Chapter 940: More Ways Than Difficulties

The realm of men.

Heaven and earth shook, a plague of locusts swept through.

Yet soon, all the locusts were slain, and the sky cleared.

The darkness receded.

The long-dusty Hall of the Cosmic Emperor opened once more.

Since his return from a hundred battles, Su Yu had yielded the hall and scarcely visited, even when in the myriad realms he stayed within his own world; besides, he had no time to savor imperial majesty in the realm of men.

Today, the Hall of the Cosmic Emperor teemed with heads.

One by one, Lords of the Rules stepped into the great hall.

Within, Su Yu sat high upon the throne; on either side stood the Human Emperor and the Lord of the Dead.

At this seating arrangement, all present trembled slightly.

In strength, the Lord of the Dead was supreme.

In prestige and status, the Human Emperor might even surpass Su Yu.

In age, anyone would have to call Su Yu grandson.

Yet under these circumstances, it was Su Yu who occupied the throne.

An unexpected result, yet reasonable in context.

For Su Yu was the mediator binding many existences, much like the Human Ancestor, but his role in this web was even greater, his influence more profound.

One by one, Lords of the Rules entered, without seats, standing in ranks on either side of the hall.

Not only Lords of the Rules—soon, one by one, those who had merged with the Dao, those who were Eternal, some cultivators long vanished, some forgotten, also appeared and entered the hall.

Gazing at the silent strong ones above, the entire hall fell into deep quiet.

Even Tianmie, who loved to stir up trouble, remained silent today.

Stirring up trouble—one must know where and when.

With the opening of the Earth Gate and Heaven Gate, a flood of cultivators from the previous era poured into the myriad realms; the locusts multiplied swiftly, and the threat of apocalypse loomed, weighing heavily on all.

At the head of the hall, Su Yu toyed with the Seal of the Human Sovereign in his hand, saying nothing for a long time.

When nearly everyone had arrived, Su Yu finally looked down and said with a smile, “Why so quiet?”

Then he turned his gaze to Xia Huyou at the very back of the crowd. Now, with the strong abroad, the ruler of the realm of men had become this obscure little figure—a cultivator who had just merged with the Dao.

Xia Huyou had only barely merged with the Dao thanks to Su Yu’s help; otherwise, he would still be at the Sun-Moon stage.

“Xia Huyou!”

“Your servant is here!”

Xia Huyou hurriedly stepped forward from the back of the crowd. Su Yu said calmly, “The heavens and earth of Zhou trembled—what were the losses in the realm of men?”

Xia Huyou replied solemnly, “The realm of men was in turmoil: the sky shattered, the earth split, tsunamis raged, mountains collapsed. Though Senior Lantian intervened to block it, this calamity still caused tens of thousands of deaths and injuries, destroyed vast tracts of fertile land, unsettled the people, and countless tall buildings in the thirty-six prefectures collapsed—the losses are immense…”

He continued, “Moreover, news has come back from the millions of troops stationed in other realms: some ancient beasts and rogue cultivators from the Heaven Gate have infiltrated, and several realms have suffered great losses. In the Tianma Realm, friendly to our human race, thousands of stationed soldiers were killed or wounded, the Tianma clan suffered heavily, though they managed to repel a Lord of the Rules…”

“The already evacuated Shitie Realm and Hou Realm have been overrun by rogue cultivators and ancient beasts. The Ming Realm, due to the collapse of the upper-realm barrier, is in turmoil and has also suffered damage…”

One bad report after another spread.

“For now, only the Tianyuan Realm, buried deep beneath the realm of men at the border with the Netherworld, remains safe—those people dare not rashly enter the Netherworld, so it is preserved for the moment, unharmed!”

Even the realm of men itself had suffered considerable losses, but fortunately the Tianyuan Realm, at the junction of the realm of men and the Netherworld, escaped unscathed this time.

Su Yu nodded slightly, looked around, and said again, “In the Heaven Gate and Earth Gate, there are both weak and strong. Not to mention the top-tier strong ones, there are quite a few Lords of the Rules! In the myriad realms, there are currently only about a hundred Lords of the Rules, while in those two gates, there were over a thousand before. Now, after losses, I cannot even be sure how many remain!”

In any case, many are left.

In the Heaven Gate, if Su Yu had not eliminated a large number of rogue cultivators, there would have been even more.

Of course, on Su Yu’s side now,

there are also many Lords of the Rules—when he said a hundred, he meant in the myriad realms, but he himself brought back quite a few, such as Blade Lord and others!

Below, the Lord of the Dead frowned slightly: “Su Yu, these are trivial matters!”

We must discuss the real issues!

Su Yu smiled: “No, they are not trivial! As the Human Emperor said, this era is too distant for you—a hundred thousand years without return, you have long had no attachments. But for me…”

Su Yu pointed outward and said calmly, “Every single person is connected to me! Take the soldier standing guard outside the door—he might be a comrade of my father, a soldier or civilian of my Daxia Prefecture, or a relative of my teacher’s friend…”

In this era, there is no one unrelated to me!

But for the Lord of the Dead and the others, all these are irrelevant.

The Lord of the Dead said no more.

Su Yu looked at them, at the Lord of the Dead, at Qiong, and said, “They have nothing to do with you, and I have no reason to ask you to do anything for them—there’s no need!”

The Lord of the Dead replied calmly, “It doesn’t matter. To me, whether you protect them or abandon them is your choice!”

He cared not about Su Yu’s choice, only about how to solve the immediate problem.

Su Yu, however, looked at him: “I once heard that with the arrival of the Three Gates, you could compress the River of Time and devour it. I speculated before—did you make any arrangements in the Earth Gate and Human Gate within the Three Gates?”

The Lord of the Dead shook his head slightly: “Back then, I planned to enter the Heaven Gate. For the Earth Gate, it was enough to have some contingencies in the myriad realms. The Human Gate was too mysterious to enter at all, so no arrangements were needed.”

Su Yu nodded, then turned to Xia Huyou: “Calm the people’s hearts—don’t let chaos reign! As for life or death, this is not a peaceful age; everyone should have been prepared long ago! Five hundred years of war—since my childhood, I knew the battlefields of the myriad realms were a meat grinder. I believe that after five hundred years, humanity must have considered the day of extinction. So, no matter how many die, even if the entire realm of men is wiped out, everyone should be ready. All we can do is try our best!”

Xia Huyou nodded slightly: “Understood! The realm of men is not in turmoil. Some retired soldiers are organizing self-rescue efforts, from a whole city down to a single household—every family is saving itself!”

On that point, at least, they could rest easy.

The realm of men had strong organizational capacity—simply because over five hundred years, almost every household had sent men of suitable age to serve in the army. In the small town of Nanyuan where Su Yu once lived, with a population under a million, there were tens of thousands of active soldiers and tens of thousands of veterans.

One could say that one in ten people had served.

That was the conscription ratio in Daxia Prefecture; in Daqin Prefecture it was even higher, and even in Daming Prefecture, where it was lower, at least one or two out of a hundred had been to war.

Thus, when such a crisis struck, the realm of men could mobilize quickly.

There would be no chaos.

Now, without the Ten Thousand Races Sect, these disasters only caused tens of thousands of deaths—merely the casualties of a single battle on the battlefield.

“Let us leave the changes in the realm of men at that for now!”

Xia Huyou withdrew.

Su Yu looked at the others: “The great war has erupted, the apocalypse descends, the breath of annihilation sweeps heaven and earth. The Human Gate is an enemy, and the Heaven and Earth Gates are also enemies! To us, there is no distinction of importance, no order of priority! The Heaven Gate and Earth Gate claim to oppose the Human Gate, but in truth, in their eyes, we are more important than the Human Gate…”

Su Yu sneered: “If they do not kill us, how can they grow strong? If they do not kill us, how can they break through their bottlenecks? In the previous era, the Human Gate was merely sealed away by the Age of Creation—so will it appear in this era? No one has seen the Human Gate act! Thus, to the Heaven Gate and the others, since the Human Gate did not act in the last era, it may not act in this one either… Instead, we are the fat meat in their eyes!”

Everyone wants a bite of us!

“And their strength is indeed greater than ours!”

All nodded again—they had seen that strength. The Heaven and Earth Gates had Ji Tian, Jing Tian, Yu Wang, Ren Zu, Shi and Kong, Ri and Yue—far stronger than the human side.

Below, Tianmie spoke with fervor: “Your Majesty, no matter how strong they are, we fight to the end!”

Su Yu laughed: “You go and kill one? If you slay a Thirty-Six Dao, I’ll hold a celebration for you!”

“……”

Heaven’s Extinction fell silent in an instant, somewhat powerless.

Nonsense, I can’t win, or I’d really go for it!

Su Yu said calmly, “Before, they had just appeared, just joined forces, and with their forced awakening, some power fluctuations arose; they hadn’t yet returned to their peak, so they chose compromise! We won, but that doesn’t mean we’re stronger than them! Quite the opposite—because they think they are jade and we are mere tiles, unwilling to clash with us!”

“Give them some time; once they consolidate their strength and heal their wounds, I’m afraid we won’t be able to match them!”

Qiong spoke up at this point: “We all know that. So summoning these cultivators below the Unity level is utterly useless! Not to mention those at or below the Dao-Completion stage—what good are they?”

“……”

Many looked at Qiong, feeling stifled, but the words were true.

Qiong continued, “You called so many people here—strength in numbers? It’s completely pointless! A waste of time!”

He didn’t understand. In such a crisis, why had Su Yu summoned so many?

What meaning did it have?

Better to think of a way to deal with Earth Gate and the others.

Su Yu smiled. “Why useless?”

Su Yu laughed. “This is an opportunity—an opportunity for everyone!”

He looked down at the crowd. “The end of an era is a crisis, but also a chance! Kill one from Earth Gate, and strengthen your origin! Kill one from Heaven Gate, and strengthen your Dao! Once the origin is strong, strengthen the Dao; once the Dao is strong, strengthen the origin again… Aren’t they our prey?”

Su Yu’s smile was radiant. “Now, you might only be at Dao-Completion, but kill one Dao-Completion cultivator from Earth Gate, and one from Heaven Gate… merge the three paths, and you might become a Rule Master! As for the Dao… I have it, King Wen has it, Wen Yu has it, the Human Emperor has it, the Lord of the Dead has it… Do we lack it? No!”

“They complement each other—you strengthen their Dao, and they provide you with a powerful Dao… These are all opportunities!”

“What advantage do we have over them? We have opened more heavens, we have more people, and we have more trustworthy people!”

The crowd vaguely understood Su Yu’s intent.

Overwhelm the enemy with numbers!

The silent Human Emperor spoke, “You mean to send everyone out to hunt those people, then merge the three paths, and in turn connect them to our heavenly Dao, strengthening our heaven?”

“Exactly!”

Su Yu nodded. “This is a mutually reinforcing process, and it’s the advantage of us heaven-openers! Where exactly does our advantage lie? Right here!”

Su Yu continued, “Over there, Heaven Gate, Earth Gate, Hell King, and Human Ancestor have all opened heavens, but those fellows are reluctant, unwilling, and don’t want to open their heavens for others to enter! Why?”

If there are Daos within a heaven, they can all be connected, so why don’t they have people?

Su Yu looked at the Lord of the Dead, who had previously acted similarly. Seeing Su Yu’s gaze, the Lord of the Dead said solemnly, “This move has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is rapid strengthening; the disadvantage is that once these people die, it will cause turmoil in the heaven and break the Dao. In other words, you become bound to these people! Do you think we would place our hopes on the weak?”

Not everyone was like Su Yu, who, for the sake of power, would disregard even basic safety.

The fall of a strong cultivator in a heaven would cause upheaval.

If a strong cultivator died in battle and the Dao broke, often the Dao power could not be recovered, resulting in a loss of part of the Dao. If too many died, the heaven might even collapse.

That was why even King Wen and the Human Emperor had never done such things before.

When Su Yu first opened his heaven, for the sake of strength, he chose to live or die with these people. He himself had even said that if all these people died, it wouldn’t matter if his heaven collapsed.

But Su Yu couldn’t demand that everyone be like him!

Su Yu thought for a moment and nodded. “That’s true! Then do as you please; it’s fine if you don’t accept it. I won’t force anyone!”

The Lord of the Dead looked at Su Yu. “Let’s set that aside for now. Heaven Gate and Earth Gate are already close to full awakening. I think it won’t be long before they return to their peak. How do you think we should deal with them?”

“If we fight now, we might still have a chance. Heaven Gate or Earth Gate are currently only on par with me. Once they recover… I’m afraid I won’t be able to match even one of them.”

This time, the two gates didn’t want a bloody fight, and Su Yu didn’t either, so after mutual compromise, they chose a truce.

However, the truce wasn’t actually very favorable for Su Yu’s side.

Everyone was waiting for Su Yu’s decision.

Su Yu, who had never lost, gave everyone enough confidence. But now Su Yu was only talking about trivial matters, which disappointed the Lord of the Dead. Even if everyone else became Rule Masters, what difference would it make?

A Rule Master with one or two Dao powers—what difference did it make to them?

Qiong also spoke up. “Aren’t you good at talking? You and Xingyu are both masters of persuasion. I think Kong and Shi might be swayed?”

He also offered an opinion.

If those two could be swayed, Su Yu’s side would still have some strength.

Su Yu laughed. “Not everyone is like you…”

Qiong’s face darkened.

“…so understanding of reason!”

Su Yu added, and only then did Qiong refrain from cursing. If you dared say I’m easy to fool, I’ll show you!

Below, King Wen spoke. “If it doesn’t work, let Wen Yu abandon his heaven and merge it into yours.”

King Wen sighed. “Wen Yu’s path is similar to yours. If you absorb Wen Yu’s heaven, you might enter the 38th Dao, giving you a bit more certainty.”

At these words, everyone looked at Wen Yu. This was indeed a good choice.

A Su Yu at the 38th Dao would at least have much more confidence than now.

Wen Yu pouted but said nothing. Though he felt a bit displeased, thinking that his 34th Dao couldn’t reverse the situation, he accepted it.

“Not yet!”

Su Yu smiled. “We haven’t reached that point yet!”

“Their strength lies in Heaven Gate and Earth Gate. Without those two, we wouldn’t be much worse than them!”

Nonsense—it was precisely because those two gates were strong that everyone was helpless!

Su Yu continued, “Let’s not talk about that for now. This is an opportunity for everyone!”

Su Yu looked at the others. “Before the two gates recover from their injuries, if we kill some weaklings, they won’t care and won’t intervene. So next, Martial Emperor, you and your group lead the way to kill those scattered cultivators and ancient beasts!”

“There are also strong ones among the scattered cultivators and ancient beasts, but we can still handle them…”

Su Yu looked at a few others. “We still have strong ones on our side. Sword Venerable, Netherworld, you are all strong. Each of you lead a division, centered on the human realm, sweeping outward in all directions, killing those strong ones and stripping their Dao power…”

Su Yu quickly arranged things, but the crowd didn’t know what Su Yu was really planning. For a moment, they couldn’t say anything more.

“Xia Huyou, you and your people just watch over the human realm; don’t bother with anything else.”

One order after another was passed down, and soon everyone began to move.

The Human Emperor and a few others wanted to speak, but Su Yu added, “You few have just advanced; go back and stabilize your realms! As for you, King Wen, and the others… find a way to enter the 36th Dao. I don’t know the specifics, so you should communicate more among yourselves! Lan Tian and Wan Tiansheng stay; the rest can disperse!”

“……”

Qiong and the others were speechless.

That’s it?

Nothing else?

You didn’t give us any confidence or arrangements?

At this rate, even Qiong couldn’t help but say, “Su Yu, if there’s no way at all, it’s just suicide. If we run away then, don’t blame us!”

Su Yu smiled and nodded. "Don't worry. If you're not at ease, then let them leave. An alliance that can't be trusted—isn't that just like the Earth Gate and the others? Strong, yet tied down. Might as well disband!"

Alright!

Qiong muttered inwardly, *I'll trust you for now, since this guy Su Yu is always full of miracles.*

...

Soon, these people all departed.

Only Su Yu, Lan Tian, and Wan Tiansheng remained on the spot.

Su Yu looked at Lan Tian. At this moment, Lan Tian seemed somewhat normal, yet not quite. His strength wasn't actually formidable—just over twenty paths—but his power lay in his madness!

A mad will!

Even the spirit of heaven and earth couldn't withstand his assault.

With the others gone, Lan Tian chuckled darkly. "Daoist Su, you've driven away the strong and left us weaklings behind. What's your plan?"

Su Yu glanced at him and smiled. "Can you still maintain normal communication?"

"Of course!"

"Good!"

Su Yu laughed and nodded. "You're not normal now—chaotic, I can see that. The will of heaven has indeed impacted you!"

Lan Tian smiled but said nothing, acknowledging it. He had an impact on heaven, but under the fusion, heaven also affected him.

Su Yu continued, "Do you remember what I asked the Lord of the Dead just now?"

"What?"

"To devour the River of Time!"

Su Yu said calmly, "The Lord of the Dead has that idea, but I think he has almost no hope. Even I am not truly suited. The only one I think is fitting... is you."

Lan Tian was taken aback. "You mean?"

"You opened your path back then by walking the River of Time, stretching from beginning to end. Your Path of All Living Beings now is the same—connecting to the River! You call it opening a heaven, but it's different from ours. Your heaven is a heaven within heaven, a heaven of the River!"

Su Yu looked at him. "Others, including the Human Emperor, might be willing to fight alongside me. But when the final battle comes, knowing we're doomed... the Human Emperor might hold out to the end, or he might not..."

Su Yu smiled. "I've said it before—this era belongs to me, to us! It no longer belongs to them. They've lost too much, given up too much. Take the Lord of the Dead, for instance—he has no attachments here; all he pursues is power!"

"If it comes to the final moment, for the sake of power, he might abandon many things too... Who can say for sure he won't become the next Earth Gate or Heaven Gate?"

"Only we... cannot abandon this era!"

"Responsibility has a deadline—that's what the Human Emperor told me."

Su Yu said softly, "Our deadline might be this very tide. When this tide ends and we become relics... then perhaps we'll be like them. What does the next era, the next tide, have to do with us?"

Responsibility has a deadline—that was the Human Emperor's greatest revelation to him.

Thus, Su Yu understood these old relics even better.

Lan Tian nodded slightly, looking at Su Yu. "So what do you mean?"

"The Lord of the Dead and the others might not be willing to accept others. So I thought it over—you're the most suitable, even more than me."

Su Yu stared at him. "If they cultivate and attain the Dao directly in the River, you are the heaven within the River. In the end, I hope they can merge with you. If you could devour the River itself... you'd instantly become a top-tier powerhouse!"

"That's my plan—let everyone cultivate in the River first, seize control of it, and with you, we might fully take over the entire River... Let you swallow it! Even if it's just this segment of the myriad realms, it'll be enough to fill you up!"

Lan Tian's Path of All Living Beings was the most suited for this!

The Lord of the Dead wanted to devour it, but Su Yu didn't think it would work—too much conflict!

Lan Tian was lost in thought. Su Yu added, "There's another key point: the River is filled with chaotic wills. If the Lord of the Dead devours it, I'm afraid he'll go mad. But you—your will is already chaotic... yet I believe there's still a spark of clarity in you, fighting for this era!"

Lan Tian laughed. "No, not for this era. Just for some people, a small group..."

Su Yu nodded. "Same thing."

Lan Tian said no more. Su Yu continued, "So I hope to use this chance to let everyone grow stronger. Whether they attain the Dao or not doesn't matter—as long as they control more rule power... when you devour the River, they can lend you a hand, making it possible for you to complete the devouring."

"But after devouring, the Human Gate will appear, even be unsealed."

Lan Tian looked at Su Yu, who smiled. "So what if it appears? The Human Gate only wants to unseal itself—does it have to destroy the world? With the River gone and it unsealed, does it need to annihilate everything? By then, everyone will live in your heaven or mine—what does that have to do with the Human Gate? Besides, it's better if the Human Gate comes out..."

Su Yu was utterly indifferent to the Human Gate!

A being no one had ever seen!

Lan Tian nodded again, then glanced at Wan Tiansheng, chuckling. "Could this guy be the Human Gate?"

Beside him, Su Yu also looked at Wan Tiansheng and smiled. "If the Prefect is the Human Gate, that would be perfect. How about a partnership?"

Wan Tiansheng sighed. "The Human Gate? Just because I cultivate the Path of Seven Emotions and Six Desires, I must be the Human Gate?"

"Others might doubt me, but you two as well?"

Wan Tiansheng thought for a moment. "Actually, it makes sense that you think I'm the Human Gate. The Human Gate's goal is to unseal itself. So instead of letting Heaven Gate and Earth Gate grow strong, it's better to have beings like you resist them. And look—now you're even letting Lan Tian devour the River... In a way, everything we do is paving the way for the Human Gate's unsealing!"

"From that perspective, if I were the Human Gate, I'd support you!"

At least their goals aligned!

The Human Gate wanted to destroy the myriad realms—according to Ji Tian and the others, its ultimate aim was to break the River of the myriad realms. That would be victory!

Su Yu and Lan Tian both nodded, but Wan Tiansheng smiled bitterly. "But I'm not the Human Gate. If the Human Gate were as weak as me, that would be too pathetic!"

Lan Tian laughed. "Still pretending with us? If you weren't the Human Gate, how could you cultivate the Seven Emotions and Six Desires Path? If not the Human Gate, you're still connected to it!"

"Get lost!"

Wan Tiansheng cursed at him without a good expression, then turned to Su Yu. "I'm not the Human Gate, but after devouring half the Path of Sorrow and a Path of Wrath, I have some vague feelings..."

Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "What feelings? The reason I didn't digest them myself but chose to strengthen the Seven Emotions and Six Desires Path was a gamble—that the Prefect has some connection to the Human Gate... Of course, I trust the Prefect. No reason needed, unconditionally!"

Yes, no matter if Wan Tiansheng was the Human Gate, he believed in him!

Not only that, Su Yu added, "If the Prefect truly is the Human Gate... who says the Lord of Time is necessarily a good person? I can help the Prefect unseal and take down the Lord of Time together! Honestly, if it's true, there's no need to hide. Since I, Su Yu, have said it, I won't turn against the Prefect over this."

Wan Tiansheng rolled his eyes. "I really am not! If I were, I'd know your situation—you don't care about anything except not letting your friends and family die!"

He thought for a moment and explained, "I'm truly not the Human Gate, but I might be related to it."

Nonsense!

Wan Tiansheng continued, "This 'Human Gate' isn't that 'Human Gate'!"

Lan Tian was exasperated. "Speak plainly!"

Wan Tiansheng explained, "One 'Human Gate' refers to the sealed being everyone talks about; the other is the actual gate itself. These two are now treated as the same, but they might not be identical—understand?"

Su Yu pondered. "One is a person, the other an artifact. Is that what the Prefect means?"

"Yes!"

Wan Tiansheng nodded. "For example, the Human Gate might have a name, or we could give it one—call it Old Seven!"

Su Yu laughed, and Lan Tian chuckled darkly. "Old Seven!"

The Dao of Seven Emotions and Six Desires?

"But the true gate, we call it the Sealing Gate!"

"Then I might have a connection to the Sealing Gate!"

"Artifact spirit?"

Su Yu looked at him, but Wan Tiansheng shook his head again: "No! I don't think so, I don't have that feeling! I was only able to cultivate the Dao of Seven Emotions and Six Desires after shattering my Future Self. If I were an artifact spirit, it shouldn't have been impossible from the start!"

"The Future Self, according to your words, is the power of the Human Gate, borrowed from future power!"

"Then I shattered my Future Self... Later, I stopped cultivating the Future Self, yet I could still wander freely through the River of Time... the River of Memory, the River of Origin!"

Wan Tiansheng hesitated for a moment and said: "I suspect that I unintentionally cultivated the path of the Sealing Gate! And the Dao of Seven Emotions and Six Desires is the great Dao of the Sealing Gate!"

It was very complicated. Su Yu furrowed his brows slightly.

"You mean, at the moment you shattered your Future Self, you might have formed a connection with the Sealing Gate, entrusting your Dao to it, and thus cultivated the Gate Dao!"

"Yes!"

Wan Tiansheng explained: "Just like Tongtian, the Dao Tongtian cultivates is also very special, somewhat like entrusting to the Heavenly Gate and Earthly Gate, while I might have entrusted myself to the Sealing Gate!"

"I looked at the Daos of those Great Saints within the Human Gate. Their Daos are internal, existing independently, perhaps relying on something, somewhat similar to the Art of Merging Weapons, yet not entirely the same!"

"One person, one Dao; one thing, one Dao!"

Wan Tiansheng considered for a moment and spoke again: "So I suspect that the Sealing Gate is actually a great Dao, a Dao that exists independently, and Old Seven, he may not be equivalent to the Sealing Gate!"

Su Yu pondered: "Like the relationship between me and the Human Sovereign Seal? My Human Sovereign Seal is the core of heaven and earth, but I am not the Human Sovereign Seal, and the Human Sovereign Seal is not me... Is it roughly like that?"

"Yes!"

Wan Tiansheng nodded: "That's about the principle! For example, your Human Sovereign Seal contains countless Daos, but one day the seal is lost, or you abandon it yourself, or you die, the seal still remains. Someone might unintentionally connect to the Daos within your seal and inherit your Dao, but that doesn't mean they become Su Yu!"

Su Yu raised an eyebrow: "Many people cultivate the Future Self, and you're not the only one who has self-destructed it. Yet you connected to the Sealing Gate?"

Wan Tiansheng was a bit speechless: "There are countless cultivators, but why only a few of you achieved the Kai Tian? You, Su Yu, have great fortune—do I have none? Who can say for sure! But when I devoured those Daos, I did have a feeling, as if I vaguely saw a gate... it might have been the Sealing Gate!"

Wan Tiansheng continued: "Don't worry, there's no need to deny it. If I were really Old Seven, I would admit it myself, let you figure out a way to destroy the River of Time, completely unseal it, and I believe you would help me... If I were, I wouldn't deny it at all!"

He had no reason to deny it!

For now, the Human Gate seemed to have no conflict with Su Yu.

Su Yu nodded but frowned: "Then according to your words, you are merely an inheritor of the Sealing Gate's Dao. Where did the real Old Seven go? Could it be that he doesn't really exist?"

This being, feared by all and said to be majestic—did it truly exist, or not?

Wan Tiansheng shook his head and sighed: "I don't know about that. Maybe it exists, maybe it doesn't... Who the hell knows! But the Sealing Gate does exist! Because everyone has seen it! So the essence of the Sealing Gate should be a powerful great Dao! The Dao of Seven Emotions and Six Desires! This Dao lies within the gate! What I've touched now is probably just the surface!"

Su Yu raised an eyebrow: "You mean, if we seize the real Sealing Gate, you might be able to inherit it?"

"Yes, there's hope!"

Wan Tiansheng nodded: "But I'm not sure! Also, I can't yet confirm that the Daos before Kai Tian exist independently. Although I feel that the Great Saints of the Human Gate are like this, I can't be completely certain! If there were evidence to prove that the Daos before Kai Tian exist independently, then there might be a Dao within the Sealing Gate!"

"That's simple, just ask someone from before Kai Tian..."

Simple, my ass. There are very few beings from before Kai Tian now.

Kong, Shi, and a few others are from that era, but on Su Yu's side, neither the Lord of the Dead nor Qiong are.

Wan Tiansheng continued: "As for Lantian, your idea is to have him devour the River. As for me, I want to devour the Sealing Gate! What about you? You said those guys might not keep fighting forever... So how will you improve? You have 36 Daos now, which is not weak, but compared to the Earthly Gate and Heavenly Gate, you're still far behind! And one more thing, if Old Seven and the Lord of Time exist, how will you deal with them?"

Su Yu was the core!

If Su Yu couldn't improve, that would be the real trouble!

Su Yu explained: "For me, it's still the path of merging ten thousand Daos. The path is clear, but merging is very difficult!"

Wan Tiansheng shook his head: "Not necessarily!"

"What do you mean?"

Wan Tiansheng thought for a moment and said: "This matter might be worth asking the Great Zhou King!"

"Hmm?"

Su Yu's eyes flickered. Wan Tiansheng smiled: "It's indeed difficult for you to merge your own acupoints. But what if someone like the Great Zhou King, who controls multiple Daos, merges them? For example, if his Daos are scattered across your 16 acupoints, and he merges those 16 acupoints?"

"It's not just the Great Zhou King. I might have to break away from you, but besides him, there are quite a few who have several Daos. Don't always try to merge them yourself—give them a chance... let them try to merge!"

Wan Tiansheng continued: "And when they've merged to the end, you can find a way to have them merge further!"

Su Yu's eyes sparkled: "Do you mean, Headmaster..."

"Haven't you already merged Yun Chen and Nan Wujiang?"

Su Yu raised an eyebrow.

Wan Tiansheng went on: "Then let everyone abandon their physical bodies, transform into Dao spirits within your world, and let these Dao spirits try to merge the Daos! Once you win, you can naturally rescue them! And what you need to do is simple—the only thing is to ensure their consciousness isn't merged, so they don't become another Lantian!"

"For this, you need the help of many, like Doubao, who has always been a Dao spirit, might be helpful. Also, the Lord of the Dead—you can ask him how, amidst so many dead spirits gathered together on one Dao, they can still regain clarity. The dead spirits were initially unclear in will, somewhat mixed, but later they all recovered their memories... That means the origins later separated!"

Wan Tiansheng advised: "Right now, you're only focused on strengthening yourself, but you've forgotten the essence of cultivation! Su Yu, learn to solve problems with civilized methods!"

"Including your teachers—they might be weak, but they've always been devoted to research. They don't understand overly complex things! But complex things can be simplified. Bai Feng has always tried to transform into a Dao spirit, so he must have considered how to preserve his will from being assimilated!"

"You cultivate ten thousand Daos—do you have to master them all? Do you have to try to merge them yourself?"

It was too difficult!

Su Yu didn't have time; if he had time, he could try.

He added: "If you dare, you could even learn from Lantian, using countless wills to merge into a new Su Yu! But this Su Yu would be formed by the wills of everyone in your world, combining into a new Su Yu... Once you defeat your opponent, try to separate them!"

Su Yu's brows shot up: "Headmaster, you really dare to say that!"

Wan Tiansheng sneered: "Why wouldn't I dare? You have no other path now! Any other path, and you won't have time! This path is the fastest! The prerequisite is that you trust everyone, and they trust you. Mutual trust is the only hope for success. Otherwise, who are you counting on?"

He continued: "And one more thing, you need to balance the Daos in your world. Do you understand what I mean?"

Su Yu nodded: "You mean, using the King Wen's method, I balance all the Daos within my own world, right?"

"Yes!"

Wan Tiansheng nodded again: "Your strongest Dao might be the Flesh Dao, or some other Dao... In your world, you balance these powers, even if it means losing some! Divide them evenly into 720 parts! Your strength might drop a bit, but this way, you have hope of merging all 720 Daos!"

"Have you considered all this before, Headmaster?"

Wan Tiansheng nodded: "Yes, but back then, it wasn't at this stage. After all, there are too many things to consider—not just a test for you, but for everyone!"

This matter couldn't be accomplished by Su Yu alone!

Wan Tiansheng sighed: "If there's no other way, this path is not good, but when you're at a dead end, it becomes hope! The fear is that at a critical moment, someone might have second thoughts, unwilling to take you as the main body. Then there will be internal chaos!"

Su Yu raised an eyebrow: "Not a bad choice!"

It seemed quite good!

Wan Tiansheng said no more, while Lantian chuckled softly: "Hundreds of wills clashing—can you handle it? You're not me..."

Su Yu nodded: "That's right, I'm much tougher than you. I won't lose control and become alluring and strange. I believe I can always maintain my true self!"

Lantian was speechless. Who are you looking down on?

I don't believe you're really better than me!

At that moment, Su Yu laughed and said, "Your words, Prefect, have suddenly enlightened me. Indeed, one person's strength is limited! But at this time, I must carefully select my talents!" Wan Tiansheng nodded. This was crucial! Otherwise, there would be trouble.