Star Gate-Chapter 1601: The Technique of Digging Holes (III)

“If you’ve contributed enough, possess sufficient ability, and have the hope of earning more, then we’ll naturally support you!” explained the Sword Sovereign. “But if you’re a piece of trash, then you’re certain to lose the initial investment if you leave with the world’s resources. Why should we support you then?

“The world master is well aware of this logic!” he chuckled. “Of course, there are other world masters who might be wary of this development or don’t want anyone to leave. That’s a very normal reaction. Just like I’ve said, everyone’s situation is different, hence their decisions are different. It’s difficult to say who’s right and who’s wrong.”

Whether it was Li Hao or Void, both parties listened intently to the Sword Sovereign. The senior in front of them was using the easiest and most accessible way to explain the thought processes of some higher levels. As they watched the hole in front of them grow bigger, they wondered if it was even a hole at all.

It was not!

This was the foundation for a startup. Only with that kind of foundation did the Sword Sovereign dare say that he wanted to create his own world, and earn money so that he could pay the world back.

But in all of existence and out of countless exalted emperors, few were those who could accomplish this deed! Those who could might not need to set off on their own. They would have their own businesses to begin with.

A silent Li Hao observed some more and formed more comprehension about the action at hand. He could tell that this hole was a domain, one with its roots deep in the chaos. It was a localized expansion of the chaos!

This was hardly a bandit’s den, but a minor world! Albeit, it was a minor world’s foundations.

As he thought, cultivation should not be judged from the surface. This was digging a hole to the Sword Sovereign, but how was it the same to Li Hao and Void?

This taught them the core nature of a world!

Did the master of Light know this technique?

He most likely did.

But why would he teach his son this? Would a rich tycoon teach his son how to be a good entry level employee?

Some would all the same, whereas others would not. Why would one need to know how to be an entry level employee if they had a sprawling family business to inherit? They were rich and noble by birth!

Granted, it would be difficult for Void to inherit the family business. While his father was a million years old, was that old age for an eighth rank?

Absolutely not!

It would take someone killing his old man if Void wished to receive his inheritance. He stood a chance of becoming a seventh rank, but it was almost impossible for him to reach eighth like his father.

His son reaching seventh rank was enough for the Light master. If there really came a day in which he fell in battle, at least he had a son to carry on the legacy. All would not be lost.

Although his son possessed good potential and a strong desire to cultivate, the Light master was an ultimate tycoon in his own eyes. He was a magnate of the universe, did he need his son to build another business empire?

If his son couldn’t do it, he could just inherit the family business.

The two young cultivators looked at the Sword Sovereign in a new light. This was no robber or bandit that’d conned them into joining him! This was a cultivator of the most sophisticated knowledge!

Although he spoke a bit boorishly and was a bit rough and tumble in his style, he was indeed a rare cultivator of great dao. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

It wasn’t just the Sword Sovereign, but also Li Zhu who they’d met last time. These people... were different.

Or perhaps people like them could be found in other worlds as well, they just didn’t dare reveal their true nature. Take Fog Mountain, for example. He had his own goals in mind, but he didn’t dare be too obvious about it. This was related to a world’s culture.

Some masters of the world disapproved of their people thinking this way. This was a display of overly aggressive ambition that might cause one’s death!

Void and Li Hao quietly watched and observed the Sword Sovereign. The way he spoke and his mannerisms were full of banditry and skulduggery, there was no need to imitate or pay attention to that. But his usage of the great dao and understanding was worthy of them learning from.

Li Hao stared at the tiny hole that’d appeared out of nowhere and suddenly asked, “Senior, can I enter it and meditate inside?”

“Of course!” chuckled the merry Sword Sovereign. No one would be able to tell that this had been the domineering swordsman of unparalleled keenness in the earlier battle.

“Then may I...” Void asked sheepishly.

“Come on in!” agreed the Sword Sovereign. “I’m creating a base of operations for us anyway. Are you supposed to just wait outside if you don’t come inside? It’s just not fully complete yet...”

Which was why they wanted to take a look.

Void and Li Hao entered the moderately sized, incomplete hole without further word. It was the first time either of them were seeing or experiencing a hole in the chaos. It was like they’d shifted to another region entirely when they entered, like they’d set foot into a minor world.

At the same time, there was a marked difference between the two.

Galewinds blustered through the area, chaos qi drifted within, the space was unstable and constantly oscillated, cutting through whatever it came across...

Anyone below exalted emperor would instantly die without question if they entered this place!

The Sword Sovereign followed the two inside, blocking the entrance to the hole. It quickly vanished within the chaos. It would take a premier exalted emperor combing through the area to find it. Otherwise, they were impossible to locate in the chaos.

After sealing off the entrance, the Sword Sovereign continued to stabilize the hole. “We can build more holes like these in the chaos,” he said as he directed dao strength around the premises. “Who knows when we might be able to use them one day? Of course, it’ll take a bit more time and effort than we might otherwise have to go to. But it’s fine. Each construction is an organization of the great dao!

“Many of the ones I built before have collapsed, but some of the later ones are still intact even now. It’s hard to hide or run away from strong foes in the chaos. It’s the best feeling ever to come across one of your safe houses during that time!”

The Sword Sovereign introduced his creation with pride and joy while the other two silently sensed the surroundings. It wasn’t stable enough, so it didn’t feel like a minor world. Li Hao thought for a moment before asking, “Will this portion of space move?”

“All of the chaos moves around,” nodded the Sword Sovereign. “But at a glacial pace. So don’t worry, you won’t sense anything so long as it hasn’t been millions of years.”

“Does time flow at the same rate inside and out?”

“It does.” The Sword Sovereign nodded again. “I have not isolated the inside from the chaos. This is not a minor world, it’s just a hole. I can’t fully seal it off like I could a minor world. A place being fully sealed away is what gives rise to a time differential!

“There are myths that speak of one day in the sky being one year on earth. It’s actually just the time differential formed by the intersection of two different patches of space and energy!”

Li Hao looked at the Sword Sovereign with new enlightenment. “Does the senior have some thoughts about time as well?”

“Not really, just some basic ideas,” smiled the Sword Sovereign.

Li Hao didn’t ask further, whereas Void plowed onward with great excitement. “Senior, then is this world... no, is this hole in a state of silence?”

“No,” the Sword Sovereign shook his head. “The hole is alive, not silent. There is just no life within it! The chaos is alive on the whole and brims with vitality. How would it give rise to worlds otherwise? Although it seems quiet, the chaos is not empty and devoid of life. It is a massive living and breathing space!”

The Sword Sovereign’s comprehension of dao was very clear. Li Hao inwardly sighed with appreciation. No wonder a dao universe had been born in Silver Moon! If the Sword Sovereign had stayed in Silver Moon, he might have reached seventh rank a long time ago!

Whether it was the young man or Void, both of them felt this trip was well worth it. It was no loss whatsoever even though they didn’t collect one iota of energy from the seventh rank that’d died earlier.

Li Hao spoke no more. He quieted down, melding his personal aura into the tiny hole. Since the Sword Sovereign had permitted them entrance and didn’t deny them meditation, he wanted to see what the difference was between this hole and the river he’d created.

They were both manifestations of dao!

Why could his river not become a small space hidden within the chaos?

Void was of the same mindset, so both of them quieted down and sank into deep contemplation.

The Sword Sovereign ignored them and continued to dig his hole. This was highly technical work that the two fellas didn’t understand yet. However, they bore the potential to. It wasn’t just anyone who could understand the theory of creating holes in the chaos. Some seventh ranks were unable to accomplish the task because they didn’t have a deep understanding of great dao.

It was very tiring for one person to dig the hole by themselves.

Ever since Fang Ping went on the run, it was left to only the Sword Sovereign to dig these holes. If these two young fools... these two fellas learned it, then they could be his hard labor. He wouldn’t have to do this himself anymore.

The status quo stood for three days.

When Li Hao next opened his eyes, life and death, revitalization and emptiness swirled within it. The hole appeared different to him now—it was a woven tapestry of dao! It felt like dao chess.

This so-called hole and foundation was a method of weaving great dao together. A cage was being spun out of the chaos and embedded into it! This was what was meant by a hole in the chaos!

The true nature of the hole appeared in Li Hao’s eyes; rays of great dao formed a domain that supported the hole. The young man observed quietly, finding this slightly different from the order imposed by dao chess.

It wasn’t until Void opened his eyes as well that Li Hao looked at the resting Sword Sovereign. The man had finished creating the hole and was sitting cross-legged, recovering energy. “Senior...”

“That honorific creates so much of a distance between us. Are you a descendant of the Lis at Sword City? If you are, you can hail me ancestor. If not, you can call me Ole Li!”

“......” A strange expression crossed Li Hao’s face. “I don’t know if I am, it’s been one hundred thousand years since the senior left Silver Moon. One hundred thousand years is too long. I don’t know if I’m a descendant or not, but I’ve been calling myself that.”

“Aha!” nodded the Sword Sovereign. “Then you can call me Old Man Li, Uncle Li, Sir Li, or whatever!”

Li Hao didn’t know what to say. He wanted to mention that the Lis had been exterminated, but didn’t know how to broach the topic after looking at the Sword Sovereign again. This was when he recalled that the sword tree and others were still in his river. He was about to mention it when the Sword Sovereign cut him off.

“We can catch up later, let’s discuss the business at hand.”

And so, Li Hao set that aside and awkwardly said, “Unc... Uncle Li... I once comprehended the weaving of a myriad daos in the Skyward dao chess. However, the order they took is different from the order that the senior takes...”

“I understand your puzzlement!” smiled the Sword Sovereign. “It’s very normal for the order of dao to be different. Just keep in mind that whether it is a battle method or dao, their core essence is minute differences between dao, blood qi, and energy. Differences in structure means differences in matter, dao, and domain!

“Dao is not exclusive! In other words, a difference in weaving pattern will result in a different dao being the main dao. That will in turn affect the dao world, domain, and universe! Those with light, darkness, or space as their main dao is the manifestation of a difference in order!

“My dao centers on sword dao, and the prerequisite is that it must be stable enough! So long as you don’t weave it in a random fashion, however you’d like to spin it is up to you. Take what you’ve learned for example, it’s the dao of hiding, isn’t it? Li Zhu probably taught it to you.

“He’s weaving his dao as well and creating a different domain. Your domain and this fella’s world of emptiness is all the same. They’re just different at the heart of things!

“Have you ever played with building blocks?” The Sword Sovereign suddenly smiled.