Chapter 1475: Fellow Daoist (III)

“On Dragon Observatory’s side, the leader is interested in joining the alliance against New Martial.” Void drank another cup of ale, finding it to his taste. “He boldly hopes to become a seventh rank from it. There’s not much meaning in that for me since sixth rank is only a matter of time.

“Seventh, however, is too hard! Not to mention that by the time I reach sixth rank, the war in Red Moon Region might be over. Red Moon is no match for New Martial!” He shook his head. “The Red Moon master is an eighth rank exalted emperor, but he’s already reaching outward for support. That is a clear sign of lack of confidence.

“Even though people say they feel comfortable doing this because they have a deep foundation to draw from, what use is that when they need external help against New Martial? They want to leverage force against force, but this is the beginning of failure!

“That’s one point. The second is that the New Martial Human King is completely undaunted and going on a general rampage in all directions, clipping Red Moon’s feathers. At the same time, he’s doing so to deter other participants. The shadow cast by the Human King has the Red Moon master running in fright.

“Third, Red Moon major world centers itself on desire. The more desires they have, the greater the fear! In contrast, New Martial is known for its fanaticism. But at its core, that is faith, not fanaticism!

“They have a resolute faith not in the Human King, but in their species, their mental strength, and defiance!” Void waxed eloquent. “Under such conditions and given New Martial’s dominating performance in the chaos after appearing for only one thousand years, it seems to me that it’s only a matter of time before the Human King reaches eighth rank!

“He detonated Utmost Dark’s dao universe—what did that mean? Everyone else saw this as evidence of his madness, whereas I see that even the dao universe of a major world is useless for his progression!”

Li Hao blinked, turning over the other’s words. That was right, the Human King had no need for a dao universe! Otherwise, with his personality, he would devour it and think of other ways to raise a fuss. He could set foot into eighth rank if he swallowed it, but instead, he turned his attention to cutting down another major world instead.

The young man had almost forgotten this detail himself.

This meant that the dao universe of a major world was of no benefit to the Human King’s advancement. That also obliquely indicated that he’d reached peak seventh rank and was infinitely close to eighth rank!

“Therefore, I predict that New Martial will win this war!” Void laughed. “Of course, this is just my speculation. I am only a fourth rank, after all. I am too far removed from them, so I should not come to wild conclusions!”

His curiosity was piqued and he asked further, “If it was not me here today, but someone else, what would the fellow daoist upon the reveal of your identity?”

He was quite enjoying his conversation with Li Hao, but if it was any other exalted emperor who learned of the young man’s identity... The temptation posed by a mid world was quite enormous. They would have a fight on their hands then!

“This is Skyward, a major world where numerous powerful existences once resided!” Li Hao laughed. “I don’t have much skill to my name. I might be able to borrow some strength when threatened with death, but I’ll pay an enormous price for it. The trade-off is, I guarantee that I’ll be able to give my opponent a hard time!”

Borrow some strength?

Void blinked.

How?

He didn’t understand. There were many types of great dao out there, so perhaps the one in front of him could truly do as he said. There’d once been ninth rank emperors at Skyward! If Li Hao borrowed strength, could he borrow form a ninth rank

If he could... that was utterly horrifying!

He would be utterly dominating as no one in all of Skyward Region would be able to stand against a ninth rank. But this was the young man’s trump card, so Void did not probe further. All he knew was that this wasn’t necessarily an empty threat. There was no need for Li Hao to voice empty promises.

The young man wouldn’t have stayed behind if he wished to intimidate his enemies. He would’ve long made his escape.

His continual presence meant that his words were true.

“Are the chaos tribulation clouds outside your work?” Void asked when his thoughts traveled here.

“Probably!”

“That’s terrifying!”

“I’m greatly troubled by them too!” Li Hao laughed wryly. He shook his head with resignation. “That thing plagues my days. I’ve endured so many of them and they’re such a hassle each time!”

“Now that’s some hot air and blustering!” Void broke out in laughter.

“Not really, is it?” Li Hao’s laugh deepened.

“It is!” Void let loose with enjoyment. “How long will the fellow daoist be with Dragon Observatory?”

“One year.”

“One year?” Void thought it over. “One year is when the chaos robber alliance will make their move. It seems that the fellow daoist has certain thoughts in mind! There will be a fourth rank exalted emperor leading the group—he won’t be weak, but won’t amount to much either. To be frank, this is just bait. The two sides are vying with each other to see who comes out on top!”

“So their target isn’t those two New Martial exalted emperors?” Li Hao frowned slightly.

“No!” Void thought for a while. “It’s probably the Sword Sovereign! The Sword Sovereign sits in residence at Silver Moon, so he has some ties to that world! That’s one reason.

“The second is that losing Silver Moon is a sign of his negligence and a shame on his record! New Martial kills exalted emperors to redeem themselves. Will he live up to the name of ‘Sword Sovereign’ if he doesn’t kill a dozen exalted emperors for his transgression?

“It’s said that he’s a sixth rank exalted emperor,” the man chuckled. “Being a sword cultivator, his battle strength is incredible! Therefore, it’s highly likely that high rank exalted emperors will be in the field this time.”

“I can’t afford to provoke those!” Li Hao took a sharp breath.

“How are you even thinking of that possibility?” Void chortled. “I’m just listening in on all the meetings. I won’t go if Dragon Observatory wants to send me! Whoever wants to can make that trip! But here you are, thinking of getting involved. You’ve really got some nerve!

“You can borrow strength in Skyward, but can you do so in the chaos? My thoughts are that you won’t be able to!”

“It would be hard to in the chaos!” Li Hao nodded.

“There you have it then. The New Martial supreme is also not easy pickings. There will be a titanic struggle. You and I can just watch the show, why get involved?”

“Can’t help it, karmic repercussions are involved! Favors are the most difficult to pay off.”

“True enough!” Void nodded with a sigh. “Favors... If we cultivators don’t pay them off, our dao hearts won’t be able to take it, even if our conscience can!”

“That’s right!”

The two conversed freely for a while as a shellshocked Big Claw watched on. The Exalted Void Emperor was a taciturn person of few words. But today, he quite enjoyed himself in conversation with the newcomer. He didn’t seem to care about Big Claw’s report and Li Hao’s true identity.

Why was that?

And this Li Hao really was speaking of everything on his mind. Was he not afraid?

Too many questions gathered in Big Claw’s mind!

“My presence for a year will not cause damage to Dragon Observatory—it would be hard for me to do so anyway!” Li Hao remarked. “I just want to operate with a legitimate identity. Secondly, I want to kill a few enemies and require some conveniences when doing so. I hope the faction can supply those for me.

“Thirdly, I’d like to trade some dao crystals after I kill these people. Can Dragon Observatory provide such venues for me? Fourthly, the fellow daoist is skilled at the dao of stillness—of emptiness. Although it is not of the same system as the dao of death, there are similarities.

“If I break through, I will do so with the dao of life and death. I am willing to let the fellow daoist observe this dao, but in return, could the fellow daoist create a world of emptiness for me in Skyward when I ascend?”

“I can do that,” Void nodded. “You’re just one person and the dao of emptiness is most adept at hiding others. But... I’ll be out of my depth if you end up attracting a thunder tribulation again!”

“That I won’t... if I don’t do anything wild. I’ll just be making a small progression, so that shouldn’t provoke the chaos.”

“Then it’s settled!” Void didn’t seem surprised that the young man would be advancing through the dao of life and death. “I’d like to see if there’s anything special about breaking through via the dao of life and death!

“Life and death, yin and yang are renowned great daos within the chaos! My dao of emptiness is a small dao. To observe a cultivator of a great dao at work is a rare and wondrous opportunity!”

The two weren’t deeply acquainted with each other, but they were quite enjoying the conversation.

Li Hao had been able to tell when he saw Void that this person’s dao foundation ran deep. He was a true cultivator of dao. For an existence like him, killing others or seizing treasure wasn’t their greatest goal in life. Comprehending dao was!

He was the same sort of person as Li Hao, just that their daos were different.

It was fine if their daos were different, they could seek out similarities and retain their differences. The two could converse and exchange information.

Void was formidable, but exchanges of great dao should be conducted through friendly interaction, not forced deprivation. Taking it from someone would just be raiding what they had at the moment—not their future or their potential.

Hence, seizing dao was not the key!

People like Void could be reasoned with if encountered. There was nothing that could not be negotiated so long as their core interests weren’t infringed upon.

“Ah, yes, I do need to go back with an answer,” Void continued. “In conclusion, do not cause trouble within Dragon Observatory territory! You can go elsewhere if you have any thoughts in mind. Also, there is a major world backing Dragon Observatory!

“As for whether or not the faction leader will make a move against New Martial... that is up to them. You can do anything you’d like once you leave Skyward. But since I have come to assess you, I hope the fellow daoist will not make things difficult for me either!”

“Of course not!” Li Hao nodded emphatically. “I will definitely not do so! ...is the fellow daoist here for the Skyward dao universe?”

“Not entirely, that comes down to fortune. It’s a matter of my personal luck as to whether or not I can obtain it. It’ll be nice if I can and not an issue if I cannot. I need to comprehend emptiness—Skyward is a massive empty world!” Void didn’t mind their candor and continued explaining, “Skyward’s powerhouses disappeared and a vacuum was left in the wake of their great dao. The world itself is a premier major world, but there is nothing here!

“It’s actually best if the dao universe doesn’t reappear, but it’s fine if it does. From emptiness springs activity, something arises from nothing. When that day comes, that is when I ascend to fifth or even sixth rank!”

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“From emptiness springs activity...” Li Hao repeated. “That is right, well said!” He applauded loudly. “If a dao universe is born here, then something will have arisen from nothing. Since this is a premier major world, that will indeed be the fellow daoist’s opportunity!

“This concept bears a resemblance to the daos of corporeal and immaterial, life and death, as well yin and yang! That means to say that there should be corporeal and immaterial aspects of all daos in existence, that there are two sides that answer to each other!”

“That’s right!” Void smiled. “That’s what I think as well!”

The two grew increasingly animated in their conversation.