Star Gate

Li Hao tapped the void around the two frozen Saints.

Boom!

The void shook, rippling outward. It was two Saints in front of him and he was just a seventh level Sun and Moon. For some reason, these two seemed to be inexplicably imprisoned. He couldn't approach them so easily, in case he was trapped as well.

Granted, Li Hao felt that that shouldn't happen given his familiarity with the dao universe. Unexpected changes like these shouldn't occur. Could it... have something to do with the immaterial dao universe?

He was also yet to locate Zhang An's personal dao star. And who knew if there were any other ancient powerhouses secretly training the new dao somewhere in the world? Perhaps they'd also hidden their dao star in a corner of the universe and were biding their time.

The ripples in the void continued for a while before something seemed to be broken. A tree and a turtle spontaneously came back to life. The redwood's branches trembled and swept in all directions, starting with surprise when it sensed Li Hao's presence

It quickly took human shape and approached the young man. "When did the marquis arrive?" it asked with confusion.

The old turtle drew near as well, equally perplexed.

Li Hao frowned and looked around. "It's been two days. This place is not far from the river of stars, but you two seemed to have been trapped somehow and failed to return. I came in search of you. Did something happen?"

"Two days?" The two powerhouses blinked.

"It... hasn't been long since we entered..." The redwood was astonished beyond belief. What was going on here?

"Two days??" marveled the old turtle. "So fast! If it wasn't for the marquis waking us, we... might have lingered here even longer! Redwood Mountain and I saw a peculiar star. We only glanced at it once before we sank into the flow of time and were unable to extract ourselves from it!"

Li Hao blinked. What...? A peculiar star?

He looked around, but didn't see any star whatsoever. "Tell me in more detail, what did you see?"

"On the day we entered this area, the dao universe sealed shut and a star suddenly appeared in front of us," the old turtle responded after some thought. "It was very bright, like it was a sun! We thought that it was the primary dao star of some powerhouse, so took an additional glance at it. And then... we awoke next to the marquis."

"Two days... I didn't feel anything at all." Fear was settling into the redwood. "I just felt that I was still looking at that star. How is it two days in the blink of an eye?"

If it wasn't for Li Hao coming in search of them, wouldn't they have remained trapped here forever more?

Li Hao was equally lost and treated the situation gravely. "Are you saying that you were just looking at this star just now, just for a second, before I appeared?"

"Yes."

"Was there anything special about that star?"

The old turtle turned over the question, the star in question appearing in its mind's eye. Trepidation colored its point of view when the mental image of that star appeared. It took a while to say, "There was nothing special, just that it was bright and somewhat illusory. It was like it didn't belong to this world, that it drifted in and out..."

"I would describe it as coming and going as light and shadow, a flash of lightning. There was a kind of surreal quality that gave one the feeling of gazing upon one thousand years after simply flicking a look at it."

"Was it a product of intentional cultivation?" Li Hao asked solemnly. The two blinked at the question, then looked at each other.

"Uncertain!" The old turtle shook its head. "It's difficult to say. In our view, we only took one look at it. Ah... yes, I have the impression that half of the star was illusion, and that half of it resided in reality. It was half tangible and half intangible... very strange."

A million thoughts ran through Li Hao's mind. A flash of lightning, half real, half illusion.A star... a light...The two Saints had been gripped by another power after taking one look at it, like they were sealed away. They might not have awoken for a million years if Li Hao hadn't been nearby.

Was that possible? Could it be the personal dao star of a cultivator of the new dao? Or were there naturally occurring dao stars in the dao universe?

Why had these two suddenly witnessed a special star? Li Hao couldn't understand it.

The tangible and intangible... The immaterial dao universe... Can it be that this place is the intersection of the two universes, the center of the universe that Capsize Sea speaks of? But... it can move?

Li Hao's heart skipped a beat at this conclusion! Was the truth what he'd deduced, that the center of the universe was a shifting location, not a set one?

And... it seemed to be very dangerous.

What was this? Was this a good or bad development?

If this was the case, then it would be very hard to connect the corporeal and immaterial universes. Even if Li Daozong stood right in front of Li Hao, he would find it very difficult to cross over. In the same vein, it was equally difficult for Li Hao to make the trip.

If two Saints had lost themselves with one look, would Li Hao fare any better?

"Don't speak of this to anyone!" Li Hao cautioned solemnly. "Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Ten thousand years might have gone by if I hadn't come for you guys, and perhaps life would've steadily flowed away from you while you were held in place. Perhaps you would've fossilized on the spot!"

The two Saints looked at each other with growing horror.

"This... might involve some principles of time!" offered the old turtle, drawing on its vast banks of knowledge. "Time is the most difficult topic to study. No matter how unsurpassed your talents are and even if you become the master of a world, theoretically speaking, you will die all the same no matter how long you live!

"Therefore, the strongest of powerhouses will eventually pass away. They might live five million years, ten million, or some other indescribable lifespan. But with the passage of time, their lifespan will be washed away all the same. They will ultimately grow old and die...

"Does... this newly born dao universe reach a level of existence that has to do with this kind of rule?" the turtle exclaimed with astonishment. "Time is disordered in the universe and space itself is very complicated. One step in the chaos might mean one second has gone by, or one year, or ten years...

"The Human King nearly lost himself in the chaos one time—after he triumphed over the Heavenly Emperor and world seed. Numerous years had passed when he turned around."

It was similar to the situation that they'd just been caught in. It felt like they'd taken only one glance, but two days had already gone by.

And this was when they were lucky enough not to be enveloped within. If they were unlucky and no one was around to wake them, the next time they awoke might be years or dozens of years later.

Li Hao's brow raised higher and higher. He looked around him, not seeing the star they spoke of. A combination of reality and mirage, ten thousand years passing by with one glance. Could a great dao of time really exist?

Was that possible?

Life and death were capricious, time was merciless. If one was to speak of complex matters in the world, then those would be it. Life, death, time, reversing death, and chasing after the footsteps of time...

If one could defy the flow of time, wouldn't that mean they were immortal and completely undying.

I would be more eternal than time itself! Ten thousand years will pass if you look at me! That's horrifying!

Li Hao lost himself in thought and quickly said, "Don't think about it and don't seek to be involved! This is the dao universe, after all. It makes sense that there are existences here we do not fully understand. We do not have the strength to explore them further at the moment."

He shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it himself. The young man tucked it into a corner of his heart for future reference.

"It's best for the two of you to leave as soon as possible." He looked at the two Saints. "The world at large does not tolerate Saints at the moment. I'll take you to the ancient city! The dao universe is not a place to linger for long."

The two powerhouses said no more; wariness colored their eyes when they looked around. They'd thought that the dao universe was a regular place with nothing to fear. Li Hao had traveled through it all along with no mishaps, so they thought it posed even less of a threat to Saints. Who could've thought that it would nearly be the end of them?

Li Hao quickly departed with the two heavyweights in two, returning to the river of stars. The latter settled down with ease when they saw the familiar river. Fear had well and truly set in by now.

Li Hao didn't say anything; he swiftly opened the passageway and waited until an ancient city hovered at the other end—Battle Heaven. The Ninth Division leader was on duty and much more reassured to see the two Saints return.

He was starting to worry that they wouldn't be coming back! Thank goodness!

The two quickly entered the city.

"The four main cities have absorbed a great deal of energy, so we have sufficient energy within our stores..." Li Daozong said to Li Hao.

"Then have the Demon Hunter Army set up in one of the cities!" Li Hao instructed. "Lin Hongyu can make the appropriate arrangements for the other three. Whoever is suited to take up residence may do so!"

Li Daozong nodded and hesitated before saying, "Lin Hongyu..."

"I'm going into closed door cultivation. Ask her if there's anything you need to discuss regarding matters of the world."

"Ah..." Li Daozong didn't have an opportunity to say more before Li Hao closed the passageway, leaving a resigned Ninth Division leader behind.

The redwood tree was curious about their exchange and couldn't help but ask, "Ninth Division leader, what did you say about Hongyu...?"

Li Daozong flicked a glance at it; he didn't like the plant spirit. "Nothing much. Li Hao announced a while back that he's going to marry Lin Hongyu, that's all."

The redwood froze.

What, really?!There'd been no sign of that happening! Why had this suddenly occurred? Its mouth grew dry. Lin Hongyu was the person it'd been supporting all along! How had this suddenly happened?

"Is the Ninth Division leader... joking?"

Li Daozong couldn't be bothered to say anything further. While he was equally confused, strictly speaking, this was Li Hao's private matter. He wasn't at liberty to say anything else. When he saw how incredulous and secretly delighted the tree was, he said faintly, "Fellow Daoist Redwood Mountain, you are in too deep. If you lose in the future... you will have no avenues of retreat!"

This may not be a good development for you.

"Does the Ninth Division leader think we still need to think of retreat at this stage?" the redwood suddenly laughed. Li Daozong thought too little of it! What was retreat to them now?

Li Daozong didn't say anything. Perhaps. Maybe staking everything on a gamble was the true dao for the redwood tree.

Battle Heaven vanished on the spot.