Chapter 846: Turbulent Seas Reveal the True Colors of a Hero
Management Committee President Xiao Yunhe stared at Su Lingyou before him but made no move to attack.
After all, even if something went wrong with the Former Days Graveyard now, the primary responsibility would fall on Zhang Yu and Su Lengyou.
As a fellow Tribulation Transcendence Realm cultivator, if he fought Su Lengyou, the battle could shatter heaven and earth, directly causing even greater losses.
Moreover, in Xiao Yunhe’s view, using his own assets and power to fight for the safety of the Minor Realm and the lives of its common people was a foolish misplacement of priorities.
“I’m worth far more than those lower beasts.”
But Xiao Yunhe wasn’t out of options. Spirit Realm information flickered before his eyes as he sent a request for aid to the Righteous Gods present.
“Righteous Gods of the Heavenly Court, please stop Zhang Yu immediately to prevent the Heaven Collapse from worsening and plunging the Minor Realm into a future of devastation.”
However, the Righteous Gods’ reply a moment later filled Xiao Yunhe with disappointment.
“Vice President Zhang is currently exercising his authority legally and in accordance with regulations. Repairing the spatial structure is his duty, and we have no right to interfere.”
“As for your internal disputes, resolve them yourselves.”
Reading this, Xiao Yunhe cursed inwardly, “A bunch of Teflon-coated bastards, utterly devoid of responsibility! What a disgrace to the title of Righteous God!”
Just then, under the surging pull of the Earthly Fiend Gravity, the rift in the sky began to contract slightly, even showing signs of mending.
Watching this, Vice President Xie Lanyin’s brow tightened. “If he actually repairs it, then all my preparations, my loans, my investments… won’t they all be for nothing?”
As the rift continued to close, killing intent rose in Xie Lanyin’s heart. “Chaos! My perfect market rescue plan has been completely ruined by this lower beast!”
For Xie Lanyin, whether Zhang Yu succeeded in the repairs or triggered a second Heaven Collapse that accelerated the Minor Realm’s destruction, she would lose money either way, it was just a matter of how much.
What truly frightened her, however, was the connection between this Heaven Collapse, Lu Hengzhang, and herself.
If the Heaven Collapse was stopped and the Minor Realm didn’t collapse, who knew how much evidence would be left behind? What if the investigation led to Lu Hengzhang, and then to her…? What then?
Xie Lanyin wanted to intervene, but Su Lingyou stood before her like an insurmountable mountain, pinning her in place.
The gap in their cultivation realms was already vast. Furthermore, Su Lengyou had arrived in her physical body, unlike them, who had only dispatched their Primordial Spirits. The power she could unleash was therefore even more terrifying.
Xie Lanyin couldn’t help but turn to Xiao Yunhe. “President! Do something!”
Seeing Xiao Yunhe remain motionless, a flicker of understanding crossed Xie Lanyin’s mind, followed by a surge of furious cursing. “You won’t lift a finger to repair the Spatial Rift, nor will you get involved in our “Die and Retreat” plan. You dump everything on your subordinates, yet you’re the loudest when it’s time to count the profits. At the critical moment, you show zero responsibility. This beastly superior is a disgrace to the title of Management Committee President!”
While Su Lingyou and the others were locked in a standoff, a figure suddenly shot into the sky from the queue at the Former Days Graveyard teleportation station, flying toward Zhang Yu’s position. It was Bai Zhenzhen.
“You guys go on ahead. I’m going to help Yu Zi.”
Leaving a message for Wen Wuya and Magnetic Pole, Bai Zhenzhen accelerated and vanished over the horizon.
At the same time, a message appeared before Bai Zhenzhen. It was from her direct superior, Vice President Xie Xue, who oversaw the Safety Supervision Bureau.
Although he shared the surname Xie with Xie Lanyin, he was not from the White Bone Cult but from the Netherworld Palace. He wielded the Law Edict governing intentional harm and had once cornered Zhang Yu in the labyrinth. He was also one of the Vice Presidents who had supported the “Die and Retreat” plan.
Xie Xue: “Bai Zhenzhen, what are you doing?! Get back here immediately!”
Seeing that Bai Zhenzhen ignored him, Xie Xue sent another message, but still received no reply.
As her superior, the fact that his subordinate wasn’t responding didn’t initially anger him; it struck him as utterly unbelievable.
“Rebellion! This is outright rebellion! These dogs who crawled up from the Lower Realm…”
Meanwhile, Bai Zhenzhen, having completely ignored Xie Xue, sent a message to Zhang Yu: “How can I help?”
Zhang Yu couldn’t help but smile wryly when he saw her message.
He hadn’t wanted to involve Bai Zhenzhen, but he knew he couldn’t stop her, just as she couldn’t stop him from mending the heavens for the Former Days Graveyard this time.
Zhang Yu chose to respect Bai Zhenzhen’s decision.
Without further words or explanations, he replied directly: “Stabilize the airborne matter. The more, the better.”
Bai Zhenzhen’s sword qi surged within her, transforming into countless threads that swarmed outward, shooting toward the surrounding buildings.
These structures, already lightened by Zhang Yu borrowing a portion of their Earthly Fiend Gravity, swayed precariously in the fierce winds, as if they might soar into the sky and disintegrate at any moment.
But as Bai Zhenzhen’s sword qi spread, the nearby buildings were immediately anchored in place.
Through his Kunlun Eye, Zhang Yu saw the stabilized area. He immediately circulated his cultivation art, intensifying the extraction of Earthly Fiend Gravity from that region.
As a result, an even more torrential surge of Earthly Fiend Gravity gathered in his palm, pulling with greater force at the Spatial Rift before him.
With the aid of his Kunlun Eye and Calculation Pool, Zhang Yu’s output became even more precise.
The nine cultivation arts of Inverted Kunlun synergized, allowing his Earthly Fiend Gravity to manipulate the Material World as smoothly as arranging a sand table.
Meanwhile, the Inverted Kunlun Chain Formation Diagram was continuously exerting its own effects.
The first stage enhanced the destructive and transformative power of the Seven Absolutes of Civil Engineering on the environment. Combined with the mutual reinforcement of the nine cultivation arts, including the Kunlun-Uprooting Heaven-Overturning Mystic Power, it created a stacking, amplifying effect.
The second stage allowed the gravitational fluctuations Zhang Yu induced to be sustained for extended periods, with the duration increasing as more magic power was invested.
In addition, Zhang Yu’s 32 clones were simultaneously circulating their cultivation arts and in addition wearing the Supreme Yang Radiance Gods to suppress the surrounding areas and provide even more Earthly Fiend Gravity.
All these factors gave Zhang Yu a chance to mend the Spatial Rift.
At the same time, just as Bai Zhenzhen made her move, Magnetic Pole and Old Gao soared into the sky and rushed over.
Old Gao analyzed the situation: “Zhang Yu is combining the Kunlun-Uprooting Heaven-Overturning Mystic Power with the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power to borrow Earthly Fiend Gravity from across the Former Days Graveyard. He’s then using Kunlun in the Palm to interfere with Space and ultimately mend the Spatial Rift…”
Magnetic Pole sighed. “That reckless fool! Has he even considered the damage he’s causing? Even if he saves the Former Days Graveyard, he’ll have to pay for everything afterward. At that point, even if he only destroys a few streets, selling the two of us wouldn’t be enough to cover the costs.”
Listening to Old Gao’s analysis, Magnetic Pole grew impatient. “What’s the point of analyzing? The cultivation art he recently mastered… do you know it? Just tell us how we can help him.”
Old Gao gave a wry smile. He didn’t understand the combined effects of the Inverted Kunlun cultivation arts, nor the workings of the Chain Formation Diagram, and certainly not the underlying principles.
However, his years of cultivation experience gave him a far deeper understanding of Earthly Fiend Gravity than his peers.
He explained, “I don’t know the specific principles or how he’s using these cultivation arts to achieve this, but the way to help him is simple.”
“Stabilize all matter within the Former Days Graveyard.”
“Buildings, equipment, everything. If we stabilize them, Zhang Yu can borrow Earthly Fiend Gravity more recklessly…”
Even as he spoke, Old Gao had already taken action. Fully channeling the Heavenly Kunlun Mountain-Moving Divine Power, streams of Earthly Fiend Gravity erupted from his body, forcibly stabilizing the surrounding buildings and streets that had become chaotic due to the weightlessness.
On the other side, Magnetic Pole also acted. She opened her mouth and spat out seven Supreme Yang Radiance Gods, which roared forth and transformed into nets of fire, spreading across the weightless zone.
These seven Supreme Yang Radiance Gods were modifications of her original Heavenly Sun Radiance Gods, created while she and Zhang Yu were revising the Heavenly Sun Radiance God and its production line.
As Magnetic Pole and Old Gao unleashed their powers, the weight of the Former Days Graveyard in Zhang Yu’s hands grew even heavier.
Meanwhile, Yu Xinghan, Ye Xingli, Feng Tingting, Shi Huaiyu, Yan Qianji, Wen Wuya, and Divine Monarch Nether Spring also joined in.
Yu Xinghan: “Subordinates shouldn’t leave before their leader.”
Ye Xingli: “Junior Brother, we’re here to help!”
Shi Huaiyu: “Hahahaha! Going all-in is also a form of wisdom!”
Feng Tingting thought, “Senior, without you… if we stayed in the sect, we’d just be treated as consumables. Only by following you can we, the outsourced cultivators, be treated like actual people.”
Feeling the ever-increasing weight in his palm, Zhang Yu sighed inwardly. “These guys… Didn’t I tell them to leave first?”
His companions’ support not only added to the weight in his hands but also burdened him with a heavier sense of responsibility.
Zhang Yu understood that with his companions staying and fighting alongside him, he absolutely could not let the Former Days Graveyard collapse.
Just then, Zhang Yu was surprised to see someone else rushing into the Former Days Graveyard to help him stabilize everything.
“Tu Mu?”
As the Director of the Construction Bureau, Tu Mu had already evacuated but had been closely monitoring the situation in the Former Days Graveyard.
When he saw Zhang Yu suddenly take action, it was as if a thunderclap had echoed in his mind.
“The leader is charging in first again?”
In that moment, Tu Mu’s mind flashed back to the past few days, to the countless times Zhang Yu had charged to the front lines, leading the fight against the Void Refinement Corpse Components.
“My leader… every time he charges to the front, he reaps immense rewards. His precise foresight and decisive actions are unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed.”
But what impressed Tu Mu even more was that throughout all the battles, large and small, while following Zhang Yu, not a single Spirit Transformation cultivator was ever injured.
Among the lower-level cultivators, Zhang Yu had even earned the nickname “The Unscathed Body” — not because he himself never got hurt, but because working under him meant you wouldn’t suffer any work-related injuries.
Whenever Tu Mu thought of this, he couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. “My leader… his background must have a deep-seated grudge against medical Dao Lineages. Not only does he refuse any treatment at clinics, even jumping off his deathbed to avoid it, but he also protects his subordinates so fiercely that none of them get hurt.”
As Bai Zhenzhen, Magnetic Pole, and others joined the effort, Tu Mu’s confidence soared when he saw the spatial rifts clearly beginning to shrink and mend.
“Looks like it’s really going to work?!”
“That makes sense. Otherwise, why would my leader let all his trusted subordinates join in?”
“And he didn’t even call us before starting. Does that mean he thinks he can handle it alone? Doesn’t want to share the credit with us?”
His thoughts raced. Without much hesitation, Tu Mu charged back into the Former Days Graveyard.
“Vice President Zhang, I’m here to help you mend the sky-rift!”
Following Tu Mu’s lead, the other Spirit Transformation Cultivators under Zhang Yu’s command arrived one by one. Mimicking Bai Zhenzhen and Magnetic Pole, they began stabilizing the matter within the Former Days Graveyard, allowing Zhang Yu to borrow even more weight.
The actions of these Spirit Transformation Cultivators immediately spurred their subordinate Sect Staff to join in. The Sect Staff, in turn, mobilized the Outsourced Cultivators under their command.
As Zhang Yu’s entire faction took action and the spatial rifts in the sky continued to shrink, more cultivators from other departments were inspired to lend their aid.
It was as if countless small streams were converging into a surging tsunami, unleashing a world-shaking force that made Xie Lanyin, watching from the sidelines, burn with anxiety.
“They’ve rebelled! They’ve all rebelled!”
Xie Lanyin hurriedly issued a notice: “All of you, stop immediately!”
Her projection appeared before countless cultivators, and she roared, “Everyone, cease all actions immediately! Return to your original positions and do not interfere with the rescue plan.”
“Everything you’re doing now will only accelerate the Heaven Collapse! You’re sealing your own doom!”
Seeing that most of them didn’t stop, Xie Lanyin raged, “Don’t you even want a clean death anymore?”
She quickly sent a message to Xiao Yunhe, hoping the President would issue an order to stop everyone.
But Xiao Yunhe didn’t respond. He knew that after being deceived so many times in one day, the lower-level cultivators wouldn’t be easily fooled again anytime soon.
Besides…
“If Zhang Yu truly manages to save the Former Days Graveyard, it will still be credited to my brilliant command.”
“After all, the achievements of lower cultivators are due to the wise guidance of their superiors, while their failures are their own fault. Whether Zhang Yu succeeds or fails, I won’t lose.”
Moreover, unlike Xie Lanyin, Xiao Yunhe hadn’t gone all-in on the “Die and Retreat” plan. Regardless of the outcome, he wouldn’t suffer significant financial losses.
On the other side, Zhang Yu also watched the unfolding scenes, a flicker of astonishment crossing his mind as he felt the weight on his shoulders grow heavier.
This time, he truly hadn’t intended to call for reinforcements, planning to risk it alone to resolve the matter.
After all, in terms of public opinion, he couldn’t compete with Xiao Yunhe and Xie Lanyin. If he had issued orders or called for support beforehand, he would have certainly been stopped, or even dragged into flame wars and public controversy.
But now, as Zhang Yu discovered…
Desolate Ox said, “Even without giving orders or calling for reinforcements, people have already started following you on their own initiative. Your influence is growing stronger and stronger.”
Immortal Slayer added, “This is the power of action. Our consistent actions have now spoken louder than a thousand words from Xiao Yunhe and Xie Lanyin!”
Zhang Yu took a deep breath. “Then I absolutely cannot afford to lose!”
With a deafening roar, the spatial rift — which had torn across the sky like a scar, threatening to rip the entire Former Days Graveyard apart — had already receded by nearly half after continuous mending.
Watching this, the countless cultivators who had remained in the Former Days Graveyard erupted in joyous cheers, flooding the Spirit Realm with messages:
“It worked! We’re alive! No more queuing up to become soul cultivators!”
“Vice President Zhang turned the tide!”
“Magnificent! The Immortal Legacy! Magnificent! The Heir of the Immortal!”
“A world-saving achievement! I say Vice President Zhang should be the Management Committee President!”
Feng Tingting: “I also support Divine Monarch Zhang for President!”
But just as the spatial rift continued to shrink, receding to a third of its original size, more rifts suddenly erupted in other parts of the sky.
A second… a third…
The crowd watched in shock as these spatial rifts tore open, unleashing destructive torrents of spatial turbulence that ravaged everything in their path.
Lu Hengzhang observed it all with cold detachment, thinking to himself, “Hmph, this Heaven Collapse was calculated by a supreme-level High-Intelligence Artifact Spirit using the spatial model of the Former Days Graveyard…”
In Lu Hengzhang’s view, if the entire Former Days Graveyard were a water pipe, it was already riddled with countless weak points.
Forcibly plugging one leak would only cause pressure to surge elsewhere, inevitably creating more ruptures.
“Without the guidance of a High-Intelligence Artifact Spirit’s computation model, any rescue attempt is doomed to fail… and will trigger a second Heaven Collapse, causing the entire Former Days Graveyard to crumble even faster.”
Watching the figure in the sky, Lu Hengzhang’s lips curled into a cold sneer. “The Immortal Legacy… truly impressive. I never would have imagined… that you lowly beast could repair the spatial rift to this extent.”
“But ultimately, you’ve only made things worse, sealing your own doom.”
As more spatial rifts appeared, the powerful cultivators all sensed that the second Heaven Collapse was imminent.
Xiao Yunhe sighed. “With the second Heaven Collapse, the entire Former Days Graveyard will crumble even faster. The original rescue plan of ‘dying to clear the debt’ is now too late.”
He turned to Su Lingyou and said, “Su Lingyou, I will report this matter. Zhang Yu alone cannot bear the responsibility for this catastrophic loss in the Former Days Graveyard. Don’t think you can escape blame either.”
Meanwhile, as the second Heaven Collapse began, despair washed over the faces of countless cultivators.
“It’s over! We’re finished! We can’t survive, and we can’t even die to become Soul Cultivators! It’s completely over!”
“That useless Zhang Yu! Does he even know how to mend the heavens? If he doesn’t know what he’s doing, why did he even try?!”
“I told you all we should have listened to the Management Committee! You wouldn’t listen! Now everything is ruined! Are you satisfied now?!”
On the other side, Zhang Yu gazed at the sky filled with rifts, yet he remained calm and unhurried as he activated his Grotto-Heaven Manifestation.
In his view, since the largest spatial rift had been sealed, the smaller cracks could be repaired using a different method.
Boom! Earthly Fiend Gravity erupted at full force, halting the expansion of the rifts before him.
At the same time, Zhang Yu pointed a finger, and a Void Refinement Corpse Component transformed into a Living Stake. Wrapped in a Grotto-Heaven Bridge, it shot toward a spatial rift like a steel needle.
The Void Refinement Corpse Component, having undergone Living Stake Transformation, was imbued with unparalleled strength.
Meanwhile, the Grotto-Heaven Bridge that carried it channeled the power of the Immortal Grotto-Heaven.
In that moment, Zhang Yu first pinned the rift with Earthly Fiend Gravity. Then, using the Void Refinement Corpse Component and the Grotto-Heaven Bridge as a needle and thread, and the Immortal Grotto-Heaven as a piece of cloth, he began forcibly stitching the spatial rifts shut.
Watching the Void Refinement Corpse Components being thrown out one after another, Fu Ji lamented, “Oh, the misery! All those hard-earned Void Refinement Corpse Components… you’re just using them up one by one to save people for free!”
“Zhang Yu, you prodigal son! You inherited Ying Xintian’s legacy, but did you have to learn his spendthrift ways too?!”
As the Void Refinement Corpse Components were consumed, the spatial rifts in the sky grew fewer and fewer.
However, the spatial turbulence erupting from the remaining rifts grew increasingly terrifying. Each one now required Zhang Yu to expend more Void Refinement Corpse Components, supplemented by an even greater number of Spirit Transformation Corpse Components.
When only the final spatial rift remained, the spatial turbulence it unleashed was so intense that even Zhang Yu found it difficult to approach.
He once again drove down Void Refinement Corpse Components and Grotto-Heaven Bridges, only to watch them shatter explosively, unable to withstand the spatial turbulence for more than a few seconds.
Zhang Yu’s gaze instantly hardened. He realized that the second Heaven Collapse had triggered even more violent spatial turbulence, which had now converged on this last rift, unleashing unprecedented destructive power.
He hastily drove down the remaining Void Refinement Corpse Components, but watched them disintegrate one by one.
Meanwhile, seeing the final rift stubbornly resist repair and instead begin to expand further, the assembled cultivators plunged back into panic.
“The Heaven Collapse is accelerating! It’s getting fiercer! Hurry up and seal it!”
“What’s he doing? Why has he stopped?”
“It’s the second Heaven Collapse… It can’t be stopped.”
Tu Mu’s heart trembled. “Are we going to fail? Can the Former Days Graveyard really not be saved…? And now we’ve triggered an even worse second Heaven Collapse. Vice President Zhang is finished, and so are we…”
Xiao Yunhe’s divine light flared as he faced Su Lingyou, who still blocked his path. He said coolly, “Peak Master Su, are you still not going to move? We need to save people in the time we have left. The Former Days Graveyard is about to collapse completely. We can only save as many as we can.”
Su Lingyou watched Zhang Yu’s repeated attempts to repair the rift, yet he remained unable to stop the second Heaven Collapse. A flicker of worry rose in her heart. “Is it still not working?”
Elsewhere, Xie Lanyin breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, he didn’t manage to save it.”
But then she remembered that in the time remaining, most of the people left in the Former Days Graveyard wouldn’t have time to convert to Soul Cultivators. Her plan to acquire Soul Cultivators by having them die and retreat had been completely disrupted, and her profits had taken a massive hit. Xie Lanyin seethed with resentment.
“Keep pushing the price down! For everyone who just helped Zhang Yu, drop their price to the absolute minimum!”
Meanwhile, seeing that most of the Void Refinement Corpse Components had been destroyed, Fu Ji shouted in Zhang Yu’s mind, “Zhang Yu! It’s time to stop!”
“The second Heaven Collapse can’t be repaired anymore.”
But seeing Zhang Yu standing his ground without retreating an inch, Fu Ji’s heart lurched with a terrible premonition.
“What are you planning? Don’t tell me you’re thinking of using the Immortal Grotto-Heaven to plug it? Or your own physical body? Have you gone mad?”
“What if the Immortal Grotto-Heaven is damaged? What if your physical body is destroyed?”
Fu Ji cried out, “You can’t take any more risks!”
At that moment, Zhang Yu’s mind was flooded with overwhelming hesitation and conflict.
Faced with the risk of immense loss, he found himself deeply indecisive.
“Brother Dao…” Zhang Yu thought of Ying Xintian. Only now, when he truly faced the possibility of sacrificing immense benefits, did he truly admire Ying Xintian for giving away all his assets.
Desolate Ox said coolly, “When a person has only a hundred Immortal Coins, betting everything is easy. But when they have tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions, betting everything becomes incredibly difficult.”
Immortal Slayer declared, “True heroes are forged in turbulent seas, Zhang Yu! Act now!”
The Sect Examination Clone shouted, “The time has come to serve the Myriad Laws Sect with your life!”
As these thoughts churned in Zhang Yu’s mind, a voice suddenly appeared within his consciousness — unstoppable, indefensible, its origin and destination unknown.
“Continue.”
Zhang Yu froze for a moment. No explanation or guesswork was needed; he could feel the supreme, overwhelming will behind the voice, surpassing the sum of every person and thing he had ever encountered in his life.
“What are you waiting for? Weren’t you waiting for Us?”
“Once this is done, We will grant you an unprecedented reward.”