Chapter 2330: Im Back (1)

Chapter 2330: I'm Back (1)

Su Yu couldn't decide if he wanted to look for Culture King. Why? Because Culture King did not seem to be living very well at the moment.

Su Yu was also worried that something bad might happen in his absence. Fortunately, Human Emperor was still alive. Otherwise, leaving would be completely impossible for him. But Human Emperor was still around. Even if he was barely surviving, he was still Human Emperor. That alone was enough to deter the myriad races somewhat.

***

It wouldn't be a bad idea to connect with Return and talk about life or something. Human Emperor had some arrangements within two of the gates. Su Yu lacked time, or he would have done the same. It was very important for leaders like them to know their competitors well.

Seeing that some of the people under them were already interacting with each other, Su Yu smiled and said, "The seniors under Human Emperor are all our predcessors. Many of them are old superiors or even family of our people. We came here in a rush, so we don't have any good gifts. But everyone, don't hesitate to hand them the soil and water of our home as remembrance. Of course, don't even think of accepting reciprocal gifts. Our seniors have spent too many years fighting. They don't have anything good to offer anymore."

At that, many on Su Yu's side blinked. Then, they started taking out some soil, water, and even twigs. Su Yu was the one who had reminded them to take these things with them before leaving. At the time, they had thought that it was because Su Yu did not expect to return from this war. But...no. This was the real purpose.

Those under Human Emperor blanked out as they stared at the soil and water from their home. Their emotions turned complicated. It had been many years for them, even if the flow of time was much slower here. It had been about a thousand years for them. They had been fighting non-stop all these years, and many of their old friends had perished. Thus, the sight of the soil and water from their home filled them with melancholy.

As for the reciprocal gifts, Su Yu found that these old folks were quite shameless as well. Many of them dug into their pockets for a long while before taking some bones out. Then, they would lament that these were the strongest bones of some ancient powerhouse. In truth, these were the bones they had kept as mementos from the last meal they ate previously. After all, it had been too long since they last had a proper meal.

In fact, one could see the bite marks on those bones. Even Su Yu was left speechless. So be it. What could he do if these were a bunch of broke souls?

Then again, it was understandable. They had been stuck out here for so many years. Anything good would have been exhausted long ago. Radiant King might have some left, but it did not seem like he was going to contribute anything.

Since Human Emperor needed some time to rest and stabilize his sea of willpower, Su Yu ended the conversation there. He walked to the side and started conversing with Return instead.

***

Inside the sea of willpower.

A projection of the Heaven Gate could be seen, and an indistinct figure was panting heavily in it. Was the fight over? He was already at his limits. Just who was Su Yu fighting to absorb so much of his power?

He was feeling quite helpless as Su Yu had been ignoring him when he asked about the fight. Should he withdraw his power? This was so exhausting.

Just then, Su Yu's voice rang out, "Damn it. That fellow is too strong. Return, you're supposed to be as strong as Human Emperor. Why is the power I'm receiving from you so weak?"

Weak?

Return could only blame it on the high rate of loss due to the Heaven Gate. Was the battle over?

He said, "The rate of loss is too high. Did you lose the fight?"

"Heh. I decided to spare him for now."

Return translated it as a defeat. Su Yu had fled, but he refused to admit it.

Su Yu said, "Your power is not too useful. I can't count on you or I would die to that fellow sooner or later. Do you have any way to deal with him?"

"Of course."

"Tell me."

"Summon my main body out..."

Su Yu sneered, "Nope. Don't even dream of it. I'll allow you to examine the Myriad Realms with your willpower when I'm feeling like it. That is all you're getting. Leaving with your main body? I'll probably be the first you kill after you're out here."

"How can that be?" Return hurriedly denied, "You will be the intermediary. Without you, I will not be able to return behind the Heaven Gate anymore."

Heh. That was precisely what this guy wanted. Who was he trying to fool? How could Su Yu not know what this guy was thinking? They both knew what each other wanted out of this. None of them was stupid.

Su Yu did not bother to continue on that topic. He asked, "Return, do you know about Culture King and Martial King?"

"Yes."

"Are they dead?"

"No. They're alive."

Return did not mind having a chat with Su Yu. He said nonchalantly, "With the restriction gone, how are things in the Myriad Realms? Are there a lot of new Masters of Laws? Do you require my guidance for this new phase of cultivation?"

"It's fine. I don't need it. There aren't too many Masters of Laws out here, but that will change when Human Emperor returns with his people. I'll probably go looking for them if they're still not back by the time I'm done conquering the Myriad Realms."

Su Yu laughed and added, "After finding Human Emperor and his people, maybe I can find some time to visit the Heaven Gate and have some fun inside. What do you think?"

"..."

Return resisted the urge to laugh and said, "You can come if you want...but this place is far more dangerous than you can imagine. This is a place with countless powerhouses. Even someone like Culture King isn't a supreme being here."

Not supreme, but definitely extraordinary. He wouldn't have spoken like that otherwise.

Su Yu asked curiously, "Do you know Culture King's strength?"

"I can't say for sure. It's not like I know him that well." Return understood that Su Yu was trying to gather information from him. But he did not mind this. He said, "There are many powerhouses in the Heaven Gate. Culture King and Martial King are considered outsiders here.

"They don't belong to our era. Culture King isn't weak, so most people won't deliberately pick fights with him. But he has a little sister. That little sister provoked a powerful being in here. The two sides have been at war for many years."

Time Sage?

Su Yu's interest grew as he said, "Tell me more. Who did Culture King's sister offend? Who is this opponent that not even Culture King can defeat? Culture King is the number one powerhouse of the Myriad Realms, you know."

"That is not a name I can speak. That being is extremely powerful. He stood at the very top of our era. To put things into perspective...that being is as strong as the master of Death Realm, but with a deeper foundation."

Su Yu raised his brow. Comparable to the Master of Death? In that case, that would indeed be a powerful opponent.

In Su Yu's mind, the Master of Death had always been the second strongest entity, with the Master of Time being the strongest of all. Of course, some claimed that Human Ancestor was strong enough to face him, but who knew if that was true?

Time Sage had provoked such a being, forcing Culture King to go to her rescue...

How did she provoke that being? Su Yu guessed that it might be related to the Book of Time or Time Sage's dao. Wait, did she go inside the Heaven Gate to collect corpses as well? And then, she tried to collect the corpse of that powerful being? That was quite a reasonable guess.

Return was clearly unwilling to speak much about that being. That person was too strong. Talks of such an entity while in the same world could be detected easily.

Su Yu asked, "Are there many such beings in the Heaven Gate?"

"Not at all. Very few are as strong, and these people are very rarely seen."

Return emphasized how rare such beings were. He added, "Thus, Culture King is actually very impressive for lasting so long against such a being. Nobody can deny that."

"How is he compared to you? What is your standing in there?"

"Heh...none of them is my match."

Su Yu completely ignored that bluff. If that guy was really the strongest inside the Heaven Gate, he would open the gate right away. If this was the standard inside the gate, what was there to fear?

After some thought, Su Yu asked, "Can Culture King's group return?"

"That won't be easy."

Return laughed, "Entering is easy, but leaving is hard. I would have left myself if it were that easy. Why would I waste my time with you?"

He added, "Su Yu, you might be very strong in the Myriad Realms. You are probably among the strongest. But upon witnessing the world inside the Heaven Gate, you will understand just how insignificant you are."

Up until now, he had yet to provide any truly useful information to Su Yu. This was quite a cunning guy.

Realizing that, Su Yu stopped wasting time and asked, "Can you find Culture King? The power you provide me isn't enough. Why don't you get Culture King to lend me some of his power as well? Or maybe ask him for me if he has any treasures left in the Myriad Realms. I need a treasure capable of handling a tier-two."

Looking for Culture King.

Return instantly realized what Su Yu was trying to do. No way. There was no way he would dare to actually go looking for Culture King. Wasn't that the same as causing trouble for himself?

"Culture King's whereabouts are unknown. He has been moving around a lot to run from that being. Not long ago, even the master of Death Realm joined the battle. Things are getting more and more chaotic here. It won't be easy to find him amid all the chaos."

Return was saying half-truths, but Su Yu had an odd expression as he heard that. Did Master of Death really go causing trouble for Culture King? That seemed to be quite a petty one.

Also, Return was being quite dishonest here. Then again, that was to be expected. They were only here to make use of each other. They weren't actual friends.

Su Yu said, "Is there anything that can help me reach the first tier inside the Heaven Gate? Let me phrase my question better. Is the cultivation system inside the same as ours? Do you cultivate the myriad daos inside as well?"

"Yes, we cultivate the myriad daos as well."

Hearing that, Su Yu asked again, "But why can't I sense all these ancient beings on the River of Time?"

"Our myriad daos are different from your myriad daos...Well, it's quite similar. Let me put i this way. You can't sense anything because the myriad daos we cultivate are inside the Heaven Gate."

The myriad daos inside the gate?

Su Yu blinked. And then, his eyes flickered as he asked, "Is there a River of Time inside the Heaven Gate as well?"

After a long silence, Return answered, "Yes."

Su Yu's heart thumped as he continued, "There are rivers both inside and outside the Heaven Gate. The so-called sealing an era..."

Su Yu's brain churned as he said, "Is the so-called sealing of an era merely the act of sealing your stretch of the river away?"

He continued muttering, "And will that result in the cultivators of that stretch being sealed inside the gate as well?"

Could it be that the River of Time was actually incredibly long. The daos pioneered by these people were located near the actual end of the river. And then, that stretch of the river was sealed off, including reality itself. This incident was eventually known as the sealing of an era.

In that case, could one also say that the Heaven Gate was there to cut a part of the river away? Was that the case?

Even more possibilities emerged in Su Yu's mind. Suddenly, he said, "Why do the people inside the gate wish to leave so much?"

Return did not answer.