Chapter 1357: Full of Confidence (III)

The immaterial dao universe.

The three heavyweights were still chasing after the star of time. It was then that the Red Moon exalted emperor suddenly said, “Is that thing toying with us?”

He frowned slightly. Being an exalted emperor, his vision was keen. They’d lost track of the star in the distance on multiple occasions, but whenever they felt that they couldn’t find it, the star would suddenly twinkle and appear again. It... felt like they were being led by the nose!

The star was playing hide and seek with them like a child. If they were close to capturing it, it instantly vanished. But if they showed inclinations of giving up the chase, it came back out to tempt the trio.

It was utterly maddening; the exalted emperor felt like he was being harassed by the star. If he felt this way, then so would the other two.

Up ahead, the star paused when it saw that the humans weren’t coming after it. It wasn’t the least bit frazzled, just curious.

Come on, why aren’t you chasing me anymore?

“How interesting!” Zheng Yu laughed softly when he saw the star’s reaction. “It really is playing hard to get so that we’ll entertain it. The heart of the great dao is not so easily captured! We’ll probably be able to lock onto it when the two dao universes become one.

“Or we can imitate Li Hao and use some special methods to entice it to come to us. As things stand right now, it should be very hard to seize it!”

“It won’t be getting away when this emperor is here!” The Red Moon exalted emperor was indifferent. “Why not undo the seal so my primary body can go after it? The three of us can split it after we capture it!

“Zheng Yu and Li Daoheng, we do not have to fight to the death here! Aren’t you two doing this to verify your dao as exalted emperors?” He smiled at the other two. “Devouring Silver Moon world will grant one the hope of becoming an exalted emperor!

“Zheng Yu can have Silver Moon world! Combining the two dao universes will also make one an emperor. Since that is what you plan to do, Li Daoheng, why don’t you take the corporal dao universe? And I... only want the star of time, even just half of it, because I want to trace the origin of New Martial’s Yin and Yang world.

“All three of us can benefit! Otherwise, we’ll be slinking off empty-handed if the situation continues. Although Li Hao isn’t too strong at the moment, he is improving rapidly at an unthinkable pace. Once he seizes the star and combines the two dao universes, he may kill us all!”

They would split the world into thirds!

“I have no opinions otherwise,” Zheng Yu smiled. “What say you, Li Daoheng?”

“Why put on this act, Zheng Yu?” The man with a sword on his back looked aloofly at Zheng Yu. “After all these years, I know you very well even if others don’t. If it wasn’t for your interference, I would’ve succeeded long ago! Don’t think that I’m oblivious to the amount of trouble you’ve given me!”

“I wasn’t even aware that you existed,” Zheng Yu laughed. “I learned about you from Li Hao. Am I supposed to take the fall for this as well?”

“The trouble that is the Zheng young master...” sniffed Li Daoheng. “I saw through that a long time ago! I was not the one behind the folk song. Am I honestly to believe that you have no idea who wrote it?”

“What does it have to do with me?” Zheng Yu burst out laughing. “I’ve been stuck in Galewind all these years...”

“Keep up the act if you want!” Li Daoheng ignored the other and looked ahead.

There was a tantalizing prize in front of them that everyone wanted a piece of. They could see it, but couldn’t touch it. It was a situation that induced one to give up even if they didn’t want to. It dangled in front of them like a carrot; the trio steadily paced forward, led by the star.

Three half step emperors were being toys for a star!

“We need to do something big if we want to lure it to us,” said Li Daoheng. “I tried a few times and never caught its attention. This shouldn’t be the first time that Li Hao’s drawn it out of hiding. According to my judgment, it will require the two dao universes coming together as one to appeal to it, or...

“Or... I can kill you two, devour you, and verify my dao as an exalted emperor!”

“Don’t start getting any ideas.” Zheng Yu took a step back with a smile. “I can partner with the exalted emperor, but you cannot! You’d be better off brainstorming other ideas. If Li Hao could lure it out a few times, why can’t you?

“Why not devour the Moon God and heavenly will? Perhaps the integration of the world will be sufficient to lure it out. What do you think?” He looked at the man with a sword on his back. “There’s always a price to be paid, Li Daoheng. You’ve schemed your way to present day and have created innumerable replicas. Why not combine some of them and take out the Moon God? You might stand a high chance of seizing this star then.”

Li Daoheng remained silent before suddenly saying, “Li Hao is a very big threat! We all understand that it’s only a matter of time before he severely threatens us all. As much as we have prepared, his connection to the past and future have shattered some of our plans. We need to eliminate him!”

“That will be very difficult to achieve!” Zheng Yu shook his head. “The world has been suppressed again, so you and I will find it hard to leave!”

“I have a plan that does not require waiting for Li Hao to revitalize the world again.” Li Daoheng looked at the other two. “The three of us are here and it is also very difficult for there to be a victor among us. We might as well turn our attention to Li Hao first...”

“How?” Zheng Yu smiled faintly.

“Since Li Hao can summon the corporeal dao universe to Silver Moon world, I naturally have ways to summon the immaterial dao universe to envelop the world for a short moment!” Li Daoheng said softly. “But I can only do so for a very short period of time. During this interval, the three of us can join hands and fight our way into the corporeal dao universe!

“We can try to temporarily combine the two dao universes as one and lure the star to us. The three of us can determine our victor then!”

Whether it was Zheng Yu or the Red Moon exalted emperor, both considered the proposal with a glint in their eyes. They looked at Li Daoheng warily. Did this mean he was fully confident of pulling the plan off?

“The guy in the north is Celestial Pole’s replica, isn’t he?” said the exalted emperor. “He wields the blade of the Exalted Blood Emperor and is a half step emperor himself. This makes him a very big threat. If the three of us do proceed according to what you say and attack the corporeal dao universe, what should we do if that guy joins the battle?”

That one was a force to contend with. Strictly speaking, the Red Moon exalted emperor’s replica might not be able to stand against him. If that was Celestial Pole, he was a veteran exalted emperor as well. And with the Exalted Blood Emperor’s blade in hand... he was not someone to provoke.

“Does the exalted emperor still not understand Li Daoheng?” Zheng Yu laughed softly. “Both he and I are not at liberty to make a move. It would be better for the exalted emperor to strategize how to eliminate that one!”

The exalted emperor sneered.

Don’t you guys have a pretty plan in mind, huh? If I handle the one in the north and you two attack Li Hao, Li Daoheng will have a chance of combining the two dao universes and Zheng Yu can set his eyes on the star of time. In a critical moment, Li Daoheng might even give up on the star of time and Zheng Yu would refrain from scheming after the dao universes.

I will be the only one to end up with nothing!

“If we defeat that one and break the blade of blood, the seal of the eight cities will collapse on itself!” Li Daoheng suddenly said. “Exalted Emperor of Red Moon, this is your chance. You can give it a try if you’re willing to make this gamble. Or forget it if not!”

The Red Moon exalted emperor was tempted—he regarded the other two in silence.

“Li Daoheng and I will naturally prevent the exalted emperor from breaking the seal in normal times,” Zheng Yu laughed softly. “But this time, if he and I are attracted by the dao universes... then you will be facing only one half step emperor as your opponent, instead of three. I have to say, Fellow Daoist Li has quite the good idea. We’ll each gain what we want from his proposal!”

The Red Moon exalted emperor would have never agreed to it at first—how would he ever agree to dealing with Celestial Pole’s replica?

But now, he suddenly found himself tempted.

The dao universes and star of time were great treasures that the two in front of him were bound to fight over. But he wouldn’t be entirely walking away empty-handed if he fought Celestial Pole’s replica. If he really could defeat that one, break the blade, and shatter the formation of the eight cities... he would be able to walk free!

It would come down to who acted faster!

If he was able to defeat Celestial Pole ahead of schedule, his primary body would be able to easily kill half step emperors and take everything!

Granted, if he didn’t defeat Celestial Pole fast enough and it was Li Daoheng who completed his combination of the dao universes ahead of time, then... he would be the one in trouble.

And since Zheng Yu had dared to agree to the proposal, that surely meant he was relatively confident of seizing the dao universes or star of time himself...

Each member of the trio had their own thoughts in mind. When the star in the distance saw that the three no longer chased after it, it grew disappointed and bored. It rolled around on the spot before suddenly disappearing.

The trio still refrained from following it!

“Li Daoheng, have you locked onto the corporal dao universe’s location?” asked Zheng Yu. “How are you confident of quickly defeating Li Hao, seizing the river of stars, and completing the integration?

“Do you need some other things for this process?” He looked at Li Daoheng, but the man ignored him. “It looks like you started planning this a long time ago, but only mention it today because you’re confident of your success, is that so?”

Zheng Yu was not nearly as dumb or incompetent as everyone thought him to be. He was also planning and calculating certain things. In fact, he seemed very confident in himself. It didn’t matter that Li Daoheng appeared to have his own schemes in mind as well.

“Forget it, we can drop it if you don’t want to talk about it.” His radiant smile was entirely without fear. “I have no opinions otherwise and if the exalted emperor is the same, I think we can commence this plan!”

Zheng Yu appeared to be the weakest of the three; he held the fewest trump cards.

Li Daoheng had the immaterial dao universe, the one from Red Moon was an exalted emperor. He was the only one without a dao universe or the strength of an exalted emperor, but he was the first to agree.

The man with a sword on his back looked deeply at him before nodding. “Very good! If the exalted emperor has no opinions otherwise, then give me some time to help the Moon God recover some. I cannot utilize the people, so it will take some effort to descend upon Silver Moon.

“It will be half a month at the shortest, a month at the longest. That is when I will be able to arrive with the immaterial dao universe. At that time, all three of us will have our respective opportunities to pursue!”

Whether it was verifying their dao of an exalted emperor or a primary body breaking through the seal, each would be within reach then.

“The current me is insufficient!” the Red Moon exalted emperor suddenly said. “That guy wields the blade of the Exalted Blood Emperor and has honed his replica for one hundred thousand years. If you guys want me to agree to this, I need some more concessions!”

He did not try to just stick it out. Instead, he looked at the duo.

“You’ve seized much of my Red Moon power over the years, Zheng Yu. Give it all back! This emperor knows that you have not been infiltrated by Red Moon power. The same goes for Li Daoheng. The primary body of the Moon God is filled with Red Moon power—that needs to be returned to help my primary body take another step forward. Otherwise, I will be met with nothing but defeat if I go against that one!”

“That is amenable!”

“I can do that!” The two readily agreed. The look in the exalted emperor’s eyes glimmered in response, but he only smiled in return.

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

“We would be the laughingstock of the world if this got out!” Zheng Yu suddenly smiled. “One exalted emperor and two half step emperors are hiding in the shadows to scheme against an Empyrean King, a young man of twenty-one years old. He’s only third level Fused Dao! Is this an honor for Li Hao or a ringing endorsement of our incompetence?”

Neither of the two responded; his words struck a chord. They were true!

Whether they had other motives or not, the three of them were indeed plotting against Li Hao at the moment. They were even working in tandem for this goal to the point of relinquishing some of their shared feuds.

What an incredulous situation! Their opponent was just an Empyrean King!