Chaos Descends

The chaos was boundless. Vast, mysterious, immense. Yet once one grew accustomed to it, it felt hollow, dull, and bleak. The chaos was ever so desolate. A single world within it was nothing more than a drop in the ocean. All things began and ended without ever escaping the chaos, powerless to exert the slightest influence upon it. A world residing in the northern region would never consider itself to be in the north. The so-called east, south, west, and north were merely divisions established by supreme powerhouses. To the chaos, or to a single world, being able to discern the small surrounding regions was already the limit. Some Sovereigns had never once stepped outside their small regions in their entire lives. The Nine Heavens of Chaos! By now, Li Hao understood that they had been established by the Lord of Order in ancient times. Regrettably, it seemed they had never been fully completed; the Nine Heavens were never thoroughly partitioned... Abandoned halfway, that was the true state of the Nine Heavens. Thus, his earlier judgment had been correct: this truly was the lineage of a supreme expert, but sadly left unfinished. Had it been completed, perhaps the chaos would be calmer and more orderly. The distinction between the strong and the weak might have been clearer, which would have granted the weak far more opportunities. To encompass the entire chaos—one could well imagine that the Lord of Order of antiquity was not merely strong, but exceedingly powerful! As for why he was slain and by whom, figures like Tianfang and Tribulation had likely been participants. Today, Huntian had most probably inherited the will and lineage of Order. The deeper one traveled into the north, the richer the power of the Five Elements became. Li Hao walked through the chaos, sensing this subtle change with contemplative eyes. The Five Elements overlords were not weak, but among the various regional overlords, they were merely average. Yet such dense Five Elements power had emerged here in the north... Cultivators everywhere cultivated the Five Elements; there was no reason for the five elements here to be stronger than in any other direction. Unless... a spirit of the Great Dao of the Five Elements existed in this place! And spirits were the exclusive domain of ninth-rank Sovereigns. Among the ninth-rank Dao Lords, there seemed to be a Five Elements Dao Lord. Did that mean... the Five Elements Dao Lord's world might be today's Five Elements World? Of course, it might not be. Still, the Five Elements Dao Lord's world could very well reside in the north... Among those dormant ninth-rank worlds, had not a single one risen during these past million years? For this journey, Li Hao had adopted a disguise. His facial features were hazy and indistinct, and an ethereal spirituality faintly drifted from his body, imperceptible to anyone below the supreme rank. Outside his body swirled origins of chaos and turmoil. Naturally, he did his utmost to conceal himself... If a true ninth-rank descended, they would not arrive with great fanfare this time, but would tread with utmost caution. If one was going to pretend, one had to play the part convincingly. Pretending to be the Chaos Dao Lord was not intended to confront a ninth-rank. He only hoped to deceive the likes of Huntian while avoiding direct conflict with them as much as possible. The chaos was vast, and Li Hao had rarely traveled through it at leisure. On this journey, he was unhurried and felt no great urgency, stopping and walking as he pleased. Although the surroundings remained uniformly dim... it was a rare moment of relaxation. In his youth, when he first began learning the martial path, his greatest dream had likely been just this: wandering to the ends of the earth alone, blade in hand. Yet trivial chores of life, responsibilities, and wars had reduced all those dreams to bubbles. Now, having entered the chaos, Li Hao found it difficult to count the passage of time. Roughly five years had passed, but he could hardly remember the flow of days. The chaos lacked a unified calendar to reckon such things. It was too vast, with no one to unify it, so naturally there was no recognized chaos calendar. Five years was but the snap of a finger. At twenty, he had stepped into the ranks of martial masters; at twenty-three, he had accomplished the unification of Silver Moon... Those years had been short, yet incomparably fulfilling. But his five years in the chaos had consisted of nothing but killing, killing, and wandering... Drifting without a fixed abode was not the jianghu he had once imagined. This jianghu... was not nearly so marvelous. "Am I twenty-eight already?" Walking and pondering, Li Hao seemed to only now realize that he was... twenty-eight. The corners of his mouth curved up slightly. To many, such an age was like that of a toddler. Yet for him, he had perhaps missed out on a great many things. "There are no years in the chaos. What does a mere five years amount to?" Li Hao thought to himself as he continued forward. This dim chaos was sometimes rather regrettable, lacking certain charms. Ordinary mortals could not set foot here, and since only Sovereigns walked these paths... there were none of the stories about scoundrels bullying men and abducting women found in storybooks. As a chivalrous wanderer traversing the world, I cannot even come across a damsel in distress to rescue. What a pity. Everyone here was a Sovereign; who would do such a thing? A shame indeed! All alone, with no acquaintances nearby, as he walked on, beneath the relief grew a touch of boredom. Li Hao felt inclined to find someone to walk with—even a stranger would do—yet he feared a stranger would not dare walk beside another stranger. For now, the Myriad Heavens Dao Arena had not yet expanded into the north. This place was nowhere near as lively as the east. Over in the east, cultivators bustled in and out of secret realm entrances, with numerous Sovereigns chatting and laughing. The most chaotic eastern region was paradoxically the most bustling. While the higher ranks fought to the death, the middle and lower ranks enthusiastically debated the Dao. The atmosphere across the entire east was exceedingly peculiar. The north, on the other hand... was utterly desolate. "The Human King said that setting up some sky screens, creating a ranking board, and doing live or recorded broadcasts on a daily loop might... have some merit. That way, at least people would know where the lively places are and where to gather news..." At this moment, he earnestly re-examined the Human King's proposal. It was actually quite good! Setting up a sky screen as a signpost in this desolate chaos seemed rather nice. The chaos was vast; powerful experts were fine, but the weak could genuinely lose their way. After walking a while longer, Li Hao extended his senses. He did not detect any people, but he seemed to sense a chaos beast. Chaos beasts in the outer regions were actually rare. Unlike the Four Regions, where they were abundant. The chaos beasts here had either been captured or killed. The human race was too dominant here for chaos beasts to survive easily. Pengcheng in the west, considered an overlord among chaos beasts, only possessed around four thousand Dao laws. "Not bad luck. To actually encounter a living creature—at least it's alive." Li Hao chuckled softly and vanished in an instant. …… In the chaos. A colossal beast was padding forward in absolute silence. Suddenly, its ears twitched. It seemed to perceive something. In a flash, its expression changed. What? Instantly, a figure materialized before it, facial features somewhat illusory. As the person appeared, a voice arrived: "Fellow Daoist, do you mind company?" The massive chaos beast froze on the spot. It was no weakling! Quite the contrary, it was a powerhouse; any chaos beast that dared roam the chaos alone was not weak. Yet right now... it felt breathless. It knew it had run into a peerless expert! Who was this? It was a seventh-rank chaos beast itself, yet the other party had appeared instantly without the slightest warning. He had to be at least an eighth-rank, perhaps even stronger. It trembled slightly! "Senior..." Li Hao looked at it. It was a fierce tiger, and its currently terrified demeanor reminded him of his own spirit, the tiger released from its cage. However, his spirit had earlier been obliterated alongside Tribulation's spirit. "Don't be afraid." Li Hao soothed it with a smile. "Walking alone is too lonely. Having left this place for so many years, I'm unfamiliar with the chaos now. Finding a living creature to chat with and travel together makes things a bit livelier." What did that mean? The giant tiger was baffled. What did he mean by... leaving this place for many years and being unfamiliar with the chaos? It did not quite understand! It could not make sense of those words. Could it be that he had left the chaos entirely? It wondered in confusion... Seeing its bewildered look, Li Hao sighed inwardly. What a foolish tiger. I was merely trying to imply that I'm a ninth-rank who left the chaos... But looking at this silly tiger's expression, it probably didn't grasp it. Chaos beasts truly were missing a few gears; they lacked something upstairs. "Fellow Daoist, would you mind sharing your name?" Li Hao did not mind and asked offhandedly. Chaos beasts liked wandering in all directions, so they understood the various regions relatively well. It was convenient to ask one. Seventh-rank strength! Not weak at all. Among chaos beasts, it was considered a powerhouse. "I... my name is Feitian Tiger!" This tiger differed somewhat from ordinary monster beasts; it had eight fleshy wings, setting it apart from regular tigers of the monster race. However, its head, though massive, was still that of a tiger. Back in the Four Regions, Li Hao had killed Black Tiger's Dao companion, that white tiger... He wondered if this one was related to them. Compared to that Black Tiger, this beast appeared much more foolish... He wasn't sure if the chaos beasts on Long Zhan's side were sharper, but they had lacked the usual clumsiness of chaos beasts. Every one of them had been shrewd; that Fire Phoenix Sovereign had even been far craftier than humans. Of course, all had eventually fallen to Li Hao. In truth, Li Hao did not particularly like clever people. Being a bit foolish was better. Clever people usually disliked those around them being clever as well. If everyone was brilliant, how could one show off their own shrewdness and wit? "Feitian Tiger?" Li Hao nodded slightly and smiled. "My name is Chaos!" "Senior Chaos!" The tiger hastily greeted him. Li Hao was speechless. You... Forget it. This fellow had probably never heard of the Dao titles of the ninth-ranks. Perhaps it only knew Tianfang, or it might be normal if it didn't even know Tianfang. What an uninformed seventh-rank. "Are you a native chaos beast of the north?" Naturally, Li Hao leapt up, straddling the beast to ride it forward! It was entirely natural. His words had been polite—calling them fellow Daoists, saying he was bored and just wanted to walk together—yet in practice... he showed no restraint whatsoever. A seventh-rank chaos beast could be an overlord anywhere, yet here... Li Hao mounted it without hesitation. He felt a faint thrill. Long ago, he had wanted to ride Black Panther, but Black Panther was a dog, and riding a dog never felt majestic enough. Er Mao was strong, but riding a cat? That was even more embarrassing! A fierce tiger was best—imposing and grand. Riding a tiger truly carried the flavor of a jianghu wanderer. Comfortable! Yes, this fur... was soft. The eight fleshy wings were slightly in the way, but the tiger was massive, and the wings grew from its flanks with plenty of space between them, so there was no fear of lacking room to sit. Feitian Tiger felt rather awkward. It was being ridden? Well... it couldn't afford to provoke him. Even now, it could not discern the other's exact strength. He was far too strong, not someone it could cross. "Do you know where the Five Elements World is?" Li Hao asked. The tiger nodded its massive head, seemingly resigned to its fate. "I know. The overlords here are them, very powerful! In the Nine Heavens... many of my chaos race kin have been captured by them. They are formidable..." "They capture chaos beasts too?" "They do." "Then aren't you in great danger here? Why didn't you go to the Four Regions to seek refuge with Long Zhan?" The tiger blinked, then shook its head. "That won't do. Long Zhan is a dragon, and I am a tiger. An ancient saying of our chaos race goes: when dragon and tiger meet, one must surely bleed. There's another old saying: when dragons and tigers clash..." "..." Li Hao nearly laughed aloud. Where did these old sayings come from? Where had this tiger heard such nonsense? "His ambition is to empower the chaos race, and he has a tiger tribe under his command..." "I'm still not going." Feitian Tiger shook its head. "Besides, I've heard that over there is terribly dangerous. Murderous fiends are everywhere—someone named Xinwu Human King, someone named Silver Moon King, all homicidal maniacs... Before even reaching the place, you get skinned, cramped, and eaten!" "..." Li Hao was speechless. How could they put him on the same level as the Human King? He had always been benevolent to others! The Human King's unrivaled slaughter was typical, but wasn't his own reputation quite fine? "I know of the Xinwu Human King; his slaughter is heavy indeed. But I've also heard a thing or two about that Silver Moon King. It is said he is benevolent, has opened the Myriad Heavens Dao Arena to discuss the Dao with others, and spreads the Dao of Chaos... He can't be as savage as you claim, right?" The tiger hurriedly said, "Senior might not know or understand, but you must never go there... Be careful not to be deceived! Our chaos race has another old saying: the dog that bites doesn't bark. That Silver Moon King doesn't seem as famous as the Human King, but he has killed even more people... He's extraordinarily savage!" Li Hao wore a half-smile. Is that so? Your old sayings... sound awfully familiar. Has this tiger mingled with humans before? Still, it felt rather dim-witted. I've already phrased it like that; shouldn't a normal person guess whether I have some connection to the Silver Moon King? A seventh-rank Sovereign lacking even this much perceptiveness... No wonder it could only rely on hearsay and slander others indiscriminately. From this, it was evident that the spirituality of the chaos race was indeed diminishing. For this fellow to reach the seventh rank was rather unusual. "Do you eat humans? You possess seventh-rank power... Did you cultivate to this level by devouring people?" The bloody stench on this tiger did not seem heavy. Li Hao was somewhat curious. The tiger shook its head. "Why eat humans? As the old saying goes, the human race is the filthiest, full of schemes and impurities. If one eats, one must consume chaos energy! If a chaos beast doesn't consume chaos energy, it becomes filthy..." "..." What a bizarre creature! Li Hao laughed out of exasperation. Eating humans makes you filthy? Granted, he disliked chaos beasts that ate humans, but hearing a chaos beast say that devouring humans made it filthy because humans were the filthiest... Li Hao genuinely felt an urge to pummel it. Do I look like a human to you? Saying such things right in front of a human expert—have you forgotten yourself? Where did this foolish tiger come from? It hadn't been easy for it to survive until today. "Have you never been captured by human experts?" "No... They can't catch me! I have eight wings, I can fly, and I fly very fast!" Feitian Tiger seemed somewhat proud. "I tear through the void and vanish in an instant. Even eighth-rank humans can hardly catch me..." Having said that, it seemed to remember something. Hadn't it... just been caught? Right? It had almost forgotten. Suddenly feeling crestfallen, it mumbled, "Senior is very fast, faster than me. Truly the fastest under the heavens..." Li Hao chuckled again. "Cut the nonsense and fly toward the Five Elements World. Taking it slow is fine! Besides the Five Elements overlords, are there other experts in the Five Elements World?" "There used to be five eighth-ranks, but not anymore. Seems there are only three now. A few days ago, the southern overlord reportedly came and killed one, leaving only three. Oh, and a few eighth-ranks fled here from the east. I heard about it from passing Sovereigns. Rumor has it they fled after being hunted by those fiends in the east... The east is terrifying. A heap of eighth-ranks died, and supposedly even ninth-ranks died..." A ninth-rank? The tiger paused. That's right, what rank was the person on its back? Eighth rank? Or... ninth rank? It couldn't be a ninth-rank, could it? Suddenly, lingering fear gripped it once more. At this moment, Li Hao could not help but sigh softly. "The spirituality of the chaos race has diminished greatly. Long Zhan was partial, pulling quite a bit of spirit toward the Four Regions, which made the chaos race over there more spirited..." The subtext was: you are rather dim. Reaching the seventh rank wasn't easy for you. Your innate talent is decent! Not knowing whether the tiger understood, the beast paid it no mind and casually remarked, "I actually know Long Zhan. I met him once many years ago. He wanted to take me away, but I ignored him. He tried to catch me, but I ran fast. He's a dragon without wings; how could he be as fast as me!" Li Hao chuckled yet again. A dragon with wings... is called a lizard. Of course, it didn't matter. Long Zhan most likely just hadn't truly intended to catch you; otherwise... where could you have run? With this tiger to ride, Li Hao felt much more comfortable. He didn't have to travel on foot, and having a foolish tiger to chat with alleviated his boredom. As they conversed, he learned more about the specific situation in the north. The overlord of the north was indeed the Five Elements World. However, the north was not home to just a single mighty faction, much like the eastern region of the past with Samsara, which had many other eighth-rank worlds beyond itself. Here in the north, there were also several eighth-rank great worlds. Some were not weak either. The Five Elements World was nominally the northern overlord, but it had never truly unified the north. Naturally, northern experts acknowledged Five Elements as the strongest by default. Generally, even if the Five Elements World could not command these experts, other worlds would not obstruct its actions. Speaking of this, a thought struck Li Hao, and he asked, "You've roamed the chaos for many years, absorbing chaos energy everywhere—and pure chaos energy at that. Do you know if there are dormant great worlds in this chaos, perhaps in a sealed state, but surrounded by extremely dense energy?" This big tiger absorbed chaos energy everywhere, and had ventured out this time for that very purpose. According to it, chaos energy had varying degrees of purity. Some places tasted good, while others did not. It had lived for a long time—otherwise it couldn't have reached the seventh rank—and having fed everywhere, it had traversed many places, mostly within the northern region. "A great world? Sealed?" The tiger recalled for a long time before replying, "It seems there was one, but... it was many years ago, and I don't remember clearly. Once, I seemed to encounter a world like the one Senior described. The surrounding chaos energy was terrifyingly dense. There was a world there, but when I absorbed some chaos energy, no one bothered me... so I absorbed a bit more." In any case, no one stopped it. It had no interest in devouring worlds, so seeing that no one cared, it absorbed a bit more and fled. That was many years ago. Later, it had wanted to return... but failed to find it. It didn't know whether it had gotten lost or if that world had moved away. Li Hao raised an eyebrow. Truly? It might genuinely be a ninth-rank world. Fortunately... this fellow hadn't grown greedy. That world might have been dormant, but the moment the tiger tried to devour it, powerhouses would likely have awakened. A seventh-rank chaos beast, regardless of the past, would be instantly slain upon encountering a ninth-rank world even today. The tiger couldn't remember where it was... Li Hao felt a touch of regret. Foolish fellow! It seemed he had missed out on such a world; otherwise, he could have investigated it first. A dormant ninth-rank world today might not be stronger than the Five Elements World. Currently, the Five Elements World possessed a full eight eighth-rank Sovereigns, none of whom were weak. Among the Five Elements overlords, Metal Spirit Sovereign wielded at least six to seven thousand Dao laws. If the Five Elements Emissaries joined forces, they were no weaker than a cultivator of seven thousand Dao laws. …… Along the way, he chatted with Feitian Tiger. The beast's speed was indeed not slow, and it was quite vigilant, steering clear of any great worlds it encountered. No wonder it had survived until now. Gradually, Li Hao felt the power of the Five Elements growing increasingly dense. It seemed the Five Elements World was not far. With time to spare, Li Hao closed his eyes atop the tiger's back and began cultivating. Divine characters materialized one after another, filling Feitian Tiger with wonder. Seeing such things for the first time, its eyes burned with desire. Things cultivated by experts were naturally good. Unfortunately... Feitian Tiger did not recognize any of the divine characters Li Hao conjured. It grew somewhat anxious, and only after studying them did it realize they were likely the so-called characters of the human race... Alas, it was illiterate. Had it known earlier, it would have learned some writing; it had missed an opportunity. However, Feitian Tiger was bold enough to risk asking Li Hao the meanings of several characters, then joyfully tried to comprehend them. Not knowing whether it could glean anything, a thought sprouted in its mind... It wouldn't be bad to find time to read books and learn some words. Li Hao found it amusing and did not mind answering its questions. Man and tiger got along quite harmoniously. …… At the same time Li Hao was rushing toward the Five Elements Domain. Deep within the chaos. In a place where the chaos energy was exceedingly chaotic, the energy churned incessantly. After a long time, the void trembled. Countless strands of chaos energy converged. A moment later, a figure emerged. Feeling his surroundings, his mood brightened. "Chaos... I have returned!" It had been too long. A million years. Remaining in that place alongside a crowd of experts, he had not been particularly strong among the ninth ranks, which had been quite stifling. Now, he had finally returned! And... it was his true self returning! This was no clone. The Chaos Dao Lord felt a surge of excitement. Although his combat strength had not yet recovered to its peak and was inferior to his ancient self, it was more than enough in today's chaos. "Keep a low profile..." he murmured. It was better to maintain a low profile. Because of the lack of spirituality in today's chaos, acting with high fanfare was no good. Tianfang and the others had returned with great fanfare, only to suffer crushing defeats and lose their clones. He could not follow their example. Moreover, he lacked Tianfang's capital; Tianfang's previous clone might have been stronger than his current self. The chaos was not chaotic enough! Only the more chaotic it became could he grow stronger. He glanced upward, a smile surfacing on his face. His facial features blurred as he reined in the power of chaos and looked in all directions... He could not go east; several ruthless figures were there! He could not go west; Order was his opposite, and Huntian was no weakling. The south or the north? After a moment's thought... the north! The Five Elements Emissaries were there. For his descent into the chaos this time, he had already struck an agreement with those ninth-ranks: any of their subordinates who could be contacted had to assist him. In the north, the Five Elements overlords... also shared close ties with the Five Elements Dao Lord. Both sides likely had some contact... The north was well-suited to serve as his base of operations! "Don't forget... to contact the cultivators in the chaos as soon as possible..." He muttered to himself, seemingly reminding those ninth-ranks. Don't forget what you promised me! Otherwise, I won't necessarily do anything for you. …… Deep within the Great Dao of Chaos. At this moment, ninth-rank cultivators were attempting to contact their successors or the experts of the surviving worlds. Chaos has descended! Temporarily obey the commands of Chaos, establish a foothold in the chaos, contend against the various overlords, and provide Chaos with assistance. At the same time... keep an eye on Chaos to prevent him from taking benefits without doing the work. Everyone counted on Chaos to stir up greater turmoil in the chaos, which would grant them the opportunity to return completely. Even the Lord of Tianfang was currently using his own methods to contact the Five Elements Emissaries. With his clone destroyed and Tianfang World devoured by Xinwu, Tianfang had suffered heavy losses. The only remaining eighth-ranks were the Five Elements Emissaries and Panlong. Panlong would most likely be subdued by Long Zhan... For now, the message only needed to reach the Five Elements Emissaries; Panlong could be bypassed to avoid leaking the information. …… In the Five Elements Domain. Within this colossal domain, although no battle had erupted, the atmosphere was somewhat tense. The newly arrived Five Elements Emissaries were no weaklings. While they had ostensibly come to seek refuge... in truth, they wished to turn the tables and become the masters! Meanwhile, the remaining three Five Elements overlords needed the help of these five to resist the other three regions. On the other hand, they harbored other intentions... such as devouring them! Of course, since these five were cultivators of Tianfang World, the Five Elements overlords were wary and dared not act rashly, fearing retaliation from the Lord of Tianfang. Even though that lord had suffered a setback earlier, it did not mean he would never return. If he returned, they would be in dire straits. Amid such complex circumstances. On the side of the Five Elements Emissaries, Sovereign Jinyang's eyes suddenly flickered, and the others sensed something as well, their faces instantly lighting up with wild joy! It seemed to be... the Dao Lord! The Dao Lord could actually transmit messages back! Across the void, the Great Dao of Chaos faintly emerged, allowing them to perceive information. "Chaos has descended in his true body... Temporarily obey the commands of Chaos, assist him in establishing a foothold, and seek more spirit!" Naturally, they recognized Sovereign Chaos, though he had not been prominent among the ninth ranks. Still, he was a ninth-rank! Instantly, the group grew thrilled. Since their Dao Lord's clone had been slain, Tianfang destroyed, and they were driven to the north by Li Hao, they had been fraught with apprehension. But now, even though it wasn't their own Dao Lord, Chaos's descent clearly represented the collective will of all the ninth-ranks! It felt as though they had found their backbone once more! "The Chaos Dao Lord has returned!" Jinyang rejoiced. Beside him, Huoyan was also delighted. "This means the ninth-rank Dao Lords haven't sat idly by, allowing those people to grow stronger! However, our Dao Lord's intent is... for us to keep an eye on Chaos... lest he grow too powerful?" "Presumably so!" "Regardless, with a ninth-rank present—and in his true body, at that—even if a lack of spirituality prevents him from unleashing true ninth-rank might, he won't be weaker than Huntian, and certainly stronger than the Human King and Li Hao!" The group was ecstatic! At this point, Huoyan glanced in another direction and murmured, "Is this Five Elements World... connected to the Five Elements Dao Lord? If so, they might have received some word just now... Does that mean... we should temporarily abandon our plan to seize the Five Elements World?" Jinyang frowned slightly, then said after a moment, "I'm not entirely certain whether they are related to the Five Elements Dao Lord, but... we can wait! Since the Chaos Dao Lord has descended, he should come to the north to establish his base; the other three directions are unsuitable for him!" "Once he arrives, whether to kill these Sovereigns or spare them will be his decision. That way, we won't have to worry about killing the wrong people... and bringing trouble upon our Dao Lord." The Five Elements Dao Lord was not weak. Though inferior to the Lord of Tianfang, he was still an expert among the ninth ranks. Killing his people might invite trouble. With that, the group felt at ease. The Wood Emissary smiled coldly. "Li Hao hoped we would enter the north probably with this in mind—to pit us against the Five Elements World while simultaneously resisting the invasions of Huntian and Chunqiu. But he would never expect..." He sneered, "He would never expect that the ninth ranks are far stronger and more decisive than he imagined. So quickly, a true ninth-rank has descended in his true body!" Speaking of Li Hao, his hatred ran bone-deep! Far deeper than his hatred for Long Zhan or the Human King. Even though Li Hao had spared their lives, in their eyes, Li Hao... owed them. Li Hao had once comprehended the Dao of Tianfang. Had it not been for Li Hao, how could they have suffered such a swift defeat? In the end, they even had to bear Li Hao's favor... a so-called favor that merely consisted of not killing them. The Wood Emissary looked at Huoyan and Shui Linglong, slightly annoyed. "Had we known, the two of you shouldn't have helped him back then..." Sovereign Huoyan sighed softly. "It wasn't a matter of helping or not. When he traveled to the past to listen to the sermon, whether you spoke or remained silent had little impact. Lending a hand counted as a favor, and at least... we are still alive, aren't we?" Back then, even if they hadn't lent strength to Li Hao, would today's Li Hao not have existed? Not necessarily! Certain things were hard to say. Now, all five emissaries were alive, so that favor had at least served its purpose. Five eighth-ranks! Back then, they had only lent a bit of power, which wasn't significant. In exchange, it had bought the lives of five eighth-ranks. Huoyan felt... it wasn't necessarily a loss. No matter how vicious or cold-blooded Li Hao was, the five of them were still here. At this moment, the Earth Emissary also spoke: "There is no need to mention these things again; it's pointless! As for revenge... we probably can't achieve it ourselves, but the descent of the Chaos Dao Lord will surely stir up turmoil!" "Li Hao cultivates Time and is now beyond control, making him a great enemy of the ninth ranks... If we want revenge, the chance will come!" The group exchanged glances and nodded. Having survived in that realm for a long time, they understood clearly that compared to anyone else, Time was valued the most. Therefore, in descending, the Chaos Dao Lord must have accepted certain tasks. Dealing with Li Hao and seizing Time was definitely among them! "I just wonder when the Chaos Dao Lord will arrive... He hasn't returned to the chaos for many years. I worry he might wander about before coming, which would delay things." "Hard to say, but it won't take too long. Let us wait!" "..." As the emissaries discussed this, their faces beamed with joy. …… At the same time. Across the chaos, stirrings rippled through various dormant and hidden worlds. Cultivator after cultivator seemed to hear a voice. Soon, some rejoiced while others worried. Chaos has descended! Regrettably... it was not their own Dao Lord. Otherwise, the descent of their own Dao Lord's true body would be an immense blessing. Fortunately, their Dao Lords seemed to have reached an agreement with the Chaos Dao Lord, instructing them to temporarily follow his orders and throw the chaos into turmoil! At this moment, figures began emerging from seclusion, heading toward the north. For now, although it wasn't specified where Chaos would establish his footing... the north was the most suitable. That was the first reason. Second, the Five Elements Emissaries were there, and the Five Elements overlords might share ties with the Five Elements Dao Lord. If not the north, where else could he go? Going there, he might immediately subdue eight eighth-ranks! Such a foundation would be formidable indeed. …… In another location. The west. Before Sovereign Huntian floated a mirror reflecting the scenes of the Nine Heavens. After a long while, the mirror vibrated. Sovereign Huntian frowned slightly and said in a heavy voice, "I guessed someone would descend soon. It seems I was right, though I didn't expect the one descending to be Chaos!" Heaven and earth were shaken! Order began to fluctuate. The only thing capable of causing such an effect was its opposing Dao—the Dao of Chaos. Sovereign Chaos had descended! Frowning slightly, he soon added, "No matter. Chaos is not particularly strong among the ninth ranks..." Yet, turning his gaze toward the north, his brow furrowed. "Does that mean Chaos might head north?" Beside him, the dark shadow was also watching. After observing for a moment, it whispered, "Dao Lord, slaying Chaos... might be even more useful for establishing our order! His Dao has always opposed the Dao of Order! All these years, the instability of order has been tied to Chaos; their mutual restraint created the signs of unstable order! Chaos's descent this time might very well be our opportunity!" Huntian pondered and nodded. True enough! Although the Dao of Chaos was not overwhelmingly strong, that was largely because Order had only been half-established, restricting its growth. But if Order collapsed, Chaos was by no means weak among the ninth-rank Great Daos. And Chaos would surely set his sights on him! "Dao Lord, should we notify the others?" "No!" Huntian shook his head. "Chaos has descended in his true body. Slaying him offers immense benefits, aiding us in establishing order. If others find out... someone might interfere! Chaos is not at his peak now. If my Huntian Domain goes all out... there is still hope of slaying him!" The dark shadow said no more and quickly asked, "Then... shall I go scout the north first? If we discover Chaos's true body... Dao Lord, shall we make our move?" "You may. Be careful. If he doesn't go to the north, he will come to my Huntian Domain! For now, he won't go east." "Understood!" Without another word, the dark shadow vanished. At this moment, Huntian felt conflicted—both excited and uneasy. A ninth-rank! A true ninth-rank. Crucially, it was the Dao opposing Order. Opposing dual Daos had always been symbols of power. Yet Order and Chaos were exceedingly difficult to fuse. What made it even harder was that both Daos had birthed Dao Lords—ninth-rank Dao Lords. If he could slay Chaos this time... That was something even the ancient Lord of Order had failed to accomplish. Had Chaos been slain back then, perhaps... the chaos would be entirely different today. "Chaos... to think the first to arrive would be you..." he murmured. Perhaps you will also be the first ninth-rank to fall completely! At this moment, undercurrents surged once more throughout the chaos. Yet few knew of it. Even the Human King, Li Hao, and the others were unaware that a ninth-rank true body had already descended. In their view, now was not the optimal time; descending amidst a lack of spirituality carried far too much risk for a ninth-rank! And Li Hao had certainly never imagined... by sheer coincidence, he was currently masquerading as the Chaos Dao Lord, heading directly toward the Five Elements Domain, which was already in sight.