Chapter 960: Rebirth from the Ashes

Cang intended to extract the power of the future self, using this to threaten the Human Emperor into withdrawing his strength, and Su Yu became the bargaining chip in the standoff between the Human Emperor and Cang.

At that moment, Su Yu suddenly felt like laughing.

Had I become a hostage kidnapped by Cang?

Su Yu revealed a smile, took a step back, evading the blazing flames of the Demon Flame, while the Demon Flame pressed forward relentlessly, yielding not an inch, the river compressing ever more violently, and the River Book growing increasingly distinct.

Of course, on the book, those golden specks also became clearer!

At this time, the Human Emperor was still invading heaven and earth!

He needed a quantity that would bring about a qualitative change, so that the entire River Path could transform into his Path of Responsibility, and this required time, as well as immense power.

Cang's cold voice rang out again: "Xingyu, Su Yu, don't push me! I don't want this, but you are challenging my bottom line!"

The Human Emperor's expression turned grim.

He looked at Su Yu: "If your future self's power is extracted, can you hold on?"

Su Yu calculated seriously, then spoke: "Currently at 42-path strength, but the future self's power is not weak either; if extracted instantly, I might drop to around 40 paths. The Human Gate is very sturdy, having withstood countless years of river erosion without breaking... but this guy's flames are somewhat targeted, mainly burning will and spirit!"

The Demon Flame wanted to incinerate the Human Gate, that is, the body of the Seal Gate that Su Yu had fused with—a task of immense difficulty.

But even if Su Yu merged with the gate, the gate was merely a weapon, a treasure, not Su Yu himself; thus, as long as Su Yu's will and spirit were extinguished, that would suffice—the gate need not be shattered.

Suddenly dropping to 40-path strength, with power abruptly extracted at this moment, facing a top-tier existence at 44 paths... then Su Yu would be finished.

The Human Emperor's eyes flickered uncertainly; he looked at the Demon Flame, then at Cang, and suddenly sneered: "You few schemers, no matter how much you plot, you'll die sooner or later!"

He vaguely discerned that the Demon Flame and Cang might have some agreement.

But both sides also wanted to restrain each other..

Thus, unless absolutely necessary, Cang did not want to deal with Su Yu and let the Demon Flame gain an advantage; on one hand, he hoped Su Yu could restrain the Demon Flame, on the other, he could not allow Su Yu and the others to truly succeed.

The Demon Flame was the same!

Perhaps while cooperating with Cang,

he also collaborated with Black Scale, playing both sides.

Regardless, neither side wanted the Human Emperor's Path power to continue invading the River of Time.

What to do?

Withdraw?

Withdrawing would still allow a battle with the Demon Flame; not withdrawing, and Su Yu would be doomed. If Su Yu died, the entire situation would collapse.

At this moment, the Human Emperor also wanted to curse!

Damn it!

The current situation was extremely unfavorable for them, especially that brat Su Yu, who rashly swallowed the future power gifted by Cang, which also put Su Yu under control. He couldn't help but say: "Su Yu, Cang extracts your future power—can you, like before when you fused with Jitian, fuse him as well?"

Su Yu swung his sword, breaking the black flames before him, and together with the Lord of the Dead, barely blocked the Demon Flame's attack. Su Yu gasped and laughed: "I can!"

Cang's indifferent voice sounded again: "Su Yu, you can deceive others, but can you deceive me? What I extract is merely power, not will, and a strand of power within you originally belongs to me!"

Who was Su Yu trying to scare!

To fuse, you would have to fuse my will as well; your power was originally mine—if you don't fuse my will, what can you do?

The Human Emperor actually knew this.

He had only hoped to bluff the other!

But clearly, Cang was not afraid.

And at this moment, he did not actively descend into Su Yu's body to seize it; the calamity path power that Su Yu had left behind was not enough to harm or deter him, because you simply could not touch him.

"Stop stalling..."

Cang sighed softly, and the next moment, a faint trace of power dispersed from within Su Yu, vanishing into the river. It was not much, but the sudden dissipation of power still exposed Su Yu's weakness!

Boom!

A earth-shattering roar erupted, and the Demon Flame spewed a stream of black flames from its mouth, immensely powerful, directly burning through the void, piercing the Human Gate, and searing Su Yu's will, which was merged with the gate, into violent turmoil!

No matter how strong Su Yu's will was, it would be destroyed!

It only depended on whether the destructive force was strong enough!

Fortunately, within the Human Gate, there was still a considerable amount of source power. Su Yu's burning will quickly drew on that source power to extinguish the flames, and his once brilliant will now appeared somewhat weakened.

Cang's voice rose again: "That was just a tiny wisp of power lost. Xingyu, if you continue, I will extract some more power... Can Su Yu hold on?"

In the heavens and earth, the War King couldn't help but curse: "You bastard, you don't know what's good for you! We are killing the Demon Flame to help you, and yet you threaten us?"

Cang said calmly: "Then kill the Demon Flame by all means, but the river cannot be defiled by you!"

If you want to kill, kill with force!

However, the Human Emperor's path was too evil; Cang did not wish to see it pollute the river. If the Human Emperor persisted, then he would truly extract Su Yu's power and let the Demon Flame win.

The Demon Flame winning was not the outcome he wanted to see, nor was Su Yu winning!

He and the Demon Flame had some tacit understanding.

But this tacit understanding, at this moment, also meant that neither wanted the river's power to be polluted by the Human Emperor's path.

At this point, the Demon Flame couldn't help but rage: "Just extract it directly! Once I kill Su Yu, I'll go kill Xingyu, and the invasion will naturally stop!"

Wasn't this just using Su Yu and the others to restrain him, so that even if he won, he would be severely weakened, with no time or strength to merge with the river?

The Demon Flame understood Cang's intentions perfectly!

But... he was not afraid!

Cang deliberately lent power to Su Yu for many purposes—to control Su Yu at a critical moment, to deal with the Demon Flame, or other reasons, even to interfere with the Demon Flame—all possible.

But the Demon Flame was not afraid of these!

He had a tacit understanding with Cang and also cooperated with Black Scale.

Having schemed outside the heavens and earth for so many years, as Su Yu said, without real skill, how would he rashly act and become a pawn for others?

And the Human Emperor was also growing anxious.

The plan was good, but Cang had ruined it. At this moment, he had to shout: "Su Yu, don't you have any way?"

If you have no way, why did you fuse with the future self!

Damn it!

I've already suffered once, and you still haven't learned?

Back then, he had fused with the future self and suffered a great loss, and it was also Cang's doing, extracting the future self's power, causing him to be ambushed by those in the Heavenly Gate during the fight!

He almost died!

Thinking back now, that bastard Cang probably intended to limit the enhancement of his path even back then.

That brat Su Yu, really had no way out?

In his eyes, Su Yu always planned before acting; did Su Yu think that relying solely on those calamity paths could stop Cang, or was Su Yu truly out of options and had to choose to fuse with the future self?

At least, by fusing with the future self, he had killed Zhou, the Prison King, Jitian, and others; without fusing, he might not even have had the chance to fight to this point.

At this moment, the Human Emperor also let out a sigh.

Helpless!

Without merging with his future self, he might not even be able to contend with Zhou and the others; having merged with his future self, now he was restricted by Cang—too difficult!

These bastards, having lived for so long, were all immensely powerful.

"These fellows are full of malice toward us!"

The Human Emperor had lost all his former high spirits, now somewhat dejected and disheartened.

At the critical moment, Cang had stabbed him in the back again!

He sighed and began to withdraw the power of heaven and earth. For now, if he didn't provoke Cang, he could still fight Mo Yan and at least have a chance; otherwise, if Cang pulled back his power, Su Yu would be finished, and there would be no chance to fight Mo Yan at all.

In the heavens and earth, King Wen, Wen Yu, and King Wu all wore grim expressions.

In the long river, Lan Tian, who had been transporting power, also halted his steps, filled with some frustration and helplessness.

No way out!

No choice!

And Cang, seeing this, breathed a slight sigh of relief. The Human Emperor might not succeed, but he had to nip that possibility in the bud.

……

At that moment, the Lord of the Dead was once again scorched by flames. He grunted, barely holding back a curse.

Su Yu appeared instantly, blocking Mo Yan's pursuit for him.

The Lord of the Dead couldn't hold it in any longer and muttered, "You have no way out?"

Su Yu sighed, "What else can I do? I'm human, not an omnipotent god... Either I let my power be drained, or this is all I can do..."

The Lord of the Dead was speechless.

Yes, when had everyone become so confident in Su Yu?

He was facing these old schemers who had been plotting since the dawn of creation, each one immensely powerful. He himself didn't know why he thought Su Yu would have a solution.

Su Yu merging with his future self was also a desperate move—what other tricks could he have?

At this moment, maintaining the power of 42 Paths and continuing to fight Mo Yan might be the only way out!

The Lord of the Dead also felt a sense of heroic despair.

He had schemed all his life, yearned for an eternity, dreamed of devouring the River of Time and battling the Lord of Time—yet before the main antagonist even appeared, just Cang and Mo Yan had shattered all his hopes!

At 39 Paths, he stood at the pinnacle.

Since the creation of the world, aside from Mo Yan, only a few had managed to reach 39 Paths—like Ji Tian and Qiong, both with illustrious origins. The Lord of the Dead might be the only native human to have risen to 39 Paths on his own!

Su Yu didn't count; he had borrowed power and even devoured Ji Tian.

The Human Emperor didn't count either; several people had jointly supplied him with the power of heaven and earth just to barely push him into 39 Paths.

Since the dawn of creation, he was the foremost human!

But what use was that?

Heroic despair—in this moment, during the battle with Mo Yan, every time Mo Yan's heavenly flames touched him, it was a torment, a weakening. After several times, his own heaven and earth felt as if cracks were forming.

A few more times, and his heaven and earth might collapse entirely!

"Power of the future!"

Su Yu sighed. The power of the future, drawn out—I know it.

Actually, there was a way to deal with it.

Yes, Su Yu had a way.

But it was too difficult, too dangerous, especially at his level—the difficulty was beyond imagination. Besides, he had some other ideas, but the Human Emperor's recent actions made Su Yu hesitate.

Should he still follow his own plan?

The plan was always changing!

If he could kill Mo Yan, that might not be bad either.

"Old Dead, can I lean on you?"

"I want a shoulder to lean on... The Human Emperor's shoulder isn't sturdy enough..."

The Lord of the Dead wanted to curse!

Lean on your grandfather!

But since Su Yu suddenly transmitted this, he might have an idea. The Lord of the Dead quickly transmitted back, "Speak—what's the plan?"

"You have a dual heaven and earth, right?"

"Nonsense!"

"You still have one heaven and earth that hasn't undergone nirvana, correct?"

The Lord of the Dead's eyes flickered. Yes!

Su Yu had undergone nirvana twice, while the Lord of the Dead had only done it once!

And in his heaven and earth, he had the path of life and death, with both heavens and earth present, so he could still undergo nirvana once more. But at 39 Paths, nirvana was incredibly difficult!

Su Yu continued transmitting, "Dare to play this game? But if we really do it... the trouble won't be small. Who knows if you can survive a second time... And I also want to extract the power of the future to use as energy for your resurrection. That means you have to ensure that the power of the future is seized by your nirvana. Old Dead, that means contending with Cang!"

Yes, at this point, extracting the power of the future and using it as a force for rebirth would be perfect—no need to kill anyone to seize vitality. The power of the future would do just fine!

Nirvana is also a chance to start over. During that time, if the power of the future also undergoes nirvana, Cang would lose control!

"At that point, I'll drop to around 40 Paths. If you can't seize the power to resurrect yourself... then we're in big trouble!"

Su Yu, while resisting Mo Yan's erosion, quickly transmitted, "Old Dead, you're at 39 Paths now. If you undergo nirvana and return, devouring the power of the future, you should be able to enter 40 Paths! And when you're at 39 Paths, if you go boom and self-destruct... it will weaken Mo Yan, buy time for me and for yourself... and also shake off Cang's control! I want to turn Cang's power into our own! Of course, it would be best to get even more of Cang's power over here... that would be ideal!"

The Lord of the Dead's eyes flickered. Su Yu added, "Old Dead, you could even try to trick Cang, get him to lend you some power, and then directly undergo nirvana—like throwing a meat bun to a dog, never to be returned!"

Nirvana!

Let the Lord of the Dead undergo nirvana!

In this world, only Su Yu and the Lord of the Dead had mastered the great path of the cycle of life and death. The Human Emperor and the others hadn't—a frustrating fact.

And Su Yu had undergone nirvana twice!

Whether he could do it a third time, Su Yu didn't know. Probably not, or he would have to open another heaven and earth.

Su Yu had originally considered undergoing nirvana himself, but if there was a better choice, the Lord of the Dead's nirvana would have a higher chance of success. Su Yu's nirvana would be a complete gamble!

The Lord of the Dead's eyes flickered!

And at that moment, Su Yu shouted, "Human Emperor, don't withdraw your power!"

The Human Emperor froze!

Cang also stirred slightly, his gaze turning cold. "Su Yu, are you determined to court death?"

Su Yu said coldly, "It's not impossible to let the Human Emperor withdraw his power. But Mo Yan is too strong... If this continues, we'll die sooner or later anyway. What difference does it make whether it's early or late?"

With that, Su Yu sneered, "Cang, since you've already taken control of me, lend me some more power. Raise me to the power of 44 Paths. If I win, you can withdraw the power anytime. If I lose, there's nothing more to say... It's death either way!"

Lend power to Su Yu again?

Impossible!

Cang was deeply uneasy about Su Yu and would never agree. At this moment, Su Yu had risen to forty-two strands of power; to be honest, Cang was now very wary of him. Having reached this level, how could he lend him strength?

Seeing this, Su Yu said coldly, "Then lend it to Qiong. You and he are originally one. Raise Qiong to forty-two strands—I think you can do it!"

Qiong?

Cang's heart stirred, but he quickly dismissed it. No!

Qiong was special!

In essence, Qiong was still one with him. If Qiong grew strong, he might turn against Cang. He would not lend power to Qiong, nor to Su Yu!

"Then the Human Emperor..."

Nonsense!

Cang almost cursed aloud!

He would lend to no one, least of all the Human Emperor. First, there was a risk that the Human Emperor's Great Dao power would encroach upon it; back then, the Human Emperor had nearly succeeded, but fortunately, he wasn't too strong at the time.

Second, if the Human Emperor grew powerful, he would use his own strength to reinforce the Human Emperor's Great Dao and then invade the Long River... that would truly be a case of trying to steal a chicken only to lose the bait!

Even if Cang's mind were addled, he wouldn't lend power to the Human Emperor!

Su Yu struck out with his sword, driving back the Demon Flame once more, but his own will was again scorched by the flames, wracked with agony. He roared lowly, his willpower wavering!

Gritting his teeth, Su Yu bellowed, "Human Emperor, keep invading! I cannot match the Demon Flame... If I lose, we all die—there's no way out! Since that's the case... before death, let's make these bastards sick!"

The Human Emperor's face changed slightly. He said nothing more and did not withdraw his power; instead, the power of heaven and earth continued to invade!

Since Su Yu said so, he would do it!

Having played the protagonist for a moment, he felt it was better to give up. Forget it—thirty-nine strands were useless, unable to withstand the onslaught. Let Su Yu keep bearing it!

At this moment, Su Yu was utterly frenzied!

Earlier, he had been on the defensive, but now he took the initiative to attack!

With a thunderous crash, the Demon Flame threw a punch, sending Su Yu flying and nearly shattering the Lord of the Dead's physical form. The Lord of the Dead staggered backward, spitting blood that instantly turned to flames and burned away!

The Human Emperor also shouted sharply, his power rapidly invading. On the Book of the Long River, the golden spot grew larger and larger!

Just then, Black Scale suddenly sneered coldly and said in a deep voice, "Keep going, don't fear him! Su Yu, fight to the death. Cang hopes to use you to buy time; he won't rashly withdraw your power!"

Buy time?

Su Yu's heart stirred. Why buy time?

Cang had been preparing for so many years—what more did he need time for?

That was also something Su Yu was curious about!

Cang's face looked somewhat grim, while Black Scale sneered coldly, "If not to buy time, how else to find a way to deal with the Demon Flame?"

The Demon Flame immediately stepped back, suddenly glaring at Black Scale, then at Cang, his expression shifting!

He looked at Cang, then at Black Scale, and his face suddenly turned ugly: "Cang, Black Scale, what do you mean?"

Black Scale said flatly, "Demon Flame, do you really think you can control everything? Do you think we don't know your trump card? Cang knows, and I know too. Otherwise... why would we let Su Yu fight you for so long?"

The Demon Flame's face turned completely dark!

Su Yu suddenly became interested and quickly asked, "Tell me, tell me! This Demon Flame guy has a trump card to deal with you, doesn't he?"

No wonder the Demon Flame had been ignoring everything else, just wanting to kill Su Yu and devour him, seemingly unconcerned about being dealt with by Cang and the others.

Black Scale chuckled darkly, "Why should I tell you?"

That... stung!

Su Yu laughed too, "Then I won't ask!"

But Black Scale suddenly changed his tone and laughed, "Actually, it's nothing special. The Demon Flame's foundation is not simple—Flame Incarnate Dao, Ancient Beast of Demon!"

Flame Incarnate Dao, Ancient Beast of Demon.

Su Yu was still pondering when, from afar, King Wen suddenly said in a low voice, "Ancient Beast, Flame... Could it be the legendary art of rebirth from fire? Back then, the Phoenix clan entered the myriad realms from chaos, said to be able to revive once, dying and being reborn instantly, even stronger. But I've killed many phoenixes and never seen them reborn from fire, so I took it as a myth. Ancient Beast of Demon, Flame Incarnate Dao... Could it be that the Demon Flame can be reborn?"

At this moment, the Demon Flame's face turned utterly grim!

Su Yu gasped, "Holy crap!"

A top-tier existence at forty-four strands—if they exhausted every scheme to kill him, and he suddenly revived, even stronger, that would be somewhat like Nirvana. In other words, the Demon Flame also had a Nirvana-like ability!

So he wasn't afraid!

If he won, at a critical moment, he would undergo Nirvana once, become stronger, and then devour the Long River. What could Cang do?

Cang and Black Scale were at most forty-five strands of power, stronger than him but not by much.

If he swallowed the Long River, he would definitely surpass Cang and might even kill him!

At this moment, the Demon Flame's face was extremely ugly, but soon calmed. He looked at Cang and Black Scale. Black Scale sneered darkly, "What are you looking at me for?"

The Demon Flame turned to Cang and said coldly, "You let Su Yu and the others fight me... to probe the foundation of my Demon Flame?"

The Demon Flame's root of rebirth from fire!

Clearly, Cang had been strengthening Su Yu's side, also using Su Yu's power to find the essence of the Demon Flame's rebirth-from-fire Dao, so as to destroy him.

These fellows had long known his trump card!

But they had been waiting, not revealing it!

Now, the Demon Flame's face turned livid, but soon calmed again. So what if they knew?

Su Yu, however, was troubled!

So it was true?

Damn!

That really made things difficult. An enemy who would revive after being killed—this was even more troublesome than Su Yu's Nirvana.

Mainly because the Demon Flame was too strong!

Su Yu quickly said, "Then it's likely he can only undergo Nirvana once? This is meant to deal with Cang, not us? Otherwise, a forty-four-strand powerhouse could just self-destruct and blow us all up... He's still tangled with us because he wants to save that chance for Cang?"

Su Yu hurriedly added, "Then save it for Cang... Don't explode—if you do, I'll have no chance at all!"

The Demon Flame's face was gloomy!

Cang's expression was also grim!

He looked at Black Scale, his eyes cold, "Black Scale, the Demon Flame... is the outsider! Both you and I, no matter how we contend, are connected to the Lord of Time. He is not!"

What exactly did Black Scale want?

And when had he figured this out?

The Demon Flame had always hidden it, never revealed it, never shown any sign. Cang had only speculated, because the Demon Flame seemed to lack a certain wariness toward them.

Unless the Demon Flame was extremely confident!

Now, Black Scale suddenly brought it up, disrupting some steps!

It would also put Demon Flame on alert!

Black Scale laughed, "Watch the show! Watch the grand show! The drama isn't over yet—if everything were under your control, wouldn't that be too dull? Cang, do you truly believe you're omnipotent, that you control all? What do you think you are?"

Cang wanted to control every situation!

Was that possible?

No way!

Whatever you schemed, Black Scale would expose it.

Otherwise, without realizing it, Demon Flame might be killed by Cang. Cang's reasons for strengthening Su Yu were many, including making Su Yu and Demon Flame fight fiercely to probe the essence of Demon Flame's fire.

At this moment, Demon Flame's expression kept shifting.

Rebirth from flames—that was a top secret!

He had never told anyone!

There were many who cultivated the path of fire, but not every flame could bring rebirth. He didn't know why these people would guess in that direction!

But clearly, they had guessed right!

At this moment, Black Scale seemed to know what he was thinking, and sneered coldly, "Wondering why we would guess and think like this, aren't you? Demon Flame, you're too foolish, too arrogant, too reckless, too dismissive of us!"

You, a cultivator who after merging only had 44 paths, what right did you have to ignore them?

Thought you could win for sure?

It was nothing but a powerful trump card!

"The legend of the Phoenix clan's rebirth from flames spreading across the myriad realms didn't come from nowhere—unless... the Phoenix clan saw or heard of it somewhere before entering the myriad realms..."

Demon Flame had no interest in knowing that!

He only knew he was in some trouble!

No small trouble!

Cang and Black Scale both had their plans. In that case, some hidden moves were brought to light, which would lose some effect. Though it wouldn't weaken him, it would cause a series of troubles!

And at this moment, Cang no longer wanted to say anything. He said calmly, "Su Yu, have Xingyu withdraw the power of the Dao. Doing this is useless! It will only make you die faster!"

Su Yu sneered, "No, I won't do that. Let Demon Flame keep growing stronger. Demon Flame, how about I help you out—swallow me, directly devour the long river... or leave me a bit of spirit, and I'll watch to see who wins between you and Cang..."

He chose not to resist!

Su Yu laughed, "Anyway, we can't win! Even if we kill Demon Flame once, we still lose... one trial after another, I've had enough!"

At this moment, Cang finally spoke softly, letting out a light sigh: "Su Yu... no need to deliberately provoke me. You don't want to die! Only by fighting can there be a chance! Yes, I do have such a plan—to have you draw out Demon Flame's hidden moves... You must know, Demon Flame is the true outsider, while you and I are both beings of this realm! If Demon Flame wins, the myriad realms will be annihilated! If I win, perhaps I won't spare you, but the myriad realms will still exist!"

"Including Black Scale—he wants to escape this place, and only by destroying the myriad realms can he do so... Su Yu, we are the ones who can cooperate now..."

After saying this, he hesitated for a moment, then quickly added, "Strengthening you and Xingyu is not my wish..."

Su Yu said swiftly, "Then raise Lantian and Wan Tiansheng both to the power of 40 paths, and I'll help you force out Demon Flame's trump card!"

To hell with that!

Cang would never do that—not Su Yu, not Qiong, not the Human Emperor, not Lantian or Wan Tiansheng. The only ones left were the Lord of the Dead and the like.

Raising King Wen and the others... those guys were still in the Human Emperor's realm.

What difference would that make from raising the Human Emperor?

After all the calculations... it seemed only the Lord of the Dead remained!

It seemed that only by raising the Lord of the Dead could Su Yu's side have some hope of defeating Demon Flame, allowing Su Yu and the others to continue their fierce battle. Whether Su Yu and his group could kill Demon Flame or not, he could still use this to seek out the essence of Demon Flame's fire!

Otherwise, Demon Flame, who could be reborn from flames, was actually quite terrifying!

Demon Flame had never used this opportunity; instead, he had left it for Cang, and Cang knew it.

The Lord of the Dead...

He suddenly spoke, "I can provide some future power to Yin... Su Yu, I cannot and will not do anything else. If you still insist on going your own way... then suit yourself!"

Su Yu's face turned ugly!

Boom!

At this moment, Demon Flame said nothing, but swiftly attacked, moving extremely fast, with greater intensity than before, carrying a cold tone: "Su Yu, get out of the way! Yield the Human Gate, let me devour the realm. Cang is just using you, you fool—must you be used by him? You're already under his control. Once Yin is also controlled... even if you defeat me, what then?"

Su Yu glanced at Demon Flame!

He was thinking about a question: Did Demon Flame truly not know that the Lord of the Dead could be annihilated again, or did he know but not say?

Perhaps he also wanted to weaken Cang!

The Lord of the Dead had been annihilated once within the Heavenly Gate, so Demon Flame should know that. Of course, he might think it impossible to be annihilated a second time.

Su Yu had been annihilated twice—once inside the Heavenly Gate, once outside. The time outside the gate was known only to Su Yu's own people.

They wouldn't casually spread it around.

So, Demon Flame might not know that Su Yu had been annihilated twice, right?

At this moment, Su Yu couldn't judge and didn't bother to. Regardless, Demon Flame hadn't mentioned it—maybe he thought it was hopeless, or maybe he thought it could weaken Cang!

Whatever!

Su Yu said coldly, "Raise the old dead? What's the point? Either me, or Qiong, or the Human Emperor—choose one of three!"

"Then you might as well die!"

Cang's face was indifferent. I won't raise any of you, impossible!

You would all bring me great threats!

And the Lord of the Dead, at this moment, couldn't help but curse, "Su Yu, what's the matter? You look down on me? At a time like this, taking a gamble is better than dying now! If you live, there's a chance!"

In his heart, he was also impressed—Su Yu had predicted it again!

Cang, indeed, would only choose himself!

But that didn't seem like something to be too excited about. Clearly, in Cang's eyes, the Lord of the Dead posed no great threat, even if he was the number one in the myriad realms.

And giving power to the Lord of the Dead would also allow him to control the Lord of the Dead!

Killing two birds with one stone!

At this moment, Su Yu's face darkened. He was knocked flying by Demon Flame again, and the next moment, he shouted, "Fine, but raise him to 44 paths!"

"You think it's that simple!"

Cang's face darkened: "I can only provide a portion of power. Any more, and I might as well act myself... 40 paths or 41 paths, it depends on his own fortune... Su Yu, I can only do this much. If you're unwilling, then I'll withdraw your power right now!"

If the Lord of the Dead grew stronger, then Su Yu's side would have balanced combat power.

It wouldn't be so dangerous!

As for making him even stronger, he truly couldn't do it—the cost was too great, and then he wouldn't be able to suppress Black Scale!

At this moment, Qiong cursed loudly, "We're on the same side, you dog! You raise an outsider, but not me?"

He was furious!

This dog—he wanted to cut him down with one sword!

Su Yu felt like cursing at that moment. "Qiong, don't mess with me!"

Cang, however, paid no heed. Elevating Qiong carried great risk—Qiong might devour that power, or perhaps not. But the same-source divine script? Better to avoid it, lest something go wrong.

At that instant, the long river trembled.

The Book of the Long River trembled too!

The next moment, within the long river, a Lord of the Dead seemed to coalesce. All the deathly aura of the river converged, sweeping toward the Lord of the Dead!

And from the Book of the Long River, deathly aura also spilled forth.

This was extracting the essence of death from the long river to elevate the Lord of the Dead. As for how far he could rise, Cang could not be certain—it depended on fate and fortune. He had roughly provided enough power to reach forty-one paths, but whether the Lord of the Dead could attain that level... that was up to him.

At this moment, Cang's voice turned icy: "Time to reclaim the power of the Great Dao!"

The Human Emperor looked at Su Yu. Should he renege?

Su Yu gritted his teeth. "Gamble once—better than dying now!"

The Human Emperor thought it over, then withdrew his own power of heaven and earth, a hint of regret in his heart.

Meanwhile, the Lord of the Dead began merging instantly with the newly born Lord of the Dead. On Su Yu's side, he alone resisted the Demon Flame. In the blink of an eye, he was battered and scattered, but the Human Emperor swiftly came to his aid, joining Su Yu to hold back the Demon Flame!

The Demon Flame spoke coldly, "You seek your own doom, Su Yu. You know you cannot win! Now, you and Yin are both under his control... Even if you defeat me once, can you defeat me a second time? When that time comes... the victor will not be you!"

Had that fellow truly never considered that the Lord of the Dead could enter nirvana?

Su Yu thought for a moment. To hell with it!

Forget it!

Better not to know!

Boom!

The great battle erupted once more. Behind them, the Lord of the Dead's aura surged rapidly, entering the fortieth path in an instant. The deathly aura rose wildly, but after a while, it seemed still a bit short of the forty-first path.

The Lord of the Dead roared, drawing power again. With a thunderous crash!

Heaven and earth expanded, and the deathly aura reached its peak!

At that moment, this foremost being of the myriad heavens, at the critical juncture, finally ascended to the forty-first path. Overjoyed, he threw a thunderous punch, brimming with overwhelming momentum, straight at the Demon Flame!

Cang glanced over, a slight frown creasing his brow.

Elevating the Lord of the Dead was the only and best choice. Surely nothing would go wrong?

The Lord of the Dead was not foolish, but his methods were limited.

If he were truly formidable, he would have resolved the chaos at the Heavenly Gate long ago. It was Su Yu and the Human Emperor who were the troublesome ones.

Compared to others, the Lord of the Dead was more reliable.

Of course, if Qiong and he were not one entity, elevating Qiong would have been the best outcome. Qiong was too rigid, with no real cunning—nothing but raw strength, and lacking in everything else.

Cang sank into contemplation, continuing to observe. He needed to find the location of the Demon Flame's true flame!

To break the Demon Flame's technique of rebirth from the fire!

This was also why he hoped Su Yu and the others could hold out a little longer—otherwise, a forty-fourth-path Demon Flame, once reborn, might cause him immense trouble.

"With Yin... it should hold for a while. If the Demon Flame cannot resist and chooses to self-destruct to harm the enemy, that would be the best outcome..."

Cang murmured to himself.

He wished for the Demon Flame to self-destruct once, killing Su Yu and the others, leaving the Demon Flame without a chance to be reborn from the fire. A forty-fourth-path Demon Flame would be far easier to deal with!

Everything was still going according to plan!

Though the plan had been battered time and again, so far, all remained under his control.

As for Black Scale...

Out of the corner of his eye, Cang glanced at Black Scale but said nothing. Black Scale had almost no hope of escaping successfully. If he had not fled back then and instead chosen to continue being converted by the Human Gate, perhaps it might have worked. But he gave up that chance for conversion, which was also a chance for power.

Consider Ji Tian and the others—the emotional paths born after his escape. Ji Tian, in the final moment, had cultivated to above the fortieth path. If Black Scale had remained behind the Human Gate, accepting those original conversions, by now he might have achieved the forty-ninth path.

He gave up that chance himself!

Cang did not know whether to call Black Scale foolish or to say that this fellow was exceptionally stubborn in his pursuit of escaping the long river and so-called freedom.

At this moment, Cang's thoughts were many.

It had been years since he last pondered such things.

...

And while he was lost in thought, the Lord of the Dead was exceptionally fierce!

He even charged to the very front!

Nirvana once!

Can he be resurrected?

Who knows!

But that bastard Su Yu could enter nirvana twice—so why couldn't he do it twice?

In terms of achievement, Su Yu might not be his superior!

After nirvana, devouring Cang's power, borrowing without returning—that seemed like a fine outcome. He liked it!