Chapter 1486: Entering Second Rank (IV)

Void laughed and didn’t say anything else. It was just a joke. He simply found their surroundings to be too quiet, but the only other living person with him wasn’t the kind to take a joke. How boring.

So when it came to the cycle of life and death, was one to erupt with everything they had in a burst of resplendent life in their final moment before death? Then would the extremity of emptiness naturally lead to resurrection?

A variety of thoughts ran through Void’s mind. All great daos led to the same ultimate destination. Therefore, there should be similarities between the dao of emptiness and of life and death.

He suddenly made a move and flung the ball of light into the river of life and death!

The river shook!

A massive cat head surfaced for a split second within the river, then quickly vanished.

Void caught a glimpse of it. He smiled without comment.

A cat? The Ash Emperor of New Martial is a cat and there’s a cat here. Are they connected?

I didn’t get a clear reading on its strength, but it seems alright. Probably second rank, but not that strong either. It’s far beneath the Ash Emperor. If Li Hao is hoping that this cat can defend him in a critical moment... that won’t work.

Perhaps the young man had other tricks up his sleeves. However, Void wasn’t interested in trying them out.

A baby’s wails broke through the air as it landed on the ground and immediately began growing. Its cultivation speed was faster than last time’s. Void tossed in a few methods, then thought it over and flung in some power of emptiness as well.

Things might be more interesting this way.

Li Hao grew swiftly. The process was like last time and the way to stimulate his memories remained the same. They proved to be quite effective.

Three years, six years, nine years old...

Void had front row seats to how the new king of Silver Moon had gradually made his way to the exalted emperor level. Li Hao had already grown into a dashing young man when he walked out of the river of life and death.

He was sixteen years old. He’d recovered to his strength of a first rank exalted emperor faster than last time, but this wasn’t enough!

Bridges of life and death rapidly appeared in the surroundings. One, two...

Stars appeared as well, as if they were spinning a spiderweb!

Li Hao had crafted fifty bridges on his last go-around, yet failed to enter second rank after that. The energy that he’d accumulated melded into his body and quickly refashioned the fifty bridges. They didn’t stop.

Sixty, seventy...

Void watched raptly—there seemed to be a world within his eyes as well. Life and death were but the work of a single thought!

One hundred budges!

Much of the energy was depleted by now, replaced by a large quantity of life and death. Even so, the world of emptiness was still eerily quiet.

It was clear to see from this just how powerful Void’s domain was. Li Hao’s actions had not aroused any attention from the chaos even now.

One hundred and ten!

Li Hao tilted his head at Void. “I’m going to ascend to second rank now! A chaos tribulation is sure to descend as a result. The thunder and lightning will be at least third rank, possibly even stronger!”

“Go ahead!” Void nodded with a smile.

Li Hao proceeded without concern.

It’s up to your own skill whether or not you can capture it!

Big Claw watched with a complicated expression. Breaking through... seemed to be so easy for these people. There was nothing to fear about a chaos tribulation either. It was an opportunity instead.

Comparison was the thief of joy and sanity, it seemed. Thank goodness he wasn’t even trying to compare himself to these beings.

One hundred and twenty bridges now spanned the air. The power of life and death on Li Hao became one. His presence shifted and he abruptly grew stronger by a large increment!

The entire star of life and death expanded by an enormous amount. The river of life and death threaded through the world, much bigger as well.

Chaos tribulation clouds appeared in the world—the tribulation was upon them!

“This tribulation... is mine!” Void laughed.

Li Hao had easily made the breakthrough. There was absolutely no difficulty for him when it came to ascending from first to second rank.

Void didn’t mind the display of prowess either. A stream of stars suddenly twinkled into existence in his world of emptiness. It thundered through the void and enveloped the clouds. The tribulation seemed to be illusory, however. He couldn’t touch it.

Void arched a brow and grunted, shaking his world! Another world seemed to rise from the world of emptiness.

“Open!” The genesis of a new world took place in the world of emptiness. Great dao in the four cardinal directions sank into silence and all living beings stilled!

There seemed to be a unique strength burgeoning within the emptiness.

“Reawaken!” commanded a loud roar.

Life wanted to flare in the world of emptiness and give rise to certain developments, but that was when the tribulation that were ignoring Void rushed over to the small world instead!

The man laughed. This was good! It meant that he was on the right path! Good, very good!

I seem to have come to new understandings and comprehension. The tribulation also seems to have gotten stronger as a result, but that doesn’t matter!

Void pointed at the tribulation. It was as if he was commanding a world to be still and silent!

Li Hao fixed his gaze on the man. A surge of emptiness clashed with a surge of destructive power. The tribulation clouds broke apart with a loud rumble!

Void’s fingertip was enveloped by thunder and lightning, leaving his finger a charred mess. It quickly revitalized, and he pointed again at the tribulation!

Li Hao stared, shocked as this particular point seemed to denote the revitalization of a world. It bade the world to no longer sleep and all things to stir to life...

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Boom!

There seemed to be more vitality in the small world. The tribulation clouds scattered in the next heartbeat!

Void’s fingertip exploded as well, spraying blood in all directions. The entire land of emptiness was filled with blood. But suddenly, a hint of green appeared.

A small blade of grass struggled to put down roots in the depths of the world. The blood was as if fertilizer, nurturing the blade of grass.

Void stared at the blade of grass, dazed for a long while. “I’m going to enter closed door cultivation for a while.” He looked at Li Hao. “Fellow Daoist Li likely needs to do the same. If there is no further business, you should try and stay out of trouble for a bit.”

“Congratulations!” Li Hao nodded in agreement.

“The same to you!” Void smiled. “Third rank will not be hard for you, it is only a matter of time before the fellow daoist reaches it! As for me... there is no difference between fifth or sixth rank. Meanwhile, seventh rank is out of reach!

“But today, I seemed to see a bit of hope! Except, this instance of comprehension is still too shallow. Fellow daoist needs to work hard and do more, so that one day you might revitalize this world’s dao universe. The commotion then will be unimaginable. As for me, the awakening of a myriad of daos may be where my fortunes truly lie!”

“I hope so!” Li Hao smiled.

“Let us encourage each other!” Void smiled back. “This place is no longer safe. Although the tribulation has been defeated, the uproar has still taken place. Let us leave together!”

The world spun around the trio as they vanished on the spot.

The volcano was still the volcano and those from Dragon Observatory quickly appeared on the scene. They were confused—had another chaos tribulation taken place?

How strange!

These were normally rare occurrences. Why had they taken place in quick succession today? Was all of Skyward about to awaken?

The leader of Dragon Observatory was uneasy, but could find no clues or information. He could only hold his emotions in check and hope to expand Dragon Observatory’s influence as quickly as possible.

......

Void left alone after tossing Li Hao into a sparsely inhabited spot. The young man watched him leave, sinking into deep thought.

Emptiness and awakening.

This was his second instance of walking the cycle of life and death. He had some new reflections regarding emptiness, on account of Void tossing in some methods. When it came to the birth of a new world, first was emptiness, then was awakening.

The cycle of life and death were the dao of life and death. Yin and yang were the cycle of yin and yang within the world. Where there was yin was bound to be yang. The five elements were the foundation of all matter.

There were similarities between these daos and differences. Li Hao sorted through his new reflections, understanding now that the world he’d tried to create before could only be called a small space, not a world.

A real world would not be thus. It would have the five elements, yin and yang, life and death, stillness and awakening, time, and everything else!

Everything would spring out of the void, living beings would populate the land, all things would stir to wakefulness, and the system would be complete.

Such was what defined a world!

“I... see!” Li Hao murmured.

In that case, the river I created before really wasn’t a world.

Heaven and earth, the great dao... The worlds created the chaos and the great dao created the dao universe...

Various notions populated Li Hao’s thoughts as he finished absorbing leftover energy. He also meditated over the great dao and the heritages that the two high ranks had passed onto him.

The body and the five elements were all very important legacies.

“Time is very complicated! Everything must be in place for time to be born. Since I’ve come in contact with time ahead of time, is the time that I’m accessing the real time? And where does the current dao of time come from?”

Li Hao didn’t actually have a deep understanding of time. Everything he knew originated from that dao star, the star of time! It was because he discovered that star that he had his accomplishments of the day and the desire to study time.

Otherwise, based on his original plans, he would’ve comprehended the myriad of daos, not time. He would grasp control of the dao universe or create his own world. The world he created would not be one of time either.

Everything changed after the star of time appeared.

“Time is the heart of all daos. I still need to study the myriad of daos. Otherwise, time will not be complete. Life and death lead great dao, followed by yin and yang. If I cannot comprehend yin and yang, then I can study emptiness and awakening.”

Li Hao continuously contemplated his future, as opposed to what tangible steps he should take next. Saving Celestial Pole and the Pagoda King, or helping New Martial defend against strong enemies were all of secondary importance. An unclear path of dao was the greatest taboo of all.