Heart Gate

White-robed Li Hao, a black longsword, his sword intent cloaking chaos. At this moment, he stepped forward. No longer hiding, no longer lying low, no longer waiting. What did it matter anyway? Was this not the essence of the martial world? *I know that if I closed myself in seclusion for ten, twenty, or thirty years, I might surpass you, perhaps even outlive you. Why... am I unwilling?* *Because the martial world is a fleeting flash of brilliance!* *If I cannot wait and will not wait, then I shall wait no longer.* The Lord of Tribulation frowned, watching Li Hao with shifting eyes. Right now, Li Hao's sword intent was impossibly dense—the Sword of Despair! Tianfang, however, remained calm as ever. Perhaps there was even a trace of disappointment. From his words, one could infer that perhaps... from the very beginning, he had known that the previous Li Hao was a fake. Indeed, that was the truth. Tianfang suddenly sighed with emotion. "Years ago, the Emperor of Battle Heaven spoke with me once. He said that chaos is like a home, like a house, and it needs regular cleaning. He and I once deduced certain possibilities together; long-standing filth must be washed clean. Li Hao, do you understand?" Li Hao smiled. "Are you referring to the Cang Emperor?" Tianfang smiled as well. "Indeed. That cat was the cleaning tool for Xinwu, but for chaos... it is difficult to do the same. That cat, after all, is not a cleaning machine for the entire chaos. Therefore... I approved of you drawing in some of the dark power earlier." A smile touched his face. At this moment, he revealed even deeper secrets. Back then, his meeting with the Emperor of Battle Heaven had not been simple. The two had clearly held a discourse on the Dao. Even the appearance of the Big Cat was connected to the Emperor of Battle Heaven, rather than being created by the Heavenly Emperor as everyone assumed. Of course, all of that was now in the past. Regardless of the Cang Cat's origins, it had cleansed Xinwu, yet lacked the power to cleanse the entirety of chaos. In Tianfang's eyes, Li Hao absorbing the power of darkness had been a good thing; it was merely a pity that Li Hao had not seen it through to the end. He actually found it somewhat regrettable. He seemed completely unbothered by whatever Li Hao might do. Li Hao said nothing, merely smiling. Suddenly, sounds of slaughter echoed in all directions, followed by thunderous roars. At this moment, the Human King and Emperor Yu struck at once! The Human King gave a cold snort laced with chilling hostility! In an instant, yin and yang merged! A dark aura surged from the Human King, carrying an arrogant, frantic edge. "Every single one of you treats yourself like a creator god! Do you truly believe everything is under your control?" Tianfang's words had rubbed him the wrong way! His long blade flashed! He charged straight toward two ninth ranks, intent on cutting them down on the spot. Neither Tribulation nor Tianfang made a move. Yet Li Hao moved! At this moment, Li Hao drew his sword—not aimed at Tianfang, but striking instantly toward Tribulation. The Lord of Tribulation's expression changed, and he roared furiously, "Li Hao! Have you lost your mind? You know how formidable he is..." This madman! If Li Hao joined forces with him right now, they might still have a fighting chance. Yet this lunatic was actually turning on him. Despicable! Infuriating! What in the world was Li Hao thinking? Li Hao only smiled as his sword slashed out, his voice ringing across the void: "Tianfang, will you wait until I slay Tribulation before you strike?" Tianfang smiled and vanished from where he stood in an instant, as if truly fearless before all things. "I will wait for you! You are far more interesting than Tribulation... Tribulation is the source of calamity. If you kill him, I have no objection." The Lord of Tribulation's face turned livid! Tianfang! "Tianfang... you are far too arrogant!" Even though Li Hao was the one attacking him, he could not help but curse furiously, "You are handing them an opportunity to kill you... you fool!" Tianfang remained indifferent. An opportunity to kill him? So what? He merely watched, smiling faintly. Slay him? It mattered little. He looked up at the sky, his gaze fixed on nothing in particular, as though he had drifted back a million years to that day he had discussed the Dao with that man, lost in memory. *Li Hao, Fang Ping, Su Yu...* *These must be the ones you were waiting for.* *Which of them is the one you truly awaited in the end?* ... The Sword of Despair cloaked heaven and earth! Li Hao unleashed his sword, its force peerless, its intent invincible. The power of tribulation was crumbling. What calamity could possibly shatter despair? When one was already in despair, why would they fear calamity? Myriad worlds and countless living beings were steeped in despair. What natural disaster or man-made catastrophe could shatter despair? Perhaps only hope. Only hope could banish despair! ... Meanwhile. Chunqiu's clones, countless of which had shattered, were now recovering one after another. Her true body was surrounded by the Dao river and enveloped by the Myriad Heavens Dao Arena. Spirits of Sovereigns manifested between heaven and earth. Chunqiu's clones took in these spirits, one spirit per clone. The clones around her multiplied frantically. Clones that had been exceedingly frail absorbed the spirits of Sovereigns and began to grow immensely powerful. In an instant, Chunqiu felt a profound difference. Yes, a difference. It was not simply clones being replenished with energy, but... sapience! At this moment, she seemed to truly understand what a Dao spirit was. She looked toward Li Hao, toward Su Yu, toward the Human King... *So, the spirituality I perceived before... was not active enough either.* *True spirit belongs to humanity—no, rather, it is a form of wisdom.* She fell into deep thought. Wisdom. *My race lacks sufficient spirituality, which is why our lifespans are so short. Only I have survived to this day. Though my lifespan is brief, I can continuously reincarnate, because... I possess some degree of wisdom?* *Is that it?* *What my fellow cicadas lack is not necessarily lifespan, but... wisdom!* Sapience was not necessarily something external. Perhaps... it was the evolution of one's own wisdom. "So that's how it is..." she murmured. Perhaps her path had been wrong all along. It was not by strengthening the bodies of her race that they could attain longevity, but by... awakening wisdom! All along, she had thought of seizing spirit and source to shape the bodies of the Spring and Autumn Cicada clan, granting them rich vitality, boundless lifespans, and abundant spirituality. Yet that treated the symptoms, not the root. The root lay in wisdom! All these years, she should not have been pursuing physical longevity, but rather... sapience and wisdom. Only with wisdom could true spirit arise. Chunqiu sank into reflection. As her clones integrated the spirits, countless clones rapidly grew stronger, and she sensed the sapience within them. Looking at Li Hao in the distance, she realized that he had merged the spirits of myriad Sovereigns into her body. So... he had understood from the very start! To increase sapience and break the racial limit lay in wisdom! At this moment, Chunqiu could no longer restrain herself and called out in a shrill, piercing voice, "Li Hao! My race is short-lived and lacks wisdom. How do we awaken it?" She had lived for countless years! Li Hao was so young. Yet now, she was asking Li Hao for guidance. Her race lived for a mere few months. How could they awaken wisdom and understand themselves in such a brief span of time? This was not a simple matter of vitality. Awakening wisdom was perhaps even more difficult than seizing sources. Her aura grew steadily more imposing. Meanwhile, Li Hao's voice drifted over: "Wisdom lies in civilization! Chunqiu possesses no civilization. Civilization is built on script, culture, education, systems, governance, and... faith!" "Faith is not godhood!" His sword flashed out, annihilating heaven-and-earth thunderbolts. Li Hao struck with absolute economy, his blade offering no return, his voice remaining steady: "The Spring and Autumn Cicadas have short lives, narrow horizons, no civilization, no systems, and are born intellectually deficient..." Sovereign Chunqiu glared furiously! Intellectually deficient? That was an outright insult! *You're* the one who's deficient! Fine, an instant later, she wilted. Perhaps it was true. To the human race, demons were intellectually deficient, and chaos beasts were intellectually deficient. Perhaps in their eyes, only humans were not. She wanted to be angry, but had no ground to stand on. Li Hao's voice drifted over once more: "Today, you possess tens of thousands of clones, strong of body and rich in spirit. If a large number of these clones can be preserved in this battle, nurtured, and educated to awaken wisdom, they shall serve as your kindling!" "Sever your personal connection to them and let the clones become a true race. One demon founding an entire clan, regardless of the cost or consequences, refining civilization, systems, and culture... Sooner or later, the Spring and Autumn Cicadas will rise amidst chaos!" Chunqiu was dazed! What? Use her clones as kindling to spread civilization? This... She could not help but blurt out, "The clones are me, all of them are me! If I become the race, wouldn't that make me just like that pervert from the Myriad Realms?" "..." Over by the Myriad Realms, a group of myriad-races cultivators who had merged their Daos into the new heaven turned to look at the young girl within the new realm. Then they looked at Chunqiu... who was also a young girl. All of them grew pensive. *Are both of you... destined to become freaks?* *Is Li Hao a freak too?* *Having Chunqiu's clones evolve into a race?* *Isn't that basically doing that with oneself to spawn a species?* Lan Tian gave a faint, eerie chuckle: "What's so bad about that?" Li Hao's voice rose again: "Not at all, Chunqiu. The clones are not you. Through the withering and flourishing of years, they retain no memories, no spirituality, and no bloodline bond. When a single tree scatters its seeds, it becomes a forest!" "Even humans require ten months of gestation before the melon drops from the vine, originating from the maternal body. If your Spring and Autumn Cicada clan were traced back to its origins, it might well have been created by two, or even a single cicada!" "Li Hao!" At that moment, the power of tribulation abruptly erupted. The Lord of Tribulation was enraged. *Fighting against me, and you still dare to be so presumptuous?* *Arrogant!* Li Hao swept his sword in a casual strike like a roaring tiger, like Heaven's Will descending, and barked, "None of your business! Shut your mouth!" "..." Tribulation was infuriated! This was pushing things too far! *You look down on me too much!* With a ferocious roar, boundless tribulation power converged once again. In an instant, the power of fate manifested, casting its gaze upon Li Hao. In just a breath, it was as if dark clouds were capping his head! In his eyes, there was only boundless darkness! His expression shifted, and an instant later, joy surged in his heart. This was... a dead end! He seemed to see Li Hao's fate: boundless darkness, an eternal descent into hell. His confidence soared instantly! Earlier, when looking at Tianfang, Tianfang's fate had been like an immense golden pillar spanning heaven and earth, leaving Tribulation feeling helpless and despairing. But looking at Li Hao, Li Hao's future was like a dark abyss. This meant that Li Hao's future... held only death! This man was doomed to die! In an instant, heaven and earth inverted. Suddenly, as though their power and Great Daos aligned, despair against tribulation merged into a single force, flipping the cosmos upside down! Boundless Great Dao power surged violently toward Li Hao. Li Hao smiled faintly. Suddenly, his longsword vanished, seemingly transforming into a colossal dragon that opened its maw and swallowed, dissolving vast amounts of the Great Dao power. Before Tribulation could recover his wits, the dragon vanished and transformed into a gateway! The portal gleamed with brilliant starlight! In a single breath, the gate swung open, appearing to lead into a bottomless abyss. Li Hao's laughter echoed across the void: "Lord of Tribulation, enter my Heart Gate and behold my force!" Instantly! Boundless power of despair surged as countless people screamed and roared, unleashing a monstrous will! "No more disaster!" It was the cry of trillions upon trillions of living beings. This gateway seemed to lead straight into the hearts of all people, reaching deep into their souls: *What do you yearn for?* *We... yearn for disasters to vanish!* Li Hao, previously shrouded in despair, suddenly unleashed a brilliant, sacred light from within that despair, from behind that Heart Gate! With a deafening boom, the power of tribulation receded like black water! Tribulation stumbled back in sheer disbelief! "What is this?" "The Heart Gate!" Li Hao laughed. "The gate within the heart! The gate at the depths of the soul! The countless beings of this chaos do not welcome you. Those who hold the Dao find abundant support, while those who lose it find none! A harbinger of disaster is destined to be reviled. Despair is the surface; the Heart Gate is the truth within!" Tribulation was horrified! This gateway was actually swallowing his tribulation power and melting it away. Yet he soon regained his composure and sneered, "This chaos is rife with calamity and hardship at every turn! Today, great tribulation descends. Li Hao, you are destined never to wear away my tribulation!" "Is that so?" Suddenly, time seemed to flow backward! The Lord of Tribulation's expression changed drastically. In that very instant, Li Hao vanished, and a power of time seemed to envelop Tribulation. The Lord of Tribulation roared, "Time didn't detonate?" "It did! What detonated was the Emperor of Battle Heaven's time. And what I am using is not time..." Li Hao's voice sounded beside his ear once more: "Tribulation, time is a Dao, yet it is also not a Dao! Time is merely nature. All things are natural, and all Daos are natural..." "Shut up!" Tribulation roared in fury, unleashing his tribulation power once again! *I don't need you to preach the Dao to me!* He had no interest in any of this. All he knew was that Li Hao was extraordinarily difficult to deal with. Impossibly young, Li Hao was nonetheless like a million-year-old monster. His methods were endless! The power of despair, the power of the Heart Gate, and now this power of time were steadily forcing him into defeat! How could this be? He had recovered to his ancient peak, perhaps even surpassed it. Even a million years ago, he would have been a peerless powerhouse, perhaps only slightly weaker than Tianfang. Yet Li Hao was so young—how could he be this strong? Was Li Hao truly of the ninth rank? A Dao with sapience was a ninth-rank Dao. By that measure, perhaps he was, yet Li Hao's Dao principles seemed distinct from everyone else's, leaving even Tribulation unable to judge whether this man truly counted as a ninth-rank powerhouse. Just then, Li Hao suddenly appeared! Tribulation was shocked! Li Hao's voice had been drifting all around, leading him to believe Li Hao was employing spatial techniques. Yet at this very moment... Li Hao seemed to appear directly inside his heart! He found it impossible to believe! No! *I am a ninth-rank expert. It's impossible for Li Hao to breach my defenses soundlessly and enter the depths of my heart. This is impossible—it's all an illusion!* Not far away. Sovereign Tianfang glanced over, looking thoughtful. At this moment, a figure seemed to manifest deep within Tribulation's heart—it was Li Hao, pushing open a gate and stepping straight into the core of Tribulation's soul. In that instant, Sovereign Tribulation panicked! He did not fear an enemy's brute strength, but such a bizarre and uncanny technique filled him with dread! "Impossible!" With a furious roar, his heart pounded violently, threatening to detonate. An expert of his caliber would not perish even if his heart shattered. Sensing Li Hao entering his heart, the organ seemed to turn into a battlefield in an instant. *Boom!* With a tremendous blast, the gateway collapsed and Li Hao vanished. Tribulation coughed up blood! His vision blurred momentarily as a flash of white darted past. Looking up, he saw Li Hao standing not far away, looking as though he had never moved, as though he had remained there all along, or perhaps had only just returned! Li Hao still held his longsword, smiling faintly: "Tribulation, you claimed it was an illusion yourself. Why... detonate your own heart?" Tribulation's face twisted! Impossible. Was it truly an illusion? *I am a ninth rank. How could he induce an illusion in me?* At that moment, Tianfang spoke up from nearby: "Tribulation, there are too many ghosts in your heart! Focus on the battle. Why be so suspicious and fearful? At your level, you should cast everything aside and clear your mind. Why let yourself be disturbed?" Tribulation shuddered! Ghosts in his heart! Li Hao glanced sideways and laughed. "Tianfang, back in Silver Moon, someone like you who interferes with words while others are fighting would have been beaten to death ten thousand times over! Even if an apprentice of our Silver Moon martial masters fights and dies on the field, the master wouldn't utter a single distracting word! You're utterly tedious—one thing on your lips, another in your heart, and yet another in your head. If you want to probe my depths, just step forward yourself! Why use Tribulation as a test? Be a hypocrite or be an outright villain, at least commit to one. Straddling both makes you the most repulsive of all!" Tianfang gave a light chuckle. "Then I spoke out of turn. I merely wished to witness a... more splendid duel. Tribulation was unsettled and frightened by you; such a duel is hardly fair." Li Hao laughed as well. "Is this your idea of fairness? If I specialized solely in illusions, would all illusions be unfair? Tianfang, act like a decent person and drop the double standards..." With those words, his sword intent surged anew! The Lord of Tribulation dodged instantly, burning with humiliation. He had actually been played by Li Hao. The truth was that when Li Hao's Heart Gate had appeared earlier, dissolving his tribulation power, it had planted deep dread within him. Thus, he had truly believed Li Hao used some method to burrow into his heart. First time, then the Heart Gate—he had indeed grown wary, and all of it had merely been a combat atmosphere crafted by Li Hao. This man was calculating every single step! Damn it! Bastard! ... Right at that moment. In the distance. The Human King gave a fierce shout, bringing his blade crashing down. Dark power surged as yin and yang fused. In an instant, a thunderous crash reverberated across heaven and earth, cleaving a ninth-rank Sovereign cleanly in two! At the same time, the catastrophe grew even more turbulent. *Boom!* Li Hao was suddenly thrown backward, while a smile broke across the Lord of Tribulation's face. He looked toward the distant Human King and grinned. The Human King turned, shrugged, and grinned back. Only Li Hao gave a faint chuckle: "Senior Human King... are you feeling a bit displeased with me?" The Human King laughed heartily: "Not a bit... very displeased! But don't take it to heart, I merely killed an enemy. Tribulation thrives on turmoil, chaos, death, and slaughter. The greater the disaster, the stronger he becomes! We can't very well stand by and let them pummel us without fighting back, can we?" By slaying a ninth rank, he had made Tribulation even stronger! Such was the Dao of Tribulation! If you did not kill them, a protracted battle could spell trouble; yet if you did kill them, the upheaval intensified, fueling the Dao of Tribulation. This was precisely why Tribulation had never cared whether those ninth ranks lived or died. His strength had been rising continuously all along! At this moment, the Human King had unified yin and yang. He seemed to have been waiting all along—waiting for someone capable of suppressing Tribulation before choosing to unify yin and yang. Li Hao said nothing more. He struck with his sword once again! The Lord of Tribulation smiled. Rather than engaging aggressively, he avoided Li Hao. He, too, was waiting—waiting for that group to slaughter more experts, regardless of who lived or died. The more that died, the stronger he became! ... At this moment, it was not just the Human King unleashing his might. There had originally been only nine ninth ranks. The moment Li Hao appeared, he had slain one on the spot. Now that the Human King had slain another, only seven remained. Meanwhile, Chunqiu's myriad Dao bodies and myriad lifetimes completely fused in this instant. Even the Silver Moon Dao river merged into her. Chunqiu felt boundless, surging power! Sapience was manifesting frantically. At this moment, the yearnings of other Sovereigns seemed to echo in her mind, as if crying out that everyone should resolve this chaotic era together. That longing, that urgency... It left even Chunqiu somewhat enthralled. *Is this... the power of all living beings?* Yes, at this moment, she seemed to perceive the difference—she understood why the Human King and the others could advance so rapidly. Every one of them was integrating the power of all beings. Li Hao included! In an instant, Chunqiu vanished. Heaven and earth seemed to wither into desolation, as if the boundless chaos was wilting and decaying in this breath—the fading of life. The ninth rank locked in fierce combat with Yuan Shuo suddenly sighed. He knew Chunqiu had locked onto him. Chunqiu had never been weak, and now she had merged the Daos of myriad Sovereigns—more than that, perhaps tens of thousands of Sovereign spirits. Not only had she returned to her peak, she was far stronger than before. He had only held a slight advantage over Yuan Shuo. How could he withstand Chunqiu now? "This turbulent era... is truly... an eye-opener!" The ninth rank laughed softly and looked at Yuan Shuo. Sensing impending danger, Yuan Shuo watched as a monstrous power erupted from his foe's body. A massive Great Dao law manifested between heaven and earth. The Great Dao of Chaos emerged alongside it. The ninth rank gave a chilling laugh: "Let it be even more chaotic! Without destruction, there is no creation—let it plunge into total ruin!" In an instant, he charged straight toward the Great Dao of Chaos! He was not attacking Yuan Shuo. Yuan Shuo was startled—*what is he doing...* Simultaneously, several ninth ranks abandoned their opponents and lunged straight toward the Great Dao of Chaos, pushing their sapience to the absolute limit. In the distance. Sovereign Tianfang frowned slightly and materialized instantly outside the Great Dao of Chaos. Those ninth ranks sneered coldly, "It seems not everything is within your calculations..." Tianfang said nothing. The ninth ranks detonated their sapience in an instant, destabilizing the Dao power, and the entire Great Dao of Chaos convulsed violently. At that very moment, the Lord of Tianfang struck! A mighty spatial power surged forth, instantly solidifying into an enormous shield! The ninth ranks attempted to plunge into the Great Dao of Chaos, but were blocked on the spot. Tianfang's brow furrowed. "I did not wish to kill you!" At this moment, these individuals sought to destroy the Chaos Origin and charge straight into the Great Dao of Chaos. Clearly, they knew the tide had turned, and so... they wanted to drag everyone into mutual ruin. This was not the outcome Tianfang desired. "I had no desire to take lives..." With those words, boundless spatial power surged, instantly tearing the group apart. Simultaneously, multiple figures of Tianfang seemed to appear before the eyes of the ninth-rank Sovereigns, carrying a hint of melancholy: "A million years..." A flash of white light erupted! The vision of the Human King and the others blurred, hiding the scene from view. Sovereign Chunqiu had just empowered herself and wanted to slay a ninth rank to prove her might, yet her opponent was suddenly gone. She froze in a daze, only to hear a thunderous roar in the distance! The ninth rank who had previously fought Yuan Shuo was... beaten to pieces on the spot by Tianfang in mere moments! Chunqiu's expression twisted, and she cursed under her breath! *I just got strong!* *This guy, this bastard!* At this moment, she felt like she had boundless strength with nowhere to exert it. In the next breath, she charged straight at Tianfang! Tianfang glanced at her, shook his head with a faint chuckle, and threw a punch! The entire chaos seemed to shatter. He was waiting for Li Hao, not Chunqiu. Had Chunqiu grown conceited? Did she truly believe absorbing the power of myriad Sovereigns made her his equal? Space tore apart! Chunqiu let out a cry, the hum of a cicada echoing out. Space seemed frozen in place as time slipped away, smoothing out the spatial rifts. Chunqiu tossed out a taunt: "Nothing special!" Yet a split second later, she screamed! Space in all directions violently detonated. Tianfang looked at her and smiled faintly. "Nothing special, you say?" A portion of Chunqiu's myriad clones was wiped out in an instant, and her expression changed drastically! Li Hao felt a splitting headache: "Why are you provoking him?" If Tianfang wanted to kill enemies, let him kill them—he wasn't targeting her. For her to actively go and provoke Tianfang... was Chunqiu's intellect truly that low? Not far away. Though many of her clones had been torn apart by space, a smile crept onto Chunqiu's face. *Did all of you think I was stupid?* In a single breath, the surrounding space seemed to freeze entirely. Chunqiu vanished instantly, only to reappear beside the Great Dao of Chaos. Just as Tianfang prepared to strike, she vanished once more! When she reappeared... she was in her true form, frantically gorging herself on the boundless Great Dao power left behind, absorbing it in an instant. The next moment... she turned tail and fled! Tianfang paused, looked at her, and suddenly laughed. "Such... narrow vision!" He had thought Chunqiu truly wanted to measure herself against him. As it turned out, she only wanted to swallow the Great Dao power of the ninth rank he had just slain. Her horizons were far too limited! Chunqiu was thoroughly pleased with herself as she vanished from the spot. What she had just devoured belonged to Yuan Shuo's opponent. She had intended to kill him herself, but Tianfang had snatched the kill; now, she had snatched it right back! She had lost some clones, but gained the Great Dao power of a ninth rank in return! A bargain! "Narrow vision?" Chunqiu darted back and resumed her form as a young girl, acting thoroughly arrogant: "Your vision might be high, but high vision didn't let you suppress chaos, nor did it let you pacify chaos in a million years! Your Tianfang world was annihilated. For all your high vision, aren't you still standing here waiting for an anomaly to appear? Waiting for whom? For Li Hao, or for the Human King and Su Yu?" Tianfang paused, then smiled again. "There is some truth to that." Chunqiu paid him no further heed. As long as she profited, that was all that mattered! At this moment, Tianfang struck again. This time, he did not target Chunqiu, but descended upon the other ninth ranks, cloaking heaven and earth in an instant. Simultaneously, the Human King and Su Yu unleashed their attacks! With several ninth ranks fleeing only to be blocked by Tianfang, very few opponents remained. At this stage... these ninth ranks were almost certainly doomed. Meanwhile, three ninth ranks remained before Er Mao and the others. One of them had fled toward Tianfang, while the remaining two exchanged a glance and abruptly vanished! They seemed to fade into the void! The composite Li Hao—formed by Er Mao and Hu Qingfeng using Li Hao's flesh and blood—was about to intervene when he suddenly paused and held back. Chunqiu, however, was startled! The two charged straight at her. She cursed inwardly: *Me again? Do you think I'm an easy target?* *I'm not the same as I was a moment ago!* Just as she was about to lash out, she froze just like Er Mao and stopped her movements. The two ninth ranks materialized before her, exchanged a glance, and nodded in unison. In a single breath, the power of extinction surged forth alongside boundless sapience, yet in the blink of an eye, it all shattered and poured into Chunqiu's body. Chunqiu wanted to retreat, but sensed no danger. She had assumed they intended to seize her body, just as had happened to Huntian! Yet the two ninth ranks merely channeled their shattered sapience and Great Dao power entirely into her. Before Chunqiu could make another move, both roared furiously, a Great Dao of Chaos manifesting above their heads! Though not the complete Great Dao of Chaos, it was a projection of it. Without a second thought, the Great Dao convulsed violently, shattering with a deafening boom. One of them bellowed, "Stop playing around, Life!" At those words, while Chunqiu was still hesitating... Over by Emperor Yu, a female Sovereign—one of the exceedingly rare female ninth-rank Sovereigns—smiled faintly. In an instant, a boundless surge of life force erupted from her body! Chunqiu froze once more as vast vitality flooded directly into her. Meanwhile, the Life Sovereign transformed into a colossal tree, swaying gracefully. The other two ninth-rank Sovereigns also revealed their true forms! One was an immense Kunpeng, while the other transformed into a creature resembling a giant wolf. The giant wolf's eyes turned cold as it looked at Chunqiu, sneering, "You've gotten lucky. The demon race... at this point, let's see if there is still a way forward for us!" Chunqiu's heart shuddered! She did not look at the giant wolf, but at the Kunpeng. That Kunpeng looked so familiar! The enormous Kunpeng's physical body was crumbling away. Seeing Chunqiu staring at him, he smiled suddenly: "Many years ago, I encountered a cicada of remarkable talent. A rare sight. Who would have thought you would make it to this day... truly incredible. In our demon lineage, counting Life, only three ninth ranks ever emerged!" "The human race is strong, the demon race weak, though at least we fared slightly better than the chaos race... Of course, between the chaos race and the demon race... there is little difference... both are the weaklings of chaos!" As the Kunpeng's body crumbled, a muffled grunt escaped him: "Since we are contending for supremacy under the heavens today, you should try your hand as well..." He let out a fierce roar: "Are there any Sovereigns left in the chaos demon lineage? Since the opportunity presents itself, merge your spirits into Chunqiu! If the humans can gamble, our demon race must fight for a future as well!" In an instant, demon blood detonated! Chunqiu felt dazed! The demon race... The demon race had produced three ninth-rank Sovereigns, yet now, all of them chose to pour their power into her. *Me?* *I am only...* Just as the thought crossed her mind, the giant wolf detonated as well, a ripple echoing in Chunqiu's ears: "Fate glimpsed the future. Of course, the future may not be certain, but in that future, the demon race can still stand atop chaos! Chunqiu, you must claim a place in that future..." Before the words faded, its spirit dissipated entirely! Emperor Yu did not strike again to destroy the fading Life Dao Lord. The Life Dao Lord's form swayed gently as she glanced at Chunqiu, then at Li Hao in the distance. Without another word, a vast torrent of life force dissipated, spreading in all directions. Dense vitality washed over everyone present. By now, Tianfang had directly suppressed and slain the other ninth ranks. Only now did he find the leisure to glance back. Seeing the three demon Sovereigns choosing to merge their Daos into Chunqiu, he smiled. "Indeed... every living being wishes to make a stand!" He shook his head slightly. Those three knew death was inevitable at this point. Even if Chunqiu was not necessarily their best hope, they no longer cared. Rather than letting outsiders profit, it was better to benefit Chunqiu! At least she was still of the demon race. In the blink of an eye, the ninth-rank Sovereigns had almost entirely fallen. Meanwhile, Tribulation's aura grew increasingly powerful. Although those experts had not merged their Daos into him, the death of so many ninth ranks caused the power of his Great Dao to surge dramatically. He smiled as well! Looking at Li Hao nearby, a grin broke across his face: "Li Hao, it seems your calculations were off!" Counting the Dao power of the ninth rank stolen earlier, Chunqiu had devoured the power of four ninth ranks all on her own. Combined with the spirits of myriad Sovereigns, her aura was skyrocketing! A demon who had originally been unremarkable on this battlefield had transformed into one of the supreme powerhouses in an instant. Tribulation laughed! *Li Hao, is this the outcome you wanted to see?* *You stepped forward prematurely, failing to reach your peak, only for Chunqiu to reap the greatest reward and rise to this height.* Li Hao turned back toward Chunqiu. The power of desolation within her was climbing frantically, sending out a peculiar ripple that seemed to mark her formal entry into the ninth rank! Chunqiu was utterly bewildered! She had known the demon race possessed ninth ranks, but... unlike the human race, the demon race was divided into countless factions. She had never dared hope that these supreme demon Sovereigns would pass their Dao power to her. Yet... at the final moment, they had actually chosen her! Looking toward Li Hao and Tribulation now, she suddenly felt... *I might not match Tianfang, but... I'm not much weaker than these two either, am I?* Li Hao smiled. "Congratulations!" Chunqiu had truly struck it rich in this battle. Hearing those words, Chunqiu found them somewhat jarring. Suddenly, an inexplicable sense of unease welled up inside her. *I shouldn't need to fear Li Hao... even if the Silver Moon people are still merging spirits into me, even if I severed the Silver Moon Dao river right now, it wouldn't be a big deal.* *Why am I still a bit afraid?* Feeling slightly sheepish, she gave a perfunctory reply: "It's nothing, just so-so..." Looking around, she felt a sense of unreality. So many ninth ranks had fallen—three demon ninth ranks had merged into her, and Tianfang had slain several others. At this moment, not a single other ninth rank remained on the battlefield. The Human King had quietly slain another, while Emperor Yu remained calm and detached, having refrained from excessive slaughter. Out of so many ninth ranks, only Tianfang and Tribulation were left? Chunqiu did not know whether to laugh or weep. As it turned out... even the ninth rank was nothing more than this.