Chapter 885: Necromancer Hell

The three great masters surrendered.

Yet Su Yu, constrained by his earlier decision, could now only let Jian Kong wield the sword path, while the two twenty-two-path masters from the forbidden land, Black Dragon and Snow Lotus, had to merge into others.

Qu, as a matter of course, crossed into the twentieth path together with Shang.

The envious Blade Master and his companions wanted to cry!

Why them!

They too yearned for rapid progress, but the Blade Master had toiled for days and only reached the eighteenth path, while Snow Dragon was still stuck at the seventeenth.

They couldn't help but envy!

...

At this moment, Jian Kong, having merged with heaven and earth and taken command of the sword path, had not lost any strength. As Su Yu entered the twenty-ninth path, Jian Kong, after merging, even retained his full power, becoming the strongest under Su Yu's command at the twenty-second path.

If Sun and Moon had not been suppressed, they too could have recovered to twenty-two-path power.

At this time, Jian Kong seemed somewhat conflicted.

He had surrendered, but what about his father?

Jian Kong couldn't help but say, "Black... Calamity Lord, my father will never surrender. He is the Mountain Lord's most trusted man, and his strength is immense. He will not lower his own power and submit to the Calamity Lord!"

Others surrendered because most were rogue cultivators.

As for Jian Kong and his companions, they surrendered partly due to the threat to their lives and partly because there was still an opportunity.

But if Sword Venerable surrendered to Su Yu... was there any benefit?

None!

At least not a single one at present. Not only that, but his strength would also drop significantly.

Even if Jian Kong gave the power of the Great Path to his father, his father could not return to his peak strength.

Unable to recover and betraying the Sky Dome Lord who trusted him most, Jian Kong said with anguish, "So if my father truly comes, the most likely outcome is that he will fight the Calamity Lord to the death!"

Sword cultivators had fiery tempers!

Sword Venerable was also powerful—why should he submit to Su Yu?

After a moment's hesitation, Jian Kong added, "And my father is very strong..."

In other words, you might not be able to defeat him!

Yes, Sword Venerable was formidable!

Su Yu nodded slightly: "I saw him once, roughly between the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth paths, probably not yet at thirty-path power."

That was about equal to him now.

But...

Su Yu squinted and smiled: "Leaving aside Black Dragon and Snow Lotus, and not counting you, aren't there still eighteen?"

Eighteen first-rank masters!

If they joined forces, with Su Yu added, even Sword Venerable would have to kneel!

Before the thirty-second path, there were indeed gaps among first-rank masters.

But such gaps could be bridged—by numbers!

After the thirty-second path, the power gap became huge.

It wasn't that numbers couldn't be used, but such beings were hard to kill. They had merged their path into their body; where the path was, they were.

If they fled, it was hard to catch them.

And if you caught them, they would transform into the essence of the path. Without the corresponding means, it was also hard to kill them.

Jian Kong's expression changed slightly.

True!

Su Yu's side was not just him alone, but many.

Not to mention the first-rank masters; the second-rank ones were now nearly a hundred!

There were also countless Rule Lords. Throughout the entire heaven and earth, the number of masters who had reached the Rule Lord level, even after removing those who had merged their paths, now exceeded three hundred!

And many had chosen to merge their paths with others.

In Su Yu's heaven and earth, there were only seven hundred and twenty paths, but some paths were relatively obscure, with few cultivators, and no path-holders had been found yet.

Three hundred masters!

Sword Venerable had no choice but to kneel!

Su Yu smiled again: "By the way,

I've always heard the forbidden land is powerful. I'm curious—just how strong is it?"

Apart from the Forbidden Land Lord, the hall masters, and the Soul Reapers, Su Yu wasn't really clear about the forbidden land's strength. In fact, others weren't either, including figures like Qu, who didn't know much.

Because everyone belonged to different factions, and in the forbidden land, they rarely interacted with other factions.

The main reason was that their status wasn't high enough!

But Jian Kong was different—his father was the First Seat of the War Hall, strictly speaking, the second most important person in Sky Dome Mountain!

Hearing Su Yu's question and seeing that he was being looked at,

Jian Kong hesitated, sighed, and thought that now his fate was intertwined with Su Yu's, so hiding things was useless.

Jian Kong spoke: "Sky Dome Mountain is considered a powerful forbidden land. It has a total of eight halls: War, Art, Recon, Support, Sky Patrol, Beast Taming, Breach, and Internal Affairs. Each hall has a First Seat!"

At these words, not only Su Yu was surprised, but even Black Dragon in the distance was startled: "Since when did Sky Dome Mountain have eight halls? Isn't it just four?"

Jian Kong looked somewhat disdainful and said flatly, "The last four halls rarely show themselves! But their combat power is not inferior!"

He didn't want to say more, but continued, "The War Hall is the strongest. As far as I know, the War Hall alone has nine masters above the sixteenth path!"

But now... only six remained.

Simply because he and two others had been captured!

Of course, that didn't include the First Seat.

"The War Hall is the strongest; the other eight halls are slightly weaker, but all together, there are probably fifty masters above the sixteenth path!"

Su Yu gasped: "That many?"

Were there really that many?

Although he had seen quite a few now, so many first-rank masters was still unexpected.

In the entire Forbidden Canyon, first-rank masters, counting those killed or captured and excluding outside rogue cultivators, were actually fewer than twenty.

Where did Sky Dome Mountain get so many masters?

Jian Kong said proudly, "Calamity Lord, the name of Sky Dome Mountain as the number one forbidden land is not just for show! Ask Black Dragon and the others—Sky Dome Mountain has the most masters. As for the Dead Spirit Hell, as far as I know, under the Four Emperors, there are no more than thirty above the sixteenth path!"

Black Dragon remained silent.

When Su Yu looked at him, he saw Su Yu's gaze and said gloomily, "That's right! The Nether Earth Emperor is the Eastern Emperor, the strongest, but under the Nether Earth Emperor, there are only six above the sixteenth path!"

Saying this, he looked at Qu with some irritation and muttered, “Now... there are only three left!”

As for the rest?

Nonsense—he, Qu, and one other had been captured, so of course they were gone.

Xuelian didn’t wait for Su Yu to ask, and said somewhat dejectedly, “Falling Soul Valley is about the same as the Dead Spirit Hell. Right now... Falling Soul Valley has also lost three!”

Other places weren’t lacking either; a single forbidden land had nearly thirty first-rank experts, terrifyingly many.

But still, not as many as Sky Dome Mountain.

The two forbidden lands combined were probably only equal to Sky Dome Mountain—no wonder Sky Dome Mountain was so confident!

Su Yu was curious: “If Sky Dome Mountain is this strong, why are they fixated on the Human Emperor all day?”

Was the master of Sky Dome Mountain just bored with nothing better to do?

“The mountain master was humiliated by the Human Emperor and has never forgotten it!”

Jian Kong explained: “Back then, the Human Emperor fished for rogue cultivators near us across the myriad realms. Almost all the strong ones in the entire western region were caught by him. At that time, Sky Dome Mountain wasn’t in its current location—it was farther west, near the Heavenly Gate!”

“Back then, the Forbidden Canyon was much larger than it is now!”

He continued: “In the end, the entire west, an area even as large as the current Forbidden Canyon, was completely fished out by him, and countless strong died. Later, when the mountain master discovered it, the Human Emperor even taunted him, arrogant and insufferable! In the later stages, he directly tried to descend upon the Heavenly Gate. After a battle with the mountain master, the mountain master shattered the Human Emperor’s projection... and that’s why he’s been fixated on him ever since.”

Su Yu chuckled inwardly. Was the Human Emperor really that arrogant back then?

True—he was immensely powerful and had never fought a forbidden land master. The Human Emperor seemed kind on the surface, but deep down he was domineering. He even wanted to suppress the Three Gates, so why would he fear these forbidden land masters?

In the end, he suffered a loss and provoked the master of Sky Dome Mountain.

Su Yu thought for a moment, then suddenly said, “But that many Sixteen-Dao experts is too many. There are plenty of rogue cultivators above Sixteen-Dao, but I’ve lured a large batch from the entire Forbidden Canyon, even the outskirts... Is one forbidden land really stronger than all the rogue cultivators combined?”

Jian Kong shook his head: “That’s not the case. Among the rogue cultivators, some of the strong ones were actually drawn into the forbidden lands. The rogue cultivators now are mostly the ones left over from back then.”

He added: “Moreover, among those above Sixteen-Dao in the forbidden lands, some are inherited!”

Su Yu raised an eyebrow: “Inherited?”

“Yes, sons inherit their fathers’ legacy!”

Jian Kong explained: “For example, I’m now a Twenty-Two-Dao sword cultivator. My father and I don’t share the same Great Dao, but our categories are consistent! Once my father feels his lifespan is near, he will pass on his sword insights to me, and at the final moment, help me merge his sword Dao!”

“Thus, the abundance of strong in the forbidden lands isn’t the accumulation of a single generation, but countless generations of continuous accumulation and Dao inheritance, which finally gave rise to the forbidden lands’ strong!”

That was... truly beyond words!

Over in the forbidden lands, inheritance was unbroken.

Sons inherit their fathers’ legacy!

A Sixteen-Dao father raised a son, and once the son reached the power of seven or eight Daos, the father could pass on his own Dao, give him a boost, and after the father died, the son would already possess formidable strength.

But Su Yu caught one phrase and raised an eyebrow: “Lifespan?”

At the Rule Master realm, could one really die of old age?

He had never heard of that!

Of course, it existed below the Rule Master realm.

Jian Kong nodded: “Lifespan! It’s perfectly normal. No one can be immortal—it’s just a matter of sooner or later! But the strong live longer; the weak live shorter!”

He explained further: “Because this is a ruined world. My father once said that the Great Dao here is incomplete, with extremely heavy yin energy. So lifespan exists. In recent years, some have indeed died of old age, beyond any cure!”

Around them, others nodded. The Blade Master nodded: “That’s true. I’ve seen it—a Seven-Dao fellow died of old age right before my eyes. His Dao instantly shattered, and he turned to ashes!”

Jian Kong nodded: “The Calamity Lord might be young and hasn’t seen it. But being young doesn’t help either. According to my father, in this world, if you can’t return to the myriad realms in time, you’ll die eventually!”

He sighed: “In recent years, the locusts have actually increased. I wonder if everyone has felt it—the aura of destruction is spreading. This world might be doomed!”

“The opening of the Three Gates is an opportunity. If we fail to take the myriad realms this time and can’t return... when the Heavenly Gate closes again, we will all die!”

There was no way out!

The might of annihilation!

Su Yu was silent for a moment, then said, “If we fail to take the myriad realms this time, can’t we open the Heavenly Gate again? But I remember, the Earthly Gate is from an era even earlier than ours, right?”

They hadn’t been destroyed yet!

Others were puzzled too—right, the Earthly Gate was older than them, though not as strong!

Jian Kong shook his head: “It’s different! Many of the ancient beasts in the Earthly Gate aren’t connected to the River of Time; they cultivate the Chaos Dao. Chaos knows no years, and the Time Dao can hardly corrode them... So the beings in the Earthly Gate live longer than us, but that doesn’t mean they have no lifespan! By the time of the myriad realms era, they’re almost at their limit. So this time, the Earthly Gate and the Heavenly Gate must get out... As for the Human Gate, I’m not sure!”

Around them, the rogue cultivators all looked grave.

“Does Lord Jian Kong mean that if we fail to take the myriad realms this time, we have no retreat?”

“Of course!”

Jian Kong nodded: “Otherwise, why do you think the forbidden lands are so eager? Every single one of them is impatient to get out?”

Su Yu was lost in thought.

A fight to the death?

Then the opening of the Three Gates this time would indeed be a bloody battle!

Also, the forbidden lands had many strong, but from Jian Kong’s words, there were second, third, even fourth generations.

All inheriting their Daos—sons inherit their fathers’ legacy!

If that was the case... they might not be that hard to deal with.

Sky Dome Mountain was still extremely powerful, but Dead Spirit Hell and Falling Soul Valley might be manageable—of course, the Dead Spirit Lord was too strong to handle.

Falling Soul Valley!

Su Yu mused to himself, Falling Soul Valley.

He suddenly looked at Shang and Xuelian and said with a faint smile, “You two are disciples of the Asura Envoy of Falling Soul Valley. The Asura Envoy’s strength is average, right?”

Average?

The two were speechless, but Shang quickly said, “The Asura Envoy is not weak. He ranks among the top of the six Soul-Snatching Envoys, with at least Twenty-Six-Dao power!”

That was weak.

What was there to argue about!

Su Yu thought for a moment and said, “If I capture all six Soul-Snatching Envoys, and then take Falling Soul Valley, what are the chances?”

The crowd was silent.

Was the Calamity Lord really going to attack Falling Soul Valley?

The few strong from Falling Soul Valley looked at each other, momentarily at a loss.

Su Yu rubbed his chin and said, “How do I lure the Asura Envoy and the others out of the forbidden land?”

Xuelian couldn’t help but ask, “Calamity Lord, why must you attack a forbidden land? If you really want to establish a new forbidden land, just do it...”

Su Yu was speechless and sneered, “Nonsense! If I don’t capture more strong, how can I become Thirty-Two-Dao? I need to capture a large number of strong—where can I find them? In the forbidden lands! I’ll grow stronger with every battle, and all of you will rise with the tide. Understand?”

It’s not that I want to fight—it’s that if I don’t, relying on fishing for rogue cultivators every day is too slow!

Besides, I’ve made such a big commotion—sooner or later, I’ll be discovered!

Rather than this, it’s better to strike unexpectedly, while no one is paying attention, and first seize a forbidden land, securing a foothold before anything else.

This time, he had lured away so many strong ones, including some from the forbidden lands. The forbidden lands hadn’t noticed for the moment, but soon they would.

“The Nethersoil might be connected to the Lord of the Dead’s realm. The Sword Venerable is powerful and may not surrender… So let’s first target the Valley of Lost Souls, target the Envoy of Shura!”

Su Yu looked at Shang and smiled: “Any way to get the Envoy of Shura to come here?”

Shang fell into thought.

Her former top superior had now become the target of the Calamity Lord.

After pondering for a moment, she nodded: “There is a way!”

“Tell me!”

Shang spoke softly: “The Envoy of Shura delights in killing for pleasure! He is also the most bloodthirsty among the six envoys! His main path is the path of slaughter! But he has no interest in killing ordinary people. If they are too strong, killing them might stir up conflicts. In earlier years, the Envoy of Shura killed a forbidden land stronghold with over twenty paths of strength, which led to some friction between forbidden lands. Later, the Valley Lord warned him… Now he’s more restrained!”

Su Yu looked at her, roughly understanding her meaning.

Sure enough, Shang quickly continued: “We can continue to disguise ourselves. There are many rogue cultivators here. We can pretend to have captured a large number of rogue cultivator strongholds, including those from the Six Directions Mountain, and let the Envoy of Shura come here secretly to kill our captives. He might come in person!”

Then she added: “He likes to kill geniuses… We could even send him a message that the Calamity Lord has returned and broken through to twenty paths. The Calamity Lord is not a direct descendant of the forbidden lands, only a guest elder of the Heavenly Dome Mountain… The Envoy of Shura might find that even more interesting! Then the chance of him coming here would be great!”

Su Yu smiled: “Good, let’s try it! Keep the Bright City open, trick one if we can. As for the nearby rogue cultivators, take them in one by one! Once the Envoy of Shura arrives and we deal with him… we’ll find a way to lure the other Soul Reapers. Then, once I reach thirty paths, I might try to test the strength of the Valley of Lost Souls!”

Everyone felt a bit tense.

Dealing with a forbidden land!

This was something they all feared, yet eagerly anticipated.

They feared the forbidden lands because they were too strong.

They anticipated it because if they could conquer a forbidden land, they would become the forbidden land. Not only that, they could seize a vast amount of benefits and become strong!

As for Su Yu, his thoughts had also shifted.

The Sword Venerable—for now, it was best not to provoke him. His strength might not be weaker than Su Yu’s. So he would start with the weak and work his way up, dealing with them one by one, first taking down the Envoy of Shura!

The Nethersoil… the Lord of the Dead’s people, perhaps connected to the dead realm. Now that the path was severed, the other side would surely know.

After weighing everything, the only option was to target the Valley of Lost Souls first!

Also, he couldn’t just wait passively.

Su Yu had another thought: he wanted to go kill the Devouring Locusts, devour their paths, and perfect his own Calamity Path. The Calamity Path was still very useful—shielding from crises, sensing danger. That alone was a huge advantage!

Thinking this, Su Yu looked at the strong ones around him and said: “Gathering here is useless. Everyone, there are still many Devouring Locusts near the Forbidden Severance Canyon. Since we’ve cleared out quite a few rogue cultivators, next we’ll clear out the Devouring Locusts… Let’s say we’re building a safe Forbidden Severance Canyon!”

“After killing the Devouring Locusts, if we can strip their paths, do so. If not, they don’t seem to have much path power anyway, just fragments of broken rules… Bring them all back to me!”

“Yes!”

Everyone responded in unison.

“Shang, you and the others stay. Keep fishing, lure the Envoy of Shura here!”

“Yes!”

Several quickly nodded. Su Yu added: “Also, from the forbidden lands, continue to summon people to help in the battle! As long as they haven’t discovered us yet, we’ll keep growing our strength day by day!”

“Yes!”

Everyone responded again, one after another, full of fervor.

…

After Su Yu finished assigning tasks to his subordinates, the Envoy of Shura might not come for some time.

Now, he also wanted to go out for a stroll.

Staying here waiting wasn’t the answer.

Among the four forbidden lands, the one he most wanted to visit was the Eternal Life Mountain. But that place was now the core; any change there would easily attract attention.

As for the Valley of Lost Souls, it was best not to alert the enemy.

On his first day here, he had actually wanted to go to the Dead Spirit Hell. So… Su Yu wanted to go take a look at the Dead Spirit Hell. No other reason—he missed the Lord of the Dead.

Well, the truth was, Su Yu wanted to see how the world the Lord of the Dead had built here was faring.

To see if he could gain something to perfect his own world.

This Heaven Opener was considered a senior among the current lot!

“The King Wen… the Time Master…”

Actually, Su Yu also wanted to meet these two.

After some thought, he gave up.

Forget it, these two were too conspicuous.

After all, they were both right under everyone’s noses!

Su Yu was a man of action. After arranging other matters, he informed a few people to notify him in time when the Envoy of Shura arrived, then quickly left.

Heading to the Dead Spirit Hell!

…

In the endless void.

A dark world stood in the void, seething with deathly energy.

Like hell!

But compared to the dead realms of the myriad worlds, this place had a bit more life. The cultivators here were no longer the dead spirits of the myriad worlds, but true cultivators.

At this moment, in a hall that resembled hell,

the Lord of the Dead was frowning.

He wore a black robe, looking somewhat stern, but not in an oppressive, deathly way. Amidst the deathly aura, a peculiar vitality was seething.

His jet-black hair was smooth and flowing, simply draped, not tied up.

At this moment, the Lord of the Dead seemed somewhat irritable.

After a long silence, he suddenly let out a muffled groan, then abruptly opened his eyes. His eyes were like a vast starry sky, but now they held a trace of anger. His voice was low: “Why?”

“Life and death still cannot be converted… Could it be that the extreme of death is not life?”

He frowned and murmured: “Back in the myriad worlds, when I opened the Dead Spirit Heaven, I shouldn’t have opened another Dead Spirit Heaven here. I should have opened a Living Spirit Heaven. Those bastards didn’t give me time!”

He spoke with some anger!

The Lord of the Dead was also a peerless overlord, a peerless genius!

He had come here to break the shackles of the myriad worlds and open a Living Spirit Heaven here. Like Su Yu, he was trying to correct the deviation in his own world. He specialized in the path of death, but here, his original intention was to open the path of life.

However… blocked by the Lord of the Forbidden Land, and in order to quickly gain formidable strength, he had no choice but to reopen the familiar Dead Spirit Heaven!

But this was not his pursuit!

At this moment, the Lord of the Dead was utterly dejected, gritting his teeth: “Two heavens united… both are Dead Spirit Heavens. Even if they merge, it’s just that. It can’t make up for my flaw. Life and death cannot be balanced; instead, the deviation will only grow greater!”

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

For years, he had ceaselessly tried to overturn the situation, to transform the heavens of this place into the heavens of life and death—even if he could not make them purely the heavens of life, he would settle for a balance of life and death.

Yet he had failed!

This was why he had lain dormant all these years, never emerging.

He could not be bothered to deal with those people!

Do not provoke me—I am not here for your sake.

He had come to pursue his own Great Dao!

Not only that, but he harbored other grand ambitions, though these required greater power—for instance, to devour the River of Time and become the true foremost being under heaven!

What of the Three Gates?

The three old ghosts incarnated by the Three Gates—he did not fear them!

Nor did he fear the old fellow incarnated by the Heavenly Gate; if he truly feared him, he would not have come!

The Lord of the Dead was also overbearing and unmatched.

He let the Three Gates secretly arrange their schemes, waiting to reap the benefits as the fisherman. But for now, his strength was insufficient; he needed to convert the heavens of this place into the heavens of life and death!

“Life and death are hard to discern—is the limit of death not life?”

He muttered, growing somewhat irritable.

The Heaven-Opener…

He had split the heavens and opened the earth, but alas, he lacked examples to observe.

“Sigh, is there no one who can open the heavens of life and death?”

No, damn it—was there no one who could open the heavens at all?

Leaving aside those within the Gate, were there any outside who had opened the heavens?

Xingyu?

Was there anyone else with hope?

“No… that brat from last time…”

Suddenly, he thought of something—of that brat from before. And last time, King Wen had even threatened him, saying that if that person opened the heavens of life and death, he would go to the Lord’s own realm of the dead in the myriad worlds and wreak havoc!

“Right… he opened the heavens of life and death!”

Though the other was weak, opening the heavens—weak or not, each had their expertise. That the other could open the heavens of life and death was what puzzled the Lord of the Dead.

Of course, everyone had their strengths.

That Su Yu had opened the heavens of life and death was no great matter; the key was that the Lord of the Dead himself had not!

He desperately needed some reference and insight into the heavens of life and death!

If he could turn the heavens of this place into the heavens of life and death, his strength would advance. Not only that, but once he returned to the myriad worlds and merged the two heavens, he would become even more powerful than now!

“Heavens of life and death… Su Yu…”

The Lord of the Dead murmured, then could not help cursing: That bastard had dared to plunder his Great Dao origin in the myriad worlds!

Moreover, that man was now in the myriad worlds, making it hard to deal with him.

Otherwise, he could have observed the heavens of life and death.

“If it really won’t work… I can wait until I leave the Heavenly Gate and seek him out immediately!”

The Heavenly Gate—thinking of this, he sighed again.

The Heavenly Gate was also troublesome.

Was it such a big deal that he had once pierced through heaven and earth without greeting it?

Now, whenever he approached that place, the damn thing would go mad.

The Lord of the Dead sneered coldly: “What use is madness? I can still pierce through whenever I wish!”

Of course, that was just talk.

For now, it was difficult.

If he contacted it too much, it would easily awaken, and awakening it would be bad—it would prematurely liberate that fellow.

The Lord of the Dead spoke, then rose, feeling somewhat irritated.

His inability to convert life and death disappointed him greatly!

He walked out of his great hall, clasped his hands behind his back, and gazed in a certain direction, lost in thought.

The Three Gates were about to open; the four directions would converge.

Though the myriad worlds were weak, they were not to be trifled with. He wondered how much Xingyu had recovered.

And Zhou—how was he faring after going to the Earthly Gate?

And also…

As he was thinking, his eyes suddenly flickered. He looked eastward and frowned slightly: “Lord of the Netherworld, come see me!”

In an instant, the Lord of the Netherworld appeared and bowed: “My lord!”

The Lord of the Dead looked at him, frowning slightly: “Strange—who has set their sights on you?”

Everyone is sending red packets! Now go to the WeChat public account [Book Lovers’ Base] to claim red packets.

“Huh?”

The Lord of the Netherworld was startled. The Lord of the Dead glanced at him and said flatly: “It seems a powerful being has taken an interest in you. Who have you offended lately? I see misfortune hanging over your head!”

As a peerless powerhouse who had long dealt with deathly aura, his eyesight was exceptionally sharp.

The Lord of the Netherworld was taken aback and said: “The Sword Venerable?”

“The Sword Venerable? That fellow from the Heavenly Dome Mountain?”

“Yes.”

The Lord of the Dead looked at him and shook his head: “Not likely! This feels like someone has schemed against you, with lingering malice. A sword cultivator going after you… wouldn’t have so many twists and turns!”

He frowned again: “That fellow?”

“You mean…”

“That one surnamed Wen!”

The Lord of the Dead said coldly: “That bastard has come prowling around my place a few times before! A detestable fellow! I simply couldn’t be bothered with him. If he wants to tangle with Fa, that’s his business. If he dares provoke me again… don’t blame me for disregarding our bond as fellow beings of the Yang Realm!”

With that, he sneered again: “That fellow has been targeted by the Gate. Fa is no easy opponent either, yet he still has the mind to scheme against my people!”

He shook his head.

Fa and the Gate seemed to have some connection. A few years ago, some unusual fluctuations had erupted within the Eternal Life Mountain. The Lord of the Dead had sensed them, but they were drawn out through the Gate’s portal.

Fa’s origins were highly questionable.

He might be a disciple of the Gate, or a former loyalist.

The Lord of the Dead was immensely powerful and could see through many things, but he simply couldn’t be bothered to speak of them. He preferred to crush those fellows with sheer strength.

He glanced at the Netherworld and continued, "Be careful—best not to go out lately!"

"Also, arrange for someone to investigate the situation in Eternal Heaven for me..."

The Netherworld quickly looked at him, and the Lord of the Dead said coldly, "The life-death conversion failed again. I might be lacking an extremely powerful path of life! That one in Eternal Heaven is not weak in strength... I wanted to kill him back then, but unfortunately, I didn't succeed!"

He wanted to take down that fellow!

That is, the Immortal Ancestor!

"The Three Gates are about to open. If I don't kill him now, once we get out and he gains some advantage, improving further, it will be hard to kill him. And by then, there will be many strong ones, all kinds of monsters and demons emerging... things could easily go awry!"

The Netherworld was shocked!

Was his master about to start a war?

He quickly said, "Master, once we move against Eternal Heaven, the other forbidden lands... might also intervene!"

This was also what troubled the Lord of the Dead!

Those fellows simply couldn't stand to see me do well.

He snorted coldly, "Let that Wen fellow attack the Mountain of Eternal Life and create chaos. I'll take the chance to attack Eternal Heaven!"

The Netherworld was speechless!

He's not your grandson, how could that be possible!

You tell King Wen to attack, and he'll just go?

He can't even win!

If he could, he would have done it long ago!

The Lord of the Dead was also frustrated—true, King Wen wouldn't obey!

If that were the case, attacking Eternal Heaven himself would easily be stopped by other forbidden lands, or even ganged up on!

The more he thought, the more irritated he became!

I have supreme strength, yet I'm restrained by a bunch of petty men. If only we could fight one-on-one!

I killed a forbidden land lord back then, and I can do it now.

One-on-one, aside from that Sky Dome who can match me, what are the rest?

Just as the Lord of the Dead was thinking, he suddenly paused, glanced again at the Netherworld, and frowned slightly: "Great calamity is upon you!"

"..."

The Netherworld was stunned.

And the Lord of the Dead suddenly looked beyond the realm, furrowing his brow: "Could that Wen fellow be lurking near my territory?"

Was it possible?

Very likely!

He's really bold!

Does he want to kill the Netherworld, or what?

He suddenly sneered coldly: "Go out! That Wen fellow might really have approached my side. I didn't sense him—his concealment technique is top-notch, his Great Dao hidden within—that's his trait. Either he hasn't opened his heaven, or his Dao is concealed within. Most likely, he has opened his heaven, and it's in the myriad realms, so it's hard to detect him!"

He looked at the Netherworld: "He might be after you. I see misfortune hanging over your head. Go and lure him out for me!"

The Netherworld's face turned pale.

Me, lure out King Wen?

I'm no match for King Wen!

If this...

The Lord of the Dead said coldly: "What are you afraid of? Can he be my match? Lure him out, and I'll beat this dog to death! He's been skulking around my place all along. If I weren't being watched and couldn't be bothered, I'd have crushed him long ago!"

Then he sneered again: "Good, let him know that not everyone can be provoked! That Su Yu from the myriad realms last time, who devoured my origin, also wore white robes—might have some connection with him, maybe even the same bloodline... I'll pin it on him too!"

The Netherworld had no choice but to say helplessly: "Master, then... should I go out and lure him?"

"Of course!"

"But King Wen is shrewd. If I go out on my own, will he know it's a trap..."

"What are you afraid of? Even if he knows, so what?"

Nonsense, he'll just swallow the bait.

Of course, he dared not say that.

The Netherworld dawdled, and finally, under the Lord of the Dead's stern gaze, he had no choice but to leave, feeling unlucky.

I really am cursed with misfortune!

Sometimes, the master isn't necessarily that reliable.

After he left, the Lord of the Dead clasped his hands behind his back and fell into thought.

That Wen fellow is quite bold, coming to my side at this time. If he really gets entangled with me, even if I don't kill him, Fa and the others won't let him off. This forbidden land meeting, supposedly about the Heavenly Gate, is clearly aimed at him!

"Maybe I can use this..."

He smiled, stepped into the void, and followed the Netherworld, but not too closely.

If he got too close, what if that fellow noticed?

...

At the same time.

Su Yu had just arrived at the Netherworld Hell region when suddenly, a powerful aura surged within the Netherworld Hell. In an instant, a mighty being flew out from it!

The Netherworld Great Emperor, his voice filled with anger, shouted: "Send two above the 16th Dao to accompany me to Brightlight City! How dare the Sky Dome Mountain bully my Netherworld Hell!"

In an instant, two First-Class beings flew out.

And Su Yu was momentarily stunned.

Why shout so loudly?

So angry?

No! Over there, I told Qu not to contact this side yet, just to keep fishing—it's not your turn to take the stage!

Su Yu was baffled.

Was he about to lure the Netherworld over?

That would be very troublesome, because the Black Dragon had been merged into the Great Dao. If the Netherworld went and saw it, it would surely be exposed!

"What's going on?"

"Did Qu not listen to me?"

Su Yu frowned. That couldn't be! No matter how stupid Qu was, he would know that luring the Netherworld over now would do no good.

I told them to lure the Asura Envoy, but why did you lure the Netherworld over instead?

“Something’s off!”

Su Yu gazed at the three mighty figures in the distance, lost in thought.

For a moment, he couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong.

I’ve only just arrived—are they putting on a show?

A show for whom?

Surely not for me?

Impossible!

No one even knows I exist!

Su Yu chuckled to himself. Besides, I am the Lord of Brightlight City—if they were performing for me, they wouldn’t have said those things; that would only make me suspicious, wouldn’t it?

“Hmm?”

Su Yu paused, startled. Not for me… then for someone else?

Who?

After a moment, a vague realization dawned—could it be a show for King Wen?

Is King Wen nearby?

Su Yu sank into contemplation; it was said that King Wen had come this way a few times.

“King Wen is here?”

Su Yu glanced around, a flicker of doubt in his eyes.