Published at 3rd of February 2026 6:33 am

Chapter 1820: Bitter Fighting (3)

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Su Yu grew doubtful. Wasn't the Human Emperor supposed to be single? Was that a bastard child? Even so, Human Emperor should take care of it himself, right? Why was it Culture King instead? Was there some mistake here?

Whatever. That did not matter for now. Looking at the entrance again, he exhaled deeply. He did not know if the guardians could win. If they failed, this would be a massive loss for him. As for the escape of North Heavenly King, so be it. He didn't care too much.

He stopped thinking and returned his attention to the others. The captured marquises were still here.

He said, "Eight death sovereigns at the ninth degree will be granted a death imprint each."

His hand shone, and eight beams of light shot out to mark eight death sovereigns. These were the bravest death sovereigns during the previous battle. They had fought much harder than the other death sovereigns. This time, they had killed eight marquises. Five had been captured, and the rest had escaped. The eight chosen death sovereigns were overjoyed.

They all knelt down and roared, "We thank the wise Emperor Yu!"

"Do not tarry. Absorb the death imprints and try to advance. This is your best opportunity to make an advance with so much space cleared on the dao not long ago."

This was indeed the best time for a death spirit to advance.

Before long, the eight chosen death sovereigns started devouring their granted death imprints and death blood. The others could only watch in admiration. Even the marquises were envious. But nobody protested. Su Yu had allocated the spoils in a way to maximize the power of his subordinates.

Marquises wouldn't grow too much from consuming the imprints of other marquises. Done with the allocation, Su Yu returned to silence. It was time to wait. He had a way of knowing if the battle inside was over.

If the guardians were to win, the fortune of humanity would rise.

If the guardians were to die, the fortune of humanity would decline.

***

Luminous Domain Mansion.

Martial Emperor was sulking.

He had lost a lot of hair. An intense battle was erupting right before him. Back then, the twenty-seven guardians were also ferocious combatants who were good at combat. Unfortunately, their opponent was too strong.

Cangshan Nether had picked only one of them to target. His attacks were so fierce that even the layer of petrification on Openmountain's skin had shattered.

Cangshan Nether was trying to kill some of these guardians as soon as possible. He was willing to pay the price for this. He hoped that the cooperation of the guardians would crumble after losing a few of people.

But these guardians were old comrades. They knew each other well, and their cooperation was excellent. Just as Openmountain's injuries reached a certain level, a guardian appeared before him.

The battle was cruel and intense. In no time at all, about eight guardians had been injured heavily. But Cangshan Nether had sustained some injuries as well. Black blood drenched his body, and death qi seeped out of his body endlessly.

However, the death spirit dao was too powerful. It was able to apply a constant suppression on these guardians, making this an extremely tiring battle for them.

***

Far away.

He Tu was frowning. This couldn't be allowed to continue. At this rate, few guardians would remain even if they could win.

After a short contemplation, he sent a voice transmission, "Marquis Lanshan, consume the death imprints and grow as soon as possible. Split the power of the dao. There is currently too much empty space on the dao. Cangshan Nether might be able to keep growing even in battle."

Marquis Lanshan did not speak, but she did as told. The two sat down cross-legged and started consuming their gathered death imprints. These were the death imprints they had gathered during the previous battle.

He Tu's plan was simple. He wanted to achieve Daofuse and snatch more of the space on the dao. Marquis Lanshan was doing the same. And if some other death spirits were also advancing elsewhere, even more of the space would be taken.

He guessed that Su Yu must have granted some death sovereigns death imprints for them to grow and occupy more space on the dao. After regaining more of his past memories and regaining his human nature, He Tu had smartened up considerably. He was much calmer than before, and he was far less foolish as well.

He wasn't that far from the Daofuse Realm. After consuming his gathered death imprints, he started focusing on the comprehension of the death spirit dao while observing Cangshan Nether's battle.

In mere moments, his aura started surging. And after some time, a powerful burst of death qi erupted from his body. At the same time, the death qi of Cangshan Nether weakened slightly. When he sensed that, he was furious. The guardians might not understand what was happening, or they might not even know this was happening, but the same couldn't be said for Cangshan Nether. After all, he was a death spirit. He cursed inwardly.

The addition of a Daofuse in a place without death qi would be far more impactful for his strength. And he had indeed been weakened after He Tu's advancement. But he was too busy to think too much about He Tu. The guardians were still attacking him madly. Some had even removed their petrification to attack him with all their strength.

The battle raged on.

Guardians were sent flying repeatedly.

As time passed, Cangshan Nether continued weakening. Even now, both Marquis Lanshan and He Tu were still actively growing. The eight chosen death sovereigns were also growing rapidly in the Death Realm, with two successfully achieving Daofuse.

They were already near the Daofuse Realm in the first place. With so much empty space for the taking in the death spirit dao, they were able to advance rapidly. Su Yu even had all the marquises and South Heavenly King cultivate, snatching even more space on the death spirit dao.

At the same time, North Heavenly King and his subordinates were also cultivating hard in the Origin Land. Even Xia Chen and Liu Hong were taking this chance to grow. Deep inside the Celestial River of Death, the various death spirits were also growing, slowly occupying the empty space in the death spirit dao.

This was a rare opportunity for all of them. So many marquises had died today. A large number of death sovereigns had died as well. This was practically a feast for them.

***

At the same time.

World of the living.

Inside a weak, minor realm, a group of Mountainseas and Sunmoon had gathered.

Before long, an eye appeared on the body of an immortal Sunmoon. Instantly, the entire presence of that immortal changed. Tiangu's aura descended.

Yes. Tiangu.

The same happened to the other gathered cultivators.

Tiangu said, "Everyone, our main bodies can't find the chance to gather. That makes it hard for us to discuss some matters. This is a good opportunity to have a good talk."

Quite a lot of people had arrived.

Tiangu, Talisman King, Phoenix Pseudo Emperor, Jiwu, Mo Ji, Mo Yue, Ape Pseudo Emperor, Abyss Marquis, Celestial Dragon Marquis, and Nether Pseudo Emperor. Ten Daofuses had gathered.

Heavenly Overseer Marquis and Bountiful Treasure were excluded from the meeting.

"Spirit Pseudo Emperor, Soulvenge, Long Dou, golden peng, and Soldier King. Five Daofuses had died in the previous battle."

Tiangu said, "Talisman King went to the Death Realm not long ago. According to him, two death spirit marquises had also died at about the same time. The losses of the previous battle were disastrous."

Everyone had unsightly expressions.

"Su Yu's growth is too fast." Tiangu continued, "As of late, I have been feeling restless and uneasy. This is the first time in a hundred thousand years. We won the war of the ninth epoch, killing over a hundred Daofuses of the human alliance. But we also lost a lot during that battle. Due to humanity's decline, a large number of our Daofuses had opted to ascend to the Upper Realm after that battle."

In the previous epochs, the various races would keep more than one Daofuse per race in the Myriad Realms. At times, each race would keep even five or six of them. But due to their victory in the ninth epoch, a large number of their Daofuses had ascended to wipe out the humans up there. And they had suffered from that.

Jiwu coldly said, "Tiangu, if the immortals had not messed things out in the beginning, things wouldn't have developed in such a direction. Back then, your race was allied with the human race. Don't forget that."

Tiangu frowned and said, "We did not ally with the humans just because of our ambitions. We were also planning to keep these humans around as bait for the human fossils in the Upper Realm. We were also thinking of luring the Torchbearers out.

"Who could have imagined that in only a few hundred years, something like this would happen? Nobody could predict this."

The Upper Realm would reopen in only a few years. They might be criticizing the immortals for their ambitions and greed, but the divines and devils were just as greedy. They were never that firm in their intention to eliminate humanity in the beginning. They wanted to bait the human fossils from the Upper Realm out as well.

They wanted to bait the Torchbearers out as well. And thus, they all suffered.

Tiangu said, "This isn't a completely bad thing for us. At the very least, some of their trump cards have been exposed, including Culture King's trump cards. That book spirit, tea plant, and Su Yu's ability to consume blood essence. Even Great Zhou King was exposed. He is most certainly a survivor of a prior epoch. The loyalty of some ancient races were exposed as well. This will be the epoch for us to remove all of them."

Mo Ji said, "Enough about that. Tiangu, why did you gather us here today? Previously, we agreed to remain inactive and wait for the Upper Realm to open. There is no need to risk ourselves fighting the humans this early. They will be wiped out the moment the Upper Realm opens."

Tiangu inhaled deeply and said, "I have been feeling really uneasy. I am worried that given seven or eight years...Su Yu might be able to grow into a Master of Law. How are we supposed to handle him then?"

"Impossible!" Mo Ji argued, "Not a single new Master of Law has emerged in a hundred thousand years. Not even Hundred Battle King managed to reach that level."

"What if?" Tiangu said, "I am of the opinion that we need to deal with Su Yu now. We can ignore everyone else, but we must remove Su Yu now!"

"That won't be easy." Jiwu shook his head and said, "He would have died long ago if he could be killed so easily."

Tiangu nodded in agreement and said, "Even if we can't do that, I believe we should start draining the power of laws. Accelerate the opening of the Upper Realm. Or we can even do just enough to let the Upper Realm send more Daofuses down. Even including Bountiful Treasure and Heavenly Overseer Marquis, we only have twelve Daofuses down here right now.

"Meanwhile, the humans have the two soul devourers, Grand Dream, the book spirit, the tea plant, Great Zhou King, Iron Devourer Pseudo Emperor, Spatial Beast Pseudo Emperor, Hou Pseudo Emperor, and Primordial Giant King. They have ten Daofuses. Su Yu has successfully initiated dao fusion so he might be as strong as a Daofuse as well. There's also the owner of the blood essence he used previously so they might have another hidden Daofuse, the dog mentioned by Heavenly Overseer Marquis. All in all, they have twelve on their side."

Tiangu sighed and said, "We are evenly matched, or to be honest, we are the weaker party. And Su Yu's recent actions have also been too confusing. I can't tell what he's doing."

Slowly, everyone's expression turned solemn.

They all focused on Tiangu. What was he proposing?

Tiangu said, "There are plenty of peak Sunmoons and Pseudo Eternals in our races. Have them affirm their daos. Don't use the Three Body Method. I believe each race still has some of the other methods stashed away. We trade some peak Sunmoons for some Daofuses from the Upper Realm. We will carry out this mission in secret. Abyss Marquis, keep an eye on the Fate Realm. Ensure the secrecy of our mission. We will give Su Yu a big surprise."

"Have them break through in silence and trigger the heavenly tribulations. We only need to sacrifice thirty or fifty Sunmoons to get one or two more Daofuses from the Upper Realm."

At that, everyone's expression changed. Noticing that, Tiangu sneered and asked, "Can't bear to lose your Sunmoons? I understand that everyone has their issues. The immortals can contribute thirty Sunmoons for this task. Who knows, some might succeed and open up a new path for us. And if they do fail, they can drain the power of laws. Of course, don't think of having us do everything. We need to share the burden."

With a cold tone, Tiangu continued, "This is our last chance to act before it's too late. We will try to get five or even six Daofuses descend in secret and catch Su Yu by surprise. We need to find a way to kill Grand Dream and remove him of his bigger backer. Previously, we contacted East Heavenly King. He promised to act, but nothing has happened. I'm worried that something might have changed in the Death Realm."

After a short silence, Mo Ji nodded and said, "Yes. We need to be ready instead of waiting blindly. If Su Yu manages to become a Master of Law in a few years, we will suffer heavy losses to deal with him even with the assistance of those from the Upper Realm. Rather than risking that, we're better off having some Daofuses descend now."

He offered, "The devils can offer thirty Sunmoons for this. If they succeed, good. If they fail, it's far better to lose some Sunmoons than to lose Daofuses. It's worth trading Sunmoons for Daofuses."

The others thought about it and nodded one after another.

Tiangu smiled. Finally, an agreement was reached. These people were truly annoying to convince. He said, "In that case, let's start immediately. Stay low profile and keep an eye on the Fate Realm. Any leak of news might bring us great trouble. Keep a close watch on Fate Pseudo Emperor. For some reason, he seems biased toward humanity in this epoch. This isn't a good sign. Abyss Marquis, do not take your eyes off him."

"I will." Abyss Marquis smiled and said, "Don't worry. I will keep an eye on him. Even those in the Upper Realm don't trust him. That's the only reason I'm down here."

Tiangu was relieved to hear that. He said, "All of us also need to try contacting the Death Realm again. We can't wait around doing nothing. If we can get the help of the heavenly kings, Grand Dream will be out of the picture."

"We'll try. But it would be much better for us to retake the Celestial Chasm Realm. Otherwise, it would be too hard to contact the Death Realm. This is the exact reason why Great Zhou King sealed the Celestial Chasm Realm."

"Yes. Find a chance to start a battle and snatch the Celestial Chasm Realm back."

The discussion continued. Due to the urgency of the issue, they were able to easily make the compromises they were never willing to make before.

And the key to their plan was the triggering of the heavenly tribulations. They needed to either accelerate the opening of the Upper Realm or open up a passage for a large number of Daofuses to descend.

***

Meanwhile, Su Yu was still waiting eagerly.

Was the result out?

A battle between experts wouldn't last too long.

Of course, a battle could drag out if one party was fleeing while the other was pursuing. But pursuing was not an option for those in the mansion. The fortune attached to his human lord's token was fluctuating madly. He was unsure about the result.

"Please be successful!"

Su Yu muttered a prayer. The guardians were very important to him. The old turtle and the others might lose their minds if all these guardians were to die.

In fact, Su Yu was starting to regret as he waited. He should have insisted on creating some weak Daofuses instead. As a result of his previous choice, he could only wait nervously for the result. He much preferred fighting personally than waiting around like this.

He needed to know the result.

Success or failure, he needed an answer. A confirmation.

Suddenly, a rumble rang out as the entire Death Realm started shaking. A massive dao manifested in the sky before snapping.

First, Su Yu blanked out. Then, joy overtook him.

Was Cangshan Nether dead?

Did they win?

But next, his expressions changed again. What was the cost of this victory?

The old turtle and the others would still be displeased if too many of the guardians died in the process, even if this was their own choice.

Next, Su Yu entered the mansion impatiently. He could no longer care about Martial Emperor's anger toward him. Would that guy dare to attack? The moment he appeared inside, he saw a massive pillar. A pillar of power. At the same time, Martial Emperor appeared before him with a boundlessly furious expression.

"Move out of the way. I'm busy"

"Su Yu, I'll kill you!"

At this point, Martial Emperor could already project his complete body. He threw a punch at Su Yu. That caught Su Yu by surprise. This guy had regained a lot of his freedom. Things were getting troublesome. It was likely that this would be Su Yu's last time in the mansion.

Faced with Martial Emperor's fist, he had no choice but to divert his focus to the Martial Emperor. He wasn't too fearful of a sealed Martial Emperor.

Boom!

And thus, an intense battle erupted between Su Yu and Martial Emperor's projection right after the end of the previous battle. Punch after punch clashed in the sky, breaking numerous pillars in the first underground level. At this rate, Martial Emperor would go bald before long.

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