Chapter 2034 - Perfection Within This Realm, the Perfect Opportunity to Fuse

Seven days later.

Su Yi spent these seven days helping the Lost whom he’d managed to save neutralize the power of the Curse of the Ancient Gods.

By now, including Xu Fushi, Xiao Ruyi, and Li Yong’an, Su Yi had saved three hundred and nineteen of the Lost, restoring their awareness. Their ranks included forty-nine Lost Ghost Gods, including Gu Xingyi.

The other Lost were all beneath the god level, and the curse had severely degraded their souls. Some were completely beyond saving. Others recovered their awareness but lost many of their memories, and their souls were severely weakened.

The Ghost Gods, however, had practically all recovered their memories.

Now, all of the former Lost stood before Su Yi.

“Ol’ Xu, tell them that anyone who wants to leave is free to do so,” said Su Yi. “If anyone wants to stay, I’ll help them remove the full extent of the curse’s effects on the precondition that they submit to my authority.”

The Lost had regained awareness, but they’d yet to fully recover. By submitting, they could receive further aid. If they decided not to submit, they could simply leave. Su Yi had no intention of making things difficult for the Lost. Everything was up to them.

“Alright, leave it to me,” Xu Fushi said with a smile.

Su Yi nodded, then turned to leave.

Ye Chunqiu was standing on a pile of rubble. When he saw Su Yi arrive, he said, “Ol’ Wang, what do you plan to do with the four Dao Protector Ghost Gods?”

Four Ghost Gods stood nearby.

A stick-thin man in blood-red armor, with a head of long, badly tangled hair.

A monk whose hollowed-out sockets wept tears of blood.

A powerfully built bald man.

And a delicate young woman.

Ghost God Sky Piercer, Ghost God Treasure Tree, Ghost God Northern Desert, and Ghost Goddess Spirit Jade.

Luo Xuanji had had nine Dao Protector Ghost Gods under her command. Su Yi had killed five of them: Chong Ming, Golden Ape, Blood Toad, Sky Owl, and one whose name he didn’t know. As for the other four, he had sealed them.

Unlike the Lost, all of them retained their awareness, and they could control the power of the Curse of the Ancient Gods. Although they were only as strong as Lesser Gods, they could display power far beyond that level within the City of the Lost.

Su Yi thought for a moment, then swept his gaze across the four sealed gods. “I’ll give you two choices. Submit, or I’ll feed you to the monkey.”

He took the little monkey out of the Divine Replenishment Furnace.

The monkey chittered excitedly at the sight of the four Dao Protector Ghost Gods. Its golden eyes lit up, and it drooled like a starving wolf eyeing a fatty lamb.

“I submit!” said the stick-thin man in blood-red armor, Ghost God Sky Piercer. He was the first to agree.

“When Grandmother recruited us, she gave us gifts and promises that we could one day leave the City of the Lost. How could a single sentence from you be enough to convince us to fight for you? Aren’t you looking down on us a bit too much?” said Ghost God Northern Desert. He was tall and ferocious-looking.

Su Yi thought for a moment. “Submit, and I’ll help you neutralize the power of the Curse of the Ancient Gods. Moreover, before I leave the River of Epochs, I’ll return to grant you your freedom.”

Ghost God Northern Desert was stunned; he’d been prepared for the worst. He hadn’t expected that Su Yi would be so easy to talk to.

“In that case, I agree to serve you!” Ghost God Northern Desert said solemnly.

“Me too,” said Ghost Goddess Spirit Jade, the only woman among the four. She was a delicate-looking beauty, but deep down inside, she was ruthless as could be.

“And what about you?” Su Yi looked at the last of the Ghost Gods, Treasure Tree, the monk with the bleeding eyes. He’d been silent this entire time.

The stick-thin monk was the strongest of the four surviving Dao Protector Ghost Gods.

Ghost God Treasure Tree said calmly, “I have but a single request. Grant it, and I swear to serve you to the death.”

“Ask.”

“When you return to the God Domain, please take me with you.”

Su Yi was stunned, and he gazed intently at Ghost God Treasure Tree. “You’re a Buddhist. Are you perhaps connected to the Dipankara Buddha?”

After a moment’s silence, Ghost God Treasure Tree said, “I am a cast-off disciple of the Western Paradise Spirit Mountain. The Dipankara Buddha said I departed from orthodoxy and my Buddhist heart was invaded by demons. He proclaimed me a heretic among Buddhists, more detestable than demons and evildoers.”

His Buddhist heart was invaded by demons!

Su Yi thought for a moment, then agreed. He didn’t care what Ghost God Treasure Tree wanted to do in the God Domain. It was enough to confirm that he wasn’t one of the Dipankara Buddha’s allies.

The monkey clutched its head in distress; it found the Ghost Gods’ submission an awful pity. Who wouldn’t have been dejected when a cooked duck got up and flew away?

“Relax. I’ll be sure to let you eat your fill in the days to come,” Su Yi said to comfort it.

“Wang Ye, I’ve made my decision!” Xiao Ruyi strode over from afar. “I’m going to contemplate and cultivate the power of the Curse of the Ancient Gods and become a Ghost God, just like Ye Chunqiu. I’ll use my soul body to prove my Dao!”

Her bright, beautiful eyes were full of anticipation and determination.

“Have you really thought this through?” asked Su Yi.

Earlier, he and Xiao Ruyi talked it over and concluded that the Curse of the Ancient Gods was actually an extremely ancient and mysterious Epoch Law.

The Cursed Divine Seal contained the source power of this unusual Epoch Law.

Over the years, “Grandmother” Luo Xuanji had used this treasure to borrow the power of the City of the Lost and become its ruler.

Ye Chunqiu had broken through and become a Ghost God thanks to this treasure as well.

And Su Yi estimated that, if he compared the Curse of the Ancient Gods to other chances at divinity, it would be far beyond the typical six levels of Epoch Fragments. It was definitely of the supreme level!

“Of course,” Xiao Ruyi said without hesitation. This was just her personality; once she made up her mind, she wouldn’t change it.

“Very well.” Su Yi nodded.

Over the past few days, he’d gained a rough understanding of how to use the Cursed Divine Seal, and he finally understood how Luo Xuanji had managed to reign over so many Ghost Gods.

It was actually quite simple. In a sense, the entire City of the Lost was actually a manifestation of the Cursed Divine Seal! The seal was the city’s source, a treasure of the Laws of Heaven’s Will.

Luo Xuanji had had the power to reign over the City of the Lost because she’d possessed this treasure.

However, despite Luo Xuanji’s abilities, she hadn’t been able to fully refine this treasure. Otherwise, she would not have remained trapped in the City of the Lost all this time.

In truth, although Su Yi could suppress this treasure, he required the support of the Sword of the Nine Hells. Moreover, he could only draw upon a tiny portion of its power. He couldn’t really control it.

This made it obvious how terrifying the Cursed Divine Seal was!

It was around then that Xu Fushi showed up and told Su Yi that of the three hundred and nineteen Lost, one hundred and seventy-nine had chosen to leave the city.

The remaining one hundred and forty people chose to remain behind. These former Lost included eighteen Ghost Gods.

“Don’t be disappointed. In life, the Lost were all either gods or peak Great Realm experts. Their ranks include no small number of Demigods,” Xu Fushi explained. “Now that they’ve regained their mental clarity, there’s no way they’ll agree to serve another lightly. It doesn’t matter that they’re still afflicted by the Curse of the Ancient Gods.”

Ye Chunqiu was a bit displeased. “Hmph! If Ol’ Wang hadn’t intervened, they’d still be trapped in that muddled state, longing to die yet unable to do so! Now they plan to just leave?”

Su Yi laughed. “Everyone has their own ambitions. I understand, and I never had any intention of demanding their gratitude.”

He really didn’t mind in the slightest.

Later that day, Su Yi opened the City of the Lost and let out those who’d chosen to leave. He didn’t interfere or give them any trouble whatsoever.

When those who’d chosen to stay saw this, they couldn’t help but feel moved. Su Yi’s spirit and character won them over.

Against Su Yi’s expectations, the woman in the conical hat, Li Shuang, and her father, Li Yong’an, both chose to stay behind. He quickly understood why: both father and daughter wanted to repay his benevolence.

He had no objections. It was their decision. Some people chose to leave. Naturally, others chose to stay.

The only difference was that to Su Yi, those who’d chosen to stay were now “his people.” He naturally wouldn’t mistreat them!

Su Yi then entrusted everything to his old friends, while he went off, found a quiet place, and went into seclusion.

......

Time slipped by. Soon, a whole month had passed.

When a large group of the Lost reappeared in the River of Epochs, it triggered an enormous, widespread uproar. Everyone in the river’s outposts was talking about it.

The City of the Lost was one of the River of Epoch’s eight great forbidden zones, a place not even gods dared enter.

Yet now, a group of the Lost had broken free and returned alive. Who wouldn’t have been shocked?

This development even drew the attention of the Nine Great Heavenly Gods of the Kingdom of Lasting Light.

At the same time, word that Su Yi was hidden in the City of the Lost spread. Soon, the whole River of Epochs was watching the City of the Lost.

No small number of people set off for the city. Some wanted to get to the bottom of the situation and see just how the city had changed for themselves.

Still others were after Su Yi!

Dark currents surged beneath the surface, but Su Yi didn’t know anything about any of this. He was deep in seclusion, and he’d forgotten himself completely.

Another two weeks passed in a flash.

The meditating Su Yi suddenly opened his eyes. His vital energy was initially rumbling and booming like thunder, but now, it gradually calmed down.

He’d finally reached the pinnacle of the Great Profound Stage!

His Great Realm cultivation base had been tempered to perfection. He wasn’t just far beyond Wang Ye at his peak. He’d far surpassed Li Fuyou’s strength at the same level, too!

Su Yi was neither joyful nor sorrowful about this.

It had been almost half a year since he’d left the Immortal Realm. He’d overcome numerous storms and much bloodshed as he traversed the River of Epochs, and he’d fought a fierce battle in the City of the Lost.

Now that he’d gone into seclusion to stabilize his accumulations, it was only natural that he’d reach the pinnacle of perfection within his current level of cultivation.

This wasn’t at all unexpected. It all happened smoothly and naturally.

It’s time I fused with my fifth incarnation’s Dao Imprint,

thought Su Yi.

He closed his eyes once more, and within his sea of consciousness, his soul avatar silently arrived before the Sword of the Nine Hells.

When he inserted a thread of his awareness into the fifth divine chain...

Boom!

The Sword of the Nine Hells shook, and his sea of consciousness churned.

The fifth divine chain fell apart, inch by inch.