Chapter 884: Origin of the Gates

All heroes bow low; the Calamity Lord appears.

In the void, Su Yu’s massive face materializes, gazing down upon all beings.

Within Brightlight City, the rogue cultivators are netted in one sweep.

Those still resisting are swiftly slain; in the blink of an eye, the entire city transforms into a city of darkness.

Below.

Blade Lord and his ilk are familiar with the procedure.

Now, Blade Lord is wild with excitement, for the two other first-rank powerhouses from Skyridge Mountain are both blade cultivators—Sword Void indeed proved reliable—and this time, these two will become his prey!

However, several grievously wounded first-ranks are still sealed within Su Yu’s acupoints, so Blade Lord knows haste is unwise.

Soon, a group of eloquent powerhouses cultivated by Su Yu step forward and begin their introductions.

“Lord Calamity is a Heaven-Opener, seeking to forge a new forbidden ground and vie for supremacy across the heavens!”

“Now, Lord Calamity welcomes heroes from all directions, shattering the ossification of the current forbidden grounds…”

“Rogue cultivators had no chance before—as you have all seen, even after countless battles, joining a forbidden ground is harder than scaling the heavens!”

“Only Lord Calamity can grant us new life!”

“…”

One after another, the powerhouses swiftly explain to the crowd.

In the void, Su Yu’s massive face appears, eyes like sun and moon, utterly composed.

At this moment, the crowd stirs with unease.

Open a new forbidden ground?

Lord Calamity?

Just how strong is he?

They cannot tell, but they know he is no weakling; moreover, many powerhouses here have been subdued—not just one or two, but over a dozen above the Sixteen-Path level.

Such strength is already formidable.

If rogue cultivators united, they would form a vast force; lacking only a figure like a forbidden ground’s master, they might even hope to assault a forbidden ground—but rogue cultivators are scattered and hard to organize.

Under the coercion and bribery of a group of powerhouses, some finally buckle under pressure and choose to sever their paths and merge.

The first time is always like this.

They fear that severing the path will mean death.

But once one succeeds, the rest follows naturally.

Yet one thing is unavoidable: some powerhouses find their Dao overlapping with another’s, and at that moment, they can only choose to merge Dao.

Once merged, even a first-rank powerhouse who expands the Dao may at best become a fifth- or fourth-rank Rule Master—reaching third-rank is as hard as ascending to heaven.

Even the human race’s Flesh Dao, so mighty, has seen cultivators like King Ping, who after countless years, has only stepped into the third rank.

Thus, having only one path for each type of Dao is utterly frustrating for many later comers.

Unless the Dao Lord perishes, it is nearly impossible to rise further.

Now, among the rogue cultivators, many show helpless expressions; even a first-rank powerhouse, upon hearing he must merge into another’s Dao, turns pale—merging means falling in rank, not merging means death—how to choose?

Just then, in the void, Su Yu’s voice suddenly booms like a great bell, rolling forth: “Fellow cultivators, those who hold a Dao shall henceforth have task quotas. If you cannot cultivate to a certain level within a set time, you must yield the Dao to one more gifted and await the next assessment!”

Competition for posts!

Yes, Su Yu senses the discontent; so, he first dangles a carrot.

Competition is actually a good thing.

Two people share one Dao—the stronger ascends, the weaker descends, continuing to merge with that Dao, waiting for the current Dao Lord to err or fail a task, then they can try again!

At these words, the crowd stirs slightly.

Even some who had merged Dao and now hold power change color.

But those forced to merge into others brighten with joy.

Now, they have no choice!

Yet if rotation and competition truly come, hope remains.

Some powerhouses beam with delight.

Now, some second-ranks have merged into third-rank Dao Lords—though they contribute all their insights, their own understanding remains theirs; the other can only borrow a little, not absorb everything.

Can a third-rank truly match a second-rank?

If, at the same age, I reached second-rank before you, then in wisdom and talent, I am fundamentally different!

At this, many rejoice, prostrating themselves and crying out: “Lord Calamity is wise!”

This is far better than utter hopelessness!

Meanwhile, some Dao Lords grow instantly tense.

Su Yu’s voice is indifferent as he continues: “The three gates are about to open—an age of great contention! Without progress, death awaits! The mediocre step down, the capable rise! If you cannot do it, let another take over—perhaps your chance of survival increases! Do not scheme to kill your Dao Lord; if he dies, you who are attached to his Dao may not fare well. If the Dao is utterly shattered… all on that Dao will perish!”

Utterly shattering a Dao is extremely difficult!

Nowadays, when a Dao shatters, it means the power attached to it by the cultivator breaks; the Dao itself remains. But if the Dao itself is shattered by a powerhouse, everyone on that Dao dies.

This happened before—in the late ancient era, the Human Emperor and others shattered some Daos completely, causing all cultivators on those Daos to fall, leaving no remains, vanishing into dust.

Of course, such shattering is beyond ordinary ability.

Su Yu paid no heed back then, but now he knows that to utterly shatter a Dao and erase it from the River of Time is still immensely difficult!

Normal shattering only breaks your own attachment; the Dao remains, and those attached can still cultivate, even seize control of the Dao.

Su Yu’s warning is to prevent everyone from plotting to kill their Dao Lord, which could easily lead to disaster.

Naturally, it also reminds the Dao Lords to be clever!

All respond in assent!

As for whether they will actually kill their Dao Lords, that is up to them—Su Yu cares little; rogue cultivators, accustomed to deceit, might well ambush others.

Now, throughout Brightlight City, the merging of Dao proceeds methodically.

One by one, rogue cultivators, after the first succeeded without dying and even took hold of a new Dao, shed their burdens and begin merging!

…

Su Yu’s massive face vanishes.

He closes his eyes, receiving the insights transmitted from the Daos, as if personally experiencing each life—each cultivator’s path, experiences, and realizations differ.

Dao insight lies in daily accumulation.

Killing is insight, marrying and bearing children is insight, failure is insight, battle is insight…

The Civilization Chronicle, long ago, already possessed this ability—it could even let one personally experience another’s life; that was the precursor to Dao insight, though it was not understood then.

Back then, Su Yu merely regarded it as memories, never grasping its deeper meaning.

At that time, what he loved most was to probe into others' memories and impersonate them.

The rest, he had yet to touch.

Now, in this present moment, the insights of the Great Dao in heaven and earth, though different from before—no longer revealing all memories—yet every understanding of the Dao would be infused into his own Great Dao by these people, transmitted to Su Yu.

"Is it that my heaven and earth are like this, or is everyone's heaven and earth the same?"

At this moment, Su Yu fell into deep thought.

Perhaps all heavens and earths are like this?

While they cultivate, I am actually receiving these messages, these insights. The River of Time... Su Yu dared not imagine how powerful the Lord of Time truly was!

For countless eons, aside from the Heaven-Opener, all cultivators have relied on the River of Time.

The Lord of Time... if an enemy, could he truly be matched?

Such a being, who gave birth to many Lords of Forbidden Lands within heaven and earth—where is he?

How powerful is he, really?

As Su Yu absorbed the insights of those mighty ones, he pondered. He had only taken in a portion of their understandings, and now he was already advancing toward the 29th Dao.

These insights from the older generation saved Su Yu an immeasurable amount of time.

He progressed with astonishing speed!

"When King Wen opened heaven, why did he not choose to let others merge into the Dao?"

Su Yu fell into thought, then quickly understood. Because at that time, there were few powerful beings. For King Wen, merging them into his heaven and earth would not have brought much enhancement.

On the contrary, it would have exposed his heaven and earth.

One must know that Su Yu had merged so many first-tier and second-tier beings, and after reaching the 28th Dao, the difficulty of further improvement had become immense.

"Heaven and earth are not omnipotent!"

"When these people's insights become useless to me, unable to help me advance further, then no matter how many I merge, it will only add to my experience, not bring me any tangible benefit!"

"Moreover, in King Wen's heaven and earth, there are not many Daos. Even if he wanted to merge, he should have chosen the strong..."

King Wen's Daos were actually quite numerous; the Human Emperor's were fewer.

But compared to Su Yu, who had merged three thousand Daos in the myriad realms, it was far less.

At this moment, Su Yu gained some new understanding of these matters.

He looked again at the people in this heaven and earth, and suddenly a thought arose... If these people were the Demon Ancestor, Immortal Ancestor, God Ancestor, Human Ancestor...

And they fought among themselves, would he intervene?

Not necessarily!

When he truly reached the state of transcendence, Su Yu might not bother with their conflicts either.

Could this also be the intention of the Lord of Time?

If the Lord of Time truly lived, would he be like Su Yu now... At this moment, Su Yu still cared, because he needed these people's combat power. But when he no longer needed it, would he still care?

Was this the reason the Lord of Time never appeared?

"The Calamity of the Three Gates... perhaps it is not necessarily a bad thing... From the Lord of Time's perspective, it might simply be for renewal, to prevent the old from forever monopolizing the Great Dao..."

"The Heavenly Dao is merciless. This Lord of Time, like the Heavenly Dao, creates calamities, creates rules, and renews the ages!"

Having reached this point, Su Yu vaguely understood the purpose of the Calamity of the Three Gates.

And the Three Gates—were they the strongest of their eras, unwilling to see their age annihilated, leaving a glimmer of hope for their times, waiting for a comeback?

Otherwise, all three eras should have perished, not be able to reappear!

The Gate is the only path to the myriad realms!

"If the Three Gates are powerful beings, the strongest of their eras, or Heaven-Openers... does that mean that only a Heaven-Opener can connect the past and the present?"

Why must it be a Heaven-Opener?

Su Yu judged and weighed: perhaps a Heaven-Opener has already transcended, and thus can open a path between past and present, leaving a thread of life for a doomed era!

If he himself were the Fourth Gate...

In the end, if he were defeated, if the myriad realms were defeated, unable to match the might of the Three Gates' beings, would he, for the sake of the myriad realms, leave a glimmer of hope, transform into a gate, make heaven and earth a gate, seal the myriad realms, and become a past era?

"Perhaps such a possibility exists..."

At this moment, Su Yu suddenly glimpsed the essence of the Three Gates!

They were three mighty beings who, seeing their era on the verge of extinction, had no choice but to take this path, preserving a thread of life, waiting for a resurgence, to return to the present. And the Gate indeed exists in the past!

This doomed era, under the protection of the Gate, was able to survive!

"Three eras—did each eventually have someone who chose to transform into a gate?"

"Then why is no one mentioning their merits?"

To transform into a gate, a Heaven-Opener, sacrificing themselves to protect their era—shouldn't they be remembered?

Or was it merely a choice forced by desperation?

Or even... were they compelled by the strong of their era to transform into gates for protection?

Countless thoughts surfaced again!

And Su Yu, comprehending all this, now gradually grew stronger in aura!

After a moment, several first-tier beings from the forbidden lands were expelled by Su Yu's acupoints. Among the crowd, a few were especially excited.

Blade Master, Shang, and Qu were all thrilled!

Because the Daos these beings walked were similar to theirs, of the same category. Taking these beings meant each of them would make a tremendous leap, fully inheriting the insights and rule power of a first-tier. Even if they couldn't instantly jump from the 16th Dao to the 22nd, a 16th-Dao cultivator fully absorbing the insights and rule power of a 22nd-Dao strongman would have little trouble reaching the 20th Dao.

With some time to slowly comprehend, reaching the 22nd Dao would not be too difficult.

All this, Su Yu paid no heed.

Whether the Blade Dao or other Daos, they were not particularly strong in the myriad realms.

The Daos of the myriad realms' heaven and earth were now held by Xia Longwu, who was only a third-tier. Even if these here grew stronger, it mattered little.

At this moment, Su Yu was also steadily consolidating his own Gate Dao.

After the Gate Heaven and Earth came the Heavenly Gate.

The Heavenly Gate flickered in and out of visibility.

Su Yu began to ponder another question: "That day, someone told me that the Three Gates could be cultivated, perhaps related to the bloodline of the Three Gates... Tongtian Hou said that the Human Ancestor could cultivate the Human Gate, perhaps because the Human Ancestor left something within it... And humans can cultivate the Heavenly Gate, perhaps because of some bloodline connection to the Human Gate..."

Previously, Su Yu thought it might be that some human strongmen, our ancestors, left something in the Heavenly Gate.

But now... Su Yu had a vague guess!

"Heavenly Gate... human... ancestor..."

Some words from Sun and Moon surfaced in his mind.

"If the Heavenly Gate is a strongman incarnate, then why couldn't the Heavenly Gate be a human?"

"Or perhaps... the Gate is a person?"

Thoughts flickered one after another, Su Yu's gaze shifting constantly.

The Gate!

Could the leader of the Sun and Moon... truly be seen?

Does it really exist?

What if... the Gate itself is their leader?

Only, now it slumbers!

And the goal of these Sun and Moon people—is it to revive the Three Gates?

To break open the Three Gates?

To let the Three Gates fully awaken!

So that their leader can revive; otherwise, why be so furtive?

The Forbidden Lands are not furtive!

Every Forbidden Land, even the most mysterious Soul Domain, claimed to be omnipresent, is still known to all.

Yet this Forbidden Land, led by the Gate, remains unknown to anyone.

Utterly mysterious!

At this moment, Su Yu seemed to grasp the crux!

In an instant, he formed some guesses, his expression shifting slightly. I think I may have figured it out!

The Heavenly Gate might be the incarnation of that one!

Sun, Moon, Star, and Wen, including Sun and Moon's parents, may have all gathered to revive this being. And this being should truly be the ancestor of the human race, which is why the human lineage can cultivate the Heavenly Gate!

Because the bloodline has been passed down from ancient times!

Su Yu smiled!

It was only a guess, but built on the clues he had gathered... so it was very likely true!

"I think I understand!"

At this moment, Su Yu once again displayed his exceptional deductive skills, convinced his inference was correct.

"So, Star could follow out back then, probably because of some connection to the Heavenly Gate!"

"Star went out, hoping to find the Human Emperor..."

Su Yu pondered—what for?

To tell the Human Emperor not to block the opening of the Three Gates?

To let the Three Gates revive?

Because the Heavenly Gate might be the Human Sage, the first ancestor of humanity?

But unfortunately, that one didn't meet the Human Emperor; instead, he met Su Yu and had no choice but to merge the Time Scroll into Su Yu's body.

This point remains unclear for now.

But Su Yu had also guessed something extraordinary.

The next moment, Su Yu suddenly vanished.

...

"Ah!"

A piercing scream echoed repeatedly. The next moment, the thunder vanished. Sun and Moon, corroded to the point of being like white bones, was suspended by Su Yu with a wave of his hand, breathing faintly in the air, staring at Su Yu in utter despair.

In just that short time, he had nearly been killed several times.

Su Yu smiled, amused: "Was that fun?"

Sun and Moon, barely breathing, gasped weakly: "What... do you want?"

Su Yu chuckled: "Nothing much, just want to ask—where is your world?"

"What?"

Su Yu said calmly: "Where is the Human Sage's world? Is it inside the Gate? You lot actually live inside the Gate—I never expected that! No wonder you're so familiar with the world! That the Human Sage incarnated as a Gate—I never expected that either! And you... are you waiting for him to revive?"

Su Yu's smile was radiant, while Sun and Moon in the air suppressed his shock and spoke: "What?"

"How interesting!"

Su Yu sighed, "So interesting! Is he the ancestor of humanity? No wonder you're all willing to serve him. But..."

Su Yu frowned: "He wants to bring this era back, you know? So he's destined to be our enemy, you know?"

Sun and Moon trembled: "No... you... are also of this era... even if you have yang-world aura... you are of this era... the leader is not your enemy..."

"And King Wen?"

Su Yu smiled.

Sun and Moon groaned in pain: "The Black Tomb... we... all belong to this era... King Wen... King Wen can coexist peacefully... we are all human..."

Su Yu sighed: "The Three Gates are all enemies!"

At this moment, Su Yu suddenly let out a sigh, tinged with sorrow: "I think I fully understand the Human Emperor's words now. I think I truly understand why he treated Star that way!"

Su Yu sighed: "Because if they want to revive in the new era, they must kill a peer of the same rank! A peer of the new era! If they don't kill, they can only choose to lower their strength, absorb enough yang energy to offset yin energy! If the Human Emperor had chosen to protect Star because Star was his ancestor, then others would follow suit, and soon all the powerhouses of the myriad realms would be slaughtered!"

"Once the powerhouses of the myriad realms are all killed, that still wouldn't be enough. Then, to survive, perhaps even the Harmony, Eternal, Sun and Moon realms would become your targets!"

Su Yu sighed: "I think I truly understand now!"

"This is a conflict of paths, a conflict of eras!"

"You refuse to accept it; you want to revive. But have you ever considered the myriad realms?"

At this moment, Su Yu suddenly fully grasped the Human Emperor's words.

He looked up at the sky, his emotions complex.

The Human Emperor said not to trust anyone from within the Gate, not even his own ancestor. He knew Star was his ancestor, but he didn't care, because the Human Emperor's responsibility was not to an ancestor he considered already dead.

But to the human masses still living in the myriad realms!

And the Heavenly Gate, or rather the Gate, was the greatest protector of the Gate Era. This protector wanted to revive the Gate Era!

At this moment, Su Yu was completely enlightened!

Looking at Sun and Moon again, Su Yu felt no sympathy or pity, only indifference: "Behind the Gate, there is no race! Behind the Gate, there is only an era! The heroes of your era, to revive and return, want to annihilate our era... Sun and Moon, I think I understand!"

But Sun and Moon's body trembled, quaking: "You... are not from within the Gate?"

Su Yu said softly: "Of course!"

This time, he didn't hide it, and Sun and Moon was utterly despairing: "You... want to kill me?"

Knowing too much isn't necessarily a good thing!

"No, seal you!"

Su Yu smiled. "If I truly killed you, your parents might sense it through blood ties! Now, I'm actually curious about one thing—if there is a world within the Heavenly Gate, why haven't you reconnected with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth?"

Su Yu stroked his chin, murmuring, "Is the Great Dao insufficient? Or is it because the gate slumbers, preventing the reconnection, or some other reason?"

He chuckled. "None of that matters now! I think I've already guessed your hiding place! But logically, you and the Forbidden Lands should be one entity—why are you skulking about, afraid to show yourselves?"

"Could it be... that the Heavenly Gate's self-sealing was not voluntary?"

With each guess Su Yu made, the Sun-Moon trembled all over.

Demon!

Su Yu continued, "Forget it, maybe there's still a chance for cooperation!"

Su Yu smiled. "The Human Auspice—he might not be willing to protect everyone, right? Perhaps only a portion? If you must kill your own kind to survive... why not go kill the myriad races instead?"

Su Yu laughed. "There's no need to make enemies of us, don't you think?"

The Sun-Moon said with difficulty, "You... it's just speculation... if you say so, then it is..."

"Though it's speculation, it's close to the truth!"

Su Yu grinned. "This gets more interesting. If the Heavenly Gate is the ancestor of humanity, then who is the Earthly Gate? And who is the Human Gate? The Human Gate should predate the Age of Creation—surely it can't be the Lord of Time himself?"

"The Earthly Gate seals or protects the Chaos Era... but the Prison King's lineage can cultivate the Earthly Gate. The Prison King is connected to the Flamefire Demon Emperor—a demon emperor and a prison king. Perhaps the Earthly Gate is linked to these two, but where does the key lie?"

Su Yu stroked his chin, muttering, "Could all three gates be human? Well, humanoid beings are all human, aren't they? But in the Chaos Era, most of what was sealed were Chaos Ancient Beasts... logically, they should be beast-like! Unless the Flamefire Demon Emperor has some beast bloodline?"

Doubts arose one after another, but soon Su Yu laughed. "Forget it, I'm not interested in specific identities—just knowing the gist is enough! The Human Gate might have some connection to Human Ancestor Zhou... but not necessarily. I only saw Baizhan and Yu open the Human Gate, not the Human Ancestor himself."

By now, Su Yu had roughly sorted out the origins of the three gates and generally understood the identity of the Heavenly Gate. He could investigate the other two later.

Though the Sun-Moon had said few important things, those simple words—including the revelation of human existence—had sparked many insights for Su Yu.

Of course, the key point was that this fellow had an extremely deep understanding of heaven and earth.

Since no one inside the gate could open a world, how could they know so much? Unless they were from the Netherworld of the Dead, or had seen another world.

Su Yu's smile was radiant. "Thank you! Brother Sun-Moon, you've cleared up many doubts for me! And you've also revealed a hidden powerhouse I might have overlooked before. Now I understand—gratitude!"

But the Sun-Moon's face turned pale. "No... you... you're not Black Tomb. Who are you? Your world wasn't opened here... no... perhaps... you've also opened a world in the myriad realms... Are you the Human Emperor, Xingyu?"

This man was the Human Emperor?

How could it be!

But aside from the Human Emperor, who could be so powerful, who could enter the gate, who could see through so many essences at a glance?

At that moment, the Sun-Moon's expression completely changed.

He had said nothing!

He had merely revealed one percent of the truth, or perhaps none at all—he had only spoken a few names. Yet he never expected this person to deduce so much.

Su Yu smiled and waved a hand. "Rest easy and heal. I'll find you a quiet place to recover. Don't try to kill yourself—it's useless. Under me, you won't die! Also, I might have seen through some truths... Eternal Life Mountain—was that your arrangement?"

Su Yu chuckled. "Wasn't it? You might not be able to communicate, but... if the gate briefly awakens, isn't that possible? The Time Master... perhaps you lured him here! Ruthless enough!"

Su Yu sighed. "If you lured him here, then it makes sense! The Time Master might have been deceived, and the Time Scroll might have been deliberately released by someone—including Fa, who might have known..."

"And now Fa wants to devour the Time Master and open a world... Could it be that opening a world allows passage through the Heavenly Gate?"

Su Yu murmured, "Perhaps it can! Because a world can pierce the Heavenly Gate! That's right—our world wraps around the Great Dao, unimpeded, and going out through the gate seems possible! But for cultivators, the Great Dao might still be restricted?"

"In a sealed era, how could one easily leave?"

"In that case, the Time Master was lured here with a purpose—not just to trap King Wen and the others..."

Su Yu kept talking, then furrowed his brow. "So, the Human Gate and the Heavenly Gate might have some connection? Good heavens, perhaps the three gates have reached some agreement?"

"Then the Time Master won't fall for it, will he?"

Su Yu muttered, "You could trick her into sending out the Time Scroll... from Eternal Life Mountain. The Human Emperor said what she sent might be a copy—could it be you want the original?"

"The original is the core of the Time Master's countermeasure against Fa?"

"So, your visit this time—could it be with that intention?"

"..."

The Sun-Moon trembled even more!

But Su Yu kept judging. After a long while, he laughed. "Highly possible! The Time Master has always controlled the original. Before this, you might have secretly contacted her, faking an attempt to rescue her... but in truth, you wanted her to hand over the original!"

"Pity, the Time Master didn't seem to give it up!"

"Letting the copy circulate... Xing wanted to find the Human Emperor... Could it be to deceive the Human Emperor as well? With the Human Emperor's insight, he'd likely discover the Time Scroll was a copy... Then fabricate some lies to trick him? Have the Human Emperor speak out, making the Time Master surrender the original?"

Su Yu spoke to himself. That day, he had truly pierced through too many truths!

Soon, Su Yu laughed. "Forget it, knowing is knowing. Since I know, can I let you succeed?"

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the Sun-Moon vanished completely, sealed away entirely—even his consciousness was sealed!

Alright, this fellow was useless now.

Though he hadn't revealed much, the few key pieces of information were enough for Su Yu to connect previous clues and deduce many things.

...

Soon, Su Yu reappeared in the city.

By now, all the rogue cultivators had been subdued by him.

Including several Forbidden Land powerhouses, but three were still in the midst of battle.

Beside him, the Blade Lord was ecstatic. "Lord Calamity, I've reached 18 Dao!"

Su Yu nodded slightly. "Two First-Rank fused into you, and you're only at 18 Dao? You waste—you've cost me two First-Rank combatants, you know?"

When a First-Rank fuses their Dao, even if the Blade Lord reaches 18 Dao, those two would at most have the power of three or four Dao—barely Third-Rank.

Trading two 16-Dao fighters for this guy's single Dao increase was hardly worth it.

But... it didn't matter.

Giving subordinates a little sweetness made them know to serve—hadn't the Blade Lord been passionate lately?

And Su Yu, sensing his own progress, found he was still a bit short of 29 Dao.

There were still three powerhouses left.

He didn't need to fuse all of them—maybe just one would be enough for him to advance.

...

Su Yu said no more. Soon, he led his First-Rank subordinates toward that direction.

At this moment, Su Yu had a full 18 First-Rank fighters under his command!

Actually, not that many—several First-Ranks had fallen in realm after fusing their Dao, like Qu and Shang, who had both fused First-Rank Daos.

Otherwise, after lying in ambush here so long, Su Yu wouldn't have only recruited a few First-Ranks.

In the Forbidden Canyon, he had recruited ten!

He had lured so many rogue cultivators and Forbidden Land powerhouses—far more than eight!

...

And at this moment, within the arena, the three great powerhouses were still locked in battle!

Jian Kong was somewhat wounded, panting heavily.

Outside, the voice of the Blade Master came again: "Impressive, my lord!"

Impressive your ancestors!

Jian Kong nearly burst with rage.

Can't you see I've been gravely wounded by others?

And still calling me impressive!

At this point, Xue Lian from Luohun Valley couldn't help but let out a soft laugh: "Jian Kong, are the people of Liufang Mountain so eager for you to die?"

To keep shouting at a time like this.

Isn't it ridiculous?

Too ridiculous!

Nearby, the Black Dragon also sneered, glancing around, then raised an eyebrow and suddenly said: "These fellows... keep repeating the same words, do they think they're watching a monkey show?"

He was somewhat displeased!

And Jian Kong, with a cold snort, felt gloomy and said in a low voice: "I lost... I suppose you wouldn't dare kill me. Enough, I concede this battle, you win! You want Liufang Mountain... then take it..."

A bet is a bet!

He accepted it!

Moreover, this Blade Master was too infuriating—he no longer wished to protect Liufang Mountain!

And just at that moment, the barrier suddenly opened, and a figure walked in, chuckling: "Jian Kong, Liufang Mountain is mine, I can't just give it away casually!"

"Black Tomb?"

Jian Kong was startled—Black Tomb had returned?

The next moment, however, the three of them changed color drastically!

For it wasn't just Su Yu who arrived; those who had been shouting for blood earlier—Qu, Shang, the Blade Master, Xue Long—all followed behind Su Yu.

Jian Kong and the others' faces shifted!

The Black Dragon even roared angrily: "Qu, what are you doing?"

And at that moment, a shout suddenly rang out again from all around: "Impressive, my lord!"

The Blade Master's face flushed red; he looked around and quickly slashed open a Dao prohibition outside, forcing a dry laugh: "Apologies, apologies—it kept running, I forgot to turn it off!"

At this moment, the three of them all changed color drastically!

Fake!

And Jian Kong, his expression shifting, looked at Su Yu and sighed: "All of it was fake? The Forbidden Canyon... has already been unified by you?"

At this moment, he understood!

Jian Kong smiled bitterly: "Black Tomb, the Battle of Bright City—it was all a smokescreen, wasn't it?"

Su Yu nodded with a smile: "I thought you'd figure it out later—good thing you caught on in time!"

Jian Kong gritted his teeth: "My father knows I'm here; he might come looking for me soon..."

Su Yu nodded: "I'm waiting for him to come. If he doesn't, I'll be quite disappointed."

"You..."

Before he could finish, Su Yu's palm descended with boundless momentum, and Jian Kong's face changed drastically!

"Impossible!"

This aura was no weaker than his father's!

The Black Dragon and the others also changed color!

A Soul-Seeking Envoy level!

Boom!

After a long battle, the three powerhouses, under the force of Su Yu's single palm, all spat blood and staggered back. Su Yu laughed: "You're too exhausted, heavily injured—it seems you'll have to concede."

Around them, the eighteen first-rank experts emerged, some excited, others conflicted.

Eighteen first-rank, plus a supremely powerful Su Yu!

At this moment, the three were filled with utter despair.

How could this be?

This wasn't the outcome they had wanted!

And Qu and the others now began to speak, explaining everything—especially Qu and Shang, who were ecstatic. The Sword Dao had yet to be claimed, but their paths overlapped with those two!

This was their chance!

One by one, they spoke excitedly, and the more the three listened, the more terrified they became.

A Heaven-Opener!

Merging Dao with the world!

No wonder... the entire Bright City was within the other's world!

At this moment, the three were utterly hopeless, with no way out!

The most despairing were the Black Dragon and Xue Lian—they seemed to have no choice but to submit. As for Jian Kong, he remained silent; he might yet claim the Sword Dao.

Whether to merge with the world... either die or merge—there was no other path!

After a while, the three all sighed and spoke in turn: "We... surrender!"

The strong from forbidden lands were harder to deal with than rogue cultivators, but at this point, between life and death, a choice had to be made.

And Su Yu broke into a smile.

Radiant!

Three 22-Dao powerhouses!

...

After another moment, Su Yu's aura shifted, and the world trembled.

29 Dao, achieved!

Not only that, but the three 22-Dao powerhouses had also pushed him a step further on the path to 30 Dao.

Su Yu believed that if he merged with one of them—like Sword Venerable—he might have a chance to reach 30 Dao.

And the three-month deadline was only half over!