Chapter 2014: An Additional Reward

It was a man in azure robes. His long hair was woven into a braid, and his features were beautifully handsome yet somewhat unearthly. He was as upright as a pine tree, and had a black saber scabbard on his back.

But the scabbard was empty.

When Su Yi arrived, the beautifully handsome man in azure stood just ten feet from Wu Lingchong. The strange part was that Wu Lingchong obviously hadn’t noticed that he was there.

“How’s the situation, Daoist Brother?” asked Wu Lingchong.

“Stand there and don’t move,” said Su Yi. He looked at the man in azure. “Are you a god?”

Wu Lingchong froze, stunned, then whipped his head around to look, but he saw nothing at all. In other words, neither his eyes nor his divine sense could detect whatever or whoever it wad.

His heart quivered, and his hair stood on end.

The man in azure said nothing. His long, thin eyes shone with the vicissitudes of countless years as he looked Su Yi up and down, seemingly intent on uncovering all of his secrets.

After a while, he sighed with obvious disappointment. “You aren’t Li Fuyou.”

His voice was like the edge of a saber scraping against a rock: low, cold, and austere, with a hint of imposing force.

He turned to leave, only for Su Yi to say out of nowhere, “Ah, but I could be him.”

The man in azure stopped in his tracks, still facing away from Su Yi. “I’ll come looking for you again when you are him.”

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, he vanished, leaving no trace behind. Even when Su Yi used his divine sense, he couldn’t sense how the man had vanished.

“That guy… must have been a god!” Su Yi’s brow furrowed.

Gods could freely wander the River of Epochs, but they faced the constant threat of a Divine Tribulation of the Epochs. These were a subset of divine tribulations that arose in the River of Epochs, and they specifically targeted gods.

Rumor had it that the vast majority of the gods who perished over the River of Epochs lost their lives to such tribulations.

The Ghost Gods of the City of the Lost were the remains of gods who’d died in the River of Epochs.

But then, this wasn’t absolute. There were a few special places in the River of Epochs where gods weren’t subject to the threat of Divine Tribulations of the Epochs. These included the Kingdom of Lasting Light, the Isle of the Forbidden, Nine Li Mountain, and the Path of the Ancient Gods.

Of them, the Kingdom of Lasting Light was by far the most familiar, the Isle of the Forbidden and Nine Li Mountain were the most full of inauspicious perils, and the Path of the Ancient Gods was the most mysterious, as well as the hardest to locate.

But now, a suspected god had appeared out of nowhere in Golden Bridge City, and he seemed to know that Su Yi was the reincarnation of Li Fuyou. That was far too strange.

Something immediately occurred to Su Yi.

That guy was probably a Ghost God! One of the inauspicious spirits that strike fear into the hearts of almost every cultivator in the River of Epochs!

Don’t tell me that Li Fuyou left a bunch of unresolved enmities behind while exploring the River of Epochs?

“Daoist Brother, what happened just now?” asked Wu Lingchong. He was so startled that he’d broken out in cold sweats.

From beginning to end, he in no way sensed the azure-robed man’s existence, nor could he hear a word the man said. It was enough to make him shudder.

“Oh, nothing much,” Su Yi shook his head. “Just some strange guy I suspect was a god.”

A god!

Wu Lingchong gasped.

……

Su Yi and Wu Lingchong stayed in Golden Bridge City for a day before continuing their journey through the River of Epochs.

Over the next two months, the two of them passed through five outposts. Every time, Su Yi led Wu Lingchong in openly, making no effort to hide.

Once he’d killed all his enemies, he’d scour the battlefield and rest up before continuing on his way.

Su Yi was like an axe through bamboo, uprooting the forces of the Celestial Purity Pavilion, Endless Void Temple, Longevity Palace, and the other factions stationed in every outpost he passed. He’d killed almost eight hundred people in total.

That aside, he’d encountered a few reckless bounty hunters who hoped to claim the Nine Great Heavenly Gods’ bounty, and he’d killed every last one of them.

From beginning to end, they’d encountered little real danger. Wu Lingchong was incredibly worried and nervous at first, but he gradually started to enjoy the feeling of blasting through every enemy in their path.

When they finally set course for the City of the Lost, Wu Lingchong was actually a bit reluctant to leave this part of their journey behind.

He’d been exploring the River of Epochs for a long time, but never so freely or proudly. Sure, he was a fox borrowing a tiger’s prestige, but he’d never gotten to do that before, either!

He even said as much to Su Yi. “Even though I haven’t been much help along the way, I got to witness dazzling, unprecedented events unfold with my own eyes! It’s possible that now, even the Nine Great Heavenly Gods of the Kingdom of Lasting Light know my name!”

An indescribable mix of emotions rose in Wu Lingchong’s heart at the thought of it, including smug pride and excitement.

Su Yi didn’t make fun of him. Instead, he said casually, “When you set aside your fear, didn’t you shatter a mental wall? You have to forge bravely ahead and kill decisively. This is what it means to be without fear or awe. What’s so scary about a god? And why view them with awe? It’s only with such a mindset that you too can prove your Dao and achieve divinity; all you need to know is the opportunity.”

His words were like a sudden stroke of enlightenment, and Wu Lingchong sank into deep thought to ponder them.

……

In truth, it was just as Wu Lingchong thought. Over the past two months, Su Yi had massacred the forces stationed at six outposts, and the resulting storm had thrown the entire River of Epochs into uproar.

The storm had reached even the Kingdom of Lasting Light, and all of the Nine Great Heavenly Gods knew about it!

Su Yi’s name was like a dazzling comet soaring over the River of Epochs, drawing seemingly endless attention and leading to countless conversations.

“I just knew someone wanted by all of the Nine Great Heavenly Gods had to be an utterly terrifying existence. He’s not someone just anyone can afford to provoke!”

“Even demigods are nothing to him. Great Profound Stage experts are just throwing their lives away!”

“He’s caused such an enormous disturbance. Does Su Yi plan to fight the Nine Great Heavenly Gods directly?”

“They say that the experts stationed at the River of Epoch’s outposts are terrified for their own safety, and that they fear nothing more than Su Yi showing up…”

“But just where did this Su Yi person come from?”

No one knew the answer to this, but the riddle only made Su Yi seem all the more mysterious.

As more and more information about Su Yi spread, causing uproar throughout the River of Epochs’ outposts, the Nine Great Heavenly Gods issued a second decree.

Anyone who captured Su Yi alive would receive an Epoch Fragment as a reward!

When their envoys spread this message throughout the River of Epochs, it triggered an enormous uproar, startling even old-timers who’d been in seclusion for countless years into action. Even experts so ruthless as to lick the blood off their swords were tempted.

An Epoch Fragment represented a chance at divinity. Who could refuse such temptation?

“Su Yi has obviously thoroughly enraged the Nine Great Heavenly Gods. they’ve actually gone so far as to offer a chance at divinity as a reward!” some people exclaimed.

“Who knows how many terrifying existences will heed the call this time? They’re sure to chase Su Yi like mad!”

“If I were someone stuck on the verge of divinity, just waiting for an opportunity, I’m sure I’d risk it! After all, if I succeeded, I’d become a god! Failure would mean death, sure, but that’s nothing to fear!”

Countless people were tempted.

“This opportunity is perilous. I urge everyone to keep a clear head.

“Offering a chance at divinity proves that the Nine Great Heavenly Gods understand how troublesome and dangerous Su Yi is. Attacking without first carefully considering your abilities is no different from suicide.

“That’s right! Even now, the Nine Great Heavenly Gods have yet to announce Su Yi’s origins. On the contrary, it seems they’re deliberately hiding them. Anyone at all perceptive can tell that Su Yi… didn’t appear out of nowhere. I’m sure he has extraordinary origins.”

“This is far too out of the ordinary!”

“That’s right. The Nine Great Heavenly Gods are lofty, powerful existences, yet they’ve refused to give details about Su Yi all this time. Something strange is afoot here.”

Countless such discussions arose.

Some people sharpened their swords and steeled themselves to risk it all, heedless of the risk. Everything was for the sake of achieving divinity.

Others realized how strange the situation was and had misgivings.

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Either way, Su Yi was now known throughout the River of Epochs. They said that even the Ghost Gods lurking in the river’s forbidden zones were paying attention!

……

Su Yi, meanwhile, was traversing the River of Epochs far from the hubbub of the outside world. He was, as usual, sprawled out in his wicker chair.

He sighed to himself.

If you want to get rich, robbing other people is unquestionably the simplest, most effective way to do it.

Sweeping through six outposts in a row had landed him a glittering ocean of treasure.

Alas, the vast majority of it was of the Great Realm level. Only a hundred or so fragments of ancient treasures imbued with Divine Materials and around three thousand Baleful Current Pearls drew Su Yi’s attention.

Baleful Current Pearls could restore one’s body. They were thus indispensable for exploring the River of Epochs. That aside, they were used as currency, and Su Yi could use them to trade for other things.

Three thousand Baleful Current Pearls was a fortune worth cities.

In the end, Su Yi tossed the spoils into the Divine Replenishment Furnace. The furnace would soon condense true divinity, becoming a true divine treasure. When that happened, it could help Su Yi refine divine pills and smelt all manner of divine materials!

“Daoist Brother, look at that! That’s the Chaotic Skies Watershed! The City of the Lost is located further in!” Wu Lingchong suddenly called out.

Su Yi looked over.

Off in the distance, mist permeated the landscape, flickering with interweaving bolts of blood-red lightning. The current was rapid, producing layer upon layer of towering waves and a sound like the low rumbling of thunder.

The explosive aura of the epochs swept out like a storm, slicing the air to ribbons. Everything was in chaos.

When Wu Lingchong saw this from a distance, his gaze turned utterly solemn. It was just too terrifying!

Forget entering the City of the Lost. Even approaching the Chaotic Skies Watershed was dangerous; their boat might well capsize and plunge them into the River of Epochs at any moment!

“Strange. Why is this place different from before?” Su Yi’s brow furrowed. Wang Ye had visited these waters before, and although he didn’t enter the City of the Lost in the end, he knew the surrounding area like the back of his hand.

Back then, the Chaotic Skies Watershed was dangerous, but it was nowhere near as chaotic or tumultuous as it was now. So long as they were cautious, Great Profound Stage cultivators could pass through safely.

But now, Great Profound Stage cultivators likely wouldn’t dare take so much as a single step into this place. If they tried to force their way through, they’d face almost certain doom!

As Su Yi pondered, his pupils silently constricted.

To his surprise, a group had suddenly appeared near the Chaotic Skies Watershed!!