Chapter 913: Division

The scene was chaotic; the scattered cultivators trembled.

What was happening?

But they quickly sorted it out: Fa might be problematic, and among the fifteen Forbidden Land masters present besides Fa, there could be emissaries from the Heavenly Gate or the Human Gate.

Su Yu and the Lord of the Dead, from the current situation, seemed unrelated to either side—neither Fa's faction, nor the Myriad Realms' faction, nor the Human Gate's faction.

……

"She is not Fa; she might be Wen Yu!"

At that moment, several scattered cultivators quickly transmitted sound, "No sign of Sun and Moon—either something happened, or they betrayed... betrayal is unlikely, but he is indeed not here!"

……

One by one, the powerful figures swiftly transmitted sound in secret.

And Zhou, at this moment, also had a grave expression.

Su Yu's sudden defection... shattered all previous conjectures, but now the phantom suspected Su Yu was staging it himself—yet how had he sensed the crisis?

The phantom suddenly said, "Maybe our probing was exposed!"

"Impossible!"

Zhou retorted instinctively—how could it be?

He hadn't said much, just a simple sentence confirming that Fa was problematic.

And Su Yu had already detected the anomaly?

"Qiong is messing things up!"

At this moment, the phantom was also helpless, transmitting sound: "Qiong insisted on emphasizing that he was the first to encounter Wen Yu, but you said you were the first... Wen Yu's truth is unknown, and Qiong didn't care... but it would draw others' attention!"

The phantom deduced that this sentence might have caught the other's notice.

Otherwise, there was no reason for him to suddenly jump out midway.

"Then... who is that Su Yu over there?"

Zhou asked.

I don't know!

At this moment,

The phantom was also troubled. His information stopped abruptly when Zhou Ji left the Myriad Realms. He could grasp information before that, but after... sorry, he didn't know.

Especially now, with the Human Emperor ruling the Myriad Realms—the Human Emperor was an old adversary. He had long been cracking down on the Three Gates' spies and hunting their collaborators. With the Human Emperor present, it was hard to gather intelligence.

With the Human Emperor in the Myriad Realms, ordinary people wouldn't dare waste resources to probe it.

How would I know who opened the heavens over there?

"Another heaven-opener..."

The phantom murmured, guessing, "If not Su Yu, then it's one of the three: Ming Wang, Wan Tiansheng, or Lan Tian!"

"I've never heard of the other two besides Ming Wang!"

Zhou indeed hadn't heard of them; he had heard of the Four Extremes Human King, as news had trickled in back then.

"The other two..."

Before the phantom finished speaking, boom!

A thunderous roar shook heaven and earth!

Zhou vanished instantly!

And where he had just been sitting, a sword scar that pierced the Forbidden Land was slashed open!

Hum!

Auras surged rapidly; in an instant, the whole scene fell into chaos, as one by one, the powerful beings' qi mechanisms pierced heaven and earth.

Zhou was also greatly startled, and the next moment he couldn't help but roar, "Qiong, what are you doing?"

Everyone was still verifying Fa's identity, and Qiong suddenly attacked him!

And at that moment, Qiong sat cross-legged atop the Heavenly Dome Mountain, his face cold, his voice like the clang of a sword, harsh and piercing: "I have no desire to meddle in the affairs of the Three Gates, nor to care who betrays... it's all meaningless! How you choose is your business! But you are too bold, Zhou—emissary of the Human Gate!"

Zhou was greatly alarmed and hurriedly said, "You slander me..."

"Slander?"

Sword qi soared to the sky; the Lord of Heavenly Dome Mountain suddenly stood up, his aura shaking heaven and earth, with coldness: "Is it slander? Dare you say I, Qiong, slander you? In that very sword strike, the moment I cut you, a peculiar fluctuation leaked out. Who were you transmitting sound to? Someone from the Human Gate?"

Zhou's face turned ugly!

Damn it!

Wasn't this bastard previously indifferent to everything?

Why did he suddenly attack me?

Even if I am a Human Gate emissary, what business is it of yours?

Why must you strike at me?

He was somewhat angry but quickly regained composure: "Qiong, what exactly do you want?"

At this moment, the Forbidden Land masters also had strange looks. They had been startled earlier, thinking Qiong was about to do something, but then... Qiong, who had always stayed out of things, was actually arresting a Human Gate emissary?

What the hell?

Many glanced at the Heavenly Gate phantom beside him, saying nothing for a while, but their thoughts were many.

Did Qiong have some agreement with the Human Emperor?

Or something else?

In any case, the situation was now very complicated!

Couldn't figure it out!

But everyone urgently needed to identify each other's identities, because the parties here might be divided into multiple factions, not just one!

Since Qiong wanted to expose the Human Gate emissary... then let him expose him!

And Zhou, his face livid, roared angrily, "We are all verifying Fa's identity—he might be Wen Yu... Are you doing this on purpose? Did you reach some agreement with the Human Emperor? You are the biggest traitor among us!"

Yes, that was also his thought.

Why did he suddenly act?

Could it be that he had allied with the Human Emperor?

Qiong's face was cold: "Traitor? I said I have no interest in stances, no interest in whether you betray. I only need to know that you are a lackey of the Human Gate—that's enough!"

It sounded very contradictory!

If you don't care about these things, why bother finding someone from the Human Gate?

But Qiong knew his own mind: he wanted to deal with Hong Tian's people—capture Zhou or kill Zhou. In short, if Hong Tian didn't return my sword, I would keep fighting you!

Yes, my sword!

"You take my sword, and yet you expect me to do your bidding? You think too highly of yourself!"

Zhou's face turned ashen, and in the next instant—*boom*!

A sword aura swept across all directions!

Descending from the heavens!

Qiong's voice rang out again: "Hongtian, come out and talk, or else today I will surely kill him! Whoever dares to stop me, I will slay!"

Zhou swiftly retreated, and in the midst of his retreat, he suddenly froze!

And in his mind, the phantom struck by the sword aura also paused for a moment.

The next moment, the phantom burst into curses, "Damn it! I am not Hongtian!"

"Did Hongtian provoke him?"

"..."

Zhou felt like vomiting blood. I see now!

So it was Hongtian the Great Sage from the Human Gate who offended you, right?

The key is... I am not of Hongtian's lineage!

Yes, the one behind him is not Hongtian!

Nor is the phantom Hongtian!

The Human Gate has more than one Great Sage scheming within it!

The crucial point is that, to outsiders, it all looks the same—the Human Gate is too mysterious, and anyone from the Human Gate seems identical!

But Zhou felt aggrieved!

The next moment, he transmitted a message: "What do we do? It seems Hongtian has offended him. This guy is insane, the kind who cares desperately about face. Since someone has offended him, he might really kill me before he stops!"

The phantom, also furious, quickly regained composure and transmitted back: "Tell him you're not one of Hongtian's people! He is the spirit of the Heaven-Opening Sword, immensely powerful. You alone cannot match him... Even if he doesn't believe you... find a way to drag out Hongtian's people and fight him together!"

This time... truly, truly innocent!

What rotten luck!

How did Hongtian manage to provoke Qiong?

"Should I admit my identity?"

Zhou transmitted, and the phantom swiftly replied: "What's wrong with allying with the Human Gate? Fa has also allied with them, and the Heavenly Gate itself is allying with them. Allying with the Human Gate is not a crime! The Three Gates are still united for now!"

Allying with the myriad realms—that is the crime!

Allying with the Human Gate... truly is not!

The scene suddenly fell into chaos, and it was necessary to sort things out again. Soon, Zhou's angry shouts rang out: "Bastard, I am not one of Hongtian's people! You've got the wrong person!"

*Hum!*

The sword aura rose again. Zhou swiftly dodged, shouting: "Did you hear me? There is more than one Great Sage in the Human Gate! Hongtian is just one of them! It's not me! The one who offended you is Hongtian's people, Hongtian himself! Damn it, I said I'm not, and you still come at me!"

Qiong paid no heed. At this moment, he breathed a sigh of relief—it really was someone from the Human Gate!

Xingyu had guessed correctly again!

As for whether it was Hongtian's people... what did it matter?

Xingyu had said that killing other members of the Human Gate would enrage the other Great Sages, and they would naturally go after Hongtian, forcing him to submit!

So, as long as it was someone from the Human Gate, they could be killed!

*Hum!*

Sword aura after sword aura swept through heaven and earth!

No one intervened!

Everyone was digesting the information, their expressions strange. Zhou truly was the Human Gate's spokesperson, and besides Zhou... among the lords of the forbidden lands present, there might be another envoy of the Human Gate!

Sixteen lords of forbidden lands—Zhou had issues, Fa had issues, and now there might be another from the Human Gate, while the Heavenly Gate might also have its disciples among them... The other lords cursed inwardly!

What a damned mess this situation was!

Now, even Fa's problems were momentarily set aside.

And Zhou roared again: "Still coming? Qiong, do you really think you're invincible? Shi, Kong, are you just going to watch? What's wrong with the Human Gate? Now the Three Gates joining forces against the myriad realms is the real priority! That Fa is a fake, disguised by Wen Yu! That Su Yu might also be problematic... Aren't they the key? I'm not the only one cooperating with the Human Gate!"

"There are already few forbidden lands left—must we have internal strife?"

Zhou kept shouting, then bellowed: "He, Qiong, has been allowing Xingyu's Heavenly Gate to remain open—what does that mean? Colluding with the myriad realms is the great crime! If the myriad realms are not destroyed, no era of the Three Gates can ever return!"

The more he shouted, the angrier Qiong became. What a despicable wretch from the Human Gate, daring to slander him!

Kill him!

There was no good person in the Human Gate!

"Open Heaven!"

Upon hearing this, Su Yu thought he heard the Xia family's Heaven-Opening Blade, but it was not so. In that moment, the sky split open!

The darkness vanished!

Between heaven and earth, there was only one sword—the Heaven-Opening Sword, truly opening heaven!

Vaguely, even a phantom appeared. With one sword strike, heaven and earth were created, countless ancient chaos beasts fell, cutting through thorns and brambles, shaking the world, a sight that made one's heart soar.

But at this moment, Zhou's face changed drastically!

Damn it!

He was serious—he really intended to kill me!

"Destruction of heaven and earth, dissipation of the sword aura!"

A surging power erupted. Zhou was also a strong one. With a thunderous shout, the heaven and earth Qiong had opened shattered, the sword aura dissipated, and countless scenes of apocalypse appeared, booming!

The roaring sounds continued, sweeping in all directions!

With a crash, Zhou flew backward, a bloody scar appearing on his forehead. The next moment, a gate manifested, and a phantom appeared on it. Before it could even speak, it was obliterated by the sword aura!

The Human Gate!

The Human Gate quickly vanished, and the phantom was slain—these were merely projections, much like the current form of the Human Emperor.

Zhou's face turned ugly. The sword scar quickly disappeared, but the phantom would not be able to emerge for a while.

And this confirmed his identity as the Human Gate's envoy.

Zhou's expression darkened: "What do you want? I told you, Hongtian has nothing to do with me!"

This was utterly unreasonable!

And Qiong's face was even uglier than his. At this moment, there was a hint of fury: "You withstood my Heaven-Opening Sword?"

Nonsense!

Zhou cursed inwardly. He was, after all, a top-tier existence at the 34th Dao—it wasn't as if he could be killed by a single sword strike. That would be big news!

Is it so rare to block one of your strikes?

"Excellent!"

Qiong was furious: "I possess the Nine Swords of Heaven-Opening. Today, if you can withstand my nine swords, I shall spare your life!"

"Heaven-Opening: Open Life and Death!"

Boom!

Life and death revolved, heaven and earth transformed. In that moment, across the entire cosmos, the crowd saw hell, saw paradise, saw the living, saw the dead, saw sentient beings, saw the deceased...

This sword was even mightier than the one before!

Qiong, erupting with the power of thirty-six Daos, was truly formidable!

And Zhou, his face changing again and again, cursed: "Damn it, there's no reasoning with this! He roared once more: 'He is the collaborator of all realms! Are you all just watching? He's only covering for Wen Yu!'"

You are the collaborator of all realms!

Hearing this, Qiong grew even angrier: "You are! Your whole family is!"

Boom!

The sword aura descended, heaven and earth manifested life and death. Su Yu was also watching this sword, mesmerized; he seemed to see the Great Extinction. Qiong was truly the sword spirit of the Heaven-Opening Sword attaining the Dao!

Although he did not remember the events of opening heaven, he had indeed opened heaven.

At this moment, this sword seemed to carve out the Great Dao of Life and Death, the annihilation of heaven and earth!

And Zhou also erupted with his Great Dao!

Not only that, the nearby City of Wrongful Death instantly transformed into a weapon, like a staff. The staff was hurled forth, laden with countless curses, cursing heaven and earth to destruction, cursing Qiong to fall...

Boom!

A wave of death qi spread over Qiong's body, but was instantly shattered by the Heaven-Opening sword aura. With cold indifference, before the second sword could land, he slashed out the third!

"Heaven-Opening: Open the Five Elements!"

Boom!

The Five Elements emerged—metal, wood, water, fire, earth. The Five Elements Dao swept across heaven and earth, their power erupting as if heaven and earth were opening to the Five Elements. The flames scorched the cosmos, the water arrows pierced the four directions!

At this moment, Zhou kept retreating, gnashing his teeth.

What kind of mess is this?

Three swords in succession—with a *puchi* sound, his palm was pierced by the sword aura. The overflowing curse energy instantly killed some of the forbidden land's strong within his staff. Some power inadvertently released, mixed with sword aura, almost instantly slaughtered all the weaker beings in his forbidden land on the spot!

Zhou wanted to spit blood!

It's not easy to train subordinates!

Strong cultivators train subordinates to build their forces; they can't do everything themselves—seeking resources, guarding forbidden lands, seizing the power of heaven and earth...

And now, this shipwreck had caused a massive slaughter of his subordinates!

At this moment, inside the staff, like a heaven or a world, countless strong beings showed despair.

How did the master provoke this guy?

This is only the third sword; there are six more!

Each sword is stronger than the last!

"Heaven-Opening: Open Yin and Yang!"

Sun and moon appeared, transforming into a Taiji. In an instant, the fourth sword struck!

Zhou roared, and the next moment, he fled through the void, no longer meeting the attack head-on!

He was no match!

For you see, Kong and Qiong were similar, both at thirty-six Daos, while the previous thirty-five Dao Death Spirit Lord could not defeat Kong. Clearly, Zhou, with thirty-four Daos, naturally could not defeat Qiong either!

"Trying to run?"

Qiong shouted coldly, about to strike again, when suddenly someone said calmly, "Qiong, stop! Do you really intend to kill him?"

At that, Qiong looked over.

He saw a giant beast emerge—that was Kong.

Soon, a great mountain appeared—that was Shi.

Both strong cultivators stepped forward. Kong said coldly, "Zhou's collusion with the Human Gate can be discussed later! As for you, what are you doing? Why haven't you closed the Heaven Gate?"

Zhou colluded with the Human Gate; the Three Gates have not yet clashed.

As for Qiong, what exactly is he doing?

Qiong looked at him coldly: "Are you commanding me? Kong, who do you think you are? The first beast of heaven-opening? Comparing seniority or strength? In seniority, this heaven was opened by me—you are a latecomer! In strength... do you think you can overpower me?"

And Shi, at this moment, said with a faint smile, "Enough, Qiong. As for Zhou... let's wait and see! The Forbidden Land Assembly has only just begun. I still have many doubts I wish to resolve. I want to know—who is the person from Hongtian?"

He was very calm, steady as a mountain, and said lightly, "The Human Gate has fine methods. With only these strong cultivators inside the Heaven Gate, they have managed to recruit two! Besides Zhou, which fellow Daoist has cooperated with the Human Gate?"

Among the remaining, there must be another who has cooperated with the Human Gate!

A Great Sage-level existence would not seek cooperation with the weak, after all, they are lords of forbidden lands!

And at this moment, Su Yu was also observing.

Of the sixteen forbidden lands, excluding Su Yu, the Death Spirit Lord, and Wen Yu, there were thirteen left.

Among them, Qiong, Zhou, Xian, Shen, Dao, Wu, Shi, Kong, and Long—these nine were all super-grade. The remaining four—Feng, An, Ying, and Yuan—were all below thirty-two Daos, but each had their own methods.

Among these people, there was still someone from the Human Gate!

Shi seemed somewhat interested and said lightly, "Speak up. Since we are all here, and the Three Gates are about to open, let's be open with each other for future cooperation. Otherwise... problems will arise sooner or later!"

Everyone was silent.

Who?

Who knows!

And Qiong, at this moment, did not attack again. It wasn't that he couldn't kill Zhou, but... he didn't want to chase too far—too troublesome.

If he ran far, what if that bastard Human Emperor escaped?

Or if he came out directly and then ran away, what then?

No!

The pursuit could wait for now.

Seeing no one speak, Shi turned to Wen Yu. "Are you Wen Yu?"

Wen Yu said coldly, "Shi, do you believe them too?"

"I have no choice but to believe!"

Shi said lightly, "Zhou says you are fake, Su Yu says you are fake, and your own people say you defeated Wen Yu and the Martial King. Then... if you are Fa, clearly you have succeeded. Why did you attract us here?"

Wen Yu remained silent, scanning the crowd, not uttering a word.

Qiong sneered: "Could it be that he's looking for that old ghost's people?"

Whether it was Fa or Wen Yu, he did not care—only who among them belonged to Hong Tian!

He glanced around, his voice icy: "Zhou says he is not of Hong Tian... then one of you must be. Wait and see! You know what I want. Give it to me, and I won't bother. Refuse... and don't say I never colluded with the Ten Thousand Realms. If I find you, what of it if I do? Give or not—we'll see!"

At that moment, Su Yu had already joined forces with the Lord of the Dead, who swiftly transmitted: "That was a good opportunity just now—why didn't you strike?"

Just now, Qiong had made a move... perhaps amid the chaos, a great battle could have been sparked!

On his side, their strength was not weak.

The Heavenly Gate had nine Supremes, two in internal strife, leaving seven formidable ones—yet he, Su Yu, and Wen Yu made three. Striking in the chaos might have caused even greater turmoil!

Moreover, King Wen and King Wu were still on the periphery. If they came, even if one couldn't match a single opponent, the two together could hold their own against one.

But Su Yu was in no hurry. He transmitted: "Not yet! Too risky now. You saw the fight between Qiong and Zhou—it hasn't reached a life-or-death stage! You can't match Shi or Kong alone... Striking now would be suicide! We need the situation to become even more chaotic!"

Even more chaotic?

Could it get any worse?

The Lord of the Dead felt that by now, it was already quite chaotic. To make it worse... seemed unlikely!

"We need to root out the people of the Heavenly Gate. Once they're exposed, that's when the real free-for-all begins—when no one trusts anyone!"

Exactly!

At this point, Su Yu's thinking was simple: he had to expose everyone!

He remembered Ri Yue saying that if Fa succeeded, someone on the scene would lend a hand to make him the leader.

That person's status must be high!

Their strength, certainly not weak.

But perhaps not on the level of Kong and the others.

Still, ninety-nine percent likely a Supreme!

Thus, among the nine Supremes present, aside from Zhou, Qiong, Shi, and Kong, the remaining five might include one or even two from the Heavenly Gate!

As for the four excluded—Zhou went without saying, and the other three were too strong to rely on Fa to rise; if interested, they could contend for leadership themselves.

"Among Dao, Wu, Long, Shen, and Xian, there must be someone from the Heavenly Gate!"

"Shen and Xian have broken away from the human system; Long belongs to the beast system—so that means... Dao and Wu might be disciples of Ren Rui!"

That was the most likely possibility!

Su Yu quickly deduced: Dao and Wu were the most probable candidates!

Perhaps... both!

As for the one colluding with the Human Gate... that possibility was too broad to guess. Even a disciple of the Heavenly Gate might collude with the Human Gate—Shi and Kong were both possible, all under suspicion.

With these thoughts, Su Yu said coldly: "The situation grows more interesting! So few people, yet so many factions! Wen Yu, hand over the Time Scroll, and I'll help you deal with your enemies—how about it?"

Wen Yu replied icily: "I am not Wen Yu! Su Yu, don't try to frame me!"

Su Yu sneered: "Whether you are or not, I can't tell, but I believe someone can! With such a big event, the Human Path Sacred Land must send someone... not only that... Seniors Dao and Wu, you must know Fa quite well, right? Tell us some stories from back then—let's see if he really is Fa!"

At this, the crowd stirred again. Some looked at Dao and Wu, others frowned. One said coldly: "Su Yu, Dao and Wu are among the first batch of elders to enter the Ten Thousand Realms. They have little to do with that one!"

Su Yu smiled faintly: "Whether they do or not, is that for you to decide? As far as I know, the first batch of strong ones to enter were mainly divided into human and beast factions! Kong, you were the first giant beast; that one was the first human to enter. Only later did others follow—am I right?"

Kong said flatly: "So what?"

"Shen, Xian, and Mo later split off to found races, but Dao and Wu did not!"

At that, the Lord of the Dao Domain roared: "What nonsense are you spouting?"

Su Yu said teasingly: "Nonsense? To be honest, having some connection to humans is no crime! Unless... there are hidden circumstances I don't know about? The Heavenly Gate is on our side—oh, I misspoke—on your side, all of you from the Heavenly Gate. Dao, why so agitated?"

He was genuinely curious about this point.

If the Heavenly Gate was meant to protect this era by becoming the gate, why did the strong ones inside seem... seem quite hostile toward the Heavenly Gate?

This was evident from how the people of the Human Path Sacred Land dared not reveal their whereabouts!

And this secret seemed known to very few.

Su Yu didn't expect others to speak; he only hoped Qiong would say a few words. Qiong had a big mouth and knew many secrets!

He looked at Qiong, who, living up to expectations, sneered when he saw Su Yu's gaze: "That one's people wouldn't dare expose themselves easily! Even Fa is only guessing, not certain he is that one's man! Back in the End War, to avoid being killed, that one wanted to sacrifice everyone... hah, but instead, we tricked him into becoming the gate to guard this world. His people have to keep a low profile! Over the years, Fa wouldn't dare claim to be from the Human Path Sacred Land—even if he had the guts!"

Su Yu was stunned!

In an instant, many things became clear!

Ren Rui had indeed not willingly become the gate; he was forced into it, targeted by others—likely the very people before him, who turned him into the gate!

And back then, to avoid being sealed... he even wanted to sacrifice everyone!

Qiong laughed coldly. He didn't care about these secrets; no one had revealed them because there was no need. Now that Su Yu had brought it up, he added with a smile: "So, it's hard for him to fool the old-timers. But later, some of the Eight Tribe Leaders of humanity were fooled by him, serving him wholeheartedly! Besides the Eight Tribe Leaders, there were the earlier disciples... most are dead, and those who survived have changed their identities..."

Qiong looked at Dao and Wu, saying flatly: "Don't say it—I hadn't noticed before, but now that you mention it... those two indeed had a good relationship with that one back then."

At that moment, the Lord of the Dead finally understood what Su Yu meant by "even more chaotic."

Perhaps... it really would get more chaotic!

Because, according to Qiong, Ren Rui back then was tricked by others into becoming the gate to protect them, and that one was no saint—he even thought of sacrificing these strong ones.

That was also a grudge!

No wonder even within the Heavenly Gate, the Human Path Sacred Land dared not show itself!

When Ri Yue came out, he was so cautious, only daring to appear as a rogue cultivator.

At this point, some of Su Yu's doubts were resolved.

Of course, some remained. Su Yu smiled: "The Eight Tribe Leaders of humanity? I know of Human Ancestor Zhou. Logically, he should have been sealed by the era, since he was also from that time. Why wasn't he sealed?"

As for the Lord of the Dead, he was a Heaven Opener, so the sealing didn't affect him; he happened to be at the end of that era. Human Ancestor was similar—the kind that could be sealed or not. But if the other Eight Tribe Leaders entered, why did Human Ancestor escape?

Even in a tense situation, Su Yu was asking about secrets.

Some things, even the Lord of the Dead didn't know.

Back then, he was focused on opening the heavens and paid no attention to this.

"Zhou?"

Qiong laughed. "Zhou has ties to the Human Gate. Back then, Zhou nearly killed that one... or rather, that one becoming the gate to protect the era had a lot to do with Zhou. He was planted by the Human Gate, so of course he wouldn't follow that one! Also, who said he wasn't sealed? I don't know the details, but if he really wasn't sealed... then he must have opened the heavens—simple as that!"

Su Yu's heart stirred—right!

There was indeed a saying that Heaven Openers couldn't be sealed!

"Then why was that one sealed? He was also a Heaven Opener, wasn't he?"

Qiong looked a bit impatient with Su Yu's many questions.

Seeing this, Su Yu quickly flattered: "Senior Qiong knows many secrets. We juniors know too little. Even my grandfather is a junior before you; he doesn't know these things either..."

At that, Qiong perked up, laughing heartily: "Of course! You're too young, what do you know? As for why that one was sealed... isn't it obvious? In that era, he was the most famous, like Xing Yu now. When we invaded the Ten Thousand Realms, of course we went after Xing Yu first! Would we go after some nobody? Zhou, including your grandfather, weren't famous back then. Your grandfather opened the heavens when the war was almost over, both sides exhausted. By then, no one had the energy or strength to deal with your grandfather and the others... When the end came, the others were naturally sealed. That Zhou and your grandfather weren't sealed—that's because they opened the heavens!"

Su Yu now understood—so Human Ancestor had opened the heavens and wasn't sealed!

Because his human path still existed, his physical path remained, while the others who were sealed had taken their paths with them.

He did not take the Path of the Flesh with him. This being so... could it be that he fled with Heaven and Earth?

And leaving the Path of the Flesh behind, as a thread left in the mortal world, awaiting return and fusion?

That is possible!

Moreover, Zhou was an arrangement of the Human Gate!

At this moment, many doubts were resolved. Zhou should have opened the Human Gate, and perhaps because of that, he made contact with it. Later, it seemed he entered the Earth Gate on his own.

Whether entering the Earth Gate was his own idea or an arrangement of the Human Gate remained unknown.

As Qiong spoke thus, Shi suddenly said, "So you are Su Yu? You claim that Blade and Martial are disciples of Man, yet you know nothing of Man's disciples. How can you be certain they are his followers?"

Wu Zhu immediately retorted, "Shi, do you believe his nonsense?"

And Blade Ancestor fumed, "A slanderous scoundrel! Most of Man's disciples perished long ago. Even Fa only gradually emerged later. How could we be his disciples?"

Su Yu smiled. "Even if you were, so what? I think we should unite now. Why are you so eager to deny it? When Fa's identity was exposed, no one attacked him. Denying now suggests a greater purpose! Zhou is an envoy of the Human Gate, and among us is another envoy of the Human Gate, while you two are disciples of the Heavenly Gate... This gathering of forbidden lands is truly intriguing! My grandfather and I are connected to the Ten Thousand Realms, so we count as people of the Ten Thousand Realms. Wen Yu represents the new generation of the Ten Thousand Realms... And seniors like Shi represent the true cultivators of the era of annihilation... Tsk, what a chaotic situation!"

As he spoke, Kong grew impatient. "You still haven't said why they are Man's disciples!"

Su Yu shrugged. "Believe it or not! There is no dead evidence to pin them down. But if you want to verify, it's not hard. Kill them both and see if the Human Dao Sacred Land rages—then it will be clear."

Nonsense!

Killing two lords of forbidden lands for no reason, crippling one's own forces—was he mad?

But Su Yu truly could not produce evidence.

It was only speculation.

Yet to thoroughly muddy the waters, he needed proof that these two belonged to the Human Dao Sacred Land. That was the contradiction.

At this moment, Su Yu suddenly looked at Wen Yu and smiled. "You say you are Fa... If you are Fa, then you are of the same faction. If we kill you, they will surely be exposed, unless they can bear to watch you die. They know you are not Fa, so I imagine they would be eager to kill you. Wen Yu, stop hiding. Otherwise, you will die today. How about dragging someone down with you before you die?"

Wen Yu stared at Su Yu coldly. "What are you trying to say?"

"If you are Wen Yu... you can actually verify their identities!"

Wen Yu cursed inwardly. Nonsense! I am Wen Yu, and I cannot verify them either!

What a joke!

She was almost infuriated by Su Yu.

"Ordinary people cannot, but if you are Wen Yu, you can."

Su Yu said cheerfully, "Among the eight leaders of the human race, your ancestor Wen is one of them. You have cultivated to this level and can trace back to the source. If these two are truly Man's disciples... then the Human Dao Sacred Land must have contacted them. Ordinary people cannot do that. Among the eight leaders, it is said that Xing is very weak, Zhou betrayed, Tian and Ming vanished, Chen fell... So only three are qualified to contact these two and issue orders: Ri, Yue, and Wen."

"You are Wen's descendant and a top-tier existence. Trace back Wen's aura and let us see if these two have had contact with Wen recently. Of course, if it was Ri or Yue who contacted them, then I have no choice but to admit I was wrong. But as far as I know, Wen excels in strategy, while Ri and Yue excel in combat. For such confidential matters, I think it is more likely that Wen contacted them. Man would not let just anyone contact his two disciples..."

Su Yu smiled as he spoke. "If this gathering of forbidden lands is truly important, then I am certain that a strong figure from the Human Dao Sacred Land has recently contacted these two, perhaps even conveyed some instructions, such as... assisting Fa in reaching the top?"

Su Yu grinned. "Wen Yu, why not give it a try? Don't insist you are Fa anymore. If you do, then we are all fools!"

Trace back Wen's aura!

At these words, Shi's eyes flickered. He looked at Wen Yu and said coldly, "You are Wen Yu, aren't you? Since things have come to this, why not help us verify? Su Yu is right. If there was indeed a critical matter, it would be Wen who devised the plan. So it is likely him who contacted Man's disciples."

As for Fa's side, Ri and Yue were sent. Su Yu speculated that if Ri and Yue were indeed the sons of Ri and Yue, then those two probably would not come out themselves. Otherwise, Fa's side might as well have sent them directly.

If it was Wen, then it was a division of labor, one going to each side.

Fa's identity was about to be exposed, or already exposed. Sending a weaker person would attract less attention.

If Wen came, it would instead reveal their hand.

Su Yu kept calculating. He looked at the two and said cheerfully, "How about it, you two? Care to try? Prove your innocence?"

Their faces darkened.

And Wen Yu understood Su Yu's meaning. She had to expose herself!

At this point, holding on was pointless. She was already exposed.

Speechless!

Su Yu was truly inhuman!

Hadn't they agreed that she would become the lord of the forbidden land?

Good heavens, the meeting had barely started, and he had already exposed her!

At this moment, Wen Yu had no choice. She suddenly said, "If you want me to verify them, you must promise... to let me leave!"

She exposed herself!

Shi and Kong exchanged glances and suddenly laughed. "Fine, let you leave!"

So what?

Inside the gate, she could not escape.

Instead, now that chaos reigned, attacking Wen Yu made little difference in numbers, because you never knew who might stab you in the back.

If they could verify the identities of those two now, that would be a good thing!

At this moment, Blade Ancestor and Wu Zhu exchanged glances, their eyes shadowed. Blade Ancestor said coldly, "Verify? By aura? She is Wen Yu. If she relies on that, what if she frames us?"

"If she traces back Wen's aura and fabricates a false one, can that be taken as truth?"

Su Yu sighed. "You are anxious."

Blade Ancestor sneered. "Anxious? Su Yu, you are a man of the Ten Thousand Realms. You keep sowing discord. What exactly are you trying to do? This time, we were supposed to deal with you, but instead you have become outsiders. You say who is what, and that is what they are?"

Su Yu nodded. "Enough, no need to say more. Everyone sees it. Whether you two are Man's disciples... we all know."

At this moment, Immortal Ancestor and Divine Ancestor and the others stepped back slightly. The various forbidden lands were all uneasy.

Sixteen forbidden lands, with relationships as complex as could be!

Every faction was present!

When had the Heavenly Gate become so chaotic?

Beside Su Yu, the Lord of the Dead also had flickering eyes. They had separated!

Just like that, they had separated!

How did Su Yu's mind work?

Though he had exposed Wen Yu, now all the lords of the forbidden lands were on high alert, divided. That was the greatest gain!

The Lord of the Dead almost wanted to shout, "Do it!"

He felt that if they struck now and killed directly, the others might not intervene to help.

Of course, that required a gamble on probability.

Perhaps someone would act, but the trust was no longer as high as before. Now, trust was certainly very low!

At this point, he saw an opportunity.

Beside Qiong, the Human Emperor also saw an opportunity.

Su Yu was impressive!

Between Blade and Martial, at least one was a disciple of Man, perhaps even both.

At this moment, even the Human Emperor could discern it, and moreover, Wen Zhen might have made contact with them!

PS: Recommending a book—it has been long since I last did so. I recommend Qingzi's masterpiece, *Mao Shan Divine Son-in-Law*, as an offering to seize the top spot in monthly votes. Everyone, go and add it to your collections!