Chaos Falls, Time Returns

Outside, the heavens collapsed and the earth split. Yet within that blood-colored world, time seemed to cost nothing at all, rushing by at a frantic pace. Of the five thousand Great Daos, not every single one had gathered spirituality to take form as a god or fiend. Even so, within this primal chaos, a massive number of first-generation god-fiends emerged. A century flashed past in the blink of an eye. The Blood Ancestor was about to open the heavens! This was a monumental event within the inner primal chaos, known to virtually every chaos god-fiend. Over the past century, the monstrous wave of blood-qi in the distance had grown steadily more formidable. Blood was revered as supreme! Blood was the first divine character of heaven and earth, the bedrock of all creation and the wellspring of all spirits. The Blood Ancestor's foundation originated from Li Hao, Long Zhan, Huntian, and the rest... The blended blood of numerous powerhouses had forged him into being. From birth, he possessed an innate comprehension of the Dao and an instinct to open the heavens. At the time of his creation, Li Hao’s fiercest desire had been to split the heavens, and that desire had clearly impressed itself upon the Blood Ancestor. A certain conviction and obstinacy ran in his very veins. *I shall open heaven and earth!* Chaos knew no years. Only now could one truly sense what it meant for years to be meaningless! A century slipped by in an instant. Li Hao had not really done much. He simply watched: watching the innate god-fiends emerge, watching the Great Daos mature, observing whether this pseudo-chaos was sufficiently stable, and noting where the Daos fell short... And just like that, a century had come and gone! Li Hao stared blankly for a moment. *So fast!* Over this century, the entire chaos had developed rapidly. Innumerable innate god-fiends had manifested, and Li Hao could recognize the identities of quite a few among them... Of course, right now, their intellects were still clouded in ignorance. All of them believed themselves to be innate god-fiends... yet each carried traces of their distinct personalities. For example... Never mind. Li Hao shook his head, looking toward a colossal dog in the distance, too exasperated to say anything. A hound devouring the moon—he could hardly tell whether this dog fiend was Black Panther or Xinwu's Heavenly Dog. They were cast from virtually the same mold. It devoured whatever it could catch! In all likelihood, it was not Black Panther. Black Panther was somewhat better-behaved and had begun focusing on the Dao of Tribulation. The fellow rampaging around and gorging on everything was almost certainly the Heavenly Dog. Over these years, it had consumed at least a dozen god-fiends. Li Hao wondered whether those powerhouses, upon regaining their memories in the outside world, would beat this dog to death—assuming, of course, they were strong enough to defeat it. The entire chaos was advancing at breakneck speed! Because these innate god-fiends faced no external competition, and because they had originally been formidable experts born with natural spirituality... Spirituality was something accessible only to those at rank nine. Once spirituality entered the equation in an environment this accommodating, entering this place was an immense stroke of fortune for these innate god-fiends. Supremely blessed by nature, they reaped unimaginable benefits. This was the true advantage of opening the heavens. To Li Hao, every shift, development, and stride forward in this chaos fell under his perception. The changes within those innate god-fiends played out before his eyes and took root in his mind. During this past century, Li Hao had also focused on his own cultivation, dedicating himself primarily to perfecting his internal world. Blood served as rivers, cells as realms, and bones as Daos... He was forging himself into a Dao body! A true Dao body! Naturally, he refrained from absorbing too much Great Dao power. Given his current realm, if he absorbed it greedily, he might suck this relatively unstable chaos dry. Fortunately, energy continued to pour in from the outside world, suggesting that deaths were still occurring out there. That energy, life essence, and Great Dao power continued to flow into Li Hao's Blood World. And this, in turn, nourished the Blood Ancestor. Li Hao could already sense that the Blood Ancestor’s strength was approaching the peak of rank seven, advancing steadily toward rank eight—a truly unbelievable pace. Many of those who entered were already rank-eights, so rank eight itself was not extraordinary. Yet to leap from hazy ignorance to the brink of rank eight in a mere century—or perhaps a few centuries since his initial entry—was extraordinary nonetheless. "It seems... my blood carries quite a bit of intelligence after all," Li Hao chuckled. Back when Long Zhan had battered him into coughing up mouthfuls of blood, he had been loath to waste it, channeling nearly all of it into the Blood World. Later, he had inscribed the divine character for "blood" as the very first. One could reasonably say that this Blood Ancestor was formed largely of Li Hao's blood. The vast majority of it, in fact! Long Zhan accounted for a fair portion of the rest, with others contributing smaller shares. All of them were top-tier experts! In this primordial era, energy was abundant, and being born with an innate grasp of the Dao and a direct connection to this world made approaching rank eight perfectly natural. However, Li Hao also noticed that development here had begun to diverge slightly. A defined system of rules had not yet emerged, yet the Blood Ancestor's Dao had already grown distinct from Li Hao’s. To Li Hao, many Great Daos were separate and divided, yet the Blood Ancestor had fused them together. This had also been what Li Hao attempted in the past: using spirit to fuse the Dao! Now, the Blood Ancestor was essentially a spirit—the very first spirit of this chaos. He possessed only a single Dao of Blood, yet this Dao's power, while slightly impure, was unimaginably mighty. That a single Dao could grow to such heights left even Li Hao astonished! Order had not yet been established. Once order took root and this Dao transformed into a Dao of worldly rules, it would likely grow mightier still. "Order has yet to be fully established, which means Chaos is still alive..." Li Hao murmured. It made sense that Chaos was still breathing, given that time had not yet returned. Li Hao felt a twinge of helplessness. *I thought you would have kicked the bucket earlier. It seems the difference in the flow of time between inside and outside is vast indeed.* This blood-colored chaos was beginning to resemble the dawn of heaven and earth. "Never mind, there's no rush..." He glanced into the distance, where a succession of auras pierced the sky. It was as though these innate god-fiends had no idea how to rein in their presence—or simply refused to do so. There was no reason for them to restrain their auras! They were born invincible, born mighty, the very first god-fiends of the chaos. At this moment, a great multitude of them converged toward the Blood Ancestor, as the date he had set drew near. In truth, the chaos had no precise concept of years. A "century" was likely just a notion the Blood Ancestor had uttered from his subconscious. Li Hao was probably the only one who truly knew how much time had elapsed. Today, countless god-fiends gathered there, signaling that the day to open the heavens was at hand. After a moment's thought, Li Hao drifted toward them. He wanted to see if anything novel would unfold. Though this spirit’s growth carried forward the lingering consciousness of those experts, blending so many consciousnesses together might just spark a flash of inspiration. He wanted to see if he could draw any lessons from it for what lay ahead. *** At this moment, countless chaos god-fiends converged from all directions. They came in every bizarre shape and form imaginable, though human shapes—or at least humanoid figures—remained the majority. Aside from them, there were cats, dogs, dragons, phoenixes, tigers... Every creature under the sun! Each possessed unique traits. Some retained characteristics of their former selves, while others took forms that had never existed in the original chaos. At the center of this sea of god-fiends stood a single figure. A crimson silhouette. This was the premier god of the chaos, the Blood Ancestor! His aura was terrifyingly potent, far surpassing the surrounding god-fiends. Around him, several creatures communicated through divine consciousness. One asked in confusion, "This Blood Ancestor wants to open the heavens... What heavens? Why does that sound vaguely familiar? What is 'opening the heavens'?" "No idea... All I know is that he's incredibly fierce!" "Yeah, terrifyingly strong!" "The number one powerhouse in the chaos!" "Not necessarily! To the south, a being attained the Dao through demonic flames—I doubt he's any weaker than this one!" "True... I sensed that one as well, exceptionally powerful... And to the north, it feels like another great master has emerged..." "Right, have you seen the one wearing clothes? It looks like clothing... and he carries a small spike... He calls it a 'sword'!" "That one? I caught a glimpse of him once... He didn't seem particularly strong, but when I drew close, my heart shuddered so hard I didn't dare approach. A single glance from him felt like it could shatter the chaos. It was horrifying. Is that the one you mean?" "Yes!" "You saw him too?" "I did!" "..." As the god-fiends conversed, someone brought up that figure: robed in snow-white, a sword resting at his waist, supremely carefree yet utterly terrifying. Merely drawing near made one feel on the verge of disintegration. It was as if... he were the true center of the chaos! Even with the Blood Ancestor’s overwhelming aura today, he still seemed less terrifying than that man. Yet no one knew his name. Chaos god-fiends loved announcing their titles, but that man never spoke. He seemed to wear an eternal smile, gazing across the distance with an amused look... as though watching children at play. No one dared approach him, yet everyone knew an invincible powerhouse roamed this chaos, whom some called "the sword-swinger." This was the first time any of them had learned of a "sword," though none knew how formidable such a thing truly was. Could it compare to their claws? Could it match their wings? They did not know! Because they had never seen him strike, and no one dared provoke him. Even the Blood Ancestor was vaguely aware of his existence. Having awakened his spirituality earlier than the rest, he had witnessed that man descending from above, possessing a might that made his heart quail. The man seemed to have stepped out of nothingness, and the Blood Ancestor knew nothing of his origins. Furthermore, busy with preparing to open the heavens all these years, he had lacked the time to pay him any heed. Even so, the Blood Ancestor felt no fear. He was the foremost spirit of the chaos! Soon, he would open the heavens. He did not truly grasp what opening the heavens entailed, but an instinct nestled deep within his mind told him that once the heavens were opened, he would take another stride forward and become far stronger. How much stronger? Who knew! There were only so many innate god-fiends in the chaos, and he had no clear concept of cultivation ranks. He harbored only a single conviction: *I am the strongest in this chaos, and that is all that matters.* As for that sword-swinger... perhaps he merely looked intimidating. In truth, given his puny size, a single palm strike might squash him flat. *** Just as the Blood Ancestor prepared to open the heavens, Li Hao arrived. He did not draw close, choosing instead to watch from afar. He feared that approaching might provoke someone into picking a fight. Many of these figures were coalesced from the spirits of the dead; catching sight of him might ignite an instinctual hatred. He wanted no unnecessary trouble. Nor was he inclined to stir up strife. Besides, he had nurtured these innate god-fiends himself by initiating the creation of this world. Having to kill one would only pain him, as it would sever an opportunity for that particular Dao to flourish. What would be the point? In the distance, the colossal Blood Ancestor’s blood-qi reached an absolute crescendo. Having gathered his momentum, his voice boomed like a great bronze bell across the four corners of the chaos: "Today, all god-fiends gather as the century's term arrives... This day, I shall open heaven and earth... and establish the first world of the chaos!" "A world?" "What is a world?" "I feel like I know... Like it's a place to live..." "Can't we live in the chaos?" All around, the god-fiends murmured in curiosity. What was a world? Vague impressions stirred in their minds. Some even possessed faint, murky memories: a world seemed to be an inhabited place... with buildings and civilization... And what was civilization? Who knew! The Blood Ancestor maintained an aloof demeanor. What did these god-fiends understand? A world was heaven and earth. Opening the heavens and splitting the earth! Complete autonomy! Within that world, he would be invincible; no matter how strong another might be, they would fall short of him. That was a world! Understood? Naturally, he did not elaborate. Looking into the chaotic void, a surge of excitement gripped him. "Today, I open the heavens of the Blood World!" With those words, his blood-qi surged violently! Heaven and earth split into two! Originally, the chaos had neither sky nor ground, neither up nor down. Yet at this moment, as the blood-qi manifested, it seemed to cleave the chaos apart, the murky energy sinking while the clear energy rose. The surrounding god-fiends suddenly felt their blood-qi slip from their grasp, boiling over uncontrollably. Cries of shock rippled through the crowd! Before the Blood Ancestor, an object resembling a divine character abruptly materialized... Li Hao focused his gaze and chuckled softly, lost in thought. It appeared that when his divine character fused into this place, it had blended into the Great Dao itself. By commanding the power of blood, this entity had manifested Li Hao's divine character. Intriguing indeed. Li Hao pondered how this being intended to open the heavens. What kind of world could he possibly forge? With a ferocious roar, the Blood Ancestor unleashed ten thousand streams of blood-qi, instantly solidifying the divine character into reality. The colossal character expanded to blanket all directions, drawing vast oceans of blood-qi from across the realm. A Great Dao seemed to manifest out of thin air, transforming into a domain. Within the chaos, a blood-colored continent abruptly coalesced! Originally, land did not exist in the chaos, yet this crimson continent expanded furiously, completely overlaid by the divine character. A Great Dao stood tall! It loomed indistinctly above the continent. Furthermore, blood-qi gathered from the surroundings, seeming to weave... a cocoon! Yes, a silkworm cocoon. At this sight, Li Hao’s eyes flickered with understanding. This was actually an application of a Dao domain. The Blood Ancestor likely knew nothing of Dao domains, acting purely on hazy impressions buried in his memory. "Opening the heavens... He's merely carving out a minor realm..." Li Hao muttered. Just then, the blood-colored Dao shot into the sky. Li Hao’s eyes widened slightly. *Hm?* The entire chaos trembled faintly. Several Great Dao divine characters that Li Hao had concealed within the chaos barrier suddenly surfaced, connecting with that blood-colored Dao. Li Hao’s gaze shifted. *Well, well!* *You learned nothing else, but you certainly learned how to steal!* The fellow had linked his blood-colored Dao directly to the walls of the blood-colored chaos, effectively pulling the same trick Li Hao used when seizing the primal chaos Great Dao origin. He was using this method to anchor his Dao. Not only could he siphon the power of the entire chaos, but because this chaos was a simulated chaos origin—a wellspring of life—the Blood Ancestor bypassed creating a source of life himself. Instead, he bored his Dao straight into the barrier, plundering the life source energy Li Hao had generated. What a shameless scoundrel! Li Hao laughed in spite of himself, though he made no move to intervene. For now, the River of Time had yet to be established, leaving no vessel sturdy enough to bear these Great Daos. Lacking any other foundation, the Blood Ancestor had no choice but to latch onto the chaos itself. It was only natural! Still... this creation of heaven and earth was rather half-hearted. He had created no life source, nor had he incorporated space or time; he had simply mashed together a giant sphere. *And you have the nerve to call that your world?* Li Hao was utterly speechless! Carving out a small plot in the chaos, driving his Dao into the fabric of the realm to leach energy from the pseudo-chaos origin Li Hao created, and suddenly... it was a world of his own? *I have to hand it to you, you crafty rogue!* Amused as he was, Li Hao studied the process carefully. Gradually, new thoughts took shape. It was not a bad approach; by carving out a separate space and concentrating all blood-colored power within it, the Great Daos actually became distinct and well-defined. At the very least, within that world, the power of blood was under the Blood Ancestor's absolute control. Li Hao surveyed the surrounding chaos, deep in thought. If ten thousand Daos formed ten thousand worlds, creating countless realms like this one... and each was anchored individually, the Great Daos could be kept distinct for the time being. Using the River of Time as a vessel to bridge the inside and outside of the pseudo-chaos would provide ample energy. Then, by establishing order, dividing heaven and earth, and distinguishing the ten thousand realms... each world would hold a single Dao, clearly defined, while the river gathered all ten thousand Daos together... The strong would enter the river to comprehend the myriad Daos, while the weak could focus on a single Dao... His path forward grew clearer by the moment. Though the Blood Ancestor had shown little true innovation, his actions provided Li Hao with useful inspiration. Not bad at all! Meanwhile, the Blood Ancestor was ecstatic. A colossal crimson sphere expanded wildly before him, greedily drawing in blood-colored energy from the chaos! Even the surrounding god-fiends were forced backward. Beaming with pride, he burst into boisterous laughter: "This is the Blood World! The premier realm of the chaos, born of splitting heaven and earth..." He heaped no shortage of praise upon himself. Li Hao felt certain this personality had nothing to do with him; he had never been fond of boasting. The fellow had probably absorbed someone else's blood and picked up their bad habits. The Human King's? Quite possible. The Human King had bled copiously during the earlier battles; some of it had likely mixed in, gifting the Blood Ancestor with his arrogant temperament. Come to think of it, how had such an arrogant fellow as the Human King remained so quiet? Even if reincarnated as a spirit, shouldn't he still display some swagger? Just as the thought crossed Li Hao's mind, a resounding laugh echoed from among the surrounding god-fiends: "This is what you call opening the heavens? I thought it would be an earth-shattering spectacle! Turns out it's just this pathetic scrap?" Li Hao immediately turned toward the speaker, only to see a tremendously imposing figure manifest between heaven and earth. Though... rank seven? Li Hao scrutinized him; it seemed about right. In this newborn chaos, he could only make rough estimations. *Is that... the Human King?* He could not say for sure. The spiritual nature of these beings was fluid, and without glaringly obvious traits, confirming their identities was difficult. The figure sneered, "Blood Ancestor, you dare call yourself the foremost in the chaos? This god is the first to disagree!" "Who are you?" the Blood Ancestor roared in fury. "I am..." The man hesitated, as though he truly had no name, before breaking into a wild laugh. "I am the King of Opening Heaven! Behold the Saber of Heaven-Splitting! What right does a nobody like you have to claim the title of number one?" With that, he bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Are gods, fiends, demons, or immortals born noble? The human race shall rise!..." He paused, looking momentarily bewildered. *What is the human race?* Who cared! He resumed his roar: "Chaos's number one? I don't buy it—taste my blade!" "..." Li Hao felt a migraine coming on. *Dammit, that is one hundred percent the Human King!* *Always stirring up trouble!* *Even without your memories, you still can't help causing a scene?* *My chaos has barely birthed its first spirits. Don't you dare run amok! If you ignite a war among the god-fiends and cause countless casualties, I won't go easy on you!* Even as Li Hao fretted, battle erupted. The man launched himself into the sky, charging straight for the Blood Ancestor! "Charge together! What's there to fear? Slaughter him, and we'll be number one!" he roared. "..." Around him, several god-fiends grew restless, feeling an odd sense of familiarity and kinship toward the man. In the next heartbeat, quite a few actually charged out alongside him, hurtling straight toward the Blood Ancestor! Li Hao was entirely at his wit's end. Needless to say, ninety percent of those charging were Xinwu people. *I truly have to hand it to you lot.* *Must you cause trouble everywhere you go?* *The Blood Ancestor was just opening a small world; even I didn't take offense. So what if he called himself number one?* *Did you really have to take it so personally?* And they were actually fighting! Li Hao shook his head helplessly. Looking from the charging Human King to the furious Blood Ancestor, he sighed. Let them fight. It would be best if the Human King was knocked out early. If he lingered... Li Hao worried the fellow would turn the entire chaos upside down! Things were chaotic enough already. With order yet to be established, his meddling would only make things far worse! "You went looking for trouble yourself... If you get killed, you have only yourself to blame for being kicked out," Li Hao muttered. He was not the one plotting against him. If that fellow stayed, Li Hao genuinely worried he might alter the course of the future, which was hardly desirable. The Human King was exceedingly powerful to begin with; rising to prominence within this world would not grant him much additional strength. Instead, it would only rob newcomers of their opportunities. Considering this, Li Hao fell into contemplation. Perhaps it was better for these innate god-fiends to die. Having gained some insights, dying was actually a fitting outcome. "Indeed... that is how it should be. Even if these innate god-fiends don't die today, when I open the heavens and establish order, they must... perish!" Li Hao murmured in agreement with himself. Otherwise, these individuals would disrupt future developments. There was no need for them to take part in the world's future, as their presence would distort its natural growth. At this moment, he reached a decision. *When I open the heavens... I shall use desire to lure all the god-fiends, then... slay them all! Their bodies shall become realms, and their spirits shall return!* Ahead, the battle raged. The Blood Ancestor was undeniably formidable. The figure suspected to be the Human King was no weakling either—fierce, unhinged, and backed by a crowd. Yet very quickly, the Blood Ancestor slaughtered several of them, sending tremors through heaven and earth. A flash of spiritual light vanished into nothingness, and a rain of blood began to fall. A rank-seven Human King against a Blood Ancestor who had stepped into rank eight—and one who had just opened a world, anchoring his divine character to the chaos... Despite fighting with wild ferocity, the Human King soon began to falter. "Impressive saber Dao!" Li Hao observed. Even stripped of his memories, the Human King wielded his mad saber techniques with astonishing skill. Li Hao nodded slightly; once the Human King died, his saber Dao could be passed down. Free from the interference of other Daos, formidable saber cultivators might emerge from it in the future! The Human King’s path was one where all Daos converged into one, yet everything found expression through his saber. If this saber Dao were passed down, it would be more than enough to foster formidable experts in this world. With a purer Dao and clearer rules, the experts who emerged would not be weak. Seeing the Human King fight like a madman, slashing indiscriminately in all directions... With this unstable chaos on the verge of collapsing under their clash, Li Hao sighed. He released a wisp of blood-qi from his body, which the Blood Ancestor instantly absorbed. The Blood Ancestor paused, suddenly feeling a surge of immense power. Too pressed to ponder why, he was thrilled by this sudden boon! A divine character for "blood" descended from the heavens! The crimson world instantly enveloped the Human King. "A petty Dao dares challenge me? Die!" the Blood Ancestor roared. *Boom!* Trapped within the world, the Human King had his blood forcibly siphoned away. His blood erupted, and his formidable god-fiend physique began tearing apart in the blink of an eye. At that instant, the Human King’s eyes flickered with sudden awareness. In the next heartbeat, as if remembering everything, he glared into the distance and cursed under his breath! *Fuck!* *I died this fast?* *Did that grandson plot against me?* *What a shameless bastard!* A flash of spiritual light flickered and vanished instantly. Li Hao was equally speechless. The mighty Human King... had failed to survive until the end, getting booted out right at the start. Granted, Li Hao had favored the Blood Ancestor slightly, but who told the Human King to cause such a ruckus? *You had it coming!* *** At that exact moment, outside the blood-colored world. Rays of Great Dao laws enveloped the crowd. Suddenly, a pair of eyes snapped open. The Human King sat up, immediately letting loose a torrent of curses: "Fuck, what a shameless bastard! That brat definitely plotted against me... A mere Blood Ancestor managed to kill me?" "..." Nearby, someone sighed and said faintly, "Old Fang, even without your memories you couldn't stay quiet. Getting yourself killed is one thing, but I hadn't even comprehended much before I was dragged down with you. Truly..." *I have to hand it to you!* *You stir up trouble wherever you go!* The Human King turned his head and grinned. "Iron Head, you're out too? I forgot to ask, which one were you? I don't recall seeing any powerful iron-headed monsters." "..." The Xinwu Iron Sovereign rolled his eyes in exasperation. "What iron-headed monster? When I went in... I actually... turned into a suit of armor!" Uncertainty colored his tone as he sighed. "It was like attaining the Dao through armor, focusing entirely on defense. When you let out that roar, habit took over, and I charged out with you. What a... mess!" Pausing, he added with a hint of excitement, "It was quite fascinating, though. It felt like several centuries passed inside, watching a Dao grow from nothing... Not only that, my spirituality grew significantly. What a pity..." Resentment crept back into his voice. "If you hadn't caused trouble, I could have cultivated to rank eight, and my spirituality would have grown far stronger... You really screwed me over!" The Human King burst into laughter. "A suit of armor gaining sentience? Hilarious! Alright, enough whining. The Dao in there is decent, but it's far from complete. Getting a taste of something new and nourishing our spirituality is plenty. If we absorbed it all, wouldn't Li Hao come looking for a fight?" There was only so much spirituality to go around. If they, as mighty experts, drained it completely, the spirituality within the chaos would disperse, spelling doom for the entire realm. Li Hao would have flown into a rage and kicked them all out anyway! Chortling, the Human King probed his own state and nodded. "Not bad at all. We got to experience the birth of chaos firsthand. Even if it's not entirely the same, it certainly widened our horizons!" After a moment's reflection, he grinned again. "Fascinating stuff. Li Hao opening the heavens gave me some inspiration. I've always had an internal world that never quite fused properly... Perhaps now I've found a way to merge it completely!" Hearing this, the Iron Sovereign was overjoyed. *Truly?* If so, the Human King might take another step forward—though whether he could reach rank nine remained to be seen. Looking into the distance, the Human King raised an eyebrow. "Why hasn't Chaos died yet? That guy is ridiculously resilient! Li Hao is probably still waiting for time to return so he can open heaven and earth! What a shame... That fellow is dying too slowly, throwing the timing off. Otherwise, watching Li Hao open the heavens from within would have been far more meaningful." He felt a faint pang of regret, though nothing severe. Remembering something else, he laughed and cursed, "That brat imprinted some of my saber insights into the world. If a mighty saber cultivator emerges from that future realm, he'd better not use my own saber art to butcher me... That would be a humiliating loss!" He was merely joking, not taking it to heart. If he truly ended up killed by someone, it would only prove his own incompetence. He turned his gaze toward the west... In the next instant, his expression shifted. To the west, a colossal surge of power erupted between heaven and earth as a turbulent wave of chaotic energy washed over the realms. *Boom!* The shockwave resonated across the primal chaos, accompanied by relentless, shattering explosions! *** In the west. The Chaos Sovereign was bathed in blood, his white hair withered and dry. Yet he laughed wildly, throwing a punch that pulverized a rank-eight Sovereign on the spot! Across the vast western battlefield, only three or four living souls remained. The peerlessly mighty Chaos, the severely wounded Huntian, and Tianfang, who had fled through spatial maneuvers. Sovereign Huntian gasped raggedly, his face dark as a storm cloud! A catastrophic loss! The Ninefold Guards had been slaughtered to the last man. Had he not been exceptionally powerful himself, he too would have perished under Chaos's fists. Nearly all the rank-nine clones had been blown to bits. Now, only Tianfang had escaped by relying on his spatial mastery. Abominable! Chaos had somehow managed to hold on for this long. Infuriating! Yet the Chaos Sovereign had reached the end of his tether. Watching Tianfang's fleeing clone and the bloodied Huntian, he let out a rasping chuckle. "It seems I might not get the chance to kill you after all... Huntian, you're tough. You took three of my peak punches and still survived!" How terrifying had his peak strength been? Yet three punches had failed to end his opponent! A true pity. He turned toward Tianfang's fleeing clone and laughed mockingly. "Tianfang, you old bastard, playing the righteous gentleman day in and day out! Why are you running with your tail between your legs now? It's just a clone—so what if I kill it? What are you running for? Weren't you insufferably arrogant before me in the past? Why are you such trash today?" In the distance, Tianfang's clone caught his breath, remaining silent. The destruction of a clone was trivial, but with his true body unable to descend, preserving it was the optimal choice. Why throw it away against a dying madman? He glanced eastward, his brow furrowing slightly. He felt an uneasy premonition... Leaving Li Hao to his own devices was proving to be a dangerous mistake. Now, Chaos was on the verge of death. Once time returned... would things become even more troublesome? Moreover... could time truly return unimpeded? Could it be intercepted along the way? He sank into deep thought. Watching Huntian and Tianfang flee, the Chaos Sovereign chuckled. His aging accelerated at a visible rate, wrinkles deepening by the second. *Li Hao, you little bastard, I truly walked right into your trap!* *Time is terrifying.* *Peerlessly mighty!* *Dozens of rank-eight experts besieged me today, and I nearly slaughtered them all. Even in my prime, I might not have achieved such a feat. Yet today, wielding time, I stood truly invincible in this era!* *Tianfang, Huntian, Tribulation...* *Under my fists, every last one of them was reduced to a grandson!* "Li Hao... you grandson... You were right about one thing: I got to live gloriously one last time... But..." In the next breath, he erupted into furious curses: "Grandson! Who the hell said absorbing life energy would work? Fuck! One has to walk the Dao of Life and Death and undergo reincarnation! You tricked me!" He was livid! He had been played. Absorbing life energy was useful for sustaining his peak state, yet utterly useless for saving his life. Time consumed the absolute limit of one's lifespan, not mere vitality! Only now did he realize the truth! From the very start... that grandson Li Hao had never intended for him to survive. Slaying a rank nine and seizing their life energy was not enough to save him. His lifespan had been burnt to cinders; he was aging naturally, and surviving required far more than mere vitality! It required... the cycle of life and death! Thus, the moment he wielded time, his demise was sealed—unless he managed to slay the Life and Death Dao Lord, seize his origin, and rapidly master the Dao of Life and Death to revive himself! Otherwise, there was no hope! "What a black-hearted bastard..." After cursing relentlessly, he suddenly laughed again. Gazing eastward, he gritted his teeth. *Fine... I know exactly what you're trying to do, brat. In that case... let's play an even bigger game!* "Huntian..." He glanced at the retreating Huntian and chose not to pursue him. With his order shattered, Huntian now commanded the Daos of Chaos and Darkness. His path ran somewhat parallel to his own. That might not be a bad thing! "Chaos isn't a good Dao anyway. When the world is unified, chaos is eradicated. No matter where you go, cultivating the Dao of Chaos... never ends well!" He mused to himself. Huntian was doomed to a miserable end. Naturally, so was he. Unfortunately, he had cultivated chaos back then; having reached rank nine, who would willingly cast it aside? *Li Hao is hard to deal with... Even if I die and my spirit enters his new world, whether I can truly revive remains uncertain...* Thoughts churned in his mind. Perhaps... becoming a pure martial artist would be better. Yes, a pure martial artist suited him far more. Scheming against these deceitful snakes was simply an unwinnable contest. *Keeping it pure might... allow me to live a far more comfortable life!* With that thought, he sneered, channeling all his chaotic power into the Time Star. *Go ahead and open the heavens!* *I'll spice things up for you and give you a real thrill!* Remembering something else, he chuckled slyly and left an imprint within the Time Star. Only then did he feel satisfied. If Li Hao truly opened the heavens and his own spirit survived... he might even seize an early advantage after the realm was forged! *Of the myriad Daos under heaven, martial arts alone shall prosper forever!* *The martial path will never fade. Wherever there are people, there are rivers and lakes; wherever there are rivers and lakes... there is the chaos of the martial path!* *We'll see about this!* "Chaos... I... cast it aside!" The Chaos Sovereign had weighed everything carefully. He had never considered himself a fool, yet he had still been outmaneuvered at every turn. In that case, why bother scheming at all? Slaying whoever he could reach would be far more satisfying. These deceitful cowards favored pure martial artists. Martial artists fared quite well in their company, whereas those who schemed too much lived miserable lives and suffered wretched ends. Having thought it through, he glanced toward the directions where Huntian and Tianfang had fled and chuckled again. Why bother chasing them? He had no desire to pursue them now; he would leave the trouble to Li Hao and the others. That would also buy him some time and opportunity, preventing Li Hao from interfering and extinguishing his spirit! With a final smirk, he shot into the sky! The firmament seemed to tear asunder. The primal chaos Great Dao emerged once more! The Chaos Sovereign charged straight into the depths of the Dao. From deep within, rank-nine true bodies roared in fury: "You dare charge in here? Slay him! Today, Chaos must die!" Chaos had audacious nerve! Yet the Chaos Sovereign merely grinned, hurtling directly toward the Life and Death Dao Lord. Though the odds were slim... what harm was there in trying? If he could slay this man and seize the Dao of Life and Death, he might fully revive. Then he wouldn't have to play the grandson in Li Hao's pseudo-world. He would reign supreme right here in the chaos! "Life and Death... come fight!" the Chaos Sovereign roared, hurtling into the depths of the primal chaos. His bellow resonated in all directions: "Who dares stand in my way?" The power of time erupted from his body. His form withered to the absolute extreme, wrapped in the foul stench of decay and death. With a savage roar, his fist smashed forward like thunder! The Life and Death Dao Lord’s eyes gleamed with icy fury. *Do not forget, our true bodies reside here!* *You arrogant fool!* "Die!" Life and death rotated, shattering heaven and earth! The Great Dao convulsed violently. At that moment, the entire chaos seemed to tremble. The primal chaos origin throbbed violently. Like a raving demon, Chaos froze the surrounding space with time and threw a punch. Multiple rank-nine Sovereigns struck simultaneously, burning with rage. "You seek death!" *Boom!* A colossal explosion reverberated across heaven and earth. The Life and Death Sovereign, taking the brunt of the assault, was sent flying, drenched in blood. Chaos lunged forward to grab him, but suddenly cursed, *Fuck!* His hand had torn away half of a Great Dao, but... it was not the Dao of Life—it was the Dao of Death. *I am... truly cursed with the worst luck imaginable.* Capturing the Dao of Life might have given him a sliver of hope, but seizing half of the Dao of Death? Wasn't that just a guaranteed death sentence? He cursed inwardly, knowing his time was up! There was no time to care. Regardless of what it was, he shoved it in! A massive influx of death energy flooded into the Time Star. With a furious roar, the Chaos Sovereign gathered the last dregs of his strength and charged straight toward the depths of the chaos! *I have to take a bite out of the chaos origin before I go!* Long Zhan had surely wanted to revive. And so did he! *Boom!* Breaking through the encirclement with the last of his fading power, he bypassed the others' obstruction and snapped his jaws toward the colossal heart... That heart—the very origin of the chaos—seemed almost resigned. Everyone who came by wanted to take a bite out of it. Suddenly, the heart pulsed once. With a resounding *thud*, Chaos was hurled backward, tumbling head over heels until he plunged headfirst into the chaos Great Dao, his backside pointing toward the sky. He felt a wave of profound sorrow. *Fuck, you won't even let me take a single bite?* *Long Zhan got to bite you, but when I try, you fight back?* *Where is the justice in this!* *Does even the chaos origin look down on the Dao of Chaos?* *How utterly pathetic!* Stuck upside down in the chaos Great Dao and seeing that no hope remained, he ceased struggling. Thoroughly dispirited, he suddenly let out a cold laugh: "Everyone... just wait for my return! I'll give you what you deserve! You want to descend? In your next lives!" *Boom!* A deafening roar tore through heaven and earth once more. A section of the chaos Great Dao snapped clean off, sending shudders through every rank-nine Sovereign. The Life and Death Dao Lord could not help but curse: "That brute..." *Thump! Thump! Thump!* Several parts of his body burst open, spraying blood. Glancing at his fractured Dao power, heartache wracked him. That bastard had screwed him over even in death! Half of his Death Dao had been ripped away, nearly throwing his life and death into fatal imbalance! Furthermore, Chaos had blown apart another piece of the chaos Great Dao. The Dao had already been unstable, making descent impossible; now... who knew how long it would take to settle before they could descend into the chaos? Chaos was an absolute monster! *** At the same moment. Tianfang's clone and Huntian's true body both breathed a collective sigh of relief. He was dead! He was finally dead. Had that madman lived any longer, they would have completely broken down. In the distance, Tianfang panted, "Huntian... we cannot afford to fight each other any longer. We must preserve and restore our strength. Li Hao is opening the heavens, time is returning, and the Human King and Chunqiu are still around. If we do not join forces... I fear there will be no place left for you in the chaos!" Chaos was dead, but the brute had been vicious enough to wipe out nearly all the powerhouses in the chaos! He had even severely damaged the chaos Great Dao! If he and Huntian did not ally now, how could they possibly match the likes of the Human King? Huntian’s expression was dark. Everything had been proceeding smoothly; he had been on the verge of becoming the King of Chaos... and now, he was entirely alone! Moreover, he was grievously wounded. Still, with Chaos dead and the Dao of Chaos running wild, an opportunity presented itself—even if his order had collapsed. Otherwise, he might have had a chance to take another step forward. With these thoughts in mind, he gave a grim nod. "Very well. There is no need for us to quarrel further... You are merely a clone, and killing you serves no purpose... We shall join hands to deal with Li Hao and the rest. Once time returns, if he is prepared, he may... succeed very soon!" A trace of apprehension stirred within him. Would Li Hao truly relinquish time? They had grown genuinely wary of this second-generation time cultivator. Deeply wary! Because everything that had unfolded today had fallen within his calculations. Even now, the death of Chaos seemed to have been part of his design. Terrifying! Tianfang, however, felt no real fear. Once his true body descended, nothing would pose a threat; the issue was his current inability to do so. Had he been able to descend, none of these troubles would exist. Tianfang frowned slightly. He cast a glance at the violently agitated chaos Great Dao, wondering how long it would take to regain its calm. He hoped it would not take too long. Otherwise... they might truly end up raising a ferocious tiger!