A Battle of Madness

The Lord of Dead Spirits detonating himself was perhaps the single most unexpected turn of this battle. Everyone had thought he would attack the Heavenly Gate to summon his world, and failing that, at worst he would simply flee. Honestly, very few people dared to hunt him down. If he hadn't been able to win just now and had run, would the Immortal Ancestor and Zhou have pursued him? Impossible! Yet he had detonated himself! And slain the Immortal Ancestor! Zhou was now heavily wounded as well, coughing up blood continuously as his Dao power scattered. To survive that blast was already testament to his immense strength. Surviving the dual explosion of two supreme powerhouses was only because the Lord of Dead Spirits had concentrated the vast majority of his self-detonation's power directly on the Immortal Ancestor, terrified the Immortal Ancestor might not perish. For someone cultivating the Dao of Life, their ability to preserve their life was far too terrifying! Yet no matter how powerful he was, under the fully focused fury of the Lord of Dead Spirits, he was finished! One was the cultivator with the strongest power of life, and the other wielded the greatest power of death. Today, a victor had been decided—both had fallen! As for the Lord of Dead Spirits claiming he would crawl back from hell... everyone remained skeptical. …… At this moment, Su Yu also let out a sigh. This battle had actually been planned exceptionally well—magnificently, far exceeding expectations. Yet the Heavenly Gate was the Heavenly Gate; there were simply too many supreme experts within it. Even the cleverest housewife could not cook a meal without rice! No matter how eloquently Su Yu could talk, inferior strength was inferior strength! Now the Lord of Dead Spirits had been extinguished. If he could not return... then this battle would become an absolute, total rout. At this juncture, Su Yu could no longer care about caution. If the Lord of Dead Spirits could not return... they could only find a way to retreat! They couldn't win this! King Wen was on the verge of collapse, and so was King Wu. If not for the support of the Human Sovereign's world power, King Wu would have been beaten to death by the dragon long ago. As for Su Yu himself, without summoning his world, how could he possibly match the God Ancestor? Gritting his teeth, Su Yu looked entirely crazed. The next instant, he charged toward the God Ancestor in a mad frenzy, roaring furiously, "You're all dead! You will definitely die! My grandfather will surely return! We are undying and indestructible!" "Return!" Su Yu let out a piercing roar, lunging forward with reckless abandon. Recalling the scene when the Lord of Dead Spirits had previously summoned Su Yu, the God Ancestor's expression changed abruptly. He struck out instantly with a thundering roar, blazing as holy and radiant as the sun! He had to stop Su Yu! Regardless of whether anyone truly believed it, what if Su Yu actually managed to summon the Lord of Dead Spirits back? That would be an utter nightmare! An enemy who could not be killed! Today, everyone had watched with their own eyes as an incomparably terrifying powerhouse detonated himself to drag the Immortal Ancestor down with him. If he could resurrect and return... the fighting spirit of everyone present would utterly crumble. An unkillable enemy! Anyone facing Su Yu and his comrades would have their courage halved from the start. Because your enemy wouldn't die—a single self-detonation from them, and you were done for! The God Ancestor knew there must be restrictions, but what were they? How many times could it be done? Who knew! Thus, at this moment, even Kong was startled awake, roaring, "Stop him!" They could not let Su Yu get close! Could Su Yu truly summon the Lord of Dead Spirits back? Who knew! Regardless, under no circumstances could they allow Su Yu to perform that summoning! The God Ancestor was afraid. Fear made him refuse to let Su Yu anywhere near that spot. He struck out frantically, his long punches pounding through the heavens and earth, sending Su Yu flying backward again and again. Yet Su Yu seemed completely berserk, howling shrilly, "Return!" "Take another look at this world! Look at the goal you sought!" "Second under heaven is still only second! Are you going to carry that title of second and vanish for good?" Su Yu roared—three parts acting, seven parts genuine despair! The Lord of Dead Spirits could not die! If he died, this battle was doomed, and escaping would become nearly impossible. King Wen would die, King Wu would die, Wen Yu would die... Perhaps with a sudden burst of power, Su Yu himself might survive... but if so, would the myriad realms still have any strength left to strike back? Su Yu's roars thundered continuously. *Boom!* He threw punches without a shred of restraint. One Dao after another merged into him, acupoints erupting with radiant brilliance as he battered forward like a madman! "God, if you block me, you will die!" Su Yu bellowed! The next instant, he roared again, "Qiong, to help you slay Hongtian's pawn, my grandfather died fighting right here! Without my summoning, he cannot return! If you kill Kong and help me slaughter God... are you really going to be this ungrateful and faithless?" He was terrified Qiong would flee! Thus, at this moment, he had to provoke Qiong's will to battle, lest Qiong think the other was dead and choose to withdraw! Then Su Yu would truly have nowhere to cry! Hongtian's pawn! The moment those words rang out, Qiong's gaze flickered. Glancing at Su Yu, he muttered inwardly that Su Yu's deduction had truly hit the mark. This kid had real talent—the Immortal Ancestor truly was Hongtian's man! That meant the Blade Ancestor and the Martial Lord were undeniably pawns of the gate as well. Qiong snorted coldly. "This seat is no ingrate! Fine! Since he died to slay Immortal... this seat will throw caution to the wind today! Kong, you are seeking death!" "Heaven-Cleaving: World Extinction!" A sky-shattering sword intent pierced the heavens, sweeping in all directions. With a sickening slice, Kong suddenly recoiled. Immediately after, a bloody gouge appeared on his hardest single horn, and with another crunch, the horn cracked slightly. A look of pure horror appeared in Kong's eyes! Qiong was imperious beyond compare, saying coldly, "God, back off! Let Su Yu summon the Dead Lord back! Otherwise... this seat will surely slaughter you!" As soon as his voice fell, he slashed out once more, a strike dripping with pure destruction! "Heaven-Cleaving: Fall of the Ten Thousand Daos!" *Boom!* A sword ray pierced through the heavens. From all directions, countless sword beams erupted. Every swordsman present felt their longswords trembling violently, bowing in subjugation to this foremost sword beneath the heavens! Kong cursed furiously and retreated hastily. A blast of thunderous power erupted once more from his single horn as he darted through the void to dodge the strike. *Rumble!* Space shattered, and Kong tumbled from the void. With a wet heave, he spewed a large mouthful of crystal-like internal organs from his gaping maw, sword qi raging through his seven facial orifices! "Cough, cough..." Kong coughed violently. Looking at Qiong, his fury flared to the heavens. "Must you fight to the death?" Qiong was using absolute lethal arts, the equivalent of desperate, life-risking moves! After a few such sword strikes, Kong had been caught completely unprepared! Qiong said coldly, "Fight to the death? You think this seat fears death? Even that junior dares to wage a deathmatch, yet I wouldn't? Just as he said, in our youth, we dared to slay foes of higher realms. In our old age, peers can barely determine life and death. Why? Because of fear!" Fear of death! The Lord of Dead Spirits hadn't been wrong about that. Back in the day, who among this pack of experts couldn't kill foes above their realm? And now? Cultivators of the same realm couldn't even determine a victor—that had become the norm. Even deciding victory rarely led to life and death... That shouldn't have been the case. Even if all were geniuses, geniuses had decisive moments where a single move decided survival. The reason life and death could no longer be decided now was simply because everyone was afraid. Afraid of dying! Because they had lived too long, because they were too powerful—to die now was too great a loss! "Bastard!" Kong roared. The next moment, he transformed into an unimaginably colossal ancient beast—his true form. At this moment, this true form blotted out the heavens and earth, letting loose a roar like thunder! *Rumble!* Dao power swept in all directions! Kong's Dao was extraordinarily peculiar, containing numerous Daos, as if the Dao power of many ancient beasts had been gathered within him. This roar was like the sound of thunder. *Rumble!* The sound shook the surrounding space. Su Yu and the others could barely withstand it; their eardrums rattled, nausea surged, and their heads spun. But because it wasn't primarily aimed at them, they quickly recovered. Qiong, on the other hand, said nothing and simply struck out with another sword! Sword qi shot into the heavens! He had gone berserk too. *You think I'm inferior to you? I'll butcher you!* "Heaven-Cleaving: Qiong!" *Boom!* The firmament cracked, the heavens tore apart, and at this moment, it seemed even the River of Time had been severed! Qiong had flown into a complete fury! …… Meanwhile, the God Ancestor's expression was grim. He had been threatened! Qiong told him to back away, or he would kill him. Was he afraid? A little, yes! Qiong was a madman who meant what he said. If he didn't back off, and Qiong emerged relatively unscathed from this battle, he might truly hunt him down to the ends of existence. Yet Su Yu paid none of that any mind! Opening his heavenly eye, he peered in that direction. But this time, everything appeared indistinct, a shroud of total darkness, death qi churning through heaven and earth. Su Yu immediately cursed under his breath. *Still hasn't revived?* Extinction looked long, but in reality, it took only an instant. Su Yu had only delayed a little earlier because he hadn't wanted to wake up. Otherwise, one should awaken almost immediately after dying! Failing to revive meant running into trouble. Either he was like Su Yu and refused to wake up—virtually impossible—or something had gone wrong. The greatest probability was that the life force hadn't been sufficient. Because the opponent had only been at 34 Daos, while the Lord of Dead Spirits was at 35 Daos. There was still a disparity. The Lord of Dead Spirits might be missing a sliver of life force, preventing his life and death from reaching equilibrium! *Is he still short on life force?* Su Yu wasn't certain, but this was the most likely possibility! What to do? Su Yu hadn't seen the Lord of Dead Spirits revive, so he knew an issue had definitely arisen. Life force had to be supplemented. Perhaps... killing one more forbidden land lord would suffice. Yet right now, whom could he kill? Kill the heavily wounded Zhou? Blocked by the God Ancestor, how could he get close? If not Zhou, then whom? None of them would be easy to kill! At this moment, Su Yu's face was dark. Looking at the hesitant God Ancestor, he suddenly gritted his teeth and said, "Don't get in my way! I'm not going to revive my grandfather anymore! Revival is instantaneous—since he hasn't revived... he's probably truly dead! I'm going to kill Kong's people! Are you sure you want to stop me?" The God Ancestor frowned. Su Yu gnashed his teeth. "I'm going to kill the dragon and the phoenix! They are Kong's people! I'm going to kill Kong, kill him to avenge my grandfather... Are you going to stop me or not?" The God Ancestor remained silent, but he stepped aside from blocking Su Yu's front—King Wu and the others were behind him! Su Yu laughed. "I think... that's a good choice!" With that, he abruptly charged toward the dragon and phoenix! The God Ancestor's brow furrowed slightly. Su Yu was at 32 Daos, and the dragon was also at 32 Daos. As for King Wu, he was on the brink of death; even fighting the phoenix alone would be difficult for him now. Thoughts flashed rapidly through the God Ancestor's mind. He didn't stop Su Yu. So long as Su Yu didn't go to revive the Lord of Dead Spirits, it was fine. The primary factor was still... Qiong's deterrence! Unless Kong could suppress or defeat Qiong, the God Ancestor had no wish to provoke Qiong right now! In the distance, Kong suddenly roared in rage, "God, what are you doing?" He had actually let Su Yu run off! The God Ancestor's brow furrowed slightly as he said in a heavy voice, "I am going to save Zhou; he is grievously injured!" With that, he flew off rapidly toward Zhou. Seeing him approach, Zhou's face changed and he quickly backed away. Having God suddenly head toward him terrified him, because his wounds were genuinely severe! Yet the God Ancestor said nothing. Across the distance, he channeled a wave of holy power over. While not comparable to the power of life, it was nonetheless Dao power that could mend wounds. Zhou's expression softened slightly, and he couldn't help but glance at him. The God Ancestor said nothing, merely pondering silently. Immortal was dead, Demon was dead, Soul was dead... Recently, far too many supreme experts within the Heavenly Gate had fallen. If this continued, when the Three Gates opened, there might be severe trouble. Now that he had cooled down, perhaps... it was best not to continue this slaughter. As for Su Yu's side, he didn't care anymore. Immortal had colluded with the Human Gate as well; God felt utterly helpless about it. When Su Yu deduced it earlier, he hadn't believed it, but now... he could only sigh. …… At the same time. Su Yu let out a breath of relief. Qiong's deterrence had indeed proved useful. He had to kill the dragon, relying on an unexpected burst of power to slay him! Summon his world! However, the Heavenly Gate would obstruct it. Therefore, at least two others had to summon their worlds first to distract the gate for him. At that moment, Su Yu let out a shrill scream, "Dragon, within three moves, I will butcher you! Kong, you dared to bring about my grandfather's death—once I slay this dragon, I'll come for you!" This piercing roar echoed in all directions! Atop Mount Tianqiong, the Human Sovereign's phantom shifted slightly. *Kill the dragon in three moves, summon the world!* *Received!* *On the third move, summon the world!* Understood. Su Yu was no longer going to hide his power; something must have gone wrong with the Lord of Dead Spirits' revival. …… At the same time. King Wen let out a furious roar, summoning his world! In the distance, however, the silhouette of the Heavenly Gate manifested with a deep rumble, preventing the world from being summoned. King Wen roared, "Heavenly Gate, just you wait! This King will definitely dismantle you!" The first layer of world summoning! Shi didn't pay it any mind. With the Heavenly Gate blocking, where could you summon a world from? The Lord of Dead Spirits was dead, so summoning a world now was extraordinarily difficult. And at that moment, *boom!* Lan Tian's world power struck! Unfortunately, it was too weak. The Heavenly Gate shuddered once more, blocking the world power! …… At the same time. In the myriad realms. The Human Sovereign's world instantly broke through the Upper Realm, vanishing into the void in the blink of an eye and plunging into the River of Time! Far away, the Earth Gate rippled. "You're using world power? Just how many of you have opened worlds? Is a grand battle being waged inside the Heavenly Gate?" Even the Earth Gate was stunned. Surge after surge of world power was truly terrifying! The myriad realms of this era were genuinely frightening! Never mind that the total number of experts was small—there were plenty of top-tier existences. The Human Sovereign said coldly, "Ask less about things you shouldn't ask! Immortal Ancestor, Demon Ancestor, Soul Ancestor... all have been slaughtered! Today, this Sovereign will execute Kong and the others, clearing the Heavenly Gate first!" The Earth Gate fell silent. Was that true or false? In short, the Earth Gate felt that this era was utterly terrifying. Before the Three Gates had even opened, these madmen had charged through the gate to slaughter their way across it. From the sound of it, several experts at the Integration realm had already been slain! As for whether it was true or not... time would tell! …… Meanwhile, Su Yu bellowed, "Three moves to kill you!" "Sky Splitting!" His long saber cleaved open the heavens, slashing down toward the Dragon Ancestor. The Dragon Ancestor was speechless. This madman... your grandfather died, so why are you taking revenge on me? Damn it! If you want revenge, find Zhou, find God, find Kong—any of them! Why pick a fight with me? It made no sense whatsoever! Of course, he wasn't afraid of Su Yu! The colossal dragon hovered in the air, a terrifying flame billowing forth as dragon breath erupted, incinerating heaven and earth! Both were at 32 Daos, so who was afraid of whom? Bullying the weak while fearing the strong? You didn't dare seek vengeance against those supreme powerhouses, so you came for me? Heh! *Boom!* The long saber clashed with the dragon flame, and with a thunderous roar, the flame shattered. The blade hacked down, and with a sickening rip, a fissure opened across the colossal dragon's body. The Dragon Ancestor howled in sheer agony! Blinding pain! This Su Yu's strength was shockingly immense. "You're courting death!" He was enraged as well! *Do you have any idea that you're seeking your own demise?* "Earth Surge!" Su Yu barked again as his second saber struck, as if exhausting everything he had. The Dragon Ancestor's expression shifted slightly. The next instant, an immense claw broke through the void, swiping toward Su Yu! *Rumble!* The long saber cleaved downward, and the colossal claw struck out, producing a deafening crash! A huge hole was torn through Su Yu's chest, while the Dragon Ancestor's dragon horn was partially severed by the blade. A complete lunatic! In the rear, even the God Ancestor was slightly stunned. Was this guy truly fighting to the death with the dragon? Fortunately, he hadn't blocked him! Otherwise, Su Yu would have come after him instead. Naturally, he wouldn't just stand by idly forever. He transmitted his voice to Zhou: "We cannot let this go on. Recover for a brief moment, then join me in killing Su Yu and King Wu first, and soon after, execute Wen Yu... If Qiong remains obstinate... we join forces with Kong to kill Qiong!" He glanced around. The people of the Heavenly Gate could not afford to lose any more. Any further deaths, and the losses to the entire Heavenly Gate would be catastrophic. Regardless of whom people had pledged allegiance to, fundamentally, they were all existences of this era! Cooperation was merely cooperation! In the end, it was their own era that mattered most! Because reviving meant reviving an entire era. Every era had different requirements—not everyone was like the Heavenly Gate, able to rapidly recover just by killing people and devouring Daos. In the distance, Zhou glanced at him and nodded silently. Perhaps God was right. Hongtian's forced descent bore a heavy responsibility for the Immortal Ancestor's demise. Zhou remained silent; Immortal had wanted to borrow power, but Hongtian had instead sought to descend. If that fool had gone all out to support Immortal just now, Immortal might not have died! Those bastards from the Human Gate... were far too disappointing! Revealing their daggers before the map was even fully unrolled—the time hadn't even come yet! Damned fools! While they were conversing, Su Yu let out another furious roar: "Human Burial!" This saber strike cut through the ancient and the modern, sweeping down as if bearing countless figures from the past, present, and future, slashing toward the Dragon Ancestor. Zhou and God glanced at it and looked away, knowing this strike couldn't possibly kill the Dragon Ancestor! Powerful as it was, Su Yu's claim of slaying his foe in three moves... was absolute nonsense! They were at the same realm; how could anyone be killed by you in just three moves? …… Right at this moment, Shi was the first to detect something amiss! *Boom!* A tremendous crash rattled the Heavenly Gate. In addition to the worlds of Lan Tian and King Wen, a third world slammed against the Heavenly Gate—the Human Sovereign's world! Yet this impact still failed to break through the gate! The Heavenly Gate trembled! Three worlds attacking in concert from within and without—so what? You simply will not be allowed inside! The Lord of Dead Spirits was dead... Just as that thought crossed Shi's mind, a somewhat familiar world power surged forth once more, crashing outward. The Heavenly Gate shook violently, and this time, it could no longer hold it back. In that instant, the phantom of a world pierced through the Heavenly Gate! …… Simultaneously. Su Yu's third saber cleaved down. With a thunderous boom, the Dragon Ancestor spat blood, and Su Yu also coughed blood. Yet the Dragon Ancestor burst into hearty laughter: "Idiot!" *Kill me in three moves? Are you telling jokes? You fool!* This time, however, Su Yu merely gritted his teeth, snorted coldly, and slashed out with another strike—a seemingly light, drifting blow. Those three grand moves had been shouted out so loudly! None of them were weak, but Su Yu had still been boasting! The Dragon Ancestor was actually inwardly surprised. Su Yu was very strong, giving him the impression of being no weaker than an ordinary 33-Dao expert. But so what if he was strong? With the Lord of Dead Spirits dead, this fellow was finished too! Seeing the light, drifting saber strike before him, he didn't get careless, but he didn't pay it too much heed either. Yet the moment before the long saber descended... Suddenly, a world descended from the heavens. Many froze in astonishment. An external world? Where had an external world come from? Had the Lord of Dead Spirits revived? Su Yu roared at the top of his lungs, "My grandfather has revived!" "He has returned from hell!" Everyone's hearts lurched in shock. Yet looking at that illusory world, it didn't seem quite like the Lord of Dead Spirits' world. They all turned to look toward the place where the Lord of Dead Spirits had fallen. Right at that instant, the world vanished. The next moment it reappeared, it had already settled over Su Yu's head. A surge of world power poured in, yin and yang harmonizing. At this moment, that saber brimmed with unimaginable power. Around Su Yu, thirty-four formidable golden dragons swirled. "Die!" A single saber slashed toward the colossal dragon. This strike, fusing two worlds into one, was incomparably stronger than before! Thirty-four Daos against thirty-two Daos—Su Yu was already monstrous, yet even against the God Ancestor, he had been battered half to death. What was more, Su Yu had planned this meticulously against an unsuspecting enemy. Meanwhile, the Dragon Ancestor had already been severely injured by Su Yu's first three strikes and had continuously assumed Su Yu was only at 32 Daos. This sudden explosion of power filled him with sheer terror! *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* Three strikes? No, in this instant as the world descended, Su Yu cleaved out three thousand strikes in a single breath! A colossal roar shook the surroundings, reverberating through heaven and earth! "Perish!" With a sharp cry, beneath the horrified gazes of everyone present, the colossal dragon was instantly hacked into pieces, his physical body blowing apart! His Great Dao manifested—a dragon-shaped Great Dao. And from within Su Yu's world, a Dao of Life and Death that ground away all things emerged, instantly obliterating this dragon-shaped Dao until it shattered! Su Yu bellowed and kicked out, seemingly kicking the void to pieces! That dragon-shaped phantom was kicked through the broken void, tumbling straight into the place where the Lord of Dead Spirits had fallen. The Great Dao was collapsing! Yet halfway through its collapse, it abruptly halted! A colossal dragon slowly materialized. Horror filled the Dragon Ancestor's eyes. He had nearly been killed; half of his Dao had crumbled, but thankfully, he had survived! He hadn't died! He laughed! The Dragon Ancestor laughed maniacally, the laughter of someone who had survived a catastrophe. Su Yu had erupted with the power of 34 Daos, plotting for so long just for that sudden ambush. In that moment, the dragon had thought he was doomed! Yet he wasn't! "I survived!" He roared frenziedly, "He's from the myriad realms... No, he is the myriad realms' Su Yu... He isn't from inside the gate!" At this moment, Su Yu was completely exposed! Yet Su Yu didn't care in the slightest and slashed out again! "Ah..." A shriek of agony rang out—it was the Phoenix Ancestor! That the Dragon Ancestor hadn't died wasn't because Su Yu truly couldn't kill him, but because if he died here, his Dao would collapse and his life force would scatter right on the spot. So he had kicked him over there instead. He doubted that bastard would dare rush back immediately. Over there, his leaking life force might allow the Lord of Dead Spirits to revive. As for the Phoenix Ancestor... she was merely at 31 Daos! Right now, with Su Yu wielding the power of 34 Daos, killing the phoenix wasn't difficult at all! Especially with King Wu pinning her down relentlessly! *Hum!* Another strike cleaved downward. With a thunderous boom, the Phoenix Ancestor's physical body was completely obliterated, revealing a Great Dao that hadn't yet been fully drawn into her form. Su Yu hacked at it frantically, and his world swallowed it whole! *Rumble!* Amidst an earth-shattering crash, the Phoenix Ancestor let out a piercing shriek. *Bang!* Her Great Dao shattered completely, and she perished on the spot! If he couldn't kill a 32-Dao expert in time, could he not kill a 31-Dao one? Heaven and earth fell dead silent! "Su Yu!" "Su Yu!" "..." There was Qiong's astonishment, Kong's enraged roar, and the distant Shi's sheer horror. The myriad realms' Su Yu? Then who had been helping King Wen all this time? Just how many Heaven-Openers did the myriad realms possess? At this moment, even Shi was shaken! Too many shocking things had happened today. He was actually the myriad realms' Su Yu! The moment the dual worlds merged, everyone realized: this person was the real Su Yu of the myriad realms! As for the one impersonating him... who knew who else in the myriad realms had opened a world? Kong let out a furious roar, "Kill him! Qiong, what in the world are you doing? It's all a trap..." Qiong also hesitated, deeply shocked. In fact, he had suspected it before, but when Lan Tian appeared later, he had dismissed the thought. Yet now that Su Yu had truly merged two worlds... he was utterly speechless! *Fuck!* *Turns out my original guess was right.* *That old fox Xingyu has been playing me all along!* Su Yu didn't care about any of that. He was exposed! Things were exceedingly perilous now. He looked at King Wu, nodded quickly, and charged toward Wen Yu's battlefield! The God Ancestor and Zhou both blanched, swiftly chasing after Su Yu! This was someone from the myriad realms! They were all in this together! Meanwhile, the heavily wounded Dragon Ancestor continued to laugh crazily, howling, "Kill him! This seat knew there was something wrong with him! As expected, he had a problem..." Su Yu hadn't managed to kill him! Right now, his life force was draining away and the majority of his Dao had shattered; there was nothing he could do about it, but he had survived! Surviving was all that mattered! He was ecstatic that Su Yu had failed to kill him. That exhilarating sense of having survived a fatal brush with death had nearly terrified him out of his wits just moments ago, but he was alive! Yet at that very moment, beneath his body, a pair of blackened hands emerged from the void. The Lord of Dead Spirits! At this moment, the Lord of Dead Spirits was also consumed by lingering dread and panic. *Fuck!* *I almost truly died!* *Su Yu, you beast! You said killing the Immortal Ancestor would be enough! Not only did I kill the Immortal Ancestor, I even slew Hongtian's avatar, and damn it all, even that wasn't enough!* He had been trapped in that tiny space of extinction, struggling wildly, roaring in frenzy, but to no avail! His very soul had been on the verge of total annihilation! He had nearly gone mad with fury! *Su Yu, you pit-digging bastard!* *If you'd told me earlier that killing one wouldn't be enough, I wouldn't have dared to extinguish myself!* Thankfully, this unreliable wretch had sent the Dragon Ancestor to him in the end. Thankfully, the unreliable bastard had managed to be reliable just this once! Well, not bad! He had even sent a massive hunk of meat to nourish his body. Last time he fought Kong, Su Yu had mentioned catching a dragon to nourish his constitution, but he hadn't managed to eat it then. This time... it would do! The Dragon Ancestor was still roaring, but gradually, a bone-chilling cold crept over him. Something seemed to be crawling upon his flesh. At that moment, the Lord of Dead Spirits crawled out from hell. He was somewhat weak; he had experienced the cycle of life, death, and extinction, but... he needed to replenish his body! Last time, Su Yu had replenished more than enough—at 31 Daos he had killed a 32-Dao expert, so he was thoroughly nourished. Yet for the 35-Dao Lord of Dead Spirits... the Immortal Ancestor and Hongtian's avatar hadn't been nourishing enough. He was starving! The Dragon Ancestor's shouting came to an abrupt halt. A look of pure terror surfaced in his massive eyes! At this moment, upon his back, the Lord of Dead Spirits crawled over him. He was so very hungry. A grin crept across his face, and he let out an eerie, hollow voice: "So hungry... Little worm, may I eat you?" "No... NO!" The colossal dragon suddenly let out a frantic, terror-stricken roar. But grievously wounded by Su Yu, how could he possibly match the Lord of Dead Spirits right now? At this moment, everyone looked over again! "Ah! No!" "Mercy..." "Little worm... you smell delicious!" The next instant, beneath everyone's horrified gazes, the Lord of Dead Spirits bared his teeth and bit down. With a sickening crunch, more than half of the colossal dragon's body was swallowed into his stomach! It was as if he were slurping noodles, sucking it down! The dragon's head thrashed wildly, but starting from the tail, it vanished bit by bit, devoured completely! A spine-chilling cold erupted! In this instant, even Shi and the others felt a profound chill grip them! The Lord of Dead Spirits had revived! He had truly greeted new life from the jaws of death! The God Ancestor and Zhou, who had been about to chase down Su Yu, were instantly drenched in cold sweat! Under everyone's terrified gazes, the Lord of Dead Spirits swallowed the thrashing dragon whole, letting out a satisfied burp. With a thunderous boom, the colossal dragon vanished entirely! Dao power rippled violently! Yet it was useless! Taking a deep breath, the Lord of Dead Spirits drew countless powers from heaven and earth toward himself in an instant—powers of life, powers of death! It was no longer purely the power of death! "The cycle of life and death... I have completed it!" With a twisted, ecstatic smile, his presence swept across heaven and earth! All the stray power scattered nearby was swallowed by him entirely! At this moment, he was half-black and half-white, life and death intertwining. With supreme ease and satisfaction, he stepped forward, shattering the void. The next instant, the Heavenly Gate trembled! A wave of monstrous power swept in as two worlds instantly merged into one! Previously, upon merging worlds, he possessed roughly the power of 37 Daos, nearing 38 Daos. But now... in an instant, his aura reached the power of 38 Daos and continued to climb! He vanished instantly! When he reappeared, he was already right in front of the God Ancestor and Zhou! In the distance, Shi's face warped drastically! "Qiong, Kong!" He roared maniacally, abandoning King Wen altogether as he vanished and charged toward the Lord of Dead Spirits! Disaster had struck! A catastrophic disaster! The Lord of Dead Spirits had truly revived! Moreover, he was far more powerful than before! Only at this moment did everyone realize why Su Yu had targeted the Dragon Ancestor—because... the Lord of Dead Spirits needed life force! They understood! They had figured out the secret of revival! It wasn't something achieved easily; it required sufficiently vast life force. Even an Immortal wasn't enough—it took a dragon as well for the Lord of Dead Spirits to revive. Kong roared frantically as well, "Qiong!" Qiong's face shifted slightly, his gaze changing. He suddenly stopped obstructing Kong, allowing him to charge madly toward the Lord of Dead Spirits! Because if Kong didn't go, the God Ancestor and Zhou might both be slaughtered! If those two were killed... Su Yu was currently charging toward the Blade Ancestor and the Martial Lord. Both he and Wen Yu were 34-Dao powerhouses; besieging two 32-Dao figures... the Heavenly Gate faction would crumble! Immortal and Dragon were already dead, and Phoenix had fallen too, though she wasn't an ultra-tier. If a few more died... the Heavenly Gate would be in dire straits! At this moment, he chose to stay his hand. Whatever else he was, he belonged to this era, not Su Yu's. Qiong's expression flickered erratically! *I... might have been used!* *Human Sovereign!* He looked toward the Human Sovereign. Atop Mount Tianqiong, the Human Sovereign's phantom emerged, looking back at him with a smile: "Remain neutral!" Qiong's face was extremely dark! *Boom!* Another colossal roar echoed. The God Ancestor and Zhou were instantly blasted backward, vomiting blood continuously. Fortunately, Kong arrived the next moment and unleashed a strike. With a massive boom, Kong was pushed back dozens of paces, trampling the void to dust! The three supreme powerhouses no longer dared to hold anything back, attacking the Lord of Dead Spirits with all their might! Shi also rapidly tore through the void, ignoring his consumption of energy as he traversed heaven and earth, hurling an immense mountain straight at the Lord of Dead Spirits! A 38-Dao Lord of Dead Spirits! Shi roared at the top of his lungs, "Gate! Let the others' worlds enter, block his world! Hurry! You idiot, wake your consciousness faster!" Selectively allow entry! Since it couldn't stop worlds from entering entirely, it had to block the Lord of Dead Spirits'. Otherwise... they were in deep trouble. A 38-Dao Lord of Dead Spirits was terrifyingly strong, and his aura was still climbing! If this continued, even with four supreme experts joining forces, they might meet disaster, because Zhou's wounds hadn't healed! Kong was injured too! None of them were in their prime! In the distance, the Heavenly Gate shuddered! It trembled violently, seemingly waking slightly at this moment as a monstrous will resonated across the void: "Sun, Moon, go aid the battle!" A low shout rang out like the collapse of heaven! The next instant, two formidable existences appeared from within the gate. Just as they emerged, King Wen's aura abruptly surged. *Boom!* A book enveloped heaven and earth! Meanwhile, the Heavenly Gate's voice echoed, "I need some time... Seal all passageways! Sever their power channels... Hold on, all of you!" It had awakened somewhat! It intended to completely seal the passageways—the world passageways—denying anyone the chance to borrow world power! Only at this moment had it awakened, because it sensed a mortal crisis. Waking prematurely was actually detrimental to it; only deep slumber allowed maximum healing. …… Meanwhile, the Lord of Dead Spirits laughed maniacally. *Rumble!* One fist of life, one fist of death! Battling the four supreme experts alone, he roared, "I told you, I would walk out of hell!" *Rumble!* His long fists crashed forward. Zhou, being the most heavily injured, was blasted away by a punch, spitting blood continuously. Yet he immediately flew forward again! He had to stop him! Wait for the Heavenly Gate to awaken, wait for the gate to sever the passageways. Once severed, the Lord of Dead Spirits would drop to roughly 36 Daos, and he wouldn't be nearly as terrifying as he was now! …… At this moment, Su Yu's expression changed slightly. "Kill!" He roared, glancing at Wen Yu. Wen Yu understood instantly: *Kill Martial!* Ignoring the Blade Ancestor, the two charged frantically toward the Martial Lord! They battered the Martial Lord until he coughed blood incessantly and his physical body repeatedly collapsed. The Blade Ancestor looked grim. Right now... he had two choices. First, flee immediately! Second... join the fray! Joining the fight meant they might both die. After a brief hesitation, however, the Blade Ancestor swiftly joined the battle! Four powerhouses clashed in the void, tearing heaven and earth asunder! Two 34-Dao fighters against two 32-Dao fighters. "World Descent!" Su Yu roared as his dual worlds enveloped the surroundings. Wen Yu also shouted furiously, her world overlapping Su Yu's—three worlds stacked together! "Kill!" *Boom!* After an earth-shattering crash, the Martial Lord's physical form fractured. Clenching his fist, he suddenly threw a punch toward the Blade Ancestor. The Blade Ancestor's expression changed as he took the blow—a blow of tremendous might that knocked him flying, carrying an overwhelming force. Gritting his teeth, the Blade Ancestor called out, "Senior Brother..." The Martial Lord roared, "Go!" They truly were disciples of the Human Gate. They possessed faith! At this moment, the Martial Lord knew he was doomed—not for any other reason, but simply because of King Wu! In this instant, he understood completely! These people were determined to kill him! "Go!" The Martial Lord roared again, his physical body reforming as he wielded a massive axe—the Ancestor of the Martial Dao! *Boom!* The axe cleaved downward, rending heaven and earth. Seeing that the Blade Ancestor seemed obstructed, he let out a shrill howl: "Let him leave! Otherwise, this seat will detonate this Martial Dao, and none of you will profit from it!" Su Yu hesitated slightly, but opened the encirclement. Gritting his teeth, blood seeped from the Blade Ancestor's lips. The next instant, he flew out of the triple worlds! Within the worlds, deafening explosions rang out incessantly! The Martial Lord unleashed the eighteen martial disciplines, fighting until heaven collapsed and earth shattered. Yet how could a 32-Dao fighter match two 34-Dao Heaven-Openers? With an earth-shattering boom, he was completely blown apart! The Martial Lord's final roar resonated through heaven and earth: "Lord, I want to return to the myriad realms! I want to go back! I have had enough of this ruined era! Slaughter the new era, avenge me!" *Boom!* The Martial Lord perished and his Great Dao shattered. King Wu rapidly devoured it! Meanwhile, the voice of the gate echoed coldly through heaven and earth: "We will! We definitely will! I am sealing the world power... Hold on a little longer, just a little longer, and kill them!" The massive gate shook violently! Right at this moment, just as Su Yu was about to aid the Lord of Dead Spirits, the Human Sovereign's voice sounded in his ear: "Retreat! Take everyone and retreat quickly! Once the world power is sealed, all of you will be fully exposed... Right now, that will only unite them against you... Qiong is not one of ours. He is struggling inwardly right now. Before he strikes... take everyone and retreat quickly!" Qiong was not from the myriad realms! Yet right now, his emotions were too conflicted, so he had remained neutral. Still... the Human Sovereign didn't know how long that neutrality would last. "Head south! There is a passageway to retreat back through. Hurry... Don't worry about King Wen; I've had Lan Tian informed, and he will relay it to King Wen... Hurry!" The objectives had been accomplished! They had killed Immortal and Martial, and additionally slain Dragon and Phoenix. If they didn't retreat now, once the Heavenly Gate fully locked down the passageways and their strength plummeted, it would become far more dangerous! Gritting his teeth, Su Yu looked at Wen Yu and transmitted urgently, "Help me kill Zhou—one more kill, and then... retreat with me!" Wen Yu said nothing. At this moment, she obeyed Su Yu's every command. Su Yu wanted to seize this final moment before the Heavenly Gate sealed everything to execute the heavily wounded Zhou. Slaying one more now meant one less problem in the future! At this moment, the Lord of Dead Spirits was still fighting four supreme experts alone. Formidable though he was, he had begun to fall into a disadvantage. His initial ferocity hadn't managed to break the enemy, and they had stabilized their formation. "Zhou!" A sharp roar echoed across the world. The Lord of Dead Spirits understood instantly. Letting out a thunderous shout, he threw a punch! *Boom!* The heavily wounded Zhou was blasted flying by his fist, tumbling straight toward Su Yu and Wen Yu. Zhou's face twisted in sheer terror! Besieging the Lord of Dead Spirits with four people was manageable since he wasn't the main force, but now he was facing two supreme existences, both 34-Dao Heaven-Openers! "Freeze!" Zhou bellowed, forcibly arresting his body. But Su Yu's and Wen Yu's worlds descended together. Without a second word, Su Yu transformed into a long saber, falling directly into Wen Yu's hand! Wen Yu muttered, "I prefer short blades..." Of course, that was just idle talk. The world power of the two merged. After Su Yu summoned his myriad realms world, it was remarkably similar to Wen Yu's, and their worlds naturally resonated. In an instant, Wen Yu's aura surged dramatically! Wielding the long saber... Su Yu! She cleaved downward toward Zhou! Using Su Yu as the blade! *Boom!* This strike was far too terrifying. Zhou was already gravely wounded, and utter despair surfaced on his face. "Qiong..." He roared! The only one who could save him was Qiong! Qiong's expression flickered. A longsword materialized in his hand. With a trace of hesitation and conflict, he finally slashed a sword toward Su Yu and Wen Yu! Right at that instant, the Human Sovereign Seal suddenly vibrated violently! *Boom!* Qiong dazed for a brief instant, his longsword vanishing. The next moment, he snapped awake in raging fury, glaring toward the Human Sovereign! *Bang!* A colossal roar echoed between heaven and earth! As the blade cleaved down, Zhou was sliced into utter dust! Instantly reverting to his true form, Su Yu roared, "Retreat!" The Lord of Dead Spirits hadn't had his fill of battle, but he didn't hesitate. Forcing back several foes in a flash, the three powerhouses converged, grabbed King Wu who was still devouring the Dao, and rapidly fled toward King Wen in the distance! King Wen was also flying frantically toward them! In the rear, the two experts Sun and Moon looked shaken, having just regrouped with the Blade Ancestor. Meanwhile, Su Yu's group of five joined together and fled southward at blinding speed. Their collective strength was extraordinarily formidable, but... the next moment, the Heavenly Gate shuddered violently! *Rumble!* The auras of Su Yu, King Wen, and the Lord of Dead Spirits dropped sharply in an instant as their world power vanished! The Heavenly Gate had succeeded! Its voice echoed with palpable weakness: "I must slumber again to recover... You... take care of yourselves... Do not squabble among yourselves anymore... Let the grievances of the past... be wiped away..." *Boom!* The Heavenly Gate vanished completely! At this moment, Shi, Kong, the God Ancestor, Sun, Moon, and the Blade Ancestor converged rapidly, their faces dark with fury. The next moment, they gave chase toward Su Yu and the others! Shi's enraged roar came from behind: "Qiong, which side are you actually on?" He had seen Qiong move to intercept earlier, only to appear swayed at the last second! Qiong said nothing. Bearing traces of weakness and struggle, he gritted his teeth. "I need to purge some influences... Do... as you please!" With that, he vanished straight into Mount Tianqiong, and the mountain disappeared. Yet the Human Sovereign's Heavenly Gate still hung suspended, leaving behind a massive seal—the Human Sovereign Seal! "Xingyu... well played!" Qiong's voice echoed from afar, his figure already gone, tinged with fury yet laced with helplessness. He had been deeply affected; at this moment, he couldn't even bring himself to destroy the Human Sovereign Seal. Dammit! *Xingyu, just you wait!* The Human Sovereign sighed as the Human Sovereign Seal flew swiftly into the Heavenly Gate, murmuring with some wistfulness, "I still couldn't completely win you over... What a pity. My ever-victorious Dao only managed to keep you neutral..." Qiong truly was extraordinary! "Qiong, if you want your true body back... you'll still have to cooperate with me. I'll be waiting!" The Human Sovereign chuckled, vanishing in an instant, and the Heavenly Gate disappeared as well! *Since Qiong has fled, I'm leaving too!* *Time to receive Su Yu and the others!* *Nothing had better go wrong now!*