Chapter 3126 - Old Friends Hang From the City Walls

Su Yi didn’t have to wait long. Chang Ci walked over to him shortly after and reported respectfully, “Your Excellency, I’ve gotten to the bottom of this. The barrier over the Silent Annihilation Forbidden Zone has cracked in numerous places. It’s enough to let some of us through.

“However, only those on the level of a River Emperor or lower can squeeze through. There are a lot of them, but even combined, they won’t be able to stir up any major waves.”

Su Yi turned to look at Chang Ci. He could clearly see the delight in his gaze; he was obviously pleased by this development.

But when he sensed Su Yi’s gaze, he tensed, then wiped every trace of joy off his face.

“Does that mean that Demon Sovereign Ling Zhao doesn’t intend to go along with Sovereign Preceptor Mo Hanyi’s arrangements after all?” asked Su Yi.

Chang Ci shook his head. “I can’t say for sure.”

After a moment of pondering, he couldn’t help but say, “Chosen, forgive my boldness, but the enmity between our people and Destiny’s Chosen runs deep. That was more true of the last Chosen, but it’s true for you, too. Hundreds of thousands of us were killed; it would be no exaggeration to call our grudge ‘as deep as an ocean of blood.'

“The last Chosen even confined us to the Silent Annihilation Forbidden Zone. Given the circumstances, convincing us all to submit... Well, I’m afraid...”

He left the rest unsaid, so Su Yi finished for him. “That I’m overestimating myself?”

Chang Ci said nothing, but his silence was a form of tacit acknowledgment.

Su Yi murmured, “Seems to me that Mo Hanyi was the only one of you old-timers to submit to me with any kind of sincerity. The rest of you... did so entirely unwillingly.”

Chang Ci said calmly, “Your Excellency, it won’t be long before our people break free of the Silent Annihilation Forbidden Zone. If you’re worried that we’ll seek revenge against you, I’d be happy to suggest a path to safety.”

His words were superficially respectful, but they contained barely hidden sadistic glee.

Su Yi said with no outward change in expression, “Let’s hear it.”

But Chang Ci smiled and shook his head. “On second thought, it would hurt your feelings too much. Better not to say it.”

Su Yi raised an eyebrow, then suddenly slapped Chang Ci in the face.

Whap!

A crisp, clean slap rang out, leaving Chang Ci’s cheeks red and swollen. His face contorted with surprise and fury. “What do you mean by this, Chosen?”

Su Yi gestured toward the two Negative Karma Destiny Demons in the distance and said calmly, “You chose to let them live. That tells me everything I need to know.”

Chang Ci laughed coldly. “That’s all? You’re losing your temper over something so small?”

Whap!

He took yet another slap to the face. This time, he flew into a rage. “Chosen, must you really take things so far?”

Su Yi laughed. “No, I just want to tell you that the Negative Karma Destiny Demons might well have escaped the Silent Annihilation Forbidden Zone, but... what does that have to do with you? Do you really think I dare not kill you?”

Chang Ci’s expression shifted erratically, and he sank into silence.

Su Yi patted him on the shoulder. “I’m different from Xiao Jian. When the Destiny Demons provoked him, he simply imprisoned you in the Silent Annihilation Forbidden Zone, but if your people provoke me, I’ll rip them up by the roots.”

Chang Ci’s pupils constricted, but then he said coldly, “Is that so? I’ll be interested to see whether or not you’re really capable of that!”

Su Yi nodded. “I’ll give you the opportunity. When you go back and see Mo Hanyi, pass on a message for me, will you? I can give the Negative Karma Destiny Demons a chance to submit, but don’t blame me for what I do to those who refuse.”

With that, he waved his sleeve, and Chang Ci vanished into the Book of Destiny. Then, Su Yi turned to look at the two Negative Karma Destiny Demons in the distance. “Will you two submit?”

The two of them exchanged glances. Both felt dazed.

When they learned Chang Ci’s identity, they went mad with delight. Both thought they’d been saved from otherwise certain doom.

Who’d have thought that they’d watch as “Ancestor Chang Ci” was slapped in the face, and more than once at that?

Of course they were surprised!

“If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I don’t need your type anyway.” Su Yi shook his head slightly, then turned and left. He had no interest in small fries like them.

A day later, in the Spirit Treasure Celestial City.

Su Yi had visited this city several years prior. The city was prosperous and bustling, a gathering place for river denizens from all across the River of Destiny.

It was here that Su Yi, Wang Zhiwu, River Ancestor Shen Xiao, and several others entered the Cave of Obsession and met River Ancestor Lu Shu, as well as the clones of the Monarch of Endless Tribulations and the Buddha of Non-Existence.

Now, Su Yi had returned.

But when he saw the city in the distance, he was momentarily stunned.

The enormous, once bustling city had long since fallen. The ground was covered in the vestiges of battle: broken walls, craters in the earth, pooled blood, and mounds of corpses.

Like a bloody vision of purgatory.

And a group of figures hung suspended from the city walls, held there by ropes tied around their throats.

Upon closer inspection, these were River Ancestor Lu Shu, River Ancestor Shen Xiao, River Ancestor Sparrow, Star Toad, and River Empress Peacock!

They were unconscious and covered in blood. Suspended as they were from the walls, they were a jarring sight.

When Su Yi saw them, his eyes narrowed. He’d been in the middle of raising a jug of wine to his lips, but when he saw this, he stopped.

A long time passed before he came back to his senses, lowered his jug, and shifted his gaze to the group of figures at the base of the city walls. All of them had the word “prisoner” emblazoned on their foreheads, so this was a group of Negative Karma Destiny Demon experts.

Three of them in particular drew his attention.

The first was a handsome, silver-haired man in long, blood-red robes. He sat on a collapsed section of wall, drinking from a vessel carved out of bone.

The second was a woman in gray. She had unearthly features, and she clutched a red whip to her chest. She was leaning against what remained of the city wall, eyes half closed.

The third was a tall, big-boned old man in golden robes. He was saying something to the others.

When Su Yi looked over, the golden-robed old man immediately sensed his gaze and turned to look at him.

The old man grinned broadly. “Everyone, it’s time to welcome our guest!”

His voice boomed far and wide.

The Destiny Demon experts stirred. All of them instantly focused on Su Yi.

“Oh? Destiny’s Chosen has finally shown up,” said the red-robed, silver-haired man on the collapsed wall. He smiled and rose, still holding his bone drinking vessel. “Not bad! This calls for a drink!”

With that, he threw back his head and drained his cup.

“Is this really the Su Yi who mastered the Book of Destiny? Why... does he look so much like an ordinary mortal?” asked the woman in gray, leaning against the wall. Her red eyes bore into Su Yi, her brow slightly furrowed.

“There’s no mistaking it!” the stalwart, golden-robed old man said with a laugh. “I’ve been checking his portrait every day. I’d know him anywhere. Even if he’d been incinerated, I’m sure I’d recognize his ashes!”

Meanwhile, a discussion arose throughout the surrounding area. The Destiny Demons were all eyeing Su Yi. Some were cold, others bloodthirsty, while still others’ eyes gleamed with excitement.

Su Yi disregarded all that. He just looked at the old friends suspended from the city walls. “Where is the Threelives Buddha?”

“You mean the monk in white?” the old man said with a smile. “He’s long gone. You’d best hurry, Chosen. The people you’re here to save have been waiting a long time.”

Su Yi said no more. He just steered the Sky-Covering Boat toward them.

At least, he was about to when a voice resounded from afar. “A moment, please, Your Excellency Su!”

A young man dashed over from afar, accompanying this voice. Su Yi recognized him at a glance. This was none other than Ying Qi, Demon Sovereign Ling Zhao’s subordinate. He’d once joined forces with the Heavenly Sovereigns to capture him.

However, Mo Hanyi had long since changed Ying Qi’s mind about Su Yi.

“Ying Qi, how dare you show yourself?” The golden-robed old man, the woman in gray, and the red-robed man frowned and glared.

“You called him ‘Your Excellency Su?’ Have you really betrayed us?” the woman asked with a frown.

Ying Qi ignored them. As soon as he arrived, he rushed over to Su Yi and transmitted, “Your Excellency, this is a trap! They plan to use this opportunity to seize the Medallion of Past Karma and destroy you!”

“Oh,” said Su Yi. His gaze didn’t so much as ripple. “Does this mean that Demon Sovereign Ling Zhao isn’t willing to submit either?”

Ying Qi hurriedly shook his head. “It’s a long story, and it involves...”

But before he could explain, Su Yi waved for silence. “Then let’s talk later.”

Ying Qi hurriedly transmitted, “Your Excellency, you really can’t just charge right into this. The three of them have been preparing for a long time now. They’re each strong enough to crush River Ancestors with ease, and I cannot help you. If I do, I’ll be deemed a traitor!”

Su Yi said casually, “It’s fine. All you need to do is watch.”

Suddenly, the old man in golden robes bellowed, “Ying Qi, if you ruin our plans, we’ll declare you a traitor and eliminate you without mercy! Even if Demon Sovereign Ling Zhao finds out, she’ll have no grounds to object!”

The man in red robes flung his bone drinking vessel to the ground and shouted, “Ying Qi, get the hell out of our way!”

Even the woman in gray tightened her grip on her whip and glared murderously at Ying Qi.

Ying Qi’s expression shifted erratically.

Su Yi, meanwhile, said nothing at all. He just walked toward the city gates.

When the Destiny Demons saw this, they couldn’t help but smile.

Boom!

As soon as Su Yi was within ten thousand feet of the city, an ancient, mysterious formation spread over the entire area. The formation rumbled and boomed, churning with dense, blood-red Laws of Destruction. Its power was so terrifying as to blanket the sky and blot out the sun.

An indistinct figure of a woman in white with a giant, blood-red scythe appeared over the formation. She was dainty and petite, but her scythe was more than ten feet long, much longer than she was tall.

When Ying Qi saw the formation and the woman atop it, his heart sank. That’s the Bloodsoul Annihilation Formation! One of our race’s ultimate killing formations. They say it can incinerate even River Ancestors with ease!

And the woman with the scythe was its controller—Priestess Fei Ya!