Chapter 3130 - Ling Zhao’s Decision

The Abyss of Endless Tribulations was as bleak and empty as when Su Yi left it.

It was now ownerless territory, and it floated along the River of Destiny year-round. Even if a Heavenly Sovereign somehow managed to find it, they wouldn’t be able to enter.

Su Yi was different. He no longer needed the Key to Endless Tribulations. He could find the abyss and enter and leave at whim.

All of this was because he’d refined the destiny source power in the Destiny Tribulation Lake. This let him control the natural order of the Abyss of Endless Tribulations. In a sense, he was now the Ruler of Endless Tribulations!

If he went all out and disregarded the consequences, he could have realized the Monarch of Endless Tribulations’ grand ambition—letting the abyss's gathered calamitous power erupt and sweep across the River of Destiny!

Of course, Su Yi had no intention of doing any such thing. That wasn’t in line with the Dao he sought.

Later that day, River Ancestor Lu Shu, River Ancestor Shen Xiao, River Ancestor Sparrow, River Empress Peacock, and Star Toad regained consciousness.

The first thing they saw was Su Yi seated nearby in his usual wicker chair. He was drinking and peering into the Laws of Calamity overhead.

After returning to the Abyss of Endless Tribulations, he returned to the Destiny Tribulation Lake. Unfortunately, he didn’t see the spacetime portal in the lakebed this time. Naturally, he didn’t see the “Prisoner” of the Sea of Chaos Tribulations, either.

Still, he did make a useful discovery: some of the lake’s depleted source energy had recovered.

Su Yi instantly concluded that the destiny source power originated in the Sea of Chaos Tribulations, and that as time passed, more and more of it would seep through the spacetime portal.

Water had its source, just as trees had their roots.

The Abyss of Endless Tribulations was famously the source of all tribulations. Even though its power really originated from the Sea of Chaos Tribulations, so long as the connection between the two remained, an endless flow of power would seep through the portal and fill the Destiny Tribulation Lake.

Without the portal, the Abyss of Endless Tribulations would be like a rootless tree, doomed to wither and collapse.

This realization gave Su Yi an idea.

A clever rabbit kept three burrows.

The River of Destiny was in the middle of enormous changes. There was no harm in preparing a few safe refuges now, before the storm arrived.

Su Yi already planned to make the Four Seas one such refuge. Now, he had the Abyss of Endless Tribulations. Even if the worst came to pass, he was all but invincible here!

Of course, Su Yi had no intention of hiding. Rather, he was making these arrangements to protect those close to him, like the disciples of the Heart-Tempering Sword House and his friends from the River of Destiny.

They were the ones Su Yi was most worried about. Once he’d ensured their safety, he could fight throughout the world and pursue the Grand Dao without reservations.

“Are you awake?” Su Yi retracted his gaze and smiled at his friends.

“Worthy Younger Brother, what happened?” River Ancestor Shen Xiao asked in a daze. “Did we... come back to life?”

The others were similarly baffled.

Su Yi smiled and explained. Earlier, he’d used the Book of Destiny to rebuild their true names. This was what had allowed them to regain consciousness.

After all, a river denizen’s true name was the source of their Grand Dao!

The river denizens’ hearts churned with emotion. They felt as if their misfortune had happened in another lifetime, and they knew they’d narrowly escaped disaster.

The group drank and conversed, and soon, Su Yi understood what exactly had happened to his friends.

The Threelives Buddha had indeed plotted against them. The monk had long since started colluding with the Negative Karma Destiny Demons. It was with their help that he managed to capture River Ancestor Lu Shu and the others all at once.

It was only after successfully taking them hostage that the Threelives Buddha started preparing for his trip to the Abyss of Endless Tribulations.

River Ancestor Lu Shu and the others, meanwhile, became the Destiny Demons’ prey.

All of this had happened while Su Yi was still in the Southern Sea.

“You should stay here and cultivate for the time being,” ordered Su Yi. “I’ll give you the Key to Endless Tribulations so you’ll be able to leave.

“Also, this place is the source of Laws of Calamity. If you can grasp some of their profundities, it’ll do wonders for your cultivation.

“This is a record of the Monarch of Endless Tribulations’ legacies. You’re welcome to contemplate it,” said Su Yi. He took out a jade slip and handed it to River Ancestor Lu Shu. “Fellow Daoist, you were once a Harbinger of Tribulations, so you have experience contemplating the Laws of Calamity. I’ll feel most assured entrusting this to you.”

River Ancestor Lu Shu was moved. He solemnly nodded his assent. “Fellow Daoist, rest assured. I won’t let you down!”

Su Yi went on to give the Key to Endless Tribulations to River Empress Peacock. She’d possessed it previously, so he was effectively just returning it to its original owner.

Once he’d finished making arrangements, he shared a sumptuous meal with his friends, then set off.

He came in a hurry, and left in one, too.

“I’m increasingly incapable of seeing through Fellow Daoist Su...” River Ancestor Lu Shu sighed.

Over the course of this reunion, he sensed that although Su Yi was in some ways the same as ever, he’d somehow changed. He was a River Ancestor, yet even he felt formless pressure in Su Yi’s presence.

Like a minister before a ruler!

There was no need for a ruler to even do anything. His every word and gesture, even an inadvertent glance, was enough to intimidate and overwhelm those around him.

“It’s true. He’s still my Worthy Younger Brother, but I felt like a mouse before a cat, reserved and on edge. I almost dared not call him my little brother anymore...” murmured River Ancestor Shen Xiao.

He thought back to their trip to the Cave of Obsession. Back then, Su Yi had been a junior to him.

Barely any time had passed since then, yet now, he felt invisible but intense pressure just standing in his presence!

“Strange. Isn’t His Excellency Su the same as ever? I didn’t get the sense that he’d changed at all,” said Star Toad, completely baffled.

River Empress Peacock felt the same. She hadn’t noticed any changes, either. Su Yi was the same person she was familiar with.

It was then that River Ancestor Sparrow spoke up for the first time. “Is it perhaps because your cultivation bases are too low?”

Star Toad rolled his eyes. “His Excellency Su said that waters strive for an endless flow, not to reach their destination first. Who knows whose cultivation will reach greater heights in the end?”

But he knew that River Ancestor Sparrow was most likely right. Only those of sufficiently high cultivation could sense just how unbelievably strong Su Yi had become.

Those of insufficient strength couldn’t even begin to measure his abilities.

This was perhaps what they meant when they said, “The Dao is as lofty as the heavens and as deep as an abyss.” Su Yi was now unfathomable in much the same way.

“I’ve decided. I’ll spend most of my time cultivating here. The rest, I’ll spend outside hunting down that Destiny Demon scum!” River Ancestor Lu Shu said suddenly, his eyes blazing with hatred. “I cannot simply let this grudge go unavenged!”

The others exchanged glances, then made similar decisions. Lu Shu was right. If Su Yi hadn’t come to their aid, they’d all be dead by now!

“The Destiny Demons see His Excellency Su as their enemy. As his followers, that makes them our enemy!” Star Toad said through gnashed teeth.

His followers? The group’s hearts stirred. All of them felt a sense of belonging.

They now stood firmly in Su Yi’s camp. It was only natural to consider them his followers. They were the people of Destiny’s Chosen!

......

The Silent Annihilation Forbidden Zone.

Ying Qi returned with a string of bloody heads and word of what had happened outside the Spirit Treasure Celestial City.

When Demon Sovereign Ling Zhao heard the news, she sighed and said softly, “Resolving the ocean of blood between us is truly beyond me...”

That very day, the other three rulers of the Destiny Demons issued a joint decree. They’d given Demon Sovereign Ling Zhao two choices: either she swore to fight Destiny’s Chosen to the death, or she would be declared a traitor, stripped of her position as ruler, and imprisoned until she repented and mended her ways.

By the time their decree reached Demon Sovereign Ling Zhao’s ears, her subordinates were already being brutally suppressed and declared traitors.

Demon Sovereign Ling Zhao sat alone in silence for a long time before deciding to renounce her authority and voluntarily accept imprisonment.

This caused a massive upset among the Negative Karma Destiny Demons. No one could have anticipated that she’d accept imprisonment before drawing a line between herself and Destiny’s Chosen.

How was that any different from treason?

“Did you accept captivity to prove that you and Sovereign Preceptor Mo Hanyi made the right decision?” said a young man whose long white hair hung loose. He visited Demon Sovereign Ling Zhao in the dungeon.

This was Li Zhong, the oldest of the Destiny Demons’ four rulers. Long ago, prior to the Battle of Silent Annihilation, he was already an influential figure.

Although few knew it, Li Zhong was the first to suggest that Mo Hanyi receive the title “Sovereign Preceptor.” It was his idea, even though he and the other rulers had all agreed.

“No.” Demon Sovereign Ling Zhao shook her head. “If the outcome proves that Grandfather and I were right, it’ll mean... that our entire race lost to Destiny’s Chosen...”

Li Zhong’s brow furrowed. “Then why do this? Don’t tell me you really won’t be happy until you’ve been declared a traitor?”

Demon Sovereign Ling Zhao’s gaze was determined. “Call me a traitor all you like. It’s enough that I ensure at least some of our people and legacies live on!”

Li Zhong fell silent. The Negative Karma Destiny Demons and Destiny’s Chosen were irreconcilable enemies. In the end, one side had to die.

Demon Sovereign Ling Zhao obviously believed that should the worst come to pass, her “traitor’s determination” would ensure the Negative Karma Destiny Demons a chance at continued existence.

Her intentions were, of course, good.

Li Zhong understood that, but he found it difficult to accept. When he left the dungeon, all he said was, “I’ll prove that you and Mo Hanyi were wrong!”

Demon Sovereign Ling Zhao didn’t argue. All she could do was what she thought was best.

......

Three days later, Su Yi returned to the Eternal Heavens Domain on a little boat.

The first thing he did was contact Ku Xuan. “Ol’ Brother, I’m back. Where are you now?”

He’d come back to reunite with the disciples of the Heart-Tempering Sword House and give them two opportunities to become Heavenly Sovereigns!

It wasn’t long before Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan responded, but his message made Su Yi frown.

Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan was in the Taiwu Sect, his base in the Blackwater Celestial Capital.

However, he was effectively stuck there, unable to leave, for one simple reason: numerous Heavenly Sovereigns’ avatars were watching the city from all sides, tracking Ku Xuan’s each and every move.

The moment he set foot outside, they’d sense it immediately, no matter what!