Chapter 1852: Pitched Battle on All Sides (I)
Action erupted with a fervor! The four world masters moved at the same time!
Chaos beasts possessed strong bodies and were typically skilled in body dao. There were exceptions, however. The Treasure Seeker Rat sparkled with golden light and appeared to be a typical specimen of its kind.
But... it disappeared in the blink of an eye.
It was fast!
So fast that it seemed like it could traverse the void. It rushed out at first light. The dao chess brought up its domain in response to stop the enemy, but paled the next second.
“This is bad...” it muttered before Li Hao and the rest could react. “It can absorb the light of my primary body...”
What was the light of its primary body?
The humans didn’t quite understand, but the three other world masters smiled knowingly. Indeed, this was the capability of the Treasure Seeker Rat!
It was a somewhat useless ability, one that permitted the rat to absorb the unique properties of a treasure. There were no valuable treasures to be found in the chaos after seventh rank. That rendered this ability nearly ineffective.
The Treasure Seeker Rat’s body was of mediocre strength, but its speed was very fast. It focused on the dao chess, intent on nullifying this battle participant. The rat zipped through the void, absorbing ray after ray of light.
The dao chess constantly shifted around, but dejectedly found that it couldn’t shake off its pursuer. How unlucky!
The treasure should’ve been formidable as an eighth rank dao universe, but it’d declined greatly over the years. The Skyward master had created the dao chess not for battle, but to comprehend dao. Hence, its offensive capabilities were middle-of-the-road.
There was nothing to do but revert to its primary body with a grunt. It overshadowed the rat and engaged it in battle. Unfortunately, that meant there was nothing else it could do for Li Hao.
The young man was also startled by the rat’s speed. It was so fast!
He might not be able to fight back if it wasn’t for the dao chess providing some cover. It looked like these chaos beasts each had their own unique attributes. Dragons and earth dragons boasted of indomitable physical bodies, but their other attributes were nothing to speak of.
Treasure Seeker Rats had weak bodies, but extremely fast speed.
What of the other three?
The elephant’s specialty was clear with a glance. This was another powerhouse with a strong body and physical strength. As for the two tigers...
Since Li Hao practiced the Five Styles, he was familiar with the characteristics of tigers.
“Be careful of sound waves and their might...” he transmitted.
Whether monster spirit or chaos beast, tigers shared certain similarities. Their howl and tiger might was their killing moves.
“Void and the two dao masters will take on those tigers together,” Li Hao instructed. “Be careful and stay focused on defense. Let Martial Uncle Hong direct the dao universe. You stand back, Gan Wuliang, and use the Earthturner Sword to stop them!”
The three powerhouses rushed the two tigers without further ado, startling the chaos beasts. These humans were certainly bold!
“My father is the master of Light!” shouted Void. “He will have your heads if you dare kill me!”
It didn’t matter if no one took him seriously, they might be intimidated nonetheless. And what if it really did scare someone off?
Once they were hobbled by wariness, then they would easily make mistakes. That was the best outcome of all.
The elephant didn’t say anything to Li Hao. It charged the young man, breaking through the void with its massive tusks and a cold look in its eyes. The elephant possessed a tremendously formidable body and even more domineering force. It was stronger than the earth dragon, and it wielded a dao universe.
Dao universes primarily served two purposes for chaos beasts. One, to distill energy and purify it. Two, to be a reservoir. There was no need to fear depleting one’s energy with a dao universe present.
Such a chaos beast could fall back on invincible defenses and make use of immense offense. It was the most difficult kind of opponent to encounter. Even the Human King would have to become one with the Ash Emperor if he wished to take down such an enemy.
Li Hao only needed a moment to understand that he wouldn’t be able to repeat his previous tactic of killing the other with a blow of a thousand worlds.
Hundreds of exalted emperors converged upon the battlefield. The invaders were doomed as soon as they finished the encirclement. But since the humans had dared show themselves, Li Hao hadn’t fully dismissed this possibility. He had certain contingencies in mind.
The Firmament Sword in his hand was falling apart. Killing so many seventh ranks in quick succession had taxed it beyond its limits. The strength of a thousand worlds could be brought to bear against regular seventh ranks, but it was too hard to bring down world masters!
A ninth rank treasure fashioned from an eighth rank dao universe like the dao chess could barely handle a Treasure Seeker Rat when it was in a weakened state. It was easy to see how big the gap might be with seventh rank.
Having Void and two other face-off against two seventh ranks was due to the fact that only one of the tigers was a world master. The white tiger was not. The Black Tiger was the master of Valiant Tiger.
The elephant’s tusks slammed through the void. Li Hao brought up the thousand worlds in defense. However, they swayed madly with a crunch. One of the worlds had been pierced through! The defensive net formed by one thousand worlds couldn’t stop the other’s attack!
Other powerhouses observing the fight paled. The dao chess was quite anxious. It’d been hoping that Li Hao would win and help the others! As it turned out... the young man was no match for the elephant!
The Thunder master roared and forced the Phoenix master back. He wanted to come help Li Hao. The Phoenix master snarled and sent a wave of flames through the air. A phoenix cry rang through the chaos!
Trying to leave? Dream on!
“Are you going to force me to destroy Thunder World?!” yelled the Thunder master.
“Do so if you want to, given how things are! I want you dead today!” growled the Phoenix master. Trying to threaten me with this even now?! Two dragons are dead. The Dragon master will punish me even if I take Thunder World. How will I explain myself if I don’t kill the Silver Moon king and his group?
So what if Thunder World is destroyed as collateral damage??
She was no longer concerned about that!
The Thunder master’s eyes widened. They were in trouble now. The Silver Moon king’s group was very strong—they were sixth ranks that could fight seventh ranks. But no matter how frightful they were, they were still one step short. They would quickly be overcome once the encirclement was complete!
And he could only barely stand against his opponent!
What a pity!
What a damned pity. If there was another seventh rank, just one more, that might turn the tide. The man was immensely resigned as this was already a best case scenario playing out. And yet, they were short one seventh rank!
Thunder World’s world origin seemed to have come back to life, so he might be able to retreat with his world. But Li Hao and his people were fighting for me. If he left and freed up Phoenix to join the battle against them, that would only hasten Li Hao’s fall.
A massive rumble sounded as the Phoenix master grabbed him. Blood drenched his body and endless lightning sparked from him...
Li Hao didn’t seem to be in the slightest hurry, even when the elephant’s giant hooves were about to come down on him!
The young man didn’t care about that. One thousand worlds appeared and manifested a dao domain. It seemed to stretch through the entire chaos, thanks to being extended by a thousand worlds. They seemed to be real worlds in this moment!
How vast were a thousand worlds?
The Giant Elephant master sneered. This was showy hot air! It was indeed very intimidating and stunning, but its hooves would grind all of these minor worlds to dust all the same!
“I’ve weathered chaos tribulation upon chaos tribulation,” Li Hao chuckled. “I’ve experienced far more than I can count. The same goes for Thunder World. I’m sure the world master has experienced quite his share of chaos tribulations!
“I hear that Thunder Region contains all of the tribulations in the chaos. Damn if that doesn’t make me shake in my boots! The tribulations there don’t disappear, amazing! What a pity that I’ve never gone inside to see for myself!”
Everyone blinked with incomprehension.
A star appeared, lighting the center of the thousand worlds—the star of time.
“Number Two!”
A cat manifested in the void, but it was only a sixth rank. It was weaker than even the two dao masters. The cat looked blearily at Li Hao. What do you want with me? I can’t change anything.
“You hail from time itself. What if I force you to descend upon this plane of existence?”
What if...?
Number Two looked around dazedly. It’d been trying to do so recently, but success remained tantalizingly out of reach. It wasn’t a real life form yet.
“It would be the immaterial taking shape in reality then. The chaos will not tolerate it!” Li Hao murmured to himself. He was able to smile easily even at a time like this. “Time, open for me!”
The one thousand worlds shone with renewed brilliance. Time flowed backward!
Endless dao strength and the power of time concentrated on the cat. Number Two suddenly sensed the rapid flow of time. Something was different about it. It had no heart in its chubby body, but now... something... seemed to be... beating?
So you want me to descend upon reality and change everything as a seventh rank?
But...
Countless thunderclouds formed as the cat mused over this course of action. How dare a creature not of the chaos try to fully resurrect from another space and time?! It went against the heavens for it to be a real living being!!
The manipulator of time needed to be punished, as did the cat.
One of the minor worlds suddenly absorbed a vast quantity of time and exploded like a firework! With that, the dao of attachment swept through the area. Time stuck itself to all of the exalted emperors and beings present.
Li Hao smiled, looking into the distance. There lay the Thunder Region and its endless chaos tribulations! Chaos tribulations normally only lasted for nine bolts. But what if there were an infinite number of them nearby?
How many bolts would that be?
He didn’t know!
All of the powerhouses stained with the dao of attachment jerked with alarm. They stared, openmouthed, as an army of thunder and lightning formed overhead!
Indeed, an army!
It wasn’t just one or two tribulation giants, but a countless number of them! Thunder Region seemed to be their home. Someone had stopped in front of their front door to provoke them!
The great army mobilized! One, two, three...
Hundreds of giants appeared in the blink of an eye, each of them walking out of the region with the power of destruction. Indeed, they walked out. They didn’t appear out of thin air as a tribulation typically would.
It was Li Hao’s first time seeing such a sight.
“Everyone, to each their own!” He threw his head back with laughter. “Let’s see who can make it through the tribulation. If not, you can die!”
