The Fall of a Dao

The tides of battle shifted in an instant. Just as fickle as the hearts of men. This was the primal chaos! There were no eternal enemies, nor any unchanging stances—only the immediate situation, mutual interests, and the future.... Here, one should never seek friends. For no one would ever be your friend. True friends were far too rare. Across the vast, boundless primal chaos, who could truly be called a companion? They were virtually nonexistent! At this moment, Long Zhan’s aura erupted to its absolute peak. Even though his Great Dao was still convulsing, even though the primal chaos was actively pressing down upon him, his spirits surged high. He reverted to human form, perhaps to conceal his severed tail. None of that mattered anymore! He had cast it all away. Long Zhan had carried far too many shackles. Li Hao had been able to threaten him with the future of the Primal Chaos clan, cornering him into desperate straits time and again. Today... the Primal Chaos clan had no path left. The rank-nine Sovereigns casually suppressed his Great Dao, extinguishing his people's future.... It drove him to total despair. *I have nowhere left to go!* *Today was supposed to be Li Hao opening a new heaven, Li Hao plotting against the myriad realms. Yet in the end, the only ones suffering are my Primal Chaos clan. Simply because... we are weak.* *How unjust!* "The Great Dao is unjust.... No, this Great Dao, this primal chaos... has never granted a shred of fairness to my Primal Chaos clan!" He was desolate, despondent! Why did rank-nine integration require merging into the Chaos Dao? Why was the Primal Chaos clan born only from chaos itself? Why did no world under heaven belong to the Primal Chaos clan, forcing them to survive only by plunder? Why? It was the injustice of heaven and earth, the injustice of the Great Dao, and the injustice of the mighty! *If this world is so unjust... then open a new heaven and earth!* He had finally understood. Or rather, in the depths of despair, he had no other choice. If he refused Li Hao, what else could he do? Flee? Yet the Primal Chaos clan would remain bound to the Chaos Great Dao. Even if he ran today, what about tomorrow? What about the day after? Now great wars raged constantly and rank-nine true bodies were poised to descend. Did he... still have any way forward? The power of eight thousand Dao rules? Formidable... but what could it truly change? He knew that in Li Hao’s vision of the future, the human race might still hold dominion. After all, Li Hao had once summoned the Emperor of the Future, who was human. But the future was not carved in stone! *If that is so, my Primal Chaos clan shall merge our Daos and spirits into the new heaven. If I, Long Zhan, with the might of rank eight, merge my Dao, body, and spirit into this new domain, can I overturn the universe?* *I do not know!* *Yet I know that in the future, there will still be a choice!* *Unlike now, where nothing remains but despair and bitter regret!* "Battle!" Long Zhan roared, his blood vitality piercing the heavens. "You rank-nines are nothing more than this! Mere clones—what can you do to me? You assimilate my Chaos Dao and rob my Chaos Spirit; this hatred and vengeance shall never be forgotten!" "Kill!" The sky shattered! As if the primal chaos itself were bleeding, he soared into the air like a mad demon. Leaping forward with fists coiled like golden dragons, a single blow blew the firmament apart as he charged straight toward the incoming rank-nine clones! The Chaos Great Dao trembled above his head, yet he refused to retreat a single step. Mad! Another one had gone mad! At this moment, the rank-nines could only sigh in shock. Chaos, locked in bitter battle against the crowd of experts, was ecstatic. *Good, going mad is wonderful!* The more these people went wild, slaughtering each other in relentless war until bodies fell and worlds shook, the stronger he became. The more turbulent the chaotic age, the better! He too let out a thunderous roar, laughing wildly: "You want to stop me? Keep dreaming!" *Boom!* The power of turmoil swept in all directions. One rank-nine clone after another was forced back. One clone retreated just a fraction too slowly—and Chaos Sovereign, seemingly testing the power of time for the first time, suddenly froze heaven and earth! The river of time seemed far mightier in his hands than in Li Hao’s. In an instant! Time itself appeared to grind to a halt. Chaos was overjoyed! *So this is time!* His temples turned slightly gray, but he cared nothing for it. What did that matter? A slight expenditure of lifespan was trivial! *I shall be invincible under heaven!* *I shall sweep across all peers!* *Boom!* His hands tore the vault of heaven apart. The frozen rank-nine clone was pinned in place, and in the next heartbeat, Chaos ripped it in two, showering the skies in blood. The battle exploded with unbridled fury. The Lord of Tianfang flitted between space and earth, his expression utterly grim. *Disaster—Chaos is actually learning to harness the power of time. If this continues... he might truly slaughter every last one of our rank-nine clones!* Crucially, the Chaos Great Dao was violently roiling, preventing their true bodies from descending. This made things far worse! He barked sharply: "Hold nothing back! Everyone, call upon any experts remaining beneath your banners—bring them out of seclusion to suppress Chaos! Must you wait until he fully masters time and slaughters us all?" When Chaos had descended, the other factions had brought only a handful of rank-eight Sovereigns aside from the Five Elements Emissaries and Five Elements Hegemons. Out of more than twenty rank-nine Sovereigns, did they possess only four rank-eight subordinates? Impossible! Even though a million years had passed, most rank-eights were merely slumbering; they could not all have died. Back then, the Eastern Region alone had harbored twenty to thirty rank-eight experts. Extreme Ice Sovereign had easily gathered over a dozen rank-eights to lay siege to Xinwu. Could the entire primal chaos hold so few rank-eights? Did only those few factions possess them? Among more than twenty rank-nine Sovereigns, if each had kept even a single subordinate behind, that would still mean over twenty rank-eights. At this moment, the expressions of several Sovereigns flickered. Chaos was growing stronger with every blow; Long Zhan had shredded three rank-nine clones, and Chaos had just slain another, leaving only about twenty. Yet... they were only clones! The longer they fought, the weaker they became! "Summon my host of Life and Death—suppress Chaos!" Someone in the crowd barked low. In the unseen depths, a world seemed to emerge, an ancient realm waking, the cycle of life and death unfolding.... Far in the distance, darkness gathered, death manifested— And boundless vitality erupted! In an instant, a world arose as if from hell itself, and ancient beings began swiftly awakening. The Dao of Life and Death saturated heaven and earth. Far away, several experts appeared amid the surging currents of life and death. An ancient chant echoed: "Life and death intertwined, we welcome our Dao Lord—manifest the Life and Death World!" A Life and Death World emerged between heaven and earth, astonishingly appearing in the Eastern Region, near the ancient Reincarnation World. The spirit of Life and Death seemed to pierce clean through the primal chaos. Across vast reaches of space and time, ignoring the boundless distances of the void, several experts traversed the coordinates provided by the Life and Death Dao Lord. Some radiated vibrant life, while others drifted like specters, crossing the spatial void toward the battlefield. Their speed was astonishing. Yet it was still not fast enough. The Lord of Tianfang barked, spatial ripples spreading as he forged a teleportation corridor across the void, shouting: "More! I am constructing a spatial passage—teleport here at full speed to confront Chaos!" Chaos Sovereign threw a punch, aiming to crush a second Dao Lord clone. Seeing these bastards calling for reinforcements, he gritted his teeth in fury. *Damn it!* *You can't beat me alone, so you call for backup?* Meanwhile, seeing the Life and Death Dao Lord take the lead, another rank-nine Sovereign called out: "Everyone, at a time like this... joining forces is our best course!" With that, someone whispered like an eerie specter: "Severing Yin and Yang—manifest the Yin-Yang Dao!" Far in the distance, another great world seemed to emerge. A path of Yin and Yang stretched forth, resembling a Taiji diagram, alternating between heaven and hell. Nearby, the Human King was drooling with envy! His eyes locked onto that great world, then turned to the Yin-Yang Dao Lord, his mouth practically watering. *Holy crap, the Yin-Yang World! I knew there was a Yin-Yang Dao Lord, but I never expected the Yin-Yang World still existed!* A rank-nine world! He was genuinely moved to tears of greed! If Xinwu could devour Yin-Yang... heavens, that would be pure bliss! It would be unimaginably delicious. Tossing all caution to the wind, he roared: "Sovereigns of Xinwu, on me... intercept them! Cut off Yin-Yang and swallow them whole!" "..." Sovereign Huntian’s face darkened. The Human King swallowed hard, speaking almost pleadingly: "Let's stop fighting, brother. Go deal with Chaos, and I'll deal with Yin-Yang. Let's switch opponents! If you kill me, you get nothing, and if I kill you, I get nothing. Let's trade, alright? If you kill Chaos, maybe you can seize time; if I kill the Yin-Yang Dao Lord's clone and his world... my Xinwu strikes it rich.... Brother Huntian, how about a swap?" Huntian was dumbfounded. Chunqiu wanted to curse out loud! Li Hao instantly yelled: "Elder Sister Chunqiu, go attack the Life and Death Dao Lord! Strike the Life and Death domain—it holds abundant vitality! Your Chunqiu clan possesses immense life force; perhaps... you’ll have a chance there!" Swap opponents! Brawling with Huntian to the death was completely pointless. A trade made far more sense: Huntian wanted time, the Human King wanted to devour Yin-Yang, and Chunqiu could seize the vitality of Life and Death. Huntian froze for a second.... To be fair, what the Human King said actually made some sense. He had long grown sick of tangling with these two; it achieved nothing. But... right now... he felt slightly unhinged. *Damn it!* *We're in the middle of a life-and-death struggle!* *And you want to swap dance partners?!* True, going after Chaos gave him a shot at seizing time, and the Human King hitting Yin-Yang wasn't his problem. It benefited everyone. But... in the middle of a war?! *Are you joking with me, Human King?!* The Human King bared his teeth: "Hurry up! All rank-nines are scum—kill one, and that's one less to worry about! If we don't hit them now, when will we? Forget Li Hao for a moment.... Everything's already a mess, so let's just make it a free-for-all! Filling our own bellies is what matters!" He was practically weeping with hunger. *Damn it, Huntian, are you swapping or not?* Huntian hesitated for a single heartbeat, gritted his teeth, and spun away, bellowing: "Ninefold Guard, follow me to slay Chaos!" Forget it! Trading blows with Xinwu and Yinyue was no longer the priority; time was everything. As for the Human King, he clearly had no interest in anyone else. Grinning fiercely, he charged straight at the Yin-Yang Dao Lord, roaring at the top of his lungs: "Old thief of Yin-Yang, take my blade! Until one of us dies!" He truly meant it! If he couldn't butcher Yin-Yang, he wouldn't be satisfied. Such an enormous slab of prime meat! Devouring it would empower Xinwu, allowing everyone to advance. Big Cat and the others would grow even stronger. This was true nourishment! Sovereign Chunqiu was somewhat dazed by how rapidly the situation had inverted, but she gritted her teeth.... The Human King's words held merit. Steeling herself, she charged straight at the Life and Death Dao Lord: "Old thief of Life and Death, take a palm from me!" The two Dao Lords nearly coughed up blood in sheer exasperation! *Fuck!* *Were they supposed to be their opponents?!* One-on-one, they stood little chance. Long Zhan had fought three at once and killed all three; these two were not inferior to Long Zhan, and Chunqiu was perhaps even stronger. Now, these two had traded targets and picked them.... Talk about rotten luck. The Lord of Tianfang merely glanced their way and didn't intervene. That was fine too! Huntian joining the fray against Chaos wasn't necessarily bad; he was a top-tier powerhouse as well. Being tied down by those two would have yielded the same result anyway. Unable to spare more thought, Tianfang maintained the spatial transit, bellowing again: "Is there anyone else? If so, summon them all! Do you really expect a handful of garrison rank-eights to conquer the world for you?" Those rank-eights were merely meant to secure an early advantage. Right now, whoever seized time would hold the ultimate initiative. There was no need for further persuasion. At this stage, seeing two Dao Lords summon their forces, the other Sovereigns could no longer hold back. One by one, they activated their Great Daos, manifesting their spiritual essence, and used Tianfang's active portal to swiftly summon their factions' experts! The entire primal chaos was thrown into absolute upheaval. Desolate, uninhabited reaches that had been peaceful for eons suddenly saw worlds manifest out of thin air. Realities that had slumbered in extinction for countless ages began to awaken. Vast, boundless power surged from every corner. Rank-eight Sovereigns stepped out one after another. The entire primal chaos shuddered violently. How many would die today? Countless Sovereigns trembled in fear, not even daring to watch. On this day, an unimaginable number of powerhouses had gathered in the west. Originally, Li Hao and his allies had already drawn over thirty rank-eights. Counting those Li Hao and the others had slain, the number exceeded forty. Then more than twenty rank-nine clones had descended. And now, a massive wave of rank-eight Sovereigns was emerging from ancient lands of extinction.... Across the western region, the auras of rank-eight Sovereigns were exploding exponentially. It felt as though the mighty of the entire primal chaos had converged on this single battlefield. What had begun as a skirmish among rank-eights had now escalated into an all-out war across the primal chaos. Aside from the true bodies of the rank-nines, nearly every hidden expert in the chaos had charged into the light. Towering waves of ferocious aura swept across the void. ... At this moment, Li Hao, the very architect of this tempest, looked almost like an outsider. He watched in silence, his eyes devoid of warmth. *Very good!* The more that came, the better. The more that died, the better. When they died, their Daos, spiritual essence, and vitality would scatter—and his subsequent creation of a new heaven would proceed all the more smoothly. Presently, he remained exceedingly weak. Long Zhan paid him no further heed, lunging instead toward the two newly arrived clones of the rank-nine reinforcements. Long Zhan probably couldn't hold out much longer either. Ignoring Li Hao meant he had silently accepted his fate: in this battle... Long Zhan was destined to die. It all depended on how many powerhouses Long Zhan could take down with him. At this juncture, the two reinforcing rank-nine clones were also summoning their subordinates. With Tianfang coordinating, those experts would soon arrive via teleportation. The earlier three clones hadn't summoned anyone because they hadn't had the time; Tianfang hadn't offered the spatial passage then, giving them no opportunity. Even if summoned, reinforcements couldn't have arrived so swiftly. Now, however, everyone was fighting for their lives. Both Chaos and Long Zhan were lethal hands at butchering powerful foes. These two bruisers had been deliberately chosen by Li Hao, and neither had let him down; in just a short span, they had wiped out four rank-nine clones. From the look of it... more would soon follow! As for whether the Human King and Chunqiu could slay their targets—even if they did, judging by the Human King’s greedy expression, he wouldn't leave a scrap for Li Hao. Beside Li Hao, a figure materialized. The Queen. She was trembling from head to toe—whether out of sheer terror or because the turbulence of the Chaos Great Dao had injured her severely. She was frightened out of her wits! A swarm of supreme powerhouses was engaged in a bloodbath, and she, a mere rank-six, was standing on this very battlefield... and had survived until now. She felt almost absurdly proud of herself! "Marquis... Li...." At this moment, how could she dare address him casually by name? She had always known Li Hao was ruthless and calculating. Yet today, he had actually... thrown the entire primal chaos into absolute bedlam! Scores of mighty experts were perishing! Yet he stood here, looking utterly at ease. Terror gripped the Queen's heart; only now did she truly understand why Qian Wuliang feared Li Hao so profoundly and had never dared harbor designs on Yinyue's authority.... If one ever had such suicidal notions, it would be far cleaner to just end one's own life. Li Hao was a true demon! Li Hao glanced sideways at her. Her presence here was necessary; the Divine Kingdom contained countless humans, and for the creation of heaven, those mortals were essential. Looking at her, he sent a divine transmission: "When the new world is opened, usher the human populace inside, into the pseudo-chaos! You need say nothing more than that a new heaven and earth have been forged, and bid them return to chaos!" The Queen felt a pang of reluctance, but quickly nodded. Countless mortals had provided her with the power of faith. Yet those people had been reduced to mere faith-generating machines. Left as they were, they would eventually die off in absolute ignorance. Li Hao looked at her and added, "When the world opens, do you wish to enter?" The Queen shook her head furiously! *No thanks, I'm not going in!* Who knew what horrors awaited inside? Meanwhile, the star in Li Hao’s hand began gleaming with faint light, siphoning vitality and Dao energy from the surroundings. This pseudo-star, a pseudo-Time Star, would serve as the core of the entire new realm! A fountainhead of life, and even a fountainhead of time! As for the one in Chaos’s hands... once Chaos died, it would naturally lose its efficacy, and the power of time would return. Would Chaos die? Right now, Chaos was fighting with peerless ferocity, battering the rank-nine clones into retreat. Standing alone against dozens, he sent them flying in disarray. He looked as though he actually stood a chance of winning! Yet... Li Hao knew that winning was an impossibility for him. One divine character after another was slowly recalled by Li Hao, sinking into the star in his palm. The ambient spirits and scattered essence in the void began converging upon it. A new world was to be forged inside this very star! In the distance, the warring combatants seemed to sense something. Tianfang noticed it, but said nothing. He knew Li Hao was preparing to open a new heaven. At this stage... allowing Li Hao to proceed might actually be the better outcome. Thus, he remained silent. Huntian was locked in a brutal clash with Chaos and had no leisure to worry about Li Hao's world-creation. Long Zhan was madly tearing into two rank-nine clones, equally unconcerned with Li Hao. At this moment, everyone on the battlefield knew what Li Hao intended to do, yet no one stepped forward to stop him. The only one who truly wished to stop him was Chaos! Chaos desperately wanted to break out and slay Li Hao. If Li Hao died, the others might not dare kill him. But he was heavily besieged, and Huntian’s arrival immediately put him on the back foot! Gritting his teeth, Chaos cursed furiously: "Why would you rather let Li Hao have it than me?! If you kill me, do you really think Li Hao will hand time to someone else? He is far more vicious than I am!" *Damn it!* *He is the truly wicked one here!* *You call me Chaos? Li Hao is the true demon of the primal chaos!* Watching Li Hao absorb the power of the Daos and life force, not a single one among them moved to stop him. *Fuck!* *If you were going to allow this... why did you bother fighting me in the first place?!* He wanted to weep, yet he simply could not bring himself to abandon time. Right now, he still had a chance to give it up: if he destroyed the Time Star, he would return to being the old Chaos, and the crowd would cease their siege. Yet who could bear to let it go? He felt intensely stifled. *Li Hao... why did you have to throw time to me?!* Yet in the next instant, remembering how terrifyingly powerful time was, he gritted his teeth. Despite his cursing, he channeled the power of time to freeze the surroundings, instantly locking down a rank-nine clone before him. With a savage roar, he brought his fist crashing down! *Die for me!* *Incredible!* *This is the true power of time! Even barely solidified in my grasp, it is already this potent. If I drive it to the absolute limit, just how terrifying will I become?!* *Boom!* Another rank-nine clone exploded. Yet the more terrifying he appeared, the more terrified the onlookers became. Several Sovereigns roared in alarm: "He must be slain! Right now, time has only just condensed; Li Hao barely reinforced it. If Chaos manages to elevate it to rank nine... none of us will survive!" Presently, the Time Star was not at its peak. Of course, it was hardly weak either. When Li Hao held it, it had only operated at rank six, but now the entire star radiated the power of rank-seven time. This meant... Chaos had poured immense amounts of his own Dao and vitality into it, wildly stoking and reinforcing its strength. In Li Hao’s hands, freezing a rank nine—or even a rank eight—had been nigh impossible. Yet in Chaos’s grip, even rank-nine clones were forcefully immobilized. One could only imagine the terrifying might of time once elevated further; its title as the foremost Dao among the myriad paths was well deserved. *Rumble!* Battles raged across every quarter. Li Hao merely continued siphoning every strand of stray power into the star in his palm. This pseudo-Time Star expanded rapidly, its aura growing increasingly formidable and chilling to the soul. Ahead, Long Zhan’s physical body was fracturing continuously. Yet his roars shook the heavens. With a colossal boom, his arm shattered, but he used the force to pound a rank-nine clone into paste on the spot! At this moment, he resembled an ancient titan—unfathomably fierce, his physique pushed to the absolute extreme. Yet as the Chaos Great Dao violently convulsed, his body grew ever more fragmented! Had the rank-nines not shaken his very foundation today, Long Zhan fighting at full throttle might not have matched Huntian, but he would certainly have reached Chunqiu’s level. Further away. A phoenix screeched as it soared through the sky. Suddenly, a mournful cry echoed, flames consuming the firmament. Long Zhan looked up... tears briefly shimmering in his eyes before fading. Feng Yan had fallen! His daughter... had died in battle here. The Primal Chaos clan was locked in combat against Xinwu, Yinyue, and Chunqiu's forces. As for who had delivered the killing blow, he no longer cared—perhaps it was Yinyue's experts, or perhaps the great demons under Chunqiu. *Dying is good!* *In death... we shall all enter Li Hao's pseudo-chaos!* *Perhaps then, my Primal Chaos clan will have another chance to rise.* Across the various battlefields, blood spilled ceaselessly. Formidable figures collapsed one after another, slain on the spot. Chaos butchered his foes, while the Human King, Chunqiu, and others wrought their own slaughter! The entire western region had become an abattoir! The so-called order in the west had completely disintegrated; the structure Huntian had spent countless years building was shattered beyond repair. The turmoil in the west eclipsed anything seen across the rest of the primal chaos. Li Hao remained serene, continuing his preparations. This was merely the opening phase. Could it truly be called the creation of a new heaven without world-shaking commotion? Could it be called opening a heaven without carpets of corpses? Did it not require vast energy? Did it not require the power of the Daos? Did it not require boundless life force? It needed all of it! Slashing a sword at random to carve out a pocket realm after killing a couple of weaklings—could that ever be considered opening a heaven? Of course not! Only through slaughter, death, the demise of a vast multitude of adversaries, the fall of legions of the mighty, and the harvest of those teeming with vitality could this new realm be gradually perfected! Only then would it possess true potential! A new heaven and earth, forged in blood. Since he had resolved to do it, he naturally had to make it flawless. That figure from the future had once remarked that Li Hao seemed to have left behind immense trouble for him.... What nonsense! At most, a flock of ancient spirits would merge into it to vie for supremacy. Could any trouble inside compare to what was happening out here? Nearly a hundred rank-eights locked in apocalyptic combat, with corpses littering the void! In that tiny chaos of yours, how many experts will there even be? And you dared claim I left you trouble? Besides, with all these spirits merging inside, you will have plenty of allies. My master, for instance... should naturally be inclined toward you. Of course, if spirits like Long Zhan merged within, there might indeed be some conflict. A war of a myriad races! Li Hao smiled faintly. Indeed. With so many perishing today—from the Primal Chaos clan, the demon race, and an assortment of miscellaneous experts of various Daos—when this small chaos matured, it would surely be lively! Pondering this, he smiled; it was a good thing. Without trials and tempering, how could anyone achieve true greatness? Which supreme powerhouse had not slaughtered their way to the top? He only hoped... that the Dao of this small chaos would be purer. Opening a heaven here was an experiment of his own, and he hoped this pseudo-chaos would contain more of the true essence of the Dao rather than pure bloodshed. *I hope... civilization will flourish, and the cultivation system will take another step forward....* Li Hao thought to himself, his brow furrowing slightly. What he had seen of the future was still centered on the Dao of Divine Characters. He wondered whether those future cultivators would refine the path of divine characters to match his expectations. *Boom!* Another deafening explosion rang out. The Human King laughed wildly, drenched in blood, having just cleaved the Yin-Yang Dao Lord's clone in two. He roared ecstatically: "Dead! So satisfying! Just a clone, yet possessing such dense Yin-Yang power... I will slay your true body next!" "..." From every direction, experts glared at him in fury! What an arrogant madman! Having slain the clone of the Yin-Yang Dao Lord, he actually dared threaten his true body.... Did he truly believe himself invincible under heaven? Deep within the Chaos Great Dao, though the Yin-Yang Dao Lord could not yet descend, his gaze blazed with venomous wrath! *This man cannot be allowed to live!* Fang Ping had looked upon his clone like a gourmet feast, fighting with an unhinged fervor far exceeding his clash with Huntian. That fanatical frenzy was on an entirely different level. Killing Huntian offered questionable gains to the Human King. Yet killing the Yin-Yang Dao Lord—even merely a clone—was an immense windfall! Not far away. Sovereign Chunqiu slashed through the void, her Dao of withering and flourishing laying waste to the surroundings. The Life and Death Dao Lord's clone had established a cycle of life and death, yet the path of life and death proved inferior to her Dao of absolute withering. The spirits of life and death were shattered in an instant, withering into nothingness. Sovereign Chunqiu hadn't initially planned to plunder anything from this battle... but now, with rich life force delivered directly to her doorstep, she was more than pleased. Seeing this, Li Hao suddenly called out: "Fellow Daoist Chunqiu, you need only absorb the life force. An excess of death energy will only harm you. Better to leave it to naturally disperse...." Chunqiu turned her gaze toward Li Hao. It was true that she only required life force, but... why should she give the death energy to him? So-called "natural dispersal" simply meant being sucked dry by Li Hao's star.... Yet looking at Li Hao’s faint smile... Sovereign Chunqiu felt a flicker of wariness. After a brief calculation, she chose not to absorb the death energy, waving her hand to let it scatter into the void! Forget it! Let him have it! In any case, the life force was more than enough for her. They had secured their advantage. Yet at this moment, Long Zhan’s physical body began to collapse. Vast torrents of blood splattered across the void, and as multiple rank-nine clones fell, the entire Chaos Great Dao violently convulsed with mounting intensity. Long Zhan gasped raggedly, covered in wounds. Before him remained one final rank-nine clone, its power also steadily leaking away. Standing like an ancient primordial giant in the void, Long Zhan turned his gaze toward the distance.... The agonizing cries of the Primal Chaos clan had faded; his clan's powerhouses had been almost entirely wiped out! Long Zhan let out a desolate laugh. *Once we part today... will we ever meet again?* *I do not know.* He looked around. As more and more reinforcements joined the fray, blood splattered across the entire expanse! He turned back to look at Li Hao. The star before Li Hao had swollen immensely, dyed a deep, ominous crimson that radiated a foreboding aura. Long Zhan stared at Li Hao, and Li Hao met his gaze. Long Zhan swayed on his feet; he had personally slaughtered four rank-nine clones. The last one before him was clearly his final target. Even now, Chaos Sovereign had only managed to slay three genuine rank-nine clones, though Chaos was undeniably facing far more attackers. Yet without the aid of time... Chaos might not even have achieved that. "Li Hao!" Long Zhan’s voice echoed in Li Hao’s heart. "Will you... interfere with the development of the new world?" Li Hao looked at him and shook his head: "I will not!" He would not interfere. Even if... the future truly shifted and the one who emerged was not that person, it would not matter. Whoever walked out was fine, even if it turned out to be Long Zhan’s spirit. What did it matter? However... it would be exceedingly difficult! There were things he had not spelled out: first, the vast majority of experts dying here were human. Second, whether it was the myriad Daos or the divine characters, they all originated from him, including the power of time developed by humanity. Perhaps at the beginning, the spirits of these alien powerhouses might hold an initial advantage.... Yet in the later stages... the history of the primal chaos would likely repeat itself. The human race would almost certainly reclaim the initiative. Of course, that belonged to the distant future. If the Primal Chaos clan proved sufficiently miraculous, they might still seize their chance. Yet if Long Zhan still could not best the figure of the future, he would simply have to accept his fate! Long Zhan let out a laugh! He asked no more, saying nothing further. He simply turned back to face the powerhouse before him. Behind that clone, three rank-eight Sovereigns had already appeared, hailing from his ancient world, having just arrived via the spatial conduit. His opponent was no longer a solitary rank-nine clone, but also three rank-eight powerhouses. Four formidable entities stood united! The three rank-eights were both thrilled and enraged. "Dao Lord!" That rank-nine Dao Lord cultivated the Dao of Devouring. Gritting his teeth, he snarled: "Long Zhan, you insolent worm! After you are slain today, my realm shall feast upon dragon liver and phoenix gall! Not a single dragon in this primal chaos will be left alive!" Every last dragon would be exterminated! Every single one! Even the dragons of the demon race! Among the rank-nines, he, the Devouring Dao Lord, was no weakling. Yet today he had been pushed to pathetic extremes, nearly beaten into oblivion, saved only by his realm's reinforcements. Losing face before his subordinates only stoked his fury! *Long Zhan, how much combat strength do you have left?* *You slaughtered four rank-nine clones and battled Li Hao for so long. Do you... have any strength remaining?!* Long Zhan laughed! "Devouring?" A formidable Dao! Right now, he was indeed mortally wounded, and with enemy reinforcements arriving, he clearly lacked the power to kill them all. Yet Long Zhan laughed: "A ridiculous pack of fools. Didn't you come here to protect Li Hao? I want to see... whether you... will regret it!" With those words, a thunderous dragon roar echoed across all quarters! "I, Long Zhan, have failed! Yet my Primal Chaos clan shall not perish with my defeat!" "We still have a chance!" A furious roar vented the wrath and bitter injustice burning in his chest! At this moment, he did not even know whom he ought to hate. He laughed maniacally. He truly didn't know who deserved his hatred—perhaps... it was the cruel unfairness of fate. *Boom!* A cataclysmic explosion resounded across the entire western region, reverberating through heaven and earth. A terrifying wave of blood vitality erupted in an instant! A colossal dragon surged toward the heavens. A gigantic golden phantom materialized between heaven and earth, blotting out the sky. This was the first truly supreme powerhouse to fall today. The others who had perished were mere clones. Aside from a few lesser rank-eights, he was the strongest being to truly die in battle this day.... Self-detonation! At this moment, the Chaos Great Dao seemed to collapse. The golden dragon ascended along the collapsing Chaos Great Dao, racing straight toward the Dao's very terminus, surging upward in a flash. For a split second, it even jolted the Dao Spirits of the rank-nine Sovereigns' true bodies! In a single breath, Long Zhan’s soul pierced the heavens, reaching the true core of the primal chaos. In the next instant... under Li Hao’s astonished gaze— Long Zhan’s soul suddenly took a vicious bite out of an object resembling a beating heart.... The Source of Chaos! The dragon soul seemed to smile. And the entire primal chaos seemed to convulse, crying out in agony. The rank-nine Sovereigns were stunned senseless. Nearby, Chaos and his opponents were jolted in horror. This dragon, who bore the Spirit of Chaos, had not only self-detonated, but his dragon soul, infused with the Spirit of Chaos, had broken through all defenses straight to the Source of Chaos. He had bitten off a chunk of the Source of Chaos. Swallowing it into his dragon soul, his soul showed signs of reviving on the spot.... As if an immense reservoir of life force was about to resurrect him. Long Zhan’s laughter echoed through heaven and earth! The next instant, another dragon roar sounded. The entire Chaos Great Dao shuddered once more. As the dragon soul plunged downward, it exploded with a colossal boom! The others couldn't understand what had just happened.... Li Hao understood completely! What a Long Zhan! He had actually used his soul to devour a piece of the Source of Chaos! That man truly harbored the ambition to rise again within the new world. If he could gather his spirit and be reborn with the power of the Source of Chaos... he might truly achieve greatness! Opposite him, the Devouring Dao Lord suffered a catastrophic blow. The sudden blast caught him off balance. In an instant, two of the three newly arrived rank-eights were blown to pieces, their Daos disintegrating as they perished on the spot! The third was gravely wounded, coughing up mouthfuls of blood. The Devouring Dao Lord's clone also rapidly collapsed. Fortunately, the blast did not last long, and he managed to barely pull himself together. He too coughed up blood... or rather, not blood, but Dao energy. He gritted his teeth in sheer fury! In his final moments, that madman had been so savagely fierce. He had directly blown apart two rank-eight Sovereigns of the Devouring Realm! He deserved death ten thousand times over! Fortunately, he was dead. Yet under the violent tremors of the Chaos Great Dao, which were far worse than before, their true bodies were almost certainly barred from descending anytime soon. As that thought crossed his mind... He remembered that with Long Zhan dead, his mission was technically accomplished. Just as the thought surfaced, a sudden... sharp pain pierced his chest! Dazed, he turned his head.... There stood Li Hao, strolling casually forward. A single thrust of his sword pierced straight into the core of the clone's Dao, instantly shattering the Dao of Devouring. Li Hao let out a soft sigh. He didn't spare the Devouring Dao Lord a second glance. It was merely a clone. Not worth his attention! Withdrawing his blade, he slashed down, instantly reducing the coughing rank-eight Sovereign beside him to ash, siphoning every drop of life force into the star in his palm. Looking at the shattered void, Li Hao sighed softly: "Long Zhan... you were born at the wrong time!" He could only lament. Long Zhan was extraordinarily talented and powerful, a true hero in the eyes of the Primal Chaos clan. Sadly, he was born at the wrong time, rising in an era when the Primal Chaos clan was utterly declining; the odds were stacked against him. Long Zhan's scheming was also lacking. How could mere martial valor accomplish grand designs? His mind simply wasn't adaptable enough! Possessing only overbearing strength and a formidable body without the wits to match was destined to fail. The Primal Chaos clan lacked that spark of inspiration. Though Long Zhan had tried his utmost to emulate humanity and absorb their wisdom... he had ultimately fallen short. Long Zhan had self-detonated! Everyone turned their gaze toward the scene, only to watch Li Hao run through the Devouring Dao Lord's clone with a single sword stroke, then casually obliterate another expert of the Devouring Realm with the next. At this moment, even the Lord of Tianfang was enraged. "Li Hao!" When Long Zhan had sought to kill Li Hao, Tianfang had ordered his forces to protect him. Yet the moment Long Zhan died, Li Hao had turned around and slaughtered them. His viciousness knew no equal. The speed with which he turned hostile was unimaginable! Even if they were enemies, they were currently helping him open a new heaven, yet he had brazenly cut them down. This beast was worse than Long Zhan! Worse than a primal chaos beast! In the distance, the Human King couldn't help muttering: "He turns hostile even faster than I do.... Even I have to exchange a few words before flipping out.... This brat just strikes without a single word!" Too fast! At the very least, one ought to throw out a few hollow excuses, like claiming they were plotting his murder.... Yet there had been none of that; he simply drew his sword and slaughtered them! A truly demonic nature! At this moment, on this entire battlefield, Li Hao was the only one who truly looked like an unhinged demon. With so many dead, his eyes hadn't blinked once. Countless rivers of blood converged toward Li Hao. The star before him glowed with an increasingly brilliant scarlet hue, like a reborn blood moon. A star forged in slaughter! With Long Zhan’s self-detonation, all that Dao power, physical vitality, spiritual essence, and the chunk of the Source of Chaos he had swallowed were completely absorbed by the star. The star expanded at a visible rate, swelling madly! A supreme expert of the physical path had laid down its very foundation. At this moment, Chaos Sovereign gasped for breath, chuckling darkly: "Do you see now? Open your dog eyes and look—who is the true demon of the primal chaos?! Who is the true source of chaos and turmoil?! Is it me?!" "My cultivation of the Dao of Chaos is a complete waste; it should have gone to Li Hao instead... hahahaha!" He laughed uproariously! With this person around, the primal chaos would be plunged into turmoil even without the Dao of Chaos. This was the true demon of a chaotic age! Long Zhan was dead, and the powerhouses of the Primal Chaos clan were virtually wiped out. Furthermore, a host of Dao Lord clones had fallen, scores of reinforcements from the various realms had perished, and alongside Yuan Shuo and the earlier fallen rank-eights of the Huntian Realm... The rank-eights who had died here today far exceeded ten, and the count was still climbing rapidly. Over the past million years, nearly every rank-eight death in the primal chaos had been tied to Li Hao. It was no exaggeration to say that ninety-nine percent had died because of him! *Can't you all see it yet?!* *Who is truly the greater danger?!* *Is it me?!* Chaos genuinely felt wronged; he had never been remotely this savage! *Open your damn eyes and look, brothers!* Nearby, Li Hao smiled bashfully, just as he had in years past, speaking softly: "You praise me too much. I am a good person! A defender of justice... yes, a protector of the human race!" Silence fell! Across the vast battlefield, everyone felt sick to their stomachs. This beast was practically the founding ancestor of the demonic path. Had the first generation of Time been blind to choose him as its successor? Yet they had to admit... choosing Li Hao might have been the best choice after all. With feeble strength, he had leveraged the entire primal chaos! At this moment, Li Hao shifted his gaze into the distance. Spotting a certain figure, a faint smile surfaced on his lips. *You're still alive!* *Red Moon, it's time we settled our score. Just as well—I was troubled by my heavy demonic nature, finding the Dao of Desire difficult to suppress. Now that you're here... I shall send you to heaven!* *A weak rank-eight surviving until now has had a good run!* *With this world-creation, everything harmful, negative, and corrupting to oneself—as well as the positive—* *Everything must be torn down and rebuilt!* *Since that is so... a spirit must be provided to absorb all this. Red Moon, a cultivator of desire—how fitting!* *Keeping you alive until now was not in vain.* Li Hao’s smile grew radiant. In a flash, he vanished from where he stood. Everyone turned to look, and seeing him reappear before a weak cultivator... they all breathed a sigh of relief. *Just don't let this beast run wild!* Right now, everyone wanted him dead, yet feared killing him outright. Their feelings were a tangled mess! Since he wasn't causing trouble and merely targeting a rank-eight... let him be! That rank-eight was pathetically weak; even heavily wounded, Li Hao could easily handle him. ... Red Moon Sovereign’s face was deathly pale. Seeing Li Hao materialize before him, the remaining color drained from his face. Despair overwhelmed him. Whomever he sought refuge with died; Li Hao had driven him step by step into the abyss! It felt just like Ying Hongyue back then. Doomed to perish in despair. "The name 'Red Moon'... is rather unpleasant!" Li Hao chuckled softly. "Your name is the same as an old enemy of mine. I despise that name. Red Moon Sovereign, all of this began because your Red Moon Realm invaded Xinwu. Karma comes full circle. Tell me... why did you insist on invading Xinwu in the first place?" Red Moon Sovereign’s face was ashen. Looking at Li Hao, he had lost all will to resist. His body slumped, his spirit broken: "Why invade? How should I know?! It was the Yang God who picked a fight with my Red Moon first! Why... why don't you ask the Yang God instead of me?! I merely retaliated! Why... why am I treated as the sinner responsible for the collapse of the primal chaos?!" How absurd! *It was you people who invaded me first!* Indeed, the Yang God had provoked him first. Only after he repelled the Yang God did Xinwu begin finding fault, leading to a massive conflict between the two sides! Why did they get to act so innocent while he was branded an arch-sinner? Li Hao was taken aback, a realization dawning on him. After a long pause, he nodded: "So that was it.... How... complicated!" He smiled. Perhaps it was tied to the future. The Yang God shared a connection with that person. So that was how it was! "Perhaps... you might still meet the mastermind who drove you to such despair...." Li Hao smiled and gently thrust his sword forward! Red Moon Sovereign offered no resistance, letting the longsword pierce his chest. At this moment, his eyes held only relief. *Fair enough!* *Even Long Zhan was slain; what am I?* *Dying is fine!* *A release at last!* *Boom!* His physical body blew apart, and every shred of his spiritual essence was siphoned clean by Li Hao’s sword. With this, every enemy from the Four Regions had been completely wiped out by Li Hao. Long Zhan had fallen. Feng Yan and the powerhouses of the Primal Chaos clan had all perished. And now, Red Moon had fallen as well. Not a single enemy from the Four Regions remained.