Openmountain and the others were greatly shocked to see that. They had only discovered the exact location of the entrance after spending several months in the area. Meanwhile, Su Yu had found it with one look.
Su Yu glanced at Openmountain and said, "We will definitely return, but we might return through a different entrance. However, we still need to keep watch over this place lest someone waits here in ambush when we return."
Su Yu continued, "I'll send for Heavendoom, Empyrean Cloud, and the others. Six to eight Daofuses will be stationed here. The book spirit and tea plant will come as well. With this, you can stop even heavenly kings."
Openmountain was relieved to hear that. He said, "That's good to hear. I have been worrying about this. After all, Heavenly Overseer Marquis is also in the boundless void."
Su Yu nodded in agreement. That was the main reason he was stationing such a large force here. And with that done, they started waiting for the entrance to reappear. Up above, Great Ming King and the others started their research. Even Great Zhou King was dragged into the research since he was supposed to know more about the entrance.
Su Yu ignored them and sent Openmountain a voice transmission, "After we leave, send Zhao Chuan's group back to the Human Realm. Nobody is allowed to come in contact with them before I return. I've already informed Director Wan about this."
"Got it."
Openmountain agreed readily.
Chapter 1886: Entering The Upper Realm (2)
The day after, Heavendoom, Empyrean Cloud, the tea plant, and book spirit arrived.
Excluding Su Yu's group, six Daofuses had gathered here. Among them, Heavendoom and the others were all called back from the four realms they had recently conquered.
Originally, two Daofuses would be stationed in each realm. But an adjustment had been made. Two Daofuses would remain in the Dragon Realm, but only one Daofuse would remain in each of the other realms. All the Daofuses under Su Yu were busy. He was running out of people to use.
Wan Tiansheng and the others needed to watch over the Human Realm. Tian Yue and Bountiful Treasure were in charge of gathering assembly tokens. The various allies had their own tasks as well. The Fate Pseudo Emperor was an exception. Su Yu hadn't even bothered to station anyone there to prevent detection from the Upper Realm.
As for the risk of Immortal Battle Marquis sending something down due to what Su Yu said disguised as Dao King previously, so be it. Things would remain peaceful down here for a while so that wasn't too big a risk. In fact, it was likely that Immortal Battle Marquis wouldn't even have the opportunity to send anything down here anymore unless there were more deaths.
***
Su Yu's group waited one more day after the arrival of the Daofuses.
Great Ming King's research group was able to get some findings from their research. On the third day, an indistinct portal appeared.
Entrance to the upper Realm.
With a flicker, Su Yu appeared before the entrance. He inhaled deeply and said solemnly, "It might get dangerous inside. Be careful, everyone. Don't allow yourself to be dragged off by some spatial storms or cracks.
"There might also be experts standing guard on the other side. If that's the case, capture them promptly. Do not allow the news of our arrival to leak. If anyone is really unlucky enough to be dragged off by the spatial storms or cracks, try to return to the Myriad Realms if possible. If you have to, head to the Upper Realm, but don't run around. Instead, wait at the dao center of May from the iron devourer race."
Everyone nodded.
A weak pulling force could be felt from the entrance. Sensing the force, Great Zhou King hurriedly said, "This entrance will remain active for two hours. Then, it will disappear again."
Su Yu nodded, but he didn't step inside. He intended to wait until the last moment before entering. That way, he could prevent unwanted guests from coming along with them, even if that was very unlikely to happen. Well, he was honestly only doing this to prevent Heavendoom from following.
And sure enough, Heavendoom started to get jittery when he saw that Su Yu was not leaving. He urged impatiently, "Go on! If you don't go now, the tunnel will disappear!"
Su Yu rolled his eyes and said, "Don't mess around. I will leave at the last moment. What is this? Are you planning to jump inside right after I'm gone?"
Heavendoom was rendered completely speechless.
After a while, he said gloomily, "I am definitely not doing that! But why are you taking Grandstar with you instead of me?"
He even dragged someone else into the argument, "Even if you don't trust me, you should trust Empyrean Cloud, right? Why aren't you taking Empyrean Cloud with you?"
Not far away, Empyrean Cloud appeared and waited in anticipation.
Su Yu coughed slightly and said, "No. Senior Empyrean Cloud is here to watch over the entrance and you. I don't trust you to not run around stirring trouble. I trust Senior Empyrean Cloud fully. With her here, I have nothing to worry about. I don't want to see someone else running this place the next time I return."
Empyrean Cloud felt somewhat regretful that she wasn't going, but her face still lit up with delight. She said, "Don't worry, Emperor Yu. With me here, I will keep an eye on the entrance and Heavendoom. I won't let him run off."
Heavendoom felt like crying. What a fool. She was clearly dumber than him! A simple praise like that was enough to fool her. This wasn't what she said on their way here. She had complained relentlessly about how she was excluded.
Sure enough, she was unreliable.
Heavendoom even started agreeing with Su Yu that women were unreliable. Just moments ago, she was on his side. Now, she had suddenly transformed into his guardian. What nonsense!
While Su Yu was resisting the urge to laugh, Grandstar was raising his brow at Heavendoom smugly. That provocation nearly drove Heavendoom crazy. That bastard Grandstar was the worst! That bastard loved showing off way too much!
After a while, the time was almost up. After checking the time, Su Yu inhaled deeply and took his stone out. This was a true treasure he could use to suppress everything. At this point, he already had a rough idea as to what this was.
It was most likely the Human Emperor's Seal. Of course, he wasn't perfectly sure. But he knew that the legendary Human Emperor's Seal was capable of suppressing everything, including luck, River of Time, and the various laws.
It was a divine weapon.
In that case, it wouldn't be surprising for this stone to be capable of suppressing everything. It was rumored that this might even be an emperor-grade weapon. But why was the Human Emperor's Seal buried in Culture King's Residence?
Culture King had attempted to resurrect Xing Yue early in the ancient past, while Xing Yue had buried the stone while she was alive. Did the Human Emperor's Seal really disappear that early? Something wasn't adding up here.
According to what Su Yu knew, the Human Emperor's Seal had made an appearance even toward the end of the ancient past. It was not possible that it had been buried long before that. Thus, he couldn't be sure that this stone was the seal. Or perhaps it came from the same source?
That was possible. For example, two seals had been forged at once, one for official usage and the other for personal usage. Such a possibility couldn't be discounted. That was the most reasonable explanation for the mysterious suppressive power this stone possessed.
Perhaps it was something the Human Emperor had used early in his reign. One was the seal he used before the conquest. One was the seal he used after the conquest. This would explain everything.
This tiny piece of stone was also a human lord's token, one that was used by the Human Emperor when he was still the human lord.
That made a lot more sense.
Naturally, Su Yu wasn't too bothered about it. The history of the stone did not matter too much. He only needed to know that it was useful.
"Let's go."
He stopped wasting time and stepped into the entrance. The others followed behind him. To his left and right were Great Zhou King and Lan Tian, arranged to properly protect him from any potential danger.
After all, nobody knew what they would encounter in the spatial tunnel beyond the entrance. Zhao Chuan's group could very well lie to them.
***
The moment Su Yu left, Empyrean Cloud started staring at Heavendoom. Noticing that, Heavendoom rolled his eyes.
What a dumb fellow.
He had never said that he would follow them. Why was this fellow staring at him like this?
Suddenly, an indistinct figure appeared far away. Instead of approaching, he stopped and stared. The newcomer was none other than Heavenly Overseer Marquis. He appeared completely calm. His eyes lit up as the world before his eyes changed. Before long, pillars of light appeared atop Heavendoom and the others in his vision.
"Surging fortune."
Heavenly Overseer Marquis laughed in a self-mocking manner. Every single one of these guardians was experiencing a surge in fortune. It almost felt like they were now unstoppable.
Six Daofuses to guard an entrance.
"Su Yu is truly impressive."
There were six Daofuses stationed here. Su Yu had also brought several with him into the entrance. The Pseudo Emperors of the allied races hadn't even been deployed. There were also multiple powerful Daofuses in the Human Realm.
The soul devourers and old turtle had yet to be deployed, either.
In such a short time, Su Yu had amassed such a powerful force.
Truly a terrifying guy.
Just then, his expression changed. Not far away, a rift appeared. Stepping out of it in his fluttering white robes, Wan Tiansheng looked at Heavenly Overseer Marquis and said, "Don't stir trouble and you will have the final battle you want. Stir trouble and I will eliminate you regardless of the cost while Su Yu is away."
Heavenly Overseer Marquis laughed and asked, "You?"
Wan Tiansheng shook his head, "No. A lot of people will join me. Including experts at the level of heavenly kings. If you believe you're a match for South Heavenly King, Fat Ball, Grand Dream, and me, you can try us."
"South Heavenly King?" Heavenly Overseer Marquis laughed again and asked, "And what about the other heavenly kings?"
"Dead."
"Sure enough." Heavenly Overseer Marquis sighed and said, "One question. If you can answer me, I won't stir trouble for you."
Wan Tiansheng replied indifferently, "Lan Tian has inherited the paper dao. Even if you still have it, you won't succeed. For Lan Tian's dao pioneering, Su Yu sacrificed a hundred thousand years of his lifespan. If you believe you can find someone to make the same sacrifice for you, feel free to give it a try."
Heavenly Overseer Marquis blanked out slightly. After a while, he chuckled and said, "No wonder something felt off about him, as though he was shrouded in death. I see now."
He sighed and continued, "In that case, I have nothing to regret. You're right. I wouldn't have been able to succeed. In that case, the paper dao was never meant for me when Culture King left it behind.
"That's not really the case. It's more accurate to say that his daos can only be inherited by super freaks."
Wan Tiansheng explained, "The pen and paper daos can only be inherited by super freaks. Even the ink dao is the same. As for the heavenly desolate beast dao, it is slightly lacking in comparison. But that was never Culture King's dao. That was why it was left with Fat Ball. As for the daos he left in the Myriad Realms, many knew about them, but nobody had been able to inherit them until recently."
Yes. Those daos were known to many. Of course, this "many" only included the top experts, not the regular cultivators. Everyone knew that the Culture Tomb could perhaps help them take that crucial step forward. Thus, many fought over it.
But so what?
It had remained in the Human Realm for countless years. And countless people had gotten in contact with it before. Yet Su Yu was the sole person to have succeeded in inheriting that dao.
Heavenly Overseer Marquis laughed and said, "True. Culture King was a proud man. He could be very kind to those capable of catching his favor, but he wouldn't deign to spare even a thought to those he deemed unworthy."
He laughed again and said, "Culture King...what a pity. Even he could do something wrong. He was imperfect, after all. Back when he punished Control King, he had probably not expected Control King to resort to betrayal."
After a while, he said, "I'll be taking my leave. Wan Tiansheng, you can't kill me. Even if you could, how high would the price be? Even if you could, would you dare? Killing me would gather all my fortune on you. Are you thinking of contending against Su Yu for the position of the new Human Emperor?"
He grinned and said, "Only Su Yu can kill me. Anyone else will ultimately end up standing opposite him. Thus, let's maintain the peace between us. I am not interested in working with Tiangu and the others."
Wan Tiansheng said, "It's not like you have the courage to work with them. Or do you not want even the final chance you might get? Furthermore, what can Tiangu do even if he learns about this? Opening the Upper Realm in advance? Bring it on."
"People like you...have always been very good at talking."
Heavenly Overseer Marquis started walking away as he said, "I'm leaving. It's time for me to enter seclusion and prepare for the battle. I hope that day will come faster."
Wan Tiansheng did not stop him from leaving. Su Yu had reminded him to not go after Heavenly Overseer Marquis. Thus, Wan Tiansheng would not attack unless Heavenly Overseer Marquis did something that could threaten Su Yu.
Just as Heavenly Overseer Marquis turned around, his face turned incomparably solemn. Only when he was far away did he look back. Far away, three pairs of eyes appeared.
Yes. Three pairs.
Soy Bun. Old turtle. And Fat Ball.
Fat Ball asked urgently, "So are we still fighting? If not, I need to go back! I'm very busy!"
With a flicker, he vanished. He was very busy. Su Yu had left with the small stone. The big tree back home had gained its sentience, but it couldn't keep the residence stable for long. He had only left due to Wan Tiansheng's request, but he had to go back as soon as possible.
"Hey, Doggo, who are you? I think I know you..."
The curious Soy Bun gave chase.
The white dog was moving rapidly, but Soy Bun was quite fast as well. Before long, he caught up. He asked, "Doggo, have we met before?"
"Yeah. I kicked you once."
The white dog increased his speed. Soy Bun did the same and asked, "Is that so? Oh, you're Culture King's dog. But why did I not stop seeing you?"
"I stayed in our old home with Little Master. You left."
"Oh." Soy Bun asked, "Is the little lad from my family at your place?"
"Yes."
"Has he affirmed his dao?"
"Soon."
"Oh. Doggo, why did you kick me back then?"
"You were annoying."
"Am I annoying? I don't talk much. I only talk more when I see familiar faces..."
"You're very annoying right now. I'm busy!"
"Fine."
After the short conversation, the dog and furball separated.
Chapter 1887: Entering The Upper Realm (3)
Near the entrance.
The old turtle walked out and asked, "Why didn't you act?"
This was a very rare opportunity. The four of them were present. Combined, they could most likely kill even someone like Heavenly Overseer Marquis.
Wan Tiansheng inhaled deeply and said, "He was right. The one to kill him would end up gathering all his luck. It...isn't appropriate for us to kill him. Wait. Wait for Su Yu's return. Let him do it personally. We don't need to do anything as long as he doesn't stir trouble."
The old turtle said solemnly, "He might have reached the level of a heavenly king."
Wan Tiansheng nodded in agreement.
"Is...Su Yu still his match?"
"Maybe."
The old turtle asked, "What if he can't?"
"We gang up on the Heavenly Overseer Marquis."
"..."
Grand Dream was struck speechless. Sure enough, all these so-called scholars were incredibly shameless. He had thought that Wan Tiansheng would say that they would accept defeat graciously or something like that.
"Fine. I'll be leaving as well."
Wan Tiansheng nodded and said, "Sure. It's time for me to return as well."
Then, both vanished.
Meanwhile, the distant Heavendoom and the others were completely oblivious to the arrival of so many experts. Clearly, the gap between them was still quite big.
***
At the same time.
A group of people was standing in a tunnel with raging astral winds. The intense winds were strong enough to even cause someone like Su Yu massive pain. Hu Xiansheng, who was among the weakest in the group, nearly died right after entering. Fortunately, Great Zhou King stepped forth in time to protect him.
Su Yu did nothing. It was far too early for these people to die. He was confident they wouldn't die so soon after entering the tunnel.
With his Heaven Gate open, he started moving forward as he said, "Follow me closely. Do not run off alone."
"Yes!"
Everyone followed closely behind him.
With his Heaven Gate, Su Yu was able to see any incoming danger in advance. Every now and then, he would shout some warnings to those behind him. "Astral wind incoming. Move aside."
"Lightning tribulation. Great Zhou King!"
With every warning he gave, everyone acted accordingly and avoided these dangers. Ahead of them, Su Yu took the stone out, suppressing all unstable elements in the tunnel. Things like astral winds and lightning tribulations could be avoided. Thus, their biggest worry was the stability of this spatial tunnel.
They used all sorts of methods to continue their advance, such as laying down formations and cutting space apart. In a way, the journey felt quite smooth.
After a while, Great Zhou King said, "Those fellows were truly lucky to survive this journey. This place is dangerous enough to kill even Daofuses."
Indeed. Going through this tunnel required luck. Of course, Su Yu was doing something else entirely. With his ability to see the power of laws with his naked eyes, he was practically cheating.
Su Yu said, "Great Zhou King and Lan Tian are strong enough to survive this tunnel, albeit with some injuries."
Suddenly, he looked at Lan Tian and grumbled, "Are you done? Why are you even leaving clones here?"
Everyone was struck speechless as well. Why was Lan Tian leaving clones at a place like this? How impressively obsessive.
Transforming into a little girl, Lan Tian giggled and said, "It's fun. I want to see if my clones will be blown away by the winds, and I'm curious where they will reach after that! It's not like I lack clones so I might as well try!"
"..."
In short, he was feeling rich, so he was spending wantonly.
Su Yu couldn't be bothered to say more to him. He looked ahead, inhaled, and said, "We're near. I can sense the weakening of the power around us. If there's anyone out there, capture them immediately."
Everyone grew excited.
Finally, the Upper Realm was near!
***
At the same time.
Buried Soul Mountain.
One of the many danger zones in the Upper Realm. It was an extremely dangerous area.
The massive mountain was black in color, and the color seemed to have affected the very sky itself as the sky above the mountain was also perpetually dark. A type of bug known as soulbugs inhabited this mountain. Each bug was tiny and weak, but they were terrifying. If one were careless, they could easily enter one's body or even sea of willpower, parasiting and devouring everything inside.
Many experts had fallen victim to these bugs despite being aware of their existence. These bugs were extremely exhausting to deal with as they couldn't be seen or smelled. Here, one would be forced to remain constantly on alert.
Thus, most people wouldn't enter this place unless absolutely necessary. Deep inside the mountain, two concealed figures were focusing on a dark whirlpool not far away.
"Liu Shan, do you think there is hope? Did anyone really survive?"
"It's hard to say. According to the lord, some might survive. Not all the soul tiles have broken down."
He continued, "Also, something seems to have happened down there. It was said that a big battle erupted and many myriad race experts died. As a result, even the pressure on us had dropped. They have been busy handling the humans of the Lower Realm instead."
"Did they really manage to produce new experts? All the experts of the previous epoch came up here. None stayed behind. At the time, they didn't even have a single Eternal left..."
"Who knows?"
The two had been staying watch there for a long time, supported by that tiny bit of hope. They wondered if any of those who had descended could return. They had waited here for several months, but nobody had returned thus far. Either all those people had died, or they had decided to remain down there.
The first person to speak previously sent another voice transmission, "It's going to shut completely soon. I doubt anyone will arrive this time. Soon, the period of six months will be over. It's time for us to leave. This damn place is too dangerous. Which bastard decided to place the tunnel here back then?"
"What nonsense. This is the only safe place for the tunnel. Are we supposed to place it in the dao centers of the immortals or devils?"
The two continued conversing even when there was nothing to talk about. They were mainly doing this to distract themselves from their fear of the bugs here.
"Liu Shan, is there really still hope for humanity? Even Lord Marquis Minshan died. Sigh. The more I think, the more despair I feel."
"Du Bing, stop saying these things. According to the marquis, Hundred Battle King will return the moment the Upper Realm opens. There is still hope."
"Hundred Battle King...fine. I hope so."
His voice was filled with uncertainty and hopelessness. Was victory still possible? The defeat of the previous epoch was too great. Ironically, Hundred Battle King was also their sole hope for the future.
They knew that Hundred Battle King had lost once, losing even when they had a massive advantage. Yet they had no choice but to continue relying on him. The ancient marquises weren't fools. But they were out of choice.
They needed this hope. How else were they supposed to prevail over the myriad races with their numbers? When all hope was lost, they needed an icon for everyone to believe in. They couldn't afford to sink into despair.
With an icon, there would still be hope. That icon might not be too reliable, but that icon was also incredibly strong. Thus, they had to keep trusting him. This was the mindset of the surviving humans in the Upper Realm.
Yes, yes. They all knew that Hundred Battle King wasn't too good at using his brain. But he was strong! Even a brainless expert was better than the pit of despair. In this aspect, one could say that Hundred Battle King had still contributed by giving the defeated humans of the Upper Realm the courage to continue resisting.
Otherwise, they would have fallen apart long ago. Hundred Battle King was the sole reason their resistance had persisted to this day. Such a mentality could be clearly observed in the two. They were hopeful, but they were also unsure.
After the previous defeat, could Hundred Battle King really turn things around? Whatever. At least he wasn't dead, right?
Suddenly, Liu Shan said, "Huh? There are some fluctuations..."
"What?"
"Silence!"
Right at that moment, someone giggled into their ears, "Don't move, my cuties. This is so fun!"
Instantly, multiple figures appeared.
The two widened their eyes, but they found themselves incapable of any movement. A pair of dainty hands was holding onto their necks. As of that moment, even their connection to their daos had been blocked.
And then, a white-haired youth appeared before them.
With a frown, the white-haired youth waved his arm casually. Countless dots of light appeared around them. With an annoyed look, he complained, "What is this? Why are there so many bugs here?"
"Soulbugs." Grandstar explained. He opened his mouth and swallowed a large number of bugs before burping. With a smile, he praised, "They taste decent."
He was not a human. He was a sort of fish-like being. And he enjoyed eating bugs.
The two were greatly alarmed. Just who were these people? There were non-humans in the group. Were these people in humanity's camp? Or were they with the myriad races? The two couldn't make an accurate assessment.
Su Yu did not react to Grandstar's action. He looked around and said, "This is probably the Buried Soul Mountain. Looks like the entrance has not moved. Wait, aren't these bugs supposed to be dangerous?"
Su Yu was confused. According to Zhao Chuan, this place was extremely dangerous. And the soulbugs were extremely terrifying? What the fuck was so terrifying about them? He had thought that it would be something dangerous. But what was this?
Finally, his gaze landed on the two humans. With a smile, he said, "Two Eternals. Both at the seventh degree. Not bad at all. Lan Tian, capture them for now. We'll leave this place and ask them some questions."
"Alright."
With a cheerful laugh, Lan Tian lifted the two like they were chicks and said, "We're finally up here! Looks like things feel the same here. They only have two kids watching the entrance. These kids can die to a single punch. I thought they would have stationed some Daofuses here."
Su Yu laughed and said, "What's the rush? We've only arrived."
"True." Lan Tian nodded and said, "Apparently, there are only six human Daofuses up here. Why don't we capture them all and reorganize them? These two are probably the subordinates of that Stable Army Marquis. Do you want me to catch Stable Army Marquis for you?"
"What's the hurry?" Walking out of the cave, Su Yu looked around and said, "This is a decent place. There are no living beings here apart from those annoying bugs. Great Ming King, place down a formation and prepare an area without bugs."
"Yes!"
Great Ming King left to carry out the task. Meanwhile, the two captured Eternals were greatly terrified. Were these...humans?
Great Ming King...that wasn't a name they knew. But they knew Radiant (Ming) King!
How were they this powerful? Capturing six Daofuses? Capturing Stable Army Marquis? Was that a joke? Or were they being serious? The two were horrified. No matter what, they were high-degree Eternals. Yet they had been captured before they could react.
Were they from the Lower Realm?
The two blanked out at that thought.
Chapter 1888: Stable Army Marquis (1)
Great Ming King was in charge of setting up a temporary encampment for the group. Before long, some space was cleared in the area. There, Great Ming King started laying down formations while Grandstar worked on clearing all the bugs in the area. As a fish-like being, he was apparently very good at dealing with bugs.
Su Yu observed his surroundings in silence. He was also skygazing with his Heaven Gate open. Both Great Zhou King and Lan Tian were also searching their surroundings to gather additional information.
Suddenly, a tiny bug flew off from Lan Tian. He said, "Fish Guy, don't eat me. Do you understand?"
Grandstar was rendered speechless. Who was he calling a fish guy? That lunatic had only been here for a while, but he was already starting to spread his clones.
Shortly after, Great Ming King landed on the ground and said, "Done."
"Let's go."
Su Yu stepped into the prepared encampment with the others in tow. Behind, Great Zhou King remained to lay down some silencing formations.
***
Inside the encampment.
With a wave of Su Yu's hand, multiple massive maps appeared. Pointing at their two captives, he said, "Release them. The two of you, get over here and check my maps for me."
With a grin, Lan Tian tossed the two over. Meanwhile, the two were still incomparably alarmed. Just who were these people? And what was their strength?
As Eternals, their eyes were still relatively keen. But a few of the people in this group were too unfathomable. Their cultivation levels were impossible to gauge. That included the white-haired youth before them, the person seemingly leading the group.
Youth?
They did not know why they would have a feeling that this was a youth. That was especially true since they could also feel that this person was also at the end of his lifespan. It was a contrasting feeling.
Even after they were released, they were too fearful to try anything. Attempting to flee?
What a joke.
There were at least three Daofuses here. That person called Lan Tian, who had captured them, that Great Ming King who was in charge of formations, and that iron devourer. All three were clearly Daofuses.
As for the others...the two didn't even dare to think too much. It was likely that there were more than three Daofuses here. The white-haired youth, the smiling middle-aged man, and the bug-eating fish-person might all be Daofuses as well. At that thought, the two shivered.
Six Daofuses?
Ignoring their mental state, Su Yu pointed at the map and said, "I have many maps for the Upper Realm, and there are small differences between all of them. Check them and see which is more accurate."
He gave a simple request. But Liu Shan and Du Bing were no fools. Was this a test? If they made a mistake here, they might die. These people must have come prepared. This task of checking the maps was probably also a form of test.
The two did not dare to waste any time. They studied the map before them. After a while, one of them pointed at a spot on it and said, "This is not the Line Gorge. This is the Headfall Valley."
Seeing that Su Yu was correcting the map without much protest, Liu Shan exhaled in relief and continued pointing at the mistakes on the map. To the side, Du Bing grew even more anxious and hurriedly pointed out several mistakes as well. This process lasted about an hour.
With a wave of Su Yu's hand, the map vanished. At this point, the encampment had changed slightly from how it was. Chairs and tables had appeared. These were all produced by the gathered experts through the power of laws.
After taking a seat, Su Yu said, "Sit down."
Liu Shan and Du Bing grew even more fearful than before. Just who were these people? He was certain there were humans among them. After all, some of the people in the group were weaker, and they were able to sense the cultivation of these weaker members. They could also sense that some weren't humans. As for those whose cultivation couldn't be gauged, were they humans?
None of them dared to sit. Liu Shan had a simple and honest face, but he was actually quite shrewd. He hurriedly said, "We wouldn't dare to sit before these great lords."
Even some of the Daofuses were standing. He naturally wouldn't dare to sit.
Su Yu said, "Just sit when told. You can only live long if you're obedient."
Liu Shan shivered and hurriedly dragged Du Bing over before sitting down.
Clearly, the white-haired youth was the leader here. And the command of this youth was absolute. He felt...even scarier than Stable Army Marquis. Not in terms of strength, since Liu Shan couldn't gauge the strength of the youth. But the temperament of this youth was too terrifying.
With one look, he could see that this was a scarier person than Stable Army Marquis.
Su Yu asked, "Do you know Zhao Chuan's group?"
"Yes." Liu Shan hurriedly asked, "We're from the Stable Army Guard as well. Are they still alive?"
"I'm the one asking questions here."
Liu Shan hurriedly shut his mouth. Beside him, Du Bing hesitated slightly before gritting his teeth to ask a question, "Excuse me, Lord, but are you a human from the Lower Realm?"
"Yes or no. What does it matter?"
Du Bing continued gnashing his teeth and said, "If you're not, we won't tell you anything!"
Su Yu sighed and asked, "Why are all the Upper Realm humans so stupid?"
To the side, Lan Tian laughed and said, "Yeah. They're quite dumb."
Great Zhou King was feeling quite embarrassed as well. He said, "It must be due to their lack of experience. After all, they have spent years in hiding. Understandably, they aren't very bright."
Both Du Bing and Liu Shan felt somewhat indignant. What? Noticing their changes, Great Ming King looked at them with a frown.
He coldly said, "No matter what, you're seventh-degree Eternals. You were the same as me not long ago. Where is your brain? Why are you asking us such a stupid question? If we stand with the myriad realms, what's the point of using this entrance? What's the point of sneaking up here? You are truly brainless.
"Are the Upper Realm humans in power? No. In that case, why would someone on the myriad races' side bother to hide around when coming up? If we are immortals or devils, you won't be breathing anymore. Our experts would have surrounded this place long ago."
He snorted and continued, "You are in charge of guarding such an important place. You might lack strength, but you shouldn't lack brain. But instead, you lack both strength and brain. I am only looking at two idiots."
Yes. He couldn't stand them either. Both Liu Shan and Du Bing found those words extremely reasonable. Instantly, shame engulfed them. This was too embarassing.
Then again, they weren't exactly alone. Some on Su Yu's side had not thought of all that either. But they were good at acting. They all schooled their expressions, acting like they had the same thoughts. Fortunately, they had refrained from asking about Su Yu's statement that these two were fools.
With Great Zhou King's explanation, they finally knew. He was right. A race capable of assembling so many Daofuses would most certainly be a major race down there. And a major race would have a solid foundation in the Upper Realm as well. Such a race could easily enter the Upper Realm through the entrance in the Fate Realm. There wouldn't be a need for them to use this entrance.
Du Bing felt rather awkward, but he still asked, "You're humans? In that case, why did you capture us?"
Su Yu leaned back on his chair. He couldn't even be bothered to answer that stupid question.
Lan Tian was the one to answer, "And why can't we capture you if we're humans? The Upper Realm humans have suffered numerous defeats. How are we sure if none of you have defected? Do you dare to guarantee that not a single human has defected so far?"
The two shut their mouths. Had anyone defected? Who knew? Was Marquis Minshan's death due to a betrayal as well? Also, more and more human experts had been killed in recent years. Was that due to the defectors as well?
In truth, this was a matter they had all considered. Alas, they couldn't do anything about it. Their position was too weak. They couldn't afford to split their attention elsewhere.
Liu Shan inhaled deeply and said, "Lords, since you know Zhao Chuan, you must have met them. We don't know more than them. If you wish to see the marquis, we can return to him and make the arrangements..."
"Meeting the marquis?" Lan Tian coldly said, "How audacious of you. How arrogant of you. Inform Stable Army Marquis that he has been summoned to an audience with Emperor Yu. How dare a mere marquis put on airs?"
"Emperor Yu?"
The two were alarmed. What was that? Why were these people so incredibly proud and arrogant? Were they really from the Lower Realm?
Su Yu laughed and said to Lan Tian, "You're talking like a villain. Stop messing around."
With that, Lan Tian switched to an enchanting voice and said, "I understand. I couldn't resist since the kids were too adorable. I had to tease them."
Kids?
How old was this guy to call them kids?
Su Yu was left quite speechless, but he decided to let it slide since it was Lan Tian.
He sank into thought. After a long while, he said, "Great Zhou King, what do you think we should do? Do we take over Stable Army Marquis' faction first and use their faction to operate up here? Or is it better for us to operate independently?"
Great Zhou King considered the matter and said, "Stable Army Marquis definitely knows more than the average person. He might even have a way to contact the other human Daofuses. The sudden appearance of a new human faction will be too suspicious, even if we can pretend to be the subordinates of Heavenly Sun Marquis. We are better off using a ready-made faction. I doubt the myriad races know too much about Stable Army Marquis' faction. It won't be too suspicious for his faction to gain a few new experts."
"So you're suggesting that we deal with Stable Army Marquis first."
Great Zhou King nodded, "Yes. Also, it is only a matter of time before Stable Army Marquis notices that we have captured these two. Rather than letting him do something rash to spoil our plan, we might as well seize the initiative."
Great Ming King chimed in, "Emperor Yu, I agree. We should handle Stable Army Marquis first. Even if we ignore everything else, we still need to handle him since he knows about this entrance.
"Otherwise, he might end up connecting some dots together and severing our escape route from the Upper Realm when something unexpected happens. Of course, he will only do so if he's a traitor. However, anything is possible. We can't discount any possibility."
Su Yu nodded. Prior to this, he intended to act independently. But his thoughts had changed after arriving here.
Great Ming King had a reasonable worry. It would be too suspicious for a bunch of experts to appear out of thin air. And since Stable Army Marquis knew about this entrance, he might be able to connect the dots and deduce where they came from. And then, he could work with the myriad races to sever their path of retreat.
Liu Shan was listening to the conversation. Toward the end, he protested in fury, "The marquis is definitely not a traitor! You! You!"
He was so anxious he couldn't even speak properly anymore. These people felt like villains. They did not feel like the heroes of humanity. And they were very different from the Lower Realm humans as imagined by the Upper Realm humans.
They believed that the Lower Realm humans were doing terribly. Perhaps even Eternals were already supreme beings among the humans down here. Upon learning of the Upper Realm, they would most likely view the Upper Realm humans as their final hope. Yes, things were bad for the Upper Realm humans as well. But at the very least, there were Daofuses among them.
Such humans should be treating them with great reverence after arriving before begging them to meet Stable Army Marquis. However, they were looking at something entirely different.
These people were incredibly powerful. There were plenty of Daofuses among them. Even the non-Daofuses among them were also high-degree Eternals. And they were incredibly proud.
Lower Realm?
It felt as though, instead of the Lower Realm, these were humans from a previously unknown higher realm. Were these people really from the Lower Realm? The two were finding this hard to believe.
Chapter 1889: Stable Army Marquis (2)
Ignoring their shock, Su Yu said, "Stable Army Marquis is residing in the Brightmoon Flower Valley. That is also a danger zone. We're not familiar with that place. If he manages to escape us..."
Su Yu rubbed his chin and continued, "Things will get very troublesome."
Lan Tian grinned and asked, "Is escape even impossible for him? According to Zhao Chuan, he is probably around Fallen Star Marquis in strength. I can instantly subdue him with Great Zhou King by my side. Where can he go?"
In fact, Lan Tian could even defeat Stable Army Marquis alone. But accidents might happen. With Great Zhou King, not even accidents could happen.
Su Yu laughed and said, "Don't underestimate the experts up here. That's even more so for the humans who have survived for so many years. Ignoring everything else, they are very good at preserving their lives."
Lan Tian beamed and said, "You're around as well, right? No matter what, we won't have much issue capturing him."
Su Yu nodded, "Yes, but only if the information we have is accurate. He has over twenty Eternals under him and about a thousand experts below the Eternal Realm. If there are no other Daofuses in his faction, it won't be too hard to subdue him."
They had a decent number of Eternals. Over twenty of them. And prior to this, they had also deployed a decent number to the Lower Realm. In short, just Stable Army Marquis alone was already capable of deploying as many Eternals as the Lower Realm humans could. Then again, this wasn't too surprising.
The Lower Realm humans had only restarted their cultivation for hundreds of years. Meanwhile, the Upper Realm humans enjoyed an uninterrupted continuation from the ancient past.
Unfortunately, the weaker Upper Realm humans were declining in number. As they had to keep running everywhere from the myriad races, they couldn't propagate as freely. Furthermore, the weaker ones could easily drag others down in intense battles. They would usually be the first to die.
Thus, an imbalance where the number of top experts was high while the number of weaker cultivators was low came into existence. At this rate, the Upper Realm humans would lose all their non-Eternal humans. And eventually, they would suffer extinction. After all, a race couldn't be continued with only a handful of elderly experts, right?
While rapping on the armrest of his chair, Su Yu smiled and concluded, "In that case, let's subdue Stable Army Marquis first."
Liu Shan hurriedly said, "Lord, there is no need for that! If you really represent humanity, we can simply inform the marquis about this. He will definitely treat you with utmost respect! There is no need for conflict between us!"
He couldn't understand it. Since they were fellow humans, why were these people insisting on attacking the marquis? Wasn't this something one should only do to one's enemies? Were they really on humanity's side?
He was starting to grow doubtful. And as his doubt grew, his nervousness grew as well. Just who were these people?
Emperor Yu?
Great Ming King?
Great Zhou King?
There was no Emperor among the current humanity!
Su Yu chuckled and said, "I'll first subdue them before talking to them. It's safer that way. Don't worry, I won't do anything to Senior Stable Army if he's not a traitor. But I need to be cautious. After all, you never know what someone is thinking deep inside..."
The safest method to handle the Upper Realm humans was to view every single one of them as a traitor. To first subdue them before talking to them.
Su Yu looked up at the sky, exhaled, and said, "We're decided, then. We don't need too many people for this mission. After all, we're not there to conduct mass slaughter. Senior Grandstar, you'll stay here with September. Everyone else will remain in the encampment. Great Zhou King and the others, you'll go with me."
Liu Shan couldn't stay still. He hurriedly said, "Lords, we are fellow humans. A conflict between us can easily cause unintended damage among ourselves. Why must we resort to this?"
He was worried about his marquis. He was also worried that these people would slaughter his people wantonly.
Su Yu did not bother to explain anything. With a wave of his hand, they lost their ability to talk. Two incorporeal shackles appeared in his hand, shackling their power of dao. He had noticed that the power of the various daos was much easier to utilize up here.
Su Yu couldn't understand it. He had been looking around since arriving, but the River of Time was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps it would be visible further away, signifying that the River of Time's influence had also spread to the Upper Realm. But perhaps that would only be a small part of the river.
Even with a tiny bit of access to the River of Time, these people were able to somehow able to cultivate the numerous daos of the River of Time. This did not make sense. However, this was not the time to further investigate the matter.
Cultivation in the Upper Realm also felt easier. Due to the weak influence of the River of Time, the suppression on one's cultivation was also much weaker. Whether one was fusing with a dao or pioneering a new dao, one would normally be faced with the suppression of the River of Time. But that suppression was clearly weaker here.
In fact, Su Yu and the others felt a lot lighter up here, as though their daos had been released. He finally understood why so many experts wanted to come up here instead of remaining in the Lower Realm.
But was it really better to relocate up here? Su Yu was still doubtful. Those in the Upper Realm might be able to unleash more power from their daos. But their power also felt somewhat empty, or ungrounded, in a way.
"Is it due to the lack of tempering from the River of Time? But cultivating here is indeed easier. This is a good place for someone attempting a breakthrough. But it is not all sunshine here..."
There were pros and cons to cultivating up here.
With all that in mind, Su Yu looked at the guardians and said, "Before my return, don't attempt to break through even when it feels possible. The dao suppression here is too weak. Any breakthrough will create a massive phenomenon."
He finally understood the reason for there to be no new human Daofuses up here. In the Upper Realm, any breakthrough was akin to lighting a candle in the dark. Due to the weaker dao suppression up here, any breakthrough would be extremely conspicuous.
"Yes!"
Everyone answered.
Finally, Su Yu looked at Great Zhou King and said, "Let's go."
"Okay."
With that, Su Yu, Lan Tian, Great Zhou King, and Great Ming King vanished. Su Yu was taking Great Ming King along because he needed Great Ming King to lay down some concealment formations during the battle to prevent the leak of any information.
***
Brightmoon Flower Valley. One of the danger zones of the Upper Realm.
True to its name, this was a place with countless flowers. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that there was a sea of flowers here. As for the other part of its name, some of the flowers here would bloom like bright moons at night. However, anyone exposed to the light of these flowers would be poisoned.
The poison of these flowers was extremely powerful, capable of killing even Daofuses. In a way, the Upper Realm could be considered an undeveloped world. Thus, it was filled with numerous environmental dangers.
Even after so many years, many of these environmental dangers remained. That was mainly due to the lack of Masters of Laws up here. Some of the danger zones were dangerous enough to kill even heavenly kings.
And with the passage of time, some of these danger zones became areas everyone would avoid. The Upper Realm humans had only picked these areas as their hiding places due to sheer desperation.
To survive, they had to go wherever it was the most dangerous to break free from the pursuit of the myriad races. The myriad races might have spent countless years hunting the Upper Realm humans, but they hadn't been able to kill too many of these humans. Most of the surviving humans were hiding in the danger zones where the myriad races could easily provoke some unwanted dangers, forcing them to retreat each time they attempted to wipe these humans out.
Nevertheless, life was hard for these humans. They would still lose some people in each battle. The places they could reside in had been steadily decreasing over the years.
Brightmoon Flower Valley.
Night had arrived, and countless shining flowers could be seen. Each flower was gigantic. Some were even as big as mountains. Some were blooming, and some weren't. But all of them were glowing. As they glowed, the radiance they released converged to form a moon in the sky.
Within one of these massive flowers, numerous humans resided. This was the hideout of Stable Army Marquis. Even if the myriad races wished to attack him, they would need to first locate the right flower amid the sea of flowers.
Even after discovering the right flower, they had to be careful of the aggression from the nearby flowers to reach the flower. And upon reaching the flower, they still needed to be careful of the aggression of even stronger flowers during their battle.
Clearly, this was an extremely dangerous place. In fact, Stable Army Marquis had spent countless years and lost numerous people exploring this place. In fact, even he himself had suffered several injuries before he managed to locate a flower suitable for inhabitation. He had picked a flower with petals that could be freely opened or shut.
At night, he would have the petals shut, protecting the humans residing inside from the radiance of the other flowers. The space inside the flower was large enough to fit over a thousand people. This had been Stable Army Marquis' base for over eighty years. Thus, a tiny town had been built in it.
As per their regular protocol, they would need to switch to a new place when a hundred years were up. After all, that was enough time for the myriad races to figure out everything about their hiding place. In fact, there were times when they would switch their location after only fifty years. And each migration would also be a time of massive losses.
Thus, they wouldn't relocate for a hundred years if possible. Even late at night, people were still moving on the streets of the small town in the flower. Some were old, and some were young.
After eighty years here, they had managed to produce some youngsters. Stable Army Marquis was very happy about this. For the current Upper Realm humans, the appearance of new lives was more precious than the appearance of new Eternals.
Back when the ninth epoch ended, he still had hundreds of thousands of humans in his faction. After a few thousand years, only a thousand or so of them were left.
Thus, his biggest worry was no longer the lack of new experts. Rather, he was worried about the lack of new lives. Even after over eighty years of staying here, they had only produced roughly eighty new lives. Stable Army Marquis was greatly worried about this.
At this rate, the myriad races didn't even need to hunt them down anymore. They would simply die off by themselves given enough time.
As of late, the activities of the myriad races in the area seemed to be increasing. As a result, his worry intensified. That was why he had proceeded to send a team of people to the Lower Realm. That was an act of desperation on his part.
He could only hope that those in the Lower Realm could really do something to distract the myriad races. As for the progress of that mission, he had no idea. He only knew that the myriad races that had been active in the area had withdrawn as of late.
According to his limited sources of information, something seemed to have happened down there. The myriad races had lost a lot of experts, and that had angered the ones up here. Thus, they had been focused on the Lower Realm humans as of late.
Night had arrived outside.
But it was still bright in the valley thanks to the many shining flowers.
Clad in his battle armor, Stable Army Marquis walked along the street. To the two sides of the street, some simple houses could be seen. Luxury was not what they pursued in their current situation. They only needed a place to stay and cultivate in peace.
Several individuals were following behind him on this patrol. This was something he would do every single day. Firstly, doing this could maintain the confidence of his people. Secondly, this was also a good chance for him to do a quick headcount of the people still in the town. Thirdly, this was a way to show everyone that Stable Army Marquis was still around and well.
Of the three, performing daily headcounts was extremely important. They had to be careful of any humans who might defect from all the hardships they were experiencing. It wasn't like something like that had never happened before.
After undergoing so many hardships, some failed to hold on and decided to leave. Normal desertions weren't that bad, but defection would be disastrous for them.
During the early period preceding the ninth epoch, some of the human experts had not taken this matter seriously. As a result, quite a number of human experts had died due to the betrayal of these defectors.
Stable Army Marquis did not dare to forget the mistakes of the past. Due to the small size of the town, he was able to complete the headcount quickly. Nobody was missing.
He exhaled and muttered softly, "I wonder how things are in the Lower Realm."
The experts following him were also ancient fossils like him. Each of them looked perpetually worried. One of them, a white-haired old man, replied, "Do not worry too much, Marquis. Since the myriad races are trying to handle the humans down there right now, it is clear the humans down there are still around."
Chapter 1890: Stable Army Marquis (3)
Stable Army Marquis nodded as he started heading toward a similarly simple yet larger building not far away. That was his court.
As he walked, he said, "Minshan's death caught me by complete surprise. Sigh. I'm worried that his death has also led to the exposure of our secrets."
He looked greatly worried as he continued, "Prior to that, Minshan was the core of our communication network. He knew all our hiding places. He wouldn't betray us, but I'm worried about his subordinates. Some might fail to resist the temptation of betrayal and expose all of us.
"Not long ago, a group of myriad race experts arrived in the Brightmoon Flower Valley. Because of that, I have been worrying a lot as of late. We might need to relocate soon."
The white-haired old man replied with a helpless voice, "Marquis, to relocate, we need to find another danger zone. Each relocation will result in the loss of numerous lives. Of the thousand or so people we have here...how many will survive to reach the new base?"
Relocating to a different danger zone was not an easy task. They would have relocated long ago otherwise. In fact, that should have happened right after Marquis Minshan's death. But the price of relocation was too high. Thus, they had been hesitating.
With a bitter expression, Stable Army Marquis lamented, "In the past, humanity was so glorious. The myriad races bowed to us. The various realms submitted. We reigned supreme among the living and the dead."
"Father, why are you saying these things again?"
A young woman walked out of the residence and said helplessly, "None of us has experienced that glory. You should stop talking about the past. We're bored of listening to these stories. These days, we're hunted everywhere. I have never gotten the chance to even leave this valley."
Sorrow and guilt covered Stable Army Marquis' eyes.
This was his daughter. She was born thirty years ago. In order to replenish his numbers, he had given birth to a daughter after the death of his son. As his daughter, her aptitude for cultivation was naturally decent.
At only thirty, she had reached the peak Sunmoon Realm. Yet someone like her had never left the Brightmoon Flower Valley. The Brightmoon Flower Valley was her entire world. She had only heard of the past glory. She had not experienced that glorious era. She had no idea just how powerful humanity used to be.
Worshipped by the myriad races.
The supreme ruler of all realms.
As an ancient marquis, even the Pseudo Emperors of the other races needed to show him proper respect when encountering him during the ancient past.
"You will get the chance to see the world outside!" Stable Army Marquis smiled and said, "That will happen. Humanity will rise again. Even after a hundred thousand years, we are still around. The Human Emperor and Culture King will return! All of them will return!"
He might be saying that, but his heart had long been filled with despair. It had been a hundred thousand years since then. Those experts would have returned long ago if that were possible.
He couldn't believe that such powerful existences would die. But their absence...was forcing him to accept that fact. If they were alive, a hundred thousand years would have been more than enough time for them to return.
The young woman did not take those words seriously. She had grown up hearing similar words from her father and the older members of the army. Instead of breaking his father's hope, she smiled and said, "Father, let's not talk about that for now. Can you show me the Sea of Stars again? I saw it once previously. It was so beautiful. Is that what a sea looks like?"
Over the years, Stable Army Marquis would show her the images of the outside world as it was during the ancient past every now and then.
Sea of Stars...
Stable Army Marquis smiled and nodded, "Sure. The Sea of Stars is truly a beautiful place. There are countless races there, and the entrances to countless realms can be found there as well. That is also a place that has witnessed numerous legends, including the romance of Radiant King."
To the side, the white-haired old man chuckled and said, "Marquis, you have told Radiant King's stories countless times before."
Stable Army Marquis laughed and said, "How can we not talk about Radiant King when talking about the Sea of Stars? That legendary power. Alone, he lifted an entire sea into the sky, keeping it afloat for countless years. Just to win the smile of his lover. This is a love story envied by everyone."
The young woman did not interrupt. She loved listening to these stories. She was weary of fighting. In her thirty years of life, she had seen many of her fellow humans leave to never return again.
Not long ago, a group of uncles and seniors who had taken care of her since she was a child left. It was likely that they would never return as well. She was tired of such a life. Every day, her happiest moment would be the moments when her father was telling her the stories of the ancient past.
She did not care about the so-called glory anymore. It was all in the past. A hundred thousand years was enough to bury everything.
***
While Stable Army Marquis was telling his daughter stories.
Somewhere outside the Brightmoon Flower Valley, space warped.
When Su Yu stared ahead, he saw countless flowers. The valley was gigantic, and it was filled with only flowers. Above the valley, a bright moon hung. It was an enchantingly beautiful sight. But it was also an extremely dangerous place.
When he opened his Heaven Gate, he frowned and said, "This place is even more dangerous than the Buried Soul Mountain. All these flowers are cultivating. They all share the same dao."
Suddenly, Su Yu looked around. He raised his brow and said, "Stable Army Marquis is marked."
At that, a miniature Heaven Gate appeared on the forehead of each of his companions. Instantly, numerous indistinct threads appeared in their vision.
Lan Tian flashed a seductive smile and said, "There are indeed a few bugs hiding around. But there is only one Daofuse and three Eternals. Clearly, they aren't planning to attack yet."
A single Daofuse wouldn't be enough for an assault against Stable Army Marquis. But since there was actually a Daofuse in the group, they had clearly determined Stable Army Marquis' location and could attack at any time.
For now, they were probably observing outside the valley to prevent Stable Army Marquis from relocating.
Great Ming King laughed and said, "Looks like Stable Army Marquis would die if we weren't here. Am I wrong to say that we're his saviors?"
"I guess you can say so." Su Yu said, "Let's capture these people first. They are easier to handle since they're outside the valley. Even that Daofuse is only a tier-five Daofuse."
Trash.
In their group, Great Ming King was probably the only one who was similar in strength. The rest were far stronger than that.
"Great Ming King, you'll handle the three Eternals. The three of us will take down that Daofuse instantly. Do not allow any fluctuations to leak or that might alert Stable Army Marquis to our presence. Great Zhou King, that's your job."
Great Zhou King smiled and said, "To be absolutely certain that nothing will go wrong, I'll need your help as well, Emperor Yu."
Like him, Su Yu had the ability to influence the dao of others. Thus, they could deal with a mere tier-five Daofuse cleanly when working together.
Lan Tian giggled and said, "Are you ignoring me? Let's go. My countless brothers and sisters can't hold back anymore!"
"..."
They were all speechless to hear that.
However, all of them were smiling. They looked relaxed, but they were also cautious. They hid their presence completely.
Since they were new here, it wouldn't be wrong to be extra cautious.
***
Outside the valley.
A devil was looking ahead with a slight frown. Noticing that, one of the three Eternals asked, "Lord, is something wrong?"
"Nothing much." The devil said, "I sensed some spatial fluctuations earlier, but I'm not sure if they're regular dao fluctuations or something else..."
Hearing that, the three spread their senses around. However, they found nothing. Their crisis sense was completely silent as well. Unlike them, the crisis sense of the devil was reacting slightly. But he couldn't detect anything. Did Stable Army Marquis notice them?
Even so, it was unlikely that Stable Army Marquis would have the courage to fight. Rather, he would probably flee.
The devil inhaled deeply and said, "Be ready to send a message back the moment you see Stable Army Marquis fleeing and have our people encircle him. We're not here to fight. We're mere scouts. We only need to prevent them from sneaking off undetected."
A Daofuse had been sent to act as a mere scout. Clearly, the myriad races were still taking the remnant humans up here seriously.
"Got it."
The three nodded. It wasn't like they were interested in fighting such desperate opponents either. They only needed to send a message back when Stable Army Marquis attempted to escape. Others would deal with him.
Just then, a chuckle rang out in their ears, followed by a voice, "Friends, shhh! Be patient. Calm down. Don't talk. Let's be friends."
Instantly, the three Eternals blanked out. As for the devil, his expression changed drastically. Who?
But right at that moment, a voice rang out in his ears, "Don't talk, baby boy. I love you!"
"Silence. Silence is the path of survival."
Three experts had acted simultenously to influence the mind of the Daofuse. Around them, a formation had been laid down by Great Ming King to prevent any fluctuations from spreading out. As for the three Eternals, they were nowhere to be seen.
The gap between them was too big. Intense struggle could be seen in the devil's eyes. But moments later, countless Lan Tians appeared around him. Surrounding him like a net, the Lan Tians giggled and said, "Darling, all life loves you; you love all life. Stay still, okay?"
With a gentle smile, Great Zhou King walked out of thin air and said, "Be patient. Don't talk. Don't resist. We are here to save you."
The devil struggled inwardly. No! Not at all!
These were enemies!
Next, Su Yu stepped out with a pen in hand. With a jab of his pen, numerous characters appeared.
Seal, lock, capture, suppress, down...
Behind the characters, the pen stabbed forth and destroyed the devil's body with one jab. Then, a book appeared. The book was so thin it felt as though it was only left with its cover. The front page was currently being used to imprison the West Royal Consort. As for the next page, it was used to imprison the four newly captured prisoners.
Yes. None of them were killed as that might generate some unwanted phenomena. The moment they were brought into the book, the Token of Sanctification descended to stabilize the space around them. Instantly, all fluctuations calmed, as though nothing had happened at all.
Done with their job, they smiled at each other. One heavenly king, two peak Daofuses, and one formation master. It was far too easy for them to deal with a mere tier-five Daofuse.
Su Yu said, "Let's capture Stable Army Marquis quickly before the myriad races notice the disappearance of these people."
With a nod, they vanished with a flicker. Since they had acted, they had to end things promptly. The myriad races might notice something wrong upon noticing the disappearance of these scouts.
***
Inside the gigantic flower.
Suddenly, Stable Army Marquis' heart started palpitating. He looked up. Just as he was about to speak, he paused, his eyes turning incomparably solemn.
Did...something happen?
Chapter 1891: Keep A Low Profile, Kill Less (1)
"Marquis?"
"Father?"
The white-haired old man and the young woman asked doubtfully.
Stable Army Marquis remained silent. Instead, he stood up with a solemn look in his eyes. His instinct honed over countless brushes with death was telling him that something had happened. He would never underestimate any reaction from his crisis sense.
Unlike the myriad races, humanity couldn't afford to be even a tiny bit careless in the Upper Realm. Any carelessness could result in death.
"Be on alert!"
Stable Army Marquis ordered. As his voice spread over the flower, everyone, regardless of what they were doing, stood up in surprise. Then, over a thousand people entered a state of high alert.
They assumed their standard protocol. The oldest would stand at the outermost part of their formation, with the younger ones at the middle. The weaker children would all be taken into their weapons.
Of course, the death of the carrier of these weapons would also kill everyone in these weapons. Thus, the identities of these carriers remained a secret. Nobody would ask about it.
In any case, the marquis wouldn't be the carrier.
After all, the battles involving the marquis would create intense spatial fluctuations that might kill the people hiding inside the weapons. More importantly, he was also a priority target of the myriad races.
Everyone waited in silence, uneasiness, and despair. At the same time, they also felt lost and numb to this. They had lived many years in hiding. For humanity, the Upper Realm was no paradise.
They sounded impressive, but in truth, they lived bitter lives. That was especially true for the past six thousand years. Early on, things weren't that bad. They couldn't dominate the Upper Realm, but they could at least contend against the myriad races.
However, the younger humans born in the Upper Realm had never experienced that period. They had lived in despair and sorrow their whole lives.
"Here it goes again."
Amid the crowd, someone muttered numbly. They had entered such a state of high alert many times before. Of course, most of these alerts would be false alerts.
Thus, most people remained rather numb to it. If this was the time they were attacked, so be it. At worst, they would die in battle. Perhaps that would not be that bad since it would set them free from this suffering. Once, there were hundreds of thousands of them. They were the only ones left. Too many had died.
Several peak Eternals hurriedly gathered around the marquis. The white-haired old man was also a peak Eternal. In fact, he was on the verge of attaining Daofuse. He had only refrained from breaking through due to the danger of exposure, not due to a lack of ability. Of course, if a battle were to erupt, there would be no point in holding back anymore.
The white-haired old man was on full alert as well. He looked around warily. Did the marquis sense a crisis?
With the spear in hand, Stable Army Marquis looked at his daughter and said, "Go over there."
He did not keep his daughter in a weapon. There was no need. She was the daughter of Stable Army Marquis. She might only be a Sunmoon, but she could only die in a battle instead of dying while hiding in a weapon.
She said nothing and flew off to join the others. With that, everyone waited warily while looking up. Would there be an attack?
***
Outside, Su Yu was feeling quite surprised.
"I think...they noticed us."
There was no longer a need for him to search the flowers one by one. One of the flowers was leaking the power of different daos. That wasn't something a regular person could see, but it posed no issue for Su Yu.
The group was casually strolling through the valley. Before the light could reach them, it would be devoured by Lan Tian with a look of bliss.
"What a nice place. I need a flower clone as well!"
He grinned. He wanted to become a flower! Since he practiced the dao of all life, he naturally needed to include these flowers in his dao as well. The light emitted by these flowers was poisonous for others, but for Lan Tian, it was akin to food for his dao.
Great Zhou King ignored Lan Tian and said, "He's an old general. After spending so many years on the run, his crisis sense is definitely sharp. He might not have discovered us. He must have discovered some sort of crisis without any clear clue about what's happening."
Su Yu nodded.
Great Zhou King asked, "What now? Do we attack directly?"
A direct attack might generate more fluctuations than they would like. Furthermore, a direct attack might also alarm the flowers here, resulting in the eruption of an even bigger battle. These flowers were by no means weak.
In fact, they could feel that these flowers could release the strength of Daofuses when working together. This was also the biggest danger of this valley.
They had already been delayed somewhat by the myriad races they captured earlier. And they couldn't afford to delay much longer. After some thought, Su Yu exhaled and said, "If we have to, we attack directly. It's only one Daofuse. Of course, I prefer to persuade him through words. But if he remains stubborn, subdue him."
"Okay."
Subduing the Stable Army Marquis wouldn't be an issue. The issue was doing it without causing any unnecessary fluctuations.
"Go."
With one order from Su Yu, a large formation appeared. Great Ming King would be focused on the formation. That was a concealment formation. This was something he had learned from West Royal Consort. Her work had provided him with a lot of inspiration, allowing him to grow rapidly in the path of formations. He wouldn't have been able to attain Daofuse otherwise.
Instantly, the formation covered the large flower. Right at that moment, an unyielding spear stabbed out of the flower, carrying with it the determination to die fighting.
Stable Army Marquis roared in fury, "Scatter and flee!"
It was over! The moment the formation appeared, he knew that a disaster had arrived. That was a formation placed by a Daofuse. They had an entire Daofuse handling a formation. What about the other attackers? They were certainly Daofuses as well.
"Why are you running?"
With a giggle, countless figures appeared in the air. An incomparably powerful yet enchanting Lan Tian appeared and said, "Little Stable Army, let's have some fun!"
Stable Army Marquis exclaimed in alarm, "A pseudo king?"
"No? I think I'm at the level of a heavenly king now, right?"
With a cheerful laugh, Lan Tian sent a palm attack forward. At the same time, Great Zhou King's voice rang out, "Stable Army Marquis, we're on your side. Don't move. We can all stay calm. We are family. Be patient and listen to me."
At that, Stable Army Marquis' eyes turned empty, but he regained his clarity in a split second. Once again, he was greatly alarmed. Who? Yet another Daofuse! Damn it! Just how many Daofuses were the myriad races deploying to kill him?
Why had he never seen these people? Wait, no. The second voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't recall it. He was able to regain his clarity quickly, but that wasn't the case for all the other humans in the flower.
Upon hearing that voice, all of them stopped moving. Some struggle could be seen on their faces. Clearly, they still wanted to flee. But Great Zhou King's voice was ringing in their minds.
Stay still.
Listen to him.
Those below the Eternal Realm were completely helpless to his voice. Even Eternals could only take a few steps before laying down their weapons.
No!
All of them despaired. They knew that they had encountered a supreme expert. Or to be precise, they had encountered multiple supreme experts.
"Die!"
Stable Army Marquis roared. Even if he wasn't a match, he couldn't give up! He had to open a path for his people. Even if he couldn't, he would kill a Daofuse before dying. He wanted to use the valley to break the formation. Every single flower in the Brightmoon Flower Valley was a powerhouse as well. Just as his spear was about to pierce through Lan Tian's palm, a figure in white appeared.
"Impudent!"
With a roar, the daos trembled. Stable Army Marquis felt his vision blurring as a stone descended upon him.
"Settle down!"
With a roar, Su Yu sent his stone out. His human lord's token might not be good enough to suppress the Stable Army Marquis. But if the stone was really a belonging of the Human Emperor, it might work slightly.
And sure enough, it worked. With a rumble, Stable Army Marquis' dao trembled while his entire body turned numb. That gave Lan Tian the chance to grab him before crushing his armor.
Crack!
After coughing a mouthful of blood, Stable Army Marquis raised his spear again. But at this point, he had already lost hope. The moment he lifted his spear, it was snatched by the man in white.
"Audacious! How dare you behave impudently before your superior?"
Once again, Stable Army Marquis' dao trembled. Countless Lan Tians formed a net before wrapping around him. While clicking his tongue, Lan Tian smiled and said, "You're a puny marquis, but you're quite impudent. How dare you not bow in respect before Emperor Yu? How dare you fight back?"
"Emperor Yu?"
Stable Army Marquis' heart thumped. What? These people...seemed to be all humans! But...where did such powerful humans come from?
Before he could think much, he saw something that caused his heart to thump even more. He exclaimed in shock, "Culture King?"
A pen had appeared.
With the pen, Su Yu wrote countless characters in the air before sealing the marquis before him. The mere sight of the pen caused Stable Army Marquis to instinctively stop resisting. He looked confused, shocked, and doubtful. Who were they?
"Who are you?"
He roared in desperation. Just who were these people? Three super experts. Each was stronger than him. And there was another Daofuse further away, maintaining a formation around them. Where did these people come from? He did not know any of them.
Su Yu couldn't be bothered to answer. He would only talk after he was done subduing the marquis.
Wave after wave of sealing power erupted from the pen dao, sealing the dao of the marquis even as Lan Tian was sealing his body. To the side, Great Zhou King continued chanting unceasingly.
Thanks to Great Zhou King, nobody in the flower could move. Next, numerous sealing characters manifested from Su Yu's pen dao before entering the bodies of the humans in the flower. One after another, they were sealed.
Finally, Su Yu reached out and casually grabbed all of them into his palm. They were still conscious, but they were completely helpless. They could only watch in indignation, fear, and fury. Just who was this white-haired demon king?
They did not have Stable Army Marquis' keen eyes. They only knew that several terrifyingly powerful experts had arrived. Even someone as powerful as Stable Army Marquis had been subdued instantly.
Stable Army Marquis was unable to match even one of these attackers. That shouldn't be possible.
Stable Army Marquis was no weakling, even among Daofuses. According to Su Yu's personal classification, he could be considered a tier-three Daofuse. A heavenly king would be tier one, while a peak Daofuse would be tier two. For the most part, a tier three was a first-rate Daofuse.
However, people like Lan Tian and Su Yu could easily subdue Stable Army Marquis. Noticing that, the people of the flower sank into despair.