Star Gate-Chapter 1591: Smoke Clears and Dust Settles (I)

Across the way, the Red Moon exalted emperor was coolly aloof. He didn’t care at all! The newcomers were not high rank and didn’t seem to be from the core origin dao universe. Core origin presence tended to be striking, so that was not who’d come. He would sense it if it was those such as the Exalted Blood Emperor and would be slightly wary of them.

Just the Sword Sovereign alone was proving extremely difficult to deal with. He had to be on guard against those from New Martial.

But these ones... were not!

In that case, there was no need to be overly concerned. Neither did he sense the dao presences of major daos from the Light and Skycloud worlds. That would also make him wary and proceed with caution.

But whether it was Li Hao or Void, they didn’t bear the presence of dao universes. Void didn’t because his dao universe was his world of emptiness.

“They court death!” The Red Moon exalted emperor also knew that the new additions were not from his side. Only those from Red Moon would be coming to reinforce him. There might be some on their way, but the main world was a bit of a distance away from this locale. If it wasn’t a high rank joining him, then it would pose some difficulty for mid ranks if they wished to make the trip as quickly as possible.

Since it wasn’t people from his side or from New Martial, then it was some daredevil chaos wanderers that wanted to fish in troubled waters. These locust-like pests were certainly bold!

As a high rank, he hadn’t thought anything of non-high ranks before meeting the Sword Sovereign. Even now, he didn’t think that the universe was filled with cultivators like the Sword Sovereign.

If that was the case, the chaos would’ve broken down a long time ago. A cultivator like the Sword Sovereign who could challenge others above his rank was rare in any world.

The Sword Sovereign didn’t say a word. He lifted his formless sword, swung it, and struck!

His moves seemed exceedingly simple and even very ordinary—they were simple slashes. However, anyone familiar with him would know that they were anything but simple. There were almost no weaknesses in an offensive move that combined a myriad of daos into one.

No matter what dao heritage or abilities his opponent wielded, there would be an answering dao in his blow!

The Red Moon exalted emperor clearly understood this theory. Although Red Moon’s great dao had infiltrated some of the sword intent, the other’s sword dao remained as steady as Mount Tai. If it wasn’t for the Sword Sovereign not possessing sufficiently strong sword intent in comparison, he would kill any peer he encountered!

An unparalleled sword!

The two went back and forth—the only thing that the Red Moon exalted emperor could do was wait and defend. He needed to last until his opponent ran out of dao strength and also defend himself against the sword intent seeking to destroy his great dao.

So long as he could maintain his defenses and deplete the other’s reserves, the Sword Sovereign would die without a doubt. He was very confident in his chances of success.

It will be soon now!

The Sword Sovereign had demonstrated considerable strength since the start of battle, but not to the point of being able to strike him down with one move. That was the key to the Red Moon seventh rank’s success.

......

The outskirts of battle.

Red light faded from Li Hao’s face. Void was a similarly dispassionate sight; his complexion was ashen. Two sorts of domains hovered by their sides. An ambush was clearly out of the question. They’d been exposed the second they entered the domain. This was a blow to both of them as ordinary mid ranks wouldn’t necessarily have sensed their presences even when they closed in. But since they were up against a seventh rank with a dao domain, to enter the domain was to expose oneself.

At the same time, being bearers of domains themselves, they were well aware that the existence of any intruders would be well known. If the two dao domains came in contact with each other and theirs were even slightly broken, this immensely strong Red Moon domain could suppress theirs!

Li Hao and Void weren’t dejected by this development. On the contrary, they were very excited. So this was high rank! A real high rank!

Whether it was them, Li Changsheng, or the Red Moon seventh rank, all four of them possessed dao domains. Walking through the dao domain of a formidable enemy was also an interesting experience.

“Red Moon major world is very different!” Void declared with emotion. He wasn’t as nervous as he expected, just thinking that he might have underestimated little Red Moon. He’d always felt that Red Moon’s dao of desire was not fit for presentation on the greater stage, but now understood that he was very wrong.

Desire was the most primitive of daos!

This kind of dao was absolutely not a simple dao. It was a far cry from the one of simple temptation that he thought. This was a dao that inspired one’s most primal desires, and did so from the very origin of one’s roots. It came from the depths of the great dao!

Li Hao inclined his head, Red Moon’s great dao was indeed very different. No wonder the Human King, despite being so formidable that he could easily kill a seventh rank, did not take his offensive to Red Moon major world.

Based on the age that Li Hao had traveled through, the Human King was a peak seventh rank and the Red Moon master an eighth rank. Would the Human King dare fight an eighth rank when he himself was a peak seventh rank?

He would!

But the Human King had never done so—was he really lost in the chaos?

Or was he leery of this opponent?

The Red Moon master was certain to be a complicated individual, even among eighth ranks. Li Hao didn’t give it more thought. His dao river manifested and circulated through the surroundings, enshrouding himself and Void. The dao stars of emptiness as well as life and death materialized—a faint dao domain came down over them.

Outside, tendrils of Red Moon power furiously tried to burrow inside. But whenever they entered, they were demolished by Void’s power of emptiness.

Their joint efforts easily stymied some drifting dao strength. If they couldn’t handle even this, they should just go home and sleep. Slaying a seventh rank would be a pipe dream.

“Shall we continue?” Li Hao looked at Void.

“Of course!” The man smiled back.

They set foot through the void and walked forward, unaffected by the majority of the drifting sword intent. The portion that’d been invaded by Red Moon strength, however, rushed at them like traitors.

At the same time, this scattered sword intent intermixed with Red Moon power was sufficient for defeating weaklings, but not these two. The river quickly squashed the turncoat sword intent. When a part that was stronger entered the river, it was immediately destroyed by the domain of emptiness.

“Hmm?” The Red Moon exalted emperor finally took note. Someone was coming!

Not only were they here, but they’d broken through the combined entity of the tattered dao domain between him and the Sword Sovereign to walk in from the outskirts. They were strong and very bold!

The intruder knew that this was a war between seventh ranks, but dared be involved anyway. He was curious to see who’d eaten a bear’s heart and leopard’s gall to be so cockily brazen!

The Sword Sovereign was equally surprised and possibly guessed at who’d come. However... this was a battle between seventh ranks. While he himself wasn’t one, his offense and dao domain put him at a half step seventh rank. If it was the new king of Silver Moon here, he was far too bold for his own good!

His strength also exceeded expectations.

As the two combatants came to terms with their surprise, sword intent dispersed around them and Red Moon power fell silent. A long river frothing with waves appeared around them; two figures hovered into view under the envelopment of the waters.

There was now a third party in the core area of the battlefield, and it was comprised of two people, not the anticipated singular one. Was the river... a dao domain?

The Red Moon exalted emperor recognized one of them—the look in his eyes shifted when he gazed upon Void. “Void! No, I should call you Ming Tang, shouldn’t I?”

It was the crown prince of Light major world! Damn it, what was he doing here?? Wasn’t he supposed to be on Skyward? Why was he suddenly here?

No wonder the newcomers were so impudent!

Of course, the Red Moon seventh rank wasn’t afraid of this fellow. He was more worried that Ming Tang’s presence meant that Light might have sent more powerhouses. What were they doing in Red Moon Region?

Light was strong, but had their opponents in Skyward Region as well. Certain developments had taken place at Skyward lately, so what was this person doing here?

“This junior greets the Exalted Clarity Emperor!” Void smiled. Clarity was a seventh rank, the highest rank of Red Moon exalted emperors. Very few called him Clarity, most hailed him the Exalted Shock Emperor.

His title had been Clarity when he was a mid rank, but it changed when he reached high rank.

Clarity looked aloofly at the two trespassers. He was rather put out by their presence. Void would be an issue.

He’d been on the verge of wearing down the Sword Sovereign. These two might cause different developments in the situation. While Clarity wasn’t concerned about any changes, any additional changes were a potential source of trouble.

He didn’t ask or say anything. As a Red Moon high rank and being in Red Moon territory, he only needed to extend his senses to know that there were no other high ranks around. Clarity waved his hand and consolidated an unending amount of Red Moon strength into a massive dragon that churned toward the two.

Although Void wasn’t an easy target to kill, so what if the man died at this moment in time? Even if Clarity didn’t kill the two newcomers, he needed to deeply injure them so that they didn’t have a chance to make trouble.

He would negotiate with Light about these happenings after the fact!

A red dragon roiling with fury, intimidation, and insanity churned toward the two. Li Hao and Void didn’t say anything either. The young man’s river of life and death snaked forward, connecting with the dragon!

A powerful surge of Red Moon strength permeated his river of dao, dyeing it red.

“Emptiness!” Void made his move and materialized the sixth rank world of emptiness. The long river came to a stop and the scarlet energy ceased expanding through it. Life and death manifested; the dragon seemed to undergo a cycle of life and death.

The Red Moon strength gradually dissipated, replaced by currents of dao strength percolating through the waters.

Although the two jointly dispersed Clarity’s casual blow, the difference between the two sides was more than apparent. If it wasn’t for the Red Moon seventh rank concerned about the Sword Sovereign erupting at full strength, they wouldn’t be a match for him at all.

Boom!

The river's waves churned into motion and the red dragon fully disappeared.

“Not bad!” Clarity chuckled. “Not bad at all! Both of you possess dao domains... This seat knew Void from before and this one must be... the new king of Silver Moon? You are as your reputation stands—a mere fourth rank can manifest a dao domain and even half a dao river! That is incredible.”

Li Hao said nothing. It wasn’t surprising that he’d been identified. He looked off to the side; the Sword Sovereign happened to be looking right back at him. It was the first time that the two had ever seen each other.

The young man had actually seen the Sword Sovereign many times before—from the shadow in the eight trigrams formation to the real man when he traveled through New Martial. But today, it was his first time meeting the true king of Silver Moon in the flesh.

The man’s hair was spotted with gray, a clear sign of expending too much vitality. He was genteel and otherworldly, a match for what Li Hao’s imagination had drawn. Sword intent flourished around him—this was the most unparalleled swordsman of their time!

Li Hao had learned from his travels through New Martial that the Sword Sovereign was no civilized person in private. He cursed like a sailor, but was similar to Yuan Shuo in the sense that both men cared about their images.

“Junior Li Hao greets the Sword Sovereign!” Li Hao introduced himself.

Li Hao!

The Sword Sovereign inclined his head with slight surprise. A Li surname!