Chapter 882: An Incredible Secret

"Something exciting is about to happen in the Forbidden Gorge!"

Lately, the world within the Heavenly Gate has shed its deathly stillness and grown lively.

For many years, only the Lord of the Dead had stirred up any real commotion, while the King of Wen had been locked in struggle with the Eternal Mountain, never letting it spread—fearing that the other lords of the forbidden lands would unite against him.

After so many quiet years, who would have thought it would now become so animated?

In the past, such excitement was beyond the reach of most—too lofty to witness, too costly to afford.

Too powerful!

But this time, the spectacle is one that all can behold.

Though many strong fighters have joined the fray, they remain within the bounds that wandering cultivators can accept.

Outside the Forbidden Gorge, a wandering cultivator who had just emerged from seclusion heard the crowd's chatter and, cautious, called out from a distance: "May I ask, fellow Daoist, what excitement is there to see in the Forbidden Gorge? Could the Assembly of the Forbidden Lands have begun?"

"Not at all!"

The wandering cultivator spreading the news grinned broadly: "You don't know, fellow Daoist—in the Forbidden Gorge, three forbidden lands have clashed, using wandering cultivators as their foundation, and are now locked in a magical duel! These past days, cultivators from all three sides have been joining the battle! They fight in rounds, a ceaseless war of attrition! Wandering cultivators may also step onto the stage, representing one side; with each victory, there's a chance to earn the recognition of a forbidden land, and some may even receive the token of a guest elder..."

At these words, the newly emerged cultivator was startled: "A duel of forbidden lands?"

"Yes! But for now, it's still manageable—the top-tier beings of the forbidden lands haven't yet joined. At present, it's only the Sword Venerable, the Asura Envoy, and the Netherworld Emperor dueling from afar, not yet descending to the battlefield themselves!"

This announcement sent a tremor through the crowd on all sides.

Three great powers dueling from a distance!

A duel of forbidden lands—something not seen in many years.

"Fellow Daoist, where can this excitement be witnessed?"

"Brightlight City!"

"Brightlight City?"

"It's the domain of the Six Directions Mountain and the Tiger Soul Cave—vassal forces of the Sky Dome Mountain and the Dead Spirit Hell. Now, strong cultivators from the forbidden lands have appeared, and the conflict is still limited to those below the 25th Dao... I fear that if the Assembly of the Forbidden Lands doesn't start soon, those above the 25th Dao will have to join the slaughter!"

"Fellow Daoist, shall we go together?"

"..."

A group began to band together for the journey.

Traveling alone risked danger; in numbers, they felt safer.

...

At this moment, though the entire Forbidden Gorge was said to be lively, it was actually empty—everyone had flocked to Brightlight City.

Not only wandering cultivators, but even major powers like the Six Directions Mountain had moved their very headquarters to Brightlight City.

Within Brightlight City.

The arena was now stained with blood.

Outside the arena, layers of light shields flickered.

Inside, a thunderous crash echoed.

A third-rank wandering cultivator was slain on the spot!

On both sides of the arena, the strong cultivators faced off, tension thick. On the Six Directions Mountain side, Snow Dragon saw this and her expression shifted. She shouted, "Is there any wandering cultivator willing to fight for the Six Directions Mountain? Our Six Directions Mountain, under the command of the Sky Dome Mountain, suppresses the Forbidden Gorge. Win five consecutive matches, and you shall receive the token of a guest elder of the War Hall!"

Around them, a crowd of wandering cultivators stirred—some excited, some anxious, some resigned.

They lacked the strength!

Those who stepped onto the stage, unless they had power above the 8th Dao, were mostly killed by their opponents.

This was already the third day!

The third day of the duel between the two sides.

At first, it was the strong cultivators of both sides battling. Then the Six Directions Mountain took the lead, mobilizing wandering cultivators for temporary combat. Those who won five straight matches received the guest elder token directly.

And indeed, at the start, a few wandering cultivators did obtain it.

But the Tiger Soul Cave quickly followed suit, copying the Six Directions Mountain and mobilizing their own wandering cultivators.

Over three days, twenty or thirty wandering cultivators had already died in battle!

Yet those who received the token were few and far between.

Now, when the Six Directions Mountain called for wandering cultivators, few responded—all were afraid.

Seeing this, Snow Dragon gritted her teeth and shouted, "Win three consecutive matches, and you'll receive one quota to leave the Heavenly Gate. Win five matches, and you'll get both a quota and a guest elder token!"

These words instantly stirred a huge uproar.

In the crowd, a first-rank strong cultivator's expression changed, and he said gravely, "Snow Dragon, are you serious? Do you still have quotas to leave the Heavenly Gate?"

Snow Dragon replied solemnly, "Though nothing is settled yet, and we don't know how many the Six Directions Mountain can obtain... but don't forget, our Sky Dome Mountain is the foremost forbidden land!"

"Hmph!"

From the opposite side, Qu sneered, his voice dark: "Foremost forbidden land? Where does that leave my Dead Spirit Hell?"

Snow Dragon ignored him and continued, "The Sky Dome Mountain can still spare a few quotas!"

She turned her head to look at the cold, stern Sword Venerable standing high in the sky, and called out, "Lord Sword Venerable, does our Sky Dome Mountain have the right to distribute quotas?"

Sword Venerable nodded slightly and said calmly, "What Snow Dragon says is my promise. Win three consecutive matches, and the Sky Dome Mountain will grant you one quota!"

He cast a cold gaze toward the opposite side.

On the other side, countless strong cultivators were gathered. The Daoist who had transformed from the Black Dragon sneered, his voice icy: "Quotas? As if others don't have them..."

Sword Venerable sneered back: "Your Dead Spirit Hell truly does not! Black Dragon, do you think your Dead Spirit Hell can obtain any? Even if they were given, they wouldn't go to your Dead Spirit Hell!"

Black Dragon's expression shifted.

Just then, beside Black Dragon, a woman as cold and beautiful as a blooming snow lotus spoke with icy clarity: "The Dead Spirit Hell may not have them, but my Fallen Soul Valley does. For those who fight for our two forbidden lands, there's no need for three consecutive wins—just accumulate three victories. Even if the Fallen Soul Valley itself does not leave, we will yield the quotas!"

"You..."

Sword Venerable frowned but said no more. He looked down at the cultivators below and said flatly, "Everyone knows how strong the Sky Dome Mountain is. You all also know the origins of the Dead Spirit Hell. As for the Fallen Soul Valley... it reeks of pettiness, and the paths they cultivate are all dark and seductive arts..."

"Sword Venerable!"

The snow-lotus woman's face turned icy: "How dare you slander my Fallen Soul Valley?"

Sword Venerable replied calmly, "It's the truth. Among the four forbidden lands of the Forbidden Gorge, my Sky Dome Mountain excels in the Dao of Arms, the Dao of War, and the Dao of Combat. The Eternal Mountain is best at the Dao of Laws. The Dead Spirit Hell, setting aside its foreign origin, is not weak in combat... but your Fallen Soul Valley—what is its situation? Everyone knows."

He added disdainfully, "The facts are clear. Who doesn't know?"

Indeed, among the four forbidden lands, the Fallen Soul Valley was the weakest. Its six Soul-Reaping Envoys were no match for the strong cultivators of the other lands. Figures like the Netherworld and the Sword Venerable were all at the 28th Dao or even stronger.

The strongest in the Fallen Soul Valley, the Heavenly Soul Envoy, was only around the 27th Dao. The other envoys might only be at the 25th Dao. The Asura Envoy—the woman behind this and Shang—had likely recently reached the 26th Dao.

They were indeed top-tier strong cultivators, but compared to the Netherworld and the Sword Venerable, they still fell short.

As for the lords of the forbidden lands, the lord of the Fallen Soul Valley might have reached the 32nd Dao, but were the Lord of the Dead and the Lord of the Sky Dome Mountain any weaker?

As for the Law, that cultivator of the Ten Thousand Laws seemed on the verge of opening the heavens, and his combat power was immense. If not for that, the Martial King and the King of Wen would not have been unable to defeat him even together.

At this moment, Jian Kong, annoyed by their provocations, directly snapped back.

Cultivating the sword path requires clarity of thought.

But lately, the Six Directions Mountain had been at a disadvantage, losing several battles with more deaths than the enemy. The two factions joined forces to suppress them, and even the arrival of Black Dragon wasn't enough. The woman opposite was also a 22-path powerhouse from Fallen Soul Valley.

The two of them suppressing him together only deepened Jian Kong's resentment!

Seeing this, Black Dragon couldn't be bothered to let the woman argue with Jian Kong. In truth, he agreed, but since they were allies now, it was awkward to say much. He shouted, "Jian Kong, if you dare not fight, let the Six Directions Mountain concede. Enough with the nonsense!"

Jian Kong sneered, "Dare not?"

Before he could finish, the Blade Master below suddenly flew out, gritting his teeth despite his injuries, and shouted, "My lord, let me go!"

Jian Kong frowned slightly. The Blade Master only had 17-path power and was already wounded from his earlier battle with Qu. Now to fight again...

Sure enough, Qu on the opposite side chuckled, "You seek death? I'll grant it!"

In an instant, the two entered the arena, causing a tremendous commotion. In the blink of an eye, the battle raged, shaking heaven and earth.

At that moment, such a huge disturbance caught the attention of countless people.

Even within the city, if some building stirred, no one paid it much mind—perhaps someone's cultivation was disrupted?

...

Meanwhile, Su Yu, within his own world, struck out with a palm!

The burly man opposite, though suppressed, roared fiercely. A force of confinement erupted from his body, binding Su Yu. Not only that, his physical form was incredibly tough as he punched toward Su Yu!

The man's eyes showed anxiety and anger: "It's all a conspiracy! Damn it, all a conspiracy!"

Just now, two first-rank fighters suddenly clashed outside, causing a huge uproar. This was because Su Yu needed to gather more power to conceal his tracks, forcing them to fight and divert everyone's attention.

Such was the benefit of external combat!

Even with a big commotion, no one would care.

But now, Su Yu was thrilled—he had hooked a big fish!

After all this fishing today, he had finally landed a major catch.

His smile was radiant: "You're no rogue cultivator. Tell me, which forbidden land are you from?"

Very strong!

And the paths he excelled in were not just one, but two: one of confinement, and another of the physical body.

His strength was formidable too.

24-path power!

That was nearly the limit on the path to becoming a supreme being. Beyond that, in forbidden lands, one would be a hegemon-level existence!

24 paths was also the limit for rogue cultivators, though such strong ones were rare among them.

Su Yu could defeat him—how could he not in his own world?

But... there were still many people here.

He couldn't use full power; otherwise, unleashing all his world's energy would easily expose Light City.

Su Yu looked at the man and suddenly said, "No, you excel in three paths. The third is the path of concealment!"

He had almost forgotten!

Earlier, Su Yu hadn't probed deeply, but he had roughly scanned the man, estimating him at about 18 paths—an easy catch. But when he actually tried to subdue him, he hit a tough nut!

24-path power!

The man opposite, with cold eyes, was inwardly horrified.

A conspiracy!

This Light City was a massive conspiracy!

All those duels and battles were fake.

This place harbored a strong warrior, constantly ambushing rogue cultivators. The key was... he felt suppressed. His eyes flickered. A domain of myriad laws?

Was this man from Eternal Life Mountain?

The domain of myriad laws from Eternal Life Mountain was quite famous.

But to suppress his power, could this man be a vein master of Eternal Life Mountain?

He hadn't heard of such a person.

He stopped thinking and fled!

Boom!

With a thunderous crash, he punched at the void, but Su Yu appeared instantly, striking down with a palm. Both the punch and the palm carried some confinement force, and Su Yu suddenly found his movements stiff.

He was somewhat surprised—this confinement path was unusual, with a numbing effect!

Despite the man's burly physique, it was all a facade; his main path wasn't physical. In a flash, his thick hand moved nimbly, weaving through the void, and in an instant, he spun a large net that rapidly descended toward Su Yu.

He had no desire to fight further, only to escape.

This place was no longer safe!

He had miscalculated, thinking there were at most a few 22-path warriors here, never expecting a hidden powerhouse lurking in the shadows.

The net quickly fell toward Su Yu, carrying a strong confinement force and a numbing sensation.

Even Su Yu was momentarily bound!

He quickly shook off the force with a tremor of his path and laughed, "Impressive! Too bad I can't go all out, or I'd really enjoy playing with you!"

At this moment, he was only unleashing about 23-path power, with most of his strength maintaining the operation of his world.

And Su Yu was even more intrigued by the man's origins.

Three powerful paths!

Confinement, physical body, and concealment.

He looked rough and simple, like a dull warrior, but that wasn't the case. He had almost fooled Su Yu. This man was very strong, and his greatest strength was his concealment ability—Su Yu had nearly missed it.

Under normal circumstances, only a forbidden land's master could see through him.

Though some forbidden land experts liked to roam incognito, a 24-path powerhouse had no need to be so cautious. Su Yu knew there were other forbidden land experts in the city, but none of them had such flawless disguises.

"Lock!"

A lock materialized in the world and descended toward him.

Not only that, but from all directions, portals appeared, blocking his escape. Trying to flee within his own world?

Impossible!

Now the man was desperate, gritting his teeth and roaring, "If you keep pestering me, and I fight to the death, this place's secrets will be exposed, and you'll suffer too! Eternal Life Mountain secretly built Light City to deal with rogue cultivators, even plotting against the three forbidden lands... You're courting death!"

Su Yu sneered, ignoring him. Strands of path power emerged, attacking him!

The man, suppressed, was now only at about 23-path power. Su Yu could only unleash that much as well; any stronger, and his world would shake, making it easy to detect the anomaly.

They were evenly matched.

At least for now, they are on equal footing.

Su Yu truly refused to believe it!

He had always fought across tiers, and now he couldn’t defeat a peer?

“This is also the first opponent with decent combat power I’ve encountered since my improvement... Big guy, once I’ve had my fill of fighting, I’ll let you go!”

“Hmph!”

The man snorted coldly. Easy to say—who would believe it?

He wasted no more words and threw a punch, this one also laced with sealing power. Su Yu slashed with his blade, shattering the sealing force, and the two clashed instantly.

Boom!

A thunderous roar erupted as Su Yu unleashed all manner of great path powers.

Thunder, sealing, imprisonment, silence, bloodlust, destruction, corrosion...

All kinds of great paths exploded forth!

The more the man fought, the more alarmed he grew. At first, Su Yu seemed unskilled—perhaps a newly ascended powerhouse—but the longer they battled, the more proficient he became. Soon, he had mastered the combat techniques.

An endless array of fighting methods gradually put pressure on the burly man, who usually had no equal among his peers!

He grew anxious!

This couldn’t go on!

If it continued, he might be defeated. Defeat wasn’t the issue—but what in the world was this place?

Two powerhouses with over twenty paths had been fighting until now, yet no one had come.

This was inside the city!

With so many experts, including several with twenty-two paths, could none of them have noticed?

He had hoped to cause a big commotion, draw someone to investigate, and force this man to retreat!

Now, the man couldn’t hold back: “What exactly is this place?”

Su Yu smiled and ignored him.

What place?

Inside my body!

He just wanted to get used to his enhanced combat techniques. He was rusty. Otherwise, he couldn’t draw on massive power himself—but outside this layer of the world, nearly a hundred experts stood at attention.

Among them, six were first-rate!

Over thirty were second-rate!

If they all attacked, even if you had twenty-four paths—or twenty-six—you’d be blasted to bits!

But Su Yu wasn’t in a hurry. His world was still stable for now; he’d keep fighting this man.

Su Yu unleashed all his great path powers, and the more the man fought, the more alarmed he grew.

The Ten Thousand Paths of Eternal Life Mountain?

Ten Thousand Paths—also a path with many great ways, a form of path fusion. Some forbidden land masters walked multiple paths, then merged them, reaching the level of thirty-two paths.

Some, like the Martial King, stuck to one path and directly expanded it to thirty-two paths of power.

Ten Thousand Paths clearly belonged to the former.

But so many paths... that was rare.

Ten Thousand Paths claimed to be myriad, but in reality, even the supreme path of Dharma cultivated no more than a hundred.

Yet this young man before him had already used dozens of great paths, and he kept deploying new ones!

“Who are you to Dharma?”

The man growled!

Was this man a direct disciple or bloodline of Dharma?

In the Forbidden Canyon, only Eternal Life Mountain had such skills.

Su Yu didn’t bother to reply, continuously bombarding him, constantly adjusting his various paths. At this moment, Su Yu noticed a flaw: his paths were becoming unbalanced again.

Paths of different strengths—if the gap was too large, one moment they were first-rate, the next fourth-rate. The disparity was too great. In such a situation, if he encountered a stronger opponent who seized the opportunity, he could easily be killed!

Su Yu frowned slightly. No help for it.

It wasn’t as if he could choose which paths to integrate; there were always deviations.

He could only try to adjust the balance as much as possible!

Su Yu kept attacking!

Boom!

The entire world—or rather, the acupoint space—was turned upside down, far more violently than two first-rate experts fighting outside.

The man grew more and more frantic!

Where the hell was I?

Even in the Ten Thousand Paths Domain, such a fierce battle should have broken through by now, but it hadn’t.

His opponent only grew stronger!

He could barely hold on!

Thinking this, the man suddenly gritted his teeth and roared. Under Su Yu’s somewhat shocked gaze, his blood energy surged, his paths exploded to the limit. Su Yu hastily said, “Don’t! That side can’t be broken...”

The man was overjoyed!

Found the right spot!

To hell with you!

Right here—the way out!

And Su Yu was truly panicked. Don’t!

If that side broke, outside were over a hundred experts. If they struck and killed this man, it would be too wasteful. Su Yu quickly shouted, “Don’t kill him!”

The man didn’t hear the words, or if he did, he ignored them.

His fist erupted with maximum force in an instant!

A punch!

Boom!

The barrier of the world shattered!

Seeing the confinement broken, the man was ecstatic.

“Hahaha, I...”

He wanted to roar—I’m out!

You’re finished!

The strong of this Eternal Life Mountain, lying in ambush in secret, known to none, had something to do with this barrier. Now that I am out, you are dead!

I must expose your conspiracy!

But just as he burst into laughter and was about to speak, his expression suddenly changed drastically!

Before him stood hundreds of strong, and some were shocked.

Out?

The Calamity Lord didn't capture him?

Of course, all were strong, but that didn't stop them from acting. In an instant, the six leading first-rankers roared in unison: "Strike!"

Boom!

Hundreds of great paths erupted!

The weak were fourth-rank, the strong first-rank.

A monstrous force swept in!

The man's face twisted wildly, "Holy shit!"

Where the hell did I end up?

He had thought he escaped with his life, but now he realized—this was no escape; he had fallen into a wolf's den!

No matter how strong he was, facing a hundred strong attacking simultaneously, he couldn't withstand it!

If he could truly withstand it, he wouldn't be at twenty-four paths; he would have long stepped into super-rank!

"No..."

The man roared in despair!

This time, he was dead for sure!

And at that moment, Su Yu roared again: "Don't kill him..."

Meanwhile, Su Yu continuously drew power, drawing the power of those people, weakening their explosive force!

Boom!

A thunderous crash!

The man's physical body, though powerful, could not resist. In an instant, struck by that blow, his body shattered, his sea of will emerged. Just as those great path forces were about to annihilate his sea of will, Su Yu finally arrived and in one motion absorbed all the power, extinguishing it!

Su Yu let out a long sigh of relief.

And the man's body recovered again, his face pale, his body weak. He looked at Su Yu, then at the hundreds of strong.

There, the hundreds of strong, each trembling with fear, knelt on one knee and shouted in unison: "Forgive us, Calamity Lord!"

Su Yu waved his hand: "It's nothing! I was just worried that if you killed him, my loss would be too great!"

Everyone understood!

Truly powerful!

Although they hadn't fought with all their might and Su Yu had weakened much of their power, still, with one strike, they couldn't instantly shatter both his body and sea of will—this man's strength was extraordinary!

And the man, his face full of shock, looked at Su Yu.

Calamity Lord?

Who?

Never heard of him!

But his subordinates were not weak—fully six strong above sixteen paths, and hundreds of rule masters.

He swallowed hard. Now he understood why this man had not let him run from here earlier.

Seeking death!

At this moment, he couldn't help but look at Su Yu: "What exactly do you want?"

He gritted his teeth: "Do you know that if you kill me, you will surely pay a price? Even if you imprison me and I don't return for a long time, you will suffer. The secret of this place will eventually be exposed!"

He said quickly: "You have such audacity, setting up such a scheme right under the noses of the forbidden lands in Bright City!"

Su Yu smiled.

He looked at the man: "Not weak in strength!"

Then, he smiled again: "So what if I set up such a scheme?"

The man gritted his teeth: "Don't be too arrogant! The forbidden lands are now sending a large number of strong here—you probably didn't expect that! Six Directions Mountain and Tiger Soul Cave have attracted so many forbidden land strong!"

Even three emperor-level strong had been lured here!

One could imagine how dangerous it was.

Su Yu looked at him with a grin: "What are you saying? How could I not have expected it? Didn't I expect that I could let Blade Lord, Qu, and the others lure these people here?"

"..."

The man was startled, looking at Su Yu in horror. What did he mean?

Su Yu's smile was radiant: "What's wrong?"

"You... what do you mean?"

Su Yu laughed: "So, you still haven't recognized me? Let me introduce myself—Lord of Six Directions Mountain, Black Tomb! Oh, and Lord of Tiger Soul Cave, Lord of Firmrock Cliff, Lord of Heavenly Silkworm Domain..."

Su Yu's smile was brilliant: "Understand?"

"..."

The man's face turned pale with shock!

He understood!

This guy wasn't hiding here, wasn't doing this while avoiding the scattered cultivator forces—instead... those scattered cultivator forces were all under his control!

This... impossible!

He knew that now, the two outside forces had a full fourteen strong above sixteen paths!

He exclaimed in shock: "Impossible! How could the forbidden lands cooperate with you, submit to you..."

Su Yu laughed: "No, just using them! Those fourteen strong outside—Black Dragon, Sword Void, including the other two from Fallen Soul Valley—are not my people. I only have ten there!"

Of course, now it's more than fourteen; both sides are mobilizing troops. The twenty-two-path woman from Fallen Soul Valley just arrived recently, and Sword Void is also summoning reinforcements.

On Su Yu's side, up to now, there are only sixteen first-rankers.

Only!

The man's face grew even more complex: "You... you have such audacity!"

Madness!

This was making enemies of three forbidden lands!

He quickly looked at those people and said urgently: "I know you, Di Jiu! Have you all gone mad too?"

He knew some scattered cultivators!

Here, it seems they’re all rogue cultivators—have they gone mad?

Rogue cultivators dare to oppose a forbidden land?

Have they been bewitched by this Black Tomb?

At that moment, the first-rank expert he had called out chuckled and said, “We’re not mad! I didn’t expect you, fellow Daoist, to be so powerful… As for forbidden lands, they weren’t born that way; they were created by men… Since they can become forbidden lands, with the Calamity Lord here, we rogue cultivators can naturally found our own forbidden land!”

“You’re all mad!”

The man roared, “Him? He’s impressive, maybe around twenty-four Dao powers, but you have no idea how strong forbidden lands are! Most of those forbidden land lords wield thirty-two Dao powers; even the weakest I’ve seen never fall below thirty, and they all have special tricks…”

Off to the side, Su Yu smiled, a bit sheepish, and said, “Um… sorry about that, when I hit you just now, I used about two-tenths of my strength.”

The man whirled around, then sneered, “Bluffing—impossible…”

Putting on a show of strength?

Su Yu sighed, and the others sighed too. Di Jiu, with a wistful look, said, “Fellow Daoist… how foolish! This Bright City is the lord’s realm; the lord must sustain it. Saying he used two-tenths of his strength against you is already modest!”

Di Jiu spoke with adoration: “The lord’s power is vast; he opens up heavens and earths. Soon, the lord will become a forbidden land lord-level existence…”

This time, Su Yu didn’t need to explain anything further.

These people, over a hundred of them, all jabbered at once, constantly feeding the man information.

A heaven-opener, seven hundred and twenty great Daos, merging Dao with heaven and earth, establishing a forbidden land—all forces in the Forbidden Canyon had long submitted… they were all on the same side!

All of this left the man horrified.

Impossible!

A heaven-opener?

He didn’t believe it!

The next moment, the man couldn’t help but roar, “Impossible! In this era, there can be no more heaven-openers! You’ve been deceived by him! What do you know? In this age, no new heaven-openers will appear, unless they’ve gone out, entered the myriad realms, and absorbed vast amounts of yang-world aura! Or unless they opened their heavens long ago—otherwise, it’s impossible to open a heaven!”

He suddenly realized these people had been fooled!

He bellowed, “You’ve all been tricked by him! Even Fa of Eternal Life Mountain could have opened a heaven long ago, but he lacked yang aura and had to siphon Wen Yu’s yang aura to try… and ended up being outwitted by Wen Yu… You understand nothing!”

A bunch of fools, you’ve all been duped!

To win them over, he hurriedly added, “How strong was Fa? Yet even he, having cultivated over a hundred Daos, couldn’t open a heaven. He could only drain Wen Yu’s yang aura, her myriad Dao power, to forge his own world… He half-succeeded, but also failed. The half-world he opened was filled with Wen Yu’s Dao power; she wasn’t controlled but instead restrained Fa, which is why, after all these years, Wen Yu still hasn’t been killed… You know nothing! He says he opened a heaven, and you actually believe it!”

The crowd was bewildered. What the hell?

Are you an idiot?

We’re at least strong—do you think we can’t tell if someone opened a heaven?

We severed our Daos, we reconnected them, we’re still alive, our power remains… Are you a moron?

Bright City is right here!

What the hell do you know?

You spout nonsense from who knows where, daring to slander the Calamity Lord!

From the crowd, Di Jiu laughed and said, “Calamity Lord, this man is obstinate and spreads rumors. I say we just kill him; it’ll be hard to win him over.”

The man grew frantic, “It’s true! I’m a twenty-four Dao cultivator with an extraordinary background—why would I deceive you all?”

Off to the side, Su Yu rested his arm on his chin, stroking it, lost in thought.

Interesting!

Opening a heaven… impossible?

Because of insufficient yang aura?

That is, the aura of the myriad realms isn’t enough, so you can’t open a heaven unless you come from the myriad realms or succeeded before the Heavenly Gate sealed it off!

Fa couldn’t open a heaven, but he did, borrowing the power of the Timekeeper.

And the Timekeeper, she’s a formidable one too—she seemed to have taken control of the core of his world, using it to counter him, which is why Fa hasn’t been able to kill her all these years!

All top secrets!

Su Yu suddenly grew curious about this man’s identity—how many knew about these matters?

As far as he knew, none of the first-rank experts he knew were aware of this.

Otherwise, they would have questioned it long ago.

But now, no one believed him, because everyone had succeeded. Sometimes, truth isn’t in the hands of the few; when everyone is convinced, what you say becomes false, a rumor!

Clearly, no one believed the man.

Because they had all experienced the feeling of merging with heaven and earth!

And the man, somewhat sorrowful, shouted for a while, but no one believed him.

The man said bitterly, “A bunch of fools, all deceived by his Black Tomb! Do you know? How could he open a heaven… We are from a past era, past figures—only the past, no future. Opening a heaven represents the future… In an era already shattered, how could a heaven-opener appear?”

How tragic!

How did this Black Tomb manage it?

He believed these people weren’t so stupid as to be easily fooled, yet now they were so convinced—what was the reason?

Su Yu just watched him silently, then after a long while, smiled and said, “Had enough talk?”

The man gritted his teeth and glared at him, “You devil, you’ve deceived these people. They’re fools to believe you. I won’t be fooled!”

Su Yu smiled, “What’s your name?”

“Hmph!”

The man snorted coldly!

Su Yu shook his head, “Not obedient at all, not even cute. Someone like you needs to be dealt with by force!”

With that, ignoring everything else, he stepped forward and grabbed the severely wounded man.

Fine, you don’t believe me—no matter.

I’ll find a way to make you believe!

Forced belief!

You won’t say anything now, but later, when your worldview is shattered, you’ll talk.

Su Yu forcibly stripped his Dao power!

Sure enough, three powerful Daos emerged. The man roared, “You won’t trick me! Kill me, and you’ll regret it…”

He struggled violently!

But wounded as he was, how could he break free from Su Yu’s grip?

Besides, so many strong cultivators were nearby.

Su Yu stripped the Daos one by one.

When he stripped the flesh Dao, Su Yu hesitated, then said, “Forget it, I’ve never let anyone cultivate the flesh Dao. You’re not weak—keep it for now.”

Earlier, he hadn’t been keen on cultivating more of the myriad realms’ powerful Daos.

But now, this one was truly formidable.

A pity to sever the path of the physical body!

Let it be reconnected for now!

Boom!

The Great Dao of the physical body shattered!

Su Yu directly absorbed the other’s power of the physical Dao, reconnecting his own Great Dao, and said with a smile: “Merge with the insights yourself—of course, there’s no rush; the insights are all in your own heart. If you’re willing to stay weak forever, you don’t have to comprehend them!”

He continued to shatter the second Great Dao.

Then the third.

All were mighty!

The man first despaired, awaiting death, then his face filled with shock, and then he was utterly stunned.

When all three Great Daos were reconnected, because he hadn’t merged with the insights, the Daos were strong but far inferior to the twenty-four Daos—yet he could be certain he was still alive.

He stammered: “Impossible… it’s all fake! An illusion? False! Unless you’ve stepped out from the Ten Thousand Realms, or absorbed a vast amount of power from them, you couldn’t possibly succeed in Heaven-Opening… I don’t believe it…”

This overturned his worldview!

He knew of Heaven-Opening.

When the Lord of the Dead had attempted it here, he had asked some elders, and their answers were all the same: impossible!

To open heaven within the gate, someone from a bygone era could never achieve it.

Nor could the Lords of the Forbidden Lands!

Don’t mind the rumors outside—that some Lords of the Forbidden Lands have opened heaven—it’s all nonsense!

Fa, indeed, had truly opened half a heaven.

But alas, because of greed, because of the delusion of eternal life and immortality, he was instead restrained by Wen Yu; otherwise, there would be no need to tangle with King Wen and the others until now.

And now, a Heaven-Opener appeared before him!

He had truly reconnected the Great Dao!

He didn’t believe it!

He threw a punch—the real, tangible burst of power was no illusion!

“No, it can’t be… Right, I’m too weak now, I can’t see through it. Once I recover my strength, I’ll see it all—it’s all sleight of hand…”

He swiftly merged with the insights, strengthening the Great Dao!

The three Great Daos instantly grew powerful!

His aura also surged rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, he reached the power of sixteen Daos.

Meanwhile, Su Yu was silently comprehending, experiencing, and savoring.

Gradually, his aura shifted.

It seemed to be heading toward twenty-nine Daos, yet he still felt a slight lack. Su Yu frowned slightly—was it not enough?

A twenty-four Dao powerhouse!

That meant, after subduing Jian Kong and the others, he could step into twenty-nine Daos. As for thirty Daos… the difficulty was immense!

“For thirty Daos, would I need several powerhouses?”

Which ones?

Naturally, the Sword Venerable and the rest!

Su Yu sighed inwardly, and at that moment, the man’s aura recovered all the way to twenty Daos, then abruptly stopped!

Yes, twenty Daos.

At this point, Su Yu’s heaven could sustain a twenty-Dao powerhouse.

But Su Yu was not entirely satisfied.

When he reached twenty Daos, he might support a twenty-four Dao powerhouse, because the further he went, the stronger he became; each increase in a single Dao was far more potent than before.

However, maintaining a powerhouse above twenty-five Daos was extremely difficult.

He might need to advance further!

And the man, having recovered to twenty Daos, was also stunned, murmuring: “No… is this… the restraint of the Heaven’s Lord?”

He suddenly looked at Su Yu, “You even know this… you… you’re so convincingly disguised—you actually know that the Heaven’s Lord, if insufficient in strength, will confine the power of the strong within the heaven… you… do you know a Heaven’s Lord? Or did someone tell you?”

You’re pretending so well!

Su Yu curled his lip, then suddenly restrained the man’s power. In the next instant, countless thunderbolts descended from the sky, crashing down with a roar, making the man scream in agony!

Not only that, but a whip materialized in the air, lashing again and again!

It struck him, and he cried out without cease!

Su Yu said calmly: “It’s all sleight of hand, don’t be afraid—it won’t kill you. When you admit it’s not sleight of hand, come find me!”

With that, Su Yu waved his hand, and the man vanished, reappearing in the distance, battered by thunder and whip, screaming in misery, yet still refusing to believe, roaring: “It’s all fake!”

“I’m not afraid!”

A Heaven-Opener couldn’t exist!

The others were speechless too—serves him right, beat that bastard to death!

Still calling it fake!

Beaten like that!

…

After who knows how long, Su Yu was busy with other matters when he suddenly heard a faint, agonized groan: “I believe it, truly, stop… stop hitting…”

When Su Yu reappeared, the man was beaten beyond recognition, utterly wretched and weak, covered in blood, and said pitifully: “I… believe… it’s real… a fake Great Dao’s power… couldn’t… couldn’t make me suffer so…”

“But… it shouldn’t be…”

He said sorrowfully: “It shouldn’t be… unless… you… you came from the Ten Thousand Realms… or… you are a descendant born here by King Wen and the others…”

He suddenly froze, then stared at Su Yu in utter horror!

You… could you truly be a descendant of King Wen and the others, born behind this gate?

“No… impossible… King Wen and them… did they… have… time… to sire descendants?”

He stammered, his face full of terror—had I… discovered some earth-shattering secret?

My heavens!

This man might be a descendant of King Wen or King Wu!

A descendant born behind the gate!