Tiangu was dead!
Kong was dead as well.
Yet at this moment, hundreds of millions of living beings saw Tiangu off, while no one spared a thought for Kong.
Dead was dead! Some people, even in death, were still remembered by others; some people died worthless!
Meanwhile, Su Yu stepped through the void and returned.
He looked back into the distance.
Jitian was howling frantically, "Kill! Charge up and kill! Only right now, by killing them, is there any hope! Everyone, do you see? Kong is dead! If this goes on, all of us will die!"
He roared!
A maddened roar.
"Su Yu will kill us one by one—first the others, now Kong, and sooner or later it will be us! We cannot wait any longer!"
He howled shrilly. Danger!
It was too dangerous!
Who could have imagined that just a moment ago, Su Yu had been nothing more than an empty shell? His audacity was unbelievable, bold beyond anyone's imagination. Had Jitian dared to strike back then, Su Yu's bluff would have definitely been exposed!
Unfortunately, Jitian had not dared.
And so, Wen Yu had borrowed the force of Su Yu's world and slain Kong!
A supreme existence of thirty-six Daos had simply been slaughtered like that.
It was terrifying!
Jitian roared, "Heavenly Gate, Earth Gate, are you just going to watch Kong get killed like this?"
Both the Heavenly Gate and the Earth Gate maintained their silence.
What else could they do?
They had not wanted Kong to die either, but Kong was already dead. You, Jitian, had been foolish enough to seal yourself away, failing to deliver a fatal strike to Su Yu, failing to kill Su Yu when he was at his weakest.
Now, Su Yu was back, and he had recovered.
He was still a cultivator of thirty-six Daos!
Meanwhile, their side was down by Kong, and Shi's courage had been frightened right out of him!
The two gates of Heaven and Earth, the two generals Sun and Moon, the Human Ancestor and the Prison King, plus Jitian and Jingtian—their strength was by no means weak. Yet the gap between them and Su Yu's faction was growing smaller and smaller!
At this moment... did they dare?
Did they dare to disregard everything and go in for the kill?
The Heavenly Gate looked at the Earth Gate, and the Earth Gate looked back at him. Both of them knew full well that this was perilous!
Su Yu was a madman who never played by conventional rules.
Yet... what should they do?
Only three days had passed; they were nowhere near their peak. Right now, the two of them each possessed roughly thirty-nine daos of power. With such strength, they ought to be able to win, but people would die!
People would definitely die!
And no one knew who that casualty would be.
Jitian was nearly breaking down, shrieking like a man weeping blood, "If we don't kill Su Yu, we will end up just like Tiangu and the rest! Did you see it? Did you see?!"
He had been wrong just now!
Yet at this moment, he knew they had to kill Su Yu!
They must!
If they did not kill Su Yu, scenes like this might keep happening again and again, like a devil lurking constantly by your side, nibbling away at you time after time, whittling down your strength until you died helpless!
Just like Tiangu and the others, who had been backed into a corner and forced to deliver themselves to death's doorstep!
Jitian gave a shrill shout. "I am willing to act as the vanguard, to pay the price for my earlier mistake! Everyone, if you are still unwilling to join hands to slay the enemy now, will there ever be another chance?"
He roared agonizingly!
If they did not act now, they might never get another chance!
The Earth Gate had said it would take a month, but only three days had passed.
In three days, Kong was dead, and Shi had fled.
All at once, they were down two cultivators of thirty-six Daos!
The loss was immense—inconceivably huge, bringing piercing agony to Jitian's heart. If this continued, everyone would die. Even if they were still stronger than the other side right now, if this kept up, every last one of them would truly perish!
Su Yu was picking off their people piece by piece!
And at this moment, the blood of the experts beside Su Yu was boiling with excitement.
It was a success!
Just like that, they had effortlessly slain a supreme expert of thirty-six Daos and scared off that first stone of the heaven-opening, eliminating two combatants of thirty-six Daos in one stroke.
Everyone looked toward Su Yu.
Su Yu, however, merely glanced at the frantic Jitian in the distance and suddenly spoke up, "Jitian, I like clever people, and I quite like a clever fellow like you!"
Su Yu's voice carried boundless coldness and mockery. "Originally, I thought that slaying Kong this time would bring me a tribulation—a tribulation coming from you! In the end, you actually took such good care of an old classmate that you sealed yourself away. I didn't even get a scratch. Many thanks!"
Su Yu's voice suddenly boomed across the sky. "Ever since I rose to power, the death of every transcendent expert, including the fall of the Six Saints of the Human Gate... all seem to have had something to do with me, Su Yu... It seems I truly am an omen of misfortune! Jitian, when will it be your turn? When will it be your group's turn?"
At that moment, figure after figure manifested in the distance!
The Heavenly Gate and Earth Gate wanted to speak, but Su Yu suddenly let out a laugh. In the next moment, he turned around and looked toward the dissipating Tiangu, saying faintly, "Tiangu, you people faded into extinction for the sake of your race... you were enemies of my people! In a war of races, there is no right or wrong, no distinction between friend and foe! Therefore, I see you off! You killed countless numbers of my human race, and I have slain countless numbers of your various races. With your death, the slate is wiped clean! The war of races may perhaps drag on, but that will no longer be my, Su Yu's, responsibility..."
He waved his hand, pointing behind him, and chuckled. "However, these people are different! These people are the dregs of past eras—a bunch of worthless trash who refuse to fade away yet refuse to lie dormant, thinking only of killing others to strengthen themselves! Sooner or later, I will butcher every single one of these old bastards!"
"Had they fought the Human Gate with everything they had, I, Su Yu, would have held a shred of respect for them. It is only natural to refuse to die out with an era; I wouldn't want to either!"
Su Yu proclaimed clearly, "Yet trying to treat the Myriad Realms as your private storehouse of resources, trying to treat me, Su Yu, as nourishment—you are daydreaming!"
Su Yu's voice shook heaven and earth as he barked coldly, "Today I killed Kong, tomorrow I will kill Shi! One kill a day, until sooner or later all of these bastards are wiped out and buried beneath the sky of the Myriad Realms!"
Su Yu turned back and bellowed, "Jitian, come on! On your side, how many dare to step up? The two gates of Heaven and Earth are nothing but petty scoundrels, cowards! Back then, before even catching sight of the enemy, they cut off their own retreat like brainless weaklings and cowards! Now that their strength hasn't recovered, do you think they dare to come? Jitian, if you kill the two gates of Heaven and Earth, I'll grant you a path of survival! You know me. As an old classmate, I'll give you a way out!"
Jitian roared in fury, "Su Yu, at this point, do you still think you can squeak by and live? I will definitely kill you!"
*Boom!*
He tore through the void, charging forward. He wanted to lead from the front just once; he wanted to show the Heavenly Gate and Earth Gate that if they didn't kill Su Yu now, the chance would be gone forever!
Yet when he flew halfway across, there was no one behind him!
A mocking smile spread across Su Yu's face, echoing across the firmament. "The two gates of Heaven and Earth, the Human Ancestor and the Prison King—they are all useless trash! If they weren't trash, do you think they would have sealed themselves away before even catching sight of the Human Gate? Jitian, even if you have the heart of a brave warrior, what can you achieve saddled with a band of pig-headed teammates? Do you really think they will strike?"
Su Yu pointed into the distance and sneered, "Even if I stand here right now and curse them as dogs, as pigs, as useless garbage, they still won't dare to come! After living for countless ages, would they really dare to come kill me over a few words from you, Jitian? Without returning to their peak, unless they are on the verge of death, would they ever make a move? I've calculated it all—even if you and Jingtian die, they won't intervene! Only when all of you are dead, and they realize that even restoring their peak won't be enough to withstand us, will they dare to take a gamble and strike!"
Su Yu's voice was laden with mockery and disdain. "Do you believe me? If you come here alone right now and get killed by me, they will only stand by and watch without lifting a finger!"
"Because... they are terrified of dying!"
Su Yu burst out laughing. "When old bastards lose their faith and live solely for themselves, Jitian, do you truly believe there is anything in this world more precious to them than their own lives? Nothing!"
"In their eyes, there is only their own survival! You are far too foolish. You think you're worthy of being a Great Saint of the Human Gate? You think you grasp the hearts of men? Bah!"
As Su Yu spat that single contemptuous syllable, boundless disdain shook the four directions!
Indeed, those people lived solely for their own lives.
Without faith, without ambition, without purpose—all they cared about was power, all they cared about was scraping by!
Such people were powerful, and they would fight desperately... but only on the premise that their miserable lives were directly on the line. When that happened, they would be more anxious than anyone. But before that moment, while they could still recover and grow stronger, why would they strike right now?
Jitian was the one who truly failed to understand the hearts of men!
Whereas Su Yu understood completely!
Halting halfway across the sky, Jitian's face turned deathly pale.
The hearts of men?
Was this what the human heart truly was?
He looked back, only to hear the Heavenly Gate let out a sigh. "If we charge over right now... how many of us will survive? Even if we win, will we be able to match the Human Gate? Jitian, come back! From now on, as long as we stay together and do not separate, once the Earth Gate and I have recovered... that will be the day of their demise! Jitian, twenty days. Have faith in us!"
Jitian roared in fury, "Recover? How much longer will that take? Do we still have time?!"
*I truly do not understand the hearts of men!*
For the first time, he felt such overwhelming defeat.
*I took the lead as vanguard. I told them that Tiangu's fate would be our fate. Innumerable examples are right before your eyes, yet you still don't understand?!*
He roared, "If we attack right now, even if half of us fall, we have a chance to take them down..."
Su Yu smiled coldly and faintly. "And of those who fall... who will that half be? Jitian, why are you so utterly foolish?"
Jitian spat out a mouthful of blood. In that instant, it felt as though he truly came to understand the hearts of men.
Yes... who would that half be!
The Heavenly Gate and Earth Gate were both afraid. Even if he, Jitian, was not afraid of death, he wouldn't be the only one dying!
Yet Jitian still refused to accept it, roaring once more, "They are afraid of death too! Heavenly Gate, Earth Gate, they fear death just as much! We aren't the only ones who want to live!"
Could there be no one on Su Yu's side who feared death?
There were!
There definitely were!
Su Yu's expression remained utterly tranquil. "They fear it, yes, but I am the leader. Do you understand? You are not, unfortunately! Here, my order is absolute! But you cannot do that! If you could, even if they feared death, they would still bend to your will. Jitian, don't make me look down on you and despise you any further. Go back! Otherwise... I will kill you!"
Jitian was instantly crestfallen!
Dejected to the extreme!
Behind him, the Earth Gate stayed silent for a brief moment before speaking, "Jitian, we haven't lost! This is merely a momentary setback. From now on, let us not scatter. We must unite as one. In twenty days, once the Heavenly Gate and I are fully restored... we will definitely destroy them! Jitian, twenty days—trust us!"
"..."
Jitian seemed half-mad, his eyes bloodshot.
Idiots!
Twenty days... yes, to transcendent beings, twenty days was merely the span of a brief nap; it was impossible to overturn anything in such a time. But that was Su Yu!
The Su Yu who had once been his classmate!
He could turn twenty days into twenty years, two hundred years, or even twenty thousand years!
Only three days had passed, and Kong was already dead, while Shi had vanished who-knew-where. All at once, they had lost two experts of thirty-six Daos!
Jitian was terrified!
Yet the Heavenly Gate and Earth Gate still insisted on waiting!
***
Meanwhile, Su Yu had lost all interest in looking at him.
He had already stated that Jitian did not understand the hearts of men.
Life was their paramount concern. The so-called future threat that Jitian spoke of—even if the Heavenly Gate and Earth Gate recognized it, they still would not act right now.
At this moment, Su Yu turned his gaze toward the God Emperor and the God Imperial Consort.
He looked at this pair of Dao companions who had been parted for a hundred thousand years.
Tiangu was dead, and these two... were about to die as well.
King Daqin and the others had not stopped simply because Tiangu had died. This was a battlefield, and on the battlefield, there was no room for personal sentiment!
Besides, there was no sentiment to speak of between them.
No matter how heroic an enemy might be, he was merely a hero of the enemy—and a mortal foe to us!
The Manor Lords of this generation were all soldiers!
For soldiers on the battlefield, there was only slaying the enemy, only obeying orders!
Therefore, whether it was love between a man and a woman or fraternal brotherhood, none of it entered their consideration right now!
As soldiers, the greatest honor they could bestow upon these enemies was to go all out and slay their opponents!
King Dazhou's Great Dao erupted, King Daqin thrust his spear, King Daxia swung his broadsword, King Datang threw a punch, King Dashang unleashed his profound fire...
The cohort of human powerhouses showed not the slightest hesitation!
*Boom!*
King Daqin's spear struck out. The God Emperor stepped in front of the God Imperial Consort. She struggled to throw herself forward to meet that spear, but the God Emperor held her back. Lightly brushing her white hair, he smiled softly. "These barbarians... strike too ruthlessly. Leaving a body full of gaping holes... wouldn't look good!"
The God Imperial Consort seemed caught between tears and laughter. At this moment, her eyes held only him.
A hundred thousand years of waiting!
It felt as though they had returned to the very beginning, when he ascended as Emperor, announced it to the heavens, and took her as his bride. She had become the Imperial Consort of the god race, the Dao companion of the God Emperor.
At the close of antiquity, he had disappeared alongside the Human Sovereign and the others, and she had waited for him in the God Realm for a hundred thousand years.
A hundred thousand years without leaving, unwilling to sleep, severing her Dao and recultivating just so she wouldn't have to seal herself away in slumber—all because she feared that the moment he returned, he wouldn't see her right away!
Through a hundred thousand years of passing tides, on the divine peak of the God Realm, the God's Favor Flowers he had planted had withered time and again, and bloomed time and again.
And now, they ought to be blooming once more.
Growing old together, never to part!
Her long white hair fluttered in the wind. She looked at him, her gaze holding only him, and suddenly broke into a brilliant smile, radiant as the blazing sun. "The God's Favor Flowers... have blossomed!"
The God Emperor froze, a surge of pleasant surprise washing over him.
The spear pierced through his heart, yet it could not mask the joy in his eyes. "They've blossomed?"
"They've blossomed!"
The God Imperial Consort smiled radiantly. Yes, they had blossomed!
Truly!
The God Emperor snapped his gaze toward the God Realm—toward that crumbling, turbulent realm. On that mountain stood a palace; inside the palace was a garden; and inside that garden... were the God's Favor Flowers he had planted in the past.
Years ago, he had said that this was the favor of the god race, and he had married her.
"A hundred thousand years... you suffered..."
"I didn't suffer. I knew you were still alive!"
"Let us look at the God's Favor Flowers one last time..."
The God Imperial Consort nodded. They had fought for their race their entire lives. Even in their final moments, they had waged war for their people. In this final split second, let us live for ourselves just once!
Embracing the God Imperial Consort, the God Emperor suddenly stepped into the void and vanished from where they stood.
Yet in their place, two corpses remained!
That was the power of the spirit!
He knew that Su Yu would never allow them to leave. Alive, neither the God Emperor nor the God Imperial Consort could depart. So they would leave in death.
He looked toward Su Yu with a trace of pleading.
He could not sustain this state for long!
In such a condition, he would soon dissipate.
"A hundred thousand years..."
Su Yu looked at them, looked at the corpses left behind, and then at the phantom figures projecting outward. Letting out a soft sigh, he showed a faint smile and reached out, shifting the world with a wave of his hand!
The God Realm was brought before their eyes in an instant!
"You aren't... that cold-blooded..."
The God Emperor suddenly smiled!
The God Imperial Consort also wore a dreamy smile. Wrapping her arms around the God Emperor's neck, she smiled softly as well. "Those whose blood has truly run cold... would no longer fight for their race... no longer fight for their era... Silly man, don't you understand?"
Those whose blood was truly cold had fled long ago, scattered long ago, living solely for themselves!
Those fighting here today were precisely the people whose blood had not yet run cold!
The ones with cold blood were the bystanders watching from afar!
"True enough!"
The two phantom figures descended into the God Realm, landing atop the divine mountain!
At that moment, on the mountain, a brilliant red flower burst into full bloom!
The two of them leaned against each other, resting together in the small pavilion within the garden, watching the blossoms as their figures gradually faded. The moment their forms dissolved, the flower withered—two red blossoms that almost completely overlapped. As they wilted, they fused into one, falling into the dust and vanishing entirely.
The Flower of God's Favor!
"We see off the God Emperor! We see off the Imperial Consort!"
Hundreds of millions of living beings bowed once more!
Today, they saw off leader after leader. These individuals, these rulers, would never be forgotten by this generation of the myriad races; their influence had shaped their entire lives.
Prostrating, offering worship!
They had not been overwhelmingly powerful, yet they had appeared at this moment and fought at this moment. Just as the God Imperial Consort had said, their blood had not yet run cold.
Surrounded by his enemies, Jiwu let out a sigh, shook his head, and then smiled faintly. "Seniors... this junior... is coming as well!"
This later-era God Emperor, who had achieved no great deeds, saw his physical body shatter completely into dust!
In the distance, among the demon race, Celestial Venerable Mo and the others exchanged a smile before turning to look toward Moduona with a gaze full of hope. Moji's smile was even more radiant. "Our demon race... is the most adept at war!"
*Boom!*
A detonation rang out. The demon race was best suited for battle!
A race of warfare!
"We see off Demon Emperor Moji!"
"We see off God Emperor Jiwu!"
Cries of weeping blood rose once again. Today, they had seen off one leader after another until their voices had grown hoarse and their wailing echoed through the four directions.
The booming detonations continued without pause!
A short while later, heaven and earth fell completely silent.
All was still!
The Manor Lords stood with their vitality surging to the heavens, their murderous intent piercing the clouds.
King Daqin held his head high, his expression grim and resolute. Spear in hand, his right fist struck against his chest. Behind him, each Manor Lord raised their right hand and struck their chest in turn. King Daqin barked in a clear, resonant voice, "A sacrifice to the hundreds of millions of fallen sons of our human race! Today, vengeance is claimed and blood is repaid! No matter how honorable the enemy may be, on the battlefield we sever their heads to magnify our might! If the myriad races wish for revenge, then let us fight again!"
"Fight!"
The Manor Lords shouted at the top of their lungs!
In this battle, the human race had emerged victorious after all!
Below, hundreds of millions of humans roared furiously, "Honor their valor, sever their heads, offer sacrifice to our heroic dead, and etch the racial feud into memory!"
"Fight!"
The roars of the human race shook heaven and earth!
The myriad races had their heroes, but so did the human race.
Our human race had King Daqin, who had garrisoned the borders for five hundred years. Five hundred years ago, in a fight with his back to the river, he had shattered the heavens and suppressed myriad enemies alone with a single spear!
Our human race had the blade of the Xias, cutting through all who opposed them!
Our human race had the Thirty-Six Manor Lords who founded the manors—not a single traitor, not a single coward, always the first into the fray, with nearly half having fallen in battle to this day...
The human race was inferior to no one!
At this moment, while the myriad races saw off their leaders, the human race cheered for their own heroes!
The war of the heavens and the Myriad Realms—this war had finally drawn to a close!
Such racial conflict might continue, might spill over into the future!
Yet for this era, the war of the heavens, the war of the myriad races, was finished!
Before the living beings of the myriad races, Moduona's purple hair gradually shifted, turning a deep red.
He looked toward Su Yu.
Su Yu was looking at him as well.
This outstanding young talent, who had once collaborated with him in the Star Residence Mansion, seemed to have aged considerably today. Deep within his eyes lingered an unmaskable grief, yet he swiftly regained his composure.
He lowered his head and spoke in a calm voice, "The myriad races are defeated, and the chief culprits are dead! All those whose hands were stained with human blood have been executed!"
With a wave of his hand, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of severed heads appeared, piling into a veritable mountain.
Moduona lowered his head once more. "We implore Emperor Yu to grant the myriad races a path to survival!"
His voice gradually rose. "We implore Emperor Yu to grant the myriad races a path to survival!"
Below, hundreds of millions of living beings prostrated themselves, tears streaming down their faces like torrents.
Moduona shouted again, "We implore Emperor Yu to grant the myriad races a path of life!"
Kneeling upon the earth, he prostrated himself and begged for mercy.
This proud, unyielding genius had chosen to stay alive today instead of departing alongside those who had fallen. His head stayed lowered, prostrated on the ground, his body trembling, yet he rapidly forced himself back into calmness!
Stay alive... survive!
Leading these living beings of the myriad races who had nowhere left to turn, seeking a path of survival. He did not know where the road ahead lay, nor how difficult it would be to walk; he only knew that those people had left this mountainous burden to him.
All of them were dead!
Fallen in battle right here.
Winners were crowned kings; the defeated were branded outlaws!
Tiangu and the others could not live, nor were they willing to live. Tiangu had said that he would never kneel to Su Yu again, nor would he let the immortal race submit, so he did not wish to witness such a sight while he was still alive.
Therefore, he had chosen death.
They had departed gracefully, but Moduona could not leave; he had to shoulder this crushing weight.
Beside him, Zhan Wushuang of the god race also lay prostrate on the ground, his body trembling—not from fright, but from an overwhelming mixture of reluctance, refusal, sorrow, and extreme grief.
Under these circumstances, the younger generation had been thrust to the forefront today.
Su Yu spoke calmly, "Gather your troops and enter the minor realms to await arrangements! If I lose, you will all definitely die! If I win, I will have plans for you!"
"Our humble thanks to Emperor Yu!"
Moduona bowed in worship, waved his hand, and collected countless subordinates into the spatial weapon.
Where they had stood, countless tears and pools of blood remained.
King Daqin and his fellows turned to look at Moduona, and then back at Su Yu. King Daqin said in a deep voice, "If Your Majesty is unwilling to incur such slaughter, my hands are already stained with blood. Qin Guang is willing to wipe out their races and sever their civilizations!"
Cut weeds and dig out the roots!
Even if it meant slaughtering hundreds of millions and becoming an executioner forever reviled across the Myriad Realms, it did not matter!
Su Yu replied calmly, "I made a promise to Tiangu, and naturally, there were conditions! As long as I live, the myriad races are defeated and broken! If I die... humanity can decide for itself. After I am gone, let the Myriad Realms shift as they will!"
King Daqin stepped back, saying no more.
Humanity had already conquered its foes!
Evidently, because Su Yu had promised Tiangu, he was unwilling to exterminate their races, so King Daqin dropped the matter.
With a flick of Su Yu's sleeve, the former battlefield transformed into a massive crater.
All the flesh and blood were swept away by him.
Su Yu remained silent for a moment, then reached out to cover the heavens and pluck the stars, gathering the power of countless Great Daos to forge a stone monument.
Inscribed upon the monument were the words: *Tomb of the Ten Thousand Sovereigns!*
The stone monument stood tall. The crater dissolved into darkness, vanishing on the spot, leaving only that colossal stele standing upright. Su Yu looked around in all directions. "The war of the Myriad Realms concludes with this battle! In the third year of the New Yu Era, the Myriad Realms are pacified!"
"Great victory!"
"Ten thousand victories to Emperor Yu!"
"..."
Heaven and earth erupted in cheers. Even though Su Yu had said he would not exterminate their races and would leave everything to future generations, under the New Yu calendar, humanity had achieved total victory. The war of the Myriad Realms, tangled across ten tides and fought for a hundred thousand years, had drawn to a close today!
At this moment, the experts in the surroundings felt complex emotions stirring in their chests.
The Human Sovereign and the others looked toward Su Yu with sighs and profound emotion.
The war that had stretched from antiquity to the present had reached its complete end. In this New Yu Era, the myriad races would never be able to stir up trouble again.
Su Yu said nothing further, turning his head to look toward Jitian and his cohort in the distance.
Once he dealt with these people, dealt with the Human Gate, and perhaps even dealt with the Lord of Time... his own curtain would fall as well!
With the fall of Tiangu and the others, the era of the Myriad Realms had suddenly lost much of its flavor.
***
In the distance.
Jitian was also staring at Su Yu, a mix of madness and helplessness in his gaze.
Damn bastards!
He turned to look at the Heavenly Gate and Earth Gate, and then toward the Human Ancestor and the Prison King, his expression finally settling into pure disappointment. In the end, they had still chosen to stand by as spectators. Tiangu and his group were the lesson right before their eyes!
Meanwhile, the Heavenly Gate frowned slightly and barked in a deep voice, "Shi, come back! Leaving on your own will make you prey to being hunted down!"
Shi had fled!
Yet where could he possibly run?
The chaos was boundless, but plunging deep into it meant leaving the reach of the River of Time and the cover of any world. The chaos was no pleasant place, and beyond it lay even greater perils!
Right now, digging in and waiting for them to recover was their only way out!
Deep in the distant chaos.
Shi had transformed into a burly man, looking back with lingering dread and helplessness.
Go back?
The era of the Heavenly Gate was nearly wiped out!
Apart from Qiong, who had sided with Su Yu, and Sun and Moon, who still followed the Heavenly Gate, so many Masters of Forbidden Grounds—save for himself—were all gone!
The Heavenly Gate era, once hailed as the strongest, had practically been wiped out by now.
"A bunch of bastards!"
Shi cursed vehemently. Every single one of them was purely selfish!
The moment Kong was slain, he had realized the truth: none of them could be relied upon!
Just as Su Yu had said, the only thing people like them could truly depend on was their own strength. If you lacked power, no matter how strong others were, it had nothing to do with you!
At this moment, Shi was filled with regret.
Back then, even if it meant turning against them completely, he should have used the Dao of Wrath to trade for the entirety of the Human Ancestor's Great Dao, rather than taking merely half and splitting it with Kong, which had barely increased his strength at all.
Had he known, he never would have compromised back then, even at the cost of turning hostile on the spot!
Now these people were calling him back—did they still want him to serve as cannon fodder?
He knew nothing about their plans!
Going back, aside from helping them fend off Su Yu's side, what benefit was there for him?
He was the weakest member of this alliance!
The Earth Gate was stronger than him, Sun and Moon followed the Heavenly Gate, the Human Ancestor and the Prison King were in league together, and Jingtian and Jitian formed a pair. The next one to die would definitely be him!
Having reached this point, Shi saw through everything completely!
Originally, he and Kong had at least been allies.
But now... that was gone!
Listening to the Heavenly Gate's shouts, he paid them no heed.
"Chaos..."
Turning around, he flew directly toward the depths of the chaos. The chaos was extraordinarily hazardous, as he well knew, but as the roadblock stone of the heaven-opening era, he had been born from the chaos itself, birthed amidst the nebulous haze of heaven and earth. He was born in the chaos!
Just because you cannot endure it does not mean I cannot.
Fight amongst yourselves as much as you like!
I am leaving!
Flee!
Flee to a place where you will never find me. As for yang qi, he wondered: once he escaped the region covered by the Myriad Realms, escaped the reach of the River of Time, would he still need yang qi?
Would he still face extinction?
He did not know, but he wanted to run. As for surrendering to Su Yu, he would just be cannon fodder and a hired thug all the same, so why bother?
Shi transformed into a great chaotic mountain, soaring into the endless void.
Never looking back!
***
The Heavenly Gate waited for a long time without seeing Shi return. Feeling a touch of regret, he sighed, "He must have headed deep into the chaos—the chaos that predates the heaven-opening era!"
The Earth Gate and Heavenly Gate both looked in that direction. The Earth Gate said faintly, "If he wants to leave, let him. He cannot escape! Once you enter the realm of the Myriad Realms, enter the heaven-opening era, enter the domain that fellow left behind... where can you run? This is no longer the chaos from before heaven and earth were opened!"
With a sigh, everyone fell into silence.
There was nowhere to run!
The two gates of Heaven and Earth looked toward the depths of the River of Time once more, toward that dark expanse of the river. "The Human Gate... is about to descend!"
They turned to Jitian. Jitian had already flown back, looking somewhat dejected. Seeing them look over, he took a moment before speaking, "If the river of the Myriad Realms is not destroyed, even if the Human Gate descends, he may not necessarily appear... Only when the river of the Myriad Realms is utterly obliterated might he emerge..."
The others exchanged glances, saying nothing.
Jitian sneered, "If we don't kill Su Yu and the others in this battle, we won't even need to wait for him to appear... all of us will die!"
The Heavenly Gate replied coldly, "If you truly had foresight, you would have killed Su Yu long ago! Why wait until today? Just as Su Yu said, you, Jitian, are always so full of yourself! Always believing you are the only clever one! Earlier, if you hadn't sealed yourself away and had struck Su Yu at that very moment, Su Yu might already be dead! Do not push all the blame onto others! Jitian, you are clever... but it is merely petty cleverness! You have spent so many years in the Human Gate, yet just as Su Yu said, all you grasp is surface knowledge; you do not understand the hearts of men!"
What were the hearts of men?
The hearts of men meant that without recovering to their peak, they would not strike lightly. Pressuring them again and again would only widen the rift between them!
The death of a single Kong was not enough to alter their stance!
Jitian's complaints would only make the fractures among them grow ever larger!
The Earth Gate also spoke faintly, "Whether it is I, the Heavenly Gate, or Zhou, all we seek is to survive... Jitian, since certain things have already occurred, do not bring them up repeatedly!"
*Asking us to strike is asking us to risk our lives; you truly do not understand us!*
Jitian fell entirely silent!
*So... the one who doesn't understand the hearts of men was me all along?*
With a self-deprecating chuckle, Jitian took a deep breath and nodded slightly. "I was... too impetuous! I only hope... everyone will not fall for his tricks again!"
The others nodded faintly.
No one said anything more. Things had reached this state; all they could do was wait. When they had two more cultivators of thirty-six Daos, they hadn't dared to attack, let alone now.
***
Meanwhile, Su Yu had already returned to the Human Realm, carrying an air of mockery and disdain.
There was no arrogance in him, only amusement.
He found Jitian and his cohort utterly laughable!
"I said long ago that pig-headed teammates are often far more terrifying than formidable foes!"
Su Yu looked toward Qiong, King Wu, and the others, suddenly laughing. "Sometimes, when you don't understand things, it's actually much better to just roll up your sleeves and get to work!"
Qiong snorted. He felt that Su Yu was mocking him again.
King Wu didn't care at all. *It has nothing to do with me; Su Yu is talking about Qiong. I'm no reckless brute; I'm a clever man.*
Su Yu laughed as well and exhaled a breath. "Your Majesty Human Sovereign, Senior King Wen... come, let's go have a drink to celebrate! Everyone else, don't wander around aimlessly; be careful of being ambushed. We won a great victory today, so let's have a drink and a chat!"
The Human Sovereign and King Wen nodded slightly.
Su Yu reached out, and Doubao, who was chatting with Chubing, was snatched right into his hand. Caught in Su Yu's grip, Doubao hastily looked around in all directions and let out a sigh of relief. "Good thing that big fat dog isn't here!"
That big fat dog was always bullying him, and frustratingly, he couldn't beat him in a fight, which annoyed him to no end.
Wen Yu laughed. "Feiqiu hasn't woken up yet!"
"What a sleeper!"
Doubao sneered, forgetting that he himself had slept for many years.
At this moment, Doubao grew somewhat excited. "Su Yu, can I eat Tiangu now?"
"The man is already dead, what is there to eat!"
Su Yu chuckled. "Later, I'll give you something even tastier to eat—far more delicious than Tiangu!"
"Really?"
Doubao was overjoyed. There was something more delicious than Tiangu?
Meanwhile, King Wen and the Human Sovereign exchanged a glance: Tiangu, Doubao, the Human Sovereign Seal.
Tiangu had definitely told Su Yu something, which was what prompted Su Yu to let the myriad races off, and it was likely related to the Human Sovereign Seal. Could there truly be something hidden within the seal?
At that moment, several of them grew intrigued!
To the side, the Lord of Dead Spirits and the others also sensed something vaguely, though they did not say much.
Perhaps it was a secret; either way, whether they heard it or not didn't really matter.
Naturally, there was still some curiosity.
Seeing their curious looks, Su Yu suddenly laughed. "Never mind, let's all go together! The Human Sovereign used the Human Sovereign Seal to fool Senior Qiong for quite a while. Let us all go appreciate the seal together!"
Qiong wore an embarrassed look. Truthfully, he didn't really want to look at it!
Every time he saw the Human Sovereign Seal, he felt it was so beautiful, so intimate, so heartwarming... That feeling was simply atrocious!
Yet he couldn't resist his own curiosity. After squirming and hesitating for a long time, he gritted his teeth and followed along toward the Palace of the Emperor Yu. *I'll go take a look too, to see what on earth is so special about it!*
Chapter 961