Dark Divine Temple

Within Dark Demon Ridge, Li Hao advanced to the third rank. There was little surprise and no great jubilation. Reaching the third rank had never been particularly difficult; it was merely a single step forward. He had already constructed 220 bridges beforehand. From the first to the third rank, progression was mostly an accumulation of energy and placed few demands on one’s comprehension of the Dao. Thus, only after slaying a Sovereign and a dark shadow puppet—both of the second rank—did he finally cross into the third rank... One could only say it was ordinary at best. Even if he had not advanced this time, Li Hao was certain to break through the next. The next step was to construct 360 bridges and reach the peak of the third rank. This stage remained a matter of accumulating energy. Only when leaping to the fourth rank would genuine demands be made on the Dao, requiring actual breakthroughs in one’s comprehension. “I still need to deal with another dark shadow puppet!” Without a dark Dao resonance crystal, Li Hao’s range of vision shrank again to less than two thousand meters. Back when he was in the second rank, using the Dao resonance crystal had let him see nearly five thousand meters around him. Furthermore, he had previously spotted a third-rank Sovereign. If possible, he wanted to finish that one off as well. It would be best to reach the peak of the third rank right here before heading out. When that time came, he would begin making full preparations to step into the middle ranks of Sovereignty. Li Hao dispersed his dark domain once more. He wondered whether he could lure over a third-rank dark shadow puppet this time. If he drew an even stronger entity, he would simply envelop it in the dark domain again. With that in mind, Li Hao started moving forward. He deliberately made noise and released pulses of energy. After stepping into the third rank, his strength had increased considerably, but no qualitative transformation had occurred. Although he was stronger than before, there was no profound shift across realms. This made Li Hao understand all the more clearly that the changes from the first to the third rank truly were not as dramatic as imagined. No wonder the Red Moon Sovereign back then, likely of the third rank, had still been surrounded and killed by Li Hao and the others. If they had encountered a fourth-rank Sovereign that day... there would have been almost no chance of turning the tables. Naturally, the fourth rank represented upper echelon power for any faction. Even in a Great World, middle-rank Sovereigns stood among the leadership, far from the weaklings of the Sovereign realm. The world lords of certain Great Worlds were only at the sixth rank themselves. ... As Li Hao exposed his aura, dark shadow puppets gradually appeared in the surroundings. Judging by their auras, there were first-, second-, and third-rank puppets, but none of the fourth rank emerged. This indicated that the shadow puppets here did not appear entirely at random. Instead, corresponding puppet combatants manifested based on fluctuations in one’s aura. For instance, the second-rank Sovereign from earlier had encountered a second-rank puppet rather than directly running into a fourth- or fifth-rank shadow puppet. A moment later, Li Hao locked onto one of them. That shadow puppet was not humanoid. It resembled a member of the monster race—a bear! Its frame was colossal! One glance was enough to tell it was a strength-type powerhouse. From its aura, it was clearly formidable even among third-rank entities. The giant bear attempted to ambush Li Hao several times, but Li Hao evaded each strike. He was in no hurry to slay it; instead, he led several puppets in a winding chase, taking the opportunity to scout the whereabouts of the other Sovereigns. He was not afraid of third-rank Sovereigns. His main concern was that Xunhan might be nearby. Once he clashed with a third-rank puppet, it would easily create substantial disturbances and draw Xunhan’s attention. Yet after a circuit through the area, he found no trace of him. “Perhaps he entered the Dark Divine Temple!” Li Hao formed a judgment. After all, six days had passed since entering this place. Over such a long period, it was perfectly normal for Xunhan to have made his way inside. Concluding that Xunhan was likely not in the vicinity, Li Hao delayed no further. He quickly halted his steps. Several puppets had gathered this time—not just the giant bear, but others as well, though none matched the bear in strength. The River of Life and Death swept around them instantly! The dark domain manifested in a flash. All the shadow puppets were engulfed within Li Hao’s river and shrouded inside his domain. In essence, these puppets lacked the versatile shifts of true Sovereigns. The sole trouble lay in their immortality! As long as that immortality was overcome, these puppets were markedly inferior to living Sovereigns; they lacked complex Dao transformations and versatile arts. Most of their threat came down to brute strength. Aside from that, their greatest reliance was higher-order darkness energy possessing a degree of invasive corruption. That was the essence of a shadow puppet. The moment the domain appeared, the puppets seemed to sense danger as well. By this point, Li Hao’s long sword had materialized. The power of life and death surfaced upon the Sky Sword. Although life and death were not as overwhelmingly effective as once imagined, dealing limited damage to these puppets, they remained Li Hao’s most potent means of attack. The Sword of Life and Death struck! Li Hao’s swordsmanship was exceptionally graceful. The blade slashed through the void, illuminating a pocket of the darkness with dazzling brilliance. Radiance of life and death emerged, each star sparkling like fireworks. Bridges of life and death accentuated Li Hao’s Bright Moon Sword. Four shadow puppets were trapped this time. Besides the third-rank giant bear, two resembled savage wildmen with the strength of the second rank, and one resembled a monstrous beast of merely the first rank. Li Hao drove forward like splitting bamboo! Moonlight gleams cascaded from his sword. In the radiance of the bright moon, one hundred strands of sword intent surged, multiplying in an instant to 360, and within the blink of an eye, expanding further to 720 strands. Among them, the sword intents of life and death, water and fire, and darkness were remarkably potent. Beyond these, several other sword intents shone with distinct brilliance. One was extinction! Another was destruction. Extinction originated from Kongji, while destruction stemmed from the chaos lightning tribulation. As the extinction sword intent erupted, heaven and earth fell silent. Though it lacked Kongji’s absolute power to extinguish all things, within Li Hao’s modest domain, it instantly extinguished a first-rank Sovereign. That first-rank beast was annihilated in an instant by the extinction sword intent! All things reduced to silence; the beast’s corpse remained, but the energy within was wiped out in a flash. A surge of world-extinguishing energy erupted, accompanied by circulating Dao resonance. In this dark world, it felt extraordinarily bleak and chill. When Li Hao broke through to the second rank earlier, Kongji had seemingly tossed in some insights into the Dao of Extinction—either to test something or to share part of his lineage—and Li Hao had gleaned considerable benefits from them. Right now, these shadow puppets served as the perfect sparring partners for Li Hao. Having just entered the third rank, practicing against Sovereign shadow puppets was far safer. Li Hao’s long sword repeatedly unleashed various sword intents. Among them, the power of destruction proved exceptionally lethal here; the might of chaos lightning tribulation evidently dealt substantial harm to darkness energy. “Destructive lightning...” Li Hao pondered as he struck. All things in the world seemed to possess a corresponding counterpart. What, then, was the counterpart to destruction? Extinction corresponded to revival, so did destruction not correspond to revival as well? Extinction could give way to revival. Did destruction give way to... new life? Extinction, death, destruction—to Li Hao, these lineages shared notable similarities. Even if there were differences, they did not seem vast. In the Dao of Life and Death, death corresponded to new life. Then what did destruction correspond to? For the moment, Li Hao could not discern the connection. If he could find it, encountering chaos lightning tribulation in the future might no longer be so troublesome. With its counterpart Dao, fusing the two extremes might allow him to directly devour chaos lightning tribulation! *Hum!* The sword rang out! It vibrated across heaven and earth. Within the dark domain, Li Hao’s sword pierced through the skull of a wildman-like second-rank Sovereign. A surge of destructive power detonated, instantly reducing its body to ash. A crystal clattered to the ground. Yet at that very moment, the immensely strong giant bear brought its paw crashing down with a deafening roar. Li Hao was forced back several paces, and a hairline fracture surfaced on the Sky Sword. Despite devouring numerous treasures, the Sky Sword seemed unable to easily withstand the full strike of a third-rank Sovereign. A faint crack appeared along the blade. This giant bear was truly no weakling. ... While Li Hao clashed with the puppets, energy ripples radiated outward. Although the dark domain blocked much of the invading darkness energy, the fluctuations of combat could not be completely masked. Just over two thousand meters away from Li Hao, a Sovereign wore a grave expression. Bright Moon? He saw him! In the distance, within that dark ring of light, Li Hao’s sword had cleanly dispatched a first-rank puppet, followed shortly by a second-rank puppet. To any Sovereign, these undead creatures were exceedingly difficult to deal with. Yet on Li Hao’s end, they were resolved with startling ease. Because Li Hao had broken their immortality. “Bright Moon... a third-rank Sovereign!” The Sovereign of the Absolute Darkness Great World felt a knot in his chest. This man was actually a third-rank Sovereign. That was the first shock. The second was that he was a swordsman, and an extraordinarily formidable one at that. Not long ago, word had spread across the Tianfang Great World that the Sword Venerable had arrived. Sovereign Tianhe of the Tianhe Domain had supposedly been slain by that very Sword Venerable. Now, this Bright Moon had not only concealed his cultivation, but was also a swordsman... In an instant, countless thoughts crossed this Sovereign’s mind. A grim suspicion formed: could this Bright Moon be connected to the Sword Venerable? “That ring of light... what is it?” He observed carefully. The glowing circle seemed to isolate the puppets from the outside world, thereby breaking their immortal nature. “Is that... a domain?” A thought struck him. He was familiar with such an ability. It seemed to be a domain—a self-contained system akin to a heaven and earth, capable of isolating the inside from the outside. Many lords of Great Worlds could use it. Generally, those who reached the high-rank Sovereign level possessed domains of their own. Self-contained domains isolated everything, making the user the ruler of that space. To a world lord, a Great World was essentially a magnified domain! Yet... how could Bright Moon deploy such a domain? To this day, there was no definitive consensus on how domains were formed; there were no specific techniques to cultivate them. Some domains simply emerged naturally. At this moment, the Sovereign felt both tense and solemn. Who on earth was this Bright Moon? Right then, a sharp ringing of the sword echoed as the third shadow puppet fell. Now, only the giant bear remained. Three dark Dao resonance crystals lay scattered inside Li Hao’s domain. Possessing boundless strength, the giant bear was showing signs of tearing through the domain. The watching Sovereign hesitated. *Should I strike?* *Should I take this chance to launch a sneak attack, shatter his domain, and let more dark shadow puppets swarm him? This man might pose a threat; he wasn't particularly friendly toward the Absolute Darkness Great World earlier.* *Besides, his use of the sword makes one think of the Xinwu Sword Venerable.* There were many swordsmen in the nearby territories, but the sword arts of Xinwu’s Sword Venerable were unique, earning him the reputation of the One-Sword Hero—his explosive burst of power was terrifyingly strong! Yet it often lasted for only a single strike. Though Li Hao differed from that description, every burst from him carried that same overwhelming weight, as if every attack expended his all... Did this man have any connection to the Sword Venerable? Of course, if the target were weak, whether he had a connection would hardly matter; one could strike at will. But right now, the man was plainly formidable. *If I wait any longer, he will kill that giant bear and claim several Dao resonance crystals. He’ll become even harder to deal with!* In the end, his resolve hardened. Regardless of any link to the Sword Venerable, he would strike for those Dao resonance crystals alone. They could not kill the dark shadow puppets, but this man could. Those crystals contained the Dao comprehension of an eighth-rank Sovereign. To cultivators of the darkness path, they were supreme treasures! Although the other Sovereign had claimed one crystal was worth merely a few hundred thousand Dao crystals—far less than a minor world—to a darkness cultivator, the insights of an eighth-rank Sovereign, even a sliver, were more precious than any minor world! Devouring a minor world gave a third-rank cultivator very little hope of reaching the fourth rank. Yet comprehending the Dao of an eighth-rank Sovereign made advancing from the third to the fourth rank effortless. What was more, there was more than one. Three crystals were already on the ground. If Li Hao killed the bear, that would make four. The Sovereign made up his mind: he would strike while the man fought the bear, at the absolute climax when both sides were thoroughly exhausted, or at the exact instant Li Hao struck down the bear—or the bear struck down Li Hao! ... Huilong Temple. Sovereign Huilong watched intently as well. He could not see detailed imagery, but he could tell that Bright Moon was engaging dark shadow puppets, their points of light overlapping and shifting. Meanwhile, the other third-rank Sovereign from the Absolute Darkness Great World lurked nearby, likely biding his time. Perhaps waiting for an opening! *Let’s test him one final time!* At this moment, Sovereign Huilong cared neither about Li Hao killing puppets nor about the Absolute Darkness Sovereign ambushing him. He had only one thought: test him once more. If this third-rank Sovereign truly ambushed Bright Moon... Bright Moon might unleash even greater power. *I’ll seal off Dark Demon Ridge again!* If the man’s strength still showed no fluctuation whatsoever this time... either he genuinely had no connection to a Great Dao Universe, or his strength exceeded the third rank, possibly sitting at the fourth or even fifth rank... In that case, whether he possessed the power of a Great Dao Universe would no longer matter. Yet if that were true, a middle-rank Sovereign... could never be the Silver Moon King. In truth, having seen him reach the third rank, Huilong already doubted it; the possibility was virtually nonexistent. Yet he remained somewhat unwilling to let it go. Thus, he chose to test him one last time. ... Inside the ridge, Li Hao was locked in a grueling battle against the giant bear. His Bright Moon Sword Dao was wielded to perfection. Life and death, destruction, extinction, darkness, water and fire... Various distinct sword intents erupted in succession. The giant bear began to weaken. Li Hao’s gaze turned frigid as his peripheral vision swept into the distance. Two thousand meters... he could see that far clearly. Though he was not a dedicated cultivator of the darkness path, he had absorbed a vast amount of darkness energy. Consequently, his range of vision here was no smaller than that of darkness specialists. The watcher likely assumed that because Li Hao did not specialize in darkness, he could not see as far. Hovering barely two thousand meters away without leaving—did he think Li Hao was blind? *Looks like he plans to ambush me.* At such a distance, a Sovereign could see clearly, and launching a sneak attack would take only an instant. An ambush by a third-rank Sovereign was nothing to scoff at. Yet since Li Hao could see him, it could hardly be called an ambush. Li Hao paid him no mind. The next instant, a beam of sword radiance pierced heaven and earth, thrusting straight toward the giant bear’s head! At that exact moment, the nearby Sovereign saw his chance. Transforming into a streak of shadowy light like an arrow of darkness, he shot toward Li Hao’s back! *Now!* All of Li Hao’s power was directed at the bear; his defense, counterattack, and reaction speed would be at their absolute lowest. This was his opportunity. He had verified that the man was truly of the third rank, not an elder expert in disguise. He was not the Sword Venerable! In that case, this was his chance. Just as he launched his strike, Li Hao abruptly redirected his sword beam and charged straight at him. At the same moment, the giant bear brought its paw down, a look of blank confusion surfacing in its dull eyes. *Where did the previous human go?* Appearing before the giant bear was a great river, and within that river, a cat looked at the bear with annoyance, frustration, and disgust. *What an ugly bear!* *And dead-fish eyes!* *Fish?* Er Mao thought to itself, *What an ugly fish...* *Wait, it’s not a fish.* *Whatever, they’re all fish.* Frustration aside, Er Mao opened its mouth wide and chomped down on the giant bear. Knowing Li Hao needed the dark Dao resonance crystal, it had no need to swallow the crystal itself; it simply devoured all the external energy surrounding the big hound of a bear in one gulp. On the other side, Li Hao swung his sword around, his gaze icy. “You don't even try to hide?” *At such a distance, I saw you clearly, yet you still came for an ambush.* Within the dark radiance, the Sovereign’s expression shifted slightly, but he had no time to ponder. Potent darkness energy erupted in an instant, infused with terrifying corrosive power. The void itself seemed swallowed by darkness, corroded into nothingness. *Boom!* The sword beam collided with the black radiance. Li Hao took several steps back, while the opponent’s dark light shattered, exposing his true face—the very third-rank Sovereign Li Hao had spotted earlier. His expression was sullen, and he said nothing. Having failed to kill with one strike, he wasted no time and swept up the scattered dark Dao resonance crystals on the ground. Since he could not achieve an instant kill, he would simply take the spoils and leave! It would not be easy for Bright Moon to deal with him either. Once he met up with Xunhan, killing this man would be effortless; there was no need to take risks here. “You take my things and think you can leave?” Li Hao’s eyes chilled. It had always been him taking from others; anyone wanting to take from him ought to ask first. *When I haven't given it to you, you dare snatch it?* “Life and death!” With a low shout, a black-and-white star seemed to manifest in the sky, pressing down with immense weight. Life-and-death qi erupted within Li Hao’s body, surging with vitality as his power swelled. Deathly qi billowed out, latching onto the Sovereign in an instant. The man’s internal Dao seemed enveloped in the aura of death. The Sovereign’s face changed. His darkness power surged violently, shaking off the deathly qi. Yet at that exact instant, a burst of extinction power surged into his body. All his energy seemed to die out for a split second. His body seized! Right then, chaos lightning tribulation materialized out of thin air—Li Hao’s power of destruction. A ferocious bolt of thunderous force detonated across the Sovereign with a deafening boom. The Absolute Darkness Sovereign stiffened, his internal darkness power scattered by the destructive shockwave. His life force drained away by a significant margin in an instant. “A Life and Death Sovereign!” Only now was the Sovereign truly shaken. When Li Hao fought the giant bear, the power of life and death had shown limited effect, so nothing remarkable had appeared. But against a living being, the terrors of a Life and Death Sovereign were laid bare: vitality stripped away, shrouded in death. The Sovereign was instantly engulfed by a sense of impending doom. *Not good!* Against an ordinary third-rank Sovereign of the same rank, he would have nothing to fear. But a Life and Death Sovereign... In the chaos universe, life and death, yin and yang, were all supreme Great Daos pursued by more than just Li Hao. Encountering such a Sovereign, ordinary Sovereigns could scarcely compete. Even if Li Hao could not cross a major threshold to kill a fourth-rank Sovereign, virtually no third-rank Sovereign would be his match unless they cultivated an equally profound Dao. With his vitality rapidly draining, the Sovereign’s expression twisted violently. He let out a sharp cry, burning his remaining life force. Aging visibly in an instant, a torrent of vigorous vitality scattered into the air. In a single breath, he knocked back Li Hao’s life-and-death power by a fraction. The next moment, he transformed into a streak of shadowy light, desperate to flee. Yet right then, a great river manifested. Where the giant bear had once stood, nothing remained. The moment the river appeared, it transformed into a long whip, instantly coiling around him. Within the river, the power of ten thousand Daos erupted simultaneously, coalescing into countless greatswords that slashed toward the Sovereign. “Is this... a Great Dao River?” The Sovereign’s face drained of color. *Impossible!* *How could a Dao Lord appear here?!* Indeed, a Dao Lord. The master of a Great Dao could be hailed as a Dao Lord. Such a river—a river of myriad Daos—was typically the hallmark of a Dao Lord. Its sudden emergence here left him utterly bewildered. *How can this be?* The weakest master of a Great Dao River was generally of the sixth rank. It represented a Great World! How could this Bright Moon possibly be the master of a Great Dao? Just then, heaven and earth trembled faintly. For an instant, the world seemed sealed off once more. Delight broke across the Sovereign’s face. “A lockdown!” It had happened once before; Dark Demon Ridge had seemingly been sealed off. Back then it had not affected him, so he had paid it no mind. Now, however, he was overjoyed. Locking down heaven and earth severed one’s connection to the Great Dao. If this man was indeed a Dao Lord, his Dao power would instantly plummet the moment his link to the Great Dao Universe was cut... Yet an instant later, he froze. The river coiled around him showed not the slightest trace of weakening. *How can this be?* *It’s not a Great Dao River?!* The thought raced through his mind. Was this river not drawn from a Great Dao Universe? *How is that possible!* *Can a river that doesn't come from a Great Dao Universe still be called a Great Dao River?* If Hong Yitang and the others were here without their Great Dao Universe, isolating them would have instantly crippled their river. Yet Li Hao’s river was unaffected. Strictly speaking, this river of his was not a true Great Dao River; it was fused and gathered entirely from his own strength, not borrowed from an external source or an external Dao. It belonged solely to him. Thus, sealing heaven and earth—or even sealing an entire world—made no difference to Li Hao. He disregarded it entirely! The river tightened around the Sovereign, binding him fast. The next instant, a sword radiating the light of life and death came slashing down, cloaking the man in the stench of death. The Sovereign panicked. “If you dare kill me, King Xunhan will never spare you!” “Hmph!” Li Hao did not even bother to reply. What did killing him matter? Even setting aside this cowardly ambush, if Li Hao wanted him dead, he had no reason to fear anyone. Watching the blade descend, the Sovereign made a desperate choice. His formidable physical body detonated in an instant! A streak of shadowy light tore through the void, attempting to flee. Sovereigns were never easy to kill. The tremendous blast rocked the river violently, shattering the descending sword beam. Right then, Li Hao uttered softly, “Extinction!” A wave of extinction power rippled outward. The surrounding void fell dead silent. All things withered, stripped of every trace of vitality. The fleeing shadowy light froze mid-flight. Just as it showed signs of recovery, another surge of destructive power crashed down. Thunderous lightning detonated with a deafening roar, blasting the shadowy light into scattered fragments! “Water and fire!” Li Hao struck again. Water and fire intertwined in midair, even projecting two phantom silhouettes—one from the Fire Element Mountain, and one from the Dao resonance land of the Tianhe Domain. Water and fire blended together! The twin forces swept across heaven and earth, erupting in a thunderous blast that obliterated every remaining wisp of shadowy light! Life and death were of Li Hao’s own comprehension. Destruction came from the chaos lightning tribulation. Extinction came from Kongji. Water and fire came from two Sovereigns of the Tianfang Great World—one of the seventh rank, the other of the sixth. With such heritages and methods, if he could not kill a cultivator of the same rank, Li Hao might as well end his own life. He would have lived for nothing! Wretched screams echoed and faded in an instant. Li Hao ignored them and looked up at the sky, his eyes turning cold. Once could be dismissed as coincidence. Twice! Twice in a row, the isolation of heaven and earth occurred precisely when he unleashed his strength to kill. If he had been a cultivator reliant on a Great Dao Universe, that single instant would have been enough to put him in dire straits, and being counter-killed by his enemy would have been completely plausible. “Huilong!” Li Hao’s expression darkened. This was deliberate targeting, or at least a calculated test. Twice in succession, the other party had sealed the realm. Huilong must have sensed something—such as Li Hao encountering an opponent, preparing to strike, preparing to unleash his full power... and right at that moment, he locked down Dark Demon Ridge. If not for the fact that Li Hao’s River of Life and Death did not belong to a Great Dao Universe, wouldn't he have been ruined? Originally, he had held no ill will toward Sovereign Huilong, a man known for being smooth and tactful. As for Huilong hunting Xinwu experts... that was his own affair; Li Hao only did what lay within his own capability. Yet after these two tests, had luck not been on his side, Li Hao might have suffered a catastrophic fall. In an instant, a deep grudge was forged! “Huilong!” Murmuring the name once more, the coldness in Li Hao’s eyes receded. He would not let this fellow off. Though he was merely of the third rank while Huilong stood at the sixth... Li Hao cared nothing for the disparity. He would ensure Huilong paid for this. Locking down heaven and earth twice in a row was simply intolerable! The river swept across the surroundings. Every item, including the giant bear’s dark Dao resonance crystal, fell into Li Hao’s hands. The slain third-rank Sovereign was drawn into the river’s waters to be washed and purified for energy. This third-rank Sovereign should provide enough to construct several more bridges. Not only his energy, but the dark Dao resonance crystals from the other three shadow puppets would be consumed as well; Li Hao would keep only the giant bear’s. Reaching out, he caught the bear’s dark Dao resonance crystal. Li Hao surveyed his surroundings. His luck was quite good this time. With a glance, everything within seven to eight thousand meters lay crystal clear before his eyes. A fine treasure indeed! He looked toward the sky once more before swiftly running in one direction. ... Inside Huilong Temple. Sovereign Huilong coughed up a mouthful of blood, frowning with deep disappointment. *He truly isn't!* *He has no connection to a Great Dao Universe.* Moreover, this Bright Moon was remarkably strong. Facing both dark shadow puppets and a third-rank Sovereign of the Absolute Darkness Great World, he had killed them all simultaneously. Furthermore, how had he managed to slay the puppets? Those things were virtually immortal. Bright Moon harbored secrets. However, he was almost certainly not an expert from a Great World, nor from a Great Dao Universe. What Sovereign didn't have secrets? To Sovereign Huilong, who stood at the peak of the sixth rank, ordinary secrets were entirely useless. What he wanted was a Great Dao Universe—one that was either masterless or held by a weak master! Yet now... Bright Moon was neither. Disappointment weighed heavily on him. Deep and bitter! *What a disappointment. In that case, my only hope lies in the Tianfang Great World. If Tianfang doesn't revive, it will be exceedingly difficult for me to step into the seventh rank.* *Either that, or another Great World falls, leaving its Great Dao Universe behind for me to claim.* *Yet... how could that happen!* Even if his backer, the Yunxiao Great World, managed to destroy another Great World, they would never hand its Great Dao Universe to him. Yunxiao had its own sixth-rank Sovereigns. Though he counted as part of their direct lineage, he was not favored to that degree; it would never fall to him. Moreover, Yunxiao kept a low profile and did not stir up trouble everywhere like Xinwu, offering virtually no such opportunities. “Tianfang...” He murmured the name, his thoughts drifting back to Bright Moon. A third-rank Sovereign, and a formidable one at that. This time, he had killed two Sovereigns from the Absolute Darkness Great World. Once Xunhan emerged... perhaps he could inform him. Bright Moon and Kongji made one fifth-rank and one third-rank. Xunhan’s side possessed one fifth-rank and two third-ranks. Bright Moon was no weak third-rank; taking on two of them... would balance things out nicely, keeping both sides in check. Huilong was not worried about anything, nor did he fear Bright Moon discovering what he had done. As a Sovereign at the peak of the sixth rank, he possessed that much confidence. Unless the lord of a Great World—and a seventh-rank one at that—personally moved against him, he feared nothing. At this moment, he harbored no thoughts of eliminating Li Hao. Since the man was not the Silver Moon King, he counted as part of Huilong Temple’s strength. Why eliminate him? Had he been the Silver Moon King, striking him down would have been justified. What was more, the man remained on good terms with Kongji. As Sovereign Huilong turned these thoughts over, a voice suddenly transmitted into his ears: “Sovereign Huilong, you unleashed power twice just now, and it seemed connected to Dark Demon Ridge. Has something happened there?” Those capable of transmitting their voices here were limited to the few middle-rank Sovereigns. The one speaking now was Kongji. Evidently, Kongji had sensed it as well, choosing not to hide his awareness and questioning him directly. Huilong replied with a light chuckle: “Nothing to worry about. It seems some dark shadow puppets were provoked, and I was merely driving them off... Brother Kongji can rest assured that Bright Moon is alive and well! However... I vaguely sensed that Bright Moon... seems to have... perhaps slain an expert of the Absolute Darkness Great World... If Brother Xunhan finds out, I fear there will be no small amount of trouble.” “We are all members of Huilong Temple, and I certainly do not wish for conflict between you... Of course, it might just be a misunderstanding. Rest assured, I will handle it once everyone emerges!” The unspoken implication was simple enough: I know this secret. If you want to maintain peace with Xunhan, you had better watch your step and behave, lest you forge a blood feud with him. “Oh... understood.” Kongji seemed unsurprised, and indeed he was not. He offered only a lukewarm reply before his voice faded away. Sovereign Huilong raised an eyebrow, glancing in Kongji’s direction. *What does this fellow mean?* *‘Understood’?* *Does he understand my warning, or is he saying... he simply doesn't care?* It was hard to tell for now. Everything would become clear once they emerged. Xunhan and his two companions had entered the Dark Divine Temple within Dark Demon Ridge, while Bright Moon was currently hurrying toward that very place. It remained to be seen whether the two sides would cross paths. Dark Demon Ridge had seen some anomalies this time. He wondered if any of them would reap any harvest. With that thought, he said no more. Once people entered the Dark Divine Temple, they were beyond his observation. This time, he had achieved nothing beyond ruling out Bright Moon as the Silver Moon King and confirming he was not a powerhouse backed by a Great World. Aside from that, there had been no significant gain. ... Meanwhile, Li Hao wasted no time, speeding forward along his path. He headed straight for the Dark Divine Temple! His sense of direction was exceptionally sharp. Determining the location of the Dark Divine Temple was easy enough, and the lay of the land offered further clues. Moreover, holding the dark Dao resonance crystal allowed him to see much farther, speeding his progress. At the same time, the energy of the third-rank Sovereign and the three other Dao resonance crystals were being devoured and refined within the river, constructing more bridges of life and death. Furthermore, as Li Hao slew several dark shadow puppets, he noticed... an increasing number of puppets seemed to be gathering in his vicinity. Although the dark domain still provided some cover, it was better to enter the Dark Divine Temple as soon as possible. That way, he could avoid being swarmed by these puppets. After traveling for nearly half a day, Li Hao finally beheld an immensely colossal divine temple. Its gigantic dark gates stood firmly shut. Waves of darkness qi emanated outward from the temple—the very source of Dark Demon Ridge’s darkness energy. At this moment, the darkness power seemed somewhat restless. “The Dark Divine Temple, cultivation grounds of the eighth-rank Dark Envoy... perhaps also where treasures akin to divine characters reside!” Dark Demon Ridge had likely been formed upon the foundation of this very temple. Li Hao glanced at it, harboring few hesitations. Whether Xunhan was inside or not, and regardless of any lurking dangers... having come all this way, standing outside in hesitation would be an utter waste of time. Delaying too long might cause him to miss his scheduled rendezvous with Sovereign Mo and the others. Although he did not strictly have to travel with them, staying in their company would allow him to locate Tianji and the rest directly, avoiding the risk of missing them. The next moment, Li Hao pushed open the gates of darkness. He stepped into the Dark Divine Temple. ... The instant Li Hao entered the temple, a prayer mat deep within the hall trembled faintly. Vaguely, a murmur echoed through the air: “Fire Envoy, Water Envoy, Flesh Envoy...” Dao resonance auras of multiple envoys? Someone had obtained the heritages of several envoys? *How could that be!* One might be conceivable, but three was virtually impossible. Even if the experts had been willing to bestow their teachings, once the second perceived the aura of another, he would not have passed down his heritage. The legacy of a mighty Sovereign was no cabbage in the market. Not just anyone would be granted an inheritance. For three mighty Sovereigns to pass their lineages to a single individual was utterly inconceivable. “No wonder...” The faint voice murmured again. No wonder the dark shadow puppets had grown restless this time. It was not due to external control, but because they had sensed familiar auras—the presence of those who had served alongside them as envoys in the ancient past. Perhaps it was an act of welcome. A welcome for the arrival of fellow Tianfang experts. Only that faint voice drifted through the vast hall. All around, illusory scenes materialized out of thin air. Some showed the figures of Xunhan and the two other Sovereigns, while another revealed Li Hao. All of them were inside the Dark Divine Temple, yet seemingly isolated from one another. The prayer mat trembled once more before swiftly returning to stillness. Within the grand hall, only those few projections remained. ... At the same time. Xunhan turned his head toward one direction, frowning slightly. He had been inside for over a day. Though the Dark Divine Temple had not appeared immense from the outside, the interior was vast and shrouded in darkness. Even as a fifth-rank Sovereign, he could discern virtually nothing here. No wonder records in the Absolute Darkness Great World noted that previous visitors had returned empty-handed! It seemed to be an empty temple! There was nothing at all. Yet... it could not truly be empty. Upon entering, he had split up with the other two Sovereigns to search for opportunities individually. But if even he had found nothing, the other two were unlikely to fare any better. “The Dark Divine Temple... is there truly nothing here? Or is it simply that I haven't encountered it, that the opportunity does not belong to me?” He frowned, his irritation mounting. There was another matter: the aura of Absolute Darkness... felt even fainter than before. With their Great Dao Universe shattered, only six Sovereigns had survived, and the aura of Absolute Darkness was already exceedingly weak. Now, he sensed it had waned further, leaving him to wonder whether something had happened to the Sovereigns outside. Six Sovereigns had entered the ridge, but only three had reached the Dark Divine Temple; the fate of the other three remained unknown. Xunhan felt an edge of anxiety. If this expedition yielded no harvest and resulted in casualties instead... it would be an unbearable blow to the Absolute Darkness Great World. From a once-flourishing world, only six Sovereigns remained. Losing one or two might have been acceptable in the past, but now... it would be a catastrophic loss. ... At this moment, having stepped into the Dark Divine Temple, Li Hao was instantly engulfed in darkness. A darkness far denser than before! The entire realm was pitch-black. Even while holding the dark Dao resonance crystal, Li Hao could only see within a radius of a thousand meters... and found only an empty void with nothing in sight. Without the crystal, his sight would likely be limited to a mere hundred meters. And he was a third-rank Sovereign! This temple undoubtedly held treasures; otherwise, it could never suppress a Sovereign to such an extent. “The core of the domain!” An idea took shape in Li Hao’s mind. This place was certainly the core of the entire Dark Demon Ridge domain—the very source of its darkness power. And here, a treasure akin to a divine character was bound to exist. He wondered whether he could find it—and perhaps even take it with him!