Soul Falling Valley

The two of them gossiped pleasantly, enjoying each other's company. As the chat wound down, silence fell once again. King Wu let the power of the Great Dao emanate from him, his face stern and cold as he stared at the sky, his thoughts unknowable. Su Yu looked at him, his own thoughts unreadable. When King Wu didn't speak, he actually appeared quite domineering. He looked remarkably imposing. Seeing his continued silence, Su Yu spoke up: "Do you mind telling me about your early days?" "What about them?" "The days before you rose to prominence." "Back then..." King Wu drifted into his memories, a smile spreading across his face. "It was so many years ago... The memories have almost faded!" "The Chaotic Era..." Su Yu nodded. The Chaotic Era he spoke of should correspond to the end of the Primordial Era. "Back then, the world was in turmoil, and chaos gripped all the heavens!" King Wu smiled. "In those days, the human race didn't have an easy time of it. Life was bitter! People like Martial Emperor were the human hegemons of that era. In the myriad realms, they did reasonably well for themselves, campaigning across the four quarters and slaughtering the myriad races... Yet the common humans suffered terribly. Those leaders lacked any ambition to advance the race, constantly infighting, plagued by inner and outer turmoil, warring against one another until the people could barely survive!" "I was born into a martial family. My father and my great-grandfather were generals of that age. They levied exorbitant taxes, extorted the weak, slaughtered the innocent, and drove people to exchange their children for food... The world was in utter chaos!" When King Wu mentioned his father and grandfather, his expression was completely detached. "When I was sixteen, I had a falling out with them. Alone with a single blade and a bundle on my back, I ran away from home... and journeyed far into unfamiliar lands!" "Only after walking out of the general's manor did I realize just how chaotic the world truly was!" "I played the vigilante, slaying bandits and rogues... only to provoke the powerful overlords and brigands who ruled entire territories!" King Wu laughed as he recounted, "That was also when I met Eldest Brother and the others! Eldest Brother came from a prestigious clan and knew nothing of the common people's hardships. When he traveled abroad to study and saw their utter misery, he came to loathe it to his bones. Second Brother came from the Tianji Academy of that era... one of the few academies back then that still taught and preached the Dao in those turbulent times... In the midst of that chaos, we crossed paths!" "When they first saw me, they noticed my strength wasn't bad, that I could fight and brawl, and that I was rash and hotheaded. So they tricked me into joining their crew to forge an earthly paradise..." King Wu chuckled heartily, lost in reminiscence. "You have no idea how green they were back then. Just to trick me into joining their ranks, they grabbed me and dropped to their knees to swear brotherhood, terrified I'd run off. They drank blood to seal our covenant, burned incense, and bowed..." Su Yu smiled. A vivid scene formed in his mind: several youths, ecstatic upon finding that King Wu was a brawler, lunging forward to grab him, not even waiting for him to object before dragging him into kowtowing to swear brotherhood. Once the sworn oaths were made, they were brothers! And a good brother would naturally take blades in the ribs for his brothers! Just like that, King Wu boarded the pirate ship and couldn't get off. King Wu continued, "Back then, it was chaos! Utter chaos! The Human Realm was crawling with bandits and brigands everywhere—murder, robbery, rape, corpses littering the wild, the common folk displaced and homeless..." He sneered. "People like Martial Emperor—did they deserve to rule the world? Martial Emperor was arrogant and extravagant. Strong as he was, he couldn't care less about any of it. Of course, that fool was merely a figurehead propped up by others! Apart from brawling, that idiot was utterly useless! And the other powerhouses at the time were largely the same. Their attitude was: *What do the common folk have to do with me? So long as I am strong, nothing else matters!*" "Later on, we fought countless battles across the lands. At the beginning, all we wanted was to build a pure land of our own... We never planned on doing something so huge. Wen the Second was our armchair tactician back then, great at nothing but shouting slogans..." King Wu chuckled happily. "I remember it clearly. The slogan back then was deafening: 'Pacify the Mortal Realm, Eradicate the Myriad Races, Settle the Myriad Worlds'... When that slogan was coined, we hadn't even conquered the territory of a single city... Heheh, people mocked us so hard we couldn't raise our heads... But Wen the Second took the stage and preached it to the skies... With his silver tongue, he tricked plenty of people into joining back then!" "Eldest Brother was steady, while Second Brother was audacious... I remember once we were ambushed and surrounded by a group of human experts... What their cultivation was, I can't recall now; looking back, they were probably just minor figures..." "Second Brother went alone that day straight into the enemy's main camp to negotiate with their leader. Relying purely on his silver tongue, he actually talked the guy into abandoning the attack and withdrawing his troops. Not only that, we even borrowed a great deal of that fellow's momentum after that! Later on, when the guy saw how well we were developing, he tried to seize power from us—only for Second Brother to turn around and wipe him out..." In King Wu's narration, those ancient days were full of wit and wonder, fraught with danger, brimming with joy, deep camaraderie, and the bittersweet partings of life. King Ming was mentioned several times, but King Yu was rarely brought up. Su Yu was surprised. After King Wu had spoken for a good while, Su Yu asked curiously, "What about King Yu?" "King Yu..." King Wu fell silent for a moment. "It was you who stripped her royal title last time, right? Second Brother told me she betrayed us. Is that true?" Su Yu nodded. King Wu was quiet for a while before saying, "Xing was Eldest Brother, Wen was Second Brother, Yu was Third, I was Fourth, and Ming was Fifth... Strictly speaking, I even called her Third Sister." Su Yu froze. "Third Sister?" "She ranked third. What's wrong with 'Third Sister'?" King Wu glared at him. *What? Is something wrong with that? I called her that for countless years, why wouldn't I?* Su Yu shook his head in bewilderment. "Wait... no... King Yu... was a woman?" "Yeah!" King Wu wore a speechless look, as if saying: *Are you an idiot? You didn't even know that?* Su Yu was completely baffled. *Was I supposed to know?* *Fine, whatever! Man or woman, what does it matter!* "My Third Sister..." King Wu went quiet for a moment and sighed. "Even in her youth, she was cold and merciless. She was in charge of penal law and executions! I oversaw military affairs, Second Brother managed civil affairs, and Fifth Brother was in charge of logistics... Betrayal, desertion, corruption—any matter large or small fell under her jurisdiction. She was a merciless inquisitor; we all knew it. She slaughtered countless people. Forget outsiders—who among our own people didn't tremble at the mention of her name?" "Later, we won the war of the myriad heavens and unified the world. The grand words of our youth became reality! We were all thrilled, but Third Sister alone felt it wasn't enough. In fact, she was the first to propose attacking the Three Gates..." King Wu sighed. "However, a rift opened in our ideals! Third Sister believed the myriad races would never truly align with us, and that unifying them was too troublesome... Better to open the Three Gates first and let the experts within pour out for a chaotic free-for-all! Bathe the heavens in terror, leave corpses strewn everywhere... By then, the myriad races would either be wiped out or brought to heel!" "Eldest Brother and Second Brother wanted to wait. Subdue the myriad races if possible, and even if not, recuperate and build up our strength first... But Third Sister said that after years of rest, our fighting spirit would wither... She had always been accustomed to doing whatever she pleased. When Second Brother and the others refused, she went to find Martial Emperor behind their backs..." "Remember what I told you earlier? Martial Emperor suddenly opening the Heavenly Gate... was actually her doing!" Su Yu frowned. "Wasn't that a very long time ago? So after the heavens were unified, King Yu already wanted to strike the Three Gates?" "Yeah, very early on!" King Wu nodded. Su Yu frowned. "If you fought them back then, you couldn't have won, right?" "Of course not!" King Wu nodded and added, "Still, we were in a period of rapid growth back then, growing stronger the more we fought. Third Sister argued that only amidst total chaos would we rise even faster, and by slaughtering until the heavens were covered in corpses... we would naturally grow unstoppable!" "Yet back then, Eldest Brother and Second Brother wanted a peaceful, prosperous realm. If we had to fight, it was best to go inside the gates to do battle, not let them out to wreak havoc! We hadn't reached the point of desperation!" "The Three Gates wouldn't open so easily. Second Brother and the others wanted to scout ahead and fight within the gates. Third Sister's approach was... let them out to fight! Fight in chaos, primarily to drag all the myriad races down with us!" Su Yu furrowed his brow, remaining silent and continuing to listen. King Wu continued, "Later, she infuriated Second Brother once! Second Brother punished her by sending her to guard the Hell Gate..." Su Yu asked softly, "She angered King Wen? According to you, your bond was quite deep... And I heard from the Human Sovereign that King Wen even wanted to kill her back then, intentionally sending her to guard the Earth Gate so she would open it... Was that true?" King Wu fell silent for a while, then nodded. "Why?" Su Yu asked, perplexed. "If your relationship was truly that good, it was merely a difference in philosophy. Radical as she was, they were sworn siblings. For King Wen to want to kill her over that seems excessive, doesn't it?" "You don't understand..." King Wu sighed. "Second Brother sparing her life... was actually shielding her! Eldest Brother spent his entire life being a fair and just arbiter, but that time, he shielded Third Sister too. They simply covered it up and spoke of it to no one! That's why when you told me Third Sister betrayed us... I wasn't all that surprised!" Su Yu's brow furrowed. "What did she do?" What could she have done that made King Wu feel King Wen not killing her was shielding her? King Wu hesitated before saying, "She assassinated experts of the myriad races!" Su Yu was taken aback. "What of it?" Killing enemies was nothing! "No... she... she even assassinated allies!" King Wu said distressingly, "Do you know of the Iron Eater race?" Su Yu paused. "Er Yue?" "You know?" King Wu smiled bitterly. "She... what do you know? She even disguised herself as Wen Yu, going around slaughtering experts until Wen Yu was branded a monstrous arch-demon! Second Brother didn't even dare acknowledge that the Time Master was his own sister! She went everywhere killing powerhouses because Second Brother and Eldest Brother had said Wen Yu had walked her own path, merging myriad Daos to open a new heaven and earth... We didn't hide it from her back then, so she got ideas and went on a killing spree everywhere!" "If she only killed the hostile myriad races, nobody would have cared. But later, she grew blood-crazed and slaughtered allied races as well!" "Since you know about Er Yue, you probably don't know that she killed far more than Er Yue. Celestial race, Five Elements race..." "She killed the Five Elements Ancestor?" Su Yu was stunned! King Wu hesitated. "Not necessarily, but... neither Eldest Brother nor Second Brother investigated or pursued the matter. They even claimed Yan Huo might have done it. That was when I knew they actually knew it was Third Sister's doing..." "She had completely lost her mind to slaughter!" He sighed. "So when Second Brother punished her by making her guard the Earth Gate, it was because he couldn't bring himself to execute her. Eldest Brother couldn't either... Neither could bring themselves to be so ruthless, yet they couldn't let her keep killing! So Second Brother assigned her to guard the Earth Gate partly to suppress her, and partly to give himself an excuse... If she opened the Earth Gate, he would kill her!" "Third Sister was smart, though. She knew Second Brother and the others were at the end of their patience, so during that time, she stayed very quiet!" Hearing this, Su Yu was at a loss for words. After a long pause, he said, "What a pity. Killing the myriad races is one thing, but killing allies... she truly went mad." "Who would say otherwise!" King Wu said, distressed, "I never told anyone that once she even tried to kill my mount... I stopped her in secret and never mentioned it to Second Brother and the rest, or it would have caused even bigger trouble." Su Yu sighed. "So that's how it was. It seems the Human Sovereign and King Wen weren't saints either." "Who could be a saint?" King Wu sighed deeply. "We campaigned together for tens of thousands of years... You have to understand, we were tens of thousands of years old by then! We swore brotherhood in our teens and fought our way up together. We were closer than blood siblings! From that point on, though, Third Sister's bond with us completely cooled..." "So she wanted to take the Time Master's path to open a heaven?" "Yeah!" King Wu nodded. "Actually... Wen Yu's mishap might very well have involved her hand. Second Brother said nothing, and Eldest Brother stayed quiet, but that severed the very last shred of sentiment between them." Su Yu shook his head. "Then the Human Sovereign wasn't ruthless enough. In the end, he only banished her into the Earth Gate instead of killing her!" "She was our own sister. Do you think it's that easy to strike her dead?" King Wu looked at Su Yu and muttered, "To put it bluntly... the dead were outsiders after all. Eldest Brother was benevolent, but between outsiders and a sister sworn for tens of thousands of years, could he just kill her on the spot? If he really had... he wouldn't be Eldest Brother!" "If it were you, and your sister did such a thing... could you just kill her like that?" Su Yu remained silent for a moment before replying, "I don't have a sister." "Forget a sister, then—if your brother did this, could you kill him just like that?" Su Yu shot him a glance, pausing before saying, "Why do you keep dragging me into this?" King Wu snickered. That felt good! After chatting a while longer, King Wu finally said, "We've fought for countless years. The enemies only multiplied—enemies that can never be vanquished, foes that can never be wiped out. Yet our brothers and sisters only grew fewer and fewer! Now all this power of mine is just gone in an instant. I can't accept it..." Su Yu was speechless. "It's not all gone. Once you integrate, if I reach thirty-one Daos, you'll still have at least the power of twenty-five Daos!" "That's still a huge drop!" *Well, there's nothing I can do about that!* King Wu ground his teeth. "I want to beat Fa to death, but you insist on attacking Soul Falling Valley. No matter how I look at it, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Is there any way to let me vent?" Su Yu stroked his chin. Fa... Su Yu considered it and said, "If you don't expose yourself, I'll have a chance to let you vent at the Forbidden Land Conference. If you expose yourself, the chances are slim!" "Really?" "Of course!" King Wu suppressed his irritation. "Will I still have a chance to restore my full power?" Su Yu nodded. "Yes, once my heaven and earth is perfected, though I don't know how long that will take. Another way is finding an incomparably powerful martial cultivator inside the gate for you to merge with; that could work too!" "A powerful martial cultivator?" King Wu pondered and muttered, "Come to think of it, there actually is one! That old ghost of the Martial Domain is formidable!" Su Yu smiled. "Then there's hope of breaking your shackles. Otherwise, you'll just have to wait until my heaven is perfected!" *How long would that take?* King Wu harbored little hope! Never mind, he couldn't be bothered to complain anymore. As long as he got to vent sooner or later. King Wu said no more and swiftly began integrating into the Martial Dao within Su Yu's heaven. Su Yu's aura surged steadily. King Wu was immensely strong—a powerhouse truly bordering on supreme grade! At that moment, Su Yu's heaven and earth trembled faintly. His physical body grew increasingly potent! The power King Wu radiated wasn't wasted either; it was virtually all channeled into Su Yu. Meanwhile, King Wu's own aura continued to slide downward. Thirty Daos, twenty-nine Daos... Unlike others who lost all their strength upon severing their Dao and then slowly rebuilt it, King Wu's power merely plummeted as it was suppressed—suppressed again and again! Su Yu's aura, however, instantly crossed into thirty Daos. And it was still rising rapidly. ... At the exact moment Su Yu's strength was ascending, King Wen returned to the vicinity of Mount Eternal Life. He gazed silently into the distance. Taishan was probably unreconciled, but staying here benefited neither of them. Taishan's urge to break through was likely an attempt to storm Mount Eternal Life and fight Fa to the death. Because he understood Taishan. He also knew that once the forbidden lands converged, that opportunity would vanish. Thus, Taishan had been desperate to break through so he could charge in and rescue Wen Yu. Yet... after all these years, to save him, half of Taishan's dao companions had died, and his descendants had perished. Even now, was Taishan to be dragged down to his death? "This is for the best!" Going to Su Yu's side meant his cultivation dropped, but Su Yu was unburdened by attachments. Unlike himself, who was shackled because Wen Yu was trapped here, on Su Yu's side, if they couldn't win, they could always flee. As for himself, he could not leave. He had to constantly harass Mount Eternal Life to prevent Fa from having enough time. Otherwise, his sister would soon be refined! All these years, Fa had failed to kill Wen Yu precisely because of the constant pressure applied by King Wen and the others. *He wants to attack Soul Falling Valley...* Thoughts flickered through King Wen's mind. In that case, he couldn't wait to attack Mount Eternal Life only when Su Yu made his move—that would be too obvious! He had to attack unceasingly! Keep Fa bogged down! Even give everyone the impression that he was lashing out in desperation like a cornered dog, while never exerting enough force to cause Fa catastrophic harm. Plan after plan formed. King Wen's expression turned frostily resolute. *You have entangled me for far too long! Even if an incident occurs, anyone looking for a fight will come after me first.* In the next instant, he vanished. ... At the same time, within Mount Eternal Life. Fa's eyes snapped open! At that very instant, a colossal palm that seemed to prop up the heavens came crashing down! Fa sneered and struck out with a massive hand. *Here you come again. Unfortunately, you don't have many chances left.* Boom! Heaven and earth shook. Within Mount Eternal Life, everyone had grown used to it. Only Lord Fa could repel this man. Anyone else would only be slaughtered. However, such days would soon be over. "Fa, hand over Wen Yu!" Fa's icy voice resounded: "Kill this seat first, then talk!" "Obstinate fool!" King Wen snorted coldly. A pair of little white shoes instantly materialized before everyone's eyes. "Earth Shatter!" Bang! A thunderous blast echoed through the great mountain, causing all of Mount Eternal Life to tremble. Fa frowned slightly and took to the sky in a flash, lunging toward King Wen! King Wen, as usual, immediately fled, bellowing, "Taishan, strike!" Just as Fa took off, a figure appeared near Mount Eternal Life and threw a punch that set the mountain rocking. But Fa returned in an instant, and the figure retreated swiftly. Fa grunted softly and did not pursue. The same old trick! Over the years, they had played this diversionary tactic countless times; he couldn't even be bothered to care. ... King Wen, having fled into the distance, circled back once more. Silent, he watched quietly. *Go ahead and think that!* *From this day forth, I will strike every single day. Striking so frequently carries some risks, but it will best conceal Taishan's absence.* ... In the blink of an eye, only one month remained before the three-month conference. More and more rogue cultivators were flocking to Severance Gorge. Of course, they didn't all gather in the City of Light. Aside from the city, several outside major rogue factions had arrived in Severance Gorge, bringing their own treasures to establish void domains, attracting numerous rogue cultivators. The entire Severance Gorge became increasingly bustling. At that moment, in one of the major rogue territories, someone with sharp eyes caught sight of something and quickly sent a voice transmission: "Look over there—isn't that Envoy Asura from Soul Falling Valley?" "It is him!" "Who... who is that behind him?" "Wait..." Many revealed puzzled expressions. That formidable Envoy Asura was hovering in the void, seemingly heading back to Soul Falling Valley! Yet behind him, several people were being dragged along. Just then, a rogue cultivator flew over rapidly from outside, sending voice transmissions: "Big news! Black Tomb of Mount Liufang was audacious enough to publicly humiliate the Lord of Soul Falling Valley! That lunatic brought about his own destruction! Envoy Asura caught him red-handed, severely wounded him, and captured him on the spot..." "How could that be? Wasn't it said he had great ties to a forbidden land? Isn't he with Mount Tianqiong?" "Nonsense! He was merely a guest elder! This time, he humiliated a forbidden land lord—he was far too arrogant! Jian Kong of Mount Tianqiong tried to intercede several times, but you wouldn't believe Envoy Asura's reply: he asked if anyone could insult the Lord of Mount Tianqiong without consequence. If so, he'd insult him too. If Black Tomb wasn't punished, where would the dignity of a forbidden land lie?" The newcomer rogue cultivator laughed. "That single sentence left Jian Kong completely speechless! If you ask me, Envoy Asura was just using this as a pretext. But Black Tomb was too foolish, losing his temper and insulting a forbidden land lord. Now Envoy Asura has captured him and destroyed Mount Liufang. He's dead for sure!" "Undoubtedly!" Only then did the crowd learn the truth, every one of them sucking in a breath of cold air at such audacity. Of course, Envoy Asura was crafty enough to seize on this excuse to resolve the two-month stalemate between the factions. In the end, the two forbidden lands came out on top and brought down Mount Liufang! At this moment, in this gathering place, a first-rank powerhouse looked in that direction and sighed emotionally: "Formidable... A full six experts at or above sixteen Daos... Sigh, forbidden lands really can't be crossed!" Everyone felt a wave of sorrow. No matter how strong rogue cultivators were, so what? Look at Mount Liufang—powerful and backed by a forbidden land, yet still outschemed! Black Tomb wouldn't have insulted a forbidden land lord for no reason; he had probably been backed into a corner. Now it was all over—not even Mount Tianqiong could speak up for him, lest the dignity of forbidden lands be shredded to pieces! At that moment, Envoy Asura's chilling voice echoed across the four quarters: "Mount Liufang committed treason against superiors and showed contempt for their betters—an unpardonable sin! Let all rogue cultivators take this as a warning! Today, Soul Falling Valley shall publicly execute these criminals outside the valley! All rogue cultivators may come to bear witness! Slaying these arrogant lunatics will teach all parties that forbidden lands are not to be offended!" Some felt a chill in their hearts, while others wished to curry favor. Someone asked cautiously, "Lord Asura, may we attend and watch the execution?" "Anyone may come!" Envoy Asura sneered. "Today, Soul Falling Valley's Six Soul Hooking Envoys shall execute these individuals in person! All are welcome to witness it!" The crowd grew excited, and some began following along immediately. ... At the same time, Soul Falling Valley. A colossal valley, encircled by gentle peaks, yet the valley floor itself was vast and bottomless. Inside a grand hall, someone chuckled, "That fellow—Black Tomb was probably trapped by him. Still, quite a skillful move. He slapped Mount Tianqiong across the face while leaving them without a word to say!" Inside this grand hall, several figures had gathered. Many looked up toward the ethereal figure seated above—their Valley Lord. The one speaking was one of the Six Envoys. The expert chuckled and said, "Valley Lord, that fellow even wants to gather rogue cultivators from all sides to watch the execution, insisting on executing them outside the valley to intimidate everyone... He wants us to go as well. Valley Lord, should we go?" Someone remarked dismissively, "Executing a few sixteen-Dao cultivators, and he acts like he's performed some monumental merit! Demanding we all go watch—does he expect the Valley Lord to go as well? Asura achieved a minor merit and acts as if he's eradicated an entire forbidden land!" Naturally, among the Six Soul Hooking Envoys, there were factions and rivalries. Hearing this, another expert closer to Envoy Asura remarked coldly, "Mount Liufang had been expanding rapidly of late, backed by Mount Tianqiong, and even Dead Spirit Hell couldn't do much against them. Asura wiped them out in one fell swoop—is that not a great merit? If you're so capable, why didn't you step forward to deal with Mount Liufang before?" The former speaker snorted. "Even so, there's no need for everyone to watch the execution. Is that necessary? Asking the Valley Lord to go too? Must the Valley Lord concern himself with such trivial matters?" Asura had sent word that he wouldn't enter the valley; he would execute the prisoners outside the valley before the gathered rogue cultivators! To let everyone know Soul Falling Valley was not to be provoked! It was a good suggestion in principle, but the fellow was vain and eager for glory. Did he expect the Valley Lord to personally welcome him with the other five envoys to shower him with praise? Below, the crowd squabbled. The Lord of Soul Falling Valley's figure remained ethereal as his voice drifted faintly: "Enough. The rest of you may go; this seat will not." "Lord..." someone ventured cautiously, "if you do not attend, should Sword Sovereign and his people come..." "No matter," the Lord of Soul Falling Valley replied indifferently. "It is merely executing a few rogue cultivators. Sword Sovereign is no fool; would he make an enemy of Soul Falling Valley over a handful of rogues?" True enough! The others said nothing more. Yet someone still muttered in discontent, "I'm not going either..." No sooner had he spoken than the expert who had defended Asura earlier drawled, "If you don't go, and I don't go, and nobody goes, aren't we making ourselves a laughingstock before the rogue cultivators? Is executing enemies and upholding our forbidden land's prestige strictly Asura's business?" The Lord of Soul Falling Valley said coolly, "Enough. All of you go. It is hardly far." Only then did the crowd accept their orders. As the group began walking toward the hall exit, someone sneered, "Such a petty matter, yet he makes it seem like he wiped out an entire forbidden land and wants us to celebrate his triumph. Vain fool!" "Alright, shut up!" Heaven Soul Envoy frowned slightly. Watching the dispute, he said as he walked, "Don't let outsiders mock us! Asura managed to bring down Mount Liufang. Even if his methods weren't the most honorable, the outcome was excellent and bolstered the prestige of Soul Falling Valley!" At least it dampened Mount Tianqiong's arrogance! Mount Liufang had tussled with Tiger Soul Cave for two months, and even allied with Dead Spirit Hell, they hadn't gained any upper hand. This time, Envoy Asura took down Mount Liufang in less than ten days—it was indeed a great achievement! In the group, Human Soul Envoy chuckled. "I heard he captured six experts at or above sixteen Daos. Wouldn't killing them all be a bit of a waste? Should we spare them..." Heaven Soul Envoy shook his head. "We'll see! Asura's stance is to kill them all and be done with it. These fellows were insufferably arrogant, daring to provoke a forbidden land. If we accept people like this, more will follow suit next time!" "The prestige of a forbidden land must be upheld!" The others felt a touch of pity; six such cultivators was no small number. Unfortunately, both Envoy Asura and Heaven Soul Envoy favored executing them to intimidate the masses! Then execution it was! "Executing six experts at or above sixteen Daos at once is exceedingly rare... Oh well, Soul Falling Valley will truly establish its terrifying reputation this time!" "Let those rogue cultivators see the consequences of offending a forbidden land!" Everyone chuckled, chatting and laughing as they made their way out of the valley. Back in the grand hall. The Valley Lord's illusion flickered constantly. He vaguely sensed something was amiss, yet couldn't pin it down. Just as the thought crossed his mind, he chuckled and vanished from the spot. When he reappeared in the void, a figure suddenly halted and said in a low voice, "Sword Sovereign of Mount Tianqiong pays his respects to Valley Lord!" The Lord of Soul Falling Valley smiled, understanding instantly! So Sword Sovereign had come! "Ah, Fellow Daoist Sword Sovereign... Since you are here, why not sit down for a drink before leaving?" Sword Sovereign frowned. "No need... Valley Lord is occupied with many affairs; I shall not disturb you!" With that, Sword Sovereign tore through the void and departed. The Lord of Soul Falling Valley watched him leave with a faint smile, yet kept his gaze fixed on him! It seemed Mount Tianqiong truly valued Mount Liufang. Had he not shown himself, Sword Sovereign would have tried to rescue them! Aside from himself, no one in the valley was a match for Sword Sovereign. "I felt something was slightly off..." The Lord of Soul Falling Valley smiled. Now everything seemed fine, though he decided to keep watch a bit longer, lest Sword Sovereign suddenly make a move and humiliate Soul Falling Valley. ... Departing into the distance, Sword Sovereign wore a grave expression. *For now, this is all I can do.* *Can those people pull it off?* *Kong'er insisted on gambling on this... Is there really any hope?* *Attacking a forbidden land... How many years has it been since anyone dared to do such a thing?* He glanced in a certain direction, faintly spotting Envoy Asura, then sensed behind him before speeding away. *Let the Lord of Soul Falling Valley keep staring at me. Keep watching!* ... At that moment, Envoy Asura, who was outwardly strutting around with immense arrogance, was sweating profusely. He sent a voice transmission: "Tribulation Lord... I... I'm a bit worried..." Behind him followed six people. Six powerhouses! Su Yu, the four Great Emperors, and King Wu. Yes, six top experts. As for the others, they followed further behind without drawing close. These six were here specifically to handle the Soul Hooking Envoys. Marching openly to attack Soul Falling Valley and approaching them directly was far safer than sneaking around. This Envoy Asura had been lured into their camp; once on board, there was no other way out for him. Su Yu was also deeply serious. Hearing this, he barked through a voice transmission, "Calm down! What are you afraid of? If this fails, you die. If it succeeds, you live! Which do you choose? A twenty-six-Dao cultivator, yet you lack even this much nerve?" Envoy Asura cursed internally. *Nonsense, we're attacking a forbidden land! It'd be weird if I felt steady!* *But... sigh!* *I've boarded the pirate ship!* He was helpless; he had no other choice! Right now, the surrounding auras were thoroughly jumbled. A crowd of rogue cultivators trailed behind. King Wu, in low spirits lately, transmitted his voice: "Why bring these rogue cultivators along?" "To wipe them all out in one sweep!" Su Yu replied casually. King Wu said nothing, remaining grumpy. The four Great Emperors were also quite nervous. Ming Tu transmitted, "Lord Black Tomb, will the Master come?" "Depends on the situation!" The four Great Emperors were on edge. Facing a forbidden land lord was exceedingly troublesome! Not just troublesome—it was perilous! This guy claiming to be their master's disciple... was far too bold! Su Yu looked at them and sent a transmission: "Don't be afraid. I have a trump card. If we truly run into an insurmountable situation, all of you just integrate into my heaven and earth..." "That... that won't do! We have already integrated into the Master's heaven and earth!" "What do you know? Powerhouses within a heaven can be transferred! In a life-or-death crisis, merge first and worry later. Besides, Master and I are family—why would we care about such trivialities?" The four felt helpless. They'd see when the time came! The key problem was they couldn't even tell whether this fellow's words were true or false. Still, if a fatal crisis really struck, perhaps they could try it! At that moment, a massive valley appeared ahead! Outside the valley, the other five envoys had all stepped out, accompanied by several other experts. Earth Soul Envoy, on good terms with Envoy Asura, laughed boisterously: "Congratulations, Asura! You've truly upheld the prestige of our forbidden land!" He called out from afar! Sweat dripped from Envoy Asura's forehead. He was so nervous! Fortunately, Su Yu's aura pressing from behind kept him from trembling. Envoy Asura swiftly collected himself and laughed loudly: "A minor matter! A tiny Mount Liufang actually dared insult our Soul Falling Valley—they were courting death!" "Shang and Snow Lotus didn't come back with you?" "They're taking over the City of Light and Mount Liufang!" Envoy Asura laughed heartily. "You all arrived right on time! Exactly six of them—one for each of us to execute. Otherwise, powerhouses at or above sixteen Daos aren't easy to kill!" Behind him, Su Yu yelled loudly, "I surrender! I admit defeat! I am a guest elder of Mount Tianqiong... you can't kill me!" Envoy Asura sneered, "Forget a guest elder—even if you were a hall master, it wouldn't help you now!" The powerhouses on the opposite side all chuckled. Heaven Soul Envoy also smiled and said, "Cultivators above sixteen Daos are indeed tricky to kill. It seems Asura's strength has improved again, dragging them all back alive!" "It's alright; others lent a hand as well!" Asura laughed. "Though even without help, I still could have taken them down!" He laughed aloud: "Everyone, pick whichever one you want to kill! Let the rogue cultivators see what happens when anyone offends a forbidden land!" At this moment, Su Yu transmitted: "Cry!" The next instant, the group began to wail: "Lords, spare our lives! We surrender!" Hearing their wails, several Soul Hooking Envoys burst out laughing. Yet they vaguely felt... their crying sounded a bit fake. They didn't know why they felt like laughing—perhaps it was just the thrill before an execution? Meanwhile, Su Yu cursed under his breath! *Useless!* *All of them are useless! They can't even fake crying properly! Thankfully the other side didn't pay attention, or we would have been exposed on the spot!* *Idiots!* *This was the easiest method I spent ages concocting to take down all six Soul Hooking Envoys! I even threw away my pride to let myself be dragged along like a prisoner, yet you bastards are still clinging to your face!* *Infuriating!* At that very moment, the other five Soul Hooking Envoys began drawing near.