Tribulation of Myriad Races

Finally, Su Yu entered the Empyrean Cloud City.

Empyrean Cloud had learned of what he was doing long ago. She also knew that Su Yu would be there.

When she saw Su Yu, her previous coldness and ruthlessness were nowhere to be seen. Rather, she smiled and asked, “Do you need me to take you to our boss?”

Su Yu smiled and said, “It’s fine. You need to stay here for now lest those outside grow too wary. This time, I’m here to thank you for breaking the laws for me previously.”

“It was no big deal.” Empyrean Cloud said, “I didn’t do that for you alone. I was merely…tired of the laws. We are basically prisoners, living our lives in constant fear. We have been guarding the Myriad Realms for a hundred thousand years, but nobody feels any gratitude toward us. They all see us as convenient tools.”

She coldly said, “They all believe that we deserve this. They all believe that it is only rightful that we do this. Because this is our duty. How laughable. The ancient past is no more. The ancient court is no more. The ancient assembly is no more. Duty? What duty? There is only a prison. A prison formed of heavenly laws. The damn heavenly laws. What are the laws? What do they think they are?”

After spending some time cursing the heavenly laws, she continued, “Su Yu, our boss has many misgivings, but that’s mainly because of us. He is concerned about us. But we don’t fear the laws. To convince our boss, you need to do one thing. Or to be precise, you need to give him one promise. That might be enough to convince him to help…”

“Please enlighten me, Lord.”

Empyrean Cloud said, “Assembly tokens. Ninety-nine of them. During the ancient past, the human race was in charge of designing the laws regarding rewards. As for the laws regarding punishments, they were the handiwork of the assembly. Naturally, both parties had also designed some other laws together, but those laws are unrelated to us. The blood tribulation hanging above us came from the assembly. Gather ninety-nine assembly tokens…no, only fifty tokens are enough to push the laws back. If you can get ninety-nine tokens, you can even cancel the laws or even design new laws with the power of laws.”

“If you agree to gather fifty assembly tokens and protect us from the laws or even relieve us of our duty, our boss will have zero misgivings.”

Su Yu inhaled deeply. That wouldn’t be easy. In fact, that would be extremely hard. He knew that the tokens were under the control of the major and ancient races. Furthermore, these tokens were all held by the top experts of those races. If he had the ability to snatch these tokens, he might as well kill them outright.

This was a tricky request.

Empyrean Cloud smiled and said, “Don’t worry about it. I don’t expect you to do that now. Just make sure to do it in the future.”

Su Yu nodded, “I’ll do my best. But I can’t guarantee anything. Such a guarantee is not something I can give.”

“That is enough.” Empyrean Cloud said, “I can feel that Yanmo is gone. I will be able to use more of my strength this time.”

“Oh. I got Xing Yue to lure all of them away.”

Empyrean Cloud laughed, “Good. The burden on us will be lighter. But we won’t be able to fight with our cities directly as that might open all the tunnels. Without our weapons, we are weaker. How much burden can you take? If you are capable of taking all the burden, that will allow us to use our weapons. We will be much stronger with our weapons.”

Su Yu knew that as well. Previously, Empyrean Cloud had used her city to fight. Initially, she was losing. But the moment she used her weapon, she killed an Invincible.

“I can probably take all the burden for a short while as long as the death sovereigns are gone.”

“Good.” Empyrean Cloud said, “Don’t tell Heavendoom about this or he might exceed your burden.”

“Sure.” Su Yu bowed, “Thank you, Lord. I’ll be visiting Lord Grand Dream now.”

“Go. Our boss knows a lot more than us. Thus, he has a lot more misgivings. But he is a grand dream turtle. He is different from us. In his eyes, a hundred thousand years is nothing. But for us, that is a very long time.”

Empyrean Cloud sighed. Their boss tried to be understanding, but they were ultimately different. The grand dream turtles were the longest-lived race. Because of this, their boss would disregard them at times.

As far as he was concerned, sleep could fix everything. They could keep waiting. In such a manner, years passed. Their boss could take the solitude, but not them.

***

Su Yu left Empyrean Cloud City with mixed feelings.

These guardians were clearly running out of patience. Thus, it had been quite easy for him to convince them. None of them rejected him.

Deep underwater.

Grand Dream City.

The moment Su Yu appeared, the old turtle transformed into the same youth from before. With a wave of his hand, a table appeared before him.

Su Yu was quite surprised to see a tiny demonic beast staying outside the city. That was quite a gutsy beast.

After cupping his hands at the old turtle in greeting, Su Yu sat down by the table. The old turtle sat down as well and asked, “Did you enter the eighth level?”

“Yes.”

“Did you get any Profound Heaven Tea there? Heavenly Overseer Marquis visited with some not long ago. I’m starting to crave for that tea again.”

“No. I left after visiting the Bloodmount General’s Residence.”

The old turtle was surprised to hear that. He said, “You sure are carefree. How did you resist exploring the eighth level more?”

“It’s fine. I’ll go again in the future.”

The old turtle chuckled and said, “You made it sound so simple…but then again, it might really be that simple.”

He looked at Su Yu’s forehead with an odd expression and asked, “Did you open the Heaven Gate?”

“Yeah.”

“Heaven Gate…” The old turtle sighed and looked outside. His gaze pierced through space itself to land on the faraway White Jade Gate as he said, “That is a Heaven Gate as well. Are you aware?”

“Yes.” Su Yu nodded, “That is most likely a real Heaven Gate, not a replica.”

“Hmm?”

Su Yu declared nonchalantly, “That was the Heaven Gate of an actual living being. Don’t you know that, Lord?”

“…”

After a short silence, the old turtle shook his head, “No.”

“Do you know Tai Shan, Lord?”

The old turtle frowned and said, “Do not mention the names of these supreme experts lightly! It’s fine for a regular person, but for people like you and me, fate will respond. These experts might react. It is very dangerous. That was the esteemed name of the great Martial King.”

Su Yu nodded. Sure enough. What a terrifying existence.

Su Yu said, “You probably know why I’m here, Lord. I understand this might drag the holy cities into war, but I still hope to get your help.”

The old turtle sighed, “Did they all agree?”

“Yes.”

“Sigh. That’s understandable. They’re running out of patience. It has been too long. They believe I don’t understand them. I understand them, but I want them to live. I want them to survive until the day the laws are reorganized.

“They have all contributed greatly to all living beings. The Myriad Realms owe them. When the laws are reorganized, whoever the new overlord is, they have to acknowledge the contribution of the guardians. They will be rewarded by the heavenly laws. They will become Daofuses. They will be promoted accordingly. There is no need for guardians like us to pick a side. We only need to wait. It doesn’t matter who the winner is. You? The immortals? The humans? As long as it isn’t a death spirit, the guardians will still be the heroes of the Myriad Realms. What do you think?”

Su Yu nodded. That was true. It did not matter who the winner was. As long as the ancient cities stayed out of the war, nobody could deny their contributions in suppressing the Death Realm.

“But they are running out of patience. They want to take a side.”

The old turtle sighed and said, “They should all know that this is also a risk for us. A single defeat will render all their previous sacrifices pointless. A hundred thousand years of contributions, gone. Unless you win. Not even a human victory might be too advantageous for them after picking a side. Their choice will only pay off if you are the final victor. You can’t give us anything apart from freedom from the laws. Do you understand?”

After a short silence, Su Yu nodded, “Yes. Only my victory will give the guardians a worthy return for their help. Nothing else can give them as much as what they can get by simply waiting.”

“Exactly.” The old turtle smiled bitterly and said, “Thus, I have been advising them to not get involved too much. I even tell them to remain statues and say nothing. Will anyone pick a fight against some stone statues? We only need to stay silent and wait until the heavens are reorganized. Our freedom will come then.”

Su Yu nodded, “You’re right. But you…seem to have failed.”

The old turtle glared at Su Yu and said, “It’s your fault! If it weren’t for you….no, if it wasn’t for Grandstar and his frequent trips all over the Allheaven Battlefield, Heavendoom and the others wouldn’t have lost their patience!”

Putting the blame on him?

Su Yu shrugged. It wasn’t like he was the one who had told Grandstar to run around. But he had to admit that Grandstar had done well. All the guardians were losing patience because of him. They finally recalled that they were still alive. They could still move.

Su Yu thought about it and smiled, “Lord, that is your wish. But how do you know that is their wish as well? Perhaps they want a life of excitement, regardless of the ending. As cultivators of this level, I doubt staying alive is their sole goal. Is such a life really better than death? Even death spirits can move around freely in the Death Realm.”

The old turtle exhaled and said, “Su Yu, you are very talented. You are decently strong as well. But I am not optimistic about your chances. Of course, I am not optimistic about anyone. I only trust facts. But since my old brothers and sisters have agreed, I can agree as well. I can stop Tiangu and the Heaven Overseer Marquis for you when you need it. But I won’t do anything else.”

Su Yu was overjoyed. That much was enough. He did not come here expecting the old turtle to agree. He only hoped that the old turtle would keep an eye on the Death Realm.

“Lord, about the Death Realm…”

“Didn’t you lure them all to Xing Yue’s place?”

How amazing of the old turtle to know about this. Su Yu nodded, “Yes.”

After a short silence, the old turtle said, “So be it. As for the Death Realm, things will be fine as long as you don’t cause too much trouble there. I can handle the rest. Don’t make Grandstar and the others go against the laws. The myriad races will not help us with the blood tribulation anymore. They will die.”

“I understand. In short, the laws only require the death spirits and death qi to not spread excessively in the world of the living. I can handle that.”

The old turtle nodded. Yes. That was all. As long as he could do that, everything else would be manageable. However, this was easier said than done. After all, the Death Realm required thirty-six guardians to suppress. It wouldn’t be easy for Su Yu to do it alone. He might be able to do it for a bit, but there was no guarantee that he could keep it up for long.

“That is all.”

With a sigh, the old turtle vanished with a flicker. He had waited for a hundred thousand years. He only wanted to wait until peace returned, but clearly, his old companions were no longer willing to wait. Grandstar…no, Su Yu was the culprit. That bastard was the one who had given them hope.

He swore not to forgive Su Yu if even one of them died.

They were heroes. Heroes of the Myriad Realms. They deserved better.

After returning to his post, the old turtle spread his willpower into the Death Realm. His willpower spread endlessly. Eventually, it reached the Celestial River of Death.

A death sovereign was crossing the river.

Boom!

Suddenly, a storm raged on he river. Alarmed, the death sovereign shouted, “Is this the Spirit Suppression General? I am here under the Eastern Heavenly King’s order to patrol the thirtieth region of the east…”

Boom!

The projection of the old turtle appeared, causing the storm on the Celestial River of Death to rage even more. He coldly said, “I alone guard this territory. Crossing into my territory is punishable by death. No matter how strong the Eastern Heavenly King is, he has to abide by the laws. He needs to become an Emperor before thinking of challenging the laws.”

Boom!

The storm ravaged the death sovereign like a tiny boat in a berserk ocean. Before long, he was swallowed by the waves of the river.

Then, the old turtle’s projection looked into the distance and said, “I am the Spirit Suppression General. This territory is under my watch. I don’t care if you’re the Eastern Heavenly King or the Western Heavenly King. Cross the border and you will have to answer to me.”

With a rumble, the old turtle vanished.

Not long after, several death sovereigns appeared at the other side of the river. While trembling with fear, one of them said, “The Spirit Suppression General…is more like the Spirit Suppression Marquis. That old turtle…might be stronger than even the marquises of the king’s residence.”

What a terrifying existence. The old turtle was someone qualified to be a marquis a hundred thousand years ago. If the ancient past had not collapsed, the old turtle might have advanced into a parliament member. He seemed to be the sole survivor of the grand dream turtle race.

After some hesitation, the death sovereigns retreated. They decided to report the matter to their superiors. This wasn’t something they could handle.