earth element into metal element! Not an illusion, but a genuine dismantling and reversal of its underlying nature... Once you can turn stone into gold, it means you have mastered the path of transmuting attributes!"
The Lord of Dead Spirits inhaled sharply. "According to your logic, once I master this Dao, life and death will be entirely under my control?"
King Wen chuckled. "The Grand Dao is already in one's own hands. Life and death are merely concepts of your own making!"
Su Yu ignored King Wen's lofty philosophical musings. He only knew that King Wen's Dao of Inquiry possessed an extraordinarily powerful deconstructive capability—continually breaking down and reassembling Grand Daos, altering their fundamental components to invert their attributes, thereby giving birth to other Daos.
As for the rest, Su Yu treated it as hot air.
Discussing the Dao worked precisely like this: extract the useful information and discard whatever wasn't needed.
At this moment, Su Yu's eyes shone brightly, and he declared, "This might be my greatest gain today! If I can deconstruct to the utmost extreme and reverse attributes at their core, my Grand Daos will achieve balance!"
He looked toward the Lord of Dead Spirits. "Senior, have you ever experienced a world falling out of balance?"
The Lord of Dead Spirits hesitated slightly before nodding.
Su Yu smiled. "If you can deconstruct to the extreme, why should Senior even care about the transformation of life and death?"
"It is not the same!"
The Lord of Dead Spirits shook his head. "I understand King Wen's Dao, but his Dao lacks comprehension—it is purely the power of rules! His world's Grand Daos are still imbued with his own comprehension... What you are attempting is merely a simple transmutation of power, which is fundamentally different from Dao comprehension!"
Su Yu was only attempting to transmute power, not Dao comprehension.
The Lord of Dead Spirits added, "Consider a Grand Dao with the power of thirty Daos; the substance of that power is already present! When we master it, because we possess sufficient comprehension, we can become thirty-Dao cultivators! But if you hand it to an ordinary Dao Integration expert... leaving aside the question of whether the backlash would kill him, how much power do you think he could wield? One Dao's worth?"
He looked at Su Yu. "Do not be duped by this fellow. His inquiry and search for knowledge are merely surface level!"
Su Yu understood and nodded. "Right, I see! I can balance the disparate power and rules within my world, but I cannot ensure that simply piling on power to reach thirty Daos allows a cultivator of that Dao to wield thirty-Dao strength... That wouldn't work, would it?"
The Lord of Dead Spirits nodded.
King Wen also smiled. "To put it simply: when comprehension falls short of power, that power cannot be controlled! Even if you succeed, you can only achieve a balance of Daos, not a balance of strength among the experts within your world!"
Su Yu nodded in comprehension. "It really is no different from normal cultivation. Take the human race's flesh Dao, for instance: the strength of the flesh Dao exists, yet practitioners vary in strength depending on how much they can master..."
Su Yu smiled. "I understand the principle. However, if I can successfully deconstruct and transmute, it means one thing: I can prevent power from falling out of balance! As for comprehension... that does not depend on me, but on the Dao masters who wield them!"
For that alone, his harvest today was immense!
He continued experimenting!
As long as he succeeded, Su Yu could bolster his weaker Grand Daos—at least bringing their power levels up so that the world wouldn't suffer severe imbalances.
Once the cultivators' comprehension caught up, all the Daos would soon achieve true balance!
This solved one of Su Yu's biggest headaches: severe imbalance among his Daos!
Seeing him experiment tirelessly without a hint of fatigue, the Lord of Dead Spirits looked at King Wen, and King Wen looked back at the Lord of Dead Spirits. Both nodded slightly, sighing inwardly. Su Yu possessed an intense thirst for knowledge and exploration, but even stronger was his perseverance and resilience.
No matter how many failures he encountered, he seemed capable of enduring them all, even finding joy in the process!
Once he grasped a single thread, he would relentlessly assault it until he broke through!
His success was entirely well-earned.
He possessed determination, talent, and intellect... everything one could possibly ask for. How could such a person fail to succeed?
*Little sister... this half-successor of yours exceeds my wildest imagination!*
Watching Su Yu, King Wen fell into deep thought.
And at the third point of the triangle, the Lord of Dead Spirits also watched Su Yu's persistent attempts in silence, lost in thought.
...
After an unknown amount of time, a spark of delight flashed in Su Yu's eyes. The flame before him suddenly shuddered and transformed into a pillar of water!
Su Yu was overjoyed!
King Wen beamed as well. "Well done. You have already grasped a measure of transmutation ability. What remains is continual practice to quicken the speed of conversion. In this manner, you can transmute power levels... but transmuting comprehension levels is something even I haven't figured out!"
"Many thanks!"
Su Yu cupped his hands, a brilliant smile on his face!
King Wen chuckled. "No need. It was merely a mutual exchange. Your method of weaving Grand Daos was also a novel insight for me. The Daos of my world were not truly woven; they all rested upon the Dao of Inquiry... Weaving... perhaps that too is a path toward advancement!"
Nearby, the Lord of Dead Spirits looked at Su Yu once more. "Show me your demonstration of life and death..."
*Damn it, show me the crucial part!*
*I'm dying of impatience here!*
They had discussed the Dao for so long, and while he had gained some insights, he hadn't seen the key element at all!
Su Yu smiled brilliantly. "Senior wishes to see it?"
"Of course!"
"Then let us cooperate!"
"..."
The Lord of Dead Spirits' face darkened. "Only discussing the Dao!"
Su Yu said regretfully, "Then forget it. I watched Senior demonstrate his world, and there was nothing that interested me. Unfortunately, I feel there is no need for further discussion!"
Discussing the Dao was essentially showing each other a table of contents of their Grand Daos.
They would see if there were topics of mutual interest, and only then delve deeper.
Su Yu had displayed his table of contents, and the Lord of Dead Spirits was keenly interested in the transformation of life and death. Alas... in the table of contents the Lord offered, Su Yu seemed to find nothing he wanted. That was truly a headache!
The Lord of Dead Spirits gnashed his teeth in frustration!
He snapped with annoyance, "Opening my world was no simple feat! You should know that the most crucial core lies in collecting origins. Do you know how to do that?"
Su Yu shook his head.
*I don't!*
Admittedly, that technique was exceptionally useful. Collecting origins was actually a specialized application of the three-body art, yet the Lord of Dead Spirits' method seemed to carry no side effects!
In truth, Su Yu was extremely interested. Unfortunately... *I won't trade!*
The Lord of Dead Spirits snorted coldly. "If you master it, you can attempt to gather all your origins scattered across the myriad realms, thereby severing all ties and forming an independent world! Otherwise, whether it's you or King Wen, both of you have origins scattered between heaven and earth! This is also an excellent method to boost your strength..."
Su Yu shrugged. "That will be a matter for when I return to the myriad realms!"
The Lord of Dead Spirits ground his teeth. "This is my greatest signature technique! If you learn it, you can resurrect anyone you please! As long as their origin exists, you can revive whoever you wish! No one else possesses such a method; otherwise, I wouldn't be the only one capable of opening the dead spirit realm..."
*I am offering my absolute signature ability!*
*And you won't even trade your life-death transformation for it?*
The Lord of Dead Spirits was fuming!
Compared to his own technique, he felt Su Yu's life-death transformation was practically worthless... Unfortunately, because he hadn't mastered it himself, it became priceless right when he needed it most!
Yet to Su Yu, the method of gathering origins was merely an optional luxury!
At this moment, the Lord of Dead Spirits felt utterly depressed!
*I don't want to cooperate!*
Seeing his reaction, Su Yu broke into a laugh and said, "How about this, then..."
After a moment's consideration, Su Yu proposed, "The four Great Emperors shall merge into my world! In addition, Senior will help me capture ten experts commanding twenty-five Daos or more! In exchange, I will teach Senior... As for Senior's origin-gathering method, it is far too precious; I won't take it!"
"You!"
The Lord of Dead Spirits was nearly choked with rage.
Su Yu said calmly, "Or does Senior believe your origin-gathering method is inferior to fourteen experts of twenty-five Daos and above?"
"Nonsense! Of course my origin-gathering method is far more precious—how could they possibly compare?"
The Lord of Dead Spirits snapped angrily, "You simply want this seat to serve as your hired thug! Fourteen experts... leaving aside the four here, the remaining ten are all upper echelons of forbidden lands! Beat the small ones and the old ones come running. You say twenty-five Daos now... but once we actually do it, we'll be facing thirty-two-Dao powerhouses!"
*Do you think I don't know your game?*
*Insolent brat!*
Su Yu said placidly, "Only through sacrifice can one reap rewards. At our level, in the pursuit of the Dao, how could anyone expect something for nothing? Senior, if you cannot even see past this... your standing in my heart will diminish!"
*Who cares about having standing in your heart?!*
The Lord of Dead Spirits was thoroughly exasperated!
Su Yu, however, sighed softly. "In my heart, across countless ages, the Lord of Time ranks first, and the Lord of Dead Spirits ranks second. Both are engraved into the fabric of heaven and earth—names that only peerless monsters are qualified to know and comprehend! In my journey of opening a world, Senior served as one of my guiding lights... Senior, these are by no means empty words!"
The Lord of Dead Spirits was struck speechless!
He glanced at Su Yu, unable to say a word for a long time.
Su Yu might truly be speaking the truth.
When this kid opened his world, he had likely drawn some inspiration from him. Still, just because you're digging a pit for me, does that mean I have to jump in?
Nearby, King Wen wore a radiant smile.
*When someone desires something, into the pit they inevitably go!*
Chapter 905