Star Gate-Chapter 1675: Dao Chess (III)

Demon Summit.

Li Hao and Void entered the dao foundation site. Directly transporting inside was also an option since the dao chess brand was still present within the dao river.

However, no matter how contained that disturbance could be, there were too many seventh ranks around these days. They needed to exercise more caution. The less likely it was to expose themselves, the better.

The Hall of Darkness.

The shadow materialized within the walls, surprised at seeing the two. It hadn’t been long since their parting, but not only had Li Hao set foot into fourth rank, so did Void stabilized his sixth rank strength. The dao foundation contained by the two was much denser than before, indicating a potentially deeper comprehension of dao.

“Felicitations!” The shadow offered its congratulations. It thought well enough of the two in the past; its high hopes were proven today. The months that they’d been apart were but the snap of a finger, but the duo had shown immense improvement.

“Our thanks to the senior for your help,” chuckled Li Hao. “We wouldn’t have stood a chance otherwise if Brother Void hadn’t made it over!”

“It had nothing to do with me, he was the one who supplied the energy. I merely did him a small favor. Not to mention, he promised that he wouldn’t make any requests when he reached five thousand squares!

“Your presence here today... Skyward is restless these days. There are many seventh ranks in the world—I sense at least eight. There are probably more in the outskirts that I have not detected!

“There’s also eighth ranks that are keeping an eye on this place. It will be difficult for the two of you to gain anything from Skyward now...”

“Isn’t the senior the greatest opportunity of all?” Li Hao laughed. “Hasn’t the dao chess been open to us all this time? We have the confidence to walk it again upon our return!”

The shadow blinked, then nodded. “Good, you guys have finally recalled this detail!”

I thought you forgot!

The dao chess was indeed a fortuitous opportunity, but these two fellows didn’t seem to care much about it and always ran off halfway. Their actions this time were interesting. Had they taken the risk of returning to Skyward just so they could try the treasure one more time?

“How far did you get last time?” Li Hao turned to Void.

“I stopped at three thousand.”

“That’s more than me,” laughed the young man. “I stopped at two thousand. Since we’re back and there’s still some time, why don’t we give it another try?”

“Let’s do it!” Void nodded. He’d entered sixth rank in a slightly hasty manner and was also walking the path of three different types of extreme daos. It was a good idea to attempt the dao chess one more time to complete his dao heritage and stabilize his cultivation level. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Not to mention, how could they raise additional requests if they didn’t continue through the treasure? It was a bit embarrassing to always be in arrears. Although the shadow would likely agree to whatever they asked, it was best to use a chance they earned fair and square, no?

Since the opportunity at five thousand squares was already gone, he would make it to six or seven thousand squares!

The shadow said nothing else when it saw how eager the two were. It summoned two chessboards with different pinpricks of light on them. Those pinpricks represented what the two had already passed through.

The two entered it without hesitation.

......

Li Hao had been a very weak second rank when he last attempted the treasure. He’d surpassed the low rank threshold now and become a fourth rank. He’d seen more of the world and had a deeper understanding of the outline of dao, as well as nets of dao, worlds, dao universes, and embryonic worlds.

Their experience in dao chess this time was vastly different!

What had been incomprehensible before opened up wide to them. Li Hao only needed to take a look around in a square before summoning a particular world domain and draining the square of its energy. With that complete, he strolled out of the square and entered the next one.

The shadow started. That was... so fast! It wasn’t a forceful dismantling, but a true dissection of the core nature of that dao. It’d taken only a moment for the young man to pull it apart.

What was going on here?

It hadn’t been that long since Li Hao’s last attempt. Although the young man had also taken some time to collect energy, he hadn’t been able to do so quickly. He’d needed to analyze the dao within step by step.

But today, he passed in a flash and left with all of the energy in hand. It took only a heartbeat for one square.

Void was likewise blitzing through squares. The two seemed to be on a walk through a park, with Li Hao showing the most marked improvement. The young man took another look around when he entered the next square, summoned another world domain, and drained the square of all its energy.

He continued with unstoppable momentum!

There was none of the curiosity from his first attempt; expectation had taken its place instead. What was he looking forward to?

Not the three or fourth thousandth square...

He began anticipating whether a world or net of spatial dao might appear when he made it through the entire chessboard!

Indeed, Li Hao was starting to suspect that all 9,999 squares represented the dao of space!

What a pity that he was unable to finish the chessboard this time. In addition, the dao strength that he was collecting now was just a drop in the bucket. Previously, he’d felt that it was a large amount of energy.

Li Hao had breezed through one hundred squares in a very short period of time. The shadow understood what it was seeing now... and was immensely resigned.

The young man really did have some skill to his name. He’d been clueless the last time he came, but was now collecting the domains of a myriad daos?

What an... incredible fellow!

It took another look at Void. While Void had not collected a myriad daos, his understanding of dao ran deep after cultivating three sets of extreme daos. He’d also grown up immersed in the dao of light. These were foundations that Li Hao lacked.

Void likewise sped through the squares. The two almost seemed to be racing each other through the chessboard. They were several hundred squares in before Fog Mountain could even confirm whether or not they’d entered Demon Summit.

Meanwhile, a loud hubbub had developed outside. However, Li Hao had completely forgotten what might be taking place beyond the dao foundation site. The more he walked, the more delighted he was.

This was a renewal of the self; dao chess was a detailed categorization of a dao net! He didn’t know if it was Skyward’s dao net. If it was... the young man would have a deep understanding of the Skyward dao universe.

Demon Summit wasn’t just a simple cultivation site for the dark envoy. Perhaps the dao chess was the true place of legacy from the Skyward master!

“How interesting... If dao chess represents Skyward’s net of dao, then this is how the great daos are organized in Skyward’s dao universe...

“The key will be found in the 9,999th square!” Li Hao sucked in a sharp breath. If this was the case, then Skyward’s dao might be the most complete dao in the chaos. It’d truly reached the state of a myriad daos.

Generally, when people spoke of a myriad daos, they only meant it in a general sense of the word. Li Hao referred to his 360 dao stars as a myriad daos, but how was that a myriad?

The 360 was 720 at most if he counted the corporeal and immaterial daos separate from each other. Such was his version of a myriad daos!

Those such as the Sword Sovereign might wield a bit more dao, but it wouldn’t exceed three thousand types. None of them would be particularly strong either.

Could Skyward really possess ten thousand types?

No, 9,999 types!

That was terrifying!

Could someone like the Skyward master really die? Who could kill him? Or were there even stronger existences in the chaos?

The chaos that they spoke of these days was just a collection of the Skyward, Blazing Sun, Red Moon, and Dragon Regions. But that didn’t mean this was the entire chaos.

There was no time to think of that. Li Hao progressed at an increasingly faster speed; his admiration grew as he observed more squares. What an incredible way of weaving the great daos together! His observation today was much more thorough and in-depth compared to his last attempt.

The young man quietly made it to three thousand squares; the shadow didn’t stop him or make a sound. It’d taken him only half a day to walk one thousand squares. Last time, it took half a month for two thousand!

The contrast between the two was too great. A fourth rank Li Hao was immensely different from before.

On the other side, Void had made it to 3,800 squares. That wasn’t slow either as it was normal for speed to slow later on.

“Can these two... make it to six thousand squares this time?” The shadow wanted to know if Li Hao could make it that far. Void would be able to without a doubt.

Six thousand squares meant that all daos before sixth rank were easily accessible to the cultivator. Void was a sixth rank to begin with, but it was still difficult for him to reach beyond six thousand.

Li Hao was only a fourth rank.

“If they make it to seven thousand...” The shadow sank into deep thought. They could request to take the treasure with them if they reached seven thousand. That was one of the rules that the Skyward master had established.

Seven thousand squares represented one key point, that they could enter seventh rank through Skyward’s dao universe if their fortunes ran deep enough. They would be high ranks and be able to claim the world’s dao universe!

It’d been many years since someone had made it to seven thousand squares. It’d only been the light and dark envoys who’d done so out of them all. None of the envoys of the five elements could reach seven thousand, even though they were seventh rank themselves.

......

The world outside, northern region.

The appearance of the Human King made everything more complicated. He arrogantly demanded that Red Moon powerhouses be handed over, but who would do such a thing?

More and more heavyweights gathered as the situation dragged on. The initiator of it all, Fog Mountain, suddenly paused in the fight. It was about time. He wasn’t sure if those two had entered Skyward or not.

They should have, if they weren’t too dumb.

Flare Sun immediately stopped with a scowl when Fog Mountain halted.

“Don’t misunderstand, there is no contact between me and the Human King.” Fog Mountain was very calm. “I was the first one he hacked last time. I don’t want anyone thinking that we’ve teamed up or something!

“There are too many people here today who want to watch a good show. How dull. Flare Sun, we can fight again some other day!” He turned on his heel and left, leaving a fuming Flare Sun behind him.

That bastard! He came because he wanted to, started a fight on a whim, and then left when it suited him!