Tribulation of Myriad Races

Su Yu was naturally unaware of what was happening in the boundless darkness. He had just returned to the Eastrift Valley.

Great Zhou King and the others were greatly alarmed at the sight of Su Yu. What happened to him? With their strength, they could naturally see his current condition.

Of course, the weaker ones would not be able to notice anything. They would only think that Su Yu was probably feeling fashionable by dyeing his hair and brows white. Had he finally grown up and decided to start approaching women?

Then again, he actually looked quite good with his white hair. Perhaps this would be a popular fashion choice before long.

Su Yu did not care about how others were looking at him. Inside his temporary palace, he smiled and slowly stepped toward his throne. A large number of experts had gathered behind him.

Great Zhou King and the others were not the only ones around. Openmountain had also arrived.

He was in charge of monitoring Zhao Chuan’s group in secret. Zhao Chuan, who had recently returned, did not think much when he saw Su Yu’s white hair. He only thought that Su Yu looked more solemn than before.

He hurriedly said, “Reporting to Emperor Yu, a channel to the Upper Realm has been found in the boundless void. However, we did not attempt to go through it as we were worried that some people were waiting on the other side. We have been observing it as of late.”

Openmountain chimed in, “According to our observation, that channel will appear once per month. Most of the time, it will remain concealed inside the void. There is no way to activate it manually. In other words, you need to wait a month between each usage of that channel.”

Su Yu nodded.

Openmountain continued, “That is a dangerous channel. Baleful winds, lightning bolts, power of laws, all those can be found in the channel.”

Su Yu nodded again. He said, “What’s the difference between that channel and the one in the Fate Realm?”

Since both were dangerous, was there a difference between the two?

Openmountain did not have the answer to that. Great Zhou King stepped forth and replied instead, “Reporting to Emperor Yu, there are some differences between the two. The channel in Fate Realm is a main channel, one known to everyone. Meanwhile, the channel we found was opened secretly back then. The channel in Fate Realm is capable of taking in even Masters of Laws. But that won’t be possible with this secret channel. In other words, only those weaker than that can use the secret channel.”

Su Yu nodded. That was understandable. So the two were really different. Clearly, that was an insignificant channel during the ancient past. That was an era filled with Masters of Laws. What could the Torchbearers do without a Master of Law?

Then again, that was all in the past. These days, that one difference might as well not exist.

Great Zhou King continued, “There are fewer heavenly tribulations in this channel compared to the main channel. After all, the main channel was meant to be used by Masters of Laws. At its peak, it could kill even Masters of Laws attempting to pass through forcefully.

“The channel used by the Torchbearers is a weakened version. Now, the main channel can kill Daofuses. In that case, just assume that the second channel has about half the strength. It won’t be able to kill Daofuses easily.”

Once again, Su Yu nodded. This was why Zhao Chuan and his group could descend safely. They would have all died attempting to descend through the main channel.

Great Zhou King continued, “One more thing. The entrance of the main channel on the other side might be under the myriad races’ control. But the secret channel is under Stable Army Marquis’ control. He is a Daofuse, but it is unclear if he has any Daofuses under him. If we enter through the secret channel, we can hide our arrival easily and even take down Stable Army Marquis while we’re at it.”

Su Yu nodded, “True. Very thoughtful of you, Great Zhou King.”

Great Zhou King merely smiled.

After a short silence, Su Yu asked again, “Is the secret channel available right now?”

“Yes.” Openmountain said, “According to my observation, it is quite stable right now. Of course, there are risks. Zhao Chuan’s group suffered massive casualties when descending. The price of ascending might be even higher.”

Su Yu rapped on the armrest of his throne and said, “I observed one such channel before. Each channel is formed with numerous laws. Space, time, defense, teleportation, suppression, formation…a supreme expert must have been the one to create the main channel. Or perhaps it was the work of multiple Masters of Laws. In that case, who was the creator of this secret channel?”

When Su Yu looked at Great Zhou King, Great Zhou King answered, “We don’t know. We received this channel from the ancient Human Emperor. Perhaps it was opened by the subordinates of the Human Emperor in secret.”

Su Yu nodded. After giving it some thought, he said, “Gather Great Ming King, Time King, Silk Destroying King, and Hu Xiansheng here.”

Great Zhou King asked, “Emperor Yu, are you sending scouts to the Upper Realm? That won’t be an issue, but things aren’t completely stable down here yet. It won’t be advisable for you to go personally. There are too many experts up there. For now, we should focus on information gathering.”

He was worried that Su Yu would go personally. That would be too dangerous. There were too many top experts up there.”

Su Yu laughed and asked, “Why not? This is a bet in the first place. How can I gather detailed information without being there myself? Let’s not waste time with such useless talk.”

Great Zhou King’s expression changed slightly. He said, “In that case, I won’t stop you. But please allow me to go with you. I know Stable Army Marquis and the others. With me around, you won’t be completely blind up there.”

“No!” Wan Tiansheng stepped forth, narrowed his eyes, and said, “Forget about that. Your relationship with them might not be a good thing for us. With you in the group, it will be too obvious that our group comes from the Lower Realm. Without you, we can pretend to be a random faction of humans.

“As Zhao Chuan said, the humans of the Upper Realm are split into multiple factions. The situation of each faction is unknown to the other factions. We can even disguise ourselves as subordinates of Marquis Minshan. He’s dead, so nobody can be sure we’re not actually his subordinates.”

Great Zhou King frowned and said, “But you’re unfamiliar with the Upper Realm…”

Wan Tiansheng said, “That’s why we need to be very cautious. It will be dangerous for us if someone among us decides to collude with the Upper Realm fellows.”

Great Zhou King’s expression changed to anger. He said, “Wan Tiansheng, are you suspecting me?”

Wan Tiansheng said, “No. I am merely being careful. I’m not the only person worried about this. Let me be frank. When we arrive at the Upper Realm, we have no backing. We only have ourselves to rely on. What are we supposed to do once Great Zhou King turns against us? He can easily expose our secrets to the Upper Realm fellows, sending some old fossils after Emperor Yu. That is not a risk we can ignore.”

Great Zhou King said furiously, “Absolute nonsense! I am a Torchbearer. My only mission is to ensure the continuation of humanity. Why would I do something like that?”

Wan Tiansheng said, “Yes, you bear the torch of the ancient past, not the current era. We’re now in the New Domain Calendar, not the Yong’an Calendar. Please don’t forget that, Great Zhou King.”

“Damn it!”

Great Zhou King was a very patient man, but this was not something he could tolerate. If he didn’t clear his name here, he would lose everyone’s trust.

Furthermore, his old friends like Great Qin King and Great Xia King were present. They weren’t doubting him in private. Strictly speaking, they could call this a court meeting with the current Human Emperor. He had to refute such an allegation, or people might really start believing that he was guilty.

Everyone watched in silence.

Unfortunately for Great Zhou King, Wan Tiansheng was not without help. At the corner of the room, a shady looking old man stepped forth and spoke earnestly, “Great Zhou King, let’s talk nicely with facts. Tiansheng is merely proposing a possibility. He did not call you a traitor directly. Why are you getting all agitated?”

Great Zhou King cursed inwardly and asked, “Lan Tian, where is the proof that I’m a traitor, then?”

The old man, or to be precise, Lan Tian, smiled and said, “Proof? What proof do you want? Are we accusing you? No. We are merely proposing a possibility.”

“Since you have no proof, you are framing me!” Great Zhou King coldly said, “I suspect you of being a traitor as well, Lan Tian! You have the ability to join any race you want. You are probably colluding with the myriad races, right?”

Lan Tian laughed and said, “How is that possible? You can’t throw an accusation like that without proof.”

“Where is the proof for what you’re saying about me, then?”

Lan Tian nodded, “Yes, you’re right. Looks like we really can’t frame people lightly.”

He continued, “How about this? To prove my innocence, I will open my sea of willpower wide. Emperor Yu can search and inspect it as he pleases. Just kill me the moment he finds anything suspicious.”

With an expression of boundless sorrow, Lan Tian wailed, “I wish to prove my innocence! Great Zhou King is framing me! I am not a traitor, but he insists! I can only do this!”

“…”

Great Zhou King was tired of this. So this was what they were waiting for all along.

Fuck!

Why couldn’t these people be straightforward instead of going in circles with countless schemes? They were even scheming against their own seniors! Where was their conscience? Why were they doing this to him?

Just as he was about to say something, Su Yu’s calm voice rang out, “Enough. Calm down. In the path of cultivation, everyone has their secrets. What’s the point of reaching such a level of cultivation if one still needs to let others inspect their sea of willpower so easily?”

Great Zhou King was relieved to hear that. But before he could say anything, Su Yu continued, “Great Zhou King will join the team. Lan Tian will be by his side at all times. Director Wan will stay behind. Great Qin King and Great Xia King will remain behind and assist Director Wan.

“The team will mainly be comprised of Eternals. I won’t be taking too many Daofuses with me. I’m taking those Eternals with me so that they can find a chance to attain Daofuse up there. As for Daofuses, I will only take enough to kill a heavenly king when joining hands.”

Everyone gasped in shock. He was talking about killing heavenly kings like it was nothing. Great Zhou King, Lan Tian, Su Yu, and Great Ming King. If that were all, they would only have four Daofuses. Would that really be enough to kill heavenly kings?

Lan Tian complained, “Emperor Yu, must you take him with you?”

Su Yu smiled and explained, “Great Zhou King is familiar with the people up there. That’s a good thing. No matter what, he can help connect us with them. He can also help us gather more information. No matter what, Zhao Chuan and the others aren’t exactly highly ranked up there.”

Su Yu continued, “As for the headcount, I will keep it under thirty. Or perhaps I’ll try to make it twenty.”

After a short pause, he added, “Additionally, I’ll take September, Skyeater, Hollow, and Endless Passage together.”

Great Qin King asked, “You’re taking them with you? Is that appropriate?”

Su Yu said, “If possible, I’ll help them affirm their dao up there. Endless Passage and Skyeater have yet to do so. Of course, there are no promises. I’m mainly taking them as insurance to prevent any conflicts with their races up there.”

“With them, perhaps I can contact their races in an emergency. Am I supposed to pay them a visit just like that?”

Great Qin King nodded in agreement.

“For now, that is all. Contact them and have them come here immediately. Additionally, remind them to take any token or item they can use to prove their identities to their people up there.”

“Yes!”

Everyone agreed. Clearly, nobody could stop Su Yu from going since his mind was set.

Seeing that nobody had anything to say, Su Yu continued, “Director Wan will take the lead down where during my absence. Great Qin King, Great Xia King, and General Grand Dream will assist him. Keep an eye on the three major realms.

“South Heavenly King and Marquis Lanshan will take the lead in the Death Realm. None of you will interfere with each other. Our campaigns across the Myriad Realms will continue. Everyone will cultivate as usual. Do not delay your cultivation. Do not waste any time.”