Wu Yu stored the ninth-grade Mark of an Immortal King safely. It was the most important part of his plan, to get the eternal phoenix tribe to search high and low for his treasure.

Besides, in the vastness of the sky palaces, there were so many geniuses and monstrously strong experts amidst the 9-realm immortal lords. With that in mind, he did not even once consider the 10th-grade Mark of an Immortal King for his rise to an immortal king. Just the ninth-grade Mark of an Immortal King was enough for him.

Although this was bait, he had no intention of losing it to the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord.

This ninth-grade Mark of an Immortal King was a stone to kill two birds with.[1]

They were cocooned by light, and time and space changed. They had been within a "remnant" that Marshal Tian You had created. Now they were being thrust out, and Wu Yu found himself back in space.

He quickly looked around him and saw that he was right in front of the black sphere. However, it was quickly vanishing from sight, and he was in empty space now.

When he appeared here, he could see many other beams of light twinkling around him as the other competing immortal lords started to appear.

Before they had even appeared, at least 3,000 people surrounded Wu Yu. These were all elite immortal lords.

They were mostly those who had not managed to get past the first stage, while some had come only after the black sphere disappeared. There were also some who had fought inside but were eliminated, such as Zhao Tianyi, Si Qianmo, the Thunderbolt Immortal Lord, and others.

Of course, their purpose of hanging around outside was to wait for the ninth-grade Mark of an Immortal King to be obtained and then fight the winner for it.

Thousands of people surrounded the whole area. They had appeared in this area before, and so they guessed that the people who obtained the Mark of an Immortal King would also appear here.

Their guess was good. Wu Yu appeared here, but they did not know that the Mark of an Immortal King was with him. They had already prepared well. Many were ready to try to snatch the Mark from the grasp of the three great tribes.

"This creator is quite something. After I come out, I am in the midst of all these people. This is yet another test. I can get the ninth-grade Mark of an Immortal King, but I must be able to hold on to it. Otherwise, others will take advantage of me."

This situation was fairly dangerous for everybody involved. If one did not have supernatural abilities, they would be mired in this mob. Even before they warmed the Mark of an Immortal King, it would have changed hands already.

After Wu Yu appeared, many of the immortal lords who had made it to the final round started to appear in succession. The eternal phoenix tribe, led by the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord. The Zhao Immortal Tribe, led by Zhao Yuanchen. The Ruling Sky Immortal Tribe, led by the Ruling Fate Immortal Lord. Of course, many other immortal lords also appeared, and 90% of them were 9-realm immortal lords.

They appeared, extremely anxious. Many had locked on to Wu Yu's position very quickly.

No one was willing to waste words. The sky was thick with people. The fastest to respond were dozens of immortal lords, who sent their autonomous realm power his way, uncaring whether he lived or died. To them, killing Wu Yu would probably make things a little clearer!

Wu Yu felt the imminent threat. The three great tribes were also attacking him, and even Zhao Yuanchen and the Ruling Fate Immortal Lord were personally participating. The two of them had power that far exceeded ordinary 9-realm immortal lords, and they could definitely stand up against immortal kings. Wu Yu was like a flea before them.

But flea Wu Yu was unrivaled in the skill of fleeing. He had been prepared for this, and immediately flipped with the Somersault Cloud, leaving the immortal lords' attacks to connect with nothing but air.

"Where did he go?!"

"He disappeared!"

Their faces were epic to behold!

They had thought that they had cornered Wu Yu good and proper in a place like this.

But he had vanished!

Wu Yu appeared outside their surround. There were thousands of people in front of him. All those outside had no idea what was happening, and were asking each other, "Who got the Mark of an Immortal King?!"

"No idea, but the three great tribes don't seem to be fighting amongst themselves, but against someone else!"

"You mean they didn't get the Mark of an Immortal King? Someone else did?" They had assumed one of the three great tribes would secure it.

Wu Yu was eavesdropping, and he suddenly heard someone shout, "The Snow Region Immortal Lord is there!" They had powerful vision, and Wu Yu was spotted again. Those outside immediately knew who had taken the Mark of an Immortal King. It was a nobody, the Snow Region Immortal Lord. An unexpected outcome.

But clearly he was the one, because the three great tribes broke free of the mob, charging madly towards Wu Yu. They moved with unbelievable speed and ferocity.

Wu Yu legged it!

Among the pursuers, the Ruling Fate Immortal Lord and Zhao Yuanchen led the charge. The two were also fighting amongst themselves. Close behind was the eternal phoenix tribe's White Sun Immortal Lord, whose wings were spread! They set a furious pace. Wu Yu could outpace them with the Swift Art, but for now, he whetted their appetites, giving them false hope that they could catch him.

Instantly, thousands of people were chasing Wu Yu! Because of the difference in speed, the gap between the pursuers grew wider and wider. The weaker ones were left in the dust, unable to even hunt him down.

Wu Yu's goal was to spread them out. This would also allow him to get closer to the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord.

With his recent improvements, he could stand toe to toe with the strongest here. He would not really be threatened in a wide field like this starry space. He didn’t need to fear anything, and not even the Ruling Fate Immortal Lord could catch him.

Among the 100 million immortal lords, there were very few who posed a threat to him.

"This Snow Region Immortal Lord is only a 9-realm immortal lord, and already middle-aged! How is he so fast?!" The more Zhao Yuanchen chased, the more he despaired! He was in disbelief. He thought that he could easily catch up to Wu Yu. And yet, even though he was the fastest, Wu Yu continued to maintain the distance between them!

"An ordinary immortal lord, it's impossible that he has such speeds!" The Ruling Fate Immortal Lord was shocked. He was the son of the Ruling Sky Manifesting Sage Great Emperor, and that was why he had strength comparable to immortal kings. The Snow Region Immortal Lord was only an ordinary immortal lord, with no extraordinary cultivation method. How could he possibly shrug off his pursuit?

Those behind went without saying. They could not even stay on the trail.

"Snow Region Immortal Lord! Give me the ninth-grade Mark of an Immortal King, and I can promise you something even better."

Since they could not catch him, they started to think of other ways.

However, all of this was useless. Wu Yu occasionally looked back, but he never deigned to reply.

He was checking how much the pursuers had spread out.

After about an hour, the pursuers were stretched out in a long line, broken at many places. The eternal phoenix tribe was also spread out. He could only see a few of the 9-realm immortal lords who were near him.

Both the Ruling Fate Immortal Lord and Zhao Yuanchen were flustered now, cursing with every threat that they could imagine. But Wu Yu could not be bothered to listen.

Their eyes were wild.

"Snow Region Immortal Lord, one day, I will make you regret this."

Zhao Yuanchen vowed into the starry sky.

"Scum."

Wu Yu suddenly turned back to look at him. And then, in a flash, he disappeared without a trace before their eyes.

The Ruling Fate Immortal Lord and Zhao Yuanchen's jaws dropped.

They had thought that Wu Yu's speed was about the same as theirs, and were prepared for a long chase that would last years, for the day when Wu Yu could not keep up the pace. They had already contacted their tribes to wait for them together, but now....

"This means that he could have easily shrugged us off from the start! He was purposely toying with us!" Zhao Yuanchen punched the air in fury.

The Ruling Fate Immortal Lord's face was black as night. In all his long years of cultivation, he had never been toyed with as badly as he had been today.

"Hmph! Wait and see." He could not possibly get over it, except he had no inkling of where Wu Yu had gone. But in the future, there would be a chance to meet him.

The White Sun Immortal Lord caught up. He looked at both of them in surprise. "Not chasing anymore? Where did he go?" Actually, they had already lost him.

Both ignored him, shouldering past with grim faces, returning to join up with their tribes.

The White Sun Immortal Lord was stunned. "The Snow Region Immortal Lord managed to shake off those two? He’s that powerful? In that case, the ninth-grade Mark of an Immortal King might truly belong to him. Damn...."

He was also frustrated that he could not secure the ninth-grade Mark of an Immortal King for the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord. At this time, the other eternal phoenixes also caught up one by one, until the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord herself finally arrived.

"Where is he?" The Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord's eyes were blazing.

The White Sun Immortal Lord waved a hand. "Not just me, he even shook off those two. They're still fuming. The Snow Region Immortal Lord's escaping abilities are too miraculous!"

"Damn it all!" The Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord was angry. All around her were equally angry eternal phoenixes, unable to vent!

"This means that the ninth-grade Mark of an Immortal King belongs to that nameless runt?" the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord stormed.

The White Sun Immortal Lord said, "Princess, do not worry. After the 100 years are up, we will immediately go to inform the Provenance Phoenix Empress and mobilize the power of the tribe. We should be able to very easily snatch the ninth-grade Mark of an Immortal King back. With the immortal king personally taking a hand, the Snow Region Immortal Lord is finished. However, the other two tribes will definitely be doing the same. So when the time comes, we have to move quickly."

The Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord said, "Don't worry. Even combined, the Zhao Immortal Tribe and Ruling Sky Immortal Tribe cannot match the might of the eternal phoenix tribe! But I can't stand that we can't get the ninth-grade Mark of an Immortal King here! Let's chase him and take it! In a mere 100 years, it will be very hard to encounter another ninth-grade Mark of an Immortal King...."

She was right. There were less than 10 in total, and the Endless River of Stars lived up to its name. It was impossible to finish searching in a century. Luck played an important part.

1. TN: Morbid pun not intended…