Silver Moon's Great Leap

Returning to Silver Moon once more, the crucial goal remained elevating Silver Moon and fostering its growth. Endless isolation would change nothing; it would only stifle Silver Moon's growth. Unless... one truly did not care about the expense and could sustain tens of billions of cultivators entirely on one's own, in which case it wouldn't matter. Of course, sealing a minor world could essentially be viewed as entering a time realm—provided one did not fear the relentless drain on lifespan. Yet while that still held value below the Sovereign level, once one attained the Sovereign rank, being cut off from the chaos meant that no amount of resources could aid in comprehending the Great Dao. In a minor world, the Great Dao was simply too limited. At this moment, Li Hao was in no rush to send people into Tianfang. Heading into Tianfang at this stage might not yield much anyway. …… Once everyone had trickled back, Li Hao entered the Great Dao cosmos belonging to Silver Moon. Behind him stood a sea of figures. Not just people of Silver Moon, but Tianji and his companions, along with Kongji, were all gathered here. Finally, everyone had arrived. Toward the rear were the Silver Moon natives who had remained behind, along with some members of the younger generation. Li Hao did not recognize them; he had simply asked Director Zhao to make a selection. As for their moral character, Li Hao did not inquire at all; as long as Director Zhao deemed them acceptable, that was enough. Earlier, seizing the four great worlds had yielded numerous minor and medium worlds. With several dozen in hand, they could have easily replenished Li Hao's own world. However, for him to advance from rank five to rank six required an enormous amount of resources. Several dozen worlds were unlikely to complete his breakthrough... it was practically impossible. Since that was the case, he couldn't be bothered to absorb the world power for himself. Cultivator after cultivator stood silently behind Li Hao. There were Sovereigns, along with a vast number of non-Sovereigns. Li Hao cast his gaze around, taking in the assembly. Nearly everyone was accounted for... Pondering for a moment, he realized one person was still missing. A thought struck Li Hao, and a smile touched his lips. He reached outward, his giant hand extending boundlessly, stretching out from Silver Moon and reaching all the way into the Tianfang domain. Suddenly, in a near-derelict hall over by Huilong Temple, a figure's expression shifted slightly. "It is me!" Ju Ao gave a start! Quickly regaining his composure, he recognized the voice—it was the King of Silver Moon. The next instant, the colossal hand swept down, seizing him directly into the void of chaos. …… Moments later, Ju Ao was deposited into the crowd. Ju Ao stared in shock—where was this? Over the past few days, word had been spreading through Tianfang that everyone had to leave. Sovereigns were to depart on their own, while non-Sovereigns awaited instructions and could be relocated at any moment. He had already prepared himself to depart. Of course, he knew that Tianfang had seemingly been taken over by the King of Silver Moon and his allies. However, the King of Silver Moon and his circle now dealt exclusively with high-rank Sovereigns, so Ju Ao hadn't dared to step forward and trade on past acquaintance. Even though the King of Silver Moon had promised back then that he would assist when Ju Ao was ready to attain the Sovereign rank... who knew if he still remembered, or if he even took it seriously? He had never expected to be abruptly snatched away to this place today. This... appeared to be a Great Dao cosmos as well. Tianfang? No, this Great Dao cosmos was not overwhelmingly powerful. This was... Silver Moon's Great Dao cosmos. Did that mean the people nearby were all the so-called Silver Moon natives? His mind was brimming with questions, yet he dared not ask. The others were also somewhat curious, but they kept quiet as well, all waiting for what was to come. Seeing this, Ju Ao dared not utter a sound either, quietly looking ahead toward Li Hao. After a moment's thought, Li Hao spoke again: "Four rank seven Sovereigns, if your true bodies cannot be present, your wills may descend instead. Though you are all either masters of Dao domains or masters of the Great Dao... having additional reference points may still be of some assistance." He intended to dismantle worlds! And dismantle many of them! This required invoking time. Not just anyone could bring a Dao net into view, nor could just anyone observe how a Dao net was formed. In this regard, Li Hao possessed a natural advantage. Unless others were truly powerful to the absolute pinnacle and their comprehension of the Great Dao had reached the absolute peak, even dismantling the Dao net of a minor world would prove exceedingly difficult. This time, by drawing upon time, Li Hao was also prepared to extract the final contributions from this mortal body. Afterward, he likely would no longer be able to sustain it. Whether one person watched or many watched made no difference; unless someone was unsuited to watch—too weak to understand—he would let anyone capable of watching do so. A moment later, the void flickered. Four phantom silhouettes descended. Wushan and Realm Lord Senlan were both quite curious. This was their first time entering Silver Moon's Great Dao cosmos. Sword Venerable had visited once before. Li Zhu was also here for the first time, yet after a brief sweep of his gaze, he did not show much curiosity; he already possessed a fair understanding of Silver Moon. "A dual Dao cosmos?" Though he had known beforehand, seeing it in person still brought Wushan a wave of surprise and astonishment. It was truly so: he beheld two great rivers of the Dao emerging, coiling through the void and distributed like a Taiji diagram. Realm Lord Senlan was even more astonished. As someone who presided over a Great Dao cosmos, he naturally understood what a Great Dao cosmos entailed. For Silver Moon to have formed a dual Dao cosmos was quite incredible. "Today, I intend to dismantle all the worlds we have captured... Worlds make no distinction of size; so long as a world exists, it inevitably possesses a Dao net. Even great worlds have Dao nets, and the Dao net of a great world forms a sphere, giving rise to the second-layer cosmos within the domain... the Great Dao cosmos!" "The formation of a world hinges upon several key points: first, the world source bestowed by chaos! Second, the net of the Great Dao! Third, a perfected net of the Great Dao, which gives birth to a Great Dao cosmos—that is, a great world!" "We cannot artificially manufacture a world source, so we cannot artificially create a world. Even if we manufacture a world, manufacture a Great Dao cosmos... it cannot be called a Great Dao cosmos, but rather a Dao domain!" "What Sword Venerable, Senior Wushan, and Senior Li Zhu have formed are all Dao domains. Meanwhile, the Senlan Great Dao, which connects to the world and forms an integrated whole with it, is a Great Dao cosmos!" This time, Li Hao delineated the connections and distinctions among worlds, Great Dao cosmoses, and world sources. "You might hold views that differ from mine... believing these to be merely my personal conjectures. Indeed, that is true. However, I possess time. I can trace back into the past and perceive the reality of what once was. Perhaps this is the sole foundation that emboldens me, Li Hao, to speak so presumptuously before my seniors!" It was because he could witness the past and watch the formation process of Dao nets. Although he had not yet observed the formation process of a great world's cosmos, Li Hao felt confident that his deductions were not mistaken. Time? Wushan already knew of it, but Senlan was genuinely unaware. Upon hearing this, his phantom silhouette fluctuated slightly. The power of time? Tracing back into the past? Li Hao turned back to look at the rest of the gathering: "You may take note of what I say, but there is no need to dwell deeply on it. These are concepts meant for Sovereigns, or even rank six Sovereigns, to comprehend and understand! As for you, who cultivate a single Dao... when I dismantle the Dao nets, there will inevitably be identical Daos. Every world necessarily possesses foundational Daos!" "What you must do is comprehend the identical Daos that I dismantle. Even when the Dao is identical, different worlds yield subtle distinctions... this is what it means to comprehend the Dao!" "The time has not yet come for you to depart from Silver Moon. If a day comes when you wish to leave... it will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Those with meritorious service may withdraw freely; those without merit may depart once they have repaid the energy required for their departure! Silver Moon will never force anyone to stay!" The crowd remained silent. Li Hao did not elaborate further. He had simply witnessed Wushan's situation and thought back to Xinwu's circumstances... which was why he mentioned it today. Though he was not a Dao Master, the two Dao Masters present both nodded in agreement. For the entire Silver Moon cosmos to reach this day, while one could not claim it was entirely Li Hao's doing, ninety percent of the credit certainly belonged to him. "A Great Dao cosmos is essentially a filtration net... In fact, the Dao nets of small and medium worlds are also filtration nets. However, because their Daos are fewer, their filtering effect is inferior to that of a Great Dao cosmos, causing the Daos of small and medium worlds to be somewhat chaotic and mixed. Even so, they are far better than those of pure rogue cultivators!" "Pure rogue cultivators below the Sovereign level can hardly gain a foothold in the chaos, because the Dao of chaos is far too chaotic!" At this point, Li Hao suddenly shook the long river. Yuan Shuo, who had been in seclusion and felt on the verge of breaking through to the Sovereign level, abruptly opened his eyes in fury! Ignoring him, Li Hao continued: "When cultivators cultivate, if they wish to ascend to higher realms, it is best to begin laying their own Dao net the moment they step into the Sovereign rank. A single net of Dao forms the foundation of a Dao domain. Upon this foundation, one continues to refine and perfect it until rank seven, forming a complete, sealed, logically self-consistent, and cyclically regenerative construct that generates no conflicts, where core Daos can encircle the Dao domain. Once such a Dao net is successfully forged, you are a master of rank seven!" "Naturally, this applies to rogue cultivators!" "As for the master of a great world, where the world has given birth to a Great Dao cosmos... an innate, complete Dao net is already present. In that case, one only needs to master the core Dao source!" As soon as these words were spoken, the rank seven Sovereigns fell into deep thought, looking as though they had questions to ask. Li Hao looked toward them: "Cultivating the Dao thrives on exchange. If my seniors feel anything I have said is incorrect, please feel free to raise it." Realm Lord Senlan spoke up directly: "It is not that I think you are wrong, but by your reasoning, do rogue cultivators actually master a more perfected Dao than Dao Masters?" "Not necessarily. I am referring to those who advance to rank seven through their own efforts, not rank sevens who have detached themselves from a Great Dao cosmos." Sovereign Wushan couldn't hold back: "Meaning someone like me is actually inferior to a Dao Master, right?" "……" Li Hao offered no elaborate response; that was more or less the gist of it. Rogue cultivators varied greatly among themselves. After thinking for a moment, he still added: "The rank seven rogue cultivators I speak of can be divided into two types: those who detached from a Great Dao cosmos simply because their Dao reached sufficient strength, and those who attained rank seven independently by perfecting their own Dao domains..." Wushan was at a loss for words. Couldn't you just use me and the two standing next to me as your examples and be done with it? Sovereign Senlan then asked: "Then for a Dao Master like me, who inherited a perfected Great Dao cosmos, does growing stronger at this stage rely solely on devouring other cosmoses?" "No!" Li Hao shook his head: "Devouring is not the objective, nor is accumulating raw energy within the Great Dao cosmos the objective. Otherwise, why not simply take in hundreds or thousands of Sovereigns? It is solely because... devouring other Great Dao cosmoses allows one to perfect their own Dao net. Even among Great Dao cosmoses, Dao nets differ, evaluated primarily across two aspects: first, strength; second, quantity!" "From my observations, under normal circumstances, the Dao net of a minor world is formed from two to three thousand Daos, while a medium world reaches three to four thousand at most... Meanwhile, for a rank seven Sovereign to independently form a Dao domain or a Great Dao cosmos... in my view, it generally requires upwards of four thousand Daos, with some fluctuation." "Looking at the number of Daos within a Dao net, for a normal rank seven Sovereign, even the weakest must exceed three thousand... Of course, if individual Daos are exceptionally powerful, where a single one equals many, perhaps a lesser number would suffice..." Quantity and strength? Realm Lord Senlan was essentially an inheritor—the successor to a Great Dao cosmos. His personal comprehension of the Dao might not be exceptionally profound, and at this moment, he harbored the most doubts. Li Hao was young, but he had witnessed a great deal. He had observed the Daos of numerous rank seven Sovereigns, visited Dao Chess, watched Sword Venerable and Li Zhu attain their Dao, observed the formation of their Dao nets, aided Wushan in his recovery, breached Red Moon, and visited the cosmoses of three other great worlds. In terms of breadth of experience, Realm Lord Senlan truly did not match him. At this moment, Senlan spoke again: "Then if our Great Dao cosmos is already perfected, how can we add to it on our own?" "Weaving... dismantling a portion, fusing a portion, comprehending new components, and reweaving certain Daos. With each additional Dao, you must weave once more... As for devouring other Great Dao cosmoses, it is in truth also a process of restructuring, except it is often a process you cannot clearly observe." Realm Lord Senlan nodded, asking no further questions as an epiphany began to dawn on him. The Dao was exceedingly profound. Yet when expounded from Li Hao's mouth, it seemed far less obscure. Because Li Hao could see it and touch it, the unimaginably enigmatic Dao sounded in his words like strands of mesh, woven at will. This was an advantage no other Sovereign possessed. The rest of the crowd listened with rapt attention. Even Yuan Shuo, who had just been jolted awake, listened intently, his anger entirely forgotten. Whether they fully understood it or not didn't matter... In truth, Li Hao's explanations were remarkably straightforward and comprehensible. It was simply that they had not yet seen it with their own eyes or reached that stage themselves, so they lacked a visceral impression. Yet none of Li Hao's words carried any pretentious mystical jargon. They could all understand him! "The principles are as such, but the Dao must still be comprehended on your own. If you cannot comprehend it, understanding the theory is useless. If you don't know a new Dao, how can you weave it in?" At this point, Li Hao waved his hand, and world after world was compressed, manifesting within the Great Dao cosmos. "Today, I shall dismantle the Daos! They can be fused into Silver Moon, into worlds, or into the river of the Great Dao. You may comprehend them yourselves... or directly absorb them. However, if you absorb them into yourselves, someone else's Dao remains someone else's Dao in the end; it is not truly yours, and it may pose obstacles for you in the future." Sword Venerable nodded. This was somewhat similar to Xinwu's Peak Realm Dao—it could also be absorbed by others, but walking another person's path would inevitably carry profound ramifications for one's own future. At this moment, Li Hao said no more as a minor world began to expand boundlessly. In an instant, everyone was drawn into the world. A star surfaced in Li Hao's hand—the Time Star! With a stamp of his foot, the soil, rock, and sand within the world all shattered, disintegrating into dust. Suddenly, the entire world consisted of nothing more than a hollow shell composed of energy, alongside a heart-like world source. "Stripped of these external elements, the outline of a world is precisely this: the world source, energy, and the Dao net that you cannot see!" "I shall reverse time, returning to the period just after the world's birth... Going prior to its birth is impossible; the birth of a world source is the greatest secret of the chaos. I cannot trace back to that point, or I will be unable to endure the backlash!" "I will trace back to the moment the very first Dao was born... and how subsequent Daos gradually appeared, weaving the Dao net... This process is what I wish to show everyone, and what I am able to show everyone." The crowd nodded repeatedly; this was already extraordinary beyond belief. However... Lin Hongyu appeared slightly worried: "You are invoking time so frequently..." "This lifetime has reached its limit!" Li Hao did not elaborate; utilizing time hardly mattered anymore. Lin Hongyu said nothing further, though a trace of anxiety lingered. If that was the case, Li Hao was about to embark on his fourth lifetime, which was hardly a good sign. The next instant, time began to flow backward. Originally, the crowd could not see the Dao net. The rank seven Sovereigns could discern some faint structural outlines of the Daos, yet even they could not distinguish them clearly. But beneath the reversal of time, they saw it. They watched as Dao after Dao vanished in an instant, until gradually, the entire world seemed to contain only the world source. Then, a Dao materialized out of thin air. The Dao of Earth! This indicated that the first Dao born to this world was the Dao of Earth. Following that, Daos began to emerge one after another, weaving together to construct a net of the Great Dao. The process appeared remarkably simple, yet it had spanned countless ages before finally forming a complete minor world. Ultimately, the Dao net enveloped the entire world. Counting them up, there were roughly two thousand. Everyone watched in silence. For now, they were merely observing, not yet laying hands on it. The next instant, Li Hao spoke: "Step forward, everyone. Distribute yourselves in an orderly fashion according to what you just saw. Each person select one Dao. In a moment, we will dismantle them in sequence. Whether the dismantled Daos are fused into Silver Moon, absorbed by yourselves, or put to other uses, the choice is yours!" "However, remember one thing: do not disrupt the sequence. Furthermore... this is also a method of weaving. This structure is stable, essentially representing a complete system of the Dao... This specific sequence is what keeps the entire Dao net secure. While there are many ways to arrange them, that does not mean any random arrangement will do. You should reflect on why arranging them in this manner allows it to hold together..." The crowd looked at one another, thrilled yet nervous. We... can actually participate firsthand? Such an opportunity was exceedingly rare. "Hurry up. We have many worlds to dismantle today!" At this moment, everyone began taking up positions across the world according to the Daos they were familiar with and those they had observed earlier. Li Hao brought the Dao net into full display once more, and at this juncture, the power of time was exerted to its utmost. This was true time! Above Li Hao's head, faint dark clouds began to gather, but they were swiftly concealed by Li Hao utilizing the Sky-Stealing Sun-Swapping technique. It was merely a minor world; it had not reached the point of piercing through the Sky-Stealing Sun-Swapping technique. It felt as though, for the very first time, everyone was clearly touching the Great Dao... Someone couldn't help but ask, "Why is it that normally we cannot touch or even sense it, yet right now we can actually feel the Dao? Does the Dao possess a physical substance as well?" "Of course the Dao has physical substance... an illusory physical substance. It sounds contradictory, but it truly isn't. The Dao is also a form of energy! It is simply that you do not cultivate this specific Dao in ordinary times, so you cannot clearly perceive it. Today, by using the power of time to manifest the myriad Daos... it signifies that time itself may very well be an aggregate of the myriad Daos!" The crowd was stunned. Li Hao didn't pay it much mind; such was the reality. He had long harbored this conjecture. The Dao of Space was perhaps formed from 9,999 types of Dao principles—that was the Lord of Tianfang. If one more were added... would that be time? Was time an independent entity, or was a true convergence of all ten thousand Daos what constituted time? This was something Li Hao needed to contemplate, yet it remained a matter for the distant future. Only today did Li Hao clearly grasp just how difficult it was to bring time to full fruition—so difficult that he had already prepared himself to spend his entire life striving toward becoming a true Master of Time. At present, his time was merely an embryonic form. Without asking further, everyone reached out to touch a Dao. Li Hao looked toward the crowd and commanded: "Begin the extraction. Whoever holds the Dao that was formed last, envelop it with your own Dao power now and extract it carefully. Do not cause disorder; once the order is broken, the entire Dao net will collapse!" He then added: "For the remaining Daos that have no one attending to them, anyone who feels capable may attempt to dismantle them... Seniors, you may try your hand as well..." With that, he barked toward the distance: "Senior Tianji, you go as well!" "……" In the distance, Tianji was taken aback. He had been lounging quite leisurely, and upon hearing Li Hao yell at him, he couldn't help but say helplessly, "There are no Daos here that match what I cultivate..." Li Hao was speechless: "Then try to comprehend some of the Daos no one else is handling! No one is asking you to fight. Even if you want to slack off, you need some foundation. When everyone else becomes a rank seven Sovereign and you get swatted to death by someone's casual palm, how will you slack off without sufficient strength?" That actually sounded somewhat reasonable. Still... rank seven... everyone at rank seven? Are you pulling my leg?! Tianji sighed helplessly and stepped forward. Li Hao cast his eyes over the others once more. Many were visibly tense; some of Silver Moon's younger generation were practically sweating, and aside from the Silver Moon natives, the Xinwu recruits who had joined earlier, including several students from Yuanping Martial Arts University, were equally on edge. To be frank, none of them had ever experienced dismantling a world before. Even the Human King had never let them experience such a thing. As for the Human King... whether he was unable, couldn't be bothered, or simply lacked the time, he had never carried out this sort of direct Great Dao dissection for them. Compared to the Human King's personal, overwhelming might, Li Hao, when time permitted, would actually explain the Great Dao to the weaker cultivators. It was exceptionally rare! "Qian Wuliang, begin with you!" The final Dao formed in this minor world was that of illusions, and currently, Qian Wuliang was the one overseeing it; he was eager to dabble in any Dao. Hearing Li Hao's command, he cautiously began the extraction. Wrapping the Dao with his own Dao power and comprehension, he absorbed some of its insights as he dismantled it. The strands of a Dao net could not simply be torn apart through brute force. Even though it was merely a single Dao within a minor world, this rank four Dao Master felt a prickle of nerves, terrified that making the first mistake would create an immense disaster. Soon enough, the first Dao was smoothly extracted. Without wasting words, Qian Wuliang examined his insights and directly channeled the Dao into his Chaotic River, claiming it as his own. The others proceeded in orderly fashion. The first few went fairly smoothly. Then came Liu Yin of the younger generation. The Dao he oversaw was positioned toward the front—the Dao of the spear. The moment he extracted it... crack! The Dao snapped, and in an instant, the entire Dao net began to crumble! Liu Long's face drained of color! His son... had failed the extraction. One had to realize that many people were waiting in sequence behind his son. Yet right when it reached his son, after dismantling only a fraction, it had collapsed! The younger generation was indeed inferior to the older generation when it came to a crisp comprehension of the Dao. Liu Yin's face turned completely pale as well! The Dao of the spear had collapsed entirely. There were many cultivators who practiced the spear, and this time, Golden Spear and the others had yielded the spot to him, giving him charge over his most familiar Dao. Yet he had failed almost immediately! Had it affected only his own Dao, that would have been one thing, but his failure caused the subsequent Dao net to begin collapsing altogether! The power of the Daos instantly tangled into chaos. It even showed faint signs of detonating! Li Hao said nothing. He merely reached out, enveloping the countless strands of Dao power to suppress the chaotic energies and giving them no chance to explode. He then glanced at Liu Yin, who was now drowning in despair. Seeing Li Hao look his way, Liu Yin felt an overwhelming dejection, tinged with dread: "I... I..." Li Hao regarded him for a long moment before speaking slowly: "It is nothing. It is merely a minor world; even if the Dao net detonates, it is no great matter. There will be plenty of chances ahead!" With that, he smiled: "Young man, if your comprehension is a bit lacking, knowing it yourself is enough; there is no need to feel embarrassed! I have an assignment for you... You will sit out the dismantling from here on, but I am giving you a far more important task." Utterly despondent, Liu Yin wondered what kind of task could possibly be considered important. "Right here, two thousand types of Daos are intermingled... You are to isolate the power of the spear Dao that just shattered from among them. It will be extraordinarily difficult! However, if you succeed, the gains will far surpass dismantling a single Dao!" "Anyone else who lacks confidence in managing a Dao can attempt this alongside Liu Yin... Of course, you might not reap any harvest, and I am not particularly optimistic about whether you can isolate it. But should you succeed... the rewards will vastly eclipse what you could gain right now!" Liu Yin's eyes flickered, and he blurted out, "Can it truly be extracted?" "It can, but the difficulty is immense... Do you wish to try?" "I... I will try!" Li Hao nodded with a smile: "A young man should have some spirit! If youth lacks fiery ambition, can one even be called young?" At this moment, everyone seemed to have forgotten that this fellow wasn't very old himself. Paying them no further mind, Li Hao turned toward Kongji: "Once they finish dismantling, extinguish this world into silence, then attempt to revive it. Consider it laying the groundwork for silencing Tianfang. We cannot afford waste; we must squeeze every drop of utility out of each world, channeling all the remaining energy into Silver Moon's Great Dao cosmos!" Kongji nodded, inwardly sighing in admiration. In the past, people would directly swallow a minor world whole. Good heavens, in Li Hao's hands, it was truly subjected to multi-tiered exploitation—not a scrap went to waste; he genuinely squeezed everything out of it. Even the world source wasn't spared: it could be silenced, devoured by the Silver Moon world, or fed to Er Mao... As for the chaotic Dao power, it was funneled into the Great Dao cosmos to let the cosmos slowly purify it. At the same time, Li Hao added: "Additionally, I have developed a new Dao, which counts as a variant of the Dao meridians. Everyone can learn it; the difficulty isn't too great. It is a Dao of purification. This time around, everyone will inevitably absorb some chaotic Daos..." Kongji couldn't help himself: "Let's skip this one!" "Nobody asked you to learn it!" Li Hao was speechless: "Why skip it? This purification Dao is extremely useful, especially for Ju Ao—you would do well to study it diligently. Though you have no Dao meridians and are not a Silver Moon native, once you reach the half-step Sovereign level, adapting the Great Dao slightly will allow you to master it as well!" The crowd was intrigued. What kind of Dao was so formidable? More importantly, why was Kongji trying to dissuade everyone from learning it? Soon, Li Hao began imparting his new Dao. According to Li Hao, this path was known as the Heaven-Reaching Dao! A grand and lofty name indeed! Following Li Hao's instructions, though they could not grasp it with absolute clarity, practicing it according to the mnemonic was not overly difficult. Even if they didn't aim to turn it into a Sovereign-level Dao immediately, gaining a simple comprehension presented no issue. In that instant, the rank seven Sovereigns were the first to master it—exceptionally fast! Yet in a mere fraction of a breath... the phantom silhouettes of Sword Venerable and the others froze solid. As if sensing what was about to transpire, they immediately halted their cultivation entirely. They had the presence of mind to stop, but the others were granted no such reprieve. In a single instant... Pffft! Pffft! All at once, thunderous sounds echoed across the Great Dao cosmos, accompanied by an overwhelming, sky-filling stench. For some, the odor was rather faint; for others... it was foul enough to induce retching. Li Hao had come prepared. He had already sealed himself off and now looked across the crowd, his gaze finally settling on some of the women as he sighed and shook his head: "Utterly devoid of dignity!" "……" The crowd cursed inwardly! They exchanged glances, their faces flushed bright crimson. This... was utterly humiliating. Li Hao then looked toward another figure, somewhat perplexed: "Chief Hou, do you carry that many impurities in your body? Mind your health. From what I see, a veritable dark cloud has formed right over your head..." Hou Xiaochen could no longer hold his composure. His face hardened as he glared fiercely at Li Hao. Li Hao pondered for a second and nodded: "You were injured in your youth, frail and sickly from childhood, and never fully recovered, coughing constantly. Those aren't merely impurities, but congested pathogens that have festered over centuries... Foul enough to rival Ju Ao! Chief Secretary Yu has truly suffered, enduring this all along." To the side, Jade Rakshasa said nothing, but... she cast a glance at Hou Xiaochen. It was truly... truly foul! She was nearly on the verge of losing control. Of course, the moment she recalled that she had just done the exact same thing... her face flushed crimson, as though she had returned to her youthful days centuries ago, showing not a shred of the demeanor expected of someone over five hundred years old. Ignoring the murderous glares from the crowd, Li Hao continued: "This Dao is remarkably effective! Truth be told, ordinary people would never even have the chance to learn it. While it may be somewhat unsightly, it is undeniably potent. If someone cultivates it to the pinnacle, ridding the body entirely of impurities... their form will become pure and white like jade, translucent throughout, resembling immortal jade... This is the Dao of Immortals!" At this moment, even Sword Venerable couldn't hold back: "If becoming an immortal requires cultivating this sort of Dao... I think I'll pass!" Li Hao chuckled: "Uncle Li, you mustn't say that. The Dao makes no distinction between noble and base..." "It certainly distinguishes between foul and fragrant!" Sword Venerable was thoroughly speechless. Fortunately, he had held back in time; otherwise, the humiliation would have been unbearable. Completely devoid of dignity! Hundreds, even thousands of people releasing foul gas in unison... purging impurities for the first time was truly sickening beyond belief. The entire Great Dao cosmos carried the stench. Li Hao shrugged: "Do as you please. Is dignity more important, or is purging impurities more important? For cultivators, utility is what truly matters." "Then why didn't you let one rip?" Sword Venerable retorted, firmly convinced that Li Hao had merely wanted to watch everyone make fools of themselves. Li Hao let out a soft sigh: "My body is entirely riddled with impurities; my flesh has aged, and this entire physical frame is on the verge of collapsing. If I let one go... my life will blow away with it!" The moment these words fell, the crowd, which had been bristling with displeasure, instantly went quiet. No one spoke another word. At this point, Yuan Shuo also spoke up: "This Dao is quite good. Having something to learn is already a blessing; plenty of people wouldn't share such a technique even if they knew it... Behind closed doors, improving one's constitution—what's so bad about that?" The crowd thought it over and realized he was right. Li Hao laughed and brought out another world: "Alright, enough of that. Everyone is practicing it, so just pretend you didn't see anything. If the stench is truly unbearable, simply seal off your sense of smell! Improving your constitution and purging impurities provides tremendous assistance against chaotic Daos. For someone like Ju Ao who cultivates the chaos Dao and harbors far too many tangled Daos, expelling more of them means you won't even need to do anything extraordinary—cultivate this Dao for a few decades, letting it out several times a day... and a few decades later, you will naturally become a Sovereign on your own!" Ju Ao was overwhelmed with pleasant surprise and excitement, harboring not the slightest aversion toward this Dao. He nodded vigorously: "Thank you for the guidance, My Lord!" With this technique, even if he learned nothing else, he felt he could gradually expel all the tangled Daos and attain the Sovereign rank! Just as the King of Silver Moon had said, this was truly a Heaven-Reaching Dao! Sure enough, in the eyes of these grand figures, any casual Dao they offered was an avenue leading straight to Sovereign. "Continue!" Li Hao smiled: "Throughout this process, I hope... someone will achieve the Sovereign rank! Silver Moon is currently only at rank four. The number of Sovereigns it can accommodate, even with a dual Dao cosmos, is only around twenty to thirty. Unless Qian Wuliang and the others enter rank five, expanding that capacity will be difficult... Many spots are already filled. If you miss this chance, you will have to wait until they step into rank five first!" The crowd immediately tensed, wasting no more words. Those who had felt embarrassed earlier... instantly let loose a fresh wave of smoke from behind! Purging impurities made attaining the Dao easier! Faced with this spectacular scene, Li Hao wrestled with himself for a moment before secretly recording it. Truly magnificent! Of course, I won't show it to outsiders. Li Hao thought to himself, I'm not that kind of person. Besides, this scene is simply too flavorful. Given the chance in the future, I'll slip it into the river of the Great Dao as a little surprise for posterity to behold. Following that, the dismantling of worlds continued. The unweaving of Dao nets, the merging of Dao power, the extraction of world power, and the shattering of countless Dao crystals went on relentlessly. Er Mao consumed a small portion of the world sources, while the remainder was integrated into the Silver Moon world. Gradually, both the Silver Moon world and its Great Dao cosmos began expanding at a frantic pace! Meanwhile, the eyes of the cultivators grew increasingly clear. The Dao seemed so simple! Having witnessed Daos of the same nature across different worlds, everyone experienced profound insights. Moreover, the Heaven-Reaching technique not only helped them purge impurities, but also facilitated the fusion of Dao power. All at once, along the two great rivers of the Dao, branch streams began to proliferate wildly, with massive tributaries continuously branching outward. This signaled that someone's Dao had advanced further, successfully carving out a branch river. It also meant... the Sovereign rank was right before their eyes. Kongji, acting like a clean-up crew handling the aftermath, continuously plunged world after world into silence, extinguishing all the chaotic Daos, then reviving them slightly before hurling them into the river of the Great Dao. By this point, Li Hao had grown exceedingly decrepit, his strength waning. Repeatedly invoking time had pushed this physical body beyond what it could sustain. It was only through the continuous revival efforts of Kongji and himself that the flesh was kept from collapsing entirely. Amidst this frenzied dismantling of worlds and relentless shattering of Dao crystals, the crowd began their breakthroughs. Such an opportunity was simply too rare to come by. …… In an instant, various forces erupted violently across the Great Dao cosmos. Fist force, saber force, sword force, spear force... all surged forth. The first to attain the Sovereign rank came as a slight surprise to Li Hao. At this moment, Sword Venerable couldn't help but take a closer look as well; he actually recognized that individual, who had still been alive back when he departed. Li Daozong! The Ninth Division Commander! When Li Daoheng died, Li Hao had passed Li Daoheng's comprehension of the sword Dao to the Ninth Division Commander. Today, with his deep accumulation bolstered by the extensive comprehension of Li Daoheng's sword intent he had already absorbed, towering sword intent erupted, making him the first to step into the Sovereign rank! Sword Venerable sized him up, seeming to discern something, and felt a touch of regret. It was Li Daozong, not Li Daoheng. He hadn't asked much, but he understood in broad strokes that Li Daoheng... had likely committed treason and perished. Li Daozong's sword intent carried traces of his elder brother's shadow. When the Ninth Division Commander attained the Sovereign rank, no lightning tribulation descended, as this was not the Dao of the Source. His physical body underwent metamorphosis, and his Dao surged through the long river, carving out an elongated river of the sword Dao. He was not the only sword cultivator, yet the Dao of the sword encompassed many branches; other sword cultivators seeking to attain the Dao would not clash violently with him. Unless two people cultivated the exact same branch of the sword Dao, in which case trouble would arise. Following the Ninth Division Commander, others began to attain the Dao. This time, it was someone from the Silver Moon faction. Li Hao had originally thought his master might be faster... but reality proved him wrong. Yuan Shuo showed no signs of breakthrough just yet, whereas Heavenly Sword had actually attained the Dao through sword intent. Whether influenced by the Ninth Division Commander or because sword cultivators were plentiful here, Heavenly Sword possessed a purer mindset, allowing his breakthrough to occur remarkably quickly. A slight surprise! Li Hao merely glanced his way without saying much. A purer mindset did not equate to foolishness; with sufficient comprehension of the Dao and no shortage of energy, breaking through was not overly difficult. Even Southern Fist, that reckless brute, was showing signs of breakthrough, suggesting another Sovereign of the fist Dao would emerge soon. Meanwhile, Black Panther and Hong Yitang successively broke into rank four, and the entire world continued to expand outward. Within the borders of Silver Moon, countless cultivators were making ferocious progress as well. This was a grand feast! A carnival! At the cost of forty-six worlds and six billion Dao crystals, Li Hao was frantically elevating the entire world and every cultivator within it. The rank seven Sovereigns reaped their own harvest as well. It was not a direct elevation in raw power, but rather a deepening comprehension of the Dao. Certain things did not require Li Hao's explanations; by observing enough on their own, they naturally derived profound insights. Li Hao himself gained a great deal, his understanding of the Dao growing richer and more profound. Kongji even showed faint signs of fusing silence and revival to attain his breakthrough, but he forcefully suppressed it. If he broke through now, he would merely be a Sovereign of silence and revival; if he wished to become a rank seven Sovereign founded upon six core Daos, he needed further accumulation. …… On this day, the entirety of Silver Moon embarked on a massive leap forward. And on this same day, throughout the chaos, major factions across the Four Regions were in constant communication. The emergence of Xinwu, the terrifying might of the Human King, and the presence of that faction over in Tianfang had become the focal point of all discussion. Aside from Bright Light, which was excluded, countless worlds were conferring and debating how to respond. This was the tribulation of the Four Regions! The Calamity of the Four Regions!