Division

The scene was chaotic, and the rogue cultivators trembled. What was going on? Yet everyone quickly pieced the situation together: Fa likely had an issue, and among the fifteen forbidden land masters present aside from Fa, there might be emissaries of the Heavenly Gate or the Human Gate. From the current circumstances, Su Yu and the Lord of Dead Spirits seemed uninvolved with either side. They were not with Fa, not with the myriad realms, and certainly not with the Human Gate. *** "She's not Fa; she might be Wen Yu!" At this moment, several rogue cultivators urgently transmitted their voices. "Sun Moon is nowhere to be seen. Either something happened to him, or he betrayed them... Betrayal isn't very likely, but he definitely isn't here!" *** Expert after expert rapidly exchanged voice transmissions in secret. Zhou's face, meanwhile, had grown rather heavy. Su Yu's sudden turnabout had shattered all their previous conjectures. Yet the phantom suspected Su Yu was merely putting on a show. But how had he sensed the danger? The phantom suddenly said, "Perhaps our probing exposed us!" "Impossible!" Zhou retorted subconsciously. How could that be? He hadn't said much, just a brief line to confirm that something was wrong with Fa. Had Su Yu detected the anomaly from just that? "Qiong meddled for no reason!" The phantom was also helpless at this point, transmitting, "Qiong insisted on emphasizing that he was the first to encounter Wen Yu, yet you said you were the first... Wen Yu didn't know whether it was true or false, and Qiong didn't care either... but it would draw others' attention!" The phantom deduced that this remark must have caught their notice. Otherwise, there was no reason for him to suddenly jump out halfway through. "Then... who is the Su Yu over there?" Zhou asked. *I don't know!* The phantom had a headache as well. His intelligence had come to an abrupt halt when Zhou Ji departed the myriad realms. He had access to information before that point, but after that... sorry, he didn't know. Especially now that the Human Sovereign ruled the myriad realms. The Human Sovereign was an old adversary who had cracked down on spies from the Three Gates long ago, relentlessly capturing collaborators of the Three Gates. With the Human Sovereign present, gathering intelligence was exceedingly difficult. With the Human Sovereign in the myriad realms, ordinary people would not dare pay the steep price to investigate there. How was he supposed to know who that world-opener over there was? "Another world-opener..." The phantom murmured, guessing, "If it's not Su Yu, it's one of King Ming, Wan Tiansheng, or Lan Tian!" "Except for King Ming, I haven't heard of the others!" Zhou indeed had never heard of them. He had heard of the Four Cardinal Human Kings; after all, news had filtered in back then. "As for the other two..." Before the phantom could finish speaking— *Boom!* A thunderous roar echoed between heaven and earth! Zhou vanished in an instant! Where he had been sitting cross-legged just a moment ago, a sword trench had been carved right through the forbidden land! *Buzz!* Auras rose rapidly one after another. All at once, the entire scene fell into chaos as the qi of powerful experts pierced the heavens. Zhou was also greatly startled. The next instant, he couldn't help but roar, "Qiong, what are you doing?" Everyone was still verifying Fa's identity, yet Qiong had suddenly struck at him! At this moment, Qiong sat cross-legged atop Mount Tianqiong, a look of detachment on his face. His voice rang out like the clang of a sword, piercingly cold and sharp. "This seat has no desire to meddle in matters of the Three Gates, nor do I care who has betrayed whom... It is all entirely meaningless! How you choose is your own business! But you have grown far too bold—Zhou, emissary of the Human Gate!" Zhou was shocked in his heart and hastily cried, "You're slandering me—" "Slander?" Sword qi soared into the sky. The Lord of Mount Tianqiong abruptly stood up, his aura unsettling heaven and earth, laden with chill. "Is it slander? You dare claim that I, Qiong, am slandering you? Just now, the moment my strike slashed at you, a peculiar fluctuation leaked out. Whom were you transmitting to? Someone from the Human Gate?" Zhou's expression turned ugly! Damn it! Didn't this bastard stay out of everything before? Why did he suddenly attack me? Even if I am an emissary of the Human Gate, what does that have to do with you? Why must you target me? He was furious, but he quickly regained his composure. "Qiong, what exactly do you want?" At this moment, the forbidden land masters wore peculiar looks. Earlier, they had been startled, wondering what Qiong intended to do. In the end... Qiong, who had never involved himself in anything, was actually hunting down an emissary of the Human Gate? What on earth? Many looked toward the Heavenly Gate phantom beside him. For a moment, none spoke, but myriad thoughts raced through their minds. Did Qiong... have an agreement with the Human Sovereign? Or something else? In short, the situation was exceedingly complicated! They couldn't make sense of it! However, everyone urgently needed to distinguish people's identities, because the various parties here might be divided into multiple factions rather than a unified front! Since Qiong wanted to drag out an emissary of the Human Gate... then let him! Meanwhile, Zhou's face was livid as he roared, "We are all trying to discern Fa's identity! She might be Wen Yu... Did you do this on purpose? Did you reach some agreement with the Human Sovereign? You are the biggest traitor among us!" Yes, that was indeed what he thought. Why had Qiong struck out so abruptly? Had he joined hands with the Human Sovereign? Qiong remained expressionless. "Traitor? As I said, I have no interest in allegiances, nor do I care whether you've turned traitor. All I need to know is that you are a dog of the Human Gate—and that is enough!" It sounded contradictory! If you didn't care about any of that, why bother going after people from the Human Gate? Yet Qiong knew full well what he was doing. He wanted to deal with Great Sage Hongtian's people, capture or kill Zhou. In short, until Hongtian returned his sword, he would keep fighting them! Yes, his sword! You took my sword and actually expect me to work for you? You're dreaming! Zhou's face was ashen. The next instant— *Boom!* A sweep of sword qi blasted in all directions, descending from above! Qiong's voice rang out once more: "Hongtian, come out and talk, or this seat will slaughter him today! Whoever dares stop me, I kill!" Zhou retreated hastily. In the middle of his retreat, he froze! Within his mind, the phantom buffeted by the sword qi was also briefly stunned. The next moment, the phantom cursed violently, "Fuck! I'm not Hongtian!" "Hongtian provoked him?" "..." Zhou wanted to cough up blood. *Fuck me, now I get it!* It was Great Sage Hongtian of the Human Gate who provoked you, wasn't it? The problem was... I'm not from Hongtian's faction! Indeed, the one backing him wasn't Hongtian! The phantom wasn't Hongtian either! Within the Human Gate, more than one Great Sage was laying out schemes! The trouble was, to outsiders, it all looked the same. The Human Gate was too mysterious. Anyone from the Human Gate seemed like one and the same! Zhou felt utterly suffocated! The next moment, he sent a voice transmission: "What do we do? Hongtian seems to have offended him. This fellow is a lunatic who cares about saving face above all else. Since someone offended him, he might genuinely not stop until he kills me!" The phantom was flustered and furious as well, but quickly regained his calm, replying, "Tell him you aren't Hongtian's subordinate! He is the spirit of the Heaven-Cleaving Sword, exceptionally powerful. You can't match him on your own... Even if he doesn't believe it... find a way to drag Hongtian's people out and deal with him together!" This time, it really was... pure misfortune! How did Hongtian end up provoking Qiong? "Should I admit my identity?" Zhou transmitted. The phantom replied rapidly, "So what if you joined hands with the Human Gate? Fa joined hands with the Human Gate too, and the Heavenly Gate itself is allying with the Human Gate. Joining hands with the Human Gate is no crime! For now, the Three Gates are still aligned!" Allying with the myriad realms was a crime! Allying with the Human Gate... was truly not! With the scene dissolving into such chaos, it was necessary to sort things out once more. Soon, Zhou's furious roar rang out: "Bastard! This seat is not Hongtian's man! You have the wrong person!" *Buzz!* Sword qi surged again. Zhou retreated rapidly, shouting, "Did you hear what I said?! There is more than one Great Sage in the Human Gate—Hongtian is just one of them! It wasn't me! The one who offended you is Hongtian's subordinate, it was Hongtian! Damn it, I said I'm not him, and you're still attacking!" Qiong ignored this. At that moment, he felt a sense of relief—the man truly was someone from the Human Gate! Xingyu had guessed correctly again! As for whether he was Hongtian's man... what did that matter? Xingyu had said that if he killed others from the Human Gate and provoked the fury of other Great Sages, someone would naturally make trouble for Hongtian and force him to yield! Therefore, as long as someone was from the Human Gate, they could be killed! *Buzz!* Streaks of sword qi battered heaven and earth! No one stepped in to stop it! Everyone was busy digesting this information, each wearing an odd expression. Zhou was indeed a representative of the Human Gate. And besides Zhou... among the forbidden land masters present, there might be yet another emissary of the Human Gate! Of the sixteen forbidden land masters, Zhou was compromised, Fa was compromised, another might also be from the Human Gate, and the Heavenly Gate might have disciples among them as well... The other forbidden land masters cursed under their breath! What an utter fucking mess! Now, no one could even spare attention for the matter of Fa. Zhou roared again, "Still coming? Qiong, do you truly think you're invincible? Shi, Kong, are you just going to stand by and watch? What is so wrong with the Human Gate? Right now, the Three Gates joining hands against the myriad realms is what matters! That Fa is fake—she is Wen Yu in disguise! That Su Yu might also have problems... Aren't they the crux of this? I'm not the only one cooperating with the Human Gate!" "There are few forbidden lands left to begin with. Must we descend into infighting?" Zhou spoke incessantly, roaring again, "He, Qiong, has continually allowed Xingyu's Heavenly Gate to remain open. What does he mean by this? Colluding with the myriad realms is the true capital crime! If the myriad realms are not destroyed, none of the eras of the Three Gates will ever return!" The louder he shouted, the more furious Qiong became. *What a Human Gate bastard, daring to slander this seat!* *I'll butcher you!* *Not a single one from the Human Gate is any good!* "Cleave the Heavens!" At the roar of "Cleave the Heavens", Su Yu almost thought he was hearing the Xia family's Heaven-Cleaving Blade. But in reality, it wasn't. At that exact moment, the firmament split open! The darkness vanished! Between heaven and earth, only a single sword remained—a heaven-cleaving sword that truly cleaved the heavens open! Faint phantom visions even appeared: with one thrust of the sword, heaven and earth were sundered into being, countless chaotic ancient beasts perished, thorns and brambles were slashed away, and the realm shook, presenting an awe-inspiring spectacle. Yet at this moment, Zhou's expression changed drastically! *Fuck!* *This bastard is playing for keeps—he really wants to kill me!* "Heaven and earth perish, sword qi disperse!" A monumental power erupted. Zhou was also a powerhouse; with a bellow, the world cleaved open by Qiong shattered, the sword qi dissolved, and countless cataclysms of apocalyptic destruction manifested. *Boom! Boom!* Explosions echoed endlessly, sweeping outward in all directions! With a deafening crash, Zhou flew backward, a bloody gash opening on his forehead. The next moment, a gateway materialized, with a phantom silhouette manifesting atop it. Before it could even utter a word, it was obliterated by sword qi! The Human Gate! The Human Gate vanished rapidly, and the phantom was destroyed. It was merely a projection, akin to the Human Sovereign's current form. Zhou looked grim. The sword scar healed swiftly, but the phantom would not be returning anytime soon. And this cemented his status as an emissary of the Human Gate. Zhou's face was dark. "What do you want? This seat already said Hongtian has nothing to do with me!" There was nowhere to reason this out! Qiong's expression, however, was even uglier than his, showing signs of rage. "You withstood my Heaven-Cleaving Sword?" *No shit!* Zhou cursed inwardly. He was a peak existence of the thirty-four-Dao realm, after all; if he were slain in a single strike, that would be news! Was it so miraculous that he took one blow from you? "Very good!" Qiong was incensed. "I possess the Nine Heaven-Cleaving Swords. Today, if you block nine of my swords, this seat will spare your life!" "Heaven Cleaving: Cleaving Life and Death!" *Boom!* Life and death revolved; heaven and earth shifted. At that moment, throughout the entire world, onlookers saw hell, saw heaven, saw the living, saw the dead, saw living creatures, saw dead spirits... This strike was even more formidable than the last! Bursting forth with the power of thirty-six Daos, Qiong was indeed terrifyingly powerful! Zhou's face changed again and again. *Damn it, there really is no reasoning with this guy!* He bellowed once more, "He is a collaborator of the myriad realms! Are you all just going to watch? He's only running cover for Wen Yu!" *You're the collaborator of the myriad realms!* Hearing him say this, Qiong grew even angrier. *You are, your whole family is!* *Boom!* The sword qi fell, manifesting the life and death of heaven and earth. Watching this strike, Su Yu was thoroughly enraptured. He seemed to see great oblivion; Qiong had truly attained the Dao as the spirit of the Heaven-Cleaving Sword! Though he no longer remembered the creation of the world, he had genuinely cleaved open heaven and earth. At this moment, this strike seemed to carve out the Great Dao of Life and Death, carving out the annihilation of heaven and earth! Zhou's Daos erupted as well! Not only that, the City of Wrongful Death at his side instantly morphed into a weapon resembling a staff. The staff was hurled out in an instant, infused with countless curse powers, cursing heaven and earth to crumble, cursing Qiong to perish... *Boom!* Death qi spread over Qiong's body, only to be instantly shattered by the heaven-cleaving sword qi. With detached coldness, before the second strike had fully subsided, he slashed out a third! "Heaven Cleaving: Cleaving the Five Elements!" *Boom!* The Five Elements manifested: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth. The Great Dao of the Five Elements swept across heaven and earth, its power erupting as though dividing the elements in creation. Fire scorched heaven and earth, while water arrows pierced through all directions! By now, Zhou was retreating continuously, gnashing his teeth. What sort of mess was this? Three strikes in succession. With a squelch, his palm was pierced by sword qi. The leaking curse aura instantly cursed several experts within his staff to death. The stray energy combined with sword qi cursed nearly all the weaker cultivators within his forbidden land dead on the spot! Zhou wanted to vomit blood! Raising subordinates was no easy task! A powerhouse nurtured subordinates to build a faction; one couldn't do everything personally. They were needed to search for resources, guard the forbidden land, and seize world power... In the end, he had suffered a catastrophe today, resulting in a large number of his subordinates being killed in one fell swoop! Within the staff, like an independent world, countless cultivators revealed expressions of despair. How had their master provoked this madman? This was only the third sword, and there were six more! Each strike stronger than the last! "Heaven Cleaving: Cleaving Yin and Yang!" Sun and moon appeared, transforming into a Taiji diagram. In an instant, the fourth sword slashed out! Zhou roared and plunged through the void to flee, no longer taking the hit directly! He was no match for him! Kong and Qiong were roughly comparable, both possessing the power of thirty-six Daos. Previously, the Lord of Dead Spirits at thirty-five Daos couldn't beat Kong, so naturally, Zhou with thirty-four Daos was no match for Qiong! "Thinking of running?" Qiong barked coldly and prepared to strike again. Just then, someone said placidly, "Qiong, stop! Are you truly intent on killing him?" Qiong looked toward the speaker. A colossal beast manifested—it was Kong. Soon after, a massive mountain appeared—it was Shi. Both great powerhouses had stepped forward. Kong said coldly, "The matter of Zhou colluding with the Human Gate can be discussed later! But you—what are you doing? Why haven't you closed the Heavenly Gate yet?" As for Zhou colluding with the Human Gate, the Three Gates had not yet clashed. Whereas Qiong—what on earth was he doing? Qiong cast a frosty glance at him. "Are you ordering me? Kong, who do you think you are? The First Beast of Creation? Do you want to compare seniority or strength? In terms of seniority, this heaven was cleaved open by this seat; you're a latecomer! In terms of strength... you think you can suppress me?" Shi, meanwhile, chuckled mildly. "Let it be, Qiong. As for Zhou... let us wait and see. The Forbidden Land Conference has only just begun, and I have many questions I'd like answered. I want to know: which one is Hongtian's person?" He remained composed, as steady as a mountain, saying calmly, "The Human Gate certainly has formidable methods. With only so many experts within the Heavenly Gate today, they actually roped in two! Aside from Zhou, which Dao friend has cooperated with the Human Gate?" Among the rest, there had to be another who had partnered with the Human Gate! A Great Sage-level existence would not seek out a weakling to collaborate with; it had to be a forbidden land master! At this moment, Su Yu was observing as well. Of the sixteen forbidden lands, excluding himself, the Lord of Dead Spirits, and Wen Yu, thirteen remained. Nine of them—Qiong, Zhou, Immortal, God, Blade, Martial, Shi, Kong, and Dragon—were supreme-rank. The remaining four—Phoenix, Dark, Shadow, and Yuan—were below thirty-two Daos, yet each possessed their own methods. Among these people, someone else belonged to the Human Gate! Shi seemed somewhat interested and remarked casually, "Speak up. Since everyone is gathered here and the Three Gates are about to open, let's be open and honest so we can cooperate in the future. Otherwise... problems will arise sooner or later!" Silence reigned. Who was it? Who could say! Qiong didn't attack again either. It wasn't that he couldn't kill Zhou, but... he didn't want to pursue him too far; it was too troublesome. If he went too far, what if that grandson the Human Sovereign slipped away? Or what if he came straight out and fled? What then? No! The business of hunting him down would have to wait. Seeing no one speak, Shi looked toward Wen Yu. "Are you Wen Yu?" Wen Yu replied coldly, "Shi, you believe them too?" "I have little choice," Shi said placidly. "Zhou says you're fake, Su Yu says you're fake, and your own people say you defeated Wen Yu and King Wu. In that case... if you are Fa, you clearly succeeded. Why would you still need to lure us here?" Wen Yu fell silent, sweeping a glance across the crowd without a word. Qiong sneered, "Could she be looking for that old ghost's people?" He had no interest in whether she was Fa or Wen Yu; his sole interest was in who Hongtian's person was! He looked around and said coldly, "Zhou said he isn't Hongtian's man... then one of you definitely is! Just wait! You know what I want. Hand it over, and this seat won't bother with you. Refuse... and even if I haven't colluded with the myriad realms, what if I join them once I track you down? Give it to me or not, we'll see!" At this moment, Su Yu had regrouped with the Lord of Dead Spirits. The Lord of Dead Spirits quickly transmitted, "The timing was good just now. Why didn't you strike?" When Qiong attacked earlier... capitalizing on the chaos might have triggered a massive battle! Their side was not weak either. Among the nine supreme-rank experts of the Heavenly Gate, two were embroiled in infighting. The remaining seven were formidable, but between himself, Su Yu, and Wen Yu, they also had three. Striking in the confusion might have stirred up even greater havoc! Furthermore, King Wen and King Wu were lingering on the periphery. Once they arrived, even if they couldn't each take on a foe individually, joining forces to match one would certainly be possible. Su Yu was in no rush, replying, "No hurry! It's too risky right now. You saw Qiong and Zhou fighting—it didn't reach the point of risking their lives! You can't match either Shi or Kong... Striking now would be suicidal! We need the situation to get messier!" *Messier?* *Could it get any messier?* The Lord of Dead Spirits felt that things were already in utter disarray; expecting more chaos seemed like a long shot! "We have to dig out the Heavenly Gate's people. Once they're unearthed, only then will there be a true free-for-all where no one trusts anyone else!" Indeed! By this point, Su Yu's plan was simple: expose them all! He recalled Sun Moon mentioning that once Fa succeeded, someone present would lend a hand to help him become the leader. That person's standing had to be high! Their strength had to be considerable as well. Though perhaps not at the level of Kong and the like, they were almost certainly supreme-rank! Thus, among the nine supreme-rank masters present, excluding Zhou, Qiong, Shi, and Kong, one or perhaps two of the remaining five had to be from the Heavenly Gate! As for the four he excluded, Zhou went without saying, while the other three were too powerful to rely on Fa to push them forward; if they were interested, they could vie for the leadership themselves. *Blade, Martial, Dragon, God, and Immortal—among these five, someone is definitely from the Heavenly Gate!* *God and Immortal broke away from the human lineage, and Dragon belongs to the beast lineage. That means... between Blade and Martial, someone is likely a disciple of Renrui!* This was the most probable scenario! Su Yu deduced swiftly: Blade and Martial held the highest probability! Perhaps... both of them were! As for the other one colluding with the Human Gate... the possibilities were far too broad to guess easily. A disciple of the Heavenly Gate could also collude with the Human Gate; even Shi and Kong were possibilities. Everyone was under suspicion. Reflecting on this, Su Yu said in an eerie tone, "The situation is growing more and more intriguing! With so few people, we're divided into quite a few factions! Wen Yu, hand over the Time Record, and how about I help you deal with your enemies?" Wen Yu replied coldly, "I am not Wen Yu! Su Yu, don't you try framing me!" Su Yu sneered, "Whether you are or not, I have no way of discerning. But I believe someone can! In a matter of such magnitude, there is no way people from the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao wouldn't show up... Not only that... Senior Blade and Senior Martial, surely you know Fa quite well? Why don't you share a few tales from back then to see whether this really is Fa?" At this moment, everyone was shaken again. Some looked toward Blade and Martial, while others frowned, asking rather coldly, "Su Yu, Blade and Martial were among the first batch of veterans to enter the myriad realms. They don't have much to do with that person!" Su Yu chuckled, "Whether they have ties isn't up to you to decide, is it? As far as I know, the powerhouses from the first batch to enter back then were mainly divided into humans and beasts! Kong, you were the first giant beast, and that person was the first human to enter. Only afterward did others follow... correct?" Kong said impassively, "What if that's true?" "God, Immortal, and Demon later split off to establish their own races, but Blade and Martial never did!" At this, the Master of the Blade Domain raged, "What nonsense are you spewing?" Su Yu said playfully, "What nonsense? To be frank, having ties with Ren is no crime! Could it be... there is some hidden story I'm unaware of? The Heavenly Gate is on our side... oh, my mistake, on your side; you are all people of the Heavenly Gate. Blade, why are you so agitated?" He was truly curious about this. If the Heavenly Gate had transformed into a portal to shelter this era, why did the powerhouses inside seem... seem rather hostile toward the Heavenly Gate? This was evident from how the people of the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao didn't dare reveal their tracks! And this secret seemed known to very few. Su Yu didn't expect the others to talk; he only pinned his hopes on Qiong. Qiong had a loose tongue and knew countless secrets! He looked toward Qiong, and Qiong did not disappoint. Seeing Su Yu look over, he sneered, "How would that fellow's people dare expose themselves so easily? Even Fa was only guessed at, never confirmed to be on his side! During the final war of the doomsday era, in order to avoid being killed, that fellow tried to sacrifice everyone... Heh, but in the end, we turned the tables on him and forged him into a gateway to protect this land! Shouldn't his people keep a low profile? All these years, Fa never dared claim publicly that he belonged to the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao—even if you gave him the guts, he wouldn't dare!" Su Yu was taken aback! Several matters instantly became clear! Renrui had indeed not transformed into a gate voluntarily back then; he was forced into it, targeted by others—likely this very group before them, who forcibly turned him into a gate! And back then, to avoid being sealed... he had even wanted to sacrifice everyone! Qiong chuckled coldly. He didn't care about keeping these secrets. No one had exposed them simply because there was no need. Now that Su Yu had brought it up, he grinned and added, "So that guy could hardly fool the old fossils anymore. It was rather the later eight division chiefs of the human race who were partially duped by him, serving him wholeheartedly! Apart from the eight division chiefs, there were his former disciples... though most of them died, and those who survived altered their appearances and identities..." Qiong glanced at Blade and Martial, saying casually, "Come to think of it, before you mentioned it, this seat hadn't paid attention. But now that you bring it up... those two really were on good terms with Ren back then." Only now did the Lord of Dead Spirits understand what Su Yu meant by things getting messier. It might... truly become far more chaotic! Because according to Qiong, Renrui had been set up by the others back then and forced to transform into a gate for protection, while Renrui himself was no saint either—he had even considered sacrificing these powerhouses. This was a blood feud! No wonder the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao didn't dare show itself within the Heavenly Gate! When Sun Moon ventured out, he was extraordinarily cautious, having to disguise himself as a rogue cultivator just to appear. At this point, several of Su Yu's doubts were resolved. Naturally, some questions remained. Su Yu smiled and asked, "The eight division chiefs of the human race? I know of Human Ancestor Zhou. Logically speaking, when the era was sealed, he seemed to belong to that era as well. Why wasn't he sealed?" As for the Lord of Dead Spirits, he was a world-opener; the sealing had nothing to do with him, and he happened to be at the tail end of that era. Human Ancestor was similar to him, belonging to the category that could either be sealed or not. But while the other division chiefs entered, why had the Human Ancestor fled? In what was clearly a situation fraught with hostility, Su Yu was casually inquiring about ancient secrets. Even the Lord of Dead Spirits was in the dark about some of these things. Back then, he had focused solely on opening a world, paying no heed to such affairs. "Zhou?" Qiong laughed. "Zhou had ties to the Human Gate. Back then, Zhou nearly got the guy killed... Or rather, that fellow turning into a gate to shelter the era had a great deal to do with Zhou! Zhou was planted by the Human Gate; naturally he wouldn't follow Ren! Besides, who told you he wasn't sealed? I don't know the exact details, but if he truly wasn't sealed... it's because he opened a world! It's that simple!" Su Yu's heart stirred. Right! There seemed to be such a saying: world-openers would not be sealed! "Then why was Ren sealed? He was a world-opener as well, wasn't he?" Qiong seemed somewhat impatient, as Su Yu had too many questions. Seeing this, Su Yu immediately flattered him, "Senior Qiong knows so many ancient secrets. We youngsters know far too little. Even my grandfather is a junior before you and knows nothing of these affairs..." Hearing this, Qiong grew interested again and laughed heartily, "Naturally! You youngsters, what do you know? As for why Ren was sealed... isn't that perfectly normal? In that era, his reputation was the greatest, just like Xingyu today. When we invade the myriad realms, the first person we target will naturally be Xingyu! If not Xingyu, would we look for nobodies? Whether it was Zhou or your grandfather, they weren't famous back then. When your grandfather opened a world, the war was already nearing its end with both sides mutually crippled. By that time, nobody had the energy or strength to deal with the likes of your grandfather... When the doomsday arrived, the others were naturally sealed... Zhou and your grandfather not being sealed was a result of them opening worlds!" Su Yu understood. So the Human Ancestor had opened a world; he hadn't been sealed! Because his Great Dao of the Human Race was still there, and his Physical Body Dao was still there, whereas the others who were sealed took their Great Daos with them. He hadn't taken the Physical Body Dao with him. In that case... could he have fled while taking his world? And leaving the Physical Body Dao behind served as a tether in the living realm, awaiting his return to merge with it? That was entirely possible! Moreover, Zhou was planted by the Human Gate! At this moment, many puzzles were solved. Zhou had likely opened the Human Gate, perhaps establishing contact with the Human Gate through that, and later seemed to have entered the Earth Gate on his own. Whether entering the Earth Gate was his own idea or an arrangement by the Human Gate remained unknown. As Qiong spoke up to this point, Shi suddenly interjected, "You are Su Yu? You claim Blade and Martial are Ren's disciples. If you know nothing about Ren's disciples, on what basis do you conclude they are his disciples?" The Martial Lord immediately spoke, "Shi, do you actually believe his drivel?" And the Blade Ancestor roared in anger, "A slanderer who talks out of his ass! Ren's disciples mostly died back then. Even Fa only gradually surfaced later on. How could we possibly be his disciples?" Su Yu smiled. "Even if you are, it's no big deal! Right now, I think we should all be united. Why are you so anxious to deny it? When Fa's identity was exposed, nobody attacked him, did they? Denying it now only suggests you harbor grander ambitions! Zhou is an emissary of the Human Gate, someone else among us is another emissary of the Human Gate, and you two are disciples of the Heavenly Gate... This Forbidden Land Conference is truly turning out to be entertaining! My grandfather and I are linked to the myriad realms, effectively belonging to them, while Wen Yu represents the new generation of the myriad realms... Meanwhile, seniors like Shi represent the true cultivators of the destroyed eras... Tsk tsk... what a delightful mess!" As he rambled, Kong grew impatient. "You still haven't explained why the two of them are Ren's disciples!" Su Yu shrugged. "Believe it or not! How could there be ironclad evidence pinning them down? But if you want to verify it, it's actually not hard: kill both of them, and see if the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao flies into a rage or not. It'll be crystal clear!" *Bullshit!* Killing two forbidden land masters for no reason, crippling their own forces—had he lost his mind? Yet Su Yu indeed had no evidence. It was merely a deduction! However, to muddy the waters completely... there had to be evidence proving these two belonged to the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao. That was the dilemma! At this moment, Su Yu suddenly looked toward Wen Yu and smiled. "You claim you are Fa... If you were Fa, you would be on the same side as them. If you were killed, they would definitely expose themselves, unless they had the heart to watch you die! But knowing you aren't Fa, I imagine they can't wait to kill you! Wen Yu, stop hiding it, or you will definitely die today! Why not drag someone down with you before you die?" Wen Yu glared at Su Yu and said chillingly, "What are you trying to say?" "If you are Wen Yu... you can actually verify their identities!" Wen Yu cursed inwardly. *No shit, even if I am Wen Yu, I can't verify that! Are you kidding me?* She was nearly enraged to death by Su Yu! "Ordinary people cannot, but if you are Wen Yu, you can!" Su Yu beamed. "Among the eight division chiefs of the human race, your ancestor Wen was one of them! Cultivating to your level, you can trace your lineage back to its source. If these two truly are Ren's disciples... ordinary people wouldn't do for the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao to contact them! Among the eight division chiefs, it's said that Xing was weak, Zhou rebelled, Tian and Ming vanished, and Chen fell... Those qualified to contact these two, or even issue directives, boil down to only three: Ri, Yue, and Wen!" "You are a descendant of Wen and a top-tier powerhouse. Trace Wen's aura... and let us see whether these two have been in contact with Wen recently! Of course, if it was Ri and Yue who contacted them, there's nothing we can do, and I'll admit I was wrong... But as far as I know, Wen excels in strategy, while Ri and Yue excel in combat. For a matter of such secrecy, I believe it's far more likely that Wen contacted them. Ren wouldn't let just anyone contact these two disciples either..." As Su Yu spoke, he smiled amiably. "If the Forbidden Land Conference is truly this important, then I wager an expert from the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao has contacted these two recently, perhaps even conveying directives like... aiding Fa in ascending to the top?" Su Yu grinned. "Wen Yu, why don't you give it a try? Don't insist you're Fa any longer. If you keep claiming you're Fa... you'll just be treating everyone here as idiots!" Trace Wen's aura! As these words fell, Shi's eyes flickered slightly. He looked toward Wen Yu and said indifferently, "You must be Wen Yu. Since matters have come to this, why not help us verify them? What Su Yu said makes sense. If there was truly important business, only Wen would devise strategies, so the one contacting Ren's disciples was most likely him!" As for Fa's side, they had sent Sun Moon. Su Yu guessed that if Sun Moon truly was the son of Ri and Yue, since the son had come out, those two most likely wouldn't show themselves; otherwise, they could have simply come to Fa's side themselves. If it was Wen, it was a division of labor, each heading in a different direction. Fa's identity was on the verge of exposure, or rather already exposed, so sending someone weaker would avoid drawing attention. If Wen and the others had come, they would have given themselves away instead. Su Yu calculated endlessly, looking at the two with a beaming smile. "Seniors, why not give it a try? Clear your names?" The faces of both men were unsightly! Wen Yu understood Su Yu's intention: *expose yourself!* At this point, holding out was meaningless; she was already exposed! She was speechless! Su Yu was truly despicable! Hadn't they agreed to let her become the head of the forbidden lands? Good grief, the meeting had barely begun and he had already exposed her! At this moment, Wen Yu had no choice. She suddenly said, "If you want me to verify them, fine. Promise me... that you'll let me leave!" She blew her own cover! Shi and Kong exchanged a glance, both suddenly smiling. "Fine, we'll let you leave!" So what? Inside the gate, you can't run! Furthermore, in the present chaotic state, striking at Wen Yu made no difference whether there were many or few people, because no one knew who might backstab whom! If they could verify the identities of these two right now... that would truly be beneficial! At this moment, the Blade Ancestor and the Martial Lord exchanged a glance, both their eyes filled with gloom. The Blade Ancestor said coldly, "Verification? Relying on aura? She is Wen Yu. If we rely on her, what if she frames us?" "Tracing Wen's aura... if she traces a fabricated aura, can that be taken as truth?" Su Yu sighed. "You're anxious!" The Blade Ancestor sneered, "Anxious? Su Yu, you're a person from the myriad realms who has done nothing but sow discord. What exactly are you trying to do? This conference was clearly meant to deal with you lot, yet somehow you've become bystanders, deciding who is what with a mere word?" Su Yu nodded. "All right, no need to say more. Everyone sees it clearly. Whether you two are Ren's disciples... everyone has a good idea!" At this moment, figures like the Immortal Ancestor and the God Ancestor backed away slightly. At this point, the various forbidden lands all felt an unsettling dread. Sixteen forbidden lands, and the relationships among them were overwhelmingly convoluted! Every faction was represented! When had the Heavenly Gate devolved into such chaos? Beside Su Yu, the Lord of Dead Spirits' eyes flickered. *Divided!* *They're actually divided just like that!* How was this fellow Su Yu's mind wired? Though Wen Yu was exposed, all the forbidden land masters were now on high alert, divided and alienated from one another—this was the greatest harvest! The Lord of Dead Spirits almost wanted to shout: *Let's do this!* He felt that if they struck now and went straight for the kill, the others might not step in to help! Of course, that was gambling on odds. Someone might intervene, but trust was no longer relatively high as before; right now, trust was undoubtedly at rock bottom! Reaching this point, he saw an opportunity. Beside Qiong, the Human Sovereign also saw an opportunity. *Not bad, Su Yu!* Between Blade and Martial, at least one was Ren's disciple—at least one, perhaps even both! At this moment, even the Human Sovereign could see it. What was more, Wen might truly have made contact with them!