Chapter 1731: Entering The Luminous Domain Mansion Again (1)
With the blood essence of the golden peng active, Su Yu could see a line ahead of him. He only needed to rip space apart following the line to reappear far ahead. As a result, he was able to move at an incredible speed.
Heavendoom and the others were incredibly excited, but they were slightly nervous as well. All of them were grabbing onto him tightly as they traveled through space again and again.
Su Yu was still holding Marquis Lanshan. Due to the loss of her dao body and her heavy injuries, her strength had dropped below the eighth-degree Eternal Realm. She merely stared at Su Yu calmly, as though she had entrusted her fate to him.
Behind them, the furious East Heavenly King was giving chase with five marquises. They were moving rapidly as well. Just from how fast they were moving, one could see just how strong East Heavenly King was. Then again, each heavenly king was a super expert even among Daofuses. Not even the old turtle was a match for them.
East Heavenly King's voice rang out, "Are you Su Yu?"
That was a name he knew. Why? Because he had met Talisman King not long ago. Talisman King had entered the Death Realm personally to request that he deal with the old turtle.
Su Yu's voice rang out, "Impudent! I am the human lord, which makes me your master! For your audacity in addressing me by my name directly, you shall be killed as a traitor!"
East Heavenly King's eyes turned frosty. Then again, Su Yu wasn't exactly wrong. And nobody wanted to be known as a traitor. That was something he would not admit to.
Before East Heavenly King could say anything, a marquis said, "Traitor? The humans went against the natural order of the world and attempted to control even the dead. The humans are the real traitors of the natural order. Humanity wouldn't have fallen otherwise!"
Su Yu continued moving rapidly through space by using both the golden peng blood essence and his pass character, doing his best to comprehend more about the dao of space through this.
Upon hearing those words, he sneered and said, "Ignorant. Fallen? How dare you make such an ignorant claim when there isn't a single human king death spirit here? Do you really think that all the human kings are dead? Culture King and Martial King were unrivaled. Human Emperor conquered all of existence. And you think we have fallen? Ask that traitor king of yours. Does he have the courage to claim that humanity has fallen?"
The East Heavenly King's expression changed slightly. He coldly said, "Su Yu, there is no escape!"
Just as Su Yu was about to rip the space ahead of him open again, the space shook. Behind him, East Heavenly King's aura surged. A massive death spirit dao covering the entire Death Realm manifested slightly. It was shaking, causing space itself to shake, slowing Su Yu down. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
Su Yu was alarmed. At present, he was almost as strong as the Golden Peng Pseudo Emperor. As for death spirits, they shouldn't be a match for the living of the same cultivation level. But for some reason, the East Heavenly King was able to slow him down even when he as utilizing the power of the golden peng.
His speed was slowed considerably. Was this the real strength of the four heavenly kings? No wonder they were allowed to rule the Death Realm. They were far stronger than regular Daofuses.
A small token appeared in Su Yu's hand.
"Homeland of humanity, strengthen my space!"
The power of luck on the token surged, and the power of space rippled out. Instantly, the space around him stabilized.
Su Yu continued moving rapidly. Behind him, the East Heavenly King frowned. Humans! Yes, the heavenly laws of the humans applied even in the Death Realm! However, he had never expected Su Yu to have the ability to utilize some of these laws.
***
Heavendoom was exclaiming in shock, "Is this thing so powerful? It's capable of utilizing even the laws in the Death Realm! Why have I never seen something like this before?"
Su Yu asked, "Had any of the previous human lords attacked the Death Realm?"
Heavendoom thought about it and shook his head.
Nope.
Firstly, the guardians had never sided with the human lord before. Secondly, the battle in the Myriad Realms had never ended before the Upper Realm was open. They would always be too busy to attack the Death Realm.
Sure, each war would affect the situation in the Death Realm, but it would always be a war between death spirits each time. Very few living beings would actually join the fight in the Death Realm.
The sole exception was the war launched by He Tu as he had dragged countless death sovereigns into the battle of the living.
"Exactly." Su Yu said, "We need to lure these fellows into the mansion and kill them all. Killing them here won't give us any rewards. But killing inside the mansion is different. The rewards for killing death spirits will be even better than usual. As guardians, who are Eternals, you will be rewarded richly for killing Daofuse death spirits. This is your chance."
A chance for them to achieve Daofuse. Killing death spirits in the Death Realm was pointless.
But in the Luminous Domain Mansion, they would be rewarded both for killing stronger opponents and death spirits as guardians. That would be the best opportunity for the three to achieve Daofuse.
The three guardians were tempted, but they did not get overly excited. They knew very well just how hard Daofuses were to kill.
While they were conversing through voice transmissions, Marquis Lanshan suddenly said, "We can't keep going ahead! We'll reach the entrances of the Luminous Domain Mansion soon! That place is protected by the power of laws! No death spirits can enter!" "Also, there are many local death sovereigns there as well. They might slow you down, allowing the East Heavenly King to catch up!"
Marquis Lanshan was feeling very anxious. Why weren't they heading toward any of the available death tunnels? She knew who Heavendoom and the other two were. They could have left through a death tunnel!
Of course, she would be the one to suffer upon exiting through a death tunnel. But the death tunnel would also be able to stop the advance of the East Heavenly King. What was this new human lord thinking? Why was this human lord heading further and further away from the death tunnels?
A trap?
An ambush?
What joke was that? That wasn't possible. Living beings would be detected instantly here. As for death spirits, no death spirit here could be stronger than the East Heavenly King.
If there was really someone so strong around, they would have attacked the East Heavenly Domain long ago.
Seeing that Su Yu was ignoring her, she started shouting anxiously. Finally, Su Yu spoke, "Be silent! Just follow us! Don't try to command our battles when you don't know what's going on! I told you to rush out alone, not rush out with the Lanshan Army! And what did you do? Hmph!"
At that, Marquis Lanshan blanked out. After a while, she said, "With the attack of the Lanshan Army, we were able to weaken the East Heavenly Domain! I also took the chance to kill two marquises and reduce the pressure on you!"
She had an entirely different idea of what she was supposed to do. Su Yu only wanted to lure the East Heavenly King out. However, Marquis Lanshan wanted to weaken the East Heavenly Domain as much as possible before leaving.
And with the help of Lanshan Army, she had accomplished it. They had successfully killed two marquises and numerous death sovereigns. For her, such a battle result was worth dying for.
She didn't know why that would anger Su Yu. Thus, she was feeling wronged. They had sacrificed so much just to accomplish such a feat. Why was the human lord not acknowledging their contribution?
Su Yu spoke through voice transmission, "Do you disagree? Did I tell you to do that? I told you to kill your way out and lure the East Heavenly King. Your subordinates should have taken the chance to flee or wait. They wouldn't die so soon. I have my own way of making sure the East Heavenly King won't return. An incompetent general is all it takes to bring disaster to an entire army."
Su Yu did not hold back as he continued, "Why did you do more than what you were asked? Did you feel very heroic sacrificing all your subordinates? You ruined my plan! Without your people, how am I supposed to control the East Heavenly Domain after conquering it? I would have cut you down for spoiling my military plans if we weren't still in an active situation!"
Marquis Lanshan blanked out. She felt even gloomier than before.
She had been a valiant general since the ancient past. Even Martial King himself was full of praise toward her. But now, the new human lord was berating her for her courage!
"I—"
"What? Are you still trying to argue?" Su Yu said, "You sacrificed so many of our death sovereigns for nothing! Answer me. Are you able to control the East Heavenly Domain alone after I conquer it?"
"..."
Silence.
Marquis Lanshan was feeling indignant. She did not think that this was a treatment she deserved. She had gathered the force she had accumulated for so many years before killing a bloody path out. How could he berate her like that?
"Human Lords...the soldiers of humanity will be disappointed to hear these words. Those brothers and sisters who had died fighting..."
"They are all heroes. But you're trash." Su Yu said, "Just stop talking. If you remain a disobedient subordinate, please leave me after this battle. But if you still consider yourself a human, do not stray from my orders."
Marquis Lanshan didn't know what to say. After a while, she grunted and answered, "Yes."
Why was the new human lord so overbearing even when he was fleeing for his life? She didn't know what to feel about this. They were in the middle of fleeing from powerful enemies. Was he not afraid that she would turn on him for berating her like this? Also, how was he so confident that he could escape the East Heavenly King safely?
As Su Yu continued traveling through space, the pursuing party moved nearer and nearer to them.
Just then, He Tu appeared far ahead of them and roared, "Over here! Quick!"
Seeing that, Su Yu hurriedly rushed over.
In the blink of an eye, he reached He Tu. There, He Tu hurriedly said, "Go! Go in there and teleport away! It's safe inside!"
And thus, the group jumped into a black hole.
East Heavenly King's group slowed down slightly. With some hesitation, a marquis said, "Heavenly King, this place..."
East Heavenly King frowned and said, "I remember coming here once...a long time ago. It feels...different."
But after a short hesitation, he ordered, "We go!"
"Yes!"
The death spirits entered the black hole as well.
***
Su Yu's group reached the end of the black tunnel in the blink of an eye.
After coming out, 360 dim stars could be seen floating above them.
As they rushed toward the stars, He Tu asked through voice transmission, "Can you activate them?"
"Of course."
Su Yu said nothing else and circulated his 360 apertures. At the same time, he poured a large amount of power into the 360 stars. These were the entrances for the ancient human experts. As a human with the combat strength of a Daofuse, Su Yu could naturally use them as well.
Instantly, all 360 stars lit up. He Tu was greatly surprised. It was really working. Marquis Lanshan was surprised as well. What was this?
The 360 stars started circulating in a unique order. After stepping atop one of the stars, Su Yu sent a voice transmission to the others, "You, go to the third star on the upper left. You, go to the fifth star on the upper right. You..."
He gave everyone a specific direction, including He Tu. He still needed He Tu's help to lead the way later. After all, he was unfamiliar with the first underground level. He didn't want to lose his way there while under the pursuit of the East Heavenly King.
Su Yu continued, "Enter these small rooms and circulate the corresponding apertures..."
With an awkward tone, Heavendoom said, "We aren't humans. We don't have the corresponding apertures."
He Tu and Lanshan looked at each other before saying awkwardly, "We are death spirits. We don't have apertures."
"..."
Damn it!
Suddenly, Su Yu felt like he had made a big blunder. In that case, he could only hope that the East Heavenly King and his people would enter the stars he could control through the star he had picked.
Chapter 1732: Entering The Luminous Domain Mansion Again (2)
Based on Su Yu's previous experience in the Allheaven Battlefield, he knew that he could do something similar here. Each star should be able to control thirty-nine stars. And with nine apertures occupied, they should be able to control all 360 of these stars.
Of course, there was always the possibility that he was wrong. In the Allheaven battlefield, he could control the minor acupoints through the major acupoints. Here, he was merely guessing which were the major apertures.
He hurriedly activated the teleportation function of the stars. Right at that moment, the auras of the East Heavenly King and the others surged out of the black tunnel. Before even seeing them, Su Yu started the teleportation process. He did not bother to wait. There was no need for that. It would be too obvious if he stayed and waited for them.
He did not want to give them the time to even think. He wanted them to give chase without any hesitation. Thus, he had to start teleporting before they were even here. It didn't matter if he really managed to shake them off this way. He could always try this again in the future.
It was more important to not give them the time to consider whether this was a trap. As a professional scammer, Su Yu was naturally proficient in psychological battles like this.
By the time East Heavenly King and the marquises arrived, they were met with the sight of Su Yu and the others being dragged into thin air. At the final moment, Su Yu sneered and said, "East Heavenly King, I'll return after dealing with the living! See you!"
East Heavenly King was alarmed.
A teleportation formation?
To the world of the living?
This wasn't possible...or was it?
He only knew that these people would escape him soon.
At a glance, he noted that everyone in Su Yu's group was occupying a different star, with the power of teleportation activating around them. He wanted to think about this, but he also knew that he didn't have the time.
Thus, he roared, "Split up and get on those stars! Now!"
With his power of laws, he forcefully slowed the teleportation for a split second. Due to his overwhelming strength, he succeeded. Just as Su Yu and the others were about to fade away, they reappeared with a flicker as the power of teleportation paused.
"Hah!"
However, East Heavenly King did not take the chance to attack Su Yu or the formation. He did not have enough time for that.
With a flicker, he reappeared atop one of the stars. Seeing that the marquises were still hesitating, he roared, "Do it! Now!"
At that, the marquises did as told. Before anyone knew it, each of them was standing atop a star.
Then, the power of teleportation returned and dragged them all away even as Su Yu's furious roar rang out in the air, "Damn it!"
Hearing that, East Heavenly King exhaled in relief. Good. It was good that this had angered Su Yu. What a surprise. This was truly surprising. How was there a teleportation formation here? More importantly, what was the significance behind Su Yu's ability to activate it?
It signified that Su Yu could freely enter or leave with death spirits without being subjected to the judgment of the heavenly laws. The death spirits would be punished by the heavenly laws upon leaving without permission.
But Su Yu controlled a bypass to all that. A death spirit could avoid the heavenly laws by leaving through this formation. Numerous ideas emerged in East Heavenly King's mind. In that case...would he also bypass the judgment of the laws by leaving through this formation?
If that was the case...East Heavenly King started growing excited.
With his strength, could anyone in the world of the living be his match? It was worth noting that like the humans, death spirits could also enter the various realms without being subjected to the suppressive force.
Perhaps that was because all death spirits walked the same dao, and there was some incompatibility between that dao and the suppressive force of the Myriad Realms. Or perhaps the daos of the various realms were simply not strong enough to suppress the dao of the death spirits.
"An alternative exit..."
The more East Heavenly King thought about it, the more expectant he became. Could he finally leave the Death Realm freely? That would be such a big gain for him that even his recent losses could be forgotten.
Of course, he had to first kill Su Yu to keep this secret to himself...no, it would be even better to capture Su Yu and search Su Yu's memories for the activation method of this formation.
***
Inside the formation.
Su Yu was in deep focus. He wasn't sure if the entrances here could be controlled like the entrances in the Allheaven Battlefield. Well, there was no point in thinking so much anymore. He would know after giving it a try.
The moment he circulated the corresponding aperture, his star lit up.
It was working!
"We will probably reach the first underground level. We might even reach the same place. That would be troublesome.
"Therefore, I need to call for Old Zhou right after arriving. When the world is shaking, I can take the chance to flee and enter the first level. There, I can start planning my counterattack."
Of course, Su Yu wasn't relying fully on Old Zhou. He only needed Old Zhou to shake for a bit. He still remembered how much damage Old Zhou could deal with only a single bite.
In truth, Su Yu didn't want to provoke Old Zhou too much. He wanted to first let the three guardians achieve Daofuse before having a chat with Old Zhou. If possible, he wanted to do it on the seventh level as over there, he could flee to the eighth level in emergencies.
He suspected that Old Zhou's influence did not extend to the eighth level. Knowing that Old Zhou might also go crazy as early as the first level, he could only pray that his teacher's method of splitting the realm barrier would really work here.
Hopefully, that trick wouldn't fail him when it mattered. With that in mind, Su Yu focused on the stars again and noted that of the thirty-nine stars under his control, only one of them was occupied by a marquis.
Whatever.
At the very least, he could weaken his enemy's overall strength before the battle. While manipulating his aperture, he pointed at the dot of light in front of him.
***
Inside one of the stars.
The expression of a marquis changed drastically. For some reason, the spatial tunnel teleporting him was shaking violently. Then, spatial rifts appeared and engulfed him. However, he was a powerful expert. He was different from the weaklings Su Yu had killed through the same method back then.
With a roar, he resisted the spatial rifts. But instantly, the spatial rifts grew stronger. And as time passed, they grew even stronger. One of the rifts slashed through his arm, creating a spark before his arm crumbled into pieces.
"Settle down!"
The marquis roared as he tried to stabilize the space around him. What was going on? Why was the teleportation so unstable? Despite his best efforts, he was still cut numerous times by the rifts. Before long, his aura started weakening and numerous wounds were left on his body. This was driving him crazy. Thıs text ıs hosted at Nove1Fire.net
The fact that he was a death spirit didn't help either as it was extremely hard for death spirits to stay calm. As his injuries grew, he started worrying that he would die here. Just then, he saw a dot of light in the distance. Hope returned.
The destination was near!
Damn this unstable teleportation formation. Perhaps it was due to the age of the formation. It was normal for something so old to not work well. Fortunately, he had survived.
***
Meanwhile, Su Yu was feeling quite disappointed.
"A Daofuse is powerful indeed."
He hadn't been holding back. The last time he did something like this, he nearly killed everyone being teleported into the mansion. But this time, the death spirit had actually survived.
So be it.
Noticing the distant light, Su Yu knew that they were near their destination. With a flash, he appeared in a forest of giant pillars. He knew that these pillars were actually hair.
At the same time, the others appeared all around him. He Tu, in particular, had appeared near a marquis. His face turned dark from sheer shock. What was this? Why was he so unlucky?
Su Yu hurriedly sent a voice transmission, "He Tu, ignore everything and lead the way!"
Then, Su Yu opened all his acupoints.
"Tai Shan!"
With a roar, the entire world started shaking. Even the pillars around them started going crazy.
Boom!
"Tai Shan! Damn it! You're not Tai Shan! Who are you?"
Old Zhou's voice was a lot clearer than before. Boundless fury could be heard from it.
Damn it!
Who was that?
This bastard was doing this again! It hadn't even been that long! Old Zhou remembered this voice. This was the same bastard who had been shouting Tai Shan's name to him repeatedly! He was furious! This bastard was here again!
The pillars started sweeping around madly. Su Yu, who was already ready for this, grabbed everyone with a flicker before shooting far away. Meanwhile, East Heavenly King and the others were greeted with a shaking world and countless aggressive pillars right after arriving.
They were all fine except for the injured marquis, who was sent flying while coughing blood. The appearance of his blood seemed to have further infuriated Old Zhou.
The voice in Su Yu's ears rang out again, "Death spirits? Damn it! How dare death spirits appear here?"
Boom!
Countless pillars swept toward the injured marquis. Old Zhou was still not fully conscious. He was only attacking the blood of the death spirit instinctively. East Heavenly King, who was about to give chase, frowned upon noting that one of his subordinates was going to die. He had no choice but to reach out and cut numerous pillars down.
Then, he dragged the injured marquis toward him, avoided the other pillars around them, and roared, "Give chase!"
Damn it!
What manner of a place was this?
He couldn't recognize it. Then again, he had never entered the Luminous Domain Mansion. Thus, he wouldn't recognize his surroundings even after entering the first level. He was already a death spirit during humanity's conquest.
Eventually, he was subdued by humanity. Thus, he had never gotten the chance to visit the Luminous Domain Mansion. They gave chase while avoiding the pillars. One of them didn't want to avoid the pillars. Thus, he tried breaking one of the pillars. But as a result, even more pillars swept toward him.
This was Old Zhou's hair. He would naturally not spare anyone with the courage to cut his hair.
***
Meanwhile, Su Yu was busy fleeing while evading the surrounding pillars.
He Tu's voice rang out in his ears, "Up! Go straight up! Watch out for the pillars! Stick to the middle! There are fewer pillars at the middle!"
Understanding dawned on Su Yu. That was the part on Old Zhou's hair, where his hair was split. It was natural for there to be fewer pillars there. Thus, he shot straight upward while sticking to the middle.
Just then, East Heavenly King noticed Su Yu after breaking several pillars down. Seeing that Su Yu was flying away in a straight line, he hurriedly gave chase. He had a feeling that Su Yu knew this place. Thus, he only needed to follow Su Yu.
At the same moment, Su Yu consumed another drop of golden peng blood essence before vanishing with a flicker.
East Heavenly King snorted and said, "Su Yu, there is no escape. Hand over the method to control the teleportation formation and I'll spare your life."
The world of the living! He had discovered a way to enter the world of the living without punishments! Inwardly, East Heavenly King was feeling greatly excited. He could feel that he had really entered the world of the living.
Marquis Lanshan, who was still being carried by Su Yu, was greatly shocked by what she was seeing as well. She hurriedly sent Su Yu a voice transmission, "You must never tell him that! It would be disastrous to the world of the living! The number of experts in the Death Realm is at least ten times the number of living experts!"
And this wasn't even including the Daofuses. Just the number of death sovereigns alone was already ten times higher than the number of Eternals in the world of the living.
And that was an underestimation.
There were simply too many death sovereigns in the Death Realm.
What nonsense! Su Yu rolled his eyes. He couldn't even be bothered to respond.
Another voice transmission from He Tu arrived, "Get ready. The entrance to the next level is shut. You need to force it open to reach the first level. Back then, Dummy and I took quite a while to break through the entrance."
Su Yu said nothing and continued flying. After a while, he saw a large platform ahead. That was most likely Old Zhou's forehead. Stepping on the forehead, he rushed toward the entrance to the first level.
He Tu's claim that the entrance could only be broken through forcefully was nonsense for him.
He Tu was simply unaware of the proper way of opening the entrance.
The moment the One Hundred Openings acupoint on Su Yu's forehead activated, a whirlpool appeared on Old Zhou's forehead. That was the entrance. Su Yu rushed through the whirlpool seamlessly. Behind them, the whirlpool closed.
Chapter 1733: Entering The Luminous Domain Mansion Again (3)
He Tu blanked out.
Holy shit!
How was Su Yu more familiar with this place than him? Behind them, East Heavenly King approached rapidly. As the whirlpool was shut, they started bombarding it. Due to their strength, cracks instantly appeared on the shut whirlpool.
Ignoring the bombardment behind him, Su Yu rushed toward Old Zhou's mouth. That was the most ferocious place on the first level.
In Su Yu's previous test, that gigantic mouth was powerful enough to shatter even space with a single bite.
The curious He Tu asked, "I thought you were never there before. How did you know the method to open the entrance?"
Su Yu did not bother to reply. He was familiar with this place. Even including the locations he had never been to. Only a fool would open the entrance forcefully. This place was clearly built for humans, not the death spirits or the myriad races. It was only natural for them to not have a way of opening it properly.
Su Yu remained calm. Up until now, everything was progressing smoothly. The only variable that could change everything was Old Zhou. At this point, Old Zhou's ramblings were starting to fade away. Clearly, the provocation wasn't enough to fully awaken Old Zhou. He had only gone mad for a short while.
And finally, East Heavenly King's group emerged behind them with a rumble. The entrance that had taken He Tu and Xia Chen a long time to force open had been instantly blasted open by the powerful heavenly king and marquises.
Ignoring the approaching enemies, Su Yu sent a voice transmission to the guardians, "When you see someone dying, focus on them! You need to seize the last hit! Remember! Steal the kill! Pay close attention on that injured marquis! By killing him, you will stand a chance to become a Daofuse! Heavendoom, you are the nearest to Daofuse! You have the priority here!"
Meanwhile, Heavendoom was blanking out in confusion. Up until now, they had only fought once before fleeing. Could they really kill the marquis? Could he really achieve Daofuse by killing that marquis?
Was this real? He was unsure. But he knew he couldn't go wrong listening to Su Yu. After all, Su Yu was an expert in snatching even the tiniest bit of opportunity in front of him. Even as the former residents of the mansion, they were still quite unfamiliar with the mansion. Since Su Yu was so confident, they might as well follow his words.
Before they knew it, the familiar valley appeared before them.
Old Zhou's mouth!
The hills on the two sides of the valley were Old Zhou's teeth, even if they looked nothing like teeth. Su Yu still remembered the spot where the two rows of teeth would meet.
In the blink of an eye, he reached the spot. Behind him, East Heavenly King's group was approaching rapidly. At the same time, East Heavenly King was looking around doubtfully. Just where was this?
Suddenly, a marquis exclaimed in excitement, "This is the Luminous Domain Mansion! We entered through a different entrance, not Devote King's entrance!"
Luminous Domain Mansion!
East Heavenly King was surprised. Was this the legendary Luminous Domain Mansion? But it was supposed to be shut, right?
Nevertheless, he was growing excited as well. Su Yu...actually had a way to enter! Since he could enter, he definitely knew how to leave as well! In that case, there must be a way for them to enter the Allheaven Battlefield through the mansion! Even if that wasn't possible, it didn't matter. It was said that there were countless opportunities waiting to be grabbed in the Luminous Domain Mansion!
But for some reason, he was feeling slightly uneasy. This might not necessarily be a safe place. He started scanning his surroundings warily, but he found no living being. They were the only ones around. Perhaps something dangerous was waiting on a higher level?
In front of them, Su Yu turned around and coldly said, "What a surprise. I did not expect this. I'm warning you. Stop following me. This place is guarded by numerous living human marquises! East Heavenly King, we can both mind our own business. There is no need for us to keep fighting. Don't force my hand or you'll regret it!"
"Human marquises?"
East Heavenly King laughed. Was this a joke? If there were really human marquises here, they would have appeared long ago. Did Su Yu think that he knew nothing about the previous nine epochs?
Would all death spirits be ignorant of the happenings of the world? How ridiculous. This new human lord was too simple-minded!
Su Yu ignored the laughter and looked around gloomily. Suddenly, he said, "We went past the second level entrance."
At that, a marquis exclaimed in joy, "Heavenly King, the second level entrance is not ahead of us! It's behind us!"
When East Heavenly King looked behind them, he saw a tiny dot of light. Sure enough, there was a whirlpool there. That was the entrance to the second level! He felt like laughing again! Su Yu was in so much panic that he had missed the entrance!
Meanwhile, Marquis Lanshan was alarmed. She had to try really hard to not start cursing. Was this human lord a fool? As someone who was here before, how did the human lord miss the entrance? What a fool! Was this really the human lord?
They were currently at the mouth, while the entrance to the next level was at the brows. They had overshot by quite a lot.
With a gloomy look, Su Yu started fleeing again.
As for East Heavenly King's group, they were overjoyed. What a pleasant surprise. What a performance by the new human lord!
East Heavenly King shouted, "Don't give them the chance to flee!"
He did not believe that there were a bunch of human marquises waiting for them on a higher level, but he wouldn't say no to killing Su Yu earlier. Why should they take the risk and go higher?
Even if they wanted to take risks, they should first handle these people. And thus, the marquises shot forward before reaching Su Yu's previous spot. Su Yu had picked his escape path carefully to ensure that they would end up there during the pursuit.
Right at that moment, Su Yu said, "Tai Shan, Tai Shan, Tai Shan. Martial Emperor, Tai Shan is here for you..."
"Damn it!"
"I will kill you!"
Boom!
It was as though the sky itself was falling upon them.
A boundless fury engulfed the first level. The landscape itself changed, looking as though Old Zhou was frowning. Then, the mouth shut. Old Zhou was gnashing his teeth in fury.
He must kill the damn bug!
The damn bug was provoking him repeatedly!
After finally falling asleep again, the damn bug had returned to bother him! He still remembered what he saw on the seventh level when he woke up previously. That was a sight that had angered him greatly. It hadn't been easy for him to calm down from that anger, but the damn bug was here again!
Crack!
Space itself shattered as he gnashed his teeth furiously.
Two of the marquises were bitten before they could even react. Instantly, they were bitten apart. Their dao bodies crumbled instantly.
Old Zhou was too terrifyingly strong.
"Little Bug! I'll kill you!"
Old Zhou's furious roar rang out in Su Yu's sea of willpower. He hurriedly activated his human lord's token and said, "I am the human lord! If you still consider yourself a human, obey me!"
"Obey your mother! You're dead! You're dead, Little Bug!"
Holy shit!
That didn't work! Wasn't Old Zhou a human? Shouldn't a human show at least a tiny bit of respect toward the human lord?
Just as East Heavenly King and the others were retreating in panic, Su Yu tossed Heavendoom over.
With a roar, Heavendoom transformed into a gigantic ape, brought his fists together, and slammed them onto one of the marquises that had been beaten into two.
Boom!
After unsealing himself, Heavendoom was incredibly powerful as well. Even without his staff, he was still stronger than regular ninth-degree Eternals. Thus, he was still quite confident in killing two heavily injured marquises.
With a rumble, the half-body was blasted apart.
Then, a large amount of power of laws descended from the sky. The power of laws was heading toward Heavendoom. With another roar, Heavendoom grabbed the half-body of the other marquis and tossed it toward Grandstar.
Grandstar, Empyrean Cloud, and Su Yu attacked together. Instantly, that half-body was blasted apart.
Even more power of laws descended from the sky before splitting into three. Su Yu did not bother to accept such a low amount of power. Instead, he pushed his portion into Marquis Lanshan's body.
Then, he vanished with a flicker. Right after he left, East Heavenly King's palm attack struck his previous spot, shattering the space there. And thus, they all started fleeing while absorbing the power of laws converging around their bodies.
East Heavenly King had an unsightly expression.
Dead?
He had lost two subordinates before he could even react! How did he lose two marquises? What happened? He looked at the mouth with fear. What exactly was that? That thing...seemed to be teeth. Two marquises had been bitten apart just like that. Even their dao bodies were not spared.
Meanwhile, Old Zhou's voice continued ringing in Su Yu's mind.
Old Zhou's furious voice.
"Damn you, Little Bug! How dare you make me eat those disgusting bugs? You're dead! Dead!"
Yes. He could feel that he had just bitten into something disgusting. He felt like he had just bitten into a pile of shit! That further stoked his anger! How dare this bug humiliate him so? That was too disgusting!
Yes. In his eyes, death spirits were basically shit.
Meanwhile, Su Yu's expression was changing repeatedly. Old Zhou seemed to be getting more and more clear-headed. In the past, he would fade away after raging for a short moment. But now, he was clear-headed enough to scold him in complete sentences.
How troublesome.
He wasn't happy even after killing two marquises. It was likely that Old Zhou would awaken soon. And East Heavenly King was still fine. Even after killing two marquises, they still wouldn't be a match for the group since East Heavenly King was still around.
And since they still weren't a match, Su Yu would be forced to call for Old Zhou's help again. That would further anger Old Zhou. That would wake up Old Zhou again. Su Yu had a feeling that waking up Old Zhou more would be very dangerous for him.
Far away, Heavendoom was roaring in excitement.
As a torrent of power poured into his body, causing the power of his dao to shake, he howled with laughter, "I can feel an advancement! Hahaha! A hundred thousand years! It's finally happening!"
He was rapt with joy.
Even prior to this, he was already near the Daofuse Realm. Now that he had received a heavenly reward, a staff-shaped dao could be seen above him. His fusion with that dao was increasing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
From how special his dao looked, it clearly wasn't a popular dao. While Heavendoom was roaring in excitement, a massive palm appeared behind him.
Boom!
As the palm slammed down upon him, he hurriedly spun around and threw a punch at the palm. Orıginal content can be found at noveⅼfire.net
Rumble!
Heavendoom, who was still roaring in excitement moments ago, coughed a mouthful of blood as he was sent crashing into a nearby mountain. With blood dripping down his mouth, he rushed toward Su Yu while shouting, "Take me with you!"
Su Yu had a helpless expression. He had thought that Heavendoom would be able to put up a little bit of fight with his power-up. Alas, that was not the case.
"Tai Shan!"
Once again, the world went mad.
The entire level shook, staggering both Heavendoom and East Heavenly King. Su Yu, however, was prepared. With a flicker, he appeared beside Heavendoom, grabbed Heavendoom, and vanished again.
Instantly, he reached the entrance to the second level and dove into it. Just like that, he was gone from the first level.
Meanwhile, East Heavenly King was looking incomparably gloomy. This time, he was in no rush to give chase. Beside him, the two remaining marquises were looking shocked and fearful.
Two marquises had died all of a sudden. They had no idea what was happening. Marquises had been dying randomly throughout the day.
"Heavenly King..."
East Heavenly King said nothing. Instead, he continued looking around gloomily. What was that? What place was this? Why was he feeling...a slight trace of life from his surroundings? No...no way...this...couldn't be a living person.
He soared higher into the sky and looked down at the entire first level. Instantly, his expression turned incomparably ugly. He muttered to himself, "Luminous Domain Mansion...just what is the Luminous Domain Mansion?"
Finally, he was starting to feel fear. He was looking at a face. A face distorted in anger. Wasn't the Luminous Domain Mansion a treasure trove? Why...did it look so sinister? He looked at the entrance to the second level with a heavy mood. This...was ominous.
Before this, he had nine marquises under him. Each of them was incomparably powerful. But now, only two were left. And one of the two was heavily injured. Damn it! Just what was happening here?
Should he continue the pursuit? But could he still return to the Death Realm without giving chase? He didn't even know how he could return. Was he supposed to wait here?
He was starting to regret this. He solemnly said, "Be careful. This...is a sinister place. Don't die."
The two marquises were looking incomparably solemn as well. Who would want to die for no reason? But why was this damn place so sinister?
East Heavenly King flew toward the entrance and said heavily, "We go."
"Heavenly King...are we...still giving chase?"
"What else can we do? Wait here?" East Heavenly King asked, "Do you know the way out? The tunnel on the seventh level might be our sole option. Are we supposed to wait here and give them the time to lay down a trap for us up there?"
At that, the two uneasy marquises followed East Heavenly King into the entrance.
***
Second level.
Su Yu rushed straight to the third level entrance without any delay. Marquis Lanshan, who was still being carried by him, asked with shock, "What was that?"
"Martial Emperor's mouth."
"What?"
"Nothing."
Su Yu couldn't be bothered to explain. Looking at Heavendoom, who was still coughing blood, he asked, "Did you not advance?"
"Soon!" After wearing down some of the death qi flooding his body, Heavendoom said weakly, "Can you stop finding me such powerful opponents? Holy shit. That guy nearly slapped me to death!"
Su Yu had not expected that as well. He had thought that Heavendoom would be able to handle more than one slap. Alas, Heavendoom was too weak. Sigh. He should have expected this.
After all, Heavendoom had yet to achieve Daofuse. He didn't even have his weapon with him.
"How much longer do you need?"
"Soon. Give me a little bit of time..."
Just then, the auras of Empyrean Cloud and Grandstar surged. The two had reached the ninth-degree Eternal Realm.
Empyrean Cloud said in excitement, "One more! I might be able to achieve Daofuse after killing one more!"
Grandstar hurriedly said, "There are three left. Heavendoom can have East Heavenly King. The rest belong to me and Empyrean Cloud!"
"..."
Fuck you!
That was Heavendoom's thought. Screw that! He didn't want to face that monster!
Su Yu said nothing. After consuming another drop of blood essence, he further accelerated with his group. He wanted to go straight to the seventh level. There, he would unleash Old Zhou and kill them all! At worst, he would take shelter on the eighth level.
***
At the same time.
Eighth level.
The entrance shook slightly before transforming into a humanoid figure. The figure looked around warily.
"Danger detected..."
Then, the entrance vanished.
Since a big trouble was coming, the terrified figure decided to hide away for now.
Chapter 1734: Schemes Are Useless, Battling East Heavenly King (1)
Su Yu continued fleeing toward the higher levels with Heavendoom and the others.
Thanks to the power of laws she just absorbed, Marquis Lanshan had mostly recovered from her injuries. However, her damage from losing her dao body remained as that wasn't something one could recover from so easily.
Even after recovering from her injuries, she was only as strong as a ninth-degree Eternal. That was basically the same level as Heavendoom and the others.
Marquis Lanshan coughed, looked at Su Yu with a complicated expression, and asked, "Human Lord, are we heading to the seventh level?"
"Yeah."
"There's a tunnel there...death tunnel...leading to the Death Realm. We all know that...it's much harder to killl East Heavenly King there. He can flee..."
There was a death tunnel on the seventh level. Almost everyone of a certain status in the Death Realm knew that. After all, that tunnel had been around since Devote King's time.
Su Yu did not say much. He knew that East Heavenly King wouldn't be easy to kill. But he wouldn't mind killing only the marquises under the heavenly king. He said, "He has three more marquises under him. If we can't kill him, we'll settle for killing his marquises. He can flee, but I'll go after him again."
At that point, the roles would be reversed. He would be the one doing the pursuing. Heavendoom and the other two guardians would achieve Daofuse soon. East Heavenly King might be strong enough to handle three or even four Daofuses alone. But what about five or six Daofuses?
Without any of his marquises around, more guardians could be liberated to join the attack against East Heavenly King. Su Yu was quite confident in his chances of victory. Then again, it would be much better to kill East Heavenly King here.
In the Death Realm, East Heavenly King could potentially seek the assistance of the other heavenly kings. That could grow troublesome.
There might be one or more human supporters among the four heavenly kings, but according to Su Yu's estimation, there wouldn't be more than one. If there were at least wo, East Heavenly King wouldn't have so blatantly suppressed the human death spirits over the years.
Marquis Lanshan sank into silence. After a while, she asked, "Human Lord, can you let me down? I have recovered from my injuries. Without my dao body, I'm not a Daofuse anymore. But I'm still far stronger than He Tu."
At that, He Tu glanced at her and snorted unhappily. But she wasn't wrong. He Tu was only a seventh-degree Eternal. He was indeed weaker. Even now, she was still strong enough to give him a beating.
"Oh, I forgot."
Su Yu smiled and let go of Marquis Lanshan. She felt much better moving herself. She did not like the feeling of being carried around like that. It felt like a form of humiliation. Naturally, she wouldn't make that known.
At her level, a death spirit was able to maintain their clarity of mind even if they were still easily angered. As Marquis Lanshan moved with the rest of the group, she started paying more attention to Su Yu.
The current human lord...did not seem too strong. No, that wasn't exactly accurate. But his combat strength of a Daofuse felt like borrowed power. In short, the new human lord wasn't even a Daofuse.
This was very surprising to her. She wasn't too well-connected, so she had assumed that as a new human lord, Su Yu should at least be a Daofuse. She had never heard of a human lord who wasn't a Daofuse in the previous nine epochs.
Nevertheless, this new human lord was still very surprising. He wasn't too strong himself, yet it felt as though he could accomplish anything. He was able to easily get rid of so many of those marquises that had suppressed her for so many years.
Furthermore, the guardians had actually unsealed themselves to fight for this human lord. This had never happened before. She knew Heavendoom and the others. After being a death spirit for so many years, it was only natural for her to know the guardians. Thus, it came as a big surprise to her that these arrogant guardians had actually sided with the new human lord.
And that was not all. The new human lord had also secured the support of some death spirits. She knew He Tu. That was the greatest troublemaker of the first epoch. He wasn't the human lord of the first epoch, yet he was the child of destiny of that epoch. He was very similar to Su Yu, but unlike Su Yu, he had not gained control over humanity with an external force. After all, the human race was still quite powerful during the first epoch. Even this troublemaker was assisting Su Yu.
With all those thoughts in mind, Marquis Lanshan sent Empyrean Cloud a voice transmission, "Empyrean Cloud, how are things in the world of the living?"
She knew that humanity was in a bad spot in this epoch. But she didn't know more. Empyrean Cloud looked at her in astonishment. Was she still clueless? Well, that wasn't really that surprising.
She had appeared once to help the book spirit and tea plant with the two marquises previously, but that was all. She hadn't been too active, so it wasn't surprising that she didn't know too much.
Empyrean Cloud replied, "Things are well. Su Yu managed to gain the support of numerous helpers. He also managed to get several Daofuses killed. Now, the immortals, devils, divines, dragons, and the others are hiding inside their realms with their realms sealed. Humanity is enjoying a short dominance."
Marquis Lanshan shook.
Dominance?
She had not seen this happening.
Was the human race of this epoch really capable of that?
"Are there Daofuses in the human race?"
Empyrean Cloud answered, "One."
"..."
Marquis Lanshan was surprised. She asked, "Is that Daofuse...a family member of this human lord?"
That was the only reason she could think of. Why would a non-Daofuse be picked as the human lord otherwise?
"Nope." Seemingly knowing what she was thinking, Empyrean Cloud explained, "The new Daofuse is Great Zhou King. He doesn't have a special relationship with Su Yu. In fact, the relationship between them was quite bad before this.
"Marquis Lanshan, don't think too much. Su Yu isn't as strong as Great Zhou King. But if Great Zhou King were to go against Su Yu...I believe Great Zhou King would be the one to suffer. Also, Great Zhou King and the others were the ones who had selected Su Yu as the new human lord. Even after many years of patience, they had failed to do anything to the myriad races. Meanwhile, Su Yu was able to rapidly turn the situation around..."
Just look at how many Daofuses Su Yu had recruited to his side. The two furballs, the old turtle, the iron devourer, the book spirit, the tea plant...
Without all those Daofuses, Great Zhou King wouldn't be able to do much even if he could rope in a Daofuse or two. Without Su Yu as the node connecting everyone together, even the Primordial Giant King and Spatial Beast Pseudo Emperor, who were recruited by Great Zhou King, would have hesitated to help humanity.
They had only joined the battle after Su Yu showed the ability to cause the myriad races to tremble in fear. In Empyrean Cloud's eyes, Su Yu was the one who had allowed everything to happen, not Great Zhou King.
That was a lot of information for Marquis Lanshan to digest. She had not expected to hear that. She had thought that humanity was in a difficult position. She had assumed that Su Yu had called for her because humanity was making its final stand.
She was even prepared to charge out of the Death Realm, braving the heavenly tribulations just to fight one last time for humanity. But Empyrean Cloud was telling her that she was wrong.
Su Yu was already dominating the world of the living. This weak human lord had done something none of the previous human lords had done.
Sure, some other human lords had suppressed the Myriad Realms temporarily. For example, Hundred Battle King had done so. But when the connection with the Upper Realm opened, all his advantages vanished.
Marquis Lanshan's feelings turned even more complicated. If she had known this, Yusheng, Hong Yun, and the others would have survived. She had intended to kill as many marquises as she could to reduce the burden on the shoulders of humanity. Alas, she was wrong. No wonder the human lord was so furious with her earlier.
Suddenly, Su Yu shouted at them, "Move faster!"
He grabbed the two and said, "East Heavenly King is right behind me! Stop wasting time! Hold on to me!"
Was this the time to slow down and chat? He was furious. A powerful enemy was right behind them! This was not a stroll in the park! Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel[f]ire.net
While flying toward the next entrance, Su Yu grumbled, "Remember! Stop causing trouble for me!"
Empyrean Cloud shrugged at Marquis Lanshan, hinting at her that she was at fault for this. They had angered Su Yu. She still remembered how Su Yu would call her lord and queen all the time when he was weak. Nowadays, he was getting very cocky.
But she decided to forgive his outburst since she had indeed slowed down slightly earlier. Before long, they reached the third level.
After placing a weak formation behind, Su Yu sped off. That formation was only there to alert him when East Heavenly King was here. This would make it easier for him to determine the distance between them. Once again, he rushed toward the next entrance with the others.
While flying, Su Yu was observing Heavendoom. He saw that Heavendoom's aura was undulating constantly, yet he was still not advancing. Noticing Su Yu's gaze, Heavendoom said awkwardly, "Without my staff, I am slightly separated from my dao. It's harder for someone using the Weapon Fusion Method to comprehend the dao without the weapon in hand."
His staff was essentially the tool he had used to bear the weight of his dao. It also served as the connecting point between him and his dao. Without his staff, his rate of comprehension would drop. Otherwise, he would have advanced the moment he received the heavenly reward.
Su Yu frowned. This was something he had neglected prior to this. No wonder Heavendoom was still stuck even after absorbing the heavenly reward. His lack of weapon was the reason. In that case, Grandstar and Empyrean Cloud would most likely be in the same situation later. Or to be precise, advancement would be even harder for them since Heavendoom was the closest to a breakthrough.
Unfortunately, they couldn't afford to take their weapons with them. The disappearance of three cities would definitely alert the myriad races that they were up to something.
Heavendoom added, "But no matter. I'm very fast!"
But his tone turned helpless again as he said, "But even as a Daofuse, I doubt I'll be able to beat that East Heavenly King. It has been a while since I last won a fight."
He was still feeling very sad about that.
Previously, he had defeated Bountiful Treasure once. But eventually, Bountiful Treasure became a Daofuse. Then, he fought the Dragon Pseudo Emperor and lost. Next, he fought the East Heavenly King and lost. It was likely that he would still lose his next fight against the East Heavenly King.
Thus, he was starting to lose interest in fighting. Nobody liked losing all the time. One could be battle-hungry, but even the greatest thirst for battles could be quenched by a string of defeats.
The others had the urge to laugh at him, but they held back. Grandstar said, "Heavendoom, didn't you claim that you are number one below the Daofuse Realm?"
"Yes! Below the Daofuse Realm!"
Heavendoom raged. Without his seal, and with his staff, he would be the undisputed number one below Daofuse!
Su Yu said nothing and consumed another drop of golden peng blood essence to maintain his speed. This was the fifth drop of blood essence he had consumed in the day. Of the various Daofuse blood essence, his collection of golden peng blood essence was the highest. He had gathered nine drops of them in total.
He would run out soon, but he could still use the dragon blood essence later. Before long, they reached the fourth level.
Su Yu did not stop. He didn't even pay his surroundings much attention.
During the period where the Luminous Domain Mansion was shut, storms would rage inside the mansion. That was most likely Old Zhou's process of recovering his source qi. However, Su Yu did not spare the source qi storms around him much attention.
He was trying to reach the seventh level as soon as possible. If East Heavenly King decided to wait down there, it didn't matter. With enough time, the old turtle could conquer East Heavenly King's territory.
Then again, Su Yu believed that someone so strong wouldn't wait around doing nothing. Someone like East Heavenly King would rather leave through the death tunnel on the seventh level than stay trapped.
Fifth level, sixth level...
And finally, they reached the seventh level.
Chapter 1735: Schemes Are Useless, Battling East Heavenly King (2)
Seventh level.
The entire seventh level had been turned into a vast flatland. All the buildings had been flattened when Old Zhou raged previously. That included even Devote King's Residence. Not a single plant survived as well. In fact, there wasn't even a blade of grass left after Old Zhou's rampage.
Without any obstructions covering their vision, the death tunnel could be seen right after they emerged from the entrance. The Source Return Blade was no longer there.
However, the tunnel still couldn't be opened randomly. They could feel some power of laws left around the death tunnel. In the past, all the power of law would gather in the Source Return Blade. With the blade missing, the power of laws could only float about near the tunnel. They even saw a death sovereign attempting to enter the mansion through that tunnel.
Su Yu ignored that and shot straight ahead. He needed to check the status of the entrance to the eighth level first. He had to make full preparation to flee at any moment. He intended to wake Old Zhou up the moment East Heavenly King arrived. And he believed that the eighth level would be safe from Old Zhou's wrath.
The headquarters of the assembly and the residences of the various ancient big shots were there. Old Zhou's influence would be quite limited there. It was likely that even at his peak, Old Zhou wouldn't be a match to all those experts during the ancient past.
After all, there were numerous Masters of Law up there. In fact, there might have been more than a hundred of them up there at one point. To become a part of the assembly that was established to counter humanity's influence, one needed enough strength.
While on his way to the eighth level entrance, he passed by the death tunnel. Several death sovereigns were attempting to break free. They noticed him as well.
Seeing a familiar face, Su Yu called out, "Tuofa?"
That was a familiar face to He Tu as well. He laughed and said, "Tuofa, are you guys still stuck here?"
Inside the tunnel, Tuofa and a few other death sovereigns blanked out.
Holy shit!
Why were these guys in there again?
A voice rang out, "He Tu! How did you enter? Right, you said previously that there is a different entrance. But didn't you claim that the entrance was still unavailable?"
He Tu laughed and said, "I followed someone else in."
Tuofa didn't know what to say.
Among the local death sovereigns, Tuofa was the strongest. He was a seventh-degree Eternal. Su Yu warned, "Leave as soon as possible. A bunch of death spirit marquises are behind us. They might try to leave through the tunnel later. They will probably kill you if you happen to stand in the way while they're trying to escape."
Tuofa laughed, "Death spirit marquises? I have been here for so many years. No marquis has arrived here before. You...you're Su Yu! I still remember you! You fooled a bunch of people here previously! Are you trying to fool us this time?"
He was not buying that. He was here the last time Su Yu fooled some people here. As a result, a bunch of people died alongside a bunch of death sovereigns. This bastard was here again. Who was he trying to fool this time?
Marquis Lanshan looked at Su Yu with astonishment. This new human lord seemed to be quite familiar with a lot of death spirits. More importantly, why was that the first thing in this death sovereign's mind when he saw the human lord? Trying to fool someone? Why was he so prejudiced against the human lord?
"You can believe what you want."
Su Yu knew that this fellow might not even be aware of the four heavenly domains. After all, the old turtle was very strict with who he allowed into his domain. Thus, most of the local death sovereigns were clueless about the situation outside the old turtle's domain.
In fact, even He Tu was sheltered from the wider Death Realm for a long time. He had thought that he was the big boss of the entire Death Realm. Su Yu had given them the warning out of kindness since these death sovereigns had indirectly helped him previously. It was up to them whether they wanted to listen.
The death spirits here were quite silly compared to those in the East Heavenly Domain. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel{f}ire.net
Ignoring them, Su Yu looked around before cursing, "Fuck! Where's the entrance?"
He remembered that the entrance was here previously.
Recalling something, he shouted, "Heavenbridge Marquis! Show yourself!"
The entrance to the eighth level was not a regular entrance. Rather, it was a sentient gate.
When the old turtle mentioned that, Su Yu had tossed the matter to the back of his mind. But seeing that the gate was missing, he could guess what was happening. The Heavenbridge Marquis must have sensed something and fled with the entrance.
Damn it!
How was he supposed to enter the eighth level without the entrance?
Su Yu demanded, "Heavenbridge Marquis, I am Su Yu, the current human lord. We met before. I have an urgent matter to discuss. Can you show yourself?"
As he said that, he was looking behind him. East Heavenly King might arrive soon. But the damn gate was missing. Was this supposed to be a joke? Su Yu gnashed his teeth in annoyance. Without that gate, he might be forced to leave through the death tunnel or he would be the one to be encircled and killed.
What was this mess?
Meanwhile, a certain gate was hiding in the void between space. It was trembling in fear as it tore a tiny opening in the air to peek outside.
Then, the gate muttered, "Su Yu...it's him!"
It, or he, to be precise, remembered that face.
This was the same fellow who had caused a massive mess on the seventh level not long ago. This same person had also killed a devil expert on the eighth level. That fellow had left after doing all that.
The gate remembered praising this guy previously. Why was this guy back? And this guy was even back with some familiar faces.
"Isn't that...Heavendoom?"
The Heavenbridge Marquis frowned. He was the spirit in charge of watching over the entrance to the eighth level. Only those with enough clearance could enter. Furthermore, he could sense something dangerous approaching. Should he reveal himself to Su Yu?
The current human lord? Had humanity picked a new human lord? This guy wasn't a human lord when he was here previously. Did he become a human lord recently? Numerous thoughts emerged in Heavenbridge Marquis' mind.
Meanwhile, Su Yu was feeling quite annoyed. This was an unexpected variable. The damn Heavenbridge Marquis had moved the entrance away during such a critical moment.
At that moment, Heavendoom roared, "Heavenbridge, have you forgotten me? Why are you running? Don't you remember me hitting your gate back then? Open the damn gate!"
Grandstar poked him, hinting that he should be more gentle. No matter what, that was a marquis. And they currently required the help of that marquis.
Su Yu kept looking behind as he waited. He could feel his formation on the sixth level being broken, signifying that East Heavenly King's group was already on the sixth level. They would be here soon.
The disappearance of the gate signified that their escape route had been reduced by one. The Heavenbridge Marquis must have moved the gate away out of his desire to avoid trouble. But because of that, Su Yu was the one in trouble now.
Su Yu did not say more. What could he do if the gate refused to reappear? Was he supposed to attack and make another marquis his enemy?
Heavendoom asked with a somewhat anxious voice, "What now? That bastard is refusing to come out! The laws must be restricting his actions as well. He is a gate spirit, so his sole job was to guard the entrance. We're not familiar with him. He's probably worried that the gate would be broken through. He won't risk breaking the laws for us."
This was similar to how the old turtle wouldn't break the laws for someone he wasn't familiar with.
Su Yu inhaled deeply and stared in the direction of the entrance from the sixth level. After a short thought, he said, "Heavendoom, how much longer do you need to achieve Daofuse?"
"I won't need much longer."
Su Yu looked at the others before stopping his gaze on Marquis Lanshan. He asked, "Marquis Lanshan, there is a heavily injured marquis among them. Can you handle him?"
Marquis Lanshan nodded, "That's Devilflame Marquis. His injuries are heavy while my injuries have healed. I might not be a Daofuse anymore, but I can still put up a fight against him."
Su Yu looked at Heavendoom and asked, "Can you handle a marquis alone?"
Heavendoom frowned and said, "Definitely, if I'm already a Daofuse. This is the world of the living, not the world of the dead. Here, I can handle a marquis after breaking through even without my staff."
Su Yu looked at the other two guardians and asked, "Can the two of you handle a marquis together since you're already at the ninth degree?"
Grandstar answered, "It will be very difficult. We are still too weak compared with a proper marquis. But we can probably slow a marquis down for a bit."
They stared at Su Yu, not knowing what he was thinking. On East Heavenly King's side, there were three marquises and one king. Were they supposed to handle such a group head on? Could Su Yu even handle the East Heavenly King?
Su Yu was unsure, but he still had a drop of blood essence from the white dog. That was the drop he had requested before leaving the Human Realm. There was no doubt that the white dog was very powerful.
But was his borrowed power enough to handle the East Heavenly King?
Su Yu did not feel like calling Old Zhou anymore. The entrance to the eighth level was missing, while Old Zhou was a lot more clear-headed than before. There was no guarantee that hiding inside the realm barrier like what they did previously would work this time. Thus, the gamble would be too risky unless there was a way to guarantee their passage into the eighth level.
Su Yu inhaled deeply and said, "I have several options here. Firstly, I can kill them with Martial Emperor, but I will likely die as well. Secondly, we can escape through the death tunnel. But we won't be able to find another opportunity to kill death spirit marquises so easily. The two of you will be stuck below the Daofuse Realm for quite some time. Thirdly, we can accept this challenge and fight a hard battle. In truth, our best option is to have Grandstar and Empyrean Cloud should kill the injured marquis while Marquis Lanshan deal with the uninjured marquis."
That would increase the probability of advancement for Grandstar and Empyrean Cloud. However, Marquis Lanshan might die facing an uninjured marquis in her current state.
Marquis Lanshan said, "In that case, I'll take on Divine Peace Marquis and buy time for everyone! Guardians, there is a chance you can kill Devilflame Marquis by working together. And upon killing him, you might be able to achieve Daofuse!"
She looked at Su Yu and asked, "Human Lord, are you confident you can handle East Heavenly King?"
"No."
Su Yu's answer was simple and short. Not even the white dog could guarantee a victory against a heavenly king. How could he promise anything? A drop of blood essence would grant him a boosted combat strength for roughly five minutes.
Then again, five minutes were more than enough for top experts barring unique circumstances. For top experts, that was enough time for them to exchange over ten thousand moves.
Hearing the plan, Grandstar frowned and said, "That's too risky. Su Yu, why don't we give up for now? We have already gained massively from this. We can withdraw first and fight again next time. As for our advancements, it depends on our luck."
They could still escape through the tunnel if they wanted. East Heavenly King would stop the pursuit eventually. He would also prefer to not kill East Heavenly King and the others in the Death Realm as they wouldn't be rewarded for that. Out here, the guardians would receive more rewards for killing death spirits.
This was their best chance to achieve Daofuse. Upon success, they would instantly gain three new Daofuses.
Su Yu couldn't decide what to do. He started approaching the death tunnel with hesitation before looking up furiously.
Heavenbridge Marquis!
His plan had been ruined by that fellow.
He was thinking...of calling Old Zhou right after East Heavenly King's group arrived. The previous time Old Zhou appeared, he had killed numerous death sovereigns by simply breathing on them. Even the death sovereigns outside the death tunnel weren't spared.
But would Old Zhou chase him all the way into the Death Realm? That would be way too terrifying. He couldn't make up his mind. Not even the death tunnel was as safe as the eighth level.
Su Yu wasn't even sure if they could really exit through this death tunnel. Previously, the passage was clear since Old Zhou had destroyed the power of laws around the death tunnel. But what about now?
While Su Yu was deep in thought, Tuofa and the other death sovereigns were staring at Su Yu's group. Having recognized the guardians, Tuofa asked doubtfully, "He Tu, Su Yu, are you really facing a powerful enemy? Death spirit marquises? Where did they come from?"
He glanced at Marquis Lanshan. That was a powerful death spirit as well, but he had never met her before. Was it true that death spirit marquises were starting to awaken? Why was he not aware of that?
Su Yu didn't feel like answering, but he still answered, "Yes. A battle between Daofuses might erupt later. If you're feeling brave, feel free to stay here."
Suddenly, Su Yu stretched his hand into the death tunnel.
Boom!
The power of laws around the death tunnel shook slightly, but it did not stop him. His hand was able to enter smoothly.
Then, Su Yu said, "Marquis Lanshan, give it a try."
Marquis Lanshan walked over and reached out as well. Instantly, the power of laws surged. She hurriedly pulled her arm back and said with a frown, "I can leave as well...but I won't be able to enter through this tunnel again in the future or the laws will punish me with an even greater power."
Heavendoom asked uneasily, "So do we fight or not? This will be quite a risky fight. The East Heavenly King is too strong. Su Yu, I doubt you can stop him as well. I saw what you did previously. The master of the blood essence you used is very powerful. But not even that person himself can guarantee a victory over the East Heavenly King. And you're merely borrowing power here.
"If we do this, we can only bet on Grandstar and Empyrean Cloud killing that marquis quickly. We also need to hope that I can really stop the other marquis. Finally, we will also bet on Marquis Lanshan's ability to stop the other marquis. There are too many variables at play here. It's too risky."
Empyrean Cloud said, "Su Yu, we should retreat. The East Heavenly Palace has been weakened greatly. We can go after them next time with Boss' help."
Chapter 1736: Schemes Are Useless, Battling East Heavenly King (3)
Su Yu exhaled and said, "I'm worried that he won't return to his domain after leaving. Instead, he will head toward the other domains."
Everyone frowned upon hearing that. True. Things would get troublesome if East Heavenly King decided to not return and seek help from the other heavenly kings instead. For now, the other heavenly kings were probably still oblivious to what was happening.
It would be too late if they found out after East Heavenly King's death. At that point, there would only be three of them left, with one of them being a friend of humanity. The old turtle could also handle a heavenly king by himself. Thus, a balance would be formed and they would have to accept East Heavenly King's death.
However, things would be very different if East Heavenly King was allowed to leave this place. Once again, Su Yu looked up at the sky and cursed inwardly.
Heavenbridge Marquis!
That damn bastard had ruined his plan!
He was supposed to call Old Zhou right outside the entrance to the next level. Clearly, that wasn't feasible anymore. Furthermore, his main goal here was to get the cultivation method from Old Zhou.
How was he supposed to start converting his techniques and abilities to characters without that cultivation method? Leaving would cause his main mission to end in failure.
"Martial Emperor...is someone I need to face sooner or later."
Perhaps he had to keep betting with his life. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel·fire·net
Things would still be extremely dangerous for him if he couldn't communicate with Old Zhou. He stood no chance against the experts of the Upper Realm. Leaving would be the same as delaying the inevitable.
With that in mind, Su Yu reached a decision. He would wait for East Heavenly King's group to arrive before shouting Tai Shan's name. He would decide what to do next based on Old Zhou's reaction.
Marquis Lanshan and the others looked at Su Yu, awaiting his decision. Would they be standing their ground? Or would they do battle here? Winning here would grant them three Daofuses. Losing here would...end everything.
After a short silence, Su Yu said, "Be ready to withdraw at any moment. Since the eighth level entrance is missing, I will wake Martial Emperor up later. If East Heavenly King and the others are injured enough, we will kill them. If not, we give up. I will return alone in the future."
The moment Heavendoom heard that, he sneered and said, "Are you looking down on us? Are you worried that we would die here?"
"No." Su Yu said, "I'm simply worried that Lord Grand Dream couldn't suppress so many death tunnels alone. If you were to die here, the other guardians would be troubled. I need more time to arrange for your replacements."
Su Yu waved his hand and said, "That's the new plan. My original plan was much better, but the gate went missing by itself. How unfortunate."
It was true that not everything would always go according to plan. Previously, the gate had also vanished shortly. But he did not expect the gate to vanish yet again. He could only conclude that luck truly worked in mysterious ways. It would not side with him all the time. Just then, a concentration of auras surged from the entrance to the seventh level.
Su Yu inhaled deeply and roared, "Tai Shan!"
"Little Bug!"
Instead of the furious roars he was expecting, a calm voice rang out in Su Yu's ears, "You have been using Tai Shan's name to provoke me repeatedly. Do you take me for a fool? I am not a tool for you to use repeatedly. I can feel it. Your enemies are here. They are quite strong, and they are here to kill you. Little Bug, you're dead. Don't even dream of making use of me."
But suddenly, Martial Emperor raised his voice in fury, "For making me eat those disgusting bugs, you will be the first I kill if I'm killing anyone!"
He had awakened.
Su Yu didn't know if he should cry or laugh. This was the worst-case scenario.
Old Zhou was finally capable of proper communication.
But Old Zhou was also hostile toward him.
Old Zhou did not rage or attack. Su Yu was unsure if that was because Old Zhou couldn't control his body properly, or perhaps attacking would cause Old Zhou to lose his mind again. But he knew that his plan to kill East Heavenly King with Old Zhou had failed completely.
It was time for him to withdraw. Leaving was the only thing he could do at this point. He could think of a way to communicate with Old Zhou in the future. With the ability to activate the entrances, he could come in again next time.
Just then, Old Zhou's voice rang out in his ears again, "Little Bug, you're dead! Do you know that! You have angered me! Are you thinking of leaving through the death tunnel? Dream on! I might lose control when I attack, so I won't do anything. But...you should still die here!"
Instantly, the power of laws around the death tunnel shook. With a rumble, the entrance to the tunnel was sealed.
Su Yu's heart thumped in alarm. Things had completely gone out of control.
Old Zhou's proud voice rang out in his ears, "It's over for you! How dare they build this tunnel on my body! Damn them all! Since it's on my body, who can stop me from shutting it?"
The death tunnel was shut. Everyone else sensed it as well. They all looked over only to see a thin barrier covering the entrance.
Su Yu reached out...and met resistance.
As East Heavenly King's aura surged from afar, Su Yu hurriedly said, "Senior Martial Emperor, this junior was too rude for daring to dream of using you. Senior, please allow the guardians to leave, at least. They are in charge of suppressing the Death Realm. The world of the living will sink into turmoil and countless lives will be lost if the death spirits are allowed to run wild. I can stay here with you..."
Old Zhou had regained his clarity of mind. With his clarity of mind, he had opted to shut the death tunnel. The entrance to the eighth level was also missing. The plan to hide in the realm barrier wouldn't work anymore.
Su Yu had planned well, but he had underestimated the ways with which a plan could go wrong. But this wasn't too surprising. Not everything would always go according to the plan. Su Yu was not an almighty god who could control everything. He could only do his best with the cards in his hands.
This was a bad result...but it wasn't really a situation he had never considered before.
Such was fate.
Su Yu did not feel too regretful about himself. He only wanted to send Heavendoom and the others out first. However, he doubted it would work.
Sure enough, Martial Emperor replied, "Forget it. I would have killed you myself if I weren't afraid of losing control, Little Bug!"
He might lose his mind after attacking. And that would give this crafty bug the chance to manipulate him again. He did not remember much of the things that had happened during his slumber, but he still had a vague impression of some events.
Thus, he decided to not attack. Attacking might only benefit this annoying person. After all, he might go crazy and kill the approaching death spirits, helping this annoying bug to escape. He most certainly didn't want to do that.
Su Yu smiled. So be it. He looked at the others and said, "My apologies. I won't say much more. Let's follow our previous plan. I will do my best to keep East Heavenly King busy. Lord Grandstar and Lord Empyrean Cloud, do your best to kill. If you fail, we all die here. I don't regret this. I hope you won't regret this either. We shall...meet again as death spirits!"
He looked at Marquis Lanshan, smiled, and asked, "Do you regret following my order?"
Marquis Lanshan solemnly said, "What is there to regret? It's just a battle."
"True."
Su Yu inhaled deeply. Inside his sea of willpower, the white dog's blood essence floated out. Far away, East Heavenly King's was flying in their direction.
East Heavenly King looked alert. Instead of attacking directly, he focused on scanning his surroundings. As he did that, his expression turned odd as he muttered, "This tunnel has been sealed by some powerful laws."
Then, he looked up. However, the entrance to the eighth level was nowhere to be seen. He might not be familiar with this place, but he knew there was supposed to be an entrance to the next level here.
The marquises beside him looked around as well. Suddenly, Divine Peace Marquis laughed and said, "Heavenly King, the Heavenbridge Marquis must have fled. That's the only explanation for the disappearance of the eighth level entrance."
"Heavenbridge Marquis..."
East Heavenly King nodded. That was a name he knew as well. In that case, the entrance to the eighth level would not be available as well.
He looked at Su Yu and asked, "Su Yu, is this part of your plan as well?"
Su Yu said, "Of course. Now that you're trapped here, you won't be able to escape the fate of being killed by us."
East Heavenly King laughed and said, "But why do I feel like something has gone wrong with your plan? I sensed an intense fury bubbling earlier. This tunnel must be recently sealed, right? Su Yu, it would seem like you have successfully courted death."
He laughed with amusement. Understanding was dawning on him. That terrifying being wasn't Su Yu's backer. Rather, that was merely a tool Su Yu had manipulated to kill his enemies. But he screwed up somewhere.
Su Yu said, "Even if you kill all of us, you won't be able to leave this place. You will be trapped here forever."
"No, not at all." East Heavenly King said, "Don't think that I'm really so clueless. The seal on that tunnel won't last long. After killing you, we can retreat to a lower level and wait for a while. Eventually, that terrifying being will return to slumber, allowing us to leave. Am I right, Su Yu?"
As a super expert, it did not take him long to figure out what was happening. He laughed and said, "Looks like it's a blunder on your part, Human Lord. You must have planned to kill me with that terrifying being. A decent plan. It could truly put me in great danger."
"Why are you wasting your breath here?"
With a roar, Su Yu consumed the white dog's blood essence. Instantly, his aura surged.
Boom!
Great daos clashed.
The dao of the death spirits manifested in the sky. Above Su Yu, a dog appeared. But this time, something different happened. When the dog bit down at the gigantic dao, it wasn't able to damage the dao.
East Heavenly King, who was walking that dao, shook slightly. Then, he released a burst of death qi from his body and said, "What a powerful dao. The master of this dao is probably capable of contending against me. Unfortunately for you, this is borrowed power."
"Kill!"
With a roar from Su Yu, Heavendoom and the others charged toward their respective opponents. At this point, it was useless to say more. In fact, East Heavenly King had only said all those words to destroy Su Yu's confidence.
An intense battle erupted.
While Su Yu was handling the East Heavenly King, Heavendoom charged toward an uninjured marquis.
As for Marquis Lanshan, she roared and charged toward a different uninjured marquis. After exchanging glances with each other, Empyrean Cloud sent Grandstar a voice transmission, "Grandstar, you're slightly stronger than me. I'll try to deal a sudden heavy damage to him while you find an opportunity to kill him and achieve Daofuse. If any of you survives this battle, kill Han Xiang for me!"
Grandstar said nothing.
All three of them were already ready to die before following Su Yu into the Death Realm. He could plan well, but not everything would always go according to plan. And sure enough, everything had gone wrong. But they didn't feel too bad about it. This was an era where they would either die in battle or go mad in their cities.
In that case, they might as well fight with all their strength and allow the people of this epoch to witness their brilliance before dying.
"Kill!"
The two charged toward the injured marquis.
Rumble!
Not long after the battle started, Su Yu was sent flying while coughing blood. The dog in the sky was madly biting the gigantic dao, but it only caused the East Heavenly King to shake slightly.
East Heavenly King smiled.
"Su Yu, it's my victory."
He sent a gigantic palm toward Su Yu, who vanished after transforming into a gust of wind. A storm of five elements raged while a gigantic book flipped open in the sky. One character after another activated, displaying one ability after another. Su Yu was using everything he had to fight the East Heavenly King.
His Heaven Gate was opened wide. His Culture Tomb had transformed into a saber. And his human lord's token was applying a suppressive effect onto the area around him. What was there to regret? He only needed to fight as hard as he could.
He only had his own strength to blame for the failure of his plan. After all, there would be no need for all these schemes if he was strong enough.
***
Up in the sky, a faint concentration of willpower appeared. That was Martial Emperor. He was observing the battle with surprise.
"So he's really the human lord. But why...is the human lord so weak?"
Old Zhou was confused. What year was this? How could the mighty human race produce such a weak human lord? He couldn't believe what he was looking at. How would Tai Shan and the others agree to this nonsense?
He sank into deep thought.