Chapter 1764: A Troubled Heart (III)

Their enemies here were infinite times better than Li Hao! All Li Hao knew how to do was scheme and plot against others. But monster spirits? They just yelled at you to come out and fight! There was no need to worry about a plot, trap, or anything else!

The queen threw her head back and crowed with laughter. Life was so sweet! Sure, there was danger everywhere, but this was the kind of danger that she was willing to shoulder.

“I’m still not at ease,” fretted the Great Li king. “I’m not afraid of danger, but wondering if... it really is just us two that’ve discovered such a land of treasure?”

“......” The queen didn’t respond. Others had come by before and they were probably all... dead.

Who cared!

She was no fool, of course she would consider this. But she still felt it was worth it at the end of the day!

The queen and Great Li king had run away from Skyward not long after the initial release from Silver Moon. They’d taken the risk of hitching a ride with an exalted emperor, paying a fare of all their earthly belongings to convince the other to take them.

Granted, they’d done so out of complete confidence that the two of them could overcome that first rank!

The two of them hadn’t had any particular destinations in mind. They just wanted to find a relatively calmer area that could shelter them for a period of personal development. She and the Great Li king both walked the path of rulership, so it was best to find a place where humans were oppressed and downtrodden...

The first rank had been diligent and sent them here. It was indeed a treasure trove for the duo, and with a weak master of the world. He was just a first rank, which made him strong only in the sense of his world.

This was an excellent spot—its only drawback was that it was on the edge of Dragon Region.

“Mm, let’s stop thinking about this.” The Great Li king heaved a sigh. “There are many humans in this area that are enslaved. They’d been under an iron boot for so long that they respond with everything they have if we treat them any better than inflicting utter torture.

“If we want to make this our headquarters and territory... we’ll be the rulers after killing that world master. This will become our home.”

Li Hao was the boss of Silver Moon; he had many at his beck and call. The two of them were poor souls often plotted against, so they wanted to take a risk here and be the boss for once!

“That’s more like it!” smiled the queen. “You can be the Great Li emperor and I’ll be the Sky God! Royal and divine authority will progress at the same time! Once our territory grows bigger and we grow stronger, we can split up when we need to! You can continue on your path of the people and I’ll take the path of godhood!”

The Great Li king nodded; such were his thoughts as well. He would not always be with the queen since they would surely clash over who held the bigger share of authority.

“Then... should we verify our dao?”

“Not yet!” The queen shook her head. “It’s because we’re not exalted emperors yet that the world master doesn’t really care about us. Once we make that ascension, then he’ll care indeed!

“Besides, becoming a first rank exalted emperor isn’t our goal either,” chuckled the queen. “We should learn from Li Daoheng and the others. Either we are not exalted emperors, or we are at least third rank! We will accumulate infinite faith to set foot into third rank in one fell swoop!

“Even if something unexpected occur then, two third ranks will ensure that things work out as we plan it!”

The Great Li king nodded. That was true. The power of faith here was too dense. It was also too easy to corral the hearts of the people. They just needed to pass on a few dao methods to prompt general devotion to cultivation.

The people of this world were so easy to talk to that the Great Li king was starting to feel guilty. Great Li citizens had been much harder to serve than these guys.

The two conversed for a while longer before going about their tasks. They were highly motivated compared to when they resided on Silver Moon.

......

A void rang out of Panther’s stomach at this time. “Your Lordship, the Great Li king and queen of the west... might be in Dragon Region!” It was Gan Wuliang.

“Dragon Region?” blinked a surprised Li Hao.

“Yes.”

“They’re here?”

“Yes. We seem to be getting closer to their dao stars within the dao universe...”

Li Hao was well and truly surprised. How had those two ended up here? This was very far from Skyward! They really got around!

And most importantly of all, they were still alive. That was difficult to ensure. They should not have verified their daos yet. Although they didn’t focus on a Silver Moon dao, their dao stars would show certain changes had they ascended.

For non-exalted emperors to run around the chaos and end up in a region dominated by chaos beasts... and still be alive... These two could truly survive in adverse conditions.

“I wonder who they’re plaguing now,” murmured Li Hao.

“Do we need to get closer to them?” asked Gan Wuliang.

“Is it along the way?”

“More or less if we’re heading straight for Dragon major world...”

“Then... yes. Let’s leave it up to fate. If we do come across them, we can take another look.” Li Hao didn’t want to purposefully seek them out. They clearly wanted to avoid him. Since he irritated them so much... it didn’t matter if they met or not.

It truly fell outside his expectations that they’d braved death to leave Skyward. They were courageous, he had to give them that!

Li Hao’s group drew near a world that didn’t look too big. Its presence indicated that it was a third rank minor world at most. A massive chaos beast appeared over it in response to Panther’s approach.

It looked a bit like a

qilin

and a bit like a dog...

“Exalted emperor up ahead, please halt!” The giant beast sent over mental ripples. “My world is not open to the public, so please head to Phoenix major world up ahead if you would like to rest! Phoenix is open to the public and will take in chaos exalted emperors...”

A third rank world dared not be open to the public. The newcomer in front of it seemed to be a mid rank, making the situation even more dangerous. The chaos beast would absolutely not let Panther draw near. Any closer would indicate intentions to invade.

“If the fellow daoist is hungry, I am willing to offer ten million two-legged beasts for your consumption,” continued the giant beast. “If it is the fellow daoist’s first time in Dragon Region, please permit me to explain that we of the chaos are not permitted to kill each other in this region. Otherwise, the dragons will intervene!”

Panther looked quizzically at the other. Two-legged beasts? The dog roared softly in response.

Standing beneath Panther’s ears, Li Hao looked at the dog with bafflement. What was with Panth? It was a fifth rank.

It’s one thing if you don’t want to talk, but you’re not even willing to transmit mental ripples? What’s with you?

Roaring should be a communication system unique to beasts. Li Hao could understand some of it, but this kind of communication was similar to subtitles. It was different from mental ripples.

The third rank beast didn’t mind the method of response; it was hardly fazed by it. This was how some chaos beasts like to operate.

“The fellow daoist just wants a new experience and does not require ten million?” Its mental ripples came once more. “Very well, I will choose some high quality ones. If the fellow daoist would like even better ones, you will have to go to the major worlds. The two-legged beasts there are of even better quality!”

World strength rippled after it spoke. A dozen humans appeared outside the world in the blink of an eye. Their skin was soft and pale; they weren’t strong. However, they were all cultivators, and very young ones at that. There were handsome young men and beautiful young women. All of them shuddered from dread and horror!

“Your fortunes have arrived.” The chaos beast spoke human language with unbounded intimidation. “A senior is passing through and desires to try something new. You two-legged beasts have yet to offer a sacrifice this year.

“I was going to offer ten million sacrifices to the senior, but the senior is not hungry. The senior only desires high quality beasts. If you satisfy the senior, your tribes can be exempt from offering sacrifices for one hundred years!”

The announcement seemed to send some relief through the terrified group of youngsters. An exemption from sacrifice!

One hundred years was a very long period of time.

Ten million humans had been needed at first, but now just the dozen of them would do. One of the older young men stammered, “Many... thanks for the dao master’s... grace. We... will be sure to not... dampen the master’s spirits...”

In other words, they would not shriek or lose control of their bowels when they were eaten. That would displease the beasts.

The young man despaired at his impending fate, but also felt that his death was worthy. He turned to the others. “Remember... to not scream... or pee yourselves... If you are... afraid... think of your families... Ten million humans... but just us... today...”

The rest of the group trembled like leaves, but didn’t make a sound.

The giant beast was starting to grow impatient. These two-legged beasts just needed to satisfy the other, please them with a meal so that they would be on their way as soon as possible. A mid rank chaos beast... induced wariness.

Get out of here!

Only now did Panther and the rest understand what was meant by two-legged beasts. The key was... they were referred to in units of ten million!

Li Hao froze with astonishment. He knew that slaughter and violence abounded in the chaos, that worlds being destroyed was a common sight. Ten billion people might be eradicated in one move and the world pulverized.

But here... a chaos beast passing by was offered ten million humans for a snack? One meal?

This...

Li Hao had been to many places, but even his great enemy Red Moon had treated its people well enough. That was because everyone needed a cultivating population to strengthen their dao universe!

They wouldn’t treat humans as food—no one was interested in doing that. Even tyrants would simply exploit their people some. But offering ten million as food...

This exceeded the limits of Li Hao’s knowledge.

He’d imagined that humans might not dominate this region, but a world required humans in order to survive. Whether it was to cultivate or perfect the great dao, at least humans would be able to survive in any world.

But now...

As Li Hao stared, so did Void frown.

“This is my first time hearing of this,” he transmitted. “But my father did once say that if anyone could establish the dao of faith and unite the humans of Dragon Region... If light could envelop Dragon Region, then he would easily make it to peak eighth rank, if not ninth rank!”

He hadn’t understood it before, but now... he was beginning to!

Void frowned deeply. They were just passing by a minor world, but were offered ten million humans at a drop of a hat. Were matters in Dragon Region this bloody, disorderly, and brutal?

There were also monster spirits in the other three regions. While some exalted emperors would target them, monster spirits weren’t treated in such a manner. A world such as Silver Moon with humans in ascendancy meant that some enmity was present against monster spirits, but the hostilities never reached the level of butchering monster spirits wholesale and treating them as food!