The Most Romantic Thing

The Great Dao principles of a medium world were woven densely like a spiderweb. Only, this web was far tighter than that of a minor world. At this moment, Li Hao gained some insight. He, too, had opened many minor worlds. His minor worlds... strictly speaking, were really just a length of rope hung with a few strings. Could they even be considered webs? Well, barely. In the strictest sense, they couldn't even be called webs, only branch-shaped contraptions. Take the Fire Minor World, for instance: it was anchored mainly by the Great Dao of Fire, with a hodgepodge of other Daos strung on haphazardly just to keep the world existing. There was little order to it, mostly because it was genuinely difficult for Li Hao to sort it all out. His experience was lacking, and his comprehension was insufficient. A true minor world, on the other hand, was a complete web. It was just very loose; anything could break through it, making it ill-suited for catching fish. The web of a medium world was much tighter, capable of catching big and small fish alike. As for the web of a great world, Li Hao had yet to see one... Perhaps a great world's web was not single-layered, but double-layered, fitting seamlessly together with the Great Dao Universe to envelop the entire world inside and out. A medium world, however, only had a surface. Inside, it was completely empty. This meant it lacked a layer of filtration, unable to filter the Great Dao power of the chaos. As a result, massive amounts of impurities seeped into the medium world, leaving even medium worlds able to cultivate only the disordered Daos of chaos. “So that's how it is...” Having seen the Great Dao web of a medium world clearly, Li Hao suddenly understood what a Great Dao Universe really was. It was a sheet of filter paper! Used for filtration! When chaotic power seeped in from the outside, ordinary minor and medium worlds had no way to filter out those impurities, but a Great Dao Universe could. That was the essence of a Great Dao Universe. The birth of a Great Dao Universe was cultivation—constant comprehension, constant reinforcement, continuing to expand and close up this web of a medium world until this great web ultimately formed a special secondary world! Li Hao had actually known the principle in theory before... but he had never perceived it clearly. Today, enlightenment struck him all at once. He completely understood what a Great Dao Universe was. “A protective layer for the world, a defensive layer, a filter, and also an enclosed space formed by the Great Dao web!” His eyes flickered. In other words, the world and the Great Dao Universe still occupied the same spatial tier. No wonder they could be torn apart. He had always thought the two existed in different dimensions, but today his perspective was instantly reversed. No, their dimensions were actually the same; it was merely their layers that differed! No wonder chaos was one vast space! Everything—be it a Great Dao Universe or a world—was born within chaos. Because both belonged to the exact same dimension! “I understand now!” Li Hao felt a sudden surge of delight. He had wielded a Great Dao Universe and governed worlds. Now he had examined the Great Dao structure of a minor world as well as that of a medium world. As for great worlds... Tianfang and Senlan both qualified as great worlds. Though he hadn't inspected them in detail, he could now deduce what the Great Dao webs of such worlds looked like. In fact, the web of a great world had already integrated completely into its Great Dao Universe. Therefore, the Daos of a great world were all inside its Great Dao Universe rather than outside. In a world that possessed a Great Dao Universe, you couldn't even cultivate unless you joined it... Just like Silver Moon: if you didn't join the Silver Moon Dao, you couldn't cultivate at all. If you wanted to cultivate, you had to open Dao meridians and light your stars. Of course, if you simply sought physical strength, you didn't need to open meridians or join the Great Dao Universe. But such people couldn't walk far in a great world—or in any world possessing a Great Dao Universe. Because the chaotic, disordered Daos couldn't even enter, where would you go to comprehend them? Unless you ventured into the chaos to cultivate. It was merely a single observation, but because Li Hao had seen so much and opened minor worlds himself, all sorts of insights flooded his mind in an instant. These gave no direct boost to his strength, yet they helped him find his direction once again. So this was what a world was like! So this was how Great Dao principles worked. In cultivation, Li Hao had always preferred to take one step and survey three steps ahead. He preferred to map out the path three steps in advance before cultivating step-by-step according to his plan, rather than taking a step without any idea what to do next. Even if he took a wrong turn, he could correct it in time. Otherwise, acting out of an eagerness for quick success made it easy to stray onto a path of no return. “Dao principles, Dao webs... this is the crucial step in forming a world!” Li Hao murmured. As for life, he had some inkling! The world source! What exactly was the world source? Why did a world source form, and how could it give birth to life? The next moment, he stepped out of the world and strode into the void, walking along the darkness. As he walked... he seemed to enter an enclosed space. Buried in the depths of the world was something resembling a heart. It seemed to still be beating. As if alive! Li Hao had seen many demon plants, and he had absorbed the vitality of demon plants and the Spring of Life countless times. Yet the moment he stepped in here, he suddenly realized that the so-called Spring of Life wasn't worth squat compared to this! With every single beat, this heart-like thing gave birth to boundless energy. Faintly, it even seemed to want to give birth to life. It was just that right now, it appeared to be sealed. This was the state of a compressed world, a world in quiescence. Otherwise, given enough time, even if all living beings inside were wiped out, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years later, this medium world would once again give birth to life and sentient beings. At that moment, Er Mao seemed to have caught the scent, drifting over at some point. This cat... Li Hao had never seen it walk. Like a ghost, it was always floating. Li Hao sometimes suspected that it might simply be too fat and too lazy to walk, so it just drifted instead. It was the same in the long river. Li Hao glanced at it... Otherwise, in the river, those four stubby little legs combined with that pudgy body, paddling away to swim, would definitely look hilarious! “What are you thinking about?” Er Mao looked at him, seeing something unfavorable in his gaze, and felt a little peeved. Li Hao cleared his throat. “Nothing, just looking at this. Senior Er Mao, is this the world source?” “Yeah.” Er Mao nodded its massive head, looked at the heart-like object, and asked, “Are you curious about how this came to be?” “Yes!” Li Hao nodded. He was indeed curious—how had such a thing come into existence? “This is the origin of life in a world!” Er Mao said lazily, “Simply put, it's a creation machine that manufactures life! The specifics are very complicated... To tell you the truth, I don't really get it either. This is usually something only rank-seven Sovereigns, or even stronger ones, study. As far as I know, when chaos gives birth to a world, the world immediately gives birth to this... Someone once said this thing is actually a fusion of Daos.” “A fusion of Daos?” That “someone” was most likely Zhan, right? Er Mao nodded. “Various Great Daos undergo a series of transformations through various means, like a chemical reaction, and eventually produce this: a world source! Only with this can a world give birth to life and become a true world. Otherwise, a world devoid of life isn't called a world—it's called a domain! That is the origin of a rank-seven Sovereign's Dao domain.” Li Hao gained another flash of clarity. So that was it! The difference between a Dao domain and a world lay precisely in this: the world source. The fabricator of life! “Then how was this born?” Li Hao murmured. Er Mao replied, “Bestowed by the chaos! Perhaps under specific environments and conditions, chaos naturally bestows this onto a world, allowing it to be born! Someone once said that certain mechanisms actually exist within the chaos... rudimentary, but real! Or perhaps an expert who cultivated the Dao of Life to the absolute pinnacle bestowed this onto the chaos... But then comes the question: if so, how was the cultivator of the Dao of Life who endowed chaos with the life mechanism born in the first place?” Er Mao shook its head. “It's too complicated. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” Li Hao answered matter-of-factly, “The chicken came first!” “...” Er Mao was speechless. How would you know? Li Hao explained, “Life originates from consciousness. A chicken is a creature with consciousness, whereas an unhatched egg has no consciousness... In my understanding, conscious things must be born first.” Er Mao curled its lips, its whiskers twitching upward. “Self-righteous nonsense. Chaos existed from the beginning. Is chaos conscious or unconscious? Did chaos come first, or did the living beings within chaos come first?” “...” Li Hao was at a loss for words, then argued defensively, “What if chaos has consciousness too?” “So... can you prove it?” “...” Fine, Li Hao chose to shut up. Consider it unsaid. In arguments like this, the moment it came down to “prove it,” you had no choice but to keep your mouth shut. Of course, Er Mao couldn't prove it either. In no mood to bicker, Li Hao found himself pondering many things. Soon, he asked again, “So, Er Mao, what you want to absorb is that font of life power within it?” “Yes.” Er Mao nodded again, its oversized head wobbling—large, heavy, and chubby. Li Hao hadn't paid much attention before, but now that Er Mao was floating so close... looking at that fat head and pudgy frame, Li Hao felt Er Mao might need to go on a diet. Constantly floating, its four limbs were nearly degenerating. Soon it might turn into a flying cat. “Can I study it for a bit?” “Sure.” Er Mao chuckled. If you want to study it, go ahead. Countless experts wished to study a world source. Creating life—this wasn't like forging a physical body the way Li Hao did; what powerhouse couldn't forge a physical body? But could you bestow a true soul and spirituality onto that body? You couldn't! Just like weapons: you could forge weapons, but whether a weapon gave birth to a spirit was an entirely luck-dependent process. You had no way of knowing what kind of weapon would awaken a spirit, or how it happened... Even if an artifact spirit was born, the spirit itself had no idea how it came to be. Nobody could figure it out! It all depended on Heaven smiling upon you. Li Hao extended his consciousness, sinking it into the world source in an instant... Countless waves of life force welled up, mingled with strands of will—seemingly countless wills. For a moment, Li Hao felt lost. He probed with all his might... but inside, it seemed hollow, with nothing to grasp. Li Hao refused to give up. After trying several more times to examine it closely without discovering anything he could comprehend, he felt unwilling to let it go. After some thought, he suddenly pointed a finger. Time seemed to flow backward! He wanted to see... if he could trace it back and glimpse the origin of this object's birth. The moment he pointed that finger, a thought struck Li Hao... Perhaps I could also use this on a world to see how worlds are born, how Daos are arranged—whether they align naturally or by design. The power of time was never meant to be borrowed for killing. At this moment, Li Hao had an increasingly strong feeling that if the Emperor of Battle Heaven had known the Dao of Time, his time must have been used to explore the unknown. Time flowed, and many things were lost to the years. Perhaps only time could restore them all. Thus, even if the Emperor of Battle Heaven might never have stepped beyond the Xinwu world, he knew so much—perhaps because he was constantly tracing back into the past, searching for the truth of bygone eras. The thought vanished in a flash. In the next instant, a vision surfaced in Li Hao's mind... In a fraction of a second, his will seemed to shatter, his mind turning blank. What had he seen in that instant? He had seen... countless, densely packed Daos so overwhelmingly complex that he nearly collapsed! In that split second, countless Dao principles appeared to have fused together, packed as densely as fine hairs, far too numerous to count. He had no time to see clearly, nor the ability to do so... In an instant, his will shattered. At this moment, the river churned, and the world trembled. A force of tribulation instantly welled up around Li Hao! As if chaos lightning was about to descend. Using the power of time this time seemed to have broken through the concealment of the Art of Stealing the Sky and Switching the Sun, and lightning faintly threatened to fall. Blood leaked from Li Hao's seven orifices! Careless! Or rather, he had underestimated the world source. In an instant, he had traced back to something monstrous. Even a single glance had inflicted severe injuries, shattering the Art of Stealing the Sky and Switching the Sun along with it. Li Hao snapped back to his senses, his expression grim. If lightning descended now... his identity would be exposed. He had only meant to take a quick peek, never expecting to witness a scene beyond imagination... ten thousand Great Daos—a true fusion of ten thousand Daos—forming a world source. Before he could even identify which Daos were present, his will had been unable to endure the pressure and shattered on the spot. It had only been a retrospective glance, not borrowing power, nor traveling back to the past—just a brief glimpse... He quickly operated the Art of Stealing the Sky and Switching the Sun! He hoped to mask this lightning tribulation. Otherwise, if a lightning tribulation truly manifested, he would be in deep trouble. “Looked too far, didn't you?” Er Mao spoke from the side as if having foreseen it all along. “Not everything can be peered into or traced back recklessly. Chaos is very complex... If you're going to trace things back willy-nilly, why don't you try tracing back the origins of chaos next time?” Courting death! Teaching Li Hao a lesson had been one of Er Mao's intentions. Time was great, but one couldn't mess around with it carelessly. Li Hao was fine—bold and meticulous... but sometimes he could be reckless. For example, Er Mao had already told him that this thing's origins were complex and bestowed by chaos, potentially tracing back to the birth of chaos itself. Yet he had dared to trace it back? Foolhardy! Ignore an old cat's advice, and suffer the consequences right before your eyes. Er Mao grumbled internally. Seeing Li Hao's grave expression as he continuously cycled a special Dao principle to sever his connection with chaos and avoid the lightning tribulation, Er Mao made no comment. Suddenly, instead of floating, it dropped to the ground. Its four stubby legs sprang into motion, leaping into the world source. It opened its maw and swallowed it in a single gulp! Whoosh! Like a river being devoured, an incomparably pure energy surged into Er Mao's mouth. Er Mao's body seemed to grow a little plumper. Having eaten the world source in one go, it smacked its lips, whiskers twitching. In the next moment, a faint glimmer of amusement showed in the cat's eyes. Suddenly, its whiskers seemed to pierce into the void. Li Hao, who was straining to mask himself, abruptly sensed something. As if a faint thread in the void... had been snapped clean by something with a sharp crack! The impending sense of tribulation vanished instantly. One of Er Mao's whiskers... snapped and dissolved into ash. The once-symmetrical whiskers were now missing one on one side, making it look rather comical. “Senior... this...” Er Mao looked at him lazily. “Just severing the connection, not enduring the tribulation for you! But if you provoke the chaos lightning tribulation again next time, it will accumulate, just like that fellow said... Sooner or later, you'll be struck dead!” Serves you right for messing around every day! Li Hao let out a sigh of relief, yet he was deeply shaken. Er Mao... could actually sever the connection with chaos? Why hadn't it ever shown this before? Or was it... related to the world source? Li Hao turned his head to look. His expression shifted slightly as he glanced around. The entire world seemed to have fallen completely quiescent... No, not quiescence. At this moment, Li Hao suddenly understood the difference between quiescence and death! The world was dead! Li Hao's expression changed. This was the death of a world! The entire world didn't look much different from before, but... he sensed that the world had died. At this moment, an aura of death began to permeate the entire world. With the world source eaten by Er Mao, this world went from a state of quiescence that could be revived at any time to absolute death! There was no hope left for this world. It could serve as a storehouse or a shelter, but compared to a real world... it could never produce life again. It had lost the capacity to give birth to life. The death of a world! If before the world was merely in quiescence, now it was dead. The world itself hadn't changed much physically; it still appeared as it had. Yet as Li Hao quietly perceived it now... the mountains and rivers, which had once seemed to possess souls, were now completely hollow! It was like... going from a 3D effect to a flat drawing. In superficial perception the difference might seem small, but in reality the gulf was immense. With a thought, Li Hao waved his hand. Lin Hongyu, who had been in seclusion, suddenly appeared before him. Puzzled, she opened her eyes and looked at Li Hao. Li Hao looked back at her and said, “Feel this!” Lin Hongyu asked nothing, quietly extending her senses. Gradually, a look of doubt appeared on her face. After a long time, she said slowly, “Strange... Is this... a world?” “Yes,” Li Hao nodded. “What do you feel?” “What do I feel?” Lin Hongyu thought for a long while before speaking softly, “It feels... like hell...” She couldn't put it into exact words, but here she sensed an aura of death. All things were dying! The world, too, was dying. Li Hao nodded. “This world is dead!” A world could die? Lin Hongyu was stunned. Worlds either went dormant or were shattered. What did it mean for a world to die? Li Hao pondered briefly, then said swiftly, “Come, I'll take you to another minor world. It's a pity we missed the chance earlier... Senior Er Mao, come with us and have another little fish!” Er Mao remained indolent. It understood Li Hao's intention: he wanted Lin Hongyu to witness the difference between life and death. Lin Hongyu walked the path of Life and Death, that was true, but her comprehension of life and death... was exceedingly shallow. Li Hao wasn't much better, but he had at least comprehended more, making him stronger than Lin Hongyu in that regard. Li Hao still had one minor world. In an instant, he manifested it. Leading Lin Hongyu and Er Mao inside, they soon arrived before the world source. Lin Hongyu noticed the difference in an instant, discerning two distinctly different sensations. This world was alive! It possessed life force! She stared blankly. A living world. “Senior, go ahead and eat it!” Er Mao glanced at him. “I didn't ask for this one...” I only asked for ten; is this minor world a freebie? “A treat for Senior to sample the flavor!” “Then this cat will eat!” Er Mao didn't stand on ceremony either. A little snack was fine. This time, under Li Hao's gaze, it didn't bother hopping. It floated over, landed directly upon the world source, opened its mouth, and swallowed it in a single gulp. Li Hao said urgently, “Immerse yourself in the world and perceive it!” Lin Hongyu immediately immersed herself. In an instant... in a mere flash, the world seemed to die. The entire world was dead. Shock washed over her face! A world truly could die! Not shatter, not be annihilated, but die. This... this was death? Recalling the feeling from earlier... her aura of life and death churned uncontrollably. Over these days, she had been cultivating constantly. Forcing her way into rank two wouldn't have been difficult, yet she always felt... it didn't resemble the true Dao of Life and Death. Her Dao of Life and Death felt like mere window dressing, no different from anyone else's Dao. The power of a Life and Death Sovereign was not reflected in the slightest. Back then, Li Hao hadn't displayed much of it either, but Li Hao had many methods and focused on Time, so it hadn't mattered if it remained understated. Now, however, Lin Hongyu was unwilling to settle for that. What use was a generic Life and Death Sovereign? If there was no difference from an ordinary rank-one or rank-two Sovereign, how could such a Sovereign have the gall to claim mastery over life and death? That was why Li Zhu had remarked that day that Li Hao's Dao of Life and Death... was too shallow in comprehension! It provided nothing more than some qi of life and death! Lin Hongyu had felt the same way. Everyone said Life and Death Sovereigns were formidable, yet she was one herself... Li Hao hardly counted; he was merely dabbling to refine his Dao of Time. She was the one who truly focused solely on Life and Death. Yet she felt that even against that rogue cultivator Mo—both being rank-one Sovereigns—she held no significant advantage. And against the rank-two Chanxiu... she likely wouldn't stand a chance at all. If a rank-one Life and Death Sovereign couldn't even defeat an ordinary rank-two rogue cultivator within the same minor realm, without having to cross a major realm, then what was the point of being a Life and Death Sovereign? The cultivation was far more difficult. Of course, having extra lives was perhaps the greatest perk of Life and Death. Yet extra lives also came at a price. At this moment, Lin Hongyu seemed to grasp something unique about life and death, but... after contemplating for a while, she only had a faint glimmer of understanding, as if separated by a veil. Again and again she tried. After a long time, the aura around her shifted as life and death qi alternated continuously, yet she frowned. A moment later, looking distressed, she turned to Li Hao. “I... I don't seem to have comprehended much... I'm sorry!” She felt she had wasted an opportunity! A minor world was worth ten million Great Dao crystals, equivalent to squandering the life of a rank-one Sovereign just for one session of comprehension... Not even a prodigal heir could sustain such consumption, yet she had gained nothing. Li Hao laughed. “If you could comprehend the essence of life and death in a single try... I'd be an idiot! It's completely normal. Take your time. Even I don't understand the Dao of Life and Death very well. After experiencing it a few more times, you'll find your footing. It's just a minor world. Later, we can get eighty or a hundred of them and experience one a day. I refuse to believe we won't uncover the true essence of the Great Dao!” Nothing was wasted anyway. At this moment, Li Hao suddenly realized just how wonderful worlds were! Er Mao could eat fish, he and Lin Hongyu could comprehend life and death along with quiescence and revival, and beyond that, they could study the Great Dao, supply his minor worlds, and feed the remaining impurities and scraps to Black Panther. Wasn't a minor world far more delightful than ten million Great Dao crystals? It was an absolute bargain! Lin Hongyu remained somewhat dispirited. Destroying a world, killing a world just for her to perceive life and death... only Li Hao could be so lavishly generous. Yet having perceived nothing of substance, she felt profoundly dejected. Seeing this, Li Hao smiled. “Endless secluded cultivation is actually very dull. Sometimes all you need is a flash of inspiration—that fleeting spark! Come, I'll take you to do something interesting.” “What?” Lin Hongyu looked puzzled, while Er Mao suddenly brought up a paw to cover its eyes, mumbling, “You two go ahead and play, I'm not looking.” “...” Li Hao was speechless! He couldn't be bothered with this cat. Er Mao seemed to have regained some vitality lately... Before, it had been dead quiet, but now it talked more, had more mischievous thoughts, and was not nearly as pure-minded. “I'm taking you to take apart a world for fun!” Li Hao smiled. “Worlds are fascinating! Countless Great Daos weave together into a web... I'll take you to dismantle a world, take apart the Daos, and transfer that Great Dao power into my minor worlds... If possible, I'd also like to trace back and show everyone how a world's Great Dao web is formed. Senior Er Mao, will doing that draw chaos lightning?” “Most likely, yes!” Er Mao said, “You'd better not try it... Of course, lightning probably won't strike immediately like before; you can most likely shield it, but the next tribulation will be far fiercer!” Li Hao smiled. “Then there's no problem!” Turning to Lin Hongyu, he said, “I'll take you back in time to see how a world's Great Dao web appears, forms, and constructs itself. Then, we'll take part in dismantling and rebuilding it with our own hands. Wouldn't that be far more intuitive than just sitting around contemplating the Dao?” What was the point of merely looking? They would get hands-on! A Dao web was like a chemical reaction; they had to experiment and practice firsthand! Such an opportunity was truly not something just anyone could have. Using a world as an experimental subject was extravagance beyond even rank-seven Sovereigns. Lin Hongyu felt a surge of joy. Such an opportunity was something some Sovereigns would never encounter in their entire lives. As for how a Dao web formed, let alone ordinary Sovereigns, even rank-seven or rank-eight Sovereigns might never witness it in a lifetime. The birth of a world was exceedingly secretive; unless favored by pure serendipity, one simply could not watch the process unfold. “Let's go! We'll test it out on this minor world first... I'll trace back into the past to see the process of the world's birth... Of course, we won't look at the world source, but at the emergence of Daos after the world appears...” Looking at the world source would cost him his life. Observing how the Great Dao web gradually formed after the world's birth would be much simpler. Li Hao was a man of action; once decided, he began immediately. The Time Star manifested once more. Nowadays, he used Time mostly to explore the Dao. Even though the price paid each time was not small, Li Hao never tired of it and found it well worth the cost; borrowing power to kill enemies had always felt like a poor trade. The entire world suddenly plunged into a murky haze. Er Mao and Lin Hongyu alike, accompanying Li Hao, seemed to return to an unimaginably ancient era... This descent was not a true physical journey into the past. If it were, ten lives wouldn't be enough for Li Hao. Tracing back countless years to a world's birth—which could take anywhere from hundreds of thousands to hundreds of millions of years—was not something Li Hao would dare actually descend into. Moreover, his target was solely the Dao web. Soon, the Dao web vanished completely before their eyes. Li Hao caused the Dao web's state to manifest so Lin Hongyu could see it clearly. At this moment, heaven and earth seemed turbid and barren. Gradually, a Dao was born. Like a thread of silk! That was... Fire! Li Hao was somewhat surprised and explained, “The first Dao in this world was actually the Dao of Fire. It seems living beings discovered fire... utilized fire, and gave birth to the Dao of Fire!” Nothing else was shown before them, but Li Hao could deduce that after life arose in this world, living beings embarked on the path of cultivation, thereby bringing forth the Dao of Fire in this world! After a short while, as time flowed swiftly, a second Dao appeared in the void, running parallel to the first without touching it. “Death... is this... comprehension of death?” Li Hao was somewhat puzzled. What about life? Was life the world source? In this world, fire had been comprehended first, followed by death, without any intersection between them. Next, one Great Dao after another began to emerge. A cultivation civilization seemed to be rising. That Dao web gradually began to weave itself together. Even Er Mao watched with utmost seriousness; it, too, had never seen the process of a minor world's Dao web coming into being laid bare like this. “Huh!” Just then, Li Hao let out a soft exclamation. Looking at the Dao web, everyone noticed a change. Something seemed to happen to the very first fire Dao that had formed. Then, that thread of the Dao of Fire suddenly pierced through one Great Dao after another, threading through Daos that had previously run parallel. Like a sewing thread, this Dao of Fire wove across the Daos, encircling, threading, and knitting them together... Gradually, the sparse mesh began to grow denser. No one knew how much time had passed when a colossal change suddenly swept through the Dao web before them. It was as if the world had undergone an advancement, leaping from an unranked world into a minor world. At that exact moment... that Dao of Fire had pierced through every single Great Dao, weaving them all into one. Ultimately, the two ends of the Dao of Fire connected completely! A web—a complete web—had appeared! The two humans and one cat stared blankly. Li Hao seemed to see something, his eyes flickering with contemplation. The Dao of Fire... had actually threaded through all Daos, showing signs of overlapping with the myriad Daos. Thus, this world became a world of fire. So that was how it worked! Boom! Everything shattered before them, and the void restored itself. The Dao web vanished. In reality, ordinary people could not see a Dao web; Li Hao could only see it because he had integrated into this world and become its master. His thoughts stirred as he turned to Lin Hongyu. “Did you see the sequence? I'll take you to dismantle it... Afterward, we'll go to my Fire Minor World and try to assemble it. We don't necessarily have to follow its exact order, but the concept is the same. How about we assemble my fire world?” Lin Hongyu nodded excitedly. Everything she had just witnessed was deeply shocking. A world actually had a Dao web, and a world's Dao web could ultimately be woven together through the threading of a single Dao. She had never imagined such a thing. At that moment, Li Hao waved his hand, and the Great Dao web seemed to emerge between heaven and earth! A Great Dao web was formless and substance-less; how could an ordinary person dismantle it? Yet Li Hao let out a low shout. His Dao domain manifested, and the Fire Dao domain washed over, forcefully condensing the Dao web into visibility. Joy showed on his face as Great Dao crystals shattered one after another, forcibly manifesting the quiescent Dao web. Great Dao crystals burned wildly! The expenditure was immense! Li Hao didn't care. He soared into the air, and Lin Hongyu swiftly followed. Seeing this, Er Mao considered following, but thought better of it and stayed behind. How romantic! Er Mao mused inwardly, suddenly finding it wonderfully romantic for some reason... Taking one's fiancée to dismantle the Daos of a world together—how fitting for a cultivator! And a versatile cultivator at that... Take someone like the Neo-Martial Human King: would he ever think of taking his wife to take apart a Great Dao web? He would just split the world in two with a single saber slash! A total brute! Er Mao thought to itself, and then thought of Big Cat... Big Cat would only roar from the side about devouring the world, not caring in the least what a Dao web was... Big Cat was a brute cat too! ... In the void, Li Hao moved cautiously. Following the memory he had just witnessed, he manifested a trace of Fire Dao power, found the source of the Dao of Fire, and began to sever it with great care. With a crisp crack, the Dao truly disconnected. At that moment, the Dao web trembled slightly. Li Hao was overjoyed. It was true! Pulling at the Dao of Fire, he instructed, “I'll dismantle the Dao of Fire. As I decouple each Dao, you collect it. You must be extremely careful. Make one wrong move or snap the thread, and everything will turn into a tangled mess...” Lin Hongyu felt both elated and nervous. “I... I'm afraid I won't be able to do it...” “You can. Even if you mess up and ruin this one, we still have a medium world we can dismantle!” Li Hao carefully stripped away the Dao of Fire while Lin Hongyu followed closely behind. Carefully projecting a faint thread of Dao power, she peeled away each detached Dao bit by bit. As each Dao landed in her grasp... faint insights into Dao principles actually welled up in her heart. Cooperating like this, Li Hao reaped substantial gains as well... After dismantling dozens of Daos in succession, Li Hao was ecstatic. Then, in an inadvertent lapse, Lin Hongyu's Dao power wavered slightly. In the next instant, the entire Dao web abruptly collapsed! Rumble! The Dao web shattered instantly, and one Great Dao after another was annihilated in a flash. Lin Hongyu's face drained of color. Li Hao took a look and laughed. “Don't just stand there dazed—watch the fireworks... Once you're done watching, take the chance to comprehend destruction!” “I...” Lin Hongyu wanted to speak, but Li Hao merely chuckled, watching the shattered Dao web with earnest admiration. “How beautiful! So this is the annihilation of Daos... the aesthetic beauty of destruction! Also, your handling when dismantling the Dao web was still a bit clumsy. That points to one thing: your control over various Daos is quite weak. Of course, your primary focus is Life and Death, but it does no harm to dabble in other Daos as well.” Lin Hongyu nodded slightly. Looking at the profile of Li Hao's face at this moment... she suddenly felt an immense peace. Between them, there had never been much conversation. This time, they had merely perceived the destruction of a world together, sensed life and death, and observed the formation and ruin of a Dao web. From beginning to end, Li Hao had not uttered a single sweet word. Yet at this moment, sweetness filled her heart. Cultivators in their pursuit of the Dao—why did even something like taking apart Great Daos feel so romantic, so wonderful? Lin Hongyu silently looked at Li Hao, then looked at the disintegrating Dao web. She had squandered many opportunities, even ruining the Dao web of an entire world, yet Li Hao... had voiced not a single complaint. There was only his casual comfort, yet it brought her such deep contentment. For a moment, she was entranced. Who said the Great Dao was heartless? The Dao had feeling. Cultivators lived for the Dao and died for the Dao. Weren't feelings manifested right here within the Dao? Thoughts welled up unceasingly. So... this was the life and death of Daos... At this moment, a wisp of life and death qi faintly manifested around her. She did not build bridges of life and death like Li Hao had, yet within Li Hao's river, a Life and Death Star quietly expanded. Casually, she absorbed massive amounts of Great Dao power. Suddenly, her aura shifted, so very naturally, and the presence of rank two emerged! A single thought of life and death! Lin Hongyu merely gazed quietly at Li Hao. In a single thought of hers lay life and death: her own life and death, the life and death of Daos, the life and death of worlds... Back then, when she encountered Li Hao, what if she had chosen not to surrender, but to oppose him to the end? Perhaps... that would have been life and death in a single thought! A smile touched the corners of her lips. Who said the Dao of Life and Death had to be strictly the end and beginning of life? Within a single thought lay the beginning of life and death!