Star Gate-Chapter 1176: Winds Arise (III)

Strengthening of the starry river was immensely helpful in Li Hao’s cultivation to come. His total number of dao meridians had not increased by much, compared to the level he’d reached after the battle at Boundless.

However, he felt that if he met Han Jiang again, he would not be completely dominated by the man. He would be able to strike back long before the final moment!

If he had this level of strength then, he might be able to easily kill Han Jiang!

His physical body grew stronger at a speed visible to the naked eye. The 360 dao meridians within his body hovered into view again—only one acupoint had been cleared on each of the other 324 meridians. What Li Hao wanted to do next was to embark on the second major circulation.

He didn’t have enough time at the moment. The guy in Tranquil Star might be on the alert now. He needed to be more careful and dispose of the impostor as soon as possible.

After readjusting his mental state, Li Hao opened his eyes and landed in the center of the ancient city.

“Everyone, please sever a replica. It’s fine if they’re somewhat weaker. Here Battle Heaven stands and I’ll be able to enter at anytime from now on. Please come with me and meet this fellow daoist Yu Hai!”

It didn’t matter if that person was Yu Hai or not. Li Hao had been planning for a while to kill him anyway.

The group exchanged glances and quickly severed replicas that weren’t too strong. Li Hao summoned a handful of core origin with a grasp of his hand, as well as a set of orange armor. It took only a moment before ‘Wu Peng’ reappeared.

The rest watched with a dull headache at their temples. The young man really was going to pose as Wu Peng!

Li Hao’s primary body divested itself of armor and changed into green robes.

“That’s more like it,” he grinned radiantly. “Everything that should’ve been planned and prepared for has been done! If we are still unable to kill this person after all that, then it is for reasons beyond our control!”

Next, the young man glanced at the city gates before he disappeared. The weighty characters of the city’s name disappeared. Li Hao heaved for breath, storing them in his mind. The headaches of the old turtle and the others intensified!

They had indeed agreed to lend out the city’s greatest treasure, but it was still saddening to see the characters vanish. Battle Heaven belonged to the Lis from now on! Wasn’t this a partnership? How had everything changed so much? Everything on this occasion ran entirely counter to their expectations!

“Let’s go, everyone! You can do as you see fit once battle breaks out. One of the enemies may be an Empyrean King, and not a regular one at that. He won’t be that easy to handle. But once we succeed... everyone will eat their fill after killing an Empyrean King!”

No one said a word. All of the replicas, including Li Hao’s own, disappeared from the passageway.

......

The eastern continent.

There were much fewer people guarding Tranquil Star these days. Most of the powerhouses had gone to Skystar’s border with Barren Dynasty in the east. The nation seemed ready to progress to pitched battle in its invasion. Various governor generals from all of the nearby Skystar provinces were leading their armies to meet the enemy.

Even Sky Sword and Tyrant Blade, powerhouses in charge of retaining order in other locales, were gathering in the east.

A small tree stood at the top of a mountain peak over Tranquil Star, gazing into the distance. Barren Dynasty was on the march!

Or more accurately speaking, desolate beasts were on the march.

A face appeared on the small tree, sinking into deep contemplation as it looked into the far reaches of the east. Would he be able to emerge in the world if Barren Dynasty and desolate beasts turned this area into chaos territory with their invasion? freewebnoveℓ.com

Chaos cut through the world!

Would that mean he would no longer be restricted by Silver Moon? That would make the encroachment a good thing.

His mind once more turned to Li Hao—the young man had disappeared for a few days. What was he up to now? Was he going to let an ancient do as they would? Or had he been plotting these days how best to take the ancient down?

There was no fear in Yu Hai’s heart, despite what he pondered. He was invincible in this era. No matter how strong Li Hao was, the young man would not measure up to him. Whatever powerhouses he might bring from the main cities would be present with great reluctance. Not to mention, none of them would be able to come given Yu Hai’s presence here.

Even if they did... that was fine as well.

Ripples undulated through the void while Yu Hai’s thoughts moved on. The long absent Li Hao suddenly appeared. Not only that, but he was followed by several core origin replicas from a distance.

The shadow in the tree started when he saw the replicas. So Li Hao could command a certain degree of respect from New Martial! Yu Hai saw the old turtle from Battle Heaven, General Pagoda, and the Silver Moon Sea Pacification Envoy. Those were all Saints!

Had the boy gone to seek them out over the past couple of days?

And that armored heavyweight... that was Wu Peng of the Battle Heaven Army, wasn’t it? That made for four Saints!

No wonder Li Hao had disappeared for a few days, he’d gone to seek out these representatives. The young man had had to pay a steep price to persuade them, hadn’t he?

It did not matter in the end, these were just replicas!

“Senior Yu Hai!” Li Hao took the lead and strode through the air with a brilliant smile. “The senior wanted me to search out members of the eight families. I’m not familiar with the other ancient cities, so was not at liberty to visit them. But the seniors of Battle Heaven and the Sea Pacification Envoy were very excited by news of Senior Yu Hai still being alive. They insisted on returning with me...”

“Yu Hai?” asked General Pagoda’s replica. “Weren’t you with the Shens at Tranquil Town? Why are you on Silver Moon?”

A human face with a resigned expression appeared on the small tree. It repeated what it had said to Li Hao.

“So this is the case.” Capsize Sea’s replica presented the image of an honest, simple cow. “It was His Majesty the Human King who arranged for this...”

“Who knows if that is true or not?” demanded ‘Wu Peng’. “We cannot brashly believe such statements! Yu Hai was the vice captain of the Shen family guards and participated in the battles of early New Martial. How would he so rashly leave the family?

“Not to mention, you are only a peak Saint. Would His Majesty only send a peak Saint as a contingency plan? He would send at least an Empyrean King, if not exalted emperor, to defend against Red Moon, wouldn't he?”

“An Empyrean King would draw the Sword Sovereign’s attention,” Yu Hai explained. “The Sword Sovereign did not wish for anyone to interfere with Silver Moon...”

“Commander Wu, let us not suspect a comrade!” The old turtle smiled radiantly. “This is a senior of early New Martial! I am more curious about what the fellow daoist has discovered that can resolve the threat posed by an exalted emperor. We didn’t believe little friend Li when he came to us. What has the ability to dispatch an exalted emperor simply through something they left behind? This is what we’re most concerned about!”

“This place is not suited for conversation...” Yu Hai hesitated. “Heaven’s will can easily pry into this area. If you would really like to know, please enter the city for more discussion.”

“Hmph!” snorted Wu Peng. “You are a peak Saint and we are but replicas. If you harbor any ulterior motives, won’t the whole lot of us be lost if we venture inside? Our primary bodies find it difficult to walk around in the world. It would be a devastating loss if our replicas are damaged! Those with a clear heart will speak openly of what they know! What are you worried about?”

“Senior,” Li Hao added fuel to the flames. “I’ve brought you the people you wanted, but we are currently faced with the issue of Barren Dynasty invading us. The senior said before that you would be able to eliminate the desolate beasts for me once Barren’s invasion reached this spot. Were those words true or not?”

The young man’s lips straightened out from their smile and he frowned at the east. “There are Saints among the desolate beasts, and more than one. I consider myself strong enough—I might even be on par with a Saint!”

Yu Hai’s heart quailed. Had Li Hao improved to the point of being able to match a Saint? That was so fast!

“Senior, I have a thought.” Li Hao seemed to set aside all reservations. “Let’s ignore the exalted emperor for now and permit the desolate beasts to advance up to this point! I can contain one Saint desolate beast, so can the senior help me kill the others? The desolate beasts are truly wicked!”

Yu Hai’s mind raced through certain ideas. Killing desolate beasts... the second awakening... but they would need to exterminate chaos for that. He would only have freedom of movement if their invasion reached this far.

“Naturally, this is part of my duties!” he quickly responded. “Desolate beasts mean to occupy a New Martial world with their invasion of Silver Moon. I am inconvenienced at the moment and cannot leave the ruins, but I can kill them if the desolate beasts come by!

“At the same time, I am only a Saint. It will be difficult for me too if there are too many of them. Do you know how many Saint-level beasts there are? I am able to fight two or three, given that I am a peak Saint. More would be difficult for me too!”

“I do not know either!” Li Hao shook his head. “I can only probe them slightly to determine the situation. The desolate beasts are much more evolved than before—they can even deploy New Martial battle methods! They are horrifying indeed...”

“Desolate beasts can deploy New Martial battle methods?” Even the others were mystified by these words. How was that possible? The two sides weren’t of the same system!

“I don’t know why this is possible either,” Li Hao fretted. “Those who can utilize battle methods can even take human form. Don’t they say that it is impossible for the desolate beasts?”

The group was astonished!

Do you mean that? The old turtle and others wanted to drop the act for a second. We don’t know about this! Are you pulling the wool over our eyes again? But what would be the point in doing so?

“Desolate beasts that can take human form... and know New Martial battle methods...” Yu Hai repeated doubtfully. “Can the young friend be mistaken? Is it New Martial humans moving around in desolate beast territory?”

“I’m not certain, but most likely not!” Li Hao shook his head. “Those desolate beasts and human-shaped ones seem close to each other! However, all of this awaits further verification. These guys are very hard to deal with.

“If I permit them to encroach on this area, that would be giving away the heart of the eastern continent. I would be losing half of the continent! If the senior is unable to defeat them, that would be the downfall of the entire continent!

“What a pity that the other seniors cannot send their primary bodies. Otherwise... Senior Yu Hai, can we utilize that special treasure or method to kill desolate beasts when the need is great?”

“Ah...” Yu Hai hesitated. “That contingency is unable to be initiated at the moment.”

“Is that so?” Li Hao was slightly disappointed. “Then I’ll have to trouble the senior. There seems to be more than three Saints among the desolate beasts... No matter what, I put my life in the senior’s hands. Please chat among yourselves, everyone. I will go to the frontlines for a look!”

“Is the young friend not coming inside?”

“This is a state of emergency, I’ll visit once we’re rid of Barren Dynasty!” Li Hao raised cupped fists. “Please carry on, seniors. I’m going to the Barren wastelands first!”

He promptly vanished on the spot.

"What a hasty nature!” laughed the old turtle. “We can head inside in his absence. There’s no rush in this. If we need the combined efforts of the eight families to activate something, we’ll wait for the Barren affair to be over. Except... the Zhengs have turned traitor out of the eight, so we might not be able to gather all of them.”

“I have heard of this matter. Ai, the Zhengs stem from Tranquil Star. To think...” Yu Hai changed the topic. “This way please, fellow daoists!”

A ring of light appeared.

Yu Hai looked in Li Hao’s direction with some regret. Did the young man refuse to enter because he suspected something? Or was he really just impatient?

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