Chapter 873: Casting Heaven with the Body

At this moment, Su Yu did not yet possess a vast multitude of grand paths.

Although he had attained certain insights into various paths, upon entering the gate, he had only mastered ten or twenty of them. Mastering twenty paths did not automatically render him a powerhouse of the twenty-path realm; they still required fusion. Only when the power of all his paths could be entirely superimposed could he truly be considered a powerhouse of that tier.

However, to Su Yu, fusion was not quite as potent as weaving.

Weaving them into a heaven and earth!

That was the most suitable course.

Previously, Su Yu had intended to wait a little longer, at least until he had mastered a sufficient number of grand paths before attempting to open a heaven. Yet at this very instant, a different thought took root in his mind.

Open the heaven now!

On one hand, the two first-class powerhouses were indeed difficult to control. To kill them... Su Yu still wished to gather strength, to allow his side to rapidly grow into a major power and secure a firm foothold within the Heaven Gate.

On another note, this was merely the beginning. Once his subordinates grew numerous, they would quickly scatter into chaos, for the terror of the forbidden lands was deeply ingrained in the hearts of the people.

Before today, perhaps Su Yu did not fully comprehend it.

But today, he understood.

For no other reason than that he had briefly masqueraded as an envoy from the Mountain of Eternity—a place that had been entangled with the Heavenly King of Wen and his companions for many years. To his astonishment, the two great first-class powerhouses did not even dare to question him and swiftly compromised. From this, it was evident that the awe of the forbidden lands had long since become deeply rooted in the people's hearts here!

The forbidden lands were matchless!

The lords of the forbidden lands were even more invincible.

Yet, Su Yu’s adversaries were precisely these lords of the forbidden lands. If the subordinates he gathered lacked even a shred of courage and dared not wage war against the forbidden lands, then why should Su Yu expend such painstaking effort to amass so many people?

It was precisely because he sensed the dread the forbidden lands instilled in everyone that Su Yu recalled the matter of opening a heaven at this juncture.

The people here feared death, yet they also did not fear death.

It was not a contradiction!

In this place, without sufficient benefits, no one wished to die. However, when you provided sufficient benefits, these people would cease to fear death. As long as they could glimpse hope, glimpse an opportunity, these individuals who killed without blinking would know nothing of the meaning of death.

Precisely because he saw through this, Su Yu grew increasingly confident.

Once the heaven and earth were opened,

He would soon be able to rally a band of desperate desperadoes!

The Snow Dragon and the Blade Master before him appeared to be spineless cowards at this moment, not even daring to self-detonate. However, once they saw the hope of further progress even as first-class powerhouses, the hope of becoming high-ranking figures within a forbidden land, these fellows would absolutely not hesitate to risk their lives.

At this moment, Su Yu’s mind became far more lucid.

Since he had come to this place, he had to adapt to its rules.

Speak not of sentimentality; there was none!

Speak not of responsibility; there was none!

Nor speak of affection; affection meant that they would align with whoever allowed them to survive, utterly indifferent to the life or death of their few close friends.

Here, there was only profit!

Or rather, the rogue cultivators here truly cared only for profit. Within the forbidden lands, perhaps there still existed some sentiment, human kindness, friendship, and affection.

As thoughts surfaced one after another, Su Yu scanned his surroundings.

Opening a heaven—where would be a suitable place to do it?

Would the commotion be too grand?

Though he was not exceptionally powerful, opening a heaven had always caused no small stir in the past, including when Blue Sky opened a heaven, which was known to all the myriad worlds, even though it had been concealed by Su Yu and the others.

Fortunately, he had not reached the level of the Heavenly King of Wen.

Otherwise, with the King of Wen’s current strength, if he wished to open a heaven here, the entire world would likely know of it.

What about the Lord of the Dead?

Was the Necropolis of the Dead an opened heaven and earth after all, or was it merely forged from treasures?

Thinking of this, Su Yu inquired, "When the Lord of the Dead came here in the past, did he open a heaven?"

"He did!"

This time, it was the Blade Master who replied, his face filled with tension. "Black Tomb, I advise you not to try! When the Lord of the Dead entered this place back then, he clashed with several lords of the forbidden lands from the very start. Later, it escalated further... In the end, he wanted to open the Necropolis of the Dead. At that time, I also knew a bit about the situation. The entire void was trembling, and countless dead qi converged toward him. That day... you have no idea, it was too terrifying..."

He was so nervous he even began to stammer slightly.

Snow Dragon also wore a solemn expression, nodding in agreement. "I saw it that day as well. Dozens of lords of the forbidden lands steered their domains, piercing through the void to block the Lord of the Dead from opening the heaven! They were even prepared to slaughter him!"

Su Yu was puzzled. And then?

The Lord of the Dead was powerful, no one denied that, but under such circumstances, how did he manage to secure his footing?

He even established the current Necropolis of the Dead, and many people had defected to his banner.

How did he achieve this?

Seeing that Su Yu had grown interested, Snow Dragon took a deep breath. "On that day, the commotion wasn't that immense at the start. The Lord of the Dead first opened a small pocket of heaven and earth, causing dead qi to gather. Gradually, more and more powerhouses arrived. That day, the forbidden lands hovered in the sky, right over the area where the Necropolis of the Dead stands today. Some of the forbidden lands blotted out the sun, and everyone felt the Lord of the Dead was doomed to die... Consequently, the Lord of the Dead first feigned weakness... Then, while some people were only exerting half-hearted efforts, he utilized his supreme strength to slaughter a lord of a forbidden land, shattered three forbidden lands, and finally forcibly summoned his own Necrotic Realm from the myriad worlds to descend..."

Su Yu was startled.

He heard Snow Dragon continue in dread, "The moment he and the heaven and earth of the myriad worlds briefly overlapped, in an instant, four lords of the forbidden lands who were besieging him were severely wounded by him! Of course, it was a very brief instant, and he severed the fusion with the heaven and earth outside the gate... But he also demonstrated that he possessed the strength to fight to the death. If they truly wished to kill him, it would be impossible without the demise of several lords of the forbidden lands!"

Snow Dragon spoke again, "Today, as I recount it, it feels like nothing! But the reality is that the battle back then struck terror into everyone. Coupled with the fact that the Lord of the Dead promised not to expand without reason, nor to step out of this place without cause... therefore, everyone was given a way out, and they stepped back for one another, which allowed him to take root here."

Su Yu understood, yet his heart was also shaken.

That strong?

That was not the key. The key was that he had summoned his heaven and earth to descend!

Even that was possible?

"How could his heaven and earth descend?"

"By passing through the Heaven Gate!"

Snow Dragon explained, "That day, his heaven and earth directly pierced through the Heaven Gate. This also resulted in the gate later... potentially reviving to target him whenever he approached it. This is also why everyone desisted from targeting him much in the later stages. For this person... leaving the Heaven Gate is difficult!"

Su Yu was stunned.

The Lord of the Dead had summoned his heaven and earth that day, piercing through the Heaven Gate... Consequently, when Su Yu had summoned the phantom of the Heaven Gate that day, the Heaven Gate had targeted the dead qi with particular hostility, forcibly reversing the dead qi into life force.

At that time, Su Yu had speculated whether it was because the Lord of the Dead was inside the gate.

Yet after entering the Heaven Gate, Su Yu discovered that there were many powerhouses here, and the Lord of the Dead appeared very low-key; there was no reason for the Heaven Gate to target him.

But now... Su Yu understood!

The Heaven Gate had once revived!

Not only had it revived, but it had also targeted that man. This was getting interesting!

This signified one point: the gate, in truth, possessed its own thoughts, just like Tongtian. It made sense; you pierced right through me for no good reason, so of course I would target you!

No wonder when I approached the phantom of the Heaven Gate with dead qi that day, it caused the phantom to display some of its divine might for the first time.

Su Yu began to laugh. He could not replicate this feat.

The Lord of the Dead was truly formidable; his strength was genuinely formidable.

This sort of thing was not something an ordinary person could emulate.

"Don't mention Su Yu," the Wen King said, studying the Lord of the Dead, "he'd still get beaten to a pulp. Not to mention multiple lords of forbidden lands—even if just one truly fought the Wen King to the death, the Wen King would fall short."

Su Yu suddenly asked, "Is the Lord of the Dead so strong that he's considered the top powerhouse within the Heavenly Gate?"

Xue Long didn't rush to answer this, but instead asked with some confusion, "Black Tomb, you didn't live through that era?"

"This... the commotion back then was enormous!"

Was Black Tomb unaware of it?

Su Yu smiled: "I'm young. Do you think I'm as ancient as you all? I was born not long ago—strictly speaking, I came into being after the Wen King and his kind appeared!"

"What?"

All three were astonished. So young?

The Wen King and his kind entered much later than the Lord of the Dead!

"The Wen King and his kind only entered a few thousand years ago... and you... are that young?"

Surprise, disbelief!

Su Yu, meanwhile, calculated: a few thousand years... outside, it had been 100,000 years.

However, within the gate, just like the upstream of the River of Time, the closer to the myriad realms, the faster the flow. Now, one day here was roughly three or four days outside.

By this calculation, the Wen King and his kind had been inside for twenty or thirty thousand years.

But according to Xue Long, it was only a few thousand years.

This meant that earlier, the time flow here was even slower—one day here might correspond to several years outside.

Su Yu concluded: when the time flows on both sides synchronize, it means the Three Gates have opened!

The greater the time difference, the farther apart they actually are!

Just like with the Great Zhou King and his group: earlier, it was one day here to a month there; recently, as they drifted downstream, it might be one day to half a month, gradually aligning with the time flow of the myriad realms.

Still, a few thousand years is not short.

Forcibly summoning the heavens and earth... he wondered if it was possible now. The Lord of the Dead had done it once, angering the Heavenly Gate, so it might not work anymore.

As Su Yu was pondering, the Blade Lord said gravely, "Black Tomb, you being a descendant of a rogue cultivator within the gate—that's utterly unbelievable!"

Su Yu smiled, "What's so unbelievable about it?"

The Blade Lord said solemnly, "As time passes, the first batch of sealed powerhouses—some have fallen, some have died of old age. The cultivation of their descendants is actually harder than before. It's difficult for anyone to reach the heights of those days again, because... this is a declining world, an era of sealing! If the new generation grew stronger and stronger, it wouldn't be called an era of sealing!"

In a sealed era, it only grows weaker.

If not for the old-timers holding things together, there would be no new-generation powerhouses behind the gate. Even if there were some in the forbidden lands, it would be hard for them to surpass the old-timers. The lords of forbidden lands from back then are still the same now; no one has broken the shackles to become a new lord.

And Su Yu, telling them he was born recently—that was what shocked them.

Su Yu said calmly, "There are always exceptions. Besides, no matter how declining the era, it still leaves a thread of hope. And I... perhaps am that thread!"

The Blade Lord said nothing, nor did he want to say anything.

It was still acceptable!

If Su Yu had truly reached the level of a lord of a forbidden land, that would be truly shocking and unbelievable, because for countless years, no one had become a lord of a forbidden land.

Su Yu smiled, looked around, and said with a grin, "So, where do you think it's safest to open a heaven now?"

"..."

None of them wanted to speak.

Su Yu squinted: "If I open a heaven recklessly, it's fine if I fail. But if I succeed, the commotion will be huge, and if I'm discovered and beaten to death, you all won't escape death either!"

Heart-weary!

The Blade Lord and Xue Long exchanged glances—this reasoning wasn't without merit.

Xue Long quickly said, "Don't court trouble! I advise you... forget it, you're young, and you probably won't listen anyway. Anyway, don't go to the Dead Spirit Hell—it's too dangerous there. Same with Eternal Life Mountain... The entire Forbidden Canyon is surrounded by four forbidden lands, so it's all dangerous. But going out is also dangerous, and we're not too familiar with it... If you really want to seek death... go near the Celestial Dome Mountain!"

Su Yu was taken aback: "Is it safe there?"

Xue Long nodded: "There, even if you cause some commotion, the Lord of Celestial Dome Mountain won't show up or interfere, because he seems to be watching a certain powerhouse—a powerhouse from the myriad realms, perhaps the Human Emperor of the myriad realms?"

She wasn't sure of the specifics, but she knew a bit. "You're young, so no one might have mentioned it. In the west where Celestial Dome Mountain is located, there are even few rogue cultivator territories, fewer than in the Dead Spirit Hell region."

"Because over there, there used to be quite a few territories, but later, a powerhouse who opened the Heavenly Gate from the myriad realms lured and killed them all!"

Speaking of this, Xue Long sighed, helpless and wistful: "Later, it was said to be the Human Emperor who unified the myriad realms! Also a supreme powerhouse! He kept luring and killing powerhouses, causing fewer and fewer strong ones there. Until one day, he might have tried to descend here, was discovered by the Lord of Celestial Dome Mountain, and a great battle broke out. Since then, Celestial Dome Mountain has rarely meddled in other matters, and everyone knows he has a mission, so few people actively seek trouble with Celestial Dome Mountain."

Because he was blocking a powerhouse!

Su Yu smiled: "I've heard something about it, but I didn't know that the other party actually fought the Lord of Celestial Dome Mountain. So, did the Human Emperor lose?"

"That's hard to say!"

Xue Long explained: "The other party didn't descend in person, only a projection clone. Even so, it was terrifyingly powerful! And now, no one dares to rashly send a clone over. In fact, the other party has several times actively tempted the Lord of Celestial Dome Mountain to send a clone, but no one has heard of him doing so..."

"How do you know all this?"

Su Yu was surprised—how did she know this?

Xue Long explained: "This isn't a secret in some forbidden lands. The Human Emperor Xingyu is quite famous. In the early years, in that area, you could even hear his voice. He would often make sounds, tempting people to send clones over, often saying all sorts of nonsense... like, 'Everyone who comes is a good brother, let's conquer the world together! We're all on the same side, no need to hurt each other! Let's open the Three Gates together, unify the myriad realms—we're all family!'"

Su Yu was dumbfounded.

What the hell!

There was this too?

What a pity—he hadn't heard it.

Xue Long continued, smiling: "But he probably doesn't dare now. I don't remember exactly when... after the Wen King and his kind descended, he was apparently ambushed by several lords of forbidden lands. It's said that during a critical moment in his battle, several lords suddenly forcibly probed the location of his Heavenly Gate and attacked his Heavenly Gate projection... causing him to almost fall. So now, there's little news of him."

The Human Emperor was quite famous here; everyone knew of his existence because he was a terrifying figure.

But being too ostentatious was not a good thing.

Su Yu roughly understood!

The Human Emperor's severe injury back then was related to this. He had said his Heavenly Gate was shaken—Su Yu had previously thought it was the True Gate shaking. Now it seemed someone had locked onto the location of his Heavenly Gate projection and then launched a fierce attack, forcibly trying to descend, causing his Heavenly Gate to be wounded, which also led to his being severely injured by the myriad races!

He must have been schemed against!

Su Yu thought to himself; otherwise, it couldn't have been such a coincidence.

Because, under normal circumstances, three or five lords of forbidden lands, even if they projected out, were only at the First Rank level. The Human Emperor was so powerful that he wouldn't have had trouble dealing with them.

But that time, he happened to be in a period of weakness, and also happened to be fighting the Immortal Emperor and others...

Too many factors converged at once.

Someone must have passed information to the powerhouses within the Heavenly Gate.

"The Lord of Eternal Life Mountain dealt with the Time Master, tying up the Wen King and the Martial King... The Human Emperor was schemed against, his Heavenly Gate shaken, severely wounded..."

Back then, the Human Emperor and the Wen King, who had vowed to break into the Three Gates, were thus separated.

Both were struck at their fatal points!

His sister was the Wen King's fatal weakness.

Responsibility was the Human Emperor's fatal weakness!

They've all been caught!

The one behind this, their calculations were all perfectly timed. King Wen and the Human Emperor were also masters of step-by-step schemes, and their strength was formidable... The mastermind behind the scenes calculated that they would inevitably fall into the trap!

"The Human Gate!"

At this moment, Su Yu thought of one thing: the Human Gate, the most treacherous!

When the Immortal Emperor died, he said these words.

And back then, the Human Emperor, to deal with the Immortal Emperor, wanted to kill him first, which led to the incident. That Immortal Emperor... perhaps was also a part of this chain. As for whether the Immortal Emperor knew or not, Su Yu guessed he might have known something.

The Human Gate colluded with the Heavenly Gate's strong, even meddled in the myriad realms, and had some arrangements within the Earth Gate.

Strictly speaking, King Wen and the others were fighting against the Three Gates, scheming against the Human Gate, and in the end, the Human Emperor and his side lost!

Su Yu, feigning nonchalance, asked curiously: "Who was it that launched a fierce assault on the Human Emperor's Heavenly Gate back then?"

Xuelong, unconcerned, replied casually: "The Lord of the Falling Soul Valley, the Immortal Ancestor of Eternal Heaven... as for the others, I'm not too clear."

Eternal Heaven!

Su Yu was surprised. Immortal Ancestor?

Immortal?

Last time, Su Yu had suspected whether the Lord of Eternal Mountain was the Immortal Ancestor, but Mu said no, because of the name Eternal Mountain!

Now, Su Yu knew it truly wasn't!

Because, there was actually a forbidden land called Eternal Heaven!

Su Yu didn't know about this situation, and it wasn't strange. He didn't hide it either, asking in confusion: "Eternal Heaven, the Immortal Ancestor—where is this forbidden land?"

Xuelong said flatly: "It's normal that you don't know. Just the Forbidden Canyon is enough for us to spend a lifetime! The four forbidden lands are enough for us to pursue for a lifetime! Going elsewhere is meaningless. Eternal Heaven lies further east beyond the Dead Spirit Hell, very far—at least a hundred Earth Distances away."

Far?

Actually, a Fourth-Class Rule Master could reach it in about a hundred days of full-speed travel. For these Rule Masters, life is long, and a hundred days is not much.

But... who the hell would dare travel like that?

What about the locust swarms along the way?

What about the void beasts hunting there?

What about the strong from territories and forbidden lands one might encounter?

So under normal circumstances, those who don't want to die wouldn't travel that far, unless they were strong enough, had a big background and backing, and enjoyed roaming around.

Otherwise, a single Forbidden Canyon is enough for you!

Su Yu understood: "That is quite far! By the way, forbidden lands can traverse the void, right?"

"Of course!"

Xuelong laughed: "Otherwise, how could they assemble quickly? Back when the Dead Spirit Lord opened the heavens, forbidden lands directly traversed the void to arrive swiftly! But moving a forbidden land costs a lot each time, so unless it's extremely important, they won't move!"

Su Yu nodded, understanding!

He had learned something!

Eternal Heaven... it seems the Immortal race is everywhere, but now it's come down to the Immortal Ancestor, the founder of the Immortal race. There's no one higher than the Immortal Ancestor, is there?

Is the Immortal Ancestor... human?

Perhaps!

Because according to some accounts, humans were the origin. The Lord of Time might have been human. Back then, humans were the first to migrate from chaos into the myriad realms. Later, some strong humans cultivated different techniques and paths, creating new systems.

Thus, races like the Immortals, Demons, and Gods were born—humanoid beings, naturally occurring, almost all branches of humanity. But they had split off millions of years ago, with no kinship left.

That split happened in the era of the heavens' opening. The Giants split off in the ancient era, and now there's no kinship either. No, if the Prison King's lineage survived, the Saint race split off in recent times, and there's still no kinship to speak of.

At this moment, Su Yu's curiosity was fully satisfied!

Not bad!

A small gain.

Eternal Heaven, Eternal Mountain, Falling Soul Valley... these forces might all be connected to the Human Gate.

As for the Human Emperor's plan against the Immortal Emperor and the others, that should have been top secret. Or rather, at that time, aside from the humans, no one would have known in advance that the Human Emperor would move against them, right?

So how did the news leak, leading to the Human Emperor being ambushed?

"A traitor?"

Su Yu thought about it. If someone close to the Human Emperor who had opened the Heavenly Gate could quickly pass messages, they might be suspect. Ming King?

If so, only Ming King was suspicious!

But the Human Emperor wasn't a fool. Su Yu thought of Ming King immediately, and the Human Emperor would have too. If that were the case, Ming King would have been eliminated long ago, not still around now?

The Human Emperor's severe injury was something Ming King knew about. Over the years, it was only thanks to Ming King and Ming Queen, both First-Class, that he could hold on.

"Could it be not Ming King... then how did the news leak?"

They were upstream in the River of Time. Ordinary people couldn't obtain intelligence.

The myriad races wouldn't have known the Human Emperor's plan in advance either.

"I didn't know the specifics back then, so I didn't think much of it... Is there a traitor among the remaining humans? Or has some strong being been watching the Human Emperor and the others all along?"

If there really was a traitor, the Human Emperor wouldn't have been completely unaware for so many years.

He wasn't an idiot.

That meant the Human Emperor might have been under surveillance!

I wonder if it's still happening now?

Also, there was another thing Su Yu was puzzled about: Xing. This one had chased the Time Book out of the Heavenly Gate back then, probably as a projection. His strength likely wasn't great—after all, someone who called even a Seven-Path cultivator a supreme... had the style of a Second-Class.

Second-Class strong, to inflate their own worth, liked to call some Seven- or Eight-Path cultivators "supreme."

For example, Luo Yun liked to call them "supreme"!

Good heavens, someone who had just entered First-Class was already "supreme" in his mouth!

Seven-Path was merely the peak of Third-Class.

A typical Second-Class might call them "supreme" to elevate themselves!

If Xing was only Second-Class... how could he keep up with the Time Book and emerge from the Heavenly Gate?

Also, what did he want with the Human Emperor?

From what he said, he came out wanting to see the Human Emperor but didn't get to, and was very disappointed.

Could it be because he knew the Human Emperor was powerful and his descendant, so he wanted to bask in some glory?

After all, the Human Emperor was indeed a descendant of Xing from some unknown generation.

Xing... the Human Emperor himself didn't care much, because he said that beings behind the gates should all be guarded against; they were from a different era, no longer the same kind.

Also, it was said that Wen, the ancestor of King Wen, might also be in the Heavenly Gate.

Of course, Su Yu—or rather, the natives of Nanyuan City—might all be descendants of Wen, but separated by countless generations, the bloodline was long diluted.

?? In those many years, did Wen, this ancestor, know that among his descendants would arise a strong one like King Wen himself?

?? As for Su Yu himself... he had no interest in bothering with this ancient ancestor Wen... let alone being separated by countless generations; even if it were just five or six generations, the kinship would no longer be close, let alone an ancestor from hundreds of thousands of years ago!

?? Unless one sought to curry favor, who would truly care?

?? These people, even if still alive, might not be all that powerful.

?? At best, they’d be of the first or second rank.

?? As for being a Lord of a Forbidden Land... that was probably out of the question.

?? After all, the Lords of Forbidden Lands were all beings who could have founded a lineage back in the day. People like Wen and Xing were merely tribal chieftains back then, far inferior to figures like the Human Ancestor, and even compared to the Immortal Ancestor, they were mere juniors—figures from the later era of the Creation.

?? Whether there were traitors on the Human Emperor’s side, Su Yu couldn’t bother to care about now. At this moment, while the area around the Heavenly Dome Mountain was in chaos, Su Yu spoke again: “Snow Dragon, Blade Lord, I am of the human race... Are there any human settlements within the Forbidden Land?”

?? “The human race?”

?? Snow Dragon seemed a bit surprised: “There are, aren’t there? The Lord of the Dead is human, the Lord of Eternal Mountain is probably human too, and the Lord of Heavenly Dome Mountain might also be human. The Immortal Ancestor of Eternal Heaven was actually human as well... Do you want to go and pledge allegiance?”

?? This young man was indeed making a fuss over nothing!

?? Blade Lord couldn’t help but say: “My bloodline is a bit mixed—I’m a human from the middle to late Creation era, yet I, the Lord of the Blade Domain, am also human... There are plenty of human settlements. What’s the matter?”

?? He even chuckled: “Here, do you think this is the Myriad Realms? Back when the Creation ended and the Lord of Time departed, there were only two kinds of beings in the Chaos: those in human form, collectively called the human race; and those not in human form, collectively called the Chaos race. Later, finer distinctions were made! Young man, you truly don’t understand these things! Anyone you see whose original form is human is considered human... In that era, the divisions weren’t so clear. Even the immortals, demons, and gods of today’s Myriad Realms... back then, they were simply named after their tribal chieftains. Only later did the concept of races emerge!”

?? Su Yu nodded, not minding their condescension, and smiled: “I know. I was just asking if there’s any settlement that still insists on calling itself human, like the Myriad Realms outside, where racial distinctions are very clear. In the later Creation period, weren’t there clear racial divisions?”

?? Giveaways! Go to WeChat public account [Book Friends’ Base Camp] to claim an 888 red envelope!

?? That was true!

?? Snow Dragon thought for a moment and said: “Maybe there are, but even if there are, they’re probably not strong. Perhaps in some remote corner, there’s a territory? Who knows! We only know a bit about the area around the Forbidden Canyon. Even the Forbidden Canyon is vast—who would care too much about these things?”

?? Su Yu nodded and asked no more.

?? People like Xing were not well-known here, seemingly not major figures. Indeed, not even first-rank, let alone second-rank.

?? What intrigued Su Yu was this: How did Xing get involved with the Lord of Time?

?? Was it related to Wen?

?? Was Xing sent out because he knew the Human Emperor was the top dog outside, so this ancestor of the Human Emperor was dispatched back?

?? Then perhaps Xing, Wen, and the others were together, huddling for warmth!

?? Snow Dragon and the others might not know simply because they knew too little.

?? Su Yu asked no more. At this point, through his conversations with the two first-rank beings, he had learned much about the overall situation inside the gate. They were essentially useless—genuine loose cultivators—while these two knew more because they had Forbidden Lands backing them!

?? Now, Su Yu swiftly headed west toward the Heavenly Dome Mountain area.

?? Here, the commotion of the Creation might not be too great, avoiding the attention of some powerful beings, but it was still wise to be cautious. The main concern was that this place was close to the Dead Spirit Hell and also near Eternal Mountain—both of which had grudges against Su Yu.

?? As for Heavenly Dome Mountain, it had a grudge against the Human Emperor, and thus against Su Yu as well... but since they were focused on the Human Emperor, a little disturbance might not catch their notice.

?? Su Yu raced along at great speed.

?? ...

?? Meanwhile, the several powerful beings he had restrained were feeling frustrated. Blade Lord transmitted a message: “This guy is crazy. I think he really intends to go to Heavenly Dome Mountain. Does he actually want to attempt the Creation?”

?? “Probably so!”

?? Snow Dragon was also helpless: “If he wants to attempt the Creation and dies in the process, that’s his own business. I’m just afraid he’ll drag us down with him! Of course...”

?? Snow Dragon chuckled: “If he actually succeeds... that would be interesting!”

?? Blade Lord was speechless. Nonsense!

?? What do you think?

?? Forbidden Lands have existed for countless ages... Well, one Lord was killed by the Lord of the Dead, but that’s only one. No other Forbidden Land has risen in all that time!

?? Attempting the Creation—truly a young man who doesn’t know his limits!

?? Black Tomb was no renowned genius.

?? True geniuses were all in the Forbidden Lands.

?? Those who appeared outside were also pulled into the Forbidden Lands. Black Tomb had only gained a bit of fame in the northeastern part of the Forbidden Canyon in recent days.

?? ...

?? This time, Su Yu moved extremely fast. Even with his first-rank power, it took him a full day to reach the Heavenly Dome Mountain region.

?? This was already the second day!

?? According to his earlier statement, tomorrow would be the third day, and three days later, the day after tomorrow, a large number of powerful beings would gather at Six Directions Mountain!

?? So Su Yu was pressed for time. He exhaled: “Today I attempt the Creation, tomorrow I return, and I hope to make it back by the time everyone gathers the day after tomorrow!”

?? “...”

?? Good heavens. Snow Dragon and the other two were speechless. Did he think attempting the Creation was child’s play?

?? He had even calculated the time so precisely!

?? “Today I attempt the Creation, tomorrow I return”—the three of them were at a loss for words!

?? Su Yu continued: “I have mastered both the Blade Path and the Ice Sealing Path. If the Creation succeeds, I’ll already have considerable strength. It might increase a bit, but not by much. At the beginning of the Creation, the improvement isn’t great...”

?? The three were again speechless. He spoke as if he had already succeeded and had experience.

?? Oh, go on!

?? Talking to yourself, amusing yourself, pretending—was it fun?

?? “So, at that time, if you’re interested, you can join my world. But if you don’t, I’ll kill you and directly fill the world with your essence!”

?? “...”

?? The three remained silent.

?? After a moment, Snow Dragon laughed: “Of course, if you, Black Tomb, succeed in the Creation, that would be an enormous potential, even greater than the Lords of Forbidden Lands... How could we not pledge allegiance?”

?? There was a hint of hidden mockery in his tone!

?? But Su Yu was quite serious: “In that case, with two 16-path experts and one 15-path expert merging in... I’d immediately gain considerable strength. The improvement wouldn’t be small. Indeed, the help from the Creation is significant!”

?? “...”

?? Please, stop pretending!

?? The three felt utterly exhausted!

?? Su Yu, however, paid them no mind. He scouted the area, flying outward for a distance. Being too close to a territory was bad, and being too close to Heavenly Dome Mountain was also bad.

?? He needed to keep a good distance!

?? Moreover, Su Yu kept pondering: this time, using himself as the foundation for the Creation—was it feasible? If feasible, would it cause any adverse effects?

?? But he truly had no other treasures to offer.

?? Only himself, the Spirit of Heaven and Earth, could be considered a treasure!

?? “Perhaps it’s feasible, using the acupoints as the foundation...”

?? Su Yu murmured to himself.

He thought of Baizhan, thought of those from the lineage of Ren Zu who had opened 720 apertures, thought of Ren Zu himself, who was said to be a match for the Lord of the Dead... Ren Zu... could it be that he was in a similar state to himself now?

Not opening a heaven in the ordinary sense, but using 720 apertures as a foundation to open a physical heaven?

This... it was actually quite possible!

Then what he was doing now was somewhat imitating Ren Zu?

It didn't matter who he imitated, as long as he could grow stronger—Ren Zu was undeniably powerful!

Su Yu, who had opened a heaven once, was indifferent to weaving Daos now; he was skilled at it, having helped Blue Sky weave one, helped the Human Emperor stabilize a world, and even entered King Wen's world...

It could be said that Su Yu had seen more worlds than almost anyone else—don't forget, he often visited the Netherworld Domain, and the Myriad Realms counted as a world too.

Su Yu himself had controlled a world for a time and had been the World Spirit...

Other problems were not problems at all.

"The key is, how do the Daos connect to the apertures? One aperture, one Dao; one aperture, one martial technique; one aperture, one divine text..."

Divine texts are Daos, and martial techniques are also Daos!

Back then, to cultivate the Dao of the Brush, Su Yu had practiced countless martial techniques, outlining them into divine texts, which then transformed into Daos—he was familiar with this process.

And Baizhan, in his day, also had one aperture, one Dao; one aperture, one martial technique.

"So, no need to overthink it—just follow the aperture martial techniques I practiced back then, outline them into divine texts, and the Daos will naturally connect to my body..."

"Then weave the Daos... which is essentially fusing the apertures..."

Thoughts flashed one after another, and Su Yu wasted no time. In an instant, he completely sealed Snow Dragon and the others, preventing them from observing—they were unworthy, not his close confidants, so why let them witness the opening of a heaven!

And Su Yu quickly lay down in the void, his physical body rapidly expanding. In the blink of an eye, his body seemed to transform into a world, even his Sea of Will floating out, with 360 physical apertures and 360 spiritual apertures all radiating light.

This place seemed to turn into a starry sky!

720 great stars revealed their radiance in an instant.

"Planting Daos in the apertures!"

Su Yu thought of the Martial Emperor, who planted flowers on his buttocks, while he himself had a Tongtian Aperture on his buttocks... Tongtian Aperture, what divine text should I plant there, what Dao should I outline?

Su Yu didn't dwell on it—no one was watching, so why care?

Who cared about that!

"Tongtian Aperture, opened by the Immortal race—perhaps planting a Life Dao there would be good!"

At this moment, Su Yu felt as if he were a tree, each aperture vibrating. He was about to plant Daos in the apertures, and in an instant, divine texts emerged!

They were the embryos of Daos!

The Sun-Moon divine text appeared and instantly entered his eyes—the eye apertures became Sun and Moon!

The Probe and Peep divine texts appeared and entered his ears—the ear apertures observed all directions, listening to all paths.

The Smell and Scent divine texts appeared and entered his nose—the nose aperture sensed heaven and earth.

Soon, another divine text emerged.

Calamity!

Su Yu fell into thought—the Calamity divine text, the Dao of Calamity, which aperture should it match?

After pondering for a moment, suddenly, a small gate appeared on his forehead.

The brow aperture was also an aperture.

Opened by the Demon race!

When the demon heart stirs, a great calamity befalls heaven and earth!

If I open the demon heart, it will be the beginning of calamity!

At this moment, the "Calamity" divine text fell into the brow aperture!

A flame bloomed on his brow, bewitchingly beautiful!

When this Dao opens, this aperture opens, calamity is inevitable!

The world has demons, but no true demon—I shall be that true demon!

One divine text after another emerged continuously, and soon, each aperture was planted with the foundation of a Dao by Su Yu!

I take my own body as the foundation!

Open the inner world of heaven and earth!

Gradually, streams of Dao power surged from within Su Yu's body. His flesh began to nurture the Daos, but his body also started to wither rapidly!

Each divine text was quickly strengthened!

At this moment, if any strong being saw this, they would likely be horrified!

Because Su Yu now resembled a great tree... no, a hedgehog, with countless Daos sprouting from his body, drawing on his flesh and blood, his Dao rules, everything he had, to strengthen the power of the Daos!

Using the body as the foundation, opening a second heaven and earth!

Rumble!

Around him, faint thunder appeared.

In the distance, some locusts gradually emerged, directly from the River of Time, as if they had sensed something.

In this declining era, in this sealed era, in this world that should have ended, there should be no more heaven-openers!

Thus, heaven and earth would bring calamity!

Just like last time when Su Yu opened a heaven and the Chaos Ancient Races came to disturb!

Today was the same.

Those world-destroying locusts gradually gathered toward this place!

...

At the same time.

Far away.

On a colossal mountain, the Lord of the Sky Dome had long moved the Sky Dome Mountain near the projection of the Human Emperor's Heavenly Gate, or rather, used the Sky Dome Mountain to suppress the phantom of the Human Emperor's Heavenly Gate!

Now, he suddenly opened his eyes, slightly raised his brows, and looked into the distance.

Strange!

It seemed the River of Time was rippling, and locusts were appearing, in great numbers.

"An omen of world-destruction?"

He sighed softly. The Heavenly Gate was about to open—a good thing, for if it didn't, this barren world would eventually perish!

Breaking through the Heavenly Gate was a necessity!

"It seems... there's something else..."

The Lord of the Sky Dome Mountain frowned slightly. Should he go take a look?

But... if he left, and this Star Universe sensed something and suddenly barged in, this was his Sky Dome Mountain's lair—what if that fellow damaged it?

??The next moment, he sent a voice transmission into the distance: "Go and look to the east. A great swarm of devouring locusts has appeared. Be cautious, and try to slay as many as you can!"

??"Understood!"

??In an instant, several powerful figures rose into the air and vanished from where they stood.

??The Heavenly Dome Mountain Lord cast a glance, then paid no further heed.

??For lately, the Star Universe might be attempting to force its way in. The Heavenly Dome Mountain Lord gave a cold laugh: "If you dare to emerge, so much the better—come in and try!"