Chapter 1384: The Troublemaker (I)

One hundred million stars manifested in the immaterial dao universe. Li Daoheng appeared, immediately assimilating the man with a sword on his back. Immense strength swept over the world!

He didn’t say a word as he sped for the river of chaos, not Li Hao!

Zheng Yu and Li Daoheng had different targets in their sights. One wanted the young man, the other wanted the river of chaos. They reached an unspoken accord in this moment—

you go after Li Hao, I’ll go after the river. Our goals don’t interfere with each other.

Their previous weakness and fragility had been an act.

It was the Red Moon exalted emperor’s replica who was truly weak and cursed at the sight. Those two bastards!

Behind them, the Great Li king and Lin Hongyu roared with fury. They threw themselves through the void. Zheng Yu and Li Daoheng hadn’t been weakened by the earlier fighting at all. The Red Moon exalted emperor’s replica was almost crippled, but those two had retained most of their strength!

In the distance, Celestial Pole’s agonized cries continued with gusto. They came to an abrupt halt when he saw that the fighting was starting up again. He permitted the destructive power to wash over him and looked up at the sky. A blade the color of blood appeared in his hand, as did a corresponding sniff from the Red Moon exalted emperor.

“So noisy!” Celestial Pole suddenly looked in the exalted emperor’s direction and sliced down with the blade!

Bam!

The tattered replica was immediately eradicated. Celestial Pole frowned and hesitated before rushing toward the starry expanse. The river of chaos might not be Li Hao’s anymore, so he couldn’t be bothered with it. But the stars in the sky must be Li Hao’s, so he should still keep an eye on them. The Zheng kid was far more than met the eye, Li Hao might not be able to take him in a fight.

......

A massive star hung in Silver Moon airspace. Zheng Yu broke through the void. His opportunity was at hand!

The plan was in shambles—not just Li Hao’s, but everyone’s. However, the result was good. At least for Zheng Yu, it was.

He could swallow the heavenly will, make Silver Moon his own, seize the two daos...

If he succeeded today, he was also prepared for an exalted emperor tribulation, assuming one was forthcoming. Thanks to the experience from the chaos tribulation, he would absolutely succeed in weathering the exalted emperor tribulation and ascend after that!

Zheng Yu fixed his eyes on his target!

Li Hao’s figure shifted in and out of sight. The 180th dao star was brightening, but seemed to lack something. It stood apart from the other stars.

Meanwhile, the young man’s presence rose and fell. It was strong one moment and weak the next. He seemed to have gained something from the chaos tribulation, but also not.

Zheng Yu rushing him now was a grave threat. Although the Great Li king was in hot pursuit, the king’s presence was rapidly declining. Once he lost the strength of a half step emperor, he wouldn’t be able to stand against Zheng Yu for long, even with Zhang An’s help.

Zheng Yu reached the stars in the blink of an eye and extended his hand without a single word. Unbounded might erupted from his grasp, force that was even stronger than the thunderbolts. It was as if he wanted to grab the star of time to obliterate Li Hao and swallow the young man.

Li Hao’s form appeared in front of the star. He looked at Zheng Yu, materializing a longsword in his hand and stabbing it through the void. The world shook from the blow and infinite energy swirled in from all directions, collecting as Li Hao’s strength.

Sword and palm intersected!

The void cracked like glass; fractures filled the void. 180 stars trembled violently. Zheng Yu was truly bringing the strength of a half step emperor to bear. He was powerful beyond imagine!

Behind him, the Great Li king expanded all of his strength in a world-shattering blow!

The trio formed a direct line with Zheng Yu in the middle. The man didn’t mind. Explosive force rose from his body and flared explosively, shattering the void.

The Great Li king’s fist crumbled. Zheng Yu seemed much stronger than he’d been when they’d exchanged blows moments earlier. There was no need for him to hide anything at this point in the battle.

A whip appeared in the man’s hand once more and cracked through the whip, heading for Li Hao. As strong as the young man’s sword light was, the 180 dao stars were yet to form a complete circulatory system. Even though their strength neared half step emperor, they were swiftly demolished by a true half step emperor.

Celestial Pole hurtled through space even further to their rear. He came bearing the blade of blood!

Although the young man had said that their debts were cleared, Celestial Pole still chose to join the battle. Endless blood qi erupted with his swing and a blood sea reared in a tidal wave, as if wanting to destroy the entire world!

“There is no need for the senior to get involved in this mess!” Zheng Yu said softly. “You have stayed out of things for one hundred thousand years, but see fit to drag yourself in today!”

“Can’t be bothered doesn’t mean I can’t involve myself!” Celestial Pole sneered.

“This changes nothing.” Zheng Yu was unmoved. “A half step emperor is strong, but the senior is just a replica and not a primary body. Not to mention, the senior isn’t a new addition to the world.”

Celestial Pole’s eyes widened. He wasn’t a new addition!

That was true. He’d been asleep in the north for one hundred thousand years and Zheng Yu was clearly aware of his existence. So that meant to say...

“The senior has perfect timing. My endeavors today may hinge on some help from the senior!” Zheng Yu was surrounded on three sides! Li Hao was ahead of him, the Great Li king and Zhang An were behind him, and Celestial Pole was on his side. The last was the replica of a real exalted emperor and equipped with the Exalted Blood Emperor’s weapon. Regular half step emperors were unable to withstand that level of strength.

Take the Red Moon exalted emperor’s replica, for example. While he’d been gravely injured, Celestial Pole also hadn’t faced any difficulty when killing him.

Zheng Yu was absolutely composed; some changes filtered through his thoughts.

Li Hao’s brows knit together in a ferocious frown, as did a furrow cross Celestial Pole’s forehead.

There were eight bloody lines over Zheng Yu’s head. Thick and substantial, it was the same sight that Ying Hongyue had once presented. However, compared to Ying Hongyue’s thin threads, these were much stronger!

As Celestial Pole watched on uneasily, the eight bloodlines became one!

What?? Zheng Yu also has the eight bloodlines?!

The man’s presence and might rose explosively, surpassing what the Red Moon exalted emperor’s replica had exerted. It also surpassed what Li Daoheng projected, making Zheng Yu the only noteworthy person in the world!

The blade of blood trembled in Celestial Pole’s hand. The sleeping cat seemed to sense something and wanted to wake up to eat this energy. The weapon shook wildly!

Zheng Yu punched once more, beating back the Great Li king. He kicked the void to pieces, likewise shattering Li Hao’s sword intent.

“Li Hao was not within my plans,” he said softly. “But after living so many years, would I not be familiar with the senior’s personality? If an opportunity really does present itself and there’s someone who the senior thinks he bonds with, would you not take advantage of it?

“The senior was well known for playing the fool during New Martial!” Zheng Yu sniffed dismissively. “The noble and lofty Prince Celestial Pole loved to act the loon. You fooled so many, but still worked for the Human King when he came into power!

“I don’t know if there will be a Human King in this new era, but I also know that the senior isn’t nearly as indifferent as you portray yourself to be.”

Zheng Yu was very familiar with Celestial Pole. He was said to love abstaining from everything during New Martial, but in reality, he was the most opportunistic of all.

When countless core origin powerhouses were killed, he survived to the end despite being the West Emperor’s son. He even became an exalted emperor—something plainly allowed by the Human King. Perhaps the Human King had even supported him in this endeavor.

Celestial Pole wouldn’t be an exalted emperor otherwise.

The Exalted Blood Emperor setting him a mission of guarding the blade was also a demonstration of trust. Combined with the fact that Celestial Pole’s father was a premier exalted emperor... that meant he couldn’t nearly be as lazy as he portrayed himself to be.

If he was, he wouldn’t have come here and slumbered for one hundred thousand years, just waiting for a cat to wake up. These were the actions of an enormous investment!

It was an investment in the Exalted Blood Emperor, the Ash Emperor, and the Human King simply on account of the cat having a relationship with all three of them. The Ash Emperor was particularly relevant because the cat was its projection. When it died with the War Sovereign’s projection, the heartless Ash Emperor had cried over it.

Zheng Yu fully demonstrated his keen edge in this moment. The eight bloodlines over his head fully became one, prompting the blade of blood to shake like a leaf!

Celestial Pole’s eyes widened with shock.

“Kill him!” yelled the Great Li king. He was extraordinarily excited because the same sight had once happened with Ying Hongyue. The man was then cut down on the spot. Zheng Yu was repeating those actions, and while his bloodlines seemed so much stronger than Ying Hongyue’s, Celestial Pole wielded the blade.

He could cut through the eight bloodlines equally easily!

There was no easy expression on Celestial Pole’s face, however. He thought rapidly over a million possibilities. In the end, he wanted to withdraw the blade, but it no longer listened to him!

Horror was beginning to dawn on Celestial Pole’s face.

“My father used his own bloodline to nurture this sword for one hundred thousand years,” Zheng Yu said softly. “You were delighted to see him do so, thinking that my father was a hapless idiot feeding the blade for you. It saved you a lot of trouble, so the senior was very happy in those years, weren’t you?”

Zheng Hongyuan!

This was the first time that Celestial Pole realized he might’ve been careless and made an extreme error in his oversight!

Indeed, Zheng Hongyuan had fed the blade with his own blood for one hundred thousand years in an attempt to seize it. It was good news to Celestial Pole. It wasn’t like the man could claim the blade either, and it saved him the trouble of having to find sustenance for the weapon.

But now it appeared that this had been part of their plans.

Zheng Yu’s eight bloodlines built in strength!

“Although this is the Exalted Blood Emperor’s blade, he’s been gone for one hundred thousand years,” Zheng Yu chuckled. “My father has fed it all this time. He may not be its owner, but it should feel close to us since we’ve provided it with the best food.

“Not to mention, the one inside the blade hasn’t resurrected yet. It acts according to instinct. The senior won’t actually think that we’ve accomplished nothing for our efforts of one hundred thousand years, do you?”

Bam!

The blade shook violently and wanted to break free of Celestial Pole’s control. Not only thought, but the enormous bloodlines over Zheng Yu’s head extended toward the blade.

A sleeping cat within opened its mouth out of habit, latching onto the end of a dragon made of eight bloodlines. It suddenly flew toward Zheng Yu. The cat refused to let go since it’d found something delicious!