Chapter 1673: Dao Chess (I)

It was just... this was too dangerous for the Skycloud world master if Fog Mountain was antagonizing Light just to make it easier for himself. If a peak seventh rank left at the height of a clash between the world master and Light, that might affect the bigger picture!

Deepsea’s expression shifted drastically and he quickly took a step forward. “Fellow Daoist Flare Sun, Brother Fog Mountain does not mean to give offense. He’s always liked to spar with others and exchange dao methods. Please do not misunderstand!”

“What are you afraid of, Deepsea?” Fog Mountain turned back for a look and laughed at his compatriot.

Deepsea didn’t say a word.

You know better than me what I’m afraid of. Do not err again and again, Fog Mountain! There will be no way back soon if you continue down this path!

Fog Mountain ignored the man and sent out his presence, shaking the world. Across the way, Flare Sun looked on with an unpleasant expression. Was Fog Mountain really going to make a move? Light was not yet ready to fight, as was surely the same for Skycloud. What was Fog Mountain thinking of?

“Fog Mountain!” Flare Sun intoned frostily. “Are you really going to start a battle?”

“Sparring is not battle!” laughed Fog Mountain.

Flare Sun was growing irritated.

I’m not afraid to spar, but I’m worried that someone will take advantage of this opening. Are you pretending to be dumb?

“I’m concerned that there are ulterior motives behind this sparring,” he said bluntly. “Are you creating opportunities for others?”

“Do you think I’m colluding with the New Martial Human King?”

“You know best if you are!” shouted Flare Sun. “You also know how the two Red Moon exalted emperors died!”

I’m not them!

Fog Mountain was in no mood to speak further.

It’s your highness who wishes to return to Skyward, but in a secretive manner. It’ll be too obvious if I go to him. In that case... you’ll have to put up with a thing or two!

“What if... I insist on sparring with you?” Fog Mountain chuckled.

“You...”

Boom!

A mountain of clouds and a sea of fog appeared. The sky shifted colors and five mountains appeared to suppress Skyward!

Jaws dropped in the area, was Fog Mountain

crazy??

He fought at the drop of a hat! That was what he’d done with Red Moon as well!

Everyone had thought he was joking then and that nothing would result from a few rounds, but somehow two seventh ranks were dead at the end of it.

And here you go again!

All exalted emperors were focused on the scene at present. Many circled through the void and swept wary glances through the surroundings. They were deathly afraid that the Human King would appear at an opportune moment. Many of them held transmitted exchanges.

“Is the Human King nearby?”

“That’s very possible!”

“Fog Mountain might really be colluding with the Human King. In addition, based on what I know, there’s some news from Skycloud that Fog Mountain may wish to set off on his own... Perhaps he’s doing this to join New Martial. It’s hard to say what’s real and what’s false. If Fog Mountain joins with the dao strength of a peak seventh rank, that might propel New Martial to an eighth rank major world!”

“No way! What would be his goal in doing that? He’s a peak seventh rank in Skycloud. Will he become a peak eighth rank in New Martial?”

“Who knows, but they must have some sort of agreement in place. Flare Sun’s in big trouble. Even if he can stand against Fog Mountain, there’s a peak seventh rank hidden in the shadows. That one’s extremely strong in offense. He might follow in the steps of those two seventh ranks!”

“Not necessarily, the master of Light has got to be keeping an eye on things. He might arrive at any time!”

“......” Powerhouses swiftly conversed with one another.

In the void nearby, two dao universes were projecting themselves to the site. Two very faint wills permeated the void. There were two eighth ranks keeping tabs on the proceedings!

The Skycloud master wanted to erupt in open curses.

What are you doing, Fog Mountain?!

The Light master was likewise highly on guard. He quickly scanned the premises, wondering if the New Martial Human King was nearby.

Does he have his eye set on Light this time?

Boom!

A massive sun irradiated the world, filling the void with the might of the sun. Ripples undulated over Skyward as immense seventh rank strength transformed into a domain that loomed threateningly.

“You lunatic!” bellowed Flare Sun. Was he completely crazy??

Flare Sun didn’t dare bring his full strength to bear in response. He needed to be on guard in case he followed Red Velarium’s fate. As a result, he was partially suppressed by Fog Mountain. The five mountains came down on all four sides and a sea of fog swirled. The secrets of the heavens seemed to be in disarray.

Fog Mountain was indeed formidable, but the two should be evenly matched in battle. Today, however, Flare Sun was caught on the back foot!

Fog Mountain was wholly devoted to the task at hand and easily called upon his dao methods. A mountain of clouds and sea of fog blanketed everything. It seemed to obscure the heavens and dim the dao of light. The massive sun was buried in the sea!

Countless people witnessed the development of their battle. General shock and awe reigned from the enormous dao strength sweeping through the land. Was this what was meant to be a seventh rank?

They hadn’t felt it so strongly in the chaos before, but were fully exposed to it now that battle was joined on the surface of a world. The fight was so formidable and its range of influence so far that it boggled the mind!

The northern region instantly became the center of attention. Many roamed through it, wanting to know if the Human King was there.

Was he?

...he was!

Only, he was sitting on the sidelines.

The Human King stood at attention in one of the barrier cracks, frowning at the sight. This was so damned strange!

He wasn’t familiar with Fog Mountain. It was one thing for the man to have killed Red Velarium, but making another move today...

He’s not looking for me to join the battlefield, is he?

Or is he fishing for something else? I’m very familiar with this course of action.

There are a ton of exalted emperors present here today—a lot of seventh ranks and even two eighth ranks probing the surroundings. If I make a move... I’ll be turned into target practice if this is a trap!

What does Fog Mountain have in mind?

Whose side is he on?

As for working with New Martial... we’ve never even talked to each other! This is so weird!

The Human King watched for a while with furrowed brows. This guy wasn’t weak, being a peak seventh rank. If it wasn’t for Skycloud’s restriction of eighth rank being the limit, this one... might stand a chance of making it to eighth rank.

Granted, Fog Mountain was less than himself, of course.

The Human King pursed his lips.

Am I an eighth rank?

No.

It was just, there was a reason for that. Yin and yang were out of balance for New Martial, as well as life and death. There was a massive problem with the yin and yang dao universe. He’d been so focused on revitalizing the others after he killed the Heavenly Emperor that it resulted in the imbalance of the entire world.

New Martial would’ve long set foot into eighth rank, if not for that. And he would also already be an eighth rank if it wasn’t for revitalizing those people.

All the same, he had no regrets! There was nothing to regret.

It was not an issue of dao if New Martial wished to become an eighth rank dao universe. Nothing was a problem. The only sticking point was that they needed an immense infusion of extreme yang qi or boundless vitality.

That was the only way to supplement the imbalance left over from yesteryear.

What he had his eye on lately was no other than Light major world. Light was also the power of extreme yang. The other option was Blazing Sun in another region.

He wasn’t actually interested in the war with Red Moon. He wanted to fight Light and Blazing Sun. However... New Martial had already offended Red Moon. It would be the end of the civilization if he exposed these other tendencies. New Martial would not be able to withstand a joint offensive of three eighth rank major worlds. It would be difficult even if New Martial was an eighth rank world itself.

The Human King suppressed his thoughts with some confusion and watched the two fight. He then looked around him, at the fellows constantly scanning for his presence. He curled his lip.

Do you pieces of trash think you’ll actually find me? Are you

worthy

of finding me?

I roam through the chaos and am seen only if I want other people to notice me. If not... you won’t see me even if I stand right in front of you. I can drill a hole right through the chaos, not to mention a world.

He currently stood within the world barrier, protected by a cage of a myriad daos. If Li Hao was here, he would be able to identify... the dao net!

This was a net of great dao!

He had used a dao net to form an embryonic world and enclosed himself within to burrow into the world barrier. It would take another person conducting an inch by inch scan of the world barrier to find the Human King.

He was absolutely uninterested in becoming involved with the fight.

The Human King had been observing Skyward lately and searching for opportunities within the world. He’d also been looking for the Skyward dao universe. While the Human King had gleaned some clues, he was also slightly confused.

Based on his deductions, the Skyward dao universe would not open without the presence of a high rank Skyward heritage or original strength.

But apparently, the dao universe had been accessible on multiple occasions. A dao foundation site had been lost each time, which meant that someone was utilizing the strength within...

Alright, alright, he suspected that this

someone

was the Silver Moon king—the fellow that he was yet to meet.

He knew that the young man was able to use the power of time. Therefore, it was very likely that the Silver Moon king had traced time to Skyward’s heritage, thereby summoning the dao universe. This meant that Fog Mountain might be in contact with the Silver Moon king. In that case...

Do these actions have nothing to do with me and involve him instead? Battle has erupted and the entire world seems to be gathered here...

Eh?

The corners of the Human King’s lips quirked upwards.

How interesting. Is he coming to Skyward?

He’d heard some news lately, that old man Li had convened with the Silver Moon king and tricked Red Moon... Was Fog Mountain making a move now to redirect everyone’s attention?

It would be quite interesting if that was the case. What was the Silver Moon king here instead of wandering around Red Moon? There shouldn’t be that many opportunities for him here as there were too many powerhouses.

Even the Human King had to be careful here.