The Human Gate

Su Yu was curious about King Dazhou, curious about Xing, and also curious about why the replica of the Time Record had fused into him back then. At this moment, he wanted to go have a chat with King Dazhou. Yet after weighing it repeatedly, he decided to wait. He would wait until Wen Yu had results on her end! There were countless rogue cultivators over there; he would see when she could thoroughly comb through them. Meanwhile, once his world had completely stabilized its integration, Su Yu dismissed the others to do as they pleased, keeping only a select few behind, along with three captives: Riyue, Heiyue, and Fa. It was time to get a detailed grasp of the Human Gate and Heavenly Gate. In truth, the Immortal Ancestor and Zhou probably knew even more, but powerhouses of that caliber could only be killed; capturing them alive was simply too difficult. …… Inside the hall. Su Yu sipped tea instead of drinking wine. He had been brewing leaves plucked from Tea Tree all along, to the point that he had nearly plucked the tree bare. He wondered if Wen Yu still remembered Tea Tree. If she did, would she come asking for him back? In any case, Su Yu was rather reluctant to give him back. Tea Tree belongs to my camp now. Wan Tiansheng was present as well. Seeing Su Yu sipping tea at his leisure, he could not help but smile. Without disturbing Su Yu, his smile broadened as he turned his gaze toward Heiyue. Riyue and Fa could be interrogated in a moment. "Your name is Heiyue?" Wan Tiansheng looked at Heiyue. At this moment, Heiyue was trembling from head to toe. Even though he had cultivated to twenty-eight Daos and stood as an immensely powerful expert, here before Su Yu, he still could not stop shivering. "Yes, my name is Heiyue! I hail from Wangsi City..." Su Yu yawned. "Wangsi City? When I asked you last time, didn't you say you had no idea?" "My lord..." Heiyue hastily explained, "Earlier, I truly did not know..." Boom! A bolt of lightning struck down, carrying concentrated masculine yang energy. It blasted Heiyue into a cry of agony, causing a plume of black smoke to billow from him. Su Yu chuckled. "After uniting yin and yang, I discovered an interesting fact: you figures from the past actually dread genuine yang essence. For instance, lightning like this, completely unleashed with the power of the myriad realms' laws, inflicts catastrophic harm on you—it can even shatter your origin!" Heiyue shuddered violently. "My lord, I am telling the truth! I was originally a rogue cultivator who was later subjugated by a mysterious figure. At first, I really didn't know Zhou was an emissary of the Human Gate within the Heavenly Gate! Only when your lordship slew Zhou did I realize..." Su Yu gave a faint smile. "So you're just a nobody, then?" Heiyue showed terror. "My lord, I know many things! When they sought to win us over back then, that exalted figure from the Human Gate personally manifested—even though it was only a projection, he was terrifyingly powerful! I do possess some understanding of the Human Gate. In order to recruit us, he couldn't completely avoid revealing information about it... Of course, it was all according to his words; I cannot verify how much was true or false!" "Go on, speak," Su Yu smiled faintly. "Stop trembling. Come, sit down and chat; have a cup of tea! You're a supreme expert of twenty-eight Daos, after all. Barely anyone across these myriad realms could match you. What a formidable figure you are, yet here you put on such a pitiful front before me... What, playing the victim for my sympathy?" "..." Heiyue felt utterly helpless. That depended on whom he was facing! He was confronting a monster who had slain multiple forbidden land masters. Yet with Su Yu speaking like this, he dared not talk back. Trembling with fear, he sat down and picked up the teacup, not daring to drink for a long time. Only after a good while did he venture, "My lord, if I speak everything I know, could your lordship spare my life?" Su Yu chuckled. "Hard to say. It depends on whether you're useful to me! If you're useless, your Dao will be severed, fused into someone else's Great Dao, and you will be reduced to ash! When dealing with enemies... I never show mercy! If you're useful, it's not impossible to spare you. I have few virtues, but I'm quite a man of my word... Mhm, the myriad realms all know this. Care to take a chance?" Heiyue felt thoroughly resigned. Lowering his head, he cast his thoughts back before speaking: "I had always been a rogue cultivator inside the Heavenly Gate, unaffiliated with any forbidden land. I was born toward the end of the Heaven-Opening Era and was later sealed away! Roughly over eight thousand years ago, I was still at twenty-four Daos, which was considered quite renowned among rogue cultivators, as those above twenty-five Daos were exceedingly rare!" "Back then, I encountered a crisis and was hunted down... I didn't know who it was at the time, but now I know it must have been Zhou!" Heiyue explained, "Back then, he could have killed me, but he didn't. Instead, he imprisoned me. Only later did I realize it was to subdue me and make me do his bidding!" Su Yu remarked flatly, "All right, drop the act!" Su Yu grew impatient. "You simply kept your mouth shut before. Did you really think I wouldn't see through you? Would Zhou need to go through so much trouble to recruit you? If he approached you and openly declared himself to be Zhou, a forbidden land master of thirty-four Daos, don't I know the nature of you people in the Heavenly Gate? You would have dropped to your knees on the spot, begging to call him daddy if he'd just take you in! As for colluding with the Human Gate—in your eyes, as long as you can grow stronger and survive, who cares whom you collude with?" Su Yu snorted, his gaze turning icy. "You refused to speak before, and I thought you actually possessed some backbone, enduring days of torment without breaking! That was only because you harbored full confidence in Zhou and that figure from the Human Gate. Only when you realized I killed Zhou did you finally turn coward!" "Heiyue, if you take me for an idiot, feel free to keep spinning tales! If I believe a single word of your nonsense, consider me a fool! And I'll gladly show you what a fate worse than death truly feels like!" That cold snort shattered Heiyue's eardrums, causing blood to leak from all seven orifices! Heiyue's expression changed drastically. Only now did he truly slump in defeat. "Yes, your lordship's reprimand is just. It was me... I just wanted to survive! Because I knew how powerful Zhou was before, even though your lordship possesses immense strength, I thought... I thought you were no match for Zhou. If I betrayed them, they would know, and I would be finished!" Su Yu did not bother lecturing further, leaning back against his chair to keep listening. Heiyue let out a sigh. "Long ago, Zhou pledged allegiance to the Human Gate. I truly met that supreme figure from the Human Gate! I faintly overheard Zhou address him by name once; he should be called Ji Tian." Su Yu's brow twitched, but he remained silent. Very few people bore the name Ji. He only knew of one: Zhou Ji! Ji Tian? Great Sage Ji Tian? Another Great Sage? This was something Su Yu had only learned recently—that the supreme figures within the Human Gate were seemingly known as Great Sages. Was Zhou Ji his subordinate, or was Zhou Ji an avatar of his? Had he possessed Zhou Ji's physical body long ago directly through Zhou Ji's Human Gate? Zhou Ji had once claimed he was born to welcome someone—was it to welcome the Human Ancestor, or to welcome this Great Sage Ji Tian? Did a connection exist between the two? Doubt after doubt surfaced in Su Yu's mind. He did not interject, letting the man continue. Unaware of what Su Yu was contemplating, Heiyue continued, "Within the Human Gate, I once overheard Zhou chatting with that figure. The Human Gate is different from the other two gates; within it, the Human Gate itself is the absolute sovereign! Beneath that sovereign are the Great Sages, the tier to which Ji Tian belongs! The Human Gate possesses rules and unity, though those Great Sages might compete among themselves or have separate assignments..." This time, Su Yu interrupted him: "You mean to say the will of the Human Gate is conscious, and it exercises unified rule over the gate?" "Yes. Of course, that is only what I heard..." How could Heiyue dare make an absolute claim? He hastened to add, "Once, Ji Tian conversed with Zhou. Whether to intimidate us or to warn Zhou, he mentioned that the Human Gate was a supreme expert from the era of the Lord of Time... The Human Gate once contended with the Lord of Time, only to be defeated and suppressed! However, now that the Lord of Time has vanished, the Human Gate is the foremost powerhouse of the present day! In earlier eras, he had been slumbering, but in this era, the Human Gate will awaken! Thoroughly awaken! He will sweep across heaven and earth once more to seek out the Lord of Time..." Heiyue went on, "There is another point: the Human Gate might be related to the devouring locusts!" Su Yu was startled. Devouring locusts? Those world-destroying monsters? What kind of nonsense was that? Heiyue explained, "This was something Zhou mentioned offhandedly. Once, after we eradicated a batch of devouring locusts, Zhou glanced at them and remarked casually that the Human Gate might truly awaken completely... The devouring locusts might be manifestations of the Human Gate's will..." Glints flashed in Su Yu's eyes. "Manifestations of will... devouring locusts, world doom, ruin... The Human Gate represents ruin and apocalypse?" He frowned slightly. "Did the Human Gate initiate the apocalypse?" He quickly suppressed these thoughts. Su Yu was in no rush. He would gather intelligence bit by bit to reconstruct the truth. Once sufficient information was amassed, he could deduce the answers he sought. An inability to deduce things simply meant there were not enough pieces of the puzzle. Heiyue continued, "Aside from this, regarding the Human Gate... those so-called Great Sages might be entities on the same level as Kong and the others!" Su Yu's expression stirred slightly. "Above thirty-six Daos?" "Very likely!" Heiyue said immediately, "I don't know the exact details, but once when Zhou brought up Qiong, Ji Tian said not to provoke him—unless his true body descended, he could do nothing against an existence of that tier either! Thus, I deduce that his true body must possess comparable strength!" Those above thirty-six Daos were Great Sages! "How many Great Sages are there?" "This, this humble one truly does not know!" Heiyue shook his head. "But there certainly cannot be many, because Ji Tian once mentioned, 'Those few have their own arrangements as well...' 'Those few,' not 'those people' or 'those dozen or so.' Thus, I suspect they do not exceed ten!" That sounded reasonable. Su Yu thought to himself: presently, among the Three Gates, who stood at thirty-six Daos? Kong, Shi, Qiong, the Lord of Dead Spirits, the Heavenly Gate, the Earth Gate... Of those currently known, these six ought to be. The Heavenly Gate and Earth Gate definitely were! As for the rest, the Human Ancestor and the Lord of Chaos remained uncertain. The Human Ancestor might be, or might not be. As for the Lord of Chaos, he was the sole supreme existence within the Earth Gate; it was said King Wen had been repelled by him, so he certainly was not weak. If the Human Sovereign could fully recover now and had also opened a world, he stood a solid chance of entering that tier soon; it all depended on his recovery. King Wen had merged two worlds into one. In the myriad realms' world, he originally commanded the power of thirty-two Daos, but he had only just opened the world inside the gate. He might reach thirty-four Daos, but whether he could reach thirty-five Daos remained up in the air. And then there was the Prison King! Su Yu thought of her. She was a ferocious powerhouse among the Four Cardinal Human Kings, had studied under the Time Master to tread the path of myriad laws, and had even contemplated opening a world. King Wen and the Human Sovereign had both fallen into dire straits all these years, but what about her? If her journey had been smooth sailing, she might... be terrifyingly formidable! Yu was vicious enough! According to King Wu's description of Yu, she was an exceptionally calm, venomous woman who possessed her own ambitions. Back then, she had likely been weaker than King Wen, but as for now, it was hard to say. One thought after another surfaced. Counting all these figures, the thirty-six-Dao powerhouses across the Heavenly Gate, Earth Gate, and the outside world combined still numbered fewer than ten. Between thirty-six and thirty-five Daos, there was no qualitative leap in cultivation. However, thirty-six-Dao experts aligned with the count of thirty-six Heavenly Spirits; their Great Dao power formed a stable, closed loop. Su Yu had seen them fight: their Daos and fleshly bodies were almost thoroughly merged, truly achieving the unity of Dao and body. Such figures were exceedingly hard to kill! Yet the Lord of Dead Spirits was also formidable. Having succeeded in fusing his worlds this time, he might advance to thirty-nine Daos. Su Yu felt that even inside the Human Gate, it would be difficult to find a match for him! Su Yu did not know the exact power levels of the Three Gates, but since the Earth Gate was right nearby, perhaps he could probe him, or ask around to see if he could obtain an answer. The Lord of Dead Spirits... Su Yu could not help but marvel inwardly; he was a remarkable character after all! No matter where he went, he was an absolute titan! From the myriad realms to the Heavenly Gate, from the Heavenly Gate to the Earth Gate, even when all Three Gates emerged together, he would still be among the topmost existences. Back then, Su Yu had consistently ranked him as number two in the myriad realms—there had truly been good reason for it! What great judgment I have! Su Yu praised himself inwardly; his discernment was remarkably keen. Seeing Su Yu lost in thought, Heiyue waited a moment until Su Yu glanced back over before continuing, "Wen Yu being trapped back then was actually that figure's scheme! He contacted Fa and also contacted the Heavenly Gate. He possessed a vast amount of intelligence—intelligence regarding the myriad realms!" "He knew King Wen was extraordinarily gifted here, knew Wen Yu's true identity, and even knew Wen Yu was seeking to open a world... Therefore, at that time, he reached an agreement with the Heavenly Gate to weaken the power of the myriad realms! They lured Wen Yu into exploring the River of Time; the Heavenly Gate was responsible for laying the trap, while Fa used his own Dao of Myriad Laws as bait... In order to open a world and grow stronger, Wen Yu was certain to take the bait!" "Sure enough, Wen Yu fell into the trap in the end. While roaming the River of Time, she was pulled past the gate by the Heavenly Gate's initiative. Afterward, she was trapped by Fa. But Wen Yu was exceedingly decisive: at that very moment, she chose to open her world instantly! Her world became entangled with Fa's Domain of Myriad Laws. Fa was forced to open his world as well, intending to devour hers, only to be suppressed in turn!" Su Yu laughed. "To plot against Wen Yu, you all certainly spared no expense. The Heavenly Gate, Fa, and Ji Tian all mobilized. But since you successfully lured King Wen and King Wu over, never mind the others—why didn't Zhou go kill King Wen?" Heiyue gave an awkward chuckle. "To keep Fa in check! So that Fa wouldn't truly devour Wen Yu and successfully advance! In truth, that sort of alliance was exceedingly complicated! On one hand, we hoped to pin down the forces of the myriad realms, but on the other hand, we didn't want the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao inside the Heavenly Gate to grow too powerful! Therefore, regarding Fa, everyone stood by and watched, waiting—no one wanted Fa to achieve complete success and become the fourth thirty-six-Dao powerhouse behind the gate!" Su Yu rubbed his chin and glanced at Riyue, who sat without uttering a peep, smiling. "Then why didn't the Heavenly Gate help Fa resolve King Wen's interference? Dao, Wu, Ri, and Yue—four supreme existences in total. Dispatching just one could have taken care of King Wen!" Riyue remained silent. Just then, in the corner, Fa's phantom materialized, remarking flatly, "Why else? They feared I would grow too powerful to control! Ren had not yet fully awakened. When I had thirty-two Daos, Ri and Yue could still handle me. Once I reached thirty-six Daos, how could they contend with me? On one hand, they wanted their subordinates to be strong; on the other, they feared being surpassed. If I truly reached thirty-six Daos and Ri and Yue could no longer stop me, I might turn against Ren. Could he allow that?" "The art of ruling subordinates!" Su Yu chuckled. "Ah, how fascinating. Even at that stage, they didn't forget how to rein in their underlings to prevent an overthrow from below." Fa remained calm. "Quite normal! One gets used to it! It's just like the forbidden lands: why does a forbidden land never produce a second forbidden land master? Is it truly because no one can advance? Certain powerhouses who reached thirty Daos sometimes vanished without a sound... In eight or nine cases out of ten, it was the forbidden land master who took action personally! Why did no forbidden land masters emerge among the rogue cultivators? Why did no one establish new forbidden lands? For the exact same reason!" Su Yu smiled. "Why bother?" "Why bother?" Fa laughed. "Su Yu, at your and my level, there are some things you still haven't seen through. No, rather, one should say you are too young! Behind the gate... it's an age of doom!" Su Yu was slightly taken aback. "The end of the world, the Dharma-ending age!" Fa stated plainly, "You don't truly believe our cultivation requires no external resources at all, do you? Do we not need the power of rules? Many forbidden lands cultivate nearly identical Daos. Even if they aren't entirely the same, their Great Daos run closely adjacent. If you advance, what happens to me? How can I cultivate? Originally, the rules were only enough for me to fuse and cultivate with. Now you want to incorporate the Dao into your body and temper yourself with it—what about me? That creates a conflict!" Su Yu pondered for a moment, then nodded. "True... I haven't really paid attention to such things, mainly because my cultivation doesn't rely much on that sort of thing right now. I primarily rely on plundering, on stripping away others' Great Daos. Right, most of you rely on the power of rules!" "..." Those words were truly the most brutal! He did not rely on standard resources; he relied on plundering and killing. Seeing that Fa had spoken up of his own accord, Su Yu smiled. "Fa, since you've spoken up voluntarily and Riyue doesn't care to say much, why don't you tell me what the situation is with the Heavenly Gate?" Fa said indifferently, "Don't you already know everything? Ren had four disciples, and the chiefs of the Eight Tribes pledged loyalty to him! Dao, Wu, and I were all disciples. Actually, there was one more, but they died back then. Ren's disciples operated in the shadows, while the tribe chiefs were out in the open! Among the eight tribe chiefs, Zhou betrayed him, even supplanting his title as the Human Ancestor. In truth, one could glean clues from that alone... Human Ancestor... aside from the founder of a race, who from later generations would dare style themselves an Ancestor?" "Chen also died in battle back then. Ri, Yue, Wen, and Xing are all in the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao, which is inside the gate. Tian and Ming aren't dead; they might be inside the Earth Gate." Su Yu nodded slightly. "You were his disciple, so you should know—he opened a world, right?" "Correct!" Fa nodded slightly. "He had already opened a world back then, possessing immense strength. Of course, he kept a low profile... but it was useless! The Human Gate had long known his strength. Back then, like you, we also faced the crisis of world destruction. It wasn't the opening of all Three Gates, but the opening of the Human Gate and the Earth Gate... Yet the Human Gate was exceedingly mysterious and low-key; the Earth Gate served as the vanguard back then... The Earth Gate back then was vastly stronger than it is now!" Fa laughed mockingly at himself. "In that era, our primary adversary was the Earth Gate—which was to say, our preceding era, the Chaos Era! In the Heaven-Opening Era, powerhouses were truly abundant, but what the Chaos Era sealed away were the ancient beasts that had roamed heaven and earth... What you see now isn't strong, because most of the powerful ones from back then were slaughtered by us!" "Countless powerhouses fell in that era! Most of the founding ancestors of the myriad races actually perished during that period! For instance, I recall the Five Elements Spirits who dominated heaven and earth back then! Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—the five figures of the Five Elements were unimaginably powerful, yet all died in that era!" "The Two Elders of Yin and Yang also fell in battle during that era!" "..." Fa sighed with emotion. "People like us were merely second-rate in that era. The first-rate figures were existences like Ren, Qiong, Shi, and Kong, all individuals of extraordinary backgrounds! And among them, Ren stood at the very pinnacle!" Su Yu laughed. "Then why did he fail? According to what you've said, you were indeed formidable!" "Because the Earth Gate and Human Gate joined forces; the Human Gate intervened from the shadows. Otherwise, the Earth Gate alone truly might not have defeated us!" Fa stated calmly, "Furthermore, do not underestimate the Earth Gate! You people seem to think the Earth Gate isn't much... That is laughable! The Earth Gate was a true supreme powerhouse of that era. Most of the powerhouses who fell during the Heaven-Opening Era were slain by him! His injuries were too severe because there were simply too many people he had to kill... In the end, he was battered by everyone joining forces, his gateway shattered, and he was forced to retreat!" Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "The Earth Gate was stronger than Ren?" "That was the case back then. But now he is wounded; even though so many years have passed, he likely hasn't fully healed!" Now Su Yu's interest was piqued. "He was that strong? Then how many Daos of power did he possess, do you know?" "Above thirty-six Daos. Exactly how much higher, I am not certain!" He continued, "At present, the strongest, the Lord of Dead Spirits, might still be slightly inferior to him. However, Ren back in that period... might have been comparable to the current Lord of Dead Spirits!" Su Yu laughed. "That weak?" "..." Fa was struck dumb! Fa was thoroughly stunned, snapping his gaze toward Su Yu. What did he mean? Su Yu coughed lightly. "Apologies, I didn't mean it that way. I just meant... the Three Gates sounded so peerless, yet they're only comparable to the Lord of Dead Spirits?" "..." Fa looked blank, managing only after a long pause, "Ren... might have possessed forty Daos of power!" Weak? I certainly don't think so! Is that really weak? I'm completely baffled! And what do you mean by that—do you think the Lord of Dead Spirits isn't strong? But... that fellow is terrifyingly strong right now! He probably commands thirty-eight or thirty-nine Daos of power, doesn't he? He's probably the foremost active powerhouse at this moment! Su Yu chuckled. "So to put it this way, the Heavenly Gate might possess forty Daos of power, while the Earth Gate is slightly stronger than him, and the Human Gate is perhaps the strongest. Is that right?" "Roughly... yes?" Fa was completely thrown off by Su Yu! Su Yu chuckled again. "Don't misunderstand. It is strong, but... it really hasn't exceeded my imagination! In my imagination, the Three Gates were unfathomably terrifying. Now, hearing you describe it, they might just be on par with the Lord of Dead Spirits. Having interacted with Old Dead so much... I've always felt it's just so-so. Hearing you say this, I'm suddenly relieved!" Putting it that way, Old Dead really is formidable! Not bad at all! Fa did not feel like saying anything more. As for the Lord of Dead Spirits, if he weren't powerful, would he dare be so arrogant? Would he dare provoke the Heavenly Gate? Yet he dared to! Because having merged two worlds into one, even if he had not comprehended the Dao of Life and Death this time, with both worlds fully integrated, he would likely step into thirty-eight Daos, surpassing the foremost beast, foremost stone, and foremost sword of the myriad realms! "Understood!" Su Yu nodded and continued, "Are there other powerhouses in the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao?" "None... Of course, if descendants have risen, that would be another matter, but the likelihood is slim. In an era of doom and ending Dharma without a future, aside from old fossils, what newcomers could ever make a name for themselves?" These words carried a trace of self-mockery! Yet they were also the truth! Within the Three Gates, the powerful figures were all old fossils. Virtually no one from the younger generations had entered the first rank; they were even more pitiful than the myriad realms. Out in the myriad realms, the Human Sovereign and his peers were considered the younger generation, and the myriad races were too, yet quite a few first-rank powerhouses had been born. Meanwhile, the active experts in the forbidden lands were all existences from the Heaven-Opening Era. Once sealed, unless one inherited the Great Dao of the previous generation, almost no one rose up. Even a second-generation figure like Jian Kong had only reached twenty-two Daos. "Then how was the Heavenly Gate... oh, Ren, outmaneuvered in the end? I heard he even wanted to sacrifice everyone, but failed, and was instead tricked by them into sealing off his own era?" Fa thought for a moment before replying, "That was in the later stages of the war. Ren was injured—he suffered considerable injuries from a clash with the Earth Gate! In the final large-scale battle, both he and the Earth Gate suffered mutual devastation... As for the so-called sacrifice, you've opened a world yourself, so you know: he merely wanted to incorporate the others into his world to strengthen himself. In truth, it would have been mutually beneficial; he didn't necessarily intend to kill them... But Zhou betrayed him, leaking the news beforehand and adding embellishments, claiming Ren intended to slaughter everyone directly and sacrifice them all!" "This led several powerhouses to deal Ren a fatal strike at the critical juncture!" "In the end, to protect himself and survive, Ren chose to self-seal the era!" Su Yu was puzzled. "Why would self-sealing the era allow him to survive?" He was very curious about this! Fa added, "Because on your end, you have not yet experienced the true onset of the apocalypse! Back then, even the River of Time was collapsing! Everyone's origins were dissipating! At that point, there were two options: first, completely shatter the Earth Gate and eradicate the apocalyptic aura spreading from within it; second, sever the river oneself! Cut off a section of the river and seal it within a world, preventing the river's origin from leaking further!" "Ren chose the second option. He severed that era's section of the river directly and sealed heaven and earth. At that moment, no one had any other choice; they could only choose self-preservation, reinforcing the dark river to keep it from collapsing!" Su Yu understood only vaguely and was still perplexed. "Is the River of Time so easily severed?" That was incredible! Never mind Su Yu; even the current Lord of Dead Spirits couldn't sever it, could he? "It was different. The apocalypse was unlike the present!" Fa sighed. "When that time comes, you will understand. The river trembles and could collapse at any moment! The so-called severing of the river merely meant cutting off the section where we were, severing the river existing in the past... This is also something only world-openers could accomplish! In fact, the Lord of Dead Spirits opening his world was related to that period as well. With the river in upheaval and death qi spreading, he obtained the capital to open the dead spirit world in that era!" So that was it! Therefore, the Lord of Dead Spirits had only succeeded in opening his world in the late stages, when the war was nearing its conclusion. He had also capitalized on the circumstances of the era. "Then Zhou was a pawn of the Human Gate?" "Correct." Su Yu rubbed his chin. "Then he was still active in the new era during the later period—why did he run away afterward? If he hadn't fled and stayed all the way until now, he might have been the number one figure, directly taking control of the era and waiting peacefully for the Human Gate to descend!" Since he was a pawn of the Human Gate, why flee? He could have just waited until now, denying the Human Sovereign and the others their opportunity. How could the myriad realms have reached their current state? Fa smiled. "No one wants to remain a pawn for their entire life!" Su Yu paused, then laughed. "So to say... Zhou might have had his own ambitions?" "Indeed!" Fa was not surprised in the least. "If you were Zhou, would you be content? If you started out as a pawn of the Human Gate, once you grew immensely powerful, would you be content to keep waiting for the Human Gate to descend, offer a pat on the back saying 'well done,' and then... continue acting as a lackey?" "Zhou most likely opened a world as well. Among world-openers, how many are willing to serve under someone else? In that period, once the Lord of Dead Spirits departed, Zhou was the foremost powerhouse under the heavens. In this era, he even led the human race to rise completely; he was the Human Ancestor! Why wouldn't he want to become the hegemon of this era and thoroughly resolve the Three Gates?" Su Yu was startled. "You mean... Zhou might also be protecting this era?" "Why wouldn't he?" Fa chuckled. "This is your era, but it is also his era! He was never sealed; his Great Dao might still remain here, and he could return just like the Lord of Dead Spirits! If so, why would he be bent on destroying this era just to serve as an underling to the Human Gate's era?" Hearing this, Su Yu found it quite reasonable! Before this, he had treated Zhou—the Human Ancestor—as an imaginary enemy! Yet as Fa explained it... not necessarily! Zhou might also want to resolve the Three Gates! Su Yu grew interested. "Hearing you say this makes things rather intriguing! Still... never mind. Even if he wants to protect this era, he probably holds a grudge against me. I've killed quite a few of his descendants!" Su Yu chuckled, then asked, "Is there anything else to add?" "Nothing. Everything else that you should know, you already know." Fa remained calm. "Oh, right, one final point: the Human Gate might truly have awakened, the kind that has awakened completely! In fact... he might be right by your side! The state of the Human Gate is rather unique; anyone beside you could be an incarnation of the Human Gate!" Su Yu laughed. "Sowing discord?" "No, merely stating a fact!" Fa had no interest in driving wedges, sounding exceptionally composed. "The Human Sovereign's severe injury might be linked to the Human Gate! Yes, back then, someone launched an assault from within the Heavenly Gate and wounded the Human Sovereign, but a period of weakness does not simply arrive at random. The origin of the future is actually tied to the Human Gate! Any cultivator who practiced the three-body art might have their physical body possessed by the Human Gate... Furthermore, the Human Gate can manipulate when your period of weakness arrives. Otherwise, how could there be such a coincidence! His period of weakness arrived just in time, the Human Sovereign's Heavenly Gate was attacked just in time, and everything happened to befall the Human Sovereign at that precise moment?" Fa gave a faint smile. "These are merely some personal deductions of mine, but the three-body art is definitely connected to the Human Gate! Back then, the three-body art also circulated within the Heavenly Gate, but it was later eradicated. Those of us in the know all recognized that the three-body art had flaws... And the origins of this cultivation technique were unclear; in all likelihood, it was passed down by the Human Gate!" Su Yu rubbed his chin. "You mean that the origin power of the future isn't actually borrowed from the River of Time, but from the Human Gate! The Human Gate controls the future river, so the future body is actually borrowing power from him?" "Correct!" Su Yu instantly grinned. "Impressive! If that's truly the case... the Human Sovereign's defeat wasn't unjust! Back when he drew upon the power of his future body, he had already stepped into the trap!" This was exceedingly crucial. Su Yu still needed to ask whether King Wen and the others had drawn upon the strength of their future bodies. Su Yu had drawn upon it before as well, but he had quickly resolved his future body, only gaining a tiny boost in strength, and had soon weathered his period of weakness, effectively repaying the debt. Yet as for the others, he did not know whether they had ever experienced a period of weakness. If they had not, once they crossed paths with the Human Gate, massive trouble could ensue! "Anything else?" "Nothing." Su Yu nodded. "The Human Gate is tied to destruction, ruin, and the future body; he belongs to the same generation as the Lord of Time, from the same era, and they even contended against each other... Within the gate, there are multiple existences of the Great Sage tier!" This was his current understanding of the Human Gate. It was still not exhaustive, but at least it was far more than he had known previously. Su Yu turned his gaze back to Heiyue, who hastily shook his head. "This humble one knows nothing more..." Su Yu then looked at Riyue. Riyue wore a look of despondency and despair. Seeing Su Yu look over, he said rather helplessly in a hushed voice, "Why must the Tribulation Lord look at me again? Everything I knew back then, I already told the Tribulation Lord!" Back then, I treated you as my lifesaver, only to discover I was an utter fool! Now look at what happened—I screwed myself over, screwed Fa over, and screwed countless people over. Fa was glaring at him with eyes as cold as ice, and Riyue felt utterly helpless; he had genuinely believed a hundred years had passed! Su Yu smiled. "Are you truly the offspring of Ri and Yue?" Before Riyue could speak, Fa remarked flatly, "Barely!" What did he mean by barely? Su Yu was perplexed. Someone could barely count as offspring? Fa chuckled faintly. "Ri and Yue frequently cultivated together. During cultivation, the Daos of the sun and moon intersected. Even Great Daos can manifest spirits, let alone anything else! Over time, the intersection of their Daos gave birth to a new living being—namely, this person! Calling him the offspring of Ri and Yue isn't wrong, but he wasn't born from physical union; he was a being born from the convergence of Daos." Su Yu's interest flared immediately. "Even that works? Riyue, you're practically similar to a Dao spirit! Wait, so you aren't human?" "..." Riyue was speechless, managing only after a long pause, "It's the same!" Su Yu smiled. "Then... why haven't you mastered the Dao of the Sun and Moon?" Fa stated plainly, "He was born from the convergence of the Sun and Moon Great Daos. Once he cultivated the Dao of the Sun and Moon, in the later stages, would he be the master of that Dao, or would Ri and Yue be? Therefore, even if he could cultivate it, they wouldn't let him! Ri and Yue aren't idiots; inside the gate, who doesn't keep their guard up?" Riyue snapped coldly, "My father and mother harbor no such vile thoughts like yours! It was simply that my cultivation of the Sun and Moon Dao wasn't smooth at all!" Fa sneered openly. "Of course it wasn't smooth. As I said, you were born from the convergence of the Sun and Moon Great Daos, so naturally you must cultivate a fused Dao! If you cultivate either one in isolation, either the Dao of the Blazing Sun will be too intense and cause you to self-detonate, or the Dao of the Frigid Moon will be too bone-chilling and freeze you to death! You can only cultivate smoothly by cultivating the fused Dao of the Sun and Moon. You don't even understand this principle? I understand it, and Ri and Yue naturally understand it too, but have they ever let you cultivate the fused Dao of the Sun and Moon?" "It's the exact same principle as the Dao of Life and Death!" Fa was an expert in the Dao of Myriad Laws as well. At this moment, he smiled faintly. "A Dao spirit born from the fusion of life and death—if you make him cultivate the Dao of Life or the Dao of Death alone, he won't be able to do it either! But if he cultivates the fused Dao, there won't be any problem, and his progress will be astonishingly rapid! Do you understand now?" Riyue's expression turned ugly, and he remained silent. Su Yu, however, was thoroughly intrigued and laughed. "Riyue, how about trying it later? I'll set up a fused Dao of the Sun and Moon for you to test out?" Riyue kept his mouth shut! Su Yu laughed again. "Fascinating! Inside the gate, people truly are... heartless!" Riyue closed his eyes, saying nothing. "All right, that's about enough!" Su Yu stopped asking questions. The three had shared everything they knew; the Heavenly Gate held few secrets left. As for the Human Gate, these fellows probably had no more intelligence to offer him either. Su Yu stood up. Seeing this, Wan Tiansheng asked, "Heading out?" "Yes!" "Going to find King Wen and the others?" "Mhm, what's wrong?" Su Yu was puzzled. Was there an issue? Only after a long moment did Wan Tiansheng say, "You... have only been away for a single day!" Didn't you say earlier that no one should look for you even if the sky collapsed because you needed to enter seclusion? So your seclusion lasted just one day? I suspect that if Su Yu suddenly popped up right now, those figures would be utterly speechless! Su Yu gave a strange look. "Isn't one day of seclusion enough?" "..." Fine, whatever you say makes sense! Su Yu burst into loud laughter. Suddenly, he reached into the void, dragged someone out, and looked at Marquis Jiantian with a hint of dissatisfaction: "I say, I've raised my strength to thirty-five Daos, while you've sat on your backside and reached twenty-eight Daos, and you're still climbing rapidly! Am I working for you, or are you working for me?" "..." Marquis Jiantian was actually... utterly speechless as well! He fell silent for a moment before replying, "I am the crystallization of Your Majesty's providence. Your Majesty's providence... grows ever more prosperous!" I didn't want this either! How could I know why your providence is so absurdly flourishing! Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "With you improving this fast, I'm quite displeased! It doesn't sit well with me. If you get shattered, I feel like bad luck will strike me! Go, disperse some of your providence yourself to nourish the Human Sovereign and the others! Concentrating all providence in a single person is no good thing! Besides, even if my providence is flourishing, if I'm surrounded by a bunch of jinxes, no amount of prosperity will save us!" Marquis Jiantian found it utterly bizarre—someone actually complaining that their own providence was too flourishing! Su Yu pondered for a moment, then instructed, "Disperse ten percent of your providence to each of those unlucky bastards! I strongly suspect someone deliberately stripped away their providence and gathered it all onto me so that once I'm brought down, everyone suffers! Disperse it!" Fine then! Marquis Jiantian truly felt that Su Yu was... something else! Isn't having boundless providence a good thing? Meanwhile, Fa looked on with an odd expression, remarking after a long pause, "You have the strongest power of providence I have ever seen, and you are also... the most daring. No one would ever willingly disperse their own power of providence!" Isn't that just courting misfortune for oneself? Su Yu sneered. "Gain comes with loss—what do you know! That's why you're a loser and I'm a winner! When your providence flourishes to the absolute extreme, prosperity gives way to decline. When that happens, you'll know what fate awaits you when you're dragged down by a bunch of pig teammates!" Surrounded by a bunch of jinxes, even if you weren't unlucky, you'd end up cursed with misfortune! The providence of figures like the Human Sovereign had definitely been tampered with, likely by the Human Gate. As for himself, his providence was overly concentrated; there was simply no need for it! Fa said no more, and Marquis Jiantian remained silent. He was the crystallization of Su Yu's providence; if Su Yu demanded it dispersed, he had no choice, though he felt it was truly a pity to scatter so much after finally reaching twenty-eight Daos! "Your Majesty, disperse it to the Human Sovereign?" "The Human Sovereign, King Wen, Wen Yu, King Wu, and the Lord of Dead Spirits—disperse ten percent to each of them!" Su Yu remarked nonchalantly, "Just leave half behind! Every single one of them is a jinx!" Half! He truly was generous! At this moment, even Wan Tiansheng clicked his tongue in wonder. When this kid decided to act, he was truly decisive without the slightest hesitation!