Star Gate

Li Hao's mental strength started extending upward again. The seal in the void flashed in response.

Zheng Yu could also see what was developing, but said nothing as Li Hao stretched further. He watched silently. The young man's presence was very strong at the moment.

He's at least late to peak Saint!

It'd only been a month! As expected of a prodigy favored by heaven!

Zheng Yu had thought it would take Li Hao a while to recover since the young man had severed his own dao meridians. It looked like he'd benefited enormously from the people's praying; it'd bestowed an effect similar to the human emperor dao.

The number of people cultivating in the world also strengthened Li Hao. Not only that, but Hong Yitang and the rest benefited substantially as well. Their strength had risen rapidly. No wonder the kid hadn't cared about shattering his own dao!

He'd risen from seventh level Sun and Moon within a month to almost third level Fused Dao. Li Hao might be their biggest threat if he was allowed to continue like this!

Zheng Yu mused over his thoughts, but said nothing more. He didn't leave either, but remained on the spot to monitor the young man.

......

At the same time.

Li Hao's mental strength stretched upward; his mind soon jolted. It was like he'd entered someone's body—he knew that it was the shadow of the Sword Sovereign. Something similar had happened once more.

As expected, Stellaris came into view at his waist when he looked downward. Except, today was very different from times past. It was typically very quiet, but a hustle and bustle currently thronged in the area. Rumbles and collisions abounded!

An ancient city stood in the distance, a book of dao hovering in the void and enveloping it. It was Star River, the city that Zhang An had seized.

The ancient city and a wheel of lunar radiance exchanged blows in the vast universe. They crashed against each other!

A door stood even further away, towering in the universe. It was the Star Gate!

A shadow sat cross-legged beneath the door, as if a statue sculpted by eternity. It watched, unmoving, and did not interfere in the battle between the moon and the ancient city.

When Li Hao's mental strength seeped in, the shadow jerked its head in the young man's direction. A smile appeared on its face. It was certainly a busy time within the seal!

Li Hao also opened his eyes and saw the ancient city, Star Gate, the silver moon, and a deathly still city even further in the distance. It was completely unmoving—Sword City!

Zhang An didn't seem to have conquered the moon yet!

Not only that, but there seemed to be something amiss with the moon. It shimmered with luster and threw itself forward again and again, rushing to the edge of the seal and wanting to... flee?

It'd been a full month! Li Hao marveled that Zhang An hadn't been able to seize the moon a month after his ambush. The key was, the moon was a component of the seal. Logically speaking, the Red Moon exalted emperor shouldn't be sitting on his hands. He should be helping Zhang An's side instead.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

The exalted emperor shouldn't be idly watching; he should want nothing more than for the moon to be taken away.

The seal was divided into eight parts, each with its corresponding shadowy form. Apart from the Sword Sovereign, the rest seemed extremely weak. The Red Moon exalted emperor sat cross-legged in the center and simply watched the proceedings.

At the same time, light sparkled over the silver moon. It was at times silver, at times another color that seemed rather aloof. The two colors intersected in their struggle; a surge of red energy circled between them as well.

Bam!

The shadowy form that Li Hao was attached to trembled after another loud collision. The young man frowned slightly—the battle between the two sides seemed to be weakening the seal.

"The seal will be shattered if we continue to fight like this," Zhang An's voice rang out. "Is this what you want to see?"

"And you want to seize this queen's primary body and see that I do not react?" Another voice rang from the moon, one colored by fury and viciousness.

Li Hao started!No... way? Surely it's not that... one?

The young man was in a daze. Why did that sound like... the queen of Divine Nation? The queen... wasn't actually the Moon God.

He was confused. If the queen wasn't the Moon God... then did she have a twin? Or had the vanished queen somehow made it into the seal at some point in time?

"Is thisyourprimary body?" Zhang An was as calm as ever.

"Why is it not?" the queen snapped back. "I am the Moon God, the Moon God is me! The world admits to it, but you do not. Who the hell are you??"

"......" So... thiswasthe queen?

Li Hao blinked, understanding beginning to dawn. The queen really had found her way inside! That demonstrated a certain level of skill!

So that bimbo quietly snuck into the seal—even I was unaware of it! And the key is, she... she's occupied the moon and obstructed Zhang An's plan. She's seized the primary body of the moon!

Even though the moon here is only a portion of the whole, that's still something!

Have I... underestimated you?

Li Hao was astonished, but Zhang An had a headache out of sheer resignation. His plan had been perfect!

Unfortunately, reality was stark and unforgiving. He'd been on the cusp of success, but this upstart had come out of nowhere. He'd even aided his opponent because he'd almost erased the mark left by the original Moon God before the queen came along.

Just look at how someone else was benefitting from his work!

Zhang An could only laugh ruefully. If it wasn't for him nearly erasing the Moon God's mark, this woman would've never been able to occupy the moon. But this was exactly the coincidence that'd played out—she'd entered the seal at precisely the right time to occupy the Moon God's primary body!

He knew who she was, the queen of the west...

Zhang An was immensely surprised and hadn't understood how she'd found her way in. And why hadn't Li Hao killed her already? The young man was very unreliable for once!

She'd seized the moon. The strength of the silver moon was still formidable as this was the first divine spirit of the world! Not even the Sword Sovereign had been able to annihilate her. The other divine spirits had been of the Saint level of that age, and the Moon God had absolutely been an Empyrean King.

Even now, the queen was a Saint after taking over the moon. It made her a premier Saint, and made it so that he couldn't immediately overwhelm her with force.

Just as Zhang An struggled with what to do, the silent Red Moon exalted emperor suddenly said, "Descendant of the Lis, why don't you show yourself since you've come?"

Both sides blinked; the Sword Sovereign's shadow trembled.

Li Hao disengaged from it and coalesced his own form in the void. Genteel and cultured, he inclined his body in greeting. "Li Hao of Silver Moon greets the exalted emperor!"

The exalted emperor seated beneath the Star Gate raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Your courtesy is appreciated!" he chuckled.

How interesting! He'd seen the young man once before, just that once, but Li Hao hadn't been as composed as he was now.

Li Hao ignored Zhang An and the queen. He simply looked at the door in the distance. It was massive and seemed to pierce through the universe. In actuality, it did.

The Red Moon exalted emperor stood right in front of it.

Li Hao walked through the void, saying, "This junior has come with a question to ask. I hope the senior freely bestows his wisdom!"

"What is it?"

"The exalted emperor should be very clear that the Moon God's primary body is not here, correct?"

"What makes you say that?" the exalted emperor laughed softly.

"The exalted emperor would be too much of a fool if you still did not know. If even I know, the exalted emperor must know."

"That makes sense," the exalted emperor's laugh deepened. "So what if I know?"

"Then I can ask how to kill the Moon God's primary body."

"......" A figure appeared over the silver moon. She wielded her customary scepter and glared coldly at Li Hao.

The young man continued to ignore her, focusing only on the exalted emperor. "The Moon God should be intricately tied to the world and thus, very hard to kill! I'm not speaking about this, so I would like to ask the exalted emperor for some pointers. She's suppressed you for many years, after all. It should alleviate your spirits if I kill her!"

"You're very interesting!" the Red Moon exalted emperor laughed. "It would be very hard to! She... might be the core of Silver Moon world. To put it in other words, she would be the heavenly will if the Sword Sovereign hadn't erased her mark back in the day. But it was erased and she sank into a deep silence. That was why another heavenly will was born!

"It is as difficult as ascending the heavens if you wish to kill her. She is almost undying!"

"That makes sense!" Li Hao nodded after giving it some thought. "Then is there hope for the second generation to replace her, once she has seized half of the primary body?"

"So that's what you have in mind... interesting."

"The Moon God is undying because hundreds of millions of people in the world still remember her. She is alive so long as they remember. But if the Moon God of everyone's heart no longer exists, will she continue to live?"

"That I do not know, I have never experimented with this," laughed the Red Moon exalted emperor.

"And another thing—since the Sword City is empty, might the exalted emperor give it to me?"

"It belonged to the Lis to begin with. If you want it, take it!"

"Ah, forget it," Li Hao promptly responded with regret. "Even an empty Sword City continues to suppress you. If I take it and release the exalted emperor, wouldn't I become the sinner of the entire world?"

The young man finally turned to Zhang An and the queen. "The two of you continuously fight like this right under the exalted emperor's nose. Aren't you afraid of rousing his ire and disturbing his rest?

"Your Majesty the Queen, so there is truth in the saying that great fortune comes after one survives disaster! Dean Zhang is a peak Saint, a half step Empyrean King, and someone who can even fight Empyrean Kings.

"But you've fought him to a draw! All of the hard work I put into cultivation is less than one casual harvest for you guys. Man that makes me angry! Of course, the queen should also thank me for trapping the real Moon God for a month. That's given you the opportunity to seize the moon. How about the two of you show me a little bit of face and cease fighting..."

"Do you think I am still who I used to be, Li Hao?" sneered the queen.I have the Moon God's primary body! My battle strength is incredible! What kind of face do you command to demand a ceasefire?

"Your Majesty... truly forgets yourself in your arrogance!" Li Hao laughed. "Do you think Dean Zhang really can't defeat you? He's just more concerned about the fight being so intense that it breaks the seal. Don't get too full of yourself! The book of dao can attack, you know, instead of just defending!

"If I was Dean Zhang, I would teach this obnoxious, pompous woman a lesson so that she understands there is no place for her to act like this even when she's had unexpected gains!"

"I cannot move easily with the exalted emperor here!" Dean Zhang turned to Li Hao with a smile.

"Li Hao, if you help me kill the real Moon God..." the queen suddenly said after a shift in expression. "I can stand down and even help you!"

"Forget it, I don't need idiot teammates. You're too stupid!" Li Hao shook his head. "A peak Saint idiot teammate is even worse than an Empyrean King enemy! You're bad news to whoever you work with, I don't want any of your bad luck!"

"Li Hao!!" Although the queen had seen through much, she still couldn't endure Li Hao's humiliation. It was utterly infuriating!!

Damn it, do you think everything is as before? I'm stronger than you now!