“The fellow daoist is very bold and daring!” exclaimed Myriad Changes. So anyone would be allowed inside? This was... highly unusual.

The chaos lacked places like the one they were discussing. There were too many restrictions when it came to the current Myriad Dao Pavilions. It was just a small local area network in its current form, a pathetically small one.

Li Hao’s greatest function in this enterprise was to expand the network and connect all of the pavilions in a web that encompassed the eastern region!

That would be an enormous contribution to the interchange of great dao in the chaos. And if it could be further expanded one day... Li Hao would leave a deep mark in the universe indeed.

As the two discussed, an awkward expression gradually crept over Myriad Changes’ face.

“Is there something that the fellow daoist would like to say?” Li Hao asked, bemused.

The man was silent for a while, but decided to voice what was on his mind despite how difficult it was to speak of it. “If I may... what if... Fellow Daoist Hao Moon... perishes...”

“If I die,” Li Hao chuckled at the obviously nervous man. “The mirage realm will naturally collapse. Well, it might not, if my great dao still remains. If my great dao is extinguished as well, then there will be no saving it.

“Regular battle will not damage the mirage realm since my river of dao is not the core of my battle techniques. I simply need to retain a portion of the worlds derived from my dao rules for that. The rest can be made part of the base points. That will ensure no disruption will happen to the mirage realm if I’m fighting.”

That had also been on Myriad Changes’ mind, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to ask it. He was at ease upon hearing Li Hao say so.

That was good!

Of course this creation would be gone once Li Hao was dead. There was no helping that.

“Does the fellow daoist have any requests when it comes to the mirage realm? Should we give it a more impressive name? I called it Myriad Dao Pavilion on a whim back in the day...”

Li Hao smiled and brainstormed some likely candidates. “Myriad Dao Pavilion is a good name, but we will have more than one location in the future. All of the chaos will be our location, so why not broaden the name to... Allheaven Hall?

Allheaven Hall?

Did that sound good?

Who cared?

Myriad Changes didn’t mind. He’d simply asked out of politeness. The name could be whatever Li Hao wanted, that was a minor matter.

“How much longer will the fellow daoist need...” he asked.

“It’s not how much longer I will need, but how much time Fellow Daoist Myriad Changes will require to build one thousand mirage realms. The other task at hand is one of choosing the appropriate site. I’ll be able to move quickly so long as you guys have answers for those questions. We can start anytime!”

“I can do it in thirty years!” Myriad Changes offered after quick calculations.

“......” Li Hao blinked. He’d thought that they could complete everything in a very short period of time, but the other was talking about thirty years as if that was speedy action. I can do it in thirty years! Now isn’t that fast!

The attitude made Li Hao pause. Thirty years?? What kind of joke is that?! That’s so slow!

“So you need... thirty years?”

“Yes.” Myriad Changes nodded after a pause. “Thirty-some mirage realms in one year is very fast already. That’s an average of one every two weeks or so. I’d have to work without stopping or sleeping...”

Is that slow? Your attitude seems a bit off. It’s not what I expected.

“I... am not yet thirty.” Li Hao took a deep breath. “Will my enemies give me another thirty years?”

“......” It was Myriad Changes’ turn to freeze. He knew that Li Hao was young, but... not yet thirty?

Wan Qiu was equally shaken. It took a while for Myriad Changes to react.

“But... this is the fastest speed possible that I can muster!” he said awkwardly. “Ten days for one mirage realm is the best I can do for the moment...”

Since when did seventh ranks count the days? We focus on centuries or millennia!

I know you’re young, so I gave an estimate of thirty years to show that I’m crazy fast! But you actually think... that I’m too slow, don’t you?

“Thirty years is too long,” frowned Li Hao. “Even three years is too long, much less thirty years. Three months is more like it...”

Myriad Changes had absolutely no idea what to say. One thousand in one hundred days means ten a day. Do you think I’m a ninth rank??

Relying on the immaterial worlds alone wasn’t enough. They alone couldn’t separate an exalted emperor’s body and mind, nor could they fully conceal one’s identity. The mirage realms were needed for that.

Li Hao sank into deep thought. What should he do? Myriad Changes was frightfully slow. This was something he hadn’t considered before. He’d always taken it as a given that the process would be very fast...

Should he accelerate time?

But...

Li Hao frowned. That wasn’t out of the question, just that speeding up time for a peak seventh rank would be an enormous depletion of his resources.

“Then how about this?” Myriad Changes set his jaw as Li Hao ran through various possibilities. “I’ll be in charge of creating the core of the mirage realm, but someone else can help with the actual construction! I can hand off the weaving, stabilization, and interior remodeling of the mirage realms to another.

“That will complete construction of the mirage realms in the fastest time possible, but some problems will be inherent with this method. Whoever participates in the construction will be able to easily dismantle them...”

“Then how about this in turn?” Li Hao smiled with a new idea. “Whoever needs an entrance to the mirage realm and will sit in residence can be the one to create it! There are many worlds in the alliance and even more exalted emperors.

“Whoever wishes to be involved is welcome, I don’t care. What I want is to quickly complete construction of the entire platform. You guys can decide these details. How about it?”

Myriad Changes thought it over and nodded. “We can do that! Work will proceed quickly in this regard. However, it’ll be difficult to complete in three months all the same...”

What was three months in the chaos?

The duration of a trip somewhere!

Myriad Changes grappled with a headache, whereas Li Hao thought some more.

“I can have Senior Dao Chess coordinate with you guys. If the distance is too far away, the senior can teleport you guys over. However, the expenditure will be massive and... I’m a bit short on funds at the moment. You might have to pay for it yourself...”

Myriad Changes was overjoyed. He’d wanted to raise the request, but had been too embarrassed to impose on an eighth rank.

“We would work much faster with assistance from Senior Dao Chess!” he exclaimed. “It will be much more convenient for us to contact the various sides. That will ensure more people in the field, which makes it possible for us to finish in three months!”

Li Hao smiled as well. Three months? I’d much rather it be three days!

But he knew that that was impossible. Three months was the absolute limit that they could manage. Myriad Changes might burst out into tears if he asked to compress the timeline any further. The alliance of mid worlds might not be able to accomplish it either.

“Then here’s to a wonderful partnership!” Li Hao smiled radiantly. “It won’t just be me, but the fellow daoists who will also benefit from our work together. If we succeed, eighth rank should be at hand!

“When it comes to the specifics of how to converse great dao, what benefits there are to be had, and what price needs to be paid, that is beyond my realm of expertise. I will depend on you guys for that as well!”

“As things should be!” Myriad Changes was in a great mood and immediately flung all threats and concerns to the back of his mind!

Whatever!

Who cared about Reincarnation! None of that would be an issue once he was an eighth rank. For exalted emperors, improvement was king. Who cared about who was in charge! What did it have to do with them?

It wouldn’t change their lot as weaklings when it came to who the overlord might be.

Myriad Changes did not linger after the two reached an agreement. There was a lot that he needed to attend to. Li Hao sent the dao chess with him.

It wasn’t a dangerous venture since he sent a false world with any of his people that traveled elsewhere. It would enable communications between them and facilitate location tracking. He would be able to quickly reach them through the river of time!

Li Hao began to officially make his plans regarding the Allheaven Hall. He couldn’t be bothered with anything else occurring in the chaos. Since there isn’t a place to discuss dao in the universe, then allow me to be the one to build it.

......

In the eastern region of the chaos universe.

Countless worlds were scattered throughout the chaos. The east had been quiet for a long period of time, but stirred to endless action in recent days. Eighth rank worlds disappeared one after another. The Reincarnation master fled after his loss and powerhouses from the four regions rushed through the area, setting themselves up as the overlord.

New Martial began to show itself over the past couple of days, sweeping through the eighth layer and instilling fear in Arctic Frost and the rest.

They were down five of the eighth rank worlds, leaving eleven worlds and fifteen eighth ranks. Meanwhile, New Martial only had four eighth ranks under its banner. It was clear to see from this how terrifying New Martial was. It was so heavily outnumbered, yet able to make the rest of the region dread them.

When it came to the alliance of mid worlds, they had too little time to play with and all of the members had their own thoughts in mind. Their worlds were fixed, which proved hard to shift. That made them more wary of New Martial’s ability to travel freely.

The overlords of the other three regions had their own arrangements in recent times as well. A portion of the eighth rank worlds saw mysterious visitors, here to persuade them to weaken the alliance.

No one seemed to care about the lower six layers in the universe, but certain developments were afoot there as well.

......

In a very remote spot of the eastern region, on a minor world in a place that was nearly forgotten.

There was only one exalted emperor in the entire world, and a first rank at that. He didn’t normally dare venture off the world and knew very little about the chaos.

The world resembled Silver Moon back in the day.

Chaos ripples oscillated near it on this day. The master of the world quickly appeared in response with a solemn look on his face. Large numbers of Empyrean Kings around him were equally grave.

It was hard for a minor world to survive in the chaos. Their greatest threat was passing powerhouses. It was fine if they were truly just passing by, but all too frightening if those people were here to devour their world!

A fourth rank quickly appeared. He peered into the distance and checked a map, then breathed out with relief. He’d finally reached the right spot. This was the hinterlands of the east. Any further would see him leave the eastern region and enter no man’s land.