Star Gate

Zhang An looked ahead of him. A city floated silently beneath the ground, possibly even within magma. It didn't move and no presence leaked from it.

The Hong city of thunder and lightning was called Thunderblast, and it was very quiet! It was like there was no one alive in it, that it'd fallen into silence a long time ago.

A golden light sparkled in Li Hao's eyes and he said softly, "There's quite a few powerhouses inside. I can already sense dense Red Moon power. There are also numerous Empyrean Kings—at least five of them!"

Even Zhang An wanted to suck in a sharp breath! Were they really going to attack the city? Even a false Empyrean King... was still an Empyrean King of this age. Truth be told, he was very wary of them.

He could fight one, but two would be very difficult! If there were five... then it was best to run as far as he could. He would be beaten to death if he stayed.

"There's so much Red Moon power... so much Immortal strength, Empyrean King strength... so much energy!" Li Hao grinned widely. "If we take this place, I guarantee that another batch of powerhouses will appear beneath my banner. This is a treasure trove!"

Screw you!

Even someone as refined as Zhang An wanted to break out in curses. The kid was on par, if not surpassing the Human King when he went nuts! One Saint—no, two including himself—against a bunch of Empyrean Kings??

No one would believe him if he spoke of it.

Here Li Hao was, wracking his brains to come up with all sorts of smokescreens. Zhang An felt that everyone would dismiss him even without all of the misdirection. Who would think that the young man would attack the Red Moon headquarters in this world?

Of course, taking out the headquarters would decrease the risk of accidental factors to the lowest it could go.

"Can you sneak in without anyone knowing?" Li Hao looked at Zhang An.

The man thought for a moment and nodded. "Just barely!"

Li Hao smiled.This is why I came to you, you're the grandson of Supreme Zhang!Many formations originated from the supreme, and as his grandson and part of the true core of New Martial, Zhang An should be very familiar with them.

"After we head inside, we'll pick an Empyrean King each. We'll ambush and kill two first. After that, we'll seal off the city and drag it into the dao universe. They're all going to die today!"

"Do you think killing Empyrean Kings is as easy as butchering pigs?" Zhang An couldn't help himself.

"Are they any better than pigs?" Li Hao countered softly. "I don't think that Empyrean Kings that haven't ventured out in one hundred thousand years and haven't encountered any danger in all this time can constantly retain the same level of alertness. If they could, would they be easily taken over by an exalted emperor? This kind of talent would've been a heavyweight in New Martial!

"It's not that I'm underestimating them, but that you should stop comparing you and me with a bunch of New Martial rejects. You are the grandson of the supreme and someone who's participated in battles of New Martial powerhouses. Then there's me. Would the two of us be less than trash discarded by even a minor world?"

His words were the height of arrogance, but Zhang An nodded upon hearing them. There was nothing wrong with what Li Hao said! He was the grandson of the supreme, at the very least! He'd fought side by side with the Human King before!

As for Li Hao... he had methods, intelligence, and strength in spades. These people could indeed not compare to him. Except, Zhang An still wasn't very much at ease. "What cultivation level are you, exactly?"

"I don't know."

"You..."

"You're so fussy!" Li Hao frowned slightly. "How can a powerhouse of early New Martial hem and haw like an old geezer?"

I...Zhang An didn't know what to say.I'm worried about you getting chopped to pieces! You really make people speechless!

The two started secretly making their way toward the city.

......

At the same time, Great Li, the Forbidden Sea.

Ying Hongyue's frown constantly deepened. Li Hao wasn't attacking yet? What was he waiting for?

Li Hao... do you really think that I haven't discovered you?

A sense of something being amiss crept in as soon as the thought flashed through his mind. However, the mallet of the Hongs was still with Li Hao.

As various possibilities reared their head, Ying Hongyue frowned at the eager Initial Martial skeleton. He ran through any calculations that he could and shook his head after a long while. No accidents should be developing, correct?

What accidents could there be?

Li Hao was here, so his people... were likely all here!

There was Zheng Yu keeping an eye from the outside, as well as that one in the sky. One could say that as Li Hao's reputation grew, so did all the surveillance on him increase! There was no way that the young man could get up to anything!

But still, a slight unease prickled in Ying Hongyue's heart.

......

At the same time, Ash Mountain.

The queen looked coldly into the distance, likewise frowning and cursing to herself. What was Li Hao waiting for?

Show this queen why you are so arrogant and look down your nose at everyone! It would be the greatest joke of all if you can't defeat even Ying Hongyue! What right do you have to laugh at this queen if you can't kill the enemy that slaughtered your family?

At the very least, this queen prevailed over the real Moon God once!

......

The Hong city of Thunderblast.

It was very quiet inside. There were many alive, roaming its streets, and they lived comfortable lives. There was a wheel of a red moon faintly visible in the sky; it emanated Red Moon power.

Thunderblast was similar to the other main cities—very big and with powerhouses gathered in the center. Many of the residences seemed to be active.

A large tree the color of blood towered on the edges of the city. It swayed with boughs laden of fruit. A sweet fragrance wafted from the fruit, appearing particularly enticing.

In contrast to the other main cities, there was almost no core origin energy within Thunderblast. Red Moon power dominated the atmosphere. Some of the powerhouses walking around outside wore red robes. There were ancients as well as modern martial masters here, even some existences that'd nearly been forgotten—Green Moon of the Seven Moons, for example. Most of the Seven Moons had died, leaving only Red Moon, Green Moon, and Violet Moon.

Violet Moon was said to have died in Great Li, and there'd been no sign of Green Moon for a very long time. It wasn't only Green Moon, but some others long vanished from the public eye that were also living here. A conversation was taking place at the moment.

"A lot of Saints have left the city this time, I wonder if we'll be able to finally exterminate Li Hao?"

"It'll be hard!"

"The leader said that we might be able to deal grave blows to him, but it'll be very, very hard to kill him. He will be tough to kill so long as the great dao universe is still here! But if all goes well, we may be able to kill some Saints..."

"......" Seated in an opulent residence, Green Moon chatted with some people, including veterans of the Red Moon organization. Everyone was very much at ease and far from the dejection that one might expect with defeat and failure.

On the contrary, they spoke of Ying Hongyue with reverence and passion. They seemed to trust and worship Ying Hongyue with more fervor than Silver Moon martial masters showed toward Li Hao!

"The kid's just a prancing clown! He'll die to the leader sooner or later! If it wasn't for needing him to distract the Zhengs and Lis, leader would've killed him long ago!"

"That's right! Li Hao thinks he's conquered the world and views himself as superior to everyone else, but it's all just an illusion! It's a pity about the people we lost though... but those were worthy sacrifices in pursuit of the leader's grand enterprise! They stand a chance of resurrection when we take over the world!"

"......" They discussed in voices that weren't that loud, but still rang through the empty city.

The red tree outside the city continued to sway. Its presence was domineering, placing it stronger than General Pagoda. It approached Zheng Hongyuan's level—an Empyrean King level tree!

There were numerous such presences inside the city. Thunderblast was an impenetrable fortress!

The presences of Saints, Immortals, and Apexes abounded. They were everywhere and completely unconcealed. There was no need to hide since it was very tiring to constantly conceal one's strength.

In this city, everyone knew each other in and out. There was no need to obscure everything. And in this age, no one could conquer this city.

Indeed, no one!

Zheng Yu's primary body may be able to, but there was no need to be cautious of anything since he wasn't able to walk through the world. As for Li whatever, did the kid dare enter?

Could he enter?

He didn't even know where the city was!

A face hovered in and out of sight on the red tree. It slurped up the Red Moon energy drifting through the air with relaxed greediness. No one could have ever fathomed that all of Thunderblast would turn into Red Moon's base!

This was the true Red Moon organization, its true base, and the real headquarters of the Red Moon universe!

Everything else was just a smokescreen. Whether it was Earthflare left in the ruins or those infected like Zheng Yu, they were just smoke and mirrors.

......

Li Hao and Zhang An had entered the city. Not only that, but they'd appeared in a very special area—the city lord manor!

An Empyrean King presence pulsed not too far from them. Li Hao looked at Zhang An; the man remained silent.What are you looking at me for? This is where the heart of the formation is, I have no choice in appearing here.

Multiple Empyrean King presences could be found around them.We're done for if they discover us and attack us together!

Li Hao extended his personal domain and glanced at Zhang An. "Have you identified them?" he transmitted.

"There's five Empyrean Kings and... twelve Saints! It looks like not that many were sent to the Forbidden Sea. One... hundred Immortals... and maybe more Apexes. There's even a batch of cultivators walking the path of the new dao!"

"Mmhmm, his Ancient Guards!" Li Hao had a full understanding of the situation. "Those are Ying Hongyue's true elites and barely showed their face back in the day. When the three great organizations migrated, some of them appeared because there were too many members to deal with. They died in battle. Damn Ying Hongyue is seriously willing to spend his resources and has plenty of methods to his name! I can even sense some Sun and Moon!"

To raise so many Sun and Moon in such a short period of time, as well as some Mountain and Sea... indicated that Ying Hongyue had paid quite the price as well.