Chapter 1751: The World Revitalizes (II)

Powerhouses silently watched the show. No one stepped forward to say anything.

The look in Li Hao’s eyes shifted and he was silent for a while before saying, “I don’t want dao crystals, but dao foundation crystals!”

“Where would I have any dao foundation crystals from?” frowned the Skycloud master. “Only high ranks can coalesce dao foundation crystals...”

Li Hao’s group had collected quite a large amount when killing Clarity; the young man collected more at Demon Summit. Dao foundation crystals contained a high rank’s comprehension of dao. They were much more valuable than dao crystals.

“I would find it normal if others didn’t have any,” Li Hao said slowly after watching the duo for a while. “But for two eighth rank masters to not have any? Is that possible? Have you never annihilated seventh rank worlds?

“Even if you haven’t, you’ll have produced some through your own cultivation. This is my final offer. Either you pay up, or not! The third option is that we go down together!”

It was Skycloud’s turn to be silent for a bit before he said, “I don’t have that many. Half of the payment needs to be in dao crystals. This is my final offer as well, Li Hao!”

“Very well!” Li Hao nodded after some consideration, then tilted his head at the Light master. “Senior Light, please inspect the payment for us. I’m going to contain Daoist Coiling Dragon’s shadow. Ah, these dao crystals will be going to Brother Void in a bit...”

The Light master had no words for this shamelessness!

He’s an interesting fellow, alright. You’re terrified that I’ll scheme against your people, aren’t you?

Since the dao crystals are going to my son... fine, then.

The Light master said nothing else, awkwardness was creeping in. He wasn’t offering up any resources for his son, but his friend was...

Ahem, since Li Hao isn’t bringing anything up, I’ll save my wealth.

And since the payment was going to his son, he would be inspecting it with strict vigor! The last thing he wanted was to inadvertently harm the lad.

The Skycloud master raised a brow, but didn’t say a word. He’d wanted to leave some traps in the crystals. Given Li Hao’s lack of an eighth rank on his side, certain things might fly under his radar.

Who would’ve thought that Li Hao would be so conniving?

Old Fart Light was no kind soul either. He might turn a blind eye in ordinary times, but since the payment was going toward his son, he would bring his full attention to the task.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Granted, the Skycloud master had just wanted to take advantage of the situation. This wasn’t a major part of his plans. It didn’t matter if he was unable to go through with them.

One billion dao crystals wasn’t a large sum to two eighth ranks. Even though the Red Moon master had disengaged from his dao universe, that didn’t mean he didn’t have any wealth of his own.

An eighth rank wouldn’t possibly keep all of his fortune at home when he roamed the chaos. It was useful only when it was carried around with them.

Red Moon would have to pay part of the price for this dao star. It wasn’t much, anyhow.

......

Coiling Dragon Well.

The world origin continued to beat, but there were no other options available to it. Summoning the shadows of the dao foundation sites was its most powerful defensive measure.

That would have been sufficient in the past, but this time...

Formidable exalted emperors restrained each of the shadows. Erupting in unison hadn’t been enough to overcome the trespassers. There was only one last option available to it—summon the strongest person in Skyward since time immemorial.

The Skyward master!

Even the shadow of a ninth rank exalted emperor could deploy eighth rank strength. And yet, the world origin could not seem to bring the world master forth at the moment. The Skyward master’s brand was deepest within it, but it had disappeared. The world master could not be summoned, or perhaps he did not wish to appear.

Without the world master, the world origin was just a lamb to the slaughter. Its only protector was the shadow of seventh rank shadow Coiling Dragon.

Li Hao quickly sped through the air.

There were two exalted emperors in residence here, He Yong and Deputy Zhou. No longer did they rue their location. He Yong was having the time of his life. What a great place! He’d chosen such a grand location!

There was no sign of his former regret to be seen.

I’m a third rank now, hell yeah! And I’m heading toward peak third rank! I’ve reached the heavens in one step!

This was a true leap with one step. Rising from first rank to third in the blink of an eye was too damn satisfying!

He was no longer afraid of bursting from too much energy. He Yong could leave or stay as he liked when the shadow was restrained, what was he afraid of?

However... Li Hao was the only one who came to them. Could the young man suppress a seventh rank shadow by himself? Even though it wasn’t the exalted emperor’s primary body, the shadow was still very strong.

Li Hao arrived as these thoughts ran through He Yong’s mind. He glanced at the shadow, remembering his meeting with the Exalted Coiling Dragon Emperor. This august personage was the first Skyward exalted emperor he’d met.

The exalted emperor had once taught him a cultivation method of body dao. Although this was a shadow in front of him, it was a projection from the primary body. It was formed from a brand left in Skyward. The shadow’s eyes were listless, like it lacked a consciousness.

“The senior once taught me body dao, so I do not wish to attack the senior!” Li Hao said after a moment. “Return to your dao star of body dao and head to the Skycloud dao universe!”

The shadow remained unmoving.

Li Hao waited for a while, then manifested his domain of a myriad worlds. The shadow did not resist when the great dao came down on it. A seventh rank’s shadow was easily suppressed!

A golden dragon swam through Li Hao’s river. The young man looked at it, then rushed for the dao universe. Moments later, he locked onto a particular dao star.

He quickly arrived next to it and directed the golden dragon into the star. It shimmered with light, a figure floating upward that was reminiscent of the daoist that Li Hao had seen that day!

Its shadow hovered in and out of sight within the dao star. Li Hao looked at it, grabbed the star, and compressed it. He then made for the firmament!

......

Outside the world gate.

Li Hao held a star aloft and looked at the two eighth ranks, then at the Light master. “Senior Light, have they paid the dao crystals and dao foundation crystals?”

“They have.” The Light master waved a compressed pocket of space toward Li Hao. It contained countless dao crystals.

The young man did not accept the item. Instead, he flicked it away with a streak of sword light. A merry Sword Sovereign caught it with a smile.

“Thank you for your help, heh!” He addressed the Light master. The latter raised a wordless brow.

These guys are certainly cautious. My son’s inside, alright?

“Give me the dao star!” intoned the Skycloud master.

“Do I give it to you or Red Moon?” Li Hao smirked at him.

Skycloud leered back at the young man. What a crude attempt to drive a wedge between them!

“Give it to me!” he repeated.

Red Moon is a guy without a dao universe, he has no place to store the star. He’s also relying on me, so how would he fight me for anything?

You think too simplistically, Li Hao.

True to his thoughts, the Red Moon master stood quietly by.

Li Hao tossed out the dao star without another word. “For a master of desire like Red Moon to stand against the urge of seizing the Skyward dao universe?” he chuckled. “What a waste of the dao of desire!”

“There’s no need for you to worry about that, king of Silver Moon!” Red Moon said indifferently before he looked meaningfully at Skyward. “It’s you that you should consider more...

“You’re a mere fifth rank, but you’ve got quite some skill at throwing your weight around! But you have Light on one sight and New Martial on the other. You’ll be a vassal for the rest of your life if you don’t have any strength to your name!

“This seat sees that you have high ambitions and significant ability to your name. Your potential is also good, more’s the pity! If Ming Tang really does make it to seventh rank, it’s not you who ascends!

“Light will have gained another seventh rank and didn’t need to expend any resources for them. Brother Light will be happy indeed!”

Skycloud and Red Moon understood the lay of the land now. They’d thought that Li Hao was just a vassal for New Martial before, but now it looked like... that might not be the case.

The vast quantity of resources Li Hao’s group had seized before had gone to cultivating Silver Moon talent. That produced many exalted emperors, but one had to keep in mind that the amount of resources in question might have been sufficient to propel a New Martial sixth rank into seventh rank.

New Martial was abysmally poor. What did it need a group of first ranks for? It needed high ranks!

Clearly, the Silver Moon king had his own ideas and plans in mind. Void also seemed to deal only with him. By now, the group could see that Light and New Martial might not have any agreements with each other.

The key was that the Silver Moon king and Void had a good relationship. That was the basis of connection between those two major worlds.

“There’s nothing I want more than for Brother Void to set foot into seventh rank,” Li Hao laughed softly. “In that case, perhaps Brother Void’s dao of emptiness and revitalization will be able to suppress the wandering cultivator that the senior is next time we meet!”

Wandering cultivator Red moon!

Red Moon’s eyes narrowed, but he quickly gave a bark of laughter. “You’ve got a sharp tongue, but fifth rank is just fifth rank. No matter how strong you are, you are just a fifth rank in the end!”

With that, he ignored Li Hao.

The Light master inspected the dao star and prepared to take his leave when he found that all was in order. “Then I congratulate sage nephew Ming Tang ahead of time. Light major world’s strength will balloon once he is a seventh rank! What good plans you have wrought, Brother Light! I am impressed!”

No matter what the Light master thought of his words, the Skycloud master elected to rip through the air and leave through his dao universe. He was growing worried about someone ambushing his world if he continued to stay away. There were only two seventh ranks in residence there.

Some in the shadows were regretful to see them leave. Damn it, no fight had broken out! What a pity! The Skycloud master was a coward!

He really had spent a lot of money to purchase a dao star. And here they thought he would choose to launch an offensive!

Since two eighth ranks had run off and knowing that Skyward would not revitalize at this moment, exalted emperors retreated from the shadows. They needed time to study their dao star. As for Void silencing the world... he could have his fun!

There would be one more seventh rank in the chaos if worst came to worst. But if they intervened, there might be more than one seventh rank dead.

The death of one seventh rank was harmless if Skyward did not awaken. Once it did, a ninth rank was a possibility. That was what everyone was most concerned about.

The Light master did not wish to leave yet. He wanted to see if his son would break through after silencing and revitalizing the world.

Li Hao didn’t say anything. The Sword Sovereign nodded when the young man looked at him. He would keep an eye on this place and refuse entry to the Light master!

It didn’t matter that this was Void’s father. One could not bet on another’s innate kindness within the chaos. The Light master might seek to perpetuate his own goals if he saw an opening.

Void was Void and Light was Light. Li Hao had never treated them as one.