Chapter 1101: The Strength of Red Moon (V)

At the same time.

Inside the diagram of the eight trigrams, a red door stood in the void of the starry expanse. There seemed to be a figure standing nearby and another tiny diagram of the eight trigrams suppressing the four corners!

Numerous figures were present in the cardinal directions. The most conspicuous was that of an old man wielding a longsword. He continuously swung it around; the other figures were extremely dim in comparison.

The figure near the door seemed to sense something and opened its eyes. It looked at where the Sword Sovereign’s shadow stood—the shadow was opening its eyes!

The two looked at each other!

“The heir of the Lis...” said the figure near the Star Gate. “The world is yours if you break the seal. Red Moon major world does not need a minor world! This seat is an exalted emperor according to the hierarchy of New Martial. I do not need a minor world either...”

A ponderous note echoed in Li Hao’s mind as soon as he appeared. It reverberated through his thoughts, leaving only one in its wake!

Hack through the seal, help the exalted emperor regain freedom.

The world will be mine then!

This august personage did not care about a minor world.

In this moment, the young man felt that this person would not lie to him. He was an exalted emperor! As such, he wouldn’t care about a minor world. All he needed from such a world was to attack the New Martial main world through it.

Various thoughts manifested in his mind and rays of red light enveloped Li Hao. A ray of sword light sparkled and ripped through the void with a rumble. The magnificent note enveloping Li Hao immediately extinguished!

A muffled grunt sounded through the area. Li Hao jerked awake and opened his eyes, feeling somewhat different. This entire experience was different from before. He seemed to have outright entered his ancestor’s shadow!

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

It’d been his ancestor who struck with a sword and cut through everything.

Off in the distance, the striking figure sighed softly. “The sword of the Sword Sovereign is unparalleled in offense. The Eternal swordsman lives up to his reputation!”

Even a lingering shadow could borrow the formation’s power to shatter his curse.

A chill stole through Li Hao when he understood the figure’s words. An exalted emperor far exceeded his imagination! He’d almost been affected himself just now. If it hadn’t been for his ancestor’s sword... he might think the figure made a lot of sense and was perfectly right.

What a terrifying ability!

The world spun around him as Li Hao fell out of the shadow. It appeared that his ancestor had shaken him out. The young man promptly saw his ancestor charge with his sword!

A soundless strike traveled through the void. In the distance near the Star Gate, the other figure sighed to himself. This formation had attacked him for many years and was yet to be broken. New Martial was formidable alright!

Boom!

A great battle erupted!

It was Li Hao’s first time personally witnessing a battle between exalted emperors. They may not be exalted emperors in their prime, but it was his first time watching two fight in such close quarters. His ancestor’s sword was so mighty that it could scarcely be believed!

The weapon was the only sight in Li Hao’s vision. Every second seemed to be a tussle with death; there were no extraneous movements at all.

......

Exalted emperor matched exalted emperor in the void. There were shadows from all eight families present, but the other seven seemed extremely weak. Only the one that belonged to the Sword Sovereign looked to be strong enough. Stroke after stroke followed, each of them seeming to place the wielder’s life on the line.

There were no extraneous moves or abilities deployed, just the sword!

The exalted emperor sealed in place could still erupt with formidable battle strength despite a moon hovering over him, his back against the Star Gate, and a diagram of the eight trigrams over his head. All of them restricted his movements, but those of Red Moon major world seemed more adept at mental methods.

They were even more skilled at beguiling the mind.

His opponent was just a shadow left by a powerhouse from eons past. It was projected through formations and powered by the world. This was the moment in which Li Hao suddenly understood why the energy of the world had been abruptly depleted back in the day.

It hadn’t been just because of the mines, but because of the seal.

An exalted emperor had barged into the minor world and the formation activated to seal away the threat. The formation required the shadows of eight powerhouses, which all required energy to operate—particularly the Sword Sovereign’s.

Therefore, all energy was extracted from the world.

The formation was not as strong as it once was. The world was awakening because it was producing energy again and the shadow of the Sword Sovereign did not consume as much as before.

It was only now that Li Hao understood everything. The world’s silence for one hundred thousand years was related to this exalted emperor and the shadow of the Sword Sovereign! All this time, the former had wanted to break through the seal and the latter had delayed the exalted emperor’s progress.

That created a stalemate!

The world’s current awakening was indicative of two possibilities—that the Sword Sovereign’s shadow was far weaker than it had been, or that the sealed exalted emperor was much weaker than before.

Both sides were continuously weakened! That was how a balance was maintained and this exalted emperor prevented from escaping.

The Red Moon exalted emperor was still speaking. “Descendant of the Lis, this emperor speaks no falsehood! Silver Moon world is yours if you break the seal. An exalted emperor would not lie!”

Li Hao once more looked around blearily in a daze. His thoughts were being interfered with and what the other spoke of seemed correct.

The young man had known prior that this outcome was a possibility and made some preparations for it, but after truly meeting an exalted emperor, he still found it difficult to withstand the other’s mental attacks. And this was a sealed exalted emperor!

Supernatural characters erupted in Li Hao’s body. The ‘dao’ character emanated power to shake the body, but it proved insufficient to withstand the exalted emperor.

Sword light sparkled in the darkness and illuminated the land. Li Hao awoke again!

The Sword Sovereign!

The young man suddenly thought of something—the other’s interference resulted in a corresponding counter from the Sword Sovereign. Therefore, every incursion from the enemy was an opportunity for him!

Wasn’t it?

Li Hao had been slightly afraid and didn’t dare say a word. He abruptly transmitted, “What you say doesn’t count, Silver Moon world is not yours!”

“Oh?” The Red Moon exalted emperor waved his hand, overturning the world, casting stars down from the sky, and breaking through the universe. He seemed to be a god! “Why do my words not count? This is a mere minor world. If it wasn’t for this seal, not even Silver Moon’s world barrier would be able to hold an exalted emperor. I am invincible so long as the seal is broken—truly invincible!”

“Do you think all Silver Moon powerhouses are dead?” Li Hao could sense waves of mental strength buffeting him. In response, a ray of sword intent circled protectively around him. “Battle might still be continuing in your universe. It’s possible that you’ve already lost to New Martial. Otherwise, how would no one come rescue or look for an exalted emperor that’s vanished for countless eons?

“Only the old, weak, sick, and crippled are left in Silver Moon world. The truly strong have left. But you are an exalted emperor, a heavyweight in any universe. Why has no one come for you?”

“You don’t understand how surpassingly beautiful the multiverse is,” chuckled the shadow. “The flow of time is not the same in all places. New Martial’s main world should have vanished—it might have collided with Red Moon’s world. Perhaps battle has only taken place for a few years there, or a few decades. However, one hundred thousand years have elapsed here!

“You are too weak to understand the concepts within. Therefore, it is impossible to discern who has won between the two sides. Not even this emperor is aware of the current situation. But since New Martial has abandoned Silver Moon, this emperor feels it more likely that they are the losing side...”

He didn’t say that Red Moon was sure to have won! An exalted emperor couldn’t be bothered to lie to a weakling.

“It is undeniable that New Martial is very strong!” His voice reverberated through the world. “But the Human King of New Martial has split the world into two, even three or four... In this regard, the greatest of New Martial is less than the master of Red Moon...

“The descendants of the Li family are trapped in a minor world. Perhaps you will grow old and die here. One hundred thousand years is the snap of a finger to me, but it is an interminable period of time to you. You can have anything you want if you break the seal and facilitate my departure from this place!”

Li Hao’s mind spun again; another ray of sword light flashed through his eyes. He stared dumbly at the sword light and took a long moment to recollect his wits.

“How am I to break the seal?” he asked in a dry voice.

“Extract the bloodline power from your body and use Stellaris to cut off a corner of the eight trigrams. This emperor can do the rest so long as you lend a hand or two...”

Li Hao looked around blankly, ever more lost in the conversation.

“The seal won’t maintain itself for long even if you don’t help me.” The voice rang in his mind. “The world has given birth to its own consciousness and does not wish for someone to endlessly draw on its energy. Hence, this seal will break on its own sooner or later.”

A feeble wisp of scarlet energy stretched toward Li Hao’s shadow.

......

At the same time.

A dense scarlet energy had enshrouded Li Hao’s physical body near the stone door.

Yuan Shuo frowned. He didn’t draw near his student as the wisps of energy wafting from the main portion felt exceedingly uncomfortable. Not only that, but energy of the eight families abruptly exploded from the stone door!

Just like last time, the eight families clashed with the scarlet energy.

The explosion blasted clarity into Yuan Shuo. He took a deep breath, looking at his disciple with extreme gravity. This was... highly concerning! He was much stronger than before, but just a bit of energy wafting out was sufficient to make him lose his wits. What kind of powerhouse was sealed within?

He grunted and howled like a tiger.

“Li Hao!” The angry roar echoed through the world, gathering with imposing momentum to speed to where Li Hao was.

Rumble!

A ferocious tiger leapt in the void.