Myriad Transformations

Having fought to this point, Su Yu's side had run out of options. The Lord of Dead Spirits undergoing nirvanic extinction was perhaps their final chance! They had to see if they could kill Moyan once! As long as Moyan was killed once and they seized some of Cang's power to free themselves from Cang's restrictions, hope would remain. Moreover, once Moyan died that first time, Su Yu might even seize the opportunity to devour him and strengthen himself! Su Yu's calculations were thorough! At this moment, the Lord of Dead Spirits was also prepared to self-detonate. In slaughtering enemies, he was exceptionally ferocious! Wielding forty-one Daos of power, he fought even more savagely than Su Yu! Injuries did not matter in the slightest! In any case, this father was ready for extinction! Su Yu also silently waited for his chance. Just as that opportunity seemed imminent, Moyan's voice suddenly rang in Su Yu's ear. "Do not let Yin detonate himself!" "..." Su Yu kept his expression impassive, but his heart shook violently. Moyan... truly knew! "Su Yu, fighting to mutual ruin with me... do you want to hand them the spoils?" Moyan's voice hurried through: "Su Yu, between the two of us, even if one genuinely perishes, the ending will be cruel beyond measure. Both of us will likely be driven to extinction! Don't you love slaughtering bystanders most of all? Why must you insist on making enemies of me this time?" Su Yu had no time for second thoughts. He barked instantly, "Old Dead, fall back! I'll take him!" *Boom!* He instantly stepped in front of the Lord of Dead Spirits. The Lord of Dead Spirits nearly choked on his own breath. *Fuck!* *I was just about to detonate! What the hell are you doing?* Across from them, Moyan's flames scorched the heavens, yet he secretly breathed a sigh of relief as he transmitted hurriedly to Su Yu: "Su Yu, my cards are completely laid bare. Cang is clearly using you to wear me down, perhaps even to kill me once so my trump card is burned, granting him his chance!" Su Yu said nothing and continued his barrage! His great sword swept across heaven and earth! Blows traded back and forth between him and Moyan. The Lord of Dead Spirits choked down his frustration—was the timing not right yet? Then he could only hold it in for now! At this point, joining the Human Sovereign, he assisted Su Yu in battling Moyan. Moyan continued his transmission: "I know you're having Yin seek extinction. Su Yu, you have undergone nirvanic extinction twice, and I know that as well! Of course, Cang does not know, because he cannot sense or see extinction within the Heavenly Gate!" "Now, the cultivators of the Heavenly Gate are dead, leaving only me alive... Unless I speak, no one will know any of this!" "Su Yu, are you willing to batter yourself bloody against me, only for Cang and Hei Lin to pick up the scraps in the end?" Of course he was unwilling! Yet Su Yu had failed to find a better alternative. At this moment, there was no way to resolve the dilemma. Cang and Hei Lin were completely untouchable right now! They did not exist in this space at all, but rather deep within the core of heaven and earth. Unless the River of Time was entirely compressed and the Three Gates fused into one, neither of them could emerge—yet neither could anyone hit them! Such was the profundity of the River of Time! Su Yu transmitted back, "So what if you know? Would you give up this chance? Are you willing to refrain from devouring me? Since you cannot do that... what else is there?" "You forget, I can be reborn through fire!" Moyan replied, "I can afford to die once! If you kill me and devour my corpse to fully compress the river, they will naturally appear!" Su Yu's mind shook! These words were far too unexpected! Su Yu had truly never imagined, never in the least, that Moyan would say such a thing. Moyan knew Su Yu would never willingly let himself be devoured, but because Moyan could die once, he claimed he could let Su Yu devour him instead! How could that be possible?! A trap! That was Su Yu's first thought. *Does Moyan want to take the opportunity to devour me instead?* Su Yu could not be blamed for letting his thoughts run wild. It was simply too absurd. For Moyan to voluntarily offer himself to be devoured by Su Yu... what kind of joke was this?! Regardless of what Su Yu thought, Moyan rapidly transmitted: "Once you devour me and the river is thoroughly compressed, Cang and Hei Lin will manifest fully in the present world—no longer in the future, no longer in the past, but in the present! Right now, they exist in a peculiar state, extremely peculiar. That is the craft of the Lord of Time, rendering us unable to attack them..." "After devouring me, you might advance to forty-four Daos of power, perhaps even forty-five... Though the latter is unlikely. Forty-four Daos is probably the limit for both of us! And after I am reborn through fire, I might step into forty-five Daos!" Su Yu listened silently, still finding it hard to believe. *You would die once for nothing?* *If you self-detonated, you might wipe us out, which would be a net gain. Why offer yourself to me for nothing?* *Since when were you so kind, Moyan?* "Su Yu, you would only be devouring me, not the river... because without resolving Cang, neither of us will have a chance to devour the river! Therefore, unless Cang is slain, both you and I could very well perish in the end!" Moyan transmitted once more: "Naturally, I am not without demands! If I were truly free of desire, why would I have lingered in the myriad realms for all these years?" "What do you want?" Su Yu transmitted back swiftly. What did Moyan want? He was willing to die once for nothing and let Su Yu devour him—so what was he after? Of course, such a devouring might conceal hidden traps, but there was no need to dwell on that for the moment; Su Yu would naturally remain vigilant. "I allow you to kill me and enter extinction. You devour me, the Three Gates fuse completely, the Book of the River manifests, and the entire River of Time will be compressed... All of this requires my sacrifice! Thus, I have only one demand!" "Speak!" "I want you to exchange it for your Dao of Life and Death!" Su Yu froze! Trade the Dao of Life and Death? Could that even be traded? How? "What do you mean?" "Xingyue! Hand Xingyue over to me and strip your Dao of Life and Death to give to me... Su Yu, I keep my word. As long as you trade Xingyue, I guarantee that killing me will be effortless for you... and you will become an expert rivaling the rest of us!" Su Yu transmitted back bluntly: "Piss off!" "..." Moyan nearly burst a lung with rage and cursed through his transmission: "Su Yu, are you an idiot?! Once you become an expert of forty-four or even forty-five Daos, you will no longer be able to undergo nirvanic extinction! Extinction has limits; it cannot be repeated indefinitely! As long as you strip the Dao of Life and Death and give it to me... you fulfill your own ascension! It won't have much negative impact on you at all!" "And what about you?" Su Yu suddenly transmitted, "If you obtain the Dao of Life and Death, does that mean... you will be able to undergo extinction? You can assimilate it for your own use?" If that was possible... that would be terrifying! However, the Heavenly Gate had opened a world, and Moyan's true self seemed to have opened a world as well. If he obtained the Dao of Life and Death, could this fellow truly achieve nirvanic extinction? Holy shit, if he could also undergo extinction, that would be horrifying. Dying once and reviving, dying again and reviving again... slaying Moyan would become unimaginably difficult! Yet the reality was that it might truly be possible. Otherwise, would Moyan be stupid enough to hand himself over to Su Yu to be killed? Without losing his chance at extinction, he could drag Cang and the other out into the open so they could no longer spectate, while simultaneously creating an opponent like Su Yu to pit against Cang and Hei Lin. For Moyan, this was perhaps the best possible choice! *Boom!* With a thunderous crash, Su Yu was sent flying backward, only to charge forward again an instant later! "No, change the condition..." Su Yu still refused. No matter what, Xingyue could not be handed over. There were too many reasons. Moreover, if he handed over Xingyue, the Human Sovereign would fight him to the death. Then what would be the point of everything Su Yu had fought for up to this moment? Moyan was furious, verging on frantic. This was already the best solution he could devise. It was merely handing over Xingyue, and Su Yu would gain one of his bodies for nothing to devour! This fellow Su Yu was simply unreasonable at times! "Su Yu, this is my only condition... Even if you agreed to anything else, you couldn't deliver it! If you don't give me your Dao of Life and Death, then have Yin give his to me... But think it through! If Yin gives it to me, first, he may not be willing! Second, he won't be able to undergo extinction, meaning the power of Cang within both of you cannot be purged, leaving you still under Cang's control!" As for things like the River of Time or the Book of the River, Su Yu could neither promise nor deliver them. Moyan was no fool; demanding those was useless. He only wanted Su Yu's Dao of Life and Death! "Su Yu, this is the best outcome, the best opportunity! Do you truly insist on fighting to the bitter end and putting on a monkey show for others to enjoy?" "Su Yu!" Moyan grew incandescent with rage, his flames roaring even more violently. "Or do you truly believe that you, Su Yu, can take me down?" At this moment, his ferocity flared! An ancient beast was an ancient beast, after all! Su Yu's hesitation had exhausted his patience. If Su Yu insisted on fighting to the death, Moyan did not fear it either. Who lived and who died remained uncertain. Furthermore, he knew that the Lord of Dead Spirits could undergo nirvanic extinction. Knowing this, Su Yu could never catch him off guard with a sudden self-detonation from the Lord of Dead Spirits to wound him. As if struck by an idea, Moyan suddenly transmitted, "Not Xingyue—only the Dao of Life and Death!" "Hmm?" Su Yu's heart stirred. Moyan cursed inwardly. *Fuck, so you were holding out for that!* He immediately transmitted: "There is no need for Xingyue! It is merely that Xingyue holds sway over your Dao of Life and Death... but it can be stripped! You can find any other Dao to link to her for now, or simply let her slumber! What I want is not the person; this seat only requires the power of the Great Dao!" Su Yu grew interested. "Think it through. Without Xingyue presiding over it, the Dao of Life and Death cannot actually fuse!" The reason he had not brought this up earlier was that the isolated Daos of Life and Death could not merge. The cycle of life and death was incomplete! "Hmph!" Moyan sneered through his transmission. "Do you think you are the only ones beneath the heavens who can merge life and death? This seat has observed the myriad realms for years, including Yin's extinction—it all unfolded before my eyes! What I need is merely the Dao that has already undergone fusion!" Then this was up for discussion! Su Yu said swiftly, "How do we conduct the transaction?" "You agree?" Moyan was somewhat surprised, though he quickly found it reasonable. He said briskly, "Simple. You begin stripping the Great Dao now and make the exchange at the very last moment... You can proceed to use Yin's extinction to severely wound me... I will pretend to be oblivious and take the blow... The moment you devour me, you hand the Great Dao of Life and Death to me, and I will transfer it away... In this manner, both of us achieve our objectives!" "Aren't you afraid I'll renege?" Su Yu transmitted, "After the Lord of Dead Spirits heavily injures you, what can you do if I refuse to hand it over?" Moyan offered a derisive tone: "You aren't the only one in this world capable of mutual destruction... If you don't give it to me, I have long prepared: the moment you try to devour me, I will naturally self-detonate! When that time comes, you will gain nothing. And if you think the self-detonation of an expert of forty-four Daos won't scratch you, you are welcome to try! Naturally, I might also renege at that moment... but both of us can sever our connections to the Great Dao and our bodies at the final instant. That will make it safer for both sides!" Both sides wished to cooperate, yet each feared the other's schemes. Su Yu worried that Moyan would leave traps in his own body, while Moyan feared Su Yu would tamper with the Great Dao of Life and Death. Working with clever people was always exceptionally troublesome! If it were someone like Qiong, a straightforward trade would have settled it! Moyan transmitted once more: "We need to be swift. If any clues are spotted, it will end badly for both of us! Su Yu... perhaps the enmity between us cannot be resolved, and I will not abandon devouring the myriad realms or devouring the river... but right now, neither of us is willing to be treated as pawns, watched like monkeys... Dragging them out into the open is something that must be done!" This was true! Su Yu wasted no more words and replied crisply, "Fine. I will begin stripping the Great Dao now. As for whether you can fuse it, that is none of my concern! Whether you can use this Dao to undergo extinction once or twice is likewise none of my business! However... there is one more thing. After I devour you and you revive... how will you and I deal with Hei Lin and Cang?" When that time came, would it be a free-for-all, a joint assault against one, or something else? "Hei Lin's target is also Cang! Cang must die. If he does not die, there is virtually no hope of devouring the river... We join hands to kill Cang! Once Cang is dead and the Book of the River merges into the river, only then can the River of Time and the myriad realms be devoured!" "When that moment arrives, whether you devour the river, or I do, or Hei Lin destroys it outright... we will rely on our own capabilities!" Only then would it become a three-way chaotic clash. As for Cang, that fellow who harbored far too many schemes could go straight to hell! What kind of person was Su Yu? What kind of person was Moyan? Neither of them was willing to serve as another's pawn. To let Cang manipulate them into mutual slaughter was something neither would permit! In this instant, Su Yu and Moyan quickly reached an accord. Cang, a mere sword spirit, wished to dictate the fate of the entire myriad realms? A daydream, nothing more! Su Yu began stripping his Great Dao of Life and Death in subtle increments. With each collision against Moyan, he severed a sliver. The two fought until heaven and earth inverted, their clash shaking the river unceasingly! The Lord of Dead Spirits held his breath. Was the time not ripe yet? Not yet! Su Yu had to wait until his Dao was stripped clean before the trade could take place. And Moyan was likewise waiting for Su Yu's stripping to succeed. At this moment, lacking the two Daos of Life and Death did not affect Su Yu severely; his world was simply less complete than before. "Wait a little longer!" *Boom!* A tremendous roar rang out, and Su Yu was knocked flying once more. Great Dao power scattered, his willpower trembled, and the aura of life and death swirled around his frame as though he were severely injured and desperate to heal. Moyan's eyes flickered. This signaled that Su Yu's stripping of the Dao had succeeded! Next came the transaction. And the Lord of Dead Spirits' opportunity was right now. Su Yu had told no one. There was no need; telling them might arouse suspicion. If Cang sensed it in advance and stripped the power from Su Yu and the Lord of Dead Spirits, it would be a catastrophic disaster! At that precise second, Su Yu's transmission thundered: "Detonate!" The Lord of Dead Spirits cursed inwardly. *Is this timing good?* *Doesn't feel like it!* *Feels even worse than before!* Earlier, Su Yu hadn't been injured so heavily; that felt like a better opening. However, since he had chosen to trust Su Yu, he could only follow Su Yu's lead and gamble! Whether they could seize the chance and achieve victory rested entirely on him! Though a self-detonation by an expert of forty-one Daos like himself might not kill Moyan, it was still better than waiting for death! At this moment, the Lord of Dead Spirits threw caution to the wind with resolute determination. No one knew whether he could resurrect a second time, but... who cared! "Detonate!" *Boom!* An earth-shattering blast erupted! A catastrophic roar caused the entire river to convulse violently! Moyan acted as if it caught him completely unawares. In terms of acting, Moyan was no amateur; had he lacked the skill, his avatar could never have posed as the Heavenly Gate for all those years. In that instant, he appeared unable to dodge in time, and a wretched shriek tore from his throat! *Boom!* Explosion followed explosion in rapid succession. Moyan roared in fury, "Su Yu!" Right at this juncture, Su Yu seized the opening, slashing his sword toward him as he roared, "Kill!" The Human Sovereign's heart shook as well. *The Lord of Dead Spirits self-detonated?!* There was no time to ponder it! This was their chance! Moyan had been heavily wounded by the Lord of Dead Spirits' blast! Simultaneously, Cang's heart leaped. He hurriedly turned toward Su Yu and the others, glancing at the direction where the Lord of Dead Spirits had detonated, then at Su Yu wildly bombarding the heavily injured Moyan. His eyes flickered erratically. *Self-detonation?* *Yin actually chose to self-detonate at this moment?* *Can he revive?* *Or is something else going on?* *Should I extract Su Yu's future-self power? The power transferred to the Lord of Dead Spirits seems confined, dissipated, unrecoverable!* *Should I extract Su Yu's power now?* *Yet this is a rare opportunity. Moyan is heavily wounded. If I withdraw Su Yu's power now, the balance will collapse instantly, handing Moyan the victory...* Cang hesitated for a split second. Yet in that very split second, Su Yu and Moyan collided, trading fist and sword! A deafening explosion rang out! Su Yu transformed into the Human Gate, bellowing fiercely as the gate sealed heaven and earth, locking Moyan within: "Even if you are reborn through fire, you must die today!" Moyan stumbled, also transforming into a gateway that rammed violently within the Human Gate! Amidst the collisions, Su Yu's Great Dao of Life and Death fell into Moyan's gateway. Moyan's voice rang in Su Yu's mind: "Sever the connections together! You sever your control over the Great Dao of Life and Death, and I will sever my control over the two gateways... Su Yu, don't play tricks!" "You don't play tricks either!" Su Yu didn't trust him in the least; the nerve of this fellow to suspect him! "We sever together. On three—" Before Su Yu could finish, Moyan's voice came swiftly: "Count my ass... stop counting! Both of us erupt with full power, bursting to the absolute extreme so we have no mind for anything else. That will also be your chance to kill me... Otherwise, how could you possibly kill me easily?" True enough! In the next instant, the aura of both combatants surged to the absolute peak! A beam of sword light illuminated the surroundings as Su Yu struck downward! Moyan roared as well, a torrent of flames rising with boundless might. Even injured, this fellow maintained a combat strength of over forty Daos. *Boom!* Another colossal blast rang out. The sheer shockwave forced the Human Sovereign, at thirty-nine Daos, to cough blood and fly backward, bleeding from all seven orifices! The Qiong Sword in Su Yu's hand let out a mournful wail! The sword body developed fine cracks! The Heaven-Opening Sword was immensely powerful, but the current Heaven-Opening Sword was no longer the Cangqiong Sword of old. With Qiong's thirty-nine Daos of power, the blade cleaved into the gateway; the gateway shattered with a deafening crash, but a colossal counter-shock surged back! In that instant, Moyan collapsed entirely, yet Su Yu could sense that the fellow's willpower vanished into thin air. Vanishing alongside it was his own Great Dao of Life and Death. At the same moment, Su Yu forcefully stripped out a surge of power! This mighty energy hurtled instantly toward the area where the Lord of Dead Spirits had just detonated. Only then did Cang's expression warp. *Dead?* *So fast?!* He had never expected Moyan to die so quickly. According to his calculations, Moyan should have held out longer. Even if he were to die, Moyan could revive and would never pin his hopes on surviving; there was a ninety-nine percent chance he would self-detonate to wipe out Su Yu! Yet he hadn't! Moyan hadn't detonated! He had been cleanly slain by Su Yu's sword! At this moment, Qiong was stunned. A face materialized on the sword body, wearing a dazed expression. *Am I this fierce?* *Holy crap!* *I'm way too awesome! I actually killed Moyan with a single strike, not even giving him a chance to blow himself up!* As for the Human Sovereign, surprise struck him first, followed by a strange look. *Moyan was killed just like that?* Even if he could revive, being slain so abruptly was far too unexpected. All of this unfolded in the span of lightning and thunder. Su Yu roared, stripping away all of his future-self power. Cang's expression shifted, and he moved to draw it back immediately. But the moment the suction materialized, a torrent of black lightning erupted from within Su Yu! *Boom!* With another thunderous roar, the pull was shattered directly by the black tribulation lightning. "Su Yu!" Cang barked in a heavy tone. What was Su Yu trying to do? He was stripping the power Cang had granted him. When Cang tried to reclaim it, Su Yu actually blocked it with tribulation power! But blocking it for a moment did not mean blocking it forever! Cang prepared to extract it once more! Yet at that moment, an immense suction appeared in the direction of the Lord of Dead Spirits' earlier detonation. A vortex of black and white manifested upon the river, rapidly absorbing the power Su Yu had transferred over! *Boom!* The river churned violently. Cang wished to reclaim that power, only to discover he could not. Su Yu's black lightning struck and hacked repeatedly, preventing him from seizing it in time. By the time Su Yu's tribulation power was mostly depleted, Cang checked again... and it was gone! Indeed, gone. The transferred power had vanished completely! It had been fully absorbed! "Su Yu!" Cang's furious shout rose again, tinged with unease. Su Yu had no time to entertain him. Two broken gateways manifested and were swiftly devoured by him. The Three Gates had fully fused into one! *Rumble!* In this instant, the entire myriad realms, the entire River of Time, seemed wrapped within Su Yu's body. The river was thoroughly compressed into a sphere, enveloping the myriad realms. It was compressed into a round orb! Around this orb circled a river—a silver-white river of exquisite beauty. Su Yu devoured the remaining power of the two gateways. Having just stripped his future-self power, his strength had initially been plunging, but in the blink of an eye, it rebounded to forty-two Daos, and that power continued to climb! The myriad realms shrank smaller and smaller! Simultaneously, near Su Yu, a spark of flame appeared out of thin air. It was a black flame, upon which the silhouette of an ancient qilin beast seemed to materialize—Moyan undergoing rebirth through fire! Not only that, but while the flame had previously been black and red, it now carried faint traces of black and white. Moyan's aura swelled rapidly as well! ... The Book of the River trembled violently, officially beginning to coalesce into physical form! Yet Cang's face was completely dark! Moyan had revived. Su Yu had devoured the two gates. The Lord of Dead Spirits seemed to be reviving as well. Everything had unfolded so quickly that the power he had previously bestowed had vanished entirely, beyond all sensory perception! A sword materialized in Cang's hand. His figure grew clearer and clearer. A cold sneer surfaced on Cang's face as he glared toward Moyan. Moyan had died far too quickly just now, defying all expectations. Moyan had only one chance at rebirth through fire—had he truly squandered it so casually? For Moyan to die once was normally a good thing. Yet no matter how Cang looked at it, something felt wrong. Su Yu rapidly slipping from his grasp filled him with deep apprehension. Furthermore, Moyan had left behind far too much power. Why hadn't Moyan detonated? Why? Did they... have an agreement? The thought sprouted in Cang's mind. Had Su Yu and Moyan reached some kind of consensus? Yet how could Su Yu convince Moyan to sacrifice one lifetime's incarnation just to fulfill Su Yu? At this moment, Su Yu's power surged frantically. *Rumble!* A massive sphere hung in the void—the myriad realms! The river encircled it! Su Yu's aura instantly broke through to forty-three Daos, continuing its upward charge. Moments later, as he thoroughly integrated the two gates with a thunderous roar, Su Yu assumed his true form, appearing in the void as a man. Forty-four Daos! At this moment, Su Yu had climbed to forty-four Daos of power, and the energy of the two gates was thoroughly exhausted. Simultaneously, Moyan's figure materialized on the other side. His body shuddered violently, and a wave of fiery power swept outward with boundless might. This time, he no longer maintained a human guise, reverting to his true form: a black ancient qilin beast. His aura was stronger than before! Perhaps it had reached forty-five Daos, perhaps not; Su Yu found it difficult to judge, but it was certainly stronger than himself. Just as Su Yu completed his fusion, the Book of the River vibrated! *Boom!* The entire myriad realms and the river trembled as the book materialized. In that instant, Cang and Hei Lin stepped forth simultaneously. Two mighty auras swept across the surroundings! "We are out..." Hei Lin murmured. He and Cang had remained in a peculiar dimension, checking each other. Now, both stepped out from that special space. Beside them, the Book of the River hovered. Behind Su Yu, a dark aura emerged. An instant later, a dark silhouette manifested as the Lord of Dead Spirits swiftly revived, wearing a faint smile. Forty-two Daos of power! Yet... his smile vanished almost immediately! In the brief span of his revival, the situation seemed to have shifted once more. Those two... were out? Cang's power had been cleansed and tempered through his nirvanic extinction, becoming his own, allowing him to advance to forty-two Daos. Yet... why were they all out? And Moyan had truly revived! Cang's face was ashen. Su Yu glanced at Moyan, then without a word, grabbed the Lord of Dead Spirits with one hand and the Human Sovereign with the other! In a flash, he shoved both into the gateway at his forehead. Before the two could react, Su Yu's roar sounded: "Supply me with world power!" "Didn't you say you didn't need it?" the Human Sovereign cursed. Su Yu couldn't be bothered to reply. Nonsense! Before, wanting it was pointless; now... of course he needed it. *Holy shit!* *All three of these guys seem to be at forty-five Daos, while I'm only at forty-four. I'm the weakest here! If I don't rely on you to boost my world power, I'll be at a total disadvantage!* "Kill!" With a furious roar, he slashed his sword toward Cang! At the same time, Moyan's flames scorched the heavens as his four hooves trod the void, stepping on fire to stomp down upon Cang! Hei Lin, who had remained silent, suddenly flashed a cold sneer. A long sword appeared in his hand, cleaving toward Cang! Cang let out a piercing roar, clutching the Book of the River in one hand and brandishing his sword in the other, sweeping across the surroundings! A colossal aura shook the entire chaos until it trembled! "So what if you join forces?!" Cang bellowed in fury! These people had all ultimately chosen to target him! He knew he had become the common target because of the Book of the River—he was the spirit of the river! Yet how could he possibly let go? Right now, he had to take control of the river. "Sword!" With a harsh shout, the river encircling the myriad realms suddenly morphed into a blade. The River of Time, compressed to the absolute extreme, was held firmly in his grasp like a greatsword—one that even Su Yu had failed to snatch away. The Book of the River merged instantly into the massive blade. The Cangqiong Sword! Perhaps this was the true Cangqiong Sword—or at least the vast majority of its spirituality and power. Qiong could only be considered the scrap that gained sentience. "Open the Heavens!" Cang uttered a low cry. This cry of "Open the Heavens" did not originate from Su Yu, but from Cang. The strike was peerlessly fierce, cleaving toward all three of them! The transitions had unfolded far too swiftly. Fast to the point of being unbelievable! Su Yu and his side had never coordinated with Hei Lin, yet at this moment, all three possessed a tacit understanding: kill Cang first! Only with Cang dead would there be a chance to flee, protect, or devour! Su Yu slashed with his sword, Hei Lin slashed with his sword, and Moyan transformed directly into a chaotic ancient beast, his colossal frame bearing flames that incinerated all things as his four hooves crashed down! *Boom!* Sword light flashed in a deafening collision. Su Yu's sword trembled violently as a wretched scream escaped Qiong; a crack actually split across the blade, and Su Yu's arm shattered instantly! Mighty sword light surged into his frame, causing Su Yu's flesh to shake violently. Inside his world, the Human Sovereign and the others coughed blood. What terrifying sword qi! Using the River of Time as a sword, Cang—despite having lost considerable power—gained an immense reward from the river compressed into a blade! Having waited for countless eras, Cang had also been awaiting the day the Three Gates converged! At this moment, Cang's face was chillingly stern: "You scheme and plot, but what use is it? No matter how you calculate, the river turning into a sword means you have only fulfilled me in the end!" Right now, he was the strongest among the four. The river turning into a sword was unavoidable! *Boom!* Three consecutive explosions rang out. With a thud, Moyan was knocked flying, his hooves stained with blood. Hei Lin flew backward, the sword in his hand turning pitch-black as tribulation power erupted along the blade. The Cangqiong Sword in Cang's hands was overwhelmingly strong... but no matter how strong, facing three opponents proved taxing even for him. In an instant, with a tearing sound, two sword gashes appeared across Cang's body, and his pale hair bore scorch marks! Cang stumbled slightly, encircled in the chaos by the three, his expression grim to the extreme. Su Yu and the others spoke not a word, striking out once more in the next instant! "Kill!" Su Yu also executed the Heaven-Opening Sword, unleashing a strike infused with black tribulation power specifically targeting Cang, while the tribulation power clinging to Hei Lin's sword was even more potent! At this moment, within Su Yu's world, the Human Sovereign and the Lord of Dead Spirits frantically bolstered his power, replenishing Su Yu's exhaustion. Among the four supreme experts, Su Yu was the weakest; without their replenishment, he could not match the other three. "Get lost!" Cang roared, sweeping his sword through the void, blasting the chaos aside! This strike was reminiscent of the Lord of Time opening the heavens and splitting the earth in antiquity—boundlessly mighty! *Clang! Clang! Clang!* Three crisp, thunderous impacts rang out. The massive shockwave swept through the entirety of the chaos, expanding into its depths. Layers of darkness were shattered to reveal radiant light, turning this dark expanse into a realm of brilliance! The four powerhouses clashed again. A suit of armor materialized on Su Yu, formed from the Three Gates, boasting immense defensive power. Cang's strike did not inflict much damage on Su Yu. Under the combined assault of the three, several more wounds were carved into Cang in the blink of an eye! Circling Cang, murder radiated from their eyes. Cang glanced at Su Yu, grunted, and said in a low voice: "Su Yu... you join them to besiege me as well? I am protecting the myriad realms! Hei Lin wants to devour me, destroy me, and escape the myriad realms! Moyan needs no explanation... Do you... also wish to destroy the world?" He stared at Su Yu: "If I die, are you certain you can match them? They will only join forces to slaughter you! At that point, they will share a common goal: Moyan devours the myriad realms, and Hei Lin departs... That is their win-win!" "There is no conflict between Moyan and Hei Lin... but you conflict with both of them! Their ultimate goal is the destruction of the myriad realms, the destruction of the river... Su Yu, do you not understand this logic?" Cang appeared furious! *Su Yu, your choice is wrong!* "Furthermore... Moyan seems to have absorbed your power of life and death... Meaning he might be able to revive once more! Su Yu, joining hands to kill Moyan is the correct choice!" "Kill!" The only answer he received was Su Yu's sword! Moyan and Hei Lin remained silent as well. At this stage, words were useless, and explanations held no weight. In truth, Cang was right. Yet... Su Yu still intended to kill him! You are the strongest, so I will kill you! Wavering between two sides was the greatest taboo. As for what followed, they would deal with it after Cang was dead! "Fool!" Cang barked in fury, sweeping his sword through the void. With a deafening boom, the four tangled in combat, killing intent soaring to the heavens. A sword pierced flesh! Su Yu drove his blade into Cang's body, while Cang's counter-strike extinguished Moyan's flames, severing one of Moyan's hooves with a single stroke! Moyan grunted and retreated hurriedly. Hei Lin slashed as well, black tribulation power erupting as his blade plunged into Cang's body with a wet squelch. "Begone!" *Boom!* A torrential force erupted from within Cang. With a thunderous blast, both Su Yu and Hei Lin were thrown backward. Both coughed blood! Cang gripped his sword, gritting his teeth in incandescent rage! He suddenly swung his sword toward Su Yu! Su Yu cursed under his breath and retreated rapidly! Swords met in midair as heaven-opening strikes collided again and again. With a loud crack, Su Yu was sent flying, but Hei Lin and Moyan were already closing in once more. *Thud! Thud! Thud!* A barrage of resounding blasts echoed in all directions. Cang was undeniably formidable; wielding the Cangqiong Sword, his power was terrifyingly exaggerated. Yet facing the siege of three experts, he was stretched thin! From Su Yu battling Moyan to the three joining forces to kill Cang, the entire situation had inverted far too quickly. It rendered all prior calculations null and void! Utterly unwilling to accept this, Cang roared once more, deflecting Su Yu with a sword stroke, his voice laced with fury: "Su Yu, has water filled your brain?!" *If you kill me... your defeat is guaranteed as well!* Su Yu said nothing, continuing his slaughter, while Moyan chuckled faintly: "He isn't stupid, of course. If you die... perhaps Qiong can devour you, right, Su Yu?" Su Yu grinned. "You understand me best, Brother Moyan! Don't fight me for the corpse!" Moyan smiled without replying, and the three attacked once more! Indeed, Su Yu naturally knew Cang's words held truth, but... so what? If Cang was slain, Qiong might be able to devour him! That was an opportunity as well! Cang's sword qi erupted, endlessly powerful. With a roar, he struck out once more. *Kill me?* *Not that easy!* The four powerhouses fought until the chaos began shattering! All four possessed roughly forty-five Daos of power; even Su Yu, bolstered by the two inside him, approached that realm. As for Cang, empowered by the Cangqiong Sword formed from the river, he was stronger than the rest, perhaps reaching forty-six Daos. One against three, he remained fiercely valiant! Yet valor was merely temporary. Cang had not fully mastered the River of Time. The four battled fiercely, killing intent piercing the heavens as sword qi crisscrossed in all directions, cleaving the chaos apart. In certain places, embryonic forms of newly born worlds even emerged; the shockwaves of these supreme experts joining forces seemed capable of opening heaven and earth. Just as the three struck again, their blades driving toward his flesh, a ruthless look appeared on Cang's face. "You will regret this!" In the next instant, he allowed Su Yu and Hei Lin's swords to pierce him. He raised his own greatsword, radiating unprecedented brilliance, boundlessly mighty as he slashed toward Moyan! A sharp sword hum rang out! *Squelch!* The blade entered flesh, severing Moyan's head. Infused into the strike was the world-destroying power Su Yu and the others had driven into Cang, thoroughly obliterating everything of Moyan in a single blow! Cang coughed blood continuously, yet he had successfully slain Moyan with that strike! He laughed! Not because he had killed Moyan, but because... Moyan had revived! Yes, at that very second, in the distance, a flame flickered. In an instant, Moyan manifested once more, his aura even stronger than before! Slightly weaker than Cang, yet stronger than both Hei Lin and Su Yu. Coughing blood, Cang laughed uproariously: "Su Yu, guess how many more times he can revive? With every resurrection, he becomes stronger than before... If you kill me... can you match him?" Moyan's eyes turned faintly cold. Su Yu took a deep breath, looking toward Moyan. "Moyan, it seems you can revive one more time... After that revival, you will likely rival Cang!" Moyan should have one revival left! Because he had once opened two worlds! Cang had paid the price of severe injury to slay Moyan purely to show Su Yu and the others: even if you kill me, you won't be able to handle Moyan. Moyan can die once more, and upon reviving, he will become the next Cang! When that moment came and Cang was dead, how could Su Yu and Hei Lin contend with him? Besides, Hei Lin might not even stand against him! And right at this moment, the heavily wounded Cang suddenly unleashed his sword alongside Su Yu, striking toward Moyan together! Moyan snorted coldly! He had anticipated this! Su Yu's laughter rang out: "Brother Moyan, die one more time, and we'll join hands again to kill Cang!" *You'd better use up that final chance, otherwise... who would dare trust you?* At this moment, Hei Lin actually attacked Moyan as well. Moyan's expression darkened instantly as he snarled, "Hei Lin!" Hei Lin chuckled softly. "Let us all live on our final life... Being able to resurrect is far too disgusting, Moyan... Burn through that last revival, and naturally, we will not target you!" Just moments ago, three were allied to kill Cang; in the blink of an eye, three were allied to kill Moyan! Such a transformation was far too swift! At this moment, the sword in Su Yu's hand could not help but blurt out, "It really is better being a sword!" Otherwise, he wouldn't even know whom to kill next. Being a sword truly was best—no need to think at all!