Chapter 66 - 66

Chapter 1195: Butcher (3)

Without a change in his expression, Su Yu looked at the two remaining human Sunmoons and said, "Are you seeing this? That Invincible does not care about you. The moment he sees that you can't escape, he will burn your sea of willpower and kill you. Tell us his identity and you may yet survive..."

One of them wailed, "We're unrelated to him! We're only here to help Liu Wenyan! How can the pavilion attack us?"

"Help?" Su Yu laughed, "Come on. Take your mask off and show me your face."

"Profound Nine, you will die miserably! How dare the pavilion interfere in the affairs of humanity? When our Invincibles return, you will die! Everyone from the pavilion will die!"

Ye Hongyan looked at Liu Wenyan questioningly. Were these two allies?

Liu Wenyan frowned slightly and sent a voice transmission, "We do nothing."

"But..."

Ye Hongyan was quite a righteous person. If they were really allies, she couldn't watch and do nothing when they were in trouble. Since the late-stage Sunmoons of the pavilion were currently occupied, she might be able to save them and escape together.

Liu Wenyan gave it some thought and said, "I advise the two of you to take your masks off. If you're really here to help, I am willing to plead your case with the pavilion. This will be considered a part of the mission my student issued. Lord Profound Nine, is this acceptable?"

Lord? Su Yu, who was in a mischievous mood, started wondering what else his Teacher Liu would call him next. When he disguised himself as Cui Lang previously, Teacher Liu had addressed him as Brother Cui.

Su Yu said, "Of course."

He did not believe that these two were really here to help. But it did not matter as knowing who they were would still help. At the very least, he could figure out their origins.

Then again, it also didn't matter too much if they were unwilling to take their masks off. As Sunmoons, they weren't nobodies. With their deaths, it would only be a matter of time before he found out who they were.

But this wasn't foolproof since some Sunmoons had a tendency to stay in seclusion for a prolonged period of time. These Sunmoons could be dead for a very long time with none the wiser.

These two had been fighting with common cultivation methods so it wouldn't be easy to determine their identities based on how they fought. Meanwhile, the battle between the Pseudo Invincibles continued escalating in intensity. Not far away, the eighth elder had just blasted a Sunmoon apart with a roar.

The sky was raining moons. In the blink of an eye, a few more Sunmoons had died. Titanic Strength and Earthfire seemed exceedingly capable when fighting a winning battle. Together, they had killed several Sunmoons after joining the battle.

At this point, only ten myriad race Sunmoons were left. The two human Sunmoons were coughing blood nonstop after receiving First Profound's attacks, but they remained stubborn and refused to remove their masks.

At this point, a certain realization dawned on Su Yu. If these two were also the subordinates of the traitor, they would have died by now. It was more likely that they were the people of some other prefectures, here only due to greed. That was why they had stubbornly refused to remove their masks.

Su Yu sneered. They weren't the subordinates of the traitor. Which prefectures did they come from? Perhaps they came from two different prefectures, or perhaps they came from the holy land.

Once again, the eighth elder sent him a voice transmission, "We need to leave now. I can sense more experts arriving."

However, ten of the myriad race Sunmoons were still alive, including all four of the late-stage Sunmoons. It wasn't surprising that more experts would come to reinforce these people.

Previously, the myriad races had thought that one Pseudo Invincible would be enough for this task. However, that Pseudo Invincible was kept busy by the First Divine Sect master. Thus, they were probably sending more top experts over.

After a short silence, Su Yu sent a voice transmission, "Everyone, attack with all your strength. All of us will attack this time. Kill everyone below the seventh-stage Sunmoon Realm. Eighth Elder, do your best to kill the rest. Leave Liu Wenyan's group to the First Divine Sect master. The next Pseudo Invincible to arrive will keep him busy."

"Leaving them to First Divine Sect master?"

The eighth elder gave it some thought and nodded. This sounded like a good idea. Otherwise, the sect master might flee, thinking that Liu Wenyan was in good hands. Since he had appeared, he was most certainly here to protect Liu Wenyan.

Killing or leaving with Liu Wenyan would only turn the pavilion into the target of everyone else. In that case, leaving Liu Wenyan with the sect master was indeed the appropriate course of action.

"Sure."

They all attacked, driving the intensity of the battle to a whole new level. Su Yu wasn't idle either. He was busy collecting and extracting blood essence.

When he noticed that one of the human Sunmoons was on the verge of dying, he threw a punch and blasted the human apart coldly. Behind him, Ye Hongyan continued hesitating, wondering if she should make a move against Su Yu.

She was still unsure if these pavilion members were allies or enemies. She was quite infuriated to see a human dying in the hand of a pavilion member.

On the other hand, Liu Wenyan appeared a lot more indifferent. He had persuaded them to take their masks off several times, but they remained stubborn. It was clear they were no friends of the multiple character faction. In that case, their deaths were of no concern to him.

He held the same opinion as Su Yu. These humans were even more hateful than the myriad races. Each of them deserved death. In fact, he hated these people so much he would have killed them himself if the pavilion members hadn't arrived when they did.

Finally, an incomparably powerful presence started approaching them. Once again, Su Yu studied the battlefield. He noted that almost all of their targets were already dealt with. Previously, there were dozens of Sunmoons in the area. Now, only a few were left. And even these surviving Sunmoons were struggling at death's door. If this continued for a tiny bit longer, even these surviving Sunmoons would die as well.

Su Yu wasn't too bothered that there were still a few survivors. He laughed and shouted, "First Divine Sect master, or Lord Nan Wujiang, to be precise. We won't be able to keep protecting Liu Wenyan's group after this. They're yours now." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ Novᴇl_Fire(.)net

Then, he issued his order, "Retreat!"

With that, the eighth elder manipulated space and instantly moved Liu Wenyan's group behind the First Divine Sect master. With a roaring laughter, he collected what flesh and blood he could from the dead Sunmoons before vanishing into thin air with the rest of the pavilion experts.

The group of over twenty Sunmoons had left just as suddenly as they had appeared. During that short period of time, they had killed twenty-one Sunmoons. Twenty-four Sunmoons had arrived to kill Liu Wenyan, with five of them being late-stage Sunmoons. Only three dying late-stage Sunmoons remained.

Moons were practically raining from the sky today. Never before had so many Sunmoons died within a single day in the Human Realm. The battlefield was in a mess, with space itself in disorder and the sky dyed red.

With a roar, the First Divine Sect master pushed the Pseudo Invincible he was facing away with a palm strike before turning. After grabbing Liu Wenyan's group, he vanished as well.

Less than a second after that, a Pseudo Invincible from the divine race arrived. With a frosty expression, the devil Pseudo Invincible glanced at the distant eighth-stage Sunmoon devil who had yet to die before saying, "Go after First Divine. He has Liu Wenyan."

The two Pseudo Invincibles said nothing and instantly started the pursuit.

***

Somewhere else, the eighth elder spread his senses around. After a moment, he laughed and said, "You're right, Profound Nine. They're going after First Divine."

This felt great!

Even after killing so many people, they were free of consequences. Instead of going after them, the two Pseudo Invincibles were targeting the First Divine Sect master instead. Liu Wenyan was basically the most effective bait around.

Anyone with him would turn into everyone's target. All the pavilion experts were in a great mood. They had not suffered much losses even after killing over twenty Sunmoons. Apart from some injuries here and there, they were perfectly fine.

Su Yu smiled, "Elder, you may return with First Profound Elder, Titanic Strength, and Earthfire and kill the three surviving Sunmoons. Naturally, we will deny all involvement. It doesn't matter what the two Pseudo Invincibles have to say. We will deny everything."

"..."

The others stared at him with stupefaction.

Su Yu laughed, "Since the two Pseudo Invincibles are not there anymore, why not? Every single one of them is a potential competitor for the ruin. The more we kill, the less competition we will face. First Divine is there to take all the blame so there is nothing to fear."

Hearing those words, the eighth elder grinned.

"Sure."

With that, the four Sunmoons vanished again. By leaving the three gravely injured Sunmoons behind, the two Pseudo Invincibles were practically inviting the pavilion experts to return and kill the three. In less than a minute, intense undulations erupted from the direction of the three surviving Sunmoons.

With one Pseudo Invincible and three late-stage Sunmoons on the job, it didn't take long for two moons to drop from the sky.

Shortly after, the four returned. The eighth elder hurriedly said, "We need to leave. That eighth-stage Sunmoon devil managed to escape near the Pseudo Invincible. It won't be too convenient for us to continue."

After exchanging gazes with each other, the group laughed before vanishing into thin air.

***

News of what happened shocked the Myriad Realms.

In one battle, twenty-three Sunmoons had perished. Among them, four were late-stage Sunmoons. So many experts had gone over to attack Liu Wenyan, but only an eighth-stage Sunmoon devil had survived with grave injuries. That was not all.

Rumors that the First Divine Sect master was Nan Wujiang also spread everywhere. After rescuing Liu Wenyan's group, he had escaped with two Pseudo Invincibles in pursuit. The two Pseudo Invincibles came from the divine and devil races respectively. The pavilion experts, who were responsible for the majority of the deaths, were left alone as Liu Wenyan was a much bigger priority.

Naturally, the fame of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion had grown yet again thanks to this incident.

The surviving eighth-stage Sunmoon ultimately returned to Nanyuan and complained to the myriad races that the pavilion was the culprit for the disastrous losses. He swore that the pavilion was getting more and more ambitious, to the point those from the pavilion were cooperating with the First Divine Sect master to kill all of them.

***

Inside Nanyuan.

Marquis Xia stared at Hong Tan speechlessly.

That grandstudent of this guy...was truly the greatest butcher to ever live. Among the myriad races, Xia Longwu was most definitely the person who had killed the most Sunmoons. Rather, that crown was probably Su Yu's. The number of Sunmoons who had died directly and indirectly in the hands of that kid had probably surpassed fifty, right?

That was basically the same as wiping out the Sunmoons of two human prefectures. Killing Invincibles was probably the only achievement the kid still lacked.

Hong Tan was left quite speechless as well. After a long while, he said, "That kid...no, more importantly, he tossed my senior brother to First Divine. If that's not the third principal..."

Wasn't the kid a tad bit too careless? How could he leave his teacher behind like that? What if First Divine was an enemy?

As for the sheer number of dead Sunmoons...truth be told, Hong Tan was already numb to this. After all, the kid had screwed over even Invincibles during his time in the Allheaven Battlefield. He might not have caused any Invincibles to die, but he had certainly caused the death of multiple tri-life bodies.

Marquis Xia said, "It's fine. Your grandstudent knows what he's doing. No matter First Divine is, it is unlikely that he will harm Liu Wenyan for now. Even if he's not, he has to stick to his assumed role and escort Liu Wenyan safely to Nanyuan."

Hong Tan thought about it and nodded. Hopefully, his senior brother would be fine.

Apart from hoping, there was nothing he could do.

Chapter 1196: Warning (1)

The First Divine Sect master had escaped with Liu Wenyan.

Profound Nine and the other pavilion experts had vanished as well.

Great Xia.

Ziyue City.

This was a populous city to the west of Great Xia.

Inside a certain large building in the city.

This used to be the residence of a cult spy. Naturally, it now belonged to the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion. This city wasn't too far from Nanyuan, but it also wasn't too near. A group of experts were grinning ear to ear.

Why were they in such a good mood? It was time to split the spoils. This time, they had earned a lot from killing so many Sunmoons. They had looted three thousand heavenly hunt points worth of blood essence and other resources. Converted to the human merit points, they had earned three million points.

Was this a big amount? Not really. Some of the treasures and resources had either been damaged or exhausted during the battle. They could have earned even more otherwise. Nevertheless, this was still a considerable sum of wealth. Split among them, each person was entitled to around 150 heavenly hunt points.

The pavilion had decided to not take any cut from them this time. That was mainly due to the high-risk nature of the operation and the fact that they had not utilized much of the pavilion's resources. Thus, the eighth elder had been able to apply for them to get the full share of the spoils.

Even those with the lowest share had received around a hundred points each while the top earners had received hundreds of points each.

The standard price for heavenearth profound light was twenty heavenly hunt points per strand. As white masks, they could purchase each strand for only twelve points. As for sunmoon profound yellow liquid, the standard price was fifty points while they could get each drop for thirty points.

In other words, they had earned between three to eight drops of sunmoon profound yellow liquid each from this operation alone. It was very rare for anyone to make such a large profit in one go.

Since the pavilion was not taking a cut and they had not suffered much losses, such a large profit was possible even when this wasn't an operation they had been hired to do. Every single one of them was full of joy.

After splitting the spoils, Su Yu was about to resume his daily cultivation when the eighth elder entered the room and beckoned at him. He stood up and followed the elder out.

Inside a room beside the main hall.

The third elder, who had been gone for quite some time, was there. Su Yu's heart skipped a beat when he noticed that there was someone else there as well. The third and eighth elders were quite easy to recognize.

The number of golden stripes on their masks was different, indicating the difference in their ranks. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel fire.net

As for the third person, he merely wore a gray mask normally issued to the lowest-ranked members. However, he did not feel like a normal person at all. Furthermore, he was the sole seated individual in the room. The two elders had remained standing.

Su Yu was slightly alarmed.

Invincible? Or was this yet another enforcer elder?

"Head, Profound Nine is here."

Su Yu was further alarmed upon hearing that. This was really an Invincible.

Not daring to take this lightly, he hurriedly calmed himself and lowered his head before offering his greeting, "Profound Nine greets the head!"

Which head was this?

There were four heads among the four departments. According to the rumors, the head of the Heaven Department would rarely appear. In that case, this was probably the head of one of the other three departments.

The head laughed and said, "Profound Nine?"

He seemed to be sizing up Su Yu as he said, "You are very brazen. The pavilion has always avoided direct confrontations. If we have to fight, we usually stick to assassinations. The two chambers have been complaining that we're stealing their business."

Su Yu did not dare to say anything.

The department head laughed again and said, "Naturally, I told them to shut up if they're so incapable that we can steal their business so easily. Since the four departments are capable of gathering information, trading, making money, and killing, the two chambers and two spires might as well shut down and join us."

Su Yu's head remained lowered. He did not know this Invincible too well so he did not dare to risk saying anything.

The eighth elder laughed and said, "You jest, Head. We were only reacting according to the circumstances. Since the First Divine Sect master happened to be there, we decided to take the chance and kill some experts off to remove some future competitors."

The department head said, "I'm not blaming you. Don't worry. You did what you did. As for the denouncement of the myriad races...do they have any proof? Profound Nine is right. Just let the First Divine Sect master take all the blame. It doesn't matter that the sole surviving eighth-stage Sunmoon says."

The third elder added, "The head is right. None of us are caught. They won't be able to produce any proof."

This wasn't new for them since the four departments would also dabble in assassinations occasionally. For the most part, when an opportunity to kill without alerting anyone presented itself, they would take it. When such an opportunity wasn't available, well, they naturally wouldn't do anything that would tarnish their reputation.

Seeing that Su Yu was still saying nothing, the third elder said, "Profound Nine, this is the head of the Yellow Department. His recommendation plays a big role in your selection to participate in the Human Realm operations. Otherwise, it would be quite unlikely for an ancient city resident like you to be picked."

"And the head's wisdom has been proved. Profound Nine is indeed capable. Not only has he expanded our operations in the Human Realm, he has also gotten rid of numerous potential enemies. I reckon we have the highest chance at snatching the ruin than the myriad races now."

After all, the third elder had around ten late-stage Sunmoons in his team. Including Su Yu's team, the pavilion would be able to muster a terrifyingly powerful force when it was time to fight for the ruin.

This was a force of over thirty Sunmoons, with a large number of them being late-stage Sunmoons and two Pseudo Invincibles. The arrival of a department head's tri-life body only served to further boost their already terrifying strength.

This tri-life body was strong enough to put up a fight even against a proper Invincible. Of course, the third elder was unsure which tri-life body was this. But this was most likely the future body. It was rare for past bodies to be sent out alone since past bodies were generally weaker.

Head of the Yellow Department!

Faced with an Invincible, Su Yu did not dare to think too much even if he was only facing a tri-life body.

The department head said, "There is no need to praise me that much. That was merely a casual suggestion I made after noticing Profound Nine's accomplishments in the ancient city."

His attention returned to Su Yu as he said, "Profound Nine, you did well. You were very decisive. Of course, you did attract some trouble, but no matter. It is normal for trouble to appear where there's something to gain."

"The head is too generous." With his head lowered, Su Yu said, "This subordinate was too rash, creating so many new enemies for the pavilion."

"It's normal for everyone to think for themselves." The department head said, "Don't worry too much. As for those you offended...it matters not. The myriad races have been trying to destroy us all long ago. So what? They have never been able to do it. They know too little about us to find and remove us. They are also worried that going after our regular members too excessively will result in the assassination of their Eternals by us."

The department head continued, "None of that is important. Only the Culture Tomb matters. This time, our goal isn't those carrier treasures, heavenly source qi, sunmoon profound yellow liquid, or the other ancient inheritances. We are only here for the Culture Tomb. As long as the Culture Tomb falls into our hands, nothing else matters."

The third and eighth elders hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Head. We will do our best to get the Culture Tomb!"

The department head nodded, "Generally, the pavilion does not participate in fights over ruins. If we need something, we can always buy it. But this is different. Carrier treasures can be found elsewhere, but there is only one Culture Tomb in existence.

"Everyone wants it, but we can't let them have it. Even if we don't know how to use it, it doesn't matter. We must snatch it. If a real Emperor is allowed to emerge, disaster will befall everyone else. Even the pavilion might be endangered by a real Emperor. The Culture Tomb might be useless to us, but we still won't allow anyone else to use it."

Su Yu nodded. Inwardly, he was quite alarmed. So that thing was related to the advancement into an Emperor? Was that thing really so amazing?

Su Yu did not dare to think too much for fear of having his thoughts detected by the Invincible.

The department head continued, "I'm not here to help any of you. I'm only here to stop the actions of some people. You will have to rely on yourselves for the ruin. If I get directly involved in the fight for the ruin, the nature of the fight will change completely."

The third elder hurriedly said, "Please be assured, Head. We are ready."

"Be assured?" The head said, "That won't be easy. No amount of preparation can guarantee you victory. The number of experts who have arrived is far higher than you can imagine. Furthermore, this is the territory of the Xia Family. Do not make the mistake of believing them helpless just because Great Xia King and Xia Longwu aren't around. The Xia Family is clearly intending to make use of this event to force the traitor Invincible out. More and more people are realizing this."

The head sighed and said, "And if the traitor does appear...the Culture Tomb will definitely be something the traitor covets as well."

At this point, Su Yu was forced to say something. If he remained silent, it would contradict the persona he had put forth thus far. Carefully, he opened his mouth, "Head, I have some doubts."

"Tell me about your doubts."

"Firstly, why did an Invincible of the human race decide to betray the human race? Secondly, you are the head of the Yellow Department. The Yellow Department specializes in information gathering. Are you aware of the traitor's identity?

"Thirdly, the traitor must be colluding with some powerful races. Back then, the celestial chasm, divine, and devil races had all joined the battle during Ye Batian's dao affirmation. Which race is the traitor working with?"

Su Yu suspected that some top experts among the myriad races were also aware of the traitor's identity. To work together, they had to know who each other was, right? Then again, it wasn't like cooperation wasn't possible when identities were being hidden.

The interest of the two elders was piqued as well. The eighth elder asked, "Lord, the traitor is already an Invincible. What is the point of betrayal? Is it because the traitor thinks that humanity will ultimately lose?"

It was unlikely that the traitor had been tempted by the prospects of taking one step further in cultivation. After all, that was something even the myriad races were working on. All their Pseudo Emperors were still stuck.

Chapter 1197: Warning (2)

The department head said, "The experts of the various experts have been speculating about this as well. Naturally, I don't know who the traitor is. The pavilion has not been able to obtain this information. But there are many possible motivations for an Invincible to betray their own race.

"As the eighth elder said, the traitor might have done so believing that there is no hope for humanity. Perhaps the traitor has discovered something after prying on the future. Perhaps the traitor has been changed after capturing the future body because the future body is the traitor..."

Realizing that the explanation was getting a tad bit too complicated, the head explained, "In short, the traitor might have realized that he is a traitor in the future. Thus, he decides to become a traitor after capturing his future body.

"Or maybe a family member or someone close requires some treasures for dao affirmation. For the price of those treasures, he has decided to turn against humanity. Or maybe he is someone who has affirmed his dao in a minor realm. The minor realm has been used to blackmail him.

"There are many possibilities. Or perhaps he is simply a descendant of the divines or devils. In that case, it is only natural that he will betray humanity."

Su Yu was surprised by the final possibility. He asked doubtfully, "A descendant of the divines or devils?"

The head said, "That's normal. More than four hundred years ago, the connection between the Human Realm and the Allheaven Battlefield took form. The myriad races started entering the Human Realm. Some experts might have gotten together with some humans and left their descendants behind. This is rare, but not nonexistent."

Su Yu had nothing to say about that. He was once suspected as a descendant of a non-human as well. Back then, when he was cultivating in the Source Qi Secret Grotto, Old Nie and Old Huang had wondered if he was a descendant of the mountainbreak bull race.

After all, his cultivation using mountainbreak bull blood essence was simply too fast.

The head said, "Over four hundred years ago...let me think. The era of prefecture founding only started about a hundred years after that. That was a chaotic period of time, so bloodline is something few cared about. It won't be surprising for a descendant of the divines or devils to grow into an Invincible during that period of time with none the wiser."

Su Yu blanked out and asked, "So there are some descendants of non-humans among the human Invincibles?"

"That is possible." The head said, "Perhaps the traitor believes that the other half of his bloodline is a lot more respectable than his human bloodline. That will explain the betrayal. It is even possible that the traitor has been convinced to turn against humanity by his father or mother from the other race."

Bloodline!

Su Yu thought of something. He had more questions, but he didn't know how to voice them.

Fortunately, the eighth elder did not have such misgivings. The elder asked, "Lord, the number of new human Invincibles after the era of prefecture founding is publicly known, right?"

The head said, "Yes. The phenomenon of dao affirmation can be seen throughout the Myriad Realms. But dao affirmation in a ruin is the sole exception. According to what we know, the human race has gained eleven new Eternals after the era of prefecture founding. Great Wei King, Great Wu King, Great Qi King, and Great Chen King had perished. Some of the newer Eternals had also perished over the years, such as Great Zhou King's younger brother and the Sea Subjucating King who had affirmed his dao about three hundred years ago."

"Of the newer Eternals, nine survived. Coupled with the thirty-two surviving founding kings, there are forty-one surviving human Eternals. But these are only the publicly known Eternals. Of the nine newer Eternals, four had affirmed their dao in minor realms, two in the Human Realm, and three in the Allheaven Battlefield." Get full chapters from Nov3lFɪre.ɴet

All this was completely new to Su Yu. So there were forty-one known surviving human Invincibles.

After a slight hesitation, the third elder said, "So the traitor is one of the nine newer Eternals?"

"I'm not sure." The head said, "Anything is possible. Can you guarantee that a founding king won't betray humanity? Of course, that possibility is low since a founding king is someone who has affirmed his dao in the Human Realm. The destruction of the Human Realm will probably subject the thirty-four Eternals to a terrible backlash. Then again, the traitor never showed any indication that he wanted to destroy the Human Realm, right?" 𝐑ÄℕƟ𝐁ÊS

They all shook their heads.

The head laughed, "In truth, that fellow won't be able to keep hiding for long. Those killed by Chen Yong. Ji Hong's investigation. Slowly but surely, they are getting nearer and nearer to the truth. It is understandable why the Xia Family is trying to use this opportunity to force him out."

As the leader of the department in charge of information gathering, the head was still quite aware of what had been happening. He said, "I believe the number of suspects has been reduced to around three to five people. And I'm almost sure I know who the traitor is." "The moment the multiple character faction produces an Eternal, or even a ninth-stage Sunmoon, the value of this person will probably surpass the value of a traitor Invincible. At that time, most of the human Invincibles will have a change of heart. With that, the traitor will no longer be able to keep hiding."

The third elder asked, "Are you talking about Liu Wenyan?"

"Yes." The head nodded, "The moment he enters the Sunmoon Realm, he might not take long at all to reach the ninth stage. Is a multiple character cultivator on the verge of dao affirmation more important or is a traitor Invincible more important? I believe the humans will rearrange their priorities at the time." "Therefore, this is the only chance for the traitor to kill everyone from Ye Batian's line. Then, he can promise the humans that he has a personal vendetta with Ye Batian and this is where it ends. I believe Great Qin King and the others might really spare him after that."

Su Yu said, "So the traitor will definitely show up? What is Great Xia relying on to deal with him? Do they only care about exposing the traitor and nothing else? Are they perhaps relying on the First Divine Sect master who might be Nan Wujiang? There is no guarantee that the traitor will die upon being exposed. But there is a very high probability that Ye Batian's line will be completely erased after this."

"Nan Wujiang..." After thinking about it, the head said, "That is possible. But the Xia Family might also be relying on something else entirely. They have been preparing for many years. In my opinion, they definitely have a way of dealing with Invincibles without Great Xia King and Xia Longwu, or luring the traitor out will be tantamount to suicide. Either Nan Wujiang is strong enough to fight Invincibles or the Xia Family has a secret expert capable of contending against Invincibles..."

Naturally, Su Yu wasn't about to tell the head what he knew.

"This plot is so obvious that the traitor is definitely aware of it by now. Will he still appear if he knows there is a plot against him?"

The head laughed, "Who knows? Perhaps he will decide that this is a risk worth taking. After all, this is his final chance to put a clean end to this."

At this point, the head decided to change the topic. He laughed and asked, "Profound Nine, how have you been recently? Are you dealing with your death qi fine?"

"Thanks to your support, things are fine since the pavilion has been supplying me with heavenly source qi."

"Good to hear." The head nodded, "The elders will receive their own missions moving on. You will be in charge of leading the other white masks and continue your good work of creating a more advantageous environment for the pavilion. You are the most reliable and trustworthy member we can find among those who aren't elders."

"Thanks for the opportunity, Head!"

Inwardly, he thought that yes, he was indeed trustworthy.

The head added, "But you also need to stop with your little agendas all the time. For example, you protected Liu Wenyan's life when the pavilion intended to have him dead. You need to keep yourself in check."

Su Yu was greatly alarmed.

The eighth elder said, "Head, Profound Nine only did that to give us an opportunity to escape safely..."

The head waved his hand, "I'm not saying he did the wrong thing. I understand why he did that. He wanted to sell Su Yu a favor so that Su Yu wouldn't stand in his way when he attempts to sever his death qi connection in the future. Am I right, Profound NIne?"

Su Yu was stunned.

Holy shit! Right! That would be such an excellent excuse!

He did not dare to show his excitement and hurriedly said, "Head...I...I guess I should have expected that someone would be able to see through my intention. In truth, I don't want to make a move against the multiple character faction. Even if the pavilion has to act against them, I don't want to be the one doing it. After all, I still require Su Yu's cooperation if I want to break free of the ancient city one day.

"But I swear I only did what I could when the opportunity was there. I have never thought of betraying the pavilion. For example, we didn't do anything to Liu Wenyan because the First Divine Sect master was already nearby. There was also the risk of Liu Wenyan detonating more of Ye Batian's characters. The risk was simply too high for us to act against him at the time."

The head said, "Again, I'm not saying you did wrong. At times, you can only rely on luck. You did help Liu Wenyan once, and previously, you helped Hong Tan once as well. If Su Yu is someone capable of remembering his favors, he will naturally not stand in your way when the time comes."

A certain realization dawned on the third and eighth elders.

Holy shit! They had nearly been fooled by Profound Nine! He had helped the multiple character faction multiple times, but he had done it both to benefit the pavilion and for his own personal reasons as well.

Why had he been helping the multiple character faction? They finally understood why. To earn Su Yu's favor. After severing his death qi connection, the death spirit who had converted him would appear. At that time, Profound Nine would need to kill that death spirit to fully break free. But Su Yu was currently the ruler of Grandstar City. Without his approval, that would never happen.

In fact, it was possible that one wouldn't be able to even enter the city without his approval.

The eighth elder said, "Profound Nine, why did you keep that from us? Just be honest about it. I did not think too much into it before, but killing Liu Wenyan will indeed sever what little chance you have."

Su Yu spoke with a helpless tone, "Yes. That's why I'm the only one who can't act against the multiple character faction. I will eventually return to the ancient city. Things will be very difficult for me when Su Yu hears of what I did to the multiple character faction."

The emotions of the two elders turned complicated when they were reminded that Profound Nine was an ancient city resident.

The third elder laughed, "You have been very energetic lately, so I have completely forgotten that you're an ancient city resident. Seeing the state you're in, the death spirit who had converted you must only be a Mountainsea. It won't be too difficult to kill. How about this? If we receive any mission to kill those from the multiple character faction, you may stay out of it. Losing the assistance of one Sunmoon won't make that much of a difference for now."

Since he could do Profound Nine a favor without losing anything, he saw no harm in granting this favor. Meanwhile, Su Yu was rolling his eyes inwardly. They had provided him with the best excuse for him.

Instead of doing anything against the multiple character faction, he could even lend them a help or two. How kind of them to provide him with a reason to do that. In fact, he had nearly forgotten that he was an ancient city resident. Profound Nine was someone living under Su Yu's roof!

From now on, he didn't even need to rack his brain for a good excuse whenever he needed to help Liu Wenyan and the others. Helping them was basically the same as helping himself.

Chapter 1198: Warning (3)

When Su Yu looked at the department head again, he grew slightly doubtful. Why did this guy give him the best excuse he would need to help the multiple character faction? It couldn't be that this guy was suspecting him, right?

The department head said, "It's normal for everyone to think for themselves. The third and eighth elders are trying to use this chance to seize the carrier treasures. As far as the two of you are concerned, the Culture Tomb has a lower priority. I understand that. But remember. You should always prioritize the pavilion. Without the pavilion, you will be alone. And things never end well for someone like that in the Allheaven Battlefield. As long as you don't do anything that will harm the pavilion, we won't mind turning a blind eye. Do you understand me?"

"Yes."

All three of them answered at the same time.

Behind the masks of the third and eighth elders, their faces were already beaded with sweat. Clearly, the department head had also seen through what they were thinking.

Culture Tomb?

That wasn't even too useful for the two of them. They were more interested in the carrier treasures. If there were two carrier treasures in the ruin, they could split it among them. That was all they needed since they were already Pseudo Invincibles with one tri-life body captured each.

In fact, this was the goal of many Pseudo Invincibles. After all, becoming a proper Emperor was too far a prospect for them. Becoming an Invincible was far a more immediate concern. Thus the Yellow Department head had arrived to warn them after seeing through all the scheming going on.

He had essentially told Su Yu that he could protect the multiple character faction if he wanted, but it must not interfere with the pavilion's chances at getting the Culture Tomb.

Su Yu was feeling quite speechless. He was wondering if he offered the Culture Tomb to the pavilion, could he hire six Invincibles to kill the traitor before helping Xia Longwu with his dao affirmation? If that was possible, he wouldn't mind giving them the Culture Tomb. Sure, it seemed important and valuable. But he was not too concerned about it. Losing it would sever the multiple character faction's legacy? So be it.

Surviving was much more important. As long as one remained alive, the future would be filled with limitless possibilities. Unfortunately, he did not have the courage to make his offer. He wasn't stupid enough to expose his identity at this stage of the plan. The pavilion was never a friend.

***

Done with admonishing the three, the department head left.

All three of them rejoiced at surviving the meeting. They also felt closer to each other after the shared experience.

Su Yu laughed and said, "Elders, so you're aiming for the carrier treasures?"

Since they had been working together for a period of time, the eighth elder had warmed up considerably to him. He sighed and said, "At our point, isn't that the only thing we need? Carrier treasures are too rare. We have both exhausted our savings of many years just for our first carrier treasures. This is a very rare opportunity for us. In fact, many elders in the Enforcement Unit coveted this opportunity, but the two of us were the lucky ones to get deployed here."

"If we miss this chance, we might need to wait a hundred or even a thousand years before we can earn enough to buy another carrier treasure and attempt our dao affirmation."

Thus, the carrier treasures had been their goal since the beginning. And the department head had exposed their personal goal.

Su Yu sighed understandingly, "And I'm only trying to survive. But the head was right. Our best course of action is to obtain everything in the ruin and help the multiple character faction while we're at it if possible. I can even take this chance to negotiate with Su Yu. Even if the ruin can't help me sever my death qi connection, I will try to do it inside the Luminous Domain Mansion. With Su Yu's favor, perhaps I can get him to help with the death spirit instead of sending someone else to kill it. I've made a mockery of myself by trying to insert my personal agenda on pavilion business."

The third elder said, "It's fine. It is only natural that everyone will think for themselves. In fact, you will look a lot more suspicious if you claim that you are willing to put your survival aside for the pavilion. For the most part, someone like that will either be an unblemished saint or someone with much bigger ambitions."

Su Yu said, "Unfortunately, with the reminder from the head, I doubt I'll dare to pursue my personal agendas utilizing the strength of the pavilion anymore."

"Don't worry about it." The eighth elder said, "It's no big deal. The head doesn't mind either. He wouldn't have stopped with only a tiny warning otherwise."

Su Yu nodded.

But inwardly, he was still quite alarmed. What was up with the head? That was the person who had suggested his deployment to the Human Realm. After the assistance he rendered Liu Wenyan, the head arrived to admonish him. But in the process, the head had also provided him a much better cover to continue helping the multiple character faction. Could it be that...the head knew who he was?

No, wait. If First Profound was a human, the person to know about it should be the head of the Profound Department. This shouldn't have anything to do with the Yellow Department. After all, First Profound did not belong to the Yellow Department.

Su Yu felt his head hurt. This was quite confusing. He decided that he needed to be even more careful. It was very hard for him to stay calm when meeting these Invincibles. '

Fortunately, his characters had grown stronger than before. To be precise, his overall strength had increased considerably. Unless the department head inspected him in detail, it was unlikely that the head would notice anything.

Even someone as strong as Great Ming King hadn't been able to see through his disguise at one glance. Meanwhile, the department head had only sent a tri-life body here. That shouldn't be enough to see through his disguise. Su Yu continued comforting himself.

But suddenly, he gnashed his teeth unhappily. He was still too weak. He vowed to complete his sixty-first forging later that day and stop running around for a few days to complete his sixty-second forging as well.

At that point, he would have a strength surpassing 660,000 acupoints. Coupled with his yang acupoint and the 144 semi-transformed acupoints, he could probably muster the strength of around 800,000 acupoints. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by N0v3l.Fiɾe.net

A regular first-stage Sunmoon would have the strength of 300,000 acupoints. A regular second-stage Sunmoon could probably reach 500,000 acupoints. At the third stage, that would increase to around 800,000 acupoints. In other words, if he worked hard for a few days, he could probably face a regular third-stage Sunmoon.

Furthermore, his body would probably be strong enough to consume sixth-stage Sunmoon blood essence by then. That would probably turn him into a fake sixth-stage Sunmoon, right?

"Now, I'll have to wait for Teacher Liu to reach Nanyuan."

Su Yu decided to enter seclusion until then. He had to stop his activities for a bit anyway. He was worried that if he kept on, the myriad races would probably be so provoked that they set him as the priority target instead. After all, he had just killed over twenty Sunmoons. That was quite a big deal.

***

While Su Yu was preparing to enter seclusion.

Somewhere in the wilderness.

After coughing yet another mouthful of blood, Ye Hongyan looked at the First Divine Sect master who was facing her with his back a,nd asked with some hesitation, "Are you really Nan Wujiang?"

She was still staying wary, keeping Liu Wenyan protected behind her.

"No." The sect master replied, "That's a lie by Lan Tian and Heavenly Hunt Pavilion."

"No? Why did you help us, then?"

The sect master replied indifferently, "I was requested to do so."

"By who?"

"You will know in the future."

Then, the sect master vanished with a flicker. His voice rang out in the air, "Liu Wenyan, watch yourself. Too many people are trying to kill you. As for Ji Hong, he'll be coming with him. It is better for you to not know what he knows lest you err in your judgment."

"Just who exactly are you?"

Liu Wenyan asked, but the sect master was already gone.

Ye Hongyan looked around and shook her head, "He's gone. All this is too confusing. First, the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion appeared to kill those people. Then, the First Divine Sect master appeared to save you. Wenyan, your luck...is unrivaled."

Things had been so dangerous Ye Hongyan had considered detonating herself to kill their enemies. After all, they were faced with dozens of Sunmoons and two Pseudo Invincibles. But somehow...they survived. Instead, their enemies were the ones who had suffered gravely.

Liu Wenyan was quite confused as well. He said, "Was the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion...really hired by Su Yu?" That was such an expensive price. Five hundred drops of sunmoon profound yellow liquid. Liu Wenyan wondered if he could get that much even if he were to sell himself off.

Ye Hongyan said, "There is no worthier student than that."

Liu Wenyan nodded. Whatever. For now, he should stop worrying about things he didn't understand. He should prioritize returning to Nanyuan.

Chapter 1199: First Yellow and Yellow Nine (1)

Nanyuan.

The number of experts gathered increased steadily. Not even the deaths of over twenty Sunmoons could dampen the excitement of these people.

"Is Liu Wenyan here?"

"Will the ruin emerge when he's here?"

"Not necessarily. There is no promise that he will be the one to unlock the ruin. Su Yu will probably be better for that job."

Everyone was talking about the ruin. During the past few days, numerous spars and fights had broken out between the young geniuses or between the experts.

Fights between humans, fights between humans and non-humans, or fights between non-humans. All would happen. After all, the divines were no friends of devils, and the immortals were no friends of dragons.

Suddenly, someone roared, "The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion is here! Kill them!"

The aura of an eighth-stage Sunmoon surged. A devil, who had barely survived the previous battle with the pavilion, attacked alongside a ninth-stage Sunmoon divine.

That caused the two newly arrived pavilion members to jump in shock. The faceless elder hurriedly dragged the white mask beside him and fled. While running, the white mask explained, "Misunderstanding! This is a misunderstanding! We're not from the pavilion!"

"Don't even think of fooling us! Kill them!"

The white mask cursed. More than ten Sunmoons were charging toward them.

He exclaimed in fear, "Elder, faster! Faster! We need to run!"

The elder said nothing and continued fleeing silently. Even as an eighth-stage Sunmoon, fleeing was his only option. After all, he was being chased by multiple Sunmoons of the same cultivation level.

"This is a misunderstanding!" The white mask explained mournfully, "I'm not...with the pavilion! I'm Yellow Nine, the traitor of the pavilion!"

Yes. He was so desperate he was finally willing to confess to being a traitor. He was only using the mask because it was very convenient. He had been in seclusion during the past few days with his elder so he was unaware of what the pavilion had done. How did the pavilion incur the wrath of all these people? Just what was going on?

He had thought that since the pavilion was information peddler first and foremost, it should be perfectly normal for pavilion members to appear in Nanyuan, the latest hotspot in the Human Realm. This was how it had always been. The pavilion would always appear whenever something was going on, and most people weren't bothered by their presence.

Thus, both he and his elder had picked Nanyuan as their first destination after exiting seclusion. But...what was wrong? What happened during their seclusion? Why was everyone so hostile?

He continued roaring mournfully, "This is really a misunderstanding! I'm not with the pavilion!"

In truth, some of the experts pursuing them were convinced. Those from the pavilion weren't stupid. They probably wouldn't appear so openly after what they did. Meanwhile, these two had strolled in with their masks like fools. They were probably unaware of what the pavilion had done recently.

Of course, there was always the possibility that they were merely the more stupid members of the pavilion, thinking that everyone would forget them even after what they did. In fact, after hearing Yellow Nine's name, most of them knew what was going on. So it was that idiot.

Yellow Nine, someone who had framed Profound Nine to be Su Yu and caused the pavilion to provoke Su Yu unnecessarily. In the end, they lost an elder due to Su Yu. At the moment, even the pavilion was hunting this stupid guy.

Even so, some still roared loudly, "Kill them! They are spies from Great Xia!"

At that, a few other Sunmoons joined the pursuit. The truth did not matter. It wouldn't be wrong to first kill these two. These two would either be from the pavilion or from Great Xia. After all, according to the pavilion, these two had betrayed Profound Nine and caused the deaths of Rainbow One and the others while working with Great Xia.

That was a good enough reason for these two to be killed.

Before Yellow Nine and First Yellow could say anything, an eighth-stage Sunmoon surged as a different voice roared furiously, "Audacious! How dare you attack someone from Great Xia? Die!"

Boom!

A battle erupted.

In the blink of an eye, about seven or eight late-stage Sunmoons had engaged each other in a battle. Meanwhile, Yellow Nine and First Yellow were still fleeing for their lives. This was probably the fastest they had ever moved in their lives.

***

More than ten minutes later, First Yellow tossed Yellow Nine aside while gasping for breath. "We lost them."

This was a first for him. As an eighth-stage Sunmoon, he had never been forced to flee so desperately before. How miserable. If it wasn't for the second group of people who had appeared to help, he would have been beaten to death by so many experts even as an eighth-stage Sunmoon.

That was too terrifying. Just what happened during the past few days?

Yellow Nine was also gasping for breath. After some time, he howled mournfully, "Elder, it's over! The Xia Family helped us! Now, everyone will believe that we're with the Xia Family. After all, they had fought several late-stage Sunmoons for us. Nobody will believe we're with them after this."

At that realization, First Yellow blanked out. He was left speechless for quite some time.

True. The Xia Family had deployed several Sunmoons to fight for them. Even Marquis Xia himself had fought personally against a divine expert. Who would believe that the two of them weren't with the Xia Family after this?

After all, this was a very dangerous moment for the Xia Family to get into a fight.

After a long silence, First Yellow said, "The Xia Family is aware that we're not with them. But why did they do that? They are either doing that to screw us over or...something is really wrong with Profound Nine's identity. The Xia Family is trying to convince everyone that we're with them."

Yellow Nine said gloomily, "I know. But...nobody will believe us. After all, we're pavilion traitors."

How sorrowful. The two of them had somehow turned into traitors.

First Profound was also feeling very gloomy. He said, "Do you think there is really something wrong with Profound Nine's identity?"

Yellow Nine gave it some thought and said, "That's hard to say. But I'm more curious about a different thing. What did the pavilion do recently? Why is everyone so hostile right after seeing us? Did the pavilion desecrate the tombs of their ancestors or something like that?"

First Yellow thought about it and agreed that they needed to first figure that out. As for the relationship between Profound Nine and the Xia Family, that matter could be put aside for now. They could deal with it after learning more in the future.

At the moment, the two of them had been turned into the targets of the pavilion and the myriad races. The Xia Family was protecting them, but that might also change when there weren't any outsiders present. At that time, even the Xia Family might try to kill them as well. This felt terrible. They had yet to accomplish anything after entering the Human Realm.

Instead, they had lost their identities as an elder and a white mask. They had also turned into a fugitive of numerous experts. The source of this content ɪs nοvelfire.net

Nevertheless, the two of them were experts. With a little bit of disguise and some time spent among the experts gathered near Nanyuan, they were updated on the recent events.

The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion had done something big. Somewhere between Great Zhou and Great Jin, they had killed twenty-three Sunmoons. Even a Pseudo Invincible elder was there.

The eighth-stage Sunmoon devil who had pursued them aggressively during their previous appearance was Ta'er, the sole survivor of that massacre. He had nearly died himself as well. No wonder he was so hostile toward anyone from the pavilion. He sure was lucky to be the sole survivor among the twenty-four Sunmoons who were there.

When they were alone again, the two looked at each other speechlessly. They couldn't even blame the myriad race experts for going after them anymore. This was the importance of information. And a lack of information could be fatal at times.

Yellow Nine spoke through voice transmission, "Elder, something is wrong with this. Since when did the pavilion become so aggressive? Killing so many Sunmoons at one go? Was this...Profound Nine's work as well?"

Yellow Nine continued, "The Xia Family is covering up for Profound Nine to make it clear that we're with them. Elder...I'm certain that Profound Nine is Su Yu!"

When he said that previously, it was merely something he had said out of desperation. Not even he himself believed that. But now, thinking of all that had happened recently, he was more and more certain that Profound Nine was Su Yu.

After a long while, First Yellow said, "It's pointless to speculate. Are you thinking of getting the pavilion to test Su Yu again? If you think they have the guts to try that again, you're free to contact them and plead for your innocence."

Yellow Nine was left quite speechless. Was this supposed to be a joke? The pavilion would kill him if he returned. The previous time the pavilion tested, Su Yu, it lost an elder. How many people should they send to test Su Yu a second time?

Nonsense.

Perhaps he could try claiming that Profound Nine was someone else, but nobody would believe that Profound Nine was Su Yu. As for the similarities in their style, well, was Su Yu the only one with the courage and wit to scheme others to death?

Yellow Nine gloomily said, "We can't use our identities as pavilion members anymore, Elder. The pavilion has offended everyone. Maybe we should throw the masks away? With the masks on, we will suffer from what the pavilion did even when the pavilion itself isn't friendly to us."

The elder nodded. True. These identities were no longer that convenient to use. Rather, these identities were fatal to use. Keeping these identities would merely turn them into everyone's targets. How miserable.

The pavilion, the myriad races, and even the humans wouldn't think twice about killing them.

"Sigh."

First Yellow mumbled sadly, "My hundred years of hard work in the pavilion...has gone to waste. It hasn't been easy for me to finally rise to the position of an elder. Thanks to you, I lost everything!"

"You can't put it that way, Elder. You can only blame yourself for not doing well enough in the pavilion. You weren't important enough that they would believe your words. Just look at First Profound. When he claimed that Profound Nine wasn't suspicious, everyone believed him. By the way, is First Profound Elder problematic as well?"

Yellow Nine's eyes widened, "If that's the case as well...wow. This is such a terrifying thought."

If First Profound's identity was problematic, how about the head of the Profound Department? Then again, the identities of him and First Yellow were also problematic or they wouldn't have fled so easily either.

As for the head of the Yellow Department...

At that thought, Yellow Nine asked, "Elder, what's up with the Yellow Head? Are you with him?"

First Yellow rolled his eyes and said, "What do you mean I'm with him? No. The head is wise. He does not care about where you come from. That was why he decided to take us in back then."

"So what should we do now?"

"What else?" First Profound said, "It's all your fault. Why must you cause all that trouble? Look where that got us?"

Yellow Nine said, "Elder, do you think the head knows who we really are?"

"How am I supposed to know that?"

"But you said..."

First Yellow cut him off, "Alright, stop wasting time talking about this. How are we supposed to know his thoughts? Even if he didn't know our identities back then, he has probably been made aware by now. We wouldn't have fled if our identities weren't problematic."

Yellow Nine said regretfully, "True. We shouldn't have fled. At worst, we'll endure some investigations. They might not be able to find out the truth. Perhaps the head has known about this all along. He simply never cared. Now, we have to suffer the consequences of our choice to flee."

First Yellow was left quite speechless. Why was Yellow Nine using the word "we" so easily? Yellow Nine was the one who had insisted on fleeing. He was the one who had refused to return. First Yellow wouldn't have needed to flee as well otherwise.

Chapter 1200: First Yellow and Yellow Nine (2)

Suddenly, Yellow Nine said, "Elder, your mask is broken. Why is it glowing?"

He laughed, "See, even fate is trying to tell us to throw these masks away. Your mask isn't going to last long. Why is it glowing randomly? It should only glow when someone is tracking it. The head is still in the Allheaven Battlefield. Is he supposed to track you through realms?"

"..."

But right after saying that, Yellow Nine's expression changed massively as he turned around and fled without any hesitation. First Yellow's expression changed as well. He hastily reached at his mask to crush it.

Holy shit!

Someone was tracking him!

This shouldn't be possible. He was an elder, and only his direct superior could track him. His direct superior was the department head, who was also an Invincible. But how was that possible?

The head was still in the Allheaven Battlefield.

Before he could crush the mask, a peal of laughter rang out, "I wouldn't do that. No matter what, that's still a peak earth weapon. It's still quite valuable, am I right?"

"..."

Panic covered First Yellow's face as he hurriedly bowed fawningly while trembling with fear, "First Yellow greets the head."

Yellow Nine, who was in the midst of fleeing, felt his world spin before he found himself right beside First Yellow yet again. Without any hesitation, he also bowed and greeted loudly, "Your loyal subordinate, Yellow Nine, greets the head!"

Both of them were feeling shock, despair, and sorrow all at the same time.

Just what rotten luck was this?

Previously, they were pursued by Sunmoons. And now, an Invincible had personally arrived for them. This...was this fate's way of telling them their days were numbered? The air before the two bowed figures warped as a gray-masked individual appeared.

With a smile, he said, "First Yellow, why are you running from me?"

"Lord...I...I wasn't running..."

First Yellow tried to explain himself, but he hurriedly assumed a sorrowful tone as he said, "Lord! I didn't betray the pavilion! Profound Nine framed us! Yes, it was all his fault! Lord, we knew a big secret! A very big secret! I was just trying to report my discovery to you!"

"And what secret did you find out? Tell me."

The head stepped forth, straightened First Yellow's collar, and patted his shoulder, "Why are your legs shaking? Don't be afraid. Tell me."

"Y-yes...I-I'm not a-afraid." First Yellow said nervously, "We found out that Profound Nine's identity is problematic."

"He's Su Yu?" The head laughed, "Is this the big secret? Perhaps the pavilion should test Su Yu again? The third and eighth elders of the Enforcement Unit had both tested Profound Nine several times. They both believe that there is no issue with his identity. Perhaps we need an Eternal to drop by Grandstar City personally?"

"..."

Despair sank in.

First Yellow couldn't help but feel despair. What was the meaning of these words? Did the head doubt them, or did the head simply not care? Beside him, Yellow Nine's legs were also trembling in fear. He even felt like crying. Why was the head here?

They had kept their masks because they believed that the head wouldn't enter the Human Realm. This would allow them to disguise themselves as pavilion members when necessary. Alas, the head had actually entered the Human Realm.

The head laughed and slowly removed First Yellow's mask while saying, "Back then, I personally recruited you into the pavilion. First Yellow, am I aware of your identity? What do you think?"

"Uhm...Lord..."

The mask was removed, revealing the face of an ethereal old man.

The head laughed again, "This face of yours still looks as innocent as ever. An ethereal face that is both righteous and steadfast. It has been over a hundred years. But your face is still exactly the same."

"Head...I..."

The head said, "Don't be scared. Do not be scared. This is a good face to have. Looks like you're already used to this face. So...who is Little Yellow Nine to you?"

As the head asked, he reached out at Yellow Nine's mask. Yellow Nine wanted to evade, but he didn't have the courage. Thus, he could only obediently allow his mask to be taken off.

But right after the mask was removed, the head blanked out.

"A woman?"

"..."

The head laughed and shook his head, "Looks like my eyes are not as good. This is still a girl. I thought Yellow Nine would be a naughty boy. Tsk, tsk. First Yellow, where did you find this lass? How did you trick her into following you?"

Yes. Beneath Yellow Nine's mask was the face of a woman. The face of a young woman who looked pure, innocent, and pitiful. Such were the faces both First Yellow and Yellow Nine had. But when they spoke, they did not seem to embody the faces they had. Righteousness and innocence were never present.

First Yellow's expression changed into a helpless expression that somehow still looked ethereal as he said, "Lord, this is my granddaughter."

"Nonsense." The head laughed, "Why are you being dishonest? How can you lie to me? She's your granddaughter? It's not a good idea to lie to me. What do you think?"

Left with no choice, First Yellow said, "Fine...I'll be honest. I picked her up somewhere. That's real. I swear!"

"Elder, you picked me up somewhere?" Yellow Nine exclaimed in surprise. Her eyeballs whirled about shrewdly as she said, "Elder, how is that possible? How can you say this about me? I...I hereby sever my relationship with you! From now on, we shall go our separate ways!"

Right after saying that, she attempted to leave.

The head merely tapped at her forehead lightly with his finger to completely remove her ability to move. Then, he smiled and said, "Stop running. Why are you running, lass? Don't bother trying this on me. Just look at those mischievous eyes of yours. What an adorable lass."

Yellow Nine sank into despair.

She wanted to shout that she was not adorable at all.

The head observed her for a bit before exclaiming, "Wow, she's actually a genius. First Yellow, where did you pick her up? This is definitely a genius. Her bone age is quite young."

First Yellow answered awkwardly, "Yeah, she's quite young. I picked her up nineteen years ago..."

"Hmm?" The head was surprised, "Nineteen years ago...how old was she when you picked her up?"

"About two or three, I guess. I'm not sure since she was still a toddler at the time."

The head laughed, "Interesting. About two or three nineteen years ago. In that case, you must have killed the previous Yellow Nine to make way for her?"

"No! Not at all!" First Yellow hurriedly explained, "I'm telling the truth. He died during a mission with his mask intact. When I arrived, he was already dying. At the time, I thought that it would be a waste to let an earth weapon like the mask self-destruct after his death so I persuaded him to pass it over to my granddaughter."

"Do you know her background?" The head said, "Nineteen years ago. Which family was she from?"

"That..." First Yellow answered, "I don't know. I didn't try too hard to investigate, but the few attempts I made bore no result. Thus, I gave up. Head, it has been so many years. It's pointless to investigate now. Am I right?"

"If she was three back then, she must only be twenty-two now. What a genius." The head said, "That family is indeed good at producing geniuses so I'm not surprised that she's a genius. I'm more surprised by your generosity when raising her. You must have used a large amount of heavenly source qi and heavenearth profound light on her, right?"

"Cough, cough...uhm..."

"Wait, did you embezzle those resources from the pavilion?"

"Nope! Definitely not! Head, I earned those resources fair and square!"

"Oh, I understand." The head laughed, "So you have been revisiting your previous profession. It's understandable why money isn't something you lack."

First Yellow's jaw dropped. After a long while, he spoke, "Head...were you aware of my identity since the beginning?" Latest content publıshed on novelFirｅ.net

"Of course. How can an Eternal be so dumb? Can someone so dumb even become an Eternal?" The head grinned, "Of course I know who you are, Hollow. Perhaps you want to try fighting me? I'm only here as a tri-life body. You might win. What do you think?"

Yellow Nine stared at First Yellow blankly and asked, "Hollow? Elder, you told me your name is Kong Qingzi."

Who was Hollow? Most people wouldn't recognize this name, but anyone who mattered would know the name.

Hollow, third on Dao Affirmation Ranking, from the ancient spatial beast race.

Yes. Third on Dao Affirmation Ranking.

He was ranked even higher than Xia Longwu, who was only ranked fifth.

He was among the handful of the Sunmoons nearest to the Invincible Realm.

First Yellow explained awkwardly, "Misunderstanding! This is a misunderstanding! Head, how can I be Hollow? I'm Kong Qingzi. Back then, I killed an Invincible's descendant accidentally so I was forced to go into hiding..."

The head laughed and said, "Yeah, I know. I know. Kong Qingzi. Back then, you killed a son of Heavenly Jade Immortal King. You specialize in spatial arts. Basically, you're a very good thief. You tried to steal something from the immortal king's son and was discovered. Thus, you killed him. Am I right?"

"That's right!" First Yellow answered helplessly, "Thus, this identity of mine must stay hidden..."

The head laughed yet again and added, "What a coincidence. About 120 years ago, I was traveling when someone called Kong Qingzi went crazy and tried to steal something from me. I killed him with a casual slap. Since I was in a rush, I left his remains behind. But he was still a seventh-stage Sunmoon, so his corpse would still be quite valuable. When I was done with my errand, I went back for the corpse. When I arrived...I witnessed someone phasing into the dead body. Wow. That was quite a surprising scene to behold."

"..."

First Yellow's face froze.

The head lightly patted First Yellow's face with a smile, "Yeap. This is the face I saw back then. The face I slapped to death. But it's not exactly the same. There are some minor differences. What a coincidence. Am I right?"

First Yellow asked blankly, "That...was your kill?"

"Yeap. Who else could it be?"

"I..." First Yellow sullenly said, "I thought he was killed by a stray attack. At the time, two Invincibles were fighting not far away. I saw a convenient identity to borrow lying on the ground waiting for me so I picked it up."

"You sure are good at picking things up." The head laughed and asked, "Hollow, isn't this fun?"

"No. Not at all." First Yellow said, "Head, so you have been aware of my identity since the beginning?"

"That is only natural. You do have many layers of skin, with Kong Qingzi being the innermost layer. You thought that my discovery would stop at that, right?"

The head continued in amusement, "You have no idea how fun you are. I followed you for a while. I saw the layer upon layer of skins you cover yourself in. That was so amusing I didn't even want to expose you anymore. Isn't this interesting?"

Beside, Yellow Nine was staring at First Yellow blankly. After a long while, she asked, "Elder...you're not a human?"

First Yellow rolled his eyes, "Have I ever claimed to be a human?"

"You...are you really Hollow?"

Chapter 1201: First Yellow and Yellow Nine (3)

As a former member of the intelligence gathering department of the pavilion, Yellow Nine naturally knew who Hollow was. She exclaimed in astonishment, "Third on Dao Affirmation Ranking and a member of the ancient spatial beast race? That same Hollow?"

"What do you think?"

First Yellow couldn't be bothered to hide anymore, "My deepest secret has been exposed. Are you disappointed that I've lied to you for so long?"

"No." Instead, Yellow Nine exclaimed in a voice of pleasant surprise, "Elder, so you're Hollow? Beat him up! Beat him up and we can run! You're third on the Dao Affirmation Ranking! Everyone says that everyone in the top ten is strong enough to beat Invincibles up! Do it, Elder! Mess him up!"

First Yellow had a very strong urge to roll his eyes.

The head laughed in amusement, "His temper...this attitude...she has indeed inherited the characteristics of her family."

Yellow Nine looked at the head before looking at First Yellow again. She asked, "Elder, what is the head saying? Wait...did you steal me somewhere instead of picking me up somewhere? Hollow is renowned for his incredible skills in thievery..."

First Yellow said, "No. I picked you up. Who would even want to steal you? You were on the street. Nobody wanted you. I picked you up with the intention of using you as a prop for my fake identity. Thanks to you, all my hard work over the years has gone to waste. None of this would have happened if you didn't provoke Profound Nine."

Yellow Nine asked in confusion, "You're Hollow. Why do you need to hide your identity?"

First Yellow refused to answer.

The head said, "Of course he has to hide. Hollow, third on the Dao Affirmation Ranking. Yet he only focuses on hiding instead of affirming his dao. He has been hiding for many years. There must be a reason for that, right?"

"..."

First Yellow explained, "Uhm, head, I..."

"Don't bother. Have you forgotten that I'm the head of the Yellow Department? I am the head of the biggest intelligence-gathering organization in the Myriad Realms. Nobody knows more than me.

"125 years ago, a certain someone wanted to steal something to serve as his carrier treasure for his dao affirmation. But that carrier treasure was in the hand of a big shot. Surprisingly, that brazen someone did not give up. Instead, he proceeded with his plan and stole the coffin lid of the Pseudo Emperor of the ancient immortal race. Am I right, Hollow?"

"..."

Yellow Nine exclaimed, "Coffin lid?"

The head said, "Yes. The Pseudo Emperor of the ancient immortals is very old. Perhaps he is really someone who has lived since the ancient past until now. Anyway, due to his old age, he forged himself a coffin to nurture his life force." "That coffin of his is an incredible treasure. It was forged from a ten-thousand-year-old heavenly source tree, countless heavenly source qi, countless sunmoon profound yellow liquid, countless heavenearth profound light, and many other treasures. Then, he personally cultivated the coffin for over a thousand years before completing it. That coffin was comparable to a peak heaven weapon. And then, someone came along to steal the lid of his treasured coffin. What could that certain someone do after that apart from going into hiding?"

Yellow Nine remained stunned for a long while before asking, "Elder, where's the coffin lid?"

First Yellow said, "Why do you ask? Do you want it? That's a bad idea. That thing is inauspicious."

The head laughed and said, "In his hands, that thing is an excellent carrier treasure. He's probably targeting an extremely powerful tri-life body. A regular tri-life body is not worthy of him. Hollow, you must have been on the hunt for a good tri-life body for the past hundred years, right?"

First Yellow said nothing.

The head continued, "Don't worry. I don't care about that. Nor am I interested in your carrier treasure. I need your help with one task. No matter what, I've provided you shelter for a hundred years. You're only a fugitive now because you made the choice to flee. Otherwise, things wouldn't have been so bad."

Instead of agreeing, First Yellow asked after some hesitation, "Head, just what is the level of your cultivation?"

"I'm an Eternal. What else can my cultivation level be? Are you trying to say that I'm a Pseudo Emperor?"

"No. But even among Eternals, the difference in strength can be quite big. If you really did follow me all those years ago with me being none the wiser...that can only mean that your strength..."

The head grinned, "What about my strength? Don't get too imaginative. Hollow...no, I'm used to calling you First Yellow so I'll be sticking with that. First Yellow, what do you think about completing a task for me?"

"Please give me your orders, Lord."

"Steal the Culture Tomb for me." The head said, "This is something you're capable of. I believe nobody is better suited to this job than you."

First Yellow frowned and said, "That thing has the attention of everyone. I'm only here for the carrier treasures, not the Culture Tomb. That's too dangerous a target."

He asked, "Head, why do you want it? Why do you want it so badly that you're willing to expose what you know about me?"

"I'm curious since everyone wants it. However, the others in the pavilion will want it as well if they learn that I have it. That won't do. I'm not interested in sharing."

First Yellow hesitated slightly and said, "But...I don't think I can do this. My hands have gotten rusty after so many years in hiding. In fact, I'm confident I have forgotten how to steal."

"How is that possible?" The head said cheerfully, "You won't forget. After all, you were active as recently as a few years ago. Don't you remember the dragon egg you stole from a dragon Invincible not long ago?"

"..."

Yellow Nine exclaimed, "Elder, was the egg I ate eight years ago actually a dragon egg?"

"..."

First Yellow cursed inwardly. What was this reaction? Why was she so shocked? What was the big deal of eating a dragon egg?

Yellow Nine continued crying out in surprise, "What about that little bird you fed me twelve years ago?"

The head laughed, "Oh, right. Twelve years ago, the phoenix race lost a chick. Was that you as well?"

Yellow Nine exclaimed yet again, "A chick? That's so cruel! Elder, I've decided to sever my relationship with you! You're so cruel!"

She turned and attempted to flee again. The head rolled his eyes and tapped her head again as he said, "Why are you still trying to run? Lass, you won't be able to escape. Do you think that your absence will give him the courage to fight me?"

The gloomy Yellow Nine blinked at First Yellow, asking with her eyes if he could defeat this Invincible. She also said that if he could win, go ahead. If not, just agree to work for the Invincible. At worst, they could turn on their words and run off right after the Invincible was gone.

First Yellow said helplessly, "Head, this job is...really too dangerous."

"I know. But I don't want that thing in the hands of others." The head said, "Help me with this. If you succeed, I'll help you once during your dao affirmation. After all, your dao affirmation will be very dangerous. It will almost be the same as throwing your life away. The Pseudo Emperor of the ancient immortal race will probably go after you personally."

First Yellow didn't know what to say. He was well aware of that. He would have attempted his dao affirmation long ago otherwise. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel•fire.net

"But...fine!" First Yellow sighed, "Head...you're truly wise."

"You're too kind."

The head said, "Alright, then. I'll get out of your hair. First Yellow, keep your mask. No matter what, it's a peak earth weapon. Even if you crush it, I'll still be able to find you. And if you manage to evade my detection by some miracle, I'll still be able to locate this lass."

First Yellow said, "Don't worry, Head. I won't try to run!"

"I hope so."

With that, the head vanished.

The two looked at each other again.

With a bizarre expression, Yellow Nine asked, "Elder, are you really Hollow? Hollow is supposed to be an ancient spatial beast, right? So what's your true form? Is your true form fun? Nobody knows what ancient spatial beasts look like."

"Shut up!" First Yellow snorted, put his mask back on, and said, "Put your mask back on. You're completely useless."

"Elder, that's an Invincible. If not even you have the courage to fight him, what am I supposed to do? I tried to act cute in front of him, but what could I do if he ignored all my attempts?"

First Yellow ignored her words. He thought for a bit before saying, "Looks like we really need to do this task for him. Why is he trying to get the Culture Tomb? It will probably be useless for him. According to the rumors, it's only useful for Pseudo Emperors or those from the multiple character faction..."

Yellow Nine nonchalantly said, "Either he's trying to become an Emperor or he's colluding with the humans. From how he behaved earlier, he might also know that Profound Nine's identity is problematic. Look at how he avoided the topic earlier. He might be related to the multiple character faction."

"Is that so?" First Yellow rubbed his chin, "Perhaps. Whatever. There is no need to know. The more we know, the faster we'll die. And I'll die even faster if my identity is exposed. Your grandpa is wanted by a top three expert of the Myriad Realms. Sigh. You have no idea how much I regret my past actions..."

"If you're really regretful, you can always return the coffin lid."

"Nope. How can I do that? I'm still relying on it to capture a powerful past body."

"Past body? Don't you already have one? Are you saying that your existing tri-life body is actually a future body?"

"What a stupid question to ask. Almost everyone in the top ten of the Dao Affirmation Ranking has captured a future body first. Who cares about the past body? It's way too weak. The truly worthy ones will have their eyes set on the future body. Forget it. You won't understand this. You will understand how difficult this step is after you reach my level."

Yellow Nine did not seem to be too interested in this topic. She moved on and asked, "Elder, so which family was I from? The head seems to know my background."

"Your background? Like I said, I picked you up somewhere."

"Where, exactly?"

"Why are you asking me all these questions? Are you thinking of going back to your family?"

"Nope." Yellow Nine denied, "I'm merely curious. From what the head said, my family seems to be quite a big deal. Maybe I should return to them? That will give us a chance to steal something nice from them!"

"Forget it. Your family is no more. There is nothing left to steal. Stop dreaming. We need to leave. If you want to return to your family, you need to first pay me for all the good stuff I fed you all these years."

"No money."

Yellow Nine did not think that she would ever be able to afford it. How was she supposed to afford something like a dragon egg and a phoenix chick? Whatever. So be it. She decided that she would keep following her grandpa. Only then would she continue eating well.