Chapter 1605: Center of Attention (IV)

“In addition, the three of us don’t necessarily need to move as a group!” continued the Sword Sovereign. “We might need to cover each other at various points! For example, I can do something here while you guys make a move elsewhere. One side will sometimes be bait, redirect attention, or mount a diversion! It’ll be very dangerous... So, are you guys up to the task?”

Void and Li Hao nodded. Of course they were.

The Sword Sovereign smiled again. This was good! He was so strong after Fang Ping left that seventh ranks didn’t want to work with him and regular exalted emperors were unable to keep up. He found himself with a dearth of partners, so this situation was shaping up quite nicely.

There was something special about both of these guys. There might be some unexpected gains in working together with them. His own goal was clear—set foot into seventh rank as quickly as possible. Red Moon Region was his chance.

“Then let’s leave it here for now, we’ll dig holes first. Forget about everything else for the moment, our goal is Orchid Forest major world!” The Sword Sovereign bared his teeth in a radiant grin.

Void looked at him out of the corner of his eye. Li Hao had flashed a similar smile before, it seemed to be a New Martial habit. The smile was bright and gleaming, alright, but... it also came across as very hypocritical.

And also frightening.

It was said that the New Martial Human King often smiled in this manner.

“Senior,” Void couldn’t help but speak up when he saw that the Sword Sovereign was about to leave. “We killed Clarity earlier, Light...”

“Don’t worry about that!” frowned the Sword Sovereign. “You don’t need to think about any of this random crap! It’s not stuff you or I should worry about. That’s because your identity wasn’t exposed. They can worry about that themselves—that’s how it’s handled.

“Is your father not wiser than you? There’s also Zhang Tao on the New Martial side to handle all of this! We don’t need to think of the bigger picture because we are not the decision makers in these matters!

“As a member of a world, we need to consider the survival of the world and its future in critical moments. But since the decision makers are still around, all trouble is your own business so long as you do not betray the world!

“Red Moon is no fool. Would they offend Light major world just for eliminating you?” With that, the Sword Sovereign looked at Li Hao.

“It doesn’t matter to me since Silver Moon is very weak,” Li Hao smiled. “Not to mention, we’re basically packaged with New Martial. Red Moon won’t show us any mercy, so it doesn’t matter in that regard either.”

The Sword Sovereign nodded, that was true. He didn’t bother asking where Li Hao had hidden Silver Moon, there was no need to ask. Since he’d departed from the world, he no longer considered himself its king.

Silver Moon belonged to Silver Moon denizens these days.

It was rather Li Hao who still had Hong Yitang and the others on his mind.

“Uncle Li, we still have a group of people nearby...”

“They’ll be fine!” The Sword Sovereign was unconcerned. “Celestial Pole and the Pagoda King are there. Those two guys are skilled at hiding, if nothing else. They’re too afraid of dying!

“Not to mention, your people are exalted emperors. They’re not babies. Do you need to wait on them hand and foot? You’ve helped them avoid the greatest danger around, they can try surviving on their own in the chaos! So long as they’re alive, it’s up to them what their process looks like.”

Li Hao nodded, more at ease after hearing the Sword Sovereign’s words. That was right, Celestial Pole and the Pagoda King had some skill to their name since they’d been able to survive from New Martial until present day.

In the past, the young man had exhausted himself in considering a multitude of things. After being acquainted with the Sword Sovereign, however, he could set aside some of his worries. The senior would help him perfect the plan. Thanks to him, Li Hao felt that there was no need to consider these things unless mistakes really did occur.

He suddenly felt emotional at the idea of some people not having to think for themselves! It wasn’t that they didn’t know how, but that there was no need to. The Human King lived such a charmed life as he had a plethora of people devising all sorts of plans for him.

At the same time, the Human King wasn’t an idiot. An idiot would not have made it to the present day. But he rarely seemed to consider this or that. He just needed to know the tiniest bit—

if that person’s my enemy, I’ll kill him if I can. I’ll run if I can’t!

There was no need to consider anything else!

Li Hao had meticulously planned every step of his way ever since leaving Silver Moon. He’d turned over every decision inside and out, having to consider the consequences and the future no matter what he did. Silver Moon’s future outcome was ever on his mind.

And now the world was within the Skyward dao universe, while Lin Hongyu’s group had convened with Celestial Pole and the Pagoda King. Meanwhile, Li Hao was the weakest among his trio. The other two weren’t idiots—particularly the Sword Sovereign as he seemed exceedingly familiar with the chaos.

There was no need for Li Hao to consider anything else with someone like this by his side.

“Let’s go!” The Sword Sovereign quickly brought the two to a new location. A cunning rabbit possessed three burrows. He wouldn’t rest until they’d dug hundreds of holes.

He needed to take advantage of these two fellas’ enthusiasm and energy while it lasted. Li Hao and Void were also quite willing to devote themselves to their new task.

......

At the same time, Red Moon major world.

A massive world proudly overlooked the chaos. It stood within the void like a giant red moon. Numerous other worlds could be found around it—it was possibly the most inhabited region out of the four.

A variety of major, mid, and minor worlds forested the void around it. Worlds could be that lacked in all directions. There was Nether Moon, Skywave, Cold River, as well as Orchid Forest missing a master of dao.

These four worlds were situated in the cardinal directions around Red Moon, much like they were supplicants feting a liege lord. They’d also split apart like this to avoid conflicts developing between them. And since Red Moon was their core, rescue could reach them in a timely fashion if it was required.

There were some mid worlds near the major worlds, and even some minor worlds. Both minor and mid worlds were very difficult to shift. These worlds had expanded significant energy and even hired some chaos beasts to complete the move.

Chaos beasts possessed the ability to swallow worlds. Some hired themselves out as mercenaries in order to not be hunted down. They helped worlds move—the caveat being that the world was strong enough. If they were so weak that no one was aware of them, the chaos beast would just sooner devour it.

With the increase in the number of worlds came an increase in opportunity. Thus, there was a great hustle and bustle around Red Moon in recent days. Some exalted emperors struck up relationships with each other, and there were even cultivators beneath the exalted emperor level that attempted to enter the chaos.

Although the chaos was terrifying, there were plenty of heavyweights around who could safely escort them through the chaos.

In order to facilitate exchange and communication, Red Moon turned a nearby mid world into a hub much like Skyward. Powerhouses from various factions were invited to use it as a meeting spot. Otherwise, brashly entering someone else’s world was both an act of provocation and threat.

Red Moon had been gravely damaged recently, with some of its high ranks being killed. The major worlds around it reeled from the news, but some of the mid and minor worlds were yet to receive word.

The hub world that Red Moon had built remained a hotbed of activity. People travelled to and fro, some exalted emperors and others not exalted emperors. Even chaos wanderers could be seen these days.

A group of people walked through a massive city. Chaos beasts could be glimpsed around them, their bulk behemoth in size.

Hong Yitang and the rest were on high alert. The cowardly Pagoda King and Celestial Pole, however, showed themselves without concern. They strolled through the locale that was infinitely close to Red Moon. The two were completely at ease since the more dangerous a place was, the safer it was.

They’d also heard about the death of the seventh rank. So even if Red Moon wanted to intervene, it would focus on the Sword Sovereign and not small fry like them.

“Don’t be in a rush’,” the Pagoda King transmitted to the group. “We’ll collect information here and figure out a way to slip into Orchid Forest! A lot of people are here with the same goal these days, we won’t stand out!

“We’re not the strongest group, but there’s a lot of us. Not even mid ranks will easily pick on us!”

“I see Red Moon cultivators in the surroundings though,” transmitted Lin Hongyu. “Will there be trouble from them?”

“It’s fine!” explained the Pagoda King. “What are Red Moon cultivators most afraid of? They’ve just suffered such a devastating loss that they’re hunkering down for safety! If my speculation is correct, the Red Moon master will have designs on those major worlds in order to make up for his own losses!

“There’s nothing he’ll want more than for confusion to engulf Orchid Forest. It’ll be best if it asks for help and petitions to join Red Moon! So not only is Red Moon not a threat, but it’s the key for us to slip into Orchid Forest!

“Red Moon would love nothing more than for large sums of wandering cultivators to rush into that world and cause disorder! The Orchid Forest master will either have to run with his world or ask Red Moon for reinforcement. That would be setting a fox to keep watch over the chickens. I’m familiar with this strategy!

“If we go directly to the Red Moon cultivators, I bet you they’ll have ways to help us get into Orchid Forest!”

Lin Hongyu’s eyes darted around and she inclined her head without saying anything else. She was usually quick on the uptake, but first contact with the chaos was slightly nerve-wracking. Although the Pagoda King rarely left New Martial as well, he seemed far more relaxed and an old hat on this trip.

The Pagoda King was exceedingly courteous to the Silver Moon cultivators, because his bet had paid off! The Red Moon seventh rank was dead, but the Sword Sovereign was unable to kill the seventh rank on his own. Clearly, the addition of Li Hao and the other cultivator had turned the situation around.

That proved that the Pagoda King’s decision had been the correct one. So now what he and Celestial Pole needed to do was to ensure that these Silver Moon cultivators stayed alive until Li Hao came to them.

Orchid Forest was very dangerous, but it was also very safe at the same time.

The Pagoda King didn’t dare have designs on the major world anymore, but he knew that if pandemonium engulfed Orchid Forest, then the major world would very likely choose to join Red Moon.

If they could engineer official identities on Orchid Forest, they might be able to take advantage of the opportunity to join Red Moon as well!

In addition, if the Sword Sovereign was still in the area, he would have his eyes on Orchid Forest as well. The group heading there would make it convenient for all of them to gather together. It would even facilitate their seizure of the world!