Chapter 1435: Opening the Star Gate (II)

Li Hao had brought Panther out of Silver City with him. The dog had kept him company for his entire cultivation journey and helped him many times. The young man did have a strong connection with Panth, but also knew that Fused Dao was its current limit.

This was something hard to turn around since Li Hao wasn’t familiar with the dao of monster spirits.

Yuan Shuo and Liu Long had barely made it to the Fused Dao level—they’d done so only because they died once. Those who’d left Silver City back in the day and were still alive were just Panther and Li Hao.

Panther was only first level Fused Dao. Its rate of improvement had slowed down and was less than that of other humans.

It’d come to Li Hao at Calm Tranquility when no one else did, maybe because the young man hadn’t assigned it a mission or any tasks at all. The dog was dejected at having nothing to do. In previous encounters with danger, it had put forth a lot of effort.

Whether it was leaving Silver Moon province and taking on the Xus in the eastern province, devouring the heavenly will, or battling the desolate beasts... it had been very important in all those matters.

But now, it was useless.

Panther refused to be useless!

“Arf arf arf!” barked the dog. It looked expectantly at Li Hao, seeming to know that the young man had his ways of strengthening the dog. Hence, it was here and wanted to try its luck. It knew Li Hao!

“There’s no point in raising a fuss.” Li Hao scratched his head with resignation. “Do you mean to say that you want to go sleep? Then go!”

“Arf arf arf arf arf!” the dog barked furiously.

That’s not it and you know it!

Li Hao burst out laughing and looked up at the sky. “Panth, you’re really not afraid of death, huh! I don’t get it. Even humans are content with the status quo, is a dog not? You’re the undisputed boss of the Silver Moon monster spirits, what else do you want? Is growing stronger of any use at all?”

The young man brought the river into view and pointed at a cat within its depths. “Do you see that? Those who keep pets don’t meet with a good end. The same goes for the pet itself. The pet is without a caretaker once their master dies. Only sadness prevails in the end!”

Panther didn’t care. It knew Li Hao and what the young man could do, so it started barking up a storm again. The dog didn’t wish to be forgotten or left behind...

“Alright, it was one thing if you hadn’t come, but since you have, I do have some ideas in mind.” A merry Li Hao looked at the dog. “Silver Moon’s location will be exposed to those out there this time around. While the world roams through the chaos universe, it’s moving too slowly to conceal our position. We’re so weak that it’s only a matter of time before someone else devours us!

“Even with New Martial being outside... it’s hard to determine their current state. The Human King is not a kind soul as he walks around, antagonizing strong enemies. By my count, he might be making enemies out of every faction out there!

“He might not have the time or effort to spare for us. Therefore, it’s better to rely on ourselves than on others!

“We can’t always pin our hopes on someone else. It’s both right and wrong that Silver Moon is isolated for the moment. At the very least, it keeps us relatively safe. If you open the Star Gate without making sufficient preparations or accumulating enough strength, you’ll find that it’s robbers all around!

“A mid world without an exalted emperor in residence and with its own dao universe... Any powerhouse would be tempted. We can’t depend on the inner goodness of other people’s hearts!” Li Hao muttered to himself. “I was thinking I should do something or utilize certain means... but also worried that that would cause even more trouble.

“The more I think about it, the more I realize that you’re the most suitable candidate! But, this is hard to put into words and very difficult to ask of someone!”

Panther seemed to understand; a light sparkled in its eyes.

“You’re a smart dog, you know what I mean, right?” Li Hao laughed.

Panther hastily bobbed its head up and down.

“That’s right, you’ve inherited some of the abilities of the Heavenly Dog and Monster Spirit Envoy—you can devour worlds! But you’re too weak to swallow Silver Moon and the two dao universes. I’d want you to take them with you!”

The dog was far too weak at first level Fused Dao! It would take at least an exalted emperor to accomplish the deed—Panther was only a Fused Dao. It was far too removed from that cultivation stage. It didn’t matter that the dog had devouring abilities—one of two cases would happen here. It would either be unable to swallow the target, or it’d outright explode from what it swallowed!

But if Li Hao couldn’t take Silver Moon with him... was he supposed to stay here and guard the world?

Once the eyes of the chaos were on New Martial and whatever fuss it raised, that would still leave some powerhouses paying attention to this spot. According to what Celestial Pole said, there were existences in the chaos that liked to wander around by themselves. All of them were potential aggressors!

Why was that?

What was considered a wandering rogue were either entities whose home world had been destroyed or powerhouses from premier major worlds out on an adventure. The former had no choice but to roam through the universe. They were often bandits since they would barge into a world for resources.

The latter were also often robbers—it was the mindset of survival of the fittest. The law of the jungle was on full display in the gloom of the universe!

It was the same when it came to New Martial. Celestial Pole told Li Hao bluntly that New Martial was also a bandit. All major worlds were bandits in the chaos universe because there existed only robbers and their victims!

The greater one’s reputation and the more infamous one was, the more one could intimidate others from attacking!

Red Moon major world was so notorious because it was strong enough. New Martial wasn’t that badly off either. Red Moon dared attack it because New Martial had so many robbers that it was rich pickings.

However, Silver Moon was an insignificant world weaker than most. It was a plum target in anyone’s eyes!

This was a difficult decision!

Panther had been listening intently, it understood Li Hao’s reservations. It was true that the dog was too weak. Even if Li Hao wanted to commence this sort of plan, a dog of the Fused Dao level was unable to swallow a mid world as well as two other dao universes!

If that wasn’t the case, the young man would’ve wanted Panth to journey through the universe with their home, much like the Ash Emperor did.

The dog was suddenly immensely depressed.

That’s right, I can’t do it. It’s too hard!

“Therefore, I’ve considered this for a long time and think there may be another potential solution...” Li Hao said softly as he stroked his chin.

“Arf!” Panth agitated.

Stop beating around the bush! Out with it! You’ll be the death of me!

“What are you in a rush for? Slow is smooth, smooth is fast!” Li Hao patted the dog’s head with a laugh. “I once spoke of having you replace the heavenly will. Silver Moon doesn’t have one at the moment. While the queen would like to fill that role, she doesn’t dare as she’s afraid I’ll somehow end her. Therefore, she’s been hemming and hawing, not daring to actually bring it up.

“To be honest, I don’t want her to be the heavenly will either. It’s too dangerous. She has a lot of ambition! While I’m not afraid of ambitious people, the heavenly will needs to be fair and impartial. Human desires are too massive—they far eclipse those of monster spirits. Where there are people, there is the martial world!”

“Arf?” Panther was perplexed.

So you want me to be the heavenly will? But that doesn’t work, the heavenly will works inside a world, not outside!

“Here’s what I’m thinking. If you replace the heavenly will, the best opportunity comes when the world ascends and the two daos envelop Silver Moon through their integration! You’ll be able to control the world from within, but not from without!

“That’s one aspect. The other depends on a bit of luck, strength, and fortune!” Li Hao mused. “I’ll need a chaos beast on the outside for this part. They’re able to swallow worlds. If I kill it, you can control the corpse from your identity as the heavenly will. You’ll then be able to devour Silver Moon through the corpse—it’ll be much easier that way!

“But there are several points of difficulty with this idea as well. One, there needs to be a chaos beast around us! Two, the corpse needs to be intact. The biggest complication is that I can’t damage the beast’s internal structure. If I do, it won’t be able to devour the world!

“And third for you, you might need to abandon your body as a dog. You can only manipulate this corpse and Silver Moon world. If what’s out there isn’t a dog, then you will no longer be a dog. Of course, you can also slowly try to modify the body!

“Fourth, seeing as the world lacks a heavenly will at present, this part isn’t difficult. But the complication lies with the two dao universes! The dao universe originates from Silver Moon, but it’s also evolved beyond the world. With you in the mix, you’ll be a third party vying for control!

“Will you be able to keep them in check when I’m not around? If the two dao masters fight you, they might end up eating you instead.”

Panther wagged its tail, not minding all of the risks. The only point it cared about was—would this help it grow stronger?

“Of course you’ll grow stronger.” Li Hao smiled, understanding the look in the dog’s eyes. “You’ll be very strong, on par with that chaos beast! Although I don’t know if this plan will work, your future accomplishments will be limited by the world if it does. You won’t be able to exceed the confines of the world!

“You advance if Silver Moon advances. If the world does not progress, neither can you! You’ll be a kind of world seed!”

Li Hao said a lot to Panther; the dog nodded, finding the idea swell. If it relied on itself, when would it ever become an exalted emperor? Based off Li Hao’s words, it would be an exalted emperor if it swallowed the world and held Silver Moon in its stomach!

Almost all chaos beasts were exalted emperors—that was another type of master of the world. Not all masters of the world were also masters of great dao. There were dao masters in some worlds, as well as a separate master of the world. Such was the case in New Martial—well, the Human King and Ash Emperor each respectively counted as half of a master of the world and half of a master of great dao.

As tiny as Silver Moon was, the delineation was even more apparent. The heavenly will was the master of the world and there were two masters of great dao. If Li Hao was counted in the mix, there were four masters associated with Silver Moon.

“How about it, do you have any opinions otherwise?”

Panth shook its head. It had no dissenting opinions.

“What a pity!” Li Hao shook his head. “I was thinking of letting you be the heavenly will of my world of time if there was a chance to...”

Enthusiasm beamed out of Panther’s eyes!

Really??

Although the current world of time was less than Silver Moon or even a regular minor world, it was only a matter of time before it progressed given Li Hao’s presence. It was still very weak for the moment. If not, Li Hao would’ve advanced a long time ago.

That was one factor. The other was that following Li Hao granted one a brighter future than staying with Silver Moon.

Such were Panther’s thoughts.

“I’m joking,” laughed the young man. “Don’t trust me. I’m calling the shots in my world. There won’t be a heavenly will, not even with you in the position!”

Fine then!

Panth’s head drooped, looking dejected, but inwardly snorting at the young man.

You call the shots in your world? Didn’t you integrate that woman’s dao star into your world? You forget about your best dog after having a woman by your side!

“So we’re settled!” Li Hao patted Panther’s head again. “Transform into the heavenly will as soon as possible after I kill the powerhouses outside. Control the chaos beast’s corpse—that will be my first target. Once you devour the world, we’ll go on the run!”

He would flee with Silver Moon! The premises had grown very dangerous; they were quite possibly within Red Moon territory. Li Hao wasn’t the slightest bit confident in facing off against this major world. An entity that could stand against New Martial was absolutely not something he could challenge at the moment.

Panther nodded continuously, joy visible on its face. This trip hadn’t been in vain! It knew that Li Hao normally wouldn’t turn down any supplicants, just like when that woman had gone to him and said she wanted to be his wife. He hadn’t said no to even that!

Li Hao was the sort not to decline any request, assuming that he was willing to fulfill it.

“So what are you doing here? You should treasure the time in which you’re still a dog and have fun with other dogs. Don’t leave any regrets behind.”

“......” Panther rolled its eyes.

Are you kidding? I’m the number one dog in Silver Moon, would any other dog catch my eye?

But it knew that Li Hao was sending it on its way, so it turned and left.

Li Hao was left alone in the residence.