Face to Face

The Emissaries of Light, Darkness, Yin, and Yang had fallen one after another. Over by the Thunder Domain, several sixth-rank cultivators had also perished. Now, under the lead of the Supreme, the powerhouses of Xinwu were surrounding and slaughtering the seventh-rank Tianfang Sovereigns... Figures fell without pause! This battle had erupted swiftly and was drawing to a close just as fast. Yet in truth... to Li Hao and his allies, this was only the beginning. From the very start, they had never considered these people their true adversaries. Indeed, they had not. These people were mere meat. Ignorant of the current state of Chaos, knowing nothing of its people, they had dared to return in arrogant self-importance. What did they amount to? The real enemies had always been the ninth-rank experts alone! Only by shattering the ninth-rank experts' designs on descending right now—by shattering their illusions—could Chaos enjoy a period of peace. Otherwise... peace was out of the question. Those ninth-rank experts had been away for far too long. Yet they were undeniably formidable! The Light and Dark Emissaries had not been strong enough, so they had been doomed from the outset to gain no advantage against the overlords. Not only against those who had taken the field, but even had there been more of them, they could all have been dealt with. Others had not even stepped in yet! Huntian in the west, Chunqiu in the south... Would those figures just stand idly by and watch ninth-rank experts descend? Impossible! Thus, the Light Emissary and the rest had not died unfairly. Long Zhan and his peers had likely not even revealed all their trump cards—otherwise, how could Long Zhan have endured until now? A band of fools who had not the slightest understanding of the million years that had passed, yet lacked sufficient power to back up their hubris... Their return was nothing more than delivering themselves on a silver platter! At that moment, Li Hao spoke up. "Five Elements Emissaries, Panlong Sovereign, all of you, halt. Take your subordinates and withdraw. I will spare your lives. The Sovereign of Tianfang is about to descend—if you wish to seek vengeance or settle matters, wait until he returns to speak of it!" The remaining eighth-rank Sovereigns experienced a drastic shift in expression. Doubts arose within them. Li Hao glanced back at Long Zhan. Long Zhan offered a faint smile and replied softly, "Since Fellow Daoist Haoyue has spoken, and seeing as I promised you earlier, of course it is fine by me... These minor characters were never my objective on this journey anyway! Since Tianfang is returning, as for them... do as you please!" Minor characters? The moment the words left his mouth, the expressions of the Tianfang experts turned unsightly. Minor characters! A group of eighth-rank Sovereigns had been reduced to minor characters. Even a million years ago, they had hardly been insignificant—they were Sovereigns of Tianfang, eighth-rank Sovereigns, figures on the level of Emissaries! The Five Elements Emissaries could even join forces to stall Long Zhan... Yet now, this man dismissed them as minor characters! However, with four of the great experts dead and the Life and Death Emissaries on the brink of falling, Huoyan Sovereign of the Five Elements Emissaries let out a heavy sigh and began, "You..." He had just opened his mouth to say something when, in a single flash, Li Hao vanished. Everyone was startled! Long Zhan raised an eyebrow slightly but held his tongue. At that exact breath, an aura of sword intent suffused the world. The Death Emissary, still entangled with Feng Yan and the others, suddenly underwent a drastic change in expression! In an instant, a long sword pierced through his chest! Li Hao's long river swept forward, dragging him straight into the torrent. A heartbeat later, Li Hao vanished and reappeared in his original spot. Huoyan Sovereign's face drained of color. "You..." Li Hao turned his head and gave a soft laugh. "I promised you to repay a favor, just as I said during that passing breath in the past. What I promise, I deliver! Thus, I spare your lives. Others are not included in that arrangement. I still have use for death qi, so... the Death Emissary had better depart for the afterlife!" Ruthless and merciless! Even Long Zhan raised a brow at this. What a Li Hao! Li Hao's raw power was not overwhelmingly supreme—around five thousand Great Dao rules—yet the Death Emissary had been continually worn down in battle. Furthermore, Li Hao had just spoken of sparing them, and Long Zhan had agreed. The Life and Death Emissaries had likely thought Li Hao's words included them and lowered their guard slightly. Yet who could have imagined that Li Hao would strike in the very next instant! A direct temporal blink, followed by a sword thrust that butchered the Death Emissary! This... Even Long Zhan felt his scalp tingle slightly. This fellow called that repaying a favor? Those words earlier had been an intentional ploy to divide the enemy's attention. What a vile scoundrel! Not far away, Panlong Sovereign's face twisted as well. What a vicious individual! Striking without warning, slaying the mighty Death Emissary with a single blow—this fellow was far too black-hearted! Li Hao remained calm and unruffled. A surprise attack, misdirection, Feng Yan and the others surrounding the target, followed by his own instant strike... Killing a cultivator of roughly four thousand Great Dao rules was no great feat; that fellow had not been stronger than him anyway. Dead was dead. The reason he needed death qi was that he had remembered Lin Hongyu, who required the aura of death to perfect her Hell structure. Having run into it, there was no reason to spare the man! Li Hao cast a sidelong glance at the group, lingering on the Jinling Emissary, who had dared to rebut him back in the past. Do you... still dare to talk back? At this moment, the faces of the Five Elements Emissaries were grim beyond belief, yet none dared object to Li Hao's so-called repayment of favors! Because... earlier memories had already made it clear: this man killed people at the slightest provocation. He was entirely unlike the impression they had previously formed. This Silver Moon King was no saint at all, but the most ruthlessly venomous man under the heavens! Just now, lightning had blanketed the Four Regions, nearly annihilating the entire territory! And this was by no means the first time Li Hao had done such a thing. At that moment, several figures on Li Hao's side seemed to pierce through time, descending rapidly as their auras materialized beside him. The Dao Chessboard and the others were bathed in a murderous aura that blanketed the world. Seeing Li Hao, looks of joy broke out on their faces! This time, their victory had been absolute! Of course, it was all thanks to Li Hao, who had forcibly drained the experts of the Thunder Domain dry. Toward the end, not a sliver of lightning power could even manifest, allowing them—cultivators who were far weaker—to wear down and kill their opponents! Those enemies had met a truly pathetic end! Now, feeling the aura of the Lord of Tribulation emanating from that direction, they had worried they would be no match and rushed over. Li Hao looked around the surrounding Chaos and said with a smile, "Go. While those seventh-rank cultivators are gone, devour all their worlds—dozens of them! Ling Yue, gather all the people. Black Panther, devour the worlds. Er Mao, go swallow all the sources of life..." Long Zhan's expression shifted slightly! Li Hao smiled. "Senior Long Zhan, I worry that once Tianfang descends, he will swallow the surrounding worlds to restore himself! That would be feeding the enemy..." Long Zhan's face turned rather sour! All around them were dozens of seventh-rank worlds whose masters had already fled. Even if a few remained, could one or two people hold off this ravenous pack of wolves and tigers? Li Hao... meant to devour those worlds! Bastard! This was the territory of the Four Regions. Long Zhan's gaze darkened, and he soon said in a low voice, "You all go as well!" By now, the fighting had largely ceased. The Five Elements Emissaries and their allies dared not continue battling either; gathering their remaining forces, they retreated to Tianfang, leaving merely seven eighth-rank and a dozen or so seventh-rank Sovereigns. Nearly half their manpower had been wiped out, and their overall strength had been reduced by more than half. At this point, Long Zhan knew he could not stop Li Hao and could only choose to join in. If your people are devouring them, mine will too... Before things could settle on their end, the group from Xinwu, without even waiting for the Human King to speak, dashed madly toward the Great Worlds! Free worlds! Taken! Dao Chess and the others had initially felt slightly bashful... but seeing the Xinwu crowd rush forward so shamelessly, they grew anxious in an instant and dashed over just as frantically. They're ours! A trace of a smile surfaced on Li Hao's face as he looked at Long Zhan. Long Zhan kept a stern face and said nothing, for around them... there were also worlds belonging to the Chaos race. Frowning, he said in a heavy voice, "Do as you please with the worlds of the human race, but my Chaos race still requires a stable home. Haoyue, do not cross the line!" "Of course!" Li Hao smiled. "No one is to encroach upon the territory of the Chaos race!" Li Hao's voice echoed out, followed by a light laugh: "If there is no high-rank expert guarding it, it might not be Chaos territory... feel free to devour those!" Long Zhan narrowed his eyes, staring at Li Hao. Knitting his brows, he said in a low voice, "Both Tianfang and Tribulation are about to return... Haoyue, why must you act like this at such a moment?" Li Hao was demanding that the Chaos race's experts return and guard their own lands to avoid having them devoured. Clearly, he did not want Long Zhan's people getting a share of the spoils. This was crossing the line! Li Hao chuckled. "Do you know what price I paid? Senior Long Zhan, do you realize my time power is nearly burned away?" Li Hao's smile carried a touch of gloom. "Having paid such a massive price, shouldn't I absorb a few worlds to recover some vitality? Why must you compete with me, Senior? You were the one who made things miserable for me, Senior; since that is the case, you might as well share some of that misery!" Long Zhan was left speechless! Li Hao continued, "Furthermore, you still owe me an avatar and ten billion Great Dao crystals! The corpses of the seventh-rank Tianfang Sovereigns slain by your side now belong to me! Consider it your debt repaid..." Over on the other side, Feng Yan and several others bristled with fury! So after a whole battle, they had gained nothing at all, while Li Hao and his allies took everything? The surrounding worlds were gone, the spoils of war were gone, and just now Li Hao had even seized the opportunity to kill the Death Sovereign! Both the Life and Death Emissaries were foes they had tied down until now, on the verge of killing them... only for Li Hao to swoop in and reap the benefits! Feng Yan snapped in anger, "Li Hao, you are going too far!" Li Hao laughed, glancing toward the Human King. "Senior Human King, let us withdraw! We will leave this place to Senior Long Zhan to handle. Both ninth-rank experts will be his spoils; we won't contest them! The universe is vast—where couldn't we go? In any case, your Xinwu and my Silver Moon only possess a single world each, with so few people. We can pack up and wander Chaos as we please..." The Human King folded his arms, smiling as he recovered his strength. "I actually wanted to see what a ninth-rank expert looks like... but since you put it that way, seeing as we're one family, that works for me..." Long Zhan's eyes flickered. If it were merely a single ninth-rank avatar, he truly had no fear. But two... These two bastards were taking advantage of the crisis to extort him! Only at this moment did it sink in that, after all was said and done, they remained enemies! Li Hao! This fellow was truly ruthless! Not content with wiping out the Thunder Domain experts and slaying the Death Emissary, he now sought to seize those seventh-rank worlds and take the corpses of the seventh-rank Sovereigns slain by the Chaos race... As for the Human King's side, the corpses and Dao origins of the four experts of Yin, Yang, Light, and Darkness belonged entirely to them, as did the seventh-rank corpses they had felled. Now, they were dividing up those seventh-rank worlds as well. With things arranged this way... Both sides stood to reap monstrous gains! Meanwhile, the Chaos race had walked away with nothing. This was the first time Li Hao had divided spoils on the battlefield in such a fashion—the first time he had actively demanded and seized everything without yielding an inch, stripping the Chaos race of almost every fruit of their labor! For no other reason than they were enemies! Long Zhan was an overlord possessed of ambition, magnanimity, and lofty aspirations... yet an enemy was an enemy. Cooperating now did not mean they would cooperate in the future! How could Li Hao possibly give him a chance to grow even stronger? Long Zhan clearly possessed some measure of confidence in dealing with one ninth-rank expert. If Li Hao did not exploit him now, was he supposed to wait until after the battle to bicker? Pressured by circumstances, Long Zhan would have to accept it. Sure enough, Long Zhan took a deep breath. "Fine, they are yours! In that case, the previous debt between us is wiped clean!" Li Hao smiled. "Splendid! Although it might not quite cover it... after all, they are merely seventh-rank corpses, but it is close enough. I am not one to haggle over trifles." Long Zhan remained silent. His expression was rather grim. Li Hao... was becoming quite a handful. After this battle, if the ninth-rank avatars could be dealt with smoothly, perhaps... he would need to find a way to eliminate Li Hao. Of course, an opportunity might not present itself, and... Li Hao might still be needed to keep other powerhouses in check. This was truly rearing a tiger that would cause disaster later! Yet there was no alternative. On one side was a pack of ninth-rank experts; on the other was Li Hao, who could not yet threaten his life. Even knowing Li Hao's immense potential, Long Zhan had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill! The Human King offered no further remarks, tossing the Light Emissary's Dao origin to the Bright Sovereign, Yaoyang, and the others. The power of darkness went straight to Li Zhu. He said nothing either, merely looking toward the void before asking, "How much longer?" "Very soon!" Li Hao glanced upward, something flickering within his eyes as he answered, "Three minutes at most... He still requires some gathered energy... It's already quite fast." He glanced toward the Thunder Domain; the timing there should be roughly the same. This window was just enough for everyone to clear the battlefield first. Fair enough! The Human King nodded slightly, smiling as he turned to Li Hao. "Since there's still a bit of time, let me ask you something: what was that thing just now?" "A person from the future." "I know that, but... he seemed a bit unusual, like he had some connection to our Old Man Yang..." Beside them, the Yang God felt quite awkward! What kind of phrasing was that? Li Hao nodded, casting a glance at the Yang God, unable to suppress a sigh. "Truly unexpected!" The Yang God might have received guidance from that future individual in the past. Back then, the world near Xinwu had most likely been a world of the future. That person might have reversed time to enter this era—though not the present moment, for if it had been now, he would have known. Evidently, it must have occurred later. And the Yang God had likely learned the method of divine characters from there. It was only because spirituality was lacking in this era that his divine characters appeared somewhat frail and turbid; nevertheless, they were genuine divine characters! Meanwhile, Li Hao had learned the method of divine characters from the Star Town ultimate techniques left behind in Silver Moon. What an intriguing karmic loop of cause and effect! He did not press for details, nor did he elaborate. Certain things held little meaning once asked. The Yang God might not even answer, and besides, even if he did, it would amount to the same thing. Indeed, the Yang God held his peace. Yet his memories were somewhat dazed... Looking at Li Hao again, a peculiar light flickered in his eyes. Emperor Yu had been summoned by Li Hao, and Li Hao's relationship with that man was clearly anything but ordinary! That person hailed from the future, yet in truth, he counted as half a master to the Yang God! Yes, half a master. In that ancient era, when Xinwu had just begun and the Origin had yet to manifest, the Yang God, the Heavenly Emperor, the Earthly Emperor, and the rest had all been ignorant beings. The Heavenly Emperor had gained the favor of the Seed—the consciousness of the world, an omniscient existence akin to Heaven's Will! Yet the Heavenly Emperor was actually inferior to the Yang God. Why? Because... the Yang God had his own serendipitous encounters! He had always loved wandering, roving about, roaming freely everywhere... Consequently, he had encountered fortunes unknown to outsiders, leading to a Yang God who would later surpass even the Heavenly Emperor at his peak! Yet he had always wondered: where had that man come from, and where had he gone? The moment Xinwu stepped beyond its world, he had gone searching, yet had found nothing. Even the world that housed the Sword Venerable and the others—he had visited it, yet never saw that person! Only today did he understand! That was... a man from the future! And today, he had also realized that the "old fossil" mentioned by that man might very well be the Li Hao standing right before him. How ridiculous. In his eyes, Li Hao was merely a junior. In Emperor Yu's eyes, Li Hao was an old fossil, while in Emperor Yu's eyes, he himself... was perhaps merely a little kid... What a... complete mess! Thus, looking at Li Hao now, his gaze was quite complicated, yet he said nothing. So the "immortal old bastard" Emperor Yu spoke of was this man... Sigh! He simply did not know what to say! When the River of Time had manifested and his three bodies merged... he had summoned his past and future straight out of Li Hao's river. How utterly absurd—to think his own path to the peak had originated right here with Li Hao. At this moment, the Human King seemed to grasp this as well, but he did not pry, caring little for such matters. Looking around, he smiled and asked, "What do we do in a moment? Old Long taking on one shouldn't be much of an issue... Shall the two of us deal with the other?" Li Hao shook his head. "Even if Tianfang is merely an avatar, he is not to be trifled with! The foremost powerhouse of yesteryear—would his avatar be easy to handle? The reason Senior Long Zhan thinks he can face him is that he hopes the spirits of Chaos might overwhelm him to death..." Long Zhan's brow furrowed immediately! Li Hao, however, continued, "Still, I consider it difficult! Incredibly difficult... Furthermore, Tianfang's home territory remains intact, and even now, it continues to grow stronger! Solving him will be extraordinarily tough... Therefore, it is better for Xinwu to join hands with them. I will deal with Tribulation!" "Can you handle it?" The Human King glanced at him. Five thousand Dao rules, plus your time power is practically spent—are you sure you can do it? Li Hao had only a handful of eighth-rank cultivators on his side. Even having devoured worlds just now, the results would not manifest instantly to grant an immediate surge in power. Could a group like that truly handle a ninth-rank avatar? Whereas on their side, top powerhouses abounded. Long Zhan, himself, Old Zhang, the Yang God... None of them were weak right now. Even Old Zhang and the Yang God were nearing five thousand Dao rules of power. Even if they were slightly weaker than Li Hao, the gap was marginal. Yet over on Li Hao's side, he was the only one at that level! Even though Long Zhan was currently displeased with Li Hao, he could not help but speak up, saying in a heavy voice, "There is no need for this. I can handle Tianfang alone; you two had best join forces against Tribulation! Otherwise... once you are defeated, it will pose a tremendous danger to us all!" There was no need to play the hero right now! Everyone knew the foundation of each other's strength. Unless that future personage descended directly, there would be hope of dealing with a ninth-rank avatar. Yet clearly, Li Hao's time power was insufficient to sustain the man's appearance, let alone his descent—that was practically out of the question. That person likely possessed strength approaching Long Zhan's. "No need, I have my own methods... Of course, whoever makes the kill claims the spoils! Even an avatar of a ninth-rank expert is extraordinary, a colossal fortune. Senior Human King, be mindful that Senior Long Zhan doesn't turn against you..." The Human King smiled with deep meaning. "Turning hostile is fine by me, though it probably won't come to that. An overlord like Old Long wouldn't care about such petty gains, right?" The three of them spoke as though victory were certain, convinced that the two ninth-rank figures were merely delivering themselves to the slaughter! At this moment, the others grew thoroughly uneasy. A ninth-rank expert! Do you... really not need to make preparations? For instance, having everyone quickly assemble to encircle, trap, and launch a coordinated assault... Shouldn't there at least be some tactics and strategy? Instead... all anyone heard was you dividing the spoils! You speak as if two ninth-rank experts are completely beneath notice. Isn't that a bit too confident? Long Zhan had no desire to say more to them. Nor did he wish to engage in a war of words with the Human King. That fellow's sharp tongue was unmatched; earlier, while battling the Light and Dark Emissaries, he had nearly brought both to tears with curses, spewing foul language that insulted their ancestors across eighteen generations! Trading insults with such a person... was an excruciating headache. Overlords like them possessed at least a modicum of poise, whereas the Human King was thoroughly shameless. At this moment, Long Zhan remained exceedingly solemn. Li Hao did not waste words either, flying straight toward the Thunder Domain. The Human King had wanted to say something, but seeing him dash off, he simply shrugged. Forget it, let it be. That guy is ridiculously arrogant—even more arrogant than me. If he dares to go without assurance, he can just die on his own. Beside him, the Supreme frowned slightly and glanced at the Human King. It was still exceedingly dangerous! None of them had ever fought a ninth-rank expert and did not know their true capabilities. Now that Li Hao's time power was spent... with merely five thousand Dao rules, could he truly contend against such a foe? Even with schemes, they might not necessarily work! ... With the River of Time, Li Hao moved swiftly. Normally, it would take a prolonged flight, yet now he reached the Thunder Domain almost instantly. People were still clearing the battlefield there, and upon seeing Li Hao, they were elated. However, sensing the fluctuating energy within the Thunder Domain, they also felt uneasy. Without a word, Li Hao tossed a compressed star to Lin Hongyu. "This is the Dao origin power of the Death Emissary. See if you can absorb it!" Lin Hongyu said nothing either. There was no need to say anything; much of what had happened earlier had been projected over. When Li Hao turned hostile and killed the Death Emissary, she had seen it clearly. She also understood why he had suddenly turned on him to make the kill. At this juncture, words were unnecessary. She sat cross-legged and began drawing in that aura of death. Even though the power of the eighth rank caused her immense agony—bringing her to the brink of collapse—she did not let out a single sound, silently absorbing the suffocating death qi. Li Hao merely watched the surroundings in silence. After a time, cultivators returned one after another, each wearing an excited expression. The formidable worlds of the Four Regions had been virtually swept clean today! Numerous seventh-rank worlds had been swallowed whole or compressed... There were also the corpses of Tianfang's seventh-rank experts, as well as the eighth- and seventh-rank corpses from the Thunder Domain... This haul was monumental! Yet at this moment, Dao Chess felt a tremor of apprehension. Glancing into the distance, he said uneasily, "The Lord of Tianfang... is likely about to descend. And over here..." The Lord of Tribulation seemed to be doing the same! Are we... really about to fight Tribulation? He truly lacked the courage to fight Tianfang. Yet fighting Tribulation... Why hadn't Xinwu come along? He felt increasingly unsettled. Having seen the Lord of Tribulation in the past, he quickly warned, "The Lord of Tribulation is exceptionally formidable, by no means weak among the ninth-rank experts of old. In that era, he wielded the Dao of Tribulation to punish wrongdoers... Countless beings in Chaos dreaded him!" "Lightning tribulation is merely one aspect of it..." Li Hao nodded slightly. He knew. A million years ago, he had clashed with him, though that had merely been in the past. What Tribulation was like now, he could not say. Around them, the aura grew increasingly suffocating. The Thunder Emperor could not help but ask, "Can his path of return be interrupted?" Faced with this, even he felt a trace of fear! Li Hao shook his head. "Spirituality is dispersing, and massive numbers of experts have perished, releasing the power of Tribulation and Tianfang. These ninth-rank experts made preparations long ago—they even set the rules! Thus, he and Tianfang can descend without hindrance. You don't even know where their true bodies reside, so how could you interrupt their descent?" It could not be stopped! Unless they mounted a counter-assault across the void, which would be true suicide. An avatar could still be fought; against the true body... would that not be throwing their lives away? At this point, Kongji, while greedily absorbing Great Dao power, said grimly, "Then we... are probably no match for him, right?" Li Hao nodded. Of course! A ninth-rank avatar, even if it fell short of nine thousand Dao rules, would possess over eight thousand. They were certainly no match! Everyone was instantly rendered speechless! Then why are you still so calm? Damn it! Have you lost your mind again? "Suppressing him with time...?" "Time probably can't be used anymore; it's been overdrawn far too severely..." Panic seized the crowd! Then how are you going to fight? Fight while lying down? Even with all of us combined, we're no match for him! Li Hao, however, smiled and looked around at them. "Which is why I'll need everyone's help!" "Fusion?" At this moment, they recalled the method Li Hao had previously used to deal with Reincarnation. Now, everyone had grown stronger, including Li Hao. If fusion could kill Reincarnation last time, then this time... killing Tribulation's avatar should work as well, right? Despair instantly washed over Er Mao's face! Last time, not even eighth-rank powers had been fused. Now, do you expect me to replicate eighth-rank powers? What a joke! Li Hao had harbored ill intentions all along! Er Mao had never reached the eighth rank, but Li Hao had just made it devour the world sources of numerous worlds, setting it on the path toward the eighth rank. Could it be... that he had schemed all the way to this moment just to have it reach the eighth rank, rapidly replicate the Great Dao... And then fuse them? But... was there enough time? It could already sense an overpowering aura, terrifying and imminent. Even if it reached the eighth rank immediately, there wouldn't be enough time! It could not help but say, "Are you going to accelerate time for me? If so... then hurry up!" It felt utterly aggrieved! Forget it, let it be! It couldn't just stand by and watch everyone get beaten to death, could it? I'm not Big Cat; Big Cat is cruel, but I am a good cat. Fine, fine, I'll just... suffer a little loss. "There's no time!" Li Hao shook his head. Er Mao froze. What? It's not fusion? "This time, it is not fusion..." Li Hao gazed into the void. A flash of spiritual light vanished in an instant, seeming to traverse millions of miles. Someone... was about to awaken! Far away. Tianfang! A monstrous aura surged across heaven and earth, projecting itself across the entire Four Regions. An infinitely mighty presence expanded madly, drawing in countless streams of Great Dao and Chaos power. The entire world seemed shrouded by something colossal, bearing down with boundless, crushing majesty! A figure, though by no means towering, seemed at this moment to imprint itself into everyone's mind and heart. It was a cultivator who appeared remarkably young. He possessed an air of refined elegance. He seemed to pace leisurely through the air, bearing a mysterious aura as he strolled unhurriedly atop a statue. All around, surviving cultivators, including the living Five Elements Emissaries, were overcome with wild excitement. "Dao Lord!" "Venerable One!" "Our Lord has descended!" "..." The remaining cultivators went mad with fervor! The Lord of Tianfang had descended—an invincible existence under heaven who had once swept across the world without a rival, the truly unrivaled existence, the strongest in all history, the Lord of Tianfang, Master of the Spatial Dao! ... Tianfang World. Above the colossal palace, the statue seemed to gradually come alive. The features of the Lord of Tianfang slowly came into focus, carrying a touch of sorrow and wistful nostalgia as he surveyed his surroundings, letting out a soft sigh. "Things remain, but people have changed; oceans have turned to mulberry fields..." A million years! The familiar Chaos was familiar no longer. Those he once knew had either perished or sealed their true bodies in that place alongside him. A million years was simply too vast a gulf. Even he felt that time was merciless, stretching far beyond reach. Looking at the crowd, he noted many missing faces. He knew that had these people not died, he could not have returned so swiftly and would have had to await Tianfang's expansion. In truth, returning through the deaths of his subordinates was not what he had desired. He would have preferred a gradual return. Yet reality dictated... that the backup plan had to be enacted. Outside. Both the Human King and Long Zhan felt immense wariness. That suffocating aura and crushing pressure weighed heavily even upon them. The rambunctious Human King was no longer as boisterous. His eyes flickered with shifting thoughts. His mind racing, he transmitted to the Supreme: "If we can beat him, we fight; if not... we run! Let Long Zhan take the rear—the guy has thick hide and can take a beating! He's at least near nine thousand Dao rules, perhaps... already there!" He felt genuine wariness. Too strong! Though his own strength was extremely formidable right now, nearing seven thousand Dao rules with even higher explosive power, at this tier, a deficit of one or two thousand rules—especially rules imbued with spirituality—meant he was categorically no match! And this was merely an avatar. Were the true body to descend, the Human King suspected he could be killed with a single punch. Were they truly this formidable? Did the ninth rank bring about such a drastic transformation? Enlightenment dawned within him: it was not merely a massive transformation, but... order! Just like that man from the future, who possessed only around five thousand Dao rules, yet why had he been so devastatingly powerful? Because his Dao was ordered! Immensely ordered, strictly regulated! The ninth-rank expert before them was much the same. Even if his order did not match that of the future, eight thousand of his Dao rules could be wielded like nine thousand of an eighth-rank's, and seven thousand of his rules would surpass their chaotic ones! This was the true terror of a ninth-rank cultivator! At that moment, Long Zhan's eyes flickered as well. He transmitted to the Chaos race experts: "If things go awry, flee immediately. Follow the Human King and his group, but don't trail too closely. I will hold the rear..." Indeed, he had braced himself! Counting on the Human King's group to cover their retreat? That would be walking straight to their deaths! He could only rely on himself. At this moment, even he felt deeply apprehensive. This Tianfang... was likely stronger than expected. He... might not be able to handle him. Casting a sidelong glance at Red Moon, he transmitted, "Red Moon... whether we succeed hinges on you! The Dao of Desire is by no means weak; Li Hao used it to slay Reincarnation, and since you specialize in desire, you can do the same... What's more, you will have my coordination! If you make no contribution this time, do you think you can escape Li Hao's pursuit for the rest of your life? Can you escape the Human King's pursuit?" Red Moon Sovereign's expression shifted erratically! Could he? Impossible! Today's battle had demonstrated the horrifying strength of Xinwu and Silver Moon, driving him to despair. Setting aside open confrontation, even if he went into hiding, they could effortlessly track him down, perhaps even reaching into the past to end him! It was terrifying! Yet... this was Tianfang! An invincible existence. Even if it was merely an avatar, could he... truly pull it off? "You can do it. As long as it is a living being, it possesses desire—especially him. Having lain dormant for a million years, his desires are stronger than you can fathom. As long as you can disrupt him for an instant... we will have a chance at victory!" Red Moon Sovereign was rife with trepidation, yet when he considered his enemies—the Human King, the Supreme, the Yang God, the Silver Moon King... Such a massive throng of monsters! If he did not gamble now, even Long Zhan might cease to protect him, which meant death all the same. Gritting his teeth, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes as he transmitted, "I... am prepared. However, what the Dragon Lord promised beforehand..." "I will honor my word without fail. I... still need to establish myself in Chaos. Shameless as the Human King and his lot are, even they do not break their word to outsiders! Look at the Bright Sovereign, Dao Chess, and the rest. Could I, Long Zhan, possess less character than they do?" True enough! The Lord of Red Moon believed him. It wasn't that Long Zhan possessed superior character, but that even shameless scoundrels like the Human King would not break their promises before the assembled powerhouses of Chaos. All the more so for Long Zhan, an ambitious expert aiming to overthrow the old powers and establish a unified dominion. He would not go back on his word! Compared to the Human King and Li Hao, Long Zhan's character seemed... somewhat more reliable to Red Moon. At that moment, the Lord of Tianfang within the Tianfang World was in no hurry to emerge. Instead, he looked toward the Thunder Domain, smiling as his voice rang out calmly, tinged with wistfulness: "Tribulation, do you intend to return as well?" Though their true bodies remained together, right now, in the entirety of Chaos, only he and Tribulation were qualified to return. ... Far away. The Thunder Domain. An aura of tribulation blanketed the world, making the entire Thunder Domain seem to burst with vitality. All around, the heavens fractured, the earth split, flames raged, and pestilence ran rampant... A figure slowly began to take shape, his voice carrying a chuckle. "Brother Tianfang, I had not intended to do so this time. It was simply unexpected... that the returning members of my domain would be slaughtered so thoroughly..." He appeared somewhat regretful, yet not entirely so. Dead was dead. Had they not died, I might not have been able to return right now. Though it was merely an avatar, it was enough. As long as the avatar could execute certain plans, the return of his true body was only a matter of time. The dialogue between the two seemed to ignore every other powerhouse between heaven and earth. They alone stood supreme! For they were of the ninth rank. Even if their Daos possessed merely seven or eight thousand rules, that was more than enough to slay any formidable foe. Even against an opponent with 8,999 rules who had not attained the ninth rank—lacking spirituality and order—their seven or eight thousand rules could easily rival those peak figures. At this stage, leaping across ranks to fight? A complete joke! Seventh-rank cultivators slaying eighth-rank ones had occurred, but an eighth-rank slaying a ninth-rank had never happened since ancient times. An avatar of the ninth rank was equally invincible! After exchanging pleasantries, the gradually solidifying figure turned his gaze toward Li Hao in the distance. He smiled, his expression carrying a mix of reminiscence, anger, and sighing nostalgia. "A million years ago, I clashed with you once... Though it was merely a fragment of memory without much firsthand experience, I still came to know that time is a troublesome thing!" "Yet today... how much of your time can you still muster?" He laughed, but as he did, a trace of annoyance crept in. "Li Hao, wouldn't it have been fine to simply be a cultivator of time? Why must you cause chaos, why must you kill? Do you... truly love slaughter so much?" Peacefully remaining a time cultivator, everyone would have supported your ascent to the ninth rank. Yet why were you so disobedient? You had to reverse time and return to the past, offending everyone. You had to open a new heaven and earth, pioneering a Chaos Great Dao, thereby cutting off your own future. And then you tried to reverse time to breach the source of the Chaos Great Dao... That could only be described as utter madness! No one but a madman would repeatedly provoke the ninth-rank experts, placing himself entirely in opposition to them. Under previous circumstances, Tianfang might not have permitted him to kill Li Hao. Yet now... Tianfang would not stop him. For Li Hao had already crossed the bottom line of the ninth-rank experts; he had severed his own path forward! A third-generation practitioner of time? Tribulation pondered, smiling. If the third-generation practitioner of time could be someone else, why couldn't it be me, or one of my subordinates? Even if I cannot wield it... studying and contemplating it would suffice. Finding a suitable person to make my puppet would still be far better than the current situation! Time was truly a loathsome thing! From all around, boundless Chaos power surged frantically into him. Even from within the Chaos Great Dao, immense volumes of Chaos power flooded his body. Every ninth-rank expert had merged into the Chaos Great Dao. The Chaos Great Dao was the very source of their power! Across from him, Li Hao stood motionless, as though scared out of his wits! The Lord of Tribulation frowned slightly. He was not currently situated inside a world domain, yet Li Hao neither struck nor attempted to halt his full restoration of power. Instead, he simply watched. What are you looking at? Over there, the auras of Long Zhan and the Human King had already erupted to their limits, resisting Tianfang. Yet on Li Hao's side, while everyone else was trembling with anxiety and bursting with power, Li Hao alone remained as calm as ever. Why... was he so composed? Tribulation could not comprehend it! Not only him, but everyone present was bewildered. Until Tribulation spoke in a low voice: "Why... do you not stop me?" Only then did Li Hao speak, his face deadpan. "If I stop you, Senior, wouldn't that prevent you from recovering to your peak? A Tribulation avatar below its peak is merely comparable to an ordinary eighth-rank expert. Only a Tribulation avatar at its zenith... can truly yield a monumental harvest!" "..." Are you out of your mind?! Even the Lord of Tribulation was dumbfounded. Have you lost your mind? You... did this just for that? Just how confident are you that you can kill me, that you would let me recover and grow stronger just so you can reap maximum benefits after slaying me! "Hahaha... Fascinating, fascinating, utterly fascinating! Li Hao, you truly are a singular character!" The Lord of Tribulation's laughter shook the heavens and earth. You... are truly amusing! Can you truly kill me? I don't believe it! No one would believe it... except yourself.