Rebirth Through Fire

Cang intended to extract the power of the future self, using it to coerce the Human Sovereign into withdrawing his strength. Su Yu had become the bargaining chip in the standoff between the Human Sovereign and Cang. At this moment, Su Yu suddenly felt like laughing. *Have I become Cang's kidnap hostage?* A smile appeared on Su Yu's face as he took a step back, dodging Moyan's scorching flames. Moyan pressed forward aggressively, refusing to give an inch. The river compressed ever more violently, and the Book of the River grew increasingly distinct. Naturally, the golden specks upon the book also grew clearer and clearer! All the while, the Human Sovereign continued his encroachment upon heaven and earth! He required a qualitative transformation in volume before the entire Dao of the River could turn into his Dao of Responsibility, and that demanded both time and immense power. Cang's callous voice rang out once more: "Xingyu, Su Yu, do not push me! I do not wish for things to come to this, but you are challenging my bottom line!" The Human Sovereign's expression turned grim. He looked toward Su Yu. "If your future-self power is extracted, can you hold out?" Su Yu calculated carefully before answering, "Right now, I have the combat power of forty-two Daos. However, the future self's strength is by no means weak; if it's ripped away in an instant, I will likely drop to around forty Daos. The Human Gate is exceptionally sturdy—even countless years of river currents washing against it failed to shatter it... But this fellow's flames are targeted. They primarily burn will and spirit!" For Moyan to incinerate the Human Gate—the physical entity of the Gate of Sealing that Su Yu had fused with—was far too difficult. Yet even if Su Yu had integrated with the gate, the gate was only a weapon, a treasure, not Su Yu himself. Consequently, destroying Su Yu's will and spirit was all that was needed; the gate did not have to break. If his strength abruptly plunged to forty Daos and his power was severed at this exact juncture against a pinnacle being of forty-four Daos... Su Yu would be finished. The Human Sovereign's gaze flickered uncertainly. He looked at Moyan, then at Cang, and suddenly sneered, "No matter how many schemes you lot cook up, you will meet your ends sooner or later!" He could vaguely discern that Moyan and Cang likely shared some agreement. Yet both sides sought to keep each other in check. Thus, unless pushed to the absolute brink, Cang had no desire to deal with Su Yu and let Moyan reap the benefits. On one hand, he hoped Su Yu could suppress Moyan, but on the other, he could not allow Su Yu and his comrades to truly succeed. The same applied to Moyan! He was perhaps cooperating with Cang while simultaneously colluding with Hei Lin, playing both sides. Regardless, neither side wanted the Human Sovereign's Great Dao power to continue encroaching upon the River of Time. What should they do? Withdraw? If he withdrew, they could still fight Moyan. If he did not, Su Yu was as good as dead, and once Su Yu fell, the entire board would collapse. At this moment, the Human Sovereign also felt like cursing! Damn it! The current situation was exceedingly disadvantageous to them—especially because Su Yu had rashly swallowed the future power granted by Cang, leaving him under Cang's control. He could not resist asking, "Su Yu, if Cang extracts your future power, can you assimilate him just like you did with Ji Tian before?" With a slash of his sword, Su Yu severed the black flames before him. Striking together with the Lord of Dead Spirits, he barely deflected Moyan's attack. Su Yu gasped for breath and chuckled, "Sure I can!" Cang's indifferent voice sounded again: "Su Yu, you may deceive others, but can you deceive me? What I extract is merely power, not will. And that portion of strength within your body originally belonged to me!" Who was Su Yu trying to intimidate? Assimilation required absorbing one's will. Cang's power had always been his own; without assimilating his will, what could Su Yu possibly do? The Human Sovereign knew this full well as well. He had merely hoped to bluff the opponent! Evidently, Cang was completely unfazed. Moreover, Cang had not actively descended into Su Yu's body to seize his physical form, which meant the tribulation Dao power Su Yu had retained possessed neither sufficient lethality nor deterrence against him, as Su Yu could not even touch him. "Do not stall for time any longer..." Cang sighed softly. In the next instant, a faint wisp of power dissipated from within Su Yu, vanishing into the river. It was not much, yet that momentary dispersion of strength still exposed an opening in Su Yu's defense! *Boom!* A world-shaking crash erupted as a jet of black flame surged from Moyan's maw, overwhelmingly potent. The fire tore through the void and penetrated the Human Gate, intensely rattling the will of Su Yu, who had merged with the gate! No matter how resilient Su Yu's will was, it could still be destroyed! It was only a question of whether the destructive force was powerful enough! Fortunately, a considerable amount of origin power remained inside the Human Gate. Su Yu's scorching will swiftly drew upon that origin power to douse the flames, though his once radiant spirit now appeared somewhat weakened. Cang's voice spoke again: "That was merely the loss of a sliver of power. Xingyu, if you continue, I will extract yet more... Can Su Yu hold out?" Within the world, King Wu could not hold back a furious curse: "You ungrateful dog bastard! We're helping you by killing Moyan, and you dare threaten us?" Cang said placidly, "Then kill Moyan if you can. But the river must not be tainted by your hands!" If they wanted to kill, they could simply overpower him! However, the Human Sovereign's Dao was too sinister. Cang did not wish to see the Human Sovereign's Dao pollute the river. If the Human Sovereign persisted, Cang would truly extract Su Yu's power and hand the victory to Moyan. Moyan winning was not an outcome Cang wished to see, but neither was Su Yu's victory! There was a tacit understanding between him and Moyan. Yet that understanding also dictated that neither of them wanted the river's power contaminated by the Human Sovereign's Great Dao. At this point, Moyan snarled in fury, "Extract it completely then! Once I kill Su Yu and then strike down Xingyu, the encroachment will naturally cease!" Wasn't Cang merely trying to use Su Yu's group to keep him in check so that even if Moyan triumphed, his vitality would be severely depleted, leaving him without the time or strength to assimilate the river? Moyan saw through Cang's thoughts with utmost clarity! Yet... he had no fear! Cang's deliberate loan of strength to Su Yu served many purposes: controlling Su Yu at a critical juncture, dealing with Moyan, or interfering with Moyan's progress. None of that frightened Moyan! He maintained an implicit understanding with Cang and shared a partnership with Hei Lin. He had plotted outside the world for so many years; just as Su Yu said, without real capability, how could he have acted rashly and served as a stepping stone for someone else? Meanwhile, the Human Sovereign grew anxious. His method had been sound, yet Cang had derailed it. At this moment, he could not help shouting, "Su Yu, don't you have any solutions?" If you had no plan, why the hell did you merge with your future self? *Damn it all!* *I already suffered a disastrous loss once—didn't you learn the lesson?* Back then, the Human Sovereign had also fused with his future self and suffered a terrible setback. That too had been Cang's doing; Cang had siphoned away his future-self power, leaving him vulnerable to an ambush by those beings within the Heavenly Gate right as he struck! He had nearly died! Looking back now, that bastard Cang had probably intended to curb his Dao's growth even back then. Did Su Yu truly have no cards left? In his eyes, Su Yu had always been one to look before leaping. Did Su Yu genuinely believe those tribulation Daos alone could halt Cang, or had Su Yu simply run out of options and been forced to integrate his future self? At least by merging with the future self, he had eliminated Zhou, the Prison King, Ji Tian, and the rest. Without it, they might not have even had the chance to fight this far. At that thought, the Human Sovereign sighed. There was no helping it! Without merging with the future self, they might not have overcome Zhou and the others. Yet having merged with it, they were now constrained by Cang. It was simply too arduous! These bastards, after all, had lived for far too long, and their power was utterly terrifying. "These scoundrels harbor nothing but malice toward us!" The Human Sovereign was entirely stripped of his earlier swagger, looking dejected and despondent. At the critical moment, Cang had stabbed them in the back once again! He sighed and began retracting his world's power. For now, avoiding Cang's ire still left them with a shot at fighting Moyan—at least a sliver of hope remained. Otherwise, once Cang drew back the power and Su Yu fell, any chance of battling Moyan would vanish completely. Within the world, King Wen, Wen Yu, and King Wu all wore ugly expressions. In the river, Lan Tian, who was still transporting power, also halted his steps, carrying a look of dejection and helplessness. There was no way out! There was no choice! Seeing this, Cang breathed a slight sigh of relief. The Human Sovereign might not necessarily have succeeded, but Cang had to nip that possibility in the bud. ... Nearby, the Lord of Dead Spirits was scorched by the flames once more. He let out a muffled groan and felt an overwhelming urge to curse. Su Yu materialized instantly, blocking Moyan's pursuit on his behalf. Unable to hold it in, the Lord of Dead Spirits muttered, "Do you really have no other way?" Su Yu sighed. "What else can I do? I'm human, not an omnipotent god... Either my power gets extracted, or this is how it has to be..." The Lord of Dead Spirits was left speechless. Indeed, when had everyone developed such blind faith in Su Yu? He was facing old monsters who had been plotting since the opening of the heavens, every single one possessor of absurd strength. He did not even understand why he had assumed Su Yu would have an answer. Su Yu's fusion with the future self had been a desperate measure; what other way could he possibly have? At this moment, maintaining forty-two Daos of power and grinding on against Moyan was perhaps the only way forward! The Lord of Dead Spirits also felt a pang of hero's despair. He had schemed for a lifetime, hoped for an eternity, aiming to swallow the River of Time and battle the Lord of Time. Yet before the true master had even appeared, Cang and Moyan alone had shattered his ambitions to dust! At thirty-nine Daos, he had already reached the pinnacle. Since the dawn of creation, aside from Moyan, only a handful of individuals had ascended to thirty-nine Daos—figures like Ji Tian and Qiong, all of whom had profound backgrounds. The Lord of Dead Spirits was likely the sole native human to have reached thirty-nine Daos entirely on his own! Su Yu did not count; he had borrowed strength and devoured Ji Tian. The Human Sovereign did not count either; several people had joined forces to supply him with world power before he barely crossed into thirty-nine Daos. Since the beginning of the world, he was truly the paramount human! Yet what was the use? A hero's twilight. In this clash with Moyan, every time Moyan's world fire touched him, it brought agony and attrition. After several exchanges, his world felt as though it were being burned to cracking. A few more strikes, and his world might collapse entirely! "Future power, huh..." Su Yu let out a sigh. *The extraction of future power—I know all about it.* *In truth, there is a countermeasure.* Yes, Su Yu had a way. However, it was excessively difficult and perilous, especially at his current cultivation level where the challenge surpassed imagination. Furthermore, he entertained other ideas, but the Human Sovereign's actions had made him hesitate. Should he still proceed according to his plan? Plans were always shifting! If they could slay Moyan outright, that might not be a bad outcome either. *"Old Dead, can I lean on you?"* *"I want to find a shoulder to lean on... The Human Sovereign's shoulders aren't broad enough..."* The Lord of Dead Spirits wanted to curse! *Lean on your grandfather!* Yet for Su Yu to suddenly send a voice transmission like this meant he had an idea. He replied swiftly via transmission, *"Speak! What do we do?"* *"You possess a dual world, right?"* *"Nonsense!"* *"And you have one layer of world that has never undergone nirvanic extinction, correct?"* The Lord of Dead Spirits' eyes flickered. *Yes!* Su Yu had experienced nirvanic extinction twice, while the Lord of Dead Spirits had only done it once! Moreover, his world contained the Dao of Life and Death, which now spanned both layers of his world. Thus, he was indeed capable of undergoing nirvanic extinction one more time. But at thirty-nine Daos, undergoing nirvanic extinction was extraordinarily difficult! Su Yu continued his transmission: *"Do you dare take the gamble? But if we really do this... the trouble will be enormous. Who knows if you can revive a second time... What's more, I intend to extract that future power and use it as the resurrecting energy for you. That means you must also ensure that the future power is seized by your nirvanic extinction. Old Dead, you'll have to wrest it from Cang!"* Indeed, at this stage, extracting the future power to serve as revival energy was ideal; there was no need to slaughter anyone to harvest life-force—future power would do nicely! Nirvanic extinction was a chance to start anew. If the future power underwent extinction alongside him during that interval, Cang would lose his grip on it! *"When that happens, I'll drop to around forty Daos. If you fail to seize the power and revive yourself... then the game is truly over!"* While parrying Moyan's onslaught, Su Yu rapidly transmitted, *"Old Dead, you're at thirty-nine Daos now. When you return from extinction and devour the future power, you should be able to step into forty Daos! And when your thirty-nine Daos detonate with a bang... it can also weaken Moyan, buying time for me and buying time for yourself... while simultaneously shaking off Cang's control! I want to turn Cang's power into our own! Naturally, if we can trick Cang into giving up even more power... that would be absolute perfection!"* The Lord of Dead Spirits' gaze shifted slightly, and Su Yu added, *"Old Dead, you might even find a way to swindle Cang, get him to lend you some power too, and then immediately plunge into nirvanic extinction—like a meat bun thrown to a dog, borrowed and never returned!"* Nirvanic extinction! Letting the Lord of Dead Spirits undergo nirvanic extinction! In this realm, only Su Yu and the Lord of Dead Spirits had mastered the Great Dao of Samsaric Life and Death. The Human Sovereign and the others had not, which was a deeply helpless reality. As for Su Yu, he had already undergone extinction twice! Whether he could manage a third time, Su Yu had no idea; it was very likely impossible unless he opened another world. Su Yu had originally contemplated undergoing extinction himself, but with a viable alternative, the Lord of Dead Spirits had a far higher chance of success, whereas if Su Yu did it, it would be an outright gamble! The Lord of Dead Spirits' eyes flashed with determination! At that exact instant, Su Yu roared, "Human Sovereign, do not retract your power!" The Human Sovereign paused! Cang also stirred slightly, his gaze chilling. "Su Yu, are you truly courting death?" Su Yu sneered, "If you want the Human Sovereign to pull back his power, it's not impossible. But Moyan is too strong... If this drags on, we will die sooner or later anyway... What difference does dying early or dying late make?" At that, Su Yu smiled menacingly. "Cang, since you've already exerted control over me, why not lend me some more strength and elevate me to forty-four Daos? If I win, you can extract the power whenever you wish. If I lose, there's nothing more to say... it's death either way!" Lend more power to Su Yu? Out of the question! Cang was deeply wary of Su Yu and could never agree. Having risen to forty-two Daos, Su Yu put Cang on high alert. At this point, how could he possibly lend him strength! Seeing this, Su Yu said coldly, "Then lend it to Qiong! You and he were originally one. Elevate Qiong to forty-two Daos—I imagine you can do that!" Qiong? Cang's heart stirred, but he rejected the thought almost immediately. No! Qiong was unique! In essence, Qiong was part of him. Once Qiong grew too strong, he might turn and devour him. He would not grant power to Qiong, nor would he grant it to Su Yu! "Then the Human Sovereign..." *Bullshit!* Cang nearly cursed out loud! He would lend power to anyone before giving it to the Human Sovereign. First, there was a risk that the Human Sovereign's Great Dao would assimilate it—the Human Sovereign had almost done so back then, though luckily he had not been strong enough at the time. Second, if the Human Sovereign grew stronger, he would use Cang's own power to reinforce the Dao of Responsibility and further encroach upon the river... That would truly be trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice! Even if water flooded Cang's brain, he would never lend strength to the Human Sovereign! Su Yu lashed out with his sword, repelling Moyan once more. Yet Su Yu's own will was scorched by the flames again, inflicting agonizing pain. He let out a low roar, his willpower violently destabilizing! Gritting his teeth, Su Yu shouted furiously, "Human Sovereign, continue the encroachment! I cannot match Moyan... The moment I am defeated, we are still dead with no way out! In that case... before we die, we might as well disgust these bastards!" The Human Sovereign's expression shifted slightly. He said nothing more, nor did he pull back his power; his world's strength resumed its relentless encroachment! Since Su Yu said so, he would simply follow through! Having acted as the protagonist for a short while, he felt he had better step down. A mere thirty-nine Daos was useless—he couldn't hold the line. Better to let Su Yu keep shouldering it! At this moment, Su Yu fought with absolute madness! Where he had previously defended passively, he now went on an all-out offensive! With a thunderous crash, Moyan unleashed a fist that sent Su Yu flying and simultaneously battered the Lord of Dead Spirits to the verge of bodily collapse. The Lord of Dead Spirits stumbled back continuously, coughing up blood that transformed into flames the moment it erupted, incinerating in an instant! The Human Sovereign also gave a fierce roar, his power swiftly invading. Upon the Book of the River, the golden specks grew larger and larger! Right then, Hei Lin suddenly chuckled coldly, murmuring eerily, "Keep going, don't fear him! Su Yu, fight to the death! Cang hopes to use you to buy time; he will not rashly extract your power!" Buy time? Su Yu's mind stirred. *Why buy time?* *Cang has prepared for so many years—what does he still need time for?* This was another question that intrigued Su Yu! Cang's face turned somewhat unsightly, while Hei Lin smiled sinisterly. "Without stalling for time, how can he find a way to deal with Moyan?" Moyan recoiled instantly, snapping his gaze toward Hei Lin and then toward Cang, his expression shifting! Looking at Cang and then back at Hei Lin, Moyan's face darkened: "Cang, Hei Lin, what is the meaning of this?" Hei Lin said placidly, "Moyan, did you truly believe you had everything under control? Do you think we don't know what your hidden card is? Cang knows, and so do I. Otherwise... why would he have Su Yu drag out this bitter battle with you until now?" Moyan's face turned completely grim! Su Yu's curiosity was piqued at once, and he hurriedly pressed, "Tell us! Does this mean this fellow Moyan still has a trump card to deal with you two?" No wonder Moyan had disregarded everything else, relentlessly trying to kill and devour Su Yu as if he had no fear of being wiped out by Cang and the others afterward. Hei Lin chuckled eerily: "Why should I tell you?" Those words... stung! Su Yu laughed as well. "Then forget it!" Yet Hei Lin suddenly shifted his tone and smiled: "Actually, it's nothing much. Moyan's origin is simply unusual—the Dao of Flame Incarnate! An ancient beast demon!" The Dao of Flame Incarnate, an ancient beast demon. While Su Yu was still pondering the meaning, King Wen's deep voice came from the distance: "Ancient beast, flames... Could it be the legendary art of rebirth through fire? Back then, the phoenix clan entered the myriad realms from the chaos, and it was said they could revive once—resurrecting from the dead, instantly reborn stronger than before! Yet I killed many phoenixes and never saw them undergo rebirth through fire, so I dismissed it as a joke! An ancient beast demon, the Dao of Flame Incarnate... Could it be that Moyan can resurrect?" At this moment, Moyan's face turned completely livid! Su Yu also drew in a sharp breath: "Holy shit!" A pinnacle being of forty-four Daos—if they exhausted every drop of strength to kill him, only for him to suddenly revive even stronger, that would be remarkably similar to nirvanic extinction! So... Moyan possessed an ability akin to nirvanic extinction! No wonder he had no fear! Once victorious, he could undergo extinction at the decisive moment to grow even stronger, seizing the opportunity to swallow the river. What could Cang do then? At most, Cang and Hei Lin possessed forty-five Daos of power—stronger than him, but only marginally so. If he devoured the river, he would undoubtedly surpass Cang and could even snuff Cang out! At this point, Moyan's face was terrifyingly grim, though he quickly regained his composure. He looked toward Cang and Hei Lin, while Hei Lin smiled coldly: "Why look at me?" Moyan fixed his eyes on Cang and said chillingly, "You had Su Yu and the others clash with me... because you wanted to uncover where the foundation of my demon flames lies?" Demon flames—the root of his rebirth through fire! Evidently, Cang's continuous empowerment of Su Yu's side was partly aimed at leveraging Su Yu to probe Moyan's true essence and locate the source of his rebirth Dao so that he could destroy him! These bastards had known his trump card all along! They had simply been waiting, keeping silent until now! Moyan's face turned ashen, yet he quickly steadied himself. What difference did it make if they knew? Su Yu, on the other hand, had a massive headache! *So it's true?* *Damn it all!* That made things exceedingly difficult. An opponent who could resurrect after being killed... was far more troublesome than Su Yu and his comrades undergoing nirvanic extinction. The core issue was that Moyan was simply too strong! Su Yu blurted out, "Does that mean you can most likely only undergo extinction once? And you were saving this against Cang, not against us? Otherwise, as a forty-four Dao powerhouse, you could have just self-detonated and blasted us to pieces... The only reason you've been tangling with us until now is that you wanted to save that chance for Cang?" Su Yu quickly added, "Then keep saving it for Cang... Don't detonate! If you detonate, I won't have a single chance left!" Moyan's expression was stormy! Cang's face was also quite grim! He looked toward Hei Lin, his gaze frosty. "Hei Lin, Moyan... is the true outsider! No matter how you and I struggle, our fates are tied to the Lord of Time. He is not!" What was Hei Lin trying to achieve? Moreover, when had that fellow seen through it? Moyan had kept it thoroughly concealed, never revealing or hinting at it. Cang had only inferred it because Moyan had always displayed a conspicuous lack of vigilance toward them. Unless Moyan possessed absolute certainty, that made no sense! Hei Lin's sudden revelation disrupted the rhythm! It would also put Moyan on guard! Hei Lin laughed. "I'm watching the show! A grand spectacle! The play hasn't finished yet—if everything unfolded within your grasp, wouldn't that be far too boring? Cang, do you truly think you are omnipotent, in control of all things? Just what do you take yourself for?" Cang wanted total control over the situation! Was that possible? Hei Lin would ensure it wasn't! Whatever Cang schemed, Hei Lin would expose. Otherwise, Moyan might have been maneuvered to death by Cang without ever realizing it. Cang's empowerment of Su Yu served many aims, including forcing an intense clash with Moyan to locate Moyan's primordial flame. At this moment, Moyan's expression shifted continuously. Rebirth through fire was his ultimate secret! He had never spoken of it to a soul! Countless beings cultivated the Dao of Flame; fire alone did not grant resurrection. He could not understand why these individuals would guess in that direction! Yet clearly, they had hit the mark! Hei Lin seemed to read his thoughts and gave a sinister chuckle: "Wondering why we guessed it, are you? Moyan, you are too foolish, too conceited, too brazen, and you disregarded us far too much!" As someone who reached merely forty-four Daos after merging, what right did he have to look down on them? Did he think victory was assured? It was nothing more than relying on a powerful trump card! "The rumors circulating in the myriad realms of the phoenix clan's rebirth through fire did not arise from nowhere. Unless... before the phoenix clan entered the myriad realms long ago, they witnessed or heard of it somewhere..." Moyan had no interest in hearing the explanation! He only knew he was in trouble! Significant trouble! Both Cang and Hei Lin held their own agendas. With his hidden methods dragged into the open, their efficacy would be diminished. While it would not weaken him directly, it would spawn an endless chain of complications! At this moment, Cang had no wish to banter further. He said flatly, "Su Yu, tell Xingyu to withdraw his Great Dao power. Doing this achieves nothing! It will only accelerate your deaths!" Su Yu sneered, "Forget it, I won't do that. Let Moyan keep growing stronger. Moyan, how about I fulfill your wish? You devour me and swallow the river directly... Just leave me a wisp of spirit so I can watch who wins between you and Cang..." He chose non-resistance! Su Yu chuckled, "We can't win anyway! Even if we kill Moyan once, we still lose... One hurdle after another—I've had enough!" At that, Cang finally softened his tone and let out a light sigh: "Su Yu... there is no need to provoke me deliberately. You do not wish to die! Only by fighting do you have a chance! Indeed, I harbored such intentions, hoping you would flush out Moyan's contingency... You must understand that Moyan is the true outsider, whereas you and I are both beings born of this realm! If Moyan triumphs, the myriad realms will fall into extinction! If I triumph, I might not spare you, but the myriad realms will still endure!" "Even Hei Lin—if he wishes to flee this place, he can only do so by annihilating the myriad realms... Su Yu, we are the ones who can cooperate at this moment..." After a brief hesitation, he swiftly added, "Empowering you and Xingyu goes against my wishes..." Su Yu cut in instantly: "Then elevate Lan Tian and Wan Tiansheng to forty Daos of power each! I'll help you force out Moyan's hidden card!" *Get lost!* Cang could never agree to that. Su Yu was out of the question, Qiong was out of the question, the Human Sovereign was out of the question, and Lan Tian and Wan Tiansheng were equally out of the question. The only ones left were the Lord of Dead Spirits and his peers. Elevating King Wen and the others... Those individuals were currently inside the Human Sovereign's world. How was that any different from empowering the Human Sovereign? Counting through them all... only the Lord of Dead Spirits remained! It seemed that only by elevating the Lord of Dead Spirits—giving Su Yu's side a glimmer of hope to defeat Moyan—could he keep them locked in fierce combat. Regardless of whether Su Yu's group could slay Moyan, Cang could use the engagement to locate the essence of Moyan's flames! Otherwise, a Moyan capable of rebirth through fire posed an immense threat! Moyan had held back that opportunity, reserving it specifically for Cang, and Cang was well aware of it. The Lord of Dead Spirits... Cang suddenly said, "I can provide a portion of future-self power to Yin... Su Yu, I cannot and will not do anything beyond that. If you insist on having your own way... do as you please!" Su Yu's expression turned ugly! *Boom!* Without a word, Moyan launched another assault, blisteringly fast and far fiercer than before. He spoke with chilling malice: "Su Yu, get lost! Yield the Human Gate and let me devour the world! Cang is merely using you. You fool, must you let yourself be exploited by him? You are already under his thumb; once Yin is also controlled... even if you defeat me, what can you achieve?" Su Yu glanced at Moyan! A question crossed his mind: did Moyan truly not know that the Lord of Dead Spirits could undergo nirvanic extinction again, or did he know and deliberately keep quiet? Perhaps Moyan also wanted to weaken Cang! The Lord of Dead Spirits had undergone extinction once inside the Heavenly Gate, which Moyan ought to know. Of course, Moyan might believe a second extinction was impossible. Su Yu had undergone extinction twice—once inside the Heavenly Gate and once outside it. Only his inner circle knew of the second instance. Those people would never broadcast it casually. Thus, Moyan might not know Su Yu had undergone extinction twice, right? At this moment, Su Yu could not be certain and did not care to deduce it. Whatever the case, since Moyan had not brought it up, he either deemed it hopeless or thought it might weaken Cang! Who cared! Su Yu said coldly, "Empowering Old Dead? What's the point of that? Either me, Qiong, or the Human Sovereign! Pick one of the three!" "Then you may simply die!" Cang's face was completely indifferent. He would not empower any of those three—absolutely not! They posed far too great a threat to him! Meanwhile, the Lord of Dead Spirits could not help cursing, "Su Yu, what, do you look down on me? At this point, taking a gamble is better than dying right now! As long as we're alive, there's a chance!" Inwardly, he was filled with admiration—Su Yu had calculated accurately once again! Cang would indeed choose only him! Yet this was hardly something to celebrate. Clearly, in Cang's eyes, the Lord of Dead Spirits posed little threat, even if he was the foremost human of the myriad realms. Furthermore, providing power to the Lord of Dead Spirits would allow Cang to control him as well! Killing two birds with one stone! At this point, Su Yu's face darkened as he was knocked back by Moyan once again. In the next moment, he barked, "Fine! But you must elevate him to forty-four Daos!" "You make it sound far too simple!" Cang's expression was gloomy. "I can only provide a portion of power. Any more, and I might as well step in myself... Whether he reaches forty or forty-one Daos depends on his own fortune... Su Yu, this is all I can do. If you refuse, I will extract your power this very moment!" If the Lord of Dead Spirits grew slightly stronger, the combat strength on Su Yu's side would reach equilibrium. It would be far less precarious! In truth, Cang could not provide any more even if he wanted to; the expenditure would be too immense, leaving him unable to suppress Hei Lin! At that moment, Qiong roared in outrage: "We were originally forged from the same sword, you dog bastard! You'd rather elevate an outsider than empower me?" He was fuming! He wanted nothing more than to cleave that scoundrel in two with a single strike! Su Yu felt like cursing. *Qiong, stop causing trouble for me!* Cang ignored him. Empowering Qiong carried immense risk; Qiong might assimilate that power. Of course, he might fail, but given that their divine characters shared the same origin, Cang would not risk any mishap. At that instant, the river trembled. The Book of the River trembled as well! In the next moment, another figure of the Lord of Dead Spirits seemed to coalesce within the river. Death qi across the entire expanse gathered, sweeping toward the Lord of Dead Spirits! Death qi also emanated from the Book of the River. This was the extraction of the death qi origin from the river to empower the Lord of Dead Spirits. As for what level the man could reach, Cang could not be certain; it depended on his fortune and destiny. Cang had provided roughly enough power to reach forty-one Daos, but whether the Lord of Dead Spirits could attain that tier... depended on the man himself! Cang's voice turned icy: "It is time to retract the Great Dao power!" The Human Sovereign looked toward Su Yu, his eyes asking: *Should we renege?* Su Yu gritted his teeth. "Taking a gamble is better than dying right now!" After a moment's thought, the Human Sovereign withdrew his world power, feeling a touch of regret. Meanwhile, the Lord of Dead Spirits instantly began merging with the newly formed incarnation of himself. On Su Yu's end, holding off Moyan alone caused him to be battered and scattered in the blink of an eye. Only when the Human Sovereign swiftly came to his aid did the two manage to hold Moyan at bay together! Moyan said coldly, "You are seeking your own destruction! Su Yu, you know you cannot win! Now, both you and Yin are under his control... Even if you defeat me once, can you defeat me a second time? When that time comes... the victor will still not be you!" *Has this fellow truly never considered that the Lord of Dead Spirits can undergo nirvanic extinction?* Su Yu pondered briefly before letting it go. *Whatever!* *It's all the better if he doesn't know!* *Boom!* The battle erupted once more. In the rear, the Lord of Dead Spirits' aura surged rapidly, crossing into forty Daos in the blink of an eye. His death qi swelled madly, yet after persisting for a time, he seemed to fall just shy of forty-one Daos! The Lord of Dead Spirits roared, drawing in power once again with a thunderous boom! His world expanded, and his death qi surged to the absolute peak! At this moment, the foremost human of the myriad realms successfully broke through to forty-one Daos in the nick of time. Overjoyed, he unleashed a colossal punch carrying an overwhelmingly formidable aura directly toward Moyan! Cang watched, his brow furrowing slightly. Empowering the Lord of Dead Spirits had been the only and best choice; surely nothing would go wrong? The Lord of Dead Spirits was not foolish, but he lacked diverse methods. If he had truly been exceptional, he would have resolved the chaos of the Heavenly Gate years ago. In contrast, Su Yu, the Human Sovereign, and their lot were the truly troublesome characters. Compared to the rest, the Lord of Dead Spirits was the most dependable. Of course, had Qiong not shared an origin with him, empowering Qiong would have been ideal. Qiong was far too straightforward and completely devoid of guile; aside from sheer strength, he possessed no tricky means! Cang fell into contemplation, continuing his observation. He needed to find the location of Moyan's primordial flame! He had to shatter Moyan's art of rebirth through fire! This was precisely why he wanted Su Yu's group to hold out a while longer. Otherwise, a forty-four Dao Moyan, once reborn, would likely cause him tremendous trouble. *With Yin empowered... they should be able to hold out for a while. If Moyan cannot endure it and chooses to self-detonate to wound his foes, that would be the ideal outcome...* Cang murmured inwardly. He would love nothing more than for Moyan to detonate once, obliterating Su Yu and the rest. Then, stripped of his chance at rebirth, a forty-four Dao Moyan would be vastly easier to deal with! Everything remained on track! Though his plan had been buffeted time and again, up to this point, all remained within his grasp. As for Hei Lin... Glancing sideways at Hei Lin, Cang said nothing. Hei Lin's hopes of escaping were virtually nonexistent. Had he not fled back then and chosen to continue being converted by the Human Gate, things might have been fine. But he had abandoned the chance to be converted, which had also been a chance to attain supreme strength! After all, later emotional Daos born after his departure, like Ji Tian, had trained to over forty Daos by the final moment. Had Hei Lin remained behind the Human Gate all along, absorbing those origin conversions, he might have reached forty-nine Daos by now. He had forfeited the opportunity himself! Cang did not know whether to call Hei Lin foolish, or to say the fellow was extraordinarily fixated on fleeing the river for the sake of so-called freedom. At this moment, Cang's mind was flooded with thoughts. He had not pondered these matters for many, many years. ... Yet while Cang was lost in thought, the Lord of Dead Spirits fought with unprecedented ferocity! He even charged to the very forefront! Nirvanic extinction once more! Could he revive? *God only knows!* *Yet if that grandson Su Yu can undergo nirvanic extinction twice, why can't I?* *In terms of accomplishments, that boy Su Yu isn't necessarily superior to me!* *After extinction, devouring Cang's power—borrowed and never returned—sounds like quite a wonderful outcome. I like it!*