A Choice

Su Yu returned once more to the Human Realm. It had been seven days since the deaths of Tiangu and the others. It was also the tenth day since the Heaven and Earth Gates had broken free. ... Inside Emperor Yu's Great Hall, everyone was cultivating. Wen Yu and the others had recently been reorganizing their worlds, reinforcing their Great Daos, and combing through their rules in an attempt to make further progress. But once someone reached thirty-six Daos, pushing even a step higher was monumentally difficult! Even King Wu, after all these days, remained at thirty-five Daos without the slightest breakthrough. As Su Yu stepped through the entrance, everyone opened their eyes and rose to their feet. His arrival at this moment, returning to the Human Realm, meant he likely intended to make his move. The Human Sovereign stood up, looked at Su Yu, and said in a grave voice, "You want to strike now?" Su Yu nodded slightly. "The two gates of Heaven and Earth claim they still need time to recover, but who knows if that's true? Besides, we have reached our limits; we have no more room for improvement. For them, however, if they truly make a full recovery, they will only be stronger!" Dragging things out no longer served any purpose for Su Yu. The Lord of Dead Spirits said heavily, "Let me make one thing clear beforehand: I cannot match the two of them if they join hands, even if neither has recovered!" He had to remind Su Yu! At thirty-nine Daos, the Lord of Dead Spirits was extraordinarily formidable. Yet even in their weakened states, if the two gates teamed up against him, he was bound to lose! Seeing Su Yu glance his way, Qiong looked rather depressed. "Don't look at me. I'm no match for the two gates. I might be able to handle one of the Prison King or Jitian, but that's about it..." Su Yu pondered for a moment. "I will deal with the Prison King and Zhou! Leave both of them to me!" "King Wu, deal with Riyue... kill them if you can!" "King Wen, Wen Yu, Human Sovereign—the three of you will join hands against Jitian and Jingtian!" "Qiong, coordinate with Old Dead to stall the two gates!" Everyone's expression shifted slightly. King Wen, Wen Yu, and the Human Sovereign were all at thirty-six Daos and all Heaven-Openers. Teaming up against Jingtian and Jitian gave them decent hope. Even though their foes were at thirty-eight and thirty-seven Daos respectively, the trio could roughly even the odds. King Wu facing two foes at thirty-two Daos was almost an assured victory. Qiong and the Lord of Dead Spirits joining forces to stall the two gates would be difficult, but not entirely hopeless. Yet on Su Yu's side, he would not be fighting ordinary opponents. He would be taking on two Heaven-Openers—one at thirty-eight Daos and the other at thirty-six Daos. The Human Sovereign frowned. "Su Yu, are you worried we won't bring ourselves to kill the Prison King, so you're..." Su Yu shook his head. "No. I simply have more confidence in dealing with the Prison King and Zhou!" He looked at them and paused before speaking again. "Striking today may very well trigger the final battle!" In a low, resolute tone, he said, "Once we slay the Prison King, we gain the upper hand. Taking advantage of the fact that the two gates haven't fully recovered, we fight to the bitter end without retreating! If one of us gets killed in the process... that could also be the final battle!" "I have to force this confrontation early... otherwise, things will only become harder for us!" King Wen frowned slightly. "The Prison King and Zhou fighting together aren't necessarily weaker than Jitian and Jingtian. They are both Heaven-Openers, after all—they might even be stronger!" This meant Su Yu alone would be taking on foes more formidable than the ones the three of them combined had to face. Things were different now! It was perilous! Moreover, there were many other factors to consider: whether Shi would return, whether the Human Gate would descend, or whether the super-grade powerhouses from within the Human Gate would arrive prematurely. Once a massive war broke out and casualties mounted, an early descent of the Human Gate would be entirely expected. Countless unpredictable variables hung in the balance. Su Yu looked at them and asked, "Do we have any other choice?" Did they? If they didn't act now, should they simply sit and wait? Wait until the two gates fully recovered? The Human Sovereign pondered and said, "Perhaps you are right. But even if we wait until the two gates recover, we won't necessarily be without opportunities. If the Human Gate truly exists and descends completely, it might not target us first... At that point, a tripartite balance could emerge once more!" With a third faction involved, the lines wouldn't be drawn so sharply. Su Yu looked at the Human Sovereign, his demeanor uncharacteristically stern and cold. "I refuse to pin my hopes on anyone else! In every battle I fight, I keep control of the situation in my own hands. I fight when I want to fight... I will not passively play defense!" "I believe offense is the best defense!" "I also firmly believe that if I am not ready, the enemy is even less prepared. Striking first is the only way to disrupt their pace!" He glanced around at them and asked, "What lies beyond the chaos? Can one truly escape out there? I don't know, I've never tried, and I don't care to try! Since the Heavenly Gate, the Earth Gate, and the rest never left, staying here and preferring quiet extinction over fleeing... I believe this chaos is not something one can easily escape!" "Fleeing is no way out!" Su Yu looked at them. The Human Sovereign said softly, "It is not that we refuse to fight. It's just... Su Yu, have you thought this through? The enemies you are taking on are too strong!" Could he really handle them? Su Yu smiled. "We'll find out when we try!" The Human Sovereign exhaled. "Once someone falls this time, the other side will not let things rest either. Otherwise, with more deaths on their side, they won't be able to sustain themselves. Striking now... will likely be the final battle!" Things had escalated to this degree. Any clash now would probably decide everything. Furthermore, at this stage, all tricks and schemes had been exhausted. It would be nearly impossible to pull off another instant ambush like the one against Kong. Every scheme, every tactic, ultimately came down to true strength! If your strength was inferior, it was simply inferior! Su Yu nodded. He had prepared himself—prepared for the final battle. The others exchanged glances. Suddenly, the Lord of Dead Spirits spoke up: "Su Yu, when it is time to strike, this seat will naturally fight with everything I have! Joining hands with these people was out of respect for you. Otherwise, the two gates wouldn't dare provoke me lightly!" Su Yu nodded slightly, listening quietly. What did he want to say? The Lord of Dead Spirits said solemnly, "You have continually raised the upper limits of these people. I watched and said nothing. You yourself didn't consume the Blood World, so naturally I had no cause to complain." "Yet for this seat to risk my life purely out of sentiment..." Su Yu roughly understood. He smiled and nodded. "Understood! This time, almost everyone else received a boost in strength, whereas you gained nothing. During the previous cycle of life, death, and extinction, you took tremendous risks and paid a heavy price... It seems you noticed my recent arrangements for Lan Tian to devour the River of Time, and you felt it was inappropriate. Am I right?" The Lord of Dead Spirits exhaled and nodded. "Since you laid it out openly, all the better! As long as you are willing to speak plainly, I hope no major rift will form between us." He looked around at the others. "Wen Yu, King Wen, and King Wu were all rescued by you, as was the Human Sovereign. That fellow Qiong has gained plenty of benefits following you. Everyone has a goal. My goal... is transcendence, surpassing all limits! You once said yourself that every war must have an objective, a faith—one does not fight merely for the sake of fighting!" He made his thoughts clear, hoping Su Yu would understand. Without Su Yu, he wouldn't have died. Even inside the Heavenly Gate, no one would have dared provoke him had it not been for Su Yu. His later encirclement had been triggered by Su Yu's actions. Thus, his brush with extinction had been mutual cooperation and mutual support, not one-sided exploitation. He had joined battle multiple times to hold off the two gates, and each time, he had paid a price. Now that this was likely the final battle, he had to lay everything on the table! He wanted to devour the River of Time to surpass everything or match the Lord of Time. Yet Su Yu had recently seemed poised to let Lan Tian devour the river, which ran directly counter to his interests. Everyone fell silent. Qiong curled his lip. "Do you think you'd get any benefits if you didn't fight?" "Shut up!" the Lord of Dead Spirits snapped coldly. "This seat is merely making everything crystal clear, lest you all take things for granted. The truth is, nothing is simply deserved—everything comes at a price!" "Even Su Yu fighting for this era isn't something he is inherently obligated to do. Of course, he is willing, so I have nothing to say about that!" Su Yu smiled and nodded in agreement. "You are right. Nothing is simply owed to anyone! Fighting for one's own interests is only natural." After a moment's consideration, Su Yu said, "How about this: if I slay the two gates, they are Heaven-Openers as well, and their worlds will belong to you! If I cannot kill them and end up slain, I will find a way to leave my world for you to devour before I die!" "As for the River of Time..." Su Yu continued, "It probably cannot be compressed and devoured until all three gates have manifested, and consuming the River of Time is no simple matter." He said in a heavy voice, "Put it this way: immense resistance will inevitably emerge from within the river to stop anyone from consuming it. If you can handle it... very well, devour it, and I will not interfere! If you cannot... then I will find a solution!" Su Yu chuckled. "Between the two gates, I promise you at least one of their worlds, provided we can kill them! As for Qiong, between Zhou and the Prison King, at least one of their Daos will be given to you, also provided we can slay them!" "As for you all, Human Sovereign..." The Human Sovereign spoke up: "We don't need anything. We only hope... for victory!" Su Yu smiled. "I hope we win as well... Of course, if we truly cannot..." He paused, then said, "Then if I fall in battle, the rest of you may flee however you wish! As for whether you can escape, I cannot guarantee it..." After thinking for another moment, Su Yu added, "Perhaps there is another way. If I ultimately fail to survive while you all do... I will find a way to seal this era, which may leave you a glimmer of hope!" He gave an easy smile. "I truly don't want to seal this era, but if I genuinely cannot win while you are still alive... I won't insist on dragging the world down in mutual destruction. I will give you a chance by sealing this era myself to buy you some years!" Wen Yu frowned slightly. "Su Yu, we didn't mean that! From beginning to end, we never intended to run. Has all this time together left you without even a shred of trust?" "Of course there's trust!" Su Yu nodded. "If there were no trust, we wouldn't be allied right now! I am merely telling everyone what I can do so there is still hope, and so our alliance doesn't fracture. You were right—perhaps this era is something only we cannot let go of... while you truly could." "Bringing it up now is good. It's much better than harboring resentment during battle!" Su Yu chuckled. "I only hope our alliance will be sturdier than theirs! Otherwise, I'm the one who suffers!" Everyone exchanged glances and said nothing more. Su Yu smiled. "Does anyone have anything else to say? If not... we can set out together!" No one spoke. They took to the air one after another, flying beyond the borders of the Human Realm. ... At the same time. In the region of the Earth Gate. The Heavenly Gate had taken the form of an old man, while the Earth Gate appeared as a burly fellow. At that moment, both snapped their eyes open! Down in the realm below, several figures suddenly materialized from the Human Realm. Jitian and the others noticed as well, their expressions changing. Jitian said grimly, "Sure enough, that's Su Yu! He wouldn't wait until then to make his move. That madman... is launching the war!" At this instant, powerful auras surged across heaven and earth! Across the realm, whether rogue cultivators or experts of the myriad races, all hostilities ceased at once. The earlier skirmishes vanished into thin air. The myriad realms fell dead silent! Was a catastrophic war about to erupt again? ... The Heavenly Gate stood up, his face full of benevolence. Gazing into the distance at Su Yu, his voice carried a tone of sorrow and compassion: "Su Yu, Xingyu... what everyone seeks is for the myriad realms to endure, for darkness to disperse, and to cultivate the Dao in peace..." "Born of the same root, why be so hasty to burn each other down?" He looked across, his gaze crystal clear. "Back then, the Lord of Time opened the heavens, carving out a realm of light amidst the dark chaos! Those of us who had fought for years in the chaos—where there was no order... entered the myriad realms precisely for order, peace, and tranquility!" "Ever since the Heaven-Opening Era, we hoped this era would endure and this luminous world would persist! Otherwise, why would we have joined the myriad realms back then, becoming a part of them, taking root, and establishing our clans here?" "I was the one who named the human race!" The Heavenly Gate sighed. "Before that, the concept of the human race did not exist! In those days, people drank blood and ate raw flesh amidst utter chaos. Everything was passed down bit by bit through generations of our predecessors! When the ancient cultivation arts became useless, it was we who pioneered new ones! When the old weapons could no longer be used, it was we who turned bone clubs into sabers, spears, swords, and halberds..." Su Yu's voice was not loud, yet it reverberated across the world, cutting off his speech with a trace of laughter: "If that is so, then please, Ancestor of the Human Race, slay Jitian and Jingtian of the Human Gate! Those fellows are the true source of darkness and upheaval! Since the Ancestor of the Human Race knows this, why cooperate with them?" Su Yu's voice boomed like a bronze bell: "Could it be that we are less important than them? Less powerful than them?" His voice thundered across the firmament: "As long as the Ancestor slays them, I will execute that traitor to the human race, the Prison King! As for Zhou... if the Ancestor wishes to shield him, I can spare his life, and we will stand alongside our Old Ancestor to resist the Human Gate! To fend off the foreign foe!" Whether what the Heavenly Gate said was true or false, sincere or hypocritical, Su Yu didn't care. If you kill those fellows, Su Yu truly doesn't have to fight! I'm in no rush! The Heavenly Gate sighed softly. "Wouldn't joining forces against the Human Gate be far better?" Su Yu laughed. "Not quite! I don't like working with enemies!" At that moment, the Earth Gate's voice rumbled across: "Su Yu, do you truly think you will win?" "I don't!" Su Yu shook his head, smiling. "How could I? The two gates are immensely powerful and have long since recovered, merely holding back their true strength. What qualifications do I, Su Yu, possess to match the two gates? Yet even knowing it is an impossible task, I still want to try!" "Whatever you two are thinking, I do not know. But I do know that neither of you wants to die, and both of you wish to emerge as the final victor... to become the next Lord of Time! We shall see who has the luck and who does not! The first to stick their neck out... naturally receives special care!" As he spoke, Su Yu's group drew closer. Formidable auras shook heaven and earth! Su Yu took the lead, with the others fanned out on either side. At this moment, Su Yu seemed like a holy Buddha, bathed in radiant light that illuminated the cosmos, turning the very void stark white! "The Human Gate is darkness; the Heavenly Gate is light!" Su Yu's voice rang out once more: "These days, heaven and earth have grown dim. In the past, the light of the myriad realms came from the Heavenly Gate's brilliance, transforming into the realm's sun. Why doesn't the Old Ancestor illuminate the myriad realms now?" The myriad realms had a sun and moon! They hung on opposite sides of the River of Time, visible yet unreachable! The sun was the Heavenly Gate, shining across eternity to bring light to the realms! The moon was the Human Gate, blanketing heaven and earth in darkness. The alternation of the sun and moon made the myriad realms whole. As for what the sun and moon were before the heavens were opened, Su Yu did not know or care. He simply wanted to deduce the Dao of this Human Ancestor. The Heavenly Gate rarely struck—in fact, he had almost never revealed his hand! Su Yu genuinely had no clear idea what his Dao was. As for the Earth Gate, Su Yu knew well enough. Demonic flame! The Dao of Flame! Exceedingly powerful! Yet to this day, Su Yu had not figured out what core Great Dao formed the foundation of the Heavenly Gate's world. This man had opened a world of his own. Continuing, Su Yu said, "Old Ancestor, your radiance over the myriad realms surely wasn't merely to bring a bit of light to the world, was it? After all these years, could you really have made no preparations? Everyone says the Heavenly Gate is the strongest... But is the Heaven-Opening Era the strongest, or is the Old Ancestor himself the strongest?" Su Yu smiled. "Show us descendants your methods! If you truly are invincible, it's not impossible for me, Su Yu, to submit to you!" The Heavenly Gate sighed softly, then chuckled. "Little fellow, you certainly have a sharp tongue!" In that instant, heaven and earth were flooded with brilliant light! A world manifested like a blazing sun! A spherical world, radiant as the great sun, shone down across the realms! Darkness was banished! Light enveloped heaven and earth! The biting chill vanished, replaced by serene warmth. Vaguely visible within that world was a portal. One end seemed connected to the River of Time, while the other side was pitch black. This world was quite peculiar. Formidable power swept in all directions as the Heavenly Gate spoke calmly: "Su Yu, I simply do not wish to create more slaughter. You are all humans, the future of the human race, and the future of the myriad realms! Why push me to the wall?" Su Yu let out a sigh as well. "Pushing you to the wall? Old Ancestor, why do you always like to paint yourselves as victims? Fine, fine—you're the pitiful ones, and I'm the villain, alright?" Su Yu broke into a grin. "Today... I intend to push you! I ask the Old Ancestor to pass away into heaven! Grant us later generations a chance!" Su Yu burst into hearty laughter and roared at the top of his lungs: "Myriad races of the realms, let us bid our Old Ancestors depart into heaven!" A chorus like a crashing tsunami erupted! "We ask the Old Ancestors to depart into heaven!" The thunderous cries shook the cosmos! Honored Ancestors, it is time for you to go! Su Yu beamed radiantly. By now, their group had reached the former Upper Realm, arriving before the Earth Gate and his faction. At this moment, the Earth Gate and his allies assembled, looking across with grim expressions. Zhou spoke up as well, looking at Su Yu and saying softly, "It seems your strength has grown considerably. Just as Jitian said, after only a few days apart, your power has skyrocketed. Truly terrifying!" To see this entire group grow stronger in such a short time was indeed alarming! With a faint smile, Zhou added, "Su Yu, before the battle begins, how about a little game?" Su Yu chuckled. "Speak, Senior Human Ancestor. What game do you wish to play? Let me see if I care to entertain you." "I see you haven't devoured the Dao of the Seven Emotions and Six Desires. You probably gave it to Wan Tiansheng, which is rather wasteful!" "Let's play a small round with Wan Tiansheng as the wager. If I win, hand him over to me. How about it?" Su Yu laughed. "And if you lose?" "If I lose, I will tell you a secret..." Zhou wore a radiant smile. "Perhaps you think secrets are unimportant. No, this one is very important!" "What is it related to?" Su Yu looked at him. Was he going to reveal something about the World Spirit? Or the Seventh of the Human Gate? Or something else? The point was, Su Yu had no interest in other secrets. If it was about the Human Gate or the World Spirit, he had already deduced it. Thus... the secret was completely useless! Bet on what? This fellow simply wanted to complete his Dao in the Prison King's world; his Dao of the Seven Emotions and Six Desires was incomplete. Zhou was deliberately baiting him! Su Yu had no interest in gambling, but then Zhou smiled and said, "Perhaps you think it's useless, but it is of great consequence! It relates to Qiong—a monumental relation!" "Cang?" Qiong suddenly chimed in. Zhou was slightly taken aback, then quickly smiled. "You know?" Qiong was surprised. "You know where Cang is?" Zhou laughed. "If you know, that's even better! The Heaven-Opening Sword is named the Firmament Sword! It consists of Cang and Qiong! Qiong became the spirit of the sword dao, but do you know where Cang is? Only when Cang and Qiong unite does the true Firmament Sword emerge!" "Su Yu, let's make a bet: I will wager Cang's whereabouts against Wan Tiansheng. How about it? If you win, Qiong might become a powerhouse of forty Daos... That is far more important than a single Wan Tiansheng! If you refuse, no one knows Cang's whereabouts except me, who discovered it by pure accident! In that case, Qiong will lose his only opportunity to grow stronger!" He looked at Qiong with a smile. "Qiong, do you want to lose this singular chance?" This was a setup—an open conspiracy! He wanted to leverage Qiong's desire to force Su Yu into gambling with Wan Tiansheng. Did he truly know where Cang was? Su Yu had previously wondered whether Cang had turned into the World Spirit. But judging from Zhou's words, that might not be the case. Where was Cang, then? Su Yu chuckled. "How do you propose we bet?" "Simple!" Zhou's smile faded. "A spar between Xingyu and me. Whoever wins takes the round! Both are at thirty-six Daos, both are Heaven-Openers. Isn't that fair?" Su Yu was surprised. A spar? What was Zhou planning? Su Yu fell into thought. Did this fellow think he could win? Zhou continued, "Of course, if you suspect a trap, it's equally simple: we can make a direct exchange without any gambling. How about that? Hand Wan Tiansheng to me, and I'll tell you where Cang is!" Beside them, Qiong looked at Su Yu with a faint hint of anticipation. Su Yu sighed inwardly! These fellows certainly knew how to play their cards, trying to knock him off balance right from the start. Su Yu said coolly, "Why should I take your wild claims seriously?" Zhou laughed. "Very few know of the Firmament Sword. I don't know where you heard the name, but had I not encountered it personally, how could I know of this?" "Cang exists. What's more, it has fallen into a deep slumber! It is hidden in a certain place... Without my guidance, you will never find it!" "Even if you start this war and kill me, Cang's whereabouts will remain an eternal mystery!" Su Yu rapidly analyzed and weighed the truth of his words. Did he truly know Cang's location? "Since you knew, why didn't you take it?" Su Yu chuckled. "That is a divine character of the Heaven-Opening Sword, immensely powerful. If it was truly asleep, why wouldn't you take it?" "Because I couldn't!" Zhou shook his head. "Perhaps only Qiong can retrieve it! They are one entity. If I tried to take it, it would awaken Cang and trigger a fierce backlash!" Zhou pressed on: "Su Yu, give Wan Tiansheng to me, and I will hand Cang over to you... That way, Qiong will have hope of becoming a powerhouse capable of matching the two gates..." As he spoke, neither the Heavenly Gate nor the Earth Gate intervened. It seemed neither side would lose out! If Qiong devoured Cang, he might reach forty Daos. But if the Prison King devoured Wan Tiansheng, she might do the same. Both sides would gain strength without taking a loss. Yet this required Su Yu to surrender Wan Tiansheng! Would Su Yu hand him over? If he refused, what would Qiong think? If he did, would Su Yu be willing? Su Yu looked at Zhou, then at Jitian and the others. Suddenly, he smiled. "Zhou, this doesn't sound like your usual style. It sounds like Jitian's methods! Did Jitian tell you this?" Beside them, Jitian laughed. "What a thing to say... Su Yu, we are old schoolmates; don't you understand me? I have no idea where Cang is—this is the first time I've even heard the name Firmament Sword!" He smiled and continued, "If it were up to me, I wouldn't trade at all! Zhou, you might as well tell Qiong to come over. Give him Cang's location directly and let him go claim it... As long as Qiong stays out of the fight, we aren't unreasonable people!" Su Yu let out a breath. "After all these days, this is the scheme you came up with to deal with me?" Fracturing the alliance! "The number of methods doesn't matter; what matters is whether they work!" Jitian smiled. "Qiong, what do you say? You are a Heaven-Opening Sword—what is your pursuit? Protecting an era? Protecting the human race? Protecting the heavens? None of the above! You only seek to make yourself stronger! You wanted to kill Zhou or the Prison King to devour their Yang Qi and bolster yourself. But there's no need for that. If you go retrieve Cang right now, you will swiftly enter forty Daos. Once we slay Su Yu and the others... I promise you may pick any Great Dao you wish to devour... At that point, you might even surpass the two gates! Qiong, that is your true pursuit, isn't it?" He smiled faintly. "Qiong, you'd better think carefully. If you miss this chance... there won't be a second!" With that, he looked at Su Yu. "If you start the fight now and Qiong leaves, you will be in deep trouble!" Beside them, Qiong looked at Su Yu, then back at them, snorting coldly. "At worst, I'll go without it! Slaying you all will let me advance just the same!" He felt these fellows took him for a fool! Every one of them wanted to use him! Jitian smiled again. "Qiong, what do you gain by following Su Yu? You are merely a sword—a sharp sword that opened the heavens! Following Su Yu carries the risk of falling. But if you go claim Cang right now... you have already succeeded!" He added, "Zhou, tell him where Cang is! And tell him that if he doesn't go now... he might never get the chance, because the moment the Three Gates converge, Cang will shatter! Once this battle erupts, the Three Gates may gather very quickly!" Su Yu frowned slightly. Impressive! Before the fighting had even begun, these fellows had already sprung a trap on him! Zhou pondered for a moment and smiled. "True enough... but we must first hold back Su Yu and the others. Otherwise, if this little brat Su Yu tags along to retrieve it, wouldn't our efforts be wasted?" "Naturally! Since they're here, why let them leave?" Jitian chuckled. Zhou abandoned the topic of Wan Tiansheng and said directly, "Cang is sleeping within the Chaotic River. Back during the opening of the heavens, it was depleted too heavily, causing the character to detach, enter the chaos, and absorb primal source power to recover!" He smiled. "Once the Human Gate descends and the Three Gates converge, the chaos where the Earth Gate resides will shatter completely! The combined power of the Three Gates far exceeds Cang's!" "And once our war begins, the Human Gate will inevitably arrive early... Over these years inside the Earth Gate, I have studied it many times. The Chaotic River is Cang's resting place—I swear it!" The Earth Gate spoke up as well: "Qiong, the Chaotic River is indeed Cang's resting place. We were simply unable to take it, so we let it gather source power there. Otherwise, where would a primal source river come from in the chaos..." That river lay deep within the Earth Gate! The Earth Gate continued, "If you wish to go... we will clear a path for you. You will know whether it is true once you see it! If you miss this chance, you may never have another... Once the Human Gate descends, the source will shatter, and Cang will vanish with it..." At this, Qiong grew restless and somewhat infuriated. "You think I'll believe you?" "Why wouldn't you?" The Earth Gate smiled. Suddenly, the entire space of the Earth Gate trembled. Deep in the far distance, a river rippled. At that moment, faint wisps of sword intent drifted out, vanishing an instant later. Qiong's face changed slightly. It really seemed... genuine! He hadn't even known the name Firmament Sword until recently. Yet these fellows knew it! And now, a faint aura of sword intent had flared—it truly might be Cang's presence. The Earth Gate smiled. "Qiong, do you wish to go claim Cang with ease right now, or remain here tangled up with us, facing not only the danger of death but also the risk of permanently losing the chance to fuse with Cang, leaving the Firmament Sword broken forever?" Qiong was torn! If he left now, they would clear a path, and he could easily take Cang. Once reunited as the Firmament Sword, he would become a peerless supreme expert. Furthermore, they had promised to share a Great Dao with him once they won. Devouring another Dao... even if both gates fully recovered, he wouldn't be weaker than them! What should he do? Qiong couldn't help but hesitate! At that moment, the expressions of the others turned grim. The Lord of Dead Spirits frowned slightly. An ill omen right at the start! Just as Su Yu prepared to strike, Qiong—a crucial piece—seemed on the verge of faltering. If Qiong, a powerhouse of thirty-eight Daos, truly walked away, disaster would follow. Jitian and the others wouldn't let this opportunity slip. The Human Sovereign felt compelled to speak: "Qiong, if we win this battle, Cang—as a divine character of the Heaven-Opening Sword—won't necessarily be crushed. You can still claim it afterward... If you leave now and we die, these fellows will surely break their word. How could they let you off so easily..." The Heavenly Gate smiled. "Why wouldn't we? We have no major feud with Qiong. Besides, he is merely a sword—the Lord of Time's sword! The Lord of Time sealed the Human Gate, so Qiong fighting the Human Gate is merely following the Lord of Time's intent!" "What's more, if he truly retrieves Cang, his strength will surge. Why would we make an enemy of him?" The Human Sovereign frowned. Qiong suddenly looked at Su Yu. "Su Yu, what do you say?" Su Yu's expression remained tranquil. "If you want to go, go. If you don't, then don't. It's that simple!" Everyone was stunned. At a moment like this... Su Yu wasn't going to stop him or persuade him? Wasn't he supposed to be the master of silver tongues? Even Qiong was taken aback by Su Yu's words. You're not going to stop me? If I truly leave, you people will be in tremendous trouble!