“What’s going on?” asked a startled Yuan Shuo.

Li Hao stroked his chin and looked at the star of time in front of him, then at his teacher. “Nothing major, just that there are a myriad of daos within the star of time. It’s a bit of a hassle for me to locate the corresponding dao that I want, because I need to focus on the integrity of the star. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“Therefore, I recall when teacher sent your consciousness into the dao universe. You were the first Silver Moon cultivator to enter the dao universe. Please go inside for me, teacher! See if you can find the rat’s dao inside. I’ll be your contact on the outside. The star of time is a miniature dao universe!”

Yuan Shuo blinked. A miniature dao universe!

He finally understood what was meant by the real star of time and its true nature. “You want me to poke around inside?”

“Yes!” Li Hao nodded. “Teacher, the star of time may be small, but its great dao is quite comprehensive. It’s even more comprehensive than Silver Moon’s dao universe and contains many more daos. The star has a very complicated internal structure, so you might be lost in it in a moment of carelessness!

“You need to be careful, teacher. I can fish you out in an emergency because you’re weak. It’s also because you’re weak that I’m more at ease about you entering it...”

Yuan Shuo scowled. Why are you trying to piss off? And here I was thinking that my disciple was creating an opportunity for me. Perhaps you weren’t putting it that way, yet that was the truth of what you were doing.

But I’m really hacked off after hearing the last part of what you said!

You can pull me back after I get lost inside because I’m weak? And everyone else is too strong to do so??

Yuan Shuo brooded without a word.

“Ah, yes, don’t you want to set up the domains of the five elements, teacher?” continued Li Hao. “This is also a type of dao domain. You can take a good look around and make a close observation, see how the War Sovereign set it up.

“He is a legendary character who dismantled a dao to recreate it. Even I am far behind him in this regard. Teacher, there’s a lot you can learn from him.”

Yuan Shuo was utterly speechless and didn’t want to say anything. There was nothing he could say, either. He looked at the star of time and heaved a sigh. “So... what do I need to do after locating the relevant dao?”

“It’s simple, just hug it and yell for me!”

The fuck?!

This venture irritated him the more they discussed it. Yuan Shuo ignored his student, looked at the star of time again and extended his senses for the big rat’s dao. He studied the portion of the rat’s presence that Li Hao had captured.

One deep breath later, it was as if his soul disengaged from his body. A monster hovered over his head, one with the five auras as one!

It bore characteristics of the tiger, bear, deer, bird, and ape. It had wings, a bird’s beak, a tiger’s sharp claws, a monkey head, and the body of a deer that was as muscular as a bear. This was the spirit that Yuan Shuo had created for himself! The god of auras!

He’d combined his auras into a spiritual entity and used it to establish a domain. This was a prototype of the heavenly will, but it was quite fragile at the moment.

The five auras were one, as were the five elements. Yuan Shuo had not wavered from the Five Styles and utilization of the five elements just because his disciple walked the path of a myriad daos. He’d focused on researching the five elements all this time.

In Yuan Shuo’s eyes, quantity without quality was useless. He was most skilled at the five elements, so he knew how to utilize them in all manner and aspect. He was even the inventor behind the method.

Li Hao was rather surprised by what he observed. Incorporating the aura into the spirit, nurturing the domain with the spirit, and establishing a dao with the domain...

His teacher may be weak, but... well, fine his teacher was weak. He wasn’t concerned about his teacher being devastated by words, but he was witnessing that his teacher’s study of the five elements and five animals had reached a peak.

It wouldn’t be hyperbole to say that Yuan Shuo had reached the zenith of this field!

Li Hao watched silently; Yuan Shuo didn’t need further instruction from his disciple. He’d been the first one to enter the Silver Moon dao universe, after all. He was the one to discover it. Although Li Hao had occupied first mover advantage in the end through the dao of supernatural characters, it was incredible that Yuan Shuo had found his way inside without guidance from anyone else.

Yuan Shuo left his physical body behind while he darted into the star of time with the spirit of the five auras.

“Can you find it just because you’ve sent him inside?” Number Two looked curiously at the star. This was not a typical dao star. The convergence of a myriad daos had truly formed a net of a myriad daos. As small as the star of time was and although it was in embryonic form, it might be much more complicated than the Silver Moon dao universe.

“We might be able to find it if we gradually work our way inside,” Li Hao said softly. “If we do, that represents that my teacher has a deeper understanding of dao. Any dao domains that he creates next will be all the more complete for it!

“He was the first of the Thirty-Six back in the day and could combine all five auras when there was no energy in the Silver Moon... I don’t believe that he’ll be less than anyone else!”

In that age, Silver Moon lacked energy. Yuan Shuo had relied solely on his own body and auras, as well as the nourishment of food, to reach the stage of combining the five auras into one. He was the only martial master to combine multiple auras, so Li Hao had always firmly believed that his teacher could reach greater heights.

This kind of domain was the prototype for a dao domain; Li Hao had learned his from Yuan Shuo. His teacher had walked the path of the domain long before Li Hao even knew what it was. The young man hadn’t had an inkling of what the concept might be.

One could only say, Yuan Shuo was very unlucky in certain ways. He was constantly one step ahead of everyone else, but his process was very convoluted. He’d combined his five auras in a period that severely lacked energy, so that had been a thousand times more difficult than when others attempted to do so.

Yuan Shuo had set foot on the path of the domain when there’d been no exalted emperors in the world or even Mountain and Sea. Being one step ahead of others made one a genius. Being ten steps ahead... made one trash.

Hence, Yuan Shuo always had an exceedingly difficult time making the next leap, whereas others found it very easy to do so. A dao domain was something that a seventh rank would comprehend, but a weakling that wasn’t even a Saint had attempted to do so. No wonder he hadn’t gotten far with it!

“Your teacher does have a lot of potential.” Number Two nodded its big head. “It’s just...” It thought for a bit, struggling for the right words. “It’s just... he likes to go beyond his reach.”

“Hmm?” Li Hao looked at the cat with dissatisfaction.

“I don’t mean that in a derogatory way,” the cat responded innocently. “I mean that he is making attempts that do not fit his current cultivation level. For example, it would be early for even mid ranks to comprehend the domain. But he seems to have been doing so a very, very long time ago.

“The gap is too great! He is the equivalent of a child wielding a mallet. It’s the same thing now. He wishes to craft a dao domain first, then verify his dao through it. That is exceeding the limits of his capabilities as well!”

Verifying one’s dao through the domain took place when one tried to ascend to seventh rank! Yuan Shuo... was an Empyrean King powerhouse. A half step emperor at most. What were peak sixth ranks supposed to do with themselves if a half step emperor wanted to verify his dao through the domain?

A domain of the five elements was not a small undertaking. The five elements were a massive cycle, a grand circulation. Yuan Shuo would be an exalted emperor of the five elements if he verified his dao through his domain. How was that not biting off more than he could chew, considering that he was an Empyrean King?

“There is no rule that reserves dao domains for seventh ranks,” Li Hao frowned slightly. “I know it, Void knows it, as does the Sword Sovereign and Senior Li Zhu. Many people wield it, so why not my master?”

“He is not even an exalted emperor!”

“It’s only a matter of time!”

Number Two didn’t know what to say. You’re a fifth rank and have seen much of existence, even studied a ninth rank’s dao. How do you not know the truth of what I speak of? Must you trust in your master with such a lack of reservation? It’s your fault that your master isn’t an exalted emperor yet!

If he’d proceeded step by step, Yuan Shuo would’ve long become a third rank, given his relationship with Li Hao. Fourth rank would not have been out of the question either. But now there were dozens of Silver Moon exalted emperors and Yuan Shuo was the only one out of the old guard who was still not an exalted emperor.

The cat couldn’t be bothered to say anything else. It didn’t pay much attention in regular times either, but simply felt that Li Hao indulged his master too much. It was possible that Yuan Shuo would be stuck at the Empyrean King level forever and never set foot into the exalted emperor rank.

Zhang An was a prime example. If it wasn’t for Li Hao talking some sense into him, he might still be an Empyrean King even now.

These days, however, Zhang An was closing in on third rank.

......

Within the star of time.

A monster had entered it and leisurely strolled through the dao star. The star of time was much different inside compared to outside. Multiple lines of a net spread through all directions. The power of a myriad daos gathered to produce one drop of liquid.

When the liquid landed, it became time.

Yuan Shuo’s goal was to locate the rat’s dao amid all of this. That seemed to be a simple task, but when the monster traveled through the dao star, the great dao rippled and a unique force erupted. It nearly struck the monster down!

Dao strength permeated the void, producing another droplet of time. Yuan Shuo’s eyes widened with shock when he took a closer look at it. Time seemed to reverse when the droplet landed amid a myriad of daos. It was such a marvelous sight!

The star’s internal space seemed to be turned upside down. The myriad of daos vanished in a split second, then reappeared in vastly different spots.

“Holy fuck?!” Yuan Shuo froze with astonishment. “The daos... are moving!”

Heavens above!

Whether it was the dao net or dao universe, the position of the great dao was typically fixed. Therefore, the number of combinations that dao could be assembled was limited. Even if the total was staggering, it was still limited!

But once the daos could shift position at any time... that gave rise to an unlimited number of permutations!

There were infinite possibilities to begin with, and once movement was thrown in... Yuan Shuo’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t capture that split second of change, how was he supposed to find the rat’s dao?

Time wasn’t fixed!