Rules

The Chaos Universe. A group traveled through the chaos. Time passed swiftly. For most of the journey, they hurried forward in silence without much conversation. To Sovereigns, the chaos was like this—lonely, dead silent, and dull. Worlds were the places where they could unwind and enjoy themselves. Choosing to wander the chaos was a means of seeking opportunities. In truth, no Sovereign had truly given up on advancing along the path of cultivation; otherwise, a Sovereign could easily reign supreme in a minor world and enjoy a comfortable life forever. Initially, Li Hao had harbored deep hostility toward these Chaos Rangers. Furthermore, this group was setting out to hunt down Xinwu experts. Yet after traveling with them for some time, Li Hao realized that it was simply a matter of differing standpoints. These Chaos Rangers, these Sovereigns, were also pilgrims walking the path of cultivation. They had not chosen to surrender, slack off, or retire in some minor world. They wandered through the tedious chaos, seizing every opportunity to grow stronger. Hunting Xinwu experts was perilous in the extreme, yet these Sovereigns were willing to take the risk. Wasn't it all just for a handful of cultivation resources? No one could dismiss their efforts. It was merely that the two sides stood in different positions and looked at things from different perspectives. If Li Hao didn't know the Xinwu experts, didn't possess so many opportunities, and lacked cultivation resources, would he have become a wanderer too? Would he risk his life hunting down targets for a bounty from a great world? Perhaps… he would. Because this was survival. This was the path of pursuing the Dao. Killing was never the end goal. These Sovereigns did not kill merely for the sake of killing, but for resources and to strengthen themselves. Of course, since they had chosen this path, they deserved whatever death awaited them. Hunting others for one's own resources could hardly be called righteous, nor could it be considered heroic. It was nothing more than seeking survival, fighting to exist and pursue the Dao. That didn't mean slaughtering others for resources was right. Life and death were governed by fate. Traveling alongside these rogue cultivators, Li Hao seemed to understand something more, seeing through to the nature of the chaos—or perhaps the essence of the path of cultivation itself. It was bloody, an undeniable reality that no one wished to acknowledge. The entire matter boiled down to a single principle: the strong preying on the weak. To put it more bluntly: it was people devouring people. Everyone was doing it. Great worlds were annexing smaller worlds. Eighth-rank Sovereigns sought to slay seventh-rank Sovereigns, seventh-rank Sovereigns sought to obliterate sixth-rank Sovereigns, and sixth-rank Sovereigns schemed to step into the seventh rank to become hegemons and swallow other factions. Though worlds within the chaos were separated by vast distances, the struggles between them—whether overt or covert—raged on unceasingly. They had never stopped! This was the jianghu. Wherever there were people, there was a jianghu; wherever there were living beings, there was a jianghu. Silver Moon was a small jianghu, while the chaos was a vast jianghu. Was there any difference between these Sovereigns and ordinary martial masters? None. Even after reaching this height, they still could not escape fame and fortune. Of course, for them, the meaning had changed—it might be greater strength, a weightier voice, or more resources—yet in the end, it was the exact same thing. Even at the level of a Sovereign, one could not escape these shackles. It was entirely unlike the carefree, unfettered existence one might imagine. Every single person was struggling. ... And so, as they chatted along the way, Li Hao asked Mo a somewhat foolish question. "Mo, can there ever be peace in the chaos?" The question took Mo aback. She looked at Li Hao and suddenly felt that this young man before her was remarkably naive. Was he simply too young? Peace? She pondered for a long time before carefully formulating an answer. "That isn't up to us! Take the Red Moon Domain, for instance. The conflict between Xinwu and Red Moon has swept in every direction, embroiling the entire domain. Great worlds are falling, not to mention minor and medium worlds. Sovereigns are nothing more than cannon fodder there. "Weaklings like us want peace… but who will give us the chance?" She gave a self-deprecating chuckle. "Haoyue, you're too young! Why do wanderers like us roam the chaos? Isn't it because… we lack the strength? We might be masters of minor worlds, or Sovereigns of medium worlds. Whatever we are, the moment great worlds go to war, we become cannon fodder! A single outburst from a high-rank Sovereign can annihilate our worlds! We are powerless to resist, unable to fight back… and can only passively endure it all!" She looked at Li Hao. "Many of us didn't want this in the beginning, nor did we wish to wander this void, tedious chaos. We are Sovereigns!" There was pride in her voice, yet also an underlying sense of inferiority—a tangle of emotions difficult to unravel. She offered another self-deprecating smile. "Yet what does being a Sovereign amount to? Just look at the Red Moon Domain. Several great worlds have already fallen, and Sovereigns have dropped like rain. Would you say the Absolute Darkness Great World and the Bliss Great World were at fault?" Li Hao remained silent. Mo continued, "In truth, everyone understands that Xinwu is eliminating Red Moon's accomplices. Both Bliss and Absolute Darkness were entangled with Red Moon. If Red Moon hadn't invaded Xinwu, it wouldn't have led to this outcome. So is Red Moon the root of the problem?" Xinwu had destroyed several worlds in order to defend against Red Moon. So, was Red Moon at fault? *Yes, isn't Red Moon at fault?* Li Hao thought to himself. Yet Mo added, "Some might think so. But bordering the Red Moon Domain is the Tianfang Region. In the Tianfang Region, there are the Bright Light Great World and the Yunxiao Great World, both ambitious and scheming to become ninth-rank great worlds. If Red Moon had not invaded outward, then once those two worlds determined a victor between them, they would have inevitably invaded Red Moon. Red Moon was merely acting in self-preservation." Li Hao paused, taken aback. Mo went on, "So are Bright Light and Yunxiao at fault?" Li Hao said nothing. "Not them either!" Mo shook her head again. "The entire chaos is like this! If you don't grow stronger, you might vanish! Near the Tianfang Region, other eighth-rank great worlds are also seeking to reach the ninth rank. If Bright Light and Yunxiao didn't pursue it, wouldn't they just be sitting around waiting to die? "So… you can't say who is right and who is wrong. Across the entire chaos, there is only one absolute truth: might makes right!" At this point, she added, "In truth, it might also have to do with Tianfang's disappearance. Back when the Tianfang Great World was around, as a ninth-rank great world with a ninth-rank Sovereign, Tianfang possessed an undeniable authority. Back then, the regions in all directions were far more peaceful. "We are all Sovereigns, and we all emerged from worlds of our own. You must understand that when an area loses its hegemon, everyone wants to take the throne! But when a hegemon exists, things remain peaceful and quiet until someone is ready to overthrow them…" Nearly all of these Sovereigns had emerged from individual worlds. Who among them hadn't once reigned supreme over an entire realm? Who didn't understand this principle? Everyone knew it! Yet what was the use of knowing? Li Hao nodded and said, "Then why don't the hegemons of the various regions establish relatively peaceful treaties to keep each other in check? With so much unrest right now, it isn't a good thing for anyone. For the chaos as a whole… such turbulence will sooner or later lead to the deaths of countless Sovereigns." "Who would lead it?" Mo shook her head once more. "The problems that exist in the chaos are: first, the scale is far too vast. The distance from one world to another is colossal, far beyond anyone's reach. Even if some agreements were reached, if someone defied them and continued invading other worlds, by the time you arrived to stop them, the other side would already be destroyed. Would you go to war over an already annihilated world? "Second, there is no absolute hegemon. Right now, it's a fractured landscape of feudal lords. There are simply too many lords. An eighth-rank Sovereign is certainly a top-tier powerhouse, but some seventh-rank Sovereigns who command great worlds and Great Dao Universes don't believe they are truly weaker than an eighth-rank. Who would listen to whom? "Third, the issue of resources!" She looked at Li Hao. "Once you reach the level of a Sovereign, cultivation resources are excruciatingly scarce! Even a Great Dao Universe… doesn't possess infinite power, infinite energy, or infinite Great Dao. That leads to an inevitable problem: there is a hard limit to the number of Sovereigns. Once Sovereigns reach saturation, no one else in that great world can attain the throne. And when there are too many Sovereigns, there isn't enough Dao to go around… "At that point, if you don't open up battlefields to cull the number of Sovereigns or swallow other Dao universes, your world… will rot sooner or later!" She spoke with solemn gravity. "Even for an eighth-rank great world, the number of Sovereigns is limited. A seventh-rank great world can hold around a hundred Sovereigns, while an eighth-rank holds slightly more—perhaps one to two hundred. Yet a single world nurtures hundreds of billions, even trillions of living beings… and that's just a single generation. Even if mortals cycle through a generation every fifty years, do you have any idea how long the chaos has existed?" A Sovereign did not simply emerge from one era. They might reign over countless eras. A world might seem to support only a few hundred billion living beings at any given time, but across dozens of eras, through tens of trillions of souls, only a single Sovereign might ever be born. When Sovereigns reached saturation, what were the remaining souls supposed to do? There was no hope left! The Great Dao Universe was monopolized, with no positions remaining, leaving latecomers without any opportunity whatsoever. Li Hao had once heard Bone Corroder say that Red Moon's Sovereigns had reached saturation, making it impossible for new Sovereigns to be born. So what was the solution? Invasion! Red Moon had chosen to feed its desires, relentlessly invading outward to continuously expand its Great Dao Universe. That way, as the universe grew stronger, it could accommodate more Sovereigns. Otherwise, subsequent generations would have no hope at all! This was not merely the dilemma of a single world; it was the dilemma of the entire chaos. Thus, wars in the chaos never ceased. On one hand, it was to cull weak, useless Sovereigns; on the other, it was to make room for successors. Since you could no longer advance, you had to vacate your seat as a Sovereign and let someone else take your place! Under such circumstances, how could war ever be brought to an end? Li Hao listened attentively. Inwardly, he found himself agreeing. Yes, there were far too many issues, making war inevitable. Even within the chaos, it could not be avoided. In truth, Silver Moon was no different. When there were too many people, too many powerhouses, and not enough seats or resources to go around, what could be done? War! It was the same everywhere under heaven. "With countless Sovereigns in the chaos, has no one ever thought of a solution?" "Of course they have!" Mo answered, "Many worlds have attempted measures—suppressing martial arts, bringing about cataclysms to birth new civilizations, or creating heavenly tribulations… all to whittle down the number of cultivators! "In worlds with more than one Sovereign, they might even wage war against one another, purely to reduce the cultivator population. "There are also worlds that completely abandon cultivator civilizations in favor of technological or mundane civilizations, erasing all trace of cultivation from their history. Yet all of these measures only treat the symptoms, not the root cause! "If you completely abandon cultivation… that won't do either! The moment you are invaded, you will have no power to resist!" If you gave up, you could not produce new powerhouses or rising talents. Once invaded, you wouldn't even have reserve forces and would swiftly face annihilation. If you didn't give up, you had to confront the exhaustion of resources. Thus, many Sovereigns eventually found themselves left with no other choice. They abandoned their own worlds—either devouring them or letting them develop on their own—and departed to wander the chaos. That was why there were so many chaos wanderers. This was the origin of chaos wanderers. Many of them were simply losers in the competition within their own worlds; because minor and medium worlds could not support many Sovereigns, those who lost had no choice but to leave. As Mo spoke, the other Sovereigns listened in silence. Chanxiu, the second-rank Sovereign who had barely spoken the entire time, suddenly spoke up of his own accord. "Fellow Daoist Haoyue, you are still young. Perhaps your world has only ever produced you as a Sovereign… so you cannot yet empathize with this feeling! At first, you might not care, but after a thousand years, ten thousand years, a hundred thousand years… across such vast spans of time, when you fail to make any progress, when your world can no longer give birth to Sovereigns or powerhouses… after you have enjoyed everything there is to enjoy and experienced all there is to experience, your family, your friends, everyone you ever knew will fade away into the world with the passage of time…" That sense of solitude, helplessness, and crushing loneliness could drive even a Sovereign mad. "When that day comes, you will fight whether you want to or not!" Chanxiu sighed softly. "At that point, you either step out of your world to join the fray, or wait for the day a powerhouse discovers your realm… to be assimilated, devoured, or destroyed!" Li Hao scratched his head lightly, appearing quite naive and youthful. In truth, compared to these people, he genuinely was exceedingly young. Li Hao nodded. "Indeed. Though I haven't lived through it myself, I can somewhat understand. This is a problem facing the entire chaos, not just a few individuals. So… the chaos is just like the worlds within it, rife with intrigue and cutthroat competition. In the past, I imagined Sovereigns in the chaos to be completely carefree, roaming in all directions to converse and debate the Dao. Later, I discovered it wasn't like that at all. It is soaked in worldly squalor… quite a departure from the Sovereigns of my imagination. But now I understand a little better." The other Sovereigns shared wry smiles. In the beginning, who hadn't thought the same way? Yet reality had a way of teaching you a lesson. Then Li Hao voiced another naive thought: "I feel that the crux of the issue lies in lifespan!" Everyone turned to look at him. Li Hao explained, "If the rules of the Chaos Universe were truly perfected, I believe the lifespan of powerhouses should be restricted. There are so many powerhouses today precisely because lifespans are endless! For a Sovereign to die of old age… it would take at least a million years, wouldn't it? "I think an excessively long lifespan is the real catalyst for all of this! The lifespans of Sovereigns—and indeed all cultivators—should be limited! For instance, below the Sovereign realm, the limit could be ten thousand years, while for Sovereigns, a hundred thousand years could be the ceiling… Once the time is up, they die of old age. A hundred thousand years is more than enough time to enjoy oneself." Everyone froze. Even Minghao, who was leading the group, burst into laughter. "Then what have we spent our entire lives cultivating for? Isn't it for immortality? If even Sovereigns are subjected to limits, why cultivate at all? Besides… who could possibly place limits on a Sovereign?" Sovereigns were the rulers of the chaos. If even a Sovereign's lifespan were limited… what was the point of playing the game? Li Hao, however, remained deep in thought. "For ordinary mortals, living to a hundred is already considered an advanced age! For a Sovereign to live a hundred thousand years… under normal circumstances, if someone's path goes smoothly, taking a broad survey, ten thousand years should be enough to attain the Dao, right? After attaining the Sovereign realm, to live another ninety thousand years… is that vast span of time still not enough?" He felt it was more than sufficient. The root of the many problems currently plaguing the chaos lay in the accumulation over generations. Countless veteran powerhouses occupied high positions and monopolized the fruits of Sovereign status, leaving latecomers without any hope. This led to a shortage of resources and a lack of open positions. The younger generations had no future, while those ahead could no longer progress, leaving them to idle away their days waiting for an end that never came. "Hahaha!" Minghao chuckled again. "What you say does make sense, but… who could possibly restrict a Sovereign? You can't expect Sovereigns to commit suicide the moment they reach a certain age, can you? To tell the truth, living too long is indeed quite boring!" Li Hao nodded. "Exactly! The key lies in the fact that the rules of the chaos are incomplete. Birth, aging, sickness, and death—I consider these normal. Yet the entire Chaos Universe imposes practically no limit on a Sovereign's lifespan… In any case, I have hardly ever seen a Sovereign die of old age!" The Sovereigns were stunned. What immense arrogance! The rules of the chaos were incomplete? This fellow truly had a colossal tone! Just how vast was the chaos? It was vast beyond imagination! So vast that not a single Sovereign had ever traversed the entirety of it; they only operated within a few neighboring domains. Some Sovereigns spent their entire lives within a single domain, never once stepping beyond it. There were even those who had never left their own worlds at all. Who could rule the entire chaos? Who could establish such rules for the whole expanse? Minghao, being a fourth-rank Sovereign, smiled once more. "If such rules truly existed in the chaos… wouldn't that be unfair to Sovereigns? I cultivate for so many years only to constantly run against the clock for my lifespan—doesn't that feel terribly unfair? Isn't the pursuit of the Dao about achieving freedom?" Li Hao considered this and nodded. "True enough! However… freedom is relative. Absolute, unrestrained freedom is merely self-indulgence! Unless one can exercise complete self-restraint, I believe everyone needs rules to bind them. Even I, though I believe I can restrain myself, sometimes fail to do so. For example, when I see a villain, I want to kill them… but once you kill someone, are you not a villain as well?" Li Hao was voicing thoughts that the group of Sovereigns found utterly incomprehensible. Everyone smiled, none of them arguing further. Naive! He was simply too young. Chatting with this fellow was fine, but taking him seriously… would be pointless. Yet Li Hao was genuinely taking it to heart. He was also pondering… Was the current chaos too chaotic, too dark? The chaos as it existed did not match his expectations of the Dao's freedom. Of course, limiting lifespan was not the fundamental solution either. Even with limited lifespans, powerhouses would resort to any means necessary to advance. Therefore, corresponding punitive measures were also needed. Clear, proportional rules had to be established. That way, with finite lifespans, powerhouses would die when they grew old, giving the new generation opportunities. Even if competition remained, it would be constrained within a reasonable scope. Beyond that, comprehension of the Dao needed to be emphasized. Advancement could not rely purely on devouring. Otherwise… everyone would simply slaughter and consume. Dao universes devouring one another to strengthen themselves was a major driver of war. Cultivators ought to cultivate themselves primarily. Of course, strife was an inherent part of nature and could not be eradicated entirely; otherwise, cultivators would turn into wooden blocks, which was equally meaningless. *The rules within the chaos…* Li Hao thought to himself that the entire chaos ought to possess a foundational set of rules. Within these foundational rules, conflict would be minimized, directing cultivators to pursue the elevation of their own realms instead. That was the crux. Establishing rules for the chaos… It was a terrifying, unimaginable concept. The next moment, he suddenly thought of a person—the Master of Tianfang. A ninth-rank Sovereign! A Sovereign of Space! Rumor had it that he had once sought out numerous Dao Lords. According to Li Hao's understanding, a Dao Lord was someone who had reached the absolute peak of a specific Dao; in the eyes of the Tianfang Sovereign, they would have been at least of the eighth or ninth rank. Life and Death, Yin and Yang, the Five Elements… These Dao Lords had gathered together, and they had even sought to find Time… What had they intended to do? Li Hao's heart stirred. What were they doing? Establishing rules? Rules for the entire chaos? Was that possible? In that instant, a sudden inspiration struck Li Hao. Then another thought occurred to him. In fact, certain rules already existed within the chaos. For instance… the chaos lightning tribulation would obliterate things that were not supposed to exist. Did the chaos lightning tribulation count as a rule? How was that lightning tribulation born? Where did it come from? What criteria did it use to judge? For a moment, Li Hao was entranced. He was merely a third-rank Sovereign; these matters were far too distant from him. He shouldn't have been wasting his thoughts on such far-flung ideas. Yet in recent times, he had slain quite a few Sovereigns himself, and now, over in the Red Moon Domain, Sovereigns were falling in droves. War seemed to be sweeping across the entire chaos. Cultivators had their minds filled with nothing but killing people to seize treasures… Even Li Hao himself was not exempt from this mindset. The lofty notions of the natural Dao and non-action were utter nonsense. Some did it willingly, some were forced into it, some simply drifted with the tide, and others felt that if they didn't do it while everyone else did, they were losing out… The key lay in the lack of restraint. If you committed an evil deed here, at worst, you could just flee somewhere else. If you killed someone here, you could run to another world or another domain. The chaos was so vast—how could anyone ever track you down? The chaos was simply too vast. Traveling for several months at a time was considered brief; several years was commonplace, and decades or centuries were entirely normal. A single misstep could leave you wandering the chaos for countless ages, unaware of how much time had passed. Li Hao pondered these things. At this moment, he lacked the power to change anything. He merely felt… the current chaos was different from what he had envisioned, and the path these cultivators walked differed from what he had imagined. The casual conversation with these Sovereigns had sparked several new thoughts in his mind. The martial masters of Silver Moon were also a free-spirited bunch. Pursuing the martial path! They killed and plundered as well. Yet Silver Moon had never fallen into total anarchy. Why? Because there were still restraints! Legal restraints, moral restraints, and the restraint of knowing that someone would sanction you if you rampaged without care. Furthermore, the lifespan of a martial master was short. Even if you dominated for a generation, it lasted a century at most, and often only a few years… When you grew old, you died. No matter how tyrannical you were, your reign lasted only a fleeting moment. The generational turnover was rapid! Not every generation's hegemon would be wicked; there would also be virtuous figures who brought eras of peace. Yet in the chaos, if an evil person became a hegemon, their rule could easily last a million years… Could anyone endure that? No one could! At this juncture, Li Hao's contemplation of these matters offered little practical help to his own Great Dao. He was simply thinking… reflecting on various scattered thoughts. It was inconvenient to cultivate while traveling, and having reached the peak of the third rank, he had little immediate need to train anyway. Thus, he had the time and leisure to ponder these questions. Suddenly, it occurred to him that he could speak with someone… or rather, a cat. *Senior Er Mao, did the Emperor of Battle Heaven ever say… or teach, what one should do if cultivators become completely ungovernable? Or rather, what should be done if all cultivators are completely ungovernable?* Er Mao had been napping and usually couldn't be bothered to respond when someone disturbed him. Yet upon hearing this question, the cat seemed to recall something and replied, *Then you establish a set of rules that everyone can accept… provided you possess the strength to establish them! Human desire is boundless—not just human desire, but the desires of all living beings! Those who learn to restrain their desires are Saints, but the world cannot be populated solely by Saints. Thus, immense power is required to establish and maintain these rules… Laws exist in the mortal realm, but in the beginning, laws certainly did not exist. Back then, only morality and brute force were used to suppress and restrain. Later, as laws gradually matured, the first generation to experience them undoubtedly found them unbearable and resisted. It took generation after generation to refine, maintain, and enforce them… before restraints and rules truly took shape!* *Then is it right to place the shackles of lifespan upon cultivators?* At this moment, Li Hao felt as though he were conversing with the Emperor of Battle Heaven across time and space. Conversing with that mighty Sovereign who had spent his life teaching and guiding others. *The shackles of lifespan?* Er Mao sank into memory again, remaining quiet for a long while before speaking. *In truth, it ought to be so… An endless lifespan is inherently an injustice! Whether you are a Sovereign or anything else, possessing infinite lifespan is, to the world and society as a whole, a form of monopoly!* *For instance, if a Sovereign is born in a minor world, to preserve his hegemony and prevent anyone from surpassing him… with his supreme power, he can easily slaughter every successor, denying later generations any opportunity at all for tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years!* *During that time, the world might not make a single shred of progress for hundreds of thousands of years!* *In truth, that is a regression of the era!* *Why is it that the more ancient a cultivator is, the stronger they tend to be, while the new generation cannot surpass them? After all these years, whether within worlds or the chaos, ancient cultivators almost entirely dominate the leading positions. How many newcomers have truly risen? Aside from a handful of weak Sovereigns, nearly all powerful Sovereigns are ancient existences…* Er Mao was merely relaying words once spoken by the Emperor of Battle Heaven. As if recalling something else, Er Mao continued, *In truth, the shorter a lifespan, the easier it is to spark unimaginable brilliance—the brilliance of civilization! Mortals have a lifespan of barely a hundred years, yet within that century, they can create countless things beyond your imagination… whereas a Sovereign might not even think to create or innovate a single thing over ten thousand years!* *Back then…* At this point, Er Mao sounded somewhat mournful. *Back then, the reason the scholar chose… chose to depart, was partly due to this. It was too dull; he had lived too long. Even though he wasn't the most ancient cultivator of that era and was relatively young among the Sovereigns, to him, all the interesting things in the world had already been done! He watched his teachers, his friends, his elders… all change amidst their endless lifespans. He felt that the era was too sorrowful, too boring, and that it was time to leave!* *If the cultivators of that time had been bound by limits on their lifespan, the Nine Emperors and Four Sovereigns of that era would all have remained exceptional heroes… But as they grew old, they changed! The Nine Emperors and Four Sovereigns of the Yin-Yang World… even the Heavenly Emperor himself, were all remarkable figures in the beginning, heroes who saved all living things. Yet because they lived for too long, they became corrupted.* Li Hao listened in silence. So even Battle felt that living too long was not a good thing? When a Sovereign's lifespan was virtually infinite, immortal and imperishable, changes would inevitably take root over time. To say nothing of Sovereigns, hadn't the Xinwu people sealed within the Silver Moon World for a hundred thousand years undergone changes as well? Across such endless ages, how many could truly keep their original aspirations? *Even I might not manage it!* *Time…* Time was the most terrifying force of all. Time brought change; time eroded original intent; time fostered rot and decay. Taking life and death as the foundation, driven by time, birth, aging, sickness, death, and the cycle of reincarnation… Rules and order! In this moment, countless thoughts raced through Li Hao's mind. He didn't know why he was dwelling on these things. Perhaps… it was because the reality of the chaos had shattered his illusions about the realm of cultivation. Or perhaps it was because, during these recent days, he felt he hadn't achieved anything of true significance. Aside from killing… was killing truly the cultivation journey he desired? He genuinely wanted to experience more Daos. For instance, he had truly enjoyed Dao Chess; if possible, he would have loved to stay there and comprehend it indefinitely. Yet why had he stopped? Because… people were going to kill, to slaughter Xinwu cultivators. He had no choice but to leave and see if he could lend a hand. Silver Moon was also in danger, so he had to depart. Otherwise, he could have remained at Dao Chess indefinitely. And now he was traveling toward the battlefield alongside this band of rogue Sovereigns… These were all Sovereigns, people he had once imagined could sit with him to discuss the Dao as fellow travelers. Unfortunately, they were not pursuing the pure Dao either. Influenced by their environment, they rushed across regions to join massive wars for scraps of resources, caring nothing for right and wrong, friend or foe. *The chaos… is too disorderly!* *There are too few rules!* *People must have rules, all things should have rules, and even… worlds should have rules! The lifespan of a world shouldn't be infinite either. Countless worlds are being born; if this continues and the chaos reaches saturation, it will lead to wars between worlds!* *Life and death are things everyone must experience… Even a cultivator of the Life and Death Dao like me shouldn't be able to reincarnate endlessly… Nine times as an ultimate limit is already too many.* Under normal circumstances, if a Sovereign lived for a million years, reincarnating once every million years would grant nine million years of life! Nine million years… How many mortal generations would pass in that time? A single person could rule over millions of mortal generations. Even if a single generation of Silver Moon numbered only ten billion… It was unimaginable—tens of trillions of souls living entirely at your whim. It was terrifying! "Haoyue, what are you daydreaming about?" Just then, someone interrupted his thoughts. Mo looked at him with curiosity and confusion. After just a few words, Haoyue had fallen completely silent, frowning slightly as though contemplating some monumental life crisis. Mo couldn't help but chuckle. "Are you scared?" Li Hao blinked, then smiled. "How could I be?" "You're definitely scared!" Mo laughed. "You're so young; you probably haven't experienced many battles, especially battles against Sovereigns… Be honest with your big sister: just how old are you? You feel so young to me, perhaps younger than I can even imagine." Li Hao grinned. "Sister Mo, how old are you?" Mo chuckled wryly. "In any world, asking a woman her age… is impolite! Of course, I'm actually still quite young—at least among Sovereigns. I was considered the youngest, most talented cultivator in our world. I attained Sovereign status at three thousand years old, and it's been exactly two thousand years since then… Five thousand years old. Naturally, I can't compare to those Xinwu monsters… but that's because they only recently connected with the chaos; their growth will normalize in the future. Five thousand years old… that's still considered young, right?" "..." Li Hao glanced at her, feeling too awkward to tell a polite lie. *Five thousand years old… young?* Lin Hongyu was about ten years older than him, and he had always felt she was somewhat old, like an old cow grazing on tender grass by getting engaged to him. Yet she was only in her early thirties. You are five thousand years old… how am I supposed to praise you as young? Li Hao offered a dry smile. "Not bad!" *Truly ancient!* *Who would have thought you're already five thousand years old?* Of course, for anyone capable of becoming a Sovereign, several thousand years was completely normal. Zhang An and the others had been sealed for a hundred thousand years, making them over a hundred thousand years old by now… Though according to chaos years, it wasn't overly ancient. "What about you?" "I… I…" Li Hao hesitated for a long while, then held up two fingers. *I'm in my twenties.* "Two thousand years old?" Mo nodded with sudden realization. "Indeed very young! No wonder you seem a bit green. From beginning cultivation to becoming a Sovereign… Xinwu is unique because its great world was sealed, allowing many people to attain Sovereign status at a very young age. Under normal circumstances, becoming a Sovereign within two thousand years makes you a top-tier genius! "Of course, there are even younger ones!" Mo smiled. "Take that friend of yours… the Divine Son of Bright Light. If he truly is that person, from what we know, he's only a thousand years old! It's incredible—he was already a fifth-rank Sovereign five hundred years ago… Reaching the fifth rank in five hundred years is honestly not much slower than the Xinwu Human King." Of course, his background was immensely powerful. With an eighth-rank Sovereign for a father supporting him all the way, reaching the fifth rank in five hundred years was expected… yet his genius was undeniable. "Still, without a heaven-defying opportunity, catching up to the Xinwu Human King is impossible. The Xinwu Human King reportedly became a sixth-rank Sovereign in his twenties… Now that is truly terrifying!" Mo brought up Xinwu again, since their mission was connected to it. She sighed softly. "It took him less than a thousand years to reach the seventh rank, and he is already pushing toward the eighth. The Xinwu world must be filled with unbelievable opportunities. Today's eighth-rank Sovereigns across neighboring domains—the Master of Yunxiao, the Master of Bright Light, the Master of Red Moon—have their ages measured in units of a hundred thousand years!" Li Hao asked curiously, "From what I know, the Xinwu Human King's comprehension of the Dao isn't particularly profound. Why has he progressed so quickly?" Approaching the eighth rank in a thousand years—was that fast? Undeniably fast! The crux was that his comprehension of the Great Dao didn't seem exceptionally deep. "That's precisely what everyone is curious about!" Mo smiled. "That's why… Red Moon took the initiative to attack Xinwu! It isn't just the Xinwu Human King. On Xinwu's side, both the Yang God and the Cang Emperor have reached the seventh rank! You must understand that under normal circumstances, it is extraordinarily difficult for a great world to produce even a single seventh-rank Sovereign, yet they have three!" This was the most unbelievable part. Xinwu was a newly born great world; its Origin Universe had existed for only a short time. If the Heavenly Emperor hadn't been killed, he might have reached the seventh rank as well. How could a great world that had existed for such a brief time nurture so many seventh-rank Sovereigns? Take Red Moon: how many years had it taken to grow from the seventh rank to the eighth? Even so, it only had a handful of seventh-rank Sovereigns! Many of those seventh-ranks had emerged from conquering and dismantling other great worlds, unlike Xinwu, where a single Great Dao Universe sustained the birth of multiple seventh-rank Sovereigns. Li Hao pondered for a moment and said, "The Xinwu world should be a dual-Dao universe! They refer to it as the Origin Universe, but in my view, it possesses both Yin and Yang aspects, making it a dual Great Dao Universe. As such, producing two seventh-rank Sovereigns is a baseline expectation, which makes it understandable." Ahead of them, Minghao, the fourth-rank Sovereign, turned his head and chuckled. "Fellow Daoist Haoyue, don't believe baseless rumors! What dual-Dao universe… A Great Dao Universe is simply a Great Dao Universe. A dual-Dao universe… are you suggesting two Great Dao Universes overlap? I've never heard of such a thing." Li Hao blinked. *Never heard of it?* *That's impossible!* *Besides, my Silver Moon is also a dual-Dao universe.* *A dual Dao of the virtual and the real!* Silver Moon originated from Xinwu, so Xinwu was bound to be a dual-Dao universe—a Yin-Yang universe. It was practically stated in plain terms; how could it not be? The Xinwu Human King and the Cang Emperor were essentially the masters of the dual Daos of Yin and Yang. Li Hao was confident in this assessment. Thus, it made complete sense that Xinwu could nurture several seventh-rank Sovereigns. Frowning slightly, he asked, "A dual-Dao universe… does none exist in the chaos? Is Xinwu the only one?" Minghao smiled faintly. "You are still too young. Unless one devours the other, overlapping Dao universes will inevitably clash… You can't just slap two Great Dao Universes together and call it a dual-Dao universe! The Daos are different! Therefore, no so-called dual-Dao universe exists. Their Dao universe merely centers on Yin and Yang; that doesn't mean it consists of two distinct Dao universes of Yin and Yang. Do you understand?" Li Hao nodded, but said nothing more. *No!* According to his understanding, it was indeed a dual-Dao universe. It wasn't merely centered on Yin and Yang! He knew Xinwu. Xinwu had not started as a universe centered on Yin and Yang; it began with the Yang Dao. Later, after the Human King became a Sovereign, he discovered or opened the Netherworld Universe to resurrect those who had died in battle. The two universes had not existed together from the beginning. Nor had they manifested simultaneously at the start. Only later did the Xinwu Human King discover it and merge the Yin and Yang universes into one, creating the present Yin-Yang World. *This fellow doesn't understand the situation and is just talking nonsense.* *A dual-Dao universe isn't recognized by the general public… yet both Xinwu and Silver Moon are precisely that. How intriguing!* Silver Moon had also branched off from Xinwu. Thinking of this, another thought suddenly struck Li Hao. *Was Tianfang… a dual-Dao universe?* The Master of Tianfang specialized in Space. Space, purely from a literal perspective, was not a Dao of two polarities; it was simply the domain of Space. Then his Great Dao Universe was likely a single-Dao universe centered on the Dao of Space. Time was not inherently bipolar either. Yet if one considered the past and the future… it could indeed be viewed as a Dao of two polarities. Did Space have a corresponding counterpart? Inner and outer space? Virtual and real space? Yin and Yang space? Life and Death space? Could Space be structured according to such an arrangement? In that moment, Li Hao sank into deep contemplation once again. Mo did not disturb him further. She had noticed that this young man loved to lose himself in thought, which was perhaps why he had managed to step into the Sovereign realm at such an early age. He was a young man fond of thinking. Very good! She rather liked youngsters with such a scholarly air, but… could this fellow be a bookworm? He seemed to be pondering far too many things along the way. A single offhand remark was enough to plunge him into deep thought. She only hoped he wouldn't act like this in battle. Mo could hardly imagine how such a refined, scholarly person would fight when the time came. Could he… be nothing more than an empty shell? At the thought, Mo felt a twinge of disappointment. She didn't want this young man to be a mere showpiece, yet if he turned out to be like those brutish thugs who lived only to fight and kill, it would shatter the image she held in her heart. What a frustrating dilemma! Li Hao, naturally, had no attention to spare for such trivialities. At this moment, his mind was indeed overflowing with thoughts. Traveling abroad and conversing with other Sovereigns—even if they weren't discussing the Great Dao—offered him a fresh perspective. Along this journey, he felt he had gained many insights; while they might not elevate his realm, they were rare and valuable life experiences. Moreover… they seemed to be closing in on Silver Moon. A battle might have broken out; otherwise, given that their traveling speed was not particularly fast, they shouldn't have been catching up to Silver Moon so quickly. This didn't make sense! Who was attacking Silver Moon? Li Hao pondered once more. Furthermore, once they encountered Silver Moon… he hadn't even met up with Tianji and the others yet. Should he intervene? If he did, should he wipe out all eleven Sovereigns here beside himself? What a difficult decision! Truth be told, after traveling together for a while, he had grown rather fond of them. Besides… was there a powerful Sovereign trailing him in secret? Countless thoughts bubbled up in his mind. A strand of hair drifted away in the wind. *There's actually wind in the chaos…* Li Hao thought to himself. *I must stop overthinking. If I keep this up, I'll go bald and won't have the face to see anyone.*