Star Gate

Last time the heart of the universe rolled around in his river, Li Hao comprehended part of the power of time. As expected, the star was interested in the latest developments. It darted into the mental sea—this might strengthen the star of time in his mind!

Li Hao shifted his body; the 'dao' character materialized over his head. He struggled his way forward to draw closer to the star.

The star was half tangible and half illusory. It seemed to be a tiny bit interested in the mental sea. Li Hao inched forward, the Firmament Sword in his hand shimmering slightly as the power of time flowed slowly through it.

The young man carefully, gently threw the Firmament Sword toward the star. The weapon, and the trace of blood still lingering on it, drifted the star. He held his breath as the sword drew closer. Perhaps due to the power of time on it, the frolicking star in the distance didn't react to the approaching object.

It wasn't repulsed by the sword and in fact, even began to come in contact with it.

When the Firmament Sword drifted to the illusory side, it abruptly jumped forward and stabbed into the star. The tendril of blood vanished, darting into the immaterial side of the star.

Meanwhile, the star was spooked by these actions and vanished on the spot.

The world remained quiet, Li Hao held his breath still. He was unmoving and watched, silently. Finally, he breathed slowly and grabbed the Firmament Sword for an inspection.

The young man suddenly grinned, this star was certainly appearing on both sides. Li Daoheng would see it as well! The corporeal side was linked to his dao universe and the immaterial side linked to the other one.

The only unknown was if the strand of exalted emperor blood could enter the other side.If it can... I think Li Daoheng will be very happy, as will that exalted emperor! Perhaps he might even identify the location of the immaterial universe!

Li Hao grinned and heaved a soft sigh. What he'd attempted had been very risky. If a connection with the other side was impossible to establish, then the tendril of blood that the star had taken away might become a honing beacon for his own dao universe.

But since the star had left with it and truly entered the immaterial universe, then Li Daoheng was in for a good time!

Li Hao looked at his mental sea again. The translucent star overhead seemed much stronger than before. The young man's smile deepened as he confirmed that his star had absorbed more power of time.

However, he'd also startled the star with the Firmament Sword. Would it be bold enough to appear next time?

The key lay in the fact that he'd brought the mental sea into existence. What could he bring out next time to tempt the star?

Li Hao looked around him, the world seemed to have sunk into dust. He floated through the void without making a sound, landing on one of the cities. What soldiers and cultivators that were visible within had stilled into eerie silence, as if time had frozen. There were Saints in residence, but they were also frozen as well.

Perhaps only Empyrean Kings would be able to slightly defend themselves against the star. But they would also be petrified at first and take a while to break free.

Li Hao entered the sea of stars within the dao universe, doing so without causing a disturbance. Here, more than one hundred million stars hovered in the void. Some of them were particularly strong, which he ignored. He selected some stars that he was more familiar with and began to move them.

The world of the mental sea was open!

That was the destination for the stars that he was moving. They weren't stars that belonged to Earthturner Sword, Lin Hongyu, or the others, but ones that belonged to those he wasn't quite sure about their allegiances.

Dao Sword, for example, or the queen, or anyone who he wasn't familiar with but possessed extremely strong stars...

He wasn't even sure who some of these dao stars belonged to. He didn't care!

He moved them all one by one into his mental sea. That placed more stars over the sea. After silently considering them for a bit, Li Hao called upon his cultivation methods. The 'dao' character burrowed into the waters, eliciting a change throughout it. Stars materialized, both illusory and real!

Some empty space was left in the dao universe after the disappearance of those dao stars. Li Hao thought for a bit and summoned his dao meridians, turning them into stars and placing them in the holes. Only then was his task complete and he vanished.

It wasn't until he was very far away that the young man erupted with resplendent sword intent that shook the world. He laughed loudly, laughter that echoed through the world. "I'm back, hahaha!"

His laughter shook the void, facilitating the flow of time again. No one detected anything amiss. Even Saints only felt that they'd lost their train of thought for a second before hearing Li Hao's voice.

A black dog rushed out of a city, tail wagging with immense enthusiasm. Li Hao had returned!

There was a sizable contingent of inhabitants in the five cities. Some of them had entered through the open passageway. They were also excited by the return of the marquis.

At the same time, a select few looked at the river of stars in the sky. They were confused.

Everyone was used to a full canopy of stars overhead. There was nothing special about it at the moment, just that some people felt slightly uncomfortable. They'd had some connection with one of the stars among the hundred million, but now... the connection seemed intermittent.

But with Li Hao's approach, that feeling soon disappeared. It'd only popped up for a split second before vanishing. There was no change to the void, so nothing unusual was at hand.

Saints flew out of the cities.

"Your Lordship is back!" The delighted redwood tree quickly took human form. "Congratulations to my lord for taking another step forward. You have accomplished great perfection!"

"......" Li Hao nearly suspected that the plant spirit truly knew that he'd improved. But judging from its appearance, this was just pure empty flattery!

"Many thanks for Senior Redwood Mountain's felicitations, I have indeed gained much from my trip," Li Hao laughed. "Spread the word that I'm going to rise to fourth level Fused Dao today, a cultivation level that rivals the Empyrean King of the new New Martial era. The world might be stabilized even further afterwards, to the point in which the presence of Empyrean Kings will be tolerated!

"Have all sides be on alert and keep an eye on Galewind..."

"Congratulations to Your Lordship!" A chorus of celebratory voices rose from the cities. Fourth level Fused Dao! How long had it been since he last advanced?

Although Li Hao had left for a very long period of time—the longest ever at four months—he'd only been second or third level Fused Dao before. Today, he was going to cross into the fourth level.

Improvement was so hard when cultivators reached this level, yet Li Hao was going to take another step forward today!

The crowd was inordinately jubilant.

"Thank you, everyone," Li Hao chuckled. "I only achieved this through everyone's immense support. I would not have advanced so quickly otherwise. Let's save the talk for later, I will... break through now!"

144 enormous dragons flew out and the firmament glittered with stars!

The dragons immediately swam into 144 sectors of the 360 delineated ones. From that, 144 gigantic stars erupted with sparkling magnificence! The sight awed everyone when they raised their heads!

144 sectors were shimmering, flickering with light!

"At fourth level Fused Dao, the four great circulatory loops are complete with thirty-six dao meridians in one circulation." Li Hao's voice reverberated throughout the world. "Today... I enter mid Fused Dao!"

Boom!

144 dao stars vibrated in unison, gleaming with massive pillars of light. They connected to each other in clusters of thirty-six and formed four complete circulatory loops.

Li Hao's presence shook; currents of dao strength swept through the void!

......

In this moment, whether it was those within the dao universe or those outside, all cultivators of the new dao felt something different. The world also seemed to come alive as it awakened a bit more.

Limitless energy seeped out of an unknown source. Even some dao power seeped out. All cultivators of the new dao sensed the opportunity and began cultivating.

......

Galewind.

Zheng Yu looked up at the sky and said softly, "He really did make progress!"

Fourth level Fused Dao!

The Empyrean Kings beside him were absolutely quiet.Don't send us out there!

It was such a sobering situation. Although there were seven of them, would seven Empyrean Kings really win if they walked out into the world?

Zheng Yu didn't seem inclined to immediately send out his Empyrean Kings either, he simply watched silently. The world was recovering quickly, it could already accommodate Empyrean Kings.

Li Hao was no longer suppressing his cultivation level. Or rather, he was unafraid of Empyrean Kings now and proactively sought improvement.

"Fourth level Fused Dao..." Zheng Yu murmured, waving a hand to dismiss the people around him. Another Zheng Yu soon appeared—his presence growing rapidly.

"A lot of people have grown stronger and there are more than one hundred million dao stars out there," New Zheng Yu said softly. "They are difficult to individually identify!"

Zheng Yu inclined his head, his voice soft without too much agitation or unease. "Follow close behind and don't raise too much attention. I shouldn't be the only one doing this."

New Zheng Yu nodded his head slightly. The two said no more.

Li Hao, the first mover may not hold the advantage. It's the results that matter.

......

Li Hao paid attention to no one else. As his dao meridians threaded the river of stars, his presence continued to grow.

Dao strength surged into the mental sea, into the stars within the mental sea. Since the great dao was reverberating outside, how could that not be the case inside the mental sea?

Not only that, but stars glittered here as well. Li Hao seemed to be advancing.

I don't know how many people in the world are replicas of others or secret agents... but so long as I don't know you, it's enough for me to move your stars into this place.

If you get up to any funny business or look at me weird, I'll let you know what real pain is!

Li Hao grinned widely.

......

In another area, within the seal.

The Red Moon exalted emperor was seated cross legged, silently perceiving the world. He furrowed his brows and looked up at the sky, slightly confused. He seemed to have lost contact with his blood for a second, but a feeble connection was soon restored.

It was very,veryfeeble!

What is Li Hao doing? So he didn't destroy my blood?

The exalted emperor's frown deepened. He was certain that his blood should be within the dao universe, he just wasn't sure where. It was a bit too dim and the connection was too faint.

But given some time, he might be able to lock onto its position!

"On and off... as if something's obscuring it... and not just the barrier around the dao universe..." he murmured with confusion. Since he wasn't too familiar with the dao universe, he couldn't be sure why this was happening.