Chapter 956: If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them

By this time, the myriad realms held no secrets at all.

This long river carved by the Lord of Time might be but a corner of the vast chaotic cosmos, yet at this moment, it was the core of all beings, the treasured world everyone dreamed of!

The Earth Gate coveted it, Jitian coveted it, everyone coveted it!

At this instant, the Heaven Gate and Earth Gate were converging.

The Heaven Gate kept compressing the long river, merging with the Earth Gate—once it compressed all the way to the Earth Gate, perhaps that would be the moment of fusion. At that time, what level of power he could reach, no one knew.

Over forty Daos?

Forty-something?

The Earth Gate said that the Blood Ancestor, with forty-five Daos of power, had been slain—he was the supreme of this chaos. The Earth Gate might be inferior to him; that much was impossible to judge.

In any case, this fellow most likely couldn't reach forty-five Daos.

Even so, Su Yu was no match for him.

Su Yu… did he still have a chance?

Rely on the River Spirit?

Su Yu didn't even know whether the River Spirit was good or evil. In truth, there were few good people in this world; every supreme being had their own schemes.

The long river churned violently!

At this moment, the figures of the Lord of the Dead and Blue Sky faintly emerged within the river, swiftly shuttling, as if they too hoped to seize control of the river.

The River Spirit and the Seventh Elder of the Human Gate had not appeared.

Whether they were locked in struggle or hidden within the river, waiting for the final moment to arrive.

At this moment, Qiong and the others quickly looked at Su Yu.

What to do?

At this point, Su Yu and Qiong were only at the thirty-nine Dao level—it seemed hard to turn the tide!

Jitian had not yet appeared. When he did, he might already be at forty Daos. Meanwhile, Wan Tiansheng's face was now manifesting on the Human Gate, clearly vying for control of it—but would Jitian let Wan Tiansheng go?

Impossible!

Jitian had his own plans; he would not let Wan Tiansheng off!

"Su Yu!"

At this moment,

Wen Yu looked at Su Yu and quickly transmitted: "They are all growing stronger, but we are powerless. Can we only watch? Your world and mine are similar—there is a possibility of fusion… Why not merge my world into yours…"

The world of the Time Master was the most similar to Su Yu's!

Perhaps it could allow Su Yu to advance, crossing into forty Daos.

The Human Emperor also transmitted: "My world and Wen Lao'er's, though not very close to yours… still, the power of worlds is useful. Merge our world power, and it might let you go further!"

At that time, Su Yu might be qualified to battle Jitian, the Earth Gate, the River Spirit, and the Seventh Elder of the Human Gate—to fight for a future!

Everyone placed their hopes on Su Yu. Even Qiong, though he knew his own origins were great, felt that he couldn't contend with these fellows. And if the River Spirit really was Cang… that would be trouble—maybe it even wanted to devour him!

Su Yu, on the other hand, was a ruthless one—perhaps there was hope. At this moment, Qiong said awkwardly, "If you can reach above forty Daos, I'll transform into a sword, become the number one weapon of the world! With the Heaven-Opening Sword in hand, you might still fight!"

He had made up his mind!

As a sword, he didn't want to be controlled by anyone. In this world, he didn't think anyone was worthy of controlling him.

But if there was truly no other way… wouldn't it just be turning into a sword for someone to use?

It wasn't impossible!

Just do it!

At this point, victory or defeat hung by a thread. Lose, and it was over; win, and all would rejoice!

Su Yu smiled and shook his head.

The others frowned.

At this stage, Su Yu refused—had he given up?

Or did he think that the River Spirit and the Seventh Elder of the Human Gate would fight each other, and he would benefit?

Impossible!

Now, after the Earth Gate fused, and after Jitian emerged, they might both target Su Yu and the others first, extracting enough yang energy to strengthen themselves before joining the next struggle!

As for yang energy, Su Yu and the others had roughly figured it out—it should be the human path aura of this world!

Because this world was created by the Lord of Time.

In this world, humans were born with human path aura; outsiders could not enter. As for why people from the old era couldn't survive—it was because they had been isolated from the myriad realms by the gates for many years, likely lacking sufficient human path aura.

The Earth Gate and Heaven Gate had sealed off the myriad realms, causing these people to lack enough human path aura, so they couldn't establish themselves here.

Only a few strong ones could still hold on.

Kill Su Yu and the others, seize enough human path aura, strengthen themselves, then fight the rest—that was likely everyone's plan!

They, who had opened up worlds, were the fattest prey in others' eyes!

"Su Yu…"

The Human Emperor wanted to say more, but Su Yu shook his head again.

Merge the worlds of the Human Emperor and the others?

Worlds were not so easily merged. After merging, the Human Emperor and the others might see their worlds decline and perish. As world masters, it would be extremely difficult to extend a path within Su Yu's world.

Moreover, it would break the balance of Su Yu's world.

The Seventh Elder of the Human Gate corresponded to the path of calamity.

The River Spirit corresponded to the power of ten thousand paths.

Now, these two were likely within the long river, still confronting or even entangled.

The Earth Gate had allied with the Seventh Elder of the Human Gate.

And Jitian had likely allied with the River Spirit.

But these two also harbored their own schemes—they probably wanted to devour even the River Spirit and the Seventh Elder of the Human Gate.

Just as he thought, a thunderous roar!

The Human Gate trembled!

On the Human Gate, Wan Tiansheng's face appeared, twisted with ferocity. The next moment, Jitian's voice rang out with a hint of amusement: "I knew you would enter the Human Gate, Second Grandfather. But entering is easy, leaving is hard! Second Grandfather, why not merge with me? Back then, your future self was shattered—it must have been the work of that so-called Seventh Elder of the Human Gate you mentioned…"

The future self was clearly connected to the River Spirit.

And the Seventh Elder of the Human Gate might have been secretly meddling, not wanting them to succeed, thus creating an opponent for Jitian.

The path of the seven emotions and six desires could not be cultivated by ordinary people, yet Wan Tiansheng had formed a connection with this sealed gate.

At this moment, the Human Gate shook violently!

Wan Tiansheng's face showed pain and ferocity—clearly, Jitian had already killed all beings within the Human Gate and was now eroding the sealed gate, trying to seize Wan Tiansheng's Dao power.

“Ah!”

Su Yu sighed, a hint of helplessness in his voice.

“Old classmate, do me a favor, will you? That’s your second grandfather after all—why not just let it go?”

Ji Tian laughed: “Su Yu, are you truly naive or just pretending to be?”

At this moment, the Heaven and Earth Gates were pressing down on the River of Time, trying to compress and devour it. He had to speed up resolving the issue with Wan Tiansheng; otherwise, if he delayed any longer and the two gates merged first, he would be in danger!

“You people... you still don’t understand!”

Su Yu spoke with an air of seasoned authority, smiling: “Especially you, Ji Tian. I couldn’t be bothered to deal with you, giving you a chance instead—are you not cherishing it?”

Ji Tian almost laughed.

At this point, did Su Yu still think he could turn the tables?

Impossible!

Now, the Heaven and Earth Gates would merge and go kill Su Yu—right away!

He would devour Wan Tiansheng and then go kill Su Yu—right away!

Both sides had a chance to win; only Su Yu, the third party, had no chance at all. That was why they had ignored him earlier, letting so many strong warriors be slain by Su Yu.

You have no chance!

Even if you kill people, you’re just helping us complete our plan.

“Ji Tian, are you really not going to stop?”

“Enough chatter!”

Ji Tian thought Su Yu had gone mad!

Su Yu shrugged: “I was actually hesitating between dealing with the Heaven and Earth Gates or dealing with you. But now, I’m not considering it anymore. You’re too annoying—if I don’t take you out, I won’t be in a good mood!”

“Su Yu... do you think I’m still the same as before?”

Ji Tian’s laughter echoed: “Not to mention whether you can break through this Sealing Gate—even if you could, I’ve already broken through to 40 Dao, and soon I’ll achieve 41 Dao power. Do you think you can match me? Even if you all join forces, you can’t do anything to me!”

At this point, Qiong couldn’t hold back anymore: “Su Yu, do you have a plan or not? If you don’t, stop boasting!”

So annoying!

Su Yu talked tough, but there was no action at all—it was driving the old man crazy!

Maybe he should take the risk now and just charge into the Human Gate to try!

Why all these threats?

If you can’t even break this Sealing Gate, how can you talk about dealing with Ji Tian!

Qiong couldn’t contain himself and roared: “I’ll go try—let’s see if this Sealing Gate can really be broken...”

Hum!

A long sword shot out, carrying an unmatched, powerful aura, and struck straight at the Human Gate!

At this moment, both the Earth Gate and Ji Tian were utterly indifferent.

Fool!

Not everything could be solved by brute force.

If it were that easy, Su Yu would have attacked long ago. It was precisely because Su Yu understood this that he hadn’t made a move. Attacking now was just asking for trouble!

Boom!

A loud crash rang out, and sure enough, a muffled grunt followed. The next moment, the long sword flew back, now covered in cracks. The already damaged Heaven-Opening Sword was even more broken now!

Qiong instantly transformed into human form, a look of shock on his face, and couldn’t help cursing: “The River of Time has become one?”

At that moment, when he struck, the entire River of Time seemed to have fused into a single entity!

He attacked the Sealing Gate, only to face the counterattack of the entire River of Time. It nearly shook him to death. If not for his immense strength and his true form being the Heaven-Opening Sword, that single blow might have killed him!

Too terrifying!

No wonder Su Yu hadn’t made a move until now, just watching—he couldn’t.

The Earth Gate’s voice rang out flatly: “Qiong, you’re still so naive and foolish! If the River of Time could be broken so easily, then with Ji Tian and Wan Tiansheng both weaker than me, I would have killed them long ago. Why keep waiting?”

Ji Tian’s laughter also came: “Su Yu, you see now, don’t you? Do you think you can kill me? Letting Second Grandfather seize the Sealing Gate was your biggest mistake! He’s just delivered himself as nourishment!”

“Originally, you took a lot of the Human Gate’s Dao, and I thought it might cause trouble. If you had devoured it yourself, I really wouldn’t have had a way. But you were greedy—you insisted on letting Wan Tiansheng devour it and seize the Sealing Gate... Greed never ends well!”

“Enough chatter!”

Su Yu curled his lip and cursed.

He looked at the face on the Human Gate—agonized and twisted—it was Wan Tiansheng’s face. Clearly, Ji Tian was eroding him now!

“Headmaster!”

Su Yu called out. Wan Tiansheng groaned in pain, holding his breath, and said in a low voice: “What are you shouting for... I’m busy!”

Then, forcing himself, he replied: “This Sealing Gate... it’s just... just a filter... not some... Heaven or Earth! It’s a treasure that specifically absorbs origin sources and extracts the Dao of Emotions... The origin power inside... is incredibly dense...”

Contrary to earlier guesses, this Sealing Gate was not Heaven, Earth, or a Dao, but a treasure storing vast amounts of origin power. It absorbed the origin of all Daos and all realms, then extracted the Dao of Emotions to convert the Seventh.

Of course, it was also a supreme treasure!

The origin of all realms was naturally a supreme treasure. At this moment, Wan Tiansheng was rapidly drawing in that origin power, strengthening himself to resist the enemy.

While struggling to hold on, he said in pain: “This bastard... under normal circumstances... shouldn’t be able to enter the Sealing Gate... I finally understand just how great a mistake Zhou made... He gave him a complete physical body, one that perfectly matches... As an Emotion Spirit, he was only a being sealed behind the gate and couldn’t enter... But now it’s fine... Damn Zhou...”

Ji Tian laughed: “You’re right. Over all these years, the best thing Zhou ever did was to create and forge Zhou Ji’s physical body! Otherwise, as you said, not only could I not enter the Sealed Gate, I couldn’t even come and go freely—I could only pass through the cultivator’s portal of the Human Gate. But now, I don’t need that anymore. I can come and go as I please!”

“I am your grandfather... and you want to kill me... truly... unfilial!”

Wan Tiansheng found humor in his misery and let out a few laughs.

Ji Tian kept eroding him, smiling: “Second Grandfather, not a real one—just a second grandfather, understand? Besides... it’s just a reincarnation of a divine inscription. You don’t really equate Wan Mingze with me, do you?”

Wan Tiansheng couldn’t be bothered to respond anymore and groaned in pain: “Su Yu, this grandson of mine... his strength is not weak... He’s devouring my power. If this continues, not only will I be swallowed by this bastard, but all the origin power in this Sealing Gate will be devoured by him too!”

“If you have a way... use it now!”

Su Yu sighed lightly: “I was just bluffing him. There’s no way. You might as well accept your fate and let him swallow you!”

“You little...”

Wan Tiansheng let out a pained, low roar. That Su Yu was so irresponsible!

Even the Human Emperor and the others were a bit helpless, all looking at Su Yu. Really no way?

Su Yu smiled: “It’s fine. Ji Tian doesn’t dare to swallow Old Wan! Old Wan’s Dao of Seven Emotions and Six Desires is still connected to my Heaven and Earth, and hasn’t been completely severed. If he swallows Old Wan, I’ll be able to restrain him... I’m just waiting for him to swallow!”

“...”

Everyone was speechless!

Truly speechless!

If you say that out loud... will it still work?

If you really planned it that way, you shouldn’t have said it!

Sometimes, they found Su Yu impossible to reason with. If you didn't have the nerve to let Wan Tiansheng be devoured by him directly, and see if your Great Path could suppress him once it entered Ji Tian's body, now that you've mentioned it, he's unprepared—but now he's prepared!

Sure enough, Ji Tian laughed: "I can feel it... But Su Yu, you underestimate this Sealing Gate. Inside this gate, you still want to control these Great Paths? I'm afraid there's no hope!"

"Once I devour him and fully digest these Great Paths, who controls whom—that's hard to say!"

"Is that so?"

Su Yu looked astonished, and Wan Tiansheng couldn't help but curse: "That's right! I can feel it... Your world is completely isolated, you can't sense a thing... You've screwed me over!"

"Lord Wan, don't say that on purpose to trick Ji Tian! Ji Tian is a clever man, you can't fool him!"

Su Yu teased, and at that moment, Ji Tian couldn't help but rage: "Su Yu, at this point, are you still playing the empty-city stratagem with me? You don't understand at all—this Sealing Gate has always had the power to isolate heaven and earth! Otherwise, it would have been swallowed by the Earth Gate long ago!"

Even now, Su Yu wanted to play tricks with him—useless!

Wan Tiansheng, he was determined to have!

"Who says so?"

Su Yu continued to smile: "Others might be isolated, but would I be? Old Wan has mastered the Path of the Seven Emotions and Six Desires, so I've mastered it too. If Old Wan can enter, naturally I can too... Ji Tian, do you understand? This gate does not isolate the Path of Emotions, got it? Idiot—if it could isolate the Path of Emotions, how did you get in? How did Old Wan get in?"

"..."

Ji Tian's heart stirred slightly, and soon he said: "Even if it doesn't isolate, so what... Su Yu, you can't do anything to me. I'm stronger than you. Even if you can still control these Paths, I'll sever them and make sure you can't control them!"

Qiong couldn't hold back any longer and roared: "Su Yu, what are you trying to do? Either screw him over or just do it directly! You've told him everything—how are we supposed to fight now?"

Su Yu rolled his eyes. You, this guy, why are you causing trouble!

"Don't rush!"

Not rush?

Qiong was truly anxious now!

If we don't think of something soon, I'm going to defect—maybe there's still a way out!

Su Yu felt a bit helpless and said with a hint of grievance: "Don't rush, I need time, don't I? They need time, and I need time too. Qiong, you're too impatient, you know that? And here I thought you were cute—you're not cute at all!"

Qiong was momentarily stunned. What did he mean?

Su Yu suddenly laughed again: "The Path of Emotions, I understand that. The Seven Emotions and Six Desires—Ji Tian is not human after all. What does he know about emotion? What does he know about anger? Or love? He's just a program, pretending to be a master of the Path of Emotions... I never took him seriously. Who has the time to bother with this guy?"

Was he bragging?

Just as he was thinking, Su Yu smiled: "Let me show you something fun. Dealing with Ji Tian, to be honest, I never took it seriously. My targets are the River Spirit and the Seventh of the Human Gate... and maybe now the Earth Gate too, since he's quite formidable, relying on real skill. Ji Tian is nothing—all empty talk!"

At these words, not only them but even the Earth Gate couldn't help but say: "Su Yu, at this point, you're still..."

Bragging!

"What about me?"

Su Yu laughed. At that moment, his physical body suddenly detached, and Su Yu stepped out of it, smiling: "What about me?"

Everyone was shaken!

At this moment, Su Yu, like a soul, walked out of his own body, his smile radiant: "Was I bragging? I never brag. Dealing with Ji Tian, I'm really good at it... Believe it or not!"

A spirit!

At this moment, the Human Emperor and the others slightly changed color.

What was Su Yu doing?

The next moment, their faces changed even more. On this spirit, countless faces seemed to emerge, terrifying and chilling, sending a shiver down one's spine!

Su Yu laughed: "I'm busy merging everyone's will, aren't I? Qiong just keeps urging—use your brain, don't you need to prepare before doing something?"

At this moment, faces appeared on his shoulders, faces on his chest—extremely terrifying!

Even Qiong felt his hair stand on end!

Su Yu's laughter made his scalp tingle!

"The Path of Emotions and Desires is too easy to deal with... You don't believe me!"

Su Yu walked step by step toward the Long River, toward the Human Gate. As he walked, a head seemed to fall off. Su Yu grabbed it and stuffed it into his chest, chuckling: "Little Furball, don't play around—your face fell off... If you can't pick it up, it'll be trouble!"

"Oh!"

Su Yu laughed. As he walked, suddenly a face appeared in the Long River, ever-changing, with a hint of a smile: "Need help?"

Su Yu smiled and nodded: "Yes! I've been waiting for you! If not for you, I'd have finished long ago! Come, merge in, then go merge Old Wan too. The three of us will show everyone something fun... Watch how we kill Ji Tian!"

"Alright!"

Lan Tian also laughed. The next moment, countless faces quickly merged into Su Yu. As Su Yu walked, the faces on him multiplied, densely packed!

Utterly horrifying!

At this moment, Qiong, the Human Emperor, and the others all swallowed hard. That feeling... was truly terrifying!

For the Earth Gate and Ji Tian, they were powerful, but everyone felt only vigilance and gravity, lacking fear. Yet facing Su Yu at this moment, they were filled with dread!

The Earth Gate, not far from Su Yu, now looked at the countless eyes and faces on Su Yu's body, and instantly grew solemn!

To be honest, in the myriad realms, Ji Tian was not fearsome. The River Spirit and the Seventh of the Human Gate—only the Seventh gave him an unsettling feeling. But compared to Su Yu now... that so-called destroyer was truly too normal!

At this moment, Su Yu's body was covered with faces and eyes. Some eyes were curious, some carried smiles, some were malicious, some emotionally broken...

Su Yu's own face kept changing—one moment it was Lan Tian, with a hint of confusion: "How do we deal with him?"

The next moment it was Su Yu, smiling: "Simple, just watch!"

Then it turned into the Martial Emperor, with some frustration: "Let me out for some air—it's too crowded on the neck!"

Then it became Tian Mie, with some excitement: "Need a fight?"

Ever-changing!

Each change, each muttering to himself, came from the same mouth. At this moment, the myriad realms fell into dead silence. Even the Human Emperor and the others could only watch, unable to do anything, not knowing what to do.

...

At this moment, inside the Sealing Gate.

Two wills clashed. One was constantly devouring the other—it was Ji Tian dealing with Wan Tiansheng. But at this moment, Ji Tian suddenly took human form, his face slightly changing as he looked outside at Su Yu walking toward him!

His expression turned ugly, with some unease, and he shouted harshly: "Su Yu, don't think that making yourself this disgusting can scare me!"

"Who has time to scare you?"

Su Yu's laughter echoed: "Ji Tian, this is my will, my spirit! Destroy this will of mine, and I die. Then you can do whatever you want—happy?"

The next moment, Su Yu stepped inside. The massive Human Gate, which had blocked Qiong before, now failed to stop Su Yu. It didn't even react, letting him enter.

Because at this moment, Su Yu was also a spirit, a will, a thousand-changing emotion!

"Really, Ji Tian, I told you—dealing with you is very simple!"

At this moment, Su Yu walked into the interior of the Human Gate. Like a vast ocean, countless primal energies surged like a sea within the entire gate. Wan Tiansheng reverted to human form, looking somewhat weak, now being held and devoured by Ji Tian!

"Lord Wan, why resist?"

Wan Tiansheng couldn't help but roll his eyes: "If I don't resist, won't I be devoured?"

"So what if you're devoured?"

Su Yu laughed: "He is the Path of Emotion, you are the Path of Emotion, I am emotion itself, everyone is... devour, merge—who knows who will dominate, who will be the core key! To deal with these fellows, of course, you have to use different methods!"

The next moment, Su Yu closed in instantly!

Ji Tian instinctively threw a punch at Su Yu, not wanting him to get close!

Su Yu's approach made him uneasy!

Ji Tian was immensely powerful; his punch carried a strong Path of Emotion, laced with some anger and a hint of fear!

But as that punch came, Su Yu suddenly grabbed hold of the fist, and the next moment, his face broke into a grin, teeth bared: "Old classmate, let's merge! These myriad emotions, merge them all together... perhaps... you could be our dominant force! If you win, you lead, go kill everyone; if I win, I lead—what do you think?"

Ji Tian's face twisted in shock!

The next moment, he roared: "Get off me!"

He understood Su Yu's intent!

This madman wanted to use the same trick Lan Tian used against Tian on him. He refused, throwing another punch, but Su Yu clung tightly to his fist, frantically beginning the fusion, smiling: "Not getting off, old classmate, really, let's merge! You might win—if you do, you'll become stronger! You'll devour not just Old Wan, but me too, and even Lan Tian... you'll become a true top-tier powerhouse!"

"Get off!"

Ji Tian suddenly erupted in fury, his eyes tinged with fear: "You're insane! Su Yu, you've completely lost your mind! After we merge, will you or I still be ourselves? I don't want to become such a lunatic..."

After the merge, would he still be him?

"Su Yu, do you really have no fear of death? Su Yu... let go!"

He struck wildly, each blow carrying a furious will, punching Su Yu again and again, but Su Yu gradually melted into his fist, a faint smile on his face: "You don't understand... this is called win big if you succeed, lose nothing if you fail. If I lose, I was going to lose anyway—losing is just losing. But if I win... then I've hit the jackpot!"

"I'm curious—why do you all always think that I, Su Yu, can't afford to lose or die? I'm human too—why can't I lose or die? I'm the one with nothing to lose; you're the ones with everything to lose... So why do you keep provoking me? I can afford to lose—what you can't afford to lose... is yourselves!"

Ji Tian's face changed dramatically!

Su Yu was merging rapidly, not devouring him but actively integrating into him. His expression shifted violently, struggling with anger and fear, roaring: "Get out! Su Yu... get out... I won't devour Wan Tiansheng anymore..."

He didn't know if his will was stronger than Su Yu's or the others', but he knew, as Su Yu had said, he couldn't afford to lose, and he didn't want to!

In that moment, he suddenly realized how right Su Yu was!

Su Yu had nothing to lose—he had nothing at all. Either way, he was bound to lose, so why would he care?

He didn't care!

If he lost, he would still merge into Ji Tian's emotions, even driving Ji Tian mad!

Why provoke this guy?

Ji Tian let out a furious roar, and suddenly, his arm exploded!

He had to force Su Yu out!

Not only that, but Ji Tian began to retreat rapidly, preparing to exit the Human Gate. Inside this sealed gate, everything was filled with emotional power, interfering and merging with each other—too prone to accidents!

Once outside, without the added influence of these forces, Su Yu would find it hard to invade him.

At this moment, Ji Tian felt a twinge of regret.

He shouldn't have been so eager to devour Wan Tiansheng!

He hadn't expected Su Yu to take the initiative to enter, bringing Lan Tian and the others, choosing to actively merge with him, just like Lan Tian had done that day. He thought only Lan Tian would do such a thing, but Su Yu was even more terrifying!

...

Outside.

The Earth Gate's expression shifted slightly. The giant form it had taken looked toward the Heaven Gate, which was rapidly squeezing the long river. The Heaven Gate was about to converge with it. It remained silent, but a flicker of fear crossed its face!

Su Yu, that madman—truly, after observing the myriad realms for countless ages, this tide had the most lunatics!

Ji Tian, who had become a spirit through the Path of Emotion, once he lost control and his emotions were thrown into chaos, Su Yu might turn the tables and become the master, with Ji Tian as his nourishment—or the reverse!

But the reverse was different!

If Ji Tian won, he might also go mad.

If Su Yu won, what Ji Tian gave him was just an added layer of emotions, making him even more twisted—making a madman crazier... it wouldn't really change much!

Only now did he understand what Su Yu had meant earlier: dealing with the Path of Emotion was his specialty.

It wasn't about brute force!

"Crush!"

The giant gate let out a low roar. In the distance, the Heaven Gate squeezed the long river again, drawing closer and closer!

But at that moment, between the Heaven Gate and the Earth Gate, strands of death qi suddenly emerged, spreading out to share some of the squeezing pressure, slowing their convergence!

The Death Lord's voice carried a cold indifference, echoing through heaven and earth: "Did you ask me? My path is also a part of this long river—did I agree to your merger?"

Death qi erupted violently, the long river churning, half black, half white!

"Hmph!"

The Earth Gate snorted. Could you match me?

I'll crush you anyway!

You're not Su Yu!

Against these powerhouses, these normal powerhouses, the Earth Gate was unafraid. In all the myriad realms, the one who acted most like a demon was Su Yu, and even he didn't fear Su Yu—just felt unsettled by him!

Now, while Su Yu was dealing with Ji Tian, no matter who won, it wouldn't be good for him. He needed to merge quickly!

Below, the Human King sensed all this. He looked at the violently shaking Human Gate, then at the Heaven Gate and Earth Gate, with the Death Lord caught between them.

Clearly, the Death Lord was no match. If this continued, he would soon be suppressed to the point of extinction!

"Sigh!"

A sigh escaped him, and the Human King smiled: "Who isn't a path born from the long river? As if we all came from outside the long river..."

The Wen King also smiled: "Indeed! Our paths didn't come from nowhere—they were all born within this long river, and only then did heaven and earth emerge..."

He looked at the Human King: "The few of us are almost forgotten! Su Yu treats us as optional—if he can fight, he fights; if not, he ignores us. Makes us look pretty pathetic!"

The Human King nodded: "Yes, truly pathetic!"

As he spoke, heaven and earth manifested, and a figure was pulled out by the Human King. Tongtian Hou looked annoyed—why drag me out again?

He was a gate, not merged with Su Yu.

He had been lurking nearby, waiting for an opportunity, but clearly, there was none.

Now, he was being dragged out again!

"Tongtian, your time has come!"

The Human King smiled: "You were nurtured by us from the power of the gates. Whether it's the Heaven Gate, the Earth Gate, or the Human Gate, you can connect to them all!"

With that, the Human King grinned: "Take the trouble to send us into the Earth Gate!"

Huh?

Tongtian was stunned. You're... making things hard for me!

You're all at the 36-path level, and you're bringing heaven and earth with you—how am I supposed to do that?

"Hurry up... If it bursts, let it burst. I'll keep your spirit and forge you a new body later... If that fails, there's still the Human Gate besides the Heaven and Earth Gates. Pick any of the three, or take them all!"

This... doesn't seem like a loss!

Tongtian knew he couldn't refuse now. Gritting his teeth, he transformed into a lecherous old man. In an instant, a gate opened—and this gate was somewhat obscene. The fellow opened his mouth wide, and his mouth turned into a great gate. A sliver of gate power spread upward, toward the long river, toward the Heaven and Earth Gates!

The Earth Gate's expression shifted slightly. With a cold snort that shook heaven and earth, it shattered the power spreading from Tongtian!

Tongtian's manifested gate trembled violently, nearly breaking apart. Several of his teeth fell out!

The Human Emperor cursed under his breath, "This bastard!"

"Again... connect to the Heaven Gate! The Earth Gate is the main body, too strong! The Heaven Gate is compressing the long river and can't deal with you. Hurry!"

Tongtian, his teeth aching, opened his mouth once more, turning it into a gate. Gate power spread, this time toward the Heaven Gate!

The Earth Gate's expression shifted again. It snorted coldly once more, but burdened with the long river, it couldn't move. Under that cold snort, death qi suddenly erupted violently, shaking the long river, preventing it from crushing Tongtian's gate power.

As for the Heaven Gate, it simply couldn't exert force—it had to keep compressing the long river!

In that instant, the gate power connected!

Tongtian roared, "Enter!"

The Human Emperor and the others had no choice. Though they wanted to smash Tongtian's head—the bastard was deliberately disgusting them, turning his mouth into a gate, truly vile—they couldn't deal with him over that now.

In an instant, the several powerful beings vanished!

Qiong was about to enter when the Human Emperor's voice came: "Don't move... If Su Yu can suppress Jitian, find a chance to sever his connection to the Human Gate!"

Qiong didn't stir. Find a chance? Where was he supposed to find that chance!

At that moment, the Heaven Gate shook violently. The moment the Human Emperor and the others entered, without doing anything, their heavens and earth suddenly expanded, spreading within the Heaven Gate. The three great heavens and earths trembled fiercely!

The Human Emperor laughed, "Su Yu was right about one thing: we have nothing to lose, barefoot as we are. You... cannot afford to lose!"

"Wenyu, Second Brother, strengthen my heaven-earth power. Today, I gamble once. If I win, best of all. If I lose... I'll expand my Responsibility Dao to its peak and let the Heaven Gate absorb it. I hope, Senior Heaven Gate, that you'll birth your own will and break free from the Earth Gate's control... You two—true body and clone—fight it out yourselves!"

At that moment, his heaven-earth Dao suddenly unfolded within the Heaven Gate, while Wenyu and King Wen's heaven-earth power poured into it wildly!

The Human Emperor did not launch a forceful attack—that would trigger backlash from the long river's power.

Merge!

Yes, Su Yu's method had shown them an opportunity.

The Human Emperor intended to feed his entire Responsibility Dao to the Heaven Gate, merging into it, so that the Heaven Gate could birth its own true will—a will to protect humanity, to protect Su Yu, to protect those people!

Then, perhaps, things would become more interesting.

The Human Emperor sat cross-legged within the Heaven Gate, a smile on his face. His heaven-earth Dao scattered wildly, countless powers merging into the Heaven Gate. His smile was radiant: "Su Yu is clever. If you can't beat them, join them! Who said you have to fight head-on? In this world, strength alone doesn't guarantee victory. Senior Heaven Gate, keep it up... A clone can rise too!"

Rumble!

Streams of Responsibility Dao power swelled rapidly, merging swiftly!

At that moment, the Earth Gate's expression changed!

A direct assault—he wasn't afraid.

But now, these people weren't attacking; they had chosen to actively merge, willing to shatter their heavens and earth, to sacrifice everything!

If the Heaven Gate truly devoured the Human Emperor's Dao and turned into the Responsibility Dao... the consequences would be unthinkable!

Would a clone never rebel?

Not necessarily!

Moreover, if the Heaven Gate, now infused with the Human Emperor's Dao, was absorbed by the Earth Gate, what then? Would it turn him into another Human Emperor? Even if the Human Emperor died, the Dao might still invade and interfere with the Earth Gate, making him the next Human Emperor instead of living as himself!

Why were these beings of the myriad realms, of this era, so troublesome?

He couldn't help but roar, "Xingyu! Without your heaven and earth, without your Dao, without your life... just to strengthen my clone? Why? Xingyu, I can promise you this: you may leave the myriad realms with some people... all of you can go. All I want is the River of Time..."

The Human Emperor laughed, "Su Yu's trick is truly divine! Look—before, they were all shouting to kill and destroy. Now, they see us as a flood of beasts, as poison, wishing we'd vanish at once..."

He suddenly felt that Su Yu was truly capable!

We have nothing to lose!

What's there to fear?

Those who can't afford to lose are the ones on top, the ones who've schemed for countless years!

And at that moment, from the Human Gate in the distance, a sudden scream burst forth, then turned into a mad roar, and soon into wild laughter!

In that instant, a figure appeared within the Human Gate.

It was Jitian, and also Su Yu, and Blue Sky, and Wan Tiansheng...

That face shifted a thousand times, terrifyingly bizarre!

Jitian laughed madly one moment, wailed the next, then grew mournful and sorrowful, then shouted and roared with a fierce but hollow bluster!

The Human Emperor watched silently, smiled, and let his heaven-earth Dao pour out wildly!

Strengthen the Heaven Gate!

The Earth Gate's face grew darker and darker. This wouldn't do—something would go wrong. His clone might truly slip from his control. The Heaven Gate, after all, had taken human form for countless ages. If it now absorbed the Human Emperor's Dao, it could become his fatal flaw!

Damn it!

They were all madmen, not a single one normal. This self-destructive method of active merging had never been considered before!

Jitian had already been torn apart, driven mad. Was he about to follow in Jitian's footsteps?

At that moment, the Earth Gate wanted to roar, to scream, to vent.

This was not the outcome they wanted!

He didn't want it. Neither did Jitian!