"No rush to get there. I still need to prepare some things," Wu Yu said.

He had learned that news that he was dead or missing had been spreading throughout the divine continent. Right now, he had just reemerged, and only the City Lord and Imperial General knew of his return.

"Perhaps many at the Shushan Immortal Sect were extremely overjoyed to hear that I was dead. Truly a pity. I'm not.

"I'm not just alive, I will make them all doubt their very existences!"

He had already come this far. What was there to panic about? At this moment, he was extremely calm, and yet a river of passion coursed through his calm.

"Then prepare well. Remember, you will go to settle your own affairs this time, but you are also a part of Yan Huang Imperial City. At any time, Yan Huang Imperial City will have your back! We are not like Shushan. At Yan Huang Imperial City, as long as you have the ability, and are not vile and corrupt, we will definitely support you!" the Imperial General said very seriously.

With him coming along, Wu Yu would definitely have a different status when he returned to Shushan.

"When the day comes, it will not only be me who goes with you. There are at least 10 generals in Yan Huang Imperial City who will go with you. You may settle your affairs to your heart's content, and tie up all the loose ends that you may have."

With these words from the Imperial General, Wu Yu knew his intent. Evidently, the Imperial General favored him. Especially now that he had pulled away from Murong Xu and the others. When Wu Yu returned to Shushan Immortal Sect, he could truly do as he pleased without a care.

He still wanted to ask Nangong Wei if she still had no room for negotiation on that matter back then.

"Alright. It seems like Shushan is taking it that you won't be able to show up. We'll give them a pleasant surprise. You remain at the Yan Huang Ancient Well. When the time comes, we'll just have to make them feel the disappointment." The Imperial General laughed heartily, his voice booming out like a gong.

Wu Yu would remain at the ancient city.

The City Lord did not participate in their affairs. He returned to the round platform and resumed the lotus position.

The Imperial General seemed to like Wu Yu the more he got to know him. He had heard of Wu Yu's adventures and had naturally taken a liking to Wu Yu's staunch adherence to his principles, given his character. A youth that dared to even defy the whole of Shushan.

In terms of his clones, he would have to show them sooner or later, and so Wu Yu did not hide them. Here in the middle of the ancient city, he plucked out many hairs and blew on them. The golden hairs changed into clones that were his doubles, and dispersed. In a flash, there were 1,000 Wu Yus, and they all stood neatly before him before settling down in the lotus position.

Wu Yu still had more than 30,000 Inner Sea Essence Pills, and he distributed them for his clones consume. The clones were neat and orderly, like an army.

Yan Huang Imperial City was precisely a military outfit, which was why both the Imperial General and the City Lord were very shaken to see Wu Yu's 1,000 clones. The Imperial General was singing his praises, his gaze aglow as he circled Wu Yu's clones, marveling and inspecting them. Even the City Lord was shaken. This was the first time that Wu Yu had seen his shocked expression.

"This level of mystique is incredibly rare. I hear that he obtained the legacy of the Transformative Daoist. I wonder what manner of saint this person was," the Imperial General said to the City Lord.

The City Lord said, "Life is long and eternal. The amount of fantastic martial cultivators is endless, and a majority cannot be proved. However, this skill of Wu Yu's is truly unbelievable, even in the entire Jambu Realm. With this skill, this boy's name will eventually ring throughout the divine continent with no question."

The Imperial General narrowed his eyes, asking, "Big Brother, are you intending to groom him as your successor? When you are tired, or perhaps when you can hold on no longer, you'll let him hold down Yan Huang Imperial City?"

Yan Huang City Lord said, "That remains to be seen. Who knows what the future will hold? All I can say is that both you and I have taken a liking to this Wu Yu's personality. But there is another possibility. His future is unlimited, and perhaps even the position of Yan Huang City Lord will not be something he pursues. If that is the case, I will definitely not hold him back."

Actually, they had privately discussed in depth regarding the nature of Wu Yu, Murong Xu, Jiang Zhixun, and Li Kuhai, and they were very clear about them. Of course, to them, the Trial of Huang’s top three were also good seeds.

Under their watchful eye, Wu Yu quietly let his clones continue to refine their Violet Kingdoms, making good use of his time.

All he needed was time and Inner Sea Essence Pills.

Seeing the number of Inner Sea Essence Pills dwindle, his heart ached. Luo Pin had given him 50,000 Inner Sea Essence Pills, and they had been expended in the blink of an eye. Of course, once he spent all his riches this time around, who knew when he would accrue such wealth again? To continue cultivating his body, he needed a multitude of treasures to fortify himself....

On the path of cultivation, wealth and resources would become ever more important! Throughout the divine continent, a majority of the struggles were actually over cultivation resources! Whoever held the resources held sway over the great dao! Those superpowers, like Yan Huang Imperial City, the Shushan Immortal Sect, and the Shangyuan Dao Sect, had unlimited resources!

Time flowed by.

Yan Huang Imperial City was much more desolate in this period of time.

Within the inner city, something had happened. It was said that a group of 100, called the Hundred Battles Camp, had banded together in resistance of their new centurion. They had combined together to give their centurion a beating. This had become a joke. It was said that the final resolution had been the exit of the new centurion, while the Hundred Battles Camp had chosen a Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea cultivator amongst them to be the new centurion. His name seemed to be Fang Chaoqun, and this Fang Chaoqun had changed the name of this band of 100 back to “Heaven's Equal Camp.”

Just this incident alone made many accept that Wu Yu was probably dead.

News of this incident had reached the Shushan Immortal Sect as well. As the date of Beishan Mo and Wu Yu's appointment neared, such a matter had actually occurred with just a few days left to go. Those of the Shushan Immortal Sect did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Despite all of this, people were still heading for the Mortal Arena.

A few days before the fateful day, thousands of sword cultivators had gathered at the Mortal Arena. The hills were filled with faces crowding around. The sword cultivators gathered in groups of twos and threes, discussing heatedly.

"I already said, there's no need to come, alright? Lay that hope to rest. There's been no news of Wu Yu from Yan Huang Imperial City either. He can't possibly be coming to Shushan. What are y’all on about, dragging me here? Damn it."

"Who knows? But there's always that one in a million possibility, right? It's such a spectacular event. What if Wu Yu really comes? No matter what, he's the champion of the Trial of Yan, and has some clout. He's also a traitor of Shushan, and this is the day of his judgment. If he dares to show, then the situation will be a riveting tale. I feel like we should linger here if there's even the slightest possibility."

The sword cultivators looked about, laughing relaxedly.

"Wu Yu, that brat. As a traitor of Shushan, he should be dead to rights. A disgrace to our name. But I would rather he come today. If he died at Shushan paying his debt, that would be the highest form of payback. Make him return all that he owes to Shushan. This too is the cycle of life. After all, it was Shushan who nurtured him. He cannot possibly clear himself of the debt that he owes to the grace of Shushan."

"Forget repayment. If this Wu Yu is still alive, and isn't disgracing the name of Shushan, that will be good enough. I too hope that he comes and then gets a thorough drubbing before dying horribly. Return all that he owes Shushan."

"A pity that he can't come. If you don't believe me, just wait and see. Besides, it's said that Beishan Mo and Nangong Wei have made huge improvements again. This time around, they defeated many Heaven sword rank disciples. I'm afraid that it won't be long before even the Sword Sages are not their match!"

"Those two geniuses are truly too horrifying. We of the Shushan Immortal Sect have not had this caliber of talent in quite a while now. It's said that the Seven Immortals want to groom them to reach the level of the Yan Huang City Lord and the Taixu Sage Master, or even surpass them. At that time, with them at the center, our Shushan Immortal Sect will expand on all fronts and be at the top of the world! Let's see if the Yan Huang Immortal Army or the Shangyuan Dao Sect warriors would still dare to strut in front of us!"

"Yea, especially Beishan Mo. He's the heir of the Green Depths Sword Emperor. That's too fearsome! It's said that the Green Depths Sword Emperor was but one step away from becoming an immortal. That level of existence is exponentially stronger than the Yan Huang City Lord!"

"Wu Yu's Transformative Daoist doesn't even have any reputation. A joke. Can he compete with the Green Depths Sword Emperor?"

Despite the Shushan disciples not believing that Wu Yu would show, the crowd around the Mortal Arena continued to grow. More and more people continued to congregate, until there were hundreds of thousands gathered on the day before the appointed day. Many of the Heaven sword rank disciples had occupied the best spaces in the air, and they had heard that whether Wu Yu appeared or not, Beishan Mo would await him on the Mortal Arena!

And on the promised day, there was a sea of people! As far as the eye could see, sword cultivators! It was said that besides the sword cultivators cultivating outside, basically all the sword cultivators of the Common Sword Domain and Clear Sky of Shushan were present. This time around, even more Shushan disciples had gathered than before. If not for the rumor that Wu Yu had gone missing, the turnout would have been even more ridiculous.

Although they might not be able to see Wu Yu, many felt that they could see the likes of the Mizar Sword Immortal, Beishan Mo, Nangong Wei, and other influential figures. That was worth the trip in itself!

On the day, the crowd's chatter and jeers swelled to a crescendo. Finally! The rays of the morning sun cracked the frosty mist, illuminating the icy world. The entirety of Shushan was lit up, and the endlessly high Clear Sky of Shushan towered above them all, its peak too high to be seen!

"Will Beishan Mo come?" Many looked up in anticipation.

In their hearts, this name was already a synonym for the future peak of Shushan.

Many people of Shushan could not live up to the title of sect leader. Even the Dubhe Sword Immortal felt that he was not the sect leader, but merely one of the Seven Sword Immortals.

Within the sunlight, a black-haired youth landed on top of the Shushan Immortal Domain, his long robes dancing in the wind. His sword qi swept out from above as he landed!

He bore a longsword on his back and his gaze was keen. He landed on the Mortal Arena, shaking the entire arena!

Immediately, the sword cultivators lifted the longswords in their hands, lifting millions of immortal treasures to the sky. Millions of bursts of sword qi filled the air!

"Beishan Mo!"