Elsewhere, the Emperor Realm experts on both sides had stopped fighting, as if by unspoken agreement.
They had fought for so long without being able to defeat the Great Emperors of the Su Imperial Clan, and the longer they fought, the more alarmed they became.
It was possible that their alliance, despite its advantage in cultivation, would be the side to lose in the end.
Not to mention that Liu Ruyan, the strongest among them, had already been defeated by Su Ting.
As for why the Devil Race had not attacked the Su Imperial Clan, the only explanation imperial clan patriarchs like Yuwen Shendu could think of was that perhaps the Su Clan also had a trump card.
Since the Liu Imperial Clan possessed power comparable to the Immortal Realm, it stood to reason that the Su Imperial Clan, as the second-ranked imperial clan, had a trump card as well.
It was these trump cards that made the Devil Race wary, so wary that they dared not continue attacking the Su Imperial Clan.
Unfortunately, they did not know what the Su Imperial Clan's trump card was, and the Su Imperial Clan clearly would not tell them!
"What are you doing? Hurry up and attack! Kill them! Do you want to die?"
Just then, an angry roar came from the other side.
The speaker was none other than Liu Tiandao, who had lost an arm.
Liu Tiandao, one of the Liu Imperial Clan's Great Perfection Peak Emperor Realm experts, had always been composed and elegant, but now he looked utterly unhinged.
It was bad enough that he, a Great Perfection Emperor Realm expert, had lost an arm to someone at the Minor Perfection Emperor Realm. Then, even fighting two against one, they had failed to defeat their opponent.
To him, it was an intolerable humiliation!
"Brother Tiandao! It's not that we don't want to fight, but even if we continue under the current circumstances, we're unlikely to settle anything quickly. We might even let the Devil Race play the oriole behind the mantis!"
Yuwen Shendu explained to Liu Tiandao, "And we also want to get to the bottom of the matter of the resources!"
The Devil Emperor of All Living Beings had broken through the Liu Imperial Clan's protective barrier while they were fighting.
If that golden figure had not stopped the Devil Emperor of All Living Beings, the hundreds of thousands of people below would already have bled rivers of blood.
Besides the Devil Emperor of All Living Beings, the Devil Race had five other Devil Emperor experts, each a tremendous threat to those below the Emperor Realm.
On the other hand, they could reluctantly admit that they had not personally taken part in suppressing the Devil Race.
But the problem was that their imperial clans had all provided resources. That was something they could never admit.
"Your mother's dogshit!"
By now, however, Liu Tiandao seemed possessed and refused to listen. "Yuwen Shendu, don't think being imperial clan patriarchs gives you the right to bargain with me. In my eyes, you're nothing but dogs of my Liu Imperial Clan!"
"Let me tell you, once the Devil Race is wiped out, all ten of your imperial clans will kneel and become servants of my Liu Imperial Clan. Anyone who refuses has only one fate: death!"
At those words, not only Yuwen Shendu's expression changed in an instant, but those of the other nine imperial clan patriarchs did as well.
Make their ten imperial clans into slaves?
It was not as though they had never considered that, once the Liu Imperial Clan produced an immortal, their ten imperial clans would no longer be able to stand comparison with it.
The two sides would no longer be on the same level.
That would mean the Liu Imperial Clan would become the true and sole ruler of the Black-Yellow Realm, with their ten imperial clans beneath it.
But they had never imagined that the Liu Imperial Clan actually intended to make their ten imperial clans its slaves!
"Empress? What does this mean?"
Yuwen Shendu's expression had turned completely grim as he looked toward Liu Ruyan, who had been smashed against the grand formation.
How was becoming a slave of the Liu Imperial Clan any different from being ruled by the Devil Race?
At most, the Devil Race would eat people, while the Liu Imperial Clan would not.
That outcome... they would not accept it!
If that was how things would end, they might as well fight to the bitter end now, or perhaps... throw in their lot with the Su Imperial Clan?
At the thought, Yuwen Shendu could not help glancing at Su Ting.
Su Ting had been able to defeat Liu Ruyan, so could their hidden trump card suppress the Liu Imperial Clan's ancestor?
If it could, siding with the Su Imperial Clan would be a promising path!
At least on the surface, the Su Imperial Clan had suppressed the Devil Race for a hundred thousand years without compensation. The Liu Imperial Clan, by contrast, had contributed nothing despite being the foremost imperial clan, and had even smeared the Su Imperial Clan.
It was obvious which of the two was good and which was bad.
"Brother Shendu, this fellow has lost his temper and is talking nonsense. Please, none of you take it to heart!"
At that moment, another man, even taller and broader than Liu Tiandao, stepped forward and apologized to Yuwen Shendu and the other imperial clan patriarchs. As he spoke, he suddenly slapped Liu Tiandao across the face.
Smack!
The blow was so powerful that Liu Tiandao flew through the air, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
"Third Brother!"
Liu Tiandao covered his mouth, his face full of disbelief.
"Shut up! This is a crucial moment. If you ruin Mother's plan, you'll be the first to die!"
The man secretly transmitted his voice to Liu Tiandao, an unmistakable threat already present in his tone.
This man was the third of the five Liu siblings, Liu Xiandao.
Hearing this, Liu Tiandao's pupils abruptly contracted, and he immediately calmed down.
That was right!
If his nonsense caused Yuwen Shendu and the others to turn against them, making his mother's plan fail at the last hurdle, he would surely die.
Of course, as things stood, it seemed that Yuwen Shendu and the others could not possibly affect their plan.
But one feared not ten thousand possibilities, only the one that came to pass.
Besides, there was now the Su Imperial Clan to consider, and Su Ting had even defeated his eldest sister, Liu Ruyan.
Half an hour ago, he would never have believed that possible either.
These words, however, did not dispel the doubts of Yuwen Shendu and the others.
Once a seed of doubt was planted, it was generally difficult to uproot.
"Heh... heh..."
"Hahahahaha..."
Yet Liu Ruyan did not even turn to look at Yuwen Shendu and the others in response to their questions. Instead, she inexplicably began to laugh.
There was something chilling about that laughter.
"What a Su Imperial Clan! What a Su Ting!"
"I must admit, your Su Imperial Clan has indeed exceeded my expectations, but..."
Liu Ruyan changed tack, a cold smile curling her lips. "The stronger the power you display, the greater the gains my Liu Imperial Clan will reap!"
"You of the Su Imperial Clan are simply born to a wretched fate. You guarded the Realm Sea for a hundred thousand years for nothing, and now you'll serve as the bridal gown for my Liu Imperial Clan's ascension to immortality!"
"That's right, my Liu Imperial Clan deliberately withheld support. So what if we deliberately denied you resources? Your Su Imperial Clan was doomed anyway. Any resources spent on you would have been wasted!"
"Activate the formation!!!"
As Liu Ruyan's words rang out, the many experts present were seized by a sense of foreboding.
But they did not know what bad thing was about to happen.
Su Ting included.
By now, the Su Imperial Clan's Great Emperors had all gathered together.
This Liu Ruyan was far too strange.
She could still laugh at a time like this.
Su Ting and the others did not remain in doubt for long.
Because the next second...
Boom!
A gigantic beam of light burst from the depths of the Liu Imperial Clan and shot straight into the sky!