However, he could not believe that he had succeeded just like that. The Yan Huang Golden Bead suddenly had an output of tremendous strength, bursting in one direction. Wu Yu did not have the Floating Dreams Pagoda with him, so he could only hold on grimly. The Yan Huang Golden Bead’s incredible strength dragged him along!

All of this happened in a flash.

Wu Yu sensed fear from the Yan Huang Golden Bead. Like a frightened, little creature, it was frantically struggling to escape.

As for the Spirits of the Universe, they were staring furiously at Wu Yu, but did nothing.

"It’s the Yan Huang Golden Bead!" someone exclaimed.

None of them were youngsters, but at this time, some lost their composure, their voices even breaking.

Perhaps in this world, there was nothing more infuriating and agonizing than seeing someone snatch the Yan Huang Golden Bead before their eyes.

Especially the three princes and princesses. Seeing that the Yan Huang Golden Bead was not in the hands of another prince, but a Kingmaker, made them even more angry.

To die or to be immortal?

They would naturally give their all in order to become immortal.

In the end, Wu Yu was still the only one in the entire Ancient Soul Tower who had touched the Yan Huang Golden Bead so far.

In this instant, no one could respond quickly enough, Wu Yu himself included. He could only hold on to the Yan Huang Golden Bead for dear life. If this were the previous seven levels, he could have used the second tier of the Somersault Cloud to transport himself far, far away. But the eighth level was very small. All around him were other experts and Spirits of the Universe.

In the next instant, he realized that the Yan Huang Golden Bead was taking him to the soulstone! Wu Yu finally felt the uniqueness of the soulstone. The Yan Huang Golden Bead seemed to treat the soulstone as its lifesaver. It rushed over, and Wu Yu, not even half a chi tall, was dragged along. Both person and bead crashed against the soulstone.

He was originally already near the soulstone. By the time people realized that Wu Yu had caught the Yan Huang Golden Bead, it was over. Surprisingly, the Yan Huang Golden Bead collided with the soulstone, creating a golden and black vortex of perhaps just two inches. The Yan Huang Golden Bead was sucked in, but because Wu Yu’s body was also very small, he was dragged in as well!

The vortex vanished, the soulstone returning to its original state. In the next moment, the golden beads clattered noisily on the floor, bouncing everywhere. Both light and lightning had vanished. They were just ordinary, golden balls now. Before, they had been sleeping. Now they did not even have eyes, noses, or mouths.

The entire Ancient Soul Tower was plunged into silence.

Everyone was safe now. They all sighed and looked at each other. Everyone saw denial, dejection, despair, and anger on each others’ faces.

"No! I cannot accept this! This must be shady business! Wu Yu and that Prince Le could never have made it! The Ancient Emperor arranged everything and sent him here directly. While we were fighting, he sent the Yan Huang Golden Bead directly into his hands! This was a farce from the beginning. We were played like fools, mere stepping stones for Prince Le and Wu Yu, and their ascension to Yan Huang emperor! It was all a setup!"

The long-festering suspicions finally burst forth. It was Prince Diablo who had spoken. The tendons in his body were popping out now, and he looked about furiously, his grey-white hair and wild eyes darting about.

This was the Ancient Emperor’s Ancient Soul Tower, but still he felt that the extreme injustice was unbearable, hence the outburst.

"Who would think that a junior of not even 100 years of age would come in and increase his power to this extent? First the Ancient Emperor’s dao musings and then transformation after transformation. Now he’s actually taken the Yan Huang Golden Bead. Haha, it’s really a joke, and we are the fools. We already knew that this was planned. Why did we try so hard?" The Sky Demon Nation’s young emperor was going a bit crazy as well. He had had the same suspicion much earlier. Each time he saw Wu Yu, he thought the same. And now his suspicions had finally paid out.

"The ones who were deceived are not just us. It includes the tens of thousands outside who played along to their tune. Preposterous. Completely preposterous. After all, who would have thought that this whole thing was a predetermined game?" Huang Guzi of the Yellow Springs Nine Realms laughed as well, his face stiff.

Even the Central Golden Shine Empire’s prince, Xuan Jinzi, had a dark expression on his face. "If anyone present here took it, I would admit defeat. But to lose like that, it’s too much...." After all, he was a martial cultivator, and did not dare to accuse the Ancient Emperor of shady business too directly. But he felt ill-used.

"All I can say is, it’s a little obvious." Lan Qi Liu Meng shook his head and laughed bitterly.

Everyone said roughly the same thing. They all had the same thought: Wu Yu’s success was a part of the Ancient Emperor’s plan. All of his strengthening had been planned. He had been sent up here to the eighth level by the Ancient Emperor.

"What are you three feeling? Bitterness? Disappointment? If it were me, I would be going insane. Sons and daughters, but treated differently." The Burning Sea Region’s Yin-Yang Fish looked at Prince Yu and the others.

"Just shut up." Princess Xi closed her eyes and took deep breaths. A tear brimmed at the corner of her eye. She probably could not accept it either, and even felt a little humiliated.

After all, it was not fair.

"Don’t. I think he’s right. We’re quite pitiful. Keke...." Prince Xiao laughed self-mockingly.

Prince Yu’s face was ugly to behold. He sat on the floor, littered with golden beads. He picked one up and crushed it to dust.

Silence ensued.

Suddenly, Xue Qingyin from the Snow God’s Domain said, "Hey, he’s been gone for a while, but we’re not out of the Ancient Soul Tower yet. Does this mean that he hasn’t truly obtained it?"

"Don’t think too much. They’re probably just dragging it out. Same old, same old."

"Then will it be Wu Yu or Prince Le?"

"Nonsense. Prince Le, obviously. Wu Yu is just a lackey." Prince Diablo laughed coldly.

Xue Qingyin said, "Why would the Ancient Emperor make a lackey this strong? Can’t he just have made Prince Le do it? After all, Wu Yu is an outsider to Yan Huang."

Actually, all of them were wondering the same thing, but no one had an answer. Silence fell anew.

......................

Windy Fiery Skies Platform.

"Why have all the Spirits of the Universe stopped moving? What are they talking about?" the Kunwu Demon Lord asked the Black and Gold Termite Queen beside him.

"No idea. Weren’t they fighting like mad a while back? It suddenly stopped, but I have no idea what happened inside. Perhaps the attack suddenly stopped."

"They don’t look happy. If the chaos has subsided, shouldn’t they be happy?"

"No idea either."

"What about Wu Yu?"

"He was using his shrinking mystique, which made him hard to spot."

The Kunwu Demon Lord asked again, "Does the Phoenix Supreme know what they’re speaking about?"

The mirror of the eighth level of the Ancient Soul Tower had suddenly turned blurry, and they could not be clearly seen. It was a common phenomenon.

The Phoenix Supreme brooded. She looked at the dark ninth mirror, saying, "I don’t know either. The Ancient Emperor’s thinking is enigmatic, and we mortals cannot perceive it."

Hearing the Phoenix Supreme say this, they had no more questions. Of course, a similar conversation was being had amongst others.

"Wu Yu is already at the eighth level. Could he really...."

"Seems highly likely. Honestly, he’s come this far. I thought that the setup was a little too obvious. The Yan Huang Golden Bead is controlled by the Ancient Emperor; he can give it to whoever he wants to."

"Don’t say that. Although we’re speaking in mystic code, the Ancient Emperor is omnipotent...."

"I heard others say it as well...."

It seemed more and more meaningless. Everyone was fed up with it. They had initially trusted the Ancient Emperor’s impartiality. But Wu Yu continued to rise inside, and Prince Le seemed to be on track to having the throne served up on a silver platter. They could not help but think....

"If Wu Yu gets the Yan Huang Golden Bead in the end, and Prince Le becomes the new Yan Huang emperor, I won’t believe that this was a fair fight, no matter how many twists and turns there were. We came here to participate in the 10,000 Kingdoms Pilgrimage. We have the right to suspect."

"Actually, me too. As long as it’s them, I won’t believe it. All I can say is that it was a setup. I just don’t understand - why Prince Le? All these years, the senior princes must have done countless times what Prince Le has contributed. Those princes are really pitiful."

"Alright, enough."

The scene continued to play out, but even on the Windy Fiery Skies Platform, discussions were dying down.

"No choice, haha...."

The laughter was very forced.

.............

Inside the Black Phoenix’s body.

"What’s the situation?" Prince Le’s face was pale.

Wu Yu’s Heaven Devouring Avatar said, "My real body is in a coma. I have no sense of its surroundings, as though it were severed from me. It seems to be in a strange place...."

Wu Yu was even more worried than Prince Le. Prince Le was worried about the Yan Huang Golden Bead, but Wu Yu was worried about his own body. He had never encountered such a situation before. After all, falling unconscious was rare after he began cultivating. Of course, he knew that his real body was not injured for now, but was in a deep sleep. If not for the Heaven Devouring Avatar, he would not even know what had happened to him.

"Seems dangerous," the Full Moon of Nanshan said.

"Should we go to the Ancient Demon Realm right now?" This was his thinking based on his wariness of the Ancient Emperor.

Wu Yu said, "Now might not be the time yet. It seems like there is no problem for now. Don’t worry, the Ancient Demon Realm is prepared already."

The Ancient Emperor was enigmatic, and Wu Yu found him difficult to read. The Ancient Demon Realm was his final escape plan.