Star Gate

Li Hao could sense that someone here had intercepted a portion of his mental sea. He let the first instance pass since it was probably the god of Initial Martial behind it. But then, it occurred a second time!

If he still let it pass, someone might end up cutting off his mental sea! The Great Li king just barely crossed the Empyrean King threshold. How would he have the ability to intercept Li Hao's mental sea?

But since the god of Initial Martial was pointing to the king as the culprit, there was nothing Li Hao could say about it.

"King of Great Li, cease undertaking such action." The young man's voice carried notes of the great dao. "You'll have time to thoroughly observe the proceedings if you wish. You are not my enemy, but will become my enemy if you ruin my plans!"

The Great Li king was the very picture of innocence!The hell! What did I do? I did nothing!He wanted to defend himself, but the god coughed.

"Go about your business, you friend. The king is too young and immature at times. This old man will teach him!"

"Then I'll have to trouble the senior for your effort!" Li Hao was very polite while remaining far away. The long river once more traversed the world and disappeared.

The Great Li king opened his mouth to defend himself, but Jiang Li looked meaningfully at him.

Shut up, my king! Can't you see? These two have obviously come to an agreement and do not wish to clash with each other. Clearly, the god did something just now that caused Li Hao's displeasure, so the young man traveled through the world to come to him.

The god wishes you to take the fall!

The king wasn't truly a fool, he could sense the subtle undercurrents taking place. He couldn't help but curse to himself. Damn he was unlucky!

......

At the same time.

Li Hao's shadow traveled through the world, everywhere and anywhere all at once. He appeared in front of numerous powerhouses.

"I do not wish to compete with you," he said calmly as he looked at each powerhouse. "Today, my efforts are to enhance my people. I hope that no one will sabotage them!"

Galewind.

Zheng Yu looked at the shadow in front of him. The surges of special strength in the world steered wide of the ancient city and didn't envelop it. Even the stars overhead kept a certain distance from Galewind.

"Li Hao, are you playing hard to get?" He smiled at the young man's shadow. "Are you hoping that we'll get up to no good?"

"Zheng Yu, it's whatever you think it is!" Li Hao smiled back at the man. "But I'm telling you to not interfere with me. Otherwise, don't blame me for not reminding you that the seal can break! If you dare enter my dao universe, I'll seal it off. Even if it's only for a split second, that will be enough for me to kill Ying Hongyue and break the seal!"

Zheng Yu laughed without a response. Was Li Hao issuing a true threat or being coy? This was a complicated young man! Having suffered a few times at Li Hao's hands, Zheng Yu was unable to immediately determine what he was dealing with.

Seeing that Li Hao was about to leave, he suddenly said, "Some of the stars in the sky don't seem right. Is this a weakness you've purposefully left for us, or is there actually something wrong with these stars?"

"The senior thinks too much!" Li Hao drifted away.

Zheng Yu didn't make another sound. Beside him, the queen lifted her head at the sky. Was there something wrong with the stars? Was this where the trap was?

"Senior Zheng... is he trying to trick you into making a move?"

"......" Zheng Yu couldn't be bothered to respond to the queen.

"Why don't we just dig our heels in and defend Galewind!" she said. "This queen thinks that so long as we are steadfast and unmoved, all of Li Hao's conspiracies will fail!"

There was nothing wrong with what she said and it was the truth. So long as they remained unmoved, Li Hao would not be able to take down a half step emperor. He would've rushed in a long time ago if he could.

I'll ignore whatever you do, what plans can you perpetuate from that?

At the same time...

Zheng Yu looked up at the sky, truly feeling a universe descending upon them. The dao universe really was coming—he could sense a special ripple surrounding all of Silver Moon.

That's... the dao universe! Can I give it up?

If I do, will Li Daoheng give up?

Is this how a defenseless person will kill three powerhouses? Does he mean to use the dao universe as bait to induce fighting between me and Li Daoheng?

......

On the other side.

Ying Hongyue suddenly darted away from his current position.

Li Hao's shadow appeared and silently watched him run.

"Don't create trouble for me, Ying Hongyue!" the young man said softly. "Otherwise, I'll humiliate you even if I can't kill you. Don't make this harder for yourself!"

The madly fleeing Ying Hongyue turned back for a look, his eyes glinting and a gentle smile spreading over his face. However, there were ruthless hints in his gaze that were not part of his usual demeanor.

"Li Hao, your enemy isn't me! You and I are both poor souls buffeted by the winds of fate. We are not the masters of the world, so there's no need to set yourself against me all the time.

"Whether your plans today target the two half step emperors or the heavenly will... They have nothing to do with me, so I naturally won't intervene. I don't think you actually want the seal to break. It's very fragile now after your repeated efforts.

"If your people continue to move against me, I'll find it difficult to maintain. You'll be in bigger pain than me if the exalted emperor is released!"

Li Hao ignored him, vanishing on the spot. Ying Hongyue breathed out gently and sneered.

"I can sense his vicious intent!" The Celestial Sword Immortal frowned next to him. "He probably wants nothing more than to kill you..."

"That's a normal state for him," Ying Hongyue responded calmly. "If it wasn't for me being linked to the seal, do you think that he really wouldn't be able to kill me? He talks a big talk and seems to want to break the seal at the drop of a hat to go down with me, but he's actually very wary of doing so.

"He's aware of that fact, I am, and so are Zheng Yu and the others. Otherwise, the seal would've broken a long time ago—Li Hao has his ways to ensure that. He won't be willing to really break the seal, not unless he's lost all hope!"

"Then... he's taking such a risk this time," said the Celestial Sword Immortal after a moment. "If the two half step emperors really seize his dao universe, do you think he'll throw caution to the wind and hunt you down at all cost?"

Ying Hongyue thought it over and nodded. That was possible. But for Li Hao to set up a trap... that meant there was a chance of him emerging victorious. Of course, the young man had to exercise extreme caution.

......

The stars sparkled overhead throughout the land. The river continuously washed away at the world and the sea of mental strength seemed to encircle the universe.

There were more and more stars in the sky. They were gems of the mortal world, adding hints of magnificent splendor.

Li Hao's voice rang out again, reverberating throughout Silver Moon. "The stars have almost been fully collected. I will soon summon the entire dao universe and turn the world into a sacred land of cultivation!

......

Countless people held their breath, it was almost time!

Within the dao universe, a massive river traveled through the world and appeared over Battle Heaven. One hundred million stars glittered in a dazzling array.

Li Hao's replica and personal body swiftly came back together, leaving only one Li Hao in the world.

"Everyone is to cultivate and call upon the great dao. The great dao will come together in the world!" he intoned.

BOOM!

One hundred million people began mediating. Countless stars erupted with splendor overhead! For a moment, it really felt like a universe had descended upon the mortal world. The sound of a coursing river and the power of great dao filled the void.

More stars appeared in the sky, some were resplendent, others were dim. They seemed to be real, but also illusory...

As time ticked by, a portion of the universe seemed to fully assimilate with the world. But whether it was Galewind or the moon in the sky, there was no movement whatsoever from them.

Are they not going to do anything?

Countless people shared the same thought. They were highly on edge; even Zhang An in Star River was nervous. Was Zheng Yu not going to take action?

How strange!

Or did they think something was amiss and was unwilling to do anything because of it?

Was Li Hao plotting something?

The stars twinkled brightly just as these thoughts passed through Zhang An's mind. An enormous dog suddenly appeared in the world, turning golden as it erupted with devouring force to swallow all of the great daos in the world!

And that wasn't enough, it suddenly flared with the power of a myriad daos!

Zhang An's eyes widened and he started cursing up a storm.That's my book of great dao, you little bastard!

Various shadowy figures appeared over the golden dog's body and were swiftly swallowed by it. It was clearly Zhang An's book of great dao! How could Li Hao do this?!

The man raged as he watched shadows travel through the world and disappear into the dog's mouth, melting into its body. Panther threw its head back with a howl and abruptly erupted with even stronger force. It began swallowing all of the stars in the sky!

Zheng Yu and the rest held their breath, silently watching the development. What kind of trick was this?

That still wasn't enough!

An imperial palace hovered in the world. The big dog's mouth yawned open and it swallowed the palace as well.

"ROAR!" The golden dog blasted outward with unbounded power, but Li Hao frowned slightly.

That wasn't enough! The star of time was not appearing!

This was the most critical step, but the star refused to show itself. The world appeared a bit illusory, which was most likely why Zheng Yu and the others hadn't made a move.

They weren't inexperienced fledglings like the Great Li king. As magnificent as the world looked at present, there seemed to be a little something missing. That little bit of imperfection was sufficient to compel the two half step emperors to keep waiting!

Li Hao had to make the star of time appear; the arrival of the dao universe was diminished by a very small degree in its absence.

Was this not enough?

The gigantic Panther looked at Li Hao as it snarled and growled.

It wasn't! The star wasn't here! Clearly, these little tricks were insufficient to raise its curiosity.

Li Hao took a deep breath. It looked like... he would have to enter the fray.

The sound of the flowing river abruptly intensified as he gathered various stars. Of them, the core star of the one hundred moves of sword dao—the little star of time—disappeared into his stomach.

Changes appeared in the river of chaos; the young man himself didn't know if this would succeed. He hovered in the air and said softly, "I have a past and future... I will capture the past and seize the future as time... is infinite!"

The world spun!