Star Gate-Chapter 1515: Spontaneous Death (III)

It’d been three days since Drouth and Li Hao entered the chessboard of dao chess. Added to that a delay of a few days prior to entering the Hall of Darkness, and another few days for the first trial, that made for almost half a month in Demon Summit.

Li Hao had nearly reached three hundred squares. He proceeded at a slow and steady pace, clearing nearly one hundred squares a day. He was in no hurry or rush, neither slowing down nor speeding up.

Drouth had slowed down a long time ago. When at first he sped through seven hundred squares on the first day, he only did two hundred on the second, then eighty on the third. On the fourth, he passed only sixty, but was very close to one thousand.

Drouth was immensely excited, but also very exhausted. He’d accumulated so many wounds of great dao, yet wasn’t the least bit worried. While injury to his great dao was an incredible hassle to recover from, all of his wounds would be spontaneously healed so long as he comprehended the dark envoy’s dao remnants and set foot into sixth rank.

Such was his plan, and there was nothing wrong with it. None of these wounds constituted as severe injuries, just a bit of a hassle that would no longer exist when he broke through. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Currently, he was pausing to catch his breath. He looked to the side, seeing Hao Moon proceed at a decent pace. The young man was at three hundred squares now—better than expected. Drouth had estimated that the little guy wouldn’t be able to take a single step before long.

Reaching three hundred squares was not bad at all.

Hao Moon’s presence also seemed to be stronger than before. Granted, this level of improvement was nothing in Drouth’s eyes. Hao Moon’s vision was too narrow in his eyes.

The kid was wasting so much time to collect the energy with the dao squares. One had to know that the dao foundation site might close at any time. They should all be seeking to complete their mission as soon as possible, not dawdle and drag their feet for insignificant bits of energy. So what if he reached peak third rank that way?

Drouth looked up at the shadow again. It hadn’t said a single word during these three days.

“Fellow daoist of Utmost Dark,” it suddenly said when Drouth looked at him. “You are heavily injured. It may be useful for you to take a moment on the chessboard and absorb some energy to recover from your wounds.”

“That’s fine,” Drouth laughed. “I’m almost at one thousand squares. I’ll complete this trial today!”

Stop here? Stop now? Am I crazy?

“Senior, does the dark envoy’s dao foundation... still exist?”

“It does,” the shadow said softly. “While it is not as profound as before, it is enough for you.”

That was good. Granted, it would be a hassle if the shadow decided to go back on its words. Drouth looked at Hao Moon again, finding that the kid had stopped at the three hundredth square for a while.

Who cares about him? I’m going to complete the mission first. I’ll even go for two thousand squares if I have enough time!

“Senior, once I complete one thousand squares, can I study the dao foundation first and then continue on the chessboard?” He wanted separate tranches of rewards!

“You may!” nodded the shadow after some thought. “But... even if you make it past one thousand squares, your injuries will be significant. Comprehending the dao foundation of a powerhouse will worsen those injuries. My recommendation for you is to avoid pressing onward if you cannot manage an ascension.”

“My thanks for the senior’s advice!” Drouth smiled, simply thanking the shadow and rejecting everything it said. That can wait.

If I make it past two thousand squares, I’ll echo what Hao Moon wants. I’d like to try forming a domain and sealing away a world.

The shadow said nothing else; it couldn’t be bothered to. You’ll see! You can call me a fool if you make it past two thousand without breaking through first.

It looked at Li Hao again, finding that the young man had indeed stopped for a prolonged period of dao. It knew what dao was located in that square—just a simple reflection of sword dao. Why had this one stopped there for so long?

He was skilled in sword dao, so he should be able to breeze through it. Why had he paused?

......

Li Hao was gazing upon some swords. Ten thousand swords had appeared with stunning lethality. He backed away and avoided them, refraining from inflicting damage. He neither defended himself nor smashed through them. The young man simply watched quietly.

The look in his eyes was both curious and odd.

The sword!

He’d started using the sword a very long time ago and learned many types of sword dao, even the formidable Eternal Sword intent. But right now, he stopped here because he saw another type of sword. It was just the purest of swords!

Whether it was the Eternal Sword or other sword dao, they all came with their own attributes. Here, he saw only the sword in its entirety.

Just the sword!

There was nothing else mixed within it, just the fundamentals of sword dao, the most elementary of keen edges, and the basics of death and destruction.

This... was the sword! Li Hao suddenly realized. So this was true sword dao!

What the others practiced, whether it was himself or the Sword Sovereign, was not pure sword dao. Their swords were the amalgamation of many great daos and a variety of reflections. It wasn’t sword dao at its core essence.

Li Hao did not elect to change his sword dao after learning something new. Instead, he looked at the Firmament Sword in his hand.

“As a sword that is just a weapon at your core, you’re a mix of too many things!” mumbled the young man. He’d gained some personal reflections in this square, but more of it had to do with the sword as a weapon and the role that the Firmament Sword played in his cultivation.

The Firmament Sword was only a weapon, and it was also a random assortment of... stuff, just like him. At least the young man could sort himself out—what could a weapon do? If this situation continued, there was a limited future ahead in store for the Firmament Sword.

It likely wouldn’t be able to keep up with him as Li Hao grew stronger.

“Returning to my roots and true self. A sword is a sword. It simply needs to possess an unrivaled edge and unparalleled durability. It doesn’t need special auras and daos!” The young man realized. He’d come to terms with the true nature of a sword.

This experience was an enhancement of his knowledge of sword dao, and one for the Firmament Sword as well.

“I should excise all of that nonsense from you and have you return to your original form. I’ll leave you one or two unique daos, not have you contain a myriad of them like me. You’re just a weapon with some spirit, but not much intelligence!

“It’s impossible to expect you to organize all daos!” With that in mind, Li Hao left the square. Not only would he cultivate and build bridges from this moment forth, but so would he help the Firmament Sword purify itself of unnecessary daos.

A sword just needed to be sharp and durable. Everything else was tangential. A weapon needed to be pure; anything complicated would be human.

The shadow nodded to itself when it registered the development. The young man had a good eye. It was the sword’s great fortune to have such a wielder.

Other weapon masters wished nothing more than for their weapons to know everything. Grasping every dao possible meant that it would be able to defuse any danger that the master encountered. Yet, Li Hao chose to strip out everything from his sword.

Although that looked like it would weaken the weapon, the young man was retaining the true nature of the sword. That would be separating the dross for the Firmament Sword.

The shadow was ruminating over Li Hao’s actions when a muffled grunt sounded from below. A tattered Drouth burrowed out of a square, covered in blood and dao strength leaking out of him. He looked worse for the wear, but a wide grin split his face.

“Senior, I did it!”

He’d passed no less than one thousand squares!

The shadow looked at him, registering the severe wounds that the man was riddled with. He’d employed his strength to force his way through one thousand squares. That was not easy for a fifth rank, but also not that hard.

However, was this how dao chess was meant to be utilized? If the dark envoy had chosen to do the same, what weapon could stand up to an eighth rank’s power?

Not even a weapon of the Skyward master could do so!

The dark envoy would’ve passed as soon as he set foot onto the chessboard! But was there any point in proceeding in that manner? What would he gain other than a temporary thrill?

Drouth’s actions wouldn’t seem so egregious if there was no basis of comparison. But here Li Hao was, quietly contemplating dao off to the side while the man raced around like a bull in a china shop. The shadow really did not appreciate Drouth’s strategy.

It wouldn’t dislike martial brutes like these that much in ordinary times. Sheer force was an answer if contemplating dao was too hard to attain. That would complete the test, result in some benefits, and help the cultivator learn more about themselves.

Yet sometimes, comparisons were the most frightening of all. When the contrast was made, the shadow developed an enormous disdain for the man!

It couldn’t be bothered to say anything. The seat cushion on the ground floated into the air—something seemed to be beneath it, but the premises also darkened at the same time. Nothing could be clearly made out, only the seat cushion in the shadow’s hand.

“This is the seat cushion that the dark envoy normally meditated on. It contains some of the dao comprehensions that normally emanated from him. This was a mainstay of his cultivation all of these years. You can study it!”

The seat cushion landed in the startled Drouth’s hand. He’d thought that the seat cushion was the shadow’s primary body. So it wasn’t?

If it was, it wouldn’t hand itself to him so easily!

He’d also thought that it’d take more effort to claim his reward, that perhaps he might even need to fight for it when the shadow refused to pay up. But nothing of that sort had happened.

Is this real?

The man hesitated, drawing the shadow’s impatience.

The fuck are you apprehensive about?! You’re here for enlightenment, so aren’t you going to try it whether this is real or not??

What are you here for if you don’t?

This really did contain the dark envoy’s reflections on dao; there was nothing to hide. It’s up to you if you can get anything from it. I’ve yet to hear of anyone being able to surpass a powerhouse they study if they don’t have something to their own name.

What a joke!

After brief indecision, Drouth clenched his jaw and immersed himself within. He was immediately greeted by a magnificent meaning of great dao. The man brightened with glee and crazed delight. This really was the comprehension and dao remnants of an eighth rank exalted emperor!

Being a fifth rank, he could determine that this sensation of the great dao being right in front of him, the perception of being wholly immersed within, was not fake.

Drouth was so exuberant that he wanted to bray with mad ecstasy. This was such a worthwhile trip! This place was made for me! I’ve never heard of anyone being able to study the dark envoy’s dao foundation before. I obtained it on my first visit! I’m amazing!

......

Li Hao turned for a look and didn’t mind Drouth already passing the trial. The reflections of an eighth rank? That was a treasure indeed!

It was just, he had no interest in the dao of darkness at present. It was easy to lose oneself in such sophisticated concepts if too much study was done. It was better to start from the basics and study some other great daos to balance everything out!

The young man truly wasn’t interested in the dark envoy’s comprehension of dao. He would be much more keen if the reward was pure energy.

The bridges of life and death stood at three hundred now! He would be a peak third rank with a few more.

Li Hao smiled, ignoring Drouth. I’m not stopping until I see yin and yang. I’m gonna stay in here until I do. It won’t be a waste of time since comprehending dao is never a waste of time.

As for Celestial Pole and the Pagoda King... I’ll pray for them if I don’t make it out in time. I’ll go look for them after gaining some new knowledge.